A Thought Through Naruto
by Zelinku
Summary: A will Eternal but as Naruto. Credit goes to Er Gen for making this amazing novel
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – His name was Naruto

Below Mao'er Mountain, located in the Eastforest Mountain Range, was a mountain village with simple customs; they cultivated the fields to make a living whilst being cut off from the rest of the world.

Early in the morning, all the villagers assembled in front of the village's main gate to see off a 15 to 16-year-old youngster. Although this youngster looked both thin and weak, his clean demeanor made him appear very clever. The clothes he was wearing, albeit somewhat commonplace, were sparkling white. Upon this youngster, these clothes, coupled with his pure-looking eyes, gave him a sense of intelligence.

His name was Naruto.

"Village elders, I want to go cultivate but I don't want to part with you all." His face was painted with reluctance. His original lovable appearance was even more simple and honest at that moment.

His fellow villagers all looked around at each other. Expressions displaying their reluctance to part from him momentarily appeared on their faces.

"Naruto, your mother and father left this world early. You are… a good child! Don't you wish to live a long life? You can enjoy longevity if you become an immortal and live for a very, very long time. Go now. There comes a day when the eyas is grown and must fly from the nest." An elder with white hair walked out from the crowd, and paused briefly when he said the three words "a good child."

"You must persevere no matter what complications you run into in the outside world. Don't come back after walking out of the village, because your road is ahead of you!" The old man's face was benevolent as he patted the youth's shoulder.

"A long life…" Naruto trembled, his eyes slowly becoming more resolute. Being encouraged all around by his fellow villagers, he firmly nodded his head, looked profoundly at the surroundings and fellow villagers, then turned around and took large strides, gradually moving away from the village.

As they watched the departing figure of the youngster, all of the villagers' emotions were stirred. The reluctance within their eyes were instantly replaced with joy. The seemingly benevolent elder from before now shuddered, tears began streaming down.

"Heavens have eyes, this weasel, he finally… finally left, who was it that told him that there were immortals in the vicinity? You have done a great merit to this village!"

"This weasel is finally willing to leave! Oh the poor chickens of my house. Just because this weasel was scared of the cries of the chickens, he used some sort of method to compel a crowd of children to eat chicken, and all the chickens within the entire village were eaten…"

"Today is a new year!" The sounds of celebration immediately resounded throughout this small village, excessively overflowing to the point where some people brought out gongs and drums and happily struck them.

Outside the village, Naruto hadn't walked far when he heard the celebratory sound of drums and gongs come out from the village.

Pausing in his steps, the expression on his face turned somewhat strange. Sighing, he made his way up Mao'er Mountain, accompanied by the sounds of celebration.

Although the mountain was not tall, bushes and shrubs could be seen everywhere. Even if it was early morning, his surroundings were all dark and extremely peaceful.

"I heard Er Gou say that he saw immortals flying through the sky when he was being chased by a wild boar a few days ago…" Naruto thought as he walked down the road, his heart thumping rapidly. Suddenly, an abrupt sound similar to a wild boar was heard from the trees nearby. This sound made the tense Naruto feel a

cold chill run down his back.

"Who, who's there!" Naruto's right hand quickly brought out four axes and six machetes from within his traveling bag. He still did not feel reassured, so he also took out a small black incense stick from his pouch, firmly holding onto it.

"Don't come out, don't come out by any means! I have axes, machetes, and the incense stick in my hand can even summon Heavenly Thunder, calling for immortals to descend! If you dare come out, then die by the clap of thunder!" Naruto gave a trembling shout, trying to frantically escape as he carried those weapons, and hurriedly followed the mountain road as he ran. Along the sides of the road, there was the chaotic ding dong sound as the axes and machetes fell all over the ground.

Perhaps they were actually frightened by him, but no beasts ran out when the crashing sound faded away. Naruto's complexion paled, as he wiped away cold sweat. He had a mind to give up continuing his uphill ascension, but he thought of how the incense stick in his hand was set aside for him by his parents before they died. It was said that an ancestor once saved an immortal in dire straits, and when that immortal left, he left behind this piece of incense to repay the debt. Zeng Yan would take on a disciple of the Uzumaki family's bloodline, and as long as the incense stick was ignited, the immortal would arrive.

However, this piece of incense had been lit more than 10 times to this day. During all those times, not even one immortal had appeared from start to finish, making Naruto doubt whether immortals would even come. This time he had decided to go on this journey partly because there was not much of the incense left, and partly because he had heard somebody in the village talk about sightings of immortals flying across the sky during the past few days.

Thus, he ended up here. His thoughts were along the lines of, 'the closer he was to them, the better his chance of being noticed by the immortal.'

After hesitating for a while, Naruto gnashed his teeth and continued on. Luckily the mountain was not very high, because he was already struggling to catch his breath by the time he reached the mountain peak. Standing there, he looked down at the distant mountain village, his expression full of regret. He looked at the tiny black stick of incense in his hand. This incense had been lit many times and there really wasn't much of it left.

"These past three years, mother and father have been looking over me. This time I must succeed!" Naruto took a deep breath and lit the incense. Suddenly, fierce winds came blowing from the four directions, and dark clouds covered the sky in a blink of an eye. Lightning strikes cut across the air as deafening thunder claps resounded next to Naruto's ear.

The sound was extremely loud, its powerful aura causing Naruto to shake in fear. He felt that lightning could strike at any moment and kill him instantly, and this made him instinctively want to spit on the incense to put it out. However, he restrained himself.

"In three years, I've lit this stick of incense twelve times. This is the thirteenth time, and I must contain myself. Naruto, don't be scared. I shouldn't be smited to death…" Naruto recalled his experiences of the past three years. Not counting this attempt, he'd lit the incense twelve times and had always been greeted with the sight of crashing thunder and flashes of lightning. The immortal never arrived, and it had frightened him so much that he'd always spat out a mouthful of spittle to extinguish the flame. It was odd – this incense looked extraordinary, but it was also extinguished as soon as it was doused with water.

While Naruto was scared out of his wits and struggling to withstand the roaring thunder, not far from there, a blaze of rainbow light was whistling towards him.

Inside the blaze of light was a middle aged man. He wore elegant clothing, and his demeanor was like that of a living god. However, his movement was full of difficulty, and if one looked closely, they could see that there was a deep sense of fatigue behind his expression.

"I can't wait to see what kind of person you are in the end, and why you have lit the incense during these past three years!"

Thinking of the grievances he had had to suffer in these past years, the middle aged man became even angrier. Three years ago, he sensed that someone had burnt the incense that he had congealed using his own lifeforce years before due to a fateful encounter.

It had took him until now to track it down. Originally, he had estimated that it would just be a short trip. Just as he caught the scent of the past, before he could get very far, the signal would disappear, severing the line of communication. If it was just one time, it wouldn't have mattered, but the signal had been lit over ten times in these three years.

This had forced him to remain around this area. Each time he ran out to search, the signal would be abruptly cut. Back and forth, this went on for three entire years…

In the distance, he could make out Mao'er mountain, standing atop of which was Naruto. He was enraged beyond words. In the blink of an eye, he reached the mountain peak. His hand swung out and directly extinguished the dying incense.

The sound of thunder disappeared in an instant. Naruto stared blankly for a while, raised his head, took one glance, and saw that the addition of a middle-aged man by his side.

"Immortal?" Naruto very carefully began to speak, somewhat in doubt, and stealthily picked up an axe behind his back.

"I am Toruho, are you a descendant of the Uzumaki Family?" The middleaged practitioner's eyes were like lightning; he didn't even spare a glance at the axe behind Naruto's back. Instead, he observed Naruto closely. He felt that this boy's delicate features were very similar to that of his saviour's that year. His qualifications were also not bad, his heart seemingly pure, and he also did not look dumb.

"This younger generation is a Uzumaki clan descendant, Naruto." Naruto blinked and replied in a small voice. Even though, in his heart, he was terrified, his eyes were still bright and his back was straight.

"Let me ask you, in order to finish lighting this incense, how did it take you three whole years?" The middle-aged practitioner unenthusiastically opened his mouth and asked. In these three years, this was the question he wanted to know the answer to the most.

When Naruto heard this question, his mind rapidly spun, and then his face assumed a melancholy expression, looking into the distance at the village at the bottom of the mountain.

"This younger generation is a person who heavily values his relationships. I could not find it in my heart to abandon those folks. Each time I lit the incense, they wouldn't let me go. Right now they are still at the foot of the mountain, grieving because of my lack of presence."

The middle-aged practitioner looked at him blankly. This reason was one he didn't expect previously. The livid look in his eyes lessened a little. Merely from these words, he could see that this child's inherent nature was not bad.

But when his eyes fell towards the village down the mountain, his soul did a sweep of the area. All he could hear was the villagers celebrating while chanting "Woo hoo, the weasel has left." His face became ugly as he felt a headache growing. On the outside, this boy looked like a clever and simple kid, but Naruto unexpectedly had such a belly full of sins beneath his facade.

"Speak the truth!" the middle-aged practitioner shifted his gaze to him and spoke with a thunderous voice, scaring Naruto.

"You can't blame me for that. Your damn incense – lightning strikes every time it is lit which nearly killed me on multiple occasions. It is already not a small feat for me to dodge it on 13 occasions." Naruto pitifully protested.

The middle-aged practitioner stared at Naruto, tongue-tied.

"Since you are so scared, why did you still try to forcefully light the incense over ten times?" asked the middle-age practitioner.

"I am afraid of death, but doesn't cultivation lead to a long life? I want a long life," Naruto said with an aggrieved air.

The middle-age practitioner was once again speechless, however, he felt that this obsession had some merits to it. If thrown into the faction to train for a while, it could perhaps change that attitude of his.

As he was pondering this, he picked up Naruto with a flick of his sleeve and took off, becoming a rainbow streaking towards the horizon.

"Come with me."

"Where to? Isn't this a bit too high… " Naruto saw himself flying in the sky with the abyss below him. His face immediately turned white. He threw away his axe and clung tightly to the immortal's legs.

The middle-age practitioner took a look at his legs and helplessly spoke.

"Spirit Creek Sect."

Brothers and sisters, we have been separated for two months – a very long time. Have you all missed me, as I have missed you all very much!

For this book, I have created a detailed synopsis. Every time I review the plot of this synopsis, all of me is very excited; the feeling of having the courage to ignite. I am very pleased that tomorrow, there is an official renewal where I am back to one chapter at noon and one chapter in the evening!

I'm very excited, as we have been silent for several months! Now that we have arrived, we want…to fight from the beginning again!

The novel is just released, brother and sisters, so don't forget to add it to your collection and recommend it; this is extremely crucial!

Please add to collection! Please recommend!

Allow everyone to know, that we…have returned!

Our objection is still…to press an announcement, to recommend an announcement, first!

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Hearthfire Kitchen

Spirit Creek Sect, which was located within the Eastforest Continent, belonged to an offshoot of the lower reaches of the Tongtian River. Established on both the northern and southern banks of the Tongtian River, and with over ten thousand years of history, its name inspired awe throughout the land.

The sect had eight cloud-covered mountain peaks lined up across the Tongtian River. Among them, four of the peaks stood upon the northern bank, while the southern bank had three. The final peak, which was also the most majestic one of them all, was surprisingly situated in the middle of the Tongtian River.

Brilliant white snow could be seen starting about halfway up the mountain. It covered the peak, shrouding the summit. Only the lower half of the mountain, which was hollowed out by the golden water surging forward from the river, was visible. This made the mountain resemble a bridge-like structure.

At this time a colorful streak of light sped through the air just outside the southern bank of the sect. This streak of light, containing the middleaged practitioner Toruho and Naruto, shot towards the miscellaneous chores region of the third peak. A faint scream could be heard as the beam shot past.

Naruto felt as if he was going to die of fear. Throughout the entire flight he saw countless huge mountains, and he often felt that he was losing his grip on the the other party's thigh.

The world blurred together, and by the time it had finally stopped, they had landed outside a watchtower. Naruto sank to the ground, and his legs trembled as he looked at his surroundings. It was like they were in a completely different world when compared to the village.

A large stele was erected beside the watchtower in front of him. There were three gigantic words written in bold, cursive calligraphy on its surface.

Miscellaneous Chores Department.

Beside the giant rock, a pockmark-faced woman was sitting. As soon as she saw Toruho arrive, she stood up to pay her respects.

"Send this child to the Hearthfire Kitchens." Toruho did not say another word. He turned around, no longer paying any attention to Naruto. Then he transformed into a beam of light and disappeared into the distance.

When the pockmark-faced woman heard the two words, 'Hearthfire Kitchen', she became dumbfounded. Her gaze swept over Naruto before giving him one of the sect's Miscellaneous Chores pouches. She expressionlessly gave him an explanation before leading him out of the watchtower. Throughout this journey he saw numerous courtyards, countless watchtowers and limestone pathways along with fragrant flowers and foliage—making it look like a paradise. As he looked around, the nervousness and apprehension in Naruto's rapidly beating heart slightly lessened.

"Such a good place! This is much better than the village." Naruto's eyes brimmed with expectation. The beautiful scenery along the way became increasingly brilliant and outstanding as he continued to forge ahead. He even caught occasional glimpses of ethereal-looking beauties passing by. This immediately gave Naruto an exceedingly positive impression of the sect.

A moment later, Naruto became even happier, especially when he saw what was up ahead. It was a seven storey watchtower; the whole building was sparkling, translucent, and clear. There were even manchurian cranes flying past in the sky.

"Senior sister, we're almost there, right?" Naruto asked in momentary excitement.

"Yes, it's there." The pockmark-faced woman was still expressionless as she replied softly, pointing to a small road to one side. Naruto looked in the direction that she was poin

ting. After casting a gaze filled with expectation, his whole being became petrified. He rubbed his eyes and looked carefully.

Unfortunately what greeted him was a small road that was broken and cracked in several places, with run-down and tattered surroundings and several straw houses that looked as though they could collapse at any moment. Not to mention there were even some strange smells that wafted from over there…

Naruto felt like weeping but he had no tears. He clutched at his last trace of hope and asked the pockmark-faced woman.

"Senior sister… did you point in the wrong direction?"

"No." The pockmarked woman said indifferently as she set foot on the road. Naruto felt all of his wondrous daydreams collapse in a flash and followed her with a bitter expression on his face.

He hadn't walked very far before he saw the end of the small, dilapidated road. There were a few huge black woks scattered haphazardly around the place. With a careful glance, he noticed that there was a big fatty under each huge black wok, their brain was full of intestinal fat [1]; it almost seemed like grease could be squeezed out from them. It wasn't the usual amount of fat―especially for the fattest person inside, who looked similar to a mountain of meat. Naruto was already worried about him possibly exploding.

Around Naruto there were several hundred huge woks around the fatties which they were currently adding water and rice to.

The meat mountain noticed the newly arrived people. Realising that it was the pockmark-faced girl, he became elated. He carried a ladle as he ran towards them, causing the ground to shake. His entire body jiggled as he ran, producing countless ripples. Naruto stared flabbergasted and subconsciously tried to reached out for his axe.

"This morning I heard the lucky magpie sing, so it was actually heralding big sis! Could it be that you have already changed your mind, big sis? Do you feel that I have some air of talent, and wish to become Dao partners with me on this gorgeous morning?" The meat mountain's eyes revealed an lecherous glint as he shouted while running.

"I was told to escort him here to join your Hearthfire Kitchens. My charge has been delivered so I'm taking my leave!" After the pockmark-faced woman saw the meat mountain, she quickly drew back, her complexion extremely unsightly and somewhat enraged.

Naruto gasped. He had already been mindful of that pockmarkfaced woman along the way; her features were simply the work of devils. He wondered what kind of tastes this big fatty had to actually possess such a lecherous look even in this situation.

Before Naruto even finished his thought, that meat mountain had already appeared before him with a whoosh, directly blocking out the sunlight and engulfing the boy with his shadow.

Naruto glanced up at this giant whose fat was constantly jiggling. He swallowed down his saliva. This was the first time he had met such an obese person.

The meat mountain diverted his bitter gaze from the direction of the pockmarked woman and swept a glance at Naruto.

"Oh hoh, you are just a newbie, yet you have already managed to cut in front of Xu Baocai and steal his position. That was no simple feat."

"Senior brother, I am… I am Naruto…" Naruto felt that the other party's titanic body was too overwhelming. The pressure the meat mountain exerted was too great, and he could not help but take several steps back.

"Naruto? Hmm… pearly white skin, exquisite body and pure looking. Not bad, not bad, your name is very fitting."[2] The meat mountain's eyes lit up. His hands clapped down on Naruto's shoulder, almost knocking Naruto over.

"What is big brother's name?" Naruto asked as he sucked in a breath. Disdainfully looking at the meat mountain, he decided to mock the other person with his own name.

"My name is Senior Fatty Choji, that is Second Junior Fatty Huang, and Third Junior Fatty Hei…" The meat mountain snickered.

Upon hearing the name, Naruto deeply felt that the people standing in front of him matched those names perfectly, and he immediately dropped the idea of mocking them.

"As for you, in the future, you will be named Ninth Uzumaki … little junior brother, you are too skinny! This way, you would only make our

Hearthfire Kitchen lose face, but it's fine, you can relax. In one year, you will grow to be as fat as us too. In the future, your name shall be Ninth Junior Fatty Uzumaki ." Senior Fatty Choji patted his chest, his fleshy body vibrating vigorously.

After hearing the name 'Ninth Junior Fatty Uzumaki ', Naruto's facial expression creased to the point where tears of bitterness could be squeezed out from it.

"Since you are our ninth junior brother it means you are no longer an outsider. Our Hearthfire Kitchen has always had a custom of carrying woks; do you see this wok behind my back? It's known as the king of woks. It's manufactured from refined metal, and an Earth-Fire Formation was engraved upon it. The fragrance of the spiritual rice cooked within this wok far surpasses that of spiritual rice cooked with other woks. Go, choose one for yourself and carry it upon your back; that will showcase our awesomeness." Senior Fatty Choji patted the big black wok upon his back, bragging.

"Senior Brother, about carrying woks, can I not…" Naruto took a glance at the wok on big fatty's back and instantly realized that everyone from the Hearthfire Kitchen carried woks. After imagining the appearance of himself carrying a huge black wok, he hastily spoke.

"How could that be? Carrying woks is the tradition of our kitchen faction. Later on when you are amongst the inner disciples, if people see you carry a wok, they will know you belong to the kitchen faction and will not dare to look down on you. Even though we work in the kitchens, we have a big reputation!" Fatty Choji stared at Naruto with widened eyes. Without pause, he carried Naruto to the back of the hut. There, thousands of woks lay dormant, the majority of which were covered in a layer of dust. It was clear that it had been a long time since anyone had been here.

"Ninth Junior Brother, pick one and then we will go and cook. If the rice isn't ready in time, the outer disciples will complain!" Fatty Choji shouted. He then rushed out with many other Fatties, carrying with them hundreds of woks.

Naruto sighed and stared at the stacks of woks lying about. While he was thinking about which wok to choose, he noticed that in the corner laid a seemingly warped wok.

The shape of the wok rim seemed to be a bit unique. It was not round, but instead oval. At a glance, it didn't even look like a wok, but instead a turtle shell. There were also faintly visible writings on it.

"Mhm?" Naruto's gaze sharpened, and he quickly walked towards it. After squatting down and examining it, he took it out and then examined it again in detail. Then, his eyes gleamed with delight.

He had loved turtles since he was young, because turtles symbolized longevity. The reason he came to cultivate was also to obtain longevity. Now that he saw this wok which resembled a turtle shell, he thought it was auspicious and a sign of good luck.

When he carried this wok out, Fatty Choji saw it from afar and ran over while carrying a large spoon.

"Ninth junior brother, why did you choose this one; it has been left here unused for countless years. Since it looks like a turtle shell, nobody ever chooses to carry it on their back either. This one… Ninth junior brother, are you sure?" Fatty Choji patted his own stomach and advised in good faith.

"I'm certain. I want this wok." Naruto firmly replied. Every time he looked at it, he liked the wok more and more.

Fatty Choji advised him once more, but after seeing Naruto remain insistent on the wok, he merely glanced at him weirdly. Without saying anything, he organised for Naruto to stay in a straw hut behind this Hearthfire Kitchen, and hurriedly left.

It was already dusk. Naruto was carefully examining the turtleshaped wok within his thatched hut. He discovered that there were ten dark stripes on its backside that were nearly impossible to discover without a close inspection.

He felt that this was no ordinary wok, and carefully placed it on the stove. Only now did he look at his surroundings. It was very simple―containing a bed, table, and a chair. As he continued his observations, there was a sudden flicker of violet light inside the wok but it disappeared without a trace.

For Naruto, this had been an eventful day. Although he had now arrived in the world of immortals which he had longed for, in the end, he was still at a loss within his heart.

A moment later, he breathed in deeply, and a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.

"I want a long life!" Naruto sat down and pulled out the pouch given to him by the pockmark-faced girl from the Miscellaneous Chore Department.

Inside, there was a medicinal pill, a wooden sword, and an incense stick, along with a set of overalls. There was also a token and a bamboo tome filled with small letters.

"Violet Qi Cauldron Technique, Qi Condensing Manual."

At dusk, Naruto was inside his hut, looking at the bamboo tome with high expectations while the Fatties were busy inside the Hearthfire Kitchen. He joined the sect to gain longevity, and this tome in his hand was the first step towards that. Taking several deep breaths, Naruto opened up the bamboo tome and began to read.

After a moment, a glimmer of excitement revealed itself in Naruto's eyes. The tome contained three diagrams. According to the manual, cultivation was divided into two realms: Qi Condensing and Foundation Establishment. Furthermore, the Violet Qi Cauldron

Technique itself was divided into ten stages, corresponding with the ten stages of the Qi Condensing realm.

When a practitioner reached the first stage, they would be able to harness external matter to aid themselves. Once they reached the third stage, they would be able to harness less than half a cauldron. At the sixth stage, they would be able to harness the majority of a cauldron and a full cauldron at the ninth stage. At the peak of the Qi Condensing Realm, they would be able to harness two cauldrons. [3]

It was just that this bamboo tome only contained the first three stages of the technique. The remaining stages were not included. In addition, this Violet Qi Cauldron Technique also required one to follow a particular breathing pattern and specific motions in order to cultivate.

Naruto closed his eyes, focused his spirit, adjusted his breath, and mimicked the motions depicted within the bamboo tome. After persisting for three breaths, his body began to ache and he let out a scream. He was unable to continue, the breathing technique didn't provide him with enough air to breathe.

"It's too hard. It says up there that by cultivating in accordance with this first picture, one should be able to sense a trace of Qi faintly running through their body. But other than suffering, I didn't feel anything at all." Naruto was a little vexed, but for the sake of immortality he clenched his teeth and tried again. Through the evening he encountered obstacle after obstacle, but not once did he manage to sense any Qi inside his body.

He didn't know that without external forces, even someone who possessed extremely exceptional aptitude would require at least one month to simply cultivate this first stage of the Violet Qi Cauldron Technique. He had only been here for several hours, so it would be impossible for him to be able to sense Qi.

With his entire body currently aching, Naruto stretched. Just before he was about to go wash his face, clamouring sounds suddenly came from outside. Naruto stuck his head out the window and caught a glimpse of a sickly-looking young man standing outside the gates to the Hearthfire Kitchen's courtyard.

"Who took my, Xu Baocai's, designated position? Get the fuck out of here!"

This is the official update! This new book is both fresh and delicate like a young sapling, and urgently needs care and cherishment. I beseech recommendations tickets, I beseech favourites! Recommendations, recommendations, recommendations, favourites, favourites, favourites; this is an important matter, so I need to repeat it three times! [4]

This is an idiom to describe someone who is extremely obese.

Naruto: 白(white) 小 (little) 纯 (pure)

1 cauldron = approximately 800 kilograms

To support Er Gen, please read [CKtalon & Etvolare's Qidian Guide] and recommend his new novel on [Qidian]

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Six Truths

The moment Naruto peeked his head outside, the dirty and skinny-looking youth instantly saw him. His eyes landed on Naruto's face with an overbearing deamanor.

"You, you're the one who stole my spot!"

"It wasn't me!" Naruto didn't have enough time to shrink away, and thus he was forced to adopt an innocent demeanor.

"Lies. With your scrawny body and small head, it's obvious that you're new!" Baocai said as he clenched his fist and glared at Xiao Uzumaki chun.

"This truly doesn't relate to me," Naruto whispered, feeling wronged. He glared at Xu Baocai with a fury that seemed as if it was about to explode forth.

"I don't care. You and I will fight to the death in three days at the hill to the south of the sect. If you win, I shall endure this humiliation… but if you lose, that spot shall belong to me." Xu Baocai announced in a loud voice. He then withdrew a blood red letter from breast pocket, and threw it directly onto the windowsill in front of Naruto. On it, the word 'kill' was densely written countless times in blood.

Naruto glanced at the countless number of bloody words on the letter and felt a murderous aura that shook him to the bone. That, coupled with the life-and-death challenge, made Naruto suck in a breath of air.

"Senior Brother, how big of a matter is this? Using your own blood, you wrote so many words… Just how painful was that?"

"How big of a matter is this? In these past few years I've cut down on my expenses, and in doing so, I have managed to save up seven years' worth of Spirit Stones — seven years! Let me repeat, exactly seven years! I gave them to the minister out of respect, and only then did I barely manage to receive the qualifications to enter the Hearthfire Kitchens. Yet, you just had to cut right in front of me. You and I are irreconcilable enemies! Three days from now, one of us must die!" Xu Baocai exclaimed frenziedly, gnashing his teeth.

"I'm not going then." Naruto hurriedly picked up the blood letter with his fingertips and proceeded to throw it out the window.

"You!" Just as Xu Baocai was about to explode, he felt the ground tremble, and a meat mountain suddenly appeared beside him. Oblivious to when it had happened, Senior Fatty Choji was already standing there and inspecting Xu Baocai with cold eyes.

"Ninth Fatty, go and scrub bowls with your Second Senior Brother. As for you, don't make such a loud ruckus here. Go play at the side." As Senior Fatty Choji waved his hand, whistling winds surged.

Xu Baocai's expression changed, and he took a few consecutive steps back. He had wanted to say something, yet after seeing Senior Fatty Choji, he held it in. In the end, he looked at Naruto with venomous eyes, before he angrily left.

Naruto pondered for a moment. He felt that that person's departing gaze was too malicious, and in order to play it safe, he decided that it was best to not casually leave the Hearthfire Kitchen. By staying there, Xu Baocai wouldn't dare to come in.

Several days passed by in a flash. Naruto had slowly begun to adapt to the work expected of the Hearthfire Kitchen. At night, he would practice the Violet Qi Cauldron Technique. Unfortunately, his progress was slow, and no matter what he did, he was unable to last for more than four seconds. It was a matter which frustrated Naruto a lot.

One night while he was cultivating, he suddenly heard the excited voices of the senior fatties coming from within the Hearthfire Kitchens.

"The gate is closing! The gate is closing! Secon

d Fatty Huang, hurry up and come back!"

"Third Fatty Hei, make sure no one is spying on us!"

Naruto stared blankly. This time, he had learned to be smart; he didn't look out through the window, but through the door cracks. When he looked outside, however, he saw a few, incomparably agile fatties running into the courtyard, as if they were flying – mysteriously busy. [1]

Very quickly, the gates of the Hearthfire Kitchen were shut tight. An unknown method was used, actually creating a thin layer of mist which made the few fatties' silhouettes become even more mysterious.

Naruto stared for a long time until the few fatties had disappeared, having fled inside. Rather mysteriously, they encircled a thatched hut together. Even with the mist separating them, he could still clearly distinguish the mighty Fatty Choji's silhouette as he seemed to be speaking in a low voice. For secrets such as this, he felt that less he knew, the better. Therefore, he took several steps back and strived to act as though he had not seen anything.

But right at that moment, Big Fatty Choji's voice resounded.

"Ninth Fatty, in the end, you've already seen it. Hurry up and join us." The voice wasn't loud as it had been intentionally suppressed.

Naruto blinked. He exposed a lovable expression, making him seem as harmless as livestock, as he walked over.

The moment he approached, Big Fatty Choji grabbed him and brought Naruto to his side as the few fatties by his side surrounded him. Immediately, he caught onto a scent that stood out from the rest. Breathing in, the scent into countless warm currents as it spread throughout his body.

He saw that the others all had pleasurable expressions on their faces. Naruto's was shocked when he saw that within Big Fatty Choji's hand, he held a lingzhi mushroom that was the size of an infant's head. The large lingzhi mushroom was sparkling and pure. From just a single glance, it could be discerned that it was definitely not ordinary. [2]

"Ninth Junior Brother. Here, have a bite." Big Fatty Choji said as he glanced at Naruto and passed the lingzhi mushroom over.

"Ah?" Naruto looked at the lingzhi mushroom as he shifted his gaze onto the several Fatty Senior Brothers. Seeing Naruto hesitate, Big Fatty Choji immediately grew angry and displayed an expression as if he was saying 'if you don't eat it, you won't hear the end of this'.

Besides him, even the surrounding Second Junior Fatty Huang and Third Junior Fatty Hei were also staring at him with the same look.

Naruto swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Such a precious and priceless lingzhi mushroom was actually given to him like a drumstick and then he was even encouraged to take a bite. It was a good deal, and if he didn't accept it, there would be a fall out. He had dreamed of situations like this before, but this was the first time he experienced this in reality.

Naruto's heart beat wildly as he clenched his teeth and received the lingzhi mushroom and resolutely bit a mouthful of it. The lingzhi mushroom melted the moment it entered his mouth and fused into his body. The pleasurable sensation that was countless times stronger than before made Naruto's face turn red.

"Good. You're one of us now that you've eaten this hundred year lingzhi mushroom that Elder Sun was going to use for soup." Big Fatty Choji had a satisfied expression on his face as he bit, eating a small portion before he threw it over to the next fatty. Very quickly, everyone had bitten it, removing a whole fold from the lingzhi mushroom. When they looked at Naruto, they all had a smile that had acknowledged him as one of them.

Naruto let out a gentle laugh. It was obvious that he had followed their bad examples. He had thought that these senior brothers who all ate to this level of obesity had no problem, and had assumed that these kinds of eating habits were safe. It was no wonder that Xu Baocai wanted to challenge him to a duel and wrote all of those words involving murder…

"Senior Brother, this lingzhi mushroom mushroom is really delicious. I've eaten to the point where my entire body is feeling feverish." Naruto licked his lips, anxiously waiting as he looked towards Big Fatty Choji.

When Big Fatty Choji heard these words, his eyes lit up and he let out a hearty laugh. From his bosom he fished out one Solomon's Seal flower in an incomparably straightforward manner, handing it over to Naruto.

"Junior Brother. Now you know how good this place is. Senior Brother didn't deceive you before. Eat. In the future you will strive to eat until you're full!"

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he accepted a large mouthful of cake. He just finished eating as Big Fatty took out a piece of earthen treasure. This golden earthen treasure's fragrance permeated the entire area.

Big Fatty did not need to prompt him again this time as Naruto immediately took a bite. Tasting a sweet and sour mouthful, his whole body relaxed. Big Fatty took out a red spirit fruit with a sweet and unctuous scent. Furthermore, there was a trace of qi circulating within the fruit.

From this point forward, he accepted any lingzhi mushrooms, herbs, spirit fruits, and earthen treasures. Just like the other fatties, he ate until he was full. Naruto ate until he was dizzy; it was like he was intoxicated. Even the top of his head was emitting smoke. He felt as if his body had grown a bit fatter.

As he continued to eat, the Fatty Choji's group of people's eyes grew even more gentle. At the end, they all patted their bellies and laughed, their laughs carrying a sense of camaraderie.

Naruto became intoxicated and spread out his hands and legs. On one hand he gave Fatty Choji's belly a slap, while his foot shot out to the side as he laughed heartily.

"Those Miscellaneous Chores Department, they would smash their own head in order to become an outer disciple. Meanwhile, we would smash our own heads in order to not fulfill the outer disciple quota. Nobody wants to leave, who would want to go outside and become an outer disciple? This place is amazing." The more Fatty Choji looked at Naruto, the more he liked his temperament, and the more proudly he spoke. He took out another ginseng. This ginseng had countless rings around its head, its whiskers dense and numerous. It looked like it had aged for many years.

"Ninth Junior Brother, all of us have already cultivated enough to become the disciple of other sects, but we must hide it. Look, this is a hundred year old ginseng. The disciples of other sects would fight over the right to take a single bite, but look at us." Fatty Choji snapped off a root and popped it in his mouth. After munching loudly and swallowing it, he handed the ginseng to Naruto.

"Senior Brother, I'm full… I really can't eat anymore…" Naruto's eyes blurred; he was really bloated with food. Just as he opened his mouth, Fatty Choji snapped off a root and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Ninth Junior Brother, you're too thin. If you go out like that, no girls in the sect will like you. Girls in our sect only like those similar to us, powerful and full. Here, eat… There is a couplet in our Hearthfire Kitchen. It's like this: 'Preferring to starve to death in Hearthfire Kitchens, instead of going outside the gate to fight.'" Fatty Choji burped. He took out an empty bowl as he pointed to the straw hut behind them, where a couplet was hung.

"Yes, yes, we would rather starve to death here. Mn… starve to death." Seeing this couplet, Naruto slapped his stomach and burped.

Hearing this, Fatty Choji and the others burst into laughter, thinking that Naruto was increasingly adorable.

"Today is a happy day. Let me teach you something, Ninth Junior Brother. Here in the Hearthfire Kitchen, we are very particular about eating, and there is a saying that you must remember. Eat the sides and corners of the lingzhi mushroom; never touch the stem; chop meat with a fierce blade; scape two third of the bone off; add more water to the spiritual porridge; a small half-filled cup of wine."

"These six truths are the conclusions of generations of our seniors. As long as you eat according to it, it can be guaranteed that nothing will go wrong. Now, let us disperse. The supper is now over for the night; the disciples of other sects are still waiting for the soup," Fatty Choji said as he poured rice soup into one bowl after another.

Naruto was confused, his entire head filled with the six truths. Seeing Fatty Choji and the others pouring rice soup into bowls, after sneezing, he squatted down and took an empty bowl in hand. After a detailed observation, he let out a smile.

"Senior Brother, this bowl isn't that good."

Fatty Choji heard this and glanced towards Naruto, revealing a surprised expression.

"Look at this bowl! The bowl doesn't seem big, but it can actually hold a lot. Why don't we make it look big and actually hold very little? So perhaps, make the bottom of this bowl… a bit thicker?" Naruto said with a innocent look, smiling.

Fatty Choji was surprised. He felt as if he was struck by lightning, the fat on his body beginning to vibrate with excitement. His eyes lit up while the breaths of the other fatties also quickened, the fat on their entire bodies also trembling.

With a loud slap, Fatty Choji slapped his thigh and laughed out loud.

"Good, good, good, this is an amazing idea that will leave your name in history, benefiting countless juniors of our Hearthfire Kitchens. Ah! I didn't expect Ninth Junior Brother to appear and act so lovable, but unexpectedly have a belly full of goods. Haha, you were born to be in the Hearthfire Kitchen!" [3]

—

I beseech recommendations!

I beseech favourites!

健步如飞 – running as fast as flying, which basically means: to run so fast, it seemed as if they were flying.

lingzhi mushroom – type of mushroom

Belly full of goods – smart/clever/cunning. Essentially, Narutois, despite his appearance (and name), devious and wily.

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Spirit Refinement

All the Fatties became overjoyed. They all looks towards Naruto, their impression of him was currently at an all time high. They thought not only was this Naruto cute, his gut was also full of dirty tricks. Hence, Senior Fatty Choji decided to rewarded Naruto with a spiritual rice grain.

Naruto smiled happily and returned to his room in a daze. Before he could finish climbing onto his bed, the countless heavenly medicinal treasures condensed inside his body suddenly erupt, causing him to pass out on the ground, snoring.

This sleep was delightfully extraordinary. The next day, Naruto eyes shot opened, his mind in high spirits. He looked down to discover that he has grown fatter by size, his entire body covered in sticky, black grime. He quickly left to clean himself up. The group of Fatty Choji people were currently busy making breakfast for the inner disciples. When they saw Naruto, a smile broke out on their faces.

"Ninth Brother, that dirt is the impurities from inside your body. It will be very beneficial later on during your cultivation without them. In the next few days, we can manage without you. You can come back to work later."

"That spiritual grain is a very good item, remember to eat it quickly, leaving it out for a long time won't do it any good."

Naruto's mind cleared up as he nodded in reply. When he turned to his room, his eyes fell on the turtle shell wok. He carried it outside and gave it a quick scrub before bringing it back and placing it on the stove. He looked at the spiritual rice grain in his hand. This grain was as large as a pinky finger, it was translucent and shiny. There was a lovely fragrance emanating from it.

" The kind of things immortals get to eat truly cannot be compared with normal food." Naruto sighed full of emotion. He threw some wooden logs underneath the stove to kindle the flames. Just as the fire ignited, a current of heatwave flowed out, causing Naruto to quickly retreat. He stared at the flames, amazed.

"This fire is also one of a king, not only does it burn quickly, the flame's temperature is also very high." Naruto turned his eye towards the wood inside the stove. These must no ordinary wooden logs.

Suddenly, after the fire has been ignited, Naruto was surprised to find that the first rune stripe of the turtle shell wok began to slowly glowed. Once it has started, the subsequent stripes of runes began to glow in order from the bottom upwards.

Naruto stared blankly for a while, and then he suddenly slapped his thigh.

" Didn't I already said so, this is a treasure. It is certainly even better then the Senior Brother's wok." The more he looked at it the more extraordinary he has found this wok. He quickly threw the spiritual grain into the heated wok.

While waiting on the side, he picked up the Violet Qi Cauldron Technique manual and began to practice based on the first drawing once more.

After starting for a moment, Naruto's immediately shot opened, he discovered that this technique that has given him extreme difficulty yesterday has suddenly became effortless. He did not felt any discomfort, even the breathing technique did not cause him any trouble.

Instead, it has gave him a refreshing feeling.

He persisted for awhile more. He found that while at the beginning he could at best took three to four breathes, he has now able to surpass eight breathes, and there was no pain.

Enduring his excitement, Naruto forced himself to calm down and persist for thirty more breathes. When his body began to ache, suddenly inside his body appeared a trickle of gas. This gas was cold as ice, and it quickly circulate around his body. Even though

it has dissipated before completing a complete round, this still made Naruto jumped up in excitement.

" There's Qi, haha , there's Qi!" Naruto was so happy he felt like he would go crazy. He paced back and forth inside his room. Thinking back on last night about how he has eaten all those precious treasures, he quietly thought that he really didn't have enough.

"No wonder Senior Zhang said that he would rather starve to death at the Hearthfire Kitchen instead of becoming an outside disciple. This kind of good fortune, even outside disciples cannot hope to have." Naruto quickly sat down and continued to train.

This time, he relied on the Violet Qi Cauldron Technique first stage breathing technique and the motion from the first drawing. He endured for a further sixty breathes in the blink of an eye, at which point a trickle of qi twice as powerful one appeared and quickly moved throughout his body.

By now, Naruto already has some experience. He quickly followed the instructions from the first drawing and quietly attempted to control the path of circulation within his body.

Very quickly, the qi inside him followed his commands and travelled through his pulses. As he persist with the first drawing's guidance, he even began to sense that inside his body there was countless tiny units of cold gas slowly surged out from all over his body. These tiny units condensed into a small droplet and joined the trickle of Qi circulating inside him, causing it grow even bigger.

In the end, the trickle of Qi has turned into a tiny stream. After it made one more complete circulation through his body, Naruto's entire body shook, his head releases a cloud of steam as a sound detonated inside it.

An unprecedented lively sensation were birthed inside his body, torrents of impurities streamed out from his pores ceaselessly.

Inside him, the small stream of Qi still exists, and instead of dissipating over time, it has became a symbiotic part of him. As the flow of Qi slowly travels through him, Naruto opened his eyes, which has turned clearer and livelier.

Even his entire body felt much more nimble than in the past.

"Maintaining a stream of Qi, this is the Violet Qi Cauldron Technique first stage's effect. This also means that I have reached the first stage of Qi Condensing!" Naruto was so happy he couldn't control himself. He left to clean himself.

Fatty Choji's group noticed that he has came out, and gave each other a knowing smile. Towards Naruto's astounding progress, even though they were slightly surprised, they still understood the reason.

When he returned to his room, Naruto breathe in deeply several times and picked up the bamboo tome and observed it closely.

"After reaching the first stage of Qi Condensing, I can manipulate a few items. This is definitely an immortal technique, it can even move things without touching them!" Naruto's eyes brighten, he followed the instructions of from the manual, his two hands forming a simple formation and pointed it at the table next to him. He instantly felt the tiny streams inside of his body responding, they rode his pulses, reaching the very tip of his finger and then shot out from inside.

An invisible thread was created and it attached itself to the table, creating a connection. Unfortunately, just as the connection was made, it grew unstable and snapped.

Naruto's face paled, and only a while later did he fully recovered. Thinking about it carefully, he ignored the table and pulled out a wooden sword. He didn't know what kind of wood was used during it's creation, but while it was not as heavy as the table, it still had quite a heft to it. He lifted his hand and point towards it.

The wooden sword suddenly shook and slowly began to float, but only for a moment, as it immediately fell down.

Naruto also did not became frustrated, and as he repeated this attempt many times, the wooden sword began to float even higher before dropping. Ten inches, twenty inches, thirty inches… by sunset, he was able to fully lift the wooden sword. Even though its speed was not very fast, and it was hard to control, but it would no longer so easily drop like before.

"From this day forward this Naruto is truly on the path of immortality!" Naruto stood there with a proud expression, His left arm backward while his right arm swung wildly in front, causing the wooden sword to fly back and forth.

Only when he did not have any breath left did he retrieved the wooden sword. He wanted to continue his cultivation when suddenly a delicious fragrant flowed out from inside the wok. He lift his head and sucked in a deep breath, and was instantly famished. Today he was busy with training and has completely forgotten that the wok that was stewing the spiritual rice grain. He stepped forward and took off the lid of the wok.

Moments after her lifted up the lid, a thick sweet scent flowed out from the the spiritual rice grain. However the most surprising thing was that inside the rice grain was a blindingly bright rune!

This rune was extremely clear. Looking closely, one can feel an overwhelming sesnation coming from this symbol. After some time, the rune slowly dimmed and became silver. Naruto narrows his eyes, after thinking for abit he picked up the spiritual grain and inspect it closely.

"This symbol looks familiar…" Naruto's eyes seems to be in deep thought. He bent over and looked at the stove and discovered that the fire has long been extinguished, even the wooden log has turned into ashes. The runes stripe on the wok has once again grew dim.

He instantly recognized that the rune inside the spiritual rice grain and the runes on the wok were matched perfectly.

Suppressing his suspicions, and for his own safety, Naruto did not immediately ate the rice grain. He put it inside his pouch and spent some more time pondering. In the end, he left his room and joined the Fatty Choji group in their work.

In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed. In this time, Naruto's progress has came to a grinding halt. His cultivation speed was slow, and when he observed others cooking their spiritual rice grain, he did not see any runes appearing.

Even more curious, he sensed that there was something off about his rice grain, especially because of the turtle shell wok. There was something strange going on. Days later, he went out to buy ingredients with Senior Brother Hei in the outside world. He found out that the Miscellaneous Chores is responsible for going out to designated areas first to find out about the local customs and traditions.

Ever since they returned from outside, Naruto's depress heart has brightened with delight, and he had to try his best to suppress his joy. When he returned to his room, he immediately took out the spiritual grain and observed the rune closely, a strange color shining in his eyes.

"Immortals cultivate in three fundamental paths. The first is Medicinal

Refinement, the second is Qi Refinement, and the third is… Spirit

Refinement!"

"Spirit Refinement!" After some time, he shouted out in one breathe.

Spirit Refinement is a special method of cultivation. The method forcefully inject the power of heavens and earth into items and objects by overtaking the divine process of creation and stealing the Qi from Heaven and Earth to refine the item. No matter if it was medicinal pills or treasures, they can be spiritually refined. Since such method is going against the heavens, there is only a certain probability of success. Once successful, the refined item's quality and strength would be drastically increased, but if the process failed, it could immediately turn the most valuable of treasures into waste.

The most terrifying about Spirit Refinement process is that their effects can be stacked. If an object is successfully refined ten times, its effect could change the heavens and shake the earth.

The more valuable an item, the greater the stacking effect.

The only caveat was that the more times an item is refined, the smaller the chance of them being successfully refined. Even the few great experts at Spirit Refining do not easily dare to try to test their luck. No matter what, the price paid when failed is just too great.

"The records once said, this Spirit Creek Sect has a Guardian Treasure that they have obtained due to a fateful encounter, the ten times refined Sky Horn Sword!" Naruto could feel his mouth getting dry. He swallowed down his saliva, his eyes showing signs of fear and bewilderment. He glanced at the turtle shell wok with its dozens of dim runes stripes, his heart jumping through his throat.

Right now, he was sure. The reason why the rune has appeared on the spiritual rice grain was all because of this wok!

Hesitating, Naruto clenched his teeth, if he does not end up solving this mystery, he will not be able to get any sleep. But he also knew that if this wok was really not ordinary, even more mysterious than he has thought, he must definitely never let another soul know of it.

That's why he waited for until midnight to approach the turtle shell wok. He breathe in deeply and retrieved the wooden sword from the bag. Just like on that day he has thrown in the spiritual rice grain, he threw the wooden sword inside the wok.

Translator: Er-kun

Chapter 5 Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – What am I to do if I lose this life of mine?

Nothing particularly special or unusual occurred the moment the wooden sword entered the wok. "Eh?" Naruto uttered a faint sound of surprise. Not daring to believe it, he opened his eyes wide and gazed attentively at the wooden sword.

But even after waiting for a long while, he still didn't notice anything unusual happening. Naruto thought for moment, taking a glance at the design on the tortoiseshell-patterned wok, and then looked at the wood ashes inside the fire stove. Pondering, he turned around and left the room. Returning a moment later, he now had a few pieces of wood in his hands that were identical to the ones within the fire stove.

This wood was quite rare in the Hearthfire Kitchens, so he was only able to obtain some after asking Senior Fatty Choji.

When he set the wood alight, Naruto instantly saw the first stripe of the design on the tortoiseshell-patterned wok light up once more. At the same time, the fire that was rapidly burning away the wood gradually started to diminish. As Naruto's thoughts stirred, the wooden sword inside the wok suddenly shone with a blinding silver light.

Naruto took a few steps back. When the light dissipated shortly after, he immediately felt a fierce aura emanating from within the wok. Taking a deep breath, he carefully approached it and saw that one stroke of the glaring silver pattern had appeared on the wooden sword in the wok, similar to the one that had appeared on the Spiritual Rice. The pattern was gradually darkening, eventually turning a dark silver color!

The sword's entire blade had changed slightly, and even though it was still a wooden sword, it gave off a sense of sharpness equal to that of a metal one. Naruto's eyes brightened as he went forth, prudently taking the wooden sword out of the wok. It felt somewhat heavier, and when brought close, it gave off a threatening feeling of cold sharpness.

"I did it! I've successfully refined the spirit of this wooden sword once!" Naruto was in ecstasy as he held onto the wooden sword, incapable of keeping his hands off it. Then, he looked at the wok and pondered about what he should do with it. In the end, he decided to just leave it there. The more it was showcased like this, the more inconspicuous it would be.

As for the Spiritual Rice, it could just be eaten; the wooden sword couldn't be discovered by others so easily. Naruto pondered upon whether using some dyes to cover it up would reduce the glowing of the spiritual pattern.

As he thought of this, he tidied up his things and walked out of the room while assuming a normal countenance. Several nights later, he brushed the various colored liquids he had gathered from the Hearthfire Kitchens these last few days onto the wooden sword. This caused the sword to look multi-colored, tattered and worn-out. He kept at it for a while, and soon discovered that the spiritual pattern was indeed covered to an acceptable extent, becoming less noticeable than before. Only after reaching this conclusion did he nod with satisfaction.

In the following days, Naruto was like a fish in water, easily getting along with the few Senior Brothers in the Hearthfire Kitchens. He had become familiar with the work in the Hearthfire Kitchens, the most important thing he learnt being that different spirit foods required different fires. These fires were even separated into single-colored fires and dual-colored fires. He had also discovered that the wood underneath the tortoiseshell-patterned wok was precisely the spirit wood needed to create single colored fire.

Senior Fatty Choji was especially fond of Naruto, giving him extra care. After a few months, just like Fatty Choji had foreseen in the beginning, Uzumaki Xi

aochun had indeed become quite fat.

The present him was in no way similar to the skinny boy who had initially entered the sect, and had already become many times fatter. Along with this, he had become even more fair skinned, harmless looking, and fit his name, Ninth Fatty Uzumaki .

As for the matter of obtaining seconds, he had participated in that more than once. However, what confused him was the fact that although his weight had been rapidly increasing, his cultivation was still proceeded at a snail's pace. In the end, he decided to stop thinking about it and went back to eating and drinking with his Seniors all day. Regarding the various matters of the sect, Naruto had gained a better understanding by listening to Fatty Choji these few months.

He knew that within the sect, there was a separation between Inner and Outer Court disciples. In the Miscellaneous Chores Department, one could undergo one of the peak's trials by fire after breaking through to the 3rd layer of Qi Condensation. If they succeeded, they would become an official outer disciple of that peak. Only once you became an outer disciple could you be considered a member of the Spirit Creek Sect.

However, this could be compared to a fish trying to transform into a dragon. Every month, each peak would only accept the top 3 disciples. Therefore, the amount of people who became outer sect disciples in the span of a year stayed consistent.

One day, Seventh Fatty, who was originally supposed to go down the mountain to buy materials, was late. As such, Fatty Choji waved his hand and ordered Naruto to go in his place. Naruto hesitated for a moment, remembering that he hadn't seen Xu Baocai for a few months. Although he reasoned that he would be fine, his heart wouldn't calm down. After returning to his room, he took out a couple of kitchen knives and dressed himself in several layers of leather, which made him seem more like a ball.

Still not feeling reassured, he found a sturdy wok and strapped it to his back. Only then did he finally decide to depart. Swaying, he walked out of the Hearthfire Kitchens and descended down the mountain.

While he was walking along the sect's limestone path, Bao Naruto looked around at his elegant surroundings, a deep sense of superiority coming forth from within his mind.

"How fast time flies! I, Naruto, have already cultivated for several back to when I was still a mortal, living in the village was so pitiful." He sighed as he muttered to himself. With his hands behind his back, a couple of kitchen knives around his waist, a wok on his back, and the several layers of leather he was wearing, he truly looked like a worn-out rubber ball. On his trip, he encountered many people working in the Miscellaneous Chores Department who all raised their eyebrows upon seeing him.

In particular, there were quite a few female disciples who would cover their mouths and laugh when they saw Naruto passing by. Their laughter was as pleasant as the ringing of bells.

Naruto's round face was tinged with red as he felt even more formidable. With a cough, he walked onwards with his head held high and his chest out.

Not long after, before he had even left the third peak's Miscellaneous Chores area, he suddenly spotted a group of Miscellaneous Chores disciples in the distance. They all wore excited expressions and were hurriedly running in the same direction. The place that they were heading towards was the mountain path of the Third Peak, where Outer Sect disciples could usually be seen wandering around.

More and more Miscellaneous Chores disciples were excitedly running over there. Naruto was taken aback at this scene and quickly grabbed the weakest and most timid looking disciple who passed by.

"Fellow disciple, did something happen? Why is everyone running over there?" Naruto asked in curiosity.

This youngster was clearly displeased about being grabbed, but when he saw the wok hanging on Naruto's back, the displeasure in his eyes turned into admiration and his expression relaxed.

The youngster explained, "So it was actually a Senior disciple from the

Hearthfire Kitchens. You go and take a look. I heard that the genius Outer Sect disciples Zhouhong and Zhang Yide are currently at the mountain, partaking in the trial by fire. It is rumored that despite both being at the Sixth Stage of Qi Condensation, they share mutual animosity. We shouldn't miss the opportunity to watch this kind of event. Perhaps by watching them we could comprehend some concepts and reap a few benefits." As he was afraid that he wouldn't get a good spot if he arrived late, he hurriedly ran towards the scene.

In his curiousity, Naruto also began running over, following the stream of people. He left the Miscellaneous Chores region and arrived at the base of the third peak. At the base of the third peak, he discovered that there was an enormous and vast stage.

This enormous stage was 3300 meters in length and was currently surrounded by countless Miscellaneous Chores disciples who even crowded the upper reaches of the mountain. There were quite a few

Outer disciples dressed in luxurious clothes who were also spectating.

On top of the towering stage were two youths clothed in similarly luxurious robes. One had a scarred face, while the other had a face as white as jade. Their figures intersected and a burst of explosions boomed.

Both of their bodies radiated with the light of shining treasures. The scar-faced youth had a small flag that was moving about freely, as if there was an incorporeal hand wielding it. It transformed into a mist tiger which released an earsplitting roar.

The figure of the youth with skin as white as jade scuttled back and forth with a small blue sword before slashing out with a spirit wave that whistled forth nimbly.

Naruto stared wide eyed at this scene as he drew in a deep breath. He could also control his wooden sword, but when compared to the youth with skin as white as jade, Naruto wasn't even close to his level.

These two opponents were completely unrestrained and full of bloodthirst. Their numerous clashes were all dangerous, and new injuries appeared with each one. Although neither of them had received a fatal wound, it was still a ghastly sight.

This was the first time Naruto had seen a battle between cultivators. His original impression of immortals had been completely different; this kind of vicious behavior instilled fear and trepidation in him.

"Cultivation…is it not only for the sake of obtaining longevity? What is the point in trying to kill? What am I to do if I lose this life of mine…" Naruto swallowed his saliva, and once he saw the scar-faced youth's small flag produce a misty tiger that wore a savage expression as it swallowed the other person facing them, Naruto wiped the sweat off the top of his head, feeling that it was too dangerous outside and that he had better return to the Hearthfire Kitchens for some security.

Thinking this, he hurriedly drew back, but a great roar resounded from nearby the very moment he started retreating.

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned his head and immediately saw Xu Baocai, who had originally written the letter in his own blood. His face bearing an evil grin aimed at him, Xu Baocai had rushed over with a wooden sword held in front of his body that emitted an extraordinary radiance. Coalescing a layer of qi was in no way comparable to this. At this moment it had cut out an arc, emitting spiritual pressure which headed straight for Naruto.

The moment Naruto saw the wooden sword approaching, his pupils contracted, and he immediately felt like he was in a kind of intense life or death crisis.

"This is an attempt to murder me!" His thought process came to this conclusion, and he produced a mournful scream as broke into a run.

"Murderer, murderer…" These cries were so loud that they caused many Miscellaneous Chores disciples all around to hear. Each one looked on in astonishment. Even Zhouhong and Zhang Yide, who were currently fighting on the tall stage halted for a moment, showing how loud the sound waves were.

Even Xu Baocai had jumped in fright, he had clearly only shouted for the other person's name while chasing after him. The sword still hadn't touched the other person, yet Naruto's scream made it seem like there were already several holes in his body.

"Naruto, if you have the ability, don't run away!" Xu Baocai had an ashen complexion as his hatred of Naruto began to stir. He went straight after Naruto.

"If I had the ability I would have killed you already; it wouldn't make sense for me to run. Murderer! Murderer!" Naruto's speed was extremely fast as he screamed, resembling a fat rabbit, and in the blink of an eye his image could barely be seen anymore.

Meanwhile, in a pavilion erected on the peak of this mountain were two practitioners, one middle-aged and one elderly, sitting across from each other as they played chess. The middle-aged one was precisely Toruho. The elderly man who was sitting across from him had a head full of white hair, a rosy complexion, and streaming light that flowed all over the place inside his eyes. With only a single look, it was clear that he was unusual. At this moment his eyes swept over the bottom of the mountain and he laughed.

"Qinghou. That child you brought back is quite interesting."

"Others will ridicule the sect leader for this; the disposition of this child truly requires even more polishing." Toruho had a slight headache and he shook his head as he placed down a chess piece.

"The children in the Hearthfire Kitchens are all proud and arrogant. To unify them is not simple." The elderly man stroked his beard, his eyes containing a mocking expression.

Brothers and sisters, this new novel beseeches favourites!

Chapter 6 Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - His Spiritual Energy Has Affected his Brain

At the bottom of the third mountain peak, Naruto's terrified wails had an almost musical quality to them, as each consecutive cry echoed around the mountain range, attracting questioning looks from numerous other handymen. You could clearly see Naruto's plump round figure, with a big black pot strapped to his back and swathed under seven to eight layers of leather jackets, sprinting down the mountain with all his might.

In fact, if you looked from a distance, you probably couldn't see Naruto's figure but you could definitely spot the large black pot scrambling across the ground like a beetle.

The seven or so knives that dangled from Naruto's waist knocked against each other as he ran, making noisy ding dang sounds.

"Murder, help! I don't want to die…" Naruto yelled loudly as he ran faster and faster. Behind him, Xu Baocai's expression was livid. His eyes shone with a strong killing intent, his heart filled with anxiety and fury.

The entire way as he chased after Naruto, the commotion attracted many surrounding handymen. Xu Baocai was worried that it would attract the attention of the Deacon. He started to get somewhat desperate.

"Stop screaming, damn you. Can't you be less noisy? Why the hell are you screaming, shut up!" Xu Baocai roared angrily as he ground his teeth. With a sharp gesture, instantly the wooden sword by his side flared with light. His speed became fractionally faster as he flew forwards, straight towards Naruto.

With a loud Peng! his wooden sword knocked against the black pot on Naruto's back. While an echoing Gongg resounded, Naruto had suffered no harm as he continued to run for his life.

Xu Baocai grit his teeth violently. The black pot that was strapped onto Naruto's back blocked more than half of his body, leaving him with no place to strike. Unwilling to give up, he set off in hot pursuit once more.

The two people, one in front and one behind, scurried back and forth endlessly in the Handymen District.

"This guy's carrying a pot but he still runs so fast!" Xu Baocai gasped for breath as he watched Naruto's shadow disappear in the distance, feeling more and more dissatisfied. He was a level two cultivator, but even though he had exhausted all his strength like a baby sucking milk, he still could not catch up with Naruto who was sprinting away like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto saw the side path leading to the Burning Stoves Kitchen. His eyes filled with emotion. He felt like he had seen his home, as he almost began to cry hot tears.

"Brother, help me! There's a murderer!" Naruto yelled loudly. He ran into the Burning Stove Kitchen, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. When Zhang Fatso One and the other fatties heard the wretched highpitched cry, they were startled. Immediately, they walked outside.

"Brother, save me. Xu Baocai wants to kill me, I almost lost my life back there." Naruto hastily hid before Zhang Fatso One's body.

"Xu Baocai?" When Zhang Fatso One heard him, his eyes flashed. He looked around but was unable to see even a shadow. Opening his mouth to speak, he finally noticed Xu Baocai's figure in the far distance, huffing and puffing as he ran towards them.

Naruto had also noticed Xu Baocai's figure and felt somewhat suspicious.

"Eh, why is he running so slowly?"

Zhang Fatso One glanced down at Naruto before he looke

d back up to see the heavily gasping Xu Baocai who had just arrived. The meat on his face trembled.

Xu Baocai had chased him here with much difficulty. The moment he neared the Burning Stoves Kitchen, he could hear Naruto's suspicious words. As those words entered his ear, he only felt a furious rage trapped in his chest. As though his whole person exploded, he roared loudly. Waving his right hand, the wooden sword beside him shot out with a Whooosh, embedding itself directly into a large tree.

Baaang! The tree shook, as a large hole where the sword had passed through, appeared.

"Naruto, I will never forgive you!" Xu Baocai's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Naruto with a death glare. He then glanced at Zhang Fatso One's hulking figure before he turned around and hatefully stomped away.

Naruto's heart thumped wildly. He peeked at the hole in the tree and then at the hysterical Xu Baocai. He swallowed hard as a sense of unease rose in his heart.

As Zhang Fatso One gazed at Xu Baocai's retreating figure, a fierce look flashed briefly across his face. He turned around and patted Naruto's shoulder.

"Ninth Brother, have no fear. This Xu Baocai might have a little bit of background but if he dares to show up again, we Brothers will beat him till his legs are broken!" At this point, Zhang Fatso One's tone changed.

"Nonetheless, Ninth Brother, if you can avoid going out for these few days, then it's best that you stay in your room. I can see that you've already lost weight. This Brother will fix that. It just so happens that in a few days' time, Elder Zhou is celebrating another ten years of age!" (TL: The word used here for ten years is 大寿. It's a special birthday celebrated when one reaches 70, 80 etc. years of age)

Naruto nodded absentmindedly, his gaze all the while fixed on the tree Xu Baocai had run through with his sword.

Even when he returned to the Burning Stoves Kitchen with his Brothers, Naruto sat in his room deep in thought. The more he pondered, the less secure he felt. His opponent's wooden sword had managed to pierce a hole in a tree. If it had been his body, he would have died a tortured death without leaving even an intact corpse.

"This won't do, unless I plan to spend my whole life in this Burning Stoves Kitchen. Otherwise, once I step outside and he catches me, what am I going to do then…" The image of Xu Baocai's scathing and poisonous parting glare just wouldn't leave Uzumaki Xioachun's mind.

"I came here to seek immortality. I can't die now…" The perturbation that came with a lack of safety had caused blood vessels to pop up in Naruto's eyes. A good long while later, he grit his teeth violently.

"Fuck, I give up! No matter what, I'm still scared!" Naruto saw red. His personality could be described as 'scared of death', but a better way to put it was 'severe paranoia'. This experience he had suffered today had greatly motivated him. The stubbornness in his personality flared up.

"I want to cultivate! I want to become strong!" Naruto breathed heavily as he made his decision. Immediately, he took the bamboo scroll containing Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique. He inspected the second diagram and began to train with bloodshot eyes.

Although he was scared of death, he possessed a streak of viciousness. Or else he would not have persisted in lighting the incense stick so many times even though he had been terrified of being struck by lightning.

Now, he had brought out this vicious streak. He followed the posture on the second diagram and held on with all his might. Usually he could only hold the pose for around ten breaths, but today he had persisted to fifteen.

Although his body ached all over and perspiration continuously dripped from his brow, the determination in Naruto's eyes had still not faded. In fact he had even managed to persist till twenty breaths and then thirty breaths. The flow of Qi in his body had rapidly doubled in size. Black dots clouded his vision as he suddenly exhaled after holding his breath for a long while. But he only allowed himself to relax for a brief moment before he began to cultivate again.

He trained in silence throughout the night. Two days passed, then three days, four days… For five consecutive days, apart from attending to his bodily needs, Naruto had not exited his room at all. This kind of dry training was difficult to endure for an amateur cultivator but the thought of giving up had not even crossed his mind.

Zhang Fatso One and the other fatties were shocked by Naruto's cultivation. It must be said that the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique was definitely not easy. In theory, learning it was simple but when the postures of each level were held for a prolonged period of time, it would result in indescribable pain. To persist in this technique required huge amounts of willpower. The ordinary handymen in the Sect had all only trained for a couple of days before giving up.

But they had watched Naruto train for half a month. When the fatties came over to observe him, the Naruto they saw was vastly different from the impression they had of him from several months ago.

His clothes were creased and his hair was messy. His eyes popped with blood vessels. His whole person looked extremely fatigued but he was still diligent in his training. No matter how much pain he suffered, he still refused to stop.

Even his body had clearly slimmed down several rounds. The spiritual authority that radiated from his inner body had greatly increased as it moved endlessly towards the completion of the first level of cultivation.

It was as though he had taken all the treasures of heaven and earth stored in his fat and through drastic measures, trained until their essence had assimilated and become part of his body. As a result, his body had become much sturdier than that of an ordinary person.

"Ninth Brother, take a break. Every day, every night, you've been training for more than a month now." Zhang Fatso One and the other fatties hurriedly tried to persuade him. But when Naruto lifted his head, they only saw the determination shining in his eyes. That kind of stubbornness caused their hearts to be greatly moved.

As time continued to pass, in the blink of an eye Naruto had already cultivated for an entire month. During this month, his fervour had greatly shocked the other fatties. To put it in Zhang Fatso One's words, Naruto wasn't so much cultivating as he was gambling with his life!

After this bout of intense training, the time that Naruto could hold the second posture for, had also surpassed one hundred breaths and reached one hundred and fifty! The spiritual Qi that flowed within him was no longer a narrow stream. It had evidently become much wider. As another month passed, Zhang Fatso One and the fatties were all greatly alarmed. They were terrified that one day, Naruto would train himself to death. When they had finally made up their minds to destroy Xu Baocai, a loud rumble was heard from Naruto's room.

As the rumble echoed, a spiritual pressure, characteristic of the second level of Qi-condensation, had immediately erupted from Naruto's location. It spread outwards in a circle with a radius of thirty meters, instantly alerting the fatties. They lifted their heads to stare in that direction, as their expressions changed one by one.

"Little Brother has finally broken through!"

"The second level of Qi-condensation! Although our Burning Stoves

Kitchen occasionally has added suppers, but to reach the second level of

Qi condensation in less than half a year, that's very seldom seen!"

"Back when I reached the second level of Qi condensation, I used an entire year's worth of time…" Just as Zhang Fatso One and the other fatsos began to lament, the door to Naruto's room opened with a creak. His face full of exhaustion, his clothes in tatters but his eyes shining with vigour, Naruto stepped out.

Just as the fatties wanted to greet him, they saw Naruto's body waver before he nimbly leapt onto the fence surrounding the kitchen yard. Clasping his hands behind his back, he stood there. His head was lifted high as he proudly surveyed his surroudings with a deep expression, looking like a expert seeking solitude.

"What is he doing standing there? He looks strange…"

"Little Brother, has he...entered the flames and become a demon?" Zhang Fatso One and the other fatties looked at each other. [TL: 走火入魔, walking into flames and becoming a demon refers to a kind of insanity born from obsessive training. Also known as Kundalini psychosis.)

Just as they were beginning to become suspicious of Naruto's appearance, they heard Naruto deliberately speak in an archaic fashion, as he stood on the fence.

"Xu Baocai, born in the Handymen District of the Spirit River sect. His peerless pride and illustrious glory, no one beneath this heaven shall deny. His cultivation has reached a shocking second level of Qicondensation. But I am also of the second level! This battle between him and me is an even match. Our names may spread to all corners of the Earth and stir the Sects. But it is unavoidable that this battle be smeared with blood and scattered with broken bones...Nay! This battle is of utmost importance. I must continue my cultivation!"

When he finished speaking, Naruto contemplatively gazed into the distance. With a swirl of his short sleeves, he once again returned into his room, closing the door with a Peng! One by one, the fatties swallowed their saliva. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do for a long while. Finally, Black Fatso Three ventured.

"Could it be that we have fed Little Brother something wrong?"

"It's over! It's over, Little Brother's spiritual energy has affected his brain; he has cultivated to insanity...We must not provoke him!" Yellow Fatso Two's entire body shuddered as he spoke with certainty.

Chapter 7 Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Tortoise Mark Recognizing Its Master

—-

Big Fatty Choji and the others looked at Naruto's thatched hut.

At any rate, there was at least one of them who was mindful of Naruto's cultivation as he had finally made a breakthrough to the second layer of Qi Condensation. After going outside and talking to himself, Naruto had returned to his house to continue cultivating.

Inside of his house, Naruto wiped the perspiration off his forehead. As he strove to assume the position dictated in the third diagram, his naked body experienced an acute pain to which he gritted his teeth and endured.

Within his body, the qi within his meridians was no longer simply a streamlet, but rather a small river wandering throughout his body. With every revolution, his body echoed kakasounds. His originally round body, at this moment, had already become completely thin. He had become even thinner than when he first arrived at Hearthfire Kitchen.

However, the bursts of spiritual power appeared to be stored inside of his body. In the wake of his persistent cultivation, the skin of his skinny and shriveled body seemed to faintly pulse. If one listened closely, one could hear his heartbeat – the peng peng sound echoed throughout the house.

The increasing spiritual pressure inside of his body continuously condensed. While undergoing the constant and strong pressure, Naruto's power had increased considerably. This process lasted for a few days, until Naruto's body unexpectedly felt as if it was being stabbed with pain. When compared to the previous acute pain, this stabbing pain was significantly greater and gave him no choice but to give up.

Naruto was panting heavily with bloodshot eyes. He was strongly aware that his body appeared to be unable to hold on. Although his cultivation unceasingly absorbed worldly power from his surroundings, it was obvious that his body could not keep up. In addition, obtaining extra meals from the Hearthfire Kitchen required luck; therefore, he could not have one every day.

Although others also cultivated this Violet Qi Cauldron Technique, cultivating once every few days was already considered diligent to them, and at most, they would cultivate once a day. Naruto cultivated every day and night incessantly; not to mention Big Fatty Choji's and the other's overwhelming shock, even the Inner Sect disciples would be gobsmacked if they knew.

However, Naruto did not feel safe, even after cultivating to this extent. His character was always keen to secure his own safety. Thus, he withdrew the once spirit refined Spiritual Rice he had stashed away previously. He held it in his hand and examined it. He used an ordinary wok to cook it, and as the spiritual aura spread out, he didn't hesitate and swallowed the Spiritual Rice immediately.

The Spiritual Rice promptly transformed upon entering his body, forming a strong spiritual aura that was several times greater than common Spiritual Rice. In his body, there was a loud explosion and an incomplete level of majestic power began to surge forward. Naruto hurriedly assumed the position dictated in the third diagram while adjusting his breathing, soon entering a state of cultivation.

One night half a month later, Naruto's body suddenly shook. As he opened his eyes, he was shocked to find that his cultivation had unknowingly broken through from the Second layer Qi Condensation to the Third layer Qi Condensation.

This change immediately made Naruto ecstatic. His eyes displayed his high spirits as he heartily laughed. He inspected himself; within his body, the qi meridian had already thoroughly transformed from a streamlet to a small river. This small river qui

ckly circulated throughout his body, with the speed rapidly exceeding the antecedent significantly. With just a thought, his spiritual qi would instantly spread out to any location within his body.

"Qi Condensation third layer! This once spirit refined Spiritual Rice is indeed extraordinary!" Naruto stood up and licked his lips thinking about the number of Spiritual Rice grains he could refine. However, he felt as if his meridians had swelled up a bit. By recalling what the bamboo scroll recorded, he knew that his body needed to adapt and that he should not continue cultivating in the near future.

Pressured by this idea, he walked up and down his house with smug appearance. His rapid pacing stopped, his eyes looked out the window and then the door. Despite it being very late at night, he could vaguely see the large tree on that path outside Hearthfire Kitchen with the assistance of the moonlight.

"This won't do. Xu Baocai's wooden sword is not normal. Even if I am finally at the Qi Condensation third layer, it is still not sufficiently safe!" Naruto furrowed his brows, contemplating for a moment and then looking at the multi-colored wooden sword by his side. He once again looked at the wok inside his house.

"If I can spirit refine it twice, maybe it'll be better," he thought. Having immediately made a decision, he walked away from the house to Hearthfire Kitchen to fetch some Spiritual wood.

His preparations finished, later that day and very late at night, Naruto stopped to the side of the mysterious wok, setting the wood on fire. Upon seeing the bright lines, he threw the wooden sword into the wok.

Waiting for a long time without seeing any reactions from beginning to end, Bao Naruto furrowed his brows and looked at patterns on the tortoise-patterned wok. He saw that the wood had already stopped burning, having become ashes. Muttering to himself, he left to look for more spirit wood. Several tries later, despite the flame burning, the wooden sword was not even slightly changed at all.

"This is all the same one color firewood, could it be that the temperature is too low? I need to make it even hotter….two colored flame?" Naruto pondered, walking out of the door and once more returning an hour later, in his hands a purple log of wood. The Hearthfire Kitchen did not have a lot of this wood left, so Naruto was only able to find one.

He placed it under the wok and immediately lit a fire. This fire was composed of two differently colored flames, and the dual-colored flame was hotter by several degrees!

When the dual-colored flame appeared, the second line on the tortoise shell instantly began to shine while the dual-colored flame rapidly dimmed in response. It seemed like all of a sudden, the fire was completely withdrawn. Shortly after, the second colored flame completely burned to ashes, and the second line on the tortoisepatterned wok brightly shined and rose.

"Success!" Naruto eyes shined brightly as he promptly place the wooden sword into the wok and a silver light suddenly radiated outwards. Unexpectedly, compared to the first spirit refinement, it had taken several breaths longer to refine.

The light gradually dimmed. Suddenly, a shining white light exploded forth and made a beeline for Naruto. Naruto was unable to react to this sudden change. An indescribable icy chill bloomed before his eyes, flash-freezing and entering his body. He was overwhelmingly shocked to find himself unable to stop its movement and could only look on helplessly as the icy chill ruthlessly pillaged his body from within.

His complexion paled, and his vision grew fuzzy. There seemed to be something inside his body that was sucked out it and assimilated into the patterned tortoise shell.

The bright light didn't begin to dissipate until this instance. The wooden sword appeared in the wok significantly sharper than before; simply looking at the wooden sword made the eyes feel sharply pained.

Although this sword appeared gaudy and tattered, the wood grain inside of it had already changed. If the paint was wiped off, it was possible to see the light given off by this grain. The sword had undergone a thorough, fundamental transformation.

At almost the same time as the wooden sword's appearance, a rumble of thunder resounded on the southern bank of the Spirit Creek Sect, shocking countless Spirit Creek Sect cultivators. Fortunately, this thunder left just as fast as it came.

As the thunder resounded, a second silver line appeared on the wooden sword's blade. It flickered a few times before disappearing under the motley of paint.

Naruto was unable to inspect the sword. His expression darkened, and he retreated a few steps. His body, near the point of collapse, required a significant amount of time to recover. Recalling that feeling he just experienced, traces of fear reemerged.

"What did it extract from my body…" His nervous gaze landed on the copper mirror on the wall, subconsciously glancing at his appearance. He rubbed his eyes and carefully examined himself. He gradually became dumbstruck like a wooden chicken.

His mirror reflection had several strands of white hair on his head. Although his appearance was unchanged beyond this, he still felt as if he had aged a year.

"Longevity!" Naruto muttered soullessly.

"The thing that I lost just now was my longevity, I… I…" He wanted to cry but couldn't find the tears. His purpose in cultivating was for a long life and before he could even obtain the long life, he lost one year of his longevity. This was a huge blow to him.

"I lost it…I didn't think that I, Naruto, who depended on that half of a lifetime, would unexpectedly lose such an excessive length of longevity…" He sat down there with a stupid expression, forcing a bitter laugh. After a period of tranquility, he raised his head to look towards the tortoise-patterned wok. His two eyes, however, slowly exposed a strange intention. He faintly realized after apparently having his life shortened, he and that patterned tortoise wok possessed some kind of existential connection. It was as if he could control the wok.

His heart stirred. He lifted his right hand and pointed it at the wok.

Immediately the tortoise-patterned wok flashed with a black light, actually shrinking instantly, and headed straight towards Naruto. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the middle of his fingertips. Naruto stared blankly. Suddenly, he stood up and backed away a few steps, lowering his head to look at his own fingers before once again staring at the empty fire stove.

"This…this…" His right hand once again pointed at the floor, and in a glint of black light accompanied by a peng sound, the wok reappeared.

Naruto continuously attempted this many times. Whether his expression was elated or gloomy, it was indeterminable. It was joyous, yet it was also melancholy. In the end, he exhaled a sigh all the same.

"Even though I can store it in my body now, the price is one year of my longevity. No matter how I think about it, it's still a loss."

In the afternoon of the next day, Naruto was pondering over how he could regain the longevity that had been sucked away when he suddenly sensed something. Raising his head, he sensed seven or eight figures speeding over towards him.

When Naruto was in the first layer of Qi Condensation he could not sense it, but as he was now at the third layer of Qi Condensation, he was able to immediately sense those seven or eight figures. This group of people was led by Xu Baocai.

At the same time, Xu Baocai's voice, carrying resentment, could suddenly be heard.

"Naruto, you have seniors to guard you. I, Xu Baocai, also have them. Today you and I will settle the grudges between us with this fight."

—

My wife brought my daughter out on a trip…and left me alone at home. It's like this every year…I feel I'm very pitiful and miserable. I beseech recommendation tickets as comfort, I beseech favorites as comfort~~

I'll continue to write later. Let's make an appointment for 12 o'clock tonight!

Chapter 8 Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – We will fight!

—-

Upon seeing Xu Baocai's imminent arrival, Naruto suddenly stood up.

"Arriving so fast…" His eyes revealed a trace of hesitation. Despite his ample preparation over these past six months, he still felt unprepared. Originally his intentions were to cultivate to the Fourth layer of Qi Condensation, just to be safe.

However, Naruto knew he couldn't hide anymore. He could only clench his teeth resolutely in the face of Xu Baocai and his gang of seven or eight.

"Fight!" Uzumaki Xaiochun sucked in a deep breath, put on seven to eight leather jackets, and then stored the Spiritual Rice into the wok. After placing the wok on his back, he tensely opened the door and walked out.

As Naruto was preparing to depart, Big Fatty Choji and the others were aggressively wielding cleavers and ladles in front of the door to the Heartfire Kitchens, making Xu Baocai and his companions pause.

"I say, I could've sworn I heard some crows cawing earlier this morning, turns out it was just you oppressive bastards from the Supervising House. Little shits like you only know how to suppress the brats of our sect. And yet you come here, to the Hearthfire Kitchen of all places, with the intent of acting wildly!?" Big Fatty Choji gave a cold snort. He stood unfazed like a small mountain, as his voice resounded throughout the surroundings like a rumble of thunder.

"Big Fatty Choji, other people might fear your Hearthfire Kitchen, but we from the Supervising House couldn't care less about you guys! We received a complaint from Junior brother Xu, because of this, we have come here today in order to exercise our power as the Supervising House. Do you dare to oppose us?" The seven or eight figures beside Xu Baocai were all wearing lofty expressions on their faces. Although both sides were wearing the same Miscellaneous Chores Disciples uniform, the disciples from the Supervising House had an obvious 'Supervising' character written on the cuff of their sleeves. This represented their authority and status as disciples of the Supervising House, as well as their extraordinary identity.

Among them, there was one who was particularly brawny fellow who was exuding the spiritual pressure of a Third layer Qi Condensation cultivator. A cold glint flashed through his eyes as he stared at Big Fatty Choji. Meanwhile, the people surrounding Big Fatty Choji were completely ignored.

"Bullshit! So it's perfectly reasonable for someone to chase after and attempt to kill my Junior brother then?!" Big Fatty Choji laughed coldly. "Hu!" After raising his right hand, the big black wok on his back floated up without assistance and began exuding an unstoppable pressure; causing each and every one of the men around the burly fellow to change their expressions. As for the burly fellow, both his pupils shrunk immediately. He quickly started making hand signs with his fingers, and a little flag immediately flew out. It gave off plumes of mist, and one could even vaguely hear the roar of a wild beast coming from within.

At this intense moment of the showdown, Xu Baocai caught sight of Uzumaki

Naruto who had just walked out of the grass hut. Newfound

vengeance and old hatred instantly filled the depths of his heart as he howled with rage.

"Naruto!" As he spoke, Xu Baocai furiously lunged forward, and the wooden sword in his hand immediately flew out with a whistle.

Big Fatty Choji and the others' expressions immediately changed. Just as they were about to go and block the attack, the burly fellow from the Supervising House sneered and quickly went to stop them. Right at the moment when Xu Baocai had charged forwa

rd and said those words, Naruto's eyes turned red with fury, and he also shouted loudly,

"Xu Baocai, you have forced me! I have no other choice but I'm going to fight you to the death!" Naruto's heart palpitated wildly. Never mind fighting a fellow cultivator, he had never fought with anyone at all in his life!

At this moment, the nervousness almost brought Naruto to the brink of insanity. Along with the shout meant to boost his own courage, the power of the Third layer Qi Condensation cultivation immediately burst forth. Putting all of his cultivation on the line, and pouring all of the spirit Qi in his body into the wooden sword, Naruto wielded the wooden sword in his hands and pointed it towards Xu Baocai.

With a 'weng' sound coming from the wooden sword, the two silver lines hidden among the different colours of the sword faintly flashed, immediately causing the sword's body to expand in diameter. A cold, oppressive aura exploded from the sword as it sprinted directly towards Xu Baocai.

The rapid speed and imposing aura of the sword stunned the people from both the Hearthfire Kitchen and the Supervising House. What led them to further suck in their breaths was the fact that the particular sword was exuding a sharp will that enveloped the surroundings. The sight before them shocked them so much that they immediately stopped fighting and looked over in astonishment.

Xu Baocai hadn't even gotten close to Naruto when the aura of the latter already made him jump in fright. The Naruto before him right now was entirely different from the one in his memory from a few months back- as if he was now an entirely different person. The sight of Naruto clenching his teeth and giving it his all sent a shiver down Xu Baocai's spine.

Soon after, Xu Baocai's eyes widened with a look of incredulity. He saw the rapidly approaching wooden sword of Naruto seemingly turning into a raging waterfall. The qi it was emitting in particular; he had only seen this type of qi before in the battles between the outer sect disciples. Xu Baocai was instantly struck dumb with disbelief as his scalp turned numb.

"Peng" Naruto's wooden sword directly struck Xu Baocai's wooden sword, causing the latter's to shudder vigorously. Without any resistance, the sword started to shatter from its tip. In the blink of an eye, the sword was blown into countless smithereens that flew back towards Xu Baocai.

As for Naruto's wooden sword, it did not falter one bit and continued to charge forward, straight towards Xu Baocai. Xu Baocai, who had just had his soul scared out of him, used all of his remaining strength to barely dodge the incoming sword. The wooden sword brushed past his shoulder and struck a big tree behind him.

With a loud 'hong', the tree was split in half, falling immediately and setting off a cloud of dust and mud. At the same time, Xu Baocai let out a painful shriek as fresh blood splattered from his right arm. With a pale face, he rapidly retreated from his previous position.

All of this bloodshed was still due to Naruto being unfamiliar with the control of external not, that sword would have been enough to kill Xu Baocai, only leaving an incomplete carcass behind. "Third layer of Qi Condensation! Impossible, this is impossible!" Looking towards Naruto, Xu Baocai had a face filled with terror, as if he had just seen a ghost. For a wooden sword to have that much power, it was only possible with a cultivation of at least the Third layer of Qi Condensation. That Naruto could have such a shocking change in just a few months was beyond his comprehension. The drastic difference between reality and what he had actually expected made Xu Baocai unable to come to terms with it and he felt as if he was living a nightmare.

It was not only him who was shocked with disbelief. At this moment, even the burly fellow and the others from the Supervising House all sucked in a deep breath. They all turned to look at Naruto with grim expressions on their faces.

"To transform Spirit into Sharpness, and allow Sword Light to be exuded, this is the hallmark of cultivating the Violet Qi Cauldron Technique to the realm of "Lifting Heavy as if Light", which can then form the basis of divine skills!" The burly fellow from the Supervising House sucked in a deep breath and looked at Naruto with a gaze showing a hint of wariness.

For the cultivators from the Supervising House to react in this way, nothing more could be said by Big Fatty Choji and the others. They all looked at Naruto with shocked expressions. When Naruto reached the Third layer of Qi Condensation, they had somewhat already noticed it, but for the wooden sword to emit Sword Light and have a distinct expansion of its diameter… this meant that Naruto had attained the realm of "Lifting Heavy as if Light", and this was the first time they knew about this fact as Naruto had said nothing.

Even Naruto himself was shocked by the power of his wooden sword. He looked dazedly at the collapsed big tree, and then turned to look at Xu Baocai again. Seeing his pale expression, Naruto immediately cocked his head back and started laughing.

"Xu Baocai, to think you are actually so weak, eat my sword!" Naruto wa brimming with enthusiasm after ascertaining that he was much stronger than Xu Baocai. With a hearty laughter, he immediately sprinted towards Xu Baocai.

When Naruto's gaze swept over his opponent, Xu Baocai's body uncontrollably shivered. Witnessing Naruto's hearty laughter and seeing his incoming figure, fear instantly gripped Xu Baocai as he halfstumbled and half-crawled his way towards escape.

However, he had barely taken a few steps when Naruto was already in front of him. Looking at Xu Baocai, scenes of being chased by this person and the bitter cultivation over this period of time filled Naruto's mind. Reminiscing the bitterness of those hardships had somehow turned into his strength as Naruto viciously lifted his leg and kicked towards Xu Baocai.

"Let's see how you are going to chase me again!" Naruto clenched his right fist and punched Xu Baocai in his eye. Xu Baocai shrieked as he fell onto the ground. As much as he wanted to fight back in his heart, with his Second layer of Qi Condensation cultivation, he had absolutely no form of resistance against the Naruto in front of him.

"This is for provoking me, and to let you know that your grandpa here is no herbivore!" Naruto jumped and mercilessly trampled on Xu Baocai, continuously punching and kicking with his teeth clenched, causing the latter to endlessly moan in pain.

'Peng peng' sounds echoed throughout the surroundings, and be it the fellows from the Supervising House or Big Fatty Choji and the others, all they could do was to stand there in a daze while their hair stood on end. They simply looked at Xu Baocai who was getting thrashed, and at Naruto who became more and more excited with each blow.

Xu Baocai had tears flowing down his cheeks and felt extremely wronged. He could hardly believe that Naruto was capable of becoming so powerful in just a few months. His strength and that 'Lifting Heavy as if Light' technique in particular; not even several years would be enough to attain this power.

From his perspective, Naruto clearly had someone influential behind him. Furthermore, he was this strong from the beginning, but due to his low and wretched personality, he'd pretended to appear weak and inferior. The most irritating part was that he had been so good at acting that Xu Baocai had seriously believed him!

Thinking of this, grief and hatred rushed to Xu Baocai's head, and he immediately fainted.

Looking at the unconscious Xu Baocai, Naruto gave his shirt a pat, and got off Xu Baocai's body. With a wave of his right hand, the wooden sword instantly flew towards him and was placed inside his sleeves. Putting on the expression of a lonely warrior, Naruto tried hard to conceal his excited gaze.

The burly fellow from the Supervising House threw a meaningful look towards Naruto, and with a capricious expression, he clasped his hands together.

"Junior brother Uzumaki sure has concealed himself well. You have my admiration," he said with an expressionless face. Without pausing, he turned around and signaled the others to leave, bringing the unconscious Xu Baocai along with them.

After the group had left, Big Fatty Choji and the others all came to Naruto's side and looked towards him with a hint of happiness in their eyes. After all, the guys from the Supervising House were outsiders to them, and Big Fatty Choji and the others knew the amount of hard work that Naruto had put in these past few months. At this moment, they only had respect for Naruto.

"You brat, not bad, looks like you didn't play with your life for nothing in these six months!" Big Fatty Choji patted Naruto on the shoulders.

"That is because, when I go all out and put my life on the line, even I get scared of myself." Naruto smiled and cocked his head like a proud little rooster, causing Big Fatty Choji and the others to throw another fit of laughter.

—-

This novel "A Thought Through Eternity" has started on its first full week, and what I wish for the most this week is to rise to the top of the two charts!

Brothers and sisters, give me a hand!

Thank you, everyone!

Chapter 9 Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Longevity Pill

Time flew as fast as a steed flitting past a crack! [1] A month passed, and chilling winds were beginning to blow; sending autumn leaves floating through the air along the Tongtian river, just past the Spirit Creek Sect. As the seasons changed, Naruto suddenly realized that it had been a whole year since his arrival at the Spirit Creek Sect.

For him, this year had been quite eventful. He had changed from an ordinary person, into a sect disciple with a cultivation base at the Third layer of Qi Condensation. This change absolved any conflicts that may have arisen due to him joining the Hearthfire Kitchens.

Xu Baocai never appeared before the Hearthfire Kitchens' doors again. Even when Naruto ventured down the mountain in order to procure materials for the Hearthfire Kitchens, to replenish all the materials the nine brothers consumed, he would almost always catch a glimpse of Xu Baocai hurriedly attempting to avoid him. It appeared as though Xu Baocai was absolutely terrified of him.

Despite that, for the past month Naruto would often be seen in a miserable mood. He would sigh from the bottom of his heart and say nothing to Big Fatty Choji and the others. For Naruto, this was something he had to deal with by himself.

"One year of my life… ah…" Naruto looked at a nearby tree, its leaves that had turned yellow were being carried away by the wind as they fell.

'I am just like this big tree. These falling leaves represent the one year of life I've lost…' thought Naruto, feeling rather sentimental.

This past month he had tried every method of nourishing his body, yet the strands of white hair that covered his forehead still hadn't regained their colour. He had indirectly asked Big Fatty Choji and the others about it, and discovered that there were actually some methods to supplement one's life. However, they either had some kind of restriction, or were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn gradually forgot about eating and drinking, causing even his small face became haggard. In the end he had no choice but to give up and accept the fact that his lifespan had shortened. After leaving one afternoon in order to purchase materials for the Hearthfire Kitchens, Naruto spotted a huge stele at the bottom of the third peak. The pace of his breathing gradually sped up.

At the foot of every mountain on the southern bank of the Spirit Creek Sect was a stele just like this one. On its side were countless rows of densely packed texts that flickered with light. From time to time some of the text would slide off the stele like running water, after which new lines of characters would appear to replace them.

This was where the Spirit Creek Sect mission reception area was located. Every disciple needed to complete sect missions in order to receive the spirit stones necessary for cultivation, as well as contribution points.

In particular, contribution points were needed for things such as listening to scriptures, entering the Technique Pavilion, and accessing any of the special training areas. Contribution points could be used to obtain nearly anything in the sect. To some extent, contribution points were more precious than spirit stones.

Currently, many outer sect disciples had gathered at the base of the third peak. They were all staring at the mission stele with unwavering eyes. Occasionally someone would select a task to complete, and then respectfully relay it to the cross-legged middle-aged cultivator who was sitting in front of the stele.

Furthermore, there were even some Miscellaneous Chores disciples among them. Amidst the sea of outer sect disciples who wore cloud-like cyan robes, they could be clearly distinguished due to their different clothing.

The only missions that were not specifically visible here, were the ones that required an inner disciple of the Spirit Creek Sect. As for the other missions, both outer sect disciples and Miscellaneous Chores disciples could choose them.

Some of the Miscellaneous Chores disciples who strove to advance would view this place as the first step for themselves, as a carp leaping through the dragon's gate. [2]

Naruto had been standing here for as long as it would take an incense stick to burn. His expression was indiscernible as he stared attentively at one of the lines of flickering text in the center of the stele. The look on his face betraying his apparent hesitation.

"Longevity pill…I didn't expect inner sect disciples to have this kind of herbal medicine. Going by the name, this pill should be able to extend one's life." After staring for a long time, Naruto mumbled as contemplated this matter for a short while before approaching the middle-aged cultivator who was sitting in front of the stele.

Many outer sect disciples surrounded Naruto on all sides. Even though they had all sensed his arrival, each and every one of them chose to ignore him. Due to his standing, and because he was a Miscellaneous Chores disciple, they didn't even consider him worthy of their attention.

Naruto waited until the people the amount of people between him and the middle aged dwindled. Then he cupped his fists to pay his respects, displaying an obedient countenance.

"Good afternoon, Senior Brother."

The middle-aged cultivator raised his head and swept a glance over Naruto, then slightly nodded his head without saying a single word.

"Senior Brother, there is a mission here that requires one to search for several strands of herbs in exchange for a longevity pill. Can this pill truly extend one's lifespan?" Naruto asked about this particular detail, as he was still concerned about his lifespan.

"Longevity pill… yeah, there is such a mission. And the pill you receive as a reward will extend your life, though only by one year. However, it comes with many restrictions. It can only be used at the Fifth layer of Qi Condensation or below, and it's only effective the first time one uses it; consuming it a second time is completely useless. It's considered precious, because it can extend a person's lifespan by one year, but it isn't very useful in the end." The middle-aged cultivator saw how obedient Naruto looked, and couldn't help but blurt out additional details.

"Generally speaking, it's only used by sect disciples to prolong the mortal lives of their family's elderly, however it has a considerable price. Do you still want to accept this mission?"

Naruto raised his head to eye the stele, pondered for a bit, and then nodded.

Seeing this, the middle-aged cultivator lifted his right hand and pointed at the stele. Promptly, the mission text turned grey. A smooth jade white strip appeared in his right hand shortly after, which he then threw to Naruto.

"Azure Spirit Leaves, Earthen Dragonfruits, and Stone Insect Shells. Once you've gathered enough of these three herbs, you can exchange them for a longevity pill." The middle aged cultivator said indifferently, and stopped paying attention to Naruto. Instead, he moved on to presenting missions to the other outer sect disciples – who were arriving at his side.

Naruto took the jade strip and left, as four words continued to echo in his mind, 'can extend your life.' His eyes slowly revealed his resolution.

"I must obtain this medical pill, in order to regain the year of life that I've lost."

With this newfound determination, Naruto sprinted towards the Four Seas House to seek out information. Among the resources available to Miscellaneous Chores disciples, Naruto found information related to the Azure Spirit Leaves. It was a type of medicinal herb that only grew in the habitat of a creature called the Climatory Spiritual Bird. As these Climatory Spiritual Birds liked to gather in flocks, and a single one was akin to a cultivator at the Second layer of Qi Condensation, trying to obtain the herbs was no easy feat. As such, its price wasn't low either.

As for the Earthen Dragonfruit and Stone Insect Shells, the Four Oceans House did not have any records of them. Naruto groped around in his pockets, and then left with a bitter smile. When Naruto returned to the Hearthfire Kitchens, he tried to obtain more information from Fatty Choji and the others. None of them had heard about the Earthen Dragonfruit before, but Third Fatty Hei knew of the Stone Insect Shell. This item was actually the carapace of a spirit insect called the Stone Insect.

According to him, this shell was incomparably hard. Furthermore, it was extremely heavy. They were rarely found here on the southern bank and would only be produced at the northern bank as their cultivation technique worked primarily to tame beasts. Even though both the Southern and Northern Shores were part of the Spirit Creek Sect, and one would only have the qualifications to cross the Main Peak's mountain bridge that stood between them when they became an inner sect disciple.

"Why are you asking about these medicinal herbs? These things can't be eaten, and their prices at the Southern Shore Marketplace at the bottom of the mountain are also ridiculously high." Big Fatty Choji inquired in puzzlement as he patted his stomach.

Naruto's eyes brightened the moment he heard the word 'marketplace'. He immediately sprinted down the mountain after giving the others a simple explanation. Although he had only stepped out of the sect a limited number of times in the year he had been in the Hearthfire Kitchens, he still knew there was a marketplace outside the sect.

Most of the shops in the Marketplace were opened by the families of the disciples in the Sect. There were even some shops that were owned by Sect disciples which exclusively provided services for the disciples of the Sect. Over time, these businesses had slowly grown to a considerable scale.

The everyday necessities required by the Hearthfire Kitchens were also bought from here.

When Naruto returned to the Hearthfire Kitchens after walking around the Marketplace and visiting the Medical Herbs sections, his brows were knitted and repeatedly sighed from the depths of his heart.

"This is too blackhearted, especially for that Earthen Dragonfruit. Isn't it just a fruit of a plant that grows underground? How can it be so expensive!" Naruto helplessly discovered that he simply had no means to exchange for a single Longevity Pill with his current abilities.

Naruto had no idea about the importance of money; when compared to his lifespan, he couldn't care less about how much wealth he had. While he was in this impecunious situation, he suddenly remembered that the only valuable items the Senior Fatty brothers had in their possession were already in their stomachs. Therefore, Naruto came to the conclusion that they were in fact no richer than himself.

As for the spirit food in the Hearthfire Kitchens, nobody could catch and punish them if they secretly ate it. However, if they tried to sell it outside, given the degree of strictness that the disciples from the Supervising House had, the punishment would not be light if they were caught.

Thinking back and forth, Naruto could not come up with any idea to earn money – unless he sold the items he had spirit refined.

But such a matter didn't sit well with him. Naruto was cultivating in his room after several days of contemplation, when suddenly a loud bell chime echoed throughout the Sect.

The bell chime wasn't extremely loud, and it disappeared quickly. Naruto opened his eyes with no expression of surprise. He had heard this bell chime every month since he had entered the Sect. And long ago, he had already known from Big Fatty Choji that this sound signified the day that the various Peaks opened their Trial by Fire to the Miscellaneous Chores disciples. This was their chance to be promoted to an Outer Sect Disciple.

To be promoted from a Miscellaneous Chores disciple to an Outer Sect disciple was akin to a fish transforming into a dragon. One must firstly have attained the Third layer of Qi Condensation cultivation, and secondly, choose a Road of Trial on one of the mountain peaks. Though the Road of Trial was simply a flight of steps that stretched all the way to the altar at the top of the mountain, this road has been layered with magical force, making it extremely hard for anyone to take even a single step. If one could walk successfully to the top, one could earn the right to become an Outer Sect Disciple.

However, the number of Outer Sect Disciple spots were limited, and each time every Peak only chose the three that had finished walking the road in the least amount of time. As there was an enormous number of Miscellaneous Chores Disciples in Spirit Creek Sect – just the southern shore alone had over 10 000 people – it made the competition extremely intense.

As for the disciples of Hearthfire Kitchen , they naturally followed the commandment of "rather starving to death in the Hearthfire Kitchen than competing for a spot in the Outer Sect". At this time of the month, they would only watch the show with excitement and without a single worry on their faces.

Naruto closed his eyes briefly, but soon opened them again with a weird look on his face, instantly turning into happiness A thought slowly formed in his head as he stood up paced back and forth in his room. After closely inspecting the details of this thought, his face immediately brimmed with joy.

"It can be done!" He immediately pushed open his room door and gathered Big Fatty Choji and the others who were busy discussing who the unlucky fellow that would become an Outer Sect disciple would be.

"Fellow Senior Brothers, I have an idea to make us rich. I'm asking for the assistance of my fellow Senior Brothers, let's get rich together!" Naruto smacked his lips and looked towards Big Fatty Choji and his group with a glint in his eye.

Such a look wasn't foreign to Big Fatty Choji and the others; when Naruto had suggested to thicken the base of the bowls which benefited the Hearthfire Kitchen, he had the exact same look on his face. Big Fatty Choji and the others immediately showed their interest.

"Ninth Fatty, just what kind of idea do you have? To tell you the truth, the rest of us are also very poor. It's all because of that damned Supervising House; if it weren't for them, we would have struck rich just by selling those things in the Hearthfire Kitchen!" Big Fatty Choji slapped Naruto on the shoulders and looked on with a gaze of anticipation.

—–

You guys are too ferocious….to think we actually got second place for recommendation votes! Brothers and sisters, be a bit more ferocious please~~

idiom: The general meaning is "How time flies!" as a horse would runvery quickly past a slit.

Mythical Dragon gate where a carp can transform into a dragon

Chapter 10 Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Brother, Wait Up!

Naruto noticed his fellow fatsos staring at him. Their small eyes were shining like spirit stones; especially Zhang Fatso One, whose eyes seemed like they would even spurt out flames. Naruto coughed dryly, feeling a bit proud.

"Brother, you see, every month, the three mountain peaks of our Spirit River Sect would have an outer sect Promotional Examinationt, allowing handymen like us an opportunity to become outer disciples, right?" Naruto said as he raised his adorable face. No matter how you looked at him, Naruto seemed like an "incomparably cute and nice kid".

"However, the sects will only select the best of the best. Therefore, no matter how many people take the monthly test, each peak will only select the top three, right?" Naruto said after licking his lips as his eyes began to shine brightly. After Naruto spoke, Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three seemed to have understood what he was thinking. Apart from them, none of the others had any idea about what Naruto was trying to say.

"You mean…" Zhang Fatso One said while staring at Naruto.

Gradually, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"With our level of cultivation, we could easily claim all three positions at each peak…" Naruto glanced at the few Brothers who had been standing beside him as he continued speaking. Every single one of them had reached the third level of Qi Condensation, especially Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three, who had already reached the peak of the third level. If they hadn't been intentionally suppressing their cultivation all this time, so they could keep a low profile and remain in the Burning Stoves Kitchen, they would have long since broken through to the next level.

"So, if we join all three tests, we could get to the mountaintop ahead of the others, monopolize the first three places, and then… sell those positions to other test-takers!" Naruto said while staring at Fatso One and the others.

Zhang Fatso One's body trembled when he heard Naruto.

"Too damn immoral…" He inhaled deeply, then fiercely slapped his thigh. His pupils shined with a dazzling radiance that had never been seen before. This plan was not complicated, on the contrary it was simple! One just had to change their line of thought and they could easily think of it!

Zhang Fatso One felt enlightened by Naruto's words, his head was filled with wisdom, as if a brand new gate had been opened in front of him. He couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"This method is extremely immoral, haha!" Black Fatso Three yelled, fiercely stomping his foot on the ground. Either due to of bashfulness or excitement, his face was blushing red.

The other fatsos had now realised what Naruto meant. They started breathing rapidly and could feel their blood boiling. When they looked at Naruto, their eyes were filled with admiration.

"This will work, let's do it!"

"Fxxk their grandmothers! Those bastards from the Administrative Office screwed us over for so many years that we're poor to the point of dying! Now that 9th Brother is here, let's get our revenge!"

Everyone immediately became excited and began discussing details about the plan until they all felt that the plan was perfect. When they had ironed out all the details for the next month, Zhang Fatso One happily patted his belly and yelled out.

"Tonight, we'll eat even more!"

Cheerful and boisterous sounds came from the Burning Stoves Kitchen. The following month, all nine fatsos were extremely motivated and worked very h

ard to ensure the success of their plan. They were even cultivating! All that was left was to wait for the day to arrive.

Finally, the day had come.

It was early in the morning and the sun was shining brightly. Under the three peaks of the Spirit River Sect, an unprecedented scene was taking place - at the entrance of each test, three humongous black pots could be clearly seen from afar.

Upon closer inspection, a fatso could be seen under each pot, with his head held high, giving off an extraordinarily mighty vibe.

These were the nine people from the Burning Stoves Kitchen. They were the first batch of handymen to arrive at the entrance to the tests of each three mountain peaks. According to their previous arrangements, they had evenly separated into three groups. Each group consisted of three people, and would take on a single trial.

At this moment, a large number of handymen were arriving at the location from all directions, each of them hopeful and tense. Some of them had failed many times already, while others were first timers, their faces displaying both anxiety and anticipation. They were hoping that they could have a sudden rise to prominence here, going from handymen to outer sect disciples.

As they moved closer to the entrance gates of each peak, all of them saw the fatsos from the Burning Stoves Kitchen.

"Burning Stoves Kitchen? Why are they here?"

"I've been a handyman for nine years and have taken this test no less than thirty times, but this is the first time I've seen people from Burning Stoves Kitchen here…"

As these handymen arrived and noticed the appearance of the Burning Stoves Kitchen's people, they contacted their friends and found out that the Burning Stoves Kitchen's fatsos had shown up under all of the three mountain peaks; after which, all of them immediately went berserk.

"Something big is going on! The Burning Stoves Kitchen's people intend to become outer sect disciples, how is this even possible…?"

Facing the shocked faces of the other handymen and hearing their discussions, Naruto, Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three, calmly stood under the third mountain peak, completely disregarding all of the discussion about them. It was as if their minds were one with the universe.

They focused on the entrance of each path. In their eyes, this was not a trial at all, this was a road that had been paved with shining spirit stones.

Naruto's expression was especially serious, his eyes fixated on the entrance.

Soon, a person gracefully floated down from each of the three mountain peaks. The one who had descended from the mountain peak that Naruto chose was a middle-aged man, who exuded an atmosphere similar to that of an Immortal. The moment he arrived at the trial, he saw the body of Zhang Fatso One, who looked like a mountain of meat.

As his gaze scanned past Naruto and the fatsos, this man who was the elder in-charge of the entrance test, immediately felt surprised.

"Did the sun rise from the west today? Usually, the Burning Stoves Kitchen's people would rather die than become outer sect disciples. Why have they come today?"

He couldn't help but give them a few more glances before his gaze revealed an encouraging look. Then, with a wave of his sleeves, he began talking in a resonant voice.

"The outer sect Promotional Examinations, begin!" After he spoke, a gong rang out, its sound echoing throughout the entire sect. At the same time, a beam of light flashed across the entrance of the path, swiftly opening the gates.

The instant the entrance opened, Zhang Fatso One, who was wearing a look of determination on his face, breathed deeply, and took off like a gust of wind, running up the mountain like he was being chased by a horde of furious wild beasts.

Starting right after Zhang Fatso One, Black Fatso Three's eyes shone with a fierce light. He ran like as though trying to snatch away his position in the trials, was akin to someone trying to take his life.

The third one to start running was Naruto. He ran even faster, leaping high into the air like a rabbit as he darted outwards. His head was filled with thoughts about the Life-prolonging Pill. As soon as the other participants noticed they were gone, all three of them were already on the stairs, going forward as fast as they possibly could.

At this time, other handymen finally realised what happened. Their facial expressions changed and all of them rushed towards the pathway one after another while gritting their teeth. They tried their best to catch up.

This wasn't the only mountain peak with such an occurrence, the other mountain peaks were exactly the same. Running right at the front were the fatsos from the Burning Stoves Kitchen.

Under the third peak, which was named Scented Cloud Peak, on the trial path, Naruto and the others were running like the wind. They were very far ahead of the competition. However, they gradually slowed down as the pressure being emitted by the path increased. They felt like their bodies were being crushed under heavy weights.

Naruto looked back, and saw that there were seven or eight people right behind him. He started to feel worried, as if his LifeProlonging pill was going to be taken away from him.

"Snatching my Life-prolonging Pill is the same as taking my life!" He held his breath as his face became redder and redder. All of his Qi rapidly burst out of his body, more than doubling his speed and propelling him forward like a boar that had its tail stepped on. This allowed him to overtake both Black Fatso Three and Zhang Fatso One.

At the same time, Black Fatso Three also let out a great roar and with an unknown method, his speed instantly skyrocketed, allowing him to overtake Zhang Fatso One and catch up to Naruto. Seeing Naruto and Black Fatso Three about to disappear from his sight, Zhang Fatso One started to worry.

He took a deep breath. Then his fat, meaty body quickly and visibly shrunk, as if he had suddenly burned out his body fat. Simultaneously, his speed suddenly shot up as well. Soon, he had caught up with Black Fatso Three and Naruto. The three of them then sped up once again together, only leaving puffs of dirt behind them.

The other handymen who had been running behind them were all shocked by their performances. Soon, their faces began to reveal expressions of hopelessness. They couldn't accept this. They had done their best but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't catch up to Naruto and the other two fatsos. Some of them with bad tempers had even started cursing.

"Those bastards should die! They must be on aphrodisiacs! Otherwise they couldn't possibly run this fast!"

After the time it took to burn a stick of incense passed, Naruto who had been running in the first place arrived at the mountaintop. He saw two outer sect disciples standing at the end of the path, waiting to admit the first three handymen.

"Congratulations Bro-…" Seeing Naruto arrive, the two outer sect disciples standing at the end of the path smiled slightly at him. They only had time to speak two words before their eyes widened because of what happened next.

They saw Naruto suddenly pause, take another few steps forwards, then abruptly stop again. He was only one step away from the the end of the stairs, where the exit of the path was located.

He looked at the two outer sect disciples standing in front of him, and the two outer sect disciples stared back at him. Naruto let out a cute smile, then turned his body around.

"Stop!" Naruto shouted as he turned around and raised his arms. Followed by his voice, Black Fatso Three and Zhang Fatso One who had been out of breath and closely following behind him suddenly stopped. All three of them stood right in front of the exit of the path, quickly gasping for air, looking at each other, and suddenly bursting into joyous laughter.

The two outer sect disciple who were standing beside them near the exit of the path glanced at each other, seemingly unable to understand what was wrong with them. They started to wonder if the brains of these three handymen were damaged. They had already come this far, but they just stopped right in front of the exit, instead of finishing the test.

"Three junior Brothers, you are the first three to arrive, you can now come over. As long as you walk past this path, the three of you will gain positions of outer sect disciples for completing this test." One of the outer sect disciples kindly said.

"Outer sect disciples? Who would want to be outer sect disciples?!" Zhang Fatso One said while waving his hand carelessly before sitting down on the ground along with Black Fatso Three. The two of them looked like two meat-hills, completely blocking the exit of the path.

Naruto sat down in front of the two of them, raised his chin with a face filled with proudness, while expecting other handymen to come.

"What? You don't want to become outer sect disciples? Then what are you doing here? What's wrong with you?!" The two outer sect disciples were annoyed.

Naruto and his companions turned deaf ears to the two outer sect disciples' words, all of them focusing their small eyes on the path.

In the time it took to burn another incense stick, they finally saw another handyman who had a face that was as long as a horse's. That handyman was panting like a buffalo, slowly approaching through the stairs that were located far away from the exit. The horse-faced handyman sighed when he saw Naruto and the other two, his eyes showing hints of frustration. This was the ninth test that he had taken, and the closest he had been to passing. However, he had encountered the Burning Stoves Kitchen.

When this handyman, whose face was filled with both frustration and anger, was about to turn around and give up, Naruto hurriedly stood up and started yelling.

"Brother, wait up! Come here, come here! Thinking about it, I can't bear to leave the Burning Stoves Kitchen. Therefore, I just decided that I'm not going to become an outer sect disciple, so, this position…"

The horse-faced handyman was dumbfounded for a very short while, then his eyes instantly shone.

Chapter 11 Chapter 11

He was saved! This was the first thought that popped up in the horsefaced handyman's head when he heard Naruto's words. However, he hesitated when he saw the two meat-hills standing behind Naruto with malicious grins on their faces.

"You…"

Naruto's cute and tender face was now filled with a bright smile. He seemed like a person who wouldn't even hurt a fly. He took a few steps forward, patted the horse-faced handyman's shoulder, grinned and said.

"Congratulations, Brother! You're about to become an outer sect disciple. Just like a fish leaping through the dragon's gate, you will soar from here, making rapid improvements. Your future is absolutely limitless! However, your junior Brother here spent so much effort to come this far, do you mind giving me a little reward for my efforts?"

The handyman's horse-like face immediately darkened. If he had not understood Naruto's meaning by now, his decades of life experience would have been in vain. He glanced at Naruto then looked at Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three, his facial expression constantly changing. He was quickly measuring the gains and losses, considering whether or not Uzumaki Xiachun's offer was worth it.

Soon, the horse-faced handyman gnashed his teeth. Indeed, he was unwilling to give up this opportunity, not because he had to wait for another month, but because he didn't know if he could make it next month. Who knows? Next time he might encounter competitors better than him again. Not to mention that the three standing in front of him would probably take the next test too.

Most importantly, he longed to become one of the outer sect disciples, and the best opportunity was now right in front of him. He abruptly stomped his feet against the ground.

"How much do you want?!" said the horse-faced handyman while gnashing his teeth.

"Not much, not much. It's just that I spent many months preparing for this test, so I'll just take twenty spirt stones." Naruto was enraptured, he hurriedly gave an exorbitant price. The horse-faced handyman's heart instantly quivered when he heard this price. Waving his hand, he was preparing to say no, but before he could open his mouth, Naruto began to speak once more.

"I wasn't being greedy, look at the three of us, you can't just compensate only me. My Big Brother and Third Brother starved themselves for the sake of this test!"

Regarding this, Naruto didn't lie. By rushing all the way up to the mountain top, Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three had indeed lost quite a bit of weight in order to raise their speeds.

The horse-faced handyman took a glance at the two fatsos, and started cursing in his heart. He then negotiated with Naruto for awhile before they finally settled on the price of sixteen spirit stones. Bearing great heartache, the horse-faced handyman threw a small bag to Naruto, his face filled with unwillingness.

"Are you satisfied now?" said the horse-faced handyman with a hoarse voice.

"We're good. Dear Brother, please wait by the side. We will open the exit after the other two lucky handymen show up." Naruto said happily as he threw the small bag that contained spirit stones to Zhang Fatso One.

When he heard that they would wait for another two handymen to come, the horse-faced handyman's face screamed schadenfreude. His facial expression was complicated, like he was hoping that others would feel as bad as he did.

Meanwhile, when the two outer sect disciples standing beside the exit saw what had happened in front of them, their eyes widened in disbelief.

ldquo;What…what are you doing?! How dare you sell the outer sect disciple positions!" The two outer sect disciples instantly yelled out in harsh and deep voices.

"Why are you yelling? We have climbed up here and are too tired to continue, so we decided to let others go ahead of us. What's wrong with that? And since we have worked so hard, our dear Brother rewarded us for all of our efforts. Again, what's wrong with that?" said Zhang Fatso One. He was happily counting the spirit stones when he became offended by the two disciples' words. He turned his head and threw them a vicious glare.

His words rendered the two outer sect disciples speechless. They didn't know how to refute him.

At the same time, seven to eight handymen were struggling to move forward through the stairs of the exam path, their heavy gasping was akin to rolling thunder. At the front of the group was a half-naked sturdylooking man ariound thirty years old, walking towards the mountaintop step by step.

Seeing him come, Naruto's eyes suddenly shone, and he hurriedly walked up to the man.

"This Brother here, you're a bit late. But my Brother abruptly decided to give up on becoming an outer sect disciple, do you want his place?"

The sturdy man paused for a second. After hearing Naruto's words, and seeing all the people on the mountaintop, he instantly realised what was happening around here. He gave out a scorn-filled snort.

"How dare you little bastards to blackmail an old-timer?! Screw off!" growled the sturdy man. He suddenly waved his right arm in the air, releasing spirit pressure indicative of the peak of third-level Qi Condensation.

Naruto yelped as he stepped back.

"Big Brother!"

Almost as soon as Naruto let out those two words, a huge meathill came crashing from the heavens.

The sturdy man's face instantly turned purple. He looked up in shock. Accompanied by a roaring sound, a huge meat-hill heavily crashed onto his body.

From beneath Zhang Fatso One's body, the sturdy man screamed.

Zhang Fatso One straight up sat on top of the poor man's body. After struggling for a while, the man failed to extricate himself from underneath Zhang Fatso One's body. If his constitution wasn't so strong and robust, he would have long since run out of air and fainted.

When the seven to eight handymen who were following closely behind the sturdy man saw what happened to him, all of them were stunned and began to feel fear creeping in their hearts.

The two outer sect disciples beside the exit were standing there blanky, staring at the poor sturdy man whose body was nearly bent out of shape and crushed by Zhang Fatso One's weight. They couldn't help but feel sympathy in their hearts.

"Big Brother, we have an audience." Naruto, who stood beside

Zhang Fatso One, said in a low voice as an idea popped into his mind.

Zhang Fatso One had been working together with Naruto for a whole year so he instantly got Naruto's point. He immediately glared at the man, then raised his huge, hammer-like fists and began throwing punches at the sturdy man under his body, creating thunderous booms.

"Trying to freeload off this fat master? You have guts!" yelled Zhang Fatso One while throwing another heavy punch down at the man.

"We Brothers have spent so much effort getting up here since we were planing to become outer sect disciples. But now that we have given up, and kindly offered the place to you, is it too much for you to give us some compensation?!

"Fxxk your grandmother! How dare you refuse our kindness?!" While yelling, Zhang Fatso One didn't just punch that man, but also lifted up his body and dropped it onto the man again. Letting out another series of screams, the sturdy man was nearly squished to death. When he saw Zhang Fatso One stand up again, his face instantly showed pure terror. He immediately thrust out an arm holding a small bag with all his remaining strength, while shouting.

"I'll compensate you!"

Zhang Fatso One paused, then hurriedly stood up before helping the sturdy man to his feet. He grabbed the small bag from the man's hand and peered into it. His face was instantly filled with happiness. He then faced the man, grinning from ear-to-ear, and gently patted the dirt off the sturdy man's clothes.

"Haha, good Brother. Why didn't you just do so earlier? Come, come, come, wait over there, just one more handyman, then we'll open the way."

The sturdy man's heart was now filled with endless grievance, but he did not dare complain. He could only carry a sour face and go stand beside the horse-faced handyman. Unlike him, the horse-faced handyman seemed to feel a lot better after seeing what happened to the sturdy man. He felt that he had been very wise earlier.

"Big Brother, you're too damn good!" said Naruto while laughing. He was so happy that his face looked looked like a blooming flower; he felt even happier when he saw that all of those handymen who had followed behind the sturdy man were now stunned, and staring at Zhang Fatso One in great fright.

Zhang Fatso One proudly and slowly walked back to the front of the exit before he sat down, blocking the exit once again.

The two outer sect disciples standing outside the exit speechlessly looked at each other. They thought that these three people were out of line before, for blackmailing the other test-taker, but now, they felt that what they did before was actually pretty nice.

"They…they…How could they rob other test-takers?!"

"That's daylight robbery!" yelled the two of them in anger. Deep down in their hearts, they felt more jealousy than anger as they blamed themselves for not thinking of this brilliant idea.

Contrary to the two of them who were having all kinds of complicated feelings, were the seven to eight handymen who came right after the sturdy man. They saw what happened to the sturdy man from beginning to end which had left them all stunned. However, a different kind of glow had gradually appeared on their faces.

Most of them were unlikely to have ever become outer sect disciples. However, what was happening now seemed to…offer them an opportunity…...

"Brothers, now we only have one place left. So how about this, whoever can offer the highest price will get this place!" Naruto was a cunning kid. When he saw the expressions of the surrounding handymen, he immediately said so. His voice was shrill, and echoed throughout the surrounding area, triggering the excitement of those handymen. The sound of their heavy breathing instantly grew louder.

The glow that had appeared on the few handymen' faces immediately grew brighter and brighter. Their hearts beat faster and faster, as the thought of joining the outer sect filled their minds.

"Ten spirit stones!"

"Eleven!"

"This place is mine! I offer fifteen!"

Within a short while, the shouts of bidding filled the air, as one faded and another rose. Naruto and the other two fatsos were thrilled by these bids.

However, these bids that went into the two outer sect disciples' ears were equivalent to oil poured onto a fire. They could tolerate the blackmailing, even the robbery, but right now, those three were actually running an auction here. Their minds churned chaotically, just like a stormy sea. They felt that this was ridiculous and unfair. They had finally realised that the most hideous one amongst the three of them was not Zhang Fatso One but the seemingly nice and innocent Naruto!

"Too immoral! Too shameless!" yelled one of the two outer sect disciples while gnashing his teeth. Be it because of rage or jealousy, his eyes turned red. He turned around in flurry, intending to inform the sect about this.

The bidding had been going on for quite a while. However, Naruto was dissatisfied with the current bids and yelled out again.

"My Brothers, please hurry! Don't waste too much time, or others will catch up. To the other handymen in our department, this is a great opportunity that they would even trade their lives for!"

Once he let out these words, a girl's excited voice suddenly came from the test-path behind the crowd.

"I, Hou Xiaomei, offer you thirty spirit stones! I come from a cultivator's family. The last thing we lack is spirit stones! Don't you dare bid against me!"

The owner of this voice was a young girl who had white, tender skin, and a slim body, looking pure and innocent. She was currently climbing the stairs while heavily panting.

Zhang Fatso One seemed dumbstruck when he saw this pretty young girl. He attempted to say something, but soon choked his words back. However, he could not resist taking a glance at Naruto.

Following Hou Xiaomei's bid, the others who had been bidding up against each other immediately started raising their bids. At the end, Hou Xiaomei, who claimed that she came from a cultivator's family had offered a price so high that made the horse-faced handyman and the sturdy man feel like their hearts leaped out of their chests. They immediately felt that what they gave Naruto was at a bargain price.

Soon after, Hou Xiaomei puffed out her well-developed chest and proudly walked out from the crowd. She glanced at the handymen behind her with disdain before taking the final step, along with the horse-faced handyman and the sturdy man who introduced himself as Mr. Wolf, hence completing the exam.

Naruto cupped his hands and deeply bowed to the three of them.

"Congratulations, my Brothers and Sister, you are the fishes who have leap the dragon's gate. You will all rise to greatness!"

The horse-faced handyman and the sturdy man stood on top of the mountain peak, in a trance. Although they had successfully become outer sect disciples, they were not as happy as they thought they would be. With Naruto's words still lingering in their ears, they glanced at each other, and let out bitter smiles.

Only Hou Xiaomei, who had bought her place with an unbelievably high price, was ecstatic at the moment. Her beautiful and delicate face was flushed.

"I never thought that I, Hou Xiaomei, would have this kind of great luck!" thought Hou Xiaomei proudly.

Chapter 12 Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Up On the Wall

Thus, the trial of fire for promoting Miscellaneous Chores disciples to Outer Sect disciples ended in such a way. Including Hou Xiaomei, the three people proceded onwards to the peak, gradually fading into the distance. Big Fatty Choji gazed at Hou Xiaomei's disappearing figure, stroking his fat chin with a profound look on his face.

"Mn, pale, tiny, and pure…" he said, turning towards Naruto beside him.

Right at that moment, Naruto was also looking at Hou Xiaomei's disappearing figure with a heart filled with complex emotions after hearing Big Fatty Choji's words. Seeing Big Fatty Choji sneaking glances at him, Naruto couldn't help but shout.

"Don't look at me!"

Seeing Naruto get angry, Big Fatty Choji started laughing. He then took out a pouch full of Spirit Stones and changed the subject.

"Come, come, come, let's count the spirit stones. We've struck it big this time. Haha, this method isn't too bad at all!"

"What's so good about counting the spirit stones? Even if you keep counting, aren't they still the same spirit stones?" Naruto said with a hmph.

"This Ninth Junior Brother! You don't understand. They may be spirit stones, but what we're actually counting is our own life." Big Fatty Choji seldom said such words of appreciation for life, leaving Naruto to stare at him blankly for a moment. Then he took example this example from his Senior Brother to heart and also started counting spirit stones. In the end, he grew bored and tossed them back to Big Fatty Choji.

Right at this moment, there was a dazzling flash of light on the path of the trial by fire. It blinded everyone for a moment, and by the time their vision cleared, it had already reached the base of the mountain.

The middle-aged overseer who was in charge of opening the path to the trial by fire looked at Naruto's party of three and made an odd face. After quite a while, he shook his head, deciding to no longer pay attention to them. He felt that it would be better to let the sect deal with the matters concerning the Hearthfire Kitchens.

Naruto's party of three were still a bit nervous in the depths of their hearts. However, they gave a few dry coughs while glancing at each other when they saw that the overseer let them off. They quickly left afterwards, darting back to the Hearthfire Kitchens via a shortcut.

Big Fatty Choji minded his own business as he counted spirit stones, again and again, until they arrived back at the Hearthfire Kitchens. The other fatties had also returned, and each and every one of them was elated and unusually pleased with themselves when greeting each other.

After they had split their respective shares, Naruto decided to stay in his thatched house. His goal was longevity. If it hadn't been for the need to buy medical herbs in exchange for the longevity pill, he probably wouldn't have thought up such a plan in order to earn spirit stones.

No one in the Hearthfire Kitchens was able to fall asleep that night. After

Big Fatty Choji and the others had suddenly become rich, they were

too excited to keep still. They were overcome with trepidation and restlessness when they thought back to the days of the past, when their pockets were shriveled up, and then of the prosperity to come in the distant future. As a result, they all suffered insomnia that night.

Naruto was equally as sleepless as he continued thinking of the longevity pill.

The next day, the matter about the Hearthfire Kitchens brothers blocking the road to the trial by fire had spread to everyone in the Miscellaneous Chores area on the south bank of the Spirit Creek Sect. The wit

nesses told the story to ten people each, then those ten in turn told it to a hundred, and so on. In the end, few were left who didn't know about what had happened at the trial by fire.

"Did you hear? The Hearthfire Kitchens did something huge!"

"Have they gone insane, to unexpectedly engage in such a thing? Heavens, they're selling the quota for Outer Sect disciples! It's too much! How did I not think of this idea before?"

"Hearthfire Kitchens… I heard a long time ago that each and every one of them is actually very influential as they are all people with some connections within the sect. Otherwise, how could they afford to eat so appallingly if they didn't have someone backing them?!" Today,, almost every person in every room within the Miscellaneous Chores district was discussing the Hearthfire Kitchens.

The Hearthfire Kitchens were also a lot more subdued these days, none of them went out by themselves. This continued for a few days until Naruto heard the sounds of footsteps on the road outside of the kitchens when he was draining rice water bit by bit one evening.

"Come out disciples of the Hearthfire Kitchens! The Supervising House has ordered me to come investigate the matter of you waiting at the exit of the trial by fire!" As the cold voice resounded, the large doors to the Hearthfire Kitchens were directly kicked open by someone.

The doors were kicked open with a bang, and over ten Miscellaneous Chores disciples wearing uniforms of the Supervising House came rushing through the entrance. The leader of the group was the beefy guy who had previously stuck up for Xu Baocai.

"I say, I thought I heard crows crying this morning, but it's actually just you, Chen Fei. You've come here once again." Big Fatty Choji and Naruto looked at each other, and both assumed the air of an unconcerned person. Together with the other few fatties, they indifferently gazed at the aggressive people of the Supervising House.

Chen Fei sneered as gave Big Fatty Choji a glance, and then swept his gaze over Naruto. Suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. These Hearthfire Kitchens members before him were actually much too unperturbed.

He had been rather excited on the way here as he believed that he'd finally grasped the Hearthfire Kitchens' achilles heel and could finally topple them in one move. He would be able to end old internal strife between the two departments, which had already lasted many years.

"They're feigning calmness!" Chen Fei sneered internally, his eyes holding a tint of seriousness, and eerily said,

"Hearthfire Kitchen, let me ask you people. A couple of days ago, did the

9 of you participate in the trial by fire for promoting Miscellaneous

Chores disciples to Outer Sect disciples!?"

"Yes, we participated," said Big Fatty Choji with a laugh.

"That's good then. Take them away!" Chen Fei spoke no more. He only raised his right hand and pointed. Instantly, over tens of Supervising House's disciples rushed out, each of them equipped with iron chains in order to restrain the people of Hearthfire Kitchen.

Naruto looked over the situation and laughed.

"The Supervising House truly does have their hands in everything, they even want to restrict our right of becoming disciples of the Outer Sect… How amazing!

Chen Fei looked at Naruto. He couldn't help but remember the scene when Naruto had used his flying sword, so he signaled the people around him to stop. He stared at Uzumaki Xiao Chun, slowly squinting his eyes.

"Since Brother Uzumaki is not satisfied, then let me ask you another question. During the trial by fire, you disciples of the Hearthfire Kitchen blocked the exit and announced your name in front of the masses. Since you did it, I dare you to admit it!"

"Of course we did it!" Naruto was calm, looking as innocent as an angel as he quickly nodded his head and pointed towards Big Fatty Choji and the others.

"They did it as well."

"Thats right, we did it too! So what?" Big Fatty Choji laughed and admitted to it.

That scene made Chen Fei's appearance change. He had not expected the people of Hearthfire Kitchen to admit it so easily. In his mind, this was supposed to be a difficult battle of might and wits which would end with him making the people of Hearthfire Kitchen confess.

He thought for a moment that this was very strange, but he buried the feeling of unease deep in his heart, and thinking there was no need for too much talking, he roared.

"Good, good! Since you have admitted to it, this saves me from wasting my time with prodding. In this case, please follow me to the court house. If anyone dares to resist, according to the sect rules, that person will be expelled!"After Chen Fei finished talking, his body made a straight dash towards Naruto. The group of people who was behind him were rushing forward as well.

It was at this moment that Naruto suddenly raised his right arm and a sword light suddenly flew out of his sleeves. That multi-colored wooden sword instantly whistled past the Heartfire Kitchen disciples and met the disciples of the Supervising House. The cold tip of the blade threatened them, causing Chen Fei to stop in his tracks with an ugly expression.

"Naruto, you dare to resist!"

"Brother Chen, the Supervising House has the right to interrogate us, but does it have the right to arrest people?"

"Humph, you all admitted to going against sect regulations. Of course I have the qualifications to arrest you!"

"I don't know which sect rule we breached?" Naruto asked, all smiles. Big Fatty Choji and the others also narrowed their eyes, the corners of their mouths exposing sneers, as they looked towards Chen Fei.

"You sold Outer Sect places, thus breaching the sect rules… huh?" Chen Fei started explaining, but then suddenly stopped. Soon after, his complexion rapidly changed, his forehead had actually gone as far as to gradually break into a cold sweat!

He discovered to his horror, that sect rules did not actually forbid people from selling the Outer Sect spots from the trial by fire test… After all, this method was not something many people would think of, and even if it had been previously thought of, most wouldn't have the courage to go through with it…

"Senior Brother Chen Fei, you're perspiring. So which rule did we break? Contrary to what you are saying, ah, could it be that we haven't violated a sect rule? Is Senior Brother Chen Fei deceiving the law enforcement hall? Using the public office to avenge private wrongs, you come here demanding that we be illegally punished? Senior Brother Chen Fei, you have breached the sect rule chapter 9 article 11! According to sect rules, the punishment is not small!" Naruto assumed an astonished look, gradually getting to the heart of the matter with each sentence. His voice increased in volume, while his heart was secretly relaxing.

"You talk nonsense, I…" In this moment, Chen Fei's complexion changed completely. Behind him, the other Supervising House disciples also realized the problem, and each and every one of their complexions also changed in a flash.

Meanwhile, Big Fatty Choji laughed nastily and lifted both of his hands, cracking them. Ka ka!The other Fatty Senior Brothers' eyes also glinted with viciousness as they walked towards everyone from the Supervising House.

"Chen Fei, you have violated a sect rule, and what's more, you must take responsibility for the law enforcement hall for breaking down the door our Hearthfire Kitchen forged after sacrificing countless years! Now what should the compensation be? Today you must give us an explanation!" Big Fatty Choji smiled sinisterly; right now, he was suddenly towering over Chen Fei in an imposing manner.

They had been thoroughly began preparing since long time ago when Naruto had first proposed the idea two months ago otherwise they wouldn't dare block the gate at the end of the trial by fire. The sect rules were dissected by them and interpreted to suit their rotten purpose for this major event.

"Da!" Hearing Big Fatty Choji's words, Chen Fei's body trembled in fear in front of this meat-mountain figure..

All of a sudden, the courtyard gathering degraded into a brawl, sounds of ping and bangechoing in the chaos. Naruto's body flashed as he assumed his customary position on top of the courtyard's wall. He put his hands into his sleeves and he looked far away into the distance as he assumed the pose of a profound thinker. He looked like a lonely expert who had retired after a successful life.

"In the blink of an eye, I, Naruto, have scattered the ashes of the

Supervising House and dispersed their smoke…"

Chapter 13 Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - You can come too!

The conflict between the Burning Stoves Kitchen and Administrative Department had been going on for years. Although there had been many conflicts, they had always managed to prevent the situation from getting too out of hand. The worst that had happened was someone getting wounded.

This fight, occuring due to the Burning Stoves Kitchen's people selling the spots to become an outer sect disciple, lasted only about twenty minutes. Suffering from Zhang Fatso One and the others' punches and kicks, Chen Fei and the other Administrative Department's people were badly battered. Finally, it ended with each of them giving the Burning Stoves Kitchen some spirit stones to compensate for the damage done to the front gate. After issuing numerous threats, they finally departed, feeling extremely grieved.

Before leaving, Chen Fei looked back and took a glance at Naruto who had been standing on the fence wall and acting like he was cool. He felt his hatred intensify. Ever since Naruto had joined the Burning Stoves Kitchen, they had become even more immoral.

This fight had caught the attention of the entire Handyman Department.

When all the other handymen in the South Bank heard that even the Administrative Department could not deal with the Burning Stoves Kitchen, they became indignant. However, there were a few handymen, like Hou Xiaomei, who felt that the Burning Stoves Kitchen had been extremely astute in creating this opportunity for themselves.

Next month, when the Promotion Examination began, the Burning Stoves Kitchen's people had once again waited under the mountain peaks, in front of the entrance to the trials.

The surrounding handymen were giving them angry glares.

"My Brothers, if you can run faster than us, then you obviously don't need to buy these spots from us. We are only doing this to raise your competitiveness, and to help the sect select the best of the best!" Zhang Fatso One coughed intentionally as he spoke to other handymen. This method was taught to him by Naruto, but when he let these words out just now, all the other handymen gnashed their teeth.

When the bell sounded and the entrance to the test paths opened, each and every handyman as well as the Burning Stoves Kitchen's people darted forward with everything they had. Those handymen seemed as if they had been preparing to compete with the Burning Stoves Kitchen's people for a long time.

But as they watched the silhouettes of the Burning Stoves Kitchen's fatsos vanish from their sights, all of them let out bitter smiles. They were not willing to accept the truth, but could only gnash their teeth and continue onwards.

This… was somehow exactly as Zhang Fatso One said…

After successfully selling the places of the outer sect disciples once again, the three fatsos were extremely proud and confident. This time, they had thoroughly shocked the entire Handyman Department.

Countless handymen were frightened when they heard about this. But those few fatsos were gigantic and powerful, therefore, everyone could only choke with silent indignant fury.

This was never before seen in the entire Burning Stoves Kitchen's history. Although within the Handyman Department, the Burning Stoves Kitchen was quite famous in the past, but now its reputation seemed to have reached a new high.

Another two months had passed. Every time the test paths opened, the Burning Stoves Kitchen's people would get excited and energetically dart towards the test paths. In their eyes, every time the test paths opened, was the day that they would earn themselves another pile of spirit stones.

Naruto was excited as well. He had accumulated more and more spirit stones, almost enough to

buy those medicine materials that he needed, when another round of tests were about to begin.

This morning, Naruto, Zhang Fatso One, Black Fatso Three and the other fatsos had woken up very early. The nine of them separated into three groups, and rushed all the way towards the test paths. Naruto, Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three directly headed to the Scented Clouds Peak.

However, when they were rushing towards the test paths, the

Administrative Department's people abruptly showed up and started to pick a fight with them for no good reason. The Administrative Department's people had the advantage in terms of number, which allowed this fight to last for quite a while. When the bell sounded, Zhang Fatso One immediately became anxious, and his eyes turned red.

Right at this moment, all of the Administrative Department's people turned around and fled. Zhang Fatso One stomped his feet against the ground in anger. However, he didn't have enough time to chase them. Zhang Fatso One, Black Fatso Three and Naruto darted towards the test-path of the Scented Clouds Peak in a big hurry. Finally, upon arriving , they discovered that only a few people were still standing outside the entrance. Therefore, they rushed onto the path as fast as they could.

"Those Administrative Department's bastards! Later when I go back down, I'll call all of our Burning Stoves Kitchen's Bothers and tear the entire Administrative Department apart!" cursed Zhang Fatso One while heavily gasping. While he was cursing in rage, he went all out; the fat in his body seemed to have started burning, and he continuously shrunk smaller and smaller; along with which, his became faster and faster.

Naruto was angry as well. With just a few more, he could acquire enough spirit stones to buy the medicinal materials for his mission. He gnashed his teeth hard and doubled his speed; which was already quite fast. All three of them ran as fast as they could, overtaking the other handymen one by one.

When they got close to the mountaintop, their faces instantly darkened. This is because they saw that three silhouettes were standing on the mountaintops, very close to the path exit.

The one who was standing in the front was Chen Fei, the man from the Administrative Department. Another two strong men standing behind him, they were all in the third-level of Qi Condensation. The three of them stood right in front of the exit; when they noticed the appearances of Naruto and the other two fatsos, they laughed out loud one after another.

"Zhang Fatso One, Naruto, you're late! But it's fine, we happen to have some spare places, do you want them?"

"Dirty, shameless, villans!" cursed Zhang Fatso One with his teeth gnashing and eyes turning red.

"Since it's not against the rules, if your Burning Stoves Kitchen can do it, then so can our Administrative Department!"

"Haha! From now on, this business belongs to us!" yelled Chen Fei.

Chen Fei's proud and scornful voice landed om Naruto and the two fatsos' ears, Zhang Fatso One was burning with fury. Obviously, the Administrative Department had planned all of this long ago, which was why their people had shown up to block their way.

Zhang Fatso One let out a rage-filled roar and prepared to launch an attack on his three opponents. In his mind, this fight was inevitable. Moreover, these kind of things would probably happen again and again in the future. This was akin to robbing spirit stones from him, which threw Zhang Fatso One into a violent rage.

Black Fatso Three was as just as angry. However, right when the two of them were about to launch their attacks, an idea quickly came to Naruto's mind as he abruptly started talking in a low voice.

"Big brother, run as fast as you can and push them out past the exit. We'd rather give up on those spirit stones for this one time, than have those people attempt to seize our business in the future!"

As soon as he said this, Zhang Fatso One's eyes were instantly filled with wild glee. He increasingly began to feel that Naruto just had too many rotten ideas in his head. He threw his head back and laughed towards the sky as his body shot outwards. Black Fatso Three's eyes were similarly shining as he chuckled darkly. With a flash, his body moved beside Zhang Fatso One.

The test-path was not broad, Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three had darted out towards the exit beside each other. They looked like a wall that completely blocked the path as they started roaring gales.

Their speed was fleetingly quick, in an instant, they reached Chen Fei and his two Brothers.

Naruto started yelling in a high-pitched voice behind Zhang Fatso One.

Chen Fei and the other two who saw them coming, launched their attacks without any hesitation; however, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't beat Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three, who were charging like agitated wild boars; their eyes red with rage.

This strike that had been launched by the two fatsos with all of their strength could make even demons cry. They had rushed all the way and directly crashed into the bodies of Chen Fei and his two Brothers. The three of them instantly stepped backwards; their facial expressions instantly changed into shock, suddenly realising the intention of these two Burning Stoves Kitchen's fatsos; their heads started buzzing.

If they were in other places, they could still dodge and counterattack, but in here, no counterattack could help them, on the contrary, to fight back would probably make them step back even quicker.

The more steps backwards they took, the more fear their faces showed.

They didn't want to become outer sect disciples so soon. Once they joined the outer sect, they would become ordinary disciples instead of the Administrative Department's officers, greatly reducing their benefits...

"Brother Zhang, please stop! Calm down! We can talk about th-" said Chen Fei hurriedly, however, before he could finish his sentence, Naruto interrupted him in a shrill voice.

"Big Brother! Go! Push him to the peak!"

Hearing Naruto, Zhang Fatso One let out another great roar, and doubled his speed once again; so did Black Fatso Three. Once again, the two of them heavily thudded against Chen Fei and his Brothers' bodies along with loud booms. One of the strong men who had been standing behind Chen Fei couldn't take the force, and was the first to be sent flying out of the narrow stairs, falling onto the mountain peak. He stood on the peak, wanting to cry but lacking tears.

At the same time, when the man was bumped out, the other Administrative Office's handyman let out a howl, and took a series of steps backwards, stepping out of the test-path. Standing on the mountain peak beside his Brother, he beat his own chest hard and seemed extremely frustrated.

The last one was Chen Fei. He tried his best, but he eventually got directly forced out with a boom from the narrow path. His eyes thoroughly turned red; standing on the mountain peak, he turned around and stared at Zhang Fatso One with a murderous light in his eyes.

" Uzumaki ! Naruto!" the one he hated most wasn't Fatso One, but Naruto, who thought of this vicious idea.

At this moment, the two outer sect disciples, who were in charge of admitting new outer sect disciples, saw what just happened. They glanced at each other and let out a few dry coughs, took a few steps back and didn't say anything.

Standing near the test path's exit, Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three arrogantly laughed out loud.

"Chen Fei, bye bye! Haha, I will never see you again in this Handyman Department, I will miss you! I'm so jealous of you! You have become an outer sect disciple!" yelled Zhang Fatso One while slapping his own stomach; fat rose and fell on his belly like the waves of the sea.

Chen Fei and the two Brothers of his were about to vomit blood, they even wanted to kill these Burning Stoves Kitchen's bastards.

"My three dear Brothers, you don't need to thank us at all!

Congratulations, you're the fishes that leapt through the dragon's gate, you will all have very bright futures! I, your younger Brother, truly envy you for that." said Naruto while raising his chin, his face filled with proudness.

However, right after he said those words, a frosty and bland voice abruptly came from the top of the Scented Clouds Peak.

"No need to be envious, you can come too."

Naruto quivered when he heard this voice, his eyes instantly showed fright. A great force suddenly came from the mountain peak, directly shrouding Naruto, instantly rolled his body up and brought him to the mountain peak.

Naruto screamed out, grabbed a towering tree beside the testpath, tightly coiled his limbs around the tree trunk, and screamed even louder.

"Brothers! Help!"

This happened way too fast, before Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three realised what this was about, the tree trunk which was clasped by

Naruto had already been broke with a cracking sound. Naruto's body was then directly rolled up to the mountain peak by the force, like a kite but without a line. Meanwhile, a middle-aged man walked out. The man was wearing a light blue robe, giving off a natural air of power and prestige. That was no one else but…

Toruho—

Chapter 14 Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - Ninth Brother, be careful it could be a trap!

This scene brought Chen Fei and the others great satisfaction. As they looked at Naruto, they felt that justice was being served. He had it coming. As for the outer sect disciples, hatred could be seen on their faces. They had never felt this kind of emotion towards any handyman before.

"I don't want to go…" Naruto wailed as he collapsed onto the floor. His voice, filled with boundless grievance, was reverberating outwards. It was so strong that anyone who heard him would shed tears.

At the same time, after seeing Toruho, Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three hurriedly lowered their heads, preparing to escape while Toruho was not paying attention.

"Ninth Brother, it's not that Big Brother doesn't want to save you, but now that one of Scented Cloud Mountain's five grand elders has appeared, other than suffering in the outer sect, there really isn't much you can do anymore." Zhang Fatso One released multiple sighs of despair. However, while lowering his head in preparation for escape, he suddenly heard Toruho's voice from behind him.

"You two, you're coming as well." Almost at the same time as when Zhang Fatso One heard those words, an immense force suddenly dragged the two of them towards the mountain. They didn't even have time to grab onto a tree.

"I don't want to go up that mountain! I'd rather starve to death in the

Burning Stoves Kitchen than become an outer sect disciple!" Zhang Fatso One desperately protested. His wails were so much more intense than Naruto's that the latter forgot to continue screaming.

Black Fatso Three did not make a sound, but his face was filled with unhappiness. Pouting his lips, he looked at the bottom of the mountain with strong dismay.

"Shut up!" Toruho's expression darkened as he listened to Zhang Fatso One's wailing.

At that moment, Naruto immediately straightened his posture, his face solemn as he stood to the side, his stance dignified. His handyman's demeanor disappeared without a trace; it was as if he had changed into a completely different person.

Zhang Fatso One was momentarily nonplussed before he straightened his posture as well. Under that facade however, his heart was still flooded with an ocean of grievance. He didn't know why he was screaming like that, but he immediately scolded himself for it.

"Zhang Dahai, you will go to Purple Cauldron Mountain. From today onwards, you are an outer sect disciple of Purple Cauldron Mountain."

"Chen Qingrou, you're going to Green Peak Mountain."

"Naruto, you're staying at Scented Cloud Mountain, and you're going to become an outer sect disciple. Come!" Toruho glanced at Naruto and felt his head throb. All he did was shut himself in for closed-door cultivation, and the moment he came out, he was greeted with the Burning Stoves Kitchen incident. It even reached the ears of the sect elders, who treated it as nothing more than rare entertainment. Punishment never even crossed their minds.

Thinking that it would be bad if this continued, Toruho personally came to resolve the issue.

After he finished talking, he flourished his sleeves and walked towards the higher peaks of Scented Cloud Mountain, paying no more attention to Chen Fei and the others behind him.

Naruto was making a bitter face as he sighed, bidding farewell to Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three. Then, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Black Fatso Three with an odd expression. He uncertainly asked him a question.

"Third Brother's name is… Chen Qingrou? Heh, nice name. It makes you sound like a peerless beauty."

Black Fatso Three, feeling depressed, turned and walked away with a grunt. He was headed towards the bottom of the mountain.

"What's up with him?" Naruto asked as he turned to Zhang Fatso One.

Shooting Naruto a strange look, Zhang Fatso One patted his shoulder and spoke in a heavy tone.

"Ninth Brother, I've never told you this before but… Black Fatso Three isn't your Brother… in truth, she's your Sister." Zhang Fatso One said, giving a dry cough before hurrying away.

Naruto just stood there dazed and thunderstruck. He felt as if nothing made sense in this world anymore.

"S-sister?" Naruto said breathing deeply for a long while. When he was looking at Black Fatso Three's figure, he heard Toruho's ice-cold voice.

"You've been talking for too long! Still not coming?!"

Naruto hastened his pace as he followed Toruho, his face bitter once more. Every three steps he took, he would look back at the Burning Stoves Kitchen and sigh.

As for Toruho's identity, Naruto had found out long ago that in the sect's four peaks and three mountains, Toruho was one of the five grand elders in charge of Scented Cloud Mountain. He held a very high position in the sect.

The Scented Cloud Mountain may not seem big, but inside, there are four seasons, with chirping birds and fragrant flowers. It was like a land of immortals, and was incomparably larger than what its outer appearance suggested.

The exit of the road of trials was actually just a small part of the mountain. Looking at the entirety of the mountain, it was not even close to the peak, and could be considered part of the foot.

Along with the Scented Cloud Mountain's weather and climate, there was the soothing scent of medicinal herbs that warmed the body. Naruto felt great as he hurriedly inhaled deeply, his cultivation which had stagnated at the third level of Qi-Condensation for several months,improved with each breath he took.

Toruho, who was walking in front of Naruto, did not turn back, but joy could be seen in his gaze. He was pleased with the progress Naruto had made in a year.

"You'd better stop causing trouble after becoming an outer sect disciple. I'm going back into closed-door cultivation. You need to put in effort as though you are rowing a boat against the current. Otherwise, your cultivation will deteriorate." Toruho said lightly.

Naruto did not dare to refute his words, so he nodded his head like a good boy.

"For the cultivation of outer sect disciples, sect resources are just one part. They also need hard work and fortuitous encounters. So, there are many tasks for people to complete in the sect. Later, you should go take a look, and select some of them to temper yourself." Toruho explained.

At this point, Naruto suddenly felt his heart move, and recalled the time when he was looking through the sect rules. For outer sect disciples, a task was to be completed once every set period of time. Failure to do so resulted in the position of outer sect disciple being revoked.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised. However, immediately after he thought of it, Toruho managed to guess what was on his mind.

"Stop thinking about the sect laws. Others may only have their identity as outer sect disciples revoked and turned back into handymen, but if I ever find you slacking off, I'll kick you out of the sect and send you back to your village. Maybe if I remember you in a hundred years, I'll go burn some incense sticks for you."

The thought terrified him. It's one thing to be ignorant about the cultivation world and be uninvolved, but for someone like him who had already begun walking the road of immortality, it would crush his hopes and dream of living a long life if he was sent back to the village. So, he hurriedly pat his chest and swore that he would complete the missions without fail.

Not long after, a loft could be seen within the clouds at the center of Scented Cloud Mountain. It wasn't big but it was elegant. Through the window, a youth could be seen reading quietly.

Sensing a person's presence, the youth raised his head. It was a charming face. Seeing Toruho, he stood up and left the loft to salute him.

"Disciple greets grand elder."

"This is Naruto. Make the arrangements for him to become an outer sect disciple." Toruho said, glancing at Naruto. His body flashed and turned into a rainbow, shooting towards the peak of the mountain.

With Toruho's departure, Naruto let out the breath he had been holding. He felt a lot more relaxed and the sky seemed bluer.

The youth sized up Naruto, then suddenly laughed.

"You're the Naruto who blocked the road of trials of my Scented

Cloud Mountain and sold the positions in the past few months?"

"You praise me too much. A trivial thing like this isn't worth mentioning." Naruto let out an embarrassed laugh.

After hearing his words, the youth laughed even louder. His eyes shone with interest at this newcomer. Dropping the subject, the youth led Naruto around the mountain, introducing some buildings to him along the way.

"My Scented Cloud Mountain has a high position in the sect, because compared to the cultivation of Green Peak Mountain and the techniques of Purple Cauldron Mountain, what my Scented Cloud Mountain is good at is refining medicine."

"Even in the entire Skybridge River and the four big sects, my Scented Cloud Mountain has an illustrious reputation. Especially the head elder, he is even more renowned, being one of the only two medicine masters in the Donglin Continent."

"As a result, becoming an outer sect disciple of my Scented Cloud Mountain is the same as becoming a Spirit Child, so you need to learn knowledge of plants and how to refine medicine." The youth explained in detail as Naruto followed him. He led him to receive his outer sect disciple uniform as well as a storage pouch.

The space in the bag was small, but it fascinated Naruto nonetheless. After trying it out a few times, he kept it as if it was treasure.

What made him happiest was that the sect gave him twenty spirit stones after he became an outer sect disciple. Just a few more stones and he could buy the herbs he needed.

Dusk came. After the youth's introduction, Naruto understood Scented Cloud Mountain better. Later, the youth brought him to a place called Ten Thousand Medicine Refining Pavillion.

Here, he took out a jade tablet.

"This jade tablet contains information on ten thousand types of herbs.

You need to memorize them all before you can exchange it for the second part.

"Brother Uzumaki , the road to immortality is long, spirit medicine is indispensable to you on this journey, and if you can become a Medicine Master, you'll experience a meteoric rise."

"Spirit Child, Medicine Apprentice, Medicine Master…Brother Uzumaki , how far you go depends on your fate." The youth said with a kind smile. Upon nightfall, they sent Naruto to the courtyard the sect arranged for him.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki , tommorow I'm leaving the mountain. I won't be able to accompany you to the Scriptures Pavillion, so remember to wake up early tomorrow, and get the later parts of the Purple Cauldron Qi Manipulation Technique. Or, you could also choose to practice another technique. Every new outer sect disciple gets one technique for free. If you want more, you will have to pay for them.

"If there's anything you don't understand in the future, you can come look for me at anytime. My name is Hou Yunfei. I also have to thank you for looking after my little sister a while back." Hou Yunfei smiled, cupped his fists, and swiftly left.

"Hou Yunfei? Hmm." Naruto raised his head after he returned the gesture, and gazed at his figure leaving the place. After thinking about it, he suddenly remembered a girl's figure.

"Hou Xiaomei!" He blinked, feeling like he inadvertently did something good.

Eventually, he took a deep breath, turning to look at the courtyard, his eyes showed hints of life, his silhouette was tall and upright under the moonlight.

"Oh well, being an outer sect disciple doesn't seem that bad!" Naruto threw out his sleeves, and walked into the courtyard.

Chapter 14 (True Title): Third Brother? Third Sister?

Chapter 15 Chapter 15

Chapter 15-Unending Longevity Technique!

The bright moonlight was shining down on the Scented Cloud Mountain of the Spirit River Sect and dispersed the clouds and mist, baring half the mountain. The scene was extremely beautiful.

In the middle of its eastern side, at the end of a side path, was a yard an acre large, surrounded by trees and flowers. It was quite picturesque. A cabin was built in the yard. Within it, all the furniture was made from deep-purple coloured wood, filling the cabin with the faint scent of sandalwood. This house looked much better than any of the Handyman Department's houses.

A part of the yard was used as a field, and a well was located in a corner of the yard. At the moment, Naruto was basking in the moonlight, looking at the surroundings, his eyes showed satisfaction.

"Outer sect disciples are officially recognized by the sect as their disciples, naturally they get treated a lot better than handymen. This house is really nice, but, I've heard from Big Brother that, if we become inner sect disciples, we could live in 'caves'…I wonder what that would look like?" murmured Naruto as he raised his head to look at the Scented Cloud Mountain's peak.

Only inner sect disciples were qualified to live in the upper half of the mountain.

Soon after, he turned his head, lazily stretched his body, and took out a storage bag, then gently patted it. Following this movement, a bottle of round pills and a stick of cyan coloured incense instantly appeared in front of his eyes.

"Good~ stuff~." Naruto couldn't resist fiddling with the storage bag. After a while, He fixed his eyes on the bottle of round pills and the cyan incense. There was a sticker on the bottle, with the words - 'spirit condensation' - written on it, while the cyan incense was embossed with 'ascending cyan'. When he first became a handyman, he had received things like these; after he swallowed those pills, his cultivation showed some slight improvement. Incenses would have the same effect after the user lit them and breathed in their fragrance

"It's a bit of a waste if I just swallow them like this. Why not save them until after spirit refinement? They can probably help me to break through the higher levels." Naruto thought for a bit, then made a decision. At the moment, he didn't have the type of wood that could produce single-coloured flame, so he planned to go downhill and get some tomorrow.

After thinking up to this point, Naruto sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate. He never gave up on cultivating, not even a little bit. Despite his slow progress all this time, he never stopped cultivating.

He was doing this to attain immortality, therefore, he was extremely dedicated towards cultivation.

The night passed silently, the glow of the sun spilled onto the morning mist and dispersed into beams of multicoloured light, which glimmered like precious gems. Naruto, who had cultivated the entire night, felt very energetic after opening his eyes. He put on his outer sect disciple's uniform and swiftly left the cabin to head for the Scriptures Pavilion that Brother Hou told him about yesterday.

The Scriptures Pavilion was located on the other side of the mountain, far from where he lived. After walking for half an hour, he finally managed to see a tall tower in the distance. Streams of lights were swirling around the tower, along with spiritual pressure which was emitted by the tower, that covered the surrounding area.

He saw a lot of outer sect disciples on his way, most of whom seemed to be in a hurry. After sensing that Naruto was only at the third level of Qi-condensation, they disregarded him.

Naruto didn't mind this, but he did start to tread more carefully. All of the outer sect disciples he had passed on the way had a cultivation level higher than his. A few of them had an immeasurable cultivation and were surrounded by other outer sect disciples. They laughed and talked as they walked past Naruto.

The closer he got to the Scriptures Pavilion, the more outer sect disciples he saw. When Naruto was about to enter the pavilion, a rainbow streak darted over from a far away mountain peak, lapped the Scented Cloud Mountain and then flew away.

Within the rainbow streak, a young man was barely visible. He was standing on a wheel which was moving quickly.

"It's Qian Dajin from the Law Enforcement Department, Brother Qian!"

"Brother Qian is an inner sect disciple that has joined the Law

Department. He has become incredibly famous now! It's said that he has already reached the eighth level, which is the Great Circle of Qi

Condensation, and with the help of magic weapons, he is able to fly for a short while, so enviable!"

Naruto too, gazed at the rainbow streak in envy until it disappeared from sight, and sighed in his heart.

"One day, when I have learned how to fly, I'll fly circles around this Scented Cloud Mountain, when this place is filled with people, everyday!" he said to himself with determination. He then made his way through the crowd and got into the Scriptures Pavilion.

The Scriptures Pavilion tower was gigantic. The first floor was almost empty, only a single table was placed in it. An elderly man was sitting behind the table with his eyes closed and legs crossed. Every disciple who walked past him would put the plate that showed their status on the table, and wait until the plate gave out light, before politely walking ahead.

Naruto walked to the elderly man like the others and placed his plate on the table. Soon, it shone. Naruto hastily picked it up and followed the other Brothers upstairs, to the second floor of the Scriptures Pavilion.

Many bookshelves had been placed on the second floor. They contained large amounts of jade tablets and a few bamboo scrolls. Every single one of them was wrapped up in a faint and soft light, which made the entire second floor seem extraordinary.

Not far away from him, was a staircase. Naruto looked around first, then walked to it. When he was about to head up, a screen of light suddenly appeared, causing him to bounce back.

A young man, with a straight unibrow, who had been reading a bamboo scrolls, glanced at Naruto when he noticed what had happened.

"Brother, what qualifications do we need to go up to the third floor?" Naruto acted like a good child and asked curiously.

"You must be a new disciple. Only disciples at the fifth level of Qi Condensation or above can go up there." said that young man blandly. After which, he stopped talking, looked down and continued reading.

Naruto, realising that this young man didn't want to be disturbed, gave up on accessing the third floor and started to look around the second floor. He randomly chose some jade tablets and bamboo scrolls, then browsed through the many techniques in them. Every single one of them was attractive to him.

He especially fancied a fire-related magic that had been introduced in one of the books.

After a short while, he found the jade tablet of the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique that contained the method and pictures corresponding to the cultivation of fourth to eighth level of Qi Condensation. Naruto hurriedly grabbed it in his hand and continued walking around.

Time passed by quickly and, in the blink of an eye, dusk had arrived. Uzumaki

Naruto had only finished going through seven areas in the Scriptures Pavilion's second floor. By now, only a few people were still in the Scriptures Pavilion.

"Seven or eight techniques look great…" while he was still wondering which one to choose, he randomly picked up another bamboo scroll, this one was a bit dilapidated. However, after a single glance, Naruto's eyes popped out. They were overflowing with excitement and enthusiasm.

"The Unending Longevity Technique!"

He took a deep breath, carefully read through the introduction of this technique, and learned that this was a body-cultivation technique, claiming to be capable of making whoever reached its pinnacle live forever.

His breathing became rapid. After taking another glance at the name of this technique, he made the decision. He was going to choose this technique!

The very reason he started cultivating was so that he could to attain immortality, therefore, he instantly felt that this technique was meant for him, and that he was destined to find it. He laughed out aloud and took the bamboo scroll before going downstairs.

In the first floor's hall, the elderly man was still seated behind the table with his eyes closed, just the same as this morning. However, when Uzumaki

Naruto put the jade tablet for the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation

Technique and bamboo scroll containing The Unending Longevity Technique on the table, the elderly man slowly opened his eyes and threw a glance at Naruto.

This glance made Uzumaki Xiaoxhun's body instantly shake, he felt that this glance was like lightning, making him tremble with fear. Naruto hurriedly put on a polite face.

Fortunately, the elderly man soon stopped looking at Naruto, and instead, took a glance at Naruto's identity plate.

"New disciples are allowed to copy the instructions for the first eight levels of the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique, as well as one other technique." said the elderly man slowly, in a hoarse voice. While speaking, his eyes were fixed on the bamboo scroll of The Unending Longevity Technique and frowned slightly.

"Although this technique is described as amazing, only a part of it remains. Additionally, the cultivation of this technique is extremely difficult, it will bring you great pain that no ordinary person can bear. Very few cultivators have choosen this one, and most of them eventually gave up. This book has been burried in the Scriptures Pavilion for a long time, are you sure you want to practice it?" said the elderly man while looking at Naruto.

"Respected elder, disciple is very sure." Naruto hurriedly responded. Hearing the elderly man's words, Naruto had a feeling that, the reason this technique had been left in the corner of a bookshelf for so many years, was because it had been waiting for him. When he thought about the words 'unending longevity', he felt his blood boil.

The elderly man stopped trying to advise Naruto. He then raised his right hand and waved it in the air; after which, two blank jade slips flew out, and after copying the information, dropped in front of Naruto. The elderly man then closed his eyes again, not paying anymore attention to Naruto.

Naruto took the two jade slips, turned around and left, his eyes were filled with anticipation. He went directly back to his cabin.

Night had fallen before he returned. In the cabin, Naruto sat down cross-legged. After taking a deep breath, he took out the jade slip containing the Unending Longevity Technique and activated his Qi. After his Qi merged with the jade slip, the instructions instantly emerged in his mind.

Half an hour later, Naruto opened his eyes, as if he was thinking of something.

Just as the elderly man had said, the manual for The Unending Longevity Technique was incomplete. According to it, the cultivation method for this technique was divided into two parts. The internal refinement and external refinement. The external refinement was composed of three parts: skin, flesh and tendons, while the internal refinement had two parts: bones and blood.

This incomplete book only had the cultivation method for the skin, which indeed seemed very difficult; besides, the book also mentioned that the cultivation of this technique would consume great amounts of energy. However, the book had mentioned a few secret techniques which seemed a bit exaggerated; for example, one of them was called 'throat crushing hold', which the book claimed to be unbeatable.

Naruto hesitated for a second, but after looking at the words 'Unending Longevity', his eyes instantly showed determination. According to the manual, he stood up, raised his hands and started smacking every single area on his body.

He had an insurmountable desire for immortality, which was stronger than what ordinary people had by hundreds of times. It was the same for cultivation, so he wholeheartedly followed the manual's instructions, and smacked his body during the course of the entire night.

"Ouch, ouch…loose first, then tight…ouch…ouch…tight…then loose!"

Naruto gnashed his teeth while repeating a sentence from the The Unending Longevity Technique's manual. He had been jumping around the yard while constantly screaming, on the verge of tears. In the end, he made up his mind, took his spirit stones, and walked out of the yard, then went down the mountain.

He thought that if he was going to train, then why not go down the mountain and buy the medicinal materials instead, and trade them for the life-prolonging pill. That would be much better than just jumping around the yard.

Therefore, at the top of Scented Cloud Mountain, many outer sect disciples saw a white and tender young man, who was hopping in a strange manner, rather than walking. He let out strange screams from time to time. From afar, these screams sounded extremely creepy…as if Naruto was an extremely depraved person having his wedding night….

(ED NOTE: RAWs said ** which suggests sexual activity so i had some fun with the sentence)

"Ah…ouch…oh…oh…ah…ah…ah…ah…"

Naruto didn't want to make those sounds either, but it was just too painful. It was so painful that even when he didn't move, he still felt that he was being tortured. However, every time he thought about the words 'undying longevity', he would steel himself and then continue. Eventually, he made his way from the mountain top to the market located outside the sect's entrance.

After he unsteadily acquired enough of the required medicinal materials, he bought some wood that could produce one-coloured flame. As for wood that could produce two-coloured flame, it was very expensive so, he could only purchase a single piece before using up all his spirit stones.

After purchasing everything he needed, he gnashed his teeth in pain and went to the mission-monument. There, he completed the mission that he had taken when he was still a handyman, and obtained a life-prolonging pill.

This pill was only the size of a thumbnail, it was all yellow, and emitted a special fragrance. Looking at the round pill, Naruto was in so much pain that he couldn't say a single word. Sweat was pouring down his body in streams, completly drenching him.

Gritting his teeth with all his strength, Naruto climbed up Scented Cloud Mountain's stairs step by a step, leaving a trail of sweat on the road behind him. Quite a few outer sect disciples were shocked after they saw Naruto, some of them even showed disgust. After all, the sweaty stench emitted by his body was extremely strong.

Even Naruto didn't know how he made it back to his courtyard. By the time he arrived at the yard, one step at a time, it was already late at night. As soon as he stepped into his courtyard, he just fell on the ground, and passed out from the pain.

During the night, he had been woken up then knocked out by the pain multiple times. At dawn, he opened his eyes and discovered that the pain was gone.

"This is only an incomplete small cycle…"

Naruto thought of what was written in the Unending Longevity Technique's manual. A day and a night like this, without passing out, could be counted as a complete small cycle, and it required eighty-one small cycles like this to achieve a small circulation. This was equivalent to reforming the skin. When the skin became tough enough, the cultivator wouldn't feel such great pain.

"If this technique was easy, anyone could cultivate it, and then everyone would be immortal. The more difficult it is, the more I should continue cultivating it. If I stick with it, I can definitely gain eternal life!" Uzumaki

Naruto's eyes showed determination. His abnormaly strong obssesion with eternal life could shock anyone.

Now that he finally didn't feel any pain from his body, Naruto hurriedly took the life-prolonging pill out. After giving it a closer look, he was about to swallow it. However, he suddenly thought of something, looked at the surroundings to make sure that nobody was around, then rushed into his cabin and made a gesture with his right hand; following his gesture, the turtle-shell pot instantly appeared.

"Just swallowing it would be a waste, I should wait for after the spirit refinement." murmured Naruto while licking his own lips. He then took out the two-coloured flame wood piece, placed it under the turtleshell pot, then lit it. The piece of wood started to burn quickly, and in the blink of an eye, became ashes. After which, the two patterns on the surface of the pot lit up.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then put the life-prolonging pill into the pot. The instant the pill was put inside, an eye-piercing silver light suddenly came out. Naruto, having experienced this before, stayed calm as he fixed his eyes on the pot.

A short while later, the silver light dissipated, and in the pot, two silver patterns had appeared on the surface of the life-prolonging pill. The pleasant scent of medicinal materials, far denser than before, was being emitted by the pill. Just by breathing in that scent, Naruto felt much more energetic than before.

"What a shame, I couldn't find any wood that produces three-coloured flame." Naruto grabbed the pill and threw it into his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, the pill transformed into heat and diffused into his body.

Naruto heard a boom from inside his head, then he felt as if his entire body was in an oven, everything inside was blazing. He even saw the white hair near his forehead instantly turn back to black, as if his life-force was being replenished. Quite a while later, this feeling hadn't weakened at all, on the contrary, it kept growing stronger, to the point where his nose started bleeding.

"Too much!" Naruto said as his eyes widely popped up. He hurriedly activated the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique, however, that didn't help at all, because what had been replenished by this pill was life-force, not Qi. More and more blood gushed out of his nose, and the hot stream of life-force inside his body started to expand, making him feel like he had become a balloon which was about to explode. He was instantly frightened.

In fact, after this pill went through two spirit refinements, its effects and value were hundreds of times more than what they used to be. Naruto was only in the third-level of Qi Condensation, it was impossible for his body to handle the effect of this pill.

In this moment of crisis, Naruto suddenly thought of The Unending Longevity Technique. He hurriedly leapt up and started smacking his own body with both of his hands using all of his strength.

Muffled popping sounds resounded about the room. Along with his movements, he felt that the hot stream inside his body started to cool down. However, he did not dare to stop. After smacking himself for half an hour, he finally felt the hot stream of life-force inside his body dissipate. His entire body was aching to the point where he immediately collapsed, panting. However, he felt better than he ever had before. An intense light could be seen flashing in his eyes.

"Although it's partially related to spirit refinement... it's still mostly the spirit medicine itself. Spirit medicine…is surprisingly miraculous…some can improve Qi, some can prolong the life…so, there might be one that can make people immortal!" thinking of this, Naruto became more and more excited as his eyes shone even brighter.

"The Scented Cloud Mountain is exactly for raising Medicine Masters…"

"I'm going to become a Medicine Master, and make... an immortality pill!" Naruto yelled to himself while panting.

At this moment, an incomparable and unprecedentedly strong interest in spirit pills had grown in his heart.

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Attention To Detail

With this goal in mind, Naruto lay in the courtyard, his body aching and worn out. However, he faintly felt that his skin had hardened substantially.

This made him look forward to becoming a Medicine Master even more.

Having lain in the courtyard for half an hour, the aching in his body receded. Naruto sat up and crossed his legs. His eyes flashed as he took out the pills and incense he received upon becoming an outer sect disciple from his storage pouch.

After inspecting them carefully, Naruto took a deep breath and glanced at his surroundings, before turning around and returning to the cabin. There, he took out the turtle-shell pot.

"Although these pills can be taken now, after the spirit refinement, they should be enough to let me make a breakthrough from the third level of Qi Condensation to the fourth. It's a pity that the two-coloured firewood is so expensive. The Burning Stoves Kitchen has some, but I'm not a handyman over there anymore, so that would be inconvenient." Naruto now had a great interest in medicines, so after giving it a thought, he took out a piece of one-coloured firewood without hesitation. "Just refining it once is still good!" He lit up the firewood which burned with a one-coloured flame. Moments later, a single pattern brightly lit up on the turtle-shell pot.

Naruto opened the medicinal bottle cap and took out the three medicine pills that were the size of dragon eyes. He refined each pill separately.

Silver lights shone one after another and soon, three pills with silver patterns appeared in Naruto's palm. He had also refined the stick of cyan incense, then looked at the three spirit medicines that had each been refined once, placed in front of him. Naruto kneeled down, and after he placed the cyan incense stick in front of him, he picked up the three pills and threw them into his mouth.

Naruto then imitated the fourth picture in the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique manual and cultivated accordingly. Soon, the Qi in his body began circulating. This time, he managed to last noticeably longer. His cultivation base started to increase.

Within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the river of Qi inside him began to rapidly flow through his entire body as he began to attack the bottleneck of the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

"Just a hundred more breaths and I will enter the fourth level of Qi condensation!" Naruto gritted his teeth as he imitated the actions shown in the fourth picture, which caused his body to curl into a ball. Cracking sounds could be heard coming from his entire person as beads of sweat fell to the floor, non-stop.

As he started to run out of Qi, he squinted his eyes. Suddenly, Naruto opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of Qi at the cyan incense stick.

As soon as his Qi hit it, the cyan incense lit up and produced wisps of cyan smoke which resembled snakes. Upon appearing, they creeped straight for Naruto, entering his body through his seven apertures and pores, transforming into thick Qi that bolstered the river of Qi inside him.

With a boom, a small blast wave erupted from Naruto's body and spread throughout the cabin before sweeping through the courtyard like a gust of wind. Naruto's eyes glinted with joy as he laughed.

"The fourth level of Qi Condensation!"

He immediately felt the Qi inside him thicken with vigor. As he walked around, his body felt lighter than ever. Looking down, he saw large amounts of black filth sticking to his body, and he immediately knew that these were the impurities forced out of his body. Moving his body, he exited his cabin s

o fast it looked as if he was flying, and did some cleaning in the courtyard. Naruto felt refreshed. Making a gesture with his right hand, a wooden sword immediately flew out from his storage pouch like a prismatic rainbow.

After manipulating the wooden sword and making it fly about in the courtyard, Naruto felt even more pleased with himself. Although it was not a sword fit for use at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, but under his control, it possessed a certain killing intent.

"Spirit refinement would be so much better if I had three-coloured flames, but medicine pills are just as amazing." Naruto's interest in spirit medicine had only increased. Whether it was medicinal pills or incense sticks, all were indispensable for cultivation.

"I have to become a great Medicine Master, refine a Longevity pill, and use spirit refinement on it ten… no, a hundred times!" Naruto's desire to become a Medicine Master intensified from the bottom of his heart. Thinking up to this point, he pat his bag and took out a jade tablet.

The jade tablet was given to him by Hou Yunfei when they had gone to the Thousand Herbs Pavilion earlier. It contained the introductions and images of ten thousand types of herbs. This jade tablet was unique, could only be found in Scented Cloud Mountain, and it was required that all Spirit Children memorised it.

However, mastering a mere ten thousand types of herbs still wasn't enough. Naruto thought about what Hou Yunfei said - only after memorising it could he exchange this jade tablet for the next one.

He enthusiastically circulated the Qi in his body. Many different herbs were flashing through his mind. He only got more and more entranced by it, as if he had opened another door in life. It even described the herbs needed to make the life-prolonging pill.

After roughly looking through everything, Naruto felt that memorising all the different herbs was not a difficult task. After all, he was someone who was aspiring to become the great Medicine Master that would make a longevity pill.

So, his overzealous personality exploded out once more. He wanted to more than just memorise the herbs - he wanted to scrutinize each and every single one of them to the absolute extreme before moving on to the next.

Naruto madly trained for half a year when he had been threatened by Xu Baocai, and now, before such a grand dream, the same potential burst out from within him.

All the images of plants and herbs were all scrutinized in minute detail, to the point where a realistic figure of the herb would form the moment Naruto closed his eyes.

However, he thought that it was not enough, and lamented not having the actual plants... Naruto wanted to dissect the herbs to examine them more thoroughly. Unfortunately, he could only closely examine what he had. Be it texture or other minor details, he would completely study them.

Still unsatisfied, Naruto did not spare even the roots, nor fruits. He studied the herbs as if they were enlarged an infinite amount of times, excavating them bit by bit.

Even after all of that, his heart still could not be put at ease. In the end, Naruto had even studied the villus and pores of each herb with that same dogged scrutiny.

Time passed quickly and soon, it had been a month since he started his daily training in the fourth level of the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique. His cultivation base had also become a bit more relaxed. At the same time, he didn't stop practicing the Unending Longevity Technique. Every day, Naruto endured unspeakable pain, while sprinting back and forth in his courtyard, and memorising the herbs. Currently, he was able to mix the herbs he had studied in his mind. He had already reached the point where he could only explore beyond what was recorded in the jade tablet.

(TLC note: raws say running. Most likely his jumping is completed and the manual told him to run)

In addition to this, whenever he was running, he would always stop at the upper right corner of the courtyard. Over there, was a spirit field. In that field, Naruto had planted the seeds of ten herbs.

(ED note: spirit field is the same as ling field from world of cultivation) The type of herb was known as Spirit Winter Bamboo, and planting it was the task he chose half a month ago at the outer sect disciple mission-monument. He had a hard time finding a mission that was not dangerous.

Naruto did not dare to take Toruho's words lightly. Every half a year outer sect disciples were required to complete at least one mission. Naruto would never forget this law.

The mission he chose awarded a substantial amount of contribution points, which would increase along with the products' quality. It was simple, but it was also a mission that consumed a great amount of time, requiring no less than three months for a passing grade.

The Spirit Winter Bamboo's growth could also be hastened using one's Qi too. However, Naruto, didn't have time to tend to its growth, so he chose to leave it alone in the spirit field.

"It grows so slowly." Naruto looked at the spirit field with a frown. From the description given in the jade tablet, Naruto knew that this herb was extremely dependant on Qi. Without a spirit field rich in Qi, the best way to nurture the herb was to supply it with his own Qi.

"It should be because the Qi in my courtyard's spirit field is too thin, that these Spirit Winter Bamboos grow extremely slowly." Naruto squatted down and scooped up a handful of soil from the spirit field as he muttered to himself.

"What can I do to make the spirit field's Qi richer…?" Naruto thought about it for a while, before his expression suddenly changed. He made a gesture with his right hand, causing the turtle-shell pot to appear.

Looking at the pot, then the spirit field, Naruto's eyes shined.

"This pot can refine anything, so…. It should be able to refine the soil too, right?" thinking about this, Naruto immediately became curious. After taking the Spirit Winter Bamboo seeds out from the soil, he immediately dug out a large amount of soil and threw it into the turtle-shell pot. He then took out a piece of one-coloured firewood and lit it.

Soon, silver light flashed as the soil inside the pot showed the same silver patterns as the previous refinements. Although the light from the refinement was dimmer, the Qi was visibly richer.

Naruto was instantly filled with delight. Not finding it bothersome at all, he refined more soil and repeated the process for about half an hour. When he had almost used up the one-coloured firewood, the entire spirit field had already been refined once.

(ED note: Hour in this story is written as 时辰 which is actually 2 hours since the author is using the ancient chinese time measurement, where one day is 12 hours)

It was just that, the refined soil was only at the exterior. As for the deeper layers of soil, Naruto did not refine them since he did not have enough firewood. This caused the spirit soil to be foundationless and thus unable to maintain that level of richness. As time passed, the field would slowly return to normal.

Even though this was the case, the difference between the Qi the spirit field had now and before, was as far apart as heaven and earth. The energy was so rich that the field gave off a stimulating fragrance.

Naruto hurriedly planted the Spirit Winter Bamboo seeds and stood to the side, his eyes never leaving the field. Soon, he saw sprouts popping up at a speed visible to the naked eye. The shoots grew like crazy.

With that speed, the sprouts grew into 3 chi tall plants within the blink of an eye. If any disciples specializing in herbs saw this, they would have their breath taken away. After all even if a cultivator used his Qi, it will still be difficult for the Spirit Winter Bamboo to grow so quickly. (ED note: 3 chi is approximately 1m)

Besides…... in the entire cultivation world, there was no one wasteful enough to refine all that soil just to speed up the growth of ten Spirit Winter Bamboo seeds…

Even if it was an accomplished refining master, they definitely wouldn't do something so wasteful.

Seeing that the seeds grew well, Naruto was finally satisfied, so he turned around and left them alone. Then, he continued sprinting while studying the herbs recorded on the jade tablet in the courtyard.

As the sun set and the sky darkened, the Spirit Winter Bamboo in Naruto's spirit field, had already shot up to 3 chi high… And it seemed like they were far from reaching their limit. Who knew how big they would have grown by the end of the third month…

On this same night, Naruto put down the jade tablet he had been holding. The ten thousand herbs in there were already completely memorized, down to the smallest detail, with that zealousness of his. He had even noticed some contradictions recorded in the tablet.

"The first thing I'm going to do tomorrow morning is to exchange this for the second jade tablet. I wonder how the Ten Thousand Herbs Pavilion tests the people who want to exchange their tablets. Am I be supposed to recite it by memoryl?

Naruto lifted his chin, threw out his sleeves, and just when he was about to boast, he had second thoughts. Giving a dry cough, he picked up the jade tablet and continued studying, in fear of the test questions he might have to face tomorrow.

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - Little Turtle

On the dawn of the second day, Naruto walked out of his wooden hut early in the morning. He immediately noticed that the spirit bamboo planted in the spirit field had actually grown to half the height of a human. Only after nodding his head in satisfaction did he head out the yard and walk along the mountain trail towards the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

The morning sun rose in the distance, its rays illuminating a distance of tens of thousands of zhang. Mist swum amidst the sunlight like golden koi, an incredibly spectacular sight. Naruto's posture was relaxed and at ease as he walked forwards without making any stops. Gradually, he began to see many outer sect disciples along his path. Only, since he did not recognise a single one of them, he could not help but miss his Brothers of the Burning Stoves Kitchen.

[TL: One 'zhang' is equal to 10 feet.]

"I wonder how Eldest Brother is doing now, and also Black Fatso Three…" Naruto felt a sense of wistfulness in his heart. By the time the sun had risen completely, he could see the ten breathtaking stone steles of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion in the far distance.

These ten steles are the symbol of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. Every stele glowed with a soft blue light. They were at least ten zhang tall and as majestic as a rainbow, as though ten giants with an extraordinarily formidable presence were standing at that spot.

On the steles, rows and rows of characters could clearly be seen. They represented the rankings, from one to a hundred.

Only, there were no names written on the steles, just symbols. Each picture was a representation of the mark of a medicine master who was the pride of the outer sect and who had left an awe-inspiring reputation within the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

Every medicine master had a mark unique to themselves that they would carve on the spirit medicine that they had satisfactorily refined. Since these medicine would spread through the ages, the marks symbolised glory for the medicine master and were of great importance.

That day when Hou Yunfei had brought Naruto to this place, he had introduced it briefly. Now, Naruto had come by himself. As he closed in, he read the rankings on the ten stone steles.

The most eye-catching one was the first symbol on the stone stele right in front of him.

It was a treasure flask!

[TL: 宝瓶 in the raws can mean either the horoscope 'Aquarius' or a

'treasure flask'.]

Hou Yunfei had once told Naruto that this flask was the symbol of… Kurenai!

This name was not new to Naruto. When he had still been a handyman, there had been a time when he heard Zhang Fatso One speak about this Kurenai while he lamented and savoured ginseng roots under the moonlight.

That girl was originally from an ordinary family. Numerous years ago, a predecessor of the sect had sensed her shocking qualifications and persuaded her to enter the sect. After a careful examination of her qualifications, the entire Spirit River Sect had instantly been stirred into a furor.

In fact, she possessed the rarely seen foliage spirit pulse. Not only was her cultivation speed multiple times faster than a normal person, her had even greater potential in refining medicine. Eventually, she had entered the Scented Cloud Mountain and became Toruho's only disciple. She was seen as Toruho's successor and one of the medicine masters who would sustain the sect in the future.

According to the rules of the Spirit River Sect, no matter how high a person's qualifications were, they still could not directly become an inner sect disc

iple. Therefore, this girl, much like the pride of the other two mountain peaks, had started out as an outer sect disciple in order to hone her skills. Even so, it was the inner sect who granted her supplies for her cultivation.

And anyone could understand that it would not be too long before this Kurenai would justifiably become an inner sect disciple.

It just so happened that this girl was beautiful enough to move people's hearts, causing countless male disciples to admire her incessantly. Because of these reasons, her reputation among the disciples of the outer sect was monumental. There wasn't a single person who had not heard of her. Even the disciples of the inner sect had never considered her as an outsider. And even the traditionalist inner sect approached this girl with fear.

As he thought about this, Naruto was filled with curiosity towards Kurenai. He gazed at the stone steles and walked in a large circle around them. He inspected them one by one, feeling increasingly breathless.

"This Kurenai is too powerful! Ten stone steles, yet she's number one on eight of them. The remaining two didn't have her name, but that's probably because she hasn't competed for them!" Bao Naruto widened his eyes as he scanned the stone steles.

At this moment, the disciples surrounding the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion gradually began to increase. Very soon, a large sea of people had gathered. Naruto had been searching for the position of the second herb almanac but when he noticed that the number of people here was increasing by the second, he became very curious. He didn't understand why there were so many people here today so he pushed his way to the front. Suddenly, he heard an uproar spread from his surroundings like the waves of an ocean, moving in his direction.

"Senior Sister Zhou is coming!"

"Haha, to be expected, the rumors that have been circulating for the past few days are true. Senior Sister Zhou would definitely be coming here in these few days. Waiting here for so many days is worth it." "This time, Senior Sister Zhou is already first in the fifth volume of herbs and the third volume of spirit beasts. This time for sure, she's going to challenge the fourth volume of spirit beasts!"

As surrounding discussion suddenly surged, the crowd began to squeeze against each other. Naruto was trapped inside. It was fortunate that his body was not too fat. After being squeezed back and forth, he finally forced his way out of the crowd. He lifted his head to see a long streak of light flying rapidly from a distance.

That long streak of light was actually a blue damask. There was a girl dressed in the robes of an outer sect disciple on the damask. Her hair was floating in the wind like strands of silk, her eyes were like the stars and the cold moon. Her beauteous complexion and delicate figure were elegant and refined.

In an instant, the streak flew straight towards one of the ten stone steles. Amidst the cheers of the surrounding outer sect disciples, the girl landed. She did not even glance at her surroundings as she seemed to only have eyes for the ten orderly wooden huts lined in a row beneath the stone steles. She picked a hut and walked inside.

It was only now that Naruto noticed that below each of the ten stone steles, there was a wooden hut. At this moment, apart from the stone stele that the girl had chosen, there were many other people entering and exiting the wooden huts beneath the other steles.

"Finally I've seen Senior Sister Zhou again. This time, Senior Sister Zhou will definitely succeed in becoming rank one on the ninth stele-!" "Senior Sister Zhou's goal is the unprecedented feat of first place on all ten steles. Only she can possibly do that. Since she's going to be assessed for the fourth and fifth volume spirit beasts, she's definitely going to be first!" While the surrounding disciples rapidly became excited, a frail-looking outer sect disciple standing beside Naruto first loudly shouted "Good luck, Senior Sister Zhou" a few times. Naruto latched onto this opportunity to ask him a few questions. Since the disciple was in good spirits, he provided a detailed answer.

Naruto confirmed that if he wanted to attain the second volume of the herb almanac, he would have to go to the wooden hut beneath the stone stele to be assessed. Only if he succeeded could he take the second volume. Hence, he hurriedly began squeezing his way towards the first stone stele. As he closed in with great difficulty, he discovered that this wooden hut was already full. After waiting briefly, when he saw someone walking out of the hut with an air of depression, he immediately stepped into the hut without hesitation.

The moment he entered the hut, it was as though the outside noise had been completely barricaded. It became extremely quiet. The wooden hut was not big. In the middle of the hut, there was a futon, and in front of the futon, there was a stone stele one size smaller.

Following the instructions he had asked for, Naruto knelt on the futon and took out the jade tablet containing the first volume of herbs. The moment it came into contact with the stone, it was instantly absorbed. The stone stele shook slightly before a ray of light diffused outwards.

"Just now, that fellow Brother said that I need to draw a mark which represents my future medical mastery onto the stone stele now." Naruto thought briefly before he chuckled and drew a turtle on the stele. He really liked turtles. Although this drawing of a turtle was rather crooked and looked somewhat ugly, he felt that it was relatively good.

The turtle-shaped mark disappeared with a flash. Naruto took a deep breath before he focused his concentration, his eyes flashing with acuity. Lifting his right hand, he slowly pressed his palm against the stone stele. Almost at the exact moment he touched the stone stele, a loud boom resonated in his mind as his vision blurred. When his sight cleared, his surroundings was no longer the wooden hut, but rather, he was standing in the middle of an empty space.

Before Naruto even had time to size up his surroundings, a bright light suddenly flashed before his eyes. In front of him, there instantly appeared countless medical herbs that enveloped the sky and covered the ground.

These herbs were incomplete. Rather, they had all been ruthlessly broken apart. Split into more than ten sections, all the fragments had been mixed together. They spread out in a densely-packed mess.

Looking around, there were so many fragments that it was impossible to count them all.

This was the fear-inducing assessment of the Ten Thousand Medicine

Pavilion that terrified the outer sect disciples to the extent that their hair stood on end. All these years, countless people have had their hopes dashed and their spirits shattered by this assessment. This was why, whenever someone entered the first hundred rankings and had their names appear on the stone, it was natural that they would be admired by numerous other people.

This was especially so for the tenth position till the first, whose achievements won them well-deserved fame.

"In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn out, patch together the stalks of spirit herbs. You will be assessed on how many you complete. Begin." An ice-cold voice seemingly without the slightest trace of emotion resonated in the air.

"This simple?" Naruto felt that this was inconceivable. After just a sweeping glance, with the extent of his understanding towards the herbs listed in the jade tablet, he picked out fragments of more than a hundred kinds of herbs he could piece together.

He had pondered a lot before he came. But now, when he saw this kind of assessment, he instantly heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. But immediately afterwards, he became anxious again.

"This won't do. With such an easy assessment, the number that I need in order to pass must be really high." Naruto began to panic and raced for time. Raising his right hand, he pointed ten times in rapid succession. Every piece of herb that he pointed towards would combine instantly according to his thoughts. In the blink of an eye, he had assembled two stalks of medical herbs.

His hands moved without pause as he pointed again. Without even a moment of respite, numerous fragments flew outwards and combined with similar fragments, forming numerous stalks of herbs. Gradually, more and more stalks of herbs were formed, soon surpassing a hundred.

Naruto's gaze did not waver. His spirit was entirely focused as he forgot about everything that was happening around him. He only had eyes for those fragments of medical herbs as his hands moved at lightning speed. In a panic and worry that he might fail the assessment, he was totally ruthless at that moment. Blood vessels slowly began to appear in his eyes as his hands moved even faster.

One hundred stalks, two hundred stalks, three hundred stalks, five hundred stalks...One thousand stalks!

Naruto's forehead dripped with sweat. White smoke was even being emitted from the top of his head as the speed of his movements increased. He only needed a single glance at those fragments of herbs to instantly identify what kind of medicine they were. This was because when he was memorising from the jade tablet, he had even wanted to grind those herbs into powder in order to study them.

But since he did not have that option, he could only observe the herbs to their smallest detail, understanding them completely.

If this scene was seen by the outer sect disciples, it could have caused them to inhale sharply with disbelief. In their minds, this assessment could be considered terrifying. But they could not have possibly imagined that what was truly terrifying was Naruto's insight towards the ten thousand kinds of herbs in the jade tablet.

Time passed. Two thousand stalks, three thousand stalks…

Naruto's eyes were filled with blood vessels as his hands struggled to keep up with the pace of his thoughts. If it weren't for his cultivation at the fourth level of Qi-condensation, he would have long since been unable to keep up.

Since it had come to this degree, Naruto did not know whether ultimately, he could pass the exam or not. He could only grit his teeth forcefully and continue to persist.

Four thousand stalks, five thousand stalks, six thousand stalks, seven thousand stalks…

After an unknown amount of time, when there were not many fragments of medicine left, all the medicine suddenly disappeared with a flash. His vision blurred, and when it cleared up, he found that he had already returned to the wooden hut. On the stone stele, there appeared a jade tablet, exactly the same jade tablet containing the first volume of herbs that had assimilated with the stele.

"There's still some left, only so little was left…" His heart was unsettled. As he picked up his jade tablet and depressedly walked out of the hut, he heard the loud cheers of numerous people outside.

Naruto raised his head and immediately spotted Kurenai coincidentally walking out of her hut at the same time. And on the stone stele behind her, the treasure flask that represented her name had already appeared at the number one position.

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Manipulating the Atmosphere

That was the stele for the fourth volume of spirit beasts, and also the ninth stele that had the Aquarius symbol appear in first place.

Countless cheering and shouting sound suddenly resounded throughout the crowd.

"Haha! Sister Zhou did it, I told you that Sister Zhou was going to become an unprecedented champion on the steles!"

"Kurenai truly is a talented girl who possesses the flora spirit pulse! I bet she will have a limitless future!"

"Sister Zhou, we're expecting that next time, you will be the first one to achieve the top-ranking on ten steles, and sound the Spirit River Bell, shocking the entire sect!"

The surrounding outer sect disciples in the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion let out cheers one after another. Even though there were those who spread rude remarks while wearing unsightly expressions, their voices were drowned out by the others. In the eyes of these outer sect disciples, Kurenai's status was like the sun during daytime. All of Scented Cloud Peak's outer sect disciples were now seeing her as the representative of the Scented Cloud Mountain.

Kurenai faintly smiled. Although she had always been cold and detached, seeing all these outer sect disciples cheering for her, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself. Seeing her smile, all the outer sect disciples cheered even louder.

Naruto was also standing in the crowd and looking at Kurenai with admiration. He silently sighed, then raised his head and took a glance at the stele for the first volume of herbs. After which, he suddenly widened his eyes. After being stunned for a while, he hurriedly took out the jade tablet of the first volume of herbs, and took a closer look at it. He found that apart from the ten thousand herbs of the first volume, there were another ten thousand herbs. He stuck his chest out and raised his head in surprise, his face filled with pride.

He was stunned because he saw that on the stele for the first volume of herbs, a good-looking turtle was now positioned right above the

Aquarius symbol. No matter how he looked at the stele, Naruto felt extremely satisfied.

Earlier, he intended to leave. However, he now stood in the crowd, trying very hard to hold in his excitement, prepararing for the surrounding people to cheer and hail him. Sadly, after waiting for a while, everyone's attention was still on Kurenai. No one noticed the change on the stele for the first volume of herbs, even when the people surrounding Kurenai were starting to to disperse.

Seeing this, Naruto was overcome by anxiety and suddenly shouted.

"Look! First place on the first volume of herbs' stele is no longer Sister Zhou's anymore! Somebody else took it! So strange. Such a beautiful turtle, who drew it?!"

Despite the sounds of cheering and hailing, Naruto's shrill and high-pitched voice was easily heard. Especially because of its shocking content, many people subconsciously looked at the stele. Soon after, all of their expressions changed, and they immediately exclaimed.

Thus, more and more people heard the exclamations and looked at the stele. All of them instantly quivered when they saw the stele and showed disbelieving expressions. Soon, everyone who was on the scene had noticed the change on the stele for the first volume of herbs.

"The…the… the first stele…, someone has actually surpassed Sister

Zhou on the first stele!"

"How can this be?! My God! There's actually someone who could surpass

Sister Zhou! That turtle is incomparably ugly! Who is this person?!"

"Surprisingly, there are people who can comp

ete with Sister Zhou on the subject of herbs. Something big has happened! This time, Sister Zhou was unable to achieve the top-ranking on nine steles. She is still only the first for eight!"

The surrounding people instantly fell into an uproar. Their discussions were even louder than the cheers from before. After all, no one could have predicted this, so everyone found this extremely shocking.

In the crowd, Naruto was so proud of himself that a smile almost bloomed. However, he was worried that if he admitted to beating Kurenai, no one would believe him. Therefore, he did his best to keep himself from laughing out loud. However, he shouted out in shock like the others from time to time. His voice especially noticeable.

Even Naruto himself had never thought that he would achieve first place.

At this moment, Kurenai, who was turning around and preparing to leave, suddenly stopped when she heard the cries of the surrounding people. She then turned around and saw the stele for the first volume of herbs, as well as the turtle which was now positioned at the top.

She slightly frowned before relaxing her eyebrows again, seemingly disinterested in this change. In her thoughts, the top place on the stele for the first volume of herbs was achieved when she had just become an outer disciple; she hadn't given her all for this spot back then, not to mention that right now, she was completely different from years ago.

"Good, it seems that a talented disciple has emerged from our sect." she said lightly in a condescending voice as her body suddenly flashed, darting towards the stele for the first volume of herbs.

She thought that she had just barely been surpassed, and all she need to do to regain that position was simply put in a little more effort.

Once she moved, all of the surrounding outer sect disciples grew excited. They turned around and fixed their eyes on her. When they saw that Kurenai walk into the cabin under the stele for the first volume of herbs, their eyes were instantly filled with anticipation.

"Sister Zhou is going to take her first place back. The young Brother who has drawn the turtle is good, but, it's such a shame that he can only hold the first place for the time it takes a stick of incense to burn.

"That's true. This young Brother can definitely be considered as genius in herbs, but he just had to encounter Sister Zhou. It can only be considered his bad luck."

Hearing the words of the surrounding disciples, Naruto became nervous. On one hand, he didn't have enough time to match all the pieces together. On the other hand, Kurenai was so famous, that even he himself, felt that he belonged in second place.

"It's fine, I'll just take the second place. Men shouldn't fight against women." Naruto consoled himself and thought about leaving. However, he was unwilling to leave like this, so he stood still, anxiously waiting for what was about to happen next.

Soon, the time it took to burn a stick of incense had passed, but the ranking on the stele didn't change. Naruto's turtle was still on top. Kurenai walked out of the cabin with an indifferent face. She was hundred percent confident about taking the first place back. This time, she had used eighty percent of her abilities and completed a whole four thousand herbs amongst the ten thousand.

In her eyes, this was more than enough to surpass that unknown talented disciple.

However, when she walked out of the cabin, she didn't hear a thing. When she looked at the crowd, she found that they had strange expressions on their faces, and quite a lot of them were staring in disbelief.

Kurenai stopped, abruptly raised her head, and looked at the stele. She saw that her Aquarius symbol was still beneath the turtle, which looked uglier the more she stared at it.

The entire area was dead silent and every disciple, including Naruto was stunned. Soon after, Naruto looked at Kurenai in surprise, then felt that this girl was not only pretty, but also…not as frightening as he thought.

Kurenai's pupils shrank slightly, before quickly returning to normal.

"This person is indeed talented with herbs. I'm now a bit curious about him." said Kurenai as she turned her body around in a flash and under everyone's stares, unexpectedly walked into the cabin once again.

This time, Naruto did not even consider leaving. He stood in the crowd eagerly awaiting the results. As for the other outer sect disciples, they had stopped talking loudly, instead, they had started discussing in hushed tones. Everyone who saw this unprecedented occurrence could not believe their eyes.

As they looked at the turtle, they began to feel that it was mysterious. After the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, this sense of mystery intensified as they saw Kurenai walk out of the cabin again.

The turtle…was still on the top!

"My god! Who is this?!" Naruto widely popped out his eyes and shouted, his shrill voice immediately intensified the surrounding disciple's excitement.

"Sister Zhou failed to surpass this person twice, how is this possible?! How many herbs did this person complete?!"

"Did anyone see which Brother went in and took the assessment?"

The silent crowd was finally unable to supress their excitement, and flew into a frenzy. Kurenai stood under the stele with a frown on her face. She had done her best just now and completed nearly six thousand herbs. However, she never thought that even after this, she would still be below that turtle.

She narrowed her eyes, coldly snorted, then turned around and walked into that cabin once again, her eyes filled with determination.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Kurenai walked out with an extremely serious expression. She then turned around and walked in again. Another stick of incense later, she walked out once more, her face was pale but still filled with diligence and competitiveness. Then, she turned around again.

One time, two times, three times, four times…

All the other cultivators' breaths grew heavier with each of Kurenai's continuous assessments, until finally, the crowd fell completely silent again.

Simply because, the meaning of this scene was too terrifying. They couldn't even imagine how many herbs the person, who had drawn the turtle, had completed, that Kurenai couldn't surpass him no matter how hard she tried.

At this moment, the turtle had left an extremely strong impression on the mind of everyone watching this.

Especially when they saw Kurenai walk out again, her pretty eyes filled with streaks of blood. Everyone couldn't help but deeply gasp in shock.

In the crowd, Naruto could only cough dryly. He couldn't tell anyone that he was the one who took the first place. He felt like a cat had been scratching inside his heart, and could only silently cheer in his head.

(Ed note: "...felt like a cat had been scratching inside his heart…' means that Naruto really wanted to do something but knows that he shouldn't)

"No, I can't stand this. One day, I will find a chance to have the attentions of hundreds of thousands of people, and to tell everyone that the first place of the stele for the first volume of herb is I, Naruto!" Naruto murmured. He lazily yawned, looked at the sky which was turning dark, and then made a lonely master look.

"I, Naruto, can make Kurenai vanish with only a flick of my finger…" said Naruto while waving his sleeve. Afterwards, he turned around and proudly walked out of the crowd, before gradually disappearing.

While Naruto walked away, Kurenai stood under the stele, gritted her teeth and walked into the cabin again. She was very determined…

Kurenai kept trying until the bright moon rose. Her face was full of exhaustion as she stared at the turtle; she never thought that this kind of thing would happen to her. Then, she walked away in silence.

After she left, the surrounding people followed suit. That night, the legend of the turtle swept through the entire Scented Cloud Peak.

Everyone thought that the matter had concluded. However, after the sun rose on the next day, the disciples in the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion saw, to their surprise, Kurenai continuously challenging the record. She kept rushing into the cabin under the first stele, coming out, failing, and challenging it once again.

One day, two days, three days… for three whole days, Kurenai continued in this manner. This pushed the discussions about the mysterious turtle in Scented Cloud Mountain to new heights.

Everyone had heard about the mysterious turtle and Kurenai's assessments, even some inner sect disciples.

Seven days later, Kurenai silently stood under the stele staring at the turtle, her eyes dim for the very first time. During the past seven days, she had challenged the record with everything that she had, performing even better than what she had previously expected, reaching seventy thousand herbs. However, she still failed to surpass this mysterious disciple.

"Who the hell are you?!" Kurenai murmured. She took a deep breath, gnashed her teeth, turned around, and stopped challenging the test. That turtle had deeply engraved itself in her mind, so much that she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - The Legend Of The Weasel

During his time in Scented Cloud Mountain, Naruto, now an outer sect disciple, lived a very relaxed and comfortable life. Other than his longing for the food back at the Burning Stoves Kitchen, he was very content with everything else there.

At the rate that his cultivation and research on herbs were advancing, Naruto felt like he was living life to the fullest. Only, he occasionally felt bored since the yard that he lived in was rather isolated without anyone he knew living near him. He didn't even have a single person to talk to.

"Could it be that all cultivators feel this lonely?" Naruto lamented as he raised his head to the sky, old beyond his years as he stood in the courtyard.

The fall winds had passed, and the winter flurries had started. On the horizon, snowflakes could occasionally be seen falling to the ground as the temperature dropped. With the descent of the winter chill, the Spirit Winter Bamboos were growing at a faster rate than in the previous seasons, already surpassing Naruto's height. They created the image of spring with their jade-green leaves.

It has been more than a month since he took first place in the assessment. The problem now was that the difficulty of the second examination far exceeded his expectations. The progress of his research had slowed down a bit, but the important thing was that despite Kurenai's failure to take back first place, Naruto felt pressured as he remembered the unassembled herb fragments that were left when the first assessment ended.

"My reputation must not be surpassed by that little lady, Zhou Xiaoqi." Naruto quietly made up his mind to work even harder until he achieved his dream of proudly announcing before ten thousand people that he was the Turtle Medicine Master. It was a dream that had already taken root within his heart.

Though he was slower at studying the second book, his Unending Longevity Technique had almost reached a small circulation.

Every time Naruto trained, the pain reached new heights, but his obsession the words "Unending Longevity" kept him going until now.

"Three more days. Three more days, and according to the Unending

Longevity Technique's manual , one small circulation will be completed," Naruto took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and continued sprinting back and forth in the courtyard as he studied herbs.

Three days passed quickly. On the dusk of the third day, snowflakes floated down from the sky, wrapping the Spirit River Sect in a cloak of silver.

Naruto was doing his running routine as usual, when suddenly his body trembled violently, making him abruptly stop in his tracks. The throbbing pain in his body vanished as soon as it came.

It was followed by sudden bursts of heat which spread throughout his body. When they finally reached the surface, his skin turned as hot as iron fresh out of a furnace.

The snow that landed on his body was instantly evaporated, and transformed into steam before floating up towards the sky.

"Done!" Naruto's mouth was dry, and the burning heat was killing him, but he couldn't be happier. He lowered his head and looked at his body, immediately noticing the black radiance that gradually dispersed as it circled him.

Naruto poked his arm, and the hardness akin to the skin of a bull made his eyes shine. He stretched his body a bit, feeling an obvious improvement in speed. Excited, he flashed forward, appearing a long distance away.

This was double his old speed. Seeing this prominent improvement, Naruto felt even more pleased with himself. He tested this newfound speed a few more times before he was satisfie

d.

Soon after, Naruto continued his cultivation according to the Unending Longevity Technique's manual. This time it was a training that involved blocking the nose and mouth, using the body to breathe instead. Each breath counted as a small cycle, and he was to do it eighty one times every day, for eighty one days before a circulation was completed.

If he could manage to achieve this, combined with the painful circulation he just completed, his body would become nearly invincible!

Naruto tried for quite a while before slowly beginning to understand the method. Standing in the courtyard, he started breathing with only his skin, but just as he barely managed to finish a small cycle, his body had already visibly thinned.

At the same time, waves of intense hunger surfaced, causing Uzumaki

Naruto's stomach to rumble. Ignoring the rumbling sounds, Naruto continued his breathing. His body gradually got skinnier. When he finished the fifteenth breath, his body almost looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin.

It was as though all the nutrients in his body had been sucked out.

However, at this moment, his skin looked even tougher than before.

But Naruto was at his limits. His head started spinning the moment he opened his eyes his eye whites nearing turning kind of indescribable hunger caused him to feel as though he could swallow an elephant whole, if one appeared in front of him.

"I can't take it anymore, I'm about to starve to death!" Naruto swallowed his saliva with difficulty, his vision blurry and his legs wobbly. There wasn't any food around him, except the juicy, green bamboos that looked irresistibly delicious at the moment.

He tried to control himself, but the sense of starvation was too much for him. Dashing to the winter spirit bamboos, he took a huge, savage bite.

A snapping sound could be heard as he bit off a huge piece, chewing it loudly in his mouth. Naruto's expression suddenly twisted as the bitterness of the bamboo hit his tongue, his entire body shivered.

"Too bitter…"

"I want to eat rice…" At this moment, Naruto's desire for the food back at the Burning Stoves Kitchen, was amplified to the extreme. He was hungry. He had never been this hungry in his entire life. At this moment, he had starved till his head felt faint. His eyes turned increasingly green and his breathing was rapid. As his body involuntarily lunged forward, Naruto sprinted out of the courtyard.

At this moment the Burning Stoves Kitchen was preparing food. After Zhang Fatso One and Black Fatso Three's departure, Yellow Fatso Two became the head of the place. He was pouring rice soup as a gust of wind blew in, the bowl disappearing from his hand. Under the soup was Naruto with his mouth wide open.

"Ah?" Yellow Fatso Two jumped up. The other fatsos were also momentarily stunned. By the time they realized that it was Naruto, before they even managed to speak, he had already lifted a huge pot of soup. With eyes burning from hunger, he gulped the entirety of the contents down loudly. Unsatisfied, he plunged his whole head into another pot, finishing the soup inside within seconds.

One, two, three gulps… Naruto took more than a hundred gulps of soup, his body like a black hole, not feeling full at all.

"Hungry… I can't, I'm still starving… I need meat!" Naruto was frantic, sweeping his eyes around, the first thing he saw was the huge mountain-like bodies that belonged to his fatso brothers. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

The fatsos in Burning Stove Kitchen stared at Naruto with wide eyes and gaping jaws. They had seen starving people before, but this was on a whole new level. This was not Naruto anymore, it was some ghost that had died of starvation.

Yellow Fatso Two especially, lost it when he realized the horrible fact that Naruto was swallowing his saliva as he stared at him and his brothers with hungry eyes. Immediately backing away, he roared loudly. "Fatso Nine, there is spirit food prepared for Elder Zhou in the kitchen!" Hearing this, Naruto charged into the kitchen with ferocity in his eyes.

The fatsos outside all looked at each other before they sucked in a breath.

"Did you see that? That's what happens when you become an outer sect disciple. Poor brother, how did he starve to this state…?"

"I would sooner be beaten to death than become an outer sect disciple."

The other fatsos all made up their mind, pitying the crazed Naruto.

As he ate, Naruto did all he could to control himself from eating more than the edges, remembering the six codes of Burning Stoves Kitchen. He knew that eating all of it would only bring trouble to his brothers. He could never bring himself to do something like that.

After finishing the soup and the edges of the meat, Naruto wasn't starving as much as before. Feeling his self-control return, he felt like crying but could not shed any tears. He was terrified by the Unending Longevity Technique's training methods. Although the pain had already disappeared, the hunger was enough to drive a man insane.

"Second Brother…" Naruto looked anxiously at Yellow Fatso Two.

Only after seeing that Naruto had calmed down did Yellow Fatso Two dare to approach him. Patting his shoulder, he gave him a look of sympathy.

"Don't worry, little Brother. We can always make more food for Elder Zhou. Look at how hungry you are. Oh… do come back next time, you need the nourishment."

Upon hearing his words, Naruto was touched. Gritting his teeth, he decided against coming here often. Otherwise, with his current

condition, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't lose control someday and bankrupt the Burning Stoves Kitchen.

As Yellow Fatso Two and the other fatsos bid their farewells, Naruto sighed as he climbed up Scented Cloud Mountain. The pleasure and comfort he just experienced, dissipated without a trace in an instant, replaced by despair and hopelessness. He feared that he would really starve to death someday.

"I don't know if any disciples have died of starvation in the Spirit River Sect, but I really don't want to be the first one." Naruto's face drooped as he thought of ways to solve this starvation problem in the long run. Just then, the sounds of chickens' clucking suddenly came from a place not far away.

Upon hearing the clucking, Naruto slowly turned his head fixed his gaze in the direction of the clucking noises. His vision had already tunneled, his stomach already rumbling.

"Chickens…" Naruto looked around, to make sure that no one was watching, before diving into the bushes, as fast as a weasel, disappearing with a whoosh.

After a moment, Naruto appeared, crouching outside the fences of Scented Cloud Mountain's chicken coop. Staring intently at the prideful chickens that walked about with their triple coloured tails. They were as big as baby cows, and Naruto was unable to count how many times he gulped.

"Meat…" Naruto laughed. It was an incredibly eerie laughter.

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The Floor was Covered with Chicken Feathers

The Spirit Tailed Chicken, which had harder feathers and a larger body compared to an ordinary chicken, was born ferocious. An adult Spirit Tailed Chicken was comparable to a cultivator at the second-level of Qi Condensation.

This kind of chicken was edible, their eggs were nutritious, their blood as well as their bones were excellent medicinal materials, and their tails could be used as rare fuel to produce three-coloured flame. Therefore, Spirit Tailed Chickens were mass reared in all three peaks of the Spirit River Sect's South Bank.

However, these chickens did not belong to the sect. They were the personal properties of Toruho and the grand elders of the other two mountains, so only a few disciples were responsible for taking care of these chickens. On the Scented Cloud Mountain, three territories were enclosed for rearing Spirit Tailed Chickens.

Naruto hunkered in the shrubbery while looking at those Spirit Tailed Chickens. He had never seen a live Spirit Tailed Chicken before, but he had tasted one in the Burning Stoves Kitchen and he knew that this kind of chicken was extremely delicious. He had also heard from Zhang Fatso One that this kind of chicken liked to eat spirit bugs.

Eventually, Naruto's body flashed away. Instead of acting rashly, he chose to go downhill to buy a bag of spirit bugs with his dwindling supply of spirit stones, before returning to his yard.

The moment he returned, he felt hungry again. Forcibly repressing his hunger pangs, he searched around, seemingly looking for some materials.

Soon after, when his gaze landed on the Spirit Winter Bamboos, his eyes suddenly lit up. These bamboos had grown to over a zhang tall and were as thick as a fist. Glowing with spirit light, they looked quite extraordinary.

(ED note: One zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.645 yards)

Naruto hurriedly walked up to those bamboos and circled around them a few times before he laughed out loud. Using the herbal knowledge he had acquired, he cut off two sections from the head of a bamboo stalk, which was also the toughest part of the bamboo.

As for how to steal the Spirit Tailed Chickens, Naruto had his own special way. The most important thing about stealing a chicken was 'weaseling out.' Weaseling out, or escaping the notice of others, was indeed an art.

With the two sections of bamboo, Naruto quickly made a bamboocicada. This was something he had learned from his father when he was little. According to legends, this kind of bamboo-cicada was a useful tool in catching any fowl, be it chicken or phoenix. He then weaved a rope with the bamboo fibers. After tightening the rope to test its tautness, he tied the bamboo-cicada to it, then darted out under the cover of night.

"I want to eat chicken!" Naruto's belly was rumbling, but his eyes were shining with a bright green light. His starvation pushed him to run faster, straight towards the nearest Spirit Tailed Chicken coop.

He slowed down when he neared the chicken coop, sneakily approached the fence, and threw the bamboo-cicada with spirit bugs hanging onto it into the chicken coop. Afterwards, he held the rope that had been tied together with the bamboo-cicada and silently waited, while enduring his hunger.

A few cabins were built within the yard. Beyond them, were the training grounds and living areas of Outer Sect Disciples. Inside the broad hennery yard, were hundreds of Spirit Tailed Chickens. Most of them were lying on the ground, while others were walking around.

Occasionally, they pompously raised their heads high up in the air. After a short while, a Spirit Tailed Chicken seemed to notice something. It turned around and took a glanc

e at the surrounding area, before approaching the bamboo-cicada. The chicken instantly noticed the spirit bug that had been hung on the bamboo-cicada. As it came closer, it then unconcernedly opened its beak and pecked.

But at the exact same moment the chicken's beak pecked the spirit bug, it triggered the mechanism. Instantly, the bamboo rod bent by the chicken's pull violently sprang apart and ingeniously trapped the beak of this Spirit Tailed Chicken. It forcibly propped the chicken's beak open.

The Spirit Tailed Chicken tried to make a sound but failed because of the bamboo stuck in its beak. It then tried crushing the bamboo, however, it failed again due to the sturdiness. At the same time, a strong pull came from the shrubbery.

No matter how hard the chicken struggled, it could only be dragged to the fence in a quick and silent manner. After that, the rope suddenly shook and lifted the chicken into the air. Naruto grabbed the chicken in his hands and gathered the power of his fourth-level Qi Condensation into his palms. Together with his tough skin and great strength, he easily twisted the chicken's neck, then threw it into the storage pouch. This series of moves was extremely skilled, as if it had been an old trick that he had completely mastered.

The entire process had spanned less than thirty breaths, if he hadn't waited for so long, it would have been even quicker.

Naruto was very excited. He dashed back to his own yard, and soon, a delicious scent came out of his cabin. By the time dawn arrived, the entire chicken had ended up in Naruto's stomach.

The only things left were feathers and bones covering the floor…

Having finished the Spirit Tailed Chicken, a large portion of Uzumaki Xiao's great hunger had vanished. He clearly felt that his body had been replenished a bit, and it was filled with warmth, making him feel quite comfortable.

Even the amount of Qi his body contained had improved slightly. The most obvious improvement was that after he finished that chicken, Naruto could operate the Unending Longevity Technique for seven to eight cycles of breathing without pause.

Every single breath had brought Naruto waves of warmth. It spread all over his body, before gathering on his skin. This made his skin look stronger and tougher, with black lights flashing from time to time. However, if one looked closer, his skin was still as white and tender.

"This Unending Longevity Technique, first with pain, then starvation. It's indeed not that easy, but its effects are excellent." said Uzumaki Xiaoxhun as he raised his right arm and pulled out the wooden sword, before carefully touching it with the back of his hand.

When this wooden sword, which had gone through two spirit refinements, touched Naruto's skin, he clearly felt some resistance. He didn't continue, but he was even more convinced that he should keep cultivating the Unending Longevity Technique.

"According to the Unending Longevity Technique, the impentrable skin is divided into four stages, which are gold, silver, copper and iron; I am currently at the the basic level, but if I breathe like this for eighty-one days…I will gain an initial success on the invincible skin." murmured Naruto while glancing at the chicken bones on the ground. He had already come up with a good plan which could help him achieve the final stage of the invincible-skin.

(ED note: Er Gen is being realistic with the skin rankings. IRL in terms of hardness, goldsilvercopperiron. Copper could also be TLed as bronze however bronze is harder than iron so we used copper.)

"Fortunately, there are enough Spirit Tailed Chickens on this mountain," laughed Naruto. He was now even more interested in Spirit Tailed Chickens.

He didn't know that during the past ten-thousand years, quite a lot cultivators had tried cultivating the Unending Longevity Technique. Amongst these people, most had given up because they couldn't bear the great and terrifying pain during the first eighty-one days, and only a few of them had stuck to it. However, after the first eighty-one days, the difficulty of the technique stemmed from the large consumption of resources.

If he intended to achieve the highest stage of the invincible skin, the amount of materials he needed to consume for his cultivation would be so terrifyingly large, that even an entire sect couldn't afford it easily. After all, although cultivating other techniques using the same amount of materials couldn't gain a cultivator an immortal life, it would still be more cost-effective.

This was the biggest reason that this technique had been buried in the bookshelves for years, with no one even sparing it a glance.

Cultivating for a while, Naruto cleaned those chicken bones before burying them in his spirit field, together with the chicken feathers.

After that, he walked out of the yard, headed for a place where outer sect disciples congregated, mingled with the crowd, and carefully listened to people's conversations, trying to find some useful information. With the experiences that he gained in his old village, he understood that he couldn't steal a chicken everyday, every three to five days would be the best.

Listening to people's conversation for a while, he hadn't heard anybody talking abount any missing chickens. Surprisingly though, he learned that the Spirit Tailed Chicken's tail were fuels of three-coloured flame.

Naruto hurriedly rushed back to his yard after hearing this, dug the three-coloured chicken tail feathers out of the spirit soil, held them in his hand and stared at it for quite a while, seemingly thinking of something.

"No wonder these Spirit Tailed Chickens are mass-reared." Naruto hurriedly placed the feathers in his storage pouch. To others, these feathers were nothing more than fuel of three-coloured flame, but to him, these feathers meant three spirit refinements.

He didn't use them right away. He was planning on saving them till he had spirit medicines, then refine the medicines to improve their effects.

A few days later, Naruto, who had quietly stayed at home for a few days started to feel hungry again. This night, he put down the jade tablet of the second volume of herbs and sneaked out again, under the cover of the night. When he returned home, another two Spirit Tailed Chickens had been added to his storage pouch.

As time went by, a month had soon passed. During the past month, gradually, more and more Scented Cloud Mountain's disciples had heard of the Spirit Tailed Chicken heists.

Even Toruho himself had heard of this. After all, during the last month, the number of lost chickens in all three henneries were in the dozens. However, this didn't catch too much of his attention, besides, he had to leave the mountain for other affairs, and as a result, he didn't look into it.

The ones who were angry the most about this were those outer sect disciples, who were responsible for taking care of those chickens. These seven to eight people were not angry because of the lost chickens, after all, those chickens didn't belong to them, and the elder didn't blame them for this either. They were angry because they felt humiliated. They couldn't believe that a thief dared to steal the chickens from right under their noses. Every time they thought about that thief, they would find themselves grinding their teeth.

However, they had absolutely no idea about how to prevent the chickens from being stolen. No matter how hard they tried to guard them, there were always one to two chickens lost every couple of days. What they couldn't understand the most was how every single chicken was stolen so silently, not a single noticeable sound was made. It was as if those chickens had disappeared into thin air.

As for Naruto, his body had fully recovered during the past month, and had even slightly fattened. No matter how much the Unending Longevity Technique exhausted him, he had enough chickens to replenish his body. His face now had a healthy flush, as if he had returned to his happy life from back then.

While happy and full, his efficiency in learning the second volume of herbs was raised. Finally, the day he had thoroughly studied the entire second volume of herbs arrived. After what he had experienced previously, this time he was even more careful in his research. He was now familiar with all of the leaves, stems, roots and even villus. He was confident in his ability to recognize a herb with a single glance, even when it had been split into dozens of parts.

After he felt confident enough, he walked out of his yard in large strides with his head held high and his chest puffed out.

"This time, I'll let everyone know that I am the turtle who had topped Kurenai!" Naruto rushed towards the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, his face filled with anticipation.

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Chapter 21 - Big Bro Naruto

The Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion was one of the most popular places in Scented Cloud Mountain and was frequented by outer sect disciples almost every day. Part of the reason was the ten stone steles located there, and another was the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion itself. Centred between the steles, outer sect disciples could exchange contribution points and herbs or medicine pills there.

Moreover, on fixed days, this place even had promotional examinations to become Medicine Apprentices where medicine pills that they refined were reclaimed by the sect. Hence, due to various reasons, this place was always noisy.

With the passage of time, the popularity of this place also caused it to become a secondary information center where disciples traded information regarding their experiences. It started from simple discussions about herbalism, then eventually grew to a place where people gossiped and chatted about the events happening within the sect, both big and small.

When Naruto arrived at the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, many outer sect disciples could be seen either walking in and out or chatting with hushed voices in groups of three to five. In front of the surrounding stone steles, many disciples were also lining up to challenge the rankings.

After a long time spent squeezing past the crowds, Naruto finally neared the second stele. Just as he was going over to the stele, he noticed the three outer sect disciples in front of him having a conversation, and apparently, it was about Naruto himself.

"Did you guys hear? Something weird has been happening recently regarding Elder Li's spirit tailed chickens. It's said that more than a hundred of those chickens have disappeared."

"Not just more than a hundred. From what I have heard, Elder Li might as well have no chickens left. A disciple looking after the chickens has caught the culprit already - the chicken thief is going to be cut into pieces and fed to the chickens. How cruel."

"First a mysterious turtle appears, then this great chicken thief? What's with Scented Cloud Mountain these days?"

Naruto unconsciously withdrew his neck, feeling guilty. Wasn't it just some chickens? How did it turn out to be such a big deal? From the looks of it, everyone knew about the chicken disappearances.

And after hearing that the chickens belonged to Elder Li, Naruto was even more frightened.

"I didn't steal that many…" Naruto felt wronged, and was thinking of how he could change the Great Chicken Thief's image when he heard some noise from behind him.

"Little girl! Why the hell are you shoving? Are you in such a rush for your next life?"

"So what if I'm shoving? Get out of here if you're afraid of a little squeezing, you should be honored that it's me who's shoving you."

"You…"

Naruto thought the voice seemed familiar, so he turned around to take a look. It was a lady with soft white skin, her chest was puffed up and a hand was on her hip. She was proudly arguing with a huge man.

"Hou Xiaomei?" Naruto blinked.

Upon hearing her name, Hou Xiaomei turned and saw Naruto, her expression changing from prideful to surprised.

"Big bro Naruto! It's you!" Hou Xiaomei twisted her hip and hurriedly rushed towards Naruto's direction. Her kind demeanor made it seem like she was warm and pure.

"Ah, Lil' Sis Xiaomei." As Naruto looked at the energetic girl before him, he thought that she was extremely cute.

"You're so mean, teas

ing me and all. Brother Naruto, I'm called Hou Xiaomei!" Hearing her words, Naruto blushed a little at her innocent cuteness.

When she said this, this girl who was filled with energy from the start became even more alluring, attracting the glances of many of the surrounding outer sect disciples. The big man from before instead felt his his skin covered with goosebumps. He felt that the change in attitude of this girl was too drastic, the shift from anger to happiness was unnatural.

"Big Bro Naruto, my brother hasn't returned from his trip away from the mountain, and it's my first time here. Where should I go if I want to exchange my first bamboo scroll for the second?" Hou Xiaomei asked. It was indeed her first time here, after all, it had always been her brother who did these things for her. Fortunately, she found Naruto just when she didn't know what to do.

Naruto smiled and introduced the basics to her, speaking in precise detail. She kept nodding throughout his explanation and by the time he finished explaining, felt that Naruto was not only kind, but was also very knowledgeable.

After explaining the basics, Naruto glanced at Hou Xiaomei. Unable to control himself, he raised his right hand and pointed at the first stone stele, putting on an air of nonchalance.

"See that stone stele over there? People who manage to leave their names there are the pride and joy of the entire sect. Anyone whose symbol is on it will attain achievements that will shake the whole world."

"Forget about everyone else, let me tell you about the person who is in second place. Look at that Aquarius symbol, that's the pride of our Scented Cloud Mountain - Kurenai!"

"This symbol shows her talent for herbs, and she has already been taken in as a disciple by a grand elder. She's destined to become the main sect's Zhou Mistress!" Hou Xiaomei's eyes shined brightly as she raised her head to look at the Aquarius symbol, her expression full of respect. She heard Hou Yunfei mention Kurenai's name multiple times, which filled her with respect and admiration for Kurenai. With Naruto's praise, she only felt even more admiration for Kurenai.

Naruto continued acting nonchalant. He stood there for quite a while before realizing that she was still staring at the Aquarius symbol, completely oblivious to the turtle above it. He was instantly irritated.

After all, wasn't the point of his introduction to move onto this topic and discuss the beautifully drawn turtle?

"Hey hey, this Kurenai is indeed extraordinary to place second on the first stone stele!" He emphasized on the word second, reminding her that there was one more person above her.

Hou Xiaomei perked her head and took a closer look, frowning.

"Second place? Who's that turtle above her, it sure is an ugly symbol."

Hearing this, Naruto only felt even more irritated. Feeling a strong urge to educate this little girl before him, Naruto put on a serious face, and spoke solemnly.

"This is where you're wrong. Xiaomei, you should know that this beautiful turtle represents the greatest, most mysterious, and most extraordinary disciple of the main sect."

"There are many rumors about this person. Every time he appears, he would attract cheers and stares from the disciples, envied by all, cheered for by all."

"Ah?" Being the innocent girl she was, Hou Xiaomei stood there stunned, doubting the words Naruto spoke.

"You should know that this guy is a legend born from thin air only two months ago. He snatched away Kurenai's first place, shattering her dreams!"

"You should know that this person, after appearing, instantly snatched away first place with great ease."

"You should know that when Kurenai witnessed this with her own eyes, she couldn't sleep for seven days straight. She took the examination multiple times but placed second in all of them. She was completely defeated."

"You should know, I, Naruto… heh." Naruto got more and more excited with every word, almost spitting out the fact that he was the great turtle. He took control of himself, remembering his dream to reveal his identity before a vast audience, and not in front of a single little girl. To achieve that dream, he had to wait.

"Really?" Hou Xiaomei's eyes shone like stars at night, staring intently at the turtle, her cheeks were red and her face was full of respect once again.

"Of course." Naruto was pleased. He was convinced that he did something good; guiding the lost girl to the right path. With a sense of success, Naruto flourished his sleeves as he walked to the second stone stele, leaving her behind.

Squeezing past the crowd, he waited for a vacant wooden hut before disappearing into it with proud strides.

The hut was old. Naruto sat in front of the stone stele, drawing the turtle once again. His vision blurred as a roaring sound echoed in his ears. He appeared in a familiar imaginary space, but this time, without the ice-cold voice; just endless herb fragments.

Naruto was very confident. His eyes shone and his two hands moved with great speed. Within the blink of an eye, he finished assembling the tufts of spirit herbs.

In the time it took for an incense stick to finish burning, less than five thousand fragments were left in front of him. This was a considerably better result than his first examination.

But unfortunately, time was up. His vision blurred and he was once again inside the wooden hut. Even so, he was filled with confidence. Picking up the third scroll, his heart started beating faster in anticipation as he pushed open the doors of the wooden hut.

Looking at the outer sect disciples who were still oblivious of the change in the rankings, Naruto felt proud.

"This time I'm going to shock the entire sect. I'll tell them all that I, Naruto, am the great master turtle!" Naruto was already picturing the scene of having ten thousand people worshipping him, especially the image of Hou Xiaomei's shocked face.

While imagining the scene, Naruto chuckled a bit, before holding up his right hand to give a big yell, taking the initiative to reveal to everyone that he was that great turtle…

But just then, he heard the outer sect disciples queuing up outside.

"You think that turtle who took Kurenai's first place will dare show himself again?"

"Probably not. Kurenai's admirers are all over the place looking for him in the entire southern river bank. They're all so angry, it's crazy. They even said that they'd skin him alive if they found him."

"Yeah, I heard that too. Even inner sect disciples are involved."

Naruto had just raised his right hand when he heard these words. His heart skipped a beat, especially when he heard that inner sect disciples were also looking for him. Cold sweat appeared on his forehead as he pulled his hand back to his face, and acted as if nothing happened, before quickly putting it down. He was furious, his face bitter as he sighed. He squeezed into the crowd.

"This is too much, it's just absurd! All I did was acquire first place, is all of this really necessary? Even inner sect disciples are looking for me." His expression this time was genuine.

Just as he walked into the crowd, someone noticed the change in the rankings on the second stone stele, and sounds of disbelief filled the air as the news spread throughout the outer sect disciples in the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Chapter 22-Senior Sister,Don't Worry,!

"All of you,look at the second stone small turtle...It has appeared again!"

"First again…Just who is that turtle?That turtle has already attained first place on two consecutive steles!"

"Sister Zhou can't even hold on to eight different records!It has already dropped to seven!"

The surrounding disciples instantly burst into an uproar as countless exclamations the crowd,a particular young girl's voice cut through the chatter with a loud cheer.

"You can do it,little turtle!"

That girl was Hou under Uzumaki

Naruto's"guidance",she had already begun to worship this small that moment,when she suddenly saw the little turtle appear in the first place on the second stele,her admiration immediately reached its her heart,the position of the turtle had already been elevated beyond that of Kurenai.

Waves of heated clamour rose and fell in quick the end,everyone at the scene exchanged exclamations of all,this small turtle was really too famous and at this moment,he was proclaiming that he would continue challenging Kurenai's standing through his actions.

Some people had even begun anticipating that perhaps not too long after this,the small turtle would surpass Kurenai on every one of those ten stone steles.

Naruto,who stood within the crowd,could still feel the lingering depression from at the same time,there was also a hint of pride secretly swelling inside of ,it was a pity that nobody else knew of his identity.

" will definitely come a day when I reveal myself as the master turtle in a place with more than ten thousand spectators!"Naruto swore to himself in his heart.

But even after consoling himself with that promise,he was still unsatisfied,so he also participated in the time to time,you could hear his shrill voice leading the loud chatter permeating the surroundings.

"Oh my god,who is he?We should all start worshipping him!"

"The idol of ten thousand people!Master turtle is undefeatable!"

Under the influence of Naruto's strained high-pitched cries,the discussion of the surrounding disciples gradually increased in seemed as if waves of loud clamouring would arise once at this moment,a cold'hmph'could be that,a person's figure leapt out from the crowd and landed on a wooden hut.

"Never let me know who this damned turtle I ever find out who you are,I'll definitely make you regret stealing Junior Sister Zhou's limelight!"The one who spoke was a young had a dark expression on over his face and his icy-cold voice resonated in all directions.

"That's right!The turtle should be concealed in the crowd right now.I will definitely find you!"Another voice belonged to another youth who leapt onto the wooden hut and coldly scanned the especially focused on the area around Naruto whose shrill voice was very the youth did not believe that Naruto was the turtle,his gaze towards Naruto was still unkind.

Soon,this type of figures showed up one after another as a total of seven to eight people and every one of them was radiating a powerful cultivation them,the strongest that appeared actually appeared to be at the seventh level of Qi Condensation.

These people were precisely the leaders of Kurenai's fan their appearance,the surrounding audience immediately stopped their discussions

and gradually fell ,their hearts remained more they looked at these few people,the more they felt disdain for them.

Although the audience supported Kurenai,this kind of goodwill was ultimately limited to Kurenai ,everyone was clear on the fact that this kind of event,where a person challenged Kurenai relying on nothing but his own talents,was worthy of great respect.

When Naruto sensed the youth glaring at him,his heart because he was surrounded by so many people,he realized that they wouldn't risk angering the ,he raised his head and glared right back with a-"Come and beat me if you dare,I'll fight you to death"-expression on his face.

Just as the atmosphere stiffened,a rainbow streak rapidly closed in from this rainbow streak,there was an alluring figure-it was precisely Kurenai.

"It's Sister Zhou."

"Sister Zhou is coming."The stiff atmosphere on the ground instantly those outer sect disciples spotted Kurenai,they immediately smiled.

Those seven or eight admirers immediately restrained their by one,they revealed what they considered a relaxed expression as they cupped their hands towards Kurenai.

The reasons Kurenai had come here this time was firstly,because she had heard of the rankings on the second stele,and secondly,because of some other she came closer and scanned the surroundings,she immediately noticed the awkward another glance,she could instantly guess the reason behind this towards those seven or eight admirers,a sense of unhappiness and disgust was visible in her eyes.

"Does my,Kurenai's business,require inteference from other people?After all,the fact that a prodigious disciple has appeared on my Scented Cloud Mountain is good news for our something like this happens again,don't blame me for being impolite to you."Kurenai spoke with an icy voice which was as sharp as the edge of a caused the seven or eight admirers'faces to instantly their countenance was bitter,they dared not say anything.

"This junior Brother who has surpassed me on the first and second stone steles of herbs,perhaps you are in the you do not want to show yourself,then dont,you are free to do as you wish."Kurenai's tone was disinterested and infused with a faint sense of raised her head to glance at the small turtle on the second stone ,once again gazing at the crowd as she tried to suppress the dissatisfaction in her heart.

Upon hearing these words,the surrounding disciples burst into cheers for of them felt that Kurenai,the one they supported,was their Scented Cloud Mountain's sole prodigy.

Within the crowd,Naruto silently thought that it was no wonder why she was deemed a speech had been delivered had naturally heard the arrogance in the other party's voice and lamented not showing himself,not because he didn't want to,but because of Kurenai's admirers.

"The reason I have come today is because there is another thing I hope my fellow sect disciples can help me with."Kurenai's expression was serene as she gazed at the audience,her tone bland.

The moment these words left her mouth,the surrounding people instantly became expressions showed that they were attentive,and had all eagerly perked up their ears to listen.

"Recently,things have not been peaceful on the Scented Cloud Toruho's Spirit Tailed Chickens have been disappearing in large the respected grand elder is still away,he might not care much for this as his disciple,I must take responsibility.I hope that everyone can work together to help me catch this chicken anyone is able to catch the thief,I am willing to reward you with a treasured jade tablet!"As Kurenai spoke,she retrieved a piece of green jade from her jade tablet glowed with a soft light and appeared to be extraordinary.

"This object possesses a certain defensive is something I fortuitously obtained a few years ago."Kurenai's voice disciple at the scene instantly looked towards the piece of jade and soon,an enthusiastic look had appeared on everyone's faces as they pledged their assistance one after another.

"Don't worry Sister Zhou!We'll definitely give that chicken thief no place to hide!"

"To dare to steal the chickens of a grand elder,this chicken thief has some guts.I will definitely be alert when it comes to this matter!"Voices rang out in ,everyone in the crowd had promised to was especially the case for Kurenai's admirers whose eyes shone with ferocity,their passion-filled voices were resonating in the air.

Naruto who stood within the crowd was he gazed at the people around him who were so zealous that they seemed to have been injected with chicken blood,he felt a cold chill run down his spine.

But he was unsatisfied!Just thinking about the severe hunger that accompanied cultivation of the Unending Longevity Technique made him feel accumulated on his ideas flew through his mind before suddenly,his eyes lit cut his way through the crowd and afterwards,he suddenly patted his chest as his voice echoed loudly.

"Sister Zhou,I,Naruto will complete your task to catch this chicken thief even if I have to climb a mountain of knives and descend to the bottom of a pot of oil!"His shrill voice gave out his location even rushed out of the crowd and stood right in front.

His sudden secession from the crowd instantly drew the attention of the given the thumping noises originating from the violent patting of his chest,this act was enough to put even Kurenai's admirers to a matter of fact,even Kurenai involuntarily glanced at him.

When she saw the support her fellow sect disciple had for her,Kurenai's face broke into a smile and she nodded her head as she was preparing to leave,she once again heard that high-pitched voice penetrate the clamour and ring out.

"Sister Zhou,I have a don't we form a small thiefcatching team?With cooperative efforts,we can definitely nab that despicable thief and protect our grand elder's Spirit Tailed Chickens!"Naruto's expression was filled with a sense of demeanor implied that he would sacrifice everything to accomplish the task set by Sister Zhou.

Kurenai was momentarily the surrounding people heard Naruto's words,many of them felt that his idea was not by one,they voiced their approval.

"That's also my main focus is still on regards to this,do what you wish."Kurenai nodded her head before looking at Naruto once felt that although this disciple looked rather amateurish,he was dressed cleanly and appeared innocent and importantly,his pious support had given her a good impression and she even smiled slightly at Naruto.

"Since this kind-hearted disciple has come up with this suggestion,then all of you should form a small team to catch the thief.I have with me ten ribbons that'll serve as the keepsakes for the representative of this group."As she spoke,she retrieved ten blue ribbons from her storage a gentle wave,these ten ribbons flew towards Naruto and landed in his hands.

"Sister Zhou,don't worry!You can count on me!"Naruto puffed out his chest as he held the ribbons expression on expression on his face was that of"For the grand elder's Spirit Tailed Chickens,nothing will stop me,not even a cruel death."

A hint of praise was revealed in Kurenai's thought to herself that such responsible little disciples were already few in after commiting Naruto's obedient appearance to memory did she turn around and leave.

When they saw Kurenai gaze at Naruto with newfound respect,her admirers were all discontent as they regretted that they had not thought of this idea to ingratiate themselves with her.

After Kurenai left,those disciples in charge of rearing Spirit Tailed

Chickens hurriedly walked out and thanked the audience,especially stuck out his chest and harshly denounced the chicken the end,all of the chicken-rearing disciples had been Naruto's command,the thief-catching team which consisted of several disciples,whose cultivations were inferior to his,was finally formed.

On his way home,Naruto wiped the perspiration from his forehead and heaved a long sigh.

"Just now was really too dangerous!I almost lost all of my future 's fortunate that I,Naruto,am so smart and heh."When Naruto thought of this,he felt proud a small tune,he returned to his yard and glanced at the Spirit Winter speed of growth of these spirit bamboos were of now,they had already grown to almost one zhang tall and were as thick as a person's appearance was quite startling. (ED note:one zhang is equal to 3.58 meters,or 3.645 yards)

That night,dark clouds smothered the sky and an inky darkness enveloped the opened his eyes,awakening from meditation as he licked his lips.

"Under the dark moon and the towering skies,I seem to be hungry once again…"

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Chapter 23 - The Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil

Late into the night, the Scented Cloud Mountain was enveloped by inky darkness. It was so dark that if one extended their hand, they would not be able to see their fingers. Apart from the wailing winds which swept through the valley, the surroundings were quiet, as though even birds and beasts were afraid to break the silence.

In the inky darkness, Naruto took out the ribbon given to him by Kurenai and tied it to his arm. He nonchalantly walked forward, straight along the small path leading towards the Spirit Tailed chickens' yard. His shadow was rapidly shifting from one place to another. It wasn't long before he had passed through the bamboo shrubbery, arriving close to the chickens.

From there, he could see the Spirit Tailed chickens resting in the yard. Still, there were a few which would occasionally wander about, most notably, a certain Spirit Tailed chicken that was heading in his direction.

Naruto squatted amidst the shrubbery and licked his lips. After waiting for a short while, when that Spirit Tailed chicken had come closer, he slowly approached the enclosure. Just when he was about to take out his bamboo rod, he was suddenly startled and his eyes turned serious.

At that moment a low bellow suddenly resounded from behind him. Silhouettes appeared one after another, some of them even producing fireballs, brightening the surroundings with blinding light.

"Damned chicken thief! You've finally appeared!"

"I've waited here for many days and have laid traps all over the place.

Let's see how you're going to escape!" The bellow resonated in the air. Seven to eight shadows instantly shot towards Naruto, surrounding him completely.

These shadows were the disciples in charge of rearing the chickens. They had been painstakingly waiting for numerous days, and never imagined that today, their efforts would actually pay off. Hatred had accumulated deep within their hearts, so every sinlge one of them wanted to execute this chicken thief on the spot.

After hearing their words and seeing their approach, Naruto was initially shocked. Then he rolled his eyes, before humphing coldly. (ED Note: rolled his eyes means that he suddenly thought of an idea.)

"Be quiet! All of you lower your voice!" He unceremoniously spoke with a serious tone. Without even trying to conceal himself, Naruto swaggered as he stood up. Then, he purposefully revealed the ribbon tied on his arm.

This sudden and unexpected sight stunned the seven to eight people that were rushing towards him.

"All of you look carefully. I am the leader of the thief-catching group." Naruto furrowed his brows in dissatisfaction as he looked at the people standing in front of him.

Some of the disciples in charge of rearing the chickens had seen Naruto before in broad daylight. At that moment, as they inspected him carefully, they started hesitating.

"It's Junior Brother Uzumaki ...It's already so late. What are you doing here?" Among these disciples, there was one whose face revealed suspicion as he fixed his gaze on Naruto. Following this question, the others also cast him suspicious glances.

"Since Sister Zhou has asked me to lead the small group of thiefcatchers. I must give it my all to nab this chicken thief. Even if that includes sacrificing my cultivation time, I will still come here in the middle of the night to guard the chickens. But with your shouting, even if there really was a chicken thief here, he would have been scared away." Naruto unhappily spoke with a flourish of his sleeves. He furrowed his brows, looking as though he had spared no efforts

towards catching the thief.

The disciples in charge of rearing the chickens glanced at each other before embarrased expressions adorned some of their faces. The disciple who initially questioned Naruto also looked a lot less suspicious of him, but still seemed doubtful.

When he saw that the suspicions of the other party had not been fully dispelled, Naruto coldly humphed. Without giving the disciples a chance to raise another question, he seized the opportunity to speak first. His voice was filled with dissatisfaction regarding the disciples' efforts.

"No wonder your Spirit Tailed chickens always go missing. You're too careless! You're all waiting here but this fence is already broken!" Naruto pointed at the fence behind him. There was indeed some damage on the fence which was hard to notice. It had been Naruto himself who broke it when he had tussled with a Spirit Tailed chicken during his first theft.

Hearing his words, the disciples in charge of rearing the chickens looked towards the direction of Naruto's finger one by one. When they inspected closely and noticed the damage on the fence, they were all shocked. Previously, they had never paid too much attention to these kinds of subtle and minor details.

"Also, that Spirit Tailed chicken just ran all the way here! Just how have you been guarding this area?" Naruto displayed his displeasure and even raised his voice which caused discomfort to the surrounding disciples.

"According to my observations, this place is the most isolated part of the territory. You should have focused more on guarding this place, but I've already been here for quite a while and only now do you guys show up." The more Naruto spoke, the angrier he became. When he finished speaking, he heaved a long sigh.

"If you're all like this, how are we going to catch the thief? With my thiefcatching experience, if I'm guessing correctly, this is the place where you have lost the most chickens." The moment he said this, the disciples in charge of rearing the chickens were all dumbfounded. They looked at each other and saw shock in each others' eyes. According to their knowledge, this was precisely the spot where the largesst number of chickens had disappeared.

This was why they had chosen to guard this place. Naruto had actually unravelled their entire plan at first glance. As they looked towards Naruto, their gazes now exposed a sliver of respect.

Even the disciple who was previously suspicious had been humbled. He thought about Naruto sacrificing his training time to help them catch the thief, as well as the eagerness to help he had displayed during the day. Then, he quickly sucked in a breath and cupped his hands before bowing deeply.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki , please do not take our actions to heart. We are sincerely grateful for your generous assistance. We will definitely repair this fence as soon as possible, and from now on, we will definitely guard this place more carefully!"

One by one, the other disciples also cupped their hands. From the bottom of their hearts, they truly felt that Naruto's kindness was rare and precious, and that he was truly trying his best to assist them. They felt even more apologetic for their thoughtless behaviour earlier.

Naruto humphed lightly before he gave a few more detailed instructions. Only then did he walk away. Behind him, those seven to eight disciples bowed again. As they looked at Naruto, they had already been moved by Naruto's compassion.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki is a good person!"

Just as Naruto exited this piece of territory, a gust of wind blew past and he felt a chill run down his spine. In his heart, he silently exclaimed that the situation just now had been too dangerous. However, his stomach was still hungry. After some thought, he decided to try his luck in other places.

As he walked along the small path, Naruto glanced around with a grave expression. In his heart, he contemplated how he should steal chickens from the next place.

Suddenly, with a gust of wind, the ribbon on his arm was blown far away. At the same time, there was a feminine figure floating in midair in the inky night sky, her presence concealed from passers-by. The girl was standing on a blue damask overlooking the entire Scented Cloud Mountain, suddenly she had a change of expression when she noticed

Naruto looking about. Slowly, the respect in her gaze increased.

"This junior disciple is truly a sincere and responsible person." This girl was naturally Kurenai. She had already investigated all the territories. In the beginning, there had still been people patrolling about, but as night fell, most had left to complete their own training. Only this Naruto had really gone out in earnest search for the thief.

"With him being here, the chicken thief's actions will certainly be heavily restricted." Kurenai looked away. With her heart now set at ease, she flew back towards her cave.

After some time, Naruto had circled around and returned to his own yard. With a pat of his storage pouch, two Spirit Tailed chickens appeared. Chuckling to himself, he plucked and cleansed the chickens before throwing them into a pot. Soon, an aroma floated outwards, causing Naruto to swallow a mouthful of saliva. He didn't even care that the food was still burning hot as he began to shove it into his mouth ravenously.

Finally, with a burp, he patted his stomach and lay beside the pot. On his face, a look of elation could be seen.

Soon, a month had passed. In this month, Naruto had been rather dilligent. His shadow could often be seen in various chicken-rearing places during the night.

But even so, chickens continued dissapearing. It was as though their opponent came without a shadow and left without a trace, mysterious and unpredictable. The disciples in charge of rearing the chickens increasingly felt like they were losing face so they spared no efforts and swore numerous times that they would definitely catch the chicken thief.

They depended on Naruto who seemed to be even more dutiful than they were. He had tenaciously guarded the territory, as though he would never rest until he had caught the thief. He even went as far as guarding the area for a consecutive four days and nights.

This kind of persistence and determination seemed to have acted as a strong deterrent since the chicken thefts had vastly decreased. However, they still did not disappeared completely. The Spirit Tailed chickens' population of the Scented Cloud Mountain had already dwindled to less than half. Not many were left, and most of them were immature chicks.

In the end, even the disciples in charge of rearing the chickens sighed at their incompetence. They constantly lamented that if all the disciples of the thief-catching group were like Junior Brother Uzumaki , then they would definitely catch the chicken thief.

Kurenai was also getting worried. One afternoon, Naruto was sitting cross-legged in the chicken coop, vigilantly observing his surroundings, when a streak of blue damask suddenly came closer and Kurenai's figure appeared.

"Sister Zhou." When Naruto saw her, he stood up and obediently greeted her.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki has worked hard." Kurenai's beautiful eyes looked towards Naruto as a smile appeared on her face.

Soon, the other disciples in this area had all hurried over, clustering around Kurenai. Naruto was also among the crowd.

"Thank you very much for your help over these past few days. I appreciate your efforts but the thief remains impudent. In the following days, I have decided to guard this place together with you." Kurenai said softly. After scouring the surrounding area again, she furrowed her brows.

"Perhaps this chicken thief has a history with Master? After all, the other mountains have Spirit Tailed Chickens too, but he solely targets my master's!"

Upon hearing this, Naruto's eyes lit up and he almost slapped his thigh. The expression on his face showed complete agreement with her words, it was as if those words were very reasonable and he himself had reached the same conclusion.

In the next moment, Naruto's line of sight involuntarily shifted towards the Purple Cauldron Mountain in the distance. His eyes slowly narrowed, hiding the cunning glint deep within his gaze.

The moment Kurenai had come here, the surroundings had quickly been filled with numerous admirers, causing the entire chicken-rearing territory of the Scented Cloud Mountain to be filled with a sea of people.

Apparently, the chicken thief could no longer find a way to steal. So in the following days, there was not a single Spirit Tailed chicken which had gone missing.

Even so, this incident of the mysterious chicken thief had already become well-known, and the person behind it had long been named "The Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil" as it circulated among the disciples. Some people had even compared this thief to the small turtle as they became two of the most mysterious people of Scented Cloud Mountain. Even the outer sect disciples of the Green Peak Mountain and the Purple Cauldron Mountain had also heard of them.

When she noticed that the chicken thief disappeared, Kurenai was pleased. Although they did not manage to catch the thief, she remembered Naruto's earnest efforts throughout this period of time. In the end, she had ordered people to bring the jade tablet to him as a reward.

(ED Note: period of time is just over a month)

The matter had finally come to a close. Furthermore, Naruto's tenacity and sincerity had caused plenty of outer sect disciples to remember this pure, tidy, obedient and incredibly compassionate Brother.

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Chapter 24 - Who are you?

In his yard within the Scented Cloud Mountain, Naruto was looking at the jade tablet in his hand. With a shift of the Qi inside his body, the jade tablet immediately radiated a soft green light that enveloped his entire body.

Naruto made a couple of signs with his left hand and a wooden sword instantly flew out. After it flew in a large circle, it shot straight back towards Naruto. However, the moment it touched the cyan light, it suddenly slowed down as though it had been submerged in water.

"My precious!" Naruto muttered to himself. His expression was a little embarrassed as he put away his wooden sword and held onto the jade tablet.

"Nah, it'll be fine. Toruho might be Kurenai's master, but he's my guide on the path to immortality. According to this relationship, I should, by rights, call him uncle. I should be much closer to him than Kurenai." Naruto coughed. He put the jade tablet away and stood there as he stretched lazily.

By the time he ate most of Toruho's spirit tailed chickens, his Unending Longevity Technique had been improved greatly. Currently, it was already seventy percent completed. However, the spirit tailed chickens' meat only helped in boosting his body's vitality but not his Qi. Although his cultivation was still at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, his condensation technique had become more profound, as though it had been thoroughly compressed.

As for the chicken bones, he had buried them all in the spirit field. By now, the whole field's spirit soil had been infused with extremely rich Qi.

In fact, it was already overkill to the extent that the Spirit Winter Bamboo planted there had already grown to over two zhang tall. Furthermore, its trunk which was bright green color had already started to darken.

(TL note: one zhang is equal to 3.58 meters, or 3.645 yards)

As for all the important three-coloured flame spirit tails, Naruto already had several hundred. Upon thinking about the fact that these tails, when burnt, would produce three-coloured flames, Naruto's heart would be filled with anticipation..

"There's no rush to train in my cultivation. As long as I have enough medicine pills that I can refine thrice with three-coloured flames, the speed at which my level rises will be comparable to the speed of light. Successfully taking small steps is firmer and safer." Just as Naruto thought about this, his belly suddenly growled. He glanced towards the chicken-rearing yards in Scented Cloud Mountain but soon shifted his gaze to the Purple Cauldron Mountain in the distance.

"First Brother is in Purple Cauldron Mountain, I wonder how he's doing right now." Naruto sank into reminiscence as he recalled everything that had happened during his time in the Burning Stoves Kitchen. He stood up, walked out of the yard, headed down the mountain and rushed straight towards the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

There were three mountains on the south bank of the Spirit River Sect.

The Green Peak Mountain focused mainly on sword manipulation, the

Scented Cloud Mountain excelled at creating spirit medicine, while the Purple Cauldron Mountain was famous for its techniques and spirit refinements. All of the basic techniques as well as the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique originated from the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

Naruto walked along the small road that went through the sect. He arrived at the foot of Purple Cauldron Mountain at dusk. As he looked up at the Purple Cauldron Mountain swathed in clouds and mist, he saw several figures as small as black dots floating in the sky turn into streaks of rainbow-coloured lights. As he watched those figures, complex emotions fill

ed his mind.

"I don't know when it'll be that I too will be able to fly. Only when I have mastered this can I explore the vast outside world and truly consider myself as having stepped onto the path of immortality." Naruto's eyes revealed anticipation as he climbed up the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

Even though he was not a disciple of the Purple Cauldron Mountain, as an outer sect disciple, he was still qualified to enter all the mountains. On his way up the mountain, he asked everyone he met for the location of Zhang Dahai's house. Because his face was filled with an angelic innocence that easily endeared people to him, it didn't take long for him to find out the place where Zhang Dahai was living. Following the directions that was given to him, he quickly arrived at his destination. (ED: for those of you who can't remember, Zhang Dahai is Zhang Fatso One's name)

Unlike his yard on Scented Cloud Mountain, Zhang Fatso One's house was located on the sun-facing slope of the mountain peak. The Qi there was evidently richer and only a few houses were built there. One next to the other, all the lofts there looked like a sky ornately decorated with stars, seemingly in some sort of a pattern.

As dusk arrived, it was getting dimmer, but the surroundings wrapped by thin clouds and mist were still visible. Coupled with the spirit plants that were growing everywhere, it looked like a fairy's land.

"First Brother must have some great backing to actually be able to live in such a place. It's so much better than mine." Naruto took a deep breath of the surrounding Qi as an envious expression was written on his face.

After searching for a while, he finally found the Zhang Fatso One's house. When he saw that the yard inside was overgrown with weeds and seemed like it had been neglected for a long time, Naruto was momentarily confused, then he knocked on the gate. But even after waiting for a while, nobody responded.

"Did I make a mistake?" Just as Naruto was wondering about this, within the yard, the main gate of the loft creaked open. A man with skinny figure and a flying sword in his hand came out. A silver glow on his left hand dimmed as he walked out wearily. In the next moment, an even voice resounded.

"Who is it?!" Just then, the skinny man's body suddenly jerked when he saw Naruto across the yard. His face instantly revealed a surprised glee, as though he had spotted a dear family member. He jumped up quickly and pulled open the door. As he gazed at Naruto, he began to laugh loudly.

"Ninth Brother!"

"Who are you?" Naruto opened his eyes widely as he immediately retreated a few steps. He felt like he vaguely recognised this guy standing in front of him, but why was it that he looked so unfamiliar?

The person's appearance was ordinary and his body was as thin as a stick. It couldn't be called skin and bones yet but it was almost at that level. Even though his eyes were bright, his sockets were deeply hollowed. As waves of Qi radiated from his body, it seemed like he had already reached the peak of the fourth level Qi Condensation.

"Fatso Nine, I am Fatso One!" When the skinny young man saw Naruto, he felt like weeping but no tears came out. As he continued speaking, intense indignation and grief were exposed on his face.

"Fatso Nine, you can't imagine how much suffering I've undergone this year! My master has been very harsh to me! The first time she saw me, she told me that she didn't like fatsos and willingly starved me for half a year!"

"Half a year already, Fatso Nine! Do you know what that half a year did to me? What you're seeing now is the outcome of having spent a long time to recover my body." It was true. This skinny young man was indeed Zhang Fatso One. By the time he finished speaking, his tears had already flowed out.

"You must have some enmity with your master, right?" Naruto looked sympathetically at Zhang Fatso One.

"That old bitch, I…..." Zhang Fatso One grinded his teeth in anger, but after a few words, he stopped and shuddered, not daring to continue. He pulled Naruto into the yard.

"Ninth Brother, I miss the Burning Stoves Kitchen. This place is really not suitable for people to live. From the day that I arrived here, I haven't eaten a single fulfilling meal and haven't earned a single coin. I'm starving!" Zhang Fatso One was so full of grievances that he couldn't help but pull on Naruto's hand and tell him of all the pain and suffering he had endured from the moment he had first arrived on the mountain till now.

Naruto carefully listened to the other party's ordeals. Compared to Zhang Fatso One, he suddenly thought that he was absolutely correct in his decision to steal those spirit tailed chickens. He couldn't help but sigh whenever he looked at the skinny body of Zhang Fatso One. Naruto could only grimace as he patted Zhang Fatso One's bony shoulder.

"With First Brother in trouble, I, your junior brother, will naturally help you. I'll be back in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn." As Naruto finished his words, he immediately turned around and left the yard, leaving Zhang Fatso One standing in a daze. Before Naruto went up the mountain, he had already noticed and memorised the locations of several chicken coops on Purple Cauldron Mountain. In the darkness of the night, his figure soon disappeared.

Zhang Fatso One didn't understand what was happening and he didn't know where Naruto had gone. The only thing that he could do was to wait at the door. But before the time it took for a stick of incense to burn had passed, Naruto crept back with two spirit tailed chickens in his hand.

The moment he saw the spirit tailed chickens, Zhang Fatso One immediately widened his eyes. Before he could open his mouth and say anything, Naruto grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside the yard. Leaving Zhang Fatso One aside, Naruto skillfully took out a pot, boiled some water, then plucked and cleansed the chickens. Finally, he just dropped the chickens inside the pot before he flourished his sleeves, raised his chin, and looked up at Zhang Fatso One.

Zhang Fatso One pointed at the chickens inside the pot and then pointed towards Naruto.

" You… you…heavens! Could it be that you're the Mad Chicken-Stealing

Devil from the Scented Cloud Mountain?!"

A laugh rang out from Naruto while he lifted his right hand skillfully and pressed on the pot. At this time, rich streams of Qi roiled around, cooking the chicken meat inside even faster. Soon, when waves of aroma wafted out, Naruto grabbed a drumstick and dropped it in front of Zhang Fatso One.

"Try it!" Naruto proudly said. His expression was the same as the look Zhang Fatso had when he had held the hundred-year ginseng at the Burning Stoves Kitchen during the time Naruto had first arrived there.

Zhang Fatso One's mouth was watering. He stared at the chicken drumstick, before grabbing it and swallowing it whole. Without saying anything to Naruto, he instantly rushed towards the big pot and nearly submerged his whole face inside it. The two of them ate those two chickens very quickly. Reluctant to waste the slightest bit, even the bones were consumed. In the end, they had even cleaned up the broth that was left.

At the end, Zhang Fatso One pat his stomach contentedly and laid down with a delighted expression. He and Naruto looked at each other for a good while before they both burst into laughter.

"That was awesome, Fatso Nine. In the Burning Stoves Kitchen, you are the one with the craziest ideas. But I could have never guessed that the infamous Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil would turn out to be you, my Brother." Zhang Fatso One said with a prideful expression as if he were ennobled by it as well.

"Cultivation has always been an act of defiance against nature. For junior cultivators like us who oppose the heavens, we need to rely on each other. Mere spirit tailed chickens are nothing compared with our combined might." Naruto flourished his sleeves, unable to hide his pride and complacency. His identity had been kept secret for a long time and he was happy to finally share it with someone. He thought of himself as extremely cool when he saw Zhang Fatso One's expression.

"It's just a pity that all of those spirit tailed chickens in Scented Cloud Mountain have nearly been depleted by me. The ones who are left are too young to eat, unpalatable. Otherwise you could come live with me and I would take good care of you. I'll definitely find you something to help you get fat again." Naruto said with a sigh.

As Zhang Fatso One heard this, his eyes quickly brightened and he got up immediately.

"There are also spirit tailed chickens on the west, south and north of the Purple Cauldron Mountain. But there are disciples who take turns keeping watch. Two shifts a day, and each shift has seven people." Zhang Fatso One quickly opened his mouth and provided extremely detailed information. As he did, he discovered that Naruto was looking at him with a surprised look. Then he intentionally made a dry cough to let him finish his words.

"After hearing of the Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil, I was planning to learn from him. But these spirit tailed chickens are too alert to catch. Everytime I get close to them, they start crowing. As a result, I had no success and nearly got caught instead." Zhang Fatso One said with a little embarrassed.

Naruto went wild with joy and leaned closer to Zhang Fatso One. Then two people started plotting, causing Zhang Fatso One's eyes to glow brighter and brighter. At this moment, he was already breathing heavily. A few moments later, the two people were beaming with joy as they laughed.

In the deep dark night, ghastly sounding laughter echoed from the yard.

Since that day, Naruto simply moved in together with Zhang Fatso One. The spirit tailed chickens of Purple Cauldron Mountain started disappearing one after the other.

When night came, the two chicken thieves would come out, one stealing and one keeping watch. Disciples on the Purple Cauldron Mountain soon burst into an uproar with everybody talking about the recent events.

"Did you hear that Purple Cauldron Mountain has been targeted by the

Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil from Scented Cloud Mountain?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. The Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil is not a single person. It is two!"

When this information spread throughout the whole Scented Cloud Mountain, all of the outer sect disciples couldn't help but take a deep breath and watch the Purple Cauldron Mountain with pity in their eyes.

"Finally, this Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil is going to play fairly. Thank god, Scented Cloud Mountain will no longer be his only target."

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 - Impenetrable Iron Skin!

After a month, there were still rumors. Even the Grand Elder of Purple Cauldron Mountain, Xu Mei, the old woman Zhang Fatso One claimed to be his master, had heard about it. At this point, Naruto and Zhang Fatso One had no choice but to leave Purple Cauldron Mountain. Following Zhang Fatso One's suggestion, they went to Third Sister Black to rescue her.

(ED Note: Black Fatso Three has been changed to Third Sister Black after

Naruto learned of her gender.)

And so, the two headed for Green Peak Mountain.

Black Sister Three had thinned down a bit. It wasn't very obvious, but her body had started showing some slight curves, which stunned Naruto and Zhang Fatso One. At that moment, the duo could barely recognize her. Even that dark face of hers now had some grace to it, if she lost all her fat, Black Sister Three would definitely be a beauty.

Merely hearing the cry of a Spirit Tailed Chicken caused Third Sister Black's eyes to light up.

From that moment onwards, Green Peak Mountain's Spirit Tailed Chickens started going missing.

At the moment, the name of the Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil had spread far and wide. All of the outer sect disciple knew about it, even the handymen did.

But before long, just when the elders started taking notice, the great thief suddenly vanished, never appearing again. Black Sister Three and Zhang Fatso One were both recovering, and though they were unable to go back to their former glory, they had grown a lot stronger.

On the other hand, Naruto had finally completed the eighty-one day circulation. His hunger wasn't as intense as before, so the three refrained from stealing any more chickens.

The eighty-one cycles of the Unending Longevity Technique were not completed in one go. Instead, it was accumulated overtime, however, the result was exactly the same.

On that day, Naruto's skin gained a metallic luster as he stood in the courtyard. His eyes burned with tenacity as black light shone from his body, emitting a strong aura.

Eighty-one days of pain, eighty-one days of hunger. At that moment, everything culminated into the birth of an overwhelming power that continuously bursted from within his body.

Each burst held immeasurable vitality that merged with Naruto's skin, enhancing the metallic color and black light. His skin rapidly hardened as the black light increased in intensity.

If an outsider were to see him standing there, he would mistake him for a metal statue instead of a human made of flesh and blood.

By the nineteenth burst, his mind was already trembling, yet the bursts showed no signs of stopping.

Naruto didn't move an inch, barely even breathing. If one were to take a closer look at him, they would discover that his pores were ceaselessly expanding and contracting, condensing the energy of the sky and earth.

"After the eighty-first burst, I'll have an impenetrable skin. I'll enter the world of metallic skin!" The formula appeared in his mind as he stared forward. All the efforts during the past year, all the starvation and all the excruciating pain he had endured, all of it was for these final bursts.

FWOOM!

The Qi inside him exploded once more, the metallic color of his skin became deeper as Qi spread to every inch of his body, tempering it in the process.

The Naruto now was like a weapon of the gods. The bursts were like the booming strikes of a forging hammer that clanged inside him twenty, thirty, forty, forty-eight times…

Three days had passed. Naruto still stood there, the surroundings tranquil and peaceful. The outside was quiet, but in his ears, Ba

i Naruto could hear the roaring thunder-like explosions from inside his body.

When his Qi burst for the forty-ninth time, the force of the impact amplified. His body shook as thin cracks formed on his skin, and it seemed like he was unable to withstand the bursts any longer.

"As expected, an unfortunate situation has arisen…" Naruto frowned. He had once read that during the impenetrable-skin-tempering, cracks would inevitably appear. The longer the person could endure the bursts, the stronger the skin would become once the tempering stopped.

Even if Naruto didn't continue struggling, the impenetrable-skintempering would still be successful. However, he wanted it to be as perfect as possible. If he could endure a complete eighty-one Qi bursts, the resulting skin would be utterly flawless.

Closing his eyes, Naruto continued to endure the bursts as they spread throughout his whole body. Fifty, sixty, seventy… With a single breath, Naruto lasted for five more days. At which point, the Qi bursts numbered in the seventies.

The cracks on his skin had spread over his entire body, and a lot of them had even connected in various parts of his body. His body was like a shattered vase glued together.

It seemed as if it could shatter at any time.

"Seven more left!"

With bloodshot eyes, Naruto clenched his teeth under rapid breaths.

Seventy-four!

Seventy-seven!

Seventy-nine!

Naruto raised his head up to the sky and roared. It wasn't loud, but it helped his trembling body survive one more Qi burst, finally reaching the eightieth Qi burst..

Qi rapidly flowed into his skin, cracking it to a shocking degree. Though his skin was filled with cracks, it still looked like it was made of metal.

"Last one!" Naruto did not want to give up. As the last Qi burst was released, he raised his right arm and viciously slammed it on the ground.

The smash formed a deep pit as the final Qi burst ended. An immense quantity of Qi flowed into his body as the cracks which completely covered his body vanished along with the black light, leaving pure, white and glossy skin. However, this seemingly normal skin had already achieved unbelievable toughness.

After a long while, Naruto raised his head as he breathed heavily.

He looked at the pit which his fist made, and then he looked at his skin. He laughed, excited.

Lifting his right hand, he pulled out his wooden sword and shot it at his arm. Upon contact, an astonishing "clang" echoed as the sword was reflected. On the contrary, his arm felt nothing more than a mosquito's bite, it was completely uninjured.

"Impenetrable skin!" Naruto was unable to control his excitement. He knew the sword wasn't a very good one, and its material was very common. However, it was refined twice, and the power that came with those refinements made it comparable to a higher quality sword. Even so, it did not hurt him in the slightest.

With a swing of his body, Naruto shot out with all of his strength, his surroundings quickly disappearing far behind him. In the next instance, he had appeared a great distance away. This speed was multiple times faster than before.

As for strength, Naruto knew what level he was at when he looked at the hole his fist had made. Right now, his body was essentially a new one.

"Only this type of defensive power is capable of aiding me on my path to immortality." Naruto was very pleased. Looking at his cultivation, he had already reached the peak of fourth level of Qi Condensation.

It wasn't merely the fourth level of Qi Condensation. After the suppression of his inner Qi, the quality of the Qi inside him was not something a cultivator of the same level could compare with.

He was very pleased. Walking back and forth in the courtyard for a while, he finally stopped and stood completely still. Naruto's eyes brightened as he raised his right hand, arranging his thumb and index finger together to form a half-mouth shape. He squeezed the two fingers together and black light shone from within them. There was nothing in front of him, yet cracking sounds could be heard.

He repeated this action again, and this time, he aimed at a boulder.

Black light shone as he pinched, destroying the boulder as if it was tofu.

He turned around and did the pinching motion once more on one of the bamboo shrubberies that had grown quite tall. Choosing the sturdiest of the bamboos, he once again pinched, shattering it in the process.

This scene made even Naruto himself fall down as he took a deep breath. Looking down at his two fingers as the black light dissipated, he exhaled.

"So this is the throat-crushing grasp…" Naruto mumbled to himself. This was one of the mystical abilities of the Unending Longevity Technique that could only be brought out from the impenetrable-skintempering.

Naruto had only used half of his strength just now. He couldn't even imagine its terrible destructiveness should he not hold back.

For Naruto, this mystical ability was a lethal weapon. He silently contemplated for a while, realizing the viciousness of this ability. After much contemplation, he still continued to train in it. Within the courtyard, his figure could be seen dashing about, sometimes accompanied by a black light and cracking sounds.

Half a year had passed, Naruto had not left the courtyard even once. He was constantly training. While ceaselessly training, Naruto was of course oblivious that Toruho has finally returned to the peak of Scented Cloud Mountain after being away for months, flying in a rainbow streak of light.

Before Toruho even had the chance to rest, two more rainbows came from Green Peak Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain, all towards the peak of the Scented Cloud Mountain, searching for Toruho. In one of the rainbows, the form of an old man could be seen. His body had an intimidating aura special to cultivators at the Foundation Establishment.

As for the other rainbow, a woman born with a natural allure could be seen. She was beautiful, but on her face, a complex mix of emotions could be found. It was complex since she seemed to be sad and happy at the same time.

These two were the Grand Elders of Green Peak Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain. The two conversed with Toruho privately before leaving. At the peak, Toruho sat there rubbing his forehead, sweeping his eyes over the chicken coops. After realizing that only chicks were left, he didn't know whether he should be laughing or crying. With a sigh, he threw back his sleeves, left the hall, headed down the mountain road…

Straight towards Naruto's courtyard...

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Chapter 26 - Does the Spirit Tailed chicken taste good?

Although Toruho had never been to Naruto's cabin, he had always kept him in a corner of his mind. He kept walking down the mountain trail as he noticed the surroundings gradually grow desolate. Soon, a courtyard showed up in front of him.

Before even arriving, he noticed a white and tender figure on the trail from afar. That figure was holding a charred piece of meat, and taking a bite from it while walking. The person seemed to be eating quite happily, even humming a melodious tune.

Toruho's face instantly darkened. With a single glance, he recognized the piece of meat concealed in the person's hand to be a chicken leg. He couldn't help but explode in anger.

"Naruto!"

His shout was not loud at all. However, it seemed like roaring thunder once it had reached Naruto's ears. After hearing the shout, Uzumaki

Naruto, who was sucking on the chicken bone, nearly jumped in fright. "Elder Li!"

Naruto widened his eyes and gulped. He subconsciously shoved the entire chicken leg into his mouth. With his mouth just like a ball, he chewed hard a couple times before swallowing the chicken leg whole, his face turning purple as he choked on it.

The person whom he was afraid of the most in the sect was Toruho. Especially after he had eaten so many of his chickens, Naruto was now even more tense in front of Toruho. As sweat gushed out of his forehead, he quickly wiped it off with his sleeve then hurriedly approached Toruho, made a nice and cute face, and greeted him.

"Esteemed Grand Elder."

Toruho stared at Naruto without any expression. Looking at Naruto, Toruho really felt helpless. Naruto's ancestors had helped him once, and Toruho greatly valued their kindness. Looking back, what they had done was only a small favor, however, he had always felt indebted to them.

A while ago, the grand elders of the Green Peak Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain came and spoke with him about the disappearance of the Spirit Tailed chickens. Although these chickens weren't particularly valuable, he didn't want the others to criticize his own disciples. Therefore, he had compensated the other grand elders.

Looking at Naruto now, Toruho felt more exasperated by Naruto's failure to improve his attitude.

"Barely half a year has passed since you became an outer sect disciple, yet you have already improved your Qi Condensation from third-level to fourth-level, you should be quite proud of yourself." said Toruho with a snort.

Naruto blinked his eyes and coughed dryly, unsure of how to respond. He could only keep up the nice and cute face, thinking that as long as he kept showing a good attitude, he would certainly be fine. But then he remembered how moments earlier, he had been holding one of Toruho's Spirit Tailed chicken's leg. Sweat immediately surfaced on his forehead once again.

Toruho felt a headache just by looking at Naruto. Thinking for a moment, he continued in a flat voice, "Since you have so much time to do all this nonsense, you should join the small competition held amongst the Scented Cloud Mountain's outer sect disciples, who have reached fourth to fifth level of Qi Condensation, three months from now."

Naruto's heart raced as soon as Toruho let the sentence out. He had heard about this kind of small competitions. He knew that although the winners could win prizes, it was also said that the fights were ferocious and the competitors could easily get hurt. Thinking about this, his cheeks instantly turned sour.

Esteemed Grand Elder, I'm only in the fourth level of Qi Condensation, how could you send me to compete against them, what if they beat me to death…"

"In this competition, you must get into the top five, otherwise, I will get you…" said Toruho with a harsh look, disregarding Naruto's words. Before he finished his speech, Naruto let out a long sigh.

"I know, you will kick me out of the sect…"

Toruho glared at Naruto. He knew that Naruto was stubborn and unruly. Perhaps threatening him with expulsion wasn't enough to spook him anymore. He then thought how this kid was very afraid of death. With this thought in mind, he abruptly raised his right arm, pulled Naruto closer with a wave of his sleeve, and they both flew straight towards the mountaintop.

Naruto's heart was racing. He stared at Toruho's expressionless face, feeling that something bad was about to happen. In the middle of the air, he could feel gales blowing right against his face. Before he could even see clearly, Toruho had brought him to the back of the Scented Cloud Mountain.

This was considered as a forbidden area of the Scented Cloud Mountain since it was filled with all kinds of plants. Normally, none of the disciples were allowed here.

Once they landed on the ground, Toruho grabbed Naruto and darted towards a valley in the back of the mountain. A frosty atmosphere immediately attacked Naruto after they entered. The colors of the surrounding plants could barely be distinguished as they swung from Toruho's movements.

Looking at those plants, Naruto's heart heavily pounded. Sensing danger, he opened his mouth to say something, but in the next moment, he suddenly noticed a blood-red venomous snake which slowly raised its head from a brushwood and thrusted out its forked tongue, staring at him coldly.

"Snake!" yelled Naruto as his scalp turned numb. Right after which, along with Toruho's advance, the entire valley entered Naruto's sight. He immediately noticed that the ground of the valley, as well as all the branches and brushes, were filled with all kinds of snakes.

Red and blue, all of these snakes were in bright vivid colors, clearly indicating that they were all venomous. Every single one of them thrusted their forked tongues out and coldly stared at Naruto.

Naruto trembled. He had been afraid of snakes since he was little. Even more frightening was that many of those snakes opened their jaws and exposed their venomous fangs, showing signs of aggression. A few of them even started to spew venom.

However, Naruto quickly remembered that he had the impenetrable skin which these venomous snakes shouldn't be able to break through. Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that no matter how many snakes this valley had, they would all be as weak as a chicken in front of him. In his mind, he told himself that there was nothing to be afraid of.

But then he rolled his eyes, realizing that if he acted fearlessly, Li

Qinghou might take him to somewhere even more dangerous, therefore, he immediately let out a high-pitched scream, pretending to freak out.

Toruho snorted with scorn then released his power. Those snakes instantly wriggled their bodies and slowly moved away, opening up a trail. At the end of the trail, a dark cave constantly emitting an odor capable of making people sick could be seen.

"Uncle Li…You…help! I have never violated any rule!" yelled Naruto with a trembling voice. Toruho remained expressionless as he grabbed Naruto and rushed straight towards the cave. After they entered the cave, Toruho waved his sleeve, and the inside of the cave instantly lit up.

With this light, Naruto quickly noticed that inside the cave, there were even more venomous snakes than outside. Every one of these snakes were bigger than those outside. These snakes let out hissing sounds, which seemed to contain some kind of mysterious power, that could make people temporarily stunned. Seeing this, Naruto widened his eyes.

A strong sense of danger made him unable to breathe. Even more astonishing was that these snakes had power similar to cultivators. In the distance, he even saw a four-coloured venomous snake with Qi that was equivalent to the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

Being stared at by this snake, Naruto felt chills run down his spine. He realized that even his impenetrable skin wouldn't last too long in this place. This time, without pretending, he really freaked out.

"This place is called Ten Thousand Snakes Valley. It is where our cultivators acquire toxins. Every single one of these snakes is highly toxic and a single drop of venom from any of them can easily kill a hundred cows." said Toruho.

"Without a timely rescue, cultivators below Foundation Establishment would be poisoned to death just by touching the venom. Especially the snake king deep inside the cave, which is as powerful as a cultivator who has achieved the Great Circle of Qi Condensation, once poisoned by its venom, even people like me would have no chance of survival."

"If you failed to get into the top five in this small competition among the outer sect disciples, you needn't worry about getting kicked out of the sect. I will just send you here to fetch some toxins for me." continued Toruho blandly as he stared at Naruto.

"Th…this…Uncle Li, trust me, it's nothing but a small competition in the sect, and the top five should be easy! I, Naruto, can certainly do it!"

Naruto's face had turned deathly pale, and he felt that his mouth had turned dry. He swore that he would never come back to this place upon learning that there were even scarier venomous snakes deeper in the cave.

Having heard Naruto's words, Toruho smiled inwardly, however, he kept his face expressionless. He snorted once again before bringing Naruto out of the valley. After they returned to the Scented Cloud Mountain, Toruho dropped Naruto on a small trail, then he turned around and left.

Before he left, he paused for a second without turning his head as his voice flew into Naruto's ears.

"Oh yeah, were the Spirit Tailed Chickens tasty?"

After letting out this question, Toruho's silhouette slowly vanished into the air before Naruto could even answer.

Naruto went back to his yard with endless sighing and groaning. While he was walking back, the wind blew across and rustled the plants beside the trail, reminding him about those venomous snakes for quite a while.

"Toruho… your name should be Green Snake Li! Too vicious!" murmured Naruto while sitting down in the yard with a long face.

(ED NOTE: Qing=青=green Green Snake Li=李青蛇)

"I will certainly not go back to that Ten Thousand Snake Valley, I'll be killed if even a single drop of venom touches my skin. Since he has said so, then I'll do my best to reach top five! It's nothing but a simple top five!" Naruto made up his mind.

"My current cultivation is not powerful enough for the small competition. I need spirit medicines!" Naruto took a deep breath and clenched his fist. His eyes even showed a trace of fierce light. He looked at the surrounding area, then fixed his eyes on those Spirit Winter Bamboos. "After finishing the mission for these Spirit Winter Bamboos, I can get contribution points as a reward, which I can trade for some spirit medicines. But my bamboos have only grown to less than five zhang. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a pass…" thinking of this, Naruto hesitated for a second, however, he had no other ideas at all. With a quick calculation, he figured out that the scheduled handover for plantrelated missions was just a couple of days away.

(ED note: 1 zhang is equal to 3.58 meters or 3.645 yards)

Naruto anxiously waited a couple days with a sour face. Finally, in the morning of the fourth day, he got up early and walked up to the bamboos, grabbed them with both of his hands, and pulled them out one after another.

These bamboos didn't look heavy at all. However, once he tried to pull them out, he discovered that every single one of them were as heavy as metal.

After the ground shook for a while, ten five-zhang-long spirit winter bamboos were carried on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto then walked out of the yard step-by-step, preparing to complete his mission.

The space of his storage pouch wasn't big enough. These bamboos couldn't fit in, and so he could only carry them on his shoulder.

Fortunately, Naruto's strength had been largely improved after he achieved a breakthrough with the impenetrable skin, otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to carry these bamboos uphill.

While walking, Naruto was feeling depressed. He thought of the small competition, then he thought of those venomous snakes, and his head was filled with imaginary scenes of his bones lying there broken on the floor.

"My, Naruto's, life is so miserable…"

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Chapter 27 - This…...This is Bamboo?

Each of those bamboo shoots were incredibly heavy. Having to carry ten of them on his shoulders while walking uphill, even Naruto would run out of breath. He began to pity himself even more.

"I'm here to cultivate immortality so I can live forever. Why do I need to fight and kill?"

"Also, my bamboos could obviously have grown taller. But right now, I have to bring them out to exchange for contribution points…" the more Naruto thought about it, the more wronged he felt. While sighing continuously, he carried the Spirit Winter Bamboos up the mountain.

At this moment, in the loft where Scented Cloud Mountain's outer sect disciples turned in their missions, many people had gathered. They brought the herbs they had planted, and handed them over to complete the mission in exchange for contribution points.

There were elders of Scented Cloud Mountain here, responsible for awarding contribution points according to their quality.

"Not bad. This Mist Flower already has four petals. Medium Grade."

"The colour of this wood-patterned Ginseng is too dark. The energy infused in the soil was too excessive causing it to be imbalanced. Fail." On top of a big rock outside of the loft, a ruddy faced, white-haired old man sat with his legs crossed. There were countless disciples queueing up in front of him. One by one, they took out the spirit grasses they had grown. After the old man's inspection, a youth beside him would record the contribution points awarded.

A flock of five-coloured Phoenixes were elegantly flying in circles mid-air. Each of them was around a zhang long, and from time to time, they would emit melodiuos cries.

These phoenixes were the elder's personal spirit pets. Whenever the day for turning in plants arrived, they would follow the elder here. When the outer sect disciples spotted them from afar, their gazes would fill with envy.

This elder had reached Foundation Establishment. Although his achievements in the field of sprit medicine were inferior to Toruho's, he was still quite extraordinary and very famous within the sect. Especially for his obsession with the path of medicine. Even Toruho sighed at his own incompetence when comparing their determination. Toruho had once said that if a third Medicine Master appears in the Donglin Continent, it would be Elder Zhou.

"Chen Zi'ang greets Elder Zhou." Soon, a young man reached the front of the queue. Although this young man was average looking, he stood upright. Arriving in front of Elder Zhou, he cupped his hands and bowed respectfully.

The youth's words reverbrated outwards. As soon as the surrounding outer sect disciples heard his name, they immediately looked at him with curious gazes.

"So he's Brother Chen Zi'ang! I heard that he has extraordinary talent in growing spirit grass."

"I have also heard that ever since Chen Zi'ang joined the sect, he has never completed a spirit herb growing mission with anything less than high grade.

While everyone was discussing in hushed tones, Chen Zi'ang appeared calm, but there was a trace of pride in his eyes.

Elder Zhou looked at Chen Zi'ang with approval. He had been paying close attention to this disciple who showed talent in the field of growing spirit grasses.

"Zi'ang, what have you planted this time?" Elder Zhou gently spoke.

"Reporting to Elder Zhou, this time I grew Spirit Winter Bamboo!" With a wave of his right hand, ten Spirit Winter Bamboos, each as big as an arm, suddenly appeared next to his body. Each and every one of them w

as over half a zhang long. They were emerald-coloured, and gave off a faint green glow under the light of the sun.

"Disciple first immersed these bamboos in a spirit spring, before planting them in soil made from ground spirit stones and nurturing them with my Qi for at least three hours each day. In addition to this, disicple would arrange the veins of their leaves. With the Nine Green Mysterious Law disciple learnt, in addition to help from other spirit grasses, these bamboos were finally grown!"

(ED note: Firstly, ground in this case is the past participle of grind. Secondly, Er Gen uses the old chinese hours which is 2 hours nowadays, so 3 hours is actually 6 hours Thirdly, Chen Zi'ang refers to himself as 弟子(disciple) throughout the paragraph)

"Very good. These bamboos are half a zhang long and emit a green light. They exceed the normal high grade. They can be considered superior high grade. I hope you keep working hard in the future. If you can grow bamboos longer than a zhang, then they would be superb grade spirit plants." Stroking his beard, Elder Zhou had even more approval towards Chen Zi'ang.

As soon as the surrounding disciples heard the three words: superior high grade, they immediiately broke into loud clamor, as they looked at the Spirit Winter Bamboos on the ground. Their eyes showed envy.

Chen Zi'ang's face revealed a smile, the pride in his eyes was even greater. He bowed and cupped his hands. When he was about to receive the contribution points from the youth beside Elder Zhou, he suddenly heard a cold humph.

"Elder Zhou, Disciple Zhao Yiduo also grew some Spirit Winter

Bamboos!" With a humph, a young man who had an elongated face and narrow eyes came forward in big strides. When he gazed at Chen Zi'ang, his eyes showed disdain.

As soon as he appeared, the surrounding outer sect disciples immediately grew energetic, one-by-one they looked at him.

"It's Brother Zhao Yiduo. It's said that Brother Zhang's achievements in growing spirit plants are similar to those of Chen Zi'ang"

"This will be a sight to see. Those two have always treated each other as rivals. Both of them have been fighting for the title of the best disciple in herb-growing."

Chen Zi'ang's face suddenly turned gloomy as he coldly stared at Zhao Yiduo. When their gazes met, strong hostility could be seen in the other's eyes.

"Zhao Yiduo, just take out your Spirit Winter Bamboos." Even Elder Zhou's interest was piqued. Towards Zhao Yiduo in front of him, he showed the same knew that these two youths have often been competing against each other in plant-growing. He was glad to see them do so, because through this benign competion, both of them could improve greatly.

Zhao Yiduo faced Elder Zhou, cupped his hands, then patted his storage pouch. Ten stalks of Spirit Winter Bamboo immediately appeared. Each of these bamboos, were a zhang long. The bodies of the bamboos were as thick as a thigh. The emerald-green colour of the bamboos was unexpectedly slightly transparent. There was even some spirit aura diffusing out from them. With single glance, one could tell these bamboos were absolutely extraordinary. Compared to Chen Zi'ang's bamboos, they were obviously better.

The surrounding people couldn't help but go into an uproar once they saw the bamboos. They had only heard of these one zhang long Spirit Winter Bamboos. They had never actually seen one.

"One zhang long Spirit Winter Bamboos... how long did you raise them for?!"

"These Spirit Winter Bamboos have reached the state of emitting spirit aura. The plant-growing ability of Senior Brother Zhao is already the best in my Scented Cloud Mountain."

Zhao Yiduo glanced at the expressions of the audience before making a provocative smile at Chen Zi'ang.

At that moment, Chen Zi'ang's expression darkened.

Elder Zhou's eyes shined with praise. Looking at those bamboos, he nodded his head slightly.

"Very good, very good. Although there were many disciples turning in

Spirit Winter Bamboos today, yours are the best. These one zhang long Spirit Winter Bamboos have exceeded the high grade, and can be classified as superb grade. Zhao Yiduo, you have done great. I hope you continue working hard!"

"Junior brother Chen, you still need to work harder." Zhao Yiduo cupped his hands towards Elder Zhou before he turned around and looked at Chen Zi'ang provocatively.

Chen Zi'ang's expression turned even worse, then he gave a cold humph.

"Senior Brother Zhao, it is too early to gloat. What does it count for when you had someone helping you? Next time, I'll definitely grow a one and a half zhang long Spirit Winter Bamboo for you to see.

Zhao Yiduo laughed out loud after hearing him.

"Junior Brother Chen is also not afraid of the wind ripping his tongue out.

Spirit Winter Bamboos are hard to grow, they require huge amounts of Qi. For us Qi Condensation disciples, growing them to one zhang is already our limit. One and a half zhang? That's something only a Foundation Establishment elder can grow. As for two zhang? Ha ha, I've been in the sect for so long, but I have yet to see a two zhang Spirit Winter Bamboo…"

Before Zhao Yiduo finished speaking, on the little path behind the crowd, tremors suddenly arrived. It was as if something huge was approaching. All the nearby outer sect disciples turned their heads in surprise. Waves of exclamations immediately followed.

Even the confrontation between Zhao Yiduo and Chen Zi'ang was interrupted because of this. Both of them wrinkled their brows and directed their gazes in that direction.

Soon, the both of them could see huge bamboo stalks, almost as wide as a grown human body, appear in their sights. These bamboo stalks had a dark green colour. If one looked at them carefully, one could see spots of purple. Under the light of the sun, they even emitted magnificent colourful rays of light.

Even more surprising were the strong waves of spirit aura being emitted by the bamboo stalks that were covering the horizon. Many people exclaimed in surprise.

"Wh-What are those!"

"They look like some kind of wood, but they also look like bamboos!"

Unable to recognize them, Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo also wrinkled their brows. But they could tell that those things were far from ordinary. On the side, Elder Zhou suddenly widened his eyes, staring straight at those bamboo stalks, his breathing ragged.

Under everyone's attention, those bamboo stalks extended further and further behind, until they were fully revealed. These bamboo stalks were an impressive five zhang long. Underneath the bamboos, a small and skinny youngster gasped for breath, while carrying the bamboos and walking forward.

He looked just like an ant carrying a steamed bun.

With every step he took, a tremor spread. As he walked forward, all of the outer sect disciples in front of him moved out of his way. Every single one of them was shocked speechless by this youngster's strength. This youngster was of course Naruto. On the way here, while Naruto was thinking about how fierce the competition would be, and how terrifying the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley was, he felt like crying but had no tears. Climbing up the mountain roads, he had a hard time reaching his destination this time. Without paying attention to the surrounding people, he walked in front of Elder Zhou. With a few rumbling sounds, those bamboo stalks were dropped on the ground. He then sat on top of them, and wiped his sweat while breathing deeply

"These bamboos couldn't be put in storage pouches. Carrying them was so exhausting that I felt like i was going to die. Elder, I am here to turn in my mission." Speaking to this point, Naruto suddenly realized something was wrong. After inspecting his surroundings, he discovered that all the people around him were staring directly at those bamboos, and breathing heavily.

""Bamboos… These are bamboos?"

"In all my life, I have never seen a bamboo this big! This is clearly a tree!"

Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo's eyes were both filled with shock and bewilderment. Although they faintly recognized them, they just couldn't believe their own eyes. They suddenly approached the bamboos, squatted down, and carefully inspected them. Zhao Yiduo was shaking and even wanted to snap a section of it to check its interior.

But before he managed to do so, Elder Zhou approached with a buzzing sound. WIth a wave of his sleeve, both of them were blown away. Elder Zhou stared at the bamboo stalks with unmoving eyes.

"These… These really are Spirit Winter Bamboos!" after a while, Elder Zhou took a deep breath. When his words reverbrated out, the outer sect disciples were all stunned. What followed next was an uproar filled with disbelief.

"Spirit Winter Bamboos! These large trees are actually… Spirit Winter Bamboos!

"How is this possible? How can Spirit Winter Bamboos be this big!?

Heavens, these bamboos are five zhang long!"

"Five zhang long and a human body's in thickness, this…...this is bamboo? "

Wild clamor exploded in the surroundings. With each passing moment, the exclamations were getting louder and louder, even more so when the outer sect disciples compared them with Chen Zi'ang's and Zhao Yiduo's bamboos.

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Chapter 28 - Pressure is Motivation

Seeing the exclamations of the surrounding people, as well as Zhao Yiduo and Chen Zi'ang, who were blown away, completely disregard the pain coursing through their bodies, rush back, flatten their entire bodies against the bamboos and closely examine them, Naruto was stunned speechless.

Particularly Elder Zhou, who looked at the stalks one by one. His expression was filled with excitement, disbelief and joy.

This chaotic scene had shocked Naruto and made him think that everyone here was crazy. "Weren't these just a few stalks of bamboo?" Naruto thought to himself. Originally, he had planned to grow them until they were at least ten zhang tall.

"Elder…" Naruto retreated a few steps as he hesitantly called out.

"Great! This is just great!" Elder Zhou let out a booming laugh as he caressed those Spirit Winter Bamboos, not leaving a single place untouched. He was completely oblivious to Naruto's words.

"This kind of Spirit Winter Bamboo is extremely rare. Only when it grows to five zhang long will its entire body become dark green. This kind of Spirit Winter Bamboo is not just a mere herb, but also the main ingredient for refining the Spirit Bamboo Sword. It can even be used as a catalyst for some unique techniques!"

"All of you, come smell it. Can you smell the aroma of meat and bones? This aroma is unique to this bamboo when its length exceeds five zhang." Elder Zhou was extremely excited as he spoke, even taking a deep whiff.

Chen Zi'ang and Zhou Yiduo's expressions were serious as they also breathed in the Spirit Winter Bamboo's aroma. The surrounding disciples also moved closer to take a sniff.

Naruto coughed dryly. He had already noticed that particular scent while carrying the bamboo stalks on the way here. It was clearly… the smell of chicken bones. After all, in the spirit fields where the Spirit Winter Bamboos were planted, there were hundreds of thousands of Spirit Tailed Chicken bones buried… and he had stripped the meat off of every single one of those bones.

"Elder…" Naruto, thinking that all these people have gone insane, called out again.

Just then, Elder Zhou's body suddenly jerked violently. His vision focused on a certain area on one of the bamboo stalks. His face turned ugly and fury burned in his eyes.

"God dammit, what happened here? Why is there a bite mark? These

Spirit Winter Bamboos are incomparably bitter and cannot be eaten raw.

Which bastard dared to take a bite and mar the quality of this stalk?!" Elder Zhou lamented. The bite mark was like a worm's hole that had suddenly been found on a piece of a flawless jade. He raised his head fiercely and looked at Naruto.

"It wasn't me!" Naruto was so frightened that he hurriedly took a few steps back. He recalled the time when he had been so hungry, that without even bothering to check what he was putting in his mouth, he had taken a bite out of this bamboo stalk. He never imagined that the place where people turn in their missions would be so terrifying. He couldn't bite off a piece of bamboo that he had grown himself? These people were all crazy!

When the surrounding people heard Elder Zhou's words, they all turned their attention to that stalk. Lo and behold, at the end of that stalk of the Spirit Winter Bamboo, they could see a mark left behind by someone's teeth.

Elder Zhou fixed his gaze on the scar on the bamboo for a long while before he gave a long sigh. After all, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if he was obsessed with the path of medicine, he still p

ossessed a significant amount of mental fortitude. It was just that the bamboo Naruto had brought over, a variation of the bamboo which he had never seen before, was simply too startling, making him lose composure.

He shot a fervent look towards Naruto and flourished his long sleeves.

"This bamboo, the peak of excellent grade ... No, top grade! This is the epitome of top grade! The reward will be ten thousand contribution points!" The moment he said this, all the surrounding people took a deep breath. One had to know that an ordinary planting mission was only worth about ten to a maximum of a hundred contribution points. But today, it was ten thousand!

The young disciple who stood by the side was also stunned. In these countless years, spirit plants that had been granted the title of top grade were incredibly rare.

At least, this was the first time in the last couple of centuries.

Naruto became very excited as he rushed towards the young disciple at the side. He took out his identity plate and hurried the disciple to give the contribution points. The young disciple hesitated for a moment. However, when he noticed that Elder Zhou had started to inspect those bamboo stalks again, he gritted his teeth and awarded Naruto ten thousand contribution points.

The moment he received his contribution points, Naruto hurried to leave. He decided that he would never come back to this place again. All the people here were just too crazy.

He did not get far before Elder Zhou's voice resounded behind him.

"What's your name?"

"Naruto, I'm called Naruto. My uncle is Toruho!" Naruto hurriedly said. Before he came, he had never imagined that his bamboo would startle people to this extent, so at this moment, he was feeling rather anxious and pulled out Toruho's name to act as a tiger's skin.

"Hm. Through great effort, the Spirit River Sect has become a large sect that is ten thousand years old with myriads of disciples. Everyone has their own secrets, their own creations, and this old man is not yet willing to sacrifice his face to demand an explanation about your methods. But in the future, if you obtain more of these bamboos, this old man will take them all and award you with a satisfactory amount of contribution points!" Elder Zhou seemed a little unhappy. He waved his hand, no longer paying attention to Naruto, and continued to inspect those bamboos. He even went as far as ending the submissions for the day early.

As Naruto held his identity plate, his eyes showed excitement. He left the Mission Exchange Pavilion and rushed straight towards the Spirit

Medicine Hall of the Scented Cloud Mountain. This so-called Spirit Medicine Hall was the place where the disciples of Scented Cloud Mountain could exchange their spirit medicines.

If he possessed any spirit medicine, he could also come here to sell it to the sect in exchange for contribution points.

Naruto sprinted over. Inside the Spirit Medicine Hall, he started to look around and made his choice. By the time he finally left, he had bought a bottle of medicine pills suitable for the fifth level of Qi Condensation. However, the medicine pills weren't cheap. Naruto had originally thought that the ten thousand contribution points he had acquired was already a lot, but contrary to his belief, the spirit medicines sold here were even more expensive.

"Green God Underlying Spirit Pill." Naruto looked at the bottle of pills in his hand. There were a total of three pills, and just these three pills had already cost him over four thousand contribution points.

But at the same time, these pills were not ordinary Qi Condensation disciples' pills. Their effects were exceptional. Not only was their medicinal effect greater than ordinary medicine, they also had the effect of purifying Qi.

Naruto figured that his breakthrough to the fifth level of Qi Condensation was not assured, so this time, he planned to boost himself all the way to the peak of the fifth level of Qi Condensation through consuming these pills.

As for the sixth level of Qi Condensation, he had thought about using

this method to avoid participating in the competition. Though if he did, he could imagine that Toruho would just change methods and continue to punish him.

As for his remaining contribution points, Naruto did not let any of them go to waste. He used all of them to exchange for a single-use charm. Only after he stuck that thing to his body did he feel somewhat safer.

If not for the fact that he did not have enough contribution points, he would have entered the treasure pavilion and exchanged them for some weapons used in Qi Condensation. However, he could only give up on this idea. After returning to his courtyard, Naruto sat cross-legged in the wooden cabin. He took out the medicine pills and stared at them with an imposing gaze.

"There are less than three months left, I am going to enter closed-door cultivation!" Clenching his teeth, he inspected his surroundings. With a gesture of his right hand, the turtle-shell pot immediately appeared. He pulled out some of the Spirit Tailed Chicken tails, and with a wave of his hand, a three-coloured flame appeared.

One tail was insufficient to meet the demands of the pot. Only after ten tails were ignited did the third line on the pot light up. At one go, Naruto refined all three medicine pills thrice.

After that, he picked up one Green God Underlying Spirit Pill, now marked with three silver lines, and swallowed it in a single gulp.

The moment the medicine pill entered his body, it immediately dissolved. Rumbling waves of imposing Qi surged within his body. Naruto quickly assumed the posture and breathing method of the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique. With utmost concentration, he relentlessly guided the Qi to circulate in his body.

After a couple of days, Naruto's wooden cabin shook with a boom as dust and soil flew into the air. It was as if an earthquake had spread from within the room. Soon, Naruto's laughter echoed out from within the wooden cabin.

"Fifth level of Qi Condensation!" Naruto took a deep breath, his eyes shone brightly. Previously, he had eaten many Spirit Tailed Chickens and he was already at the peak of the fourth stage of Qi Condensation. Adding in the medicine pill he had just swallowed, he smoothly broke through to the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

Although filth once again appeared on his body, this time, the amount was clearly less than the last time. After washing himself, Naruto did not immediately swallow the next pill, but stabilised his cultivation instead. He waited for another five days before he decided to swallow the second Green God Underlying Spirit Pill. This time, an abundant amount of Qi accumulated inside his body, expanded his Qi channels, rapidly circulated through his body, and caused his cultivation to take another great leap forwards.

After stabilising his cultivation again for a couple of days, he swallowed the third Green God Underlying Spirit Dan. Afterwards, his cultivation shot straight up to the peak level of the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

By this point, his every gesture, from raising his hand to moving his feet, seemed to suggest that he had become a completely different person. Not to mention his skin that had become even whiter, he even radiated a unique atmosphere.

This caused Naruto to be overjoyed. He completely understood that if it was any other disciple that was at the peak of fourth level Qi Condensation, who had swallowed those three medicine pills, they would at most break through to the fifth level of Qi Condensation. It was impossible for them to reach the peak of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, just a hair's breadth away from the sixth level, like he had done.

The key point here was the turtle-shell pot's refining ability.

The effectiveness of this item had become increasingly obvious as Naruto continued to cultivate, making him question the origins of this turtle-shell pot quite often.

Although it looked like the back of a turtle, he had come to the conclusion that it was not really a turtleshell.

As for refining, he had already investigated this issue thoroughly. There was an area designated for refinement located at Purple Cauldron Mountain. By paying a certain amount of contribution points, one could get a sect elder there to help them with refining(可以在那里让宗门的长老帮助炼灵). It was also rumoured that the grand elder of Purple Cauldron Mountain was an Alchemy Master.

Naruto's eyes lit up as he ran his hand along the patterns on the back of the turtle-shell pot. A split second later, he shook his head. Since he was unable to understand the pot, then he might as well forget about its origins. With a wave of his right hand, a green jade tablet as well as his wooden sword appeared in front of his eyes.

Naruto gazed at the two unique treasures he had acquired so far. Then, he gnashed his teeth, took out some more spirit tails, and prepared to refine the two treasures to the third level of spirit refinement.

"I wonder how much the sword and the jade tablet will change after I refine them for the third time."

Naruto waved his right hand, and after three patterns on the turtleshell pot lit up, he threw the jade tablet inside. Immediately after the silver light began glowing brightly, rumbles akin to the sound of rolling thunder could be heard. Fortunately, no one noticed it since the sound did not travel too far.

When the silver light dissipated, there was a stunning third silver line added to the green jade tablet in front of Naruto. The glowing silver patterns flashed before slowly fading, but Naruto could clearly feel that the jade tablet's power was vastly different compared to before. They were as far apart as heaven and earth..

There was even a faint trace of purple light, amidst the green colour, embedded in the interior of the jade tablet. The shape of the jade tablet had also changed slightly. It was no longer elliptical but had instead flattened to become circular.

Naruto picked up the jade tablet and infused it with his Qi. With a sudden buzz, his surroundings were immediately enveloped by an astounding sphere of green light which was more than three inches thick.

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Chapter 29 - Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light

Naruto inspected the defensive ability of the jade tablet before bursting into laughter. His fiery gaze immediately shifted towards his wooden sword. This was the same wooden sword he had received when he had first entered the sect. It had accompanied him up to this point and had already undergone two refinements.

"Judging from the improvement in the defensive capability of this jade tablet, after I refine this wooden sword for the third time, its power will definitely be extraordinary!" Naruto smiled slightly before he began to refine the wooden sword.

As the silver light shone and the glow inside of the turtle-shell pot faded away, a small wooden sword appeared in front of Naruto. The third silver pattern on the sword was glaring to the eyes. After a while, the brightness slowly faded away. The appearance of this wooden sword changed as well. It was now one finger longer, and the wood vein was almost completely purple.

(ED Note:

. /search?q=wood+vein&rlz=1C1LENP_enSG65 4SG654&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=643&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X& ved=0ahUKEwjXlfnjjJDNAhXLRI8KHfl8AIsQ_AUIBigB)

It even exuded a peculiar aroma. This scent was very strange. The fragrance started out smelling and tasting sweet, but if one breathed it in for a long time, they would fall into a trance.

Naruto's body shivered as his eyes sobered. He looked at this small wooden sword with surprise. Lifting it slowly, he discovered that it was now many times heavier than before, as if he was holding a heavy rock.

His eyes shone as he placed the small wooden sword in front of him in order to inspect it closely. In his eyes, it could be seen that he was deep in thought.

"The material of this wooden sword is probably the rather common Dense Cloud Wood. This Dense Cloud Wood only requires about fourtynine days of refinement before it can be used as equipment for cultivators. Furthermore, they can also be mass refined." Naruto mumbled, inspecting the vein on this wooden sword.

"Purple veins... then there is only one explanation. After multiple refinements, a mutation appeared in this sword" Naruto closed his eyes. Every bit of knowledge about Dense Cloud Wood, which he had acquired from studying herbs, flashed through his mind.

After a long time, when he opened both of his eyes, there was a sense of anticipation revealed in his gaze. He made a couple of hand signs with his right hand, and pointed at the sword. Suddenly, a black glow mixed with traces of purple appeared on the sword before it flew out. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the wooden cabin. It even flew out of the yard and pierced a huge rock, more than ten zhang away.

Without a sound, the small wooden sword pierced through the rock. It made a revolution within the rock before it pierced through and exited the rock again. In another blink of an eye, it had already returned in front of Naruto.

There wasn't even the slightest scratch on the sword's body. Instead, an aura of sharpness flickered from the blade.

Naruto was very excited. He turned the small wooden sword around, inspecting it thoroughly. After he covered up the third silver pattern, he pushed open the wooden cabin's door. He was filled with happiness as he took a deep breath. However,as soon as he thought about the Scented Cloud Mountain's small competition in two months time, he still felt unsafe.

"No, accomplishing just this much is still not enough. Those competitors are certainly going to be ferocious. It would be better if I prepared more." Naruto clenched his teeth, recalling the two states introduced in the Purple Qi

Cauldron Manipulation Techinique.

Lifting the heavy as though it was light, lifting the light as though it was heavy.

When cultivating with the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Techinique, these two levels were the established ways to practice. If one could cultivate these levels to the peak, then the technique would be transformed to a godly skill named Purple Qi Melting Cauldron Technique.

At the South Bank of the Spirit River Sect, the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Techinique was a basic skill. Almost everyone would cultivate it. But it was rare for them to be able to cultivate it to the level of lifting the heavy as though it was light. The second level, lifting the light as though it was heavy was even rarer. As for cultivating them both to the peak and transforming the technique into the Purple Qi Melting Cauldron Technique, that was even more unlikely.

Even if there were people who gained enlightenment with the Purple Qi Melting Cauldron Technique, all of them would certainly be disciples of the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

"Lifting the heavy as if though it was light... Only after reaching this level of object manipulation will my winning chances increase. " Thinking about the introduction of this technique, Naruto lowered his head and looked at the small wooden sword in his hand.

When Naruto thought about how the Burning Stoves Kitchen and

Administration Department wrongly assumed that he had mastered 'lifting the heavy as though it was light' back then during his battle with Xu Baocai, an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

"The reason that they assumed I understood how to 'lift the heavy as though it was light' was due to the level of ease with which I had controlled the small wooden sword. But the actual reason for this was the extraodinary power that the small wooden sword possessed after it was refined.

In fact, I am not actually skilled in manipulating the wooden sword. As for lifting the heavy though it was light..." Naruto furrowed his brows and simply sat with legs crossed in the yard. Looking down at the wooden sword, his eyes lost focus, and gradually became bloodshot.

After a while, he suddenly raised his right hand and the wooden sword flew out. It vigorously cut straight ahead, the wind whizzed and it blew up quite some dust and dirt off the ground. Naruto's brows furrowed even further. He made some hand signs with his right hand and pointed again. But this time, he was not pointing at the wooden sword, instead, he was pointing at the rock that recently got pierced by the wooden sword.

With a point of his finger, the huge rock violently shook. After it rose a chi off the ground, the Qi in Naruto's body became unstable. With a rumble, the rock fell down again.

(ED note: one chi is equal to ⅓ of a meter or 1.094 ft.)

The distress Naruto felt disappeared, as his eyes gradually brightened up. With great determination, he circulated the spirit Qi inside of his body and pointed out again.

Once, twice, thrice…

Time flew, and in a blink of an eye, half a month had passed. In this half of a month, Naruto was focused on controlling and moving the rock almost every second. This rock was almost triple a person's height, and it weighed no less than seven to eight hundred jin. Even with Naruto's peak of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, it was still not easy to completely control that rock.

(ED note: one jin is equal to ½ kg or 1.1023 pounds)

However, because his cultivation was well-refined, Naruto was able to try. If anyone else at the peak of the fifth level of Qi

Condensation were to try, they would lift this rock for a couple cun at most.

(ED note: one cun is equal to 3.33cm or 1.311 inches)

Looking at it now, Naruto had realized that the biggest struggle he had with controlling this big rock was not the lack of spirit Qi, but because his control over it was unstable. Oftentimes, despite the fact that he clearly still had spirit Qi inside him, the supply would break on its own.

"Changing the spirit Qi into silk strings and moving it with a constant speed so that the silk string will never break. That is the key to manipulating objects." There was a spark in Naruto's bloodshot eyes as he hoarsely mumbled.

This was just like how ordinary families made noodles. If the noodles were pulled too quickly, then the noodles would break. But if it was too slow, then the noodles wouldn't be very long. Thus, it was important to maintain a stable level of strength so a person could do it with ease.

As for cultivating the skill of manipulating objects, if one wanted to reach the peak level, then a person would need to be capable of maintaining this stable level of strength. Naturally, this would increase the difficulty.

"I get it. Lifting the heavy as though it was light does not mean everything literally. Controlling heavy things with a feeling of lightness is just a superficial message. The true meaning of this is not referring to the object but the control of spirit Qi! "

"The total volume of my five levels of Qi Condensation is refered to as 'heavy', and transforming it to become a thin but prolonged silk string is refered to as 'light. If I can do this, then it would be lifting the heavy as though it was 'light'. And looking at its visible performance, the speed will be controlled with ease." Naruto's face showed signs of excitement. After solving this riddle, he raised his right hand, and the rock far away immediately trembled and quickly rose into the air.

As if there was an invisible hand grabbing the rock, it launched into the air with a -hu- sound and headed straight towards Naruto. But in the middle of the air, the rock paused and slammed into the yard, blowing up dust and dirt.

Naruto did not give up and continued trying. After another half a month, he found himself unable to keep his spirit Qi in a stable prolonged line of silk string no matter how hard he tried.

Even if he managed to do it sometimes, because the rock was too heavy, the string of spirit Qi would be disconnected due to the unstable flow.

But if he was controlling the small wooden sword, this was no problem at all because it was not as heavy as the big rock. Thus, Naruto felt a significantly easier time controlling it. With a month of practice, the speed of controlling the sword improved a lot.

In fact, this was already at the level of lifting the heavy as though it was light, but Naruto was still unsatisfied. He gnashed his teeth in frustration, his eyes were bloodshot as his face contorted in anxiety.

"I don't believe this!" Naruto made some hand signs with his right hand, pointed at the rock, and this rock surprisingly flew on top of his head.

Cold sweat surfaced on Naruto's forehead. Looking at the big rock above his head with slight fear and shock, he tried his best to maintain that invisible string of spirit Qi. If the string was broken, even though the rock dropping would not crush him, it would still cause him intense pain.

This time he clearly lasted longer. But after an hour, Naruto screamed, and with a rumble, the rock fell on top of him. After a while, the rock swayed and got pushed aside, allowing Naruto to climb out from underneath it.

With the protection from the impenetrable skin, he was not really injured, but that kind of agony made him clench his teeth from pain.

However his fighting spirit only intensified. With continuous attempts, one month after another, he gradually improved from dropping that rock a couple times per day to only once. In the end, Naruto would occasionally not drop it throughout the whole day.

And he gradually raised it higher. The highest it reached was over ten zhang. If the rock hit anyone from this height, the agony would make one's face ashen, even if it was Naruto.

But this was the only way he could completely focus.

Gradually, he could already make the spirit Qi inside of him behave like lifting the heavy as though it was light, and keep it stable from start to finish without any disruptions inbetween. But he was still not satisfied. He then stopped sitting cross-legged, instead, he started moving while maintaining the string of spiri Qi connected.

The level of difficulty increased, and rumbles echoed from the yard again and again.

Time passed by, when it was only three days away from the small competition in the Scented Cloud Mountain that Toruho mentioned, there was a huge rock weighing about seven-eight hundred jin floating in midair in Naruto's yard. His figure was moving quickly in the yard. Meanwhile, the rock was completely still despite Naruto moving around.

After doing this for a while, Naruto paused. Standing in front of the wooden cabin, he laughed while facing the sky. With a wave of his right hand, that rock in the midair flew out of the yard with a woosh, and landed where it had been in the begining.

Naruto pinched his fingers and pointed, the small wooden sword flew out and cut straight ahead. Its speed was so fast that only a blur could be seen. In fact, its speed was dozens of times faster than before.

Naruto's expression was filled with delight as he pinched his fingers and made some hand signs quickly.

The extreme speed, coupled with the power of the wooden sword, immediately reached astonishing levels. In an instant, it seemed like many small wooden swords had appeared in the yard, Sword Qi flew about.

With a flourish of his sleeves, the faint images vanished. The only remaining sword went straight towards Naruto and disappeared into his storage pouch.

"This time, I should be able to get into the top five." Naruto took a deep breath. Even though he still wasn't completely assured, it was almost time, so he could only sit down cross-legged and settle his Qi and restore himself to his peak state.

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Chapter 30 - Bring it on!

Three days later, in the morning...

When the sun rose, Naruto opened his eyes and took a deep breath. His expression was extremely serious. It was his first time participating in this kind of sect competition.

In his eyes, the conflict between him and Xu Baocai back then could not be counted as a fight anymore. On the other hand, this competition in Scented Cloud Mountain, the one he was going to participate in, was a true fight between sect disciples.

Naruto slowly stood up, checked his storage pouch, and strode out of the room with a serious face. But soon, he rushed back, then rummaged under his bed and took out the leather armour that he still had from when he was at the Burning Stoves Kitchen. He then put them on one after the other. After which, he took out the jade tablet and hanged it at place that allowed him to immediately activate it.

If the turtle-shell pot wasn't too inconvenient to take out, Naruto would have definitely carried it on his back too.

"Damn, how could I forget to prepare a large black pot?" Naruto was filled with regret, but he didn't have the time to look for one now. He gritted his teeth, turned back around and walked out of the room again. He took a glance at the sun in the sky before heading for the mountaintop. His eyes were filled with determination.

He wore too many leather armour, although he didn't carry a pot on his back, he still looked like a zongzi… The leather armour were airtight. As a result, not long after he started walking, his forehead was full of sweat

(ED note: Zongzi is a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo, reed, or other large flat leaves(normally pandan). They are cooked by steaming or boiling. In the Western world, they are also known as rice dumplings, or sticky rice dumplings. Picture: )

However, no matter how much perspiration poured down his forehead, Naruto did not take a single one off. The competition had been bothering him all this time, causing cruel and violent images to flash across his mind one after another. Step by step, Naruto walked to the mountaintop. However, in the morning, the fog around the mountain top was just too dense. So, after walking for a while, he suddenly realized that he didn't know where he was.

"This isn't right…" Uzumaki Xiaocun hurriedly looked for someone to ask for directions. Only then did he start heading the right way. His heart beat like drums, he was afraid that he would get there late and miss his match.

On the mountaintop of the Scented Cloud Mountain was an arena. It was there that the competition would take place. At this moment,it was already surrounded by quite a few people, who were talking to each other in hushed voices.

Among those people, were some disciples that were above the fifth-level of Qi Condensation. Most of them had their arms crossed in front of their chests and were looking at their junior Brothers and Sisters, obviously here to cheer them on.

Although this kind of small competition between outer sect disciples was not official, great opportunities for outer sect disciples to seperate themselves from the rest, still existed . This time, around twenty disciples would partake in the competition. Most of them were sitting cross-legged around the arena and seriously preparing themselves.

None of the competitors were in the third level of Qi Condensation. Although these kinds of small competitions were designed for outer sect disciples who were in the third, fourth and fifth levels of Qi

Condensation, disciples who actually participated were mostly in the fifth level

of Qi Condensation, with only five or six disciples in the fourth level.

A girl among them had attracted most of the attention. This girl was tall and slim, her perfect body shape was apparent under her outer sect disciple uniform, making her the object of uncountable people's fantasies.

Her skin was as white as snow and her face, breathtakingly beautiful, with watery eyes shining underneath a pair of arched eyebrows, her loose clothes tightening around her waist and butt, displaying her alluring body

Quite a lot outer sect disciples had gathered around her. Obviously, they were all her admirers.

Although she wasn't as well known as Kurenai, this girl was still quite famous among outer sect disciples. Her name was Du Lingfei.

"With sister Du's peak of fifth level Qi Condensation, she will definitely win the first prize in this small competition."

"Brother Chen Zi'ang also cannot be underestimated. I heard that he had a breakthrough in cultivation a month ago. Although it is not the peak of fifth level Qi Condensation, he is quite close." While the surrounding people were discussing in hushed tones, a young man had been standing not far away from Du Lingfei, with a proud look. That young man was Chen Zi'ang, who had been shocked by Naruto and his bamboos earlier at the mission department.

Chen Zi'ang's eyes shone with a bright light while looking at Du Lingfei. Deep down in his heart, he knew that attaining first place was impossible for him this time. However, second place would definitely be his. And maybe, this would be a great opportunity for him to get close with Du Lingfei.

While people were all expecting the competition to begin, two rainbow streaks whooshed over from afar. The rainbow streaks transformed into Toruho and an elderly man in front of the arena. This elderly man was scrawny and had dark skin, however, his eyes were shining brightly. He seemed like a very strict man.

Right after Toruho showed up, all the other outer sect disciples were shocked into silence, before they hurriedly saluted to him.

"Dear Grand Elder and Elder Sun." Everyone was surprised by Toruho's presence, usually, these kinds of small competitions were hosted by Elder Sun alone.

Du Lingfei and Chen Zi'ang who were also surprised, politely and respectfully saluted to Toruho.

Toruho gently nodded but frowned after he took a glance at the outer sect disciples. He couldn't find Naruto.

Seeing Toruho frown, all the other outer sect disciples became nervous, including Du Lingfei. No one had any idea why their Grand Elder was upset.

"Grand Elder, shall we start?" elder Sun, who was beside Toruho, slowly asked .

Just when Toruho was about to speak, a ball-like silhouette rushed over, looking very anxious.

"I got lost, the fog was too thick…" Naruto rushed over. As soon as he saw that Toruho was there, he hurriedly explained. He didn't want to get lost either, but the mountain was vast and the fog was dense. Combined with him thinking about the competition along the way, he took the wrong path without even noticing.

As soon as he said those words, the surrounding outer sect disciples turned their heads around and looked at him. Some of them knew Naruto, and couldn't help but laugh softly after they heard his words. As for the others who didn't know Naruto, they all frowned, some even showed disdain in their eyes.

Getting lost in the Scented Cloud Mountain could only show that this kid usually didn't come to the mountaintop, and didn't care about these small competitions. Most disciples like this were merely average disciples that could be seen everywhere.

Du Lingfei took a glance at Naruto and recognized him as one of Kurenai's followers. She too had heard that Naruto worked very hard to catch the chicken thief at that time. She stopped looking at Naruto, scornfully disregarding him.

Chen Zi'ang saw Naruto from within the crowd, briefly paused and then glanced at Toruho. He thought back to a few months ago, Naruto had mentioned that Toruho was his uncle before he left the mission department. Chen Zi'ang immediately figured out why Toruho had frowned earlier. Then, he silently told himself that later, if he had to fight against Naruto, he couldn't beat him too hard.

Toruho snorted coldly, threw a threatening glance at Naruto then slightly nodded to Elder Sun beside him.

Elder Sun seemed to have thought of something. He took a glance at Naruto as well, and smiled at him. Then, he flourished his large sleeve.

"Okay, those who would like to participate in this competition between outer sect disciples, come up onto the stage."

Seeing Toruho glare at him, Naruto felt wronged, but didn't dare to say a single word. Hearing Elder Sun's words, Naruto was the first person to rush out and stand on the stage. His head was held high, and his chest was puffed out. He looked as if he would even climb a mountain of knives or plunge into a sea of flames without a second thought.

Soon, other competitors stepped onto the stage, with Naruto included, there were a total of twenty outer sect disciples.

The rules of this kind of small competition in Scented Cloud Mountain weren't that strict. Elder Sun swept his gaze across the competitors. He raised his right hand and took out a cloth bag which contained some small marked-balls. He then let outer sect disciples come out one by one to take a ball, which decided who they fought against.

Naruto didn't go first. Instead, he stood in the middle of the line.

Then, he went up and got a ball marked with the number eleven.

"All right, everyone step down now. First fight, number one and two!" said Elder Sun blandly. Naruto hurriedly stepped off the arena with the others. Only the disciples who had drawn the small balls marked with "one" and "two" stayed on the arena. After the two of them looked at each other, their eyes shone with sharp lights.

Soon, they just started fighting, and let out loud booms as they did. While these two disciples were fighting, Naruto looked at the other disciples. He thought that twenty people would take part in this competiton, so he would only have to win two fights, to get himself into the top five. He tried to find the disciple who had drawn number twelve, but everyone else had hidden their numbers well, giving Naruto no chance.

While Naruto was frustrated, the first fight ended, and the second one started. One of the competitors was Du Lingfei. As, this girl formed hand seals, a cloth banner appeared. The banner then transformed into a cloud of mist and surrounded her opponent, who tried their best but was unable to break out from the mist, and eventually gave up.

The third and the fourth fights were soon over as well. In the fifth fight, Chen Zi'ang was one of the competitors. He easily defeated his opponent, who was a disciple in the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

"Eleven and twelve, fight." said Elder Sun. Naruto took a deep breath when he heard Elder Sun. After slowly walking up on stage, with an imposing expression, Naruto saw a tall and skinny youth, who had a cold smile on his face, walk up.

This young man's cultivation was not bad. He was at the fifth level of Qi Condensation. His eyes looked like they had electricity coursing through them. He seemed quite hard to deal with.

"Junior Brother, blame your bad luck for encountering me. It's not too late to give up, otherwise, I won't take any responsibility for your wounds after we fight." the tall and skinny youth said coldly.

At the exact same moment this young man began talking, Naruto abruptly let out a loud roar.

This roar was filled with energy. It shocked quite a few of the surrounding people, as well as the tall and skinny youth. The young man subconsciosly took a few steps back. As he looked at Naruto again, he was stunned.

After let out the roar, Naruto slapped the jade tablet on his body. At that moment, a thick layer of cyan light suddenly appeared and shrouded his body. However, he still felt that it wasn't enough, so he took out a large handful of talismans, then slapped all of them on his body. Every time a talisman fell off, a beam of light would appear around his body. Soon, over ten beams of light had appeared. The merged together and turned into a shield of light, which was four chi thick. From afar, it looked shocking.

"Bring it on!" Naruto's muffled voice came from within the shield of light.

The tall and slim young man was completely stunned. Not only him, the surrounding outer sect disciples, including the other competitors, were all stunned speeechless. They had seen a lot of small competitions, but this was the first time that they saw someone protect themselves to this extent.

Toruho's face twitched, his eyes showed helplessness.

Chen Zi'ang gasped deeply. He was now even more certain that Li

Qinghou and Naruto were relatives. Du Lingfei snorted, looking with even more scorn than before.

In the arena in front of everyone, the tall and skinny young man let out a deep growl and made some hand seals. Immediately after, a wooden sword darted straight towards Naruto.

Chapter 31 (Part 1)

Chapter 31.1

Chapter 31A - This is Humiliating!

ED note: its a long chapter, so we're releasing it in two parts

The scrawny young man's wooden sword brought up quite a gale as it transformed into a rainbow streak and darted towards Naruto. However, before it could get close to Naruto's body, the wooden sword heavily smashed into the thick light shield and rebounded back with a "peng".

Inside the light shield, Naruto's eyes suddenly shone. His confidence rose and he even sat down with his legs crossed.

The surrounding people were all stunned as they looked at Uzumaki

Naruto's light shield and took glances at each other, without knowing what to say. They had seen people who were good at defence, but they had never seen someone who tried so hard to defend himself.

The young man's face showed embarrassment as he gnashed his teeth and let out a roar. He then manipulated the sword and made it explode out with even more power. Once again, the wooden sword darted towards the shield of light.

Loud booms echoed one after another. The wooden sword attacked Naruto over and over again, but each time it hit, it would be rebounded back by the shield of light. At last, the scrawny young man's face turned a deadly pale colour. His eyes showed despair when he realized that he had already spent as much as half of his Qi.

He had fought against others for years, but this was the very first time that he met an enemy who was like a turtle. He didn't want to lose, he intended to fight for the top three this time. The young man let out another roar towards the sky, his eyes were bloodshot. He then yelled out at Naruto.

"Get out here so I can beat you up!"

"Come in if you're good enough!" how could Naruto fear him? As he heard the young man, Naruto yelled back at him with an even louder voice from inside the shield.

All the others showed weird expressions when they looked at did not know whether to laugh or cry. But the scrawny young man was so angry that blood vessels bulged out from under his skin. He bit his own tongue, then spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The blood quickly merged with the wooden sword, making the wooden sword turn blood-red.

"Blood Spirit Magic!"

"He used this technique! It looks like this person was really angered to insanity!"

The audience quickly went into an uproar, at the same time the bloodred wooden word suddenly raised its speed, its power was also twice of what is was previously. The sword wrapped in a blood-red light flew straigth towards Naruto.

With a thunderous boom, the wooden sword pierced into the three cun thick shield of light. After which, it continuously let out a buzzing sound. However, it couldn't move another inch further, and because it had tried too hard to break the light shield, cracks appeared on its surface.

In the blink of an eye, with a cracking sound, the wooden sword… unexpectedly, in the face of Naruto's defense, just shattered. It turned into an uncountable number of fragments and fell onto the ground.

The scrawny young man's eyes popped out, before he spewed out another mouthful of blood out. His Qi was exhausted, and his magic treasure was destroyed. He became so angry that he passed out.

As Toruho watched all this, his expression became even more unsightly. Elder Sun let out a bitter smile and checked on the scrawny young man's condition. After making sure the man was alright, he let some other people carry him away. Only then did Elder Sun give a cou

gh and announced Naruto's victory.

"You went easy on me, otherwise I wouldn't have won!" The light shield around Naruto quickly faded away. He puffed his chest out with a serious face, appearing very proud of his victory. Once he let these words out, the scrawny young man, who was being carried away and had just regained consciousness, vomited another mouthful of blood before passing out once again.

Naruto coughed dryly, cupped his hands towards Elder Sun, then flourished his sleeves and walked down from the arena.

Behind him, those outer sect disciples who were not in the competition weren't so bad, they just looked at Naruto with weird expressions. But the faces of those disciples, who were also competitors were extremely unsightly as they when they looked at Naruto.

Especially those who had won their matches. After they saw what happened to the scrawny young man, they couldn't help but become extra vigilant towards Naruto.

The competition carried on. Soon, the other disciples had finished their matches. The twenty competitors, faced of against each other in groups of two. Until finally, the top ten people were chosen.

Both Du Lingfei and Chen Zi'ang were in the top ten. Naruto raised his head, looked at the other nine competitors, murmmured to himself.

"I just have to win one more round and I'll have succeeded!" He fired himself up by telling himself that the hope was right in front of him. "Now, the top five will be determined from the ten of you. All of you, come take a numbered ball again." Elder Sun glanced at the ten competitors,pausing briefly on Naruto, then said slowly.

This time Naruto darted out first. He took out a small ball that had the number two from the bag in front of Elder Sun. After which, he turned his attention to the others.

Soon, everyone got their numbers. When Elder Sun announced the next fight, only Naruto and a muscular man remained on the arena. This muscular man was tall and sturdy and upon seeing his enemy was Uzumaki Xiaohcun, he laughed out loud.

"The others might be worried about your defensive tricks, but I, Li, don't care at all. What I'm best at is defense. Between the two of us, let's find out who can last until the end on this stage!" While speaking merily, the muscular man raised his right hand and patted his storage pouch, soon after a small shield flew out from it. As soon as he sent in his qi, the small shield expanded, released a yellow glow, and enveloped his body. (TL note: Li refer to himself as 李某 it's similar to how people use 老子 but rather than father, means Mr/Ms Li)

This wasn't all. The muscular man then let out a deep growl, followed by all of his muscles bulging, which shockingly made him look cun taller than before.

"Unexpectedly, he trains in a Body Cultivation Technique!"

"That small shield looks familiar, could it be the Morning Light Shield, which requires nine thousand contribution points to obtain?!" While the surrounding people were shocked, Naruto frowned.

Even Elder Sun slightly nodded after he saw what had just happened in the arena, praise was shown in his eyes. He then said to Toruho, who stood next to him, in a low voice.

"This kid, named Li Shan, is in the fifth level of Qi Condensation, and was naturally born with great strength, moreover, he is especially good at defense."

Toruho slightly nodded and looked at Naruto.

Naruto stared at this muscular man, who seemed as if he had reshaped his own body. Then he looked at the small shield and recognized it as a treasure, which he saw in the Treasure Pavilion, but didn't have enough contribution points to trade for. He frowned again.

All the others showed interest in their eyes. Especially the other competitors, most of whom were glad to see Naruto's misfortune.

"This white and tender junior brother is going to be miserable."

"He was just lucky. Now that he has encountered such a powerful enemy, he'll natrually be beaten."

"You're out of options. I'm not like the junior brother who fought against you before. I don't need any weapons to attack. My fists are the best method!"

Chapter 31 (Part 2)

Chapter 31.2

Chapter 31B - This is Outrageous!

The muscular man was very fast. He brought up a fierce gust of wind when he moved. Seeing this muscular man dart towards him, Naruto's eyes shone brightly, and at the same time, he raised his right arm and pointed his finger forward. Following this motion, a wooden sword flew out from his storage pouch.

His wooden sword flew forward and without delay, it hacked down on the muscular man, who was charging at Naruto.

While launching this attack, sword qi spread out over several zhang, then fell .

This muscular man's facial expression instantly changed. His scalp almost burst open, and his pupils suddenly shrunk. A sense of danger suddenly filled his body, making him subconsciously step back. He let out a great shout and waved his arms. At that moment, the small shield beside him blocked a blow.(TLC note: Er gen left an incomplete sentence)

With a "thud" the small shield stopped the wooden sword. But the moment the shield and the sword met, the shield failed to block even a little bit of the sword's power and was blown away. The sword then swished towards the muscular man.

The muscular man was stunned. No matter how fast he was, the sword would still be faster than him. In the blink of an eye, the wooden sword arrived in front of his face. It made him feel as if his body had been thrown into a cave of ice.

"I concede!"

The muscular man hastily shouted out, even his voice rose by an octave.

With a buzzing sound, the wooden sword abruptly stopped right between the man's eyebrows, then flew back into Naruto's storage pouch.

Naruto blinked his eyes in silence. He was shocked by his own wooden sword as well. He had only practiced with it before this fight and had just discovered the extent to which its power had grown.

Furthermore, this was the result without using the method of Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light.

He rolled his eyes, raised his chin, and looked at the muscular man expressionlessly, with hands behind his back.

The muscular man had paled, but his eyes showed that he hadn't accepted his defeat. He glared at Naruto as he stood up.

"You won the fight with the power of your sword, I don't believe that you could've beaten me without it!" said the muscular man, then turned around and walked down from the arena.

Elder Sun glanced at Naruto. He too was shocked by the power of Naruto's sword. Without another word he announced Naruto's victory.

"Haha, I can just concede the next fight, I cultivate myself for nothing but longevity. All this fighting and killing is too barbaric for me. They are not things that I, Naruto, want to do."

Naruto was quite happy as he walked down from the arena. He had already accomplished Toruho's demand, he was now definitely in the top five.

Toruho fixed his eyes on Naruto. While the others had only paid attention to the great power of Naruto's wooden sword, Li

Qinghou had focused on Naruto's sword-manipulation skill instead.

As for the crowd, after seeing Naruto win another round again, they were left discontent.

"That person must be rich. That wooden sword is outstanding, hmph, if I had such a magic treasure, I could win as well!"

"Magic treasures are merely tools, this person used all those defensive spells at first, then that magic treasure, but he must have neglected his real cultivation. In the future, he will certainly suffer for it."

These kinds of jealous discussions didn't last too long. In the following fights amon

gst the other competitors, Du Lingfei's opponent was quite talented as well, and very powerful. In that fight Du Lingfei didn't use her banners again, instead, she took out a flying sword. The two of them fought against each other with all kinds of methods for quite a while, and while everyone was staring in a daze, Du Lingfei's flying sword suddenly raised its speed and rushed towards her opponent.

Such a quick speed had surpassed the object manipulation speed of ordinary disciples. The audience was stunned by this and soon exclaimed with realization.

"The Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light method!"

"How did she achieve such a high level…"

"Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light method!" Elder Sun's eyes brightened, he looked at Du Lingfei with surprise.

Toruho slightly nodded.

Chen Zi'ang was also shocked, as well as the other competitors in the top ten. Du Lingfei's opponent let out a bitter smile, cupped his hands and conceded.

Du Lingfei stood on the arena, proudly looking at the surrounding people, then cupped her hands towards Toruho and Elder Sun, before walking down from the arena.

But that didn't stop the audience's discussions.

Only Naruto blinked his eyes.

"This speed can be counted as Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light method?" Naruto thought with astonishment.

Du Lingfei proudly walked down from the arena. Her forehead was slightly sweating. She had fought two fights in a row and although she was in the peak of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, she had spent quite a lot of Qi, especially just now. Her opponent was quite powerful, forcing her to use her Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light method, which allowed her to win quickly, but consuming a lot of Qi in the process.

Her target was the first place, but in the upcoming fights, her opponents would only be more and more powerful. This kind of small competition between outer sect disciples didn't have many regulations and it didn't give competitors much time to rest either. Therefore, she immediately took out a round pill, placed it in her mouth and swallowed it. She then closed her eyes, attempting to recover as much of her Qi as possible.

By now, the first five had already been determined. Besides Naruto and Du Lingfei, there were also Chen Zi'ang and two other young men, all of whom were in the fifth level of the Qi Condensation.

At this moment, the other four were all silently trying their best to recover their Qi and strength as much as possible.

Only Naruto hadn't consumed any Qi, not even a the slightest bit. He now stood on the other side of the arena as if the upcoming fights had nothing to do with him, yawning. All the other competitors, who hadn't made it into the top five, wanted to beat him upon seeing this.

Naruto had already managed to get into the top five just as Toruho had demanded, therefore, he didn't care about the upcoming fight at all.

With nothing to do, he was bored, so he directed his attention at the others, especially Du Lingfei. Naruto thought, that if this girl's object manipulating speed could be counted as Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light method, then he could obviously do much better than her.

"But this girl is too ferocious. She's such a nice girl, why does she like fighting so much? Perhaps all these cultivating girls are abnormal? Kurenai was also very prideful and Hou Xiaomei has a really strange and volatile temper." Naruto shook his head while murmuring to himself. Just when he was about to turn his eyes away from Du Lingfei, she seemed to have sensed his gaze and suddenly opened her eyes, giving Naruto a cold look.

Du Lingfei hadn't considered Naruto as a real competitor from the very beginning. Combined with the fact that in her eyes, the victories in his last two fights were due to luck, her discontent with Naruto only increased.

"What? How dare she glare at me?!" Naruto immediately felt indignant. He glared back at Du Lingfei. As long as he didn't need to fight, kill and be hurt, Naruto had never been afraid of this kind of aggressive eye contact in his whole life.

Du Lingfei frowned. Her followers behind her were all outraged by Naruto as well, staring daggers at Naruto.

"They're too many. Besides, a gentleman should not pick a fight with women." When he saw this many glares, some of them even threatening, Naruto felt that his glare alone had lost its power. He snorted and quickly turned his eyes away. At this moment, Elder Sun's voice rose and resounded throughout the entire arena.

"Good, all of you have done quite well in this small competition, now that we have already determined the top five, we can carry on. The five of you, come and take your numbered balls to determine your opponents. The competitor who grabs the number five ball will get into what we call 'empty fight', and will directly advance into the top three." Elder Sun let out a smile, then raised his right hand, with the bag containing the numbered balls instantly appearing in front of him.

This time, Chen Zi'ang rushed up first. He frowned when he took out the small ball and saw the number four written on it.

Du Lingfei walked up to Elder Sun and took out a small ball as well, her number was two. The other two outer disciples each took out a small ball from the bag, one of them got one, and the other, three.

Naruto didn't even need to take his number ball, the last number was five, and he would be in the empty fight.

The pleasant surprise was evident in Naruto's eyes. He grinned, crossed his arms in front of his chest, then walked down from the arena, standing beside it. He looked at Du Lingfei and the other three competitors, feeling no pressure at all. He wasn't even planning on continuing to compete, but now he didn't need to do anything, and would directly enter the top three.

"Luck is also part of true power!" Naruto proudly said.

His good luck made the others look at him with even weirder expressions, many outer sect disciples were quite unhappy about this outcome, especially those competitors who had lost their fights. They all felt very conflicted, they were angry at him, but envious of him as well.

This guy is too brazen, I can't believe that after he entered the top five thanks to a magic treasure, he scored an empty fight and directly advanced into the top three!"

"This is outrageous! The very presence of this guy is the biggest blemish of today's small competition!"

Chapter 32 Chapter 32

Chapter 32 - Luck that Defies the Heavens

The emotions stirring at the bottom of one's heart weren't limited only to the audience. Even Du Lingfei felt a bit envious towards Uzumaki

Naruto's luck, and so did Chen Zi'ang and the other competitors. The four of them who entered the top five had expended a lot of energy in each of their matches. If any one of the four had received the chance to skip a round and rest for a while, they would definitely have an enormous advantage in the following matches.

Elder Sun glanced at Naruto and smiled. He didn't think too much about it. As for Toruho, his expression remained unperturbed.

As Naruto watched the commotion, Du Lingfei and the others began fighting. Du Lingfei's strikes to her opponent were clean and precise. It was clear that she often took missions involving the hunting of wild beasts, and has seen plenty of blood and gore. Moreover, Du Lingfei's technique of Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light was overwhelming. She used her speed not only to attack lightning fast, but also to defend her entire body.

This duel had completely absorbed the surrounding audience's attention. The dangerous fighting styles the two used caused shocked cries to fill the air. Among the startled cries, a sharp and thin voice could easily be distinguished. It was imbued with a sense of momentum that lead the crowd's rhythm.

"Uwah, good sword!"

"This technique, Heavenly Dragon's Sweeping Tail, is just so good! No, stop! Turn back! Quickly turn back!"

"You can do it!" Naruto was completely immersed in the fight, to the extent that he had even began clapping. He was not even doing this on purpose, but rather, he truly felt that Du Lingfei had performed pretty well in this match. In his mind, he had long since dismissed himself as a competitor.

Naruto's actions caused Elder Sun to cough dryly a couple times. Beside him, Toruho was still expressionless but in the bottom of his heart, he felt rather helpless. After all, Naruto had truly accomplished his demands.

At this moment, Du Lingfei was fiercely battling with her opponent and didn't have time for any distractions. Finally, when the match had persisted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Du Lingfei had finally managed to 'lift the heavy as though it was light' for the third time. Only then did she achieve victory.

However, she had already depleted more than half of her spirit Qi. As she exited the stage completely drenched in sweat, she heard Naruto's loud cheering . When she thought about how she had struggled and suffered to enter the top three while he hadn't even exerted the slightest bit of effort to achieve the same results, she felt deeply wronged. She really wanted to violently beat him up.

Naruto blinked. He had long since noticed that Du Lingfei did not like him. At this moment, Naruto also felt deeply wronged as he blankly stared at the other party. This blank stare nearly caused Du Lingfei to lose control and attack him.

Chen Zi'ang's match was easier in comparison. Even so, he too consumed some of his spirit Qi to achieve victory during his battle which lasted half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

He felt deep envy and jealousy toward Naruto.

"The top three have been determined! The three of you are all the… pride of the Outer Sect. Come forward and pick your matches for the next round. The little ball that's labelled three is considered a blank and will automatically advance you into the finals." Elder Sun gave a dry cough. As he was speaking, he had paused shortly on the word 'pride'.

With a wave of his right hand, the small sack appeared again.

This time as well, Chen Zi'ang was the first to go over to pick out a small ball. When he saw the number two written on it, he sighed in his heart and walked to the side.

Du Lingfei took a deep breath. Just as she was about to step forward, she suddenly stopped and looked coldly towards Naruto.

"You go first!" She said in an icy voice.

Naruto had been spectating from the sides. When he heard Du Lingfei, he did not refuse as he walked over and inserted his right hand into the small sack. Du Lingfei directed her cold gaze towards him. It was not only her; all of the surrounding disciples were looking at his direction.

Even Elder Sun and Toruho were staring at him.

Under the watchful gazes of the audience, Naruto was actually a little shy. He really didn't care what number he got so he randomly grabbed a small ball. When he took it out of the sack and peered at it, even he himself was momentarily stunned.

Number three.

"Well, you told me to pick first!" Naruto coughed and looked at Du Lingfei who stood beside him.

Du Lingfei's eyes revealed killing intent as she tightly clenched her fists, glaring at Naruto. Her chest rose and fell violently as she felt like her rage could explode at any moment.

Chen Zi'ang's eyes had also widened as his body froze in complete shock. He just couldn't imagine that a person could be so lucky as to… pull a blank again.

The surrrounding disciples were all staring at the small ball nestled in Naruto's palm until they could tolerate it no longer. Soon, they began a loud clamor.

"He actually pulled a blank again! His name is Naruto, right? He...What kind of luck does he have? To actually pull a blank twice in a row!"

"This shameless guy. Without doing anything, he advanced into the finals…"

"Damn it, for this kind of person to enter the finals! If I had that kind of luck, I could have also done it!" As the surrounding crowd bursted into an uproar, the disqualified competitors within the crowd were also jealous to the extreme.

Elder Sun hesitated briefly, glancing towards Toruho. Toruho internally breathed out a long sigh. Concerning Naruto's luck, he was also truly impressed.

Naruto felt that the atmosphere was not quite right so he smiled uncomfortably and hurriedly scampered off the stage. His expression was filled with embarrassment as he stood at the entrance.

"Sigh, I originally decided to admit my loss…" Naruto looked at the small ball in his hand and also felt it was hard to believe.

Du Lingfei took a deep breath and took a good while to supress the sour feelings in her heart. She clenched her teeth and looked towards Chen Zi'ang. She had no choice but to concentrate on her match as Chen Zi'ang was a powerful opponent from what she had seen.

Chen Zi'ang smiled bitterly before he also took a deep breath and focused on Du Lingfei.

The two of them stared at each other for a couple of breaths. Time slowly inched forward before suddenly a loud -peng- resounded. This match could be said to be the most exciting battle so far. Chen Zi'ang unleashed his whole strength. In particular, he took out many funicles, transforming them into spirit plants that possessed offensive power during the battle itself. This method of using herbs caused Naruto's eyes to light up.

On Du Lingfei's side, her skill with Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light manipulated the flying sword as it whooshed around. Further into the match, she even took out another wooden sword. The two flying swords intersected in the air, creating a garotte and instantly brought the battle's intensity to a new high.

The two people had no way to maintain their trump cards for long and found it difficult to control their spirit Qi consumption. The battle was becoming only more and more intense.

Standing outside the stage, Naruto watched the battle in high spirits, his cheers rose and fell.

This battle lasted for over an hour before finally, with a loud rumble, Du Lingfei unhesitatingly destroyed a wooden sword, completely shattering it into countless wooden splinters. With the speed from her Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light technique, the splinters flying towards Chen Zi'ang became deadly technique. This forced Chen Zi'ang to continuously retreat. His spirit Qi was already completely exhausted so he released a long sigh before choosing to admit his defeat.

When the surrounding disciples saw the tragic outcome of this match, their eyes revealed both admiration and respect. They were thoroughly convinced of Du Lingfei's prowess and even Chen Zi'ang's standing was raised by this match.

Although he had lost, his fame would definitely spread in the following days.

Elder Sun was also fairly satisfied, especially with Du Lingfei, to the extent that he even considered taking her as a disciple.

Similarly, no matter what the results of this little competition were, Naruto's name would also spread...

When Chen Zi'ang's words of defeat echoed out, Du Lingfei's face was deathly pale. She stood on the stage with unsteady legs, her spirit Qi was almost completely depleted. At that moment, she took a deep breath, took out a medicine pill and swallowed it, but she already knew that this was useless since it would not replenish much of her Qi. What she needed right now was to cross her legs and meditate for an hour.

After all, she had already continuously battled for four rounds.

But the rules of this small competition dictated that disciples would not receive much time to rest since after all, this competition was only a minor one.

"Naruto, get the hell up here!" Du Lingfei gritted her teeth, her eyes revealing a ferocious killing intent as she gazed towards Naruto who stood outside the stage. She wanted to use the time she had left before her spirit Qi would completely dry up to end the problem; this damned Naruto who had relied on his sheer luck to enter the finals.

The moment Du Lingfei's words left her mouth, the surrounding audience all looked towards Naruto, their gazes exposing their glee from his impending misery. From their perspective, even if Du Lingfei was completely exhausted, she could still easily take care of Naruto and achieve victory.

Naruto blinked. As he gazed at Du Lingfei who was already unsteady on her feet, he suddenly felt like… he could attain first place.

"This time, I, Naruto, can finally establish my name in front of thousands of people. After I step up and display my skill in Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light, I will make the surrounding people exclaim from surprise." Naruto puffed up his chest, an aweinspiring image surfacing in his mind. Thus, with large strides, he stepped onto the stage.

But at the instant that Naruto entered the stage, Du Lingfei's eyes glinted coldly. With a violent point of her right hand, the wooden sword at her side instantly shot towards Naruto.

The killing intent clearly spread outwards, causing a chill to instantly pass through the surroundings. It was obvious that Du Lingfei had put the energy of all the spirit Qi she could muster into this sword which made its power extraordinary.

What was even more shocking was that in this instant, Du Lingfei's body also violently shot fowards and actually caught up with her sword! She pressed a finger onto the hilt as her body seemed to fuse together with the flying sword, destroying boundaries to become a single entity. She flew directly at Naruto.

With a loud rumble, the speed of the flying sword instantly exploded to unbelievable heights, even eclipsing the speed she had used when fighting Chen Zi'ang earlier, creating a high pitched whistle. Then, with an air-splitting sound, the sword transformed into a long streak of light as it rapidly approached Naruto.

All the surrounding people became excited. They yelled in shock as their attention was drawn to this sword.

"One Sword Flying Immortal!"

"Senior Sister Du has actually mastered that sword technique!"

Elder Sun's eyes lit up brightly and Toruho also nodded his head slightly. These two people could naturally see that in reality, Du Lingfei had not completely mastered that technique. Instead, at the moment when her spirit Qi almost completely dried up, she had spread out her power and with a single breath of spirit Qi, and she had actually managed to manifest the power of this sword technique.

"To comprehend the meaning of this sword technique under such desperate circumstances, this Du Lingfei is truly not bad. This girl is actually more suited for the Green Peak Mountain." Toruho's eyes shone with approval.

At this moment, all the outer sect disciples on the scene were watching with great excitement. It was as if all the scenery before their eyes had blurred in contrast with Du Lingfei and the figure she formed when she fused with her sword that was exceptionally clear.

The sword that whistled and the person that followed the sword - this became a startling strike. Du Lingfei's expression was filled with exhaustion but her gaze revealed a sharp glint. She had complete confidence that with this strike, she would achieve victory.

At this time, just as the flying sword and Du Lingfei approached Naruto, he squinted his eyes. His entire figure rumbled. The jade tablet, the curse tags, all of them shot outwards, forming layers of protection as he rapidly retreated.

But this flying sword was clearly not an ordinary weapon. It penetrated past all the defences, layer by layer. Even though its speed plummeted and it could not break apart the brilliant rays of protection, it still completely pierced through them, with the tip of the sword piercing into Naruto's body.

However, it seemed it couldn't go any further. The moment it pierced Naruto's body, it became stuck and moved according to the sway of his body as he retreated. From his torn outer clothing, one could see that there were actually layers and layers of leather armour underneath.

The surrounding people who saw what had happened all stared in shock, their jaws agape. One by one, they sucked in their breath.

"This...this Naruto, his body has yet another defense?!"

"This guy should just go and die! Is this really necessary? It's just a small sect competition but not only does he have defensive treasures and talismans, he's also wearing multiple layers of leather armour?"

Du Lingfei's face was deathly pale. She looked at Naruto, who was rapidly retreating like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on - not only was he lightning fast but her flying sword had also stuck onto him. She gritted her teeth and pointed a finger to pull back the flying sword but her spirit Qi had depleted to the extent that only a strand of it was left. At the moment, no matter how she tried to move it, the flying sword only trembled without being able to extract itself from the leather armour.

In the end, Du Lingfei lost her patience and revolved her spirit Qi within her body again. Before the flying sword could even be extracted, fresh blood spilled from the corners of her mouth. She took a few staggering steps back before she could no longer stand steadily and dropped down on the ground. Her complexion was ghostly white and the spirit Qi within her had been completely depleted.

In her heart, she felt infinitely wronged. Thinking about how this Naruto had effortlessly progressed to the finals, barely consuming any spirit Qi while she had suffered and toiled for the same position, the discontent in her heart turned into fury. She gritted her teeth and glared directly at Naruto. If looks could kill, Naruto would definitely have been exterminated by her over and over again. In fact, if she had any strength left, she would even go forward and bite him violently.

Naruto took a deep breath. The speed of his retreat had been extremely fast since even he had not expected that Du Lingfei would possess such a technique.

And to think that his defences had been pierced.

"Fxxk, good thing I came up with another idea when I came here and put on seven layers of leather armour." Naruto glanced at the flying sword that was stuck in his shoulder. After penetrating his defensive layers, its power had already decreased. Since it had then been blocked by seven layers of leather, when it made contact with his skin, its power had already been reduced to almost nothing.

With his impenetrable skin, it only felt as if a mosquito bit him.

Naruto's face held traces of lingering fear. He looked at the flying sword that was stuck into his shoulder and with a heave, he pulled the the sword out and glanced at Du Lingfei who was breathing heavily as she sat on the floor, her eyes fixed in a death glare towards him.

"Senior Sister, it's not right to throw your precious weapons around so recklessly. Don't you want this sword anymore? Since you don't want it, I'll keep it." With a look of satisfaction, Naruto put the flying sword in his storage sack. After that, he retrieved his small wooden sword, preparing to stun the audience by displaying his ability in Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light.

"You…" As Du Lingfei watched Naruto take her flying sword away, her eyes had already turned red. She was about to go mad. Her rage shot to her heart and she actually fainted from anger.

In this small competition, this was already the second person who had fainted from being angered by Naruto.

"Eh, fainted again?" Naruto stared at the unconcious Du Lingfei, holding on to his small wooden sword helplessly.

Chapter 33 Chapter 33

Chapter 33 - Beat Naruto Down!

(Note to readers: grand elder will be changed to ancestor from now on.

This has been changed in the previous chapters as well.)

The surrounding outer sect disciples, as well as the eliminated contestants, now had a common enemy as they bellowed loudly at Naruto.

"Shameless, Naruto, you're simply too shameless!"

"To win like this, I can't accept that!"

"Beat Naruto down!"

As the surrounding voices intensified right before his eyes, so did Naruto's alarm. Since it had already come to this, even if he displayed his skill in Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light, he wouldn't be able to quell the audience's raging fury. In fact, he anticipated that it would probably achieve the opposite effect, it would give them a deeper impression of shamelessness… so he quickly turned towards Elder Sun. "Elder Sun, I'm ranked first. Quickly announce it!"

Elder Sun smiled bitterly while Toruho, who was beside him, released a long sigh. He could never have imagined that telling Naruto to participate in this small competition would lead to this kind of consequences.

"Uh...never mind. This time's small competition, Naruto, ranked first!" Elder Sun shook his head with a bitter smile. The moment his words resounded out, the surrounding people all angrily glared at Naruto.

Naruto felt that he was very powerful, but with this many people… the way he was being stared at made his heart anxious. But just as he wanted to exit the stage and leave this threatening atmosphere, Du Lingfei, at the side, was awakened by others. She breathed heavily while furiously gnashing her teeth and shot a death glare towards Naruto, before a shriek left her mouth.

"Naruto, in this time's small competition, I, Du Lingfei, cannot accept this!

"Since you've become number one, then count your rank as something I, Du Lingfei, bequeath to you. But I cannot accept you as a person. Do you dare to compete with me once more?"

Naruto chuckled without pausing his footsteps. In his heart, he thought that there must be something wrong with him if he agreed to compete another time with that crazy girl. If she fainted again, what would he do then?

"We won't compete in battle techniques. The two of us are both outer sect disciples and medicine apprentices of Scented Cloud Mountain. We will compete in herbology achievements!" Du Lingfei's gaze was fixed on Naruto as she enunciated her words one by one, her voice imbued with resolution.

"If you win, then you can take that Green Pine Sword. Otherwise, with regards to what has transpired today I, Du Lingfei, will never forgive you!"

Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks. When he heard 'compete in the herbology achievements', he turned his head to look at Du Lingfei, hesitating for a brief moment.

"Naruto, if you can exceed me in herbology achievements, then you can also take this Soaring Cloud Incense!" When Du Lingfei noticed that Naruto had stopped and saw his hesitation, her eyes revealed hatred and even a faint killing intent towards Naruto. Since she was afraid that he would not dare to accept her challenge, she reached into her storage pouch and retrieved a stalk of bluish-purple incense.

The moment the incense was taken out, waves of Qi wafted out. When the surrounding outer sect disciples saw this Soaring Cloud Incense, the

ir eyes were slowly filled with envy.

"A spirit medicine of the first level, the Soaring Cloud Incense… it can be counted as good among first level spirit medicines. It is quite valuable and will produce miraclous effects on Qi Condensation practicioners of the seventh level and below."

"This should be something that cost Du Lingfei quite a lot. She must have prepared it in order to break through the fifth level of Qi Condensation…"

"Senior Sister Du is already ranked within the top twenty on the first three stone steles in the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. This Naruto is destined to lose!"

Naruto instantly recognised the Soaring Cloud Incense. The effects of this medicine were introduced in the Soaring Cloud Grass's section in the third volume of herbs. Instantly, his heart was stirred, especially after hearing the people around him say that his opponent was within the top twenty in the stone steles of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, his eyes could not help but brighten up.

"You… you're really in the top twenty of the herbology stone steles?" Seeking confirmation, Naruto retreated a few steps before asking.

"Are you competing or not?!" Du Lingfei ground her teeth and said.

"But I've only studied only up to the third volume of herbs…" Naruto replied with some hesitation.

"Then I'll compete in the first three volumes with you! Do you dare to or not?" Du Lingfei bellowed in rage, feeling as though she was about to explode.

"I'll compete… are you satisfied now?" When Naruto heard her say this, his expression was one of tearful sorrow, but on the contrary, flowers had bloomed at the bottom of his heart from joy. He felt as though the Sister standing in front of him was rather silly.

Naruto's words raised a commotion in the audience. Du Lingfei also took a deep breath. Although the spirit Qi within her had not recovered much, her physical strength had somewhat replenished. She glared harshly at Naruto before she took a few steps forward and cupped her hands towards Elder Sun.

"Disciple Du Lingfei requests Elder to witness the battle of herbology between Naruto and I."

Elder Sun's impression of Du Lingfei only improved further and further. He stroked his beard while listeneing to her, before he finally opened his mouth with a trace of a smile.

"That's fine. Today, this old man will bear witness here. Since we're on the topic of competing in herbology, why not let the ancestor set the test?" Elder Sun looked towards Toruho.

Hearing this, Toruho looked deeply at Naruto before nodding his head.

With this development, the surrounding disciples instantly grew excited. Even Du Lingfei felt invigorated, bowing to Toruho in respect once again.

This kind of competition where he was able to display his superiority without any violence was what Naruto liked the most. As he stood there in that moment, he no longer put on a tear-stricken expression, rather, he lifted his chin, appearing as lofty as the heavens. When the surrounding people saw this, they were even more displeased. Even Du Lingfei humphed coldly at him.

"The path of herbology is flexible and unpredictable. Although it is only three volumes worth of content, there still exist numerous variables. Today, I will set two problems. Let's see who will attain victory between the two of you." Toruho said blandly, his gaze sweeping across Naruto and Du Lingfei as he raised his right hand. With a pat on his storage pouch, two stalks of seeds appeared in the center of his palm.

"In my hand are two batches of flower seeds. Using your spirit Qi as a catalyst to stimulate the growth of these herbs, the victor shall be the person who can produce the most spirit flowers."

Just as Du Lingfei received her batch of seeds with hesitation, Toruho flicked a medicine pill that shot directly towards her. She caught it with a startle.

"This pill will restore your cultivation to peak condition." Toruho's calm voice carried over. Du Lingfei was pleasantly surprised and hurriedly swallowed the pill after thanking him. In the span of a few breaths, her entire body shook before her eyes sparkled with the light of the flowing spirit energy. Her inner strength had been completely restored.

When Naruto saw this scene from the side, he felt somewhat displeased but did not dare to say anything. Looking down at the spirit seed resting in his palm, he did not immediately begin to catalyse it, instead, he brought it in front of his eyes and inspected it carefully.

"If you can't recognise it, I can tell you straightaway - this is the seed of the Blue Spirit Flower." Du Lingfei glanced scornfully at Naruto before ignoring him completely. She closed her eyes and circulated the Qi within her body and guided it into her hands. Strands of Qi surged directly into the seeds.

Very soon, crisp green sprouts emerged from the seeds resting in her palm which grew with lightning speed. Before long, they had already reached a chi tall. Even after the first blue-coloured spirit flower blossomed, the plant continued growing.

Only at this moment did Naruto stop examining the seed. He appeared as if he had realized something.

Toruho had been observing Naruto all along. When he saw this scene, a trace of nearly undetectable shock was revealed in the depths of his gaze.

During the time Naruto had spent pondering, the surrounding disciples were all looking at Du Lingfei. By this point, the spirit plant in her hands had already grown to a height of two chi and a second flower had bloomed.

When the spirit plant in Du Lingfei's hands sprouted a third flower, Naruto finally mobilised his inner Qi, sending it into the seeds. Instead of maintaining a continuous flow, his Qi ebbed and surged. When the seeds finally sprouted, he even blew out a puff of air, blowing the seedling away.

Time continued to flow. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Du Lingfei's face turned slightly pale but she clenched her teeth, and within a single breath, the spirit plant she was holding grew to the point where a sixth flower blossomed. Only then did she exhale, put the spirit plant aside and bowed in respect towards Toruho.

"Six spirit flowers. This can be considered as a high grade product. Not bad." Toruho nodded.

In her heart, Du Lingfei was satisfied. When she looked towards Naruto and noticed that the latter's spirit plant was not even a single chi long, the contempt in her gaze grew even fiercer.

At this moment, the surrounding outer sect disciples all grew excited.

"That's Senior Sister Du for you. For six blue spirit flowers to bloom, that's truly extraordinary. That Naruto hasn't even created one, what an utter trash."

"For this kind of catalysis competition, the first step is to observe what kind of seed is involved and then catalyse based on the growth patterns of each kind of seed. In this area, Senior Sister Du's skill is can already be considered exceptional."

While the audience were still discussing this, the spirit plant in Naruto's hands slowly reached the height of one chi. Immediately afterwards, a somewhat wilted blue flower popped out. Compared to the blue flowers produced by Du Lingfei, it appeared malnourished. But suddenly, amidst the mocking laughter of the spectators, a second small blue flower began to bloom despite the height of the plant clearly being a mere one chi. And then, a third flower, then a fourth one, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh...

In the short span of a few breaths, a whole nine flowers had actually sprouted on the spirit plant in Naruto's hands.

This scene caused a great shock to ripple through the audience as they carefully observed this inconceivable development.

"Blue Spirit Flowers bloom only once every chi. How can there be nine flowers on a single chi!" Du Lingfei was also stunned, feeling as though what was happening was simply unbelievable.

But it wasn't over yet. The moment the ninth small blue flower appeared, Naruto opened his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling abruptly. When this breath, which was saturated with spiritual energy, landed on the nine small flowers, the nine flowers shook in unison before their colour changed into an azure shade in the blink of an eye.

Azure originates from blue but it is superior to blue!

"This...This isn't a Blue Spirit Flower!" Within the surrounding crowd, someone instantly recognised the flower, widening his eyes and shouting in shock.

"Azure Spirit Flower, as a seed, it is almost indistinguishable from the

Blue Spirit Flower. And its catalysis methods are entirely different. If the method used to catalyse Blue Spirit Flowers is used on it, then only Blue Spirit Flowers will appear which is a complete waste of the seed."

Everyone in the audience was taken aback as they stared at Naruto in disbelief.

At this moment, Naruto opened his eyes and put the Azure Spirit Flower in his hands aside. He chuckled before clasping his hands behind his back and looking towards Du Lingfei.

His ability to create herbs had already reached a level that was difficult to describe. Upon careful inspection, he had instantly picked out the differences. To him, deduction of merely this level was child's play.

Du Lingfei's expression changed as she felt like someone had just slapped her face. She took a few steps back, glanced at her own Blue Spirit Flowers, before looking at Naruto's Azure Spirit Flowers. She could only feel shame burning on her face. Just now, she had loftily pointed out the other party's shortcomings, but now, the tables had turned and everything was testimony to the fact that she had wasted those seeds.

"This Naruto must have gotten lucky. I was looking at a Blue Spirit Flower while he was looking at an Azure Spirit Flower. That must be the case. It should not be because he can differentiate between them!" Du Lingfei clenched her teeth and reasoned in her heart.

"Naruto has won the first round. This type of flower is indeed not Blue Spirit but rather, Azure Spirit. They might look the same but their patterns are different. It is just that if a person isn't careful, then the differences are hard to spot and they are easily mixed up." Toruho said blandly as he eyed Naruto. With a wave of his right hand, a stalk of spirit grass appeared in his palm.

This spirit grass was very unique. It actually displayed four kinds of colours and each of its nine leaves were different. Among the two flowers that had bloomed, one was black and the other was white, and they appeared to be spiritually connected as they swayed and knocked against each other repeatedly, as though each flower wanted to suppress the other. Although it appeared to be a single entity, upon closer inspection, some marks caused by grafting could be spotted.

"The first round tested catalysis. Then for the second round, we shall focus on recognition. How many kinds of spirit grass were grafted together to form this spirit plant I am holding? The person who gets the highest number of correct answers will be the victor."

Toruho levitated this stalk of spirit grass in front of them as his gaze landed on Naruto. He wanted to see whether this child who he had brought into the sect could startle him once again.

Du Lingfei gritted her teeth. She felt that she had been too negligent earlier so with great concentration, she took out a jade tablet and walked closer to the spirit grass.

A trace of interest appeared in Naruto's gaze as he also approached it. The two of them inspected the plant for a long time, recording on their jade tablets every once in a while. At some point, Du Lingfei rubbed the bridge of her nose and took a few steps back, gazing at Naruto with a darkened, indecipherable expression. She had managed to distinguish eight types of plants. As for the rest, no matter how hard she tried to identify them, she could not recognize them.

But Naruto had not only concluded his observations, his eyes were also slowly brightening up. He even hummed softly as he circled around the spirit grass a few times, occassionally releasing a shocked cry, as though he had been struck with a delectable enlightenment.

"So this is actually possible?"

"This is… interesting!"

The surroundings had fallen into complete silence as they looked at Naruto. They also did not believe that Naruto had been able to recognize the plant from earlier. Most of them thought that it was only because Naruto had good luck and directly assumed that it had been the Azure Spirit Flower and then catalysed accordingly.

"Act, keep acting!" From the bottom of her heart, Du Lingfei looked down on him. The more she looked at him, the more she despised him.

Time continued to flow. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn had passed, Naruto had still not finished. He was truly completely absorbed in his task, to the extent that he had forgotten it was a competition. This kind of grafted spirit grass seemed to have opened a floodgate within Naruto's mind. He no longer looked at those tens of thousands of herbal medicines as individual existences, instead, he integrated them together.

After a long time, Naruto reluctantly retreated. As he gazed at the spirit grass, his eyes revealed obsession and admiration.

Toruho and Elder Sun looked at each other before Toruho suddenly opened his mouth.

"Okay, now the two of you can say the spirit grass you identified aloud. Du Lingfei, you go first."

Du Lingfei gnashed her teeth, took out her jade tablet and began to list them out first.

"This disciple could only identify eight herbs. They are the Water Sky Ripple, First Root of Frost, Ground Dragon Fruit, Dawn Mist Grass… and the last one is the Yellow Earthen Essence!" As she finished speaking, Du Lingfei looked at Naruto. She did not believe that Naruto could exceed her. One should know that although eight kinds did not seem like a lot, in reality, identifying a part of a near perfectly grafted spirit grass was extremely difficult. To be able to identify eight was already quite a lot.

"Hm, if Naruto also shamelessly says the same, then the jade tablet can act as evidence!" Du Lingfei smiled coldly as she reasoned darkly.

Naruto coughed once. As he noticed that all the gazes of the audience were on him, he flourished his short sleeves and took out the jade tablet he had recorded on just now.

"Outside of the eight kinds that Senior Sister Du identified, this disciple has identified sixty-seven kinds of medicinal herbs. Unfortunately, I could not recognise thirty-one of them. I am only familiar with thirty-six." When Naruto spoke till here, without him even completing his sentence, the surrounding disciples had already all broken into exclamations of shock.

"Sixty-seven kinds, how is this possible!"

"For this kind of recognition task, recognizing eight kinds is already the limit. How can he recognize several dozens of types and more!"

Du Lingfei fixed her gaze on Naruto and laughed coldly. Of course she would not believe the other party's words and had decided that at that moment, Naruto was just blindly bluffing.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki , you might as well have said you identified thirty thousand types. If it's like this, why not just recite the first three volumes of the herb almanac? You'll definitely guess many of them." Du Lingfei mocked.

Chapter 34 Chapter 34

Chapter 34 - Triumphing in Herbology

Du Lingfei's words immediately caused laughter to break out among the observing outer sect disciples. They just couldn't believe that Naruto could best Du Lingfei in herbal knowledge.

Especially the words that Naruto said at the end. To them, it sounded like the impossible. It was basically ignorant and foolish.

"If this Naruto can really identify it, then his herbal knowledge in the first three volumes is comparable with Senior Sister Kurenai. How could that be!"

"This person is tricking us, how hateful! This time, we must expose him!"

Seeing as the people around him were continuously mocking him, Naruto stood there, furrowing his brows.

"Has everyone finished speaking?" His expression slowly turned cold. He was really angry now. If they were in a fight, he wouldn't behave in this manner. As a man whose goal was to become a great Medicine Master, being doubted in the matter of herbal knowledge was humiliating to him. "All of you can doubt my fortune, as you can doubt my abundance of magic treasures, but for the ways in herbology, do not use your shallow insights to view the whole world."

The way his voice echoed out, along with his stern expression, unexpectly gave people the impression that his small and skinny body was akin to tall mountains. His cold expression even more so stunned the outer sect disciples ridiculing him.

Even Du Lingfei was briefly stunned. In that moment, there was a too great of a difference with Naruto's previous demeanor. It was as though he was a whole different person.

"This mystical spirit grass is occasionally called Black-White Flower. It contains Gold-Silver Roots, Sky Yellow Leaves, Water Shell Grass, Nine

Earth Fruit, Snail Thread Meat, Cloud-Edge Flower, Windseeking Stalks, Yang Fruit...:" Naruto scoffed, flourishing his sleeves. In that moment, he no longer gave others the image that he was an obedient yet detestable boy. He had his hands behind his back, coldly gazing at the people around him. Slowly, there was an unfathomable aura exuded from him.

Followiing his speech, his momentum grew stronger and surprised looks surfaced on the spectators' faces.

Especially Du Lingfei, whose eyebrows were tightly knit together while closely observing the mystical plant. She knew all about the herbs that Naruto had mentioned, they were all recorded in the first three volumes of the herb almanac. But contrary to expectations, she was unable to identify this mystical plant at all.

"It seems that you really want to recite all the first three volumes of the herb almanac. In this way, there is no doubt that you will score higher than me. If you can really recite everything without missing a single one, then I will admit that you win this round." Du Lingfei snorted. Until then, she still didn't believe that Naruto had truly identified it.

"That's right! If you have the ability to do so, recite the first three volumes of the herb almanac. It would naturally be your win!"

"What trickery, what shallow insight, what viewing the world? I think that you're actually the shallow one. If you can't identiy it, then admit it straightaway instead of scamming people over there. What an eyesore!" The people all around him also sneered sarcastically.

Naruto looked at Du Lingfei coldly, then he looked at everyone else. Suddenly, he smiled, retrieved his gaze, he opened his mouth to speak indifferently.

"Hundred Grass Root, thirty years to form Hundred Grass. By drying the meridians and adding in spirit water, grafting it on top of the Famine Leaf, a

blotch is formed." Naruto pointed with his right hand and a gust of wind landed on the mystical plant, exposing a faint blotch on the plant..

"Famine Leaf. Every nine leaves combine together to form one leaf, devouring Scalding Flowers to grow. Right here!"

"Scalding Flowers. It does not bloom for a hundred years. Even when it blooms in a hundred years time, it is only for an instant.

"Four-Leafed Ginseng. Using mystical fire to roast it, its leaves dry, the extracted rich essence flows into the ginseng's body. This can improve the Flat Shell's development, fusing them into one!"

"There is also the Flat Shell..." Naruto's voice was calm. With every word that came out of his mouth, he explained in detail to the extent of even naming the method used. In the beggining everyone present still had a derisive expression on their faces, but those slowly disappeared. Faces quickly changed, followed by rapid breathing. The spectating crowd underwent a rapid transformation, till every last disciple present had an expression of disbelief. Some were even shocked to the point of being speechless. "This is impossible!"

"Heavens, how could this be!"

Every sentence from Naruto's mouth was like an invisible slap across the face, aimed directly at those people's. Everyone present was also herbal student. Previously they were unable to discover the mystical plant's secrets, but under Naruto's detailed explanation, they all immediately recognised them.

Everything said by Naruto turned out to be completely accurate without a single mistake. He suddenly became an awe inspiring person, slapping every single one of the disciples present across the face.

"This Naruto's herbal knowledge, it has unexpectedly… reached such astonishing levels!" The surrounding disciples were already in an uproar. The previous insults immediately stained their faces fiery red with pain.

What made them even more shocked than they already were, was how Naruto had analyzed the plant. To directly explain the grafting methods used to create a grafted plant, this sort of Reverse Deduction required a person to have an astounding level of herbal knowledge to achieve.

"This… This is Reverse Deduction. He… His herbal knowledge is actually at this level…"

"As a herbal studnet, to deduce the mystical plant that the ancestor cultivated, this… this..." Elder Sun had also widened his eyes, his face one of disbelief.

There was an evident radiance in Toruho's gaze. The Naruto in this instance was unbelievable.

Du Lingfei's face quickly paled and she staggered backwards. Based on her herbal knowledge, once she heard Naruto's words, she immediately understood to the extent she felt faint many kind of feeling embarrassed her to no end.

Naruto then didn't use any form of technique, only relying on words from his mouth, on his herbal knowledge. Every sentence that he spoke was like magical weapon, making Du Lingfei unable to parry his words. She only felt roaring in her head, as if the heavens were struck open by lightning, slowly retreating backwads, her face getting even paler.

"Pinellia Fire, Nine Summer. This is, from what I can see, the last mystical herb." , Naruto finally said his last sentence, his gaze like lightning. After sweeping the audience once over, he looked at Du Lingfei.

"Senior Sister Du, fellow disciples, herbalism is very profound. There is no absolute, for if there was, your herbal knowledge would only remain as it is. Since you wish for me to recite the first three volumes of the herbal almanac, where is the difficulty in that!" Naruto lifted his chin up, flourished his sleeve and he actually remained there, reciting things one by one.

"Mystical Winter Bamboo…"

"Earth Dragon Fruit…"

"Water Ink Root..." He calmly spoke, an indifferent expression on his face. Following his continuous recitations, his surroundings descended into silence. Only Naruto's voice resounded, as if after the previous slap across everyone's face, he picked up his palm once again, dishing out a second one.

Those people listening intently, even though they had no face to see others, they also couldn't help but gasp once again, stirring the air. Some even immediately took out their herbal jade tablets to compare. Those people who were comparing shuddered one by one, the shock in their eyes intensifying.

Du Lingfei's face paled, retreating backwards. When she looked at Naruto, it was as if she was looking at a ghost.

Previously, it was for the purpose of ridiculing him that she had said it. In reality, she had never met anyone that could recite all thirty thousand medicinal herbs. To her, this seemed impossible. If somone was able to do it, then that person's herbal knowledge defied the laws of the heavens.

Fast forward in time, Naruto's recitation speed was quick, as if he recited it in a single breath, over an hour long. To the audience, how this hour had passed was unknown. They all seemed to have taken out their jade tablets to compare.

One whole hour after, when Naruto named the last stalk of herb, everyone present, who was as deathly silent, erupted in cheers that echoed about. Even the disciples who were standing beyond the arena's surroundings could faintly hear them.

"My gosh… Not a single one is wrong, all are correct! This… how could such a thing be true!"

"Thirty thousand types of medicinal herbs total… This Naruto's herbal knowledge is actually at such an extraordinary level. He… what is his ranking on the herbal steles?"

"Comparing Naruto's herbal knowledge to Du Lingfei's is like hitting a rock with an egg!"

In the midst of the roaring crowd, Du Lingfei looked at Naruto. An infinite bitterness filled her heart. Even in the previous fights, she had never felt like this. But now, in terms of herbal knowledge, it could be said that she had been completely crushed.

Never would she have imagined that the person before her eyes, the lucky Naruto who used an abundance of magical treasures would actually have achieved such an unexpected level in herbal knowledge no matter how hard she tried.

This shock made her laugh miserably. Tossing out Soaring Cloud Incense, she turned around and quickly left. Staying here any longer would make her feel uncomfortable.

Du Lingfei's depature made the surrounding disciples feel awkward. Everyone respectfully cupped their fist to the distant Naruto silhouette before quickly leaving. One could only imagine how long would the shock from that day's events linger in their hearts.

Very quickly, the disciples around the arena left till there were only a few left, leaving Naruto standing there. He awkwardly coughed, feeling that previously… he had complicated things. Quickly retrieving Soaring Cloud Incense, he looked back carefully at Toruho.

"This disciple… will take his leave first." As Naruto spoke, he quickly retreated, departing without a trace.

On the fighting stage, Elder Sun gazed upon Naruto's back, his eyes filled with shock.

"Ancestor, this boy is… extraordinary!" Elder Sun said softly.

Toruho laughed heartily towards the sky, his laughter carrying his happiness. Flourishing his large sleeve, he made his way to the peak of the mountain.

Chapter 35 Chapter 35

Chapter 35 - Encountering Xu Baocai Once Again

Half a month later, news of Naruto's triumphant victory over Du Lingfei had already spread among others and a commotion had risen within the sect.

Since then, disciples from the Outer Sect would always greet Naruto with a smile whenever they see him out on the streets. Their actions led him to believe that he had became a famous figure. Hence, he enjoyed roaming around and striking up conversations with other disciples from the Outer Sect and then introduce himself, beaming with pride, to those who hadn't heard of him.

Naruto was delighted at the relaxed lifestyle that he was leading at the moment. He has also consumed the medicine pills from Du Lingfei after refining them thrice and this aided him in making his successful breakthrough from the fifth into the sixth level of Qi Condensation.

Through his vigorous training, Naruto was mastering Lifting The Heavy As Though It Was Light and had even ventured into the second stage of the Purple Cauldron Qi Manipulation Technique, Lifting The Light As Though It Was Heavy.

It seemed easy to learn but despite all of Naruto's effort, he had been unable to cultivate it.

On one fine day, while Naruto was seated cross-legged and cultivating Lifting The Light As Though It Was Heavy, his expression suddenly flickered. He held his wooden sword and focused his gaze on the outside of his courtyard. Not long after, he heard a knock on the door.

"Senior Uzumaki , are you here?" Naruto heard a familiar voice and he was astonished to find that he had a guest. There were few people that would visit him at his courtyard. He raised his right hand and pointed at the door, which opened itself with a creak to reveal a skinny lad behind it.

As soon as the door opened, the expression of the young lad, who was wearing the outfit of an outer sect disciple, turned respectful and he cupped his fist in the other hand to show his deep admiration towards Naruto.

"I, Xu Baocai, extend my sincere greetings to Senior Uzumaki "

"It's you?" Naruto was stumped for words as he realized that the

Xu Baocai, whom challenged him to a death duel back at Burning Stoves

Kitchen, was now right in front of him and addressing him as a senior. Xu Baocai had since then reached the third level of Qi Condensation and became a disciple of the Outer Sect.

"So… after becoming an outer sect disciple yourself, are you still feeling upset and unsettled about being defeated by me and came here to challenge me to another duel?" Naruto asked while looking sternly at Xu Baocai. He felt at ease because he could tell that Xu Baocai had only cultivated to the third level of Qi Condensation.

Xu Baocai shook his head immediately after hearing those words, showing that Naruto had mistaken his reason to visit. He let out a bitter smile and once again, extended his greetings to Naruto.

"Senior Uzumaki , I was naïve in the past, please do not ridicule me for my silliness anymore… I am here today to seek forgiveness from you and to resolve the conflict that we had in the past…" Xu Baocai said with sincerity. He truly wanted to resolve the conflict because ever since he became a disciple of the Outer Sect, conflicts that had happened in the past did not matter much to him anymore.

Most importantly, Naruto was now a reputable figure in Scented

Cloud Mountain and Xu Baocai had chosen to be an outer sect disciple of

Scented Cloud Mountain. He came to seek forgiveness from Naruto because he did not wish to get into unnecessary trouble because of their conflict in the past. Naruto blinked and recalled

the events that had happened in the past. He could not help but be reminded of the Burning Stoves Kitchen and at this moment, he considered Xu Baocai to be an old acquaintance. He stood up and invited Xu Baocai into his cabin. The two of them then sat down and let out a sigh with regret.

"At the beginning, I couldn't understand why you wrote the challenge letter in blood? Even though I understood your intention eventually, I am still curious; you used so much blood to write so many words, are you really not afraid of pain?" Naruto asked. It was difficult for him to forget the blood-soaked challenge letter thrown at him back in the Burning Stove Kitchen.

When Xu Baocai thought about that incident, he felt his actions were outrageous. He was embarrassed and awkwardly avoided the question. "Senior Uzumaki , you must be careful of those handymen from the

Administrative Department. I heard rumours that Chen Fei and his men still harbour deep hatred for you for pushing them to the mountain peak during your previous encounter with them."

"Chen Fei?!" Naruto was alerted upon hearing the name. Images of that man with a tough and burly build from the Administrative Department floated in Naruto's mind.

"What is his Qi Condensation level right now?" Naruto asked with a lofty tone.

"I heard that he has cultivated to the peak of fourth level Qi

Condensation." Xu Baocai answered immediately. The reason that Xu Baocai was telling Naruto all of this was because he wanted to show his good intentions and resolve the resentment between each other.

Naruto calmed down and assumed a relaxed stance the moment he heard that Chen Fei was at the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

Xu Baocai stopped speaking about the Administrative Department and moved on to discuss the Spirit River Sect. Gradually, Naruto realised that Xu Baocai was in the know about more affairs than himself, as though Xu Baocai knew about every major or minor event like the back of his hand. He also had sufficient knowledge of some secrets and was happy to share them in great details. Xu Baocai was especially knowledgeable of the gossips between some disciples within the Sect; he could speak about the gossips that he had heard so vividly and realistically, as though he had been there himself.

"Senior Uzumaki , speaking of the Spirit River Sect, there are five great beauties. All five of them are stunningly gorgeous and if I could make one of them mine, I would have no regrets for the rest of my life."

Naruto was very interested and urged Xu Baocai to reveal more.

When Xu Baocai saw that Naruto was engrossed with what he had said, and being someone that likes scouting information himself, he was radiant with delight as he continued his story.

"Of the five great beauties, they are equally pretty in terms of appearance; it is too difficult to determine which one of them is the prettiest of all. However, their status is different. The beauty that is ranked number one is Xu Meixiang, also known as Teacher Xu from the Purple Cauldron Mountain. She is alluring, unique and an outstanding beauty…. Oh right, she is also Zhang Fatso One's master."

"What?!" Naruto was really astounished to learn about that. He had heard from Zhang Fatso One about his master a few times and each time Zhang Fatso One mentioned her, he described her as an old, evil witch; especially so when he first met Zhang Fatso One at the Purple Cauldron Mountain and saw that he had lost a lot of weight because that old, evil witch hated fatsos.

Thinking of his conversation with Zhang Fatso One, Naruto could not help but form weird thoughts in his mind. He let out a dry cough and quickly dismissed his thoughts as he felt that it was too dangerous to continue with his train of thoughts.

"On the Scented Cloud Mountain, there are also two beauties; they are Kurenai, also known as Senior Sister Zhou and Du Lingfei, also known as Senior Sister Du." Xu Baocai said with confidence, pridefully mentioning Kurenai.

"Senior Uzumaki , you should know that at the South Bank of the Spirit River Sect, there are three brilliant cultivators. The first one is Kurenai from the Scented Cloud Mountain, the second one is Lu Tianlei from the Purple Cauldron Mountain and the last one is…. Guan Tianyou from the Green Peak Mountain! Speaking of the three of them, they are all exceptional talents!" Xu Baocai exclaimed with an envious look in his eyes.

"Even though they are so skilled, they are merely outer sect disciples, just like myself." Naruto sneered. He did not know, nor care about Guan Tianyou and Lu Tianlei but he had been associated with Kurenai before; the jade tablet in his pocket was given to him by Kurenai.

Xu Baocai let out a cough as he felt contempt for Uzumaki Xiachun from the bottom of his heart but dared not openly belittle Naruto, so he just looked at Naruto with a forced smile.

"Senior Uzumaki , if not for the law within the sect that every disciple must start from being an outer sect disciple, the three of them would have joined the Inner Sect long ago. Although they are currently outer sect disciples, each of them are indisputably the best among all outer sect disciples within their own Mountains. Even the disciples of the Inner Sect are wary of them because once the three of them fulfill the requirements to become inner sect disciples, they are bound to be outstanding talents! However, to the three of them, they are merely making use of the Inner Sect to achieve their goals of becoming grand disciples of the Spirit River Sect!"

Naruto was now annoyed after listening to Xu Baocai.

"Kurenai possesses the Flora Spirit Pulse. She is sure to follow

Ancestor Li's steps to become another Medicine Master within the Spirit River sect. As for Lu Tianlei, he was born poor and he is skinny like a bag of bones. However, he possesses a rarely seen Thunder Spirit Pulse. He practices Thunder-related techniques on the Purple Cauldron Mountain and the sect master has personally said his techniques are original and unique!"

"Oh?" Naruto was shocked to hear that. He was not new to the world of cultivation and he had quite an understanding of it but upon hearing about Thunder Spirit Pulse, he was green with envy. Possessing such a Spirit Pulse would allow one's formidable technique to improve exponentially and furthermore, there were very little obstructions to cultivating the technique.

"There is also Guan Tianyou, who is even more impressive as he possesses the Sword Spirit. There are even rumours that he is the reincarnation of a famed swordman. Due to some unknown reasons, the Heavens favour him and Guan Tianyou was blessed with countless amount of good fortune. At the mere age of three, he stumbled upon an ancient legendary sword along his path; at the age of seven, a young Scarlet Celestial Beast descended from the Heavens and identify him as its master. At the age of thirteen, he received the Golden Ray that would protect his body from harm. His existence caught the attention of the Grand Elder of the sect." Xu Baocai only spoke of Guan Tianyou when he saw that Naruto had finally shown a befitting expression.

"The Heavens favour him?! Three years old… What kind of luck is this? And he is even the reincarnation of a famed swordman?!" Naruto widened his eyes, took a deep breath and anger surfaced on his face. He had decided from the bottom of his heart that he would never provoke that Guan Tianyou, favoured by the Heavens.

"These three people are bound to reach the Foundation Establishment. Senior Uzumaki , it could be said that joining the outer sect as a cultivator is already a difficult task but in reality, the actual difficulty is to breakthrough Qi Condensation level and reach the Foundation Establishment. Once you achieve that, your life will be changed completely as you will no longer be leading an ordinary life but instead, you will be on the actual path to attaining immortality; your lifespan will increase by a hundred years." Xu Baocai was satisfied to see Naruto finally lose his composure but sighed when he mentioned reaching the Foundation Establishment.

Xu Baocai sighed but Naruto's eyes shone with such brilliance for the first time in his entire life since the moment he heard about being able to increase one's lifespan by one hundred years. He was filled with so much excitement that his body trembled, tears flowed out of both eyes. His mind was completely filled with the thought and he grabbed onto Xu Baocai's arms tightly.

"Did you just say that after a cultivator reaches Foundation

Establishment, he can increase his lifespan by one hundred years?!"

Xu Baocai who was in a trance, grew fearful of Naruto when he saw his bloodshot eyes and Xu Baocai quickly nodded his head.

Naruto's breathing quickened in an instant and he immediately started pacing around his courtyard with hands raised up in the air, as though he was trying to catch something from above. His eyes lit up and he started to mumble to himself and broke into terrifying laughter, like a man who had lost his sanity.

Xu Baocai was even more terrified right now as he did not know what was happening to Uzumaki Xiachun. He could feel a gust of cool wind blowing at his back. He quickly stood up from his seat and bade Uzumaki Xiachun farewell, who did not respond at all in the crazed state that he was at the moment.

Xu Baocai took a deep breath when he saw Naruto's appearance had become even more frightening and he hastily left the courtyard.

A moment later, still in his bewitched state, Naruto abruptly came to a halt. He exhaled deeply, raised his head towards the sky and laughed.

"One hundred years of lifespan! The Foundation Establishment… I must reach the Foundation Establishment!"

Chapter 36 Chapter 36

Chapter 36 - Title of The Little Turtle

Naruto's desire for the Foundation Establishment, upon being lit up by Xu Baocai's words, prompted him to repeatedly visit the Scripture Library and even the Wulong Temple throughout the next couple of days.

Within the Wulong Temple, a lot of knowledge concerning the cultivation society, including detailed explanations and descriptions about the Foundation Establishment, could be found. They matched with what Xu Baocai had said, filling Naruto with excitement.

He thought that if he managed to master the Foundation Establishment, it would be a huge step in his path to immortality.

It was especially so when he discovered the three methods that the Foundation Establishment actually had, each of them increasing the lifespan by different amounts. With his excitement only growing more and more, Naruto studied without stopping, acquiring a clear comprehension of the Foundation Establishment.

"Sky, Earth and Human, a total of three types of Foundation

Establishments…"

"Human Foundation Establishment requires the consumption of a Foundation Establishment pill. Not a high probability of success, but success does increase the lifespan by a hundred years."

"Earth Foundation Establishment, merges with the Qi within the veins. It has an even smaller rate of success, but success gives jaw-dropping strength and double the lifespan of the Human Foundation Establishment."

"Lastly, the legendary Sky Foundation Establishment. Rare to the absolute extreme, impossibly low probability of success, but success adds an insane five hundred years to the lifespan!" After a minute of research, Naruto decided that the Sky Foundation Establishment purely had too small of a chance, while the earth Foundation

Establishment required certain locations that provided earth energy.

So the simplest way to go was the Human Foundation Establishment, the one that required a Foundation Establishment pill.

"I need to plan the whole thing out now for the future. Preparations must be perfect, calculations should be stable, and there's that pill I need…" Naruto took a deep breath and put down the bamboo scroll. His eyes were shining with light.

"The Foundation Establishment pill is too costly. There could be accidents, so I need backup pills as well… The best way to do this would be to refine them myself!" Naruto's eyes brightened up. He had always aspired to be the great Medicine Master who would refine the Longevity pill, and at this moment, that aspiration strengthened.

"Spirit Child, Medicine Apprentice, Medicine Master… I'm a Spirit Child right now and if I want to become an Apprentice and refine real stuff, I need to go take the promotional exam. For that exam, I need at least the knowledge of five of the herb's volumes, and even then, it may not be enough. I also need to comprehend five of the spirit beasts' volumes before I'm sufficiently prepared." With determination in his eyes, Naruto took out the third volume of herbs. After he went over it, he charged out with everything memorized in his head.

But it wasn't long before he ran back. Standing in the courtyard, he thought deeply for a while before taking out heaps of clothing, covering himself up before running back out again, feeling more confident.

"Those admirers of Kurenai are way too scary, saying that they'd tear me into eight pieces… no choice but to lay low now." Naruto felt unease.

"Hmph, wait until I'm done with my Foundation Establishment. Then I will look down at tens of thousands from above, telling them that I, Uzumaki Xi

aochun, am the Little Turtle. We'll see who would tear me to eight pieces then." Naruto weighed the distance between the admirers and him as he said those words.

The Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion was always filled with people from not only the Scented Cloud Mountain, but also those from the Green Peak Mountain and the Purple Cauldron Mountain. Any disciple with a yearning for herbal knowledge would eventually find himself there.

At this moment, Naruto squeezed past the crowds, making sure no one was watching, and walked into the wooden hut under the third volume of herbs' stone stele. Soon after he pushed the door open, he immediately blended in with the crowd in a few quick steps.

He wanted to leave right away, but he couldn't control his urges. Soon after, sounds of surprise could be heard as everyone saw the Little Turtle placed above the Aquarius symbol on the stone stele above the wooden house.

Naruto couldn't help but be pleased with himself. When the crowds were getting riled up, Naruto also put on a surprised expression to blend in, adding in a few shouts. Kurenai's admirers made their appearance moments after, their faces covered with fury. Naruto clenched his fists tightly.

"It's because of these people that I have to lay low." Naruto gave them a furious glare, then turned around and left.

In the following days, any information regarding the Little Turtle was spread throughout the Outer Sect of Scented Cloud Mountain. Everyone was talking about it. After all, that symbol was very conspicuous on the stele.

But a month later, just as things were settling down, the disciples in the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion suddenly saw another Little Turtle above the Aquarius symbol on the fourth stone stele, again in the first place.

The crowd went wild once more.

"This turtle is already first place on four of the steles, it has almost surpassed senior sister Kurenai!"

"He's first on four of the stone steles, Senior Sister Kurenai is on five, who on earth is this Little Turtle…" Naruto who was hiding among the crowd shrieked, his heart filling with satisfaction. Seeing the admirers ready to explode, he gave a dry cough, lowered his head and displeasedly hid himself.

Several days later, Kurenai appeared in the Ten Thousand Medicine

Pavilion, took a look at the stone stele, and paled. She went in the hut underneath the tenth stone stele, taking first place with her as she came out.

At this moment, the outer sect disciples of Scented Cloud Mountain started paying attention to the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. Kurenai's six steles against the Little Turtle's four steles…

Everyone was wondering if the Little Turtle would appear once more to claim the first spot on the fifth stele to stand on equal grounds as Kurenai.

Some disciples were even betting on it, betting whether the turtle could take first place on the fifth stele. Even the elders of Scented Cloud Mountain were interested.

Naruto was fired up as well. Each time he took first place on a stele and exchanged for a jade tablet, he didn't even study it before exiting. Furthermore, he hated those admirers of Kurenai, so each time he took first place, he stayed with the crowd to yell out for a bit, displaying his admiration for the Little Turtle.

Slowly, he got to know quite a few of the Little Turtle admirers. He had, of course, also contributed to the existence of these admirers. He never gave up on a chance to promote the Little Turtle, just like what he did with Sister Hou, who now had extreme respect for the turtle.

Finally, a month later, on a nice day, the Aquarius symbol on the fifth stone stele flashed and dropped, the Little Turtle appearing above it once again.

At this moment, the outer sect disciples of Scented Cloud Mountain burst into an uproar. Many came to see what was happening, and in the following days, the Little Turtle was the hottest topic in Scented Cloud Mountain.

"This Little Turtle must have memorized the herb scrolls to such an indescribable extremes to reach such heights."

"Amazing. Both this Little Turtle and Senior Sister Zhou are …"

It wasn't as if no one suspected Naruto of being the turtle, of course. Even the admirers of Kurenai, in their rage, paid attention to him, not letting a single person overlooked.

Deep down, Naruto was even more displeased. To wash off the suspicions he could only put on a facade and sigh, walking to the fourth stele. He stared at it for a while, before declaring his intention to show everyone what he's made of.

After that, the admirers of Kurenai often focused on people other than Naruto. After all, without evidence, there wasn't much they could do about their suspicions of him.

But threat was announced to everyone. If they ever managed to find the turtle, it's not eight pieces, they'd tear him into eighty!

Hearing this, Naruto thought about his body split into eighty pieces. Gritting his teeth, he was getting fired up again.

"So you guys are pissed off. The more pissed off you get, the more I want to be first!" Naruto gritted his teeth again. He couldn't fight them openly, so he used this method to wage war with the admirers.

A month later, the turtle topped the sixth stone stele.

Another month later, the seventh was also claimed by the Little Turtle.

Applause erupted from the surroundings once more.

"First place of the seventh stele! Go Little Turtle! Go for the top of the ten steles that even Kurenai could not reach!"

"Haha! I have faith in this Little Turtle. He can do it!"

As the masses of people cheered, more than ten youngsters had dark faces. Especially the few outer sect disciples in the group - they had a cold expression on their faces. One of them, who had his face covered in freckles, looked even more furious than the rest in the long robes of an outer sect disciple.

"My brothers, if anyone has any information regarding the identity of this Little Turtle, he will be rewarded if he brings it forth!" The freckled man said suddenly, his mouth wide open, his voice booming, silencing everyone.

A lot of the people present turned immediately to the man, and recognized him at once, avoiding eye contact. Some were displeased at that outburst, but didn't dare to speak up.

"It's the senior brother who joined the law enforcement, Qian Dajin…"

"I heard he's going after Kurenai and Du Lingfei…"

Naruto, upon witnessing this scene, glared furiously at the freckled man with the people beside him. Even when he was back at the courtyard, he would burn with anger every time he thought about his face.

"You can't find me anyway. I'll fight you, what about it?" Naruto lifted his chin. His studies in the volumes of spirit beasts only intensified, comprehending the materials within spirit beasts that could be used for finer pills. His knowledge about herbs improved greatly.

Especially after combining the two studies together, Naruto's herbal knowledge improved by the day.

A month later, the Little Turtle claimed the eight stone stele.

The month after that, the ninth stele was claimed.

He was first in nine of the stone steles.

All the outer sect disciples at Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion were burning with fervor and excitement, chanting for the Little Turtle to claim the final stele. His supporters increased even more.

Even Kurenai's admirers couldn't do anything to stop the ruckus caused by him. They could only look at the Turtle's advance desperately as the cries and cheers drowned those for Kurenai out.

Finally, on the conclusive month, Naruto waited until Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion was filled with the most people. With neat clothes and a glare of stern determination, he slipped in the wooden hut under the tenth stone stele while no one was paying attention.

Looking at the millions of herbs and spirit beast fragments in front of him, the determination in his eyes brightened. His two hands flew out, assembling piece after piece of herbal and spirit beast fragments, combining them together.

One thousand, five thousand, ten thousand…

Thirty thousand, fifty thousand, eighty thousand…

This was the hardest examination of all. His forehead gradually became covered with beads of sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was like a demon, ignoring everything and focusing solely on the combinations in front of him, to the point where sharp pain pierced his hands, to the point where his head throbbed. He gritted his teeth, and proceeded.

Unaware of how long it had been, the examination ended. Uzumaki

Naruto's hands trembled slightly as he finished the last herb, his body drained and his sight blurred. When he could clearly see again, he was in the wooden hut once again.

He was breathing heavily, but his eyes were shining with confident satisfaction. Wiping off the sweat and tightening his fist, he grinned with excitement.

Chapter 37 Chapter 37

Chapter 37 - Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy Ten steles, number one!

Shockwaves spread throughout the three mountains on the South Bank of the Spirit River Sect, causing a stir.

Outside of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavillion, the ruckus reached its peak as the news spread further. Numerous people arrived at the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion in a haste, and the moment they saw the Little Turtle placed first on all of the ten steles, they all sucked in their breaths.

"First on all of the ten steles, this Little Turtle actually did it!"

"The last time our Spirit River Sect had someone first on all ten steles was a thousand years ago. Who would have thought that I could witness such a scene in my lifetime!"

Cries of shock continuously arose from the crowd. Though previously, everyone did have some sort of expectations in their hearts, when such expectations became reality, they still couldn't help but feel astonished. Especially when one recalled the events of the last 3 months, it was almost within succession - every month, one stele would be conquered.

And nobody could stay still once they realised the speed at which the feat was achieved.

"This Little Turtle, just who exactly is he…...it has only been half a year, and starting from the third stele, he simply swept his way through, dominating everyone as he shot to fame!"

"His talent in herbs and plants has completely surpassed Kurenai. Could it be other than Kurenai, our Scented Cloud Mountain will have another Herb Master!"

The moment when all ten steles were topped, each and every one of the ten steles trembled for a second and produced a roaring sound. When all these roars came together, a roar was released from the cauldron on the mountain peak of the Scented Cloud Mountain!

As if a giant block of wood was striking the medicine cauldron, chime after chime echoed throughout the entire Scented Cloud Mountain and the South Bank of the Spirit River Sect. Even whiffs of medicinal fragrance silently enveloped the surroundings, causing the mist surrounding the Scented Cloud Mountain to thicken at a rate visible to the naked eye.

In a cave at the Scented Cloud Mountain peak, Elder Zhou was in the midst of feeding his precious five-coloured Phoenixes when all of a sudden, the chimes of the cauldron ringed in his ears as his gaze filled with shock.

"Scented Cloud Cauldron's Chime?" He immediately sent out his divine sense and instantly discovered the change in the ten steles at the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. His expression changed as he stepped onto the air and flew towards the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

Not long after, the silhouette of Elder Sun also appeared, arriving together with the other Foundation Establishment cultivators. Attracted by the chime of the cauldron, they all came out, and when they looked around, surprise and shock filled each of their faces.

And the last to appear was Toruho. He had originally been meditating, but when he heard the cauldron's chime, his expression similarly changed. Taking a glance outside, he immediately transformed into a prismatic beam and flew straight toward the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

Following the continuous echo of the cauldron's chime, a commotion rapidly spread among more and more people. The entire Scented Cloud Mountain, be they outer sect or inner sect disciples, every single one of them were shocked as they came out and directed their gazes toward the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

"This is….the sound of our Scented Cloud Mountain treasure, the

Scented Cloud Cauldron!"

"Within the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, someone who has actually placed f

irst on all ten steles appeared, setting a record unprecedented in the past thousand years!"

Even the Green Peak Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain were alerted at this moment. At the same time, Zhang Fatso One hung his head down as a charming beauty beside him was reprimanding him. This lady was exactly the old demoness that Zhang Fatso One had mentioned to Naruto when he was venting his grievances. When the lady heard the chime of the cauldron, her expression changed as she lifted her head to take a look. Zhang Fatso One was also stunned for a moment before he followed her gaze with a look of surpise.

"The chime of the Scented Cloud Cauldron, could it be that within the disciples of the Scented Cloud Mountain, one of them achieved a perfect score in some examination?"

The same scene transpired atop the Green Peak Mountain, as the elders and the mountain all turned to look in the direction of the Scented Cloud Mountain.

As time passed, more and more people gathered in the surroundings of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

As Naruto stood within the crowd listening to the cries of shock around him, he looked towards the ten steles and surprisingly did not join in the cheers like what he would normally do. Instead, an indescribable feeling rose within him as he silently stood there. A smile lit up on his face, a smile that neither have any arrogance nor any pride, but simply just pure happiness.

It took a year's worth of time, starting from the first stele, to create the miracle of achieving the first place on all ten stone steles. But all of this was nothing but empty fame, his greatest reward was still the knowledge he had gained regarding medicinal plants and spirit beasts; all of this knowledge that was necessary to a herbal student had already been deeply engrained in Naruto's heart.

One could say that Naruto had laid himself a foundation so solid that it was almost unheard of. When Naruto looked back and reminisced about the past year - the countless days and nights of studying medicinal plants and analysing spirit beasts like crazy - he could only sigh with melancholy.

If one were to look at the entire Spirit River Sect, even within the inner sect disciples, no one could compare to Naruto when it comes to the foundation laid for medicinal herbs. At this point, Naruto felt greatly satisfied.

In no time, streak after streak of prismatic beams arrived with the whistling of the wind. Following each prismatic beam, a silhouette that exuded a shocking cultivation was revealed; Elder Zhou, Elder Sun…...Toruho too was among those people.

All of them gazed at the ten steles. Looking at the Little Turtle at the first place, a radiance shone in each of their gazes. Especially Toruho, he was momentarily dazed when he first saw the picture of the Little Turtle, but gradually, a weird expression surfaced on his face. After which, he chuckled and swept his gaze across the crowd. When he saw Naruto, his eyes revealed an admiration inconsipicuous to the others.

Not long after, with a flourish of his sleeve, Toruho left with a hearty laughter; he knew, from the very first glance, that this Little Turtle was Naruto.

After all the elders had left, the number of inner sect disciples started to increase. As they looked up at the Little Turtle, they couldn't help but feel shock in their hearts. They too were once outer sect disciples, hence they clearly knew that these steles of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion could only be challenged when one was in the Outer Sect, moreover, the difficulty of the test made the challenge incomparable to anything else.

"As an outer sect disciple, to be able to achieve such a level, he must be

Heaven's pride…"

"Hmph, as Medicine Apprentices, our focus should be refining sprit medicines, no matter how high your talent is in the herbs and plants, it is useless if you can't refine a spirit medicine!" Among these inner sect disciples, some had praise while some had disdain. However, no matter what their stance was, they all had deeply ingrained this Little Turtle in their minds, and even deep in their hearts, most of them felt fear spread within them.

After all, no matter if this person has talent in refining medicine or not, with a foundation as solid as that, when that person becomes a Medicine Apprentice in the future, his path would be smoother and successful without a doubt.

The commotion among the crowd had not died down even one bit, up till the arrival of Kurenai. As she stood and gazed at the Little Turtle on top of all ten steles, only then did the crowd gradually fall into silence as they turned to look towards Kurenai.

That feeling of being thoroughly supressed at each of the ten steles made Kurenai's eyes shine with dissatisfaction. In the past, she had always been the one giving others this sort of complicated feeling, but right now, when it was her turn to have a taste of this feeling, she could only remain silent.

"Just who exactly are you…" Kurenai grinded her teeth. She was dissatisfied, but after numerous tries, she had understood that this mysterious Little Turtle possessed a talent in herbs and plants that reached unimaginable heights. At the moment, she had no confidence in surpassing that level. Within that moment of silence, Kurenai burned the memory of this Little Turtle deep into the bottom of her heart.

"You might be stronger than me when it comes to herbs and plants, but after you become a Medicine Apprentice and tread the path of refining medicine, I don't believe that you can stay ahead of me forever!" Kurenai sucked in a deep breath as her expression slowly calmed down.

She had already taken the examination and had been promoted to a Medicine Apprentice. Giving one last look towards the steles, she turned around and left.

"This is only my first stop on my road of becoming a great Medicine Master!" In the midst of the crowd, Naruto similarly gave one last look at the ten steles before he turned his body around and left with renewed determination.

The uproar of the ten steles's number one lasted for months following this event. People still discussed it. When people visited the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion and saw the Little Turtle on the steles, these discussions grew even more heated.

At the same time, those admirers of Kurenai spared no effort in combing through the mountains to look for that Little Turtle. Especially the youth surnamed Qian, he was extremely frustrated and actively participated in the search.

After stirring up the entire South Bank of the Spirit River sect, despite the countless discussions about the Little Turtle each day, Naruto was just in his courtyard, eyes bloodshot, as he controlled a small leaf in front of him.

He was currently studying the realm of Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy. In fact, more than half a year ago, he had already started studying the techniques of this realm. However, he had only grasped a small bit of it and was unable to truly comprehend it.

Now that the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion events were over, Naruto could feel a sense of danger rise within while looking at those Kurenai admirers who were desperately searching for him.

Henceforth, he used the chance to avoid all attention and put all of his focus into the realm of Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy.

"Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light is all about speed, and Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy…...is all about the technique's control!" Naruto eyes shone while he was deep in thought, this was the result of his enlightenment over this period of time.

"In other words, this sort of control is in fact just a type of dominating strength of the body's spritual Qi!" Naruto's eyes glinted with a flash of light. With his current cultivation of the sixth level of Qi

Condensation, the spiritual Qi in his body was akin to a big river, and the realm of Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light could already be maintained endlessly, exerting out a shocking speed.

With this enlightenment, he came to the understanding that this so called realm was simply just a technique to utilise one's spiritual Qi - like how a small leaf, when stretched, could only be used to lift a small piece of wood, but when folded, it could lift a small rock. And if one shredded it into strings and bundled them together, one could lift even heavier objects.

The same materials, when utilised with different methods, would result in different amounts of durability.

And the Lifting the Light as Though it was Heavy realm had the exact same type of logic. Once one could comprehend and utilise it, it would be equivalent to achieving this realm.

Naruto thought about it for a long time, and afterwards, with a wave of his hand, a small leaf flew toward him and hovered in front of his body. Under his incessant tries, this leaf sometimes moved with extreme speeds, and at other times, it moved as slow as if it was carrying the weight of a mountain.

If one try wouldn't work, then he would try ten times, if ten times didn't cut it, then a hundred times, and if a hundred times still weren't enough…..then a thousand times.

Naruto had long since lost count of how many times he tried, and all the leaves in his courtyard had already been torn apart. Therefore, he went out to look for more leaves. Until the end, every single non-spiritual plant, tree, flower or grass in the entire Scented Cloud Mountain was stripped and used by Naruto. Finally, on a certain day, when the sun was about to set, a light flashed through Naruto's eyes. With a gesture of his fingers, the small leaf in front of him hovered in the air lightly like a feather, but the moment it descended, it was as if a mountain had just smashed upon the ground.

With a loud 'hong', the ground of the courtyard trembled, as if this willow tree's leaf possesed an incomparably crushing weight.

"Success!" Although Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, he wore an excited expression as he stood up and waved his right hand. Immediately, a small wooden sword flew out and transformed into a black streak that zoomed into the open space. Its speed was not only fast, but its power had also at least doubled from before. One could even vaguely hear the sound of the air cracking.

With a loud roar, a large boulder in the distance instantly shattered into smithereens.

Such power was already past the standards of a Qi Condensation in the sixth level, perhaps even a seventh or eighth level Qi Condensation would be shocked and stunned if they were to witness this.

Chapter 38 Chapter 38

Chapter 38 - Purple Qi Cauldron Melting Technique

Naruto got up and moved his body a bit, his face full of excitement. With his wooden sword in hand, he danced about in the yard, sometimes suddenly stabbing out, and at other times abruptly stopping.

The entire wooden sword became blurred as it spun around in the yard, almost disappearing from sight, replaced by the shockwaves it left behind as it moved. The air seemed to be filled with gusts at that moment, and Naruto's excitement only intensified.

After a while, he flung his right arm to the side, the wooden sword flashed, and returned to his palm. It didn't seem like much, it's colourful appearance was seemingly inconspicuous, but actually, the sword had went through three refinements. Its quality was on a completely different level.

"Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light and Lifting the Light as Thought It Was Heavy - if I could master both of these techniques, their combination would make me the only one capable of that godlike ability from the Purple Qi Cauldron Techniques! Naruto took a deep breath, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Purple Qi Cauldron Melting Technique!" Naruto stored away his wooden sword, closed his eyes and stood in the courtyard. After a while, his right hand abruptly shot up, pointing at the sky. Immediately after that, the Qi, which was supposed to be invisible to the naked eye, became visible with flashes of light, forming into strings that began to form something similar to a cauldron.

As if guided by some mysterious force, the cauldron slowly took shape.

At the same time, shockwave after shockwave was emitted out from it. The Qi produced was stronger than the Qi from his swordplay earlier.

On the other hand, Naruto's face was rapidly paling. The Qi within his body was being rapidly depleted, and the cauldron had only finished materializing after burning eighty percent of his Qi. Floating in mid-air, the cauldron was surrounded by an intense Qi pressure, and followed by Naruto pointing his finger forward, the cauldron shot out, crashing hard against the ground.

The instant the cauldron and the ground made contact, the cauldron shattered and a huge amount of Qi exploded out from it.

The roar of that explosion was intense, it reverberated throughout the courtyard, and the ground around the impact audibly fractured.

Fortunately, the Scented Cloud Mountain was protected by a formation technique, fixing the fractures as soon as they formed. The impact, however, was heard by many of the outer sect disciples, raising their curiosity about its source.

Naruto took a deep breath. He hadn't expected the Purple Qi Cauldron Melting Technique to be this overwhelming. That impact gave him the feeling that if he was to be matched against himself, he wouldn't be able to put up a fight at all.

"Purple Qi Cauldron Melting Technique lives up to its name. It's a very mysterious technique, and it requires an understanding of both the 'Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy' and 'Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light' methods." Naruto's eyes shone, however, it was replaced by a frown moments after. It was very strong, but the Qi it consumed was way too much.

Naruto didn't know, but actually, he had only exhausted eighty percent of his Qi because of its purity. Other disciples would use up the entirety of their Qi before the eighth level of Qi Condensation even if they comprehended the technique. Those at the ninth level were the ones who could actually use that technique, but the cost for them wasn't small either.

"The Purple Qi Cauldron Techniques are split into three grades. The cauldron I just m

ade was only of the low quality. Medium quality would be two cauldrons, and high quality would form three cauldrons that will merge together to form a bigger cauldron." as Naruto thought hard about it, he sat down and started breathing deeply. Once the moon was up high, his eyes opened with a flash of light, the Qi within his body was already replenished.

"This technique can become my killer move. If those Kurenai admirers were to find any trouble with me, they'd have this cauldron on their heads." Naruto was just feeling relieved when the freckled man came to his mind, which made him furrow his brow.

"He's in the Inner Sect, and to be in the Inner Sect, you need to be at least at the eighth level of Qi Condensation…" Naruto felt unease as he was deep in thought while staring at his skin. He got up and took a few steps, his speed was extremely fast. He put his index finger and thumb together, which created a black light that he flung to the side. "Ka-Ka" sounds could be heard as a subtle explosion rang in the air. Naruto's movement seemed flawless. He looked at his two fingers, and slowly calmed himself down.

"This is my trump card… it's for saving my life." Naruto released a soft sigh, thinking that the self-defence killer move should be as strong as possible. He was, however, scared of the Unending Longevity Technique.

He did try to improve his Unending Longevity Technique after acquiring the impenetrable skin, but the sense of hunger that came with the training was just too much for him to handle.

Only small chicks were left here. There really was nothing left for him to eat, and if he relied solely on the spirit food here, Naruto was sure he would starve to death before completing the training.

He had also searched the entire mountain for other spirit beasts to use as food, but after the great chicken thief events, people no longer kept their livestock in open areas in order to protect it.

Naruto was stressed, his face troubled. Just as he was thinking about ways to solve the hunger problem, he suddenly thought of that Life-prolonging Pill.

"Oh yeah…" Naruto's eyes brightened. There were many different types of spirit herbs, not only for cultivation, but also for replenishing Qi. Upon achieving the impenetrable iron skin, Naruto had realized that practicing the Unending Longevity Technique essentially needed Qi.

"I haven't taken the test yet, but my knowledge of herbs is completely sufficient for me to create medicine myself. The materials were expensive, but those found in the grass and on the trees are much cheaper." Naruto thought it wasn't a bad idea.

"If I make medicine now, it'd be a lot more easier for me when I take the examination, and it'd also be a lot easier in the future when I refine the Foundation Establishment Pill." Filled with great determination, Naruto put his hand on his chin and started thinking. He stood up, the sun had already risen by the time he was done thinking.

"To create medicine I need the recipes. This should be easy, you don't need to be a medicine disciple to get those. The city square at the bottom of the mountain has some recipes for sale." Naruto patted his pouch. Ever since his arrival at the Scented Cloud Mountain, there was barely any chance for him to spend his money. With outer sect disciples receiving some spirit stones every month, he had quite a lot saved up.

As for the superficial stuff, he never really cared about it. He dashed down the path to the foot of Scented Cloud Mountain.

It was his second time going down the mountain ever since he came here. The first time was to buy medicinal herbs and exchange for pills. Just as he left the Scented Cloud Mountain, two shadows dashed toward a courtyard on the Green Peak Mountain.

"Is Senior Brother Chen here!"

"Senior Brother Chen! Naruto went down the mountain!" These two figure's cultivation levels were strong, both of them at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. The two of them were excited as they walked in the courtyard towards a huge man.

He was burly, his back was like a tiger's, and his waist was like a bear's.

"Naruto? Has he finally left the mountain?" The big man laughed as he slowly stood up. He was like a mountain, and he was at the fifth level of Qi condensation.

He was the old head of the Administrative Department, Chen Fei.

At that time, the three of them spent their days content in the Administrative Department. Almost everything they needed was there, and there were handymen who served them. They also had spirit stones. Their life was good until Naruto and the others forced their way up the mountain, making them into outer sect disciples. The two hard years intensified their hate for Naruto.

But Zhang Fatso One was not one you should make an enemy of, and Black Fatso Three was not someone you want to involve yourself with either. Naruto, however, was weaker than the two of them, and was the only suitable target for revenge. But he never left the sect, and Chen Fei, while being known in the sect, dared not break the sect's rules.

After all, he was just the elder cousin of an inner sect disciple. Having handymen subordinates was already the limit of what he could achieve.

All this time, he was waiting for Naruto to leave the sect on an errand, and it took two years for that to happen. The time had finally arrived, and Chen Fei was confident. He had trained to the fifth level of Qi condensation, and scouted out how Naruto was doing with his cultivation. His achievements were just lucky flukes.

"That year when he used the 'Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light' method, I actually thought he had mastered it. Hmph, forcing me into an outer sect disciple, I will not forgive him." Chen Fei's eyes burned with fury. He didn't intend to kill Naruto, but he planned to break his bones and damage his veins. He wanted him to be hospitalized for a year.

And this kind of thing wouldn't be too concerning for the sect, but they'd investigate it nonetheless. However, he wasn't going to be caught red handed. There'd also be no death. And Chen Fei had a reputation in the sect. There weren't going to be any consequences for his revenge.

Chen Fei's body shot out as he sprinted down the mountain, the duo following behind him. They reached the foot of the mountain soon enough, and hid near the path used to reach the city square.

The city square wasn't big. Naruto didn't take long to find the recipes he needed. One was for replenishing Qi, and the other was for nourishing Qi. High quality ones were rare, but low quality ones were pretty common for commoners to use to strengthen their bodies.

For other people, they would be useless, but to Naruto, they were treasure. He had the turtle-shell pot, and any common pill that was refined thrice would be on a whole new level.

Using the rest of the spirit stones for medicinal herbs, Naruto patted his storage pouch as he hummed on his way back to the mountain, leaving the city square. In his mind, he was fascinated about the successful medicine he was about to make.

But just as he started walking up the path, he abruptly stopped. Upon reaching the sixth Qi Condensation level, his senses had sharpened up a lot. He immediately sensed the breaths of three people hiding in the bushes. At this moment, his heart started beating faster.

Seeing Naruto stop there, the three jumped out and stood in front of him.

"Naruto, today, I'm paying back all the wrongs you have done to me!" Chen Fei glared at Naruto, laughing with his two followers who also circled around to surround him. -

Regular chapter 3/3 for the week

Translated by: Marcus

TLCed by: Nat Nat

Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard

Chapter 39 Chapter 39

Chapter 39 - Crushed…

"Chen Fei?" Naruto blinked. He looked at Chen Fei and the two people who were surrounding him. He calmed down after sensing their cultivation levels.

"Naruto, it's too late to kneel and beg now. It was all because of your damned idea that we ended up becoming outer sect disciples. I've awaited this moment for so long!" Chen Fei laughed. He raised his right hand, and his cultivation of the fifth level Qi Condensation exploded out, sending many of the nearby fallen leaves flying. It was quite impressive.

"After entering the outer sect, I've been training without rest. And now, Naruto, I'm at the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Let me tell you this, today, I'm here just to bully you. I'm going to break all of your bones!"

Chen Fei's laughter was accompanied with a face filled with both glee and arrogance. Pinching with his index finger and thumb, the air vibrated and a green sword with merely half a chi in length appeared. It looked weak, and the cold light it was emitting was weak as well.

The two behind Naruto were grinning as they used their cultivations to produce two swords as well.

The trio surrounding Naruto were certain of their imminent victory because of their superior numbers. They were also stronger than last time and were assured that Naruto hadn't mastered Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light yet.

"It would have been fine if you hadn't left the mountain. But now that you left the sect's territory, I'm about to teach you how grave the mistake you made years ago." Chen Fei felt some satisfaction after letting those words out.

"The three of you blocking me here… Aren't you forgetting the sect rules?" Naruto asked, curious as he looked at Chen Fei.

"Sect rules? Ha! We're not in the sect anymore! What's more, you're weak, so who can you blame? At most, I'll apologize and that'd be the end of it!" Chen Fei laughed blithely. He could already imagine what face Naruto would be making later, it certainly wouldn't be pretty. He had even prepared taunts and insults for that.

But it wasn't long before he realized that something was wrong. Naruto was way too calm. He was surrounded by three people, and yet his face was not what he had pictured. It actually looked a bit weird, it was as if he was superior. He even had the nerve to speak:

"Oh, I see. Then I have nothing to worry about."

Chen Fei narrowed his eyes, thinking that something was not right. He stopped hesitating and instead barked out a command.

"At him!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he pointed his sword at Naruto and charged, both his followers doing the same.

Looking at the incoming swords, Naruto smiled. He didn't even bother to get his equipment out, choosing to only step back, instantly vanishing before the three.

When he reappeared, he was already beside one of the two minions who were only at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. Chen Fei's eyes widened as Naruto hit the man with his right hand before he could even have the chance to react.

The attack was so fast, it hit the man's stomach right after Naruto reappeared. The man's body shook as blood shot out from his mouth, his body curving as if hit by a great force, and was sent flying until he collided with a tree.

The tree shook from the impact as the man spat out blood again, fainting.

The scene happened so fast that the other two could only stare at Naruto, their brains buzzing in disbelief. Never would they have imag

ined that Naruto would be so fast and strong. They couldn't even see his movements properly.

Chen Fei's expression rapidly changed. Taking a deep breath, his body instinctively took a few steps backwards, his face full of doubts as he stared at Naruto.

"You're…"

"Too weak." Naruto put on an air of superiority as if he stood at the top of the world, unequalled. He took a step and reached for the other man at the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

The man roared as his cultivation erupted, then charged at Naruto with his sword. Naruto, however, was faster than him. His impenetrable iron skin and Unending Longevity Technique increased his speed and strength to a shocking degree. He dodged the sword with a jerk as his right fist crashed down on the man.

The boom was followed by the man's screams as blood shot out from his mouth. He didn't have a tree behind him so he was flung much farther away as his body shook. He was unable to get up and seemed at death's doorstep.

"So weak." Naruto shook his head as he looked at the trembling Chen Fei.

"You...You…" Chen Fei's brain buzzed as he tried to comprehend the situation. He couldn't understand how he dropped from the position of power to the one of weakness. He was supposed to be the bully, but the target before him was a beast compared to him.

The two hits had knocked out his two subordinates. It was hard for him to comprehend how much strength this feat would take. He swallowed as his body instinctively took a couple more steps backward, completely losing the will to fight. A single thought flooded his entire being: "Run."

He didn't get the chance to back away much farther before Naruto caught up with him in an instant. His right hand curled up into a fist and aimed for Chen Fei, but just as it was shooting toward him, a shield appeared in a flash of light, blocking Naruto's fist.

Another boom echoed out. Naruto grunted as his body was momentarily stopped by the shield. The small shield, however, trembled as the Qi enveloping it grew slightly dimmer, and was quickly sent flying by Naruto's punch.

Chen Fei was terrified. He had spent quite a lot of contribution points for that shield, even if it was an adversary of the sixth Qi Condensation level, it shouldn't be penetrated so easily in such a short amount of time.

"Naruto, you… H-how dare you!" Chen Fei screamed.

"Hmph. Let me tell you this, today, I'm here just to bully you. I'm going to break all of your bones!" Naruto was overjoyed inside as he looked at the terrified face his opponent was making. This was the thing that pleased him the most, and he wasn't about to let this chance slip. So after returning the words his opponent just said right back at him, Naruto unleashed the full power of his sixth level Qi Condensation. As gusts formed around him and his hair rose up in the air, he looked quite intimidating.

"Qi Condensation, sixth level…" Chen Fei's eyes were so wide that it seemed as if they would pop out. He made another attempt to escape as Naruto went after him, swinging his fist again. There was no shield to block the strike this time.

Chen Fei's body shook as blood and screams escaped his mouth, as his body curled. He had a strong body, however, he was merely in the fifth level. He did not faint, instead, he put all of his remaining strength into escaping, his heart bitter and resentful to the extreme. There was still some distance before he could reach the sect… Why did he choose this place to ambush him?

Seeing Naruto charge at him with beastlike ferocity, he screamed once again.

"Naruto! The sect rules, the sect rules!"

"Sect rules? Ha! We're not in the sect anymore! What's more, you're weak, so who can you blame? At most I'll apologize and that'll be the end of it!" Naruto repeated Chen Fei's words as he sent his leg out for a kick.

The kick sent Chen Fei flying up into the sky, blood shooting out from his mouth as his eyes were filled with desperation. He was still screaming in the air when Naruto jumped up and barraged him with kicks and punches.

Chen Fei was shocked and terrified, his screams dying out as his body took the hits.

With his bones broken and his veins damaged, he could only lay on the floor with a pale face. His entire body was numb, and as he looked at Naruto, his heart was filled with dread.

To him, the skinny and pure Naruto was a beast clad in human skin, especially when he remembered the fact that Naruto didn't use any equipment but only his body's raw power and speed to overwhelm them in this battle.

The other two fourth level followers of Chen Fei just woke up to see their boss being beaten up, dread filling them as well, petrifying them from fear of attracting Naruto's attention.

Seeing Chen Fei's desperation, Naruto was amused. He retracted his Qi and rummaged through the contents of the trio's bags, taking everything with him, including the small shield. He hummed as he was heading back to the sect.

"Damn it. Who was the one who told me Naruto's achievements were all lucky flukes?" Staring at Naruto's figure, Chen Fei wanted to cry, but didn't have the tears for it. He would have never approached Naruto if he had known how strong he was.

The two men sobbed as they looked at Naruto leaving. Intense dread filled them once more.

"Senior brother Chen, what do we do…? Maybe we shouldn't go after

him anymore, let's drop the matter… Even Xu Baocai resolved his conflict with him." The duo looked at Chen Fei.

Chen Fei felt utter agony as he gritted his teeth in silence.

"Naturally, I still want revenge. But I can't beat him… There must be some way…"

Chapter 40 Chapter 40

Chapter 40 - Pursuing perfection

Humming a melody, Naruto joyfully stepped through the sect doors. When he returned to his courtyard, he couldn't help but lament.

"Cultivation is for the sake of immortality, these people, who always go on about fighting and killing, must have something wrong with their heads."

In his courtyard, Naruto organised the storage pouches of Chen Fei and his gang. These three people weren't wealthy and their pockets were rather shallow. Even though the loot this time wasn't large, Naruto wasn't particularly disappointed with it. He took out the medicinal plants he bought, and looked at them closely as he held them in his hand, thoroughly inspecting each and every one of them.

Although he had a strong foundation in plants and herbs, he still didn't have many opportunities to truly come in contact with actual medicinal plants and herbs. And at this moment, as he studied the medicinal plants, his observations and analysis gradually merged with the knowledge in his mind. He even lightly slit open the plants and conscientiously observed its inner structures.

After consolidating his knowledge of all of them, Naruto fell deep in thought as he took out the two medicinal recipes. He only took a single glance towards the medicinal recipe for the Spirit Replenishing Pill, then shifted his attention onto the medicinal recipe for strengthening a mortal's body.

"Longevity Incense Stick…" Naruto murmured softly; this medicinal recipe did not require a lot of medicinal plants - only seven kinds - and it did not have any unique points when it came to mixing the plants. This medicinal recipe only used the principle of allelopathy to maximise the strength of these seven types of medicinal plants by grounding them into powder and then coagulating it into an incense.

(ED note: Allelopathy ( wiki/Allelopathy) is the chemical inhibition of a plant (or other organism) by another, when exposed to substances acting as germination or growth inhibitors.)

Especially for two of the plant types in the medicinal recipe, they were actually poisonous. Although it wasn't any kind of lethal poison for cultivators, one would still get diarrhea for about half a month. But for ordinary people, such poison could be a threat to their lives.

"Between the Heavens and the Earth, there is a boundless diversity of spirit plants and herbs; some can be eaten directly, some can be refined into pills for a better effect, and some, due to their poisonous content, can only be refined into incenses." Naruto pondered as he carefully scrutinised each and every medicinal grass used to refine the Longevity Incense Stick, until he could understand each of these seven types of medicinal grass down to the last detail.

"It's still not safe. The main point of refining medicine is the success rate of completing the medicine, and even if it is just the most simple Grade One spirit medicine, there still exists a high risk of failure."

"I only have ten sets of each type of medicinal grass, I can't afford to be wasteful." Naruto's personality has always been a cautious - one that seeks safety and stability. When he was memorising the plants and herbs, he made sure to remember them down to the finest detail. And at this moment, before Naruto started refining medicine, he first approached the subject with a similar attitude - choosing not to start the refinement immediately, instead, thoroughly studying the medicinal recipe.

Time passed, one day after the other, until seven days later, he had completely comprehended the medicinal recipe; Naruto had closed his eyes as he continuously analysed and simulate

d the medicinal recipe in his mind. Not until the sun was about to set did Naruto finally opened his eyes again. After thinking for a moment, he took out the medicinal recipe for the Spirit Replenishing Pill and started studying again.

Half a month later, blood vessels filled Naruto's eyes; he had thoroughly comprehended both recipes and the medicinal plants they required. After pondering for a short moment, he suddenly stood up and walked out of his courtyard.

Medicine refinement required a pill furnace, however, the price of a pill furnace was not cheap and Naruto could not afford to obtain one. Luckily, within the sect, there was a Medicine Refinement Pavilion specifically built for disciples to refine their medicine. A disciple only had to spend a certain amount of contribution points in exchange for the opportunity to refine medicine within the pavilion.

The Medicine Refinement Pavilion lay on the eastern side of the Scented Cloud Mountain, which was not too far away from where Naruto stayed. The Medicine Refinement Pavilion was also peaceful, unlike the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion which was always packed with crowds of people. After all, even if one searched the entire Scented Cloud Mountain, there still wouldn't be many who had the skills to refine medicine. Moreover, some of these people already possessed their own pill furnaces and as such they had no need to come here.

After paying the specified amount of contribution points, Naruto obtained a month's time in the Medicine Refinement Pavilion. As Naruto walked in, a structure made up of over a hundred individual rooms greeted his eyes. Each room also had an array formation around it to prevent the medicine-refiner from being disturbed by the outside world.

Holding on to the wooden tablet he received, Naruto walked into the thirteenth room and swept a glance around its interior. The room wasn't big, it was almost empty except for a single pill furnace placed in the center of the room. Under the pill furnace, a flame seemed to be faintly burning.

Sitting down cross-legged, Naruto took in a deep breath as he laid his eyes on the pill furnace. After closely inspecting it, he looked at the fire beneath the pill furnace and tried to stimulate it with his spirit Qi. In an instant, the fire grew fiercer, causing the temperature in the room to rise. The pill furnace also started to redden at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After trying numerous tries, Naruto soon managed to control the strength of the fire with the help of his mastery in the Purple Qi Cauldron Melting Technique. Once he familiarised himself with the control and could accurately manipulate the fire, he slapped his storage pouch and retrieved the medicinal plants and grasses.

"The Longevity Incense Stick is of great importance to me. I shouldn't refine it first, only when I familiarised myself with medicine refinement should I refine this incense. In this case, I should start practicing with the Spirit Replenishing Pill first. This pill is ranked Grade One and is suitable for those under the fifth level of Qi Condensation." Naruto made up his mind as his expression turned to one filled with concentration. As he once again recalled the medicinal recipe of the Spirit Replenishing Pill in his mind, he immediately began refining the medicine.

He took out a stalk of a medicinal plant required for the Spirit

Replenishing Pill and held it in front of his eyes. With a wave of his right hand, the leaves on the stalk of the plant immediately fell off. Naruto's eyes turned serious as he spread out his spirit Qi from within his body to form a gust of wind that instantly compressed the leaves together. Nine drops of sap dripped out of the compressed leaves and fell into the pill furnace.

'Pfft' ! Plumes of green mist immediately rose from within the pill furnace as Naruto increased his concentration to its peak. The moment this mist had appeared, Naruto rapidly waved both of his hands and removed the stem's vessels from the medicinal plant in his hand. He threw each of them into the pill furnace while controlling the flame at the same time. During the process, more and more mist started to form within the pill furnace.

However, this mist refused to dissipate, instead, it coalesced together. As the mist continuously rolled in the furnace, Naruto took out the second stalk of medicinal plant and catalysed it as he held it in his hand. Flowers immediately bloomed on the stalk of the plant from which Naruto plucked the petals that he had thrown into the furnace.

Time passed by, Naruto devoted his entire heart and soul into medicine refinement; he continuously took out medicinal plants and threw them into the furnace. After he had put in eight different plants, his gaze shone with a bright light as he stared at the pill furnace. He then slowly changed its temperature by controlling the fire. Under this intense concentration, beads of sweat formed on his forehead and they trickled down the silhouette of his face.

Two hours later, a dull sound echoed from within the pill furnace. At the same time, billows of black charred smoke dissipated into the air; although it was rapidly sucked away by the array formation in the room,

Naruto still coughed a couple of times from choking on the smoke. Looking at the the black residue in the pill furnace with an ugly expression, Naruto couldn't help but frown.

"Failed…" Naruto sat down and propped his chin with his hand. His eyes revealed that he fell into deep thought, carefully recollecting the details from the medicine-refining process. Since his personality was cautious, he did not continue attempting to refine the medicine again. Whether it was memorising the plants and herbs or medicine refinement, Naruto always pursued perfection.

This lasted over three days. On the third day, Naruto had replayed his first medicine-refining process in his mind over a thousand times, finding no less than fifty mistakes. Finally, he took in a deep breath, resting for a moment, and lit up the furnace once again.

The actual time to refine the pill did not take long. Four hours later, the same sound resounded from the pill furnace as a similar smoke spread into the air, revealing the residue in the furnace once again.

The tenacity and stubbornness in Naruto's character surfaced once again. He scooped out the residue and carefully studied it. Coupled with the recollection of the medicine-refinement process, Naruto studied the medicinal recipe and the medicinal plants once more. This time, the analysis took ten days, after which, with bloodshot eyes, Naruto finally started the furnace for the third time.

The third attempt with the furnace started out steady, however, just when the pill was about to form, cracks appeared and the dull sound echoed once more. Naruto jumped and fixed a death stare on the residue inside the pill furnace. Silence reigned for a long time, and then finally, Naruto sat at one side, closed his eyes, and once again fell into deep thought.

This time, he pondered for almost half a month, not until his time with the medicine room was almost over did Naruto finally open his eyes, grit his teeth, and start the furnace for the fourth time.

At the moment his time with the medicine room ran out, this attempt had already ended up as a failure.

If other Medicine Apprentices were to see this scene, they would definitely find it unbelievable. In a single month, if it was any other person, they would have easily refined over ten times, and no matter what, at the very least, they would produce some medicine.

Even if the medicine was refined into just a single grain, that was still an achievement.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, medicine-refining was extremely difficult. Otherwise, throughout the entire Eastern Forest

Continent, there would not have been just two true Medicine Masters.

Even if one counted all the Medicine Apprentices, they would not amount to a particularly large number. Moreover, most of them wouldn't have the chance to promote themselves into a Medicine Master their whole life.

In reality, the main reason for this was…...there simply weren't not enough resources to groom a Medicine Apprentice. If one had enough resources, and under constant and repeated practice, though it may not necessarily ensure that one would definitely become a Medicine Master, the chances would definitely be much higher.

Hence, the success rate of medicine refinement in the eyes of everyone only had a single method to be increased - through constant practice and increased proficiency.

And what everyone was pursuing was indeed this kind proficiency.

Only when one has reached a sufficient level of proficiency could they increase the success rate of medicine refinement. Even when the medicine-refining failed sometimes, most Medicine Apprentices think of it as nothing out of the ordinary; one just had to learn their lesson and start refining again, only then would their proficiency increase. Especially when it came to refining ordinary pill medicines, where the ingredients were inexpensive, Medicine Apprentices would use the chance and spare no effort in practicing.

As for Naruto, though his path was the same, his speed was much slower than normal. Every single time he failed, he would spend countless of his precious medicine-refining time to continuously study, analyse, and simulate the process in his mind.

All of this stemmed from his personality - cautious and meticulous. This meticulousness had just barely been revealed when he was studying the plants and herbs. However, now that he had come into contact with medicine refinement, this trait had been exponentially magnified, overtaking his character and attitude.

And because of this meticulousness, Naruto was able to discover more mistakes than the average person, and this amount was not just a small amount. Instead, because he pondered a lot and thoroughly analyzed everything, including areas where others would not even think there was a mistake, he would still feel there was a problem when he looked at it.

And because of his cautiousness, no matter how miniscule the mistake was, he would always make sure he corrected it first before continuing with medicine refining. As a result, his time spent on thinking was many times that of the time spent on medicine refining.

The month's worth of time had finally ended, Naruto walked out of the Medicine Refinement Pavilion exhausted; his hair disheveled, his face black with soot. Once he returned back to his courtyard, he fell silent for a long time as he constantly recollected his experiences in his mind.

"There are still nine areas with mistakes, once these nine areas have been cleared up, I can continue with the medicine refinement." Naruto gritted his teeth as he sat in his courtyard. With his eyes closed, Naruto was deep in thought. He continuously analysed the problems in his mind, taking out the medicinal plants to observe them in detail from time to time.

Half a month later, he fervently dashed out from his yard and once again spent some contribution points to enter the Medicine Refinement Pavilion.

The fifth time…..failed!

He used seven days in analysing the process, seeking out the problems, and solving them before starting to refine again.

The sixth time….failed!

With his eyes bloodshot, this time, Naruto spent twenty days before he finally felt that there were no more mistakes, then started the furnace for the seventh time.

Two hours passed, yet the dull sound did not appear, instead, a pill aroma rose toward Naruto, and he excitedly looked at the two green-coloured medicine pills within the pill furnace. He sucked in a deep breath, it was the seventh attempt, and he had finally succeeded!

Following that, he continued to refine. The eighth time…... success, with three pills!

The ninth time…... success, with five pills!

The tenth time…...still a success, however, when the pill appeared from the tenth refinement, there was only one of it. Moreover, it wasn't green coloured, instead, it was black. It did not exude any pill aroma, and when one tried to smell it, there would even be a strange scent…...

Just when Naruto was still in shock, the entire Medicine Refinement Pavilion immediately trembled.

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Chapter 41 - Effects of Spirit Refinement

There were no rats on the Scented Cloud Mountain. It was a land of cultivation, and rats, who were not spirit beasts, had no place there. However, in the mountains, quite a number of ants dwelled.

These ants were animals of nature, and their daily activities in the cracks of mountain rocks bothered no one. They were seen as a part of the mountain, and no one paid much attention to these little creatures.

But this day near the Medicine Refinement Pavilion, the sentries stationed there abruptly stood up as an immeasurable amount of ants streamed out from the ground, heading for the pavilion.

"W-what's happening?" A sentry took in a deep breath as he gazed at the endless swarm of ants, frightened.

At the same time, the rooms in the Medicine Refinement Pavilion were full of disciples refining pills. Upon seeing the ants, all of them jumped up as even more swarms of ants filled the room despite the protective formations. After all, the pavillion was part of the mountain, and the ants had plenty of cracks here and there to enter from.

And the entirety of the swarm was headed in a single direction.

This direction lead to the room where Naruto was. At the moment, Naruto was curiously inspecting the black pill in his hand when rumbling sounds suddenly came from outside. He blinked, realizing that swarms of ants were entering his room.

These crazed ants charged at Naruto.

"An ant crisis in the Scented Cloud Mountain!" Naruto jumped up, feeling uncomfortable from the sight of these ants. The ants, to his surprise, jumped with him, aiming for the black pill in his hand.

Naruto's hair stood on end after witnessing such a scene. For him, it didn't matter whether the black pill was useful or not. Without hesitation, Naruto tossed the black pill out of his hands, and as soon as the pill left his hands, the ants madly charged towards where the pill was thrown.

Once it touched the ground, the pill was covered in ants within the blink of an eye. A huge sphere formed, causing Naruto's face to pale.

In the next moment, the sphere made of ants collapsed, and the countless ants retreated into the cracks, leaving not even a trace of the pill behind.

The entire pavilion was void of ants from that point onwards. The ants came and left just as fast. The sentries didn't feel comfortable about that ant invasion, but seeing that nothing was damaged or lost, they didn't give it much thought, and didn't report it either.

After all, only Naruto witnessed the ants' insanity. To others, it was just a great number of ants passing by.

Naruto picked up the pill he was refining, his thoughts still filled with ants. There didn't seem to be a problem, until he realized he was way too attentive toward the details. He wanted not just success, but utter perfection.

"Could it be that the pill I refined is suitable for ants?" Shaking his head, Naruto couldn't help but feel proud from the fact that he could make pills not only for humans, but even for ants.

Upon leaving the room, he saw other disciples who were just leaving as well. The surrounding rooms were full of whispers and moaning, which was partly Naruto's fault, so he left in a haste.

A few days later, after seeing that nothing about the ants was being discussed, Naruto went back to the pavilion, and exchanged his pills for contribution points. He picked another room and started refining once again.

This time, he started refining the Longevity Incense Stick.

Refining incense sticks and refining pills may sound similar, but the technique i

nvolved was very different. After all, one inhales from an incense stick, but pills were consumed..

With the experience from his last refinements, Naruto was much more careful and calm when he was refining the incense stick. After two months, he had finished seven.

He left with satisfaction, taking the seven Longevity Incense Sticks with him. In his wooden cabin, the three successive refinements resulted in a deep purple hue on the incense sticks. The patterns on the sticks dulled, but they were still standing out. These incense sticks were on a completely different level compared to before.

Naruto was deep in thought as he held the sticks in his hand. He was different now. His knowledge of spirit medicines had vastly expanded, and as he refined them, it increased even further. He knew that any medicine that came out after refinement had impurities inside them. The impurities weren't supposed to be consumed, but they were extremely difficult to separate from the medicine. But nonetheless, if impurities entered the body, they would build up and coagulate into toxicity referred to as medicine toxicity.

This was also the reason why many of the sect elders were unwilling to let the disciples consume pills. The underlying problems, theoretically, shouldn't be too serious as a certain amount of the medicine toxicity would be expelled from the body over time. However, if the medicine pills were consumed more than necessary, the medicine toxicity would naturally increase. By letting it gradually build up, it would hinder future cultivation.

Thus, based on the amount of impurities, medicine was classified into six levels.

"Low, medium, high, fine, great and supreme…" Naruto looked at the incense sticks in his palm while mumbling. If the impurity level of the medicine was ninety percent: it was poison. Unless forced to do so, no one would consume it.

If it was eighty percent, it would be classified as a low quality medicine. This was the most common type. Sixty percent would be a medium quality medicine, which was uncommon these days, and was only crafted by true Medicine Masters.

As for those with a forty percent impurity level, they were high quality medicines. Rare. The ones with only twenty percent impurity level were fine medicines, and those with ten percent were known as great medicines which could only be seen in large scale auctions every once in a while.

The supreme medicine that had zero impurities only existed in legends.

Naruto stared at the incense sticks. When he was refining medicine last time, he didn't understand anything. Now, as he inspected the incense sticks with heightened attentiveness, he immediately discovered that refining medicine with the turtle-shell pot was about changing the quality rather than improving it the way he strengthened the power of his equipment.

And the incense sticks in his hand had only forty percent impurities. It was a fine medicine.

This discovery excited Naruto. He headed to the Purple Cauldron Mountain, not for Zhang Fatso One, but for the South Bank of the Spirit River Sect, towards the Spirit Refinement Hall only found on the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

The disciples could pay contribution points for the elders of the Spirit Refinement Hall to help with their refinements. The success rate wasn't too high, but nevertheless, many disciples still came.

Naruto looked around as he entered the Refinement Hall and did some research. He confirmed that it was possible to learn how to remove impurities from refined medicine.

Returning back to the Scented Cloud Mountain, Naruto looked happily at the results of his work in his hands. He lit one of the incense sticks and sniffed, feeling a sense of satisfaction one would have after finishing a lavish meal. The scent entered his body wave after wave, filling him with warmth. If life was a ball of fire, then at this moment, this fire had firewood thrown inside, blazing it.

Sniffing the incense stick and cultivating the Unending Longevity Technique, things were going well. As soon as he felt hunger from cultivating, he would take a deep breath to abate it.

Seven of these incense sticks supported his cultivation for half a month, until he felt that his impenetrable iron skin had obviously toughened, and his body had become indisputably stronger.

The success rate in refining these Longevity Incense Sticks rose under his care, from seventy percent success rate to eighty, ninety, and in the end, one hundred.

But Naruto still felt dissatisfied. He had a perfect success rate, but the medicines he created were still only low quality medicines.

But this sort of thing was hard to improve in the short term. All he could do was use refinement to remove impurities and sniff an incense stick from time to time. It made him incomparably happy.

His Unending Longevity Technique improved day by day along with his cultivation, reaching the peak of the sixth level Qi Condensation.

As for the Unending Longevity Technique that was improving the fastest, only a bit more was left before he could reach the peak of the Impenetrable Iron Skin. The hardness of his skin had vastly improved, and his two fingers now had a much darker colour when he casted his Throat Crushing Grasp.

But the effects of the incense sticks wore off. In the end, there was almost no effect from sniffing them. Naruto sighed. He understood that his body had gotten used to the incense sticks after using them too much.

He wanted to continue training, but he needed a replacement for the incense sticks. This type of medicine was controlled strictly, and wasn't sold in the city square. The only way he could get them was to pass the promotional examination and exchange contribution points for them afterwards.

Or he could go to an even larger city. However, those city squares were a long way from the sect. After careful consideration, Naruto made a decision.

"Onwards to the promotional exams!"

He thought that with his experience in refinement, and his knowledge about herbs, passing shouldn't be very difficult. However, to be safe, Naruto purchased more recipes and practiced all of them. He signed up for the examination after feeling sufficient confidence.

This type of promotional examination was not open for only a single person. After enough people had signed up, the promotional examination's preparations would begin. After he had waited for a month, Naruto was pondering a question regarding the refinement of Spirit Medicines when his identity plate vibrated in his pouch. Taking it out, an elderly voice rang inside his head.

"Tomorrow, at dawn, at the Medicine Master's Temple, the promotional examination will commence."

Regular Chapter 1/4 of the week. Schedule has been changed to 4 guaranteed chapters a week and up to two sponsored chapters a week.

Translated by: Marcus

TLCed by: Nat Nat

Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Chapter 42 - Promotional Examination!

The Medicine Master's Pavilion, which was located south of the Scented Cloud Mountain, was surrounded by the thick foliage of green trees. A small, winding trail, filled with limestones, lead to the main path on the Scented Cloud Mountain. Except for the times when a promotional examination was being held, the Medicine Master's Pavilion was usually devoid of people.

Other than those participating in the promotional examination, most of the attendees were either their friends or those that wanted to participate in the examination but were not confident of their abilities and were therefore hoping to gain experience from observing the participants.

From afar, the Medicine Master's Pavilion looked very similar to a person seated cross-legged in meditation, and there was even a huge pill furnace in front it. The underside of the furnace was hollow and a large hole was dug through the furnace for people to access the public arena of the pavilion.

There were 20 identical pill furnaces that were placed in the public arena, and in each of the furnaces, there was a bag that contained the ingredients required for medicine refinement.

At the crack of dawn, Naruto had already arrived at the public arena because he had been worried that he might get lost again. However, upon reaching his destination, he realised that there were numerous people that had already arrived before him. All of them were quietly having their own discussions in groups of twos and threes, and a few others that were more reclusive were mediating while sitting crosslegged.

Naruto was clearly not keen to just meaninglessly wait for the promotion examination to begin. He took a quick glance at the crowd and unexpectedly saw Xu Baocai who noticed him as well. He quickly cupped his fist in the other hand, greeting Naruto, and the two of them made some small talk, most of which were news about sect disciples that Xu Baocai had found out recently.

"Senior Uzumaki , have you heard? Chen Fei and two of his men encountered unknown enemies when they were away six months ago, and they were beaten up so badly by their enemies that they are still recovering from their injuries even now. For some unknown reasons, the three of them unexpectedly insisted on not revealing who were the culprits." Xu Baocai said while he sized up Naruto.

Naruto chuckled and just when he was about to brag, the crowd suddenly got noisier. He had a gut feeling that he was being watched, so he quickly turned his head to the side and saw a lady on a narrow road approaching him in big strides.

That lady was wearing the long robes of the Outer Sect but they were unable to conceal the enchanting figure underneath. Her waist was as thin as a willow and the alluring curves outlined by her robe made her a beauty incomparable to others, especially her long, slender legs. As she drew nearer to Naruto, the crowd was increasingly anxious while waiting.

The lady's appearance was even more alluring than just that; she had a snow white skin, as delicate as glass. From head to toe, she was absolutely perfect, and her irresistable charm had caused all the disciples to fall head over heels for her.

The crowd was bewitched by the lady to the point Naruto even heard the people around him swallowing their saliva when they looked at her, especially Xu Baocai. Seeing him like this, Naruto held him in contempt.

"It's Senior Sister Du Lingfei… One of the five great beauties from the South Bank... She is the goddess in my heart… Oh! She is looking at me now!" Xu Baocai licked his lips, his eyes revealing his infatuation for her. He spoke softly as he suddenly grew excited.

"She is looking at me!" Uzumaki Xia

ochun said to Xu Baocai with disdain.

As Du Lingfei approached them, she glared at Naruto, her eyes evidently filled with anger. Even though she was convinced of Naruto's mastery in herbs and plants, she still had an unspeakable hatred for him as a person. Du Lingfei snorted softly and moved to the other side of the road.

Xu Baocai's eyes remained locked on Du Lingfei, and in his muddled mind, he ignored Naruto's look of disdain. He was more obsessed about Du Lingfei than ever.

"Du Lingfei must also be here for the promotional examination…." Naruto thought to himself as he glanced at the twenty pill furnaces on the public arena, settling his heart.

"It's alright, I'm not competing with her for the first place anyway. This time around, it's a promotional examination and anyone skilled enough can pass and be promoted."

Not long after, Chen Zi'ang appeared too. When he noticed Naruto, he hesitated for a moment before greeting him with a smile, whom also returned the greeting to Chen Zi'ang, and then sat crosslegged at a side to await for the start of the promotional examination.

Zhao Yiduo, the disciple Naruto met at the Mission Exchange Pavilion, was also there at the public arena. Gradually, the crowd got bigger as more people arrived for the promotional examination.

Soon after, the main gate of the Medicine Master's Pavilion creaked open and a white-haired elder walked out of the gate. He had a profound look in his eyes and the crowd fell silent the moment they saw him.

He appeared expressionless as he clasped both of his hands behind his back. He slowly walked toward the arena and sluggishly scanned the crowd before nodding his head and speaking in an unhurried manner.

"My surname is Xu, the host of this Spirit Child to Medicine Apprentice promotional examination."

"There are two components to this examination, namely, the herbs and plants test and medicine refinement." Elder Xu seemed to be reluctant to say more and shut his eyes, ignoring everyone else after his short speech.

At the beginning, there was nobody that went up the public arena. A short moment later, a young lad with an ordinary appearance came out of the crowd. He greeted Elder Xu from afar before heading straight to the arch that was shaped like a pill furnace.

Right when he neared the arch, there was a flash of light that shrouded him before quickly fading away. The pill furnace shook violently and five notes sounded.

"Those five notes means that the young lad has attained the fifth volume of herbs and plants mastery…" Xu Baocai, being a knowledgeable person, told Naruto softly.

Naruto was a little taken aback because before he arrived here, he was unaware that the promotional examination would be conducted this way. After he heard what Xu Baocai had said, he curiously measured the size of the pill furnace that was made of stone. He had a gut feeling that those pill furnaces were somewhat related to the stone steles in the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

"What should I do…. that bunch of Kurenai admirers are looking for me…" Naruto was a little hesitant.

Participants went towards the arch in quick succession and all of them revealed the attainment of the fifth volume of herbs. However, when one of the participant approached it, only four notes were heard. Elder Xu florished his sleeves and told the disciple to immediately leave.

"Elder Xu, weren't participants only required an attainment of the fourth volume of herbs to enter the promotional examination in the past?" the rejected discipline's expression changed and anxiously asked.

"The rules have changed, only those who have attained the fifth volume may enter."

"This…" The young disciple was stunned for a moment. He had a bitter look in his eyes as he bade farewell to Elder Xu. He quietly left as he dared not say more.

Everyone in the crowd focused their attention on the incident and many started whispering about it. Xu Baocai was also flabbergasted and he quickly took out a notebook to record the new rule. Naruto took a peek at the notebook and realised that all the thickly dotted words in it were records of every major and minor news in the sect. Naruto had some admiration for Xu Baocai when he saw how serious he was about it.

At this moment, Zhao Yiduo stood up and walked toward the arch. There was a loud echo and six notes sounded out. Elder Xu widened his eyes and nodded his head slightly. Zhao Yiduo cupped his hands together to bid Elder Xu farewell and left the arch.

Chen Zi'ang eyes brightly shone; he had always been on bad terms with Zhao Yiduo. At this instance, he scoffed and took big strides towards arch. After a rumble, six notes were heard as well.

Chen Zi'ang gave a 'tit for tat' look at Zhao Yiduo and went to sit crosslegged beside the pill furnace.

One after another, people in the crowd turned green with envy after learning that Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo had both attained mastery over the sixth volume of herbs. At the same time, Du Lingfei's eyes lit up and walked towards the arch. After another rumble, echoes of six notes were heard as well. Onlookers in the crowd got even more envious.

"The trio of Chen Zi'ang, Zhao Yiduo and Du Lingfei from the Outer Sect are outstanding talents of our generation. Not only have they fully mastered the fifth volume of herbs and plants, they have also fully grasped the first volume of spirit beasts mastery. For this promotional examination, there is almost a seventy to eighty percent chance for them to become a Medicine Apprentices."

"In the past, for participants who had appeared on the sixth stone stele for spirit beasts, so long as they did not perform too poorly in the medicine refinement, they would most likely succeed in their promotion."

While the crowd was discussing, Uzumaki Xiaochu clenched his teeth as he chose to ignore the bunch of Kurenai admirers. Right before he made his way toward the arch, suddenly, a silhouette appeared in the distance. Within a blink of an eye, it reached the public arena. The silhouette was that of a young lad who had very messy hair, but his eyes were bright and lively.

"I, Han Jianye, have kept myself in seclusion for seven years and I have finally acomplished mastery over herbs and plants. Now that I have come out of seclusion, not only do I intend to be promoted to a medicine apprentice, I intend to be the first medicine apprentice in this examination!" he said proudly. In a flash, he abruptly rushed straight toward the arch.

Elder Xu did not take notice of him and kept his eyes closed as usual, however, one by one, the people in the surrounding were astonished when they heard Han Jianye's name.

"Who is Han Jianye? I have never heard of his name."

"Based on his age, he should be an outer sect disciple from seven to eight years ago… his wish to become the first medicine apprentice is too difficult to achieve."

When the crowd was still restless, Han Jianye walked towards the arch. He had a proud expression and was full of confidence as he stepped into the arch. At the instance he stepped into the arch, there was a sudden rumble and another set of notes echoed.

One, two…, five, six, seven… Before the crowd could even react, an eighth note echoed from the pill furnace.

Elder Xu's eyes opened in a flash. When he looked at the young lad, he showed a smile, and in his eyes, there was a look of praise directed at Han Jianye.

"Fifth volume of herbs and plants, third volume of spirit beasts. Not bad!"

Han Jianye was elated. He cupped his fist to bid farewell to Elder Xu and turned his body to take a glance at Du Lingfei and the others. He was full of himself, and after flourishing his sleeves, he chose to seat crosslegged beside the most central pill furnace.

At this moment, one after another, everyone in the crowd inhaled deeply and exclaimed in surprise.

"Only when a person has fully mastered herbs and plants and has attained mastery of the third volume of spirit beasts will eight notes sound out!"

"Now it does not seem as impossible as when Han Jianye said he wanted to be the first medicine apprentice in this examination!"

Naruto felt indifferent from what he saw, but he found it strange when he saw how surprised the crowd was.

"Isn't it just the third volume of spirit beasts, why are these people making such a big fuss out of it?" Naruto, being shocked, asked Xu Baocai. He recalled there were thousands of people that had attained mastery of the third volume of spirit beast stone steles, and even if it was the number ten stone steles, there were already hundreds of people that have surpassed it.

Xu Baocai rolled his eyes, deep down in his heart, he despised Uzumaki

Naruto but dared not to reveal it to him in person. Xu Baocai coughed dryly and began talking.

"Senior Uzumaki , you don't understand. It is difficult to attain mastery of the fifth volume of herbs and plants and to achieve the same for spirit beasts is even more difficult. If one achieved the sixth volume, people would be envious of that achievement; to have reached the eighth volume will naturally lead to people being surprised and awed. Do you think everyone is as exceptionally talented as Kurenai and that Little Turtle? Let's not even talk about them; out of the thousands of disciples in Scented Cloud Mountain, there are less than fifty who have attained mastery of the fifth volume herbs and spirit beasts!"

"Of the fifty, all of them are dragons among men. If you take a look at those stone steles in the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, even though there are many names on it, in reality, in that thousand-year-old name list, there are quite a few names of cultivators that are already Inner Sect disciples. What is left on the steles is the rank they attained during their youth!"

"In addition, for this kind of promotional examination, it only requires a person to produce the fifth note, but there is someone that joined the examination only after he was able to produce the eighth note. It is evident that he wants to be the number one medicine apprentice and earn five thousand contribution points." Xu Baocai finished his sentence with a scornful tone that was belittling Naruto. However, Naruto was not concerned about it at all, instead, he looked elated at Xu Baocai and asked.

"Just now you mentioned that Kurenai and the Little Turtle are exceptional talents. Are they really that formidable?"

"Of course, especially the Little Turtle who really surprised people. He is the first in a thousand years to be ranked first on all ten stone steles. Senior Uzumaki , please allow me to advise you to not bite off more than what you can chew." Deep inside his heart, Xu Baocai despised Naruto even more. Right after Xu Baocai finished speaking, Naruto laughed. The more he looked at Xu Baocai, the more he felt that this Xu Baocai looked even more pleasing to the eyes. He patted Xu Baocai's shoulders and walked away.

Xu Baocai stared blankly at Naruto as he saw him walk towards the arch. He was only slightly flabbergasted because he recalled that Naruto was a reputable figure in herbs and plants, and after defeating Du Lingfei, joining this promotional examination was reasonable.

A brief moment later, both of Xu Baocai's eyes widened when he saw a brilliant ray of light, followed by thunderous sounds that reverberated throughout the surroundings when Naruto entered the arch with big strides

One, two, three… six, seven, and eight!

The surroundings fell completely silent but the thunderous sound did not stop as it continued to sound the ninth note until… the tenth note!

Boom!

At the second the tenth note was heard, Elder Xu's eyes suddenly opened widely, revealing an unprecedented look; he locked his eyes onto Naruto. Even Elder Xu himself was astonished by Naruto's talent.

Out of thousands of disciples on the Scented Cloud Mountain, there were not many that had attained fifth volume in both herbs and plants mastery and spirit beast mastery, and those disciples had joined the promotional examination long ago. For someone to have the patience to join the examination only after attaining mastery of the tenth volume of herbs and plants as well as spirit beasts, Elder Xu had not seen anyone do it before, not until today.

Even Kurenai joined the promotional examination when she reached the ninth stone stele.

Du Lingfei widened her eyes and stared blankly at Naruto. She knew that Naruto's mastery in herbs and plants was better than hers, but she had never imagined Naruto's skills to be so superior to hers, to the point where he had complete mastery of herbs and plants and spirit beast to everyone's shock.

There was a buzz in her head and she fell into a daze as images of the past floated in her mind. She recalled the time when she had a minor competition against Naruto, she willingly suggested to compete in herbs and plants. Naruto was prudent and asked of Du Lingfei's ranking with an apprehensive look on his face. When he agreed to the competition, he had an anxious look on his face.

" UZUMAKI , XIAO, CHUN!" Du Lingfei furiously clenched her teeth. At this moment, she finally understood that during that time, Naruto was probably laughing at her from the bottom of his heart.

Both Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo also took a deep breath, and when they turned their gaze toward Naruto, they were stunned and stood there, expressionless.

As for Han Jianye who had went into seclusion for years, his body trembled and he menacingly glared at Naruto. There was a huge buzz in his mind and he already classified Naruto as the biggest enemy in his lifetime.

"The importance of this medicine apprentice promotional examination lies in medicine refinement. Even though Naruto is strong, I don't believe he can compete with me in medicine refinement! I have been in seclusion for seven years just to be the number one in this examination!"

Meanwhile, the observing outer sect disciples inhaled deeply. The cries of surprise and even alarm from the crowd were even louder than before, to the point where some even lost their voice.

"It's actually… ten notes. Doesn't that mean that he has already attained mastery of the fifth volume of spirit beasts in the Ten Thousand

Medicine Pavilion? Among all the outer sect disciples in Scented Cloud

Mountain, there are less than fifty that can achieve that!"

"This guy is too good at restraining himself. He actually joined the promotional examination only after he passed the tenth stone steles in the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion!"

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Chapter 43 - Very Slow… Very Slow...

"It cannot be… He is the Little Turtle!" Everyone was in an uproar.

Compared to everyone else, the person who was shocked the most was Xu Baocai. He looked dumbstruck at Naruto. His eyeballs felt as if they were going to pop out of their sockets. He had just scorned Naruto in his heart for not taking the third volume of the spirit beasts seriously, but looking back, Naruto didn't really need to take it seriously…

"Mastery of herbs, mastery of spirit beasts… By being here, Naruto is clearly ridiculing me now! However, this is too unbelievable, he has only been in the sect for a few years… He couldn't possibly be the Little Turtle?" Xu Baocai took a deep breath. He quickly retrieved the small notebook and recorded everything. Deep down in his heart, he was thankful that his resentment towards the other party had already dissipated, and that the scorn in his voice wasn't too obvious.

While everyone was still shocked, Naruto stepped away from the arch with a sigh. In reality, if there was no need to reveal his attainments in the ten herb and spirit beast steles, he wouldn't have exposed them either. After all, among Kurenai's admirers, there are inner sect disciples as well.

But he didn't have a choice today. He couldn't let such reasons stop him from being promoted. Although he was annoyed, seeing everyone's expressions and hearing their voices, Naruto couldn't help but feel touched.

"They really are a good bunch of fellow sect disciples. If everyone was like this, how nice would that be!" That was how Naruto felt as he walked away from the arch. Under everyone's gaze, he chose a pill furnace and sat down.

Elder Xu glanced thoughtfully at Naruto, the corner of his lips giving away a hint of a smile which quickly disappeared. Calming down once again, he lightly spoke.

"There are ten herbs in the bags in front of you. The Grade One medicine which is to be refined ten times is the Black Incense!"

"Using the success rate as the basis for the assessment, two successes and you qualify. To the candidate who refines the most… The reward is five thousand contribution points. Begin."

As soon as Elder Xu's words reached them, the outer sect disciples observing the assessment were shocked.

"The assessment this time is actually Black Incense!"

"Even though this Black Incense is not the most difficult herb to refine amongst those in the first grade, the level of difficulty is not to be underestimated….. It is not like the Dried Incense that a lot of Spirit Children have practiced beforehand."

"Humph, even a better way to test a person's herb refining abilities. Have all of you failed to notice that the previously required fourth volume of herbs has already turned into the fifth volume? And now the increase in the level of difficulty for the medicine shows the examination's difficulty will only increase more in the future."

While everyone was whispering among themselves, the participants, who were sitting in front of their pill furnaces, were awaiting their assessment with composed expressions. Although many felt like crying in their hearts when they heard 'Black Incense', they did not have the luxury to be distracted. All of them quickly opened the bags and inspected the herbs.

Despite having heard of the five thousand contribution points reward from Xu Baocai, after hearing Elder Xu's words, Naruto felt his heart racing. He did not have many contribution points left and regardless of whether it was

to purchase medicine recipes or to purchase herbs itself, it all required contribution points.

"If I can obtain the five thousand contribution points, it will save me a lot of work. I won't need to think of ways to earn more for a while." As Naruto's thoughts reached this point, he opened the bag in front of him. Besides the ten sets of herbs inside, there was also a jade piece. Pinching it in his hands, it turned out to be the medicine recipe for the Black Incense.

Naruto did not immediately start refining the herbs. He concentrated, attentively examining the medicine recipe.

He inspected it very slowly. This was related to his habit of refining herbs. Even if it was just a minuscule problem, he felt the need to overcome it first in order to feel prepared.

This inspection took him an hour.

In this hour, Du Lingfei and the others had already completed their inspections of the herbs and had started refining them. In fact, they acted so fast that the first half of the sets had already been refined.

Looking at the whole arena, with the exception of Naruto, the rest were all already refining their herbs. It was only Naruto who was still inspecting the jade piece in his hands. This strange scene surprised the observing outer sect disciples, including Xu Baocai.

It was at this time that bursts of muffled rumbles rang out, showing the results of the first batches of medicine. Besides Naruto, the eighteen other participants also fell silent. Black smoke emerged from within their pill furnaces. Their first batch had failed.

Only Han Jianye threw his head back and laughed. When his pill furnace rumbled, rich medicinal aroma wafted in the air and at the bottom of the pill furnace, a piece of Black Incense the size of three cun appeared.

(ED note: one cun is aproximately equal to 3.5cm)

The observing outer sect disciples immediately looked in his direction.

"The very first batch is successful!"

"This Han Jianye is adept in refining herbs!"

Han Jianye's face showed his delight as his proud gaze swept the other candidates, especially Naruto. Realising that Naruto was actually still examining the medicine recipes, his eyes revealed disdain. Lowering his gaze, he took out the second set of herbs and started refining once again.

Du Lingfei and the others had disgruntled expressions on their faces.

They all gritted their teeth and began refining once again as well.

Time passed and when the second hour ended, everyone's second batch of medicine was completed one after the other. Dull rumbling sounds rang out once again. This time… not a single person had succeeded. Everyone failed.

It was at this point that Naruto finally put down the jade piece. He had completely memorised the medicine recipe of this Black Incense. But just when everyone thought that he was going to start refining the herbs, they looked at Naruto with shock when he took out one of the herbs and began scrutinizing again. He had a serious expression as he focused intensely.

"What is this Naruto doing? He examined the medicine recipe for two hours. What more can he learn from this herb?"

"Even if it is an inspection, surely it shouldn't be this slow…"

Xu Baocai's eyes widened. He too felt incredulous seeing that the others were already on their third batch.

While everyone was wondering about that, the third hour arrived. This time, all of the eighteen participants failed once again. This followed in the fourth hour before finally in the fifth hour, there were four people that successfully refined the Black Incense. Du Lingfei, Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo were among those successful in refining their first piece of Black Incense.

Followed by a drifting aroma, Han Jianye's proud smile appeared. He was the first to refine a second Black Incense stick. Looking at his surroundings, his expression became increasingly prideful while his contempt for Naruto similarly intensified.

Meanwhile, Naruto was currently studying the fourth type of herb.

He even cut one open to inspect it. Not only were the observers finding

it increasingly surprising, even Elder Xu couldn't help but throw a couple more glances in his direction.

Time flew by and soon the sixth hour arrived. Everyone failed their sixth batch of medicine, except for Han Jianye's sole success.

At this moment, an uproar rose among the observing crowd. Even Elder Xu slightly nodded.

"This Han Jianye has already refined three batches while the others have only done one!"

"In previous assessments, two successful refinements were enough to qualify, four successful refinements would mean he's a genius. Han Jianye has a couple more attempts, if he succeeds in refining another stick, he would be crowned as a genius."

While everyone was busy discussing, Han Jianye's eyes revealed a surging confidence as he mumbled softly to himself.

"I will definitely be able to refine the fourth piece of Black Incense and be known as a genius, obtaining first place in the process!" He flourished his long sleeve in high spirits, beginning the seventh batch.

Du Lingfei had an ashen look on her face, viciously clenching her teeth. Following Han Jianye, she and the others began their seventh batches as well.

When the seventh hour ended, happiness was revealed in Du Lingfei's eyes. Inside the pill furnace in front of her, a medicinal aroma flowed. It was mixed with the black fog formed by the surrounding participants' residue. She was actually the only one who had succeeded with this seventh batch.

"I passed, I can now be promoted, but just passing is not enough!" Du Lingfei controlled her excitement by taking a deep breath, then she started the refining process once again under Han Jianye's cold expression.

The eighth hour passed swiftly and this time, a thunderous rumble sounded out, once again … everyone had failed.

At this point, among the nineteen candidates participating in the promotional examination, Han Jianye had succeeded thrice, Du Lingfei had succeeded twice and both Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo had succeeded once. As for the others… they had not succeeded even once.

On Naruto's end, he was now starting to examine the last type of herb.

"The assessment this time is just too difficult…"

The observing outer sect disciples could also feel the tension in the air. There were enough materials for only two more sets in front of most of the candidates. Other than Du Lingfei and Han Jianye that were sure to pass, if Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo succeed in none of the two remaining attempts, then they would fail the assessment today.

Compared to the four of them, the other ten or so candidates were even more bitter and distressed. This was because they only had one chance left. If they failed a ninth time, there was no need to go through the tenth try. Elder Xu would also prevent them from wasting the herbs in such a manner.

If they failed their ninth batch, their assessment too would have… failed!

Amids everyone's nervousness and uncertainty, all of them focused their full attention and began the ninth batch… Regardless of who it was, everyone was extremely focused. Those who had qualified hoped to obtain a better result, those who did not qualify were giving their last push.

Only Naruto… sat there holding his last type of herb, as if he had come across a difficult problem, furrowing his brows while deep in thought. His presence… had already been completely forgotten by the others.

This ninth hour seemed to pass very slowly. While everyone was waiting, a rumble echoed out as soon as the the ninth hour ended. It came from a disciple that had failed to succeed from start till end. His expression turned ashen in an instant. Laughing miserably, he stood up, paid his respects to Elder Xu and left dispiritedly.

Everyone turned silent. Slowly, continuous rumbles echoed, and one by one, disciples silently got up and left the arena. In the end, the ones left in the arena were only the six people who were still refining at their pill furnaces.

Not long after, another thunderous rumble rang from the pill furnace of those six. Only one pill furnace had the medicinal aroma and it belonged to Zhao Yiduo.

Zhao Yiduo firmly clenched his fist while breathing unevenly. Both his eyes were red as his heart was filled with excitement. He had finally completed the requirement of the assessment. He had succeeded twice and qualified!

Some participants were joyous and some were in despair. Among the five that failed, two disciples that hadn't succeeded yet laughed miserably. Sighing softly, they also stood up and left the arena.

Chen Zi'ang felt as if his whole being was on fire. He stared squarely at Zhao Yiduo, breathing rapidly with a feeling of bitterness in his heart. Retrieving his gaze, his eyes already red when he looked at the last set of herbs in front of him.

Du Lingfei furrowed her brow, closing her eyes to think. The pressure on Han Jianye was the least, however, he was not content to succeed in refining the medicine only three times. He wanted to break into the realm of geniuses.

"The last batch!" Everyone sucked in their breath, looking at the scene in the arena. Only five people were able to remain in the arena. Han Jianye, Du Lingfei, Zhao Yiduo, Chen Zi'ang and… Naruto.

The former three had already qualified. Chen Zi'ang had only one chance left. As for Naruto… Everyone glanced at him once and forgot about him once again. They even started to suspect Naruto's appearance here. He had used nine hours to examine the medicinal recipe and herbs themselves, even though the end result was yet to be seen. Could it be possible that he came just to see what the fuss was all about?

With unprecedented seriousness, Du Lingfei and her company of three started refining their tenth batch of medicine. Under everyone's attention, the tenth hour slowly passed.

"Hong!" Black smoke rose from the pill furnace in front of Zhao Yiduo. He sighed. Even though he failed, it did not matter as he had already passed.

In the instant that Zhao Yiduo failed, a medicinal aroma rose from the pill furnace in front of Chen Zi'ang. But it was not only from his direction. The medicinal aroma also drifted from Du Lingfei's pill furnace and even Han Jianye's pill furnace!

The medicinal aroma quickly spread around. The expressions of those three revealed immense joy. All of them had succeeded!

"I succeeded! The fourth piece of Black Incense! I am first!" Han Jianye stood up abruptly. His laughter contained his excitement which echoed in the surroundings. Du Lingfei also sighed. Although she did not achieve the status of a genius, succeeding three times was already impressive.

Chen Zi'ang felt as he had come to life, laughing heartily.

At this moment, after suppressing themselves for an hour, everyone broke out with cheers.

"The assessment this time was too difficult. With this level of difficulty, that Han Jianye still succeeded four times. He is indeed worthy of being titled a genius!"

"Du Lingfei thrice, Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo both twice… They both fulfilled the conditions for the promotion. If not for the increase in the level of difficulty this time, I reckon that these three would have also achieved four successful refinements."

Some people were talking to each other, while those who called themselves friends of Du Lingfei and company cheered for them from the sidelines. Elder Xu nodded, especially when he looked towards Han Jianye, his eyes shone with approval. But just when he was about to announce the results, suddenly, Naruto moved.

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Chapter 44 - It's Dawn Already

Naruto had finally finished inspecting the last type of herb and had solved the final and hardest question, paying no heed to the cheers around him. He was utterly immersed, having lost himself in inspecting the medicinal recipe and the herbs from the very moment he picked up the jade piece.

Other than the thunderous rumbles, none of the surrounding disruptions had managed to break his concentration. He paid no attention to those who finished their refinement either, ignoring everyone around him.

His focus had attracted the attention of the surrounding people, Xu Baocai included. All of them looked at him oddly, sensing a different air about him, as if his perception of time was different compared to everyone else.

"This Naruto is way too slow. He has just been staring while the others have already finished - I think that concludes the test?"

"Hmm? I don't recall hearing there's a time limit for the exam takers…" Everyone blinked, searching for the one who had spoken that last sentence amidst the crowd's discussions. It was Elder Xu.

And he was right. The promotional examinations did not have a time limit. And so, he stood there, observing Naruto.

Han Jianye felt no pressure as he smiled coldly, his eyes darting from one test taker to the next. He had seen Naruto as a strong opponent, but currently, he found it difficult to think that Naruto could surpass him.

Du Lingfei frowned, she found Naruto extremely irritating no matter how she looked at him.

Naruto worked fast, his eyes shining, leaving the whole world in the background, the only thing left was him and the furnace in front of him. The shifting stalks of herbs in his hands turned into either liquid or powder, all of them falling into the furnace. He pointed at the furnace with a finger from his right hand, and it lit up.

An hour passed by and a thick aroma of medicinal fragrance spread from the furnace. Naruto grabbed with his right hand as a four inch Black Incense stick appeared. Naruto frowned as he stared at the incense stick in his hand.

At this moment, the surrounding people focused their attention on him, Elder Xu included, his eyes with a hint of anticipation. But just when everyone was expecting him to start the second batch, they realized that the incense stick in his hand was under Naruto's inspection.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"Why would he continue to inspect a successful incense stick? He should be on the second batch after that!" everyone was shocked.

Naruto, at this moment, stared at the incense stick in his hand with great dissatisfaction. It was successful, yes, but in his estimation, it should have been seven inches.

"What went wrong?" Naruto mumbled as he tried to figure it out. Three hours passed.

Just when everyone had just about enough, Naruto's eyes brightened. He took out the herbs and started refining again, attracting the attention of the crowd once more.

An hour later, an even stronger fragrance spread from the furnace as a five inch Black Incense stick came out.

Du Lingfei, Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo were surprised. Han Jianye's eyes flashed, but kept his appearance calm as he panicked inside.

They weren't surprised because Naruto succeeded twice - they were surprised because it was two successful refinements in a row!

Suddenly, the third batch shook as an even thicker fragrance spread out. In the furnace, a six inch incense stick appeared.

"Three in a row, how is this… How is this possible?"

"How i

s he doing it... this Naruto? Was it possible that he has refined the Black Incense stick before?" The crowd was shocked - it was just unbelievable.

Du Lingfei was breathing hard, staring at Naruto with a death glare, waves of rage churning inside her. The others simply stood there, stunned.

"Three in a row… He must be very familiar with the Black Incense sticks and lucky as well… There is no doubt, the next one will not succeed." Han Jianye clenched his fist tightly, his eyes bloodshot.

Just as everyone was waiting for Naruto to get on with the fourth batch, he started staring at the six inch incense stick in his hand, his brows furrowed. He placed his hand under his chin and started thinking.

And five more hours passed.

If he had taken five hours to think at the first attempt, no one would have stayed to wait for him. But Naruto was now a man who had three successful attempts in a row. If the fourth one were to succeed as well, he'd be a man surpassing the others, one at the same level as Han Jianye. The curiosity burning within the crowd made them stay.

"Naruto is way too slow. It's just Grade One medicine, does he really need to think that long?!"

Du Lingfei and Han Jianye in particular stared at Naruto with more alertness than the others, and were very reluctant to leave.

Naruto's eyes suddenly lit up once more, beginning the fourth batch under everyone's stares.

An hour later, the resounding roar from the furnace was not one of failure, but one caused by the billowing aroma. In the blink of an eye, a fragrance even thicker and stronger than the preceding ones spread around the arena as a seven-inch-long Black Incense stick appeared.

The fourth batch was yet another success.

The crowd burst into an uproar.

"Four in a row!"

"Such an event… How could it be? How many times can Naruto succeed in a row?!"

"Twice is a passing grade, but four times… I remember Kurenai at the promotional exam last time, her record was seven!"

Du Lingfei was displeased. She knew that Naruto was better than her, but to see such a great difference exhibited right in front of her… She did not like it.

As for Han Jianye, he was already gnashing his teeth and clenching his fist even more, his entire body trembling. He could barely believe the scene right in front of him.

"Four times, that has to be the limit. No way can he keep that up!"

As the anticipation and excitement was at its peak, the crowd soon realized that Naruto was staring at the incense stick and thinking again.

"This fellow, he's inspecting it again!" The crowd could only feel helpless as they continued to watch Naruto. There was no way they'd leave now. They could only wish that Naruto would stop scrutinising for so long.

Time flew by and eight more hours had passed. Naruto took a deep breath, his eyes showed exhaustion. The spectators were unaware, but he knew perfectly well that he had almost failed the fourth refinement.

As for the discussions the people were having around him, he chose to continue ignoring them. When it came to refining, his determination was inconceivable. Regardless of what people said about him, he couldn't have easily succeeded without a firm view of his success.

After a while, he finally began the fifth batch, to the relief of the spectators straining their eyes to observe him.

Soon after, an explosion echoed out as a thick aroma billowed out, waking the crowd up.

It was a success once again.

Han Jianye just stood there, speechless. He felt deep bitterness, but no words could come out from his mouth.

Without having everyone wait this time, Naruto flourished his sleeve and proceeded to refine the sixth batch.

Not long after, another explosion echoed out and an even denser aroma wafted out, signaling that the sixth batch was a success.

His eyes shining, his hands continuously in motion, Naruto picked up another set of herbs and started refining the seventh batch. An unusual burnt smell was released, shocking Naruto. It was subtle, and only he was able to smell it.

He pinched with his right hand's fingers, lowering the temperature to correct it. The seventh batch - success!

The incense stick that was produced, however, was only three inches long, and was full of impurities, almost falling into the low quality category. Even so, it was still a success!

At this moment, everyone was wide awake and breathing heavily. Xu Baocai, especially, was even more shocked, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Seven in a row! Heavens… This Naruto... he succeeded seven times in a row!"

"The same as Kurenai! According to a legend, one guy from the Jade King Mountain succeeded eight times in a row, but he was already the best of the best, the absolute top of his generation!"

"As for nine times… Is that even possible? None have managed!"

The crowd was in an uproar. Naruto, on the other hand, thought silently, his eyes fixed on the furnace. He had already forgotten about the examination, all that was in his mind was the batch in front of him. He had almost failed, and after careful and lengthy thinking, he took out the herbs and inspected them once again, finally locating the reason.

"It's these spirit roots, this Black Spirit Fruit… All the basic black components have a slight difference in the roots." Naruto stared at the Black Spirit Fruit in his hand, thoroughly analyzing the fruit as he tried to create possible solutions.

Time passed by bit by bit, the people around him were fascinated with his absorbed thought and research, while smiling bitterly. They were excited, but Naruto's thought process were too long for them.

Unwilling to just leave after all that, the disciples crossed their legs and sat down, waiting for Naruto. Some, who were at their limits, even took a nap on some nearby boulders.

Elder Xu had an odd expression on his face. He coughed dryly and took a seat on the ground as well, his legs crossed.

Du Lingfei and Han Jianye refused to leave as well. Naturally, they were also tired, but they were forced to sit along with the others.

It was quiet. Some snores could be heard coming from the surrounding spectators. As for those who weren't snoring, they were still staring at Naruto. Xu Baocai was one of them.

Several hours later, some of the nappers woke up to see Naruto still thinking.

"He's still inspecting it?"

"It's dawn already…"

At long last, ten hours later, Naruto's bloodshot eyes opened as he lifted his head.

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Chapter 45 - Ain't That Hard To F*ck You Up

With his eyes bloodshot, only refinement existed in Naruto's mind. He paid no heed neither to the promotional examination's results, nor to how many times he had succeeded. At that moment, the only thing that mattered to him was how to ensure success for the next batch.

Unless he was absolutely certain, the furnace would never start.

After all, he had that meticulous personality, and its extremity was reflected in his refinements.

But at this moment, he felt that it was to no avail. Unless he condensed the black components from the Black Spirit Fruit, the problem wouldn't be resolved. If he did that, it would be a small adjustment, and it wouldn't be considered as changing the recipe. Having considered it for a moment, he settled on it.

"Looks like those small adjustments are the only way to go. I can't follow the recipe completely." said Naruto as he squeezed the fruit in his hand.

Under the pressure, the fruit was crushed as many droplets of its juice dropped down. They didn't land in the furnace, but remained suspended in mid-air. Naruto was controlling the concentration of the liquid, condensing the droplets together.

This did not impress the audience, nor did it impress Naruto. He used this method because of a personal preference for the stability it provided, that was all.

Elder Xu, however, did not view it the same way, in fact, his eyes were burning with shock. Compared to the seven successes in a row which had managed to only surprise the elder, this shock was much stronger.

"This kid, he's trying to adjust the recipe! It's no wonder I was asked to keep an eye on him!" Elder Xu thought.

A moment after, Naruto swung his fist hard, removing the excess black components, leaving only a small amount which was the size of a fingernail. Only after he threw it in the furnace did he finally take out the rest of the herb set. The eighth batch was then in progress.

The furnace was turning visibly red, and before an hour had passed, the furnace once again shook from the medicinal aroma exploding out. It was, once again, a success.

Elder Xu immediately focused his attention on the furnace. In the furnace, an incense stick ten inches long lay, it had a faint purple hue that could easily be distinguished from its black colour!

"It has almost reached the medium quality!" Elder Xu was astonished.

Naruto's eyes shone, he finally understood why the medicine he had refined before were all low quality.

"Recipes aren't set in stone… they have to be adjusted according to the person making the refinements, that's how you reach above medium quality!" Naruto felt enlightened, his body filling up with excitement. He then began the ninth batch before the crowd even had time to burst into an uproar.

No one spoke; they were all in shock. Naruto had succeeded eight times in a row, it was too much to take in.

Not only had Naruto surpassed Kurenai, he had reached the level of the legendary disciple from the Jade King Mountain!

Naruto's speed had increased. This time, it only took half an hour; this refinement only consumed the time it took for an incense stick to burn. Rumbles followed, and the ninth batch… was successful as well!

"Never before-!"

"Never before has anyone done that! And the fact that these are Black Incense sticks… Naruto did use an incredible amount of time for scrutiny and thinking, but his success rate broke all records!" Xu Baocai could only blink as he stared at Naruto. As

for Du Lingfei, she was suffering a headache.

Han Jianye, on the other hand, was actually relieved. He was bitter about the whole thing, but Naruto was simply on a another level. There was no point for him to compete with him. It was his loss.

"The last one… Will Senior Brother Uzumaki create history? Will he create a… miracle?"

"It's worth it! It doesn't matter how many days we wait for him! It's all worth it now!"

They were all on Naruto's side now, excitement filling them as they waited for Naruto to create history. Even Elder Xu stared at Naruto, not daring to turn away, the shock he felt was far stronger than the rest of the audience.

Soon after, Naruto started working again, his face filled with seriousness. He sorted out the components and ingredients, placing them into the furnace accordingly.

Time flowed by, the spectators were so silent that their heartbeats could be heard. One incense stick burned up, half an hour had passed.

As an explosion resounded, the furnace shook. No smoke of failure spread out, nor was an aroma exuded. At this moment, the tension was high.

"Did he fail?" Xu Baocai asked hoarsely.

Staring at the furnace, Naruto's eyes brightened up. He had some idea what would happen next.

Light shone from the furnace, gradually seeping through the cracks. Elder Xu walked toward the furnace where the audience had their eyes fixated. Within the furnace, there was an incense stick that was completely purple and one inch long. The elder's lips widened as he smiled.

"Medium quality!"

Elder Xu laughed, and flung his sleeve to the side.

"This examination has concluded! Naruto, Han Jianye, Du Lingfei, Chen Zi'ang, and Zhao Yiduo, you five have passed the promotional exam. Naruto… first place... and five thousand contribution points!"

The crowd roared, their cheers shook the ground.

"Ten in a row! Ten in a row!"

"That last refinement actually produced medium quality… Medium quality! And he's just a Medicine Apprentice! Unbelievable!"

Everyone still found it hard to believe and all of them were still in shock.

Naruto felt helpless. He didn't have the chance to look at his medium quality work before Elder Xu took it away. He wanted it for himself, but it didn't seem likely that something like that would happen.

Taking in a deep breath, he walked out of the plaza, exhausted. The people looked at him with respect and admiration. They knew that ten in a row would never be a coincidence, and it wasn't something an ordinary person could achieve.

"Congratulations to Senior Brother Uzumaki for making history!"

"Senior Brother Uzumaki , you have my admiration!"

"Senior Brother Uzumaki , there's something I want to learn about herbs, can you help a lady out…"

Naruto blinked. He was so focused on his refinement that he hadn't noticed what happened around him. It took him a moment to realise that he did something phenomenal, and the excitement and passion of the crowd touched him. He turned to the crowd and raised his fists.

He felt warm and happy. He never got to do anything big in front of ten thousand people like he wanted when revealing himself as the Little Turtle, but it had finally happened; it had now finally happened.

As for the Junior Sisters who requested help with their studies, he nodded without hesitation. He did not forget to remind the other Senior Brothers that his name was Naruto, worried that they might forget who he was.

Just as he was enjoying himself, he noticed a youth staring at him with a death glare. With a glance, he knew that it was one of Kurenai's admirers, so he hurriedly left because of the killing intent that youth displayed.

Naruto's head was spinning when he reached his wooden house. The days he spent on refining medicine took a great toll on his body, and he fell asleep right after collapsing on his bed.

His slumber lasted two whole days.

On the third afternoon, Naruto opened his eyes, the exhaustion and throbbing in his head swept away. He recalled his medium quality work and sighed. Elder Xu had taken it away. However, he still felt better when he checked the five thousand contribution points in his pocket.

With these contribution points, Naruto readied himself to continue his cultivation and refinements. He went to the sect and exchanged the points for eight recipes. Choosing one that replenished Qi, he also brought home a great amount of herbs.

The trip was fast, but it was unpleasant. He felt changing expressions as people looked at him, one of them being an admirer of Kurenai, who smiled icily, taking out a jade piece as if to inform other admirers.

Panicked, Naruto had went straight to the Refinement Pavilion instead of the courtyard after obtaining the herbs. With his remaining contribution points, he rented a room for a year's worth of time and rushed in.

"I was too careless this time… Just you wait, when I return my impenetrable skin will be way stronger. Any of you who dare to challenge me will get beaten to a pulp, and if you bring ten, well, I… I'll go to an elder for help!" Naruto ranted, and began refining, without leaving the room.

He knew perfectly well that during the two days he had spent asleep, the news about his success would spread to all corners of the Scented Cloud Mountain.

Actually, people inside the sect had already started suspecting him of being the Little Turtle!

It would be way too coincidental otherwise - the herbs used were all the culmination of what was available to them. Not to mention Naruto's final medium quality product and that he had even succeeded ten times in a row during the examination.

Kurenai's admirers became even more active, even Du Lingfei's admirers joined in. They, however, did not expect Naruto to be so cautious that he went to the pavilion instead of returning to his cabin. They were unhappy when they learned that Naruto had the room rented for an entire year.

They couldn't just charge in the Refinement Pavilion, after all. Naruto was also a disciple, they couldn't really do anything to him either. If they did beat him up, however, the sect wouldn't make a fuss should that happen, it would just mean that Naruto was weaker than them.

With no other methods available, they could only go home grudgingly. The only one left was a freckled youth who stared at the pavilion with a cold glare.

"Don't think I can't do anything to you just because you're hiding in the pavilion. You beat up my cousin Chen Fei, you bullied my dear Junior Sister Zhou… Even Junior Sister Hou, you took the girl I was interested in away from me! You have some talent, Naruto, but it ain't that hard for me to f*ck you up!" The youth laughed coldly. He was the inner sect disciple, Qian Dajin!

Naruto was without a worry in his room, refining medicine every day. Sometimes he'd cultivate. He improved as the days passed.

His skin grew harder, and his speed increased.

"Two more days and my impenetrable iron skin will be utterly complete!" Naruto took a deep breath, feeling pleased.

But on dusk that day, a ray of light shone from the Mission Exchange Pavilion, aimed straight at the pavilion, bypassing the security measures. It appeared in Naruto's room.

After a closer look, Naruto was stunned. It was a golden token.

Here's a bonus chapter for our dear readers. Enjoy!

Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Chapter 46 - The Law Enforcement Agency's Mission!

(ED note: from this point onwards, "identity plate" will be replaced by "identity token")

The token of authority was painted pitch black, except for the word 'LAW' in the center which was exuding a faint chill.

While Naruto was frozen in shock, a cold voice suddenly sounded from within the token, echoing throughout the room.

"Outer sect disciple Naruto, according to the investigations of the Law Enforcement Agency, you have entered the sect years ago, but have only managed to complete a single Spirit Plant cultivation mission. You have breached the Sect rules and as such, you are to be conscripted in the outfield mission three days later, no delays will be entertained!"

The cold voice emitted an icy-cold aura, telling Naruto that if he dared to object, only the merciless punishment of the Law Enforcement Agency would await him!

"Law Enforcement Agency!" Naruto's eyes widened in shock, his heart felt as if it stopped for a moment. The token of authority transformed into a black streak and disappeared without a trace.

Silence fell as Naruto's expression changed. Taking out his own identity token, he realised that a mission he had to complete had appeared against his will.

He had indeed neglected the sect's requirement of completing at least one mission each year, however, no matter how much Naruto thought about it, the sudden appearance of the Law Enforcement Agency's token of authority made him feel that the entire matter was a bit fishy.

(ED note: I'm just as baffled as you are. chapter 16: "Every half a year outer sect disciples were required to complete at least one mission. Naruto would never forget this law." )

Pondering for a moment, Naruto walked out the room, left the

Medicine Refining Pavilion, and headed straight for the mountain peak.

"There's something not right about this matter, and why do I keep feeling a chill on my back…...I have been on this mountain for so many years and I have never been invited to meet the ancestor. This time, I have to find him and ask him clearly about this matter." Along the way, Naruto's heart was heavy with worries. However, after he reached the mountain peak and asked Toruho's assistant, he discovered the Toruho had left months ago and hadn't come back yet.

Naruto could only bitterly lament in his heart. With an uneasy feeling, he turned around and left. Naruto did not immediately go back to the Medicine Refining Pavilion, instead, he went to look for Xu Baocai. After all, the other party was akin to a walking encyclopedia, and Naruto was hoping to dig out some clues from him.

As an outer sect disciple of the Scented Cloud Mountain, Xu Baocai stayed in a courtyard on the other side of the mountain. As the sun was about to set and as the sky gradually darkened, Naruto sprinted towards Xu Baocai's courtyard; barely meeting anybody else on the way, he reached his destination in no time.

Xu Baocai's courtyard was not isolated and quiet like Naruto's, instead, it was squeezed together with seven-eight other courtyards. As night fell, one could see the faint candlelight shining from within these courtyards.

Naruto hung his head low and dashed into the house without knocking on the door. He immediately saw Xu Baocai hunched over, writing something in a notebook.

"Xu Baocai." Naruto said softly. The moment the words left his mouth, Xu Baocai jumped up in shock as he sharply lifted his head up. Only when Xu Baocai saw that it was Naruto did he r

egain his composure.

"Senior brother Uzumaki ." Xu Baocai greeted in surprise as he quickly stood up and invited Naruto into the room.

"Wasn't Senior brother Uzumaki in closed door training in the Medicine

Refining Pavilion, what brings you here?" Xu Baocai curiously asked.

"Xu Baocai, how much do you know about the Law Enforcement Agency?" Naruto immediately asked.

"The Law Enforcement Agency? It is split into the North and the South Department where they have the authority to supervise all outer sect disciples and handymen within their designated area. However, they would usually not show their faces unless someone has committed a grievous crime." Looking at Naruto's gloomy expression, Xu Baocai immediately felt that something was wrong and quickly answered the question.

"But once they appear, with their overwhelming authority, to forcefully make some arrangements is easy, towards those who betrayed the sect, they could even directly kill them. To put it simply, the Law Enforcement Agency is like a knife - a knife that hangs above the heads of the outer sect disciples, making every single one of them fearful of breaking the sect rules."

"And if one commits an offence and is targeted by the Law Enforcement Agency, even if one doesn't die, they would probably still lose a layer of their skin…"

"However, even though the Law Enforcement Agency possesses a considerable amount of authority, they are also bound by numerous restrictions. As long as one does not break any sect rules, then there is no need to pay attention to the Law Enforcement Agency." Xu Baocai explained in detail, giving Naruto every single piece of information he knew about the Law Enforcement Agency.

As he continued explaining further, Xu Baocai even told Naruto about the disciples who were being targeted by the Law Enforcement Agency before and their miserable endings.

"500 years ago, our Spirit River Sect had a defector who betrayed the sect. He was chased by the Law Enforcement Agency for seven days until he was finally killed, his body and soul destroyed!"

"300 years ago, an outer sect disciple committed a serious offence but the Law Enforcement Agency gave him another chance. However, he neither turned over a new leaf nor paid heed to any advice. In the end, the Law Enforcement Agency reported him to the Sect and punished him at the Black Wind Pass. Merciless winds tore through his body from day to night, and till this day. he is still carrying out his punishment."

"100 years ago, Zhou Shandao started a rebellion. The Law Enforcement Agency gave him a warning but he did not listen. They then went into action, killing Zhou Shandao and all the others except for the ordinary civilians, causing shockwaves to be sent throughout the Spirit River Sect."

The more Naruto listened, the uglier his expression became; his heart furiously pounded.

"So what you are saying is, the way the Law Enforcement Agency works is to first give a warning, and if the person does not repent, then a heavier punishment will be carried out?"

"Yup, this is one of the restrictions of the Law Enforcement Agency. Otherwise, wouldn't their authority be limitless." Xu Baocai took a glance at Naruto as he vaguely guessed in his heart that the other party must have been targeted by the Law Enforcement Agency. However, such matters were too sensitive, sharing this information was still acceptable, but to play it safe, Xu Baocai didn't dare to involve himself any further.

Up until the end, when Naruto was about to leave, Xu Baocai was in hesitation. Recalling Naruto's talent in the herbs and plants, he softly spoke to Naruto.

"Senior brother Uzumaki , do you know about the Green Peak Mountain's Inner Sect disciple…...Qian Dajin? He is Chen Fei's elder cousin and is also one of the members of the Law Enforcement Agency."

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Naruto had already left and was on his way back. Looking at the moon shining brightly in the sky, Naruto thought back about Xu Baocai's words. Combing these words and his previous understanding, he came up with a definite conclusion and let out a long sigh.

"In this sect, I have never really offended anyone, if I must pick, only Chen Fei comes to mind, and those Kurenai admirers could be counted as well…...Qian Dajin, Qian Dajin!" Naruto clenched his teeth as he returned to the Medicine Refining Pavilion. Sitting crosslegged in the room and looking at the pill furnace in front of him, his facial muscles twitched for a moment.

"It is more or less clear now; the fact that I did not complete a mission every year is just a red herring. In reality, if no one really investigated, it would not even be such a big matter, after all, it couldn't possibly be that I am the only one who hasn't completed any missions for over a year. As a member of the Law Enforcement Agency, that Qian Dajin is simply using authority to settle his personal grudges!" Naruto pondered in silence with bloodshot eyes.

"If I were to carry out the mission, this person will definitely take action along the way, otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths. Though this might be the case, his plan still has to be carried out secretly, he wouldn't dare to let the sect find out about this. All in all, he is still in a passive position."

"But if I ignore this warning, then I would be truly falling into his trap; he would no longer be passive, but instead, he could take the initiative to punish me under the guise of a Law Enforcement Agency member!"

After thinking about it for a long time, one way held no answer while the other held no promise. Naruto decided to take out his identity token and carefully study the details of the mission. In no time at all, he quickly spotted a familiar name.

"Hou Yunfei?" Naruto was stunned for a moment. He immediately recalled that when he was first promoted to an outer sect disciple, it was Hou Yunfei that introduced him to the sect in details. After looking through the details of the mission, Naruto closed his eyes and fell in deep thought.

The mission was not difficult; Hou Yunfei had accepted a mission and went out to complete it a few years ago. Every month, he would send a report back to the sect without fail. This was a requirement for any disciple that had accepted a long-term mission.

However, two months ago, the sect lost all contact with Hou Yunfei and no longer received any reports.

Hence, this gave birth to the mission this time around - to have three outer sect disciples go out and investigate the matter, there weren't any certain requirements to find all clues either.

This type of missions were common in the sect. Normally, one only had to search a little, investigate a bit, find some clues, report back to the sect and the sect would handle it from there on.

After all, the disappearance of an outer sect disciple was not a matter of great importance for the sect. But a disciple was still a disciple, no matter what. As such, when it comes to missing people, a proper investigation still had to be carried out.

This was gist of the mission.

Naruto weighed the pros and cons as he pondered in silence. A moment later, he clenched his teeth.

"This mission, I'm going!" Naruto breathed raggedly. With his eyes bloodshot, he immediately continued the refinement; he had to advance his mastery of the Impenetrable Iron Skin before leaving for the mission.

Two days later, a cracking sound resounded from within Naruto's body, making each and every inch of skin in his body to tremble. In that instant, the colour of his skin turned pitch black before it quickly recovered back to normal. However, if one were to look closely, one could vaguely see strands of red streaking across the surface of his skin.

"Black for Iron and red for Bronze!"

Naruto pressed on his skin and a metallic sound immediately resounded. Standing up, his figure blurred - his speed had significantly increased too!

To test his strength he leaped into the air; his thumb and his index finger gave a vicious pinch as he executed the Throat Crushing Grasp. Unlike before, it didn't produce a cackling sound anymore, instead, a muffled roar echoed. Though it wasn't loud, Naruto could still feel that the strength of his Throat Crushing Grasp was now more than twice as strong compared to before.

"Impenetrable Iron Skin, advanced mastery!" Naruto exclaimed as he felt more confident with regards to the mission.

"It's a pity that I can only refine Grade One medicine which are only suitable for the fifth level Qi Condensation and below. Even if I use spirit refining, the effects after consumption would still not be very good." Naruto lamented as he stood upright in his room. He could only feel pity since time was running out and he still couldn't refine the Grade Two medicine suitable for the eight level Qi Condensation and below.

Hence, in terms of his cultivation, his progress wasn't huge, and he had only reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Condensation.

"Tomorrow, when dawn breaks, I will have to leave….." Naruto's heart was filled with anxiety. Ever since he had entered the Spirit River Sect, this was truly his first official trip out of the sect and deep inside, he still felt insecure. Thus, he immediately took the shield he had gotten from Chen Fei out of his pocket and used spirit refinement on it three times. Still feeling that it was insufficient, he took the leather armours he wore during the small competition and used spirit refinement on it as well.

After thinking for some time, he spent the night looking for Big Fatso

One and borrowed his Big Black Pot that was rumoured to have an Earth-Fire Array. Even though he still felt anxious, Naruto could no longer come up with any more ideas. In the end, Naruto did not go back to the Medicine Refining Pavilion, and instead, he went to his courtyard, awaiting dawn with a gloomy expression.

"Qian Dajin, just wait until I reach Foundation Establishment, I will definitely teach you a good lesson!" The more Naruto thought about it, the more nervous he became, his eyes gradually turning bloodshot. He was afraid of death - he was no longer the innocent child that had just stepped through the sect doors, and through his time here, he had gained a certain understanding about the world of cultivation.

A night of ridiculous thoughts and unnecessary worries passed…...gradually, the sky brightened and dawn arrived

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Chapter 47 - Naruto leaves the Sect

When the first ray of dawn fell on earth, Naruto felt his identity token vibrate. He let out a long sigh as he turned around and glanced at the cabin where he had lived for the past two years.

"I must be careful during this journey and not lose this small life of mine…" Naruto had a troubled look on his face as he put seveneight layers of leather clothing as well as Zhang Fatso One's big black pot on his back. Physically, he was small and skinny, so this attire of his made him look like a ball.

Naruto left the Scented Cloud Mountain with a heavy heart, heading toward the South Bank's gate. Along the way, many disciples saw Naruto and were stunned by his attire.

Naruto had a depressed look on his face. If he met acquaintances, he would wave his hand, bidding them farewell. As he slowly approached the South Bank's gate from the side, he discovered two people already waiting there. One of them was a youngster who was meditating with his legs crossed, whereas the other was a girl. Seeing her figure from behind, Naruto felt that she looked familiar. This lady was currently impatiently pacing back and forth near the gate.

"Du Lingfei?" Naruto was stunned.

Du Lingfei also saw Naruto and was stunned for a moment, especially when she noticed Naruto's attire, after which, she could only frown.

"The last person on the mission to investigate Senior Hou's disappearance is you?"

"It is indeed me. What a coincidence…" Naruto dryly coughed and averted his gaze towards the youngster at Du Lingfei's side, as if it was a random gesture. This youngster was expressionless but there was a certain menacing aura surrounding him. When Naruto looked at him, the youngster opened his eyes and glanced at Naruto with a vague smile.

Something stirred in Naruto's heart. Before he had arrived, Naruto had already analysed how Qian Dajin could act during this mission. One of the easiest way was to find a person from the Sect who was similarly executing this mission and once they had left the Sect, this person would secretly dispose of Naruto. This way, it would be known to neither God nor a soul.

In this moment, regardless of whether it was Du Lingfei or this youngster, Naruto was equally suspicious. Naturally, he wouldn't let such thoughts show on his face, he even smiled at that youngster.

"This young one's name is Naruto, and who might this Senior

Brother be…"

"Green Peak Mountain's Feng Yan." The youngster similarly smiled as he spoke.

"So it is Senior Feng. One look at Senior Feng and I can tell that you are definitely not an ordinary senior. This is my first time executing a mission outside the Sect and I hope Senior Feng will offer guidance along the way." Naruto quickly cupped his fist in greeting with an expression suggesting that he was already aware of the other party's cultivation which was at the seventh level of Qi Condensation.

"Well said, well said." There was a hint of scorn that flashed past Feng Yan's eyes. The only reason why he was participating in this mission was because an inner sect disciple, Qian Dajin, had promised him something extremely tempting. Only then did he agree to kill this Naruto during the mission's execution.

This was a very easy task for the youngster, to the point that he did not even need to personally dispose of Naruto. Just by giving Naruto a slight shove, he could make it look like Naruto had died from an accide

nt.

The only thing that he had to be careful of was to not let Du Lingfei notice. However, it was clear to him that Du Lingfei being involved in this mission was also part of Qian Dajin's plan.

Du Lingfei frowned. She would have never thought that she would actually meet that hateful fellow in front of her when she was going out to execute a mission. This mission was not forced onto her by others, but one that she herself had taken the initiative to accept. After all, even though this mission was somewhat dangerous, overall, it was still easy and worth a lot of Contribution Points.

She had been stuck at the peak of the fifth level of Qi Cultivation for a very long time and wanted to obtain enough Contribution Points to exchange for another Soaring Cloud Incense and break through to the next level. At the thought of the Soaring Cloud Incense, her animosity toward Naruto increased.

"He is as cowardly as a mouse!" Seeing Naruto look her way, Du Lingfei loathed him even more from the bottom of her heart, especially since the other party's getup made him look like a ball from head to toe. He was even carrying a big black pot on his back. No matter how you looked at him, it was an appearance of one who feared death to the extreme.

Du Lingfei scoffed coldly and ignored Naruto as she cupped her hands, greeting Feng Yan.

"Senior Feng, everyone is accounted for. Please take out the Wind Rider.

The earlier we finish the mission, the faster we will be able to return."

Feng Yan smiled and used his right hand to pat his storage pouch. A white ray shot against the wind. It then quickly turned into a white boat about two zhang long in mid-air.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards)

Bursts of fluctuating spiritual energy spread out from the top of this boat, forming an imposing pressure.

"Senior Feng, what is this?" After seeing this, Naruto sized the boat up with excitement. This was the first time that he had seen such a thing, especially with regards to the fact that this boat was floating in mid-air. With a single look at the boat, Naruto could tell that it was meant for transportation, making him feel even more amazed.

Du Lingfei had a look of contempt in her eyes, whereas Feng Yan, who was standing aside, smiled.

"This thing is a Wind Rider. When going out to execute missions, or if going to a faraway place, the Sect would offer this kind of boat for rent. It's very convenient to operate as it does not consume much Qi when controlling it. Its only downside is that it consumes a lot of Spirit Stones." As Feng Yan was speaking, he jumped up and landed inside the boat.

Du Lingfei followed closely behind him, and Naruto also quickly jumped onto the boat. This boat was not big and there was not much space inside, but it was more than enough to fit three people. Naruto sat at the back, and as he touched here and looked there, he found this object even more impressive.

"I should also get myself a boat like this." Naruto said to himself.

"Even if you were to sell yourself, you still wouldn't be able to afford one!" Du Lingfei looked at Naruto as if he was a country bumpkin and mocked him.

After hearing this, Naruto narrowed his eyes at Du Lingfei, sizing her up, and nodded his head.

"Then if I were to sell you, I reckon that I would be able to afford one."

"You!" Du Lingfei glared at Naruto with her eyes curved upwards at the corners. Under Feng Yan's control, the Wind Rider turned into a rainbow headed towards the horizon.

The boat was fast enough to produce a whistling sound, however, a curtain of light blocked the fierce wind, so even though the trio could hear the wind outside, it didn't cause them any discomfort.

From afar, one could see the boat's rainbow slowly disappear beyond the horizon.

At the same time, on top of the Scented Cloud Mountain and inside the

Medicine Master's Temple, Elder Xu, who had been in charge of the Medicine Apprentice's promotional examination, was frowning slightly as he held a jade tablet in his hands.

"The Law Enforcement Agency actually bypassed my Scented Cloud Mountain and forced Naruto to execute a mission?" Elder Xu closely looked at the jade tablet. After a long while, his eyebrows loosened up. He saw that this mission was easy and even though it was dangerous to a certain degree, it still wouldn't endanger Naruto's life.

"This boy has made a habit of being lazy. Occasionally punishing him by making him do a small task is fine too." Elder Xu thought of the task that Toruho had entrusted to him before leaving and remembered what he was told about Naruto's personality. Therefore, he put down the jade tablet, not bothering with it any longer as he continued to refine medicine.

Meanwhile, Qian Dajin was standing outside one of the official caverns in the Green Peak Mountain where the inner sect disciples resided. He was looking at the distantly departing boat with a cold smile on his face.

"With Feng Yan's cultivation, secretly killing this Naruto is as easy as turning one's hand. Naruto… your herb and plant mastery is impressive, unfortunately, you will not have the chance to grow any further. This time, you will die without a doubt!"

The blue sky extended for tens of thousands of li. On the boat, although Naruto was slightly nervous, watching the ground below still gave him a feeling of excitement.

(ED note: ah, the wonder of ancient chinese units. One li is slightly more than ½ of a kilometer, or approximately ⅓ of a mile)

He poked his head out and looked down. He could see mountain peaks as sharp as swords and mountain ranges as long as dragons, especially one… earth-shaking river.

"The Tongtian River…" Naruto inhaled deeply. After he had become an outer sect disciple, he had seen a lot of materials and discovered that, in truth, the whole cultivation world relied on this Tongtian River to cultivate.

This river was the root of all Qi.

Therefore, all sects would be established near the Tongtian River. The higher up the stream, the richer the Qi.

The location of the Spirit River Sect could only considered to be midstream. Even so, it stood tall for tens of thousands of years without falling. In the writings that Naruto had read, it was said that the Spirit River Sect from tens of thousands of years ago had not been in its current location but downstream. There had been an outstanding ancestor that had killed countless sects and cultivator clans, obtaining the upper sects' recognition and only then did they earn the qualifications to open a sect in the midstream.

"It is said that even multiple Spirit River Sects can't compare to the might of a sect located further up the stream of this Tongtian River. Legend has it that at the source of the Tongtian River…exists an even more terrifying sect." Naruto suppressed the excitement in his heart, he had to be vigilant on this journey.

Not far below the bottom of the Tongtian River, a golden coloured river that was continuously rolling and tumbling like the sea could be seen. On the other side of the river, there were four towering mountain peaks emitting an astonishing amount of Qi.

"That must be the North Bank of the Spirit River Sect." Naruto looked into the distance at the four mountain peaks at the North Bank. He even saw the Spirit River Sect's main peak which crossed over the Tongtian River, forming an enormous bridge!

"Zhong Dao Mountain!" Naruto had seen all these locations when he was first brought over by Toruho. The only difference was that he was still an ordinary person at that time, and now he was already an outer sect disciple. Looking at the mountains once again, the feeling that he got from it was completely different.

The boat was quick and it gradually got further away from the sect. It wriggled with the Tongtian River as it flowed downstream, flying in that same direction.

"Junior Du, Junior Uzumaki , I am sure that the both of you have also read the mission's details. The place we are heading to this time is the Fallen Star Mountain Range located downstream of the Tongtian River. This was the place where Junior Hou delivered his last message. This Fallen Star

Mountain Range is as far as the Spirit River Sect's influence extends to. On the other end of the mountain range is the Blood River Sect's territory." Feng Yan lightly spoke. His voice was muffled by the sound of the wind hitting against the boat and was somewhat fuzzy.

"This journey might be dangerous to a certain degree, but having accepted this mission, we should already be mentally prepared. As long as we are cautious, there shouldn't be any serious problems."

"Our destination is too far, so as to prevent from consuming too many Spirit Stones, we will be walking most of the time, only if the place is rather difficult to cross, will we use the boat." Feng Yan finished speaking and a cold glint flashed in the depths of his eyes. He sat down in the front and closed his eyes in meditation.

Du Lingfei was unwilling to pay attention to Naruto, so she leaned on the side and also began meditating.

Naruto was rather vigilant. Even though he was meditating with his legs crossed, he had never stopped thinking about who it was that Qian Dajin had sent among the two people before his eyes.

"The possibility of it being Du Lingfei is minimal…. As for this Feng

Yan, eight or nine out of ten, it would be him!"

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Chapter 48 - This world

A day later, when the first spirit stone inside the boat was consumed, Feng Yan had the Wind Rider descend. The three of them landed on top of a mountain peak overlooking the stretching forest that gradually grew darker as the last rays of the sunlight disappeared below the horizon.

When they landed, the surroundings turned humid and the chirping of birds as well as monsters' roars occasionally echoed from within the forest.

"Let's take a break after crossing this forest, what do you guys think?" Feng Yan lightly spoke as he glanced at Naruto and Du Lingfei.

"The sky is going to get dark soon, and who knows whether there are monsters inside the forest. I think we better fly across using the Wind Rider." Naruto suggested.

"If you want to rest then do it yourself, it's just a forest." Du Lingfei snorted, evidently exasperated at how scared Naruto was of death. She spun around, then headed into the forest.

A look of scorn flashed deep within Feng Yan's gaze. Nonetheless, he still faked a smile towards Naruto and followed Du Lingfei down the mountain.

Looking at the reactions of the two people, Naruto knitted his brows and let out a sigh. Finally, with a vigilant expression, he followed both of them down the mountain and into the forest.

The humidity inside the forest was even higher; they even came across with swamps from time to time. Occasionally, different types of birds would appear in their path, however, being Qi Condensation cultivators, the three of them had agile bodies and had considerable speed. Hence, they easily avoided the animals as they continuously travelled deeper into the forest.

Time passed and in the blink of an eye, the sky had already darkened and the moon hung brightly in the sky. The trio had already traversed half the distance to their destination and hadn't met any monsters along the way, making the journey extremely smooth. However, when Du Lingfei looked at Naruto, who wore a fearful expression on his face as if he would jump from fright every time he felt something move, Du Lingfei couldn't help but feel contempt for him in her heart.

"Watch out!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed as he immediately stopped in his tracks and put on a worried expression.

Du Lingfei gave a cold laugh and was just about to make a sarcastic comment.

But right at this moment, gusts of violent wind suddenly filled the surroundings, carrying the putrid smell of blood with them. Du Lingfei's expression immediately changed as she raised her head to look deeper into the forest, only to discover countless pairs of eyes staring back.

Every single pair of eyes was crimson red, and as soon their gazes met, sounds of fluttering wings immediately burst forth as palm-sized, TwinHeaded Bats flew out in flocks.

"Twin-Headed Bats, their fangs have deadly poison that will clot your throat with blood until you stop breathing!"

"Split up. We will regroup on the mountain peak on the other side of the forest." Feng Yan cried out in shock as his expression turned serious. He turned to another direction and dashed off with explosive speed.

Du Lingfei's pupils shrunk in fear. With a wave of her hand, a piece of talisman appeared in front of her body. The talisman slowly burned with a blue glow until it transformed into a light barrier enveloping her entire body. With a similar burst of explosive speed, Du Lingfei darted off in another direction. When she glanced back, she was astonished to find that Naruto, who was supposed to be the last in line, had already disappeared without a trace.

Long before the gust of wind had appeared, Naruto h

ad already taken the chance to retreat. His personality was one that prefered stability and safety; moreover, his meticulous character made him all the more sensitive to danger when compared to the average person.

When Du Lingfei retreated, the incoming flock of bats released a piercing screech and split into three smaller flocks that each chased after the trio.

Within the forest, Feng Yan sneered and quickly stashed away an incense stick from his hands. The appearance of these bats was due to this incense stick, and his decision to stop on this mountain to cross the forest was also because he had discovered the existence of these TwinHeaded Bats when he had previously come to this forest for a mission. "Every single one of those bats is no weaker than a cultivator in the third level of Qi Condensation. Naruto, don't blame me, someone just wants you dead." Feng Yan smirked as he slapped his storage pouch and took out a piece of black wood. Giving it a gentle blow, the black wood immediately started burning and black smoke started to rise from it. Instantly, the flock of bats that was chasing after him let out a piercing screech and flew away, evidently disgusted by the fumes.

Feng Yan chucked as he nonchalantly strolled away and disappeared into the foliage.

In another part of the forest, Naruto sprinted quickly as the bats chasing after him whistled through the air. However, no matter how much these bats accelerated, they were still unable to catch up with Naruto. In no time, Naruto had already widened the distance between him and the bats considerably. Occasionally, the beam of a sword would flash across, causing an unlucky bat to let out a piercing screech before dropping onto the ground.

After the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, Naruto gradually slowed his pace and stopped. After turning around to look behind him, a frown appeared on his face.

"The appearance of these bats is a little strange…" Naruto fell deep in thought as he traced his steps back. Picking up one of the bats he had killed with his flying sword, he studied it closely, and his eyes suddenly brightened.

"This is not a Twin-Headed Bat, this is a Purple-Veined Bat. Although it also has poison, its fangs are the main ingredient for refining the Grade Two medicine, Boiling Blood Incense Stick!"

"This ingredient can be exchanged for 50 contribution points back at the sect." Naruto immediately exclaimed in surprise. This knowledge was part of the 5th chapter of the Spirit Beasts jade tablet, hence, not many people distinguished it.

Fired up by this discovery, Naruto immediately started gathering the corpses of the bats and found more than ten of them in no time. After plucking out their fangs, his heart trembled with joy.

"These bats don't seem to be very strong…" Naruto let out a soft chuckle as a protective light barrier flashed over his body. Afterwards, he began his search in the forest. In no time, a flock of Purple-Veined Bats spotted him and came screeching toward him.

Naruto gestured with his fingers as the speed of the flying sword surged and streaked toward the bats. Its speed was so fast that before the bats could even come close, mournful cries had already filled the air. The sword quickly pierced the flock of bats, causing them to drop one after another. A few bats managed to come close to Naruto, however, the moment they collided with the protective light barrier covering Naruto, they were immediately bounced back.

Naruto stepped forward and collected the loot. After making sure there was no more danger, he heaved a sigh of relief. With a puff of his chest, he confidently started his search again.

Just like that, he roamed the forest alone, constantly searching for the bats as he gradually collected more and more fangs…

Four hours later, Feng Yan left the forest and reached the rendezvous point at the mountain peak. Sitting cross-legged with a hint of a smile on his face, Feng Yan patiently waited.

After another two hours had passed, Du Lingfei dashed out of the forest with a disheveled look. She looked back at the pitch black forest with lingering fear and immediately hastened her pace. Upon reaching the peak, she saw Feng Yan, but when she swept her glance around, she did not find Naruto.

"Naruto is still not here?" She asked.

"I can only wish him luck. A pity the Twin-Headed Bats are most active during the night, if we were to go back into the forest, I fear we will be unable to save even ourselves." Feng Yan let out a gentle sigh as he shook his head with a bitter smile. To make it more realistic, he did not rest but put on a worried expression as he fixed his anxious gaze on the forest.

Du Lingfei fell into silence. Even though she disliked Naruto, she did not hate him enough to wish he was dead. After all, they were still from the same sect. Sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak, she gazed down on the forest. After a long while, she let out a soft sigh.

Time passed and the sky gradually brightened.

Having waited throughout the night, Naruto still had not appeared and Du Lingfei more or less had a certain premonition deep in her heart.

"To have not arrived by this time, I'm afraid the odds that Naruto is alive…..are slim."

"It's all my fault, if I had not suggested walking through this forest, Junior Brother Uzumaki would not have…...ai." Feng Yan sighed as he stood up. Having spent the night without rest, his eyes were already bloodshot. With an expression of grief and indignation, he gazed at the forest.

"Do not blame yourself Senior Brother Feng, none of us knew that there would be Twin-Headed Bats here. Perhaps Naruto did not die, and even if he is dead, as his fellow sect members, we should at least bring his body back!" A complicated feeling arose deep within Du Lingfei's heart. She had no idea why she was feeling such an emotion; every time she thought of Naruto's cowardly figure, though she truly despised it, she still felt a sense of pity for him. After all, there was no enmity or deep hatred between the both of them.

"You're right Junior Sister Du, no matter what, we must not give up." Feng Yan sucked in a deep breath and nodded his head gravely as the two of them prepared to once again go down the mountain to search for Naruto.

Just at this moment, however, they saw Naruto lazily stroll out from the forest. Naruto yawned as he walked out and even started to stretch his body as if he had just woken up.

Du Lingfei's eyes widened with surprise and Feng Yan's gaze was filled with disbelief. He was bewildered while watching Naruto casually tread the mountain trail, slowly heading in their direction.

Especially when looking at Naruto's current expression, it was as if he had such a good night's sleep - lively and vigorous. This was in sharp contrast with the both of them who hadn't rested since the previous night and were fighting their fatigue just to stay awake.

In no time at all, Naruto had ascended the mountain. The moment he saw the duo, he immediately ran over and greeted them.

"Morning! Senior Brother Feng, Senior Sister Du, this forest is too scary, I almost lost my life." Naruto indeed had a good rest after eliminating almost all of the bats in the forest. Not only had he gained a bountiful harvest, he even had a peaceful sleep in the bats' cave.

Du Lingfei stared at Naruto with an ugly expression and gave a cold snort. Looking at his face and recalling the conflicted emotions she felt a while ago, she felt even more irritated with Naruto.

A hint of coldness flashed deep inside Feng Yan's eyes, though on the surface, he showed a joyful expression.

"It doesn't matter so long as Junior Brother Uzumaki is fine. We were worried throughout the whole night."

Naruto chuckled embarrassedly, however, deep within his gaze, a streak of coldness similarly flashed for a moment.

Not long after, the trio continued their journey without using the boat. Having experienced this incident, Naruto suggested flying with the boat during the night and walking on foot during the day. Du Lingfei showed a rare agreement with Naruto's suggestion and Feng Yan also nodded his head after thinking for a moment.

The trio slowly faded into the distance as they continued their journey downstream along the Tongtian River.

Time slowly passed and before they knew it, a month had already passed.

And in this month, Naruto had walked more than ever before in his whole life. He saw mountains after mountains, forests after forests; the surroundings were bereft of any humans. The entire area was just like a wasteland.

Once when the three of them were on their way, the ground suddenly started trembling. To his horror, Naruto discovered that far away in the distance, amidst the mountain range, a giant whose body was covered with hair from head to toe was slowly approaching them. With every step the giant took, the ground shook.

This giant made Naruto take a deep breath of shock.

At another time, the trio were in the flying boat during the night, when they suddenly heard a thunderous roar in the distance. And what greeted Naruto's sight was …an enormous bird, as big as the size of the Scented Cloud Mountain, soaring through the sky, with countless streaks of lightning wiggling all over its body, looking especially imposing in the darkness of the night.

But what Naruto remembered the most was that during one bright and sunny day, he saw this short-limbed monster with a head as big as a small mountain get devoured in a single bite by a 10,000 zhang long golden crocodile. The four-limbed beast was at the bank of the Tongtian River when the crocodile jumped out from the river with a cold gaze. It even took a glance at the trio who were hiding far away in the distance, and this unforgettable scene deeply shocked the three of them.

With just a single glance, a boom had resounded within the trio's minds as blood seeped out from the corners of their mouths. The three of them had a splitting headache which lasted for days before they finally recovered.

"It's too scary, the outside world is too scary!" Naruto repeatedly murmured to himself as his body shivered with fear.

1/10 guaranteed chapter of the week. Thank you for reading!

Translated by: Xin

Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Chapter 49 - The Fallen Chen Clan

Even though Feng Yan had participated in outfield missions numerous times before, this was his first time travelling this far out. And after encountering those hair-raising sights one after another, he could feel his scalp grow numb. For Feng Yan to feel like that, one needn't mention Du Lingfei who had even less experience than him.

Fortunately, the fearsome creatures that they came across on the way did not launch any attacks against them; at most, these creatures would throw them a glance, as if there was some kind of aura shielding them from the enmity of these creatures.

Naruto guessed that it was because they were disciples of the Spirit River Sect and after all…..in this boundless area, every inch of land was under the Spirit River Sect's influence.

Just like that, the trio continued their journey with some dread. Every month, on a fixed date, they would send a report on their current location back to the Sect. Two months later, they had finally arrived at the borders of the Spirit River Sect's influence - the Fallen Star Mountain Range.

Along the way, it wasn't that Feng Yan didn't want to covertly take action, but rather, he wasn't in the mood to do anything because of the constant shocks and hair-raising situations throughout the journey. Not only did he have to deal with his own fears, but Naruto had also became more cautious and sticked closer to Du Lingfei. Hence, with so many factors involved, Feng Yan could not find any opportunity to take action and thus, the only thing he could do was to endure.

Currently, they had arrived at the Fallen Star Mountain Range. Feng Yan gazed at Naruto as a dark chill unnoticed by the others flashed in his eyes.

"This is some serious determination to have me killed…...just how big is this grudge." Naruto lamented in his heart as he narrowed his eyes. His meticulous personality had long since noticed Feng Yan's intentions.

The Fallen Star Mountain Range stretched across a large area from the north to the south. One could not even see its end with the naked eye; as if it was a dragon waiting in ambush, dividing the ground into two.

If one could see far enough, they might even notice the sky on the other side of the mountain was a little different - as if there was a tinge of blood-red.

According to legend, in distant times, a star fell from above the skies and crashed into the ground. This caused the ground to crumble, and some parts of the ground were raised while some sunk; thus, forming this mountain range.

Within the mountain range, dense forests thoroughly spread, filling the area with various monsters and a diversity of rare herbs and plants. Because of that, even if this area was filled with danger, many cultivators still took the risk to explore it.

"We have reached the Fallen Star Mountain Range." Du Lingfei slowly opened her mouth and spoke. The experiences she had along the journey had laden her with fatigue. And now that they had finally reached their destination, she heaved a sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart.

"According to the last time Junior Brother Hou contacted the sect, the coordinates came from this area." Feng Yan slapped his storage pouch and a compass-like device appeared in his hand.

The device had a needle attached to it which was currently spinning rapidly.

"According to the rules of the sect, disciples who travel on outfield missions have to send their coordinates back to the sect every month. This Spirit River Compass will help us find the location where Junior Brother Hou last sent his coordinates from." Just as he was holding the compass and explaining its uses, the compass needle suddenly

stopped and pointed in a certain direction.

"Found it!" In a flash, Feng Yan leapt following the direction. Du Lingfei's expression changed and quickly followed.

Naruto gazed at the enormous Fallen Star Mountain Range before his eyes; in this place, the grasses and plants formed into forests, and these forests were like an ocean - boundless and limitless. From time to time, the chirping of a birds could be heard, and sometimes, a distant roar of a monster would echo from deep within the forest.

With a serious expression, Naruto activated the protective light barrier of the jade tablet. After ensuring that even the slightest movement of the wind or grass would alert him, Naruto then carefully started his journey forward, making sure to keep his distance from Feng Yan at the same time.

Both Feng Yan and Du Lingfei did not slow down the whole way, they sped through the Fallen Star Mountain Range and slowly travelled deep into a mountain valley. In this mountain valley, there was a large number of trees, and if one looked closely, they would discover that some of these trees seemed to be very old. These trees had trunks and branches that criss-crossed each other like a weave of pythons, with every branch joint forming a weird knot. If it was nighttime, such a sight would have sent chills ran down everyone's spines.

Two hours later, the trio had already travelled deep into the the mountain valley when they suddenly came to a stop. Feng Yan looked down at the compass in his hand; the needle was clearly pointing towards a humongous tree by the side.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki , go check it out." Feng Yan looked towards Naruto and pointed towards the big tree.

Naruto hesitated for a moment as he closely inspected that tree. After making sure that there was no danger, his right hand pressed onto the jade tablet hanging on his waist. Immediately, the protective light barrier that was already covering Naruto thickened by another layer. Naruto even took out some talismans and plastered them onto his body. Only when all of this was done did he finally approach the large tree, step by step.

"If you are so scared of death, why did you even become a cultivator at the first place!" Du Lingfei snorted coldly. She already held Naruto in contempt; throughout the journey, even though there were some dreadful situations, Naruto's reactions were simply just too exaggerated, as if he could die any moment. Now that they had reached their destination, Du Lingfei could feel her contempt for Naruto increase even further, seeing that he still had such a cowardly mentality.

Naruto did not have time to care about Du Lingfei, right now, having cautiously approached the huge tree, he took out a flying sword and peeled the tree bark. There was a patch of tree bark that had recently grown out, and the moment it was peeled off, a jade slip hidden behind it was revealed.

After carefully taking out this jade slip, Naruto swept it with his divine sense and his expression changed slightly. He then threw the jade slip to Feng Yan.

The jade slip only contained a sentence the explained neither heads or tails.

"I found some other clues, I'll go to the Fallen Chen Clan to confirm them…...:"

After Feng Yan read it, his brows knitted into a frown then threw the jade slip to Du Lingfei. After Du Lingfei had read the message, she too frowned and fell deep in thought.

"Fallen Chen Clan…" a few moments later, Du Lingfei softly murmured under her breath as she turned her head and gazed deep into the Fallen Star Mountain Range.

The Fallen Star Mountain Range covered a large area and was filled with bountiful resources. Such an area was not only under the control of the Spirit River Sect, it was lying right at the border between the Spirit River Sect and the Blood River Sect. The Spirit River Sect naturally had to arrange some people to protect such an area, and the clan responsible for this protection was…...the Fallen Chen Clan.

The Fallen Chen Clan had a considerable amount of people and had already been garrisoned at the Fallen Star Mountain Range for a thousand years. Every generation had a Foundation Establishment patriarch to watch over the clan; be it for protection or deterrence purposes, it was more than enough.

In their mission's details, it was even stated that if there was any danger, they could contact the Fallen Chen Clan for help.

But according to Hou Yunfei's message on the jade slip, it actually pointed them towards the Fallen Chen Clan, and it seems that…..Hou Yunfei went to the Fallen Chen Clan to investigate some of the clues and went missing from there on.

"What do you guys think, should we go take a look at the Fallen Chen Clan?" Feng Yan seemingly gave a superficial glance over Naruto before looking at Du Lingfei.

"Senior Brother Feng, Senior Sister Du, having found this jade slip, our mission can be considered to be completed…...I think we should put safety first, there is no need to do unnecessary actions." Naruto quickly opened his mouth and he nervously surveyed his surroundings; he felt some intangible pressure from this place.

Du Lingfei hesitated for a moment, if they went back like that, she speculated that they would just get the basic amount of contribution points. However, if they investigated more leads, the amount of contribution points would also be larger.

Feng Yan frowned slightly as he watched Du Lingfei hesitate; if they were to go back now, he was worried that he would be unable to find any opportunities to kill Naruto. Thinking up to this point, Feng Yan calmly opened his mouth.

"My opinion is that we should go take a look at the Fallen Chen Clan. Since we are here already, we can't simply leave just like that. Not only can we ask clearly what exactly happened to Junior Brother Hou, but we might also be able to enlist the Fallen Chen Clan's help in the search. If this is the case, our contribution points would be much higher.

"Moreover…...we do not have to enter the deep areas of the Fallen Star Mountain Range for this journey. As long as we stick close to the borders, there would not be much danger. As for the Fallen Chen Clan, hmph, any cultivator clan within the influence of the Spirit River Sect has a seal placed on their bloodlines; regardless of how many generations have passed, they could never betray us, even more so, show us any disrespect." Feng Yan spoke slowly and gazed at Du Lingfei after finishing.

Du Lingfei nodded her head as she felt that the words Feng Yan spoke had made sense.

"Okay, let's go take a look at the Fallen Chen Clan, perhaps they might know the reason why Senior Brother Hou went missing after leaving the Fallen Chen Clan."

Seeing that Du Lingfei had agreed, Feng Yan smiled. He then looked towards Naruto as a cold glint flashed deep within his gaze.

"Since the mission is already completed, why are we asking for more trouble?" Naruto furrowed his brows.

"If you're scared of dying then don't follow us anymore." Du Lingfei did not bother with Naruto anymore as she turned her body and proceeded onwards.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki , I am also responsible for the team during this mission, the three of us should advance and retreat together, no matter the circumstances. If you do not go, it will only make things hard for me when we get back to the sect." Feng Yan looked at Naruto with a vague smile and then proceeded in Du Lingfei's direction. He deduced that Naruto would definitely follow them, otherwise, with Du Lingfei as a witness, he could simply give Naruto a 'negligence of duty' offence and Naruto would be unable to avoid the investigation of the Law Enforcement Agency.

With a gloomy expression, Naruto could feel his blood boiling. Looking at the disappearing silhouette of Feng Yan, blood vessels started to slowly appear in Naruto's eyes. Even though he was scared of death, he was slowly reaching the conclusion that the safest and best method was making the first move in order to disrupt Feng Yan's plans.

"Feng Yan, you shouldn't have forced me!" Naruto stood there immersed in his thoughts for a couple breaths. Finally, he lowered his head and dashed forward, following behind Feng Yan and Du Lingfei as the three of them slowly disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Four hours later, under the constant pace of the trio, dusk arrived and as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, the forest grew darker as well.

"We're here!" Feng Yan suddenly opened his mouth as the trio came to a halt. When they lifted their heads to look forward, they saw that the trees grew sparser on the path ahead, and the number of bluestones on the ground increased, paving a path in the open area.

In this area, there were a few courtyards that huddled together to form a mansion that looked big enough to house a couple hundred people. However, now that it was dusk, the time when the family clan was supposed to be the most rowdy and active, the mansion was instead bathed in darkness and silence, as if it had perfectly blended into the night, giving a desolate impression.

The only light came from the two lanterns that hung on the two sides of the main door, releasing a dim light. There was no wind blowing, yet these two lamps slowly swayed in the air, illuminating the two lion statues erected in front of the main door, each wearing a dark and unsettling expression.

Upon seeing this scene, the expressions of both Feng Yan and Du Lingfei immediately changed.

As for Naruto, the instant he saw this mansion, a strong sense of danger surged within the bottom of his heart, as if every fiber in his body was screaming at him.

"Something's not right…" Feng Yan's heart skipped a beat, his words hadn't even finished.

All of a sudden, with a long, harrowing creak, the main door of the mansion slowly opened. A gust of chilly wind blew out from within, and faintly, a silhouette seemed to appear behind the door, without sound nor breath.

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	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 50 Chapter 50

Chapter 50 - The Eerie Courtyard

While the main door was opening, the trio anxiously faced it. Naruto was panicking, pulling out protective seals and sticking them on his body one after the other.

The figure that appeared held a lantern in its hand, blocking the entrance. It seemed to merge with the darkness, gazing at the trio in front.

"To what does the Luo Household owe this visit?"

Under the light of the lantern, the trio saw a youth with a pale face and calm eyes, clothed in a long cyan robe.

Seeing that it was just a human, Feng Yan and Ryuzetsu let out a sigh of relief, the previous anxiety gradually subsiding.

"Fellow cultivator, we three are sect disciples of the Spirit River Sect. We came to ask some questions…" Feng Yan began talking.

When Ryuzetsu noticed a layer of protective light covering Naruto, her brows furrowed.

Not paying attention to Ryuzetsu, Naruto felt intense danger from the mansion and the youth.

"Ah, friends from the Spirit River Sect… Come in." The youth spoke softly as the lantern swayed, the glow it was emitting occasionally lit up his face as he took a few steps back, and turned to leave.

The main door was opened, as if welcoming the trio.

Feng Yan hesitated shortly before going in first with Ryuzetsu following behind him. Naruto, on the other hand, surveyed the surroundings, gnashing his teeth as he vigilantly followed the two into the mansion.

The door closed shut as soon as they entered, the two lanterns on the wall rocked even more violently. Underneath the lanterns were the two lion statues, their eyes rolled as it turned blood-red.

Inside the mansion, a jadestone path was surrounded by vegetation and breakstone. The suroundings were dark and concealed even under the moonlight. Their only guide was the youth with the lantern in front of them, swaying with each and every step.

Feeling isolated from everything else, the four followed the path engulfed by silence.

On the right were fruit trees, swaying their red fruits despite the absence of wind.

Ryuzetsu and Feng Yan warily looked about, staring at the rustling trees in particular, the eeriness they exuded was unsettling. Naruto was walking behind them.

Slowly, a faint scent of blood reached his nose.

Surprised, Naruto was just about to open his mouth.

Suddenly, the fruits on the trees started dropping down one after the other, rolling toward them after landing on the ground. On each of the fruits, there were faces of smiling children, as though drawn onto them. They started laughing as they made their way to the four of them.

"Lalala, Good evening."

The fruits started growing arms and legs, and held their hands together while running towards the trio, surrounding the pale-faced Naruto, Ryuzetsu, and Feng Yan as they laughed merrily.

"Aunty said to be good kids! We can't cry, we can't wail, smiling fruits are most swell!" The fruits skipped around them in circles, their voices carrying a creepy laughter.

As they neared, a sweet fragrance spread in the air. This smell, however, was so unpleasant to the nose that one would feel like vomiting out their organs.

Some of the fruits even ran up to the youth who seemed oblivious to their laughter and songs as he stepped on them, crushing them in the process. However, the fruit pieces quickly reformed themselves with their smiles and song uninterrupted.

"What the hell?" Feng Yan's eyes were wide as he swept his sleeve, a gust formed and blew away the fruits, crushing them upon impact with the ground. However, they reformed o

nce again, their laughter constantly lingering in the air.

Naruto was covered in goosebumps. His exterior defensive light barriers were all activated.

Ryuzetsu was even paler, staring at the dancing fruits with sheer terror, she held down her vomit as she clenched her teeth. Just as she was about to gesticulate with her fingers for an attack, the fruits put on terrified faces.

"Aunty is coming!" They sprinted back to the fruit trees and jumped back up to their former positions, their smiling faces disappeared as they turned into normal fruits again.

"These are spirit fruits that my ancestors brought back from the deep parts of the mountain. They never stop singing. Did you three like it?" The youth in front of them did not turn his head and continued his advance towards the source of the voice.

After briefly hesitating, Ryuzetsu and Feng Yan sighed before following the youth again.

Naruto felt a chill ran down his spine as he proceeded following them again. As they walked, Naruto noticed that there were an extra set of footsteps...

Before they knew it, the footsteps no longer belonged to four, but five people!

Perhaps it had been this way ever since they entered the mansion, but the fruits had distracted them. The following silence would make the fifth set of footsteps much more audible.

Naruto listened carefully, realizing that the footsteps were right behind him. The hair on his body stood up as he felt a breath on his neck.

"You guys, maybe… have you guys been hearing some extra footsteps, other than ours…" Naruto looked pale as Feng Yan's eyes widened once more. He now heard them as well.

Ryuzetsu's pupils constricted, her breathing immediately quickened.

The three stopped in their tracks, the fifth set of footsteps disappearing along with theirs.

Naruto was panicking. He clenched his teeth and turned around, coming face to face with a woman clad in red.

Her red clothes were swaying, and her face ashened. Smiling mischievously, the corners of her lips moved. She was saying something...

"Need more fire. Help me."

The scene made Naruto jump, screaming his lungs out. At the same instant, the red clothed woman dissipated into a red light, vanishing into the darkness.

Pale, Naruto stared at the emptiness in front of him, his scream echoing throughout the mansion.

Ryuzetsu and Feng Yan were terrified and shocked as well, their eyes darting around the courtyard. They hadn't noticed the figure, but they also sensed something that made their hearts racing.

A voice of a woman singing eerily spread in the darkness, the song was a lullaby, one that could make even men shiver in this silent mansion.

"My dear child, go to rest, may the winds blow and the flames flow, don't you sway, don't you yell…"

"This mansion is haunted!" Panicked, Feng Yan summoned a sword, swinging it in a circle as he scanned the area.

At the same time, the youth, with the lantern in his hand, turned around slowly. His figure as well as the lantern's light gradually blurred.

"Why did we stop? Come, come." The youth smiled. It was not a kind smile.

"Maybe we shouldn't be going in. We're just here to investigate someone who went missing, perhaps you remember someone like us entering this courtyard about five months ago?" Feng Yan breathed heavily, his eyes stern as he asked the question.

Ryuzetsu had already armed herself, focused and prepared.

"Nope." The youth had a light voice that seemed to merge with the woman's voice.

"Where are the members of your household?" Ryuzetsu asked.

"They had some things to attend to outside. Have you finished asking?" The youth had a weird smile on his face, the corners of his lips stretched further, it was very unnatural.

"We're done. Farewell." Feng Yan backed off at the same time he spoke his words, with Ryuzetsu behind him. Naruto had already taken a few steps back long before them.

"Since you refuse to come in, then why don't you stay? Just stay here… stay here with us…" The youth laughed, his mouth splitting into a gaping maw.

The lantern in his hand shook, becoming dimmer and dimmer, and soon, the mansion turned even darker. The youth's words flowed out of his mouth as his head twisted backwards and he charged at Feng Yan.

With a pale face, Feng Yan shot out his sword at the youth who didn't even bother to evade it. The sword went straight through the smiling attacker who continued his charge.

Breathing heavily, Feng Yan backed off frantically, gritting his teeth as he pulled out a black elixir and threw it on the ground. It exploded upon contact.

Caught in the explosion, the youth had his body partially destroyed, but it seemed like he was completely unaffected. With a wide grin on his face, he made a turn in the air just like a kite, continuing his descent straight toward the trio.

Multiple crossing lines were left where the elixir exploded. These lines began combining and forming a pattern, seemingly reforming itself.

"There's a spell here! It's a dark spell!" Feng Yan cried out as he recognized the patterns.

At the same time, the jade plates beneath Ryuzetsu's feet started moving, pairs of eyes appearing along with arms as thin as branches. Other worm-like creatures were burrowed between the cracks of the jade plates.

"You're stepping on us, it hurts…"

Come on, stay here with us, get in…" The jade plates grinded against each other, making screeching sounds.

Ryuzetsu was white with fear. Gesturing with her fingers, she took out a small flagpole, forming two mist beasts that swirled protectively. A blade shot out, flashing, as it cut off the thin arm that was holding onto her

leg.

Naruto, on the other hand, was confronted with a loud screaming voice from the red-clad woman who sang the lullaby.

"Don't you sway, don't you yell…"

Chapter 51 Chapter 51

Chapter 51 - Senior Brother Feng is a good man!

Naruto felt as if his scalp burst open as he gave a roar, his eyes bloodshot. He took out a huge number of talismans and ferociously slapped them onto his body. 'Hong, hong, hong" , layer after layer of light screens burst forth, forming a barrier almost as tall as half a zhang.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

As soon as this barrier of light appeared, the red-clad woman that previously appeared suddenly appeared from the shadows beside Naruto and crashed into the light barrier.

With a loud bang, the woman actually managed to force her way 3 chi into the light barrier before she was stopped and could not proceed any further. She immediately released a piercing shriek which penetrated through the barrier, deafening Naruto, to the point that even his consciousness had become hazy for a moment.

(ED note: 1 chi = 1/10 zhang)

Naruto viciously bit his tongue and as soon as his consciousness cleared, he saw that the red-clad woman had transformed into countless red beetles that were trying to dig their way through the barrier from all directions.

However, Naruto's protective barrier was far too thick, regardless how of much effort those red beetles put out, they still failed to penetrate through the last 7 cun of the barrier. When the beetles reached that point, they were immediately bounced back, coalescing together in the air, and reforming into the red-clad woman.

(ED note: 1 cun = 1/10 chi)

With a sinister laugh, she glared at Naruto and leaped at him once again.

At the same time, a crumbling noise resounded from the surroundings as the decorative rocks, one after the other, began trembling and slowly rose to form stonemen. The fruit trees also shook and started to grow out hands and legs, pulling themselves out from the ground. With huge steps, these trees suddenly approached from all four directions and charged towards the trio. As for the fruits hanging on the trees, they had once again revealed their smiles and continued singing the lullaby from before.

One of those fruit trees was especially close to Naruto, and it took this opportunity to follow up behind the red-clothed woman, charging straight at Naruto.

"Puppets!" Ryuzetsu cried out in surprise.

Naruto felt his entire body shiver from fear, he had never been in such a dangerous situation in his entire life. Right now, his eyes were bloodshot; seeing the woman was nearing him again, he rapidly gestured with his fingers, released all of his Qi, and pointed towards the woman.

Instantly, his wooden sword flew out with such a speed that it seemed like a black lightning. As the sword zoomed, it swept up a gust of wind and with a loud 'hong', the sword went through the woman's head.

The woman released a pitiful scream as she crumbled into countless of red beetles that began falling down onto the ground. As those beetles convulsed, they started to break into pieces before they had even reached the ground.

The power of the sword didn't diminish a single bit; that was a full-power move that Naruto used when his life was threatened. After passing through the woman's head, it immediately sped straight for the fruit tree-man behind the woman.

In an instant, the fruit tree-man's body shook as its head abruptly exploded. The fruits on top of the tree started to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye; even until its death, those fruits were still happily singing their song.

Upon seeing this scene, Naruto grew even more fearful. Fortunately, the power of the sword was extremely strong, and while it was flying, it hit a wall with

a loud bang, causing a huge hole to appear on the wall. Many snake-like patterns danced around the hole like water ripples as if trying to mend the hole.

"Break out of here!" Ryuzetsu hastily shouted. In a flash, she dashed straight for the hole in the wall. However, Feng Yan was the closest to the hole. With a pained expression, he once again took out the black elixir and blew it up right in front of the young man he was fighting with. A loud bang reverberated as Feng Yan made use of the recoil to reach the hole.

With a whoosh, Feng Yan arrived beside the hole. Just as he was about to dash out, his expression suddenly changed as he saw two huge stone lions charging toward the hole from outside. The two stone lions lifted their heads and howled, one of them charging at Feng Yan while the other toward Naruto.

These two stone lions were undoubtedly the lion statues they previously saw standing outside the main door!

"Don't bother running away, Spirit River Sect disciples…...you will all die!" The young man who was fighting with Feng Yan released a loud laughter which echoed out. In a flash, he once again closed in on Feng Yan.

Seeing that the hole was being rapidly repaired, Feng Yan gave out a loud roar as he gestured with both his hands. Immediately, countless balls of fire, each as large as the size of one's head, appeared around his body. The balls of fire exuded an extremely high temperature, causing the surrounding air to distort; one by one, the fireballs blew up the surroundings, and fire spread everywhere.

Even the stone lion was forced to take a step back; as for the young man from the Fallen Uchiha Clan, his expression immediately changed. The two fruit tree-men nearby were hit head-on; one of them even exploded.

As for the other, since it was flying backwards, it was destroyed with a sword by the charging Ryuzetsu.

As sounds of explosions continuously resounded through the area, the bodies of those two fruit tree-men started to release out copious amounts of green fluids. Within their bodies, corpse-like figures were revealed; their entire bodies were shriveled up as if more than half of their lifeforce was sucked out.

Out of the two figures, one of them was unconscious, while the other barely managed to open its eyes. After seeing Ryuzetsu, its gaze shone with emotion.

"Senior Brother Hou!" Ryuzetsu cried out in surprise, she recognised that the other was actually Wanji. She immediately went forward and helped him up.

"The Fallen Uchiha Clan has betrayed us, quickly escape and report it to the sect!" Wanji was evidently weakened, but he still poured out whatever Chakra he had left in him into Ryuzetsu as he grabbed onto her arm.

The Chakra within Ryuzetsu's body immediately surged out; as she clenched her teeth, she supported Wanji and dashed toward the hole with haste.

As Naruto glanced towards them, he instantly recognised that the person was actually Wanji. With a swish, he avoided the incoming stone lion and also darted towards the hole.

At this moment, the three of them were all running towards the hole, with Ryuzetsu now being the closest, followed by Feng Yan and with Naruto not too far behind. However, Naruto's speed was obviously the fastest, he was even nearing Ryuzetsu.

Feng Yan face was deathly pale; that fireball technique had put a large strain on him and now, as he noticed Naruto's speed, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as another black-coloured elixir appeared with a flip of his right hand.

"Junior Sister Du run faster, bring the news back to the sect, I'll assist you!" The moment he said that, he threw the black-coloured elixir in his right hand, aiming exactly between Ryuzetsu and Naruto.

With a boom, the elixir exploded in the air, sending shockwaves around. The recoil pushed Ryuzetsu's speed up another notch and she slammed at the hole on the wall mid-leap. As her body merged into the water-like surface that covered the hole, she took the chance to escape.

As for Naruto, he was dazed for a moment when the shockwave hit him. In that instant, he was blocked by a stone lion, causing Naruto eyes to turn red.

"Feng Yan!" Naruto growled as the surrounding winds started to blow ferociously and the stone lion directly pounced at him. Naruto was about to dodge, but three fruit tree-men had already neared him, and with the four puppets working together, Naruto was caught in-between, suffering a direct hit.

'Png'. The light barrier covering Naruto's body flickered a few times before it crumbled. Even the blue glow from the jade tablet dimmed and subsequently shattered. Even though most of the attack was blocked, the stone lion was extraordinary and the remains of its attack still managed to land onto Naruto's chest.

The huge imapact caused Naruto's entire body to tremble and be blown backwards.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki…" Feng Yan smiled coldly as he watched this scene. Even though a heart-wrenching cry came out from his mouth, his speed did not reduce one bit. In less than a moment, he had already reached next to the hole. His body was halfway into the water-like surface covering the hole and was just about to escape when the young man from the Fallen Uchiha Clan let out a shriek. The young man's body instantly blew apart and turned into countless pieces of bloodless flesh that flew straight toward Feng Yan.

Just when Feng Yan was about to reach the outside, these pieces of

meat suddenly surrounded his body and viciously tugged.

Feng Yan howled in anger as he was pulled out of the hole which had almost been repaired.

In his anxiety, Feng Yan mercilessly clenched his teeth and bit his tongue, causing blood to fly out and land onto his flying sword. The flying sword turned crimson red in the blink of an eye, and instead of flying towards someone, it bursted into countless shards with a boom and aimed for himself.

Feng Yan had actually resorted to such a self-mutilating method! Innumerable pieces of blade shards pierced through his body, but at the same time he hurt himself, he also successfully managed to cut off those pieces of flesh stuck onto his body.

His body now free, Feng Yan's body was riddled with countless wounds; his blood and flesh were a mutilated mess and he felt giddy in his head. Fortunately for him, those blade shards had avoided his vitals under his control. Feng Yan gritted his teeth and headed straight for the hole.

At the same time, Naruto had just suffered a strike from the stone lion to his chest. As his body rapidly retreated, he let out a painful shout. However, mid-way through his shout, Naruto suddenly stopped. He blinked his eyes in shock and lowered his head down to look at his chest - layers of his clothes were destroyed and broken, but…...he didn't feel any pain.

He quickly checked his condition again. Actually…...from the moment the fight had begun, even though it looked extremely dangerous, but in reality…...he didn't have a single wound on his body.

That strike from the stone lion did made him fly away due to the impact, but Naruto did not feel anything at all.

Just as he was immersed in this joyful surprise, the surrounding fruit tree-men had chased after him and landed some punches on his back. Naruto flew forward and after discovering that he still did not feel anything, he looked toward the sky and laughed loudly.

"To think that I was so strong, scr*w your grandmother, what am I still afraid of." Naruto trembled with excitement, in this moment, he had complete confidence in himself. He utilized all of his speed and wooshed straight through the hole. His current speed was much faster than before and he arrived near to the hole in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, half of Feng Yan's body was already out. With regards to Naruto's increase in speed, he had not noticed the slightest bit. From Feng Yan's perspective, when Naruto was attacked by the numerous puppets from before, he was already a dead man.

Seeing that Feng Yan was about to leave, a streak of pure hatred flashed in Naruto's eyes. He fiercely lifted his right hand and with one move, he grabbed Feng Yan's shoulder, which was was already out, and viciously pulled.

"I'm finally out!" Feng Yan cried out with joy when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Before he could even react, his entire body was pulled back through the hole by an immense amount of force.

"NOO!" Feng Yan roared in anger. Before he could even see clearly how he was pulled back, he felt his storage pouch loosen, and subsequently, his entire body was roughly thrown far away by the immense of force.

It was only at this moment that he saw Naruto's figure standing at the hole.

"NARUTO!" Feng Yan eyes turned crimson-red as he was immediately surrounded by the two stone lions; with a loud bang, a pitiful cry echoed out.

"Senior Brother Feng!" Naruto let out a heart-wrenching cry as he stepped through the hole and escaped just the moment the hole was about to close.

The instant he fully came out, the hole completely disappeared.

Outside the hole, it was no longer the grounds of the Fallen Uchiha Clan, instead, it was outside the main door. After Ryuzetsu had escaped, she did not dare to waver or stop for a single moment. On the far-away edge of the forest, she anxiously waited, nervously inspecting the surroundings. Just as she saw Naruto escape, she was about to call for him when she noticed Naruto's heart-wrenching cry and bloodshot eyes.

"Senior Brother Feng! In order to save me, not only did you give me your storage pouch, you also sacrificed yourself to block those puppets, Senior Brother Feng!"

"Naruto, we have to go quickly!" After hearing what Naruto had said, Ryuzetsu felt sadness rise from the depths of her heart. But seeing that the hole had disappeared, and Naruto still drowned in sorrow, she quickly acted.

With tears in his eyes, Naruto hastily ran over and helped Ryuzetsu support Wanji; together, the three of them sprinted into the forest.

"Senior Brother Feng was a good man…"Naruto wore a pained expression as he looked back from time to time.

Ryuzetsu could only feel bitterness and regret. Who would have known that her first mission would be dangerous to this extent; if only they had previously listened to Naruto's advice and not come to the Fallen Uchiha Clan, perhaps Feng Yan wouldn't have died.

Especially when she witnessed the scene of Naruto pounding his chest in grief and sorrow, her heart couldn't have felt any worse as she released a pained sigh.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, we have to quickly escape. The Fallen Uchiha Clan have betrayed us, they will not let us report back to the sect easily. I have already tried just now, but this entire area has its communications cut off…...the communication jade slip can no longer be used." Ryuzetsu looked towards Naruto and bitterly said.

But then suddenly, Naruto jolted from shock as he felt a sense of danger washed over him.

Chapter 52 Chapter 52

Chapter 52 - The Fallen Uchiha clan's Betrayal!

Meanwhile, in an enormous underground palace beneath the Fallen Uchiha Clan's residences, there was a lake filled with blood. Inside this bloody lake, there were countless of skeletons.

Basking in the light of a formation array were countless Uchiha clansmen; men, women, the old and the young. All knelt around the four cornerstones of the formation array which was the source of the radiance.

Each of them was silent as they slashed their right arm. Blood would ooze out and coalesce into the nearby cornerstone. The accumulated blood from all the clansmen would then flow into the blood lake in the centre.

At the heart of the blood lake, an elder with a head full of grey hair was calmly seating cross-legged, meditating. With each of his breath, the blood lake seethed.

At this moment, the elder suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a thick killing intent within.

"What is happening!?" His cold voice echoed throughout the underground palace.

Within the closest group of kneeling clansmen, a youth spoke softly.

'Patriarch, there were three disciples from Spirit River Sect that suddenly showed up and I was caught unprepared by their arrival. As I was worried about them interfering with our clan's secret plot, I attempted to use my puppet body to coordinate with the other puppet bodies using spells to kill all three of them. Unfortunately… I am incompetent and I could only kill one of them, allowing the remaining two to run away. As for the disciple that was captured previously, he was also… rescued by them." This youth was the one that Naruto and company fought with during their previous encounter.

The youth was feeling gloomy too. When a Spirit River Sect disciple lost contact with the sect, it usually took around half a year's time to confirm the missing case. The sect would only arrange for other disciples to conduct investigations after half a year's time. As such, the investigating disciples would require approximately nine months to show up at the Fallen Star mountain range.

However, only 4 months had passed and unexpectedly, disciples from the Spirit River Sect had already been looking for them, which not only the youth, but even the entire Fallen Uchiha Clan, failed to foresee. After all, the one captured was merely an outer sect disciple, and morever, the clan didn't leave any traces behind. Based on their reasoning, the investigation shouldn't have arrived at the Fallen Star mountain range so soon.

As for Wanji, if he had not discovered the Fallen Uchiha Clan's secret plot, they wouldn't have captured him either. Originally, the plan was only supposed to take six months, and once it succeeded, the clan would rise from the ashes and extricate itself from Spirit River Sect's control!

Now, however, they were one month short...…

"Two outer sect disciples… humph! I have already started the spell and have sealed the four cornerstones. Quickly arrange some clansmen to kill those two! Just one more month… and everything will be complete!" the elder ordered indifferently. He was not too concerned about the two disciples and once again, closed his eyes.

The youth took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.

Soon after, seven figures quickly departed from the Fallen Uchiha Clan's residences. The first one of them was the youth himself, now with his real body, who appeared to be at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation.

Among the remaining six figures, the weakest were all at the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, and two were in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation.

'They couldn't have escaped so far. Catch them!" In the next

second, all seven of them darted toward the forest, filled with killing intent.

Within the forest, Naruto and Ryuzetsu were carrying Wanji who had lost consciousness. As they were running away from their pursuers, Naruto had continuously tried to summon the flying boat, but the surrounding spell seemed to not only have disabled the ability to transmit information, it even stopped the Flying Boat from working.

After learning of this, Naruto and Ryuzetsu's expressions turned even uglier.

The duo were silent as they gnashed their teeth and kept running with the unconscious Wanji.

Naruto's face paled. At the moment, his danger sense was at its peak, and every fiber of his being was screaming, as though urging him to quickly escape!

He was certain that slowing down would mean death!

The feeling of danger that he felt now was countless times more intense than what he had felt from Feng Yan. After all, even if Feng Yan wanted to attack him, he would have to think twice as he needed to kill Naruto stealthily.

Naruto would just need to be cautious, and even if he let his guard down, he could still avoid most of Feng Yan's attacks; he could even find opportunities to counterattack.

However, as of this moment… when Naruto thought about what he knew, his heart shuddered and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. After discovering information that pertained to a clan of cultivators' plans for betrayal, not to mention it was the Fallen Uchiha Clan, Naruto himself would get killed without hesitation.

The clan would definitely do whatever it takes to silence him.

It wouldn't be a sneak attack, but a direct attack, just like a lightning strike.

The clan wouldn't give them much time to escape, those clansmen might already be hot on their heels.

"The damn Law Enforcement Agency! This mission… this mission is simply not for outer sect disciples to take on!" The very thought of the elder in the Fallen Uchiha Clan who had already reached Foundation Establishment made him shiver in fear.

"Foundation Establishment… comparing my Chakra Condensation with that patriarch's Foundation Establishmend is akin to comparing a mortal with a Chakra Condensation cultivator…" Naruto breathed heavily with his eyes bloodshot.

"My purpose for cultivating… is prolonging my life..." Naruto cried without tears. He took a glance at Wanji, but he just couldn't bring himself to abandon him jso they could run faster.

Ryuzetsu paled as well as she was the weakest cultivator among them, and she couldn't even recover any of her spiritual energy. She was bitter because she knew that there was only a slim chance for escape, and the probability of dying was substantial. If Feng Yan, who was a cultivator at the seventh level of Chakra Condensation, was there, and so long as no Foundation Establishment elder was not pursuing them, there was still a chance to fend off the enemy.

However, with Feng Yan's death, added to the fact that she herself was only at the fifth level of Chakra Condensation and was unable to breakthrough, and as for Naruto… with his fear of death, she had no hope left.

"I have never thought that I would die after taking my first mission..." Ryuzetsu laughed bitterly. However, she clenched her teeth tightly, determined to not give up on the hope to survive until the very end. She took out a medicine pill and swallowed it. When she looked at the terrified Naruto, she sighed softly. At this moment, she looked at him without any trace of contempt as she took out a medicine bottle and tossed it to Naruto.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, be mindful of your spiritual energy and replenish it when necessary."

Naruto was shocked. He caught the medicine bottle from Du

Lingfei, then he silently opened it and immediately swallowed a pill. After thinking for a moment, he took out two medicine bottles from Feng Yan's storage pouch.

"Senior Brother Feng had some medicine pills too." He splitted it into two and shared it with Ryuzetsu as he spoke.

Ryuzetsu accepted them in silence. The duo maintained their speed and soon they arrived at the place where they first discovered Wanji's jade slip. Upon seeing the huge tree, Ryuzetsu softly sighed.

Regreting now was useless, the duo supported Wanji and continued their escape. Gradually, Ryuzetsu's speed slowed down and Naruto got worried. He then grabbed Ryuzetsu's arm and dashed forward while dragging both her and Wanji.

Ryuzetsu had long discovered that Naruto's speed had always been lightning fast. When he grabbed Ryuzetsu's arm, subconsciously, she wanted to struggle and shake off his hand, but when she looked at the fear displayed on Naruto's face, she released a sigh from the bottom of her heart and allowed Naruto to grab and drag her.

At this moment, Wanji moved. He slowly opened his eyes, looking exhausted.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, I have never imagined that our paths would cross here after we parted ways several months ago." Wanji laughed bitterly as he saw both Naruto and Ryuzetsu supporting him.

Once Ryuzetsu noticed Wanji regain consciousness, she immediately took out a medicine pill and tossed it to him.

"Senior Brother Hou…" Naruto sighed again when he turned his sight to Wanji.

"We still have hope. For their own personal gain, that Fallen Uchiha Clan has resorted to killing mortals to obtain their blood! As for the patriarch, he has to focus on mediating, and as such, it is impossible for him to pursue us personally. Furthermore, the entire Fallen Uchiha Clan is within their own residences so… there shouldn't be too many pursuers!"

"Even though we are not able to transmit information to the sect from here, we can definitely do it once we escape from this place's vicinity!"

"Also, for such crucial matters such as a clan of cultivators' plans for betrayal, the sect will definitely send reinforcements as soon as they learn of it!" Wanji laughed. He swallowed the medicine pill tossed to him by Ryuzetsu and felt reinvigorated; no longer relying on Naruto to carry him, he clenched his teeth and dashed alongside the duo.

Because of that, the trio's speed grew a little faster, and soon they saw the edge of the Fallen Star Mountain Range. A short while later, the trio rushed out of the woods. Ryuzetsu immediately took out a jade slip and attempted to connect with the sect, but her face turned even paler and she bitterly shook her head.

"It still doesn't work…"

Naruto's heart sank and Wanji was silent.

The trio remained quiet, and one by one, they continued on their way. Suddenly, they heard a roaring sound, and by the time their expressions changed, WOOSH! Seven figures appeared from the forest behind them, speeding towards them.

The first of the men was the youth who had attained the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. Upon seeing Naruto and company, killing intent flared in his eyes.

"I have said it before, all of you… cannot escape! Remember, the one to kill you is named Uchiha Yue!"

"Kill them all!" Each of the clansmen drew their weapon as they coldly glared at the trio and charged towards them.

Naruto and company's expressions greatly changed. Each and every one of them gnashed their teeth tightly and ran even faster.

Uchiha Yue laughed coldly. With a single swing of his arm, a purple skull immediately emerged from the ground, growing enormous and laughing eerily. It quickly chased after the trio, and when it was about to reach them, Uchiha Yue waved his finger and the purple skull explosively selfdestructed.

Boom! The shockwave tore the group apart. This forced Ryuzetsu and Wanji to stop, and they were immediately surrounded by the Fallen Uchiha clansmen.

As for Naruto, he had always been very fast, but he was moving slowly in his attempt to escape with both Ryuzetsu and Wanji. When he was separated from them, he did not think much of it and ran as fast as he could. With the gust of wind, his speed increased tremendously, and before the clansmen could surround all of them, he had already rushed dozens of zhang away from the encirclement. Furthermore, it appeared that he was still accelerating .

(ED note: one zhang is approximately equal to 3.58 meters, or 3.67 yards.)

Regardless of whether it was the youth who had attained the eighth level of Chakra Condensation or the remaining six clansmen, all of them were shocked by the tremendous and abrupt acceleration of Naruto.

"Since you run so fast, we shall kill these two first before we chase after you!" Uchiha Yue spoke indifferently. He waved his hand and rushed straight at Ryuzetsu and Wanji with an immense killing intent.

BOOM! Ryuzetsu spat out blood. She had difficulty standing and was covered in blood from head to toe. Being surrounded by numerous clansmen, she knew that she was definitely going to die. She had a bitter smile on her face when she saw the back of Naruto far away.

She knew from the beginning that Naruto was scared of death. She couldn't help but have some complicated thoughts flash through her mind, most of which were bitter and hopeless thoughts.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, I hope you succeed in escaping…" Ryuzetsu made a hand seal and her flying sword swept around as she relied on 'Lifting the Heavy As Though It Was Light' to fight with the enemies. Once again, she spat out blood, on the verge of collapsing from the injuries.

Wanji also laughed bitterly. His eyes flickered with determination and he growled. He was afraid that his spirit energy was close to being exhausted, but even so, he was determined to not give up. Even if he was to die, he wanted to take a few of the clansmen with him so that he could gain more time for Naruto to escape.

Chapter 53 Chapter 53

Chapter 53 - Courage!

Naruto's face was pale, his heart was trembling, and a sense of danger was emitted by each and every fiber of his body. The feeling that he could die at any moment made him tremble uncontrollably.

He had never been this afraid. No matter whether it was when he had heard the sound of thunder while lighting the incense back in the village, or when he was taken to the Ten Thousand Snake Valley by Toruho back in the Sect, or when he had seen any of the awe-inspiring monsters on his way here...

In those moments, even though he was nervous, he knew that he… would not die!

But now he clearly understood that he… was really going to die!

As he was running away, he suddenly realised that there was no one by his side. After a brief confusion, he immediately looked back and saw Ryuzetsu and Wanji surrounded by seven people from the Fallen Uchiha Clan hundreds of zhang away.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

With Ryuzetsu spitting out fresh blood, anyone could see that Ryuzetsu and Wanji couldn't hold much longer and would be killed any second.

Naruto's body abruptly halted. As he stood there and observed this scene, his body trembled even more intensely, both his eyes slowly filled with blood. He could feel his entire body, even his very soul, screaming at him to escape as fast as possible.

Naruto was quite confident, with his speed, in addition to Ryuzetsu and Wanji stalling, he had a huge possibility to… escape to the skies.

Once he escaped, he could live his life, continue his cultivation, and pursue his dreams of immortality. The sect wouldn't scold him, on the contrary, they would even reward him.

But… If he escaped this way, if he just let both Ryuzetsu and Wanji die, Naruto would live with that guilt forever. In that moment, he felt that as if his very existence had been split into two; one telling him to quickly escape, if not, he would die. The other one was telling him that if he abandoned his fellow outer sect disciples and escaped by himself, Naruto would never find peace for as long as he lived.

Naruto's breathing was rapid, and sometimes, he randomly growled. Veins were visible on his forehead, and his body was shaking like a sieve. He was no longer thinking straight at the moment, and he had completely disregarded all the possible consequences. He clenched his fist, certain of only one thing…

"Although I, Naruto, am afraid of death, but I…. can't just leave like this!" Naruto hit his chest, his eyes now completely bloodshot as he let out a thundering roar at the sky. He rushed forward, heading straight for… the place where Ryuzetsu and Wanji were!

His speed was so fast that the sound of him breaking through the air echoed out. Wanji's body shuddered. He had seen Naruto. Looking at him, one couldn't tell if he was stunned or happy. He suddenly smiled as a renewed determination could be seen in his eyes. Naruto was not there to protect them, instead, he was using all of his full might, rushing straight towards the Fallen Uchiha clansmen.

At the same moment, Ryuzetsu, who was about to have her body pierced by a sword and already had a bloody wound cut open, also heard it. When she lifted her head, she saw Naruto madly dashing towards them with crimson eyes.

Ryuzetsu felt as if her whole being was struck by lightning. She stood there, stunned, tears uncontrollably falling down her face. She didn't even know what she felt, she was moved, excited, and shocked at the same ti

me.

She knew that Naruto was extremely terrified of death, but when she saw Naruto rushing towards them, seeing his crimson eyes and trembling body, she couldn't even imagine what immense courage was needed for him to… abandon his chance to escape and choose to return instead.

"Quickly go! You idiot, go quickly! Do not court death!" Ryuzetsu was crying as she yelled at Naruto, not even noticing the Fallen Uchiha Clan's sixth level Chakra Condensation disciple behind her, striking with his palm.

A rumble rang out and Ryuzetsu spat out blood. Her vision blurred and her body shot in the air. Not far away, a flying sword that was currently under the control of another Fallen Uchiha clanman, flew straight towards Ryuzetsu's head.

Seeing this scene before his eyes, Naruto let out a roar that was even fiercer than before. His body's speed, which was supposed to be already be at its peak, surged once again with a bang. It seemed as though his body had ripped through the sky. Actually, his body jumped forward, and with an enormous force, he launched his small body forward, forming a rainbow streak. He shortened the distance between him and Ryuzetsu in an instant, and just when the flying sword was about to reach Ryuzetsu's head, he appeared by her side, hugged her closely, turned around in a circle, clenched his right fist, and punched in the direction of the flying sword.

With a loud rumble, the flying sword shook when it met Naruto's fist head on.

This scene greatly shocked everyone from the Fallen Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Yue's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but was very quickly replaced with the former icy killing intent.

"You have really concealed your strength deeply! I should have already paid attention to you in the Dark Formation. All of you, ignore the other two, kill him!" Once he uttered those words, one by one, the gazes of the surrounding Fallen Uchiha clansmen were immediately filled with killing intent as they instantly rushed towards Naruto.

Ryuzetsu, who was in Naruto's arms, was dumbfounded. Not waiting for her to come to her senses, Naruto hugged Ryuzetsu closely and darted straight for the Fallen Uchiha clansmen.

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot. He had long since forgotten his qualms about dying, in fact, he had forgotten everything; there was only one thought in his mind, and that was - saving both Wanji and Ryuzetsu and killing everyone before him.

With an astonishing speed, he approached one of the sixth level Qi

Condensation Fallen Uchiha clansman in an instant. This sixth level Chakra Condensation clansman made a hand seal, and then a glowing small awl was shot straight at Naruto.

"Screw off!" Naruto roared loudly. He abruptly raised his right hand, severely slapping the awl. A small boom echoed out and the small awl violently shook. When it came into contact with Naruto's palm, the sheen immediately faded, and the awl was actually slapped away by his palm.

When that sixth level Chakra Condensation clansman saw this, he took a deep breath, his expression was immediately filled with fear. Just as he was about to retreat, Naruto's right hand formed several hand seals, and his wooden sword immediately shot out like a bolt of lightning, appearing in front of this sixth level Chakra Condensation clansman straightaway. He was unable to react as the wooden sword suddenly stabbed between his eyebrows.

A blood-curling scream rang out as the wooden sword directly passed through its target, covered with blood. Immediately afterwards, it turned around in mid-air, heading straight for another person.

At that time, a seventh level Chakra Condensation clansman's silhouette flashed by. As he made a hand seal, a huge amount of fog appeared in the surrounding area, forming into a huge fog-like person that shrouded his body as he immediately approached Naruto.

As that seventh level Chakra Condensation clansman was about to launch a sneak attack, Naruto's body trembled as his left hand suddenly reached out. Both his thumb and index finger flashed with a black glow, disregarding the fog's protection, his fingers penetrated through the fog, directly reaching inside.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

A 'kacha' echoed out, the fog surrounding the the seventh level Chakra Condensation clansman's body dissipated. His eyes widened as he stared at the arm that was grabbing his throat…... before his neck was suddenly snapped.

All of this happened far too quickly, starting from Naruto's immediate return up to the present, only a few breaths worth of time had passed. Two of the Fallen Uchiha clansmen were instantly killed by his quick attacks.

This scene made Wanji, who had retreated to Ryuzetsu's side, take a deep breath. His eyes were wide open, revealing an unprecedented shock.

Ryuzetsu too was completely dumbfounded. She looked at the Naruto before her eyes, completely different from the person in her memories as her breathing quickened, unable to believe that this was the same Naruto who was so terrified of death.

It was at this point that the few other Fallen Uchiha clansmen had finally attacked. These few people were all scared and had taken out their strongest trump cards. With a woosh, a flying sword, a bead, and a small cauldron were sent flying towards Naruto.

The three of them had joined forces to attack him!

Among the three of them, two were at the sixth level of Qi

Condensation, and one was at the seventh level of Chakra Condensation. When they attacked, it was ruthless and done without holding anything back. They took advantage of the fact that Naruto was unable to dodge to suddenly launch their attacks.

Naruto's eyes revealed a thick killing intent. By the time the three Fallen Uchiha Clansmen's attacks arrived, his whole body had already curled into a ball. On his back was that huge black pot that Ryuzetsu ridiculed along the way. This big black pot now covered Naruto's entire body.

An earth-shattering noise echoed out. That seventh level Qi

Condensation clansman's small cauldron directly smashed at the top of the big black pot. This big black pot shook and countless of cracks appeared, yet it did not shatter, completely fending off the small cauldron.

In the next moment, the bead also arrived, and it too smashed into the big black pot. In the midst of roaring sounds, the big black pot was unable to withstand the pressure anymore, and it broke apart into countless black fragments. While the remains were flying in all directions, Naruto's silhouette emerged from behind one of them, landing a direct hit on the other seventh level Chakra Condensation clansman.

This seventh level Chakra Condensation clansman was a middle-aged man. His expression drastically changed as he forced himself to back away, however, he was far too late. Naruto's speed was just too fast. His whole body trembled as he took the entire blow.

Even though this middle-aged man's whole body had a defensive treasure's protection, it was still unable to block Naruto's attack. The sound of bones breaking resounded. Afterwards, Naruto grabbed the middle-aged man's body and used his head to viciously attack him continuously.

Boom, boom, boom.

"No!" The middle-aged man spat out fresh blood, hopelessness appeared in his eyes as he was unable to escape.

The two sixth level Chakra Condensation clansmen nearby were shocked speechless. Trembling, one of them controlled a flying sword which shot straight towards Naruto.

With crimson eyes, Naruto completely ignored the flying sword and kept hitting the man.

The flying sword approached and stabbed him, only to reveal a shocking scene. The sword did not only fail to stab him, but even his skin was left unscathed as it immediately bounced off Naruto's body.

At the same time, Naruto fiercely roared before he ruthlessly struck the middle-aged man and grabbed ahold of him. The man let out out a blood-curdling scream as he took his last breath.

The two sixth level Chakra Condensation clansmen next to to Naruto went numb as they looked at the disheveled Naruto whose eyes were as red as those of a ferocious beast's. When Naruto looked in their direction, without any hesitation, they quickly backed away.

Uchiha Yue, who was not too far away, was even more shocked by this scene. A thunderous roar filled his mind as he was unable to believe what he had just witnessed

Chapter 54 Chapter 54

Chapter 54 - The Moral Heart

Seeing that the two sixth level Chakra Condensation clansmen were about to escape, Naruto formed a hand seal, then a small wodden sword wooshed out and immediatly swept by the nearest sixth level Chakra Condensation clansman's neck.

Before his death, an unprecedented horror filled the eyes of the sixth level Chakra Condensation clansman.

They were supposed to be the hunters, but now… the tables had turned, they were the ones being hunted!

In a few short moments, Naruto had already killed four people!

The face of the remaining sixth level Chakra Condensation clansman, who had previously joined hands in attacking Naruto, immediately paled as he used all of his strength to retreat. His heart was racing and his whole body was trembling. He couldn't believe that the small and innocent-looking Spirit River Sect disciple before his eyes was actually… so horrifying.

Naruto's eyes shone with ferocity. Just when he was about to give chase, an intense sense of danger suddenly arose in his heart.

Simultaneously, Ryuzetsu's panicked voice arrived as well.

"Be careful!"

Naruto's body immediately shot back, and in that moment, a ten zhang large purple coloured skull suddenly appeared exactly at the point where he was moments ago and self-destructed.

A loud explosion resounded and the resulting shockwave made Naruto's whole body quiver. This was the first time he had felt pain through his Impenetrable Skin. Blood oozed out from the corner of his lips as he retreated.

The attacker was Uchiha Yue who was at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation.

He had a ghastly look on his face and his eyes shone omniously. After saving his fellow clansman, his body disappeared in a flash as he dashed straight towards Naruto. Behind him, the remaining two sixth level Chakra Condensation clansmen viciously clenched their teeth and followed closely.

The three dashed towards Naruto.

Wanji struggled to help but he was already too weak. The previous life-threatening battle had used up the last of his Qi. Fresh blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth, he was no longer capable of fighting.

Ryuzetsu was also severely injured. She anxiously looked at Naruto, all of her previous hostility and prejudice for Naruto had long since disappeared.

Naruto's face paled and fresh blood spilt from his mouth again. His body swayed considerably and his speed rapidly decreased. Seeing this, the Uchiha Yue trio chased and attacked him again.

But when the trio neared Naruto, his eyes suddenly glinted fiercely. Although the Impenetrable Iron Skin's defence was unable to completely block Uchiha Yue's previous magical assault, more than half was still mitigated. He intentionally feigned weakness, to the point where there was even blood on the corner of his mouth.

His speed suddenly surged. He didn't retreat, but used his sudden acceleration to swiftly bypass Uchiha Yue. His target was… the duo of sixth level Chakra Condensation Uchiha clansmen.

Uchiha Yue's expression flickered and just when he was about to block Naruto, a whistling sound appeared near him. Naruto's wooden sword was heading directly at his head. Uchiha Yue made a hand seal and a skull immediately appeared in front of him. However, even with his quick reaction, he was still unable to stop Naruto.

His eyes filled with seriousness. With a flourish of his large sleeve, a lantern suddenly appeared and morphed into a fireball. Followed by a shout, it went straight for Naruto.

At the same time, those two sixth level Chakra Condensati

on disciples were struck with horror. They exclaimed loudly and quickly retreated, but Naruto's silhouette was like a lightning, abrupt and inescapable. When his right hand was raised, his thumb and index finger shone with a brilliant black glow and used them to viciously pinch the throat of the Uchiha clansman in front of him.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

Following a kacha sound, the Uchiha clansman released a blood-curdling scream as Naruto crushed his throat. The fireball close behind Naruto exuded its incredible heat. He was unable to dodge in time and a loud bang echoed when the fireball landed directly on his body.

When it exploded, a sea of fire instantly enveloped Naruto's entire body. Ryuzetsu and Wanji both cried out in alarm at this sight.

"Naruto!"

The sixth level Chakra Condensation clansman not too far away was plesantly surprised. He watched as the flames devoured Naruto and burst into laughter.

But at this moment, a silhouette suddenly dashed out from within the sea of flames. Its speed was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, it was already next to the laughing sixth level Chakra Condensation Uchiha Clansman. That person's eyes widened and tried to back away.

However, Naruto's had already foot landed on his head, and in the next moment, his head was instantly smashed into a blood pulp. Not even a scream was heard as the clansman immediately perished.

Having finished all of this, Naruto was out of breath. His eyes were now even redder and his body was now adorned with burn marks. Blood oozed out from the corner of his mouth as he raised his head and shot a death glare at the last Uchiha clansman… Uchiha Yue!

The severity of Naruto's glare made Uchiha Yue's hairs stood on end He had cultivated himself to the eighth level of Chakra Condensation and was considered as a genius in his clan. Although his treatment was incomparable to patriarch Shao, he still received considerable respect from the elders. His combat strength was impressive, honed from his daily fights with monsters in the Falling Star Mountain Range where he experienced countless of life and death situations.

As for the Spirit River Sect disciples, he held them in contempt. Although the opponents' status was higher than his, he had always believed that the cultivators in the sect were all like plants grown in a pot. Even though each one of them possessed extraordinary spiritual strength, when faced in a life and death battle, they could not be compared to him.

But now, in Naruto's presence, what he felt was fear. Especially Naruto's current gaze, which was even more frightening than any of the monsters that he had encountered in the Falling Star Mountain Range.

There was savagery contained in that gaze, as if it wanted to swallow him alive. A chilly sensation rose from the bottom of Uchiha Yue's heart.

Especially when he recalled how his opponent had killed six people one by other in such a short span of time, his mind trembled. The thing that made all of this surreal was the fact that he had already seen through the opponent's cultivation… It was actually only the peak of the sixth level of Chakra Condensation.

"His strength is enormous and he is also extremely fast. That person must have cultivated some sort of body-refining technique to be capable of killing someone with a single strike!"

"His defence in particular is terrifying!"

"Even though he does not have many Techniques, his control over the flying sword is exceptional. Not only has its speed exceeded our expectations, but every sword strike is shocking, that wooden sword itself is no ordinary object either. Its grade is very high, resulting in its capabilities to kill those at the sixth level of Chakra Condensation in an instant!"

"This kind of person is most definitely the Spirit River Sect's famed genius. But how come I haven't heard of his name before, Naruto!" Uchiha Yue was scared, but at the same time, his desire to fight intensified. With a wave of his right hand, three fist-sized jade skulls immediately appeared in front of him.

He looked at Naruto with a serious expression.

"I had previously looked down on you, but not anymore. Let us see whether your Spirit River Sect's technique is stronger than my Uchiha Clan's Malicious Spirit Murdering Method!"

Once the words came out of his mouth, Uchiha Yue made a hand seal and the three skulls surrounding him seemed to animate as they growled. They grew bigger, eventually reaching ten zhang in size, and rushed straight towards Naruto.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

Naruto was gasping for breath. In that moment, his mind was blank. There was not a single thought in his mind. He had long forgotten about dying. Only the impulse to defeat all of his enemies was left.

Seeing the skulls were closing in, his right hand furiously flashed as it made several hand seals. Pointing forward, the small wooden sword whooshed out along with two other flying swords. At the same time, whilst controlling three flying swords, a huge amount of light followed, bursting out of his body.

There was even a small shield circling around his body, emitting a brilliant glow.

In the next moment, Naruto's flying sword came in contact with those hollow skulls. A roar echoed out and both his and Uchiha Yue's speed surged as they fiercely battled one another.

Uchiha Yue's eighth level of Chakra Condensation was more profound than Naruto's, but he was inferior in terms of strength and defence. The fight between the two reverberated, and it was obvious that their had matched against each other!

This scene made Ryuzetsu's heart skip a bit. She clenched her fist, not even feeling the pain of the fingernails digging into her skin.

The weak and hateful Naruto disappeared, and in his place was a body that looked as if it was made of both metal and blood. It was Naruto who was fighting with Uchiha Yue from the Fallen Uchiha Clan.

"I had previously wrongly accused him… This is the real Uzumaki

Xiaochun…"

"He is certaintly afraid of dying, but he can turn round and fight his way through a battle of life and death. The courage it required is far above an ordinary person's…" Ryuzetsu looked at Naruto, her eyes gradually being filled with emotion.

"He's terrified of death yet there is persistence in his heart. His morals do not allow him to abandon his comrades just because of his fear of dying…"

Not long after, a deafening sound rang out. Two out of three of Naruto's flying swords had broken into pieces, only the wooden sword was left. Those three skulls, however, seemed far dimmer as they were spiritually damaged as they flew back to Uchiha Yue's side.

At this moment, Naruto seized the opportunity to attack. Uchiha Yue spat out blood because he was unable to dodge in time. Naruto's Throat Crushing Grasp pressed on Uchiha Yue's arm and a kacha sound echoed out. The bone of his left hand was immediately broken. Nevertheless, a small dagger flew out from within his mouth, stabbing a cun deep into Naruto's shoulder.

(ED note: 1/100 of 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards)

Even the Impenetrable Skin had difficulty fending off the small dagger.

When fresh blood started to flow, Uchiha Yue immediately backed away.

Not waiting for him to retreat far enough, Naruto ignored his injury and chased Uchiha Yue with crimson eyes, his speed fast enough to cut the air.

Uchiha Yue had a ghastly look on his face. He violently clenched his teeth in this moment of crisis. After a series of hand seals, his body trembled. The Chakra and blood in his whole body were boiling. With a loud roar, he fiercely slapped his forehead.

"Naruto, if it is not you who dies today, it will be me!" If it was any other time, Uchiha Yue would have backed down without a fight. But today, it was a big incident related to his whole clan. He had to kill Naruto. TBlood spurted out from his body, and the three skulls greedily swallowed it.

"Malicious Spirit Murdering Method!" Uchiha Yue let out a low growl, displaying his unique Secret Technique. Both eyes of the three skulls in front of him let out a faint glow and ferociously charged at Uchiha Yue. They wildly bit him and swallowed most of Uchiha Yue's flesh, and in the blink of an eye, it pierced into his body.

At this strange sight, Ryuzetsu and Wanji sucked in a deep breath. At the same time, Uchiha Yue let out a mournful howl. His body shuddered and a ferocious expression adorned his face. A large amount of black gas appeared outside his body and actually transformed into a Malicious Spirit that was ten zhang tall.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards)

"Die!" His voice was imposing as he raised his right hand and pressed at Naruto viciously.

"It is you who will die!" Naruto let out a low growl. Both his hands did a series of hand seals, pointing towards the sky. At once, the Chakra from within his body exploded out like a startled horse. A huge "Cauldron" word was quickly outlined in mid air.

It was...

The Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique!

Chapter 55 Chapter 55

Chapter 55 - Young Master Uchiha Heng!

"Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique!" Both Wanji and Ryuzetsu cried out in surprise with stunned expressions.

Especially Ryuzetsu, she had already mastered the stage of 'Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light', hence, she was aware of the difficulty involved in mastering the Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique. That was a technique that few had mastered throughout the entire Southern Bank.

With a loud bang, the large cauldron smashed against the Malicious Spirit. The ground trembled as the Malicious Spirit let out a pitiful wail; its body immediately collapsed and transformed into countless strands of black Chakra that dissipated into the surroundings, revealing a barely breathing Uchiha Yue within.

Blood escaped out of Uchiha Yue's mouth as his body plopped on the ground. He gazed bitterly at the dissipating large cauldron and murmured softly under his breath.

"Purple Qi...Cauldron Melting…" He struggled to give Naruto one last look before his body stilled, drawing his last breath. Before he had even executed the secret technique, he was already exhausted and wounded. With his method destroyed by the Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique, and the Malicious Spirit that fed on his body was destroyed, he barely had any strength left to keep him alive.

Even up till death, Uchiha Yue kept his eyes wide open and stared straight at Naruto.

Seeing that Uchiha Yue had died, Naruto felt his entire body go limp; he had expended so much of his body's spiritual Chakra that he felt lightheaded. Like a deflating balloon, Naruto stood there shivering; his body swayed from side to side as though it was about to collapse any moment; his face awashed with a sickly white, apparently in disbelief that he had killed everyone.

As he recalled the scenes from before, Naruto felt a metallic taste in his mouth. Before he could check what it was, fresh blood had seeped out from the corners of his mouth again.

"I'm bleeding...I…I almost got killed!" Naruto felt his entire body ache in pain; especially when he tried to lift his shoulders, an unbearable pain shot through his entire arm. His skin was also badly scorched in numerous places. The waves of pain shooting through his body made Naruto remember the fight before, making him shiver in fear once again.

"I…why did I come back...if I was careless even for a single moment just now, I would have died…...I have lived in vigilance my entire life, when did I become so rash…" Naruto regretted his actions when all of a sudden, an unfamiliar soft and supple convexes pounced straight into his arms, accompanying this rather unfamiliar sensation was a very sweet fragrance. It was Ryuzetsu.

Naruto was stunned for a moment, but he immediately put on a serious expression and opened his mouth as he hugged onto Ryuzetsu. "Senior Sister Du, don't be scared, as long as I am here, nobody should dare touch a single strand of your hair!" As he spoke, Naruto unconsciously moved his hand toward the protrusions on her body.

"Thank you, thank you so much…" Ryuzetsu replied emotionally as tears streamed down her cheeks. When she realised that she was in the arms of Naruto and furthermore, felt a hand placed inappropriately on her backside, her face immediately flushed and she hastily backed away, looking angrily at Naruto.

Naruto coughed dryly as he relished the feeling, deep in his heart he thought to himself that Ryuzetsu lived up to her title as one of the five great beauties of the Southern Bank; just her figure alone was already enough to blow away the competit

ion.

At this moment, Wanji had a weird expression on his face. He gave a dry cough and flashed a smile at Naruto.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, there will be time to reminisce in the future, right now the Fallen Uchiha Clan will definitely send out their next batch of pursuers; I fear that the next batch will comprise of the strongest of the clan other than the Foundation Establishment patriarch himself. We have to make use of the time we have now to quickly escape."

The moment Naruto heard these words, he felt his heart skip a beat; he had went all out previously to secure that victory and now, at the thought of the clan sending out even more people as strong as Uchiha Yue go after him, Naruto couldn't help but feel a shiver ran down his spine. With a deathly pale look on his face, he nervously surveyed the surroundings, shrunk his neck back and hastily nodded.

"Right, right, right, let's go, we have to escape quickly!" Naruto immediately broke into a run, appearing extremely afraid of death, contrasting greatly with the hot-blooded ferocious youth from before. Looking at Naruto now, Ryuzetsu did not find him detestable, but rather, she felt his actions were adorable. Compared to before, whenever Ryuzetsu looked at Naruto now, she would admiringly recall the scene of Naruto abandoning his own well-being, jump in and fight fiercely to save her.

Wanji helplessly shook his head as he picked up the storage pouches from the bodies of the Fallen Uchiha clansmen and chased after Naruto to give them to him.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, these are your spoils."

Naruto did not bother to inspect them as he took the stuff and threw them into his own pouch. At this moment, Naruto couldn't help but shake from fear. There was only one thought running through his head right now, and that was to escape.

Within the Fallen Star Mountain Range, at the underground palace of the Fallen Uchiha Clan, in the instant that Naruto killed the first Uchiha clansman, one of the nodes within the formation array surrounding the blood lake shattered. The blood inside of it dried up almost immediately.

(ED note: in chapter 52, we used 'cornerstones' for nodes and mistakenly said they are four, which was in fact referencing to the borders of the formation array. It has been fixed now, we advise you reread the description regarding the blood lake of chapter 52. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Seeing this scene, the surrounding Fallen Uchiha family clan members were all stunned for a moment. All of them turned their heads to look over there but before they could even react, a second node, third, fourth, fifth…

Cracking sounds resounded through the air as nodes continuously shattered.

This scene immediately caused all the clansmen to widen their eyes in surprise. As their facial expressions changed, the Uchiha clan's patriarch sitting within the blood lake slowly opened his eyes as well.

In the instant he opened his eyes, an explosion echoed from the node where Uchiha Yue was supposed to be at.

"Uchiha Yue…...has also been killed!"

"All dead, seven people went out, and they are all dead!"

"How is this possible, those seven people only had to kill two outer sect disciples. Could it be that the Spirit River Sect has found out about us and sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator!" The surrounding Uchiha clansmen lost their composure as a wave of panic swept over them, some of them even revealing fear.

"Silence!" Among the cries of shock, a cold archaic voice resounded from the mouth of the old man sitting within the blood lake. Like a thunderclap tearing the air apart, the voice made the hearts of everyone present tremble, causing a shiver to ran down their spines. One by one they quieted down and looked nervously at their clan's patriarch.

"To go against the heavens and change our fate, to remove this seal in our bloodline; this is the only chance our clan has acquired in a thousand years. Since we have already decided, do not let your mind run wild. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator were to step into my formation array, I would sense it immediately. Currently... there are no Foundation Establishment cultivators, not even a piece of information has been leaked out. What are you guys panicking for." The elder slowly opened his mouth, his expression was just as gloomy; if it wasn't for him taking charge of this important formation array causing him to be unable to leave, he would have definitely personally went out to destroy Naruto's group long ago.

However, the moment he stepped out and broke free of the clan's Blood Reversal Formation Array controlled by the Spirit River Sect, all of his efforts would go down the drain. He would even experience a backlash from the formation array, perhaps he could still survive it with some difficulty, but his clansmen would undoubtedly die the instant their blood flow reverses.

"To be able to kill someone of Uchiha Yue's caliber, it might not necessarily be a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Between those two outer sect disciples, either one of them has hidden his cultivation level, or they possess a precious artifact!"

"Even if they have hidden their cultivation level, it is at most at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, as for the precious artifact...the stronger it is, the more restrictions it should have when a Chakra Condensation cultivator uses it."

"Heng-er!" A sharp glint flashed in the old man's gaze as he raised his right hand to slap the blood lake by his side. Immediately, the lake waters started churning as a blood-robed teenager slowly rose from within the lake.

This young man had an exquisitely handsome look with well-defined features. At this instant, both his eyes suddenly opened, and a bloody light flashed from within his gaze, causing his aura to swiftly rise up as nine blurry blood-coloured malicious spirits appeared around him and released soundless shrieks.

The moment the surrounding Uchiha clansmen saw this young man, their expressions all brightened as they lowered their heads to greet him. "Heng-er, as the young master of the Fallen Uchiha Clan, you are the strongest cultivator in this clan excluding myself. The ninth level of Chakra Condensation...it is more than enough to undertake this mission. Take nine people with you, make sure...that you kill those three outer sect disciples!" The patriarch looked at the young man as his gaze shone with compassion and admiration, even his tone softened and became gentler.

"If they do not die, then I shall never return." The young man's gaze glinted with coldness as he nodded his head. He leaped and the nine blood-coloured spirits surrounding him turned into a bloody mist which formed a cloud for him to ride on. As he flew out of the blood lake, he hovered in the air, and after picking nine other clansmen, the ten of them of them departed immediately.

In the blink of an eye, ten silhouettes whistled out from within the Fallen

Uchiha Clan. With the wave of a hand by the young man named Uchiha Heng, clouds of bloody mist immediately appeared underneath the feet of the nine other people, and the ten of them flew off into the distance together.

Their speed was fast, incomparable to travelling on the ground, and in no time, they had already arrived near the area where Uchiha Yue and his group had died. Using their clan's bloodline to guide them, they quickly flew towards that direction.

Among these ten men, Uchiha Heng was in the ninth Chakra Condensation level, the weakest was at least at the seventh Chakra Condensation level, five others even had cultivations similar to Uchiha Yue's - eighth level Chakra Condensation.

Such a line-up was already the strongest that the Fallen Uchiha Clan could send out at this moment.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the ten people had already flew out from the Fallen Star Mountain Range forest and appeared at the spot where Uchiha Yue and the six others had died.

Looking at the eye-shocking and heart-stopping state of the bodies, everyone's expression changed except for Uchiha Heng's.

Uchiha Heng wore a cold expression as he gazed at the bodies on the ground one by one, especially after realising that a few of them had their necks broken, a malicious glint shone from his eyes.

"Body-refining cultivator!"

With a flash of his body, he appeared beside Uchiha Yue's corpse and lowered his head to examine it for a few seconds. Deep in thought, Uchiha Heng lifted his right hand and pressed towards Uchiha Yue's face, closing the eyes of the latter. Soon after, Uchiha Heng opened his eyes abruptly.

"Interesting, there are actually some residue shockwaves from the

Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique…"

"This is both a spirit and body cultivator; not only does he have a fearsome physique, he also wields shocking and powerful spiritual techniques. No wonder he was able to kill Uchiha Yue and the others."

"This person is definitely one of the Proud Son of the Heavens of the Spirit River Sect; Shang-Guan Tianyou? Or it is Zabuza?" A vicious glint flashed through Uchiha Heng's eyes and within the depths of that glint was actually a thick thirst for battle.

(ED note: in chapter 42, we have used 'genius' instead of Proud Son of the Heavens, it should be fixed by now. It is more of a status rather than just a simple 'genius' that's why we apologize for this mistake.)

"Each of you choose a direction and search for them, if you spot anything, immediately send out a signal!" Uchiha Heng stood up and ordered in an icy tone. The nine people beside him all lowered their heads in acknowledgement and dispersed in different directions.

"The circumference of the formation array is extremely huge, without at least half a month, one can forget about escaping out of it. As for you guys...you can forget about escaping at all!" Uchiha Heng snorted coldly as he too picked a direction and quickly flew off into the distance.

Chapter 56 Chapter 56

Chapter 56 - Depending On Each Other For Survival

It was the dusk of the second day, Naruto, Ryuzetsu and Wanji were still fleeing, occasionally taking out their communication jade slip to give it a try. However, no matter how much they tried, or how anxious they were, they were still unable to contact the sect.

Fortunately, having taken the seven storage pouches from the Fallen Uchiha clansmen that Naruto had killed, they had enough pills to sustain them. Although it couldn't be compared to when they were in the Spirit River Sect, at times like these, having something is better than nothing.

Under the sustenance of the pills, both Ryuzetsu and Wanji looked vigorous as they suppressed their injuries and ran alongside Naruto in the darkness of the night.

Throughout the journey, Naruto could feel his heart thumping worriedly against his chest; any blow of the wind or movement of the grass would make him break out in cold sweat. As he was constantly on the edge, his eyes were bloodshot. The pain that occasionally ran through his body caused him to clench his teeth in agony.

It wasn't that he couldn't handle the pain, in fact, if he were to compare it with when he was cultivating the Unending Longevity Technique, it was far weaker. However, the pain from the Unending Longevity Technique was for the sake of cultivation, but now, when he looked at the unrecognisable mess of blood and flesh all over his body, he could only worry whether the injuries would worsen and whether or not they were life-threatening. As these thoughts ran through his mind, his expression turned gloomy and sour.

If this was before, Ryuzetsu would have definitely looked down on Naruto with contempt, but currently, her attitude was the exact opposite. She looked at Naruto with a gentle gaze as she stood by his side and continuously consoled him.

"It's okay, don't be scared Junior Brother Uzumaki, although these injuries look serious, in fact they are not life-threatening."

"Stay still, I will apply some ointment for you…"

Seeing Naruto clench his teeth in pain, Ryuzetsu covered her mouth and chuckled softly. Despite their dangerous circumstances, Ryuzetsu still smiled towards Naruto, and somehow, vague emotions hid behind it.

She knew that Naruto was scared of death, however, the more she learned about this characteristic of his, the more touched she felt when she recalled the moment Naruto had turned back to save them. She felt that the Naruto standing before her possessed a courage that far exceeded that of any normal person.

And this courage, which had materialised into that bloody iron silhouette, left an unforgettable memory in her heart.

Under the consolation of Ryuzetsu, Naruto couldn't help but feel joy rise from the bottom of his heart. He silently thought that putting his life on the line this time around wasn't so bad after all if he could enjoy the gentle treatment from a beauty like Ryuzetsu.

When Wanji looked at this scene, his gaze revealed a hint of happiness. Throughout this escape, they had to constantly depend and count on each other for survival. Having the opportunity to feel this rare sense of warmth, their relationship had definitely gotten much closer.

"If we could return back to the sect, Junior Brother Uzumaki, Junior Sister Du, this favor, I will never forget it for my entire life!" Wanji said in a serious tone.

"If we could return back to the sect…" Ryuzetsu's gaze shone with anticipation but she sighted soon after. Turning to glance at Naruto, a bitter feeling rose from the bottom of her heart; she understood, that the possibilit

y of them returning alive...was slim.

Naruto similarly fell into silence.

Time passed by and in the blink of an eye, two days had flown by. The trio had been on the run without rest, and throughout the journey, they would often take out the communication jade slip to test it out, but alas, it had never worked.

Wanji's injuries were worsening and Ryuzetsu's face was also getting paler. The fatigue coupled with the injuries had caused the two of them to be mentally exhausted as well.

"A pity we don't have the time to hide from them. We also need to report back to the sect as soon as possible. According to my estimation, the Fallen Uchiha Clan's ritual should be finishing soon, and once it is completed…that Foundation Establishment patriarch will personally take action. Once that happens, regardless of how well we hide, we will undoubtedly die." Wanji softly sighed as he explained to Naruto and Ryuzetsu.

Suddenly, Naruto's expression suddenly changed. He quickly pulled Ryuzetsu and Wanji along with him, sprinted down to a col and hastily crouched down.

Both Wanji and Ryuzetsu's expressions changed as they immediately fell silent.

Not long after, out of the blue, a prismatic beam streaked across the sky; the prismatic beam was a cloud of bloody mist, and within the mist was an eight level Chakra Condensation Uchiha clansman who was currently gazing below, scouting the ground. However, as Naruto and the others had hid themselves in time, this Uchiha clansman did not stay for long and flew off into the distance.

Naruto's heart pounded nervously as he looked at the fading figure in the distance. The blood-filled veins in his eyes grew more obvious; he knew that he couldn't take any action right now unless he could instantly kill the person. Otherwise, before long the other clansmen would certainly appear.

"They have caught up to us…" Ryuzetsu sighed deep in her heart. She looked at Naruto and hesitated for a moment, she was just about to open her mouth when Naruto suddenly grabbed her hand and dashed away.

Along the way, the three of them were quieter than they had ever been; an invisible pressure weighed on their hearts and spread in the atmosphere, causing an unsettling feeling to rise in their hearts, as if the shadow of death was extending its hand closer and closer towards them, threatening to crush the three of them.

"We still have hope!" Wanji suddenly said.

"Though the Fallen Uchiha Clan's patriarch is a Foundation Establishment cultivator and is much stronger than us, it is impossible for his formation array to be boundless. Our Hou family's patriarch is also a Foundation Establishment cultivator and I was fortunate to witness him set up a formation array. Setting up a formation array that can cover an area of 10 000 li still requires one to lay down some nodes first."

(ED note: One li is 576 meters, or 630 yards)

" Senior Brother Hou is saying that even if the Fallen Uchiha Clan's patriarch had made prior preparations, it wouldn't exceed over 10 000 li!" Ryuzetsu's eyes brightened as she immediately replied.

"That's right, hence the further we are from the Fallen Uchiha Clan, the higher the chance of us succeeding to contact the sect with the jade slip. And as long as we manage to send the news back to the sect, we would be saved!" Wanji said firmly.

"A radius of 10 000 li, according to our current speed, we would roughly need ** days…" Naruto muttered as he gritted his teeth and continued running.

(ED note: the author himself wrote ** )

Throughout the journey, they were either running or hiding; they had encountered the Fallen Uchiha clansmen numerous times, however, they had always managed to avoid them thanks to Naruto's extraordinary sense of danger.

This constant tension coupled with the continuous running during which Naruto still pulled Ryuzetsu and Wanji along, caused his fatigue to build-up and his expression to pale even further.

As for Wanji and Ryuzetsu, their injuries only worsened as time passed, their speed slowly decreased until Naruto was practically the only thing moving them forward.

Naruto moved with even more caution, his character was to always seek safety and stability; his personality was meticulous, and with his keen danger sense, he had managed to keep them alive for three days in the state of high alert.

During these three days, the three of them hid and concealed themselves; Naruto looked haggard and was exhausted beyond what words could describe. As they entered a mountain valley, before taking more than a few steps, Naruto suddenly felt his heart leap and instantly grabbed Ryuzetsu and Wanji and hid together with them behind a large boulder. However, they were slower by a beat as a whistling sound sounded from above. Naruto quickly pushed the other two without any hesitation and hastily backed away.

With a loud crash, a beam of white light instantaneously descended from the sky, smashing the boulder, showering the surroundings with rubble. Wanji coughed out blood and similarly, some blood also seeped out from the corners of Ryuzetsu's mouth. At this moment, a cold snort echoed from the sky above.

"So this is where you are hiding!"

A disciple of the seventh level of Chakra Condensation appeared before them as he stood on a bloody mist and held a piece of mirror in his left hand. He immediately slapped his storage pouch with his right hand and retrieved a piece of jade slip, preparing to send out a signal.

"Don't let him send out the signal!" Wanji said anxiously as Ryuzetsu, with a deathly pale face, tried to use her flying sword with great difficulty

At this moment, the retreating Naruto, with his face pale, his body trembling and bloodshot eyes, gritted his teeth and stomped on the ground mid-retreat; his right leg trembled as he gathered all of his strength and with a loud bang, the ground below cracked open as his body shot off of the ground and flew with a such speed that he seemed like a prismatic beam.

Just when the Uchiha clansman was about the send the signal, Naruto arrived in front of him. The Uchiha clansman's expression immediately changed as he retreated quickly, unable to send a signal. With a gesture, the mirror in his left hand suddenly flashed and numerous beams of white light flew out of it towards Naruto.

Naruto eyes filled with ferocity as he did not even bother to dodge, letting those beams of white light to freely land on his body as he continued to charge forward. While the clansman was shocked, Naruto arrived in front of him. As black light flashed on the two fingers of Naruto's right hand, he grabbed onto the neck of Uchiha clansman and mercilessly clamped on it.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

With a crackle, the eyes of the clansman at the seventh level of Chakra Condensation glazed; fresh blood spurted out of his mouth as his last breath left his body. Between the time he found the trio and died, he hadn't had the chance to send out a signal even once.

Simultaneously, blood also seeped out from the corners of Uzumaki

Xiaochun's mouth. Grabbing the storage pouch of the other party in one hand, he returned back to Ryuzetsu. Before he could even reach her, his body buckled as if it was on the brink of collapse. Biting onto his tongue, Naruto forced himself to concentrate.

"Go!" He quickly grabbed onto both Ryuzetsu and Wanji.

"Let go of me!" Wanji suddenly shouted.

"Both of you leave, your speed would be much faster without me." Wanji gazed towards Naruto and Ryuzetsu as he said with determination.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, you go…" Ryuzetsu meaningfully looked at Naruto. Wanji's words were exactly the ones that she wanted to say days ago, and now she took the chance to say them as well.

"Shut up! Even someone like me who is terrified of dying is already putting his life on the line, you guys can't let my effort to leave together be in vain!" Naruto screamed angrily, cutting off the words of Wanji and Ryuzetsu. He pulled both of them and dashed away without speaking another word. Both of them similarly fell silent and did not continue to speak. Deep down in their hearts, Naruto's moving words had left an inerasable mark upon them

Naruto moved even more cautiously from then on - he constantly changed directions and avoided the Uchiha clansmen hunting them multiple times. Three days later, when the sun was about to set, a lightning streaked across the sky. Ominous clouds gathered and raindrops fell. The bean-sized water drops rained endlessly onto the earth, drowning the area to instantly be filled with drizzling sounds.

As a cold chill spread in the air, Wanji and Ryuzetsu felt their bodies shiver uncontrollably. Aggravated by this cold chill, their faces paled even further. Anxiety surfaced on Naruto's face; he knew that the both of them would not be able to make it through the cold. Quickly, he found a mountain cave and lighted a fire.

After blocking out the light from it, Naruto sat cross-legged and gazed at the two of them.

Crackling sounds softly rounded from the bonfire as it emanated a comforting warmth that gradually chased away the chill in the surrounding air. Ryuzetsu and Wanji's expressions slowly improved, though they were still pale white.

Within the cave, the three of them stared silently at the fire, as a wave of fatigue washed over them from the depths of their hearts.

"Three more days, then we would be out of the 10 000 li area. Hahaha, when we return back to the sect and tell them of our achievements, what do you think the sect will reward us with?" Naruto chuckled as he broke the silence.

Ryuzetsu looked at Naruto with a gentle look.

Wanji felt like laughing, however, when he opened his mouth, fresh blood flew out of his mouth as he immediately became paler, and his body swayed as if it was about to collapse any moment.

Throughout these few days of escaping, all of their pills had been used up.

Naruto immediately stood up and was just about to walk over to check on Wanji when his expression suddenly changed. With a quick wave of his sleeve, he shielded both Ryuzetsu and Wanji behind him as the rocks covering the entrance got blasted from outside.

Chapter 57 Chapter 57

Chapter 57 - We Must All Live On!

A loud sound reverberated as the rocks were scattered by Naruto. Following the surge of cold air from the outside, the flames from the bonfire swayed and revealed a strong-looking man outside the cave.

This strong man was extremely burly and was holding a longspear with cold eyes. As an eighth level Chakra Condensation cultivator, he seemed to have an even tougher look than Uchiha Yue.

"The Young Master's deduction was correct. On this cold and rainy day, all of you who have injuries on your body would be unable to withstand the cold weather and would surely seek shelter. I, Uchiha Mou, continuously searched hundreds of mountain peaks and sure enough, I finally found all of you."

As soon as the strong man opened his mouth, Naruto suddenly rushed out with murderous eyes. In an instant, booms echoed as he fought with the strong man. The strong man seemed proud, but he was vigilant from the very start, he hadn't entered the cave at all, but instead, he immediately backed away.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto was already outside the cave. Under the intertwining heavy rain and thunderstorms outside, he fought with that strong man who was continuously retreating.

It was obvious that this strong man would not attack, but would use all of his strength to defend. Seeing this, Naruto's heart skipped a beat as he thought something was wrong. Gritting his teeth, he went allout with his attack, ignoring his injuries.

The cold air blew into the cave, extinguishing the bonfire. Wanji struggled to stand up and once again threw up blood. Ryuzetsu bit her silver tooth, straining to even control her Flying Sword. She stood up and gave chase, flashing hand seals to assist Naruto fight the strong man.

After a moment, a blood-curdling scream rang out under the heavy downpour. A wooden sword had pierced the strong man's chest, but just before his death, he had managed to stab Naruto's right leg with the longspear he wielded. Even though it didn't manage to penetrate too deeply, it still pierced half of Naruto's leg.

"All of you cannot escape, the Young Master will arrive soon!" The strong man stubbornly glared at Naruto as fresh blood seeped out of his mouth. His head fell to the side and he stopped breathing.

Naruto's face was pale and his body was shaking. In order to quickly kill that man, he had no choice but to suffer injuries in the process. Bursts of pulsing pain spread from his right leg. As he lowered his head, rain fell on his body, seeping into his wounds. The ground beneath his leg was dyed red from his blood and half his body felt cold.

Staggering, Ryuzetsu ran toward him. Seeing Naruto's right leg, tears started running down her face. When she approached him, she gently helped Naruto pull the longspear out from his leg.

During the process, he felt as if his flesh and bones were being ripped apart. Naruto's body was shivering yet he didn't groan. The dying words of his opponent were obviously meant to delay them, and it caused Naruto's heart to sink.

He could even feel the fluctuations in the the wind around him and knew that it would not be long before all of the pursuing clansmen from the Fallen Uchiha Clan would appear.

Not long after, with Ryuzetsu supporting him by the arm, the two returned to the cave. Naruto had kept the strong man's longspear. Inside the cave, Naruto's breathing was shallow. His right leg was prickling but thankfully, his bones were uninjured. Even though his bandaged leg still hurt, compared to today's life and death crisis, this pain was insignificant.

br /

"We must leave now. The Fallen Uchiha Clan will be coming any moment now!" Naruto took a deep breath and stood up.

Looking at Wanji now, he seemed to be on the verge of dying. His injuries could no longer be suppressed after multiple agonising days. Ryuzetsu was completely haggard and some of her meridians had broken under the severity of the journey. When she previously helped Naruto, she was gritting her teeth as she trembled to complete the task. Now, she looked up, gazing at Naruto..

Under the night sky, her eyes were very beautiful and had a special gleam to them.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki…"

"There is no need to bother with us. Your speed is fast. You… Leave!" Ryuzetsu weakly said. Wanji, who was at the side, also scrambled to sit up, looking weakly at Naruto and nodded.

"We can escape beyond the ten thousand li in just three more days. You guys shut... " Naruto's eyes were completely red. He had not even finished talking before he was weakly interrupted by Wanji.

(ED note: One li is 576 meters, or 630 yards)

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, once you escape, pass the message to the Sect.

Then Junior Sister Du and I might have a chance to survive..."

Naruto smiled bitterly. He was not a three years old child who would believe such a lie. He understood very clearly that even if he escaped and the Sect arrived, no matter how quickly they did… Wanji and Ryuzetsu would have already certainly died.

"Then, if I die, you'll be able to leave." Seeing Naruto intending to reject, Wanji suddenly laughed.

Naruto's heart trembled, seeing the remains of Wanji's Chakra flicker, as if his meridians were going to shatter on their own.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, are you going or not!" Wanji looked calmly at Naruto.

Naruto was grief-stricken. As he backed away, looking at Wanji and Ryuzetsu, the bitterness that he felt reached its peak.

"If… There is still hope, if… There is such thing as an afterlife, I hope to meet you once again… Junior Brother Uzumaki… live on!" Ryuzetsu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear which had drifted in front of her face because of the chilly wind. No matter how pale her elegant face was in this moment, it had a beauty more touching than ever before as she gazed at Naruto and softly muttered those words.

When these two words, "live on" were spoken, Naruto's body jerked, as if a hammer had struck his chest, making it tighten. He stared at Ryuzetsu with a startled expression and then looked at Wanji in silence. After a long while, with his thoughts unsorted and without a word, his body backed away, disappearing from the duo's eyes. Naruto had left the cave, leaping into the thunderstorm.

Seeing Naruto chose to leave, Wanji's heart relaxed. Ryuzetsu quietly stared, her eyes expressing her farewell. She wished that… she could turn back time and return to the time when she had first seen Naruto. If that was the case, she could spend her time and… get to know Naruto more.

The surroundings were quiet, when suddenly, Wanji and Ryuzetsu stared into the sky outside, straight at Naruto and paled.

They saw Naruto in mid-air as a loud explosion reverberated from his cultivation exploding out, his Chakra gushing out, spreading, even distorting the rain.

It was as if a torch was blazing in the night sky, and even the cold rain was unable to extinguish it. His Chakra could clearly be felt even from a distance.

When the lightning and thunder roared in the sky, the clansmen from the Fallen Uchiha Clan heading in that direction all became aware of it.

Especially Uchiha Heng, a flash ran through his eyes. In this moment, everyone was drawn toward Naruto.

Naruto's body shifted and he suddenly charged in the distance. When he leaped past where the mountain cave was, Ryuzetsu and Wanji were surrounded by Naruto's deep and resolute voice.

"I will distract them. You guys look for an opening… quickly go!"

Ryuzetsu's tears streamed down her face. In that moment, huge waves were roiling in her heart. Wanji's body and mind were both shaking.

At the same time, Naruto's speed increased, exploding with his full strength, whistling from the distance.

"You are dead, you are dead. Fallen Uchiha Clan, I might not be able to exterminate your clan, but the Spirit River Sect will definitely come and exterminate your whole clan!" Naruto let out a forlorn laughter as he dashed, his crazed voice echoing out. Currently, the way he was sprinting seemed like he was attempting to escape the ten thousands li radius centered on the mansion. The feeling that he was exuding was obviously one as if his comrades had all died and he had become hysterical; even if he died, he would deliver the message at all cost, jus order to avenge his comrades.

This scene changed Uchiha Heng's expression. This Naruto was really going to alert the Sect, or perhaps it was a crafty lie, but Naruto's speed was too fast and Uchiha Heng didn't dare to gamble with his Clan's fate.

"Gather everyone to kill that person. As for his comrades, even if they are not dead, they are bound to be heavily injured, we'll search for them after killing that person!" Everyone's speed exploded, rumbling as they pursued to Naruto in this thunderstorm.

The lightning and rain intertwined while thunders roared across the sky. After a moment, Ryuzetsu viciously clenched her teeth in the darkness of the cave. Wiping away her tears, a strong determination filled her eyes.

She knew that the only way to save Naruto was for her to dash out of this area and relay the message back to the Sect.

She looked at Wanji, his eyes filled with the same determination.

"There is no need to support me. Both of us head our separate ways. Regardless of who escapes first, immediately inform the Sect and have them save Junior Brother Uzumaki!" Wanji had already decided that even if he was going to die, as long as he still had his last breath, he was still going to run and have the Sect save Naruto.

Both of them took a deep breath, braving the rain and dashed out. They separated outside the cave, risking everything as they leaped into the distance. Their bodies were already at their limit, but the determination they had in this moment seemed to exceed the limits of their bodies, driving them forward.

The sound of thunder continuously echoed throughout the surroundings and lightning flashed across the sky. Naruto was madly bolting with his full force, his right leg had already lost its feeling long ago. In this moment, his eyes were completely red, the danger of death was surging throughout his body.

He was afraid. He was afraid of death. He felt that death was quickly catching up to him, pulling him into the abyss.

Naruto didn't know whether his actions were impulsive nor did he know whether he was going to regret them. After all, his reason for cultivation was to achieve immortality. He didn't have an answer to all of this.

Even now, there was still a voice in the depths of his heart telling him to… escape by himself…

But he just couldn't forget these days where they shared a common fate and relied on each other. He was unable to forget the moment when Wanji had blackmailed him to have him escape. He was unable to forget that smile, more beautiful than ever before, on Ryuzetsu's pale face.

Between the fear of of death and friendship, he chose the latter!

"Senior Sister Du, Senior Brother Hou, we must all live on!" Naruto gritted his teeth, sprinting as if his life depended on it.

"Fallen Uchiha Clan, since you are all in a hurry to kill us, then come!" There was ferocity in Naruto's eyes, like a cornered beast extending its claws.

Chapter 58 Chapter 58

Chapter 58 – A Cornered Beast Will Keep Fighting!

On this rainy night, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the sky, causing it to flare up momentarily. As thunder echoed, it endlessly rained and the sound of falling raindrops filled the air.

When looked from afar, the entire place seemed to be shrouded by the heavy rainfall. It was a bleak and chilling scene.

On the forest, Naruto was shivering and his eyes were bloodshot as he unleashed his full speed and dashed on his escape route. Occasionally, he would ferociously stomp onto the ground and leap forward so fast, that he looked like an arrow released from a bow whistling away.

"Live on… We must live on!" Naruto was trembling as he kept repeating these words with both Ryuzetsu and Wanji in his mind.

As death loomed over, it became chillier as if it blended with the rain.

From all around him, eight figures were approaching Naruto with great speed, especially Uchiha Heng. Even though he was the furthest, the last among the group of pursuers, he was still extremely fast. He transformed into a rainbow and shuttled in the heavy rain as he accelerated. In this heavy downpour, sonic booms could be heard.

"You can't escape me. Noone will escape from the formation array that my Fallen Uchiha Clan's patriarch has set up!" Uchiha Heng's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

In his pursuit of the trio, even Uchiha Heng himself couldn't fathom how these outer sect disciples from the Spirit River Sect could evade them so well? They were able to escape from their pursuit for several days, and they might even escape the scope of the patriarch's formation array. Especially the one Uchihag Heng was chasing right now, not only could this person kill Uchihag Yue, he had even killed a few men that Uchihag Heng himself brought along with him.

That made Uchiha Heng even more certain that the opponent was one of two renowned Heaven's Chosen from the South Bank of the Spirit River Sect, Guan Tianyou or Zabuza. After all, this territory was under the control of the South Bank, and the North Bank would usually not intervene.

"Genius from the Spirit River Sect…" Uchiha Heng's killing intent grew, so much that he was seething with excitement.

Thunder roared as Naruto clenched his teeth tightly and sped along. He was breathing shallowly as the spiritual energy within his body was being rapidly consumed. The entire place was bleak, as though an ancient beast had opened its wide maw and covered the skies.

All of a sudden, Naruto abruptly raised his head and stopped on his tracks. His bloodshot eyes locked in front of him, a couple tens of zhang away where the raindrops suddenly flickered. A huge force shot out, scattering the raindrops as it headed for Naruto.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

Beyond the rain veil, the first Fallen Uchiha clansmen to obstruct Naruto's escape suddenly appeared!

It was a ferocious-looking middle-aged man with a scarred face. He was a seventh level Chakra Condensation cultivator. As he moved forward with big strides, an enormous battleaxe could be seen in his right hand. Like a gust of wind, he approached Naruto with a loud roar and grasped the battleaxe with both hands. He charged towards Naruto and slashed ferociously!

"Get back!" The middle-aged man's thunderous voice resounded through the surroundings.

Naruto's eyes turned crimson, his body did not freeze even the slightest bit; right before the battleaxe was about to fall on him, he suddenly raised his left hand and punched straight at the battleaxe!

The middle-aged man laughed coldly as he focused all of his strength into both his hands, causing a gust of wind as he swung his battleaxe down.

When Naruto raised his left hand, a black glow flashed as he activated the Impenetrable Skin's technique. As a result, it appeared that his left hand turned black when it touched the battleaxe.

After a boom echoed, Naruto used his left hand to grasp the blade of the battleaxe with such tremendous strength that the surrounding rainwater splattered everywhere.

He felt a sharp pain and fresh blood started oozing out. As Naruto activated the Impenetrable Skin's technique to its fullest, there were no indications of serious damage on his left palm despite the overflowing blood.

The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and exerted even more strength to push the battleaxe down, but Naruto's hand was like iron pincers, firmly holding the enormous battleaxe in place. The middleaged man was unable to move it even the tinniest bit after striking at Naruto.

This caused a big change in the middle-aged man's expressions. He raised his head and saw the insanity in Naruto's eyes standing right in front of him.

He had never seen anyone in such state; he had only seen it in cornered beasts in the Fallen Star Mountain Range.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man's heart suddenly hammered loudly as his whole body, from head to toes, was covered by a light screen. He released his grip on the battleaxe without any hesitation and quickly retreated.

He was fast, but Naruto… was even faster!

As Naruto held the enormous battleaxe with his left hand, his right hand too turned black. Lightning flashed across the sky and his pitchblack right hand had already appeared in front the middle-aged man.

In that split second when Naruto was approaching the middleaged man, he penetrated through the protective layer surrounding him. "Ka Ka!" The sound of the screen shattering resounded. Naruto's right hand penetrated through the screen with such irresistible force that in a flash, he had destroyed the protective layer; in his current agitated state, the Throat Crushing Grasp appeared different than usual!

Unexpectedly, there was a suction force that erupted from his palms which caused the middle-aged man to be pulled back. Naruto stamped his feet on the ground all of a sudden, and before the middleaged man could react, Naruto's pitch-black right hand filled his sight!

"Boom!" Naruto's right hand struck straight at the middle-aged man's neck. With a fierece expression, he ruthlessly crushed his neck!

Kacha!

The middle-aged man was unable to believe what had just happened. Blood spilled from his mouth and he was unable to even scream because all of the bones within his neck were crushed to pieces. His head drooped down, he was dead!

Until death, his eyes showed his shock. As he knew that his opponent was strong, he had no intention of attempting to kill the opponent; when he attacked Naruto, he only wanted to block his path and delay him. He didn't think that this skinny Spirit River Sect's outer sect disciple would be strong to this extent.

Just when the middle-aged man died, two figures hastily approached Naruto from afar. One of them was surprisingly an eighth level Chakra Condensation cultivator, similar to Uchiha Yue.

"Uchiha Zhong!" The two pursuers howled with sorrow when they saw the lifeless man.

"It is you who forced me into this!" Naruto used his right hand to fling the middle-aged man's corpse out of his way. His breathing was labored as he quickly turned around and dashed away. He was trembling, but his eyes displayed even greater ferocity than before.

He knew that he could not afford any obstructions and delays. Originally, he had planned to lure the Fallen Uchiha clansmen away, but he suddenly headed for an endless mountain range in the distance.

This mountain range was not a part of any border, and hence, it was nameless; lengthwise, it was longer than the Fallen Star Mountain Range and looked more majestic than the latter. What was most surprising was that the falling rainwater seemed to fall harder than usual, and even lightning and thunder gathered in that area.

Naruto raised his head and he saw countless of lightnings linked together which formed balls of lightning that struck the ground and were accompanied by heavy rain.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto continued his escape. The two Fallen Uchiha clansmen relentlessly pursued him, and in the distance, he could see other clansmen approaching.

Especially in the distance, there was a rainbow approaching quickly. That was Uchiha Heng.

As the Fallen Uchiha's clansmen from all around were closing in on Naruto, the distance to the thick forest on the mountain range was getting shorter as well, he was only a few zhang away. He was drenched from head to toe as he stamped the ground with his feet, leaping forward, obviously rushing into the thick forest on the mountain range. "Stop him!" Uchiha Heng's faint shout arrived from afar.

At this moment, of the two pursuers who were closest to Naruto, the one who was of the eighth level of Chakra Condensation growled. He grabbed the clansmen in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation and the duo looked into each other's eyes, understanding what the other was thinking immediately. The clansman who of the seventh level of Chakra Condensation curled his body in the shape of a ball and was then thrown towards Naruto by the one who was in the eighth level Chakra Condensation.

Boom! Their cultivations erupted and in an instant, the speed of the seventh level Chakra Condensation clansman who had curled himself into a ball explosively increased. Whistling, he penetrated through the heavy rain, and in a blink of an eye, he caught up with Naruto.

When he was about to reach Naruto, the clansman, who was at the seventh level of Chakra Condensation, charged towards Naruto quickly. Naruto halted, turned around and made a hand seal, sending the wooden sword against the clansman. However, disregarding life and death, the clansman chose to be penetrated by the wooden sword. In the moment before his death, a strange grin adorned his face.

Boom! His body exploded into various pieces of flesh, which formed into a rope of flesh aiming at Naruto.

Naruto's expression flickered as he immediately retreated. While he was distracted, a sharp, piercing sound came from behind him. That was an arrow!

Looking back, the clansman at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation was holding a longbow that was still shaking.

He shot the arrow with a perfect timing, exactly when Naruto wouldn't be able to avoid it. The coordination between him and the clansman who disregarded his own life was astonishing!

In that moment of crisis, Naruto's eyes flashed and he forcefully stopped, as though he wanted to be struck by the incoming arrow. After a loud cry, the sharp, piercing arrow struck directly at Naruto's right shoulder. His face paled when he felt the sudden intense pain.

When the arrow penetrated Naruto's right shoulder blade, it seemed to coincidentally get stuck in the bone. The arrow was made of quality material, and coupled with the fact that it was fired by the great strength of the clansman at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, it had caused serious damage to Naruto. The caused the skinny Naruto to fly off along the trajectory of that arrow, allowing him to avoid being restrained by the rope of flesh!

"Thump!"

Naruto hit a huge tree at the boundary of the thick forest. The arrow had pinned him firmly onto the tree!

The clansman who had fired the arrow from nearby was elated. In a flash, he hurried to approach Naruto, raising his bow at the same. He intended to fire a second arrow and finish off Naruto!

From afar, one by one, clansmen from Fallen Uchiha's clan neared Naruto, and all of them had a look of savagery. However, Uchiha Heng, who was hastily rushing over, suddenly had his expression change.

"Watch out!"

Chapter 59 Chapter 59

Chapter 59 - You will die and I will live!

The instant that Uchiha Heng's voice travelled out, Naruto, who was nailed to a big tree, suddenly raised his head with a fierce and brutal gleam in his eyes. He raised his left hand and grabbed the tail of the arrow stuck in his right shoulder; despite of the arrow's spearhead which made a hole in his flesh, he still violently pulled it out.

Once Naruto had pulled out that arrow, it took a few pieces of flesh along with it as a huge amount of blood sprayed out. Naruto's body was in so much pain that he violently shivered. Even so, he did not hesitate as the Purple Chakra Cauldron Manipulation Technique completely exploded out in this moment. Using the 'Lifting the Light as Thought It Was Heavy', he took the arrow and tossed it in the direction of that eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman who was approaching him.

A sharp piercing sound suddenly rang out in this moment, reverberating in all directions. This arrow whistled directly towards the eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman from the Fallen Uchiha Clan at an even faster speed than before.

With 'Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy', the power of his arrow was as great as a mountain.

At the same time, Naruto lowered his body and made a hand seal with both of his hands. A wooden sword immediately flew out, forming a double play. Suddenly, there was a shocking chill in the air. These days, Naruto had been fighting the clansmen from the Fallen Uchiha Clan again and again, and because of that, his fighting experience had tremendously increased that even he himself did not realise it. It was as if he had already possessed a natural talent for fighting in his bones, but it was never revealed in his normal life. Now, this fighting talent of his completely erupted after being stimulated by a series of life-and-death scenarios.

The expression on the Fallen Uchiha clansman's face who intended to shoot a second arrow abruptly changed. He never thought that Naruto would actually be this ferocious. Thinking back, the other party had chosen to take the hit to avoid getting restrained and explosively counter-attack. Perhaps, this was the underlying goal of his actions.

He suddenly backed away. As a peak eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman who had battled ferocious beasts all year round in the Fallen Star Mountain Range, he had rich experience. Although he had lost the upper hand and was currently in a dangerous situation, he did not immediately defend himself as he backed away. On the contrary, he used this short time to… completely draw the bow that had only been drawn halfway!

"Are you going to block or not!" As he let out a low growl, the second arrow whistled out, heading straight for Naruto who revealed ferocity in his eyes.

Based on his calculations, Naruto would definitely use the wooden sword to block his attack. As a result, what he was facing would not be a double play, and he could dispel the danger, so he could change his stance from passive to active.

However, Naruto's eyes turned crimson. He could not afford to give the other party the slightest chance of escape. Once he was entangled in the fight, the others would quickly close in, and at that time, he would unquestionably die.

He gritted his teeth, deciding not to move the wooden sword to block the arrow in the slightest. Naruto let the arrow come and pierce his abdomen, while his arrow had also robustly struck, stabbing right through the chest of the Fallen Uchiha clansman. Fresh blood flowed out from both of their bodies as the eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman let out a shrill scream. That clansman's eyes revealed shock as he was desperately trying to gather strength in order t

o retreat.

But it was during this time that Naruto's wooden sword arrived like a death's scythe, closing in on the neck of this eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman, and in an instant, it circled once around his head. In the next moment, the clansman's head fell to the ground.

After this, Naruto spat out blood from his mouth, and without stopping even for a moment, he turned around, dashing straight into the forest behind him, quickly disappearing within.

In ten breaths worth of time, the silhouettes of the Fallen Uchiha clansmen that had been dashing straight for this direction arrived at the scene, and one by one, scared by what they saw. They had just personally witnessed the scene of Naruto's cold-blooded way of exchanging his wounds for the kill, filling them with shock and terror.

The Young Master of the Fallen Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Heng, also appeared at the edge of the forest.

He looked at the eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman that had lost his head and glanced at the one whose body formed into a rope made out of flesh. He was silent, but his eyes revealed an even stronger killing intent than before.

"Uchiha Feng, Uchiha Gu, both of you go and search around and guard yourself against the opponent's luring strategy. The others… follow me inside. You are not allowed to return until you have obtained the opponent's head!" Uchiha Heng flourished his sleeve and stepped into the forest first. Behind him were five clansmen from the Fallen Uchiha Clan, three of which were eighth level Chakra Condensation cultivators, and two were seventh level Chakra Condensation cultivators.

Those two seventh level Chakra Condensation fell back, obeying Uchiha Heng's order and began their search. The other three eighth level Chakra Condensation cultivators each had a thick killing intent in their eyes, following Uchiha Heng as he entered into the forest.

In the forest of the nameless mountain range, Naruto felt a wave of dizziness consume him. His shoulder, abdomen and right leg were all seriously injured. The cold air from the rainy night invaded his body, making his already shivering body tremble even more.

"Am I going to die…" Naruto laughed bitterly. He looked at the numerous injuries on his body. The stabbing pain that reached all the way to his bones made tears gather in the rim of his eyes.

The ghastly scene of that time when he was standing before his deathly ill parents as he watched their bodies gradually become ice-cold surfaced in his mind.

Perhaps, it was from that moment onwards that he became especially afraid of death.

"I want to live!" Naruto raised his left hand and wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes. He viciously gritted his nearly frozen teeth and dashed towards the forest. He had no idea where he was headed to, nor what the future held. There was only one desire in his mind right now.

"Live!"

As for his fear of death, it supported Naruto, providing him with the needed strength in this stormy night, driving him forward.

He even gradually realised that his own cultivation appeared unconstrained in these few battles of life and death, as if he was already not far off from breaking through the sixth level Chakra Condensation.

Slowly, the morning sun appeared in the horizon. Streams of sunlight passed through the leaves and fell on the raindrops in the forest, reflecting a beautiful light. However, the rain did not let up.

In the forest, Uchiha Heng's group was rapidly chasing after Naruto. Uchiha Heng's complexion was getting more and more unsightly. Even though Naruto was heavily injured, because of his fast speed and them being in the forest, Uchiha Heng and the others were unable to catch up to him. They had even chased him throughout the night but still had no idea where he had headed to.

Especially in this thunderstorm which had washed away all their leads, even if they were of a cultivator clan which lived in the Fallen Star Mountain Range and fought with ferocious beasts in these forests throughout the whole year, they were still unable to discover any footprints in the heavy rain.

"Split up and search for him. That person is heavily injured and couldn't have escaped too far. Maintain a hundred zhang distance between the

three of you. Once you find that person, do not fight him, but immediately retreat and relay a message to me!" Uchiha Heng gritted his teeth. Once he said this, the three eighth level Chakra Cultivation clansmen behind him hesitated for a moment before nodding their heads and scattered.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

Time passed and a day later, Naruto was exhausted, if it wasn't for the strong desire to live supporting him, he would have long since collapsed.

His lips were chapped and he looked haggard, even his speed was dropping down. After an incense worth of time, his expression flickered. He abruptly looked to the right and saw a silhouette shoot out from that location. It was not heading towards him, but was retreating instead.

This long-faced youngster was one of the three eighth level Chakra Condensation clansmen from the Fallen Uchiha Clan. As he retreated, he firmly pinched a jade slip that he held in his right hand, immediately sending out a message.

Naruto's heart sank. His body suddenly accelerated, dashing deeper into the forest..

The long-faced youngster's expression changed. With Naruto being here, there was already fear in his heart. When he was deliberating whether he should give chase or not, a sudden glee surfaced in his eyes as he noticed two silhouettes, a couple hundred zhang away, hastily heading in his direction from the sides.

Those two were at the eight level Chakra Condensation. In the distant sky, a silhouette of a rainbow could be seen. That was Uchiha Heng.

The three of them were speeding in this direction and were quickly approaching. Judging by their speeds, those two eight level Qi

Condensation clansmen would arrive in a mere ten breaths, while Uchiha Heng would arrive in twenty breaths at most.

The long-faced youngster laughed loudly as he came to a decision. His entire cultivation erupted in an explosive manner, and a strong protective screen appeared over his body. Patting the storage pouch with his right hand, a claymore appeared in his hands.

This claymore was seven Chi long, and although it had a simplistic appearance, when the long-faced youngster brandished it, it would cut through everything with its incredible sharpness. Killing intent gleamed in his eyes as he grinned, chasing Naruto with full speed.

"Killing the Heaven's Chosen of the Spirit River Sect is sure to fill one with greater satisfaction and sense of accomplishment than killing those cultivators that have scattered away!" The long-faced youngster's laughter rang out. When he chopped forward with the claymore in his hands, a sword beam cut through everything, making a piercing sound. His left hand made a hand seal as he pointed forwards, and a fist-sized fireball appeared and flew straight at Naruto.

Boom! Even though there was a thunderstorm, the fireball's heat could still be felt when it exploded, and shockwaves spread all around. Naruto paused and turned his head around, his eyes filled with killing intent. He knew that if he did not deal with the other person, he would be unable to escape.

But when Naruto turned around, the long-faced youngster suddenly retreated with mocking eyes. He would never give Naruto the chance to approach him. He only had one goal in mind and that was to stall Naruto.

Naruto tightly clenched his fist as his body flashed, once again speeding away. Soon, that long-faced youngster had come to provoke him again. After a few breaths, the other two eighth level Qi

Condensation clansmen, who were closing in on them, saw Naruto and both of their cultivations completely erupted out as they headed straight for Naruto.

Simultaneously, that long-faced youngster laughed loudly, no longer avoiding Naruto, but instead, unleashed his full speed and together with the other two, they attacked Naruto from three different directions.

With three eighth level Chakra Condensation cultivators attacking, Uchiha Heng, who was flying toward them in the distance, relaxed because even if the opponent still had tricks up his sleeve, he was still sure to die.

"Sadly, there is no chance for you to improve anymore." Uchiha Heng lightly said, but in the blink of an eye, his expression suddenly changed.

The three silhouettes were quickly approaching Naruto, each using their ultimate abilities with the intention to kill. Naruto, who was some distance away, flashed a hand seal with his right hand, and a wooden sword whistled out, heading straight for one of them. At the same time, he clenched his right hand into a fist and directed a powerful punch towards another.

A loud sound echoed out as the wooden sword was blocked. Naruto's punch connected with the eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman and fresh blood spewed from the corner of his mouth. Even though he was backing away, Naruto was similarly spewing blood out as his wounds had all reopened. Not waiting for him to back away, the long-faced youngster suddenly approached. The claymore in his hands emitted a sharp glow as he stabbed Naruto.

It was a crucial moment, and Naruto barely avoided getting his heart pierced as the claymore stabbed him. That claymore penetrated through his chest in an instant, and the excruciating pain caused Naruto's whole body to bleed profusely. Naruto trembled for a moment as the long-faced youngster's laughter rang out. He was about to pull his claymore out, when suddenly, Naruto grabbed the claymore in his chest and violently jerked forward. He allowed the claymore to slide further inside his body, leaving only the hilt behind.

Because of this, he had reached the long-faced youngster. The youngster blankly stared for a moment and paled as his mind burst with the intense danger of looming death. He quickly pulled back his hand as Naruto's right hand, shining with a black luster, grabbed the longfaced youngster's neck.

"You…" The long-faced youngster's eyes widened. But before he could finish his sentence… Kacha!

His neck was crushed!

Chapter 60 Chapter 60

Chapter 60 - The Exciting Life-and-Death Battle

This scene happened all too fast. In an instant, one of the three eighth level Chakra Condensation Fallen Uchiha clansmen was dead. The other two took a deep breath but spent no time in thinking and hurriedly closed in on Naruto for the kill.

Fresh blood was seeping out of the corners of Naruto's mouth. He shakily moved back and hit the big tree behind him. The claymore was suddenly pushed out of his chest and he grabbed it with his right hand, pulling it all out, then slashed another clansman. Just when his attack was dodged, the other eighth level Chakra Condensation Fallen Uchiha clansman approached and used his right hand to form a hand seal, producing an explosion.

Boom! Naruto flew in the air, fresh blood sprayed out of his body, staining all his clothes with blood. The two Fallen Uchiha clansmen gave chase. Despite his life being in danger Naruto did not break down, he was supported by his strong desire to live. He growled and formed a hand sign, causing the longspear and battleaxe to appear as well as two flying swords.

These objects were mercilessly shot towards the two clansmen with his Purple Chakra Cauldron Technique.

The complexions of the two Fallen Uchiha clansmen changed, and they immediately conjured a black mist with their techniques in order to block Naruto's attack. A loud sound reverberated, and when the attack dissipated, those magical treasures Naruto threw were scattered in all directions. Fresh flood flowed uncontrollably from the corner of Naruto's mouth as he staggered backwards.

"It's time to end this!" The two eighth level Chakra Condensation clansmen rushed forward for the third time, their speed now was even greater as the power of their cultivations was fully released. They approached Naruto in the blink of an eye, intending to kill him.

"Live on, I want to live on!" There was a frenzied look in Naruto's eyes, the Spiritual Chakra in his body had all been burnt out as he let out a hoarse howl. Amidst Naruto's howl, the faint Spiritual Energy that had been accumulating in countless tiny meridians as well as his flesh and bones inside his body throughout all these years exploded out like a thousand-rivers strong sea.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Spiritual Chakra in these tiny meridians had already been loosened from Naruto's previous life-and-death battles. It was during this crucial moment that they finally awakened, surging towards Naruto's main meridians. In the blink of an eye, they had merged into a huge river. When they flowed through his whole body, the sounds of beating drums echoed in waves as an overwhelming force flowed into his main meridians.

At the same time, the cultivation of the seventh level of Chakra Condensation surged, exploding out of Naruto's body.

The two approaching eighth level Chakra Condensation clansmen were also aware of the surges brought by the seventh level of Chakra Condensation coming from Naruto. Their expressions changed drastically, an incredulous and shocked expression appeared in their eyes.

"A breakthrough in battle!"

"How… How can this be!" While the two were in shock, Naruto suddenly raised his head, a sharp gleam could be seen in his eyes. Even though this excess Spiritual Energy was unable to heal Naruto's injuries, it was still sufficient to bring him out of his burnt-out state, a certain gratification surged through him as he was reinvigorated.

He dashed out and appeared in front of one of them in an instant. The Fallen Uchiha clansman cried out as Naruto's right hand, pitch-black from the Throat Crushi

ng Grasp, neared.

Kacha, this eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman could not dodge at all. His body was not under his control as he headed straight for Naruto's right hand, as if he had been forcefully pulled, and had his neck broken by Naruto.

The other person felt numb. Seeing Naruto direct his gaze at him, he immediately let out a shrill cry, rapidly backing away with intense fear in his eyes. He was already frightened out of his wits by Naruto.

"Young Master, save me!" This last eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman cried out anxiously as he backed away.

Uchiha Heng, who was less than thirty zhang away, saw the scene happen right before his eyes and let out a furious roar.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

"You are courting death!"

Naruto did not even look at Uchiha Heng as his right hand formed a hand seal, and the all the fallen magical treasures that had been scattered around shuddered in this moment. They emitted a loud buzzing sound, as if responding to Naruto's call.

All of them instantly shot out with a speed even greater than before. In the blink of an eye, they had already arrived at Uchiha Heng, preventing him from approaching.

Explosions echoed out as Uchiha Heng was stopped by those magical treasures. Even if Uchiha Heng had cultivated to the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, he was still unable to break those magical treasures in an instant, and therefore, he was held back for a moment.

At the same time that Uchiha Heng was stopped, Naruto quickly charged out, approaching the escaping eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman. Naruto's eyes were filled with killing intent as a punch shot out in the clansman's direction.

An explosion resounded and fresh blood spurted out from the eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman. He was about to continue his retreat, unable to notice Naruto's left hand that was forming a hand seal. A wooden sword silently approached this eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman from behind, penetrating his skull in an instant before it returned in front of Naruto, covered in blood.

The eyes of that eighth level Chakra Condensation clansman stared blankly at the world. His body slammed on the ground and twitched a few times as fresh blood continuously seeped out from his mouth. Soon, his eyes dulled with his last breath.

Once everything was done, Naruto staggered. Even if he had a breakthrough in his cultivation, these series of attacks had consumed most of the strength from his cultivation. Fresh blood flowed incessantly from the corner of his mouth as he hastily retreated, once again making his way deeper into the forest.

He knew that there was only one opponent left and that person was also the strongest. Naruto had long since sensed that this sole opponent's cultivation level was at the ninth level Chakra Condensation cultivation.

"Ninth level Chakra Condensation…" An agonising feeling rose from the bottom of Naruto's heart, but the desire to live had his blood boiling. He understood that if his opponent hadn't died just now, he would be the one dead!

There was no other option.

As soon as he retreated, Uchiha Heng let out a furious roar. The blood mist surrounding his body surged out and all the nearby magical treasure trembled. Cracks appeared in these magic treasures, and soon, all of them crumbled into dust. In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Heng flew out from the blood mist. He was gasping for breath, and once he saw the corpses of the three clansmen scattered around, he howled with even greater anger. With bloodshot eyes, he hurriedly chased after Naruto.

In the forest of this nameless mountain range, one was escaping while the other was chasing, both heading off further away into the distance. The sound of thunder echoed in the sky and even though it was still daytime and no lightning could be seen, the rain was getting heavier.

"Are you the famous Guan Tianyou or Zabuza!" Uchiha Heng's voice rang out, filled with killing intent. He formed a hand seal and nine streams of bloody mist, as if nine bloody pythons, squirmed in front of him, emitting a bloody aura as they headed straight for Naruto.

"I am your grandfather!" Naruto was pale but his spiritual senses were sharp, avoiding Uchiha Heng's blood light. Seeing that the young master from the Fallen Uchiha Clan was quickly closing in on him, shakily, Naruto suddenly leaped forward, almost flying. Just when Uchiha Heng was about to leap forward himself, Naruto stepped on a big tree in front of him.

The big tree violently swayed and Naruto borrowed the energy and kicked off of it, turning in mid-air, heading straight for the pursuing Uchiha Heng.

"Regardless of who you are, you are definitely going to die today!" Killing intent flashed across Uchiha Heng's eyes as his right hand quickly formed a hand seal, and with a wave of his hand, nine blood pythons appeared. They all faced the incoming Naruto with their mouths wide-open, ready to swallow him whole.

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, he growled lowly as he formed a hand seal with both of his hands and released the remaining Spiritual Chakra he had. A purple cauldron immediately appeared, enveloping his body within. He let the nine blood pythons approach him with the intention to devour him. Their speed did not decrease in the slightest bit, roaring along the way as they were thrown in Naruto's direction.

"Is that all you've got!" Uchiha Heng sneered and made a hand seal, turning those nine blood pythons into a mist. In the blink of an eye, they coagulated to form a blood-coloured skull floating above Uchiha Heng's head before dropping down to collide with the approaching purple cauldron.

The frightening rumbles billowed in the air. The purple cauldron shuddered, cracking sounds rang out as it immediately began breaking apart, before it finally shattered. Even though most of the blood-mist skull had dissipated, a part still remained.

When this collision occurred, Naruto dashed out from within the crumbling cauldron. In the blink of an eye, he had passed through the fractured cauldron and headed straight for the mist below.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Heng's eyes flashed within the mist. While the mist was thinning, he shot out from the blood mist, heading upwards. He formed a hand seal with his right hand, and it was immediately shrouded with mist. The mist flowed into his palm and turned into a hideous visage.

As he struck forward, he noticed Naruto right before him.

Their gazes met and they collided with one another. One was a fist, the other was a palm. One shined with the black luster of the Impenetrable Skin Technique, whereas the other had a horrifying visage formed by an abnormally strange technique.

A loud deafening sound rang out and fresh blood sprayed out from Naruto. A cracking sound was emitted from his body as he fell back like a kite with a broken string, breaking numerous tree branches on the way.

Uchiha Heng shuddered and his face paled slightly. The Chakra and blood in his body were raging. He was shocked by Naruto's immense power. His body flew out, catching up with Naruto in a flash. When he raised his right hand, the surrounding mist spread until it covered more than ten zhang. The mist turned into a huge face and followed Uchiha Heng as he pressed down on Naruto.

There was a fierce look in Naruto's eyes as he was forced to the brink of death. He ferociously turned his body in mid-air and suddenly raised his right hand, pointing towards Uchiha Heng. From his finger, the Purple Chakra Cauldron Technique suddenly exploded.

As of this moment, it was not used to control objects, instead, it was used to control Uchiha Heng's body. Uchiha Heng had never heard of it being used this way before. He immediately felt a huge energy enveloping his surroundings, as if an invisible hand grabbing his body.

Uchiha Heng sneered as his cultivation surged forth. The blood-coloured skull behind him let out a low growl. A crackling sound echoed out and Naruto's Spiritual Chakra was immediately shaken off, startling Uchiha Heng for a moment.

In the moment that he had paused, a wooden sword shot out, heading straight for Uchiha Heng. Simultaneously, Naruto also violently charged in an all-out assault. The Impenetrable Skin was pushed to its limit throughout his body as he let out a ferocious roar.

"Laughable!" Uchiha Heng flourished his sleeve and the blood-coloured skull behind him passed through his body, pressing downwards as it collided with the wooden sword. The wooden sword shook slightly but did not crumble. It penetrated through the blood-coloured skull, cutting a hole through it.

Naruto followed through the hole, relying on his Impenetrable Skin Technique despite the risk of injuries. Uchiha Heng's eyes flashed as he formed a hand seal with this right hand, once again pointing his finger towards Naruto.

An arc of bloody light, which was shaped like a curved knife, immediately appeared and headed straight for Naruto.

In a flash, this crescent bloody light landed on Naruto. Uzumaki

Xiaochun's chest was turned into a bloody mess, but his fist, carrying all of the remaining power of his cultivation, landed on Uchiha Heng as well.

A loud sound rang out, Uchiha Heng shuddered and fell back, his face paling slightly. However, Naruto's attacks did not end there. His speed had overcome its limits, and in this moment, it burst out at a… breakneck speed!

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

Chapter 61 Chapter 61

Chapter 61 - The Final Strike!

Naruto's speed was too fast. He circled around Uchiha Heng, not giving him a chance to react as his every punch and kick had formed a gust of wind.

Uchiha Heng's expression grew ugly. He formed a hand seal, and the protective light around him spread out, creating an even greater amount of mist around him as he continued fighting Naruto in the forest amidst the thunderstorm.

The more they fought, the more Uchiha Heng was surprised by the outer sect disciple from the Spirit River Sect before his eyes. He had previously evaluated Naruto extremely highly, but after personally experiencing it now, he understood that he had still underestimated his opponent.

Continuously killing more than ten clansmen, including some at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation wouldn't be difficult with such abilities. That was by no means in the capabilities of a normal Chakra Condensation disciple even for a large sect like the Spirit River Sect. The resources that their disciples received were clearly much better than those of cultivator clans, but the disparity shouldn't be this great.

"His skin is too sturdy. What body-cultivation technique has he cultivated to actually achieve such heights? Even his strength and speed had been cultivated!" Uchiha Heng flourished his large sleeve, and the mist surrounding his body surged to forcibly push Naruto away. But Naruto disregarded the possible injuries and once again charged forward. A rumble echoed out and Uchiha Heng's face paled even further.

"The most terrifying aspect is the speed of his recovery! If his cultivation had reached the eighth level of Chakra Condensation… I wouldn't be able to match him!" Uchiha Heng was unable to comprehend how a person who had been so badly wounded could actually still have this kind of explosive power. If it was anyone else who had sustained those wounds, they would have been knocked out long ago.

It was precisely Naruto's situation at the moment. However, even though he was quickly burning himself out, he still continued to persevere.

"The faster I kill him, the faster this will be over. Moreover, as long as I could get rid of him, less complications will arise!" A chilling light flashed in Uchiha Heng's eyes. But then Naruto's eyes suddenly flashed and he abruptly backed away. He formed a hand seal with both of his hands as the purple cauldron appeared once again, heading straight for Uchiha Heng with a roaring sound.

Uchiha Heng squinted and all of the mist surrounding his body coalesced into a large hand that blocked the large cauldron. The large cauldron did not actually have any strength to it and instantly shattered the moment the two came into contact.

When Uchiha Heng saw this, he knew that he had been fooled. Although there wasn't much change in his expression, fierceness still appeared his eyes.

"Red Demon**!" He faintly spoke, and in an instant, a large amount of blood covered his whole body, from head to toe. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a red-skinned person.

Just when he transformed into a red-skinned person, Naruto's left leg immediately arrived in a roundabout kick, spiralling in Uchiha Heng's direction, rending the wind. This kick's force was already his full strength.

Uchiha Heng sneered. Just as Naruto's left leg approached him, Uchiha Heng suddenly raised his right hand, swinging it to his side. It immediately collided with Naruto's left leg.

"Hong!"

A loud sound, similar to the muffled thunder, rang out. A cracking sound echoed within Naruto's body

as tears streamed down his face from pain. He suddenly backed away, looking at Uchiha Heng with widened eyes, his heart beating madly.

"How can this fellow's strength suddenly increase? When he used the Red Demon technique, his whole body turned red and it actually made him this formidable!" Naruto's heart was trembling in fear. His left leg had already been bent out of shape, and even though his skin was not torn, his flesh was still crushed and his bones were broken. He was breathing heavily as he gasped for air. He was unimaginably exhausted from the escape and his wounds were worsening.

There were many times when Naruto had felt that he could not go on any further, only to realise that his body had quickly recovered just in time. He was extremely amazed at the shocking recovering ability that seemed like it could slowly heal even the heaviest of injuries. Based on his observations, perhaps this was an effect of the Unending Longevity Technique?

On Uchiha Heng's end, his right hand looked normal, but if one looked closely, they would notice that it was trembling. The skin outside his body was redder, and as for his insides, all of his bones were fractured.

"You have your body-cultivation technique, but my Fallen Uchiha Clan has one as well!" Uchiha Heng dashed forward with a speed quicker than before, surpassing even Naruto's. It was as if he was now a completely different person filled with inexhaustible strength.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them renewed fighting in the forest.

A roaring sound echoed out. In this fierce battle, Naruto's right leg was injured, and his left leg was broken. His body was unstable as he unsteadily backed away. The danger of dying was getting stronger, this Uchiha Heng before his eyes was by far the strongest foe that Naruto had encountered.

Seeing that he was in danger, Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he suddenly raised his right hand, his palm was pitch-black. The power of the Throat Crushing Grasp was unleashed like a black-coloured lightning, heading straight for Uchiha Heng's neck.

There was a strong gleam in Uchiha Heng's eyes. He had previously seen this move and was mindful of it. His whole body flashed with a red light, and in the instant that Naruto's right hand neared, he grabbed ahold of it, viciously twisting it in the process. Kacha, the bones in Naruto's right arm immediately shattered.

This scene made Uchiha Heng furrow his eyebrows. He had never thought that it would be this easy, but his heart shook as he immediately backed away, recalling the previous hand-to-hand engagements where Naruto had ruthlessly exchanged being wounded for the kill. Uchiha Heng ferociously pulled his neck away as he backed away.

Simultaneously, Naruto's left hand, covered by a black glow suddenly neared, whistling past Uchiha Heng's neck, and without a pause, hooked itself on Uchiha Heng's shoulder.

The power of the Throat Crushing Grasp exploded with a loud cracking sound.

Uchiha Heng's face immediately paled as beads of cold sweat dripped down. His left shoulder blade was completely shattered just now, and the excruciating pain that came from it made him growl.

His whole body shone with a brilliant red light, surging with energy as he reached out to grab Naruto's left hand. Naruto attempted to withdraw it, but Uchiha Heng's speed was just as fast and caught Naruto's palm.

"Die!" Uchiha Heng's eyes were also bloodshot as he formed a hand seal with his left hand with a low growl, aiming a finger right between Naruto's eyebrows.

Naruto's eyes flashed coldly. His body suddenly twisted, cracking echoed out as he let his left hand's fingers to break. He spun his body, his right leg ripping through the air as it landed on Uchiha Heng's body with a bang.

Uchiha Heng threw up blood as he backed off. The hand grabbing Naruto couldn't help but loosen up in that moment, allowing Naruto to quickly fall back.

More than a dozen zhang opened up between the two of them after Naruto backed away. Both his hands were already useless. His whole right shoulder was shattered, and even if he could still raise his left arm, he could no longer use the Throat Crushing Grasp since his fingers were broken.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

Both his legs were trembling, his left leg was contorted, and his right leg was covered in blood, the kick just now had apparently exacerbated it.

He could stand by leaning against a tree right now. He viciously bit his tongue, resisting the urge to fall unconscious. His breathing was laboured, he had already reached his limit. From his upper and lower body, he could only freely move his left arm, and as for the rest, they were already numb. However, he didn't truly show it, in his face, he still put on a battle-ready appearance.

As for Uchiha Heng, his eyes were now crimson as his left shoulder was completely shattered, making him unable to even raise his left hand, rendering it completely useless. A few bones in his chest were broken, causing fresh blood to continuously seep out from his mouth.

"I have underestimated you!" Uchiha Heng glared at Naruto as he spoke in a hoarse voice. He had never thought that with his level of cultivation, killing this heavily injured Naruto would actually be this difficult. To Uchiha Heng, the other party's body-cultivation seemed to be similar to the secret technique of immortality because with these kind of wounds, Naruto had yet to die.

However, he had practically displayed all of his techniques and had even used the Red Demon Technique.

"But, it's about time that this battle comes to an end!" Uchiha Heng took a deep breath, and in the blink of an eye, the red colour on his body seemed to turn into gas, rising from his body. It coalesced in mid-air, turning into blood mist while his body quickly returned to its normal colour. His whole being seemed to be weakened. Even if it was Uchiha Heng, he too felt that this was a difficult life-threatening battle. The person before his eyes had too strong of a desire to survive, had an amazing recovering ability, and his method of exchanging injuries for lethal attacks was shocking.

"Red Demon Secret Technique, Blood Blade… Chop!" Uchiha Heng bit his tongue and spewed out a mouthful of blood which instantly turned into a blood mist, merging with the surrounding mist. The mist immediately roiled and in the blink of an eye, it actually turned into a long bloodcoloured blade!

This illusory blade was more than a zhang long and there were actually countless illusory faces within, each producing an wretched screams. Uchiha Heng pointed at Naruto and and following his motion, the long blood-coloured blade headed straight at him!

After displaying this Secret Technique, Uchiha Heng's whole body weakened even more and he leaned on the a tree by the side, his face was pale and his hair had even slightly greyed.

"Die!" He looked at Naruto with ferociousness in his eyes.

A sense of danger stronger than ever before filled Naruto. He even felt that no matter how hard he tried to dodge, he would still be unable to avoid it. It was as if his fate had been sealed by some higher existence.

On the ground before of him, a fissure had opened up. Behind him, the tree had withered in an instant. The long blood-coloured blade neared… chopping down at him!

Naruto trembled and his pupils shrunk. He did not want to die. He was afraid of dying. But even with the Unending Longevity Technique restoring his wounds, it was still difficult to change the situation. His body trembled as he watched that long blade approaching. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. Without hesitation, he raised his left arm and waved forward. With the wave of his hand, a black light immediately flew out from his body and enlarged in the blink of an eye. It stopped in front of his body and turned into a… large pot!

It was the Turtle-shell Pot!

The instant that this large pot appeared, that long blood-coloured blade landed directly on top of it, and a deafening sound rang out. With it, the blood-coloured long blade trembled and actually… cracked. With a loud explosion, it crumbled into countless pieces.

As for the Turtle-shell Pot, there wasn't even the slightest hint of a crack on it, but after it was struck, it immediately turned into a black light and returned back to Naruto.

"Impossible!" Uchiha Heng shuddered, spewing a huge mouthful of blood. He could not believe that he had witnessed such a scene. Uchiha Heng was already weakened when he used this technique, and now that it was destroyed, he suffered a backlash. His spiritual energy was depleted and his sight gradually blurred.

"That… What was that!"

"That is your Turtle Grandfather!" Naruto barely escaped death with fresh blood seeping out from the corner of his mouth. His body was unstable and he slid down the tree behind him, sitting down as he laughed bitterly.

"It's a pity I don't have any more weapons left…" He had already felt that the vitality in his body was quickly diminishing. In reality, everything before his eyes was already blurred. He wanted to summon his wooden sword again, but he just didn't have the strength to; he wanted to summon his Turtle-shell Pot, but realised that he didn't even have the Spiritual Chakra needed to do it, let alone opening his storage pouch.

"No matter what secrets you possess, once you die, everything will be mine." Uchiha Heng was panting, similarly exhausted in this moment. However, he was still in a slightly better condition than Naruto. He glared at Naruto, falling silent for a few breaths, and after which, with much difficulty, he got up and took a longsword out of his storage pouch, then walked towards Naruto.

Naruto also stared at Uchiha Heng without a speaking anything.

There was a vacant look in his eyes as he thought about his village, Zhang Fatso One, Toruho, the Spirit River Sect, and many more figures. Ryuzetsu, Wanji, Ino…

Step by step, Uchiha Heng walked in front of Naruto, lowering his head as he looked down at Naruto who was filled with a deathly atmosphere. He had seen through the fact that Naruto's whole body was already wasted to the point that he was not even able to open his storage pouch, and the Spiritual Chakra in his body was completely depleted.

"Remember my name. The person who killed you is… Uchiha Heng from the Fallen Uchiha Clan." Uchiha Heng slowly raised the sword in his hands. The sword that would normally fly about with a wave of his sleeve now felt heavy in his hands.

"Killing a Heaven's Chosen feels great." Uchiha Heng resisted the exhaustion prompting him to fall into unconsciousness, and with a ferocious look in his eyes, the right hand holding the longsword fiercely struck down on Naruto's chest.

But just when Uchiha Heng struck at Naruto, Naruto's only useable left arm suddenly jabbed the ground nearby. A cracking sound spread as the bone in his arm immediately broke. The sharp tip of a bone jutted out of his skin, extending to a more than three cun.

(ED note: one cun is 1/100 of a zhang)

In the next moment, he lifted his body up, then he brandished his left arm as fast as the remaining bits of his strength allowed. In the instant that the longsword pierced through his chest, his arm landed on Uchiha Heng's neck and the tip of the bone… pierced directly into the other side of Uchiha Heng's neck.

After completing all of this, Naruto collapsed. His breath was fleeting as he fell completely unconscious.

Uchiha Heng was shocked, all of this happened too fast, allowing him no time to react whatsoever. His exhausted body could not avoid it at all. Blood flowed from both his mouth and neck, covering the ground around him. He wanted to stop the blood, but it just kept flowing. He stared blankly at the sharp tip of Naruto's bone protruding from the left arm that was stained with blood. It was absurd, it was ridiculous; his eyes revealed dissatisfaction with the outcome. His future, his mission, all of it had just turned into a miserable laughter.

"Was that… the final strike..." Uchiha Heng staggered back a few steps and slowly collapsed, breathing his last breath. Even in death, both his eyes were still wide open.

Chapter 62 Chapter 62

Chapter 62 - Using a Sledgehammer to Kill a Chicken!

It was unknown when the thunderstorm had let up in the depths of the forest in that nameless mountain range. At dusk, the rain finally stopped, and no matter how dull the sunset was in the distance, a rainbow could still be vaguely seen.

The rainbow seemed to follow the sunset before it gradually scattered.

The forest was silent, even the metallic smell of blood had dissipated. There were only corpses along the way to lay witness to the fierce fight that had transpired here.

Uchiha Heng had fallen to the ground. Even in his death, traces of willpower, unwillingness and incredulity could still be seen.

Naruto lay motionless beside his corpse. If his life was a ball of fire, then this ball of fire had already been extinguished by more than ninety percent, leaving only a small flame behind, struggling to survive.

After a long time, footsteps arrived from the distance, stepping on the fallen leaves that were submerged in the mud. They were approaching slowly with each step until they stood in front of Uchiha Heng.

The footsteps belonged to an old man that was wearing a long black robe. His white hair swayed in the wind and wrinkles adorned his face. The years his body had experienced could not be concealed, as if he had lived for far too long on this world to the extent that those years of experience had turned into a stale air, enveloping his surroundings.

"An obsessive soul… The body is dead, yet the soul still lingers. This might still have its use." A hoarse voice that carried a vague meaning echoed out. Suddenly, the area between the eyebrows of Uchiha Heng's corpse was split open, and wisps of cyan-coloured Chakra drifted out until it condensed in mid-air, forming a blurry shadow of a soul the size of a palm.

That was Uchiha Heng, but there was a dazed look in his eyes, and he was trembling as if he had lost his sanity.

The old man raised his right hand and pointed towards Uchiha Heng. Uchiha Heng's soul immediately flew out and entered the old man's finger, disappearing without a trace.

Once this mysterious old man retrieved Uchiha Heng's soul, he turned his head around and quietly looked at Naruto with a perplexed look on his face. Gradually, his eyes revealed that he was recalling past memories.

"I never thought that I would once again get to see… the Unending Longevity Technique…" The old man closed his eyes and lightly sighed a long while later. This sigh seemed to alter the surrounding space, making this area seem like time was not flowing normally, completely separated from the world.

Countless trees swayed, and in the blink of an eye, all of them stilled and turned to ash.

It could be seen with a naked eye that Uchiha Heng's corpse was decaying, in a few breaths, his whole body would turn into bones then to dust, fusing with the mud.

Only Naruto did not decay. Instead, there was a huge amount of invisible vitality that approached him, merging with him and rapidly repairing his heavily injured body.

The old man stood there with his eyes closed like a statue, not moving a single inch. If one looked closely, it was as though… he had neither breathed, nor lived. His whole being seemed to be non-existent in this world, just like a remnant soul that was unwilling to be reborn.

In the moment of Uchiha Heng's death, the patriarch of the Fallen Uchiha Clan who was inside the Fallen Star Mountain Range suddenly opened his eyes as a sense of uneasiness rose in his heart. His gaze swept across the surrounding clansmen. Even though he had seen that most of the eleven clansmen that were sent out had died out, Uchiha Hengs soul plate was still intact and this slightly settled his heart.

"It was only three outer sect disciples. How could it take this long… Moreover, a lot of our clansmen have died, but with Heng-Er's cultivation, there shouldn't have been anything capable of opposing them. Perhaps Heng-Er has already killed the three juniors and is currently on his way back." When the patriarch of the Fallen Uchiha Clan was pondering, that feeling of uneasiness remained. His eyes flashed and he again dispatched a couple seventh level Chakra Condensation clansmen to go outside and search.

After doing all of this, he took a deep breath with glaring eyes.

"No matter what, there is still one day left to succeed with the bloodreversal!" The patriarch from the Fallen Uchiha Clan gritted his teeth and suppressed the uneasiness. He understood that he had no other choice. All he had to do was endure one more day and… everything would be over!

At the same time, in a mountain valley not further than ten Li away from the area of the Fallen Uchiha Clan's Ancestor's Formation Array, Wanji's face was pale and he was unable to continue forward. He spewed out fresh blood and collapsed amidst laughing miserably.

"Junior Uzumaki… I am sorry for not being able to save you…" Before he passed out, he clenched his fist tightly as despair and helplessness filled his heart.

In another place, Ryuzetsu was dishevelled and was extremely haggard. The meridians in her whole body had been broken, and her appearance was different from her usual radiant and enchanting self.

She was like a walking corpse with both her eyes lifeless, relying on her astonishing willpower to support her. She was staggering, holding a jade slip in her hands. There was only one thought burning in her mind in that moment.

Escape and deliver a message to the Sect and save… Naruto.

One step at a time, when she fell, she would rise back up again. Even if her clothes were torn to shreds, even if the blood was drying up, and even if her sight had long since blurred, she still… pushed forward.

Time slowly passed, Ryuzetsu had long since forgotten about the injuries on her body as well as her own life. She did not know how long she had been walking for, not until one step, when her body suddenly shook. She felt as if she had just emerged above the water's surface, and for a split second, an intense look appeared in her lifeless eyes. "Have I escaped…" Ryuzetsu's lips were dry and cracked. Shivering, she pinched the jade slip in her hands. The jade slip that had not worked in the past two weeks suddenly vibrated. An invisible link that seemed to cut through space had… connected her and the sect together.

"The Fallen Uchiha Clan has betrayed the sect. Senior Feng died in combat. It is unknown whether Senior Hou is dead or alive. Junior Uzumaki… In order to save us, he has lured the enemy away and is currently being hunted down. Disciple Ryuzetsu begs the sect to… quickly send reinforcements." Once Ryuzetsu transmitted the voice message, her body suddenly went limp. She sat there, looking back at the battlefield behind her, tears streaming down her face.

She could not forget Naruto's blood-iron figure as he came back for them. She could not forget the tragic Naruto heading out to lure the Fallen Uchiha Clan away, she could not forget anything that had happened along the way.

"Junior Uzumaki, Senior Brother Hou… Live on…" Ryuzetsu was crying. Her tears were falling on the ground unrestrained. After a few moments, she was no longer capable of supporting herself as she fainted.

In the instant that Ryuzetsu relayed the message to the Sect, the mission-monument on the South Bank of the Scented Cloud Mountain in the Spirit River Sect was abnormally lively. A lot of Outer Sect Disciples were pacing up and downwind inside the deepest part of this

Department, a middle-aged man wearing a Daoist robe was organising the Sect's missions. There were thousands upon thousands of jade slips in front of him. Whenever any disciples took on a mission, the jade slips here would record it at any time.

Suddenly, one of the jade slips flashed with a brilliant light. A middleaged young man waved his hand like usual, and the jade slip flew into his hands. After he used his spiritual sense to sweep the contents of the jade tablet, his eyes widened and he abruptly stood up.

"The Fallen Uchiha Clan has betrayed the sect!" His breathing was heavy. This matter was too great, regardless whether it was true or false, he still had to immediately report it. If there was anyone that dared to suppress such news, then it would be judged as treason and they would be executed. The middle-aged man dared not to delay such news any longer and immediately took out a purple-coloured jade slip, quickly relaying the message.

This report was transmitted directly to the Law Enforcement Agency. Even though Qian Dajin was part of the Law Enforcement Agency, his status was rather low, so this matter was far from his jurisdiction. Once the whole Law Enforcement Agency received this report, they were immediately began to search for information. The effectiveness of this Law Enforcement Agency which was meant to protect the Spirit River Sect reached unprecedented heights in this moment.

It only took an incence's worth of time before this report was verified to be the truth.

Soon, the sound of war drums resounded in the entire South Bank, shocking all of its disciples even though the outer sect disciples did not know what this sound entailed. When the inner sect disciples from the three mountains on the South Bank heard the sound of this war drum, their expressions paled and raised their heads abruptly.

"What is going on?"

"The war drums are beating. Until blood deluges, or until we're obliterated, the sect will not turn its back! Heavens…"

While everyone was shocked, an aged yet awe-inspiring voice suddenly spread throughout the whole South Bank of the Spirit River Sect.

"The is Elder Ou Yangjie from the Law Enforcement Agency. All inner sect disciples from the South Bank of all three Mountains are to cease all activities and assemble in front of the gate within twenty breaths!

Without fail!"

After the words echoed out, all inner sect disciples from the Green Peak

Mountain, the Scented Cloud Mountain and the Purple Cauldron Mountain shuddered. Regardless of what they were doing, they all hastily rushed out without any hesitation.

Even if there was an even larger matter at hand, none of them dared to delay in the slightest,because the name Ou Yangjie represented the Law Enforcement Agency's elders as well as… Ruthlessness!

He had a Taoist name called Taoist Chai. Once he appeared, it meant that something had made the sect so furious that they needed to… exterminate an entire clan.

Three loud bangs rumbled out as countless shadows whistled past, heading straight for the gate. At a glance, what seemed like one or two thousand inner sect disciples from all the three Mountains located on the South Bank had appeared. Usually, one would only be able to see a few inner sect disciples, and therefore, seeing all of them appear at the same time shocked all of the outer sect disciples.

The disciples from the Law Enforcement Agency, numbering in the hundreds, all clad in black robes were the first to rush out. Their leader was an old man with red hair whipping about. His whole being was overflowing with killing intent. That man was Ou Yangjie.

In this moment, more than two thousand people surrounded the gate, all of them wearing serious expressions.

"The Fallen Uchiha Clan has betrayed the sect. By the orders of the Sect Leader we will… completely exterminate the clan, not even the chickens nor the dogs are to be spared! We'll use the Zhong Dao portal!" Ou Yangjie flourished his large sleeve and a pillar of light immediately shot out from the top of Zhong Dao Mountain, which was located in the middle of the Spirit River Sect, with a tremor.

The pillar of light immediately transformed into an enormous Transportation Array, slowly descending to the ground. More than two thousand disciples clustered around the gate, clamoring as the transportation was soon about to commence.

All of the outer sect disciples from the South Bank sucked in a deep breath. Immense pride and sense of belonging to the sect rose in their hearts as they watched this scene.

The Fallen Uchiha Clan, compared to the Spirit River Sect, was only a small clan that had only a single Foundation Establishment cultivator. Now, the Spirit River Sect had actually mobilised more than two thousand people just for some followers. Even the vicious Ou Yangjie had made an appearance which meant that this was obviously to... inspire fear!

Terrorising all of the cultivator clans within the Spirit River Sect's influence with force was not a question as to "why use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken", but it was a "must use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken!"

Yet for the sect to mobilise such an enormous force, regardless of the expenditure, even for mere followers, their sense of belonging was at its peak.

The Spirit River Sect had not deteriorated in ten thousand years and had slowly progressed from a small sect to what it is today. Naturally, it must have its own surprises!

It was during this time that Toruho's face suddenly turned deathly pale in a big temple on the peak of the Scented Cloud Mountain. His figure flashed as he headed out. In this moment, an astonishing vicious evil Chakra exploded out from his body, forming a gale which spread around as he headed straight for the Formation Array.

Chapter 63 Chapter 63

Chapter 63 - Crushing the Fallen Uchiha Clan

In an instant, Toruho was already standing in the formation array. His expression was solemn, and his entire being was burning with viciousness.

Ou Yangjie glanced at him, his pupils slightly shrinking. In the entire South Bank, from the ancestors of all three mountains, this was the person he was most concerned with. He was also one of the most formidable in the entire Spirit River Sect.

Not only was he a medicine master, Toruho was a gifted man, an extremely rare genius. Only a hundred years were needed for him to reach the later stages of Foundation Establishment. Even in the inner sect, he was seen as one of the few hopes of achieving a breakthrough from the Foundation Establishment to the Gold Core.

"I heard one of the four outer sect disciples has connections with Toruho…" Ou Yangjie was thinking when the formation array began rumbling, emitting a blinding light. A deafening sound echoed and more than two thousand people, along with Ou Yangjie and Toruho, instantly disappeared.

What took Naruto's group three months to reach, with the teleportation formation array of the Spirit River Sect, took only a couple breaths.

A hum and a lightning crackling appeared above the unconscious Ryuzetsu as the sky suddenly darkened. The many clouds were suddenly torn apart as if giant hands had swept it away, and the outline of a large formation array appeared.

It violently slammed on the ground, engraving itself onto the earth, shaking the ground in a hundred li radius. In the next moment, the lands cracked into the formation's pattern.

(ED note: one li is 576 meters, or 630 yards)

The trees, rocks, and mountains within this radius vanished without a trace. The power of the formation array was too overwhelming, instantly bringing desolation when it landed.

As for the area Ryuzetsu was in, it was protected as soon as the formation array appeared, preventing even the slightest injury. After the impact, the blurry figures of those transported started forming.

Soon, the place was filled with more than two thousand of the South Bank's inner sect disciples, the power of teleportation still lingering in their bodies, enough for one more teleportation. Ou Yangjie and Toruho quickly approached the unconscious Ryuzetsu, where a couple female inner sect disciples were already giving her recovery medicine and covered her with clothes. Ryuzetsu slowly opened her eyes in a daze, seeing the crowd of the sect's disciples. She started crying, overwhelmed by relief.

Especially to her as an outer sect disciple of the Scented Cloud

Mountain, seeing Toruho appear with the rest of the Scented Cloud

Mountain, caused even more tears to flow as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Ancestor, help Junior Brother Uzumaki…" Ryuzetsu was pale, her voice was filled with desperation.

"What happened to Naruto?!" Toruho stepped forward, quickly appearing in front of her, anger and restlessness burning in his eyes.

"Brother Uzumaki… he… he flew away by himself to save me and Elder Brother Wanji, luring away the Fallen Uchiha clansmen that were chasing us…" Ryuzetsu wept, explaining everything she had experienced with Naruto in their journey.

Most of the disciples were oblivious to who Naruto was. As they listened to her story, however, they were all moved and heaved a sigh.

Feng Yan had died to protect his companions, while Ryuzetsu and Wanji barely escaped death. The Fallen Uchiha Clan had dispatched two groups of people, many of whom at the eight and even one at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation… This sort of relentless pur

suit, for any other inner sect disciple alone, would be a certain death.

Ryuzetsu's tale told them of a man possessing extraordinary loyalty to his companions, a near-selfless saint.

Abandoning his chances of escaping, he had returned for his companions, killing his way through many formidable foes as he carried two heavily injured companions, running for half a month close to a ten thousand li radius.

In the end, he had managed to give his companions hope by luring the pursuers after him, leaving Ryuzetsu to expose the betrayal of the Fallen Uchiha Clan to the otherwise oblivious sect.

Slowly, the image of Naruto was imprinted in the hearts of the inner sect disciples, without a doubt, he was an unwavering hero.

Even those from the enforcement department were taken aback by the tale, Qian Dajin included. He blinked, finding it hard to associate what Du Linfei described as Naruto with what he once thought to be a mischievous and shrewd disciple from the few investigations he conducted when he thought that Naruto might be the Little Turtle. But he was a petty and selfish man filled with hatred. He'd rather have the wrong man killed than to risk sparing the Little Turtle. He felt relieved that with Feng Yan's death, it wouldn't be traced back to him.

When the cold-blooded Ou Yangjie heard this, he sighed deeply. His eyes had a hint of respect in them, with his high cultivation level, he could tell that Ryuzetsu was telling the truth. He also felt that Ryuzetsu knew only half of what happened.

"A disciple like this… the Spirit River Sect will not let him fall here!" Ou Yangjie tossed his sleeve to his side, quickly arranging hundreds of his inner sect disciples to search for Wanji and Naruto.

Silent, Toruho raised his head, his eyes slightly bloodshot. He was bitter, he felt he treated Naruto unjustly, but his experience also told him that the odds for Naruto's survival were... almost nonexistent.

"I brought you to this mountain…" Toruho's body flashed, bursting into light as his body took a step forward, using up the remnants of the teleportation energy to transport the disciples around him to the Fallen Uchiha Clan.

Ou Yangjie sighed, hearing Ryuzetsu's words, he too knew that Naruto's chances of survival were extremely slim. With a flash, his body joined the the two thousand disciples and teleported.

The skies rumbled as Toruho and Ou Yangjie brought two thousand inner sect disciples and descended to the Fallen Uchiha mansion.

The clouds were sundered and tremors ran through the ground as the mansion was filled with shocked cries. The moment the outline of the formation array appeared right above of the Fallen Uchiha mansion. Boom, boom, boom!

The formation array engraved itself on the ground, the jade stones paved around the mansion disintegrating into ash. The entire mansion shook and subsequently collapsed.

Angered cries came out of the mansion, and many figures bursted out, furious and desperate, their voices were shaky.

The stone lions in front of the main door along with the fruit trees of the mansion all quickly turned into puppets, ravaging the area. Toruho stepped forth and crushed the two lions with a wave of his sleeve, shaking the fruit trees, causing the puppets to fall and instantly be destroyed by the disciples.

The land shook as the fight turned to a slaughter, the Spirit River Sect disciples surrounded the entire area.

Toruho headed for the mansion's ruins. He formed a hand seal and a cyan fire spread, his hair was whipping as an earth-shaking might had appeared out of his body.

A sea of fire swept through the ruins, the emerging clansmen's screams sounded as their bodies were incinerated, instantly turning into ashes.

Toruho then slammed his right foot on the ground, the land beneath him cracked open, forming a large fissure in which the underground palace could be seen.

The lake of blood in the underground palace suddenly rose as the elders of the Fallen Uchiha Clan hastily emerged.

Upon seeing Toruho, their faces were filled by despair. The sudden attack of the Spirit River Sect was simply too strong for their incomplete formation array. If it was someone else, they could have used their preparations to deal with them, but the ones that appeared were actually Ou Yangjie and Toruho.

They anxiously backed away, wretched cries leaving their mouths.

"Run, as long as even a few escape, run!"

All of the inhabitants of the underground palace ran, trembling. At the command of the expressionless Ou Yangjie, the inner sect disciples charged.

With cold eyes, Toruho stared at the lake of blood. Ou Yangjie too was filled with rage when he noticed it.

"This clan will be wiped out, even if it's the last thing we do." Toruho swept with his sleeve and the sea of fire surged.

At the same time, endless screams could be heard as the Spirit River Sect disciples continued their advance. It was no longer a slaughter - it was a massacre.

Two thousand people were chasing down a couple hundred.

The elders of the Fallen Uchiha Clan ran even faster as their clan was being wiped out. As for their sons and daughters and other clan members, they simultaneously fell beneath the might of the Spirit River Sect's purge.

Just as Toruho was chasing, another rumble echoed behind him, heralding a sea of fire, fast, strong and overwhelming, it enveloped the the patriarch. Toruho's eyes were cold as he raised his right hand and clenched it.

Boom.

The patriarch's screams echoed, his body completely red in one moment, then it turned to ash in the next. Toruho had killed him... in a single move!

This scene had made the surrounding disciples take a deep breath, even Ou Yangjie's eyes widened as he stared at Toruho in shock.

Floating in mid-air, Toruho swept his hand and a sea of fire erupted once again, enveloping the entire the Fallen Uchiha Clan. He gazed at the horizon and sighed.

"Naruto, I, Toruho… apologize to your Uzumaki family." Bitter, he headed out into the distance, unsatisfied with handling the task of searching for Naruto to anyone else. So long as there was a glimmer of hope, he intended to search as well.

As Toruho disappeared into the distance, reflected in the lingering vicious flames was the excitement of the inner sect disciples. The stronger their sect grew, the brighter their future would be.

Chapter 64 Chapter 64

Chapter 64 - Spirit and Funeral

"Spread out, search for Naruto! Whoever finds him will be rewarded with contribution points by me personally! Any Fallen Uchiha Clan members you see on your search are to be exterminated!" Ou Yangjie glanced at the retreating Toruho, the surrounding disciples immediately spreading out after his command.

Ten thousand mile radius, two thousand disciples. The search lasted for a whole month.

(ED note: one li is 576 meters, or 630 yards)

At the end of the month, the area was almost completely covered, yet there were no signs of Naruto. They did find, however, the bodies of the Fallen Uchiha clansmen killed by Naruto, discovering the causes of their deaths, shocking more and more of the disciples.

Many of the bodies were killed with a single move, puzzling the disciples as to how a sixth level Chakra Condensation outer sect disciple had managed to do it.

Qian Dajin was troubled, suddenly thinking that it would be great if Uzumaki

Xiaochun had already truly died. He did not want someone so fierce and as his opponent and Toruho's anger too had disturbed him greatly. He groaned inwardly.

"Damn it, if you had such a background, why didn't you mention it? If you did, I would have never involved myself with you!"

The tragic condition of the three eighth level Chakra Condensation corpses of the Fallen Uchiha clansmen in the forest of the nameless mountain were especially hard to forget, causing the minds of those who found them to tremble.

One month of searching finally convinced them that Naruto… was probably dead, in this nameless forest where monsters dwell, there were simply too many methods for a person's corpse to disappear.

They also knew that the one after Naruto was most likely at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation and realised that Naruto was… dead.

After a month, the search was concluded and the disciples returned to the sect. They did find Wanji, his heavy injuries were healed by the sect with no effort spared.

Wanji and Ryuzetsu's contribution to the sect was greatly rewarded, but they found no pride nor happiness in it, only sorrowful memories.

They were unwilling to return to the sect, but their wounds were too severe. Toruho was the only person who stayed after the disciples' departure. He searched for two whole months in the nameless forests, thoroughly searching everywhere except where even he was incapable of reaching. It was clear to him that Naruto was here, but he just couldn't find him. It was as if Naruto only appeared to be in the forests, but in actuality, he seemed to be in another world.

He had also encountered many powerful monsters, battling them had resulting in a few injuries. After two months had passed, he found blood on the branches of a tree, along with a torn piece of a robe.

"If I hadn't brought you to the mountain…" Toruho closed his eyes, picturing Naruto on top of a mountain, with a fearful expression. The moment he pulled him from the peak and into the outer sect… The ten stone tablets…

His sigh spread in the silence as his appearance became older. He took the fabric and put it together with seven others, all smeared with blood

Toruho silently exited the forest, transformed into a rainbow, and flew away.

The Fallen Uchiha Clan's betrayal ended with the wrathful display of the Spirit River Sect's power, utterly annihilating the traitors. The news spread, and when the four continents' masses of cultivator clan and sects discovered the Fallen Uchiha Clan's ultimate demise, they felt a stronger wariness for the Spirit River Sect.

/ As for the cause of the household's decision to commit the betrayal, Spirit River Sect investigations uncovered many clues - the Blood Pulse Mark was only a part of it, a deeper reason lay beneath it, shocking the entire sect.

Had the Spirit River Sect not prevented the Fallen Uchiha Clan from succeeding, the result would have been a dire catastrophe involving all of the cultivator clans around the Spirit River Sect. It would have resulted into betrayals from one clan after another with irreversible consequences, shaking the entire sect.

Ryuzetsu and the others had contributed greatly to preventing the disaster, Naruto in particular. Without him, the information would have trouble reaching the sect in time.

Naruto sacrificing his chance of survival for the greater goal of luring away the enemy had made its way to many hearts. The world of cultivation was filled with selfish people, and those like Naruto were a very few. The fall of someone like him pained even the sect's elders.

There was a lot behind the incident. As more information was uncovered, silence plagued the Spirit River Sect, for some reason, the sect had ceased further investigations, but the Foundation Establishment elders remained vigilant.

A storm… was brewing.

The seven ancestors of the South Bank and the North Bank, along with the many elders, came to a consensus after days of discussion and investigation.

Ryuzetsu, Wanji, the fallen Feng Yan, Naruto… They were all heroes, Naruto in particular. His was the greatest contribution of all.

"Before the storm comes, we need… a surge of spirit. The spirit of the Spirit River Sect, the will to avenge Naruto, who, with his small life, rendered such a great service to the entire sect. His funeral will be carried out so such a great contribution; those which greatly benefitted the sect, will eternally remain with the sect!" Those were words of the Spirit River Sect's Sect Head, Zheng Yuandong.

In the following days, the sect halted all investigations regarding the reasons for the Fallen Uchiha Clan's betrayal. They did, however, used this incident to spread the tale of Naruto, praising his selfless actions for the greater good of the sect.

His story was known to all disciples in both the South and the North Bank. All of them knew what he had done for his companions and for the sect.

At the same time, the fervor of the disciples continued to burn. Toruho alone was enough to destroy the clan, but two thousand disciples of the South Bank were still sent following him making it seem like 'using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken'. It was a massacre of matchless and helpless livestock.

At the same time, Naruto's name was instilled in of all the disciples by the sect's deliberate promotion of Naruto but... this also filled all the disciples with zeal.

This is the Spirit River Sect with ten thousand years of tradition!

A finger laid on our disciple will be paid back with rivers of blood!

This was true for every Spirit River Sect disciple. When they were away from the sect, the disciple was never alone, it had the backing of the entire Spirit River Sect.

And this assurance had grown into a strong sense of belonging, to the point where all disciples were willing to sacrifice everything, including their lives, to defend their sect, to defend their home.

This, was the Spirit River Sect... ten thousand years ago, it was but a small sect, less than a dozen strong.

As for the death of Naruto, the ancestors summoned an elder masterful in the art of deducing the heavens, personally casting spells and reading the signs of heaven. Traces of Naruto's existence, unfortunately, were not found, only the scent of decay, confirming for the sect... that Naruto … was dead.

A few days later, in the early morning, rain poured from the sky. Each raindrop landed with a sorrowful tune. Crowds of disciples were draped in black robes, silently leaving their homes to gather at the hillside of the Scented Cloud Mountain.

A tombstone lay there, with a portrait of Naruto's joyfully laughing.

Zhang Fatso One stood in the crowd, looking at the amount of people who came, and turned to the tombstone with the name 'Naruto' imprinted on it. Rain fell, soaking his clothes, as tears flowed his face. The memories he had with Naruto, eating stolen spirit fruits together, laughing together, selling the promotional positions together, stealing chickens together…

"Fatso Nine…" Zhang Fatso One's eyes reflected his sorrow, and his broken heart. It was as if his whole world had become darker.

The other fatsos from the Burning Stoves Kituchiha were also present, including Black Fatso Three, tears running down their faces.

Xu Baocai, Uchiha Zi'ang, Zhao Yiduo, Elder Xu, Elder Zhou, all the people Naruto had met after going up the mountain, all the people who knew him… all of them mourned.

Kurenai had come as well. She stared silently at the tombstone. After hearing the story, the first thing she could think of was the passion with which he had guarded the Spirit Tailed Chickens.

Wanji was leaning on Ino as they stood in the crowd, his fist curled tightly, his body trembling, filled with grief.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki…" Wanji smiled bitterly. He had drowned himself with alcohol the day he returned to the sect, unable to rid himself of the image of Naruto luring the enemies away.

More and more people gathered, covering the hillside, all staring at the tombstone in silence.

Ryuzetsu was pale as she stood in the front, rain covered her face, a rain of tears, as she looked on in a trance, her usually beautiful face now scarred by sorrow.

"You could have survived… I live on, but you…"

Ryuzetsu sobbed. The last few days she looked emaciated, the ironblooded figure of Naruto returning to save them appeared in her dreams again and again. The scenes stabbed her heart like knives, times and times again as tears flowed.

The funeral knells weighted in the air as multiple rainbows heralded the arrival of the ancestors of the seven mountains. The Spirit River Sect's elders and Sect Head were all draped in black, sorrowfully looking at the tombstone.

Toruho's heart was filled with bitterness and remorse.

"Naruto, the Spirit River Sect Scented Cloud Mountain's outer sect disciple. His abilities and strength allowed him to take down many of the Fallen Uchiha traitors, and his great selflessness allowed him to sacrifice his very life for the good of the sect. We have gathered here today as fellow disciples of the Spirit River Sect to let Naruto's name never fade!" The Sect Head said, his voice echoing out.

Yet their voices were as sorrowful as they were strong. Ryuzetsu's tears flowed uncontrollably, Wanji, Zhang Fatso One and many others

too had tears streaming down their faces.

"On this day, we bestow Naruto with a special title - Honorable Disciple of the Spirit River Sect!" The voice echoed out once again, startling the crowd, the title 'Honorable Disciple' filling them with shock.

'Honorable Disciple' was the highest honorary title of the sect, a unique title above the inner sect disciples, equal to the inherent titles. For the dead, it was the ultimate honor.

In the past ten thousand years, only nine had received the title of Honorable Disciple, all of them receiving it for a great contribution after dying in a battle. Today, Naruto was the tenth.

No one thought it was inappropriate, it was exchanged with Naruto's life.

"Naruto has sacrificed too soon after entering the sect, without even taking a master. For this selfless child, I will not let him wander the realm of the dead alone, today, I take Naruto as my own disciple, may he pursue the Dao in the afterworld." After the Sect Head finished the painful opening, Toruho nodded his head softly, looking at the tombstone with a sad gaze.

"A moment of silence… everyone." The Sect Head closed his eyes, lowering his head as the disciples followed suit.

After a few breaths, the moment of silence had ended, Ryuzetsu weeped silently.

Just as everyone had lapsed in silence, in the nameless forests, Uzumaki

Xiaochun's eyebrow twitched. He slowly opened his eyes and sneezed.

Chapter 65 Chapter 65

Chapter 65 - Shou Lingren

As he sneezed, Naruto awoke from his slumber. He was still unconsciousness due to his heavy injuries before he had fainted. Just as he awakened, he unconsciously hugged his left arm, letting out a scream. But he stopped just as quickly, looked down at his left arm in surprise, and then proceeded to inspect his body, touching here and poking there, and even raised his clothing to reveal his tender stomach.

"Eh? Where are my wounds?" There was horror in Naruto's eyes as he recalled the old man from the village saying that when people died, their soul would enter the underworld. Seeing his body have no wounds on it, he thought that clearly, only his soul had remained… He trembled and raised his head, looking at his surroundings. He realised that the surroundings were desolate. Grass and trees alike had all withered away, and even Uchiha Heng's corpse had disappeared.

When Naruto looked into the distance, he noticed only mist surrounding him, he could barely see a blur in the distance. His ragged breaths filled the surroundings, his whole body felt cold.

"It's over, it's over… I had stayed safe for the entirety of my little life, but this time, I threw my little life away…" Naruto was even more certain now, he was scared out of his own wits as he wailed in despair.

"I have not yet given Ryuzetsu the chance to repay me with her body… Senior Brother Hou had also made a promise with me… People still don't know that I am the Little Turtle. I haven't eaten enough Spirit Tailed Chickens yet. I… I have not achieved immortality…" The more Naruto thought about it, the more depressed he got. Tears had gathered in his eyes.

As he was venting his grievances, suddenly… a cough sounded behind him.

This cough came so abruptly that Naruto jumped in fright. He abruptly scrambled forward and tumbled before he turned around as a wooden sword appeared in his hands.

"Who!" Naruto spoke with a shrill voice as he noticed an old man wearing a long black robe standing like a corpse exactly where he was previously at, staring at him.

The air of death lingering on his body was particularly obvious, especially with the old man's pale and wrinkled face, it was as though he had just crawled out from his grave. In addition to the strangeness of the surroundings, it made one's skin crawl.

After Naruto could see clearly, he felt his hair stood on end as countless myths about vengeful ghosts filled his mind. But as soon as he remembered that he was supposed to be dead, he calmed down, raised his chin and snorted as he stood up from the ground.

"Okay, so you're a ghost. I'm also a ghost. After all, I've already died. Everyone's a ghost. Who's afraid of whom?" Naruto walked in front of the old man and circled around him once, producing a buzzing noise.

"You must be this nameless mountain range's ghost. Don't fret. I was just passing by and happened to die here by chance and will be gone in a jiffy. Alas, I do not know whether I will be able to continue cultivating immortality after I have become a ghost in order to become an immortal ghost." Once Naruto reached this point, sorrow resurfaced in his heart and he sighed.

The black-robed old man frowned and looked at Naruto, then he spoke with a hoarse voice.

"Are you really that desperate to die?"

Naruto blanked out before an idea occurred to him, and he suddenly bit his tongue. After he felt the sharp stab of pain, in disbe

lief, he bit his tongue again. This time, it was so painful that even tears flowed out of his eyes, but his expression turned wild with joy and he danced as he howled loudly towards the sky.

"I did not die! Haha, I, Naruto, am unparalleled in my cultivation, unrivalled under the heavens. How could I die!" Naruto tried to pull the old man's arm in front of him in excitement, but his hand passed right through the other party's body in an instant, grabbing only thin air. Only a strong chill was felt when he touched the old man.

"Ah…" Naruto stiffened. He looked up at the old man, staring at him blankly. Naruto's eyes widened and he screamed while quickly backing away.

"It's a ghost!" Just now, he thought that he had really died, so it didn't matter, but now, he was really frightened and even more stories of vicious vengeful ghosts flowed in his mind.

He backed away until he reached the boundary of the mist. There was an invisible wall that prevented him from escaping. He leaned against the wall and shakily held the small wooden sword. Naruto opened his eyes as big as he could, ideas spinning in his mind. In the end, he looked pitifully at the black-robed old man.

"Grandfather, if you have any unfulfilled desires, I, Naruto, will definitely help you fulfil it…"

The black-robed old man had a strange look on his face as he looked closely at Naruto. He felt as if the boy before his eyes and the iron-blooded man from before were two different people, and slowly, he fell deep in thought.

"Perhaps such people are most suited to cultivate the Unending Longevity Technique…" The Elder softly mumbled to himself. He shook his head with a smile on his face, feeling relieved. Turning around, he flew off into the distance.

"The Unending Longevity Technique is separated into the Unending

Scroll and the Longevity Scroll. There are five volumes for both the Unending Technique and the Longevity Technique… The one that you have cultivated is the most wide-spread first volume of the Unending Technique, the Impenetrable Skin Technique. These days, some who have mastered the Iron Skin can still be found, as for those who have mastered the Bronze Skin, they are truly rare, almost nonexistent!" The black-robed old man was gradually moving further away, but his voice was still carried to Naruto, echoing beside his ear.

"The Unending Scroll is to break through life's five greatest shackles.

The Longevity Scroll is to crack eternity's five greatest seals!"

"If you properly cultivate it, your Impenetrable Skin can reach the level of the Gold Skin, then you can reach the first restraint of life's shackles.

As for whether you can break through the shackles, it all depends on your luck."

"We were destined to meet. I am giving this pill to you as a present. It can give you a little help in your breakthrough of the Impenetrable Skin Technique and mastering the Bronze Skin. I am giving you this jade slip, within it, the Unending Technique's… second scroll is recorded, Indestructible Golden Body!

The Unending Longevity Technique is… extraordinary!" The old man was far away and his figure was vague, but following his lingering voice, two rainbows appeared for an instant and stopped in front of Naruto.

Naruto's mind shook and he looked at the old man's disappearing back absentmindedly. He now realised why he didn't die and why his wounds had all been healed. This person had saved him.

And the reason for that was… because he had cultivated the Unending Longevity Technique.

Even though Naruto was afraid of death, he looked extremely favorably on kindness. He knew that with the wounds he previously sustained, he would have died nine times out of ten. His body shivered and he took a deep breath, bowing deeply in the direction that the old man had left in.

"Many thanks to senior for his kindness in saving me and passing on his knowledge. If Senior would please tell me his name…" Naruto shouted out.

"This old man is … Shou Lingren." The old man had already disappeared. His voice was faint and melancholic, as if it had travelled from ages long past.

Simultaneously, the mist barrier separating the surroundings emitted a "kaka" sound and broke apart in an instant. The mist dispersed, reconnecting this enclosed space with the outside world once again. A gust of wind passed, blowing Naruto's long hair. He raised his head and looked into the distance, remaining silent for a long time.

"The Unending Longevity Technique… life's five greatest shackles, eternity's five greatest seals?" He softly mumbled. Those were the things that he had never heard of before.

After half a day, Naruto took a deep breath and looked at the pill and jade slip floating in front of him. He took the jade slip into his hands and scanned it with his spiritual sense, confirming that the contents of the second scroll of the Unending Technique were recorded within.

(ED note: we previously used "divine sense" once, that was a negligence on my part, I apologise to the readers for any confusing that might've caused. -Crimsonguard)

After stashing away the jade slip, Naruto's eyes fell on the pill. Even though he had become a Medicine Apprentice, he could not identify this pill's grade. He held it in his hands and closely inspected it as he had a cautious personality. There was a thoughtful look in his eyes. He understood that if that black-robed senior wanted to harm him, there were countless ways to do so, therefore, this pill should only benefit him and not harm him.

As he was deep in thought, he looked around before stashing this pill as well. In a flash, he went outside, looking at the surrounding forest along the way with mixed feelings. There was now fear lingering in his heart as he recalled the extremely dangerous situation that he was in when he was previously in a fierce battle with the Fallen Uchiha Clansmen.

"I do not know how Senior Sister Du and Senior Brother Hou are doing… whether they managed to escape or not…" Naruto was deep in thought. He had not taken out the jade slip to try and contact them from fear that if the Fallen Uchiha Clan had not been exterminated, then the transmission from the jade slip might cause some trouble. He now opened his storage pouch and took out Feng Yan's Wind Rider. He toyed around with it a little and quickly realised that the boat can actually be used.

There was joy in his eyes as his expectations were confirmed. He was also not in a rush to leave, so he had searched for a cave in this mountain range to rest inside. He took out the Turtle-shell Pot and refined the pill that the black-robed old man had given him.

Very quickly, silver light radiated from the pill as three spiritual lines appeared on it. Naruto held the pill with a decisive look in his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. In the instant that he swallowed the pill, there was a rumbling that filled his body; it was as if a ball of fire had suddenly exploded and turned into an indescribable vitality Qi, spreading rapidly throughout his whole body.

His body shook and he clenched his teeth, persevering as he operated the Unending Longevity Technique and slapped his body. Gradually, the skin on his whole body was no longer pitch-black in colour as a bronze hue appeared. This bronze colour became more and more noticeable until finally, he practically looked like a bronze statue.

The power in his body soared, and a powerful feeling emerged from the bottom of his heart.

However, the effects of this pill did not end there. After Naruto had refined it three times, this pill seemed to have achieved a shocking quality. When the skin on Naruto's body had completely turned bronze, his whole body suddenly trembled and a "kaka" sound could be heard, as if something broke.

In that moment, cracks had actually appeared on his skin. More and more of these cracks appeared with each passing minute. They became more and more densely packed until finally, they covered his entire body, the pain similarly intensified. But under Naruto's perseverance, silver light gradually appeared underneath those cracks.

The Impenetrable Skin was divided into four levels which were Iron, Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Even the black-robed old man was unable to foresee that with Naruto's refinement, the pill that he had given to Naruto would actually have the Impenetrable Skin breakthrough once again after the Bronze Skin.

A rumbling sound echoed yet again within Naruto's body, and this time, it continued for several days. Even more cracks appeared on his skin until finally, it started falling off like moulting. Every fragment that fell off revealed skin that amazingly had a silver hue.

Ten more days had passed by the time Naruto had shed the last fragment of skin on his body. His whole body was now emitting a silver glow from head to toe. Even though it was a faint silver colour, when he opened both of his eyes, even they had a silver glow to them.

His body flashed with an immense speed that set off a shocking ripping sound. It was obvious that his speed had more than doubled as compared to before.

Naruto's eyes flashed with ecstasy. He clenched his right hand into a fist and threw a punch at a nearby rock. A monstrously loud sound echoed out as the rock crumbled in an instant, not into pieces, but into powder.

This power of his was several times greater than before.

Naruto was thrilled as he sucked in a deep breath. Currently, he was confident that if he battled Uchiha Heng once again, he would definitely not end up as badly as he had before.

With these tests of his, he discovered that even more shocking was the strength of his protection. His whole body, covered in the Impenetrable Silver Skin, had actually made even the wooden sword that had been thrice refined unable to harm him at all.

Naruto was overjoyed. After he saw that the Unending Longevity Technique had stopped changing his body and his fair and clear skin had been restored, Naruto changed his clothes again and headed into the distance with full speed, pleased with himself.

Chapter 66 Chapter 66

Chapter 66 - I Would Jump Into Boiling Water Or Walk Through Fire For The Sect!

As Naruto steadily moved through the forest, he gradually discovered various traces hinting at what had happened, leading him outside of the mountain range. A couple days later, he had returned to the Fallen Star Mountain Range using his extreme speed. Upon arrival, he discovered that the Fallen Uchiha Clan had turned into ruins.

"It seems that Ryuzetsu and Wanji had managed to deliver a message back to the sect." Naruto recalled the previous tragedy and sighed. After a long time, he turned around and the Wind Rider appeared. He jumped on it and sat cross-legged, guiding the Wind River.

A whistling sound spread as the boat turned into a rainbow, heading off into the distance.

"I am going back to the sect!" Naruto's eyes shone with expectation with regards to the reward from the sect. He thought that once he returned, there ought to be some grand reward.

Thinking up to this point, he got even more excited and lowered his gaze, looking at the storage pouches. Along the way, he had sorted out the storage pouches that he had obtained from the hands of the Fallen Uchiha clansmen. There were many things contained within the storage pouch, including some Spirit Stones.

The most important thing was that he had actually found a fist-sized seed in one of the storage pouches, but he just couldn't remember whose. It was pulsing like a heart and seemed to house life within it. However, it was currently fickle and was getting weaker.

After Naruto saw that object, even with his herbal mastery, he had also spent half a day thinking about it and was surprised to realise that this was an extremely precious Spirit Seed that was said to be extinct since ancient times. Its name was the Rearing Beast Seed!

Rumours entailed that after this Seed absorbed the essence of spiritual beasts, it could birth one on its own. This Rearing Beast Seed was practically priceless to those monsters that were extremely powerful yet had difficulty producing offspring.

Especially to those cultivators who have powerful spiritual beasts by their side and wished to obtain their offspring but often only had one, the importance of this Rearing Beast Seed could easily be determined.

Even though he didn't know why such a precious object would be in the hands of a Fallen Uchiha clansman sent to kill him, he still thought that it was likely that the person who owned this must have been trying to find some sort of lucky encounter. After all, the Fallen Uchiha Clan resided within the Fallen Star Mountain Range and the Fallen Star Mountain Range was… filled with mysteries.

Besides, even he had taken a long time to identify it, therefore, the Fallen Uchiha clansmen who had received this Rearing Beast Seed must have not known this seed's purpose.

Along the way, Naruto had chosen a piece of wood that had some

Spiritual Chakra in it, carving it into a wooden box. He packed the Rearing Beast Seed into the wooden box and only then did the Rearing Beast Seed's fickle life slowly stabilise.

Stashing away the wooden box, Naruto took a deep breath and guided the Wind Rider, whistling through the scenery as he followed the route they arrived through, nearing closer and closer to the Spirit River Sect.

In their past journey, the trio could only use the Wind Rider at night because of their shortage on Spirit Stones, but Naruto's pocket was bulging now and he cared not about the Spirit Stone consumption. As such, in only a month, he could already see the gate of the Spirit River Sect's South Bank in the distance. "This time, heading out to and fro used mor

e than half a year before I finally returned." Naruto stood up in the Wind Rider, his hair was flailing as he put up the appearance of a peerless master. Suddenly, he remembered something and felt that this appearance was not very appropriate, so he quickly changed into the long outer sect disciple robe that was already tattered from battling with the Fallen Uchiha clansmen.

He put on an incomparably miserable look, portraying that he had defied death for the sect. Blood stained his long robe and it could be seen that every tattered hole was a result from a life-and-death struggle.

Only then was he satisfied and urged the Wind Rider, proceeding forward. As soon as he neared the gate and tried to pass through, an invisible wall suddenly appeared, bouncing the Wind Rider back in an instant.

"Huh?" Naruto was shaken and almost fell down.

At the same time, a rainbow suddenly flew out from the South Bank's gate in front of him, a youngster with an indifferent expression on his face within it. When he appeared, he looked calmly at Naruto.

"Who might this fellow be, arriving unannounced to my Spirit River Sect without stating his purpose?" After reaching up to this point, the youngster suddenly frowned. He took a glance at the Wind River and then glanced at Naruto's clothing.

"You are holding my Spirit River Sect's Wind River and are wearing the outer sect disciple's robe, yet you have been blocked out by the gate's Formation Array! Who are you!" There was a cold glint in this youngster's eyes. He formed a hand seal with his right hand and his cultivation immediately spread out, revealing that he was actually an eight level Chakra Condensation cultivator.

"What is the problem, Senior Brother? Why do you not let me enter the

Sect? I am Naruto, an outer sect disciple from the Scented Cloud Mountain." Naruto stepped back upon seeing this scene unravel before him and quickly spoke as he could not make heads or tails of the situation.

The youngster frowned and was about to say something when he suddenly stiffened.

"You are Naruto?" He carefully sized Naruto up. The more he looked, the more the youngster felt that he looked familiar. He had went to Naruto's funeral and had seen Naruto's portrait on the tombstone. His body suddenly jerked and after he noticed the blood stains on Naruto's clothes, he sucked in a deep breath.

"You… Aren't you supposed to be dead!"

"I am not dead?" Naruto paused for a moment. The youngster immediately looked excited and took out a jade slip, quickly sending a message to the sect.

As soon as news about Naruto spread throughout the sect, Toruho, who had closed his eyes, suddenly opened them. His body flew out in a flash.

Meanwhile, when the news reached the Sect Head, the Spirit River Sect's Sect Head went blank for a moment, but he quickly used his spiritual sense to scan the South Bank's gate and sensed Naruto. At first, he was surprised, but that was soon replaced by joy as he informed the whole Sect of these news.

In a few breaths worth of time, incredulous cries spread within the Sect. Those yells could also be faintly heard from outside the gate as chimes suddenly rang out.

"Naruto? Wasn't he dead? How could he possibly be alive!"

Soon after, countless silhouettes from the within the Sect whistled out, and in front of them all, most shockingly, was Wanji. He was quickly approaching, and as soon as he passed through the gate, he recognised Naruto with a single glance. His expression filled with disbelief that Naruto had survived the Fallen Uchiha Clan's hunt. Even if he was unwilling to admit that Naruto would die, the truth was that deep down in his heart, he already understood that there was not a single disciple that could survive that relentless pursuit.

In this moment, he was so excited that tears began streaming down his face.

"Junior Uzumaki!" He laughed loudly and appeared by Naruto's side in an instant, hugging him, unable to contain his excitement.

"Senior Hou…" Naruto blinked his eyes as he came to the realisation that the sect had thought him to be dead. Seeing Wanji now, Naruto was rather happy that he was fine now.

"Come, let us return to the sect!" Wanji pulled Naruto excitedly along with him, heading straight for the gate. With him leading the way, Naruto was able to enter the gate this time. The youngster behind also followed them. When he looked at Naruto, he was greatly shocked. He had personally participated in the extermination of the Fallen Uchiha Clan and had seen each place where a fight had occurred within the forest, along with the wretched corpses of the Fallen Uchiha clansmen. Naruto making it back alive shocked him greatly.

The instant the Naruto stepped through the gate, more figures approached him from all sides.

"Fatso Nine?!" Zhang Fatso One, Black Fatso Three and the other senior Fatsos from the Handyman Department quivered with excitement. They all approached Naruto, especially Zhang Fatso One who went forward and fiercely hugged him with tears streaming down his face.

Naruto was touched, and as he looked at the people around him, he suddenly felt that everything that he had worked hard for in the past was all worth it.

A rainbow arrived at this moment, within it was Toruho. He looked at Naruto with a look of disbelief on his face. He held a bundle in his arms, containing the shreds of Naruto's clothes, stained with blood.

Out of everyone, Toruho could be said to be the person who best understood the deadliness of the crisis that Naruto had faced. "I pay my respects to the Ancestor!" Naruto quickly went forward and displayed his reverence to Toruho.

"It is good that you are alive, it is good that you are alive." Normally, Toruho was calm and collected, but this moment, he unconsciously trembled. He raised his right hand and placed it on Naruto's head, his eyes revealing excitement.

"This is my home. This disciple is willing to jump into boiling water or walk through fire for the sect!" Naruto puffed his chest out as he loudly said this. He even purposely flourished his small sleeve, revealing small bloodied holes on his clothes.

People continuously arrived from the three mountains of the South Bank. Once they noticed Naruto in the distance, all of them were shocked by the blood staining his clothes.

Especially after the words spoken by Naruto travelled throughout for everyone to hear, everyone was shocked. As they looked at him, they all felt that this… was the true Heaven's Chosen of the sect.

As more and more people seemed to arrive, a girl's joyful cry travelled from the distance. That was Du Lingei. She had spent these past few days using tears to wash her face and she looked extremely emaciated. When she heard people saying that Naruto had returned, her mind immediately trembled and she desperately rushed to him.

When she saw Naruto's figure now, even more tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly approached and hugged Naruto, laughing and crying at the same time, afraid that it would all turn out to be a dream. That appearance warmed Naruto's heart.

He was about to lay his hand on the curves of her body, but when he remembered that there were so many people around them, he could only refrain from doing so.

"Senior Sister Du, I have said it before, as long as I, Naruto, have a breath left inside of me, I will definitely not let any harm come to you." Naruto cooly said as he raised his chin. He had the appearance of someone who looked down on the world as he said this extremely sugary sentence.

After Ryuzetsu heard him speak those words, she felt that her body was melting. Large tears filled her eyes, deep affection, as thick as honey, hidden behind them.

Soon, even the figures of the Law Enforcement Agency appeared. The person leading them was Ou Yangjie. When he looked at Naruto, he too was surprised. Ou Yangjie's eyes revealed strong interest towards Naruto. Especially the clothes that Naruto was wearing and the words he had just spoken to Toruho. Both prompted him to secretly nod in his mind.

"Naruto, I am the Law Enforcement Agency's Elder, Ou Yangjie."

Once Naruto heard the three words, "Law Enforcement Agency", his heart momentarily trembled. However, he remembered that he had performed an extraordinary feat and continued sticking out his chest as he greeted Ou Yangjie.

"You have to follow this Elder to see the Sect Head regarding matters of the Fallen Uchiha Clan." There was a rare hint of a smile that appeared on Ou Yangjie's face. He raised his right hand and pointed toward Naruto. A Spiritual Fog immediately appeared below Naruto's feet as it brought him along with Ou Yangjie, heading off into the distance.

There was a relieved look in Toruho's eyes as he also turned into a rainbow, heading after them.

As for the other disciples, once they saw Naruto had left, they all slowly dispersed amidst the amazement and fervent discussion. However, the news regarding Naruto did not die out but spread with an even faster speed.

In the end, it seemed that everyone in the Spirit River Sect knew of this matter. Some people were happy while others were sad. Qian Dajin trembled inside his cave, revealing a fearful look.

"Damn it, how is he still not dead! How could he not have died in such a dangerous pursuit!"

"He shouldn't know that it was me that assigned him on his mission… That's right, he shouldn't know…" Qian Dajin had a capricious look on his face. In the end, he let out a long sigh, anxiously worrying for himself—

Chapter 67 Chapter 67

Chapter 67 - Senior Brother, Where is Our Master?

The Spirit River Sect had eight mountains; four on the North Bank, three on the South, and one in the center… the pivotal mountain, in the heart of which was the sect's backbone.

It was the place where the council of elders, led by the Sect Head Zheng Yuandong, usually handled the sect matters.

At this moment, the chimes of the bells were echoing as the council of the North and South Bank's mountains gathered in the great hall, with the Sect Head in the middle.

Soon after, Toruho and Ou Yangjie brought Naruto outside the hall and had him wait there while they both entered inside.

Outside the hall, positioned on both sides were four disciples on guard duty, staring at Naruto with curiosity.

Naruto looked back and smiled. It was his first time here, so he decided to look around. The Chakra was rich, and the plants were beautiful. It was heavenly, isolated from the noise of the mundane… Not something the Scented Cloud Mountain could compete with in terms of tranquility.

This was an important place for the sect. Other visiting disciples would tread with extreme caution, but Naruto felt no pressure at all, looking around nonchalantly.

This calmness naturally surprised the four disciples. It was not unexpected for the four to think that only a person of great stature can remain calm in such circumstances, it'd be unusual for common people.

In truth, although Naruto was afraid of death, with the great service he had done for the sect, it would be impossible for him to die here. So without any fear, he held his head high in expectation of the rewards he would receive.

"With my contribution… At the very least, the reward wouldn't be any less than something like a hundred year life extending pill? One million contribution points, the best cave they have, perhaps. Naturally, a promotion into an inner sect disciple as well. Heh." Naruto got more and more excited as he waited, without anyone summoning him in the great hall.

Surprised, Naruto continued waiting. A long while later, just when he was about to groan with impatience, a helpless voice came out from the palace.

"Naruto, come inside."

Sobering up, Naruto took in a deep breath, trying his best to put on the appearance of someone who would jump in boiling water and walk through fire for the sect. His entered with big strides and immediately cupped his fist in respect.

"Naruto of the Scented Cloud Mountain, honoured to meet the council composed of my predecessors."

After paying his respects, Naruto lifted his head and saw an old man standing out in the middle, draped in a white robes. His cultivation unfathomable.

Surrounding him were eight people, six males and two females. Toruho and Ou Yangjie included. Those present were eyeing Naruto up, obviously surprised that he was alive.

As for what he was wearing, upon taking a closer look, naturally, they could tell that the holes and tears on the clothes were not done by him intentionally, but were really a result from a battle's aftermath.

Naruto's looked clean and innocent, he was very obedient, not in the slightest bit haughty or humble. Just calm.

This scene, although it looked normal and only contributed to the already great image of Naruto, still made caused others to feel somewhat strange.

"Naruto, tell us in detail your tale and your involvement with the Fallen Uchiha Clan, from beginning to end." Toruho looked at Naruto and gently spoke.

Naruto calmly retold the story to the elders from beginni

ng to end, everything except for the elder in black robes. That was his personal secret.

Other than that, he also spoke of Feng Yan's sacrifice as well as the perils of the journey. He presented the story craftily, emphasizing not on his own deeds but on Feng Yan, Ryuzetsu, and Wanji's instead.

"I am to blame, Senior Brother Feng died to save me, it was my fault." The more he acted that way, the higher the council regarded him. These men were, however, extremely experienced cultivators. From the clothes he wore, they could tell the subtle cunningness in Naruto's character, but they didn't really mind it.

"You were completely healed upon waking?" The Sect Head smiled, without caring much for Naruto's explanation - everyone had their own secrets, after all. The sect sought a sense of belonging, not total control. Otherwise, discord would arise.

"Naruto, the rewards for your deeds were given out a few months ago. You are now our sect's... Honourable Disciple!" The moment the Sect Head said the words, Naruto felt it was somewhat weird. It was his first time hearing the term.

Before he had appeared, a discussion was held, with both sides placed in a difficult position. The title held great weight and was given only after someone was killed, never to living people. But now Naruto was alive and kicking in front of their door…

After receiving news of his survival, they had all been stunned for a short while.

It's wasn't a title that they could just take back. The funeral had been held, the announcement, everything… It was troublesome indeed, which was exactly why they had him wait outside the great hall for so long.

After the long discussion, without a way to change it according to sect rules, they allowed Naruto to continue living with the title.

"Honourable Disciple?" Naruto blinked, oblivious to the title, never having the chance to hear it mentioned in his life. He blinked several times at the elders, as if waiting for something. He couldn't bear it, and after a while, he took the initiative to speak.

"Um… Is that all?" Naruto asked.

"That's all." The Sect Head squeezed out a smile.

Naruto panicked. He opened his mouth, ready to protest and tell of his hardships and near death experiences when Toruho coughed. He was the one most familiar with Naruto's personality.

"Shouldn't you thank the council? The title of Honourable Disciple has only been given to ten people in the last ten thousand years, you, being the only one alive after receiving it!"

"An Honourable Disciple was above an inner sect disciple. It was the highest honour in the sect, granting descendants all the resources of the sect for their personal use, and the right to be an inner sect disciple from birth. The Spirit River Sect would look after the bloodline for eternity!"

"The Spirit River Sect has nine great families, all of them were

Honourable Disciple bloodlines. This title is the beginning of a new great family." Toruho explained.

After hearing the explanation, Naruto frowned, feeling the excitement leaving his body. He threw a pitiful look at Toruho with puppy eyes, and then to the council.

He didn't know what to say. He roughly understood that the Honourable Disciple title seemed good, but it was something meant for the deceased… The benefits are left entirely for the descendants to enjoy, but he wasn't dead…Currently, Naruto realized that he was reduced to the state of feeling jealous of his future descendants.

"Thank you… Sect Head…" Naruto was downcast, thanking with a feeble voice.

"From this day on, you may refer to me as Senior Brother Sect Head." Sect Head Zheng Yuandong coughed dryly, feeling awkward. He had taken Naruto as a disciple because of his sacrifice. Now he had come back alive, yet he was too old to have a less than twenty years old kid following him around. He sighed again and again in his heart.

"Ah?" Naruto widened his eyes. His mood experienced many ups and downs, he first went in the great hall with great hopes, only to find himself in a cruel reality where he was dashed and his heart had sunked. And that had now lead to the current development.

"Due to your great service and absence of a master, this old man has taken it upon himself to accept you as a disciple of his teacher. So from now on, I'll be Senior Brother Sect Head to you." The Sect Head felt even more awkward after saying this.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto's face was filled with excitement again. He felt that the sect had indeed treated him kindly. This man was at the center of the elders. Judging from this, Naruto knew that this man wasn't simple, perhaps this man was an extraordinary man.

"Let's see anyone bully me now! Look at who my master is! Ha!" Uzumaki

Xiaochun was brimming with joy as he cupped his fist and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Sect Head. Where is our master? I want to pay my respects to him." Naruto's eyes were glowing with anticipation.

"Take it slow. He currently rests in peace at the back of the mountain. I have made preparations, you may join him shortly." The Sect Head said slowly, acting a little odd.

"Resting in peace… at the back of the mountain…" Naruto was dumbstruck, his head was filled with these words. It took some time before he could react… his respectful master had already… passed away.

"I..." Naruto felt a buzz in his mind. His heart sank to the bottom once again, he wanted to cry but had no tears. He paid no attention to his surroundings as he followed behind the Sect Head to the back of the mountain. He paid his respects to the portrait of his deceased master, and went back to Scented Cloud Mountain.

He met many disciples who greeted him with respect on the way back, their eyes exposing their curiosity, some of them even kind enough to show him his very own tombstone.

Looking at his own tombstone, Naruto felt that dark days had arrived.

"I… I paid my respects, yes… To the portrait of my master…" Naruto somehow managed to make it back to his courtyard. He slumped down in front of his wooden cabin as grief and indignation filled him.

Several days later, Naruto still continued sitting there, frowning. Only after two weeks had passed did he finally recover.

Sighing, he left the place to have a reunion with Zhang Fatso One, only to see two outer sect disciples greeting him with utmost respect.

"Greetings, Senior Uncle Uzumaki."

Naruto walked a few steps before suddenly pausing. His eyes burning as he pulled the disciples closer.

"What did you just call me?"

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki? You're the Sect Head's Junior Brother, so it's only natural for us to refer to you as Senior Uncle." The outer sect disciples quickly explained, staring blankly at him.

Naruto's eyes shined as he let go of them, his heart beating fast. He realized the true weight of his current identity… It was an enormous weight.

He licked his lips and broke into a laughter, echoing all around and scaring the disciples away, uncertain as to why Naruto was acting crazy.

Stopping himself, Naruto coughed dryly and put on an air of superiority. He gave them a nod, and changed his mind about visiting Zhang Fatso One and went to the Mission Exchange Pavilion instead, full of anticipation.

Because… it was full of people...

At the same time, on the peak of Scented Cloud Mountain, Toruho had gone into seclusion. He sat cross-legged behind closed doors, and after pondering for a long while, he flourished his big sleeves. With a dignified look, he began refining.

"Naruto is a mischievous child, I'd better prepare something to ensure his survival. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with refining tools, I can only make this Nine Absolutes Pill, and use it to exchange for something with the Pill River Sect… To prepare this kind of treasure for a Chakra Condensation disciple, with a single glance, anyone will be able to tell that it is for a Martial Nephew. I'm sure the Pill River Sect would be shocked." Shaking his head, Toruho remembered the difficulty of refining this Nine Absolutes Pill, even if it was him doing it. Thinking of Naruto's narrow escape this time, he took a deep breath and focused his attention and readied himself to open the furnace.

Chapter 68 Chapter 68

Chapter 68 - Don't Run, My Nephews!

Naruto was very good in deriving pleasure from other people… Now that he had found himself as the Sect Head's Junior Brother, he swaggered down the mountain elated, heading for the Mission Exchange Pavilion.

With a dry cough, Naruto adjusted his clothing and put on the airs of a senior, raising his small chin and clasping hands behind his back.

As one of the most popular areas on the Scented Cloud Mountain, the Mission Exchange Pavilion was naturally filled with a huge crowd. Everyday, many outer sect disciples would come and go, one could hear the clamor even from far away.

It didn't take long for Naruto to reach the Mission Exchange Pavilion. He stood there with what he thought to be a kind smile, gazing at the outer sect disciples.

As he appeared, almost instantly, his presence was noticed. The group of outer sect disciples just in front of him, who were originally discussing what mission to take, immediately froze after seeing him with the corner of their eyes.

"It's… It's Senior Uncle Uzumaki. Greetings, Senior Uncle!"

"We pay our respects, Senior Uncle Uzumaki!"

They hastily went to cup their fists in a greeting to Naruto. As the words spread, more and more people noticed Naruto, and soon, the vast majority of the present outer sect disciples made their way to Naruto in order to pay their respects.

"Good work. Good work, everyone." Hearing 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' made Naruto's insides burst with delight. He smiled and waved slightly to the crowd as he walked forward.

The surrounding outer sect disciples conversed in hushed voices as they looked at Naruto with envy.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki is the Sect Head's Junior Brother…"

The people working at the Mission Exchange Pavilion, in particular, got up the second they saw Uzumaki Xiacohun approaching, halting all operations in the area simply to greet him, making Naruto even more excited.

"You guys continue with your work, don't mind me. I'm just here to check on the outer sect disciples of our Spirit River Sect for Senior Brother Sect Head." Naruto laughed in his heart. His words prompted the disciples to greet him once again, even the elders of the Pavilion, noded at him respectfully.

But… Even though Naruto told them not mind him, he did not leave the area, but instead walked around in the crowd, smiling and nodding to the disciples. These three words 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' were repeatedly heard from the present outer sect disciples, some repeating them more than a dozen times.

Gradually, the crowd began realising that Naruto's presence here was just to fish for attention... Naruto knew when to stop and with a wave of his hand, he swaggered off, allowing the Mission Exchange Pavilion to resume its normal operations.

"Ah, I have so much power with this title." Naruto's eyes were shining this morning. He found it very relaxing, but more importantly, he realised the difference between him and other people brought by his new status.

"Honourable Disciple, Sect Head's Junior Brother… With this status, no one would dare mess with me in the entire sect!" Thinking of this, Naruto laughed as he hurried to the Ten Thousand Herbs Pavilion.

The Ten Thousand Herbs Pavilion… was crowded, as usual.

It didn't take long before Naruto reached the pavilion. He looked at the ten stone steles as he listened to people calling him 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki'. He seemed wistful as he lingered there for a long time. O

nly when the surrounding gazes began turning weird did he reluctantly leave. Even though dusk had arrived, Naruto was tireless as he continued visiting places where outer sect disciples gathered.

Xu Baocai was just leaving his courtyard when he noticed Naruto and quickly cupped his fist.

"Ah, Little Bao. Your cultivation hasn't changed since I left half a year ago, that won't do, you shouldn't be negligent." Naruto patted Xu Baocai on the shoulder as he spoke, proud of his quirk.

Xu Baocai was stunned for a moment, blinking. Little Bao? Ever since he was born, only his father had called him that, did Naruto have the right to call him that? After thinking of this, his heart was filled with awkwardness. But in the end, he dared not argue and only nodded in agreement.

"I… Uh, my esteemed self!" Naruto suddenly noticed that a simple "I" would not fit a position as high as his, so thinking of how Toruho addressed himself, he used "my esteemed self."

"My esteemed self is unfamiliar with the area. Little Bao, would you take my esteemed self around for a little tour?" Naruto coughed dryly, his hand placed on Xu Baocai's shoulder as he lifted his chin.

Helpless, Xu Baocai showed Naruto around.

As the outer sect disciples started returning to their courtyards, they noticed Naruto. Many of them had already greeted him in one of the pavilions, but having encountered him again, after exchanging glances with each other, they had no other choice but to greet him once again.

Naruto once again felt the glory brought by his new status, pleased with everyone paying their respects to him, he basked in it until late at night before he was content to leave.

On his way, he passed by a Spirit Tail Chicken coop and bursts of 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' sounded out yet again. On his way back, two Spirit Tailed Chickens were already in his hands.

"These are the benefits brought by my status. Ah, I once had to steal to eat these chickens. But now, just a snort with Sect Head being my Senior Brother, who would dare to oppose me!" Naruto hummed a tune as he triumphantly returned back to his cabin.

Just as the sun rose on the next day, Naruto hopped out from his bed in high spirits, tidied his clothing and tried out different expressions in front of the bronze mirror until he picked one befitting of his position before finally going out.

He started treating this as… his duty...

He chose somewhere else other than the Mission Exchange Pavilion such as the other gathering places on the Scented Cloud Mountain, and even places where a small competition was being held.

Throughout the entire day, his ears filled with the greeting 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki'. All this made him feel as though he had achieved his goal of immortalising himself, which made him very happy, so… three days, four days, five days...

Ten days in a row, he had taken such strolls, in the end, every outer sect disciple on the Scented Cloud Mountain had called him Senior Uncle Uzumaki at least a dozen times. For the masses, calling a youngster Senior Uncle was already ridiculous. Every once in a while was fine, but as they had to do it again and again, they became increasingly dejected.

These days, Naruto lived his life to the fullest. He especially loved meeting acquaintances, every time he saw one, he would call out to them...

"Ah, Nephew Yiduo… Oh, don't go, come here. Long time no see." One day Naruto noticed Zhao Yiduo, his eyes brightened and he immediately approached him. Hearing Naruto call him "nephew" , his brows twitched.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, We… met so many times these past days…"

Blinking, Naruto coughed dryly. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, he noticed a familiar figure in the distance and immediately turned around to leave.

"Yo, isn't that nephew Zi'ang? It's been a while!' Naruto let Zhao

Yiduo go as he locked on to his new target with a delighted expression.

Uchiha Zi'ang was going crazy. These days, he had been meeting Naruto about three times every single day. He had heard that everyone who was acquaintanced with Naruto on the Scented Cloud Mountain had been repeatedly visited, just like him. Rumour has it that an unfortunate fellow who liked to call himself the Wolf God received at least a dozen visits per day.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki... I'm sorry, I have some unfinished business." Uchiha Zi'ang almost ran away as he quickly escaped.

After the tenth day, most of the outer sect disciples of the Scented Cloud Mountain started avoiding Naruto, pretending not to see him as he approached. This displeased Naruto, so he became more proactive.

"Oh, my esteemed self think you look quite familiar. Come, come, haven't we met before?" Naruto caught one of Kurenai's admirers, to his great distress. Pulling him aside, they spoke for an incense's worth of time. Not until the disciple called him 'Senior Uncle' thirty times did the frown on Naruto's face had vanished, so he finally let him leave.

But this didn't resolve the problem as people began to hide from Naruto from there on. Feeling he should be more proactive, he began to cough loudly to alert others of his presence.

It wasn't too effective, and Naruto was not too happy. Fortunately, there was another sweet girl apart from Ryuzetsu on the Scented Cloud Mountain.

That was Ino. She paid him a visit almost every day on her own initiative and without him even needing to cough, she would bounce around him, sweetly shouting 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' without getting tired.

If one were to look around, they would notice that all the outer sect disciples were bitter. On the other hand, Naruto had never felt more alive. Ino, who in the past had received his guidance regarding the mysterious Little Turtle, had now practically worshipped it. She once followed behind Naruto, inquiring about the Little Turtle.

"Little Turtle? That is a mystery, a peerless talent among the Spirit River Sect that would appear only once every ten thousand years! This kind of person is like a cloud, an entity we can only look up to in awe and respect!" Naruto gave a dry cough after boasting, desperately suppressing his impulse to reveal to his Junior Sister that he was the Little Turtle. He had decided that he'd only reveal his identity before a great audience.

"I think so too. I've talked with many other people, and they all think that Little Turtle's disregard for fame and fortune are as remarkable as their thirst for the medicinal knowledge! Indeed, like a cloud in the sky!" Listening to Ino's words, his eyes sparkled.

There was a time when the people of the sect suspected Naruto of being the Little Turtle, but it was soon rejected. After all, everyone's image of the Little Turtle was completely different of Naruto's, and in the end, the ten stone steles recorded no names, only symbols. As such, identifying the Little Turtle was quite difficult.

Hearing this, Naruto decided he hadn't paid enough attention to Kurenai, one of the five beauties of South Bank.

"I wonder what that proud Heaven's Chosen, Kurenai, calling me Senior Uncle Uzumaki would be like?" Naruto thought, suddenly filled with excitement as he started searching for Kurenai every day.

His hard work payed off, eventually, he noticed Kurenai flying away on a blue damask.

"Niece Xinqi!" Naruto quickly yelled out.

Kurenai's face darkened instantly. She had heard how Naruto had been acting during the past month, and knew what the situation was like for the outer sect disciples of the Scented Cloud Mountain. She felt shivers ran down her spine when the word 'Niece' entered her ears. She pretended not to hear anything and quickly accelerated. But she would have never thought that... Naruto would persistently sprint after her.

"Niece Xinqi, come, discuss life with this Senior Uncle." Naruto was extremely excited. After searching for Kurenai for such a long time, now that he had found her, how could her simply let her go?

Kurenai clenched her teeth, accelerating once again, quickly leaving the Scented Cloud Mountain before Naruto could catch her.

Looking at her disappearing silhouette, Naruto sighed regretfully.

"It's fine. I can't fly, huh? I will be able to fly pretty soon. There'll be plenty opportunities to get you to call me Senior Uncle." Naruto was gloomy. Seeing that it was late, he decided to search for Ryuzetsu.

As soon as Ryuzetsu noticed him, she giggled.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, Senior Uncle Uzumaki, Senior Uncle Uzumaki..."

Naruto immediately became cheerful, the more he stayed with Ryuzetsu, the more lovely he thought she was. Due to her contributions to the sect, she was taken as a disciple by an elder. She was assigned to Donglin City to work for the sect, which was a great opportunity for her just a few years of working there could promote her into the inner sect disciple.

She would have quite the high position in that city, the resources available to her would be much better than those in the sect.

Naruto sent her off regretfully. Afterwards, he went back to Scented Cloud Mountain to look for entertainment.

Time passed and another month flew by. In the entire Scented Cloud Mountain, the words 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' had become a taboo. When people thought of it, they would smile bitterly..

Fortunately, Naruto also felt going any further would cross the line and decided to move on.

"I'm the Junior Brother of the Spirit River Sect's Sect Head! I am the

Senior Uncle of all disciples, my status is not limited to merely the Scented Cloud Mountain. I can't display favoritism, I should go visit the other mountains." Naruto thought righteously, and headed for the Purple Cauldron Mountain...

Guaranteed chapter from last week.

Translated by: Marcus

TLCed by: Nat Nat

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Chapter 69 - My Young Master Wants To Meet You, Naruto

A month later, the outer sect disciples of Purple Cauldron Mountain were going crazy. During the past month, Naruto's presence had taught them the horrifying meaning of one living like a Senior Uncle as a duty.

They discovered that wherever you are, so long as it is on Purple Cauldron Mountain, you are not exempt from chancing upon a small swaggering youth failing to mask the glee on his face. And when you do, the youth would cough dryly upon seeing you and even give you an unwanted self-introduction if you haven't met...

'Senior Uncle Uzumaki', these three words made their jaws hurt from the uncountable times they had uttered them. However, they didn't have much of a choice... he was the Sect Head's Junior Brother, after all. He was senior to all sect disciples, and if a disciple dared disrespect him, they would be violating of the sect rules.

Only after managing to find Zhang Fatso One did the tormented people find peace after Naruto's old friend persuaded him to leave Purple Cauldron Mountain alone. And so Naruto went to… Green Peak Mountain.

A month in Green Peak Mountain drove the outer sect disciples there to insanity as well.

Ebisu's group of three, in particular, were tormented. Naruto's stay in Green Peak Mountain yielded daily visits to their homes, and nothing short of saying 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' a hundred times before the trio could send him off.

It was to the point where Naruto would find even the slightest fault and had the look that said as long as the Ebisu trio were in the least bit disrespectful, he would report them to the Law Enforcement Agency, making the Ebisu trio tremble in fear. They were careful the whole day until finally it seemed as though they were wailing and begging as they named Qian Dajin as the instigator of everything and had been tormented until they lost their human form. Only then did Naruto let them go and sighed as he left the Green Peak Mountain. He also felt some remorse in what he did.

"Right, the outer sect disciples know who I am now… All that's left are the inner sect ones. That Qian Dajin, does he really think I've forgotten about him?" Naruto pondered for a moment before nodding deeply. He felt his current life was quite enjoyable and quickly went off to search for the inner sect disciples.

After that, although his figure still appeared from time time on the three mountains, he mostly dwelled where the inner sect disciples were. With his identity, Naruto could enter just about anywhere.

Very quickly Naruto got bored. The inner sect disciples were in their cave dwellings, cultivating behind closed doors. He decided to camp outside the cave dwellings for a couple months, waiting for any of them to come out, especially Qian Dajin. Despite Naruto standing in front of his cave dwelling for a whole month, Qian Dajin was too afraid to exit and therefore never met with Naruto. No matter how much Naruto shouted, he never responded.

"I refuse to believe this!" Naruto stood before Qian Dajin's door, attempting to use a formation array to break in. Inner sect disciples' cave dwellings had very strong protections. Unable to do it alone, he was forced forced to gather a few other disciples for the job.

At this moment, two figures sped to them from the distance, both inner sect disciples, one tall and one short. Without greeting Naruto, they calmly said.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, regarding Qian Dajin, could you give our Young

Master face and drop this matter?"

"Our Young Master holds the title of Shangguan Tianyou" The

tall disciple emphasized.

(ED: He was originally introduced back at ch.35 as Guan Tianyou, one of the three outstanding geniuses of the South Bank, but his name is actually Shangguan Tianyou.)

Shangguan Tianyou, that was the name of the head of the only three

Heaven's Chosen among the entire three mountains on the South Bank!

This potential of his could be said to be extremely rare, one that could only be seen in a thousand years. Even if one was an outer sect disciple, there was no guarantee that they would ever become a Foundation

Establishment cultivator. That was why the sect did not have that many Elders. However, this Shangguan Tianyou was different from all the others. The South Bank even considered him as their hope to overpower the North Bank. As such, no effort was spared to develop him.

The followers of the Shangguan Tianyou on the Green Peak Mountain were numerous.

Naruto remained unperturbed. If it was in the past, he would be afraid, but he would be afraid of death. But that didn't mean he was timid, so long as death wasn't an option, his courage knew no bounds.

With his current identity, hardly anything could cause his death. As such, he looked at the duo with disdain and smiled.

"Seeing my esteemed self, the two of you did not even pay your respects. Who gave you the confidence to be so arrogant to even disrespect your seniors? Was it that Shangguan Tianyou?" Naruto waved his sleeve as he faintly spoke.

His words caused the two's expressions to change, the tall disciple looked at him sharply.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, be mindful of your words."

Just as the words left his mouth, before he could even continue, Naruto had already disappeared. The tall disciple felt the wind blow as Naruto appeared right in front of him.

His speed was so fast, the duo could not even see him. Before they could even react Naruto raised his right hand and with a terrifying force it ripped through the air before it landed on the tall disciple's face.

The disciple's robes suddenly glowed, exuding a protective layer. That was one of the magical treasures given to the inner sect disciples. But just as the light screen appeared, Naruto's hand slammed on it and broke it apart. It completely failed to stop his palm that carried an enormous force as it landed like a boulder.

Bang. Stars appeared in the tall disciple's vision as a droning sound appeared in his mind. Blood sprayed out as his body flew dozens of zhang away like a kite, not even a scream left his mouth as he fainted from the pain straightaway.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

The scene happened too suddenly, stunning the shorter disciple, his mind was abuzz. He instinctively backed away, looking back and forth between his companion and Naruto who had slapped him unconscious. He took a deep breath and swallowed loudly.

"You… You…" His body was trembling and his mind was muddled as he pointed at Naruto. He never expected the strength of Naruto to actually be so terrifying.

Currently, Naruto had yet to achieve the eight level of Qi

Condensation…

"Senior, are you sure it is appropriate for you, as an Inner Sect Disciple, to point at me in such a manner?" Naruto said as he turned to the short disciple and walked toward him.

Screaming, the disciple hastily backed away. Not waiting for him to go too far, the wind whistled as Naruto approached, a slap aimed at the disciple's face.

At that moment, a cold voice suddenly resounded from the foot of the mountain .

"Stay your hand!" As the voice fell, a silhouette quickly appeared.

Naruto did not bat an eye, instead he applied even more strength to his palm, sending teeth and blood flying out of the short disciple's mouth. The disciple's neck was almost broken as he was flung to the side, unconscious.

Once he was done, Naruto flourished his small hand and raised his head to look at the rapidly approaching person from the foot of the mountain. He was a middle-aged man who was actually at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, the same as Uchiha Heng.

He stared at Naruto and started laughing angrily.

"Did you not hear me, damn it, Naruto, you…!"

"Pardon me, nephew, do you fancy a slap to the face as well?" Naruto smiled, lifting his chin up high. Naruto immediately noticed that just like the two before, this man did not have the slightest respect for him, instead contempt permeated down to their very bones as if they were superior to him! He despised such inner sect disciples.

Once his words were spoken, the middle-aged man's expression flickered and his voice stopped abruptly. The power of Naruto's body caused fear in him. He was also flustered ,and now that he thought back about it, he immediately took a deep breath. Added on with Naruto's status, even the Law Enforcement Agency could not say anything about all of Naruto's previous actions.

"Naruto, my Young Master has invited you to pay your respects." The middle aged man glared at Naruto after taking a deep breath, suppressing his anger as he said that he was here on behalf of the Heaven's Chosen, to deliver a message.

In his opinion, however, he felt that his master had done something unnecessary. Naruto was merely a disciple that had made a contribution by a fluke, a clown-like figure who had killed a few weak clansmen from a cultivator clan. If it wasn't for his good luck, he couldn't have possibly been given such publicity in the Sect. It was really not worth it for a Young Master who was definitely going to be successful and climb up the promotional ladder, even having a shred of hope to become a Core Formation in the future, to send a messenger to relay a message.

Even asking Naruto to pay his respects to his master was demeaning in this middle-aged man's eyes.,

"An outer sect disciple, so what if he is a Heaven's Chosen, why should I be paying my respects to him? He should be the one coming to pay his respects to me!" Naruto could clearly detect that Young Master's pride. Based on his Naruto'sstatus, if the other party did not personally come, that is all. If the other party did not personally come and deliver the message, forget it. He had actually asked for Naruto to go and pay his respects to him.

He flourished his sleeve and a huge gust of wind blew. The middle-aged man's eyes immediately burned with anger.

"Naruto, my Young Master granting you an audience is already giving you a lot of face, do you have any idea how many people don't even have the chance to, you…" His face changed as he was just about to leap back. But he was still a second too late, Naruto appeared right in front of him, with his palm crashing down.

"How dare you!" The man was at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, and he released its full power. Flashing a hand seal, wind blades instantly appeared, shielding his body. With a shocking roar, those wind blades made contact with Naruto's palm and instantly collapsed, failing to stop him.

Crushing all obstacles in its way, Naruto's palm slammed on the man's face.

Bang. A scream followed as the man's body was flung dozens of zhang away before he regained his footing.

"You're even below Uchiha Heng, no wonder you bow to someone else, get lost!" Naruto swung his sleeve to the side triumphantly.

The man stared at Naruto aghast, his body trembling. His left cheek was swollen, blood and teeth spilling out as he backed away.

Naruto waited until his opponent left before turning back to Qian Dajin's cave dwelling, narrowing his eyes. He was scared of dying, so he dealt vindictively with anyone who targeted him.

This Qian Dajin, Shangguan Tianyou or not, Naruto wasn't just going to let him off like this. These days, Uzumaki Xiachun seemed to randomly spent in nonsense and entertainment in the inner sect area, but in fact, he had been doing research on Qian Dajin.

"With you hiding inside, do you think I have no way of reaching you?" Naruto snorted coldly, leaving the scene. Using his current status, not long after, a jade slip for an assignment flew out of the Law Enforcement Agency toward Qian Dajin's cave dwelling, appearing right in front of him.

Just like he had done before, Naruto had him conscripted on a dangerous mission. Qian Dajin remained bitter for a long time. He had no choice but to leave his hideout to go on a mission.

However, he had underestimated Naruto's vengefulness. Naruto had arranged dozens of missions of this kind for Qian Dajin. He had even personally and secretly contacted Wanji. The Hou Clan was a cultivator clan and had a Foundation Establishment Ancestor. As such, they had deep inside information. On Naruto's end, he regarded this matter extremely highly, it was natural for Naruto to work with Wanji and Ino.

They would not fail to make Qian Dajin go on missions again and again until an unexpected accident occurs.

The Law Enforcement Agency was not unaware of what Qian Dajin had done. At that time, they did not want the matter to see the light, so it was not openly investigated despite being recorded.

But now that Naruto had appeared and happy to take care of it, the agency didn't resist in the slightest and even felt they owe him for doing all the work himself. In the inner circles of the agency, Qian Dajin was already considered dead.

1st guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Crimsonguard

ED Note: Because of college and other irl stuff, we would return to 5 guaranteed and 3 sponsored chapters a week. We wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace anymore, not to mention the heavy delays that happened this week. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding. Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Chapter 70 - Hi, Senior Brother Li

Near the peak of the Green Peak Mountain laid a small path; at the end of this road was a pond with goldfishes swimming inside.

Besides, the pond was a cave dwelling; it was the only abode in the entire area, thus, the surroundings was peaceful and quiet. The Spiritual Chakra in this area was also much thicker compared to the living quarters of outer sect disciples.

At this moment, a young man was seated beside the pond, wearing the robes of an outer sect disciple. The young man had a handsome face with well-defined features, and black hair that gently cascaded down onto his shoulders, looking exceptionally striking and attractive.

His skin was so white and smooth that even female disciples would feel inadequate; his eyes were sharp and slit like a phoenix, and brilliant glint would flash across his gaze from time to time, causing him to exude a vibe of extraordinariness.

His hand held a few little fishes which he occasionally threw into the pond, causing those golden fishes inside to thrash around in the water as they fought with each other to tear those little fishes into pieces and swallow them.

At this moment, the middle-aged man who was slapped by Naruto arrived as he rushed along the small path with a livid expression. When he arrived, he could not help but to delay his footsteps. There was a respectful look on his face as he greeted the young man.

"Greetings, Young Master."

"Young Master, that Naruto does not know what's good for him. I have already told him very clearly to come and pay his respects, but he refused and acted all arrogant and domineering, as if he's everything with that status of his." The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and said.

"Then forget it, it's just a small fry, making him come pay his respects was just something on a whim." The young man lifted his head and said blandly, not paying any more attention to the matter.

"Young Master's words are wise, he is simply a small fry. The title of an

Honoured Disciple is for dead people. As for being a Junior Brother of the Sect Head, that status is even more of a joke; to actually hail a dead person as his teacher." The middle-aged man nodded and laughed coldly, when he suddenly felt his heart shiver - the young man before him had lifted his head and was staring coldly at him.

"Young...Young Master…" The middle-aged man felt a chill run down his spine.

"He is only a small fry, there's no need to bother with him. But Sect Head's teacher, our sect's previous patriarch, is not someone you can address so casually. Go to the Ice Lake and punish yourself for three months." The young man retracted his gaze as he continued feeding the golden fishes.

The middle-aged man's heart trembled as he rapidly nodded his head and withdrew.

After settling Qian Dajin's matter, Naruto returned to the Scented Cloud Mountain. As for the Heaven's Chosen, Naruto did not worry about it even one bit. Naruto was someone who had done a great service for the sect, hence, unless he was to betray the sect, his life would not be threatened at all.

Although he was regarded as a Senior Uncle now, he could feel the uplifting feeling of being respected slowly fading away day by day; he could only lament as he watched the people purposely avoid him while walking. However, this feeling only lasted till the day where he unconsciously walked past the Scripture Lecture Hall and suddenly felt a wave of excitement course through him.

He discovered that so long as he was present, he would immediately be granted a seat together with the elders lecturing about the scriptures; allowing him to

be in a position where he could watch over countless of disciples.

After experiencing such a situation once, Naruto immediately fell in love with it. Henceforth, his figure could be seen within the Scripture Lecture Halls of the various mountains.

Sometimes, even as he sat there, he would give an occasional smile and nod as he looked down towards the disciples, giving them a gaze full of encouragement and consolation similar to the Foundation Establishment elders sitting beside him.

Seeing this scene, the Foundation Establishment elders beside him did not know whether to laugh or cry; while the disciples of the various peaks on the ground could only let their depression well up in their heart as they looked at Naruto with growing hatred incapable of doing anything about it.

At the same time, Naruto had found a new way to flaunt his new status as the Junior Brother of the Sect Head - he started appearing frequently around the sect beside the Foundation Establishment cultivators to enjoy the same treatment as them.

As soon as he noticed any of those Foundation Establishment cultivators, he would immediately go up and greet them as 'Senior Brother' or 'Senior Sister' while putting on an obedient look, making them unable to say anything after they laid eyes on him. However, after this had happened numerous times, their expressions couldn't help but turn weird. As for the disciples around the Foundation Establishment cultivators, they could only continuously address Senior Uncle Uzumaki in exasperation.

This situation lasted for a quite some time, until once when Naruto saw Toruho, he was unable to control his urge and eventually called out in a friendly tone.

"Hi, Senior Brother Li."

Toruho's had a haggard expression on his face; it was not until this day that he had finally completed the refinement of the Nine Absolutes Pill. He was just about to go out of the sect when he suddenly heard his name. He was stunned for a moment as he stopped in his tracks and looked around him. When he saw Naruto, his face twitched a little. During this period of time, although he had been refining the pill, he too had heard the stories of Naruto which had given him quite a headache. And now, seeing Naruto addressing him like that, he threw a cold glare at him.

As soon as Naruto shouted those words, regret washed over him. Now, as he saw Toruho glaring at him, he instantly sucked in a deep breath; in this sect, the person he was most afraid of was undoubtedly Toruho.

"Uncle Li….I...I was in the wrong." Naruto tearfully stammered.

Toruho looked at Naruto as exasperation rose in his heart. After giving him another fierce glare, Toruho lectured Naruto about his behaviour during this period of time.

"I will be making a trip out of the sect, it will probably take a few months to a year. Don't be so mischievous during the time I am away, working hard and cultivating is the right way." Toruho left some advice for Naruto before he turned around and left.

Naruto let out a long sigh of relief as he looked at Toruho's fading figure. Although there was a hint of fear in his eyes, his gaze was still mostly filled with deep respect for all the elders. According to what he had heard from Ryuzetsu, after he had gone missing, Toruho had searched for him alone for a full two months. And when Toruho came backing holding shreds of his clothes, he even started blaming himself.

Such warmth was something Naruto had rarely felt in his entire life ever since his parents had passed away. And unknowingly, he had already began treating Toruho as his relative deep in his heart.

After Toruho's scolding, Naruto quieted down for half a month; he stopped coughing whenever he saw people, but he still stopped by Kurenai's cave dwelling from time to time. When he thought about it, of all the people he was familiar with throughout the entire sect, Kurenai was the only one who hadn't called him 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' yet.

Not until a few days later did he see Kurenai again, stepping onto her blue damask and leaving in a hurry. As Naruto could not fly, he could only watch helplessly as the other party flew off into the distance with a depressed heart.

"Only a few people in the entire sect have such magical treasures that can let Chakra Condensation disciples fly in the air. Unless one trained in a special technique like Uchiha Heng did, they could only rely on magical treasure for flight."

"This is unfair, ah, shouldn't these magical treasures be given by a teacher, but my...my teacher…" Naruto sighed heavily. After a couple steps, he suddenly stopped. Hi gazed wandered around for a moment before he turned around and sprinted towards the Zhong Dao Mountain.

With his identity as the Sect Head's Junior Brother, nothing obstructed him from entering the Zhong Dao Mountain. In no time, he had reached the mountain's summit and arrived before the great hall where Sect Head Zheng Yuandong resided.

"Senior Brother Sect Head, my dear Senior Brother Sect Head!"

"I would like to pay my respects to teacher!" Naruto swaggered in as he shouted loudly. Zheng Yuandong who was meditating within the great hall opened his eyes and let out a sigh.

During this period of time, countless number of people had come to find him and complain about Naruto's actions. Deep inside his heart, he already regretted his decision from before. But since the wood had already been used to make the boat, there was no choice but for him to close an eye to all these matters. After all, even though Naruto might be mischievous and playful, his actions were harmless, and he was contented with just that.

At the moment he heard Naruto shouting, Zheng Yuandong slowly walked out as he gave a cough with a serious expression.

"Enough, I've heard you."

"Junior Brother pays his respects to Senior Brother Sect Head." Naruto had an obedient look as he quickly bowed the moment he saw Zheng Yuandong.

Seeing Naruto's obedient look, Zheng Yuandong sighed in his heart; he had finally understood what kind of person Naruto was. After shaking his head with a bitter smile, he brought Naruto to the forbidden grounds behind the mountain.

In a cave dwelling at the back of the mountains, a portrait of a middleaged man hung on the wall. The man in the picture had a faint smile as he looked into the distance, and coupled with the extraordinary aura exuding from the painting, it was as if the man had not died, but was rather brimming with life.

Under the painting was an altar on which a variety of spirit fruits and spirit candles were placed. Although the entire cave seemed simple and elegant, it still gave off a solemn pressure.

The moment Naruto entered the cave, he immediately went before the painting and dropped to his knees with a thud. With a respectful countenance, he solemnly kowtowed nine times towards the painting.

"Teacher, this disciple pays his respects to you." Naruto looked towards his teacher in the painting as his gaze shone with sincerity.

At the side, Zheng Yuandong nodded silently in his heart; he felt that even though Naruto was unruly, he still had a loyal heart. From Zheng Yuandong's experience, with just one look, he was able to see that Naruto's expression was truly sincere, and not something of pretense.

But immediately after that….Naruto opened his mouth again. "Teacher, your disciple is suffering ah, he can't even fly...the other disciples, their teachers would bestow them with magical treasures, reward them with life-saving objects, I am the only one with nothing…"

"Teacher, ah, your disciple does not care about such material objects, as long as I can offer incense sticks to you, my teacher, I would be more than happy. Who knows, perhaps your spirit in heaven might even bestow a magical treasure to me when you visit me in my dreams…"

Listening to Naruto, Zheng Yuandong who was standing by the side immediately widened his eyes.

"Teacher, to think that your disciple, for the sake of protecting the sect, for the sake of continuing our legacy of ten thousand years, for the sake of our sect's justice, was hunted all around. With my life hanging on a thread, all my magical treasures were destroyed and abandoned; now that I have returned to the sect, I have nothing, my pockets empty, my belongings gone. I am simply worse off than a handyman…"

"But Teacher, you do not need to worry, it's alright, even if this disciple does not have any protective treasures or flying treasures, he would climb the highest mountains and swim the deepest seas for the sect just the same, without any hesitation! But if there comes a time when I stopped offering incense to you, then perhaps it's because I did not have any protective treasures, or any flying treasures to escape the dangers, and have lost my life… when that time comes, I will personally go find you so we can reunite with each other up there." As he talked, Naruto would slant his head from time to time to look at his Senior Brother Sect Head with a pitiful expression.

Zheng Yuandong's face twitched; this time he was really stunned speechless by Naruto. Throughout the years he had cultivated, this was his first time meeting a disciple as ridiculous and shameless as Naruto.

At this moment he could only laugh bitterly inside his heart. As Zheng Yuandong lifted his head to look at his teacher in the painting, memories swarmed his mind. Especially the time when he first came under the tutelage of his teacher, his teacher had also given him a set of protective equipment then.

Thinking up till here, Zheng Yuandong let out a sigh and looked towards Naruto with a soft gaze.

Not long after, Naruto followed Zheng Yuandong out of the cave dwelling. Along the way, Naruto kept looking at Zheng Yuandong with that pitiful expression of his. Until the both of them had walked out of the great hall at the Zhong Dao Mountain, Zheng Yuandong suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned his head to look at Naruto and waved his right hand. Immediately, one golden and one white flashing objects appeared in his hand.

The golden coloured one was a flying sword; it was palm-sized, but when it appeared, the space around it was slightly distorted, as if it radiated heat. Its appearance was also not ordinary; on its body, there were some intricate symbols slowly pulsing. Each time the light pulsed, ripples would spread into the surroundings.

As for the white light, it was a shield, similarly the size of a palm. Its body was white like jade, with a Divine Crane carved onto it. The crane looked quite vivid as a feeling of warmth pulsed from the shield from time to time.

Seeing both of these items, Naruto immediately felt they were extraordinary; his eyes shone brightly and his breathing intensified. Very quickly, he also spotted that be it the sword or the shield, three silver streaks adorned them.

"The Golden Crow Sword, this sword has sealed a Golden Crow within it and possesses the power of flames, an illusory Golden Crow can be materialised and it would possess a cultivation similar to the user. It is suitable for flying and can be used up till the Early Foundation Establishment. If it explodes, its power would be even greater."

"

"The Divine Crane Shield. It seals the soul of a Divine Crane and used it as a material for this protective equipment. It can allow you to block any life-threatening attacks under Foundation Establishment."

"I had previously taken these two items to let a grandmaster spirit refine them three times, but dared not attempt to refine it any further. These two were also what teacher had gifted me when I first entered the sect. Today, I shall pass them to you on behalf of our teacher." Zheng Yuandong looked at Naruto with a soft expression as his gaze revealed a hint of encouragement.

"Thank you teacher, thank you Senior Brother Sect Head!" Naruto said excitedly as he quickly received the items and lovingly held on to them, refusing to let them go even for a moment.

2nd guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Xin

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Chapter 71 - The Living Honourable Scion

As for the spirit refinement, Naruto paid closer attention to it because he had the Turtle-shell Pot. He had known for a long while that there was a Foundation Establishment Elder who was an expert in spirit refinement in the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

There were disciples from the sect that would go to that Foundation

Establishment Elder, and after paying a certain amount of Contribution Points, they would request that Elder's assistance. One or two refinements was alright, but after the second time, the success rate would plummet down.

It seemed that these two magic weapons had already contained three spiritual refinements in itself, saving Naruto a three-coloured fire. Moreover, he did not need to conceal it and he could openly use it in front of anyone..

When he returned to the Scented Cloud Mountain, Naruto quickly went to train with the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield. When Naruto's spiritual Chakra fused with the Golden Crow Sword, it immediately emitted a very high temperature.

"This is a true treasure!" Naruto inhaled deeply and made a hand seal. When he pointed forward, with a buzzing sound, the Golden Crow Sword turned into a golden ray of light, heading off into the distance in an instant. Along the way, even more heat spread out, forming a string of warped waves.

Naruto formed a hand seal again and large amounts of his spiritual Chakra surged into the Golden Crow Sword. The radiance from that Golden Crow Sword suddenly expanded several times and actually turned into an illusory Golden Crow.

This appearance of the bird was blurry. Even though it was only an outline, but in the instant that it appeared, a strong overbearing feeling suddenly spread out, causing the surrounding temperature to surge in an instant. Even Naruto could feel his mind shudder under its imposing aura.

His breathing was rapid as he fixed his eyes on the Golden Crow Sword. The light in his eyes shone brighter and brighter until he finally bursted in a joyful laughter.

"This sword is definitely much better than my small wooden sword. It really is great having a Master." Naruto jumped up in a flash, stepping on top of that illusory Golden Crow.

Even though that Golden Crow was blurry, when Naruto stepped on top of it, it was actually like stepping on even ground. Especially since the sword relied on his body's spiritual energy to take form, it made him feel as though the sword was a part of his own body.

He stepped on the Golden Crow and with a hand seal, he immediately whistled through the air and circled the Scented Cloud Mountain speedily. He hastily slowed down where people crowded with his head held high as bursts of surprised cries sounded from below. Only then would Naruto proudly increase his speed.

"I, Naruto, can finally fly!" Naruto was in high spirits, laughing excitedly from the bottom of his heart as he left the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. As he was about to head to the other mountain peaks for a spin, the Golden Crow beneath his feet suddenly dimmed, disappearing in an instant. The Golden Crow Sword also unexpectedly began falling. Naruto staggered and let out a frightened scream as his body plummeted down.

Fortunately, the area down below was not a chasm, but the sect's road. His own speed was very fast, only after he landed did he manage to stop. He glanced to the side of the Scented Cloud Mountain. The distance from where he had fallen to the bottom of the mountain was quite large. If he had fallen all the way down, perhaps even his Impenetrable Skin wouldn't save him from death… His face paled slightly.

"This was too dangerous!" Naruto shivered and picked up the Golden Crow Sword. He realised that the spiritual Chakra in his body was depleted and understood the reason as to why he had fallen down just now.

To a Chakra Condensation cultivator, driving a sword to fly consumed too much spiritual energy. If it was any seventh level Chakra Condensation disciple, the most that they could sustain it for was a dozen or so breaths before they would have no choice but to stop flying. Even Naruto, who had a lot more spiritual energy in his body, could also not sustain it for more than a hundred breaths.

Naruto did not dare continue trying out of fear from falling to his death. He quickly surveyed his surroundings, checking if there was anyone who had witnessed this embarrassing scene. He immediately discovered that not far away, there was a sturdy-looking man currently looking at him blankly with his mouth wide-open, shocked by the scene that he had just witnessed.

"Oh, isn't that Nephew Wolf?" When Naruto noticed the other party, he immediately glared at him and quickly ran over to him.

Only now did that sturdy-looking man come to his senses. When he heard those two words, 'Nephew Wolf', he shuddered and quickly payed his respects to Naruto with a long face.

"Disciple Liu Ergou pays his respects to Senior Uncle Uzumaki… I-I saw nothing just now." This Liu Ergou was that fellow who had introduced himself as back when the Burning Stoves Kituchiha was auctioning the positions of outer sect disciples.

Naruto humphed a couple times, frightening him a bit. Not until he had confirmed that Liu Ergou would not speak of this matter to anyone did Naruto pat him on the shoulder, promising him great benefits, and walk away.

Liu Ergou wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly left.

Naruto was glad that only Liu Ergou had seen him embarrass himself. If he had fallen down at the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion while in the limelight, then his reputation would be completely ruined...

"Alas, one really shouldn't be too famous. Being famous is also troublesome." Naruto sighed emotionally, walking back to his courtyard with hands clasped behind.

After brief hesitation, decisiveness flashed in his eyes.

"This will not do. I still need to cultivate, if not, being unable to fly for long would be the least of my problems. If by any chance when I am running for my life in the future and I died not because I was killed by an enemy but because I had fallen to my death, I would feel wronged." Naruto thought to this point and then paused his eyes on the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield.

"Moreover, with considerations for the future, I better cover up these two treasures. This way, other people would only think that this is just my hobby, and when I take out other spiritually refined treasures in the future, they won't pay too much attention to it." Naruto thought about it and took out those colourful saps that he had prepared long ago, smearing them on the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield.

Naruto covered those couple faint spiritual lines and brandished the sword again, satisfied.

"In the future, when my herbal knowledge increases, I have to concoct a couple liquids to cover things up better." Naruto was a cautious person. Even now, with the status of the Sect Head's Junior Brother, although he was running wild, he would still not cross the line in his heart.

"It is a shame that my cultivation is not enough. When I last saw Zhou

Xinqi, she seemed to have reached the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. Only by improving my cultivation will I be able to use the sword to fly for a longer time." Naruto was determined. Back then, from the incident with the Fallen Uchiha Clan, he had experienced the cruelness of the cultivation world and had realised how crucial it was to have the speed necessary to escape.

If he could've used a flying sword that time, even while carrying Ryuzetsu and Wanji, it would've been no easy task for the Fallen Uchiha Clan to catch up to them.

"I still need to concoct pills!" There was resolution in Naruto's eyes. With his current status, even if the sect would not supply him with herbs for free, he could still concoct them in the Medicine Refinement Pavilion without spending Contribution Points. Thus, in the following days, the whole of Scented Cloud Mountain quietened down as Naruto's silhouette was seldomly seen.

He used a large amount of medicine recipes that he had acquired as well as the Spirit Stones and other goods gathered from the Fallen Uchiha clansmen to exchange for a lot of herbs in the market at the bottom of the mountain. After that, Naruto headed for the Medicine Refinement Pavilion and began concocting medicines behind closed doors.

Time flew by and a couple months passed. Half a year had passed since Naruto's return. In this half a year, the whole South Bank had experienced a couple turbulences. Currently, things had quieted down, although there were still quite a lot of people who were still restless.

At the same time, with regards to Naruto's Honourable Disciple status, it also gradually spread from within the Sect to the whole of Eastern Forest continent in this half a year's time.

There was a large amount of cultivator clans on the Eastern Forest continent. Many of which had connections with the Spirit River Sect, for example, the Hou Clan and Fallen Uchiha Clan.

To the Spirit River Sect's disciples, even though Honourable Disciple was the highest title for a disciple, in reality, they believed in their hearts that it was not as great as being the Sect Head's Junior Disciple.

However, it was just the opposite to those cultivator clans. The degree with which they regarded the title of Honourable Disciple far surpassed that of the Sect Head's Junior Disciple. It could be said that they didn't care for one being the Sect Head's Junior Disciple, but were crazed with excitement over an Honourable Disciple.

Once they learned that Naruto had become an Honourable

Disciple, a large amount of the clan elders had suddenly gotten excited. In their eyes, Naruto was clearly like a golden mountain, a living honourable scion.

Regardless of which cultivator clan it was, so long as Naruto married into their family and produced descendants, those children's futures would be limitless. And as they multiplied, the clan would also flourish under the Spirit River Sect's support.

Therefore, as supportive cultivator clans, they would also rapidly climb up the social ladder like a carp leaping over the dragon's gate.

There were only a total of nine Honourable Clans in the current Spirit River Sect. These nine Clans could even influence the decision-making of the sect in certain areas. Even if it wasn't much, they were still considered important to a certain extent.

They were shockingly strong, making other cultivator clans extremely envious and fearful of them. In the past, they were powerless to change anything and could also do nothing to overturn the situation. They could only have their own clansmen establish a relationship with the Spirit River Sect and contribute to the Sect in order to obtain respectful statuses for the rest of their lives.

But now… Naruto had appeared.

The most wonderful thing was that he came from a mundane background and was not a member of any one of the cultivator clans and… he did not have any companion yet. This was the sign of an available position as the tenth Honourable Clan, stirring up all of the cultivator clans in the Eastern Forest.

"Take along the most beautiful woman in my Zhou Clan and have them follow this old man to pay their respects to Fellow Uzumaki!"

"Fei'er, you are my Zhao Clan's pearl. This time, you must be sure to get on that Naruto's good side. If you can make him fancy you, then my Zhao Clan's crisis will be immediately resolved!"

"Even though my Sun Clan's daughter is not that outstanding, but we have resources. Let this old man prepare a rich gift and go pay our respects to Fellow Uzumaki!"

A large amount of cultivator clans had sprung into action, each with their own methods. The clansmen inside the sect would try to get close to Naruto whereas those on the North Bank were making their own moves. In a short period of time, Naruto's name spread throughout the whole of Eastern Forest continent.

It was the same with the Hou Clan.

"Yunfei, your relationship with Naruto is special. For this matter… you must help the Clan. On your younger sister's end, ah, I see that she has long since fixed her heart on Naruto. Find a chance to bring them both together." The Hou Clan's patriarch was a middle-aged man. He had summoned Wanji and Ino, speaking to them sincerely.

Ino's face flushed red and pouted, quickly running away.

Wanji felt anxious in his heart, but could only grudging agree with a nod of his head.

A few days later, people from these cultivator clans gradually began arriving and gathered outside of Naruto's residence on the Scented Cloud Mountain. Some well-informed one straightaway clustered outside of the Medicine Refinement Pavilion, eagerly awaiting Naruto's exit.

Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Chapter 72 - The Sect's Rules

After a few days, a rumbling sound resounded from within the pillrefinement room that Naruto was in. Naruto walked out with a woeful expression on his face.

"Refining Grade One medicine pills has nearly been perfected, but how can the Grade Two medicine pill be this difficult…" Naruto groaned. These days, other than cultivating, he was also refining medicines. The herbs he had stashed were almost all consumed. He originally planned to try and refine a Grade Two spirit medicine, but realised that the difficulty had multiplied, and even if he was extremely cautious, he still kept failing.

Every attempt, he would discover a large amount of issues, and after solving them, even more would arise.

He sighed gloomily, walking out of the Medicine Refinement Pavilion. When he raised his head, he immediately noticed that there were actually quite a lot of people sitting cross-legged outside. These people were seated in groups of three or four people. A total of more than a dozen of people were seated, the majority of whom were youthful girls, none of which he had met before.

They were all beautiful young women. Each of them was attractive in their own way and were similar in terms of their good looks. When the bevy of young women noticed Naruto, their eyes sparkled.

All these females were accompanied by elders. These elders too were pleasantly surprised when they noticed Naruto and quickly stood up. A group of people quickly flocked to Naruto.

"Stop, What're you… trying to do?" Naruto stared with his mouth wide open, unable to understand the circumstances as he subconsciously stepped back.

"Fellow Uzumaki, this old man is Zhao Tianhai. Zhao Yiduo is my nephew.

Haha, Fellow Uzumaki is a young hero and is a fine-looking man as expected!"

"Fellow Uzumaki is a like a dragon and phoenix among men, with extraordinary valiance. One look and I can tell that you are a roc in the clouds, a man with limitless future in this lifetime. Hoho, this old man is

Sun Yunshan. These are young clanswomen from my Sun Clan. Is Fellow Uzumaki lacking in maidservants that he can call upon by his side?"

"Fellow Uzumaki, this old man is Zhou Tian. When I saw Fellow Uzumaki, I could already sense your heroic spirit blow against my face as if I had seen a future pillar of ourEastern Range cultivation world. It feels like we are old friends meeting for the first time. Have a look at the women by my side and see how they are. Every single one of them is one of my Zhou Clan's treasured pearls..."

Countless voices were vying to be heard. Naruto's eyes widened and backed away again. After listening for a long while, he only understood that these people were here to present their young clanswomen to him...

But he had no idea why. All these women before his eyes were quite beautiful, quite a few matched his taste. With all these women delivered to him on a silver platter, if he were to reject them all, it would appear that he was not giving them any face. This made Naruto quite wary.

However, he was crafty when it came to dealing with people and did not reveal the thoughts in his heart. With a smile on his face, he made small talk with the representatives of the cultivator clans that had approached him and quickly excused himself.

Before he could even return to his residence, he came across various people demanding his attention along the way. All of them had similar purposes - presenting their young clanswomen, resources and countless goods.

"What is the big deal! Could it be that they have investigated my origins and discovered an extraordinary immortal? Could it be that I, Naruto, am

not an ordinary civilian and I… I, Naruto, am actually someone with a background as large as the heavens? Heavens, even I didn't know these things!" Shock gripped Naruto's heart as he lost himself in various fantasies and conjectures as he hurried to his courtyard. When he returned to his residence, he was once again surrounded by a group of people from the cultivator clans who were waiting there. Every single one of them had an eager look in their eyes, as if so long as Naruto nodded his head, anything was possible!

Especially all those girls, all of them huddled around Naruto's side, glaring at one another; pushing and shoving each other around.

This scene caused Naruto's scalp to go numb. He was stuck in the middle of all of them, surrounded by softness and some even pulling his clothes. While gripped with anxiety, a cold humph suddenly arrived from the side. Ino glared with puffed cheeks as she angrily moved forward, tearing the girls away from Naruto.

"Get off, get off!"

"What in the world are you people doing? This is the Spirit River Sect's Scented Cloud Mountain. Do none of you aunties know any modesty? All of you, get off. And you, you are so skinny that you look like a lentil, what're you getting all excited for? And what about you, you fat sow. Get off!" Ino's angry voice sounded as she approached, pushing away all the girls surrounding Naruto.

She was fuming with anger. She was without a doubt petite, but it seemed as if her strength knew no boundaries. Under this barrage of words, those girls immediately stopped. Ino put her hands on her waist with a scowl. Her words were most vicious, aimed at their Achilles' heels.

Naruto took the opportunity to quickly escape to his courtyard. When he looked down, he was shocked to discover his clothes disheveled.

"That was scary!" Naruto took a deep breath. Still shocked, he raised his head to look outside. Ino was standing at the gate and arguing heatedly, one against dozens of people.

In the end, those representatives from the cultivator clans could not watch any further, and one by one, they all left under her persuasions. Before leaving, they cupped their fist to Naruto, saying that they will come visit again another day.

Not until dusk arrived did silence arrive at the gateway. But one look into the distance revealed many representatives sent by cultivator clans sitting cross-legged nearby.

The cultivator clans' representatives all had their own means to be allowed to stay there, no one could chase them away.

Naruto felt that something big must have happened, so after seeing the outsides quieten down, he pulled Ino inside.

Ino was incomparably daring and resolute toward outsiders, but after being pulled by the arm by Naruto, her face immediately flushed red. She felt her small head become dizzy and obediently went along with Naruto, allowing herself to be pulled to his side.

"B-Big brother Xiaochun, there are a lot of people here, what are you doing…" Ino muttered, whispering softly just like a mosquito.

(ED note: Ino uses gēgē here, a rather intimate way to address an older brother)

"Huh?" Naruto blanked out when he saw Ino act in such a way. Surprised, he slapped Ino's face. Seeing Ino still hadn't returned to normal, he slapped her again.

"What is the matter with you?"

Ino snapped out of her daze and stomped her foot in embarrassment when she realised that she had misunderstood Naruto. She threw a jade slip at Naruto and quickly ran out with her head lowered.

Seeing Ino run away, Naruto was at loss as he took a look at the jade slip Ino had left behind. After using his spiritual energy to scan the jade slip, his eyes suddenly widened and he inspected it once again. After a long time, he went into the courtyard and sighed deeply.

"Honourable Clan…"

This was the jade slip that Wanji had allowed Ino to send. There were some things that she really couldn't say out loud, as such, she had relayed the temptations of Naruto's status as an

Honourable Disciple toward the cultivator clans, resolving his confusions. Lastly, she also vaguely mentioned that their Hou Clan was also extremely interested in Naruto's blood descendants and hoped that… they would possess half of the Hou Clan's blood.

Thinking of Ino's appearance just now, Naruto placed a hand under his white chin, a gleam slowly appeared in his eyes. His attention was not placed on Ino, but rather how the whole matter was like a gift granted to him by heavens!

"I never imagined that, ah… I initially thought that the reward that I received for my contributions this time was useless. Only my status as the Sect Head's Junior Brother made me stand out from the rest in the sect. I never thought that my status as an Honourable Disciple that I took no notice of was actually so highly regarded outside the sect!" Naruto licked his lips, his heart beating wildly.

"Simply choosing my partner and so many resources would be given to me for free… There is hope for immortality!" Naruto chuckled as the gleam in his became brighter. He was initially worried that refining Grade Two spiritual medicine consumed too much resources and he wouldn't be able to sustain himself. But now, there were suddenly so many people vying to send him people and presents as per his wishes.

"It is really a pity. If only I could have all of them…" While Naruto was mumbling to himself, an idea suddenly flashed across his mind.

"That is right, why wouldn't I have it all!" Naruto let out a dry cough and returned back inside of his cabin. He did not rest throughout that night as he pondered about this matter. On the morning, he went outside in high spirits. When he opened the courtyard's door, he discovered there were already many clansmen waiting outside from long ago.

"Fellow Uzumaki…"

"I pay my respects to Fellow Uzumaki. This humble one goes by the name

Laozu from the Feng Clan, and has come for a visit…"

Everybody began talking and countless voices were raised. Naruto raised his chin and flourished his small sleeve.

"Alright, come in clan by clan if you have any matters to discuss." Uzumaki

Xiaochun spoke with a smile on his face, pointing toward a random clan. That cultivator clan's representative immediately beamed and quickly went in, bringing the young clanswomen by his side together with him.

Not long later, he left along with those young clanswomen, his expression revealed him contemplating about the gains and the losses. The surrounding representatives of their respective cultivators clans watched on worriedly, and one by one, they all quickly sent messages back to their clans.

In this manner, another clan went in. Slowly, the clans went in one by one until a whole day had passed and Naruto had met dozens of the cultivator clans' representatives.

He neither picked nor rejected any of the young clanswomen. He told each and every one of them that he needed to think this matter through as it was too important to not consider it twice. He had also repeatedly rejected those so-called gifts presented at the first meeting.

"I, Naruto, walk and sit with my back straight. Since I have not decided as to whether I would establish a connection with your esteemed clan through marriage, then it is really inappropriate to accept these gifts." Naruto spoke these words to every single clan that visited him.

The more he said those words, the less any of the cultivator clans' representatives would blunder as to really take away the gifts presented at this first meeting. Hence, one by one, they became polite to the point of even saying that if they were unable to become relatives by marriage, then they could at least be friends. Only after Naruto dropped his resistance did he accept those gifts.

These representatives of the cultivator clans were naturally no fools and could see through Naruto's words, and realised that in reality, he was waiting to see all of the clans before selecting the one which suited him the most.

But this matter was already within their expectations. They were not afraid of sending gifts. The only thing they were afraid of was Naruto not picking one at all. Therefore, when the next day arrived, not only did the representatives not decrease, but they conversely increased. A lot of the cultivator clans had even brought some young clanswomen not necessarily as partners. After all, even a maidservant could warm the bed. As long as it resulted in a blood descendant, all they needed was for Naruto to recognise it as his child.

These cultivator clans that came to visit Naruto were all competing against one another using the first-meeting gifts they presented. On the receiving end, Naruto was getting nervous. In the end, even if he wanted to reject, the other party would think that he was looking down on their clan.

"Alright, I will accept… How can I not accept?" Naruto received them for about seven-eight days in a row and had already gotten used to seeing a group of people waiting for him once he opened the gate every morning.

This continued until three days later… Naruto opened the gate in the morning just like usual and stiffened. There was not a single person outside the gate… It was completely empty and when he raised his head to look out into the distance, that didn't change.

Only some five-coloured phoenixes were floating in the distance. Those phoenixes were Elder Zhou's treasured pets and would usually circle around the Scented Cloud Mountain every day, especially in the morning when they would dance together in the air. It was very beautiful and a lot of disciples marveled at them.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and felt that there must have been something wrong with the way that he opened the door, so he opened it once again but the result was still the same. Only then did he come to his senses.

"What's going on?" Naruto hastily walked out in surprise, looking for Wanji to inquire and discover the answer.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki… The Sect Head, as your Senior Brother, he announced to all of the cultivator clans that… according to the sect rules, you can't take a partner within a hundred years. So… everyone had no choice but to leave." Wanji sighed and looked at Naruto.

Naruto was stunned as he felt deeply wronged in his heart.

"This has destroyed my income and ruined my marriage…"

Wanji did not know whether to laugh or to cry. He suddenly seemed to remember something, and with a serious expression on his face, he slowly spoke.

"Xiaochun, I heard from my friends on the Green Peak Mountain that there was some conflict between you and Shangguan Tianyou? Qian Dajin does not matter because the sect has also resolved it discreetly, but Shangguan Tianyou is not easy!"

"What is not so easy? He's a generation older than me?" Naruto had already been in the Spirit River Sect for many years. He had long since understood the sect's ways of governing the disciples. They prohibited any killing between one another and encouraged them to help and compete with one another. As for the general management, each mountain had its Elders with the Ancestors helping with its overall management. There was also the Law Enforcement Agency that served as deterrence and the Sect Head who supervised them all.

However, combined with the smaller areas, the Southern and Northern parts of the Spirit River Sect together would result in tens of thousands of people. Naturally, it was impossible to supervise all the fights and conflicts between disciples or those that had a lot of wicked thoughts. However, they strictly adhered to the rules when it came to rewarding and punishing. If there was anyone who overstepped the boundaries, the punishment would be extremely severe!

The sect naturally knew all about the feats, herbal achievements and valiance in combat that Naruto had, and they regarded him highly. However, they would not pamper him. Even if there were people ridiculing him or provoking him, no one who would jump out and stop them… Not a single disciple had this kind of treatment before.

Regardless of whether it was Shangguan Tianyou or Naruto, it was all the same.

Therefore, even though Naruto had never seen Shangguan Tianyou. Even though Shangguan Tianyou was very arrogant, holding the lofty title of a Heaven's Chosen, he was still hailed as a Young Master by inner sect disciples while being an outer sect disciple himself. In the end, Naruto still payed him no attention.

Wanji pondered for a moment before continuing to speak.

"Shangguan Tianyou's ambitions are very big. His goal is to one day enter the Legacy Order. That is why he has been suppressing his cultivation so that he does not break through. He has been waiting for the specially appointed divide between the Inner and Outer Sect from which the eighth level Chakra Condensation Heaven's Chosen from the South Bank and the North Bank will compete against one another. He wants to enter the Inner Sect with the status of the top disciple which would allow him to chase after the Legacy Order in the future. If not, he would have long since applied for the promotional exam to the Inner Sect. After all, once one reaches the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, they would most likely succeed in the trial and become an inner sect disciple."

"No matter what, he must enter the Legacy Order? I heard from Xu Baocai that Kurenai and Zabuza also have this kind of aspiration." Naruto was slightly shocked.

"Even though Legacy Disciple titles is on the same level as your

Honourable Disciple title, it has a different hierarchy in the Spirit River Sect. The Spirit River Sect is different from the other sects because it has two hierarchies. One to govern over the Sect, and the other to constantly increase one's position in the sect by the accumulation of hard work!

Up to the third level of Chakra Condensation are handymen, from there up to the eighth level of Chakra Condensation are outer sect disciples, and after reaching the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, one can apply for the Inner Sect promotional exams. After they succeeded, one is promoted to an inner sect disciple.

If one reaches the Foundation Establishment stage… then one can become a Foundation Establishment Elder and even hope of becoming an Ancestor of a mountain. If one reaches the Golden Core powerhouse after two sixty year cycles, then they would be the sect's Grand Elder, protecting and governing the Sect. These are all part of the first hierarchy.

There is also the second hierarchy, the Legacy Order!

There is only one way to enter the Legacy Order… Breaking through to the Golden Core stage within two sixty year cycles. From there, one can detach himself from the mundane. They would achieve a position in the cultivation world after breaking through for the Sect, obtaining even larger resources as well as accumulating… the true reality beneath the surface!

To only use two sixty year cycles to reach the Golden Core is way too difficult… In the current generation, the one with the highest potential was Toruho, therefore, the sect regards him very highly!" There was an expectant look in Wanji's eyes as he told Naruto all the news as if he was his own clansman.

Naruto took a deep breath. This was the first time that he had heard of the Legacy Order. This conversation had also given him a clearer understanding of the sect. Even after he left, he still thought about the matter for a long time.

"Legacy Order?"

Chapter 73

Chapter 73A

Chapter 73A - Who did it?!

Naruto lamented as he left Wanji's place and returned to his courtyard. He gazed at the sky then looked towards the earth; he first thought about the Legacy Order, then he thought back about those cultivator clans. Recalling Wanji's words, he felt that his Senior Brother Sect Head was simply too cruel. But as he thought about it further…even though he could no longer receive any gifts, he needn't return those he had already accepted either.

"That's right, they can't blame me for it. After all, it was the order of Senior Brother Sect Head!" Once Naruto realised this, he felt somewhat relieved. After he organised the gifts that he had received these past few days, he went down the mountain to exchange them for a large amount of medicinal herbs needed for the Grade Two spirit medicines. When he returned, he immediately headed for the Medicine Refining Pavilion and started meditating and refining medicine.

Actually, Zheng Yuandong didn't want to interfere between Naruto and the cultivator clans, but he couldn't help but be alarmed; the nine Honourable Disciples before Naruto all had their titles bestowed upon them after they had died in battle. Though those disciples may not have had any descendants, they all originated from cultivator clans and had clan members. Hence, there were no problems as these family clans would just naturally become an Honourable Clan.

And the sect would spare no effort to protect those families and emphasise on developing their clan members.

But currently, Naruto was a living Honourable Disciple; the terror of such a position was not evident in the beginning, but was now slowly revealing itself. Half a year after the news had spread, Zheng Yuandong and many others suddenly realised that they had neglected the temptation a living Honourable Disciple presents to those cultivator clans.

When countless cultivator clans had come to visit, Zheng Yuandong had only watched from afar; whichever clan Naruto chose would've been fine, he thought. But he hadn't imagined that those clans, under the situation of overwhelming demand, would be desperate enough to present their young clanswomen as maidservants, asking only for a descendant of Naruto's bloodline.

Zheng Yuandong could imagine that as long as Naruto's determination wavered and caved in to such demands, then… in a matter of years, tens and hundreds of Naruto's blood descendants would crop up. And according to the sect's rules, the first generation of descendants of an Honourable Disciple would all be inner sect disciples from birth, and every single one of them would need to be developed by the sect with their utmost effort… but that wasn't all. As those tens and hundreds of people started their own families, tens and hundreds of Honourable Clans would appear, and by a few hundred years, the entire Spirit River Sect would belong to the Uzumaki Family…and this was a grave problem.

Moreover…...Naruto would still be alive. As long as he kept producing new descendants, then the sect would be in an everlasting nightmare.

For this matter, Zheng Yuandong had to convene the council of elders overnight, and even report this matter up to the Grand Elders. They finally reached a unanimous decision that within a hundred years, Naruto was not allowed to have a partner. Though this decision may seem cruel, Zheng Yuandong had no choice - he dared not place his bets on Naruto's restraint. He could only hope that after Naruto lived for a hundred years, he would become more mature.

Time flashed by, in the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

Throughout this year, it was as if Uzumaki Xiaoc

hun had vanished from the South Bank; barely anyone saw him as he spent his entire time refining medicine and meditating in the Medicine Refining Pavilion, working tirelessly to refine a Grade 2 Spirit Medicine.

His cultivation level had also slowly increased unknowingly and had reached the mid-stage of the seventh level of Chakra Condensation. Moreover, under his constant efforts, the problems he had in refining Grade Two spirit medicines were also gradually resolved.

Actually, if it was any other Medicine Apprentice, they would have long since been capable capable of refining Grade Two spirit medicines. But Naruto, he always had that meticulousness to him - as long as a problem was not resolved, he would not start the next furnace.

Finally, on this day, after an entire year, he felt that other than making adjustments for the different problems corresponding to the different Grade Two medicine pills during refinement, he had an impeccable foundation when it came to refining Grade Two spirit medicines. With that thought in mind, he started his next furnace.

"Purple Rising Chakra Pill!" Naruto's eyes were bloodshot. This Grade Two medicine pill was suitable for cultivators under the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. As such, it was exactly what Naruto currently needed. At this moment, he took out the various items and medicinal herbs, organising them with practiced hands before he began throwing them into the furnace.

While controlling the fire, he observed the changes within the pill furnace by sending out Chakra from time to time. Six hours later, the pill furnace shook vigorously and medicinal aroma wafted out. Naruto's eyes immediately brightened as he quickly stood up and moved closer to the pill furnace. With a slap onto it, three red-coloured medicine pills instantly flew out.

"Success!" Naruto said excitedly as he grabbed onto these three medicine pills. However, when he looked closer, he became startled. He sighed and inspected the medicine pills thoroughly once again.

"This isn't right, the Purple Rising Chakra Pill should by purple-coloured according to the description in the medicine recipe. How come the ones that I refined are all red?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion. Taking the medicine pill close to his nose for a sniff, he noticed that the medicinal aroma was not only very heavy, but it also contained some Qi. With it having such a weird smell, and in addition, a wrong colour, Naruto did not dare swallow the pill.

Naruto fell silent as he carefully recalled the entire refinement procedure. It was not until two hours later that he suddenly opened his eyes and let out a bitter laugh.

"It was when I put in the Agate Flower, that stalk had a little more pollen than usual and contaminated the other medicinal plants, causing such a bizarre change." Naruto placed the three red-coloured medicine pill aside and began refining another batch.

This time around, together with the shaking of the pill furnace and the appearance of the medicinal aroma, a single purple-coloured medicine pill appeared. After closely inspecting it, satisfaction surfaced on Naruto's face.

Immediately after, he started yet another furnace. This time, he continued refining for numerous days; only after he had refined over a dozen Purple Rising Chakra pills did he finally sit by the side, exhausted. While he was resting, he took out those three red-coloured Purple Rising Chakra pills once again. There was hesitation in his eyes, he felt that it would be a pity if he were to just throw these pills away. After all, each and every single Purple Rising Chakra pill was not cheap, and his stock of medicinal herbs had also been considerably depleted at this point.

"According to the laws of medicine refining, as long as a pill is formed, then it is considered a spirit medicine. These three red-coloured Purple Rising Chakra pills had a change in colour because of a little bit more of the Agate Flower's pollen, I wonder what effect it will have." Naruto hesitated for a moment before he slapped his storage pouch with his left hand as a needle immediately appeared.

The needle was made of bamboo and was green in colour.

This was an essential item for medicine refining that Naruto had obtained from the sect. It could be easily determine whether or not a spirit medicine contained poisonous elements harmful to humans. Naruto slowly poked the bamboo needle into the red-coloured medicine pill and took it out half a moment later - the bamboo needle was the same and didn't turn black.

"There's no poison!" Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. However, because of his cautiousness, he still did not consume the medicine pill. He held onto the pill and left the Medicine Refining Pavilion. It was still the early morning outside when Naruto walked along the path in the sect.

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Chapter 74 - It was Naruto

Elder Zhou's voice resounded throughout the entire Scented Cloud Mountain. As it echoed out, countless disciples' expressions turned weird upon hearing it - what happened today on the Scented Cloud Mountain shocked everyone completely.

Even the other elders in Scented Cloud Mountain were also shocked speechless by this turn of events. Moreover, that phoenix bird was a beloved pet of Elder Zhou's, hence others didn't dare interfere. If they were to accidentally injure that crazed phoenix, they might arouse the displeasure of Elder Zhou.

And even more importantly… on the entire Scented Cloud Mountain, the only person who raised birds was Elder Zhou. Hence, no matter how much they thought about it, it was Elder Zhou's personal matters and outsiders weren't in a position to interfere.

As for the Spirit Tailed Chickens...Toruho had went out of the sect, and Kurenai who was his disciple had the responsibility in this matter. However, even if she had the heart, she did not have the strength for it. After all, that male phoenix bird was too fearsome, throughout the day, she could only watch from afar with a face flushed with embarrassment, not daring to take even a step forward.

At this moment, Elder Zhou's body shook uncontrollably as he watched the screeching phoenix with a pained expression. After turning his gaze to look at the ravaged birds prostrated all around him, he wanted to cry but had no tears.

"I will definitely investigate just who is the culprit!" With Elder Zhou's expertise in the Dao of medicine, he could see with a single look that his phoenix bird had been drugged.

At this moment, Naruto was hiding inside the room of the Medicine Refining Pavilion. Even though this place could block most of the sounds from outside, the angry roar from the enraged Elder Zhou possessed a fearsome penetration, and even from here, Naruto could still faintly hear it.

His heart trembled as indignance surfaced on his face; he really felt wronged...

Right now, he could only hope that this matter was untraceable. If Elder

Zhou were to find him… Naruto thought with a gloomy expression. His head was still filled with thoughts on how to refine the complementary medicine pill that could help bring out the effects of that aphrodisiac pill.

He had continuously researched for days and went out a few times to buy the necessary medicinal herbs. He even used his Contribution Points to exchange for some herbs that were hard to obtain from outside and then repeatedly tested their effects in the Medicine Refining Pavilion.

The sound of a pills breaking and exploding frequently sounded out from his room. Strictly speaking, this was the first time that Naruto had tried creating a medicine recipe from scratch. Previously, during the examination to become a Medicine Apprentice, even though he had gained some enlightenment, all he did was a few slight changes to the recipe.

But this time It was different. He was creating something out of thin air, the difficulty of such a feat was incomparable to what he had done before. If this was the Naruto from before, who had just been promoted to a Medicine Apprentice, with his expertise in the Dao of medicine would have been impossible to achieve this feat. However, with almost more than a year's worth of research in the Dao of medicine, the current Naruto already had the capabilities to take on such a challenge.

Although still hazy, the path he was treading on was already beyond the imagination of any normal Medicine Apprentice; instead it was the great Dao that Medicine Masters themselves would explore.

Time flashed by, and half a month passed. Uzumaki Xia

ochun was still inside the Medicine Refining Pavilion, immersed in creating his own medicine recipe. Under his continuous attempts, he already had some ideas.

At the same time, as he was about to start the furnace with an excited expression, Elder Zhou stood on the peak of the Scented Cloud Mountain with a pained expression; he took out a medicine pill and fed it to a listless phoenix lying in front of him.

"Rest well, what you did before was all against your will, it is not your fault. When you get better, bring this old man to the person that drugged you. No matter who he is, I will definitely make that person pay the price!" Elder Zhou's expression revealed a hint of ferocity; this whole half a month he had thoroughly investigated not only the entire Scented Cloud Mountain, but even the other mountains in the South Bank.

However, he did not find any clues. Hence, the only option he had left was to wait for the phoenix to rest for a while and then personally take him to the culprit.

At the same time, he had also noticed, that during this half a month, in the entire Scented Cloud Mountain...not a single winged bird so much as showed up. It was as if after the tragedy that occurred half a month ago, this place had become taboo for all birds.

As if the air above exuded an stifling odor, and whenever a birds smelled it, its expression would change and dare not come. Even those Spirit Tailed Chickens were trembling the whole day. Seeing their lifeless and restless states, those disciples that reared the Spirit Tailed Chickens all had depressed looks on their faces. They didn't dare voice their grievances and could only keep them in their hearts.

Gradually, after this incident settled down, a string of rumours started spreading around the Scented Cloud Mountain.

"Do you still remember that bird from half a month ago? I heard a piece of news... that bird actually ate Elder Zhou's medicine and that's why it turned out like that… with Elder Zhou already being so old, I wonder why would he be refining this type of medicine…"

"Shh...lower your voice, don't you know why Elder Zhou likes those phoenixes so much… there is a tragic secret within it ah. Elder Zhou never had a partner for his entire life, hehe...you should get the idea."

"Heavens! That's crazy, don't tell me that those birds could no longer tolerate the tortures of Elder Zhou and that's why they went mad!"

The further the rumours spread, the more exaggerated they became. In the end, most of Scented Cloud Mountain's disciples had heard of the news. And when each of them spread it to others, they can't help but fluff it up a bit with their imagination. In the end, all kind of rumours had appeared.

When Elder Zhou heard of this matter, he was so angry that he almost spat blood from his mouth. He wanted to explain, but whenever the disciples saw him, their expressions couldn't help but change and no matter how much he defended himself, it was all in vain. Even though the disciples would bow their heads in respect on the surface, the rumours only got worse and worse...

Another half a month passed. On this day, a vicious killing intent burst from Elder Zhou as his face became unprecedentedly dark. With a wave of his right hand, the male phoenix bird which had been resting for the past month immediately flew out. Its muscular build was still maintained and even its aura was stronger than before. It had evidently benefited from the accident.

Initially when Elder Zhou saw this scene, he felt a little better deep in his heart, but as long as the anger in him was not vented out. He could never rest in peace as he thought back to the events of the past month; how countless sect disciples had looked at him with dreadful looks, the weird expressions accompanied by dry coughs from his peers and especially those rumours that made him seethe with anger. At this moment, he took the phoenix bird with him and flew off together.

"Go search, search for the person who drugged you!" Elder Zhou said through clenched teeth.

The phoenix bird let out a cry as it immediately sped off through the air. Elder Zhou followed behind, the killing intent emitted from his body growing stronger and stronger. This attracted the attention of many disciples. Some of the nosy ones even followed from behind.

In no time at all, that male phoenix bird had dashed straight to the residence of Naruto. When it arrived, it circled above it and cocked its head to look at Elder Zhou with an indignant expression. It let out piercing cries, as if telling Elder Zhou that this was the place where he was drugged.

The surrounding disciples that were following behind all witnessed this scene with widened eyes. They were first stunned, but when they realised whom this cavern belonged to, they all binked their eyes and their expressions turned weird.

(ED Note: After checking through the last few chapters, there were no indications that Uzumaki has gone from his courtyard to a cavern. However, the raws of this chapter clearly states 'cave dwelling instead of courtyard.)

"This… seems like Senior Uncle Uzumaki's residence."

"It is indeed Senior Uncle Uzumaki's… "

"Keke, if this incident was caused by any other person, I would not have believed it. But if it was Senior Uncle Uzumaki… then everything makes sense!"

Elder Zhou stood in the air, his entire body trembling with anger. His eyes were bloodshot as he gnashed his teeth in fury.

"NARUTO!" He had finally found the culprit. At this moment, with a sweep of his spiritual sense, he noticed that there was no one inside. With a flick of his right hand, he immediately took out a jade slip and used his authority to investigate.

Not long after, he found out that Naruto was currently in the Medicine Refining Pavilion.

At this instant, a vicious smirk appeared on Elder Zhou's face. On any other normal day, Elder Zhou would be a gentle and kind person. But right now, Elder Zhou sped off together with his phoenix with an angry roar straight towards the Medicine Refining Pavilion. Excitement appeared on the faces of the surrounding Scented Cloud Mountain disciples as they quickly called their friends and spread the news.

"Quick, that mastermind behind the crazed phoenix has been found!"

"It was Naruto!"

When they heard the news, countless outer sect disciples, and even some inner sect were startled and immediately ran out with excited faces.

The torture that Naruto had made them undergo previously had now all been transformed in enthusiasm - the greater the torture they suffered, the greater the enthusiasm they had. Uchiha Zi'ang immediately dashed out, his face full of excitement and anticipation, as well as Zhao Yiduo. When both of their eyes met, they actually put aside their dislike for each other, their hearts set on going to see Naruto suffer.

Within the crowd, there was a big burly fellow who had tears running down his face. He was that self-proclaimed Mr. Wolf, Liu Ergou, and right now, he felt like howling at the sky, "This is retribution ah!"

As the entire Scented Cloud Mountain sprang into action, Naruto similarly had an excited expression within the Medicine Refining Pavilion as he was looking at the pill furnace in front of him. Currently, the pill furnace shook and medicinal aroma spread in the air and a few whitecoloured medicine pills appeared within the pill furnace.

These medicine pills were nameless and couldn't be consumed. Just a little force exerted onto them would cause them to burst apart into pieces. They had only one purpose aimed specifically at male monsters… to produce an irresistible lure. Temptation.

Within the medicine pill, Naruto had used tens of different medicinal plants that could produce stimulating effects; he even bore the pain of buying some spirit beasts materials from the North Bank. And after long experiments, he had finally succeeded in refining this medicine pill.

Although he was unsure how strong its effect was, he more or less had some idea in his heart. No matter what, the effect definitely wouldn't be too bad. He was actually worried that the effect might still be too weak, so he had used several times the minimum quantity and even spiritually refined each stalk of the medicinal plants in the Turtle-shell Pot before he used them to refine the medicine.

Currently, Naruto looked at the few white-coloured spirit medicines in his hand with anticipation. Imagining the effects of using this pill together with the aphrodisiac pill in his mind, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"It shall be called Female Fragrance Pill then. Ah, what a good name. As for the previous red-coloured medicine pill, it will be called Aphrodisiac Pill!" Naruto gave a little thought before he took these few medicine pills and spiritually refined them thrice.

With that, the medicine pill immediately became different; it was no longer a lower grade pill, instead, it was fine grade!

As for the pill medicine's effects… Naruto only had to imagine it a little and both his eyes immediately brightened.

"Hehe, no matter what monster it is, as long as they meet me, Naruto, in the future, wherever I want them to pounce at, they will have to pounce at without resistance!" Naruto coughed dryly as he stashed away the medicine pill. With satisfaction in his heart, he was just about to go out for a stroll, but just as he got out of the Medicine Refining Pavilion.

Right at that moment...

A furious roar resounded clearly through the sky.

"Naruto!"

Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Chapter 75 - It Wasn't Me!

The roar pierced the sky, the surrounding trees shook and leaves fell to be swept by the raging winds.

Naruto was so startled by the roar that he nearly jumped from fright. He raised his head only to see the white-haired Elder Zhou in midair, charging at him with bulging veins.

The elder, at this moment, resembled a fiend, quite similar to the phoenix from a month ago…

"Naruto, you will pay for what you did to this old man's phoenix!

Even if Toruho were to arrive now, I will still teach you a lesson!" Elder Zhou's voice pierced the sky like thunder. He raised his right hand towards Naruto in the distance and clenched it.

It was like that grasp caused Naruto's surroundings to solidify. Naruto's heart trembled and a blood-curdling scream sounded as his skin emitted a silver light. Simultaneously, a white light flashed outside his body as the Divine Crane Shield was summoned, bent like an egg shell.

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" Instantly shrouded by the glows, Naruto's speed exploded as he actually escaped the elder's grasp. Without hesitation, he dashed in the opposite direction.

Elder Zhou blinked. Although he did hold back, he was still an early stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; even a tenth of his power should be extremely difficult for a Chakra Condensation cultivator to escape from. Seeing the protective light surrounding Naruto's body, the elder's voice sounded once again.

"Naruto! Do you think I don't know, ever since you entered the Burning Stoves Kituchiha, you've been causing trouble for me! This old man's ginseng for the soup was eaten by you, and those thick-bottomed bowls too were your doing! And now you also drugged my phoenix?!"

"Oh, am I going to show you today! You'll learn that the sect is a serious place and not for the unruly to goof around!" In a flash, the elder charged at Naruto once again. Those events from the Burning Stoves Kituchiha were all known to the sect elders.

"Hey, don't blame me! It was your damned bird that snatched the pill, how is that my fault?" Naruto felt extremely wronged. But seeing the furious elder chase after him with his unfathomable cultivation, he ran for his life, his figure turning into a blur as he sped forward.

The male phoenix up in the sky exploded with rage when it heard Naruto's words. As if someone had pulled its feathers, all of them stood on end as it let out a piercing cry, pointing its wings at Naruto. If it could talk, it would surely hysterically speak how Naruto gave him the pill, and deny snatching it!

"You… you…" Naruto's felt depressed when he saw the phoenix falsely accuse him. Never would he have imagined that with his intelligence, he'd one day be framed by a bird, of all things.

His heart burned with hatred for the bird. Staring at the bird, he decided to get back at him after things settled down. He was a male, sure, but he could always get a stronger male bird to destroy him.

"You still dare to quible!" The elder's was gaining ground on him, and with a wave of his big sleeves, he suddenly leapt into the air and landed straight on Naruto. Naruto staggered a bit before he dashed away even faster as if it was nothing.

This scene caused Elder Zhou's eyes to widen. The strength he just used would be enough to cause any outer sect disciple to immediately collapse, but surprisingly, Naruto seemed completely fine.

Aghast, Naruto grimaced in pain from the impact just now. His heart t

rembled as he watched Elder Zhou approach again, so he pulled out the Golden Crow Sword. The Chakra within him exploded out, transforming Naruto into a golden rainbow that shot into the skies.

Elder Zhou snorted coldly and similarly shot into the air, chasing after Naruto with the phoenix beside him.

The Scented Cloud Mountain disciples watched Naruto with schadenfreude. Seeing him run desperately for his life relieved them from all the stress he had given them.

Smiles bloomed on Uchiha Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo like flowers. Liu Ergou, the one who introduced himself as , was even tearing up.

"The heavens are just!"

In the air above the Scented Cloud Mountain, Naruto's horrible screams pierced the skies, letting everyone know who it was even though they couldn't see

.

"Elder Zhou, your damned bird's lying! Ah, I'm telling the truth, your damned bird is lying!" Naruto wanted to cry but had no tears, desperately fleeing on his Golden Crow.

"Silence!" Elder Zhou was not pleased with how Naruto was addressing his phoenix. Damned bird this, damned bird that. As everyone listened, their faces turned weird. Enraged, he roared as he formed a hand seal, a finger-attack quickly approaching Naruto.

"But I'm telling the truth! Your bird framed me!" Naruto wanted nothing more than to explain to the furious elder. The wind howled as the finger approached. Reacting as quick as he could, Naruto dodged to the side with incredible speed, leaving it to shoot straight into a boulder, boring a small hole in it.

"I'm the Sec Head's Junior Brother! My master's a Daoist Spiritual Master!" Naruto's scalp numbed when he saw the hole, quickly using his backers.

"It doesn't matter!" Elder Zhou frowned. As an elder, chasing Naruto around was rather inappropriate and he felt ashamed, however, he just couldn't tolerate it anymore. Especially how Naruto was screaming so desperately despite the elder not even touching him once.

On Scented Cloud Mountain, Xu Baocai looked up and had a puzzled expression on his face. He wasn't fearing for Naruto's safety, but instead, pitied the elder chasing him as he recalled his past.

"Naruto, stop right there!" Elder Zhou closed in once more as the phoenix chirped haughtily, pointing at Naruto from time to time. "I'm an Honourable Disciple! I've bled for the sect, I've stood up for and done great services for the sect!" Naruto screamed, as he recklessly fled like a mad man, his voice spreading in the surroundings, attracting the attention of quite a few people even on the Green Peak Mountain and the Purple Cauldron Mountain. People raised their heads to the sky, and as they noticed the scene in the skies, their expressions became weird and bursted out laughing not long after.

"That title's meant for the dead, let this old man fix that for you!" The elder didn't actually mean to kill Naruto, but the punishment he had in mind wasn't kind either. In order to scare him, he raised his right hand again, causing a strong gust of wind to appear around Naruto that formed into a vortex.

Hearing that sentence while being pulled by the violent wind, Naruto's screams sounded even more miserable as he infused all of his Chakra into the Golden Crow Sword. This caused the the golden light to rapidly expand in an instant as he bursted out of the vortex's pull. The light dimmed down as he neared the gorge between the Purple Cauldron Mountain and Green Peak Mountain.

Naruto's whole body glowed with a sliver light and his body dashed out. He repeatedly let out blood-curdling screeches as he ran at lightning speed. He headed straight for Zhong Dao Mountain, vying for the only person that could save him - the Sect Head.

Witnessing Naruto escape from him again and again, Elder Zhou was surprised in his heart. He thought that Naruto who had survived the Fallen Uchiha Clan's pursuit indeed had a few tricks up his sleeve.

But there were quite a lot of observers which slightly made Elder Zhou's face burn with shame and made his anger surge. The cultivation throughout his whole body scattered as he once again gave chase to Naruto.

"Senior brother Sect Head! Save me!" Naruto cried out without slowing down as he continued to avoid the elder. He dashed up the mountain road energetically, occasionally leaping up, giving Elder Zhou a hard time catching him.

Actually, if he had used the skills belonging to the Foundation Establishment, it wouldn't be hard to catch Naruto. But after all, he wanted to merely punish him and feared that a small miscalculation in the force used could cost Naruto his life.

On the other hand, Naruto was moving too swiftly while screaming desperately at the same time. This only angered Elder Zhoug even further as he formed a hand seal with his right hand and pointed at Uzumaki

Xiaochun. Immediately, clouds appeared out of thin air in the sky above Naruto. As they roiled, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed straight at him.

Naruto's eyes stared as the lightning was striking down on him. The shocking power contained within them made him feel an imminent danger. His mind blanked out and his eyes turned red. He quickly formed a hand seal and pointed upwards. Purple Chakra immediately surged above his head and headed straight at the incoming lightning.

Elder Zhou was surprised by this. He had only planned to scare the kid, the lightning seemed as if would hit him, but was actually going to hit beside him. However, now that Naruto was actively engaging it, he tried to pull back its force, but it was already too late for him to withdraw it all.

The purple Chakra produced by Naruto collided with the lightning, forming a faint outline of a cauldron in purple. This caused an explosion to shake the skies as the purple mist dissipated while the dimmed lightning passed through it and slammed on the side, its strength cut in half.

Naruto's face was pale as he screamed once again before escaping into the distance.

"Senior brother save me! Master save me! Master, ah, your esteemed soul is up there in the Heavens, right? Save me!"

Elder Zhou paused in mid-air. As he looked at Naruto, his face exposed his shock. The lightning from just now, although he had withdrawn most of its strength and had less than half its original Qi, was still enough to critically damage a Chakra Condensation cultivator. Yet just now, Naruto only had his face pale and his Chakra becoming unstable, without even a scratch appearing on his body.

"That was… the Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique! Ryuzetsu and Wanji did mention Naruto had comprehended the technique, but its strength just now was not something a seventh level Qi

Condensation disciple should be capable of achieving. This kid's strength is already comparable to the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, perhaps even stronger than that!"

Awe surfaced on Elder Zhou's expression. Looking at this Heaven's Chosen, Naruto, his anger gradually subsided. As Naruto's cries echoed around, he didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. He snorted coldly and chased after him one again.

"Whether the phoenix is at fault or Naruto is at fault, I should take the chance to scare this unruly character. It ought to teach him some restraint for the future."

Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Chapter 76 - Eighth Level of Chakra Condensation

Meanwhile, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the three mountains were enjoying the scene of Naruto desperately escaping from Elder Zhou. They knew Elder Zhou only meant to scare Naruto. When they saw Naruto engage the lightning, however, the smiles disappeared from their faces. They rushed to help only to find Naruto compeletely unscathed.

Their eyes were filled with surprise.

"This kid is good!"

"For him to survive the whole Fallen Uchiha Clan's attempts to kill him, he really must have a few tricks up his sleeve."

"Although he's merely a little upstart at the moment, he might even have more talents than Shangguan Tianyou! Zabuza and Kurenai can't even compare with him anymore!."

As those in the crowd silently nodded their heads, on the Zhong Dao mountain, Sect Head Zheng Yuandong's face also flickered with surprise. He had witnessed this scene, in fact, he had used his spirit sense to observe everything since the very moment Naruto began screaming.

Naruto's performance was, without a doubt, surprising. He had decided to refrain from interrupting the pursuit and observe how much potential Naruto would show. His eyes shone with praise as his body flashed before appearing right in front of Naruto in an instant.

"Senior Brother Sect Head, save me! Elder Zhou's trying to kill me! My little life was almost lost!" Uzumaki Xioachun immediately went behind Zheng Yuandong to hide behind his back after noticing him, looking pitifully.

Zheng Yuandong coughed dryly, when he saw Naruto's expression, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He raised his head to see Elder Zhou catch up to them with a ferocious gaze fixed on Naruto before turning to Zheng Yuandong to cup his fist.

As their gazes met, the two old fogies immediately understood each other's thoughts. The phoenix didn't really matter that much, the bigger problem now was letting Naruto's mischievous actions.

After all, the only thing they really had against the kid was Toruho. In his absence, there was no one to control Naruto with his contributions, status as Honourable Disciple, and the Sect Head's Junior Brother.

Even if Zhen Yuandong was to punish him, Naruto would probably turn to the portrait of his dead master to cry about it.

"Sect head, please don't interfere any further and let me deal with Naruto!" Elder Zhou stared at Naruto with a vicious gaze, laughing evilly in the process.

"Your damned bird…" Naruto was shaking as he started explaining.

When Elder Zhou heard these words, his face turned green, prompting Naruto to shut up immediately and desperately turn to Zheng Yuandong, looking aggrieved.

"Senior brother, I've bled for the sect… I've made contributions…" Zheng Yuandong's face twitched and he cleared his throat.

"Elder Zhou, why don't we put this behind him? Xiaochun is an unruly kid, but he is not ill-hearted. How about this, the next time he does something like that again, this old man will deal with him immediately."

Elder Zhou seemed reluctant to agree, but in the end, he nodded his head unwillingly. As he was leaving, he threw Naruto a ferocious glare.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto stood up, a suspicious look was written on his face. He was a clever kid, everything happened so quickly, he didn't even have time to react. He realised that something was amiss… however, he wasn't sure

what it was. He looked at the Sect Head just as the older man opened his mouth.

"The phoenixes once belonged to Elder Zhou's partner. They had fallen in battle to save him. To barely escape the grasp of death and to lose a lover, it wasn't something to shrug at. He sometimes goes a bit crazy because of that.

Outsiders knew him only as an old man obsessed with herbs, oblivious to the fact that the herbs were a way for him to suppress his craziness and ease his mind.

So, Naruto, don't provoke him any further. I fear that I might not be able to reach you by the time he does go insane." Zheng Yuandong said, his eyes fixated on Naruto.

Hearing his words, Naruto felt sympathy for Elder Zhou. Feeling a chill ran down his spine, he nodded quickly and spoke aggrievedly.

"I really didn't drug it, his damned bird… his damned bird was really trying to frame me."

"Everything has its cause and effect. Regardless of the circumstances, you are now embroiled in this and the truth is irrelevant." Zheng Yuandong patted Naruto's shoulder as he turned away indifferently.

Naruto sighed at his bad luck. The only thing for him to do from now on was to avoid the elder. He carefully went back to Scented Cloud Mountain, hastily going back to the dormitory, deciding to shut himself in.

As for the bird that framed him, he feared that what he was originally planning to do to him would only trigger the elder. He gritted his teeth as he forced himself to forget about it.

"Good men don't trifle with birds!" Naruto comforted himself as he sat in the wooden house, taking out the Purple Rising Chakra Pills that he refined himself, smiling with pride as he thought about how he dealt with the elder's attacks.

"Foundation Establishment cultivators sure are tough, that guy would have smacked the blood out of me if I didn't have this impenetrable skin." Naruto felt a bit of regret as he looked at the pills. He checked his surroundings and made sure it was safe before taking out the turtle-shell pot, once again beginning his refinement.

It wasn't long before all the pills were refined thrice. Looking at the dimming lines of silver on the pills, Naruto sighed.

"If only I had a fourth colored flame." He had heard about the fourth colored flame, but the sect didn't have much of it, the contribution points required for getting them were just too much. There were special elixir medicines for fire cultivation, but after all, they were extremely uncommon.

As for the market square under the mountain, one couldn't just walk down there and buy one. Even in the annual auctions, fourth colored flame was very rare.

"I'm running out of spirit tails as well." Naruto checked the remaining spirit tails before swallowing a Purple Rising Chakra Pill and started cultivating.

Days passed as Uzumaki Xioachun cultivated, finishing up the pills one by one, making his cultivation speed rapidly increase. It was night several days after when he had swallowed the last pill. The clouds were blocking the moonlight as Naruto's body trembled violently inside the wooden house. At this moment, explosions were reverberating within his body. But in his surroundings, not even a single noise could be heard.

His body trembled as the Chakra within him escaped from each and every part of his body, forming a great river that resembled a flood dragon, opening up the meridians throughout his body as it spread in his body.

As the entire cycle ended, the Chakra within his body expanded much bigger than its original amount, letting the filth of his body escape through his pores. A sense of weightlessness and tranquility made Naruto open his eyes as a brilliant light shone in his eyes, shining like a great flame in the dark room.

"Eight level of Chakra Condensation" Naruto laughed as he got up to clean his body. It had been a long time since he entered the sect, and his body was much more toned and leaned. He didn't gain much height, however, and it troubled him a bit.

He did like how nothing much changed about him, however- he was still white, clean, and small.

"I should be a lot more stronger now that I'm at the eight level." Naruto raised his right hand and pointed at a boulder some distance away, flinging it up with his mind. He controlled the speed, increasing and slowing it, switching between lifting the heavy as though it was light and lifting the light as though it was heavy.

"The thing I'm most interested about, though… has to be those fights I had with the Fallen Uchiha Clansmen- when I had accidentally broken through. Naruto's eyes shined brightly. After practicing a few more times, he eventually stopped as he fell into deep thought.

"The Purple Chakra Cauldron Manipulation Technique did state that at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, the strength of the Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique would increase by a wide margin." Naruto stood silently in the courtyard as he pinched his fingers together, pointing forward.

Silks of purple immediately appeared and formed a great purple cauldron before him in the span of two breaths.

It was twice as fast as the last time he did it.

The cauldron was, at the same time, evidently different. It was no longer blurry and looked very clear and detailed, with runes even etched on it.

The power the cauldron emitted was astoundingly strong. Naruto's eyes shined at how extraordinary it was.

"This is much stronger than before!"

Naruto probed the remaining Chakra within his body. Previously, it took half of his entire Chakra to form the cauldron, and a bit of time was needed to restore it before he could form another cauldron.

However, with his latest attempt, he discovered that the remaining Chakra inside his body was still about 70 percent of his maximum capacity.

"I can do it three times!" Naruto was pleasantly surprised as he dissipated the cauldron and took out his Golden Crow Sword, turning it into a golden light. He got on it and left the Scented Cloud Mountain.

Upon arriving at the forest outside, Naruto heard a faint thundering in the sky, heralding the imminent storm. Naruto thought that it wasn't very safe, so he hastily pinched his fingers, attempting to form the cauldron, not wanting to stay for too long. He sent it flying to a boulder some distance away, trembling as it violently crashed against it.

The crash was loud and the ground vibrated, waking many of the beasts as a huge trench with cracks spread from the boulder was. The affected area had a radius of ten feet.

"This strong?" Naruto gasped as he sized himself up. As he was now, with his impenetrable skin and his Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique, a fight with Uchiha Heng wouldn't be too much trouble for him. In fact, he felt that he could wipe him out in an instant.

"Oh well…" Naruto hesitated as he thought about it. It simply wasn't wise for him to take the risk. The last time he took on an opponent close to him in strength, he almost paid for it with his life. He felt that the best way was to have enemies under the seventh level, for absolute safety.

"A flick of my finger obliterates any opponent from the first to the seventh level." Naruto tossed his sleeve to his side, not pleased that there weren't any fences around for him to stand on, forcing him to resort to standing on his blade. He raised his head and stared into the clouds, putting on the pose of a master. He kept this pose as he flew back to the sect.

At this moment, the lightning in the clouds were suddenly attracted to the Golden Crow Blade, coming together to form many silvery snakes that dived straight at Naruto His eyes widened in shock.

A while later, Naruto could be heard screaming in the distance...

Chapter 77

Chapter 77A

Chapter 77A - Auction

Not long after, on the Scented Cloud Mountain, Naruto was hobbling, his hair had stood up and his face was slightly black as he crawled back to the courtyard with fear lingering in his heart. Once he remembered how countless lightning bolts chased after him just now, his heart trembled and swore that he would absolutely not use a sword to fly in a thunderstorm ever again.

This was not flying, this was gambling with his life!

Inside the wooden hut, Naruto grimaced in pain, and only after a long time did his mind calm down. He sat cross-legged on the bed and looked at the storm outside the window. His cultivation was slowly settling down as it coursed through his body.

"Grade Two spiritual medicine is suitable for eighth level of Qi

Condensation and below. If I want to continue increasing my cultivation, I can only refine Grade Three spiritual medicine." Naruto supported his chin and muttered to himself.

"The difficulty of refining a Grade Three spiritual medicine is definitely going to be extremely high. I must become familiar with a large amount of Grade Two spiritual medicine for my foundation to be stable. If not, the foundation will be unstable and the chances of success will not be big." Naruto opened the storage pouch and took a glance at his own savings with a sigh. He had previously relied on his status as the Honourable Disciple to receive a lot of presents.

It was only that the consumption was quite terrifying during this period of refining medicine. Even though he had a habit of using his resources sparingly when refining pills, his saving had still decreased quite a bit.

"Ah, this won't do, my reserves will eventually run out." Naruto lowered his head in contemplation.

"I am already a very formidable Medicine Apprentice now. I can sell the medicines that I have refined, yeah." When Naruto thought of this, he became excited. Once the rain had stopped outside the next morning, he immediately left his residence and went to the market at the foot of the mountain to ask about the pricing of the medicine pills. After that, he bought a large amount of herbs, going as far as to exchange some of his Contribution Points at the Sect.

After which, he returned to the Medicine Refinement Pavilion and started refining medicines.

He did not refine Grade Two pills. Even though their price was higher, their time-consumption was not small and Naruto was well aware of his habit of taking a long time when refining medicine.

Therefore, he chose the Grade One medicine pills that he was most familiar with. A few days later, he had refined three different types of spiritual medicine pills and two spiritual incense sticks. Only then did he head off to the market at the foot of the mountain.

The market model at the South Bank of the Spirit River Sect was not big.

Other than the Sect's seniors and a few capable Inner Sect Disciples who could own a shop, most of them were established by the cultivator clans from the Eastern Forest Continent.

It was like a small town. The Inner Sect Disciples from the three mountains in the Spirit River Sect would often come and go, making things quite lively. Naruto had already came here a lot of times. He now familiarly walked in the market and entered a medicine shop. He coughed dryly and a shop assistant from within the medicine shop quickly went up to him.

"Call your shop's manager over. This time, not only do I want to buy herbs, I also want to sell some medicine pills." Naruto sat on the chair and said with a cheeky smile.

Not long after, a middle-aged man wearing a long purple-coloured robed ca

me quickly, and when he saw Naruto, a smile appeared on his face.

"Fellow Uzumaki, I am Sun Uchiha. I had already heard a lot about the glorious things that Fellow Uzumaki has done, but because I was afraid of disturbing you, I didn't take the initiative to pay my respects to you. Please don't hold it against me." This middle-aged man's smile was courteous as he sat beside Naruto, cupping his fist as he said those words. He did not dare offend Naruto as he knew that the other party's status was extraordinary in the Sect. Especially his status as the Honourable Disciple, it still made all the cultivator clans wonder how to please him despite the Sect Head postponing the matter by a hundred years.

Naruto laughed and exchanged formalities with this middle-aged man, after which, he took out three medicinal bottles and the two spiritual incense sticks, putting them on the table.

"Fellow Sun, appraise these items then." Naruto raised his chin.

Sun Uchiha smiled as he took these medicine pills into his hand. After looking through them one by one, surprise appeared on his face. Even though these Grade One medicine pills were all Low Tier with their impurities occupying a little over 80%, they were still very close to the Middle Tier unlike the medicine pills that they usually purchased. Those they usually purchased were similarly in the Low Tier, however, it almost had 90% impurities.

"Brother Uzumaki's medicine skills are exquisite. My Sun Clan wants all of these spiritual medicines. How about this, I am offering you a price of a hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, what do you think?" Sun Uchiha raised his head and glanced at Naruto. Both his eyes brightening.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised. This price was more or less equal to the ratio of one spiritual medicine for four Spirit Stones and was already the highest price for Grade One Low Tier medicine pills.

In reality, a medicine pill averagely costed only one and a half Spirit Stone.

Naruto talked things over with Sun Uchiha with a delightful mood and seeing Sun Uchihag was determined to make a good impression, the duo conversed quite long. In the end, Naruto agreed that whenever he sends medicine pills in the future, instead of Spirit Stones, he would get herbs of equivalent value. Only then did he leave, feeling satisfied.

Time flew and a couple months quickly passed. In these past few months, other than refining Grade One spiritual medicines in exchange for a large amount of herbs, Naruto was also continuously familiarising himself with the refining of various kinds of Grade Two spiritual medicines.

Gradually, he became even more skilled in refining Grade Two spiritual medicines.

As he worked with the Sun Clan's medicine shop, he noticed that his connection with them was getting increasingly solid. Most of his medicine pills were bought by them. One day, Naruto arrived in the Sun Clan's medicine shop to trade a few bottles of spiritual medicine for herbs. As he was conversing with Sun Uchiha, Sun Uchiha sighed as he lamented.

"Brother Uzumaki, based on your achievements in refining medicine, why don't you refine some Grade Two spiritual medicines? The Hundred Clan Auction that is held once every couple years is going to be held in three months. If Brother Uzumaki can refine Grade Two spiritual medicines before that time, I can arrange for them to be auctioned and the price would definitely be quite high." Sun Uchiha looked at Naruto. In these past few months, Sun Uchihag had realised that Naruto had a very cheerful personality and was very tactful. Furthermore, associating with him was quite pleasant, so Sun Uchiha proposed this matter to him.

Naruto had also heard of this Hundred Clan Auction that was held once every couple of years. A hundred cultivator clans in the Eastern Forest Continent gathered together to organise that auction. There were three venues in total. The first venue was chosen to be at the market in North Bank, whereas the second venue was at the market in the South Bank. The last venue was held in the Eastern Forest City, Eastern Forest Continent's largest cultivator city.

In the years that Naruto had spent in the Spirit River Sect, this auction had been previously organised once before. However, at that time, he had only just become an outer sect disciple and was too busy stealing Spirit Tailed Chickens to eat and didn't have any interest in the auction.

Pondering for a few moments, Naruto had a slight change of heart, and after enquiring about the time for the auction at the South Bank, Naruto bid Sun Uchiha farewell and returned to the Medicine Refinement Pavilion. He sat cross-legged and thought long and hard before finally reaching a conclusion.

"Sun Uchiha has a point. Rather than selling a little bit here and there, wouldn't it be better for me to take this opportunity to auction the medicines I refined for a good price? This way, I can exchange them for even more valuable herbs." Naruto thought to this point as the Grade Two spiritual medicines surfaced into his mind. In the end, he chose… the Purple Rising Chakra Pill that he was most familiar with.

Once he set his heart to it, Naruto closed himself in the Medicine Refinement Pavilion and started refining Purple Rising Chakra Pills. Two months later, Naruto had spent most of the herbs traded for the medicine pills that he had refined. He had already refined three whole bottles of Purple Rising Chakra Pills, with ten pills in each bottle.

There was especially one pill which was coloured slightly differently from the rest of the pale-purple medicine pills. It was deep purple in colour and the rich medicinal aroma seemed to be trapped within it.

When he was refining this medicine pill, the pill furnace in front of Naruto had been slightly shaking, much different than usual. Even the fire had suddenly swelled up.

He now held this deep purple spiritual medicine in his hands, and when he held it out in front of him, pride and excitement appeared in his eyes.

"Middle Tier! I, Naruto, have finally refined another Middle Tier spiritual medicine!"

"Middle Tier spiritual medicine, I think that there wouldn't be many of these seen in the auction. But, if I wish to achieve a sensational effect, it is still somewhat lacking… after all, this auction is held only once every couple of years and there are sure to be a lot of rare treasures." Naruto pondered for a bit as he clenched his teeth. He took out his Turtle-shell pot and started spiritual refinement.

After three spiritual refinements, silver light flashed and the spiritual medicine was no longer a Middle Tier item, but had broken through the Fine Tier and had even become… a Great Tier item!

This kind of Great Tier item was already shocking and only had 10% impurities.

Naruto had a satisfied expression on his face as he looked at the Great Tier Purple Rising Chakra Pill in his hands. The colour of this pill was nearly black, and even though the three spiritual lines on its surface were faint, it was obvious that this medicine pill was extraordinary with a single glance.

Looking at the medicine pill in his hands, Naruto suddenly felt that he had once again found a way to spread his name across the world. He laughed loudly, proud of himself. He took out a small knife, and on this medicine pill, he drew a… small good-looking turtle.

"The great Turtle shall appear once more!" Naruto stood up excited, an expectant look could be seen in his eyes.

Naruto made his way down the mountain with the spiritual medicines in his hands. When he returned an hour later, he was refreshed and had a gleeful expression on his face. Sun Uchihag's surprised expression when he saw Naruto take out three bottles of Purple Rising Chakra Pills floated into his mind. And when Naruto took out that Great Tier spiritual medicine that had been refined three times, the other party looked as if his jaw was going to fall off.

"I can't wait for the auction next month." Naruto looked at the jade token in his hands. This was the qualification token that allowed him to participate in the auction.

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Chapter 78 - Are They Talking About Me?

Upon hearing Qian Song's words, the people at the auction squeezed against each other to see in their curiousity.

This did not include those past the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, most of the inner sect disciples had no interest for what was happening as some of them talked among themselves. Others simply rested with their eyes closed.

"This pill here, everyone, take a look at it before we announce the price." Qian Song was acting quite odd. After clearing his throat, a young woman walked out immediately with a wooden box in her hands.

The crowd's interest peaked as they strained to see what sort of Purple Rising Chakra Pill could possibly make Qian Song look like that.

Naruto was even more anxious than anyone as he stood there, breathing hurriedly. He raised his gaze to the auction stand to see the young woman take out a deep purple pill from the wooden box.

In contrast to her snow-white hands, the pill stood out particularly prominent. The three silver patterns became clearly visible under the bright glare of the sun... as well as the distinct symbol of a small turtle carved onto it.

The horde of people, at this moment, went silent. The silence was then quickly followed by an uproar.

"Three spirit refinements! Heavens, Is this for real?"

"This is insane, to do three spirit refinements on a Grade Two pill! And they're actually successful!"

"This is just crazy, who would refine a Purple Rising Chakra Pill like that?"

At the peak of the uproar, all the disciples were taken aback, aghast. The uproar could be heard throughout the entire auction grounds.

"Who the hell did this? What a damn wastrel!"

"To do three spirit refinements on it, only someone who does this for a hobby can think of such an outrageous idea!"

The disciples who previously paid no attention to this auction, upon seeing the silver patterns on the pill, their eyes widened as they sucked in a deep breath. Some of them even jumped to their feet, speechless.

It should be noted that the success rate of spirit refining was low. It was okay to do it once, twice would be pushing it a little, but for the third… one would have to rely on luck. Even a great master would not have confidence to succeed refining something for a third time.

In the Spirit River Sect, a great many people had their hearts broken when their magical treasures broke down from the third refinement. Refining magic treasures would always bring love and hate, those who succeed would certainly be envied by many.

A magical treasure refined thrice would have its power substantially increased. Enough to make people stunned with envy. And at this moment... right before them was a pill refined thrice!

And it was a Grade Two pill!

Those beautiful patterns would befit the wings of butterflies. They were elegant and pleasing to the eyes. But to put the very same patterns on a pig… would simply be a great waste.

They felt conflicted, countless thoughts swirling in their minds. Some were even clenching their fists, blue veins bulging on their foreheads, especially the inner sect disciples from Purple Cauldron Mountain. They, who studied refining, were the most bitter of all.

"This kind of luck, wasted on an pill! And the nerve to auction it here like this! Were I to have this kind of luck, I'd spiritually refine thrice only a truly valuable thing!"

Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators inside their own rooms had odd expressions as they looked at the pill, their faces covered with surprise.

Seeing this from his balcony, Naruto took a deep breath

again. Looking down at the furious crowd and their red faces, Naruto felt that he might have truly overdone it a bit. He quickly put on a furious look, pointed at the pill on the stage and growled angrily.

"Wastrel! Shame on you!"

In the distance, Sun Uchiha too was smiling bitterly. He had the same feeling the first time he got the pill. He suddenly noticed Naruto on the balcony, and froze, cold sweat appearing on his forehead...

At this moment, a few of the sharper ones in the crowd noticed the engraved symbol of the little turtle on the pill in the young woman's hands.

"Eh? This little turtle, … looks somewhat familiar?" Right after the words, the crowd shifted their attention to the symbol they hadn't noticed before while going crazy over the silver patterns. Now, everyone shifted their gazes and stared at it.

"This little turtle… Isn't that… Isn't there that Little Turtle who placed first on all ten stone steles on the Scented Cloud Mountain!?"

"Exactly the same! It's drawn just the same, it must've been drawn… by the same person!"

"Could it really be that this pill… this insane act, could it be done by that mysterious, Heaven's Chosen Little Turtle of the Scented Cloud Mountain?"

The crowd went in an even louder uproar. Of all Spirit River Sect disciples, many of them were Scented Cloud Mountain's disciples, and after noticing the little turtle, they began shouting.

More and more people started noticing the symbol and gasped. Many stood up from their seats, the symbol of the Little Turtle had not appeared for a long while, but it was quite illustrious as it had spread throughout the sect and people often discussed who he might be.

Yet even now, they had no answer. That person was simply too mysterious, a complete unknown to them. He remained low-key as though he was an indifferent character who paid no attention to others!

And today, the Little Turtle… actually appeared once again!

And the way it appeared, it shocked the entire auction. Not a single person present wasn't stunned.

Kurenai's eyes were burning as she stood in the crowd. Staring at the pill, her chest heaved up and down as her emotions violently fluctuated.

"So you have appeared once more. A Heaven's Chosen like you can't just hide and disappear like that in this sea of people. Yeah, you're good at hiding, good at concealing yourself. But it has been decided, no matter how much you hide, you will reveal yourself and I will find you!" Kurenai took a deep breath. She had been secretly searching for the Little Turtle for a long time. She had even suspected Naruto once, but quickly rejected it. The image of the Little Turtle In her heart was firmly set on someone calm and collected, completely unlike someone captivated by fame and fortune.

Kurenai wasn't the only one to think like this, that was the general consensus, and even Ino thought so. Naruto's exaggerated boasts played a big part in this.

People even analysed why the symbol was a turtle. The conclusion was that the person was indifferent to the world, yet symbolised a great ambition. The little turtle symbolized someone who was pursuing immortality.

Not too far away, Ino's eyes instantly widened with worship, a result of Naruto's words. She was the Little Turtle's biggest fan, and together with like-minded people, they had even assembled an admirers' organisation.

"Oh, it's the Little Turtle!" Ino almost jumped up as she excitedly pointed at the auction stand.

The uproar changed after the crowd noticed the symbol of the Little Turtle. The curses disappeared and were quickly replaced after people reached a new startling conclusion.

"This is the result of him aiming for perfection!"

"A Heaven's Chosen aloof like him… This pill being spiritually refined isn't for the sake of money! It's to pursue the dao of medicine, to explore, to persevere!"

Even the bitter inner sect disciples thought differently, taking a deep breath as they gazed deeply at the pill. At the moment, no one thought that its owner was simply trying to show off with the three spirit refinements.

"So it was that Heaven's Chosen, I understand now. The owner is neither insane nor showing off. He's simply someone with a great ambition and this is purely the result of their devotion, the determination to produce a medicine of the best quality!"

"It is amazing, astonishing. Such determination, such devotion! This desire to perfect medicine is worth learning from!"

"Three spirit refinements, three improvements in its quality, meaning… while pill was originally a Middle Tier pill, it is now on a vastly different level. Little Turtle, you never cease to amaze!"

"This pill is worthy of a souvenir, I want it!" The inner sect disciples' eyes glowed brightly. While the pill was useless for them to consume, it would allow them to draw inspiration from it.

Staring at the pill, they could see the great figure of a Heaven's Chosen and his devotion in pursuing the dao of medicine.

Seeing this change of attitude all around him, Naruto, who was

just raging together with the crowd, stood there stunned. Looking stupefied at the crowd beneath him and listening to their talk caused him to suddenly blush.

"They… Are they talking about me…?" Naruto was shaking. He had never realised how outstanding he was in the people's eyes, and now that he did, he could barely stop himself from shouting out to the crowd that he was the great Little Turtle that shook the world!

At this moment, Qian Song cleared his throat, smiling as he stood on the stage.

"It seems that everyone has now understood the true value of this pill. We start with five hundred Spirit Stones, each increase with a minimum of fifty stones!"

This sort of price caused Naruto to suck in a deep breath. It was a very high price, most of the outer sect disciples simply couldn't afford it. What happened next, however, completely shocked him.

"Six hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Seven hundred Spirit Stones! This pill embodies the dao of medicine, I must have it!"

"Eight hundred! Who wants to fight for it?!" The inner sect disciples started raising the price as their cries echoed throughout the area, setting the atmosphere on fire.

The insanity only continued as bids continued to echo out. Soon, they were at fifteen hundred Spirit Stones, and Naruto could only stand there, his throat dry and his breathing rapid, staring in disbelief.

"Crazy, all crazy… They're all crazy... Step it up! Get even crazier! Burst with insanity!" Naruto said excitedly.

"One thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones!" Kurenai abruptly spoke out from within the crowd, attracting glances from all around. Naruto too looked at Kurenai as he cheered on.

This sort of price was already the limit for inner sect disciples. Many of them were reluctant to give up, but there was a limit on how far they could go. Sighing, they let Kurenai have it. She herself was, after all, a Heaven's Chosen pursuing the dao of medicine as well. Once she revealed her determination to obtain the pill with such a price, as fellow disciples of the same sect, it was useless to continue competing.

Naruto too was very satisfied with this price. He wanted to just charge down and take Qian Song's place to announce the end of the auction. But suddenly, a young girl's voice broke through the crowd, proud and uncompromising.

"I, Ino, am a member of a cultivator clan, I have plenty of Spirit

Stones! I offer three thousand!"

1st guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Chapter 79 - Xiaochun, We Believe You

Naruto widened his eyes, the three thousand Spirit Stones floating in his mind… He looked at Ino as his eyes brightened. Right now, he really wanted to go hug Ino and give her three thousand thumbs up…

And tell her she's a really good girl!

The people at the auction were in an uproar at the outrageous price that came with Ino's voice. They turned to Ino and stared blankly. In front of their eyes was a cute young lady with a hand on her waist and her chest puffed up. Her skin was fair and she was dainty and delicate. Her expression showed that she was obviously pleased with herself and was a young lady that seemed to be as lively as a small chilli.

She raised her chin and looked at Kurenai as if she wanted to say that since she originated from a cultivator clan, she had no need to fear comparing their wealths. This, however, did not draw the crowd's dislike. Instead, they found Ino rather cute.

Many of the people watching had a smile on their face, and even quite a few were amazed.

"Three thousand Spirit Stones…" Kurenai muttered, calming herself down.

"The Little Turtle is important to me. As long as they are the Little Turtle's medicine pills, I, Ino, am willing to forgo all costs to buy it. Humph, I am ready to offer four thousand Spirit Stones. I'm part of a cultivator clan, Spirit Stones are not something I lack!" As she emphasized the last bit, Wanji lowered his head in embarrassment and was worried for his younger sister. He had been unaware that she had worshiped the Little Turtle so fanatically in the past few years...

Some Kurenai admirers couldn't stand it anymore and many criticised Ino for her wastefulness as she had actually opened such a price for a Grade Two spiritual medicine.

"It's this lady's own fortune, jealous?" Hearing what the admirers were saying soured her mood. She puffed up her chest with her hand on her hip as her clear voice rebuked them.

As Naruto was watching this scene from the balcony, the more he felt that he had truly done a right thing when he had guided Ino back on the right track.

Kurenai frowned, she didn't have that many Spirit Stones herself. After staying silent for a while, she sighted as she had no choice but to give up.

Seeing Kurenai not bid anymore, Ino was pleasantly surprised. She had put on the appearance of a rich young lady, but of course, she didn't actually have that many Spirit Stones. She did so because a bid placed in front of so many people was not something her clan's patriarch would refuse to pay.

In the end, Ino took home the pill which had underwent three spirit refinements.

Satisfied, Naruto looked at Ino's fading figure appreciatively. Clearing his throat, he felt that with how much Ino worshiped the Little Turtle, it would be very inappropriate to not reveal to her his true identity.

Making up his mind, Naruto decided to announce who he really was in front of everyone when the first day's auction ended.

In the backstage were a few of the cultivator clans' patriarchs, placed there in charge of the auction's protective measures. A middle-aged man cleared his throat, forcing a smile towards his companions.

"Um… My granddaughter is quite a ridiculous one, isn't she." He said as he paid the Spirit Stones bidded by her with a wry smile.

"So pure and innocent." The others laughed.

The first day of the auction had been concluded. Although such auctions would usually last

several days, Naruto didn't plan to come again as his pills had already been sold out. Excited, he hastily made his way out and came out to face the great crowd leaving the auction grounds.

These people were disciples, and all of them were excitedly discussing the purple pill.

It didn't take long for Naruto to spot Kurenai. He looked at her with an appreciative look, as if to tell her to cheer up. Just as he was about to approach, startled by his gaze, Kurenai flew off in a rainbow before he got near.

As Naruto felt depressed, a happy voice sounded from behind him.

"Big brother Xiaochun!" Ino had a joyful look in her face as she hopped out of the crowd, twisting around as she made her way to him. From behind her, Wanji also noticed Naruto and smiled.

Naruto turned away from the fading Kurenai, and threw an appreciative gaze at Ino and patted her head, acting like a big brother.

"Lil' sis, not bad back there! When bidding on something, one ought to be domineering!"

Ino's face immediately flushed, then as if she remembered something, she happily took out the pill and presented it to him.

"Big brother Xiaochun, look! This is the pill refined by the Little Turtle!

Oh, do you want it? I will give it to you, you did say you respect the Little Turtle the most, right? I bought this precisely for you!" The excitement was clear in her eyes as she presented it to him with an expectant look. It was as if her entire world only held Naruto inside at this moment.

Seeing this scene, Wanji simply smiled warmly and remained silent.

Naruto was stunned, he hadn't expected that the reason Ino bought the pill would turn out to be himself. He was deeply moved. Seeing the many people around them, he took a deep breath and put on a solemn look.

"Xiaomei, let me tell you a great secret." Naruto's eyes burned with determination as he spoke seriously, like some lonesome expert. He had already mastered the skill of putting on the airs of one at any time, at any place.

Both Ino and Wanji were surprised by this sudden change in Naruto.

"What great secret?" Ino asked, looking at him with curiously.

Clearing his throat loudly, Naruto raised his chin and flourished his small sleeve to the side.

"I, Naruto, am the one and only, earth-shaking, mysteriously and awe-inspiring… renown… great turtle!" Naruto announced, throwing his back and laughing, finally releasing the emotions hidden in his heart. He had held the secret for several years already, and now he was finally able to reveal it in front of his greatest fan and with many others around, too! This was the moment he had waited for!

Most importantly, he couldn't let his greatest admirer continue being oblivious to the fact that their idol was standing right beside them! With his head arrogantly raised high at the skies, Naruto perked his ears, awaiting the cheers.

He had even thought of what kind of words he should say amidst the cheers in a moment's time.

He waited for a long time, but only silence remained. Surprised by the the silence, Naruto couldn't help but lower his gaze from the skies down to Ino and Wanji.

Ino stared at him blankly, Wanji stared at him blankly as well. They looked at him with weird expressions, and the surrounding crowd too looked at him weirdly.

"The Little Turtle is a distant and aloof character. Yet Senior Uncle Uzumaki is claiming to be the Little Turtle? Heh… get out of here…"

Naruto's face distorted and prepared to start explaining.

"Xiaochun, are you okay?" Wanji was a bit worried as he put his hand on Naruto's forehead.

"我真是！"白小纯着急的说道。

"I really am!" Naruto said anxiously.

"Ah? Yes, yes, of course you are, of course you are…" Wanji nodded hurriedly, the weird look still on his face.

"Big bro Chun, you once told me that the Little Turtle was a person as high as the clouds, a person who is indifferent to fame… You rank as high up as the Little Turtle in my heart, you really don't need to pretend…" Ino said softly as she looked gently at Naruto.

"I really…" Naruto started as Wanji grabbed his arm suddenly with a serious expression.

"Xiaochun, we believe you!"

"I really…" Naruto started again, his eyes wide as Wanji turned even more serious.

"Xiaochun, really, we believe you!"

"I…" Naruto was at a loss for words. His hopes had now all burned to ashes. There was no way he'd get them to believe him now. The difference between the ideal and reality was too vast. He was beside himself as he turned around and wobbled away. How was he going to show his face at the sect now?

Back at the courtyard, he stared blankly at the sky, sorrow plastered on in his face.

"But I really am the great turtle…" He felt wronged, his dream of announcing his identity in front of tens of thousands was completely shattered.

And he now knew where the problem lay. In the past years, the image of the Little Turtle had been glorified too highly… In everyone's hearts the Little Turtle was too incredible and aloof.

To be more precise, through Ino's unremitting efforts, the Little Turtle had practically been deified...

Unsatisfied, he refused to give up and and went to look for Xu Baocai. He looked Xu Baocai straight in the face and solemnly told him who he was. Xu Baocai stared at him blankly… and nodded, telling him that he believed him.

Naruto ran back to the courtyard and sullenly stared at the wall again.

A few days later, Sun Uchiha came for a visit. This surprised Naruto, and he grasped tightly onto a new hope as he knew that Sun Uchiha knew he was the one who sent him the pill.

But before he could speak, Sun Uchiha took out all the spirit stones he owed him. He cupped his fist in his hand and greeted him deeply, his face solemn and respectful.

"Brother Uzumaki, I was unaware of the great value that pill held, and that it was made by such noble a Heaven's Chosen. Even the higher-ups were shocked. And the only way of contacting that great man is, presumably, only through you now. Or you wouldn't have had the pill otherwise."

"Brother Uzumaki, please inform that Heaven's Chosen that the Sun Clan wishes to build a deep friendship with him. For any herbs he may need in the future, the Sun Clan will spare no effort to supply!"

"Brother Uzumaki, please also inform him, that I am aware that person is unconcerned with fame and fortune and is unwilling to deal with the mundane and is as distant as the clouds. He will surely reach unimaginable heights in the Dao of Medicine. Our Sun Clan is willing to manage his less important affairs for him." Sun Uchiha cupped his fist and bowed deeply. When he raised his head, he saw Naruto looking at him blankly. He waited a moment for a response, but after receiving none, he hesitatingly cupped his fist again and left.

Naruto was somewhat pleased, of course. He was thought to be in such a position inside the Spirit River Sect that even a lofty Heaven's Chosen like the Little Turtle was in a good relationship with him.

But the thought that Naruto might be the Little Turtle had never crossed his mind! They had nothing in common, their personalities were simply too different. Not only the Spirit River Sect's disciples thought so, even the cultivator clans outside thought so, their investigations concluding in almost the same results as Kurenai's.

Not until the moon hung high in the sky did Naruto sober up. Sighing, he swayed and leaped up, standing on a bamboo in his courtyard. He placed his hands behind his back and gazed at the stars with a dejected expression on his face. He felt the mountain wind blow through his black hair and his robes.

"Never would I have thought that beneath the surface, I was actually such a lofty character, like a cloud soaring through the skies. Alas… it was my fault for concealing it so deeply. Sometimes great excellence leads to loneliness." Naruto flung his small sleeve to the side. Basking under the moonlight was the silhouette of a genuine lonesome expert.

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Chapter 80 - Zhang Fatso One's Talent

Now that he had enough Spirit Stones, Naruto left the whole Little

Turtle matter behind, his heart full of holes. He buried himself inside the Medicine Refinement Pavilion, immersing himself in refining medicine until he gradually recovered.

With the passage of time, the Grade Two spirit medicines in Naruto's hands reached the pinnacle, and his success rate in refining them reached shocking heights. And so, he began his attempts at refining Grade Three spirit medicines.

As he refined Grade Three spirit medicine, rumbles were often heard from his room in the Medicine Refinement Pavilion. The pill furnace, for whatever reason, even exploded once, flying off and landing in a corner with a clank.

But that was nothing. Once, the pill furnace produced a very thick smoke, and it was no ordinary smoke. Even the placed formation arrays couldn't block it as it engulfed half of the entire Medicine Refinement Pavilion, forcing many refiners out, coughing with curses flying from their mouths.

Being who he was, Naruto too ran outside and the culprit remained unknown.

Feeling wronged deep in his heart, Naruto had hesitated briefly before carefully continuing the refinement of the Grade Three spirit medicines. As time passed, his expression became odd. He found himself always refining some weird medicines. The signs appeared in his earliest refinement attempts when he produced that black pill which attracted all those ants, and there was also that Aphrodisiac Pill as well…

The weird elixirs scared even himself.

"Could it be because of my unwillingness to abide by the established medicine recipes? Perhaps stubbornly changing the recipes to follow my own judgement is the cause? Or is it because of my extraordinary talent, making even the Heavens jealous of me and thus throwing countless obstacles down my path?" Naruto stared at the tens of colorful pills before him, frowning.

Some of these pills maintained their spherical shape, some looked like cubes, and some had no defined shape, like mud carelessly kneaded together. A single look was enough to know they weren't ordinary spirit medicines. But even so, they all emitted a Medicinal Aroma...

But even with a hundred guts, Naruto would never have the courage to try consuming them himself. Who the hell knew what effects they would produce?

"What I pursue is the absolute perfection in the Dao of Medicine, flawless like the white clouds in the sky, detached from the world. The hardships infesting this path don't scare me, my determination will push me forward. That's what makes me who I am, the one and only Naruto." Taking a deep breath, determination surfaced on his face. As if a martyr, Naruto stashed away the pills and continued his refinements.

Soon, half a year was swallowed up by his refinements. At this point, barely anyone refined in the Medicine Refinement Pavilion anymore, it was simply too dangerous. In Naruto's room, the pill furnace blew up once again and a huge crack appeared. Naruto was sullenly offering to compensate with Spirit Stones, but even so, he was politely asked to leave.

Just as he started thinking about using his identity as the Sect Head's Junior Brother, he received a message from Zhang Fatso One through a transmission jade slip, asking for his whereabouts.

With Zhang Fatso One coming, Naruto decided to drop the issue with the Medicine Refinement Pavilion and took the path path to the Scented Cloud Mountain, feeling wronged.

"The pursuit of absolute perfection in the Dao of Medicine is obviously filled with hurdles! I, Naruto, am like a cloud in the sky and will therefore never yield! Straightening his back and lifting up his chin, Uzumaki Xaiochun felt that something was wrong. It was midday, and the sect was usually the liveliest at such times. Scented Cloud Mountain was a lot more quiet today. Taking a closer look, he could hardly see a disciple above the sixth level of Chakra Condensation present, most of them were either at the sixth or lower.

Naruto was flabbergasted as he walked back to his own courtyard, only to see a tall and slim youth pacing back and forth in front of it, seemingly very excited.

This man was Zhang Fatso One after losing weight.

"Big brother." Naruto hurriedly shouted out.

"Ninth Junior Brother!" Zhang Fatso One immediately turned around and laughed with a smile. He didn't care about Naruto's status in the sect, in his eyes, Naruto was still his Junior Brother.

Naruto invited him inside his courtyard, and the two of them talked a bit about how they've been recently before Naruto asked a question, curious.

"Senior Brother, you don't visit me very often, what brings you here today? Just tell me if you need me, Uzumaki Xiacohun, to do something for you." For Naruto, Zhang Fatso One was really like a big brother. Every time he recalled the many scenes from the Burning Stoves Kituchiha filled Naruto with warmth.

As Zhang Fatso One cleared his throat, Naruto could clearly see the pride and excitement in his eyes. Taking a look at Naruto, he patted his stomach and a smack suddenly sounded out instead of the slap produced when he still had his fat belly.

"Ninth Junior Brother, let me tell you a great secret!"

Upon hearing the word secret, Naruto's eyes opened wide and his ears perked up. He felt that these words were a bit familiar.

"From today onwards, I, Zhang Fatso One, will be receiving great respect in the Spirit River Sect. Oh, the amount of disciples who'd seek to curry favors with me, perhaps even the Foundation Establishment elders will be polite to me." Zhang Fatso One proudly announced.

"Ah? How come? Are you the Little Turtle too?" Naruto was stunned.

"What Little Turtle? Junior brother, you know that my master is the head of Purple Cauldron Mountain, Xu Meixiang, right?" Zhang Fatso One was in high spirits as he looked at Naruto and spoke in a low voice.

Naruto nodded. He knew about it, and also understood why Zhang Fatso One had lost his fat. It was because of his master's dislike for fatties, to the point where some weird ideas sprung in her mind.

"You know what my master's best known for? Spirit refinement! And guess what I have been learning from my master? Spirit refinement!"

"Haha, turns out I, Zhang Fatso One, have been blessed by the Heavens with a talent for spirit refinement. Even my master showers me with praise! Just today, she told me that with my talent, it shouldn't take me too many years before I become the first great master of spirit refinement from the Spirit River Sect!" Standing up, Zhang Fatso One excitedly raised his head to the sky, his voice booming as he stood as if atop of the world.

"Spirit refinement?" Naruto blinked, and after his posture and boasts, he put on a face filled with respect.

Seeing Naruto's display, Zhang Fatso One became even merrier as he patted him on his shoulder.

"Ninth Junior Brother, I can already see it. When people come to me to refine their things, I'll only accept the requests I like, anything that displeases me can bug off! And for the ones I agree on, it'll be expensive. But for you though, and Fatso Three, and anyone from the Burning Stoves Kituchiha - I won't take a single Spirit Stone from any of you! We're brothers! Just prepare your materials and I'll refine it for you!" Zhang Fatso One was having his moment. He had been quite troubled after going up the Purple Cauldron Mountain, but after the discovery of his spirit refinement talent, he had become wild with joy and his first thought was to go and share it with Naruto.

"Nice, Big Bro!" Naruto also exposed a gleeful expression and cheered.

"Come, come, take out an item for me, anything at all, and I'll refine it right before your eyes. Give me a weapon now, and I guarantee you'll qualify for the war in a few months, I guarantee you'll rank in the top ten of the South Bank and go represent it against the North Bank in the Heaven's Chosen War!" Zhang Fatso One happily shouted.

"Uh…" Naruto blinked as he stared at the excited Zhang Fatso One. Seeing how excited he was, he took out an ordinary flying sword of the Spirit River Sect from his storage pouch. He had quite a few of these swords and expectantly handed one to Zhang Fatso One.

Taking the flying sword from him, Zhang Fatso One took a deep breath as he patted his own storage pouch, sending tens of ores out, hovering next to the sword in midair.

With his yes closed, Zhang Fatso One's cultivation exploded after a moment. It wasn't as strong as Naruto's, and it seemed to be just at the peak of the sixth level of Chakra Condensation. With his hair whipping about, Zhang Fatso One raised his left hand and a strong silver glow suddenly appeared.

As the light grew brighter, gusts of wind were formed, causing the Chakra in the air to roil as faint streaks of glowing Chakra shockingly gathered from the surroundings. They charged straight at the ores, passing through them again and again, before finally nesting themselves in Zhang Fatso One's left hand. In the process, the ores quickly disappeared, half of them vanishing in less than a blink of an eye.

Naruto's eyes glowed with amazement, it was the first time seeing someone else refine. It was very different from his spirit refinement with the Turtle-shelled Pot. It was as if the refiner himself communed with the skies and the earth, drawing upon the majestic and violent forces of nature and channeling them through the ores, transforming them into a gentler energy.

It wasn't long before Zhang Fatso One's body started shaking. After half an incense stick's worth of time, he took a deep breath and abruptly opened his eyes. He swept the now glaring silver light in his left hand along the blade's body.

"Spirit Opening!"

The nothingness around them seemed to shake for a bit, the silver light instantly flew out of his hand and transformed into countless streaks of energy that drilled into the blade, turning it silver in the blink of an eye.

It was quite a sight. Naruto took a deep breath, genuinely impressed.

A while later, Zhang Fatso One handed the silver blade to Naruto, out of breath.

"Here, this sword has been Opened. Infuse it with your own Chakra and silver patterns will form!" Zhang Fatso One wiped the sweat of his brow and confidently announced.

Naruto took the sword from him, excited. He released some Chakra from his body and directed it into the blade. But just as they were fusing, a cracking sound could be heard. The silver light on the blade dimmed and disappeared. Simultaneously, many cracks formed on the blade, as if it was unable to withstand the violent energy that came from heaven and earth, and quickly turned to scrap.

"Ah?" Naruto paused as Zhang Fatso One stood blanked out. They threw each other a shocked look.

Clearing his throat, Naruto was just about to point out that his sword's quality was too low, when Zhang Fatso pulled the sword from his hands. His eyes bulging and his breathing shallow, he inspected it carefully. After a moment, he heavily stomped with his foot.

"It was my mistake just now, I didn't control the fusing energies well enough, resulting in the energy gathered from between the heaven and earth to be too violent. Ninth brother, give me another flying sword, I'll do another spirit refinement!" Zhang Fatso One stared at Naruto, determined, his eyes bloodshot.

Naruto couldn't bear it, so he took out another flying sword out. Zhang Fatso One took a deep breath and a serious look appeared on his face. After a moment, the sword was filled with a silver glow, and he handed it back to Naruto.

"How about… you try it yourself, big brother?" Naruto hesitantly asked.

"First iron rule of refinement. Any item being spiritually refined, unless it is a possession of the refiner himself, are definitely not allowed to be tested spiritually by someone else. This is an iron rule, brother. Breaking it even once is sure to bring misfortune." Zhang Fatso One said seriously.

Seeing his determination, Naruto quickly took the sword. He really wanted to succeed, for another failure was sure to injure Zhang Fatso One's pride greatly.

Pondering for a bit, Naruto suddenly opened his mouth to speak. "Um… Big bro, can you wait for me here? I'm gonna try this in my room, perhaps I was too nervous just now."

Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Chapter 81 - Ancient Art: The Spirit's Constitution

Zhang Fatso One was nervous as well, and upon hearing Naruto's words, he thought it made sense, so he nodded in agreement.

"Right, my master said once that I shouldn't be seeing whether it succeeds or fails. Ninth rother, go to your room and infuse your Chakra inside then." Zhang Fatso One cleared his throat and urged him on while pretending to be calm.

Taking a few quick steps, Naruto entered inside his room. He looked at the sword in his hand, frowning. Worried that he might undermine Zhang Fatso One's confidence, he didn't dare make a careless attempt. With a hand seal, the Turtle-shell Pot appeared.

"Ah, Big Brother has previously been oppressed since the start. Now that he's finally regained his confidence with much difficulty, I can't just let him leave in disappointment. If I do it this way, I do not know whether it will cause the flying sword's spirit refinement to be a success or not." As Naruto muttered to himself, he lighted a one-coloured flame and tossed the silver sword in his hands which had not undergone Chakra infusion into the pot.

A dazzling silver light appeared, and after flashing once again, Naruto recalled the Turtle-shell Pot and picked up the silvery flying sword. Gritting his teeth, Chakra erupted from his body and tunneled into the sword body without a problem. This caused the silver glow to retract and form a silver pattern on the blade.

"Success!" Naruto was pleasantly surprised. He didn't know whether it was purely Zhang Fatso's efforts or the changes he made afterwards that produced this result, but he quickly pushed open the door and walked out.

"Big Brother, you did it, you really did it! Big Brother you're really good!"

In the courtyard was the nervous Zhang Fatso One, his face rigid and body shaking. Seeing Naruto walk out with the silver-patterned sword, he slapped his thigh and laughed towards the sky in delight.

"How about that, how about that!"

"Just as I said, I didn't control the strength well enough! Back at the Purple Cauldron Mountain, I even succeeded thrice in a row, even my master said I was gifted, you see? Ninth brother, we succeeded this time, didn't we!" Zhang Fatso One was very excited. Beaming with joy, he took the sword Naruto handed to him and inspected it with a grin.

Beside him, Naruto's eyes exposed deep respect, exciting Zhang

Fatso One even further. Taking a deep breath, he motioned with his arm.

"Come, I'm feeling good today! I'll refine it once again, let's make this a twice-refined sword!"

"Big Brother, perhaps some other time…" Naruto felt something was wrong. He vaguely remembered that the sect had many rules regarding spirit refinement.

"No problem!" Zhang Fatso One didn't listen as he held the sword and concentrated hard and began another spirit refinement on the flying sword with utmost care.

The second spirit refinement was clearly much harder and Zhang Fatso One had already burned through most of his ores. His body was trembling and he even consumed quite a few pills as he struggled to channel the energies between heaven and the earth into the sword's blade. When the blade finally shone with a silver light, Zhang Fatso One dropped on the ground and sat, breathing heavily.

Excitement was evident in his eyes as he handed the flying sword to Naruto.

"Give it another try!"

Nodding immediately, Naruto took the sword, but before he could proceed, Zhang Fatso gripped his hand and spoke seriou

sly.

"Don't do it here. Let me tell you something ninth brother, the most important part about infusing Chakra is precisely believing. Believing in it is the same as having the Heavens' assistance. Since you first succeeded in your room, do it there again!"

Blinking, Naruto felt that Zhang Fatso One had truly comprehended spirit refinement. After nodding seriously, he headed back to his room, convinced.

"Maybe senior brother's spirit refinement is really that good, and even if I didn't use the Turtle-shell Pot, it would have still succeeded." As he thought of this, Naruto gazed at the flying sword in his hands, and without using the Turtle-shell Pot, he spread his Chakra and directly infused it into the blade.

In a blink of an eye, the silver light flashed once again, only to rapidly dim moments later. With cracking sounds, the flying sword turned to scrap.

His expression immediately turned bitter. Just as he was starting to fret, Zhang Fatso's anxious voice sounded out.

"Ninth brother, I think I saw a silver light? How was it, did it succeed?"

"Oh… I didn't try yet, I'll try right now…" Naruto answered quickly, panicking.

Inside the courtyard, Zhang Fatso One turned silent, his face bitter. He wasn't stupid, he noticed the silver light flash after Naruto entered the cabin.

He sighed softly, he knew that Naruto didn't want him to feel down. He took a deep breath and said toward the cabin.

"Ninth brother, your Senior Brother know you tried your best. It's alright I'll… I'll be going first…" Zhang Fatso One who had come bursting with excitement had now taken a heavy blow. This inevitably caused his mood to plummet.

He knew that that he had been reckless. According to his master, spirit refinement was a very mysterious art, and no one was guaranteed success; no one had a perfect success rate. However, in the cultivator world, there seemed to be odd phenomenon … Success is for the successful, failure is for the failures.

It was a mouthful, but actually it was simply describing the power of belief. It was a mysterious phenomenon, as if confidence itself resulted in success.

So in the cultivation world, there were two ways to go about it. One was the traditional way, the spirit refiner was only responsible for the spirit refinement, and without infusing the Chakra themselves, they hand the refined item to the owner who should in turn, never infuse it in front of the refiner.

This way, regardless of success or failure, the mind of the refiner would not be affected. After returning the item to the owner, the refiner would forget the event and remain calm and confident.

The other way, was a way of cultivation. An ancient art known as The Spirit's Constitution. It was the art of the much more mysterious method, requiring the refiner to witness the result of the refinement. If it was a success, the refiner would grow stronger. More successes would lead to greater formidability. It was, however, too extreme. Too many failures could potentially destroy any talent residing within the refiner, resulting in one no longer daring to involve themselves with spirit refinement.

Even so, many still pursued the extreme. Even Zhang Fatso One's master, Xu Meixiang, admitted that people who practiced this method and witnessed continuous successes would have their confidence hugely boosted, making their spirit refinement shockingly good.

The greatest treasure within the Spirit River Sect was the Heaven's Edge sword. It was refined ten times, and was done so precisely by one of the refiners insane enough to go down the extreme way.

Zhang Fatso was bitter, he knew that those in the Purple Cauldron Mountain walked the traditional path, but he had been overly excited, so he messed up, losing his inner peace. And now, who knew how long it would take for his confidence to be restored?

In his room, Naruto stared at Zhang Fatso One's disappointed figure through the window. He gritted his teeth, he didn't want Zhang Fatso One to just leave like that, disappointed, so he quickly took out another flying sword, summoned his Turtle-shell Pot, and refined it twice.

Smiling bitterly, Zhang Fatso One pushed open the courtyard's gate, and just when he was about to leave, Naruto's surprised shout arrived.

"Big brother, it was a success!" Naruto pushed open the cabin's door, in his hands was a flying sword with two silver patterns on it, and on his face, an overjoyed expression could be seen.

"Really?!" Zhang Fatso One was startled, he quickly turned around to see the flying sword held in Naruto's hands. His body shook with disbelief, but excitement slowly surged into his eyes.

"Haha! I, Zhang Fatso One, am truly a Heaven's Chosen for spirit refinement! To succeed twice in spirit refinement, twice, ah I actually succeeded!"

Zhang Fatso One hugged Naruto happily, tears of joy almost ran down from his eyes. In reality, his talent in cultivation was average, and he would have never entered the Spirit River Sect if his ancestors didn't have relations with his current master.

Back at Burning Stoves Kituchiha, he had to use those precious treasures to reach the peak of the third level of Chakra Condensation. Upon entering the outer sect, without those treasures, his cultivation lost its speed. Although he wished the best for Black Fatso Three and Naruto, as they surpassed him, he couldn't help but feel dispirited.

Now that he realised his potential in spirit refinement, he was swept with joy that would be hard for others to imagine. Knowing that he can now also be useful, he felt incredibly excited and laughed towards the skies. As great confidence surged inside his entire body, faint traces of a strange energy were gathering around his body... These traces of strange energy was precisely the materialisation of his willpower.

The spirit refinement's extreme way was one where greater confidence promised greater willpower, which in turn promised greater success!

Perhaps all that was needed was for the refiner to simply believe in themselves. With that confidence, successful refinements would come, and the mysterious willpower would form.

Zhang Fatso One left excited and joyful. As he disappeared into the distance, Naruto stood in the courtyard wondering whether he had done the right thing. But after looking at Zhang Fatso One's happy face once again, he received his answer.

A few days after that, Naruto heard from Xu Baocai that the reason for the lack of disciples on the Scented Cloud Mountain was due to the outer sect disciples above the sixth level of Chakra Condensation desperately trying to reach the eight level in order to join the Heaven's Chosen War.

The Heaven's Chosen War between the South and North Bank was scheduled to begin in three months, and it would be the center of not just the entire Spirit River Sect's attention, but also the entire Eastern Forest continent's cultivator clans's attention.

This battle involved the top ten of each Bank's outer sect, who would be the Spirit River Sect's dragons and phoenixes, rising up through the ranks and entering the inner sect. Both fame and influence in the sect would put these people in a different light than ordinary outer sect disciples.

(ED note: dragons and phoenixes here is referring to the outstanding male and female disciples)

The top ten in the Heaven's Chosen War, which occurred once in every thirty years, would have their names passed down in glorious legends. They would become famous within the Spirit River Sect and receive acknowledgement even from other similarly formidable sects.

At the same time, the Spirit River Sect would also give the top ten great gifts, especially to the number one. It was said that the Contribution Points alone could measure up to a hundred thousand, not to mention other great treasures and the opportunity to enter the sect's treasury. As such, many were excited.

Not to mention the qualifications to enter the legendary Legacy Order, this brought the top ten disciples of the Heaven's Chosen War an even greater motivation.

Before the Heaven's Chosen War, the North and South Bank would determine their top ten strongest disciples that would represent their respective Bank.

And this time, the requirement had been set at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, anyone who wished to participate and enter the inner sect would need to fulfill two requirements; to be at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation and to pass the examination. Usually, the promotional examinations could be quite a lot of different things. But every thirty years, for the Heaven's Chosen War, the examination would always be through a battle.

And this sort of trial was acknowledged by the sect disciples to be the toughest trial, and at the same time, the most anticipated one as well!

It was the reason why many outer sect disciples chose not to take the previous promotional examinations, they were waiting for the qualification battles to promote themselves by being in the the top fifty, hoping to enter the top ten and represent their Bank in the Heaven's Chosen War between the South and North Bank.

People such as Shangguan Tianyou, Zabuza, Kurenai and some others all had the same idea of aiming for the top ten and enter the Inner Sect as the top ten in the Heaven's Chosen War. And ultimately, years later, enter the Legacy Order.

Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Chapter 82 - Heaven's Chosen of the South Bank

The North bank, in the past thousand years, always stood above the

South Bank, more than half of the top ten of every War of the Heaven's Chosen had always been consisted of disciples from the North Bank.

First place was, of course, always claimed by the North bank as well. This brought great shame to the South Bank.

The fact that the North Bank had four peaks, whereas the South Bank only had three peaks, could be considered as the main factor. Yet, a thousand years before, the South Bank, with just three peaks, was completely different from what it was now. From spirit refinement to medicinal refinement, they were the pillars of the sect. No one dared to cross their path, and the sword refining Green Peak Mountain of the

South Bank even had the title of Spirit River Sect's strongest mountain.

Things were different now, due to certain reasons, the tides were completely overturned. The North Bank had grown strong. After each victory, they always gained a massive amount of resources that continued to tilt the favors to their side, increasing their power level as a whole as time went by. In addition to the vast differences between the South Bank's and the North Bank's cultivation methods, the North Bank made many external sects and cultivator clans regard the North Bank as Spirit River Sect's strongest, which made them the ultimate leader of the Spirit River Sect.

The Spirit River Sect's South Bank was good at manipulating object, while the North Bank was good at controlling beasts!

Disciples who had just entered the sect in the South Bank would learn the Purple Cauldron Chakra Manipulation Technique, just like when Naruto first entered. On the North Bank, however, newly admitted disciples would study the Tong Tian Shape Manipulation Technique!

That was why the Ten Thousand Herbs Pavilion not only had the five volumes of herbology, but also had the five volumes of spirit beasts!

During the battles the last thousand of years, the South Bank had managed to lose every single one of them! The one thirty years past, in particular, had only one representative from the South Bank that was able to reach the top ten, infuriating the ancestors and elders of the peaks in the South Bank so much, that they made up their mind to personally go out, a reason why three new Heaven's Chosen from the South Bank had appeared.

Shangguan Tianyou, Zabuza and Kurenai were the ultimate participants prepared by the South Bank this time around. They had been taken in by various ancestors of different mountains as disciples, and were nurtured with with utmost care, pushing them to the eight level of Chakra Condensation. In terms of battle prowess, they had already surpassed many of those in the inner sect.

Shangguan Tianyou was particularly even more shocking. He was an expert in the technique of void and was regarded as the South Bank's number one outer sect Heaven's Chosen.

Zabuza, a lightning specialist, on the other hand, had shockingly strong lightning array skills, winning praise from even Elder Xu Meixiang, essentially qualifying him as someone sure to make the top ten.

There was also Kurenai. She did have her interest focused on medicine at most times, but in actuality, her array formation skills were personally taught by Toruho himself, making reach an extremely high level.

After learning all of this from Xu Baocai, Naruto was displeased, feeling that the North Bank was bullying them.

"Just wait until I achieve the Foundation Establishment, I'll slaughter the lot at the North Bank and show them who's the better outer sect disciple!" Naruto proudly placed this thought at the bottom of his heart. As for the qua

lification battles of the North Bank and South Bank, and even the war of the Heaven's Chosen after that, he had no interest at all.

Battles and war just weren't his thing, he felt that it didn't fit his status. He was an Honor Disciple, the junior disciple of the Sect Head, and after all, he placed himself on a different level from his peers. Naruto thought that he shouldn't involve himself with the younger generation.

"What if I fail to beat them, though? Wouldn't that shame senior brother Sect Head. Oh well, I guess it's better to stay out of this." Clearing his throat, Naruto felt that such a sacrifice for the sect and the sect head was something worth talking to his master with an incense stick.

Or so he thought. Two months after that little thought, he completely forgot all about it. Zhang Fatso One had been visiting him to refine more stuff, then using his Turtle-shell pot when Zhang Fatso One wasn't looking, everytime he unveiled the result, Zhang Fatso One would always respond with excitement and joy.

What was originally disbelief coming from Zhang Fatso One gradually became surprise, and then it turned to glee. Now it was but a daily occurrence, thoroughly convincing him that he was truly a genius of spirit refinement.

And under that radiant confidence, his refinement skills grew stronger along with his willpower.

As time slipped by, a month passed. Three days before the qualification battles, Naruto received a notice that any disciple at the eight level of Chakra Condensation was required to participate, without any exceptions.

After scanning through the contents of the jade scroll, he sighed, not thinking too much of it as he continued refining.

It wasn't until three days later at dawn did he walk out nonchalantly along with a mass of other disciples, their expressions solemn, dead serious. Seeing this, he snapped out of his carefreeness and left the mountain as the bells of the South Bank rang.

It wasn't long before they reached a valley behind the three mountains of the South Bank. It was a cavernous space, with roads made of white jade. The valley was similar to a grand square, and many dragon pillars were raised towards the sky.

Between every two pillars, there was a sculpture. They were sculptures of vicious beasts, exquisitely carved into a vivid likeliness, causing their primal and brutal intentions to be emitted in all directions and it made the entire valley square exist within a state of silent murderous intentions.

On the mountain walls surrounding them, there was an elevated platform where tens of seats were positioned for the ancestors of the three peaks such as Toruho and Xu Meixiang. Even the sect head of the Spirit River Sect himself, Zheng Yuandong, had already made an appearance.

The qualification battles of the two banks were held separately, the battles of the North Bank were scheduled to come after the South Bank's. As the head of the sect, Zheng Yuandong was required to be present in both parts of the battle and not allowed to pick sides.

Toruho and the others were beside Zheng Yuandong, chatting merrily.

Behind them were the elders of the three mountains, Elder Zhou included. They were either talking with each other in low voices or resting with closed eyes. Some gazed down to see the approaching mass of disciples.

In the crowd, Naruto had a lazy gaze as he reached the square, moving to the side. Curious, he looked around to find that it was somewhere he hadn't been before. The sculptures in particular caught his eye, pulling him over to investigate it in detail.

"These beasts seem so alive. Interesting." Naruto even noticed some of the fur on the beasts swaying with the wind, finding it unbelievably impressive.

Sounds started coming from the crowd suddenly.

"Senior sister Zhou is here!"

"Senior sister Zhou's cultivation had already reached the eight level of Chakra Condensation long ago. Without a doubt, she will definitely enter the top ten. With her identity, it's safe to say that she'd reach even the top three!"

A blue streak of light came into sight as it travelled from the distant clouds, changing into the form of Kurenai in a blink of an eye. With her hand curled into a fist, she made a greeting to the platform at the top, before making her way to the side, closing her eyes to rest. Seemingly calm, Kurenai, deep inside her heart, still felt a certain panic. She could not lose, her years of training would be for naught if that ever happened.

On the platform, Toruho gave her a kind smile, a hint of praise evident in his eyes.

"Qinghou, this Kurenai… Not only does she have great skill in medicine, the might of her techniques are very formidable as well. Certainly, she will be able to bring glory to the South Bank." Zheng Yuandong said with a laugh.

"You have overpraised. This disciple of mine still have a lot of room to grow, but her nature is indeed rare. A disciple with great potential, I'm sure." Toruho modestly spoke.

Just as the many present disciples admired Kurenai with envious eyes, Naruto glanced at her as he cleared his throat. Imitating Toruho, he folded his arms and looked at her with praise.

The hype about Kurenai was still going on when the crowd suddenly went into an uproar, many of them staring at the sky with their heads raised high. As the sky rumbled, a single streak of a silver lightning flashed by, and a green-clothed youth could be seen pridefully riding the lightning.

Behind him, uncountable streaks of lightning swam about, rumbling with power. He flew past Kurenai, landing on the valley square. The moment his foot made contact with the ground, the surrounding ten meter area exploded into an electrical pool, and massive amounts of frightening lightning surged out.

On his body, lightning swirled about all the same, circling around him.

"It's Purple Cauldron Mountain's Zabuza! Senior brother Lu, who went into solitary meditation the moment he entered the sect, is an inheritor of the rare lightning blood! His arrival today… look at the amount of lightning he is releasing!"

"Zabuza… Impressive. What is he practicing? How can he possibly control lightning to this degree?" The crowd was in an uproar. Proud, Zabuza greeted the high platform while cupping his fist, and turned to walk to the side. As he turned, the outer sect disciples in his vision amounted to nothing, the sole person he acknowledged as a rival was only Kurenai, no one else.

On the platform, Xu Meixiang smiled lightly, satisfaction was obvious in her eyes.

"Sect head, this disciple of mine and the extreme art, lightning manipulation method… What are your thoughts?"

"That electricity and his eight level of Chakra Condensation… With something like that, I'm sure that this kid is already a Heaven's Chosen that will reach the Foundation Establishment." Zheng Yuandong smiled slightly, taking a few more glances at Zabuza.

At this moment, the ancestor of Green Peak Mountain raised his head. He was skinny and pale, but he gave anyone around him a sense of danger. The edge of his lips curled into a smile as he looked into the distance.

With a sudden change of expression, Zheng Yuandong shifted his gaze at where the Green Peak Mountain's ancestor was looking. All elders followed suit.

With a flash of light, an immense power grew near, rumbling the skies and distorting the clouds. The presence was strong enough that the clouds swirled and rolled, and the spectators could make out a slight figure of an ancient jade sword as it flashed into a green rainbow, splitting everything in its path, going straight for the square.

This ancient jade sword was made of green bronze, its great age was hinted by its appearance. It was quite a sight.

On the flying sword stood a young man clothed in outer sect disciple's robes. His pitch black hair was flowing with the air, and his handsome face made him even more conspicuous. Arms folded, his presence and wrath was shocking. He was covered in a layer of dim golden light, and the rainbow behind him transformed into visions of jade lotuses.

Even farther behind was a thirty foot beast with a fish head and a dragon's body, swimming in the skies as if it was an ocean, leaving rain in its trail.

There was still a distance between the youth and the square when a gust of wind and rain blew past the area, forcing many of the disciples to lower their heads. They took a deep breath after witnessing that scene.

"It's senior brother Shangguan Tianyou!"

"The top Heaven's Chosen of the South Bank, Shangguan Tianyou!"

"Rumour has it that he possesses the sword spirit's body, and he is the reincarnation of a great swordsman. For some reason, the heavens felt guilty about his death, and so he was blessed with innumerable good fortune. At the age of three, he managed to come across an ancient blade as he was walking, at the age of seven, a young Scarlet Cloud Beast fell from the sky and made him its owner, and at the age of thirteen, he obtained a golden light body. Therefore, he was given the name Tianyou!"

Kurenai slowly opened her eyes, and when she saw what was in the skies, her expression turned solemn.

Zabuza, who was further away, had his head quickly raised as well, sparks of lightning could be seen flashing across his eyes as countless streams of electricity grew restless around him. He made his presence known, his eyes seemed to reveal provocation. .

"Shangguan Tianyou, greets the Sect Head, Master, Ancestors, and all the Elders present." The green rainbow descended as he greeted towards the platform while cupping his fist. He swiftly landed in one motion, smiling as he nodded to the disciples around him.

His eyes were kind, and almost all of the disciples responded to his nod with their own greeting, some of the female disciples even blushing as they glanced at him.

"Good. Good, good!" On the platform, sect head Zheng Yuandong's eyes revealed a surprising glow to them and he burst out laughing.

"Regardless of whether Shangguan Tianyou is the reincarnation of someone great, the fact that he could obtain the sword spirit's body before the Foundation Establishment is such a rare occurrence in this world!"

"This time, the participants of the South Bank are too promising! Astonishingly promising!" Zheng Yuandong laughed, looking at the ancestor of the Green Peak Mountain.

Toruho and the others smiled as well, the elders behind them laughing. The atmosphere seemed to say that all shame the South Bank had experienced would be wiped away in this war!

He was about to continue speaking when he saw Naruto standing beside a sculpture with his arms folded and his face smug, emitting the air of someone great.

"This Naruto… What's he up to now?" Zheng Yuandong let out a small chuckle.

5th guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Marcus, Nat Nat

Edited by: Arch

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Chapter 83 - Would Elder Zhou Please Take the Field?

It was not only Zheng Yuandong who had noticed Naruto. After all, the others were in an uproar, yet Naruto stood beside the statue and assumed a seniorly air. His different mannerisms were quite eyecatching.

"This kid, Naruto, has also reached the eighth level of Qi

Condensation. He had even previously narrowly escaped the Fallen Uchiha Clan. I can see that this boy will definitely be in the top ten and even has hope for the top five." An Elder who was on the high platform smiled as he spoke.

"That is right. That boy's herbal knowledge is extraordinary, and his body-cultivation techniques are astonishing. He might be able to become this qualification battle's dark horse."

Listening to the words said by a multitude of people, Toruho and Zheng Yuandong felt their faces brightened up as they laughed.

"This child is not like the others. His conviction is strong and far greater in comparison to those of his age. When I brought him up the mountain that year, I once asked him why he wanted to cultivate. He told me that he wanted to achieve immortality." Toruho said with a smile on his face. When he looked at Naruto, there was a gentle look in his eyes. He had already traded for the protective magical treasure which he planned to give to Naruto after the qualification battle ended.

"It is best if everyone does not continue praising him any further. Even though this child is my Junior Brother, but as Qinghou should know, that child has a naughty and mischievous personality and still needs to learn self-discipline. However, he is pure and simple in nature and has a personality that is not fond of being in the limelight which is also very excellent." The Sect Master smiled as he spoke. Even though he put it that way, but everyone could also detect Zheng Yuandong's expectations.

When everyone was laughing and chattering on the high platform, Uzumaki

Xiaochun was standing there beside a statue in the arena. He looked at

Zabuza who was filled with boundless pride and then glanced at Shangguan Tianyou who was the object of numerous cheers. Naruto was apprehensive of them both.

Naruto looked at Zabuza whose whole body was covered in lightning to the point that his hair stood on end as he recalled the scene where he was about to be struck by lightning before. As for Shangguan Tianyou's good fortune and that extraordinary ancient sword, as well as the imposing aura surrounding his whole body that seemed to be as startling as the heavens, it even more so caused Naruto to suck in a deep breath.

He felt that these two people were truly too powerful.

However, when he remembered his own status, Naruto quickly let out a dry cough and once again nodded with a smile on his face, assuming a look of admiration in his eyes.

'The more Heaven's Chosen there are, the greater our Spirit River Sect will be. I am an Honourable Disciple and also the Sect Master's Junior Brother. I definitely shouldn't compete with these juniors. They are the future of the Sect and I cannot bully them. Yes, if I were to compete with them, I would have to wait for these Heaven's Chosen to enter the Inner Sect!" Naruto made up his mind and appeared to be very relaxed.

More and more people gradually came, and all of the eight level Chakra Condensation outer sect disciples were preparing for the battle. Some who had not reached the required cultivation level were also present, they naturally wanted to observe and learn from a grand occasion such as the qualification battle.

There were thousands of eighth level Chakra Condensation disciples at

the three mountains on the South Bank. In this moment, they were all gathered in this mountain valley, and there were also many within them that Naruto had never even seen in his life. After all, not everybody loved the noise and excitement, and a lot of them preferred being alone. Their cultivations were unknown to others, and they did not necessarily have the thought of borrowing a grand occasion such as the one being held today to become a sensation overnight.

There were even more outer sect disciples in the surroundings who, with their level of cultivation, were unable to participate in the qualification battle and were currently only acting as spectators. Every single one of them were looking expectantly at the thousands of eighth level Chakra Condensation disciples. They were all waiting in their hearts to find out exactly who among the thousands would climb to the ranks of the top hundred, and who would enter the top ten in the following qualification battle.

As for the top three, there was no doubt in everyone's eyes that it would definitely be Shangguan Tianyou, Zabuza and Kurenai. They were even certain that the rankings would be in this order.

As the thousands of eighth level Chakra Condensation slowly went silent, the surrounding spectating disciples also gradually quietened down. A stifling atmosphere enveloped the whole place, making the atmosphere even chillier.

It seemed to be so pressurising that people struggled to catch their breath as anxiety bloomed in their heart.

Naruto realised with astonishment that he too was actually feeling some unfathomable pressure, even though he wasn't planning on participating in the examination. He looked around as he struggled to relax his body.

At this moment, Toruho's voice suddenly echoed out from the high platform.

"The grand competition between both the South and North Bank is near at hand!"

"There are a few among you that have been alone all this while and your true abilities are unknown to anyone. Therefore, this is the time where you have the opportunity to reveal yourself to the world. You need not worry that your cultivation has risen too quickly or you have extraordinary luck that would make the seniors in the Sect greedy. Cultivation is a personal matter. Everyone has their own secrets. The Spirit River Sect has developed from a small sect ten thousands of years ago to what it is today. It was definitely not by chance. Every single disciple has their own luck. If you are able to obtain it, then that is decreed by fate!"

"There are also those among you whom others address as the Heaven's Chosen, but those are the ones who only rely on their innate talents.

Those who have talents but ultimately fail can be found everywhere.

Therefore, today is for you to prove yourselves if you are worthy of having been called… Heaven's Chosen! Toruho's voice was deep and held excitement in it as though it resonated with the surrounding atmosphere, causing everyone in the mountain valley to breathe heavily.

Especially those who had secrets of their own, their eyes filled with fervor.

Even Zabuza and the others had also raised their heads as fighting spirit surfaced on their faces.

"In this time's qualification battle, the top hundred participants will be promoted to inner sect disciples, and the top ten will represent the South Bank to participate in the grand competition. This is a grand occasion that happens once every half of a sixty-year cycle. This is also the only opportunity available once every thirty years for you to make yourselves known in our sect's North Bank!" Toruho flourished his large sleeve as the an earth-shaking roar rumbled. In this moment, a light pillar erupted from all of the three mountains on the South Bank and soared towards the sky.

There was an earth-shattering noise and the firmaments roiled, as though a large invisible hand was tearing through the air until it reached the side mountain valley and transformed into a bridge!

That bridge was simplistic and ancient, as though it had existed for countless years. Every single one of the stones that formed that bridge had ancient runes radiating on its surface.

This bridge was a full hundred zhang wide and its end was not in sight. Its sudden appearance seemed to tower above the world. This originally majestic mountain valley had suddenly become an entrance to this bridge.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

"This bridge is named Spirit River Bridge and is one of the most precious asset of the Spirit River Sect. It has now been requested here to serve as your road of trial. All eighth level Chakra Condensation disciples are to step onto that bridge after nine chimes of the bell!" Toruho was no longer speaking, but it was Xu Meixiang instead who stood up on the high platform. She was incredibly beautiful. She had a solemn expression on her face as she stood there, her clothes billowing and her long hair dancing with the wind. She looked as though she was not a human, but a fairy instead.

"The one who reaches the end the fastest is the first and so on, this is how the top ten and top hundred disciples will be chosen!" As Xu Meixiang's voice echoed out, the disciples were filled with agitation as they looked toward that bridge.

This kind of method to have a competition was to test the participants' overall quality. Moreover, it was not stated in the rules that people were forbidden from fighting, which also meant that as long as the person did not die, regardless of what method was used, as long as they could be the fastest to reach the end, they would be the first!

Moreover, one could imagine that some obstructions would definitely appear on this bridge. It was extremely possible that even luck could become a type of strength.

One by one, everyone present started breathing rapidly, and their eyes flickered with determination. At the same time, their cultivations were raging inside their bodies, Naruto let out a yawn from within the crowd and the chime of the bell resounded.

Once, twice, thrice… fourth, fifth, sixth time...

These chimes that rang out one by one struck in everyone's mind causing all of the participating disciples in this qualification battle to focus their minds. They circulated their cultivations within their body faster and faster. Each and every one seemed imposing as they prepared to unleash their full strength.

Up until the seventh chime, the eighth… In the instant that the ninth chime resounded, a monstrously loud explosion sounded out. Almost every one of the thousands of eighth level Chakra Condensation disciples' cultivations erupted in an instant. Each and every one of them shot forth like an arrow from a bow!

Thousands of people were dashing. Many immediately took flight and headed straight for the ancient bridge in front of them. In the blink of an eye, there were already people stepping on the bridge and speeding along. Shangguan Tianyou's speed was the fastest. The flying sword beneath his feet whistled, and his whole being turned into a green rainbow, taking the lead for himself!

Behind him was Zabuza. The lightning coiling around his body seemed to propel him with a speed second only to Shangguan Tianyou's. There was a crimson colour to his eyes as he released a low roar and sped up even faster.

The third was Kurenai. The blue damask below her feet was rapidly waving as she advanced quickly.

Behind them were a few unrecognisable disciples. Just as Toruho had said, those disciples who normally concealed their strengths were all waiting for this opportunity. They no longer concealed their abilities as they unleashed their full strength. They had pulled away a great distance from the rest in the rear, yet one could see that they still had some energy left in reserve.

The surrounding disciples were observing with eyes wide-opened, their minds were shocked as they squeezed against one another to see.

However, while the crowd was focusing their attention on the arena and following the frantic rush of all the participants, Naruto was the only one left behind, standing there all alone.

Naruto blinked his eyes, and in the instant that the ninth chime resounded, he could sense a gale sweeping across from his entire body. There was already no one in his surroundings. Thousands of people were surging ahead of him, sprinting up to the stone bridge. This was a very spectacular scene, captivating him as he let out praises one after another.

"Good luck!" Naruto chanted loudly as his body flashed and appeared on the stone bridge. He had already made up his mind. He was going to only participate in this qualification battle without competing for the top ten or top one hundred.

"I heard that everyone from the North Bank are incredibly fierce. Only a fool would fight with them." Naruto wore a vexing expression. As for the matter of being promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple, he had even more so didn't take it seriously. He was already an Honourable Disciple and the Sect Master's Junior Brother as well. Why would he still bother about a status such as an inner sect disciple?

As such, he now looked at the scenery while cheering loudly from time to time, forming an extremely obvious contrast between him and the others on the stone bridge.

One by one, the observing disciples were dumbfounded as they looked at Naruto, different kinds of odd expressions surfaced on their faces.

On the platform, Toruho's veins surfaced on his forehead as he glared at Naruto, feeling as if his mind was about to explode.

Both Xu Meixiang and the Green Peak Mountain's Ancestor were stunned. The duo looked at one another and forced a smile. As for those Elders all around, their eyes were now wide. They would have never thought that such a scene would appear in this qualification battle.

If it was any other disciple, the Elders could just go and scold them. However, Naruto's status was really too exceptional. As a result, one by one, the Elders could only direct their gazes at Toruho and Zheng Yuandong.

Zheng Yuandong had a headache and felt even more awkward because he felt it was truly too embarrassing… He cleared his throat and glanced at Elder Zhou by his side.

"Elder Zhou, this old man can only pretend not to see anything in the following events. That phoenix of yours is so pitiful, ah."

When Elder Zhou heard this, he immediately understood its meaning as he assumed a gloomy look on his face. He suddenly flew out and yelled out to Naruto who was on the stone bridge.

"Naruto, no one can save you today. Once this old man catches you, he will definitely make you personally experience the misery that my phoenix felt that day!" As he spoke, he descended on the stone bridge just like a big bird—

Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Chapter 84 - An Unbelievable Explosion

Naruto was taken aback when he heard this roar and quickly turned his head around. When he saw Elder Zhou quickly approaching him, Naruto's eyes widened as he was scared out of his wits.

Elder Zhou's appearance was especially menacing. His shout didn't say he'd take his life, but it threatened to have Naruto personally experience that phoenix's misery instead. But once Naruto recalled how the phoenix had pounced on all the birds in the Scented Cloud Mountain in a single day and without even passing up the Spirit Tailed Chickens, he felt absolutely horrified.

His mind couldn't help but imagine himself in the phoenix's place. His pupils suddenly enlarged as his whole being violently trembled before he quickly turned around and fled as fast as he could.

Even though he wasn't one to back down easily and was only afraid of dying… in this moment, he suddenly understood that in this world, there are things even more terrifying than death. Such as turning into that phoenix…

"Senior Brother, save me! I don't want to be a bird!" When Uzumaki

Xiaochun's thoughts reached that point, he let out a miserable shriek.

On the high platform, Sect Master Zheng Yuandong coughed dryly, pretending he didn't hear anything.

Under this intense stimuli, Naruto repeatedly cried out. His speed suddenly exploded with a bang as he shot forward, leaving only a blur behind. In the blink of an eye, he caught up to the rear of the crowd. These disciples only felt a gust of wind blowing past them. Startled, they could only stare blankly as they raised their heads to see Naruto's back in the distance.

"This… What is this speed!" They were all overwhelmed with shock. They could see Elder Zhou's figure following close behind him as he similarly whistled by while chasing after Naruto.

This sudden scene caused all these disciples to take a deep breath.

Even the outer sect disciples spectating from beside the stone bridge now all stared with their eyes wide from shock.

"That Naruto is actually so fast!"

"Him being pursued seems to produce shocking results…"

While everyone was in an uproar, Naruto wanted to cry yet had no tears. He felt extremely aggrieved as he was running as though his life depended on it. He surpassed one disciple after another. All of them sucked in a deep breath, swallowed by disbelief from Naruto's speed. One even gritted his teeth and madly chased after him, only to stare with wide eyes as Naruto escaped further and further away.

"Dammit, he's like a mouse which had its tail stepped on!"

Currently, all the disciples that were both on and before the stone bridge were all stunned by Naruto's explosive speed, and even the Sect Head's group on the high platform was also staring dumbstruck. They were all amazed at Naruto's speed in this moment.

"Eh… quite clever of the Sect Head!" Toruho smiled wryly as he said to Zheng Yuandong.

Xu Meixiang and the Green Peak Mountain's Elder both had strange expressions on their faces, and the surrounding Elders couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"For such an unruly kid… I can only resort to this kind of method." Zheng Yuandong sighed.

At the same time, the commotion caused by everyone outside the stone bridge was gradually getting rowdier as the crowd was following Naruto's outburst.

"He has already surpassed ha

lf of the participants, and if he continues like this, he can definitely enter the top one hundred!"

"Good luck, Senior Uncle Uzumaki…" There were even people who cheered for him as they laughed.

It was during this time that the stone bridge suddenly shuddered and puppets actually appeared on it. The eyes of these puppets flashed and they immediately growled and rushed out toward the disciples running on the bridge.

Shangguan Tianyou, who was at the forefront, had a casual expression on his face as he sweeped with the sword in his hands, causing the puppets surrounding him to crumble in a rumble. His speed did not decrease in the slightest bit, maintaining his leading position.

Zabuza, Kurenai and about three to five disciples, who had previously concealed their abilities, were right behind Shangguan Tianyou and were similarly very relaxed as they burst through the puppets along the way.

Puppets soon appeared in Naruto's surroundings as well. He panicked when he saw them approaching, but just as he was about to make his move, a sudden gale whistled from behind him. Elder Zhou had caught up.

"Naruto, this old man has changed his mind. After I catch you, I won't let you experience the phoenix's misery, rather, I will let you experience the misery of all the other birds from that day!" Elder Zhou laughed sinisterly, giving his all to draw out Naruto's potential…

When Naruto heard this, he suddenly felt the blood in his whole body rush in his head. The sight before his eyes went dark and he blanked out for a short moment. After he realised the implicit meaning behind Elder Zhou's words, he recalled the miserable fate of those birds and remembered the anguished wailings of the Spirit Tailed Chickens, and even the male phoenix's robust body… Naruto produced the most blood-curdling scream in his whole life.

"Save me! I don't want to be pounced on…"

In this moment, his fear had exceeded even the one from when he was hunted by the Fallen Uchiha Clan. He had reached this age, yet he had never been forced to this extent. His whole body trembled as he screamed. A silver glow suddenly appeared and enveloped his body in an instant, causing him to turn into a silver person.

In this instant, it seemed as though his speed broke through some barrier. Just as Elder Zhou reached out for him, a muffled explosion sounded, and like a wild boar, he charged ahead.

Boom, boom, boom!

His speed was incredibly fast, as soon as any puppets approached him, they were immediately knocked into the air, and only a silver streak could be seen as he sped ahead.

Taking a glance into the distance, his figure couldn't even be seen, there were only countless puppets being shot into the air.

His speed was much faster than before, and soon he he had surpassed the top four, three, two, and finally… the top one hundred!

Extremely fast!

Monstrously loud sounds rang throughout the way as he surpassed hundreds of disciples. Each and every one of them stared dumbfounded, overwhelmed with shock by the sight of Naruto heading off into the distance like a ferocious dragon. Naruto was screaming as he dashed, and his eyes had already turned bloodshot. He vowed to never let Elder Zhou catch him.

He had long since forgotten that this was a trial, there was no ranking in his eyes. Only one thought filled his mind - run away… and get off this bridge!

There were even some disciples in front of him that he felt were a hindrance, so he grabbed them and tossed them aside as explosions followed in his wake.

Some disciples outside of the stone bridge were standing on the peak of a mountain and watched this scene from afar. After seeing this scene unfold, they all sucked in a deep breath and revealed their shock.

"He… Is he still a human!"

"In what way is he a human? This is clearly a wild boar or a ferocious dragon!"

Elder Zhou stared blankly at the scene before his eyes. He stared at Naruto's figure as the boy didn't even try to dodge the puppets and relied solely on his body to send them into the air. Elder Zhou also sucked in a deep breath and wondered whether he had perhaps… gone a little too far.

Naruto's acceleration showed no signs of decreasing. He was originally astonishingly fast, but he was actually accelerating even further. The explosions soon turned into earth-shaking tremors. There were no more puppets in front of him, but large nets had appeared instead. These nets materialised out of thin air, obstructing people on the way.

But as these large nets appeared in front of Naruto, he just immediately ran through them, tearing large holes in the process. Loud tremors echoed continuously as the nets too failed to stop him.

It seemed as though his body had turned into the sharpest weapon under this extreme speed!

After them, the ground heaved up and down, just like a marshland, even vortexes appeared from time to time. If one were to be caught by one, it would be very difficult for them to escaped out from it. As such, the speed of many disciples plummeted here.

Naruto, however… completely ignored all of it. With a whoosh, he charged straight through. Even with vortexes continuously appearing near him, his speed didn't decrease at all. He continued forward, dragging those vortexes behind him.

Not long after, he had surpassed the top eighty, fifty, thirty, and finally, he entered the top ten…

As Elder Zhou watched this happen, he took another deep breath, let alone all those observing disciples standing outside the stone bridge. At this moment, almost everyone's gaze was fixed on Naruto. As for Shangguan Tianyou and the others, not a single disciple was looking in their direction anymore.

There was a bald young man in front of Naruto. There was a cold look in his eyes. He had concealed his fighting abilities for many years and had rarely come in contact with others. He had gathered all his strength today and wanted to let the so-called Big Three Heaven's Chosen understand what the proverb of a mountain beyond every mountain meant.

His whole body radiated light as three beads rapidly danced in the air around him with shocking might. There were more than ten vortexes near his body, and even though the restrictive ability of these vortexes was not small under the full might of his cultivation, he knew that once he had escaped out of this area, the vortexes would disappear.

"The stronger one is, the more vortexes would wind up around their bodies. I wonder how those few ahead of me fared. These ten vortexes on me are already shocking." While this bald disciple was proudly monologuing, he suddenly heard an ear-piercing sound from behind. He froze for a moment but assumed he had imagined things, there couldn't be an ear-piercing sound…

Not waiting for him to turn his head around, a gale swept from behind him. Immediately after, he noticed a figure rapidly rushing past him with more than a hundred vortexes surrounding that figure!

The bald young man's eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets as he stared dumbfoundedly at the figure. More than a hundred vortexes surrounding it, yet its speed did not seem to slow down in the least. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but when he looked at the figure once again, the other party had already gone a distance so far away that only its back was visible.

"Impossible!" The bald young man blurted out.

Naruto was shaking. He suddenly let out another blood-curdling scream as the over a hundred vortexes surrounding his body disappeared. He had finally made it out of that area. His speed increased and he shot forward, surpassing another few people along the way. Those were all disciples that had entered the top ten. Each and every one of them had their own lucky encounters and had concealed their abilities before this battle, aiming to to become a sensation overnight. However, when all of them noticed Naruto, they were all overwhelmed by shock as though they had seen a mind-blowing monster.

Kurenai gritted her silver tooth in another zone. There was an endless pressure enveloping her as if the air had solidified, and her speed couldn't help but drop.

However, just as she was about to struggle out from this zone, a cracking sound suddenly sounded from behind her. Kurenai paused in surprise and turned her head around. Immediately, her eyes shrunk, her face filled with astonishment.

Boom. Naruto rushed straight past her. His speed was so fast that a Kaka sound could be heard as the pressure enveloping his body cracked in the air before Naruto actually… broke through!

"Naruto?"

"Impossible!" Kurenai's eyes widened as she felt the pressure crumble after Naruto dashed past her. She stared at Naruto's back as though she had been struck by lightning, her eyes locked on his figure as her mouth hung wide open—

Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Chapter 85 - He is… First?

While Kurenai was staring in dismay, a piercing wind could once again be heard from behind her. With large strides, Elder Zhou approached with a smile on his face and even nodded to her while passing by.

Despite that smile, however, only horrifying words left his mouth.

"Naruto, this Elder has changed his mind again. After catching you, I will first starve you for a month and then lock you up with a bunch of phoenixes and monstrous beasts!"

Kurenai was flabbergasted, but realisation hit her as a blood-curdling scream arrived from Naruto's direction.

"Uncle Li, save me! Senior Brother Sect Head, save me! Teacher, save me. I don't want to starve, I don't want to be locked up with the phoenixes and monstrous beasts…" Naruto was trembling, his fear had reached its peak. His mind was filled with the image painted by Elder Zhou's words. The more he thought about it, the more he trembled. His speed accelerated once again amidst his blood-curdling screams, and with a bang, a blink of an eye passed, and only an afterimage was left of his silhouette.

Ahead of Naruto, Zabuza's speeding figure seemed like a bolt of lightning. At the beginning, the trial was fairly easy, but it gradually got more and more challenging. The zone he was currently in was filled with wind blades. These wind blades were all extremely sharp, and if one moved quickly, they would attract the wind blades like a magnet.

He had tested that out personally. He threw a puppet only for it to be cut to pieces in an instant by the various wind blades due to its fast speed. That scene caused him to pale and he found himself forced to slow down. After a long while, he finally managed to balance his speed and maintain it as he proceeded forward.

He could no longer see Shangguan Tianyou's figure in front of him. That Shangguan Tianyou had exceptional resources, and when he walked past this region, it had actually turned into void. Shangguan Tianyou had shuffled past this region without attracting the attention of any of the wind blades. This caused Zabuza, whose abilities were originally not that much weaker than Shangguan Tianyou's, to harbour hatred for him in the depths of his heart.

"Isn't it just because of his technique of the void? What is so impressive about him without it? Just wait until I pass this area, the first place… will definitely be mine!" Zabuza heaved a deep breath. He no longer placed even Kurenai in his eyes, believing that the only person who could contend for the first place with him was Shangguan Tianyou.

However, before he could even exhale, while carefully traversing this zone filled with wind blades and preparing himself charge forward after it, a sudden a gust appeared behind him in an instant.

This roar of the wind was too strong, causing all the wind blades to tremble. Zabuza's mind shuddered when he noticed it, only to be pleasantly surprised immediately after.

"Haha, that Kurenai must have caught up. That foolish girl, the faster the speed you enter this place with, the more wind blades one would attract to themselves and I can also use this opportunity to sprint out!" Zabuza quickly turned his head around. He saw a small figure sprinting behind him that quickly entered the zone. That figure had actually burst through a 30% of the zone, leaving less than a thousand zhang between that figure and Zabuza.

Due to its fast speed, the surrounding wind blades clustered together in the blink of an eye and whistled straight at the figure. There were countless of wind blades. Within a radius of thousands of zhang, a

ll wind blades swarmed together, practically forming a hurricane in but an instant.

"It's not Kurenai? This speed is too fast, but they are similarly a fool courting death!" Zabuza noticed that it was Naruto, causing him to be shocked and making him suck in a deep breath, but shortly after, he chuckled.

"One has to cultivate with their head!" Zabuza laughed loudly when he saw most of the wind blades zoom in on Naruto. The lightning inside Zabuza's body spread out, and his speed suddenly exploded as he headed straight for the exit in front of him.

However, just as he increased his speed, a monstrous roar sounded from behind him along with Naruto's screams. Naruto didn't pause even for a second as he accelerated faster and faster and collided with the wind blades.

The amount of wind blades surrounding him were already too many to count, but when they met Naruto, the silver light around his whole body flashed, and all those wind blades that had frightened Zabuza immediately shattered to pieces.

After the countless wind blades shattered, they quickly reformed again. A loud sound reverberated as Naruto's body whooshed past Zabuza's side in the blink of an eye.

The reformed wind blades behind him quickly chased and attacked him as if unwilling to admit defeat.

Zabuza froze for a moment as he stared, his eyes felt as if they would pop out of their sockets. His scalp numbed and his mind was in a daze.

"Impossible!" He was shocked. He had personally witnessed the innumerable wind blades chasing after Naruto, but they had actually… not caught up with him. In the blink of an eye, Naruto had already dashed out of the zone filled with the wind blades.

The wind blades couldn't chase after Naruto outside and raged on the boundary when they suddenly seemed to notice Zabuza…

"No… No!" Zabuza's heart thumped loudly. Even if he wanted to decrease his speed and his lightning-like figure immediately halted, those wind blades that were left behind by Naruto would still throw themselves at Zabuza.

Soon, a horrified scream rang out.

Naruto could vaguely hear this scream as he ran ahead. He was very surprised, but had no time to even turn his head around as Elder Zhou's furious howls seemed to be right behind him. Naruto had a sullen look as he bitterly clenched his teeth and once again focused on running.

Fortunately, Elder Zhou passed through the wind blade zone while in pursuit of Naruto. He rescued Zabuza who was left in an extremely miserable state after being encircled by the countless wind blades and had had his clothes torn to shreds. If he hadn't been rescued, Zabuza would have likely been forced to give up on the trial.

"Naruto!" Zabuza's eyes were red. He had recognised Naruto and bellowed out.

Naruto was completely unaware that he had caused a person to hate him down to the bone and continued running with lightning speed, passing one deserted zone after the other. Half an incense stick worth of time passed before the end of the bridge finally appeared in the distance.

"I am finally about to escape!" Naruto was getting excited as he didn't even notice the figure near the bridge's end. That figure was struggling forward step by step.

Shangguan Tianyou was breathing heavily. The whole way up to the last zone had been very easy for him. Only now did he experience difficulties.

"This zone is actually suppressing my spiritual energy!" There was a fierce look in his eyes. Spiritual energy was shackled in this area and an immense pressure weighed down upon him as if he was carrying a mountain on his back. What was even more shocking was that with every step he took, it was as if an additional mountain was placed on his body. It seemed like a walk through a mere hundred steps, yet the difficulty made his whole body shudder as he was quickly reaching his limit.

The pressure increased as the mountains that weighed down on him increased even more, especially near the end. Currently, he seemed to be only eleven steps away from the exit, but he knew that the difficulty of these eleven steps was something that had surpassed everything that he had previously experienced in his life.

Shangguan Tianyou took a deep breath as a firm look surfaced in his eyes.

"The first place in the qualification battle originally already belongs to me. My goal lies within the Heaven's Chosen War between the South and the North Bank. I will step into the inner sect with the status of the first in the Heaven's Chosen War, and years later, I will step into the Spirit River Sect's Legacy Order!" Shangguan Tianyou gritted his teeth and prepared to take a step forward when he suddenly sensed something. He turned his head around and took a glance behind him, immediately spotting Naruto.

"It is him…" There was almost no one who did not recognise Naruto in the South Bank. Even if they had not seen him before, they had attended his funeral and seen his portrait. Shangguan Tianyou was slightly astonished because he originally assumed that it was only natural that the person behind him would be Zabuza.

"It seems like my expectations for Zabuza might have been too high. He too is trash." Shangguan Tianyou retracted his gaze. He was only slightly surprised and decided to disregard Naruto. In his heart, Naruto and him were not people of the same level. After taking another step forward, Shangguan Tianyou's whole body shuddered. He clenched his teeth as all the bones in his body creaked.

Almost in the same moment when Shangguan Tianyou took this step, Naruto entered the zone. He didn't really feel anything when he took the first, second, third, fourth…

Only after he had taken the fiftieth step in a row did his body pause all of a sudden. He raised his head in surprise and glanced towards the sky.

"What is going on? I feel as though my body is slightly heavier."

In this exact moment, Shangguan Tianyou's body trembled. His foot finally landed, and he stood firmly on the ninetieth step. His whole being seemed to be on the verge of collapse as he gasped for breath, but satisfaction rose on his face. When he turned his head around and took a glance, he immediately noticed that Naruto was already at his fiftieth step.

His eyes suddenly locked on Naruto.

"He… How can he be this fast!" Shangguan Tianyou's eyes revealed shock, but afterwards, he just gritted his teeth.

"It must be the body-cultivation technique allowing him to be slightly faster in the beginning. However, the further he progresses, the more difficult it will be. He…" Before Shangguan Tianyou could finish his thoughts, his whole body shuddered as he stared blankly at Naruto. He watched Naruto who was actually running toward him with lightning speed.

"Running… He… He's running?" Shangguan Tianyou's eyes widened as he stared dumbfounded at Naruto who was rapidly approaching. Very soon, Naruto stopped in front of him.

"Hey, why are you walking so slow?" Naruto asked. He turned his head to look behind him, then he discovered that Elder Zhou hadn't caught up to him yet. He relaxed and asked curiously.

"You… don't you feel as though there are mountains weighing down on your body?" Shangguan Tianyou's eyes blinked quickly and blurted out a question in confusion.

"Mountains? Eh, there's a few but they are not much of a problem." Uzumaki

Xiaochun paused for a moment and even hopped a few times. When

Shangguan Tianyou saw this, his eyes opened wide as he took a deep breath, his face clearly expressing his disbelief.

Naruto intended to continue jumping when he suddenly saw Elder Zhou's figure approaching in the distance. Another scream left his mouth and his body quickly dashed ahead, moving across the last ten steps in a flash as he darted out of the ancient bridge… In the moment that he did, his speed skyrocketed, and in the blink of an eye, only an afterimage remained.

In the split second that Naruto disappeared, Elder Zhou's footsteps paused in shock and he laughed bitterly.

"This Naruto, he… actually got the first place?"

At the same time, Zheng Yuandong, Toruho and the others who were on the high platform had all stood up as well. Each and everyone of them had a strange expression on their faces. The Elders and the rest around them too were astonished even though they were somewhat mentally prepared when Naruto surpassed Kurenai and Zabuza. Having seen him take the first place with their own eyes, their minds were still shocked. Especially since Naruto had actually passed the last zone with such ease...

"He placed… first?" Toruho murmured.

Soon after, those observing disciples standing on higher grounds nearby also noticed this scene and an uproar shook from the mountain valley.

"Naruto… He surpassed Kurenai, Zabuza, Shangguan

Tianyou. He placed first!"

"Heavens, this Naruto could actually compete to be first!"

"Elder Zhou played an extremely important role in Naruto being able to get the first place though. If anyone else was chased in such a blood-chilling manner, I expect that they too would also be able to unleash such death-defying strength!"

Shangguan Tianyou's face paled all of a sudden as a buzzing sound appeared in his mind. Everything before him turned black, and he felt as if he was struck by lightning.

Staring at the back of Naruto's figure as he crossed the stone bridge right in front of him, Shangguan Tianyou's body started to tremble violently.

"Naruto!" Shangguan Tianyou's eyes were completely red. His pride, his ego, his everything felt like it had just been stepped on by Naruto's foot in this moment. Especially when he recalled how he had actually been asked by Naruto why was he walking so slow just moments ago.

Shangguan Tianyou's blood surged into his brain and sword Chakra suddenly exploded out of his body. He recklessly walked forward with quick steps and blood sprayed out of his mouth after the tenth step.

"Naruto, I, Shangguan Tianyou have never lost before. This time… I refuse to accept this. I will let you know in the Heaven's Chosen War that from all of the outer sect disciples, there is no one that can… win against me!" He gritted his teeth as he stubbornly glared in the direction Naruto disappeared in. Bloodlust flickered in his eyes.

Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Chapter 86 - Again With This Tactic...

Naruto's heart was filled with terror as he ran down the mountain with lightning speed. He even ran outside the sect and wandered around the market for quite some time.

"What am I going to do?" Naruto frowned. He felt wronged from the bottom of his heart. It was clearly the phoenix who had come and snatched the medicine pill that day, but no matter how hard he tried to explain it, Elder Zhou did not relent…

"But, I seem to be… the first?" While Naruto was worrying, he suddenly remembered something and went blank for a moment.

"Ah, I initially did not want to compete with those juniors based on my status as the Sect Head's Junior Brother." Naruto let out a dry cough but he still felt some pride in his heart. However, as he continued his train of thought, he realised that he was now required to participate in the Heaven's Chosen War against the North Bank and immediately turned gloomy.

Naruto wandered around the market until late at night, mulling over the fact that he would eventually have to go back. Finally, he took out a transmission jade slip and sent a message to Xu Baocai.

Naruto asked Xu Baocai go to his courtyard and take a look around to check whether Elder Zhou was waiting there.

After a long time, he received a reply over the transmission jade slip from Xu Baocai, telling him that it was already safe to return, but he only felt slightly reassured. He cautiously made his way to the gate and quickly went up the Scented Cloud Mountain. In the distance distance, he saw Xu Baocai's lone silhouette outside his courtyard. Only after cautiously observing his surroundings for a long time did he finally approach Xu Baocai.

When Xu Baocai saw Naruto, his eyes immediately lit up with excitement, but just when he was about to open his mouth, he was pulled into the courtyard by Naruto.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, relax. Elder Zhou had already been summoned by the Sect Head…" Xu Baocai quickly spoke as he looked at Naruto with worship in his eyes.

"When he was in the Burning Stoves Kituchiha, he had always kept a low profile and had even come up with selling the positions qualifying one to become an outer sect disciple. After he entered the sect, he had gotten first in the small competition and became somewhat of a sensation. But the most shocking thing was the matter with the Fallen Uchiha Clan. He had actually returned alive, obtaining the status of an Honourable Disciple and obtaining the renowned position of the Sect Head's Junior

Brother. And now, he had placed first in the qualification battle. This Naruto… will definitely become admired to no end, and he will certainly be looked upon with awe like a mountain's peak in the future!"

Xu Baocai had personally witnessed the whole process of Naruto surpassing everyone and becoming first. It had left him shocked for the most part of the day. He revered Naruto as someone exceptional, especially after the recent events. He immediately cupped his fist to Naruto and bowed deeply to show his respect.

"Congratulations Senior Uncle Uzumaki for becoming the first person qualified to fight as a representative of the South Bank!"

Naruto inspected the whole courtyard before he heaved a deep sigh of relief. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the mountain where Elder Zhou's cavern was. He vowed to himself that once he had reached the Foundation Establishment level, he would definitely go stew that phoenix bird that framed him and eat it! After hearing Xu Baocai's words, Ba

i Xiaochun turned his head and looked at him as he cleared his throat.

"My esteemed self is unconcerned with fame and fortune. A person who is like the clouds in the skies wouldn't have competed with those juniors over that empty title, alas, Elder Zhou's untimely appearance forced my hand today." Naruto spoke solemnly, like a senior filled with regret.

If Naruto had said something like this before, even if Xu Baocai wouldn't have dared to reveal anything on his expression, he would have still surely looked down on Naruto in his heart. Now however, in his eyes, Naruto was a Heaven's Chosen among the Heaven's Chosen, so he hastily opened his mouth to speak.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki has always kept a low profile, but for a Heaven's Chosen like Senior Uncle Uzumaki, even if you were to keep a low profile, you would still emit a blinding radiance that will capture everyone's attention with just a casual flick of your hand."

Listening to these kindsof words made Naruto elated, but he was still maintaining his composure on the surface. However, he still felt eager for Xu Baocai to continue speaking so he gazed at him with appreciation and encouragement.

Xu Baocai sensed Naruto's encouragement and excitedly continued speaking.

"With Senior Uncle Uzumaki representing our South Bank in the upcoming Heaven's Chosen War against the North Bank, we can definitely sweep the stigma off of the South Bank accumulated over the past years and shock the entire North Bank!"

"How very arrogant of the vicious five great Heaven's Chosen from the

North Bank to be rumoured as the strongest below the Foundation

Establishment. Soon the time when they realise that the real Heaven's Chosen is on the South Bank's Scented Cloud Mountain will come!" Xu Baocai praised enthusiastically.

"Five great Heaven's Chosen?" Naruto's expression remained casual on the surface, but inside, his heart skipped a beat.

"That is right. There are five great Heaven's Chosen on that North Bank. One of them is Bei Hanlie from the Setting Sun Mountain, cold and arrogant. Cultivating the Setting Sun Technique, one of the Spirit River Sect's ten greatest secret techniques. He also has a rare Nocturnal

Beast that is extremely ferocious and has extraordinary strength. The Nocturnal Beast had once torn a living person apart while they were still alive. He is a human, yet a beast and has even exterminated ninth level Chakra Condensation powerhouses before! He is a person recognised as the outer sect's number one on the Setting Sun Mountain!"

"Torn a living person apart while they were still alive?" Naruto's eyes widened.

"This is nothing. One of the others, the Sky Mountain's Xu Song was born with the Heaven Communicating Body. When he entered the gate that year, the Sky Mountain's Ancestor paid a huge price to take Xu Song as his disciple. As for his control over monstrous beasts, he has already reached a terrifying level near perfection. There is a rumour that he can control five beasts at the same time, and once, when a rogue Chakra Condensation cultivator angered him, the rogue was hunted by Xu Song for three months. In the end, he had his five beasts consume the cultivator over three days, leaving only the bones behind!"

"Leaving only the bones behind?!" Naruto's heart trembled.

"There are people who are even more savage than he is, the third and fourth Heaven's Chosen of the North Bank. The two of them are siblings, and the duo are from Iridaceae Mountain. The younger sister's name is Gongsun Wan-Er and is incredibly beautiful. She is an expert in birds of prey and had once dueled with Kurenai... but who won and who lost remain unknown!

(ED note: Iridaceae is a family of plants, taking it's name from the Irises, which in turn originates from the greek word for rainbow wiki/Iridaceae )

The older brother's name is Gongsun Yun and is an expert in the Dao of insects and parasites. He likes to wear black robes and uses his own body to rear spiritual insects. Rumour has it that the insides of his body is filled with the eggs of the insects. He is extremely strange. His opponents would frequently have parasites crawling all over their bodies in the end. They make their way into the human body and devour the flesh, causing them so much pain that they would wish they were dead. If their response is even slightly delayed, they would be cleanly devoured by those parasites without even the bones remaining!"

"Without even the bones remaining?!" Naruto took a deep breath after imagining the scene in his mind, his hairs standing on end.

"The last person… is said to be the most mysterious among the five great Heaven's Chosen. That person has no name and was brought back twenty years ago by the Ghost Tooth Mountain's Ancestor. His background is a mystery and he took the name Gui Ya. He comes from the Ghost Tooth Mountain and is an expert in the Dao of ghost techniques. He has cultivated the technique that is rumoured to be the most difficult among the Spirit River Sect's ten greatest secret techniques and is also known as the Water Nation… the Night Ghost

Technique! Rumour has it that he has already reached the level of the Hundred Ghost. There are even people who consider him as the strongest Heaven's Chosen in the North Bank…" Xu Baocai told Naruto all that he knew and as Naruto listened his heart danced wildly.

He realised that every single one of these Heaven's Chosen from the

North Bank seemed to be so much more vicious than those in the South Bank. Even though the North Bank is mainly concerned with taming beasts and it was inevitable for them to reek of blood, this disparity shouldn't have been so excessive.

"Over the years, the South Bank has been suppressed by the North Bank and lost the Heaven's Chosen Wars. I even heard that out of the those in the top ten, nine were from the North Bank the previous time. That humiliation, we…" Xu Baocai was currently worked up as he spoke, but he suddenly realised that there was something wrong with Uzumaki

Xiaochun's complexion and became startled as he looked at him.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, what's wrong?"

Naruto quickly raised his small chin and spoke in a righteous and awe-inspiring tone.

"As a member of the South Bank, hearing such things regarding the

South Bank makes me furious from the bottom of my heart!"

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki need not be furious. This time, we have Senior Uncle Uzumaki stepping forth, we will definitely let that North Bank know the strength of the South Bank!" Xu Baocai clenched his fist tightly and spoke enthusiastically.

"The North Bank is nothing. When I, Naruto, wave my hand, they will scatter into ashes and disperse into smoke." Naruto was already unable to get off from his high horse, so he forged on, raising his chin and spoke loftily as he flourished his small sleeve.

Xu Baocai was enthralled and spoke a while longer before finally taking his leave, filled with awe.

It was now very late at night and only Naruto was left in the courtyard. As he recalled the five people that Xu Baocai had previously described, the mountain breeze blew, running a chill down his spine.

"What kind of people are there at the North Bank? They raise beasts, bugs and even ghosts… It sounds like they are very fearsome…" Naruto took a deep breath and he returned to his cabin. Xu Baocai's introduction to the North Bank was still floating in his mind.

"That Elder Zhou must have done it on purpose!" Naruto was convinced that something was amiss and reached that conclusion.

"The thing that I hate the most in this life of mine is fighting and killing formidable opponents!" Naruto had made up his mind that regardless of what he said, he would not participate in the Heaven's Chosen War.

On the next day however, early in the morning and before Naruto could figure out how to weasel out of the Heaven's Chosen War, a jade decree was sent from the Scented Cloud Mountain. The jade decree turned into a black light and flew into Naruto's cabin, and then suddenly, Toruho's voice sounded out.

"Naruto, ranked first in the South Bank's qualification battle. You are to participate in the outer sect's Heaven's Chosen War between the South and North Bank together with the other nine qualified disciples!

Failure will result in you being thrown into the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley!"

"Again with this tactic…" Naruto had a sullen look on his face as he heard Toruho's voice come from the decree. He felt tricked by Elder Zhou...

After Toruho's voice dissipated, with a flash of light, the jade slip disappeared, and a bracelet, which landed in front of Naruto, suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Naruto was stunned as he picked up the bracelet, inspecting it closely. He directed his spiritual Chakra inside the bracelet only for it to immediately turn into a black-coloured liquid. It enveloped Uzumaki

Xiaochun's right hand, and in a flash, it spread until it covered his whole body.

At the same time, the technique used to control the item left behind by Toruho entered Naruto's ears. Furthermore, it explained that the bracelet could withstand the full power of a single attack from an early stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

Naruto was startled. He was now no longer the country bumpkin who had just entered the sect. He clearly understood the value of a protective treasure such as this. It was even more precious than the Divine Crane Shield that the Sect Head had given him. Naruto couldn't help but raise his head and stare at the peak of the Scented Cloud Mountain.

Even though Toruho did not explain the item in great detail, Naruto could feel a warmth deep inside from this bracelet. He recalled the small competition at the outset and recalled Toruho's expectations.

Remaining silent for a long while, Naruto suddenly clenched his teeth as determination surfaced in his eyes.

"This Heaven's Chosen War, I will participate!"

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Chapter 87 - The Outer Sect's Heaven's Chosen War Between The South

Bank And North Bank

Time passed as Naruto remained in his residence. Ten days later, he had yet to take a single step out, when stately chimes echoed throughout the whole sect and his jade slip simultaneously vibrated.

The Outer Sect's Heaven's Chosen War between the South Bank and North Bank was officially held ten days after the South Bank's qualification match!

The Outer Sect's Heaven's Chosen War held once every half sixty-year cycle was always held at the Zhong Dao Mountain. On this day, when the bells from the Zhong Dao Mountain rang throughout the whole the Spirit River Sect, countless outer sect disciples could be seen dashing toward the mountain.

The interaction between the South Bank and North Bank was usually minimal. Only the inner sect disciples could enter each other's region, and the outer sect disciples did not have this qualification. It was only on this day that the Zhong Dao Mountain was open to all the disciples in the sect, allowing the outer sect disciples to enter and observe the Heaven's

Chosen War. Regardless as to whether it was the South Bank or the

North Bank, everyone was brimming with excitement at this moment.

Hurried people could be seen all around the Spirit River Sect.

"The South Bank must wash away our disgrace this time!"

"We must let the North Bank know that the South Bank will surpass our past selves and rise in prominence!"

While the outer sect disciples from the South Bank were filled with enthusiasm, similarly, the outer sect disciples from the four mountains on the North Bank were also making their way to Zhong Dao Mountain with haste. Prideful voices sounded out along the way, one after the other.

"The South Bank is weak and has been continuously losing to us, the North Bank, for more than a thousand years. This time won't be an exception either!"

"The North Bank is sure to be victorious, the South Bank is sure to fail. The Spirit River Sect is lead by the North Bank. The South Bank is nothing more than a subordinate!"

The commotion caused by these two Banks was getting more and more intense as the countless outer sect disciples were speeding toward the Zhong Dao Mountain. Shangguan Tianyou, who was on the Green Peak Mountain, had a cold expression on his face. A trace of sharpness could be seen in his gaze as he flew out in a flash.

At the same time, Zabuza, who was on the Purple Cauldron Mountain, looked towards the sky and let out a low roar. His whole body twined with lightning, and amidst the cheers of the many nearby disciples, he too shot into the distance.

Kurenai had similarly flown out at this time, all these three great Heaven's Chosen from the South Bank were incomparably serious.

Likewise, Naruto lifted his head from within his residence, his eyes bloodshot. He took a deep breath with a serious expression.

"Time's up… fighters going to battle must have their battle vests!" He slowly stood up, raised his right hand and patted his storage pouch, causing seven-eight leather armours to appear. When he had battled with the Fallen Uchiha Clan that year, his leather armours had been torn apart, so he had prepared some new leather armours a few years back. Both its quality and durability were much higher.

With a serious look, he put on each and every piece of the leather on his body, and then he flourished his sleeve.

"Fighters going to battle must have their backs armoured!" In place of

Naruto's sleeve, a big pot appeared from within his storage pouch. Zhang Fatso

One's pot had been destroyed that year during the battle with the Fallen Uchiha Clan, and a new pot had been prepared by Naruto after he returned to the Sect. His eyes grew solemn as he placed this black pot on his back.

"Fighters going to battle must have their magic treasures!" As Naruto was proudly monologuing, he waved with his hand once again, and a small wooden sword immediately flew out and attached itself to his belt. Soon, the Golden Crow Sword, along with three more flying swords, too hung at the side. After that, he also took the Divine Crane Shield out and placed it at the most convenient position.

Yet he still did not feel reassured, so he put on the bracelet that Toruho had given him and only then did he raise his chin. His whole body exuded an imposing atmosphere as he stepped forward heavily, walking out through the big door of his cabin amidst faint tremors.

As he stood outside of the door, the bells' chimes echoing throughout the sect entered his ears. Just as he was about to proceed onward, he suddenly felt that he was still missing something and patted his storage pouch, taking a spear out and holding it with both his hands.

Naruto flourished his sleeve, stirring the wind as he left the courtyard.

If one looked from afar at Naruto in this moment, they would see a body bulging like a ball with a big pot on its back and a spear in hands. When he walked, five-six flying swords on his body swayed and rang as they collided from around his body. With his hair swaying in the wind, he was as imposing as the heavens.

Whereever he passed, countless Scented Cloud Mountain outer sect disciples would feel their hearts stir, awed by Naruto's attire.

The bells never stopped and gradually spread throughout the entire sect. Their chimes, louder and louder, raising the spirits of the countless outer sect disciples. Along with that, many of the inner sect disciples also flew towards the Zhong Dao Mountain.

Naruto walked with big strides as outer sect disciples slowly gathered behind him. Among them was Xu Baocai, continuously cheering.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki's presence towers above like a rainbow!"

"We will be victorious!" These people were outer sect disciples who looked favourably on Naruto. They were following Naruto from behind and giving their all to cheer for him. Ino too was among them, her crisp voice standing out from the rest.

Naruto turned his head around to glance at the crowd behind him.

The sight touched his heart, so he gave them a nod. He felt that since everyone supported him as such, he had to strive hard to meet their expectations...

Hence, he raised his chin and proudly continued forward. Step by step, he arrived at the Zhong Dao Mountain where a humongous arena greeted his eyes.

The glow of a formation array flickered from all around it, completely enveloping the whole arena. A platform stood tall atop the Zhong Dao Mountain where the figures of the many sect Elders gathered one by one.

On both ends of the arena below it, the many outer sect disciples were arriving and clustering together. The amount of people on each end numbered in tens of thousands.

On the north end of the arena, the disciples from the North Bank could be seen. They seemed stronger than the South Bank in terms of grandeur, especially since nearly all of them had a monstrous beast in tow.

Those monstrous beasts all had different appearances, but a ferocious look resided in their eyes, enough to warn one not to provoke them. The seven-eight people at the forefront in particular. Both males and females had ice-cold expressions on their faces and carried an imposing aura within them.

Two of them stood out from the rest. One was an extremely beautiful female wearing a purple cheongsam with an impressive seven-coloured phoenix by her side. That bird seemed even more majestic than the ones raised by Elder Zhou; Its gaze was as piercing as lightning and seemed to be looking down on everyone.

The other was a young man wearing a blue chang pao. He was extraordinarily handsome, with a shocking red sun imprinted on his forehead.

A giant beast lay on its stomach beside his feet. From the distance, it appeared to be a huge dog. Its whole body was covered with thick black fur, its claws and teeth were sharp and a golden light shimmered from its eyes.

This beast looked extremely ferocious as it exposed its teeth. Its enormous body was already at the height of a person even while it was lying down. If it were to stand up, it would perhaps be as tall as two. This beast exuded a powerful pressure and one could easily imagine that this huge dog's physical strength was as overwhelming as rumours entailed.

The person who had the sun imprinted between his eyebrows was precisely one of the North Bank's five great Heaven's Chosen, Bei Hanlie. That huge dog by his side was also exactly the North Bank's wellknown… Nocturnal Beast!

Beside these two from the North Bank, the other disciples standing at the front were also astonishing. One who was wearing a black robe that covered even his face and only exposed only his cold brown eyes. If one were to look closely however, they would actually see insects and parasites occasionally drilling in and out of his eyes.

These scenes gripped the South Bank disciples' hearts with fear.

All the North Bank disciples looked disdainfully across the arena and towards the southern side of the arena, right at the… South Bank disciples!

"The South Bank is bound to fail again today. The only capable ones amongst them are Shangguan Tianyou, Zabuza and Kurenai." "I heard that another of the South Bank had snatched the first place in the qualification battle. It is said that the person is an Honourable Disciple and the Sect Master's Junior Brother."

"No matter who it is, it is all in vain. The chosen ones from our North

Bank are still the strongest!"

While those North Bank disciples were discussing, most of the South Bank's outer sect disciples placed at the southern side of the arena too were clearly comparing themselves with the North Bank disciples, alleviating themselves above them.

"A barbarous monstrous-beast-rearing bunch. This time, the South Bank is definitely going to avenge the humiliation that we have faced all these years!"

"If we lose to them, it would really make us lose face!"

There were nine people standing in front of the North Bank's outer sect disciples. Beside the impressive Shangguan Tianyou, Kurenai and Zabuza were six others. Each and every one stood imposingly as they stared at the North Bank's Heaven Chosen with killing intent surging in their eyes.

While they were busy staring each other with murderous eyes, Naruto arrived.

Almost in the instant that Naruto arrived, not only did Shangguan Tianyou's group look in his direction, but all of the South Bank outer sect disciples too gazed upon him. Various thoughts flowed through their heads and the discussions quieted down.

Shangguan Tianyou looked at Naruto with a complex look.

Implacability festered his heart as his eyes turned cold.

Zabuza was similarly discontented and ferociously glared at Naruto as the lightning twining around his body crackled.

Kurenai remained silent as she looked at Naruto. Her eyes revealed a strange glow as she sized him up carefully. She sought to discern what was hidden beneath this small white body and what power lay within it.

As for the North Bank's side, everyone couldn't help but direct their gazes at Naruto. To them, Naruto was a nobody, and after the the initial shock of his getup, contempt replaced it.

The scorn in the eyes of the North Bank Heaven's Chosen was even greater.

When he found himself as the focus of everyone's attention, Uzumaki

Xiaochun became somewhat embarrassed and let out a dry cough. He lifted his head high, puffed his chest out and straightened his back like the spear in his hands as he walked under everyone's eyes to stand beside Kurenai.

After he noticed that both sides had already started the battle with a staring contest, Naruto became vigorous.

"Staring contests, I am an expert in those!" Naruto perked up and directed a ferocious glare across the arena at the North Bank disciples with a serious expression on his face.

The wind blew in that moment and tousled Naruto's hair, his figure matching with the spear in his hands, inadvertently making him even more imposing.

Time passed and the crowds on both sides continued to expand. Not long after, a sea of people surrounded the arena in the center.

The Heaven's Chosen in front of the North Bank also gradually arrived. The last to appear was a young man wearing a black robe from head to toe. He appeared rather ordinary except for his pale face that seemed to be drained of any blood. He walked alone and stood in front, closing his eyes as if he had no interest in his surroundings at all. Distortions seemed to appear in his surroundings just as he closed his eyes. It was as if malicious spirits wanted to rush out of the underworld and breech into the human realm.

It was at this time that rainbows arrived whistling from both the South and the North Bank. Those were the Ancestors from the seven mountains and their respective Elders. Most of them appeared just now and immediately headed straight for the platform towering above the arena.

Elder Zhou too was among them, with the phoenix that had slandered Naruto circling around him. After it noticed Naruto, its eyes looked at Naruto with arrogance from above.

The figure of Sect Head Zheng Yuandong also appeared on the terrace platform. After everyone gathered, his gaze swept across the disciples from both the South Bank and the North Bank below and suddenly spoke.

"Due to the fact that the North Bank was victorious in the previous round of the South Bank and North Bank's outer sect Heaven's Chosen War, they have twelve people qualified to participate today."

"Due to the South Bank losing the previous round, its participants in this battle can only be the default ten people."

"There are a total of twenty two people, and lots will be drawn to decide the opponents in order to choose ten outer sect disciples and...

determine the strongest among them!"

"We are of the same sect and should learn from one another. Deliberately killing someone is forbidden. Between every round, there are three incense sticks' worth of recovery time. Moreover, once one party had conceded, the other party is not allowed to continue attacking. The arbiter will be the Law Enforcement Agency's Elder Ouyang."

"You must all perform well. The Spirit River Sect's four Grand Elders will also be following this battle closely through their spiritual sense… The

Outer Sect Heaven's Chosen War between the South Bank and the North

Bank… begin!"

Chapter 88 (Part 1)

Chapter 88.1

Chapter 88A - The Valiant North Bank

As soon as Zheng Yuandong's words travelled out, all of the North and South Bank disciples on the arena felt their hearts shudder and they subconsciously raised their heads to gaze at the terrace above.

When they did, four heaven-shaking and earth-startling spiritual senses immediately arrived from the forbidden area on the peak of Zhong Dao Mountain that was covered in brilliant white snow. As they appeared, they swept across everyone present.

Having being swept over by those four spiritual senses, all of the outer sect disciples, including Naruto, momentarily shuddered under the feeling of absolute suppression, as though both their body and soul could be exterminated at a glimpse.

Naruto wasn't the only one to feel this way, Shangguan Tianyou and the Heaven's Chosen from the North Bank shuddered too. But soon after, excitement and enthusiasm surfaced in their eyes.

The Grand Elders were paying attention to this battle. This matter caused all disciples qualified for the battle to have their breaths quicken and their eyes shine brightly.

"If one is able to attract the attention of the Grand Elders, they might be accepted as a Conclave Disciple..."

"We must go all-out in this battle!" In this moment, killing intent exploded from the bodies of the competing outer sect disciples from both the North and South Banks.

It was Naruto alone who blinked his eyes.

"Grand Elders on the same level as my Master? Then they would be my Senior Uncles…" Naruto was filled with pride as he felt that his status was really high. After this Heaven's Chosen War had ended, he thought that he should definitely go visit those Senior Uncles to pay his respects.

It was also at this time that Sect Head Zheng Yuandong, who was on the terrace, flourished his large sleeve and a ball of light appeared out of thin air. The ball of light suddenly flew toward the arena, illuminating it as it divided itself into twenty-two beads. Each of them flew towards the representatives of the South Bank and the North Bank. After arriving at Naruto and the others, they all quickly lowered their heads to inspect the ones in their hands.

"Eleven?" Naruto peeked from the corner of his eye with the intention to steal a glance at other people's beads but realised that Shangguan Tianyou and the rest had all hidden theirs tightly, preventing those beside them to see their number.

"First battle, those holding beads number one and number two, go to the arena!" A cold and somber voice arrived from the terrace above. It didn't belong to Zheng Yuandong, instead it came from Ouyang Jie from the Law Enforcement Agency.

As soon as his voice echoed out, a person flew out from the North Bank's side. That person was tall and skinny with a cold and arrogant look on his face. Once he appeared on the arena, loud cheers immediately resounded from the North Bank. Even though he was not one of the North Bank's five great Heaven's Chosen, as seen from the magnitude of the cheers from those North Bank disciples, that person too was a Chosen one.

"North Bank, Liu Yun!" When this tall and skinny youngster got on the arena and spoke arrogantly, Shangguan Tianyou similarly had shot out from the South Bank's side and appeared on the arena.

"South Bank, Shangguan Tianyou!" He stood there with an indifferent expression on his face. He stood straight like a sharp sword. When his voice travelled out, it seemed as though the temperature in the surroundings had dropped.

Immediately after Shangguan Tianyou moved, astonishing cheers erupted from all of the South Bank outer sect di

sciples in support for Shangguan Tianyou.

The lanky youngster's complexion changed. He would have never thought that as soon as he appeared on the field, he would come across one of the South Bank's most illustrious Heaven's Chosen. Unsightly look adorned his face as he took a deep breath, the air nearby distorted with a wave of his hand. An enormous python with a foul stench appeared, coiled its tail and rose, its height reaching over one zhang.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards.)

This lanky youngster summoned his monstrous beast, but before he could continue, Shangguan Tianyou stepped forward without a change in his expression. His body had actually disappeared in a flash, and when he reappeared, he was already standing behind the lanky youngster. Shangguan Tianyou waved his right hand and a flying sword appeared on the lanky youngster's neck.

"You lose."

A chill ran through the lanky youngster's whole body and an aghast expression appeared on his face. With great difficulty, he turned his head around and glanced at Shangguan Tianyou. In his eyes, utter disbelief hid. He thought that he was probably not the other's match, but he would have never imagined that he would actually lose this quickly. After a long time, he conceded bitterly, unsummoned his huge python and walked off the arena.

"We have won the first round. Haha, our South Bank is definitely going to win this time!"

"Senior Brother Shangguan has the capabilities to strive for the top place!"

The South Bank immediately cheered with excitement. Naruto's eyes widened. He too hadn't clearly seen Shangguan Tianyou's movement, but he felt that Shangguan Tianyou's movement just now had truly been extraordinary. |

Even two of the Grand Elders focused their attention on Shangguan Tianyou with their spiritual senses right now.

Meanwhile, everyone from the North Bank was in an uproar. "Teleportation? Impossible! Not with his cultivation. That was definitely not teleportation!"

"That was a void technique. That person… That person is worthy of being called the South Bank's top Heaven's Chosen. With his Chakra Condensation cultivation, he actually has a remarkable technique such as the void technique!"

At the moment, the expressions on each of the North Bank's Heaven's Chosen participating changed. A grave look flashed across Bei Hanlie's and the Gongsun siblings' eyes. Even Xu Song felt his heart sink.

Only the black robed youngster, Gui Ya, remained with his eyes closed since the very start.

"Second round!" While everyone was still in an uproar and the cheers intensified, Ouyang Jie's voice echoed somberly from the terrace above, interrupting everyone's discussions.

A young man from within the North Bank Heaven's Chosen who wasn't very tall and was somewhat fat heard this and appeared on the arena in a flash. He was all smiles, beaming as though he was harmless to both man and animals.

"North Bank, Xu Song." He directed a silly smile at the disciple who had just walked out from the South Bank in a polite greeting.

The person who walked out from the South Bank wasn't Zabuza or someone else of his caliber, but a young man who had previously concealed his cultivation and rose to prominence in the qualification battle. This horse-faced young man had an awful look on his face as he realised that the other party was one of the five great Heaven's Chosen from the North Bank.

"South Bank, Zhou Feng!" The young man took a deep breath and circulated his cultivation through his body. After he spoke heavily, a flying sword immediately appeared with a hand seal. However, before he could even point it toward Xu Song, a mocking glow flashed across Xu Song's eyes as he raised his right hand and pressed down.

Boom. A crack suddenly appeared above Zhou Feng's head, and with a snapping sound, a huge beast that resembled a whale suddenly appeared like a lightning from clear sky, not even giving Zhou Feng time to react as it swallowed Zhou Feng whole.

That flying sword which had been cut off from the young man's spiritual energy crashed on the ground.

"Fighting with me, a Sky Mountain's disciple, yet actually not paying attention to the air above you makes one feel happy and disappointed at the same time." Xu Song smiled and turned around, walking off the arena. He waved his right hand behind his back and the huge beast immediately opened its mouth, spitting Zhou Feng's unconscious body in front of everyone from the South Bank.

Everyone from the South Bank had their expression turned ugly, and a lot sucked in a deep breath. Even the minds of Zabuza and those similar were startled.

In contrast, the North Bank's cheers shook the heavens.

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. He felt that those fellows from the North Bank were too scary, their control over ferocious beasts had truly reached a fearsome level.

Shortly after, the third round began. The one from the North Bank was similarly one of the five great Heaven's Chosen, Gongsun Wan-Er. When she saw that Kurenai wasn't the one to appear from the South Bank but someone else, her expression revealed slight disappointment. Having lost her interest, with a wave of her hand, a prismatic phoenix following by her side spat out a prismatic spray.

That South Bank disciple became confused after the prismatic spray hit his face. He raved on the arena as if he was fighting in a hand-to-hand combat against an invisible enemy and soon collapsed from exhaustion before fainting.

From beginning till end, all it took Shangguan Wan-Er to achieve this easy victory was but a wave of her hand. She nimbly got off the arena, making everyone from the South Bank remain silent once more. They looked towards the North Bank with pained expression on their faces as powerlessness sprouted deep inside their hearts.

"Only a Heaven's Chosen has the ability to fight against another Heaven's Chosen!" The outer sect disciples from the South Bank looked towards Shangguan Tianyou and the others expectantly, many directing their eyes towards Naruto as well.

Naruto immediately raised his head high and stuck his chest out. In reality, he had also been taken aback by Shangguan Wan-er from the bottom of his heart.

"This small lady, it seems Kurenai is not her match, ah." Naruto gulped with difficulty.

Translated by XianXiaWorld

Chapter 88 (Part 2)

Chapter 88.2

Chapter 88B - The Valiant North Bank

The fourth battle unfolded very quickly. Zabuza's whole body surged with lightning as he dashed onto the arena in a flash. The North Bank youngster, who wore a black robe and had had his eyes closed from the start slowly, opened them. There was a calm expression on his face as he walked up to the arena.

Oddly, not a single person from the North Bank cheered for him at all when he appeared, on the contrary, everyone's expression distorted, and even Bei Hanlie and the other of the five great Heaven's Chosen from the North Bank took a deep breath.

This scene surprised everyone from the South Bank. Zabuza carefully inspected the black-robed young man with a serious expression.

"North Bank, Gui Ya." When the black-robed young man stood on the arena he calmly spoke, the expression on his face did not change in the slightest and even his voice seemed devoid of emotion.

"South Bank, Zabuza!" Zabuza took a deep breath. He knew that the other party was the top Heaven's Chosen in the North Bank and Zabuza's fighting spirit gradually rose.

"I will spare nothing to defeat this person. Even if my losses are huge and I am unable to continue competing, I would still be the number one!" The fighting spirit in Zabuza's eyes rose to the heavens as a low roar escaped his mouth, and the lightning surrounding his whole body rumbled. Countless lightning bolts crashed into the floor; with him at the center, a lightning field with a radius of ten zhang formed.

(ED note: one zhang is approximately 3.58 meters, or 3.64 yards)

However, at this moment, Gui Ya raised his right hand and pointed towards the sky without a change in his expression. Where his finger pointed, the clouds and mists in the sky suddenly roiled. Countless black clouds appeared out of nowhere and coagulated in a flash, causing countless people to raise their heads to look at the sky. The complexions on the faces of the North Bank disciples changed and some even had fearful expressions.

Zabuza let out a low roar and he bolted out, driving the lightning in his surroundings along, straight to Gui Ya.

Gui Ya remained expressionless, and as he stood there, he actually closed his eyes.

"You are courting death!" Zabuza felt he was being seriously humiliated, as a Heaven's Chosen, his self-esteem was truly big. He snarled and the lightning field surrounding him actually increased in size once again, its force now even greater.

However, before he could get close to Gui Ya, the sky above thundered. The black clouds seemed to have been sundered as an enormous blackcoloured ghost claw, like a pillar of the skies, descended from the layers of clouds and onto the earth in the blink of an eye, crashing down on Zabuza's with a massive force.

Before the enormous ghost claw even arrived, Zabuza's whole body was already shaking as blood flowed out all over his body. The lightning outside his body crackled loudly, struggling before it crumbled. Kaka. In this moment, cracks appeared on the ground beneath his feet, the ruble forming circles around his body.

Fresh blood continued to flow from his whole body as he let out a pained howl. All seven apertures of his head were bleeding as he tried to struggle before despair swept over him and Zabuza's world turned pitch-black in an instant.

"No!"

In the instant this ghost claw appeared, regardless of whether it was the North Bank or the South Bank, all of them couldn't hold the fear that rose within. The Chakra in their bodies too was suppressed from this fear and created the illusion that their very souls were go

ing to be extracted from their bodies.

The expressions of the Sect Head and the others on the terrace also changed.

"There has been no one who could cultivate the Nightwalker Technique in thousands of years, and this boy has actually cultivated this technique to such a high degree!"

"Not good!" The expression on the Purple Cauldron Mountain's Xu Meixiang changed. She suddenly flew out and quickly headed straight for the arena. She instantly arrived and raised her right hand, waving it towards the ghost claw. A monstrous rumble rang out, but even though the ghost claw was pushed back, it actually didn't crumbled in mid-air. Zabuza vomited a huge amount of fresh blood and immediately fell unconscious. If Xu Meixiang had arrived a moment later, Zabuza was bound to become a pulp of meat, exterminated in both body and soul.

Xu Meixiang's mind sank and she coldly looked at Gui Ya.

"Even though you are young and born with a talent, you are actually malevolent enough to dare kill one of your fellow sect disciples right in front of us. You are really courting death!"

Gui Ya remained silent with a somewhat strange expression appearing on his face. It was as though he was unsure of what emotion he should portray on his face in this moment.

"I never would have thought that he was this weak." Gui Ya raised his head and looked at Xu Meixiang with a chilling calmness. Once he said that, he turned around and walked off the arena.

Xu Meixiang furrowed her eyebrows and raised her head, glancing at the terrace above, as if she was slightly apprehensive of something. She snorted coldly and carried Zabuza away. It was impossible for Zabuza to continue participating in this battle to the point that with how serious his injuries were, she was afraid that it would even be very difficult for him to recover in a short period of time.

The North Bank remained silent, and the South Bank too remained silent.

Gui Ya's lonesome figure silently returned to its original position where he closed his eyes.

A good while later, the North Bank was the first to recover and one by one as they started cheering.

"The South Bank is finished, even their Heaven's Chosen are not our match. You people are bound to lose this time!"

"The South Bank has already lost three rounds and their win in the first round was just a fluke. You people are sure to continue losing from here on out."

Facing the North Bank's taunts, pained expression surfaced on the South Bank disciples' faces. The North Bank… was really too strong.

The South Bank had only been victorious in that first round and had lost the three following rounds. The Heaven's Chosen Zabuza in particular was almost killed in battle. This scene had already caused the South Bank to lose all hope in their previous desire of wiping away their previous disgraces.

Shangguan Tianyou stared unwaveringly at Gui Ya. His heart shook with unprecedented shock. He suddenly realised that he had actually been shaking in fear just now.

He wasn't the only one behaving as such, but all of the nearby South

Bank Heaven's Chosen too were mind-blown at this moment. The North Bank… even if there was just Gui Ya alone this time, it seemed as though they could still sweep away everyone from the South Bank.

"This is already not Chakra Condensation… even the attack from an Ancestor was unable to exterminate that ghost hand. That was… one of the ten great secret techniques in the Spirit River Sect and one of the two techniques thought to be lost… the Nightwalker Technique?"

"The only technique that could rival the Nightwalker Technique is… the Water Nation!"

Naruto had a grave expression on his face. This battle had shook his mind as well. Gui Ya's strength had caused Naruto to quake with fear.

Soon after, the fifth round began. The person that walked out of the North Bank made everyone from the South Bank feel just as bitter. The other party was one of the five great Heaven's Chosen that instilled fear in the crowds… Gongsun Yun.

He was wearing a black robe with only his yellow eyes exposed, insects and parasites obviously squirming around within them. After a long while, a South Bank disciple grudgingly went up to the arena. Just as he went up, Gongsun Yun's eyes revealed an ice-cold look, and before they even introduced themselves, he flourished his sleeve. Instantly, a buzzing sound spread as countless black-coloured insects immediately flew out from his sleeve, making a beeline for the South Bank competitor.

No matter how that disciple resisted, it was all useless as his body was soon covered with countless black insects from head to toe. All of his defenses were not in the slightest bit useful as the insects drilled their way through any possible gap. This shocked everyone watching, even the North Bank was unable to adapt to this scene.

"I concede!" The South Bank's competitor immediately cried out with a trembling tone in his voice. He felt that with but a single thought of his opponent, all those insects on his body would devour him in the blink of an eye.

A mocking look appeared in Gongsun Yun's eyes. He turned around to walk off the arena and the black insects squirmed towards the ground like a tide. They quickly rushed to Gongsun Yun and climbed up his body, disappearing within his sleeves.

As Naruto watched this scene, his scalp felt slightly numb. He wasn't the only one to feel that way, Kurenai and even Shangguan Tianyou too felt their hearts sink.

In this moment, all of the South Bank disciples felt the strength of the North Bank. The South Bank was not the North Bank's opponent in this Heaven's Chosen War at all. The South Bank disciples sighed.

"We have lost this time…"

"The North Bank… is too strong!"

At the same time, the North Bank had once again managed an overwhelming victory.

"As said before, you lot can only win the first round and will lose all the following rounds!"

"The South Bank? They are but a joke, bound to forever remain underneath us, the North Bank!"

"Thirty years ago, there was one person from the South Bank who managed to enter the top ten. Today… not a single one of you will be able to!" Voices from the North Bank spread all around. The South Bank disciples wanted to retort, but not one of them could say a word from the extreme humiliation.

"Sixth round. Those holding the beads numbered eleven and twelve, come to the arena!" Ouyang Jie's voice suddenly rang out after Gongsun Yun took his leave.

Naruto took a deep breath and lifted his head, the eleventh bead in his hand.

Chapter 89 Chapter 89

Chapter 89 - Why Don't You Concede?

Practically in the instant that Naruto raised his head, Bei Hanlie from the North Bank's five great Heaven's Chosen smiled faintly. He was naturally handsome, and after he smiled, an extraordinary splendour surfaced in the eyes of many young female disciples from the South Bank.

With a smile on his face, he patted the malevolent and ferocious Nocturnal Beast lying down on its stomach beside him and walked forward. That Nocturnal Beast shook its head and stood up, revealing an otherworldly glow in its eyes.

In the instant that this huge dog stood up, many people from the South Bank immediately cried out in surprise.

When the Nocturnal Beast stood up, its body was more than a zhang tall. Its whole body was thick and robust, apparently containing boundless strength. The huge dog's skull was massive, and when it exposed its teeth, saliva dripped down from the corner of its mouth. Its black fur stood on end, causing this huge dog to appear even more ferocious than before.

Its four limbs were thicker than a normal person's thighs, and its bone spurs were clearly visible. With a jump, the huge dog had already leaped onto the arena, and after which, it roared at the skies.

This roar caused sound waves to roll out in all directions, causing the many monstrous beasts beside the North Bank disciples to tremble. It was as though they had met their king and dared not raise their heads.

Bei Hanlei was smiling as he walked up the arena, and his gaze swept across everyone from the South Bank.

"North Bank, Bei Hanlei. I wonder who from our sect am I going to battle?"

Following his words, the saliva from the huge dog beside him continuously dripped down as a merciless, ice-cold glow appeared in its eyes. In this moment, it was evident, even to the naked eye, that its teeth grew slightly longer. If it was anyone else that had seen such a monstrous beast, they would have all lost their will to battle, especially when it stuck its tongue out, making its wickedness exceptionally obvious.

Everyone from the South Bank was silent as they looked at those before them, including both Naruto and the others not sent to battle this round. Naruto took a look at Bei Hanlie and the huge dog. He rolled his eyeballs and a strange expression appeared on his face. Naruto cleared his throat and walked out in a proud manner.

Once he walked out, the gazes of the South Bank disciples behind Uzumaki

Xiaochun all focused on him with expectant looks in their eyes. The huge Nocturnal Beast's eyes were faintly green in colour as its eyes locked onto Naruto.

Naruto assumed an expertly look as he raised his chin and walked up to the arena. In the distance, Elder Zhou's phoenix also seemed to focus its attention on Naruto.

"South Bank, Naruto!" Just as Naruto got onto the arena and announced himself, the Nocturnal Beast suddenly let out a low roar and the merciless look in its eyes turned savage, as though it wanted to swallow Naruto.

"Naruto? I heard that you came first in the South Bank's qualification battle this time?" Bei Hanlie took a glance at Naruto's getup, with undisguised ridicule in his eyes.

"You are called Bei Hanlie, yes? I will give you a chance to concede!" The huge dog's savageness made Naruto's heart shake wildly, but he still maintained the expression of an expert as lofty as the clouds in the sky.

"Concede?" When Bei Hanlei heard Naruto's words, he was stunned for a moment before he looked up to the sky and laughed uproariously as though he had h

eard a hilarious joke. A savage aura gradually emerged in his eyes.

"Interesting. You are the first outer sect disciple that has dared to talk to me in such a manner in many years." Bei Hanlie raised his right hand and formed a hand seal to command the Nocturnal Beast.

"Bei Hanlie, this is your final chance to concede. Once I, Naruto, have made my move, even I fear what may happen. I advise you… it's best you don't force my hand." Naruto sighed lightly as if he was an exceptional expert while he looked at Bei Hanlie under the quiet sky, a trace of sympathy evident in his eyes.

Everyone from the South Bank was flabbergasted in this moment. They looked at Naruto and then at Bei Hanlie, particularly at the huge brutish dog. No matter how they compared the two of them, it seemed Bei Hanlie was much more imposing than Naruto.

However, Naruto's words involuntarily caused a faint hope to rise in the hearts of everyone from the South Bank. But once they recalled Naruto's misdeeds in the past, everyone in the South Bank became worried.

As for the North Bank, they were all roaring with laughter in this moment and mockery sounded out in an endless stream.

"That fellow must be stupid. Senior Brother Bei is one of the five great

Heaven's Chosen. Even though he is inferior to Gui Ya, Senior Brother

Gui Ya too had recognised Senior Brother Bei Han's strength. Who is this

Naruto to be so arrogant?"

"Not only does Senior Brother Bei Han's naturally possess extraordinary strength, but even the Elders themselves unconsciously sing praises about that Nocturnal Beast of his. That Nocturnal Beast is categorised as a king in the beast race. It possesses physical prowess and matchless strength. Its low roar can even shake one's mind. This Naruto… is so small and thin, I reckon that his thigh would be snapped off with a single bite from the Nocturnal Beast!"

"Senior Brother Bei Han is certain to win!"

Bei Hanlie laughed at Naruto as a cold glow flashed in his eyes. He had made up his mind, he was determined to lacerate Naruto's flesh as corporal punishment and was persistent in making a layer of his flesh drop no matter what. Bei Hanlie formed a hand seal, raring to go.

"Once I really make my move, even I fear what may happen." Naruto sighed and just as his voice resounded, his right hand suddenly patted his storage pouch and two medicine pills immediately appeared in his hands.

At that moment, Bei Hanlie laughed darkly and pointed with his hand seal. The Nocturnal Beast waiting impatiently by his side immediately roared and rushed straight at Naruto.

Bei Hanlie too disappeared from his place with extreme speed, the sun imprint between his eyebrows emitting rays of light as he charged at Naruto.

However, in the instant that a human and a beast both charged, Naruto's suddenly shot up and threw a medicine pill straight at the Nocturnal Beast.

A fierce glow radiated in the Nocturnal Beast's eyes and it growled. It could evade the pill with ease, but unexpectedly, its body paused and its expression change slightly. The Nocturnal Beast actually did not even attempt to dodge and directly swallowed that medicine pill in a single gulp.

After consuming this medicine pill, the huge dog's body violently shuddered, and in a flash, both its eyes became bloodshot. A loud tremor resounded within its body, from head to toe. Its originally thick and robust body actually swelled up once again in this moment. In the blink of an eye, the Nocturnal Beast had nearly doubled in size!

Even more bones spurred and its teeth grew even longer!

Its saliva flowed out like a river, and above all, in the area between its legs, a stick was now… standing erect!

Its whole body looked so savage at this moment that it was difficult to describe.

Its originally green eyes had turned purple-red, and there was a wicked aura surrounding it. The Nocturnal Beast's consciousness seemed to become muddled as it scratched the ground with both its claws and lifted its head toward the sky, letting out a strange heaven-shaking and earth-startling roar. The Nocturnal Beast's howl resounded in all directions, causing all of the outer sect disciples standing outside the arena to suck in a breath from shock.

"That… What was that medicine pill!"

"Something is odd. Why do I feel that this huge dog's appearance looks somewhat familiar…" The South Bank disciples cried out in surprise.

On the North Bank's end, everyone were staring with their eyes wide opened at the changes occurring in the Nocturnal Beast after it swallowed the medicine pill. They could tell that the imposingness of the huge dog had increased. Not only did its physical prowess increase, but a certain madness also appeared, causing many North Bank disciples to be pleasantly surprised.

"This medicine pill is actually so effective!"

"It can make monstrous beasts to go berserk!"

This scene shocked many people in the surroundings. Even Bei Hanlie was stunned for a moment and was slightly puzzled regarding the current situation. Even though it was obvious that the Nocturnal Beast had become stronger, he constantly felt that something was wrong even though he wasn't certain why.

"I advise you once again. Concede." Naruto raised his chin and spoke lightly.

"I originally intended to only break one of your arms and let you off. But since you are trying to play tricks, I will break all four of your limbs in this battle!" Bei Hanlie's eyes were filled with viciousness. Even though one was not allowed to take another's life in the Heaven's Chosen War, but breaking the bones and injuring the muscles was unavoidable. While speaking, Bei Hanlie suddenly rushed out and headed straight for Naruto.

Naruto sighed and swung his right hand after raising it up. The Aphrodisiac Pill that he had refined flying straight at Bei Hanlie.

After he had thrown out the medicine pill, Naruto's speed retreated extremely quickly to the edge of the arena. He stood there and nervously paid attention to Bei Hanlie.

Bei Hanlie's eyes shrunk back into their sockets. He was about to dodge, but this medicine pill crumbled and exploded on its own, turning into powder and enveloping the surroundings. No matter how Bei Hanlie tried to evade, most of the powder stuck onto his body.

The colour of his face changed as he rapidly backed away, thinking that it was a poisonous pill. He hurriedly examined himself, only to realise that there was nothing unusual but just a strange, sweet scent.

He frowned, feeling this was getting weirder and weirder. Just as he was planning to quickly get over with this, he suddenly heard a low growl coming from beside him. He shot a glance from the corner of his eyes and his expression quickly changed.

The Nocturnal Beast that was wailing loudly suddenly turned its head. A wicked aura surrounded it, its eyes glowing red as it unexpectedly locked its eyes on Bei Hanlie.

Fear gripped Bei Hanlie's heart. Just when he was about to command the

Nocturnal Beast, it produced an earth-shaking roar, and the Nocturnal Beast charged at Bei Hanlie, its speed extremely fast. Bei Hanlie couldn't even dodge in time, and the Nocturnal Beast pounced on him and knocked him on the ground.

"Dammit, you have gone crazy! What are you doing!" Bei Hanlie's face was dark. As he bellowed out, that huge dog firmly pressed against his back. This Nocturnal Beast had extraordinary strength and now that it had went crazy, Bei Hanlie was incapable of moving in the slightest. An ominous premonition drained the colour from Bei Hanlie's face.

In this moment, all the surrounding outer sect disciples couldn't help but slightly lean forward and stare at this scene wide-eyed and their mouths hanging open. The Ancestors and Elders on the terrace directed their eyes at them, and even the Grand Elders observing with their spiritual sense from the peak of the mountain focused their attention as well.

Shortly after, a scene that made everyone suck in a deep breath from the overwhelming shock appeared… following Bei Hanlie's bloodcurdling scream!

"No… No… You! Argh!" Bei Hanlie's blood-curdling scream shook the heavens and moved the earth. A pained expression had surfaced on his face, coupled with an empty look, as if he couldn't believe what was happening to him. His whole body shuddered, his voice extremely wretched.

"My god! What was that medicine pill? It's not berserk, it's… in heat!"

"This… This…"

"Senior Brother Bei is actually being done in by his own war beast…?!" All of the North Bank disciples were in an uproar, all of them unable to believe what they were seeing. Most of the disciples were breathing heavily, an unprecedented look of panic and shock filled their eyes.

Bei Hanlie was crazily struggling, his blood-curdling screams continuously echoing out. The wretched screams and the current earthshaking scene formed a scene without precedent in the Spirit River Sect since ancient times.

Even Gui Ya was watching stunned at this moment, staring as his body shuddered and his eyes opened wide with incredulity.

All of the South Bank disciples had a roar spread in their minds in this moment, chasing away all their thoughts. Shangguan Tianyou was stupefied and felt as though the whole world had become darker. Kurenai's face instantly flushed.

Naruto who was standing on the arena was also similarly alarmed. This was his first test on the Aphrodisiac Pill in battle. He had never thought that the effects would actually be so astonishing… He looked at Bei Hanlie miserably clawing the floor. He too couldn't bear watch him and let out a sigh.

"I already said that once I make my move, even I fear what may happen. I advised you so many times, yet you… remained stubborn." Naruto spoke, disturbed and innocent.

"Naruto!" At this moment an angry roar echoed throughout the skies. Bei Hanlie's master had a vicious aura as he rumbled towards them and waved his large sleeve. The huge Nocturnal Beast dog on top of Bei Hanlie's body immediately had its body picked up and thrown far away. He picked Bei Hanlie who couldn't bare to face anyone from shame. Bei Hanlie's master too felt incredulous and absurd, and was unwilling to remain here any longer. He shot a furious glare at Naruto and quickly left.

As for Bei Hanlie, the injuries on his body and the wounds in his heart overlapped with one another, causing him to close his eyes before immediately fainting. He didn't know how he was going to face other people in the future, and that pain made him feel as though this was all a horrible nightmare.

Translated by: Nat

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 90 Chapter 90

Chapter 90 - The North Bank's Common Enemy

Following the departure of Kiba and his master, the disciples of the South Bank and North Bank from both ends of the arena were left dumbfounded. They were stunned, at loss for words as the scene of the huge dog climbing ontop of Kiba replayed itself in their minds…

They weren't the only ones at a loss, even the Sect Head, the mountains' Ancestors and Elders on the terrace looked silly as they blankly stared at Naruto who had an innocent look plastered on his face as he stood on the arena down below.

Elder Zhou was also among them, his body shuddering, his eyes bulging out as he looked on with mixed feelings… As for the phoenix in mid-air, it screeched multiple times with a look that suggested it wanted to convince everyone that it hadn't slandered Naruto back then.

After a long while, the sound of countless people sucking in their breaths sounded from the South Bank as the outer sect disciples there focused on Naruto in this instant. Every last one of them was tongue-tied with an odd expressions on their faces

All of the female disciples' faces were beet red. When they looked at Uzumaki

Xiaochun, their faces were extremely odd, many of them even spat in contempt.

Similarly, the ones that sympathised the most were the male disciples. Almost all had subconsciously closed their legs in this moment as cold sweat covered their foreheads. They felt sympathy for Kiba from the bottom of their hearts.

"Uzumaki… Senior Uncle Uzumaki… Heavens! That Kiba… I reckon that he would be left with a psychological trauma for the rest of his life…"

"One by all means should not provoke Senior Uncle Uzumaki. He… he is truly frightening!"

"Isn't this the medicine pill that Elder Zhou's phoenix swallowed? Such a medicine pill can make monstrous beasts go into heat… I am really unable to imagine exactly on what basis did Senior Uncle Uzumaki find a reason to… refine that pill!"

Soon, an uproar arose from the South Bank. But regardless of what methods Naruto had used, ultimately, the South Bank had achieved a victory. It was important to note that this was barely the second time the South Bank had won since the beginning of this Heaven's Chosen War. While it caused the South Bank disciples to feel uncomfortable, they still cheered for Naruto.

Shangguan Tianyou wiped his cold sweat and looked at Naruto. No matter how much he previously looked down on Naruto, he too had sucked in a deep breath today. When he thought of the miserable state that Kiba was in previously and thought what would have happened if it were him there instead of Kiba… He did not dare to continue that train of thought.

Kurenai had already been left at a loss for words before, and now she was shellshocked.

However, an even bigger uproar followed like thunder from the North

Bank disciples. This uproar was completely unprecedented. The North Bank had previously won many rounds in a row and stood grand like a rainbow. Now it was the exact opposite.

"This is ridiculous! What kind of medicine pill was that? Dammit, how can such a medicine pill exist in the world!? I want to destroy that Naruto, and I want to destroy that medicine pill!"

"Heavens, Senior Brother Bei had actually been pounced on by his monstrous beast. This… This…"

"Down with Naruto! He had brought the greatest humiliation to us, the North Bank, in countless years up till today! That kind of medicine pill should be classified as a prohibited drug, reg

ardless of possession, it must be completely exterminated!" All of the North Bank disciples, even those inner sect disciples that had come forward to watch from the sidelines were now crazy in this moment. Their eyes were completely red and they were frantically shouting out.

It was impossible for them not to go crazy. The male disciples from the

South Bank sympathised with them even to the extent that they pitied Kiba, but to the North Bank, they were the ones who really felt as though it had happened to them… Each and every single one of them had their own combat beast. As for this moment, amidst their shouts filled with insanity and anger, all of them subconsciously took a glance at the combat beast by their side. When they thought of Kiba, they immediately felt that their whole being was uncomfortable...

Just like that, more and more crazed outcries rose from the mouths of more and more of the North Bank disciples, shaking the skies.

"North Bank's common enemy is Naruto!"

"Down with Naruto! As long as he's still around, the North Bank will remain humiliated!"

"Dammit, I want him killed, I want him destroyed! He has defiled our North Bank for all of eternity!" One could imagine that from then on, when anyone of the North Bank disciples looked at their own war beasts, they wouldn't be able to help but recall Kiba's misery.

The Gongsun siblings too had sucked in a deep breath. When they looked at Naruto now, an unprecedented fear was revealed in their eyes. But even more apparent was the raging fury. The one who had suffered was Kiba, but that was also a humiliation for the entire North Bank.

Even Xu Song's chubby figure had began trembling as a fury surfaced on his face. Despite their mutual dislike with Kiba, now he still felt deep sympathy for him. And in the depths of that sympathy lurked fear.

"Kiba only has one beast… I… I have five…" When his thoughts reached that point, Xu Song nearly wanted to cry. He gnashed his teeth with anger as he snarled at Naruto with reddened eyes.

Even Gui Ya was shaking slightly in his black robe as he gazed at Naruto, his eyes filled with seriousness.

Seeing the situation had turned out as though he had stirred a hornet's nest and caused a large reaction, Naruto felt innocent as he stood on the arena and looked at all those fuming North Bank disciples as he quickly defended himself.

"Don't blame me. When I entered the arena just now, I warned Kiba and suggested for him to concede. But he just wouldn't listen. I already said it… Once I make my move, even I fear what may happen." Naruto felt deeply wronged, but his explanation was poor, such an explanation only added oil to the fire...

"Naruto. You are actually called Naruto. Damn it! You are not pure in the slightest!"

(ED note: His name (Xiaochun) is composed of the words "small" and "pure" )

"A disciple that knows no shame and is extremely despicable, you actually dare to humiliate us even further!"

"Down with Naruto!"

The North Bank disciples were raging, all of them had red eyes and actually moved forward. These tens of thousands of people walking forward as one as though they really intended to come up on the arena and kill Naruto.

This scene immediately alarmed Naruto and he quickly backed away. When he neared the South Bank's side, Naruto sighed and lifted his chin as he flourished his sleeve, putting on the airs of a lonesome expert.

"I did nothing wrong, yet the people slander me? Oh well, nothing I can do about it." Naruto sighed softly and quickly jumped off the arena. Even louder bellows arrived from the countless North Bank disciples behind him. If looks could kill, Naruto would have definitely died tens of thousands of times from those glares.

Naruto coughed dryly as he returned back to the South Bank's side. The the South Bank disciples had odd expressions on their faces as they realised exactly how terrifying Naruto's ability to enrage people was.

At this moment, to everyone in the North Bank, the enemy was no longer the South Bank, but one single person. Naruto!

One could imagine that if the North Bank emerged victorious today, due to what had happened to Kiba, although the the North Bank would have won, they would have also lost...

The Sect Head on the terrace above had an awkward expression on his face. He lowered his head and glared fiercely at Naruto down below as waves of helplessness washed over him from within his heart. He felt that whenever Naruto appeared, regardless of how serious one matter was, the atmosphere would still change by the end… As for the five Ancestors from the mountains still present, the trio from the North Bank couldn't determine what sort of expression to make. Throughout their lives, they had never seen anything like this happening…

The colour of Toruho's face was alternating between green and red as he stared with empty eyes. The previous scene was really too shocking, the four Grand Elders on the peak of the Zhong Dao Mountain, with their spiritual senses, flickered as their emotions did.

Seeing the North Bank's fury was about to get out of control, Ou Yangjie's voice suddenly echoed from the sky. Following his voice, a huge pressure exploded on the arena, causing the North Bank disciples close to the arena to be pushed away.

"Seventh round, begin!" Ouyang Jie too felt helpless. After his words sounded out, a competitor immediately rushed out off the North Bank disciples. He was a burly fellow with bloodshot eyes who roared out as soon as he got up on the arena.

"Naruto, I challenge you to a battle!"

"Only after entering the top ten will you have the qualifications to challenge me." Naruto raised his chin and assumed an expert's look as he lightly spoke. The burly man from the North Bank let out a growl, his eyes bloodshot. At this moment, from beside Shangguan Tianyou, a disciple from the top ten of the South Bank summoned his courage and walked to the arena.

The uproar continued throughout the battle, the North Bank had gone crazy… The burly man from the North Bank in particular was the first to rise against Naruto. The wrath he held for Naruto was vented on the South Bank disciple, causing that South Bank disciple to be pushed back little by little. In the end, the South Bank disciple had no choice but to concede.

The following eighth and ninth round… the North Bank disciples battled like they were injected with chicken blood. Each and every one of them had a monstrously vicious aura surrounding them, and as soon as they got onto the arena, they would sweep down like a typhoon. They felt suffocation, striving to finish the battle and entering the top ten as fast as possible in order to have a battle with Naruto and wash away the humiliation that he had given them!

"I must win, and then in the battle of the top ten, I will get rid of Naruto and give him a taste of the misery from being pounced on by a war beast!"

"Blast it, I'd violate the sect rules and cripple him!"

"Even if he's killed, the masters wouldn't punish the one who did it too severely because they'd be the North Bank's hero!" These North Bank competitors used all of their means and all of a sudden, their desire to fight rose to the heavens.

As for the tenth round, because the North Bank had two more competitors, that battle was between the the North Bank competitors themselves. Even though it too was intense, it was obviously toned down significantly.

Soon, the last round from this stage began. Kurenai took in a deep breath as a purple light lit up beneath her feet and she floated up into the air and landed on the arena, as did the North Bank's competitor. And so, the final round began.

That battle was not particularly thrilling. After all, Kurenai was one of the Heaven's Chosen. Even though the North Bank's competitor had a few tricks up his sleeves, compared to Kurenai, he was still lacking in many areas. The two made their moves, but within ten breaths, the North Bank disciple suddenly spurted out fresh blood and grudgingly conceded.

Kurenai was victorious and calmly returned. Intense ovations exploded out from the South Bank. As Naruto listened to those cheers, a slight ache rose in his heart as he secretly wondered why he didn't receive nearly as many cheers from the South Bank as Kurenai did even though he had also won.

As such, the first stage of the Outer Sect's Heaven's Chosen War between the South and the North Bank had concluded with only eleven people left. And among them, eight were from the North Bank and only three were from the South Bank!

Translated by: Nat

Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard

Chapter 91 Chapter 91

Chapter 91 - The Crazed North Bank

With the end of the first stage, three incense sticks worth of resting time was given. Currently, all of the North Bank disciples were seething with anger; They were all glaring intently at the South Bank, staring right at…Naruto!

Every single one of them were awaiting the beginning of the second stage where they would use every means possible to take down Naruto. They didn't even bother whether the North Bank won this time, all that mattered was whether they could wash away that humiliation with blood!

"Naruto, for this second stage, we will definitely make you understand that for all the shame you have brought to our North Bank, you will pay a heavy price!"

"This kind of person deserves to be pounced upon by a herd of war beasts. To quench our hatred, in this second stage, we must cripple him for life!"

"Down with Naruto, down with that despicable and shameless brat!"

Shouts resounded from the crowd of North Bank, their desire to take down Naruto had, at this very moment, coalesced upon their eight representatives. Of those eight people who had obtained victory, other than Gui Ya who was sitting calmly with his eyes closed, the other seven people were all clenching their fists so hard that their knuckles had turned white.

They knew they were representing the will of all the North Bank disciples, and when they looked at Naruto, their eyes filled with an intense light. Each of them was analysing deep in their hearts, contemplating the information from Naruto's previous fight. Gradually, their hearts filled with confidence as they thought of a way to counter him.

"All that this Naruto have are medicine pills, as long as he does not get a chance to take out his medicine pills, everything else will be simple!"

"To rely on gaining victory with just medicine pills, when without them, destroying him would be as simple as lifting a finger. In this second stage, he will most definitely lose, and it will be a miserable defeat!"

"This is too much!" Naruto's heart was filled with indignation. He felt that the North Bank was too much of a bully; all he had done was win a single match, yet they were being so vicious… He wanted to say something, but was worried that the moment he did, the other side would explode.

Just as the North Bank were in high spirits, the South Bank also voiced out their indignation. The atmosphere gradually got more and more intense when Ou Yangjie's voice suddenly echoed.

"Three incense sticks worth of time has passed, we shall now move onto the second stage of the Heaven's Chosen War and decide the top six!" "Out of those eleven people, one will advance straight into the top six. The remaining ten will draw lots and face each other as per their lot number!" Ou Yangjie's words resounded throughout the arena and a beam of light suddenly appeared on the arena. The beam of light transformed into a round ball that was half a zhang big. As it floated in mid-air, the beads in the hands of the remaining participants were sucked in. Instantly, the beads left their hands and shot straight towards the ball of light and merged into it.

It could be clearly seen that when these beads merged into the ball of light, the numbers on top of them changed to the numbers between one and ten, and one of them remained blank.

The eleven beads spun around inside the ball of light, going faster and faster until no one could see them clearly anymore and the ball of light itself became a blur.

"By using the Mystic Technique secret art to hide them from everyone, the heavens could ensure impartial fa

irness; even this old man here is unable to interfere with the beads inside the ball of light, so you can rest assured. Now, please retrieve the beads and receive your lot." As Ou Yangjie explained, North Bank's Xu Song viciously stared at Naruto and opened his mouth with a cold laugh.

"Naruto, you better pray that you do not meet me this round, if not, you are doomed!" Once he finished, he lifted his hand and retrieved a bead with his hand.

"No matter whom you meet in this second round, you are bound to lose miserably!" One of the Heaven's Chosen from the North Bank gritted his teeth as the rest raised their right hands and grabbed towards the distant ball. Naruto too was among these people. Filled with indignation, he raised his hand to grab a bead.

Instantly, ten beads hurriedly flew out and landed in each of the ten people's hands.

"I am number 3!"

"Mine's number 7!"

"I am number 1!" Each and every North Bank disciple immediately announced their lot as soon as they received their beads. Their momentum quickly rose with every sentence and lot announced. After they announced their lots, they would always look toward Naruto with a vicious gaze. Gui Ya lowered his head, looked at the bead inside his hand and blandly opened his mouth.

"Number 9!" Very soon, the North Bank disciples outside the arena were shocked to realise that of the eight Heaven's Chosen from the North Bank, none had drawn the blank lot. Of the ten numbers, they were now only missing number 4 and number 10. All of them immediately grew anxious as they looked toward the South Bank.

"I am number 4!" Shangguan Tianyou lightly opened his mouth.

"Number 10!" Kurenai had an unsightly look on her face. As she announced her number, she threw a glance at North Bank's Gui Ya.

Other than Naruto, after everyone had announced their numbers, the expressions of the South Bank immediately turned weird. Especially the outer sect disciples from Scented Cloud Mountain who previously witnessed Naruto in that small competition; all of them stared wide-eyed.

"This can't be real…" Some were in disbelief.

But the ones who found it even harder to believe were those from the North Bank clenching their fists and preparing to teach Naruto a lesson. One by one, their expressions grew stunned with disbelief. Almost immediately, countless of gazes gathered on Naruto.

Naruto couldn't hide the joy on his face, he had previously already seen that the little ball in his hand had no number on it. Initially, he even thought that he had seen wrong, but after a closer inspection, he was certain of it. At this moment, as the gazes of the surrounding people gathered on him, and as everyone's attention focused on him, Naruto felt detached from the world… and immediately flourished his sleeve, putting on the expression of a lonesome expert as he lifted his head to gaze towards the clouds in the sky. He opened his mouth indifferently and said with a melancholic tone.

"I'm sorry, I picked the blank lot. If you want to fight me, you'll have to continue working hard."

After his words spread out, a moment of silence filled the surroundings. After a couple breaths passed, countless outraged cries suddenly exploded from the North Bank.

"Impossible, damn it, he actually drew the blank lot! Why him, that shameless Naruto, why him!"

"Just what kind of luck is that, out of eleven people, he actually drew the blank lot! That sort of person, to have that sort of luck, it doesn't make sense at all!"

"I can't take it anymore, he is showing off too much, I want to kill him!"

The North Bank's outer sect disciples were originally planning to use this chance to wash away their humiliation with blood. But when they found out that Naruto had drawn a blank lot, they almost spit out a mouthful of blood. That scene immediately caused a sea of raging cries to erupt. As for the North Bank Heaven's Chosen preparing for the battle, they all felt as though their punches had landed onto a ball of cotton. Such a feeling caused Xu Song and the others to feel frustrated and exasperated down to the depths of their hearts. When they looked towards Naruto, they couldn't help but wish their gazes could just rip his body to shreds.

Even the people from the South Bank had weird expressions, speechless. They had long since noticed that the hearts of the North Bank were brimming with boundless desire to fight Naruto. But with the situation right now, one needn't think much to realise that the exasperation the North Bank felt had reached the heavens by now.

"This is nothing, when Senior Uncle Uzumaki participated in the small competition… he drew the blank twice!" Some of Scented Cloud Mountain's outer sect disciples couldn't help but open their mouths. Though they said that softly, when the people beside them heard it, their eyes widened with disbelief.

"He has drawn two blanks before? Senior Uncle Uzumaki's luck…..is just undescribable!"

Naruto cleared his throat as he continued his pose as an unfathomable expert. He swept his gaze over the North Bank and lightly shook his head with an apologetic expression, this expression simply pushed the entire North Bank to the brink of insanity.

But no matter how hysterical they were, they had no choice but to watch in anger as the second stage of the Heaven's Chosen War began.

However, it was as though without Naruto, the entire Heaven's Chosen War had become pointless; especially since among the ten competitors, only two were from the South Bank. That meant that three of the matches would simply be a fight among the North Bank itself.

The first match of the second stage was just as such. When North Bank's Gongsun Wan-er and another of the North Bank's competitors walked up to the arena, without putting much effort, the North Bank's competitor was quickly defeated. Seeing this, the South Bank disciples had complicated expressions on their faces.

Fortunately, in the second match, it was Shangguan Tianyou's turn. But he was fortunate to have his opponent not be one of the remaining four great Heaven's Chosen from the North Bank, instead it was just another one of their representatives. This match didn't take much of a toll on Shangguan Tianyou as he easily obtained another victory. This caused the South Bank disciples to heave a sigh of relief. At the very least… they had won a match.

But after that, the third match and the fourth match were all the North Bank representatives fighting among themselves. Even though it was intense, those Heaven's Chosen battles had no connection to the South Bank, making the South Bank disciples lapse into bitter silence.

It wasn't until the very last match, when Kurenai walked out with a solemn expression, that the cheers once again erupted from the South Bank. But even so, no one in the South Bank had much hope for this match.

That was simply because Kurenai's opponent was… the most fearsome one from the North Bank, Gui Ya. The person who almost killed Zabuza with a single finger.

"Between yourself and the guy who used lightning before, who's stronger?" Up on the arena, Gui Ya gazed towards Kurenai and asked seriously.

"Senior Brother Lu is slightly stronger." Kurenai didn't feel as though the other party was trying to insult her, thus replied seriously.

"If that is the case… I previously used 70% of my strength, I shall use 40% this time around, so it shouldn't kill you." Gui Ya muttered. When his words reached the surrounding disciples, bitter expressions appeared on all of their faces. They believed Gui Ya was speaking the truth, but even though that was the truth, such honesty only made them despair.

Kurenai sucked in a deep breath as she gesticulated with both her hands immediately. Instantly, countless of blue lights danced around her body, transforming into a myriad of blue damasks that coalesced into a blue-coloured flower. Once this flower had appeared, waves after waves of strong suction immediately appeared!

"Hundred Transformations Plant Technique!" Everyone from the South

Bank immediately recognised the skill with shock. Although this Hundred

Transformations Plant Technique couldn't be compared to the Nightwalker Technique or the Water Nation Technique, it was similarly one of the ten great secret techniques.

The technique focused on using secret arts to use illusory plants against the enemies, it had various forms, making it strange and unpredictable. If it was in the hands of Toruho, he could even conjure an illusory world of plants with a hundred li radius. And ultimately, it could even be upgraded to a genuine secret art… Plant Soldiers!

Kurenai's face turned pale, executing this technique placed a considerable burden on her body. She knew that she wasn't Gui Ya's match, but in her world, there was no such thing as admitting defeat.

With a wave of her hand, the entire blue flower immediately trembled and stretched out endlessly, heading straight at Gui Ya with its petals open, as though it was preparing to devour him.

An imposing aura immediately burst forth, and the gaze in Naruto's eyes turned serious. He was very interested in Kurenai's technique. But right at this moment, Gui Ya lifted up his head, his expression still as calm as ever, and raised his right hand just like before, and pointed out a single finger.

He wasn't pointing towards the sky this time, but rather, he pointed at Kurenai herself. Following that, from beside him, a loud explosion echoed through the air as an enormous black-coloured ghost claw appeared and punched in Kurenai's direction.

The claw was enormous and occupied almost half of the arena, blocking a good half of everyone's view. The fist collided with the blue flower, causing the flower to shudder and instantly crumble to pieces. Yet the ghost claw showed no signs of stopping, like a hot knife cutting through butter, as it neared Kurenai and descended without hesitation.

A loud explosion resounded through the skies as Kurenai spat out a mouthful of blood. Her entire body was mercilessly knocked off the arena, and even when she landed back on the ground below, she still continued taking steps back, spitting out seven-eight more mouthfuls of blood before she finally managed to stabilise herself. With her face deathly pale, she lifted her head, gazing stubbornly at Gui Ya who had already turned his body around and was walking back toward the North Bank's side.

Silence filled the surroundings, nothing but the sound of people taking in a deep breath remained…

Chapter 92 Chapter 92

Chapter 92 - Gongsun Wan'er's Despair

"Too… Too strong!"

"This Gui Ya, I fear he may be able to crush even inner sect disciples…

He truly is the strongest under Foundation Establishment!"

"This kind of combat abilities in the Chakra Condensation surely must be because he had come into contact with the Realm of Mind

Materialization. It must be like that. To hold such a frightening power only means that he have an enigmatic mind!" Regardless of whether it was the South Bank or the North Bank, after that brief moment of silence, they all started discussing in a low voice.

It seemed no one dared to speak loudly at the moment. The other North Bank Heaven's Chosen had mixed feelings, none wanted such a strong rival in the same generation. As for the South Bank, although Shangguan Tianyou was silent, his heart was certainly not calm. Gui Ya seemed to have defeated a Heaven's Chosen the way a Heaven's Chosen would defeat an ordinary disciple.

It was evident that Gui Ya and the other Heaven's Chosen were on two different levels.

Naruto too felt alarm as he watched. Gui Ya had only made two moves, yet both these times he had shocked the entire audience.

At this moment, the top six had been decided. Four from the North and two from the South Bank. Shangguan Tianyou, Naruto, Gui Ya, Xu Song and the Gongsun siblings.

The disciples knew that in the following Heaven's Chosen War, the third and final stage, the six fighters would duel each other, deciding their rank from first to sixth based on the amount of their victories.

If one were to win all five battles, they would naturally place first!

In the past thousand years, the one to sweep all others and take the title had always appeared from the North Bank. And all of the North Bank outer sect disciples knew that this time… Gui Ya would be that person. Even compared to the previous winners, he was obviously on a whole different level.

The South Bank was silent. If it hadn't been for that Gui Ya, they felt that Shangguan Tianyou would have some hope of winning. But now that he had appeared, it would be difficult for Shangguan Tianyou to compete for the top.

"Second place is good too…" The South Bank disciples sighed. Many eyes fell on Naruto, whom they couldn't get an accurate feel of no matter how hard they tried. Ever since he had arrived back at the sect's door, he had never seemed to have fought with anyone.

The single impression they had was that he had survived the Fallen

Uchiha Clan's hunt, else he would've been dead…

Silence fell as most lost hope, resigned that the South Bank would lose once again. Lose in numbers of disciples entering the top ten, and lose the first place.

Compared to the South Bank, the North Bank outer sect disciples were bursting with excitement, their eyes filled with anticipation. Viciousness appeared as most stared at Naruto.

"The rules of the top six won't change. This time, Naruto is bound to suffer!"

"Right, according to the rules, he is required to fight everyone, meaning… our South Bank's shining stars can all destroy him over and over again and vent the North Bank's anger from earlier's humiliation!"

It wasn't only the ordinary disciples thinking that, Xu Song and the Gongsun siblings looked at Naruto with a sneer hanging on their faces, confident in their victory.

Naruto lowered his head as he lamented.

"Cultivation is for reaching longevity, why all the bloody fights…" He felt helplessness as he looked at the angry North B

ank disciples glaring at him and shook his head. Ou Yangjie's voice suddenly rang out.

"The third stage of the Heaven's Chosen War will begin with the standard rule of deciding the rank based on the amount of victories! First battle, Shangguan Tianyou and Xu Song, come take your places! Gui Ya and Gongsun Yun are next, and in the last are Gongsun Wan-Er and Naruto!"

As his voice echoed, a beam of light shot down from the terrace straight at the arena, instantly splitting it into three sections, each divided by a wall.

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes burned brightly as he lunged forward, quickly appearing in the first section of the arena, and the North Bank's Xu Song soon followed. Their eyes locked, and each was met by a solemn gaze.

Without any superfluous words, they stared at one another. With a flourish, beastial roars echoed from beside Xu Song as three beasts appeared. Their features were distinct, but they all had the same ferociousness. They charged Shangguan Tianyou with haste just as a massive whale's maw appeared in the air above Shangguan Tianyou's head, looming in to swallow him.

In the same moment, the floor below him cracked as tentacles sprung forth.

Nearby, Gui Ya slowly walked out as well. On the other side, Gongsun Yun remained silent, the insects writhing inside his eyes. He knew how powerful his opponent was, but he wasn't just going to give up. His eyes shined brightly.

"Regardless of how strong you are, I'm still going to fight!" Taking a deep breath, his robes wriggled as he joined Gui Ya on the second section.

Gongsun Wan-Er snorted coldly as she walked out while glaring at Naruto.

Something like that scared him the least, so Naruto firmly stared back. And so the two walked up on the third section, their eyes remaining locked.

As soon as Naruto appeared on the stage, all the North Bank disciples turned their attention away from the other two sections as angry roars spread from the audience, all of them stared at Naruto furiously.

"Senior Sister Gongsun, kill that damned Naruto!"

"Kill him!" Chants resounded as coldness flickered in Gongsun Wan-Er's eyes. She didn't summon her prismatic phoenix, instead, she formed a hand seal with her right hand and pointed between her eyebrows. Immediately, a prismatic glow spread from within her body as the temperature dropped and frost covered the ground.

"Concede. Once I make my move, even I fear what may happen." Naruto blinked as he kindly spoke.

When the words left his mouth, Gongsun Wan-Er couldn't help but remember the scene with Bei Hanlei. Her face flushed as her fury rose.

"Silence, you lecher! I will make you pay!" As she spoke, she waved her right arm, summoning a blade of ice which shot straight at Naruto.

Naruto made an innocent face. Despite his kind warning, he had ended up as a lecher? Sighing, he patted his storage pouch with his right hand. Countless talismans appeared and he skillfully slapped them onto his body.

With a rumbling sound, protective glow appeared, ten zhang thick and vibrant. Astonishingly, that wasn't all. Naruto equipped his Divine Crane Shield and yet another light flashed from within it, surrounding Naruto, adding one more light screen.

On his wrist, the bracelet given to him by Toruho was activated as well, enveloping his whole body and making Naruto seem as though he had already become black in colour.

In addition, the Turtle-shell Pot was on Naruto's back… leaving the whole audience dumbstruck.

Not only that, Naruto's actions were also skilled and unbelievably fast, allowing everyone to tell with a single glance that those actions were frequently done.

The North Bank disciples stared blankly as the ice blade slimmed down after encountering Naruto's light screen before finally falling apart.

And within the light screen, Naruto was unscathed.

But that wasn't all, what enraged the North Bank disciples the most was that within that light screen, Naruto stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin raised, eyes staring at the clouds in the sky as he he assumed an expert's look.

"Too weak. I would never fight someone who can't even penetrate my protective layers." Naruto flourished his sleeve and clasped his hands behind his back again as he spoke lightly.

Gongsun Wan-Er's eyes had almost popped out as she stared at Naruto. She had fought many battles before, and it wasn't like she had never met someone specialising in defense. But it was the first time she had witnessed a defense like Naruto's.

She was looking at over tens of protective layers. That Divine Crane

Shield, that black bracelet on his body, and that huge pot on his back! And she could also discern that Uzumaki Xiacohun was wearing multiple layers of leather armour!

She felt giddy as she stared as if in a trance.

"Shameless! To have so many protective talismans? And all those defensive magical treasures, dammit, this is a battle between Heaven's

Chosen! Not a battle of who has the most resources!"

"Senior Sister Gongsun please, please kill him. I feel like I'm going to explode, this Naruto's face, I want to punch it so bad!"

As the North Bank was in an uproar, the South Bank also stared blankly. Some of the Scented Cloud Mountain's disciples in particular filled with emotion. Especially a certain young man who teared upon seeing the scene. He understood the North Bank's anguish in great detail, and that was because he was the one who had been tormented by Naruto's protective light during the smallcompetition that year.

Even the the Sect Head and the others on the terrace were rendered speechless, glancing at one another and laughing wryly.

In the third arena section, Gongsun Wan-Er gritted her teeth. She did more hand seals as countless ice blades appeared, forming a huge cyclone flying at Naruto with a monstrous roar. The ice blades were razor-sharp, cutting apart quite a lot of the protective layers before the Divine Crane Shield released a light, melting them all away instantly.

"Still too weak." Naruto spoke proudly, overjoyed with his overwhelming strength.

The scene only angered the North Bank disciples even further. If it wasn't for the fear of breaking the sect's rules holding them back, they would have lunged out and slaughtered Naruto.

Gongsun Wan-Er's eyes burned with fury. Gritting her teeth once again, she began summoning even more ice blades, without any intention of pausing. An endless storm of ice blades shot at Naruto. Naruto's heart skipped a beat as the light screen collapsed under the fearsome onslaught. His Divine Crane Shield sprung immediately, protecting him and allowing him to relax. He sighed in relief and raised his chin. He was just about to open his mouth to speak.

Suddenly, Gongsun Wan-Er screamed with her hair disheveled, a loud explosion sounded from her body and blood spilled from her mouth. Shockingly, between her brows emerged a flower of blood and ice. All around her, the energy of heaven and earth violently surged toward her in an imposing and unprecedented manner.

At the same time, an earth-shaking cheer exploded out from the North Bank as the disciples screamed excitedly.

"It's Senior Sister Gongsun's Iceblood Flower!"

"This Iceblood Flower is Senior Sister Gongsun's trump card, even those at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation can't stop it! This Naruto's defences shall fall!"

The Iceblood Flower flew out, exuding a shockingly chilling aura. The surrounding temperature plummeted as it shot towards Naruto's position. The Iceblood Flower was unstoppable as it obliterated all the protective layers before it. But just when the Divine Crane Shield was about to block it, it unexpectedly split in two. One half hit the shield while the other surrounded it, appearing suddenly in front of Naruto and slamming against his chest ruthlessly.

Bang. The sound of the impact rang clear as Naruto looked down surprisedly. As though he had been hit by a snowball, he dusted his clothes and raised his head to look at Gongsun Wan-Er with disheveled hair, staring at him dumbstruck.

"Take your time, I'll take a look at how the other duels are going." Saying this, Naruto turned around and headed towards the first and second sections, enjoying the view and even cheering here and there, truly asking for a beating...

Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 93 Chapter 93

Chapter 93 - This Pill Works On Humans As Well

At the second section, Gui Ya extended two fingers. Against another opponent, one finger would have sufficed, but Gongsun Yun was no ordinary disciple - he was able to withstand his first finger.

Gongsun Yun was backing away hastily, his face pale. He conceded bitterly. Withstanding the first finger attack was already his limit and he didn't want to sustain too big of an injury. If one can't take first place, they would naturally aim for the second.

After he cupped his fist towards Gui Ya, Gongsun Yun stepped down from the arena. He threw a glance at the section Gongsun Wan-er was fighting in and frowned.

Gui Ya maintained a calm expression as he too stepped off the arena. But he too glanced at Naruto. Upon noticing the defenses Naruto had, his expression flickered.

On the South Side, the South Bank disciples all had their heads lowered... They felt embarrassed, genuinely pitying the North Bank spectators.

The North Bank disciples were being driven mad...

Gongsun Wan-er was going crazy herself. She screamed as she lunged at Naruto with everything she had. Countless magical abilities exploded, yet Naruto's defenses still stood tall.

Especially his last defence, the black bracelet that could turn to liquid and envelop his entire body; it was designed to be a life-saving protection against a Foundation Establishment expert. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Gongsun Wan-er vomited blood. She looked like she was about to collapse as she stared at Naruto with awe, despair filling her eyes.

Just when she was about to risk summoning her phoenix, Naruto glanced at her as a pill appeared in his hands, and he began tossing it from one hand to another.

Furious, Gongsun Wan-er clenched her fists tightly.

"I concede!" She spoke sullenly, her eyes reflecting unwillingness.

"Thank you for letting me win, wise of you to not force my hand!" Naruto was overjoyed, but maintained an expertly look, cupping his fist and speaking softly.

These words caused tears to well up in the South Bank disciples' eyes, whereas Gongsun Wan-er walked away, her whole body trembling with anger and her teeth tightly clenched.

At this moment, the Shangguan Tianyou's battle with Xu Song was similarly coming to an end. Shangguan Tianyou's sword swooped down and a blinding light erupted. The five beasts in front of Xu Song disappeared as the light dimmed down. Xu Song was backing away, a trace of admiration appeared in his eyes as he looked at Shangguan Tianyou.

"A sword spirit inside the body, truly extraordinary!" Blood dripped out of the edge of his mouth as he spoke before he turned around and left the arena.

Silent, the Shangguan Tianyou turned his eyes to Gui Ya. He knew that his true opponent here was Gui Ya alone.

"Just like me, he must be bored fighting others." Shangguan Tianyou recalled his flying sword, and swept his gaze over Naruto. His defences only caused contempt to surface in Shangguan TIanyou's eyes as he walked off the arena, greeted by the South Bank's frenzied cheers.

Amidst those cheers, Naruto proudly returned to his position as well.

Of the first round in the third stage, among the six competitors, the winners were Gui Ya, Shangguan Tianyou, and Naruto. The defeated were of Xu Song and the Gong Sun siblings.

The North Bank disciples didn't pay much attention to the victories of Shangguan Tianyou and Gui Ya. They remained preoccupied with Naruto's shamelessness which drove them mad. Naruto had already done it… to this Heavens Chosen War's rhythm, his influence was already unimaginable…

Eyes red, the North Bank disciples clenched their fists tightly as they relentlessly glared at Naruto. Under the gazes of these tens of thousands spectators, Naruto rubbed his nose guiltily as he pretended not to notice them.

Gongsun Wan-er was still trembling in rage before, under her brother's whispered persuasions, she clenched her teeth and sat down to meditate in order to recover her strength as the others did.

After the time it took for three incense sticks to burn, the second round of the third stage began!

In the first section of the stage, Gongsun Wan-er was pitted against Gui Ya. She looked bitter at the expressionless Gui Ya in front of her and chose to concede. She couldn't afford any more injuries, or her chances would be jeopardised.

As such, with Gongsun Wan-er admitting defeat, Gui Ya won by default.

Meanwhile, the second section shook with explosions. The matchup was between Shangguan Tianyou and Gongsun Yun, the one who had resisted Gui Ya's first finger. Tossing his sleeve to the side, countless insects swarmed out, blotting the skies and covering the earth as they charged straight at Shangguan Tianyou.

Shangguan Tianyou gazed somewhat seriously as he raised his right hand. A flying sword shot out, whistling as it slashed horizontally.

This battle ought to have been the main attraction to the spectators, but... whether it was in the South Bank or the North Bank, most disciples seemed to be focused on the third section.

There, Naruto stood proudly on the arena, facing against his opponent, Xu Song!

Eyes on Naruto, Xu Song's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Whether an expert in pills or an expert in defense, now that you face me, you're doomed to suffer miserably." As he finished, he raised his right hand and cracking sounded from all around them, and unexpectedly, as much as three monstrous beasts appeared out of thin air, all of them at least ten zhang tall. One was an ape, another was a tiger, and the final one… was actually a bat with huge wings sprouting from its back.

The appearance of these three beasts was quite a sight; their bloodthirst they emitted reached the heavens, and they even emanated imposing auras equivalent to the ninth level Chakra Condensation.

"Naruto, let's see if those defenses of yours can withstand my three monstrous beasts' relentless attacks!" Xu Song said with a malicious grin, preparing to attack.

"You should concede, ok?" Sighing, Naruto raised his right hand and took out an Aphrodisiac Pill, gazing at his opponent with pity.

"That again?!"

"Destroy that Naruto!" The North Bank disciples exploded as soon as Naruto spoke.

Looking at the pill in Naruto's hand, Xu Song threw his head back and laughed. His face clearly exposed his contempt and the pride he had for himself.

"I knew you'd pull that shameless pill out again, but do you think that I have come unprepared? These three monstrous beast of mine were prepared just for you, Naruto… They're all females!" Pleased with himself, Xu Song was confident that he would be able to take revenge for the North Bank.

Hearing his words, the North Bank disciples grew excited as they cheered wildly for Xu Song.

Naruto's heart thumped loudly as his eyes spun lightning-fast. He maintained his expression as he spoke lightly with pity in his eyes.

"This pill of mine… It works on beasts, and it works on humans just the same." Naruto spoke threateningly and swept his gaze between him and the three beasts beside him.

His sentence silenced the audience, their faces turning blank as their minds involuntarily pictured a scene that was so poignant, that they all sucked in a deep breath.

Xu Song widened his eyes, an explosion went off in his mind as though he was struck by lightning. His face instantly paled as he recalled Kiba and Gongsun Wan-er, and believed that Naruto spoke the truth. If he were to swallow that Aphrodisiac Pill… He gulped as he subconsciously glanced at the three beasts beside him and trembled. The three beasts were quite intelligent and seemed to realise that Xu Song was unexpectedly shaking in fear.

Without hesitation, he instantly recalled the beasts. It wasn't something he dared to gamble with. Even if he was 90% sure Naruto was bluffing, he simply didn't dare to risk it.

Just as he recalled the beast and was distracted, Naruto took a step forward. His body was shrouded with a light screen as he approached his opponent quickly and swung his right hand.

A great force followed that swing. Xu Song's forte lay in controlling beasts, and without the beasts, his strength was halved. As he was now, there was nothing he could do to resist Naruto's strike. Upon impact, his body rolled away as blood flew out, leaving him to stagger backwards after landing. With fury and unwillingness raging within, he clenched his fist and yelled out his surrender.

Blinking, Naruto cleared his throat and cupped his fist. As he swaggered away, countless maddened roars arrived behind his back.

"Naruto, you, you, you… "

"That damned pill, it should be destroyed!"

"Heavens, someone please kill that shameless Naruto, I'll even pay ten Spirit Stones!"

"I offer fifteen Spirit Stones, kill that Naruto!" The North Bank was going crazy as countless people yelled out. The bounty soon accumulated a huge reward, numbering over ten thousand. The South Bank disciples watched stupefied as a newfound respect arose inside them for Naruto.

Such undisguised bounty appearing caused Naruto's complexion to quickly change as he hastily jumped off the arena. A chill ran down his spine as he realised the bounty had surpassed twenty thousand Spirit Stones.

"You guys aren't being reasonable, I always give the chance for my opponents to concede before fighting!" Panicking, Naruto desperately tried to explain himself.

The explanation only enraged the North Bank even further, and the bounty quickly shot to thirty thousand. The phoenix in the sky looked with schadenfreude as it constantly screeched to Naruto's hatred.

Even the eyes of the many Elders on the terrace flickered with interest.

"I'm an Honourable Disciple! I'm the Sect Head's Junior Brother, those who continue with that bounty thing will be kicked out by my master!"

Seeing this, Naruto's scalp felt numb as he screamed out a threat.

That… only added fuel to the fire. Someone from the North Bank couldn't control themselves any longer as a flying sword flew over the arena. More followed as most of the North Bank's magic weapons shot out. War beasts' roars echoed, ready to jump into the fray.

Terrified, Naruto backed away quickly. Fortunately, the Elders on the terrace stepped in and a light shot down, blocking the North Bank disciples.

The battle between the Shangguan Tianyou and Gongsun Yun had just ended as well. Shangguan Tianyou had used three flying swords to corner Gongsun Yun until he eventually conceded.

Shangguan Tianyou panted softly. Gongsun Yun had been a strong opponent, so he was forced to fight him seriously. As he left the stage, he noticed the enraged North Bank and frowned. Taking a look at Naruto, contempt surfaced in his eyes once more, yet some jealousy mixed inside as well.

"Relying merely on a single pill and some protection, he has actually reached the same level as me, huh!" Shangguan Tianyou turned around and closed his eyes as he sat down cross-legged and rested.

Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Chapter 94 - Naruto, We Are On Your Side!

"This Heaven's Chosen War... " On the terrace, Sect Head Zheng Yuandong shook his head helplessly, the Elders around him laughed bitterly as well.

They all knew that this important Heaven's Chosen War had changed its atmosphere… the originally grand atmosphere had soured all because of Naruto.

"Naruto… A nice name, but he isn't pure at all." Elder Zhou smiled wryly as he gazed at Naruto who was hiding from the crowd below. He then looked at the countless enraged North Bank disciples.

"Doesn't matter. Since his mischievousness has reached such heights that he's now the North Bank's common enemy, later, we could look for a chance to throw him there and calm things down." An old woman, the North Bank's Iridaceae Mountain's Ancestor, spoke with a fake smile.

Thoughtful expressions surfaced on everyone's faces, except for Li

Qinghou. He threw a pitying look at the Iridaceae Mountain's Ancestor.

He was fairly certain that if Naruto were to be sent to the North

Bank, it wouldn't be Naruto who would be considered unlucky...

As they continued thinking, the third round of the third stage began.

Gui Ya against Xu Song and Shangguan Tianyou against Gongsun Waner. Those two fights weren't anything worth seeing. With the strength Gui Ya and Shangguan Tianyou had previously shown, their victories would be easy.

All disciples of both the North and the South Bank, however, and even the Sect Head and the others on the terrace had set their sights on the third section. Gongsun Yun walked up the arena first in an imposing and cold manner, posturing like an expert. Naruto too stepped on the arena not long after.

This time, the North Bank wasn't in an uproar. Everyone was staring daggers at Naruto. The bloodlust of tens of thousands disciples gathered on him caused Naruto to feel a little jumpy.

"You should concede." Naruto took a deep breath as he looked at Gongsun Yun as he said quickly with the Aphrodisiac Pill in his hands.

Gongsun Yun looked at Naruto coldly, his eyes filled with hatred. He tossed his long sleeve to the side, and from within, a swarm of black beetles flew out. Simultaneously, underneath his clothing, many red centipedes crawled out, covering the floor in the blink of an eye.

All those densely packed insects presented a horrifying sight.

"Although among these insects are both males and females, they aren't beasts so your pill is useless against them." Gongsun Yun said calmly. Without giving Naruto a chance to speak, after a single thought, the insects immediately let out a piercing sound and the sea of insects moved towards Naruto.

The centipedes on the ground, the black beetles in the air... Their numbers blotted out the sky and covered the earth as they quickly approached Naruto.

Although the light screen could withstand it, an attack such as the sea of insects, where every insect had its own strength, provided Naruto no advantage over Gongsun Yun in the confrontation.

"Gongsun Yun, don't force my hand and quickly concede. I really don't want to do this. If I act, you… will be crippled!" Naruto's face was pale as he backed away while shouting quickly.

"Then why don't we see whether your flesh is devoured by the insects or

I become crippled as you say." Gongsun Yun sneered. His contempt for Naruto grew even further as even more insects emerged from his body.

Upon seeing this scene, everyone in the South Bank felt their scalps numb. When they l

ooked at Gongsun Yun, horror gripped their hearts. They knew that he was indeed strong, and not only was he an expert in controlling insects, his techniques were just as formidable. After all, he had managed to withstand the first finger from Gui Ya and had forced Shangguan Tianyou to pull out a whole three swords to win, draining him substantially in the process.

When the North side saw this, their spirits lifted up as they grew excited.

"Nice going, Senior Brother Gongsun! Kill him!"

"Haha, Naruto, let's see how you handle this! Just you wait, it won't be long before they bore into you, hungry for your blood and flesh!"

"Naruto, you get what you deserve!" Countless North Bank disciples were getting excited. The war beasts, sensing the strong emotions of their masters, roared in excitement as well.

In the blink of an eye, the black beetles flew towards Naruto, covering the light screen above. Under their relentless bites, the screen dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The red centipedes soon arrived as well and leapt off the ground, causing the protection to dim even faster. Surprisingly, many of those centipedes managed to even drill through the layers of light.

Naruto's scalp numbed and his eyes reddened as he yelled out.

"Gongsun Yun, it is you who forced me!" Naruto had no choice, he didn't want to use this trump card, but it was the only way. Sighing, he felt that he wasn't the one to blame from his heart as he leapt up. The light layers around him suddenly trembled, shaking off many of the bugs. As they advanced once again, the Aphrodisiac Pill in his hand was suddenly thrown towards the North Bank disciples.

It whooshed through the air quickly before the spectators could even react. They could only stare at the pill up in the sky blankly when a low growl sounded from Naruto.

"Burst!"

Boom! The Aphrodisiac Pill exploded, turning into powder that spread among the disciples, covering half of the North Bank disciples.

Gongsun Yun's eyes widened as he stared in surprise.

Whether the pill worked on humans, actually, Naruto didn't know.

The number of weird pills he had concocted was simply too much and he hadn't dared to try one himself. However, he was well aware of the strong effect the Aphrodisiac Pill had on beasts.

In a blink an eye, in the area covered by the Aphrodisiac Pill, all the war beasts began losing control. They roared frenziedly towards the skies as their bodies expanded, their eyes bloodshot and their breath hurried. This caused their masters to quickly back away in fear.

With a crashing sound, all of the disciples from the North Bank in this area retreated like a madman. Quickly, there was no one left in this area, only beasts that were shouting and looking everywhere, as if to find the monstrous beast that was their target. The onlooking disciples of the North Bank were making a huge outcry, and the tens of thousands of people were suddenly in chaos.

"Naruto!" The North Bank disciples' cries pierced the skies as Gongsun Yun's forehead started sweating. As far as he remembered, his body had had never sweated ever since he started cultivating those insects.

But right now, he was breathing heavily as he looked at Naruto take out a pill which evidently attracted the beasts' attention. Gongsun Yun immediately recalled the medicine pill that had burst above Kiba's before.

"You…"

A strong premonition sprouted in Gongsun Yun's heart, causing it to tremble. Countless scenes flashed past his mind and he backed away hastily, his legs trembling. He could imagine that the moment Naruto threw that pill at him, he would… be pounced on by numerous war beasts.

"It is you who forced me, ah, I didn't want to do this." Naruto looked sullenly as he heaved a deep sigh, preparing to throw the pill.

"I concede!" Gongsun Yun screamed like never before, his face palewhite as he jerked backwards, almost stumbling. He dashed into the crowd, scared out of his wits. As he looked at Naruto now, only unprecedented fear resided in his eyes.

"Ah?" Naruto stared blankly at Gongsun Yun who was trembling in fear as he desperately hid in the crowd. He then looked at the crazed war beasts and felt that the situation was turning worse.

Some of the beasts roared, their eyes fixed on the pill in his palm, edging forward. Naruto started sweating, his gaze quickly turning towards some North Bank disciples.

A disturbance occurred among the disciples penetrated by his gaze, too scared to even yell at Naruto... All of them immediately scattered.

Panicking, Naruto looked somewhere else, only to have the people there frantically scatter as well, pushing and climbing over each other in the chaos.

In the end, Naruto anxiously directed his gaze back at the South Bank disciples.

Instantly… the South Bank disciples felt their scalps turn numb. They quickly backed away, all of them retreating ten zhang back.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, we are on your side! We are on your side!" Many of them hastily shouted out.

Even Shangguan Tianyou and Gui Ya were looking pale as they too backed away.

ROAR! The crazed war beasts surged forward with scarlet eyes. Sweat dripped down from Naruto's forehead when he saw that.

"What should I do, what should I do? I told you to concede, I told you that even I fear what would happen once I made my move!" Naruto felt he wasn't the one to blame as he clenched his teeth and turned towards the North Bank disciples.

"Which of you placed a bounty on me?!"

The North Bank disciples lowered their heads quickly, none were brave enough to meet his eyes as their hearts trembled.

Naruto's heart was trembling just as well. He thought himself to be a kindhearted person, he couldn't just throw the pill. As he struggled with his thoughts, the war beasts only grew more restless when Naruto suddenly shot his gaze up at the skies where, still proud and gloating, Elder Zhou's phoenix soared.

His eyes lit up, and without much thought, Naruto threw the pill at the phoenix. Transforming into a rainbow, the pill shot straight at Elder Zhou's phoenix.

The phoenix, still gloating at Naruto's situation, didn't notice the approaching pill until it was too late. Its feathers stood up as it screeched out and attempted to dodge it. Bang. The pill burst open and covered the phoenix with the powder.

The phoenix was stunned. The beasts down below roared as one. They seemed as if they were about to throw themselves at the phoenix at any moment.

Even the Sect Head and the other on the terrace sucked in a deep breath as they gathered on the edge of terrace, staring dumbstruck. "This, involving the spectators… isn't it a violation of the rules?" An elder absentmindedly spoke, only to realise that no one was paying attention to him. The three ancestors of the North Bank, in particular, had their eyes on the many beasts in the emptied spectator area!

There, a deer-like war beast, obviously in heat, roared towards the phoenix in the sky.

"This pill, I previously thought that it only affected the third rank bloodline… To think that even a second rank would be affected!"

"This pill, it seems that it can be quite valuable to the North Bank…" The three North Bank Ancestors were shaking, their eyes filled with excitement. The old woman pointed out a finger towards the phoenix.

Immediately, the phoenix trembled as it was enveloped by a strong force and was pulled straight towards the terrace and into the old woman's grasp. Meanwhile down below, the war beasts roared and shot towards the terrace one by one.

With a cold snort, the old woman looked down, and the beasts howled in fear before they were rolled up and shrunk as they entered the old woman's sleeve.

Looking at the phoenix, who was too terrified to make any sound, surprise appeared in the old woman's eyes as she began conversing with the other Ancestors.

The face of Elder Zhou beside them turned green...

Seeing that everything had returned to normal, Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief and was just about to go back when the North Bank disciples, who had suppressed their rage until now, exploded into a far greater outrage than before.

"Naruto! I'll kill you!"

"Naruto, the North Bank will never forgive you!"

"Damned Naruto!" The veins on countless North Bank disciples' heads bulged as they bellowed. Naruto turned around, his right hand raised high and his chin held up. Inside his hand was one of those bizarre pills.

In an instant... all the North Bank disciples became quiet.

Flourishing his sleeve, Naruto laughed mischievously and retracted the pill. Behind him, the angered voices of the North Bank rose to the heavens.

Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Chapter 95 - Sword Aren't Meant To Be Used Like That!

Senior Uncle Uzumaki… is like a god!

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki is going down the road of no return by becoming the

North Bank's common enemy and is walking it without missing a beat…" Respect surfaced in the hearts of everyone from the South Bank while looking at Naruto.

Many people were even celebrating. A disaster like Naruto was fortunately not on the North Bank. Otherwise, one wouldn't even be able to imagine how how much the South Bank would have suffered.

"We of the South Bank would be fine with just one Senior Uncle Uzumaki. Him alone can make the entire North Bank crazy." Today, Xu Baocai had been shocked many times. He now realised that Naruto's audacity… had no limits.

But no matter how this Heaven's Chosen War's atmosphere had changed, it still had to continue. And so, with the South Bank staring in admiration, and the North Bank seething in fury, the fourth round of the third stage began.

Shangguan Tianyou, Gui Ya and Naruto. These three people had won three matches, and this round did not require them to make an appearance. What would be decided now was who would be placed fourth, fifth and sixth.

The Gongsun siblings and Xu Song quickly appeared on the fighting stage and began their battles. Ultimately, Gongsun Yun defeated both Gongsun Wan-er and Xu Song and without further ado, Gongsun Yun was the first to leave the arena, taking the fourth place with him.

Although Xu Song was not as good as Gongsun Yun, he managed to beat Gongsun Wan-er and finally won the match, leaving the arena as the fifth ranked Heaven's Chosen.

As for Gongsun Wan-er, having lost all five matches, she gloomily took the sixth place.

After that was over, the time to decide this Heaven's Chosen War's top three ranks arrived! How would Naruto, Shangguan Tianyou and Gui Ya place in these three spots be in the end? The disciples of the North Bank and South Bank paid close attention.

However, every time the North Bank disciples looked at Naruto, fury would immediately surge within them. They acknowledged both Gui Ya and Shangguan Tianyou, however, Naruto was just too shameless and despicable…

At this moment, all the hopes of the North Bank were placed on Gui Ya. In their opinion, even if Naruto had some hidden cards, in the face of absolute strength, he would still be destroyed as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

"First match, Naruto versus Shangguan Tianyou!" Ou Yangjie's voice sounded out. With Naruto's appearance, it seemed to have lost its usual coldness, and a trace of emotion appeared instead.

Shangguan Tianyou suddenly raised his head as seriousness flashed across his eyes. The scene of being surpassed by Naruto during the qualifying battle surfaced in his mind, and a trace of coldness appeared in his eyes. When he was stepping on to the stage, a breeze lifted his long hair. At this moment, in the eyes of countless disciples, Shangguan Tianyou looked especially dazzling, like an unsheathed blade, making excitement surface on the faces of the countless disciples watching from the sides.

However, the people from the South Bank dared not to cheer. After all,

Naruto too was from the South Bank, and furthermore, Naruto had too many tricks up his sleeve. They were worried that if they cheered, Naruto might hold a grudge against them. As such, they could only hold themselves back.

On the other side, the North Bank cheered for Shangguan Tianyou, but that actually made him feel uncomfortable. He knew that the North Bank's cheers was not because of him, but because o

f Naruto. In other words, even if the opponent facing Naruto were to be a pig, the North Bank would still cheer for the pig. With this in mind, Shangguan Tianyou grew even more annoyed with Naruto.

Naruto coughed and walked onto the fighting stage. Looking at Shangguan Tianyou, he flourished his sleeves as a smile emerged on his face.

"It's alright, it's alright, we are both…" But before Naruto could even finish his words, coldness exploded from Shangguan Tianyou's eyes. He raised a finger, and in an instant, a flying sword appeared by his side. With an ear-piercing sound, it instantly flew out like a bolt of lightning. It quickly made its way to Naruto as it cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. Its speed was so fast, that in a short instant, the distance between it and Naruto was less than seven zhang already!

Naruto's pupils instantly shrank. In the face of immediate danger, he quickly crouched down. A gust of wind caused by the sword whistled just above his head. A strand of hair even floated down in front of Naruto's face.

"In a fight between cultivators, you have to seize every moment. Even if you hadn't dodged this sword, it wouldn't have taken your life. You have a mischievous personality, and you lack a proper upbringing. Since your parents have not taught you well, then let me teach you a lesson. In the future, you must remember this well; do not use underhanded methods. They will make the South Bank lose face." As Shangguan Tianyou spoke lightly, his flying sword returned and floated before his body.

The North Bank that had quieted down instantly renewed their cheering.

The South Bank alone remained quiet. When they looked at Shangguan Tianyou, dissatisfaction arose on their expressions. Even those who supported Shangguan Tianyou furrowed their brows.

They beared no ill will toward Naruto. In their opinion, even if Naruto was mischievous, he hadn't been excessive. Even though he made people feel helpless, he also caused them to like him from the bottom of their hearts. Even though the North Bank hated him to the bone, if one were to ask the South Bank, Naruto was still their representative and he had still brought glory to the South Bank.

Just now, when Naruto opened his mouth, everyone could see that he wanted to concede and had no intention of fighting Shangguan

Tianyou. Furthermore, there was also another motive. He would let Shangguan Tianyou preserve his spiritual power, so that he could have a much better chance at beating Gui Ya and becoming the champion.

It was impossible for Shangguan Tianyou to not have understood what Naruto was doing. However, Shangguan Tianyou still attacked and even did something akin to a sneak attack, and furthermore, he even spoke of teaching him a lesson and insulted his parents. This type of behaviour attracted many of the South Bank disciples' contempt.

The crouched Naruto stared at his falling strand of hair in a daze. He retracted his smile, and he stood up to face Shangguan Tianyou, the words of his opponent still echoing in his mind.

"You're a Heaven's Chosen, whether you look down on me, I don't care. I have never been concerned with others' opinions." Naruto spoke in a low voice, looking somewhat unusual.

"Even if you launch a sneak attack on me, it's still fine. I cultivate to achieve immortality, and I have never been fond of fighting and killing." Naruto raised his right hand and tore the dim talismans off his body, throwing them away. At this moment, a faint ruthlessness was gradually emanated from his body.

Within the South Bank's crowd, Wanji's stared at the arena, his body uncontrollably shaking. Looking at Naruto, that distinct feeling from back when they were being chased by the Fallen Uchiha Clan… surged up once again.

"But what right do you have... to teach me a lesson in my parents' stead?!" Naruto suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. His parents had died early, and that had affected him greatly. Even his reason to pursue immortality was deeply connected with the death of his parents.

His optimistic personality was deliberately forged when he had been young. He was still young when he had personally witnessed the death of his parents and had stayed with their bodies for days, unwilling to accept it, crying and shouting for his father and mother until their corpses began rotting away before the other villagers finally buried them. After that, he remained in shock for a long time. At that time, he liked to talk to himself… such kids, once they grow up, would usually live a gloomy life.

He replaced his cries with laughter, and his longing for immortality sprouted from the moment he recalled the reluctant faces of his parents before they died as they told him to live a good life.

He was mischievous, but he still had propriety. There were many things that he didn't intentionally do. He had always remained kindhearted.

He was afraid of death, so much that it he came off as a coward. But when danger faced his comrades, his camaraderie conquered his fear of death, and with a roar, he risked his life despite trembling in fear.

He had a wacky behaviour, but he valued those close to him. Zhang

Fatso One, Toruho, Wanji, Ryuzetsu, Ino and the Sect Head. All those people who treated him well, he would remember for his whole life.

"What right do you have!" With a bang, Naruto's body quickly shot forward and arrived in front of Shangguan Tianyou in an instant.

Shangguan Tianyou's pupils suddenly shrunk, and his hair stood on end. Before he could react, Naruto's fist, carrying a silver glow, landed.

Boom! A protective light surged from Shangguan Tianyou's body, but it didn't have the slightest resistance against Naruto's strike as it instantly collapsed. Naruto's fist was like a hot knife cutting through butter as it landed on a small shield that instantly appeared in front of Shangguan Tianyou.

Boom! The small shield shook and was unexpectedly sent flying by Naruto's fist, which then collided with Shangguan Tianyou's chest.

Shangguan Tianyou spat out blood, and he was pushed back by the great force. He retreated more than ten steps back, spitting out another mouthful of blood as an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"This is a Heaven's Chosen?" Naruto faintly said. At this moment, he neither raised his chin, nor did he assume the look of an expert. Contrary to everyone's expectation, Naruto, at the moment, stood out like the blazing sun. Countless deep breaths could be heard from the South Bank disciples, and the North Bank was just as shocked.

A sharp gaze appeared in Gui Ya's eyes. On the terrace, the expressions of the Sect Head and others suddenly changed, becoming serious.

"Naruto!" Shangguan Tianyou felt humiliated, and with a growl, he formed a hand seal and five swords simultaneously appeared next to his body. Every one of the swords that appeared released an astonishing Sword Qi. With the assistance of Shangguan Tianyou's sword spirit's body, the five swords whistled out towards Naruto.

(ED note: the "sword spirit" clearly seems to be referring to the actual person now, as such we'll be changing it to "sword spirit's body". How is that related to what it does is still unknown so we may have to change it in the future when it becomes clearer. )

The swords had an earth-shattering speed, and it was as though they had become five sword dragons that were half a zhang thick and more than ten zhang long. Some of them shot at Naruto, while the others dived towards him in an arc from above. An explosion sounded out and cracks appeared on the fighting stage. With such an imposing force, one sword could easily kill an ordinary disciple, two swords could kill another Heaven's Chosen, and three swords would force a Heaven's Chosen of Gongsun Yun's caliber to concede. But at this moment, five swords had instantly appeared, covering the whole arena with Sword Qi. "I do not understand swordplay nor do I have a sword spirit's body. But from what I see, swords… are not meant to be used like this!" Naruto unhurriedly spoke as he raised a finger from his right hand. In an instant, the Golden Crow Sword turned into a golden ray as it carved forward.

"Whether you use three or five swords, I will only use one!"

As the sword moved forward, a loud noise exploded out as a storm of Sword Chakra formed!

This sword strike contained both the concept of 'Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light' and the concept of 'Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy'!

In this sword slash, the spiritual Chakra that Naruto used was so precise that he didn't waste even the tiniest bit!

Even though he wasn't skilled with a sword, he understood how to use the Purple Chakra to create a cauldron. He had mastered the concepts of both 'Lifting the Heavy as Though It Was Light' and 'Lifting the Light as Though It Was Heavy'. He knew that a leaf could not support the heavy wood, but by coiling the leaves together, they could even support stone. And if one were to tear a leaf into many small strings, one could even lift an even heavier rock!

He knew that this was one of the principles of using Spirit Power!

This one method, even against ten thousand methods, within the Chakra Condensation… combined with his Impenetrable Silver Skin, was unmatched!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A deafening sound spread in all directions and countless rock fragments flew about in the arena. When the storm of Sword Chakra that Naruto had unleashed collided with Shangguan Tianyou's five sword dragons, an earth-shattering explosion occurred. The five sword dragons twisted, and with a 'Peng Peng' sound, they shattered apart. But Naruto's sword storm didn't stop there as it surged forward towards Shangguan Tianyou.

The wind picked up Naruto's long hair. He stood there on the arena with a serene expression. He did not clasp his hands behind his back, and he did not flourish his sleeves. Instead, he remained silent amidst the storm of Sword Qi. This formed a timeless scene that would be deeply engraved in the hearts of both the South Bank and the North Bank disciples.

"Is that really...Naruto?" At this moment, everyone's heart was stirred from shock.

Translated by: Sean

TLCed by: Nat, Marcus

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Chapter 96 - Fighting Gui Ya

The South Bank disciples were stunned. Everyone acquaintanced with

Naruto felt as though they had never truly known who Naruto really was. It was as though the Naruto from their memories who pestered people to call him 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' and was in need of a beating, was a completely different person from the Naruto standing before them.

Countless gasps could be heard from the North Bank disciples. All of them stared blankly at Naruto, their minds roaring in disbelief. None knew him from before, and all of them were under the impression that he had always been just as shameless. As such, the current scene caused them all to suck in a deep breath.

On the platform, Zheng Yuandong was staring intently with surprise. The surrounding Ancestors grew solemn, Toruho alone had a smile creeping up his face. Both pride and warmth welled up in his heart as he watched Naruto.

The Elders similarly took in deep breaths, their expressions becoming serious.

In mid-air, blood sprayed out of Shangguan Tianyou's mouth as his eyes lost focus. He was unwilling to accept his loss, and a loss to the Naruto he looked down upon so much to boot. To him, this was his greatest humiliation that far surpassed any pain and agony brought by an injury. Unable to accept it, as he saw that he was about to fall out of the arena, he let out a shrill howl.

"Naruto, our fight isn't over yet!" After these words, he bit down on his tongue and blood spat out from his mouth. His hair withered with a speed visible to the naked eye as he rapidly formed hand seals with his hands. His whole body shuddered and a bloody ray burst from his body straight to the sky!

In an instant, the bloody light pierced the sky and transformed into a blood-red sword!

"Ten Secret Arts, Sword of Life!" Many people exclaimed as they recognised it.

"Dark Earth Formation!" Without hesitation, Shangguan Tianyou formed hand seals with both hands and pointed at Naruto, causing the blood-red sword to rumble as countless bloody threads seep out of it, crisscrossing together and forming a net of blades that descended upon Naruto.

As they did, a piercing sound filled the air.

Naruto looked up, lifted his right hand and pointed out a single finger.

Suddenly, the air in front of it distorted as a large purple cauldron began to take shape. As it manifested, it became apparent that it was corporeal. Even the patterns on its surface were clearly visible, as though it was a real cauldron. It didn't seem illusory at all.

"Heavens, Purple Cauldron Chakra Melting Technique!"

"Too realistic, this isn't your ordinary purple Chakra cauldron, this one is already at the second stage!" Gasps sounded out from the South Bank disciples, especially from the Purple Cauldron Mountain's disciples.

The North Bank disciples also gasped as they witnessed this. The purple cauldron and the blood-red swords collided as a deafening clang sounded out. Blood sprayed out from Shangguan Tianyou's mouth. He laughed bitterly as he was forced out of the arena.

Naruto stood on the arena, completely unscathed. His eyes were focused on the dissipating cauldron when Gui Ya suddenly leapt up from the North Bank's side onto the arena. In his eyes, a peculiar glint was evident.

"That Shangguan Tianyou is unable to fight anymore, saves me the trouble anyway. You and me… Let's fight!" As Gui Ya spoke, black mist spread from his body, filling the surroundings as the outlines of ghosts appeared, screaming soundlessly at Naruto. The ghosts looked hideous, their hair disheveled and

their skin green. There were even some corpses that had been decaying for who knows how long, holding their dismembered heads. It was a terrifying sight.

The entire arena was instantly filled with the stench of death, chilling the South Bank and North Bank disciples alike.

At the same time, many figures shot out from both sides with serious expressions. Those weren't outer sect disciples, but inner sect ones. At this moment, everyone showed up just to see this final battle of the Heaven's Chosen War!

Even the four Grand Elders's spiritual sense swooped down and concentrated on the imminent fight.

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the fighting stage!

Naruto turned around to look at at Gui Ya, his expression tuning grave. In this Heaven's Chosen War, in the few battles that Gui Ya had fought, he astonished him time and time again. With a single finger, he had nearly killed Zabuza, and that was with just seventy percent of his strength.

If he fought with his full strength, the result would be unimaginable.

As Uzumaki Xiaohcun stared at Gui Ya, Gui Ya's eyes flashed as he abruptly raised his right hand and pointed at Naruto. At the same time, the sky and earth shook as an enormous ghost claw appeared beside Gui Ya, taking up half the arena. It pierced through the air with astonishing force as it shot straight for Naruto.

With its terrifying speed, the claw reached Naruto in the blink of an eye. Naruto raised his right hand and clenched his fist tightly. Silver light enveloped his body, as though he was made of silver, and his fist shot towards the approaching claw.

From afar, the small Naruto seemed insignificant in comparison to the enormous ghost claw. Yet, when his fist collided with it, an earthshaking deafening sound echoed out.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sky roiled as the sound spread from the arena and into the audience, forcing the disciples to take a few steps back. Their faces were aghast, some even had their visions blurred.

A shockwave erupted between Naruto's fist and the ghost claw, and the ghost claw shuddered. With a crackling sound, cracks instantly covered the entire claw, and in a single breath, a muffled explosion sounded out as the enormous ghost claw shattered into thousands of pieces.

Endless black mist surged out in all directions, making the whole stage shook. A grave look flickered on Gui Ya's face as he stepped back before he heavily stomped on the stage.

The ground beneath his feet crumbled into a circle of rubble. Opposite of him, Naruto's face was flushed red as he too took a step back. His right hand was still shining brightly, but if one were to take a closer look, they would notice that it was slightly shaking.

The disciples all around took in a deep breath. Shocked exclamations emerged from both the North Bank and the South Bank disciples.

"That… Naruto is actually… so strong!"

"He's actually on equal ground with Senior Brother Gui Ya! I remember, when he survived the Fallen Uchiha Clan's betrayal, he narrowly escaped while killing cultivators on a higher level than himself… I thought it to be exaggerated back then, but now…"

"It's my first time seeing a disciple managing to break Gui Ya's ghost claw!"

The inner sect disciples were shocked as well as they watched the fight between Naruto and Gui Ya. Their hearts thumped loudly, their expressions aghast. In their eyes, this wasn't a battle between outer sect disciples, but monsters. In so many years, not a single one had appeared, but now… two showed up at the same time.

On the terrace, the Sect Head was also taken aback, the Elders of the Spirit River Sect similarly had their eyebrows raised.

Naruto frowned. His right hand started feeling numb. Although it recovered quickly, it was evident that the Gui Ya in front of him was a formidable opponent.

"To deal with the first finger when I'm using 50% of my strength, you are much stronger than the rest. If so… I can safely unleash 80% of my strength." Staring at Naruto, Gui Ya's eyes lit up with great interest. Forming a hand seal with his right hand, he pointed another finger towards Naruto.

As soon as the words left his mouth, above Naruto, mist suddenly curled around as black Chakra gathered, and as if an invisible hand tore open the sky, another ghost claw appeared.

This ghost claw was imilar to the one that almost took Zabuza's life, however, it was even larger. The ghost claw exploded forth, aiming straight at Naruto. The pressure it was exuding was so powerful, it was as if it was carrying the weight of a mountain.

Naruto abruptly raised his head and lifted his right fist. As the ghost claw descended, he pushed himself off the ground and turned into a rainbow, taking the initiative to meet the ghost claw as he threw his fist out.

This fist carried a peculiar might as Naruto's whole body glowed with a silver light, which could shake the heavens. His Impenetrable Skin, at this moment, exploded. When the fist landed on the ghost claw, unexpectedly, the ghost claw once again trembled and cracks spread through it!

Gui Ya's face flickered. He used his third, fourth, and fifth finger as well, unleashing all of them at the same time.

In a blink of an eye, three enormous ghost claws appeared, tearing down through the air.

Although lengthy to describe, all of this happened in an instant. Seeing the four ghost claws speeding at Naruto, the observing outer sect disciples exclaimed in surprise, and the inner sect disciples were just as shocked.

On the terrace, the Sect head and the others stood up. Toruho's eyes flashed as he prepared to go in for the rescue.

A thunderous explosion sounded out, the deafening sound piercing the sky as the four claws collided with Naruto's body. A shockwave swept out, devastating the arena and lifting rubble along with it. Clouds of dust rose in the air, obscuring the place where Naruto was.

In that dust however, a silhouette, as fast as lightning, burst from the cloud and zoomed in Gui Ya's direction.

"Throat Crushing Grasp!" A deep voice suddenly resounded as a blinding silver light exploded into the audience's eyes. Two fingers appeared in front of Gui Ya, overflowing with silver light, as though they contained a heaven-defying amount of energy. For the first time in his life, Gui Ya felt that his life was endangered. With a growl, mist exploded out of his body and many light screens spread out as he quickly backed away.

But just as he stepped back, a pulling force surged out from Naruto's fingers, not only preventing Gui Ya from retreating, but even pulling him closer.

The light screens he created, upon contact with Naruto's two fingers, seemed fragile as they immediately shattered. In order to defend, he pulled out three shields which turned out ineffective as well. The first one crumbled apart, the second one split in half. And although the third managed to remain as in one piece, the great force from the impact blew it away.

Staring at Naruto's two fingers that pierced through his defenses like a hot knife cutting through butter, Gui Ya screamed as the great threat broke through, quickly reaching out to him. As he screamed, a third of his hair turned white, and in return, his figure had suddenly become hazy. Naruto's fingers pierced right through it, catching only the air.

A muffled bang sounded out as the space between Naruto's fingers crackled as though the air itself was squeezed out of his grasp. At the same time, some distance away from Naruto, Gui Ya's figure appeared, blood spraying out from his mouth, and one could even see a couple of wrinkles appearing on his face.

"To force me to use my last resort, Naruto… I underestimated you." Panting, Gui Ya raised his head to stare at Naruto. In his eyes, there was no such thing as backing down. On the contrary, they overflowed with the desire for battle despite of the shock in his heart. As of this moment, Gui Ya had acknowledged that his opponent had used an ability that had far surpassed the strength of a cultivator at the Chakra Condensation.

Blood seeped out from the edge of Naruto's mouth. As he stood there, one could see that the large pot on his back was shattered, and most of the leather armour on his body was torn apart. His breathing was erratic, but aside from that, he seemed surprisingly fine.

Naruto had managed to withstand the five fingers' ghost claws, although it was with difficulty. If his Impenetrable Skin wasn't at the silver stage, he would have definitely failed.

And unfortunately, his decisive strike had been avoided by his opponent...

Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Chapter 97 - I Am Zhang Fatso One

At this moment, the surrounding disciples were stunned as they stared blankly at the two figures on the fighting stage.

The crowd on the from the South Bank was staring in disbelief as the disciples finally understood how Naruto managed to survive the fight with the Fallen Uchiha Clan, and why he had the right to be called an Honourable Disciple!

"To think… that Naruto would be this strong!" This was the only thought the South Bank disciples occupied themselves with at the moment.

The North Bank disciples, on the other hand, had mixed feelings; their confusion had reached its peak.

On the terrace, the many elders of the Spirit River Sect had eyes filled with both interest and astonishment as they stared at Naruto. The image of his silver-clad body and his shocking attacks floated in their minds.

"It's the Unending Longevity Technique and the silver skin stage at that!"

"And that finishing move just now… It's the Throat Crushing Grasp!"

"To think that the Unending Longevity Technique that almost no one persisted in cultivating would have someone who could actually cultivate it! Its might is extremely great, however, it has a mysterious origin and only a fragment remains…" The elders gasped as they talked among themselves.

"It'd be interesting to see whether either one of those two can enter the Legacy Order!" The Sect Head exclaimed softly, knowing fully well that this possibility was still a long distance away, not to mention that entering the Legacy Order was extremely difficult. As he thought about this, he couldn't help but glance at Toruho.

"To enter the Golden Core stage within two sixty-year cycles and thus enter the Legacy Order… In our generation, Toruho is our only hope for that."

At the same time, Gui Ya suddenly made a motion with his right hand on the arena. A green light flew out, turning into a greenwood banner which then embedded itself into the ground before him.

Crossing his legs, Gui Ya sat down and raised his head, his eyes burning with the desire to fight.

"Naruto, you're worthy of making me break my seal."

"First seal, release!" He abruptly shouted and formed a seal with his right hand before pointing it between his eyebrows. A buzzing sound reverberated, and his body trembled as lines of black threads surged out from his skin, spreading out as his body expanded to twice its size as a powerful aura erupted.

The strength of the aura was clearly at the pinnacle of Chakra Condensation just beneath the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Sixth finger!"

"Eighth finger!"

"Tenth finger!" Gui Ya growled deeply as he flashed hand seals at Naruto, simultaneously activating five fingers without a pause, each more fearsome than the last. The skies shook as enormous detached ghost claws descended out of nowhere, looming menacingly over Naruto from afar as they rumbled forth.

"Is… Is this even a Chakra Condensation technique? Its strength is clearly at the Foundation Establishment!"

"It's my first time seeing a Chakra Condensation disciple unleash such fearsome power!"

"Only a secret technique user can accomplish this. All of the Spirit River Sect's ten great secret techniques can be used in Chakra Condensation!" Everyone watching took in a deep breath, overwhelmed with shock.

Naruto's pupils shrunk. In this moment, Gui Ya released a tremendous pressure far surpassing the one before. However, it still fell short when compared wi

th the Fallen Uchiha Clan's young master whom Naruto had fought a while ago.

After all, this fight wasn't a battle of life and death, while the fight from back then was a matter of… kill or be killed.

Despite it not being a battle of life and death, Naruto didn't want to just avoid as he usually would. This kind of chances didn't come by often, and since there was one now, Naruto wanted to take the first place!

Not for the fame. But solely for the praise and pride in Toruho's eyes when he looked at him!

That alone was enough!

His eyes bloodshot, Naruto tossed his sleeve to the side as he formed hand seals. The Chakra inside his body spread out, and instantly, purple cauldrons began materialising. One cauldron, three cauldrons … five cauldrons appeared!

In the blink of an eye, five cauldrons had formed and were quickly hurled against the five descending ghost claws. The Golden Crow Sword transformed into a beam of golden light as a faint outline of a golden crow shrieked within, heading straight at Gui Ya!

Simultaneously, Naruto's body lunged forward, paying no heed to the five ghost claws as he closed in on Gui Ya at full speed.

An explosion echoed when the cauldrons collided with the five ghost claws. When the cauldrons collided with the ghost claws, the cauldrons crumbled to dust. But at the same time, the ghost claws had dimmed down, losing half their might in the process. However, this did not halt their advance. Without a pause, the claws caught up with Naruto in a flash, when suddenly, a crane's cry resounded from his body as the Divine Crane Shield emerged.

It transformed into a large crane, shrouding Naruto as its cry rose to the sky. When the five claws clashed with it, amidst a cracking sound, the ghost claws faded even further, but the Divine Crane shrieked and returned back into the shield, unable to resist any further.

With their obstacle gone, the ghost claws continued their advance. But just as they were about to land on Naruto, a black light instantly appeared, enveloping Naruto's whole body. It was the life-saving treasure gifted to him by Toruho.

As soon as they landed, the five ghost claws finally stopped and exploded with a deafening roar. Naruto spat out a mouthful of blood as the black light dissipated, but aside from that, he took no damage at all.

Light flashed through Naruto's eyes. He was five zhang away from Gui Ya. The Golden Crow Sword however, was even faster. There was less than a zhang between it and Gui Ya.

Gui Ya's expression changed as he grabbed at the greenwood banner before him, pushing his whole body up, causing the Golden Crow Sword to whoosh right below his shoulder. Although he managed to evade it, it still managed to cut him as his blood was splattered out. Ignoring the pain, Gui Ya jerked the banner, his hair whipping in the wind and his eyes bloodshot.

"Second seal, release!"

"Ten Ghosts… Midnight March!" The banner whipped in his hand as terrifying shrieks immediately sounded from within, shaking one's mind. Suddenly, two ghost hands emerged out of the banner, ripping through the air as a one horned head with a horrifying grin on its face came out, followed by its green-skinned body.

Even the sky darkened as stormy clouds blocked the sun. Darkness enveloped the entire arena, as though night had fallen.

One head after the other, a whole ten ghosts rushed out from the banner, each exuding a force equivalent to the peak of Chakra Condensation as they charged straight at Naruto. Naruto's face changed, his heart thumping loudly. Even with his strength, dealing with ten peak Chakra Condensation leveled ghosts would be more than difficult.

Gui Ya sighed in relief. He wasn't capable of opening the second seal for long, but now that the ten ghosts had appeared, he was convinced that his victory was already assured.

Behind his ten ghosts, Gui Ya coldly looked at Naruto, his eyes shining.

In this battle between two giants, the audience were screaming their lungs out. After Gui Ya's strength had been completely unveiled, the North Bank disciples cheered loudly while the South Bank disciples were on their toes.

Naruto continuously retreated in his struggle against the ten ghosts. With each one having such a terrifying cultivation, he knew that even the Golden Crow Sword would be of little help in dealing with them.

"Ten Ghosts Midnight March…" As the impending danger pressed on, Naruto raised his head at the black clouds that casted their shadows down, forcing dusk upon the arena. His eyes suddenly brightened up, and after pointing a hand seal, the Golden Crow Sword shot straight up, attempting to cleave the clouds and sweep away the darkness shrouding the fighting stage.

Gui Ya frowned at Naruto's fast reaction. Although this remarkable ability was strong, it was suited for the darkness; there would be no problems there. In daylight, though… Unless hundreds of ghosts covered the skies, a chance for him to lose still exists.

"These storm clouds aren't ordinary. Only refined treasures can suppress them, and even they would be sucked inside. Even if Naruto found the weak spot of this ability, there's nothing he can do about it!" Gui Ya laughed coldly in his heart.

At this moment, a rumble resounded as the Golden Crow Sword shot into the cloud. Light flashed and the cloud thinned down slightly. But oddly, the sword was sucked inside, unable to continue its purpose.

Naruto anxiously backed away, pulling out a twice spirit-refined flying sword and hurled it into the cloud. With another rumble, the cloud thinned down further, but that weapon was sucked in just as well.

Gui Ya stared with a baffled look from the side.

"Yet another spirit-refined treasure…"

Before Gui Ya could exit his stupor, Naruto, having found a solution, immediately pulled out seven-eight more flying swords, sending them all towards the sky. Four of the flying swords were shining with a silver light, evidently refined twice. The unrefined blades didn't seem to work, but the four refined ones thinned down the clouds with a rumble, so much that even some sunlight managed to seep through. They caused the ten ghosts to wail and quickly get away from him.

Gui Ya's eyes were about the pop out. Despite his usual demeanor, Gui Ya almost gave voice to his surprise.

"This… This many?! Damn it, that must be all of them!"

He wasn't the only one in awe. All the outer sect disciples watching similarly had their eyes wide open as they cried out in disbelief. "Heavens… How does he have so many spirit-refined items!?"

"For a disciple to possess one is already rare enough... How the hell

does he have so many, who refined them for him?"

As the audience watched agape, Zhang Fatso One could be seen smirking in the back of the crowd. No one paid much attention to his cheering when everyone had been doing the same.

Once he noticed the swords Naruto pulled out, he raised his head arrogantly as pride welled up in his heart.

"Those are all spirit-refined by me! Zhang Fatso One!"

Just as Gui Ya thought that that would be the end of Naruto's spirit-refined treasures, surprise surfaced on Naruto's face as he confirmed that spirit-refined items could suppress the clouds, making him burst out laughing.

He pulled out two more swords, shooting them straight at the clouds. They too were shining with a silver glow, and everyone could tell that they were spirit-refined twice just as well.

"Impossible!" Gui Ya involuntarily cried out in shock.

Rumble! After the clouds in the sky were damaged from eight refined blades, they had reached their limit and dissipated. Sunlight burst through the sudden void, landing straight on top of the ghosts and causing them to escape back into the banner in terror.

Naruto laughed loudly, lunging at Gui Ya. With two of his silver fingers shining, he once again attacked with the Throat Crushing Grasp.

With an ugly expression, Gui Ya prepared to defend himself. But suddenly, blood sprayed from his mouth. He trembled as the aftereffects of releasing the second seal emerged. With his eyes burning with obvious unwillingness to accept this outcome, he hastily backed away.

"I concede!" He said through his teeth. He knew that in his current condition, he was definitely not a match for Naruto. Even so, the unwillingness to accept his defeat raged on. If Naruto didn't have so many spirit-refined items inside his storage pouch, his victory would have been certain.

Or if it had been during night instead of day… Victory would've been his as well!

As soon as he conceded, the disciples from the South Bank immediately burst with excitement as cheers reverberated throughout the arena.

"We won! We won! The South Bank is victorious!"

"Haha! The first place is ours! Two of our Heaven's Chosen are in the top three!"

"The shameless Senior Uncle Uzumaki is victorious!" The cheers of the South Bank pierced the sky, leaving the North Bank to sulk bitterly silent as they gradually realised what had just happened. It wasn't that Gui Ya had failed… Naruto simply had had too many treasures.

"Naruto… Why the hell do you have so many spirit-refined items?!" Glaring at Naruto, Gui Ya wanted to know the reason why he lost.

"My Senior Brother, Zhang Fatso One, is one in a millennium… no, one in ten millennia spirit refinement genius! My babies here, they're all refined by him. If you are to blame someone for your loss, Gui Ya, blame yourself for not having a spirit refinement genius as your Senior Brother!" With those proud words, the South Bank disciples burst into an uproar, especially the disciples from the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

"Zhang Fatso One? Who is that godlike person?"

"Zhang Fatso One… He's from the Purple Cauldron Mountain! Our Purple

Cauldron Mountain!"

"He's the ancestor's disciple… Damn, to think that someone who lays low like him would turn out to be yet another genius!"

Swept by excitement, Zhang Fatso One jumped up and shouted loudly.

"I'm Zhang Fatso One! I'm the one who spirit-refined all of Uzumaki

Xiaochun's flying swords!" More excited than ever before, the great roar he produced traveled far and wide, and even those on the terrace looked at him curiously.

Amidst the whole uproar, Naruto blinked his eyes and raised his chin. Tossing his sleeve to the side, he put on the airs of an expert and turned around, walking off the stage.

"Sigh, what a lonesome life. With a snap of these fingers of mine… All of the Heaven's Chosen in this Heaven's Chosen War… scatter like ash."

Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Chapter 98 - Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture

This Heaven's Chosen War was of great benefit to Zhang Fatso One… Everyone looked at him with curiosity in their eyes. In particular, even the Sect Head was astounded.

"Willpower!" He had an imposing expression on his face. With solemn eyes, the words he spoke shocked the surrounding Elders and Ancestors with him. After taking a closer look, their eyes lit up as well.

If Xu Meixiang hadn't taken Zabuza back to heal his wounds, she would have been just as shocked as those present.

"That kid Zhang Fatso… the one Junior Sister Meixiang brought up the mountain when he was so little is finally producing great results. To spiritually refine by relying on his willpower, the stronger his willpower, the stronger the spirit refinement will be. We should place emphasis on nurturing that child from now on!" The Sect Head said slowly but happily.

"Now that I think about it, that little girl Qingrou isn't bad either.

Although not as impressive as Shangguan Tianyou, luck is on her side.

There's a special thread of fate connecting her to the Mountain Guardian

Sword of our Green Peak Mountain. At the moment, she's in the Green Peak Cave, preparing herself. Should anything come out of it, our Green Peak Mountain might obtain another spirit sword protector in the future!" The Green Peak Mountain's Ancestor said with a faint smile.

(ED note: Black Fatso Three's real name was revealed to be Uchiha

Qingrou in case you have forgotten)

As the arena below was engulfed by the South Bank's cheers, the North Bank's side basked in silence. And so, this Heaven's Chosen War ended with the results officially announced by the Sect Head.

In this moment, Naruto was placed first in the Heaven's Chosen War between the South and the North Banks! As such, his status was now promoted to an inner sect disciple!

He was to be rewarded with the chance to visit the Heaven's Edge Pavilion on the Zhong Dao Mountain, as well as the opportunity to pick a Chakra Condensation treasure!

A single visit to the Spirit River Sect's secret realm would provide an opportunity to comprehend great techniques! This chance, however, would be somewhat wasted should it be used when one was still in the Chakra Condensation. The disciple which placed first would definitely be able to reach the Foundation Establishment, as such, attempting to comprehend said great techniques would be somewhat of a waste before reaching the Foundation Establishment.

And finally, a reward of ten thousand Spirit Stones!

Following that, Zheng Yuandong announced the names of the top ten disciples, officially bestowing them the title 'Heaven's Chosen' and promoting them into the inner sect before the crowd finally began to disperse.

The North Bank disciples were gloomy, while in contrast, the South Bank disciples were bursting with excitement. The Heaven's Chosen had mixed feelings, and Gui Ya took a deep breath as he glared at Naruto's departing figure, still unwilling to accept his loss, before he turned around and left.

As for the other Heaven's Chosen of the North Bank, the Gongsun siblings and Xu Song all clenched their fists tightly. They had decided to enter closed-door training the minute they return to their respective mountains!

As for the South Bank's Kurenai, she still felt surreal as she stared at Naruto in disbelief. The only one having a harder time accepting reality was Shangguan Tianyou.

He wore a gloomy expression. Although surrounded by people, most didn't even bother looking at him as they passed by. Him starting the duel with a sneak att

ack was witnessed by everyone, and that disgracefulness would forever linger in the South Bank disciples' hearts.

A bitter laugh escaped his lips as Shangguan Tianyou clenched his fists.

"This is merely the Chakra Condensation. Foundation establishment... I will be the first to reach Foundation Establishment, surpassing Naruto and Gui Ya alike!" With this newfound determination, Shangguan Tianyou stubbornly held on to his pride as he turned into a rainbow and flew away.

Gradually, the whole crowd left, marking the end of the Heaven's Chosen War. But although it had just ended, the aftereffects that came from it had only just begun.

As of this moment, Naruto's name would spread far and wide between both the North Bank and the South Bank; especially in the North Bank, although his name would be known to all, at the same time, it would become a taboo there.

He was the North Bank's common enemy, the shameless person who brought huge disgrace to the entire North Bank!

Especially to Kiba himself, he went into closed-door cultivation immediately after his master brought him back, too ashamed to face anyone. As for the huge dog which Kiba controlled, its contract was broken and was abandoned in the North Bank.

This Nocturnal Beast was powerful, yet none dared to attempt controlling it. This practically resulted in it becoming wild, and around the four northern mountains, one could occasionally catch a glimpse of its silhouette…

Countless North Bank disciples trained in a frenzy, filled with enthusiasm as they swore to make Naruto pay with blood for the humiliation someday.

Even a certain group spontaneously formed in the North Bank, the AntiChun Alliance, dedicated solely to destroy Naruto!

Zhang Fatso One's name similarly spread all around thanks to the Heaven's Chosen War. The seven refined treasures that Naruto had pulled out in that last battle with Gui Ya had shaken many.

With Zhang Fatso One becoming the Purple Cauldron Mountain's new Heaven's Chosen, countless visitors swarmed, aiming to establish a friendship and have him spirit-refine something for them.

This brought great satisfaction to Zhang Fatso One, but he exercised restraint and didn't refine for just anyone. That simply furthered the respect he received. Even Xu Meixiang herself called for him and asked some questions, giving her the shock of her life, especially after sensing the presence of the will inside Zhang Fatso One's body.

In the end, Zhang Fatso One was forbidden from spirit-refining others' treasures. She told him that unless he had spirit-refined one of Naruto's treasures five times, he shouldn't spirit-refine others.

Although Zhang Fatso found that odd, he agreed.

"Spirit refinement is a mysterious art. Perhaps there is some sort of a connection between this Naruto and Zhang Fatso One… Some things that complement one another before the final result..." Xu Meixiang thoughtfully watched Zhang Fatso One leave, deciding to not pressure him with too many questions. According to the Spirit River Sect's rules, each disciple had their own fate, and one shouldn't be lead by their greed; violating one of the sect's core rules would result in a severe punishment, and furthermore, Naruto's status was abnormal. Even for her, she couldn't do as she please without any difficulties.

The strength that kept the Spirit River Sect standing for ten thousand years and grow stronger and stronger was partially because of this iron rule.

A couple days later, Naruto received the robe and identity token of an inner sect disciple. Under the guidance of Elder Xu, who was in charge of inner sect matters, Naruto packed his stuff and left the courtyard he had resided in for many years.

Inner sect disciples could live in immortal's caves with thick Chakra in the air!

(ED note: the previously mentioned immortal's caves/dwellings will be changed to immortal's caves from now on. )

The so-called immortal's caves were a whole different world, they were like a paradise! As the champion of the Heaven's Chosen War, Naruto could choose any immortal's cave to live in, so naturally, he chose the best one available. Located at the back of the Scented Cloud Mountain, near the end of the mountain road, the immortal's cave was quiet and thick Chakra filled the air.

There were five stone chambers within, illuminated by Night Pearls from above. In the hall, surprisingly, there was a small opening from which warm water flowed out, forming a small, tens of zhang in diameter hot spring pond. There were even some fishes befitting the pond, wandering around.

Although the immortal's cave was simplistic, there was a refinement room, a room for closed-door cultivation, a spirit plant garden, and a technique-testing room. Basically, it was verything one could ask for.

Additionally, there were two puppets with the strength of fifth level Chakra Condensation in order to assist Naruto in his daily life. Every stone room of the residence also had formation arrays. The one in the great hall, upon activation, caused the cave's ceiling to become transparent so one could see the sky filled with stars and the beautiful moon when night fell. The entire living space had a grand formation array, which, upon activation, would prove a challenge for even an early stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to break through in a short time!

It was an immortal's cave completely satisfactory for even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, one of the best in the entire Scented Cloud Mountain.

Naruto inspected it with satisfaction. In comparison, his old living quarters was simply too crude. He happily sent off Elder Xu who told him to go to pick a technique from Toruho in the Spirit Pavilion in the inner sect.

Seeing that Elder Xu had left, Naruto immediately stripped off his clothes and jumped into the spring. He groaned from the pleasure, the fishes would swim around and sometimes even nibble him gently. He felt as though there wasn't much else one could ask for in life.

"Too bad Ryuzetsu isn't in the sect. Having a bath together here would've been nice." Just as Naruto pictured the scene, he thought suddenly of Ino, and a smile emerged on his face. He decided that he would find an opportunity to bring her here and gaze at the night sky and the stars from the hot spring.

I am a man with ambitions; I should get both Ino and Du Linfei to bathe in here." As he thought about it, Naruto realised that he had previously been too narrow-minded.

On the next day, Naruto left the immortal's cave at dawn. As he walked down the mountain path, he noticed another immortal's cave not too far from his.

The distance between the two immortal's caves was but a few hundred zhang, practically neighbouring each other. Based on the activated formations, it seemed to be occupied so Naruto curiously shot a couple more glances before going on his way.

Walking slowly, Naruto had just walked half the road down the mountain peak. There weren't many outer sect disciples around there, most of them were inner sect ones.

And there wasn't many of them either, most were behind closed-door cultivation or out on missions. Even so, it didn't stop Naruto from clearing his throat, showing off. After a short silence, greetings to Senior Uncle Uzumaki arrived.

Amidst all the 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' calls , Naruto swaggered out in high spirits, walking to the Scented Cloud Mountain's inner sect Spirit Pavilion. That was where the inner sect disciples picked techniques.

Each of the promoted disciple came to this part of the inner sect to try learning a new technique from the inner sect. Upon Naruto's arrival, the disciple in charge of the Spirit Pavilion rose to greet him, pleasing Naruto even further. He took a moment to pat his shoulder before he went to pick one.

"Heaven-Earth Cleave?"

"Fire and Water Purge!"

"Ninth Heaven Decimating The Earth?"

After looking at the techniques for a long while, he grew confused. He didn't know which to pick, all of them sounded powerful. Finally, he decided to heed Elder Xu's words and chose the one Toruho had suggested for him.

"Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture?" Picking up a jade slip, Naruto urged his Chakra inside, making him widen his eyes shortly after. The introduction of the Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture blew his mind.

"Man is shackled, both his cultivation and his physical body are chained by the source of life itself… This technique I created is for those of the Chakra Condensation cultivation. Although it can not break the shackles, it will allow one to comprehend them!"

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto was immediately reminded of the black-robed old man who had saved his life, introducing himself as Shou Lingren, and the words he spoke that day.

"The five volumes of the Unending, break through the five great shackles of life… The five volumes of Longevity, break through the great five shackles of eternity!"

Naruto felt that these words were surprisingly similar to those of the Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture. After a careful look, Naruto frowned as he discovered that this skill didn't seem very powerful. It was inferior even to the ones Naruto checked out earlier. It could, however, allow him to perfectly combine with the Purple Chakra Cauldron Manipulation Technique and even improve the success rate of reaching Foundation Establishment!

Naruto had yearned for Foundation Establishment for many years now, and thinking about that, his heartbeat quickened.

There were three stages of this Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming

Scripture, featuring the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, the tenth level of Chakra Condensation, and then finally… the Foundation Establishment!

If cultivated to its peak, the physical body would obtain the power of a dragon-elephant, the Chakra within would expand into a boundless ocean! Most importantly, it provided a stable foundation for learning techniques after reaching Foundation Establishment, reducing the chance of one picking a wrong technique and wasting their time!

It could be said to be the extraordinary within the ordinary!

"I'll pick this one!" Naruto instantly made up his decision. Whether it was the introduction of the technique about the shackles or the increase of the success rate to Foundation Establishment… everything tugged at Naruto's heartstrings. With the the Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture in hand, he walked out the Spirit Pavilion and proceeded to his immortal cave.

As he neared it, he saw the door of the neighbouring immortal's cave suddenly open as he was just passing in front of it. A woman's silhouette appeared, but after noticing Naruto, that silhouette hastily tried to go back inside, but it was too late.

"Eh? Xinqi, my niece!" Naruto shouted out, pleasantly surprised. He was far from her during the Heaven's Chosen War, so he didn't get the chance to make her call him Senior Uncle Uzumaki. Now that he realised Kurenai and him were neighbours, he was very happy.

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	3. Chapter 3

390

Chapter 99 Chapter 99

Chapter 99 - Revenge at the Door

Kurenai's face turned ugly. Never would she have thought that the immortal cave Naruto picked would be the one neighboring hers! Back in the outer sect, she had heard that he liked making people call him Senior Uncle Uzumaki. The very thought made her uncomfortable, and so she avoided him ever since.

But right now, she had nowhere to run; she had been caught at her own doorway.

"...Senior Uncle Uzumaki!" Sucking in a deep breath, she forced the words out softly, without even looking at Naruto. She swiftly flew away on her blue damask as her long dress fluttered behind in the wind, almost like a fairy. This was also how she dealt with all those admirers in her daily life, and it had always been effective as such attitude distanced her from other people, making her unapproachable.

Naruto, on the other hand, was very delighted. With his hands behind his back, he put on an expert's appearance as he gazed at the disappearing Kurenai with with great satisfaction, seemingly unconcerned by her attitude. All he wanted was a simple 'Senior Uncle Uzumaki' after all.

Not until Kurenai disappeared in the distance did Naruto proceed to his immortal cave, completely satisfied. He felt that he had passed a milestone today. Inside the cave, he took out the DragonElephant Ocean Forming Scripture and carefully inspected it once again. As he thought about that magical ability Gui Ya had used in the Heaven Chosen's War that day, his expression turned solemn.

"That Gui Ya, what's up with his cultivation to be so formidable… And those ghosts, he controlled them as though he was controlling beasts. If only I had a monstrous beast of my own." As he went through that battle in his mind, a sudden idea flashed through his mind. He retrieved a wooden case from his storage pouch.

"Raising a beast … If I get an opportunity to visit the North Bank in the future, perhaps… obtaining a beast for myself isn't impossible, especially if I raise this beast on my own!" Thinking of the wonders that could be brought by raising a beast, Naruto's heart thumped loudly with excitement. Only a long while later did he manage to suppress his emotions and put the case back into the pouch.

After thinking for a while, he shook his head.

"Fighting and killing... I'm fed up with all that. I'd rather reach the peak of Chakra Condensation so I can make my way into the Foundation Establishment faster!" With that thought in mind, Naruto began cultivating in accordance with the Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture.

Although the Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture could perfectly be linked with the Purple Chakra Cauldron Manipulation Technique, the cultivation method was still different. It wasn't based on taking various poses, but on three specific images instead. The first one was an incomparably majestic and massive Ancient Elephant that seemed strong enough to split mountains and shake Heaven and Earth. The absolute physical strength caused Naruto's body to involuntarily shudder from a single glance. As though his body had some special connection to the image…

The second image depicted a Jade Dragon, most of its body hidden as it rolled within the misty clouds. As Naruto looked at it, the image burnt itself into his mind, leaving a mark in his head. After which, not even one breath later, Naruto's mind rumbled. All of the Chakra inside his body surged uncontrollably throughout his body and waves of piercing pain jolted Naruto awake, drenching him in cold sweat.

"What the hell is this cultivation method!" Taking a deep breath, Naruto didn't continue onto the third image,

deciding instead to carefully study the incantations and details of the Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture.

A moment later, Naruto raised his head up, a thoughtful expression on his face, as though he had realised something.

"Visionary Thought Cultivation!" Naruto mumbled to himself.

This type of cultivation is exceptionally mysterious. Visualising different images for the different stages as one used the method to cultivate oneself. One could imagine the mysterious power of Heaven and Earth contained in the three images, strong enough that a single look could affect the viewer's body!

For a disciple that had just joined the sect, such cultivation method would be completely unsuitable; if one tried forcibly, they may even harm themselves. Only upon reaching the eighth level of Qi

Condensation did one have sufficient spiritual strength to cultivate such a method.

Naruto was deep in thought, he didn't want to bite off more than what he could chew. When he glanced at the first image, it caused his body to shudder and blood began rushing through his blood vessels. A silver glow enveloped his body seemingly resonating with his Impenetrable Skin. Naruto had the feeling that… this DragonElephant Ocean Forming Scripture could complement his Impenetrable Skin, increasing its power.

Time quickly flew by and half a month had passed. During this time, Naruto occasionally lit the furnace in order to refine medicine. As he trained according to the Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture and refined medicine, his cultivation gradually increased. As a result, his Impenetrable Skin's colour gradually deepened, evidently improving.

At the same time, as he cultivated with the Dragon-Elephant Ocean

Forming Scripture, he noticed his Purple Chakra Cauldron Manipulation Technique had improved by leaps and bounds, despite not using it at all.

This phenomenon took Naruto by surprise. However, after pondering about it, he finally grasped the answer.

"Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture, a support technique created to strengthen other techniques. Just like the introduction mentioning the shackles…" Deep in thought for a while, Naruto raised his right hand and pointed in front of him. The empty space in front of him instantly distorted, and a huge purple cauldron materialised.

It was extremely realistic. Not only was it larger than before, the pressure it emitted too had increased considerably. Naruto felt that the cauldron could dissipate with just a thought and revert back into Chakra before flowing back to his body.

Making a mental command, the massive cauldron suddenly vanished

and a swarm of Chakra lunged at him, burrowing into his body and replenishing the Chakra lost in using the magical ability.

Naruto was instantly delighted. That ease of which the cauldron dissipated and the Chakra returned marked the pinnacle of the Purple Chakra Cauldron Melting Technique.

"With the help of this Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture, controlling people I once thought of might actually have some hope!" As Naruto basked in delight, his expression suddenly flickered; he raised his head towards the immortal cave's entrance, pointing a hand seal, the door blurred before it began rapidly turning transparent, exposing the world outside.

It was currently dusk, yet there were over a hundred silhouettes swarming towards him from the distance, the fastest group already was before his cave.

Among that group was a handsome youth, but his skin was pale and had bloodshot eyes. He seemed to be overtaken by insanity, to the point where a single touch could cause him to explode.

Naruto recognized that youth, he was the North Bank's disciple… Kiba!

And the dozens of people around Kiba actually all had cultivations higher than the ninth level, over ten of them even at the peak level of Chakra Condensation! As for the hundred or so following behind them, all of them shockingly was at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation!

The large man beside Kiba was particularly intimidating. He was burly, as though he was a small mountain, and his face slightly resembled Kiba's. His long hair flurried in the wind as he stood there in an imposing silence. Naruto was shocked!

The atmosphere around him wasn't something a Chakra Condensation cultivator could have! Although faint, there seemed to be an invisible vortex surrounding him, drawing the energy of Heaven and Earth and throughout his surroundings.

"Over a hundred… ninth and tenth level Chakra Condensation inner sect disciples!" Naruto stared wide-eyed, his scalp numb. Forming a hand seal, he instantly activated the immortal cave's formation array.

These over a hundred people were all inner sect disciples of the North Bank, more precisely, the Setting Sun Peak's. Today, they had come to take revenge for their junior disciple, Kiba.

The gathering of all these people naturally attracted the attention of the Scented Cloud Mountain's inner sect disciples immediately. Kurenai was the first to exit her residence and many of the other inner sect disciples hastily came out as well, surrounding the intruders. As that happened, someone immediately recognized the big man beside Kiba and cried out in shock.

"A Chakra Vortex, that's… that's beyond Chakra Condensation, he's extremely close to Foundation Establishment, it's a sign that he is half-step into Foundation Establishment!"

"Setting Sun Peak's top; the inner sect's Heaven's Chosen, Beihan Feng!"

Everyone rose into an uproar, their voices reaching Naruto who was still inside his immortal cave thanks to the formation arrays. Upon hearing the commotion outside, Naruto's eyes widened even further.

"Fellow sect cultivators, the Heaven's Chosen War has been won by the

South Bank. We have no qualms about that, the North Bank even congratulates you for that. Today, we have come here for a matter which does not concern our North Bank and South Bank, but a personal matter concerning my Beihan Clan. This shameless and despicable Naruto has humiliated my younger brother for his whole life, and I, as his elder brother, will not tolerate that insult!"

"Today's visit is for my brother's sake, I seek to have him answer for his actions!" As Beihan Feng's words resounded out, he didn't wait for any of the Scented Cloud Mountain disciples to react before he shot a death glare at Naruto's cave.

"Naruto, get out here!"

Kiba was beside his elder brother, with red eyes and a trace of tears within them. In his madness, he let out a hysterical scream directed at Naruto's residence.

"Naruto, get out!"

Just after the two Beihan siblings yelled out, the deeply aggrieved voice of Naruto arrived from within the immortal cave.

"Ah... you guys are being unreasonable. I told you at that time to concede, you can't blame me for that. When that huge dog pounced on you, I even considered helping set you two apart…"

"Shut up! Naruto, get out of here right now! The Beihan Clan will forever be your enemy!" Kiba roared furiously, thinking that Naruto intentionally rubbed salt on his wounds. In a crazed outburst, he charged and struck against Naruto's immortal cave's formation array, as though he wanted to vent his grievances on it.

Naruto panicked for a moment, but when he realised that the formation array merely had a ripple appear on it and there was no sign of breaking apart, he calmed down and made a decision to definitely not go out. Looking at the enraged Kiba, Naruto sighed and tried to calm him down.

"Kiba, it's not a big deal. Think about it this way, now that you and that dog have such a close relationship, it may actually be a blessing in disguise! Perhaps your beast-taming techniques will improve because of that…" Naruto genuinely wanted to console him, however, his words had the complete opposite effect as a roar exploded out of Kiba's throat.

Even Beihan Feng's expression darkened. He stepped closer to Naruto's immortal cave and struck it with his palm. Boom! The formation array shook, making Naruto's heart skip a beat.

"Stop!" At this moment, the surrounding Scented Cloud Mountain inner sect disciples couldn't tolerate it any longer. Although they weren't close to Naruto, now that the Setting Sun Peak had launched an attack, they couldn't just sit back and watch, or the Scented Cloud Mountain inner sect disciples would lose their face.

As the Scented Cloud Mountain inner sect disciples charged out, they were immediately intercepted by the hundred or so disciples the Beihan siblings had brought. They spread out, creating a blockade. There wasn't any fighting, they just stopped the others from interrupting Beihan Feng.

Such a thing was already considered a dispute between two mountains and violated the sect rules. However, Beihan Feng didn't care much for that at the moment. The Beihan Clan was an Honour clan, and as long as no one died, the punishment wouldn't be too severe.

Clang! Naruto's immortal cave formation array immediately distorted as the ripples grew larger, however, this immortal cave wasn't ordinary. Naruto calmed down from his initial panic, letting out a breath of relief after seeing nothing more happened.

But he was a kind-hearted person, feeling embarrassed, he attempted to calm them down once again.

"You can't blame me for this… How about you cook that dog up and eat it. Eat it, and everyone will know that Kiba is a fearsome man; anyone who dares pounce at him will end up as a meal instead... " As he spoke, Naruto felt that he had strayed from the topic… Just as he was about to go back on track, Kiba spat out a mouthful of blood. With his hair in a disheveled mess, he let out an anguished cry as he furiously threw his head at the formation array.

Chapter 100 Chapter 100

Chapter 100 - Have You Still Not Apologised To Your Senior Uncle Uzumaki?

Naruto felt even more wronged. He had already realised that whenever he tried to explain himself, it would somehow end up backfiring.

This wasn't his intention; he didn't want this to happen…

Kiba's elder brother, Beihan Feng, was similarly enraged by Naruto's explanation. After taking a deep breath, black light began to burst out from his right hand, and in the blink of an eye, a black crescent moon appeared on his palm.

It was like the moon after sunset, except this black-coloured moon emitted waves of terrifying energy which could make one's mind shudder. The moon pressed on towards Naruto's immortal cave's formation array.

A loud bang rang out. The whole immortal cave trembled a couple times; many ripples began appearing outside the immortal cave's formation array. There were even hints of cracks appearing in many different places, but ultimately… the formation array didn't crumble and even repaired itself to its normal condition in the blink of an eye.

Even Beihan Feng sucked in a deep breath at this scene. The might of this immortal cave's formation array would be a big headache. He gnashed his teeth and prepared to continue attacking.

But suddenly, a cold snort resounded out from the distant sky.

"Beihan Feng… What are you doing?! Are you still not going to stop?!"

This voice was like a muffled thunder that exploded right beside Beihan Feng. As the sound spread, Kiba was similarly jolted out of his crazed state as he trembled in fear and hurriedly backed away.

The colour on the Setting Sun Peak inner sect disciples' faces began to drain, and they too backed away, stopping their attacks and raising their heads to the sky. Six long rainbows became more and more vivid as they arrived in a split second from the distant Zhong Dao Mountain.

The roar came from a middle-aged man wearing a long black-coloured robe. A glowering look was plastered on his square face, his whole body emitting a dangerous aura.

"Master…" Kiba and Beihan Feng's minds were shaken by this middle-aged man's enraged bellow as they quickly paid their respects to him. The Setting Sun Peak inner sect disciples around them were similarly shuddering as they bowed their heads in unison.

"We pay our respects to the Ancestor!"

This middle-aged man was precisely Kiba's master and the Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor who had shot a ferocious glare at Naruto before carrying Kiba away during the Heaven Chosen's War.

"Good-for-nothings, you're standing out like sore thumbs! Are you still not leaving? This old man shall deal with you later!"

"Subsequently, once you go back, all of you are to train in seclusion for three years as punishment!" The middle-aged man furiously roare. The Beihan siblings minds shuddered. They weren't quite sure what was going on. Although they had broken the sect rules by coming here, their Master had always treated them kindly, and he shouldn't have been so angry. After all, their Master too had been furious at Naruto that day.

The younger of the two brothers, Kiba, felt that something must have happened and it was far from good. He became nervous and cautiously glanced at his Master in the sky while backing away. What he saw made his scalp tingle; the rest of the three mountain's North Bank Ancestors were standing beside the Setting Sun Mountain's Ancestor with sour expressions.

Beside the four North Bank Ancestors, the Sect Head, Zheng Yuandong, was al

so present. Furthermore, there was yet another person. He was looking down with an indifferent expression, as though the dispute that had occurred between the disciples down below didn't bother him at all. He was… the Scented Cloud Mountain's Ancestor, Toruho.

The Setting Sun Peak disciples weren't the only ones that felt that this situation was taking a turn for the worse. The the Scented Cloud Mountain inner sect disciples too were surprised, thinking that this scene was somewhat strange… One should know that the North Bank had been pretty arrogant in the past. Events such as today's had happened countless times before. The North Bank was always the one who turned big problems into small, and small problems into nothing every single time.

Angry scoldings like today's were extremely rare.

Even Naruto in the immortal cave was startled for a moment before he curiously surveyed everyone outside the immortal cave.

The four North Bank mountain's Ancestors glanced at one another in mid-air. The old woman from the Iridaceae Peak coughed dryly and looked towards Toruho.

"Ancestor Li, according to our previous discussion, look…"

"If the accident that happened just now hadn't occurred, I would've agreed with it. Now things are difficult for me as well. It'd be best if you discuss it among yourselves." Toruho shook his head and spoke lightly. His gaze swept across Naruto's immortal cave down below with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"This…" The old woman from the Iridaceae Peak hesitated for a moment and looked towards the middle-aged man from the Setting Sun Peak, feeling a light headache. The Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor let out a deep sigh. He knew that his disciples were the ones who had caused trouble and understood that he alone could solve it. Thus, he put a smile on his face and directed his gaze towards Naruto's immortal cave.

"Junior Brother Naruto…" Once these three words left his mouth, he felt extremely awkward as discomfort spread through his whole body.

But he had no other choice. After the discussion held between the North

Bank's four mountains, they all extremely valued Naruto's Aphrodisiac Pill. They had even inspected the war beasts and concluded that even those with a first rank bloodline would be affected.

This caused an uproar among them. To the North Bank, such a medicine pill would be sacred. One should know that there were far too many mighty war beasts that had difficulties leaving offspring due to various circumstances. Especially the first rank bloodline war beasts that usually went into heat only once every tens of centuries. That was one of the problems that had troubled to the North Bank for many years now.

Especially with the pressing matter of one of the two Setting Sun Peak's sacred beasts, the Blue Eyes Nether Moon Monkey, was about to die from old age soon without leaving an offspring to inherit its bloodline.

But it seemed that Naruto's medicine pill defied the Heavens' will. This caused the four North Bank Ancestors to steel their determination and obtain the pill recipe. Only after rummaging through countless data but still failing to find any information related to the medicine pill did they force themselves to inquire whether that was… Naruto's personally-created medicine pill!

Only after that did they look for the Sect Head and Toruho in order to procure the medicine pill.

If it had been any other disciple, even if they were to be an inner sect disciple, so long as the Ancestors said the word, the matter would be very simple. The Ancestors had many ways to make a disciple obediently hand over a pill recipe. But Naruto was different… He was an Honourable Disciple as well as the Sect Head's Junior Brother. With such a status, the Ancestors could only think of how to exchange the pill recipe and were unable to use other means to get a hold of it.

\

They even needed Naruto's agreement and couldn't force him to hand it over… Originally under the Sect Head's mediation, they had already agreed on some terms with Toruho, but before they could finish their discussion, word that the Setting Sun Peak disciples had went to cause trouble for Naruto arrived. Naturally, the four North Bank Ancestors were immediately enraged.

They feared that the Setting Sun disciples had behaved inappropriately and had offended Naruto, causing further difficulties in the exchange for the medicine pill recipe.

And that lead to the current scene of the Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor angrily scolding those disciples just now.

"Junior Brother Naruto, please come out to talk." The Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor was trying his best to squeeze out an affable look. Even his voice had greatly softened. As soon as the words left his mouth, the surrounding Setting Sun Peak disciples shuddered. The two brothers, Kiba and Beihan Feng, even more so, staring wide-eyed, feeling dumb as a wooden chicken.

Inside the immortal cave, Naruto rolled his eyes as he looked with astonishment at the scene outside. He felt that something was definitely amiss, but seeing Toruho's gaze made him thought deeply. Even though he didn't know what had happened, countless speculations spun inside his heart.

"Those disciples of yours were too fierce and wanted to beat me to death. I almost lost this feeble life of mine. I dare not to go outside…" As Naruto was thinking about this matter, his aggrieved voice sounded out.

He spoke with a weak and pitiful voice, and once his words sounded out, Beihan Feng felt a chill crawl up his back. The expressions of the surrounding Setting Sun Peak disciples similarly paled. They had just witnessed the importance the four North Bank Ancestors placed on Naruto, it was as though they were trying to please him. And now, with Naruto speaking in this manner, they could already imagine their fates.

Toruho and Zheng Yuandong's cheeks twitched slightly and the Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor suddenly turned his head around and fiercely glared at the Setting Sun Peak disciples, letting out a low roar. "Are you still not going to acknowledge your mistakes to your Senior Uncle Uzumaki!"

Each and every Setting Sun Peak disciple had a sullen look on their face as they quickly cupped their fists towards the immortal cave, apologising.

Kiba's heart was filled with bitterness and indignation and wanted to resist. But under his Master's stern gaze, he aggrievedly bowed his head and cupped his fist towards the the immortal cave.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki… I… I… I was in the wrong!"

Beihan Feng remained silent as he raised his head in refusal and looked at his Master. But after noticing his Master's gaze get even sharper, he trembled slightly as veins bulged out on his forehead, but in the end, he still cupped his fist and apologised.

His whole body trembled and the gaze he directed towards the immortal cave overflowed with fury.

"Junior Brother Naruto, is this enough?" The Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor quickly spoke, trying his best to make himself slightly more affable.

After a long time, a crack appeared on the immortal cave formation array. Naruto's head popped out and he quickly inspected his surroundings before clearing his throat and swaggering out. He lifted his small chin up, assuming an arrogant appearance.

"Forget it, forget it. As their senior, I shouldn't be bickering with these Nephews." Naruto flourished his small sleeve in a magnanimous manner.

Kiba stood in front of him, his eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was trembling. He wanted to go up to Naruto and punch him in the face, but he didn't dare to do it. His elder brother, Beihan Feng, also felt as though Heaven and Earth had flipped around and the need to suppress his emotions was driving him crazy.

The duo's gazes angered Naruto and he viciously glared in their direction and secretly thought in his heart, "Who's afraid of whom? When it comes to a stare down, I, Naruto, have never been afraid of others in this lifetime.

"Naruto, that medicine pill of yours that causes war beasts to… go into heat, is it your own creation?" Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor took a deep breath and asked in a soft voice.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the old woman and the other two North Bank Ancestors all looked at Naruto with an expectant look in their eyes. Both Beihan brothers only felt a droning sound in their minds as they finally understood the Ancestors' behaviour. The bitterness the duo felt only caused them to detest Naruto even more.

Naruto blinked as he immediately figured out what lie in the heart of all this. He stuck his chest out and raised his head, nodding arrogantly.

"That is right. That great pill medicine is truly my, Naruto's, own secret creation. I alone can refine it!"

The four North Bank Ancestors rejoiced in their hearts although their expression did not reveal too much. The middle-aged man from the Setting Sun Peak smiled lightly and nodded his head as he spoke.

"Junior Brother Naruto is so young and can already create a pill recipe of his own. He is truly worthy of being called a Heaven's Chosen. The pill recipe for that medicine pill is of great importance to our Spirit River Sect. This old man is offering you a hundred thousand Contribution

Points in exchange for your pill recipe, how about that? Junior Brother Naruto, handing the pill recipe over to the sect is a great service to the whole sect. As an Honourable Disciple, the sect is your home." The middle-aged man from the Setting Sun Mountain said in a slow and tempting manner.

"Alright!" Naruto immediately said with an expression that suggested he would go through water and thread on fire for the sake of the sect. The four North Bank Ancestors were pleasantly surprised as he even directly started recounting the pill recipe.

"The pill medicines are the Ming Jue Seed, the Bodhisattva Wood Flower, the Winter Spirit Bamboo and also… Eh, what else is there? How come I can't recall it? Perhaps I forgot it after being frightened just now?" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows with a puzzled expression.

A smile tugged at the corner of Toruho's mouth and Zheng Yuandong felt helpless. The four North Bank Ancestors's expressions had turned ugly. How could they not see the reason behind Naruto's words? They smiled wryly as the Setting Sun Peak's Ancestor clenched his teeth and glared towards the Setting Sun Peak disciples down below.

Under his sweeping gaze, the Setting Sun Peak disciples, including the Beihan siblings, trembled.

Translated by: Nat

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch, Mantoulnv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 101 Chapter 101

Chapter 101 - The Water Nation Technique and The Magnetic Yuan Wings.

The Setting Sun Mountain's Ancestor snorted and flourished his right sleeve and an immense force exploded. The bodies of the Setting Sun Mountain disciples jerked down as though mountains suddenly weighed upon them. Their continuous cries echoed out.

Especially Kiba and his brother, under the powerful pressure, their appearances were miserable as the Chakra inside their body was roiled. The hatred for Naruto in their hearts only grew stronger, but they dared not expose it.

"When we get back to the North Bank, everyone is to go into seclusion for ten years without going out!" Even though the Ancestor of the Setting Sun Mountain punished them, they were still the disciples of the Setting Sun Mountain. He seemed very strict, but in fact, he was also protecting them. As he spoke, he flourished his large sleeve and a gale swept all the Setting Sun Mountain disciples together and sent them to a distant place.

After doing this, he once again looked at Naruto, forcing out a smile as he spoke.

"Naruto, can you remember it now?"

Naruto knew that he couldn't be excessive; he conducted himself well, careful to not cross the line. He knew that the current result was the best that he could get. He cleared his throat, satisfied by the words.

"Haha, we brothers don't have to act like this. I, Naruto, am an Honourable Disciple, and the Sect Head's Junior Brother. Even though these nephews caused some trouble, how could I lower myself to their level. They are just a bunch of mischievous children." Naruto acted as though the rest were his peers. The Setting Sun Mountain's Ancestor smiled bitterly in his heart. Zheng Yuandong beside him coughed dryly, secretly regretting the decision he made back then.

Naruto pretended not to notice and patted his chest to hide his satisfaction. He was just about to finish telling them the rest of the pill recipe.

Suddenly, Toruho cleared his throat.

"For a Medicine Master, original recipes of spirit medicine are extremely precious. If the North Bank wants the pill recipe, what are you willing to exchange for it?"

Naruto blinked his eyes and remained quiet as he impatiently stared at the four North Bank Ancestors.

The four North Bank Ancestors glanced at one another before the old woman from the Iridaceae Mountain took a pearl out from her sleeve.

This pearl was green in colour, and inside it, a lump of Chakra seemed to be floating around. Bursts of magnetic force even spread into the air, undulations spreading in circles around it.

"This is a Magnetic Yuan Pearl, the nucleus of a Magnetic Yuan Giant. It possesses one strand of Magnetic Yuan Force. By using this alone, you can affect all magic treasures within a certain range. For Foundation Establishment cultivators, this is a good treasure. For Chakra Condensation cultivators, there may be some difficulties to fully utilise it, but within the Heaven's Edge Pavilion, there is a pair of Magnetic Spirit Wings, and when you combine them together, it can become the trump card of a Qi

Condensation cultivator. With its speed, even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator is chasing after you, this will give him a headache!"

"Naruto, you are the winner of the Heaven's Chosen War, and you have the qualifications to enter the Heaven's Chosen Pavilion once and pick a treasure. I have already brought the Magnetic Spirit Wings for you. I will trade you this pearl for the pill recipe!" While the old woman was talking, she waved her right hand and a pair of green-coloured wings appeared in her hands. The wings and the pearl both flew towards Uzumaki Xiao

chun and hovered before of him.

Naruto's eyes shone. Although his speed was good, it wasn't enough if a Foundation Establishment cultivator seriously chased after him. Now, as he looked at the Magnetic Yuan Pearl and Magnetic Spirit Wings before him, he immediately felt that when these two treasures worked as one, they could truly explode out with an astonishing speed and truly be a life-saving treasure. His heart thumped loudly.

"Furthermore, if you have enough luck, maybe you could even sense Magnetic Yuan Force, and comprehend one of our Spirit River Sect's ten greatest secret technique, Secret Technique of Attraction and Repulsion!" The old woman said softly with a sly smile.

Naruto licked his lips. He was about to agree, but he restrained himself and glanced at Toruho, awaiting his decision. Naruto already treated Toruho as a close relative, and in a situation like this, he would adhere to Toruho's opinion. Even if Toruho wanted him to give away the pill recipe, it would be no big deal to Naruto.

It was just a pill recipe, after all. For the North Bank, it was priceless. As for him, his storage pouch was filled with plenty of those strange pills with unknown effects. At this moment, he made his mind to try out each and every last one of those strange pills. Perhaps, there may be a pill hiding inside with a wondrous effect.

Toruho swept his glance across the Magnetic Yuan Pearl and

Magnetic Spirit Wings and then looked again at the four North Bank Ancestors before finally resting his eyes on the old woman. A flash flickered in his eyes as he opened his mouth.

"In addition to one of the ten great secret techniques, the technique passed down in your North Bank...the Water Nation Technique!"

The moment Toruho spoke his words, Sect Head Zheng Yuandong's eyes twitched a bit.

"No way!" The Ancestor of the Setting Sun Peak immediately flew into a rage after hearing Toruho's words. He wasn't the only one, the elderly Ancestor of the Sky Mountain widened his eyes too.

"Black-hearted Li, don't go too far! This Water Nation Technique is the secret technique passed down in our North Bank and is also on par with the top secret technique of the Spirit River Sect, the Nightwalker technique. We absolutely cannot give this technique to the South Bank!

As Naruto watched this scene unfold, he was taken aback when the Ancestor of the Sky Mountain called Toruho 'Black-hearted Li'. "Laughable. One thousand years ago, the Nightwalker Technique was the technique passed down in the Purple Cauldron Mountain, and didn't the North Bank obtain it through a trade as well? Then why can't the South Bank exchange for your secret technique!" Toruho flourished his sleeve and coldly spoke.

The North Bank Ancestors were rendered speechless.

The Ancestor of the Ghost Tooth Peak was a figure that was somewhat indistinct. His appearance was also indistinct, and at the moment, he was the one who let out a sigh.

"The Nightwalker technique is suitable for our Ghost Tooth Mountain, that's all. This happened a long time ago, don't bring that up. It's just that in our North Bank's history, beside the Sky Wing Forefather from eight thousand years ago, even though there were some people who practiced this technique, all they formed in the end was a useless Spirit. This secret technique is very difficult to cultivate, so why do you make things difficult for us, Ancestor Li?"

"If you don't want to give us the Water Nation Technique, we won't give you the pill recipe." Toruho resolutely said.

Naruto below was looking at the people above arguing about the Water Nation Technique, astonished from the bottom of his heart. Actually, he felt the previous offer was pretty good, and even though he was curious about the Water Nation Technique in his heart, he treaded carefully. But at the same time, he had gained a new understanding of Toruho. Perhaps Toruho wasn't that righteous in his daily life, and was instead a role model for blackmailing? Could that be the reason why he was called Black-hearted Li?

Thinking about this, adoration surfaced in Naruto's eyes as he looked at Toruho.

The four North Bank Ancestors pondered among themselves. After a long time, they still chose to agree. After all, even though passing down inherited secret techniques were important, the spirit medicine in front of their eyes was even more precious.

After Toruho's signal, Naruto hurriedly told them the full recipe of the Aphrodisiac Pill and its peculiarities. The Ancestors in that area had already sealed the whole area, so only a few people could hear Naruto's pill recipe.

After receiving the pill recipe, the four North Bank Ancestors took a few moments to study the recipe before, one by one, they nodded. A blue jade slip flew out of the hands of the old woman from the Iridaceae Mountain, straight at Naruto.

"Water Nation Technique, one of the ten great secret techniques. This technique requires you to observe all sorts of creatures, forming the Spirit of Life, creating something out of nothing, forming water, descending into the world to form a nation.

"In the ten thousand years of the Spirit River Sect, except for the Sky Wing Forefather back then who managed to form a Sky Winged Beast, although there were disciples with extraordinary talent who managed to cultivate this technique, the Spirit of Life that they formed were all ordinary ones."

"The type of the Spirit of Life formed by this technique is determined by the practitioner's temperament and his understanding of Spirit Beasts. If a hundred people cultivated the Water Nation Technique, there would be a hundred different Spirits of Life. They could be strong, or they could be weak. While the Sky Wing Forefather formed an incredibly powerful Sky Winged Beast, others formed rabbits, snakes, or even bugs."

"Naruto, although you are a disciple of the South Bank, and the North Bank is competing with the South Bank, in the end, we are one big family. I hope you can successfully cultivate this technique and create a Spirit of Life that suits you." The old woman looked at Naruto as she slowly spoke. Even though she said this, neither she, nor the other three Ancestors believed that Naruto could cultivate the Water Nation Technique and have much success.

Because to successfully cultivate this Water Nation Technique, one would have to observe countless Spirit Beasts, and there weren't any in the South Bank.

After the trade was successfully completed, the four North Bank

Ancestors and Zheng Yuandong left, leaving only Toruho behind. When looking at Naruto, kindness hid behind his gaze, yet he still appeared strict.

He reprimanded Naruto, telling him to not become arrogant after obtaining the first place in the Heaven's Chosen War. He also gave him some pointers in cultivation regarding some things Naruto couldn't understand, and finally, he taught him some special methods of using the bracelet and the Magnetic Yuan Pearl, giving him detailed instructions.

"The Magnetic Yuan Pearl and Magnetic Spirit Wings are of great value to you. You have to familiarise yourself with them. And that Water Nation Technique is more profound than our Scented Cloud Mountain's

Plants As Soldiers, and the Dragon-Elephant's Forming Ocean Scripture. That technique was what caused our Spirit River Sect to rise from the lower part of the Tongtian River. They were created by the Founder. You have to study them thoroughly so when I pass the Plant Soldiers technique on to you someday in the future, the effects would be even better with the actuation of the scripture." Toruho urged him again before he left.

Naruto's heart was moved, and he deeply bowed as he cupped his fist to Toruho. Without holding back, he asked him a question.

"Uncle Li, that...why did they call you Black-hearted Li? That's too excessive!" Naruto curiously looked at Toruho.

"This is us adults' business. You needn't be concerned with it. You just have to remember that in our generation of Medicine Masters, medicine recipes are extremely precious. You can't easily give them away to other people!" After saying this, Toruho turned around and left.

Naruto was deep in thought, the admiration in his eyes growing even stronger. He felt that perhaps Toruho's medicine pills had given many people a headache...

After sending off Toruho, he returned to his immortal cave. Thinking about what Toruho had said regarding the history of the DragonElephant's Forming Ocean Scripture, admiration for the Founder filled his heart.

"In the introduction, the Founder mentions 'shackles', but in the end, what are the shackles?" Naruto pondered for a moment, and although he had vague ideas, he couldn't confirm anything. Shaking his head, he left the matter for another time. He directed his attention to the Magnetic Yuan Pearl in his hands, and following Toruho's instructions, he swallowed it.

When the pearl entered his body, it turned into a lump of Chakra and merged with Naruto's body. It circled around his dantian without causing any discomfort. Naruto observed his inner body and noticed that it seemed to have become somewhat lighter. Circulating his Qi, he suddenly realised that his senses had become sharper than before, as though he had formed some strange connection with the Heaven and Earth.

Naruto felt some mysterious connection as he picked up the Magnetic Spirit Wings. This pair of green wings was as thin as a cicada's wings, and were almost transparent. Naruto opened his mouth and spat out some Spirit Qi, refining the pair of wings immediately. After an incense stick's worth of time, his eyes flashed open, and the Magnetic Spirit Wings in his hands disappeared before it reappeared on his back.

Just like blood dissolving in water, it was as though the Magnetic Spirit Wings became a part of his own body. He could freely control them like his arm, and with a thought the wings on his back suddenly spread out.

In an instant, Naruto's body transformed into a blur, flying forward, straight for a rock wall. Panicking, Naruto let out a scream and hurried to stop. But because he couldn't control the wings well yet, his body still smashed into the rock wall.

Boom! The whole immortal cave shook. Fortunately, because Naruto's body was so tough, in this collision, he had merely lodged himself into the rock wall. After quite some time, he fell out with a plop, howling miserably.

Naruto grimaced in pain. After he climbed out, fear lingered inside him as he looked at the hole in the rock wall. He didn't dare to try again in the cave. After leaving the cave, he gathered his courage again and spread the wings on his back, instantly flying off into the distance.

Many days later, Naruto had familiarised himself with the explosive speed of the wings. His heart was in rapture as he felt as though he was unparalleled under the heavens.

"Haha, I, Naruto, have such fast speed, Elder Zhou can only dream to catch me!" Naruto looked at the sky and laughed heartily. His body shot into the air where he made a circle before returning back to the immortal cave.

Chapter 102 Chapter 102

Chapter 102 - Is Anyone There?

Time passed in a flash as months flew by. Naruto had become quite familiar with the inner sect disciples' region on the Scented Cloud Mountain, and along with it, the thrill of becoming an inner sect disciple had similarly faded.

On a usual day, he was usually inside his immortal cave. He was either cultivating or concocting spirit medicine in the Medicine Refining Room, including many Aphrodisiac Pills.

He was very happy to pass the days like this. To him, cultivation was for the sake of achieving immortality, and by increasing his cultivation, he could increase his lifespan.

On the other hand, refining spirit medicine was where his interests lay. His dream was to refine an immortality pill, and for that ambitious goal, he continuously refined spirit medicine. But only a few months later, Naruto discovered that reality was cruel as he agonizingly realised that he was out of herbs.

Even though he had the first prize reward of ten thousand Spirit Stones from the Heaven's Chosen War, the materials needed to refine a Grade Three spirit medicine couldn't be purchased in the market outside of the sect, and even if he were to commision those cultivation clans, their prices would still be very high.

The best method was for one to have enough Contribution Points and exchange them for the whatever material they need with the sect.

"Contribution Points…" Naruto sat inside his immortal cave, frowning. The thing that he lacked the most was Contribution Points. After hesitating for a moment, he resolutely walked out of the immortal cave and headed for the inner sect disciples' Mission Monument.

The people gathered here were different from the outer sect's Mission Monument. There weren't many inner sect disciples in this place, and the ones present were all arriving or leaving hastily; as though every moment was precious. Naruto swaggered to the Mission Department and stopped there to inspect the mission stone tablet, pondering which mission to choose.

"I don't want the dangerous ones!"

"I don't want the ones awarding little Contribution Points!"

"I don't want missions that would take up too much time either…" Naruto muttered softly to himself. In the end, his gaze fell on a certain mission issued by a sect Elder. It requested cores of the Life Leeching Beast, with each core worth the high price of a thousand Contribution Points!

Furthermore, the location where the Life Leeching Beasts roamed about was in an overgrown mountain range, not too far away from the Spirit

River Sect. Naruto stopped to think for a moment. These Life

Leeching Beasts had been introduced in the fourth spirit beast volume. Accurately speaking, the Life Leeching Beast wasn't a type of monstrous beast, but a mysterious being that parasitised to exist.

It would pick a monstrous beast as its host, causing it to appear as though it has an extra head. When that head completely formed, the host would be drained of its strength and die, releasing the mature Life Leeching Beast which would then transform into the Nine Day Bird.

The most peculiar thing was that while parasitising off a monstrous beast, the beast would have a huge medicinal value. But if it matures, breaks free from the head and transforms into a Nine Day Bird, the body would no longer have any value worth mentioning. The Nine Day Bird itself would only last for nine days, and the only goal in its existence was to once again pick a monstrous beast parasitise off before it died.

Quite similar to reincarnation…

In some sense, this Life Leeching Beast was a rarely seen beast that could live forever. It could exist through etern

ity in an endless cycles of reincarnation.

When Naruto had memorised the fourth spirit beast volume back then, this Life Leeching Beast had left a deep impression on him.

"The difficulty of this mission is in finding the Life Leeching Beast... The overgrown mountain range is enormous, searching them one by one would be very troublesome and will consume a lot of time. As a result, the sect Elder is willing to give out so many Contribution Points."

Naruto took a closer look at the overgrown mountain range and discovered that although the area was very big, most of the monstrous beasts were below the Foundation Establishment stage, and those comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage were rarely seen.

After a long consideration, Naruto accepted this mission. However, he didn't immediately set off for the mission, but returned to his immortal cave first and tried to prepare everything. Afterwards, he stepped onto the Golden Crow Sword and shot towards the horizon.

The overgrown mountain range wasn't far from the Spirit River Sect. With Naruto's speed, he could reach the overgrown mountain range in a day of continuous flying. The only problem was that his cultivation was insufficient for that, so he had to alternate between flying and running. Four days passed in this manner before he finally arrived at the overgrown mountain range.

The overgrown mountain range was enormous. If one looked into the far distance, they wouldn't be able to see the end of the undulating hills. A verdant sea formed a dense forest, from which resounded the cries of birds and beasts.

Naruto didn't immediately begin searching for the Life Leeching Beast, but wandered around the overgrown mountain range. Half a month later, he finally discovered a valley in the overgrown mountain range that formed a bottleneck in the forest. Naruto sat on a big tree inside the valley and surveyed it, his eyes lighting up.

"Using the normal method would consume too much time and is completely reliant on luck. Even if my luck is good, I can't be sure that I would find a single Life Leeching Beast. And If my luck isn't good, I estimate that it'd be difficult for me to come across even one in a whole month."

"It's the time for me, Naruto, to make use of my wisdom." Naruto raised his chin, and in a flash, his body abruptly shot into the distance.

One day later, Naruto was on a hill, checking the wind's direction. Just as he was about to take out an Aphrodisiac Pill, he suddenly thought of something and shouted out loudly.

"Is anyone there? Are there fellow Spirit River Sect members here?" His sharp voice resounded. It sounded like a cry for help.

A figure in a distant forest was currently battling a monstrous beast.

That person's expression was cold and proud, wearing the the Spirit River Sect's long inner sect disciple robe. As that person heard Naruto's distant shout, scorn surfaced in his eyes.

"Here comes another disciple that overestimated his capabilities and came without sufficient cultivation. What use is there for him to be shouting now? Only the strong ones should come to this overgrown mountain range." Disdain hung on his face without even the slightest thought of offering his assistance. In the end, even if the sect emphasised on unity, there would still be a couple people who were naturally more distant. Such a thing was hard to avoid.

Naruto shouted for quite a while, and after receiving no response, he was set at ease and quickly threw out a handful of Aphrodisiac Pills. All of these medicine pills burst with muffled explosions, turning into powder and riding the wind as they soared into the distance.

Soon, all of the monstrous beasts in the area, regardless of what they were previously doing, sniffed the powder carried by the wind. Their bodies trembled, eyes turned red and their breathing quickened. Soon, roars filled the air.

As those roars spread, Naruto suddenly heard the flapping of wings from behind, so he quickly bolted away.

Behind him, in the area he hadn't taken notice of, the cold and indifferent disciple still had a disdainful expression on his face. Suddenly, the wind howled and the monstrous beast nearby that were fighting suddenly trembled. Both their eyes immediately turned red as they let out a crazed roar before it actually pounced onto the disciple with reckless abandon. Shocked, the inner sect disciple hurriedly dodged.

However, just as the disciple dodged, roars from the nearby monstrous beasts rose, and they rushed over one after the other, similarly, their eyes were red and they were driven mad. The disciple was aghast as he ran for his life with lightning speed. Many more monstrous beasts roared out and began chasing after him, making him frightened to the point that he was crying for help.

Only, Naruto was already too far away to hear him…

Three hours later in a drafty region, Naruto once again shouted out and waited. After receiving no response, he threw another handful of Aphrodisiac Pills.

Roaring quickly arrived from all over that area.

Naruto did not stop doing this. In the following two days, with that valley as the center, he threw around Aphrodisiac Pills in all of the neighboring areas. All these area were connected to one another. The Aphrodisiac Pill's medicinal powder shrouded all around him, causing all of the monstrous beasts within the region to go insane. The roars were even more intense as they turned even more violent in their rampage.

When Naruto saw that the situation was about to go out of control, he quickly returned to the valley which he had chosen earlier. In there, both his eyes were burning brightly as he brandished his Golden Crow Sword and cleaved a path. Afterward, he took out a handful of Female Fragrance Pills and crushed them to pieces before scattering them on the cleared path. The fragrance gradually became extremely thick.

Naruto was very careful as he cautiously left the area, and after quickly backing away, he even changed into a new set of clothes. Only after making sure that none of the Female Fragrance Pill powder had stuck onto him did he hide himself above the valley, gazing at the small path below him.

"Good monstrous beasts… come here, quickly." Naruto hummed a tune as he waited excitedly.

Time passed as the Female Fragrance Pill's aroma gradually spread. The monstrous beasts in this huge area which had gone insane due to the Aphrodisiac Pill's effects suddenly let out thunderous roars. After sniffing the female scent, they would hastily bolt towards the valley. Soon, more and more monstrous beasts were madly traversing their path towards the valley, forming a stampede that shook the ground.

After a long time, the first wave of monstrous beasts arrived. Naruto immediately stood up and looked below him with rapt attention. In the blink of an eye, many different monstrous beasts dashed past the small path inside the valley, letting out all kinds of cries. Naruto's opened his eyes widely as he stared at the countless monstrous beasts below him. Both his eyes suddenly flashed as he formed a hand seal with his right hand. Pointing with his finger, the Golden Crow Sword immediately flew out and shot straight for a tiger beast among the crowd of monstrous beasts.

Shockingly, there was a second head on this tiger beast's back. A golden light flashed as the second head immediately exploded. The core flew out, and under Naruto's control, it was soon in his grasp. After throwing it inside his storage pouch, the golden light shot out once again, heading into the distance, towards a monstrous beast that similarly had a second head.

This beast tide continued flowing in for a whole hour. Even the valley itself shook as though it was going to crumble underneath the monstrous beasts' rampage. Naruto's eyebrows danced in glee as the flying sword he manipulated continuously flashed around until the beast tide gradually dissipated. He was overjoyed to discover that he had actually gathered ten Life Leeching Beast cores.

"I, Naruto, am so smart." Naruto looked at the cores inside his storage pouch, pleased with himself. His body disappeared in a flash as he left that huge area, heading off into the next one.

Long after Naruto left, a young man walked step by step with difficulty, his clothes tattered from head to toe. He looked extremely miserable as his body shuddered. He wanted to cry but had no tears as his eyes stared appearance of his seemed to somewhat resemble Kiba's…

"What happened to this overgrown mountain range… What happened to this world...The monstrous beasts here have actually stopped eating humans, instead… I… I…" He broke down in tears.

Day after day passed in this manner. Relying on the Aphrodisiac Pill, Naruto rampaged through the overgrown mountain range. Countless monstrous beasts would go crazy wherever he passed, and before he threw out those medicine pills, he would first loudly shout out a couple times, checking if anyone was here.

There were quite a few times that disciples would immediately respond, and every time that this happened, Naruto would tell the other party of his plans in an apologetic manner and give them a core as an apology, advising them to leave. He also asked them to tell other sect members to leave the place as soon as possible, and that he would compensate them with a core. Many disciples had previously seen Naruto and immediately recognised him, so after learning of his plan, all of them shuddered and hurriedly bolted away.

Chapter 103 Chapter 103

Chapter 103 - I Want To Contribute To The Sect!

There weren't many Spirit River Sect disciples on the overgrown mountain range, only about ten or so. After all, although rare, there were still some dangerous Foundation Establishment beasts.

Therefore, only those who believed themselves to be truly powerful would come to this place.

Due to Naruto's loud shouts, all nearby disciples would hear his voice. Most of them adhered to Naruto's advice and left, holding the compensation Naruto had given them as an apology. However, there were still two or three naturally cold-hearted people. With disdain on their faces, they treated what they thought to be cries for help with contempt. They completely ignored Naruto's shouts, pretending not to hear them. Even thoughts of taking the storage pouch of the crier emerged, without necessarily waiting for him to perish.

They were wandering about as usual at the beginning, unaware of the changes. But they soon realised that there was something amiss with the monstrous beasts. Everything, down to their very habits, had suddenly become berserk.

Shangguan Tianyou was also on the overgrown mountain range and had similarly heard Naruto's shouts. His gaze flashed briefly, but he didn't pay further attention to it. The mission that he had accepted was the same as Naruto's, so he was searching for Parasitic Exterminating Beasts. The current him was very apprehensive. He had just seen a huge bear, comparable to the sixth Chakra Condensation level, that hugged a big tree and continuously rammed against it…

This wasn't the first time he had seen such a scene. Along the way, he had also seen a rabbit that even dared to attack him with a crazed look in its eyes. He felt the scene was somewhat familiar as his scalp tingled.

"Something's not right. Could some misfortune befallen this overgrown mountain range?!" Shangguan Tianyou took a deep breath as he immediately thought of Naruto's Aphrodisiac Pill and his entire being suddenly shuddered.

Currently, there were already more than thirty Parasitic Exterminating Beast cores inside Naruto's storage pouch. He was still excitedly spreading the Aphrodisiac Pill's powder until half a month later, Naruto was pleasantly surprised to find a huge wind gap where the mountain range intersected in a shape resembling the figure eight ( 八 ).

It seemed as though the surrounding wind would all funnel there and then spread over half of the overgrown mountain range. The wind's speed was high, and based on Naruto's estimation, the wind could spread over half the overgrown mountain range within three days. With the wind gap below him, Naruto needed to use a large amount of his strength just to prevent his body from being blown away. As such, he didn't approach it any further.

His hair was dancing in the wind, and as he looked at the wind gap from above, excitement immediately filled him.

"This is the perfect place to scatter my Aphrodisiac Pills! Moreover, there ought to be no more fellow sect disciples in this mountain range by now, so I can reap the benefits without worry!" Naruto was exhilarated. In order to not bring calamity upon his fellow sect disciples, he had already given away more than ten cores. But he wasn't particularly concerned with that. After all, he was sure he could obtain much more cores as though he could see countless Contribution Points flying straight into his pouch.

He took a deep breath and immediately took out all of the remaining Aphrodisiac Pills. After crushing them to pieces, he scattered them towards the wind gap. The crushed Aphrodisiac Pills were

immediately carried away by the wind from the wind gap, spiralling ahead as they spread over half the overgrown mountain range.

Naruto stood proudly atop the mountain peak, gazing down upon the forested land as the feeling of being an expert swept over him.

"For I, Naruto, to benefit from this overgrown mountain range, is not easy at all. Thinking about it, in many years from now, there would be much more monstrous beasts in this mountain range… all thanks to my contribution."

As he basked in his emotions, a roar suddenly sounded from the forest close by. Shortly after, countless more roars continuously filled the air and very quickly… those roars spread farther and farther away. A day later, in over double the previous area of the overgrown mountain range… one could hear ferocious roars. Three days later… half the overgrown mountain range was already in a frenzy!

After half the overgrown mountain range was already in a frenzy, Uzumaki

Naruto quickly flew out and threw out most of his Female Fragrance

Pills over even intervals. After attracting all the monstrous beasts to this area, he would then harvest the Parasitic Exterminating Beasts' cores.

He was very satisfied. Not only from harvesting the cores, but from contributing to the whole overgrown mountain range. Especially after he saw the monstrous beasts go into heat and eventually pounce one another, his sense of contribution grew even larger.

"I am a good person. All of the monstrous beasts in this mountain range should be grateful to me in the future." Naruto quickly flew as he threw down even more Female Fragrance Pills.

The few disciples in the mountain range that had previously ignored Naruto's shouts were now staring, their eyes wide and mouths hanging, as the monstrous beasts all around them were overcome with insanity. Especially after the monstrous beasts began pouncing on one another… everyone sucked in a deep breath.

"This… What is going on!"

"This scene… seems somewhat familiar…" Those few disciples were all aghast and filled with apprehension. Every single one of them hurriedly made their escape, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Naruto!" Shangguan Tianyou similarly gave up on killing the monstrous beasts and quickly dashed far away. He felt it would be too horrifying to stay in this place. Especially after the scene with Kiba surfacing in his mind, Shangguan Tianyou's face paled and his entire body had shook uncontrollably.

However, almost all of them were already in the depths of the overgrown mountain range and leaving wouldn't be easy. Especially now that the monstrous beasts on half the overgrown mountain range had gone crazy, it had become even more difficult…

Naruto cheerfully flew from above, occasionally throwing down an Aphrodisiac Pill, and after gathering a large amount of monstrous beasts, he would harvest the cores. Two weeks later, he left the overgrown mountain range, there were already near two hundred Parasitic Exterminating Beast cores inside his storage pouch.

Naruto left the overgrown mountain range content and headed straight for the sect.

Not until several days after Naruto had left did Shangguan Tianyou and the others gradually come out. They all had miserable expressions on their faces. All of them had a sorry figure, hair dishevelled and dull eyes. When they walked out of the mountain range, they looked up at the skies and let out anguished cries.

As for what exactly had happened to them in this mountain rage… it would eternally remain a mystery.

Naruto galloped the whole way before arriving at the sect with trepidation. He quickly went to the Mission Monument. When the disciples in the Mission Monument saw Naruto actually take out 200 inner cores of Parasitic Exterminating Beast, their eyeballs nearly popped out. They could simply not believe this. By the time they had carefully examined each and every one of them, whenever they looked towards Naruto, it was already filled with an expression of terror and astonishment.

He had been been at this Mission Monument for many years, and the Parasitic Exterminating Beast mission frequently appeared. But one would return with a couple tens of cores at most, and that was after spending a whole year.

However, Naruto had only went to the overgrown mountain range for a few months, and now that he's back, he had actually obtained so many.

"He is undoubtedly Naruto, the Sect Head's Junior Brother, Honourable Disciple, Heaven's Chosen War's best…" These inner sect disciples inhaled deeply, with strong and profound respect for Naruto. After Naruto checked in, he had procured nearly two hundred thousand Contribution Points. He tried his best to appear indifferent, but he couldn't truly conceal his self-satisfaction.

This matter caused a sensation in the South Bank. No one could believe that he had gotten two hundred thousand Contribution Points at once. However, after the disciples Naruto had persuaded to leave explained the reason with wry smiles, any inner sect disciple among the three South Bank peaks would feel their mind shiver when they looked at Naruto.

"What a fearsome person!"

"That's crazy, he actually scattered Aphrodisiac Pills over half the overgrown mountain range!"

"Going there anytime soon would be disastrous…"

Amidst those discussions, Shangguan Tianyou and a few other sorry disciple figures arrived one after the other. Shangguan Tianyou himself was aware that Naruto was the cause and was in a somewhat better condition than the rest. But the few other people who had just realised it, let out anguished roars and nearly coughed out blood. But they couldn't blame Naruto, after all… they had all heard Naruto's loud shouts. They could now only feel regret in the bottom of their hearts; if they had responded before, perhaps they wouldn't have ended up so miserable.

Due to Naruto's large harvest in this mission, his interest had been sparked. Ever since then, his figure frequently appeared in the Mission Monument, and every time, he would choose similar object-retrieving missions involving monstrous beasts.

It was as if he was addicted to it. Every time he accepted a mission, he would first refine some medicine pills, then immediately set off. And every time… he would drive a few disciples crazy. Regardless of whether they were participating in missions or not, they would be enraged because as long as Naruto had went somewhere before, others wouldn't even think of going there anytime soon.

It was too dangerous…

The Cloud Mountain Range, Cold Forest Mountain Range, Scenic Peak

Mountain Range and Primary East Mountain Range…

Over the following year, Naruto had transformed into the Mad Mission Devil as he swept through all of the Mission Monument's missions related to monstrous beasts. His harvest would always be huge and cause a sensation at the Mission Monument. But at the same time, some inner sect disciples would be enraged.

After the Scented Cloud Mountain ran out of missions related to monstrous beasts, Naruto went to the Green Peak Mountain and the Purple Cauldron Mountain to snatch the missions related to monstrous beasts. This allowed all of the Purple Cauldron Mountain and Green Peak Mountain disciples to understand exactly why he was called the Mad Mission Devil.

In the end, the South Bank's inner sect disciples realised in despair that there were no longer any mountain ranges near the sect that they could go to. They were all filled with countless monstrous beasts that were constantly in heat…

Desperate, hundreds of the three mountains' inner sect disciples presented a petition to the sect requesting the sect to revoke Naruto's rights to do missions...

Even Toruho was unable to forcibly interfere with this matter. Naruto was simply overzealous when it came to completing the missions, that even the Sect Head had a headache. He realised that ever since Naruto entered the sect, he would give him a headache ever so often. Now, practically as soon as he heard Naruto's name, he would subconsciously heave a sigh in his heart.

"Fortunately, he's usually not acting seriously. Him being serious… really is… sigh. This Naruto can cause a storm wherever he goes!"

"Didn't he want to refine pills? Then go and refine pills! The sect will give him Contribution Points and only wishes that he would calm down…"

Seeing the inner sect disciples support the petition increase from hundreds to thousands, the Sect Head gritted his teeth. After discussing it with Toruho, he revoked Naruto's rights to missions for ten years.

He was the only disciple in the whole sect who needn't complete any missions for ten years, and furthermore, he received a substantial amount of Contribution Points every month.

Naruto felt wronged. He was about to take a mission he had taken a liking to in the Mission Monument again when he received the news, leaving him dumbfounded.

"For what reason? I want to contribute to the sect, I want to invest my time for the sect. You're being too excessive!" Naruto said, enraged. Under the worshipful gazes of the Mission Monument disciples who already viewed him like a deity, Naruto sighed deeply. In the end, he grudgingly raised his small chin and flourished his small sleeve.

"At the snap of my, Naruto's, fingers, the Mission Monument… scatters into ashes and disperses into smoke." He shook his head and sighed. A trace of loneliness could be seen as he walked away, dejected.

Chapter 104 Chapter 104

Chapter 104 - I promise...

Dejected, Naruto felt wronged as he returned to his cave where he made a pained groan and sighed regretfully.

"If a person is too outstanding, it isn't a good thing. For example, me. The sect was so worried that they exempted me from missions for ten years, and they would even give me contribution points every month." Naruto was fretting; he believed that he was really too excellent and didn't know how to carry on...

"It's fine, since they won't let me complete missions, I'll just go refine some medicine. I originally only wanted to complete missions for the Contribution Points anyway." Naruto thought. He had the sort of feeling where he was prepared to sacrifice himself to contribute to the sect as he walked into the Medicine Refining Room.

"I have to master refining all the Grade 3 spirit medicines!" Walking into the Medicine Refining Room, Naruto's expression became solemn.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a year flew by.

During this period of half a year, besides the time he was using for cultivation, Naruto would always be in the Medicine Refining Room refining pills, and each time he ran out of materials, he would use Contribution Points to exchange for them. His entire self gradually fell under a spell, and although he wasn't able to master all Grade 3 spirit medicines, he didn't give up.

The sect was slowly reverting back to normal as Naruto stopped taking missions. Many people were relieved, especially Sect Head Zheng Yuandong who finally felt at ease, convinced that he had made the right choice by exempting Naruto from ten years worth of missions.

It wasn't only him, all the South Bank's Elders and Ancestors, including Toruho, also felt relaxed. It was to the point that during the regular meeting of the South Bank's Three Mountains, Naruto was the center of the Foundation Establishment cultivators' discussion.

"This kid Naruto has recently been refining medicine, and the sect is also returning to normal."

"Refining medicine is good, let him do it. It's the safest thing he can do, and it won't affect other people." Everyone had a smile on their face. They were very grateful of the tranquility during the past half a year.

But this feeling didn't last long. After a few days, a loud sound shook the heavens as it reverberated from Naruto's cave in the Scented Cloud Mountain. Rumbles spread in all directions, causing countless inner sect disciples the be awakened from shock, and even the outer sect disciples were scared out of their minds.

"What is going on?!"

"Heavens! Could there be someone attacking our Spirit River Sect?!"

While everyone was in an uproar, Naruto ran out from the immortal cave's Medicine Refining Room, coughing. His face was pitchblack and was filled with snot and tears flowing down. He jumped straight in the hot spring and washed himself before climbing out with furrowed brows.

"It blew up?!" He was puzzled. The pill furnace in his cave was a standard one used by the inner sect disciples. Although it was a standard one, it was the exact same as the one used in the Medicine Refining Pavilion. Based on that, even if the spirit medicine was a failure, the pill furnace shouldn't have exploded.

But just now, the pill furnace actually exploded, and even the formation array flickered.

Naruto remained puzzled even after thinking it over. Sighing, he started cultivating with the Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture. Following today's cultivation, his cultivation base

was on the verge of breaking through.

Naruto wasn't anxious, after he finished cultivating with the Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Scripture, he swallowed a spirit medicine that could increase his Yuan Chakra and focused on the Unending Longevity Technique. The silver glow on his body grew brighter, and even a faint thread of golden light began to appear.

This procedure lasted until noon, when Naruto took in a deep breath and stopped the technique. He stood inside the immortal cave, both of his eyes closed. Raising his hands, he chanted the mnemonics of the Water Nation Technique. After half an incense stick's worth of time, his eyes suddenly opened as he let out a deafening howl.

An astonishing pressure suddenly surged out from his body, as if the air around him somehow changed, and a faint mist appeared. But this only lasted for a single breath's worth of time before abruptly dissipating.

Naruto was exhausted as he wiped off his sweat. He practiced the Water Nation Technique almost everyday, but up until now, he could only cause a small amount of pressure.

"I must continue working hard!" Naruto only rested for a moment. After he finished cultivating for the day, he thought back to how his pill furnace had exploded. During this half a year, he had continuously refined Grade 3 spirit medicines. Although there were some successes, most of them were still failures.

This made him feel helpless. After pondering for a long time, he had a vague idea as to why the pill furnace had exploded.

"Could it be that the medicine's power was unstable, and after increasing it, it blew up?" Naruto pondered as he immediately ran out, used his Contribution Points to exchange for another pill furnace, and returned to continue his medicine refinement.

Those on Scented Cloud Mountain gradually discovered that the explosion from before came from Naruto's immortal cave. Odd expressions surfaced on their faces; although they didn't know what caused this sound, they couldn't accept it calmly.

It was just that...only a few days later, Naruto was in the Medicine Refining Room inside his immortal cave, investing all of his concentration into controlling the spirit medicine inside the pill furnace. However, the difficulty of concocting Grade 3 spirit medicine was just too much. When other people refined pills, they would rely on their experience and luck. And if they could succeed three out of ten times, they would be considered proficient. But Naruto was aiming for the pinnacle; he would not stop until the moment he had solved all the problems. Because of the fact that he studied every single detail, he would often experiment many times, and as a consequence, a conflict with his medicine refinement would usually occur.

As of this moment, Naruto abruptly widened his eyes. He felt that the spirit medicine inside the pill furnace was out of his control, and moreover, cracks started appearing on the pill furnace. Naruto took a deep breath as wings spread from his back before he quickly left the Medicine Refining Room.

As soon as he left the room, an explosion rose to the heavens, even louder than the one before.

Countless people on the Scented Cloud Mountain rose into an uproar; it took quite a while before they calmed down. Three days later, Naruto, who was in the Medicine Refining Room, once again, quickly escaped, screaming. After that, a third explosion shook the skies, shocking everyone once again.

Seven days later, Naruto was, again, fearfully refining pills when he suddenly sucked in a deep breath and immediately retreated from the room. Behind him, the fourth earsplitting explosion resounded as the whole Medicine Refining Room collapsed.

The entire Scented Cloud Mountain was startled, and the eyes of all disciples turned red. After looking into it, they discovered that Naruto was refining pills, but they couldn't even begin to fathom what sort of pills would cause such loud explosions.

"I inquired in the Spirit Medicine Hall, in the past few days, Naruto has exchange for about seven-eight pill furnaces!"

"That sound is the sound of a pill furnace exploding. Just what is that Naruto refining, damn it! Is he not afraid of getting killed in the explosion!?" Despite everyone's anger, the loud explosions… did not end, but instead continued.

Within a single month, a total of seven more loud explosions resounded from Naruto's immortal cave, each explosion louder than the last. During the last one, the entire Scented Cloud Mountain actually shook and Naruto's immortal cave was nearly blown apart.

Whenever the frightened Naruto escaped from the Medicine Refining Room, the Scented Cloud Mountain's inner sect disciples and outer sect disciples would be driven mad. Throughout the entire month, they couldn't submerge themselves in cultivation without getting abruptly awakened from their meditation. which caused distractions to appear in their madly palpitating hearts. They had been tormented to the point where their eyes were bloodshot, and they could no longer control their anger.

Even the sound-isolating formation array seemed to have no effect against those sounds, making all the disciples furious. Even the Elders were apprehensive as they couldn't fathom how Naruto could create these explosions.

"This is the sound of a pill furnace exploding, just how is Naruto refining medicine? And what... what medicine is he refining?!"

This explosions didn't stop at all. During the second month, the noise only became louder and louder, totalling over ten times, on an average of one explosion every two days. This went on until the Scented Cloud Mountain disciples could no longer tolerate it. Enraged, they gathered outside Naruto's immortal cave to voice their discontent.

Naruto felt wronged and quickly came out to explain. When he looked outside his immortal cave, the sight of more than a thousand disciples greeted him, causing his face to be drained of colour. In the end, he patted his chest and tried forcefully calm the annoyed disciples down, and guaranteed that it wouldn't happen again, quelling the crowd's anger.

After sending off the crowd with great difficulty, Naruto sullenly returned back to his immortal cave. Seeing more than half of the Medicine Refining Room had already collapsed, he let out a sigh. He went inside, took out a new pill furnace and stared at it with dull eyes.

A few days later, he suddenly slapped his thigh as his eyes brightened up.

"That's it! It must've been because the furnace wasn't heated enough!" He speculated excitedly and prepared for another attempt… Three days later, late at night, everyone on the Scented Cloud Mountain could hear… yet another earth-shaking explosion.

An inner sect disciple was so startled that he almost fell down. He rushed outside, his hair dishevelled as he let out an earsplitting scream.

"Naruto! Even if you are a Heaven's Chosen, I still want to beat you up!"

He wasn't the only one. Quickly, in the middle of the night, almost every single inner sect disciple stormed out. Even Kurenai's weary figure revealed itself, going straight towards Naruto's immortal cave. Naruto smiled apologetically and reassured them many times, making them feel helpless. Naruto's attitude was too good, causing them to be unsure what to do. If his attitude had been bad, at worst, they could've beaten him up a bit. But now… they could only clench their teeth and endure.

Naruto returned to his cave, listless. He wanted to cry but had no tears. Sticking to his goal was turning out quite difficult.

"I, Naruto, will absolutely not give up!" Clenching his teeth, Naruto took out another pill furnace and inspected it closely. This time, he pondered for half a month, figuring out all the problems, and even going as far as scrutinizing each and every detail over and over again.

"Earth fire! It must've been because I've been using Earth fire!" Naruto suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot as he began refining once again… Five days later, in the early morning, a loud explosion shocked Toruho. It was so loud that it could be heard all the way from Scented Cloud Mountain to the Purple Cauldron Mountain and the Green Peak Mountain

The inner sect disciples near Naruto's cave were dumbfounded by that loud sound. Especially Kurenai who was about to go insane. Elder Zhou's birds cried out as quite a few feathers fell off of their bodies due to fright. The Spirit Tailed Chickens trembled, and even foam filled their mouths while the inner sect disciples' vision blurred.

At this moment, in Naruto's immortal cave, all of the formation arrays activated as Earth fire broke out, stirring up even the big formation array of the Scented Cloud Mountain. Naruto struggled to climb up, his whole body pitch-black. Nevertheless, excitement filled his eyes, as he finally discovered the reason.

"It wasn't the Earth fire which had caused it, but the allelopathy of the spirit medicine itself! This could lead to endless changes, causing something like this to happen! Grade 3 medicine pills… require one to be mindful of the pill's allelopathy!

(ED note: In case you have forgotten: Allelopathy

( wiki/Allelopathy) is the chemical inhibition of a plant (or other organism) by another, when exposed to substances acting as germination or growth inhibitors.)

Not long after, both the Elders and the disciples of the Scented Cloud

Mountain came out as one, killing intent flickering in their eyes as they made their way towards Naruto's immortal cave, carrying stones in their hands. Under nearly ten thousand furious glares, Naruto nervously climbed up, patting his chest.

"I promise…" Before he could even continue, many had already thrown their stones at him. In the end, they were still in the same sect, they couldn't just fight him to the death. Throwing stones at him on the other hand...

Chapter 105 Chapter 105

Chapter 105 - The Great Escape Of The Imprisoned Animals!

Naruto stared at the stones covering the sky with his heart racing, and immediately bolted back to his immortal cave. The immortal cave's formation array shook under the barrage of stones while Naruto scowled sullenly; he knew he had enraged the crowd, but he still felt wronged. After all, he hadn't done it intentionally.

"I promise! This is the last time! I'm certain of it!" Naruto hastily sent out a sound transmission.

After the crowd outside vented some of their anger, Naruto continued to sweet talk from inside the immortal cave until everyone left with what was left of their anger.

Naruto sighed deeply and went to clear the rubble outside his immortal cave, before going back to the Medicine Refining Room where he sank in thought, recalling his recent discovery. He clenched his teeth as he carefully took out his last pill furnace and carefully began refining spirit medicine in accord with the new information.

The main problem was the allelopathy of the various herbs. A few days later, a herbal aroma wafted out from the furnace. Naruto's eyes teared up as he yelled excitedly. He had finally overcome the major problem of his pill furnace exploding. Furthermore, he had also gained a basic understanding of the changes brought by allelopathy!

"The day when I can skillfully refine Grade 3 spirit medicine is just around the corner!" Bursting with delight, Naruto submerged himself in concoction once again, putting everything else aside.

As the Scented Cloud Mountain disciples could no longer hear the deafening pill furnace explosions, they gradually calmed down and the Scented Cloud Mountain seemed to have returned to its usual tranquility.

However… Naruto soon realised that although the problem with the furnace had been taken care of, his success rate in refining Grade 3 medicine pills still wasn't high, and it frequently resulted in oddly-shaped pills.

Regarding those oddly-shaped pills, Naruto didn't proceed to ignore them as he did before. Instead, he felt that they contained great secrets within them, and perhaps he could even refine a heaven-defying pill like the Aphrodisiac Pill.

"I need to test what these pills can do…"Naruto mumbled to himself solemnly, immediately walking out from the immortal cave and toward the market square at the foot of the mountain. He bought a large number of small beasts and even used some Contribution Points to get some from the sect itself.

Naruto kept those animals inside his immortal cave, where he began his second experiment with the little beasts. Filled with excitement, Naruto pulled out a white jade slip, preparing to record every single detail.

With everything prepared, Naruto took a deep breath. Taking out

a rabbit, he picked an odd black pill from the many pills and tossed it at the rabbit.

The rabbit took a few sniffs before swallowing it in one go. Suddenly, the rabbit shivered as its legs went limp and it plopped on the ground, motionless.

"Is it dead?" Naruto stared with wide eyes as he quickly approached to inspect it before sighing in relief. The rabbit wasn't dead, it had only fainted from the impact of the pill; It had unleashed too much energy for the rabbit to handle, causing it to fall unconscious.

Not until two hours later did the rabbit regain its consciousness. It straightened its two legs and stood up like a human would, staring straight at Naruto.

Naruto made a soft "eh…" sound, which was immediately followed by another "eh…" that came from the rabbit. Naruto ju

mped in fright.

"You know how to speak?"

"You know how to speak?" The rabbit jumped also in fright, imitating him.

Naruto immediately grew excited as he circled the rabbit a couple times. The rabbit similarly grew excited as it too circled around Naruto. Man and rabbit, the two formed an odd scene inside the immortal cave.

Naruto laughed loudly.

"Haha, this pill's not bad. I really am a genius! Now even a rabbit knows how to speak!"

The rabbit similarly laughed loudly, repeating the same words. Naruto found it a little odd, so he quickly opened the door to one of the stone rooms and threw the rabbit inside.

"Oh well, since you have gained human-like intelligence now, remember to come show me your gratitude if you succeed cultivating. Stay in there for the moment, I'll release you all outside and into the sect in the future."

After tossing the rabbit aside, Naruto stopped paying attention to it and began moving onto the next experiment. This time, he chose a monkey and picked a yellow pill which he tossed towards it. The monkey pretended not to notice at first, but after a closer inspection, it grabbed it and nibbled it at the corner of its mouth. Many crumbs fell, but ultimately, the majority of the pill was eaten by the monkey.

Not much changed after that. A weak wind appeared, but that too disappeared quickly. Curious, Naruto grabbed the monkey, inspecting it all around. The monkey seemed in a trance as it just stared blankly. After confirming that there weren't any other changes, Naruto sighed and tossed the monkey into the stone room.

For the next couple days, Naruto continued with these experiments. A few rabbits, upon eating the pills, had their eyes become red and even growled before jumping up to bite Naruto.

Surprised, Naruto took notes and threw the bunnies into the stone room while watching them bite at each other, albeit not drawing any blood.

Naruto also used some ducks he bought and fed them the pills. The ducks all trembled before the ones with significantly larger wings actually flew out of the immortal cave, all of them flying near the ceiling of the immortal cave gracefully. Naruto stared with eyes and mouth both wide-open, his interest in these pills only growing as he observed the ducks.

Time flowed quickly and soon, half a month had passed. In this half a month, Naruto's experiments was recording his experiments. Occasionally, maniacal laughter traveled outside of his immortal cave.

A few days later, some ordinary chickens ate his pills, causing their bodies to quickly expand nearly to the size of an elephant's. By this point, Naruto had deepened his understanding regarding the Dao of Medicine. Feeling motivated, Naruto continued testing out the odd pills.

Soon, inside the stone room with the locked small beasts, there was a new addition. A group of toads with countless eyes all over their bodies, quacking endlessly. And each time they quacked, their eyes would blink.

There was even a tiger inside which Naruto had bought with Spirit Stones. After eating one of his pills, it grew eight heads in addition to its original one, becoming a nine-headed tiger. Roaring with all of its nine heads simultaneously was quite an impressive sight!

There were even some ordinary birds, but they didn't undergo any extraordinary changes. Only an endless diarrhea…

Time slowly passed, yet Naruto's experiments didn't stop. He seemed determined to discover the effects of every last one of his odd pills. There was even a group of monkeys shaking on the floor, constantly convulsing after having eaten his pills.

Another example would be a group of cats, hiccuping every day as though thunder echoed out, shocking Naruto. He had no idea what the results of the odd pills he had refined might be. The craziest of all these beasts were the swans whose eyes had turned white after consuming the pills. They were extremely horrifying, but for some reason, they were very loyal, just like dogs, and took the initiative to guard inside Naruto's immortal cave.

In the end, Naruto even tested the pills on the small fish in his immortal cave's hot spring. They went insane, pushing against each other and trying to jump out as they even grew legs with which they walked around in Naruto's immortal cave.

Naruto stared dumbfounded at the walking fish before throwing them all into the stone room. The stone room, as of that moment, had transformed into an extremely bizarre world.

Inside the stone room, a monkey in a high place leaned its chin on its palm, pondering deeply. Below it were a couple monkeys who were constantly convulsing while red-eyed rabbits were fighting elephantsized chickens...

Beside them were the toads, watching the scene with their countless eyes while a rabbit was imitating the many surrounding scenes, making gestures and occasionally throwing out three sentences "eh…", "You know how to speak?", and "Haha, this pill isn't bad. I really am a genius, now even a rabbit knows how to speak!"

In the air, some ducks were soaring around gracefully, dancing in the sky like birds and constantly dropping turds which splattered on the ground. On the floor, a nine-headed tiger was covered in bird excrement and roaring angrily over and over again. That tiger was surrounded by the two-legged fish who were running about, tirelessly chased by hiccupping cats...

There were also some swans near the door, coldly observing all of this, as though they were guards.

Naruto stared blankly inside the room. He had tested out only a part of his odd pills, many more remained inside his storage bag, so he naturally wanted to continue testing, but he was out of fresh test subjects.

"The Dao of Medicine is amazing…" Naruto mumbled to himself and looked away, filled with a determination to try out the rest of his odd pills. Leaving the immortal cave, he went down the mountain to procure even more beasts from the market square.

But as soon as Naruto walked outside his immortal cave, one of Naruto's test subjects that hadn't shown any change before, the monkey staring blankly in the air, suddenly rolled its eyes. Lowering its head towards the stone room's door, human-like intelligence flashed within its eyes before it lunged forth and before long… the stone room's door opened!

Not long after, under the monkey's fiddling, the immortal cave's door actually… similarly opened!

Sunlight shone from outside, and the blankly-staring monkey charged out, leaving the chickens, ducks, fish, and cats stunned. In a blink of an eye, all the animals Naruto had locked up… charged out from their prison!

Kurenai was just exiting her immortal cave when she suddenly noticed ducks quacking in the sky while flying gracefully. Stunned, she took a closer look. She had memorised all five volumes of spirit beasts long ago, but had no idea what the flying ducks before her eyes were.

"What the hell are those?!" Kurenai mumbled to herself surprised, only to see a couple elephant-sized chickens rush past her. And beside them was a growling rabbit.

"Eh?"

"You know how to speak?"

"Haha, this pill isn't bad. I really am a genius, now even a rabbit knows how to speak!"

Kurenai stared with wide eyes for a long time, not knowing how to react. Her mouth gaped open as she thought she must be hallucinating.

1st guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Marcus

Editors: Crimsonguard, Arch, MantouInv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 106 Chapter 106

Chapter 106 - The Mad Rabbit

In this moment, Xu Baocai and many other outer sect disciples were taking the promotional examination to become Medicine Apprentices while Elder Xu observed from the side. Usually, this was a very serious matter, but in this moment, a flock of birds flew in the sky, making repetitive 'Pu Pu' sounds… countless bird droppings suddenly rained down from the sky. Whether it was Xu Baocai, any other promotional examination taker, the surrounding spectators, or even Elder Xu's hair, they were now all covered by bird droppings…

Everyone was stupefied. Each and every single one of them subconsciously raised their heads. They saw a flock of birds heading into the distance while constantly releasing countless bird droppings on the ground…

"This flock of birds… is somewhat strange…"

"Dammit, what is wrong with them?! They're actually… actually having an incessant diarrhea!" The disciples exclaimed in surprise. Elder Xu was stunned for a moment before his expression changed.

Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo were currently on a mountain path, glaring at each other.

"Today, from the two of us here, one is going to be singled out..." Their conflict had started back when they were still handymen and had intensified ever since. Fierceness glimmered in both their eyes, but before they could even finish their words, dust rose from the ground between them as a school of long-legged fish rushed past them.

The two stared blankly as they noticed several cats, incessantly burping as though thunder erupted, while quickly chasing after those fish. This scene caused the two to suck in a deep breath, making them feel as though they were in a dream, and forgot about their enmity while staring with their eyes wide open and their mouths hanging.

"This… did you see those long-legged fish just now?" Zhao Yiduo thought that he was hallucinating and subconsciously asked Chen Zi'ang.

"I even saw cats whose burps were like thunderclaps…" Chen Zi'ang blankly replied.

Meanwhile, many of the outer sect disciples who were halfway up the mountain let out cries of surprise. A colony of rabbits was chomping at the disciples with reddened eyes. Even though they were held back, those rabbits remained ferocious,this was evident from the ghastly sight of them grinding their teeth as they made 'Gacha Gacha' sounds.

Furthermore, there was a rabbit who sat on top of several huge chickens and was continuously echoing the same words.

"Eh?"

"You know how to speak?"

"Haha, this pill's not bad. I, Naruto, really am a genius! Now even a rabbit knows how to speak!"

The whole Scented Cloud Mountain was swept by madness at this moment… Countless people heard this sentence and immediately understood that the one who caused this scene was Naruto!

A couple toads were hopping about in the inner sect disciple region, causing all the inner sect disciples who see them to suck in a deep breath; no matter how one looked at it, all the countless eyes on the toads... were truly terrifying!

And amidst its incessant roars, a nine-headed tiger was rampaging around the sect. On that day, the whole Scented Cloud Mountain was turned upside down. Countless people were shocked after heading out.

There was even a monkey… which had actually climbed onto the rooftop of Toruho's pavilion, standing on the peak of Scented Cloud

Mountain. It sat there, looking at Xu Meixiang who had just left after she had reminisced the past with Toruho. The monkey's head was lowered onto i

ts chin, seemingly in deep thought...

Toruho had an ashen look on his face as he stood outside the pavilion and raised his head to look at the monkey. He was getting angry, when suddenly, countless bird droppings fell from the skies, rendering him speechless.

It had been quite long since the Scented Cloud Mountain… had been so lively. Out of the countless outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples who were heading out, most undisturbed by all these small animals, bar for the flock of birds that were constantly defecating. The disciples couldn't fathom just how were those small bodies able to fill themselves with so much bird droppings in such a short period of time…

In the beginning, that rabbit only knew how to say only three sentences, but gradually, the sentences it learned to repeat increased, as did its gestures. In the end, its voice also rose louder as it strained its throat to shout as loud as it could.

"My goodness, what is that?!"

"Did you see that? That rabbit actually spoke!"

"Naruto, this must surely be your doing!"

"I'll tell you a secret, I saw Elder Zhou and his phoenixes in a room yesterday. And from within it, strange sounds echoed out…"

"Senior Sister Kurenai and Senior Sister Ryuzetsu, even if Naruto stands in my way, I, Xu Baocai, will definitely get my hands on you two!"

"Senior Brother Hou Yunfei, you're so bad. Don't… Ah… What was that?!

I just saw a couple monkeys, they were constantly convulsing!"

"Junior Sister Meixiang, it is not that I, Toruho, am fickle and lacking in righteousness. Please wait until my cultivation has broken through the Golden Core. After that, I will definitely take you as my Dao Companion!"

"Haha, this pill's not bad. I, Naruto, really am a genius! Now even a rabbit knows how to speak!" The rabbit continuously ran while repeating these statements all around. Unfortunately, its ears were very sharp, and as long as it heard something new, the rabbit would immediately imitate them perfectly, repeating them all. This rabbit gradually drained colour from many people's faces. This cursed rabbit had ears that were too sharp, it practically spewed out all of the various secrets between disciples and even mentioned their names!

There were many stories within the rabbit's words. After they listened carefully to the rabbit, everyone would be astonished, especially Toruho's part… That was a matter that was unheard of before and caused a sensation among everyone, leaving many Elders with their eyes wide open.

Xu Baocai was stupefied, Hou Yunfei widened his eyes, and Toruho's body suddenly shuddered.

It was at this moment that Naruto finally returned from the market. He returned from a bountiful journey, bringing back even more small animals with anticipation in his eyes. This time, he would finish testing the rest of those odd pills. However, just as he went up the Scented Cloud Mountain, not even a couple steps later, a splash of bird droppings fell from the sky, forcing him to quickly dodge. With furrowed eyebrows, he lifted his head to look up at the sky.

Only to see a flock of birds flying above...

"Eh? They look somewhat familiar…" He was surprised when the bushes beside him suddenly shook. A school of long-legged fish ran past Naruto, stunning him. Following after them, the cats with thunderclaplike burps bolted past him, causing Naruto to widen his eyes to the point where his eyes looked like they were about to pop out. Not long after… a tribe of monkeys quickly ran past him while constantly convulsing and with white foam flowing from their mouths.

Naruto shuddered and took a deep breath. Cold sweat formed as his hair stood on end.

"This… this… impossible!" Breathing raggedly, he took out his Golden Crow Sword and suddenly flew up. The wings on his back flapped, and with a 'Hu' sound, he shot towards Scented Cloud Mountain.

Along the way, he could see all of the small animals as well as a lot of people, gazing at him oddly. Naruto felt alarmed as he returned to his immortal cave only to realise the huge door was wide-open. The inside was almost completely empty with only a few large geese standing there dully like guards.

"How did they all escape?!" Naruto found it inconceivable and perhaps, it even needed investigation. Suddenly turning his head around, he saw a rabbit running quickly while different statements were incessantly spewed out from its mouth, until finally…

"Haha, this medicine pill is not bad. I, Naruto, am really amazing.

This rabbit even knows how to talk!"

Naruto's eyes widened. When that rabbit noticed Naruto, its eyes immediately widened as well, before it turned around and quickly ran away. Naruto knew he was going to get into trouble so he quickly shot forward. But just when he was about to catch the rabbit, that rabbit's speed surprisingly skyrocketed as it instantly shot out of his sight. Naruto watched this scene unfold, staring blankly until he heard Toruho's roar arrive from Scented Cloud Mountain's peak.

"Naruto, clean up your own mess! If there is even one animal that hasn't been dealt with or if there is even a single hint of bird droppings somewhere, I will send you to the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley! Especially that damned rabbit! Make it shut up!"

After hearing the four words 'Ten Thousand Snakes Valley', even though Naruto had obtained the top position in the Heaven's Chosen War and had mastered the Silver Impenetrable Skin, he still shuddered. The traumatic experience from the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley still haunted him. His complexion turned miserable as he subconsciously raised his head; his eyes almost popping out of his sockets once again.

He saw a monkey sitting on the rooftop of the pavilion on the mountain peak, leaning on its chin with a thoughtful look.

Naruto wanted to cry; he hurried up towards the mountain peak. With a leap, his body flew straight for the monkey. The monkey glanced at Naruto, tilting its head as a trace of sadness appeared in its eyes, as though it had been enjoying its hard-to-come-by freedom. Naruto was stunned; he raised his hand and caught the monkey before throwing it inside his storage pouch.

After this, he prudently left in a haste. Tirelessly rushing around the whole Scented Cloud Mountain underneath the countless strange gazes, Naruto scowled miserably as he grabbed the nine-headed tiger and the toads with eyes all over their bodies.

Not long after, the elephant-sized chickens, the school of long-legged fish and the burping cats had all been captured by Naruto one after another. As for that flock of ducks that was fluttering in the sky, they were the easiest to catch and were promptly captured by Naruto in just a couple moments.

The tribe of repeatedly convulsing monkeys was similarly thrown into the storage pouch by Naruto. After continuing his search throughout the whole day, Naruto caught the constantly defecating birds; that turned out the most difficult of them all as he had only managed to catch them at nightfall. Only while accounting for the small animals afterwards did he realised that he had yet to see the parroting rabbit.

After searching for a long amount of time, Naruto agonizingly realised that he couldn't find where that rabbit was hiding.

"Sigh..." Naruto let out a long breath and glanced at all of the bird droppings covering the Scented Cloud Mountain as he grudgingly spent the whole night to completely clean off all of them. When the sun rose, he dragged his weary body back to his immortal cave and collapsed inside it, falling asleep from the exhaustion.

Early in the morning, the Scented Cloud Mountain disciples noticed the gate seemed brand new, making them recall yesterday's events. They had an extremely profound understanding towards Naruto's medicine pill. Just about everyone had been covered by bird droppings yesterday, but although they were furious from the bottom of their hearts, there was nothing that they could do about it. After all, it was clear to them that Naruto hadn't done it intentionally.

However, it was exactly these recurring unintentional actions of his that caused everyone to wail inside their hearts. As for how fearsome Naruto could be, they already had a rough idea about it.

After waking up in the afternoon, Naruto dared not continue testing his odd pills anymore. He left through the gate and headed for the wilderness. As soon as he found a safe and deserted place, he opened his storage pouch and released all of the small animals from within.

"You guys are free now…" Naruto looked at the small animals as he spoke with a bitter smile.

The small animals that had yet to swallow an odd pill immediately dispersed. The ones that did, however, stared at Naruto. Naruto looked back at them and took out numerous medicine pills from his storage pouch.

"After eating a medicine pill, perhaps a few of you guys will be able to cultivate yourselves. Don't stir trouble in the future. You lot have already caused me enough problems." Naruto handed out a medicine pill to each of them. He waved them goodbye and turned around to leave when suddenly, the nine-headed tiger let out a roar.

Naruto turned his head. He saw the nine-headed tiger looking at him with a somewhat bizarre light in its eyes, as though it wanted to engrave Naruto in its mind. Only then did it turn around and sprint off into the distance in a flash.

The ducks and the birds in mid-air; the fish, the burping cats, the few huge guard-like geese and even the toads with eyes all over their bodies on the ground, as well as the tribe of constantly convulsing monkeys all stared at him with the same bizarre eyes as the nine-headed tiger, before similarly disappearing out of sight...

The last to leave was the monkey who always seemed to be deep in thought. It directed its gaze at Naruto, a hint of intelligence flashing though its eyes, giving Naruto a grim feeling.

It took a deep look at Naruto before turning around and heading off into the distance.

Naruto was stunned. Just now, the strong feeling that this monkey looked like a wise old man swept over him. He was certain that he definitely hadn't imagined that grim look in its eyes.

He silently took out the jade slip and checked his record of the medicine pill that he had first given to that monkey, re-evaluating the spiritual medicine that he had originally written off as a failure.

"That medicine pill… possesses medicinal effects that I have yet to understand!" Naruto sunk in thought as he watched the scattering figures. He wished them well, he sincerely hoped that those small animals could happily live with the changes he had brought to them.

A long while later, Naruto turned around, and with a flap of of his wings, he hurried back to the Scented Cloud Mountain.

2nd guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Nat

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch, MantouInv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 107 Chapter 107

Chapter 107 - The Great Thunder Cleansing

As he was returning back to Scented Cloud Mountain, sadness welled up inside Naruto's heart. As for the odd pills left inside his storage bag, he didn't dare to continue experimenting with them.

"Why is it so hard to have an ambitious goal… I can't be blamed for this, it was Uncle Li who made me research this…" Naruto lamented as he jogged on the way back. After returning to his immortal cave, he just sat there, staring blankly into the distance.

During the past half a year, every time he stumbled upon some hard problem in refining medicine, he would ask Toruho about it. Listening to Naruto's questions surprised Toruho greatly. Such meticulous study in the Dao of Medicine, in his opinion, was far beyond that of the average Medicine Master.

Recalling Naruto's results on the stone steles for herbs, Li

Qinghou's expectations regarding Naruto's Dao of Medicine grew. Everyone had a different understandings regarding the Dao of Medicine, and the fact that Naruto had such determination made Toruho very pleased.

He never gave Naruto the answer straight away, but instead encouraged him to persevere, for only that way can one establish their own Dao of Medicine. If one always followed the paved road, they would never become a Medicine Master capable of uncovering the secrets of the Dao of Medicine. The origins of pill recipes, after all, were the result from the previous generations' experiments!

"No, I have a goal, a dream. Uncle Li is right! Only what I discover it myself could a pill recipe truly belong to me. No matter how difficult it is, I will forge onwards!" After some time, Naruto clenched his teeth. Although he didn't intend to test the odd pills, his passion for the Dao of Medicine burned fiercer than ever.

"I must become a great medicine master!" Taking a deep breath, Naruto resolutely walked into the Medicine Refining Room, once again immersing himself in refinement as though under a spell, forgetting everything else.

Time passed as several months passed by in the blink of an eye. Naruto gradually got used to Grade 3 spirit medicine by resolving problems after problem, until finally, Grade 3 spirit medicine weren't that much of a problem to him.

However, a bigger problem gradually cropped up.

Naruto helplessly discovered that while he obtained a deeper understanding of Grade 3 medicine pills, improving the success rate wasn't so easy. Usually, for every ten refinements, he would succeed in five. From the former, one was an odd pill that even he himself couldn't understand, and the four remaining were poisonous pills with nearly a hundred percent impurities.

Naruto was going crazy. He even tried spirit refinement, only to discover that even after spirit refinement, poisonous pills only produced bad results while the only Low Tier ones reached only up to the High Tier.

Between his relentless and meticulousness for medicine refinement, he didn't notice that he was becoming obsessed with it; if something was unsatisfactory, he couldn't rest in peace.

"Impurities, what can I do to get rid of impurities!" Naruto glared at the large amount of poison pills in front of him with bloodshot eyes, racking his brain. He thought of asking Toruho, only to remember his encouragement for perseverance. So, gritting his teeth, he continued as he immersed himself anew.

Time passed day by day, and many people thought that Naruto had finally quieted down. There weren't any tremors or explosions, nor any troublesome animals all around the mountain. Many of them werent quite used to such peacefulness.

But that didn't last long… one night a month later, Naruto, with his hair flowing down his face, was adjusting the flames of the furnace while constantly tossing in herbs with bloodshot eyes.

"Success, it's going to succeed. This time I have solved all of the problems, I even used my creativity to add in a Thunder God Cane, Thunder Attracting Flower, Dead Wood Spring and Yin Yang Grass. I came up with a unique method to remove the impurities, so this is sure to succeed… This is my, Naruto's, very own… Thunder Cleansing!" Just as he was getting excited, the furnace before him shook, and a medicinal aroma rose up. The moon shone brightly in the dark sky, high above Scented Cloud Mountain, unobstructed by the clouds.

But in an instant, a thick layer of clouds appeared, and a streak of lightning flashed down, charging straight at Scented Cloud Mountain and crashing onto Naruto's immortal cave with a rumble. The entire place shook, while other bolts of lightning found their way inside and landed on the furnace.

The entirety of the immortal cave was filled with lightning, and Uzumaki Xioahcun, in his mad laughter, quickly evaded them. When the lightning faded, he excitedly ran to the furnace and looked down.

What he saw was no medicine in the furnace, just black soot with black smoke rising from it.

"Too much Thunder Attracting Flower!" Naruto, with hair flowing down his face, seemed like a scholar gone mad. Gloomily scratching his head, he pulled out more herbs and continued experimenting.

Meanwhile, many of the Scented Cloud Mountain disciples noticed the lightning, all of them staring with their eyes wide-open as they realised it had landed on Naruto's immortal cave.

"This Naruto… Could it be that even the Heavens can't stand him any longer?"

"That must be it, the Heavens are just and shot lightning down to exterminate him…"

These thoughts filled the crowd's minds. While some were entertained by the thought of Naruto's demise, the few elders of Scented Cloud Mountain that had also noticed the lightning were left surprised.

"Even if it was Ancestor Li refining medicine, he would never attract lightning. In the legends, only concoctions over the seventh grade would make lightning flash out. What is that Naruto doing?"

In the afternoon three days later, Naruto's laughter echoed inside his immortal cave. Staring at the furnace, his hands were forming hand seals in a blur. As Chakra spread out, the Earth Fire raged. Roaring out, Naruto slammed both his hands on the floor before the furnace.

"Thunder Cleansing!"

The furnace shook, and many clouds whirled above Scented Cloud Mountain's peak. A flash of lightning shot down, aiming straight at Naruto's immortal cave.

This time, countless disciples all saw the lightning, shocking them all. As the sound of thunder reverberated in their ears, Naruto's immortal cave shook briefly.

Inside the immortal cave, Naruto excitedly went to the furnace. But when he looked down, there weren't any pills in the furnace. Only their remains with a black smoke rising from them. Taking in a little of it, Naruto's eyes grew hazy and his head became dizzy. As he backed away a couple of steps, foam started coming out of his mouth.

"Thunder God Canes… Too many…" Naruto mumbled before collapsing on the floor. Waking up a mere three hours later, he quickly went to wash his face and consume some pills, only to raise his head shortly after, ready to continue refining once more.

In the following days, the amount of lightning increased and increased, growing more and more concentrated. The disciples of Scented Cloud Mountain would always see a flash of lightning drop down, hitting Naruto's immortal cave. Slowly, everyone stared at it with open mouths and wide eyes, while even the elders worried after paying more attention.

They suspected that… If this went on, it was only a matter of time before Naruto got killed by the lightning.

But the Naruto who was so afraid of death, in his crazed medicine refining demon mode, forgot about death, submerging himself in the medicinal arts, endlessly changing the recipe and adjusting the components; he was trying to let the Thunder Cleansing be of practical use.

"Thunder Cleansing!" Lightning flashed.

"God Dammit, Thunder Cleansing!" Lightning flashed again.

The protective formation array in Naruto's immortal cave stopped working, and his sharp voice always found its way out of the place, reaching the ears of everyone. After some gossip, everyone knew that all the lightning before was due to Naruto's new method he invented for cleansing the impurities of medicine.

Even many elders were interested, paying attention to him. This time, though the thunder boomed and the lightning cracked, no one, as rare as it was, stopped him.

Even Toruho was pleased by Naruto's demonstration of creativity, occasionally paying attention.

Yet a good view doesn't last long. After over a hundred groupings of components, the ideal one never came out. So Naruto started adding in other components, and, unsure which medicine was responsible, on a sunset a few days later, instead of the usual single flash of lightning, ten lightning streaks came bursting down as Naruto roared out.

Surprisingly, among all these flashes of lightning, only one was headed towards Naruto, with the rest flying and spreading to other areas of Scented Cloud Mountain.

The cracks of lightning filled the sky.

A huge amount of the lightning hit, and many people screamed in agony. In just a moment, Scented Cloud Mountain shook again, affecting even Kurenai's immortal cave, which got hit as well. Thanks to the protection of the formation array, there wasn't too much of a problem. With a vicious glare, Kurenai stared at Naruto's immortal cave, swallowing down her hate.

Toruho and the elders of Scented Cloud Mountain also went out to calm the disciples down. After all, Naruto's determination for the medicinal arts pleased them.

The thing was… Naruto had become a madman. An hour later, a rainy cloud covered the sky, and this time, near a hundred streaks of lightning all rained down at Naruto.

As the noise in the sky spread out, many disciples turned towards it, aghast as they hastily made their way back to their own immortal caves, scared to go out. Even Toruho and the elders were shocked, staring blankly.

Seeing the hundred streaks of lightning drop down, the many areas of

Scented Cloud Mountain trembled. Maybe because of the proximity of Kurenai's home to Naruto's immortal cave, six or seven flashes of lightning hit her own immortal cave, shaking it violently and pushing down on the array formation.

It didn't end at that though;, taking only half of the time for an incense stick to burn, countless people went up in an uproar of fear and shock as the layers of clouds got even bigger and thicker, shooting out hundreds of lightning streaks down from the sky.

They were aiming straight at Scented Cloud Mountain; immortal caves shook and many areas instantly exploded, and Naruto's own immortal cave barely held out from collapsing.

But… Kurenai's immortal cave pulled in fifty streaks of lightning! In succession, they hit her home, and as if the sky was stealing from her, they peeled open the immortal cave, making it collapse.

Pale, Kurenai rushed out, staring blankly at the now flat space where her immortal cave once stood. She screamed angrily.

"Naruto!"

There were even some outer sect disciples whose immortal cave met the same fate, burst opened by lightning. As they ran out, their angry shouts were shaking the sky, they were just about to throw everything aside and go to Naruto for revenge, when suddenly, the clouds in the sky rolled again, increasing in thickness, constraining and enveloping the land. Kurenai's heart jumped and her face changed. The other people who wanted to trouble Uzumaki XIoachun all took in a deep breath, trembling.

Even the ancestors of Purple Cauldron Mountain and Green Peak

Mountain noticed this, and after seeing the clouds, their eyes widened. Even the sect head Zheng Yuandong, after staring out, felt his scalp go numb.

In the clouds, over a thousand lightning streaks burst out!

"This… This is going to destroy Scented Cloud Mountain!"

"Naruto!"

"God, what is he doing, how did he do it? This… This many streaks of lightning!"

"Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!" Outside Scented Cloud Mountain, countless people screamed out.

On the mountain, there were trembling disciples, inner and outer sect included. At that moment, all of them had a strong feeling that their lives were on the line.

"Thunder Cleansing!" Naruto had completely forgotten about everything long ago, paying absolutely no heed to the things happening around him. His eyes were crimson, and as he stared at the furnace in front of him, he screamed, raising his hands and slamming them on the ground.

Boooom!

-Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch, Mantoulnv

Crimsonguard here, I've been with this project for quite a bit now and it has certainly been a fascinating journey. Unfortunately, staying dedicated to this project has become more and more of a chore as my enthusiasm disappeared, and with it - my motivation. As such, I'll be taking a break from this project. Thanks for all the readers' support thus far!

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 108 Chapter 108

Chapter 108 - Fatty Choji One Who Speaks Of The Code of Brotherhood

Seeing this scene, Toruho inhaled deeply and was too late to block it. He immediately made a hand seal with his right hand and pointed in mid-air. A light screen suddenly appeared, and in a flash, it enveloped the whole Scented Cloud Mountain. This light screen had all the colours in profusion and was extremely magnificent.

At the same time, thousands of lightning streaks were descending all together from within the clouds in the sky, heading straight for Scented Cloud Mountain. They were blocked by this multicoloured light screen, and when all of them fell on the light screen, loud and unceasing rumbling was produced. Ripples reverberated on this light screen, and the lightning streaks were dispelled one after another.

This continued for more than thirty breaths worth of time. When the last streak of lightning had been dispelled, the multicoloured light screen dissipated. All of the disciples in the Scented Cloud Mountain were now trembling. After they had slowly recuperated from the intense crisis that they had courageously faced just now, the eyes of every single one of them were already red as they looked towards Naruto's immortal cave altogether.

"Naruto!" the roars of countless people shocked the heavens. It is unknown who was the first to dash out, but in an instant, everyone had rushed to Naruto's immortal cave. Those Elders and even Toruho had turned into long rainbows and approached at a lightning speed.

Naruto, who was on the verge of collapsing inside the immortal cave, closely stared at the pill furnace. When he was astonished that there was no sounds of thunder and was distracted for awhile, he immediately heard deafening roars coming from outside his immortal cave that was countless times more intense than the sounds of thunder.

Naruto was so shocked that his face immediately paled. As he jumped high in the air, only then did he realise that his immortal cave was about to collapse. He quickly ran out and just as he left his immortal cave, there was a loud bang from behind him caused by the tremor of too many people rushing towards where he was. His immortal cave was no longer able to hold up and immediately collapsed.

Naruto was completely stupefied. When the dust all around him was flying upwards, he realised in horror that he was boundlessly surrounded by disciples from the Scented Cloud Mountain that were glowering at him.

"That…" Naruto was just about to explain when Kurenai let out a mournful sound from within the crowd.

"Naruto, compensate me for my immortal cave!"

"Down with Naruto!"

"Dammit, my immortal cave has also been destroyed by you!"

"This is too much. You are absolutely not refining pills. First, you exploded the pill furnace again and again, then it was those various kinds of small strange beasts. Now you released lightning. You, you, you…" Countless people were bellowing out, and when they looked at Naruto, the anger in everyone's hearts shook the heavens. They had been tormented in these two years to the point that they were going crazy…

Naruto felt wronged. He really was refining pills, but seeing as Kurenai's immortal cave that was not far off had been leveled, he was completely apologetic from the bottom of his heart.

Ino and Hou Yunwei were also in the crowd. Even they held helpless looks on their faces now. Ino was partial towards Naruto. She bit her silver tooth and was about to justify Naruto's means to everyone in the surroundings but she was surprised

when Hou Yunfei covered her mouth. It was very easy to arouse everyone's fury in this moment…

These disciples from the Scented Cloud Mountain had already made up their mind. They definitely could not let Naruto continue refining pills. If not, each and every single one of them would not have the sense of security especially when they recalled the previous lightning. Everyone's roars were now even more intense.

Seeing as the situation was going out of control, the Elders from the Scented Cloud Mountain turned into a long rainbow and arrived one after another. Even Toruho's silhouette appeared in mid-air. Only then did the disciples from the Scented Cloud Mountain quietened down as each and every single one of them pitifully looked at Toruho. Their eyes revealed their hopeful intentions for Toruho to deal with the situation for them.

Toruho had an extreme headache. He viciously glared at Uzumaki

Naruto. Drawing the heavenly thunder was not an extremely difficult task. The heavenly thunder's attribute was that of Yang and only required the change in plants to form the breath of Yin attributes. However, the amount of thunder just now had truly shocked Toruho. In reality, Toruho also understood that the reason why there was so much thunder had something to do with the Scented Cloud Mountain itself. The Scented Cloud Mountain naturally contained Yin energy.

It was only that the disciples were not aware of it and Naruto's methods were only an attraction to the Yin energy.

At the same time that Naruto felt apologetic towards everyone from the bottom of his heart, he also felt slightly wronged and looked expectantly at Toruho.

"Naruto, when you refine medicine in the future, you cannot do it on the Scented Cloud Mountain. Go out and refine medicine!" Toruho grudgingly spoke.

"Right, go out and refine. You cannot refine medicine on the Scented

Cloud Mountain!"

"How is he refining medicine?! He is refining us!"

"That's right! If he continues refining like this, I will not feel that it is strange if he destroys the Scented Cloud Mountain one day!" The surrounding disciples were all stirred up and felt that Toruho was too wise.

"I…" Naruto was about to explain when Toruho flourished his large sleeve.

"Then it has been decided as such. Everyone, disperse." After he had finished talking, he then glared at Naruto. Naruto quickly shut his mouth and had a sullen look on his face. He felt sad in his heart and felt that he had disappointed Toruho.

Seeing as Toruho had made the decision, every single one of the disciples glared at Naruto and only then did they gradually disperse. Only after their surroundings were absolutely empty did Toruho stood in front of Naruto and heaved a long sigh.

"Tell me what caused the thunder cleansing."

Naruto immediately raised his head, revealing intense vigor in his eyes as he hurriedly explained the details of him creating this great technique. When he spoke, he was filled with delight, and after speaking for a long time, he expectantly looked towards Toruho.

Toruho seemed to be deep in thought and slightly nodded his head.

"The medicine recipes are endless. No one dares to say that they have walked to the end of the road. On this road, anything is possible. There are also people in the past who had attempted the method that you speak of, but all of them have failed. The thunder's power is too strong and it is difficult to control. Even though controlling it has certain effects, but controlling the thunder is an arduous task."

"This way, wait for your cultivation to be slightly higher in the future. Only when you are at least at the Foundation Establishment level can you try again this method. Now, you do not need to try it anymore," Toruho could not help but discourage Naruto's attachment to this method and tactfully spoke. After he finished speaking, there was an encouraging look in his eyes. Before leaving, he gently patted Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto sighed and sat there, lost in his own thoughts. In his heart, he felt extremely apologetic towards the collapse of many immortal caves. He sighed while seriously mulling over Toruho's words about not using that method for the mean time.

"I will change the direction that I am researching and use other ways to dispel the impurities. This way, thunder will not come anymore and no one else will be affected. However, where am I going to refine?" Naruto pondered, and when he saw the Purple Cauldron Mountain in the distance, his eyes lit up.

Taking advantage of the sky still being bright, Naruto straightened himself out and turned his head around, taking a glance at his immortal cave that had already collapsed. There was a determined look in his eyes.

"For pursuing the Dao of Medicine! For refining the Immortality Pill!" Naruto resolutely turned around and went down the Scented Cloud Mountain, heading straight for Purple Cauldron Mountain.

As for the Purple Cauldron Mountain, Naruto was already very familiar with the place. After all, when he had first searched for Spirit Tailed Chicken with Fatty Choji One on the Purple Cauldron Mountain, the two of them had walked around the greater part of the Purple Cauldron Mountain. Moreover, when Naruto liked making people address him as Senior Uncle, he too had wandered around a great many times on this Purple Cauldron Mountain.

When he now walked on the Purple Cauldron Mountain, he felt that his surroundings were tranquil. Naruto sighed ruefully as he looked at the Purple Cauldron Mountain disciples who were not as violent as those on the Scented Cloud Mountain, and there were even a few people who greeted him when they saw him.

He had a smiling face as he headed straight for Fatty Choji One's residence. Fatty Choji One had yet to become an inner sect disciple, hence his residence was still at the position where it originally was. Naruto drove a lightweight chariot on a familiar road and arrived in front of Fatty Choji One's door when evening fell.

Seeing that Naruto had arrived, Fatty Choji One immediately smiled. The two of them sat in the courtyard. Fatty Choji One complacently flaunted his spiritual refinement techniques. He also told Naruto that he was now already renowned on the Purple Cauldron Mountain, and he was a spiritual refinement genius that everyone knew about.

Naruto quickly pursued with a few sentences. The more Fatty Choji One listened, the happier he got. It was then when Naruto let out a dry cough.

"Great Senior Brother, I have something to discuss with you."

"Speak!" Fatty Choji One waved his large hand and had the appearance of a generous and forthright person.

"Could you help me look for a place in the Purple Cauldron Mountain and let me refine medicine here?" Naruto hurriedly spoke and looked expectantly at Fatty Choji One.

"Refining medicine? You are already an inner sect disciple. There should be a Medicine Refinement Room inside your immortal cave. That's right, I have been secluding myself for a while. I had previously been jolted awake by the thunder on your Scented Cloud Mountain. What has happened on your end?" Fatty Choji One felt slightly flabbergasted. He had secluded himself for the greater part of the year. He did not understand too much of the outside world, what's more was the matter on the Scented Cloud Mountain. Even though he was quite knowledgeable about the Purple Cauldron Mountain, they were still on different mountains, and he did not understand what had happened on the Scented Cloud Mountain.

"That… I was careless while refining pills which lead to lightning striking my immortal cave." Naruto said with a sullen look on his face.

"Ah?" Fatty Choji One widened his eyes and hesitated for a moment.

"However, Great Elder Brother, you can relax. I can swear that thunder will definitely not appear again when I am refining medicine here. You can relax. I, Naruto, am a man of my word. Moreover, I can already refine Grade Three spiritual medicine now. In the end, I will gift one bottle of Grade Three spiritual medicine to you!" Naruto quickly explained and slapped his chest once, guaranteeing with a solemn vow.

Fatty Choji One's heartbeat quickened when he heard Naruto mentioning the Grade Three spiritual medicine. The price of this kind of Grade Three spiritual medicine in the market was extremely exaggerated. At the same time, Fatty Choji One also did not have the means to reject Naruto's request. Now that he heard Naruto's guarantee, he thought for a moment and then laughed loudly.

"There is a small matter. I do not have a place to refine medicine here. However, I know a senior brother who manages immortal caves here. I will give him a few benefits and make him secretly lend me an inner sect disciple's immortal cave. However, I reckon that it would be slightly troublesome if you were to stay for a long period of time."

"Not long, not long. The least would be a few months. The most would be half a year!" Naruto's eyes shone and he was immediately in high spirits.

Fatty Choji One nodded his head and made Naruto wait there as he turned around and left his residence. When he returned after an incense stick's worth of time, he had a complacent expression on his face as he held a token in his hands.

"It is done. Even though it is not an exceptionally good immortal cave, it still have a Medicine Refinement Room and is not far from where I live. I will bring you there."

Naruto cheered and flattered Fatty Choji One with a few sentences. Fatty Choji One was very happy and brought Naruto to where the immortal cave was, and only then did he leave.

This immortal cave was very simple and was uncomparable to the immortal cave that Naruto had on the Scented Cloud Mountain. It was very small, but to Naruto, as long as it had a Medicine Refinement Room, this immortal cave was more than enough.

He sat in the Medicine Refinement Room, feeling perfectly content as he inhaled deeply.

"It is still the Great Senior Brother who speaks of the Code of

Brotherhood!"

Naruto felt very touched. He was mulling over the fact that he definitely could not attempt the thunder cleansing method and would not use small beasts to test out strange pills. As for exploding the pill furnace, Naruto could already completely avoid this issue. He pondered here and there and felt that from here on out, other problems wouldn't appear while he refined medicine anymore.

"Start researching ways to dispel the impurities!" Naruto settled down and took out spiritual herbs. His eyes revealed that he was pondering and his brain continuously analysed and inferred, gradually immersing himself in medicine recipes.

Translator: Nat

Editors: Arch, Mantoulnv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 109 Chapter 109

Chapter 109 - The Drizzle At The Purple Cauldron Mountain

During the first month at the Purple Cauldron Mountain, Naruto's immortal cave was silent; he didn't affect the Purple Cauldron disciples in the slightest, causing Fatty Choji One to be relieved. Even on the several occasions where he had visited Naruto, he would always find him refining. Slowly, the visits he paid had gradually lessened.

However… One month later.

Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he gazed at the pill in front of him. Upon closer inspection, he began laughing loudly; his excitement was obvious from his expression. For the past month, he had heated the furnace four times, trying to discover a new method in order to get rid of the impurities, and at this moment, he finally found a new method!

"The Thunder Cleansing is one method, and at the same time, cleansing the pills of impurities from within is also a viable method!"

"I, Naruto, really am a genius! Haha! I'll be using the law of the herbs allelopathic nature, and in the time when I refine the medicine, I'll use this method to create a burning effect; forcing out the impurities in the medicine! This way, a newly refined pill will no longer be a toxic pill!" The more Naruto thought about it, the more excited he became.

Taking a deep breath, he immediately heated the furnace.

Stalks after stalks of herbs were placed into the furnace. After he arranged them, he applied his own thinking; he added a number of unnecessary herbs which weren't used in refining. He constantly took note of every minute detail.

Four days later, Naruto sunk into madness once again; he repeatedly spun the furnace while adjusting the earth fire, adding in extra herbs in the process. He would increase or lessen the amount depending on the situation.

It was late at night in the same day when Naruto noticed something and glanced at the furnace. I began to shake and a cracking sound resounded from within the furnace. Black smoke rose and burned Naruto's throat, seemingly carrying some trace of poison in it. With a wave of his arm, Naruto quickly sent the black smoke out of his immortal cave. It floated up in the sky and a great half of it stayed within the layers of clouds above the Purple Cauldron Mountain, while the other part drifted away in the wind; it silently made its way towards Green Peak Mountain.

Only after the immortal cave was clear of the black smoke did Naruto go back to the furnace, gazing at a pill below him. Picking it up, Naruto saw that even though it was still a toxic pill, the impurity level was only above ninety percent; it was ten percent lower.

Naruto had instantly become pleased; he believed his speculation was correct. The only thing needed now was endless refining until he discover the refining method.

"Haha... My refining method this time around isn't very disruptive. No lightning nor tremors, and it didn't affect any other disciples at all!" Naruto was happy; he didn't want to enrage the other disciples due to his own refining problems.

Naruto was satisfied. He sat in a corner and crossed his legs. After finishing his daily cultivation training with the Elephant Dragon Ocean Forming Technique and the Undying Longevity Technique, he also trained the Water Nation Technique.

After finally completing his cultivation, he went back to the Medicine Refinement Room and began refining medicine once more.

This time, he was bursting with excitement. Almost everyday, he refined medicine at least four to five times, and every single time he refined, he would send the black smoke out of his immortal cave. Ten days later, he had a pl

easant discovery; for every ten pellets he refined, only four were toxic, which only had ninety seven or ninety eight percent impurity; their impurity level was lower than the hundred percent before.

In the six instances of success among the ten, the impurity level had decreased as well! If this continued, refining medium quality Grade Three medicine is just around the corner!

Uzumaki Xioachun's eyes burnt with passion; he didn't seem care for anything at all, as though he was in secluded cultivation. He began his insane routine of medicine refining, constantly recording and changing his notes. His daily furnace usage count reached around seven and eight; masses of black smoke spread out from his immortal cave everyday, floating up in the sky and dissipating. Half a month passed and he excitedly learned that the impurity level of his toxic pills lowered to ninety-five percent.

During Naruto's two month stay at the Purple Cauldron Mountain, many disciples of the Scented Cloud Mountain all let out a sigh of relief. They didn't know where Naruto went, and they were just pleasantly enjoying the new tranquility of the Scented Cloud Mountain.

Other than Fatty Choji One, the disciples of Purple Cauldon Mountain had no idea that Naruto was currently refining medicine in Purple Cauldron Mountain, and slowly, everything concerning the troubling events of which Naruto's pill refinement had caused began to spread in the Purple Cauldron Mountain. Fatty Choji One became worried, he began bothering Naruto more frequently.

He would have never thought that Naruto would have made such a huge disaster in the Scented Cloud Mountain. But although he was worried, when he saw that Naruto was quiet, and seeing that he didn't cause any trouble, Fatty Choji's heart gradually calmed down.

Time quickly flew as another month passed by. Naruto's medicine refinement had been going on for three months now, and from his immortal cave, even more black smoke emerged; it attracted the attention of other disciples from the Purple Cauldron Mountain, but they didn't think much about it...

Fatty Choji One, on the other hand, was as unworried as ever. The only troubling thing was the rain that recently started in the Purple Cauldron Mountain. The rain was extremely peculiar, only appearing on Purple Cauldron Mountain and nowhere else.

The rainwater was slightly dirty, forming spots of dirt whenever it landed on someone. As time passed by, many disciples of the Purple Cauldron Mountain began to believe that something was amiss. Naruto's insanity for medicine refinement reached an unprecedented height… The frequency of his furnace usage daily had gone above fifteen!

There was barely any resting time in between, causing Naruto to become extremely pale; his impure pills, on the other hand, had a rapid decrease in the impurity rate, reaching ninety-two or ninety-three percent.

"Only a few more months and then I'll be confident that the impurity rate will drop below ninety percent, making them low tier medicine!" Naruto excitedly shouted, once again submerging himself in medicine refinement when an uproar began in the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

Fatty Choji One, who was currently walking somewhere in the Purple Cauldron Mountain, suddenly noticed that the rain got heavier. His eyes widened as he noticed the smell of acid within the raindrops. As it landed on his body, no harm was done to the body. However, at the moment the raindrop touched his clothes, it began to… melt…

Fatty Choji One's eyes were wide open, and after a brief moment of staring blankly, he yelped, realizing that his clothes were almost gone, prompting him to hastily return to his courtyard.

The screaming Fatty Choji One couldn't believe his eyes as he saw the clothes of all the disciples getting melted in the entire Purple Cauldron Mountain. Any disciple who were wettened by the rain had their clothes quickly melted. Some especially unfortunate people had no clothing at all; they shrieked in agony.

"Oh my god! What… What is going on?!"

"My clothes!"

"What type of rain is this? It's kind of sour and doesn't harm anyone, but it's actually melting clothes?!"

"Dammit, even protective light is useless against it!" The Purple

Cauldron Mountain, at this moment, went insane. Unless one hid under shelter, even if new clothes were put on, everything would instantly melt under the rain.

With a glance at the Purple Cauldron Mountain, anyone could see that it was in utter chaos. Some older inner sect disciples were going crazy as well; they had never encountered a situation like this before, while the female disciples shrieked endlessly.

Even the elders of the Purple Cauldron Mountain were shocked; some of them even used spells outside as rain poured on them, creating a cool sensation in the atmosphere…

At the same time, many people saw masses of black smoke rising up to the sky from Uzumaki Xaiochun's immortal cave, and as more went up, the stronger the rain's acidic effects.

At the moment this new smoke emerged, one inner sect disciple with clothes barely covering his body was flying quickly with a panicked face, only to slam into the screen of black smoke.

When he re-emerged, all traces of clothing on his body vanished completely… The disciple stared blankly for a moment, before distressingly shouting in agony as electricity exploded around him, covering him as he quickly put on new clothes which, were obviously still melting...

"What's going on? Who's in this immortal cave? Get out at once!" This inner sect disciple… was the one and only Zabuza.

Other disciples, as of this moment, also found the root of the problem; all of them began furiously yelling.

"Dammit! It's coming from there! I knew something was wrong; this immortal cave shouldn't have anyone living in it, but black smoke has been coming out from here for these last few months!"

"This black smoke is the culprit! It flew up in the sky these few months, affecting the weather, causing this sort of acid rain to pour down!"

Just as the crowd was yelling angrily, Fatty Choji One hid under a roof, staring blankly at the scene; his mind was going completely insane as he stared at the rain. He suddenly understood the feelings of all the disciples in the Scented Cloud Mountain.

On the peak of the mountain, Ancestor Xu Meixiang of the Purple Cauldron Mountain gazed at the event with a blank face, staying inside her loft, afraid to go out. Raising her right hand and pointing towards the sky, the Purple Cauldron Mountain was instantly covered by a layer of protective light. With the emergence of that light, rain from the sky was completely cut off from the mountain.

However, it was futile; even this protective light quickly melted from the rainwater.

Taking advantage of this opportunity and protection from the rain, all the Purple Cauldron disciples speedily put on new clothes, filling the air with rage and killing intent as they charged straight towards Naruto's immortal cave.

At the same time, many of the disciples on Scented Cloud Mountain saw the protective light covering the entire Purple Cauldron Mountain as well as the rain, making the disciples feel surprised.

.

"What's happening at the Purple Cauldron Mountain?"

But to their surprise, a sudden burst of countless voices reverberated through the heaven and earth, full of rage as it spread out from the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

"UZUMAKI! XIAO! CHUN!"

The reverberation of voices resounded everywhere, even slightly shaking the Purple Cauldron Mountain! Meanwhile, all the disciples on Scented Cloud Mountain mind's shuddered; they instantly understood what was going on.

"Naruto went to the Purple Cauldron Mountain to refine medicine!"

"That must be it! The ancestor didn't let him refine in the Scented Cloud

Mountain, so he went to the Purple Cauldron Mountain instead!"

Just as the disciples of the Purple Cauldron Mountain were going insane, Naruto cried out in agony as he was blown into the air. He was so terrified that his heart felt tremors. He had a look of helplessness on his face; he was passionately refining medicine when a sudden eruption of countless spells burst into the immortal cave he was in. Raising his head in confusion, he was stunned as he met the furious glares of countless disciples around him.

Especially Zabuza who had lightning permeating around his body. He was the first one to charge at Naruto.

Naruto was extremely shocked, but he quickly recovered as his wings were instantly released from his back. He hastily charged out, escaping as fast as possible from the wrathful disciples behind him. Over ten thousand of Purple Cauldron's disciples were furiously chasing after him.

Fatty Choji One, who was watching the scene on the mountain, swallowed a mouthful of air; he pretended to be unaware of the events which had just happened. He decided that he would never let anyone discover that it was him who agreed to let Naruto refine here, and the fact that he was the person who found an immortal cave for him.

While the disciples of the Purple Cauldron Mountain were furiously chasing after Naruto, suddenly…

A cry of exclamation sounded out from the Green Peak Mountain...

Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Arch, MantouInv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 110 Chapter 110

Chapter 110 - Sent To The Ten Thousand Snakes Valley

None of the disciples knew that when Naruto was refining medicine on the Purple Cauldron Mountain, out of all the black smoke that had billowed out of his immortal cave, half of the smoke had remained within the layers of clouds in the sky, while the other half had been blown to the air above the Green Peak Mountain due to the seasonal winds.

Once or twice wasn't an issue since the smoke would slowly dissipate and couldn't bring any harm. However, with the accumulation of smoke every day, after the downpour of acid rain in the Purple Cauldron Mountain, even the Green Peak Mountain began to stir.

Currently a group of Green Peak Mountain disciples were enjoying the spectacle; in regards to the catastrophe of the Scented Cloud Mountain and the Purple Cauldron Mountain disciples, those from the Green Peak Mountain felt surprised in their hearts. Moreover, they were gloating over the misery of the other two mountains. Each of the disciples present resolutely made a decision within their hearts; from this day onwards, they would strictly prevent Naruto from taking a single step onto the Green Peak Mountain.

Even Black Fatso Three's close friends had warned her about this.

However, just at this moment, a drizzle fell the sky above the Green Peak Mountain. The disciples were all briefly stunned before lifting their heads to look at the sky. The disciples were shocked; black ominous clouds began to gather in the sky above Green Peak Mountain.

Even though the clouds weren't as dense as those in the Purple Cauldron Mountain, the rain that fell was still the same acid rain; it corroded the disciple's clothes, and in no time, cries of shock and surprise filled the air of the Green Peak Mountain.

As more cries resounded, countless sword lights instantaneously appeared on the Green Peak Mountain as a group of disciples sprinted towards the foot of the Purple Cauldron Mountain. At this moment, Naruto was being chased by the disciples of the Purple Cauldron Mountain.

"NARUTO!"

"God dammit! Don't tell me Naruto secretly came to our Green

Peak Mountain?!"

"It must be the case. This insane demon of evil pills... He must have secretly sneaked into our Green Peak Mountain and refined some medicine!"

The disciples of the Green Peak Mountain were past the brink of insanity; quite a number of people had their clothes from head to toe corroded away. They hastily put on new clothes but it was futile. Chaos immediately erupted in the entire Green Peak Mountain as howls of rage resounded in the air. They now shared a common enemy with the Purple Cauldron Mountain disciples as they also chased after Naruto.

Shangguan Tianyou was also within the crowd. Although his clothes were more or less intact, his killing intent was stronger than ever; he had finally gotten a chance to take revenge for his tragedy in the Desolate Mountain Range.

As loud crashes and noises echoed in the air, Naruto let out a shriek; he was shocked and filled with disbelief. It was understandable that the Purple Cauldron disciples were chasing after him, but why are those from the Green Peak Mountain coming after him too?

Especially after hearing those words of the Green Peak Mountain disciples, Naruto felt extremely wronged and indignant deep in his heart.

"I really didn't go the Green Peak Mountain!"

"You are lying!" Tens of thousands of Green Peak Mountain disciples all charged out at this very moment; some were standing on their swords in mid-air as they hastily approached. After hearing Naruto's words, they immediately flew into a rage. Even more sword

lights whistled through the air and headed straight towards Naruto; the disciples of the Purple Cauldron Mountain, at the same time, also unleashed their magic techniques, making Naruto to scream in fright.

"I have bled for this sect before…"

"Hong!" The Purple Cauldron disciples still unleashed their attacks, causing the frightened Naruto to run desperately for his dear life.

"AAAHHH, I am an Honourable Disciple!"

"Hong! Hong!" Countless sword lights were released from the Green Peak Mountain disciples as the wings on Naruto's back started to flap rapidly and beads of cold sweat started to form on his forehead.

"I am the Junior Brother of our Sect Head!" he desperately screamed.

"Even if you are the Sect Master's biological son, we will still pulverise you today no matter what!" The disciples from the two mountains gathered together; although no one knew which disciple shouted these words, it still evoked the agreement of countless people as they all continued to chase after Naruto.

"You guys… you guys are unreasonable! Murder, this is murder!" Naruto felt his scalp go numb; he believed that these people had all gone mad. He hadn't done anything except for trying to refine some medicine. Did they have to resort to such extreme actions?

With an agonized expression, Naruto unleashed all his speed and instantly escaped towards the Scented Cloud Mountain; at this moment, he finally realised that the Scented Cloud disciples were still the gentler ones, and this was the only place he could treat as his home.

The disciples chased Naruto all the way to the Scented Cloud Mountain; all of them could only watch helplessly as Naruto escaped rapidly without a trace like a mouse whose tail was stepped on. Each of them let out a howl of frustration, some were even more rash and even dashed up the Scented Cloud Mountain.

But, at this moment, a cold snort that carried a hint of anger suddenly resounded from the peak of the Scented Cloud Mountain; it echoed throughout the surroundings like a clap of thunder.

"Are you disciples planning to rebel?! Scram!"

As his words echoed in the air, thunder rumbled in the sky and a lightning flashed; as for those disciples that charged up the Scented Cloud Mountain, each of them spat out a mouthful of blood as they hurriedly retreated. There was even an invisible force that pushed the surrounding disciples back. Once they recovered from shock due to the sudden turn of events, the infuriated disciples glanced towards each other. They had realised that they had been too rash just now; they quickly lowered their heads and clasped their hands together before rapidly retreating.

This entire farce had finally come to an end.

Naruto stood on top of the Scented Cloud Mountain as he watched over this scene; emotions immediately filled him as he felt overwhelmed. It was as if he was a child who had just lost a fight and his parent had stood up for him by giving the other party a thorough beating.

"That's right. Are you guys thinking of rebelling? Especially those of you from the Green Peak Mountain, you guys…" Naruto spoke arrogantly as he jumped up and down while gesturing wildly. He was just about to tell those disciples from the Green Peak Mountain that he did not even refine any medicine at their place, when, all of a sudden, a wall of imposing pressure descended upon him as the figure of Toruho appeared before him. Sporting a livid expression, Toruho flicked his right sleeve as Naruto felt his body moving on its own. Toruho stretched out his hand and grabbed Naruto by his collar.

"Uncle Li, I… I really didn't go to the Green Peak... Aaahh!" Naruto stuttered as he felt his heart tremble. He rapidly tried to explain, but before he could even finish his words, he was already pulled in the air by Toruho.

In the distance, the countless disciples, which had come from the two mountains and were on their way back, all witnessed this scene; their hearts immediately erupted with joy as those Scented Cloud Mountain disciples similarly looked up into the sky with weird expressions. All of them simultaneously let out a sigh of relief deep inside of their hearts.

"This Naruto is going to be unlucky this time around!"

"To provoke the rage of the Ancestor... Naruto is doomed!"

"It's more than just provoking the Ancestor's rage. The entire Southern Bank was driven to the brink of insanity." Just as countless of people felt consoled deep in their hearts, Naruto was frightened to death with a pale face; he had realised that they were actually heading to…

"Ten... Ten Thousand Snakes Valley! Uncle Li, I was wrong!" with a pale expression, Naruto immediately began begging for mercy.

Soon, Toruho had brought Naruto, who was screaming throughout the entire journey, to the entrance of the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley at the back of the Scented Cloud Mountain. The moment they entered, countless of poisonous snakes cocked their heads up as they let out - "Sii! Sii!" - hisses; poisonous fluid spat out from their mouth.

Naruto was terrified to the point that his entire body was shivering; especially when he found out that Toruho was actually taking him into a cave deep inside the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.

"All I wanted to do was to refine medicine! I never wanted this to happen…"

"Uncle Li... listen to my explanation! I listened to your demands; I didn't refine medicine on the Scented Cloud Mountain, I..." Naruto was filled with anxiety as he quickly tried to explain. But the more he explained, the gloomier Toruho's face became; it only caused Toruho to increase his speed as they flew into the cave in an instant.

The surroundings were pitch black, but very quickly, pairs after pairs of cold eyes suddenly appeared and coldly stared at Naruto and Toruho. Naruto could feel their presence and aura more prominently compared to his previous time, especially when he used his cultivation to sense them.

He was shocked after discovering that the terror of this place had far exceeded his previous expectations by a large margin.

At this time, Naruto swept a glance around. Even though it was pitch black here, with the circulation of some spiritual qi, he could still see a little bit. Since he had memorised the five chapters of Spirit Beasts, Naruto was able to recognise some of the snakes, as he recalled some information regarding these snakes.

"Three-step Snake"

"Dawn-Eyed Python!"

"That is… a Golden Silver Bug Snake!" Naruto was shocked; the venom of these snakes, when referenced to the five chapters of Spirit Beasts, were all strong and unparalleled venoms. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be poisoned to death if he wasn't treated right away

After the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, Toruho had already taken Naruto into the depths of the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley. In this place, there was a desolate underground cavern. Countless snakes hissed in the surroundings; there were even seven or eight snakes that gave off an aura comparable to a cultivator at the 8th level of Chakra Condensation. These snakes had red eyes with venomous fluid dripping out of their mouth which created potholes on the floor. The entire scene was able to make anyone feel a chill run down their spine.

Not too far away was a stone house which was surrounded by a few formation arrays, preventing any snakes from coming over in a radius of ten zhang. However, even if the snakes couldn't come close, to be surrounded on all four sides by a dense crowd of snakes still gave Naruto a strong sense of danger.

"Whoosh."Toruho waved his sleeve from outside the stone house and directly threw Naruto inside the radius of the formation arrays

"Don't you want to refine pills? Just do it here. There is a pill furnace and Earth Fire here in the stone house. While refining here, you won't disturb the other disciples," Toruho gave off a cold snort as he threw a storage pouch towards Naruto.

"There are enough medicinal grasses and food in here to last for awhile. Just live at this place quietly. Once you have matured, I will bring you out of here," Toruho gave a stern look towards Naruto before he lowered his head to check the surrounding formation arrays on the ground. After confirming that the formation arrays had no issues, he finally flew off. Toruho also felt exasperated; he had only come to this decision because he wanted to fix Naruto's mischievous personality once and for all. He wanted to change Uzumaki Xiachun's temperament.

Nonetheless, deep in his heart, he was also worried. Thus, he purposely paid extra attention to those formation arrays. When he confirmed that the formation arrays had no problems, he left with a complacent heart. With his understanding of Naruto, he was sure that Naruto would never dare to take a step out of the formation arrays.

Naruto wore a depressed look on his face as he helplessly watch Li

Qinghou leave. Without the pressure from Toruho, the surrounding snakes immediately sprang into action as they all came and surrounded the stone house where Naruto was. All of these snakes revealed their vicious fangs, ome of them even tried to attack the formation arrays, causing the air to be saturated with venomous fluids.

At some distance away, the few venomous snakes that were at the 8th level of Chakra Condensation were coldly gazing at Naruto. The look on their eyes indicated that they couldn't wait to swallow him, causing Naruto's heart to madly tremble.

"That is a Divine Blood Snake... comparable to the 8th level of Chakra Condensation. One drop of its venom is enough to kill over ten thousand people!"

Even worse was that he could obviously sense that in this unimaginably huge snake cavern, there were still three auras that were comparable to the 9th level of Chakra Condensation, and even some distinct auras of two entities that were at the peak of the Chakra Condensation.

These vibrations were not given off by cultivators. Instead, they came from venomous snakes in the cavern.

What made his heart shudder the most, was that in here, he vaguely felt an even stronger and more discreet aura that carried a hint of viciousness, as though it was watching every move he took.

Time passed quickly as the sky outside gradually darkened. With a gloomy expression, Naruto let out a sigh of despair.

"What should I do…?"

Translated by: Xin

Edited by: Arch, Mantoulnv, Cannibaloid

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 111 Chapter 111

Chapter 111 - Touching The Limits

Nightfall. The moon hung brightly in the world outside, but within the cave, it was entirely pitch black. From his surroundings, Naruto heard countless hissing sounds, causing him to feel goosebumps all over his body. This motivated him to quickly retreat to the interior of the stone house.

The stone house was extremely small. Other than the Earth Fire formation array on the ground alongside a pill furnace placed on top of it, there wasn't anything else.

Naruto sighed as he activated the Earth Fire formation array. Seeing the light produced by the flames, he felt relieved. His personality was always that of going with the flow, hence, even though the current situation was terrifying, he had no choice but to adapt to it. He opened the storage pouch that Toruho had given him and his eyes instantly widened.

Within the storage pouch was a huge amount of medicinal grass, some of them even required a great amount of contribution points before they could be exchanged from the sect! There were even a few stalks of medicinal grass which Naruto had only heard of in the five chapters of the Plants and Herbs scriptures; the sect didn't even provide these types of medicinal grass!

As for the other types of medicinal grass, their quantity was simply staggering! If he used them sparingly, it would not only be enough for Naruto to refine Rank 3 spirit medicines, but also enough to refine Rank 4 spirit medicines!

Naruto immediately felt a surge of excitement; he heated the pill furnace and begun to refine medicine. It was only through this could he distract himself from his terrifying surroundings. He still had some experiments which were incomplete, hence he decided to complete them this time around and attempt to lower the impurities in the Rank 3 toxic pill to below 90%.

Time quickly passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was already three months since Toruho had brought him in the snake cavern. With disheveled hair, Naruto sat in the stone house lost in his own world. He incessantly refined pills, causing the cave to be filled with plumes and fumes composed of mist and smoke. This poisonous smoke which could form acid rain in the outside world, surprisingly, became the favourite food of the venomous snakes in the snake cave. Every single snake competed for the smoke in order to devour it as eye-piercing hissing noises resounded in the process.

However, Naruto paid no heed to this; he was already occupied with refining medicine at this moment, and he was at the most critical point. He had already lowered the impurities within the toxic pill to approximately ninety-one or ninety-two percent, and with just a little more, he would finally succeed!.

With bloodshot eyes, Naruto incessantly refined spirit medicine, and in the blink of an eye, another three months had passed.

He had already stayed for half a year within this snake cavern, and within this half year, other than refining pills, the only other part of his routine was cultivation. Every day, he would cultivated the Water Nation Technique, radiating a domineering pressure whilst doing so. However, it was a pity that his Life Spirit still hadn't materialised.

As for the surrounding snakes, it was as if Naruto had gotten somewhat used to them. Occasionally, he would walk out of the stone house in deep thought as he paced around the boundaries of the formation array. On these occasions, the surrounding venomous snakes would always reveal ruthless dark gazes which followed Naruto's every step; the moment he took a single step out of the formation array, they would instantly charge towards him.

Toruho had also secretly visited numerous times. Only after confirming that Naruto had no issues did he event

ually stop worrying about Naruto.

Throughout the South Bank outside, with the disappearance of the Naruto for the past half year, tranquil days had finally returned; there weren't any more lightning, poisonous mist nor acid rain; the disciples cherished these long lost days of tranquility.

From time to time, people would still think of Naruto, however, after many disciples heard of his accommodation into the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley by Toruho, they could only lament on his fate. Even amongst the disciples, if anyone wanted to break the sect's rules, they would always remember Naruto's deeds, creating a new saying that spread like wildfire.

"As a proper human, don't be like Naruto!"

"You shouldn't do this, even if Naruto were to do it, he would still be punished, you should reconsider."

Another half a year had passed, and it had already been a whole year since Naruto's disappearance, and even the Sect Head, Zheng Yuandong, lamented.

"Naruto... Sending him to the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley was absolutely the right decision; only snakes exist there, and he won't be able to affect other people."

However, be it Zheng Yuandong, Toruho, or any disciple of the three mountains, they had obviously underestimated Naruto!

On this day, within the stone house, Naruto had refined another batch of medicine; only this time, there wasn't any black smoke, and the pill that formed in the pill furnace was finally no longer a toxic pill, but rather a low-grade pill with an impurity content of 89.9 percent!

Even though it was the lowest of the lowest grade pill, it was still a completely different existence from a toxic pill.

Naruto felt excitement surge through his body as he lifted his head and laughed loudly at the sky. He immediately heated a few more furnaces, and afterwards, he had finally confirmed that his expertise regarding Rank 3 spirit medicine refinement had finally reached the standard of… succeeding ten times out of ten!

Naruto already had a solid foundation and experience regarding refining Rank 3 spirit medicine, and even those he hadn't yet refined were just out of reach. The only thing needed now was resolving some simple problems and he could bring those other medicines to an equally perfect ten out of ten success rate.

Naruto was emotional as he charged out of the stone house; the echoes of his laughter still resounded in the air. He even held a sense of pride; as of this day, he had paid an exorbitant price and an even greater amount of time.

He even managed to get thrown into this place, but in the instant Naruto succeeded, he felt that everything was worth it.

Naruto sucked in a deep breath and waved his little sleeve as he glanced arrogantly at the group of snakes.

"The only thing left to do now is cultivate. The ninth level of Chakra Condensation and the Impenetrable Golden Skin!" Naruto happily turned around and walked back inside the stone house and took out the newly refined pills.

He took out his turtle-shell pot and spirit refined every single one of the pills he had refined, and after which, he immediately swallowed them.

Naruto's cultivation increased daily; he was originally at the peak of the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, only a hair's breadth away from making a breakthrough. A month later, while Naruto sat crosslegged, an enormous battle elephant appeared within his consciousness, causing the entirety of his cultivation to burst forth like a hundred streams converging into an ocean. Within his body, his spiritual power erupted, as if it had vaguely transformed into a huge ocean.

Looking closely, this huge ocean was in the shape of a dragon; as if a dragon had appeared inside of his body, swimming throughout all of his meridians, causing his flesh and bones to give off crackling noises. It was at this moment that a silhouette of a huge elephant abruptly appeared behind his back.

The huge elephant had long hair covering its entire body; it lifted its front legs as if it was roaring at the sky. Suddenly, it stomped its foot down, and although the ground remained unscathed, an unseen ripple of force mercilessly spread outwards, causing the surrounding snakes to all jump in fright. Even the seven to eight Divine Blood Snakes in the distance lifted their heads and gave out sharp glares as their scales stood erect.

The Dragon Elephant Ocean Transformation Scripture; after Naruto had materialised the huge elephant, he naturally broke through the first level of the scripture during the surge of his spiritual power. His cultivation level had also increased from the eighth level of Chakra Condensation to the ninth level of Chakra Condensation!

Likewise, his physical strength increased; circulating the blood in his body, he felt as though his body had expanded. His flesh and muscles rippled wildly, and within every inch of his muscles, a shocking amount of strength was being contained.

It was as if it had merged together with his Unending Longevity

Technique, causing Naruto's silver skin to undulate brightly. Under each of his technique's complementary effect, it was as if Naruto's body had mutated. His physical strength had actually touched a bottleneck; a bottleneck which was seemingly impossible for an ordinary human body to breakthrough!

A loud explosion echoed through his consciousness, similar to the synchronised chime of ten thousand bells; it was as if water was incessantly being forced into a bottle which was already full, causing the bottle to tremble as lines and cracks began to form.

Naruto's entire body shook violently as he abruptly opened his eyes. In the instant he opened his eyes, his gaze had a sharp radiance that could make anyone's heart jump in shock.

As of this moment, if any Chakra Condensation disciple were to witness Naruto, other than a few special people, they would definitely revel in shock; although the pressure was not that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it still made people tremble and gave them a sense of submission deep within their hearts.

It was as if they were facing the suppression of a higher life form!

"Humans have limits, be it in cultivation or the physical body. There will always be unbreakable limits during one's life… This was the prologue to the Dragon Elephant Ocean Transformation Scripture, no wonder… So this is the limit!"

"Dragon Elephant Ocean Transformation Scripture… The strength of the elephant corresponds to the body, allowing the cultivator to reach the peak in physical strength; the strength of the dragon corresponds to the spirit, allowing the cultivator to reach the peak of the Chakra Condensation realm. This is the purpose of the first level and second level, to let one reach the the peaks, while not touching one's limits. After which, when a person cultivates to the third level, the merging of the dragon and elephant would cause the technique to rise once more, enabling one to reach the realm of touching one's limits. After which, one could then rely on the veins of the heaven and earth, or the power of the Foundation Establishment pill to break through in one swoop, forming a Chakra Ocean, eventually becoming a true Foundation Establishment cultivator!" Naruto muttered.

"Hence, this Dragon Elephant Ocean Transformation Scripture cannot be cultivated by any average person. It is only for those who cultivate both the body and the qi, and only after reaching the eighth level of Qi

Condensation, could they then perfectly cultivate the Dragon Elephant

Ocean Transformation Scripture."

"Even though the Unending Longevity Technique is only an incomplete with only the Impenetrable skin, the mysterious elder who saved me that year once said that after I reached the Impenetrable Golden Skin, I would be able to touch the first level of limits, and whether or not I could break through was dependent on my luck."

"I believe that what I had just perceived... is the supposed… limit!" Naruto's eyes had a radiant glint as the pitch black stone house was lit up in that instant.

"The first patriarch created this Dragon Elephant Ocean Transformation Scripture, and only once cultivated to the end could one then merge both Dragon and Elephant in order to touch one's limits. However, it's only a touch, and that's the furthest it will go."

"And the first chapter of the Unending Longevity Technique, the Impenetrable Skin, would allow one to touch the limits, but this isn't the apex. The apex is to be able to make a breakthrough, and it's only when one breaks through the limit could one cultivate the second chapter of the Unending Longevity Technique, the Undying King Kong!"

"Currently, I have only cultivated to the first level of the Dragon

Elephant Ocean Transformation Scripture as well as the peak of the Impenetrable Silver Skin. However, with the complementary effects of both skills, it allowed me to touch the limit in advance!"

"If this is the case, then if either one of these skills were to make a breakthrough, I would be able to… surpass the first level of the limits!" Naruto was overwhelmed with emotions, and when he pondered a second time, he found a question that rekindled his excitement.

"If my guess is correct, once I breakthrough to the Impenetrable Golden

Skin and the third level of the Dragon Elephant Ocean Transformation

Scripture, my physical body... just to what extent would it grow to?"

Naruto didn't have an answer, but he greatly anticipated the day it would could. At this moment, he sucked in a deep breath and pulled out the pill medicine he refined. After swallowing it to increase his Qi, he immediately began cultivating the Unending Longevity Technique.

Silver light illuminated, and within his body, vague golden strands began to appear. Although it was extremely faint, it represented that Naruto's Unending Longevity Technique had the potential to reach the realm of the Impenetrable Golden Skin!

After the time the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Naruto ended his cultivation and left the stone house surging with excitement. Looking over the surrounding cave, he subconsciously assumed an air of an expert, and with a flick of his sleeve, he arrogantly said, "I am already at the ninth level of the Chakra Condensation. Once I have opened the first limit, out of all the cultivators at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation under this heaven, who can be my opponent?"

Naruto lamented and let out a sigh. All of a sudden, the surrounding venomous snakes were all roused with the appearance of Naruto; a number of them even let out hisses and spat out their venom towards him.

Especially for the seven or eight Divine Blood Snakes at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation in the distance; they immediately sprang up, and with a whistle through the air, collided onto the formation array's light barrier which had just materialised right in front the Naruto.

Naruto jumped in shocked and gazed angrily at these surrounding snakes who had interrupted his sigh; gazing at the cold eyes of each snake and the continuous stream of venom flying through the air, Naruto was enraged.

"Do you really think that I, your Grandfather Uzumaki, has no means against you?! Don't force me, you guys…" Naruto did not even manage to finish his sentence, when another volley of snakes sprang at him once again; the sounds of them colliding against the barrier echoed before Naruto.

"Alright... This is what you've forced me to do!" Naruto bellowed in rage as he turned and walked straight back into the stone house.

Translated by: Xin

Edited by: Arch, Mantoulnv, Cannibaloid

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 112 Chapter 112

Chapter 112 - The Rabbit's Back

"These snakes are too ugly, not cute at all!" Naruto was extremely angry. He sat cross legged in front of the pill furnace as he arrogantly scoffed

"I, Naruto, have already mastered Grade 3 medicine pills.

Insignificant snakes, see whether or not I can take care of you!"

"Don't you guys always like to spit venom? Don't you always like to bare your fangs? Ugh.. I want to refine a medicine pill to make you shut up!" Naruto flourished his sleeve as his whole body suddenly rose with ambition; as of this moment, he was pondering over a recipe.

"To make these snakes shut up, I would need a medicine pill that has a strong viscosity effect, so it can make their venoms sticky…" Naruto cunningly laughed and immediately immersed himself in choosing which combination of medicinal grass would be the most appropriate.

Seven days quickly passed and Naruto entered his demonic insanity mode again. He had already done detailed research on the countless types of medicinal grass in his storage pouch, and he finally chose thirty-seven types of medicinal grass.

All the medicinal grass were brewed with a special method and turned into a material which had an extremely strong viscosity. However, Naruto was still not satisfied. He mixed the grass with the method of allelopathy, attempting to create a medicine pill with an even stronger viscosity.

After a month, he already had dishevelled hair as the pill furnace let out large amounts of black smoke; he had failed ten times. Naruto furrowed his brows; the feeling of wanting to take care of the snakes grew even stronger as he listened to the hissing of the snakes outside.

"Perhaps my way of thinking is incorrect, I am only thinking of using external force to increase the viscosity. Although it does possess some allelopathy, but if I could research the internal body of these snakes or get a flash of inspiration, it would make the effects of the spirit medicine even better!" Naruto mumbled to himself for a moment, before walking out of the stone house. He walked around in the formation array and took the opportunity when the other snakes weren't paying attentio. He extended his right hand with lightning speed and grabbed a Five Eyed Snake that was wandering next to the formation array.

When he suddenly grabbed the snake, in the instant when he pulled back his hand, countless amounts of venom and countless snake shadows congregated at the place where he extended his hand.

Naruto was now immersed in the research of the Dao of Medicine, and he barely looked at the twisting Five Eyed Snake that was pinched by his hand as he went straight towards the stone house. Quickly, a laughter that could make people absolutely horrified came from the inside of the stone room.

Although the Five Eyed Snake was comparable to the third layer of Chakra Condensation, it was as weak as a Spirit Tailed Chicken in Naruto's hand. As Naruto took apart its body, even its flesh and blood was directly broken down under Naruto's research.

Naruto's eyes showed that he was contemplating. His mind shook as he immediately opened the pill furnace, changed the combinations of the medicinal grass and started refining again.

After a day, the pill furnace shook and black smoke billowed out. Naruto was choked up and started coughing, but his persistence was evoked. Afterwards, he started considering the problem from all angles, even risking his life to catch another snake to break down.

Three days later, black smoke enshrouded the stone house once again. Naruto was gradually turning mad, and with a loud roar, he put all of his efforts into r

esearching with bloodshot eyes.

This went on for another month, and Naruto had already forgotten his original intention. He was fully immersed in creating this recipe, and he continuously refined and extended his hand outside the formation array with a lightning speed to catch snakes, to the point where the action had already become exceedingly skillful.

This month, he had already caught ten snakes. And the snakes outside the formation array had already viewed Naruto as an eternal enemy, constantly watching out for him. The hissing never stopped, and the venom released by the snakes could fill the sky. Those snakes who were comparable to the eighth level of Chakra Condensation were constantly striking the formation array, seemingly wanting to break it apart and swallow Naruto alive.

"This won't do, this won't do, and this won't do!" Naruto was inside the stone room. Until today, he had already tried to refine this medicine pill that would make the snakes shut up for 2 months, yet he had failed over a hundred times without a single success.

He now knew the difficulties involved in creating a recipe, but he did not give up. Instead, he crazily did more research. Two more months after he failed more than a hundred times, he finally had one success, but looking at the small black spirit medicine that he refined, Naruto was extremely unsatisfied.

"Why is it only one…"

"There are so many snakes here. If I only made one shut up, it would still be useless…" Naruto used strength to pull at his hair, his eyes bloodshot, tenaciously looking at the medicine pill in his hands.

"The best way of transmission is to cause the snake to release a breath after swallowing the pill, which will cause the other snakes to be afflicted with the disease… disease? Yes, a disease, the recipe that I've created, it should be a plague!" Naruto's eyes let out a fierce light and his breathing sped up. He faintly felt that he had grasped the most crucial part of his research.

After a long time, Naruto suddenly laughed. This laughter resounded inside the snake cave, and it could actually terrify anyone. If there was someone here who saw Naruto in this sort of condition, they would take a deep breath and vow to absolutely never provoke Naruto when he is immersed in refining medicine.

The Naruto at this moment was releasing a sinister air around him.

Using his new inspiration, Naruto once again immersed himself in refinement. Once again, he took out all of his medicinal grass and started matching them using allelopathy, adjusting them one by one. He also started catching snakes more and more often, and there were many times when it was exceedingly dangerous. However, it was as if he was possessed by a demon; he did not even pay attention to the risk of catching snakes. Instead, all he had in his heart was persistence towards creating the new recipe.

More time passed. One month, two months, three months, four months...

Quickly, six months had passed since Naruto had decided to create this recipe. During this half year, he had failed so many times. After half a year, his hair was dishevelled, his entire body was extremely sloppy, and his face had black smoke all over it. Only, his eyes were red, brimming with excitement, looking at the pill furnace in front of him.

"It's going to be ready, haha, it's going to be ready!" Naruto gave a an excited roar to inspire himself as the pill furnace faintly shook. Looking at the pill furnace in which he put all of his hard work for the past half year and seeing that the spirit medicine that he created was about to appear, Naruto excitedly stood up.

"Black Hearted Li, throwing your Grandfather Uzumaki here, thinking that Grandfather Uzumaki can't handle these small snakes? Just wait till I refine this pill and see how I take care of these snakes. Hehe, maybe I can control these snakes in the future, shaking Heaven and Earth! Hahahaha!" Naruto looked to the sky and laughed, bragging. But at this moment, he was suddenly startled. He had a feeling that someone was watching him and was stunned for a moment.

Immediately, he turned around and looked at the entrance of the stone room.

When he looked over, his entire body froze.

Because he was extremeley excited, he hadn't noticed that an extra figure had unexpectedly appeared beside the entrance of the stone house. That figure was not tall, and it was standing there, with two white claws arched in front of it. It had long ears which were pricked up, and a fist-sized short tail behind its body wagging about...

It had red eyes, a raised small mouth and two large teeth projected outside, as it presently looked blankly at Naruto.

It was as if time stopped at this instant. Naruto's eyes widened and he suddenly roared.

"YOU ARE ACTUALLY HERE!" It was the thing that disturbed the Scented Cloud Mountai; the thing that Naruto could'nt find even after searching everywhere… The talking rabbit!

Following Naruto's roar, the rabbit actually imitated Naruto's appearance and also roared towards Naruto.

"You are actually here!" The rabbit suddenly widened its eyes and its body quickly retreated. At the same time, its mouth spoke countless words.

"Heavens, what is this!"

"Did you see it, the rabbit actually spoke!"

"I'll tell you a secret, I saw Elder Zhou and his phoenixes in a room yesterday. And from within it, strange sounds echoed out…"

"Senior Brother Hou Yunfei, you're so bad. Don't… Ah… What was that?!

I just saw a couple monkeys, they were constantly convulsing!"

"Junior Sister Meixiang, it is not that I, Toruho, am fickle and lacking in righteousness. Please wait until my cultivation has broken through the Golden Core. After that, I will definitely take you as my Dao Companion!"

"Haha, this pill's not bad. I, Naruto, really am a genius! Now even

a rabbit knows how to speak!"

"Black Hearted Li, throwing your Grandfather Uzumaki here, thinking that Grandfather Uzumaki can't handle these small snakes? Just wait till I refine this pill, and see how I take care of these snakes, hehe, maybe I can control these snakes in the future, shaking Heaven and Earth! Hahahaha!" The rabbit let out various sounds, and with an extremely fast speed, it ran out of the stone house in an instant. Naruto was about to be driven mad. Especially when he heard the rabbit's last sentence, he was dumbstruck as he ran out of the stone house, howling as he attempted to catch the rabbit.

Alas, the speed of the rabbit was just too fast. When Naruto chased after it outside the stone house, it charged out of the formation array with a 'swoosh' sound. The cave's countless snakes all hissed and spat out countless venom, but the agility of the rabbit was unimaginable; it had actually evaded all of the venoms. Even when the large amounts of snakes behind it shot out to bite it, all they bit was the air, letting the rabbit run away like smoke… as it vanished into the distance.

Its voice could still be heard from far away as it echoed out in the cave, speaking of words it heard from other people.

Naruto wanted to collapse. He didn't dare to chase after it. Even though his speed was quick, it was obvious that it was not equal to the rabbit's agility. He could only widely open his eyes as he watched the rabbit run away. He wanted to cry, but he had no tears. As soon as he thought of the rabbit's hobbies, and that large windpipe, he felt cold sweat on his body. He was worried that this rabbit would run outside and talk drivel, and if Toruho heard it… Naruto could imagine himself being even more miserable.

"Damn it, what rabbit is this!" Naruto gnashed his teeth. However, he sorrowfully thought that he himself did not know what this rabbit was, because originally, he was the creator of this rabbit.

That feeling of lifting a stone only to drop it on his own feet nearly made Naruto mad. He nervously cleared his throat and roared loudly in the direction of the escaping rabbit.

"Ancestor Li is a wise and godly warrior, unparalled under the heavens! He is my most closest relative!

"Uncle I, Naruto ,will work hard and will absolutely not let you be disappointed!"

"I, Naruto, have a mischievous personality and deserve to be punished here. I become wiser everyday, many thanks to the great Ancestor…" Naruto was sullen, continuously speaking, in an attempt to let the rabbit hear these words and repeat them.

After awhile, there was a medicinal fragrance spreading out following the sound of the pill furnace in the stone house shaking. Naruto was worried, and he secretly cursed the rabbit to be beaten black and blue. He sighed as he returned to the stone house. Opening the pill furnace, he saw an alternating black and white coloured medicinal pill which let out bursts of strange light inside the pill furnace.

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch, MantouInv, Cannibaloid

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 113 Chapter 113

Chapter 113 - Something Huge Is About To Unfold...

The Grade 3 spirit medicine gave off a hazy feeling, however, the quality of this medicine was extremely great. Unexpectedly, it was not just a Low Tier spirit medicine, but it was almost at the Middle Tier! Naruto was pleasantly surprised as he immediately suppressed his anger towards the rabbit and grasped the medicine pill in his hands.

"This miracle pill can change the fate of the Ten Thousand Snakes

Valley… One spirit medicine... can silence all the snakes in this valley!" Naruto proudly laughed. However, his heart began trembling every time he thought about the rabbit. Hesitating, he listened to the ear piercing hisses of the snakes outside of the formation array, and the slamming sounds of the snakes hitting the formation array.

"Noisy!" Naruto glared as his heart turned ruthless; he immediately took out the Turtle-shell pot. He actually wanted to use Spirit Refinement on this medicine pill… and not just twice, but thrice!

A silver light shined, and after Spirit Refinement occurred three times, the impurities in the medicine pill rapidly decreased, impressively entering the Middle Tier from the Low Tier!

Holding the medicine pill, Naruto walked out of the stone room. He stood in the formation array, looking at the countless snakes outside spitting venom at him. He also saw the movements of shadow as the scene of the formation array being continuously rammed appeared before him.

"Half a year ago, this Grandfather Uzumaki once said that he would let you know my awesomeness. Remember this, you are the ones who forced me!" Naruto suddenly waved his right hand. Immediately, the medicine pill rapidly flew out of the formation array, falling into the group of snakes.

Naruto had specially added a drop of his blood into the medicine pill, so that it would cause countless snakes to quickly charge at it the moment it fell, rushing to devour it. Quickly, a Flower Eyed Snake that was comparable to the fourth layer of Chakra Condensation devoured it, and its body suddenly shook as its eyes let out a mysterious light.

Naruto excitedly looked over. But at this moment, a Blood God Snake at the eighth layer of Chakra Condensation tyrannically rushed over, sweeping away all the other snakes, causing many of them to be turned into a bloody mess. This Blood God Snake unexpectedly swallowed the Flower Eyed Snake in one gulp.

Naruto widely opened his eyes and quickly looked at the Blood God Snake. That snake indifferently stared at Naruto as it slowly slithered over to a rock that was far away and coiled itself.

Naruto was slightly nervous as he patiently waited for the pill to take effect. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, that Blood God Snake's body shook, as if it wanted to open its mouth to hiss. Alas, it was obvious that when it opened its mouth, its mouth unexpectedly had an abundant sticky substances, and it pulled out many threads that looked like they were stuck to the snake's mouth, causing the act of opening its mouth to be difficult.

The moment Naruto saw that the pill was effective, he madly laughed, waiting for the second effect of the pill to happen.

After another incense stick's worth of time, the amount of sticky substances in the Blood God Snake's mouth increased, to the point where it couldn't even open its mouth. Its eyes were bulging, and the originally ice-cold eyes looked like a goldfish at this moment as it stared blankly at Naruto. Looking at it now, it actually didn't look vicious, instead it was a bit cute...

Quickly, a banging sound unexpectedly came out from the body of the Blood God Snake, and from its butt, countless gaseous substa

nces were released, as if it was farting. This gas was pink in colour, and it condensed into a fog, instantly spreading out to the surroundings.

The banging sound did not stop, and it seemed like there was no end to the Blood God Snake's farting. Under Naruto's excitement, the Blood God Snake actually farted nonstop for a whole day.

Inside the cave, everything that wasn't in the formation array was filled by a pink fog. Gradually, after the fog was inhaled by the other snakes, they started secreting the sticky substance, and their eyes began bulging. Soon after, they also started farting.

The banging sounded like thunder as the fog unceasingly spread inside the cave.

Even the gaze that came from the deepest parts of the cave, which had made Naruto fearful, had slackened at this moment. After that, it let out an even stronger banging sound.

After a few days when all the fog had dissipated, Naruto stood in the formation array while looking outside. The entire snake cave was silent, with no hissing and no venom being spewed out. The mouths of all of the snakes were sealed shut, their eyes bulging, looking dazed.

Naruto stood in the formation array, looking upwards as he madly laughed. Only after a long time did he lift up his chin, feeling proud of himself. He involuntarily assumed the melancholic appearance of an unfathomable expert and flourished his small sleeve.

"I, Naruto, have made all of the snakes in the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley shut up in the time taken to snap my fingers. To commemorate this spirit medicine, I will name this the… Mouth Shutting

Pill!"

He assumed the appearance of an unfathomable expert and walked out of the formation array into the horde of snakes. Looking at the cute snakes that were all around him, he smiled brilliantly in his heart. But at this moment when his feeling of being an expert was the strongest, suddenly, the entire body of a One Step Snake that was not far away from him instantly turned red, as if it had a rise in temperature. In a speed naked to the visible eye, its body was seemingly mutating, and after a while, it unexpectedly turned extremely rabid, rampaging all around the cave.

The One Step Snake had no way of hissing after its mouth got sealed, which caused it to be even madder. With its rampage, its body appeared to suffer immense pain, causing it to be turned into a bloody mess. However, it still continued rampaging.

Naruto was frightened and wanted to block it. However, he noticed that the One Step Snake was still as mad as before and continued rampaging. Naruto's expression changed, but he was absolutely horrified to discover that all of the snakes were quickly turning rabid at this moment; their bodies were releasing a high temperature as they rampaged all around, jumping up and down.

Especially the Blood God Snake which swallowed the medicine pill, its body had clearly become bulkier. In a flash, it joined the rampaging snakes as it also moved around in a fit of madness.

At this moment, a booming sound was let out from the deepest parts of the cave. Following that, all of the snakes in the snake cave became even more rabid, twisting their bodies as if they were mad. Some snakes even smashed themselves at the rock wall.

Naruto widened his eyes, quickly retreating back into the formation array. But in the moment when he entered the formation array, over half of the countless snakes rammed themselves on the formation array. When the formation array shook, Naruto looked at the snakes all around that had turned insane as his scalp felt numb.

"Shit! Shit! These snakes are mad. If they keep on assaulting the formation array, this formation array might cave in!" Naruto was extremely nervous. He originally desired to force these snakes shut up, however, he didn't expect that there would be such a side effect. The thought of Toruho finding about the conditions of the snakes cause Naruto to tremble from the bottom of his heart; he knew that Toruho would be exceedingly furious.

Naruto anxiously and hastily rushed back to the stone house and heated his furnace; taking out a large number of medicinal herbs. He wanted to refine another pill in order to solve this dilemma. At this moment, he no longer had the arrogance he had earlier, and instead, he was sullen while trembling in fear. After a few days, Naruto's ran out of the stone house with bloodshot eyes and messy hair.

His hand was grasping three medicine pills. These three pills were the result of him not sleeping nor resting for three days, spending the entirety of his time to refine a medicine pills in order to temporarily solve the problem. Following this thought, Naruto wanted a pill which could ease the rabidness of the snakes in order to get enough time to let him refine the complete antidote.

The moment he walked out of the stone room, Naruto was stupefied by the scene in front of his eyes. All of the snakes were rabid, unceasingly ramming the rock walls, causing the walls to have countless holes. There were even snakes still ramming themselves into a bloody mess.

Naruto almost cried and immediately threw out the medicine pills. These three medicine pills exploded in midair with a banging sound, turning into boundless fog which spread out. All of the snakes which were enveloped by the fog instantly quietened down, stopping their rabidness. Even the naked eye could see that their bodies were actually healing at a high speed...

After a few days, all of the snakes in the snake cave lost their rabidness, and Naruto was only relieved after seeing that the cave was once again calm.

"You scared your Grandfather Uzumaki to death, and I actually thought that it was a big deal. Humph, with your Grandfather Uzumaki's attainments in the Dao of Medicine, this is not a problem!" Naruto was pleased with himself. When he was about to continue refining the antidote, his footsteps suddenly stopped. He swallowed some saliva and looked at a snake that was not far away from him.

That was a Flower Eyed Snake. After its high speed recovery, an astonishing aura unexpectedly exploded out from its body. This aura was extremely strong, but it was not the undulations of cultivation. It was, instead, the simple strength of its fleshy body. Its body slightly twisted, and a big rock by its side unexpectedly got squeezed until it exploded.

This scene made Naruto's eyelid jump; although there were many Flower Eyed Snakes in this cave and its venom could frighten people, its body was very weak, and it could not possibly have this much strength. However, this scene was truly happening in front of Naruto.

Naruto's breathing quickened as he suddenly looked at the other snakes. Gradually, cold sweat appeared on his forehead as he lost his voice.

"How could this be!"

He saw that the physical strength of all the snakes in the four corners of this room instantly and violently increased. Although it wasn't rabid, if they moved a bit, the ground would slightly shake, and countless rocks would shatter into small pieces. How could this be a snake, this was clearly a whip which could destroy all obstructions if held in the hands of an expert.

All of the snakes became extraordinarily strong, with a valiant fleshy body. At this moment, there was booming everywhere, and many snakes lifted their heads and looked towards Naruto, directly heading for him.

Originally, the formation array could block the snakes. But now, it was violently shaking as cracking sounds echoed out. There were even signs of the formation array shattering. If the formation array broke, Naruto could not think of any way to single-handedly deal with so many extraordinarily strong snakes.

Especially at this moment, those few Blood God Snakes which were comparable to the eighth layer of Chakra Condensation clearly had a fleshy body that was more valiant than the other snakes. When they collided with the formation array, an incomparably huge snakehead, which was one zhang long, extended out of a distant passage. Its eyes were bulging as it glared at Naruto.

The head of this huge monster was already one zhang long, and the size of its main body could be imagined to be even bigger. The frightened Naruto let out a screech. It was at this moment that Naruto knew... he fxcked up. He quickly ran back to the stone room, immediately starting his furnace, making the most of all his remaining time to try and solve this problem.

Chapter 114 Chapter 114

Chapter 114 - Toruho Understands...

"How could it be like this…" Naruto was extremely distressed. He wasn't even able to wipe the sweat from his forehead! Naruto gritted his teeth and continued refining his medicine as tremors resounded outside of the formation array.

He didn't want to get in trouble... Naruto felt wronged. His original intention was only to force these snakes shut up...

At first, Naruto believed that refining this pill was quite a simple idea, but how could he have known that although he caused these snakes to shut up, his actions would also cause them to become rabid.

The moment he glanced at the situation, he knew it was far from good and his first thought was to refine a pancea in order to stop it. Thus, he refined a temporary antidote. This time, it definitely prevented the snakes from rampaging. However, he didn't think that these snakes would actually have a mutation in their fleshy body, causing them to gain extraordinary strength, to point where the formation array wouldn't be able to block their attacks for an extended period of time.

Naruto trembled in fear; his eyes were bloodshot. He only wanted to fix this problem, taking this chance to return everything to what it originally was. Even if the snakes were to continue hissing, it would just be unavoidable.

Two days later, echoes of violent explosions resounded out from inside Naruto's formation array. With a crackling sound, a web of cracks spread out around the formation array. Under the constant attacks from the myriad of snakes, the formation array began showing signs of collapse. Naruto's breathing gradually became rapid as he abruptly rushed out of the stone house, grasping two pills.

"This time, it will definitely be able to successfully solve the problem!

The Ten Thousand Snakes Valley will finally return back to normal!" Naruto exclaimed. In these last few days, the load of pressure he carried was extremely great; his current expression seemed absentminded as he fiercely threw the pill in his hands outside the formation array. With a cracking sound, the pill immediately exploded, turning into a green mist, quickly spreading in all directions.

After contact with the mist, all of the snakes around the formation array began trembling, and a splashing sound spread in all directions. Every single snake dropped to the floor, bodies were limp and painful, as if the strength of their fleshy bodies were rapidly disappearing.

Following the spread of the mist, all of the snakes in the cave, including the Blood God Snakes, quickly became like this. After seeing that the situation was under control, Naruto let out a long sigh of relief in his heart. Regarding the Dao of Medicine, he already had reverence in his heart, but he had an even greater sense of pride that he managed to control and fix this situation.

"Finally…" Naruto took a deep breath, muttering to himself. However, before he finished speaking, he suddenly jumped up, pointing at a Tributyl Snake. His eyes showed horror and disbelief as an inconceivable expression emerged on his face.

"This...This…"

That Tributyl Snake, at this moment, violently twisted. Its forehead swelled up, and a horn began to grow in a speed visible to the naked eye!"

"The snake grew a horn!" Naruto involuntarily cried out. His mind instantly buzzed and waves were stirred up in his mind. All of the snakes in the area violently twisted, and it could be imagined that if they could hiss, they would definitely be releasing a heaven shaking hiss at this moment.

Quickly, each snakes grew out a horn! Even the strength of their bodies unexp

ectedly rose again.

If they merely grew horns it wouldn't be anything much. However, following the growth of these horns, these snakes unexpectedly began to rampage again, as if the surpressing medicine used earlier was ineffective. The snakes madly jumped up and down, rushing towards the rock walls and smashing their heads into it. There were also many snakes that would drill themselves in holes the moment they saw one.

If the hole was too small they would even shrink their body to fit in. This was even more true for the Blood God Snakes.

Another snake, which had a head that was one zhang long, suddenly shook as a long horn grew out of its head. Although it wasn't sharp, this horn, which could fill one's entire vision, made Naruto take a deep breath; he felt as though he was going insane. This was also because he dicovered that through testing, these snakes were completely impervious to any weapons.

In the interior of the snake cave, every snake in turmoil began to rampage as they began colliding against each other. They dug fiercely into every visible hole. If there weren't any holes, the horns on their heads seemed to have possesed some kind of magical power that helped them open up a passage, and they all charged outside from the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley!

Although the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley was in the valley behind the Scented Cloud Mountain, under this rampage, the snakes all dispersed without any aim. Many snakes directly dug underground to go to the Purple Cauldron Mountain and the Green Peak Mountain.

The remaning 30% directly went to the Scented Cloud Mountain.

It could be imagined that, at this moment, the interior walls of the three mountains were being struck by countless snakes that had their mouths sealed. They madly charged at the walls with extremely fast speed, digging through all holes they could find, spreading throughout the three mountains of the South Bank.

Plop!

Naruto fell on to the ground, looking at the space in front of him.

"This… It's all over…"

Within a small amount of time, from within the cracks the snakes made in the walls of the South Bank's three mountains, the snakes popped out from the soil on the ground. Those snakes, which had horns on their heads and bulging eyeballs, madly twisted as they immediately stunned all the disciples of the three mountains of the South Bank. The entire South Bank, which was at peace for many years until today, once again burst out in an uproar as cries of anger echoed out.

On the Green Peak Mountain, outside the Spirit Sword Hall, there were currently over a thousand disciples standing in a circle and cheering, watching the disciples on the fighting stage participating in a small competition. It could be seen that one disciple was currently winning, and was just about to acheive victory. However, a horn suddenly appeared on the floor of the fighting stage, and a Flower Eyed Snake dug its way out. Everyone present was shocked; this Flower Eyed Snake which could not open its mouth suddenly drilled into the trousers of the winning disciple.

This disciple let out a screech, and when he jumped, everyone else also screeched; during the commotion, countless horned snakes drilled their way out of the ground at high speed, and upon seeing a hole… they would immediately drill through it.

"What is this?! I actually can't slap it away!"

"Heavens, these snakes… Where did these snakes come from? They actually have horns!"

"Damn it! What's going on... WHAT'S GOING ON?! My magical treasure can't actually break the defense of these snakes!"

At the same time, at the peak of the Green Peak Mountain, in the residential area of the inner sect disciples, inside a cave, there was a veteran inner sect disciple that was currently sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, meditating. Suddenly, his eyes opened, revealing an obscure expression. Following that... he let out a blood-curdling shriek.

"Aaaaahhhhh! What is this?!"

"Snake! A snake drilled out from the ground!"

These kinds of screams were similarly let out by many disciples inside their immortal caves. In Shangguan Tianyou's cave, a blood-curdling shriek also echoed out. However, it was even worse than the others, as if something had touched a scar in his heart, making his roar even more intense.

Over the residential area of the outer sect disciples, countless disciples were also dumbstruck by the appearance of these snakes. An Elder of the Green Peak Mountain was stunned, and even the old Ancestor of the Green Peak Mountain flew out and looked at the horned snakes that appeared all over the Green Peak Mountain with shock.

The same thing happened over at the Purple Cauldron Mountain. With countless disciples roaring, the waves of techniques unleashed spread in all directions. However, the snakes were barely affected and continued digging holes just as before...

Zabuza had thunder surrounding his body, and when he was roaring, he grabbed a horned snake which had drilled into the crotch area of his trousers, planning to crush it to death. However, he discovered that he did not have the capability to do so.

"What happened? Damn it! Why are there so many snakes?!"

"Something's wrong... Something's wrong!"

The roars from the Purple Cauldron Mountain quickly shook the heavens and earth. The Green Peak Mountain was also the same. Xu Meixiang was burning with rage that could overflow the heavens, as her fierce shouts spread in all directions.

"Investigate... Clearly investigate this incident for me. What the hell is happening!"

This also happened in the Scented Cloud Mountain, where there were screams that could overflow the heavens at this very moment. Xu Baocai was shrieking, running at top speed. Kurenai opened her eyes widely, flying high in the air with fear lingering in her heart,

Ino and Hou Yunfei also ran out at high speed. There were also many disciples who had undescribable anger, releasing their strongest techniques at the moment. It was good that the Scented Cloud Mountain was famous for plants, and many disciples were able to take out pills. Although these pills had ordinary effects, they could be used to chase away some of the horned snakes.

As a result, even more horned snakes once again dug a hole to the Green Peak Mountain and the Purple Cauldron Mountain after they were chased away...

"What in the world is happening? Dammit... Why is this happening?!"

"Is this a natural disaster? After Naruto was sent to the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley as a punishment, it's always been peaceful in the South Bank, why… En? Ten Thousand Snakes Valley! Naruto is in the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley!"

In the moment when people seemed to have thought about something, a rabbit that suddenly appeared from god knows where erected its ears and ran out, as if it had been listening for a very long time. It started running between the South Bank's three mountains, shouting. It's voice was extremely loud and it spread in all directions.

"Heavens, my butt!"

"Damn it, I'm going to beat this snake to death!"

"Ahhh, how can I, Xu Baocai, meet people in the future!"

"You evil snake, come out right now. I am a disciple of the inner sect, the Heaven's Chosen of the Green Peak Mountain. It is impossible for you and I, Shangguan Tianyou, to exist together…"

"What a good snake, if I, Zabuza can become a snake, then I will… hehe…"

"Li Qing Snake... Black Hearted Li, you throw your Grandfather Uzumaki in here... thinking that Grandfather Uzumaki can't handle these small snakes? Just wait till I refine this pill, and see how I take care of these snakes! Hehe.. maybe I can control these snakes in the future, shaking Heaven and Earth! Hahahaha!" Various sounds were spoken by the rabbit's mouth, with extremely fast speed. When it ran around the three mountains, every disciple who heard the last sentence that was uttered by the rabbit went mad.

[ED Note: Li Qing Snake is a play of Toruho's name into Li Qingshe,

(李青蛇) which can be directly translated as Plum (Li) Green or Blue

(Qing) Snake (she)]

"Naruto!"

"Goddamned Naruto!"

"So, he's the one who did it... It's him who ordered these snakes to get revenge on us!"

Especially Shangguan Tianyou and Zabuza who released a roar that could shake the heavens and earth. At this moment, the three mountains were driven mad, and this level of madness exceeded their wrath during the occurence of the acid rain in the past.

Toruho looked around him, his eyes revealing a glimpse of blankness. Scenes of what Naruto did after entering the sect appeared in his mind.

When he was a handyman, he was selling slots to become an outer sect disciple, which made countless people mad. The entire handyman department was thrown into a mess, and was damaged because of him.

After he became an outer sect disciple, the Spirit Tailed Chickens became miserable, Elder Zhou's also bird became miserable... countless disciples became miserable, and the entire Scented Cloud Mountain experienced a disaster because of him.

After he became an inner sect disciple, thunder roared and the whole Scented Cloud Mountain was thrown into chaos. He made countless strange small beasts cover everything, and that acid rain… It could be said that the three mountains suffered because of him.

But Toruho had never thought that this Naruto would've been even more excessive after he threw him into the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley… He didn't even let the snakes off, and he actually damaged the entire Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, harming the entire South Bank.

At this moment, Toruho suddenly thought about that year when he brought Naruto up the hill; all of the villagers below the hill had been crying tears of joy, and cheering...

He now understood why the villagers were so happy…

Chapter 115 Chapter 115

Chapter 115 - No! Don't Spread It Out…

Within the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, not a single snake remained; only Naruto was left who stood in a daze within the formation array. Glancing at the bare and empty surroundings, a shiver ran down Naruto's body. "BOOM!" Countless rocks began to fall. With a piercing scream, Naruto hastily dashed out and retreated anxiously through the exit.

His scalp became numb and his heart palpitated wildly; this time, he knew clearly that… he had created a huge mess. Each time he recalled the moment all the snakes of Ten Thousand Snakes Valley had all escaped, his heart felt as if it was bursting out from his chest.

"It's over, it's over, it's all over…" Naruto was on the verge of tears. He quickly ran out of the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley and the moment he came out, he immediately heard countless howls of anger that resounded from the three mountains of the South Bank. He could even vaguely hear his own name from within those shouts.

Naruto forcefully grabbed onto his hair in exasperation; he felt that he was extremely innocent and had never been more indignant.

"I really didn't mean it… I only… only wanted to let those snakes be a little bit more cuter." Naruto had a depressed expression on his face. Along the way, his heart palpitated wildly; if he could disguise his face right now, he would definitely do it without any hesitation, simply because of the fact that he was terrified if someone would recognise him.

"What should I do? What should I do… There's no choice, I can only hide in my Master's stone cave for the time being. At that place, there shouldn't be anyone who would be able to find me…" Naruto clenched his teeth and muttered under his breath. From his storage pouch, he took out a new set of clothes and quickly put it over his head. The wings on his back furiously flapped as he used his utmost speed and flew straight for the Zhong Dao Mountain.

As of this moment, chaos enveloped the three mountains as cries filled the air. Currently, Naruto felt regret because he was too famous in the sect after all these years; his fame has reached the point where anyone could recognise him. The only thing Naruto was able to do was lower his head and proceed as quickly as possible. Along the way, he not only unleashed his fastest speed, he also hid at the slightest movement of the grass that was blown by the wind.

Fortunately, it was currently a chaotic period and most people had no time to pay attention to their surroundings as they were all busy dodging the Horned Snakes. Along the way, Naruto witnessed the angry cries and rage of the people which caused his heart to shiver uncontrollably. Taking advantage of the chaos, he hastily ran up the Zhong Dao Mountain. The moment he reached his destination, he let out a sigh of relief. Naruto hesitated as he turned his head and took a glance before once again, lowering his head and sprinting straight towards the back mountain of the Zhong Dao Mountain, reaching the stone cave where his master had passed away in.

To anyone else, this place was a forbidden ground, however, for Naruto, he was extremely familiar with this place as if it was the back of his hand. In a flash, he dashed in and sat before his master's portrait; it was as if he was on the verge of tears.

"I really didn't mean it… Master, you know me right, Naruto is a good person." Naruto looked pitifully at portrait, at his master whose face wore a light smile with an aura and features of an immortal.

At the same time, all the elders of the South Bank's three mountains all s

prang into action; Toruho and Xu Meixiang, and even the ancestor of the Green Peak Mountain had also appeared. With their teamwork, they finally removed the countless of Horned Snakes, and the whole snake disaster slowly died down.

As the Foundation Establishment cultivators were controlling the snake disaster, the disciples of the three mountains all charged madly into the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley. A force of tens of thousands of people charged in with a mighty aura, but the moment they saw that the place had collapsed, and there wasn't a trace of Naruto, they all started to search the entire South Bank.

This was an independent, spontaneous action; it was the only action that every single South Bank disciple was currently doing. Luckily, Naruto quickly reacted and escaped; if he had delayed any further, he would have definitely been caught.

"Beat down Naruto!"

"And that Parrot Rabbit, it must also be destroyed!"

"Beat down Naruto! Beat down the Parrot Rabbit!"

After searching for numerous hours, they had almost turned the entire place over, but they still failed to find Naruto. One by one, the eyes of the disciples were turning blood shot; some of them even went out of the sect and expanded their search outside. A few of those who were short-tempered irritably screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Naruto, we will definitely find you!"

"Even if you are hiding at the edge of the sky or the corner of the ocean, we will still find you!"

"Goddammit, just where is he hiding?!" Countless of people shouted in frustration. Their voices echoed throughout the surroundings; even Naruto who was hiding in the Zhong Dao Mountain could vaguely hear the voices in the distance, causing his heart to tremble.

"I was also wronged; it's all the fault of that damned rabbit, I… I… I also did not want it to turn out this way." Naruto was anxious as he repeatedly sighed. After waiting for a long time, when he finally heard that the voices from outside had weakened, he lifted his head to look at his master's portrait as his heart skipped a beat.

"Master, you have to pray for me that I do not get found by those bad people…" Naruto quickly kowtowed; every once in awhile, he would anxiously glance at the cave entrance. When the voices outside had weakened even further, he then slowly let out a sigh.

"It's a good thing that I, Naruto is smart, no one would ever think that I am hiding in my Master's stone cave."

"But this is not a solution either, I would eventually have to go out… What should I do, what should I do?" just as Naruto was cracking his brains over this, he suddenly felt a gaze watching him. With a shock, he immediately turned his head, only to see, to his horror, at the position of the cave entrance, there currently stood…with ears erected and looking at him, it was the mysterious and elusive Parrot Rabbit.

At the instant that he saw this rabbit, Naruto suddenly widened his eyes. He could not imagine that this rabbit was elusive to this extent, that it could even enter the forbidden area. Very quickly, Naruto immediately remembered the words that he had just muttered. Instantly, he could feel every hair on his body standing on its end as he immediately let out a tragic cry.

"No! Don't spread it out…"

The moment the rabbit saw Naruto, it disappeared with a swoosh. In the distance, it pulled the vocals of its voice and started broadcasting once again, other than those sentences, it had now added a few more sentences.

"Master, you have to pray for me that I do not get found by those bad people…"

"It's a good thing that I, Naruto is smart, no one would ever think that I am hiding in my Master's stone cave."

"But this is not a solution either, I would eventually have to go out…

What should I do, what should I do?"

"No! Don't spread it out…"

Naruto felt as though he was struck by a bolt of lightning; he watched blankly as the rabbit rapidly dashed off into the distance; the piercing voice of the rabbit continuously echoed in his ears. He felt as if his mind had been blown into a million pieces as he stood there in a daze.

"Goddamn rabbit, I want to boil you alive!" Naruto howled with rage as emotions of despair and anger filled him, he felt like crying yet no tears seems to come out.

At this moment, the disciples of each mountain on the South Bank had searched almost everywhere, but they could not find a single trace of Naruto. Each of them suppressed their raging anger and tried to speculate where Naruto had went.

"Just where is this Naruto hiding, we even checked the sect's entrance, there was no records of him leaving, this means that he is still hiding in the South Bank!"

"Scented Cloud Mountain, Green Peak Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain. We checked everywhere, every area, every house, every cave!"

"We even searched through the Handyman Area a few times. This Naruto, don't tell me he is hiding in a crack!"

Just as they tried to suppressed their anger, all of the sudden, the mimicry voice of the rabbit, accompanied by the quick sprinting along the road, echoed throughout the surroundings. Especially the very last sentence, it was filled with tragic despair.

"No! Don't spread it out…"

Everyone was stunned for a moment as they heard that, they quickly lifted up their heads with gazes that shone brightly, especially for Shangguan Tianyou and Zabuza. They clenched their fists and cracked their knuckles. Following closely, every single disciples cocked their heads and laughed out loud heartily.

"Good rabbit!"

"Although this Parrot Rabbit is mischievous, it had still finally done a good deed!"

"Forget it, we shall spare this Parrot Rabbit just for today and slay Uzumaki

Naruto instead…"

In no time, tens of thousands of people charged towards the Zhong Dao Mountain; each one of them cracking their knuckles, boiling with killing intent and moving forward without hesitation.

Within the stone cave, the hatred that Naruto had for the Parrot Rabbit has far exceeded that of Elder Zhou's bird. At this moment, his body was trembling. He was just about to escape, but when he heard the raucous at the bottom of the mountain and saw the silhouettes of countless of people, his scalp had gone numb as he quickly hid himself back inside the stone cave.

"Over, it's over, it's over…" Naruto looked at his master's portrait with a gloomy expression and spoke with grief and indignation.

"Master, can't you old man help me this once, quickly descend some spirit light, if not… this Honourable Disciple that had bled for the sect will be beaten to death… eh?" Just as Naruto was wallowing in his despair, his pupils turned all of the sudden to look closely at the portrait. Instantly, his eyes shone with a bright radiance as he slapped on his thigh in enlightenment.

"Haha, thank you Master for your reminder, your disciple understands!"

At the same time, on the Zhong Dao Mountain, Sect Head Zheng Yuandong, with all the other ancestors and elders from the South Bank's three mountains, were all gathered in the great hall. All of them had grave expressions on their faces as they look towards Zheng Yuandong with a serious gaze.

They had been here for two hours already, and they had all opened their mouths and talked to Zheng Yuandong, each expressing their thoughts about Naruto.

"I beseech the Sect Head to reconsider, Uzumaki… Junior Brother Uzumaki has unprecedented talent, to leave him in our South Bank is really burying this gem."

"That's right, even though Junior Brother Uzumaki is the Sect Head's junior brother, but we are after all sect mates, there is no need to avoid arousing suspicions; such a talented cultivator should definitely be put in the North Bank who possesses countless of advantages, it is only then could Junior Brother Uzumaki's shocking talent would be brought to its fullest potential."

Other than the ancestors of the three mountains, all the elders present said their piece.

Zheng Yuandong felt his head ache badly. With great difficulty, the Spirit River Sect had achieved a hard-earned peace during these two years, but he could have never Naruto to pop out and create another huge mess. This time, during the breakout of the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, even Zheng Yuandong felt his heart tremble when he witnessed every single scene. With regards to Naruto's destructive ability, he had completely admitted defeat.

As for such a character, deep in his heart, he thought to just continue leaving him in the South Bank. After all, Naruto was originally a disciple of the South Bank. Moreover, the South Bank had already ended up in this state; to continue creating any mess couldn't possibly make it any worse. It was better not to throw him to the North Bank. Iif Naruto also did such things in North Bank… then the people that would come looking for him in the future, would probably be all the elders and ancestors from both the North Bank and the South Bank. "Although Junior Brother Uzumaki might be mischievous, he is still an Honourable Disciple. Cough! Cough! Also, he is still young, just leave him in the South Bank. I have confidence in the South Bank." Zheng Yuandong gave a dry cough as he quickly opened his mouth to reply.

"I beg you Sect Head to show mercy…" Within the crowd, Elder Zhou walked out, his eyes tinged red as he looked towards Zheng Yuandong.

"Sect Head, Naruto, this boy, is learning the Water Nation at the moment, I believe you know about this technique; one can only observe the various beasts by going to the North Bank. Moreover, not many people have mastered this skill for over ten thousand years; I have personally seen before that Naruto has already broken through the first step and only lacks a Life Spirit. It's better… to let him go to the Northern Bank."

"That's right, Sect Head. Naruto is cultivating the Water Nation technique, and is the Heaven's Chosen of his generation. Looking through the history of our Spirit River Sect, this is not an easy matter!"

"Sect Head, you should not delay Junior Brother Uzumaki any further. This will be the greatest loss of all our Sect's ten thousand years of history!" The old man, who was the ancestor of the Green Peak Mountain, quickly opened his mouth. Following closely, the surrounding elders also joined in.

Seeing the determination of their eyes, even Zheng Yuandong could insist no longer. After a moment of hesitation, he laughed bitterly as he looked at the rest; he was just thinking of a way to politely reject them, when all of the sudden, from outside the great hall, a disciple's voice resounded in.

"Sect Head, something big has happened… Senior Uncle Uzumaki, he is in the old patriarch's stone cave… He… He…"

Everyone was stunned for a moment as they each spread out their divine sense to look towards the place of the stone cave. When they finally saw what was going on, all of their expressions turned weird. Zheng Yuandong felt an ominous feeling looming as he immediately swept the area with his divine sense. When he saw his master's stone cave, his eyes suddenly widened and his pupils almost popped out. His entire body trembled as he felt anger boil from his heart.

"This little bastard, alright, the matters that you people said, this old man here is agreeing to it. Send him to the North Bank!"

1st sponsored chapter from last week. Special thanks to Saurabh B. for sponsoring this chapter.

Translator: Xin

Editors: Arch, MantouInv, Cannibaloid, Jin

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 116 Chapter 116

Chapter 116 - The Old Patriarch's Sudden Appearance!

At Zhong Dao Mountain, tens of thousands of disciples surrounded the cave of Naruto's Master; even though this was a forbidden area, they could not endure any longer. With furious gazes, they charged in.

"Naruto, show yourself!"

"Get out here!"

"Naruto, your evil acts and sins know no bounds. If the heavens doesn't punish you today, then we will do it on its behalf!" The crowd rushed into the forbidden area and looked towards the stone cave which lay within the forbidden area; this was exactly the place where Naruto's Master had passed away.

However, as their words echoed through the air, a low voice abruptly echoed from within the cave of Naruto's Master.

"Silence!"

The voice was exceptionally loud; it was the consolidation of Naruto's entire cultivation. Utilising all of his strength, Naruto roared; his voice resounded throughout the surrounding like a boom of thunder, overpowering the crowd's noise.

At the same time, Naruto's skinny figure slowly walked out from within the stone cave with a serious expression.

As he walked out, all the disciples present lifted up their arms; each of them held stones in their hand, preparing to throw it towards Naruto. However, at this moment, Naruto lifted his right hand, and with a ruffling sound, a portrait appeared within his hand and instantly opened up in front of his body.

Within that portrait, was his Master… and also Zheng Yuandong's Master — Spirit Creek's Sect previous generation's Patriarch!

"Outrageous!" Naruto aggressively roared, his voice almost being a high screech.

"Whoever dares to destroy my Master's portrait, I, Naruto, and my Senior Brother Sect Head will fight him with all that we have!" Naruto howled angrily as he lifted the portrait and hid his body behind it. The moment the disciples saw this scene, their bodies all stiffened as they all sucked in a deep breath; for some reason, they no longer dared to allow the stones leave their hands anymore.

That portrait was of the previous generation's old Patriarch; it was the Master of the Sect Head. If they were to somehow cause damage to it...

they could imagine the Sect Head Zheng Yuandong's rage, and this wasn't something that the ancestors of each peak could stop.

"Shameless!" the crowd swallowed their anger and shouted. They were all on the verge of mutiny as they screamed angrily, but none of them dared to make a move.

Once Naruto saw that his method was working, he immediately let out a sigh of relief. He held the portrait up and helplessly glanced at the crowd.

"Listen to me guys... I really didn't do it intentionally! I…"

"You... you... you! Each and every single time, you always say you didn't do it intentionally! The time during the lightning at Scented Cloud

Mountain, you said it wasn't on purpose. The acid rain on Purple Cauldron Mountain and Green Peak Mountain, you also said it wasn't on purpose. Now... you are saying it's not on purpose again!"

"This is too much!" It would've been better if Naruto had not explained anything. Because of his explanation, the crowd was, once again, riled up, causing Naruto to quickly raise up his portrait in fear.

"My Master visited me in my dream just now. The old man already sai

d that he forgives me this time round. I promise, this will be the last time. There will never ever be a second time…" Naruto loudly declared. While he felt nervous deep inside his heart, he also felt deeply apologetic.

"I can't take it anymore... I want to beat him up!"

"Even if he is the biological son of the Sect Head, I would still give him a solid beating!"

"Beat down Naruto!" Hearing Naruto shamelessly talk about his dead Master visiting in his dreams, the crowd felt as if they were on the brink of insanity. Suddenly, a wave of a Foundation Establishment divine sense swept across the area.

Following the divine sense, silhouette after silhouettes of people rapidly surged into the area from above the Zhong Dao Mountain. The silhouettes began to descend before revealing a huge number of people; various mountain elders, ancestors and even the Sect Head, Zheng Yuandong, had all appeared!

Gazing at the present situation, Zheng Yuandong roared furiously as if a thunderstorm had just descended on this area.

"ALL OF YOU BETTER LEAVE RIGHT NOW!"

His voice rumbled as if it was thunder, almost causing the eardrums of the surrounding disciples to burst. The crowd all felt their hearts shiver; even Shangguan Tianyou and the other disciples felt their hearts tremble. All the disciples present hastily bowed their heads and hastily retreated.

Naruto instantly felt enthusiastic. He was just about to open his mouth when Zheng Yuandong looked at him with a vicious glare.

"Naruto... as your Senior Brother, if other people cannot beat you up, then I shall do it myself!" While Zheng Yuandong spoke, he walked towards Naruto. Naruto felt as if his scalp was about to burst. He was preparing to raise his Master's portrait higher when Zheng Yuandong waved his sleeve and the portrait immediately left Naruto's hands, flying towards Zheng Yuandong.

Naruto shrieked as he flapped the wings on his back as he hastily flew off, anxiously trying to escape. However, he was unable to go a long distance before a loud smack echoed from his butt as he was slapped from afar by Zheng Yuandong.

The burning sensation caused Naruto cry out in pain. He grabbed his butt with a pitiful face and cried out tragically.

"Uncle Li! Save me! My Senior Brother is trying to kill me!"

Toruho eyelids twitched for a moment as he pretended not to hear

Naruto. Zheng Yuandong anger had not appeased one bit; Naruto taking out his Master's portrait had angered him to the point where smoke seemed to be coming out from his ears. Zheng Yuandong gave Naruto another kick.

Naruto cried out in pain once again, and continued wailing.

"Master save me! Master save me!"

As the surrounding people all witnessed Zheng Yuandong chasing Naruto and beating him up, their anger slowly dissipated; the various mountain elders also had weird expression on their faces as they all started coughing.

"This is private family business of the Sect Head's bloodline..."

"That's right, that's right. I still have a furnace of pill medicine waiting for me; I shall take my leave first." The elders all glanced towards Zheng Yuandong and Naruto in the distance and gradually left one by one with a hint of joy.

In the end, only Toruho and Xu Meixiang were left as they stood in the air. Gazing at Naruto's distant figure, Toruho's face had a hint of lament, however, deep within his gaze, there was also a glint of expectation for Naruto.

"In this child's heart, he already looks up to you as a father figure. Can you really bear to send him to the North Bank?" Xu Meixiang slightly opened her mouth and spoke as she stared at Toruho, revealing a gentle and loving gaze.

"The things which Naruto had done, although unacceptable, didn't have any malicious intention. He's good-natured, and I was able see that, deep in his heart, he feels guilt for this incident… There isn't any need to send him to the North Bank."

Toruho retracted his gaze, looked towards Xu Meixiang and shook his head with a smile.

"The words that I said to the Sect Head were my honest thoughts from the bottom of my heart. In fact, back when I demanded the Water Nation technique from North Bank, I already had this idea. Naruto's talent isn't ordinary; if he is able to combine the advantages of both banks, it will definitely be beneficial for his future. Especially if he masters the Water Nation Technique; within a few years, he could cultivate to the peak of Chakra Condensation. If this situation were to occur, then he have a possibility to participate in the opening of the Meteor Sword Abyss and also fight for his own opportunities!" Toruho gently opened his mouth as he spoke.

"Meteor Sword Abyss? The Lower Stream of Tongtian River Eastern Vein, one of the three great Foundation Establishment sanctuaries shared by the four great sects… There is even a rumour that there exists a strand of Heaven Pulse Chakra inside it. Every time it opens, the disciples at the tenth level of Chakra Condensation of the Eastern Vein's lower stream's four strongest sects from the four great states - The Blood Creek Sect, The Pill Creek Sect, The Mystic Creek Sect and us, The Spirit Creek Sect - will be embroiled in a bloody battle..." Xu Meixiang's face lit up in surprise as she took a deep breath.

"It will indeed be a bloody battle… If he had not learned the Water Nation Technique, I would definitely prevent him from going. However, if he does master it... then he will definitely have to go. Cultivation is a cruel and merciless path; it is the survival of the fittest. He will have to learn to face this fact and he cannot avoid it." Toruho lightly sighed as he turned around and left together with Xu Meixiang.

On this day, the tragic cries of Naruto echoed throughout the entire sect. Zheng Yuandong had resolved to teach Naruto a lesson, not with his status as a Sect Head, but rather with his position of a senior brother.

It wasn't until late into the night when Naruto, with a bruised and swollen face, walked behind Zheng Yuandong with an agonized expression and returned to their Master's stone cave.

"Get on your knees and admit your wrongdoings to Master!" Zheng Yuandong glared at Naruto, causing him to quickly drop to his knees in front of the portrait.

"Master, I was wrong…" Naruto could feel his entire body swelling up, especially his butt. It looked almost as if a chrysanthemum that was blooming!

"Master, seeing your own disciple being beaten up to this state, you must really feel hurt in your heart. I had already told Senior Brother that... you came to visit me in my dreams today and had already forgiven me, but he doesn't believe it…"

"Master... why don't you visit Senior Brother in his dreams tonight too, tell him…" Naruto muttered softly with a gloomy expression. Zheng Yuandong did not know whether to laugh or cry as he stood beside Naruto. Even though he had given Naruto a good beating, he was still extremely shocked by the thickness of Naruto's skin and muscles. Even now, he was able to feel a lingering pain in his hands.

"Kneel here for three months as your punishment for the chaos in the

Ten Thousand Snake Valley!" Zheng Yuandong coldly snorted; he was forced to do this, this was for the disciples of the three mountains to see. He suddenly waved his sleeve and a pill medicine dropped onto the ground. He pretended to not see it as he turned around and left.

Watching Zheng Yuandong leave, Naruto immediately began whining. He was about to complain to his Master when he suddenly stopped to check his surroundings. After making sure that the elusive rabbit wasn't in the area, he then finally poured his indignance to the portrait.

"Master, I'm really miserable…"

"Senior Brother, he hit me… now my butt really hurts. Look at this! Look at this! My entire body is swollen!"

"I was wronged. I really didn't mean to do it intentionally… I also didn't… eh?" Naruto stopped speaking halfway, he suddenly noticed the pill medicine on the ground. It was the one that Zheng Yuandong had 'accidentally' dropped onto the ground. Naruto picked it up and gave it a sniff.

"Grade 3 superior quality Yang Yun Pill!"

Naruto eyes instantly brightened. He took a glance outside the cave and sat to one side. Feeling bored, he swallowed the pill medicine and started to concentrate on his cultivation.

At the same time, all of the disciples of Spirit Creek Sect, including the various ancestors, none of them noticed, that at this instant, the empty space of land behind the Zhong Dao Mountain suddenly distorted for a moment.

However, this distortion was extremely fast and it disappeared in the blink of an eye. Right at this moment, one was vaguely able to see that at the place of distortion, it seemed as if behind the Zhong Dao Mountain… another mountain had appeared!

This was… Spirit Creek Sect's ninth mountain! Although the Sect Head knew of the existence of the ninth mountain, he similarly did not notice the distortion or any abnormalities.

Spirit Creek Sect's ninth mountain… it was a completely pitch black mountain and was shrouded by an unnerving silence. Even all of its plants and trees were black in color. On the highest peak of the ninth mountain, under a black colored peach tree, there was a monkey quietly sitting there and gazing at the peach tree; its eyes revealing complicated emotions and nostalgia.

If Naruto was here, he would definitely recognise, with a glance, that this monkey… was the one that he had previously released! It was the monkey who liked to ponder after eating the weird pill medicine!

After a long period of time, the monkey let out a soft sigh.

"Since you are already here, why bother to hide yourself?"

The moment those words left its mouth, the space behind him immediately distorted and a tall and sturdy elderly man who wore a long purple robe walked out; he seemed as if he had just tore through the space! The elderly man looked as if he was an ordinary old man. It was as if he had no cultivation strength either, but for some reason, although he was simply standing there, he was as if a supreme being.

Standing beside the monkey, the elderly man was unable to control his expression of surprise. A crack suddenly appeared in the center of his forehead and revealed a third eye that looked at the monkey.

"You are…?"

"Can you no longer recognise me anymore? My disciple, or should I call you, Spirit Creek Sect's First Generation Patriarch?" The monkey turned his head and stared at the elderly man, his gaze revealing the vicissitudes of life.

The elderly man's heart trembled wildly as his pupils instantly contracted, his breaths became short as shock and disbelief was written all over his face.

"Impossible! You… you are already dead! How did you come back to life?!" This elderly man was indeed the First Generation Patriarch that had brought Spirit Creek Sect to its position as one of the four great sects today.

He could not believe it! His position, his cultivation, his composure, at this moment. it all seem to not exist anymore. However, he subconsciously believed that the other party was indeed his mysterious Master who had died ten thousand years ago. This kind of belief which came from the soul would never be wrong.

The monkey was silent, it gazed towards the direction of the Zhong Dao

Mountain. He seemed to be able to look through the Zhong Dao Mountain and was able to see Naruto who was currently meditating within the cave on the mountain. No one had noticed it, however, at that moment, deep inside the monkey's gaze, there hid a… rarely seen feeling of respect.

"I have no idea how I came back, perhaps it was Naruto... that kid's pill medicine, or perhaps… some existence out there, through the hands of Naruto, allowed me to… return."

"And those who came back... wasn't just me alone."

The purple robed elderly man breathing became rapid, he followed the monkey's gaze and glanced at Zhong Dao Mountain and Naruto who was there.

"A mere Chakra Condensation disciple... How is that possible?!" The elderly man was in disbelief, but everything was happening right before his eyes, forcing him to believe it even if he did not want to.

"Han Zong! Do you still remember why I gave you this name?! Do you still remember that year? Why did I go against the heavens to change fate? To let you exist for ten thousand years?! Answer me!" The monkey abruptly let out a sharp and radiant glint in his eyes that gave out immense pressure. The surrounding space at this moment seemed to have turned into a thunderstorm. For some reason, just ten zhang away from these two people, every single abnormality that happened, could not be observed by anyone; even the other old Patriarchs on the ninth mountain did not notice anything.

The purple robed elderly man, Spirit Creek Sect's first generation old Patriarch, Han Zong, stood petrified. Although it had been a long time, memories from 10,000 years ago surfaced inside Han Zong's mind. Although he was an old man, in front of his Master, he felt as if he had returned to his younger days; he stood up straight as his aged face flushed red, as if he was a veteran soldier, loudly shouted.

"I remember... My mission is to protect the True Spirit, to lead the Spirit Creek Sect to become Heaven Passing River's Eastern Vein's middle stream sect, to become an upper stream sect, to kill our way into the Heaven Passing Northern Vein and eliminate the Northern Vein's upper stream sect, Nine Heavens Thunder Cloud Sect, to return to our

Ancestral Grounds, and to restore the glory of our Cold Sect's Spirit Dao!"

"You still remember the Ancestral Grounds and the True Spirit? Then go take a look for yourself, at the talismans of Scented Cloud Mountain!" The monkey's eyes revealed a deep mysterious look as he replied blandly. Han Zong immediately turned to look at the Scented Cloud Mountain.

With one look, he immediately frowned. In his eyes, the entire Spirit Creek Sect's eight mountains came into his view, every mountain peak had an inner door that kept a complicated and exquisite talisman inscription. This was where the Lifeline of Spirit Creek Sect lied; its importance could not be described with words alone.

As for Scented Cloud Mountain's runes, he did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

Seeing that from Han Zong, the monkey sighed lightly, the gaze in his eyes aged even more.

"Do you not see it…? It seems like my time of return is too late. Someone had already returned before me, understood this formation array completely, and simply sent out a spy to change the variety of the plants slightly. With that, one could make this formation array… change."

"The Ancient Talisman beneath Scented Cloud Mountain has already been changed, and I do not have the power to forcefully reverse this change. I can only use the last strand of power that I had when I returned to activate the Spirit Snake through the hands of that child, Naruto. Only then will the rune recover naturally."

Translator: Xin

Editors: Arch, MantouInv, Cannibaloid, Jin

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 117 Chapter 117

Chapter 117 - The Hanmen Medical Book!

"The hardest part about destroying the talismans of the Scented Cloud

Mountain is the planning necessary to modify it without anyone noticing. However, the moment they make a move, all they need is a suitable method. Even if it's just a Chakra Condensation disciple, as long as they get into the Scented Cloud Mountain and have a bit of time, they can slowly complete the modifications. The destruction of the talisman has been done over a period of time! The South Bank definitely has a traitor!" The old monkey spoke grieviously.

A hint of coldness appeared within Han Zong's eyes. He knew that destroying the Scented Cloud Mountain was easy, but restoring it was hard. For example, a child could easily destroy a flower vase, but an expert would be needed to restore it. Therefore, the two things could not be mentioned in the same breath!

"A traitor…" As Han Zong muttered to himself, he raised his right hand and made a grasping motion towards the Zhong Dao Mountain. After a short moment, a jade slip quickly flew over and landed in his palm. The jade slip contained records of each event that had happened within the sect during the past fifteen years. He glanced at the jade slip, and he even saw records of what happened after Naruto entered the sect, including the thunder incident, the acid rain incident, the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley incident, and the strange phenomenon that occured whenever he refined pills.

After viewing the jade slip, Han Zong's expression gradually turned strange. From his point of view, Naruto was detrimental towards the sect… However, his eyes suddenly flashed.

"This child's pill refining… appears to contain a demonic attribute!"

"There exist a myriad of different ways to traverse the Dao of Medicine, every person have different methods. Perhaps Naruto… Fine, give him River Reversing Pill Recipe and the Hanmen Medical Book. Perhaps in his hands, the River Reversing Pill… Can be refined in the future…" the monkey lightly muttered.

Han Zong's eyes contracted. There were countless people in the Spirit Creek Sect who attempted to refine the River Reversing Pill, however, not a single person was able to successfully refine it. The Spirit Creek Sect even had to find the Pill Creek Sect and painstakingly offered an immense price for them to refine it. But even for the Pill River Sect, it was also incredibly hard to refine.

This River Reversing Pill had already became a legend. If it were not for the Spirit Creek Sect currently possessing one, Han Zong would have definitely believed that this was an unrefinable pill. And this pill's only function was to… awaken the True Spirit! It could awaken the True Spirit for ten breaths worth of time!

And that Hanmen Medical Book was even one of the three great foundational inheritances from that year's Hanmen Spiritual School. It recorded Tongtian's Dao of Medicine, and it is rumoured that it came from the world beyond the heavens.

"Pill refining that contains a demonic attribute, but that River Reversing Pill in itself is a pill that comes from a demonic sect. Perhaps… It is not impossible!" After Han Zong muttered to himself, he nodded his head and asked, "Master, your cultivation is…"

"It's extremely difficult to recover my cultivation and it also requires time. Even if it returns... I have to wait for a few more years no matter what. With my own eyes, I want to see... the destruction of the Nine Heavens Cloud Thunder sect!" Hatred clouded the monkey's eyes. When his whole sect was exterminated countless of time ago, only him and a few others managed to escape. Narrowly escaping

the forbidden area and arriving at the Lower Stream of the Tongtian River Eastern Vein, surviving on their last breaths.

"Disciple... I wasn't the only one who returned. Those old guys... perhaps they all revived! This old man doesn't know why, but I think… This is an omen telling us a huge event is going to happen."

The monkey lightly sighed while Han Zong was silent. Although he was old, energy slowly condensed within his eyes just like the old days, and there was even a hint of stubborness.

Time passed. After a month, Naruto could be seen within his cave, currently finishing his cultivation. He was somewhat nervous about the possibilities of what events could happen if he left his cave. He frowned and let out a sigh. However, if he stayed here and was unable to leave, he could only continue to meditate and do some breathing exercises.

Today, Naruto had just finished cultivating and opened his eyes before sighing as he usually did, however, at that moment, Naruto was shocked. On the floor, an extra jade slip and a bamboo book had suddenly appeared.

These two items seemed to be extremely ancient, as if it had existed for countless years. The momet he glanced at the items, he could feel vicissitudes of life.

"Eh?" Naruto was stupidified. He glanced around and suspiciously picked up the jade slip; he inserted his spirit force as he closely examined it. In an instant, Naruto's eyes widened.

"River Reversing Pill? It doesn't need any plants, but instead uses the river water of Tongtian River to refine the pill? This… What type of miracle pill is this? It looks pretty good. The river water of the Tongtian River could actually be used to refine a pill?!" Naruto believed it was inconceivable. He carefully inspected the method of refining the pill and took a deep breath.

"This is too scary! It actually uses the body as a furnace…" He took a glance at the bamboo book and at the same time, his eyes became even wider.

"Hanmen Medical Book?"

"The immortal Hanmen rises, the eternal reincarnation falls!" Naruto took a deep breath. After he opened the bamboo book, he couldn't see anything concrete, only a patch of fuzziness. He could only see the first line of the book, but this one line made him crazy.

"Could it be… Could it be that this medical book can refine an immortality pill? Ahhhh!" Naruto let out a screech; he began shaking from head to foot. His eyes were bloodshot and showing excitement, as if he had just found a precious treasure.

"Senior Brother Sect Head must've seen me diligently cultivating and gave me these two items as a reward. Senior Brother Sect Head is too generous. This River Reversing Pill is but a small gift, just wait until I've become more awesome, then I'll refine a thousand of these for Senior Brother Sect Head." Naruto was excited and hurriedly researched the Hanmen Medical Book. Although he couldn't see more of the contents of the book, his persistence still did not decrease.

This was especially so for the bamboo used to make the Hanmen Medical Book. After some research, Naruto realised that he actually couldn't recognise this bamboo, but it released a feeling of the vicissitudes of life, as if it had existed for over ten thousand years.

He was unable to imagine what kind of bamboo could actually exist for ten thousand years. Furthermore, it was clearly releasing bursts of sweet scents that could make his cultivation operate much faster after assimilating into his body.

Naruto was even more excited, and checked it over and over again. This was an extraordinary treasure, and some doubts appeared in the bottom of his heart. Could it actually be true that his cultivation today had moved the Sect Head? Or perhaps his master's spirit in the underworld rewarded this to him?

"That can't be possible…" Naruto thought for a while and clenched his teeth. He decided to simply not care. The treasure was in his hands anyways; it was already his.

At this moment, Naruto didn't see that there was a monkey standing behind him in the deepest parts of the cave. It looked at him, with reverence and suspicion hidden in his eyes.

"How in the world did he do it… Could it be that there really is a spirit that exists? A spirit that let me return with his help…?"

After a long time, the monkey turned around and walked into the rock wall; following the rock wall all the way to the bottom of the Zhong Dao Mountain… until it reached the depths of the river bank.

Here, there was an enormous crypt, filled with the golden river water of the Tongtian River. There was a mighty formation array all around this area, and the entire Spirit River Sect was the nucleus of this formation array.

This formation array wasn't used to suppress, but rather… to protect. In the middle of the golden river water, there was a coffin.

This coffin had no cover, and inside, it could be seen that there was a female baby's… corpse.

Even though that female baby was a corpse, there was a trace of life force on her body, and the feeling of the vicissitudes of life was present, and with each passing moment, it got even stronger...

Time flew by and another two months passed.

Naruto, from the start until the end, could not see what was inside the Hanmen Medical Book. Although he was not unwilling to find out, all he could do was give up. He planned on waiting for his refining skills to become even better, and maybe then, he could finally understand what was in the Medical Book.

At this moment, his punishment time had ended. When Naruto walked out of the stone cave, he was in high spirits, and his cultivation had slight improvements. It wasn't long before he found out that he would be sent to the North Bank to observe the beasts and deepen his cultivation of the Water Nation technique.

"The North Bank…" Naruto stared blankly and looked into the distance towards the North Bank as he hesitated. He recalled how he was called the North Bank's number one enemy during the Heaven's Chosen War.

"It's been so long since then; they should've almost forgotten it." Naruto uncertainly muttered in a low voice. He was hesitant, but he couldn't do anything about it; this was the Sect Head's order. Naruto thought for a while and expectation slowly emerged in his eyes. He was looking forward to the Rearing Beast Seed in his storage pouch. If he could get a fierce beast for himself, then going to the North Bank wasn't something unbearable.

He returned to the Scented Cloud Mountain and tidied up his travel equipment in the collapsed cave. Three days later, on the Zhong Dao Mountain, all of the Elders, Ancestors, inner sect disciples, and many outer sect disciples sent him off.

This sending off was spontaneous, and almost all of the disciples came here, looking at Naruto. They wanted to confirm with their own eyes that Naruto was going to the North Bank before they could be relieved.

Seeing that so many people came to send him off, Naruto who was standing beside the Sect Head, felt extremely moved, and he waved towards the crowd.

"Everyone, I have to go to the North Bank, but I really don't want to part with you guys. I really don't want to part with the South Bank, and I really don't want to part with every blade of grass and every tree here."

After the crowd heard these words, their expressions all turned strange. After all, a send-off was very strict, and the Sect Head, along with the various Ancestors, were here. Even if they were normally very angry towards Naruto, these disciples forced out an expression that made it seem like they hated to part with Naruto.

Only Fatty Choji One, Ino, Hou Yunfei and the other people who were very friendly with Naruto were truly relunctant to part with him from the bottom of their hearts. However, in the first place, the North and South Bank were both a part of the Spirit Creek Sect, so this relunctance wasn't really that strong.

"Junior Disciple Uzumaki, your talent is exceptional, and you have started to comprehend the Water Nation Technique along with its grandeur. Could it be that you don't want to create a miracle and cultivate the Water Nation Technique to perfection? The North Bank has more resources than my South Bank. If you continue to cultivate there, then it can make your future potential even greater, with even higher chances of entering the Foundation Establishment. After you enter Foundation

Establishment, your lifespan will increase." Elder Zhou walked out within the crowd, looking at Naruto with gentleness on his face as he slowly spoke.

Naruto's body trembled. The fact that entering Foundation Establishment would increase his lifespan made rays of lights appear in his eyes.

"Go! Turn away and walk towards the North Bank! Remember, we cultivators must always press forward. After leaving, do not look back, just go all the way!

"Yes, Senior Uncle Uzumaki, go on. You have lofty aspirations. Only the North

Bank can give you the sky you dream to fly on!"

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, don't be reluctant to leave us, just go into the North Bank and never come back; your path is in front of you." The crowd successively opened their mouths to speak, and when Naruto heard the words said by everyone around him, his eyes started to tear up.

At this moment, he took a deep breath and cupped his fist in his other hand to pay respects to the crowd as he turned away. A strange look appeared in the Sect Head's face as Naruto followed him to the Zhong Dao Mountain and went to the North Bank...

Seeing Naruto walking away, the benevolent look on Elder Zhou's face instantly changed to excitement, and all the disciples there were also elated. Many people even cried tears of happiness.

"Heaven has eyes. This Naruto has finally gone away!"

"Hahahaha, the Sect Head has given us mercy and the Ancestors are wise. Heaven is finally fair. The spring of our South Bank has finally arrived!"

"Is this true? Naruto has actually left? I don't dare to believe that this is true!" Countless people seethed with excitement and started cheering. Some people actually brought out gongs and drums, happily beating them.

At the north side of the Zhong Dao Mountain, Naruto was currently following the Sect Head when he heard the sounds of the gongs and drums behind him resounding to the heavens. He let out a dry cough with a strange expression, vaguely feeling that this scene felt a bit familiar; sorrow immediately appeared on his face.

"Senior Brother Sect Head, do you hear this sound? The South Bank is also relunctant to part with me. Because of me leaving, they've become like this due to sadness."

Zheng Yuandong's blanked out for a moment, and he could only lift his head, staring silently into the sky…

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch, MantouInv, Cannibaloid, Jin

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 118 Chapter 118

Chapter 118 - Unbearable...

The Spirit Creek Sect has eight mountain peaks. Besides Zhong Dao

Mountain, South Bank has three different mountain peaks, while the North Bank has four mountain peaks: the Setting Sun Mountain, the Sky Mountain, the Iridaceae Mountain and the Ghost Tooth Mountain.

There are a large number of disciples in every mountain peak, however, those in the South Bank are incomparable to those of the North Bank. Any of North Bank's mountain peaks had outer sect disciples numbering in the tens of thousands and there were also over a thousand inner sect disciples.

The unified strength of the entire North Bank surpassed the strength of the South Bank by over two folds, and because of this, the North Bank increasingly became stronger. It vaguely became known as the leader of the Spirit Creek Sect.

The atmosphere in the North Bank was also totally different from the South Bank. Practically everyone here had a war beast. There were so many of them that it was common to hear the cooing sounds of a flying beast.

The entire North Bank seemed to be filled with a savage feeling; everyone in North Bank looked especially violent. When one looked up at the sky, one would be able to see many different types of fierce birds soaring through the air. Occasionally, even the Guardian Beasts of the North Bank's four mountains could be seen; their figures would terrify almost everyone.

As of this moment, Sect Head Zheng Yuandong was currrently escorting Naruto to the North Bank. However, the moment Naruto arrived, he immediately attracted the attention of the North Bank's disciples. Many disciples instantly recognized him as the North Bank's number one enemy in that year's Heaven's Chosen War.

When the four Ancestors of the North Bank came forward to respectfully greet the Sect Head, everyone in the Ghost Tooth Mountain's Main Hall began to discuss. When Naruto was waiting outside the hall, the fact Naruto was coming to the North Bank to cultivate had already been quickly spread by the people who knew him. Within half an incense stick's worth of time, nearly every single outer and inner sect disciple of the North Bank knew of Naruto's arrival.

"Did you hear? That extremely evil Naruto has come to our North Bank!"

"Naruto? The North Bank's number one enemy actually dared to come to our North Bank! Haha, this is a good thing… a marvelous thing!"

"I heard that he came here because he caused a disturbance in the South Bank's Ten Thousand Snakes Valley. It seems that he has a magical power; wherever he goes, he will drive the people there mad. I don't even know whether it's real or fake."

"Even if it actually happened, it's pointless. In our North Bank, even a dragon becomes a snake; even a tiger becomes a cat. That year, during the Heaven's Chosen War, he gave us unprecedented shame. This time, the Heavens truly have eyes, the Sect Head actually made him come here. We must let this Naruto know the consequences of provoking our North Bank!"

After this news spread, all of the disciples from the North Bank's four mountains all cheered while clenching their fists until their knuckles turned white. They all stared at the peak of the Ghost Tooth Mountain, showing a vicious glare.

They had already prepared to force Naruto to be unable to move a single step and suffer in the North Bank.

Especially the people who participated in the Heaven's Chosen War - the Gongsun siblings, and Xu Song - were trembling with excitement after hearing about this. After the Heaven's Chosen War, they had entered seclusion to fully concentrate on cultivation. They w

ere already much stronger now compared to during the Heaven's Chosen War.

At this moment, Naruto was standing outside the Main Hall of the Ghost Tooth Mountain, raising his head to look at the countless birds in the sky. There was a Seven-Coloured Phoenix that was astonishing. Wherever it went, the birds would fly around it, as though they were worshiping it. This Seven-Coloured Phoenix gracefully flew around the

North Bank a few times, then slowly flew towards the peak of the

Iridaceae Mountain, completely disappearing from everyone's sight.

Only after this did Naruto withdraw his glance. He was very curious about the state of the North Bank. There were currently four disciples of the Ghost Tooth Mountain by his side, coldly staring at him.

Their gazes were filled with hate and anger, clearly unhappy towards Naruto's arrival.

After Naruto yawned and rubbed his eyes, he realized that the four disciples of the Ghost Tooth Mountain had been staring at him for so long, and hence he began to speak with good intentions.

"These… four nephews, if you keep staring at me without even blinking, then I will feel embarrassed." Naruto coughed, thinking of easing the tension in the air. After all, he knew that he would have to stay in the North Bank for a period of time.

But the moment he finished speaking, the gazes of the four guards turned sharper, like four invisible swords flying towards Naruto.

"Uh...we're all in the same sect, yet you guys are staring at me with vicious eyes. Come, let me tell you a joke, once upon a time…" Naruto felt embarrassed, but still, he felt that he was their elder, and so he laughed and continued talking. However, before he finished talking, he realized that the gazes of the four disciples of the Ghost Tooth Mountain got even scarier.

Naruto felt that he had already tried his best to improve his relationship with them, but they were still glaring at him. He couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Time passed, and quickly, the disciples of the Ghost Tooth Mountain found out that the North Bank's number one enemy, Naruto had arrived. As a result, many people rushed towards the mountain. After seeing Naruto, all of their grudges towards Naruto rushed into their heads, and they immediately shouted at him, angrily.

"Naruto, you dare to come to the North Bank! This time, we will let you know the price of offending our North Bank!"

"Damn it, whenever I see him, I remember the pain that Senior Brother

Bei Hanlie had experienced!"

"Down with Naruto!" When everyone was angrily shouting, Naruto quickly retreated. He felt that these people were relying on numbers and were too excessive because he was too weak. When he was retreating, a cold snort suddenly came from the main hall.

"What are you making noise about!"

"Naruto, come in."

Following the echo of that voice, everyone stopped their shouting. But all of their gazes turned cold, making Naruto felt terrified from the bottom of his heart. He firmly told himself that he should not be suppressed, and so he fiercely looked at the crowd, assuming a proud appearance as he quickly stepped into the main hall.

In the Main Hall, Sect Head Zheng Yuandong sat on the head seat with the four Ancestors of the North Bank beside him. They all had strange expressions, especially Zheng Yuandong, who sighed from the bottom of his heart. Regarding Naruto, he was fully convinced. He had only been here for how long… and had almost caused a riot from the disciples outside.

"Naruto, this old man and the four Ancestors of the North Bank have talked, and we have arranged for you to go to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard to be a caretaker for the beasts there.

When you are taking care of the beasts, you should go observe them and take the chance to condense a Life Spirit for the Water Nation technique.

"The Hundred Beasts Courtyard is not located in any mountain, but right next to the 'Ancient Beast Abyss' behind the mountain. You can't continue to be mischievous here. You must diligently cultivate and cherish this chance!" The Sect Head meaningfully looked at Uzumaki

Naruto, then looked towards the four Ancestors that were next to him.

"My Junior Brother is mischievous, if he commits any offenses, please discipline him."

The four Ancestors had smiles on their faces, and after exchanging pleasantries, they respectfully sent off the Sect Head as he left the North Bank and returned to the Zhong Dao Mountain. The four Ancestors together with Naruto were left inside the Main Hall.

The four Ancestors sized up Naruto, and the old woman from the Iridaceae Mountain gave him a sharp look.

"Naruto, the North Bank is different from the South Bank. Rules are the principles of our North Bank, and people who break these rules will be severely punished! For example, if the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley incident happened in the North Bank, you would now be hanging under the Zhong Dao Mountain, or above the Tongtian River, being punished for ten years. And that would be considered light."

Naruto was nervous from the bottom of his heart,and quickly showed a lovable appearance while repeatedly nodding his head.

The four Ancestors looked at each other and no longer paid attention to

Naruto. They arranged an inner sect disciple from the Ghost Tooth Mountain to escort Naruto to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard and went on their separate ways.

The inner sect disciple from the Ghost Tooth Mountain who escorted Naruto to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard was a long-faced youth who had some pockmarks on his face, it caused him to look terrifying. He coldly glanced at Naruto and walked in front of him, not saying a single word.

Naruto blinked and followed closely behind. As the two people walked on a road in the North Bank, they gathered a lot of vicious glares here and there. Some outer sect disciples even carried a hostile look when looking at Naruto.

The feeling of him being an outcast, in addition to the words that the old woman said in the Main Hall, made Naruto fearful. He had an immense longing for the days in the South Bank that he used to have. After half an incense stick's worth of time, as the long-faced disciple sped along, the two arrived at the area behind the mountain of the North Bank, next to a valley.

This place had a large area that was sealed by a formation array. Looking at the space encompassed, it was a lush forest that faintly had the cries of monstrous beasts coming out from it. There was an even more frightening thing. In the deepest parts of this forest, there seemed to be an abyss hidden within. When there were bursts of undulations that echoed from the abyss, it could even twist space itself.

Naruto looked into the distance and his eyes slightly shrunk. He noticed a solitary pavilion which wasn't far from him. There was also a stone stele and under it, stood a skinny inner sect disciple who was waiting for Naruto to take over as his escort.

The long-faced youth did not say a single word to Naruto from the start of the journey until the end. As soon as they arrived, the former spoke a few simple words to the disciple in front of the pavilion and informed him that Naruto was about to switch tasks with him. This skinny inner sect disciple's eyes swept over Naruto; his eyes showed displeasure as he unwillingly threw a jade slip to Naruto. "This one is Sun Wen. This jade slip can sense the positions of the 981 monstrous beasts in this area. Every one of these monstrous beasts is a precious resource of my North Bank. If you damage anything, and the sect wants to blame you, then you have to take responsibility". After Sun Wen indifferently spoke, he left with the long-faced youth.

Even though the other party was extremely rude, Naruto could only cough dryly and didn't take offense. He inspected the pavilion and strolled around it, realizing that although the accommodation wasn't as good as the cave that he collapsed at the Scented Cloud Mountain, it was still better than the residences of the outer sect disciples. As a result, he was still satisfied.

"That old lady said that the North Bank paid attention to rules. Could it be that there are many sect rules here that are different from the South

Bank? No, I should do some research about the sect rules of the North

Bank, or else I may unintentionally commit an offense."

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch, Jin, Mantoulnv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 119 Chapter 119

Chapter 119 - I've Buried The Rearing Beast Seed In The Spring

"I, Naruto, have only come to the North Bank in order to learn. I must keep a low profile in the future!" Naruto muttered to himself for a short moment. After making up his mind, Naruto glanced at the jade slip in his hands and inserted his spirit force. Instantaneously, approximately a thousand tiny dots of light appeared within his mind, clearly showing the positions of every spirit beast in this area.

"Rearing these spirit beasts…" Naruto's eyes began to sparkle. It didn't matter whether it was the contents of the five volumes of spirit beasts or how fantastic the disciples of the North Bank looked like as they fought with their beasts during the Heaven's Chosen War, all of these things made Naruto have a great interest towards the spirit beasts of the North Bank.

Seeing that it was still early in the evening, Naruto left the pavilion and wandered around the forest. It was currently spring; the vegetation was exuberant, the spring wind was blowing, the birds were chirping and the flowers were fragrant. Following the directions of the jade slip, Naruto discovered different spirit beasts one after another.

"The Wise Sky Beast!"

"The Whirlpool Dragon? Its internal organs are needed to refine a Grade 4 spirit medicine!"

"This is… a Mist Marten? It's speed is fairly fast and its hair can be used to create a protective treasure!" The more Naruto gazed at these beasts, the more excitement he displayed; he was so excited that he was currently beaming with joy. As of this moment, the contents of the five volumes of spirit beasts were alive in his mind and verifying each type of spirit beast. His theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge began to fuse, causing his understanding towards the five volumes of spirit beasts to rapidly increase.

Following his incessant observations, he identified a monkey which was over two zhang tall, an enormous bear that could blend with nature, a fierce tiger which had grown wings, and even a pangolin that was not far away from him which was over ten zhang tall; it whistled past him with an extremely fast speed.

At first, these spirit beasts who had retained their fierceness showed desire to attack Naruto who had appeared in the forest, however, they quickly noticed the smell of the jade slip in Naruto's hand, and they gradually stopped caring, not bothering to pay attention to him.

Naruto was extremely excited after gazing at these spirit beasts. Especially after he noticed that he would not attract the hate of these spirit beasts due to the jade slip he was holding. He thought of getting close to the spirit beasts, however, the moment he approached them, they instantly turned agitated.

Naruto thought it over and didn't choose to forcefully get close to them; instead, he just returned to the pavilion once it was dusk.

In the morning of the second day, he woke up early. Following the labels on the jade slip, he dashed into the forest to continue observing the spirit beasts. Time slowly passed, half a month had passed since Naruto came to the North Bank.

During this half month, he had never left the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, causing the disciples outside who wanted to find trouble with him have no excuse to do so.

Instead, Naruto lead a very fufilling life during this half month. He was very excited everyday. After verifying each beast with the five volume of spirit beasts in his mind, he had already realised that he was very narrow minded with his previous way of refining medicine. "When I was previously refining medicine, I had only paid attention to p

lants, and had neglected spirit beast materials. But in reality, after I combine both plants and spirit beast materials, more changes will occur, causing the allelopathy to become even better." Naruto was excited. His body flashed as he wanted to increase his speed in the forest, but he suddenly paused when he saw a Flying Tiger lying on its stomach, panting. Its leg was a bloody mess, as if it had been injured when it was hunting for food.

Naruto rapidly closed in, the Flying Tiger aburptly raised its head and let out a low growl as Naruto pressed on its body. No matter how much the Flying Tiger struggled, it was unable to break free from the astonishing strength of Naruto's fleshy body.

"Don't move! I'll help you bind up this wound." Naruto glanced at the struggling tiger below his palm; he treated its wound as he talked, spreading medicinal powder on its wound, only then did he let it go.

The Flying Tiger rapidly flew into the air and roared towards Uzumaki

Naruto. It appeared shocked as it looked at its wound, then at Naruto. After that, it turned around and flew away.

Naruto wasn't offended by the Flying Tiger's actions; he just flew off to a different location.

This occurrence went on until he finished a day's worth of observations. After he returned to the pavilion, he saw that the sky was gradually turning dark, and took out a small wooden box from his storage pouch.

After he opened the small wooden box, a fist-size seed appeared, which had a strong life force that diffused outwards, like a heart. Even a vague throbbing could be seen.

"Rearing Beast Seed!" Naruto's eye's began to glisten. He had obtained this seed from the storage pouch of a Fallen Chen Clansmen during the betrayal of the Fallen Chen Clan a few years ago. It had to be known that this seed was nearly extinct in the current cultivation world.

In these last few years, Naruto had researched and found bits of information about it, and from this, he determined that the five volumes of spirit beast were legitimate. This seed could truly give birth to a Bloodline Inherited Beast after absorbing the essences of spirit beasts.

When Naruto resided in the South Bank, he had already wanted a combat beast for himself, but he didn't have the proper conditions to proceed in burying the Rearing Beast Seed. Now that he had entered the North Bank, all that was left was to bury it.

"This Rearing Beast Seed can produce a young beast. If it was a normal spirit beast, it would not conform with my identity as the Honorable Disciple and the Sect Head's Junior Brother. I must plant this Rearing Beast Seed well, and collect the essences of all the strong spirit beasts after it blooms. This seed will produce a… beast that has the strong points of ten thousand beasts; it will be the beast that has never been seen before, and will never be seen again. It will be the… strongest combat beast!" An intense light appeared in Naruto's eyes; he was full of spirit. After taking a deep breath, he took the small wooden box and went behind the pavilion.

There was an area here that was within the formation array of the pavilion; Naruto had this set up during this half month to become his garden to plant spirit medicines.

He carefully planted this Rearing Beast Seed into the ground. Because he had high expectations towards this seed, he decided to use Spirit Refinement on all the soil here three times to be at ease.

"According to the records of the five volumes of spirit beasts, the growth period of this Rearing Beast Seed shouldn't be too long…" Naruto even had a sense of expectation, and stayed here to observe the seed for a long time, all the way until night. Only then did he leave, but he quickly ran back to confirm that this area was in the range of the formation array. Afterwards, he finally felt relieved, so he returned to the pavilion.

On this night, Naruto barely got any sleep and was constantly running back out to the place where he planted the Rearing Beast Seed to inspect it.

This went on for half a month and only then did he slowly suppress the expectations in his heart; he just began to immerse himself in the near thousand spirit beasts in the forest. Everyday, besides cultivating and examining the rules in the North Bank, he mostly spent his time observing spirit beasts in the forest.

Occasionally, some disciples of the North Bank also came to the stone steel in front of the pavilion to hand over some contribution points, and either observed the spirit beasts or attempt to sign a contract with the spirit beasts, turning them into their personal combat beasts.

Merely, the area behind the courtyard was heavily protected by Naruto, who even adjusted the important points of the formation array, making it perfect, without any inconveniences, which also made him less worried of it being destroyed.

Time passed, and with these kinds of peaceful days, half a year quickly passed by.

Within this half year, Naruto did not go out; he spent his whole day in the forest, with the spirit beasts as his companions. The number of spirit beasts that got healed by him was already not little, to the point where Naruto created a simple pill, which could help the Chakra and blood of spirit beasts operate more quickly after swallowing it.

As a result, under Naruto's great care and the pill, all of the spirit beasts in the forest practically began to have good relations with Naruto. Those spirit beasts gradually accepted Naruto, allowing him to get near them, carefully investigate their bodies, and some beasts, especially those without a contract, who actually had no differences from a combat beasts, listened to Naruto's words.

Today, as Naruto was strolling around the forest, three disciples of the North Bank arrived at the stone stele outside of the pavilion, and after automatically buying the privilige to stay in the forest for three nights, they stepped into the forest.

One of those disciples was the inner sect disciple who was the attendant half a year ago, the disciple who switched with Naruto, Sun Wen.

There were two outer sect disciples following him, a boy and a girl. The boy was short and still had an immature look of his face. On the other hand, the girl, although young, had a slender body and a beautiful face, her eyes having a curious and excited look as she looked all around.

"Thanks Senior Brother Sun. This time, with Senior Brother Sun here, the chances of us obtaining a combat beast has increased by a lot." The girl excitedly spoke, and her eyes had adoration in them when she looked towards Sun Wen.

"Of course, Senior Brother Sun is an inner sect disciple, and was the attendant of this Hundred Beasts Courtyard for many years. He knows all of the spirit beasts in this area like the back of his palm, and even the spirit beasts in this area remember Senior Brother Sun." the short youth from the outer sect also excitedly said.

"It's actually not that big of a deal, however, this Sun can still command many spirit beasts. In a moment, tell me when you see a spirit beast, I'll go and pacify them, and this will save a lot of effort for you.

However, you must remember that there are ten combat beasts who have a violent temperament. For example, the Sky Fire Bear, the Nightwalker Ape, the Scarlet Flying Tiger, and especially the Armored Mountain Beast, whose fierceness has reached the pinnacle. Even though people who come here have the qualifications for shelter, they still must be very cautious and make sure you never provoke these beasts." Sun Wen was pleased with himself; his gaze fell on the body of that female disciple as he quickly measured her up from top to bottom. His thoughts became feverish as he secretly lamented.

There were many benefits of being the attendant of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard. The main benefit was making use of your position to help people quickly find a specific spirit beast, and even reducing the difficulty of signing a contract with the spirit beast by relying on the supressive power of the jade slip.

If it was possible, Sun Wen would not be willing to leave the Hundred Beasts Courtyard. However, it was the sect's order, which made him have no choice but to give the job to Naruto, and he already had dissatisfaction from the bottom of his heart. At this moment, he was bringing two people along with him and walking inside the forest. Gradually, they met many spirit beasts on their path, and many would come close to Sun Wen when he called them over, clearly still recognising Sun Wen.

"This is a Monkey Deer?"

"This is a Flying Cloud Rat. It is ranked within the top 600 combat beasts in this area. Do you want it?"

"Your luck is not bad, this is a Fierce Toothed Horse, which is ranked in the top 300. When I saw it during that time, it wasn't this big."

"Eeeh, that's actually the Flying Fire Butterfly. Haha, this butterfly is in the earlier parts of the top 300, and possesses an illusion skill. Do you want it?" While walking, the two outer sect disciples already had a fanatical look towards Sun Wen. This was because many spirit beasts in this area stopped when they saw Sun Wen, as if they could obediently sign a contract with him.

That male disciple chose the Fierce Toothed Horse with great delight, and that female disciple chose to give up on the Flying Fire Butterfly after hesitating, and instead, she expectantly looked at Sun Wen, clearly wanting a better spirit beast.

"Senior Brother Sun, are there any beasts that are within the top 200?" Reverence appeared in the female disciple's eyes.

"Don't try to bite off more than what you can chew. Any beast that is ranked within the top 200 is extremely difficult to tame. Even I, who was the attendant for many years, have no assurance in commanding them.

As for that new attendant, I estimate that he doesn't even have a third of my ability. Even looking at the sect as a whole, within the Qi

Condensation disciples, no one can command a spirit beast of that level. You guys should not try to rashly control these spirit beasts, there are dangers in this place. You guys…" Sun Wen was gravely speaking to them, and was about to continue talking. But suddenly, the female disciple from the outer sect opened her eyes widely, excitedly pointing at the mountain cliff in front of them.

"Senior Brother Sun, look! There's a Flying Tiger there!" The girl was excited. With Sun Wen by her side, she felt that there was nothing impossible here. Pleasantly surprised, she subconsciously made hand signs, immediately sending the North Bank's special Beast Controlling Power flying towards the flying tiger.

Sun Wen suddenly turned around and saw a flying tiger that had grown wings lying on the cliff in the distance, coldly looking at the three people. Its gaze carried a cold and ruthless feeling.

"Scarlet Flying Tiger! Damn it! This isn't the place where it's supposed to be! This is one of the top ten combat beasts in this area!" Sun Wen immediately opened his eyes widely. When he saw the female disciple beside him actually dare to try and capture this beast, his mind immediately trembled, and he rapidly retreated, grabbing the two people with him. The road he took them on looked very impressive, but in reality, the area he took them to was an area where the combat beasts were very docile. After all, for the spirit beasts to retain their fierceness, the sect raised them in a place where they had a lot of freedom, so there was danger present for outer sect disciples. This was why every outer sect disciple that entered this always had an inner sect disciple following them.

But at this moment, that flying tiger fiercely let out a low roar and stood up. Following that roar, which could shake the heavens, the Beast Controlling Power that landed on its body immediately collapsed.

"Not good!" Sun Wen was shocked. The flying tiger was currently setting off a gale, and its pressure was comparable to that of the ninth layer of Chakra Condensation. The two outer sect disciples were already completely blank, overwhelmed with shock and trembling. Sun Wen clenched his teeth and was about to take out a jade slip to ask for help.

However, at this very moment, a voice of bewilderment came from afar.

"Eeeeh! Little Tiger, why are you so naughty? lie down!"

Chapter 120 Chapter 120

Chapter 120 - Chalenging Naruto!

Following the voice, the originally overbearing tiger suddenly stopped, descended from the sky, lied down, and even wagged its tail. It caused dust and dead leaves to stir up, and it lifted its huge head, with its tongue sticking out, obediently looking at the enormous figure who walked over.

That impressive figure was a ten zhang tall pangolin, which was exuding a fierce aura from its whole body. Its green eyes held indifference in them as it walked over, step by step.

This change was too fast, making Sun Wen dumbfounded. The two outer sect disciples behind him took a deep breath, and were also dumbstruck by what just happened.

The female disciple became confused. The reversal of the flying tiger's attitude, and the arrival of the pangolin made her have an inconceivable feeling. She was unable to imagine that the flying tiger that made Senior Brother Sun be overwhelmed with shock would actually lie on the floor and actually put on a lovable face, all because of a single sentence. This... and its previous fierce and mighty appearance, was just too different, it made her stupified.

"The ten great combat beasts?" The male outer sect disciple behind Sun Wen muttered in a low voice, disbelief was clear in his voice. When he rose his head, the enormous pangolin entered his line of sight as he took a deep breath.

"Armored… Mountain Beast…" Sun Wen dubiously looked up at the enormous pangolin. Its mere pressure made him feel fearful. This was especially so when he saw a thin figure sitting on the back of the pangolin, which caused his mind to buzz, making him involuntarily cry out.

"It's you!"

The person sitting on the enormous pangolin was, indeed, Naruto. He stood up and jumped down to the flying tiger, patting it on its head.

"You went to scare people again!" Naruto was very angry. The flying tiger blinked its eyes and lowered its head; it rubbed its head against Naruto's leg. This scene made Sun Wen feel as though a thunder struck his mind, and the two outer sect disciples behind him were completely dumbfounded.

"My bad, Little Tiger doesn't really have any evil intentions. It's just mischievous and likes to scare people. Little Tiger, go apologise." Naruto kicked the flying tiger with his leg.

Although the flying tiger felt that it had been wronged, it still leaned its head over to the three disciples and let out a low growl. Although the roar was low, it still sounded like thunderclap, causing the shocked three people to tremble from the bottom of their hearts.

Naruto's gaze swept across the three people, and he recognised Sun Wen, but he pretended to not recognise him. He then asked with a smile,"You guys have come to choose a combat beast, I presume." "We… We have come to choose our combat beasts…" That female outer sect disciple forcefully swallowed her saliva and quickly spoke. She looked at Naruto with a panicked expression. Senior Brother Sun, who was beside her, was already scared of the combat beast, but that combat beast actually became as obedient as a dog under the legs of that person. This scene was really too frightening.

"Fine, since we have met, we must've have been brought together by fate. I'll help you guys out." Naruto gave a dry cough. During moments such as these, he was always very enthusiastic, and therefore, he raised his head and shouted loudly.

After the shout echoed outwards, the floor quickly shook following the arrival of a figure rapidly running over. The figure appeared in front of Naruto, and turned into a huge ape, which excitedly grinned to

wards Naruto, patting its chest with its fist as it unceasingly cried out.

"Little Monkey, go to one side, you're not suitable for them." Naruto waved his hand, and the huge ape immediately had a long face as it ran to one side.

Sun Wen's body trembled as he immediately recognised the ape as the fierce Nightwalker Ape which was within the ten great combat beasts. A few years ago, he had personally witnessed this Nightwalker Ape bloodily twist the head of a Water Wood Lion when it was still alive.

However, at this moment, this ape was actually in front of Naruto, obediently listening to him. Sun Wen as if he was dreaming.

Meanwhile, an enormous bear charged over, and when it reached Naruto, it actually stood up with its two legs, unceasingly shaking its butt.

"Little Bear, stop jumping around, there are other people here." Naruto had a headache. The enormous bear fiercely looked at the three people and let out a low growl.

"Sky...Sky Fire Bear, it's actually dancing…" Sun Wen stared blankly at the sight in front of him as waves surged in his mind. He was already in this state, and the other two outer sect disciples were even more shocked. But quickly, their shock increased tenfold, changing into unprecedented fear.

All around them, the earth was shaking, and quickly, spirit beasts appeared one after another, and when the last one arrived, the area became extremely crowded; there were several hundreds of spirit beasts! Those beasts that arrived weren't those docile beasts that the three of them had previously seen, and were instead, imcomparably fierce beasts.

Even if Sun Wen was an inner sect disciple, his legs turned soft with the appearance of these hundreds of spirit beasts. The faces of the two outer sect disciples had already turned deathly white, and the intense feeling of danger made their minds tremble until they lost self-control.

"Choose one." Naruto coughed and intentionally spoke his words profoundly.

Sun Wen was at a loss. He was unable to imagine how Naruto had actually made all of the spirit beasts in this area listen to him in a mere half year.

And when he thought about himself, who stayed here for many years, endless bitterness filled his heart. This distinct contrast made, not only him, but the intestines of the male outer sect disciple behind him turn green.

He looked at those beasts with envy and the bitterness in his heart won, causing him to be silent. He hated himself for carelessly picking a fighting beast earlier. If only he had waited and met this mystical Senior Brother, then he too would have this astonishing good luck. But now...he didn't have that good luck anymore.

The body of the female outer sect disciple trembled with disbelief, and she promptly pointed at a huge bird. That bird who had a whole body filled with black feathers cried out, and its natural fierceness dissipated under Naruto's watch, allowing the Beast Controlling Power of the girl to enter its body. After it slowly signed the contract, it flew in midair, circling around the air.

Naruto laughed, and with a wave of his hand, all of the surrounding beasts instantly dispersed. He jumped on to the back of the pangolin, which made a low growl and turned around, taking Naruto away.

The girl could not believe that she had actually succeeded, so she suddenly shouted at the distant Naruto.

"Senior Brother, can you tell me your name?"

When Naruto who was standing on the back of the pangolin heard this, he was pleased from the bottom of his heart, and slowly raised his chin; the appearance of a lonely expert involuntarily appearing on his body, as he naturally flourished his sleeve.

"I am called Naruto."

His profound words fluttered in the wind. The figure of Naruto standing on the figure, clasping his hands behind his back, the changpao blown by the wind, his hair swaying and the melancholy on his body, had reached the point of perfection after the hard work of many years, and it was already hard to tell whether it was real or fake.

This appearance on his immediately left an endless imprint on that female disciple's heart, as she became infatuated...

"Naruto? This name sounds familiar…" The male outer sect disciple stared blankly for a moment, before he quickly widened his eyes, showing an expression of disbelief.

"North Bank's number one enemy!"

The female disciple also went blank for a moment and took a deep breath. She also remembered the name Naruto, but she was unable to imagine the rumoured North Bank's number one enemy as that melancholic figure in front of her.

The three people were at a loss and silently left the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

Inside the forest, Naruto was sitting on the pangolin. Only when he sensed that the people behind him weren't paying attention anymore, did he get rid of the appearance of a lonely expert, and complacently hummed a small tune, throwing a pill when he saw a small beast.

During this half year, the spirit beasts in this area were imcomparably obedient to him. Besides the fact that he was sincere towards these beasts, another reason was the pills that he gave them.

These pills made the potential of the spirit beasts in this area increase, and naturally, the spirit beasts in this area had a good opinion of Naruto, and was very close with him.

Obviously, not all of the beasts were like that. There were still some beasts that were vigilant towards him. However, Naruto didn't mind that, and he was extremely happy in the Hundred Beasts Courtyard during this half a year.

Especially because of the Rearing Beast Seed that he planted behind the pavilion, which had already germinated by now, making Naruto extremely excited.

And the good things didn't stop. Under his half a year of studying beasts,

Naruto realised that his pressure while cultivating the Water Nation technique increased, and although his Spirit of Life hadn't appeared, it was obvious that it had another strand of fierceness.

Following this, Naruto could tell that he would definitely be able to create a Spirit of Life if he continued cultivating this Water Nation technique. He was very curious what his Spirit of Life would be.

He was even more expectant about what fighting strength he would be able to display if he finished cultivating the Water Nation technique, which was ranked as the strongest secret technique along with Gui Ya's Nightwalker technique.

With his anticipation and cultivation, yet another month passed, and the amount of time that Naruto had stayed in the North Bank was already half a year.* Although he had not gone outside, and thought that he was keeping a low profile, in reality, the fact that the spirit beasts in the Hundred Beasts Courtyard were obedient to him was slowly spread out by the disciples that came to obtain a combat beast.

(*ED Note: Naruto should have been in the sect for more than half a year, but raws say it's just half a year.)

Swiftly, many of the sect's disciples heard about this. Especially Naruto's previous actions, which were the main subject of the conversations of the disciples of the North Bank. The things that he had done during the Heaven's Chosen War caused countless people clench their teeth. Every time they thought about it, they would also think about Kiba, which made a thorn appear in the hearts of many people. Whenever they looked at their own combat beasts, this thorn would become a shadow that could never be wiped away.

Finally, on this day, Kiba, who had been in seclusion ever since he returned, suddenly opened his eyes in his cave and crushed the jade slip in his hands. Half a year ago, he had received a sound transmission and learned about the arrival of Naruto.

"Naruto, today, I will thoroughly wipe away the humiliation that you have given me, Kiba. You may be tough, but these few years, I have also improved, and it is even an unprecedented improvement. I have finally cultivated the Setting Sun Technique to the third stage, and am now unparalled under Foundation Establishment!" Kiba stood up, and his cultivation loudly exploded outwards; the aura of the peak level of the ninth layer of Chakra Condensation was sent outwards. These few years, after he had been strongly stimulated, made him madly cultivate to the point of hysteria.

"Naruto!" Kiba faced the heavens and let out a loud roar; he directly charged out of the sealed cave, with an aura that could frighten the heavens, causing countless people to pay attention to him, especially the Gongsun siblings and Xu Song, who stared at him blankly.

"So strong! He actually cultivated the Setting Sun Technique to the third stage! It has never been done in a thousand years! But he is still growing, and we are also growing, and have become way stronger than last time!

"For anyone who has changed his life so much and have suffered so much pain in his memories everyday, they would also turn mad."

At this moment when all of the Heaven's Chosen were astonished, Kiba turned into a rainbow, directly heading towards the middle of the North Bank, towards the famous Testing Stage.

To be accurate, the Testing Stage is actually a sculpture of a spirit beast raising its right claw. This sculpture was over ten zhang tall, and it had a fierce appearance, releasing a strong fighting intent. From afar, its body looked like a standing crocodile, with a body filled with scales and three rows of bone spikes on its back. Its most frightening part was its claw which was holding half a human body.

It's right claw was already eroding, and its right claw was raised, as if it was going to tear apart the heavens.

And the Testing Stage was in the palm of its right claw!

This sculpture was discovered in the Ancient Beast Abyss four thousand years ago by the Spirit River Sect, which had spent an enormous price to obtain it, in order make it stand here as the Testing Stage of the North Bank.

Currently, Kiba was standing on the testing stage, with a strong fighting intent in his eyes, as he let out a huge roar.

"I'm taking out all of my contribution points, 37000 in total, to challenge Naruto! When he spoke, the entire Testing Stage rumbled, and the space twisted, transforming into a paper crane, which rapidly flew out straight towards the Hundred Beasts Courtyard!

The reputation of the Testing Stage of the North Bank was so big that even the South Bank had heard of it. The Testing Stage stage had one rule: The challenger had to take out his contribution points, and issue a challenge to anyone within the North Bank. A paper crane would then appear and fly over to the recipient of the challenge.

The time limit of the challenge was half a year, and the recipient would be able to accept this challenge anytime within the half year, and when the challenge was accepted, the battle would immediately, and forcibly occur. If the recipient won, he would get the contribution points of the challenger; If they lost, they would not lose any contribution points.

The recipient could also choose to not accept the challenge, which would cause them to automatically lose after a half year, and all the contribution points would be refunded to the challenger. But, the challenger could not cancel the challenge within this half year.

These rules could be considered as passive towards the challenger, but the more it was like this, the fairer it would be.

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Cannibaloid, Arch, MantouInv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 121 Chapter 121

Chapter 121 - Paper Cranes Soaring Across The Sky...

Following Kiba's achievement of issuing a challenge towards Naruto on the Testing Stage, the disciples of the North Bank all gathered to observe the grand fight after hearing the news. Gradually, more people came, densely crowding the Testing Stage.

Kiba stood proudly on the Testing Stage, his blood boiling within his body. As of this moment, Kiba wanted revenge; he wanted to wash away his humiliation and he wanted to let the entire North Bank know that he, Kiba, was still a Heaven's Chosen!

"The place where I fell will be the place where I stand up... Naruto! You will be my stepping stone!" Insanity appeared within Kiba's eyes. He had waited for this day for far too long. At this moment, he believed that his Setting Sun Technique will definitely be able to defeat Naruto!

Even if he had heard about Naruto's fight against Gui Ya, he would still have this confidence. This came from his insanity and struggling during these past few years. He wanted to first fight Naruto, then afterwards, fight Gui Ya.

"Naruto! Show yourself!" Kiba's heart and blood boiled as he faced the heavens and let out a roar. His aura became even more intense, causing the countless people nearby let out a cry of surprise. His cultivation scattered, forming a whirlpool that spread out in all directions.

"Way to go Senior Brother Beihan! Beat down Naruto!"

"Haha! We have also waited for this day for too long!"

While everyone was cheering, Naruto was in the forest. He sat on the back of the pangolin as he hummed a little tune, while he strolled around. Suddenly, a long rainbow from the distance whistled over, actually setting off a bit of crimson light. This blood-coloured light had a hint of a baleful aura spread out, as if it could boil the blood and increase anyone's fighting intent. Naruto was startled when the crimson light appeared in front of him and turned into a paper crane.

"Inner sect disciple Naruto, Kiba of the North Bank, who is at the ninth layer of Chakra Condensation, desires to fight against you. He has used 37000 contribution points to issue a challenge against you. You have a time limit of half a year to accept this challenge. If you win, you will obtain all of the contribution points bet. Even if you lose, according to the rules of the Testing Stage, you will not lose anything," a voice whih seemingly had no emotions eminated outwards from the paper crane. As it resounded in all directions, the feeling that could excite the body's blood and impulses increased even more.

Naruto's eyes widened and his heart involuntarily jumped. Under the effects of that sound, it was as if there was a consciousness in his body that was howling.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

"Fight my ass!" Naruto patted his chest and dispersed the change in his state of mind which was caused by this sound. He had been researching about the sect rules of the North Bank and was not a stranger towards this Testing Stage and its regulations.

"What identity do I, Naruto, have? I am an Honourable Disciple, the Junior Brother of the Sect Head. For these things that involve fighting and killing, I won't interfere myself in them." Naruto's gaze swept over the paper crane as he let out a dry cough and flourished his sleeve. A gust of wind stirred up, sweeping that paper crane off into the distance.

He hummed a small tune as if nothing had happened, then sat back down on the back of the pangoin, continuing his stroll.

Time passed, and after half an hour, the people surrounding the

Testing Stage were flabbergasted. The cheering sounds had also decreased a lot.

After an hour, many people started talking in a low voice, and the body of Kiba who was on the Testing Stage also trembled.

"That Naruto would not have rejected the challenge, right? No way… he is the number one in the Heaven's Chosen War. He, he… could it be that he doesn't care one bit about his face?"

"It shouldn't be... Every single Heaven's Chosen, after being challenged, would at least speak of the time of the fight, even if they don't accept the fight at that moment. Why does this Naruto not have any reaction at all?"

Two hours later, the sun set on the mountain, and it was now evening. However, Naruto, as before, still did not have the slightest bit of a response. One by one, the expressions of the disciples of the North Bank turned blank.

"Damn it! I knew that it would be like this! This Naruto had always been shameless, he actually rejected the challenge!"

"This is too excessive! He came here as a representative of the South

Bank and now he's making the South Bank lose face!"

When everyone present was discussing, Kiba rigidly stared in the direction of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard. He too did not think that Naruto would actually reject the challenge. He wasn't amused. He felt that if he was the number one of the Heaven's Chosen War and someone challenged him, there would be no way that he would run from the challenge.

"You will definitely come out and fight with me!" Kiba clenched his teeth as he stood there, his figure showing stubborness, causing the hearts of the disciples of the North Bank tremble after seeing it.

Suddenly, a long rainbow suddenly flew out from the crowd, which turned into a figure that headed straight towards the Testing Stage. When everyone looked at the figure, they instantly recognised that the person who flew out was another Heaven's Chosen like Kiba, Xu Song of the North Bank!

Xu Song had a dignified expression. When he stood on the Testing Stage, he remembered the scene of Naruto and Gui Ya fighting during the Heaven's Chosen War. At that moment, they all could tell that Gui Ya did not lose to Naruto, and instead lost to his body's inability to support his abilities. Naruto was truly strong, this point was acknowledged by Xu Song. However, he was also growing these years, and he was now much stronger than he had originally been during the Heaven's Chosen War. He relived it many times, and thought that he had the qualifications to have a fight with Naruto. And so, he

loudly spoke at this moment.

"Today, I, Xu Song, have responded to Kiba's fighting intent, and I too will challenge Naruto!"

"I, Xu Song of the North Bank will take out 20000 contribution points to challenge Naruto!" Once he spoke, there was a momentary silence in the crowd. After that, a commotion that could frighten the heavens and move the earth exploded out.

"Senior Brother Xu Song is actually challenging Naruto too!"

"Way to go, Senior Brother Xu Song!"

The entire Testing Stage glistened with light, and a second paper crane condensed, flying towards the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

Kiba felt moved and looked towards Xu Song. The gazes of the two met, and they saw the determination to fight with Naruto in their eyes as they laughed together.

At this moment, another figure suddenly flew towards the Testing Stage. It was a female figure... and she was exactly Gongsun Wan'er.

"I, Gongsun Wan'er, would like to use 20000 contribution points to challenge Naruto!"

Before the crowd could react, a fourth figure suddenly approached and also stood on the Testing Stage.

"I, Gongsun Yun, would like to use 20000 contribution points and challenge Naruto!"

The Gongsun sibling also wanted to challenge Naruto here. During these years, they had also made great improvements.

Following these words, the Testing Stage's light quickly flashed and formed another two paper cranes, which streaked across the sky, and also flew towards the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

"How hot-blooded! This is our North Bank's Heaven's Chosen!"

"The unparallelled Heaven's Chosens!"

"Haha, that Naruto must be scared silly. All right, count me in! Even if I lose, I would just lose some contribution points, but I still want to challenge him and let him know about the unity of our North Bank!"

When the crowd was excited, the fifth, sixth, and seventh figures came whistling out from all around, charging straight towards the Testing Stage.

"I, Chen Ao, want to share this tribulation with Senior Brother Gongsun, and would like to use 700 contribution points to challenge Naruto!"

"Senior Brother Xu Song has given me kindness. I, Sun Chenglong, would like to accompany him, and use 500 contribution points to challenge Naruto!"

"I, Zhou Fang, would like to use 400 contribution points to challenge Naruto!"

The entire North Bank caused a sensation at this moment. Meanwhile,

Naruto, who was within the forest of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, stared blankly at the paper cranes that came one after another, directly whistling towards him, which began to speak with an emotionless tone.

"This is too excessive…" Naruto blinked his eyes. He had already thrown away three paper cranes. But when he looked back at the sky, and saw that there was actually five or six more paper cranes that joined into a string and flew towards him, he immediately sucked in a deep breath.

Every single paper crane carried that fighting intent that could affect one's state of mind, making one's heart have a will to fight, and making it hard to calm one's mind down. Naruto quickly fanned out the wings on his back and simply stopped strolling in the forest; he just returned straight to the pavilion.

On the way, he saw more than ten paper cranes charging to his side, letting out that same emotionless sound.

These sounds of challenges irritated Naruto's mind, making him also want to angrily roar out.

"You guys are bullying too much, so many people challenging me, and all of them are above the eighth layer of Chakra Condensation. What should I do? No... I have to keep a low profile!" Naruto returned inside of the pavilion and directly opened the formation array, isolating all of the paper cranes that were outside. Only then did he proudly sit down in a cross legged position.

"In the North Bank, I must keep a low profile. I absolutely cannot let them have their way, humph." Naruto sighed with sorrow and meditated in a cross legged position, slowly forgetting this matter.

Quickly, one night passed. Under the lead of Kiba and the others, the Testing Stage had continuous challenges, so much that it had caused a storm within the sect. There were people that were here to curry favour with the North Bank's Heaven's Chosen, some were Gongsun Wan'er's admirers, while there were even more people that only took out a few contribution points to join in the passion of the community.

On the morning of the second day, Naruto had finished his cultivation and opened his door. In an instant, countless sounds of challenges exploded out with a boom, as if thunder was rolling. The shocked Naruto went blank and took a while to surpress the boiling fighting intent in his heart. He opened his eyes widely and stared blankly at the hundreds of paper cranes in front of his door; he took a deep breath.

"This North Bank is too crazy." Naruto felt his head go numb as he quickly closed his door, deciding to no longer go out.

On the morning of the third day, he thought that the people of the North Bank ought to have calmed down already. But this time, he only felt like thunder had struck him as he saw at least 300 paper cranes in front of him, densely packed in front of his pavilion, like a small hill.

Every paper crane represented a challenge...

Naruto let out a dry cough and quickly closed the door. He believed that the people in the North Bank were all lunatics.

"Aih, there are times when being outstanding isn't a good thing. Naruto, Naruto... your mistake this time was being too excellent." Naruto put on a long face and sat in the pavilion, lost in thought. After a long period of pondering, he decided to might as well cultivate the Water Nation Technique.

Time passed, and during the following seven days, every time Naruto opened his door, he would see several hundred paper cranes that dropped down. Slowly, he got used to it, and there were over two thousand paper cranes piled outside the pavilion.

Every time a disciple came to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, the first thing he would see would be that area covered with paper cranes...

During these seven days, the storm created by the numerous Heaven's Chosen within the entire North Bank responding to Kiba's challenge had escalated. In the end, almost 40% of the inner sect disciples had challenged Naruto. Although they had to take out contribution points, they only took out a small portion of the points they had; they would not be as crazy as Kiba. Nonetheless, the total number of people alone was frightening, and this matter had caused too great of a sensation. It even alerted the Elders and Ancestors of the various mountains, who were also shocked by this scene.

From the time that the Testing Stage had been created in the North Bank until now, it has been already over 4000 years. However, there had never been a time… where it had been used for something with this kind of scale and sensation.

That was, around two thousand inner sect disciples making a challenge, and all of the challenges were to one person...

This situation was simply uncontrollable, as if it had turned into a surging tide that lead the North Bank to this crazy situation.

"Breaking news, there were another three hundred inner sect disciples that challenged Naruto on the Testing Stage today!"

"Haha! Naruto must be scared to death! This time he will come to know about the power and unity of our North Bank!"

"Wait! I'm also going over there to challenge Naruto!"

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch, Cannibaloid, Jin

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 122 Chapter 122

Chapter 122 - This Challenge... I Accept!

In the North Bank, challenging Naruto was now a magnificent feat, and because of the excessive commotion, the South Bank had also heard of it. The disciples of the South Bank looked at each other with sympathy as they gazed towards the distant North Bank. These disciple weren't pitying Naruto, but were instead, pitying the disciples of the North Bank.

"You guys don't understand him…"

"Just wait... it won't be much longer until you guys realise how terrifying Naruto is."

Time passed, and on the tenth day, the total number of inner sect disciples challenging Naruto exceeded 2000; it had reached 2300! Furthermore, the number was still increasing by the day!

It was suggested that, if you were an inner sect disciple of the North Bank and had not gone to the Testing Stage to release a paper crane in order to challenge Naruto, you would lose face and others would look down on you with disdain in their eyes.

After the appearance of this atmosphere, the number of people challenging Naruto… increased even more!

"Haha! Today, I, Xu Dabao, have used ten contribution points to challenge Naruto!"

"Humph! I, Zhou Yuncong, have already challenged that number one enemy of the North Bank three days ago! What a pity... That fragile chicken doesn't dare come to fight!"

During the thirteenth day, the number of inner sect disciples who had challenged Naruto had already broken through 3000! The entire North Bank caused a sensation and everyone began discussing about the issue of challenging Naruto; it didn't matter where they were in the North Bank.

This sort of domino effect which was caused by a single person was unprecedented! Every day, the Testing Stage would be filled with several tens of thousands of people. Most of these people were outer sect disciples, they were watching the inner sect disciples proudly step onto the Testing Stage and issue challenges. After it formed into a paper crane, they would all start cheering; even the number of contribution points wasted was already ignored by everyone!

The person who first issued a challenge, Kiba, had never imagined that the matter would have developed into this. His current reputation had already exceeded his former reputation. Even his identity as a victim from the Heaven's Chosen War caused him to bask in the limelight!

On the seventeenth day, the number of inner sect disciples who had challenged Naruto had already exceeded 4000! The storm of events which had been caused by the North Bank swept across the entire Spirit Creek Sect.

It was as if this wasn't a challenge anymore, and instead, became a symbol. The number of contribution points that was taken out didn't even matter… although many only took out a small amount of contribution points which were in the single digits. However, in this sort of lively event, it was a must to participate in.

"Naruto is too scared, he doesn't dare to fight against our North Bank!"

"Haha! Even if he has grown stronger, he will still kneel under the unity of our North Bank!"

"The willpower of our North Bank is supreme!"

Not only were the Ancestors of the four mountains speechless, even

Zheng Yuandong was also dumbstruck. This situation even made the Grand Elder pay attention to it, because, after all, this type of incident had never occured before.

As the excitement of the North Bank had reached the pinnacle, almost all of the inner sect disciples had issued a challenge. There were even many people that went to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard every single day, w

atching the paper cranes that were unceasingly flying as they let out several cheers.

On the twentieth day, basically all of the inner sect disciples had issued a challenge and the matter had finally died down a little. However, early in morning, a large man from the outer sect inside the crowd near the Testing Stage was palpitating with excitement. He noticed that there were so many inner sect disciples that were being cheered on because they had challenged Naruto; this caused excitement to bloom within his heart. There were already four thousand people who had challenged him, and even if Naruto wanted to choose someone to fight, he would not lower himself to take a low amount contribution points. After all, he was the number one in the Heaven's Chosen War.

Being able to challenge the number one... and the other party would even escape from the fight! As the large man thought of this, he felt extremely excited. In the future, he would have the qualifications to boast about challenging Naruto who didn't fight and cowardly ran away.

Thinking about this, that large man from the outer sect became elated. With his cultivation at the fourth stage of Chakra Condensation, and thinking about his identity as the first outer sect disciple to challenge Naruto, he proudly rushed out from the crowd, being the first person to climb onto the Testing Stage on this day. He then faced the sky and began to laugh.

"I, Liu Dabiao, would like to use a hundred contribution points to challenge Naruto!" The sound of Liu Dabiao's laugh echoed throughout the stage as he clasped his hands behind his back and proudly looked towards the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

"Naruto, receive this grandfather's challenge! You are an inner sect disciple, do you dare to have a fight with this Liu Dabiao?!"

Following the appearance of this person, everyone in the surrounding became silent. Everyone's first reaction was that Liu Dabiao was crazy. No matter how evil Naruto was, he was also the victor of the Heaven's Chosen War and wasn't someone an outer sect disciple could challenge. However, they immediately realised that this was obviously Liu Dabiao creating an opportunity to make himself famous; all the disciple's eyes began to glisten.

At this moment, they realized that an outer sect disciple could challenge an inner sect disciple, and the other party would even escape from the challenge. This was a something that could make them famous. The Outer Disciples became fired up.

They all proudly issued challenges, thinking of participating in this grand occasion, the campaign against the North Bank's number one public enemy.

While Liu Dabiao was feeling proud of himself, Naruto, who was sitting in a cross-legged position within the Hundred Beasts Pavilion, suddenly sat up and took a deep breath as he opened the door.

During these twenty days, his biggest headache was opening the door. He had to open the door everyday. If the accumulated pile of paper cranes got too big, the fighting intent would become too strong and Naruto would not be able to handle it. Therefore, he could only open the door first thing in the morning.

Every time he walked out, he would see the several hundred paper cranes letting out the countless emotionless voices. Yesterday, he had even counted the number of paper cranes and realized that it had surpassed four thousand! It had even densely covered the floor.

When Naruto opened the door and found that there were only tens of paper cranes, he was surprised. But suddenly, over a thousand paper cranes appeared in the sky, which had formed a fighting intent that could topple mountains and seas, that whistled to him. When he was shocked, these paper cranes all fell, surging and exploding right in front of him, directly burying him underneath.

When the paper cranes that numbered over a thousand landed on Naruto at the same time, he was trapped by that strong fighting intent, and the paper cranes directly buried his skinny body underneath them.

After a short while, when Naruto had climbed up with a struggle, his entire body turned foolish. Looking at the countless paper cranes surrounding him. He was struck stupid for a long time, as if he couldn't use his brain, and was unable to move a single step.

And in his hands, he was now holding the first paper crane that arrived as the emotionless sound continued echoing in his ear.

"Inner sect disciple Naruto, Liu Dabiao of the outer sect of the North Bank, fourth layer of Chakra Condensation, is using one hundred contributions to challenge you.

Naruto stared at that paper crane. A light appeared in his eyes, and he was currently angry, especially after hearing the five words, "Fourth Layer of Chakra Condensation."

"The North Bank is bullying people too much! I, Naruto, want to keep a low profile, but since I can't keep a low profile, that's fine! If Kiba wants to be shameless and came out early after he said he would be in seclusion for ten years, that's fine too! If inner sect disciples want to challenge me, I can endure that. But if outer sect disciples also want to challenge me, I cannot endure that, I'll just accept his challenge! Liu Dabiao? Fourth layer of Chakra Condensation, screw him!" Naruto took a deep breath as he felt sorrow from the bottom of his heart. If it were not for him not being able to take out the beasts of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard without a brand, and the fact that he didn't know the Tongtian Beast Controlling Art, he would have really brought out all of the near-thousand spirit beasts outside, and sweep away the battlefield!

At this moment, there was an expression of pity as he lifted his chin, speaking towards the paper crane.

"This challenge, I accept! Immediately start the battle!"

At the same time, Liu Dabiao was clasping his hands behind his back as he enjoyed the feeling of being the focus of attention by the audience, and he was overwhelmed by the surge of emotions.

"Naruto, your grandfather is waiting for you for ten more breaths! You rookie, you cowardly chicken, in the end, do you dare to accept this grandfather's challenge!

"Naruto, come out for me right now!" Liu Dabiao became very excited as he kept roaring loudly. The more he was like this, the more the people around him would cheer.

And when Liu Dabiao was even more excited, he had never predicted that Naruto would accept his challenge. From his point of view, Naruto had been escaping from every challenge for twenty days. Even if he were to accept challenges, he would accept the challenges of those inner sect disciples, and would never lower himself to accept his challenge. After all… that was the number one of the Heaven's Chosen War

Thinking about this, Liu Dabiao was even more pleased with himself and felt that this was a good opportunity of getting himself famous. He even imagined that he would definitely be known by everyone in the outer sect after today, and some Junior Sisters that he like might start to admire him bceause of this heroic scene.

"Naruto, there are still three more breaths, do you dare to fight with your grandfather!" Liu Dabiao let out a loud roar again as his laugh echoed outwards. He felt extremely pleased with himself; he was about to fall off the stage.

But at this moment…

Suddenly, a light screen instantly appeared, directly blocking Liu Dabiao, causing him to be unable to leave. Following the appearance of the light screen, everyone in that area felt shocked.

Immediately, an emotionless voice echoed out on the Testing Stage.

"The challenged inner sect disciple Naruto accepts the challenge of the challenger Liu Dabiao, and the fight shall instantly start!"

In an instant, a conveying light floated into the stage. Naruto's figure, borrowing the help of the paper cranes, directly appeared on the Testing Stage. Once he arrived, he immediately saw the several tens of thousand of North Bank disciples all around him, and also saw the big man Liu Dabiao who was standing on the same stage as him, who was currently so blank that he looked like an idiot.

In a split second, everything all around him turned into deathly silence. Within the crowd, there were outer sect disciples, as well as inner sect disciples. But regardless of who it was, everyone turned stupid in this moment, as if they were wooden chickens that were looking at Naruto who was on the Testing Stage.

No matter who it was, they never thought that Naruto would… actually accept the challenge. Accepting the challenge would be fine, but the challenge that he accepted was actually... the challenge of an outer sect disciple that was at the fourth layer of Chakra Condensation...

This level of shamelessness had already exceeded the imagination of everyone, causing them to be stupid, leaving a blank space in their mind.

"You are Liu Dabiao?" Naruto clasped his hands behind his back as he imposingly spoke.

Liu Dabiao's legs went soft and tears were already flowing out of his eyes. His entire body was thoroughly dizzy, a blank look appearing in his eyes. He felt like this was like a dream. He only wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and show off, to bring himself in the limelight. No matter what, he had never thought that Naruto would actually accept his challenge!

He didn't accept the challenges of the inner sect disciples, as well as the the challenges of the strong outer sect disciples, but instead accepted his challenge...

"I… I…" Liu Dabiao's whole body was uncontrollably shaking as he stuttered. Before he could finish speaking, Naruto lightly sighed and indifferently spoke.

"You should surrender. Once I make a move, even I am scared."

When these words entered Liu Dabiao's ears, it immediately turned into the sound of thunder, causing the scenes of what he heard about Naruto to instantly appear in his mind; especially the scene about Kiba's plight, which made him unconsciously lock his legs and scared him to the point of his soul flying out. He was about to cry as he screeched out.

"I admit defeat!"

With a bang following Liu Dabiao's surrender, the light screen disappeared. Naruto proudly stood on the Testing Stage, and the amount of contribution points in his identity jade slip automatically increased by one hundred.

"Life is solitary…" Naruto flourished his sleeve and was about to lightly sigh. But at this moment, every person in the crowd let out an angry roar that had reached the pinnacle of madness. This roar was so strong, that at this moment, it had actually spreaded across the entire North Bank, and even the South Bank could faintly hear it.

...

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Cannibaloid, Arch, Mantoulnv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 123 Chapter 123

Chapter 123 - Fight!

"Shameless! To think this world actually has such a shameless person!"

"Heavens! I'm so old, but I have never seen such a shameless fellow in my life! I'm going to die! I want to go strangle him!"

"Don't stop me, this Naruto is so hateful! He's actually shameless to this extent!"

The surrounding crowd were driven mad. Each and every single person in the area let out angry roars that could shake the heavens and the eyes of many disciples had even turned red, especially the scene of Liu Dabiao that had returned after running away. His legs trembling as tears flew from the corner of his eyes, causing people sympathise with his heartache even more.

"This is too excessive! If you don't accept the challenges of inner sect disciples, and accept only the challenges of outer sect disciples, that's also fine. But Naruto you actually chose to accept the challenges of some pushovers!"

"Come fight me! I, Chen Ao, have challenged you since the very first day. Come!" Those inner sect disciples were also driven mad; they glowered at Naruto and roared at him with a roar that could shake the heavens and earth.

In the distance, the Gongsun siblings and Xu Song quickly rushed over. After they found out the reason for what was happening, they took a deep breath and appeared shocked. Quickly, they were indignantly denouncing Naruto.

Especially Kiba who was approaching at high speed, who even faced the sky and howled.

"Naruto, I am challenging you!"

These countless roars unified, exceeding the sound of thunder, directly spreading throughout the four mountains of the North Bank. This caused of countless outer sect disciples to be fearful, pushing them to see what was happening, while inner sect disciples widely opened their eyes and approached at high speed.

Following this, sounds of challenges were repeatedly sent out as several hundreds of paper cranes condensed on the Testing Stage and went straight to Naruto with a 'Shua' sound. Within a blink of an eye, they all fell to the ground, almost drowning him.

This scene had never occured before in the North Bank. This was practically the hate of all of the disciples, which caused even the four Ancestors of the North Bank to take a deep breath. The four Ancestors, along with the large number of Elders that instantly approached and appeared in midair, stared at this while dumbstruck.

But even after they thought for a long time, they still couldn't think of what sect rule Naruto had broken, especially that old woman, who widely opened her eyes, blankly staring at Naruto who was standing on the Testing Stage. He really did not break any sect rules.

Everything that he had done was all following the rules...

Seeing the amount of paper cranes in the surroundings get more and more, and the crowd's anger being enough to burn the heavens, Naruto also got angry. He was very innocent; he firmly believed that he had done nothing wrong. He had not broken any sect rules, and he had not challenged anyone; it was all other people that had challenged him.

He was merely accepting a challenge...

As he heard the crowd shouting in order challenge him, Naruto's eyes widened and he let out a huge roar.

"You guys are bullying people too much! Fine, you guys have forced me!" Naruto glowered at the crowd as he waved his right hand. With a crashing sound, he impressively took out over five thousand paper cranes from his storage pouch. These were all the challenges that he had obtained during these days, and there were over one thousand of them that he just recently obtai

ned from earlier...

Everyone also quietened down, and one by one, they stared at Naruto. The inner sect disciples there were all clenching their first, prepared to fight at any time. As for the outer sect disciples, they were also burning with anger, especially those thousand disciples that followed Liu Dabiao to issue challenges. They were indignant and nervous.

At this moment when the audience was glowering at him, Naruto felt extremely angry from the bottom of his heart. He swept his eyes across that pile of paper cranes and chose one that belonged to an outer sect disciple at the fifth layer of Chakra Condensation. He directly grabbed it and proudly spoke.

"You! I accept your challenge!"

Following Naruto's words, a figure that belonged to an outer sect disciple instantly disappeared from the crowd, and he was automatically teleported to the Testing Stage. This outer sect disciple was a youth who was currently trembling, scared to the point where tears were almost falling from his eyes as he repeatedly retreated.

"I...I surrender!"

Everyone present went blank again, and countless people felt their eyes going black. They discovered that they would never determinine the bottom line of Naruto's shamelessness...

"AHHHH, I want to kill him! Naruto, this time, you can't leave unless you fight everyone here! Otherwise, this is not over!"

"This sort of shamelessness...I...I don't even know what to say!"

"Heavens! Please send down a bolt of immortal lightning and strike him to death!"

Naruto became even more angrier, he was annoyed to the bottom of his heart. The more he stared at the crowd, the angrier he became.

"I, Naruto, have come from the South Bank to the North Bank without any friends, and have always been maintaining a low profile. I didn't dare to offend anyone, but you guys have kept forcing me, fine, I'll fight it out with you!" Naruto's eyes were already red. He clenched his teeth and took out another paper crane that belonged to a disciple at the fifth layer of Chakra Condensation.

With a whipping sound, an outer sect disciple appeared in front of Naruto. He was about to collapse and quickly shouted loudly to surrender. Naruto let out a cold snort and took out another paper crane.

Quickly, under the increasingly indignant yells of the crowd, Naruto accepted the challenges of the outer sect disciples, one by one. The bodies of those outer sect disciples were all trembling, and their legs went soft. But because the challenger could not cancel a challenge, they could only quickly surrender with tears in their eyes, as they could only helplessly see their contribution points be transferred to Naruto.

After surrendering, they went back to the crowd. The angry roars of these people were much stronger than the others. On one side, they were extremely indignant towards Naruto. On the other, they were feeling heartache from the loss of their contribution points.

On the other hand, Naruto's contribution points were madly increasing with a frightening speed. Finally, he was even extremely shocked by the amount of contribution points that he had. This one day for the thousand outer sect disciples that had previously challenged him... was a calamity...

Within this calamity, Naruto seemed to have transformed into a devil that was harvesting contribution points. Naruto was also ruthless and used three days worth of time to finish fighting with all of the outer sect disciples.

Despite not even fighting one time, this continuous action of taking out paper cranes also made Naruto's arm ache.

And the disciples of the North Bank that were all around, their madness, even if their throats were hoarse, still stayed as strong as before, and was even getting more and more intense, to the point where the Law Enforcement Agency had no choice but to surround them. When they were helplessly looking at Naruto, they were also vigilant, worried that this unprecedented incident may cause the disciples of the North Bank to riot.

The Ancestors of the four mountains were already shocked long ago, and did not dare to leave; they acted as a deterrence. When their gazes met, they could see the helplessness and shock in their respective eyes.

"This Naruto, no wonder the South Bank sent him here!"

"Even if he's alone, he can destroy a sect!"

"Unfortunately, he hasn't broken any sect rules…"

Three days later, Naruto shook his arm and let out a cold snort while standing on the Testing Stage. He had already finished accepting the challenges of all the outer sect disciples. He also saw that the several tens of thousands of disciples would not let him go like this.

"Since this is the case, don't blame me." Naruto became silent for a moment and suddenly laughed. At this moment, his body didn't have the caution that it previously had, and instead, the bloodthirstiness that had appeared during the fight against the Fallen Chen Clan once again appeaered!

Under the bloodshot eyes of the crowd, he chose an inner sect disciple and started to accept challenges.

At this moment, everyone was looking at the Testing Stage with full concentration. Quickly, a figure appeared, and that figure was that of a skinny and tall youth. The moment he appeared, he faced the sky and laughed loudly.

"Naruto, today I…" Boom!

Before this tall and skinny youth could finish speaking, Naruto had already appeared in front of him and let out a punch. The youth's eyes widened and was instantly sent flying; he hit the protective light screen of the Testing Stage... and instantaneously fainted.

The crowd's eyes widened as they took a deep breath. Naruto had a calm expression as he took out the second paper crane which belonged to another inner sect disciple. Quickly, the second inner sect disciple also fainted within the blink of an eye after only being punched once. After this, Naruto took out a third one...

Within a day, he had accepted the challenges of a hundred inner sect disciples. These hundred people all had the cultivation of the eighth layer of Chakra Condensation, but no matter which one it was, in front of Naruto, they could only take one punch.

During the evening, Naruto ended his selection of paper cranes and sat down in a cross-legged position, meditating on the Testing Stage. The crowd surrounded him with a gaze that carried anger, as if to say that if Naruto dared to leave, they would use all their strength to block him.

On the morning of the second day, Naruto opened his eyes, his expression as normal as ever. He took out paper cranes and continued accepting challenges. The next hundred inner sect disciples he fought were like every person the past day, defeating them only took a single punch!

The third day, the fourth day, and the fifth day passed...

All the way until twenty days. It took a full twenty days worth of time, but Naruto had accepted the challenges of two thousand inner sect disciples. All of them were at the eighth layer of Chakra Condensation, and all of them took only one punch to deal with.

None of them had the qualifications to make him use a second punch.

Although this scene had a certain deterrence, it made none of the disciples of the North Bank silent. When they looked at Naruto, they were still glowering at him. But following that, another twenty days passed while Naruto calmly continued accepting challenges.

During these twenty days, the ones that he was fighting were no longer all at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, but instead, there were many at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation. Quickly, everyone there was overwhelmed with shock upon finding out that Naruto was so valiant that...even if he was fighting a disciple who was at the ninth layer of Chakra Condensation, he would make them faint within two punches.

And he even made them spit out fresh blood!

This scene immediately shook the disciples of the North Bank, causing them to gradually turn silent. Above all, after the appearance of the Gongsun siblings and Xu Song, and when Kiba made a move, these four great Heaven's Chosen unexpectedly could only last ten punches in front of Naruto.

Kiba was unable to believe that his Setting Sun Technique, unexpectedly, could not withstand a single blow from Naruto!

The Gongsun siblings were thoroughly afraid. They had thought that their speed of growth after the Heaven's Chosen War had already been very fast, but at this moment, they found out that Naruto's growth was faster than theirs, and was much, much faster!

Xu Song felt bitter. Looking at Naruto, he felt as if he was looking at a second Gui Ya. That frightening valiance was enough to make all of his peers despair.

Within ten punches, he had completely destroyed every challenger. After all, Naruto's fleshy body had already touched the first layer of the shackles. For other people, great success in the Impenetrable Golden Skin and the peak of the Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture was needed to reach the first shackle. However, Naruto was only at the Impenetrable Silver Skin, and he hasn't even reached the peak of the Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture, yet he had actually reached the first shackle!

(ED Note: The chapter which was entitled 'Touching One's Limit' should be Touching The First Shackle. It was a miscommunication in our part, and we will update it soon. Sorry!)

This valiance was genuinely unparalleled under Foundation Establishment.

During this moment when the four great Heaven's Chosen were defeated, all of the disciples of the North Bank were silent. When they looked at Naruto, they had an unprecedented complicated look. Gradually, despite the fact that they were still angry, they were… sincerely convinced!

In the cultivation world, the strong were respected. Using this terrifying strength that could make people despair, Naruto, at this moment, conquered all of the disciples of the North Bank.

Although he was still their number one enemy, he was now an enemy that they wished to compete and surpass!

It was unknown who moved first, but quickly, a path that led to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard was made by the people outside the Testing Stage.

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch, Mantoulnv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Chapter 124 - Great Technique Of Controlling Man

Purple Chakra Melting Cauldron Technique-Purple Chakra Cauldron Forming

Technique

Naruto didn't continue to accept challenges anymore; he just followed the road that the disciples of the North Bank had opened for him. His expression had a hint of melancholy and helplessness as he lightly shook his head and slowly walked away.

Under the complicated looks of the countless disciples of the North Bank, Naruto gradually walked further away. When he was far enough, he let out a sigh of regret. Naruto flourished his sleeve and muttered to himself

"Ai. It's was my mistake... I should keep a low profile." Although the look on his face appeared to be sad, his heart was actually brimming with pride and excitement. However, his outer apperance kept that melancholic and lonely look, causing his back figure to become desolate…

Looking at Naruto's back figure, the disciples of the North Bank had complicated emotions, they were unable to tell what they were feeling. The Gongsun siblings, Xu Song, and Kiba felt unwillingness in their hearts, but a feeling of powerlessness also rose within their hearts.

They had already tried their best to catch up and had already thought that they had overtook him. However, they realised that there was an even further distance between them. This sort of feeling made them turn silent.

"Perhaps between him and Gui Ya there will be a… Legacy Order after many years!" Xu Song let out a light sigh from the bottom of his heart, the Gongsun siblings already had a similar thought that appeared in their hearts.

Kiba's body trembled as he clenched his fist. He did not give up because he knew that he couldn't give up. Everytime he recalled the misery which occured to him during the Heaven's Chosen War, he felt as if there was an invisible whip that was whipping him.

The moment Kiba clenched his teeth, an arm was placed on his shoulder. It was his elder brother, the Number One Heaven's Chosen of the Setting Sun Peak, Beihan Feng. He had been waiting here for a long time. One of the challenges that Naruto did not continue accepting had also belonged to him.

After seeing Naruto's strength after this one month with his own eyes, Beihan Feng knew that, he… was absolutely not a match for Naruto even if he was currently at the tenth layer of Chakra Condensation.

In front of the frightening strength of Naruto's fleshy body and his unimaginable speed, it would be as easy as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

"Bro…" Kiba looked towards his elder brother.

"Your aptitude is better than mine so diligently cultivate. A temporary defeat doesn't matter. Within the older generations of the Legacy Order, there were some seniors who were unremarkable during Chakra Condensation and Foundation Establishment. However, after they accumulated their knowledge and slowly unleashed it, they managed to surpass the Heaven's Chosen of their generation.

Kiba went silent. After a long time, he forcefully nodded his head.

"In the future, do not provoke Naruto. No matter how evil he previously was, at this moment, he has obtained respect. At the same time, his way of handling things is worthy for you to learn. Understand proper behaviour, and when to advance and retreat. Don't be confused by illusions or be tempted by wealth. With only an eternal perseverance, this man… is very scary." Beihan Feng muttered in a low voice.

It was not only Beihan

Feng who was like this. Almost every single one of the more than the two thousand inner sect disciples that had not fought with Naruto had this this sort of lament at this moment.

Naruto was a verysly person. He did not forcibly continue the challenges that the North Bank had taken the initiative to issue. This was to maintain the face of the two thousand people and the North Bank.

After all, there was already no meaning in accepting more challenges. The amount of contribution points that he acccumulated had already reached an extremely terrifying level. The best method of solving this problem was to refrain from bringing it up and letting the challenges become invalid after half a year.

This method not only allowed to North Bank to save face, but also reduced the number of unnecessary foes.

Nobody spoke. All of the disciples of the North Bank that were here turned silent. Many of the people began to acknowledge Naruto's intentions, and the more they understood this, the more they respected Naruto.

The four Ancestors of the North Bank were hovering in midair, and their gazes were solemn.

"This Naruto is even stronger than he was during the Heaven's

Chosen War…"

"That child Gui Ya has always been in seclusion, preparing to enter Foundation Establishment. Out of these two, who will be the strongest disciple in this generation... and after a few years, who will enter the

Legacy Order and become one of the Ancestors of my Spirit Creek Sect?"

"Entering the Legacy Order is truly too hard. If you cannot enter the Golden Core stage within two sixty year cycles, you can't be a part of the Legacy Order. After two sixty year cycles, even if you enter the Golden Core stage, you will only be a Grand Elder. Gui Ya would be good, Naruto would be fine, but they still have a long way to go… However, if they really can become a part of the Legacy Order that can surpass me and the other Ancestors, then they would be permitted to enter the deepest heritage of my Spirit Creek Sect, the Spirit Creek Mystic Realm. Not only does that area have the inheritances of the

Grand Elder, if they are lucky, they can even meet… the Spirit Creek Patriarch!"

"Until today, there are not even twenty people that have entered the Legacy Order in the Spirit Creek Mystic Realm… Only they are the immortal legacies of my Spirit Creek Sect. Every single one of them are the pillars of my Spirit Creek Sect… We already have no hope, and can only be the Ancestors that guard the mountain. On the other hand, Toruho… his hope is the greatest!"

The four Ancestors of the North Bank looked at each other and were deeply moved. When they talked about Naruto, they also thought about Toruho.

After a long time, the crowd near the Testing Stage slowly dispersed.

The entire North Bank was also quiet during the following period of days. Regardless of whether it was the inner or outer sect disciples, all them were scared; their fear was also reflected during this period of time, and almost all of the disciples in the North Bank had began cultivating in madness.

Perhaps they did not see Naruto as an enemy anymore, but saw him as a target to surpass. This explosive power made the four Ancestors of the North Bank very happy.

Time passed, and within the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

Naruto was still in the Hundred Beasts Courtyard and had not left it. He spent the whole day cultivating either the Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture or the Water Nation Technique. Even more of his time was spent on observing all of the spirit beasts in this area.

No matter whether it was the docile or violent natured beasts, they slowly became close with him under his untiring hard work. Also, Naruto was already very familiar with every place in this forest due to his many strolls.

Above all, there was a mountain stream in the depts of the forest. It was incomparably pitch-black, and from afar, anyone could see countless Black Chakra coming out from it. This was the famous Ancient Beast Abyss of the North Bank.

According to the rumours, this place lead to a secret realm after passing through the 9th level of Hell. There were countles spirit beasts there, and it was temporarily sealed by the Spirit Creek Patriarch after spending an enormous price, thus turning it into one of the heritages of the sect. It was the main source of the spirit beasts necessary for the cultivation of the disciples of the North Bank.

This secret realm's origin was unfathomable. After the Spirit Creek Sect explored it for ten thousand years, they had only explored a small area of it. However, they had to reseal it every few hundred years, and every time that they opened it, the price they paid was not small. Although the secret realm needed such enormous expenses, its countless resources had also become one of the reasons of the North Bank's gradual rise.

At the same time, this Ancient Beast Abyss was also the resting place of the Spirit Creek Sect's guardian beast, the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon. Its presence in itself was a part of the seal.

The sect's guardian treasure, the supreme Heaven's Edge Sword that had been spirit refined nine times, was refined from a horn that the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon had cast off during that year.

Its cultivation was terrifying, and even Zheng Yuandong had to address this Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon as his senior. During that year when the Spirit Creek Sect had slaughtered its way from the endstream of the Tongtian River to the midstream and obtained the qualifications to set up the sect here, the acheivements of this Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon that followed the Spirit Creek Patriarch could not go unnoticed.

Naruto stood outside the mountain stream of the Ancient Beast Abyss and extended his head out to take a few looks. He had already come here many times, and he had learned the history of this place, as well as the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon from the North Bank's sect rules jade slip.

After he habitually threw a great amount of pills that were specially refined for spirit beasts inside of the mountain stream, Naruto coughed and shouted.

"Senior Heaven's Edge, this junior Naruto has come again and would like to use the Earth Fire Vein here for a while. As for the old rules about the fee... I'll just use pills as a replacement." After Naruto finished throwing his pills, he didn't care whether there was a reply or not and ran to the cave that he opened up near the mountain stream.

After he arrived at the forest in the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, he had quickly discovered there were marks of an Earth Fire Vein. Therefore, he dug out this stone cave, and sure enough, he found an Earth Fire Vein. This had become his pill refining room in the North Bank, and the pills that he had given the spirit beasts to eat were all refined in this place.

Only, after he thought about what he had read in the sect rules jade slip, which had an introduction for the history of this place, he felt that he should guard against the unexpected. Therefore, every time he came here, he would throw a great amount of pills towards the mountain stream as a fee.

Even though there was no sound or change that had occured after he had thrown the pills into the mountain stream, Naruto still retained this habit, even if he gradually didn't pay attention to it.

Yet another month passed. When Naruto walked out from the stone cave, his eyes shone brightly, and he had a prideful look on his face as excitement appeared in his eyes.

His medicine refinement went very smoothly this time. He had a Grade 2 spirit medicine in his hand, which had already reached perfection. At this moment, his cultivation finally stopped slowly increasing, and instead, he rose directly to the peak level of the ninth layer of Chakra Condensation. "Haha, I won't need much time to step into the tenth layer of Qi

Condensation! Then I can start preparing for Foundation Establishment!" Naruto was excited. During this half year, his Impenetrable Silver Skin also had slight improvements.

At this moment, he felt that his cultivation had finally found a correct path. Naruto started to attempt the Purple Chakra Cauldron Forming Technique. Following the appearances of cauldrons, Naruto was pleasantly surprised to find that he had already thoroughly mastered this magical technique to the heart.

Within his happiness, Naruto's eyes shone brightly. He thought about the times when he constantly pondered about creating a new technique.

Great Technique of Controlling Man! Perhaps it was due to the fight with the Fallen Chen Clan during that year, recalling that scene of him controlling Chen Heng during that moment of crisis made a very deep impression in Naruto's mind. At this moment, he was eager to give it a try.

Although there were no cultivators that were nearby for him to try out the technique, this place was still the Hundred Beasts Courtyard which had a large amount of spirit beasts. After Naruto thought of this, he was immediately excited as he ran out, looking for spirit beasts in the forest. After he found a spirit beast, he immediately used them to practice his Great Technique of Controlling Man.

After many days, the entire forest was messed up. Naruto helplessly found out that his Great Technique of Controlling Man was unable to completely control the spirit beasts that had an enormous body or a profound cultivation. Only a petite spirit beast or one that was at the fifth layer of Chakra Condensation or below could be barely controlled.

Depressed, Naruto refused to believe that he could not do it. He summarised his methods and continued to ponder about this Great Technique of Controlling Man. He faintly felt that this sort of technique which relied on his own spirit force to control the body of an opponent by overpowering the willpower of an opponent, was missing a key ingredient.

If he could find that missing part, perhaps… he could succeed!

As Naruto was practicing this Great Technique of Controlling Man, a pair of deep blue eyes became visible within the Ancient Beast Abyss; it had been opened at some unknown time. They followed Naruto who was in the forest and then gazed at his Great Technique of Controlling Man. It's eyes showed a hint of amazement.

"Controlling Man… the old monster of the Han Sect from that year also had this thought." Within the Ancient Beast Abyss, a muttering that contained the vicissitudes of life within it was sent out.

Translated by: Sean

TLCed by: Ash

Edited by: Arch, MantouInv, Jin

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 125

Chapter 125

Chapter 125 - The Nocturnal Beast From That Day

In the following days, this magical technique known as the Great Technique of Controlling Man had become a game of sorts for the spirit beasts in this area. They would often find themselves mysteriously flying up and dropping back down.

Occasionally, they would abruptly stand up with both feet. Not only did these spirit beasts not feel any fear, they actually felt excitement. In the end, when those petite beasts saw Naruto, they would immediately run over to him, yearning for Naruto to play with them.

On the other hand, the spirit beasts which had enormous bodies, such as the Scarlet Flying Tiger, often noticed Naruto standing beside it, constantly extending his finger out while muttering some chants. And often, Naruto would start to sigh and silently walk away with a depressed expression. After seeing Naruto had already walked away, those spirit beasts that had enormous bodies were flabbergasted, wondering what Naruto was doing.

After one month, Naruto had no choice but to temporarily give up on the Great Technique of Controlling Man.

"Once this technique is successfully cultivated, it will definitely shake the heavens and earth. I will temporarily take it slowly and wait until I get stronger. I would definitely be able to cultivate it then!" Naruto had some unwillingness, but after only achieving little success even after a month, he couldn't help but lament and slowly bury this ability in the bottom of his heart for now. Whenever he thought of continuing to cultivate the Water Nation Technique, he uncontrollably looked at his wings.

"When the old woman from the North Bank gave me this Magnetic Yuan Pearl and the wings, she said that this contained the secret art of attraction and repulsion…" Naruto's eyes shone brightly and put the wings in front of him, beginning his research. After many days, he sighed and could only bury this in the bottom of his heart, leaving it for later.

Only now did he manage to thoroughly close his heart, and begin to fully concentrate on cultivating the Water Nation Technique.

Time passed, and unknowingly, Naruto had almost spent two years in the North Bank. The Rearing Beast Seed behind the courtyard had already grown to about one zhang, but unfortunately, it still hadn't bloomed. However, Naruto had estimated that the day that it would bloom was not very far.

The aura of his Water Nation Technique had gradually gotten stronger under his continuous cultivation. Every time he activated it, there would be loud booming sounds and a mysterious force, which seemingly looked as if it wasn't part of this world, would descend in all directions.

Naruto had already finished observing every single one of the more than nine hundred different spirit beasts. He practically knew every beast like the back of his palm, but unfortunately, his Spirit of Life hadn't formed yet.

"Could it be that I haven't observed enough spirit beasts? I should go observe some stronger spirit beasts." Naruto muttered to himself for a long time. He looked at the Ancient Beast Abyss and hesitated for a moment. He felt that the Ancient Beast Abyss was too dangerous. After thinking for a while, his eyes shone brightly as he suddenly raised his head, looking at the four mountain peaks of the North Bank.

"There are the mountain guarding spirit beasts of the North Bank's four mountain peaks!"

The four mountain peaks of the North Bank all had a strong spirit beast that lived on the hilltop. They were the guardians of the mountain peaks. Although they were not as strong as the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon, they were still extraordinary. Ev

ery few days, they would occasionally go out of their mountains and dance in the sky or howl towards the sky. When they shook the earth, they would attract many disciples that were filled with envy and consternation.

During this period of time when Naruto was in the North Bank, he had also seen this many times. In particular, there was the SevenColoured Phoenix from the Iridaceae Mountain, which was already stapled in his mind.

After he made up his mind, Naruto hurriedly left the Hundred Beasts Courtyard. When he walked past the Testing Stage, he saw the sculpture of a spirit beast. This wasn't the first time that he saw this sculpture, however, every time he saw it, he would have a kind of feeling that could not be explained. This was also a phenomenon that would occur to other disciples.

Even Naruto had carefully observed it, however, he was left empty handed. Due to this, he gradually stopped paying attention to it, and would only subconsciously sweep his gaze over it when he walked pass it.

Naruto stopped paying attention to the sculpture and decided to go to the Iridaceae Mountain before doing anything else. He currently had a load on his mind, and when he was walking, he suddenly turned vigilant. The Magnetic Yuan Wings instantly appeared on his back, and his body charged out several zhangs with a whoosh.

At the exact moment when Naruto flew off, a shadow instantly appeared in his previous location, and a shocking sound in a high tone, as if it was the sound of teeth forcefully grating that could make one's heart palpitate, resounded out.

This sound wasn't soft, it even caused a sonic boom in the air! It could be imagined how much energy was needed to make this happen, and how much hatred was needed to cause such a frightening aura to be released during the grating of teeth.

Unexpectedly, the shadow was a big black dog. Its body length exceeded one zhang, and it was like a cow, except that its whole body was skinny and shriveled. Its fur was fluffy like a wild dog.

At this moment, it had a malevolent expression as it stared at Naruto, with great amounts of saliva dripping from between its teeth. It also had a red glow in its eyes, as if it was mad.

Naruto was scared until his whole head was full of sweat. He suddenly turned his head and immediately saw this big black dog; he was immediately stunned for a moment, before instantly recognising it. "Isn't this Kiba's Nocturnal Beast, you…" However, before Naruto could finish speaking, that big black dog quickly left with a whoosh. Since it couldn't attack Naruto, it just fled a thousand li.

When Naruto was slightly confused, the many disciples of the North Bank also recognised that big black dog; they took a deep breath and started talking to each other in a a hushed tone.

"Senior Beihan's Nocturnal Beast is too pitiful, Senior Beihan can't keep it anymore, and no one dares to get close to it, even the elders find it pitiful...

"Yeah, after that incident, this Nocturnal Beast is constantly wandering around our North Bank. I even saw it standing on a hill, staring blankly at the night sky, appearing very melancholic."

"It's so pitiful, no wonder it wants to sneak attack Naruto…"

Naruto blinked his eyes. After hearing what the disciples said, he also felt apologetic in his heart. Looking at the direction where the big black dog ran off to, Naruto decided not to pursue this issue.

"I also had no choice. When I went out to fight at that time, I also asked

Kiba to surrender. When I make a move, even I am truly afraid." Naruto sighed and turned around to walk to the Iridaceae Mountain.

With his identity as an Honourable disciple, he could still walk through many areas without any worry or obstruction, even if it was the North Bank. After carefully walking to the Iridaceae Mountain, he didn't get too close to the cave on top of the mountain. Instead, he found a rock that was distant from it, and sat down there in a cross-legged position, silently waiting.

He waited for three days. On the morning of the third day, a phoenix cry that seemed as if it could tear apart the sky was suddenly let out. When bursts of seven-coloured light was radiated from the cave on the mountaintop, a Seven-Coloured Phoenix elegantly flew out, spreading its wings in midair. The morning sunlight fell on its body, and a resplendent seven-coloured brilliance was reflected. Naruto, who was watching from the side, felt his mind tremble. He faintly felt that there was a frightening power inside this Seven-Coloured Phoenix's body, and if it exploded out, even if he had cultivated the Undying Silver Skin to the Great Success stage, he would not be its match at all.

When he was staring at it, Naruto branded the image of the phoenix deep into his heart. He continued observing it, until one incense stick's worth of time passed, and this Seven Coloured Phoenix slowly flew back into its cave, ignoring Naruto.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was sketching the appearance of the Seven-Coloured Phoenix in his mind. He continued waiting, and five more days passed. It was morning again, and the Seven-Coloured Phoenix appeared again.

Time passed, and Naruto had stayed on the mountaintop of the Iridaceae Mountain to observe the Seven-Coloured Phoenix for several months. He only returned to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard once in a while and would quickly rush back.

Most of the disciples of the Iridaceae Mountain heard about this matter, and they were flabbergasted. Most of them didn't care about it, but there were some inner sect disciples that were lost in thought, and some had conjectures in their hearts.

This lasted for another month. Now, the degree of Naruto's observation of the phoenix was now down to the smallest detail. Only then did he leave and go to the Setting Sun Mountain.

The mountain guarding spirit beast of the Setting Sun Mountain was a black-coloured Three Eyed Crow. The body of the Three Eyed Crow exceeded two zhang, and it had black threads surrounding all over its body that twisted into nothingness. The times that it had appeared was not much, only once or twice within a month.

Every time it went out, not only was its speed extremely fast, it would also set off achain of lightning. Also, it would only come out at night, and would never come out during daytime.

To observe this Three Eyed Crow, Naruto was fully concentrated at night. Finally, after three months, he had seen the Three Eyed Crow for a total of five times. Every time it's body entered in vision, he would gaze steadily at it, immersed in his observation. Gradually, it seemed like the signs that his Spirit of Life would be born became even clearer.

The mountain guarding beast of the Sky Mountain wasn't a bird, but an enormous lizard. The movement speed of this lizard was slow, but its aura was extremely strong. It was the most suitable beast for Naruto to observe, as every time it went out of its cave, it would stand on the tallest rock on the Sky Mountain, motionlessly looking into the distance.

Naruto looked at it from a distance, unceasingly observing it. After a few months, the degree of observation that he had towards this lizard exceeded the Seven Coloured Phoenix, and even more exceeded the Three Eyed Crow.

As for the spirit beast guarding the Ghost Tooth Mountain, it was even more mysterious. Perhaps, it could not even be called a spirit beast. It was a Mountain Ghost, and it appeared as if it was made out of countless spirit beasts, turning the mountain range into a spirit, which later formed a consciousness, calling itself the Mountain Ghost.

This was a figure that possessed a human shape and had black fur all over its body. It had human's eyes, but had a mouth that resembled a wolf's mouth above its forehead. It had two twisted horns on top of its head, and a snake's scales on its upper body. A tiger's head was sticking out of its chest, and it had a long tail behind its body.

Its hand would forever be holding a ghastly pitchfork made out of bones, and every time it appeared, clouds and mists would appear in the sky, covering the sun and moon, causing its eyes to glow in the pitch-black darkness.

Naruto's heart was alarmed, and he was trembling in fear after seeing it. He could feel that the other party knew of his existence, but simply ignored him due to the disparity between them. Instead, it was standing on the mountaintop, facing the sky and soundlessly roaring.

During this roar, the countless stones on the Ghost Tooth Mountain were slightly trembling. After a long time, the Mountain Ghost returned to its cave. Only then did these stones turn back to normal.

Time passed. Naruto was immersed in his observations, and was continuously moving back and forth between the four peaks of the North Bank. In his mind, the feeling that the Spirit of Life was about to be born got even stronger, however, it was stuck on a certain part of his body, and was unable to break through.

The disciples of the North Bank slowly found out that Naruto was observing the mountain guarding spirit beasts. There were some people that did not understand why he was doing this, but some inner sect disciples like Xu Song and Kiba, after doing some research, felt a rumble in their hearts.

"He is cultivating the Water Nation Technique!" This was the answer that was guessed by many inner sect disciples of the North Bank. This was because only the Water Nation Technique required the practitioner to spend a long time observing spirit beasts.

"The Water Nation Technique, the top notch secret technique of the

Spirit Creek Sect that is as equally famous as the Nightwalker Technique… If different people cultivate it, they will have different outcomes. There are some that are extremely strong, and there are some that are extremely weak."

"Since Naruto is observing spirit beasts, this means that his Spirit of Life hasn't been born yet…"

"Who knows what his Spirit of Life will be…"

When the inner sect disciples of the North Bank were making guesses, the time that Naruto had spent observing the spirit beasts of the four mountains had reached one year.

In reality, during this past year, not only were the inner sect disciples paying attention to him, even the Ancestors and Elders of the four peaks, as well as Toruho, were secretly paying attention to the progress of Naruto's Water Nation Technique.

They were also flabbergasted, because normally, just observing the beasts in the Hundred Beasts Courtyard was enough to form the Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life. But it seemed that it wasn't enough for Naruto. However, even if it wasn't enough, adding on the mountain guarding beasts of the four peaks should've been enough. But, against their expectations...it wasn't enough.

"Naruto's Spirit of Life is actually this hard to form!"

"The Spirit of Life varies for each different person. It follows the heart's hidden world, and creates an unfathomable Spirit Illusion…"

"Naruto's Spirit of Life, what will it be..."

When everyone was paying attention to him, Naruto finished his observation of the mountain guarding beasts of the four mountain peaks and blankly walked in the North Bank. He discovered that observing any longer would have no effect. There was definitely a strong feeling, as if he could birth the Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life in his mind at any moment, but it needed just a bit more to break through.

But this bit... appear to have no bound.

Naruto was at a loss. He didn't know what he should do, and was currently quietly walking through the North Bank. When he walked past the Testing Stage, he unconsciously looked at the Testing Stage's sculpture of that spirit beast.

This had been seen by him many times, but every time he saw it, he would just have that feeling that could not be described. However, this sculpture that was hard to gain enlightment from, the instant he looked at it, made his step pause. His entire body was shaking as an inconceivable look appeared in his eyes.

Chapter 126

Chapter 126

Chapter 126 - Preparation Is Key

In the past, whenever Naruto glanced at this sculpture, he could only feel that this sculpture had an imposing aura that could arouse a valiant fighting intent. However, he couldn't clearly describe the statue in detail.

Perhaps it was due to his continuous observations of the four mountain guarding beasts, or because he had reached the point that could allow him to breakthrough his Spirit of Life at any moment, which caused him to subconsciously use his method of observing beasts on this sculpture, causing him to focus not at the sculpture's entire body, but its scales.

In the moment that Naruto looked at the scales, these seemingly ordinary scales, which seemed to be a normal carving, unexpectedly caused the aura from the Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life to intensify. In an instant, he felt an intense surge of power.

At the same time, he seemed as if he heard a roar that came from the ancient times.

He didn't know whether this scene was a hallucination or not, so he began to discretely fix his gaze on it. However, it disappeared in an instant, and following that, the instense feeling that came from the Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life slowly calmed down.

Naruto's breathing became rapid, he suddenly walked forward and directly sat in a cross-legged position right below the sculpture. He raised his head and stared directly at the sculpture. He vaguely felt that the scene, which he had unexpectedly experienced earlier, wasn't an illusion.

"This sculpture… is unusual!" Naruto took a deep breath and he unceasingly focused his gaze on the sculpture. He did not gaze at the sculpture as a whole, but instead, he fully concentrated on the countless scales on the sculpture.

Unfortunately, Naruto found these "ordinary" scales to be extremely hard to remember. It was an extremely strange situation, he was able to see it, but was unable to remember it.

This sort of phenomenon, instead of causing Naruto to be discouraged, it actually strengthened his persistence. His eyes glistened as he was completely immersed in the scales in front of him.

Time passed and it quickly became the evening. In the centre area of the North Bank, where the Testing Stage was, disciples of the North Bank constantly walked passed. They noticed Naruto firmly staring at the Testing Stage's sculpture, making all of them to be flabbergasted. However, they did not stop to pay attention to him, and instead, they just withdrew their gazes and continued walking.

On the morning of the second day, the disciples that saw Naruto the day before walked past the Testing Stage once again. They unexpectedly saw Naruto again; it was as if he had never left this place and maintained this state for the whole time, so much so that his eyes had turned bloodshot from staring at the sculpture. The moment they saw him, they became even more dumbfounded.

Naruto knew that he could only rely on this sculpture to breakthrough. Apart from this, he truly had no other methods. He felt as if he had every possible solution for the Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life. Observing the spirit beast of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, observing the four great mountain guarding beasts... and even secretly observing the combat beasts of many disciples of the North Bank!

However, the Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life never appeared. Perhaps if the Spirit of Life didn't show any signs of appearing, it would've been fine, and perhaps he wouldn't have wasted a tremendous amount of time on it. However, the Spirit of Life gave him a feeling that it was about to be birthed at any moment. It was as if it could be felt, yet

it

could not be seen. It was so close, yet as far as the heavens.

This sort of jumpy feeling caused Naruto to have some sort of discomfort. At this moment, he had finally grasped a strand of opportunity; it unleashed the part of his personality that would chip away at a task and not abandon it at all costs.

It was as if the persistence, which had appeared during the period when he refined medicine, had once again appeared within the Naruto who sat in front of the sculpture. Even if one night had passed and his eyes had turned bloodshot, or even if the scene which had appeared yesterday would not arise once again, Naruto still wouldn't give up.

He even had a strong feeling that if he gave up, then this Water Nation Technique… perhaps, he would never be able to birth a Spirit of Life during his lifetime. However, if he grasped this opportunity, then this Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life would break through its cocoon and emerge!

"I don't believe it!" Naruto clenched his teeth, fixed his gaze and carefully observed the armour of scales, unceasingly sketching its image in his mind.

He was concentrated so intensely that unconsciously, he had sealed his hearing, his smell, and his other sensory organs, fully putting all of his mind on his vision. The days passed one by one and by the time it was the morning of the fourth day, many disciples of the North Bank were astonished by Naruto's action, and gradually, they began to gossip about him.

"Naruto has already been under the Testing Stage's sculpture for four days… What is he doing? Observing the Testing Stage's Sculpture?"

"That Testing Stage's sculpture truly is mysterious. I've heard that many people have been there to observe it, trying to gain some benefits. However, besides Senior Brother Gui Ya, nobody has ever succeeded!"

As a small section of North Bank's disciples were discussing, the inner sect disciples of the North Bank also began paying attention to this.

There were many that specially came here, watching Naruto. Seeing his mad, demonic state, they all took a deep breath.

"So he is only trying to observe it and engrave it in his memory; he's not really trying to gain enlightenment. Even though this Testing Stage's sculpture contains many secrets, not anyone can obtain enlightenment from it.

"I've seen some ancient records. Ever since this sculpture was obtained by the sect from the Ancient Beast Abyss four thousand years ago and set up here, it is unknown whether the elders have obtained any enlightenment from it. But within the disciples… before Gui Ya, no one has ever obtained enlightenment from it.

"We have also tried seeking enlightenment from this sculpture, however, we had no choice but to give up. Nobody could sense anything, unless they were someone like Gui Ya, who borrowed his observations to enter the fabled Realm of Enlightenment. Many people have tried, yet they have only wasted an enormous amount of time. Some people have spent ten days, some have spent fifteen days, and the people who have spent the most time here have spent twenty days, and even their bodies became so weak that they fainted.

Kiba, the Gongsun siblings, Xu Song and the many Heaven's Chosen of the inner sect understood that Naruto was not actually trying to gain enlightenment, making them heave a sigh of relief.

Even the four mountain Ancestors were paying attention to Uzumaki

Naruto, who was below the sculpture, and expectation appeared on their faces.

"Who knows whether this Naruto can become like Gui Ya and obtain benefits from this sculpture or not.

"This requires destiny, enlightenment, hard work, and not a single one of these things can be missing. For example, there may be countless people who look at a chaotic painting, but only see the chaos within. There will also be some people that could actually see order, and there are also some people that will see the hidden painting within the chaos. Similarly, there will be an extremely small number of people that see… something that is totally different from what everyone else had seen.

Naruto was indeed observing, but he was not necessarily trying to gain enlightenment. The entirety of his eyes were slowly turning bloodshot. The scales in his eyes appeared to have been infinitely magnified, and it had actually replaced the entire world. He felt that he had seen heaven and earth within the scales, and had seen countless floating creatures. He could not tell what they were, and it could even be possible that they were a hallucination. Naruto did not care about these things, and his only thought was to remember the shape of these scales, trying to carve them out in his mind.

He didn't know how many times he had tried. Perhaps, it was a thousand times; perhaps, it was ten thousand times; perhaps, it was even more, so much that his Three Energies had slowly dimmed. However, he had still failed during all those attempts.

(TL Note: Three Energies: Essence/Energy, Qi, Soul)

Time was also slowly passed by. The fifth day, the sixth day, the seventh day… all the way until ten days had passsed. It seemed as if observing this sculpture would consume a great amount of Yuan Qi. Naruto's body had already wilted, but he was still persevering.

Gradually, after the ninteenth day, Kiba and the other people completely calmed down. They saw that Naruto, in his current state, could only persist for one more day at most, and would faint due to his withering Yuan Qi.

"When Gui Ya was previously at this sculpture, he used fifteen days to finally step into the fabled Realm of Enlightenment, and managed to gain enlightenment for twenty seven days before awakening. When he awakened, his Nightwalker Technique had reached the small success stage, and this breakthrough was heavily related to his enlightenment from that time.

"This Naruto has already wasted nineteen days without acheiving enlightenment. No matter what he is cultivating, in this regard, he isn't as good as Gui Ya."

"The mysteries of this sculpture are unfathomable. If he can't do it this first time, the next time will be much harder. Tomorrow, he'll probably have fainted. Even if he manages to replenish his Yuan Chakra after waking up, he won't have a chance anymore."

It was not only Kiba and the others who thought this. Even the Ancestors of the four mountains sighed, feeling that it was a pity.

Gradually, the sun set on the nineteenth day that Naruto had observed the sculpture. When the morning sunlight of the twentieth day fell over the world, everyone else practically believed that Naruto would faint. This twentieth day passed with them staring at Naruto while crying out in disbelief.

Unexpectedly, Naruto had not fainted, only his body had shirveled. However, he was actually still persevering!

The twenty-first, the twenty-second, and the twenty-third day passed… as time passed, even more people were astounded. When the thirtieth day passed, even the Ancestors of the four mountains felt shocked.

"The perseverence of this Naruto's Yuan Chakra has actually reached this level!"

"Ordinary disciples can last ten days at most, and disciples which train their bodies can last fifteen days at most. Even a Heaven's Chosen like Gui Ya, could only last twenty days at most. If they cannot enter the Realm of Enlightenment, they will faint due to having their Yuan Chakra damaged. But this Naruto… he can actually persist this long!"

"However, what use does this have? Even if he can persist any longer, if he is unable to acheive enlightenment, then it will all just be useless."

Kiba and the other people were also shocked. They had finally understood what level Naruto's fleshy body had reached. Nonetheless, they all sighed in their hearts. After all, if you could not acheive enlightenment, no matter how long you could persist, it would still be useless.

Quickly, another ten days passed. Naruto was still immersed. He had tried god knows how many times to sketch the scales. Perhaps it was fifty thousand times; perhaps it was a hundred thousand times; perhaps, it was even more! However, he still failed every single time!

This went on until the fiftieth day... and the sixtieth day. Countless people were deeply shocked by Naruto. They were incapable of imagining how inconceivably thick Naruto's Yuan Chakra was. This sort of perseverance that exceeded their imaginations could not be done without a sufficiently strong fleshy body.

Finally, when the seventieth day arrived, Naruto's body trembled, clearly wasting away, as if his Yuan Chakra and fleshy body had finally reached a limit.

From the start, many people were already paying attention to him. When Naruto's body trembled, it immediately caused many people to take notice.

"It's going to end. In just a few days, he's going to lose consciousness.

"In the end, it's just a waste if he doesn't acheive enlightenment."

At this moment, while countless disciples were estimating when Naruto would lose consciousness, on this evening of the seventieth day, as the faraway sun was setting, a brimming light that came from red clouds made the sky turn orange...

Naruto's eyes suddenly showed… a blank look.

During this moment of blankness, his eyes slowly closed!

In this instant when he closed his eyes, in his mind, a complete armour of scales… under his countless number of attemps, was finally carved!

In this instant when the armour of scales appeared in his mind, a roar as loud as a thounderclap echoed in his mind. He sucked in a deep breath, but the breath instantly disappeared, like he was only left with an empty shell of a body as he stepped into the fabled… Realm of Enlightenment!

At this moment, the pupils of the crowd who payed attention to him suddenly contracted. It was truly beyond everyone's expectation, none of them were able to believe it.

Naruto's enlightenment wasn't a coincidence, nor was it destiny; it was due to his own hard work!

He had the opportunity to cultivate the Water Nation Technique and had the necessary perception. However, the most important thing was... the amount of hard work that he put in exceeded everyone else!

Perhaps his perception was not as good as Gui Ya's. However, he spent five times the amount of time that Gui Ya spent. The reason that he had so much time, was because of his fleshy body and his boundless Yuan Qi. The reason why his fleshy body and Yuan Chakra were so strong... was because he cultivated the Undying Longevity Technique, which was brought by the accumulation of his hard work after so many years!

All in all, this was the biggest reason why he could step into the Realm of Enlightenment!

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Mantoulnv, Cannibaloid, Jin, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Chapter 127 - Soul Floating Within The Void

Enlightenment is a type of realm. To be accurate, it was a state where one merged with the heaven and earth, where one was one with the world and one was able to sense the laws of the heaven and earth as well as understand the laws of all living things.

Even if someone was an ordinary mortal, they could also accidentally gain enlightenment. Merely, the chances were too small. It could not be said that it was impossible, but it was practically non-existent. If Chakra Condensation cultivators wanted to gain enlightenment, it would also be incomparably hard. Occasionally, when someone who achieved enlightenment appeared, it would cause countless people to be extremely shocked.

Only those almighty elders which had profound cultivations could occasionally be immersed in their enlightenment, comprehending the changes in the heavens and earth, and perceiving the Great Dao of the Heavens.

In the thousand years of disciples in the Spirit Creek Sect, there were only two people that could step into the realm of enlightenment. One of them was Gui Ya, who's innate talent was truly peerlessly terrifying, even Shangguan Tianyou would be lacking compared to him.

The other person was the person under the sculpture that everyone was watching. The person who had worked hard for seventy days, Naruto!

At this moment, all of the surrounding disciples of the North Bank took a deep breath, a commotion caused by their incredulous cries echoed out.

"Naruto… he… achieved enlightenment?! After Senior Brother Gui Ya, he is the second person that has achieved enlightenment!"

"Humph! How can his enlightenment be compared to Senior Brother Gui

Ya's? Senior Brother Gui Ya only used fifteen days, however, Uzumaki

Naruto used seventy days!"

"Don't put it that way. Even if you told us that we could achieve enlightenment if we persevered for seventy days, we would still be unable to! This is Naruto's own hard work!"

Within the crowd, there were cries of astonishment, some complicated voices, and even someindignant voices; jealously and disdain were clearly shown in their voices. No matter what, most of the disciples could feel Naruto's hard work and his perseverance, and their admiration towards Naruto's enlightenment increased even more.

Meanwhile, six rainbows appeared in the sky, instantly whistling through the air. The fastest was unexpectedly not the Ancestors of the four mountains, but… Toruho who had come from the South Bank!

Clearly, he was already paying attention to the events happening here, and the exact moment when Naruto achieved enlightenment, his figure suddenly appeared, his right hand pointing a finger towards the Testing Stage. Instantly, a light screen descended in an instant, enveloping Naruto within it, causing outsiders to be incapable of stepping the slightest into the Testing Stage.

At this exact moment, the Ancestors of the four mountains and the Sect Head Zheng Yuandong had also arrived.

"Seal off the entire Testing Stage, and do not open it until Naruto awakens!" The old woman from the Iricdaceae Peak looked at Toruho in the eye, and her gaze swept across the surroundings. She supressed the amazement in her heart from Naruto being able to achieve enlightened as she spoke with a solemn voice.

"Anyone who disrupts Naruto's enlightenment will be dealt with as a traitor of the sect! The Law Enforcement Agency will be arriving soon, strictly guard this place!" Zheng Yuandong suddenly interrupted, his voice resounded out in all directions. After the outer sect disciples heard his instruction, they all bowed their heads, pa

ying their respects to the six elders who had arrived from the sky.

It wasn't long before the disciples of the Law Enforcement Agency, a total of ten people, arrived and went beside the sculpture. They sat in a cross-legged position around Naruto, covering him and protecting him from any distractions.

At this moment, the fact that Naruto had finally achieved enlightenment had also been spread out by the outer sect disciples. Gradually, the entire North Bank knew about this; Kiba, along with a many other disciples, became even more astounded as they left their caves to rush over.

In the distance, they saw Naruto who was currently being protected by the Law Enforcement Agency. Their thoughts could not be expressed.

"He… actually achieved enlightenment…"

"Seventy days! He persevered for a whole seventy days!"

"Don't tell me that the gap between us is truly this big? I won't accept this!" Kiba, the Gongsun siblings, Xu Song, and many other inner sect's Heaven's Chosen currently had complicated feelings.

In midair, the four Ancestors of the North Bank also observed Naruto, whosat in meditation with closed eyes. When he had entered the Realm of Enlightenment, he lost all of the aura around him.

"I didn't think that he would actually succeed!"

"His insights are too profound. His success isn't due to chance."

"Who knows how many days he can stay enlightened? When Gui Ya was enlightened, he was in that state for twenty seven days." While the four Ancestors were deeply moved, a hint of expectation appeared within Zheng Yuandong's eyes. He loudly laughed and believed his master would be pleased because he had taken this Naruto as a Junior Brother on behalf of his master.

Toruho also had a smile on his face. Praise could be seen in his eyes... and even gratification.

After all, this was the Spirit Creek Sect. The Law Enforcement Agency was there, and there was also the formation array which Toruho had personally arranged. Besides a Golden Core stage cultivator, there was no other way for someone to disturb Naruto's enlightenment by breaking open the protection in a short time.

Even if a Golden Core stage practitioner really dared to appear, then he would undoubtedly die in the Spirit Creek Sect.

The six people naturally felt at ease, gazed at the scene once again and then respectively left.

The surrounding disciples of the North Bank were deeply shocked. Their gazes focused on Naruto who was being protected by the Law Enforcement Agency, and they were all wondering. Naruto's enlightenment… how long would it last?

"He used almost five times the amount of time that Senior Brother Gui Ya used to succeed. I estimate the time that he stays enlightened should be about two tenths of Senior Brother Gui Ya, just about five or six days.

"It won't exceed seven days!"

Cold snorts echoed out from within the crowd. There were too many people in the North Bank, and he was also the number one enemy of the North Bank. Although they respected him as a strong individual, there were still many disciples with hostility towards him in their hearts. There were even some who had jealousy in their hearts.

Three days quickly passed. During these three days, Naruto did not move at all and the Yuan Chakra in his body did not continue to drain. It was even slowly recovering!

However, all of the aura on his body had disappeared from the moment he had achieved enlightenment. It was as if his soul was not in his body, and instead merged with the heaven and earth, returning to the void.

Three days ago, in that instant when he closed his eyes, the blank look in his eyes was a manifestation of his state of mind. He was truly blank, with no concept of time. He did not know how much time had passed. He only remembered that, in that instant when he finally managed to sketch out the image of the scale armour in his mind, the sculpture in front of him seemed to be alive, possessing a savage aura and standing up; its right claw was about to tear open a world.

It was as if the sculpture had truly torn open the void causing his consciousness to be absorbed into this void, causing him appear in an illusory world. He had a blank look on his face and his mind was a patch of white. He had forgotten his identity and the reason he had come here, only drifting about in this illusory world.

This continued until he noticed an enormous figure in this illusory world. It had a huge figure which was hard to describe. When compared to it, Naruto felt that he wouldn't even be a small scale on it.

This astonishing figure, was shockingly an enormous beast as big as the crocodile in the sculpture.

Dwelling in this illusionary world, it raised its head, facing the sky, facing the heavens, and facing an invisible figure that seemed to not exist. It raised its right claw and suddenly grabbed outwards.

Like splitting the heavens and earth apart, the booming sounds echoed outwards and overflowed the heavens. Naruto blankly looked at the enormous beast, dazedly staring at the claw which tore open the heavens. A buzz occurred in his mind; the claw was the only thing he could think of.

At this moment, if Naruto had remembered who he was, he would immediately realise that this claw… actually resembled the Nightwalker Technique that Gui Ya used.

When Naruto was in this illusory world, time was quickly passing in the outside world. It had already exceeded the five or six days that the disciples of the North Bank had estimated; it was already ten days since Naruto had entered the Realm of Enlightenment.

During these ten days, the disciples of the North Bank, especially the inner sect disciples, would come to the Testing Stage every day to look at Naruto. Many of them had a 'might as well' attitude and decided to meditate there.

Kiba and the others were part of those who came.

They stared helplessly at Naruto during his tenth day of enlightenment and they were silent; their hearts were complicated. Compared to the silent inner sect disciples, the outer sect of the North Bank were in an uproar.

"He actually reached ten days!"

"However, if he wants to exceed Senior Brother Gui Ya's twenty seven days, that's impossible!"

As the outer sect disciples were discussed about Naruto, time quickly passed. The eleventh day, the twelfth day, the thirteenth day… slowly, it became the twentieth day!

The North Bank was already thoroughly shocked. This time, all of the outer sect disciples were deeply shocked by Naruto, and they intensely paid attention to him.

They wanted to know, whether Naruto… could reach Gui Ya's twenty-seven days.

"Absolutely impossible!"

"He used five times the amount of time compared to Senior Brother Gui Ya to acheive enlightenment, it can be clearly seen that his aptitude can't be compared to Senior Brother Gui Ya! Therefore, he absolutely cannot surpass Senior Brother Gui Ya!"

There were many of these sounds in the North Bank. Even if they were inner sect disciples, some people also thought like this. But slowly, when the twenty-second day passed, then the twenty-fifth day passed, all these sounds disappeared, turning into a silence that was formed from shock.

On the evening of the twenty-sixth day, under the surprise of countless people, a black rainbow flew over, appearing in midair above the North Bank's Testing Stage, as it turned into a youth that was wearing a black gown.

It was Gui Ya!

He was originally in seclusion to make his final preparations for Foundation Establishment. However, when he received sound transmissions from his fellow disciples and found out about Naruto, he came out to see what had happened.

Within the disciples of the entire Spirit Creek Sect, only Naruto would arouse his interest. At the moment he appeared, he was immediately recognised by the surrounding disciples. No matter whether these disciples were of the inner sect or the outer sect, reverence appeared on their faces. Some even had fearful expressions as they quickly cupped their hands to pay their respects.

"Greetings to Senior Brother Gui Ya."

Even if it was Kiba and the others, they would also quickly pay their respects. These sounds merged into one and echoed in all directions. However, Gui Ya acted as if he had heard nothing, only looking at one person... Naruto.

As he stared at Naruto, astonishment gradually appeared in Gui Ya's eyes.

"I achieved enlightenment after observing that beast's claw and sketching it into my mind. Finally, I ended up in that illusory world and lost my bearings in that world shaking claw from that ancient beast. It was hard to stray away from it as my enlightenment ended, and I could not see whether that ancient beast had any other changes."

"Naruto, since you have achieved enlightenment, who knows whether you can stray away from that claw..."

Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Chapter 128 - Spirit Of Life, Awaken!

Within the illusory world, Naruto's saw the heavens and earth being smashed and thoroughly torn apart by the claw of that ancient beast. It seemed as if his consciousness had also been affected; he could feel bursts of fractures were being transmitted throughout his consciousness.

Following this fractures, signs of his mind gradually dissipating began to show. Naruto was seemingly at a lost. This claw that tore open the heavens made him thoroughly stunned.

Naruto was incapable of imagining what kind of power this was. He subconsciously thirsted for it; this kind of pinnacle power, which could split the heavens and earth, made his mind fully concentrated on trying to absorb and comprehend this. He wanted to obtain this power, even if his consciousness was gradually dissipating after the appearance of those fractures.

The more he thought about this, the faster his consciousness dissipated.

But when almost twenty percent of his consciousness had dissipated, Naruto suddenly trembled. He faintly realized that something was amissed. While he was engrossed with this claw, he vaguely felt that he had another purpose for coming here.

This thought gradually became even stronger. Finally, when it had replaced the thirst for the power within the claw, the dissipation of his fractured consciousness slowly stopped. As if time had reversed, it once again pieced itself together.

Within the illusory world, that enormous spirit beast appeared once again. This time, it wasn't a claw, but rather the whip-like tail behind its body. It swept through the heavens and earth, rending the earth and causing the heavens to fall, and the booming sound it emitted was like the Big Bang.

During this rending of the earth and falling of the heavens, Naruto's consciousness once again lost its bearings.

In the outside world, as night descended, Naruto's twenty-sixth day of enlightment suddenly passed. The twenty-seventh day arrived and morning turned into the afternoon, which turned into the evening, which turned into midnight.

In the Testing Stage where Naruto was, the expressions of the countless disciples of the North Bank changed. By the end, every single person had their eyes widely opened.

Kiba, the Gongsun siblings, Xu Song and the Heaven's Chosens from the inner sect felt great waves surging in their minds.

"He has exceeded...twenty-seven days. He has exceeded Senior Brother Gui Ya!"

"Heavens, this Naruto could actually attain enlightenment to this degree!"

"How long will his enlightenment actually be able to last? Thirty days?

Thirty-five days? Or perhaps… forty days!"

After a brief moment of repressed emotions and silence, the countless people gathered near the Testing Stage flew into a violent uproar as they exclaimed. When everyone looked at Naruto who had no aura, they were all overwhelmed with shock.

However, their shock was clearly too early.

Time passed again, and the thirtieth day, the thirty-third day, and the thirty-seventh day passed… all the way until fortieth day. By then, every one of the disciples of the North Bank were at a loss.

Not only were they loss, the Ancestors of the four mountains also took a deep breath. Every extra day in the Realm of Enlightenment had a completely different significance. Under that type of enlightenment, one day could be compared to several years of normal cultivation, or even more.

Gui Ya was silent, but an astonishing light appeared in his eyes. He looked at Naruto. He wanted to know... what did Naruto see?!

"He definitely managed to find his way after losing his bearing

s from that claw. So, what did he glimpse after that?"

Within the illusory world, Naruto's consciousness was incessantly shaking. He didn't know how long he had lost his bearings within the strength of this ancient beast's tail, and his consciousness was dissipating at an extremely fast speed. However, a thought within his brain was still unceasingly occuring while his consciousness was quickly dissipating. This tail's frantic strength… was still not his purpose for coming here.

"This isn't it!" He muttered to himself.

The instant when this sound echoed out, his consciousness stopped collapsing. When there were no more signs that his mind was dissipating, that enormous ancient beast suddenly opened its mouth and exposed something that was even more frightening than its claws, even more frightening than its tail… its sharp teeth!

That row of teeth seemed to contain evil spirits that could fill the sky and destroy everything; as if it could bite and shatter everything that existed. With a single bite, the entire world became pitch black and began to collapse once again.

"No, this is still not what I came here for!" Naruto's muttering sounds echoed in all directions and got even stronger.

"What I came here for is to observe this ancient beast, which with I can use to birth… the Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life!"

"What I want isn't the strength of this ancient beast's claw, tail or teeth. What I want… is to carefully observe this entire ancient beast, firmly imprinting it in my mind and use it to unlock my Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life!"

"And it will not become my Spirit of Life. Instead, this ancient beast will merge into it, becoming a part of my Spirit of Life!"

"This is only the reason… why I came here!" Naruto's voice was no longer a mutter; it was now like a thundering roar. As this illusory world began exploding apart and unceasingly spread in all directions, his consciousness suddenly condensed itself and changed into a beam of light, directly flying towards the distant ancient beast.

It was hard to describe how fast his speed was, and within the blink of an eye, he had already approached the ancient beast. With an explosion, his consciousness actually merged with the body of the ancient beast and in the instant they touched. Soon, it began to spread out. Naruto's mind was violently trembling. He had a strong feeling that at this moment, he… appeared as if he was transforming into this ancient beast!

The process of transforming into the ancient beast was exactly the process of him comprehending this ancient beast. There was no other method that was better suited for him to observe this ancient beast. It had gotten to the point that this was no longer observing, and it had exceeded the point of observing it down to the smallest details. It had reached… the level of being one with the body.

Naruto's consciousness rapidly dispersed and continuously merged with the entire body of the ancient beast, understanding it, analysing it, grasping it, observing it, and...controlling it!

It started from its flesh and slowly extended to its scales, then its spikes, claws, teeth, bones, and its internal organs… Naruto forgot the concept of time, and his entire consciousness was rapidly comprehending this ancient beast.

This went on until a certain time when Naruto's consciousness suddenly shook. It had finally filled the entire body of the ancient beast, and he had become the ancient beast.

He faced the sky and roared, and the world seemed to tremble. However, following that, the body of the ancient beast twisted, and its flesh, using some kind of mysterious technique, rapidly and unexpectedly changed into a Three-Eyed Black Crow!

This black crow had an enormous body, and when it was rapidly flying in this illusory world, its eyes had Naruto's consciousness within them. And within the blink of an eye, the black crow once again twisted, changing into a Seven-Coloured Phoenix.

And later on, it changed again into an enormous lizard, and in the next moment, with Naruto's consciousness, it even transformed into the Mountain Ghost of the Ghost Tooth Mountain. It didn't end there though; following that, Naruto's consciousness unexpectedly transformed into the near thousand spirit beasts from the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

The flying tiger, the pangolin, the huge bear, and the all the other spirit beasts. Even if had transformed into all of them, it still didn't end there, and soon he also transformed into the spirit beasts that were beside the disciples of the North Bank that Naruto had secretly observed.

This went on until a booming sound occured, and all of those spirit beasts disappeared. Naruto's consciousness changed into a lump of dense fog which was unceasingly undulating, as if there was some kind of frightening spirit that was about to be born.

This was Naruto's Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life.

It was not possible to clearly see what in the world this spirit was, and even Naruto's own consciousness was unable to see it clearly. It was as if… this spirit's body wasn't complete yet.

But with an incomplete body, at this moment, it released an astonishing aura, and an enormous beast could be faintly seen within the dense fog. Its bony spikes could shake the heavens and earth, and it had an unimaginable imposing aura which continuously condensed following the undulations of the dense fog.

At the same time, Naruto's consciousness was unable to support the unceasing transformations and started to rapidly dissipate. 10%, 20%, 30%... within a blink of an eye, 50% of his consciousness had dissipated!

Following this dissipation, the entire illusory world started to tremble, and signs of dissipation unexpectedly appeared in the Spirit of Life that was being born in the dense fog.

"Faster, just a bit faster! Before my consciousness dissipates, Spirit of

Life… awaken!"

Naruto's consciousness was yelling out. Quickly, the booming sounds overflowed the heavens, and the dissipation of his consciousness became even quicker. 60%, 70%, 80%... 90%!

Cracks appeared in this illusory world, and it started to collapse. It transformed into a storm which swept outwards in all directions, submerging the dense fog. In that instant, when 100% of Naruto's consciousness had dissipated, he let out a final anxious roar.

Boom!

The world collapsed, but at the moment it collapsed, within the rapidly dissipating dense fog, a pair of red eyes suddenly… opened!

"Spirit of Life, AWAKEN!"

In the outside world, after Naruto's enlightenment had exceeded forty days, it was still continuously increasing. Fifty days, sixty days, seventy days, eighty days, ninty days… one hundred days!

This increase of time finally made all of the disciples of the North Bank feel terrified.

"A hundred days, over three months; Naruto… he is actually still in the Realm of Enlightenment!"

"He couldn't have died, right…"

"Too frightening, I've never seen anything like this in my entire life!"

The outer sect was in a panic, and the inner sect was thoroughly shocked. The minds of Kiba and the others seemed to have been blown apart by thunder. This still did not end; the hundred and tenth day, and the hundred and twentieth day all passed, all the way until the noon of the hundred and thirty-first day, where under the North Bank's Testing Stage, Naruto's body suddenly shook.

This trembling was immediatly noticed by the disciples of the North Bank who had been staring at him for a long time, making them all rub their eyes. After opening their eyes, they saw Naruto's body tremble again, and they immediately let out cries of surprise.

It was during this moment when the cries of surprise echoed out… that Naruto's eyes, suddenly opened!

...

1st sponsored chapter of the week. Special thanks to Kristian S. for sponsoring this chapter, as well as the next sponsored chapter tomorrow. Thank you for the support!

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Jin, Arch, Mantoulnv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Chapter 129 - A Bone Spike

Naruto had a blank look in his eyes. Although his consciousness had returned, it seemed as though it had not recovered from the illusory world of enlightenment. He was now perplexed, as if the world in front of his eyes was blurry.

The disciples from the Law Enforcement Agency surrounding him had also reacted, raising their heads to look at Naruto. Those outer sect disciples that had been here from start to end all opened their eyes widely, unceasingly letting out astonished cries of surprise.

"A hundred and thirty days!"

"He used five times the amount of time compared to Senior Brother Gui Ya to achieve enlightenment, but the length of his enlightenment was also five times the amount of time as Senior Brother Gui Ya!"

The outer sect disciples were in an uproar, and they took out their jade slips, using their fastest speed possible to spread out the news of Naruto's awakening; it was as if the entire North Bank had a gale sweeping through it. In an instant, every disciple that knew about this had their hearts jolted as they directly headed to the Testing Stage.

It was at this moment when Naruto, who was below the Testing Stage's sculpture and had an increasingly blank look in his eyes, suddenly raised his right hand and unconsciously waved his hand lightly, murmuring...

"Water Pond."

His voice was light, and it was hard for outsiders to hear it. But in the instant when Naruto's mouth echoed out what was inside his mind, a world-shaking explosion that was like a heavenly thunder suddenly descended and violently spread out.

Boom!

The enormous sound shook the heavens, and the following three claps of thunder caused everyone present to have their hearts madly tremble. Even more, after these claps of thunder reverberated, a boundless water vapor suddenly spread out in all directions!

Three zhang, ten zhang, twenty zhang, fifty zhang, hundred zhang… All the way until two hundred zhang!

With Naruto at the center of a circle with a radius of 200 zhang long, that endless water vapor instantly enveloped and caused the whole scenery to become blurry. Moreover, there was a pushing force that caused all the disciples within two hundred zhang of Naruto, including the disciples of the Law Enforcement Agency, to be pushed out while they were taking a deep breath.

The pushing force had an extremely great force, making the disciples within 200 zhang retreat; none of them were able to resist it. Within the blink of an eye, there was no one within 200 zhang of Naruto.

The water vapor was hazy, stirring the clouds in the sky while spreading out the force of heaven and earth in all directions; it formed an enormous whirlpool that was slowly rotating in midair. Every disciple that saw this scene felt their hearts palpitating. They thought of the ghost claw that descended from the sky when Gui Ya used the Nightwalker Technique.

That technique seemed as if it was not something that a cultivator at the

Qi Condensation stage could use, and caused all of the disciples of the North Bank to simultaneously respect and fear Gui Ya. But now… they had the same feeling when they looked at Naruto, however, this feeling was even more intense than what they felt for Gui Ya!

When bursts of deep breaths were let out, a large amount of disciples who were rushing over successively appeared. There were many inner sect disciples within the group, including Kiba, the Gongsun siblings, Xu Song and the others.

They saw the whirlpool in the sky, then they looked at Naruto; all of their expressions immediately changed.

"Water Nation Technique!"

"He shoul

d've cultivated it, but we don't know what his Spirit of Life is…"

Gui Ya's figure appeared in midair, and he stared at Naruto, his eyes showing fighting intent, however, he deliberately suppressed it.

While the disciples were still staring in astonishment, the four Ancestors of the North Bank, as well as Toruho, suddenly appeared and also stared at the Naruto who was below the sculpture.

"This old man is also looking forward to Naruto's Spirit of Life!"

"He is merely using the Water Pond, yet it already has an aura like this, what in the world is it…"

In Toruho's eyes, there was surprise as well as happiness. He looked at the Naruto who was awakening from his enlightenment; it was evident that he was looking forward to it.

Under the gazes of everyone present, Naruto slowly raised his head. His eyes still had a blank look in them, and his raised right hand was… gradually lowered!

"Nation!" Naruto softly murmured.

In the instant when he lowered his hand, all of the surrounding people sluggishly breathed out. An inconceivable aura suddenly spread out from Naruto's body, enveloping everything in all directions within the blink of an eye.

Within two hundred zhang, everything was hazy, and it was almost impossible to clearly see the original scenery. What could be seen… was the water vapor, which had become extremely dense, formed into a… Water Pond!

Within this Water Pond, a beast roar echoed out. This roar was mysterious, as if it was a roar that gathered countless voices of monstrous beasts, condensing them into a single entity, forming an extremely unique roar.

Roar!

In the instant the roar echoed out, it shook the heavens and quaked the earth, causing all of the people who heard it to have their hearts jump, no matter what their cultivation level was. A feeling of oppression also arose in their hearts, with some evidently greater than the others.

Moreover, along with the roar, all the combat beasts of the disciples of the North Bank raised their heads and let out a roar, and there were even some that unexpectedly released their aggressive nature as all of the combat beasts were in a big mess.

And within the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, that near thousand monstrous beasts were also roaring. Quickly, the countless beast roars covered the sky and earth, spreading in all directions throughout the entire North Bank, making the hearts of all of the disciples of the North Bank tremble faster.

"Naruto's Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life, what in the world is it!"

"Heavens, why would it be like this!" The disciples of the North Bank were all trying to pacify the combat beasts beside them. Everyone's expression changed; all of them were overwhelmed with shock, especially the inner sect disciples. The combat beasts beside them had different Bloodline Grades, and some combat beasts were extremely hard to pacify. Those combat beasts all seemed as if they had gone mad.

While everyone was trying to pacify their beasts, another inauspicious and bestial roar echoed out in the North Bank.

The two hundred zhang Water Pond violently shook and twisted, as if this Water Pond was an exit to a different dimension. Peering from inside, there was an invisible spirit beast that wanted to burst through this exit and come out from that dimension.

Following that, the Water Pond suddenly shook, and an enormous mountain suddenly bursted out of this Water Pond within an instant. At a first glance, this mountain was extremely huge, but if anyone looked at it carefully, they would discover that this mountain… was even bigger than it seems. Clearly, the mountain that appeared from the two hundred zhang Water Pond was only the mountain's… sharp end!

And if anyone looked even more carefully, they would find themselves looking at a scene that would make people's scalp even more numb. Rather than a mountain, it was actually… the sharp point of a bone spike!

"A bone spike, heavens, that actually is the sharp end of a bone spike!"

"The bone spike is already two hundred zhang, how big is this beast's body, this… this Spirit of Life, what appearance does it even have!"

While cries of suprise echoed out throughout the North Bank, a worldshaking aura exploded out from within the Water Pond. An attack that seemed to be formless spread out in all directions, and the combat beasts beside the disciples of the North Bank were now unable to be pacified. Within a few moment, all the combat beasts actually trembled and seeminly prostrated themselves!

"Impossible!"

"How could it be like this!" Under the cries of shock and horror of the many disciples in the North Bank, the combat beasts of the North Bank were all unceasingly trembling while prostrated on the ground. At this moment, there were four roars that suddenly came from the peaks of the four mountains of the North Bank, which seemed as if there was something threatening them.

A Seven-Coloured Phoenix charged over in an instant; it rigidly stared at the mountain within Naruto's Water Pond while it was in midair, showing a strong sign of vigilance. On another side, the Three-Eyed Black Crow also arrived.

At almost the same time when they appeared, a huge lizard also appeared and let out a low growl towards the mountain within the Water Pond.

And the Mountain Ghost from the Ghost Tooth Peak also arrived. Its bone fork was swaying in its hand, and it had Black Chakra rolling all over its body; it actually had a nervous expression on its face!

If anyone carefully looked at these four mountain guarding beasts, they could unexpectedly see respect in the deepest parts of their eyes!

Moreover, at this moment, in the deepest parts of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, within the Ancient Beast Abyss, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared in the pitch black darkness. This pair of eyes were enormous; it had a sharp and dignified look within it, as if it had broken through nothingness, and had passed through all the obstructions to directly look at Naruto's Water Pond.

It was exactly the Spirit River Sect's sect guarding godly beast, the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon!

Naruto's Water Nation Technique's Spirit of Life actually made its face turn grave.

The entire North Bank was thoroughly shocked. The elders from the four mountains had fearful expressions and simultaneously charged out. Moreover, at this moment, on the Zhong Dao Mountain, several supreme and dignified visions were staring intently on what was going on in the North bank.

The Ancestors of the four mountains were already breathing quickly, to the point where their scalps were feeling a little numb.

"Just what kind of Spirit of Life is this!"

"It's unprecedented!"

"This kind of power is no longer something that cultivators at the Chakra Condensation can control! It's the same as Gui Ya, in fact, it even exceeds Gui Ya!"

Under everyone's gaze, the mountain within the Water Pond slowly sunk back, as if this two hundred Water Nation Technique was too small, and Naruto's Spirit of Life was unable to completely descend. After it slowly sunk, the Water Pond scattered apart and slowly dissipated.

The Water Pond's dissipation revealed Naruto who was sitting in a cross legged position. Naruto had a pale expression; he had already been awake since earlier, and he was currently opening his eyes widely. His eyes wasn't the same blank eyes as before, and instead, there was shock in them. Clearly, even though it was his own technique, he was also shocked by the bone spike that appeared within the Water Pond.

Following the dissipation of the Water Pond, the surrounding combat beasts slowly recovered, but their owners, the disciples of the North Bank, still felt their minds abuzz. After the short moment of silence, the area exploded into an uproar that could overflow the heavens.

"I… I didn't see it wrong…"

"This is the Water Nation Technique?!"

"Naruto's Spirit of Life, actually showed only a sharp spike…"

"That world shaking aura just now, came from… a Chakra Condensation cultivator like us? Aih, if he was a person from our North Bank, that would be so good."

During this racket caused by countless people, the four Ancestors of the North Bank looked at each other, then looked at Toruho, who was also shocked.

"The younger generations will surpass us in time… I am extremely curious. His Spirit of Life, what in the world is it."

"Within Naruto's hands, it can be imagined that he should be able to fully display all of the power of this Water Nation Technique!"

"Only a sharp spike appeared from his Spirit of Life... that is because his cultivation is not sufficient. His Water Pond is only two hundred zhang. Once he dedicates himself to cultivation, and if he can truly step into Golden Core… and display the Water Nation Technique which has a radius of a thousand li, then his Spirit of Life should probably be able to fully descend."

"If that day truly arrives… using this Water Nation Technique, he can be a rare expert within the same stage!"

Toruho was gratified and felt proud for Naruto. He didn't let Naruto know that he had arrived, and he had lifted all of the current worries on his mind. With a happy and excited look, he turned his body and left the North Bank in a flash. He was going to start his preparations to try and attack the Golden Core Realm within ten years.

...

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 130

Chapter 130

Chapter 130 - The Rearing Beast Seed Blooms!

Even Naruto himself didn't know exactly what his Spirit of Life was. However, he knew that because his cultivation wasn't high enough, his Water Nation Technique only had a range limit of two hundred zhang and was unable to contain the body of his Spirit of Life.

But he wasn't too concerned about it. After all, he had finally awakened his Spirit of Life; this meant that his several years strenuously cultivating the Water Nation Technique wasn't wasted. This caused Naruto to be full of expectations towards his Spirit of Life.

At this moment, when he heard the gossiping of the surrounding people, Naruto dryly coughed, seemingly quite pleased with himself.

"Ai... My head seriously hurts... No matter where I go, there will always be a crowd cheering. In reality, I am a man who fancies to keep a low profile. Fine, I won't complain about the previous incident when these disciples of the North Bank bullied me." Just as Naruto was about to stand up, he suddenly felt dizziness course though his mind. Following this, an extremely intense feeling of hunger suddenly struck up upon his whole body, causing him to feel powerless and unable to stand.

He hastily took out a pill and swallowed it. Only after the pill effects had merged and spread out within his body did he slightly recover and was able to stand up.

Under the extremely complicated gazes of the North Bank Disciples, Naruto raised his head. Although his body was physically weak, he didn't forget to assume the appearance of an expert with a melancholic expression. His pale face seemed to show some kind of special temperament; various kinds of emotions surfaced upon him as he slowly walked away.

Only after he walked a fair distance did the surrounding disciples of the North Bank begin to sigh. They weren't clear about the feelings they had for Naruto. In the beginning, he was the North Bank's common enemy. This continued until the one month-long incessant battles at the Testing Stage. Later on, he then surpassed Gui Ya's enlightenment and unleashed the world-shaking Water Nation Technique!

In their hearts, they recognised that Naruto was indeed a

Heaven's Chosen, however, he was actually extremely constrating to the other Heaven's Chosen. Whenever Naruto came into their line of vision, they couldn't help but feel the urge to beat him up. This was unrelated to the strength of their fleshy bodies, but was a feeling that came from their heart.

Ever since he arrived at the North Bank, the North Bank had pretty much never calmed down; there would always be an incident involving Naruto. At this moment, the surrounding crowd were all sighing in their hearts.

Especially the inner sect disciples, who lamented even more; witnessing Naruto use five times the amount of time that Gui Ya used to step into enlightenment, they could see that Naruto's enlightenment was different from Gui Ya's.

It was too different that perhaps there was hardly any difference between them. However, those seventy days of observing this madness allowed them to witness Naruto's dedication, as well as the accumulation of his hard work which allowed him to pry open the door to enlightenment.

Kiba was completely silent. Looking at the distant figure of Naruto, he turned his body and directly went to his cave. He wanted to, once again, go into seclusion and attack the tenth layer of Qi

Condensation, making his preparations for Foundation Establishment.

"Is it because my hard work and dedication wasn't enough? Uzumaki

Naruto... Sooner or later, I will definitely surpass you!"

The Gongsun siblings, Xu Song and the other Chosen from the inner sect all sucked in a deep breath. They knew how powerful Naruto was and the vast distance between them. Nevertheless, the more feeling of powerlessness they had, the more they felt an urge to be unwilling to always be supressed. With resolution in their eyes, they chose the same choice as Kiba's as they left the area.

"Hard work will fix our flaws. What Naruto can do... We can also do!"

Almost instantaneously, the crowd from the North Bank began to disperse; the gaze of Gui Ya followed the direction that Naruto left in. He wanted to know what Naruto experienced after seeing the beast claw.

He didn't want to hear the answer; he wanted to personally see it. This would let his Nightwalker Technique once again break through.

"Unless I can enter his memories and see the scene that I wish to see."

Gui Ya was seriously pondering about the feasibility of this matter, and after a long time, he shook his head.

"As of now, I don't have a hundred percent confidence in doing this. However, after I reach Foundation Establishment…" A deep look appeared in Gui Ya's eyes.

"Accoding to the prediction and from master, it should be about time for the three Foundation Establishment Sacred Land shared by the four great sects of the East Vein of the Tongtian River to open. The Meteor Sword Abyss, among the three Holy Lands… is also going to open. The tribulation cited by the Earth Vein Foundation Establishment, with my secret technique, I should be able to cite it eight times... with eighth levels of tide Earth Vein Foundation Establishement... it will definitely be easy." Gui Ya nodded his head and turned around as he walked away.

Throughout the journey, Naruto had been struggling to maintain the appearance of an expert. The moment he stepped into the Hundred Beasts Courtyard and didn't see anyone, he immediately relaxed. After dispritedly returning to the paviliion, Naruto exhaustedly collapsed onto the floor, seemingly asleep.

He slept for three days straight, and only then did he manage to barely recover by half. Afterwards, he continuously took care of himself for half a month, and after he was finally fully recovered, he felt pleasantly surprised as he found out that his cultivation had advanced. He had already reached the peak of the ninth layer of Chakra Condensation! At most, he would only need to cultiivate for half a year, without the use of any pills, in order to break through into the tenth layer of Chakra Condensation.

Apart from this, he also noticed that his control of spirit power was alot different from before; it was much more flexible! It had improved so much that he could circulate his internal spirit power without even the slightest bit of sluggishness.

The thing that made him even more ecstatic was the fact this his internal Jing and Mai had actually thickened from before. And when he operated the Undying Silver Skin, the golden light was stronger than a few months ago.

(TL Note: Impentrable - Undying)

"It has completely upgraded!" Naruto was very excited and quickly rushed into the forest to see those spirit beasts which he had not seen for a few months. Then, he went behind the courtyard, looking for the Rearing Beast Seed which had already grown above two zhang, and had already grown an enormous flower bud.

For a long duration of time, this Rearing Beast Seed which been planted by Naruto for a long time. It had spirit soil which had been spirit refined three times, and Naruto would even sprinkle some spirit medicine powder that would assist in its growth at fixed times.

This area also had a formation array behind the pavilion which covered everything; if the area crumbled, no one would notice.

Naruto carefully looked and was pleasantly surprised to find out that this Rearing Beast Seed was about to mature.

"It'll be finished in a month at most!" Naruto laughed loudly, and while he was feeling excited, he decided to might as well stay here and cultivate his breathing technique while observing the Rearing Beast Seed.

Quickly, fifteen days passed, and Naruto felt that he was on the verge of breaking through. On the other hand, this Rearing Beast Seed made him beam with joy. Within this half a month, this Rearing Beast Seed was still two zhang, but that flower bud was constantly growing with a speed that could frighten people, and now, it was actually over half a zhang wider!

It curved downwards and the flower bud seemed to be covered in layers of wrinkles. It was imaginable that the surface area it took up would definitely be even greater if it had streched out.

Gradually, a trace of a fragrant aroma spread out from this Rearing Beast Seed.

Naruto was estastic. He took a deep breath and continuously meditated all the way until the evening three days later. A loud thumping sound suddenly came from inside his body, and soon, his entire being suddenly trembled. When a large amount of black coloured impurities were secreted from the sweat pores on his whole body, his internal spirit power was like ten thousand stampeding horses that circulated throughout his body.

This spirit power was getting more and more majestic, and finally, it converged together, like a rolling big river, all the way until it formed an enormous dragon which roared towards the heavens.

Naruto's whole body began to shake; an image of a DragonElephant abruptly materialised behind him. As it began transforming at a high speed, Naruto suddenly opened his lightning-like eyes; an imperceptible booming sound echoed out from his body. Only he could percieve this ear-splitting heavenly thunder like sound.

"The second layer of the Dragon-Elephant's Ocean Forming Scripture!"

"The Tenth Layer of Chakra Condensation!"

Naruto took a deep breath; he could feel the boundless spirit power inside his body. It was almost double the amount he had at the ninth layer of Chakra Condensation. The moment he stood up, he could feel the changes in his spirit power. He made finger gestures and a purple cauldron instantaneously appeared.

Naruto was estastic and gestured with his finger once again. Another large cauldron appeared beside this purple cauldron. Following this, yet another one had appeared! These three cauldrons were Naruto's limit; they began to revolve around Naruto's surroundings. Naruto faced the sky and began to laugh as a flash flew out of his body; he flourished the Golden Crow Sword in his hand, and a blaze immediately dispersed. In an instant, the area of three zhang circling him had become a fire prison.

Moreover, there seemed to be a Golden Crow Firebird, which was born by bathing within the fire; it was exuding an extremely strong aura.

The smile on Naruto's face almost instantly became much wider, and with a wave of his sleeve, all of his techniques disappeared. He took a deep breath and felt that he had already become a true expert.

"Foundation Establishment… is already very near. Just wait until I reach the peak of Chakra Condensation, then I can try for the Foundation

Establishment!" As Naruto thought about the increased lifespan of Foundation Establishment, he became extremely excited.

He hurriedly cleaned off the impurities on his body and used half a day to adapt to the boundless spirit power that he had after increasing his cultivation. Only then did he return to the back courtyard in high spirits and sat in a cross-legged position in front of the Rearing Beast Seed.

"My cultivation has broken through. Now, all that's missing is this Rearing Beast Seed.

"Haha, my dream is finally going to be realised."

"After all. The Spirit of Life is an illusion created by the secret technique. However, this Rearing Beast Seed is completely different; this is a seed that can birth a real combat beast!"

"I want to breed the… most powerful fighting beast that has the strongest points of every beast! With this, all of my goals within the

North Bank will be completed!"

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed. Naruto opened his eyes widely, blankly staring at this Rearing Beast Seed which had no branches nor trunk; there was only an enormous flower bud. He only knew about the Rearing Beast Seed through reading materials, but after all, this was the first time he planted one, and so, he felt that it was inconceivable.

Seven days ago, the branches and trunk were unable to support the flower bud. In the middle of Naruto's nervousness, the braches and trunk unexpectedly started to transform, and after it merged with the flower bud, this flower bud seemed to be growing bigger and bigger on the ground.

Now, it was already more than six zhang, looking like an enormous steamed bun…

Naruto swallowed his saliva and retreated a few steps, continuing to guard it. Three days later, when a strong and fragrant aroma diffused outwards, Naruto immediately opened his eyes, looking at this 'steamed bun' that had already grown to nine zhang.

The mouth of the steamed bun slightly opened a fist-sized crack on it, and that fragrant aroma came from this opening.

"A dense spirit aroma will be wafted out, and the Rearing Beast Seed will split open. This is what was recorded in the reading materials. This is the appearance of the Rearing Beast Seed when it fully matures and is able to produce a Rearing Beast!" Naruto hurriedly rose and walked around the Rearing Beast Seed, carefully looking at it. His eyes had a light in them, and after he pondered, he immediately went outside. After a half a day, he returned and that Scarlet Flying Tiger was following him.

This Scarlet Flying Tiger originally looked around with a curious face, but when it followed Naruto to the back courtyard, its body suddenly trembled, and unexpectedly, a strong light appeared in its eyes. At this moment, it was though it had seen its mother. With a loud roar, its body suddenly charged out, directly into the Rearing Beast Flower.

In the instant when it got close to the Rearing Beast Flower, the flower's mouth suddenly enlarged; it swallowed the Scarlet Flying Tiger within the blink of an eye.

Naruto was still pondering about how to rear this Rearing Beast Flower, and he suddenly opened his eyes widely upon seeing this scene; he immediately went forward. Although he could not see the outline of the Scarlet Flying Tiger in the flower bud, he could see the traces of its body budging, and so he relaxed, curiously waiting by its side.

This wait lasted for two hours before the flower bud loosened, and that Flying Tiger climbed out of it. Its four limbs were trembling. Intoxication appeared in its eyes, as if it wanted to go in again, however, it was grabbed by Naruto and taken out of the formation array.

When he returned, he was followed by an enormous bear, and quickly, its eyes became straight, and with a loud roar, it charged to the Rearing Beast Flower…

1st guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch, MantouInv, Cannibaloid

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 131

Chapter 131

Chapter 131 - This Is All For Dedication

Naruto clasped his hands behind his back as he stood outside the courtyard. He gazed at the huge bear which was walking away with a hint of infatuation within his eyes. The bear looked back at least three times in each step, as if it was reluctant to part with him. Naruto felt deeply moved and believed he had done a good deed.

Thus, every single time Naruto went out during the following half a month, he would consistently bring back a spirit beast which he had carefully chosen. He watched as the Rearing Beast Flower swallow those spirit beasts, then those spirit beasts would leave with an infatuated and reluctant look. Within half a month, he had chosen almost 200 spirit beasts for the Rearing Beast Flower to swallow.

As for the following two hundred spirit beasts, Naruto wouldn't choose any of them, unless it was a special spirit beast.

At the end, he wanted to nurture the strongest combat beast possible, and so the ones that he had chosen were either strong or had enormous potential.

At the end, all of the spirit beasts that had dedicated themselves were unexpectedly gathered outside the formation array of Naruto's pavilion. Every time they saw Naruto come out, they would all howl, wishing that they could have another chance to enter again.

"Not possible, giving your energy once is enough, if you give more, it will harm your bodies." Naruto steeled his heart and refused. This went on for another few days, and even the pangolin had came to dedicate its energy. After that, Naruto realised that there were no more beasts within the Hundred Beasts Courtyard that he could choose anymore.

He was especially worried because he knew that the blossoming period of the Rearing Beast Flower wasn't that long, and once this period of time passed, it would start producing its offspring.

"This won't do, these beasts aren't enough to cultivate the strongest combat beast that I want." When Naruto thought of this, he hurriedly left the Hundred Beasts Courtyard. While he was previously walking around the North Bank to observe spirit beasts, the understanding that he had towards the spirit beasts of the disciples of the North Bank was not considered as perfect, but he still had a rough impression of them. He knew which disciple's combat beasts had a huge potential, and he knew which of them had a strong combat beast.

"I remember that there was an outer sect disciple that had a peacock as her combat beast? It seemed to have a high potential, this peacock should be fine?" Naruto quickly went to the living quarters of that female disciple.

Only after he waited there for half a day did he then see that this female disciple's reputation was not small. When the beautiful disciple returned, Naruto immediately used what he thought was the most gentle smile and quickly walked up to her, tactfully expressing his wish to pay some contribution points to let him borrow his peacock, so it could dedicate something special for him. Besides the Rearing Beast Flower,

he detailedly told her everything else.

Naruto was worried that the other party would reject him, and so, he even gave another line of explanation.

"Don't worry, whatever your combat beast would dedicate will absolutely not hurt it. You don't know, but all the other combat beasts that had given it before would be infatuated and would want to go again. But I was worried that it would severely harm their Yuan Qi, and so I rejected them.

That female disciple was originally at a loss and didn't know what 'dedicating' meant. But after she listened, her eyes went wide, blankly looking at the Naruto in front of

her. Finally, fear appeared in her eyes.

"You… you lewd and evil thief." She didn't know what to say, and she stamped her feet, hurriedly leaving.

Naruto was stunned for a moment, he slightly felt wronged.

"Am I not just borrowing it for a moment? If you don't agree, then that's fine. But you actually scolded me and called me a lewd and evil thief. I, Naruto, am not a lewd and evil thief!" Naruto was gloomy, so he just decided to go to the next person. But after several days, he had found over a hundred people, but unexpectedly, not even a single one agreed. And there were even many people that had a weird look in their eyes when they looked at him.

Naruto sighed. He was thinking in his mind that since everyone doesn't agree, then it was fine. Its hopeless anyway, and he could only settle for second best and use the other beasts in the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

But just at the moment when Naruto was about to give up, a rumor was spread within the sect. When many disciples looked at Naruto, they would have a weird look and would whisper in another person's ear, all discussing about him.

"Did you hear? Naruto has an unusual hobby…"

"During these few days, he's been trying to borrow combat beasts from everyone, saying something about dedicating. You don't know the meaning of dedicating, come, I'll give you an explanation!"

"It's actually this meaning. Heavens. Naruto is actually, with beasts... heavens, this can't be true."

This rumour was spontaneous, as if this rumour contained all of the malice of the disciples of the North Bank after they couldn't do anything about Naruto. This rumour got worse and worse, and by the end, even the meaning of it had changed. Only, the disciples of the North Bank were extremely interested by this rumour and spread it with an extremely fast speed. Several days later, almost a great majority of disciples had heard of this matter.

"Do you know why Naruto came to the North Bank? It's because he has a special love for beasts."

"I've finally understood. The reason why he could research and create that Aphrodisiac Pill is actually this reason. Because he wants it, so he develops it…"

"Heaven's Chosen all have strange hobbies. I'm just curious, his targets don't seem to be female beasts, but male beasts?"

"Heavens, you even thought of this. Hush… we should quiet down a bit.

I've faintly guessed a reason…"

Naruto had also heard these rumours, and he turned muddleheaded. The most outrageous thing was, one evening, when night had descended, he had seen a female disciple carrying a blue eyed black cat. He merely curiously looked at it a bit more, and that female disciple unexpectedly shrieked and quickly ran away.

Naruto was stunned and felt extremely wronged. He wanted to explain it to them, but he realised that these people would seem to suddenly see the light after he explained it to them, yet they would still secretly spread the rumours even more.

"You guys are bullying too much!" Naruto was angry.

"I, Naruto, don't have it easy! I had to come alone to the North Bank to cultivate, and I've been cautious the whole time, not daring to offend anyone, staying low! But you guys actually bullied me like this! And you guys also slandered me!" Naruto's eyes turned red as he clenched his teeth.

"This is what you have forced me to do! Since you are slandering me, those beasts of yours, I'll take it myself!" When Naruto's rage was burning, he suddenly heard a sound of wind behind him. When he turned his head, he saw that there was nothing behind him, just a big tree not far away that was swaying.

Following that, there was a black shadow that unexpectedly used an extremely fast speed to charge directly at him at the moment that he turned his head. That black shadow's target was his lower abdomen… It suddenly used its mouth to ruthlessly bite down, as if it wanted to thoroughly bite it off to pieces.

Fortunately, Naruto was presently at the tenth layer of Chakra Condensation, and his mind was clear, especially after achieving enlightenment. It also seemed like his senses had improved a lot; he immediately felt that something was not right and suddenly retreated.

Chi! Chi! In the instant that he retreated, a large mouth that was full of dense, sharp teeth was only half a zhang away from Naruto's body, directly biting the air where he once stood. The strength of that bite was too great, actually causing a sonic boom and carried boundless hatred.

This black shadow was precisely that Nocturnal Beast. It was nighttime, and its speed was much greater than its speed during the day. Seeing that its second sneak attack against Naruto was still not successful, this big Nocturnal Beasts immediately turned around and ran away without the slightest hesitation.

"It's you again!" Naruto's scalp was already numb, and cold sweat was dripping on his forehead. He could only feel that there was a chill behind his back. Earlier, if he was just a bit slower in his dodging, he would've been directly bitten by that Nocturnal Beast.

Once he thought about the consequences of being bitten, Naruto's mind trembled. He didn't dare to test out the Undying Longevity Technique to bet his...

"This damned Nocturnal Family. It almost exterminated an Honourable Family!" Naruto looked at the Nocturnal Beast running away, and his rage immediately overflowed the heavens.

"This is too much bullying! It's fine that the disciples of the North Bank are bullying me, but you, a mere black dog, actually dare to bully me too! Last time, I pitied you. This time, you won't run away!" Naruto angrily roared as wings appeared on his back. His body flashed, and his speed explosively increased as he instantly chased after the dog.

One man and one beast were quickly playing a game of tag in the North Bank.

That Nocturnal Beast's speed was just as quick as Naruto's flying speed, and it was more familiar with the terrain here. Naruto chased after it for an hour, but even until the sky was already thoroughly dark, he still hadn't caught up with it. Originally, he was already angry, but after being sneak attacked by this Nocturnal Beast and discovering that he couldn't catch up, his anger once again surged.

This Nocturnal Beast had already taken second place in the rankings of things he hated in his heart. The third rank was Elder Zhou's bird. As for the first rank… except for that parroting rabbit that would appear and disappear randomly, there wouldn't be anything that could take its place.

(ED Note: Naruto… Ultimate V.?)

"Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I will continue chasing you!"

Naruto's whole body suddenly flashed, and his Undying Longevity Art was stimulated to the limit. The sweeping motion of the wings on his back also had bursts of Magnetic Yuan Force appear, and in this instant, the speed of his entire body explosively increased by twofold.

With a boom, he directly turned into a blur, instantly shortening the distance between them. That Nocturnal Beast was not making a single sound, and it was about to dig into a cave. However, before its whole body entered, Naruto had already approached and grabbed it.

In the instant that he grabbed the Nocturnal Beast, its eyeballs turned red. With madness, it directly turned its head, ignoring its own safety to aggressively charge at Naruto's lower abdomen, trying to bite him again.

Previously, when it tried to sneak attack, the Nocturnal Beast was unable to succeed, and nothing more was needed to be said when Naruto was currently full of anger. Before the Nocturnal Beast could bite him, it let out a cry as its neck was directly clamped by Naruto.

His hands were like metal clamps, and despite how much the Nocturnal Beast struggled, it was unable to break free.

"Humph, I'll make you aware what's terrifying this time!" Naruto clenched his teeth and directly headed to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard. Quickly, he arrived at the pavilion When he was currently pondering how to punish this Nocturnal Beast, he suddenly swept his gaze across the Rearing Beast Flower.

His mind shook, and Naruto cunningly laughed. He threw this Nocturnal Beast forward, and it was instantly swallowed by the Rearing Beast Flower.

After two hours, the Rearing Beast Flower loosened, and the Nocturanl Beast climbed out of it. There was still madness and hate in its eyes, but now it also had a strange expression. After it saw Naruto, it still wanted to charge and tear him apart, however, it was caught by Naruto and was thrown again into the Rearing Beast Flower.

Another two hours passed. When the Nocturnal Beast appeared again, its madness was still present, so it was thrown inside again by Naruto.

After four times, when the Nocturnal Beast appeared again, its legs had gone soft as it lied there panting.

"Scared now?" Naruto coldly snorted.

"Provoke me again, I…" Before Naruto finished speaking, that

Nocturnal Beast suddenly raised its head and forcefully tried to charge and bite Naruto. Naruto immediately flew into a rage and once again threw the Nocturnal Beast into the Rearing Beast Flower several times consecutively. Added onto the previous four times, he had thrown the Nocturnal Beast inside the Rearing Beast Flower 9 times.

After nine times, the body of the Nocturnal Beast had shrunk, and it was already listless. When Naruto grabbed it again, the Nocturnal Beast let out a mournful cry, and Naruto's heart also became soft as it struggled.

"Are you scared now? In the future, don't provoke me. I also had no choice during that time in the Heaven's Chosen War," Naruto warned it, and only then did he threw the Nocturnal Beast out of the pavilion then into the distance. The Nocturnal Beast used its little remaining strength to hurriedly run away. When it got to a secluded place, it stopped. A confused look appeared in its eyes, and faintly, it seemed to recall the aftertaste...

2nd guaranteed chapter of the week. College happened, and we'll try to catch up within the next few days.

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Cannibaloid, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Chapter 132 - The Hereditary Blood

Gazing at the distant figure of the Nocturnal Beast, Naruto was extremely pensive. Just a moment before, he was observing the scene and was able to see that the Nocturnal Beast's body was slowly shirinking. This obvious scene allowed Naruto to have a certain understanding towards the Rearing Beast Flower's blooming period. During this, he also pondered about the fragrant aroma that released as it bloomed.

"There exists an odor within the Rearing Beast Flower which causes their victims to experience hallucinations. It caused the various types of different spirit beasts to be in an illusory world and when the spirit beast's Chakra and blood are most vigorous, it extracts a trace of their life source; their hereditary blood. It uses this to undergo metamorphosis. This was the reason why the Nocturnal Beast slowly wasted away… It was different from spirit beasts, and the illusory world that would cause its blood and Chakra to turn vigorous was also different from spirit beasts. But no matter what the Rearing Beast Flower did, its purpose was to make these spirit beasts lose their resistance while they were hallucinating."

"It's truly worthy of being the extremely scarce Rearing Beast Seed… To a certain degree, its existence surpasses all the other spirit beasts!" Naruto's mind shook as he gradually began to understand.

It was the same as how mosquitos would release a numbing feeling as it absorbed blood. This Rearing Beast Blood would release an excited feeling while it absorbed of the spirit beasts' Hereditary Blood.

Time passed, and seven days later, Naruto saw that not many days of the Rearing Beast Flower's blooming period were left. If he didn't have the Rearing Beast Seed absorb the Hereditary Blood of more high quality beasts, then it would be wasting this precious treasure.

Naruto once again thought about the slandering that the disciples of the North Bank had given him, causing him to clench his teeth. Late into the moonless night, when the gales were at its strongest, he quietly left the Hundred Beasts Courtyard without a trace.

"Although I haven't done this sort of thing for a long time... and although doing these kinds of things, with my status, is losing too much face… I have no choice." Naruto's eyes brightened as he floated around the North Bank, heading directly towards a residence. His speed was too fast, and in the instant he stepped into the house, a beautiful peacock, which was currently resting in the residence, had its neck grabbed by a small hand, not even giving it the chance to sense the danger of its surroundings.

This peacock was about to struggle to get free, but its body was dragged by a huge force, and it could not make the slightest bit of noise. Its body turned soft and it was incapable of struggling. It could only allow Naruto to lift it and quickly leave.

Naruto glanced left and right; he was very vigilant. After he sensed that no one was paying attention, he charged into the next area. In an instant, besides the peacock in his hands, there was an extra beast; a green python. This did not end, and he continued onwards.

After some time, Naruto returned to the Hundred Beasts

Courtyard after toiling away for long hours. His left hand was carrying a peacock and his right hand was holding a Night Panther; his armpit had a White Monkey clamped between it, and his body had a Green Python wrapped around it as he excitedly returned.

"A big harvest!" Naruto was excited. He knew that time was an urgent matter, and as a result, after he tied up these combat beasts in the back courtyard, he immediately threw the peacock into the Rearing Beast Flower

.

Looking at the Rearing Beast Flower swallowing the peacock, Naruto was excitedly waiting by its side. Not long after, the peacock was spat out. Unexpectedly, infatuation didn't appear in its eyes, and instead, it was immersing itself in the beauty in its memories. Clearly, the illusory world that it entered was different from other beasts. Without waiting for it to react, Naruto hurriedly grabbed it and threw the Green Python into the Rearing Beast Flower. Soon after, he carried the peacock and quickly left, returning the peacock to the owner's residence.

This time, the peacock didn't cry out or struggle, and it even tried to curry favour with Naruto by rubbing its head on him while he was carrying it. Expectation appeared in its eyes, as if it wished that Naruto would take it again next time.

"If you get one strand of your Hereditary Blood absorbed, there won't be any problems. However, if you lose more, then it won't be good. Be obedient. Right… and don't tell your owner," Naruto strictly spoke while suppressing his voice and immediately ran off.

During this night, Naruto had to do the same thing over and over again, sending off the Green Phyton, the White Monkey, and the Night Panther to their respective owners. When the sun rose, he felt very tired. When he thought about the reluctant and infatuated looks on those combat beasts at the end, Naruto felt that he had done a good deed.

Especially when he saw the thriving Rearing Beast Flower, he was even more satisfied.

"I did something that made the combat beasts satisfied. The Rearing Beast Flower was satisfied. And I am also satisfied. This shows that I am indeed doing a good deed!" Naruto was very happy today, and when the moonlight descended again, he faced the wind, lifted his chin and continued walking outside.

He did this for several days in a row. He could already do this easily, like a walk in the park. He didn't care whether it was an inner sect disciple or an outer sect disciple, they were all his targets. Every night, he would choose four beasts at most. If he chose more, he wouldn't be able to make it back in time before the sun rose.

Since Naruto was cautious, and also because his cultivation was profound, giving rise to an incredible speed, he had no problems at all during these few days. Only, during the day, those combat beasts which had been secretly 'dedicated' would immediately be in high spirits after seeing Naruto, wanting to curry favour with him.

Their owners were all dumbstruck while looking at their combat beasts, which were previously bad to Naruto, actually trying to curry favour with him now. They were all flabbergasted, and when they communicated with their own combat beasts, unexpectedly, none of the combat beasts gave them a reply.

This went on for half a month. The pleased Naruto looked at his

Rearing Beast Flower which had followed his plan and unceasingly obtained the Hereditary Blood of different spirit beasts. His strongest combat beast was also steadily developing, and so, he would do his very best every night.

During this night, the black clouds in the sky covered the bright moon, and it was pitch-black everywhere. Naruto was holding a hedgehog in his hands, and he was carrying a fierce cow on his shoulders, subduing them. After making them unable to cry out, he quietly and invisibly approached a residence.

"Blue-eyed Black Cat…" A strange light appeared in Naruto's eyes. He had always been thinking of this combat beast. At this moment, he was about to approach its residence. when suddenly, within the pitch black courtyard, a pair of blue eyes opened, and a low roar, as if it was a cat's meow, echoed throughout the quiet night.

"So vigilant!" Naruto was surprised. This meow spread out in all directions, causing many people to be woken with a start. Naruto quickly retreated, but at this moment, that Blue-eyed Black Cat suddenly charged directly at Naruto, as if it wanted to obstruct him from running away.

Its eyes, which were unexpectedly human-like, showed ridicule in them.

Naruto was angry. If it was any other time, taking care of this Blue-eyed Black Cat would be very easy. However, at this moment, he feared that he would be detected, so he anxiously spread out the wings on his back, using his full speed to escape before anyone appeared.

That meow carried a penetrative force, and Naruto was in a tight corner during the whole journey. He had to avoid the appearing disciples of the North Bank, and he finally escaped after great difficulties. Walking on the small road leading to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, he clenched his teeth while thinking about the Blue-eyes Black Cat.

"I have to think of a way. That black cat is too vigilant." Naruto currently had a headache. Suddenly, his expression changed, and his body quickly dodged as a shadow whistled past him from the side. At that moment, a teeth grating sound echoed out.

"IT'S YOU AGAIN!" Previously, Naruto was already extremely angry. At this moment, when he saw this shadow, which was exactly that Nocturnal Beast, he immediately got even angrier.

During the previous two sneak attacks by this Nocturnal Beast, it would immediately escape after it missed. This time, it didn't run away, and instead, it carried madness and savageness, as well as hatred, as it unexpectedly once again charged at him.

If it escaped using its extremely agile body and the special characteristics of the Nocturnal Beast, it would have an extremely fast speed, which would force Naruto to use his full strength, and even then, he would need some time before catching up to it. This time, it didn't even run away and was quickly subdued by Naruto.

"I'm still lacking a beast tonight. I'll just use you as a replacement!" Uzumaki

Naruto hatefully spoke, carrying the unceasingly struggling Nocturnal Beast. He returned to the courtyard and first let the fierce cow and the hedgehog 'dedicate' themselves, before he finally threw that violent Nocturnal Beast, which was still struggling, into the Rearing Beast Flower.

Once he had sent away the fierce cow as well as the hedgehog and had returned, he used his time for the day to release his ruthlessness, preparing to give this Nocturnal Beast a lesson that it would never forget; he would make this beast dedicate itself fifteen times in a row.

At the end, this Nocturnal Beast was already dying, before it got viciously thrown out by Naruto.

"If you dare to sneak attack me again next time, I'll make you become dog shit!" Naruto angrily spoke. That Nocturnal Beast picked itself up with great effort and ran into the forest. When Naruto couldn't see it anymore, it lay in the darkness, sticking its tongue out to lick its lips, a deep intoxication unexpectedly appearing in its eyes.

Another several days passed, and Naruto was still moving around in the deep night. Merely, the vigilance of the Blue-eyed Black Cat made Naruto have a big headache. He thought about making a ruthless move, but he discovered that this black cat actually hid in its owner's room, not even daring to come out.

This made Naruto very helpless. Although he was unwilling to, he could only give up and choose other beasts. However, he was always remembering that cat in his heart. Late at night, after he sent a toad beast back to its owner and was on his way back, his footsteps suddenly paused. A shadow instantly charged out from the side of his body, and the familiar grating sound once again echoed out.

It was the Nocturnal Beast again. It stood there in high spirits, and it also didn't run away this time. Instead, it exposed viciousness in its teeth, as if it wanted to charge towards Naruto again.

Naruto was shocked and was shaken by the persistence of this Nocturnal Beast. Following that, Naruto felt that it was weird. During the third time that it sneak attacked him, Naruto didn't think more of it, but now, he had somehow carefully thought about it. This big dog still hadn't ran away and had completely given up on its speed. It was to the point that when it was sneak attacking him just now, the feeling that it had given Naruto seemed to have been somewhat perfunctory. The strength of the bite was also miles away from the savage mess of the previous sneak attacks.

"You're doing this on purpose!" Naruto shouted in astonishment.

This Nocturnal Beast was originally about to charge out, but after hearing this sentence, its footsteps paused, and it stopped, its eyes looking towards Naruto. It also didn't let out a low growl, didn't grind its teeth, and didn't even charge out; it just had a straight gaze at Naruto.

Naruto's expression turned strange. When he ignored the Nocturnal Beast and walked around it, the Nocturnal Beast unexpectedly followed him. It followed him all the way until Naruto returned to the pavilion and returned to the courtyard.

Once it arrived, the black dog's tail unexpectedly shook excitedly, and it charged towards the Rearing Beast Flower, actually… jumping into it.

Naruto was incredibly shocked, his expression gradually became even weirder. Especially when he saw that after the Nocturnal Beast finished dedicating itself, it crawled over and unexpectedly didn't leave, once again jumping back inside the Rearing Beast Flower. Going back and forth till the dawn of very next day, this Nocturnal Beast had unexpectedly dedicated itself seven or eight times.

"This… this… so much Hereditary Blood... Do you not want your life anymore? Damn it! What illusory realm did you enter?" Naruto took a deep breath and grabbed the Nocturnal Beast that was once again about to throw itself. Naruto hurriedly threw it out, he was about to threaten it, but Naruto's heart slightly shook, so he changed his mind.

"I know that you can understand my words. I'll tell you what, if you want to come again next time, don't sneak attack me. Instead, go catch that Blue-eyed Black Cat, and I'll let you dedicate yourself again!"

The Nocturnal Beast was limping and was about to leave, but after it heard Naruto's words, its footsteps paused and it turned its head around to look at him. Then, it turned its head around to run into the distance.

Several days later, late at night, Naruto was about to go outside, looking for beasts. Just when he was about to leave the pavilion, he suddenly heard a familiar bark echoing out from outside the door...

3rd guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Sean

TLCed by: Ash

Edited by: Cannibaloid, Arch, MantouInv

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Chapter 133 - Little One, Don't Try Anymore

Naruto walked outside and took a look. Outside the formation array of the pavilion, a black dog was pompusly standing outside, and within its claws, it was exactly that extremely vigilant Blue-Eyed Black Cat. Only, this black cat was currently dispirited and depressed.

The moment the Nocturnal Beast saw Naruto, it became even more pleased as it loudly cried out. Naruto immediately opened the formation array. The moment the formation array opened, the Nocturnal Beast instantly charged inside, straight towards the Rearing Beast Flower.

Naruto was stunned for a moment, and felt that this Nocturnal Beast's illusory world was definitely different from ordinary ones.

"It really doesn't want its life!" Naruto sighed and appeared in front of the Blue-eyed Black Cat. Only after he saw that this combat beast had already collapsed from exhaustion, with only a meager amount of energy and had no ability to resist, did he carry it and return to the back courtyard.

He waited for half a day… All the way until the Nocturnal Beast had jumped into the Rearing Beast Flower ten times. Then, Naruto grabbed it and threw it out. He was currently extremely worried and scared that if this Nocturnal Beast kept on giving its Ancestor's Origin Blood, the result of his plan to make the strongest combat beast, would finally result in a… small Nocturnal Beast.

The moment he thought about this possibility, Naruto turned nervous and decided to make sure that this Nocturnal Beast absolutely couldn't dedicate itself anymore. He then quickly threw the Blue-eyed Black Cat into the Rearing Beast Flower.

During the following half a month, the Nocturnal Beast seemed to have understood the rules, and thus, it brought a very depressed combat beast with it every time it came. After it cried out a few times and waited for Naruto to open the door, it would skilfully charge inside immediately.

And every time, Naruto would always be thinking of rejecting the Nocturnal Beast. However, every time he saw the spirit beasts that the Nocturnal Beast brought along, his mind would give in.

"This Nocturnal Beast must be omniscient. How does it know that these beasts are the ones that I want to catch? If only their owners weren't so strict, them being placed in Rearing Beast Pouches or their owners' inner sect caves..." Naruto was simply unable to refuse it. This

Nocturnal Beast seemed to have accurately caught Naruto's heart. The beasts that it brought along every time were all beasts that had previously made Naruto's heart moved. And one time, it actually dragged a combat beast that belonged to an elder of the Setting Sun Mountain.

"Damn it, if it's like this, how can I persuade it to stop? How long has this Nocturnal Beast been stalking me to know me so well?"

Naruto lamented and turned his head to look at the Nocturnal Beast inside the Rearing Beast Flower that wasn't moving at all. He felt that this Nocturnal Beast was not only extremely smart, it even had a valiant strength, especially its speed. Otherwise, it would not be able to defeat those beasts and drag them over here.

"It's fine. This is also a pitiful fellow. After all, I have previously caused trouble for it. If it brings over these types of combat beasts every time, then letting it dedicate itself for a few more times would be fine. Only, me not letting it continue would also be for its own good." Naruto shook his head and stopped paying attention to the Nocturnal Beast. Rather, he just turned his gaze and looked towards the four great mountains.

"I require even stronger combat beasts the guardian beasts of the four great mountains should be the best." Naruto licked his lips and immediately left the pavilion; he went to the stone cave in the Ancient Beast Abyss to refine pills.

At the same time, many disciples of the North Bank felt that something was wrong during this period of time. They felt that their combat beasts were acting strangely. They were often crying out at night, as if they were calling for someone.

Especially that Blue-eyed Black Cat, which now had a higher pitch when it meowed; it would occasionally look like it was recalling something, as if it had become the supreme king of all beasts inside that illusory world. Even a domineering tone had appeared in its voice, which echoed out in all directions, making people have no peace of mind when they were resting. The owner of this black cat was even more nervous and didn't know what had happened to her own combat beast.

And these kinds of incidents were increasing in the sect…

Gradually, most of the disciples of the North Bank started to look for the cause…

Several days later, Naruto walked out from the medicine refining stone cave, satisfied as he held many pills that could attract spirit beasts. He waited until night descended and quickly went outside. The first place that he went to was the Iricdaceae Mountain. After he reached the mountaintop, he had had some nervousness in his heart. He headed towards the cave where the Seven-Coloured Phoenix was in, and thought to first curry favour with it. And so, he threw a Grade 3 spirit medicine into the cave.

But the moment he threw the pill, it immediately bounced back and struck Naruto's stomach. The force in that rebound was extremely great. Fortunately, Naruto's skin was rough and his meat was thick. While his face slightly changed as he retreated a few steps back, the head of the Seven-Coloured Phoenix slowly extended out from the pitch-black cave. It proudly glanced at Naruto, disdain appearing in its eyes.

It wasn't disdainful towards Naruto as a person, and was instead disdainful towards his action of throwing out the pill.

That appearance seemed to be obviously telling Naruto that it absolutely would not eat a stranger's pill.

Naruto widened his eyes and let out a dry cough.

"Senior Phoenix, this pill is very nice to eat… But if you don't like it, it also doesn't matter, just follow me, I'll take you to a nice place. All of your dreams can become reality there." When Naruto put on a cute look while explaining, that phoenix suddenly waved its wings, and a gale swept over. Naruto who got hit by the wind had to continuously retreat, and he almost fell off a cliff, causing his heart to tremble as he desparately stopped his body.

That Seven-Coloured Phoenix coldly glared at Naruto, as if it was warning him. Only after it did that, did it slowly return to its cave.

"Fine, fine, this Seven-Coloured Phoenix's temper is too bad. I'll just go to the Setting Sun Mountain to look around; that Three-Eyed Black Crow shouldn't have such a bad temper." Naruto had a slight headache, but he was still determined. That very night, he went to the Setting Sun Mountain and stood in front of that Three Eyed Crow's cave, planning to try again.

But after half an incense stick's worth of time, Naruto's scalp turned numb as he rapidly escaped. There were flashes of black light behind him; that Three-Eyed Black Crow actually chased after him, as if it was trying to chase Naruto off the mountain. Only then did a proud look surface in its eyes, as it turned around and flew back.

"I hate birds the most, humph, the temper of birds are the worst. Elder Zhou's bird will also falsely accuse people." Naruto deeply felt wronged. He felt that he had sent the pills with good intentions, but these birds kept bullying him like this.

But for the sake of breeding out the strongest combat beast, Naruto was not willing to give up. And so, his gaze fell on the Sky Mountain with a look of expectation.

"With one look, I can see that the big lizard is quite honest and its stomach is so big, it should prefer to eat a lot…I can't say for sure whether I need to use some tricks." Naruto was immediately excited and quickly went to the Sky Mountain. But quickly, he sullenly returned; his clothes were already torn apart.

That big lizard simply did not care about the pill that Naruto threw over. And when Naruto got worried and threw a few more pills, unexpectedly, the thing that directly charged towards Naruto was a claw.

The frightened Naruto hurriedly escaped, and his clothes had been scraped by the claws of the big lizard. Although he had not suffered any injuries on his body, he was still in a sorry state.

As for the last mountain guarding beast, the Mountain Ghost of the Ghost Tooth Mountain, Naruto hesitated for a long time, before resolutely stamping his feet. He flew over to the Ghost Tooth Mountain on the following night. On the contrary, the Mountain Ghost's temper was the best, and looked at Naruto, yet at the same, he just directly ignored his existence, as well as the pills that he threw out.

Naruto waited for a whole night and failed to see any results. The second day passed, and the three days had successively passed. Naruto could only sullenly give up.

"These four great mountain guarding beasts, each and every one of them look down on people!" Naruto sighed deeply. Now he had a miserable appearance outside of the pavilion. In the entire North Bank, except for some people that Naruto was unable to provoke or some beasts that were kept inside the Rearing Beast Pouch the whole time and was simply not taken out by the owner, almost every single combat beast that had some value had already been dedicated. As for the elder's beasts, they had also been successively dragged over by the Nocturnal Beast.

But regarding the four great mountain guarding beasts, Naruto had failed all of his attempts, making him extremely dispirited. Especially now that over half of the Rearing Beast Flower's blossoming period had passed, Naruto became increasingly worried,

"The combat beast that I wish to nurture is an unprecedented combat beast. Since the four great guardian mountain beasts do not agree to help me, I'll just have to find a combat beast that is even better than them. Within the entire sect, a combat beast that is stronger…en?" Naruto was currently muttering in a low voice, when his body suddenly shook. His eyes lit up as he slowly raised his head. At this moment, he was looking towards the Ancient Beast Abyss.

"Even stronger than the four great mountain guarding beast, it is obviously…the sect guarding god beast!"

"Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon…if I can make it dedicate itself, then it will be enough!" His breathing sped up as he began to carefully consider it in his mind.

"If I put it this way, the sect guarding god beast and I can be counted to have some friendly relations. Ever since I've arrived here, every time I went to that area to refine medicine, I would always throw some pills into the abyss… Furthermore, the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon is an old person. Although I've never seen it before, it has never stopped me from refining pills in that place. This means that… it acknowledges me!" The more Naruto thought to himself, the more he felt that his thoughts were reasonable. He got even more excited, and after he tidied up his Storage Pouch, he took a deep breath, flourished his sleeve, and directly went to the Ancient Abyss.

It was easy to drive a car on a familiar road, and to nurture the strongest combat beast, Naruto also staked it all. He flew over with an incredible speed. In front of the opening of the mountain stream on the Ancient Beast Abyss, he saw that everything underneath was pitchblack, as if there was a black fog shrouding it. Standing here made him feel that his arms and legs were ice-cold, as if there were bursts of cold air unceasingly rising from the Ancient Beast Abyss.

Naruto's body was slightly shivering. He was nervous that he would fall inside, and so he quickly retreated a few steps. After looking at the abyss, he clenched his teeth and took out a pill, throwing it down.

"Senior Heaven's Edge, it's Junior Naruto. Does senior remember that I've been giving senior pills throughout all these years? That, can senior try this pill's flavour and see how it tastes like." Naruto nervously spoke. After he waited for half a day and didn't get a reply, he wondered whether the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon had a different preference, and so, he threw out another Grade 3 spirit medicine.

Quickly, he had thrown out seven or eight different pills, and he also felt some dejection in the bottom of his heart. At the end, he decided to might as well throw the few Aphrodisiac Pills in his storage pouch down there, but he still failed to receive any reply.

"Could it be that the heavens have destined me, Naruto, to never be able to breed the strongest combat beast…" Naruto took a long sigh and was about to leave with disappointment. But just at this moment, suddenly, the black fog in the abyss below suddenly rolled. At the same time, a voice that brought vissicitudes suddenly echoed out from the abyss below.

"Little one, don't try anymore…your good intentions have been appreciated by me…but I was already on the verge of dying three thousand years ago… If you can let my withered origin seethe with excitement, even if it's just for an instant, I can fulfil any condition that you give me!"

"Ah?" Naruto opened his eyes widely. His breathing suddenly turned erratic as he turned around.

Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Chapter 134 - The Soul Has Not Dispersed Yet...

The dense mist within the abyss began to swirl; a pair of eyes gleamed from within. The pair of eyes had a huge number of colour distortions, however, the colour which lingered the longest was the reddish-purple colour. At this moment, the reddish-purple eyes were gazing at Naruto.

Only the eyes were visible, however, the difference between its eyes and Naruto's body was not that big. When Naruto saw it, he sucked in a deep breath. He wasn't able to concieve the size of this Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon. He could also vaguely identify the dragon's horn within the dense mist.

At this moment, he had carefully confirmed that the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon was indeed speaking earlier. He immediately got excited, and after he thought for a bit, he clenched his teeth.

"Senior… be at ease. I will definitely do my best!" Naruto turned around and a hint of stubborness was visible within his eyes. This was Naruto's final goal. If he was able to make this Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon dedicate itself once, Naruto believed that the strongest combat beast he was aiming for would be perfect.

"If a withered inheritencewants to be boiled over, it will need a strong stimulant. This kind of stimulant… there really isn't anything that is more superior than the Aphrodisiac Pill!" Naruto's eyes instantly became bloodshot as he hastily flew out of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard and directly to the Zhong Dao Mountain. Using his identity and his large amount of contribution points, he redeemed a large amount of medicinal plants.

These medicinal herbs used up virtually half of his contribution points! However, a single storage pouch could only hold so many herbs; this obviously wasn't enough to hold all of the herbs. Therefore, he could only fit all of the plants by using seven storage pouches. The disciple responsible for the exchange of medicinal grass was dumbstruck. In all the years which he was responsible for exchanging medicinal grass, never once had he seen a person this world-shaking!

Naturally, he had instantly recognised Naruto, and after Naruto left, this disciple sucked in a deep breath; in his eyes, Naruto was a deity.

After Naruto obtained the large number of medicinal herbs, he rushed back to the Ancient Beast Abyss in order to fully concentrate on refining medicine. His eyes turned bloodshot and seemed to have already sunk into insanity.

"I want to refine… the Super Aphrodisiac Pill!" Naruto fiercely clenched his teeth as he spoke. He desired to increase its medicinal efficacy and change the pill recipe, striving to increase the medicinal efficacy by a hundredfold or perhaps, even a thousandfold!

Time passed, and seven days quickly passed. During these seven days, Naruto did not rest in the slightest; his already disheveled hair was displayed as he was completely immersed in refining medicine. Occasionally, the Nocturnal Beast would run over while dragging a combat beast, and every time, Naruto would impatiently throw it a jade slip that could only open the formation array once.

The Nocturnal Beast was extremely intelligent; it wore the jade slip across its neck as it dragged the combat beast back to the pavilion, seemingly worried that perhaps, if it was unable to complete the task which Naruto had entrusted to it, the Nocturnal Beast would be unable to return. Thus, not only did it dedicated itself, but it also dragged the combat beast to dedicate as well. This simply did not require Naruto's attention. However, since Naruto was currently unavailable due to his insane pill refinement, he had no control over the number of times the Noc

turnal Beast tried to dedicated itself…

At the same time, the disciples of the North Bank were gradually driven insane. They discovered that their combat beasts would abruptly disappear for a short period of time. However, when they were finally found, they would have strange expressions. Some of them would have a proud expression; they look as if they were the ruler of the world. Some would have an agitated expression, with a scathing murderous intent; and some would be infatuated, as though they were immersing in a boundless all had different kinds of expressions, and no matter how the owner tried to communicate with it, they would not get an answer.

Following the increase of the number of unnatural combat beasts, there were also some combat beasts, which seemed to have been previously oppressed heavily by their masters and would usually not contradict them, that after being immersed in the illusory world where they were the masters, weren't able control themselves the moment they returned, assuming an imposing manner… This caused the entire North Bank to be thrown into chaos.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"There must be a problem! Find it! We must find the root of this problem!"

The moment this situation occured, even the elders of the North Bank inspected their own combat beasts, noticing that they also had assumed a imposing manner. By the time the elders noticed, the majority of the North Bank's disciples had already began taking action and started the search for the root of the problem.

Yet another three days passed, and Naruto had already turned insane; causing him to look like a devil. The Naruto at this moment didn't fear the Heavens or the Earth, and even ran to the edge of the abyss, asking for a drop of blood from the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon.

If this were another time, Naruto would absolutely not dare to do something so dangerous. However, the present him who had sunk into insanity didn't even consider the consequences of his actions.

After a brief moment of silence, Naruto began prompting the dragon impatiently. Following this, a drop of black blood unexpectedly flew out, which was immediately placed into a bottle by Naruto, who hastily returned to the stone cave; adding it into the spirit medicine. He then continued to refine medicine.

Five days later, Naruto had already continuously spent half a month incessantly refining pills without any rest nor sleep; the super medicinal pill had finally been refined on the evening of this day.

A loud boom echoed out. Naruto gazed at the medicinal pill in front of him which was the size of a head; he faced the sky and laughed.

Not only was this pill extremely big, it was also extremely heavy.

The instant it was refined, a fragrant aroma spread out in all directions. Within the stone cave, after that Nocturnal Beast, which was currently dragging a combat beast while running, smelled this fragrant aroma, its body suddenly trembled as it let out a wail. Its eyes were red, and it turned its body and directly rushed to leave the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, to some unknown place...

At this moment, due to this fragrant aroma spreading out, countless agitated roars echoed out of the forest in the Hundred Beast Courtyard.

When Naruto saw that the mere smell of the pill had such an effect, his laugh became even more resonant. He was incomparably excited, but he felt that this still wasn't enough. To increase the certainty of its effects, he looked around his surroundings and rapidly left with the pill.

Only after he found a place where no one was paying attention, did he take out the huge black pot, and started to spirit refine. He spirit refined it three times, causing this enormous super pill, that was unprecedented in the entire cultivation world, to turn into a Fine Tier medicine!

"This medicinal pill... will definitely succeed! If it still doesn't succeed, then I, Naruto, will never ever refine another medicinal pill from now on!" Naruto was in high spirits and was extremely confident in himself. He brought the medicinal pill back to the Ancient Beast Abyss' mountain stream, proceeding to throw it down there.

Once the medicinal pill fell into the black mist, it disappeared. Naruto stood at the edge of the abyss and slowly waited. An hour quickly passed. Even if Naruto was self-confident, he also started to get nervous.

"No way, but that medicine has a medicinal efficacy that is over a thousandfold higher!" Another hour passed; sweat had already appeared on Naruto's forehead. While he was feeling anxious, suddenly, the mist in the abyss below instantly and strongly rolled. There were bursts of world-shaking roars that suddenly came from within the mist, and there was also a gale that swept in all directions. Naruto retreated again and again, and when he looked back, a loud booming sound echoed out, and the mist inside the abyss suddenly soared towards the sky.

The mist turned into an enormous Chakra Pillar, with countless black threads revolving around it, causing distortions to appear in midair. At the same time, a voice that was pleasantly surprised suddenly echoed out in all directions.

"I've finally… felt the boiling of my Hereditary Blood again!" Following the appearance of the sound, the mist pillar suddenly collapsed. When the remnants spread out in all directions, an enormous claw was directly extended from the abyss. Accompanied by an explosion, it grabbed the cliff outside the abyss, and the ground trembled for a moment.

This claw was incomparably pitch-black, and the scales on it were all as big as a person. A dense light appeared on the sharp claw, and an aura that would make people tremble was let out from this claw.

At the same time, an enormous head that resembled a mountain slowly extended outwards from the abyss. That was a black-coloured enormous dragon, and impressively, there was a single horn on the top of its head. Once the horn appeared, the heavens and earth seemed to have turned fuzzy.

Shockingly, this enormous dragons eyes weren't actually a zhang tall. Once it fully opened its eyes, they became even more enormous, and an endless amount of vicissitudes appeared on its body. It could be seen that there were countless wounds that were already healed on the surrounding areas of the dragon's head. It could be imagined that this enormous dragon had definitely gone through life and death battles for countless years in the past.

Although it was currently old, the aura on its body hadn't decreased; instead, it was even stronger. At this moment, it raised its head and let out a long cry, causing all of the monstrous beasts in the entire forest to tremble and lie down, not daring to move at all.

Naruto forcefully swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Looking at this incomparably huge and hard to describe dragon, Naruto's legs went soft, and booming sounds unceasingly echoed out in his mind. He knew that it was only half of its body, because clearly, there was still more of its body that remained in the abyss.

It was at this moment when that enormous dragon suddenly looked at Naruto. Its enormous head instantly descended and appeared in front of Naruto.

Naruto felt that the pressure was too great. The opposite party's head seemed to have replaced the sky, making Naruto nervous. He shouted loudly at once.

"Senior Heaven's Edge, I am Naruto, do you remember me? That medicinal pill was refined by me. It took me half a month to refine it, and it almost costed me my small life to refine it."

The mouth of the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon opened, as if it was laughing. However, this laugh, from Naruto's point of view, was absolutely horrifying. Without waiting for Naruto to speak, this Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon instantly shrunk its body, and under Naruto's gaze, it unexpectedly changed from that enormous body to a three zhang tall black-coloured lizard.

Its change was so distinct that it seemed to have a faint resemblance to the lizard of the Sky Mountain.

This lizard moved in front of Naruto and pressed its claw against the earth. Instantly, the surroundings twisted, and when Naruto looked clearly again, he was overwhelmed with shock to discover that he had actually returned to the courtyard in the pavillion.

"Sure enough, it's the Rearing Beast Seed. In the instant when this seed was planted here, I felt its aura… Using illusions to enter the soul, using the soul to awaken the origin, and using the origin to condense the Hereditary Blood. Perhaps my bloodline can be passed down through this seed." The Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon began to lament as it completely ignored Naruto. Suddenly, the Heaven Edge Ink Dragon's silhouette blurred as it approached the Rearing Beast Flower. The flower began trembling and abruptly opened its mouth, facing the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon and swallowing it.

The Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon didn't resist; with a look of expectation, it let itself be directly swallowed inside.

Naruto nervously stood by the side and looked inside of the

Rearing Beast Flower. It was unknown what illusory realm the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon was immersed in, but it didn't become motionless like the other beasts. Instead, it let out gloomy roars. Naruto was extremely agonised. He felt as if he had caused the issue to become too big and he was extremely worried that the Rearing Beast Flower would not be able to support the horrifying Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon.

With his continuous prayers, four hours passed, and only then did the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon fly out with a solemn expression. After muttering to itself for a short period of time, it unexpectedly charged inside once again.

Time flew by and nine days later, Naruto blankly stared at that Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon, which had actually surpassed the Nocturnal Beast, and dedicated itself for over fifty times in a row! Only then did it have a rueful expression and fly out.

"Although the illusory world is good, it is still a past event after all… Little One, you aren't bad. In the future, if you have any matters, just come and find me. As long as it is not something that isn't too big, I can help you out." The Spirit Creek Sect's Guardian Beastlike a loud bell as it spoke words of appreciation towards Naruto. When it was about to leave, Naruto hesitated for a moment. He felt that this time, he had really helped the sect and had done an enormous good deed.

And so, he opened his mouth and spoke at once.

"Senior Heaven's Edge, is it possible for you to call the Guardian Beast of the four great mountains over, and let them dedicate themselves for a moment? And also a few beasts that belong to the ancestors…" Naruto looked towards the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon with expectation.

"Those few little children? It's only a trifling matter!" The Heaven's Edge

Ink Dragon grinned and laughed. It suddenly raised its head and inhaled. Naruto could only feel the heavens and earth twisting for a moment, and within an instant, the Seven-Coloured Phoenix, Three-Eyed Black Crow, Mountain Ghost, as well as the lizard from the Sky Mountain, appeared in front of the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon. Behind them, there were the combat beasts of a few ancestors.

After these combat beasts appeared, they all trembled. The Three-Eyed Black Crow and the Seven-Coloured Phoenix shivered; fear actually appeared in their eyes. The Mountain Ghost also trembled and fell to the ground.

As for the lizard from the Sky Peak, its legs directly turned soft and it completely lied down. As for the combat beasts of the four ancestors, they were even more unable to withstand it.

Naruto was in ecstacy; the combat beasts in front of him, which were insufferably arrogant in the past, were now obediently following the instructions of the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon. One by one, they jumped into the Rearing Beast Flower. This lasted until the morning of the second day, and after that, they respectively left to different places with a flabbergasted expression. The Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon also walked away, but before it left, it looked at Naruto with a look of appreciation.

Naruto faced the sky and laughed loudly. He was extremely estastic after he noticed the Rearing Beast Flower closing. It was no longer releasing that fragrant aroma, and was instead preparing to bear fruit and birth a combat beast. He was happy from the bottom from his heart, and he was filled with pride. He had also heard about the disciples of the North Bank that were currently looking for the reason of the agitation of the combat beasts, which made him even more pleased with himself.

"The strongest combat beast of I, Naruto, is about to be born! Humph! Disciples of the North Bank, tremble! I have already chosen a good name for this combat beast of mine, it will be called Tie Dan!

"It's fine if you guys don't lend me your beasts, but you also slandered me… Just wait until you guys find out the reason behind the anomalies of your combat beasts, and after you know that your combat beasts have already dedicated their Hereditary Blood in here... by that time, I, Naruto, will have already returned to the South Bank! Hahahahaha!" Naruto lifted his chin, flourished his sleeve and quickly assumed the appearance of an expert. However, he was unable to cover up the pleased look on his face.

At this moment, Naruto felt extremely happy and was incomparably pleased with himself. But suddenly, he felt that there was a gaze that fell on his body. Flabbergasted, Naruto turned his head. Almost immediately, he noticed that on the side of the pavilion not far away, at some unknown time, something had appeared. It was a... rabbit, which had straight ears and would unexpectedly disappear and reappear!

"You, you… you damned parrot rabbit! Why are you here?!" Naruto's expression turned blank as he let out a blood-curdling scream.

"You, you...you damned parrot rabbit! Why are you here?!" That rabbit's expression also turned blank as it let out a blood-curdling scream. It then hastily escaped, even the Nocturnal Beast couldn't compare to its speed! In a blink of an eye, it had vanished...

Chapter 135

Chapter 135

Chapter 135 - The Great Eruption Of The North Bank!

"Ahhh! Don't say it out loud!" Naruto was panicking. He knew this rabbit's hobbies. His body charged out in a flash, and the wings on his back rapidly swept outwards so he could chase.

However, this rabbit was too fast, and he could only hear its voice echo from the distance.

"Ahhh! Don't say it out loud!"

After he chased the rabbit for a long time, Naruto found out, to his despair, that his cultivation of the tenth layer of Chakra Condensation actually… couldn't catch up to this rabbit. The quickness of its speed was unimaginable, as if there was a god helping it.

"It's over, it's over…" Naruto blankly watched the rabbit vanish within the blink of an eye. His body trembled, and he seemed to have been struck by thunder. Even during his dreams, he had never thought that this damned parrot rabbit would actually be like a nightmare and also come to the North Bank.

"What I said just now, how much has that rabbit heard?" Naruto forcefully grabbed his hair; he was about to cry. This parrot rabbit that would appear and disappear unpredictably made Naruto insane. If it continued on like this, he felt that he would definitely have a mental trauma in the future, so much that he might as well just stay silent from now on.

He had already regretted it many times. At the start, why would he give the rabbit a strange pill and create this parrot rabbit that would make him gnash his teeth?

"That damned rabbit. It shouldn't have heard anything; it mustn't have heard anything. If not, it would've started parroting when it was running earlier!" Naruto was restless, and he wanted to cry but had no tears. Now, he was worriedly comforting himself. He couldn't do anything but comfort himself. If he couldn't catch that parrot rabbit, then it would be like a pill furnace that could explode at any time. Once it explodes, then it would be world-shaking.

Naruto was nervous and hurriedly returned to the pavilion. He tidied up his travelling equipment. He hurriedly made preparations to escape the North Bank and return to the South Bank at any moment as he anxiously looked at the Rearing Beast Flower.

"Only three days! After three days, it can birth the strongest combat beast!" Naruto's eyeballs were red. When he anxiously waited, the Nocturnal Beast had dragged another combat beast again. Naruto hurriedly blocked it and strictly warned the Nocturnal Beast to not come to dedicate itself again, and that there was no need to bring the combat beasts anymore.

The Nocturnal Beast was immediately discontent and bared its teeth towards Naruto, putting on a violent appearance. Naruto's heart suddenly shook as he let out a dry cough.

"It's not impossible… so, the North Bank has a rabbit that appears and disappears unpreditably, and likes to parrot. Go catch it for me!"

The Nocturnal Beast had confusion clouding its eyes. Naruto used sign language and also spoke. Finally, the Nocturnal Beast seemed to have understood him. With a flash, it turned around and became a shadow that charged into the distance.

Expectation appeared in Naruto's eyes as he looked at the Nocturnal Beast that had ran into the distance.

"Good luck. If you really manage to catch that rabbit, then I'll help you find another Rearing Beast Seed, even if I have to fight for it!" The moment Naruto thought of how terrifyiing the parrot rabbit was, he sighed again and returned to the courtyard, anxiously waiting.

Time passed, and soon, the day ended.

/ Throughout the day, Naruto always had his ears on full alert, listening to the sounds outside. Looking at the disciples of the North Bank, he could see that they were all in action during these days to find the reason behind the changes in their combat beasts. Naruto was the main suspect in this case, and many people came over to him to look around. Fortunately, Naruto had covered the Rearing Beast Flower, and as long as no one approached the back of the courtyard, no one could see it.

Although the disciples of the North Bank suspected him, in addition to the fact that Naruto had went out at night, the fact that his speed was extremely fast, and also because he didn't make any mistakes, the disciples of the North Bank could only leave due to a lack of evidence.

Naruto's heart actually got even more nervous. Another day passed, and the North Bank, from the beginning until the end, could not find the reason for the change that occured to their combat beasts. And so, their investigation got even more strict, especially those combat beasts that were frequently agitated, which caused countless cries of surprise and bellows.

"Just what in the world is this!"

"Could it be that there is an epidemic? It doesn't seem like it. There shouldn't be an epidemic like this!"

"This is fishy, too fishy!"

The upheaval in the North Bank finally and gradually exploded. A large amount of outer sect disciples participated in it, and the inner sect disciples also made a move. Even the Ancestors appeared. Finally, half a day before the Rearing Beast Flower would bear fruit, the North Bank found a trail with the full force investigation of the sect.

"The Nocturnal Beast that formerly belonged to Kiba!"

"During these days, this beast would quietly appear and rapidly drag away a combat beast to some unknown area! After the beasts that got dragged away returned, they would have a strange expression!"

"Find that beast!"

The disciples of the North Bank were all burning with rage, and one by one, they made a move. They covered the mountains and plains, and searched throughout the sect. With this kind of effort, they quickly found the Nocturnal Beast in the area behind the mountain. At the same time, they also found a rabbit.

The speed of this rabbit was amazingly quick, and it was currently dashing away. The Nocturnal Beast behind it used all of its force to chase after it. One dog and one rabbit were hurriedly running about under the gazes of the disciples of the North Bank.

If it was merely this, then it would be nothing much. Quickly, a sound, that made the complexions of all the disciples of the North Bank change, impressively came out of the mouth of the rabbit that was getting chased.

"Junior Sister Meixiang, I, with the identity of the Ancestor of the Ghost Tooth Mountain, vow to absolutely never let Toruho get away with

it!"

"Elder Sun, you're so bad…"

"Haha, this pill's not bad. I, Naruto, really am a genius, now even a rabbit knows how to speak!"

"My, Naruto's, strongest combat beast is about to be born.

Humph! disciples of the North Bank, tremble!"

"It's fine if you guys don't lend me your beasts, but you also slandered me… Just wait until you guys find out the reason behind the anomalies of your combat beasts, and after you know that your combat beasts have already dedicated their Hereditary Blood in here... by that time, I, Naruto, will have already returned to the South Bank!

Hahahahaha!"

Following the rabbit running away, and following the colourful words that echoed out, all of the surrounding disciples of the North Bank that had came here were dumbstruck. At the start, they were still slightly muddled, but when it got to the end, all of the people here thoroughly understood. This strange and exotic rabbit was the creation of Naruto, and it loved to parrot!

When the rabbit said everything, the bodies of all of the disciples of the North Bank shook. One by one, they widely opened their eyes, and their breathing got faster. They stared at that rabbit that was getting chased by the Nocturnal Beast, while it was shouting and rapidly running into the distance.

"The dedication of the Hereditary Blood?"

"After finding out the reason why the combat beasts are agitated, Uzumaki

Naruto had already left the North Bank?"

"Naruto!" The disciples of the North Bank all shouted, especially those disciples who had agitated combat beasts during these past few days; at the moment, they were the most depressed. They unleashed their full speed and charged directly to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard with a world-shaking booming sound.

With the rabbit running around, its sharp words continuously echoed out. Quickly, it had spread around the North Bank, and slowly, the disciples of the North Bank heard it. They all opened their eyes widely and quickly shouted out with rage, shaking the heavens and earth in the North Bank.

"Naruto!"

"So it was his fault! He's still thinking of running back to the South Bank?"

"Down with Naruto!"

The disciples of the North Bank were all mad. The outer sect, the inner sect, and many elders also appeared, and they all charged towards the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

At the same time, within the North Bank, when the rabbit, which appeared and disappeared unpredictably, had finally shaken off the Nocturnal Beast, it was suddenly stopped. In front of it, an old monkey had soundlessly and tracelessly appeared with an imposing expression. It stared at the rabbit while exuding killing intent and the vicissitudes of life.

"Rabbit, who in the world are you?"

The expression of the rabbit instantly turned imposing as it stared at the old monkey. The vicissitudes of life also appeared on its body, as well as killing intent. It solemnly spoke, "Rabbit, who in the world are you?"

The old monkey's eyes flashed with a harsh look and directly went after the rabbit. A harsh look also flashed in the rabbit's eyes, and it instantly escaped. One monkey and one rabbit, vanished within the blink of an eye.

Within the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, Naruto was currently nervously waiting. After four hours, his strongest combat beast would be born. But just at this moment, an intense booming sound suddenly echoed from outside. Following the echo of the booming sound, many figures that had exuded an extremely vigorous killing intent rapidly approached.

"Naruto!" The disciples of the North Bank all carried flames of anger and instantly approached. They unexpectedly attacked the pavillion's formation array, and the loud sounds shook the heavens. When the pavilion's formation array shook at high-speed, Naruto immediately opened his eyes widely, and his heart dropped.

"What are you guys trying to do! I am the Honourable disciple; I am the

Sect Head's Junior Brother, I…"

"It's useless no matter who you are!" The disciples of the North Bank were impulsive, and currently, they had strength in numbers. With a loud roar, they attacked the pavilion's formation array, and quickly, the formation array let out -Ka Ka- sound. Under the bombardment of the countless disciples here, it looked as if it was going to break down in a moment.

Naruto's scalp was numb. He discovered that the disciples of the North Bank were too savage. The South Bank had only throwed stones at him, but the North Bank unexpectedly wanted to actually make a move. If the formation array really broke, each man could use a finger, and they could jab him into meat paste.

"Murder!" Naruto let out a miserable shriek and hurriedly retreated. In his heart, an unlimited amount of grievances rose up in his heart. These disciples of the North Bank were bullying people too much. First, it was the provocative letters and slander. Now, he had merely let those beasts dedicate themselves for a bit, and as a result, they actually wanted to get rid of him.

It was at that moment when he retreated that a booming sound echoed out. The formation array collapsed, and the several tens of thousands disciples of the North Bank, who held a burning rage, were about to charge in. But suddenly, four cold snorts suddenly echoed from the sky. The ancestors of the North Bank's four mountains descended, blocking the disciples of the North Bank that were driven mad.

The old woman from the Iricdaceae Mountain swept her gaze towards the disciples of the North Bank that were present.

"Ancestor, we…" Some disciples were unwilling to accept this interruption and were about to speak.

"Shut up! You people have besieged the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

What a scandal!" The old woman from the Iricdaceae Mountain shouted, and her voice was like thunder. It shook all of the disciples, and they all turned nervous.

"Right, you guys have besieged the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, too outrageous!" Naruto also relaxed and strictly spoke from inside the pavillion.

"You shut up too!" The old woman turned her head and ferociously glared at Naruto. She was about to continue speaking, when suddenly, her eyes widened; her gaze fell on the Rearing Beast Flower in the back courtyard. She took a deep breath, and the bodies of the three other Ancestors also trembled. They simultaneously looked at the Rearing Beast Flower and quickly cried out.

"Rearing Beast Seed!"

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Cannibaloid, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 136

Chapter 136

Chapter 136 - They Already Came...

The Ancestors of the four great mountains all rushed towards the Rearing Beast Seed; their breaths became rapid the moment they went close to it, and their hearts shivered as if they had saw the greatest piece of treasure in the world. Even the old lady from the Iridaceae Mountain had all of her wrinkles visible at this moment…

It was the same case for the Ancestors of the other three mountains; they were all overwhelmed with emotions as they stretched out their trembling hands. As they made contact with the Rearing Beast Flower, everyone couldn't help but feel shock in their hearts, as if they had just seen a holy relic, and that other than the Rearing Beast Seed, there was nothing else they could see.

The surrounding disciples were also stunned. Many of them did not recognise the Rearing Beast Flower, and at this moment, they were shocked to see the Ancestors of the four great mountains react in this manner.

Among the inner sect disciples in the crowd, there were still some that gradually recognised it, especially after seeing the four Ancestors go speechless. Their minds trembled violently, and their emotions spiked like a tsunami as all of them cried out in shock.

"Rearing Beast Seed! Heavens, the Rearing Beast Seed actually exists!"

"That's a holy relic from the legends, rarely seen in this world!"

"I've only heard about it in some books. This kind of special plant should have disappeared during the ancient times. To think there would be one here!"

The voices grew louder and louder, and eventually, the tens of thousand of people present slowly understood that this ugly-looking, spaceconsuming plant actually possessed a value that could not be described.

They cried out in shock as they all looked towards the Rearing Beast

Flower, forgetting that they were looking for Naruto for trouble.

The clamor had gradually gotten so loud that among the four Ancestors, the old man from the Ghost Tooth Mountain, furiously turned his head around and gave a fierce glare at the surrounding disciples. The moment everyone saw those green eyes of his, their hearts all skipped a beat as they immediately quietened down.

Naruto stood at the side, lifted his chin and placed his hands behind his back. With a face like that of a lonely expert, he felt pleased with himself deep in his heart.

"Haha! They should understand by now, why, I, Naruto, made all those Combat Beast come and dedicate themselves. I did it all for this Rearing Beast Seed!" Naruto felt excitement in his heart even though his face revealed a profound loneliness. Just as he was secretly feeling happy, the expressions of all the four Ancestors suddenly changed. It went from being mesmerised to clenching their jaws and gritting their teeth, especially for that old lady who furiously lifted up her head.

"NARUTO!" The old lady deplored; her eyes were bloodshot as she fiercely glared at Naruto.

"Do you know just how precious this single Rearing Rearing Beast Seed is? Do you know that this Rearing Beast Seed is extremely rare?! Do you know what this Rearing Beast Seed represents?!" The old lady was on the verge of insanity. She felt as if her heart was bleeding; if this Rearing Beast Seed were to be in her care, she felt that the results would be completely different.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto was surprised. It was exactly because he know the preciousness of this Rearing Beast Seed that chaos enveloped the North Bank this time.

However, right now, not only was the old lady from Iridaceae Mountain feeling pity, the other Ancestors from the three mountain mountains also lifted their heads with their hearts feelin

g as if it had been cut by a knife. For them, this Rearing Rearing Beast Seed of indescribable value was a treasure that they could only dream of; at this moment, they all looked towards Naruto with gazes of disappointment.

"Such a priceless and precious treasure, and you actually planted it here. It has even completed its nurturing phase and it's already about to give birth to a beast!"

"You, you, you… Naruto, I know that you must have looked for a lot of Combat Beasts and thus resulted in the unrest amongst the sect's combat beasts. But what use is that? No matter how many beasts were there, they would still be from low grade bloodlines!"

Do you know that if you had given this Rearing Beast Seed to Elder

Sun's Blue Ocean Beast, then it would have given birth to another Grade

3 bloodline beast! However, right now, too late, it's too late…" The old lady was almost screaming at the top of her lungs; towards Naruto, she felt utter disappointment.

"Elder Sun's Blue Ocean Beast had already came here to dedicate itself." Naruto blinked and gave a dry cough.

"You… eh?" The old lady's body trembled with fury; she was just about to continue her rant, but when she heard Naruto's words, she was stunned for a moment. The other three mountain's Ancestors were also stunned for a moment. Instantly, they looked towards an elderly man at the corner. This man was exactly Elder Sun, and he himself was also surprised. The reason why he participated in this was not because he had noticed the restlessness in his own combat beast, but rather it was his disciple's combat beast that had problems. At this moment, when he had finally found out that his own Blue Ocean Beast had actually came to this place before, he was struck speechless.

The old lady hesitated for a moment while glaring at Naruto.

"Even if it was Elder Sun's Blue Ocean Beast, it would still be a waste. Elder Chen's Green Sky Python should have dedicated itself too. Even though it also has a Grade 3 bloodline, it has the possibility to evolve into a dragon, and only that Green Sky…" the old lady had not even finished speaking when Naruto felt embarrassed, quickly opening his mouth to speak.

"The Green Sky Python...had also dedicated itself here already."

The old lady's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Naruto, dumbstruck. Within the crowd, Elder Chen sucked in a deep breath and quickly looked at his beast-feeding pouch. In it, a little green snake stuck out its head, and when it looked towards the Rearing Beast Flower, it immediately lost itself, as if it was thoroughly mesmerized.

"Elder Chen's Green Sky Python is still young. It's fine even without the Rearing Beast Seed, but Naruto, this old man's Yaksha is truly suitable for the Rearing Beast Seed. If only…" at this moment, the Ghost Tooth Mountain's Ancestor opened his mouth and furiously spoke.

(TL Note: Yaksha, a type of ghost or demon spirit beast.)

"That… Ancestor Wu, your Yaksha had also… dedicated itself already." Naruto hesitated for a moment, but once he saw the scary look upon the Ghost Tooth Mountain Ancestor's face, he quickly replied to him.

This time, not only did the Ghost Tooth Mountain Ancestor suck in a deep breath, but the surrounding disciples as well. The moment they heard this, everyone's expression changed drastically.

The Ghost Tooth Mountain Ancestor's body jolted in shock. The old lady beside him as well as Setting Sun Mountain and Sky Mountain Ancestors were just about to open their mouths when Naruto retreated a few steps and cautiously said, "Your combat beasts have also come here to dedicate themselves already…"

The moment he finished speaking, the four Ancestors felt as if they were struck by lightning. They did not even notice that their own combat beasts had been secretly brought to this place. At the same time, the tens of thousand of disciples around them all sucked in a deep breath after hearing the conversation between Naruto and the four Ancestors; they could no longer suppress themselves and immediately cried out in shock.

"Heavens! Just how many beasts have came to dedicate themselves?!"

"This Naruto, he… to think he did not even let off the combat beasts of our Ancestors!"

"This is insane!"

Just as the crowd was crying out in shock, Naruto felt perturbed and anxious in his heart. He took a few more steps back and helplessly looked at the gloomy expressions of the four Ancestors. After a brief moment, the old lady from the Iridaceae Mountain fiercely stared at Naruto.

"Naruto, we have really underestimated you. Since you have a way to secretly bring our four combat beasts here, why don't you bring my Iridaceae Mountain's Seven-Coloured Phoenix here too? Our beasts are all Grade 3, but that Seven-Coloured Phoenix Bird is Grade 4, a Grade 4 bloodline is then truly not a waste…" the old lady had not finished her words when she suddenly saw that cautious expression of Naruto, causing her heart to skip a beat. It was as if he wanted to say something, yet he was holding it back.

"You… Don't tell me you..."

"That Seven-Coloured Phoenix had also come to dedicate itself already," Naruto replied indignantly.

"My Setting Sun Mountain's Three-Eyed Black Crow…?"

"It dedicated itself already too. That lizard from the Sky Mountain, and the Mountain Ghost from Ghost Tooth Mountain… they all dedicated themselves already." Naruto summoned all of his courage and opened his mouth. The four Ancestors all widened their eyes and sucked in their breaths, revealing an expression of disbelief. They immediately took out a jade slip and used a method unbeknownst to anyone to communicate with each of their mountain's Guardian Beast. After a brief moment of silence, each of them received an answer of confirmation from their respective Guardian Beasts. The four Guardian Beasts did not dare to mention the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon, and so, the four Ancestors did not know about the matter. Even so, they had their mouths hung open as they looked towards Naruto with a face of utter disbelief.

The surrounding North Bank disciples all sucked in their breaths as they reeled in shock. Bei Hanlie's body shivered; he realised that Naruto was getting more and more fearsome. Xu Song felt thunders crashing in his head. He fully understood the terror of those four Guardian Beasts, and he could not imagine just what method Naruto had used to let those four great combat beasts to willingly come here and dedicate themselves.

The old lady from Iridaceae Mountain was on the brink of madness; she originally wanted to teach Naruto a lesson, but the more she spoke, the faster she realised that she no longer had anything more to say. The other party knew the importance of the Rearing Beast Seed and even brought those Guardian Beasts here. This had rendered her speechless; even if it was her, it would not be easy to achieve this feat no matter how much she wanted to.

However, to lose face in front of so many disciples, and to be rebutted by Naruto until she had nothing to say, left her extremely frustrated. With a wave of her sleeve, she immediately shouted,

"It is still a waste. Naruto, did you know that if you had offered this Rearing Rearing Beast Seed to the Grand Elder, you could even attract the attention of the Old Patriarch. With an order from our Old Patriarch, he could arrange for our Spirit Creek Sect's Guardian Beast , Senior Heaven Edge Ink Dragon, to leave a descendant through this Rearing Beast Seed. That would truly not be wasting a single bit of it, that is…" the old lady even more agitated the more she talked, but she suddenly stopped midway and stared blankly at Naruto, who looked as if he was once again holding back his words, causing her heart to once again skip a beat.

Not only did her heart skip a beat, but the three other Ancestors beside her, once they saw Naruto's expression, all sucked in a deep breath.

"That… there's no need to trouble Old Patriarch to send an order anymore. Senior Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon left three days ago. It was really kind and dedicated itself more than fifty times…" Naruto blinked as he softly spoke.

A deathly silence instantly filled the surroundings.

The four Ancestors were stunned; the surrounding elders were stunned, and the disciples were stunned. Everyone looked at Naruto in a daze as if their world had just turned upside down.

At this moment, that stalk of Rearing Beast Flower started to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye. As it withered, layer after layer of its petals started to fall, and a gush of overflowing vitality appeared from within the Rearing Beast Flower. It grew stronger and stronger. The four Ancestors, elders, and disciples all reeled in shock as they watched the Rearing Beast Flower carefully.

The four mountain's Guardian Beasts simultaneously trembled in this instant, and they all lifted their heads into the sky; they could feel their bloodline extending. For a considerable number of combat beasts in the North Bank, they too, at this instant, felt their own bloodline resonating.

Within the Ancient Beast Abyss, the eyes of the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon's eyes widened as he gazed towards the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, revealing a gaze full of anticipation.

Naruto also felt anxious. He quickly ran to the side of the Rearing Beast Flower and waited in expectation. The four Ancestors at the side also felt their breathing hasten as they looked towards the flower.

Slowly, as the Rearing Beast Flower withered, the aura of vitality within it grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, it was as if this aura had shot upwards, and a massive whirlpool actually appeared in the sky and started to spin with rumbling sounds, as if there was a pair of eyes, up above in the heavens, that was looking towards this side of the world.

Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Chapter 137 - My Combat Beast!

At this moment, it seemed as if the entire North Bank was paying attention to this. Even a few gazes from the Zhong Dao mountain had gathered on this place in an instant.

"This is… eh?

When a faintly discernible light sound of surprise echoed out, a red colour unexpectedly appeared in the whirlpool in the sky in an instant. Even the sky had turned into a patch of was at this moment when an ear-piercing shriek echoed out of the wilting Rearing Beast Flower. Following the cry, that strong aura abruptly reversed and suddenly fell down. In an instant, it was about to fall onto the ground as some death Chakra spread outwards.

It seemed as if it would die prematurely. Without being born, it was about to die. Naruto's body trembled, and the Ancestors of the four mountains were also shocked.

"This is Chaotic Blood; willpower alone is insufficient to support the appearance of the body!"

"Damn it, I knew it would be like this!"

"This beast is unable to be born…" At this moment when the four Ancestors were crying out, Naruto's body trembled, and he stared at the Rearing Beast Flower with fixed eyes. He could feel that there was a life within the Rearing Beast Flower that wanted to descend, but was unable to succeed and was about to die. Within a few breath's worth of time, the denseness of the death Chakra had already spread out in all directions.

At this moment, a blurry figure soundlessly and tracelessly appeared in the air above the Rearing Beast Flower. Anyone else wasn't able to see its concrete appearance; they only saw a silhouette that seemed to be an old man wearing a white-coloured changpao. His entire body seemed to lack the slightest bit of aura; he just tranquilly appeared like that.

His cultivation… was deep and unmeasurable!

His appearance made the surrounding people become shocked in their hearts. The disciples of the North Bank had never seen this old man, and those Ancestors of the four mountains were also stunned for a moment. After that, their faces changed, and they unexpectedly started to kowtow.

"Third Generation Patriarch…"

The surrounding disciples, in the instant that they heard how the old man was addressed, had their minds buzzing as they all started to kowtow while trembling.

At this moment, Naruto was muddled. He didn't pay attention to the appearance of that figure. Within his eyes, there was only the wilted Rearing Beast Flower as well as the life within it. His heart was trembling, and he had tears in his eyes.

The white clothed old man silently looked at the Rearing Beast Flower and made some finger gestures with a finger from his right hand. Immediately, some life force rushed into the Rearing Beast Flower. Unfortunately, the life force dissipated, and the death Chakra got even denser.

The white clothed old man muttered incoherently to himself and raised his head, looking towards the Ancient Beast Abyss.

Within the Ancient Beast Abyss, the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon suddenly opened its mouth. A drop of golden blood flew out, and its body had clearly aged a little. Distantly looking at the Rearing Beast Flower, its eyes had a nervous and expectant look in them.

That golden drop of blood streaked across the vast sky and had formed a golden rainbow which directly flew towards the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, and then fell into the Rearing Beast Flower. At the same time, that white-robed elder lightly sighed, and his eyes brightened. When he raised his hands to make finger gestures, the clouds in the sky rolled, as though a supreme power was coagulating. Under the hands of the old man, it turned into a talisman that penetrated the Re

aring Beast Flower and merged with with the golden blood, throwing itself into the Rearing Beast Flower.

"Chaotic Blood, nine deaths and still alive. This old man can only let the nine heavens decide. Whether or not it can live and struggle out of the Rearing Beast Flower, it all depends on the beast's willpower. What a pity… for a potential Grade 5 spirit beast." The old man lightly sighed. Even if it was him, there was no way of going against the heaven's will to change his fate Whether the beast could live on or not all depended on its luck.

(ED Note: 九死一生, nine deaths and still alive is chinese idiom that means 'narrow escape'.)

With a feeling of pity, he turned his head and looked at Naruto who had a blank and unreadable face. Sympathy appeared in his eyes as he flourished his sleeve. His body turned fuzzy and transformed into dots of glittering lights that dissipated.

Only after the old man left, did the Ancestors of the four mountains slowly rise. They carried a look of reverence while looking at the direction where the old man left to and lowered their heads to look at Naruto, who was beside the Rearing Beast Flower, staring blankly.

All of the Ancestors had a look of pity. If it was any other person that had put in so much hard work and ended up with their combat beast being unable to be born, they would also feel sad. Especially so, since this was a Rearing Beast Seed. Even if the entire cultivating world was taken into account, there weren't many of them left.

The four Ancestors lightly sighed. The anger they had towards Naruto had disappeared as they successively left. The surrounding disciples of the North Bank, after seeing this scene's reversal, were also unable to bother Naruto at this moment. Despite the fact that there was still many people that were resentful in the bottom of their hearts, they dispersed within the silence.

Evening descended. Within the pavillion of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, there was only a single person, Naruto, who was still standing there, staring blankly at the Rearing Beast Flower. Over half of the present flower had wilted, and anyone would be able to see a thin and small body inside. It was currently struggling, as if it was fighting against its fate.

Naruto's tears soundlessly dropped. He slowly stepped forward and silently caressed the Rearing Beast Flower.

He was stricken with grief, and he had a sorrowful expression, unwilling to accept this fact. At this moment, his thoughts were not about having the strongest combat beast, but instead it was on a pure hope that this small life could live on, even if it had no natural endowments whatsoever.

This was the life that he had nurtured. Looking at the Rearing Beast Flower slowly wither made his heart ache, as if it was being cut by blades. However, he had no way of helping it. Even if he was currently at the tenth layer of Chakra Condensation, he was still powerless. This sort of powerlessness made Naruto feel a kind of suffocation that was hard to describe.

Following the descent of the night, this feeling of deep powerlessness, as well as the suffocation that he got as he stared blankly at the fading life before him, made Naruto tremble and feel scared. He thought about the villagers that year, before his mother and father died of illness, they pulled his hand and told him… live on.

These words existed eternally in Naruto's mind.

"Live on… you must live on…"

"Tie Dan, don't die…" Naruto's tears were dripping. He softly whispered, caressing the body of the small beast that was bulging below the Rearing Beast Flower, calling it by the name he had given it. The small beast seemed to have felt Naruto's aura and slightly moved.

"You must persevere. You haven't seen this world; you haven't seen me. I want to take you along with me to wander across the world of cultivation…"

"Persevere!" Naruto's soft murmuring was, however, filled with resolution. He spoke for a whole night, unceasingly caressing the body of the small beast that was bulging out of the Rearing Beast Flower.

Using his sincerity, using all of the feelings that he could give, he did his best to spoke to the beast.

All the way until dawn, afternoon, evening, night...

The first day passed. The struggles of the small beast inside the Rearing Beast Flower got somewhat weaker, but it seemed as if it wouldn't give up, and was still trying hard to control its body that was collapsing and falling apart due to the Chaotic Blood.

This entire day, Naruto forgot everything around him. His eyes only held the small beast below the Rearing Beast Flower in front of him. He softly murmured, using his most gentle voice to pacify it, and used his heart to encourage it. He continuously spoke, so much that he tried to use spirit power to merge with the Rearing Beast Flower. Even if he knew that this was useless, he still did it anyway.

Gradually, the second day, the third day, and the fourth day passed.

Naruto didn't have the slightest bit of rest, and his eyes had already turned bloodshot. Under the constant release of the spirit power in his body, it had already been exhausted. Every time his spirit power was replenished, it would be merged with the Rearing Beast Flower.

That spirit power carried his blessings, carried his grief, and even more, it carried his encouraging pacification. During these four days, he was always speaking and always encouraging. Whenever this little beast violently struggled, and when it seemed as if it had felt pain and let out light sobs that were like weeping, Naruto's pacification seemed to have let it feel warmth as it gradually calmed down. However, Naruto despairingly found out that its aura was getting more and more weak, and the feeling of death was also getting stronger and stronger.

"Tie Dan, you know, when I was small, when my mother and father was still here, I wasn't so scared of death... and also didn't know what death was."

"When you're well, I'll go take you to see Uncle Li. He treats me very well, and is like a father…" Naruto muttered. He spoke about his past and everything that happened to him in the village, as well as in the sect.

Late at night on the fourth day, no matter whether it was the guardian beasts of the four mountains, or the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon within the abyss, they all slowly withdrew their gazes and sighed, no longer paying attention. However, there was a Nocturnal Beast, that silently came to the Hundred Beasts Courtyard during the night. After it arrived at the pavillion, it went beside Naruto and lay beside the Rearing Beast Seed. It looked at the life within the Rearing Beast Seed with the same kind of grief and softly licked it.

Yet another day passed. On the evening of the fifth day, Naruto was extremely exhausted. To him, these five days were like refining medicine for five months without taking a rest or sleep. However, he was unwilling to give up, and he was still encouraging it, constantly saying things that he had already said, constantly pacifying it. Nonetheless, the struggles of the small beast got weaker and weaker, and deep into the night of the fifth day, it suddenly violently struggled for a few times. Following that, the struggles got slower, as if it was still twitching.

Gradually, it stopped moving, and the aura of death enveloped the Rearing Beast Flower and also pervaded through Naruto as well as the Nocturnal Beast.

"Live! You must live!" Naruto grabbed the body of the small beast below the Rearing Beast Flower and tearfully shouted.

"When the Fallen Chen Clan were chasing to kill me, and over ten people wanted to kill me, I lived on and exchanged injuries for kills. I used my own bone spike to struggle with destiny! You must also be like this, LIVE! LIVE ON!"

Naruto loudly roared, and he unceasingly caused his spirit power to rush forth; he was repeatedly encouraged it, so much that he was even roaring. The small beast that was originally motionless, gradually started to struggle. This struggle got stronger and stronger, and its desire to live, at this moment, seemed to follow Naruto's words and was aroused even more.

"Show the power of your will to live and control your body to charge out of here!" Naruto wiped away his tears and roared.

The small beast within the Rearing Beast Flower struggled even harder and let out sounds of whimpers. Every struggle would be accompanied with an acute pain, which made its body tremble. However, it didn't give up, as if it had a willpower that could support it. This willpower was extremely strong, as if it had surpassed its desire to live, and had become everything in its current life.

"You will be the strongest combat beast; you are my, Naruto's, lifetime companion. I created you. I nurtured you. I will not permit you to die!" Naruto's voice was hoarse, as though he had gone mad.

Following the uttering of these words, this small beast that had been encouraged by him for five entire days no longer whimpered, and it was instead letting out roars. Although it sounded weak, it was indeed a roar. Meanwhile, its dim life actually sparkled strongly at this moment, as if it was burning, unceasingly exploding forth, becoming more and more boundless. Clouds once again appeared in the sky; they were spinning around with a rumbling sound. It was if the willpower in its heart, which had supported it, caused it to once again challenge destiny.

This undulation attracted the attention of the North Bank, causing many disciples to be roused. The Ancestors of the four mountains were also startled as they went directly towards Naruto's Hundred Beasts Courtyard. There were also even more disciples who had their expressions changed and hurriedly charged out from all directions. When they arrived at the Hundred Beasts Courtyard, the aura of life within the Rearing Beast Flower once again overflowed the heavens, moving the blue dome of heavens, causing the undulations of the clouds to get stronger and stronger.

The four mountain beasts, the Ancient Beast Abyss' Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon, as well as the gazes from the Zhong Dao Mountain, all focused on the Rearing Beast Flower. Even the illusory image of the white-robed elder had appeared once more, without anyone noticing.

It was at this moment, in the instant that the fifth day passed and the sixth day arrived, when the world-shaking roars of the small beast inside Rearing Beast Flower were let out, and there was also an attack that spread out, causing the extremely exhausted Naruto, as well as the Nocturnal Beast, to be immediately pushed back and fall beside the wall.

With a loud explosion, the Rearing Beast Flower directly shattered into small pieces, and the claw of a small beast suddenly extended outwards. This claw was incomparably sharp, as if it could cut open nothingness itself, and there was even a flame that was faintly discernible on its claw, which made the minds of everyone who saw it tremble in astonishment.

At the same time this claw faced the surroundings, it ferociously struck out, and finally… the head of a small beast was exposed!

It resembled a horse, resembled a dog, resembled a lizard, resembled a crocodile, and resembled a dragon!

There was a single horn on the top of its head, and a row of white coloured hair could be seen on its back. Yet, it had black coloured scales on its body, and its teeth were extremely sharp. Its eyes were tightly shut.

"This is…" An astonished light appeared in the eyes of the white-robed elder in midair. His heartbeat immediately quickened. He had never thought that this small guy could unexpectedly live on, and looking at its appearance, it had a boundless potential, to the point that it could possibly advance its bloodline!

At this moment, within the Ancient Beast Abyss, the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon suddenly widened its eyes, and the four great mountain beasts were simultaneously shocked. All of the combat beasts within the North Bank trembled.

The surrounding people all let out cries of surprise. With a quick glancy, anyone else could tell that this small beast… was definitely out of the ordinary!

The Ancestors of the four mountains all took a deep breath, and a strong light appeared in their eyes.

"It has already grasped a technique the day it was born, and that flame on its claw means that it has… a Grade 6 bloodline! Heavens, a Grade 6 spirit beast has actually appeared in my Spirit Creek Sect!"

"This will be our North Bank's future Guardian Beast!"

"Haha, our North Bank has finally borne a spirit beast that has a Grade 6 bloodline, surpassing the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon!"

Everyone in the surroundings involuntarily charged over, wanting to get close look at it. Naruto leaned against the wall, and his figure had already been covered. He didn't mind it though, and in fact, he was only smiling. This smile represented how happy he was for Tie Dan, and also how happy he himself was.

"If you live, then it's good."

At this moment, in the instant that the head of the small beast poked out, it forcefully opened its eyes, staring at the surroundings. Its eyes were very big, and they looked very cute. It revealed a clever black eyes and looked at its surroundings, as if it was searching for something.

This was the first action that it made after poking its head out. The meaning of this action was extremely great. Perhaps the people next to it didn't know what it signified, but the mind of the white-robed elder in midair suddenly shook.

"It's looking for…"

The surroundings were blocked by the crowd, and the small beast seemed as if it couldn't find the figure that it longed for in its mind. Its expression turned anxious, and a violent intent appeared on it as it let out a growl.

It was at this moment...

"Tie Dan…" Naruto softly spoke while leaning on the wall, supporting his body. He had happiness and excitement within his exhaustion, and he followed the gaps in the crowd to look at the small beast.

The moment he spoke, that small beast was no longer violent. Its body suddenly trembled and instantly turned its head. It was radiating a strong light in its eyes, and it also saw Naruto within the gaps between the crowd. When it fixed its eyes on him, its eyes immediately turned gentle. A look of pleasant surprise slowly emerged, as if it had saw its lover.

It had found him!

It was as if the reason, which supported its unceasing struggle to live and its last burst of willpower to charge out of the Rearing Beast Flower, was to open its eyes and look at the person that gave it warmth, encouraged it and pacified it.

The willpower formed by this state of mind had surpassed its will to live!

Time seemed to have stopped at this moment. For Tie Dan, this moment and this unfamiliar world, seemed to have completely disappeared in the instant that Naruto spoke. Regardless of how many strangers were blocking his sight, there was only a single person, Naruto, who was its everything.

2nd guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Sean

Edited by: Arch, Cannibaloid

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 138

Chapter 138

Chapter 138 - Tie Dan's Hobby

A brief moment later, the white-robed elder in the sky let out a sigh; he understood that this combat beast could no longer recognise any other person as its master in its entire life. Even if it was forced to recognise another master, the dependence on Naruto that flows in its blood would become the other person's greatest obstacle.

One could say that, in this world, its master will forever be... Naruto.

Even if Naruto were to die one day, this beast will also never forget that there was once a person — a person called Naruto.

They had no contract between them, but the relationship that they had was stronger than any form of contract. The white-robed elder shook his head and deeply looked at Naruto. He understood that this was what Naruto deserved; this was the combat beast that he had created, and when the beast was in its most critical condition for the nine days, Naruto had constantly encouraged and accompanied the beast.

"Perhaps it is only with a child that still posses this innocent heart, when one has not yet been corrupted by achievements, but only naively wishes for the beast to live on. It is probably only this attitude that can make the Grade 6 bloodline combat beast feel touched and sincerely recognise one as a master."

"Hopefully… this child will keep this innocent heart of his throughout his life, and neither time or anything else could cause him a change of heart." the white-robed elder turned his body and silently left. His figure looked bleak. He was reminiscing his past self from a long long time ago, when he had just stepped into the world of cultivation and still had that youth and naivety.

Outside the courtyard, the crowd eventually started to leave one by one. The female disciples left all the more reluctantly — the moment the little beast had appeared, its big eyes and cute look immediately captured the hearts of these female disciples. It was a pity that the little beast did not even give them a second look.

The Ancestors of the four peaks, who watched the little beast fervently as it was born, also left in lament. Slowly, the Hundred Beast Courtyard regained its peace and silence; all that was left was Naruto, the little beast, and that Nocturnal Beast who had been pushed away during the previous scuffle.

Naruto was laughing heartily as he patted the head of this little beast. This beast had the body of a horse, the head of a dragon, scales like a lizard, claws like an armadillo, and most surprisingly, its teeth gave off seven colours of radiant light.

As for the single horn on its head, it was similar to the Heaven's Edge Ink Dragon's horn, which was incomparably sharp.

If anyone looked closer, anyone could find that on its body, there were many similarities with a lot of other combat beasts. It was truly as Naruto had envisioned it to be previously — collating the advantages and form of countless combat beasts… The one and only of its kind in the world, an unprecedented lifeform.

"From now on, you will be my, Naruto's, combat beast. Don't worry, I will bring you along throughout my this entire world of cultivation!" Naruto chuckled and patted Tie Dan on the head. Tie Dan crouched beside Naruto and looked up while widening its eyes, making him look extremely adorable.

The Nocturnal Beast also got excited and quickly ran over. It still had some wariness against Naruto, for it had not forgotten its grudge against it, but when it looked at Tie Dan, it revealed a scared expression and also a gaze filled with a hint of protectiveness.

Tie Dan curiously lifted up his head and looked at the Nocturna

l Beast without any discrimination.

Time passed, and a month had gone by. Throughout this month, Uzumaki

Naruto frequently took Tie Dan for walks outside the Hundred Beast Courtyard and roamed the entire North Bank. Naruto walked in front, while Tie Dan followed behind, curiously looking at all of the surroundings.

In the distance, the Nocturnal Beast would secretly follow them, as if it was protecting Tie Dan.

Along the way, every disciple that saw Naruto would instantly shift their gaze onto Tie Dan. Some gazes were surprised, some were complicated, some were envious, and even a number of female disciples would instantly fall in love with the wide-eyed, cute looking Tie Dan.

Tie Dan looked as if it was a little afraid as it came closer to Uzumaki

Naruto a little. Naruto placed his hands behind his back with a face full of satisfaction.

"My Tie Dan is loved by everyone no matter where it goes, this trait really follows me." Naruto happily thought to himself. With a dry cough, he took Tie Dan to crowded places, and whenever they walked past, the countless gazes of the disciples that they attracted made Naruto's heart burst with emotions as he proudly lifted up his chin. Continuously for a few days, Naruto spent most of the time to make Tie Dan familiarise itself to the environment of the North Bank.

Gradually, Tie Dan lost its fear; it would excitedly clamour after Uzumaki

Naruto, lifting its chin with much vigor, as if it was copying Naruto — even its gaze was starting to look similar. It would carry a hint of pride, satisfaction and even a little arrogant swagger, as if as long as it was beside Naruto, it would not have to fear the heavens or earth.

That look made the surrounding disciples who were passing by to cry out in surprise. However, Tie Dan's temperament seemed a little weird. When it noticed people looking at itself, if its mood was good, it would take the initiative to run over to rub the person; if its mood was bad, it would immediately grind its teeth and reveal a fierce look, giving off low growls.

Throughout this month, Tie Dan's body grew slowly, as if it did not grow much at all. However, its speed, strength and biting power gradually showed its potential during this period of time; every time someone saw it, they were shocked in their hearts.

In regards to speed, it was already comparable with the Nocturnal Beast. As for its strength, it could even push back a ten zhang tall pangolin from the forests of the Hundred Beasts Courtyard. Its intelligence was even more shocking; it was comparable to a ten years old child, and even in some areas, it was even smarter than a ten years old child.

What surprised Naruto the most was Tie Dan's control of fire; the flames under its hooves gradually increased and could be controlled with ease. Every time it sprinted, it was as if Tie Dan was leaving a trail of fire — the fire was black in color as if it came from the netherworld.

All these mysterious traits, coupled with its cute look and that pair of big eyes that always shone with innocence, made the elders and the four Ancestors of North Bank to pamper Tie Dan with love; they would frequently take out some spirit medicine and food that was beneficial to combat beasts and gift it to Tie Dan.

However, as Tie Dan gradually grew older, Naruto slowly found out that something was amiss. Tie Dan's personality… seemed a little weird…

At this moment, in front of Naruto, Xu Song furrowed his brows as he looked at the growling Tie Dan which had its scales erected and had black flames expanding from its feet. He was puzzled, all he did was give it a few more glances while he was walking past; who knew that Tie Dan would suddenly throw a fit of temper and charge towards him with a look as if it was going to bite him.

"Naruto, your... this…" Xu Song felt displeased in his heart, but once he remembered that this combat beast was showered with the love from the elders and the Ancestors, he immediately retreated a few steps and looked at Naruto. Before he could finish his sentence, Gongsun Wan-er walked past from a distance away. With a sweep of its glance, Tie Dan, which was growling and clawing in front of Xu Song, instantly brightened its eyes and immediately turned to its cute, wideeyed look as it bounced towards the direction of Gongsun Wan-er.

As it ran, it even shook its tail like a puppy and gave off gentle calls. It rubbed itself on Gongsun Wan-er's calf, making her break out into a smile as she immediately crouched down to pick up Tie Dan into a hug. With bright eyes, Tie Dan rubbed itself continuously on Gongsun Waner's bosom, making Gongsun Wan-er laugh out loud. When Tie Dan shifted its body to reveal its little head, one could clearly see a blissful look upon its face.

Seeing this scene, Xu Song almost felt his eyeballs pop out. Naruto could only laugh bitterly; since half a month ago, he had already noticed something wrong. When Tie Dan met male disciples, it would immediately grind its teeth and growl, as though if they were to dare to touch him, it would not hesitate to bite the other party to death. On the other hand, whenever it saw female disciples, it would immediately transform into its cute look and jump into the arms of the other party.

Not even Naruto knew why this was happening. He could only conclude that within Tie Dan's bloodline, it probably inherited some beast's special fetish.

This situation worsened and Tie Dan got even more exaggerated. That difference in treatment between male and female disciples made every male disciple in North Bank speechless. A great number of them were jealous of Tie Dan, for among the female disciples in North Bank, more than half of them have been rubbed by Tie Dan…

If this was simply the case, then that would be it. Instead, when Naruto started to breakthrough the peak of the Chakra Condensation's tenth level, Tie Dan's hobby seemed to have taken a turn for the worst. Under the leadership of the Nocturnal Beast, the both of them would frequently crouch at a corner and peek at some of the female disciples while they were bathing.

The Nocturnal Beast only looked a few times and lost its interest, but the more Tie Dan saw, the more addicted it got. In no time, it even recognised the bathing patterns of all the female disciples in the sect.

With much vigor, it would excitedly run out of the Hundred Beasts

Courtyard early in the morning and not return until the sky was dark.

In the span of one day, it could see numerous female disciples bathing…

With regards to this, Naruto did not do anything nor did he care about it; he was working hard behind closed doors and increasing his cultivation with each passing day.

Another month had passed, and Tie Dan's habits got even worse; other than rubbing itself in the bosoms of the female disciples and peaking at them bathing, it had another new hobby now. After it would peak at the females bathing, it would take away the other party's undergarment and secretly hide it… in a place where it felt was the safest.

In no time, the female disciples of the North Bank gradually realised that they were constantly losing their undergarments. This situation started happening to every single one of the female disciples.

Due to Tie Dan's speed being extremely fast, and the Nocturnal Beast helping as a sentry, the undergarments stolen throughout this month was never noticed by anyone. Moreover, with Tie Dan's adorable look, it would not even arouse the suspicion of the female disciples.

"Our North Bank has a pervert amongst us, and this person specialises in stealing the undergarments of female disciples!"

"Goddamit, I will definitely find this pervert. Junior sister Sun has already lost 7 pieces of undergarments!"

"I have already investigated a rough estimate. At least a few thousand pieces of undergarments have been lost. The other party definitely has some sick fetish and would not destroy them, but hide them instead. Find it. We will definitely be able to find it."

The stolen undergarment incident got even more and more heated; gradually, all the female disciples in the North Bank joined forces and continuously searched with anger burning in their hearts. They even hired a battle mouse from an elder of the Sky Mountain to assist in the search. The entire North Bank was being searched, and even many male disciples joined in the search with righteous indignation.

After going through the four mountain peaks, going through numerous areas and sectors, there was no result. Suddenly, someone suggested the Hundred Beasts Courtyard...

Very quickly, these female disciples charged into the Hundred Beasts Courtyard.

At this moment, Naruto was in the building, completely immersed on meditation. As he felt his cultivation increase, a sweet feeling rose in his heart.

3rd guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Xin

Edited by: Cannibaloid, Arch

From XianXiaWorld

Chapter 139

Chapter 139

Chapter 139 - It Really Wasn't Me!

At that moment, outside the pavilion, an uproar could be heard. Startled, Naruto got up and pushed open the great doors, discovering a massive amount of disciples from the North Bank had gathered outside the formation array..

"What are you guys doing?!"

Naruto's expression changed, he backed up a few steps giving the gears in his brain enough time to work, searching for anything he might have done this time. After a long time of thinking, Naruto failed to think of anything he could have done to enrage the North Bank once again.

Even though he didn't figure out what exactly he had done, Naruto was still panicking. After uttering those words, the disciples outside of the formation array all turned to him.

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki, please deactivate the formation array. We need to go in and search the place thoroughly!"

"We're not just searching here. Everywhere possible in the North Bank has been searched."

"This past month in the north, a massive amount of female disciples' undergarments have been lost — a great disturbance has emerged. Naruto! If you're not guilty of this crime, then deactivate your formation array and let us go into search!"

"Hmph! Even if it's in your storage bag, we have methods to find it!"

As Naruto listened, his heart relaxed and he let out a sigh of relief. After calming down, he instantly grew agitated, putting his hands to his back as he looked at the disciples from the North Bank.

"Absurd. I'm an Honourable Disciple, the junior brother of the Sect Head. I did not do this!" It was rare for Naruto to not be the one responsible, so he would never back down. He put on noble airs and looked down upon the crowd.

"It has to be you. Looking at the entire North Bank, the only person who would do this can only be you!"

"True, this Naruto is the most suspicious. He was actually able to deceive everyone and take away our combat beasts and dedicate them. This is the best example showing us that he has the ability to steal all those undergarments without the junior and senior sisters noticing!"

Looking at the crowd talk, Naruto chuckled coldly, abruptly tossing his sleeve and deactivating the formation array.

"Whatever, I'll let you guys search. I want to see how you people will owe up to your mistake after failing to find the undergarments!" Naruto was deeply calm, and this time, he was brimming with confidence and not worried at all

Seeing how Naruto was acting, the crowd started to hesitate. They didn't even have evidence, but Naruto actually deactivated his formation array, all of them looked at each other in dismay. The female disciples who had lost their undergarments clenched their teeth. After stepping into the formation array, they paid their respects to Naruto and started searching. Suddenly, from one of the beast storage bags on a female disciple, a crimson squirrel jumped out.

The moment the squirrel came out, it gave a piercing cry, charging straight out and leaving the crowd stunned, causing a change in everyone's expressions. The past few days, the main thing the crowd relied on to locate the missing undergarments was this special war squirrel, which had a very keen sense of smell. In a close proximity, anything it smelled before, even if it was stored in a storage bag, could be easily locate.

The crowd initially thought that they might have made a wrong decision, but at the moment, all of them had their eyes wide open, charging into the formation array with Naruto watching blankly. Uzumaki Xiaoch

un's brain had gone numb as he followed them with surprise until they all reached a room inside the pavilion. The instant the door was opened, countless undergarments of different colors poured down in a flash, squeezing against each other as they fell. With a glance, there were more than a thousand of them…

"Naruto! You actually dare to say you did not do it?!"

"So it was you!"

"Naruto, you, you, you… How are you so shameless?!" The crowd all fixed their gaze on Naruto; the male disciples furiously glared at him and yelled angrily.

Naruto took a deep breath, his body trembling. He let out a sharp cry.

"Impossible!" The instant this word came out, the female disciples surrounding him all gave him a death glare, leaving his scalp numb as the glares landed. He quickly explained.

"It really wasn't me! I don't know…" He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, backing up a few steps, feeling extremely wronged. Yet, he didn't know how to explain as the surrounding female disciples all stared furiously at him; some of them were even doing hand gestures in preparation to attack him.

"Damn it! How the hell did this happen?!" Naruto was going crazy. He was in closed-door cultivation all this while, submerged in his cultivation without leaving the pavilion at all. He did not pay any attention to this room inside the pavilion. Just as he was panicking, outside the Hundred Beast Courtyard, the figure of Tie Dan suddenly appeared, and a red undergarment was hanging on its mouth. It quickly ran in their direction with an expression filled with bliss.

Before entering the formation array, Tie Dan stopped in its tracks, staring blankly at the people around him, dropping the red undergarment.

As it fell to the ground, the countless pairs of eyes all switched to Tie Dan.

Naruto looked at Tie Dan, instantly feeling his head ache. To be able to enter and exit the pavilion at will and put down so many undergarments… Even if Naruto was in closed-door cultivation, this was not something any outsider could have done.

Even the Nocturnal Beast would not be able to just enter and leave the pavilion's formation array like that. The only one capable of doing so was… Tie Dan!

Tie Dan instantly began to tremble. It wasn't afraid of the crowd's rage; what it was afraid of the most was Naruto getting angry. At that moment, it seemed that it was about to cry as it lay on the floor, letting out sounds of guilt.

The crowd had weird looks on their faces; the female disciples in particular, who had expressions of disbelief. Outside the pavilion, there was nothing but silence.

A while later, a female disciple's mumbles could be heard.

"It couldn't be Tie Dan, he's such a good boy. There must have been someone who ordered it to do so!" It didn't take long before many people started speaking in succession.

"That's right! Tie Dan's so cute, so innocent! It must have been bewitched; someone forced it to do that!"

"It's Naruto! He's Tie Dan's owner!"

In the end, almost all the female disciples thought Naruto was the culprit. With even more rage than before, they glared at Naruto. It was not that no one understood the possibility, but Tie Dan's attitude every day was simply too cute, especially the look it was giving now — it seemed afraid, and that instantly earned everyone's sympathy.

However, the fact was simply too strange, and while the disciples spoke that way, they didn't cause any more trouble, only giving Naruto death glares as they slowly departed.

Very soon, the place was at peace again. Taking in a deep breath, Naruto raised his head and looked at the sky, wanting to cry. No tears came out as his eyes shone. Tie Dan knew it did something wrong, so quickly ran to Naruto's feet and rubbed around them.

"Tie Dan… you're pretty smart usually. Why were you so dumb this time? You, you, you… You stole those undergarments, fine. However, you can't make it seem like I did it… I created you; you could even say I'm your father… You can't do that to your father…" Naruto let out a deep sigh. He scowled as he squatted down in order to pat Tie Dan's head.

"Remember, you must never implicate those at your own side… Those undergarments, you could've hidden them somewhere else! Why would you hide them in your own home? Tie Dan, you have to be smarter! You have to think before you act! What if you were exposed? What would we do then?" Tie Dan lowered its head and started whimpering, seemingly aware of his mistake.

Watching Toe Dan, Naruto's heart softened, causing him to stop scolding it. Turning back to the pavilion, he continued his cultivation in an extremely depressed state.

In the courtyard, Tie Dan made a few more whimpering sounds as it lay there. Viciousness was suddenly reflected out of its eyes as it turned to look at the direction of the disciples from the North Bank who were departing.

Late at night, it quietly climbed out, shaking its body and disappearing into the night, heading for the North Bank.

Dawn the second day, when the sky was just lighting up, a sudden scream of agony sounded out from the living quarters of the North Bank's disciples.

"Damn it! Who did it? Who ate all my spirit beast pellets. It was hard for me to exchange for those; they were for the combat beasts' evolution!" Just moments after the first scream, a similar scream quickly sounded out, starting a ripple effect.

"Ah! My Ten Thousand Spirit Grass. I grew that for five years, there's only roots left! It's gone, it's all gone… it's all been gnawed to pieces…"

"A thief! This is too much. The food in my immortal cave I prepared for the combat beasts are all empty; that's three years worth of food!"

"Oh god, the third stage Blood Beast's bones I borrowed from Elder Li yesterday... I planned to observe the changes in the veins, it's gone, it's gone!"

Within both the inner sect and outer sect alike, the commotion grew louder and louder, and finally, there were hundreds of people angrily shouting. The victims, without any exception, were all men, and were the same men who went to Naruto's pavilion yesterday.

Just as the broken hearted disciples were roaring loudly and charging out in succession, they immediately saw Tie Dan with a blood-coloured bone in its mouth, running as it nibbled it, crushing the bone in the process.

From the crowd came a sharp shriek, and a disciple with disheveled hair rushed out like a madman, his eyes red with tears flowing down.

"Don't bite, those are the third stage Blood Beast's bones I borrowed from Elder Li… Ah… Ah… don't bite on them…" Crunch! Crunch!

Proudly, Tie Dan raised its head and shook its body, evading the incoming disciples, biting away in the distance. In just a moment, the entire bone was gnawed to dust, and after swallowing it, the disciple with disheveled hair felt his vision blur as he thought of the elder Li's rage once he learned that he would never be able to return the bones. Raging in fury, he yelled and charged at Tie Dan.

Not only him, the hundreds of people all burned with rage as they charged after Tie Dan. Their speed, however, was lacking and they could only watch as Tie Dan ran away, going to the Iridaceae Mountain. As the crowd ran behind it, a harrumph with no hint of joy rumbled like thunder.

"What a disgrace, this many people scaring the good boy Tie Dan. Seems like you all have too much free time on your hands!" Following the voice, the ancestor of the Iridaceae Mountain, the old woman, slowly walked out, her eyes coldly fixed on the hundreds of disciples.

The disciples instantly shivered, and all of them orderly paid their respects as they saw Tie Dan behind the old woman. Its eyes were wide open as it obediently followed her, occasionally rubbing against her while making an adorable expression, as though it was aiming to curry favor.

This scene caused the hearts of all the disciples to burn with anger, however, none of them dared to open their mouths. Their hate for Tie Dan had already overflown the heavens.

"Didn't he only eat some of your stuff, how big a deal could that be?

What did it eat? I shall pay for it. Dismissed. Don't ever bully Tie Dan!" The old woman gave the crowd a fierce glare, and lowered her head while instantly changing her face to a kind and gentle one, petting Tie Dan's head with a motherly aura. Tie Dan had an even more adorable look as it stuck out its tongue to lick her like a puppy.

The disciples around them were all gritting their teeth, evidently dissatisfied. They didn't feel that they were bullying Tie Dan, because in fact, it was Tie Dan who was bullying them.

Nonetheless, seeing how much the Iridaceae Mountain's ancestor spoiled Tie Dan, there wasn't anything they could do but endure their rage as they left, not wanting to cause any more trouble for Tie Dan. Thus, all their rage was directed towards Naruto.

"It's all Naruto's fault! It was him who created such a despicable combat beast!"

"This combat beast is way too despicable. A pervert who stole undergarments, and now it even stole our stuff to eat. Yet, those female disciples, elders and ancestors all treat it so well!"

Naruto was just immersed in cultivation when he suddenly sneezed. Raising his head and looking at his surroundings, he regulated his breathing. The distance between his cultivation and the peak of the tenth level of Chakra Condensation was gradually getting smaller.

Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Chapter 140 - Sacred Land of Foundation Establishment

Another month had passed and Tie Dan's behaviour had completely turned for the worst. Regardless of who it was, each and every single male disciple who had previously provoked Naruto seemed to be extremely agonised to the point of being insane, yet they weren't able do anything about it.

At the same time, Naruto's cultivation had finally reached the peak level of the tenth level of Chakra Condensation, reaching the apex of the Chakra Condensation stage. It was as if he had hit a barrier, causing him to become unable to forge onwards.

"The only thing left is Foundation Establishment!" Naruto took a deep breath, his eyes revealed a hint of anticipation. The Foundation Establishment was divided into 3 stages: Common Pulse, Earthen Pulse and the legendary Heavenly Pulse. The increase in lifespan was also varied, with levels being one hundred years, two hundred years and five hundred years respectively.

As for Heavenly Pulse Foundation Establishment, Naruto did not think twice about it. That was too much of an unfathomable matter. In the entire Spirit Creek Sect, only a small number of people had been able to reach the Heavenly Pulse Foundation Establishment level throughout the course of ten thousand years. All of them possessed the greatest destiny, enabling them to possess the Heavenly Pulse Chakra and using it to reach the Foundation Establishment level.

"Generally speaking, the more common one's Pulse is, the more

Foundation Establishment Pills required. The Earthen Pulse Foundation

Establishment, on the other hand, requires the Earthen Pulse Qi… Moreover, the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment also has its strengths and weaknesses. It depends on how many times the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment can withstand the internal tides of the spirit sea during the Foundation Establishment! With the minimum being one and maximum nine times!"

"Furthermore, there is still the strength of my corporeal body which has already come in contact with the first Shackle of life. Regardless of whether I have broken through to the Golden Undying Skin or whether I draw the support from the success of the Dragon-Elephant Ocean Forming Foundation Establishment, both of them should be able to cause a breakthrough in the Shackles. If there is a dual breakthrough, maybe the effect would be even more tremendous!" Naruto was muttering irresolutely to himself.

He remembered that contribution points could be exchanged for the

Foundation Establishment Pill in the sect. Even though a huge amount of Contribution Points was needed, with Naruto's status, he was still able to exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill. The only thing was that he was slightly unwilling to do so. After all, the Common Dao Foundation Establishment could only increase one's lifespan by a hundred years.

As he was at a loss, Naruto took out the sound transmission jade slip, and after thinking for a moment, he transmitted a correspondence to Toruho, enquiring about matters regarding the Earthen Pulse Qi.

Very quickly, the jade slip emitted gentle rays of light. Toruho had replied. Naruto immediately blended his spiritual energy into the jade slip and Toruho's voice immediately resounded in his mind with a low tone.

"I was originally planning to tell you something. Three months later, the

North Bank will be choosing a hundred and fifty people whereas the South Bank will be choosing a hundred people. All of them will be inner sect disciples who are at the tenth level of Chakra Condensation. Everyone will be assembling at Zhong Dao Mountain's main hall."

"The three great Sacred Foundation

Establishment Lands are about to open. You should go to the Meteoric Sword Abyss and fight for the Earthen Pulse Chakra with everyone else, borrowing the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment from the land. Once you succeed, you can increase your lifespan by two hundred years.

It would be a huge step forward in your desire to achieve immortality!"

Naruto's body shook as he stared at the jade slip, revealing excitement in his breathing.

"Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment. If I succeed, I can increase my lifespan by two hundred years!" Naruto's eyes revealed his longing for longevity, but very quickly, he hesitated for a moment.

"There is bound to be killing when competing with others…"

"However, that is two hundred years!" Naruto struggled for a very long time. The thought of executing his plan to achieve immortality completely exploded as his eyes immediately reddened.

Very quickly, news that the three great Sacred Foundation

Establishment Lands was going to open slowly spread throughout both the South Bank and the North Bank. Many Heaven's Chosen were like Naruto and had already known about this matter beforehand.

The three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands were the

Meteoric Sword Abyss, Single Underworldly Secret Realm, and the Ancient Spirit Cave respectively. They would all simultaneously open once during the first year of the sixty-year cycle. The time for this opening was arriving soon.

这三处具备战略资源的区域，并非是灵溪宗独有，而是整个东脉下游修真界，包括灵溪宗在内的四个最强的宗门所共有，每次开启，四大宗都会派出弟子争夺。

These three areas were equipped with strategic natural really were not solely owned by the Spirit Creek Sect, rather, they were collectively owned by the all the forces in the Eastern Vein of the Cultivation World located downstream, inclusive of the four strongest sects along with the Spirit Creek Sect amongst them. Every time the three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands opened, the four great sects would deploy disciples to fight over the resources.

Amongst them, the Meteoric Sword Abyss was the head with the Single Underworldly Secret Realm and Spirit Cave following after. The reason being, there was a legend that a wisp of Heavenly Pulse Chakra was possibly hidden within the Meteoric Sword Abyss.

This legend had been around for a very long time, but ever since the Meteoric Sword Abyss had been discovered until now, every time it had been opened, no one was seen obtaining the Heavenly Pulse Chakra either. Even the Earthen Pulse, every time there would be hundreds of people from the four sects going in, yet the people who were able to succeed did not exceed ten people.

It could be said that the fight for the Earthen Pulse was filled with bloody events. It was the survival of the fittest!

"The interior would definitely be a world of terror as everyone would be fighting over the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment resources. A lot of people die each time… I have heard that this is a one-time contest between the four great sects. The more people who succeed in achieving the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment, the greater the amount of people entering the next three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands during the next opening."

"I am not satisfied. The disparity between the Common Pulse and the

Earthen Pulse is extremely large. The Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment can completely crush the Common Pulse. They are basically not on the same level."

Discussions regarding the three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands spread very quickly in both the South Bank and the North Bank.

All of the inner sect disciples who had cultivated to the tenth Chakra Condensation level were all palpitating with eagerness with regards to this news.

However, there were also a few who were even more nervous about the rumours of bloody events. They would prefer to choose the meager Common Dao Foundation Establishment rather than that extra hundred years in their lifespan as well as the future glory that could completely crush the Common Dao.

Early morning three months later, following the sound of the chimes of the bell that resounded from Zhong Dao Mountain, which and echoed throughout the entirety of the sect, all of the Ancestors from the seven Mountain Peaks, located on both the South Bank and North Bank, soared through the air with serious expressions on their faces. Under the solemn chimes of the bell, tens of disciples followed behind them as they headed straight for Zhong Dao Mountain.

At this moment, all of the disciples in the sect raised their heads, looking at these silhouettes in the sky. Everyone could name every single disciple that was currently in the sky.

On the North Bank's end, Kiba, Xu Song, Gongsun Wan'er, Beihan Feng, Gongsun Yun as well as the person in front of all of them, completely enshrouded and coiled with black mist from top to bottom, Gui Ya…

The South Bank was the same. All of the disciples from the Green Peak Mountain, Scented Cloud Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain raised their heads. Xu Baocai was excited as he energetically recorded this scene that he had observed within the small booklet in his hands.

Shangguan Tianyou was even stronger than before. His whole being was like a sharp sword that had been unsheathed, emitting brilliant rays that dazzled everyone's eyes. There was Kurenai as well. Her whole body was permeating with a blue colour, as though rich life vitality was spreading out from her body.

There was also Zabuza who was like a flash of lightning that seemed as though it could split the heavens apart. There were also a few veteran inner sect disciples. At this moment, all of them had solemn and serious expressions on their faces as they followed the Sect Masters from the three Mountain Peaks, rapidly advancing forward.

"A hundred and fifty people from the North Bank. A hundred people from the South Bank. I do not know how many people amongst them can successfully emerge from close quarter combat between the other three sects, succeeding in achieving the Earthen Pulse Foundation

Establishment! Also, how many of them would also be unable to return forever… The cultivation road is a cruel place where the strong prey on the weak."

"I heard from the elders in my clan that the three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands would be a world of terror every time they opened. It would seem as though the main objective would no longer be the Foundation Establishment, but rather, the most crucial point would be exterminating people from other sects. This is the four great sect's battle every first year of the sixty-year cycle!"

"Then why do we still let these Heaven's Chosen see themselves off to death? Even though the Earthen Pulse Chakra cannot be preserved, the Common Dao Foundation Establishment is much more stable, Although much weaker, then there would not be so many deaths…"

"Humph! If one generation is weak, every generation would be weak as well! If it really is so, then the Spirit Creek Sect would wane away and be exterminated sooner or later!"

"To any sect in the four great sects, unless they believe that not a single disciple amongst them are able to achieve the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment, then they cannot flee from battle. If not, not only would this generation of disciples be weak, the sect's control over the regions under their influence as well as the deterrence they have towards outsiders would substantially decline and cause unnecessary trouble!"

"Take the Pill Creek Sect for example who have consecutively fled three battles before. The sect's combat strength has declined substantially, and as for the regions under their influence, groups of wolves that are power-hungry have already appeared in great numbers. The Spirit Creek Sect alone has snatched twenty percent of the resources under the Pill Creek Sect's territory. This could not be helped as only then would their status be preserved, albeit barely, with the Pill Creek Sect participating a few times again in order to exchange the death of their disciples for Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment disciples."

The Elders from both the South Bank and North Bank as well as a few veteran disciples were currently in a discussion.

At the same time, following the flight of the disciples from both the South Bank and North Bank, very quickly, they had arrived at the main hall of Zhong Dao Mountain. Each and every single one of them stood there under the leadership of their respective Ancestors. All of them had serious and concentrated expressions on their faces as silent killing intent filled the air.

All of them knew that the place that they were going to go in the next following moments was a place where fate and bloodshed coexisted!

Every single person was sizing each other up, but very quickly, there were many people who were surprised as they realised that there was one person missing from the surrounding crowd.

"How come Naruto did not come?"

Not only were they astonished, the Ancestors from the seven Mountain Peaks located in both the South Bank and North Bank were also muttering irresolutely to themselves as they looked in the direction where the North Bank's Hundred Beast Courtyard was at. Toruho stood there, his expression remained calm. He believed that he did not make a wrong judgement about Naruto. Even though Naruto was naughty and mischievous as he was afraid of death, his persistence towards immortality was definitely not just half a star's worth.

At this moment of time, Naruto heard the chimes of the bell echoing inside the Hundred Beast Courtyard. He was silent for a very long time, up until a long time later, he viciously gritted his teeth. In these three months, he had cultivated with all his strength and had used a huge amount of Contribution Points in exchange for more than a thousand talismans, arming himself almost all the way up to his teeth.

He had also attempted to completely breakthrough his Undying Silver Skin. Even though he failed to make a breakthrough, he had still advanced ahead vigorously.

At this moment, wearing clothes that were tidied up and ready for travelling, Naruto had rejected Tie Dan's request to accompany him as he now stepped on the Golden Crow Sword alone, flying out as he headed straight for Zhong Dao Mountain. Along the way, he had made a trip to the Spirit Stone Pavilion. He had used a large amount of Contributions Points in exchange for Fire Crystals that could substitute for the earthly fire so he could use it to refine medicine while outside the sect.

There were bloody veins visible in his eyes. In these three months, even though he had already made up his mind a long time ago, Naruto still steadily went about with his usual life. Only, he was also researching numerous ancient records to learn more about his would be destination. From there, he knew of the savageness and bloody events that happened every time the three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands opened. Even more so, he knew that the opening of these three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands was also a one-time display of external deterrence and power to the sects.

Following this realisation, his heart had even started trembling. Especially since there was once an incident, eight hundred years ago, when not even ten people had actually returned alive amongst the disciples from the Spirit Creek Sect who had entered the three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands. Such level of brutality made Naruto feel shocked.

The only good thing was that such a brutal matter had only appeared that one time. There were records indicating that such a matter had occurred because a boundlessly terrifying Heaven's Chosen, the Everlasting Child, from the Blood Creek Sect and was unmatched in his generation, had appeared eight hundred years ago during the opening of the three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands that time. He had completely crushed everything and swept across in all direction. Not only did the Spirit Creek Sect incur huge losses, but the other three

sects were also similarly affected. It was precisely also because of that one time eight hundred years ago that the generation of disciples from the other three sects were almost annihilated in suppression, causing the Blood Creek Sect to surpass the Mysterious Creek Sect in one go, becoming the head of the four great sects.

As for that Everlasting Child, he was now the Blood Creek Sect's Everlasting Daoist Master.

Moreover, during other times, every time the three great Sacred Foundation Establishment Lands opened, the deaths would not be so extreme. At most, it would be only half of the disciples. Even if one was unable to achieve success with the Earthen Pulse Foundation

Establishment, if one were to be slightly more cautious and prudent, one could still preserve their life.

However, even if that was the case, the fifty-fifty probability of dying still made Naruto tremble from the bottom of his heart. He really wanted to reject the opportunity that was given to him. He was alright with increasing his lifespan by a hundred years by condensing the Foundation Establishment Pill to the Common Dao Foundation Establishment.

However, his dream was not only to increase his lifespan by a hundred years, rather… it was immortality!

"I am not doing this for the sake of living a hundred years more. The thing that I want is immortality!" Naruto's eyeballs were even redder than before. After he had researched ancient records in this period of time, he was even clearer with regards to the Foundation Establishment. From those ancient records, he had discovered that there was not a single person that had cultivated to the Golden Core who was only at the Common Dao Foundation Establishment level since ancient times!

To successfully cultivate to the Golden Core, he needed to be equipped with the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment!

Moreover, if he was able to step into the Golden Core, even if it was the lowest level of the Golden Core, the increase in the lifespan far exceeded that of the Foundation Establishment. With that line of deduction, the higher the cultivation, the more promising were the chances of immortality.

"I can hide away this time, but how about a hundred years later…? What will I use to evade death? When that time comes, will I regret not going to the Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment that year?" In these three months, Naruto had asked himself this question time and time again. In the end, there were even more blood veins in his eyes, making his whole being seem as if he was a mad devil. He gritted his teeth and thoroughly made up his mind.

"Everything is for the sake of immortality!" Naruto growled in a low voice, changing into a rainbow. He stepped on the Golden Crow Blade and headed straight to Zhong Dao Mountain at lightning speed.

Not long after the disciples from both the South Bank and the North Bank had assembled in the main hall of the Zhong Dao Mountain, Naruto's silhouette finally arrived.

Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Chapter 141 - Meteoric Sword Abyss

The arrival of Naruto attracted the attention of the over two hundred disciples who had gathered at the great palace, all of them directed their gazes towards him. Shangguan Tianyou, Kurenai, Zabuza, Kiba, Xu Song, Gongsun Wan'er, Gongsun Yun, Hou Yufei, and some others… even Gui Ya did as well!

One could see encouragement and mirth in Toruho's eyes

Naruto quickly landed in front of Toruho and paid his deep respects to him.

"Stand behind me," Toruho noticed Naruto's bloodshot eyes, seemingly understanding his endeavor. This decision, for Naruto, was an extremely difficult one.

Straightening his body, Naruto took big strides, taking a spot behind Toruho. Standing behind Naruto was Hou Yunfei, evidently participating in the inner sect training during his time in the North Bank. Hou Yunfei was already an inner sect disciple, and with the assistance of his household, his cultivation had increased by leaps and bounds, reaching the Tenth Level of Chakra Condensation!

Their eyes met, Hou Yunfei's eyes shined with encouragement while Naruto nodded his head in greeting. At the moment, there was a large number people in the area so it wasn't suitable for Hou Yunfei and Naruto to converse. A brief moment later, the doors of the great palace slowly opened.

Following the opening of the doors, Zheng Yuandong's aged voice echoed out from within the palace.

"Ancient Spirit Cave. Although the time it came into existence was not the best, but before, there was only the Secluded Mystic Realm, and that was the only place where Earthen Pulse gathered in the entire Eastern Vein of the Cultivation World. Surrounding the Spirit Cave was countless conflicts until it finally fell into the control of the three great sects. Ever since the rise of our Spirit Creek Sect, it has been controlled by the four great sects!"

"Secluded Mystic Realm. Ten thousand years ago, it suddenly appeared in the Spectre Forest. It was a wasteland completely void of life. There were, however, evil Earthen Pulse beasts, and along with it coming into existence, conflict started once more. Finally, it was claimed by the four great sects, shared by them as it became the second sacred land of Foundation Establishment."

"Meteoric Sword Abyss. Five thousand years ago, an indescribable great sword fell from beyond our sky, its size surpassing that of over a hundred Spirit Creek Sects, holding in its form a terrifying power feared by all. It pierced the vault of heaven, descended down, and embedded itself into the Bi Fang Mountain. Its Sword Chakra went through the Nether Realm, and its body absorbed the Earthen Pulse Qi."

That caused the inside of the sword body to form an area like the other two sacred lands, spawning uncountable amounts of Earthen Pulse evil beasts. Killing them will provide us Earthen Pulse Chakra of different measures. With enough Earthen Pulse Chakra collected, one could embody an earthen pulse Chakra attractor, thereby attracting the earthen pulse Chakra from inside the sacred land for their own use!"

"According to the great Ancestors of the four sect's research results and judgement, the Meteoric Sword's interior possibly holds a thread of Sky Pulse Qi. As it came from beyond our sky, there is that slight chance, that during its descent, the energy of the Heavenly Dao was absorbed into it!

As a result, the Sky Pulse Foundation Establishment became known as the Tian Dao Foundation Establishment!" Zheng Yuandong, after speaking to this point, paused a while as he raised his head, sweeping his gaze across the crowd like lightning.

"The path to cultivation grows narrower with each

step. Only by stepping on countless corpses of your enemies could any of you reach… The greatest dao with nothing else above it!"

"During your journey towards the three Sacred Lands of Foundation Establishment… I request of you to annihilate the disciples of the other three sects as much as possible! This is a test, but it is also a great war of the four sects. Furthermore, it is also connected with the fate of our Spirit Creek Sect! I will announce the cause and effect upon your return!"

"At the same time, I believe, that the disciples of the three sects will also do all that is possible to kill anyone from a different sect. The Sacred Lands of Foundation Establishment is not a place where just anyone can go, as not everyone has the fate to reach Foundation Establishment. Resources are scarce, and this is ultimately the struggle to the peak of the great dao!" Zheng Yuandong swept his sleeve, emitting a sound like a crackling of thunder. As it rumbled, the two hundred inner sect disciples all made a low growl.

Like the lightning, their might shook the sky!

"For this Foundation Establishment test, the Ancestors of Iridaceae

Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain, along with the Enforcement Department's Elder Ouyang shall be leading. You have all been assigned to different places. One hundred to the Meteoric Sword Abyss, and two groups of seventy-five to the Secluded Mystic Realm and Ancient Spirit Cave. Activate the Spirit Creek teleportation array, and march onward to the three sacred lands of Foundation Establishment.

It wasn't long before the rumbling grew even more intense. In the blink of an eye, the two hundred fifty people within the teleportation array blurred as their figures all disappeared. Outside the teleportation array, Toruho looked into the distance, anticipation and worry were all over his eyes as if watching a young eagle spread its wings. Although below him was a hundred thousand foot deep abyss, in the distance, there was only a red sky.

Bi Fang Mountain was located in the very middle of Zheng Island. Once it competed with the Vault of Heaven in height, surpassing any mountain in the Spirit Creek Sect; its size was comparable to the entirety of the Spirit Creek Sect's area.

However, things were different for a long time now. Half of the mountain was completely gone, alongside the land where that half once stood. Moreover, in the unmeasurable range of the Zheng Gong Island, a deep and large crack where not even grass grew stretched past a vast part of half of the island.

The land was not hospitable for normal people as much as it was inhospitable for vicious beasts. Even a cultivator, should they live there long enough, would suddenly die, their body exploding open and letting out lingering Sword Qi.

The cause for all this was the great sword that fell from the sky. It was quaint, with uncountable dim runes etched onto it as the sword stood in front of the Bi Fang Mountain. The greater half of it was stuck within the earth, and there were a great amount of cracks around it. Even the narrowest ones were some tens of feet wide, and as for the largest one, it was a hundred feet wide. Inside was a great darkness, as well as some cold air rising up to the sky.

There was protective light enveloping it, sealing of all of the entry points.

This sword was too big. Even the hilt and the blade visible up from the ground far surpassed Bi Fang Mountain immensely, to the point where a comparison of the two giants would be the same as a comparison between a palm and an ant.

The Bi Fang Mountain, compared to a cultivator, would become the palm, and the cultivator, who was on its peak, would become the ant…

At this moment, above Bi Fang Mountain, two sects had already arrived and were holding their own areas. One side had eighty people, while the other had a hundred. Both were led by Foundation Establishment cultivators, with not a care in the world as they discussed. The disciples following behind them all were weighing each other up; hostility was heavy in the air.

The eighty disciples occupying the left area were all in white, with the emblem of a pill on their sleeves. A herbal fragrance could also be smelled coming from their bodies.

They were the Pill Creek Sect!

And the Chakra condensation cultivators on the opposite side, on the other hand, had deep blue clothes, with a formidable ripple within all of their bodies due to their cultivation, strong enough that their figures were blurred upon closer inspection. It was quite strange.

They were the Mystic Creek Sect!

Just when the disciples from the two sects were sizing each other up, a sudden rumble in the layers of clouds and uncountable runes, which were vividly shining, formed an enormous purple cauldron, with some sword light coming out from it. In the end, it was as if there was a black dragon swimming inside, letting out great roars.

A middle aged woman, the leader of the Pill Creek Sect, raised her head to the sky. With her eyes shining, she mumbled softly.

"The Spirit Creek Sect has arrived."

The one leading the Mystic Creek Sect was an old person who had protruding bulges. He looked very sinister because of his slit eyes. Every time he blinked, he gave people a strange feeling. In this moment, he similarly raised his head, staring at the Spirit River Sect's Cloud Layer Formation Array in the sky.

Soon, a beam of strong light shot down from the sky, landing straight on an empty area on Bi Fang Mountain. Afterwards, over a hundred blurry figures slowly started to form. The moment Ouyang Jie's figure appeared, the woman from Pill Creek Sect and the old man from Mystic Creek Sect all had a change of expressions.

"Jackal Taoist!"

"My friends, Ocean Daoist, Forest Daoist. It's been so long." Ouyang Jie laughed with a coarse voice and waited for all the disciples to be transported. Only after that finished, did he wave his hand, dissipating the protection of the array formation, leading the way out.

As he reunited with the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Naruto used a lot of pressure to rub his forehead. After the vertigo, he was immediately attracted by the colossal great sword. Raising his head, he saw that the end of the sword was hidden from surrounding clouds— it was very shocking.

Around him, people started inhaling and shouting out. The disciples of the Spirit Creek Sect were all taken aback by the great sword.

Hearing the sounds, Naruto realized that the amount of people here wasn't correct. Before transportation, there were two hundred fifty people, but the people standing here, with him included, was only one hundred.

Kurenai wasn't here, and Zabuza wasn't here. Shangguan Tianyou and Gui Ya, however, along with Kiba, Gongsun Wan'er and Hou Yunfei were all in the crowd, all shocked by the great sword at the moment.

However, they soon stopped staring, crossing their legs and sitting down instead. Jade scrolls appeared in their hands as they started to attentively assimilate their Chakra while they sized up the disciples from the other two sects.

The disciples from the other two sects also put their gaze in their direction, searching one by one for Naruto. Their gaze was different— the Pill Creek Sect disciples had some dissatisfaction in their face, while the Mystic Creek Sect disciples had disdain in it.

While Naruto was still lost in astonishment, Hou Yunfei went to his side and gave him a jade scroll, speaking quietly.

"You came late. Before you came, the three Ancestors and Elder Ouyang told us this time's tragedy. They told us to kill off the other disciples

from the other sects as much as possible without getting ourselves killed. They also gave each of us a jade scroll, with an introduction of the Meteoric Sword Abyss within it, and information regarding the disciples of the other sects. The information we have here is also possessed by the opponents.

Naruto accepted the jade scroll, putting his Chakra into it and instantly understanding the detailed introduction of the Meteoric Sword Abyss.

Meteoric Sword Abyss, also called the Meteoric Sword World— when it descended and impaled the Earth diagonally, half of it was left outside. The body of the sword formed a slanted world, stretching downwards. The further one went down, the stronger the Earthen Pulse beasts, and the greater the quantity of Earthen Pulse Chakra it contained.

The entrance into the Meteoric Sword World was the tens of destroyed areas of the sword's body.

Within the body of the sword, other than the Earthen Pulse evil beasts the Earthen Pulse Chakra created, there also existed evil souls. According to speculation, everyone who was killed that year by this blade was hit by the impact of Earthen Pulse Qi. After that, while the souls didn't possess the power they had when they were alive, they were still extremely dangerous. Fortunately, they didn't have Chakra Consciousness and won't attack by themselves.

Naruto took a deep breath. He was especially wary of the evil souls; that kind of thing wasn't any different from the ghost images.

At the same time, the jade scroll also introduced the Earthen Pulse Qi. Earthen Pulse Chakra is divided into two parts, one came from the evil beasts; upon their death, they would release a faint Earthen Pulse Qi, which could be collected into the Dao Jar to accumulate and form an Earthen Pulse Chakra Attractor. Like lock and key, the other Earthen Pulse Chakra was the ninety-nine percent of the total Earthen Pulse Chakra in the Meteoric Sword Worl, which was spread throughout the entire Meteoric Sword World, and out of one's reach through normal means. However, it could only be gathered through the attractor.

The Earthen Pulse Chakra was limited. In Foundation Establishment, according to the person's quality and fate, their bodies would endure more than one Chakra Ocean Tide, and at that time, the cultivator needed as much Earthen Pulse Chakra as the same amount of Ocean Tides he could sustain. Due to that, the earlier one reach Foundation Establishment, the greater their advantage. As such, for each successful person, there would be a decrease in the Earthen Pulse Chakra throughout the entire Meteoric Sword World. Usually, before someone was able to withstand eight tides appear, the Earthen Pulse Chakra in the Meteoric Sword World would only be enough for approximately thirty or so people to succeed.

So, the faster one could enter the Foundation Establishment, the better. If one was too slow, even if they embodied an Earthen Pulse Chakra attractor, the Foundation Establishment wouldn't be successful due to the lack of

Earthen Pulse Chakra during the tide

Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Chapter 142 - The Heaven's Chosen Of Each Sect!

Just from gazing at the entrance alone, Naruto instinctively felt a feeling of trepidation from the Ancient Sword Abyss. He glanced at the jade slip as he frowned; portraits of three other sects disciples along with their description were detailed in the jade slip. Naruto raised his head and inspected the area around him; under his scrutiny, he could identify the disciples of the Pill Creek Sect and the Mystic Creek Sect.

He paid special attention towards the disciples which the jade slip had put emphasis on during the introduction. Gradually, Naruto became even more apprehensive and terrified.

"Pill Creek Sect's Itachi, an expert in the Illusory Body. Itachi is suspected to have the Illusory Body. She once fought against three disciples of the same level, however, the three died from killing each other! Amazing! Her technique is like Gongsun Wan'er's Illusory Technique!" Naruto blinked for a short moment then stole a glance over at Pill Creek Sect's area. Immediately, he saw one of Pill Creek Sect's disciples- a woman who was in her prime; a stunning beauty with skin so delicately tender and lovely, it was as if it would break with a single touch. She and Gongsun Wan'er were staring at each other at this very moment with a glint in their eyes. Even here, there

was unexpectedly a secret contest.

"Mysterious Creek Sect's Lei Shan. Lei Shan is a body refining cultivator who possesses the Thunder-Fire Mysterious Body. He possesses extraordinary strength and many exquisite techniques. A Foundation Establishment cultivator had once tried to kill him, however, he managed to escape for seven whole days without dying. It's suspected that he possesses the Fire Spirit Body, and has a recovery speed which far exceeds ordinary people." Naruto glanced towards the Mysterious Creek Sect and almost immediately found Lei Shan.

Lei Shan was a bulky person who had a strong and burly body. Lightning-Fire seemed to curl around him as he sat cross legged; his aura was astonishing. He abruptly faced Naruto and laughed maliciously as if he had sensed Naruto's gaze, a hint of killing intent glimmered in his eyes.

"His enemy ought to be Zabuza as they both wield thunder." Naruto hastily withdrew his gaze and looked to the jade slip once more.

"Pill Creek Sect's Fang Lin. The number one Heaven's Chosen from this generation of the Pill Creek Sect. Half a year ago, he didn't have a prominent reputation, however, Fang Lin abruptly rose to prominence within this half a year. He's an expert in the Dao of Poison and kills people decisively. Fang Lin cultivates the Cauldron Furnace of Heaven and Earth; allowing his strength to surpass the pinnacle of Chakra Condensation. He is hard to evaluate. Only two of Fang Lin's battles could be used to draw information from. He killed seven rebels of the full circle of Chakra Condensation without being wounded at all. In another battle, he resisted the defensive treasure of one who was also in the Foundation Establishment, killing Spirit Creek Sect's secret disciple who was away from the Sect." Naruto widened his eyes and hurriedly looked for the other party, and saw an emotionless youngster. "Mysterious Creek Sect's Jiu Dao. Within the three thousand years of the

Mysterious Creek Sect, he is the first Heaven's Chosen to master the Obliterating Life Technique. Rumour says that this technique can obliterate all life, and wherever it goes, it can make everything dissipate; it can even condense Lines of Obliteration. Previously, when he fought with an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, they were equally matched!" Naruto's scalp was

numb as he hurriedly raised his head to look around. Soon, he saw a cold faced youth. He wasn't sure whether it was a misconception, Naruto unexpectedly saw on the other party's body, strips of tailmans wandering around, as if they linked to form iron chains.

It was merely a single glance, but Naruto already felt his eyes hurt, as if the world in front of his eyes was about to turn black. He hurriedly withdrew his gaze, feeling that the other party was too frightening. Looking at the Jade slip, Naruto suddenly discovered that the description of the disciples from the Pill Creek Sect was the most detailed, and the details of the Mysterious Creek Sect was also quite comprehensive, but there was unexpectedly only two pieces of information about the Blood Creek Sect.

"Blood Creek Sect's Xu Xiaoshan, ordinary aptitude, the single descendant of the bloodline of the Blood Creek Sect's first generation patriarch. He has an exceedingly high status with the temperament of a pampered young master, and he has countless magical weapons!"

"Blood Creek Sect's Song Que, the number one Heaven's Chosen, and has been named the little Unbounded. He has the aura of the Unbounded from eight hundred years ago, and his techniques are not clear. He has only a single battle that goes against the heavens. With a cultivation of Chakra Condensation, he killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was an uprecedented matter. For a disciple of Qi

Condensation, he is extremely dangerous, and killing him will be a great merit!" The first piece of information on the Blood Creek Sect was still counted as normal, and Naruto didn't care about it. But this second piece of information, after he looked at it, actually made him take an immediate deep breath. His eyes went round.

"Killed... killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator?" Naruto's heart was trembling; he felt that it was inconceivable. He made up his mind. This kind of ferocious person should be Gui Ya's opponent. His own small life could not be thrown away here.

He discovered that the people from the four sects this time were too scary. He took a good long while before he reluctantly accepted these inconcivable information, and suddenly, his heart shook.

"I wonder whether there is information about me in the jade slips of the other three sects, and how did they portray me?" Naruto was immediately curious. As his curiousity got stronger and stronger- so much so that he was considering to look for a disciple with a kind face from the other two sects to have a talk, and to see whether they could exchange information- All of a sudden, a powerful pressure descended from the sky.

The entire dome of heaven turned blood red; the Blood Creek Sect… descended!

It was different from the great teleportation formation of the Spirit Creek

Sect. The Blood Creek Sect impressively appeared on this Bi Fang Mountain on an enormous blood coloured palm. This palm was extremely massive, seemingly covering a small half of the heavens, blotting out the sun, and dying the clouds in the sky scarlet.

At this moment, an enormous eye formed in the center of the palm, gradually opening to reveal a blood-shot pupil; the eye exuded a bizarre and chilling aura. With just a single blink, the entire Bi Fang Mountain immediately shook. Within the empty area amidst the three sects, hundreds of figures mysteriously emerged, their fuzzy silhouettes quickily becoming more distinct.

Following this, the immense pressure in the sky dissipated, as though the enormous palm in the sky would have descended with an earthshattering force that would obliterate all; had anyone dared to take advantage of this time to sneak an attack in.

The heavens and earth shook. The figures that appeared from the Blood Creek Sect unexpectedly surpassed the number of people from any of the other three sects, with a total of hundred and twenty one people. Excluding the Foundation Establishment expert at the front of the group, the disciples numbered exactly one hundred and twenty people.

Those disciples from the Blood Creek Sect were all wearing a red coloured changpao, and held ice-cold expressions. They faintly had a killing intent, exuding a fondness for killing. When they looked to the rest of the surrounding three sects, they were akin to wolves that spotted sheep.

That kind of feeling caused each and every one of the disciples from the Blood Creek Sect to feel extremely savage. A strong Baleful Chakra was emitted from their bodies, and they seemed to not hold any trust in each other. After they appeared, they immediately dispersed slightly, and there was a slight distance between each person, as they meditated in a cross-legged position.

The disciples of the Pill Creek Sect were all shocked. Only the eyes of

Itachi and Fang Lin brightened, and they were even more vigilant.

The Mysterious Creek Sect was also like this. Except for the few Heaven's Chosen who were famous, the minds of the other disciples trembled, as they were deterred by the Baleful Chakra exuded by the disciples of the Blood Creek Sect.

Gasps coud be heard amongst the members of the Spirit Creek Sect. Naruto widened his eyes as he recalled introduction of the Blood Creek Sect within the jade slip.

The sect rules of the Blood Creek Sect and the Spirit Creek Sect were completely different. What they paid attention to was, "The strong preys on the weak," and the threat of death that they faced at any time, was caused by the mutual killings of fellow sect disciples, making it close to being a Demonic Sect. Therefore, the disciples that were matured in this type of environment were mostly ones that were vicious and ruthless.

"So this is a Demonic Sect… These fellow sect disciples are actually brazenly killing each other in the open, how terrifying! Our Spirit Creek Sect is much better!" Naruto swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and was more mindful towards the Blood Creek Sect, as he looked for the two people that were introduced in the jade slip.

What he paid the most attention to, was the Heaven's Chosen from the

Blood Creek Sect that went against the heavens and killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Song Que. It doesn't matter what method he used, the fact that he achieved it proved how terrifying of a person he was.

Naruto easily found Song Que. This was a youth that had an ordinary appearance, but his body was full of a chilly aura. His changpao was different from others. It wasn't a simple red coloured changpao, but a purple-red coloured one. Song Que was meditating in a cross-legged position, but there seemed to be no one within the several zhangs radius of his position.

His baleful aura was close to turning into a physical substance, far surpassing those of the other disciples. A simple glance and the onlookers could see in his surrounding emptiness, everything seemed to undergo a minute change.

In the instant that Naruto looked at Song Que, concurrently, Song Que was also unexpectedly looking at Naruto, as if he was also looking for Naruto. When the gazes of the two people met, an intense feeling of danger made Naruto's heart madly jump. That sort of feeling, seemed to have instantly made him return to the nameless forest from that year when he fought with Chen Heng.

...

Translator: Sean

TLC: Ayu

Editors: MantouInv, Cannibaloid, Ayu

From xianXiaWorld

Chapter 143

Chapter 143

Chapter 143 - They Must Be Doing It Intentionally!

Naruto sucked in a deep breath as he slowly withdrew his gaze. As he glanced at the surrounding crowd, he found Xu Xiaoshan, who was introduced in the jade slip.

Xu Xiaoshan was the easiest to recognise. He possessed a handsome appearance and wore a complacent expression. Whenever he looked at people, he would always lift his chin, as if there was nothing that would make him look at someone or something directly. Both Xu Xiaoshan's appearance and temperament was that of a pampered young master; it was especially conspicious.

Beside Xu Xiaoshan were two extremely beautiful female disciple.

One of which was massaging his shoulders while the other was peeling fresh fruit by his side and feeding him.

Naruto felt slightly envious as he gazed at the scene. At the same time, Naruto gradually discovered that the disciples of the Blood Creek Sect were acting almost identically to Song Que and were occasionally sneaking a few glances at him.

Their gazes were completely different from the defiant gaze of those in Pill Creek Sect and different from the contempt from the Mysterious Creek Sect. A large number of gazes from the Blood Creek Sect carried a sense of restrained fear whenever glanced at him; killing intent could also be seen within their gaze.

Seeing this, Naruto felt his mouth went dry. The gazes from the disciples of the Blood Creek Sect caused him to have a feeling of trepidation. The information within the jade slips which belonged to the disciples of the Blood Creek Sect contained a large amount of information regarding the other sects. This information aroused a strong sense of curiosity within Naruto.

The cultivator leading the Blood Creek Sect was an elder who wore a long crimson robe. Even his hair was a scarlet red, and his complexion was quite fair. He had a slight hunched back but his eyes seemed to be awe-inspiring. The elder stuck out his tongue and licked his lips as he inspected the surrounding crowd.

As for his tongue, it was unexpectedly different from that of a normal persons', it seemed to have a snake-like fork at the tip of his tongue; the sight of this caused the scalps the surrounding disicples to feel numb.

Ouyang Jie, the Hai-surnamed cultivator, as well as the Lin-surnamed cultivator* stopped their conversation, and instead simultaneously looked at the Blood Creek Sect, and when they looked at the snake tongued old elder from the Blood Creek Sect, the expressions of the Hai and Lin surnamed cultivators greatly changed as they took a deep breath. Even Ouyang Jie wore a solemn expression.

"She Linzi, your Blood Creek Sect has arrived late." Ouyang Jie spoke abruptly in an unfriendly tone.

"Hehe, it's not this old man who came late, but it was you three sects that arrived early." The snake tongued old man rolled his eyes and revealed a fake smile as he spoke; murderous intent appeared in his eyes as he gazed at Ouyang Jie.

The glares of the two seemed to contain some sort of eye related magical technique, immediately activating in the instant that they met each other's eyes. It was as if a soundless explosion occurred between the two. In the end, Ouyang Jie humphed in a depressed manner; his complexion was sightly pale. He flourished his sleeve and retreated a few steps before returning to the front of the people from the Spirit Creek Sect.

As for the snake tongued old man, his eyes also f lashed; and with the internal Chakra and blood boiling, he retreated half a step back. When he raised his head, an odd light appeared in his eyes.

"Old man Ouyang, we haven't met in a number of years! Your cultivation has improved incredibly. Nevermind, we still have lots of time to tal

k about old times. Since my Blood Creek Sect has arrived, let's open the Meteor Sword Abyss so that we can begin refining and cultivating earlier!" As the snake tongued old man raised his right hand, a remnant piece of a jade pendant immediately flew out and floated in midair.

The two people, Hai and Lin, glanced at each other and also took out their respective remnant pieces of the jade pendant. The pair threw the jade pendants in succession, followed by the fourth jade piece which had been tossed out from within Ouyang Jie's sleeve; the four jade pieces immediately joined up in midair, forming a complete jade pendant.

Rays of light began to potrude from the protective barrier on the earth beside the Meteor Sword; the barrier slowly began ripping apart, forming cracks. Judging from its appearance, a gateway should open in almost half an incense stick's worth of time.

This scene attracted the attention of all of the surrounding Qi

Condensation cultivators. The moment Naruto looked over, Ouyang Jie's voice echoed throughout the ears of every disciple from Spirit Creek Sect.

"There are over forty entrances to the world within the sword. A maximum of ten people can pass through each entrance, and every time, the first battle would be the struggle for entrances. The issue of ambushes always happens each time, so you should join forces as much as possible, and hold your own in there!"

"Remember what I explained to you earlier. If you encounter disciples from the other sects, you cannot be softhearted. Under the circumstances of protecting your own life, if you can kill - kill. You should collect as much Earthern Pulse Chakra into your Dao Jar as quickly as possible. By condensing it into the Earthen Pulse Chakra Attractor, we would be able to shake the Earth Pulse Chakra in the entire Meteoric Sword Abyss!"

When Ouyang Jie was quietly briefing the people from the Spirit Creek Sect, the Foundation Establishment group leaders from the other three sects were also currently briefing similar words to the disciples from their respective sects.

Ouyang Jie waved his right hand, and a hundred small blue bottles immediately flew straight towards the crowd, and everyone got one. "This is a Dao Jar!" At this moment, loud booms were echoing out from the protective light screens on the cracks in the area surrounding the Meteoric Sword. It was quickly torn apart, forming a three zhang long gap.

After entering this gap, follow the cracks of various sizes in the ground to enter the abyss. In the abyss area, numerous gaps in the Meteoric Sword would be visible, allowing you to enter the world within the sword by stepping into any one of those cracks.

"The four great sects mutually controls this area, and there are also the patriarchs from either side that makes sure that Foundation

Establishment cannot step inside. However, the time taken cannot be too long; the opening of the holy land can only be maintained for three months. After three months, you have to leave, no matter whether you succeeded or failed. When you leave, I will be waiting for you outside."

"Furthermore, although it's impossible for you to encounter an extreme situation, past generations of disciples who have entered the holy land have always been told that this holy land has four teleportation arrays that have been set up by the patriarchs of the four great sects in the past. The formation array will only be activated when an extreme situation that results in an unavoidable situation occurs in the area. It will teleport you all back to the sect by differentiating you all according to the techniques that you have cultivated. Even if an error occurs, it will still send you to the continent that the sect is located at."

"An unavoidable situation does not include the fights that occurs between the disciples of the four sects! Finally, regardless whether an Earthen Pulse Foundation Establishment succeeds or not, I hope that you all can… come back alive!" Ouyang Jie's gaze swept across the crowd. His previous ice-cold complexion turned gentle, one could see encouragement in his eyes as he gazed at his disciples. This was especially true when his eyes landed on Naruto and Gui Ya, he had high expectations for them.

At this moment, after noticing the exposed entrance, the disciples of the Blood Creek Sect flew out in an instant, heading directly towards the entrance.

Within the Spirit Creek Sect, Gui Ya was the first one to charge out. Shangguan Tianyou subsequently flew out, causing the various Heaven's Chosen to hastily follow suit.

Naruto took a deep breath and using his fastest speed, he instantaneously took out seven or eight pieces of leather clothing from his storage pouch, wearing them as he flew out. He also took out a big black pot, and when he carried it on his back, a hint of resoluteness appeared in his eyes. As he endured his trembling heart, he stepped into the entrance with clenched teeth. He didn't move alone, and instead, he followed the many disciples of the Spirit Creek Sect and stepped in together.

Very quickly, the disciples from the four great sects all stepped into the crack one after the other. After they disappeared, Ouyang Jie and the snake tongued old man, as well as the two cultivators Hai and Lin looked at each other without saying a word. They respectively sat in a crosslegged position at the position of the entrance. They were vigilant, and at the same time, they were guarding the entrance as they silently waited.

There were numerous cracks of various sizes on the ground surrounding the Meteoric Sword. The disciples of the Spirit Creek Sectdidn't choose to be all together. For example, Gui Ya, Kiba as well as Gongsun Wan'er and the others respectively set off on their own.

The other disciples split into two batches, according to the North and

South Bank, and chose different cracks to step into the abyss from. The Pill Creek Sect and the Mysterious Creek Sect were more or less similar to them. Only the disciples of Blood Creek Sect, for the most part, moved alone as they had no trust in each other. Even if some of them joined hands, it would be two or three people working together at most.

Naruto was carrying a big black pot, and with a wary face, he nervously followed behind the disciples of the South Bank. When he entered the abyss he felt his surroundings suddenly become freezing cold; with bursts of cold air continuously rising from the abyss below, as if it wanted to drill into his body and freeze his blood and Qi. However, perhaps it was because his skin was too thick, this cold air actually couldn't drill into his skin...

The more he went downwards, the more cold air there was. Fortunately, the distance between this place and the surface wasn't far. After the crowd operated their cultivation, the cold air was forced out of their bodies, and for the most part, they were unimpeded.

Merely, when these disciples of the South Bank saw that Naruto was actually following behind them, they felt flabbergasted from the bottom of their hearts. That feeling quickly changed to being pleasantly surprised. With Naruto around, they felt that their own safety had increased by a large amount. They were all at the tenth layer of Chakra Condensation, and although they had an air of arrogance, towards Naruto- no matter what they thought about Naruto- they did acknowledge him in terms of strength.

At this moment, each and every one of the disciples stepped aside, and circled around Naruto as they cupped their fists as a greeting.

"I pay my respects to Senior Uncle Uzumaki!"

"Senior Uncle Uzumaki's loyalty and righteousness is as high as the heavens! Instead of being like Shangguan Tianyou and the others who left us alone, you stayed with us."

"Now this is what being our south bank's Heaven's Chosen is about. Senior Uncle Uzumaki, I am Zhou Youdao, do you still remember me? That time your acid rain left me in a miserable state…"

Naruto looked at the dispersing crowd, and suddenly, he saw that he had actually reached the front; he was immediately startled. In actuality, he planned to follow behind the crowd so that it will be slightly safer. But, once he heard the words of the surrounding people, he blinked his eyes and immediately coughed as he lifted his chin up, assuming the appearance of a senior.

"Haha, you don't need to worry, with me, the senior, here, who dares to give us any trouble!"

Everyone was happy, and crowded around Naruto as he advanced, especially that inner sect disciple from the Purple Cauldron Mountain, Zhou Youdao, who had a face full of smiles.

Hou Yunfei was beside Naruto. Looking at Naruto's equipment and looking at his expression that was like a senior's, Hou Yunfei smiled. It was as if he had returned to the previous battle with the Fallen Chen Clan.

"Naruto, keep it up! You must succeed in getting an Earth Pulse Foundation Establishment!" Hou Yunfei spoke with a deep voice.

"I wish it too. Do you think that these people are doing it intentionally… I originally planned to follow behind them, how did it became them following behind me, now." When no one was paying attention to him, Naruto took advantage of that and sullenly spoke quickly to Hou Yunfei.

Hou Yunfei's expression turned odd, and he let out a dry cough. He suddenly felt that with Naruto around, no matter how serious and dangerous a region is, it would instantly become weird and joyful…..

"Nevermind. After all, I am the Honourable Disciple and the Sect Head's Junior Brother. During that year in the South Bank, I made them suffer when I implicated them in my pill refining. I, Naruto, am a reasonable person" Naruto comforted himself and stuck out his chest, displaying the face of an expert. In actuality, he was very nervous as he advanced cautiously.

Within these cracks, there were also disciples from other sects. Some of them were alone and some of them were in groups of three to five. Seeing this group of over ten people, everyone immediately avoided them and did not provoke them. Even the ones that thought of themself as rather powerful only looked at the group with cold light flashing in their eyes and left rapidly without stopping.

Soon, a crack on a sword's body appeared in front of everyone. Two rainbows beside the crack speeded towards them and the distance between it and the group was not far.

Seeing this, Naruto immediately didn't dare to proceed. The several tens of disciples from the Spirit Creek Sect who were surrounding him, each had a hostile expression as all of them made finger gestures, and within the blink of an eye, numerous magical techniques roared over.

The cultivators within the two long rainbows came from the Blood Creek Sect. The complexions of the two people changed, and they immediately turned around, hurriedly avoiding them. However, there were too many magical techniques in the surroundings, and though they avoided a few, there were still some that landed on their bodies. When they spat out fresh blood, they rapidly retreated; looking ferociously at the people from the Spirit Creek Sect.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised. He discovered that there was truly strength in numbers, and it was so easy to obtain a gap. However, due to his status, he coughed and didn't step inside, and instead let other people go in first.

2nd guaranteed chapter of the week. (15 Owed) (If anyone would like to join ATTE's discord server, I'll leave this here /BwFapQG )

Translator: Sean

TLC: GT

Editors: MantouInv, Cannibaloid, Ayu From XianXiaWorld

Footnotes:

Condensing the Earthen Chakra Pulse Attractor: It is mention previously in 141: " Earthen Pulse Qi, which could be collected into the Dao Jar to accumulate and form an Earthen Pulse Chakra Attractor. Like lock and key, the other Earthen Pulse Chakra was the ninety-nine percent of the total Earthen Pulse Chakra in the Meteoric Sword World, which was spread throughout the entire Meteoric Sword World, and out of one's reach through normal means. However, it could only be gathered through the attractor."

Through condensing the Dao Jar with Earthern pulse qi, it will become an Earthen pulse Chakra attractor which can pull the earthern pulse Chakra unattainable through normal means from the Meteoric Sword World to whomever holds the Earthern Pulse Chakra Attractor.

Hai and lin: Means Ocean and forest respectively (Hai and lin was translated to english directly in 141 as they greeted Ouyang Jie as Jackal Daoist, the Jackal word having no correlation to his name. It is now revealed that these might be their surname and has hence been reverted to chinese pinyin.)

Chapter 144

Chapter 144

Chapter 144 - Grandpa Uzumaki Will Fight It Out With You!

As for whether or not there would be an ambush at the entrance, this issue couldn't be helped, you could only rely on yourself. Jade slips were also unable to transmit information. However, if there were many disciples from the same sect entering, generally, there wouldn't be any big incidences unless it was an extremely deadly ambush.

After four disciples entered the crevice, Hou Yunfei also chose to step through. However, the moment before he entered, he spoke to Naruto, hoping he would take care of his junior brother Hou Yunqing if he experienced any unexpected accidents. Hou Yunqing, besides Hou Yunfei, was the most valued child of the Hou family. He hadn't entered Spirit Creek Sect yet and was instead cultivating within the clan.

Naruto immediately consoled him, causing Hou Yunfei to become less pessimistic. He covertly gave Hou Yunfei a handful of paper talismans, which caused caused him to be startled by the handful of paper talismans. Gazing at the amount of paper talismans, Hou Yunfei sucked in a deep breath, seemingly moved. He nodded towards Naruto before gravely stepping nside.

Following Hou Yunfei's fading figure, the crevice slowly dimmed closed.

Only after this did the crowd speed along downwards. Although Naruto was worried about Hou Yunfei, after some thought, he believed the possibility of encountering any problems would be low as there were five people. Thus, he lead the crowd and continued moving forward.

After an incense stick's worth of time, the group started to chat. They brought up events that happened when Naruto resided within the South Bank and conversed about their future plans and dreams. The moment Naruto smacked his chest and proudly announced that his dream was to become an immortal, it provoked the laughter of the large crowd of disciples; Zhou Youdao even loudly announced that his dream was to become the patriarch of the Spirit Creek Sect.

On the seemingly cruel road to Foundation Establishment, in this moment, the participants seemed to be relaxed. Under Naruto's lead, the crowd of disciples steamrolled their way through. The instant they caught a glimps of a crevice, they would instantly fight for it, while Naruto's voice would incessantly echo out in this abyss.

"Beat him up!"

"This is ours now!"

"Get out of here! This place is ours!"

"Hey! You actually dare to glare at me, beat him up!"

Along this boisterous journey, the crowd of Spirit Creek Sect disciples who fought alongside Naruto gradually decreased. The moment before every disciple stepped into a crevice, they would express their gratitude to feeling that with a single wave of his hand, he would receive a hundred responses and each of these surrounding disciples would move, also left Naruto feeling incredibly excited.

"This is the feeling of being a Heaven's Chosen, it's no wonder that so many people wish to strive to become a Heaven's Chosen." Naruto breathed a regretful sigh, until a battle with unexpectly more than ten people suddenly came into his line of vision. They fought ahead in the area surrounding the Sword's Body, and impressively, there were three crevices there. However, two disciples from Blood Creek Sect occupied the area around each of the crevices, totalling up to six disciples altogether. The six disciples were quite powerful, and they unexpectedly blocked the intrusion attempts of the surrounding eight or nine people.

Seeing that the battle was currently in a deadlock, Naruto's eyes brightened. The remaining disciples of the Spirit Creek Sect also became excited. Following B

ai Naruto's ear-piercing roar, the crowd of Spirit Creek Sect disciples rapidly charged over.

"This is ours now!"

The six disciples from the Blood Creek Sect were carrying out a mission from the sect and had been holding their ground here for a long time. However, at this moment, they were somewhat exhausted. The moment the crowd of disciples from Spirit Creek Sect arrived, the expressions of the six changed. Without hesitation, the Blood Creek Sect disciples unexpectedly entered the crevice in the instant that Naruto and the others arrived, disappearing upon their appearance.

The surrounding eight or nine disciples from the Pill Creek Sect and the Mysterious Creek Sect were about to charge in, but they were immediately blown away by bursts of magical techniques. When they looked over again, the three crevices had already been directly occupied by Naruto and the others.

"Humph! Obediently step aside! Today, your Grandpa Uzumaki is in a good mood and won't bother you." Naruto relied on the fact that he had a great number of disciples following him as he proudly commanded. The expressions of the surrounding eight to nine people gradually changed one by one.

"It's him again!"

"This person is called Naruto, he's too despicable! During this journey, he and his crowd have robbed me three times!"

"Damn it! He has also robbed me twice! If he hadn't come, I would've already entered the world within the sword!"

They were from different sects, and so it was hard for them to join hands. Furthermore, even if they presently joined hands, they still wouldn't have as many people as Spirit Creek Sect's. Thus, they helplessly and furiously gazed at the Spirit Creek Sect disciples as they disappear one by one after entering the three crevices.

Naruto's heart was full of satisfaction as he watched the first crevice dim after five people entered, and again watched the second crevice dim after three people entered. He felt that he had done an enormous deed for the sect.

At this moment, he dryly coughed, feeling that he could retire after doing a meritorious deed. Thus, with the remaining five disciples of the Spirit Creek Sect, he approached the third crevice. The surrounding eight or nine people from the Pill Creek Sect and the Mysterious Creek Sect had a light in their eyes, but they knew that they would be too late, even if they made a move to block him now.

Even if the crevice didn't dim after the Spirit Creek Sect entered and still allowed people to enter, they didn't dare to enter, worried that there would be an ambush inside.

They were about to disperse and hurry to look for the next crevice. However, right at this moment, the eyes of the present disciples sharpened. Some were even blank for a moment, then a fiendish look appeared in their eyes and they sneered.

In front of their eyes, that third crevice, after the fifth disciple of the Spirit Creek Sect, Zhou Youdao, entered; in the instant that Naruto tried to enter, it suddenly...dimmed.

"This can't be possible!"

Naruto was also stunned. The instant he was forcibly expelled out, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Hastily, he turned his head, only to see the eight to nine disciples surrounding him. Each and every one of them had a hostile gaze as they slowly approached him.

Each one of them was at the peak of the tenth layer of Chakra Condensation and every single one of them was a Heaven's Chosen in the current generation of their respective sects. All of them were well known within their sects, and some were even worshipped by their fellow sect disciples. Despite not being equal to those disciples in their respective sects that would make people despair, they were still people with quite the talent.

"Naruto, go ahead and enter, quickly go in."

"Yeah! If you don't go in, we'll help you. Maybe if we cut you into pieces, you might be able to enter."

"Haha! This is retribution. Previously, you brought people to rob me three times. This time, what are you going to do?" The crowd sneered as their cruel aura filled the air. The Naruto at this moment had already become their common enemy.

Naruto took a deep breath. The moment the eight odd people made a move, his right hand immediately reached for his storage pouch, and immediately took out a big handful of paper talismans. Then he ruthlessly slapped them on his chest in an instant. A brilliant light shined in an instant and in a couple seconds it even became glaring to the eyes. In the circle twenty zhang surrounding Naruto, everything impressively turned into a world of light!

There was even a slamming sound that continuously echoed out. This sound gradually became even more and more concentrated until it almost became ear-splitting.

The eight odd disciples widened their eyes, their minds buzzed, incapable of believing the Naruto in front of their eyes. Looking at the brilliant colours within the twenty zhang surrounding him, there were over a hundred layers of protective light screens surrounding him. This made every single person feel their scalp numb. They had never seen a scene like this in their entire lives.

"This… How many paper talismans are there?"

"Heavens! How rich is this guy?! Damn it! This protective screen…Even if the number of disciples here were several times more, they wouldn't be able to blow this apart within a short period of time, not to mention us!" The minds of the eight odd disciples were shaken, they were thoroughly shocked by Naruto. A shocked expression appeared in their eyes as they gazed at Naruto.

Naruto stood straight with his head high and chest out as he clasped his hands and raised his chin. His face had some melancholy, as if he had the loneliness of an expert…

"You guys are such bullies! Come! Your Grandpa Uzumaki will fight with you!" Naruto loudly roared, seemingly wanting to fight.

Following Naruto's roar, the Magnetic Yuan Wings in the big black pot on his back suddenly swept out. His body abruptly sped up and had already appeared infront of a disciple. Directly colliding with the body of a long faced youth from the Mysterious Creek Sect.

To be accurate, he did not directly collide with the youth. The long faced youth from the Mysterious Creek Sect was the one who collided with Naruto's protective light screen, letting out a miserable shriek that could be heard even after he was sent flying twenty zhang away. Although he managed to stop some distance away with some difficulty, he was driven mad as he wiped away his fresh blood. Gazing at the thick protective light screen on Naruto's body, his expression turned complicated. He let out a mournful sigh as he turned around, soaring into the distance.

He was depressed; however, he was unable to do anything about it. He didn't think that he had the ability to shatter Naruto's protective light screen. Rather than wasting his magical power, it would be better to enter the world within the sword earlier.

This scene caused the minds of the surrounding crowd tremble. After realising that they were not be able to do anything to Naruto, the group of eight odd disciples felt depressed as they dispersed; they used their full speed to leave.

After all, they still hadn't entered a crevice and they were not willing to fight with their lives against Naruto here.

"Don't run! Let's have a decisive battle until dawn!"

"You guys are despicable bullies! Come back right now!" Naruto's voice incessantly echoed out. The group of disciple had a headache from Naruto's voice, causing them to leave at an even quicker speed.

Instantly, the surroundings were emptied. Naruto blinked, feeling relaxed from the bottom of his heart. If the eight odd disciples cooperated, even he would have to spend a large amount of time fighting them, however, the Earth Pulse Foundation Establishment was the most important thing at this time.

After keeping the protective tailsmans on his body, only half of each paper talisman were used up, and they could still be re-used.

Naruto raised his chin and assumed the image of a lonely expert as he flourished his sleeves.

"I, Naruto, am not a pushover!"

His body blurred as he advanced deeper at a high speed. His body constantly made jerking motions as he followed the surrounding rocks which protruded out of the rock walls as well as the cracks. He continuously headed deeper, looking for a crevice within the massive sword.

As for entering the world within the sword with a slower speed, there were also advantages and disadvantages.

If one entered the world within the Sword's Body earlier, one could slaughter Earth Pulse Evil Beasts in there earlier and obtain the Earth Pulse Qi. But there are also very serious disadvantages. After all, the more one head deeper in the world within the Sword's Body, the Earth Pulse Chakra that has been accumulated by the Earth Pulse Evil Beasts will also increase. If you head deeper and managed to kill an Evil Beast, the amount of Earth Pulse Chakra which can be obtained is comparable to over ten Evil Beasts from the surface*[1].

If one wished to condense the Earth Pulse Qi, the amount of Earth Pulse Chakra that is needed would also be enormous.

At the same time, the size of the world within the Sword's Body was too large, and there were also special evil spirits that existed within it which had to be avoided most of the time. Thus, if one wanted to hurry to the depths of the Sword's body, it would be faster to move from outside of the sword blade.

Only, the deeper you went outside the Sword's Body, the stronger the coldness from the abyss will be. And if you reached a certain point, it wouldn't be an area that Chakra Condensation can enter. On the contrary, you would receive the protection of the Sword's Body in the world within the sword, and so you wouldn't have such concerns. So, the choice to enter in advance or not depended upon the strength of the individual, and it was hard to decide whether it was good or bad.

Towards the cold air here, Naruto had some resistance towards it. Naruto pondered for a bit, however, since he couldn't enter earlier, he decided not to worry, and might as well head to the deepest area that he could go to, and choose a crevice from that place, allowing him to be ahead of many people.

Time passed, Naruto's speed was extremely fast. There seemed to be no one in his surroundings, and unknowingly, he had already surpassed the boundary where a cultivator from Chakra Condensation could step into. The surrounding cold air was becoming increasingly strong, till it reached the point where he also felt bodily discomfort. His four limbs were slowly stiffening. If he continued heading down, he would suffer serious injury.

Only then did he take a deep breath, and lowered his head to look downwards. This abyss seemed to have no end, and was pitch-black. "At most, I can only go down one hundred zhang more…" Naruto attempted to use a cold resisting paper talisman, but after he discovered that it had no use, he shook his head, and started to look for crevices in the big sword as he was running out of time. Suddenly, after he descended over thirty zhang, his body suddenly paused. Unexpectedly he faintly saw that there was a figure not too far away from him, beside the big sword.

This person also immediately noticed Naruto, and in an instant, when the gazes of the two people were only separated by the cold fog, Naruto immediately recognised this person who had a fierce, cold gaze.

"Blood Creek Sect, Song Que!"

"Spirit Creek Sect, Naruto!"

Chapter 145

Chapter 145

Chapter 145 - You Must Be Killed!

Naruto felt as if he had been hit on the head. The person in front of him was indeed able to kill a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment. He was an unprecedented fierce person who would confront the heavens. In Naruto's thoughts, such a person should've already entered the world within the sword. Why would he still be in the abyss outside the sword, moreover, why would he come to this sort of this deep area?

Naruto immediately felt a strong sense of peril as he sensed a wave of killing intent spreading out from Song Que as he stared at Naruto. It was as if the moment he moved, it would immediately attract the killing intent and causing it to erupt instantly.

Song Que was also apprehensive. He never thought that there would actually be a second person that was also able come here. It should be known that the intensity of the cold air here far surpassed the limits of Chakra Condensation, and even if it was a Heaven's Chosen, it would also be very hard to come here. However, this Naruto actually came here like it was nobody's business, and he seemed as if he could move unrestrainedly.

At this moment, as he was gazed at Naruto, Song Que's gaze became increasingly serious. Recalling the sect's jade slip's introduction of Naruto, his gaze slightly sank.

The two were silent, not a single person moved. In Song Que's awareness, the Naruto was unfathomable. Although there was no killing intent shown, his intuition told him that, if he made a move, he feared that … between the two of them, undoubtedly one of them will die, and he didn't have the complete confidence that the person who would live would be him.

After a long time, Song Que abruptly spoke.

"There's a crevice twenty zhang below."

Naruto's eyes flashed. Supressing his quickening heartbeat, he slowly moved deeper. Unbeknownst to him, following his movement downwards as he increased proximity to Song Que, Song Que's heartbeat also quickened as he watched Naruto's body, making his preparations for a counter attack if the other party made a move.

When the distance between him and Song Que was only several zhang, Naruto's eyes swept. Song Que suddenly shifted, having had the area of the sword blade behind him covered, a fierce look appeared in his eyes.

"Being so suspicious, he's definitely up to no good!" Naruto thought in his heart as he cautiously moved deeper. After moving down twenty zhangs, sure enough, he saw a crevice. He carefully examined it, and only after he confirmed that it had no problems did he relax and step into the crevice with one step.

Song Que also similarly relaxed. But whenever he thought about Naruto's introduction in the sect's jade slip, he didn't dare to lower his guard. Only after Naruto stepped into the gap and disappeared, did he feel thoroughly relieved. A fierce look appeared in his eyes. Ever since his cultivation reached the sixth layer of Chakra Condensation, he had never been as careful as he was today, and he actually told the other party the location of the crevice on his own accord.

"Although this Naruto is impressive, once my plan is completed, killing him will be like crushing ants!" A hint of killing intent appeared within Song Que's eyes; when he turned around and looked towards the sword body behind him, the killing intent in his eyes turned into ferventness, it even had a hint of madness within it.

"As expected, Senior Wu Ji's analysis was not wrong. This is the location of a node!"

Within the Meteoric Sword Abyss, the moment Naruto stepped into the crevice, i

t seemed like he had penetrated through a layer of water and appeared in a world of black and white.

The sky was white coloured while the earth was black coloured; it was as if the entire world was an ink painting...

He could see the mountain ranges undulating, the black coloured river silently flowing, and even further into the distance, there seemed to be many pairs of eyes in the sky, like stars that were slowly blinking.

The most astonishing thing was that the entire world was slanted. As Naruto stood there, he felt like the entire world was like a hillside.

It took a long while for him to get accustomed to this kind of strange phenomenon.

"What is this sword?! It actually birthed a world inside it. Although it's very small compared to the real world, it's still inconceivable." Naruto sucked in a deep breath as he inspected his surroundings. There weren't any people in this area. According to his judgement, although this place wasn't the deepest area, it was already too deep for those disciples from the four sects that had entered earlier.

Naruto pondered for a moment before running downwards whilst carrying a sense of vigilance, leaving the place that he entered from. After half an incense stick's worth of time, he crossed a small hill, however, his expression changed dramatically. He immediately raised his right hand and using two fingers, revealed a dazzling silver light and suddenly pinched towards the side of his body.

An invisible being on the side of his body undulated, causing a black snake around the thickness of a finger to unexpectedly appeared out of thin air. It was if it had taken the initiative to deliver itself into Naruto's hand, allowing him to grasp its head whilst its mouth was agape.

That small snake let out a shrill yell, breaking the silence within the area as it struggled. Its body instantly twisted around Naruto's arm, ruthlessly tightening itself onto Naruto's arm.

The powerful strength of the snake caused Naruto to become shocked. Were it not for his corporeal body's strength reaching the level of touching upon the first layer of the shackles of life, perhaps this small snake could struggle free.

At this moment, he forcefully pinched his two fingers, and with a snapping sound, he directly blasted the skull of the small snake into smithereens. The snake could no longer struggle. It could be seen with the naked eye that the body of the small snake had turned into a strand of grey Chakra in the black and white world. It was as thick as an incense stick, and it floated there without scattering.

"So this is the Earth Pulse Qi?" Naruto immediately took out his Dao jar, and after opening it, he absorb the strand of Earth Pulse Qi. It flashed in his hand, causing Naruto to discover that this strand of Earth Pulse Chakra had turned into a drop of grey coloured water within the Dao jar.

"If I want to fill it up, I more or less need one thousand more drops…" Naruto was somewhat speechless as he looked upwards. He estimated that if he stayed within this area, he would need to kill at least one thousand more evil beasts, however, in the areas above* [1], he feared that the number one needed to kill would be even greater. Perhaps it wasn't certain that killing ten thousand beasts would be enough.

"I need to do it as quickly as possible so I can immediately condense the Earth Pulse Qi." Naruto sprinted forward at a terrifying speed in order to look for Evil Beast. He sprinted throughout the entire journey, and three days later, Naruto glanced into his Dao jar, he had accumulated approximately thirty drops of the grey coloured liquid, causing him to furrow his brows.

During these three days, he had killed several tens of evil beasts and had only obtained this much liquid. He felt that this speed was too slow.

"With this speed, I'll need two or more months to be able to condense the Earth Pulse Qi." Naruto clenched his teeth and felt that he should go even deeper in order to obtain better gains. Thus, his body flashed as he moved forward at extreme speeds. After twelve hours, his footsteps suddenly paused. In front of him not too far away, unexpectedly, there were two corpses.

This was the first time that Naruto saw an outsider during these three days. Clearly, the other party had rapidly rushed in after entering, or had a special opportunity to be able to be ahead of Naruto.

One of the two corpses was wearing the clothes of the Spirit Creek Sect, and was an inner sect disciple of the South Bank. The other corpse was wearing the clothes of the Pill Creek Sect. The two people seemed to have mutually killed each other. The hand of that disciple from the Pill Creek Sect still held his Dao jar.

Naruto looked at that dead disciple of the South Bank. He glanced at the dead disciple, recognising him as Zhou Youdao from the inner sect of the Purple Cauldron Mountain, he was also one of the last five people who entered the third crevice. He enthusiastically called him Senior Uncle Ba within the abyss outside the sword and on their journey, they had also fought together to crush the other sects. Naruto never would've thought that he would die here.

This was a feeling that was very hard to describe. Several days ago, they were laughing together, however, when they met each other again, they were already separated forever by the line between life and death. It seemed as if death shrouded this world, turning into a constant pressure reminding Naruto that this place was full of the dangers of death, and if he was even a little bit careless, he would definitely die. Even if he died, he would be used by others as a trap.

Anger filled Naruto's eyes as he tightly clenched his fist. Besides Feng Yan from that year, this was Naruto's first true meaning of seeing a fellow sect member die. He felt sad and sorrowful in his heart. He remembered that Zhou Youdao had once said that his dream was to become the patriarch of the Spirit Creek Sect.

"Cultivation is for an even better life, for your dreams… but why… is there fighting and killing… is this the price for a better life?" Naruto became silent. He could obviously tell with a glance that this was a trap, however, he still chose… to walk over.

It was at this moment when he approached the two corpses that suddenly, bursts of explosions echoed out from the surrounding area. It was as if a pill had exploded, causing its content to spread out and form mist. This extremely poisonous mist spread directly towards Naruto.

At the same time, a flying sword flew amidst this mist, it approached at an extremely terrifying speed which seemed to resemble the speed of lightning. An illusory scorpion twisted around the flying sword, letting out bursts of mournful cries, it was as the sword was crying out instead!

On the other side, several explosive pills which contained impressive power suddenly arrived, causing the sounds of spatial collapse to echo out.

On the left, there was a flying sword; on the right, there were explosive pills. There was also the poisonous mist formation array surrounding the area, turning it into a death arena. If an ordinary person stepped into it, he would undoubtedly die without question.

"Die!" When a cold snort resounded out from within the mist, Naruto's Chakra was submerged within his dantian. His complexion turned gloomy, and the supressed emotions in his heart exploded out like a volcanic eruption.

"It's you who is going to die!" His voice sounded like booming thunder, it even caused an endless gale to rise. It turned to its surroundings, suddenly attacking like it was toppling the mountains and overturning the seas.

His hair flew upwards, his eyes held killing intent, and his aura seemed to shocked the heavens!

Naruto's thunderous voice which carried his sorrows but also carried his anger, echoed out towards the heavens and earth; the loud voice shook the heavens and his attack turned into a series of sonic booms instantly pushing away the poisonous mist that surrounded Naruto, causing it to rapidly drift towards its surroundings.

Within the blink of an eye, the poisonous mist was pushed away ten zhang, causing the flying sword and explosive pills on both sides of Naruto to instantly become exposed. There was a male and female, disciples of the Pill Creek Sect, whose faces were overwhelmed with shock.

That scorpion atop the flying sword let out a mournful screech, and as if it was ink, was instantoy wiped away by Naruto's hand. The sword blade let out cracking sounds and dimmed after losing its spirit power; it trembled as it was directly swept into the distance.

As for the numerous explosive pills, although they had exploded, the power that was contained inside seemed to have been deeply supressed, and unexpectedly, it was unable to detonate in Uzumaki

Naruto's direction. Instead, they all exploded in a different direction.

At this moment, something indistinct seemed to have appeared in the heavens and earth, causing an even more astonishing aura to erupt around Naruto's body. His figure seemed to have grown larger and his voice resounded in all directions.

"Those who have killed the disciples of my Spirit Creek Sect must be killed!"

His words struck as if it was thunder! His words seemed if they could kill!

The surrounding attacks became even stronger, and beneath the explosions, the strength of the gale reached its pinnacle. Perhaps the gale wasn't merely wind, and it also contained Naruto's killing intent! On Naruto's body, the aura formed by the Spirit of Life after comprehending the Water Nation Technique suddenly appeared!

This aura seemed as if it was a huge hand which could topple mountains and overturned seas! So much so that bursts of water vapour formed in the surroundings; the Water Nation Technique… seemed to have descended upon the world as if it were a god!

Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Chapter 146 - Valiant!

The faces of the two disciples from the Pill Creek Sect were deathly pale. Their hair flew up as their clothes wildly danced, even their exposed skin had marks left by deep depressions.

Their terror was such that their souls practically left and scattered*[1], and their panic reached its pinnacle. In the centre of the gale, their bodies resembled a lone boat amidst raging waves, and in an instant, their bodies were pushed with a strength strong enough to topple mountains and overturn seas. Facing this monstrous force, the duo fell back involuntarily, spurting out fresh blood uncontrollably as they retreated.

The female disciple was bleeding from all seven apertures of the head:

the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth; her body seemed to resemble a shuddering sieve. The moment she retreated, her eyes turned bloodshot, and her body was ultimately unable to withstand the crushing force of this imposing power, and unexpectedly, she let out a mournful blood-curdling scream. Instantaneously, her eyeballs raptured, her skull burst, and her body exploded!

Her entire body instantly became a blood mist as it drifted into the distance.

"No!" The male disciple whose entire body was incessantly spurting blood was dumbstruck. It was as if the whole world turned black in a blink of an eye, and he let out a mournful scream. Never in his dreams would he have imagined that the person he provoked would unexpectedly be this much of a ... indescribable person that defies the heavens.

This kind of imposing air, this kind of oppressive power; he had only ever seen it upon the body of a sect elder. Seeing this kind of oppressive power on a Chakra Condensation disciple was unprecedented. Even if it was their sect's strongest Heaven's Chosen, Fang Lin, he too wouldn't be able to do so!

"The information is wrong! The information our sect has on him is completely wrong!"

"Please don't kill me! I..." the male disciple pleaded, crying as his body incessantly trembled. His mind was on the verge of collapse. He didn't want to die; he was extremely afraid and terrified. However, before he could finish speaking, Naruto's figure came close. Naruto headed towards the male disciple with extreme speed, appearing before him in an instant. He then raised his right hand, grasping the neck of the blood-covered youth from the Pill Creek Sect.

"Ah... My Nephew Zhou didn't want to die, I too, do not wish to kill people." Naruto muttered. He was not a person of camaraderie or brotherhood, his heart belonged only to Spirit Creek Sect.

Regardless of what happened, he would always side with Spirit Creek

Sect, because that was his home! *[2]

Naruto's right hand viciously clamped down. A moment later, the sound of an explosion echoed out; the neck of the Pill Creek Sect youth was completely crushed. The disciple's eyes bulged, his legs flailed for an instant, and after a few breaths, he died!

The surroundings slowly quietened, and Naruto loosened his grip; returning to the South Bank disciple's corpse side. He sighed softly.

"Zhou Youdao, I will send you back to the Sect." Naruto said quietly. Once he removed the Dao Bottle, he placed Zhou Youdao's body within the storage pouch; with the rest of his possessions left untouched.

The Pill Creek Sect's disciples, however, had all their possessions looted by Naruto. Eventually when Naruto was a fair distance away, he condensed the grey liquid from the four Dao Bottles. The combined total of the four disciples, compared to the previous amount Naruto alone had, filled up half the Dao Bottle. Likewise, Naruto finally got to look at the intr

oduction that the Pill Creek Sect disciples had on him within the information jade slip

"Spirit Creek Sect's Naruto: suspected to be a genius in the way of medicine, and possibly the person behind Spirit Creek Sect's Turtle medicine symbol. His techniques are unknown and his battle strength is vague; strong at times, other times weak. He is believed to be in possession of many treasures, and suspectedly, Gui Ya conceded in his battle against Naruto to hide his strength, hence, Naruto became number one in the Heaven's Chosen War. Compared to his indistinct battle strength, his medicinal skills are the main focus. When fighting against this person, bring two people to encircle him and attack."

Naruto didn't know how Pill Creek Sect got their information, and after seeing it, he was even more curious about Mysterious Creek Sect's and Blood Creek Sect's information of him. Following this, Naruto turned around and walked away, only staying for a short period of time.

Four hours later, a youth with an expressionless face walked over. This youth was Pill Creek Sect's number one Heaven's Chosen, Fang Lin. The moment he saw the condition of the area, his eyes glimmered as he carefully inspected the place.

Not long after he stood where Naruto bellowed, with eyes closed as if in thought, his expression swiftly changed; when his eyes abruptly opened, he was breathing rapidly.

"So strong!"

"Who was it… Song Que, Gui Ya, or was it Jiu Dao?" Fang Lin sucked in a deep breath, a desire to fight slowly appeared in his eyes. After looking around, his gaze stopped at a particular direction. This direction was the exact same direction that Naruto had left for. Fang Lin's eyes glimmered as he muttered to himself. Unwilling to make contact with Naruto at this moment, he switched to another direction.

After 4 hours, another figure arrived. It was a big man who had thunder and fire encircling his whole body, and his figure was huge and towering. The man stood and inspected the area, and after some time, a spirited look slowly appeared in his eyes whilst his chest heaved.

"It's not Song Que, and it's also not Jiu Dao. Could it be Gui Ya? Damn it! I don't want to provoke any of these three!" This burly man was precisely Mysterious Creek Sect's Lei Shan. He scanned his surroundings and hesitated for a bit. He was unsure in which direction the person who released the terrifying pressure went. Lei Shan clenched his teeth and picked a direction to run towards to.

This direction was exactly the same direction that Naruto left for.

Time passed quickly, and in the span of three days, a large number of people passed through this area. Some people could figure out what happened, and these people were endlessly shocked; there were also others who didn't sense anything and left quickly.

This scene continued until the evening of the third day. Song Que slowly walked over, and his footsteps paused when he walked passed this area. Although most of the marks in this area had dissipated, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Squatting down, he pressed his right hand to the ground. After a long period of time, a spirited look flashed through his eyes.

"This pressure...isn't Jiu Dao's. It isn't Fang Lin's either, and definitely isn't Gui Ya's. In that case, it can only be… Naruto's!"

Song Que narrowed his eyes and his body blurred as he ran into the distance. At the same time, Naruto's speed during these three days within the Sword World was rather fast. Each time he encountered a Earthen Pulse Fiend Beast, he would immediately make a move and collect the Earthen Pulse Qi.

The grey liquid within the Dao Bottle had slowly accumulated. However, the disparity between the current amount and the forming of the Earthen Pulse Chakra Attractor was still far too large. Although the Earthen Pulse Chakra obtained from killing a Fiend Beast here was much greater than previously, almost all of the time and energy which was expended was wasted on scouring the area for Fiend Beasts.

Additionally, the Earthen Pulse Fiend Beasts here seemed to dwell between reality and illusion; they could merge into the nothingness in order to hide their tracks. Everytime he made a move on the Fiend Beasts, they would disappear and reappear at random. Were it not for Naruto's sharp senses, it would be extremely difficult to detect them.

The bodies of the Earthen Pulse Fiend Beasts would only appear from the nothingness whenever he approached them, If he didn't approach them, he would be unable to detect their presence.

"I need to think of a way. It'd be best if I could draw all of the Earthen Pulse Fiend Beasts over here. If not, it'd truly be too slow if this continues. Even if I attacked the disciples of the other sects, although I'll obtain their Earthen Pulse Qi, it would still be too slow." Naruto muttered to himself. Suddenly, his body paused; a whooshing sound echoed out from the space in front of him as a scaly claw appeared, grabbing only empty space as it missed. The moment it was about to withdraw, Naruto's right hand swiftly moved and grasped the beast claw.

He fiercely pulled it, causing a crashing sound that resembled the sound of a mirror shattering to echo out. An enormous monkey-like Earthen Pulse Fiend Beast- over a zhang tall- was directly pulled out from the nothingness by Naruto.

(TL note: 1 Zhang = 10 feet = around 3m)

The monkey had no hair on its body. Instead, its entire body was covered in black scales. The moment it was dragged out of nothingness by Naruto, it immediately let out a low roar. A hint of viciousness appeared within its eyes, and it seemed to have little intelligence. Naruto's eyes glimmered as the monkey whirled and continued to pounce at Naruto. He immediately raised his left hand and grasped the neck of the monkey. However, Naruto didn't break its neck as he usually did. Instead, he brought it in front of him and carefully examined it. After doing so, a strange glint appeared in his eyes.

"If I could create a spirit medicine which can attract and gather the

Fiend Beasts to this area, then it could solve all my problems and allow me to use the quickest possible speed to directly complete the Earthen Pulse Chakra Attractor. This speed… would be even quicker than snatching it from other people."

Naruto's eyes brightened as he thought of this. After looking around, he lifted the struggling monkey as he directly headed towards a valley in front of him.

Within the valley, he found a hidden location. As he looked towards the Fiend Beast in his hands, Naruto's gaze made the unintelligent and seemingly vicious Fiend Beast tremble for a moment. His gaze was incomparably sharp, as if it could penetrate through the body of the Fiend Beast and see through the entire structure of its body.

However, this didn't mean that Naruto was actually able to do it. Instead, his current self had already turned the Fiend Beast into a guinea pig, similar to his research of the snakes when he was in the Thousand Snakes Valley some time ago. If he wanted to create a spirit medicine that was especially effective towards a type of vicious beast, he would have to thoroughly understand the body structure of the Fiend Beast.

Naruto's gaze turned fiery as he patted his storage pouch with his right hand. Instantly, a flying sword appeared within his hand. Naruto gently slashed the chest of the Fiend Beast with an obsessed expression, and as soon as he split it open, he started his research.

A day later, both of Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot as he muttered to himself.

"The body structure of this Fiend Beast isn't very different from vicious beasts. They both have five viscera and six bowels [3], and the Fiend Beasts has blood as well...however, the instant the Fiend Beast died, all of this will dissipate and turn into Earthen Pulse Qi".

"However, the body of the Earthen Fiend Beast contains no food... do they not need to eat?" Naruto quickly caught another Earthen Pulse Fiend Beast as he muttered to himself. He started his research once more.

After several days, more and more disciples from the four sects gradually appeared in the area, although it was already the lower half of the Sword World. During the time these disciples were either killing other people to snatch Dao Bottles or killing Fiend Beasts while running about, Naruto had already conducted research on more than ten Fiend Beasts. The redness in his eyes had gradually increased, and his hair had already become disheveled. Altogether, he seemed slightly mad.

"Their eyes degenerate, and their sense of smell becomes ineffective. However, their senses are still sharp… How do they merge into the nothingness? How were they transformed by the Earthen Pulse Qi? Why do they want to kill cultivators?" Naruto was already immersed in the state of medicine refining. As he muttered to himself, he pondered about many questions. During this journey, all the Earthen Pulse Fiend Beasts that he had encountered took the initiative to kill him. The bloodthirstiness of the Fiend Beasts were particularly obvious.

"Hmm?" Naruto's heart started to race. He felt as if he had caught onto something important. Naruto suddenly raised his head and hastily continued forward. He wanted to find another Fiend Beast to verify his conjectures.

Finding another Fiend Beast didn't take a long time. Impressively, a three zhang tall Earthen Huge Bear was standing in front of Naruto; its body was full of black scales. The Earthen Huge Bear seemed to have ferociously swallowed one of the surrounding five disciples that were trying to siege it.

The people who were besieging this beast were all wearing bloodcoloured Changpaos *[4]. They were all disciples of the Blood Creek Sect, and at this moment, they were all filled with killing intent. Even though their comrade had died, they payed no attention to it and continued attacking.

Naruto's eyes brightened as he gazed at the scene from a distance away. His body turned into a rainbow as he instantly approached. In the instant when the four disciples of the Blood Creek Sect were about to continue their attacks, Naruto's figure had already appeared before the four people. He instantly raised his right hand and slammed it towards the huge bear.

The surrounding disciples of the Blood Creek Sect were stunned. Although they didn't immediately recognise Naruto, they noticed the clothes on Naruto which signified his position as a disciple of the Spirit Creek Sect. They gave Naruto a mocking gaze as a sneer appeared at the corner of their mouths. As they fought the huge bear, they clearly understood that the Earthen Pulse Beasts within this area were somewhat special and the power of their fleshy bodies were terrifying.

Sponsored chapter of the week, special thanks to Tennyson Lu, Arien Freymuth and Christian J Wilkes for sponsoring the chapter. We currently owe 20 chapters, however, our translator has returned. As stated before, we will remain at 3 chapters a week until we catch up. We will start to speed up in the next week or two. Sorry for any inconveniences.

Join Us at our ATTE discord server: /4VyB4WV

Translator: Sean, Ayu

TLCed by: Sliver

Editors: MantouInv, Ayu Footnotes:

1: A direct translation would be "Practically their spirit/soul left and scattered." It is an idiom meaning one is terrified out of their minds, and are absolutely terror-stricken.

2: "Home" here is used in the same way as a Country to its countrymen. Kind of like patriotic sentiments, but to his Sect.

3: In Chinese medicine, the internal organs in a human body can be classified into five viscera organs (Wu Zang) and six bowel organs (Liu Fu).

( ) 4: Traditional Chinese clothes worn by men. Female version is Qipao.

Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Chapter 147 A Strange Pill is Born！

"Impudent!"

"The Spirit Creek Sect are a bunch of arrogant contemporaries. This is a

Middle Grade Fiend Beast, and it is far superior to the other Low Grade

Fiend Beasts. This person is courting death!" The four surrounding Blood Creek Sect disciples sneered one after the other. They could imagine what would happen next; without a doubt, the Fiend Beast would rip alive the body of this Spirit Creek Sect disciple into shreds.

However, it was in this instant that sneers appeared on the faces of these four people. Then suddenly, their whole bodies violently shuddered. They widened their eyes and revealed an expression of disbelief and shock.

In their eyes Naruto with his dishevelled hair, raised his right hand. In that instant he pressed his hand towards the gigantic bear, this huge bear roared and let out bursts of frightening snarls. The huge bear suddenly raised its head, as though it wanted to ram into Naruto's arm, waiting to strike Naruto's body along with his arm into a pulp of flesh.

However, it was in this instant that the bear's head touched Naruto's hand that this huge bear's body seemed as though it had been pushed down by a mountain with a loud bang, actually not having any resistive power. With a loud bang, the huge bear had actually been pressed to the ground by Naruto's right hand which was pressing against its throat.

A huge sound rang out from the whole of the earth and quakes as well as fluctuations appeared. Each and every single one of the four Blood Creek Sect disciples in the surroundings inhaled deeply as they found it difficult to believe everything that they had just seen.

"This…"

"How can this be!"

"His strength is actually so enormous!"

The four of them swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but they were not willing to just leave like that. They looked at each other once and were somewhat hesitant. In this instance that they hesitated, Naruto's actions trembled the minds of these four people once more.

Naruto simply did not pay any attention to these four Blood Creek Sect disciples beside him. In this moment, he had already completely immersed himself in his research. When he raised his left hand, a flying sword appeared and had actually cut open the fiendish beast's arm in front of the four Blood Creek Sect disciples. Naruto was as the same as before when researching, attentively looking at the arm after pushing them aside.

Fresh blood was shed and they turned into bursts of Earthen Pulse Qi.

When that fiendish beast's blood-curdling screech echoed out, Naruto seemed to feel that it was noisy and conveniently cut the fiendish beast's neck with a flick of the knife. When the sound spontaneously came to an end, the eyes of the four Blood Creek Sect disciples in the surrounding immediately protruded out of their sockets. Their bodies were trembling as they simultaneously retreated. When they looked towards Naruto, they actually revealed a revered expression on their faces.

Naruto was not aware of that in the slightest. Very quickly, that whole fiendish beast's corpse had been directly separated by Naruto in half an incense's worth of time, turning into neatly cut up pieces of meat. Even though they were all rapidly disappearing, these scenes made those four Blood Creek Sect disciples feel as though their scalps were about to explode open.

"He… Is it that he has a grudge with the fiendish beast or is it that he likes behaving this way every time he encounters an opponent? My goodness, he is more frightening than our Blood Creek Sec

t!"

"It must be a special hobby of his…"

"He is…Naruto!" Amongst the four of them, after one of them quickly took out their jade slip and identified who Naruto was, the complexion on his face gravely changed. Once the three words, Naruto, left his mouth, the other three people also inhaled deeply. There was no longer any hesitation left between one another as they rapidly retreated. They fled in a flash, disregarding everything.

After a long time, Naruto's eyes revealed excitement. His inhaled deeply and stood up with enthusiasm, walking about here and there as he waved his hand in the air from time to time.

"I now understand. These fiendish beast and fearful beasts may look alike, but they are essentially different. To them, spiritual Chakra is like a huge supplementing item, similarly just like how the Earthen Pulse Chakra can help Foundation Establishment cultivators! Therefore, that disciple that had been swallowed had actually disappeared without a trace and been completely engulfed in a flash…"

"Haha, I will definitely be able to refine my medicine pill!" Naruto raised his head and looked up at the sky, loudly laughed out. He looked around at his surroundings, bearing some astonishment at the bottom of his heart. He remembered that there seemed to be a few other people here just now, but in this moment, there actually was not a single person left.

Shaking his head, Naruto's body swayed and he immediately dashed into the distance. After finding a cave, he retrieved a flint and started refining medicine. He had created a pill recipe in his mind. Now, he started to refine pills according to the pill recipe as well as his understanding towards the fiendish beasts in these few days.

Other than medicinal herbs, he also added a few drops of his own blood. Even then, he still felt that it was not enough, also adding a few mutually neutralising items. According to his understanding, he finally mixed them all together.

During the medicine refinement this time, when it had been carried out for four hours, a loud rumbling round came from the pill furnace. After the rumbling gradually dissipated, a medicine pill appeared. Naruto quickly picked up the medicine pill and went out to search for fiendish beasts. Not long after, he had found one and under his experimentation, he found out that this medicine pill did not have any attractions towards the fiendish beast and was immediately disappointed.

"Something is wrong. Where exactly did the problem come from?" Naruto was racking his brain, deep in thought. In the following days, he was once again immersed in searching for fiendish beasts. In his life of researching fiendish beasts, more than twenty days had already passed very quickly by from the time when the Meteoric Sword Abyss had opened up.

In these twenty days, it seemed as though the overwhelming majority of the disciples from the four sects had arrived at the depths of the Inner Sword World. At the same time that they were killing fiendish beasts in different regions, they were also engaging in hand-to-hand combat with one another.

The Blood Creek Sect disciples were the strongest in terms of strength and were especially savage. The Mysterious Creek Sect and Spirit Creek Sect were evenly matched adversaries, whereas the Pill Creek Sect was the weakest with the least amount of people.

Similarly, there were also battles that occurred between the Heaven's Chosens who were recorded in each of the four great sect's source of information. The most well-known battle was the battle between Gui Ya and the Mysterious Creek Sect's Jiu Dao. That battle had gone on for a full day. Rumbling sounds echoed throughout and was world-shaking. In the end, Qiu Dao was defeated and he fled, sustaining serious injuries. Gui Ya had ascended to the peak with this one battle and was proclaimed as the person that could battle with Song Que.

At the same time, Gongsun Wan-er and Itachi had also engaged in multiple hand-to-hand combats. They each had their own victories and defeats, yet they were still unable to kill one another.

Shangguan Tianyou on the other hand was also splendidly glorious in the Meteoric Sword Abyss trial this time. He had actually encountered the Pill Creek Sect's Number One Heaven's Chosen, Fang Lin, the first time he killed the fiendish beast. The two were evenly matched adversaries and it was difficult to determine the outcome of the battle.

The Blood Creek Sect's Song Que appeared and disappeared unpredictably. He did not make his move, and there were very few people who saw him. However, the other person from the Blood Creek Sect who was in the Spirit Creek Sect's source of information, Xu Xiaoshan, had also established an extremely large reputation for himself in this Sword Body World.

This person had so many magical treasures that it enrage/pissed off others. Everytime he attacked, it seemed as though the whole sky was filled with magical treasures, causing everyone who battled with him to view it to the point where their scalps were numb.

Yet, the person who was proclaimed as the dark horse this time amongst the disciples within the four sects was… the Spirit Creek Sect's Kiba. That person practically was not much introduced in the information that was in the jade slip of the other three sects. He was only viewed as an ordinary Heaven's Chosen. However, no one would have thought that a huge battle would ensue a few days prior to encountering the Mysterious Creek Sect's Lei Shan.

He was actually an evenly matched adversary with Lei Shan in this battle. Kiba's reputation suddenly spread everywhere. It needs to be noted that Lei Shan is indeed the Mysterious Creek Sect's ranked second Heaven's Chosen. Other than Jiu Dao, the number of people who could battle with Lei Shan in this generation of Mysterious Creek Sect disciples could be counted on the fingers.

Moreover, before this, only Kiba from the Spirit Creek Sect's

Heaven's Chosen had actually accomplish such a feat and this surprised many people.

Other than the coquettish friction and attacks respectively lead by these powerhouses within the Heaven's Chosen, the close quarter combats between the other disciples in these more than twenty days were similarly tragic. There would be people dying every single days. Even more so, there were even some that were unlucky and had been sucked into dried humans while they were still alive after encountering the fiendish beasts that occupied this region.

Similarly, under this intense close quarter combat as well as the fight over the Earthen Pulse Qi, all of the disciples who had survived had accumulated somewhat varying amounts of Earthen Pulse Chakra in their hands. In the end, as the Earthen Pulse fiendish beasts had to be in proximity to be visible, it was very difficult to find Earthen Pulse Qi. Therefore, the real close quarter combats was in the process of slowly beginning!

Regardless of whether they acted together or whether it was a trap; or if it was a powerful attack, all kinds of methods were carried out. The whole of the Meteoric Sword Abyss World was currently rapidly turning into a huge mess.

Everyone seemed to have reddened eyes, killing their enemy in order to forcibly take the Earthen Pulse Chakra away, using their quickest speed to form the Earthen Pulse Chakra Attraction. All of them did not want to become that last batch and all wanted to become the first batch!

It was under this intensity that Naruto had also sensed that the whole world was filled with murderous auras. His silhouette did not appear often as he was researching and refining medicine most of the time. However, in these few times where he appeared, he had seen seventeen corpses that belonged to Spirit Creek Sect disciples.

Everytime he encountered such a corpse, he would collect the corpse without saying a word. He wanted to bring them back to the sect.

Even if he was going outside to search for fiendish beasts, he would also launch his full speed, frequently carrying out his objectives like lightning. After he immediately grabbed ahold of a fiendish beast, he would drag it away and leave, starting his research after which he would then refine medicine once more.

Under this unconscious state, the grey coloured Earthen Pulse liquid inside his Dao bottle had already accumulated to about three folds of the original. However, the matter that he paid more attention to was the refinement of his own spirit medicine.

Until now, he had already failed tens of times even to the point of failing five or six times in a day. However, the more he failed, the more Naruto did not give up. He already understood the fiendish beast's body like the back of his hand and was also well acquainted with the fiendish beast's structure in his heart. So much so that he who had once sunk into a crazy state had personally experienced how the fiendish beast killed cultivators for a moment.

When he felt that that was not an attack on the flesh, rather it was a kind of opportunity to live by engulfing oneself, all of the experience that he had accumulated all these days exploded. He chose a remote cave and cultivated with reddened eyes.

This time, he had refined for as long as five days. In these five days, he did not take a single step outside. In these five days, he had failed tens of times. Finally, when dusk fell on the fifth day, when the sky was a dusky panorama while many regions in this world are fighting at close quarters, the pill furnace in front of Naruto let out a tremendous explosive sound like the sudden clap of thunder. In the instance when this sound rang out, the explosive sound even spread to half of the Meteoric Sword World.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

This sound continuously echoed as if the heavenly thunder that split the heavens and earth apart had exploded. Even a field of black clouds had appeared in mid air outside of Naruto's cave dwelling and was currently intensely rolling about. Within the black clouds, wisps of white gas that were curled up could actually be faintly seen!

In this half Meteoric Sword World, all of the disciples from the four sects all paused for a moment and simultaneously looked in the direction that Naruto was at.

Gui Ya was currently speeding along. After he heard this noise, both his eyes flashed.

At another place, Song Que was currently attentively examining an unremarkable stone wall. When he heard this noise, he too was stunned for a moment.

"What is this commotion?"

"The most valuable treasure is born!" In this moment, the Blood Creek Sect's Xu Xiaoshan eyeballs were bulging out. He was breathing rapidly and accelerated as he sped along.

Additionally, the Mysterious Creek Sect's Lei Shan was not especially far away from there. He clearly had the same thoughts as Xu Xiaoshan. In this moment, his eyes revealed excitement and curiosity as his speed was even faster.

This thunder and strange occurrence not only attracted cultivators, but also… fiendish beasts!

Even more so, this attracted… In the Meteoric Blade World, the most mysterious and incomparably strange… fiendish soul!

Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Chapter 148: Come Play With Me, Big Bro

In the half of the Fallen Sword World that was affected, countless areas began to distort and twist. It seemed as though countless slumbering banebeasts within the air itself were suddenly being awoken by the crashing of thunder. Somehow, they could sense Naruto's spirit medicine, and trembled, slowly opening their eyes.

Although there were disciples from the four sects in some of the areas where the banebeasts began to wake up, most of the areas were devoid of cultivators. As soon as the banebeasts opened their vicious eyes, they looked in Naruto's direction, radiating greed and madness. Moments later, countless howls ripped through the air.

Ripples spread out through the Fallen Sword World like waves on water, stirring the banebeasts, which began to rush at top speed through the air.

However, what was more shocking than the banebeasts was what happened in certain locations where the banebeasts didn't dare to enter. There, numerous shadowy figures began to appear out of thin air.

There were men and women, old and young. The youngest of them all was a little girl in a white dress. Clutched in her arms was a skinless, blood-colored bear. They floated there with blank looks in their eyes, accompanied by various strange beasts that were not native to the lands of Heavenspan.

They were banesouls!

All of the living things which had been killed by this enormous sword during its existence beyond the heavens were affected by earthstrings and transformed into these lifeless souls!

They were bizarre and enigmatic to the extreme, and apparently, were not people of the lands of Heavenspan. They had come from the legendary region beyond the heavens, the location of that which was eternal!

Now they were scattered about through the various remote regions of the Fallen Sword World, in places where the banebeasts didn't dare to even approach.

As of this moment, numerous such figures were stepping out of thin air to appear in the open. Some of them wore ancient robes, some wore battle armor, and some had skin made of scales instead of flesh. They looked strange; most of them badly mutilated, as if from combat wounds. Some had missing arms, some were partially decapitated, some had gaping wounds in their torsos. As they appeared, black mist pulsed out from them in all directions.

All of the banesouls had blank expressions. They had no consciousness, nor any memories. Anywhere they passed, the banebeasts would be left trembling, and would simply cower as they went by. Any banebeast which was unlucky enough to actually be touched by one of the banesouls would instantly be destroyed and vanish into nothing.

The banesouls that had the shape of beasts were particularly bizarre, as if they had been pieced together from parts of different creatures!

The banesouls began to float through the air, picking up speed until they were moving unbelievably quickly. Nothing could block their path as they headed straight toward Naruto!

Vast numbers of them were converging upon him from all directions!

As they passed along, some of the disciples from the four sects realized that something strange was happening. They saw the air rippling as countless banebeasts appeared, and at first, many of the ecstatic disciples rushed forward to try to kill them. But soon, their scalps began to tingle as they realized that there were far too many, hordes of them, like a tide of banebeasts!

"What's going on?!"

"Heavens! The banebeasts are usually so hard to find. Why are there so many of them all of a sudden!?"

"Something must have happened. Dammit! That's not a banebeast, that's a banesoul!" Cries of astonishment began to ring out all over the Fallen Sword World. As soon as the discip

les realized that there were banesouls flying among the banebeasts, they began to flee.

The banesouls were terrifying, and the elders of the Four Great Sects had repeatedly warned all of their disciples about their existence within the Fallen Sword Abyss. Under no circumstances were the banesouls to be provoked! They were to be avoided at all costs!

"Even the banesouls are attracted to whatever is in that direction. Just what exactly is happening over there!?"

"Let's follow from a distance and check it out!" The disciples began to follow the tide of banebeasts and banesouls, either alone or in groups of between three to five.

By this point, half of the entire Fallen Sword World was being utterly shaken by the nine volleys of thunder created by Naruto's spirit medicine.

Within the mountain cave, Naruto sat there looking a bit gaunt, his hair disheveled as he stared at the pill furnace. With every rumbling boom, more cracks would spread out across the surface of the furnace.

After the ninth boom, the pill furnace suddenly trembled violently and then exploded, sending fragments shooting out in all directions. At the same time, four beams of mysterious black light emerged.

Naruto had been prepared for just such a thing to occur. He instantly unleashed the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, creating an invisible field of control in the area that enabled him to quickly secure the four spirit medicines which had been trying to escape.

"Think you can get away?" he said with a proud harumph. Looking down at the four medicinal pills with shining eyes, he hurried toward the mouth of cave to see if they would work on the banebeasts.

However, the instant he emerged, his expression flickered, and he took a step back, just avoiding a black scorpion tail which slashed through the air in the spot where he had just been standing.

A moment later, a three-meter-long black scorpion materialized out of thin air, its eyes burning with madness and greed as it stared at the four medicinal pills in Naruto's hand. Then, it lunged forward.

Considering the ferocity of its movements, it didn't appear to be a lowlevel banebeast. It was a mid-level beast, much like the bear from earlier.

Eyes glittering, Naruto reached out with this left hand, moving like lightning as he grabbed the scorpion's tail. Then he smashed it against the stone wall of the cave. At the same time, he sent some spiritual power into the scorpion's body, to its weakest spot, which he crushed. The scorpion twitched, and then went limp and began to fade away, transforming into earthstring energy that Naruto quickly collected up.

An ordinary cultivator would never be able to deal with a mid-level banebeast so easily, which was why the Senior members of the sect had warned the disciples about them. Naruto was different, though. After studying nearly a hundred banebeasts, he was very familiar with their weaknesses, and could kill them easily.

"The pills just came out of the furnace and they're already attracting the attention of banebeasts. Hahaha! Naruto's medicinal pills are a success!" Naruto was excitedly contemplating whether or not to perform a spirit enhancement on the pills, when suddenly, numerous ripples began to spread out in the area as one banebeast after another appeared.

"So many! Alright, that's more than enough. Hahaha! At this rate, Uzumaki

Naruto is definitely going to be the first to reach Foundation

Establishment!"

Naruto was so excited he almost started dancing in place. Just as he was about to reap his bountiful harvest, his expression flickered, and his eyes went wide as he noticed a partially decapitated figure off in the distance. He wore a long gray robe, and the one eye that remained on his face had a blank expression. He floated along through the air, his head twitching a bit. Eventually, he laid eyes on Naruto, and suddenly, his expression changed.

He suddenly seemed to be filled with longing. Eyes locked onto Naruto, or more specifically, the medicinal pills in his hand, he began to speed forward.

The banebeasts in the area all trembled at the sight of him, and didn't dare to even move. As the figure sped along, he hit seven or eight banebeasts in the process, causing them to shriek and then explode.

"A banesoul?! The pills even attract them? Well, at least it's only one of– huh?" Before he could finish speaking, another banesoul appeared further off in the distance. This one was missing its arms, and had wildly disheveled hair. It wore a set of dilapidated armor, and was also staring longingly at Naruto as it sped toward him.

Things weren't over yet. An old man appeared off in the distance, with a huge, gaping wound in his abdomen. He too began to head directly toward Naruto.

Naruto's scalp began to tingle with fear. Taking a deep breath, he took a step as if to flee, only to find to his shock that there weren't just three or four or five banesouls in the area, there was an entire horde!

Ripples filled the area as numerous banesouls appeared in quick succession, their eyes gleaming with longing. Naruto's face drained of blood as he contemplated what it would feel like to be ripped to pieces.

"How could this be happening?!" He wanted to cry, but no tears would come at the moment. His first thought was to flee. He had no desire to face so many banesouls. Even members of the Senior generation of the four sects would likely perish at the hands of these banesouls, much less the Chakra Condensation disciples.

However, in the moment that Naruto made to flee, the banesouls all looked at him and screamed. The power within their voices caused the banebeasts to tremble even harder. A tremor ran through Naruto, and he teetered on the verge of unconsciousness as he staggered backward. It felt like he had just been hit with a hammer; blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he began to tremble in fear. Screaming, he bit his tongue, using the pain to stay awake as he took to flight.

Cold sweat broke out all over him as wings appeared behind the black wok on his back. With that, he unleashed all the speed he could muster, transforming into a series of afterimages that shot off into the distance. However, the flying banesouls also increased their speed.

In the blink of an eye, the dozens of nearby banesouls all took to flight in pursuit of Naruto.

One of the fastest banesouls was the partially decapitated one that had appeared first. However, in addition to that one, there was a girl in a white dress. Although she didn't scream like the others, her face was especially cold and sinister, and her blank eyes glimmered with intense longing.

When the disciples of the four sects who had been following along saw what was happening, their scalps tingled with shock. That was especially true of the Spirit Stream Sect disciples. Some of them anxiously tried to get the banesouls to stop chasing Naruto, but the banesouls were completely and utterly focused, and ignored everything else but him.

"Help! They're trying to kill me!" Naruto fled for his life, screaming at the top of his lungs. Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes; never could he have imagined that the medicinal pills he had concocted to attract banebeasts would, for some unknown reason, drag banesouls into the picture. "Dammit! I must have made a mistake in my concocting and produced another strange pill!"

The banesouls were getting closer and closer, and seemed to be devolving further into madness as they chased him. Naruto finally gritted his teeth and, heart aching, tossed one of the four medicinal pills far off into the distance.

In that instant, the banesouls shivered, and their heads swiveled. Then, most of them shot off after the medicinal pill he'd just thrown. Naruto was finally able to truly flee. Some distance away, he looked over his shoulder, shivering.

Behind him, the banesouls were fighting over the medicinal pill. Shockingly, the one who ended up getting the pill in the end was the girl in the white dress, who tossed the pill into her mouth as soon as she wrested control of it.

In that instant, the blankness in the girl's eyes faded a bit. A strange glow appeared, and her expression turned even more icy. For some reason, she suddenly seemed to possess intelligence!

Slowly, the girl turned to look at Naruto.

When their eyes met, Naruto's scalp started tingling so hard it felt like it was going to explode. At the same moment, a faint, bizarre voice was transmitted into his ear.

"Come play with me, big bro." All the hair on Naruto's body stood on end. Turning around, he fled as fast as he could.

—

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	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 149 Chapter 149

Chapter 149: Whether Sect Uncle Uzumaki Wants It To Or Not

"That's not a banesoul, that's an evil ghost!" Heart pounding with fear, Naruto fled at top speed. Moments ago, when his gaze met the young girl's, he had instantly been filled with a sensation of deadly crisis. The feeling had been so intense that it felt like every inch of his flesh and every drop of his blood was screaming in terror.

He was filled with the premonition that if he ran any slower, he would die!

That deathly feeling left him shaking visibly, panting, his eyes bloodshot as he pushed forward faster and faster, flying ever deeper into the depths of the Fallen Sword World.

The next day, he looked over his shoulder to confirm that he wasn't being chased by any banesouls, especially the little girl. When he saw that he was alone, he let out a long sigh of relief. However, fear still lingered in his heart regarding the events of the previous day.

"Something was really fishy about that girl in the white dress!" he thought, scowling miserably. "At first she looked like all the other banesouls, but after she ate that strange pill, her aura completely changed! Just where exactly did I go wrong with that batch of pills?"

He thought about giving up on the idea, but the truth was that his medicinal pill had attracted the banebeasts. In the end, he couldn't just give up that easily. Gritting his teeth, he went out to find more banebeasts to research. At the same time, he studied the medicine formula he had used. Three days later, after making some adjustments, he steeled himself and once again pulled out a pill furnace to start concocting.

This time, there wasn't any thunder, nor any other strange signs. Four violet medicinal pills appeared, which he carefully took outside to test, preparing ahead of time for what to do if banesouls showed up.

Soon, ripples filled the area as one banebeast after another appeared. However, Naruto didn't dare to make a move on them. He flew away at top speed, and then studied the area carefully.

Before long, the medicinal pill had attracted over twenty banebeasts, and not a single banesoul had appeared. Finally, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, and even started to get excited.

"It worked!" he exclaimed, laughing loudly. As he removed the paper talismans he had stuck all over himself, the glow of the shields faded, and he hurried over to the banebeasts. Soon, his wooden sword transformed into flashing beams of light as the fighting began.

One banebeast after another fell in death, and Naruto's eyes shone with wild delight as the streams of earthstring energy flew into his Dao bottle.

After slaughtering the entire group, he looked in satisfaction at the gray liquid inside the bottle. In a very short moment, he had added more liquid into the bottle than he had in the past several days.

Taking a deep breath, he headed to another area. There, he threw out another medicinal pill and sure enough, banebeasts began to flock to the area. Laughing heartily, Naruto immediately began to cut them down.

Time passed. Because of the medicinal pills, the gray liquid in Uzumaki

Naruto's Dao bottle continued to build up at a shocking rate. Now he was collecting earthstring energy far more quickly than anyone else. A few days later, it had been a full month since Naruto entered the Fallen Sword World. As for his Dao bottle, it was now eighty percent full of earthstring energy.

"Only twenty percent to go!" he thought, more excited than ever. He wasn't sure how others were faring in their collection efforts, but he doubted many of them had surpassed him.

However, being the perfectionist that he was, he decided that the best thing would be to fill ten percent in a si

ngle shot!

"I need more banebeasts!" Licking his lips, he headed further down into the Fallen Sword World until he found a wide-open plain. There, he took a deep breath and then pulled out two medicinal pills. Hoping to attract even more banebeasts than before, he crushed the pills and then scattered them around.

It didn't take long before the air rippled as numerous banebeasts appeared. Naruto immediately began to attack them, causing rumbling booms to fill the area. Every banebeast he slew caused earthstring energy to stream into his Dao bottle.

Because of how he had crushed the pills, and also because of the favorable position he had chosen, which was close to the deepest parts of the Fallen Sword World, there were plenty of slumbering banebeasts in the area.

Soon, it wasn't a group of dozens that was converging on the area, it was closer to a hundred. Almost all of them were mid-level, with a few here and there that were high-level, the type that would normally require an entire group of Chosen to take down.

Naruto's speed in killing the banebeasts couldn't match the speed with which new ones appeared on the scene. Soon, there were two hundred gathered in the area, and their numbers only continued to grow. Any cultivator who managed to catch sight of such a huge number of banebeasts would go wild with joy.

In fact, some of the disciples of the four sects did notice what was happening, and gathered on the periphery to snag whatever beasts they could. One of them was a young man who attacked with utter ruthlessness, and immediately caused quite a stir among the nearby Pill Stream Sect disciples. Eventually, Naruto noticed him, and recognized him as the number one Chosen from the Pill Stream Sect, Fang Lin!

Naruto wasn't too happy that he had drawn all these banebeasts here only to have other people slaughter and take them. However, considering that he couldn't even keep up with the growing numbers, he simply gave a cold harrumph and then ignored them.

Gradually, a group of over forty cultivators had gathered in the area. It was only at that point that they managed to get on equal footing with the banebeasts. Elated, they began to join forces to make things go even faster.

That was especially true of some of the Spirit Stream Sect disciples. When they got close to Naruto, he made sure to take care of them, ensuring that their harvest was even greater than before.

Naruto excitedly watched the earthstring liquid building up in his Dao bottle. Soon, it was ninety percent full. However, it was at that exact moment that more than ten beams of light suddenly appeared up in the air.

They wore matching robes, those of the Profound Stream Sect, and leading them was a burly man surrounded by swirling electricity.

The surrounding disciples' faces flickered, except for Fang Lin's. He simply continued to slaughter the banebeasts, not even bothering to look over.

"Lei Shan!"

"The number two Chosen of the Profound Stream Sect! Dammit! If he came by himself it might not be a big deal, but look at how many people he has with him!"

Even as everyone looked on with mixed expressions, Lei Shan glanced out over all the banebeasts, and his eyes lit up with joy. He'd heard from some fellow Profound Stream Sect disciples that a strange tide of banebeasts had appeared, which was why he had hurried over in this direction.

"Only forty percent of my bottle is empty. When it's full, I can form the earthstring capture crystal. I can probably do that by killing all of these banebeasts here!" Lei Shan threw his head back and laughed uproariously. When the Profound Stream Sect disciples at his side realized what he intended to do, one of them, a long-faced young man, chuckled darkly and stepped forward.

"Listen up!" he bellowed to the disciples in the area. "If you're not from the Profound Stream Sect, beat it immediately! This place is our territory now!" The disciples from the other three sects bristled with rage, while the Profound Stream Sect disciples began to laugh as they joined Lei Shan's group. By that point, they were roughly thirty strong.

Under Lei Shan's leadership, the group of thirty prepared drive everyone away, and fight with deadly force against any who resisted. Chaos quickly ensued.

"You have ten breaths of time of time to get the hell out of here, and leave your Dao bottles behind!"

"If you don't want to go, then be prepared to lose your life!" As the Profound Stream Sect disciples glared around them, the Blood Stream Sect disciples exchanged glances and then began to fall back.

Most of the Blood Stream Sect were on their own, like lone wolves, and didn't want to provoke Lei Shan.

The Pill Stream Sect disciples were at a bit of a loss, and had no other choice than to fall back. Lei Shan hesitated for a moment when he realized that Fang Lin was in the crowd. He still suspected that the terrifying magical massacre which had been carried out a month before had been enacted by Fang Lin, and thus, didn't wish to provoke him.

Because of the terrifying nature of the battlefield he had come across, he decided to simply let the Pill Stream Sect disciples leave. As for Fang Lin, he resolved not to do anything to offend him personally.

As the Blood Stream Sect and Pill Stream Sect disciples fled, the Spirit Stream Sect disciples turned to see what Naruto would do.

Naruto was incensed, but the group led by Lei Shan was simply too large. He only had about ten people on his side, and if they got into a fight, he knew that while he might be able to make it out unscathed, they would have a harder time. There would likely be many serious injuries and even deaths.

"Alright, let's go," he said. "It's just a flood of beasts, after all. Your Sect Uncle will go start another one for you!" Gritting his teeth, he was just about to leave when Lei Shan looked over and suddenly laughed.

The Blood Stream Sect disciples were ferocious, and he didn't have any wish to tangle with them. As for Fang Lin from the Pill Stream Sect, he also preferred to steer clear of him. But when it came to the Spirit Stream Sect, once he realized it was Naruto he was dealing with, as well as a few ordinary disciples, he recalled the information from his sect about Naruto, and his expression became one of derision.

"You people from the Spirit Stream Sect can leave," he said, his eyes flickering with killing intent, "but your Dao bottles stay behind! Comply, or don't even think about leaving!" The Spirit Stream Sect disciples' faces fell, and Naruto's anger grew.

"You wanna steal my animals and then rob my Dao bottle? You people are nothing but bullies!"

With a cold snort, Lei Shan began to fly toward the Spirit Stream Sect disciples, joined by the rest of the Profound Stream Sect, who were cackling viciously. "If you're being bullied, you should blame the fact that you don't have any powerful experts on your side!"

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki!"

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki, what do we do now?!" The Spirit Stream Sect disciples were trembling in anxiety, and Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot. Suddenly, he lifted his right hand, within which could be seen a black medicinal pill, the very same pill which could attract banesouls.

Expression somber, eyes bloodshot, he turned to the Spirit Stream Sect disciples and said, "Just wait until I throw out this medicinal pill, and then you guys–"

However, before he could finish speaking, the surrounding Spirit Stream Sect disciples gasped, the terror on their faces vastly exceeding their terror at seeing the Profound Stream Sect closing in. They immediately began to flee at top speed.

"Is that the legendary Aphrodisiac Pill!?"

"Heavens! No wonder he can control the banebeasts!"

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki is a god! The only thing that determines whether that pill works on the banebeasts is whether Sect Uncle Uzumaki wants it to or not! Let's get out of here! If we're too slow, we're dead!"

—

Chapter 150 Chapter 150

Chapter 150: Big Bro Has Something Else To Do….

The Spirit Stream Sect fled in abject terror. The Profound Stream Sect wanted to block their path, but no threat could cause them to tremble like Naruto's medicinal pills could.

Naruto's jaw dropped at the sight of his fellow disciples fleeing in such a fashion. Worried that he had pulled out the wrong pill, he looked down to confirm which pill he was holding. Clearing his throat, he then gave a mighty shout as he launched the pill into the air. It shot up and then exploded, becoming swirling black mist that spread out in all directions.

Lei Shan frowned, and the Profound Stream Sect disciples scattered, worried that the mist might be toxic. As for the banebeasts in the area, as soon as they caught a whiff of the destroyed medicinal pill, their eyes lit up with madness, and they began to howl.

At the same time, Lei Shan's eyes flickered as if with lightning as he watched Naruto attempting to flee at high speed.

Snorting coldly, he said, "Think you can leave just like that? Leave your

Dao bottle behind!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve, causing thunder to boom, shoving the black mist away from him.

Then he shot after Naruto, moving with incredible speed. Lightning danced around him, and flames burned beneath his feet. As he closed in, he waved his right finger through the air. Rumbling could be heard as a sea of flames appeared, which then rose up into a huge wall that blocked Naruto's path. Within the wall of flames, bolts of lightning appeared which then shot toward Naruto.

When the Profound Stream Sect disciples saw this, their eyes glittered with derision. As far as they were concerned, Naruto was dreaming if he thought he could escape from Lei Shan.

"A rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator once chased Elder Brother

Lei Shan for seven days but never caught him. Even Eldest Brother Nine-

Isles praised his speed before."

"And then there's his flame lightning magic. Elder Brother Lei Shan has already reached the pinnacle. Nobody in this generation could possibly match up to him. Naruto is courting death!"

Even as the Profound Stream Sect mocked him, Naruto's anxiety increased. He knew that the banesouls could show up at any moment, and that the best thing to do was leave this place as quickly as possible. Seeing that his path was blocked, his eyes flickered, and he slammed into the incoming bolts of lightning.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

As soon as the lightning bolts made contact with him, they shattered into countless sparks of electricity that scattered in all directions. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't seem to have even a mark on him. He continued on to the wall of flames, and when he hit that, it exploded too, and he passed right through.

"Impossible!" Lei Shan said, his eyes widening with disbelief and shock. He was very familiar with his own magical techniques, and was confident that other than Nine-Isles, Ghostfang, Song Que and Fang Lin, there were no Chakra Condensation disciples who could pass through his flame lightning unharmed.

And yet, unexpectedly, Naruto had done exactly that.

"This guy is–" Before he could finish speaking, an indescribable sensation of deadly crisis washed over him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the air rippling off in the distance as numerous banesouls appeared, rushing in his direction with expressions of longing.

"Banesouls!" he gasped. Just as he was preparing to flee, his heart was struck with deathly terror.

"There are so many! Heavens!" There weren't just three or four banesouls approaching. The air rippled with constant fluctuations as dozens of them closed in, with even mo

re behind them. From the look of it, there might be a hundred in total.

Among the banesouls was a sinister young girl in a white dress, holding a bear. Her eyes swirled with underworldly light, and although her face was expressionless, Lei Shan and the dozens of Profound Stream Sect disciples with him could hear chuckling in their ears.

It was a bizarre, sinister laughter that instantly set their hearts pounding. Further off among the crowd of banebeasts, Fang Lin's eyes went wide, and he began to flee, panting.

Naruto was further off, running for his life. He could also hear the chuckling, and it left his scalp numb with fear. Wings appeared behind the black wok on his back, and he blasted off at top speed.

"Hmph! You think you can just steal my banebeasts? Those are Lord Uzumaki's banebeasts! Nobody can just take them away!" With a cold snort, he pushed forward even faster.

Lei Shan swallowed hard, and his face was totally ashen. Having no time to pay any heed to his fellow disciples in the horde of beasts, he fled.

About this time, the girl in the white dress shot out ahead of the horde of banesouls to be the first to arrive in the area where the medicinal pill

had exploded. There, she took a deep breath, causing the surrounding black mist to be sucked in through her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

At the same time, the surrounding banebeasts began to tremble and then explode, transforming into ash. As for the few dozen Profound Stream Sect disciples, their bodies were completely beyond their own control. White mist began to seep out of their own eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and was sucked away with the black mist by the girl.

"Come play with me, big bros…." she said. No longer was her face expressionless. Her lips twitched into something like a smile, a terrifying smile that would cause any cultivator who saw it to tremble.

Her voice reverberated through the air, matchlessly sinister, echoing out in all directions. The disciples of the Profound Stream Sect felt as if their souls were being ripped out of their bodies. Their flesh and blood withered, and they became like stiff corpses which hopped over to the girl's side, where they began to lurch and dance as if they were playing with her.

Their withered bodies and stiff limbs provided a bizarre scene, and from a distance, Lei Shan and Fang Lin looked on with ashen faces. Hearts trembling, they began to flee in terror.

"What kind of banesoul is that?!"

"The sect's information didn't list anything about banesouls like that. It can even talk! That's impossible!"

Lei Shan and Fang Lin were both shaking as they fled in different directions, resorting to life-saving magics to flee as fast as possible.

The other banesouls around the little girl weren't able to absorb any of the black mist, and soon they calmed down, and began to float aimlessly with blank expressions on their faces.

The little girl stood there in their midst, looking completely bizarre. By now, her eyes were pitch black. Momentarily ignoring the fleeing Lei Shan and Fang Lin, she slowly turned in the direction Naruto had fled in. Then her lips twitched into something that almost looked like a smile, and she flew after Lei Shan.

Deep in the Fallen Sword World, Naruto flew along at top speed for two days before finally slowing down. That little girl in the white dress left him shivering in fear. However, as soon as he thought about how he had filled his Dao bottle by more than ninety percent, he realized that he only needed a bit more earthstring energy to form the earthstring capture crystal. Therefore, he began to carefully use his medicinal pills to attract more banebeasts to collect the last bit of earthstring energy he needed.

Two days later, he had gathered a few dozen banebeasts in a remote location. After slaughtering the entire group, his Dao bottle was completely filled with earthstring energy. The gray liquid began to bubble and boil, and then solidify. Soon, cracking sounds could be heard, and the bottle shattered.

A gray crystal was revealed, which Naruto grabbed. Almost instantly, he felt a connection between himself and the world around him, a resonance that he hadn't felt before. This crystal was like a key that unlocked the barrier between himself and the world.

"It worked!" he exclaimed. He now felt more confident than ever that if he absorbed enough energy, he would be able to reach Foundation Establishment. However, he knew that he shouldn't go about it carelessly; he needed to find a safe place to go through the process. After all, if someone interfered with the process, causing it to fail, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Foundation Establishment. Foundation Establishment! Hahaha!" Suppressing his excitement, he was about to begin his search for a safe location when suddenly, he felt a chill run down his back and up his neck. Without even thinking about it, he looked over his shoulder, and saw a face directly behind him!

It was a little girl's face, her lips twisted into a bizarre smile!

Everything around him was deathly quiet. Naruto's eyes widened, and his hair began to stand on end. The flame of his life force flickered a bit, as his intuition told him that this girl was extremely dangerous!

"Come play with me, big bro," she said in a sinister voice. In that same instant, a cold wind blew past, and Naruto suddenly realized that the girl wasn't holding the skinless, blood-colored bear any more.

She was holding something else, and when Naruto realized what it was, his heart began to pound. It was a tiny cultivator, skinned like the bear had been. Although it wasn't easy to tell at first, it was none other than Lei Shan!

The majestic number two Chosen from the Profound Stream Sect was being held in the arms of this little girl. Clearly, he wasn't dead either! He was trembling from the pain, and his tongue had been removed, making it impossible for him to speak.

Naruto's mouth and throat went dry, and he began to back away, shaking physically. All of a sudden, he realized that he had no idea how long the girl had been following him.

"Um, big bro has something else to do right now," he said, feeling like he was about to cry. "Why don't you go find somebody else to play with? There's a guy named Song Que, and another called Nine-Isles. Oh right. There's also Fang Lin. Y-y-you can go play with them, alright?" However, the girl continued to advance on him, chuckling. As she neared, she suddenly began to breathe in deeply.

Instantly, Naruto's mind began to spin, and he felt his life force stirring, as though it were about to be ripped out of him. At that moment, any other person really would have lost their life force.

But Naruto's fleshly body was powerful. The silver light of the Undying Live Forever Technique flickered in resistance. Naruto let out a piercing shriek as the sensation of imminent death washed over him. Without any hesitation, he pulled out his third strange pill and threw it off into the distance.

In that instant, the girl's eyes flickered with mysterious light. Happily ignoring Naruto, she went off after the medicinal pill.

Face ashen, Naruto took advantage of the moment to flee as fast as he could.

The girl didn't chase him. After retrieving the medicinal pill, she put it in her mouth, and her eyes grew even blacker than before. A bizarre smile appeared on her face as she turned her head to look in the direction Naruto had fled.

—

Chapter 151 Chapter 151

Chapter 151: You Wanna Fight Me, Naruto?!

Two hours later, Naruto was still fleeing, and simultaneously wallowing in self-pity. He already had his earthstring capture crystal, and all he needed was a chance to hole up somewhere and use it, but the little girl wouldn't stop chasing him.

When he thought back to the terror and danger he had just faced, his heart trembled. Around nightfall, he looked around and didn't see anyone in the area. Huffing and puffing, he finally found a cave in a mountain, where he sat down cross-legged. Looking around vigilantly, he was trying to decide if this really was the best place to make his attempt at Foundation Establishment, when suddenly the air in front of him began to ripple.

It lasted only a moment, and almost didn't seem to be something happening with the world around him, but rather, his own eyes. When things returned to normal, someone was standing right there in front of him.

It was none other than the girl in the white dress, staring at him with her black eyes.

"Don't go, big bro. Come play with me…."

Naruto nearly collapsed. Eyes crimson, he performed an incarnation gesture, unleashing spiritual power to form a large violet cauldron which rumbled forward.

Even as the ground quaked, he shot up into the air. When he looked down below, he found that the girl was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, everything from moments ago had been an illusion.

"Dammit!" he growled, expression unsightly. Something about the whole situation seemed strange, and Naruto was starting to speculate that perhaps the bizarre little girl had used some sort of magical technique on him.

No longer in the mood to stay in place, he gritted his teeth and continued onward. After going along for about two hours, he saw three cultivators up ahead, engaged in fierce fighting. Suddenly, he stopped in place.

A moment ago, when he'd caught sight of them, they had been alone. But now, he saw the girl in the white dress. She was staring at him with a slight smile, a smile that grew wider and wider until her mouth opened into a gaping maw as she shot toward him.

Scalp going numb, he unleashed the power of his cultivation base. His right hand clenched into a fist, and the Undying Live Forever Technique erupted out. His fist strike caused everything to shake. However, the girl suddenly vanished, and the three cultivators off in the distance looked on in astonishment as Naruto madly punched a nearby boulder.

When they saw the boulder collapse into rubble, they gasped and took to flight.

Naruto stood there quietly for a moment before gritting his teeth and proceeding along.

During the following two days, he saw the girl in the white dress over and over again. Even when he closed his eyes to meditate, he would see her. He was reaching a point of complete exhaustion.

The situation only continued to grow worse. At first, he would see her every two hours or so. But now, it happened every three hundred breaths of time. At this rate, he would never be able to reach Foundation Establishment.

During the two days which passed, he ran into other disciples, even ones from the Spirit Stream Sect. However, the girl in the white dress would always show up, although no one else saw her.

On evening of the second day, Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot, and he could sense that he was reaching his limit. He even felt as if his life force were beyond his own control, and might float away at any time. He was light-headed, and was so dizzy he felt like he might fall over.

"It's gonna happen again at any moment…." he murmured. Forgetting about fleeing, he sat down on a boulder and clenched his hands into fists. He had one more strange pill left, and yet he d

idn't dare to use it on the girl. For some reason, he had the feeling that the reason he wasn't dead yet was because of that very medicinal pill.

If he threw it out and the girl got it, he might meet the same fate as Lei Shan. The mere thought of that seemed to be a powerful warning to him to not casually concoct pills any more.

"It's like I'm drifting between reality and illusion," he thought. "I guess I could treat it as if I've been poisoned. In that case, maybe I should make an antidote to heal myself!"

Even as he sat thinking about the matter, a beam of light appeared off in the distance. As it drew close to Naruto, it slowed to halt, and a young man appeared.

"Eee?" He was from the Blood Stream Sect, and looked very much like a silkpants. Looking over at Naruto with an excited expression, he looked down at the Feng Shui compass he held in his hand, the needle of which was pointing toward Naruto and glowing with a bright light.

"I can't believe you already collected enough earthstring energy to form an earthstring crystal!

"Hahaha! I guess it's destiny that I, Xu Xiaoshan, will be the first to reach Foundation Establishment!" This young man was none other than Xu Xiaoshan from the Blood Stream Sect, and he was looking at Naruto with visible excitement.

Naruto was already irritated, and based on his calculations, he knew it would only be about ten breaths of time before the girl appeared again. "Mind your own business, asshole!"

"I know you! You're Naruto, the supposed trump card of the Spirit Stream Sect. Well, you're obviously pretty weak right now. The flame of your life force looks like it might flicker out at any moment. That means Xu Xiaoshan has had a good opportunity handed right to him!

"Naruto, I know you have an earthstring capture crystal. How about we work out a deal? Let me use that crystal for a bit, okay? What do you say?" Eyes flickering with greed, Xu Xiaoshan threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Speeding toward Naruto, he performed an incantation gesture, causing eight magical devices to appear around him. Glittering light radiated out as Xu Xiaoshan waved his hand, sending them shooting toward Naruto.

Naruto looked up coldly at Xu Xiaoshan, and was just about to make a move when, all of a sudden, his eyes swam, and the girl in the white dress appeared, standing right next to Xu Xiaoshan. There she was, her smile widening into a gaping maw.

It was at that very moment that Xu Xiaoshan suddenly screamed and backed up as fast as he could. Terror filled his eyes, and he began to tremble violently.

"A sentient banesoul! Heavens! How could there possibly be sentient banesouls here? Weren't they all exterminated? Dammit! That banesoul's got its eye on you. No wonder you look so weak. You've been cursed! You're dead!" Taking a deep breath, he backed up even more, simultaneously lifting his right hand to produce an ancient jade pendant that had an orange spot on it, which almost looked like a blood stain. As soon as Xu Xiaoshan pulled it out, he breathed a sigh of relief and then fell back further.

Down below, Naruto's eyes went wide, and he cried out, "You can see her too?! Hey, what's that thing in your hand!?"

Naruto had just witnessed the girl in the white dress turning to look at Xu Xiaoshan. However, as soon as Xu Xiaoshan took out the jade piece, the girl's expression flickered, and she fled in the opposite direction.

Xu Xiaoshan didn't bother to respond to Naruto, and instead focused on fleeing as quickly as possible. However, before he could get very far, Naruto snapped into motion. His wings appeared behind him, and he shot forward to appear directly in front of Xu Xiaoshan, where he clenched his fist as if to unleash a punch.

"Xu Xiaoshan! How about we work out a deal? Why don't you let me use that jade piece for a bit? What do you say?"

Hands flashing with an incantation gesture, Xu Xiaoshan summoned eight magical items, which he sent to defend himself. "You're lucky I didn't take your stuff. How dare you try to rob me! You're cursed, hanging on death's door! What gives you the guts to make a move?!"

Silver light flickered around Naruto as his fist made contact with Xu Xiaoshan's magical items.

A huge boom echoed out, and the magical items cracked into pieces. Naruto was like a gale force wind speeding directly toward the shocked Xu Xiaoshan. Xu Xiaoshan viciously waved his hand, sending his beaded bracelet off of his wrist. Instantly, it transformed into eighteen corpses, each one of which emanated power equivalent to the great circle of the tenth level of Chakra Condensation. Bursting with auras of death, they simultaneously attacked.

This was Naruto's first time seeing corpse manipulation magic like this. Shockingly, all of these corpses had long gray hair that was black at the roots, as though the hair were slowly turning black. 1

Each and every one seemed completely extraordinary.

A massive boom echoed out as the big wok on Naruto's back shattered. However, he received no injuries whatsoever. Instead, his hands waved through the air as a shocking control power appeared, filling the area, grabbing ahold of the corpses and making it impossible for them to move. They even began to tremble and emit cracking sounds.

Xu Xiaoshan made a hissing sound as both of his hands waved through the air.

His left hand summoned nine bronze coffins. As they flew out, they grew large and larger, emanating intense pressure onto Naruto.

His right hand caused a bottle gourd to appear, which spit out a huge blast of gravel toward Naruto.

Next, he swung his head, causing his hair to flip out. Several small bells flew into the air, which transformed into shadowy figures that sped toward Naruto.

Most shocking of all was that he next opened his mouth and spat out a blood-colored fan. The fan waved through the air, causing a 300-meter wide blood mist to spring up. It instantly transformed into a spell formation, which emanated intense roaring sounds as countless razorsharp talons appeared and headed toward Naruto.

"I have magical items and refined corpses! You wanna fight me, Naruto?!" Laughing complacently, Xu Xiaoshan slapped his bag of holding to produce more than twenty bottles of high quality medicinal pills, which he swallowed in rapid succession, instantly restoring all of the spiritual energy he had just spent. If there had been a third person present to witness what was happening, that person would have been completely flabbergasted.

However, it was at this point that the divine crane materialized around Naruto, transforming into a buckler that swirled around him. Then, a black flash could be seen as black light spread out all over his body.

He smacked his bag of holding, causing hundreds of paper talismans to appear, which he slapped all over himself. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred shield layers had sprung up, creating a 150-meter-thick defense.

"I have plenty of defensive talismans," he said proudly. "You dare to fight me with those crappy magical items of yours?" The corpses were sent tumbling away. The blast of gravel couldn't even come close to penetrating the shields, and most of the gravel was sent rebounding away. The nine bronze coffins were also sent crashing to the ground, completely incapable of causing any damage.

Xu Xiaoshan's eyes went wide as he stared in complete astonishment. When he fought people, he always relied on the large numbers of magical items and refined corpses at his disposal. This was his first time ever meeting someone like Naruto, someone who was actually on the same level as himself.

Although he wasn't using magical items, when Xu Xiaoshan thought about how valuable those hundreds of paper talismans were, his heart trembled.

"The information said Naruto was mysterious and powerful, but it never said he was rich!" Xu Xiaoshan chuckled bitterly. He knew exactly how terrifying of a figure he himself was, so he naturally realized how terrifying Naruto was. In fact, the sight of so many paper talismans left his eyes glowing with envy. After all, magical items required spiritual power to operate, whereas paper talismans required almost none at all. The power they needed was stored inside the talismans themselves.

They were expensive, and only worked for a limited time; even Xu Xiaoshan regarded them as a bit of a luxury.

Blinking, he suddenly realized that Naruto was truly formidable. In fact, he was even worthy of admiration to some degree. After a moment of thought, he tossed the jade pendant over to Naruto. "Dammit, Xu Xiaoshan has never given in to anyone. You're the first, Naruto.

I know you need this thing, so go ahead and take it. But it's not a gift! You have to give it back when you're done!"

—

Chapter 152 Chapter 152

Chapter 152: You're Shameless! No, You're Shameless!

After throwing over the jade piece, Xu Xiaoshan turned to leave. He had already made up his mind that, after he got back to the sect, he would ask his father and mother for more capital with which to acquire paper talismans. In the future, that was how he would make a name for himself, not magical items. Using paper talismans would be far more awe-inspiring.

Xu Xiaoshan was a natural-born silkpants. He didn't really care what his sect thought about what he did; if he liked someone, he made friends with them. If he didn't like them, he would beat them up. As far as Naruto was concerned, he was reluctant to admit it, but he actually liked him.

Of course, if he had overcome Naruto in a fight, he wouldn't have hesitated for even a moment to rob him of his earthstring capture crystal. However, since he couldn't defeat him in combat, he decided that the next best thing was to try to con him.

As soon as Naruto grabbed the jade piece, a wonderful feeling swept through him. His exhaustion vanished, and he could see everything clearly. It was almost like he had been trapped underwater, unable to breathe, and had just burst out into the open air.

However, it seemed odd that Xu Xiaoshan would simply give him the jade piece so casually. After a moment of thought, he realized that he might have been cheated in some way. Before Xu Xiaoshan could get very far away, Naruto called out, "Hold on. I don't like taking advantage of people. Let me give you these two little treasures in exchange."

Slapping his bag of holding, he produced two flying swords that both had twofold spirit enhancements. Secretly spreading some of the aura of the final strange pill onto them, he tossed them over.

"They're not worth much, but hey, have fun with them."

The twofold spirit enhanced swords flew over to Xu Xiaoshan, whose eyes went wide as soon as he grabbed them.

"Twofold spirit enhancements?" he thought, swallowing hard. "And he hands them over just like that? Have fun with them?!" Although he didn't view twofold spirit enhanced magical items as something completely priceless, they were still relatively rare among Qi

Condensation cultivators. The most telling thing was how casually Naruto had tossed them over to him, which made it very obvious how deep his pockets were.

Suddenly Xu Xiaoshan realized he had even more to learn from Naruto than he had initially realized. To casually hand out spirit enhanced magical items was a truly impressive way to make a name for oneself. Having reached this point in his train of thought, he looked more closely at Naruto, and realized that he liked him even more. He sighed.

"Alright, look, Naruto. Considering how nice you've been, I feel bad for trying to con you. If you use that jade pendant by itself, it's pretty much useless. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, it will simply stop working, and even have a backlash effect." With another sigh, he tossed a second jade pendant to Naruto. "Use them together and you'll have a long term solution to that banesoul's curse."

Catching the second jade pendant, Naruto narrowed his eyes at how devious and cunning Xu Xiaoshan was. As he watched him turn to leave, Naruto suddenly thought to himself that despite everything that had just occurred, Xu Xiaoshan didn't really seem to be a bad person. Gritting his teeth, he called out, "Hey, hold on. Alright, listen, Xu Xiaoshan. Since you've been so nice, I feel bad for conning you. Give me back those two flying swords."

Xu Xiaoshan stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening. Pulling out the two flying swords, he

examined them carefully, but couldn't find anything about them that seemed out of the ordinary. However, not daring to hold on to them for any longer, he threw them back to Naruto.

Naruto cleared his throat and then produced another set of two swords, which he threw back to Xu Xiaoshan.

Xu Xiaoshan had an odd expression on his face as he looked over at Naruto. He wasn't sure exactly what was wrong with the first set of swords, but he could well imagine that, if Naruto hadn't said anything, he might have ended up walking into a disaster.

Naruto blinked a few times as he and Xu Xiaoshan looked at each other.

After another long moment passed, Xu Xiaoshan sighed, eyes shining brightly. Earlier, he had only been pretending to like Naruto, but by this point, he really did like him.

"It's not very often that I get along with someone as well as I do with you. Alright, listen, Naruto. There's actually a mnemonic that goes along with those two jade pendants, which is the only way to use them properly. Without the mnemonic, they'll create a field of light that will protect you from that banesoul, but after a while, the light will fade away and leave a sealing mark on your cultivation base that will prevent you from using it for a whole month." With a wry smile, Xu Xiaoshan tossed a jade slip over to Naruto.

"You scoundrel!" Naruto said with a gasp. If he had used the jade pendants in the middle of trying to reach Foundation Establishment, only to have his cultivation base sealed, he would have lost an entire month of time. He might even have lost his chance at Foundation Establishment.

"You're just as bad!" Xu Xiaoshan replied. Then he coughed dryly. "Well, I'm from the Blood Stream Sect and you're from the Spirit Stream Sect. We're supposed to be against each other." By this point, he was being completely honest, which was a rare thing for him. The truth was that he had never encountered anyone like Naruto before.

"Alright," Naruto said. "Since you're being so honest, then I'll stop conning you. You know those magical items you used against me in the fight? I stained them all with a medicinal aroma that will attract banesouls." Feeling a bit awkward, he lowered his voice and concluded, "You should probably change your clothes too."

Xu Xiaoshan's eyes went wide; after quickly checking his bag of holding and his clothing, he looked back at Naruto with gritted teeth. "Y-yyou! You're completely shameless!"

"You're just as bad!" Naruto said, glaring back at him.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then both of them burst out laughing.

"I hope we meet again soon," Xu Xiaoshan said with sincerity. Then he turned and sped off into the distance.

Once he was out of sight, he changed clothes, his heart thumping with lingering fear. As far as he was concerned, Naruto was as much of a scoundrel as himself, which meant that he had to be very careful dealing with him in the future.

Naruto was also sighing. Although Xu Xiaoshan was from the Blood Stream Sect, he still seemed like a good person to be friends with.

"Except, he's profoundly crafty, definitely not as honest as me. I really have to be careful dealing with him in the future. Ai. I guess I'm just too honest." Shaking his head, he swished his sleeve and sped off.

After inspecting the jade pendants thoroughly, he used the mnemonic from the jade slip to unleash their power. Moments later, a shimmering field of light appeared around him.

The field of light soon became invisible, and could only be detected via divine sense. However, as far as banesouls were concerned, it made it completely impossible to approach Naruto.

Over the course of the following six hours, the girl in the white dress appeared several times. However, every time she got close, she was repelled. Her face distorted with rage, and she screamed shrilly, but it was still impossible to get close to Naruto.

After so many failures, she begrudgingly faded away and didn't return. At that point, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Convinced that the jade pendants had actually worked, he sank to the bottom of a remote lake and dug out a temporary immortal's cave. There, he sat down cross-legged to meditate.

After performing one final test to make sure that the jade pendants would drive away the banesouls, his eyes flickered with anticipation, and he pulled out the gray earthstring capture crystal.

"Although I'm starting a few days later than I'd planned, I can still be the first person to reach Earthstring Foundation Establishment!" With that, he unleashed the spiritual power of the great circle of the tenth level of Chakra Condensation, circulated it once, and then sent it surging into the gray crystal.

The crystal was like a bottomless pit that sucked in all of his spiritual power. Then, it began to emit a gray glow which grew more intense by the moment, and soon caused powerful rumbling sounds to emanate out.

The crystal began to slowly burn, transforming into a gray mist that Naruto absorbed through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. After more than thirty breaths of time, the crystal shook slightly and then vanished, causing massive amounts of gray mist to surge into Naruto's body.

His eyes were beginning to grow bloodshot as the gray mist poured into him, permeating his Chakra vessels, swirling throughout his entire body. At the same time, pain ripped through him; the gray mist almost seemed to be taking shape, like iron chains that scraped against his flesh and blood.

The pain caused him to shudder, but compared to the pain he had endured when cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique, it wasn't worth mentioning. Naruto didn't so much as let out a cold snort. Gritting his teeth, he waited until the final bit of mist bored into him. When the tail end of the mist connected with the mist which had first entered him, it created something like a circle.

The moment that circle formed, rumbling sounds filled Naruto's mind, shaking him down to his soul.

The spiritual river that was his cultivation base began to churn, blasting through all parts of his body, seemingly chaotic and without shape. However, closer examination revealed that the spiritual power was actually transforming into a whirlpool.

That whirlpool was was none other than the beginning of a Tideflow!

This was the most critical aspect of Earthstring Foundation Establishment!

Spiritual power flowed, transforming into a Tideflow. The mist became liquid, the Earthstring Dao Foundation was formed, and mortality was severed away!

Naruto suddenly looked up, blue veins bulging out on his neck and face. Trembling, he hoarsely shouted, "Tideflow!"

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Instantly, the whirlpool began to rotate with more intensity, transforming into something like a black hole that sucked away all of the earthstring energy inside of him. Of course, that little bit wasn't even one onethousandth of what was required.

However, as long as that whirlpool was formed, it would automatically absorb the earthstring energy which had built up over the past sixtyyear-cycle in the Fallen Sword World!

Instantly, streams of earthstring energy began to emerge from the walls of the immortal's cave and rush toward Naruto.

Soon, the lake above him was bubbling and boiling as massive amounts of earthstring energy began to surge into motion. The sky of the Fallen Sword World trembled as earthstring energy flowed toward Naruto from all directions.

The disciples of the four sects who were in various locations in the Fallen Sword World all looked up. Some were confused, others shocked, other shaken. All sorts of mixed emotions could be seen, even disbelief.

"A Tideflow! Heavens! That's an Earthstring Foundation Establishment Tideflow!"

"Who is it? It's barely been a month, and someone's already formed an earthstring capture crystal and begun Foundation Establishment?!" "Is it Song Que? Ghostfang? Nine-Isles? Or is it Fang Lin!?"

—

Chapter 153 Chapter 153

Chapter 153: Let The Tideflow Begin!

The lake above Naruto seethed and churned as it became a huge whirlpool, tugging relentlessly at the energy in the sky and the land of the world around him. Endless quantities of earthstring energy poured into it, causing the whirlpool to grow larger and larger until it was like a massive tornado rising all the way up into the heavens!

From a distance, the tornado looked so awe-inspiring that anyone who caught sight of it gasped in astonishment.

In the moment that the tornado connected with the sky above, a spinning vortex formed that was the tell-tale sign of a Tideflow!

"Naruto!" Not too far away from where Naruto was in the middle of reaching Foundation Establishment, Xu Xiaoshan stopped in midair and looked at the surging earthstring energy. Only a Tideflow could cause heaven and earth to react in such a way. Xu Xiaoshan took a deep breath, and his eyes began to glitter brightly. "So, he is the first one who actually completed his earthstring capture crystal."

Deep within the Fallen Sword World, Shangguan Tianyou stood there, nine flying swords swirling around him in a sword formation. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and the nine swords pierced through the air, delivering a powerful killing blow that instantly cut down a high-level banebeast. Ignoring the finger-thick stream of earthstring energy that flew into his Dao bottle, he stared off into the distance at

the churning streams of earthstring energy.

"Who is it?!" he thought. "Dammit! If Fang Lin and I hadn't fought each other and both ended up injured, I definitely could have been faster!" Eyes bloodshot, he looked down at his Dao bottle, which was now eighty percent full. Gritting his teeth, he gave up on searching for banebeasts and instead began to hunt disciples from the other three sects.

The provocation of someone reaching Foundation Establishment before him left Shangguan Tianyou in a killing mood!

At the same time, in another area, Fang Lin from the Pill Stream Sect noiselessly appeared in front of a Profound Stream Sect disciple. The disciple's eyes went wide for only a moment before his head exploded. Fang Lin took his Dao bottle, then looked over at the conglomeration of earthstring energy. His eyes shone with a bright light.

"I got Lei Shan's Dao bottle after he was taken by the banesouls, as well as the bottles of everyone I've ambushed. And yet, this guy beat me to it…." He looked down at his Dao bottle, which was almost full, and his eyes glittered. With that, he sped off into the distance, preparing to select a place for his own Foundation Establishment.

In another area was the number one Chosen from the Profound Stream Sect, Nine-Isles. His hands were dripping with blood, and he was surrounded by seven or eight corpses, all of whom were other disciples that he had personally slain. "These should be enough!"

Other than those handful of Chosen who everyone despaired of ever surpassing, there were a few other disciples within the Fallen Sword World who were also motivated enough to pick up their speed.

And the only way to do that was by killing other disciples!

It only took a moment for Naruto's Tideflow to transform the entire Fallen Sword World into a battleground. Almost instantly, fierce fighting broke out everywhere.

The death toll grew, and bloodcurdling screams echoed out everywhere.

Originally, there had been about four hundred people present, but by now that number had already been reduced by about half.

Hou Yunfei was spattered in blood, his hair in complete disarray. In the

Fallen Sword World, he was not considered to be one of the spectacular Chosen, but rather, just an ordinary disciple. However, that didnt mean he was any less vicious than anyone else. During the course of the past month, he had cut down over ten enemy disciples.

Working with other Spirit Stream Sect disciples, he had killed many banebeasts as well. As a result, his Dao bottle was more than seventy percent full. When he saw the earthstring energy surging in the distance, he took a deep breath.

"Is that you, Naruto? You're definitely going to succeed in your Foundation Establishment. I have to work harder!" With that, he turned and sped off into the distance.

Beihan Lie was in the middle region of the Fallen Sword World, where he was fighting like a fiend. His battle with Lei Shan had caused his name to rise in shocking fashion, until almost everyone knew who he was.

Although he hadn't been able to secure a clear victory, the battle ensured that his name was sent rocketing to new heights. He was the new black horse among the four sects, just like certain other rising stars from the other three sects. They were quickly becoming the type that ordinary disciples had no hope of ever catching up to.

Of course, no one knew how bitterly Beihan Lie had toiled to acquire such glory. The truth was that without Naruto, he wouldn't be what he was now.

"I'm definitely going to reach Earthstring Foundation Establishment, and wipe away all the humiliation!" Howling inwardly, he selected another target and began to fight fiercely.

By this point in the trial by fire, there were no weaklings among the surviving disciples. All of them had various powerful techniques and tactics to use, and soon, the fighting grew even more intense.

Within the depths of the Fallen Sword World, in an area filled with swirling mists and countless banebeasts, as well as numerous cultivators, two figures could be seen locked in combat.

A closer look revealed that they were both young women. One was

Gongsun Wan'er, and the other was Zhao Rou from the Pill Stream Sect. Both of them were exquisite beauties, but right now, both of them were in bad shape. Murderous auras surrounded them as they fought what was already their seventh battle.

During the past month, they had fought each other every time they met, almost as if they had a personal grudge with each other. Although neither could gain the upper hand, they weren't willing to see the other capture any more earthstring energy, which had resulted in the current deadlock.

Eyes flashing with killing intent, Zhao Rou said, "Gongsun Wan'er, both of us have half-filled Dao bottles. This time, only one of us is going to come out alive, and with a full bottle at that!" With that, she launched another attack.

Gongsun Wan'er's face was pale white, and her phoenix was seriously injured. However, she gritted her beautiful teeth and counterattacked. Although their battle seemed ordinary in nature, both of them were unleashing powerful illusion magics against each other.

The slightest misstep by either of them would result in death.

The sky shook and the ground quaked. Even as everyone was driven to new heights of madness by Naruto's Earthstring Foundation Establishment, he was under the lake, shivering in fear. Although he couldn't see what was happening to the lake up above, he was sure that the rumbling flow of earthstring energy had surely created a massive, funnel-like vortex.

"What do I do if people try to interfere…?" Instantly, beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. In his preparations for Foundation Establishment, he had arranged some defensive measures, but now he wasn't sure they would be enough.

Gritting his teeth as the inner whirlpool sucked in massive amounts of earthstring energy, he managed to reach over with his right hand and slap his bag of holding, producing a stack of over a thousand paper talismans, which he sent flying out around him.

He didn't activate them, but all it would take to do so was a thought on his part.

The Divine Crane Shield flew out, ready to be used at a moment's notice. At the same time, he activated the defensive treasure Li Qinghou had given him, which spread out, covering his Undying Silver Skin.

There was little he could do aside from that. Gritting his teeth, he gave an inward shout, causing the whirlpool inside of him to spin even faster. Earthstring energy was sucked relentlessly inward, not merging with the spiritual power inside of him, but tangling together with it. As it flowed through him, the whirlpool grew stronger and stronger, leaving him trembling violently.

The so-called Tideflow consisted of capturing earthstring energy and then combining it with spiritual power to explosive effect. It would temper the flesh and blood, the Chakra passageways, and the soul. It would temper everything!

For every one part of spiritual power, a hundred parts of earthstring energy were required!

That explosive combination created a liquid which changed the mist of the earthstring energy into a spiritual sea!

That spiritual sea had another name: the Dao foundation!

Every full Tideflow would create one spiritual sea, and one Dao foundation! Nine Tideflows meant nine spiritual seas and nine Dao foundations! Each additional level would be many times larger than the previous level, like an inverted pagoda!

Time passed. Two hours later, and the vortex in the lake above Uzumaki

Naruto was even larger than before. As heaven and earth shook, Naruto let out a powerful roar, causing the vortex to increase in size yet again. Rumbling like thunder echoed out as the whirlpool inside of him reached its capacity. Everything that he had built up over the past two hours was what would shape his first Tideflow.

As soon as the first Tideflow was ready to complete, the whirlpool inside of him began to shrink down in size.

As the earthstring energy and spiritual power which formed the whirlpool flowed through his Chakra passageways, the whirlpool shrank, and cracking sounds echoed out from within him. The whirlpool was soon nothing more than a black dot which caused his Chakra passageways, his flesh and blood, and even his soul, to shake violently.

"Tideflow!"

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

His mind filled with rumbling sounds as the combination of earthstring energy and spiritual power spread out. As he roared, his Chakra passageways grew larger, and his flesh and blood stronger. His bones, his soul, everything about him grew more powerful.

Also in that moment, with the aid of the Tideflow, the earthstring energy and spiritual power finally merged together to form a spiritual liquid that raced through him, entering the misty sea in his dantian region. It was like a drop of water that, upon landing, exploded with heaven-rending, earth-crushing force!

Naruto shuddered violently as his dantian region exploded into countless fragments, which then re-formed into a sea!

His Dao foundation had been established, and his spiritual sea had been formed!

At the same time, his Chakra passageways, and especially his soul, were violently shaken and ripped away from that which was mortal!

However, the sea was very small, seemingly only about 300 meters wide. Within it could be seen a violet cauldron, covered with countless magical symbols. As it rose up out of the sea, it unleashed a shocking energy which caused Naruto's cultivation base to rise rapidly.

However, he had not finished his ascension to Foundation

Establishment; all of the preparation and hard work he had put into this moment had yet to be drawn upon.

There were two main factors which determined how many Tideflows a person could achieve: first, latent talent, and second, the techniques they had cultivated in the Chakra Condensation stage!

Techniques provoked the Tideflow, and latent talent provided the power to actually withstand the force of it. With strong latent talent, one could endure multiple Tideflows. With weaker latent talent, it would be difficult to do the same, even if one had cultivated numerous techniques. In fact, attempting to force too many Tideflows could shatter the Dao foundation and result in death.

At the same time, someone with ordinary techniques and high latent talent would be equally confounded.

As such, it was only the combination of techniques and latent talent that could lead to success. Both were required.

Naruto's first spiritual sea contained a cauldron, which represented the first technique he had cultivated, the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art!

—

Chapter 154 Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Striving for a Great Dao!

There were few limitations when it came to the techniques which could be used to create a Tideflow. In all the years which had passed since ancient times, only three rules had come to be identified in that regard. The first rule was that the techniques used for the Tideflow had to be completely mastered down to the tiniest detail. Without that level of success, the Tideflow would be a failure.

It wasn't easy to master a technique to that level; it required a significant expenditure of both physical resources and mental energy.

The second rule was that with every Tideflow, only one technique of any given level of power could be used effectively. Adding in extra techniques would not help successfully achieve the Tideflow.

The third rule was that each successive Tideflow was more difficult, and the requirements for success were thus more stringent.

In most sects, there were few techniques that could propel a disciple past the fifth Tideflow and into the sixth. Such techniques were essentially secret magics, and the foundation of the true power of the sect.

Therefore, the real test was how the sect distributed its techniques, and how deep their resources went. For example, in the Spirit Stream Sect, the south bank's Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art and the north bank's Heavenspan Elephant Control Art had to be cultivated to the point of mastering Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning or the Heavenspan Elephant Body respectively, otherwise only the first Tideflow would be successful.

Only Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning and the Heavenspan Elephant Body would suffice for the second Tideflow. At the same time, because Violet Cauldron Peak on the south bank and Sunset Peak on the north bank were the home to those two techniques, as long as disciples from there had other powerful techniques to call upon, they could reach the third through fifth Tideflows. However, after that point, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find ordinary techniques which could help. At that point, only secret magics could be called upon.

As for the disciples from the other mountain peaks, after reaching the eighth level of Chakra Condensation and joining the Inner Sect, they would have access to a second, more powerful technique that they could use to prepare for further Tideflows.

Whichever technique the disciple chose to branch out into was extremely important, and was one of the key factors determining how many Tideflows they could achieve.

Generally speaking, the very minimum was two Tideflows, although three was also possible. Depending on the circumstances, four wasn't out of the question.

Even the weakest of disciples were usually able to reach three Tideflows during Earthstring Foundation Establishment. In some extreme circumstances, some powerful disciples would reach six. However, from ancient times until the present, only nine disciples from the Spirit Stream Sect had ever reached six tideflows by cultivating a second technique. Of course, those nine disciples all went on to be unique and stunning figures during their time.

Unfortunately, after cultivating that second technique, there was nothing else that could be used for further Tideflows. Only secret magics could be used, which was how the ten great secret magics of the Spirit Stream Sect came to be.

The ten secret magics could be used for the fifth Tideflow on. There were even some secret magics, such as Ghosts Haunt the Night and the Waterswamp Kingdom, which on rare occasions could actually form more than one Tideflow.

As a result, Spirit Stream Sect disciples with outstanding latent talent all had the chance to reach eight Tideflows! Even the weakest disciples could get four!

That showed the power and resources of the Spirit Stream Sect! Of course, the other three sects were s

imilar. In the end, the true question was which of the disciples of the various generations would be able to reach the absolute pinnacle.

As for nine Tideflows, that was the legendary peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. Among all of the Four Great Sects, there had only been one person in the last 10,000 years who had done such a thing.

That person was Master Limitless from the Blood Stream Sect, who succeeded 800 years ago.

The peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment was a realm of incredible power that was incredibly difficult to reach, but not impossible. Although Heavenstring Foundation Establishment surpassed Earthstring Foundation Establishment, it was something that could only be acquired by random chance and luck. No path existed which could be followed to that end.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with bright light. He had studied up on the Tideflows already, and could sense that the sea of mist had collapsed and formed his first spiritual sea. If he wanted to, he could abandon further Tideflows, and instantly end his Earthstring Foundation Establishment as a success.

He would get his 200 years of longevity, but unfortunately, would be incredibly weak among Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators. Naruto had no desire whatsoever to be weak. In the cultivation world, the law of the jungle prevailed. Regardless of whether or not he liked it, he knew that it was unavoidable.

He didn't like fighting and killing, but sometimes, there was no other option!

"Because I mastered the Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning of the Violet Qi

Cauldron Control Art, I can use that for my second Tideflow!" Naruto took a deep breath, and suddenly, his spiritual sea began to rotate rapidly. The surrounding earthstring energy instantly began to rumble in his direction once again, shaking everything around him as a second whirlpool formed inside of him.

The lake up above crashed and seethed as a second vortex appeared up above. It was merely an outline at first, but it was clearly larger than the first vortex, ensuring that numerous disciples looked up to watch.

"The second Tideflow. Presumably, all of the people here should be able to reach at least three or four Tideflows. Each one will be bigger than the one before, and will require even more earthstring energy!"

"Dammit! This guy is reaching Foundation Establishment too quickly. That means there's going to be less earthstring energy, maybe not even enough for me to reach Foundation Establishment!"

Even as everyone else in the Fallen Sword World grew more and more anxious, another massive rumbling sound echoed out from another direction. There, in the middle of a distant mountain range, another tornado rose up into the sky to connect with the heavens. Another vortex was forming!

As the vortex expanded, the earthstring energy in the world began to rush toward it. Now Naruto was sharing the earthstring energy with a second person.

In that distant mountain range was an immortal's cave, where Fang Lin sat, an expression of extreme focus on his face.

Everyone was shocked by this new development. None of them could ever have imagined that a second person would begin a Tideflow within only two hours or so of the first.

Bloodshot eyes could be seen as everyone began to fight even more fiercely for earthstring energy.

It wasn't that none of them had considered trying to kill the two who were in the middle of Foundation Establishment; at the moment, the others hadn't reached a state of despair, and simply didn't want to waste time on such an effort.

Two hours later, powerful rumbling sounds echoed out from Fang Lin's region as his first Tideflow ended, and the second began. Another two hours after that, the lake above Naruto exploded as his second Tideflow ended.

As that happened, a second spiritual sea appeared above the first one, and his energy skyrocketed, making him like a burning fire on a dark night.

He took a deep breath as he realized that he had reached the limits of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art; it would not be enough for a third Tideflow. Closing his eyes, he cast his senses inward, and saw a towering violet cauldron within each of his two spiritual seas. Both of them emanated powerful pressure.

"For my third Tideflow, I'll have to use the Dragon Mammoth SeaForming Scripture!" His eyes flickered as the roars of a dragon and a mammoth could be heard echoing out from the lake to fill the area. His third Tideflow had begun!

A third whirlpool appeared inside of him, which exerted even stronger force than the first two. As that force spread out into the world, massive amounts of earthstring energy were sucked toward him.

Gradually, a third vortex appeared in the sky, within which a swirling dragon could be seen. When the disciples in the other parts of the world looked over, they instantly caught sight of the dragon.

"What technique is that?"

"That's the Dragon Mammoth Sea-Forming Scripture! The first person to reach Foundation Establishment is from the Spirit Stream Sect!"

"Heavens! I can't believe it's the Spirit Stream Sect. Who is it? Ghostfang maybe? Shangguan Tianyou?"

"Is it Naruto?" The disciples from all four of the sects were shocked, but among the Spirit Stream Sect disciples, there was a stir of excitement.

Shangguan Tianyou looked up with bloodshot eyes and let out a maddened roar as he stared at the huge dragon in the vortex connecting to the heavens. "That's not Ghostfang. It's Naruto!"

Gnashing his teeth, he turned to find more enemy disciples to slaughter.

Another two hours passed, and Fang Lin finished his second Tideflow.

Another vortex appeared above him, within which was a huge cauldron. It was bronze, and covered with carvings of suns, moons, and stars. It seemed profoundly ancient, as if it were capable of melting all of heaven and earth.

It was none other than the Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron!

As soon as the cauldron became visible, everyone knew who it was that had reached Foundation Establishment second.

"It's Fang Lin from the Pill Stream Sect!"

It was at that very moment that a third tornado suddenly shot up into the sky to connect to the heavens.

A third person was reaching Foundation Establishment!

Almost immediately, the vortex turned the color of blood. From the look of things, it had to be Song Que!

"Heavens! Song Que from the Blood Stream Sect!"

"He can kill Foundation Establishment cultivators, and is the first person to provoke a strange sign with his first Tideflow. I heard that Master Limitless did the same thing 800 years ago!"

"Maybe Song Que is going to follow the example of Master Limitless, and reach the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, nine Tideflows!"

Now, three vortexes were vying for the earthstring energy, sending it surging in three different directions. But then… a fourth tornado sprang up in the depths of the Fallen Sword World.

—

Chapter 155 Chapter 155

Chapter 155: Breaking The First Shackle!

The fourth tornado sprang up in a plain, where a grand spell formation had been set up. Glittering light spread out in all directions from the formation, in the middle of which sat a lone Chakra Condensation disciple.

He was a handsome young man wearing the robes of the Profound Stream Sect. As he performed his breathing exercises, magical symbols flowed back and forth across his body, each one of which seemed to carry incredible destructive power. Occasionally they would converge into something that looked like an iron chain wrapped around him.

The pulsing energy of destruction that seemed to radiate from the young man was none other than a sign of the Exterminating Obliteration Technique!

That young man was none other than the number one Chosen from the Profound Stream Sect, the first person in the past 3,000 years to successfully cultivate the Exterminating Obliteration Technique, NineIsles. He was able to unleash a force of obliteration that could exterminate all living things. It could wipe out anything and everything, and could even form obliteration threads; according to the information compiled by the other sects, such threads were as powerful as MortalDao Foundation Establishment.

"In that battle with Ghostfang, neither of us came out on top. Just wait until after Foundation Establishment! I'll fight with you again, and then I'll completely destroy one of the number one Chosen in the Spirit Stream Sect!" Killing intent flickered in Nine-Isles's eyes as he took a deep breath and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, a whirlpool formed inside of him, exploding with gravitational force as a tornado shot up into the heavens. There, an enormous vortex appeared.

Rumbling sounds filled the air as enormous quantities of earthstring energy flowed toward it.

As of this moment, four enormous vortexes could be seen in four different areas, splitting the Fallen Sword World into four parts.

The rest of the disciples in the Fallen Sword World were getting very anxious. Four people were in the middle of Foundation Establishment, and vast quantities of earthstring energy was being gobbled up. Everyone knew that the earthstring energy was limited, and if they didn't hurry, their own chances at Foundation Establishment would be dashed, and they would be nothing but minor players compared to those who had succeeded.

The fighting grew more brutal, and almost instantly, casualties mounted.

Even as the disciples fell upon each other with bloodshot eyes, the lake above Naruto exploded with a crashing sound as he concluded his third Tideflow.

Up in the heavens, the dragon roared, and inside Naruto, a third spiritual sea appeared above his second. This spiritual sea was even larger than the previous one.

"The power of the dragon has ended. Now it's time for the power of the mammoth!" Naruto took a deep breath. Eyes crimson, he let out a powerful roar as an enormous mammoth appeared around him. It lifted its front feet up, and then slammed them back down into the ground.

BOOM!

A fourth whirlpool appeared inside of him, even larger and more shocking than the third. Up above in the sky, the third vortex had grown still, but now a fourth, even larger vortex could be seen!

Within that vortex was the image of an enormous mammoth, bellowing as the surrounding vortex spun rapidly.

Two hours later, Fang Li followed closely behind with his own fourth Tideflow vortex. As for Song Que and Nine-Isles, they were approaching the conclusion of their own third Tideflows. After two more hours passed, they began their fourth!

Song Que was putting on a particularly stunning performance. An enormous face could be seen in the vortex of his fourth Tideflo

w, a face with a blood moon on its forehead. Clearly, the speed with which he was absorbing the earthstring energy surpassed everyone else.

"Song Que is already on his fourth Tideflow. I can't believe how quickly he's absorbing the earthstring energy. It's terrifying!"

"Dammit! Is he really going to try to do the same thing as Master

Limitless? Is he going to reach the peak of Earthstring Foundation

Establishment with nine Tideflows?"

"This is bad. If someone reaches eight Tideflows, they'll absorb so much earthstring energy that it will be difficult for anyone else to succeed! I have to get more earthstring energy as quickly as possible!"

Deep anxiety filled all hearts. As of this point, twenty hours had passed since Naruto began stepping into Foundation Establishment. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, a fifth tornado shot up into the heavens!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

As it grew larger, it formed a vortex, beneath which was a mass of black mist. Within that mist was none other than Ghostfang.

The sight of five vortexes spinning in the sky caused all necks to crane as the disciples looked up at them. Time passed. It didn't take long before Ghostfang's first and second Tideflows were finished. When his third Tideflow vortex appeared, a huge mountain ghost appeared, revealing his identity to all.

"Ghostfang! It's Ghostfang from the Spirit Stream Sect!"

"He obviously cultivates the Mountain Ghost God-Dazing Magic!"

"Naruto. Fang Lin. Song Que. Nine-Isles. Ghostfang!"

As of this moment, five inhuman cultivators had risen up from the crowd of cultivators from the four sects! They were definitely the first wave who would reach Foundation Establishment!

Naruto was in the lead. His fourth Tideflow was almost half completed. Next was Fang Lin, who was only about two hours behind Naruto. Song Que and Nine-Isles were next, being about four hours behind Naruto.

In last place was Ghostfang, who was slower by twenty hours!

Currently, Naruto's fourth whirlpool was spinning rapidly, absorbing massive amounts of earthstring energy. The power of the mammoth was pushing his fleshly body inexorably toward the first of the five shackles of mortality.

With every blast of power, he would shake visibly. He had already cultivated the Dragon Mammoth Sea-Forming Scripture to the point where he could make contact with the first shackle. But now, because of his Undying Live Forever Technique, he was not just at the point of making contact with it, he could break through it!

He was about to break through the first shackle!

"By borrowing the might of the mammoth and the earthstring energy, I can break through the first shackle during my fourth Tideflow!" Eyes crimson, he let out a shout and once again unleashed a surge of power.

Thunderous crashing resounded in his mind as he battered away at the shackle over and over again. His body hovered on the brink of crumbling, but he hung on. After a few more hours passed, there were only about eight hours left before the fourth Tideflow would end. By now, massive amounts of Tideflow power were exploding out inside of him.

BOOOMMMM!

Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and cracks appeared all over his skin. His attack on the first shackle was actually proving to be much more difficult than he'd imagined. Even by borrowing the earthstring energy in the form of the Tideflow, he still hadn't succeeded in breaking through it, not even after thousands upon thousands of attempts.

Using earthstring energy to try to break through the first shackle of mortality was completely unheard of. In fact, nobody other than Naruto had ever attempted to do such a thing.

"I can definitely break through!" he thought. Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath and then drew in more earthstring energy. However, he didn't use it to blast the shackle, but instead began building it up inside of him.

Eight hours later, and the fourth Tideflow was almost complete. Naruto's eyes were shining with lightning-like brightness.

"Break! Come on, break!" Roaring, he unleashed the Tideflow he had been building up for the past eight hours. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as it turned into something like an enormous battering ram. His body was like a wall, which the battering ram then slammed into.

Once. Twice. Three times. One blast after another came in quick succession. Soon, cracks spread out in that wall, until at last, the power of the fourth Tideflow, crushed the wall. Cracking sounds filled the air, and at the same time, Naruto shook visibly. All of a sudden, he felt something like five enormous mountains resting on his shoulders!

Those five mountains began inside of him, but stretched out high above him. They emitted intense pressure that made him gasp, and it was only at this moment that he could sense them clearly.

All of a sudden, he had the urge to destroy those five mountains, to remove the pressure that was weighing down on him!

"Those five mountains are the five shackles of mortality!" Roaring, he sent heaven-shaking, earth-shattering energy to slam into the first of the five mountains. Under the explosive barrage, the shackle suddenly crumbled!

In that moment, blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. His Chakra passageways, his flesh and blood, and every other part of him crumbled, and then instantly reformed.

He was left trembling as an aura began to spread out from him that surpassed anything from the mortal world. It thrived within his flesh and blood, filled his body, and made the entire world suddenly seem completely different.

There seemed to be more colors, more lustre, and at the same time, he felt lighter and more free.

Moments before, he had been shouldering the weight of five enormous mountains, but now, one of them had been destroyed.

He had broken through the first shackle of mortality!

When it happened, his fleshly body power erupted with explosive force. He instantly surpassed the fleshly body limit of Chakra Condensation cultivators, and entered Foundation Establishment!

His flesh and blood, his Chakra passageways, his bones, all of it surpassed what was mortal.

He threw his head back and let loose a long cry which echoed out in all directions. The lake churned, and the fourth vortex up above went still. Moments later… a fifth vortex appeared!

Within that fifth vortex was a crumbling mountain!

This fifth Tideflow was not provoked by the Dragon Mammoth SeaForming Scripture. This mountain had nothing to do with that. It was a natural result of Naruto breaking through the first shackle of mortality!

By this point, Fang Lin, Song Que, and Nine-Isles had all reached the end of their own fourth Tideflows. At the same time, Ghostfang completed his third.

Meanwhile, hours upon hours of intense fighting had passed for the other disciples of the four sects. It was then that the second wave of disciples managed to form their earthstring capture crystals.

The first of that second wave was Shangguan Tianyou. Virtually simultaneously, Xu Xiaoshan's vortex also appeared in the sky.

The next was none other than Beihan Lie, the dark horse of the Fallen Sword World!

Last was Zhao Rou from the Pill Stream Sect!

She sat cross-legged in a valley, and standing protectively in front of her was Gongsun Wan'er, whose face was dripping with blood. Shockingly, Gongsun Wan'er didn't have a single scrap of life force upon her!

She was dead, and yet, her corpse could still move. Although she was a bit stiff, toxic mist pulsed out from inside of her, and countless poisonous centipedes squirmed in and out of her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. If some powerful expert were to come along, they would be able to tell that Gongsun Wan'er's brain was gone, and inside of her head was a spider with a human face, controlling her corpse!

Gongsun Wan'er had been transformed into a poison puppet!

"Gongsun Wan'er, you are the first poison puppet I've created. Don't worry, soon I'll turn your brother into the second!" Eyes sparkling with vicious enmity, Zhao Rou began to meditate, and the vortex up above her rumbled into motion.

Chapter 155: Breaking The First Shackle!

—

Chapter 156 Chapter 156

Chapter 156: Wanna Kill Me?!

Nine enormous vortexes swirled in the sky of the Fallen Sword World, slowly eating away at any hope which remained in the hearts of the disciples down below. In any Foundation Establishment Holy Land, earthstring energy was limited, and could only be used by so many cultivators to reach Foundation Establishment.

Furthermore, the number of cultivators who could succeed was not fixed. If someone reached eight Tideflows, they would absorb even more earthstring energy than usual, significantly reducing the overall amount in the world, and would force some people to end their own Tideflows prematurely.

Of course, someone reaching eight Tideflows wasn't the most terrifying scenario…. The worst was if some prodigy came along among the Chosen who managed to reach nine Tideflows. Once someone reached the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, they would most certainly slaughter the people from the other sects who had tried to interfere, and prevent them from succeeding. In fact, even people from that person's own sect who had interfered might also be killed!

Such a thing had only ever occurred once, 800 years before with Master

Limitless. A scene of madness had played out at that time, in which the Pill Stream Sect was completely wiped out, and only a few people from the Profound Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect escaped with their lives. Even many people from the Blood Stream Sect were slaughtered by the enraged Master Limitless.

For the disciples from the four sects who hadn't formed their earthstring capture crystals yet, they either had to resign themselves to their fates, or go on a killing rampage, resorting to any tactics possible to succeed. Sometimes that would even mean ambushing fellow disciples.

It was all for the chance to get the earthstring capture crystal and then reach Earthstring Foundation Establishment.

Time passed. The second wave, which consisted of Shangguan Tianyou, Xu Xiaoshan, Beihan Lie and Zhao Rou, had all completed their first three Tideflows. As for Ghostfang, he had already completed his fourth, and was moving on to his fifth.

Song Que and Nine-Isles were already halfway through their fifth.

Naruto… was the fastest of them all. He was almost finished with his fifth Tideflow. Earthstring energy was rushing into the vortex, and a fifth spiritual sea was forming inside of him.

Four hours later, a tremor ran through him as the fifth whirlpool inside of him expanded. Tideflow power erupted, and his fifth spirit sea was completed in his dantian region. His fifth Tideflow was over!

"Now for the sixth!" he said, his eyes glimmering with intense focus. Having reached this point in the process, he had no desire to give up. He wanted to know what his limit was. He wanted to know how far he could go. He wanted to know… how many Tideflows he was capable of!

"The Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art was the basis of my first Tideflow. Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning was the second. As for my third and fourth, that came from the power of the dragon and mammoth!

"The fifth Tideflow should have been from the magic of sea-forming. However, because I broke through the first shackle of mortality, that turned into my fifth Tideflow. Therefore, it's now time to continue on with sea-forming magic and start my sixth Tideflow!" Taking a deep breath, he again called upon the explosive power of the Dragon Mammoth Sea-Forming Scripture. Having already used the power of the dragon and the mammoth, it was now time to use the power of seaforming!

The so-called sea-forming was actually a method of creating a spiritual sea, of forming a Dao foundation!

Almost immediately, a sixth vortex formed up in the sky, within which was a majestic, roiling sea. Although the vortex was a spec

tacular sight, it was somewhat unstable, and didn't absorb energy very quickly. Naruto had the Waterswamp Kingdom, but didn't want to use that yet. Since he could use the power of sea-forming, he didn't want to waste his powerful secret magic.

When the other cultivators saw what was happening, they began to sigh with relief.

"Naruto's sixth Tideflow is unstable. From the look of it, he's already reached his limit, and won't be able to last much longer. That crumbling mountain in the fifth Tideflow must have been his only secret magic."

"Six Tideflows is already pretty amazing. More than that would be spectacular!"

It was at this point that Fang Lin and Nine-Isles also breathed sighs of relief. They were completely on guard, and keeping close track of everyone else's progress.

"Naruto's already reached the end, so there's no need to worry about him anymore." That was what both of them were thinking.

Ghostfang frowned. Considering that he knew Naruto hadn't used his secret magic yet, he could tell that something strange was going on.

As for Song Que, he looked on, eyes glittering thoughtfully.

Time passed. Naruto's sixth Tideflow slowly sucked in earthstring energy, and although the vortex wasn't stable, it didn't collapse.

Gradually, there were a few other disciples who managed to form their earthstring capture crystals and begin their Tideflows. One of them was Hou Yunfei.

It was after the sixty-hour mark passed that Naruto's sixth

Tideflow finished. Most people present assumed that he was finished….

In the little immortal's cave he'd carved out beneath the lake, his eyes glittered as his sixth spiritual sea formed inside of him. Then, he took a deep breath and suddenly stretched both arms out in front of him.

"Secret magic… Waterswamp Kingdom!"

Water vapor filled the immortal's cave, growing more and more dense until it began to seep out into the lake water itself. The lake began to seethe, and in the blink of an eye, expanded rapidly.

Within a few breaths of time, it grew so rapidly that it became less like a lake and more like a sea.

Up above in the sky, Naruto's sixth vortex had stopped moving. However, instead of vanishing, it seemed to be building up energy.

Then… a faint pressure began to weigh down in the Fallen Sword World, to the surprise and shock of everyone. Even Nine-Isles and the other top Chosen were all astonished….

Naruto raised his hands up above him, then shoved them back down. Instantly, huge waves roiled out across the surface of the lake up above, along with intense rumbling sounds. The sixth vortex began to ripple and distort, then spin like mad. Gasps rang out in the Fallen Sword World as… a seventh vortex appeared!

However, that wasn't the end of it! In the same instant that the seventh vortex appeared, the air above it began to twist and turn. Countless clouds seethed as an eighth vortex appeared!

The seventh and eighth vortexes appeared at the same time, accompanied by thunderous rumbling that struck shock into the hearts of all the cultivators present.

"Impossible! He clearly used a secret magic for his fifth Tideflow!"

"Secret magic! That's a secret magic! Heavens! What he used before wasn't actually a secret magic!?"

"I can't believe two vortexes appeared at the same time. Is that… is that the Spirit Stream Sect's spectacular secret magic, the Waterswamp Kingdom? Or is it Ghosts Haunt the Night?!"

Soon, the cries of shock turned into bellows of rage.

"Eight Tideflows! He's reached eight Tideflows! If he succeeds, a vast amount of earthstring energy will be sucked away!"

"Stop him!"

The entire sky shook as the seventh and eighth vortexes began to spin rapidly. The power of the Tideflow that erupted out to absorb earthstring energy was vastly stronger than anything before, greater by dozens of times over. It was like the power of an enormous black hole, reaching out into the entire world and tugging at all the earthstring energy in it.

The vortexes belonging to the other disciples began to twist and distort, and even slow down their own absorption.

It was at this point that Fang Lin opened his eyes, then spoke in a voice that rose up into the vortex above him and spread out to fill the entire area. "Pill Stream Sect disciples, heed my command: kill Naruto. Stop him from completing his eighth Tideflow! All who comply will receive special compensation from me upon returning to the sect. I'll acquire Foundation Establishment Pills for all of you, and take care of you for your whole life!"

At the same time, Nine-Isles sat in his spell formation, his eyes flickering with killing intent. "Profound Stream Sect disciples, heed my command: exterminate Naruto. Kill him, and his earthstring energy will disperse back into the world. That will benefit me, you, and everyone!"

Even as Nine-Isles' words echoed out, Song Que opened his eyes. After a moment of thought, he said, "Blood Stream Sect, heed my command: kill Naruto and put an end to his Tideflow!"

Hou Yunfei was starting to get nervous, but being in the middle of his own Foundation Establishment, could do nothing to help.

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes flickered, and a cold smile appeared on his face. He had been shaken by the fact that Naruto started his seventh and eighth Tideflows simultaneously, but now he wasn't so nervous.

"You're simply courting death," he murmured. "You can't blame us for that." With that, he closed his eyes and proceeded with his own Tideflow.

Ghostfang's eyes glittered. Although he felt no ill will toward Uzumaki

Naruto, at the moment, he couldn't help him even if he wanted to.

Beihan Lie hesitated for a moment. By this point, he wasn't sure how he felt about Naruto. He hated him, and even wanted to kill him. But as more time passed, he had reached a point where he didn't want Naruto to die at the hands of anyone except himself.

"Despicable wretches!" he shouted. However, he was powerless to offer any assistance at the moment.

As the number one Chosen from the various sects issued their orders, the other disciples in the Fallen Sword World looked on with bloodshot eyes.

"Kill Naruto. If he dies, then his earthstring energy will disperse, and we'll have a chance to succeed!"

"That's right. Song Que, Nine-Isles and even Fang Lin are people we can't risk provoking. But according to the sect's information, Naruto isn't the strongest here. We can definitely take him down!"

"I think each sect has different information about Naruto…. But now's not the time to worry about that. Kill him, and we'll all have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment!"

"He doesn't qualify to reach eight Tideflows!"

Eyes crimson, disciples sped from all directions toward Naruto's lake. The Spirit Stream Sect disciples were starting to get nervous, but considering that all of the disciples from the other three sects were joining forces, they were completely outnumbered.

They were able to stop some of them, but not all. Soon, disciples from all three sects were closing in on Naruto.

It was at that point that Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"Wanna kill me?!"

—

Chapter 157 Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Fighting Back!

Naruto's eyes shone with piercing light, and yet, inside, his heart was pounding. He had known all along that his attempt at Foundation Establishment couldn't be made without interference. Unless he immediately ended his seventh and eighth Tideflows, people would definitely try to kill him.

"Song Que. Nine-Isles. Fang Lin. You're all despicable!

"I'm not taking away your earthstring energy, yet you send your fellow disciples to try to stop me?!

"Just wait until I'm in Foundation Establishment, then you'll know how awesome I am!" Gritting his teeth, he temporarily suppressed the hatred in his heart. He knew that he was in a moment of deep crisis, and that the slightest carelessness could result in utter catastrophe. The people coming at him weren't just trying to prevent him from proceeding with his Foundation Establishment, they were trying to kill him and steal the earthstring energy that existed in his spiritual seas.

Because of the life-or-death danger, a vicious, maddened look appeared on his face. All of a sudden, he felt like he was back in mountains being chased by the Luochen clan.

Rumbling sounds echoed out above the lake as dozens of disciples from the three sects closed in. However, even as they neared his immortal's cave, Naruto activated two hundred of the more than one thousand paper talismans he'd set up at the entrance of the cave.

As they ignited, an enormous shield dozens of meters thick appeared, causing the lake water to churn violently. As for the incoming disciples, they were completely blocked by the glittering shield.

"Each one of those defensive paper talismans is extremely expensive. Naruto is down to his last line of defense. Destroy these shields, and we'll be able to get into his immortal's cave!"

"Kill Naruto, and the earthstring energy inside of him will return to the world around us, and we'll have a chance at Foundation Establishment!"

The dozens of disciples that had arrived viciously unleashed numerous powerful attacks onto the shields. One by one, the shields began to distort and then shatter.

Naruto took a deep breath. The seventh and eighth vortexes spun rapidly, filling heaven and earth with rumbling sounds, causing massive amounts of earthstring energy to rush toward him.

When about half of the two hundred paper talisman shields had been destroyed, Fang Lin of the Pill Stream Sect completed his Tideflow, despite the pressure which had been weighing down on his vortex. Without hesitating, he began his seventh Tideflow.

Next was Nine-Isles.

After that, Song Que. Soon, all of them were in the middle of their seventh Tideflow.

Ghostfang had begun twenty hours later than Naruto, and was now about half finished with his sixth Tideflow.

Even still, it took all of them added together to match the speed with which Naruto was absorbing earthstring energy.

The earthstring energy in the Fallen Sword World was rapidly diminishing, causing the disciples of the three sects to grow even more anxious. More and more of them chose to try to kill Naruto. After all, the overall earthstring energy that remained was now almost half gone, and the only way to reverse the situation was to kill Naruto.

More and more disciples showed up to attack him. By this point, the lake was destroyed, and Naruto's defensive shields were almost gone. The nearly one hundred disciples who had gathered in the area were starting to get very excited.

"Come one. One big blast should destroy those shields!"

"Hurry up. Naruto's shields are almost gone!" However, even as hope flickered in their eyes, Uzumaki Xi

aochun ignited another four hundred paper talismans.

Instantly, the shields were hundreds of meters thick, a dazzling display that provoked cries of shock among the attacking disciples.

"Dammit! He had more!?"

"How many paper talismans does Naruto have?!"

"I refuse to believe this! This has definitely got to be his final line of defense!"

Booms echoed out as nearly one hundred disciples attacked with bloodshot eyes and even greater killing intent. As one shield layer after another shattered, Naruto pushed the vortexes even harder, madly absorbing as much earthstring energy as he could.

"Faster," he growled. "Must go faster!" Time passed, and soon the active paper talismans had been whittled down from four hundred to one hundred.

At that point, hissing sounds could be heard as the seventh vortex transformed into a full Tideflow, and a seventh spiritual sea appeared in his dantian region.

Naruto could clearly sense how much more powerful he was with that boundless seventh spiritual sea. At the same time, his eighth vortex began to spin even faster.

It was at this point that Fang Lin trembled and finished his seventh Tideflow. However, he was incapable of beginning an eighth and, in fact, anyone who could have examined him closely would have been able to tell that his seventh Tideflow wasn't complete.

Naruto was essentially in control of half of the earthstring energy in the world, and Fang Lin simply wasn't as well prepared as everyone else. Lower level Tideflows didn't require as much earthstring energy, but in the seventh, it was quite the opposite, and Fang Lin simply couldn't compete with everyone else. He was totally spent.

"Naruto!" Eyes raging with killing intent, he had no choice but to end his Foundation Establishment with a partially completed seventh spiritual sea.

When the vortex above Fang Lin faded away, less of the earthstring energy was being absorbed, and the overall tension in the Fallen Sword World eased up a bit.

Not long after that, Song Que and Nine-Isles completed their seventh Tideflows. Then, it was with great difficulty but no hesitation that they called upon the power of their secret magics to begin their eighth Tideflows.

Rumbling filled the entire world as unstable vortexes appeared above each of them.

It seemed that for both of them, the Eighth Tideflow could fail at any moment. Apparently, the earthstring energy in the world was barely enough to sustain two such vortexes.

However, both of them struggled to hang on even longer!

"I can definitely reach eight Tideflows!" Nine-Isles howled.

"My goal isn't eight, it's nine!" Song Que's eyes were completely bloodshot as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing his chest to wither up, and yet simultaneously unleashing a bizarre power that poured into the eighth Tideflow vortex, resulting in it accelerating rapidly.

The acceleration of Song Que's vortex seemed to exert incredible pressure onto Nine-Isles's vortex. Nine-Isles began to tremble as his vortex slowly withered.

"There's still hope!" Nine-Isles bit the tip of his tongue and then spit out a mouthful of blood, which transformed into a magical symbol that settled down onto him. As it did, the chain of magical symbols that surrounded him began to emit dazzling light, causing the whirlpool inside of him to speed up. Soon, he was catching up to Song Que.

However, it was at this point that Ghostfang completed his seventh Tideflow and began his eighth. Instantly, Nine-Isles, who had already been teetering unstably, let loose a cry of despair.

Moments later, Nine-Isles' vortex shuddered, and then ground to a halt.

"No!" Nine-Isles howled, his eyes shining with madness. However, there was nothing he could do. His eighth Tideflow was a failure.

Now that both he and Fang Lin had ceased to absorb earthstring energy, the pressure in the Fallen Sword World had eased significantly. With two less Tideflow vortexes in the picture, Song Que's eighth Tideflow stabilized even further.

As for Ghostfang, he also had a better chance than before, and was catching up relentlessly. Although he was also teetering on the verge of failure, he was still hanging on, and the question was how long he could continue to do so.

Of course, Naruto also benefited, and began to advance even more rapidly.

It was a dazzling scene as three people proceeded through their eight Tideflow: Naruto, Song Que, and Ghostfang!

Two people had failed so far: Fang Lin and Nine-Isles!

As for Shangguan Tianyou, Beihan Lie, Zhao Rou and Xu Xiaoshan, they were in the second wave. Because so much earthstring energy had been absorbed by the disciples in the first wave, their speed was significantly slower. All of them had just begun their fourth Tideflows.

Hou Yunfei and some of the other miscellaneous Chosen were in the third wave, and had just begun their second Tideflows. As far as Hou Yunfei was concerned, considering his latent talent and expectations, even reaching one Tideflow in Earthstring Foundation Establishment was a significant accomplishment.

By this point, the rest of the disciples had no hope whatsoever of finishing their earthstring capture crystals, and therefore, no chance to even achieve a single Tideflow.

In their despair, such disciples' killing intent soared, and their eyes came focus on the three vortexes up above that represented the disciples in their eighth Tideflows.

"Ghostfang just started his eighth Tideflow, and isn't completely stabilized. He has a lot of earthstring energy, but not as much as Song Que and Naruto!"

"Song Que is super famous, and has a shocking murderous aura. Plus, it's never a good idea to provoke people from the Blood Stream Sect. Furthermore, he probably doesn't have as much earthstring energy as

Naruto…."

"Naruto is already being besieged by quite a few people. We should take advantage of the moment to kill him. If he dies, his earthstring energy will disperse back into the world!" After analyzing the situation, most of the disciples chose to target Naruto.

In that same moment, Fang Lin finalized his Foundation Establishment and solidified his spiritual seas. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he flew up into the air, emanating the crushing pressure of Foundation Establishment.

His hair whipped about as a mighty wind swirled around him. At the same time, the image of the Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron appeared behind him. Clearly, he was far superior to any Chakra Condensation cultivator.

He was the first person to reach Foundation Establishment, and was now the most powerful person in the Fallen Sword World!

"Since I got seven Tideflows, the rest of you better not even dream of finishing your eighth!" Eyes flickering with killing intent, he looked around at Song Que, Ghostfang, and Naruto. Then, he shot toward Naruto like a bolt of lightning.

"I'll kill you first, and absorb your earthstring energy. Maybe I can still reach eight Tideflows after all!"

When using Tideflow power to reach Earthstring Foundation

Establishment, it was possible for someone interrupt any one of their first eight Tideflows and prematurely reach Foundation Establishment. Furthermore, because the Dao foundation wasn't complete in such a situation, it was possible to continue after the interruption, as long as too much time didn't go by. However, because of the huge amount of earthstring energy required, it was usually too difficult to do such a thing.

In contrast, once a ninth Tideflow began, one had to choose to either complete it, or die trying.

—

Chapter 158 Chapter 158

Chapter 158: Spirit Stream Sect, Defend Naruto!

Almost in the same moment that Fang Lin headed toward Naruto, rumbling sounds could be heard as Nine-Isles rose up into the air like a bedeviled god.

His hair whipped about him as the magical symbols which were wrapped around him loosened, creating a band of magical symbols 30 meters wide. They were black, and pulsed with the power of the Exterminating Obliteration Technique, causing a will of extermination to fill the entire area.

From the energy radiating off of him, he seemed even more powerful than Fang Lin!

"Since Fang Lin is taking out Naruto, I'm going to kill Ghostfang. Ghostfang, if it weren't for the delay caused by your interference, I wouldn't have been the fourth in line to begin Foundation Establishment. Because I started so late, I wasn't able to complete my eighth Tideflow.

But I still have a chance if I kill you and absorb your earthstring energy!"

Nine-Isles threw his head back and roared, radiating hatred. He hated Naruto, but he hated Ghostfang even more. In the end, he attributed his failure to the sudden rise of Ghostfang.

Of course, he hated Song Que just as much, and planned to get revenge on him as well. However, his plan was to first take out Ghostfang.

Radiating the might of Foundation Establishment, he blurred into motion as he shot through the air toward Ghostfang.

With an inward sigh of relief, Song Que focused fully on his eighth vortex. "Nine-Isles and Fang Lin don't qualify to tangle with me. Only Naruto and Ghostfang do…. However, if they get interrupted, that will be my greatest chance to succeed!"

There was nothing left of the lake above Naruto; there was only a huge crater, at the bottom of which was the immortal's cave he had created. There, glittering shields were being constantly bombarded by disciples from the three sects. At the moment, there were only a hundred shield layers left, which was when Fang Lin appeared like a bolt of lightning.

He was a blur of motion that sped toward the shields and then waved his hand, causing the Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron to rapidly grow larger and then smash downward.

"Break!" he shouted in a deafening roar that caused the other disciples to back up in astonishment. Many of them even coughed up mouthfuls of blood due to Fang Lin's Foundation Establishment might.

The stunning power of the Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron was such that all hundred shields shattered from a single blow.

"Naruto!" Fang Lin's eyes flickered with killing intent as he prepared to enter the immortal's cave. However, it was at that moment that Naruto looked up, his eyes completely bloodshot.

"Fang Lin!" he growled, and then his final 600 paper talismans all ignited.

Popping sounds filled the air as 600 shields appeared to block Fang Lin's path.

"Dammit, I can't believe he still has paper talismans left!" Fang Lin frowned. He had just stepped into Foundation Establishment, and had not yet fully acclimated, and was thus unable to unleash the full potential of his battle prowess.

The other disciples from the three sects all stared with wide eyes at what they were seeing. Gasps could be heard as they were shaken by the incredible display of wealth put on by Naruto. They all knew how expensive paper talismans were, and a quick calculation revealed that he had just used over a thousand of them. Instantly, exclamations of shock could be heard.

"How… how many paper talismans does he actually have?"

"Dammit! Most people use spell formations or magical techniques to defend themselves during Foundation Establishment. I can't

believe he's relying entirely on paper talismans!"

"Even if he has more of them, it won't do him any good. He might as well forget about succeeding with his eighth Tideflow!" Fang Lin's eyes flickered as he let loose another attack.

The booming sounds caused Naruto to grow even more nervous, but at the same time, furious.

Without Fang Lin, the situation wouldn't have been so nerve-wracking. But considering the power of Foundation Establishment was now in the mix, Naruto knew that his defenses couldn't hold out for very long.

"He just entered Foundation Establishment, and probably isn't completely used to it yet. I still have a chance!" Gritting his teeth, he ignored the booming sounds and focused fully on rotating the whirlpool inside of him.

As it spun faster and faster, the shields were broken away layer by layer. Fang Lin and the other disciples continued to unleash attacks, and time ticked away. Soon, half of the shields were gone, and yet Fang Lin was starting to get very nervous.

"Not good!"

It was at that very moment that Naruto's eighth vortex suddenly stopped moving.

His eighth Tideflow… was a success!

An eighth spiritual sea appeared within him, just above the seventh. At the same time, it seemed like a ninth vortex was about to appear up above in the sky.

"My ninth Tideflow will be… my Undying Live Forever Technique!" Naruto's expression was one of madness as he put everything on the line. As he called upon the Undying Live Forever Technique, silver light spread out, within which faint traces of gold were already visible.

As he did… a ninth vortex appeared overhead!

His eyes were clamped shut, as though he didn't even have the power to open them. He almost seemed like he was on the verge of exploding.

As for everyone else in the Fallen Sword World, it didn't matter what they were doing, their hearts trembled, and their jaws dropped.

"A ninth… Tideflow…."

"I can't believe… that nine Tideflows have appeared!"

"The last time this happened was 800 years ago. Heavens…."

Outside Naruto's immortal's cave, Fang Lin's eyes went wide, and he shivered. He couldn't even complete seven Tideflows, and yet here someone was working on their ninth.

In the middle of unleashing an attack on Ghostfang's location, Nine-Isles trembled and turned to look in Naruto's direction. Panting, he said, "The Spirit Stream Sect… has started a ninth Tideflow. We can't let that ninth Tideflow succeed!" Abandoning his enmity with Ghostfang, he began to speed toward Naruto.

At the same time, Song Que was panting, his eyes gleaming with the desire to do battle. Because Naruto had begun his ninth Tideflow, Song Que's eighth Tideflow now seemed to be on the verge of falling apart. Expression one of utter determination, he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and then slapped his hands down onto the ground, causing a boom to echo out. Moments later, cracking sounds could be heard from nine locations within the Fallen Sword World, as earthstring energy was apparently forcibly extracted using some special technique. Moments later, Song Que's eighth Tideflow stabilized.

Ghostfang observed silently as Nine-Isles sped off into the distance. His expression was one of disappointment. He didn't want to admit it, but he could sense that his eighth Tideflow was rapidly destabilizing. Because of the appearance of a ninth Tideflow, it would soon shatter.

Shangguan Tianyou was in the middle of his fifth Tideflow, and as soon as he sensed that Naruto had started a ninth Tideflow, all of his confidence and pride was shattered.

"Never educated by his parents, and always pulling off freakish stunts. The shameless son of a bitch! I can't believe he got to nine Tideflows! What a massive joke!" All of a sudden, Shangguan Tianyou let loose a stream of shrill laughter.

Beihan Lie bitterly clenched his fists. Despite the endless frustrations caused by Naruto, he had never given up hope that he could surpass him. As of this moment, he gritted his teeth, and felt more strongly than ever that he had to do just that.

Everyone in the Fallen Sword World experienced a short moment of reflective silence. But then, the voices of Fang Lin and Nine-Isles echoed out in all directions.

"Our three sects will never tolerate the appearance of nine Tideflows!

You people know what we have to do!"

"Kill Naruto! Stop the ninth Tideflow, and return the earthstring energy to the world around us. Profound Stream Sect! Blood Stream Sect! Pill Stream Sect! If we don't attack him together now, when will we?!"

A moment later, Song Que's voice rang out, grim and sinister. "Kill Naruto!"

The truth was that the three of them didn't even need to say anything.

All of the non-Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Fallen Sword Abyss were terrified, and began to speed toward Naruto, killing intent raging.

Hou Yunfei had completed his third Tideflow, and was in the middle of his fourth. Suddenly, he smiled happily and said, "Naruto, you defended me from the Luochen Clan, and now, I'm going to defend you!"

His fourth Tideflow began to fade as he chose to enter Foundation Establishment at that very moment.

He knew that Naruto would be in a very weak state, and was about to be attacked by a whole horde of enemies. Therefore, he would… defend Naruto!

Even as his Tideflow ended, he cried out, "Spirit Stream Sect disciples, it's me, Hou Yunfei. I just finished my own Foundation Establishment, and I'm going to defend Naruto. Who's with me?!"

After a moment of silence, the voices of numerous Spirit Stream Sect disciples could be heard shouting in response.

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki had our backs when we entered this place. I'm going to stand as his Dharma protector!"

"Naruto might be naughty and mischievous, but he's one of us!"

"Nine Tideflows! That's a sign that the Spirit Stream Sect is going to rise to prominence! You people want to kill Sect Uncle Uzumaki? I don't think so!" Virtually all of the Spirit Stream Sect disciples gritted their teeth and began to speed in Naruto's direction.

Ghostfang couldn't hold on any longer. As his eighth Tideflow faded

away in failure, he thought for a moment, and then completely ignored Naruto in favor of… going to interfere with Song Que. Apparently, he viewed Naruto's success or failure as having nothing to do with himself.

Beihan Lie let out a powerful roar. Suppressing the rage he felt toward

Naruto, he ended his fifth Tideflow and chose to enter Foundation Establishment immediately. Then, he stepped out to act as Dharma Protector for Naruto.

"This isn't for you, Naruto, it's for the Spirit Stream Sect!"

There were a few other Spirit Stream Sect disciples who similarly gritted their teeth and then ended their Tideflows to join their fellows.

Soon, in the entire Spirit Stream Sect, the only person other than Naruto who was still continuing with a Tideflow… was Shangguan Tianyou!

Eyes bloodshot, he was completely ignoring everything else other than his own wavering fifth Tideflow.

Fierce fighting instantly broke out as the disciples charged in the direction of Naruto. Soon, the area outside of Naruto's immortal's cave was the scene of a bitter battle as only a few dozen Spirit Stream Sect stood against a crowd of over a hundred.

Time passed, and the fighting only grew more intense. Under the combined attacks of Fang Lin and Nine-Isles, Hou Yunfei was already seriously injured, as was Beihan Lie. The Spirit Stream Sect disciples were shoved back over and over again, and Naruto's shields continued to be whittled away.

Naruto could sense what was happening outside, and he was left trembling. He wanted to end the Tideflow, but quickly realized that he had no control over it. It was impossible to end it himself, and in fact, he wasn't even capable of opening his eyes.

After all, the ninth Tideflow represented the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment!

Unless the process were somehow interfered with, there were only three ways it could be ended. One was to succeed, which would naturally end the Tideflow. The second way it might end was if the Fallen Sword World ran out of earthstring energy, causing the Tideflow to fade away. The final method was if the person undergoing their ninth Tideflow was killed.

Although his eyes were closed, they were completely bloodshot. He could sense that his fellow disciples were fighting for him, and he could tell that they were bleeding and injured, maybe even dying. His mind felt like it was being torn apart; he wanted to open his eyes, to end the Tideflow. But he couldn't.

"This ninth Tideflow either needs to fail, or hurry up and finish…

ARGHHHHH!" Trembling physically, he let out a protracted inner howl.

Chapter 159 Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Undying Gold Skin!

To everyone else, this was a rare occasion to see the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, something that, in the past several thousand years, had only occurred once, 800 years ago with Master Limitless of the Blood Stream Sect.

However, to Naruto, it was more than that. It was also a chance to make incredible progress with his Undying Live Forever Technique.

It was an opportunity to advance from Undying Silver Skin to Undying Gold Skin!

With the life-saving magical item given to him by Li Qinghou, his entire body was covered by a layer of blackness, and yet not even that could prevent a faint gold light from glittering around him.

As of this moment, Naruto had successfully cultivated the full first level of the Undying Codex!

He had successfully broken through the first shackle of mortality, something no one else had been able to accomplish for countless years. Of course, a few people had accomplished that task in the past. After all, the point of the first volume of the Undying Codex was to break through that first shackle.

But Naruto was the first person to ever make additional progress even after breaking through the shackle!

Generally speaking, there wasn't much in between the different layers that were the five shackles of mortality. They were like circles with a fixed size and shape. However, with Naruto, that fixed circle appeared to be expanding rapidly!

It was completely and utterly shocking!

Rumbling sounds filled his body as the golden color of his skin grew more and more intense. The Undying Live Forever Technique was in full operation, and because he had broken through the first shackle, the ninth vortex up above began to spin even more quickly, causing his ninth Tideflow to absorb earthstring energy at a shocking rate.

It was a harmonious cycle. The more earthstring energy that came to form his ninth spiritual sea, the more golden light shone from his Undying Skin. That in turn caused the ninth Tideflow to speed up even more.

It was a seemingly unending cycle that only continued to accelerate as the moments passed.

At the same time, Song Que was calling upon everything he had at his disposal, including secret magics of the Blood Stream Sect and the energy nodes he had connected to earlier, to also absorb earthstring energy at a shocking rate.

For most people, the time it took to complete a Tideflow was set, but Naruto and Song Que were completely breaking that trend. Both of them were sucking in as much earthstring energy as other people might take a month to absorb.

As for Song Que, massive rumbling sounds filled the area surrounding him as Ghostfang did everything he could to interfere. And yet, Song Que still managed to succeed with his eighth Tideflow!

As the power of the eighth Tideflow surged through him, Song Que's eyes shone with madness and excitement.

"Ninth Tideflow!" he howled. Outside, Ghostfang's face flickered as he saw a ninth vortex spring into being in the sky above.

According to an old saying, there can never be two suns in the sky at the same time. However, as of this moment, the two vortexes which could be seen in the Fallen Sword World were both that of the ninth Tideflow, and everyone who could see them was shocked to the core.

Even Shangguan Tianyou felt completely shaken. As for the disciples who were still trying to hang on to their own Tideflows, their faces went ashen with despair. They could only watch helplessly as their Tideflows faded away into nothing.

There was simply no way to compete with the two king-like disciples who were in the middle of their ninth Tideflows. No one could absorb any earthstring energy with those vortexes in existence.

"I refuse to accep

t this!" Shangguan Tianyou said through gritted teeth. However, his fifth Tideflow was halted, and he had no other choice but to enter Foundation Establishment. Killing intent surging in his eyes, he exploded into motion, not in Naruto's direction, but to join Ghostfang in resisting Song Que.

Inwardly, he howled, "Naruto, I hope you die, and I hope you do too, Song Que!"

Zhao Rou also had no choice but to give up in the middle of her fifth Tideflow, and it was the same with Xu Xiaoshan.

As for everyone else, they were in their second or third Tideflows.

As of this moment, the only people still in the middle of reaching

Earthstring Foundation Establishment in the Fallen Sword World were Naruto and Song Que!

The other disciples who had been interrupted wrathfully chose to either attack Naruto or Song Que. Considering that Naruto had been the biggest hindrance to everyone, it was no surprise that most people chose to attack him. As such, the disciples who were defending Naruto were already in imminent danger.

Just as Zhao Rou was about to go attack Naruto, she noticed that, somehow, the poison puppet she had created to defend herself, Gongsun Wan'er, was nowhere to be found.

There wasn't a single trace left behind to indicate where she might have gone. Zhao Rou's heart trembled, but there was no time to ponder the matter carefully. Without any further hesitation, she shot toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes were closed, but they were more bloodshot than ever.

"Must go faster!" he murmured. Anxiety filled him; he didn't have any desire for the fellow disciples outside his immortal's cave to die trying to defend him.

It was at this moment that the entire immortal's cave suddenly trembled violently as the final paper talisman shields outside were destroyed.

Naruto had used so many paper talismans that his defenses far exceeded those of the spell formations used by the other Chosen. But now, they had been completely destroyed.

As soon as that happened, the disciples of the other three sects unleashed all of their divine abilities in Naruto's direction.

Thankfully, Fang Lin and Nine-Isles were being held off by Hou Yunfei,

Beihan Lie, and two other Spirit Stream Sect disciples who had reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment, making it temporarily impossible for them to join in. Therefore, most of the people attacking Naruto were Chakra Condensation disciples.

Numerous cultivators unleashed magical techniques, all of which were blocked by Naruto's Divine Crane Shield.

In the Chakra Condensation stage, neither Hou Yunfei nor Beihan Lie had been on the same level as Fang Lin and Nine-Isles. Now that they were in Foundation Establishment, it was no different. Despite having the advantage of numbers, they were still in extreme danger, and were being injured repeatedly. Blood sprayed out of Hou Yunfei's mouth, and yet he continued to block the way, seemingly maddened.

Beihan Lie hesitated for a moment. He was soaked with blood and covered with wounds, and as such, began to back up. He had come to help Naruto, but wouldn't give his life for him. Seeing that the immortal's cave was on the verge of being destroyed, he decided that now was the time to retreat.

Fang Lin didn't chase him. Instead, he shot toward Naruto, joining the Chakra Condensation disciples to try and destroy the Divine Crane Shield.

"Are you looking to die?!" Nine-Isles barked, eyes flickering with killing intent. Considering he had just stepped into Foundation Establishment, he didn't dare to unleash too much of his cultivation base, for fear that his Dao foundation was not stable. However, Hou Yunfei didn't seem to care at all about his Dao foundation, and was fighting like a madman, making it very difficult to keep him under control.

Roaring in fury, Nine-Isles launched an attack with the power of obliteration, which instantly slammed into Hou Yunfei, who didn't even have a chance to dodge.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was sent tumbling backward, bones snapping left and right inside of him. After he landed hard on the ground, he struggled to rise to his feet, but couldn't. All he could do was lay there helplessly as over a hundred cultivators unleashed countless attacks onto Naruto.

"Naruto," he murmured, "this is my fault for being so useless."

The other Spirit Stream Sect disciples were all seriously injured. Thankfully, the disciples from the other three sects were focused on killing Naruto, and weren't trying to kill them.

Of course, each and every enemy disciple wanted to be the one to land the killing blow. After all, whoever was closest to Naruto when he died would benefit the most from the resulting blast of earthstring energy that would spread out.

By now, none of the Spirit Stream Sect disciples had any energy left to fight, and could only bitterly watch Naruto being bombarded.

Massive booms echoed out constantly. Fang Lin and Nine-Isles were already top Chosen, and were now seven Tideflows Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators. Under their leadership, the bombardment of all the Chakra Condensation disciples caused cracks to spread out all over Naruto's Divine Crane Shield.

"Time to die, Naruto!"

"Return your earthstring energy to the world around you," Fang Lin said. "Maybe I can't continue with my Tideflow, but at least some of my fellow

Pill Stream Sect disciples will reach Earthstring Foundation

Establishment!"

"Naruto, there's no way we'll let you succeed!" As the crowd roared, the Divine Crane Shield finally exploded.

The magical item which Naruto's Elder Brother Sect Leader had given him shattered. As it did, the soul of the divine crane flew out and settled down around Naruto, providing one last measure of defense.

However, it only took moments for it to begin to fade away. In that instant, the entire group of disciples from the other three sects stormed in. It was also at that point that the final wave of disciples who had reached Foundation Establishment joined the crowd. The most powerful among them had reached five Tideflows, and the weakest, one.

However, they were still Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators, and their attacks caused the divine crane to let out a piercing cry as it disappeared.

Zhao Rou from the Pill Stream Sect attacked with particular viciousness, and as soon as the crane vanished, she reached out to touch Naruto's forehead.

"It doesn't matter that you're an eight Tideflows Foundation

Establishment expert, you won't be able to escape death this time. All Spirit Stream Sect disciples must die!" Zhao Rou's beauty was twisted by venomous rage as her finger made contact with Naruto's forehead.

Just as she was expecting his head to explode, a powerful force slammed back into her, shoving her backward several meters. At the same time, the attacks from the other disciples also rebounded.

Booms rang out, but a black glow emanated from Naruto, defending against everything.

"Dammit! He still has more defenses!?"

"This Naruto has profound defensive preparations. He must have known that reaching nine Tideflows would provoke widespread rage. That was why he prepared so well ahead of time!"

"It doesn't matter how many defensive layers he has. However much earthstring energy he's absorbed, that's how much he's going to spit back out!"

The glow of magical techniques rose high into the air as seven or eight

Foundation Establishment cultivators and more than a hundred Chakra Condensation disciples unleashed attacks. The life-saving magical item from Li Qinghou began to distort, and after a few moments, a popping sound could be heard as it reverted into a bracelet, which was now covered with cracks. If it weren't for the fact that the new Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't dare to fully call upon all their power, it would have already been destroyed.

When the black glow vanished, Naruto was revealed, shining with boundless golden light!

"Die!" Zhao Rou said excitedly. She once again reached out with her index finger, and yet, before she could get close, Naruto's eyes snapped open.

They looked like the eyes of a wild beast, filled with boundless madness and infinitely burning rage. The entire world seemed to suddenly freeze in place!

Chapter 160 Chapter 160

Chapter 160: Slaughtering Chosen!

When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw Nine-Isles' vicious expression, Fang Lin's cruel smile, and other Foundation Establishment cultivators, including Zhao Rou, whose beautiful face was twisted with venomous rage as she reached out toward his forehead.

Everything around him was moving incredibly slowly, as if time had suddenly been locked in place.

He could sense that his ninth Tideflow had ended, and that a ninth spiritual sea existed in his dantian region.

He now had a total of nine spiritual seas, each one larger and more magnificent than the one beneath it. Boundless spiritual power surged inside of him, pouring through his body. As his spiritual seas grew more and more stable, his Dao foundation was formed!

He also realized something that none of the other disciples would be aware of; the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, nine Tideflows, didn't require a long period of stabilization like the other levels did.

It stabilized almost instantly, filling him with a sensation of unprecedented power. He had never experienced this level of spiritual power, this much vital energy. He could clearly sense the terrifying life force that radiated out from him, as well as the signs that his longevity was increasing.

In addition to all that, his Undying Skin had already broken through to the next level. Instead of Undying Silver Skin, he now had Undying Gold Skin!

He had advanced by leaps and bounds, had become more powerful in all aspects. He had reached a new level of life that was completely different from before. As of this moment, he was no longer a part of the mortal world, but was a true cultivator who had shed his mortality!

However, the price he had to pay was immense, and he was well aware of that. He understood that only the fit survived, and he understood the law of the jungle. He knew that on the path to living forever, it didn't matter if he hated fighting and killing. The path was narrow and cramped, and although he was willing to walk it along with others, there were many who didn't share such sentiments.

He knew now more than ever that sometimes, even if he didn't feel like killing someone, that person might want to kill him. In that case, he could either close his eyes and die, or unleash his rage and fight!

He saw the shattered battleground that was the area outside his immortal's cave. He saw the injured Spirit Stream Sect disciples, and he saw the bloodied and unconscious Hou Yunfei.

He was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. These were his own fellow disciples, like his family. Each and every Spirit Stream Sect disciple was a person he would never be able to forget.

He saw some of the Spirit Stream Sect disciples who were now nothing more than corpses, and it filled his heart with pain. Their end came much like Zhou Youdao's, and that idea filled Naruto with so much rage that his eyes turned red.

How his fury burned!

He was furious that he had been besieged, and furious that Spirit Stream

Sect disciples had died defending him. He was furious that, despite not having provoked any of these other sects, they had come to take his life!

"I practice cultivation because I want to live forever. I don't like fighting and killing. But… I can if I have to!" To Naruto, the world had turned as crimson as blood. Everything had slowed down to the point where it wasn't moving.

"My fellow Spirit Stream Sect disciples died protecting me. So now, I'll make sure the survivors reach Foundation Establishment!

"Each and every Spirit Stream Sect disciple here is going to get to

Earthstring Foundation Establishment!"

Rage burning in his heart, he spoke the words like an oath, and then, everything seeme

d to return to normal. Zhao Rou looked just as ferocious as she had moments ago. As her index finger closed in on his forehead, it suddenly lurched to a stop. At some unknown point, Naruto had raised his own right hand, and before Zhao Rou even realized what had happened, he clamped his hand down onto her wrist.

"No!" she screamed. She was about to attempt to sever her own arm to get away, but Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he squeezed his hand down. A popping sound could be heard, along with a bitter scream as Zhao Rou's entire arm exploded. At the same time, Naruto rose to his feet and took a step forward, slamming bodily into her. Her chest caved in and blood sprayed out of her mouth, along with a choked shriek. Even as she attempted to turn and flee, her entire body exploded.

At the same time, her Dao foundation was destroyed. She had just stepped into Foundation Establishment, and the earthstring energy inside of her hadn't completely solidified. As she died, massive quantities of earthstring energy erupted out in all directions. Naruto quickly waved his sleeve, sending it in the direction of the Spirit Stream Sect disciples.

Everything happened in the briefest of moments. Naruto's hair flew around him as he took another step forward, appearing in front of a disciple from the Profound Stream Sect who had experienced two Tideflows. Before the disciple even realized what was happening, Naruto grabbed his neck and squeezed his hand down.

CRACK!

Naruto threw the body toward the Spirit Stream Sect disciples, and as it exploded, large quantities of earthstring energy surged out.

He took another step forward, ending up in front of a disciple from the Blood Stream Sect who had experienced three Tideflows. A single fist strike, and the disciple exploded.

One more step put him in front of a disciple from the Pill Stream Sect with a single Tideflow cultivation base. Naruto waved his hand, and the aura of the Waterswamp Kingdom appeared. It was merely the aura, nothing more, and yet the Pill Stream Sect disciple's eyes went bloodshot, and exploded into bits!

Just like before, earthstring energy flowed out toward the Spirit Stream Sect disciples.

At that point, Naruto stopped in place. Only a brief moment had elapsed since he had stepped forward to kill Zhao Rou.

As he stood there, surrounded by rumbling sounds, the crowds of attacking disciples from the other sects were shocked to find that the person who had been sitting cross-legged in meditation had vanished, and now stood right in front of them.

Zhao Rou had been killed, and Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Pill Stream Sect, Profound Stream Sect, and Blood Stream Sect had all been cut down. At the same time, a huge amount of earthstring energy was swirling toward the Spirit Stream Sect disciples, who were just as shocked as everyone else.

Voice booming like thunder, Naruto roared, "Friends from the

Spirit Stream Sect, the time has come to reach Earthstring Foundation

Establishment, and I will be your Dharma protector!" Trembling, the Spirit Stream Sect disciples quickly sat down cross-legged and began to absorb the earthstring energy.

Because this earthstring energy came directly from slaughtered Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was no need for an earthstring capture crystal to be able to absorb it!

Everything happened so quickly that the minds of the onlookers were left reeling, and their scalps went numb. Gasps could be heard as all of them were filled with intense sensations of deadly crisis.

Nine-Isles' eyes were wide with disbelief. Fang Lin was shaking visibly, and felt as if every drop of blood inside of him were screaming at him that Naruto was more terrifying than he could possibly imagine.

"Impossible!"

Even as everyone reeled in shock, killing intent flickered in Uzumaki

Naruto's eyes, and he took another step forward, placing him in front of Nine-Isles.

A single punch caused blood to spray out of Nine-Isles's mouth.

Screaming, he called upon all of the power of the Exterminating Obliteration Technique to defend himself. Then, face ashen, he fled without the slightest hesitation.

Naruto's eyes flickered. He had sensed a strange power in NineIsles just now, something that protected his life force. Even though it wasn't a full match for Naruto, it was still powerful!

Naruto let Nine-Isles flee, and flickered into motion, appearing in front of Fang Lin. Instantly, two fingers shot out toward Fang Lin's throat.

It didn't matter how Fang Lin tried to defend himself. It didn't matter what magical techniques or magical items he called up. Everything was crushed by Naruto's fingers. They destroyed everything like a hammer crushing an ice cube, speeding forward to latch onto Fang Lin's throat.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

A cracking sound rang out, and Fang Lin's eyes went wide. Blood oozed out of his mouth as his seven-layered Dao foundation collapsed. He wasn't even able to scream. Naruto tossed his body off to the side, releasing earthstring energy ten times stronger than anything before. The Spirit Stream Sect disciples trembled as they madly absorbed it.

"I never thought you'd be so much weaker than Nine-Isles," Naruto said, eyes flashing.

It was at that very moment that a black soul fire flew out from Fang Lin's body, but before it could get very far, Naruto took a step forward and grabbed it.

A face was visible inside of the soul fire, but it wasn't Fang Lin's. It was a sinister face which was half covered by a black birthmark. It stared at Naruto, and then began to chuckle.

"Being able to find someone interesting like you among all these people makes dying worth it. Maybe we'll have a chance to meet again someday!"

With that, the soul fire faded away. Although no one else was able to observe what had happened, Naruto could hear the voice clearly in his head.

"Parlor tricks!" Naruto said, snorting coldly.

It was only at around this time that the other disciples in the area began to react. Miserable screams rang out as the terrified disciples attempted to flee in all directions.

As far as they were concerned, Naruto had turned into a devil!

"Zhao Rou's dead! Fang Lin's dead! Nine-Isles has fled!"

"Heavens! Is this the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment?!"

"800 years ago, Master Limitless of the Blood Stream Sect reached the peak, and almost all of the disciples from the other three sects were wiped out."

Screaming, the more than one hundred disciples in the area began to flee as if they had gone mad. Their minds were trembling, and they were completely and utterly shaken by the terror that was Naruto.

At the same time, the Spirit Stream Sect disciples were shivering in excitement. Beihan Lie was panting as he looked at Naruto, his feelings even more complicated than before. However, his determination to surpass him only continued to grow stronger.

Naruto didn't chase any of the fleeing disciples. He quickly went over to Hou Yunfei and placed his palm onto his chest. Earthstring energy poured into him, restoring his Dao foundation. A moment later, the signs of a Tideflow once again appeared.

Hou Yunfei slowly opened his eyes, and when he saw Naruto, he smiled.

Naruto looked around at the other Spirit Stream Sect disciples as they reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment. None of them would be able to achieve three Tideflows, only two at the most. After all, even with Naruto helping them, there still wasn't much earthstring energy left to split between everyone.

Despite that, everyone was profoundly shaken.

"Not enough earthstring energy…." Naruto thought as he watched Hou Yunfei absorbing the energy. Then he looked up toward the lone remaining vortex up in the sky.

It was none other than Song Que, in the middle of his ninth Tideflow!

"You sent people to kill me and stop my nine Tideflows. Well, Uzumaki

Naruto isn't the type of person who gets hit and doesn't hit back! If I stop your Tideflow, Big Bro Hou will have more earthstring energy for himself!" His eyes flashed with cold light, but then he hesitated, as he remembered that there were many disciples here who needed someone to stand for them as Dharma protector.

Beihan Lie took a deep breath as he sensed that his own faded Tideflow was on the verge of resuming. "Naruto, you go. We might have a beef with each other, but I have no desire for a second Master Limitless to arise in the Blood Stream Sect. You go stop Song Que. I'll defend everyone here!"

Naruto gave him a deep look, his heart filled with regret. After clasping hands and bowing deeply, he transformed into a beam of light that shot up toward Song Que!

—

Chapter 161 Chapter 161

Chapter 161: Wreck Your Tideflow!

Ghostfang and Shangguan Tianyou were already in the process of bombarding Song Que's spell formation. Although the spell formation was cracked and crumbling, it still held.

Song Que's ninth vortex spun rapidly overhead, sucking in earthstring energy from all over the Fallen Sword World.

His eyes were closed, but they were still completely bloodshot. As he sat there cross-legged, he went all out with every resource at his disposal, which included absorbing earthstring energy via the energy nodes throughout the Fallen Sword World, which he had linked together as a spell formation.

Although no one could see those nodes, cracks were now starting form on them, especially the node in the location where Naruto had first met Song Que outside the body of the sword. As the cracks spread out, the surface of the enormous, otherworldly sword began to destabilize to the point where it was starting to crumble.

However, the signs of the potential destruction of the sword were impossible to detect, even by Ouyang Jie outside on Mount Flamecrane.

"Must go faster!" Song Que howled inwardly. His hands were splayed on the ground in front of him, and his hair whipped about his head as he absorbed huge quantities of earthstring energy. As the vortex spun, he got closer and closer to completing his ninth Tideflow, and the world around him trembled. Even the sky seemed to be weakening.

In fact, there was another trend that could not be detected except by someone sitting exactly where Song Que was sitting. In the very middle of the vortex up above in the weakening sky, there was… a strand of energy… that was so faint nobody would ever notice it!

It was completely different than earthstring energy, something that existed on a higher level… a completely shocking type of energy!

Only someone sitting exactly where Song Que was sitting would be able to detect it, the reason being that he was sitting on last energy node in the Fallen Sword World! Song Que had selected this location to reach Foundation Establishment for a very specific reason!

As soon as Song Que sensed the energy, his heart began to beat with excitement. He had been waiting for this day for a very long time.

"The peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment doesn't count for anything. That's just the first step. What I'm really here for is… HeavenDao Foundation Establishment! Only then will I have the power to crush anyone in my path after I get back to the sect. Then I can finally compete with aunt Song Junwan and that damned Xuemei to be the blood master of Middle Peak! As one of the four great blood masters, I would rank even higher than the grand elders in the Blood Stream Sect!" Song Que was already starting to get excited.

In terms of seniority, the blood masters of the Blood Stream Sect were on equal footing with the sect leader. From that peak level of power, all they had to do was take one more step to reach Ancestor Peak, which was an incredibly high position.

However, just as Song Que was about to complete his ninth Tideflow, a beam of light shot up toward him, which was none other than Naruto. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he radiated a murderous aura. A pair of wings could be seen behind him, every flap of which propelled him forward with incredible speed.

Combined with the power of nine Tideflows, he could move infinitely faster than anyone in the Chakra Condensation stage, and it only took him a moment to reach Song Que's spell formation.

Almost instantly, incredible pressure exploded out from Naruto, becoming a crushing force that caused Ghostfang's pupils to constrict. Worried that his own Dao foundation might be destabilized, he gave a cold harrumph and then backed up.

Shangguan

Tianyou didn't even measure up to Ghostfang, and with the power of only five Tideflows, had no choice but to back up begrudgingly, chuckling bitterly.

As Naruto approached like a blazing sun, Shanguan Tianyou felt himself trembling from the pressure that naturally weighed down from the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment.

"Song Que!" Naruto roared. Inside the spell formation, a tremor ran through Song Que, but he wasn't capable of opening his eyes. He felt a sensation of imminent danger, and his heart began to pound. Filled with a sensation of madness, he tried to get his Tideflow to end as quickly as possible.

But Naruto's voice was like thunder from the heavens. As it stepped into the perimeter of the spell formation, everything trembled.

Then, he lifted his foot and stepped down onto the spell formation itself.

The ground quaked, and more than half of the spell formation shattered. Off to the side, Shangguan Tianyou's heart was pounding, and Ghostfang had to work hard to suppress his desire to fight.

"Considering you tried to interrupt my ninth Tideflow, did you really think I would let you succeed in yours?!" He lifted his right hand, and golden light glittered as his fleshly body power erupted. Calling upon all the force of his Undying Gold Skin, he unleashed a fist strike.

The spell formation trembled, clearly on the verge of shattering. Naruto took another step forward, and unleashed another fist strike. Then another, and another!

All four fist strikes were backed by the full power of his Undying Gold Skin. Each punch was filled with force which came from breaking through the first shackle of mortality, and burned with Naruto's rage and fury. After four such fist strikes, the spell formation protecting Song Que collapsed.

Finally, Song Que was revealed, sitting there cross-legged in meditation, completely unable to move even a muscle.

Naruto didn't stop. He strode forward and then swished his sleeve, causing violet Chakra to stream out and form the shape of a huge violet cauldron. It seemed almost completely corporeal, its surface covered with magical symbols and designs of birds and beasts. Under Naruto's control, the magical symbols began to swirl around the cauldron, and the birds and beasts began to move as if they were alive. At the same time….

The violet cauldron smashed downward toward Song Que.

"Since you can't end the ninth Tideflow on your own, I'll help you!" Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as the violet cauldron descended with tens of thousands of kilograms of force.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Song Que's personal defenses attempted to protect him. When the cauldron hit the light of his defenses, they shattered. Then, streams of magical items flew out, but they were just as easily crushed. Finally, the cauldron actually slammed into Song Que.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed out of his mouth, and his eyes opened. He had just been on the verge of finishing his ninth Tideflow, but had been ripped away from it by Naruto's interference. The partially complete ninth Dao foundation in his dantian region shattered into pieces.

At the same time, the earthstring energy that had been brought together by the ninth Tideflow began to flow away from Song Que, rapidly spreading out and merging back into the world around it.

However, for some unknown reason, Song Que managed to force the escaping earthstring energy into a column of light that shot up into the clouds, making it merge back into the world even more quickly than before.

At the same time, the ninth vortex up above him not only ceased moving, it actually shattered into pieces.

All of the rest of the disciples throughout the Fallen Sword World were completely shocked and began to cry out in surprise.

"Song Que failed!"

"Naruto interrupted his ninth Tideflow!"

"Heavens! Naruto couldn't get Song Que to hate him more even if he killed him! He's destroyed his Dao!"

Everyone was so shocked that they were going mad. Xu Xiaoshan had been rushing over from off in the distance, but as soon as he saw what was happening, he stopped in place and didn't dare to get any closer.

Further off in the distance, Nine-Isles was wiping the blood off of his mouth and rotating his cultivation base. When he sensed what was happening, his eyes shone with terror.

"Naruto… is invincible!"

Ghostfang clenched his fists tightly. He wasn't a person who was easily affected by emotions, but as of the moment, he was filled with countless indecipherable feelings.

Shangguan Tianyou was left gasping. He felt like his heart had been bitten by a poisonous viper, and madness and envy filled him completely. "Naruto! If it weren't for you, all of that would be mine!"

As everyone was shaken, Song Que fell back at top speed, blood spraying out of his mouth. His eyes were crimson, and his hair was in disarray. Looking like he wanted to eat Naruto alive, he let out a miserable howl.

"Naruto!"

His ninth Tideflow was a failure, leaving him with only eight Tideflows. As his Dao foundation stabilized, his cultivation base became that of the Foundation Establishment stage. Even as he retreated, his power increased far beyond what it had been before.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he blurred into motion, appearing a moment later directly in front of Song Que. Then, his two fingers shot out like lightning.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

Just before they landed on Song Que, Song Que performed a doublehanded incantation gesture. Then he opened his mouth and spit out a finger-nail sized blood sphere.

Despite being at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, Naruto instantly sensed that he was in incredible danger.

The spiritual power within that blood sphere was terrifying!

For some reason, there was something familiar about this crisis, although Naruto wasn't sure exactly what it was.

When his two fingers made contact with the blood sphere, a shockwave blasted out in all directions, along with a deafening boom.

As the force of the shockwave spread out in all directions, Ghostfang and Shangguan Tianyou were forced backward, and the lands down below were crushed.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto's mouth as he staggered backward several steps, reeling in shock. Despite the fact that he had his Undying Gold Skin, the blast from the blood sphere had actually injured him. Although the injuries weren't serious, they were shocking nonetheless.

The sense of familiarity he had experienced moments ago had grown even more intense when he made contact with the blood sphere. And yet, he still couldn't figure out why that was.

"Why does this seem so familiar!? Just what exactly is that blood sphere!?"

Naruto looked up to see Song Que flying backward like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying out of his mouth, his chest caved in. Clearly, his injuries were much more serious than Naruto's.

Because he had been interrupted in the middle of his ninth Tideflow, his cultivation base was still in the process of stabilizing. He was definitely less powerful than Naruto, and furthermore, he had suffered a backlash injury because of the blood sphere.

Even still, he looked up with maddened viciousness at Naruto.

Naruto was just about to launch another attack when Song Que turned and fled. Even as he sped away, he produced a priceless teleportation jade amulet, which he crushed. A moment later, teleportation power snatched him up, and he vanished.

When he reappeared, he was hundreds of kilometers away, fleeing at top speed.

"I hope he didn't notice," Song Que murmured through gritted teeth. "Dammit, he showed up just a moment too soon. One step away, just one step…. Oh well, it doesn't matter. Even if I didn't reach the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, I can still surpass Naruto. And once I do, he's dead!" With that, he produced a Feng Shui compass which featured nine glowing dots of light. Those were none other than the energy nodes he had activated throughout the Fallen Sword World!

—

Chapter 162 Chapter 162

Chapter 162: Heavenstring Energy

Naruto's eyes glittered at the sight of Song Que's precious jade amulet of teleportation. Just when he was about to give chase, he suddenly paused and looked down.

The ground down below had been completely flattened by the exploding blood sphere….

"Hold on a second…." Naruto said, looking more than a little suspicious. "If Song Que had a jade amulet of teleportation, then it would have made more sense for him to use it the moment I interrupted his ninth Tideflow. After the collapse of the vortex, he was in the worst position possible!

"But instead of using the jade amulet, he used that blood sphere to fight me. He even got injured in the process. Although it seemed like he was really pissed off, now that I think about it, it seems more like… he was trying to erase evidence down below." After analyzing the matter a bit more, his eyes glittered.

"After I interrupted him, two things happened. The first was that his ninth Tideflow was destroyed, and the earthstring energy scattered. That was normal. But what was abnormal was how his earthstring energy formed a column of light that shot up into the sky and dispersed even more rapidly than before.

"Although it might seem innocuous at first, those two things together… are very suspicious!

"He's hiding something!

"He's hiding something that has to do with the sky, and with his spell formation on the ground. To figure out what it is he's hiding, I should compare things now with how they were before. Maybe then I can deduce the answer." Looking up into the sky, he confirmed that the Tideflow vortex had indeed dissipated. Because of how Song Que had directly returned the earthstring energy, some smaller, residual vortexes remained, but they were nothing like the larger vortex from before.

"Because of the ninth Tideflow vortex, and the waning earthstring energy, the sky grew weak…." After confirming this by observing a few different locations up above, he looked back down at the ground.

Ghostfang and Shangguan Tianyou were still there off to the side. Ghostfang looked suspiciously at what Naruto was doing, whereas Shangguan Tianyou laughed coldly in his heart, then turned and left.

Naruto ignored Shangguan Tianyou as he studied the ground below.

"This normally wouldn't be a good place for Foundation Establishment. But Song Que selected this location for a reason. Then he wiped out the evidence when he left." Frowning, Naruto began to walk along, taking time to look up into the sky with every step.

Soon, he was standing in the exact spot where Song Que had been sitting cross-legged. There, he looked up into the sky again, and was just about to take another step, when suddenly his expression flickered. He stopped and stood there, staring up into the sky.

At first, everything seemed normal, even calm compared to before. But then, he sensed something. He couldn't be sure if it was real or not, but based on his nine Tideflows cultivation base, the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, he suddenly got the feeling… that there was something up there so powerful that it was terrifying even to himself!

It was a pressure that filled him with intense desire, something that seemed connected to his nine spiritual seas.

"That's…." At first he couldn't believe it, but then he began to tremble and even pant. Without another thought, he leaped up into the air and flew off into the distance.

Ghostfang frowned as he watched Naruto leaving. Then he headed over to the same spot where Naruto had just been standing, and looked up into the sky. However, he didn't notice anythin

g out of the ordinary. Only someone like Song Que, with a special magical item, and who had activated numerous energy nodes, would be able to do so. Or… someone at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, with the power of nine Tideflows.

In fact, the latter would find it even easier to sense what was above, and with more clarity.

Eventually, Ghostfang shook his head and left.

Not too much time passed before Naruto returned, looking very excited, Hou Yunfei in tow. Hou Yunfei was just beginning to resume his Tideflow.

"Big Bro Hou, start your Tideflow here. I'll help you speed things along. I suspect that the sky above this point has a unique aura!"

Hou Yunfei smiled. Considering the utter faith he had in Naruto, he didn't feel the need to ask any further questions, and quickly sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Standing behind him, Naruto reached out and placed his palm onto his back. His nine spiritual seas began to rotate as he poured power into Hou Yunfei to help speed up his Tideflow.

Before long, his fourth Tideflow appeared, creating a vortex that connected with the sky above. Soon, earthstring energy was surging toward him from all directions.

Naruto wasn't happy with the speed, though, so he continued to rotate his cultivation base and use the Tideflow power of the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment to push Hou Yunfei faster and faster. Soon a fifth and sixth Tideflow also appeared.

Naruto was the only person who could do something like this, using the special power of nine Tideflows. He also had to pay a steep price for it. Considering he was only helping one person, it was a price he could pay. If he were helping two people, he would slip from his spot at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. In any case, he had planned to help Hou Yunfei all along.

Hou Yunfei's heart trembled. He knew that what he was experiencing now was unimaginable good fortune, as three Tideflows simultaneously sucked in earthstring energy from everywhere.

"Naruto…." Hou Yunfei said, his heart filled with warmth.

Naruto smiled. Worried that Hou Yunfei would read too much into the situation, he quickly said, "Bros like us always help each other. Besides, I need this earthstring energy cleared away so I can see things clearly."

However, Hou Yunfei knew that even if that were true, Naruto still could have chosen to take advantage of the situation for himself in some way. It was definitely not in vain that Hou Yunfei had chosen to defend Naruto earlier.

Naruto wanted to help Hou Yunfei form a seventh tideflow, but Hou Yunfei had reached his limit. Furthermore, his three combined Tideflows had caused the sky to once again grow weak!

As it did, Naruto could clearly sense… a very faint aura which was quickly becoming more clear.

It was an aura that seemed holy, as if a great Dao were opening its eyes, causing all of the world, all of this heaven and earth, to prostrate in worship!

After double and then triple-checking, Naruto began to tremble, and his eyes shone with madness.

"Heaven… Heavenstring energy!

"The sect leader was right. The Fallen Sword World really does have a strand of heavenstring energy! That means that Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment is possible!

"Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment… can add five hundred years of longevity!" Naruto almost looked as if he had been struck by lightning; his flesh and blood were trembling with excitement.

At the same time, a few hundred kilometers away, Song Que had sat down cross-legged in a mountainous valley, where he was fiddling with his Feng Shui compass. After a moment, his expression flickered, and he looked over in Naruto's direction, and the rapidly weakening sky. His eyes went wide, and his mind began to spin.

"Not good!" he said, suddenly feeling wracked with anxiety. The Blood Stream Sect had spent years investigating that strand of heavenstring energy. Generation after generation of disciples had provided information, all the way down until Master Limitless reached the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. Only then was the information completed. Overall, the sect had spent several thousand years performing auguries and other calculations to ascertain the method to reveal the heavenstring energy!

Because of that, Song Que's generation was one of the most important in recent history, and he was one of the most important disciples of that generation. He had paid an unimaginable price to win this chance from Master Limitless.

He had made countless preparations, including activating all of the energy nodes, which had taken a huge amount of time. All of that was to ensure that he could collect that strand of heavenstring energy.

The previous plan had been to reach Foundation Establishment on the energy node where he had begun his Tideflows. After the ninth Tideflow ended, he would use its power along with the support of the Feng Shui compass to capture the heavenstring energy, absorb it, and then reach Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment.

But then Naruto interrupted him, and he'd been forced to wipe away the evidence and head to a slightly inferior energy node. The new plan was to rely completely on the Feng Shui compass to slowly capture the heavenstring energy.

How could he ever have imagined that Naruto would piece together the clues and provoke the descent of the strand of heavenstring energy? Although Naruto was the only one who could sense it at the moment, as the energy continued to descend, all of the cultivators in the Fallen Sword World would be able to detect it.

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" he raged, his hair flying around in disarray.

"I can't mess with any more advanced preparations, and I can't wait any longer. By the time that strand of heavenstring energy fixes onto a landing spot down below, it will be too late!

"I don't care if everybody notices, I need to capture that heavenstring energy before it descends completely!" Seemingly teetering on the edge of insanity, Song Que bit the tip of his tongue and spat some blood onto the Feng Shui compass. Then his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as he pushed down onto the compass and howled.

"Heavenstring energy, descend here!" As soon as the blood splashed onto the Feng Shui compass, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power erupted out, piercing through the air as it shot up into the sky. There, it connected with the heavenstring energy, and began to pull it down!

Moments ago, the heavenstring energy had been slowly descending, but now… it appeared in the open and began to drop down!

The entire sky immediately turned golden, and shafts of dazzling light shot down from the location of the energy strand. It almost looked like a sun descending.

That strand of energy existed above all other things; it radiated the might of a heavenly Dao, and instantly caught the attention of everyone present.

It was completely and utterly unique within the Fallen Sword World!

It was something uncharacteristically rare in the world of cultivation, something stunning and breathtaking that few people would ever have a chance to lay eyes on.

It was… five hundred years of longevity, something above earthstring energy, and the ultimate peak of all Foundation Establishment!

As it took corporeal form, it became something like a wisp of golden smoke that radiated the will of a heavenly Dao, which spread out to fill all of the Fallen Sword World.

All cultivators began to tremble violently as they were filled with an instinctive hunger, something which vastly surpassed that which was mortal. It was something… that came from deep within their blood!

It was a hope that surpassed reason. It was insanity!

"Heaven… heavenstring energy!"

"That's… heavenstring energy!"

"It's mine!" In the blink of an eye, virtually all of the cultivators began to howl with unprecedented excitement and madness!

The wounded Nine-Isles began to tremble as he threw his head back and roared.

"Heavenstring energy!"

Ghostfang, Shangguan Tianyou, and all of the other Foundation Establishment cultivators were going completely mad, and the Chakra Condensation cultivators were the same!

All of them sprang into action, converging from all directions!

As of this moment, sects didn't matter; everyone devolved into chaotic fighting.

—

Chapter 163 Chapter 163

Chapter 163: No Quarter Asked, None Given!

For most cultivators, when it came to heavenstring energy, there was no such thing as cooperation with fellow disciples. There was only competition.

Regardless of whether someone had already reached Foundation Establishment or not, as long as you got heavenstring energy, you could use it to reach Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

Even the weakest level of Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment was above the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. To cultivators, reaching that stage was like entering the heavens with a single bound!

If Song Que acquired it, then considering he already had an eight Tideflows earthstring cultivation base, then when he reached HeavenDao, then he would be nearly at the peak of power.

On the other hand, if Naruto acquired it, then he… would become something that hadn't appeared in the eastern Lower Reaches of the Heavenspan River in thousands of years…. A nine Tideflows Earthstring Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert!

He would be the most powerful type of Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator there could be!

However, what mattered most to Naruto was not how powerful he would become, it was the 500 years of longevity. Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment came with 100 years. Earthstring Foundation Establishment came with 200 years. Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment… came with 500 years!

In the cultivation world, which had a history that stretched back tens of thousands of years into the past, 500 years didn't seem like very much. But to mortals, that was equivalent to ten generations. Furthermore, it was exactly what Naruto constantly dreamed about!

How could he not go crazy about it!?

He wasn't the only one. Most people present were driven mad. There were only a few cultivators who were in the middle of Tideflows, or who perhaps had other reasons, suppressed their excitement. Hou Yunfei was one of them, as well as the other Spirit Stream Sect disciples whom Naruto had helped to acquire earthstring energy. They chose to stand aside.

But everyone else didn't harbor even a single thought of giving up!

Instantly, the hundred or so remaining survivors in the Fallen Sword World all sprang into actions. Hoarse shouts rose up as they flew into the sky toward the descending strand of golden heavenstring energy.

Naruto was the fastest to react. Just before taking to flight, he slapped his chest, causing a black light to flash off of his wrist and gather near his chest. It transformed into a black pearl, which was the life-saving magical item Li Qinghou had given him. After pushing the pearl down onto Hou Yunfei's back, it melted, and spread out to cover him, which would protect him as he completed his Foundation Establishment. With that, Naruto flew up into the air.

"That heavenstring energy is mine!" he howled. He seemed to have gone just as mad as everyone else, and he only had one thought in his mind…. He had to get that heavenstring energy, no matter who he had to fight to do so!

That heavenstring energy was essentially his own life!

"If you steal that heavenstring energy, you're stealing my longevity!" he growled. He flew at top speed up into the sky, moving so quickly that he was the first to close in on the heavenstring energy and reach out to grab it.

However, just when he was about to grab it, Song Que emerged from the immortal's cave he had carved out. Blinding light shot out from his Feng Shui compass, which altered the course of the heavenstring energy.

Just as Naruto's hand was about close down onto it, it split apart into two pieces and slipped through his fingers. One part, the smaller half, changed directions and headed toward

Song Que, while the larger part sped off into the distance.

Naruto's eyes were bright red as he ignored the smaller strand of energy and focused on the larger one. Rushing after it, he was just about to reach out and grab it when Ghostfang threw his head back and roared, causing ghost Chakra to surge around him. Disregarding any potential negative ramifications to his cultivation base, he caused a powerful mist to rise up around him, within which echoed ghostly weeping and howling. At the same time, a ghostly hand stretched out from the mist, radiating an intense, murderous aura.

Back when he had been opposing Song Que and trying to destroy his spell formation, he had been worried about the instability of his Dao foundation, and hadn't resorted to going all out. But now he didn't seem to care about that. He drew upon all the power he was capable of, causing his battle prowess to rise dramatically.

"Beat it!" he howled, shooting up into the air to fight with Naruto over the heavenstring energy.

In the blink of an eye, they slammed into each other. Ghostfang attacked with deadly force, causing rumbling sounds to fill heaven and earth. Shockingly, ten enormous ghost hands could be seen within the mist, each one of which radiated the power of Foundation Establishment as they bore down on Naruto.

"You think I'll just back down like that?!" Naruto retorted. Waving his sleeve, he caused violet Chakra to swirl out and form a huge cauldron that shot toward the ten ghost hands. Bolstered by the power of nine Tideflows, the enormous violet cauldron was more powerful than ever, to a terrifying level.

Rumbling sounds rose up as Ghostfang's ten ghost hands collapsed into pieces. Blood sprayed out of Ghostfang's mouth as he was shoved backward by a powerful force. Naruto's Undying Gold Skin glittered with radiant light, making him look like a celestial warrior. Although he seemed unfazed by the encounter just now, the truth was that his Chakra and blood were in chaos.

Ghostfang had reached seven Tideflows, only two less than him. Plus, they had been relatively evenly matched in Chakra Condensation. Thankfully, Naruto had broken through the first shackle of mortality, and was thus able to crush him.

After forcing Ghostfang away, Naruto sped forward and reached out toward the strand of heavenstring energy. However, it was at that moment that a howl of fury tore through the air.

"Naruto!" A beam of shocking sword light shot through the air heading directly toward Naruto.

Within the light was Shangguan Tianyou, who was ignoring any potential danger to his Dao foundation, and was even calling upon a secret magic to loosen a reincarnation seal inside of him. A murderous sword appeared which seemed capable of slicing apart the heavens, and it was stabbing directly toward Naruto.

Naruto's face flickered from the sense of danger he felt because of Shangguan Tianyou's sword. As the sword Chakra closed in, his eyes began to shine, and he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Waving both hands out to either side, he summoned the image of an enormous dragon, which howled as it charged toward the sword qi.

At the same time, a gigantic mammoth appeared behind him, which reared up on its hind legs before smashing its feet down toward Shangguan Tianyou.

It was none other than the manifestation of the Dragon Mammoth SeaForming Scripture, which had become a divine ability after he had fully mastered it.

When the divine ability slammed into Shangguan Tianyou, ear-splitting rumbling sounds spread out. Naruto stopped in place as the dragon and the mammoth collapsed, and a powerful force slammed into him. However, golden light flickered, and the power was suppressed.

As for Shangguan Tianyou, he coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood as he staggered backward. At the same time, his body withered visibly; obviously, the sword attack he had just unleashed had come at a hefty price.

Because of the delays, the heavenstring energy was now far off in the distance, where a dozen or so disciples from the other three sects were already starting to fight over it.

Ghostfang gritted his teeth and abandoned any attempts to attack Naruto, opting instead to pursue the heavenstring energy. Shangguan Tianyou did the same.

Eyes bloodshot, Naruto flapped his wings and pierced through the air, easily passing them up. As he blasted into the group of fighting cultivators, he waved his sleeve, sending power bursting out, which transformed into an attack that sent everyone in the area tumbling backward. Finally, Naruto's hand… closed around the strand of heavenstring energy.

This time, he was ready, and as soon as he grabbed the heavenstring energy, he began absorbing it into his right index finger.

Seeing that Naruto had taken the heavenstring energy caused killing intent to surge among everyone present.

"He can't absorb it immediately. Cut off his finger and take the energy away!"

"Kill him!"

There were a dozen or so cultivators from the other three sects, and all of them attacked like mad. Quite a few were in the Foundation

Establishment stage, which ensured that their attacks shook everything in the area. The Blood Stream Sect disciples unleashed particularly bizarre magical techniques. One of them even summoned a gargoyle, which lunged toward Naruto as if it wanted to consume him.

Another of the Blood Stream Sect disciples who seemed particularly strong attacked by summoning the illusory image of a huge hand. It seemed very familiar to Naruto, but he had no time to think about it at the moment. Being besieged by a dozen or so people, all of them attacking from different directions, caused his eyes to erupt with killing intent.

Although he feared death, the events with the Luochen Clan had long since impressed upon Naruto the fact that sometimes the only way to make sure he didn't die was to kill the people who were a threat!

On this day, if these people didn't die, then he would. When it came to heavenstring energy, there were no reasonable discussions, only the seizing of opportunities!

"All of you… are seeking your own deaths!" he growled. Other than the people he'd killed upon first stepping into Foundation Establishment, he hadn't harbored any desire to kill anyone else in the Fallen Sword Abyss, not even the disciples of the other three sects.

But now… it was time to unleash a slaughter!

Even as his voice echoed out, he pushed his Undying Gold Skin to its limit.

A boom echoed out as he sloughed off the divine abilities they had launched against him. His Chakra and blood were roiling, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. However, he moved so quickly that he only left afterimages behind as he unleashed a fist strike against each of the people besieging him!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Each fist strike was backed with killing intent. He had already broken through the first shackle of mortality, and was at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. His blows were like a deadly wind that slammed into the surrounding disciples of the three sects. All of them trembled, and then dissolved into mists of blood.

Ghostfang and Shangguan Tianyou had no other option than to retreat in the face of such ferocity.

One of the Blood Stream Sect disciples, in the moment before he exploded, unleashed some unknown divine ability that allowed his soul to flee his body, leaving behind nothing but a husk. As his body died, his face rippled, and a mask was revealed. The soul entered the mask, and instantly attempted to flee, but Naruto noticed and grabbed it. After squeezing the mask hard, he realized he couldn't destroy it, so he poured some cultivation base power into it to seal it, then threw it into his bag of holding.

By this point, all of the dozen or so disciples who had attacked him were dead. And yet, more disciples were closing in from off in the distance. One among their number shot out in front of the pack.

"Leave that heavenstring energy and get out of here, Naruto!" It was none other than Xu Xiaoshan. Mixed emotions could be seen on his face as he waved his hand, causing nine huge coffins to appear. Based on the sealing marks on the coffins, they could only be opened by someone in the Foundation Establishment stage. Moments later, Xu Xiaoshan's Foundation Establishment cultivation base erupted with power, and the stone coffins began to open. An aura of death spread out, and nine zombies appeared, all of them sporting long, black hair!

Each and every one had the aura of Foundation Establishment!

—

Chapter 164 Chapter 164

Chapter 164: So What!?

Naruto had tangled with the Blood Stream Sect before, and even back then, he could tell that their magical techniques were like the name of their sect: something akin to a devilish Dao. Assuming that the Spirit Stream Sect's information about the Blood Stream Sect was correct and not an exaggeration, then their magical techniques really were bizarre to the extreme!

Whether it was the huge hand that appeared behind the body refinement cultivator, which Naruto found so strangely familiar, or the gargoyles, or the corpse-refining magic of Xu Xiaoshan, all of them seemed to abound with intensely murderous auras.

As Xu Xiaoshan closed in, he waved his finger at Naruto, and the nine black-haired zombies shot toward Naruto like nine meteors.

The aura of death they exuded rose high into the air, and they let out piercing cries that locked down the entire area around Naruto.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he sprang into motion, golden light shining around him. His two fingers flickered like lightning as they shot out and crushed down onto the neck of one of the black-haired zombies.

A cracking sound could be heard, and the zombie's head tilted to the side, but it wasn't dead. It punched out at Naruto, who leapt to the side, hair flying around him as he shoved out with his palm.

That motion was backed by the explosive power of nine Tideflows, creating a gale-force wind that swept out in all directions. The power of the dragon and mammoth also appeared, becoming a powerful attack which shoved all of the black-haired zombies away. Then, Naruto launched himself toward Xu Xiaoshan.

Xu Xiaoshan's pupils constricted as Naruto unleashed a fist strike.

A boom rang out, and Xu Xiaoshan coughed up a mouthful of blood, simultaneously unleashing a host of defensive magical items. Despite all of his defenses, he was still seriously injured and thrown back several hundred meters by the power of the fist.

At the same time, Ghostfang and Shangguan Tianyou unleashed a combined attack.

Naruto didn't pause for even a moment. Turning, he unleashed all possible speed to escape. He knew he couldn't easily defeat Ghostfang, Xu Xiaoshan, and Shangguan Tianyou at the same time, and also didn't want to let them fire off any truly deadly attacks.

Even as he fled, the disciples from the other three sects closed in. Although they all coveted the heavenstring energy, considering that Naruto had it, they didn't dare to try to attack him on their own. However, as a group, they were confident enough to try to slow him down and give Ghostfang, Xu Xiaoshan and Shangguan Tianyou a chance go at him.

If that happened, it wouldn't necessarily be impossible for them to get the heavenstring energy in the end!

Many of the Profound Stream Sect disciples also possessed shadow projections. They could unleash illusory images, some weak, some strong, that allowed them to attack Naruto from a distance.

The Pill Stream Sect disciples also had their own unique methods of attack, including poisons, exploding pills, and the like.

The glow of magical techniques surrounded Naruto constantly,

and booms filled the air. A grave expression could be seen on his face. Even with his Undying Gold Skin, the bombardment was a big headache.

"You people really are looking to die!" Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he suddenly transformed into a long streak of light that shot toward the surrounding disciples. In the blink of an eye, he slammed into one of the Profound Stream Sect disciples, who spun off to the side and then exploded.

With that, Naruto emerged from the blockade, but even as he did, a voice could be heard coming from up ahead.

"Uzumaki Xia

ochun, we might be from the same sect, but that doesn't mean we can't fight over heavenstring energy!" It was Beihan Lie, striding forward with a burning sun held in his outstretched hand, a sun which was rapidly turning black. Apparently, this was his Sunset Incantation.

"Beihan Lie!" Naruto said, frowning. Almost at the same moment that Beihan Lie attacked, a beam of light appeared off in the distance, sending a screaming wind blasting out in all directions, which was filled with the power of the Exterminating Obliteration Technique. It was none other than Nine-Isles.

He didn't care that he was injured, or that Naruto was unnaturally powerful. He still was ready to fight.

He unleashed his attack in almost perfect unison with Beihan Lie. Magical symbols of obliteration exploded out, joining the pitch black sun to race toward Naruto.

The massive explosion made it impossible for Naruto to proceed forward. Moments later, Ghostfang, Xu Xiaoshan, and Shangguan Tianyou arrived, and soon he was dealing with five besiegers.

Each and every one of those five people was a spectacular Chosen among Chosen, and when they joined forces, their power was beyond description.

The other disciples in the area now felt a bit of hope. More than a hundred people closed in from all sides, joining forces to try to kill Naruto and snatch the heavenstring energy.

"Naruto, you might be strong, but you can't beat all of us together. Hand over that heavenstring energy!"

"Naruto, Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment is too important. We'd fight anybody who had that energy. There is no such thing as a fellow disciple in this situation. It's survival of the fittest!"

"Give up that heavenstring energy!"

Even as people shouted out, Ghostfang blurred into motion, exploding with energy as he unleashed the power of his cultivation base. Shockingly, he transformed into a ghost finger! Although it was only a finger, it was huge compared to the ghost hand from before. It filled half the sky, and caused everything to shake violently as it crushed down toward Naruto.

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes flickered with intense killing intent. After taking a deep breath, he sent sword Chakra streaming out of all of the pores on his body. It was almost as if his own qi, blood, soul, and cultivation base were manifesting externally, transforming into an enormous heavenly sword that slashed down toward Naruto.

Xu Xiaoshan let out a powerful roar as his forehead split open.

Unexpectedly, a beam of blood-colored light shot out, which transformed into a black-haired zombie. It seemed ancient, and as soon as it appeared, an aura of death spread out that distorted the entire area. Brandishing its long, claw-like fingernails and razor-sharp fangs, it leaped toward Naruto.

Things weren't over yet, though. Beihan Lie gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, causing black flames to erupt off of him. They covered his body, spreading wider and wider as he transformed into a black sun which soared up into the air and then dropped down toward Naruto.

Then there was Nine-Isles. A piercing whistling sound could be heard as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Magical symbols streamed out, each one of which burst with the power of the

Exterminating Obliteration Technique. The magical symbols then rapidly formed together into a single thread that seemed capable of slicing through anything and everything. Nine-Isles was left ashen-faced and coughing up blood. He even seemed to age visibly.

Five top Chosen were all attacking simultaneously!

In addition to them were a host of Chakra Condensation disciples, all of whom launched their most powerful magical techniques. The entire area lit up with colorful lights as countless divine abilities bore down on Naruto.

The intense danger of the situation caused Naruto to gasp. By this point, he had already assimilated about half of the heavenstring energy, and it was coursing through his Chakra passageways into his nine spiritual seas. If he tried to stop the process at this point, it could have serious negative ramifications.

Besides, he wasn't willing to give up the heavenstring energy after just having acquired it. Furthermore, when it came to five top Chosen attacking him at the same time, he had one reaction:

So what?!

Eyes glittering, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Even as the countless divine abilities and magical techniques rumbled toward him, he lifted both hands into the air and then murmured two words!

"Waterswamp… Kingdom!"

This would be his first time unleashing the complete Waterswamp Kingdom with a Foundation Establishment cultivation base!

As soon as the words left his mouth, everything in the area turned hazy. In the blink of an eye, heaven and earth vanished, and the area became a huge watery swamp. Water vapor filled the area, to the point where hair and clothes alike dripped with moisture.

An indescribably powerful aura roiled out, something that far exceeded early Foundation Establishment. This was more like mid Foundation Establishment!

A magical technique like this, which seemingly broke past the level of one's cultivation base… was a secret magic!

Of course, there were weak secret magics and strong ones. And although the Waterswamp Kingdom and Ghosts Haunt the Night were equally famous, Naruto was at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. He had already gained enlightenment of his life essence spirit, and had even broken through the first shackle of mortality. Because of all those reasons, his Waterswamp Kingdom vastly exceeded Ghostfang's Ghosts Haunt the Night!

When he unleashed it, it could destroy the heavens and crush the earth!

The faces of the five great Chosen all fell, and the reaction of the other cultivators was exactly the same. In that very instant, all of their magics were locked down and began to tremble on the verge of destruction.

"We can't let him keep this up!"

"Attack!" Everyone was crying out in alarm. At the same time, the magical techniques of the five great Chosen sped up. Rumbling sounds could be heard as they descended upon Naruto. However, that was when Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open!

Instantly, an enormous mountain peak appeared that could shake heaven and earth. It rose up from the 30,000-meter-wide waterswamp, superseding the world, rising high up into the sky!

The mountain peak was vastly enormous, and erupted with a shocking aura that could topple mountains and drain seas. Indescribable pressure pushed down onto everything, crushing everything in its path!

It was as if it wished to flatten everything in existence!

The magical techniques of the five great Chosen were destroyed like dried weeds!

Blood sprayed out of the mouths of the five Chosen, and expressions of astonishment could be seen on their faces. They were sent flying away, their bodies completely beyond their own control. As for the Chakra Condensation cultivators, they let out bloodcurdling screams as the pressure crushed down onto them. One by one, they began to explode, blood spraying out like blooming flowers!

They were being crushed out of existence, destroyed in body and soul!

—

Chapter 165 Chapter 165

Chapter 165: Seizing Heavenstring Energy!

That mountain was actually an indescribably gigantic beast!

In fact, it was so large that no one could even see what it looked like. All they could make out in the 30,000-meter waterswamp was a gigantic bone spur!

Even more terrifying was that the base of the spur wasn't even visible. 30,000 meters wasn't big enough for the entirety of the spur to be revealed.

It was difficult to imagine… exactly how large that beast was!

"Th-this… this is the Waterswamp Kingdom?!"

"Impossible!"

"The Waterswamp Kingdom is a secret magic of the Spirit Stream Sect, but Naruto's version is completely shocking!" The five Chosen were completely shaken. Ghostfang and Beihan Lie had it a bit better off than the others; they had been prepared for something like this. Even still, they were astonished by what was happening.

As for Nine-Isles and Xu Xiaoshan, they had never seen anything like the Waterswamp Kingdom before, and were so terrified that their scalps were numb.

Most shocked of all was Shangguan Tianyou. His hair was completely disheveled, and blood was oozing out of his mouth. He was so scared he looked like a wooden chicken; never in 10,000 years would he be willing to admit that Naruto was stronger than him. And yet, he had no choice. Naruto… was far, far more powerful than he was.

"Back in the Chosen battles, we weren't that far apart from each other.

But now, things are so different…."

As of this moment, the sky was going dark, and the lands were quaking.

Within the 30,000-meter waterswamp, there was only the enormous bone spur. Compared to that spur, the cultivators were like bugs, whereas Naruto was like an immortal being with the world in his hands!

Massive rumbling stretched from the highest heavens to the deepest depths of the earth!

Not too far away, Song Que was in the middle of absorbing the bit of heavenstring energy that he'd snatched. But now, his mind was trembling. Earlier, he had intentionally split the heavenstring energy, hoping that while Naruto and the others fought over the larger strand, he would be free to make away with the bit he had. But now, the fluctuations speeding out from Naruto's location left him gasping.

"Dammit. Those fluctuations…." Shocked, he tried to speed up the absorption process.

Naruto was slaughtering everyone near him!

He had never slaughtered people like this before. His eyes shone with a fierce light, and he was trembling a bit, both visibly and mentally. His reaction had been instinctive; despite being at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment with nine Tideflows, he still feared death. Therefore, he had no choice but to resort to fighting and killing in this situation.

That was especially true considering that so many people had been trying to rob him of his heavenstring energy. To him, that was the same as robbing him of his life, leaving him no choice other than to go all out.

The shocking Waterswamp Kingdom caused the five great Chosen to fall back, blood spraying out of their mouths, their expressions those of shock and astonishment. Virtually all of the Chakra Condensation disciples exploded, creating haunting flowers of blood that filled the area.

There were a dozen or so people off in the distance who were outside of the range of Naruto's Waterswamp Kingdom. Their faces were ashen as they observed the devilish spectacle playing out in front of them. As of this moment, they were left gasping, and the frenzy they had felt because of the heavenstring energy faded away. Cold sweat popped out all over their bodies as they backed up.

"He's so brutal! Is he reall

y from the Spirit Stream Sect? He's even more violent than the Blood Stream Sect people!"

"How vicious! That attack… wounded the five great Chosen, and killed dozens and dozens of Chakra Condensation disciples!"

Finally, Naruto took to motion, speeding off into the distance. Ghostfang and the other Chosen had faces as pale as death as they watched him leave. None of them dared to chase him.

As they thought back to what had just occurred, they were sure that they had just had a brush with the aura of Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, leaving them no choice but to quash any desire they had to try to steal the heavenstring energy. The lingering fear they felt in their hearts forced them to admit that even if they tried to defeat him, they would fail….

Naruto sped along for a bit, trembling and coughing up blood. His face was also pale; despite being at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, crushing five Chosen and a host of Chakra Condensation disciples couldn't be accomplished without being injured himself.

Without his Undying Gold Skin, those injuries would have been even more serious. Thankfully, the Undying Live Forever Technique gave him regenerative capabilities that far exceeded any ordinary disciple, and his body was already repairing itself.

"Last but not least, Song Que!

"He grabbed the smaller strand of heavenstring energy… and went in this direction!" Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot; by this point, he had already absorbed quite a bit of the heavenstring energy into his spiritual seas, and his aura was already beginning to change.

However, he could tell that the amount he had wasn't enough to fuel a full Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. Furthermore, he could clearly sense the smaller strand of heavenstring energy up ahead; it was like a bright fire burning on a moonless night.

"Song Que was prepared for the heavenstring energy to split apart; maybe he even made it happen!"

Without pausing for even a moment. Naruto sped along.

In the beginning, about 400 people had entered the Fallen Sword Abyss. Now, there weren't even sixty people left, and the majority of them were Spirit Stream Sect disciples.

The Pill Stream Sect forces had virtually been wiped out, having only five disciples remaining. The Profound Stream Sect only had about ten disciples left, and the Blood Stream Sect, a bit more than that.

Although the Spirit Stream Sect disciples had sustained severe casualties, after Naruto completed his Tideflows, few died. Even those who had besieged him earlier because of the heavenstring energy only ended up getting injured, not killed. At the moment, there were more than thirty Spirit Stream Sect disciples left.

By this point, the brutality in the Fallen Sword World could only be exceeded by the events 800 years ago with Master Limitless of the Blood Stream Sect.

Now, Naruto was getting close to matching that event!

Rumbling filled the sky as he sped toward Song Que. As for Song Que, he was in his temporary immortal's cave, hair disheveled, hands pushed down onto his Feng Shui compass. Strands of heavenstring energy were rising up from the compass and entering his ears, nose, and mouth, to stream toward his eight spiritual seas.

Song Que knew that the heavenstring energy was not stabilized inside of him; if he were to be seriously injured, it would spill back out. The only way to stabilize it was through the passage of time, or by adding more heavenstring energy.

Furthermore, he had to absorb another portion to reach Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment.

"Naruto!" When the last bit of heavenstring energy entered into him, he looked up, eyes radiating with madness. Some distance away, a beam of light approached, getting closer and closer until suddenly, an enormous violet cauldron appeared up above, which then shot down toward Song Que.

A deafening boom echoed out as the immortal's cave was destroyed. Howling at the top of his lungs, Song Que burst out into the air, slamming into Naruto.

Neither of them could run from this battle. Each of them needed the portion of heavenstring energy that was contained within the other's body. As of this point, they had to call on their trump cards.

"This guy's definitely fully prepared," Naruto thought. "I have to find an opportunity to get that heavenstring energy out of him. If the fight drags on for too long, too many things could go wrong!" Without any hesitation, he attacked with even greater speed than before.

Song Que's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he stabbed his finger toward Naruto. Instantly, a blood seal appeared beneath Naruto, which then exploded upward in an attack.

Simultaneously, strands of blood Chakra swirled out of Song Que, forming together in front of him into a blood-colored sword tip.

Naruto performed another incantation gesture, summoning a violet cauldron, as well as projections of a dragon and a mammoth. Closing in on Song Que, he unleashed the power of his fleshly body in the form of punches and kicks that contained mountain-toppling, seadraining power.

Both the Golden Crow Sword and his little wooden sword appeared, whistling through the air with incredible power.

He also unleashed two swords with threefold spirit enhancement designs. Sword Chakra raged. Black mist roiled out of the little wooden sword, and as for the Golden Crow Sword, because Naruto was now in Foundation Establishment, the golden crow that materialized raged with flames far exceeding the previous version.

Within a few short moments, the two of them exchanged hundreds of volleys, and the fight only grew more and more brutal. Song Que had the power of eight Tideflows, so when he attacked, it resulted in terrifying, thunderous booms.

Naruto was equally extraordinary. He had his Undying Gold Skin, and had broken through the first shackle of mortality. He had the power of nine Tideflows, which placed him on a higher level than Song Que. But he was injured, which put him in a worse position. Of course, Song Que had also been injured. Each blow struck by one would result in some heavenstring energy leaking out of the other, which would then be quickly absorbed by their opponent.

Overall, Song Que seemed to be losing more heavenstring energy. He had already lost about fifty percent of his original amount, while Naruto had only lost thirty!

As they fought back and forth, Naruto only continued to absorb more and more.

Divine ability after divine ability was unleashed. Although Song Que was at a disadvantage, he had a huge reserve of blood qi. Soon, he was summoning an enormous blood sword that filled Naruto with a sensation of deadly crisis. Furthermore, his Undying Gold Skin was starting to grow dim, as if he couldn't sustain its use for much longer.

Naruto could already tell what Song Que was doing. He knew that he wasn't a match for Naruto, and yet took him on anyway. That meant that, in addition to the maddened way he was fighting, he definitely had another trump card up his sleeve.

After all… Song Que was one of the most powerful Chosen from the Blood Stream Sect, a sect which shook all three other sects. Although there might be other more powerful Chosen from his sect, none of them were here now, and now that he was forced into fighting, he would definitely surpass any ordinary cultivator.

Song Que didn't seem to be in a good position. However, it was at this point that he opened his mouth and spat out a blood sphere. Naruto had been waiting for this to happen, and immediately fell back. As he did, the blood sphere exploded, unleashing devastating force in all directions.

The sky shook, and a gale force wind ripped over the lands below. A huge, 300-meter-area was completely flattened down below, and at the same time, blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto's mouth. Song Que also coughed up some blood, but then he took a deep breath, and his body withered visibly. That in turn restored his power levels; expression vicious, he began to advance toward Naruto.

"Die!" he cried, reaching back and grabbing the blood Chakra sword, which he slashed viciously toward Naruto. The sword arced through the air, making it look like a blood-colored crescent moon!

This was his trump card!

The secret magic from Middle Peak in the Blood Stream Sect, the Blood Annihilation World!

—

Chapter 166 Chapter 166

Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

The Blood Annihilation World was a legacy magic from the Blood Stream

Sect's Middle Peak, and could only be fully unleashed by a Foundation

Establishment cultivator. However, even when Song Que was only a Chakra Condensation disciple, he had still been able to use some of its might. Now that he had reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment, he was able to fully unleash it.

Even the first form was terrifying. The sword slashed down, and the beam of blood-colored sword light seemed to surpass everything around it, becoming the only thing in heaven and earth as it slashed down toward Naruto.

Close examination would reveal that the blood sword was a stream of sword qi, bright and scintillating, seemingly capable of slicing through anything and everything. When Naruto's little wooden sword blocked its path, it shattered into pieces. It didn't matter that the little wooden sword had a threefold spirit enhancement, completely transforming its base material; it was destroyed in an instant.

The Golden Crow Sword was of higher quality, and had also benefited from the fundamental transformation of a threefold spirit enhancement.

When the blood sword hit it, it was flung off to the side.

Song Que howled, madness filling his eyes, as well as supreme selfconfidence. Back in his first fight with Naruto, he hadn't resorted to using this Inverse Blood Sword Form, mostly because his cultivation base was insufficient. But now he could use it!

This was his most powerful trump card, and in order to ensure that it was successful, he had even used his final precious blood sphere to injure Naruto. Only then did he resort to the Inverse Blood Sword Form.

Only then was he absolutely certain he would succeed!

"Give me that heavenstring energy or die!"

When cultivators fought, it was often important to resort to scheming and tricks. But sometimes, it wasn't necessary to put too much thought into such things. Sometimes, you just needed to find the right moment to weaken your opponent, and then unleash your most powerful attack!

Song Que was also supremely confident that his secret magic of restoration would heal his wounds in a very short time. Once he returned to his full battle prowess, he was sure that he would have no trouble seizing victory.

However, even as his sword descended, a strange look flickered through Naruto's eyes. There was something very strange about this blood sword, and yet, there was no time to ponder the matter at the moment. Suddenly, the fading golden light that emanated from him increased in intensity as he reached his two fingers out toward Song Que's throat.

Apparently, he was willing to end the battle in mutual defeat!

Song Que's face flickered, but then twisted with vicious ferocity. Instead of evading, he sped up! The blood sword slashed down onto Naruto's shoulder, and at the same time, Naruto's two fingers closed in on Song Que's throat.

A cracking sound rang out. Song Que's neck suddenly turned blurry, and an afterimage appeared. As a result, Naruto's attack hit nothing but thin air. At the same time, as Song Que's sword lashed into Naruto's shoulder, golden light exploded up. All of the power of his Undying Gold Skin focused on fighting back against the sword. Apparently… the sword was completely neutralized. Apparently… the power of the sword couldn't match Naruto's defensive power!

Both Song Que and Naruto were stunned. However, neither hesitated. Both of them were aware that the other was certainly fully prepared, and as such, unleashed their follow-up techniques.

"Inverse Blood Seal!" Song Que howled. Hi

s blood Chakra sword collapsed, transforming into countless blood-colored sealing marks, which then flew out toward Naruto and then exploded.

At the same time, Naruto's Throat Crushing Grasp transformed into an incantation gesture. Waving his finger at Song Que, he unleashed the might of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art. He didn't utilize Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning, nor Lightness-in-Heaviness. Instead… he used something that he had failed at over and over again, but had never abandoned… the Human Controlling Grand Magic!

Back on the north bank, he had never been able to perfect his Human Controlling Grand Magic. He had never been able to exert full control even over the small animals; at best, he had produced some random effects on their limbs.

However, at this moment, he didn't need full control; he wanted a random effect!

As the control magic was unleashed, Song Que's arms and legs suddenly didn't seem to be coordinating with each other. He felt like someone had pushed him hard from behind, and he staggered and almost fell over. His expression flickered as he realized that his body was under the influence of something else. Furthermore, the next attack was heading, not toward his throat, but… his dantian region!

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually occurred in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Rumbling sounds filled the air as the blood seals exploded around Naruto, causing him to cough up several mouthfuls of blood. At the same time, he unleashed the Throat Crushing Grasp in the direction of Song Que's abdomen, where his dantian region was.

Song Que was scared out of his mind. The dantian region was extremely important. Although a blow there wouldn't necessarily be fatal, it was the location of his spiritual seas, as well as the heavenstring energy. He tried to spin to the side, but Naruto's Throat Crushing Grasp suddenly erupted with a powerful gravitational force.

Instantly, Naruto's right hand, backed by the power of the Throat Crushing Grasp, stabbed into Song Que's abdomen, piercing deep into the flesh and blood, all the way into the spiritual seas in his dantian.

Song Que let out an agonized shriek. If Naruto squeezed his fingers down with the power of the Throat Crushing Grasp, then the Song Que's spiritual seas could be destroyed.

Any ordinary person in such circumstances wouldn't have the clarity of mind to defend themselves. They would be unable to escape the fate of having their spiritual seas destroyed. But Song Que… was widely regarded as the number one Chosen of the Blood Stream Sect. He was anything but ordinary!

It was a moment of profound crisis, and yet he was profoundly decisive. Therefore, he immediately flushed all of the heavenstring energy in his body directly toward his dantian region and Naruto's right hand.

He was using the heavenstring energy as an attack! Intense power battered his dantian region, causing cracking sounds to emanate out as fractures spread out through all of his eight spiritual seas. However, at the same time, massive force exploded onto Naruto's right hand!

Song Que was abandoning the heavenstring energy and even damaging his spiritual seas, all to shove Naruto's hand away. Thankfully for him, his spiritual seas weren't destroyed. Face ashen, coughing up blood, he didn't hesitate to flee at top speed.

Despite his pain and how weak he was, he produced a jade slip which he then viciously crushed. Instantly, all of the energy nodes he had linked together through the Fallen Sword World… began to crack apart!

Those cracks rapidly began to spread across the surface of the entire sword! Originally, Song Que would never have been able to do such a thing. However, the reason why the enormous sword had remained intact for so long was because of the heavenstring energy. Now that the heavenstring energy was gone, its powers were fading. The sword had already been tilted on its side, but now that the strange spell formation created by the Blood Stream Sect had been activated, the entire sword was collapsing!

Naruto's eyes flickered as he examined the complete strand of heavenstring energy in his hand. Without any further hesitation, he began to absorb it through his palm. As it coursed into his dantian region and combined with the previous portion of heavenstring energy, a heaven-shaking, earth-toppling energy surged out inside of him.

A Heaven-Dao aura erupted out, something profoundly holy, something that could destroy mountains and dry up seas. It filled the world, causing the scattered remnants of the disciples of the four sects to be completely and utterly shaken. Shockingly, an enormous face had appeared up in midair, in the same direction the aura was coming from.

That face… belonged to Naruto!

"Naruto… reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!"

Off in the distance, Song Que spit more blood out of his mouth as he sped along. When he saw what was happening, he looked up hatefully at the enormous version of Naruto's face. Eyes bloodshot, he clenched his hands into fists so hard that his fingernails dug into his own skin. Blood started dripping down, and yet, he didn't notice.

"Uzumaki! Xiao! CHUN!"

Even as everyone watched, shaken, filled with mixed emotions, the aura of Heaven-Dao in Naruto's dantian region grew stronger and stronger. His nine spiritual seas were rapidly turning golden, although the process would clearly take a few days to complete. Once that happened, and they were completely gold, that would mean… that Naruto had truly reached…

Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

As of this moment, his cultivation base, his latent power, his longevity, were all rising rapidly. At the same time, he could sense that something momentous was occurring within the Fallen Sword World. Even more astonishing was that, for some reason, he had the feeling that further up beyond the current sky, there was… an even more ancient heaven and earth, something profoundly primordial!

The feeling vanished only a moment later. At first, Naruto had been on the verge of chasing after Song Que, to take advantage of his moment of weakness to kill him. But once Song Que smashed the jade slip, destroying the energy nodes, everything in the entire Fallen Sword World changed!

Intense cracking sounds rang out, as loud as claps of thunder. Huge crevices appeared, spreading out across sky and land alike. Mountains began to crumble, and plains split apart. Everything started crumbling.

The disciples present were completely shaken.

The whole world was falling apart!

"This is bad! What's happening!?"

"Heavens! Don't tell me the Fallen Sword World is going to collapse!?"

Meanwhile, outside of the Fallen Sword Abyss, Master Snakescale,

Ouyang Jie, and the elders from the Pround Stream Sect and Pill Stream Sect were all sitting there cross-legged in meditation. There was still one more month left before the Holy Land was to be opened up. Suddenly, all of their faces flickered as they looked over toward the huge sword.

Already, massive cracks could be seen spreading out over its surface!

"What happened?!"

"The fallen sword is breaking apart!"

"Dammit, not even we can get inside!" All of them were shocked, and almost couldn't believe that the enormous sword would really collapse!

They even tried to enter, but it was impossible.

All four of them were thinking the same thing: "Back when the sword was discovered, the patriarchs of the four sects set up teleportation formations. If the world collapses, they'll be activated. However, we have no way of knowing if the disciples will be sent back to the sect, or somewhere else in the vicinity…."

Back in the Fallen Sword World, the ground continued to crumble. At the same time, four enormous spell formations appeared, and the power of teleportation exploded out, spreading to touch all of the disciples.

Because the disciples of the different sects cultivated different techniques, their auras were different, and as such, they were teleported out by different formations!

One by one, the disciples were enveloped by teleportation power and whisked away. Naruto was among them. As he looked around at the shocking catastrophe, he thought back to what Ouyang Jie had said, and did nothing to resist the power.

In the blink of an eye, his vision went dark, and the power of teleportation was pulling him away. However, at that very moment, a little hand reached out, as if to prevent him from leaving.

"Big bro, why don't you stay and play with me…?"

Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

—

Chapter 167 Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Nine Serenities Ghost Domain!

Naruto's scalp tingled in fear, and his eyes went wide. A pale hand reached out, belonging to a young girl in a white dress. She wore a ferocious, enigmatic smile on her face.

Her face was half covered by her long black hair, making her look even more terrifying than she might have normally. An aura of death pulsed off of her, transforming into something that looked like vipers seeking to bore into Naruto's eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and even his pores.

However, just when the hand was about to touch him, his nine spiritual seas erupted with a Heaven-Dao aura, and the aura of death collapsed. The hissing snakes were wiped away, and the girl's hand withered, revealing dead skin and sticky, dripping blood. It was terrifying to the extreme.

The girl let out a begrudging howl that echoed out into the air.

At the same time, the teleportation power surrounding Naruto exploded out with full force, and he vanished from the Fallen Sword World.

After all of the disciples from the four sects were gone, the Fallen Sword World continued to collapse. But then, something else happened. Massive amounts of hazy gray mist billowed out and began to fill the world. It was rife with an aura of death, and smelled like rot. Even the four powerful teleportation formations crumbled into ruins because of the rotting aura.

In the blink of an eye, the entire world… became a domain of ghosts. Howls rose up from within the mists. Apparently, all of the banesouls which had existed in the world were now beginning to awaken.

Strangely, the huge sword stopped crumbling!

In the outside world, Ouyang Jie and the others saw the sword cease crumbling, and watched as black mist begin to pulse out of it. They exchanged dismayed glances. However, a moment later, they tried once again to enter the sword, and this time had no problem doing so.

As they entered, they could still sense a fading holy aura.

"That aura…."

"Heavenstring energy! That's heavenstring energy!" Even as their faces flickered with shock, the sinister voice of a young girl rose up from the mists below…. It sounded bizarre and cruel, and filled the entire world.

"The heavenstring energy hath been harvested by your disciples.

Henceforth, this place shall be called… the Nine Serenities Ghost Domain. In the future, do not set foot in this place. Any who violate this prescript will have their entire sect exterminated!"

As soon as the voice rang out, Ouyang Jie and the others coughed up mouthfuls of blood. The voice crashed in their ears like thunder as they were forcefully ejected from the world.

"Banespirit!" they cried in alarm. The pressure they felt was something that exceeded the Nascent Soul stage. Trembling, hearts battered by waves of shock, they retreated at full speed, simultaneously sending word back to their sects.

"The Fallen Sword World has been transformed into the Nine Serenities

Ghost Domain. Furthermore… one of the banesouls awakened and became a banespirit!"

"The heavenstring energy was taken away? Who? Which disciple of which sect got it? Does that mean… someone reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!?"

Even as they fled, the former Fallen Sword World, which was now the Nine Serenties Ghost Domain, filled up with mist. Standing in the mist was a girl in a white dress, holding a skinless, shrunken version of Lei Shan. At first she was looking up into the sky, but then she lowered her eyes to gaze at the tens of thousands of banesouls in the area. All of them… were prostrating themselves to her!

Not a single sound could be heard.

As for Lei Shan, his eyes were filled with incredible terror and pain.

/p

Standing next to the girl in the white dress was a pretty young woman with expressionless eyes, a puppet. She was none other than… Gongsun Wan'er.

There was no poison upon her any more, nor any centipedes. The human-faced spider had transformed into mist and vanished. She was now completely clean and empty, inside and out….

"Aw, you don't want to stay and play with me, big bro…?" the girl said, her voice sinister and bizarre. "Well, that's fine. I'll be able to leave this place soon, then I can come find you. I'll show you how pretty this new dress of mine is." The girl chuckled and looked over at Gongsun Wan'er.

The fact that the Fallen Sword World had been transformed into the Nine

Serenities Ghost Domain was a major event in the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world. What had once been a Foundation Establishment Holy Land was now a domain of terror!

Furthermore, one of the banesouls had awakened and turned into a terrifying, sentient banespirit. Even the elders of the four sects were left jumpy at the thought of it.

However, there was nothing that could be done about the matter. Although the matter would influence the four sects to some degree, it wasn't a huge loss. Furthermore, it was a joint loss to all four sects. What was most astonishing of all was the information confirmed by the voice of the girl… the heavenstring energy had been taken.

That meant someone must have reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment.

"Who was it…. Which sect and which disciple got the heavenstring energy!?"

"Dammit! If it was one of the other three sects, that means they'll have a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment disciple. We need to kill that person when they're weak. If they reach Core Formation, they'll be a force not easily stopped!"

"It was definitely our Blood Stream Sect. Hahaha! Now we have both

Patriarch Limitless… and another top-level cultivator!"

The four elders immediately used transmission jade slips to get the information back to their sects as quickly as possible.

At the same time, they tried to make contact with the disciples who had been teleported out of the Fallen Sword World. Unfortunately, they soon found that the fluctuations caused by the teleportation made communication impossible.

Soon, the Blood Stream Sect, Profound Stream Sect, Spirit Stream Sect and Pill Stream Sect were sent a huge commotion. Even the patriarchs of the sect were shaken. Large numbers of Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors and elders were dispatched. Even prime elders were sent out. No effort was spared to track down the disciples who had been teleported out to random locations.

All they had to do was find one disciple, and they should be able to get information about what had occurred in the Fallen Sword World. Most importantly, everyone wanted to know… who got the heavenstring energy!

In the Spirit Stream Sect, the founding patriarch personally passed down orders which sent countless Inner Sect disciples and Foundation Establishment elders into action. Even Outer Sect disciple were called upon. They flew out from both the south bank and the north bank, spreading out with one mission: find the disciples who had been teleported out of the Fallen Sword Abyss.

As soon as a single one was located, they were to report back to the sect immediately.

The first person to be located was not one of the numerous disciples from the Spirit Stream Sect, but rather, one of the five remaining Pill Stream Sect disciples!

The Pill Stream Sect had sent 80 disciples into the Fallen Sword World, and more than ninety percent of them had been killed. Luckily for the Pill Stream Sect, one of the five disciples who made it out alive happened to be teleported to a location just outside of the Pill Stream Sect itself.

When the Pill Stream Sect elders and sect leader arrived, they found an extremely weak disciple, his energy almost completely drained. Fellow disciples immediately supported him, pouring their own spiritual power into him so that he could speak. Trembling, eyes flickering with fear, he weakly explained, "Dead. They're all dead. Eldest Brother Fang Lin was killed. Zhao Rou is also dead. All of them were exterminated by Naruto from the Spirit Stream Sect!

"Naruto… completed nine Tideflows. He and Song Que fought over the heavenstring energy, and… he reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!"

The disciples' words left the Pill Stream Sect cultivators, and even the elders and the sect leader, completely shaken. Gasps could be heard, and eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Heaven-Dao… Foundation Establishment!?"

"Naruto? Spirit Stream Sect?!"

The sect leader's eyes flickered, and he grimly said, "Immediately send word to all of our spies in the Spirit Stream Sect. Tell them to find Naruto and kill him. Spare no effort whatsoever!"

—

Chapter 168 Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Incognito….

The Pill Stream Sect ordered all of their spies into action, hoping to be the first to find Naruto. If they did, they would spare no cost whatsoever to kill him. As for the other three sects, they mobilized large forces to search for the disciples who were currently missing.

As all that was happening, something else occurred on the Eastwood

Continent, in a jungle-covered mountain range not too far from Eastwood City. Next to one particularly large tree, the air rippled with teleportation fluctuations, and then Naruto appeared, staggering out at a near run.

As soon as he was out in the open, he leaned over and vomited noisily.

"What kind of teleportation was that supposed to be!? Nearly lost my poor little life in the process…." Naruto's face was ashen, and he was panting. What he didn't know was that past teleportations he had experienced had been performed with weakened teleportation power in order to make them as comfortable as possible. In contrast, the teleportation which had pulled him out of the Fallen Sword Abyss was fully powered. All of the portals set up by the four sects were like that. In a moment of grave crisis, the most important thing was to teleport the targets out as quickly as possible.

A forcible teleportation like that would actually knock most people unconscious.

After emptying his stomach, Naruto felt a bit better, although he was still so dizzy that he was seeing stars. Leaning up against the tree, he looked around and realized he had no idea where he was. From what Elder Ouyang Jie had explained, he knew that he could be just about anywhere.

"I should be back on the Eastwood Continent though," he thought, massaging his temples. Then he recalled the little hand and the strange voice he had heard just before being teleported away, and his heart filled with fear. Trembling, he resolved to never, ever go back to the Fallen Sword Abyss.

Still trying to catch his breath, he sat down on a nearby log and looked down at his tattered garments. By this point, they were so damaged and blood-stained it wasn't even possible to identify them as the robes of the Spirit Stream Sect. He wanted to change them, but unfortunately, didn't have a spare set in his bag of holding.

"The Fallen Sword Abyss was so brutal…." As he thought back to everything that had occurred, his scalp began to tingle. What was especially frightening was how everyone had almost gone insane in their desire to kill him. And then there was the vicious, savage battle with Song Que. In the end, he sighed.

"Why do cultivators always end up fighting and killing…?" Sighing, he probed his cultivation base, and found that his roiling spiritual seas were gradually turning golden. By this point, the process was about thirty percent complete.

"Hahaha! Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!" In his excitement, he forgot about the brutality of the Fallen Sword World. The idea of 500 years of longevity caused his eyes to shine. Flicking his sleeve and sticking his chin up, he proudly said, "I, Naruto, am truly a consummate Chosen. Hahaha! Hahahahaha!" After laughing loudly for a while, he cleared his throat. "I guess I should probably go figure out where I am."

Something else he found interesting was that although his cultivation base was getting stronger and stronger, the aura it emitted was getting weaker and weaker. It was almost as if, because his spiritual seas were climbing to the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment level, all of the pressure and energy they would normally radiate was now focusing inward.

At the moment, anyone who sensed his aura would place him at the ninth level of Chakra Condensation. As the process continued, he had the feeling that

his cultivation base aura would eventually disappear altogether, and he would seem like a mortal. Only when the process was complete would he experience a heaven-rending, earth-crushing explosion of power.

"It should be finished in two days or so," he thought excitedly. With that, he put the matters of his cultivation base aside. Next, he produced a jade slip to try to transmit a message to the sect. Unfortunately, the jade slip had been damaged during the teleportation process. Although the teleportation energy had already faded away, it seemed that he would temporarily be unable to make contact with the sect.

Feeling a bit annoyed, he put the jade slip away and then transformed into a beam of light that shot up into the sky and then off into the distance.

It didn't take long for him to realize that with his current cultivation base power, he could fly much more quickly than before. He was soon out of the mountain range, whereupon he caught sight of an enormous city off in the distance.

The city walls were very imposing, and were constructed from greenishcolored bricks. Furthermore, each and every brick seemed to be inscribed with magical symbols that formed a spell formation.

The spell formation sent light streaming up high into the sky, seemingly connecting the city to the heavens themselves. A huge green vortex could be seen up above, with lightning occasionally dancing back and forth within it.

There was also pressure weighing down which restricted the cultivation bases of any cultivators that entered the city, making it impossible for them to fly.

The city was huge, enough to house at least 10,000,000 people, and had four main gates which were constantly packed with floods of people going in and out.

In front of each of the city gates were enormous stone steles, inscribed with calligraphy as flamboyant as dancing dragons and swirling phoenixes.

"Eastwood City!" Naruto gaped in shock for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.

This was the biggest city in the territory controlled by the Spirit Stream Sect.

It was actually considered part of the Spirit Stream Sect, and was operated by the ten most powerful cultivator clans on the Eastwood Continent. It had a history stretching back 10,000 years, and was home to not only hosts of cultivators, but mortals as well.

In addition to the ten great cultivator clans, there was also a disciple of the Spirit Stream Sect stationed there as an official emissary, responsible for keeping the peace among the clans.

That was the exact position Du Lingfei had been sent here years ago to fill. Although she only had a Chakra Condensation cultivation base, she represented the Foundation Establishment elder who was also stationed there. The elder rarely made public appearances, leaving most of the duties to Du Lingfei to handle.

Her primary task was to keep the ten great clans in check.

"Elder Sister Du was sent here a while back as an emissary. I haven't seen her in such a long time…." Naruto's heart warmed at the thought of Du Lingfei, and he couldn't help but picture her looking shy and angry at the same time. "Hm. I can't just walk straight in. I'll sneak in incognito and check things out first. After all these years, I wonder if my boo stepped out on me and found another man." Eyebrow cocked craftily, he shot through the air toward Eastwood City. 1

As he neared, he could sense that flying was restricted.

"How annoying! I'm a Prestige disciple! I'm the Junior Brother of the sect leader. Eastwood City belongs to the Spirit Stream Sect, so therefore, it's mine by right! I can't believe I'm not allowed to fly!" Grumbling all the way, he landed on the ground and headed toward the city gate. There was quite a line, and he didn't feel right cutting in front, so he went to the back. Before long, he worked his way up to the gate itself, where he paid a small spirit stone tax to enter.

No one paid much attention to him. All they cared about was the spirit stones. Apparently, they were confident that no one would cause any trouble.

"Eastwood City is so big! I can't believe they still charge a spirit stone tax to get in!" Naruto was not very pleased about what was happening. Considering his status, it was really a loss of face. Coughing dryly, he clasped his hands behind his back and strutted through the gate.

Once inside, the sight of the countless towering buildings caused him to gasp.

Everything was huge! The roads were paved with limestone, every slab of which emanated spiritual energy. The buildings were decorated with gold and jade, carved with dragons and phoenixes, and were completely extraordinary to behold.

Everything was festooned with beautiful pearls and spirit stones. The glow of magic rose up everywhere, creating an air of luxury that almost physically buffeted Naruto in the face.

"This… this place…." He swallowed as he took in the beauty and luxury. Vehicles trundled back and forth in the streets, and people could be seen everywhere. He almost felt like he was in a different world.

As for the residents of the city, they dressed in silks and satins, and looked very impressive as they walked to and fro. Regardless of the level of their cultivation base, they seemed very proud and lofty. Unlike the mortals in smaller cities and villages, the mortals here didn't seem scared or impressed at all by the cultivators around them.

As he walked along, Naruto couldn't help but gasp in shock at all the things he was seeing. After all, he had been raised in a village, and after that, spent all his time in the sect. He had never been to a big city like this before.

Of course, considering how he was looking around, he stuck out from the crowd, and the passing cultivators looked over with disdainful expressions, taking him to be a country bumpkin. Some of them noticed how his clothing was ripped and torn, and even stained with blood. Realizing that he was probably someone that shouldn't be provoked, they quickly got out of his way.

"I never could have imagined how incredible this place is!" The more he saw, the more excited he got. The sheer luxury of the place caused him to sigh, and he was already trying to figure out how to get the sect to transfer him here.

Continuing to sigh, he passed one certain shop, and was suddenly riveted in place. It was a clothing shop, filled with garments of every color and style possible, all of them beautifully tailored and embroidered. Even the lowest quality garments were amazingly crafted.

Naruto couldn't help but muse that the clothing here was far, far better looking than anything from back in the sect. Eyes shining, he walked into the shop.

There were a few people inside, browsing through the selection of clothing. As soon as Naruto entered, a couple of them looked over, and when they saw his dilapidated robes, looks of derision appeared on their faces. However, they could sense the aura of the seventh level of Chakra Condensation on him, so they quickly looked away.

There was one young man, dressed in luxurious garments, whose eyes went wide as soon as he saw Naruto. For a brief moment, a strange gleam could be seen in his eyes before he averted his gaze.

Meanwhile, a smiling salesperson approached Naruto and began to show him around.

"This heavenly dragon robe is made from heavenwater anaconda skin. After being cured with eighty-one types of medicinal plants, it was decorated by a grandmaster of embroidery. There's a spell formation hidden inside that provides resistance against all water-type magical techniques!

"Oh, that thousand leaves coat is crafted from a thousand different types of spirit leaves. A secret magic was used to tailor it, and when you wear it, you'll be surrounded by the fragrance of plants and vegetation. After wearing it for some time, you'll naturally exude the fragrance of spirit medicine.

"Oh, this piece…."

Naruto nodded, feeling a garment here and there, falling in love with everything he looked at. At the same time, the young man in the luxurious garments finally looked up. Smiling, he walked over to Naruto, clasped hands and bowed.

"Salutations, Brother."

—

Chapter 169 Chapter 169

Chapter 169: Hou Yunqing Never Lies

Surprised, Naruto turned to look at the young man.

"I am your humble servant, Hou Yunqing," the young man said politely, a broad smile covering his face. "I happen to be the owner of this little shop. Brother, I can see that you're an extraordinary person, a dragon amongst men. If you see something you like, Brother, just take it, on the house. Think of it as a gift between friends." 1

"Are you serious?!" Naruto looked at Hou Yunqing, blinking.

"Of course I'm serious! Hou Yunqing never lies."

Naruto responded with a sarcastic chuckle. Having no reason to refuse a free gift, he casually pointed at the heavenly dragon robe.

The salesperson looked at Hou Yunqing, who smiled and nodded. The salesperson shrugged in disbelief as he handed the heavenly dragon robe over to Naruto. Naruto threw it on, and immediately looked completely different than before.

Hou Yunqing laughed heartily and said, "Brother, the heavenly dragon robe definitely suits you perfectly. It almost looks as if it was custom tailored just for you! You really know how to pick clothes for yourself!"

"You think so too?" Naruto replied, smoothing out the robe. He was very pleased, and couldn't help but think that the clothes they wore back at the sect were far too shabby. He had already fallen in love with this new world of luxury and sensual pleasure.

Hou Yunqing was so taken aback by Naruto's response that he didn't know what to say next. Finally, he cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"Brother, there's a banquet tonight here in Eastwood City. Emissary Du Lingfei from the Spirit Stream Sect has reached the end of her commission and will be returning to her sect, so a big banquet is being held in her honor. If you don't have anything else to do, Brother, why don't you come along? It'll be a lot of fun."

Naruto looked at Hou Yunqing with an enigmatic smile for a moment and then voiced his agreement.

Hou Yunqing knew that he was being a bit presumptuous, but also wanted to take advantage of the golden opportunity which had presented itself, and didn't have time to come up with any better tactics. Smiling, he led Naruto out of the shop and onto the street.

As soon as they stepped out, Naruto noticed that they were being followed by eight bodyguards, all of whom were in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. They were rogue cultivators, but they clearly were adept killers, as they radiated powerful murderous auras.

Hou Yunqing looked at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and said, "You know, Emissary Du Lingfei from the Spirit Stream Sect is as beautiful as an immortal. Not only is her cultivation base very high, she's spectacularly good-looking. In fact, she's one of the top ten goddesses in the Eastwood Continent. With her as emissary here, the ten clans maintained completely harmonious relations. Not a single problem ever cropped up. She handled her duties with great finesse."

This was Naruto's first time hearing about Du Lingfei's affairs in Eastwood City, and he was immediately intrigued. "She sounds incredible!"

"Oh, she's incredible, alright. Very incredible! Famous young men from cultivator clans all over the Eastwood Continent have tried to earn her favor. In my opinion, though, there isn't a single clan that's worthy of her. Only few people in the Spirit Stream Sect itself could be counted deserving. To be honest, there's really only one person good enough for her!" Hou Yunqing sighed.

"Who's that?!" Naruto asked, blinking.

"Oh, h

e's a rare Chosen in the Spirit Stream Sect, the type that only comes along once every 10,000 years. He's a Prestige disciple, and the Junior Brother of the sect leader. His name has rocked both the north and south banks of the Spirit Stream Sect, and he's popular among countless disciples. His name is… Naruto!" Hou Yunqing's expression was one of reverence, although he seemed to be working hard to suppress his zeal. As for the bodyguards, they all had strange expressions on their faces. They had worked for Hou Yunqing for many years, but this was their first time hearing him speak like this. They couldn't help but look over at Naruto, curiosity gnawing at their hearts.

Naruto coughed dryly. Looking very thoughtful, he said, "You're right, Naruto truly is extraordinary."

Then he gave Hou Yunqing another enigmatic smile.

Either Hou Yunqing didn't notice Naruto's thoughtful look, or he did notice and pretended not to.

"Extraordinary?" he continued excitedly. "He's more than that. He's a true Chosen, a superstar, the type of person all the female disciples in the Spirit Stream Sect want as a Daoist partner. As for the male disciples, they all want to be his friend. He's the jewel of the Spirit Stream Sect. I've even heard some people say that after coming back from the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands, he's reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment.

"A person like that is like a full moon on a dark night. All people can do is look up at him in amazement. What a pity that my own latent talent is just average. Otherwise, I'd go looking for him myself and offer to be his follower for life, to be at his beck and call at all hours of the day."

Naruto was almost blushing by this point. However, Hou Yunqing seemed really caught up in his excitement, and Naruto didn't want to interrupt him. Therefore, he allowed him to keep speaking in this vein for quite some time, even giving him an encouraging look now and then.

Hou Yunqing kept it up all the way to the banquet, coming up with new and flowery ways to praise Naruto the entire time. At one point, he ran out of things to say, but Naruto gave him an encouraging look, and he gritted his teeth and racked his brains to come up with more. The nonstop talking was rather exhausting….

As Naruto and Hou Yunqing were heading toward the banquet, large numbers of disciples and elders from the Spirit Stream Sect were out scouring the Eastwood Continent. Their main goal was to track down the disciples who had been teleported out of the Fallen Sword Abyss, and find out what exactly had occurred.

A group of Inner Sect disciples was making their way along the edge of a jungle when they happened to find a disciple who had been knocked unconscious during the teleportation process. They quickly revived him.

The first words that came out of his mouth were enough to shock all of the rescuers.

"Sect Uncle Naruto reached Heaven-Dao Foundation

Establishment!"

The words struck the hearts of the listeners like bolts of lightning. All of them gasped. It was earth-shattering news, so without the slightest hesitation, they sent messages back to the sect.

Soon, more and more disciples who had been teleported out of the

Fallen Sword Abyss turned up. Furthermore, the news that was getting sent back to the sect was all the same.

Naruto had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

He had struck despair into the hearts of the disciples of the other three sects. He had slaughtered Zhao Rou and Fang Lin of the Pill Stream Sect, had seriously injured Nine-Isles, had successfully wrested all the heavenstring energy from Song Que, and had risen to Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

Some people were even saying that he had killed Lei Shan from the Profound Stream Sect.

As the information trickled back, the Spirit Stream Sect was thrown into a huge commotion. The elders, the seven peak lords, the sect leader… all of them were both stunned and, at the same time, wildly elated. Earlier, they had been nervous, unsure of which disciple from which sect had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. In fact, many had been convinced that it would be someone from the Blood Stream Sect.

Word had even been sent to the spies in the Blood Stream Sect to try to kill certain disciples there.

But now, everyone was shaken to find that the person who had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment… actually came from the Spirit Stream Sect. And it was… Naruto!

Li Qinghou and the sect leader were beside themselves with joy. The prime elders were completely shaken. Next, the entire sect was mobilized, with one mission.

"Find Naruto. Immediately send word back to the sect if you do.

Protect him and escort him home!"

At the same time, the Spirit Stream Sect locked down all disciples who were suspected of being spies. They were well aware that once the other three sects got word of what had occurred, they would do anything to try to kill Naruto!

The cultivator clans in the area were closely connected to the Spirit Stream Sect, and as such, it was essentially impossible to keep word from spreading. Soon, everyone had caught wind of what was going on. The patriarchs of the various clans were completely shaken. Eyes bloodshot, they sent the members of their clans out in all directions to try to find Naruto.

After all, they knew that he could have been teleported anywhere on the Eastwood Continent.

If they got lucky and he was teleported into their territory, and they found him first, they would be able to invite him to visit their clan personally. That would be a huge honor in and of itself, considering he was a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator now.

There would also be the possibility of some of their clan members striking up friendships with him, which would also be of enormous benefit to the clan.

Even more enticing than that, though, was the possibility that Naruto might take a liking to one of the female clan members, and take her as a Daoist partner. If that happened, not even the sect leader would be able to do anything about it.

"Dispatch everyone. Find him! Naruto might have been teleported into our territory!"

As the cultivator clans were dispatching people to search, Naruto and Hou Yunqing finally arrived at the banquet.

It was being hosted in a sprawling mansion that covered over ten acres of land. The walls were magnificently decorated, and the grounds were filled with pine trees and decorative rock formations. In one area near the center, pavilions had been set up, as well as a three-story pagoda that looked almost like a palace. Decorated with dragons and phoenixes, it was tasteful and elegant, yet clearly wildly expensive.

A din of voices could be heard, and servants bustled back and forth carrying all sorts of fine liquor and fresh fruit to the elegantly attired guests.

There were well over a hundred guests present, men and women, young and old. Some sat alone, others in groups of three to five.

Guards were posted at the main entrance, where a valet cheerfully greeted the new arrivals. For those he didn't recognize, he would accept their invitation cards, make a record of their arrival, and then show them inside.

As soon as Hou Yunqing appeared, the valet greeted him respectfully and escorted him inside. Naruto walked along by his side, looking around curiously at the banquet. This was his first time attending such an affair.

One of the first things he saw was a muscular man off in the distance, chatting and laughing with a pretty young woman as they all walked along toward Hou Yunqing. The man wore a long violet robe that was clearly very expensive. His face had a healthy glow to it, and he wore rings of holding on all of his fingers. Seven or eight jade pendants could be seen on his person, and he looked every bit like a rich playboy.

—

Chapter 170 Chapter 170

Chapter 170: Goddess Lingfei

The young woman wore makeup that made her seem young and pure. However, there was something about her that made it obvious she was a paid courtesan, which lessened her appeal. Overall, though, she was quite beautiful.

Smiling, the burly man hurried over to lead Hou Yunqing to a nearby table. "Brother Yunqing, I've been waiting for you. Come, come. Have a seat with me."

Only when Hou Yunqing gave an apologetic look to Naruto did the burly man finally notice him.

"You must be new around here," he said with a smile. "But you're a guest nonetheless. Any friend of Yunqing's is a friend of mine. I'm Li Youdao. This banquet is being held by my Li Clan in honor of Emissary Lingfei. It was a bit rushed, so things aren't as well planned out as they should have been. Please, forgive me for any inadequacies." Looking very pleased with himself, he pulled Hou Yunqing and Naruto over to the tables, where they all sat down. The young woman sat down quietly next to Li Youdao, looking very lovely and demure.

"Things really were far too rushed," Li Youdao said. "The only beverage I could get my hands on was this spirit alcohol brewed from tier-1 highgrade spirit medicine. If I'd had more time, I could definitely have procured some product made from tier-2 high-grade spirit medicine." He sighed, and yet, it was impossible for him to cover up the look of pride on his face. He and Hou Yunqing had been secretly competing with each other for years, and at long last he had this chance to put him in his place.

It was at this point that the young woman sitting next to Li Youdao spoke up.

"Youdao," she said flirtatiously, "don't be so modest! It would be hard to find another clan in the Eastwood Continent that would entertain so many people with spirit alcohol brewed from tier-1 high-grade spirit medicine. Even a small glass could be sold for several hundred spirit stones!"

Her flattery was like music to Li Youdao's ears.

"Ah, what are a few hundred spirit stones?" he said. "It's just spirit alcohol. Come, come, Yunqing. You and your friend have to try this stuff. It's really hard to find it anywhere in Eastwood City." With that, he waved a servant over to fill glasses for Hou Yunqing and Naruto.

Hou Yunqing looked a bit embarrassed. Despite the fact that his clan was quite well-off, he had only ever once tried spirit alcohol brewed from tier-1 high-grade spirit medicine. After hesitating for a moment, he smiled wryly and took a sip.

Naruto looked at the alcohol curiously. After sniffing it, he couldn't help but be disappointed; clearly, the impurity levels were quite high.

Li Youdao seemed very satisfied to see Hou Yunqing's reaction, but when he saw the expression on Naruto's face, he was less than pleased. After looking him up and down, he decided that, not only would he put Hou Yunqing in his place, he would crush his friend at the same time.

"Brother, are you not satisfied? Ah, don't worry. This banquet we're throwing for Goddess Lingfei is a bit rushed, but we still managed to get some rare foods to serve. I've heard that Goddess Lingfei always talks about how much she misses the Spirit Stream Sect. Therefore, the Li Clan has spent a lot of money to get some spirit tail chickens to remind her of her home.

"Men! Serve the spirit tail chicken!" Laughing heartily, he waved his hand, and a servant rushed over carrying a golden platter. There on the platter was a fully roasted spirit tail chicken!

The platter itself looked quite expensive, and as for the three-colored spirit tails, they were arranged very artistically. The chicken had been

roasted to a deep amber color, and looked extraordinary. Apparently, it had just come out of the oven, causing a wonderful aroma to fill the area. Quite a few other guests looked over in shock.

"A spirit tail chicken!? Wow, the Li Clan is so rich!"

"Every table gets a spirit tail chicken? Look, those clearly weren't raised around here. Where did they come from!?"

Hearing the reactions of those sitting in the area, Naruto blinked in surprise. "Isn't that just a spirit tail chicken?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the beautiful young woman sitting next to Li Youdao scornfully said, "Prince Yunqing, your friend here really knows how to run his mouth. Isn't that just a spirit tail chicken? It makes it seem like he's eaten a lot of them."

Li Youdao looked gravely at the young woman, as if he didn't approve of her tone. However, the truth was that he also felt that Naruto was trying to be a big showoff. Inwardly, he was starting to get irritated, but outwardly, he made a polite explanation.

"Friend, I'm afraid you don't understand. These spirit tail chickens aren't ordinary in any way. They weren't raised by my Li Clan, they're from the Spirit Stream Sect!

"More specifically, they're from the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect!" Even though his words were spoken softly, many people in the area heard them, and soon, gasps rang out.

Even Hou Yunqing couldn't hold back from gasping at Li Youdao's display of wealth.

Li Youdao was very pleased at the reaction he was getting from Hou Yunqing and the crowd. Looking very proud of himself, he continued to offer further explanation.

"The spirit tail chickens from the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect were rare enough to begin with. However, a few years ago, a bandit known as the Chicken-Thieving Fiend caused a sharp decline in production. Nowadays, spirit tail chickens from the south bank can only be acquired at auction, and for an extraordinary price at that. They're very easy to identify. They have green bones and beautiful tail feathers. They look completely different from other types of chickens.

"However," he lamented, "thanks to that despicable Chicken-Thieving Fiend and his demented crime spree, the south bank spirit tail chickens nearly went extinct!" With that, he proceeded to curse and revile the Chicken-Thieving Fiend. His female companion joined in, until all of the surrounding guests were echoing their sentiments.

In response to everyone rebuking the Chicken-Thieving Fiend, Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly.

It was at this point that a new group of people arrived, a group of handsome elite clan members from the cultivator clans, who were clustered around a young woman. She wore a long white gown that resembled a blooming lotus, had the fairest of skin, and had her long hair coiled up and bound with a silver hairpin. She wore pearls and jewelry, and walked with a gentle grace. The starlight which reflected in her eyes made her look even more beautiful.

Unfortunately, her exquisite beauty was somewhat marred because of her furrowed brow; apparently she was concerned with some important matter. And yet, she did her best to put a smile on her face as she conversed in a low tone with one of the young men escorting her.

Although the young man did his best to conceal it, it was possible to see the passion in his eyes as he listened to her.

That young woman was none other than Du Lingfei.

She immediately became the focus of all attention. Furthermore, there was something about her, some energy or power that made everyone in her presence feel the urge to bow their heads.

Despite how many people were clustered around her, Naruto instantly caught sight of her. At first, he almost looked like he was in a daze. They hadn't seen each other for years, but she somehow seemed more familiar to him than ever. And yet, she was more beautiful than before. There was also something a bit more noble about her, perhaps something that had come from holding a position of power for so long.

She definitely seemed different from the rude and unreasonable beauty she had been when they'd first met. And yet, as the moments ticked by, that old version of Du Lingfei and this newer, more beautiful one slowly merged together.

Naruto had grown in their time apart, and so had she. Thanks to her subtle control of affairs in Eastwood City, the cultivator clans were in harmony, something that most outsiders found unbelievable.

"Goddess Lingfei…." Li Youdao said, his eyes flickering with infatuation. Back when he'd first laid eyes on her, he had been somewhat attracted to her. However, it was only thanks to her deft manipulation of the cultivator clans that he came to be fully infatuated.

The courtesan sitting next to him paled in comparison, and she clearly knew that. In the face of the powerful Du Lingfei, she had no choice other than to lower her head.

At this point, Hou Yunqing leaned over to Naruto and quietly said, "Goddess Lingfei came to Eastwood City with nothing. I remember her often gazing back in the direction of the Spirit Stream Sect, thinking about something. Who would have ever thought that she would do so well for herself? None of the past emissaries ever accomplished what she has. She kept the peace between the clans, bringing about a harmony the likes of which has never been seen before.

"Supposedly, some of the clan patriarchs were so impressed that they convinced the Spirit Stream Sect to renew her emissary commission several times over."

Even as Li Youdao stared at her with glittering eyes, and Hou Yunqing was murmuring to Naruto, Du Lingfei finished speaking to the young man next to her. Just as she was about to take a step forward, her gaze pierced through the crowd to land on Li Youdao's table.

Her eyes went wide, and a tremor of disbelief ran through her. All of a sudden, it seemed as if everyone around her had vanished, leaving only one person behind in her world.

Breathing heavily, she started walking in the direction of the table. Everyone was shocked to see her acting this way, especially Li Youdao, who shot to his feet, trembling.

"Sh-she's actually coming over to see me!" His mind began to spin, and his heart began to pump wildly. Unable to prevent the joy from filling his face, he immediately began to walk toward her.

"Goddess Lingfei…." he said. Even as he prepared more words to say,

Du Lingfei walked right by without even sparing him a passing glance. His jaw dropped, and he looked stiffly over his shoulder to see Du Lingfei stop in front of the table and look at one person in particular.

"Naruto, you're here…." Even the way she stood there was enticing. Her eyes were beautiful, like shining moons, and everyone who looked at her couldn't prevent their hearts from surging with passion.

The instant she spoke Naruto's name, the clamor of the banquet transformed into utter silence. Trembling, people began to turn to look at Naruto.

Everyone knew that Naruto was a Prestige disciple of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Junior Brother of the sect leader. The latest news was that he had recently gone to one of the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said, smiling. All of a sudden, he recalled that moment in the cave when they were fleeing from the Luochen, how she had sat next to the fire, her face ashen and yet oh so beautiful.

Hou Yunqing plastered a look of surprise on his face. Taking several dramatic steps backward, and stumbling down to his knees in the process, he pointed his finger and raised his voice as loud as possible. "Y-y-you're… you're Naruto!?"

It was at that exact same moment that people from the various cultivator clans began to pull jade slips out of their holding items, as news came in from their clans.

Within moments, the surprise which had just gripped their heart turned into massive waves of shock. People began to gasp and look over at Naruto, their minds reeling.

All of the various jade slips contained similar information.

"Naruto reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment! Any clan member who meets him should treat him with utter respect. Immediately notify the clan for a hefty reward!"

—

Chapter 171 Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Assassinate Naruto!

Naruto looked around at the flabbergasted crowd of cultivator clan members, and mused about how glorious the situation was. From the expression of utter shock on Hou Yunqing's face, it seemed as if he had only just now realized the shocking identity of the person he had befriended. Although Naruto found his behavior a bit servile, it still felt good receive such treatment.

Coughing dryly, he patted Hou Yunqing on the shoulder and said, "Alright, enough with the act. Your big bro Hou Yunfei told me about you a while ago."

Hou Yunqing rose to his feet, looking a bit embarrassed. The truth was that because of his place in the Hou Clan, he had recognized Naruto the instant he set foot in his shop. The Hou Clan had long since passed out information throughout the clan about Naruto.

Hou Yunqing knew that his clan brother and sister were both on good terms with Naruto, and he himself had hoped to somehow make friends with him, but had never been able to. When the chance suddenly arose to get close to an important person like Naruto, he had to strike while the iron was hot. Of course, when flattering someone, the best thing was not to be too direct. That way, the target of the flattery would feel more comfortable, as would the flatterer.

And that was why things had played out the way they did on the way to the banquet…. Actually, Hou Yunqing had been prepared for the possibility that Naruto would see through his ruse. In fact, Naruto's enigmatic smiles along the way caused Hou Yunqing to come to that very conclusion. However, that didn't prevent him from continuing to lay on the flattery as thick as possible.

Naruto looked at Du Lingfei, and she looked back at him. However, there was no time to sit around and reminisce. People from the cultivator clans immediately began to flock around Naruto, offering formal greetings in extremely respectful tones, each one more enthusiastic than the one before.

When Du Lingfei saw so many people jumping at the chance to meet Naruto, and how he stood there proudly with his hands clasped behind his back, she couldn't help but smile and think back to everything that had happened when they were being chased by the Luochen Clan.

Mixed emotions soon swirled within her eyes, and she sighed. However, even in the middle of her sigh, her expression suddenly flickered, and she walked over to stand next to Naruto.

The moment she stepped forward, Naruto sensed something, and looked up. There in the air not too far away, three beams of light were approaching at breakneck speed.

Three cultivators came into view, two men and a woman. All of them were bursting with killing intent, and shockingly, all of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Prepare to die, Naruto!" As they closed in on the area, they fell into a triangular formation, and then unleashed a powerful attack that not only erupted with extermination power, but also contained a noxious black mist.

A black cloud formed, within which could be seen a flying sword, a drum, and a battle-axe. All three of them were powerful magical items that were aimed directly at Naruto.

The surrounding cultivators from the various clans were shocked, and began to tremble in fear. When they sensed three Foundation Establishment cultivation bases, they cried out in alarm.

"Foundation Establishment!"

Naruto's expression flickered. His hair stood up on end as a sensation of deadly crisis swept over him. His eyes went wide, and his pupils constricted as he mentally recalled the Fallen Sword World, and his flight from the Luochen Clan. The feeling of proud complacency from moments before had been replaced by veins of steel.

"You people… want to kill me?" His eyes began to shine brightly. It would have been possible to simply dodge the attack unleashed by these three assassins, but there were countless innocent bystanders present, as well as Du Lingfei. Furthermore, everyone around him was in Chakra Condensation, whereas the three assassins were…

Foundation Establishment experts!

They were only in the Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment stage, but their cultivation bases appeared to be near the great circle of early Foundation Establishment!

Naruto's eyes were already bloodshot as he stood there in front of

Du Lingfei, and he looked just like he had when facing the Luochen Clan. He didn't dodge, nor did he flee. He raised his right hand, and blinding golden light emanated from his entire body. The power of nine spiritual seas and Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment erupted out, causing Naruto to seem much larger than he actually was!

All of a sudden, a huge illusory palm materialized in front of him, golden in color, which shot forward to block the incoming attack!

Shockingly, he was single-handedly blocking the combined attack of three Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators!

Du Lingfei stood there in a daze, looking at Naruto's back. It was almost like the world around her had vanished, and she was once again being chased by the Luochen Clan.

She seemed conflicted, and it was in that moment that her right hand, which was inside of her sleeve, suddenly turned a bit blurry. A moment later, it was back to normal, looking fair and fine like usual.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. As soon as Naruto let loose his counterattack, massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and black cloud unleashed by the three assassins was crushed as if by an enormous mountain.

As the boom echoed out, the ground beneath Naruto's feet cracked and crumbled. Everyone within about thirty meters of him staggered, and some of them coughed up blood. However, none were killed.

Being directly protected by Naruto, Du Lingfei wasn't hurt at all. However, all of the tables, the decorative rocks, and the pine trees in the area were completely destroyed.

The black cloud collapsed, and the flying sword, the drum and the battle-axe were sent spinning off to the side.

The three assassins were clearly shocked that Naruto had blocked their attack with a single palm strike. Just as they were about to unleash another attack, Naruto's voice echoed out, filled with rage, "You people are courting death!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he shot through the air toward the group of three.

One of the men tried to fall back, but was too slow. With the help of his wings, Naruto appeared in front of him at almost the same moment that he took off, two fingers lashing out with the power of the Throat Crushing Grasp. Instantly, his fingers were on the man's neck.

A cracking sound rang out, and the man's eyes went wide. Blood sprayed out of his torn throat as Naruto tossed him off to the side to block the other two from retrieving the flying sword and the battleaxe.

A boom echoed out as the man's corpse exploded into bits, sending blood and gore flying out in all directions. At the same time, Naruto turned, piercing through the cloud of gore, his expression matchlessly vicious.

The murderous aura which was now exploding out from him had appeared before thanks to the Luochen Clan, and had also been seen when he slaughtered countless enemies in the Fallen Sword Abyss. He… was out to kill!

The surviving man and woman were both Foundation Establishment cultivators, but at the moment, their scalps were tingling in fear. The power on display by Naruto completely exceeded their expectations.

"So this is Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment…." Exchanging a bitter glance, they turned to flee. Since they couldn't kill Naruto, then the only thing they had a mind left to do was get away. However, there was no way Naruto would let that happen.

Almost at the exact moment that they took to flight, Naruto, his eyes even more bloodshot than before, sped into motion. The full power of his Foundation Establishment cultivation base erupted, along with the Waterswamp Kingdom. The sky went dark, and a shocking pressure descended, causing the two fleeing assassins to cry out in alarm.

Then, Naruto's wings flapped, and he left after images behind as he sped toward the man. The man's face fell as he tried to defend himself, but there was no way he could move faster than a fist strike unleashed by someone who had broken through the first shackle of mortality.

That fist exploded like thunder, slamming into the man's chest and unleashing unspeakable force. His eyes exploded, and then his organs, his bones, his flesh, and his blood all burst out in chunks in all directions.

The last assassin was the woman. Screaming in terror, she tried to flee, and even managed to get about 300 meters away. But then, Naruto turned and waved his right index finger through the air.

"Violet Qi… Cauldron Summoning!"

Boundless violet Chakra swirled in the air above the woman, rapidly transforming into an enormous violet cauldron.

Then, Naruto clenched his hand into a fist!

The violet cauldron shattered, creating a huge explosion that instantly overwhelmed the woman.

In the blink of an eye, she was killed in body and soul!

Silence reigned. Everyone in the area was staring in shock and awe at

Naruto. Although they all had heard that Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment was powerful, none of them could ever have imagined that not only would the Foundation Establishment assassins be unable to defeat him, but that he would kill them as easily as turning over his hand!

Even as everyone stood there gasping, Du Lingfei's expression turned very grim, and she said, "How did those three get in here? I can't believe the Eastwood City's grand spell formation isn't active. Immediately investigate the records to see which clan is responsible. As the official emissary to this city, I demand an explanation for this matter!

"The cultivator clans will conduct a thorough search of the entire city: interrogate anyone who seems suspicious. It's likely that those three aren't the only assassins here!"

Around the same time, numerous beams of light appeared up above. Now that the cultivator clans knew that Naruto was in the city, the patriarchs and other leaders were all showing up.

When the patriarchs saw the bloody scene down below, their expressions flickered. Then they heard Du Lingfei's words, and their own killing intent began to roil. One of the patriarchs suddenly looked sick as he realized that his clan had been responsible for maintaining the spell formation for the past few months.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, Goddess Du: the Li Clan will definitely investigate this matter to the bitter end. Let the sun and moon bear witness to the fact that we are faithful and true to the Spirit Stream Sect!"

—

Chapter 172 Chapter 172

Chapter 172: I'm Sorry, Naruto

That night, martial law was imposed on Eastwood City. All of the cultivator clans sprang into action, carrying out a thorough investigation in the entire city. As for Naruto and Du Lingfei, they disappeared into the night.

Du Lingfei explained to Naruto that her commission was almost over, and there would be no harm in returning to the sect early. As such, she would accompany him on his way back.

It was late at night. Stars twinkled in the sky, and the moon hung high and bright. Naruto and Du Lingfei sat on a mountaintop looking out at the stars. Du Lingfei looked even more beautiful than usual under the starlight. Smiling, she looked over at Naruto as he recounted the events which had occurred during their years apart.

"You wouldn't believe it, boo. On the south bank, they actually pelted me with stones. Man, that hurt so much….

"I didn't mean for things in 10,000 Snakes Valley to turn out that way! I just wanted the snakes to look a little cuter….

"After you get back to the sect, boo, you definitely have to tell me if you see that damned rabbit!

"Those guys on the north bank are complete bullies. I got sent to the north bank, alone and impoverished. I scuttled around with my tail between my legs, scared of offending anyone, but they still didn't let me off the hook…." As he told his stories of the Spirit Stream Sect, Du Lingfei occasionally comforted him and occasionally chuckled. The looks of praise and surprise she gave him got Naruto even more worked up.

She protested his use of the nickname 'boo', and did so more than once, but it didn't do any good. In fact, the more she protested, the more he used it.

"Boo, boo, boo…."

Finally, she simply shook her head and sighed in resignation.

Eventually, they found a mountain cave where they settled down for the night. Naruto sat down cross-legged to meditate, and after a bit of time passed, a gentle breeze picked up. Strangely, Naruto didn't notice the breeze at all.

Du Lingfei opened her eyes and looked over at Naruto, mixed emotions swirling in her eyes. After a moment, she stood and walked out of the cave to look up at the bright moon up overhead. A gust of wind blew a strand of her hair out of place, and she reached up to tuck it behind her ear.

However, when her finger reached the hair, it passed directly through it. Du Lingfei looked at her shimmering index finger, and the complexity in her eyes deepened. Clenching her hand into a fist caused the finger to become solid again, after which she tucked the stray hair into place.

"Not much time left…."

Some more time passed. Looking very melancholy, Du Lingfei walked back into the cave and looked at Naruto sitting there quietly. Being careful not to jostle him, she sat down by his side and rested her head on his shoulder. After she closed her eyes, a smile appeared on her face.

Time passed as they traveled along. Three days went by, which didn't seem like a very long time for Naruto. He fantasized a bit about what it would be like to return to the sect as a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert, and how he would be the center of all attention. Every time he thought about it, he got more excited.

Du Lingfei wanted to slow the trip down, but when she saw how excited he was, she simply smiled and held her tongue. On the third day, Naruto's Foundation Establishment cultivation base stabilized, and they were getting very close to the Spirit Stream Sect.

Deep in the night of the third day, when they were only about a day's journey from the Spirit Stream Sect, Du Lingfei suggested that they rest for a bit.

They found a mountain cave, where Naruto began to recount his terrifying experiences in the Fallen Sword World. As he spoke, he began to feel tired, and before he realized what was happening, was asleep.

Everything was very quiet, with the only sound being the popping and hissing of the little fire they'd built. Inside the cave, the flames cast dancing shadows, and outside, it was pitch black. Everything was very peaceful.

Du Lingfei gazed into the fire for a while, then looked over at the sleeping Naruto, a soft look in her eyes as she thought back to the past. By this point, she wasn't paying any attention to her physical body, which was starting to shimmer and turn translucent.

After a long moment passed, she sighed. Giving Naruto a deep look, she rose to her feet, trembling a bit. At this point, she noticed his mouth curve up into a smile as he slept. Apparently he was having a wonderful dream of some sort.

Leaning down, she kissed him softly on the lips, then turned and walked out of the cave, a look of determination spreading across her face.

As she emerged, the air rippled and distorted as nine shadowy figures appeared. They were all mysterious and enigmatic, even bizarre, and as they stood there, the air around them shimmered and flickered.

Unexpectedly, all nine of the figures clasped hands and bowed deeply to Du Lingfei. From the respect they showed, they almost seemed like servants.

One of the shadowy figures stepped forward and spoke in a raspy voice that almost seemed to emanate from the ancient past. "Junior Matriarch, the task you assigned us has been accomplished. All eleven individuals are right here."

With that, he waved his hand, causing eleven severed heads to tumble out. The faces of each and every head were twisted into expressions of terror and disbelief.

Shockingly, these were all the spies that had infiltrated Eastwood City with the intention of killing Naruto.

Du Lingfei ignored the severed heads and the nine shadowy figures. Turning around, she looked at the slumbering Naruto.

"Everything about me in the Spirit Stream Sect was a sham," she murmured, her eyes glistening as if tears were welling up. "The only real thing was that time when the Luochen Clan was chasing us.

"My mission is accomplished, but for some reason, I'm not happy. I hope you can forgive me…. I'm sorry, Naruto." As the tears spilled out onto her cheeks, they rolled down her face and transformed into ash which drifted away into the wind.

One of the shadowy figures clasped hands and respectfully said, "Junior Matriarch, this mortal body the patriarch crafted for you won't last for much longer. He sent us here to escort you back. Will you be coming, ma'am?"

Du Lingfei continued to look at Naruto for a long moment, then nodded lightly. She looked exhausted. Finally, she turned to leave. As she did, her body slowly vanished, transforming into nothing more than smoke. The nine shadowy figures also vanished….

As for the eleven severed heads, they dissolved into ash.

The following morning at dawn, as the first rays of sunlight reached into the cave, Naruto squinted as he slowly opened his eyes.

"I'm thirsty, boo…." he said, yawning. He was a bit surprised; after beginning to practice cultivation, he'd found that he didn't need to sleep as often, but just now, he'd slept for quite a long time. Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and looked around for Du Lingfei.

When he didn't see her, he didn't think too much of it. Walking out of the cave, he looked over at the rising sun and then stretched lazily.

"I must have tired myself out too much recently. Man, what a good night's sleep." At the moment, he felt more energetic than ever, as though a boundless life force were pulsing inside of him. His nine spiritual seas were golden through and through, and he was completely and fully in the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment stage.

His aura had ceased to focus inward, and with every breath he took, he could almost hear waves crashing in his spiritual seas.

He felt better now than he ever had before, and decided to meditate for a bit, both to familiarize himself with his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment and its Heaven-Dao aura, and also to wait for Du Lingfei.

After two hours passed, and Du Lingfei hadn't returned, Naruto opened his eyes, feeling somewhat nervous.

"Still not back yet?" he thought. He pulled out a transmission jade slip and sent a message to her, but it did as much good as throwing a rock into the sea. There wasn't any response at all.

"What's going on?!" He shot to his feet and immediately began to

search the area. By the time evening fell, he'd looked everywhere, but hadn't found a single trace…. Du Lingfei… had disappeared!

By this point, he was wracked with anxiety, and had the feeling that something bad had happened. Face ashen, eyes bloodshot, he expanded his search.

"Where are you, boo!?

"Du Lingfei, where are you!?

"Du Lingfei…." He searched for four days in a row, looking everywhere he could think of. Soon his hair was disheveled, and he looked like he was losing weight. However, Du Lingfei was nowhere to be found.

"Did I say something wrong, boo? Why are you hiding from me? Tell me!

"Du Lingfei, come out, wherever you are!

"What happened!?"

He was going mad with anxiety by this point. Eventually, he went back to the cave where he had last seen her, and searched the entire place with a fine toothed comb. Unfortunately, the result was the same as before.

He wasn't sure why, but his heart hurt. It felt like someone was ripping it into pieces, and was a feeling the likes of which he had never experienced before. Clutching his hands tightly at the pit of his stomach, he thought back to how he had fallen asleep for no apparent reason, and then his heart sank. Eventually, a blank look appeared in his eyes.

The fact that Naruto had been away for so long without returning caused the sect to send out even more people to find him. Hou Yunfei led a team, as did other key disciples from the south and north banks. Even Li Qinghou helped.

When they finally found him, he was sitting outside of that cave, his

eyes bloodshot, his face gaunt. He looked bedeviled.

When Li Qinghou saw him, he felt a twinge of pain at the sight, and asked, "Naruto, what's wrong?!"

Naruto shivered. Eyes blank, he turned to look at Li Qinghou and murmured, "Uncle Li, Du Lingfei… is gone."

—

Chapter 173 Chapter 173

Chapter 173: The World!

As he was escorted back to the Spirit Stream Sect, Naruto maintained his silence. Occasionally he would look over his shoulder in the direction of the cave where Du Lingfei had gone missing.

Li Qinghou issued orders for the Spirit Stream Sect and the cultivator clans to search for Du Lingfei. However, not a single clue turned up. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

This strange turn of events was taken seriously even by the higher echelons of the Spirit Stream Sect's leadership.

Because of the disappearance of Du Lingfei, Naruto lost all excitement at having reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment.

The sect held a grand ceremony, and Naruto's name gradually came to be known throughout the entire cultivation world of the eastern Lower Reaches. News spread about the fierce fighting over heavenstring energy in the Fallen Sword World, and soon, people were saying that Naruto had surpassed Master Limitless.

However, Naruto didn't really care much about all of that.

He received a hefty reward from the sect, and when the other disciples looked at him, their eyes shone with respect. Even the prime elders and the patriarchs gazed upon him with admiration. And yet, his heart was filled with disappointment.

During the grand ceremony thrown by the sect, Naruto revealed the corpses of the disciples who had lost their lives in the Fallen Sword World. Everything went quiet. The peak lords and the sect leader looked on sadly, as did the prime elders from Mount Daoseed.

After the ceremony was over, many people realized that Naruto seemed a lot quieter than before. It was as if he had forgotten about things such as glory and the pride. People would often see him alone on Fragrant Cloud Peak, looking lost.

He was like a different person, and many of the disciples who were close to him felt horrible.

Bruiser ran over from the north bank. Apparently he could sense Uzumaki

Naruto's dark mood, and simply sat next to him to keep him company.

Big Fatty Zhang came a few times, but was never sure what to say, and simply sat there sighing. Hou Yunfei also visited to keep him silent company.

Hou Xiaomei came to comfort him, as if to remind him that even though Du Lingfei was gone, she was still there.

"Big bro Naruto, I won't go missing…."

Xu Baocai came with lots of rumors. For instance, Gongsun Wan'er had gone missing, but her soul lamp hadn't burned out. Her brother Gongsun Yun had gone crazy looking for her, but hadn't been able to find her.

Xu Baocai had talked to all of the disciples who came back from the three Foundation Establishment Holy Lands, and had compiled all of the information into a comprehensive report. He also had information about all of the Chosen from the other sects.

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki, you probably didn't hear that while you were in the Fallen Sword World, a Chosen unexpectedly rose up in the Primordial Spirit Hollow. He's an amazing disciple from the Pill Stream Sect!

"His name is Lin Mu, and he turned out to be a real dark horse in the competition. That 'Mu' character in his name is the same character from the word 'tomb'! He actually mastered the Pill Stream Sect's most powerful grand magic, the Primeval Medicinal Daoseed Incantation! It was only later that on that a lot of the Pill Stream Sect disciples realized that he had secretly planted Daoseeds in them. Eventually, he reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment with eight Tideflows!

"In the Lone Hell Pocket Realm, another shocking Chosen rose up. Her name is second only to yours, Sect Uncle Uzumaki. She's from the Blood Stream Sect, and wears a mask with a plum blossom on it. She completely stomped on

everyone else in the Holy Land, and became the second person from the Blood Stream Sect after Master Limitless to reach the peak of

Earthstring Foundation Establishment, nine Tideflows! She slaughtered countless other disciples. It was completely brutal. They call her Devilwitch Xuemei! 1

"Now that I think about it, it seems like there was something really strange going on in the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands. Dark horses popped up everywhere! Although, you were obviously the most shocking dark horse, Sect Uncle Uzumaki, and the strongest of them all. You reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

"This time around, the Spirit Stream Sect really took the glory!

"Oh, by the way, before Ghostfang went into secluded meditation, he picked his legacy at the Ancestral Darktunnel, and twenty legacy shafts lit up! The entire sect was thrown into an uproar!" Thanks to Xu Baocai's detailed information, Naruto gradually came to learn about everything that had happened in the Lone Hell Pocket Realm and the Arcane Spirit Hollow.

Although none of the events in the other two Holy Lands were as brutal as the Fallen Sword World, there were still many deaths and casualties.

In addition to the information about the other sects, Xu Baocai also told him about the other Spirit Stream Sect disciples from the other two Holy Lands. Zhou Xinqi, Lu Tianlei, Gongsun Yun, Xu Song, and several other disciples had all reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment. However, none of them had gotten more than six Tideflows. After returning, all of them were assigned to various positions in the sect, then went into secluded meditation to strive toward the Legacy Echelon.

According to Xu Baocai, Ghostfang and Shangguan Tianyou had also chosen to go into secluded meditation. Furthermore, Beihan Lie had become even more famous and important in the sect. As for Hou Yunfei, he had been taken in as an apprentice by one of the prime elders.

Everyone had acquired their own good fortune. As for the disciples from the north and south banks who had received help from Naruto to reach Earthstring Foundation Establishment, none of them were taken as apprentices by prime elders. However, all of them were promoted, becoming elders who took the lead in administering sect affairs.

The number of disciples who reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment from the Spirit Stream Sect vastly outnumbered those from the other sects, giving them much more power and influence within that stage of cultivation.

As for Naruto, because he had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, he was named Legacy Echelon-designate.

However, he didn't get much feeling from that. He was really having a hard time pulling himself out of his depression. Time passed. Half a month later, Zheng Yuandong walked over to the forlorn Naruto's immortal's cave and sat down in front of him.

"Naruto, when you were in the Fallen Sword Abyss, the founding patriarch issued a Dharmic decree. Fragrant Cloud Peak has been infiltrated by a spy!" Zheng Yuandong's words caused a tremor to run through Naruto. The truth was that Naruto was no fool; his mind was quick and sharp. During the half month that had passed, he had put a lot of thought into what had occurred during his time with Du Lingfei recently. Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary about her on the surface, how could Naruto not have noticed the mixed emotions in her eyes?

He also remembered that on the night she went missing, she had been the one to suggest resting, after which he had slept the whole night through.

All of that told him that, most likely, Du Lingfei had left of her own volition.

As for why she had left, he had the feeling there was some secret reason for it. In the end, he didn't want to think about the matter too much; he already had some guesses as to what was going on.

Zheng Yuandong didn't go into any further detail about the spy. There were some things that simply needed to be mentioned to Naruto. Talking about them too much might not be a good thing.

He was fairly certain Naruto understood the implication behind his words.

After a long moment of silence, Zheng Yuandong changed the subject, and in doing so, unwittingly touched on something that had come to be a sensitive subject for Naruto because of the events of recent weeks.

"Naruto, do you know why the Luochen Clan turned traitor?!"

Because of what had occurred with Du Lingfei, and Naruto's reluctance to ponder the matter, the events concerning the Luochen Clan had become a bit hazy. However, after hearing Zheng Yuandong's words, he looked up. Although he didn't want to think about Du Lingfei right now, the deadly events with the Luochen Clan were something that he would never be able to forget.

Subconsciously, he reached down and rubbed the place on his arm where the jagged edge of his broken arm bone had poked out of the flesh. The wound had long since healed, but every time he touched that spot, he thought about how he'd stabbed Crown Prince Chen Heng in the neck with his own shattered bone.

Originally, it had seemed that the Luochen Clan turned traitor because they wanted to break free from the control of the Spirit Stream Sect. They had even gone to the lengths of killing mortals to reverse the flow of their own blood for that very purpose. However, there were multiple layers to the events that had occurred. Without something deeper motivating them, they would never have done such a thing. After all, while the eastern Lower Reaches was a vast place, in some ways, it was a very small world.

After betraying the Spirit Stream Sect, the Luochen Clan would have had a very difficult time surviving, even if they had successfully reversed their bloodlines.

Naruto had pondered the matter some in the past, but the sect had actively suppressed information about the incident, essentially sweeping the news under the rug.

However, Naruto was an observant person, and had taken note of the frequency with which the sect dispatched Foundation Establishment cultivators to the outside. Clearly, something bigger was going on. Considering his previous speculations, the fact that Zheng Yuandong was bringing up the subject now was a bit of a shock. 2

"You're a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator now, and also the legacy echelon-designate. You are the pride and joy of the sect, and as such, you qualify to be privy to certain secrets that ordinary disciples are unaware of. I have four important questions to pose to you." Zheng Yuandong's solemn expression caused the atmosphere in the immortal's cave to instantly turn serious.

"First of all, are you aware of the nature of the world in which we live?" As he spoke the words, Zheng Yuandong's eyes seemed to focus on something far in the distance, and even his voice quavered a bit.

Naruto shivered. He understood a bit about the world thanks to his own research into the sect's ancient records. However, even those explanations weren't very clear.

"The world in which we live is huge," Zheng Yuandong continued. "In the very middle of it, there exists a vast sea, which is golden in color, and is filled with enormous rolling waves. According to the legends, there is an island in the middle of that sea, which is the location of the passage that spans the gap between heaven and earth.

"That is why the sea is called the Heavenspan Sea. Furthermore, the world we live in is called the Heavenspan Realm, or sometimes, the lands of Heavenspan! For years and years on end, countless almighty beings have sought to cross the sea and set foot onto that island. Unfortunately, no one has ever succeeded.

"There are four mighty rivers which connect to the Heavenspan Sea. They stretch out to the east, west, south and north. It's hard to say whether the rivers exist because of the sea, or vice versa. In any case, those four rivers are known as the eastern, northern, southern, and western Heavenspan Rivers.

"The four great rivers that connect to the sea are known as the Upper Reaches. Each and every one of them eventually splits into four smaller branches which are known as the Middle Reaches. Further down the line, those branches also split into four smaller branches, which are known as the Lower Reaches.

"Beyond that, the branches split up into even smaller branches, which are the delta regions.

"The Heavenspan Sea and the various rivers are sort of like a tree. That is the nature of the world we live in." Zheng Yuandong looked over at Naruto, his eyes shining with sharp light.

Naruto took a deep breath. Zheng Yuandong's words crashed in his mind like thunder. Slowly, his old understanding of the world shattered and dispersed, to be replaced by the new version which had just been described by Zheng Yuandong.

"Second. Do you know why the four most powerful sects of the eastern

Lower Reaches have the word 'stream' in their name? Spirit Stream

Sect, Blood Stream Sect, Profound Stream Sect, Pill Stream Sect!" Zheng Yuandong smiled faintly as he thought back to the first time he had been told about the world. He had been just as shaken as Naruto was right now.

—

Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

"The location where the four rivers flow into the sea from the east, west, south and north is known as the Upper Reaches. In that same location, there are four ancient and powerful sects that have existed there for tens upon tens of thousands of years. Perhaps they are as old as the world itself. They are the four most powerful entities in the world.

"Those four powerful ancient sects control the four major rivers, as well as all of the subsequent branches of those rivers, all the way down to the delta regions.

"The ancient sect that controls the eastern reaches of the cultivation world is called the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

"The headquarters of the sect is far, far away. A Foundation

Establishment cultivator could spend an entire lifetime flying toward it without reaching it.

"Subsidiary to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect are four powerful courts that control each of the four branches of the river. They are the Starry River Court, the Sky River Court, the Dao River Court, and the Polarity River Court!

"Those four powerful courts each control four branches that break off from the larger rivers. The Spirit Stream Sect is on the second stream controlled by the Sky River Court. The Blood Stream Sect is on the first stream, the Pill Stream Sect is on the third stream, and the Profound Stream Sect is on the fourth. The Sky River Court is the parent sect to all of our four sects, and above it is the ancient Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect." Zheng Yuandong's words struck Naruto like lightning. This revelation regarding the world around him left him shocked and panting.

"The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect…." he murmured, feeling a bit dizzy.

"Third. Do you know why all of the sects in the world are built on the Heavenspan River? Even down in the delta, they try to get as close to the river as possible" This third question made Naruto feel like a third lightning bolt was about to slam down into him.

"The Heavenspan Realm is enormous. Gargantuan in size. Although it wouldn't be correct to say that it has no end, the truth is that few people have ever reached the farthest borders of our world. One strange thing about our world is that she has no spiritual energy!"

"No spiritual energy? That's impossible!" Naruto again felt himself being completely and utterly shaken.

"There isn't a bit of spiritual energy in the entire world. Well, perhaps it's more accurate to say that heaven and earth have no inherent spiritual energy. All it produces is a chaotic power that is toxic to cultivators, but provides nourishments to beasts.

"For as long as there has been a written history in our world, it's always been this way. The only reason cultivators are able to practice cultivation is due to the Heavenspan Sea!

"The Heavenspan Sea is the location of a shocking amount of spiritual energy. Apparently, every drop of seawater there contains boundless spiritual energy, and as the water flows down the four great rivers, into the branches and streams and even the delta regions, it brings spiritual energy with it!

"The spiritual energy is strongest near the Heavenspan Sea itself. And of course, the closer you get to the rivers, the stronger the local spiritual energy. The Upper Reaches have the strongest spiritual energy, with the Middle Reaches being a bit weaker, and the Lower Reaches even weaker than that. The delta regions are the weakest.

"The further you get away from the Heavenspan River, the weaker the spiritual energy gets. Eventually, you would reach a point where there is no spiritual energy at all. Almost half of the entire world we live in is made up of such areas. In fact, the areas bet

ween the rivers are all like that, devoid of spiritual energy.

"This actually serves as somewhat of a safeguard. After all, if any two of the ancient sects wished to go to war, it would be a very difficult thing to do. Because of that, most wars are fought along the branches of the rivers, not between the larger sects."

Zheng Yuandong looked at the reeling Naruto and continued on. "Fourth. Why did the Luochen Clan turn traitor!?

"The Blood Stream Sect, Spirit Stream Sect, Profound Stream Sect, and Pill Stream Sect are all subsidiaries of the Sky River Court. Of course, each and every one of our sects hopes to elevate their status and become the main sect controlling this branch of the river!

"That is our patriarch's dream, and what the Spirit Stream Sect has been working toward for the past 10,000 years. That is also the entire purpose of the Legacy Echelon!

"A few years ago, an extremely rare opportunity presented itself!

"The Sky River Court did something to arouse the wrath of the ancient Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Punishment was doled out, and the court was nearly completely wiped out. The patriarch was killed, and their power structures destroyed. They are unprecedentedly weak, which means that it is now possible to supplant them!

"A spot has opened to become the sect controlling the other streams of the river, and the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect doesn't care who it is. The Blood, Spirit, Profound, and Pill Stream Sects all have a chance.

Naturally, all four sects have begun fighting over that spot. Whichever of us manages to defeat the other three sects will eventually rise up to command everything downstream!

"At this point, it's not important who was backing the Luochen Clan.

Maybe it was the Blood Stream Sect, maybe it was the Profound Stream Sect, or maybe even the Pill Stream Sect. Again, it doesn't matter. They are all our opponents, and at the same time, potential allies!

"Other sects have been casting their fishing lines into our territory, so to speak, hoping to snag some advantage. We've done the same thing as well." Zheng Yuandong smiled, and there was something cold and sinister about it that almost seemed out of character. The truth was that to members of his own sect, Zheng Yuandong was a wise old man who seemed as gentle as a spring breeze. But when it came to fighting people outside the sect, he was even more cold and vicious than Daoist Jackal Ouyang Jie.

Naruto's heart was being crushed by waves of shock because of the four questions that had just been asked and answered.

Eyeing Naruto, he slowly continued, "Naruto, do you want to know why that island in the Heavenspan Sea, which leads to the path that spans the heavens, has been the goal of so many almighty beings?" This was the first time that Zheng Yuandong had seen Naruto look somewhat alive after the incident with Du Lingfei. Thankfully, he had saved his most powerful words for last!

"The legends say that if you walk the passage that spans the heavens, you can acquire that which is eternal! In other words, you can live forever!"

When Naruto heard that last part, his scalp started tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. He began to tremble visibly, and pant. He had never felt so shaken in his entire life. His entire mind was suddenly filled with the idea of being able to live forever.

"If you want to live forever, you have to be powerful enough to walk out into the heavens. That's a very long road, and you can't let yourself get distracted by the scenery along the way. You have to walk the path and live life without any regrets!

"Here are four jade slips. The first will serve as your command medallion, identifying you as a sect elder. The second will open your new immortal's cave on Mount Daoseed. The third will allow you to enter the Ancestral Darktunnel to select the legacy that is your right now that you've reached Foundation Establishment. The last is the key to the arcane pocket realm that you won entry to after taking first place in the Chosen battles." Zheng Yuandong placed four jade slips down onto the ground. Seeing how excited Naruto looked, he was finally able to relax a bit. After emerging from Naruto's immortal's cave moments later, he saw Li Qinghou off in the distance, waiting for news. As he walked over, he gave him a slight nod.

A smile broke out on Li Qinghou's face, and he sighed. "Many thanks, sect leader. Now I can finally rest at ease when I go into secluded meditation!"

"You shouldn't worry so much, Qinghou. He's my Junior Brother, so of course I'll take care of him. I hope that after you emerge from your secluded meditation, the Spirit Stream Sect will have another legacy echelon cultivator!" Zheng Yuandong was actually a bit envious. However, there was no way he could ever reach the legacy echelon. At most, he might end his life as a prime elder in the future.

Li Qinghou clasped hands and bowed. Giving Naruto's immortal's cave a final look, he departed along with Zheng Yuandong.

Inside the immortal's cave, Naruto was panting in excitement. In fact, he didn't even notice that Zheng Yuandong had left. He remained in a bit of a daze deep into the night. Finally, he looked up, and his eyes were shining brightly.

"I'm going to live forever!" He buried the matter of Du Lingfei deep in his heart and walked out of his immortal's cave, thinking about the wider world he lived in, and also about his desire to live forever!

After looking over the four jade slips he held in his hand, his eyes shone with anticipation.

Thinking back to the second volume of the Undying Codex that the gravekeeper had given him, he murmured, "Now I can start to cultivate the second volume of the Undying Codex, the Undying Heavenly King."

He had looked over the second volume before, and already knew that it was divided into four levels that were much more powerful than the Undying Skin. Furthermore, even just cultivating the first level would allow him access to a secret magic that was even more formidable than the Throat Crushing Grasp!

"The Mountain Shaking Bash!" The night passed quickly. At dawn, he stepped outside again and looked at the rising sun. As of this point, he had put the matter of Du Lingfei's disappearance clearly out of mind.

"Naruto is back!" Flicking his sleeve, he stuck his chin up and transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Mount Daoseed.

—

Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Chapter 175: Please Behave Yourself, Elder Brother Uzumaki

Finally in high spirits again, Naruto shot away from Fragrant Cloud

Peak toward Mount Daoseed. In accordance with the sect rules of the Spirit Stream Sect, now that he had reached Foundation Establishment, he was no longer a disciple, but rather, an elder.

Elders were people with exceptional latent talent who were given special duties by the sect. Oftentimes, the seven peak lords would assign them certain important tasks or matters. Back when Naruto had been in the Inner Sect, Elder Zhou had been one of the Foundation Establishment elders on Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Such people were fundamentally Chosen, and all of them strove to reach the Legacy Echelon. They were not people who could be taken lightly. Generally speaking, they did not live on the various mountain peaks, but rather, on Mount Daoseed.

Occasionally, some of them would reach the Legacy Echelon, but for the most part, after a hundred or more years passed and it became clear that they couldn't reach the Gold Core stage, they would settle for being peak lords. For those who did manage to reach Gold Core, but took longer than two sixty-year cycles to do so, they would become prime elders.

There were some outstanding individuals such as Li Qinghou who would be promoted to peak lord early. They would simultaneously focus on both cultivation and the administration of the mountain peak. Then, at some point before two sixty-year cycles had passed, they would go into secluded meditation to try to break through to the Gold Core stage.

Although it looked on the surface as if the Spirit Stream Sect only had a bit over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, the truth was that there were more than that on Mount Daoseed.

Only by reaching Foundation Establishment would one qualify to have an immortal's cave on Mount Daoseed, which also served as a symbol of power for such people.

Most of the immortal's caves were on the lower half of the mountain, but even they had stronger spiritual energy than could be found outside on the seven mountain peaks.

The immortal's caves on the top half of the mountain were reserved for the prime elders and the sect leader.

Having reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, Naruto had a very high position within the Spirit Stream Sect, almost like that of a patriarch. His immortal's cave was located halfway up the mountain, in the same location as many of the higher ranking Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Although some people weren't too happy about that, there was nothing they could do. Now that he had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, Naruto was definitely a rising star in the sect, someone who was the center of all attention.

Mount Daoseed was huge. Back when he became the Junior Brother of the sect leader, and an Inner Sect disciple, he had been able to visit the place, but most locations had been restricted, and impossible for him to enter. As such, it had seemed like a vast and majestic place.

Now, he was back as a Foundation Establishment expert. To him, the sight of Mount Daoseed rising up among the seven other mountain peaks looked like an adult standing amidst a group of children.

As he made his way along, any Spirit Stream Sect disciple who saw him would look at him with reverence, and would call out to him in greeting. At first, he had planned to rocket through the air, but when he realized what was happening, he slowed down. Clasping his hands behind his back, he looked around like a member of the Senior generation, nodding here and there with a look of praise in his eyes.

Strange expressions appeared on the faces of the disciples, and many began to think back to events of the past.

On Green Crest Peak, an elder was leading a group of a few dozen Outer Sect

disciples as they trained in sword techniques. When he looked up and saw Naruto, he sighed and said, "All of you, look up there. See that cultivator strolling along surrounded by golden light? That's who I was telling you about earlier, the greatest Chosen in the Spirit Stream Sect, Naruto!"

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples looked up in awe, their eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"That's Sect Uncle Uzumaki?!"

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki is a mighty warrior, and a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert. I heard that he outshone all of the other disciples in his generation!"

"Everyone in Sect Uncle Uzumaki's generation is extraordinary. I heard that

Sect Uncle Ghostfang, Sect Aunt Zhou Xinqi, Sect Uncle Shangguan

Tianyou, and Sect Uncle Beihan Lie were all monstrously talented Chosen. It's too bad for them that they were born in the same generation as Sect Uncle Uzumaki."

These Outer Sect disciples had just recently joined the sect, and had cultivation bases scattered between the third and fifth levels of Chakra Condensation. They had heard a lot of stories about Naruto; for example, the acid rain incident, the story of lightning striking the sect, and the disaster of 10,000 Snakes Valley. Of course, they took such stories to be mere exaggerations. As for him reaching Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, that was recent news that seemed much more believable.

As Naruto flew along, he could see the reactions of the disciples down on Green Crest Peak, and felt all the burning gazes fixed upon him. Moved, he decided that he definitely couldn't treat these young disciples coldly, nor could he allow them to think that he was some distant cloud floating high above their heads.

Coughing lightly, he changed directions and flew down toward the group of Outer Sect disciples.

The Green Crest Peak elder quickly rose to his feet and clasped hands in greeting. The surrounding Outer Sect disciple followed suit, looking very excited.

"Greetings, Sect Uncle Uzumaki!"

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki, you're my biggest role model!"

"I love you, Sect Uncle Uzumaki!" The female disciples looked particularly smitten, and stared at him with flushed cheeks and eyes burning with excitement.

Naruto was very moved, and couldn't help but think that everything he had done for the sect really had been worth it. The adoring gazes of these youngsters was already a huge motivating force to him, and as such, he smiled warmly, and proceeded to give them a bit of encouragement.

"Focus well on your cultivation."

"Keep up the good work, you guys are great!"

"You love your Sect Uncle Uzumaki? Ahem. Work hard at your cultivation, and remember, anything is possible."

Naruto patiently stood there and exchanged a few words with all of the disciples present. Considering how excited they all were, he gave them a bit of advice about matters, and then, feeling increasingly moved, gave them some more advice.

After giving ten rounds of advice, and repeating himself on more than one occasion, the Outer Sect disciples' eyes began to go blank. They had all addressed him as Sect Uncle Uzumaki at least a few dozen times, to the point where they were starting to wonder what exactly was going on.

The elder wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, and couldn't help but think about what it had been like back when Naruto was promoted to the Inner Sect, and went around forcing people to address him as Sect Uncle.

Sometime in the afternoon, Naruto finally felt satisfied, but instead of going to Mount Daoseed, he headed to Violet Cauldron Peak and Fragrant Cloud Peak, where he was received with great enthusiasm. More excited than ever, he proceeded along to the four mountain peaks of the north bank.

Eventually, it was late in the night, and the Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect were really starting to form a strange opinion of Naruto. It was at this point that he recalled something important. Clearing his throat, he headed toward Mount Daoseed.

His immortal's cave on Mount Daoseed was very large. In terms of the spell formation and the décor, it vastly exceeded the immortal's cave from his Chakra Condensation days. As for the spiritual energy within it, it was shockingly strong to say the least.

There was no hot spring. However, it had a lake inside, upon which swirled mist and fog that made the entire place seem like a celestial paradise.

The area outside the immortal's cave was alive with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. If he wanted to, he could ask for Outer Sect disciples to wait on him and take care of the cave itself. Both outside

and inside, the place belonged to him, and was his own personal domain. At the moment, he was sitting at the edge of the lake, looking around in satisfaction.

"I've finally reached Foundation Establishment!" He was also thinking about a bit of information he'd gleaned from a jade slip. Considering his current status, he now qualified to accept an apprentice, and was thinking of doing just that. It would probably be a lot of fun.

Soon, word spread that he had arrived on Mount Daoseed, and his immortal's cave was virtually trampled by the crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators who came to offer greetings and see exactly what Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment looked like.

Of course, people would never come to offer formal greetings without bearing gifts. Naruto was shocked over and over again, and eventually, his hands started to twinge with pain from accepting so many gifts. However, the smile never left his face, and he always took time to chat with his visitors.

As for the cultivators who had reached Foundation Establishment in the Fallen Sword Abyss with his help, they were especially grateful.

Half a month later, things finally calmed down. After the visits stopped, Naruto decided that it was time to stop fooling around. He couldn't stop thinking about what his Elder Brother, Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong, had told him about the island in the middle of the Heavenspan Sea. From there, it was possible to step out into the heavens and live forever.

"If I want to get to the Heavenspan Sea, I'll definitely have to have a powerful cultivation base. That means I need to work hard at cultivation!" He got up early the next morning. Taking a deep breath, and eyes shining with determination, he headed in the direction of the Ancestral Darktunnel, where he would be able to select the technique he would cultivate in the Foundation Establishment stage.

The Ancestral Darktunnel was a long tunnel in the middle of Mount Daoseed. Upon entering the tunnel, one would find over a hundred shafts leading off in different directions, each one of which represented a different legacy.

Generally speaking, one would bring an authentication device into the tunnel, then activate it, whereupon some of the legacy shafts would light up.

It was a very miraculous thing, and word had it that although the cultivators came to select legacies, sometimes a legacy would select a cultivator!

Of course, things like that were rare. Naruto remembered Xu Baocai telling him that when Ghostfang came to select his technique, more than twenty of the legacy shafts had lit up to select him.

Naruto wasn't very impressed by that. "What's so amazing about that? So what if twenty legacies selected him? I've reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!"

According to the sect rules, only someone with an authentication device could enter the Ancestral Darktunnel. Anyone who didn't have such a device, but tried to enter anyway, would be instantly killed by the spell formation inside.

Because of that, there wasn't anyone assigned to guard the location. When Naruto arrived, nobody was there. After looking around hesitantly for a moment, he walked into the cave-like entrance. A moment later, he was in the beautiful tunnel entrance, facing over a hundred tunnel-like shafts.

Although the shafts didn't look like anything special, Naruto knew that once he activated the authentication device, then at least one of the shafts would emit a bright light, which would indicate that he could enter.

He looked around for a moment, and was just about to activate the device when suddenly, a young woman emerged from one of the shafts up ahead.

It was none other than Zhou Xinqi, who had come to acquire her Foundation Establishment technique. Almost as soon as she emerged, she saw Naruto.

"Eee? Sect Niece Xinqi!" he said, blinking.

Zhou Xinqi frowned and took a deep breath. Then she gave Naruto a level look.

"Greetings, Elder Brother Uzumaki. Please behave yourself here."

"Huh?" Naruto said, looking at her in shock. Then he realized that since they were both in the Foundation Establishment stage, they had equal seniority. He suddenly felt as though he had lost out on something very important. After all, despite how many years had passed, he had almost never gotten her to call him Sect Uncle….

Feeling very disappointed, he pushed his finger down onto the authentication device, and the shafts up ahead began to flicker with light!

—

Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Chapter 176: The Only Hidden Legacy

The instant that Naruto sent some spiritual power into the authentication device, each and every one of the hundred shafts lit up with scintillating light.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the blinding beams shot out, completely illuminating the paradisaical scene inside the cave.

Naruto's jaw dropped, and Zhou Xinqi's eyes wide with disbelief and astonishment.

"How is this possible?!" Zhou Xinqi exclaimed.

Each one of those more than one hundred shafts represented a legacy, and apparently, all of them were making themselves available to Naruto. Essentially, Naruto could pick any legacy he wanted.

The shocking scene left Zhou Xinqi dumbstruck. Earlier, only one of the shafts lit up for her, and when Ghostfang caused more than twenty to light up, the entire sect had been shaken.

But then Naruto came along and caused more than a hundred to light up….

Even as Zhou Xinqi reeled in shock, she suddenly realized that in addition to lighting up, each shaft began to pulse with gravitational force, as if they were vying for Naruto's attention.

Zhou Xinqi's mind reeled at the astonishing sight of more than a hundred legacy shafts all struggling to impress Naruto.

Naruto was equally stunned. At the same time, all of the prime elders on Mount Daoseed could sense what was happening, and were shocked. Even the handful of patriarchs in the Spirit Stream Sect looked over with wide eyes.

"Not even the last Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator that came along did anything like this…."

"This indicates one thing: Naruto reached unfathomable heights in the Chakra Condensation stage!"

Outside on Mount Daoseed, more than a hundred pillars of light shot up into the clouds above, causing a big stir among the disciples. After all, they had seen something similar occur a month before, when twenty pillars of light shot up for Ghostfang.

Of course, the fact that there were now a hundred pillars of light left the Spirit Stream Sect disciples completely tongue-tied.

Ghostfang was currently sitting in meditation. A tremor ran through him, and he looked up into the sky. He didn't even need to ponder the matter for a single moment.

"Naruto…."

Shangguan Tianyou, Beihan Lie, Lu Tianlei, and all of the other Chosen were equally shaken.

Back in the Ancestral Darktunnel, Naruto swallowed hard and then blinked, his heart thumping. Zhou Xinqi stood next to him, as mute as a wooden chicken. Finally, Naruto stuck his chin up and swished his sleeve.

"Ai," he muttered. "With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, caused more than a hundred legacies to accept me. Truly outstanding. And a real headache too. How am I supposed to pick?"

Of course, he spoke loud enough for Zhou Xinqi to hear. Her face darkened, and her heart filled with numerous conflicting emotions.

All of a sudden, in one location that had initially appeared to be just a blank part of the wall, a fissure opened up, causing blinding, sun-like light to spill out into the cave.

Incredible pressure accompanied it, completely surpassing the other hundred legacies. Clearly, the legacy in this shaft was far more powerful and domineering than any of the others!

An intense gravitational force wrapped around Naruto, and in the blink of an eye, he was being dragged toward the shaft opening. To his shock, he was almost instantly pulled inside.

The other legacies didn't seem willing to give up, and sent out their own pulses of blinding light. However, there was nothing they could do to change to situation, so they soon calmed down. The only eye-witness was Z

hou Xinqi, who was so stunned she didn't even remember leaving. All she remembered was how the more than one hundred legacies had seemed so anxious and eager, and how the final shaft which had opened didn't seem to be one of the original group.

The instant that Naruto was sucked into the shaft with the powerful and domineering legacy, there were five patriarchs on the ninth mountain peak of the Spirit Stream Sect who were all shaken.

Originally, they had been paying close attention to Naruto, even before the shocking developments from moments before. In fact, they had even been prepared to prod him with divine will to help him select the best technique.

After all, he was a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator, someone highly valued by the sect.

But then, a shaft appeared that was not part of the original group, and whisked him away before they could even unleash their divine will.

"That was…."

"Just what kind of destiny does this Naruto have!?"

"That legacy hasn't appeared for countless years! It's the only hidden legacy there!"

Even as they reeled in shock, Naruto was sucked in by the gravitational force, and eventually found himself inside a stone chamber.

Moments before, it had been pitch black, darker than the darkest night, but as soon as he arrived, it filled with brilliant light.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what the sudden turn of events indicated. After all, he hadn't selected any legacy; this legacy had selected him. However, it only took a moment for him to recover and look around.

The stone chamber wasn't very large, and in the very middle of it was a stone book!

"What's that?" he muttered, walking forward. Almost immediately, he noticed five characters written on the book, characters which were completely eye-catching.

"Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation!" Naruto's eyes widened. The name itself sounded very impressive, and he could only imagine how extraordinary it was.

"The south bank has the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, and the north bank has its Heavenspan Shamanic Control Incantation. Could this Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation possibly be a combination of those two?"

Naruto continued to examine the stone book, and soon was left gasping by the technique's introduction. Although it was only a general overview, it was still shocking. "Is it really cultivated using water from of the Heavenspan River?"

According to the description, the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation involved absorbing water from the Heavenspan River into one's body, using it to nourish oneself and grow stronger. It was divided into four levels, one for the early, mid, and late Foundation Establishment stages, and one for the quasi-Core stage!

Furthermore, cultivating the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation gave access to a Daoist magic called the Heavenspan Dharma Eye!

This technique could also unleash control power, but was on a completely different level than anything from the Chakra Condensation stage. In the Chakra Condensation stage, control could be exerted through the use of qi, but in the Foundation Establishment, a mere glance with an eye could exert control of all things!

Naruto continued to examine the information, and eventually, the stone book blurred, and four magical symbols appeared, each one of which contained volumes of information. As Naruto looked them over, he was left more and more shaken.

"Cultivate with the water of the Heavenspan River. In the first level, condense a drop of water. In the second level, a goblet. In the third level, a stone, and in the fourth… a cauldron!" Naruto was so shocked that his tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. He couldn't help but think about how Zheng Yuandong had told him that the Heavenspan Sea was the source of all the spiritual energy in the world.

The Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation was so domineering that you actually had to absorb water from the Heavenspan River….

It was probably a good thing it was only usable in the Foundation Establishment stage. If it went beyond that, Naruto could only imagine how powerful it could be.

He could suddenly see himself waving his hand, and sucking dry all four of the great branches of the Heavenspan River.

Then, he saw himself hovering in the air, with the Heavenspan Sea transforming into his spiritual sea.

"So powerful!" he gasped, trembling. He was even more shaken by the Daoist magic of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye. With one glance, one could exercise control over anything and everything.

"That's just like the Human Controlling Grand Magic I've been working on!" Even though the technique wasn't useful past Foundation Establishment, he immediately decided that the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation was for him!

Time passed. Naruto didn't eat or sleep. He remained in the stone chamber, seeking enlightenment of the Violet Chakra Heavenspan

Incantation. After a month, he hadn't succeeded, but had the technique imprinted on his mind. Reluctantly, he decided to leave.

"If I want to cultivate it properly, I'll need to get a drop of water from the Heavenspan River!" Gritting his teeth, he pulled out his authentication device and vanished from the stone chamber. When he appeared, he was in the cave that was the entrance of the Ancestral Darktunnel. Without a moment's hesitation, he left.

Although he didn't notice it, in the moment of his departure, several streams of divine will were there, trembling in shock and anticipation.

During the following days, Naruto remained on the bank of the Heavenspan River below Mount Daoseed. He sat there cross-legged, watching the golden water rush past. He could sense the spiritual power in that water, which emanated terrifying fluctuations as it rumbled past. Occasionally, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as he attempted to extract a drop of the water for himself.

Never once did he succeed, though. No matter what he did, he couldn't affect the water at all. The water was clearly so terrifyingly powerful that if any of it touched him, his fleshly body would melt instantly.

A few more days passed, but he never met with success. After a while, he decided to go consult his Elder Brother the sect leader. He left with a jade bottle that contained a drop of water from the Heavenspan River. Every so often, the patriarchs of the sect would collect some of the water through various means, which would be used as a reward for Foundation Establishment cultivators, who could use the water for various purposes.

It was only after speaking with his Elder Brother that Naruto came to realize that Heavenspan River water was a critical ingredient to cultivation in the Foundation Establishment stage. He wasn't the only person who needed such water; all of the legacies required water from the Heavenspan River.

The Spirit Stream Sect's legacies were rather mixed. There were legacies regarding beasts, swords, and spirit enhancement. Actually, the Blood Stream Sect, Profound Stream Sect, and Pill Stream Sect were all different in various ways, but also used Heavenspan River water. For example, the Blood Stream Sect could use it to make spirit blood. The cultivators of the Profound Stream Sect used it to make second spirit bodies for themselves, or to forge weapons. The Pill Stream Sect, of course, focused on pill concocting.

In the final analysis, however, all of the legacies just used a bit of the water temporarily. As for Naruto's technique, the Violet Qi

Heavenspan Incantation, it was far more domineering. It didn't just use it temporarily, it plundered it permanently!

The difference between borrowing and taking was like the difference between heaven and earth!

—

Chapter 177

Chapter 177

Chapter 177: Heavenspan Dharma Eye!

Instead of taking the jade bottle back to his immortal's cave, he spent a moment of thought before deciding to take advantage of his access to the arcane pocket realm, which he had earned during the Chosen battles.

In the arcane pocket realm, he could seek enlightenment of secret magics, as well as his own personal techniques. There was something profound and mysterious about the arcane pocket realm that made enlightenment much easier, although Naruto didn't quite understand the mechanics of it all.

In the Chakra Condensation stage, techniques were somewhat limited, so it was best to wait until Foundation Establishment to go into the arcane pocket realm. Furthermore, no one would dare to state with utmost certainty that they would be able to reach the Gold Core stage. Even Naruto with his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment had, at best, a high likelihood of succeeding.

Therefore, it wasn't very practical to wait until the Gold Core stage.

The entrance to the arcane pocket realm was in a secret location on Mount Daoseed. When Naruto handed the jade slip to the prime elder in charge of the entrance, the white-haired old man looked at him with a profound gaze.

Naruto felt incredible pressure accompanying that gaze, almost the same type of pressure he remembered feeling as a Chakra Condensation cultivator when a Foundation Establishment expert looked at him. He immediately put on his most charming front.

"You took first place in the Chosen battles," the old man said. "That gets you one day of enlightenment. Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment gets you three days. Peak Lord Li Qinghou from Fragrant Cloud Peak previously accumulated two days of time, which he has passed on to you. The sect leader has also gifted you with two days." Upon hearing these things, Naruto's eyes went wide.

He had never been told that Li Qinghou and Zheng Yuandong had gifted him time in the arcane pocket realm. However, he hadn't even been aware that there was a time limitation to begin with. A few days certainly didn't seem like enough time to gain enlightenment.

"A total of eight days!" The old man's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he waved his finger at a nearby boulder. The boulder began to blur, and then rumbling sounds echoed out that caused Naruto's heart to tremble. Shockingly, the boulder transformed into a huge stone golem more than 30 meters tall. It threw his head back and howled, then reached out with both hands and began to rip the air apart.

An instant later, a huge fissure could be seen.

"What are you waiting for?!" the prime elder said. Although he spoke in a cool voice, it still echoed like thunder. Naruto took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed before flying toward the fissure and disappearing inside.

A moment later, the fissure closed up, and the stone golem transformed back into a boulder. Then the prime elder closed his eyes to meditate.

When Naruto reappeared, he was in a strange world of complete grayness. As he looked around, he realized that he was standing in the exact spot he had been standing in moments before.

He could see the boulder, although the primer elder was gone. The entire Spirit Stream Sect was visible around him, but he couldn't sense even a trace of life within it. After a moment, he flew up into the air to get a better look around.

"This…." The Spirit Stream Sect looked exactly the same as he remembered. However, not a single person could be seen in any of the buildings.

The desolate feeling he got caused Naruto to grow very nervous. Then he looked over and realized that the Heavenspan River was completely dried up, and his scalp began

to tingle.

"What kind of arcane pocket realm is this?" He felt extremely uneasy, although he wasn't exactly sure why. With that, he headed to the very peak of Mount Daoseed, a place where he would normally never be able to go.

From that vantage point, he could look out on the entire world around him. However, everything was filled with gray mist, making it difficult to see very far.

"I don't even want to think about what this means. I guess I'll just see if it's really easier to gain enlightenment of techniques here." Suppressing his uneasy feeling, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and visualized the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation.

A moment later, his eyes snapped open, and they shone with delight. For some reason, there were many aspects to cultivation that he found confusing in the outside world, but suddenly made sense here. For some reason, it was as if his mind had expanded, and any thought that passed through his head was instantly made a reality!

It was very strange. It was almost as if all he had to do was imagine some new world, and that world would appear right in front of him. He almost couldn't believe it.

Excitedly closing his eyes again, he immersed himself in seeing enlightenment of the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation.

Time passed. Soon, night fell. Before Naruto knew it, a second day had come and gone. Then a third.

Deep in the night of the third day, Naruto's eyes opened, and they shone with the glow of enlightenment. In fact, if you looked closely, you would be able to see a magical symbol flickering deep in each pupil.

"The most difficult part of the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation is the first step," he murmured. "Water from the spirit river descends like a meteor falling into the mortal world. Flesh and blood become threads that hold up the stars. The body becomes the heavens, and the stars exist inside of it, never to descend!" He waved his right hand, causing a jade bottle to fly out of his bag of holding.

The bottle opened, and a drop of golden water from the Heavenspan River floated out, the only bit of color to exist in the world of gray that surrounded him.

He looked hesitantly at the drop of water for a moment, then gritted his teeth.

"Anything to be able to live forever! Anything to be able to go to the Heavenspan Sea!" He took a deep breath, and the drop of golden river water shot toward his forehead.

As soon as it made contact with his skin, intense pain exploded out. His flesh and blood felt like they were melting, and he shivered violently. Gritting his teeth, he rotated his cultivation base and drew upon all nine of his spiritual seas, using the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation to attempt to absorb the power of the water.

Rumbling sounds filled his ears, and the golden liquid slowly merged into his forehead. After an indeterminable period of time, he let out a powerful roar. Inside of him, the golden liquid completely ignored his Chakra passageways, flesh, and blood as it sank down inside of him.

That was water from the spirit river descends like a meteor falling into the mortal world.

As it passed through him, all of his Chakra passageways, flesh and blood melted, and even his internal organs were injured. His bones screamed in pain, causing his face to turn ashen, and blood to ooze out of his mouth.

And yet, he simply gritted his teeth, ignoring his melting and destroyed Chakra passageways, flesh and blood. Instead, he sent internal spiritual energy coursing through them, spreading out into his body to wrap like threads around the golden river water. This was none other than flesh and blood become threads that hold up the stars.

Most of the threads were destroyed, but as they continued to spread out, many of them managed to wrap madly around the golden river water.

As the golden river water reached Naruto's dantian region, his eyes suddenly glittered.

"The body becomes the heavens, and the stars exist inside of it, never to descend!"

Rumbling sounds could be heard as his nine spiritual seas erupted with the power of nine Tideflows, which battered against the golden liquid as if to destroy it. However, the liquid quickly pierced into the ninth spiritual sea, then the eighth, and the seventh….

As that happened, the spiritual seas rapidly transformed into innumerable spirit threads which wrapped around the golden river water.

After piercing through eight of the spiritual seas, the golden liquid was completely bound by the spirit threads, whereupon it slowly ground to a halt, to hang above the first spiritual sea!

In that moment, it began to emanate boundless golden light which exploded out to fill Naruto's entire body. Everywhere it went, it healed what it passed over, including his spiritual seas, Chakra passageways, flesh and blood, bones, and everything else. At the same time, everything began to transform.

Naruto's aura erupted out, and although it was still in the early

Foundation Establishment stage, it was completely different than before. Before, he had seemed impressive from the outside, but the truth was that his Foundation Establishment power was in a state of disorder, like an army without a general. But now, after having gained enlightenment of the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, that general had appeared, and all of his spiritual power was now in unison. As such, his battle prowess was now completely different than before.

His eyes opened, and the magical symbols in his pupils were even clearer than before. Gradually, they faded away, and at the same time, the golden liquid inside of him began to merge into his first spiritual sea.

At some point in the future, when the golden liquid was fully and completely absorbed, he would have successfully completed cultivating the first level of the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation.

It was at this point that splitting pain suddenly radiated from Naruto's forehead. There was also an itching sensation, as an eye gradually formed in that very position, an eye that seemed to be on the verge of opening.

It was none other than his Heavenspan Dharma Eye!

"It worked!" he exclaimed jubilantly. He reached up to rub his forehead, and the itchiness grew more pronounced. However, he wasn't alarmed, but rather, overjoyed.

"Hahaha!" he laughed, nearly jumping up and down. "From now on I'm going to have three eyes. Even just saying it sounds awesome!" Then he looked off into the distance and took a deep breath.

"It's still growing, but I could probably test it out a bit." After a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes. His first spiritual sea then began to churn, and the drop of golden river water emanated flickering golden light, which streamed through his Chakra passageways to converge on his forehead.

In that moment, the rapidly stabilizing crack which had just appeared suddenly opened, and a violet eye appeared. Instantly, his gaze pierced through mists to see what was beyond.

A tremor ran through him as he realized that beyond the mists were not lands, but rather, an almost completely dried-up sea. The Spirit Stream Sect was a floating island in the air, and further off in the distance were countless other islands!

Bolts of lightning crackled within the sea and between the various islands.

He wanted to examine the scene further, but the pain in his forehead was too great. Blood began to ooze down, and the fissure on his forehead closed. With that, his two eyes snapped open, and a tremor ran through him. His spiritual power had been drained by more than half.

"What kind of arcane pocket realm is this?" he thought, panting in astonishment.

—

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme archives: Tocsin. Transcendent Patrons: Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208

—

Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Chapter 178: So Little Mask, You Want To Play Hide-And-Seek With Lord Uzumaki?

Naruto found it completely bizarre, and simply couldn't imagine what type of place he was in.

After a while, he decided to stop thinking about the mists and what lay beyond. Taking a deep breath, he slowly calmed down.

"I guess it doesn't matter. One thing's for sure: my speed of enlightenment here is incredible. I can really benefit a lot." Shaking his head, he completely stilled the shock within him.

"No wonder they allocate time in here by the day. Even allocating it by the hour would make sense. Every day here counts as an opportunity for major gains by any cultivator." All of a sudden, he felt overtaken by a sense of urgency. He had spent three days on the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, which meant he had five days left.

"I can't waste any time!" He quickly pulled a jade slip out of his bag of holding and poured some spiritual power into it. Soon, a mnemonic appeared in his mind.

"Undying Heavenly King!" he said, eyes shining with excitement. That jade slip had been given to him years ago by the man known as the gravekeeper. It was the second volume of the Undying Codex! The Undying Heavenly King!

In the first volume of the Undying Codex, one cultivated the power of the skin, which was called the Undying Skin. The second volume focused on fleshly body power, and was called the Undying Heavenly King!

Similar to the Undying Skin, the Undying Heavenly King was divided into four levels. However, they were not divided into iron, bronze, silver, and gold. Instead, they were four fleshly body types. The first level was the ten mammoths Berserk Ghost Body. The second was the ten ghosts Heavenly Demon Body. The third level was the ten demons Asura Body. The final level was the Undying Heavenly King Body!

Each of those four fleshly body types was more powerful than the one before it, with the most powerful being the Undying Heavenly King Body. It was actually thousands of times more powerful than the first level, the Berserk Ghost Body!

Naruto had actually known about this some time ago, but because he had never mastered the Undying Skin, he had been unable to proceed with the higher levels of cultivation. Now that he was examining it again, the Undying Heavenly King was completely shocking.

"The so-called mammoths referenced in the ten mammoths Berserk Ghost Body were not ordinary creatures. They were gargantuan mammoths from primeval times, who emanated incredible pressure all around them. Even their fleshly body strength alone was comparable to an early Foundation Establishment cultivator!

"The mammoth power from the Dragon Mammoth Sea-Forming

Scripture is similar. After reaching Foundation Establishment, my fleshly body power is actually similar to one of those gigantic mammoths.

"As for the berserk ghost, the Undying Heavenly King information says that in the legends, there was a terrifying entity that could rip mammoths to shreds. It was actually a ghost-like beast with a terrifying fleshly body!" Considering the current level of his cultivation base, he found the information about the Undying Heavenly King even more shocking than before.

"Basically, if I cultivate the first level of the Undying Heavenly King, then in the end, my fleshly body power will be ten times what it is now, which will be the power of a single ghost of the second level. The power of ten such berserk ghosts will put me at the level of the heavenly demon.

"According to the information, heavenly demons were also legendary creatures with terrifying fleshly body power, who hunted and consumed berserk ghosts!

"Asuras have ten times the power of heavenly demons, and according to the l

egends, would easily crush heavenly demons. I guess that means that the Undying Heavenly King has ten times the power of an asura?"

Naruto's eyes were shining brightly. He was already deeply familiar with the benefits of his Undying Skin, and as such, was even more excited about the Undying Heavenly King. He could already imagine what it would be like one day to combine the power of the Undying Heavenly King with the Undying Gold Skin. Although he wouldn't literally be undying, he would definitely be very difficult to kill!

"This volume of the Undying Heavenly King can lead to explosive fleshly body growth! If I cultivate it successfully, it would be hard to find a Foundation Establishment cultivator under heaven who could kill me!" With that, he quickly closed his eyes and began to work on the first level of the Undying Heavenly King.

It was not an easy task, and the difficulty lay in the vast amount of vital energy that was required. The requirements of the first volume of the Undying Codex were like nothing compared to this. After cultivating it for a bit, Naruto was already looking withered, and he quickly stopped.

"What a terrifying waste of vital energy. If you're not careful, you'll turn yourself into human jerky…." When he thought of what he would look like as a slab of human jerky, he couldn't help but shiver in fear. However, he wasn't willing to give up. That was especially true because of the divine ability he would have access to if he successfully cultivated the first level.

"The Mountain Shaking Bash…." he thought, taking a deep breath. He immediately decided that after leaving the arcane pocket realm, he would concoct pills and even stock up on precious materials that could replenish vital energy. Regardless of how difficult it was, he had to cultivate the Undying Heavenly King.

After some brief calculations, he realized he had three days left. Without any further hesitation, he took the Protomagnetic Wings off of his back and examined them closely. In the very middle of the wings was a pearl, which he'd acquired from the north bank in trade for the pill formula for the Aphrodisiac Pill. It was known as the Protomagnetic Pearl.

According to the peak lord from Irispetal Peak, if it was his destiny, he might able able to gain enlightenment of a divine ability that had to do with gravitational repulsion.

Although he had looked into the matter before, he had never made much headway. With three days left in this place, he decided that maybe it was a good time to take another look.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, there were only about eight hours of time left in the arcane pocket realm. However, he didn't give up. Even though he hadn't gained complete enlightenment of the powers of gravity and repulsion, he did have a much deeper understanding of the magnetic powers of the pearl.

Now he was able to unleash a strange power that contained both pulling and pushing forces, which, when combined, caused the air to distort into the form of a pearl.

The pearl seemed illusory, but affected the air around it, causing it to twist and distort. When Naruto poured spiritual power into it, the power vanished like a rock thrown into the deep sea. However, as soon as he ceased the flow, the power which he had poured into the crystal rumbled back out. Shocked, he realized that the pearl apparently maintained balance in the form of a cycle, making it a vessel of sorts.

Even still, he was unable to unleash the powers of gravity and repulsion. If he managed to succeed in the future, he would finally be able to make contact with true protomagnetic power.

"What a pity. If I could only spend some more time in here, I would definitely be able to unravel the mystery." Sighing, he put the wings back, and then used the remaining eight hours working on his Waterswamp Kingdom.

When the eight hours were up, the air around him began to ripple, and before he could do anything further, everything around him collapsed. Rumbling sounds echoed out as a vortex formed, which sucked Naruto inside.

After vanishing, he reappeared back on Mount Daoseed, outside the entrance of the arcane pocket realm. He immediately felt disoriented. Inside the arcane pocket realm, his mind had been unprecedentedly clear. His thoughts seemed to roam free without restraint. But now he was back to normal, and it felt almost like he had been submerged in water. He felt very muddleheaded.

The prime elder opened his eyes and looked at him, and was immediately shaken. Naruto seemed completely different than he had eight days ago. All aspects of his energy seemed far stronger than before.

The old man nodded in admiration, then said, "People usually have a hard time adjusting after their first time in the arcane pocket realm. Go meditate for a few days and you'll be fine."

With that, he closed his eyes.

It took Naruto a moment to even recover to the point where he could move. Ashen-faced, he clasped hands and bowed to the prime elder, then left.

After returning to his immortal's cave, he sat down next to the lake, working at readjusting himself, and simultaneously recalling his experiences in the pocket realm. Finally, he sighed.

"If only I could have sought enlightenment in there for a few more days. Cultivating in there is pure joy. Just what kind of place is it? It's so weird." He shook his head. It was actually possible to pay merit points to enter the arcane pocket realm, but with Naruto's current savings, he could only afford a few hours.

Considering how uncomfortable he felt, it was impossible to clear his mind enough to practice cultivation. After some thought, he unstrapped his bag of holding.

It was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items, including many things that he'd acquired in the Fallen Sword World. Up to this point, he hadn't taken the time to organize them all. Upon opening it up, he saw countless objects, including spirit stones and even some magical items.

After organizing everything, he found he had a dozen or so bottles and cases, some of which contained medicinal pills, and some of which held items he wasn't familiar with. The other sects all had different areas of specialty, so it made sense that his understanding of the items gained from them would be limited.

"Is this a spirit medicine from the Pill Stream Sect? The Pill Stream Sect's pill concocting methods seem really interesting….

"This is from the Profound Stream Sect, right? It looks like a fingernail!

"What's this thing? It's so sticky…." Shaking his head, he moved on to a blood-colored jade box. As soon as he opened the box, a burst of fiery power exploded out.

At first, he wasn't very impressed, but then he looked a bit closer, and his eyes went wide. Panting, he looked even closer at the small tongue of fire inside the jade box.

That fire was no ordinary fire, but rather, was coming out of an object located at the bottom of the box, a type of immortal grass with four different colors on its leaves. Because of the four colors on its leaves, the fire coming off of the plant itself had four different colors, making it look very strange.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his heart began to pound. After some closer examination, he confirmed his original assumption. "Fourleaved immortal grass! A rare item that creates four-colored flame!"

"This is a variation that only appears once in 100,000 stalks of threeleaved immortal grass. Four-leaved immortal grass can create fourcolored flame…." Naruto's eyes began to shine. How could he ever have imagined that his bag of holding would contain an item like this?

To the disciples of the other three sects, it might just be an object useful for concocting medicine or practicing cultivation. But to Naruto, it was like a precious treasure.

He hadn't used his turtle-wok for quite awhile, not because he didn't want to, but because fuel for four-colored flames was very rare in the sect, and he hadn't been able to acquire any.

Even as he looked at the four-leaved immortal grass, he suddenly remembered something that he had acquired from one of the disciples from the Blood Stream Sect. Back in the Fallen Sword World, so many disciples had besieged him because of the heavenstring energy that he couldn't remember them all clearly. However, there was one disciple who had made somewhat of an impression; after being killed, he had seemingly transformed into a mask and then tried to flee.

"Yeah, I remember him!" Naruto thought, eyes flashing. He clearly remembered grabbing the mask and trying to crush it, but being unable to do so. In his hurry, he'd simply sealed it and tossed it into his bag of holding. 1

However, after searching for quite some time, he was shocked to realize that the mask was nowhere to be found.

"Impossible!" Ignoring the discomfort he felt from having just returned from the pocket realm, he drew upon the power of his cultivation base to once again search, this time even more thoroughly.

"There's no way I'm misremembering this. I definitely threw it into my bag of holding. That mask must be some sort of magical treasure that's actually trying to hide from me!" His eyes began to shine with intrigue.

Sticking his chin up, he said, "How dare you try to play hide-and-seek with Lord Uzumaki, you little mask. Lord Uzumaki can reduce you to ash with the snap of a finger!"

Chapter 179

Chapter 179

Chapter 179: I'll Tell You A Secret

The interior of his bag of holding was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. There wasn't a single reply from inside. Naruto's eyes went wide, and he let out a threatening roar. And yet, nothing moved inside the bag.

Furious, he sealed it. Then, he chuckled coldly and closed his eyes to meditate. A few days later, after he'd fully recovered, he rotated his cultivation base and sent golden light streaming toward the Heavenspan Dharma Eye on his forehead.

"Alright little mask, let's see if you can hide from me this time!" With a cold snort, he confirmed that he could force open his Heavenspan Dharma Eye again. With that, he unsealed his bag of holding, and then opened his third eye just a crack. A violet eye could just barely be seen as he looked into the bag of holding.

In that instant, his mind trembled, and everything vanished. His bag of holding and everything else in it turned transparent, revealing a crumpled up mask off in the corner.

It had concealed itself in the lining of the bag of holding, slowly merging into the side. Clearly, if it had been given enough time, it would have been able to fully merge into the material of the bag of holding, then secretly escape out the other side.

As soon as Naruto caught sight of it with his third eye, the mask trembled and unleashed a blinding light as it attempted to break out of the bag of holding. Before it could though, Naruto snorted coldly, and sent spiritual power streaming into the bag of holding to grab onto the mask.

After dragging it out from within the lining of the bag, he pulled it out and held it in his hand to examine it with his third eye. Strangely, only his third eye could see it. His other senses, including his normal eyes, couldn't detect its existence at all.

"Weird," he thought. "How come I could see it back in the Fallen Sword World?" He couldn't sustain the use of his third eye for too long, so after closing it, he drew upon his nine spiritual seas, unleashing some Heaven-Dao aura. Immediately, the air above his palm began to distort, and soon, the mask became visible in front of him.

It was now a flesh-colored mask!

This was the mask he had tried to crush back in the Fallen Sword World. It seemed as delicate as the wings of a cicada, and also contained some strange aura that Naruto couldn't clearly analyze. "Could it be cultivated using the waters of the Heavenspan River?".

It was an aura that came from whatever material the mask had been constructed from, and Naruto found it quite shocking. Then he thought back to how the soul of that Blood Stream Sect disciple entered the mask and then tried to flee.

"I know you're in there!" he growled. "Show your face to Lord Uzumaki!" However, there was no reaction from the mask. Eyes shining with viciousness, he tried to crush the mask, and yet no matter how much power he exerted, nothing happened.

"Not gonna come out? You really think I have no way of dealing with you?" With that, he shot down the mountain to the bank of the Heavenspan River, where he cocked his hand back, as if to throw the mask in the water.

That river water was the only thing Naruto could think of that could melt just about anything. However, before he could actually throw the mask, it trembled and suddenly cried out, "Senior, let me say something!"

"Ah, so you can talk now, huh?" Naruto said, eyes gleaming ferociously. "Get out of that mask and tell me who you are!"

A mist suddenly flowed out from the crumpled up mask, which rapidly took shape into a tiny person. Although he didn't look exactly like the person he had killed in the Fallen Sword World, he

looked similar. Looking completely terrified, and trembling physically, he clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Please grace me with your favor, Senior," he blubbered. "Your humble servant made a mistake, I know it. I'm an Inner Sect disciple from the Blood Stream Sect. My name is Nightcrypt…." After the catastrophe of the Fallen Sword World, he had remained in Naruto's bag of holding. His plan had been to slowly make his escape, but before he could, Naruto had found him.

Originally, he hadn't been too worried, assuming that Naruto wouldn't be able to hurt him. He had never imagined that he would threaten to melt him in the Heavenspan River.

The spiritual power of the waters of the Heavenspan River was difficult to put into words, and even some of the most powerful defensive treasures could be destroyed by it.

When Naruto heard the name 'Nightcrypt', he was a bit taken aback, and even felt a bit nervous. The name really was very intimidating. Whether the meaning of the name meant burying people at night, or entombing the night itself, it definitely felt profoundly murderous. 1

Looking askance at the trembling soul, Naruto cleared his throat. "Well, your name could use some work. Doesn't sound very good, you know. Definitely not as good as mine."

Nightcrypt gaped for a moment, the subserviently voiced his agreement. However, he didn't dare to say anything else. The truth was he was feeling very sorry for himself. The Blood Stream Sect had never paid much attention to him, and he had worked very hard to reach the great circle of Chakra Condensation.

Originally, he hadn't qualified to enter the Fallen Sword Abyss. The truth was that he had studied a strange mix of things in the Blood Stream Sect. In addition to a bit of knowledge of medicine concocting, he had also studied the sect's divination magic. He would often divine his own future, and although the results weren't always accurate, they had provided some benefits to his cultivation.

Before the Fallen Sword Abyss was opened, his divination had revealed that he would come across some incredible good fortune if he went along.

Although he didn't quite believe it at first, he got the same results after numerous divinations. Finally, he gritted his teeth and paid a huge price, even undergoing significant humiliation, to get himself a spot. Who would ever have thought that, not only did he not get any good fortune, he would end up the captive of the brutal Naruto.

"Lord Uzumaki," he said, bowing continuously, "considering your incredible might, sir, why don't you just let me go? I can be a spy for you! I'll go back to the Blood Stream Sect and report back to you here at the Spirit Stream Sect. I-I-I can even swear an oath!"

Naruto looked over at him, then snorted coldly.

"Spy? Presumably this is your true appearance, right? The Nightcrypt I killed is a different person than you! I can't believe you're trying to trick me! Naruto hates it when people try to trick him! Prepare to die!" Glaring as fiercely as possible, he knelt down and prepared to drop the mask into the river.

A wave rolled by that seemed just about to hit Nightcrypt, who screamed and trembled in fear. The sensation of imminent death he was experiencing surpassed anything he had felt in his life. Then he thought about all the humiliation he had endured in the sect, and he felt like crying.

"Don't kill me! I'll tell you a huge secret!"

Naruto sneered, even more distrustful than before. With that, he loosened his grip, and the mask began to fall.

Nightcrypt was scared out of his mind as the waters of the river rushed up toward him. "No! I'm serious about this secret! It has to do with eternal indestructibility!"

A tremor ran through Naruto. As far as he was concerned, the terms 'eternal' and 'indestructible' were essentially synonymous of 'undying' and 'live forever.' Without a moment of hesitation, his hand shot out with lightning-like speed to grab the mask.

"You'd better not try to trick me," he said gravely. "You already know how much I hate it when people try to trick me!"

"I'm telling the truth," Nightcrypt gushed. "There's a big secret about the Blood Stream Sect. They have a relic of eternity! Nobody else knows about it except me. Not even the patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect are aware that such a heaven-defying object is hidden inside of their sect!

"According to the legends, whoever gets that relic and unlocks it will be able to grasp the secrets of being eternally indestructible!

"I'm not tricking you. I'm completely and utterly serious about this!" From what Nightcrypt could tell, Naruto was a very moody person, which was the most terrifying type of person there was.

Glaring angrily, Naruto prepared the throw the mask back into the river. "What a load of crap. The patriarchs of the sect don't know about that thing, but you do?"

On the verge of tears, Nightcrypt finally blurted out everything. "I-I-I'm not really a disciple from the Blood Stream Sect. I'm an imposter…."

As imposter Nightcrypt continued to explain the details, Naruto's eyes went wide. It turned out that this imposter was someone who the real Nightcrypt hadn't even been aware of!

He had started out as rogue cultivator in the third level of Chakra Condensation, with relatively good latent talent. After being chased down by an enemy, he was on the verge of being killed when an enigmatic savior from a mysterious sect appeared. His savior had been in a bit of a rush, so after a moment of thought, gave him a mask and told him to find an Outer Sect disciple in the Blood Stream Sect named Nightcrypt. His mission was to take his place and carry out a certain task. The savior had even hexed the imposter's soul.

The real Nightcrypt was actually dead by now. However, he had occupied a relatively stable position in the Blood Stream Sect. One of his ancestors had performed a great service for the Blood Stream Sect, and because of that, Nightcrypt had been guaranteed a place in the Inner Sect.

The imposter's mysterious savior had visited him a second time to explain further details of his mission, which was to secretly acquire the relic of eternal indestructibility. His savior had described its appearance, and even told him where it was located. Apparently, there was a huge door guarding the way, the key to which was a unique medicinal pill.

The pill wasn't difficult to concoct; even an ordinary apothecary could do it. Unfortunately, no matter who concocted it, the success rate would be fifty-fifty. Furthermore, the ingredients were very rare. Collecting them all would be a very difficult task.

Thankfully, his mysterious savior's sect was very rich, and had already collected most of the ingredients. The only thing lacking was some beastbirth blood.

After replacing Nightcrypt and becoming a Blood Stream Sect disciple, everything went smoothly at first. He soon became an Inner Sect disciple, but quickly came to find that he had difficulty cultivating the techniques of the Blood Stream Sect. Although he had good latent talent, he wasn't suited for blood cultivation. This problem grew worse and worse until he got stuck in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation.

Gradually, the sect lost interest in him, and even his mysterious savior didn't provide any help. For several miserable years, he had continued to cultivate alone in painstaking fashion….

His mysterious savior's sect was a very, very long way away from the Blood Stream Sect, and there were other things that made it difficult to go back and forth between the two. Furthermore, he wasn't able to directly plunder the relic of eternal indestructibility himself. Because of that, he only appeared three times, and those three times had all been by means of a projection, and apparently came at great cost.

The first time was when he arranged for Nightcrypt's soul replacement. The second time was when imposter Nightcrypt became an Inner Sect disciple. The fanfare surrounding that event didn't seem to please his mysterious savior, but didn't stop him from explaining the details of the relic of eternal indestructibility. That was also when he gave imposter Nightcrypt the ingredients to concoct the medicinal pill, and explained that his mysterious sect would continue to search for the final ingredient.

The third time he appeared was right before imposter Nightcrypt entered the Fallen Sword World. He'd explained that if he couldn't reach Foundation Establishment, that he would have to give up the mask and abandon his spy work.

Imposter Nightcrypt had been left with no choice but to rely on his divination skills to illuminate the correct path ahead. Everything after that was history….

"Is that sect full of idiots?" Naruto blurted. "Why would they possibly pick you to be their spy? Furthermore, how could the Blood Stream Sect never have suspected you?!" In his opinion, either Nightcrypt was lying, or the mysterious sect was full of fools. Of course, perhaps there was some other factor that Naruto was unaware of, something that gave the mysterious sect no other choice than to rely on the Nightcrypt soul replacement plan.

—

Chapter 180

Chapter 180

Chapter 180: Could It Be The Will Of The Heavens…?

There was another possibility, which was that, as Nightcrypt had said, the mysterious sect was too far away from the Blood Stream Sect, so far that even a projection was difficult to accomplish. That would explain their lack of both confidence and options, which led to their less than perfect decision.

Suspicious, Naruto continued to pry Nightcrypt with questions, until even Nightcrypt seemed to be getting confused. Finally, Naruto frowned, and then once again resorted to threatening to dunk him in the Heavenspan River. He then asked more questions, even down to the details of the formula to the pill that was needed to open the door. Slowly, he was coming to be convinced that Nightcrypt was telling the truth. Although his answers sometimes conflicted with each other, the overall bigger picture was consistent.

There even seemed to be certain things that Nightcrypt himself didn't understand. All he knew was that he was a spy, and that his soul had been bound with a restrictive spell. If he didn't follow his orders, he would die. He wasn't even sure what to do with the relic of eternal indestructibility if he managed to get his hands on it.

To Naruto, it didn't make much sense that the mysterious sect would just hand the medicinal pill ingredients over to a stranger. The most likely explanation was that Nightcrypt's mysterious savior truly approved of his soul, although another possibility was that the sect really was too far away, and they had no other option than to hand over the ingredients when they could.

Either way, it didn't seem logical. It almost seemed like the mysterious sect hadn't considered what to do after Nightcrypt acquired the relic of eternal indestructibility. Perhaps they didn't really care about the relic at all, and simply wanted him to open the door. Or was it that they didn't believe Nighcrypt to be capable of actually acquiring the relic after opening the door?

But if the latter were the case, why wouldn't they just select another spy…?

"What a weird sect. Why do I get the feeling that they're only going through the motions? It's almost like they want certain people to think that they're working hard at reaching some goal, but in reality, they don't care." The more Naruto thought about it, the more strange he found the whole scenario.

Another odd thing was that the Blood Stream Sect never got suspicious of Nightcrypt. Although, based on Nightcrypt's explanation, that was a question which could be answered.

"It's all thanks to this mask, huh…." he thought. He looked over the mask in more detail, and was shocked to find that he had no idea what it was made of. However, its aura was shocking, and no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a precious treasure.

According to Nightcrypt, putting on the mask didn't just change your physical appearance. It actually transformed your flesh and blood. That transformation would reverse upon removing the mask, but as long as you wore it, no one would ever be able to detect any clues that you were a different person. Your cultivation base fluctuations would be concealed, and according to the representative of the mysterious sect, no one under the Mahayana Realm would be able to see them.

Unfortunately, Nightcrypt didn't know what the Mahayana Realm was….

Of course, Naruto didn't know what the Mahayana Realm was either, although it sounded pretty incredible. Looking down at the imposter Nightcrypt there in the mask, he suddenly said, "Spiritwinter grass, waterink lily, cloud-dragon leaf, heavensieve root. What are the medicinal properties of those four medicinal plants?" Imposter Nightcrypt gaped fo

r a moment, then without even thinking about it started to rattle off the medicinal properties. As Naruto listened, his frown deepened.

His answer wasn't complete, but it wasn't incorrect. Generally speaking, his description was accurate. The four medicinal plants Naruto had asked about weren't selected randomly. Based on the answers imposter Nightcrypt gave, Naruto was able to determine that he really could concoct medicine….

"So, he actually is capable of concocting the pill. He only has a rough foundation in the Dao of medicine, but it's enough to produce the dooropening pill."

Naruto was really torn about what to think. However, his desire to acquire that relic of eternal indestructibility only continued to grow.

"If it was called anything else, I could have ignored it. Why did it have to be called eternally indestructible!?" He glared down at imposter Nightcrypt's soul in the mask, who immediately began to tremble and plead for his life.

"I'm telling the truth. I swear it! I've told you everything. I didn't leave anything out!" And he really was telling the truth.

"Fine, fine," Naruto said. "Hurry up and get out of that mask. I want to study it a bit!"

Imposter Nightcrypt hesitated, clearly not pleased with the idea of leaving the mask. However, as soon as he thought of how ferocious Naruto had been in the Fallen Sword World, and how he had just about thrown the mask into the Heavenspan River, he shivered, gritted his teeth, and floated out into the open. After all, if Naruto wanted to exterminate him, he could do so without the trouble of asking him to come out of the mask.

As soon as he was out in the open, Naruto flicked his sleeve. Imposter Nightcrypt let out a shriek as he was thrown into a jade box, which then went into Naruto's bag of holding. With that, Naruto returned to his immortal's cave to study the mask more.

The process took an entire month.

Naruto barely ate or slept during that time. He was completely focused on studying the mask. He even performed a few different tests.

No matter what he did, he was unable to damage the mask in any way.

At one point, he carefully dipped the mask into the waters of the Heavenspan River. Although he could tell that any soul inside of the mask would have been destroyed, the mask itself wasn't hurt at all. At one point, Naruto suddenly wondered why the discarnate soul of imposter Nightcrypt, with a mere Chakra Condensation cultivation base, would be able to survive after being killed in the Fallen Sword World. Presumably the answer had to do with the mask itself, which prevented his soul from dispersing.

He even bought some animals at the market and then put the mask on them. As soon as he did, the mask vanished, and the animals' faces turned into Nightcrypt's.

The result was terrifying to look at, but upon closer examination, Naruto confirmed that the little animals weren't hurt at all. In fact, they didn't even seem to notice that anything had changed. It was almost as if they had always looked that way.

After removing the mask, they would return to normal. Naruto kept the animals around a while, and performed even more tests. In the end, he confirmed that the mask didn't have any side-effects or harmful secrets. Still not completely convinced, he kept the animals under close observation.

The mask was truly a precious treasure, and Naruto couldn't imagine why that mysterious sect would possibly have just given it to a random spy.

Eventually, he used his Heavenspan Dharma Eye to observe the mask. Combined with his Heaven-Dao aura, he came to the conclusion that there was something eternal about the mask's aura.

It was as if this mask would exist for all eternity!

Naruto was left in a state of near madness, with bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair. At the same time, an audacious speculation rose up in his mind.

"What if the true purpose of the mask isn't just to change one's appearance and cultivation base? What if an authentication device, the medicinal pill, and the mask itself are all needed to open that door!?

"Perhaps the mysterious sect merely wanted to put on a show of trying to open the door and release the relic of eternal indestructibility. Perhaps the truth is that they don't want to do that.

"Therefore, they recruited a spy and gave him the mask, but intentionally withheld one of the medicine concocting ingredients. It would seem like they were doing their best, but the truth was that they didn't care. Because they were only putting on a show, they weren't too happy that imposter Nightcrypt made a bit of a splash in the beginning. Perhaps that even had something to do with why imposter Nightcrypt didn't do well at his blood cultivation, and had problems improving his cultivation base!"

Another reason why Naruto was so torn about what to do was that the missing ingredient to the medicinal pill was beastbirth blood.

Beastbirth blood was blood that came from a creature born out of a Beastbirth Flower. Although most people would view beastbirth blood as something that didn't even exist, and was virtually impossible to acquire, Naruto's own battle beast Bruiser had been born in just such a fashion….

As such, he already had everything he needed to concoct that pill, and thus, also had everything he needed to open the door.

After much thought, he finally sighed and put the mask away.

"Forget about it. All that other stuff doesn't really matter now. First I should see if I can actually concoct the door-opening pill. If I can, then the will of the Heavens will be revealed. If I can't, then that will be the end of the matter." Gritting his teeth, he went over to the north bank to find Bruiser. After playing with him for a bit, he got a drop of blood, then gave him a huge pile of delicious medicinal pills to eat.

After returning to his immortal's cave, he began to concoct.

Considering that he could already concoct tier-3 spirit medicines, producing the simplistic door-opening pill was a simple task. However, he still spent plenty of time studying the pill formula, and came to be convinced that the success rate would only be fifty percent, no matter who concocted it.

The strange pill formula was another reason why Naruto was interested in the relic of eternal indestructibility.

He settled his Chakra and cleared his mind, then pulled out the ingredients from imposter Nightcrypt's bag of holding. Most Blood Stream Sect disciples kept all of their belongings with them at all times, for safety purposes.

Then he followed the pill formula exactly, taking three days in his concocting. When he was finished, the pill furnace began to rumble, and white smoke billowed out of it. Unexpectedly, nine magical symbols could be seen within the white smoke. After the smoke dissipated, the same aura he had sensed on the mask emanated out from the pill furnace.

Naruto took a deep breath and opened the pill furnace, whereupon a medicinal pill emerged that could only be fully examined with a Heaven-Dao aura and nine spiritual seas!

"It's very similar to the mask…." Naruto thought, frowning as he looked at it.

"Is this really the will of the Heavens?" He thought some more. "No. No way. The Blood Stream Sect is too dangerous.

"The cultivators there are all devils. They kill people without batting an eye. Way too ferocious….

"Song Que is from the Blood Stream Sect, and that guy hates me with all his guts.

"It's a place where the law of the jungle prevails…." Naruto couldn't stop thinking about the terrors of the Blood Stream Sect, and it sent chills down his back. And yet, his thirst for the relic of eternal indestructibility wouldn't go away. It was almost like he had a person on each shoulder arguing back and forth about what to do.

One of them was telling him to go the Blood Stream Sect, the other was telling him to stay away.

All he had to do was put on the mask, and he could become Nightcrypt.

Considering the power of the mask, not even the Blood Stream Sect Patriarchs would notice that anything was amiss. As Nightcrypt, he would be perfectly safe.

Furthermore, he already had the door-opening pill. All he had to do was get to the location of the relic of eternal indestructibility, and it would be his. Then he would be one step closer to accomplishing his dreams.

However, all of that had to be done in the Blood Stream Sect, which was a savage place that completely differed from the Spirit Stream Sect.

"What should I do…?" he thought, scowling as he stared at the medicinal pill.

—

Chapter 181

Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Uncrushable….

After thinking the matter over for some time, he finally sighed and said,

"Nah, it's not worth even thinking about it. Things are great here in the Spirit Stream Sect…." Suppressing the pain he felt in his heart, he put the medicinal pill away in his bag of holding.

If he left, he would miss the Spirit Stream Sect too much. Now that he was in Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, everyone from the patriarchs to the servants treated him with the warmth of family.

Most importantly, there were plenty of new Outer Sect disciples who didn't know him very well. Nor had he spent sufficient time in public on the north bank. He would really be missing out on a lot if he left the sect now.

In the days to follow, Naruto spent time every day practicing cultivation. However, when he wasn't cultivating, he would clasp his hands behind his back and stroll through both the north and south banks, smiling like someone from the Senior generation.

He would often mysteriously appear in areas where the Outer Sect disciples gathered. At first, cries of excitement would fill the air, but soon, strange expressions would begin to appear on the faces of the Outer Sect disciples. Eventually, they realized that they were seeing Naruto more than a dozen times every day.

It didn't matter what they were doing, they would often look up to find Naruto standing there, a faint smile of praise on his face. Eventually, they grew numb to what was happening, and the strange expressions grew even more common.

The Outer Sect disciples weren't the only ones to experience such a thing. Inner Sect disciples and even the elders were all annoyed to find that Naruto, instead of tending to important affairs, would often stroll around and wait to be called Sect Uncle Uzumaki. It was just like what had happened years ago.

Thankfully, Naruto was much more restrained than he had been before. After once again experiencing the sensation of being the center of attention, he decided to stay in his immortal's cave on Mount Daoseed and concoct medicine.

"To cultivate the Undying Heavenly King, I need vital energy. Therefore, I need to concoct a tier-4 medicinal pill!" Naruto's grand aspiration of becoming a master apothecary was what kept him so focused on medicine concocting.

Furthermore, he had never forgotten what Li Qinghou had told him, that after he reached Foundation Establishment, he should once again try to perfect his Lightning Detox Grand Magic. In the following days, lightning and thunder became common on Mount Daoseed, much to the astonishment of the Foundation Establishment elders there.

Disciples from the other mountain peaks saw the countless bolts of lightning descending upon the mountain, and were also shocked. People began to ask around, and before long, stories about Naruto's previous antics began to spread again. Soon, everyone was talking about it, leading to gasps and expressions of shock.

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki did something like that? I don't believe it!"

"Heavens, did that really happen?"

Many of the disciples who weren't familiar with Naruto had a hard time believing the stories. However, the frequency of the lightning didn't reduce by even a little bit. In fact, it increased. At the same time, black smoke began to rise from Naruto's immortal's cave, and before long, the legendary acid raid began to fall.

Acid rain ran in rivulets down almost half of Mount Daoseed. Of course, Naruto was concocting tier-4 medicinal pills, to which tier-3 pills couldn't even compare. Soon, the area affected by the acid rain grew, reaching both the south and north banks. Eventually, all seven of the mountain peaks were affe

cted.

A nightmare had descended once again. Countless disciples looked around in shock as their garments slowly dissolved.

"Naruto is concocting pills again!"

"Can't he just let people live in peace!?" The south bank had already gone through something like this before, so as soon as they realized the acid rain was coming, there was a bit of an uproar, but nothing too dramatic.

However, the people from the north bank had never experienced anything quite like it. Soon, howls of rage rose up, and the north bank mountain peaks began to go mad.

"What's going on!? What's happening!?"

"Heavens! I can't believe acid rain is falling! Wait a second, didn't I hear a story recently about acid rain…?"

Screams and howls filled the north bank as the disciples there descended into madness. The four peak lords and the elders were also furious, and soon found that the culprit was none other than Naruto!

Before Naruto reached Foundation Establishment, the disciples of both banks would most surely have formed a mob to go pelt him with stones.

But now, all they could do was exchange dismayed glances. Despite their rage, Naruto was not the same Naruto that he had been before. He was now a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert, legacy echelon-designate, and a Foundation Establishment elder. A person like that was not someone who ordinary disciples could casually provoke. Even the elders could only stew in their frustration. As for the peak lords, they knew how much the prime elders valued Naruto, and thus, could do nothing other than go to the sect leader and hope that he would see reason.

When Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong heard their complaints, he smiled wryly. After all, the legacy echelon-designate was someone very important. Sadly, Li Qinghou had already gone into secluded meditation, otherwise he might have been able to set Naruto straight.

Zheng Yuandong tried to persuade Naruto that there was more to life than cultivation, and that he should go out of the sect to get some experience in life. After all, without tempering, not even immortal steel could be forged into an immortal sword.

He even explained that as long as he stayed in the Eastwood Continent, he would never be in much danger, but would still be able to gain experience.

However, Naruto merely shook his head and said that he really enjoyed life in the sect.

With that, he immersed himself in his research, and the same madness that had once gripped the south bank soon began to spread through the entire sect. However, just when it reached a boiling point, Naruto suddenly stopped concocting pills.

There he sat in his immortal's cave, sighing. His efforts at tier-4 medicinal pills were all failures. No matter how he persisted, problems always cropped up.

"Maybe my skill in the Dao of medicine is too low. Trying to force the matter now won't do any good. If I want to concoct tier-4 medicinal pills, I have to improve my skill in the Dao of medicine!" Feeling enlightened, he went to visit Li Qinghou, but unfortunately, Li Qinghou was still trying to reach the Gold Core stage, and couldn't emerge from secluded meditation.

Naruto took out the Frigid School Medicine Manual, but no matter how he examined it, it didn't make sense. It was as if he could understand the characters themselves, but the words and sentences they formed were completely unintelligible.

"If my skill in the Dao of medicine could be considered low-level, then the Frigid School Medicine Manual must be high-level. I'm missing some fundamental understanding regarding the Dao of medicine." Although Naruto was left scowling, the disciples of both the south and north banks, the elders and peak lords and the Foundation Establishment elders on Mount Daoseed were all sighing in relief.

As usual, they had underestimated Naruto….

For the moment, he couldn't work on tier-4 spirit medicine, but he could cultivate the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation. Furthermore, at a certain point, the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, in combination with the protomagnetic powers of gravity and repulsion, delivered a burst of inspiration regarding his dream technique: the Human Controlling Grand Magic.

"I'm such an idiot!

"The Human Controlling Grand Magic doesn't actually need to directly control the opponent! If I figured out a way to control their clothing, I could control the movements of their body!

"Furthermore, I could rely on the protomagnetic powers of gravity and repulsion to do that instead of pure control power!" The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. Eyes shining brightly, he rushed out of his immortal's cave.

As he walked along, he ran into a lot of people, but none of them were appropriate to help confirm whether his theory was correct or not.

Eventually, he left Mount Daoseed and headed toward Green Crest Peak. Suddenly, he saw a familiar face.

"Chen Fei?" he said, eyes shining.

Chen Fei was walking proudly down a path on Green Crest Peak, followed by two burly men who were fawning over him and showering him with flattery.

"Congratulations on completing the trial by fire to enter the Inner Sect,

Elder Brother Chen! You're finally going to be an Inner Sect disciple!"

"Hahaha! From now on, Elder Brother Chen, you're in Green Crest Peak's Inner Sect! The whole world is at your fingertips! Next step, the heavens!"

Chen Fei's stuck his chin up as he walked along, reveling in his pride.

After all the years that had gone by, he had finally advanced from the Outer Sect to the Inner Sect. As he strutted along smugly, he was about to respond to the two men when he suddenly heard someone calling out his name.

A twinge of displeasure ran through his heart. Snorting coldly, he looked around and said, "Everybody on Green Crest Peak calls me Elder Brother Chen! What blind fool dares to disrespect me by using my full name!?"

Seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, he subconsciously looked up into the air, and saw Naruto flying toward him.

"It's Naruto! Sect Uncle Uzumaki!" Chen Fei's scalp began tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. A piercing shriek escaped his lips, and all of his smugness and pride collapsed. The two burly men on either side of him also began to shake in anxiety and fear.

Those two men were the same men who had ambushed Naruto with Chen Fei all those years ago, only to be taught a harsh lesson in return 1. Of course, as Naruto's status in the sect grew, their fear of him also increased.

That had been compounded by the fact that Qian Dajin ended up being suddenly sent out on a dangerous mission. He had never returned, and rumor had it that he had died outside the sect. The presumption, of course, was that Naruto was behind it all, which left them even more terrified than before.

Eventually, though, they came to believe that Naruto had forgotten about them. Gradually, they relaxed, convinced that there would be no further negative ramifications. But now, Naruto had come seeking them out, and the result was that their hearts were pounding in terror.

Trembling, Chen Fei quickly clasped hand and bowed deeply. "Disciple Chen Fei offers greetings, Sect Uncle Uzumaki. Sect Uncle Uzumaki, you are the most powerful person in the sect, a cultivator whose legend will be passed down through the ages, someone who will live as long as the heavens, invincible in the whole world!"

The two burly men also shouted similar words until their voices grew hoarse.

Naruto was shocked to find that Chen Fei really was so gifted at speaking. Looking very serious, he said, "Cut the crap! Do you really think Naruto is the type of person who likes to be brown-nosed!?"

However, despite the words coming out of his mouth, a gleam of approval could be seen in his eyes, and even a bit of encouragement.

—

Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Chapter 182: My Precious Pearl….

Chen Fei hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Naruto seemed to be encouraging him to keep going, he proceeded, "Sect Uncle Uzumaki, I'm not flattering you, I'm just telling you how I really feel! Sect Uncle Uzumaki, you're a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert, and the legacy echelon-designate. You're a future patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect! You'll naturally live as long as the heavens, and in the future will surely prove to be invincible in the world!"

"Quit your jabbering!" Naruto said, waving his hand and looking very displeased.

Chen Fei felt a bit sick to his stomach, but continued on with the flattery. "Sect Uncle Uzumaki, it's not just me who thinks this. All of the disciples are talking about it! Everyone is saying that Sect Uncle Uzumaki is as righteous as the heavens. He's a genius among Chosen, someone who crushes all others in his generation. He's a qilin incarnate, and one of the most handsome people in existence!"

Naruto listened on and felt wonderful. After a while, he felt bad about trying to test out the Human Controlling Grand Magic on Chen Fei, so he simply stuck his chin up in the air, flicked his sleeve, and flew away.

Chen Fei and his two friends breathed sighs of relief. As for the burly men, they looked at Chen Fei with more admiration than ever.

"Elder Brother Chen, you definitely deserve to be regarded as brilliantly divine. If it weren't for you, we would have faced calamity this day…."

Wiping away the cold sweat on his brow, Chen Fei had to admit that he really had been thinking on his feet. "Humph! You'd have a hard time finding anyone in the sect that understands Sect Uncle Uzumaki better than me!"

Proud of himself, he led his two friends off into the distance.

Naruto scoured the south bank, but couldn't find anyone else to practice the Human Controlling Grand Magic on. Next he went to the north bank. By that time it was late into the night. Unfortunately, he still hadn't found a suitable subject. Sighing to himself about how goodnatured he was, he returned to Mount Daoseed. Then, as he was walking along a mountain path, he looked up and saw Shangguan Tianyou flying through the air, wearing the Daoist robe of an elder. As he flew along, he noticed Naruto, but simply snorted inwardly and pretended not to see him. The bad feelings between the two caused a cold, arrogant glint to appear in his eyes as he prepared to fly on his way.

When Naruto saw the arrogant Shangguan Tianyou, old grievances rose up in his heart. Chuckling, he extended his right hand and mumbled something under his breath as he pointed his finger at Shangguan Tianyou.

A tremor ran through Shangguan Tianyou as his Daoist elder's robe suddenly constricted around him.

His face fell, and his cultivation base exploded with power as he attempted to stop the clothing from affecting his movements. As for Naruto, he poured more power into his efforts. In the blink of an eye, Shangguan Tianyou's clothing became a battlefield.

Then a boom echoed out, and Shangguan Tianyou staggered backward a few steps. As he did, his robe was shredded into pieces, drifting away in the wind to reveal his naked body.

His jaw dropped.

Naruto's jaw also dropped.

The jaws of nearby Foundation Establishment elders… also dropped.

Shangguan Tianyou let out a piercing howl as he threw another robe on.

Eyes bloodshot, hair in disarray, he raved, "Naruto!"

With that, he shot toward Naruto, mind filled with only one thought: no matter what happened, he would take Naruto down. He didn't even think about whether or not he was stron

g enough to do such a thing.

In his mind, Naruto was a walking disaster, and if he were left alive, the Spirit Stream Sect would definitely be brought to ruin.

Naruto immediately fled. "What's going on? How come it didn't work?"

When he saw how enraged Shangguan Tianyou was, he actually felt a bit bad, but before he could even explain, Shangguan Tianyou was bearing down on him with murderous intent.

"Sect Nephew Shangguan, this was a misunderstanding!" he shrieked as he sped along. "A misunderstanding, I tell you…!" By that point, he was already back in his immortal's cave. However, when Shangguan Hong heard the term 'sect nephew,' his rage burned even hotter. He stood outside the immortal's cave, completely livid, howling in rage. Eventually, though, he could do nothing but grit his teeth and leave.

Naruto sat in his immortal's cave racking his brains. A few days later, he slapped his thigh.

"I was thinking about it the wrong way!

"Controlling the clothing is definitely not a good idea. Clothing is weak, and can't withstand the force. Not unless it was made from jewels or something! The true Human Controlling Grand Magic is about controlling the smaller components of a person's body. For example, their skin, flesh, blood, and bones. When all of that is accomplished, then I'll truly have control power over my opponent!

"Unfortunately, my cultivation base isn't high enough yet. I need a much stronger foundation in control power. For now, I need to make some sort of device that has inherent control power built into it!" His eyes began to shine brightly. The more he thought about the idea, the more it made sense. The next day, he scoured the sect for just such a device, but unfortunately, found nothing that worked. Just when he was starting to despair, he suddenly pulled out his Protomagnetic Wings. After studying them for a moment, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"In the arcane pocket realm, I gained some enlightenment of protomagnetic power. Now I can use a bit of repulsion power, as well as a slight gravitational force, to produce that illusory pearl…." After some more thought, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he pointed out. Instantly, a stream of Chakra emerged from within the wings, which flowed out onto Naruto's palm and transformed into an illusory pearl.

Upon closer examination, it was possible to see two types of auras inside the pearl, one of them pushing away, and the other pulling in. Their balance formed a cycle that acted as a vessel.

After a moment of thought, Naruto's expression filled with determination.

"Spiritual power is the foundation for all cultivators. Control power comes when the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation takes spiritual power and fuses it into one's will." Naruto attempted to do just that. Pouring his spiritual power into the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation caused its fluctuations to change. When those fluctuations entered his own will, it became control power, which he infused into the pearl. Time passed. A day later, Naruto's face was pale, but his expression was one of excitement. Retracting his hand, he sat down to perform some breathing exercises.

A month later, the result of Naruto's madness was that a terrifying amount of control power had built up in the pearl. Only then did he finally stop.

Looking at the pearl excitedly, he said, "This is definitely going to work. There's a shocking amount of control power built up in the pearl. Once it erupts out, that power will definitely be enough to drive my Human Controlling Grand Magic!"

Just when he was about to go test it out, he stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment, and suddenly didn't feel as confident.

"No, it's not ready yet. I need to add some more control power!" Gritting his teeth, he sat down cross-legged. After spending three more months pouring power into it, the amount of control power contained in the pearl was hair-raisingly terrifying. There was so much that it spilled out of the pearl, distorting the air in shocking fashion.

All of the objects within 30 meters of Naruto were floating up into the air and emanating cracking sounds. Even the pebbles in the walls of the immortal's cave were affected.

Eyes crimson, Naruto cackled madly as he emerged from his immortal's cave.

"Naruto's Human Controlling Grand Magic will finally make its debut in the world!" Laughing uproariously, he searched the area around his immortal's cave, only to find that nobody was around. Even as he was looking around in confusion, he noticed several beams of light shooting through the air toward the summit of Mount Daoseed. Apparently, the sect leader had called a meeting of the Foundation Establishment elders, for reasons unknown.

Puzzled, Naruto flew up into the air.

Soon he caught sight of the square outside of the sect leader's personal hall. A large number of Foundation Establishment elders were gathered there, and all of them were conversing with each other in hushed tones. Somber expressions could be seen on their faces; apparently, something big had occurred.

"What happened?" Naruto thought. He had been so focused on his Human Controlling Grand Magic that he hadn't paid much attention to his jade slips. Flying over to the group, he was just about to start asking questions, when three of the Foundation Establishment cultivators about thirty meters away from him, one of whom was Lu Tianlei, suddenly looked over at him in shock!

They had noticed Naruto earlier, as well as his disheveled hair and strange appearance. As soon as he got close enough to them, tremors ran through their bodies, and they completely lost control of their cultivation base power. Energy surged out explosively, causing crushing pressure to weigh down, and simultaneously shredding their robes into pieces.

Shivering, eyes bloodshot, they quickly put on new garments and simultaneously fell back. Enraged, they looked over at Naruto, convinced that he was up to more shenanigans!

"What are you doing, Naruto?!"

However, even as the words left their mouths, Naruto continued forward obliviously. At the same time, all of the Foundation

Establishment cultivators within thirty meters of him looked on with wide eyes as their clothing was also shredded.

Before Naruto could even react, dozens of Foundation

Establishment cultivators were robe-less, including Shangguan Tianyou.

"Naruto!"

"Dammit, what's he doing!?" The Foundation Establishment cultivators burned with rage. Throwing new clothes on, they were about to storm over to Naruto to teach him a lesson, when they realized that anyone who got within thirty meters of him would have their clothing destroyed. Terrified, they all backed up.

Shocked, Naruto retreated to the main gate of the hall, scalp tingling and heart thumping. He already knew that he had caused a major catastrophe again.

"Don't blame me!" he said. "It's this pearl!" He nervously held the pearl up into the air, which caused rippling distortions to spread out for thirty meters in all directions. Naruto appeared to be the only one unaffected.

It was at this point that Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong heard the commotion outside, and stormed out through the gate with some of the prime elders. As soon as they appeared out in the open, they stepped into the danger zone surrounding Naruto.

"No!" Naruto shrieked. "Elder Brother Sect Leader, prime elders! Get back!" Eyes wide, he tried to throw the pearl in the opposite direction, but it was too late.

Zheng Yuandong's clothing was instantly shredded to pieces and blown away by the breeze, leaving him standing there as shocked as a wooden chicken.

The prime elders' once solemn faces completely changed when their clothing was destroyed. They tried to unleash power to stop it, but it did no good, and soon they were all standing there naked.

Of course, it had nothing to do with the power of Naruto's cultivation base, only the strange properties of the pearl. The clothing was not destroyed directly by Naruto, but by the pearl. It wasn't his fault!

As soon as the naked bodies of the sect leader and the prime elders were revealed, everything went deathly quiet.

—

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme archives: Tocsin. Transcendent Patrons: Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208

—

Chapter 183

Chapter 183

Chapter 183: I'll Be Back Soon….

In the blink of an eye, Zheng Yuandong waved his hand, and a new robe appeared. However, the moment it settled down onto him, it was also shredded to pieces.

Shrieking, Naruto flew into the air to flee. He was already soaked with cold sweat at the thought of the calamity he had wrought. If he had only destroyed the clothing of his Elder Brother sect leader, it might not have been such a huge deal. After all, he was his Junior Brother. But the prime elders had also been affected.

The blank looks in the eyes of those prime elders caused Naruto's scalp to tingle on the verge of exploding.

"Uzumaki. Xiao. CHUN!" Zheng Yuandong howled, throwing on another set of clothing. As his voice boomed like thunder, rage burned in the eyes of the prime elders, and their cultivation bases erupted like volcanoes.

All of them immediately flew toward Naruto.

Screaming, Naruto prepared to flee at top speed.

"It wasn't on purpose…."

"Shut up!" raged the prime elders, their voices deafeningly loud.

"They're trying to kill me! They're trying to kill me!" This time, Uzumaki

Naruto really was afraid. He immediately pulled out the Protomagnetic Wings and his Golden Crow Sword, then unleashed all the power of his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base to flee.

All of the Foundation Establishment cultivators were furious. Their anger had been building for some time thanks to Naruto's torments, and to see the prime elders going after him left them laughing out loud.

Shangguan Tianyou seemed especially worked up. "Now the sect finally realizes what Naruto is like! If this walking disaster stays in the sect, we'll all be driven to destruction!"

Hou Yunfei was in the crowd, sighing and smiling bitterly.

Naruto was scared out of his mind, and tears were welling up in his eyes. This time, he didn't feel wronged; he knew that he had been responsible for a major disaster, and now had no choice but to flee for his life. In the blink of an eye, he was off in the distance, heading toward the north bank, with the prime elders hot on his tail. Almost as soon as he arrived, the north bank disciples heard his miserable shriek. Gloating smiles appeared on their faces as they flew up into the air to see what was happening.

However, as soon as they did, Naruto whizzed by, and their clothing was shredded away.

Their first reaction was shock, but then the screams rose up.

Naruto was on the verge of weeping. "Prime elders, I'm sorry.

Please don't kill me…! I'm a Prestige disciple, I have a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base, I'm the legacy echelondesignate…!"

As for the prime elders, they were so mad they were a bit numb, and at the same time, astonished by Naruto's speed.

The north bank instantly devolved into chaos. Wherever Naruto went, anyone within thirty meters of him had their clothes completely destroyed in shocking fashion.

Around this time, Bruiser was frollicking around when he looked up and suddenly got very anxious. He even threw his head back and howled, and from the sound of it, it was backed by power equivalent to the ninth or tenth level of Chakra Condensation. Countless battle beasts on the north bank responded by also throwing their heads back and howling.

Their masters tried to stop them, but all of the affected battle beasts seemed to have been influenced by Bruiser. The entire group apparently wanted to fly up into the air and defend Naruto from the prime elders.

Before Bruiser could actually rally the battle beasts, a violet rope shot out from thin air and wrapped ar

ound the screaming Naruto. Instantly, he was bound up, caught by one of the prime elders.

Another of the prime elders carefully managed to take the pearl away, somehow keeping his clothes intact in the process. Then he kicked Naruto hard on the rear end.

"I've shed my own blood for the sect!" Naruto screamed. "I've performed meritorious service…."

"How dare you fight back, you little brat!" Although the prime elder's expression was one of pure rage, Naruto's terrified appearance had him almost laughing.

Naruto looked like he was about to cry. However, even as he shrieked miserably, he glanced down at the enraged Bruiser and gave him a look that indicated he shouldn't interfere.

Bruiser seemed surprised, but he understood the look in Naruto's eyes, and lowered his head.

The prime elders noticed this, and were surprised. Then they recalled how even the patriarchs had taken a liking to this particular battle beast, and their eyes began to gleam with admiration at how it had attempted to protect its master.

"Now that's how Spirit Stream Sect battle beasts are supposed to act!" The prime elders kicked Naruto a few more times, then hauled him wailing back to Mount Daoseed.

Upon their departure, silence reigned on the north bank, followed by a resounding cheer. However, the cheering faded away quickly as people recalled Naruto's status in the sect. They knew that even though he would probably be punished, it wouldn't be too severely. Then they wondered what would happen in the future. As Naruto grew more and more important, it was impossible to imagine what terrifying events might occur.

"When is Naruto gonna grow up…?"

"Ai. What a fiendish devil!"

Soon, word spread that Naruto's punishment was to sweep the pathways on Mount Daoseed every day for three months. During that time, he could often be seen with a broom, keeping Mount Daoseed completely free from dust.

To him, it was pure torture….

"Hey, this is a mountain! It's supposed to have dirt on it! How am I supposed to keep it clean!?" Scowling on the verge of tears, he endured through the three months, then returned to his immortal's cave, where he sat next to his lake, staring up into the sky, looking completely miserable.

"I didn't do it on purpose! I'm a Prestige disciple. I'm the legacy echelondesignate. I'm a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert! I'm the Junior Brother of the sect leader! I've performed meritorious service for the sect! I've shed my own blood….

"This is ridiculous! They even took my pearl away and won't give it back…." Sighing, he patted his bag of holding and gritted his teeth. "Ah, whatever. I can't stay in the Spirit Stream Sect for the time being. I might as well go to the Blood Stream Sect and try to get that relic of eternal indestructibility. The Blood Stream Sect is the enemy of the Spirit Stream Sect anyway, so I can spend some time there concocting pills for my Human Controlling Grand Magic!" Having made his mind up, he went to talk to Zheng Yuandong the next morning.

When Zheng Yuandong saw Naruto approaching, his expression was grim. However, after hearing what he had to say, that he wanted to leave the sect to get some experience, his eyes went wide with disbelief. "Did you just say you want to leave the sect to get some experience?"

"Yeah! You were right all along, Elder Brother sect leader. Maybe I am a piece of immortal steel. Without tempering, I'll never become an immortal sword. After some thought, I've decided to go out and get some experience!" Naruto even smacked his chest proudly to emphasize his words. "Elder Brother, I know you don't want me to leave, but don't even try to persuade me to stay. I, Naruto, have already decided–"

Before he could even finish speaking, Zheng Yuandong stepped forward and gripped him by the shoulders. "Excellent idea!" he said excitedly. "I'm very proud of you, Junior Brother. If you want to go out and get some experience, you have my blessing! Are you leaving now?"

"Huh?" Naruto responded, a bit taken aback. "Well I'm not really ready yet, I still need some–"

"What do you need, Naruto?" Zheng Yuandong interrupted, sounding very serious. "Just say the word! Spirit stones? Medicinal pills? Lifesaving magical items? You're a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert, and also the legacy echelon-designate. I can make a special exception to open the treasure storehouses and give you whatever you want!

"However, you have to remember that you can't leave the Eastwood

Continent. Of course, the Eastwood Continent is a very big place, so there are plenty of places you can go!" Having made his decision, he took Naruto to the treasure storehouses to let him select some life-saving magical items.

He also gave him plenty of spirit stones and medicinal pills. At the same time, he enthusiastically announced the matter to the rest of the sect….

Later that afternoon, Naruto stood outside the main gate, looking a bit dazed. It was only that morning that he had gone to talk to Zheng Yuandong about leaving to get experience. All of the preparations and formalities that needed to be handled had been quickly taken care of by Zheng Yuandong and the other elders.

Currently, he was standing there with the sect leader and the six peak lords, as well as a large group of elders and Inner Sect disciples. It was quite a big affair. It almost seemed as if everyone from both the south and north banks were there, anxiously awaiting the moment when Naruto actually left.

Naruto blinked a few times. For some reason, the situation seemed familiar. Without even thinking about it, he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Junior Brothers and Sisters, Sect Nephews and Nieces, I shall miss all of you…."

The people in the crowd exchanged glances, and moments later, looks of sorrow appeared in their eyes. Clearly, they didn't want to part with Naruto.

Zheng Yuandong stepped forward, a kind look on his face as he said,

"Naruto, you're the most outstanding disciple in the Spirit Stream Sect. Your path lies ahead of you! Keep going forward. Step out into your future. Don't tell me you've forgotten what I told you about the Heavenspan Sea? You haven't forgotten about your path to living forever, have you?!

"We cultivators can't be wishy-washy. Since you've decided to go out and get experience, you can't change your mind. Naruto, your Elder Brother will always support you!" With that, he clasped Naruto encouragingly on the shoulder.

Soon, more voices rang out.

"Yeah, that's right. Junior Brother Uzumaki, getting experience is a part of life!

Just keep on going, and don't look back!"

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, the reason cultivators can rebuke the heavens is because our hearts are large enough to hold all the lands within them. As soon as you go out, you'll be able to see the world for yourself. How could you not develop a heart big enough to contain all the lands? I'm certain that your heart will be able to hold the whole world!"

"I really am gonna live forever…." Naruto thought, trembling. Eyes filling with determination, he looked around at everyone he knew and nodded. Then he turned and walked off into the distance.

As soon as he disappeared over the horizon, the sorrow in the eyes of the crowd was replaced by joy. Zheng Yuandong was so excited he was trembling.

"This time, he's really gone. He's not just moved from the south bank to the north bank, he's actually left the sect. The heavens do have eyes! He's actually left to get experience!"

"Is the devil really gone? I almost can't believe it! Is this real?!"

"Hahaha! I've been praying every day for this miracle, and now it's happened. The north bank will finally have peace and quiet!"

"The south bank will no longer live a life of fear!"

"A new age has begun!" As their expressions of joy rose up, some people from the south bank produced gongs and drums, and began to bang them loudly.

Not willing to be outdone, the people from the north bank did the same.

That day was a day of happiness and rejoicing for the entire Spirit Stream Sect….

Off in the distance, Naruto coughed dryly at the sound of the banging gongs and drums. A wistful look appeared in his eyes as he stuck his chin in the air and swished his sleeve. Looking more melancholy than ever, he said, "You still miss me, huh? Don't feel too bad, fellow Daoists, I'll be back soon!" He took a deep breath, and the determination in his eyes grew stronger.

"Blood Stream Sect, I'm sorry to say that Naruto is coming, and he's infiltrating you as a spy!" With that, he sped off into the distance.

End of Book 1

Chapter 184

Chapter 184

Book 2: The Legend of Nightcrypt!

Chapter 184: How Is This Possible!?

The Blood Stream Sect occupied the first branch among the four branches controlled by the Sky River Court. It was next to the Spirit Stream Sect, with the actual border between the two being the mountains that had been occupied by the Luochen Clan, which was colloquially known as the Luochen Mountains.

After passing through the Luochen Mountains, one would be within the territory controlled by the Blood Stream Sect.

Naruto hurried along, sighing the whole way. It was with mixed feelings that he passed through the area. On the one hand, he couldn't stop thinking about the dangers he had faced all those years ago, but on the other hand, he also kept thinking about Du Lingfei.

If it weren't for the incident with the Luochen Clan, he and Du Lingfei would never have gotten close. Du Lingfei would have continued to dislike him, much the way Zhou Xinqi still did.

Likewise, Naruto himself wouldn't have expressed himself to her the way he had. The betrayal of the Luochen Clan had changed everything.

Sighing, he passed the exact spot in the mountains where the Luochen

Clan had actually been located. By now, the place had mostly been swallowed up by the jungle, and there were almost no signs that the clan had even existed there to begin with.

Some distance away was another clan that the Spirit Stream Sect had raised up to replace the Luochen Clan to guard the mountains. They had no idea that Naruto was passing through the area.

Of course, despite being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there were still some beasts in the area that even Naruto didn't dare to provoke.

As he travelled along, he once again was able to witness the wonders of the larger world around him including some chaotic, primeval beasts.

He also encountered some of the local cultivator clans, and came to understand why his Elder Brother the sect leader had called a meeting of the Foundation Establishment cultivators some months before.

"The Profound Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect have gone to war…." As he looked off toward the distant location where the Profound and Pill Stream Sects were fighting, he recalled what Zheng Yuandong had told him about the war that had begun because of the Sky River Court.

The war was certainly causing heaven and earth to shake violently. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if hostilities would soon break out between the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect.

Half a month later, he left the Luochen Mountains and arrived at the border of the Blood Continent. Taking a deep breath, he produced the mask from his bag of holding and slowly put it onto his face.

The instant it made contact with his skin, it melted into him, and his face twisted and distorted as it transformed into the face of a stranger.

He looked quite handsome, albeit cold and arrogant. With the mask on, he didn't look warm and friendly like he usually did, but rather, fierce and sinister.

Prodding his face here and there, he confirmed that he truly had transformed, then took off his Spirit Stream Sect robes and produced some of Nightcrypt's clothes from his bag of holding. After donning them, he truly became Nightcrypt.

Even the techniques he cultivated were hidden by the mask, as well as his cultivation base. He was really in early Foundation Establishment, but anyone who assessed him would place him at the great circle of the tenth level of Chakra Condensation.

He had completely and utterly assumed the identity of the original

Nightcrypt. Taking a deep breath, he strode forward into Blood Stream Sect territory. Being in no hurry, he made his way slowly and cautiously through the Blood Continent. As he did, he chat

ted some more with the soul of imposter Nightcrypt, and learned a lot more about the Blood Stream Sect. For one thing, the law of the jungle truly prevailed; disciples were actually encouraged to fight amongst each other.

It was the same outside of the sect, too. The entire Blood Continent was a violent and deadly place.

For Naruto to return to the Blood Stream Sect as Nightcrypt would be very simple. According to what imposter Nightcrypt told him, of the disciples of the sect who were teleported out of the Fallen Sword World to random locations on the Blood Continent, some would have returned directly to the sect, but others would have holed up to recover from their injuries before going back.

After all, returning to the sect in an injured state would likely be more dangerous than just staying outside.

When Naruto heard that, even more fear rose up in his heart. The

Blood Stream Sect seemed like a truly terrifying place. However, the enticement of the relic of eternal indestructibility, as well as the safety provided by the mask, ensured that he simply gritted his teeth and continued on with his plan.

As he traveled, he took in the sights on the Blood Continent. Everything was a reddish brown color, as though it had been stained with blood. Not even imposter Nightcrypt was sure why that was. Apparently, it had always looked like that.

Even the plants were very aggressive in nature. Naruto encountered quite a few such aggressive plants along the way. Some of them he simply destroyed, others he fled from.

It took two months before he actually reached the Blood Stream Sect itself. Much like the Spirit Stream Sect, the Blood Stream Sect was located right on the Heavenspan River.

Although imposter Nightcrypt had explained what the sect looked like, now that Naruto could actually see it with his own eyes, his jaw dropped, and he even began to tremble.

He was completely and utterly shaken.

The Spirit Stream Sect's Mount Daoseed stretched across the entire river like a bridge, connecting the seven mountain peaks of the south and north banks. The Blood Stream Sect was very different.

Shockingly, it took the shape of an enormous, blood-colored hand!

The gargantuan blood hand stretched right up out of the Heavenspan River, palm down, as if it were clawing up toward the heavens. The size of it was difficult to describe with words; the five fingers of the hand were like enormous mountain peaks, each one of them roughly the same size as Mount Daoseed.

As for the rugged thumb, it was surrounded by a blood mist that made it impossible to see clearly.

It was impossible to say how long the hand had existed, its dusty, rubble-strewn surface battered by the winds. Close up, it was only possible to see the five enormous mountain peaks stretching up.

However, from a distance, it was also possible to see that beneath the hand was a shocking, blood-colored arm!

Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers. Anyone who saw a sight like this would likely come to the conclusion that some shocking giant existed within the Heavenspan River, a giant who, in the moments before its death, reached up begrudgingly to try to rip apart the heavens.

And yet, even as it had done so, its arm solidified, and never moved again. As long as the hand remained, a towering mountain peak, then the will of that giant would remain.

The mountain peaks were covered with blood-colored vegetation, as well as numerous buildings. Beams of light could be seen flying back and forth; clearly, the mountain peaks were home to countless individuals, whose murderous auras caused the sky above to darken.

This was the home of the Blood Stream Sect!

"The Blood Stream Sect!" Naruto said, taking a deep breath. "So powerful!" Seeing it all with his own eyes only further impressed upon him the power and resources at the disposal of the Blood Stream Sect.

"No wonder the Blood Stream Sect people are so brutal. Their sect is actually built on the arm of a corpse! In fact, imposter Nightcrypt even said that the Blood Stream Sect techniques are almost all derived from the arm itself!" Naruto's mind reeled as he got closer to the enormous arm. As he neared, he could see that the mountain peaks even had waterfalls of blood streaming down from various locations.

Closer examination revealed that the hand apparently absorbed water from the Heavenspan River, which then seeped out of various cracks and crevices within the arm. As it did, the golden water was transformed into a bright red color.

That red liquid was also a fundamental element of the cultivation of the Blood Stream Sect.

"Spirit blood!" Naruto thought, his heart thumping. He immediately thought back to the first introduction imposter Nightcrypt had given him regarding the Blood Stream Sect.

The Blood Stream Sect was structured in a way similar to the Spirit

Stream Sect. However, there were also some fundamental differences.

They had servants, Outer Sect disciples, and Inner Sect disciples. However, instead of legacy echelon cultivators, the Blood Stream Sect had blood masters.

Generally speaking, the sect rankings were very strictly enforced. Servants weren't allowed onto the upper forearm; they lived on lower forearm, which was considered to be outside of the Blood Stream Sect itself.

That was where the population was greatest, and the area was packed tightly with buildings that were organized in concentric rings.

Only Outer Sect disciples could leave that area and step onto the upper forearm, and only Inner Sect disciples qualified to live on the back of the hand itself.

With the exception of the thumb, the mountain peaks that were the fingers of the hand were divided into the lower finger and the upper finger. The lower finger was occupied by Foundation Establishment cultivators. Those in the Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment stage were called Dharma protectors, and those in the Earthstring Foundation Establishment stage were the elders.

Only one person qualified to live on the upper finger, and that was the grand elder of that peak. Grand elders were the equivalent of the Spirit Stream Sect's peak lords. Of course, considering that there were fewer mountain peaks than in the Spirit Stream Sect, it was a position reserved for only the most extraordinary of individuals.

After the upper finger was the fingertip. From the moment the Blood Stream Sect had been founded in ancient times, each mountain peak had a blood master. That was the only person who qualified to occupy the finger tip.

The blood masters were the focus of the entire sect, and were among the most powerful people in the entire sect, excluding certain people who resided on the thumb. They were as powerful as the sect leader, and qualified to give orders to the elders of the mountain peaks.

All Blood Stream Sect disciples dreamed of becoming the blood master of a mountain peak. Each successive generation only had one blood master per mountain peak at any given time.

The thumb was the only place with no blood master. The blood mist which surrounded it ensured that it was a restricted area. That was where the Blood Stream Sect's patriarchs and prime elders resided. Only people in the Gold Core stage could go there.

When a blood master advanced to the Gold Core stage, he or she would become a blood ripper, and move to the enormous thumb. The blood rippers occupied a position higher than prime elders, with power second only to the patriarchs.

The lowest position on the thumb was occupied by the sect leader, who was responsible for the general administration of the sect.

As he got closer and closer to the Blood Stream Sect, Naruto once again reviewed the information he knew.

"Five mountain peaks. The thumb is called Ancestor Peak! The first finger is called Corpse Peak, the middle finger is Middle Peak, the ring finger was called Nameless Peak, and the smallest finger, the pinky finger, is called Lesser Marsh Peak! 1

"Corpse Peak is known for refining corpses, Middle Peak focuses on blood swords, Nameless Peak is famous for gargoyles, and Lesser Marsh

Peak is devoted to devilblood body refinement!"

Naruto couldn't help but recall the Blood Stream Sect disciples he'd encountered in the Fallen Sword World. He had seen them control the vicious gargoyles. Xu Xiaoshan had worked with various corpses, and Song Que had fought him with a blood sword. He had even seen some of the devilblood body refinement of disciples who were obviously from Lesser Marsh Peak.

As of this moment, the Blood Stream Sect had already left a deep impression on Naruto's mind.

However, what happened next left him completely and utterly shaken. As he neared the enormous hand, he stepped past a certain point, and his face flickered as his Undying Live Forever Technique suddenly stirred with intense desire.

At the same time, Naruto could sense that the enormous hand was somehow calling out to him!

That summoning seemed unprecedentedly intimate!

"How is this possible?!" he thought, his mind reeling. As of this moment, all of his hesitation and anxiety vanished, and an extremely familiar sensation filled his mind and heart.

—

Chapter 185

Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Secrets of the Blood Stream Sect

It took some time for Naruto to calm himself down. After he did, he continued on toward the sect itself. Soon, beams of light could be seen flying around near him, all of them Blood Stream Sect disciples, as well as Foundation Establishment elders and Dharma protectors.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators all radiated powerful murderous auras, and flew with incredible speed. They seemed domineering, rude, and completely headstrong. Everywhere they went, the Inner Sect disciples bowed their heads and clasped hands respectfully, not daring to show the least bit of disrespect.

One Foundation Establishment cultivator apparently thought Naruto was in his way, so he waved his sleeve, sending a powerful gust of wind against him. Thankfully, Naruto was very quick on the uptake, and immediately pretended to be blasted off to the side. He even managed to cause some blood to ooze out of the corners of his mouth.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator completely ignored him as he passed on by.

Other Inner Sect disciples in the area barely seemed to notice. Further down on the arm, where the servants lived, the servants would occasionally look up into the air at the Inner Sect disciples and Foundation Establishment cultivators, their expressions those of complete awe.

"So overbearing!" Naruto thought. At first, it didn't seem possible that the entire sect could be this way, but he quickly reminded himself that he was in the Blood Stream Sect, and flew along toward the hand itself.

As he neared, he saw a shimmering, blood-colored light that was clearly a spell formation. When he passed through it, it flickered, but did nothing to block his way. A moment later, he was inside the spell formation and on the hand.

"Passed the first test!" he thought, taking a deep breath. The light he had just passed through was the Blood Stream Sect's defensive spell formation, which would immediately detect anyone who wasn't a disciple of the sect.

The back of the hand was huge. Naruto quickly realized that it was actually about as large as the south and north banks of the Spirit Stream Sect put together. That only served to further his understanding of how powerful the Blood Stream Sect was.

Only Inner Sect disciples were allowed onto the back of the hand. Outer Sect disciples could not enter without an authentication device. If they tried to, they would be severely punished. The lightest punishment for such an offense was a flogging, with more serious violators having a limb severed. The punishments were brutal, but that was how the twisted Blood Stream Sect operated. The differences between the levels were strictly enforced.

Naruto had been nervous at first, but after reaching the hand itself, and feeling the intimate connection between it and his Undying Live Forever Technique, he felt increasingly shaken.

"How could this be possible…?" He still almost couldn't believe what he was feeling. However, he soon had to acknowledge a shocking truth. "This hand cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique!" More precisely, beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River was a giant who had indeed cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique!

Clearly, that giant had reached an extremely high level, which meant that the skin on the hand and arm was actually Undying Skin!

From the cracks and crevices that now existed in that Undying Skin, it was possible to see what appeared to be soil, which was the giant's Undying Flesh. Even further down, in a location it was not possible to see, were the bones, which were Undying Bones!

However, what was most shocking to Naruto was that the blood waterfalls which poured down from the five mountain peaks repre

sented the highest realm of the Undying Codex, Undying Blood!

"Heavens! The Blood Stream Sect is built on the arm of a giant who cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique! Furthermore, the techniques they cultivate were obviously passed down by the earliest members of the Blood Stream Sect, and were based on the arm itself.

That means that their techniques all stem from the same Undying Live

Forever Technique that I cultivate!"

Based on what he knew, the first volume of the Undying Live Forever Technique was not very rare. Many sects had it. However, because it was so difficult to cultivate, few people ever succeeded with the Undying Gold Skin.

Fewer people, if any, could have gone beyond that to accomplish what Naruto had in breaking the first shackle of mortality. In fact, it was highly likely that nobody in the entire Blood Stream Sect actually knew about the relationship between the blood hand and the Undying Live Forever Technique.

Naruto felt completely confident that only someone who had Undying Gold Skin and had also broken through the first shackle of mortality would be able to sense the call of the hand.

He knew that his conjectures might not be completely accurate, but he was confident that as he came to understand more about the Blood Stream Sect, he would be able to get answers to his questions, perhaps even first-hand verification.

"No wonder the blood sphere that Song Que used in the Fallen Sword

World felt so familiar…." The reason why the exploding blood sphere Song Que had used against him felt so familiar was because it was actually made from Undying Blood. It was only after reaching Foundation Establishment that Song Que had been able to forcibly unleash that special magic of the Blood Stream Sect.

"That's also why all of the Blood Stream Sect disciples in general seemed so familiar. Now it all makes sense…." Mind reeling with shock, he followed imposter Nightcrypt's instructions, going to the Internal Affairs Bureau to get an identity jade pendant, and record his return to the Blood Stream Sect. As he approached, a beam of light shot toward him, which transformed into an old man.

He had a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, and when he looked Naruto up and down with cold eyes, Naruto immediately got nervous. Clasping hands respectfully, he quickly inquired of imposter Nightcrypt, and learned that this old man was the elder in charge of the Internal Affairs Bureau.

"Disciple Nightcrypt offers greetings, Elder Han!"

"What took you so long to get back!?" Elder Han asked coolly.

"Disciple was seriously injured," he replied cautiously. "I found a place to hole up and recuperate, and only just recently felt up to returning." After a moment of thought, he slapped his bag of holding and produced a rather large collection of spirit stones, which he placed in front of Elder Han.

"Elder Han, I got these in the Fallen Sword World. Please, take them. I hope you can be a bit flexible with me for returning late…." Naruto blinked a few times.

Elder Han's eyes went wide, but a moment later he waved his sleeve, and the spirit stones disappeared. Looking at Naruto again for a moment, he nodded.

"A few of you took your time coming back. Well, now that you're here, focus on your cultivation. You'll get another chance to reach Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, eventually. Very well, be off now."

Naruto immediately took his leave. Elder Han watched him leave, musing to himself that this Nightcrypt seemed to have learned a thing or two in the Fallen Sword Abyss.

"Alright, since he's gotten a bit smarter, I won't make things harder for him. He really should receive ten lashes for coming back late!" Turning, Elder Han vanished.

Imposter Nightcrypt was also taken aback. The way Naruto so casually bribed Elder Han caused him to gasp. All of a sudden, he realized that Naruto seemed very well suited to life in the Blood Stream Sect.

Naruto walked along in the sect, marveling at everything he saw around him. Unfortunately, everyone was very cold and indifferent, and stuck to themselves as they hurried along. Many had vigilant looks on their faces, as if they were always on guard.

On four or five occasions along the way, he saw two disciples engaged in fierce fighting, apparently struggling over medicinal pills. Murderous auras raged as they seemed intent on taking each others' lives.

Audiences often gathered to watch such conflicts, but everyone also kept an eye out in case someone attacked them.

He saw one person coughing up blood so badly it seemed shattered internal organs might come out.

"The Spirit Stream Sect really is way better than this," Naruto thought. "Everyone gets along there. It's so wonderful. The Blood Stream Sect is so dangerous! One slip of the tongue and you might get attacked…."

He walked along feeling very nervous. Thankfully, Nightcrypt wasn't very well-known in the sect, and his cultivation base was only in the great circle of the tenth level of Chakra Condensation. Nobody took the initiative to attack him, a trend he encouraged by looking as fierce as possible.

Just as he was almost at Nightcrypt's immortal's cave, he passed a group of five female disciples. One of them, a tough-looking big-boned girl, caught sight of him and then hurried over, accompanied by the giggling of her companions.

"Nightcrypt!" the girl said in a loud, hoarse voice.

Naruto turned in shock to look at the unfamiliar young woman. She was stocky, with a pockmarked face, and was walking toward him with swaying hips, and eyes that gleamed with what appeared to be deep desire.

"Do I know you?" Naruto asked.

"You naughty devil!" she said, glaring. "Don't pretend you don't know who I am! Come here and give me a smile!" Chuckling, she reached out and stroked Naruto's cheek.

Her action and her chuckle caused Naruto to gasp and take a step back.

"Well well," the girl continued, "a little trip to the Fallen Sword Abyss and you already forgot about me? Hurry up and get back to my immortal's cave. I have plenty of medicinal pills for you." The stocky girl licked her lips and took a step forward as if she planned to drag him to her immortal's cave.

Naruto's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. Flicking his sleeve, he blocked her path.

"Don't you touch me!" he cried.

"I see how it is, Nightcrypt. How dare you! Hpmh. Just wait and see what happens when you come crawling back to me!" Giving him an angry glare, she turned and stalked off.

Naruto finally breathed a sigh of relief, simultaneously asking imposter Nightcrypt who the girl was.

"Senior, please don't be angry," was the hasty reply. "She's just a girlfriend of mine in the sect…."

Naruto almost couldn't believe it. "Girlfriend? Uh, you have really strange taste."

Nightcrypt was actually very good-looking, albeit somewhat cold. Naruto almost couldn't believe that he would be in a relationship with the husky girl.

"Senior, there's something I never mentioned," imposter Nightcrypt said, sounding like he was about to cry. "After I became an Inner Sect disciple, my cultivation went really slowly, and I needed a lot of medicinal pills. I really had no other choice. Elder Sister Sun is from one of the cultivator clans, and has access to lots of pills. I didn't have any other option than to get on her good side…."

—

Chapter 186

Chapter 186

Chapter 186: Cultivation Paradise!

Naruto sighed, both sympathizing with Nightcrypt and admiring his readiness to give and take.

"No wonder he became a spy. He's really quite extraordinary." Even just thinking about that girl's face left him sighing.

Before long, he was in Nightcrypt's immortal's cave, which was located alongside several other Inner Sect disciples' immortal's caves. It was a simple cave, which led Naruto to understand even more clearly how rough a life Nightcrypt had in the sect.

It was only about ten percent as large as Naruto's cave in the Spirit Stream Sect, and didn't even have an antechamber, let alone a lake or a pill concocting workstation. It was nothing more than a stone chamber with a bed and a meditation mat.

"How did he survive such misery?!" he thought. Shaking his head, he sat down cross-legged to meditate. Outside, the sun was setting. Back in the Spirit Stream Sect, the sect would begin to quiet down at around this time, as disciples settled down to rest for the night.

But the Blood Stream Sect was different. As evening fell, Naruto could hear screams echoing out in the air. Apparently, disciples took advantage of the darkness to fight each other with renewed vigor.

According to sect rules, disciples weren't supposed to kill each other, but other than that, anything was permitted. As such, the darkness of night was when the true brutality of the sect shone through.

Naruto was having a hard time adjusting to an environment that was so different from the Spirit Stream Sect. Taking a deep breath, he refrained from stepping outside, and even carefully set up some traps at the entrance of the immortal's cave. Only then did he settle down crosslegged again to ponder his next step.

On the way to the Blood Stream Sect, he'd made more inquiries of imposter Nightcrypt, and came to learn that the relic of eternal indestructibility was located on the middle finger of the huge hand, which was called Middle Peak.

The upper finger of Middle Peak was where the grand elder resided, and was a place forbidden to Inner Sect disciples. After all, all four of the mountain peaks were set aside for Foundation Establishment experts only.

Inner Sect disciples like Nightcrypt were restricted to the area on the back of the hand.

As for the upper finger area, it couldn't even be accessed by the ordinary elders and Dharma protectors.

That was one reason why imposter Nightcrypt had never been able to even get close to the relic, and also why he wanted to reach Foundation Establishment. Only then would he be able to pick one of the four mountain peaks to reside upon.

"Foundation Establishment is the first step," Naruto thought. "I'll pick Middle Peak and then proceed to step two, which is becoming a Dharma protector. It's too bad I can only pretend to be at Mortal-Dao

Foundation Establishment. Reaching Earthstring Foundation

Establishment would be too much of a stretch. Otherwise I could become an elder.

"After becoming a Dharma protector, I need to become the grand elder.

That's step three, and also the final step. At that point I'll be able to get access to the relic of eternal indestructibility, which is beneath the immortal's cave of Middle Peak's grand elder." Naruto took a deep breath. He knew that reaching his goals was going to take some time. To rise up from being an ordinary Inner Sect disciple all the way to the position of Middle Peak grand elder would be a long path to walk. However, there was nothing impossible about it.

Having set his goals firmly in mind, Naruto closed his eyes and began to practice cultivation. Ignoring the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation

for the time being, he focused on the Undying Live Forever Technique's volume of the Undying Heavenly King.

He was very curious to see if cultivating the technique here would be any different than doing so in the Spirit Stream Sect.

The instant he unleashed the Undying Heavenly King, his body shivered. Back in the Spirit Stream Sect, practicing the Undying Heavenly King led to a terrifying wastage of vital energy. Without precious materials and a vast supply of medicinal pills on hand, it was almost impossible.

But when he cultivated it here, blood Chakra rose up from the ground and poured into his body, rapidly replenishing his vital energy and enabling him to cultivate the technique even more quickly.

The next day, a tremor ran through him, along with a pulsing sensation. He could already tell that he was stronger than before.

His eyes snapped open, and they shone with delight.

"This place is like a paradise!" He ran his hand along the ground, which was like running it along the Undying Skin of the giant. His heart swelled with excitement.

"The Undying Live Forever Technique really is extraordinary. This giant didn't cultivate it to the absolute peak, which was why he died. Even after dying, though, his fleshly body has remained behind for countless years after his death. It didn't rot or anything, and actually ended up becoming the foundation of a sect.

"That just goes to show you how incredible the Undying Live Forever Technique is!" With that, he continued his cultivation.

Time passed. Four days went by, in which Naruto would go out when it was light to familiarize himself with the Blood Stream Sect. As he did, he would get more information from imposter Nightcrypt, and began to commit the faces of the Inner Sect disciples to memory.

He also worked on his own facial expression, getting it to look more and more ferocious. Soon he realized that emanating a murderous aura required a bit of talent, which he immediately began to work on. He also rehearsed his laugh until it sounded far more sinister and terrifying than before.

However, Nightcrypt had already progressed as high as an Inner Sect disciple could go, and was only a step away from Foundation

Establishment. As far as most people were concerned, he was almost as powerful as a Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator, and was someone none of the other Inner Sect disciples would dare to provoke.

Days passed, and no incidents occurred.

One day, Naruto was cultivating the Undying Heavenly King in his immortal's cave, when his expression suddenly flickered. Looking up, he put on the most ferocious and sinister look he was capable of. Eyes shining with piercing light, he looked out of the entrance of the immortal's cave.

Before long, a voice could be heard outside.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt, it's me, Zhao Wuchang. Please come out for a moment."

Naruto immediately asked imposter Nightcrypt about Zhao

Wuchang, and learned that he was one of the other disciples who had gone to the Fallen Sword World. Continuing to look as cold and sinister as possible, he emerged from the immortal's cave radiating a murderous aura. A few meters away from the entrance was a middle-aged man.

"What do you want?" Naruto said coolly. He vaguely remembered Zhao Wuchang as being one of a group of Blood Stream Sect disciples who had ambushed him, then had been scared off after he started killing them.

Zhao Wuchang's face was deathly pale, and at the same time, fierce and sinister. He very much resembled a wolf that was ready to pounce at any moment. He looked Naruto up and down, then gave a perfunctory smile and said, "Junior Brother Nighcrypt, I trust you've been well since the last time we saw each other.

"I'm not here for anything particularly important. Those of us who failed in the Fallen Sword World are getting together to exchange information and discuss how to reach Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment. Since you're back too, Junior Brother Nighcrypt, I figured I might as well invite you to come as well." Zhao Wuchang, as well as everyone else who had failed in the Fallen Sword Word, were all in a very awkward position. They were stuck between the Inner Sect and Foundation Establishment, and had no hope of reaching Earthstring Foundation Establishment. As such, they were left with no other option than to pursue Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment.

Unfortunately, Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment required a

Foundation Establishment Pill, and to get a pill like that in the Blood Stream Sect required a disciple to pay a bitter price. Therefore, the survivors of the Fallen Sword World had formed an alliance, and Zhao Wuchang had come here with the express purpose of asking Nightcrypt to join them.

"Oh really?" Naruto replied. After a moment of thought, he nodded. Getting into this group would get him access to more information, which would surely be of help in the days to come.

Seeing that Naruto had agreed, Zhao Wuchang laughed, and then led him through the sect to the location of the gathering. As they walked along, he looked over occasionally at Naruto, and mused that this Nightcrypt seemed quite different from the Nightcrypt he remembered. His murderous aura was more powerful, and the sinister look in his eyes even more profound.

"Nightcrypt might not have succeeded with Earthstring Foundation Establishment," Zhao Wuchang thought, "but escaping Naruto alive was no easy task." Although they kept a healthy distance between them as they walked along, they chatted a bit about some random matters.

When they were about halfway to the gathering, all of a sudden, the sky began to rumble as if with thunder!

A blood-colored mist pulsed out into the area, surging like waves on the ocean. Up above, several Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been flying past stopped in place and cleared a path, expressions of respect on their faces.

Naruto looked up in shock. Not too far off in the distance, within the blood mist, a blood-colored palanquin appeared. It was fully thirty meters tall, and was surrounded by a host of vengeful spirits who emitted soundless screams.

Carrying the palanquin on their shoulders were eight three-meter-tall gargoyle-like ghosts who emanated black mist. Their skin was green, and they radiated fluctuations similar to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, along with sinister coldness.

On either side of the blood palanquin were rows of palace maids wearing blood-colored gowns. They were beautiful, but completely expressionless, and carried burning lanterns in their beautiful hands. They almost seemed to be clearing a path for the blood palanquin as it made its way through the mists.

It was really an astonishing sight.

Even Naruto was completely shaken, and his immediate reaction was to assume that a patriarch was coming. However, he quickly realized that seated inside of the blood palanquin was a young woman.

She wore a crimson gown, and her long hair rustled in the breeze. It was impossible to see her face because she wore a blood-colored mask, which was decorated with a plum blossom!

Her chin rested on her hand as she gazed off into the distance.

As for her cultivation base, it was in the Foundation Establishment stage, and the pressure from the spiritual power that emanated off of her contained traces of multiple Tideflows, which caused the blood mist to seethe and churn.

That meant that this young woman had reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment!

Naruto's eyes went wide with envy. He hadn't been able to go around in such style in the Spirit Stream Sect! The fact that Blood Stream Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators got such treatment left him gasping.

When Zhao Wuchang saw Naruto staring at the blood palanquin, his heart flip-flopped.

"Hey! Do you have a death wish?" he whispered. "Bow your head! If you're not careful, Young Lady Xuemei will dig your eyes out! She reached nine Tideflows in the Lone Hell Pocket Realm!"

If he wasn't interested in Naruto joining his alliance, he would never have said anything.

"Young Lady Xuemeii?" Naruto suddenly recalled Xu Baocai mentioning a Chosen from the Blood Stream Sect with that very name. Bowing his head, he looked around to see all the other Inner Sect disciples in the area doing the same.

—

Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Song Que Has An Aunt….

"A trifling Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivator gets to be called Young Lady? I'm a Heavenstring Foundation Establishment cultivator, and I don't get to be called Young Lord in the Spirit Stream Sect!" Irritated and envious, Naruto took advantage of the moment to ask imposter Nightcrypt what he knew about Xuemei.

Imposter Nightcrypt was trembling in fear because of Xuemei, but once he heard Naruto's question, he immediately launched into an explanation.

"Young Lady Xuemei has a very impressive background. She's the only daughter of the most recently promoted of the Blood Stream Sect's eight patriarchs, Patriarch Limitless. She has shocking latent talent, and is even more famous than Song Que!

"When she was in Chakra Condensation, she spent most of her time cultivating on Ancestor Peak, and rarely came outside. She must be out and about in the sect now because she's reached Foundation Establishment.

"Patriarch Limitless originally came from Middle Peak, so word has it that Young Lady Xuemei was always supposed to be an elder there. Presumably, she's going to try to fight for the position of Middle Peak blood master!"

Naruto was already struck somewhat speechless by what he was being told.

"In every generation," imposter Nightcrypt continued, "the Blood Stream Sect has four blood masters, one for each mountain peak. The fighting over the position on the other three peaks has already ended, but the position on Middle Peak is still open. Now that Young Lady Xuemei has reached Foundation Establishment, her next step will be to vie with the Middle Peak grand elder to take the status of blood master.

"If Song Que had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, he would have qualified for the position, but since he's only at the Earthstring level, the Song Clan won't let him go up against his aunt." "His aunt?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"Yeah," replied imposter Nightcrypt. "Middle Peak Grand Elder Song Junwan is Song Que's aunt!" Suddenly, his tone turned even more enigmatic than before. "Senior Uzumaki, since we're talking about blood masters, there's a secret I need to tell you. Did you know that there's a position even higher than blood master? Well, of course there's the blood ripper level, but there's something even higher than that. I'm pretty sure it's even above the patriarch level. Have you heard of it?"

Naruto couldn't help but be intrigued by the imposter Nightcrypt's mysterious tone of voice. "What is it?" he asked.

Imposter Nightcrypt cleared his throat and then proudly went on to say,

"According to the legends, above the patriarch level is the Blood Devil!"

"Blood Devil?" Naruto's heart began to pound. It was a title that seemed completely domineering. Even just hearing it mentioned caused his skin to crawl, almost as if he had seen a real devil.

"Hmph. See how powerful the Blood Stream Sect is? Let me tell you, anyone who can get a blood crystal from one of the mountain peaks of the Blood Stream Sect can become a blood master. The exception is Ancestor Peak, of course. As for the blood crystals, they come from the body of the Blood Ancestor, in the Heavenspan River, whose holy hand serves as the foundation of the entire sect!

"According to the legend, the body of the Blood Ancestor doesn't just contain blood crystals, it also contains a secret legacy!

"Whoever takes that legacy will become the Blood Devil, and will lead the Blood Stream Sect into founding a new legend!

"Of course, it's j

ust a legend. Don't take it too seriously. A lot of people in the sect think it's just a story." Imposter Nightcrypt sighed.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his heart thumped with excitement. Most other people might think that the legend was nothing more than a story, but he didn't believe that. As far as he was concerned, it was entirely likely that the giant Blood Ancestor beneath the Heavenspan River might have an extraordinary legacy waiting to be taken.

By this point, the blood palanquin had made its way off into the distance in the direction of Ancestor Peak. The Foundation Establishment cultivators gradually dispersed, and everyone down on the ground breathed sighs of relief.

Zhao Wuchang's eyes glittered with envy.

"You've really got guts," he said. "It's a good thing Young Lady Xuemei didn't see you looking at her. She definitely would have dug your eyes out if she had, and maybe even beaten you to death."

"So overbearing!" Naruto said with a nod. Inwardly, he couldn't help but feel a bit of disdain, but he didn't let it show on his face. With that, Zhao Wuchang led the way to the meeting.

Near the border of the back of the hand was an immortal's cave belonging to a disciple who had gone to the Lone Hell Pocket Realm but failed to gather enough earthstring energy to form even a single Tideflow.

Although he had failed, his cultivation base had improved some, and he ended up being known as one of the top disciples among those who had failed.

As soon as Naruto entered the immortal's cave, he saw a dozen or so other disciples in the great circle of Chakra Condensation, all of them angrily complaining to each other.

"If ever get a chance, I'm definitely going to kill that Lin Mu from the Pill Stream Sect. The only reason I failed was because he took so much earthstring energy!"

" Lin Mu really is vicious. I heard that, to advance his cultivation, he actually planted Dao seeds in other Pill Stream Sect disciples. He brought a whole generation of disciples to ruin for his own benefit!"

"Lin Mu might be bad, and Shui Fang from the Profound Stream Sect is pretty vicious, but they're basically ants compared to the most infuriating person of all. Naruto from the Fallen Sword Abyss!"

"That Naruto is a true devil. He's fiercer than anyone in the Blood

Stream Sect! Only a few people came back alive from the Fallen Sword

Abyss. Can the other two Holy Lands compare to that?!"

"I heard that Naruto cuts people down as casually as scything wheat! He's so overbearing he even drinks their blood after he kills them! All he has to do is bump you, and you explode!"

When Naruto walked in to hear people talking about him, his heart thumped, but after reminding himself that he was there as Nightcrypt, he calmed himself and joined the group.

The other disciples nodded in greeting, and continued to tell stories about Naruto.

"Naruto is my mortal enemy for life!" Zhao Wuchang said, clenching his hands into fists so hard that veins popped out on them. Even as he gritted his teeth in anger, lingering fear could be seen in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Elder Brother Zhao," one of the disciples said comfortingly.

"I heard the sect leader has already put an official bounty out on Naruto. Whoever brings in his head will be rewarded with a precious treasure, and will also get a Gold Core fruit!" The other disciples seemed excited at the prospect, but Naruto's eyes went wide, and his heart began to pound even harder.

"Gold Core fruit?" he thought. "That can significantly increase the chances of reaching Core Formation! This Blood Stream Sect is too vicious!"

Even as he gasped inwardly, another of the Blood Stream Sect disciples chuckled coldly and said, "That's nothing. A few days ago I heard that the three great blood masters were dispatched to hunt down Naruto. If he dares to step out of the Spirit Stream Sect, he'll be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!"

Even as everyone in the immortal's cave was grinding their teeth and cursing, people realized that Naruto hadn't said anything. Zhao Wuchang looked over in surprise.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt, why haven't you chimed in? You almost got killed by Naruto. What do you think about him?" Everyone turned to look at Naruto.

Naruto had been trembling inwardly with fear, but as soon as he heard Zhao Wuchang address him, he stuck his chest out and smacked it with his palm. Expression fierce to the extreme, and eyes completely bloodshot, he said, "I'll tell you how things stand between me and Naruto. In the end, either he'll be dead, or I will! Don't even talk about Naruto in front of me! My entire purpose in life is to put him to an untimely end!"

He then continued to express his determination to kill Naruto, his wording growing more and more vicious. The other disciples started to nod, and some of them, including Zhao Wuchang, felt like he was expressing their sentiments perfectly.

The conversation continued, and soon the topic changed, whereupon Naruto breathed an inward sigh of relief. The Blood Stream Sect really was proving to be a dangerous place, and he had already begun to miss the Spirit Stream Sect.

At one point, there was a lull in the conversation, whereupon the owner of the immortal's cave, the most powerful of the disciples present, looked around and then said, "There's something important I need to tell you all. I've made some inquiries, and learned that the sect has already decided what to do with those of us who failed in the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands. Apparently, they're going to give us another chance!"

Instantly, the other disciples looked at him with serious expressions.

"Assuming it's a chance to reach Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment," he continued, "then that means we would need a Foundation

Establishment Pill. Most likely, this opportunity will come in the form of a trial by fire in which we compete for that pill!

"I was also told that not everyone will get a chance to participate in the trial by fire. Before it starts, we will be given missions by the sect, and only those who complete their mission will be qualified to join the competition."

Naruto blinked, and then pretended to look both thoughtful and sinister at the same time.

The owner of the immortal's cave looked around at everyone, eyes flashing, then continued, "Friends, don't forget that we aren't the only ones who failed in the Holy Lands. There are some loners out there who refused to join our team. We need to join forces to eliminate them, and make sure that one of us gets the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

It was impossible to say what people were actually thinking, but on the surface, everyone seemed to support the idea. After voicing their assent, they chatted some more about sect news before dispersing.

Naruto walked along through the sect, the sky above him slowly growing dark. As he thought about the matter of the trial by fire, he realized that he should try to figure out a way to prevent the others from successfully reaching Foundation Establishment. For all intents and purposes, the Blood Stream Sect was the enemy of the Spirit Stream Sect.

As he strolled along thinking, his eyes suddenly flashed, and he spun around, right hand shooting out to grab a person who had been walking behind him. That person hadn't anticipated that he would be so quick, and failed to evade his hand. However, what Naruto ended up grabbing was that person's chest.

"You naughty devil! What, you want to do it right here?" It was a middleaged woman, her face crisscrossed with scars. One of the scars even ran from the top of her forehead all the way through both of her lips. Standing there with the moonlight spilling down onto her, she almost looked like a poltergeist.

Her cultivation base was in the tenth level of Chakra Condensation, and a flirtatious look could be seen in her eyes.

Naruto stared in shock, and then quickly pulled his hand back.

"Well, that's fine," the woman said. "If you want things like that, I'll follow your lead…." She cocked her eyebrow coquettishly, and was just about to remove her garments when Naruto fled in the opposite direction.

"Dammit, Nightcrypt," he said, "how many girlfriends do you have in this sect!?" The woman called out for him to come back, but Naruto didn't even stop running.

"I'm not really sure," imposter Nightcrypt replied in a fearful tone. "Surviving in the Blood Stream Sect isn't an easy thing. Over the years, I hooked up with anyone who could give me medicinal pills…."

Naruto's eyes went blank.

—

Chapter 188

Chapter 188

Chapter 188: Corpse Refinery

Back in his immortal's cave, Naruto sat there scowling and sighing. He wasn't sure exactly what to think about imposter Nightcrypt. On the one hand, he felt a bit sorry for him. However, having taken over his identity, he had to deal with the possibility that he might have some sort of relationship with any female disciples he ran into. If they were pretty, he might even think about acknowledging their affections.

Unfortunately, none of the female disciples who would willingly hand medicinal pills over to Nightcrypt were very good-looking at all.

"It's a good thing nobody knows who I really am. Otherwise my true reputation might be irreparably stained." Sighing, he decided that in the future, he would do his best to stay indoors.

With that, he began to practice cultivation. Normally speaking, he wouldn't work so hard at cultivation, but the benefits of working with the Undying Heavenly King in this place were too good to not take advantage of. He knew that he had an unprecedented opportunity here, and it couldn't be abandoned.

After some thought, he even tried to use the Undying Live Forever

Technique to produce a drop of true Undying Blood. Unfortunately, Undying Blood came from the final volume, and at this point, all he could do was absorb blood Chakra from the area. It was impossible to form it into Undying Blood at this point.

Even still, he was very excited at the prospects laid out in front of him. He also surreptitiously cultivated the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, continuing to melt the Heavenspan River water that was in his spiritual sea.

His true cultivation base was making constant progress. Furthermore, his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, which was hidden by the powers of the mask, was also becoming more powerful.

What he anticipated most, though, was the Mountain Shaking Bash.

"After reaching the power of ten mammoths, I can form the Berserk

Ghost Body. Then I'll have completed the first level of the Undying

Heavenly King!" As he continued to work with the Undying Heavenly King volume and absorb blood qi, he felt his power growing, and it filled his heart with anticipation.

"In a few days, I should have the power of two of those primeval mammoths. I'm already getting close to the power of ten! And I'm only on the back of the hand. Once I get onto one of the fingers, I should progress even more quickly!" In his excitement, he thought about how the five mountain peaks of the Blood Stream Sect all had blood waterfalls. Presumably, if he practiced cultivation near a blood waterfall, his progress would be incredible.

Sighing, he couldn't stop thinking about how the Blood Stream Sect really was his own personal Holy Land.

He hadn't abandoned his work with protomagnetic power and the Human Controlling Grand Magic. Although he hadn't performed any experiments recently, he had spent a lot of time thinking about and analyzing the subject.

A month flew by.

During that time, he never left his immortal's cave. However, he was able to observe the area outside, and frequently saw Blood Stream Sect disciples fighting each other. At one point, he even saw a disciple get killed not too far away from his immortal's cave.

If that had happened in the Spirit Stream Sect, it would have been a huge deal. But in the Blood Stream Sect, it didn't cause much of a commotion. However, he did hear from someone passing by that the person who had killed the other disciple had been summarily executed. After all, the Blood Stream Sect allowed fighting, but not killing, and they strictly enforced their rules. Anyone who crossed the line would meet a brutal end.

"It's like they're raising scorpions…." Naruto thought. Althoug

h the Blood Stream Sect seemed chaotic and without rules, the truth was that there was an order to it.

A few more days passed, and word was passed down that an arrangement had been made for those who failed in the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands. Just as the disciple had said in the meeting, they would have a chance to join a trial by fire to reach Foundation Establishment.

To qualify for the trial by fire, they had to accomplish a mission set forth by the sect. Each person received a different mission, and Naruto's was to go to Corpse Peak and refine a corpse!

Naruto found the nature of the mission somewhat revolting. However, despite the fact that the mere idea of working with corpses was disgusting, he couldn't change the task. If he wanted to eventually get to that relic of eternal indestructibility, he would have to grit his teeth and accept the mission.

That was the only way he could get into the trial by fire, get the Foundation Establishment Pill, and "reach" Foundation Establishment. Then he could choose to become a Dharma protector on Middle Peak.

On his way to the Blood Stream Sect, he had often thought about showing up as an Earthstring Foundation Establishment expert. Although some of the disciples who escaped from the Fallen Sword World might have seen Nightcrypt be killed, there were ways to explain how he was now alive. After all, everyone had life-saving magics. However, if he showed up with an Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivation base, that would be a different matter. Despite the chaos in the Fallen Sword World toward the end, everyone had been paying very close attention to the earthstring energy and who was absorbing it.

Returning to the sect as an Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been too suspicious, so in the end, he abandoned the idea.

The next day at sunrise, Naruto left his immortal's cave in high spirits. Carrying the mission jade slip with him, he headed toward Corpse Peak. It was only with that jade slip that he could actually enter Corpse Peak.

There were lots of corpse refineries on Corpse Peak, even some at the base of the mountain.

That was exactly where Naruto needed to go to accept his assigned mission. Even from a distance, he could see the corpse refinery that was his destination. It was a huge building, cylindrical and pitch black. Noxious black smoke belched out of the top of the building to rise up into the sky.

There were numerous entrances and exits to the building, with Inner Sect disciples going in and out of them constantly. Grave expressions could be seen on the faces of the disciples who left the building, and their skin was pale, as if they hadn't seen the light of day in years. They were people who, unlike Naruto, had taken the initiative to accept corpse-refining missions from the sect for the purposes of cultivation and study.

As he walked up to the corpse refinery, he suddenly caught sight of someone familiar. It was Xu Xiaoshan, who stood there at the main gate leading to the refinery, his hands clasped behind his back. His cultivation base emanated the fluctuations of Earthstring Foundation

Establishment, and he had three grim-looking bodyguards standing behind him as he reprimanded several of the Inner Sect disciples. 1

"Do you know how much I paid to buy this corpse refinery from the sect, fools?

"This place is mine! I had to sell all of my other properties to afford it. If I don't make enough profit to buy paper talismans, you people are going to be sorry!

"I can't believe you destroyed one of my corpses! It might have been nothing more than an ordinary corpse, but it was still worth something. I'm warning you, the lot of you had better pay me back, otherwise I'll turn you into corpses to be refined!" The Inner Sect disciples were trembling, their faces pale as they immediately admitted their failures. Finally, Xu Xiaoshan waved his hand in irritation to dismiss them.

A dark expression on his face, he glanced around the area and caught sight of Naruto.

"What are you doing here? You can't just come and go as you please around here!"

Naruto took a moment to compose himself. If Xu Xiaoshan had dared to talk to him in such a way in the Fallen Sword Abyss, he would have made short work of him. But now, all he did was wave his right hand, sending the mission jade slip flying toward him.

Xu Xiaoshan frowned as he examined the jade slip. Then he looked back at Naruto.

"I remember you. You were there when we were all fighting Naruto. So, you made it out alive after all!" His expression softened a bit. He had mixed feelings about everything that had happened in the Fallen Sword Abyss. He still admired Naruto from the Spirit Stream Sect, and when he thought about how they had fought and conned each other, he couldn't help but sigh.

"That guy is definitely the jewel of the Spirit Stream Sect now," he thought, shaking his head.

"Alright, come on inside. Considering we're both veterans of the Fallen

Sword Abyss, I'll give you a few tips about corpse refining." As Xu Xiaoshan led the way, Naruto put a sinister expression onto his face and followed.

Before long, they were in one of the private rooms inside the corpse refinery, which was usually referred to as a corpse cave.

The cylindrical chamber wasn't very large. Nine oil lamps emanated a mysterious light that nevertheless failed to dispel the grim darkness. In the middle of the room was a deep cistern.

The water was the color of blood, and looked bizarre and fantastic. Floating there in the water was a dead person!

The corpse belonged to a burly man with a vicious expression on his face. He didn't look like a kind person in any way, and there was a fatal wound on his forehead. The skin around the wound had withered significantly, transforming into a pattern that resembled a plum blossom.

Xu Xiaoshan wasn't familiar with all of the corpses in all of the corpse caves, but as soon as he saw this one, he whispered, "This guy got killed by that shrew Xuehai. The fact that he died fighting her indicates that he must have had an extraordinary cultivation base when he was alive."

Naruto peered over at the corpse, and the mark on its forehead. Immediately, his heart went cold.

"Obviously, on Corpse Peak, we focus on corpses," Xu Xiaoshan continued. "Generally speaking, the corpses start out ordinary and slowly advance through the levels until they reach the pinnacle. The levels are as follows: pallid zombie, shadow zombie, flying ghoul, grand lich!

"Your mission is to get this corpse to grow white hair. Then it will turn from an ordinary corpse into a pallid zombie!

"The method to do so is explained in this jade slip. Considering you're in the tenth level of Chakra Condensation, and have been around for awhile, you've probably heard a bit about how it works. Use your cultivation base to catalyze the blood cistern, and then sink the corpse down inside. Of course, there are a lot of other details you have to master.

"If you work quickly, you can accomplish the task in half a year." With that, he handed Naruto two jade slips. One of them contained information about the corpse refining methods, and the other could be used to control the corpse itself. Then, he turned to leave.

Naruto didn't want to waste that much time, though. Looking over at the corpse, he asked, "Is there any way to get it to go faster?"

Xu Xiaoshan chuckled coldly. "Faster? Of course! If you give the corpse enough spirit medicine, then naturally the process will go faster. In fact, if you're good enough, maybe you could make a Nine Serenities Blood Pill. With one of those, you could finish within ten days. Plus, the corpse would be a grand lich, about as powerful as a patriarch!

"I forgot that you can actually do a bit of medicine concocting. Maybe you should give it a shot." He chuckled again. Blood Stream Sect disciples usually spent their time fighting, and most viewed medicine concocting as a waste of time. Xu Xiaoshan flicked his sleeve and left Naruto alone in the corpse cave.

Naruto looked down thoughtfully at the corpse floating in the cistern, and soon, his eyes lit up.

"They didn't like me concocting pills in the Spirit Stream Sect, but now I'm in the Blood Stream Sect. I can finally do some pill concocting again…." Becoming a grand apothecary really was proving to be a big headache. He sighed.

—

Chapter 189

Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Hair Transformation

"Years from now, I can proudly tell my descendants that Naruto walked a long, winding path. He raised beasts in the Spirit Stream Sect, and concocted medicine in the Blood Stream Sect!" Naruto really felt proud of himself. Considering how hard he was working, if he didn't become a grandmaster apothecary and concoct a Live-Forever NeverDie pill, it would be really unfair.

"However, I need to be careful. This isn't the Spirit Stream Sect. These people are brutal. If I provoke them because of my medicine concocting, they probably won't just throw rocks, they'll attack with magical items." That thought got him so nervous that he began to hesitate.

After more thought, he gritted his teeth, and his eye shone with determination.

"If I want to become the greatest apothecary in the world, if I want to live forever and exist for all eternity, then how could I let this trifling Blood Stream Sect stop me? I'm definitely gonna concoct some pills!

"Bring it on! When the Dao of medicine is involved, Naruto isn't afraid of anyone!" Although his expression seemed cold and sinister, he was really gritting his teeth and throwing caution to the wind.

He didn't want to be stuck in the corpse cave staring at a corpse for any longer than he had to. He had no interest in such things. Therefore, he would use his abilities with spirit medicine to reduce the time it took to accomplish the mission. Then he could leave Corpse Peak once and for all.

After studying the mission jade slip for a while, he began to chuckle darkly. "All I have to do is get the corpse to grow white hair, right? Simple! I just need to concoct a medicinal incense that grows hair!"

In the Blood Stream Sect, any corpse that grew white hair was a pallid zombie. That was common knowledge. Never before had there been an ordinary zombie with white hair.

Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the bloodcolored water in the cistern, and the corpse. Then he sat down crosslegged and began to mentally review all of the medicine formulas he knew.

It was essentially impossible to use medicinal pills to solve the problem with the corpse. He had to concoct medicinal incense. Upon burning it, a smoke would appear which would merge into the corpse and transform it.

A few days later, his eyes were already completely bloodshot. He was pacing back and forth in the corpse cave, coming up with one idea after another. Some ideas he immediately discarded, others he spent time analyzing in detail.

He even asked Nightcrypt about the types of medicinal ingredients they had in the Blood Stream Sect, and was surprised to find that many of them weren't known in the Spirit Stream Sect. Using some of

Nightcrypt's few merit points, he went and purchased some ingredients, especially the ones that were unique to the Blood Stream Sect. He was pleasantly surprised to find that prices for ingredients were much lower here.

Apparently, the Blood Stream Sect did that to encourage disciples to work on medicine concocting, although it did little good. To Blood Stream Sect disciples, medicine concocting would only take away time from all the fighting they did, and would waste a lot of resources. Why do so much work when they could simply go out and rob other people?

Seven days passed. After doing plenty of research to understand how to use Blood Stream Sect medicinal plants together with Spirit Stream Sect medicinal plants, he finally came up with his unique medicinal formula.

It had only one function: grow white hair!

His idea was simple. It didn't matter whether the corpse was fundamentally strong or weak; his mission was simply to get it to grow white hair. Although he wasn't sure how str

ong the corpse would be afterward, that didn't really matter to him.

He did two more days of mental work to ensure that the medicine formula was perfect. Then, just after evening fell, he opened his eyes and excitedly produced a pill furnace. Taking out two earthflame crystals, he started working on a batch of tier-3 medicinal incense.

Two months went by. Other people who were working on corpses were already seeing transformations begin. However, Naruto's corpse hadn't made any progress at all. Of course, he didn't care about that; he was completely engrossed in his medicine concocting.

In the Blood Stream Sect, people didn't generally spend a lot of time interacting with each other. During the more than two months that he'd been in the corpse cave, not a single person had come in to speak with him, which was fine as far as he was concerned. He had failed numerous times to produce a single batch of tier-3 medicinal incense, and every time he did, he would analyze everything carefully and then start over.

Occasionally, rumbling sounds would echo out, but considering Naruto's current skill in the Dao of medicine, he was very comfortable with tier-3 spirit medicines. Although he failed, there were no catastrophic side-effects that would cause chaos in the area.

Three more days passed. Naruto excitedly slapped the pill

furnace, and rumbling sounds echoed out as it opened to reveal a palmsized chunk of black incense. After pulling it out, he held it in his hand and looked at it suspiciously.

The black incense didn't emit any medicinal aroma, and seemed ordinary in nature. Naruto scratched his head. After all the adjustments he'd made to the formula, this was the final result, but he wasn't sure exactly what kind of medicinal incense it was.

"It should work. I put plenty of corpsefriend flower in, as well as some rottenroot grass. I used all kinds of medicinal plants that are good for upgrading corpses." He looked at the incense, then glanced at the corpse in the blood cistern. If he were in the Spirit Stream Sect, he wouldn't dare to test it out, but considering he was just working with a corpse, he wasn't too worried about anything happening.

"It will definitely work!" Taking a deep breath, he pushed his hands together and then unleashed some spiritual power, creating an invisible fire which lit the incense. As the smoke rose up, he waved his hand, sending the incense over to the corpse. It immediately fused into it, causing smoke to roil out and fill the entire cistern. When he saw all the smoke, Naruto sprinted out of the corpse cave, and out of the entire corpse refinery in general.

He didn't dare to remain behind and accidentally breathe in some of the incense, which could have led to a bigger disaster.

He spent the rest of the day strolling through the sect, until he was sure enough time had passed. Under the cover of night, he snuck back to the corpse cave. Only after confirming that there was no more smoke present did he edge forward toward the cistern.

The first thing he saw was that the smoke was indeed all gone. The red color of the water had faded a bit, and red hair could be seen on the corpse's head. It was really a frightening sight, and made the corpse look even more murderous than before.

"Red hair?" Eyes wide, he stepped a bit closer to the corpse. Suddenly, he felt like he wasn't alone in the room. At the same time, the corpse's eyes snapped open, and they were as red as blood. There was no life in those eyes; they were ice cold, almost as if death itself were looking at him. Radiating an intensely cold aura, the corpse began to rise to its feet.

Scalp tingling in shock, Naruto backed up and pulled out the jade slip that could be used to control the corpse. After pushing his finger down onto it, the zombie slowly went still.

After making sure that it really wasn't moving, he edged closer again to look at the red hair. Scowling, he said, "Xu Xiaoshan talked about zombies with white hair and black hair. He didn't say anything about red hair. Does red hair count?"

Feeling a bit of a headache coming on, he gritted his teeth.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. There's obviously a problem with my medicine formula. A few changes will definitely get this zombie's hair to turn white!" Sitting down cross-legged, he began to think about the problem in detail. A few days later, he looked tired, but slapped his thigh in excitement.

"It must be a problem with the water in the cistern. The water changed color because the zombie absorbed the redness!" The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Without any further hesitation, he began concocting.

He changed the formula this time, adding in quite a few different medicinal plants. This time, he didn't just create medicinal incense, but a medicinal pill as well. A few days later, it was with great excitement and anticipation that he threw a medicinal pill into the blood cistern.

As soon as the medicinal pill entered the cistern, it sank down into the water. Moments later, the water began to bubble and churn, and huge bubbles popped up everywhere. As it did, Naruto tossed out the piece of incense, which landed onto the red-haired zombie.

This time, he didn't leave, although he did back up a bit. Smoke filled the cistern, and gurgling sounds began to emanate from within. Then an inhuman howl echoed out, something that sounded almost like it came out of the mouth of an evil ghost or vile fiend.

A few hours later, the smoke began to clear, and Naruto peered over to try to see into the cistern.

"Change to white hair! Come on, change! Change!"

Even as he murmured, the smoke cleared, and he hurried over to the edge of the cistern. As soon as he laid eyes on the zombie, a blank look appeared in his eyes.

"Violet hair?"

The zombie in the cistern no longer had red hair, but violet. Its murderous aura was even stronger, and much of the water in the cistern had been drained. Moments later, more blood-colored water rushed in to fill the cistern back up.

Most shocking of all was that the violet hair was fully three inches long, much longer than the red hair had been. Furthermore, the zombie's fingers now sported long, sharp claws….

"What is this thing?" Naruto murmured, eyes wide. The zombie certainly looked a lot more impressive, so he asked imposter Nightcrypt about it. However, imposter Nightcrypt had never heard of any zombie like this either.

He hesitated for a bit, and even though about going to ask Xu Xiaoshan to come take a look. But then he thought about the strange pills that had often emerged when he concocted medicine, and his expression flickered.

"Could it be something to do with the incense?" He thought for a moment about all of the bizarre animals he'd let loose in the Spirit Stream Sect, and shivered.

"I can definitely turn its hair white!" Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and began concocting.

Naruto continued to produce one type of incense after another. The zombie's hair went from violet to pink, then from pink to orange. At one point it even turned blue. But never white. Furthermore, the hair grew longer and longer with each transformation. By the time it turned blue, it was a third of a meter long….

Simultaneously, the zombie's murderous aura grew stronger and stronger, and its claws became even sharper. Two dangerous-looking fangs appeared in its mouth, and its skin changed color along with its hair. The water in the cistern was drained over and over again, whereupon it would naturally refill.

Half a year went by, and Naruto stood at the edge of the cistern. He had stared at the zombie so many times that he was starting to go crazy.

"I refuse to believe that I'll fail!"

—

Chapter 190

Chapter 190

Chapter 190: Green Zombies

Naruto was getting really mad. He stood there facing off with the zombie, filled with frustration that it just wouldn't turn white.

Spinning around, he began to throw medicinal plants into the pill furnace, including special Blood Stream Sect plants. Changing the pill formula once more, he began to madly devote himself to concocting.

His hair was in complete disarray, and he had already forgotten that he wasn't in the Spirit Stream Sect. He was completely immersed in concocting medicine to the point of bedeviled madness. His eyes burned red, and even imposter Nightcrypt's soul was trembling. He almost felt like he was back in the Fallen Sword World, and didn't dare to interrupt Naruto in even the smallest way.

"This Naruto is crazy!" he thought.

As Naruto worked on his new spirit medicine, Xu Xiaoshan was in another location in the corpse refinery, dejectedly pondering a certain issue that had cropped up over the past half year or so. For some reason, the corpse-refining blood serum in his corpse refinery was draining away much more quickly than usual.

"What's going on?" he thought. It was quite a headache to investigate the matter, considering that there were over a thousand corpses being refined at any given time. In any case, the blood serum drainage rate was still within acceptable limits.

"Ah, whatever. I guess it just means that I'll be able to upgrade my corpse refinery sooner than expected." With that, he put the matter aside.

A month later, Naruto was there in the corpse cave, looking at the pill furnace and cackling. He had even poured his own blood into the mixture to make this batch of medicinal incense. Hopefully, his blood would incite the blood Chakra of the enormous hand to produce shocking transformations!

He slapped the side of the pill furnace, and a pungent smoke poured out, which he waved to the side. When he saw the finger-nail-sized chunk of white incense inside, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"This time it will definitely turn white!" He carefully picked the incense up to examine it closely. Although it was very small, it was actually more powerful than any of the other types of incense he had produced up to this point.

In fact, not even the strength of all the previous chunks of incense added together could equal this one.

"At long last, I will produce my pallid zombie!" he roared. Waving his hand, he sent the finger-nail-sized chunk of incense flying toward the corpse. It instantly shot through all the hair to land on the zombie's forehead, where it began to burn, releasing a dense white smoke.

The smoke spread out rapidly, and in response, Naruto shot backward. At a certain point, it stopped expanding, but was so thick that nothing was visible inside of it. However, indescribably terrifying howls could be heard echoing out.

Somehow, there even seemed to be a bit of joy within the howls.

Naruto was starting to get even more excited than before. Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoshan was in his room in the corpse refinery, looking very anxious as he stood in front of an old man, who was sitting there on one of the chairs in the room, staring at him coldly.

The old man wore a voluminous gray robe that was embroidered with the image of a mountain peak. If you looked closely, it was none other than Corpse Peak. A vicious zombie face could be seen on the sleeve of the old man's robe, which looked extremely realistic as he flicked his sleeve.

The old man had disheveled hair, and his face was covered with scars, but he radiated an intense life force. Apparently, his true age was different than his appearance made him out to be. His cultivation ba

se wasn't in the Gold Core stage, but he was at the very peak of Foundation Establishment, and in fact, was already in the quasi-Core stage. He was only a sliver away from reaching Core Formation.

Xu Xiaoshan cleared his throat and hurriedly explained, "Grand elder, don't I still have some time left? Don't worry. I, Xu Xiaoshan, have been taking care of this corpse refinery for almost a year now. How could I not pay the spirit stones I owe? In three months, the first batch of zombies will be ready, and I'll pay you back, both principal and interest!"

He had never imagined that the grand elder of Corpse Peak would personally come to ask him about the expenses related to the corpse refinery.

"Elder Xu," the grand elder said, "I truly hope that you will do as you say. If the time comes and you don't pay what you owe, it won't matter that you have a patriarch backing you. I'll still hold you accountable for the losses!"

With that, Corpse Peak's grand elder turned to leave.

But then, the door suddenly slammed open, and a flustered young man burst in.

"What gall!" Xu Xiaoshan barked, looking over with a grim face. Just when he'd managed to get the grand elder off his back, this flunky barged in to cause problems.

However, even as his killing intent raged, he noticed how terrified the young man looked.

"Young Lord, something really bad is happening! Almost thirty percent of the corpse-refining blood serum has vanished, all at once!" The ashen-faced young man seemed to on the verge of tears. He was responsible for keeping the records regarding the corpse-refining blood serum, and when he saw such a massive reduction, he wasn't sure what to do. It was only when he finished speaking that he noticed that Young Lord Xu Xiaoshan wasn't alone. The old man in the room seemed a bit familiar, and when he looked at him more closely, his mind suddenly began to reel.

"G-g-grand Elder…."

When Xu Xiaoshan heard what was happening, his scalp began to tingle so hard it felt like it might explode.

"Thirty percent?!" he asked, eyes turning bloodshot. He immediately raced out to check the blood serum altar. As for the grand elder, he looked completely taken aback. Even at a critical point in the corpserefining process, there would never be such a drastic loss in blood serum, not unless an incredibly powerful zombie were being produced.

"A thirty percent loss?" he thought. Without hesitation, he burst into motion.

Soon, Xu Xiaoshan was at the blood serum altar. There, a huge blood cistern could be seen with over a thousand channels leading out into different corpse caves. As soon as Xu Xiaoshan appeared, the disciples in charge of the altar looked over. Ashen-faced, they clasped hands in greeting.

Xu Xiaoshan didn't even hear them talking. He stared down into the huge cistern, thinking back to the day before, when it had been mostly full. But now, half of that amount was gone….

"How is this possible?!" he thought, beginning to tremble. The blood serum had to be purchased at significant cost, and what he was seeing in front of his own eyes caused his vision to begin to fade. But then, he watched as almost all of the remaining serum drained away, revealing the bottom of the cistern and leaving it completely empty….

All of the blood serum could be seen flowing into one particular channel….

"That leads to Nightcrypt's corpse cave!" Bursting with a murderous aura, he let out a howl of rage and sped away from the blood serum altar and toward Naruto's corpse cave.

In that very corpse cave, Naruto was watching as the white smoke began to clear. Heart bursting with joy, he was just about to take a step forward when suddenly, his face fell, and his eyes went wide with disbelief.

"What's going on!?" he said. He rubbed his eyes, not daring to believe what he was seeing. There within the white smoke were numerous green hairs, twisting and turning as they floated in the air.

Some of them were actually boring into the walls of the cave.

Naruto felt his scalp tingling. He quickly opened his third eye and looked into the smoke. As of this moment, the cistern wasn't even visible any more, nor was the corpse. All he saw was a huge, green hairball!

The hair wasn't just spreading out to fill the corpse cave; some of it had pierced into the walls, and was spreading out to who-knew-where.

"Is that hair?" Naruto thought, backing up as fast as possible, his mind spinning.

In that very moment, cries of shock and alarm began to ring out from the more than one thousand other corpse caves.

"What's going on!?"

"Heavens! What happened? What are these green strands!?"

"Dammit! What are these green strands doing in my corpse cave!?"

It was then that a massive rumbling sound rose up that could shake heaven and earth, filling the entire corpse refinery.

The corpse caves began to collapse as green strands of hair raced in. Next, the green hair pierced into the bodies of the zombies that were still in the middle of being produced. Then, the hair on those zombies' heads began to turn green, even the ones that already had white hair.

But that was nothing. Some of the hair stabbed into the ground. It couldn't go very deep though, so it would pop out of the ground some distance away before stabbing back in.

Xu Xiaoshan watched in shock as the corpse refinery began to fall to pieces. Furthermore, the trees in the area were all starting to grow green hair as well, as were the rocks, plants, flowers, and other buildings. Everything was turning green.

As the corpse refinery collapsed, more green hair appeared and spread out in all directions. Countless disciples appeared, fleeing with looks of shock and terror on their faces.

"What is this stuff?! My refined corpse! I worked for two years on that thing! Now those green strands showed up and turned it green!"

"Who did this!?" As people began to cry out in madness, a look of terror appeared on Naruto face. He flew out of the corpse cave, leaving behind an exploding mass of green hair.

"Nightcrypt, what did you do!?" Xu Xiaoshan bellowed, shaking in anger.

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone in the area turned to look at Naruto.

Naruto knew that, yet again, he had provoked a catastrophe.

Heart pounding with fear, he let out a miserable shriek and then said, "What is that stuff? Dammit! Who did this? My refined corpse! I've been working hard on it for half a year!"

Everyone around him stared at him in shock.

"How dare you try to trick an elder like me! You're dead!" Xu Xiaoshan's eyes flickered with killing intent as he cackled in rage. Waving his hand, he sent the power of his Earthstring spiritual seas into motion. Tideflow power erupted out, along with a raging murderous aura. In the blink of an eye, deadly fluctuations were racing toward Naruto.

Not a single person did anything to prevent what was happening. As for the grand elder of Corpse Peak, he merely frowned.

Naruto's face fell. He couldn't simply reveal his true cultivation base, but if he didn't, then based on Nightcrypt's current level of power, this attack should kill him beyond the shadow of a doubt.

However, even in Naruto's moment of terror, countless howls began to rise up from the corpse caves!

Something very strange was happening!

Chapter 191

Chapter 191

Chapter 191

Green hair burst out from the corpse caves, from the ground, from the plants and trees, even from the rocks, swirling through the air to form a huge barrier in front of Naruto, which blocked Xu Xiaoshan's attack.

A huge boom echoed out, and countless green hairs were destroyed. However, Xu Xiaoshan's attack was weakened significantly.

Everyone in the area gasped, but then, before any cries of shock could ring out….

Numerous figures shot out from the rubble of the corpse caves, howling as they flew to stand in front of Naruto.

One zombie after another appeared. They all looked different, and had different levels of power and different types of auras. However, there was one similarity between all of them, and that was that they had green hair!

"Dammit! That's my refined corpse! Nightcrypt, I'm gonna kill you!"

"Impossible! Why is my zombie protecting Nightcrypt?!"

"What's going on here!? Nightcrypt, are you looking to die?!" The crowd was in a complete rage. Many of them even pulled out their corpse-controlling jade slips, but they quickly found that they couldn't exert any control over their corpses whatsoever.

Xu Xiaoshan's face was a mass of shock. His attack had been powerful, but there were now over a hundred refined corpses standing in front of Naruto. Even if he had attacked with more power than he did, it still wouldn't have done any good.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as a few dozen corpses exploded. Then, the deadly fluctuations faded away. Naruto stood there stock still, as he had been the entire time, looking around blankly.

More refined corpses were crawling out of the rubble of the corpse refinery. Soon, more than a thousand had gathered, clustered around Naruto, all of them looking at Xu Xiaoshan and howling at the tops of their lungs.

Earlier, everyone in the area had been crying out in shock, but now, they weren't uttering even a single peep. As the disciples stared at the strange scene, they began to slowly back up, their scalps tingling with fear. The raging, murderous aura that erupted from the ranks of zombies left them completely and utterly shocked.

Xu Xiaoshan almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

As for the grand elder of Corpse Peak, he looked on with glaring eyes. After reaching Foundation Establishment, he had fought and struggled for years before finally becoming the grand elder of Corpse Peak, which he had presided over for more than a hundred years now. Considering how many refined corpses he had seen over the years, he believed himself to understand more about them than even some Core Formation cultivators.

However, what he was seeing now, more than a thousand zombies all protecting Naruto, caused his eyes to shine with intense light.

"How is he doing this?!" he thought

As for Naruto, he stood there on the verge of tears.

"I'm finished," he thought. "Kaput. I destroyed the corpse refinery, and then for some reason all these corpses decided to ignore their own masters and protect me. It only took a moment for me to offend more than a thousand disciples. Is this gonna force me to abandon the sect? What do I do? What do I do…?"

Naruto was well aware that this was not the Spirit Stream Sect. This was the Blood Stream Sect, and he could only imagine what his punishment for this catastrophe would be. Maybe they would beat him to death!

He could also sense the killing intent in the eyes of the surrounding disciples. However, it was at this point that, all of a sudden, the corpses behind him all howled, and then cleared a path.

A tall, green figure appeared in the depths of the destroy

ed corpse refinery. As it strode forward, sharp claws could be seen, which glinted like razor-sharp blades. The bizarre-looking figure had green skin and protruding fangs which were terrifying to behold.

It had a mass of green hair that was so long it was impossible to judge its length. Many of the hairs actually connected to other corpses, whereas some of it simply floated around in the area.

Naruto stared in shock as the green zombie walked forward to stand behind him, where it remained motionless, radiating a powerful, murderous aura.

The surrounding disciples gasped yet again.

"That green zombie is controlling the other zombies! I can't believe it!"

"Heavens! How come I never knew about green zombies before? This is completely unprecedented!"

"That green zombie is incredible! It's only as strong as the seventh or eighth level of Chakra Condensation, but look at how it can control all the other zombies! Simply terrifying!"

Xu Xiaoshan was left gasping at the sight, and soon, his eyes were shining brightly. However, before he could say anything, laughter filled the air, and its source was none other than Corpse Peak's grand elder.

"Wonderful," he said, sounding very excited. "Simply wonderful!" He blurred into motion, and a moment later, was standing right in front of the green zombie.

Instantly, incredible pressure spilled out from him, causing all the surrounding zombies to tremble. However, they didn't stop their howling. The grand elder didn't seem to mind. He couldn't stop looking at the green zombie, almost as if it were a gem. He seemed to be getting more and more excited.

"You're called Nightcrypt?" he asked, turning to look at Naruto, the same look in his eye as when he had been looking at the zombie.

Naruto didn't know who this person was, but he quickly put on a very serious expression. Clasping hands and bowing, he said, "Disciple Nightcrypt at your service. Greetings, Senior!"

"Let's call this an emerald zombie. Did you refine it? And how?"

Naruto blinked a few times. The truth was that he really didn't know exactly why the zombie refining process led to the zombie looking or acting this way. But he quickly recorded the formula he had used onto a jade slip, which he then handed over.

After a moment of consideration, he performed a quick, secret test to see if he could connect mentally with the emerald zombie. Presumably, because the medicine contained some of his own blood, he could.

In the hopes of reducing whatever his punishment might be, he also handed over the jade slip that could control the emerald zombie.

Of course, he had already noticed the reactions of the other disciples upon seeing this old man, and how respectful their expressions became.

Obviously, he was someone very important.

The grand elder took the jade slips and looked them over. Eyes burning with passion, he laughed heartily, and then gazed at Naruto with admiration.

"Nightcrypt, I am the grand elder of Corpse Peak. You did a great job here. Splendid, really. You created a brand new type of zombie. I need to go back to study the method for some time to determine how to reproduce it. You have performed a great service for Corpse Peak!

"So what if you destroyed a measly corpse refinery? They're easily replaceable. Besides, you didn't do it on purpose, and in the end, nobody was killed. Actually, even if you had accidentally killed some people, it would all have been in the service of the sect, and wouldn't have mattered at all!

"Elders, award him with 5,000 spirit stones and 30,000 merit points. Also, spread the word that anyone who dares to steal spirit stones from him will be considered my personal enemy!" Laughing excitedly, and eyes shining with praise, the grand elder turned and left with the emerald zombie.

"Huh?" Naruto stood there watching as the grand elder left. The surrounding disciples were all enraged, but could do nothing more than grit their teeth and disperse. They had all seen the encouraging look in the eyes of the grand elder. One of the Corpse Peak elders walked over to give Naruto 5,000 spirit stones, and also transferred 30,000 merit points to his identification medallion.

Although Xu Xiaoshan wasn't very happy, he plastered a smile onto his face and hurried over to chat. From his wording, it was obvious that he hoped to get a copy of the formulas, so Naruto magnanimously gifted him with one. After all, the formula was only in the early stages of development, and wasn't really worth much.

Xu Xiaoshan was delighted, and immediately gave Naruto high marks on his mission assignment. Looking like he had just acquired a precious treasure, he hurried away.

Naruto looked at the emptiness around him, and the wreckage of the corpse refinery, and took a deep breath. He had been completely braced to be punished, only to have everything happen opposite of his expectations. All of a sudden, he realized that this place really was very different from the Spirit Stream Sect.

"The Blood Stream Sect is great! The giant's hand is connected to my cultivation, I can work on the Undying Heavenly King much more quickly here than anywhere else, and if I cause problems because of pill concocting, the sect doesn't punish me, it rewards me!" He sighed. Obviously, if he had done this same thing and not produced that zombie, then the grand elder of Corpse Peak would have been incensed. Most likely, not even death would have been able to wipe away the offense.

All the grand elder cared about was the result. As for what happened along the way, he didn't care at all, not even what happened to bystanders!

However, there was one thing Naruto wasn't sure about, and that was whether or not the attitude of the grand elder of Corpse Peak reflected the attitude of the entire leadership of the Blood Stream Sect. Or were there people who wouldn't tolerate him tormenting other disciples, regardless of the potential gains?

Either way, the Blood Stream Sect was essentially a devilish sect that valued being straightforward and merciless!

They didn't believe that a person achieving their Dao could benefit everyone. They believed that success came only after climbing a mountain of bones!

Sighing, Naruto headed back toward his immortal's cave. Now that he had accomplished his mission, he simply had to wait for all the other disciples to do the same, and then he would be able to participate in the Foundation Establishment trial by fire.

It was currently evening, and as he strolled through the sect, he happened to notice a huge stone stele off in the distance, roughly as tall as three people put together. A young woman was sitting cross-legged at the base of the stele, her hair and garments fluttering gently in the wind. There was something oddly appealing about her as she sat there.

She wore a blood-colored mask, decorated with a plum blossom. As she looked off into the distance, a wistful, even melancholic expression could be seen in her eyes.

Naruto recognized her immediately. Lots of people in the sect gossiped about this very young woman, who was Young Lady Xuemei.

As for the huge stone stele, it was oddly misshapen, as though it weren't complete. The more he looked at it, the more he realized that it looked like a section of a wall. It was actually a place where disciples of the Blood Stream Sect would sometimes go to seek enlightenment, a location as famous as the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood. It was the Holy Pill Wall Fragment!

Supposedly, people who sought enlightenment here could see a projection of someone concocting medicine. If they gained enlightenment, they would acquire a deeper understanding of the Dao of medicine. According to the story, the Blood Stream Sect had looted the wall from the Pill Stream Sect 10,000 years ago.

Although the Blood Stream Sect didn't have many apothecaries, 8,000 years ago, a genius arose within the sect. He created a mystical medicine called the Undying Blood Pill, which shook the entire sect. Of course, he accomplished all of that thanks to the wall fragment.

Few people ever gained enlightenment from the Holy Pill Wall Fragment.

Even imposter Nightcrypt had tried his hand at it, only to fail. As Uzumaki

Naruto walked by, he couldn't help but glance at Xuemei and the wall.

Xuemei seemed to sense him looking at her, and her eyes flashed beneath her mask. She looked over at Naruto, radiating coldness and arrogance, as if she were a higher being, an immortal or a devil looking at an ant. Without saying a word, she turned and transformed into a beam of blood-colored light that shot toward Ancestor Peak.

Being looked at in such a condescending fashion left Naruto very angry. Xuemei was clearly far too arrogant for her own good.

"What's so special about you, huh? Lord Uzumaki is already at Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. If I showed my true face, you'd be scared to death!" Grumbling to himself, he stuck his chin up and flicked his sleeve. "One of these days, Naruto will snap his finger and reduce you to ash!"

Chapter 191: Rewards from Corpse Peak

Chapter 192

Chapter 192

Chapter 192: Trial By Fire at the Blood Precipice

Months flew by. Naruto wasn't the only person to have already qualified to participate in the Foundation Establishment trial by fire. However, the appointed time for the trial hadn't arrived yet, so those who accomplished their missions early were forced to bide their time.

Naruto didn't sit idly by during those months. He excitedly cultivated the Undying Heavenly King. From the time he had begun to practice cultivation until now, he had never felt like this before; he was under no pressure whatsoever, and was able to diligently focus on his cultivation.

When he cultivated the Undying Heavenly King, his body was filled with a sensation of tingling pain. At first it was very uncomfortable, but by now he'd gotten used to it, and even found it somewhat pleasurable.

Every day, he would spend some time shadowboxing in his immortal's cave to test out his power, and the result was always the same.

"Hahaha! I'm getting stronger and stronger. Bring on the pain!"

The sight of the blood Chakra rising up from the ground always caused his heart to pound with excitement.

"This place is my personal Holy Land. When I cause disasters, I don't get punished, I get rewarded! Plus, my cultivation progresses faster than ever…." Sighing, he couldn't help but muse that the Blood Stream Sect really was a good fit for him. However, after more consideration, he realized that his way of thinking was getting a bit twisted, and he needed to correct it.

"I'm from the Spirit Stream Sect!" he reminded himself. Then he sank down into the tingling pain.

Eventually, he had completed 999 cycles of the Undying Heavenly King, whereupon rumbling sounds filled him, and the images of three huge mammoths appeared behind him.

At that point, his eyes snapped open, and they shone brightly with enthusiasm. He unleashed a punch into the air, and a boom could be heard. He gasped.

"I've already reached the power level of three mammoths. This cultivation speed is crazy! Plus, I'm only on the back of the giant's hand. If I could get onto the fingers, maybe near one of those blood waterfalls, I could probably progress even faster!" Laughing heartily, he rose to his feet to go out for a stroll. However, at that moment, his face flickered, and he slapped his bag of holding, producing his identity medallion.

The medallion was glowing slightly, and when he poured some spiritual power into it, a cold, sinister voice rang out in his mind.

"Inner Sect disciple Nightcrypt, you have earned the right to participate in a second Foundation Establishment trial by fire. Three days from now at high noon, present yourself at the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood to begin the trial!"

Naruto's eyes immediately began to shine with anticipation. "It's at the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood? Don't tell me the Foundation

Establishment Trial by Fire is going to be inside the Pit of Never-Ending Blood?"

The Precipice of Never-Ending Blood and the Pit of Never-Ending Blood were essentially the same place. Back when Naruto asked imposter Nightcrypt about where to get sparks for four-colored flame, he'd said that he should look for four-leaf clovers in the Pit of NeverEnding Blood.

Of course, of all the people who were waiting for the Foundation Establishment trial by fire, he was the one who actually cared the absolute least about it.

The only thing he cared about was that afterward, he would finally be able to call himself a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Blood Stream Sect, and would finally become a Dharma protector of Middle Peak. That would be his first major step toward getting the relic of eternal inde

structibility.

The reason he didn't care about the trial by fire, of course, was because he was already a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert.

Considering he was a disciple of the Spirit Stream Sect, he knew that it was his responsibility to stand for justice and righteousness. Swishing his sleeve, he stuck his chin up. Looking very somber, he said, "This time, I can't let any of them succeed in Foundation Establishment. Unfortunately for them, I'm a spy!"

After all, he was a loyal servant of the Spirit Stream Sect, and as such, should take every opportunity to perform some meritorious service for his own sect.

Feeling better than ever, he sat back down cross-legged to meditate.

Three days later, he made his final preparations, and then stepped out of his immortal's cave, attempting to look as cold and ruthless as ever. He had been working on his gaze recently, trying to make it look more murderous, and felt pleased with the progress he had made.

The Precipice of Never-Ending Blood was one of the most mysterious places in the Blood Stream Sect, the other being the Holy Pill Wall Fragment .

It was a deep pit filled with blood-colored light that many people thought was an arcane pocket realm.

The truth was that it was a wound which had been inflicted upon the hand of the giant, which had eventually transformed into a world of its own.

Four-leaf clovers came from there, and could be used to spark fourcolored flame. Considering that they were unique to the Blood Stream Sect, disciples often used them to trade for expensive items with people outside the sect.

However, actually acquiring them required a bit of luck. The deep pit that they grew in was also occupied by bloodbeasts. Although the bloodbeasts weren't intelligent, they were driven by an insane desire to kill. Apparently, the enormous hand that the Blood Stream Sect was built on innately bred a desire to destroy life.

Therefore, any life form which entered that deep pit and encountered a bloodbeast would come under attack.

When Naruto arrived, he saw about eight other disciples present. A few were sitting silently in meditation, and the others were conversing in hushed tones.

Zhao Wuchang was there, and when he saw Naruto, his eyes flickered with cold light. Although everyone present was a competitor, he smiled and beckoned Naruto over.

At the moment, everyone present was from the group that had failed in the Fallen Sword World.

"I heard more than thirty people qualified to join this trial by fire. However, there are only a few Foundation Establishment Pills. There's definitely going to be some fierce fighting in the pit, not only with the bloodbeasts, but also with fellow disciples."

"Yeah, but we have to stick to our earlier agreement. We'll wipe everyone else out first before we decide among ourselves who gets the Foundation Establishment Pills."

As others chatted, Naruto looked over at the Pit of Never-Ending Blood. The entrance was a narrow gap, only about 30 meters wide. Blood-colored light spilled out, and based on the aura that pulsed out, it was clear that terrifying entities existed deep therein. The entrance almost looked like a mouth ready to swallow up anyone who got close.

There were even faint roars audible from deep inside.

"I heard that there are some bloodbeasts comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage," Zhao Wuchang said. "This place won't be any less dangerous than the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands."

Naruto nodded in response.

More people arrived and joined the waiting group, looking around coldly at their fellow disciples.

Soon it was noon, and everyone who qualified to join the trial by fire had arrived, a total of 37 people.

About that time, bright beams of light rose up into the air from each of the four mountain peaks, which then shot toward the location of the trial by fire.

Coming from Lesser Marsh Peak was a tall, middle-aged man who radiated an aura of blood that caused everything around him to ripple and distort. The faint image of a hand could be seen behind him, a hand that looked very similar to the hand the Blood Stream Sect was built on. Most shocking of all was that the skin of the man's own right hand was covered with what appeared to be faint cracks and crevices. This man was none other than the grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak.

The grand elder from Nameless Peak was a dwarf with short hair and a scarred face. He stood on what appeared to be a black cloud, but was actually a vicious-looking gargoyle that radiated shocking pressure.

Naruto had met the grand elder from Corpse Peak, the seemingly wrinkle-faced old man who actually radiated the life force of a youngster.

Last was the grand elder of Middle Peak, who was the most eye-catching to Naruto. She was an attractive young woman who somehow seemed incredibly mature.

There was only one way to describe her attire: sexy and extraordinarily enticing. She had long, fair legs, and her rear end was so plump and curvaceous that anyone who saw it would do a double-take. Her Daoist robe was so tight on her voluptuous figure that it seemed as if it might pop off at any moment. In addition to all that, she had long, bright-red hair that made her seem like she was on fire.

Although her oval face couldn't be described as beautiful, it was inherently charming, and her eyes almost seemed to be reaching out to seduce anyone who looked into them. Naruto subconsciously sucked in a deep breath, and felt his heart beating rapidly. He quickly looked away and tried not to stare.

"She's the grand elder of Middle Peak? Song Que's aunt, Song Junwan?" Unfortunately, he couldn't hold back from looking at her again, and to his shock, found her staring at him seductively.

She smiled, and Naruto instantly felt his scalp tingling explosively. For some reason, her gaze actually filled him with a sensation of profound danger. He quickly bowed his head.

As soon as he looked down, Song Junwan's eyes flashed. Inwardly, she was actually quite surprised. Of all the people on the Precipice of NeverEnding Blood, Naruto was the only one who had dared to look at her twice. Just as she had been about to punish him for it, he had apparently detected the look in her eye and lowered his head.

As the four grand elders arrived, the disciples all clasped hands in formal greeting.

"Greetings, grand elders!"

Naruto followed along with them, although inwardly he was sighing. Who would have guessed that the grand elder of Middle Peak would be a vixen like her? And to think that he had to get into her immortal's cave to get the relic of eternal indestructibility. It almost seemed impossible at this point.

"According to my plan," he thought, "I eventually have to take her position as grand elder of Middle Peak."

Even as he sighed inwardly, Grand Elder Song Junwan said, "You are all people who failed in the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands. According to sect rules, you should have been punished, but after some discussion with the sect leader, we grand elders agreed to allow you another trial by fire.

"Foundation Establishment Pills can be used to reach Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment. As for the success rate, it varies. Some people only need one pill, others might need two or three. There was even once when a disciple needed six of them to succeed!" With that, she pulled out a medicinal pill bottle, and then smiled in an extremely enticing fashion. It was a somewhat wicked smile, but that didn't make it any less beautiful. In fact, in some ways it made her even more attractive. After all, even roses have thorns. "Within this pill bottle are ten Foundation Establishment Pills."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she threw the pill bottle into the Pit of Never-Ending Blood.

"Let the fighting begin. You have one month, after which you will be extracted from the pit. Those who succeed in reaching Foundation Establishment will become Dharma protectors of whichever mountain peak you wish!"

—

Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Hogging….

All eyes were locked onto the pill bottle as it disappeared into the depths. Without the slightest hesitation, the entire group instantly transformed into beams of light that shot after it.

"I'm definitely going to earn the right to reach Foundation

Establishment!"

"I failed once, but I'm not going to fail again. I'm going to reach

Foundation Establishment!"

"We're allowed to kill people in this trial by fire, so anybody who tries to stop me from reaching Foundation Establishment will die!"

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Within the blink of an eye, all of the disciples disappeared into the pit, eyes bloodshot, ready to fight to the death.

Naruto was in the group, his eyes glued to the falling pill bottle. Once inside the pit, the blood Chakra inside of him surged, and he picked up speed. Almost instantly, he was in the front of the pack, along with three other disciples. Moments later, they had already reached the location of the pill bottle.

Of course, Naruto still couldn't use his Foundation Establishment cultivation base. If he did, a mere thought on his part could crush everyone else. But in the Blood Stream Sect, he had learned to exercise the utmost caution at all times, so he only used the power of the Chakra Condensation stage. He also avoided using any of his magical techniques, to further avoid poking any holes in his disguise.

In fact, due to his cultivation of the Undying Heavenly King, he had plenty of blood Chakra inside of him, making him seem no different from any of the other disciples.

Naruto roared as he waved his right hand, unleashing blood Chakra in a powerful attack that spread out in all directions. The other three disciples in the area were forced to defend themselves, and as a result, slowed down significantly.

"Nightcrypt!"

"You got some good fortune in the Foundation Establishment Holy Land and hid it from us, didn't you!? You didn't reach Earthstring Foundation

Establishment, but you still have power that exceeds the tenth level of

Qi Condensation!"

Seeing that Nightcrypt hadn't slowed down at all, the other three immediately joined forces to attack him. The disciples further back didn't seem to have expected this to happen, and yet weren't surprised.

Zhao Wuchang's eyes flashed as he came to the same conclusion as the other disciples, that Nightcrypt had come across some good fortune that gave him access to greater power than before.

Even as Naruto sped toward the pill bottle, he forced some blood to ooze out his mouth to make it looked like he was injured. At the same time, he put a crazed expression on his face. With one final burst, he closed the distance and grabbed the pill bottle. Any of the other disciples in this situation would have broken the bottle open, taken a few pills, then thrown the other ones off to the side to distract the rest of the disciples.

In fact, that was what all of the other disciples assumed would happen.

Even the four grand elders up on the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood also expected the same outcome. None of them were at all surprised to see Naruto break ahead of the pack and grab the bottle. After all, most disciples of the Blood Stream Sect had various trump cards to call upon, so a burst of speed was nothing beyond expectation.

As for the grand elder from Corpse Peak, he had met Nightcrypt before, and currently, his eyes shone with admiration. Of course, were it not for the events of a few months before, he wouldn't have paid much attention to Naruto.

However, what happened next left all four grand elders completely shocked.

Instead of breaking the pill bottle open, Naruto picked up speed and headed further into

the depths of the pit.

"What are you doing, Nightcrypt?!"

"Dammit! I can't believe he's doing this!"

"Nightcrypt, are you looking to die?!" Rumbling sounds could be heard as the enraged crowd chased Naruto down into the depths.

Even as the other disciples' killing intent soared, the four grand elders on the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood exchanged surprised looks. Then, their eyes began to gleam with keen interest.

"He's hogging the pills?" said the grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak, a burly man with a booming voice. His expression was rather ferocious, and yet his eyes gleamed with admiration. "How bold! That's just the type of personality Blood Stream Sect disciples should have. I never paid much attention to this kid before. What a pity he didn't reach Earthstring

Foundation Establishment, otherwise he would have become a major

Chosen!"

Song Junwan covered her mouth as she laughed, suddenly much more deeply impressed by Nightcrypt. "Very interesting. Presumably, many of that group of thirty would love to hog the pills, but he's the first one to actually attempt to pull it off!"

The grand elder from Nameless Peak, the dwarf, chuckled darkly. "He's called Nightcrypt, right? What a good name, and what potential in a disciple. If he really manages to cut off the Foundation Establishment path for the rest of them, then I definitely want him for Nameless Peak."

The grand elder from Corpse Peak laughed heartily. "I remember this kid. He's a pure genius when it comes to refining corpses!"

He completely approved of Naruto's actions.

After the disciples disappeared into the depths, everyone turned to leave.

"I wonder if that hogger Nightcrypt will still be alive a month from now."

"Hey, I already said that if he reaches Foundation Establishment, I want him for Nameless Peak!" Laughing and chatting, the four grand elders left.

Down in the pit, Naruto was racing along at top speed, intentionally causing blood to spray out of his mouth every once in awhile to remind everyone that he was injured. However, he didn't slow down even a bit. Soon he was down near the bottom of the pit, and upon looking around, he found that it really was like a tiny little world. There were mountains rising up in all directions, all of which were covered with blood-colored vegetation.

Off in the distance were some volcanoes that radiated intense heat and powerful rumbling noises.

Furthermore, Naruto could sense numerous dangerous and brutal auras rising up from various locations.

Even as he hovered there feeling proud of himself, the other disciples began to arrive, bursting with murderous auras.

"You want to fight me over these Foundation Establishment Pills?" he shouted. "Dream on!"

"Nightcrypt, it's not right to be so vicious! You can't cut off our path to

Foundation Establishment!"

"How dare you do such a thing. You're dead!"

"Humph! Offending this many people has earned you a death sentence!

And don't even think about trying to hole up somewhere and reach Foundation Establishment! This place isn't very big, and I've been here before, so I can definitely track you down!"

Naruto didn't even look at them. As numerous magical techniques rumbled through the air toward him, he sped toward the region with the volcanoes. The Pit of Never-Ending Blood wasn't just used for Foundation Establishment trials by fire. Disciples would also come here on missions to harvest four-leaf clovers.

However, when going out on missions, the sect would make sure that the area wasn't too dangerous. As long as one was careful, one wouldn't face any mortal danger. In fact, imposter Nightcrypt had even come here, and was relatively familiar with the area.

"The four-leaf clovers are in the volcano region…." Eyes glittering, Naruto sped toward the nearest volcano and vanished into a tunnel without even pausing.

Even as he did, the other disciples closed in, enraged, roiling with murderous auras as they chased after him.

Naruto picked up speed as he flew through the countless passages and tunnels that riddled the ground underneath the volcano region. The area was almost like a huge maze.

Because of that, none of the pursuers had any idea where exactly he was, which enraged them even more.

—

Chapter 194

Chapter 194

Chapter 194: What Gall!

They only had one month to track down Naruto and get the Foundation Establishment Pills, otherwise they would be failures yet again. The mere thought of it was already driving them crazy.

Their hatred of Naruto had already reached indescribably towering heights.

"Don't be so selfish, Nightcrypt!"

"In the Blood Stream Sect, the law of the jungle prevails, and we succeed by climbing a mountain of corpses. But you can't be this selfish!"

"There are ten Foundation Establishment Pills. Can't you at least spare one for somebody else!?"

"Hiding in the volcano region won't do you any good. The maze isn't that big. We'll find you eventually!"

Even as everyone's killing intent raged, Naruto was searching left and right through the tunnels. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and looked at a crack in the wall up ahead, where a big patch of three-leaf clovers could be seen.

There in the middle of them all was a single four-leaf clover!

He immediately walked forward and picked it. Examining it closely, his face lit up with excitement.

"There really are four-leaf clovers here! Hahaha! I can finally perform fourfold spirit enhancements!" After putting the four-leaf clover into his bag of holding, he excitedly proceeded along through the maze. By this point, he'd forgotten completely about the Foundation Establishment Pills and was completely focused on finding four-leaf clovers.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye. Naruto would occasionally run into someone in the maze, but was always able to lose them easily, and would then continue hunting for four-leaf clovers.

He also ran into some bloodbeasts. He spent a bit of time observing them, and quickly realized that they were fascinating. However, they were easy to avoid as he searched for four-leaf clovers.

Another three days went by. Eventually, he found a place where a large number of passages all converged. It was a huge chasm, several kilometers wide and filled with enormous mushrooms. The smallest mushrooms were as tall as a person, and the largest were fully 30 meters tall.

The mushrooms were a very strange color, and almost translucent. They were also gently swaying in unison. Blood-colored three-leaf clovers could be seen on the ground below the mushrooms. Upon closer examination, Naruto found that interspersed among them were occasional four-leaf clovers.

"Whoa!" he said, his eyes shining brightly. It seemed like a wonderful place, and yet, he hesitated for a moment. Just when he was about to take a step in, his eyes went wide with disbelief, and he began to tremble.

Not too far off in the distance, in the middle of a cluster of mushrooms, chomping on some three-leaf clovers and looking around innocently, was a white rabbit.

Naruto almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was no way he could misidentify this particular rabbit. It was none other than the talking rabbit he had created back in the Spirit Stream Sect!

Naruto suddenly felt like the world had become a very strange place. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that he would see the talking rabbit here. When he went to the north bank, the rabbit appeared there. Then he came here to the Blood Stream Sect, and the rabbit showed up here too.

"I came all the way here, and you're, you're, you're… you're still following me around!?" There was something very, very strange about this rabbit. Thankfully, the rabbit hadn't noticed Naruto. Ignoring all of the countless four-leaf clovers, Naruto carefully backed up toward one of the passages, his heart pounding in fear.

"I must no

t under any circumstances allow it to see me," he murmured. "I can't let it know I'm here. Well, it shouldn't be able to see through my Nightcrypt disguise anyway." Even as Naruto prepared to make his silent escape, a roar echoed out as a huge blood-colored earthworm burst out from further in the depths of the pit and headed directly toward the rabbit.

The rabbit leaped into the air and sped away from the earthworm with unmatchable speed. However, even as it took to flight, the ground exploded as more giant earthworms appeared, all of whom began to chase the rabbit.

The rabbit's ears stuck straight up as it fled, and at the same time, it began to make huffing sounds that apparently were an imitation of the sound of the earthworms burrowing through the ground. Just as the rabbit was about to jump into one of the tunnels, it looked over in surprise at Naruto. Apparently, it recognized him….

When Naruto saw the rabbit looking at him almost like a friend, he felt like his head was going to explode. Without any hesitation, he picked a tunnel and fled in the opposite direction.

"What is going on with that damned rabbit!?" he thought, nearly crying. He truly was afraid of the rabbit.

However, this time, Naruto was overjoyed that he had noticed the rabbit when he did. Otherwise, a slip of the tongue could have led to the entire Blood Stream Sect knowing that he was Naruto. The thought of that left him trembling.

"If they found out, they'd probably cut me into a million little pieces and send me back to the Spirit Stream Sect in a box…." Heart pounding, he reminded himself again that the rabbit was behind him, and that he must not under any circumstances say too much out loud.

"I can't just wander around in the open. With the rabbit in the area, it's too dangerous." He quickly dug a hole into the wall of a nearby tunnel, then crawled inside to hide.

"Ah well, I might as well 'reach Foundation Establishment' now. That will make things much easier." Sighing, he crossed his legs and thought for a moment. Then he pulled out some other random medicinal pills, which he began to compare to the Foundation Establishment Pills. After a moment, his eyes shone with bright light as a new idea occurred to him.

Meanwhile, in other locations in the maze, the other disciples were going mad.

Their eyes were bloodshot as they scoured the tunnels. Ten days had already passed, and they had searched virtually the entire place.

Actually, some of them were very close to where Naruto was located, and were just on the verge of stumbling into him. However, it was at that point that he suddenly burst into the open, speeding away as quickly as possible, and simultaneously releasing a slight Foundation Establishment aura.

All of the disciples were immediately enraged!

"He's breaking through to Foundation Establishment. Get him!"

"No wonder we couldn't find him for the past ten days. He was actually trying to break through. We can't let him succeed!"

Even as they converged to chase him, Naruto sighed and then waved his hand, sending several medicinal pills flying out, all of which emitted the aura of Foundation Establishment Pills. As he tossed them in different directions, he shouted, "Fine, take the Foundation

Establishment Pills. If anybody dares to cause problems for me, I'll wipe out your whole clan after I reach Foundation Establishment!" Bursting with a murderous aura, he then sped off into the distance.

Shocked, the disciples in the area sensed the Foundation Establishment aura on the pills, and quickly scattered to try to get them. Fierce fighting broke out instantly.

The result was that the five strongest disciples got the medicinal pills, and immediately began to flee. Other disciples gave chase, and yet, it only took a moment before howls and curses rose up into the sky.

"Fake! This isn't a Foundation Establishment Pill! Damn that Nightcrypt!

I forgot he could concoct pills!"

"This is fake! It's a real fake!"

"This isn't a Foundation Establishment Pill! It's another pill coated with some dust from a real Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Of course, none of the other disciples were convinced. They continued to fight over the pills that had been abandoned, until everyone saw for themselves that they really were nothing more than ordinary tier-2 pills.

At that point, their hatred for Nightcrypt reached indescribable levels. Obviously, only an apothecary could accomplish something like that, and there were few apothecaries in the Blood Stream Sect.

"Nightcrypt! I'm gonna kill you!" Furious, the disciples searched for another ten days, until everyone was growing gaunt and disheveled.

By now, there were only ten days left, and everyone was nearly collapsing with anxiety. They were fighting amongst themselves, and also fighting the bloodbeasts, and feeling worse as time went by.

Eventually, they found Naruto.

However, to their despair, he emanated a powerful aura of Foundation Establishment!

Sticking his chin up, he waved his sleeve and loftily said, "What gall! How dare you fail to offer greetings to an important Dharma protector like me!"

In the Blood Stream Sect, rankings were strictly adhered to. After reaching Foundation Establishment, one was no longer a disciple. One could select one of the four mountain peaks to live on, and would also be named a Dharma protector. Those who reached Earthstring

Foundation Establishment were even more powerful, and became elders.

Of course, both elders and Dharma protectors were people who the Inner Sect disciples feared. In fact, their lives were completely in the control of such people.

The Blood Stream Sect disciples looked like they might cry at any moment. Despairing, they looked at Naruto flicking his sleeve, and their hearts surged with hatred. Moments ago they had been clamoring about how they wanted to kill him, but now they had no other choice but to bow their heads deferentially.

"Greetings, Dharma Protector Nightcrypt! Greetings!"

"Greetings, Dharma Protector Nightcrypt!"

—

Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Chapter 195: I Pick Big Sis Song's Middle Peak!

Everyone gritted their teeth and bowed their heads as they offered greetings. Naruto was extremely proud of himself, but his expression was solemn. Chuckling darkly, he looked over the group.

Suddenly, Zhao Wuchang gritted his teeth and said, "Dharma Protector Nightcrypt, disciple is willing to give you everything I own in exchange for a single Foundation Establishment Pill…."

Soon, everyone was echoing his words. No fighting broke out; they simply tried to ingratiate themselves to Naruto to get one of the pills for themselves.

To them, Foundation Establishment Pills were indescribably rare. If they lost out on this opportunity, it could be a very long time before they got another chance.

All they needed was one of those pills, and they would be qualified to make an enormous leap upwards. The mere thought of it had them all quivering with anxiety.

A decisive gleam could be seen in Zhao Wuchang's bloodshot eyes. His clan was on the decline, and there were enemy clans who had recently acquired new Foundation Establishment cultivators.

If he didn't reach Foundation Establishment soon, his entire clan could be wiped out, and likely him with it!

With those thoughts on his mind, Zhao Wuchang gritted his teeth, dropped down and kowtowed to Naruto. Then he pushed his finger down onto his forehead, causing blood-colored light to flicker as a drop of blood appeared. Shockingly, that blood actually contained a sliver of his soul!

He was using a secret magic that he had happened upon long ago. Considering the current level of his cultivation base, using it caused a major backlash. Even as the soul blood appeared, his face went pale, and he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. Then he looked up at Naruto, voice hoarse and filled with madness as he said, "Dharma Protector Nightcrypt. If you let me reach Foundation Establishment, I'll be your slave for a sixty-year-cycle!"

All the other disciples gasped, and they looked at Zhao Wuchang with mixed emotions. Although all of them deeply desired a Foundation Establishment Pill, none of them were as decisive as he was.

Their faces sank. None of them had any sort of magic that would let them produce soul blood, but even if they did, they wouldn't use it like this.

Foundation Establishment Pills were rare, but there was no saying that they wouldn't get another opportunity to acquire one on another occasion.

Shaken, Naruto gave Zhao Wuchang a long look, and then glanced at the soul blood. He was no newcomer to the world of cultivation, and had heard of things like this before. After muttering to himself for a moment, he waved his hand, and the soul blood blew over and vanished into the tip of his finger.

A very strange sensation suddenly filled him. He could tell that as of this moment, a mere thought on this part could end Zhao Wuchang's life. It was a terrifying level of control that was actually somewhat similar to his Human Controlling Grand Magic.

After a moment of silence, he somberly said, "Zhao Wuchang!"

His grave expression caused the hearts of all the other disciples to tremble.

Zhao Wuchang looked up, his eyes filled with respect.

"I shall give you one Foundation Establishment Pill, and no more!" Uzumaki

Naruto had his principles. He waved his hand, and a Foundation Establishment Pill flew out to Zhao Wuchang. All the other disciples looked on enviously.

No one would dare to start fighting in front of a Foundation

Establishment cultivator. Trembling, Zhao Wuchang grabbed the pill and then clasped hands and bowed to Naruto. Then he walked forward, sat down cross-legged next to Naruto and consumed the pill.

/p

As soon as it entered his mouth, he began to shake visibly, as if something volcanic were about to erupt inside of him.

Naruto looked at him for a moment, then retracted his gaze.

Inwardly, he sighed. Even in the Spirit Stream Sect, Foundation

Establishment Pills were hard to get. However, in the Blood Stream Sect, they were even more valuable.

Suddenly, he realized that there were many aspects of the cultivation world that were like that.

There was a reason why the Blood Stream Sect was so powerful. Disciples who grew up in an environment like that would end up far stronger than disciples from other sects.

Some people might worry about the disciples' sense of belonging. However, as long as the sect was powerful enough, and did most things in the interest of the sect as a whole, anyone who threatened the rules of the sect would be crushed.

The best thing was not to fight the trend; blend in, and use the rules to your advantage!

Time passed. Just around the time that the one month time limit was over, rumbling sounds emanated out from Zhao Wuchang, and then the aura of Foundation Establishment erupted out. His eyes snapped open, and they shone brightly. His cultivation base was now a spiritual sea, and although it couldn't compare to an Earthstring Foundation Establishment, he did have a strong foundation in the Mortal-Dao level.

The surrounding disciples had complicated expressions on their faces as

Zhao Wuchang rose to his feet. Clasping hands and bowing deeply to Uzumaki

Naruto, he said, "Many thanks, master!"

Naruto nodded. At that point, numerous beams of light descended from above to surround all of the cultivators. Then a powerful gravitational force appeared, and they were hauled upward.

RUMBLE!

They flew up through the air, passing through the blood mist toward the outside. After the light vanished, they unleashed their cultivation bases and flew out of the pit toward the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood, where the four grand elders were waiting. Their gazes swept across the disciples, and came to rest on Naruto and Zhao Wuchang.

Zhao Wuchang stood behind Naruto, looking at him respectfully. At the same time, the four grand elders also focused their attention on Naruto.

Very serious expressions could be seen on their faces. After all, they also had Foundation Establishment cultivation bases, although they were at the peak of the stage. At a single glance, they could see that something strange had happened.

"Nightcrypt enslaved another Foundation Establishment cultivator?" That was what they were all thinking as they exchanged glances. They had been impressed by Naruto last month, and now that feeling was growing.

If he had simply reached Foundation Establishment by himself, that would have been deserving of praise. But he had enslaved another Foundation Establishment cultivator as well. That went to show that although he had selfishly hogged the pills, such behavior wasn't fixed. He could be flexible, to get the best outcome that benefited him.

Such an attitude and such actions fit exactly in line with the principles of the Blood Stream Sect.

The dwarf from Nameless Peak suddenly asked, "Dharma Protector

Nightcrypt, how many Foundation Establishment Pills did you consume?" "Two!" Naruto replied without even a moment of hesitation.

The burly grand elder from Lesser Marsh Peak looked at Naruto, eyes shining with praise. "What do you plan to do with the other Foundation Establishment Pills?"

"Oh, that…." Naruto's heart thumped, and he considered the matter briefly before continuing proudly: "My dream is to become an amazing apothecary. I plan to study the extra Foundation Establishment Pills and see if I can replicate them. One of these days, I'll definitely produce my own Foundation Establishment Pills. Right now, all I can make are tier-2 spirit medicines."

The other disciples looked on with bitter expressions, and the four grand elder seemed shocked. It had been a simple question, but the answer was filled with profound meaning that immediately solidified all of their opinions of Nightcrypt. The four grand elders' hearts began to pound with anticipation.

A Dharma protector who could concoct medicine would be a very important figure, someone that Earthstring Foundation Establishment elders might not even be able to surpass. There were always Earthstring

Foundation Establishment elders, but it was very difficult to get a Foundation Establishment expert of any sort who could concoct medicine.

The grand elder from Corpse Peak immediately regretted being so open with his praise before. At the same time, Song Junwan's heart was pounding as she smiled at Naruto.

"Excellent," said the Corpse Peak grand elder, eyes burning passionately. "Nightcrypt, your work with the emerald zombie shows that you have skill in the Dao of medicine. Why not come over to Corpse Peak!? You are clearly connected to us by destiny!" He had already been shaken by Naruto, but now that he was in the Foundation Establishment stage, he was even more impressive.

"Ah, cut the crap!" said the burly grand elder from Lesser Marsh Peak. "Nightcrypt managed to fight off a whole group of opponents while only in the Chakra Condensation stage. Clearly he's gifted in body refinement. Nightcrypt, come to Lesser Marsh Peak. We cultivate devilblood body refinement! With us, you can truly step onto the path of becoming a powerful expert!"

But then the dwarf from Nameless Peak screeched: "Hey, don't even think of trying to steal him from me. Didn't I say from the beginning that Nightcrypt was coming to Nameless Peak!?"

Song Junwan from Middle Peak tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Eyes glistening, she said, "Junior Brother Nightcrypt, why don't you come to Middle Peak…?"

To see the grand elders fighting over Naruto caused the other disciples to fume bitterly, and sigh in their hearts.

Naruto couldn't help but think about how outstanding he was. No matter how hard he tried to keep a low profile in both the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, he always managed to have people chasing after him.

Vexed at the amazement of his own accomplishments, his eyes suddenly went cloudy, as if with infatuation. Staring at Song Junwan, and blushing slightly, he said, "I… I pick Big Sis Song's Middle Peak!"

Chapter 196

Chapter 196

Chapter 196: A Mysterious World

Naruto's reply immediately caused Zhao Wuchang's heart to tremble. How could this master of his speak with such shocking forwardness…?

All of the other disciples gasped, and then pretended that they hadn't even heard the Middle Peak grand elder be addressed in such a saucy fashion.

Song Junwan's eyes went wide. Her first impression was that Nightcrypt was intentionally being disrespectful, but then she saw the gleam of infatuation in his eyes, and smiled flirtatiously. For some reason, he suddenly seemed even more charming than before.

"Big Sis?!" Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the grand elders from the three other peaks. They looked at Naruto, and then at Song Junwan. Finally, they shook their heads and turned to leave. As for Zhao Wuchang, he chose to go to Lesser Marsh Peak.

Before making his way off, the grand elder from Corpse Peak sighed lamentingly.

He truly felt regret that Naruto had picked Middle Peak, and also wasn't quite willing to lose such an exquisite disciple who was clearly connected to Corpse Peak by destiny. Stepping forward, he produced a jade slip, which he handed to Naruto.

"Nightcrypt, this is my command medallion. If you ever change your mind, bring it to Corpse Peak. We'll always have a Dharma protector spot open for you!"

Naruto took the command medallion graciously, thinking about how wonderfully the Blood Stream Sect was treating him. Although they did things a bit brutally, they truly took good care of him.

"When I cause disasters, they don't punish me, they reward me!" he thought. "The four grand elders even fought over me, and in the end, the Corpse Peak grand elder still has his sights set on me." He sighed again.

As everyone left, Song Junwan of Middle Peak looked Naruto up and down, smiling the entire time. She had a smoking hot body, and as soon as she took a step forward, her milky white thigh was revealed. It was incredibly enticing, and despite the fact that Naruto felt himself to be a person with iron resolve, he couldn't keep from staring. His heart also began to thump in his chest.

Steamily, Song Junwan swayed up to Naruto and reached her fair finger out to stroke his chin. Her crimson lips turned up in a slight smile, and she sighed. "What did you just call me, you little rascal?"

"Big Sis Song…." he replied shyly, his face flushing a bit as her delicate fragrance wafted into his nose.

When she saw him acting in such a way, Song Junwan laughed softly. Lifting her eyebrow slightly, she reached out and put a jade pendant in his hand. Then, she turned sensuously and floated away.

Naruto stood there alone on the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood, holding the jade pendant in his hand, sighing at the lengths to which he had to go to get the relic of eternal indestructibility. He couldn't help but admire himself. Then he thought about the matter of calling Song Junwan Big Sis; next time he met Song Que, he would obviously have the greater seniority.

Even more excited than before, he proudly returned to his immortal's cave. By then it was evening. After arriving, he began to pack his bags in preparation for reporting in to Middle Peak the following morning.

Late in the night, as Naruto was sitting there meditating, moonlight suddenly spilled in through the window, casting a shadow right in front of him. As it did, an unspeakable feeling of dread filled him; it was almost as if an invisible figure were about to take shape in front of him.

His eyes went wide, and his scalp went numb. Even as he watched, his shadow rippled and distorted, almost as if it were made from mist. In the blink of an

eye, it filled the immortal's cave, which went pitch black. It was as if even the moonlight were infected, and had been cut away!

As soon as he saw what was happening, Naruto thought of the mysterious sect that imposter Nightcrypt had mentioned. Naruto had never forgotten the stories of that sect, and at the moment, although his expression remained the same, inwardly he was getting very nervous. He quickly rose to his feet and began to look around the area carefully.

"Imposter Nightcrypt said that over the decades, the mysterious sect only appeared three times. It's been quite some time since their last appearance. Why didn't they ever show up again….?" His heart began to thump in fear; if that mysterious sect saw through his mask, who knew what could happen….

He soon found that within the shadow-wreathed immortal's cave, the ground was rippling, almost as if it were water. Soon, it turned translucent, and Naruto was suddenly out in an illusory world.

At first, it seemed like the world existed underground, but upon closer inspection, Naruto was shocked to realize that it was actually a projection. It was almost as if he were on the other side of a mirror, looking into another location.

That world had mountains and bodies of water, as well as a blue sky dotted with white clouds. Gradually, a white-robed figure appeared, radiating a profoundly ancient aura; for some reason, Naruto immediately knew that this was a powerful expert from that mysterious sect. In that instant, he gained a much deeper understanding of how powerful that mysterious sect was.

"Nightcrypt!" When the white-robed figure spoke into his mind, it was impossible to determine if the voice belonged to a man or a woman. Naruto was already getting nervous, but apparently, the white-robed figure didn't notice that anything was amiss. The figure waved a sleeve, and three medicinal pill bottles appeared, all of them decorated with the mark of a shining moon. They immediately flew toward the translucent ground, as if they were going to pierce through and appear inside the immortal's cave.

The ripples in the floor grew more intense as the pill bottles grew close.

"I sensed the fluctuations of Foundation Establishment coming from you," the figure said. "You succeeded. Excellent. These are the medicinal pills you need. They should get you all the way to mid Foundation Establishment. The cost of sending these pills to you far exceeds the value of the pills themselves.

"Remember, the relic of eternal indestructibility is located beneath the immortal's cave of the grand elder of Middle Peak. It doesn't matter how long it takes; you have to figure out a way to get it." The pill bottles finally pierced their way through the ground and into the immortal's cave. At the same time, the white-robed figure faded away. The floor returned to normal, and the shadows vanished. Once again, moonlight spilled down through the window.

Only a few moments had passed, and Naruto hadn't spoken a single word. However, he was already covered with sweat. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. The strange behavior of this mysterious sect far exceeded anything he could have imagined.

"Just what kind of sect are they?" he thought. From what he could tell, they were so much more powerful than the Blood Stream Sect that the two were beyond compare. Obviously, despite their power, they were located very, very far away.

"Over there, it's actually daytime…." he thought. He reached up and touched the mask he was wearing. The fact that his secret identity remained a secret left him feeling a lot better than before.

"So not even the white-robed emissary noticed that I took the imposter's place? Or did the emissary notice and just not say anything?" After a moment of hesitation, he decided to try to get confirmation from imposter Nightcrypt.

Imposter Nightcrypt felt truly bitter at what had just happened. He had requested these medicinal pill several times, and only now had they finally been delivered. Except, now they belonged to Naruto. After a long moment, he sighed. Not daring to complain, he began to answer Naruto's questions.

In the end, Naruto was left frowning. There really was no way to determine if the white-robed figure had seen through his disguise or not.

"Whatever. There's no use in thinking about it too much. Even if he did notice, he didn't say anything. In that case, we have a mutual understanding. Based on my previous analysis, it seems more likely than ever that they're just putting on a show. Or who knows, maybe he really didn't notice." Naruto shook his head and looked down at the three pill bottles with the shining moon marks. One by one, he opened them all.

Within the medicinal pill bottles were a total of thirty medicinal pills. Upon closer examination, Naruto's eyes went wide.

"They're all superior-grade! Tier-4 spirit medicine!

"What sect is this? They're terrifying!

"I don't even recognize what type of spirit medicine it is! And the medicinal plant ingredients…." After analyzing what he could smell, he was sure that there were dozens of ingredients in the medicine, and yet, he could only identify about half of them.

However, he could assess their efficacy, and was certain that it was just as the white-robed figure had said; these three pill bottles were enough to get a Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator from the early level to the mid level. Of course, they wouldn't be of much use at all to Naruto. After all, he was already in the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment stage.

Although medicinal pills could help him to some degree, what he needed more was refined Heavenspan River water. However, these pills would definitely help him significantly in his concocting.

Naruto spent the whole night in thought. The following morning at dawn, he yawned and put his thoughts regarding the mysterious sect to rest for the moment. Emerging from his immortal's cave, he looked back at the floor for a moment, then flew at top speed toward Middle Peak.

Upon arriving, he looked at the upper half of Middle Peak, stretching at an angle up into the sky. Thinking about how it was really the finger of a giant, he sighed inwardly.

Almost as soon as he arrived at Middle Peak, he ran into a shimmering field of light. Once it sensed the jade pendant he held, it dispersed, allowing him to enter Middle Peak.

Without that jade pendant, he would receive severe punishment for trying to charge onto the mountain. The ranking system of the Blood Stream Sect was strictly enforced, and only Foundation Establishment cultivators were allowed onto the four peaks.

As he proceeded along, he could sense how majestic the mountain was. All of the plants and vegetation were crimson, and there were even blood-colored rivers and streams visible. His Undying Live Forever Technique stirred, and when he looked over at one of the blood-colored waterfalls off in the distance, the sensation of being summoned by the hand grew even stronger.

That summons was stirring his Undying Live Forever Technique, calling out to him, making him feel almost as if he were becoming the giant.

—

Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Secret Magic of Middle Peak!

"Holy Land!" Without even realizing what he was doing, Naruto walked over to the edge of the blood waterfall he'd just spotted, and could immediately sense the powerful blood qi. To him, blood Chakra was very important to replenish his vital energy.

Taking in a deep breath, he felt his spirits lifting, and just when he was about to begin to absorb the blood qi, a sensation of crisis filled him. He immediately backed up, whereupon a boom echoed out from the spot where he had been standing.

A beam of blood-colored light, almost like sword qi, had slashed into that very spot. The surrounding plants and vegetation whipped back and forth from the blast, and a huge furrow was hewn out in the ground.

"Eee?" someone said. Then, a young man strode out from within the blood waterfall. He wore all red, and had an icily cold arrogance to him as he stared at Naruto. "Screw off. You're not allowed in this area!"

Naruto immediately recognized the young man. It was Song Que. Immediately after issuing his command, he turned and walked back into the blood waterfall, where he sat back down cross-legged.

"So, this moron is here," Naruto thought. "Humph. What makes you think you're so special? Back in the Fallen Sword World, you were crying for your mommy and daddy when I beat you up. Just wait until I get famous in the Blood Stream Sect, I'll show you a thing or two. Humph!" Glaring hatefully, Naruto decided that he would definitely find an opportunity to call Song Junwan 'Big Sis' in front of Song Que. That would definitely heap humiliation onto his head! 1

Eyes flickering coldly, he left. He walked along to visit some of the places he noticed that had especially strong blood qi, but every time he got close, someone would attack him and drive him away.

None of them were very polite at all, three of them even attacked him with completely murderous auras. If he hadn't fled fast enough, it seemed likely that he would have been killed.

Naruto grumbled to himself louder and louder at how overbearing these people were. All he wanted to do was breathe in some blood qi, not stake a claim to their territory.

Eventually, he arrived at Middle Peak Pavilion, where newly promoted Dharma protectors were supposed to check in. Waiting there for him was an old man in the late Foundation Establishment stage. After sizing Naruto up, and realizing that he was at Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, a condescending expression appeared on his face, and he took the jade pendant from Naruto. Then he handed him a new identity medallion, along with a crimson jade slip.

"That jade slip contains Middle Peak's secret magic, the Blood

Annihilation World. If you don't understand the cultivation method, you can attend one of the monthly training sessions administered by a prime elder. It costs merit points to ask questions about the Dao, but if you lack merit points, you could always request a personal audience with a prime elder.

"As for your immortal's cave, we have 37 vacancies for Dharma protectors at the moment. Pick any one that you want. If you don't like what you see, and you think you're strong enough, you can simply take an immortal's cave from someone else. Alright, that's it, you can go now." Waving his hand, he closed his eyes to meditate.

It all seemed overly simple to Naruto, who took the two pieces of jade. After sending some divine sense into the medallion, he saw a map of Middle Peak, as well as notations on all the immortal's caves.

Considering it was morning, he decided to simply walk around and take in the sights. By the time evening fell, he'd had a chance to

examine all of the immortal's caves in the Dharma protector district. Taken on their own, they were actually pretty nice, but compared to the other occupied caves, they were quite deficient in terms of blood qi.

However, he had no choice at the moment other than to select the best one he could find, and move in.

Looking around at his new immortal's cave, he had to admit that it was much better than the cave in the Inner Sect. However, he still didn't think it measured up to the Spirit Stream Sect. Having no other options, he sighed and produced the blood-colored jade slip, which he scanned with spiritual power.

"Eee? Use blood Chakra to form a sword, transform it into a world of annihilation? Whether you're injured or you injure someone else, the blood Chakra that spills out will make the blood sword stronger. Now this is a secret magic!" Feeling a bit shocked, he studied the information in more detail, causing his face to flicker with various reactions. In the end, he was even more shocked than he had been at first, and thought back to when Song Que had attacked him with a blood sword in the Fallen Sword World.

"This blood sword is a secret legacy of Middle Peak. On Corpse peak, they refine corpses, on Nameless Peak they raise gargoyles, on Lesser Marsh Peak they have devilblood body refinement, and on Middle Peak, they have this blood sword Annihilation World!" Naruto was shaken, and had to admit that in this regard, the Blood Stream Sect was a bit better than the Spirit Stream Sect. Here, the secret legacy techniques were given out to all qualified disciples to cultivate.

Clearly, the Blood Annihilation World was completely beyond ordinary. After further study, Naruto came across a description of the origin of the blood sword.

"Long ago, one of the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs was studying the enormous hand when he suddenly received some inspiration. He created the blood sword Annihilation World, which was then added to and perfected by further generations. In the end, it became the secret magic of Middle Peak!"

After some more thought and study, he waved his right hand, causing all of his blood to suddenly stop flowing. Blood Chakra rose up from the ground around him, then began to form together into a shape in front of his finger. However, there was clearly not enough blood qi, and even after letting some time pass, there was no clear result.

Frowning, Naruto dispersed the blood qi.

After some more thought, he studied the jade slip a bit more, and performed another test. However, the result was the same. There seemed to be some obstructions of some sort which were preventing a steady flow of blood qi.

"According to this jade slip, the first step in the blood sword is to extract all of the blood Chakra from your body, then transform it into sword qi, right in front of your finger. Then, you use the secret magic to change that foundation of sword Chakra into a blood sword…." He tried one more time, yet failed again.

"Why isn't it working?" After thinking the matter through even more, he abandoned the method described in the jade slip and instead called upon the Undying Live Forever Technique. Instantly, the swirling blood Chakra in the area began to stream toward him and merge into his body.

In the space of a single breath, he then sent that blood Chakra toward the tip of his finger. There, it transformed into sword qi, one-third of a meter long.

It all happened very naturally and without any hindrance whatsoever. If any observer had been able to watch what was happening, they would have been struck mute. In the entire history of the Blood Stream Sect, there had never been a single Chosen who could form blood Chakra into sword Chakra in less than a day. Naruto, despite having used an unorthodox method, had accomplished it in only a few breaths of time.

Naruto examined the sword Chakra at the tip of his finger, and knew that he had succeeded by doing something outside of the box.

"The Blood Annihilation World is incredible, and is obviously a magic designed to control Undying Blood. However, nobody in the Blood Annihilation World has true Undying Blood, so they have to rely on blood qi, which they use to transform their own blood. Obviously, the result is an impure product. That's why it requires extra blood qi, either by injuring someone else, or harming your own body. That's the only way to increase the power.

"Perhaps after a very long period in which your blood is mixed with the blood qi, you might be able to eventually reach the final level of the Undying Codex, which is Undying Blood!

"However, that would be a very, very difficult method. The best thing to do would be to use one's own Undying Blood to produce blood qi, then use that to form the sword qi. With that foundation, the strike of the blood sword would be strong enough to shake heaven and earth!

"Actually, my outside-the-box method wasn't really correct either." Taking a deep breath, he dispersed the sword qi, transforming it back into blood qi, which he absorbed into his body, then fused into his own flesh and blood. A tingling sensation washed through him. Then, instead of going on to practice the Undying Heavenly King, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and used the Blood Annihilation World mnemonic to try to extract the blood qi.

In that instant, his flesh and blood shrank down slightly, and at the same time, blood Chakra emerged!

That blood Chakra came from his Undying Gold Skin and his Undying Heavenly King, which he had carefully developed over time. Now, it was being used to produce blood Chakra that counted as Naruto's personal Undying Blood.

Based on his current cultivation base, it was impossible for Naruto to actually create his own Undying Blood. However, by means of this secret magic, he was actually able to forcibly produce some blood qi.

It was scant, and yet, the summons from the enormous hand seemed to grow more intense as a result. Naruto began to pant as he sent the stream of blood Chakra to the tip of his finger, where it transformed into sword qi!

This was the true Blood Annihilation World, or perhaps, the true Undying Blood sword!

Although it was only a sliver of the real thing, and perhaps couldn't even compare to other Foundation Establishment cultivators, this strand of Undying Blood Chakra was crafted from countless ordinary bits of blood Chakra that had been refined into a state that could crush anything else as easily as dried weeds!

In the instant that sword Chakra appeared, all of the blood Chakra on Middle Peak began to seethe. Countless Foundation Establishment cultivators were shocked, and yet, had no idea what was causing the phenomenon.

Naruto was panting with excitement, never having believed that he would actually succeed.

"This isn't just a trump card, this is something I can use to form Undying

Blood! With this, I should be able to make early contact with the Undying Blood level!" Filled with excitement, he retracted his Undying Blood qi.

As he continued to practice, the days passed by.

—

Chapter 198

Chapter 198

Chapter 198: You're Plotting Against Me!

The days went by, and Naruto settled in as a Dharma protector of Middle Peak. He now learned more of certain matters that had been unclear to him before. For example, the war between the Profound Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect had expanded from small-scale fighting into large-scale warfare.

As for the Blood Stream Sect, they were already making their own preparations for war, and a murderous aura was slowly building up in the entire sect.

"What's with all this fighting and killing?" Uzumaki thought. "Why don't we all just get along and be happy? Wouldn't it be better to just join forces and go to the Middle Reaches together?" Sighing, he continued with his cultivation, and the absorption of blood qi.

When he absorbed blood qi, it wouldn't merely rise up from the ground, but would rush toward him from the entire area outside his immortal's cave.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a top quality immortal's cave, but on the upside, he was in a relatively remote location where nobody else lived. Considering the overbearing way he was taking all the blood qi, nobody else would have been able to properly cultivate nearby.

There were plenty of things to keep him busy. In addition to practicing the blood sword, he worked on his Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, and observed as the Heavenspan River water was gradually absorbed by his first spiritual sea. And then there was his research into the Human Controlling Grand Magic and protomagnetic power. Finally, he was gaining even greater control over his Heavenspan Dharma Eye.

He felt himself getting stronger and stronger every day, and couldn't help but get excited.

"I'm on the verge of reaching the first level of the Undying Heavenly

King! Plus, this blood sword completely suits me! This place is my own Holy Land! I don't ever want to leave!" His cultivation was going along luxuriously. As he absorbed the massive quantities of blood qi, his progress in the first level of the Undying Heavenly King continued rapidly.

However, as he grew more and more powerful with the Undying Heavenly King, and built up more and more Undying Blood qi, the amount of blood Chakra he needed to absorb from his surroundings increased as well.

Before long, the blood Chakra in the area wasn't sufficient for his cultivation. Eventually, it reached the point where after excitedly absorbing all blood Chakra he could, there wasn't enough left to work with. He was forced to wait until the following day for it to build up again.

"This won't work!" he thought. He spent about half a day absorbing the blood Chakra that had built up, but there simply wasn't enough….

Naruto looked around anxiously, then thought about the other areas with stronger blood qi. But then he remembered how vicious the Blood Stream Sect people were, and he started to get angry.

"All the best places are already occupied. Unfortunately, I can't just go over and beat them up. I have to keep a low profile!" Naruto sighed. Seeing how slow his cultivation was going now got him very nervous.

"Well, I don't really have any options. Since I can't cultivate in my own immortal's cave, I'll just have to go outside." Rubbing his forehead, he thought about it a bit more, then decided it was the right thing to do. After waiting until nightfall, he snuck out and picked an immortal's cave not too far away in the forest. After sitting down cross-legged some distance away from it, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

The area twisted and distorted, and then blood Chakra rose up from the ground. He quickly absorbed it into his body, which of course felt wonderful. He quickly unleashed th

e Undying Heavenly King, and when the Undying Blood Chakra felt strong enough, he took in another deep breath. Blood Chakra poured into him, and every part of his body felt like it was rejoicing.

However, with Naruto absorbing the blood qi, the levels in the area dropped noticeably. When it reached about thirty percent of its former level, the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the area noticed, and were both shocked and alarmed.

"What's going on?"

"Why did so much blood Chakra vanish?!"

"Did the area suddenly get haunted or something?"

The seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators in the area all rushed out of their immortal's caves' to investigate, bristling with murderous rage.

When Naruto realized what was happening, he quickly ceased any work with the technique and surreptitiously made his exit. The Foundation Establishment cultivators searched the whole area, but couldn't find anything amiss. Then they sensed the blood Chakra in the area slowly being restored, and they dispersed, suspicious as ever.

Off in the distance, Naruto stood there looking irritated. The people in the Blood Stream Sect really were far too overbearing. He had barely been able to take two breaths before they had burst out of their immortal's caves to investigate.

"So," he said, sighing, "it seems I can't stay in place for very long. At the most, I can take two breaths before leaving!" But then, he suddenly remembered something, and looked around the area vigilantly. After making sure he didn't see any rabbit ears, he breathed a sigh of relief at the bitterness of the life he led. In the future, he would have to be sure to whisper very quietly, and also be very careful.

In any case, he made his decision.

As of this moment, he looked just like he had back in his spirit tail chicken-thieving days in the Spirit Stream Sect.

But then, he realized something didn't seem right. After some more thinking, he started to get mad. "No, no. I'm related to this giant. Therefore, this stuff belongs to me! They're stealing my blood qi!

"Shameless! How dare they steal my blood qi! Well, I'll just have to endure the humiliation. I refuse to butt heads with idiots!" Fuming, he made his way off into the distance to another area. After sensing the levels of blood Chakra in the area, he rotated his cultivation base and turned himself into something like a black hole.

Noiseless rumbling rose up that no one but Naruto could hear. To him, it was like thunder in his brain. The black hole instantly caused all of the blood Chakra in the area to rush toward him. He quickly absorbed it, then hurried off.

Behind him, cries of alarm rose up….

And that was how he spent the entire night….

The Foundation Establishment cultivators on Middle Peak were all left frowning that night. Many of them had been practicing cultivation late into the night, but were then interrupted by a sudden lack of blood qi. Some of them were even hit by backlashes because of being interrupted at critical junctures. Enraged, they rushed out into the night to investigate, but by that time, Naruto was long gone.

Most tragic of all was one particular Foundation Establishment cultivator of some fame, who other people had come to call Master God-Diviner. He had a rather luxurious immortal's cave which was surrounded by blood trees, and also occupied a relatively high position within the sect. That night, he was in the middle of performing a secret magic of augury, something that was dangerous to interrupt, and required a large intake of blood qi.

When he was interrupted, and the intake of blood Chakra ceased, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and instantly withered visibly. His mind was then struck with such intense pain that he screamed and fainted.

When the sun began to rise, Naruto hurried back to this immortal's cave, filled with excitement. He had absorbed so much blood Chakra that not only was he able to resume cultivation, but he could do so even more quickly than before. Once he was back inside, he looked around proudly, and then stuck his chin up. Expression somber, he checked around to make sure the area was rabbit-free, then finally relaxed.

"Hahaha! My wits prevail again! I don't need to go robbing anybody, nor cause any fights. I just take two breaths wherever I go, and nobody's the wiser." Naruto was very pleased. During the day, he worked with the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, the Human Controlling Grand Magic, and protomagnetic power, and when night fell, he snuck out into the shadows, as stealthily as a cat.

This time, he picked a different route. Every place he stopped, he would breathe in deeply two times, then flee to another location, where he would do the same thing.

His speed wasn't that of Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. Despite the powers of disguise provided by the mask, which masked the fluctuations of his cultivation base, he was doing everything else he could think of to avoid being identified as a fraud.

That night, astonished cries of rage rose up all over Middle Peak.

"Dammit! Where did all the blood Chakra go!?"

"What's going on? This is the second night in a row!"

"Something's wrong here!"

The most miserable of all was Master God-Diviner…. He had remained a slight coma for the entire day. When he finally woke up the following night, he looked around, ashen-faced and with bloodshot eyes, his rage burning.

"Who's plotting against me!?" A murderous aura erupted from within him, and his eyes burned with fury. "Whoever you are, plotter, you're dead!"

Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the injuries from the previous night's backlash, then performed an incantation gesture. Instantly, his eyes shone with bright light.

"It's time to divine who exactly you are!" Master God-Diviner was the type of person who would seek revenge over the smallest grievance. He immediately performed auguries and divinations, causing vortexes to appear within his eyes. They spun faster and faster, sucking in a steady flow of blood Chakra from the area.

At that point, a blurry figure appeared in his eyes. Just when Master GodDiviner was about to try to force the figure into focus, the thieving Naruto snuck into the area.

It only took him a moment to breathe in deeply two times, whereupon howls of rage rose up . A tremor ran through Master God-Diviner as the blood Chakra in the area suddenly vanished. The injury he had suppressed earlier flared out of control, and he coughed up another huge mouthful of blood before passing out.

On the evening of the third day, he finally forced his eyes opened. His body was weak, and blood was still oozing out of the corners of his mouth. He knew that he had been seriously injured, and couldn't perform any more auguries for at least a month.

Brimming with rage, he screamed, "I can't believe someone's really plotting against me. I'm gonna tear you to shreds!"

—

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 199 Chapter 199

Chapter 199: Xuemei's Immortal's Cave

Gritting his teeth, Master God-Diviner left his immortal's cave and traded with some fellow sect members to acquire medicinal pills to help his recovery. After hearing the grumblings regarding recent events, he realized that nobody was plotting against him specifically. However, his hatred still simmered. He told the other cultivators that he had divined that this was no natural disaster, but rather, was being perpetrated by a person, who was using some unknown method to absorb the local blood qi.

Master God-Diviner was relatively famous on Middle Peak, so people trusted his explanation. Therefore, the cultivators who had been most adversely affected during the events of the past two nights went out to look for the culprit.

Another two nights passed, but nobody turned up any clues. And yet, the blood qi seemed to be constantly draining away. Killing intent rose up, and soon word began to spread.

"Did you hear about that mysterious cultivator on Middle Peak? Every night he sucks away all of the blood qi from the whole mountain peak!"

"What a psycho! A lot of people have been injured in the middle of their cultivation. Lately, nobody even dares to practice any cultivation at all."

"Who is this guy? Does he have a suicide wish? If people figure out who he is, not even the sect could stop him from getting killed!"

Naruto heard a lot of talk like that during the day, and it scared him so much he decided to rest for a few days. But when his cultivation speed slowed, he got anxious and once again ventured outside.

However, many of the Foundation Establishment cultivators had sworn oaths to catch the culprit. On one occasion, Naruto even joined one of those groups, and joined in on the cursing, trying to look as angry as possible. Because of that, no one suspected him.

Three more days passed, during which Naruto spent his nights trying to find places to absorb blood qi. However, too many Foundation Establishment cultivators were out searching, and he never found a single opportunity.

He spent some more time thinking, and decided that he shouldn't act rashly. A few more days passed, and eventually, the temporary unity of the Foundation Establishment cultivators began to fade. At that point, Naruto set out, humming a little tune as he went about absorbing blood qi.

Sticking his chin up, he waved his sleeve and loftily said, "Hmph! You wanna compete with Naruto? I've got more experience at this kind of thing than anyone!"

He reaped a great harvest that night. At one point, he passed an area that clearly had much stronger blood qi than the other areas. Delighted, he absorbed some of it, but didn't dare to stay long.

And that was how things went for about half a month. When lots of people were out and about, he would stop. When the numbers thinned, he would go out to absorb some blood qi. His blood sword was becoming more and more solid, and the power of his Undying Heavenly King had already reached that of seven mammoths.

"I'm going to hit ten mammoths soon. The first level of my Undying Heavenly King will be finished, and I'll be able to unleash the Mountain Shaking Bash!

"Plus, I can feel that the blood sword is almost completely cultivated!" Naruto was starting to get very excited.

As for the cultivators of Middle Peak, they were going mad. They were already vicious people to begin with, but with the half a month of torment provided by Naruto, their killing intent grew even more pronounced.

Their nights of cultivation during that time were never stable. That was especially true considering that Naruto didn't have a set schedule or route….

The Foundation Establishment cultivators were getting to the point where they couldn't take it anymore. That was especially true of the cultivators who had been tormented by backlashes that left them coughing up blood.

"Who is it?!"

"I'm gonna kill this guy! Dammit! I'm gonna kill him!"

"Is this guy looking to die? Even if my cultivation base is unstable, I'll still skin him alive!"

All of Middle Peak was in an uproar. Never before in their lives had these Foundation Establishment cultivators experienced anything like this, and during the day, everyone walked around with bloodshot, murderous eyes.

Naruto was shocked by what he was seeing. In fact, before he stepped out of his immortal's cave during the day, he would always rub his eyes hard until they turned red. Then, he would make sure to loudly curse the Blood Qi-Thieving Fiend.

Time passed, and none of the Foundation Establishment cultivators gave up on searching for the culprit. Those who were adept at divination and augury did their best to use their powers to uncover who was responsible. But few people were truly skilled in such arts. Master GodDiviner was actually the most famous and skilled, but his injuries made it impossible for him to use his arts. Therefore, all of the lower finger of Middle Peak could do nothing more than stew in fury.

Naruto immediately ceased any activities for a few days. When he came back out, he found that there were actually Foundation

Establishment cultivators patrolling all of the major areas. Apparently, everyone had truly united in rare fashion to deal with the common problem.

Naruto was completely shocked. After walking around for a bit, he finally sighed in resignation. Even as he was dejectedly trying to decide what to do next, he passed a certain area that seemed very quiet, and stopped to look around.

"Nobody's patrolling here?" Blinking, he studied the area cautiously to confirm that no one was in the area. Only then did he remember that this was the location he had passed some time before that had stronger blood qi than usual.

After poking around, he found a seemingly ordinary immortal's cave. He then pulled out a jade slip to check some information, after which his eyes shone brightly.

"How come I never paid attention to this place before? All the immortal's caves in this area are supposed to be empty. I wonder who this place belongs to? Oh well, it won't hurt to take a couple breaths." Licking his lips, he took a deep breath, causing the blood qi in the area to rush toward him. In fact, a huge blast came from the immortal's cave itself. In the end, he got as much blood qi as he would normally get from two or three of the other areas.

"This place is awesome!" Not daring to stay in one place for too long, he quickly left. However, the next night he came back and took two more breaths. He did the same on the third night, and the fourth. To his delight, he found that nothing ever happened, and nobody even went by this particular immortal's cave. Eventually, on the fifth day, he worked up the gumption to take ten breaths.

At long last he was certain that there were no problems, and that nobody was in the immortal's cave. Furthermore, during the day, nobody seemed to care what was happening. And it was the same at night time!

"Hahaha! The heavens do have eyes!" During the night of the sixth day, Naruto showed up early and sat down to do his usual breathing. As of this moment, he was ready to complete the first level of the Undying Heavenly King!

As soon as the technique stirred, the blood qi in the area began to rush toward him. Naruto waved his hand in grand fashion, quickly absorbing the flow of blood qi. Inside the immortal's cave, everything began to rumble noiselessly. Massive amounts of blood qi surged out, pouring into Naruto to fuel the cultivation of the Undying Live Forever Technique. His entire body was sore and tingling, and the buildup of power was very obvious.

Naruto got more excited than ever, and suddenly, he was consumed with the desire to simply absorb as much blood qi as he could, without any regard for safety. It was a huge river flowing into him, making him feel almost like he was becoming an immortal.

The truth was that there really wasn't anybody in the immortal's cave behind Naruto. It wasn't a very large cave, and seemed temporarily unoccupied. The only thing inside of it was a small, bloodcolored bottle.

Sticking out of the top of the bottle was a blood-colored plum blossom. It would only take a glance at it to tell that it was a precious treasure.

Beneath the bottle itself was a glowing red spell formation, with the bottle being located at the very center of it.

Closer examination would reveal that there was a small aperture in the very center of the formation, which the bottle fit into perfectly!

The blood bottle contained boundless blood qi, so much that it had formed a liquid, which now filled most of the little bottle.

As Naruto absorbed the blood qi, the liquid in the bottle was rapidly draining.

In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, thirty percent of the liquid in the bottle drained away. Even as Naruto excitedly absorbed the blood qi, something else happened in another location in the Blood Stream Sect. Somewhere on Ancestor Peak, there was a blood lake that was surrounded by plum blossoms. It looked like a celestial paradise.

Next to the lake was an immortal's cave with a large, green door that emanated powerful pressure. Engraved on the surface of the door was a single, blood-colored plum blossom.

Inside, the immortal's cave was lavishly decorated. Glowing pearls served as lamps, and everything was adorned with spirit stones. In the middle of the immortal's cave, a young woman sat cross-legged in meditation, wearing a blood-colored mask. This young woman was none other than Xuemei!

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and frowned.

"What happened? Why has there been such a shocking reduction in the blood qi in my blood bottle on Middle Peak?!"

The immortal's cave where Naruto was absorbing blood qi was Xuemei's official residence on Middle Peak, although she rarely went there. She normally resided on Ancestor Peak. As for the Middle Peak immortal's cave, it was a strange place; her father, Patriarch Limitless, had noticed the place's uniqueness years ago, and had set up a spell formation that made the blood qi there even stronger, far stronger than anywhere else on the lower finger of Middle Peak.

Because of that, she had left a treasured blood bottle there which would slowly absorb the blood qi. Ten years had already passed, and it was almost full. When it was, she could begin to cultivate a certain secret magic of the sect.

Because the blood bottle was connected to her mind, she could sense what was happening to it. Occasionally, it would naturally lose a bit of its blood qi, so she hadn't paid much attention to what had happened over the past few days. But the shocking reduction from just now was occurring much too quickly. In almost the blink of an eye, forty percent of the liquid which had built up was gone.

Xuemei instantly started to get anxious. Her phoenix-like eyes flashing with anger, she rose to her feet and transformed into a beam of light that rumbled through the night, heading from Ancestor Peak toward Middle Peak!

"I need to see for myself what's causing this sudden reduction!"

Chapter 200 Chapter 200

Chapter 200: Young Lady Xuemei, What A Coincidence…

Xuemei became a beam of light that shot through the night at astonishing speed, whistling through the air toward Middle Peak. Almost instantly, Middle Peak filled with echoing rumbles.

Xuemei had always been a very domineering figure in the sect. That was simply how she acted, and others had always accepted that since her father was Patriarch Limitless.

Xuemei had come to realize that years ago, and thus, always did everything in intentionally overbearing fashion. As she arrived, the rumbling in the lower finger of Middle Peak caused all of the Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors and elders to emerge from their immortal's caves. Shocked, they looked up to see Xuemei flying through the air.

She whistled along, just barely visible within the blood-colored light that surrounded her. Anyone who looked closely might be able to see her eyes beneath her blood-colored mask, flickering with cold arrogance!

Everyone was instantly shaken.

"I can't believe Young Lady Xuemei has returned to Middle Peak!"

"Technically, she's an elder of Middle Peak, but she doesn't get along with Grand Elder Song Junwan, so she almost never appears here!" "Eee? Where is she headed…?"

As people turned to look in the direction she was flying, they realized that there was a large accumulation of blood qi there. In fact, much of the blood qi on the mountain peak seemed to be slowly moving in that direction, causing a blood-colored light to illuminate the sky.

All of the Foundation Establishment cultivators' eyes flickered.

"That's where Young Lady Xuemei's immortal's cave is. The blood qi…."

"Could it be that Young Lady Xuemei has produced some valuable treasure?!"

Everyone had their own speculations as they flew up into the air and headed toward the immortal's cave.

At the moment, Naruto was in the middle of absorbing the blood qi from inside the immortal's cave. As he did, his Undying Live Forever Technique rapidly built up power. His fleshly body grew stronger, and although he looked the same physically, he was getting more powerful by the moment.

"The first level of the Undying Heavenly King, ten mammoths Berserk Ghost Body!" Naruto excitedly focused on the sensation of his physical body getting explosively more powerful.

Eight mammoths. Nine mammoths. Soon, he had reached the power level of ten mammoths!

Naruto's mind filled with rumbling sounds, and cracking sounds rose up that only he could hear.

At the same time, his flesh and blood exploded with tingling pain, almost as if freezing water were rushing through him. His body shook as the feeling spread out, filling him completely. He subconsciously took in another breath, and the tingling pain began to retract, slowly concentrating on one location in the pit of his stomach!

There, it transformed into a boundless energy!

That energy was formed from the intense trembling which wracked his entire body. At the same time, his flesh and blood became a vortex which madly sucked in all of the blood qi in the immortal's cave!

The blood qi raced toward him like stampeding horses; even the blood qi outside of the immortal's cave began to rumble toward him!

Naruto was shaken, and even as he felt himself getting more and more powerful, a sensation of foreboding suddenly rose up in his heart.

In the past, he had always controlled himself, and only absorbed a small amount of local blood qi. Moments ago, he had been attempting to absorb only the blood qi in the immortal's cave, which would have prevented any blood-colored light from rising into the air, thus making

it very difficult for anyone to detect him.

But now, the ten mammoths Berserk Ghost Body of the Undying Heavenly King had formed, and he had lost control. His body became a vortex, sucking in all of the blood qi, and causing blood-colored light to shine up visibly into the sky.

He tried to stop it from happening, but was too late. As his body transformed, blood qi poured into him, and rumbling sounds echoed out in his mind. His body continued to tremble harder and harder, and his strength rose explosively.

Soon, the power solidified. The strength of ten mammoths formed the Berserk Ghost Body!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Naruto's eyes opened wide, and the image of a berserk ghost appeared behind him. Although it was blurry, that was only because it was still in the process of taking shape. Within a few months, it would be incredibly clear.

A sense of limitless power filled every inch of him, and yet, there was no time for him to revel in any excitement. He knew that the blood-colored light shining up into the air would surely attract attention.

"The Blood Stream Sect people are too domineering! You even have to walk on eggshells when simply practicing cultivation!" He was really starting to get nervous, and was well aware that plenty of people in the Blood Stream Sect hated him already. If they found him here, they would be murderously enraged, and the consequences were too horrible to even contemplate.

Just when he was about to flee, a beam of blood-colored light appeared, shooting down toward his location like lightning.

In the blink of an eye, a young woman appeared in front of Naruto. She wore a blood-colored gown and a mask of the same color, decorated with the image of a plum blossom.

Xuemei looked into the immortal's cave with a blank expression. Never could she have imagined that someone in the Blood Stream Sect would dare to trifle with her.

The mere idea of someone practicing cultivation right at the doorstep of her immortal's cave was completely outrageous, and she didn't know how to react. She couldn't even think of anyone in the Lower Reaches of the cultivation world who would have the gall to do such a thing….

She could sense that the blood bottle in her immortal's cave was already empty, and in fact, the blood qi had been drained from it so completely that the bottle was on the verge of shattering.

That bottle had been at work for more than ten years, but had been completely drained in a single night. Even as she stood there, trembling and panting, the last bit of blood qi left the immortal's cave and entered Naruto.

Xuemei's phoenix-like eyes radiated murderous coldness as she turned to look at him.

"Young Lady Xuemei, what a coincidence…." Naruto said, feeling a bit guilty. Seeing how furious she was, his first thought was to say that he was just passing by. However, all of the blood qi in the area was still rushing toward him because of his effort to reach the first level of the Undying Heavenly King, and there was nothing he could do to stop that. On the verge of tears, he could think of nothing else to do but change the topic.

"This is your immortal's cave? Why don't we talk things over, I can compensate you…." Before he could say anything else, numerous figures appeared, which were the Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors and elders of Middle Peak's lower finger. It only took a moment for them to sense the lowered levels of blood qi in the area, and see the strands of blood qi streaming into Naruto.

As they realized the implications of what they were seeing, they looked at Naruto with murderous glares.

"It was Nightcrypt! He's the reason why the blood qi has been in decline for the past few days…."

"You're the reason why I got hit by so many backlashes recently!"

"So this guy did it! Dammit, it was definitely him!"

As their murderous gazes fell onto Naruto, he began to shiver.

"Um, hey there Brothers and Sisters. We're all on the same side here, how about I provide some compensation…?" Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he prepared to offer an explanation. Before he could, Xuemei lifted her chin, waved her sleeve, and pointed directly at Naruto.

"Kill him," she said, her voice as cold as ice. She only spoke two words, but from those words it was possible to tell how coldly arrogant she was. It was almost like she had just ordered the death of an ant.

When the surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators heard her words, their killing intent spiked. Part of that was because of their trust in Xuemei's ability to protect them, and part of it was because they had been driven mad because of the blood qi recently.

Now that they knew who was responsible, how could they not want to kill him? In fact, even if Naruto wasn't actually responsible, he had to be connected to the matter in some way.

Almost as soon as the words left Xuemei's mouth, the entire group attacked at the same time. In the blink of an eye, numerous divine abilities and magical techniques appeared. Countless streams of bloodcolored sword sword qi all shot toward Naruto.

Seeing himself being attacked by a whole group of Foundation

Establishment cultivators left Naruto's scalp tingling so hard it felt like it would explode. Even with the first level of the Undying Heavenly King, he could do nothing but flee in the face of such an attack.

"You people are all bullies!" he shouted defiantly. "If you think you're tough, why don't you fight me one-on-one!?"

Naruto was already scared witless; clearly these people really were trying to kill him!

"Outrageous! It's just a bit of blood qi, isn't it? I'm a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Blood Stream Sect! I can't believe you people are trying to kill me! Are you trying to force me out of the sect!?" Trembling and screaming, he sped away from the countless divine abilities and magical techniques. In his mind, Xuemei really was being too domineering; he'd even offered compensation, but all she did was wave her sleeve and stick her chin up into the air. That was his trademark!

Booms filled the darkness of night as the entire lower finger of Middle Peak erupted into chaos. Numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators all flew after Naruto, killing intent raging.

However, Naruto sped along as fast as a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.

"They're trying to kill me! Help…." Feeling completely maligned, he picked up speed as more and more people joined the chase.

The only one who didn't was Xuemei. Gritting her teeth, she walked into her immortal's cave to examine the blood bottle. After a moment, she suppressed her killing intent and adjusted the spell formation to make sure that the bottle wouldn't break because of the lack of blood qi.

Meanwhile, the entire lower finger was in an uproar, and Naruto's screams rose up into the air, joined by shouts of rage.

"How can this guy run so fast!?"

"I'm going to cut him into a million pieces!"

"Nightcrypt, I, Master God-Diviner, won't stop until you're dead!"

Despite how the Foundation Establishment cultivators gave chase, Naruto was too fast, and Middle Peak was too big. He raced back and forth for a full two hours, until he finally managed to shake all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"He's hiding somewhere!"

"Yeah, but he can't hide forever…."

"Don't worry, I, Master God-Diviner, might be injured, but I can still take the risk to divine his location!" Gritting his teeth, Master God-Diviner snorted coldly and began the process of divining Naruto's location.

After a moment passed, his eyes turned even more bloodshot than before, and he suddenly pointed off into the distance. As he did, a bloodcolored butterfly flew out of the tip of his finger, which the enraged crowd began to follow.

At the moment, Naruto was hiding in a relatively remote immortal's cave, scowling and sighing.

"I didn't know that was Xuemei's immortal's cave! I thought it was vacant, and just didn't want it to go to waste. I didn't do it on purpose." He wanted to fight back, but considering how many people were angry at him, he knew he couldn't. It was at that point that a blood-colored butterfly suddenly appeared in front of him. Without any hesitation, he burst off at top speed.

As he did, the space where he had just been standing was blasted by countless magical techniques and divine abilities. If he had been even a bit slower, he would definitely have been injured.

Numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators were in the area, and although some of them were of a mind to block his path, he was too quick, and sped away.

Once again, another big chase ensued on Middle Peak.

An hour later, and the crowd had once again lost him. Master GodDiviner's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and a bloodcolored butterfly once again sought out Naruto.

"Nightcrypt won't escape. How could he possibly evade my divination magic!"

Over and over again, Naruto came to find that no matter where he hid, the blood-colored butterfly would find him, and the enraged Foundation Establishment cultivators would be close behind.

Eventually, he heard Master God-Diviner speaking, and realized that it was his auguries that were revealing his location. That left Naruto grumbling in frustration, and yet, there was nothing he could do about it. Although imposter Nightcrypt had studied some divination magic before, he was a novice, and had no idea how to deal with Master God-Diviner.

"These people are all villains! The Spirit Stream Sect is way better. Even with lightning and acid raid, all they did was throw some rocks. But here, the tiniest things gets them all fighting and killing! What bullies!" Sighing, Naruto thought about how much he missed the Spirit Stream Sect.

—

Chapter 201 Chapter 201

Chapter 201: I, Naruto….

Dawn was approaching, and even as Naruto crept along cautiously, thinking about possibly leaving Middle Peak, a blood-colored butterfly appeared right in front of him.

His eyelids twitched, and without any hesitation, he leapt off in another direction. Booms rang out, along with numerous cold snorts.

"You think you can flee Middle Peak!? Impossible!"

"Nightcrypt, Young Lady Xuemei ordered you dead! Since she's going to take responsibility, there's no way you'll escape!"

The Foundation Establishment cultivators' killing intent surged, and the light of magical items rose into the sky as everyone attacked Naruto.

Seeing that he was surrounded and incapable of fleeing, Naruto gritted his teeth; by now his eyes were completely bloodshot.

"You people push things too far!" he said, letting out a powerful roar. At the same time, the Mountain Shaking Bash appeared in his mind, a divine ability that could be unleashed after reaching the first level of the Undying Heavenly King. Before, he hadn't been able to use it, but considering his recent accomplishments, he decided he might as well utilize it.

"I can't use techniques from the Spirit Stream Sect. But since these people are trying to kill me, I can try to kill them! Unfortunately, I'm all alone, which puts me at a pretty big disadvantage…." Despite how he was roaring at the top of his lungs, he was actually thinking of how to escape. Suddenly, his flesh and blood quivered, and he unleashed explosive power.

That explosion was a convergence of all the power he had at his disposal, transformed into a bashing attack that could crush anything in its path.

Blood-colored light emanated from Naruto, and rumbling sounds could be heard as he barrelled forward. He vanished into a blur, and then, one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had just been about to launch a divine ability let out a miserable shriek. Naruto bashed into him, along with three other nearby Foundation

Establishment cultivators. It almost looked as if the group of four was one person.

Naruto's bashing attack caused them all to cough up mouthfuls of blood. They tumbled backward through the air, looks of shock and fear appearing on their faces. They landed 300 meters away, where they coughed up more blood and forcibly shook off the power of the attack that had just hit them.

Everyone else in the area gasped at the way Naruto had opened a path for himself. In the blink of an eye, he was off of Middle Peak, much to the shock of everyone present.

"I can't believe this Nightcrypt is so strong!"

"Is he really in early Foundation Establishment?"

"He just bashed Elder Brother Zhou, and he's in mid Foundation

Establishment!"

"Who would have thought we would offend someone like that? Well, we can't let him escape. Young Lady Xuemei said that he must die!" Everyone exchanged glances, and then Master God-Diviner gritted his teeth and gave chase. A moment later, the rest of the dozens of cultivators joined him.

A whole line of people raced after Naruto as he sped through the Blood Stream Sect. When he looked back and saw them, he got even angrier than before, and finally gritted his teeth.

"I'll go to Corpse Peak! The grand elder there likes me, and according to sect rules, the people from Middle Peak don't have any authority on another mountain peak!" Eyes flashing with determination, he turned his head and then pointed at the Middle Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"If you people think you're tough, you'd better keep chasing your Lord Nightcrypt!

Anybody that doesn't chase me is a wuss!" His words caused the killing intent in their eyes to grow even more focused, and they chased him with greater speed than before.

However, none of them were a match for Naruto's speed as he headed toward Corpse Peak.

As soon as he arrived, he waved his hand and produced a jade pendant, which emanated fluctuations that let him pass right through the protective spell formation and onto Corpse Peak itself. The people from Middle Peak didn't have such qualifications, and were prevented from entering.

"Nightcrypt!" Gritting their teeth, they could only glare in rage at Naruto.

Naruto stopped in place, stuck his chin up and then looked at the group standing outside of Corpse Peak.

"Come on! I'm standing right here waiting for you. Bring it on! Let's fight to the death!" His wording was very domineering and arrogant, causing the Foundation Establishment cultivators' killing intent to intensify. However, there was nothing they could do. Unless they had a special command medallion, they couldn't enter Corpse Peak without requesting special permission.

"Ai. Well if you don't dare to fight me to the death, I guess there's nothing left to do." Shaking his head, he flicked his sleeve, ignoring them as he headed up Corpse Peak.

Of course, the higher ranking leaders of the Blood Stream Sect saw what was happening, but didn't interfere. In fact, some of the prime elders on Ancestor Peak found the whole thing very amusing.

"It's been a long time since we've had a good commotion in the sect.

That bashing attack looks similar to the things they do on Lesser Marsh Peak."

"That kid Nightcrypt is pretty amusing. I can't believe he got so many people to chase him!"

"Not bad, not bad. I'm a bit surprised he fled to Corpse Peak. If the kid stays alive, he might become another Chosen in the Blood Stream Sect."

Naruto sped along on Corpse Peak. Whenever he encountered local Dharma protectors, he would show them his jade pendant. After looking at it for a moment, they would ignore him.

Eventually, he reached the upper finger, passing quite a few corpse refineries on the way. Overall, Corpse Peak was filled with quite a sinister air.

Thankfully, he had his jade pendant, otherwise it would have been a very dangerous situation. Soon he was standing outside of the immortal's cave belonging to Corpse Peak's grand elder.

"Nightcrypt seeks an audience with the grand elder of Corpse Peak," he said loudly, clasping hands and bowing. A moment later, the door opened and two attendants appeared.

After seeing it was Naruto, they motioned for him to follow.

It only took a moment for Naruto to identify the two young servants as refined corpses. Heart pounding with nervousness, he took a deep breath and momentarily considered fleeing. But then, he put a respectful expression onto his face and entered the immortal's cave.

Before long, he was standing in front of the cross-legged grand elder.

He looked at Naruto, smiling, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. He had also been watching the case play out earlier.

"What do you think? Corpse Peak is far superior, don't you think? Didn't I say before that you should pick us? We have everything you could need. Besides, Middle Peak is completely out of control."

Standing behind the grand elder was a pretty young woman with an expressionless face, who was currently massaging his shoulders. Naruto instantly identified her as another refined corpse, and a highlevel one at that.

Strangely, Naruto couldn't see a single hair on her head, making him wonder if perhaps she had hair growing elsewhere. Although he was curious to know the truth, he didn't dare to ask any questions.

"Those people are outrageous," he said in response to the grand elder's words. "I was just working on one of my techniques, and they wanted to stop me. They even tried to kill me! If I hadn't run fast enough, I might have lost my poor little life!"

The grand elder laughed heartily. "That's just how we do things in the Blood Stream Sect. They wouldn't really have killed you, just severely injured you. Although, I have to say, it's not very often you see someone in the Blood Stream Sect get so many people to chase them.

"You little brat! A single glance is all I need to see what a little devil you are. Well, in any case, just stay here on Corpse Peak. There's no need to even go back to Middle Peak." The more the grand elder saw of Naruto, the more he liked him.

Naruto was very moved by how well the grand elder of Corpse Peak treated him. He didn't even need to ask for what he wanted: the grand elder took the initiative to give it to him! Taking a deep breath, he quickly nodded.

After a moment of thought, the grand elder looked at Naruto and in a very serious tone said, "By the way, those Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors don't matter. But you can't provoke Xuemei. She has a powerful background. Just stay out of her way and do not aggravate her under any circumstances."

Naruto was a bit irritated about that. If he didn't have to keep a low profile and conceal his true identity, he would point out that he was a Prestige disciple of the Spirit Stream Sect, the legacy echelondesignate, and a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert. Any one of those would be enough to shock the wench Xuemei so badly her mask would fall off.

"Hmph. She has a powerful background?" he grumbled inwardly. "My background is terrifying even to me!" With that he stood up a bit straighter, making himself look even more haughty than before.

The grand elder could see that Naruto was a bit irritated. Chuckling, he went on to explain to Naruto about some of the medicinal incense that was used in corpse refining. It was only when night fell that he let him go and told him to go do some research of his own, after which one of the attendants took him to an immortal's cave on the lower finger. Naruto was very moved. Life on Corpse Peak was already much better than Middle Peak.

Two months went by, and Naruto never left Corpse Peak. He continued to practice his cultivation and absorb blood qi.

As he became more and more familiar with the practice of converging blood qi, he built up more and more Undying Sword Qi. Now, when the blood qi spread outside of him, it would form the outline of a large sword, and quite rapidly at that.

Of course, the amount of blood qi he required only grew. By this point, though, he didn't need to go out and about to get what he needed. He could simply remain in his immortal's cave and draw the blood qi toward him.

Eventually, the Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors on the lower finger frowned as they realized what was happening. Although there was no sudden reduction, the gradual reduction of blood qi in the area reduced their cultivation speed.

Soon, their patience began to grow thin, and their killing intent began to increase. Such feelings spread until even Naruto became aware of it. Whenever he went out, his heart would pound because of the malevolent glares leveled at him. He suddenly had the feeling that if he did even the slightest thing wrong, their killing intent would explode in the form of action.

"These people are terrifying! Even saying a wrong word will cause them all to attack. They have no patience at all….

"I should probably just leave…." He spent two more nervous months on

Corpse Peak before coming to the conclusion that matters on Middle Peak had most likely calmed down. One night when no one was paying attention, he slipped away from Corpse Peak and headed back to his immortal's cave on Middle Peak.

There, he carefully began to practice cultivation. He was careful not to absorb too much blood qi, which caused his progress to slow. However, considering that he was on the verge of a major breakthrough with the blood sword, he could deal with the slight reduction in speed.

Another half month passed. One day, Naruto was sitting there with eyes closed as he cultivated the blood sword, when all of a sudden, he made a breakthrough with the Blood Annihilation World!

His eyes snapped open, and he took a deep breath. Eyes shining brightly, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and he waved his finger out in front of him!

"Blood Annihilation World!" As his voice echoed out, the blood qi around him seethed. Blood qi also erupted out from inside of him, transforming into a blood mist that filled the immortal's cave.

As it swirled, Naruto's double handed incantation transformed, and a piercing wind swept through the room, accompanied by cracking sounds.

Soon, the mist began to converge together, transforming into the tip of a sword. Blood qi swirled from the tip down, quickly forming the blade, and then the hilt!

In the end, it was a complete, blood-colored sword!

It was bright red, and seemed strong enough to cut anything in its path. It radiated an ancient pressure that shook the soul; anyone who looked at it would feel like they were wading in a sea of blood. From what Naruto could tell, its power exceeded that of early Foundation Establishment.

In fact, he was sure that if he fueled it with Heaven-Dao power, even mid Foundation Establishments cultivators would be shocked at the sight.

"It worked!" he said, laughing out loud. The sight of the enormous blood sword filled him with excitement, and convinced him that his months of hard work were worth it.

"I, Naruto–" He instantly closed his mouth. Slowly turning his head, his eyes went wide as he looked at something in the corner of the immortal's cave.

Then, he began to sweat.

—

Chapter 202 Chapter 202

Chapter 202: The Rabbit Gets Nervous!

Naruto was certain that he had just looked over at that corner and seen nothing, but now, there was a rabbit standing there….

Even more frightening was that the rabbit's ears were clearly pointed directly at Naruto as if it had been listening to him just now. Most terrifying of all was that the rabbit was staring directly at him.

From the look in its eyes, it was waiting for him to finish his sentence….

He and the rabbit stared at each other for a moment, and then the rabbit burst into motion, speeding toward the main entrance of the immortal's cave. Naruto shouted and leaped to block its path, but the rabbit was too fast.

Naruto could only stare with wide eyes as it vanished out the door.

By this point he felt like he was about to go crazy. He knew that he could very well lose his head over this. If the talking rabbit said the wrong thing, and people found out he was Naruto, he would definitely be killed….

Although he'd only spoken half of a sentence, that half sentence was very dangerous, and he didn't even dare to think of what the consequences might be. Sweat began to drip down his face and neck. He almost considered staying inside and just letting the rabbit say what it wanted. He could scarcely believe that, despite how careful he had been, and how often he had checked his surroundings, the rabbit would manage to show up so unexpectedly. He wasn't even sure how much of what he'd said it had heard.

"I'm gonna kill you!" he cried, bursting out of his immortal's cave. However, even as he emerged, he saw the talking rabbit standing on top of a nearby tree, speaking.

"Nightcrypt, you two-timer. Did you forget our pledge of undying love? Did you forget our affection for each other? Why did you change so much…?"

The talking rabbit's voice was quite loud, and echoed out in all directions, causing quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators to look over in shock.

Naruto's jaw dropped. He wasn't sure who might have said such a thing, but he was now certain that the rabbit had been following him around for quite a while. Spine tingling in fear, he howled, throwing all caution to the wind. Instantly, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he pointed out, causing blood qi to transform into sword qi that sped toward the rabbit.

It was no ordinary sword qi, it was Naruto's Undying Sword Qi, and as soon as he unleashed it, the blood qi in the area was thrown into chaos. At the same time, the sword qi sped through the air, slashing into the tree and completely destroying it. In the nick of time, the rabbit flew out of the tree and sped off in the opposite direction.

"Outrageous!" the rabbit bellowed as it raced along. "It's just a bit of blood qi, isn't it? I'm a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Blood Stream Sect! I can't believe you people are trying to kill me! Are you trying to get me to leave the sect!?"

Bellowing, Naruto flew after it, unleashing another blast of sword qi, which slammed into a blood cistern that the rabbit was passing, destroying it.

"Hmmmphhh! If I absorb this blood qi secretly, nobody will ever realize it was me….

"Eee? It looks like this immortal's cave is vacant….

"They're trying to kill me. They're trying to kill me!"

The rabbit continue to spit out lines of dialogue as it ran along. At the same time, rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto chased after it, unleashing one blast of sword qi after another, destroying everything around the rabbit.

The plants and trees were slashed to pieces, and even

buildings were destroyed. Middle Peak was instantly thrown into chaos.

Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors poured out, to find Bai

Naruto chasing a rabbit and unleashing countless blasts of sword qi.

Some of them were slow to react, and when the rabbit ran by them, were hit by the blasts, causing blood to spray from their mouths.

"What are you doing, Nightcrypt?!"

"Dammit! Do you have a death wish, Nightcrypt!?"

"I let you get away alive all those months ago, and now you dare to show your face!?"

The Foundation Establishment cultivators were enraged, and yet, so was Naruto.

"Shut the hell up, all of you!" he bellowed, his eyes bloodshot. By this point, he had decided that he must kill the rabbit no matter what happened. Hands flashing in a double-handed incantation gesture, he unleashed more blasts of sword qi.

The rabbit dodged back and forth, scurrying about in such a fashion that not a single bit of sword qi touched it. As for the Foundation Establishment cultivators, they flew up into the air to attack Naruto. Master God-Diviner was in the crowd, smiling coldly. As far as he was concerned, Nightcrypt was obviously a fool to have gotten so worked up over a mere rabbit.

"I like this rabbit," he murmured to himself. "It's very interesting. I wonder whose pet it is?"

Some distance away, Song Que was in secluded meditation beneath the blood waterfall. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he frowned. A moment later, though, he simply closed his eyes again and continued meditating.

At this point, the rabbit suddenly stopped next to a random immortal's cave and yelled out in a voice even louder than before.

"I, Naruto–" It almost seemed to roar the words at the top of its lungs. The surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators looked on in shock, and their pupils constricted. Naruto was quite famous in the Blood Stream Sect, and virtually anyone would try to kill him if they got the chance. Killing a Chosen from the Spirit Stream Sect, especially one who had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, would count as a huge service to the sect.

To hear this rabbit suddenly talking about Naruto caused everyone to look at it eagerly, hoping to hear what it would say next about him.

However, the rabbit simply stood there with a blank look on its face, not saying another word.

Trembling inwardly, Naruto bellowed, "I, Nightcrypt, cannot stand to live under the same sky as Naruto. How dare you mention him in front of me! Tell me this instant where Naruto is!"

With that, he waved his right hand, causing another blast of sword qi to shoot out. This one was even more powerful than before. As it closed in on the rabbit in a beam of bright light, the rabbit blurred into motion to dodge it. As a result, the immortal's cave behind it was struck by the sword qi and immediately began to collapse. Inside the immortal's cave was a blood bottle and a spell formation. Thanks to the massive blow, the blood bottle immediately shattered.

Of course, that immortal's cave belonged to Xuemei, and was the location where everyone had recently attacked Naruto. Afterward, Xuemei had stabilized the blood bottle to keep it safe, but now it had been destroyed.

"I, Naruto–" the rabbit bellowed. However, it didn't say anything beyond those three words.

Blinking, Naruto's mind raced to come up with an idea of what to do. Trying to look as furious as possible, he shouted, "Keep talking! What comes after that!?"

Then he continued to chase the rabbit, unleashing sword qi that slashed into the ground, destroying immortal's caves, but not harming the rabbit.

"I, Naruto–" The rabbit was starting to get anxious, and yet, it had nothing else to say.

Naruto was starting to relax.

"Dammit! Why won't you finish that sentence!" he shouted. All of a sudden, he realized that he had pulled a fast one on the rabbit, who was now unable to say anything other than the first three words of the sentence.

"I, Naruto–" howled the rabbit, its eyes bright red.

"Tell me immediately!" Naruto raged. "Is Naruto in Blood

Stream Sect territory!? My grudge with him goes all the way back to the Fallen Sword World! I can't live under the same sky as him! Naruto must die!"

Inwardly, he was feeling very proud of himself, and he couldn't help but be pleased at how smart he was. With that, he unleashed another blast of sword qi, destroying another immortal's cave.

"Tell me! Tell me right now! What comes after the first part of that sentence!"

Naruto had thrown all of Middle Peak into complete chaos. As for the rabbit, it was getting very anxious, and had even started trembling. Finally, it started to say more than the three words.

"I, Naruto…. Xuemei, I dreamed of you last night. One of these days, I, Master God-Diviner, will definitely make you mine!"

"I, Naruto…. Elder Fang, stop it! People might see us…."

"I, Naruto…. Song Que is in charge here, aunt! The position of blood master belongs to me. And I'm in charge of you too, Xuemei!"

The words being spoken by the rabbit caused all of Middle Peak to be rocked with astonishment. The Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors and elders looked on with odd expressions, and soon, everyone went completely quiet….

Only the voice of the rabbit could be heard, echoing about.

Naruto also looked shocked, and suddenly he worried that he had pushed the rabbit too far.

Master God-Diviner was there in the crowd, and to him, it felt like a cold chill was running up his spine. Suddenly, he also wanted to exterminate the rabbit.

"Shut up! That's complete nonsense!"

As soon as Master God-Diviner lunged forward, Naruto looked over at him with a strange expression, surprised at the information that the rabbit had just revealed. Did Master God-Diviner really fancy the masked shrew Xuemei?

"That's right," he cried, "this rabbit is full of crap!"

Master God-Diviner wasn't the only one to leap into action. Everyone who the rabbit mentioned began to tremble, and then flew out to kill it.

Even Song Que came speeding out from the blood waterfall, howling at the top of his lungs, looking like a blood-colored god as he unleashed deadly power.

"Shut up!" When Song Que thought about the fact that everyone on Middle Peak had heard what the rabbit just said, he was filled with the desire to rip the thing to pieces.

The rabbit actually took advantage of the frenzy to vanish. Even after searching for it for some time, Naruto couldn't find it. Although he was feeling much better than before, he made sure that his expression turned grimmer and grimmer.

"That rabbit is an abomination!" he said loudly. "I can't believe it never finished that sentence!" Relieved, he was just about to head back to his immortal's cave when he suddenly got a very uneasy feeling. That was when he realized that all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been chasing the rabbit were now staring at him.

Song Que's eyes brimmed with murderous intentions. Although he hated the mysterious rabbit, the person he hated more was the one who had obviously forced the rabbit into unleashing a torrent of dialogue: Nightcrypt!

Master God-Diviner had a similar look on his face. Many of the other cultivators present had either been injured or had their immortal's caves destroyed by Naruto's sword qi. As of this moment, their desire to kill Nightcrypt was raging out of control.

"Nightcrypt, you destroyed my immortal's cave! It's about time we settle accounts."

"You escaped last time, but now, you're gonna die!"

"Nightcrypt!"

New grievances piled onto old ones. The surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators unleashed the power of their cultivation bases and prepared to eradicate Naruto.

—

Chapter 203 Chapter 203

Chapter 203: You Really Think I'm Scared Of You People?!

There weren't even a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounding him, only a few dozen. Furthermore, most of them were in early Foundation Establishment, although a handful were in mid Foundation Establishment.

Thankfully, the mid Foundation Establishment cultivators only had grim looks on their faces, and didn't actually attack. They had a different status than the early Foundation Establishment crowd, and for them to join everyone else in trying to attack Naruto would be too much of a loss of face.

Even without them, though, there were still dozens of Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors and elders, who were powerful enough to shake heaven and earth. Furthermore, in the Blood Stream Sect, there was no such thing as debate and discussion; there was only the law of the jungle!

Provoke me, and die!

It was completely different from the Spirit Stream Sect. Here, the only thing that mattered was strength!

Naruto's actions had enraged the people from Middle Peak, and now they were attacking him with deadly force that far surpassed anything from the Qi Condensation stage. Divine abilities burst out, blood qi surged, and blood swords unique to Middle Peak all appeared. In the blink of an eye, more than ten blasts of sword qi descended directly toward Naruto.

Naruto was just calming down from the incident with the rabbit, but now, he began to shiver uncontrollably. It was as if every part of his body were screaming at him that he was in deadly peril.

Booms echoed out, shaking everything in the area. The dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators all attacked at once, making it very difficult for Naruto to dodge. In the blink of an eye, more than ten blasts of sword qi slammed into him.

"Let me explain…." he said, staggering backward. Because of the blood qi he had absorbed, his Undying Gold Skin emanated blood-colored light. In combination with the Undying Heavenly King, he was stronger than ever, and his defenses were even more ridiculously strong than before.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators gaped in shock, and many eyes went wide.

"This Nightcrypt has been secretly cultivating a body refinement technique!"

"No wonder he was able to survive the Fallen Sword Abyss. It was all thanks to that body refinement technique!"

"His fleshly body defenses are so strong! Even our combined attack couldn't shake him!"

Their expressions turned very serious, and yet, they showed no signs that they would cease attacking Naruto. The stronger he seemed, the more they wanted to kill him to stave off any problems from cropping up in the future.

Cold gleams flickered in their eyes as they once again unleashed a combined attack.

More than ten beams of sword qi slammed into Naruto. No matter how he tried to evade or dodge, the dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators stayed hot on his tail, unleashing constant attacks.

Booms rang out. Some people even went and destroyed his immortal's cave.

"Run if you want, Nightcrypt, you won't escape this time!"

Rumbling sounds filled the air as divine abilities and magical techniques slammed down. By this point, Naruto was in a sorry state, having been repeatedly hit by numerous blasts of sword qi.

Even with his Undying Live Forever Technique, blood still sprayed out of his mouth, until finally, he looked up, eyes bloodshot, expression vicious and even murderous.

What people saw was Nightcrypt, awe-inspiring, bloodthirsty, merciless, and completely enraged.

As of this moment, his blood qi was bursting, and his killing intent surging.

"Enough running!" he said, w

iping the blood from his mouth. "You buffoons have tried to kill me three times already. Things have gone too far! Do you really think I'm scared of you people?!" His hair was in disarray, and his clothing ripped nearly to shreds. From the moment he had arrived in the Blood Stream Sect, he had been on edge and nervous, and now, all of that anxiety had reached a bursting point.

He was tired of being wound so tight. These people wanted to kill him, and weren't holding anything back. Their intentions were clear. Murder. The intense sensation of deadly crisis caused Naruto to throw his head back and roar at the top of his lungs. Then he took a step forward, appearing directly in front of a young man in the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Naruto's expression was vicious as he unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash. Blood sprayed out of the Foundation Establishment cultivator's mouth, along with a miserable shriek as he was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut.

At the same time, seven or eight blasts of sword qi shot toward Bai

Naruto. However, his own blood qi erupted out, shoving them away.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as he blurred into motion toward two Middle Peak Dharma protectors. In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, he was right in front of them, his arms outstretched.

The two Dharma protectors' eyes widened, and they immediately unleashed their reserves of blood qi. Their hands flashed with incantations gestures, causing their qi to take form and rush forward to block Naruto. However, his hands were filled with boundless power, and blasted through the blood qi as easily as a hammer smashes through ice. As the qi shattered, Naruto's hands latched onto the arm of each Dharma protector.

"Screw the hell off!" he shouted. Then he jerked his hands to the side, and the two arms exploded into a cloud of blood. Agonized shrieks rang out as the two Dharma Protectors flew through the air to slam into a nearby immortal's cave.

Middle Peak was descending into chaos. Meanwhile, the disturbance to the blood qi in the sect caused quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators from Nameless Peak, Corpse Peak, and Lesser Marsh Peak to look over in surprise.

Even the grand elders turned their heads to see what was happening, as did the blood masters, who looked toward Middle Peak from within their temples.

On Ancestor Peak, the prime elders sent out streams of divine sense to observe Naruto fighting against the crowd on Middle Peak.

"Who is that kid?"

"What a devilish personality! Look at how many people he got to attack him."

"Hahaha! Now that's how we do things in the Blood Stream Sect! It doesn't matter how young you are, when people try to kill you, you have to fight back!"

As the cultivators from the other mountain peaks watched the excitement, Naruto crushed one Foundation Establishment cultivator after another. All of them were completely shaken, and left coughing up blood.

"Nightcrypt!" At that point, a cold snort echoed out as Song Que transformed into a blood-colored mountain peak, complete with three 30-meter-long blood-colored streams of sword qi that caused the entire area to shake.

"Sword qi? I have some too!" Eyes bloodshot, Naruto waved his right hand, unleashing the Blood Annihilation World technique. A stream of Undying Blood qi poured out from him, which he sent speeding toward Song Que with the wave of a finger.

This was no ordinary stream of blood qi. Close examination would reveal that it was laced with a golden color. As soon as it appeared, an indescribable aura erupted out.

Massive rumbling sounds filled the air, and all of the blood qi in the area trembled as though a king had appeared, and even raced toward it at top speed.

As the local blood qi was sucked into the sword qi, the image of the sword grew larger. In the blink of an eye, it became like a 30-meter-long mountain shooting up into the sky.

Compared to this sword qi, all other sword qi was like filth. Only Naruto's sword qi was the true and proper type!

A domineering air seemed to fill it, like it was the ruler of all swords in the world. The sky shook, and everyone present felt their hearts pounding in their chests. The sword qi almost seemed impossible to control, as if it could shake everything in existence, even their cultivation bases!

Everyone was completely and utterly shocked.

"What's going on!?"

"What kind of sword qi is that!?"

"Heavens! This Nightcrypt has also been cultivating the Blood

Annihilation World!?"

When the sword qi appeared, even the mid Foundation Establishment elders were shocked. Under the astonished gazes of all the onlookers, the spectacular sword qi shot toward Song Que.

Song Que's face fell, but he had no time to react. Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds echoed out as his three blasts of sword qi were completely destroyed. Even his mountain peak form was destroyed, and he was revealed, blood spraying out of his mouth, a look of astonishment on his face as he was sent tumbling backward.

"Impossible! You–" Song Que's scalp was tingling in astonishment. Naruto's sword qi left him completely and utterly shaken. He had never even seen sword qi like this. It was so mighty that it exceeded anything he could imagine. Even the sword qi he had developed by cultivation in the blood waterfall was completely cowed by it!

He wasn't the only one who was shaken. Everyone in the area felt their minds reeling. Naruto's domineering use of sword qi left their eyes wide and their scalps numb from the shock.

The crowds on Lesser Marsh Peak, Nameless Peak, and Corpse Peak were also looking on with wide eyes. The grand elders of the three peaks were left gasping, and the blood masters' eyes shone with intense light.

Cries of astonishment could even be heard on Ancestor Peak!

"The level of that sword qi… it's Blood Qi Plasma!"

"That kid's name is Nightcrypt? What a genius! I can't believe he reached such a level completely under the radar!"

"In the Blood Annihilation World, everything comes down to refining the blood. The four levels are Refined Blood Qi, Blood Qi Plasma, Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening, and Blood Qi Tribulation!" Even more streams of divine sense arrived on Middle Peak to observe the chaotic fighting.

The highest echelons of the Blood Stream Sect leadership were now observing Naruto's sword qi!

It was at this point that Master God-Diviner suddenly cried out, "Kill Nightcrypt! If he doesn't die, he'll definitely try to get revenge on us in the future!"

With that, he performed an incantation gesture and attacked. Everyone else seemed to agree, as they all joined forces to attack Naruto.

"Something's off about this guy!" Song Que shouted, glaring murderously at Naruto. "That's not the Middle Peak's Blood Annihilation World!" He wasn't sure why, but after exchanging blows with this Nightcrypt, his heart was filled with deep, profound hatred for him, hatred that seemed completely irreconcilable.

It was a sudden and inexplicable feeling, but there it was in his heart.

Naruto dodged the attacks, and then looked around at the brutal, vicious expressions on the faces of the people surrounding him. Suddenly, he began to laugh with rage, and his eyes burned with murderous coldness.

"You think this isn't the Blood Annihilation World? Well, I think I need to show you people what the Blood Annihilation World really looks like!" With that, he leaped high up into the air. Even as the Foundation Establishment cultivators turned into beams of light to follow him, he waved his hand in the direction of Middle Peak!

—

Chapter 204 Chapter 204

Chapter 204: Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening!

"Blood qi, gather!" Naruto threw his head back and roared. As his hand waved through the air, something completely and utterly shocking occurred in the midst of the Foundation Establishment cultivators!

Throughout the entire lower finger of Middle Peak, countless strands of blood qi seemed to answer Naruto's call, almost as if they were related to him. They almost seemed to possess intelligence as they sped through the air, radiating something like joy.

Countless strands of blood qi shot toward Naruto, merging into him. Every plant, every immortal's cave, every blood cistern, every blood waterfall, every inch of the ground emitted blood qi, which then raced toward Naruto.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

It was a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering scene of shocking nature. Everything turned bright red as matchlessly strong blood qi blotted out the sky. A blood mist rapidly formed around Naruto, a mist that rose high into the air above him.

It was as if Naruto had become the king of all the blood qi in the area, as if a single word from his mouth would cause it all to rush to his side. All of the blood qi in all of the lower finger of Middle Peak was churning in response to his words.

However, the effect wasn't limited to the lower finger area. Even the blood qi in the upper finger was stirring into motion. A massive column of blood-colored light surrounded Naruto, shaking everything around it as it shot into the sky.

All of Middle Peak was devolving into complete and utter chaos.

When the surrounding dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators saw what was happening, they were flabbergasted, and began to shake in terror as they realized that the blood qi in their own bodies was on the verge of bursting out into the open.

Even the mid Foundation Establishment cultivators had looks of utter disbelief on their faces. At the same time, beams of light shot up from the upper finger as numerous late Foundation Establishment experts appeared. Each and every one seemed completely and utterly taken aback.

"What kind of freak is this guy!?"

"I can't believe the blood qi is heeding his commands!"

"Dammit! How could Nightcrypt be so powerful? Why didn't he reach

Earthstring Foundation Establishment?!"

The cultivators on Lesser Marsh Peak, Nameless Peak, and Corpse Peak were all struck speechless. Even the grand elders of the three other mountain peaks all had looks of complete awe on their faces as they watched events playing out on Middle Peak.

"This is…."

"The mere sight of it…."

The blood masters from the three other mountains had all emerged from their temples to watch what was happening. They were all young men, each of whom radiated enigmatic auras. Serious expressions could be seen on their faces, and their hearts trembled because of the waves of shock which battered them inwardly.

On the upper finger of Middle Peak, Grand Elder Song Junwan was in the middle of an important meeting with the mountain's nine bloodstreak elders. Although they had been aware of the fierce fighting going on in the lower finger area, they hadn't been paying too much attention. But now, the sudden eruption of blood qi left them all completely shocked.

That was especially true when the blood qi in the upper finger began to stir into motion. A look of complete incredulity appeared on Song Junwan's face. Without even formally adjourning the meeting, she flew out, followed by the nine astonished bloodstreak elders.

The ten of them saw all of the blood qi on Middle Peak erupting in an unheard-of fashion, and then saw Naruto hovering in midair, hair flying around him, eye

s shining with coldness, surrounded by a boundlessly somber and desolate air. He looked like a blood devil!

"This…."

"Heavens! All of the blood qi on the whole mountain peak is gathering around him!" The bloodstreak elders were completely shaken, and Song Junwan was beginning to pant.

At the same time, even more divine sense converged on the area from the prime elders on Ancestor Peak. None of them could remain even the least bit calm.

"Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening? How is this even possible!?"

"I can't believe young Nightcrypt has such destiny. He's reached Inverse

Blood Ancestral Awakening!"

"Dammit! Who tested this kid's latent talent in the beginning? If we'd known he could pull off Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening with his blood sword cultivation, we would have definitely made sure he reached

Earthstring Foundation Establishment!"

As the prime elders reeled in shock, an even stronger stream of divine sense appeared, something which completely surpassed the prime elders. It was so powerful that all heaven and earth seemed to distort because of its mere presence.

An ancient voice suddenly echoed out into the minds of the prime elders: "Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening can be stumbled upon by chance, but can never be pursued directly. Among 100,000 cultivators who practice Blood Stream Sect techniques, it would be difficult to find even one person who can build up the reserves necessary to have such a unique Ancestral Awakening. An opportunity like this has only presented itself twice in the past. Few people could ever have detected this within him ahead of time."

As everyone watched in shock, blood qi surged like mad into the trembling Naruto, who let out a long, piercing cry.

The amount of blood qi visible was shocking. Naruto was like a black hole, sucking it all in, and as he did, his Undying Skin shone with dazzling light. As of this moment, there was nothing golden about that light; it was utterly and thoroughly the color of blood!

That blood color was a symbol that anyone could identify as the hallmark of the Blood Stream Sect. There was no better way for someone to show that they were using the techniques of the Blood Stream Sect than to do exactly what Naruto was doing.

As the blood-colored light spread out in all directions, Naruto threw his head back and bellowed, and an enormous figure appeared behind him, a creature with green skin, vicious-looking facial features, and long, protruding tusks!

It had claws sharp enough to tear down all walls, a pointed horn that could rip open the heavens, and a long, scale-covered tail that could sweep across anything and everything.

That creature was none other than that the legendary berserk ghost!

The sudden appearance of the berserk ghost indicated that Naruto had finally completed the first level of the Undying Heavenly King!

The instant the image of the berserk ghost appeared, the eyes of Lesser

Marsh Peak's grand elder went wide. As for the blood master from Lesser Marsh Peak, he was shaking visibly, and his eyes were glowing with bright light.

"Lesser Marsh Peak must have this Nightcrypt!" shouted the blood master.

The grand elder from Lesser Marsh Peak had the same reaction, and simply couldn't contain his excitement. On Lesser Marsh Peak, they had a secret magic that had come from years of research into the hand of the Blood Ancestor, a secret magic that was based on a totem tattoo that depicted the berserk ghost!

Shockingly, Naruto's Ancestral Awakening caused an actual projection of the berserk ghost to appear. Everyone on Lesser Marsh Peak was being driven to complete madness.

At the same time, Naruto hovered in midair, roaring at the top of his lungs, absorbing all of the blood qi in the area. After flowing into him, the blood qi then emerged behind him to form the shape of an enormous blood sword. At first, only the tip was fully formed.

But as he absorbed more blood qi, the blade began to form, and then the hilt!

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it was accomplished in only a few breaths' worth of time. In the end, an enormous, bloodcolored sword appeared!

Everyone gasped as Naruto raised both hands and grasped the hilt of the sword.

"This is my Blood Annihilation World!" he shouted. "You people want to kill me? Well, what if I kill you first!?" Then, he slashed the sword down, sending an arc of blood-colored light shooting toward the dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators below.

As the massive sword descended, more blood qi in the area rushed toward it, merging into it, causing it to grow larger and larger. In the blink of an eye, it was over 30 meters long, radiating an explosive aura of extermination.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators' faces went pale. Howling, they joined forces, unleashing all of the power at their disposal to defend themselves, even their trump cards!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

When the sword hit the cultivators in the front line, they screamed, and their bodies began to tremble on the verge of collapse. Apparently, it started a chain reaction which quickly spread to the cultivators behind them. The blood sword attack which they had just sustained was now threatening to destroy them all. Song Que was in the group, and a vicious look appeared on his face for the second time as he prepared to put his life on the line to counterattack!

However, it was at this point that a cold snort echoed out.

"Enough is enough! Blood qi, disperse!"

The words echoed out like thunder, causing the blood sword in Naruto's hands to tremble, and then rapidly begin to fall apart and disperse.

All of Middle Peak trembled as a powerful force swept over it. At the same time, countless spell formations and magical symbols appeared on the surface of the ground, which had been placed on the hand specifically to control the blood qi!

Naruto's eyes widened as he sensed the blood qi responding to the voice which had just spoken. It was no longer under his control, almost as if that voice were its true master, and had a much higher level of control over it than he did.

However, moments later, he realized that the truth of the matter was that this person's control over the blood qi was being exerted by outside force, in sharp contrast to himself. After all, he was related to the blood qi!

Rage filled Naruto's heart. At the moment, he didn't care who that voice belonged to, he couldn't hold back from saying, "No, enough is not enough! When they tried to kill me, how come you didn't intervene then? Now I'm trying to kill them, and suddenly you say 'enough is enough'? I refuse to accept this!"

From the moment he'd arrived in the Blood Stream Sect, he'd been running around with his tail stuck between his legs. Now he was finally taking some action, only to receive the short end of the stick. At the moment, his desire to kill these Foundation Establishment cultivators only continued to grow.

"This is their fault!" he cried, eyes bright red. Although he knew what he was doing might not be the best choice, he exerted all his power to call out to the huge hand, all with the intention of throwing the Blood Stream Sect into chaos. Even if he had to flee the sect afterward, this was his choice. As the blood qi dispersed, as intense pressure weighed down, as the Foundation Establishment cultivators gasped, he burst into motion. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of one of the Foundation

Establishment Dharma protectors, whereupon he clenched his hand into a fist and punched out.

That cultivator had just been breathing a sigh of relief. Too slow to react to what was happening, he was struck directly by the fist strike, causing blood to spray out of his mouth as his heart and blood vessels began to explode.

"You–" His eyes went wide, and before he could say anything more, he was dead.

Everyone devolved into chaos and began to flee. Naruto was tired of being wronged, and had thrown caution to the wind. His expression was grim, and his eyes radiated killing intent as he attacked once again.

—

Chapter 205 Chapter 205

Chapter 205: What A Great Sect!

Naruto's eyes were bright red. He had already dealt with people who wanted to kill him back when he was being chased by the Luochen Clan. That was when he came to realize that the only option in such a situation was to be more vicious than his opponents. Furthermore, he had to kill them before they killed him!

That was the only way to stay alive!

He transformed into a beam of light, causing heaven-shaking, earthshattering rumbling to fill the area as he appeared next to another of the Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors who had attacked him moments ago, and directly bashed into him.

A boom echoed out, and the Dharma protector screamed miserably as his body shattered into pieces. Naruto shot through the blood and gore, then suddenly sped backward and grabbed ahold of the neck off another cultivator who had been preparing to launch a sneak attack. The man screamed as he was subsequently ripped to shreds.

Naruto was already soaked in blood, his breath coming in ragged pants, and his eyes bright red.

"Come on!" he bellowed. "What are you running for? Didn't you want to kill me?! Bring it on!"

He blurred into motion, appearing behind a terrified, fleeing Foundation Establishment cultivator. In the blink of an eye, Naruto's hand clasped onto the man's shoulder. Howling, the man tried to perform an incantation gesture, but before he could, Naruto's other hand grabbed his neck and squeezed down hard!

A cracking sound echoed out, and the man was dead.

As Naruto turned back around, the other Foundation

Establishment cultivators fled like mad, faces filled with terror. Some dove into their immortal's caves and activated the defensive spell formations, others simply tried to get as far away as possible.

Some of them had banded together and were erecting a giant defensive spell formation to prevent Naruto from getting to them. Song Que and Master God-Diviner were in that group.

"You're not even human!"

"I've never seen a fiendish devil like this before!"

"Heavens! Nightcrypt is terrifying!"

Naruto's explosive burst of violence left them completely shaken. To them, he seemed like a fiend, a monster, his clothes soaked in blood, his expression vicious and filled with murder.

Such brutality, such madness, left the minds of all cultivators present completely reeling. Even Song Que was gasping, and as for Master GodDiviner, he was completely scared out of his mind.

These were all Blood Stream Sect disciples, people who disciples from the other sects viewed as wildly brutal. However, as of this moment, those very disciples were looking at Naruto and thinking that his brutality was beyond description.

Surprisingly, whoever had just spoken out to stop Naruto didn't say anything further.

Even the prime elders and the others were simply watching, clearly moved, and yet doing nothing to intervene. In fact, some of them even approached in person to watch the slaughter unfold.

Breathing heavily, Naruto looked over at the group in the spell formation, then grinned coldly as he shot toward a nearby immortal's cave. In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he used his fleshly body power alone to batter to cave open. Moments later, he emerged from the cave dragging the corpse of the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had been hiding within. He tossed the corpse out in front of the spell formation, then sat down off to the side, exhausted. Wiping the blood off of his face, he looked up at the onlookers hovering in midair.

Suddenly, he blinked. Waves of exhaustion spread out through him, wrapping around his mu

scles and causing them to go slack. At the same time, he felt fear and regret. Although his outburst had allowed him to give vent to his anger, he was now getting nervous.

"I didn't use any Spirit Stream Sect techniques," he thought, trembling inwardly, "only stuff from the Blood Stream Sect. Technically speaking, my body refinement magic is connected to the Blood Stream Sect. Maybe they'll punish me, but they won't kill me. Will they?" Although he thought calling out to the giant hand to try to destroy the Blood Stream Sect, he wasn't confident at all in being able to succeed.

Middle Peak was completely silent….

Even in the Blood Stream Sect, slaughter like this was a rarity. To see such a fight left everyone completely shocked, and at the same time, changed their understanding of Nightcrypt.

The silence was broken by the ancient voice. "Finished killing people?!" At the same time, a blurry figure slowly materialized in front of Naruto.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a long, blood-colored robe. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he hovered there, looking coldly at Naruto. He radiated a sensation of terrifying blood qi, something that seemed to resonate with heaven and earth, to connect with Middle Peak itself!

That blood qi became a mighty pressure that caused even Naruto's spiritual seas to vibrate.

When the man looked at Naruto, it felt like he could see right through him, peer into his very depths, see past all illusions. Naruto shivered.

Thankfully, the mask he was wearing was a precious treasure from the mysterious sect, and still managed to conceal him. After a moment, the man muttered to himself and retracted his vision. With that, he waved his right hand, sending a small bottle flying toward Naruto.

"Exceptional innate talent. Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening. Even better than that, a devilish personality. Sadly, you're only at Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment….

"There are three Spirit Blood Pills in that bottle. They should heal your injuries and also make you more sensitive toward blood qi." With that, the man sighed, turned, and took a step forward. A wind blew past, and he was gone.

"Huh?" Naruto looked around in shock. He had been fully prepared to be punished, but instead, the man had gifted him with a bottle of medicinal pills.

Up in midair, the grand elders of the mountain peaks looked down with shining eyes. The reason none of them had spoken up earlier was because of the arrival of the patriarch. Nightcrypt's transformation had been so monumental that the patriarch had personally come to inspect the situation. Considering he had found no problems, the grand elders' passions now burned even hotter than before.

Not only did Nightcrypt have incredible natural talent, he had killed several people in very rare fashion. Even the patriarch said he had a devilish personality. All of the grand elders were impressed by

Nightcrypt's genius. Then they thought back to how domineering he had been in the fight over the Foundation Establishment Pills, and their admiration grew stronger.

Although killing was against sect rules, they didn't really care. In the Blood Stream Sect, the law of the jungle prevailed. Not a single one of them could claim to have hands free of blood. When people didn't know what was best for them, and provoked powerful experts, then the fault for their deaths lay at their own hands. When it came to low-level cultivators, the sect rules were more strictly enforced, but that was for their own protection. Foundation Establishment cultivators and the powerful experts above them respected strength and strength alone!

Furthermore, Naruto's ability to piss people off was quite moving. There was a big difference between making everyone like you, and making everyone hate you, but in the end, the result was the same as far as the leaders of the sect were concerned.

When it came to success in those matters, the former would be champions of justice, the latter, devils.

Considering he had such a devilish personality, if Nightcrypt could stay alive, then once his cultivation base improved, he would be a champion of the ages. Either he would conquer everything under the heavens, or the heavens would conquer him.

The grand elder from Lesser Marsh Peak, the tall, burly cultivator, flew out with a smile on his face.

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, come with me to Lesser Marsh Peak! With that body refinement technique of yours, it would be a huge waste for you to not come to Lesser Marsh Peak! If you agree, I'll let you reside on the upper finger! Come! I guarantee you'll make incredible, unheard-of achievements in body refinement!"

Naruto was a bit stunned by the sudden outpouring of words from the grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak. Before he could even react, though, the grand elder from Corpse Peak stepped forward. "Ignore him, Nightcrypt. Join us on Corpse Peak. Corpse Peak will be your home for all eternity! Come! You can have your pick of all the colorful corpses we have!"

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, they're not being sincere," cried the dwarf from Nameless Peak, who was ready to go all out to win over Bai

Naruto with his Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening. "Come to Nameless Peak. I'll let you join the Circle of Bloodstreak Elders. With the power of Nameless Peak behind you, no one will ever dare to provoke you again!"

Naruto was at a loss for words. He had caused a huge disaster, killed seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators in a row, caused chaos to Middle Peak's blood qi, and had completely ignored that middle-aged man. Although he didn't know who that man was, he assumed he was a prime elder, or maybe even a patriarch.

If he had defied someone like that back in the Spirit Stream Sect, and also been responsible for such a disaster, according to the sect rules, he would have been sent to the Hall of Justice to be skinned alive, bereft of his cultivation base, and then destroyed in body and soul.

However, in the Blood Stream Sect, everything was the opposite.

As he stood there stupefied, a flirtatious laugh echoed out as the bewitchingly beautiful Song Junwan appeared. A fragrant breeze accompanied her arrival, and a gleam of deep praise could be seen in her eyes as she looked at Naruto as though he were a priceless gem. She came to a stop right in front of him, then turned to face everyone else.

"This is Middle Peak! Are you people here to openly undermine me?"

Naruto blinked at the sight of Song Junwan standing in front of him. She was dressed as audaciously as usual; her skirt had a long slit up the side, revealing her milky white legs, a sight which caused Naruto's eyes to go wide. Before he realized what was happening, he was staring.

The other three grand elders could see exactly what Song Junwan was doing, and they also noticed how Naruto was staring at her. They sighed at Song Junwan's trickery, but could do nothing about it. Sighing longingly at Naruto, they turned and left.

After they were gone, Song Junwan's smile vanished, and her face became very grim as she looked around at the Foundation

Establishment cultivators of Middle Peak. As her gaze passed over them, they trembled and bowed their heads silently.

Song Que seemed more scared than anyone, and didn't even dare to look up. From a young age, he had always feared his aunt….

"You're all dismissed," Song Junwan said coolly. "Don't forget to come back later and clean this place up." Everyone breathed sighs of relief, and then left respectfully. Soon, the area was silent once again.

Song Junwan turned her attention back toward Naruto, an enigmatic smile on her face as she leaned forward and lifted his chin with her fair, jade-like hand, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Seen enough, Little Bro Nightcrypt?"

Blushing, Naruto cleared his throat and stood up straight, then clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Big Sis Song."

"You need to be a bit more careful in the future. The Blood Stream Sect is a chaotic place, and it always has been. Maybe if things were different, we would be stronger in some ways, but there is nothing that can be done about it. All you can do is continue to find powerful enemies to defeat to impress people. As long as the patriarchs are around, the sect will remain whole. They can suppress the chaos when necessary.

"For now, stay on Middle Peak. You'll be safe here, and the stronger you get, the more respect you will be shown." She smiled, and it was a smile like a blooming rose, making her somehow more indescribably beautiful than ever.

After a moment of hesitation, Naruto asked, "Big Sis Song, was that a patriarch just now?"

"That was Patriarch Limitless!" she replied softly. Seeing Naruto's shocked reaction, she covered her smile with her hand and then left in a gust of fragrant wind.

Naruto stood there for a long moment before taking a deep breath.

"So, that was the consummate Chosen from 800 years ago, Master Limitless!" Naruto looked around again, shaken. The more time that passed, the more he marveled at how well the Blood Stream Sect treated him. Back in the Spirit Stream Sect, he was always punished for causing disasters. Here, they not only withheld punishment, they actually rewarded him.

All of the mountain peaks were fighting over him, and to top it off, Grand Elder Song Junwan was a smoking hot babe.

This place was the perfect location to cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique. It was his own personal Holy Land, filled with blood qi.

"What a great sect!" Shaking his head, he realized he had to adjust his way of thinking. He was from the Spirit Stream Sect, an enemy of the Blood Stream Sect!

And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that the Blood Stream Sect was really great.

Chapter 206 Chapter 206

Chapter 206: Dazzlingly Ferocious Reputation!

By now, evening had fallen, and the moon hung high in the sky. Outside the Blood Stream Sect, that moon appeared as white as ever, but looking at it from inside the sect, it was crimson.

Blood-colored light bathed the sect, making it look even more grim and sinister than before.

Disciples from other sects would shake in fear at such a sight, but Naruto had been in the Blood Stream Sect for long enough that he'd grown used to it.

He was currently walking along a moonlit mountain path. Everything around him lay in waste. The ground and trees were destroyed, the immortal's caves collapsed. However, it was very quiet. News about Naruto's battle during the day on Middle Peak had already begun to spread like wildfire through the rest of the sect.

In the Blood Stream Sect, the law of the jungle prevailed, and people only showed respect to the powerful.

During that spectacular fight, Naruto had showed a brutal strength, a madness, a bloodthirstiness that struck everyone deep into their hearts. He alone had stood up to dozens of Foundation

Establishment cultivators, and had even killed seven or eight of them. It was a rare thing even in the Blood Stream Sect, and to many people, Naruto had already become the stuff of nightmares.

Not a single person suspected that he wasn't a Blood Stream Sect disciple, and if anyone had dared to make such an accusation, no one would have believed them….

"I really don't like fighting and killing…." Naruto thought, sighing. After returning to his immortal's cave and finding that it had been completely destroyed, he sat down off to the side and decided that tomorrow, he would go pick a new immortal's cave.

The night passed uneventfully….

However, the cultivators of Middle Peak sat in the darkness, hearts pounding with fear. The events during the day were truly like a nightmare, and all of them feared that Naruto would come for retribution. They sat restlessly in their immortal's caves, spell formations active. There were even some who fled Middle Peak altogether.

Of course, word rapidly spread about the madness on Middle Peak, and Naruto's violent outburst. Some of the Foundation Establishment cultivators on Lesser Marsh Peak, Nameless Peak, and Corpse Peak had personally witnessed the event, whereas others only heard about it after the fact. All of them were shocked.

"He personally fought back against dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

"He actually defied the orders of a patriarch?"

"Everyone just stood by and watched while he killed eight people?!

The survivors were forced to hide together behind a spell formation?!"

Word spread like mad through the four mountain peaks of the Blood Stream Sect.

Even the Inner Sect disciples on the back of the hand soon caught wind of Naruto's actions. All of them were astonished. People had already come to view him as a bloodthirsty fiend, and now, the Inner Sect disciples could only imagine a variety of terrifying images regarding what had occurred.

"Nightcrypt is incredible! He ripped people apart, then drank their blood as he killed the other bystanders!"

"I heard he's not even a cultivator. He's actually an evil, green-skinned hobgoblin in disguise!"

"He has superhuman strength! A single bump from him can shake an entire mountain!"

All sorts of rumors began to spread. It only took a single night before countless people in the Blood Stream Sect learned about a new person that nobody could provoke, a person named Nightcrypt!

At dawn, Naruto opened his eyes and went to take a walk. By that time,

word about him had spread throughout the sect. Even the Outer Sect disciples had heard the stories. In fact, the disciples used various methods to spread the word, and it wasn't long before the cultivator clans in the area had heard the tales.

It was easy to imagine how quickly the other major sects would learn of Nightcrypt's name….

It went without saying that the news spread faster in the Blood Stream

Sect than it would have in the Spirit Stream Sect. After all, the Blood Stream Sect disciples always walked around on edge to begin with, and never had much entertainment. Coupled with the fervor they felt toward powerful experts, it ensured that they were always very interested in newly risen Chosen.

Naruto almost immediately came to experience that himself. Whenever Foundation Establishment cultivators saw him coming, their expressions would flicker. Those who hadn't participated in the fighting the day before would smile broadly and clasp hands in greeting.

Naruto was moved. Now that he had proven himself, he finally got the same feeling he did when he walked around in the Spirit Stream Sect. His initial reaction was to smile and nod back to them in greeting.

However, in response to his smile, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators' eyes would go wide with disbelief. Many of them would even subconsciously take a few steps back, hesitant expressions on their faces.

At first, Naruto was shocked. But then he put on a cold demeanor and stared icily at them, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators would sigh in relief. To them, that expression seemed much more befitting of Nightcrypt.

"I'm such a good person…." Naruto thought to himself, sighing inwardly. Having no other option, he maintained a cold, indifferent expression, glaring here and there. That earned him much more respect.

As he walked along, his eyes started to get tired from all the glaring. Eventually, he reached the pavilion where he could select a new immortal's cave. The old man who had previously treated him with cool indifference suddenly rushed out and offered greetings.

When he realized that Naruto had come to choose an immortal's cave, he was at first shocked, but then quickly changed his attitude. Eyes burning with passion, he produced a scroll map and opened it to show Naruto.

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, what do you think about this one? This immortal's cave has wonderful surroundings, and the blood qi there is incredible!

"Or what about this one? A prime elder once lived there! I usually don't point that out to anyone….

"There's also this place? If I remember, there are a few puppets that come with that one."

Although Naruto was moved by the old man's passionate introduction to the immortal's cave, his face remained icy and ruthless. Eventually, he frowned. Although the open immortal's caves were better than his old destroyed one, they still weren't as good as the ones with a lot of blood qi.

Seeing Naruto frowning, the old man seemed like he wanted to say something, then hesitated. He looked at Naruto for another moment, then thought about the fight from the day before.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and lowered his voice. "Junior Brother Nightcrypt, you don't need to come here to select an immortal's cave."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked thoughtfully.

Deciding to make things more clear, the old man lowered his voice further. "Remember, in the Blood Stream Sect, we respect the strong and powerful. Many people don't officially select immortal's caves, they just take them. If you see one you like, kick the old owner out, and it becomes yours."

Naruto's eyes began to shine brightly. The truth was that he had lived for so long in the Spirit Stream Sect that, deep inside, he wasn't at all like the Blood Stream Sect people. Sometimes it was hard to think the way they did. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed the old man to remind him.

Clearing his throat, he maintained his icy exterior, and nodded coolly to the old man. Then he swished his sleeve and turned to leave. Inside, he was filled with the excitement that came from being able to violate a taboo.

The old man watched Naruto leaving, and sighed. As far as he was concerned, it was a big pity that Nightcrypt was only in Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, he might have had an extraordinary future. Of course, even though he was merely in MortalDao Foundation Establishment, he was still a brutal fiend who couldn't be provoked.

Naruto walked along, feeling more and more excited, his heart pounding as he looked around.

"What a feeling. I can just take whatever I like? Nothing matters except that I'm stronger, so I can have whatever I want…." He licked his lips in anticipation. This was something that could never happen in the Spirit Stream Sect. It was like finally being able to eat forbidden fruit. He scoured Middle Peak for half a day, and around noontime identified an immortal's cave he liked. It was rather large, and the grounds around it were covered with blood trees. It was almost like a whole world unto itself.

The blood trees all had faces on them, and although their eyes were closed, they seemed completely sinister and bizarre, the type that would strike fear into the hearts of anyone who got near them.

In fact, the only path leading to the door had been overrun by the sinister blood trees. Even from a distance, it was possible to see the faint blood mist that filled the area.

Just barely visible through the blood trees was a blood cistern with dense blood qi. The area was paved with limestone, and there were some refined corpses wearing suits of armor who stood guard.

Next to the cistern was the entrance to the immortal's cave, a huge white door that was carved with intricate spell formations. The spell formations were currently active, flickering with bright light that ensured that the entire area was shielded.

Looking at the scene, Naruto licked his lips, and his eyes began to shine.

"What a great location…."

He had secretly absorbed blood qi from this location in the past, and vaguely remembered that it was Master God-Diviner's immortal's cave. He had asked imposter Nightcrypt, and learned that Master God-Diviner was only in the early Foundation Establishment stage, but as he was very adept at divination and augury, he was very important to the sect.

In the Lone Hell Pocket Realm, he had reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment, but had only achieved a few Tideflows. Even still, it was enough to set him on the path to fame in the Blood Stream Sect.

Therefore, it was no surprise that he had occupied such a nice immortal's cave for such a long time.

Eyes shining, Naruto sped forward toward the immortal's cave. As he neared, faces on the blood trees opened their eyes, which shone with killing intent.

However, as soon as they recognized Naruto, they began to scream in high pitched voices.

"Nightdevil is here!"

"It's Nightdevil!"

"Heavens! Nightdevil is here for revenge. Master, save me!"

Inside the immortal's cave, Master God-Diviner gritted his teeth. He both hated and feared Naruto, and when he thought about the brutal events from the previous day, he was sure that Naruto had come to get revenge. Then he heard the voices crying out from the outside, and his eyes went wide.

"Sure enough, he's here!"

—

Chapter 207 Chapter 207

Chapter 207: Nightdevil's Name Spreads….

"Nightdevil?" When Naruto heard what the blood trees were screaming, his jaw dropped. He had no way of knowing, but because of the brutality of the previous day's events, quite a few people had taken to calling him Nightdevil.

Annoyed by the shrieking trees, he snorted coldly and said, "Shut up!"

His voice was accompanied by a brutally murderous air that scared the blood trees so much that they started trembling and lapsed into silence. Terrified, the trees that had planted themselves onto the path leading to the immortal's cave pulled up their roots and cleared the way.

Naruto clasped his hands behind his back, stuck his chin up, and coolly said, "Master God-Diviner, get out here!"

Everyone who heard him was completely shocked.

Inside the immortal's cave, Master God-Diviner's face when ashen, and a crazed look appeared in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, sweat popping out on his forehead, he cried, "Nightcrypt, don't push things too far!"

Naruto didn't step into the forest of blood trees. The pressure from the spell formation was too threatening. However, in response to Master God-Diviner's words, he smiled grimly and then unleashed some blood qi. In the blink of an eye, all of the blood qi in the area began to churn, transforming into a dense mist.

The faces on the blood trees began to quiver, but they didn't dare to scream. They simply began to huddle together in shock.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators in the area could sense what was happening, and saw the shocking blood qi building up around Naruto. Inside the immortal's cave, Master God-Diviner sat there with ashen face, chuckling bitterly. The madness in his eyes grew, and just when he was about to jump out and fight to the death, Naruto's cruel voice once again filled the area.

"I'll give you three breaths' of time to get the hell out of there," he said proudly. "I want this immortal's cave." With that he flicked his sleeve.

Master God-Diviner had been ready to unleash the power of the spell formation to fight to the death with Naruto. But when he heard his words, his eyes went wide with surprise. He almost couldn't believe it. "You think I'll risk my life based on your kindness, Nightcrypt? What makes you think I'll believe you?!"

Sticking his chin up, Naruto replied, "Calm down. I'm a man of my word. If I say I'm going to take your immortal's cave, then I'm going to take your immortal's cave!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the door to the immortal's cave opened, and Master God-Diviner flew out at top speed, flying off into the air. As he did, his voice echoed out, "Nightcrypt, the Blood Stream Sect is a devilish sect, but we keep our promises. If you go back on your word in front of all these Fellow Daoists, you'll be hated by everyone! No one will ever believe you again!"

Master God-Diviner was truly afraid. He feared that Naruto was intentionally drawing him out of his immortal's cave to attack him. Even as he flew off, he tossed down the jade pendant to the immortal's cave.

Never could he have imagined that Naruto really had just come for the immortal's cave, and not his life. In fact, he still couldn't believe it, and his heart pounded with the feeling of having nearly escaped a deadly catastrophe.

As he caught the jade pendant, Naruto stared at the fleeing

Master God-Diviner. Only then did he understand what was going on. Sighing, he ignored Master God-Diviner and then stepped into the blood tree forest. As soon as the b

lood trees realized they had a new master, they were all smiles, and even began to lavish him with praise.

"Master Nightdevil is mighty and extraordinary, invincible under the heavens."

"Master Nightdevil is a master strategist! He can succeed with even the most difficult tasks!"

Naruto looked at the fawning blood trees with a somber, cold expression, and yet, a gleam of encouragement could be seen in his eyes. At first, the blood trees had been very nervous, but when they saw the encouraging look, they mustered their courage and heaped more flattery upon him. Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"I really am quite outstanding," he murmured. "No matter where I go, people are always trying to flatter me. It's annoying, and yet, I can't really stop them either." His sighs caused the blood trees' flattery to increase.

"Compared to Nightdevil, no other devils exist in the world!"

"With a single glance, Nightdevil causes all the female cultivators to swoon…."

"When Nightdevil sighs, the heavens turn dim!"

As the blood trees went all out with their praise, Naruto happily stepped into Master God-Diviner's immortal's cave. The blood qi here didn't seem any less strong than that near Song Que's blood waterfall.

Naruto felt even more satisfied than before.

There were seven or eight puppets present which all offered formal greetings. He quickly sent them over to his old collapsed immortal's cave to bring his belongings over.

Soon, the fact that Naruto had occupied Master God-Diviner's immortal's cave spread through all of Middle Peak. Yet again, a whole new set of stories regarding Nightcrypt's brutality were told.

Half a month went by, during which time the stories of Nightcrypt grew more and more wild. All of the cultivator clans in the area already knew about him.

Soon, everyone was aware that a new, savage figure had appeared in the Blood Stream Sect. He had single-handedly fought an entire group of Foundation Establishment experts, and even killed seven or eight of them. He had drawn upon all the blood qi of Middle Peak to form an enormous, shocking blood sword.

And then there was his Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening, which left everyone completely astonished.

"He has a strange personality, and is completely unpredictable. One second he'll be slaughtering people left and right, the next, he's calm and lets everyone off the hook. It's impossible to figure him out…."

"I heard that, according to Patriarch Limitless, it was Nightcrypt's devilish personality that enabled him to escape alive from the Spirit Stream Sect's Naruto. Nightcrypt has obviously been extraordinary for some time!"

"Not even Song Que is a match for him! It's too bad he's only at MortalDao Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, he'd be even stronger than he is now!"

"That's nothing. I heard that the grand elders of all four mountain peaks fought over him. In the end, he chose Grand Elder Song Junwan of Middle Peak. What a pity…."

Of course, news leaked from Blood Stream Sect territory into the territory of other sects. Eventually, even the warring Profound Stream Sect and Pill Stream Sect had heard of Nightcrypt.

The Spirit Stream Sect was closer than they were to the Blood Stream Sect, so they were privy to more details. Eventually, both the north and south banks of the Spirit Stream Sect were abuzz with the topic.

Ghostfang was in secluded meditation, but even he heard some of the stories. Frowning, he thought back to the Fallen Sword Abyss, but couldn't recall a Blood Stream Sect disciple with that name. "Nightcrypt? I don't remember him…."

Shangguan Tianyou was also in secluded meditation. After thinking the matter over, he couldn't recall any information about the person in question. But that didn't matter. He wasn't happy about anyone being stronger than him. When it came to the Chosen of any generation, they knew that the only way to maintain their place was to keep getting stronger and stronger.

"Nightcrypt…." Zhou Xinqi took a deep breath. The Spirit Stream Sect paid very close attention to the affairs of the Blood Stream Sect. Zhou Xinqi was very shocked by the news, especially when she heard that he had fought a battle with an entire group of Foundation Establishment experts. Gritting her teeth, she focused even harder on her cultivation.

It was the same with Beihan Lie, Lu Tianlei, Xu Song, Gongsun Yun and many other Chosen. The stories about Nightcrypt spurred them into even greater focus. As for the sect leader and the other high level leaders, they also took note, but what interested them more was the Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening.

"If this Nightcrypt keeps getting stronger, he could turn into quite the calamity…."

"Put more resources into the search for Naruto. Ever since the kid left, not even a shadow of him has turned up. Even the people we sent to watch over him haven't been able to turn up any clues."

The Spirit Stream Sect Chosen and leadership figures were shaken. As for the ordinary Inner Sect disciples, most of them weren't very impressed with the stories they heard.

"What the hell is a Nightcrypt? Can he even come close to Sect Uncle Bai?"

"Yeah, exactly. If Sect Uncle Uzumaki fought him, this Nightcrypt would be turned to ash in a second!" That was what many people were saying, especially Hou Xiaomei and Big Fatty Zhang. Xu Baocai was especially fervent in his opinions as well.

In fact, to confirm her theory that the newly famous Nightcrypt would be completely destroyed by the simple wave of Naruto's finger, Hou Xiaomei went to consult with Hou Yunfei, who was in secluded meditation.

After a long moment of thought, Hou Yunfei smiled and said, "Nightcrypt? There were too many people attacking Naruto at the same time. I don't really remember them all."

"I knew that guy was a nobody! Big Bro Naruto is the awesomest." At first, Hou Xiaomei was very happy. However, her mood quickly soured. "Where do you think Naruto is now anyway? How come nobody can find him? I hope he's not in trouble."

Hou Yunfei tousled her hair and looked off into the distance.

"Don't worry about him," he said with a slight smile. "No matter where he ends up, the people who'll end up in trouble are the unlucky folks around him. Who knows how many folks he's driven crazy so far?"

Hou Xiaomei thought back to all of the past events Naruto had been involved with, and smiled. Finally, she took a deep breath. Eyes filled with determination, and cheeks flushed, she decided that she had to work hard at her cultivation. Without doing that, there wasn't any hope at all of anything happening between her and Naruto.

As stories of Nightcrypt spread, Naruto was sitting by the blood cistern, working on his cultivation. With the help of the strong blood qi in the area, he was already working on the second level of the Undying Heavenly King.

By now, more than half of the Heavenspan River water had merged into his first spiritual sea. Before long, the process would be complete.

That would signify that he had begun to break through from early Foundation Establishment. It would also represent another step of progress with his Human Controlling Grand Magic. At that point, he would be able to experiment in ways that he had only been able to dream about before.

Although he hadn't come across an opportunity to use his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, he was confident that when he opened it, it would be even more powerful than before.

Then there was his Mountain Shaking Bash. He continued to practice with it, which caused booming sounds to echo around his immortal's cave as he grew more and more familiar with it.

He didn't give up on his work with protomagnetic power either. Although he hadn't mastered it, he was convinced that it was an extraordinary magic, and his heart thumped with anticipation at being able to use the powers of gravity and repulsion.

"If I could completely come to understand it, then if someone stronger than me was chasing me, I could just wave my finger, and they wouldn't be able to get close. As for anyone weaker than me, I could just wave my hand, and they would fly toward me." When he thought about that, his eyes glittered like diamonds.

—

Chapter 208 Chapter 208

Chapter 208: Save Me Big Sis Song

"Being able to force people to come and go as I wish. Now that is a level unto itself." The more Naruto thought about it, the more he looked forward to it. He could almost imagine what it would be like when he mastered protomagnetic power, and could reduce things to ash with the wave of his hand. The swish of a sleeve could send enemies far off into the distance, and simultaneously bring friends closeby to protect them.

It was such an entrancing idea that Naruto looked at his sleeve for a moment, and then decided to perform some more tests.

He worked hard for more than half a month.

One night, in the middle of his protomagnetic power research, a bloodcolored palanquin trundled along toward the sect, carried on the shoulders of eight gargoyles.

On either side of the palanquin were hosts of palace maids carrying blood-colored lanterns that caused blood-colored light to spill out in all directions. Inside the palanquin was Xuemei, wearing her mask, staring grimly at a jade slip she held in her hand.

She had left the sect a few months ago on a mission. After killing some Profound Stream Sect spies in one of the local cultivator clans, she was now on her way back to the sect.

"Nightcrypt…." Looking over at the sect, her eyes flickered with killing intent. About a month ago, when she was still in the middle of her mission, she had heard some of the other disciples talking about Nightcrypt. She knew about the chaos on Middle Peak, and also knew that her immortal's cave had been destroyed….

Now, more killing intent roiled in her eyes than before. In the past, she hadn't thought much about Nightcrypt. To her, he was like an ant, someone who could be killed at the drop of a hat.

If it weren't for the fact that she had been out on a mission, she would have arranged to have him exterminated. Even the fact that he had been hiding on Corpse Peak wouldn't have mattered. Of course, she wouldn't have done the deed herself.

But then Nightcrypt had the gall to actually destroy her immortal's cave.

After that came the news that he had fought with a whole group of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and had even drawn upon the blood qi of all of Middle Peak for his Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening. It was truly a spectacular accomplishment.

However, if Xuemei wanted him killed, she could still do it!

Waving her hand, she said, "To Middle Peak!"

In response to her words, the palace maids and gargoyles changed direction. Instead of heading toward Ancestor Peak, they were now moving through the darkness of night toward Middle Peak.

Her arrival caused pressure to spread out that many of the Foundation Establishment cultivators could detect, whereupon they saw the blood palanquin. As for the cultivators who had teamed up to fight Naruto, their eyes shone with delight.

That was especially true of Master God-Diviner. He was now living in a relatively simple and crude immortal's cave, and when he saw Xuemei's palanquin flying through the air, he began to tremble with excitement.

"Let's see how you hide this time, Nightcrypt! Everyone else is too scared to attack you. Even Patriarch Limitless approved of you. But Young Lady Xuemei reached nine Tideflows, and she's Patriarch Limitless' beloved daughter! If she wants to kill you, not even the patriarch would stop her! You're dead, Nightcrypt!"

Although it was very quiet on Middle Peak, if you listened carefully, you would be able to hear numerous cultivators doing their best to stifle their breathing. It was like the calm before a storm.

Soon the blood palanquin was hovering in the air above Xuemei's immortal's cav

e. When Xuemei saw the rubble down below, she began to breathe heavily. Transforming into a beam of blood-colored light, she shot down toward the immortal's cave.

The wave of her sleeve sent countless rocks and bits of rubble flying away to reveal a destroyed spell formation, and the shattered remnants of her blood bottle.

As she stared at her bottle, her murderous aura grew more and more intense, until it formed an explosive energy around her. Astonishingly, nine vortexes could be seen surrounding her.

Those were the manifestations of the nine Tideflows of her Earthstring Foundation Establishment. They spun rapidly until they were like nine enormous tornadoes, causing widespread shock among the cultivators in the area. A moment later, Xuemei's voice echoed out, filled with boundless killing intent.

"Where is Nightcrypt!?"

Master God-Diviner had been paying close attention to what was happening, and as soon as he heard her words, he burst out into the open and flew over. Clasping hands and bowing deeply, he excitedly said, "Young Lady Xuemei, please take charge here. Nightcrypt is matchlessly vicious, a thug who commits every imaginable misdeed. Not only did he destroy your immortal's cave, he killed many fellow members of the sect. Then he stole my immortal's cave! That's exactly where you can find him right now. I'll lead the way, Young Lady!"

Xuemei looked at Master God-Diviner, and her gaze caused his heart to pound. Averting his gaze, he quickly led her toward Naruto.

Quite a few other Foundation Establishment cultivators were in the area secretly watching, and they began to follow along. Cruel looks could be seen in their eyes as they anticipated the scene of Young Lady Xuemei slaughtering Naruto.

"Nightcrypt is dead!"

"Hmph! Let's see him be arrogant and aggressive this time! He can bully us, but he'll be like an bug in front of Young Lady Xuemei!"

"Young Lady Xuemei reached nine Tideflows, shaking the entire eastern

Lower Reaches of the cultivation world. Other than the legendary Bai

Naruto, who could possibly be a match for her?"

They followed along excitedly until they were outside of Naruto's new immortal's cave.

"Young Lady Xuemei," Master God-Diviner said through gritted teeth, "the hoodlum is right here!" After everything that had occurred, Master God-Diviner hated Naruto down to his very bones.

Xuemei looked at the immortal's cave and the blood trees with the vicious faces. The blood trees opened their eyes, and immediately began to tremble. None of them dared to even speak; apparently they could sense how much more terrifying Young Lady Xuemei was than Nightcrypt.

Not only did they not say a word, they uprooted themselves and moved off to the side, revealing the blood cistern and the immortal's cave.

Xuemei's killing intent slowly transformed into blood qi, which swirled around her as she began to stride forward. It only took a moment for her to be hovering directly above the immortal's cave. There, she lifted her right hand, which turned blood-red before she then shoved it downward.

All of Middle Peak trembled in response, and the same spell formation appeared that had appeared when the patriarch made a move not too many days before. Massive amounts of blood qi swirled together, converging beneath Xuemei in the form of an enormous, blood-colored plum blossom.

Then, the plum blossom began to drop down toward the immortal's cave!

The cave's spell formation was activated, and attempted to fight back, but the blood-colored plum blossom was too shockingly powerful. It had been converged from all of the blood qi in the area, and seemed capable of completely dominating the spell formation. The spell formation only managed to hold out for a few breaths' worth of time before it faded away. Then Xuemei's attack continued to descend.

Incredible rumbling echoed out in all directions. The crowd looked on excitedly as Naruto's immortal's cave began to collapse, sending rocks and rubble tumbling in all directions.

"Young Lady Xue is almighty!"

"Hahaha! Nightcrypt, you're…." Although everyone was cheering at first, they quickly discovered that, unexpectedly, the immortal's cave was empty….

Xuemei snorted coldly, then waved her finger toward the blood cistern. Instantly, blood qi erupted out, slamming into the cistern, which collapsed with a boom. At the same time, someone shot out from inside the cistern, that person being Naruto himself.

He had been practicing cultivation happily at the bottom of the cistern when he suddenly heard the commotion up above. Before he could even take the time to check what was happening, the top of the cistern had been destroyed. He wasn't injured, but he was certainly shocked. He also wasn't sure what type of mysterious treasure she was using to create such an overpowering aura. That was the only explanation why he hadn't detected her earlier. "Listen, we're all Chosen, so please just listen to what I–"

Xuemei looked over at him calmly. There were some people in life that she didn't view as insects, but Nightcrypt wasn't one of those people.

She waved her finger again, and Naruto immediately felt a sensation of imminent crisis. It was the explosive power of nine Tideflows!

She only waved her finger once, but it contained layer upon layer of power, all of which was bearing down on Naruto.

Naruto was angry; in his opinion, they were all Chosen, so there was no reason they couldn't sit down and discuss things reasonably. Why did they have to instantly resort to deadly fighting? However, at the moment, he had no choice but to unleash his own blood qi. Raising his hand up over his head, he grabbed the blood sword that formed, and then slashed it out in front of him.

A boom echoed out, shaking everything in the area. As the shockwave spread out, Naruto's hair flew about wildly. For the first time, a brilliant light shone in Xuemei's eyes, and she snorted coldly.

"Not bad after all," she said coolly. "But external power is nothing more than external power. Blood Qi Seal!" Her right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then she pointed her finger out, and the same thing that had occurred when the patriarch appeared happened again.

All of the blood qi around Naruto began to tremble and disperse. Naruto looked around, and immediately realized that there were the signs of a spell formation in the ground.

Although she couldn't control all of Middle Peak like Patriarch Limitless could, she could control a smaller area.

"As of this moment," she said placidly, "you are nothing more than an ant." Then she began to speed toward Naruto. Naruto's face fell. The blood qi in the area had been suppressed, but if he wanted to, he could seize control back, just like he had done before. Unfortunately, if he did that now, it would reveal some secrets that he didn't want other people to know about.

A boom rang out as they slammed into each other. Naruto staggered back, his rage growing. As for Xuemei, intense killing intent could be seen in her eyes. She once again performed another incantation gesture, summoning a blood-colored plum blossom which shot toward Naruto.

A fierce look could be seen in Naruto's eyes. Xuemei was far stronger than Song Que, and was in fact the most powerful enemy he had encountered since reaching Foundation Establishment. Even as he was trying to decide how to deal with her, a flirtatious laugh suddenly echoed out in the area.

"What foul wind blew Young Lady Xuemei over here? What's wrong? You don't like my Junior Brother Nightcrypt?" Another casual laugh floated through the area as Middle Peak Grand Elder Song Junwan appeared in front of Naruto. She was wearing a different outfit than before, but it was just as incapable of containing her voluptuous physique as the other, almost as if she had to breath out just to fit into it. Curves were visible everywhere, along with milky white skin. She was truly explosively sexy….

As soon as the words left her mouth, the blood-colored plum blossom stopped in place in midair. Song Junwan's hair floated around her, and a fragrant aroma spread out. She was like a ripe peach that caused all of the other Foundation Establishment cultivators to gasp with desire. Tongues sticking to the roofs of their mouths, they bowed their heads to avoid looking at the fatally attractive image in front of them.

Only Naruto dared to stare. Then, he spoke up, sounding wronged and bullied.

"Big Sis Song, if you'd been even a bit later, I would have lost my poor little life."

Chapter 209 Chapter 209

Chapter 209: Silenced In Death….

"You're always looking at me like that, you lecherous little rascal," Song Junwan said with a flirtatious smile. "What exactly do you think you're going to do?" Although she didn't seem to technically be flirting, her spectacular beauty and sparkling eyes would stir the emotions of anyone who saw them.

In his heart, Naruto wanted to tell her that she was a vixen. However, if he didn't somehow manage to become grand elder himself, then the only way to get the relic of eternal indestructibility would be to sneak in through her bedchamber. Therefore, he looked down shyly, lowered his voice and said, "Big Sis Song, you're peerless and sublime. I don't know why, but I just can't stop myself from staring…."

With that, he stared at her a bit more. The way he treated her differently was exactly what Song Junwan found so amusing.

Their flirtatious exchange caused all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators to grumble bitterly inside. In addition to the hatred they felt for Naruto, there was also a bit of envy….

That was especially true of Master God-Diviner, whose eyes widened into a near glare. Panting, he suddenly wished he could switch places with Naruto. He wanted to be the one standing in front of Song Junwan, the Middle Peak grand elder who was in fact a rare beauty. He wanted to be the one flirting back and forth with her!

Xuemei looked at the two of them, and the coldness in her eyes grew more intense. Snorting coldly, she said, "I'm also curious about something. What foul wind was it that brought Song Junwan over here? Get out of my way!"

With that, she waved her hand, and the blood-colored plum blossom suddenly began to move again.

Song Junwan's smile suddenly turned icy. "Du Xuemei, this is Middle

Peak. Don't let your presumptuousness get the better of you!" 1

She waved her right hand, and the spell formation that covered the area suddenly flared to life. Earlier, Xuemei had just barely forced some of it to work, but now, the entire thing was in motion. The blood-colored plum blossom shattered, transforming into massive amounts of blood qi. Most of it scattered, although some of it was absorbed back by Xuemei.

Xuemei stuck her chin up and arrogantly said, "I'm in the middle of something here, why don't you mind your own business?"

The expression on her face when she looked at Song Junwan was different than when she looked at others; it was one of derision, and even intentional provocation.

"This is my business. I dare you to do something to Nightcrypt! Try it, and see what happens!" Laughing coldly, Song Junwan's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and she waved her finger toward the ground. Instantly, the spell formation expanded, and in the blink of an eye, all of the lower finger was lit up. Song Junwan's eyes shone with just as much derision and provocation as Xuemei's.

Moved, Naruto remained behind Song Junwan, glaring hatefully at Xuemei.

Xuemei took a step forward, and her cultivation base erupted with power, becoming a tornado of nine vortexes that stretched high up into the sky. This was the awe-inspiring power of Earthstring Foundation Establishment and nine Tideflows. "I'd originally planned to simply sever his hands to teach him a lesson. But since you're protecting him now, I think I'll end his life!"

Naruto's eyes flickered, and inwardly, he despised Xuemei even more. If he could reveal his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, then the snap of his finger would leave her shocked into a daze.

"Other people might fear your status, but not Song

Junwan. I couldn't care less. If you harm a single hair on Nightcrypt's head, I'll cut off one of your fingers!" Song Junwan also took a step forward and unleashed the power of her cultivation base. Although she didn't have the vortexes of nine Tideflows, she was in the great circle of late Foundation Establishment; the quality of the power at her disposal couldn't match up to Xuemei's, but the sheer volume was overwhelming!

Cracking sounds emanated out as the power from the two slammed into each other. Plants and trees in the area were shredded to pieces, and as the shockwave spread out, the Foundation Establishment cultivators' hearts trembled.

Xuemei was clearly not a match, and after their initial clash, she staggered backward.

Naruto was so shaken than he didn't know what to do or say. He almost couldn't believe that the beautiful grand elder was treating him so well. For him, she had offended Xuemei and even put herself on the line. Although Naruto was of the opinion that one of his hairs was worth a lot more than a finger, he was still very moved by the grand elder's goodwill.

"She's really treating me too well," he thought. "What am I supposed to do…?" Feeling a headache coming on, he hovered behind Song Junwan and stared somberly at Xuemei.

Xuemei gave a cold harrumph. Eyes burning with fury and killing intent, she waved her right index finger, causing a white beam of light to shoot out from her bag of holding. It transformed into a little white bell which had a smiling face engraved on its surface. Upon closer examination, however, the face almost seemed to be crying. If you started at it for too long, your scalp would begin to tingle, and your heart would fill with fear.

As soon as the bell appeared, a bizarre aura spread out in all directions. As it merged into the nine Tideflow vortexes, the Tideflow power erupted, and massive rumbling sounds filled the area. Strangely, the power from the bell seemed to be combining with the nine Tideflow vortexes.

Instantly, the energy in the area skyrocketed, and the bell began to grow larger until it was fully 30 meters tall. As it hovered there in midair, it radiated boundless might and pressure.

Xuemei's eyes flickered. Thanks to the assistance of this magical item, her cultivation base power was rising until it was on the same level as Song Junwan's!

Apparently, the ringing sound of the bell could influence the emotions of those who heard it. The faces of the onlookers flickered, and even Song Junwan's pupils constricted.

This was clearly not a magical item designed for Foundation

Establishment cultivators. Considering Xuemei's status, it was obvious to everyone that this was a precious treasure which had been gifted to her by her father Patriarch Limitless.

It was only possible to imagine how powerful of a precious treasure a patriarch would give to his beloved daughter.

Song Junwan gritted her teeth. She had never gotten along with Xuemei, and both of them were currently engaged in a broader struggle for power. Although their mutual dislike had festered for years, Song Junwan currently had a far more powerful cultivation base than Xuemei. And yet, a precious treasure provided by Patriarch Limitless was enough to fill her heart with fear.

However, Xuemei's heart also trembled in fear. She might have her precious treasure, but in terms of cultivation base, she wasn't a match for Song Junwan. Furthermore, when it came to official status in the sect, she couldn't really compete.

The two of them stared at each other, both of them scared, and neither one willing to make the first move.

Naruto remained off to the side, shocked, staring in amazement at the precious magical item.

The two women stared at each other for a while before Song Junwan finally chuckled coldly. Smiling a beautiful smile, she spoke words that cut as deeply as a razor-sharp blade.

"You wear a mask all day, and a mask carved with a plum flower at that. You might as well carve your own ass on that mask, Xuemei. You're obviously so ugly you don't dare to show your face in public!" Everyone in the area gasped. It was almost as if they were listening to a stranger, and not the grand elder.

Naruto's jaw dropped, and he looked over at Xuemei, wondering how she would counterattack.

Xuemei snorted coldly. Completely ignoring Naruto, she glared at Song Junwan and said, "Oh yeah? Well your good looks are probably why you're so easy! The only way you got to be grand elder of Middle Peak was by losing your virtue in 10,000 affairs! Everybody in the sect knows it! I wouldn't be surprised if you'd sleep with 100,000 people to become a blood master! Wouldn't you?!"

Countless gasps echoed out, and the cultivators of Middle Peak stared with wide eyes. As of this moment, Xuemei also seemed like a complete stranger.

Xuemei's counterattack struck Naruto mute. Gasping, he couldn't decide which one of them was superior. They actually seemed to be evenly matched….

However, something seemed odd about the situation, and suddenly, he wondered if he had felt moved for no reason. By now, the two shrews seemed to be completely ignoring him, and were consumed by hatred for each other….

"Hey, hold on!" he thought. "I'm supposed to be the center of attention. Did they forget about me?" Blinking, he decided to remind them of what was going on.

"Listen, ladies–"

However, before he could finish, both Xuemei and Song Junwan snapped, "Shut up!"

Naruto was initially frightened, but then enraged. However, before he could say anything else, Song Junwan laughed coldly. "Shut your ass up, Du Xuemei. I'm not the easy one. The easy one was your mother. She had to do a blood test just to figure out that Patriarch Limitless was your father. That's the truth, and everybody knows it! Other people might not dare to say it out loud, but go ask any of your father's friends. They all know!"

Song Junwan laughed coldly. This time, there were no gasps. Everyone was completely dumbstruck. Considering that a patriarch had just been mentioned, they felt almost like they had been struck by thunder. There were even some who started to slowly edge away.

Obviously, in a brutal organization like the Blood Stream Sect, a secret the likes of which had just been mentioned was the kind that people got killed for hearing. Song Junwan might not be afraid, but that was because one of the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs was from her clan. Nobody else present had such a background!

Not willing to be outdone, Xuemei spat, "Slanderer! You think I don't know the truth about you? Song Que is your love child! And Nightcrypt is your secret lover! If that weren't the case, you never would have showed up so quickly. You probably stepped out the back door and then just hurried back, didn't you!? You disgusting slut-bucket!"

This second batch of unverifiable news caused the scalps of all onlookers to tingler in fear. Moments ago, people had been edging away quietly, but at this point, they didn't dare to hear anything more. Hearts pounding, they fled, convinced that if they listened any further, they would end up dead.

Naruto was also trembling in terror, and was wondering if he would also be silenced in death to keep the news from spreading.

He began to carefully sneak away, hoping to put as much distance between himself and these two women as possible. The truth was that, in this moment, he was just as scared as he had been back in the Luochen Mountains.

Even as he prepared to flee at top speed, Song Junwan and Xuemei continued to curse each other, revealing even more explosive bits of information. Naruto's skin crawled as he heard all sorts of sordid history regarding the Blood Stream Sect.

By this point, the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs were aware of what was happening. Eventually, it seemed they weren't interested in hearing any more, and one of the patriarchs cleared his throat. The sound transformed into rumbling thunder, and a lightning bolt even split the sky overhead.

Song Junwan and Xuemei knew what that meant. Neither of them wanted to back down, but they had no choice. With a final vicious glare at each other, they snorted coldly and parted ways. One flew up to the upper finger, the other left Middle Peak.

Unexpectedly, neither of them spared a second glance for Naruto….

Soon, everything was quiet. Naruto hovered there in shock for a moment before looking around and sighed. There were few things in life as terrifying as two women who hated each other….

—

Chapter 210 Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Grand Elder, Please Behave Yourself!

Naruto sighed and looked down at his immortal's cave, pondering his miserable existence. Since arriving in the Blood Stream Sect, he'd had two immortal's caves destroyed.

"These people are savages! One slip of the tongue and they destroy your immortal's cave!" Shaking his head, he looked over furiously at the blood trees.

The blood trees had been completely useless; they'd been so scared that they didn't even offer a warning. Now that he was glaring at them, they were shivering and attempting to look as ingratiating as possible.

Naruto was not in a good mood. After glaring at the trees well and good, he warned them that if something like this happened again, he would tear them up by the roots once and for all. After the trembling trees promised that they would behave better in the future, Naruto finally let them off the hook.

It took the rest of the night to clean up the mess that was the remains of his immortal's cave. Around dawn, he used spiritual power to repair some of the damage, and then used the rest of the day to recover.

As he sat there cross-legged in the immortal's cave, he thought about the situation, and came to the conclusion that Xuemei probably wouldn't come back for him any time soon. As long as he stayed on the mountain, he shouldn't have any trouble.

"Just wait until I get that relic of eternal indestructibility!" he said, snorting coldly. "Then I'll show that hussy Xuemei how awesome I really am!" Then he thought about all the secrets he'd heard, and was suddenly worried again.

"It should be fine, right…?" he thought, trying to comfort himself. However, three days later, he happened to hear that a random disciple had been summoned by the grand elder, and had been punished severely for no apparent reason. Naruto immediately started to get more nervous.

From what he remembered, that disciple had been one of the group who heard all of the secrets.

Another day went by, and Naruto heard about a disciple who had somehow provoked Xuemei. Apparently, she had punished him by tossing him into Blood Prison. Naruto began to pant in shock.

"I'm finished. Kaput. The shrews are starting to tie up all the loose ends!" Naruto anxiously tried to get more information about what was happening. During that time, he heard plenty of rumors about cultivators being imprisoned by Xuemei or dispatched by the grand elder to the Profound Stream Sect or Pill Stream Sect on spy missions….

Most unbelievable was a tale about one of the cultivators who was summoned to the upper finger for an audience with the grand elder, and then was suddenly killed.

"That cultivator must have been a complete idiot," Naruto thought. After hearing everything that was happening with the cultivators who had heard the secrets, Naruto trembled with fear. He even thought about simply fleeing, but couldn't bring himself to do so.

"It wasn't my fault that I heard that stuff! Ai." He didn't want to hear the secrets of Xuemei's past, or know how many people Song Junwan had been in relationships with!

After a few more days passed, no more stories popped up about people being punished, and Naruto started to relax.

The next day, as he was in the middle of cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique, his expression flickered, and he suddenly turned his head. Outside of his immortal's cave, a cold voice suddenly rang out, "Nightcrypt, the grand elder has requested your presence."

As soon as Naruto heard that, his heart seized. Trembling in fear, he opened the door a crack to look at the

person outside.

Beyond the trembling blood trees stood an old man wearing a bloodcolored robe decorated with complex golden designs. He had his hands clasped behind his back, and from the fluctuations of his cultivation base, he was in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

When Naruto saw the blood-colored robe and the golden designs, he knew exactly who this person was. He occupied a position second only to the grand elder, and definitely much higher than Dharma protectors or regular elders. He was a bloodstreak elder! "A bloodstreak elder! C-could he be here to silence me?!"

Usually there were ten or so bloodstreak elders on every mountain, and they cooperated with the grand elder to maintain order.

Naruto looked like he was about to cry. His mind replayed all of the stories he'd heard about the cultivators who had been punished over the past weeks, and he got so nervous that his face went pale.

"What do I do? What do I do!?"

The bloodstreak elder was starting to get impatient, and called out, "Nightcrypt, what's with the dillydallying? I'll give you three breaths of time to get out here!"

Grimacing, Naruto hesitated for a moment, but finally realized there was nothing he could do. Gritting his teeth, he walked out of the immortal's cave. The bloodstreak elder glared at him, clearly displeased with Naruto's slowness. With a cold snort, he led the way toward the upper finger.

Naruto followed along, mind racing with plans for how to deal with the situation. His nervousness only continued to mount as he followed the bloodstreak elder to Song Junwan's immortal's cave.

The grounds were expansive, and covered with blood-red roses that filled the air with a fragrant aroma. Nine blood waterfalls could be seen in the area, which poured into a blood lake. A stone path led across the lake to the area behind the waterfalls, where a mysterious immortal's cave was located.

Only after passing through the waterfalls would one be able to actually see the door of the immortal's cave, which was pitch black. Four young attendants stood there silently on guard. Within the waters of the blood lake, it was possible to see strange fish swimming about. When they occasionally leaped out of the water, vicious teeth and spined fins could be seen before they splashed down out of sight.

"Go in, the grand elder is waiting for you," the bloodstreak elder said coolly. Then he sat down cross-legged off to the side.

Naruto looked around nervously. Of course, it wasn't lost on him that this location was his ultimate goal in the Blood Stream Sect. The relic of eternal indestructibility was located beneath this very immortal's cave.

Sighing, he walked carefully along the path, his heart pounding in his chest. Eventually, he passed through the waterfalls, and was in front of the door.

The four young attendants looked at him coldly, but didn't say anything.

Naruto gritted his teeth, and tried to convince himself that the patriarchs knew who he was, so if Song Junwan wanted to make a move against him, they would surely intervene. After all, he had already accomplished an Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening!

Clearing his throat, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Nightcrypt is here to offer greetings, Big Sis Song."

Song Junwan's voice drifted out from the immortal's cave in response. "Come in."

Her voice sounded as lovely as ever to Naruto, but there also seemed something vaguely sinister about it. Having no other choice, he braced himself, pushed open the door, and entered.

A delicate fragrance met him as he stepped into the luxuriously decorated immortal's cave. Glowing pearls were inlaid in the ceiling, while the floor was green and scintillated like a gem. There was strong blood qi, as well as abundant spiritual energy, so much so that it made everything a bit hazy.

It was impossible to say how many side rooms there were, but the grand hall in the middle had a hot spring, from which steam rose up into the air. Floating there in the water was a woman, her body just barely visible underneath the surface. She almost looked like a mermaid as she swayed back and forth, her curves so prominent that Naruto's tongue immediately stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Vixen!" he thought. "Don't even think of making a pass at Naruto! You can't fool me. This is obviously a trap. If I stare at you, you'll accuse me of offending you!" Gritting his teeth, he forced his gaze down, refusing to look at her.

"Come on in!" Song Junwan said. Naruto walked forward, head bowed, until he was at the edge of the water. At that point, it became impossible to look down, so instead, he looked up to study the glowing pearls overhead. Expression somber, he could just barely see her body out of the corner of his eyes. Heart trembling, he yet again cursed the vixen….

Song Junwan could see what he was doing, and chuckled flirtatiously. Then, the sound of rippling water could be heard as she swam to the edge of the hot spring and stepped out. Draping a blood-red bathrobe over herself, she walked over to Naruto, then reached out with her jade-like finger and tugged his chin down.

"What's wrong, Little Bro Nightcrypt? No lewd stare for me today?" Her breath smelled like an orchid, and considering how close she was, it was impossible for him not to see her milky white skin. It was a very enticing scene, something almost impossible to describe with words. Anyone who laid eyes on her in this situation would surely be struck mute.

Her eyes sparkled like spring rain, and were both profoundly deep and endlessly charming. It almost seemed like looking into them would leave a man eternally lost within their depths, unable to think, unable to free himself.

Song Junwan slowly leaned over and blew gently into Naruto's ear, and her hot breath made him shiver all the way down to his bones and even his soul.

He almost couldn't take it. He shivered under the intense stimulation, and even started to pant. By this point his eyes were completely bloodshot. Song Junwan appeared to be smiling, and yet, there was something disdainful and cold in her eyes. Just when she seemed to be on the verge of saying something else….

Naruto took a few steps back. Instead of looking up at the ceiling, he stared directly into her eyes. His own eyes were bloodshot, his face distorted almost as if with pain.

"Grand elder," he said, almost growling, "please behave yourself!" A look of disappointment appeared in his eyes, something like bitter heartbreak. He almost seemed like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Song Junwan, who had been on the verge of speaking, suddenly stared back at him in shock, and the coldness in her eyes vanished. "Grand elder, in my heart, you are holy, like the moon in the sky, eternally sacred, so beautiful that even someone who spotted you from afar would be envious." He looked hurt, and although his words were spoken softly, they filled the whole immortal's cave.

—

Chapter 211 Chapter 211

Chapter 211: The Ultimate Vixen….

"Grand elder, I refuse to believe the things that Xuemei said. Not one little bit. In my heart, you are as holy as a lotus, something the filth of the world can't even come close to touching. You are as beautiful as a sea immortal, completely beyond the sordid dirtiness of the world around you!" As he got more emotional, the pain in his eyes grew more intense.

"Grand elder, allow me to tell you what kind of person you are in my heart. I dream of you night and day. You are an eternal safe haven for my soul, the ideal immortal goddess, something pure and sacred that I must protect for my whole life." Naruto's sorrow and despair was making him shake, and the disappointment he felt in his heart was turning into a madness that was exploding out as if it had been suppressed for far too long.

He swished his sleeve, and a bit of a murderous aura began to emanate off of him, as if he couldn't suppress it any longer. It was as if he had climbed a mountain of corpses and waded through a sea of blood to get where he was. Even his veins of steel began to show through. "I, Nightcrypt, can't even count how many people I've killed in my life. I am as vicious as they get. I've lost touch with my humanity, with my feelings, with my passion. I am like an empty shell filled with nothing but the coldness of slaughter and brutality. However, in the emptiness, there is a spark of light. And that light sparked into being when I first laid eyes on you, grand elder."

A tremor ran through Song Junwan's beautiful frame. She almost seemed to be in a daze as she stared at the disappointment in Naruto's eyes. There was pain and grief there, as if something beautiful and holy which he had been completely attached to… had collapsed. It was as if his entire world had fallen apart, and he was now descending into hysteria.

"I didn't choose Middle Peak, Grand Elder, I chose… you!

"You talk about my lewd stare, but you are mistaken. I have never looked at you in such a way. Every time I look at you, I just want to protect you…."

By this point, his bloodshot eyes overflowed with pain as he shouted,

"Grand elder, the person standing in front of me right now is not you!

"Put on your clothes! Get that look off your face! Enough with the flirting. I want to see the pure and unsullied Song Junwan that exists in my heart, the person that I, Nightcrypt, wish to protect for my whole life. Return to me that which is the light of my life…." From Naruto's twisted expression, he almost seemed to be going insane. His roaring voice echoed about in the immortal's cave, causing the hot spring waters to vibrate. It almost seemed as if he were giving vent to his deepest emotions.

Imposter Nightcrypt's soul was shaken as he observed the actions of Naruto, stupefied by how realistic his wording was, and how his emotions seemed so real.

The immortal's cave was quiet for a moment, but then Naruto began to chuckle hoarsely. Sounding disappointed and hurt, he quietly turned away so that he wasn't looking at Song Junwan.

He was trembling, although the truth was that it was from fear. As soon as he had stepped into the immortal's cave, he had sensed the intangible coldness inside, and he realized that nothing he had planned on the way over would work.

He could only improvise. As soon as Song Junwan emerged from the water, he knew that he had to exercise utmost caution, lest he be finished.

"This stinking shrew is completely nefarious!" Naruto really felt as if he'd gotten the short end of the stick. How could he ever have imagined that Song Junwan would be so vicious? Clearly she knew tha

t the patriarchs liked him, and that he was also very famous in the sect. That was why she had chosen to use such tactics on him.

"It's a good thing Naruto is no fool!" he thought. "Let's see what trick she pulls next!" Remaining completely vigilant, he waited for Song Junwan to make her next move.

Song Junwan's mind was spinning, and she was trembling visibly. Naruto's words had stabbed deep into her heart, like the sharpest of blades. Now that she stood there looking at his back, he seemed taller than ever, as though he could support heaven and earth on his shoulders.

She wasn't even sure what to say. Nightcrypt had completely shaken her to the core. It felt like a mountain had fallen onto her, something that broke down all the barriers in her mind and left her soul exposed.

She could only stand there quietly trying to calm the chaos in her heart. Her original intention had been to call Nightcrypt over to try to find a reason to punish him. If she could lock him up in Blood Prison, then she could definitely stop any gossip from spreading. Furthermore, it would make it impossible for Xuemei to kill him, which would mean that she would have won the competition between the two of them.

Who would have ever thought that the seemingly lewd Nightcrypt would fall to pieces because of her clothing and her actions? She was especially moved by his last words, when he asked her to bring back the real Song Junwan. That left her thoroughly moved, and suddenly caused something different to appear in her eyes when she looked at him.

Song Junwan took a deep breath. Slowly, the flirtatious expression she usually wore faded away. She waved her hand, and a more conservative garment flew over and settled onto her. She adjusted her hair and straightened up a bit, and suddenly seemed very different. Instead of looking seductive, she seemed truly dignified and beautiful.

She wasn't very old to begin with, but with this attire, she seemed completely different than before. Inside and out, she radiated a natural grace and charm that made her seem dazzling.

Her skin was fair and white, and without all the makeup, she seemed like clouds reflected on snow. Her hair was now coiled together into a beautiful bun, and as she looked at Naruto, her eyes glistened like deep pools of pure water.

Her teeth were smooth and white, her lips plump and red. Anyone who looked at her would think they were seeing the beauty of humanity personified.

"You can turn around now," she said softly.

Remaining ever vigilant, Naruto slowly turned around, making sure to keep the disappointed expression on his face. At the same time, his veins of steel were visible as he laid eyes on Song Junwan.

Almost immediately, he was shaken to the core. He had seen beautiful women before, such as Hou Xiaomei, Zhou Xinqi, or the missing Du Lingfei. They were all exquisitely good-looking. However, there was something graceful and elegant to Song Junwan that few women could compare to.

Her previous flirtatious look had turned into something very dignified, and the change left Naruto completely taken aback.

It was a pure, clean beauty, like a hibiscus flower glistening in the morning dew. Completely and utterly astonishing.

Despite being completely tongue-tied and anxious, Naruto's vigilance didn't reduce in the slightest. On the contrary, it grew stronger. "This Song Junwan, she's… she's the ultimate vixen!"

Seeing Naruto's reaction, Song Junwan covered her smile with her hand. There was nothing coquettish about it this time. It was actually very charming, and the look in her eyes caused Naruto's heart to leap.

"What's she doing now!?" he thought, so nervous that his heart was pounding in his chest. For some reason, this latest tactic of hers seemed far more powerful than her opening move. Presumably, she would be making her counterattack at any moment. Was she moving in for the kill?

She smiled charmingly, and before he could respond, she continued on in a serious voice, "Very well, I'm giving you back the Song Junwan that exists in your heart. Happy now?

"The reason I asked you here was to tell you something. Go back and pack your bags. We'll meet tomorrow at dawn, at the base of Middle Peak. You'll be joining me as I go with one of my Song Clan's patriarchs to visit the Spirit Stream Sect!

"That Song Clan patriarch is also one of the eight patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect!"

Naruto's eyes went wide, and when he heard her mention the Spirit Stream Sect, his heart trembled.

"A diplomatic mission to the Spirit Stream Sect?" Naruto was taken aback. The idea of going back to the Spirit Stream Sect as Nightcrypt was strange to say the least.

Song Junwan looked at him and smiled. "What's wrong. You don't want to go? I didn't originally plan to take you. However, if I leave you behind, that slut Xuemei might cause problems. Since I can't stay to protect you, then I'd prefer to take you with me.

"You need to be very careful whenever you see that whore. She's ruthless, and also reached nine Earthstring Tideflows. Her father is Patriarch Limitless, and she herself is a potential future matriarch of the sect. There's nothing she won't do to reach her goals.

"She and I have never gotten along. The slut thinks that she can rely on her status to steal my rightful spot as blood master of Middle Peak. But how could I possibly let her do such a thing!?" Almost as soon as Song Junwan mentioned Xuemei, her eyes flickered with cold light. However, seemingly worried that such a look wouldn't conform with Bai

Naruto's image of her, she suddenly felt the need to explain further.

"From generation to generation, there have always been four blood masters. By now, the blood masters of the other three mountain peaks have already been selected. Only Middle Peak has none. Blood master is a very high position, similar to that of prime elder. After reaching Core Formation, blood masters become blood rippers, which are second only to the patriarchs. Of course, in order to become a blood ripper, you have to first become a blood master!

"The position of Middle Peak blood master has belonged to the Song Clan for many, many years. But this time, Xuemei reached nine Tideflows, and thinks she can steal it away.

"If I fail, then the Song Clan's power will weaken in the sect, and I can't let that happen." Having finished her explanation, Song Junwan looked at Naruto.

Naruto took a deep breath. Then, after a moment of thought, he asked, "Why exactly are we going to the Spirit Stream Sect?"

Song Junwan hesitated for a moment. Before what had just happened, she would never have divulged the secret. But now, after a moment of thought, she waved her hand, activating her cave's spell formation, and sealing the two of them in alone. Then she began to explain.

—

Chapter 212 Chapter 212

Chapter 212: The Hesitation of the Blood Stream Sect

Song Junwan looked at Naruto and said, "You and I won't be the only ones going with the patriarch on the diplomatic mission to the Spirit Stream Sect. There will be others. However, Middle Peak will be in charge.

"There are two purposes to the mission, one primary and one secondary. Let's start with the secondary purpose. We want to get a firsthand look at Naruto!" When Song Junwan spoke Naruto's name, her eyes flickered with intense coldness.

Naruto's nervousness mounted, especially when he saw that cold look. From the way she was looking at him, it seemed as if her killing intent were rising to explosive levels.

He gritted his teeth. Killing intent overflowing, he said, "Back in the

Fallen Sword Abyss, Naruto and I sparked the greatest of enmities! My hatred for him runs as deep as the sea! I refuse to live under the same sky as him. You had better not, under anycircumstances, allow me to run into him, otherwise I'll do everything in my power to kill him!"

Of course, he really felt that he was getting the short end of the stick in this situation, and hoped that Song Junwan wouldn't be offended.

Song Junwan nodded. Sighing, she said, "Naruto stole Que'er's

Heavenstring Foundation Establishment, and destroyed all of the Song Clan's plans. The clan paid a very heavy price to get that chance. We bought the secrets of the Heaven-Dao cultivation base from Patriarch Limitless, all for the purpose of Que'er becoming Middle Peak's blood master!

"But now, it's too late for that. Que'er only reached eight Tideflows, and can't possibly fight Xuemei. Now I'm the only one who has a chance at the blood master spot!" As of this moment, she seemed more than ever like she wanted to kill the Spirit Stream Sect's Naruto.

Naruto blinked a few times, then began to nod deeply as if he approved of what she was saying.

"Yeah, that's right," he said, feeling quite proud of himself. "If it weren't for Naruto, Que'er would definitely have reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!" He couldn't help but imagine the glorious expression Song Que would have on his face if he were present to hear himself called Que'er.

Song Junwan continued in a soft voice: "The main reason for the diplomatic mission, though, is to see if war is really going to break out between the Blood Stream Sect and Spirit Stream Sect!"

As she spoke, it almost seemed as if she could see the future war playing out.

Naruto's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. Although he had always known that war was likely to break out between the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect, he didn't want that to happen. War was a brutal thing, and if it truly occurred, many people would die.

"The Profound Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect have already been fighting for some time. The Pill Stream Sect is weak, and have already begged the Blood Stream Sect for help…. However, at the same time, it is highly likely that the Profound Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect have been in secret negotiations regarding an alliance…. If they're doing that, then so can we!

"The most interesting thing of all is that the Profound Stream Sect also hinted to us about an alliance in the past…. However, that seemed a last-minute thing, something doomed from the beginning to collapse. From all of this, we can see how much scheming and plotting is going on. In the end, the sects can only trust and rely on themselves." Although Song Junwan's eyes seemed to contain a bit of cynicis

m, there was an icy coldness deep within that.

Naruto didn't say anything at first. This wasn't the first time he'd heard about the war between the Profound and Pill Stream Sects. From the rumors he had caught wind of in the sect, the war had already reached a very brutal level, with countless casualties on both sides.

"It's hard to see where the true battlefield lies. Although the Profound and Pill Stream Sects are fighting each other, for all we know, they might end up as allies in the end. It's always difficult to tell who your true enemies are. Determining the identity of your true foe is the most critical aspect of war. Considering the importance of what is at stake, the Stream Sects are going crazy. Nightcrypt… war is not too far off. It could break out at any moment.

"Furthermore, biding time and waiting for the outbreak, waiting until the battlelines are drawn, is not necessarily the best decision. If too much time goes by, it's possible that two of the other sects could form an alliance. Maybe even all three of them. They might all join forces to defeat the Blood Stream Sect. After all, we are the strongest sect! As the saying goes, once you start riding a tiger, it's hard to get off, so we need to take advantage of the moment before true war breaks out to seize the advantage!" Song Junwan sighed and looked at Naruto.

Naruto smiled wryly. From the perspective of the Blood Stream Sect, this was exactly the right move. If they let things progress too far along without making a move, the other three sects might form an alliance. In that case, the Blood Stream Sect would be at a distinct disadvantage, and might even suffer a bitter loss.

"This time, there will be a war! And the Blood Stream Sect must rise up to become a Middle Reaches sect!" At this point, Song Junwan went on to explain matters regarding the Sky River Court in the Middle Reaches. For the most part, her explanation matched the explanation give by Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong of the Spirit Stream Sect.

Naruto listened quietly and didn't ask any questions.

"If war breaks out," she continued, "we really have only one option, and that is to fight the Spirit Stream Sect. After all, the four great sects are located on the tributaries in the following order: Blood, Spirit, Profound, Pill. The closest to us is the Spirit Stream Sect.

"If we do start fighting, the Blood Stream Sect is confident of winning. But that doesn't mean the Spirit Stream Sect can be underestimated. They are adept at hiding their resources, and have profound reserves built up. Although we would suffer heavy losses, the Spirit Stream Sect would be destroyed in the end. But then we would have to face the advance of the Profound Stream Sect!

"Even if we came out victorious against them, there wouldn't be many survivors. If all of the sects ended up suffering heavy casualties, there would be no hope of being powerful enough to take out the Sky River Court. Any chance of rising up to a higher position would be dashed." Song Junwan frowned. By now, she was divulging information that an ordinary Dharma protector would never have access to. Only the higher echelons in the leadership of the Blood Stream Sect would be privy to such matters.

Naruto's heart trembled. After coming to the Blood Stream Sect, he had become very familiar with how powerful and savage they were, and was certain that if war erupted, the Spirit Stream Sect wouldn't be a match for them. He could only imagine what it would be like to see so many faces he knew awash with blood, never to open their eyes again.

"The war would be one in which the Spirit Stream Sect was wiped out, and the Blood Stream Sect suffered severe losses. The truth is, we don't actually want such a war to happen. If we could prevent it, and maintain the full strength of the Blood Stream Sect, then the Profound Stream Sect and Pill Stream Sect could be easily wiped out. Then, we would be much more confident in maintaining the strength necessary to defeat the Sky River Court!" At this point, Song Junwan's eyes shone with a mysterious light.

"Our biggest concern is this: when the Blood Stream Sect finally moves to take out the Sky River Court, what would happen if the Spirit Stream Sect suddenly allied with the Sky River Court? Then we would be wiped out for sure!

"No amount of promises, not even oaths sworn to the Dao of the heavens, can be trusted when it comes to matters affecting the entire sect!

"Therefore, after much discussion, the patriarchs have chosen to send a diplomatic mission. If the Spirit Stream Sect agrees, then we will promise not to fight them. The Spirit Stream Sect will not be exterminated, nor will the Blood Stream Sect suffer heavy casualties!" To hear such words coming from Song Junwan's mouth caused Naruto's heart to tremble. As far as he was concerned, the best outcome would be no war at all between the two sects.

"However, that agreement would involve the Blood Stream Sect setting up an enormous spell formation on the Spirit Stream Sect's portion of the Heavenspan River. That spell formation would seal their sect for a thousand years!

"During those thousand years, anyone would be able to enter, but no one would be able to leave. Disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect would be unable to go out into the Eastwood Continent, and the Spirit Stream Sect's portion of the Heavenspan River would waste away to some degree. Their spiritual energy would grow weaker. However, it would only be for a short thousand year period. Afterward, the Blood Stream Sect would be in a stable position in the Middle Reaches, and would undo the seal.

"That is the only circumstance in which we could trust the Spirit Stream Sect, and the only way to prevent war between the two of us. Not a single person from the Spirit Stream Sect would die, and the Blood Stream Sect would definitely succeed in rising up to a new level!" By the time Song Junwan finished explaining everything to Naruto, she was almost panting.

As for Naruto, great waves of shock filled his heart. From what he knew, it seemed unlikely that the Spirit Stream Sect would agree to such terms. To be sealed for a thousand years was basically a prison sentence. Most frustrating of all would be the situation after the thousand-year-period ended….

However, from the standpoint of the Blood Stream Sect, there seemed to be no other options. They didn't want to go to war, but there was no way they could put faith in simple promises or agreements. They could only trust a powerful magical seal!

Naruto was a bit at a loss. It was a weighty matter, so much so that he felt almost as if he were being suffocated. He wasn't sure what choice the Spirit Stream Sect patriarchs would make. Would they go to war?

Song Junwan smiled. "Very well, there's no need to think too much into the deep things. The patriarchs will handle everything. In the end, there will be war, the question is only who we'll fight."

After chatting a bit longer about trivialities, she could tell that Naruto was a bit stunned. She didn't seem upset. After all, it was only natural to react in such a way to news like this.

In fact, when she had heard the information a few days ago, and realized that bitter war would be coming, she had also been shaken for some time.

With that, she dismissed him.

However, even as he turned to leave, Song Junwan suddenly seemed to remember something, and said, "Xuemei was lying. For the entire time I've practiced cultivation, I've never had any Daoist partners to pick from. In fact, I've never even had a Daoist partner!"

She wasn't really sure why she felt the need to explain such a thing, and after the words came out of her mouth, she found them to be so outrageous that her face immediately turned bright red.

"Huh?" Naruto said, stopping in place and looking back at her. When he saw her flushed cheeks and lovely dimples, she looked even more charming than before.

"Another deadly move!" he thought, gasping inwardly. Ducking his head, he hurried out of the immortal's cave. The whole time, he was thinking that the two moves she had used after her transformation were quite formidable. In fact, he had felt almost powerless to resist them.

Some time later, he was back in his immortal's cave, where he sat down cross-legged to think about everything that Song Junwan had told him. Finally, he sighed.

"Is there really no other way?"

—

Chapter 213 Chapter 213

Chapter 213: Piddling Master Coldsnort!

Three days later at dawn….

Naruto was not in a very good mood. The more he thought about war breaking out between the two sects, the worse he felt. On top of that, he now realized that the only reason he was going along on the diplomatic mission was because of his own stellar performance to the grand elder.

Were it not for that, he could have taken advantage of her absence to sneak into her immortal's cave and search for the relic of eternal indestructibility. However, after reminding himself about how strictly guarded it was, he shook his head.

Inwardly, he was scowling miserably, but to everyone who looked at him, he simply looked cold and sinister.

After leaving his immortal's cave, he went down to the bottom of Middle Peak, where a few cultivators were already gathered. There were a dozen or so there, many of whose faces went grim as soon as they laid eyes on him. A few had no reaction, though.

Master God-Diviner was one of the cultivators in the group. As soon as he saw Naruto, his expression flickered. Suddenly seeming to remember something, his eyes turned icy, and he gave a disdainful snort. Before, he had been scared of Naruto, but considering the Dao oath he had made to Young Lady Xuemei, making him one of her subordinates, his fear had been significantly reduced.

"Everybody is backed by someone powerful," he thought, chuckling coldly. "Let's see you try to cause trouble for me now!"

Naruto wasn't paying attention to the various looks given him by the other cultivators. He chose a spot near the back of the group to sit down cross-legged. There had been a couple others sitting in the area, but as soon as he arrived, they respectfully made room. Nightcrypt's name had already spread near and far.

Before much time passed, more beams of light appeared. There were people in all levels of the Foundation Establishment stage, and after enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, Grand Elder Song Junwan appeared, escorted by two bloodstreak elders. Everyone rose to their feet and clasped hands in greeting. However, it was to the shock of everyone present that the previously smoking hot Grand Elder Song Junwan was wearing different clothing than usual.

She no longer seemed overtly sexy, but rather, somewhat conservative. Of course, her fundamental good looks hadn't changed, and in fact, her new style made her seem, not less beautiful, but more so.

All of the cultivators present were surprised, and many of them looked at her with wide eyes.

Song Junwan smiled faintly, her eyes glistening. Many people were dazzled, and as for Naruto, his heart began to beat faster.

Song Junwan looked over the group, and when her gaze came to rest on Naruto for a moment, her eyes suddenly widened into an angry glare.

"Another tricky move!" he thought, even more nervous than before. He immediately upped his level of vigilance. He was coming to find that Song Junwan was really hard to figure out. Three days before, she had been smiling like a flower, but now she was glaring at him. Even before he could begin to analyze the situation, Song Junwan's voice echoed out for all to hear.

"All of you will be accompanying the patriarch on a diplomatic mission to the Spirit Stream Sect. Be on your best behavior, and don't lose face for the Blood Stream Sect!" She was no longer smiling, and her serious tone provoked nods of response among the crowd.

It was at about this time that a blood cloud appeared near Ancestor Peak. Thunderous rumbling sounds could be heard as the cloud rapidly grew to 300 meters in size. Then it began to float down in their direction. Standing atop the cloud was an old man wearing a violet robe. He had a

t

all crown on his head, and despite his age, stood ramrod straight. He seemed threatening without being angry, and had a shocking aura that filled everyone with a sensation of madness and profundity.

"The Song Clan patriarch!" Naruto thought, a tremor running through him. He immediately bowed his head. The old man seemed completely impossible to judge, as though a single strand of divine will from him could cause unending torment.

The other cultivators in the area were also shocked, and clasped hands respectfully. "Greetings, Patriarch!"

"Everyone has assembled, I see," the Song Clan patriarch said. "Very well. It's about time to leave for the Spirit Stream Sect!" As his voice echoed out from the cloud, he looked down at the group. That simple gaze caused everyone to feel as if winter were raging inside their bodies, as intense coldness seeped into the depths of their hearts.

Naruto was a bit shocked. Including this old man, he had now seen two patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect, the first one being Patriarch

Limitless. Of the two of them, Naruto was of the opinion that Patriarch Limitless was not quite as frightening as the Song Clan patriarch.

"Oh, that's right," he thought. "Patriarch Limitless just recently became a patriarch. He's not as strong, and is also younger than the Song Clan patriarch. This guy is an old hand; his cultivation base must be terrifyingly powerful. He's probably lived for years and years." Suddenly, he gasped as he realized that his body had been grabbed by some invisible force, and was now flying through the air. Up he went, and in the blink of an eye, was on top of the blood cloud.

To his surprise, although the surface of the cloud was fluffy, it was resilient. Looking down, he could see all of the Blood Stream Sect below him. A moment later, the blood cloud shot off into the distance.

Soon, the ground was speeding along down below. From what Naruto could tell, even if he went all out, he couldn't even go a third as fast as this.

"So, this is a patriarch…." he thought, swallowing hard. Looking around, he saw all of the other Middle Peak cultivators around him, including Master God-Diviner. None of them seemed to be taking things in stride as well as Naruto; their faces were ashen, and they were clearly shocked.

Only Song Junwan and the two bloodstreak elders seemed calm. Sitting cross-legged at the very front, surrounded by a spinning vortex, was the shocking and enigmatic Song Clan patriarch.

He was close enough now that they could see his flowing white hair and wrinkled face. There were even some brown age-spots on his face.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Naruto became accustomed to the speed, and examined his surroundings more closely. There was a defensive spell formation set up that protected the surface of the cloud, ensuring that only a bit of a breeze lifted his hair, and nothing more.

For some reason, he felt a very mysterious excitement at the idea of being able to go back to the Spirit Stream Sect as Nightcrypt. He suddenly started thinking about everyone he knew.

"I wonder if I'll see Big Fatty Zhang," he thought. "Will he recognize me?

Heh heh. And what about Hou Xiaomei? What if I went and called her

Little Sis as Nightcrypt? And there's Zhou Xinqi, Xu Baocai, and Ghostfang…." The more he thought about everyone, the more he smiled.

Even as he reveled in his excitement, a cold snort broke his train of thought, and he looked over to see Master God-Diviner sitting not too far away, a disdainful and cold expression on his face.

"What are you looking at, Master Snortlaugh?!" Naruto said coldly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone's ears perked up. They had been feeling a lot of pressure because of the patriarch and the grand elder, and hadn't dared to do anything other that sit quietly. Now that they saw something going on between Nightcrypt and Master GodDiviner, they instantly started to get excited.

That was especially true considering the sarcastic words Naruto had just uttered. Many of them gaped in shock, temporarily unsure of how to react to hearing the words 'Master Snortlaugh'.

"What did you just say!?" Master God-Diviner snapped, rage burning in his heart as he glowered at Naruto.

"You don't like that name?" Naruto replied coolly, his expression indifferent. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you liked to snort. You've already snorted a bunch of times at me so far. If you snort one more time, I'm going to call you Master Snortsnort."

Of course, his words were just bait. Master God-Diviner ground his teeth, and as for the other cultivators, some of them actually started laughing out loud.

A moment later, Master God-Diviner chuckled coldly. "You…. Hmph! So what if you have some sword qi? You and your clowning around make it impossible for anyone else to practice cultivation. You piece of garbage! It's only a matter of time before you get killed by Young Lady Xuemei!" Naruto stuck his chin up proudly. "You claim you have skill in divining things, you charlatan? You're nothing but a scam artist! Divining my ass! Let me tell you what. Nightcrypt knows everything about the starry sky and the Yellow Springs! With one glance, I can figure out everything there is to know! With one flick of my sleeve, I could turn Master Snortsnort into dust!"

With a patriarch present, no one would dare to start fighting. Naruto loved it when talking was allowed but fighting was not, and in such situations, feared no one.

As soon as the biting words left his mouth, eyes went wide among the onlookers. Only now did they understand how gifted Naruto was with the tongue, although they couldn't help but look down on his bragging. As for Master God-Diviner, everyone could see that, despite his rage, he was no match for Naruto in a war of words.

"How shameless of you! Hmph!" Gritting his teeth, Master God-Diviner snorted coldly, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by Naruto.

"See! You snorted again, didn't you, Master Snortsnort!? Listen, we need to talk this through. Stop with the snorting, okay? If you're snorting all the time at the Spirit Stream Sect, people might think you're a pig transformed into human shape. That would be a big loss of face!" He sighed.

"You!" Master God-Diviner wasn't sure why, but every time he ran into this person, his rage burned almost beyond control. The fact that he was tongue-tied in front of so many people got him so mad that he leapt to his feet.

Naruto's eyes flashed coldly, and he waved his right index finger, already starting to converge blood qi.

When Master God-Diviner saw that, his heart seized with shock; he had only stood up, he never imagined that his opponent would attack just because of that.

It was in that instant Grand Elder Song Junwan's cold gaze flashed over toward them. "Enough!" she said coolly. "Master God-Diviner, sit down over there! Nightcrypt, you sit next to me!"

Taking advantage of the moment, Master God-Diviner sat down. He was just about to snort coldly when he thought back to Naruto's words from just now, and held back. Inwardly, his hatred grew.

Everyone else sat straight and tall, inwardly envious of Naruto. Not only did he get to sit next to the grand elder, that got him closer to the patriarch. As of this point, all of them realized that they should try to seize opportunities more often in the future.

"Grand Elder, I'm fine right here!" Naruto said, shrinking back a bit. "Why don't I just–"

Before he could finish, Song Junwan stared at him icily and interrupted, "Get over here!"

—

Chapter 214 Chapter 214

Chapter 214: I'm Back….

Naruto could do nothing more than glare one final time at Master God-Diviner, and then begrudgingly stand up and walk over to the grand elder. Further up ahead, the Song Clan patriarch sat there, his back straight, radiating the sensation of a vicious wild beast. Naruto couldn't help but sweat and get even more nervous than before.

"Big Sis Song, you look really pretty today!" he said quickly. The two bloodstreak elders sitting nearby looked over with strange expressions on their faces. Even the Song Clan patriarch seemed surprised, and frowned.

Song Junwan blushed slightly, then glared at Naruto. "Enough with the smooth talk. Sit down and be quiet."

Naruto was growing increasingly confused by Song Junwan's odd behavior. It was very different than how she had acted three days ago. After much thought, he still couldn't come up with any reasons why she would be behaving in such a way. Finally, he just sat there looking around, and occasionally glancing down at the ground.

Soon, he saw a boundless mountain range down below. From this vantage point, the towering mountain peaks seemed to make up a spell formation.

"The Luochen Mountains…." he thought. This was the area that lay between the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect. More accurately, it was the border of Spirit Stream Sect territory. "I can't believe we got here so quickly."

Shocked, he looked down at the blood cloud. As it sped through the Luochen Mountains, powerful fluctuations seemed to rise up from the mountains, surrounding the blood cloud, locking down onto it, and following it as it proceeded along.

Clearly, the Spirit Stream Sect was in control of the Blood Stream Sect's movements now. The Song Clan patriarch's expression was the same as ever as he sat there meditating. Naruto thought about it for a moment, and came to the realization that the Blood Stream Sect's diplomatic mission must have come about only after initial communications with the Spirit Stream Sect.

As the blood cloud sped along, Naruto watched the familiar scenery speeding past. He saw a huge giant, a roc-like bird, and an enormous crocodile splashing in the Heavenspan River, only half of its gigantic body visible.

When the gigantic creatures saw the blood mist, they shied away from it, as though it contained some powerful entity that terrified them.

Shocked, Naruto looked over at the Song Clan patriarch. However, he didn't say anything. The familiar scenery whizzed by, and soon they were closing in on the Spirit Stream Sect. Naruto's heart instantly leapt.

Even as Naruto reveled in his excitement, Song Junwan's voice drifted into his ears. "I heard that you had quite a few girlfriends in the Blood Stream Sect over the years. Is that true?"

Her voice was cold enough to pierce his bones, like a chill air that left Naruto shivering. He looked over in shock at Song Junwan, who simply snorted coldly. Rising to her feet, she ignored Naruto as she walked over to confer with the Song Clan patriarch.

The bloodstreak elders did the same thing, and suddenly, Naruto's anxiety increased. Feeling more wronged than ever, he now realized why Song Junwan had treated him so coldly.

"It's only been three days, and that shrew actually did a background check on me!?" Sighing in his heart, he thought back to the romantic escapades of imposter Nightcrypt, who hadn't even been able to accurately recount how many there had been….

Before long, the blood cloud began to slow down, and the Spirit Stream Sect spread out in front of their eyes. The Blood Stream Sect disciples rose to their feet, radiating

brutality and power as they looked coldly at the Spirit Stream Sect.

At the same time, pillars of light shot up from the eight mountain peaks of the Spirit Stream Sect, creating an enormous vortex in the sky. Deafening rumbles echoed out as heaven-shaking, earth-shattering energy surged. The south and north banks of the Spirit Stream Sect both erupted with power, making heaven and earth seem like a raging sea filled with towering waves.

Within the vortex, an eye appeared, which radiated boundless pressure as it stared at the Song Clan patriarch on the blood cloud.

The people from the Blood Stream Sect became like rowboats on a stormy sea, hovering on the verge of collapse because of the surge of energy of heaven and earth. Their faces flickered, except for that of the Song Clan patriarch, whose expression remained calm the entire time.

Slowly, his eyes opened, and in that instant, two beams of explosive light shot out. Mountain-toppling, sea-draining power spread out, and as the patriarch rose to his feet, he flicked his sleeve and took a step out into midair.

When his foot landed, he was in front of the heavenly vortex up above.

Apparently, he was single-handedly resisting the boundless power therein!

A white-robed, middle-aged man stepped out from the turbid eye in the middle of the vortex. Clasping hands, he smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Song Yunwen!"

Naruto immediately recognized him. It was the same man who had appeared to offer assistance on the day Bruiser had come to life. He was one of the patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect, a man with unfathomable energy that seemed roughly equivalent to the Song Clan patriarch's.

"Fellow Daoist Li Zimo!" The Song Clan patriarch smiled as he clasped hands in greeting. The two of them exchanged a glance, and then stepped into the vortex.

Naruto took a deep breath. Although he'd always taken the Song Clan patriarch to be amazing, it was now extremely clear how incredible he was. Obviously, he wouldn't have come to the Spirit Stream Sect alone if he weren't completely confident in his own strength.

As the patriarchs entered the vortex, beams of light shot out from both the south and north banks of the Spirit Stream Sect as numerous figures gathered in front of the blood cloud.

The person in the lead was not Zheng Yuandong, but rather, Xu Meixiang. Next to her was the old woman from Irispetal Peak, who was flanked by Beihan Lie and some other young woman that Naruto had never seen before.

Next to Xu Meixiang were Big Fatty Zhang and Lu Tianlei.

Further back were several dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators from the south and north banks. Virtually all of them were familiar to Naruto, especially those whom he had assisted in the Fallen Sword Abyss.

"Middle Peak grand elder, you have come from afar to visit," Xu

Meixiang said with a smile. "The sect leader is in secluded meditation, so I've come to receive you. Please, follow me!" Xu Meixiang's gaze swept over the crowd and seemed to linger on a few particular individuals, Naruto included.

Song Junwan smiled slightly and replied. "Peak Lord Xu, there's no need for such courtesy. Please lead the way!"

With that, she stepped off the blood cloud. Naruto and the other cultivators from the Blood Stream Sect followed close behind. The gazes of the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators were not welcoming. Although the Blood Stream Sect cultivators had their murderous auras, the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators' eyes flickered with killing intent.

Clearly, this generation of Foundation Establishment experts from the Spirit Stream Sect had all experienced fighting and bloodshed. They had a large number of Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators, and although Song Junwan had been aware of this fact, the sight of it caused her eyes to widen.

Song Junwan and Xu Meixiang took the lead, chatting conversationally, but simultaneously probing each other for information. As for the two bloodstreak elders, they were accompanied by the old woman from Irispetal Peak.

The other cultivators were all escorted by various people from the Spirit Stream Sect, who seemed to be forcibly restraining themselves.

Naruto was joined by no ordinary cultivator, but rather, by north bank Chosen Beihan Lie. His expression was somber, his gaze penetrating, and he seemed to be constantly on guard as he proceeded along next to Naruto.

Naruto sighed. For some reason, he suddenly felt the intense urge to call out greetings to everyone he knew.

The group flew into the Spirit Stream Sect to Mount Daoseed. After landing, the people from the south and north banks stared icily at the group from the Blood Stream Sect. A somber, murderous aura was slowly building up.

"Ah, it's so great to be home. Especially when nobody can recognize you!" Naruto looked around excitedly, and his gaze was drawn repeatedly back to the unfamiliar young woman who accompanied the old woman from Irispetal Peak.

She was strikingly beautiful, and Naruto was surprised that he had never seen her before.

"Looks like the north bank must have some new blood," he thought, feeling more than ever like a member of the Senior generation. Sighing in satisfaction, he looked over at Big Fatty Zhang.

"I can't believe Big Fatty Zhang is in the tenth level of Qi

Condensation…." he thought, sighing emotionally. However, every time Naruto turned his attention to a different person, Beihan Lie would get very nervous, and would tense up vigilantly, and seem to radiate a brutal, bloodthirsty air. He couldn't help but be shaken by the various stories he'd heard about this Nightcrypt.

"According to the rumors, this Nightcrypt is particularly vicious," he thought. "He cuts people down like scything wheat! He's quite the womanizer, and apparently has very low standards. People say he loves the taste of human blood, and demands to drink it every day. Furthermore, he won't rest until he's sated his desire for women. On a daily basis! This guy is a complete and utter devil! Not only does he have a multifarious personality, he's completely and utterly brutal. Dammit! He's looking at Junior Sister Fang and Big Fatty Zhang! Just what is he planning…?" Even as Beihan Lie's anxiety grew, Naruto looked over at him and smiled.

To Beihan Lie, Nightcrypt's smile seemed cruel and ferocious. But then he realized that even as Nightcrypt smiled at him, he raised his eyebrow, almost as if he were flirting! Beihan Lie gasped, and his expression flickered.

"No need to get nervous," Naruto quickly said. If he hadn't said anything, nothing would have happened, but since he did, Beihan Lie's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and a magical item shimmered into being.

He wasn't the only one to react in such a way. Other Spirit Stream Sect cultivators could detect what was happening, and looked over menacingly at Naruto.

Naruto frowned. As far as he was concerned, he had just been saying hello to an old friend. However, even Song Junwan and Xu Meixiang could sense what was happening. When they looked back, Xu Meixiang's eyes widened. Big Fatty Zhang and Lu Tianlei looked over with grim expressions, and even the old woman from Irispetal Peak reacted similarly.

Everyone from the Spirit Stream Sect had heard information about the infamous Nightcrypt, and had even seen pictures of him, so they immediately recognized him. That was especially true of Lu Tianlei. With a challenging gleam in his eyes, he flew over toward Naruto, whereupon he took his place next to Beihan Lie. Clearly, Nightcrypt's reputation in the Spirit Stream Sect was one of complete and utter ferocity.

Naruto glared at Lu Tianlei. Things weren't like they had been long ago in the Spirit Stream Sect, and Naruto couldn't believe that Lu Tianlei would actually have the gall to challenge him openly.

"Who might that be…?" Xu Meixiang said, pretending not to know.

"That's my Junior Brother Nighcrypt," Song Junwan replied with a smile. Then she changed the subject. "I've heard that the Spirit Stream Sect's legacy echelon-designate reached Heaven-Dao Foundation

Establishment? Would it be possible to pay Naruto a visit?"

—

Chapter 215 Chapter 215

Chapter 215: Divination With The Snap Of A Finger!

Even as Naruto was staring in shock at Lu Tianlei, he heard Song Junwan mention his name, and his ears twitched.

He wasn't the only one. The other cultivators from the Blood Stream

Sect went completely silent and looked over at Song Junwan. Naruto was completely infamous in the Blood Stream Sect. Not only had he stolen heavenstring energy from Song Que, he had slaughtered countless of their fellow disciples in the Fallen Sword Abyss. For these and other reasons, he was a very important figure who was quite wellknown.

"Grand Elder Song, your timing is a bit off," Xu Meixiang said sadly.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki is currently in secluded meditation."

Song Junwan smiled. Shaking her head, she sighed wistfully and said, "I heard Naruto is a mysterious and enigmatic figure, a unique genius. What a pity that I won't be able to meet him."

Her good looks combined with her display of emotion made her seem extraordinarily attractive. Although Xu Meixiang was gorgeous in her own way, she seemed almost average in comparison to Song Junwan.

The crowd from the Blood Stream Sect were well aware of how terrifying

Song Junwan could be, so they quickly bowed their heads. However, the

Spirit Stream Sect cultivators hadn't been prepared for Song Junwan's beauty, and couldn't help but look over at her, somewhat dazed. Lu Tianlei's eyes shone especially brightly.

Xu Meixiang's eyes glittered as she said, "Grand Elder Song, with a natural born charmer like you in the sect, how do Blood Stream Sect disciples on Middle Peak ever focus on cultivation?"

Her words instantly shook the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators out of their reveries.

Naruto sighed. Feeling more proud than ever, he suddenly wished he could rip off his mask and tell the vixen Song Junwan, "Enough with your scheming, Song Junwan! Lord Uzumaki is right here!"

He looked over a bit contemptuously at Lu Tianlei, who still seemed to be partially in a daze. Then he congratulated himself on his wisdom of getting Song Junwan to change clothes. If she had worn the smoking hot outfit she used to wear, Lu Tianlei would likely have coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

Even as Naruto sighed inwardly, Song Junwan covered her mouth with her hand and laughed lightly. Seemingly unaware of the sarcasm in Xu Meixiang's words, she looked over at the south bank of the Spirit

Stream Sect and said, "I heard that Naruto started out on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Peak Lord Xu, do you think it would be possible to go take a quick tour?"

Xu Meixiang had no reason to refuse. In fact, her mission was to show the Blood Stream Sect people around. With a nod, she led them toward Fragrant Cloud Peak.

As they neared, a beam of light flew toward them, within which was a young woman. She wore a long blue gown, and was exceptionally goodlooking. She almost looked like a celestial goddess. She was none other than Zhou Xinqi.

Many of the Blood Stream Sect disciples recognized her, and their expressions turned very serious.

"Greetings, peak lord," she said calmly, hands clasped respectfully. Then she looked over at the people from the Blood Stream Sect.

Xu Meixiang smiled and said, "Xinqi, this is Grand Elder Song Junwan from Middle Peak in the Blood Stream Sect. Would you mind showing us around Fragrant Cloud Peak?"

Zhou Xinqi nodded, then led the group onward.

They started at the foot of the mountain, taking a route that had already been planned out in advance by the sect. Everything that the Blood Stream Sect was able to see had been specially arranged by the Spirit Stream Sect for certain reasons.

Even the disciples who they encountered along the

way had been placed there by special arrangement.

Naruto looked around at Fragrant Cloud Peak, at all the plants and trees, at Zhou Xinqi as she led them along, and sighed inwardly.

"I, Naruto, really have become too famous. Everybody has heard about me. Even Song Junwan came from far, far away just to meet me. Ai. I really need to keep a lower profile. Being famous is really annoying."

He sighed the whole way. Eventually, about halfway through the tour,

Song Junwan frowned slightly and said, "Peak Lord Xu, Fellow Daoist Zhou, since Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert Naruto started out on Fragrant Cloud Peak, do you think it would possible for us to take a look at his old immortal's cave?"

Zhou Xinqi frowned and looked at Xu Meixiang. Xu Meixiang's eyes glittered, and she returned Song Junwan's gaze with a smile.

"I've heard of someone from Middle Peak in the Blood Stream Sect," she said, "someone called Master God-Diviner, an expert in consulting the heavens. Considering the excellent reputation of this Fellow Daoist, what do you say we let him perform some divinations to locate the immortal's cave of my Junior Brother Bai?"

Xu Meixiang looked over at Master God-Diviner.

Master God-Diviner's expression was cold and aloof, and inwardly he was feeling very proud of himself.

Song Junwan's eyes narrowed slightly, but after some thought she turned to Master God-Diviner and nodded.

Master God-Diviner cleared his throat, reminding himself that this was his chance to shine, and that he had to take advantage of it. He had to show off his abilities to the fullest extent.

"I might not have powerful combat magic, but when it comes to divining things from the heavens, I'm the best there is, and nobody even dares to call themselves second in line to me!" Glancing contemptuously over at Naruto, Master God-Diviner took a few steps forward. As everyone from both the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect looked on, he lifted his right hand and performed an incantation gesture.

At the same time, his eyes seemed to flicker with the shining light of augury. Muttering to himself, his hand flashed faster and faster, and images seemed to be flickering through his eyes. But then a mist seemed to cover his eyes, making it impossible for him to see clearly.

"So, it's protected by a spell formation!" Master God-Diviner said, chuckling coldly. Apparently he was prepared for this. Slapping his bag of holding, he produced a gray chunk of bone that radiated the power of Time. Pressing down hard onto the piece of bone, he performed more auguries.

Gray wisps of smoke rose up from the bone, which Master God-Diviner breathed in. Off to the side, Xu Meixiang and everyone else was watching with bated breath.

Master God-Diviner's face slowly turned very pale, and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. Moments later, his eyes opened wide; to his surprise, none of his efforts so far had produced any results. Not even his ancient chunk of bone was capable of penetrating the Spirit Stream Sect's terrifyingly powerful spell formation. It was so strong that it resisted all intrusive augury magics.

In fact, he could tell that if he performed any further auguries, he would be hit with a backlash that would severely drain him mentally, and potentially even wither him to the point of death. Not daring to continue any further, he gave up. Eyes flashing, he looked over at Naruto, who seemed to be enjoying the show.

Killing intent rose up inside of Master God-Diviner. Stepping back, he turned to Song Junwan and clasped hands formally. "Along the way here, Junior Brother Nighcrypt said that he knows everything about the starry sky and the Yellow Springs. He said that he could wave his sleeve and figure out everything there is to know. Although I, Master God-Diviner, cannot determine the location of Naruto's immortal's cave here on Fragrant Cloud Peak, perhaps Junior Brother Nighcrypt can divine its location. With his immortal divination magic, he will surely be able to succeed with little effort. Isn't that right, Junior Brother Nightcrypt?" With that, he stared coldly at Naruto.

Naruto was a bit taken aback. He had merely been enjoying the show, and had never imagined that the shameless Master God-Diviner would pull him into the matter after his own failure. Master God-Diviner's pale, sweaty face made it clear how difficult, and even dangerous, it would be to perform auguries here.

Xu Meixiang looked over curiously at Naruto. Zhou Xinqi's gaze was ice cold, and the others from the Spirit Stream Sect had very serious looks on their faces. As for the group from the Blood Stream Sect, all of them seemed very interested in what would happen next.

Song Junwan frowned, and was about to say something when Master God-Diviner laughed coldly and said, "Junior Brother Nighcrypt, on the way here you said you knew everything about everything. What's wrong? Too scared to perform auguries now? Could it be that everything you said before was mere boasting? If you can divine the location of Naruto's immortal's cave, then I, Master God-Diviner, will gracefully concede defeat. In fact, I'll even bow to you as an inferior!"

In response to Master God-Diviner's words, silence reigned.

The Spirit Stream Sect seemed pleased to see the infighting between members of the Blood Stream Sect, especially between two famous individuals like Nightcrypt and Master God-Diviner. As far as they were concerned, it was a good thing.

On the Blood Stream Sect side, they were just as willing to see Nightcrypt make a fool of himself. That was especially true considering how Master God-Diviner had worded things, which ensured that none of them would say a single word to intervene.

Song Junwan's eyes narrowed further. She was not happy at all about what Master God-Diviner was doing, and it caused her eyes to shine with cold light.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Naruto blinked. How could he not know the location of his own immortal's cave? Furthermore, it wouldn't hurt at all to take everyone over to see it; there was nothing inside to look at anyway, considering it had long since been reduced to ruins.

Therefore, he proudly stuck his chin up and looked contemptuously over at Master God-Diviner. Clearing his throat, he took a few steps forward and coolly said, "Fine. I, Nightcrypt, have always preferred to keep a low profile. I was never interested in revealing my true skills and abilities here in the Spirit Stream Sect. After all, once I do, it will surely lead to countless headaches.

"However, since Master God-Diviner is taking things so seriously, then I guess I have no choice than to perform some divination!" Waving his sleeve, his eyes began to show with a profound light, and he seemed to seethe with explosive energy.

His hair suddenly whipped about in the air, but instead of performing incantation gestures or muttering to himself, he simply closed his eyes and raised his hands into the air. It almost seemed as if he were communing with heaven and earth, becoming one with the world around him.

The sight caused Master God-Diviner to chuckle coldly under the belief that Naruto was simply trying to dazzle everyone with meaningless tricks.

"I couldn't detect even the slightest fluctuations," he thought. "What makes you think you can divine anything?!"

One breath of time after another passed. After about twenty, Master God-Diviner's smile grew even colder, and the surrounding cultivators were starting to feel a bit skeptical. But then, Naruto's eyes snapped open, and they shone with bright, mysterious light. Without any hesitation, he pointed off into the distance. "There! Follow me!"

Striding forward, he led the crowd through Fragrant Cloud Peak until they reached a location that seemed to be nothing more than a pile of rubble.

"This is Naruto's immortal's cave!" he declared proudly, his voice so decisive that it could sever nails and chop iron.

"Are you joking!?" Master God-Diviner said in a bitingly cynical voice. "This pile of rocks is Naruto's immortal's cave?" Even as he began to laugh coldly, he suddenly felt as if something were off. Looking around at the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators, his eyes widened.

Zhou Xinqi's jaw had dropped, and Xu Meixiang was gasping. Big Fatty Zhang trembled visibly, and the other Spirit Stream Sect cultivators seemed equally taken aback. All of them were looking at Naruto, their eyes shining with indescribably bright light. Obviously, they were surprised, shaken even, by the enigmatic performance of Nightcrypt. That was especially true of Zhou Xinqi and Xu Meixiang. They were familiar with the workings of the spell formation, and couldn't imagine how powerful a divination magic would have to be to penetrate it.

When the Blood Stream Sect people saw the expressions on the faces of the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators, they realized that Nightcrypt had correctly divined the location of Naruto's immortal's cave. Instantly, their hearts swelled with shock. Although most Blood Stream Sect cultivators could perform a bit of divination magic, most of them were complete novices. It was rare for someone like Master God-Diviner to come along who could master the arts. And yet, Nightcrypt had just completely crushed Master God-Diviner. It was a completely shocking turn of events.

Song Junwan was equally stunned. Looking over at Naruto, her expression grew more complex than before. Never could she have imagined that he would actually successfully perform the divination.

Master God-Diviner was flabbergasted, and began to tremble in disbelief. "Impossible. This is impossible…."

—

Chapter 216 Chapter 216

Chapter 216: All-Knowing!

Off to the side were Beihan Lie and Lu Tianlei, who had taken responsibility for keeping an eye on Nightcrypt. Their pupils constricted from the pure shock they felt at seeing the power of his divination magic.

The area went deathly quiet, and all eyes were riveted on Naruto. Naruto stuck his chin up proudly, reveling in the astonishment.

Master God-Diviner seemed nearly shocked to death, and was trembling on the verge of collapse. His discomfort and incredulity was like music to Naruto's ears.

"How dare you try to compete with me, puny Master Snortsnort!" he thought. "Hmph! In any other sect it would have been impossible, but the Spirit Stream Sect is my home! Don't tell me you're going to try to get me to do some more divinations? I could walk around with my eyes closed and not get lost!" Naruto felt more wonderful than ever. His dream of always being the center of attention was being realized now more than ever.

Just when Naruto was about to step down from his pedestal of triumph, Master God-Diviner's face twisted into a vicious expression, and he shrieked, "Hold on a second! Nightcrypt got lucky just now! Anybody can see that the violet qi rising from this immortal's cave is beyond ordinary. I refuse to believe that he found it by divination!" All of a sudden, Song Junwan frowned, and the group from the Spirit Stream Sect hesitated, and began to wonder if a divination had truly been performed.

Naruto immediately stopped in place and glared at Master GodDiviner.

"Don't believe me, huh? Fine! I'll just have to convince you!" Snorting coldly, Naruto closed his eyes. This time, he took even longer than before, and even as people's suspicions deepened, he suddenly opened his eyes, which overflowed with bizarre, swirling light. His expression seemed even more solemn than before, and he even radiated a deathly, somber aura.

His gaze settled onto a nearby immortal's cave, which he pointed at and said, "That immortal's cave was struck by lightning in the past!"

Zhou Xinqi's pupils constricted; the immortal's cave that he was pointing at had been hers when she was in the Inner Sect, and had been destroyed by lightning because of Naruto's pill concocting.

She wasn't the only one that realized this. The other cultivators from Fragrant Cloud Peak all remembered what had occurred, and their expressions flickered. The Blood Stream Sect cultivators were once again shocked. They couldn't see any signs that lightning had struck the area, and yet clearly, the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators' silence spoke volumes. Shockingly, Nightcrypt had yet again performed a successful divination.

Master God-Diviner gritted his teeth and was about to offer a response, but Naruto wasn't finished. Expression flickering with odd light, he looked more closely at the immortal's cave and then took a deep breath in through his nose.

"I can sense the lingering aroma of makeup! If my divinations are correct, this immortal's cave was not only struck by lightning, it belonged to a female disciple!"

He swished his sleeve proudly. Then, to the shock of the surrounding cultivators, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and declared, "Furthermore, my divinations reveal that the female disciple was a top beauty in the sect! Hold on. Let me divine her name! She… she was a young woman surnamed Zhou!" He abruptly spun in place to look at the shocked Zhou Xinqi. After examining her closely, he pointed at her.

"You! This was your immortal's cave!"

The Spirit Stream Sect cultivators immediately cried out in shock and disbel

ief. Beihan Lie and Lu Tianlei gasped, and Big Fatty Zhang trembled even harder than before.

Xu Meixiang's eyes flickered with cold light. She wasn't sure whether this Blood Stream Sect cultivator had actually performed a divination, or whether he had access to inside information. Either option was shocking in its own way, and killing intent toward Nightcrypt suddenly rose up inside of her.

After a moment of silence. Zhou Xinqi's gaze turned icy, and she nodded.

That nod caused the Blood Stream Sect cultivators' eyes to widen even further. As for Master God-Diviner, he felt like his mind was being struck by lightning, to the point where he didn't know what to say.

"How could this be possible…?" he thought, trembling, mind reeling. He still couldn't believe that what he was seeing was the truth. After all, he hadn't sensed even a trace of a divination aura, and yet, Nightcrypt had obviously divined the information correctly.

Song Junwan looked more enlivened than ever. Her background check into Nightcrypt had revealed that he occasionally performed divinations as an Inner Sect disciple, and yet, she could never have imagined that he would be even more powerful than Master God-Diviner.

Naruto felt more proud of himself than ever at the reactions he was getting. Enlivened, he stepped forward and took the initiative to lead the group through Fragrant Cloud Peak. That role should have been taken by Xu Meixiang or Zhou Xinqi, but now, Naruto would close his eyes, take a few steps, then open them and explain matters that left the Spirit Stream Sect in shock. Of course, Naruto was careful to only reveal appropriate information, and nothing confidential.

Stopping near a crack in a boulder, his expression turned serious, and he said, "And here… Eee!? The cracks in these stones seem odd. Hold on, let me perform a divination. Hmm, yes. It seems that snakes once emerged from these rocks. Lots of them! Tons in fact!

"This place over here was also struck by lightning. Heavens! How many areas on Fragrant Cloud Peak got hit by lightning!?" He led the group along, stopping here and there to point out various locations.

Eventually he reached 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Looking around with a sigh of admiration and utmost respect, he said, "I can sense a powerful aura here. Apparently, some consummately powerful individual once stood in this exact spot, looking down upon all creation! He must have been the number one master of plants and vegetation!"

Soon, they were at the Missions Office, where Naruto let out an exclamation of shock. "Aha! This must be the Missions Office. At some point in the near past, a domineering individual swept through the missions here!

"Eee? I can sense the aura of a bird here, some sort of a huge bird!

"Something seems very odd here. According to my divinations, many chickens went missing from this location!"

As he led the group through Fragrant Cloud Peak, offering commentary here and there, the group from the Spirit Stream Sect was left more and more stunned. Everything he said was correct, without even a single mistake. It was almost as if Nightcrypt had once lived in the Spirit Stream Sect.

Zhou Xinqi was left panting. Lu Tianlei and Beihan Lie saw the expression on her face, and were more shocked than before. As for Xu Meixiang, the coldness in her eyes grew more intense.

The old woman from Irispetal Peak was equally shaken. The things that Nightcrypt were describing were all trivial matters, and yet it was still shocking that he knew so much information. People began to guess how he was doing it, and some of them even speculated that he might have infiltrated the Spirit Stream Sect at some point in the past!

However, the Blood Stream Sect cultivators were aware that Nightcrypt had never been to the Spirit Stream Sect, which left them all completely shaken. Master God-Diviner felt like he was being inundated by lightning; he was completely taken aback. He could tell that the Spirit Stream Sect's grand spell formation was activated, and would prevent even the slightest bit of augury magic. Even when he tried to release a bit of it, he felt like he was being suffocated. And yet Nightcrypt was so powerful that he could walk along performing auguries the entire way. Furthermore, he was using some sort of magic that Master God-Diviner couldn't even detect. The casual way he went about it was completely and utterly shocking.

Master God-Diviner even started to doubt his own abilities. To the people from the Blood Stream Sect, there was only one explanation; Nightcrypt had skill in divination that could shake heaven and earth.

After touring the length and breadth of Fragrant Cloud Peak, Naruto felt more pleased than ever. Everyone else seemed to be in a daze, even unsettled. It was at that point that Big Fatty Zhang looked over at Xu Meixiang and noticed a certain look in her eyes. Without any further hesitation, he stepped forward and pointed at Naruto.

"Senior Nightcrypt," he growled. "Since you're so good at divination,

why don't you reveal some information about me!?"

Everything went completely silent. The Blood Stream Sect cultivators looked over at Naruto, and Master God-Diviner's eyes suddenly began to shine.

"Divining information about inanimate objects is easy." Master GodDiviner chuckled inwardly. "Divining information about people is much more difficult. I refuse to believe that Nightcrypt could be so ridiculously powerful when it comes to divining information about people!"

Naruto looked at Big Fatty Zhang, a strange expression on his face. Realizing that he couldn't just back down now, he closed his eyes, and his expression turned solemn.

Big Fatty Zhang was inwardly very nervous. However, Xu Meixiang had clearly indicated that he needed to test out Nightcrypt. As he looked at Nightcrypt there with his eyes closed, Big Fatty Zhang's heart began to pound.

After about ten breaths of time passed, Naruto opened his eyes, and looked over at Big Fatty Zhang. Voice cool, he said, "You have a good life, young man. You come from a rich family, and will have incredible good fortune in the future."

Big Fatty Zhang was a bit taken aback. Naruto hadn't said much, and actually, there was no way to refute any of his words. Big Fatty Zhang looked over anxiously at Xu Meixiang.

Although Xu Meixiang seemed to be smiling, her wariness of Nightcrypt was only growing. Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators. The words spoken by Nightcrypt just now had been pleasing to the ear, and were virtually impossible to critcize. Gritting his teeth, Big Fatty Zhang said, "Your divination is–"

"You used to be fat," Naruto interrupted. "Very fat. You started out in the Ovens, and then by chance you became an Outer Sect disciple. Hmm. Let me divine some more information. Yes…. You faced many twists and turns along the way, and came to be an Outer Sect disciple because of matters pertaining to profit!"

Big Fatty Zhang gasped, and his hair stood on end as he looked at Naruto. Almost all of his secrets had been instantly seen through.

Everyone else from the Spirit Stream Sect stood there in shocked silence.

Seeing how Nightcrypt had single-handedly astonished all of the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators, Song Junwan covered her mouth and laughed charmingly.

"Everyone says that Naruto from the Spirit Stream Sect is breathtaking and peerless with his Heaven-Dao Foundation

Establishment," she said. "However, from what I can see, Nightcrypt from the Blood Stream Sect, with a mere Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base, seems a complete match. Regardless of whether it's his shrewdness, his cultivation base, or his latent talent, he seems just as stunning as Naruto. What a pity that Naruto is in secluded meditation, otherwise they could have a bit of a competition to see who is more spectacular."

Naruto's heart immediately began to pound. How could he possibly have a competition with himself? Have his left hand fight his right hand…?

Looking down at his hands, he blinked a few times….

—

Chapter 217 Chapter 217

Chapter 217: Beast King!

The Spirit Stream Sect cultivators' expressions were the same as ever, but inwardly they were laughing derisively. As far as they were concerned, what made Naruto the most powerful was not his cultivation base or his battle prowess, but his disastrous medicinal pills!

Big Fatty Zhang looked over contemptuously at Nightcrypt and thought, "You can tell at a glance that this monster Nightcrypt is good at nothing more than fighting and augury. How could he possibly compare with Naruto? If they competed, Naruto would toy with him like a cat toys with a mouse! Naruto would just toss out some medicinal pill, and Nightcrypt would be wiped out of existence so cleanly you couldn't bury him!"

Naruto felt a bit embarrassed as he looked around at the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators. There was no need for him to even speculate what all of them were thinking, and it made him sigh sadly.

"Having two identities is a real headache. I guess you can only blame my outstanding nature." Naruto shook his head and sighed.

Xu Meixiang smiled slightly, but didn't take the bait. Instead, she led the Blood Stream Sect cultivators on a simple tour of Violet Cauldron Peak and Green Crest Peak. No matter what anybody said, Naruto refused to perform any more divinations. He followed along at the end of the line, allowing these two mountain peaks to impress the Blood

Stream Sect people with their might. By this point, the Blood Stream Sect was starting to understand how powerful the Spirit Stream Sect was.

After completing the tour of the south bank, they headed toward the north bank.

At that point, Xu Meixiang relinquished the lead to the old woman from Irispetal Peak.

The old woman was relatively reticent, and didn't say much as she led the way. However, before Song Junwan and the Blood Stream Sect cultivators could even step onto the north bank, the battle beasts threw their heads back and roared. Heaven and earth trembled as an enormous shockwave rolled out. Expressions of shock appeared on the faces of the Blood Stream Sect disciples, and Song Junwan's eyes widened. To have so many countless battle beasts releasing such explosive auras was something none of them took lightly.

Although the battle beasts didn't actually appear in the open, their aura was so powerful that it created an intense pressure that weighed down on the Blood Stream Sect forces. It actually made it impossible for them to proceed on to the north bank, leaving them stuck between it and Mount Daoseed.

"My apologies," the old woman said coolly, her eyes flashing with cold light. "The north bank of the Spirit Stream Sect is a bit lacking in manners. Diplomatic missions usually go to the south bank. Your request to visit the north bank caught me a bit off guard, Grand Elder Song."

Naruto felt somewhat shocked. Looking at things from the perspective of an outsider, the Spirit Stream Sect clearly seemed to be soft on the outside, but as hard as steel on the inside!

That dichotomy was epitomized by the south and north banks. The south bank seemed soft and warm, but the north bank was hard and tough. They complemented each other, using different methods to threaten and unnerve the enemy.

Song Junwan's face was a bit pale. She knew the Spirit Stream Sect was strong, but had never imagined that they would be this powerful. Back on the south bank, the spell formation seemed to pulse with soft warmth, and yet, was filled with biting power. It had been very shocking.

In contrast, the north bank was impossible to even enter. The strength emanating from the battle beasts made it such that any person who desired to go to war with the Spirit Stream Sect would clearly need to be prepared to pay a heavy price.

pAnd that was only what the Spirit Stream Sect was allowing the Blood Stream Sect to see….

"They are gentle and reserved, but also powerful and unyielding," Song Junwan thought. "Clearly they are capable of being merciless. How threatening! Plus, they certainly have unfathomable powers held in reserve…." Behind her, the others from the Blood Stream Sect were speechless, their hearts filled with pounding waves of astonishment.

Naruto suddenly felt proud of the Spirit Stream Sect, including both the south and north banks. Furthermore, he couldn't help but grin inwardly when he looked over at the north bank and began to search among the various auras for Bruiser's.

"Please don't take offense," the old woman said. "Fellow Daoists from the Blood Stream Sect, I'm afraid we really can't continue on with a tour of the north bank. The north bank is a bit crude, and it would be horrible if the battle beasts got out of control and started eating people." She smiled, although to the people from the Blood Stream Sect, it seemed quite intimidating.

After a moment of thought, Song Junwan said, "That's fine…."

However, even as she smiled, a howl rose up from the north bank that instantly caught the attention of everyone present.

It seemed to crush the auras of most of the other battle beasts, and as it spread out, the north bank disciples were shocked to discover that their own battle beasts began to tremble in response. The beasts looked up, seemingly more violently agitated than before, more brutal, and more energetic.

It was as if they were being incited as a group, their spirits rising as they howled. A powerful energy caused a mountain-toppling, sea-draining force to rumble toward the Blood Stream Sect forces.

The massive blast caused the faces of the Blood Stream Sect cultivators to fall. As they edged backward, Song Junwan's pupils constricted, and she also fell back. The old woman from Irispetal Peak also seemed shocked as she looked over at the north bank.

From the jungle beneath the four mountain peaks, a violet beam of light shot up into the air at high speed.

A moment later, an enormous beast appeared in midair. It was fully 30 meters long, with the body of a horse, the head of a dragon, the scales of a lizard, and the feet of a pangolin. More shocking of all was that its teeth radiated a seven-colored glow.

As for its solitary horn, it looked just like the Heavenhorn ink dragon's, long and sharp.

Even more astonishingly, violet flames roiled out from its four clawed feet. A single glance at the flames would shake one down to the soul. They roiled out in all directions, covering an area of 300 meters, creating a huge violet sea of flames.

Anyone who looked at the beast within that sea of flames would be shaken to the core, and would most likely gasp in alarm.

It seemed like the king of battle beasts, and its appearance caused all of the other battle beasts on the north bank to howl at full force. It seemed almost as if they would heed the call of this king of beasts to charge into battle at any moment, regardless of what their masters ordered. They seemed to be hovering on the brink of losing control!

This beast who had just appeared was none other than Bruiser!

Naruto's Bruiser!

The instant Bruiser appeared, the cultivators from the Blood Stream Sect felt their minds reeling. Gasps could be heard, and expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces. That was especially true of Song Junwan, whose face fell. One of the bloodstreak elders gasped, "Beast king!"

"How could this be happening? I can't believe a beast king has appeared!"

"Heavens! In the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world, there are only two beast kings. One sleeps beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River, the Heavenspan Divine Crocodile. The other is a death beetle that lives in the depths of the earth!"

"That's not a beast king. It's only a juvenile. But once it grows up, it will definitely be a beast king!"

"I never heard of any sect raising its own beast king…."

The group from the Blood Stream Sect felt their scalps going numb. Even Naruto was shocked. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at Bruiser, whose cultivation base was unexpectedly comparable to the early Foundation Establishment stage.

He remembered that when he'd left the Spirit Stream Sect, Bruiser had been roughly in the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Clearly, he had made a lot of progress since then.

Furthermore, all of the battle beasts of the north bank seemed willing to take orders from him. Although Naruto had sensed something to that effect was possible, now it was more clear than ever.

Even the old woman from Irispetal Peak hadn't been prepared for Bruiser to make an appearance.

The truth was that Bruiser's current state was only a sign of what was to come for the north bank. Back before he had reached the Foundation Establishment level of power, he had been incredible. And yet, he had completely surpassed all expectations, and reached Foundation Establishment smoothly and naturally!

He hadn't required any assistance, be it a Foundation Establishment Pill or earthstring energy. He just naturally progressed to an energy and battle prowess comparable to Foundation Establishment. Even the patriarchs had been shocked, and realized that they had underestimated Bruiser from the beginning.

At that point, they realized that he didn't have a sixth order bloodline, he actually had a seventh order bloodline! In the lands of Heavenspan, such creatures were called beast kings!

If Bruiser kept maturing, there was a high likelihood that he would become a true beast king in the future!

The matter had shaken the entire Spirit Stream Sect, and they had even arranged for a new place for Bruiser to live. However, he refused to move out of the Beast Conservatory. That was his home, and that was where he enjoyed romping about and playing. However, he would often stare off into the distance. All the Spirit Stream Sect disciples knew that he was waiting for someone to return….

The woman from Irispetal Peak was shocked, but couldn't bring herself to scold Bruiser. Normally, Bruiser would stick to the Beast

Conservatory, caring for it like a watchdog. Even when he emerged to play, he wouldn't erupt with such fearsome energy, and he definitely wouldn't fly up into the air like a king.

Before the shock in the hearts of the cultivators could fade, Bruiser threw his head back and roared. The flame beneath his feet flared, and it was with a wild joy than none could detect that he charged toward the group from the Blood Stream Sect.

As he closed in, flames surging around him, the countless battle beasts from the north bank burst into motion, flying up into the air to join Bruiser as he charged the group from the Blood Stream Sect.

From a distance, they were so numerous that they blotted out everything beneath them. The Blood Stream Sect cultivators' scalps began to tingle as intense sensations of deadly crisis rose up in their hearts.

Song Junwan began panting. Even though she was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, seeing a beast king like Bruiser left her completely shocked.

"The Spirit Stream Sect really does have a beast king!" The truth was that the matter wasn't a huge secret. Word of the Spirit Stream Sect's beast king had spread to some degree. Because of Song Junwan's status, she had long since received reports on the matter. However, to see it in person gave her a completely different feeling of threatening danger.

The old woman from Irispetal Peak seemed shocked, and immediately attempted to intervene. "Bruiser, what are you doing? Back down!"

However, her words seemed to do no good. There was only one person in Bruiser's eyes.

His father!

Despite the fact that Naruto was masked and in disguise, there was something inside of Bruiser than enabled him to instinctively identify his father.

There was no person more dear to him in the world!

—

Chapter 218 Chapter 218

Chapter 218: Negotiations Fall Apart!

Naruto looked at Bruiser in shock. Beneath his mask, he was smiling warmly; the fact that Bruiser was so powerful left him elated.

Furthermore, the exclamations of shock around him got him even more excited. As of this moment, he wished that he could loudly announce: "That's my Bruiser!"

However, Naruto knew that such a thing wasn't possible. He remained within the group of Blood Stream Sect cultivators, giving Bruiser a look that only the two of them would be able to understand.

Be a good boy and go back. Dad has a few matters to handle, then he'll come for you.

Bruiser suddenly halted in place. He was smart, and had been well trained by Naruto. It only took a moment of thought for him to understand what Naruto wanted. He bared his teeth at the Blood Stream Sect people, radiating an air of incredible ferocity. Then, his gaze shifted to Song Junwan's chest, where it lingered for a long moment….

Although few people present knew what that look meant, Naruto understood, and he couldn't help but sigh one more time and then glare at Bruiser.

Growling, Bruiser bowed his head and then turned and left. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. The other battle beasts let out powerful howls and then returned to their masters' sides.

The mountain-toppling, sea-draining energy from moments ago faded away until it couldn't even be detected. In that moment, something else happened that no one else detected. Someone in the crowd on Irispetal Peak was looking up at Naruto in the Blood Stream Sect forces.

It was a pretty young woman in plain and simple clothing. A very strange look could be seen in her eyes, and her face was very pale. However, none of that lessened her beauty; it only made her seem more worthy of pity.

The young woman smiled, but covered it with her hand as she murmured to herself, "So, Big Bro, you're in the Blood Stream Sect…."

A strange flicker of light passed through her eyes. That girl was none other than Gongsun Wan'er, who had gone missing in the Fallen Sword Abyss. During the time that Naruto had been spending in the Blood Stream Sect, she had returned to the Spirit Stream Sect!

In the moment that Gongsun Wan'er looked at Naruto, the Heaven-Dao aura within him stirred. Sensing that someone was looking at him, he glanced down to try to determine who it was. At the same time, the old woman from Irispetal Peak smiled, thinking to herself that all of her years of spoiling Bruiser had finally paid off. A single order from her had sent him away.

"My apologies," she said. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think it would be best if we stayed away from the north bank." Although her expression was somber, she was inwardly delighted.

Song Junwan took a deep breath to calm herself. Although she had been aware that the Spirit Stream Sect possessed a beast king, seeing it with her own eyes left her shaken in a completely different way than before. "According to the secret reports, the beast king was raised by Naruto," she mused to herself. "He reached Heaven-Dao Foundation

Establishment, and gained enlightenment of the Waterswamp Kingdom.

Who exactly is this guy?! If only he were a cultivator of the Blood Stream Sect!"

Song Junwan wasn't in the mood for any more touring. Just when she was about to respond to the old woman from Irispetal Peak, a cold snort echoed out from the sky above. An enormous vortex appeared, out of which strode the Song Clan patriarch, surrounded by flickering flames.

He was followed closely behind by Li Zimo, who had a look of regret on his face.

Expression grim, the Song Clan patriarch look

ed back into the vortex, and then at Li Zimo. "Make no mistake, Fellow Daoists from the Spirit Stream Sect. If war breaks out, the fighting will not stop until the bitter end!"

The person to respond to the Song Clan patriarch wasn't Li Zimo. An ancient, somber face appeared within the vortex, a face that seemed to radiate boundless years of time. When he spoke, the mere sound of his voice caused ripples to spread out in all directions. "Your demands are too harsh, Fellow Daoist Song. The Spirit Stream Sect would rather go to war than be slowly strangled for a thousand years!"

This man was none other than the first generation patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect, Frigidsect!

The Song Clan patriarch snorted coldly and looked away. Swishing his sleeve, he summoned a blood cloud, and then waved his hand at the Blood Stream Sect cultivators.

"We're leaving!" he said. Naruto and all the others flew up into the air and landed onto the blood cloud, which seethed as it shot off into the distance.

A moment later, not a trace of it could be seen!

Everything happened so quickly that the people from the Spirit Stream Sect were completely taken aback. The face which had just appeared in the vortex watched as the blood cloud shot away, and his expression turned grimmer by the second.

"Should we stop old man Song?" Li Zimo asked slowly.

A moment later, the first generation patriarch replied, "Old man Song has an extraordinary cultivation base. Among the eight patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect, his battle prowess rates in the top three. The fact that he visited us alone indicates that he came prepared, especially for tricks. If we provoke him, he certainly won't be bound by morality in his counterstrike."

Whether the most important factor was the first or the second, no one could tell.

Li Zimo hesitated for a moment. Unable to bear the thought of how many casualties war would bring, he softly said, "Brother Frigidsect, the Blood Stream Sect doesn't want to go to war either. You can see that from their demands. They've already backed down as far as they can. Why don't we–"

"Zimo, you're being too softhearted. At the moment, softheartedness won't benefit anybody. I know that many lives will be lost if we go to war. The Spirit Stream Sect doesn't want such a catastrophic event to occur. That was why I initially agreed to Song Wenyun's demands that we not go to war. Even if it means missing out on a huge opportunity, we could avoid the destruction of our sect, and the loss of many lives among the younger generation…." Frigidsect's ancient voice seemed tired, although no one could hear his words other than Li Zimo and the other patriarchs.

"We agreed not to attack the Blood Stream Sect, nor to join forces with the Sky River Court. Those are demands we could meet. However, there is no way we could agree to the erection of a spell formation on the Heavenspan River!

"If we allowed the Heavenspan River to dry up in our area, all in order to prevent a catastrophe, the spiritual energy here would grow scarce. Over the course of a thousand years of being sealed, the cultivation bases of everyone inside the seal would stagnate. Progress would be impossible, and it would only take a few hundred years out of that thousand year period for the Spirit Stream Sect to wither away into death. Even if the sect still existed a thousand years later, we would be weak beyond compare. We would simply be giving up our own right to decide our fate, and allowing anyone to come along and destroy us!

"Fate would be like a sword hanging over our necks. Besides, in a thousand years, the Blood Stream Sect would be completely different than they are today. They would be a great sect in the Middle Reaches, far more powerful than they are now. At that time, they might feel pity on us, and honor their agreement from before. But if they didn't feel like it, they could destroy us as easily as turning over their hand!" Within the eyes of the founding patriarch, it was almost possible to see all those future deaths. His voice sounded very grim.

"Being sealed for a thousand years would avoid deaths in the moment, but the truth is, it would only be delaying our inevitable destruction. We're actually in a much better situation now, with all the different variables at play. If we do go to war, we might not to be able to defeat the Blood Stream Sect on our own, but with the cooperation of other forces, we would have a chance.

"Zimo, sometimes we patriarchs have to look at the bigger picture, not just the events playing out right in front of us. We have to take the future into consideration!

"It would be better for the Spirit Stream Sect to go out fighting in battle, than to gasp and wheeze our way into death a thousand years from now. Clearly, there is only one path for us!" The founding patriarch seemed very tired. After he was finished speaking, he faded back into the vortex. Soon, the vortex itself dissipated. Li Zimo hovered there silently for a moment, the desire to do battle slowly building up in his eyes. Just as the founding patriarch had said, standing and fighting held the hope of survival, whereas hiding away only ensured a tragic end later on!

Eventually, orders from Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong were sent to both the south and north banks.

"The sect's grand spell formation will be activated, along with all the formations in the Luochen Mountains. All disciples must return to the sect immediately to begin preparing for war!'

Meanwhile, the blood cloud shot along at top speed in the air between the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect. The cultivators from the Blood Stream Sect were scared witless; even the Song Clan patriarch's face seemed ashen as he sat at the front of the cloud, frowning in thought.

When everyone pondered the words spoken by the Song Clan patriarch when he left the vortex, they realized that the discussions with the Spirit Stream Sect had not ended well.

Apparently, war between the two sects could break out at any moment. That in turn made the return trip to their own sect seem that much more fraught with danger.

Master God-Diviner's face was pale as he looked down into his lap and performed auguries. Naruto also maintained his silence. He knew the big picture, and he knew why the Spirit Stream Sect had made their choice. He sighed inwardly. Huge matters that affected the entire sect were things that he didn't qualify to participate in or interfere with. He could only turn his head and look back at the Spirit Stream Sect, his heart aching with worry.

Song Junwan sat next to the Song Clan patriarch at the front of the cloud, her face a mask of vigilance as she scanned the road ahead for potential danger. Everyone else on the cloud simply sat there silently.

Time passed. Eventually, the cloud passed through the Luochen Mountains to arrive in Blood Stream Sect territory. At that point, the Song Clan patriarch's eyes snapped open, and they shone with profound coldness.

Not a single ambush had occurred, and in fact, the instant they left Spirit Stream Sect territory, the Luochen Mountains began to rumble, and a cascade of light shot up into the sky. A huge barrier now existed, clearly demarcating the boundary between the two sects.

After a moment, the Song Clan patriarch murmured, "Well played, Spirit

Stream Sect…."

Deep in his eyes could be seen both regret and respect. He suddenly waved his sleeve, and three motes of light flew out, which transformed into three shadowy figures. There was one that Naruto recognized immediately. It was none other than Patriarch Limitless.

"So they didn't intercept us?" Those three figures were illusory projections of patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect. As soon as they appeared, the cultivators on the cloud clasped hands in formal greeting, Naruto included. Then he looked up, shocked at the strange fluctuations emanating from the shadowy figures.

"I put myself up as bait," the Song Clan patriarch said softly. "Whether because of their righteousness or their suspicions, they allowed me to leave. That in itself is a type of domineering fearlessness. The Spirit Stream Sect is indeed a worthy adversary!"

The other three patriarchs maintained their silence. As for Patriarch Limitless, he looked off in the direction of the Spirit Stream Sect and shook his head. Sighing softly, he said, "It's too bad. We can't trust them, nor can they trust us."

Chapter 219 Chapter 219

Chapter 219: Mid Foundation Establishment

The blood cloud seethed and churned as it shot back to the Blood Stream Sect. Everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts, and no one spoke. Naruto was most taciturn of all, although he would occasionally turn to look back in the direction of the Spirit Stream Sect.

By the time he got back to his immortal's cave on Middle Peak, it was evening. He sat there quietly until it was late in the night and the moon hung high. Unfortunately, the matter of war between the two sects was something he had no say in. It was a game being played between the patriarchs of the two sects.

He felt tired. He didn't even like to think about fighting and killing, but he also knew that sometimes, certain things couldn't be avoided, no matter how much you wanted to.

He shook his head in frustration. The only thing he could do now was get to the relic of eternal indestructibility before the war started, and then get back to the Spirit Stream Sect.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, then began breathing exercises. Blood qi began to rise up and flow toward him as he continued to advance through the first level of the Undying Heavenly King.

That first level was the ten mammoths Berserk Ghost Body, and because of his constant cultivation, he was growing more and more powerful. By now, he had the power of two berserk ghosts.

After the power of ten, he would break past the first level and transform his Berserk Ghost Body into the Heavenly Demon Body!

At the same time, the Heavenspan River water in his first spiritual sea was continuously being absorbed. By now, less than half remained, and from the look of it, it wouldn't take much longer before that portion was fully absorbed.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, two months went by. During that time, the Blood Stream Sect continued to make preparations for war. Of course, war was no laughing matter. Once it started, it would be difficult to stop, and everyone knew that the future of the two sects were involved.

The Blood Stream Sect wasn't completely united in its desire to wage war. There were eight patriarchs, and of that group, four were of the mindset that war should be avoided if possible. That group consisted of the Song Clan patriarch, Patriarch Limitless, and two other patriarchs.

However, one faction, made up of three patriarchs, were staunchly for the war. One of the patriarchs, Daoist Sage Droughtflame, had similar standing to the Song Clan patriarch, being one of the most powerful experts of the older generation. His words carried much weight.

Daoist Sage Droughtflame and the other two patriarchs in his faction were very much for declaring war. The fact that the Song Clan patriarch and his faction had so many problems with the war led to friction between the two groups.

The person who had the final say in the Blood Stream Sect was the archpatriarch of the generation, and he hadn't said a word on the subject. His opinion on the matter was of vital importance, but even he seemed to be hesitating.

As the discussions and friction between the patriarchs persisted, the Blood Stream Sect as a whole continued to prepare for war.

Eventually, the day arrived in which the final bit of Heavenspan River water merged into Naruto's first spiritual sea.

Rumbling sounds filled him that only he could hear. He began to shake, and could sense that his first spiritual sea was shining with boundless golden light. Cracking sounds emanated out, and a moment later, his first spiritual sea began to crystalize!

Crystallized spiritual sea!

Naruto shivered. Panting, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then pushed his hands down onto his dantian region. Instantly, the crystallization process sped up, an

d the cracking sounds grew more intense. Moments later, his entire first spiritual sea had become solid.

Instead of liquid, it now was a mirror-like crystal!

In the instant that it completely crystallized, it erupted with a power ten times the level of the original spiritual sea. That power filled Naruto, causing him to tremble, and making him feel completely different than before!

In Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, there was only one spiritual sea. In fact, there was so little water in it that it was more like a spiritual lake.

Only Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators could use Tideflows to form multiple spiritual seas.

The difference between spiritual lakes and spiritual seas was one reason for the huge disparity between Mortal-Dao and Earthstring Foundation Establishment.

When it came to advancing through the Foundation Establishment stage, the crystallization of the spiritual seas was the hallmark of mid Foundation Establishment. The crystallization was a major transformation that caused the basic foundation to become ten times stronger. Because Earthstring spiritual seas were already vastly more powerful than Mortal-Dao spiritual lakes, the disparity between the two levels of Foundation Establishment only grew greater from that point on.

At the same time, the number of Earthstring Tideflows affected the number of spiritual seas, and that in turn made the difference between those different levels even more clear. When it came to Earthstring Foundation Establishment, three crystallized spiritual seas marked the mid level!

To reach late Foundation Establishment, one had to reach six crystallized spiritual seas. The great circle of Foundation Establishment was nine!

Of course, people with nine spiritual seas were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns, so the above standard would apply only to them. The same general principles applied to the other levels of Foundation Establishment.

For example, in Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, the great circle was a single crystallized spiritual sea. However, that level of power was, at best, the same as a single crystallized spiritual sea of Earthstring Foundation Establishment! That was one of the main reasons why it was virtually impossible for any Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator to reach Core Formation.

It was the same with Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators who only completed a single Tideflow. However, because they had a true spiritual sea, it was theoretically possible for them to crystallize it and break through to the next cultivation stage. However, the likelihood was very small.

When it came to two spiritual seas, that likelihood increased. Five spiritual seas was considered the standard, and anyone with seven was deemed highly likely to succeed. Eight spiritual seas was very rare, and even more likely to break through, and those with nine were considered ninety percent likely to break through.

However, all of that pertained to Mortal-Dao and Earthstring. When it came to the extremely rare peak of Foundation Establishment, those cultivators who used heavenstring energy to create a Heaven-Dao aura were not only ten times as powerful, but their crystallized spiritual seas could crush Earthstring Foundation Establishment. That was especially true of Naruto, who had achieved nine Tideflows. Essentially, he could crush any and all fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators!

In early Foundation Establishment, the disparity wasn't as obvious. However, mid Foundation Establishment involved an explosive increase in power, and once in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, he could be called invincible.

"Crystallizing the sea is the sign of stepping into mid Foundation Establishment!" Excited, Naruto took a deep breath; the crystallization didn't stop with the first spiritual sea! It continued on into the second spiritual sea, which immediately began to show signs of solidifying.

Intense cracking sounds filled his mind for the following several hours. His cultivation base grew explosively, and soon, his second spiritual sea was crystallized, and the process progressed to the third!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The process continued until the following morning. As the first rays of sunlight landed on the earth below, rumbling sounds filled Naruto, and his eyes snapped open.

At that point, he could feel a level of spiritual power coursing through him that vastly exceeded what it had been before. Now that he had three crystallized spiritual seas, every breath he took seemed to fill his surroundings with thunderous booms.

He now felt like the simple wave of his hand could crush everything around him. Furthermore, his forehead tingled with pain, as though his Heavenspan Dharma Eye wished to open.

Naruto had the intense premonition that if he did open that eye, it would erupt with shocking fluctuations.

Eyes glittering, he burst into motion. Spiritual power surged through him, and rumbling sounds could be heard as he turned into nothing more than afterimages. A moment later, he was outside in front of one of the blood trees.

The blood tree shivered and began to rattle off fawning praise. Unlike usual, Naruto didn't pay any attention to the tree. Instead, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he pointed out, causing streams of blood qi to converge into a blood sword.

"I can form blood swords way faster than before!" Excited, he mentally recalled Middle Peak's secret magic, the Blood Annihilation World. After performing another incantation gesture, he waved his hand, and even more blood qi converged in the area, and another blood sword appeared.

Things weren't over yet, though. A third blood sword appeared, swirling around him, causing the entire area to surge with a bloody, murderous aura.

Intense pressure also weighed down in the area, causing all of the blood trees to tremble.

"In mid Foundation Establishment, I'm not limited to one blood sword. I can summon three. And furthermore, I can even combine them together into one larger sword!" Eyes flashing, he performed another incantation gesture with his right hand, and the three blood swords merged together into a gigantic blood-colored greatsword.

Even when the blade was still forming, its energy fluctuations were filled with brutality and madness. Everything in the area trembled, and even before it could finish forming, Naruto waved his hand to dispel the sword and the pressure.

"According to the description of the secret magic, if I can summon six swords, I'll be able to step into late Foundation Establishment…. Although I cultivate the Violet Qi Heavenspan Incantation, because of the Undying Live Forever Technique, once I reach late Foundation Establishment, I can use the Blood Annihilation World along with it!" Bai

Naruto was very pleased with how quickly had progressed from early Foundation Establishment to mid Foundation Establishment. Some of that was because of the medicinal pills the mysterious sect had given him, but another reason was the blood qi in the Blood Stream Sect.

Not only could he rapidly cultivate the Undying Heavenly King, it also provided benefits to his cultivation base.

Naruto clasped his hands behind his back and stuck his chin up. Looking very proud of himself, he thought about how incredible he was with his three crystallized spiritual seas. Of course, if he could reach six, or nine, then he would be even more powerful.

Chapter 220 Chapter 220

Chapter 220: Holy Pill Wall Fragment

Taking advantage of the darkness of night, Naruto left Middle

Peak. Going down to the bottom of the giant's hand, he actually left the Blood Stream Sect and went to the bank of the Heavenspan River. Considering his current status and level, getting some Heavenspan River water wasn't very difficult. All he had to do was make up a random reason, and the cultivators guarding the way would let him pass. After arriving, he collected ten drops of water.

Soon, he had a small cup full, which he carefully took back to his immortal's cave and then began to absorb.

A few days later, the water was inside of him, above his fourth spiritual sea. At that point, he ended this session of cultivation.

"Next, I need to fully merge the Heavenspan River water into my spiritual sea. Once that happens, I can step into late Foundation Establishment!" Excited, he left his immortal's cave, hands clasped behind his back as he soliloquized proudly to himself.

"Now that I'm in mid Foundation Establishment, I'm even more awesome than before!

"Becoming a grand elder doesn't seem so impossible now…." He looked up at the upper finger of Middle Peak. It was really depressing to know exactly where the relic of eternal indestructibility was, but be unable to reach it.

He had long since given up any aspirations of somehow sneaking in to get the relic of eternal indestructibility. Song Junwan's immortal's cave was too well-guarded, and he had no confidence in being able to succeed.

"How can I actually become the grand elder? Challenge Song Junwan?" Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"The challenge would only be secondary, though. First I'd have to win over the masses. Plus I need to convince the leadership that I'm important, that I'm a crucial member of the sect. That's the only way that I could successfully challenge Song Junwan and then take over her position." Nodding to himself, he decided that this was definitely the right track to follow. With that, he stuck his chin up proudly.

"I'm already halfway there. If I want people to think I'm important, though, I need to do something that leaves everybody completely shaken…." As far as he was concerned, it wouldn't be too difficult to do such a thing. He had already been in the Blood Stream Sect for some time, and knew quite well that apothecaries were few and far between. The leadership of the sect placed a high value on them, and had even established certain sect rules to encourage disciples to walk that path.

However, the very nature of the Blood Stream Sect essentially doomed such efforts from the beginning. The Blood Stream Sect was fundamentally a devilish sect, and most disciples viewed concocting medicine as a waste of time. They would much rather study techniques to increase their battle prowess. If they needed medicinal pills, they could simply go rob people from the Pill Stream Sect. If they needed magical items, they could take them from Profound Stream Sect disciples. If they needed spirit beasts, they could get them from the Spirit Stream Sect.

Therefore, few people focused on concocting medicine. There were some who could, such as imposter Nightcrypt back in the day, but in a huge sect like this, they were completely insufficient to meet the needs of the sect as a whole.

"It's been a long time since I've concocted any medicine…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he began to chuckle. As his laughter drifted out into the night, the blood trees began to tremble, apparently because of the sinister nature of the laughter.

"However, before I actually concoct any medicine, I need to solve one problem

. I did a bit of medicine concocting earlier, but if I suddenly do something too incredible, people will get suspicious. I need the right opportunity…." With that, his eyes narrowed.

"Supposedly, the Holy Pill Wall Fragment here was actually robbed from the Pill Stream Sect 10,000 years ago, for the express purpose of allowing disciples to seek enlightenment of the Dao of medicine….

"Hmph. I can just pretend to gain enlightenment there, and then start concocting some medicine. Then nobody will be suspicious at all…." Once again, he laughed out loud proudly. He'd actually planned to do this for quite a while, and now, the timing seemed perfect. The following morning, he left his immortal's cave without the slightest hesitation. Leaving Middle Peak, he headed toward the area in the Inner Sect district where the Holy Pill Wall Fragment was located.

Soon he arrived in front of the enormous stone stele that was as tall as three people put together. This was his second time coming here, the first being when he'd seen Xuemei. At that time, Xuemei had looked at him as if she were eyeing a bug.

This was his second time, and even from a distance, he could see a few Inner Sect disciples sitting below the stele, looking at it thoughtfully.

His appearance caused the Inner Sect disciples' expressions to flicker.

They quickly rose to their feet and offered formal greetings. Not daring

to be near him, they left, and by the time he was actually in front of the stone stele, he was completely alone.

Rubbing his chin, he coughed dryly and sat down cross-legged. Feeling very comfortable with this sort of situation, he looked up at the wall fragment, and reviewed what imposter Nightcrypt had told him. 8,000 years ago, a genius rose up in the Blood Stream Sect who was very adept in the Dao of medicine. After seeking enlightenment from this wall fragment, his ability to concoct medicine improved significantly.

"I guess that means the shrew Xuemei was here to try to get some enlightenment, huh?" He couldn't help but feel a bit disdainful of the idea. He was of the belief that although certain degrees of enlightenment were required when it came to medicine concocting techniques, it wasn't something that could come overnight. Constant practice was required, along with gradual progress. That was the way to achieve mastery.

Although it was possible that enlightenment could be gained from this wall fragment, Naruto was certain that it would be useless to a disciple who didn't have a basic understanding of medicine concocting to begin with.

"It should be enough to just put on a bit of a show so that people think I'm gaining enlightenment." Naruto cleared his throat and then focused on the wall fragment, trying to reach the same mental state he'd stumbled into when he'd gained enlightenment from the beast statue in the Spirit Stream Sect.

"I just need to imitate what happened back then…." He thought. With that, he did his best to imitate his past facial expression. He opened his eyes wide, staring at the wall. Strangely, as he stared at the wall, it felt as if his mind were being drained. Although he was surprised, he did nothing to stop it from happening.

Three days went by. Quite a few Inner Sect disciples passed the wall fragment, and when they saw Naruto, they noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, and his hands seemed to be moving. His expression was completely blank, which created quite an odd picture.

"Senior Nightcrypt, are you…."

"Is he really gaining enlightenment!?"

"Heavens! It's been a really long time since anybody actually gained enlightenment here. Is Senior Nightcrypt really pulling it off?" The Inner Sect disciples were shocked, and soon, word began to spread. Foundation Establishment cultivators from all of the four peaks heard the news, and many went over to see for themselves.

Another seven days passed, during which time Naruto's vision began to swim. In order to make sure everything looked as real as possible, he continued to stare at the wall for ten days and ten nights. Soon, he started to look as if he were in a daze, and actually, it was no farce. He really was zoning out.

It was a deep and profound daze that actually looked like enlightenment, to the point where no outsider would be able to tell the difference….

His mind was weakening. After all, he had just broken through into mid Foundation Establishment, and had no way to quickly recover at the moment. The time he spent in a daze increased, until eventually he realized that he had spent almost half the day in such a state. By this point, he decided that he'd probably put on enough of a show….

Just when he was about to finish up and put on a show of reaping some amazing reward from his efforts, a tremor ran through him. Before he could look away, his eyes went wide, and he suddenly stared fixedly at the wall fragment.

He began to pant heavily, and his pupils constricted. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not, but moments ago, just as he had been about to look away from the wall, he'd seen a blurry figure that appeared to be concocting medicine. From what he'd seen, the method was different from what he'd learned about the Dao of medicine.

"Whoah!" A tremor ran through him. Settling down, he once again stared at the wall fragment, focusing all of his attention, which drained him even more rapidly than before. Moments later, his soul seemed to leave his body and enter the wall, to appear right next to that blurry figure.

Upon closer inspection, Naruto was certain that he was looking at someone concocting medicine. He wasn't sure of the exact type of spirit medicine that was being concocted, but the apothecary's methods were fantastic.

Apparently, he wasn't even using a pill formula. He casually selected two types of medicinal plants, and then called upon the principles of mutual augmentation and suppression, not to force out the impurities, but cause transformations. A new type of medicinal strength appeared, a power which he imbued into other medicinal plants to alter them.

He did everything in a completely smooth and natural way. Occasionally, the ingredients in the pill furnace would explode with force, at other times they were calm. Sometimes they seethed, sometimes they were as quiet as death. Regardless of the transformations or the eruptions of power, the apothecary maintained full control the entire time.

He controlled every aspect with skill and deftness!

This Dao of medicine was very different from what Naruto had learned in the Spirit Stream Sect. The apothecary in the wall fragment was on a completely different level.

It almost seemed like the Spirit Stream Sect's Dao of medicine was for amateurs, whereas what this apothecary was using were the methods of an expert.

"He's not concocting medicine, he's actually creating plants and vegetation!" Naruto forgot about the passage of time. He was completely focused on watching the shadowy figure in the wall fragment. Eventually, the figure finished concocting the batch of medicine, and opened the pill furnace. What appeared in his hands was a green medicinal pill that actually looked like a plant. Naruto's mind filled with rumbling, along with faint comprehension.

"Before concocting medicine, you have to refine the plants and vegetation! Depending on the medicinal strength you seek, you search through countless medicinal plants. If you can't find what you're looking for, you make your own!

"The limits of the Dao of medicine rely only on the limits of your imagination, and your skill in concocting medicinal plants and vegetation!" Naruto felt like his mind was being struck by lightning, and he even began to shake physically. It was with deep and utter excitement that he immersed himself within the images in the wall fragment.

At the same time, the Holy Pill Wall Fragment began to emit a green light. As the light grew more and more intense, it transformed into a green pillar that shot high up into the sky. The entire Blood Stream Sect was being shaken to the core!

—

Chapter 221 Chapter 221

Chapter 221: The Dao of All-Creation Plants and Vegetation

The green pillar of light shot up into the heavens, causing everything to tremble. Even the blood qi in the area was blasted away. Instantly, the whole Blood Stream Sect was shaken.

Middle Peak Grand Elder Song Junwan was in the middle of meditating when suddenly, her eyes opened. Shocked, she rushed out of her immortal's cave to look at the green light, and quickly realized that it was coming from the Holy Pill Wall Fragment.

"Nightcrypt is over there seeking enlightenment. Don't tell me…." Heart trembling, she flew into the air. It wasn't just her; numerous beams of light sped from the various mountain peaks toward the Holy Pill Wall Fragment.

There were even streams of divine sense that flowed out from Ancestor Peak. Instantly, everyone saw Naruto, in a deep trance, expression blank. He even seemed to be somewhat intoxicated. Anybody who looked at him could tell that he was in the middle of being enlightened by the wall fragment!

"Every few hundred years, someone succeeds in gaining enlightenment. But nobody has ever caused green light to shoot up from the wall fragment!"

"I remember reading in the ancient records about how the Daoist Blood Sage received enlightenment 800 years ago. Green light appeared back then…. Could it be that this is the same kind of enlightenment?"

"I can't believe Nightcrypt is so gifted in the Dao of medicine!"

"I remember him concocting medicine a few times in the past. If he can gain enlightenment from the wall fragment, then in the future, the Blood Stream Sect might have another grandmaster apothecary!"

It wasn't just the prime elders who took note of what was happening. Two pairs of eyes flashed like lightning as they looked over at Naruto.

One of them belonged to Patriarch Limitless, the other, to the Song Clan patriarch!

Strange light could be seen in those eyes, and they seemed moved. Soon, it became apparent that countless figures were converging on the wall fragment, so the Song Clan patriarch quickly said, "Song Junwan, stand as Dharma protector for Nighcrypt. If anyone tries to interfere, kill them immediately!"

The Song Clan patriarch's voice was as cold as ice, and rang out for all to hear. Immediately, the cultivators near Naruto backed up, hearts pounding in fear. Some of them had actually been contemplating whether or not they should interfere, but now they pushed such thoughts aside.

Song Junwan took a deep breath. Clasping hands in respect toward Ancestor Peak, she took a few steps forward and sat down cross-legged next to Naruto to serve as Dharma protector.

Other cultivators who were under the personal command of Song Junwan also sat down cross-legged, forming a wider perimeter, staring coldly at the other surrounding cultivators.

With Song Junwan serving as Dharma protector, and a warning having been uttered by a patriarch, the crowd began to thin. Soon, the area was very quiet.

Word spread about Nightcrypt gaining enlightenment from the wall fragment. During the following month, cultivators would come on a daily basis to observe what was happening. As for Song Junwan, her eyes were increasingly bloodshot, and she also seemed in a daze, as if the only thing that existed were Naruto and the wall fragment.

"Nightcrypt reached Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening," she thought, "and also has terrifying abilities in divination. Now it seems he's a genius in the Dao of medicine. Lots of disciples study this wall fragment, but very few people can succeed, and even fewer provoke a reaction from the wall! Just what Dao of medicine is Nightcrypt gaining enlightenment of?" Her eyes glittered even mo

re profoundly than before as she realized that yet again, her earlier assumptions about Nightcrypt had been incorrect.

He seemed simple enough, as if he could be judged at a single glance. However, Song Junwan had to admit that what she had seen, and what she knew, was just the tip of the iceberg.

"How could a person like this slip through Qi Condensation completely unnoticed? Did he really spend all that time building up and preparing?" No matter how she considered the matter, she couldn't come up with an answer. At the same time, the gleam in her eyes as she looked at Naruto continued to deepen.

Time passed. Another month went by, and Naruto had forgotten about himself. He was completely focused on the apothecary, and his process of concocting medicine.

He watched him over and over again, and the closer he examined him, the clearer the figure became. Eventually, the image turned into a different person, and soon, the concocting methods were different again.

Generally speaking, theories regarding the Dao of medicine were the same. However, when it came to the plant and vegetation pills, or the pill concocting methods, they changed from person to person. The people changed, the methods changed, but the foundation was the same.

A tremor ran through Naruto as he saw one figure after another concocting medicine. Each one used the same general principles to form the exact type of medicinal strength they needed.

It was as if a huge door were opening in Naruto's mind. At a certain point, he subconsciously extended his hands and began to mimic what he was seeing inside the wall.

As his hands moved, a green field of light appeared around him, which attracted the green light shining from the stone wall. Soon, the two were connected.

Naruto's mind filled with rumbling sounds as countless bodies of knowledge regarding the Dao of medicine flowed into his mind through the light.

The group on Ancestor Peak was shaken, and based on the levels of their cultivation bases, they could actually sense what was happening.

"A legacy!"

"No wonder the Pill Stream Sect has tried so hard over the years to get that wall fragment back. If the Daoist Blood Sage hadn't expressed his dying order to never return the wall for all eternity, it would probably have been sent back long ago."

"So this wall contains a legacy of the Pill Stream Sect's Dao of medicine. Now that I think about, doesn't the Pill Stream Sect also have a wall fragment?" The Blood Stream Sect patriarchs exchanged glances, and all of them could see how deeply moved the others were.

Naruto's mind was wracked with pain as he accepted the legacy. He was left trembling, his eyes completely bloodshot, and he even cried out at the top of his lungs.

However, he wasn't willing to give up. Even a glimpse at the knowledge of the Dao of medicine he was receiving was completely shocking.

"Use heaven and earth as the pill cauldron. Use all creation as the plants and vegetation. Bequeath soul seeds. Create medicines of good fortune!"

Naruto's mind was battered by towering waves of shock.

Suddenly, he thought back to the Pill Stream Sect disciple he'd killed, Fang Lin. The Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron he'd used was obviously what was referred to in the first line of the wall fragment legacy!

He also thought back to what had occurred when Fang Lin died, and the face of the young man he'd seen, which resembled a yin-yang symbol. Apparently, Fang Lin had unknowingly been infected with a soul seed! 1

Back in the heat of the moment, Naruto had mostly ignored that young man with the yin-yang face. However, he hadn't forgotten the incident, and had always remained suspicious about it. Now, he realized that what he had seen was a manifestation of Soul Seed Bequeathal!

Furthermore, the legacy he was receiving now was the technique of AllCreation Plants and Vegetation!

Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron, All-Creation Plants and Vegetation, Soul Seed Bequeathal! These three divine abilities were the fundamental Dao which served as the foundation of the Pill Stream Sect!

Unfortunately, the Blood Stream Sect had robbed them of half of their wall fragment. Perhaps the lack of the All-Creation Plants and Vegetation technique was why the Pill Stream Sect had been in a state of gradual decline for so long.

"By using all creation as plants and vegetation, the transformations of the plants and vegetation can be used to form any type of medicinal effect! A Dao of medicine like this is unimaginable!" Naruto was panting. Never could he possibly have guessed that his attempt to pretend to get enlightenment would result in him actually receiving a legacy magic.

As the legacy was passed on, the light shining up from the wall fragment grew weaker and weaker, and the green glow around him grew stronger and stronger. A few days later, the light around the wall faded, and Naruto's eyes snapped open. The intense green light around him caused rumbling like that of thunder to echo out. At the same time, the images of countless plants and vegetation swirled around him, continuously merging with each other, continuously transforming.

The bizarre signs that the disciples of the Blood Stream Sect were seeing left them shocked. It was easy to imagine how, even as soon as the following day, Nightcrypt's name would once again rock the Blood Stream Sect. Even the other sects would surely hear about what was happening, and Nightcrypt would become even more famous in the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world.

"Nightcrypt…." Song Junwan murmured, rising to her feet. An expression of concern could be seen in her eyes as she looked at Naruto. He was much thinner than he had been before, his face sunken in a bit, seemingly little more than flesh and bones. And yet, his eyes shone with brilliant light.

He looked over at Song Junwan and nodded. Before she could say anything, he said, "I need to concoct some medicine!"

He needed to take the information that was sinking into his mind and apply it to medicine concocting as soon as possible, to firmly fix the sensation of the All-Creation Plants and Vegetation technique into his heart. Under the eyes of all present, he flew into the air toward Middle Peak. Even the patriarchs on Ancestor Peak had expressions of anticipation on their faces as they watched him go.

Back in his immortal's cave, he immediately went into secluded meditation. He didn't have a lot of plants and vegetation on him at the moment, but it was without hesitation that he produced a pill furnace and began to concoct, not spirit medicine, but plants and vegetation pills.

Through this process of concocting, he became much more confident in manipulating the plants and vegetation to produce specific levels of medicinal strength. The legacy branding in his mind grew deeper. He was so focused that he completely ignored matters like sleep and eating. At the same time, the exact effect he had hoped to produce within the sect could be seen. The Song Clan patriarch arranged for large quantities of plants and vegetation to be delivered to him, along with piles of bloodflame stones.

All of the resources of the Blood Stream Sect were being called upon to ensure that Naruto quickly mastered the legacy he had received. Many of the medicinal plants he was given were very rare, and would fetch exorbitant prices on the outside, or even be the subject of fierce fighting.

But now, it was without hesitation that the sect handed them over.

They even sent over an apothecary attendant, who respectfully said, "Grandmaster, the patriarch sent me to explain that this is only the first set of ingredients. More medicinal plants are on the way!"

Because of the steady flow of medicinal plants, Naruto experienced no delays in his mastery of the legacy. As he concocted more plant and vegetation pills, his eyes shone with more intense light. At the same time, his skill in the Dao of medicine advanced by leaps and bounds.

Naruto was even delighted to discover that there were aspects of the Frigid School Medicine Manual that he didn't understand before, but were now clear. In fact, there was an entire section on the first page that now made complete sense!

"I have the feeling that I can finally concoct a tier-4 medicinal pill!

Maybe even tier-5!"

Tier-4 medicinal pills were a dividing mark between journeyman apothecaries and master apothecaries!

—

Chapter 222 Chapter 222

Chapter 222: I Must Concoct Medicine!

"I must concoct medicine!" Naruto's eyes shone with intense focus. The enlightenment he had gained from the Holy Pill Wall Fragment, and the abstruse information from the Frigid School Medicine Manual, caused his skill in the Dao of medicine to break through from the point of being able to concoct tier-3 medicines. He was now fairly certain he could concoct tier-4 medicines!

In the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world, tier-4 spirit medicines were virtually priceless. Foundation Establishment cultivators absolutely required them, the most obvious example being Foundation Establishment Pills!

Foundation Establishment Pills were tier-4 spirit medicines, and were very difficult to concoct. In fact, anyone who could successfully concoct them would be viewed as a master apothecary!

Master apothecaries were rare. The Blood Stream Sect had been home to a few in the past, but not anymore. It was the same with the Profound Stream Sect. Obviously, the Pill Stream Sect had them, and in fact, they even had grandmaster apothecaries, who were on a similar level as prime elders.

Other than the master apothecaries in the Pill Stream Sect, the only other one was in the Spirit Stream Sect, and that was Toruho!

But now, Naruto was at the peak of the tier-3 level, and was on the verge of breaking through to the tier-4 level. Theoretically, the knowledge he possessed already gave him what he needed to break through. Taking a deep breath, he extended his right hand and opened the bag of holding that the sect had provided, which contained all sorts of plants and vegetation. Almost immediately, he gasped, and the more he studied the contents of the bag, the more shaken he was. "Is this dragonspirit root? I can't believe it's over 700 years old…

"This is peacedevil leaf! More than 400 years old….

"Revelation fruit. Dao-immortal blossom…." It seemed like each of the medicinal plants he'd been given was more valuable than the one before it, and more rare. From the plants and vegetation he was being given, it was obvious how important the Blood Stream Sect viewed him to be. It actually exceeded his expectations.

He couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted. On the one hand, the Blood Stream Sect really had treated him amazingly. On the other hand, he couldn't forget that he was from the Spirit Stream Sect….

Even as he wavered back and forth about what to do, he looked at the most recent delivery, which included two bags of holding.

One of them contained pill furnaces, the other contained the Blood Stream Sect's unique bloodflame stones!

Bloodflame stones were similar to the earthflame crystals from the Spirit Stream Sect, except even more domineering. The intense heat they emitted was a necessity for medicine concocting, and although they were unique to the Blood Stream Sect, after some examination, Naruto confirmed that they could produce three-colored flame.

Although he would have preferred fuel for four-colored flame, threecolored flame was still satisfactory. Finally, he made his decision. He would concoct pills, and secretly keep some of them for himself.

As for the four-leaf clovers he had harvested some time back, he still

had them in his bag of holding. However, he didn't dare to use the turtle-wok in the Blood Stream Sect, for fear of mishaps.

After looking closer at the bag with the pill furnaces, Naruto was even more shocked than he had been by all of the valuable medicinal plants. Eyes wide, he said, "How many pill furnaces are in here?"

Mind reeling, he counted over 100 pill furnaces. There were large ones and small ones, new ones and old ones. The mere sight of them left Naruto's

vision swimming.

There were even a few dozen pill furnaces which were clearly magical devices, and others contained strong medicinal aromas that indicated they had been frequently used by apothecaries in the past.

"Did they rob all of these?" he thought, rubbing his eyes. After further examination, he realized that almost all of the pill furnaces were marked with a symbol like a cauldron, which was the sign of the Pill Stream Sect.

Obviously, these were pill furnaces that the Blood Stream Sect had robbed from Pill Stream Sect disciples over the years….

In addition to the pill furnaces, there were some jade slips in the bag of holding. After examining them, Naruto's mind was yet again sent spinning. It actually took quite a while for him to recover. Those jade slips were clearly incredibly valuable.

They were inscribed with countless medicine formulas!

Some of them were even tier-5 formulas….

Naruto sighed emotionally, and his eyes shone with intense light. To have so many medicinal plants and so many pill furnaces right there in front of him left him completely excited. Rubbing his hands together, he immediately pulled out a pill furnace and some bloodflame stones. After igniting the stones with some spiritual power, a blood-colored flame lit the room.

"Concoct medicine. Must concoct medicine!" He didn't start with the Foundation Establishment Pill. Instead, he studied the formula for something called a Spirit-Tempering Crystallizing Pill, after which he began to concoct it.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by. Naruto never went outside even once, and soon his hair was completely disheveled. He was completely immersed within his medicine concocting. He failed over and over again as he built up experience and performed experiments. He pursued new trains of thought, and every time he came up with a new idea, he would laugh out loud with joy.

As his laughter echoed out of the immortal's cave, the blood trees shivered, and any Middle Peak cultivators who happened to be passing by would be surprised, but mostly dismissive.

Most of the cultivators on Middle Peak had some sort of beef with Naruto, although none of them would ever dare to reveal that publically. However, as time passed, all sorts of gossip spread.

"So what if he gained enlightenment of the wall fragment? Does he really think he's going to concoct some sort of amazing spirit medicine?"

"Hmph. I heard that all of the plant and vegetation resources in the whole sect were sent over to Nightcrypt. He's just digging his own grave. He's going to fail completely, or at best concoct some ordinary spirit medicine. Either way, he's screwed!"

"Who cares about medicine concocting? I don't even understand why the sect thinks it's important!"

However, Song Junwan and the three other grand elders, as well as the prime elders on Ancestor Peak, were filled with anticipation. Even the Song Clan patriarch felt the same way, and was constantly looking over toward Middle Peak.

Ten days passed. Naruto's extended time in seclusion was being viewed with increasing derision by the Middle Peak cultivators. Of course, most of that was jealously. They were jealous of his relationship with the grand elder, jealous that the sect cared so much about him, and jealous that he was being gifted with so many plant and vegetation resources.

However, his overall level of power was extraordinary, and everyone knew it. Because of the Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening, he had already surpassed the power of a Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment Dharma protector. The Earthstring Foundation Establishment elders were starting to feel threatened, and even the late Foundation Establishment experts were worried.

Another three days passed….

Naruto had been working at medicine concocting for a full month straight. Inside his immortal's cave, he was working like mad, his eyes bloodshot as he paced back and forth around the pill furnace. He never stopped concocting. He would draw upon the plants and vegetation he had access to as he aimed for the medical strength he desired. Each time he failed, he would see new hope for success.

"This time I'm definitely going to succeed!" he said hoarsely, licking his lips and staring at the pill furnace. Several more hours passed, and then the pill furnace began to tremble. A medicinal aroma spread out, and Naruto's eyes shone with anticipation. Moments later, though, his excitement turned into fear.

"What's going on!?" he said, eyes widening. In the instant that the spirit medicine was supposed to emerge, the pill furnace suddenly began to heat up. Apparently, the strength of the pill was causing instability, which was affecting the pill furnace itself. Even the bloodflame stones were being influenced, which was causing the heat spike. Instantly, a sensation of intense danger filled Naruto's heart.

Cracking sounds rang out, and the pill furnace began to shake violently.

Fissures spread out across its surface, which were filled with shining, blood-colored fire. From the look of things, the pill furnace was about to explode.

A shocking force was building up inside, causing the pill furnace to bulge dramatically….

"It's gonna blow!" he gasped, his scalp tingling. This was a tier-4 spirit medicine, something far beyond tier-2 or tier-3 medicines.

Even an exploding tier-3 spirit medicine was completely shocking, but the idea of how much force the detonation of a tier-4 spirit medicine would release caused Naruto's pupils to constrict. From the aura that was emanating from the pill furnace, Naruto could tell that it had force comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

There was no time to sit around thinking about what to do. Shrieking, Naruto reached out and grabbed the bulging furnace, then drew upon the full power of his cultivation base to burst outside and hurl it up into the air.

"Everybody watch out!" he cried at the top of his lungs. The pill furnace sailed up above Middle Peak, and then exploded, releasing a thunderous boom that shook heaven and earth. A shockwave also blasted out, sweeping over everything in sight.

As the pill furnace exploded, medicinal dregs shot out in all directions. Even more terrifying was that the burning shrapnel created by the exploding furnace rained down in all directions.

Countless Middle Peak disciples were badly frightened, and rushed out to see what was happening.

"What's wrong?!"

"What happened?!"

"Is the Spirit Stream Sect attacking us?!"

In their shock, they looked up and saw flames streaking through sky like falling stars to land in various locations around Middle Peak. As each bit slammed into the ground, booms echoed out.

Soon, cries of alarm rose up into the air. Wherever the destroyed remnants of the pill furnace landed, flames rose up. There were even some unfortunate cultivators who caught on fire and began to scream at the tops of their lungs.

All of Middle Peak was thrown into chaos. Song Junwan was shaken, and when she rushed out, she saw Middle Peak engulfed in flames. She could smell the acrid odor of a destroyed medicinal pill, and could also see the chunks of the pill furnace raining down.

"Is this what happens when you concoct medicine?" she thought with a gasp. "I can't believe medicine concocting is so terrifying!" In her mind, medicine concocting should be a calm, peaceful activity, and even if something went wrong, there shouldn't be a huge disaster like this.

If disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect were present, they would definitely understand what was happening, and would probably even feel bad for the Blood Stream Sect and say, "Disaster strikes once Sect Uncle Uzumaki starts concocting medicine."

Chapter 223 Chapter 223

Chapter 223: Flying Furnaces Fill the Firmament

Naruto's heart was pounding with nervousness. The exploding pill furnace had not only been shocking, but also a very close call….

"If I had been just a bit slower, it would have blown up my immortal's cave! But that's not the scariest part. I might have lost my poor little life! That would have been a tragedy." Naruto ducked his head down, trying to look apologetic to the furious crowd around him. He quickly made some adjustments to the cave's spell formation, and then hurried back inside.

There, he braced himself to face a mob, but after an entire day passed, nothing happened. Surprised, he waited even longer, but no one ever showed up.

"Weird…. Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter. I'll just keep concocting. Now why did that pill furnace explode?" Sitting down cross-legged, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

What he didn't know was that the reason nobody came looking for him was because of how people called him Nightdevil. He was already completely infamous, and although people wanted to go call him to account, the way he had slaughtered people with the blood sword left them no choice but to grit their teeth and endure.

Another reason was that, although the explosion had been a powerful one, and caused a lot of fires, other than that, it didn't really influence anyone negatively….

Three days later, Naruto slapped his thigh.

"In the past, my tier-3 medicines also exploded. But this time, the explosion happened for a different reason. When tier-4 spirit medicines are in the final stages of condensing into a pill, they absorb qi from their surroundings, which leads to instability!

"It doesn't have anything to do with the bloodflame stones. The pill is being destroyed from the inside out!" Panting, hair in disarray, eyes shining with enlightenment, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and produced a new pill furnace to work with.

The concocting process went much more quickly this time. A day later, and the spirit medicine was already taking form. As it did, he paid close attention, and was also fully prepared for any outcome. Suddenly, the pill furnace began to turn bright red, and cracks started to spread out across its surface. A violent eruption was obviously building up, and the pill furnace even began to bulge in shocking fashion, even more dramatically than last time.

Naruto gasped. Waving his sleeve, he collected up the pill furnace and then raced outside, where he threw it high up into the air. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to call out a warning this time….

A deafening boom echoed out as the pill furnace exploded, sending shrapnel in all directions, along with waves of violet-colored flames….

Booming thuds then rose up as the pieces landed on the ground. At the same time, enraged roars could be heard.

"Again?! What are you doing, Nightcrypt?!"

"Nightcrypt, are you really concocting medicine? If you want to kill us, why not just fight us!?"

"What pill is he trying to concoct?!"

There were about ten cultivators who were directly affected, and despite their rage, they didn't do anything other than gnash their teeth. They didn't dare to cause any problems for Nightcrypt.

Naruto remained in his immortal's cave, terrified. However, after some time passed and nobody came to complain, he sighed and looked off into the distance.

"You people understand the situation, and choose not to cause problems for me. Don't worry. I promise this will be the last time." Taking a deep breath at how sincere he was in his efforts, he once again began to concoct.

Three days later.

"Dammit, what's wrong!?" Feeling like he was going insane, he rushed outside and threw the pill furnace up into the air.

BOOM!

Five days later… boom! Seven days later… boom! Ten days later….

"How could this be happening?!" He felt like he was going completely mad. This time, he threw an especially large pill furnace up into the air!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

During the ten days that passed, Middle Peak was driven insane. Every day or two, another pill furnace would explode, raining down shrapnel and fire. Many places on Middle Peak were scorched to the ground.

Many newly erected immortal's caves were burned to ash, and one cultivator after another was left screaming in rage. Eventually, not a single blade of grass or plant on Middle Peak was left unscorched.

Although Master God-Diviner's immortal's cave wasn't harmed, he did catch on fire at least once….

The killing intent of the Middle Peak cultivators continued to build until it seemed like it might explode.

The situation was a bit better on the upper finger. However, the fires eventually spread that far too, and the mid and late Foundation

Establishment cultivators there were slowly building up into a rage. All of Middle Peak was turning into a ticking timebomb.

"Nightcrypt, are you looking to die?!"

"If I don't kill Nightcrypt, then I'm not human!"

"Dammit! Does Nightcrypt want to burn Middle Peak to the ground? He's not concocting medicine, he's trying to kill us!"

The unusually large pill furnace that he threw up into the air didn't actually explode in until it landed. After it smashed into one of the blood waterfalls, a huge boom rang out, and masses of blood and water surged out in all directions. A miserable shriek rang out from Song Que's mouth as he emerged, engulfed in flames. His hair and eyebrows were almost immediately burned away.

"Nightcrypt!" he howled, shooting toward Naruto's immortal's cave. His actions caused the suppressed emotions of the other cultivators to erupt, and they joined him in shouting at the tops of their lungs.

"Kill Nightcrypt!"

"If Nightcrypt doesn't die, then we'll all be killed!"

"First he messed with the blood qi, then he chased that rabbit, and now he has these exploding furnaces. Nightcrypt is a walking disaster!"

"You're dead, Nightcrypt! You destroyed my immortal's cave during the blood qi incident, then again because of the rabbit, and now again with a pill furnace!"

Never before had the cultivators of Middle Peak been united in such a way. Ninety percent of the cultivators, from early to late Foundation Establishment, raged with murderous auras as they shot toward Naruto's immortal's cave, intent on joining hands to destroy it.

Even if the sect prohibited such action, they didn't care. They were convinced that the sect wouldn't cause problems for all of the

Foundation Establishment cultivators on Middle Peak because of a single person.

When Naruto saw what was happening, his scalp began to tingle with fear. Even though he was already in the mid Foundation Establishment stage, and was sure he could easily crush even a large group of opponents, it was a shock to see so many Foundation Establishment cultivators racing toward him, including both Mortal-Dao and Earthstring types, from the early to the late stage, all of them bristling with killing intent, and many without any hair or eyebrows.

Song Que was leading them all, a pack of hornets whose howls shook the mountain peak like thunder.

"Listen to me, people!" Naruto cried, face ashen from fear. Backing up, he tried to offer explanations, but his voice was drowned out by the howls of rage. As the people closed in, their cultivation bases surging with shocking power, they became like a wave of rage, upon which the rowboat which was Naruto teetered on the verge of death.

That was when a cold snort echoed from Ancestor Peak, a snort filled with frigid iciness. It pierced into the maddened minds of the mob, and all the cultivators who had been planning to attack Naruto were instantly shaken to their souls.

Only a prime elder or a patriarch would be able to calm down such a large group of people so quickly. It didn't matter who it was that had just snorted, it left everyone shaking.

Simultaneously, Grand Elder Song Junwan appeared in front of Naruto. Looking around coldly at the group of cultivators, she frowned and said, "Enough is enough. Nightcrypt didn't do any of this on purpose. It's hard to avoid accidents when concocting medicine!"

The surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators could say nothing in response. However, despite the fact that they feared and respected the grand elder, they were haughty and arrogant people by nature, and inwardly, were still just as angry as before. Even their eyes radiated a brutal coldness.

"The patriarch agrees on this point!" Song Junwan continued coolly, her eyes radiating cold light. When the Foundation Establishment cultivators heard that, they had no choice but to sigh bitterly. Biting their tongues, they turned to leave. Of course, their hatred for Naruto still burned hot inside of them.

All of them were thinking the same thing: "You can't keep this up. The patriarch's patience has a limit, and sooner or later, you'll meet a bitter end!"

Inwardly, they chuckled coldly, filled with expectation for the day that Nightcrypt would be punished by the sect.

After the crowd dispersed, fear still lingered in Naruto's heart. Looking over at Song Junwan, he slapped his chest and said, "Those people were being so unreasonable! I'm concocting medicine for the sect!"

Song Junwan, who had already been turning to leave, looked back at Naruto with a strange expression on her face. Then she shook her head. Even she would never have been able to imagine that pill concocting could prove to be so dangerous….

After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Nightcrypt, you had better end up concocting a pill that pleases the patriarch."

With that, she gave him a deep look, and then left.

She didn't want to go into any more detail than that. She was sure that

Nightcrypt would understand her meaning; the leadership of the Blood

Stream Sect cared about the result, not the process. If, in the end, Nightcrypt was able to concoct a pill that pleased the patriarch, then everything that happened along the way wouldn't matter. As long as he didn't go too far, they wouldn't just ignore the mishaps; they would shield him from the consequences.

However, if he failed to produce a satisfactory medicinal pill, then he would be viewed as useless, and the sect would demand restitution.

Essentially, the more useful he was, the more they would use him, and the more powerful he would be in the sect!

Naruto's eyes flickered. Naturally, he understood what was going on. He had come to understand the way the Blood Stream Sect did things way back on Corpse Peak….

"They look at the result, not the process." He sighed. "What a great sect!" Coughing dryly, he returned to his immortal's cave and continued concocting.

Back on Ancestor Peak, the Song Clan patriarch was sitting in a large hall. Looking away from Middle Peak, he smiled at the two prime elders who were there to accompany him. All of them seemed quite pleased.

"Aren't Nightcrypt's concocting methods a bit excessive?" one of the prime elders said with the shake of a head.

The other prime elder chuckled. Sounding a bit sarcastic, he said, "That's what Blood Stream Sect disciples are supposed to be like. Don't concoct pills like everyone else! You can see at a single glance that he walks a devilish path. Everyone else concocts pills as if they're drinking warm water. He concocts them with explosive flair!"

—

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme archives: Tocsin. Transcendent Patrons: Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208

Chapter 224

Chapter 224

Chapter 224: This Isn't Betraying The Sect, Is It?

Ten days passed. On two occasions, pill furnaces exploded, but there was nothing Naruto could do about it. Reducing the medicinal strength seemed to be the only option. As far as Naruto was concerned, these pill furnaces were simply to weak….

After reducing the medicinal strength, and utilizing the All-Creation Plants and Vegetation technique, he was gradually able to stabilize things, and in the end, managed to successfully concoct a batch of tier-4 Spirit-Tempering Crystallizing Pills.

Although only five pills came out, and they were all low-grade, they still contained far more spiritual energy than any other spirit medicine that Naruto had concocted in the past. He could even feel the spiritual energy pulsing inside of them when he held them in his hand.

They almost seemed intelligent….

That was one of the unique characteristics of tier-4 medicinal pills. After examining them closely for a bit, Naruto started to get even more excited than before. Although he was confident that a pill like this would please a prime elder, it probably wouldn't be good enough for the Song Clan patriarch.

"I need to increase my success rate significantly. Then the Song Clan patriarch will definitely be convinced!" Sticking his chin up proudly, he continued concocting with the techniques he had already perfected to some degree.

He wanted more control over tier-4 spirit medicine, and a higher success rate, similar to what he had with tier-3 spirit medicines. It was with complete focus that Naruto proceeded to ignore the outside world, and immerse himself in the Dao of medicine. Next, he selected another classic tier-4 spirit medicine formula, Misty Spirit Incense.

A few days later, a fragrant aroma rose up from the new batch of spirit medicine, and Naruto's eyes immediately began to shine. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and the pill furnace opened, causing a stream of green smoke to rise up into the air.

"Huh?" What shocked Naruto most wasn't the green smoke, it was the fact that no spirit medicine could be seen inside!

"What went wrong?' he thought, shocked. He inspected the pill furnace carefully, but there was nothing inside, not even any medicinal dregs. It was almost as if the spirit medicine in the pill furnace had vanished into thin air.

Thinking about the smoke, he looked around the immortal's cave, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Frowning, he started working on another batch, determined to identify the source of the problem.

The same thing happened with the next batch. "It turned into green smoke again?"

Green smoke rose up, and within a few breaths of time, had completely vanished. No matter how he tried to capture it or prevent it from dissipating, it faded away.

"Interesting. Every tier-4 spirit medicine seems to have a unique property to it." He wasn't discouraged. Quite the contrary. For the following month, he tried numerous methods to solve the problem. However, the dozen or so batches he completed during that time all resulted in a green smoke which quickly faded away.

As Naruto continued his research and study into the Misty Spirit Incense, the cultivators of Middle Peak were finally awakening from the nightmare that had been the exploding pill furnaces. However, before they even had a chance to rejoice, they found themselves sinking into another nightmare.

The first cultivator to be struck with misfortune was Master God-Diviner. About ten days before, in the middle of the night, he had been performing an augury for someone when suddenly his face fell. To the surprise of the cultivator sitting in front of him, Master God-Diviner rushed out

of the room, face bright red. That night, he felt like he was about to fall to pieces. The following morning at dawn, his face was ashen.

"What's going on? I haven't eaten food for more than ten years. How could I be having diarrhea…?" Clutching his abdomen, he tried to perform a divination, but before he could finish, a growling sound echoed out from inside of him….

Soon, one cultivator after another was affected. Regardless of whether they were in their immortal's caves or not, anyone on Middle Peak who breathed in the aura caused by the green smoke would be stricken with diarrhea. It didn't matter when or where they were….

If it were an ordinary case of diarrhea, it might not have been a big deal. However, days passed, and the situation only continued to worsen. The ones who had it best off only ended up visiting the restroom ten or more times per day, but for others, it was over a hundred.

The cultivators of Middle Peak were starting to go crazy, and couldn't even imagine what sort of poison could be causing the situation. Some of the Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't handle it, and began to collapse unconscious. "Someone's poisoned us!"

"Dammit! What exactly is going on? This couldn't be Nightcrypt, could it?!"

A plague of diarrhea had struck the lower finger of Middle Peak. There was an invisible poison mist that seemed to affect any cultivator who encountered it, regardless of the level of their cultivation base. Soon, Middle Peak was virtually a ghost town. Everyone was on the verge of going completely insane, and yet barely had the energy to move.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a problem that simply went away after a short time passed. Song Que lay prone, listless and weak. He had visited the restroom so many times that by this point, he almost felt like a mortal.

"What's happening!?" people moaned.

"It must be Nightcrypt! He's concocting medicine, and the aura is spreading out and doing this to us!"

More and more people began to come to the same conclusion. However, no one could even go to investigate; the diarrhea had gotten so bad that most people couldn't even leave their immortal's caves.

Soon, the upper finger was being affected. Song Junwan simply left, shaking in fear at the thought of medicine concocting.

"Just what kind of concocting is he doing?" she sighed, looking down sympathetically at Middle Peak. "How could it be so terrifying!?"

Eventually, word spread to the other three mountain peaks, and the cultivators there began to laugh and joke about the matter. Some of them went over to the vicinity of Middle Peak to investigate for themselves, but they quickly returned and went into secluded meditation.

Eventually, the cultivators of Middle Peak began to leave. Unfortunately, they could only crawl, so that was how they made their escape. They crawled slowly away, unwilling to remain behind any longer. Sadly, they had been severely poisoned, so even after leaving, the symptoms lingered. Everyone teetered on the verge of collapse, glaring in terror at Naruto's immortal's cave. If they had to choose between this and exploding furnaces, they would pick the furnaces….

"Nightcrypt is so vicious! He's definitely getting revenge on us!"

"Dammit! We shouldn't call him Nightdevil, we should call him

Plaguedevil!"

"Nightcrypt the Plaguedevil!"

As time passed, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators simmered in suffering, their hatred for Naruto dissipated. Most of them resolved that in the future, they would do anything possible to avoid provoking him….

He was truly a terrifying figure, and his tactics of cutting down his enemies with invisible medicinal pills was truly mind-numbing.

Furthermore, quite a few cultivators changed their mind about the Dao of medicine, and decided that they should spend more time studying it….

Even Ancestor Peak took note of what was happening. Of course, Bai

Naruto had no idea what was going on. Because he cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique, he wasn't affected at all, and was completely consumed in the Dao of medicine. A month later, he finally solved the problem of the green smoke, and succeeded in concocting the Misty Spirit Incense.

Then he went on to concoct some other tier-4 spirit medicines.

Eventually, he raised his success rate to seventy percent. By that point, he had run out of medicinal plants, and was forced to take a break. Spirit medicine in hand, he sighed and walked out of the Immortal's cave.

It was a bright, sunny morning, but for some reason, everything seemed unusually quiet. Naruto looked around and found that Middle Peak was completely empty.

At first he was shocked, but then he was pleased. He had finally managed to concoct some medicine without affecting people in the area. Sighing again, he began to walk along through Middle Peak. Before long though, he started to get nervous.

"Why is it so quiet?" he thought. Something seemed off. By the time he reached the bottom of the mountain, he hadn't seen a single person, or even detected any signs of life. All of the immortal's caves seemed empty.

"Where is everyone?" Blinking, he started to get even more nervous, and then picked up his pace. Soon, he caught sight of one of the Middle Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, hobbling along with the help of two Inner Sect disciples. When the cultivator looked up and saw Naruto, a tremor ran through him, and his eyes widened as if with fear as he raised a trembling finger to point at Naruto..

"Are… are you finished concocting?" he asked.

"Huh?" Naruto replied, a bit confused."Um, yeah I'm finished!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the cultivator shivered, then turned toward the Inner Sect district and yelled as loud as he could: "You can all come out now! Let's go back to our immortal's caves. Plaguedevil is finished concocting medicine!"

Soon, cries of relief rang out from numerous immortal's caves in the Inner Sect as countless figures appeared, supported by Inner Sect disciples. They all looked gaunt and sallow, their expressions simultaneously listless and excited.

"Are you serious?! Plaguedevil finally finished with his medicine concocting?"

"The heavens do have eyes!"

"We can finally go back to Middle Peak…."

Song Que was in the crowd, his legs trembling as he glared at Bai

Naruto. He was unlike the rest of the crowd; he had not been cowed into fear, and still wanted to kill Nighcrypt.

Naruto scratched his head guiltily as the crowds of Inner Sect disciples helped the Foundation Establishment cultivators on their way back to Middle Peak.

For the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he watched hundreds of people passing him. Then Song Junwan flew by overhead, and then circled around to land in front of him, mixed emotions on her face.

"Big Sis Song…." he said carefully.

"Finished concocting?" she asked with a wry smile. "Give me the spirit medicine, I'll take it to the patriarch."

Naruto quickly pulled five tier-4 spirit medicines out of his bag of holding. They were only a portion of what he had concocted. The rest he kept to himself, naturally.

Song Junwan accepted them, and after examining them briefly, was clearly moved. She gave Naruto a deep look, then smiled. Telling him to wait for her, she flew toward the top of Middle Peak.

Naruto was already feeling very nervous. He knew the rules in the Blood Stream Sect. Although he was confident that he had done enough to impress the leadership of the Blood Stream Sect, he was still a bit anxious.

He waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, whereupon Song Junwan returned. A strange look could be seen in her eyes as she handed him a command medallion, then lifted his chin with her finger. Her breath smelled like orchids as she said, "The patriarch wanted me to tell you that from now, as long as you don't betray the sect, you will be treated like a direct descendant of the Song Clan!"

Naruto's eyes sparkled at the thought of being to do virtually anything he wished in the sect. Feeling extremely proud of himself, he looked back at the lovely grand elder, and then reached out and lifted her chin with his finger.

"Does this count as betraying the sect?" he said with a chuckle. Song Junwan's eyes went wide. In all her life, she had never encountered anyone who dared to flirt with her in such a way. She instantly blushed, but then her eyes flickered with cold light.

"It seems I need to teach a bit about why grand elders are supposed to be respected!"

—

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme archives: Tocsin. Transcendent Patrons: Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208

Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Chapter 225: Come Back Home With Me, Nightcrypt!

The command medallion was a gift from the Song Clan patriarch, and was a guarantee that as long as he didn't betray the sect, he could do virtually anything he wanted in the sect.

He could even kill people with impunity!

Unfortunately, it was useless when dealing with Song Junwan. It didn't matter that he was in mid Foundation Establishment, there was no way he was a match for someone like her, a top expert who was on the verge of reaching Core Formation. Of course, Song Junwan didn't attack him, she merely glared at him for a moment before turning and leaving.

Over the course of the following days, news about Nightcrypt successfully concocting a tier-4 spirit medicine spread throughout the entire Blood Stream Sect. Everyone, prime elders included, heard about the matter.

Even the blood rippers, who were almost always in secluded meditation, caught wind of the name of Nightcrypt. It was the same with the rest of the patriarchs.

The Song Clan patriarch seemed to take him especially seriously, and his attitude determined the attitude of the Song Clan. Of course, the Song Clan was a major force in the Blood Stream Sect, with roots that ran very deep.

Eventually, news about Nightcrypt and his medicine concocting leaked out of the sect to the cultivator clans. Word even reached the Spirit Stream Sect. Hou Yunfei and Naruto's other friends were all struck speechless. Some of them couldn't help but think of Naruto, but the idea that the two of them were connected seemed so preposterous that they quickly dismissed such notions.

Either way, the stories about Nightcrypt caused the other sects to view him as an even more important person in the Blood Stream Sect. Some people even placed him on the same level as Song Que.

Of course, in the Blood Stream Sect, things were different. A lot of people already viewed Song Que as being inferior to Nightcrypt. Not only did Nightcrypt have terrifying battle prowess, he was also brutal, vicious, and had a devilish way of concocting medicine. Few people dared to even approach him.

The fact that a pestilence of diarrhea had struck an entire mountain caused countless hearts to be struck with even more fear than before.

His nickname soon changed from Nightdevil to Plaguedevil. The mere idea of how he would cut people down without even shedding blood was terrifying.

Naruto actually enjoyed the change in attitude. Most of the cultivators on Middle Peak were dead set on avoiding him at all costs.

None were willing to provoke him, and although some still resented him, no major issues arose.

As for the Inner Sect disciples, they thought of him as some sort of vicious wild beast. The mere thought of him would cause their legs to go weak, and based on the stories that circulated among them, he was the type of person who could wipe out an entire mountain peak if he wanted.

However, Naruto's life only went smoothly for a few days. Calling upon her authority as the grand elder of Middle Peak, Song Junwan issued a whole series of orders to him. She had him sweep all of the paths on Middle Peak, had him go repair all of the destroyed Immortal's caves, and told him to do other similar things. She found plenty of ways to control Naruto, to the point where he was left scowling on the verge of tears.

"So I slipped up one little time…!" Naruto huffed. Just when he was finishing sweeping Middle Peak, he got another order from Song Junwan. He was now to scrub all garbage receptacles on Middle Peak.

"I can't believe she's being such a bully! How come she can make a pass at me, but I can't do the same thing back!?" Naruto was brimming with anger. How could he go around scrubbing garbage rece

ptacles, considering his status in the sect? It was at around that moment that a beam of light appeared off in the distance, which circled around and headed toward Naruto.

When he looked up, he realized it was the grand elder of Corpse Peak.

"Hey there, Nightcrypt, old boy," the grand elder said, laughing heartily.

Landing near Naruto, he walked over and saw the broom in Naruto was holding. Eyes glittering, he said, "Being punished? I can't believe you actually dared to make a pass at Song Junwan!"

Although he was the grand elder of Corpse Peak, he knew that Nightcrypt was an extraordinary person who would likely become a patriarch. He had virtually limitless potential, and was also haughty and arrogant. Therefore, the grand elder had long since come to view him as a cultivator of the same generation as himself.

"Yeah, so what?" Naruto replied, glaring and sticking his chin up.

"She made a pass at me first!"

The grand elder looked around carefully, then lowered his voice and said, "Nightcrypt, old boy, you listen to me. Do you know what kind of person Song Junwan is? She's a damned scorpion, that's what! Of all the guys who have dared to provoke her over the years, not a single one met a good end. In fact, years ago, when she was in the Qi Condensation stage, I personally witnessed how she dealt with someone who treated her improperly. She gutted him alive…."

"Gutted him alive?!" Naruto asked, gasping.

The grand elder looked around furtively for a moment before continuing,

"Did you ever hear about Blood Master Situ Hao from Lesser Marsh

Peak? A few years ago, he harbored malicious intentions toward Song Junwan. She chased him all the way to Nameless Peak, and almost managed to gut him too!"

"She guts blood masters?!" Naruto felt his scalp tingling like mad. He knew that in the Blood Stream Sect, blood masters occupied a very high position, similar to the sect leader. In fact, in some ways, they were even more powerful than the sect leader. The sect leader couldn't directly issue orders to the cultivators of a mountain peak, but a blood master could!

Furthermore, only by reaching Core Formation and becoming a blood master could someone ever have a chance of becoming a blood ripper! Blood rippers were the most important force in the sect next to the patriarchs!

For various reasons, blood masters were people who could drive countless other members of the sect into madness.

Naruto was more nervous than ever. After glancing up at the upper finger, he looked back at the Corpse Peak grand elder and said, "What are you doing here anyway? Trying to scare me?"

"Why would I want to scare you, Nightcrypt, old boy?" he replied, smiling broadly. "I'm just telling you the facts! Hey, we've been friends since your days in the Inner Sect, haven't we? Such good friends…. In fact, I even went to the sect leader and asked if it would be alright to invite you to Corpse Peak to concoct some medicine. If you do, then you won't have to follow any orders from that ogress Song Junwan, right?

"How about this: take as much time to think it over as you need. Don't worry, I'll provide you with all the medicinal ingredients. Actually, they've already been prepared. After you're finished, you'll have my profound thanks! Oh, right. The Corpse Peak blood master said that if you agree to concoct medicine for us, he'll give you that emerald zombie you refined as a gift!" The Corpse Peak grand elder slapped his bag of holding and produced a command medallion, which was none other than the device to control the emerald zombie.

Naruto looked at it and confirmed that it was the very control device which he had handed over, the one that controlled the emerald zombie. Of course, if he wanted to, he could invalidate the command medallion with a mere thought at any time.

However, the idea of concocting medicine at Corpse Peak to evade the punishments of Song Junwan seemed like a wonderful idea. He didn't agree right away though. Instead, he put a hesitant expression onto his face.

"You know," he said with a wince, "whenever I concoct medicine, fellow sect members often suffer…."

"I'll personally kill anyone who complains," the grand elder responded immediately. "Nightcrypt, old boy, rest at ease and concoct to your heart's content! As long as you can make me a tier-4 Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill, then anything goes!"

Naruto cleared his throat. He was about to continue to play hard to get when suddenly, a cold snort echoed out from the upper finger.

"Nightcrypt, why haven't you started scrubbing yet!?

"And then there's you, old fogey. What are you doing off of Corpse

Peak!? Why are you always interfering in my business on Middle Peak!" It was none other than Song Junwan. As soon as her voice rang out, Naruto grabbed the arm of the Corpse Peak grand elder.

"I agree! When do we leave!?"

"Now!" replied the grand elder, elated. Throwing his head back and laughing uproariously, he unleashed the power of his cultivation base, taking Naruto with him as he shot toward Corpse Peak in a beam of light.

At first, Song Junwan's jaw dropped in shock. But then a strange fire began to rage in her heart, and she flew out to block the path of the

Corpse Peak grand elder. "Where do you think you're going,

Nightcrypt!?"

However, it was at that very moment that a blood-colored beam of light shot out from Corpse Peak. It was a middle-aged man with a mane of blood-colored hair, wearing a long, blood-colored robe. Even his skin was the color of blood, and eyes shone with piercing light. Clearly, he had a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, and yet he emanated an energy that was no weaker than that of a prime elder. A single step put him directly in front of Song Junwan.

"Junwan, Junior Brother Nightcrypt is a famous person in the sect. Even the patriarchs like him. It's fundamentally wrong to force him to do such menial, humiliating tasks. Junior Brother Nighcrypt has agreed to come to Corpse Peak to concoct medicine, so just calm down, we won't treat him badly!" The man waved his right hand, and Corpse Peak trembled, as though it were resonating with him. At the same time, incredible pressure weighed down in all directions.

"Windcliff, I don't care if you're the blood master of Corpse Peak, what gives you the right to interfere in Middle Peak's affairs!?" Song Junwan's eyes flickered with killing intent as she stared at the blood-colored figure, who was none other than Blood Master Windcliff from Corpse Peak!

"I'm not a useless piece of crap like Situ Hao! You're not getting past me!" Windcliff took another step forward to block her path while the grand elder sped along toward Corpse Peak with Naruto in tow.

"Nightcrypt, come back home this instant!" Song Junwan shouted lividly.

Seeing that Song Junwan's path had been obstructed, and knowing that he was now safe, Naruto shook his head vigorously and shot back, "I'm not going back, no matter what you say!"

"Are you coming or not!?" she cried, stamping her foot in fury.

"Not!" he retorted with another shake of the head.

"Oh, look at you, Nightcrypt. Think you're tough stuff now, huh? If you don't come back this instant, then you can forget about evercoming back!" With that, she turned angrily and headed back toward Middle Peak.

"Fine!" Naruto said with an angry snort. "I'm never going back!" Then he turned and headed toward Corpse Peak.

By this point, the grand elder was sweating as he looked first at Naruto, and then back at the equally furious Song Junwan.

"You two…?" he said hesitantly, starting to wonder exactly what had gone on between them….

The exchange that had just gone on left the Corpse Peak grand elder, as well as Blood Master Windcliff, blinking in shock. Something about the whole conversation seemed a bit off.

They weren't the only ones to have such a reaction. Any other cultivator who heard their argument couldn't shake the feeling that they were hearing a fight between a husband and wife. It was like a husband angrily storming out of the house and the wife cursing him the entire way….

Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Chapter 226: Don't Worry About Anything

Song Junwan returned to the upper finger of Middle Peak, her face a mask of rage as she flew over her blood lake and toward her immortal's cave. Before the door could even swing open like it usually did, she kicked it as hard as she could.

A huge boom echoed out, and the door trembled as cracks spread out across its surface.

"That lousy Nightcrypt! Thinks he's all grown up now, does he? How dare he say he won't come back home with me!" She kicked the door again, and it collapsed into pieces, whereupon she stormed into her immortal's cave.

The four attendants outside were shivering in shock. They had never seen the grand elder this angry; she had actually destroyed the door to her own immortal's cave.

Soon, more bangs and crashes could be heard from inside as Song

Junwan threw things to the ground and smashed them into the walls. However, she was only partially done venting her anger. She sat down where she was, her face flickering with a certain hidden bitterness that even she didn't realize was there.

"Nightcrypt, you ignoramus! I had you sweep the paths on Middle Peak and repair the immortal's caves so that people wouldn't hate you so much! When someone makes a big scene like you did, people are bound to get jealous. Okay, so maybe asking you to scrub the garbage receptacles was a bit excessive, but all you had to do was come ask me, come beg me, and I would have let you off the hook!" Song Junwan was only getting more and more mad.

"But then you decided to collude with outsiders! I can't believe you ran away! You say you're not gonna come back? Fine! Don't come back for the rest of your life!" She grabbed a nearby jug of alcohol and smashed it on the ground.

The attendants outside exchanged embarrassed looks, then simply looked down at their toes and pretended they hadn't heard anything.

Meanwhile, in Corpse Peak's Blood Master Temple, Naruto was sitting there stewing in fury. In his opinion, Song Junwan was being far too overbearing. What right did she have to ask him to do all those things? Was she in charge of whether or not he concocted pills for people?

"That shrew's temper is ridiculous!" he grumbled.

Blood Master Windcliff was sitting there in front of him, a strange halfsmile on his face. The grand elder was also nearby, an equally odd expression on his face. The two of them exchanged a glance; by now, both of them were convinced that something was going on between Nightcrypt and Song Junwan.

"Take a deep breath, Junior Brother Nighcrypt," said Blood Master Windcliff, smiling. "Why don't we talk about the medicine concocting situation?"

Naruto looked up. This was his first time actually getting a look at Windcliff. After examining him for a moment, he nodded.

Recently, he had realized that, considering how famous he was, he should act a bit more arrogantly.

"First things first," he said, sticking his chin up. "If anything bad happens while I'm concocting the pill, you people have to take responsibility!"

"Don't worry about anything!" Windcliff said. Smiling, he handed a bag of holding to Naruto. Not only was he not put off by Naruto's show of arrogance, he actually approved of it. What he cared about was the tier-4 spirit medicine. As long as Nightcrypt could concoct it, then it meant his own refined corpses could become more powerful.

The grand elder laughed heartily. "Come, come, Nightcrypt, old boy," he said. "Let me show you to the immortal's cave we've prepared for you. If it's missing anything, just say the word." Wi

th that, the grand elder gave a look to the blood master and then led Naruto out of Blood Master Temple.

Corpse Peak viewed Nightcrypt as someone very important, and had arranged a special location just for him on the border between the lower and upper fingers. It was in a wide-open area that had already been cleared of other cultivators.

Of course, news that Nightcrypt had come to concoct medicine had already begun to spread through Corpse Peak. Upon hearing the news, many of the Corpse Peak cultivators blanched in response. After thinking about the tragic fate of Middle Peak, they decided to be more vigilant than ever.

"I heard that the blood master and the grand elder personally invited

Nightcrypt over to concoct medicine. We definitely need to watch out."

"Nightcrypt is also called Plaguedevil. The terrifying way he concocts medicine is the talk of Middle Peak…."

There were some cultivators who didn't take the matter too seriously, assuming that the stories were mere exaggerations.

"Who cares about medicine concocting? Could it really affect us that much? That whole diarrhea thing only happened because they got careless. As long as we're on guard, nothing bad could possibly happen."

"Hmph! Let's see what heaven-shaking, earth-shattering things happen when this Nightcrypt concocts medicine!"

Regardless of the various reactions on Corpse Peak, the blood master and the grand elder issued orders that the area around Naruto's concoction cave was forbidden. No one was allowed to get close.

Naruto was very pleased with all the preparations, especially the immortal's cave they had prepared just for him. After the grand elder left, he sat down cross-legged in front of another hulking cross-legged figure, a green-haired corpse. Surprisingly, it's hair wasn't incredibly long anymore. However, its fangs were just as razor-sharp as before, and it also had bone spurs sticking out of its skin. It had long, wickedlooking claws, and radiated a murderous aura that was completely shocking.

This was Naruto's emerald zombie!

Clearly, the zombie was much stronger than it had been when he had first created it. Its skin looked tougher, and overall, it seemed more brawny and powerful.

It had green eyes, and emanated an aura that made it seem strangely intelligent.

Just looking at it caused Naruto's hair to stand on end. Although he had personally created the emerald zombie, he still found it terrifying.

"Not cute at all…." he said, glaring. "Put those fangs and claws away, and shorten that hair a bit." As soon as the words left his mouth, the emerald zombie shivered. Its fangs and claws, as well as the bone spurs, all vanished. As for its hair, it shrank down until it was almost invisible.

Its murderous aura also faded a bit. It was still green, but now it looked a lot more normal. After a moment, it looked over at Naruto, seemingly a bit sluggish.

"That's better," Naruto said, pleased. With one last glance at the area outside of the immortal's cave, he opened the bag of holding the blood master had given him, which was filled with a large amount of medicinal plants. Although there weren't as many as the Song Clan patriarch had given him, they were equally valuable. There were even some plants which were more valuable than the ones the Song Clan patriarch had provided, and of higher quality.

"It seems that Corpse Peak's blood master has quite a bit of resources on his hands!" There were also plenty of bloodflame stones and pill furnaces in the bag of holding, as well as a jade slip that had the medicine formula for the Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill.

Naruto took the medicine formula and began to study it. Soon his eyes widened. The medicine formula was actually not very easy to understand, and there were many areas where the explanations were quite vague. Without true knowledge of how to concoct tier-4 spirit medicine, it would be impossible to understand.

In fact, even with such skill, the formula was still difficult. Thankfully, Naruto's skill in the Dao of medicine had already reached the point where he could concoct tier-5 spirit medicine. Therefore, after studying the formula in detail, he started to understand it. Eventually, he took a deep breath.

"This Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill uses corpses as furnaces to brew corpse pills. Forty-nine corpses have to be withered into the form of corpse pills. Then, the forty-nine corpse pills are combined together to make the Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill!

"This is not a pill designed to be consumed by the living. It's meant to be fed to a refined corpse. With this pill, a shadow zombie could be upgraded to a Core Formation-level flying ghoul!" Strange light gleamed in his eyes as he looked at the medicine formula.

"This isn't a tier-4 spirit medicine, this is more like tier-6 medicine which has been simplified to some extent by some almighty practitioner of the Dao of medicine. Only by splitting it up into forty-nine smaller processes can it be successfully concocted by someone at the tier-4 level!

"A simplified spirit medicine like this would be much weaker than the original, and would have a limited success rate. However, in combination with certain other techniques, the success rate could be pushed a bit higher.

"So, spirit medicines can be concocted in this way too, huh?" Naruto almost couldn't believe it, so he decided to continue to study the formula. Muttering to himself, he would occasionally look up at the emerald zombie.

After years of refinement performed by the grand elder of Corpse Peak, the emerald zombie had reached a battle prowess equivalent to the great circle of Qi Condensation. If it could make a breakthrough, it would be like a shadow zombie, equal to the Foundation Establishment stage.

"It would be a big waste to give a spirit medicine like this to the blood master. It would be way better to concoct it and use it on my own zombie….. But in that case, how would I explain things to Corpse Peak? I can only imagine what bad things might happen then…." Rubbing his chin, he looked at the medicine formula. Eyes shining, he continued to do more research.

Time passed. Half a month later, Naruto suddenly looked up, panting. Eyes shining, he began to cackle maniacally.

"If I keep the first steps the same, but make some alterations to the final steps, I should be able to make a synchronization Blood Corpse Refining

Pill!

"After refining the forty-nine corpses into pills, I can use my emerald zombie to serve as an enormous pill cauldron, and in the end reverse its blood flow. After the pill is finished, it will produce a secondary pill, a synchronization pill. I could give the synchronization pill to the blood master, and if he used it to successfully refine his corpse and break through, then my emerald zombie would be able to control it!"

Naruto slapped his thigh, then threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Hair in disarray, expression one of excitement, he simply couldn't wait to try out this concoction method. After looking around, he began to chuckle derisively.

"So, this part was just a test, huh? You can't even create Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pills with a pill furnace." After some thought, he decided that the medicine formula really was a test. If he couldn't understand it, then naturally, he wouldn't be able to concoct it.

Only after truly understanding the formula would he be able to truly concoct the medicine.

With that, he rose to his feet and called over Corpse Peak's grand elder. When he arrived, he said that he needed forty-nine corpses, as well as more bloodflame stones. The grand elder didn't seem surprised at all, but rather, began to laugh excitedly. He quickly performed an incantation gesture, and then waved his finger at the immortal's cave. Rumbling sounds echoed out as a passageway appeared.

Shockingly, the passageway led to an underground necropolis!

Inside the necropolis was a lake of blood, surrounded by forty-nine zombies, all of which radiated murderous auras.

Naruto looked around. Hands clasped behind his back, he stuck his chin up and tried to look displeased.

The grand elder clasped hands respectfully and said, "Nightcrypt, old boy, this is the true place to concoct the medicine!"

By this point, he was completely convinced of Naruto's skill in the Dao of medicine. The truth was that the blood master had given that very same medicine formula to many other apothecaries, and yet none of them had truly understood it. It was only because he and the grand elder had access to certain ancient records that they were aware of the true concocting method.

And yet, Nightcrypt had only used half a month to see through to the critical aspects. The grand elder was very excited. Seeing that Naruto didn't look very happy, he politely clasped hands again. After offering an explanation, he handed over a large collection of medicinal plants, whereupon Naruto's expression softened.

"Please leave," he said coolly. "Without my permission, no one is to enter!"

—

Chapter 227

Chapter 227

Chapter 227: Mysterious Black Smoke….

Corpse Peak's grand elder clasped hands and then hurried away, more confident than before that Nightcrypt might be able to concoct the Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill. However, after leaving, he hesitated for a moment, and then sat down cross-legged nearby.

"I should stand guard myself to make sure there are no accidents!" Having made up his mind, he even summoned Corpse Peak's ten bloodstreak elders over to stand guard with him.

This was treatment that normally only a blood master would receive….

Naruto ignored what was happening on the outside. Deep in the necropolis, he paced about excitedly. In all his years concocting medicine, he had never concocted a major pill like this before!

"Anything tier-6 and higher is a high-level medicine!" Naruto took a deep breath. Ignoring the murderous auras emanating from the fortynine corpses, he took some time to examine the lake of blood.

The blood-water in the lake contained a mixture of Heavenspan River water and with powerful blood qi.

As for the forty-nine corpses, all of them had been specially selected, and even though they were only pallid zombies, they were all at the peak of Qi Condensation. Not a wound could be seen on any of them, and they possessed powerful corpse auras.

After some observation, Naruto was very pleased. He sat down cross-legged, and then used an entire day to meditate and get himself in the optimal mental state. When his eyes opened, he waved his right hand, sending medicinal plants flying out of his bag of holding. As they floated in front of them, he made grasping gestures, causing the plants to break apart and turn into liquid.

More and more plants were added to the liquid, and as Naruto observed the process, he called upon the All-Creation Plants and Vegetation techniques to analyze and adjust matters. Then he sent the liquid into the corpses around him.

The medicinal liquid almost seemed to possess intelligence as it poured into the bodies of the zombies.

"The corpse pills created by each of the forty-nine zombies might seem identical, but actually, they all have minute variations. Generally speaking, the pills all need to be intentionally incomplete, with a tiny gap left.

"The most difficult part of the concocting process is using the gaps in all of the forty-nine corpse pills to bind them together. Then, their complementary aspects will merge together to form the final major pill." Sweat began to drip down Naruto's forehead, but he didn't notice, as he was completely immersed in the concocting process.

Time passed. Before long, half a month had gone by. Things were quiet on Corpse Peak, and soon, the cultivators there started to relax. Many of them were starting to think that the cultivators of Middle Peak had really made a mountain out of a molehill when it came to Nightcrypt's pill concocting. There didn't seem to be anything terrifying about it at all….

An entire month went by, and nothing at all happened on Corpse Peak. By this point, the cultivators there were all very relaxed. As for the cultivators from Middle Peak, they were all shocked.

After hearing that Nightcrypt had gone to Corpse Peak, they had been prepared for a great spectacle. However, after two months passed, and Corpse Peak seemed the same as ever, the Middle Peak cultivators were starting to feel a bit resentful.

"How come we're the unlucky ones? I can't believe it! Nothing has happened at all now that Plaguedevil is on Corpse Peak!"

"Why are there no exploding furnaces? Why is there no diarrhea outbreak? This isn't fair!"

"Don't tell me that Plaguedevil has had a change of character?"

Another half month passed. The cultivators of Corpse Peak were completely at ease, and some of them had even forgotten about the fact that Nightcrypt was there concocting pills. But not the Middle Peak cultivators. They continued to stare at Corpse Peak, as if they refused to rest until they saw the place descend into misfortune.

It was around that time that Naruto finally finished with the first step of the Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill. The forty-nine corpses had been sufficiently imbued with the proper medicinal plants, and now he began to use the bloodflame stones to increase the temperature of the blood lake. Soon the medicinal liquid inside of the forty-nine corpses began to seethe.

Another month passed, and the Middle Peak cultivators felt dead inside. They were furious at the unfairness of the situation, and were starting to think that Nightcrypt didn't deserve to be called Plaguedevil.

But then, something happened!

The forty-nine corpses began to slowly wither. As they did, Naruto's expression brightened, and he performed constant incantation gestures, which, in turn, caused one gray corpse pill after another to rise up out of the lake of blood.

"The critical moment has arrived!" Naruto took a deep breath, then sent out a stream of thought, which caused the emerald zombie to open its eyes. Suddenly, forty-nine green hairs emerged from the emerald zombie, which spread out and pierced into the forty-nine corpse pills, then began to absorb them.

The corpse pills rapidly withered, and soon transformed into nothing more than ash. All of their essence had been absorbed by the emerald zombie, and was transformed into forty-nine streams of flowing energy.

Naruto's expression turned very serious as he hurried over to the emerald zombie, where he waved his right hand back and forth through the air. Almost immediately, the emerald zombie became like a pill furnace, and the forty-nine streams of energy inside it began to form together into the Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill.

As he waved his hand, the emerald zombie trembled, and its expression twisted and distorted as violent bursts of energy began to pulse out of it. Naruto's hair was in disarray, and he looked very nervous. He waved his right hand, and the emerald zombie suddenly flew into the air and then descended into the lake of blood.

The blood lake almost immediately began to bubble and boil. Naruto also flew up into the air, where he settled down cross-legged and began to perform double-handed incantation gestures. With every movement of his fingers, the lake of blood would erupt with blood qi, which poured into the emerald zombie.

Three days passed by in a flash. During that time, the forty-nine streams of energy inside of the emerald zombie seemed incapable of fusing together. Every time they were about to, they would spontaneously separate. The emerald zombie's body was beginning to shrivel, and some parts of it even seemed to be hovering on the verge of collapse. As it struggled, its fangs, claws, bone spurs, and green hair all appeared in full, and began to distort. However, it seemed impossible to restore them to their original condition.

"How could this be happening?!" Naruto was starting to get very nervous. It seemed that if he kept going, the emerald zombie might be destroyed. However, he wasn't willing to allow this concoction to fail. He suddenly reached up with his hand and pushed down onto his forehead, causing his forehead to split open, and his Heavenspan Dharma Eye to appear. As soon as it did, he could clearly see the forty-nine streams of energy inside the emerald zombie, and how they were completely mixed and jumbled.

The jumbled energy streams were apparently a result of the blood-water in the lake of blood. Although the blood-water was a precious material on Corpse Peak, Naruto could now see how mixed and impure it was.

At this critical juncture, the jumbled energy streams were polluting the emerald zombie and making it impossible for the corpse auras to merge together.

"Dammit! How come the blood-water medicinal liquid is so impure!?" Naruto was getting very nervous. He knew that, to most other people, the medicinal liquid in the blood lake could be considered unusually pure. Actually, the type of liquid most cultivators used in corpse refining was much less pure.

But Naruto cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique, and his Undying Blood qi was the most authentic. That was why the blood lake seemed so impure to him.

"I need to figure out a way to purify it as quickly as possible. There's no time to waste here. I'm going to have to use drastic methods!" Seeing that the emerald zombie wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer, he gritted his teeth and waved his right hand. Instantly, a hundred different types of medicinal plants appeared. Naruto's eyes glittered as he made various mental calculations, and then began to fuse the medicinal plants together. By calling upon the All-Creation Plants and Vegetation techniques, he fused the plants, ignited them, and then sent them flying into the lake of blood.

As they flew through the air, they transformed into a medicinal liquid.

When that entered the blood lake, a powerful expulsion force erupted out, and the burning caused a black smoke to rise up and fill the area.

The fire wasn't on the surface of the lake, but down inside. As it burned, vast quantities of black smoke roiled up, which merged into the walls. At the same time, the blood-water in the lake was significantly reduced.

It was a dangerous, crude method, and the black smoke was not only difficult to get rid of, but also extremely filthy.

However, Naruto didn't have any time for other considerations. It didn't take long for the burning fire to release more and more black smoke, which fused into the walls and spread out through all of Corpse Peak.

As it did, the flame inside of the lake transformed from black to violet, and finally, red. More than ninety percent of the blood-water was gone, and yet, the bit that remained had absolutely no impurities whatsoever. Naruto performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, and the remaining blood-water flowed toward the emerald zombie. As it merged into it, Naruto howled. The forty-nine streams of energy finally fused together, and the corpse auras began to combine.

As they did, they formed a vortex in the emerald zombie's dantian region, whereupon the shape of a major pill could be seen!

Naruto was starting to get excited, and he was staring directly at the pill. He had resolved all of the issues that seemed like they might lead to a failure. It was at that point that he suddenly remembered the black smoke….

"Ah, probably shouldn't be a big deal…." he thought, looking over at the walls. The smoke had contained many impurities, and he felt a bit bad about that. He actually wasn't sure what might happen as a result….

However, after reminding himself that he had repeatedly warned the blood master and the grand elder, who had subsequently guaranteed that there would be no problems, he felt a bit more at ease.

He even rubbed his bag of holding, which contained the Song Clan patriarch's command medallion, and felt even better. "I haven't betrayed the sect," he thought.

With that, he continued to focus on the concocting process.

And that was when the strange things started happening on Corpse Peak….

The first odd event to play out occurred with a young cultivator who was currently intently focused on his work refining a corpse. At the moment, the corpse was floating in a blood cistern in front of the young man….

He didn't notice it, but a strange aura suddenly emerged from the wall and began to fill the area. Before long, the young cultivator began to tremble, and he ceased with his incantation gestures. Rising to his feet with a look of unprecedented seriousness on his face, he rushed out of his immortal's cave and then blasted a hole in the ground.

After leaping into the hole, he began to bury himself with mud, all the way up to his waist. Raising both hands up above his head, he began to slowly sway back and forth….

—

Chapter 228

Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Excuse Me… Are You Immortal Grass?

Strange incidents like this soon began to occur in other locations on Corpse Peak. Cultivators emerged from their immortal's caves, some of them with serious expressions, some of them howling out loud, some of them seemingly enraptured. A few even waved their arms around and laughed uproariously.

One cultivator stood in front of a large tree, expression twisted with rage as he gesticulated wildly and howled, "Halt! If you make a move, I'll kill you instantly!"

Off in the distance, another cultivator with disheveled hair threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "Hahaha! I've finally reached Core Formation. From now on, call me prime elder!"

There was another cultivator who stood stiffly in front of one of his own refined corpse, howling. Apparently, he thought that he was the refined corpse, and that his refined corpse was the master.

Strange scenes like these played out everywhere. As for the cultivators who weren't affected, they looked around, expressions of shock and terror filling their faces.

"What's going on!?"

"Heavens! What's happening!?"

"Dammit! What happened!?" The unaffected cultivators almost felt like they themselves were going crazy. The shocking scenes playing out around them soon caused blank expressions to appear on their faces.

Xu Xiaoshan was in the crowd, flying along in terror until he happened to reach a large boulder. Looking around fearfully, he turned to the boulder and said, "Did you see? Something big is happening! All of the disciples are hallucinating! This is bad, we have to go tell the grand elder!" After a moment of silence, Xu Xiaoshan glared at the boulder. "Eee? Why aren't you talking?"

Another moment passed. "Y-y-you're a hallucination?!" Looking terrified, Xu Xiaoshan flew off in a different direction until he found a refined corpse.

A tremor ran through him and he said, "Patriarch! Sir, you have to hurry. Something big is happening. Everyone is hallucinating!"

Even as Xu Xiaoshan cried out in alarm, another Corpse Peak cultivator off in the distance suddenly threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Looking around with contempt and arrogance, he said,

"Trifling Blood Stream Sect! How dare you challenge me, Naruto!

Listen up everyone. I am Naruto, Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert. Yes. Naruto!" He then proceeded to strut along arrogantly through the crowd, telling everyone he saw that he was Naruto….

All of Corpse Peak was descending into complete chaos. The grand elder and the bloodstreak elders all rushed outside in shock, and when they saw what was happening, they gasped.

"What's going on!?"

Even as the grand elder began to rotate his cultivation base, the Corpse Peak blood master appeared up above, staring around in complete confusion.

"They're all hallucinating!" the blood master murmured incredulously.

As for the bloodstreak elders, they strode out to take control, but then their expressions turned blank.

One of them clutched the sides of his head and began to weep loudly. Another squatted down, put his hands on either side of his head, and stuck his index fingers up like rabbit ears. After looking around quizzically, he began hopping around like a rabbit….

Another of them ran off at top speed toward a certain immortal's cave where a young cultivator had buried himself up to the waist. The bloodstreak elder quickly squatted down next to the young cultivator and stared at him with a serious expression.

The blood master and the grand elder felt their scalps tingling in fear. Then they looked o

ver in the direction where Naruto was concocting medicine, expressions of shock on their faces.

"Could all this be caused by Nightcrypt's concocting!?"

"Even concocting medicine shouldn't cause something as terrifying as this to occur!" The grand elder gasped, and just when he was about to say something, his expression suddenly went blank. Letting out a piercing cry, he stretched his arms out like wings and flew up into the air. Occasionally, he would swoop down and grab a cultivator, let out an odd cry, and then toss them back to the ground.

Apparently, he thought he was an eagle. As he soared through the air, he would use his sharp eyes to spot cultivators down below, and then swoop down and grab them.

The blood master's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. He immediately flew high up into the air, unwilling to be anywhere near Corpse Peak, his eyes shining with terror.

"How could this be happening!?"

The people paying the closest attention to Corpse Peak were the cultivators of Middle Peak. As soon as things started to unravel, they flew over to take a look. When they saw the bizarre spectacle playing out, they began to gasp and back up, not daring to get too close.

"Plaguedevil finally unleashed the whirlwind!"

"This is horrifying! What's wrong with them? Don't tell me they're hallucinating?!"

"Hallucinations like that must draw upon their deepest desires…."

"Heavens! I can't believe one of them keeps saying he's Naruto!

What does he want, deep down inside? To become Naruto?"

Song Que flew up into the air and looked over at Corpse Peak, gasping. The first person he saw was Xu Xiaoshan, who was prostrating himself in front of a refined corpse, calling it patriarch. Shortly afterward, Xu Xiaoshan flew off in a different direction, reaching a relatively wide-open section of Corpse Peak, where he suddenly flopped to the ground and stopped moving.

The Middle Peak cultivators weren't the only ones to notice that something strange was going on. Soon, people from Nameless Peak and Lesser Marsh Peak realized that something odd was happening, and flew over to check out the situation. When they saw what was playing out, they all gasped.

"Who is that one lunatic over there? He's actually making a pass at his own refined corpse!"

"Isn't that the grand elder of Corpse Peak? Why is he screeching like a bird? Does he really think he's an eagle? Heavens! He's swooping down toward one of the bloodstreak elders! Eee? He missed him!"

"Does that bloodstreak elder think he's a rabbit or something?"

"And look at that guy who buried himself up to the waist. What is he doing? And what is that bloodstreak elder doing next to him? He's not even moving at all!"

The cultivators from the three other mountain peaks were flabbergasted. Eventually Song Junwan appeared, and when she looked over at Corpse Peak, she gasped.

As of this moment, the cultivators of Middle Peak felt mixed emotions regarding Nightcrypt. For some reason, they got the feeling that he had actually treated them quite well. The worst they had dealt with was some exploding furnaces and a bit of diarrhea. The situation with Corpse Peak was simply terrifying….

The Corpse Peak blood master felt like crying, but no tears would come. He looked around blankly at everything that was happening, and felt like he might go crazy at any moment too.

Even as everyone was shaking in terror, Ancestor Peak finally took note of the situation. Meanwhile, the young cultivator who had first been affected, the one who had stuck his hands into the air and started swaying back and forth, suddenly looked at the bloodstreak elder who was squatting next to him, unmoving.

The young cultivator was actually very curious about this. He had noticed the bloodstreak elder arrive earlier, but after much thought, couldn't identify him. Finally, he decided to ask directly, to dispel his confusion. After a moment of hesitation, the young cultivator asked, "Excuse me, are you immortal grass?"

"No, of course not," the bloodstreak elder replied solemnly. "I'm an immortal chicken egg!"

Even as Corpse Peak was filled with pandemonium, Naruto was down in the necropolis, howling at the top of his lungs. At the same time, his emerald zombie shivered as two medicinal pills appeared in its dantian region.

One of them was the Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill, and the other was a smaller synchronization version.

An excited expression appeared on Naruto's face. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and the synchronization pill flew out. Capturing it in a medicinal pill bottle, Naruto examined it closely, and then got even more excited than before.

"It worked!" Feeling very proud of his work, he collected up his emerald zombie and then pushed open the door of the necropolis.

As soon as he walked out of the immortal's cave, he heard the clamor off in the distance. However, considering that nobody had gathered near his immortal's cave, he felt very much at ease.

"Seems the black smoke wasn't a big deal after all, huh?" Sighing, he began to walk along the path, but then suddenly stopped in place. Some distance off was a bloodstreak elder hopping along in his direction.

Naruto stared in shock, and even wondered if he was seeing things. Heart pounding, he rubbed his eyes and looked over to see a Foundation Establishment cultivator laughing maniacally as he attacked a nearby tree. Then he saw a younger cultivator walking along on his hands….

There was even one cultivator who he had never seen before, laughing proudly as he declared that he was Naruto. Strolling over with hands clasped behind his back, the man glared at Naruto and said, "Recognize me? I'm Naruto!"

Naruto's eyes went wide, and his scalp began to tingle. As he looked around, he realized that almost all of the cultivators on Corpse Peak were behaving very strangely.

"Why are they all acting so crazy?" Fear rising up inside of him, he was just about to flee when suddenly, he saw Xu Xiaoshan lying off in the distance, still and unmoving.

As far as Naruto was concerned, Xu Xiaoshan was a friend, so he hurried over to see if he could help. Just as he reached him, and was preparing to investigate, Xu Xiaoshan's eyes snapped open.

"Don't move!" he whispered. "Everyone on Corpse Peak is crazy. They're hallucinating! I almost can't believe it, but I was just talking to a boulder a few minutes ago. I even thought a refined corpse was one of the patriarchs!

"Thankfully, I, Xu Xiaoshan, have exceptional latent talent, as well as tons of magical items. That's how I recovered so quickly."

"You're not crazy?!" Naruto asked jubilantly.

"Get out of here!" Xu Xiaoshan replied immediately. "Forget about me. I'm pretty sure all of this is happening because of that eagle up there. I'm trying to lure it down here, and then I'll kill it. Everything will be fine after that." With that, he peered up into the sky.

Naruto subconsciously looked up into the sky, his mind spinning. Soon, he saw the grand elder, arms spread wide as he soared to and fro, occasionally letting out a piercing cry.

Naruto looked around blankly. Meanwhile, everyone outside of Corpse Peak saw Naruto, and their eyes began to widen.

That was especially true of Corpse Peak's blood master. He began to seethe with killing intent as he roared, "Nightcrypt!"

As the blood master's cry echoed out, blood-colored light surged out around him, and he shot toward Naruto like a beam of light. Within the blink of an eye, he was only about 150 meters away.

Naruto's heart began to pound, and just when he was about to run away at top speed, Xu Xiaoshan threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Eyes shining, he leapt up into the air.

"The eagle didn't come, but a blood chicken did! It was all worth it!"

—

Chapter 229

Chapter 229

Chapter 229: Plaguedevil's Name Spreads Far And Wide

Howling, Xu Xiaoshan flew up into the air and slammed into Blood Master Windcliff. Naruto used that opportunity to flee, although by this point he was getting a bit angry.

"Windcliff," he shouted, "before I started concocting, I told you that there could be problems. You personally said not to worry at all! What do you think you're doing? You might be a blood master, but don't think that Nightcrypt is afraid of you!"

He was actually very nervous, but he pretended to be simply furious, and even intentionally erupted with a murderous aura. At the same time, he raised his right hand up into the air, within which was a medicinal pill bottle.

"This is the tier-4 Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill you wanted me to make!" In the middle of grappling with Xu Xiaoshan, Blood Master Windcliff looked over at Naruto, and was forced to suppress the rage he felt.

The truth was that he really had uttered such words. Although he had never imagined that the current situation would have resulted, he was a blood master, and was capable of being cold and callous. A moment later, his anger faded, and he smiled so broadly his eyes narrowed.

"I was being a bit rash," he said. "Junior Brother Nightcrypt, none of this is a big deal. As long as the spirit medicine came out alright, then I'll keep my promise."

Ignoring the implied threat in his words, Naruto threw the medicinal pill bottle toward Windcliff. Windcliff grabbed it and opened it, and was immediately moved. A look of joy even appeared on his face. Although Corpse Peak was in chaos, which was a bit annoying, the fact that the medicinal pill had been successfully concocted negated all other minor problems.

"Many thanks!" he said with a smile. Then, his eyes flashed with cold light as he shot toward Ancestor Peak, where he conferred with the prime elders about a solution to the problem on Corpse Peak.

Naruto watched the blood master leave, and laughed coldly in his heart at how unreasonable the man was. Despite how Naruto had been helping him with his medicinal pill, the coldness in his eyes had been more than clear moments ago.

"Hmph!" he thought. "It's a good thing that despite being so honest, I'm very intelligent. If he doesn't use that Inverse Blood Corpse Refining Pill, then it won't matter. But if he does use it, then I'll be able to take command of his refined corpse!" Naruto was very proud of himself. With the snap of a finger, he had reduced the Corpse Peak blood master to ashes. Sticking his chin up, he looked around at the crowds. The cultivators from the other three mountain peaks trembled as his gaze passed over them, and they quickly backed up and clasped their hands respectfully toward him.

By now, everyone was terrified of Nightcrypt. His medicine concocting techniques had long since exceeded the realm of divine abilities; he could cut down his enemies without even touching them….

"Aiya. Outstanding people are always the center of attention no matter where they go. What a headache." Even as he was feeling very proud of himself, and sighing inwardly, he suddenly found himself looking into the eyes of Song Junwan. The cold smile he saw on her face sent chills up his spine.

"Um… hey, Big Sis Song…."

Her eyes went wide. "Oh, back to calling me Big Sis, huh?"

Snorting coldly, she spun around and headed back to Middle Peak. Everyone else in the area exchanged awkward glances and then began to leave.

Soon, Naruto was left alone, hovering there in midair. He was starting to get worried. Song Junwan had clearly intended for him to see the look in

her eyes, and all of a sudden, he was wondering what new tactics she might resort to in her desire to torment him. He sighed.

However, he now had no choice but to go back to Middle Peak. He did his best to sneak back into his immortal's cave, where he sat down quietly, stewing in his anxiety.

"What am I supposed to do…? This Song Junwan really knows how to harbor a grudge! All I did was leave the mountain for a little bit, right…?" Rubbing his forehead, he continued to try to think of ways to smooth things out with her. Over the following days, he continued to ponder the issue.

The situation with the hallucinations struck Corpse Peak quickly, but ended just as quickly. As the cultivators there recovered, they looked around blankly. Then they began to think back to everything that had occurred, and soon, angry shouts rang up.

"Nightcrypt! Our enmity is irreconcilable!"

"ARRGGHH! Nightcrypt! I'm gonna kill you!"

The fury of the bloodstreak elders burned especially hot, and all of them went directly into secluded meditation. As for the grand elder, as soon as he recovered, he threw his head back and let out an anguished howl.

From that day forward, no one would ever dare to mention the word 'eagle' in front of him ever again. He also chose to go into secluded meditation….

However, there were even more extreme cases which had cropped up. For example, one young man had been under the belief that he was a corpse, and had tried to refine himself. Upon awakening, he let out miserable screams that echoed out near and far.

Many of them wanted to kill Nightcrypt, and yet nobody dared to step onto Middle Peak. All they could do was angrily gnash their teeth. Of course, at the same time, Nightcrypt's nickname 'Plaguedevil' filled the entire sect.

Eventually, word of Plaguedevil spread far and wide….

When Naruto caught wind of it all, he was actually moved. Although his impression of the Blood Stream Sect cultivators as being violent and short-tempered only deepened, he was also deeply grateful for how well the leadership treated him. Whenever he caused huge problems, he never had to deal with any consequences.

As far as Song Junwan was concerned, he had finally come up with an idea of how to handle her.

"The only option is to give her a gift…." he thought, sighing. After much thought, he began to concoct some medicine. A few days later, he had produced a single green medicinal pill, which he placed in a pink medicinal pill bottle. Then he left his immortal's cave and began to nervously make his way toward the upper finger.

Along the way, any Middle Peak cultivators who he encountered would respectfully clasp hands in greeting. However, he completely ignored them as he made his way along.

Of course, the more coldly he treated them, the more it seemed to them that things were back to normal. Had he turned and smiled at them, their hair would have stood on end from fear.

Before long, Naruto was at Song Junwan's blood lake. After making his way across the path to the area behind the blood waterfalls, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Nightcrypt requests an audience with Big Sis Song."

The four attendants standing guard outside the door exchanged glances, and then one of them went inside to report the situation. Another hurried forward to attend to Naruto. By now, there were all sorts of rumors in the sect about the exact nature of Nightcrypt's relationship with Song Junwan. However, no one wanted to offend Nightcrypt and get on his bad side.

Naruto waited for two hours, during which time the anger and anxiety in his heart built. It was evening before Song Junwan finally agreed to let him in. The door slowly opened, and Naruto strode inside, trying look ice cold and filled with veins of steel.

As soon as he entered, he looked over at the huge hot spring, and yet, Song Junwan was not inside. Instead, she was sitting behind a table in an adjacent hall, staring at Naruto with an expressionless face. Apparently, she was still angry.

"Didn't you say you would never come back?" she asked coolly. "And yet, here you are, back again. What are you doing in my immortal's cave?" She wore a long, violet gown, with her long hair coiled on top of her head and bound with a phoenix hairpin. Her garment was embroidered with black designs that made her seem particularly dignified. However, tiny droplets of water could be seen on her pearly neck, indicating that she had just bathed. Overall, anyone who looked at her would be hard pressed to not want to ravish her on the spot.

Naruto blinked for a moment, then stuck his chest out and waved his sleeve. Expression cold, he frowned and said, "Enough!"

Song Junwan's eyes widened. Never could she have imagined that Nightcrypt would speak to her in such a tone. She slapped the arm of her chair, trembling in rage. However, that only made her seem more entrancing….

She seemed on the verge of exploding. Her eyes were icy, and just as she was about to start cursing him, Naruto snorted coldly and waved his right arm, sending a medicinal pill bottle flying toward her.

Her rage did not lessen. With a cold laugh, she waved her hand, causing the pill bottle to shatter, and sending the medicinal pill flying out into the air.

Naruto looked her calmly in the eye as the pill landed on the ground and rolled off to the side. Slowly, his eyes seemed to fade selfdeprecatingly.

"I, Nightcrypt, returned for one reason only, and that was to give you this pill bottle. I am completely destitute. All of the medicinal plants given to me by the patriarch went into the pills I concocted for the sect. Because of that, I had no choice but to go to Corpse Peak to concoct medicine for Windcliff. Only then was I able to build up enough medicinal plants to make this single medicinal pill. It is a special spirit medicine that I concocted for the sole purpose of giving it to a special person!

"The medicine has been given, so I shall take my leave. Henceforth, you are the grand elder, and I am Nightcrypt!" His voice seemed bitter and filled with pain, as if the shattered medicinal pill bottle was a reflection of the state of his heart, and the fallen medicinal pill had transformed his kind feelings into nothing more than ashes.

Clasping hands, he bowed deeply, then turned and strode toward the door, looking completely and utterly lonesome.

Song Junwan looked on in shock. She had assumed that Nightcrypt would come to fawn ingratiatingly. In fact, the reason she had made him wait outside for so long, other than to give her time to bathe and dress, was to make sure he realized that it didn't matter if the patriarchs liked him. On Middle Peak, she was the grand elder, and was not someone to be brazenly defied.

To her surprise, however, he had started out by chiding her. Considering her pride and lofty position, it was impossible for her not to have been angered. When he tossed her the medicinal pill bottle, that anger erupted, and she destroyed the bottle. Of course she had noticed the medicinal pill rolling off to the side. But how could she ever have predicted the next set of words that would come out of his mouth?

Song Junwan looked down at the pill, and then looked at Naruto bleakly walking out the door. For some reason, her heart suddenly seemed empty, which was a feeling that she had never experienced before.

"Wait!" she blurted.

Naruto stopped in place, then turned and calmly clasped his hands in formal fashion.

"You have orders for me, Grand Elder?" His wording was very polite, without the slightest hint of passion or emotion. His expression was cold and grim, almost as if he had severed away his memories and buried them deep in his heart. Even more telling was that he had addressed her as 'Grand Elder' instead of 'Big Sis Song'.

"You…." Her face was ashen, and for some reason, her heart felt like it was in complete shambles.

"If you have no pressing matter, then I shall take my leave." Expression the same as ever, Naruto turned and left the immortal's cave. It was only after he was some distance away, and off the upper finger, that he let out a long sigh. His heart was still pounding.

"This move should work…." he thought. "If not, then I don't know what else to do." He hurried nervously back to his immortal's cave, sighing to himself about how annoying women were, especially powerful women, who were far more domineering than the regular type.

—

Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Chapter 230: What If… She Uses Force?

After Naruto left, Song Junwan was left alone in the immortal's cave, somehow feeling irritated and depressed, all at the same time. And yet somehow, she didn't know how to give vent to her feelings. All she could think about was the image of him walking away, then turning and looking at her with that cold expression.

"Nightcrypt, you ignoramus!" she growled through gritted teeth. Then she looked down at the medicinal pill on the ground and made a grasping motion, causing it to fly through the air into her palm.

Upon closer examination of it, she was moved. It was a tier-4 spirit medicine, not designed to improve the cultivation base or heal injuries. Instead, it contained a delicate, sweet odor that was quite pleasing to the senses.

"A tier-4 Spirit Perfume Pill…." she muttered, shocked. Although she couldn't concoct medicine herself, she was an experienced and knowledgeable person, and could instantly tell that this spirit medicine was a Spirit Perfume Pill, designed for use by female cultivators.

Upon consuming the pill, one's entire body would emit a wonderful fragrance. It also caused one's skin to become more fair, and would remove old scars. As for versions which were tier-4 and higher, they would even purify the bones. Although the end results were common in nature, and could not lead to immortal transformations, it was enough to make any woman even more beautiful than she already was.

A tier-4 spirit medicine like this, even one that was relatively useless to male cultivators, would fetch an exorbitant price if it went up for auction. Despite the fact that she was from the Song Clan, even Song Junwan wouldn't be able to get her hands on one easily.

As she looked down at the medicinal pill, her face softened, and she thought back to what Nightcrypt had just said. As she stood there quietly, she realized that her heart was trembling. After a while, the sensation passed, and an enigmatic smile appeared on her face.

"You little rascal. You're just making a complicated pass at me, aren't you? That's what you've been doing from the beginning! Hmph. I've seen everything there is to see, you impudent little child. You really think I can't see through your plan?!" With a cold snort, she examined the medicinal pill again to ensure that it was pure. After confirming that it was safe, she consumed it.

Over the course of the following days, Naruto waited nervously in his immortal's cave, unsure of whether his manly show had been effective. One day, Song Junwan arrived outside. He immediately rose to his feet to go out and receive her. He was just getting ready to put on a cold, manly front, and step out of the door, when she said, "That pill of yours got dirty, so I threw it away. I'm giving you a task. Concoct me something with sex appeal."

Without another word, she turned and left.

Naruto was a bit taken aback. From the time she had arrived until the moment she left, it seemed like barely a moment had passed. Apparently, she'd only come to say one sentence.

"What is that vixen up to? What's the meaning of this latest move?" After a moment, his eyes widened with shock. Then he sniffed the air, and his brows rose in amusement.

"That's obviously the fragrance of my Spirit Perfume Pill! I put extra jasmine oil in it. Anyone who ate it would naturally smell that way." He immediately felt relieved. The fact that she had consumed the medicinal pill and then come asking for him to concoct more pills indicated that their previous conflict had been resolved.

"Man, this vixen really has a lot of demands. What does she want a sex appeal pill for, isn't she sex

y enough as it is? I guess she wants more sexiness." Even as he shook his head, his heart suddenly flip-flopped, and his eyes went wide with a look of terror.

"Hold on. What does she plan to do with a sex appeal spirit medicine? Is she planning to consume it and then try to make another pass at me? Heavens! This vixen is terrifying…." At first he got even more nervous, but after thinking about it for a while he realized that this way, he might not have to actually become the grand elder to get access to the relic of eternal indestructibility. If he had free access to Song Junwan's immortal's cave, he would surely get a chance to secretly find the relic. Although the thought excited him, it also caused his heart to pound….

"What a sacrifice, though," he thought. "She's a deadly vixen. I have to be very careful not to cause her to flip out. If I really mess up, then what would I do? I can't beat her in a fight, and if she tried to force herself on me, it would be absolutely terrifying." He blinked a few times, then put the matter to some more thought. Finally, he stuck his chin up. Expression one of pure righteousness, he flicked his sleeve.

"Fine. It's all for the chance to live forever. I'll just have to endure. If Song Junwan turns out to be a true predator, I'll… I'll just have to endure!" Grieving at how he was willing to sacrifice everything for the chance to live forever, he settled down to concoct medicine for Song Junwan.

He put a lot of effort into this batch. A few days later, a new Spirit

Perfume Pill came out of the pill furnace. This one was actually a midgrade medicinal pill.

It was specifically designed for female cultivators. Not only would it make the skin more fair and purify the bones, it would make the woman more attractive. Furthermore, she would emit a fragrant aroma that males would find fatally attractive.

Holding the spirit medicine in hand, Naruto sniffed it, and a fragrant aroma buffeted his face. Instantly, he could tell that it was an aroma a man might lose himself in, never to awaken.

"It worked!" he said, seemingly drunk with passion. It took him a bit of time to recover, after which he took another whiff of the pill's aroma. By doing so repeatedly, he got used to the fragrance, and even managed to create another spirit medicine specifically designed to counteract the effects. After confirming that he had a powerful resistance built up, he looked at the pill in satisfaction, and he stared up into the sky. Looking profoundly melancholy, he said, "It's all for the chance to live forever!"

He emerged from his immortal's cave to find that the sky was already turning dark. As he began to make his way toward the upper finger of the peak, he continued to ponder whether or not he would submit if Song Junwan went truly crazy. He was really torn about what to do.

After he had been walking along for a while, teeth gritted as he agonized over what decision to make, his expression suddenly flickered as he saw a bald-headed figure on another nearby mountain path.

It was none other than Song Que. He had absolutely no hair visible on him, not even eyebrows, and was somewhat gaunt. He was just now coming back from a visit to his aunt. Although he had gone to her with some questions about cultivation, he had been criticized and taught a lesson. As such, he was in a foul mood. Almost as soon as Naruto caught sight of him, he also noticed Naruto.

Their gazes locked, and Naruto's eyes went wide. He hadn't seen Song Que for quite a few days, and almost did a double take.

He couldn't help but curiously blurt, "Eee? What's with the new look? You're skinnier and hairless too?"

Only then did he suddenly realize why Song Que looked like this, and then he saw the murderous look rising up in his eyes. Without any hesitation, he said, "You look great, by the way. Much better than before. Really…."

Song Que's eyes widened, and he subconsciously ran his head along his bald scalp as the hatred in his heart surged. All of the hair on his body had been scorched clean off during the recent incident with the exploding furnaces. Apparently because of the medicines that were part of the explosion, his hair still hadn't returned despite the passage of several months.

Because of that, every time he examined himself in his copper mirror, his mood would sink dangerously. If that were the only thing he had to worry about, he might have been able to endure it. But then there was the half month of diarrhea. On one occasion, he had visited the restroom more than a hundred times in a single day, so the words Naruto had just spoken seemed like naked provocation!

In the Blood Stream Sect, Song Que had always been the type of person no one dared to provoke. Considering that he had met disaster three times because of Nightcrypt, he suddenly snapped.

"That's it, Nightcrypt!" he shouted, stepping forward to block Naruto's path. "Ever since you came to Middle Peak, not even the animals can sleep easy. Everybody hates you! I'm gonna–"

Song Que's rage actually sparked Naruto's anger. He had just spoken quite conciliatory words. Besides, everything that occurred had been an accident. Therefore, he was forced to interrupt Song Que. "Quiet down, boy! Get out of my way and go play or something."

Song Que almost exploded. Nightcrypt was talking to him the way someone of the Senior generation might talk to a child. Throwing his head back, he howled and unleashed the power of his cultivation base.

Eyes bloodshot, he reached out toward Naruto with his right hand.

Naruto's eyes flashed with cold light. If he were dealing with anyone else, he might have been a bit nervous. However, he had already become familiar with Song Que in the Fallen Sword Abyss, and even more so after having come to the Blood Stream Sect. The instant that Song Que's hand began to move, Naruto took a step forward, reached out, and grabbed his forearm, then threw him headlong down path leading to the foot of the mountain.

When the explosive fleshly body power of the Undying Heavenly King exploded out, Song Que felt like he couldn't even control his own body. The air screamed past in his ears, and his mind reeled as he slammed into the ground and then tumbled head over heels down the mountain.

"Nightcrypt!" he screamed. He wanted to stop moving and right himself, but the force which had been unleashed was something he couldn't fight against.

Naruto straightened up his garments, then ignored Song Que and once again began to ponder what to do if Song Junwan tried to force herself on him. Such thoughts preoccupied him all the way to her immortal's cave.

It didn't take too long for Song Que to finally grind to a halt. Without a moment's pause, he shot madly back up the mountain, face ashen with rage and heart bursting with the desire to do murder. Although the terrifying force Naruto had unleashed filled him with a sensation of deadly crisis, there was no way he would let someone of his own generation treat him that way inside the Blood Stream Sect!

"This Nightcrypt is wily and cunning. He's brought disaster to the sect, and is the subject of universal complaint on Middle Peak. He dares to curse people, but doesn't dare to talk reason? I don't care if the patriarchs favor him or if my aunt likes him. He's nothing more than an outsider, with no connections in the sect. I'm the firstborn son of this generation of the Song Clan! I don't care what happens, I'm going to find my aunt and make an appeal to justice! She'll definitely drive this guy off. And even if she doesn't, she'll at least make him kowtow to me. Then he'll know who's boss!" Gritting his teeth and fuming with anger, Song Que raced at top speed toward the upper finger.

—

Chapter 231

Chapter 231

Chapter 231: The Senior Generation Isn't Perfect….

Song Que sped along at top speed, radiating killing intent, completely confident that his aunt would take the lead in presiding over justice. She would either kill Nightcrypt or force him to submit to Song Que.

"I'm the firstborn of the Song Clan! If it weren't for Naruto from the Spirit Stream Sect, I would have definitely reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. Then I wouldn't have to help Aunt Junwan become blood master; I would have been able to take the spot myself!" He was like a streak of light speeding toward the upper finger.

"Well, I can't do anything about that now. Besides, Aunt Junwan only wants to become the blood master for strategic purposes, to make sure that Xuemei doesn't take the spot. Just wait until I'm in late Foundation Establishment, then I can fight for the position of blood master on my own. This piddling Nightcrypt! If I can make use of him in the future, I will, but if he refuses to accept my good graces, I'll kill him and make sure he never gets a proper burial!" More confident than ever, he rumbled along through the upper finger toward Grand Elder Song Junwan's immortal's cave behind the blood lake.

Once he was behind the waterfalls, he saw the four young guards. Instantly, their eyes snapped open, glowing brightly as they observed him approaching.

Song Que didn't even pause. Just as he was about to enter the immortal's cave itself, the four young attendants threw themselves in his path.

One of those young guards was very well aware of the high position Song Que occupied. Even still, he didn't dare do anything other than try to block his path. Bracing himself, he said, "Elder Song, please wait a moment for–"

The fact that the young attendants were blocking his path caused Song

Que to frown. Then his rage and killing intent soared, and he roared, "Get the hell out of my way! I have something to talk about with the grand elder!"

Usually, he never had any problems entering Song Junwan's immortal's cave. Considering his status, he didn't technically have free reign to come and go as he pleased, but for all intents and purposes, could. After all, Song Junwan was quite fond of her nephew.

But now the young attendants actually dared to stand in his way. Song Que snorted coldly, then pushed them aside and proceeded forward.

The four young attendants' faces flickered, and they were of a mind to try to stop him. After all, they were fairly certain that it was important to keep the identity of the other person inside the cave a secret. However, they were not really capable of stopping Song Que.

Before they could even react, Song Que was inside the door.

Usually, Song Que wouldn't act so impulsively. However, this was his aunt, and he was also consumed by rage. Because of that, he had completely lost his usual cool. Besides, as far as he was concerned, he wasn't asking for anything outrageous.

In the instant that he set foot inside the immortal's cave, and before he could even get into the main hall, he heard his aunt laughing, a strange laughter that seemed both cheerful and chiding at the same time.

Looking surprised, Song Que hurried forward. When he brushed the door curtain aside, a sight met his eyes that left him completely and utterly thunderstruck. As his mind spun, his jaw dropped. He almost couldn't believe the incredulous scene which was playing out right in front of him.

There was his aunt, Song Junwan, sitting on a chair, laughing lightly, her left hand covering her mouth the way a woman would in front of her lover. Nightcrypt sat next to her, clasping her right hand, studying it closely. He even seemed to be sni

ffing it delicately as he leaned over.

Song Que was virtually struck mute. He felt like he might fall over from the shock, and even wondered if he was hallucinating….

However, the scandalous image which was now burned into his mind couldn't be mistaken for anything else, and left Song Que stunned.

The moment Song Que entered the room, Song Junwan pulled her hand out of Naruto's. Her smile vanished, and she coughed dryly. Expression somber, and looking very much like someone from the Senior generation, she turned her gaze toward Song Que.

"How rude of you to barge in like that," she said. "What's the matter?" Although she was trying to look like someone from the Senior generation, her cheeks were still flushed. That combination of flirtatiousness and somberness made her unbelievably attractive.

At the same time, she felt somewhat humiliated and angry. If any other person had burst in the way Song Que had, she would have punished that person severely. But Song Que was her nephew, so there was little she could do.

Startled by Song Que's sudden entrance, Naruto quickly sat up straight and proper. He actually felt a bit guilty for having been caught in the act. After giving Song Junwan the spirit medicine he'd concocted, he had taken advantage of the moment to offer to read her palm.

Song Junwan had never forgotten his amazing performance in the Spirit Stream Sect, and had immediately allowed him to take hold of her hand. Then he had showered her with praise and complements, causing her to laugh in delight.

Naruto took a deep breath and sat in place, looking at Song Que just as somberly as Song Junwan was.

Song Que stood there panting for a long moment before he pulled himself together. Even still, he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. In his eyes, his aunt was a lofty and magnificent figure, and yet here she was allowing a virtual stranger to grab her hand. Then she even laughed flirtatiously.

Although all of that was completely beyond anything Song Que could ever have anticipated, he might have been able to accept it if the person who had just been holding his aunt's hand was someone other than the infuriating Nightcrypt.

Song Que's anger began to rise to explosive levels, until he could hardly breathe. His eyes burned bright red as he glared at Naruto and madly howled, "Nightcrypt!"

Taking a step forward, he looked over at his aunt, Grand Elder Song Junwan.

Mind spinning with rage, he cried, "Aunt Junwan, ever since Nightcrypt came to Middle Peak, he's caused one disaster after another. All the disciples here hate his guts because of how he's screwed them over. I actually suspect that he's a spy, sent to sow chaos in the Blood Stream Sect! Aunt Junwan, please make an example of him and expel him from the sect!"

As his cries echoed about in the immortal's cave, Naruto's expression flickered, and anger began to rise in his heart as he realized that Song Que had come here to complain about him. Unfortunately, Song Que was actually right about some of his accusations, which caused Naruto's heart to leap in fright. Just when he was about to speak up to defend himself, Song Junwan's face turned grim, and she slapped her hand down onto the table.

The resounding smacking sound that rang out instantly drowned out Song Que's voice.

"Shut up!" she said, her expression grim and murderous. As her voice echoed out, the immortal's cave suddenly turned, very, very cold, causing Song Que to shiver. From a very young age, he had always feared this aunt of his, and to see her so mad caused him to subconsciously look down at his toes.

Seeing Song Que react in such a way sated a bit of Song Junwan's anger. He was her nephew, whom she loved dearly. Looking both sincere and also profoundly disappointed, she slowly said, "Que'er, you're the firstborn of the Song Clan. There are no limits to what you could do in the future. How could you be so muddle-headed and short-sighted? Nightcrypt has a clean background, and has performed great services for the sect. It's true he's annoyed some of the other members of the sect, but none of that was intentional! Neither you nor I know the full extent of the humiliation he endured on the path of pursuing the Dao of medicine for the sect!" From the tone of her voice, she seemed to truly lament her nephew's unreasonable behavior.

As he sat there off to the side, Naruto felt deeply moved. He gazed softly over at Song Junwan, and mused that everything she said was correct. He never intentionally did things to annoy or harm others.

He suddenly felt as if Song Junwan understood him on a deep and even intimate level. In fact, he really had nothing bad to say about how the Blood Stream Sect had treated him.

Even as Naruto sighed inwardly, Song Que stood there trembling. From the time he was young, he had often been rebuked by his aunt, and he had rarely ever talked back to her. But the situation right now was something he just couldn't accept. That was especially true considering the emotional look on Naruto's face. Song Que couldn't help but think about how Nightcrypt had been holding his aunt's hand, and how the two of them clearly seemed to be involved in some illicit affair. Song Que's breath came in ragged pants as he looked up and said, "Nightcrypt, you–"

When Song Junwan saw that Song Que was refusing to acknowledge his mistakes, her expression turned even grimmer, and she angrily yelled,

"Que'er! Back down!" Then she looked at Naruto and said, "Junior Brother Nighcrypt, please don't take offense. Que'er just doesn't understand adult matters, the little brat."

Naruto sighed. Looking like the picture of someone from the Senior generation, he nodded and smiled bitterly.

"There's no harm in it," he said. "Que'er is young and full of energy, which is normal at his age. Members of the Senior generation like us can only do our best to educate him a bit more."

When Song Que heard Naruto call him Que'er, he felt like he was about to go insane. His cultivation base immediately surged with power, and a murderous aura spread out from him.

"Nightcrypt, I'm gonna kill you!" he howled, and then charged toward Naruto. Because he was so close, there was no time for Song Junwan to interfere.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Song Que performed an incantation gesture, summoning a huge blood-colored hand almost directly in front of Naruto's face. The hand surged with energy, destroying the chair and table. Naruto's eyes flashed up in thought for the briefest of moments, and he decided not to dodge or evade. The hand slammed into him, causing his face to go pale. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he staggered backward.

Seeing that, Song Junwan was both worried and angry. She waved her hand, causing a wave of power to surge out and suppress Song Que. Incapable of moving forward, Song Que stood there, eyes bloodshot, trembling physically. He knew that Nightcrypt had intentionally spit out some blood; even if he had been injured somehow, there was no way he should have coughed up any blood.

"Song Que, what gall you have!" Song Junwan yelled at the top of her lungs. Just when she was about to start reprimanding Song Que, Naruto raised his right hand to stop her.

Wiping the blood off of his chin, he looked over at Song Junwan and said, "Que'er did nothing wrong. I might be of the Senior generation, but I'm not perfect. I make mistakes too. It's my fault that Que'er is now hairless. Therefore, I will immediately go into seclusion to concoct some spirit medicine to help him grow some more hair."

He even reached out and squeezed her hand to show how sincere he was.

Song Junwan's cheeks immediately flushed bright red. To have her hand squeezed right in front of her own nephew was something that instantly caused her heart to start racing. It was a very odd sensation.

Pulling her hand back, she looked over at Song Que and angrily said,

"Que'er, apologize immediately to your Sect Uncle!"

Song Que stood there trembling, blue veins bulging out on his neck and face. Laughing shrilly, he said, "You two fornica–"

Before he could finish speaking, Song Junwan's eyes flashed with cold light, and she waved her hand. A huge wind swept over Song Junwan, carrying him out of the immortal's cave.

"Song Que, your impertinence has earned you three months in secluded meditation! Don't step a foot outside of your immortal's cave during that time!"

—

Chapter 232

Chapter 232

Chapter 232: The Power of Four Ghosts

Naruto didn't feel that it was appropriate to stay in the immortal's cave any longer. Looking over at the grim-faced Song Junwan, he gave a soft sigh, then bid her farewell. Song Junwan hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. After offering some more apologies for Song Que's behavior, she said, "We have a few more months before the war. Middle Peak is going to have its trial by fire for the position of blood master.

When the time comes, I hope you'll be able to help me."

Her eyes shone with keen anticipation.

Naruto looked back at her, his own eyes flashing. After a moment passed, he nodded, then left.

Once outside of the immortal's cave, his heart swelled with pride. Taking a deep breath, he reveled in his satisfaction at having mopped the floor with Song Que.

"Hmmmphh! From now on, Que'er, I'm your Clan Uncle!" Feeling wonderful, but expression pale and grim, he returned thoughtfully to his immortal's cave on the lower finger.

Once inside, he stretched lazily, thinking about how he now outranked Song Que. Then he waved his wide sleeve.

"Ah, whatever. As a member of the Senior generation, it's my job to help educate the youngsters." Sitting down cross-legged, he put aside the matters of the day and began to practice cultivation.

At the same time, he was continuously analyzing the methods of concocting tier-4 spirit medicines. Although his recent concocting efforts had been a success, he still didn't feel completely content with the results.

"Must have been problems with the pill furnaces…." he thought with a sigh. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that his ideas regarding concocting medicine would cause virtually any pill furnace to explode.

The only thing he could do to prevent that from happening was to try to make the medicine less powerful. However, that would limit him to making the medicine about half as strong as he could, which left him feeling somewhat apathetic.

"What a pity," he thought with a sigh. "I guess my medicine concocting will be limited in this way for now." Considering there was nothing to be done about the matter, he decided that he would just have to wait until he got back to the Spirit Stream Sect. Then he could ask Toruho about the situation.

When it came to cultivation, he didn't waste any time. During the following days, he spent all day absorbing blood qi and working on the second volume of the Undying Live Forever Technique, the Undying Heavenly King.

The first level of the Undying Heavenly King was the ten mammoths Berserk Ghost Body, which he had already completed perfectly. The second level was the ten ghosts Heavenly Demon Body. Because of his diligent hard work, and also the fact that the Blood Stream Sect was a Holy Land for the Undying Live Forever Technique, his continuous absorption of blood qi soon helped him break through to the power level of four ghosts!

Although he had no way to test out how strong he actually was, based on some basic calculations, Naruto was convinced that he was terrifyingly powerful.

In fact, he was sure that he was strong enough to beat almost anything that might cross his path. He was so strong in terms of his flesh and blood that he was nearly invincible. Not only were his offensive capabilities enough to rock mountains and rivers, he had colossal defenses as well.

Song Que's all-out attack earlier had felt like nothing more than a scratch to Naruto, and the blood he had coughed up had been forcibly pushed out by drawing upon the power of his own spiritual seas.

And then there was the divine ability which came with the Undying Heavenly King, the Mountain Shaking Bash. Although

he hadn't come across many chances to practice it, on the few occasions when he had, he could sense how shockingly powerful it was.

In fact, he was convinced that if he unleashed it to full effect, he really could bash a hole into a gigantic mountain! When it came to bashing into people, well, it was obvious what fate they would meet.

"At this point, I think I'm actually more powerful than one of those heavenly demons!" He suddenly scooped his hand down into the stone floor, and it felt like he was scooping up some tofu. There was almost no sensation at all as he pulled out a chunk of rock and then crushed it into ash.

When he thought about how much more powerful he was than before, his excitement rose. Every time he absorbed blood qi, he felt indescribably wonderful. He also worked on his Blood Annihilation World, and although he didn't actually notice, he was getting much quicker at forming blood swords. The blood swords he formed were also more powerful.

When he absorbed blood qi, he almost felt like he was at one with Middle Peak, as if he himself could shake the mountain itself.

Of course, he didn't dare an actual attempt, for fear that things could quickly get out of control.

As for his Violet Qi Heavenspan Incantation, his fundamental technique, and the only truly hidden Daoist magic in the Spirit Stream Sect, it was as the saying went: everything is difficult at the beginning, but gets easier as time progresses. Originally, he had needed help with the Heavenspan River water, but after passing into the middle level of the technique, and having successfully absorbed a drop into his spiritual seas, he now had some measure of control over the Heavenspan River water. Directly absorbing water from the Heavenspan River was something completely and utterly domineering, a trait which was now showing through in Naruto's cultivation.

Now that he was in mid Foundation Establishment, he could actually absorb a full cup of Heavenspan River water. It was there above his fourth spiritual sea, rapidly being absorbed. With the help of some medicinal pills, Naruto helped the process along, and could sense that his aura was becoming more and more like the Heavenspan River's.

Naruto had the strange feeling that his current level of power didn't quite make him invincible within Foundation Establishment, but would surely allow him to crush almost any opponents who came his way.

After coming to the Blood Stream Sect, he had not unleashed his Heavenspan Dharma Eye on many occasions. However, he continued to cultivate it, making it grow more and more itchy, and at the same time, more powerful. Naruto had the feeling that once he opened that eye and revealed its power, it would shake heaven and earth.

The only things Naruto wasn't very satisfied with were his Human Controlling Grand Magic and protomagnetic power. After beginning to cultivate the Violet Qi Heavenspan Incantation, his strength in control power had grown, but was still relatively limited.

He had spent a lot of time studying protomagnetic power, and had never given up on his plans to develop it. However, he seemed to have reached a barrier that he couldn't pass.

It was very frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it other than spend some time every day on study and contemplation regarding how to progress.

There was one other thing that he spent time thinking about, and that was the Middle Peak blood master trial by fire that Song Junwan had mentioned, and how she wanted his help.

"If Song Junwan becomes blood master, then it stands to reason that the grand elder position will open up. Usually, someone would be promoted from among the bloodstreak elders. However, I bet that if someone was famous enough, they might be considered even if they weren't a bloodstreak elder already!"

By this point in time, Naruto had suffered enough at the hands of the talking rabbit that he only delivered internal monologues. However, his eyes still shone brightly at the thought of the grand elder position opening up.

That would be his greatest chance to successfully acquire the relic of eternal indestructibility, and then finally be able to leave the Blood Stream Sect.

"I'm already just as famous in the Blood Stream Sect as Song Que is, which means I'm already above the bloodstreak elders. I'm probably not famous enough to directly become grand elder, though. In the next few months, I need to do something to make myself even more famous. Whether it's good or bad, I need to convince people that, despite only being in Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, I'm still a shocking and incredible expert!" His eyes began to shine even more brightly than before.

And that was how the days passed. The war between the Profound Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect had already reached the point where both sects had mobilized all of their forces.

Rumors about the war swirled. Some stories were true, some were false, but they all left the Blood Stream Sect disciples in shock. At the same time, the war preparations in the Blood Stream Sect were nearing completion, and disciples were already being dispatched from the sect to parts unknown.

Naruto could see the blood clouds which hovered over the sect growing larger, and building up pressure to a terrifying degree. Even the blood qi within the sect seemed to be growing stronger.

Despite the fact that Naruto was in secluded meditation and rarely emerged, stories about Nightcrypt continued to spread, and they only grew more fantastic as time went on.

For some reason, a lot of people knew why Song Que had been punished by being sent into secluded meditation. There even seemed to be some hidden force trying to get people riled up against Nightcrypt. As time progressed, the cultivators of Middle Peak continued to grow both more hateful of him, and more fearful.

People even began to talk about how Nightcrypt and Young Lady Xuemei didn't get along, and many people hoped that she would eventually put him in his place.

"Young Lady Xuemei, please come out and teach Nightcrypt a lesson!"

"Nightcrypt is so terrifying! Everyone on Middle Peak and Corpse Peak is miserable because of him…."

"Middle Peak's grand elder always takes Nightcrypt's side. Young Lady

Xuemei, please come out and cut him down!"

Xuemei got requests like that just about every day. At the same time, stories about Nightcrypt continued to spread. Eventually, it reached the point where many people viewed him as something on the level of a devil king.

However, there wasn't much Xuemei could do. Nightcrypt was favored by the patriarchs, skilled in the Dao of medicine, extremely famous, and had a reputation that put him on the same level as Song Que.

A person like that wasn't somebody that Xuemei could openly make a move against. Furthermore, she could sense that he possessed extraordinary battle prowess, and knew that if she fought him, she wouldn't be able to beat him quickly.

So she sat down cross-legged in her immortal's cave, eyes flashing coldly as she contemplated the matter. It wasn't lost on her that someone was trying to provoke her into killing Nightcrypt.

In the end, she didn't care who it was that was doing such a thing. After all, she already wanted to kill Nightcrypt.

"It won't be long now before the blood master trial by fire begins, and that slut Song Junwan and I will finally face off. Song Junwan is probably counting on Nightcrypt to help her, so getting rid of him would be a boon for me." Xuemei chuckled coldly, the killing intent in her eyes growing more intense.

"Nightcrypt never made much of a name for himself before. But after he came back from the Fallen Sword Abyss, he suddenly rose to the top. It's almost like he's a different person. So very strange!

"There's definitely something fishy going on with him. Definitely! I just need to find out what it is!" Since she knew she wasn't a match for him openly, it was time to start plotting. At a point when the sect was just on the verge of going to war, the potential for destructive consequences was even greater.

—

Chapter 233

Chapter 233

Chapter 233: Eee? Why Did You Stop Talking?

As Xuemei investigated Nightcrypt's background, a rumor began to spread through the Blood Stream Sect. Supposedly, after getting medicinal pills from Nightcrypt, the blood master of Corpse Peak had immediately gone into secluded meditation, and still hadn't emerged. However, powerful ripples had begun to emanate from Corpse Peak's Blood Master Temple.

Quite a few people noticed those fluctuations, especially the blood masters from Lesser Marsh Peak and Nameless Peak. All three of the current blood masters were relatively evenly matched, but now it seemed as if the Corpse Peak blood master was experiencing a breakthrough.

It wasn't likely that he would reach Gold Core, but to Corpse Peak, a breakthrough in corpse refining techniques would lead to a rapid and significant increase in battle prowess.

Because of that, the blood masters of Lesser Marsh Peak and Nameless

Peak started to get nervous. A few days later, the grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak shot through the air in a beam of light to appear outside of Naruto's immortal's cave.

He was a tall and well-built man, with a mighty look and a powerful aura of qi and blood. As a body refinement cultivator, he almost seemed like a mountain standing there, emanating powerful pressure. Even his voice was deep and resounding as he said, "It's me, Grand Elder Han Chundong of Lesser Marsh Peak. Junior Brother Nighcrypt, are you home?"

The blood trees outside Naruto's immortal's cave were trembling, but didn't dare to flee. No matter how scared they were of outsiders, Nightcrypt was far more terrifying. All they could do was grit their teeth and remain in place, glaring at the Lesser Marsh Peak grand elder.

Naruto was currently meditating in his immortal's cave. He had been a bit surprised when he sensed the grand elder's arrival moments ago. However, he could already guess why he might be here. After a moment of silence, he waved his right hand, causing the cave door to open. Then he ordered the blood trees to clear a path.

The Lesser Marsh Peak grand elder strode into the courtyard outside Naruto's immortal's cave, even as Naruto emerged. As soon as they saw each other, the grand elder laughed heartily and clasped hands in formal greeting.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt, the moment you stepped off of the Blood Precipice back then, I knew that you were destined for extraordinary things. It's too bad you chose to go to Middle Peak. I would have loved for you to have come to Lesser Marsh Peak."

Naruto smiled, although considering that he was wearing the mask, it was a very sinister and cold smile. Clasping hands, he said, "Grand elder, your presence brings honor to my humble dwelling. Please, come in!"

Abandoning any other formalities, the grand elder followed as Naruto led the way into the immortal's cave. Once inside, they sat down across from each other, and the grand elder said, "Junior Brother Nighcrypt, you have an extraordinary cultivation base, and shocking latent talent. You prepared long and hard, and then made an incredible rise to the top. Middle Peak is truly blessed to have you, Junior Brother

Nighcrypt!"

Although Naruto was very pleased to hear such words, he maintained a somber expression, and didn't even respond to the grand elder's words.

"Even more amazing is that the patriarchs have taken a liking to you.

There are virtually no limits to what you can accomplish in the future, Junior Brother Nighcrypt…." The grand elder sighed, and then went on to talk about the war between the Profound and Pill Stream Sects, as well as various other Blood Stream Sect matters, both big and small. He also use

d a variety of different methods to heap praise upon Naruto.

From his facial expression, Naruto didn't seem to be very impressed, but he was actually savoring the moment. He felt very proud to be the subject of such flattery. Occasionally he nodded, occasionally he shook his head, and occasionally he laughed heartily.

After about an hour passed, the grand elder apparently felt Naruto had been sufficiently warmed up. He was just about to launch into the true reason for his visit, when he suddenly realized that Naruto was looking at him with an encouraging gleam in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, then launched into another round of praise.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt, you are a man of striking appearance and talent, like a mighty dragon among men….

"In fact, you can count on one hand the number of people in the Blood Stream Sect who can compare to you in terms of reputation…." After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, the grand elder's mouth was starting to dry up. At this point, he figured it was probably time to move on to more important matters. However, a quick look at Naruto confirmed that he seemed to be completely immersed in the sensation of being praised.

The grand elder hesitated for a moment. However, he had come here to ask for help, and therefore, he gritted his teeth and wracked his brain to come up with new methods of offering praise. Another hour passed, and the grand elder finally ran out of words. However, Naruto seemed more caught up in the moment than ever.

"Eee? Why did you stop talking?" He looked over curiously at the grand elder.

Lesser Marsh Peak's grand elder was taken aback, but he gritted his teeth and forced out a few more sentences. In the end, he sighed at the realization that Nightcrypt was profoundly enigmatic, and definitely could never be viewed as an ordinary cultivator. Finally, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt, you are truly brilliant and stupendous. I deeply admire you. Truly. Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush anymore. The reason I've come here today is because I'm simply incapable of allowing injustice in the world. Junior Brother Nighcrypt, your Dao of medicine is shocking. However, despite the fact that you concocted medicine for Corpse Peak, the conscienceless Corpse Peak cultivators not only refused to be thankful, they actually chose to hate you!"

When Naruto thought back to the things that had happened in the past, his expression turned grim, and he let out a cold harrumph.

"The grand elder and blood master of Corpse Peak are the worst of them all," the grand elder continued, eyes smoldering with righteous indignation. "You actually went to concoct medicine for them personally, but they repaid you by venting their anger on you. Completely preposterous! However, you can rest at ease about the matter, Junior Brother Nighcrypt. The blood master of Lesser Marsh Peak has already petitioned to the sect to publically clear your name!"

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "I offer you profound thanks, grand elder. And the same goes to the blood master. However, the matter has ended. Besides, I actually learned quite a bit from that event."

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, there's no need to be so polite. You reached Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening, and are exceptionally talented in body refinement. You have a berserk ghost defense! You're like family to us on Lesser Marsh Peak!" The grand elder laughed loudly. "Corpse Peak doesn't know the difference between good and bad, so we might as well just ignore them. However, considering that we're basically family, how about this: Junior Brother Nightcrypt, why don't you concoct some spirit medicine for Lesser Marsh Peak? I guarantee that even if you destroy the mountain, the blood master and I won't even frown in response!" The grand elder even slapped his chest to emphasize his honesty.

"Um…." Naruto said, feeling a bit hesitant.

"Don't worry, Junior Brother Nighcrypt, I know the protocol." He pulled a bag of holding out from his robe and placed it down in front of Naruto.

After picking it up and looking inside, Naruto found a large quantity of medicinal plants and a sizeable collection of spirit stones. Feeling very pleased, he was about to agree, when suddenly his expression flickered. The grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak also frowned, and the two of them looked out of the immortal's cave.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt, are you home? It's me, Grand Elder Geng Qiankun of Nameless Peak." The grand elder of Nameless Peak, the dwarf, was right outside. His expression was the same as ever, but inwardly he was very nervous. For quite some time, both he and the blood master of Nameless Peak had wavered back and forth about Naruto's pill concocting.

However, after hearing that the grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak had shown upon on Middle Peak, they knew that they couldn't just sit around and do nothing. That was especially true of the Nameless Peak blood master. Therefore, he sent the grand elder hurrying over, worried the whole time about whether or not he could convince Nighcrypt to concoct medicine for Nameless Peak.

Naruto blinked a few times, then rose to his feet and went out to receive the grand elder from Nameless Peak and lead him inside.

As soon as the grand elder from Nameless Peak entered, he saw Han

Chundong. When their eyes met, they blazed with a competitive flare.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt," the dwarf said, "I'm not the kind of person to waste words. If you concoct a special tier-4 spirit medicine for Nameless Peak, then we will double whatever Lesser Marsh Peak has offered you. Our only condition is that you concoct medicine for us first!" The dwarf spoke in a very domineering fashion. However, before Naruto could respond, Han Chundong snorted and shot to his feet, radiating a murderous aura.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt, that bag of holding only contains the initial deposit! If you concoct medicine for us first, then we'll give you full access to our secret body refinement techniques. You can even cultivate the secret magic of Lesser Marsh Peak!" The grand elder from Lesser Marsh Peak gritted his teeth. He wasn't sure how much free time Naruto had, but he knew that it often took many days for him to concoct medicine. Considering that war was looming, he was desperate to get this medicine concocted.

Because of that, he would do everything he could to make sure the blood master from his mountain peak was first in line.

Naruto was moved. The truth was that he did want to do some research into Lesser Marsh Peak's body refinement techniques. After all, they seemed connected to the Undying Codex.

Off to the side, the dwarf seemed shocked by the other grand elder's words. However, as soon as he saw the expression on Naruto's face, he gritted his teeth and said, "Junior Brother Nighcrypt, Nameless Peak has prepared a gargoyle just for you! We can teach you Nameless Peak's gargoyle refining magics!" In response to his words, Han Chundong glared at him angrily.

Naruto was quivering in eagerness. The gargoyle magics of Nameless Peak were top secret, and cultivators from outside of that mountain peak had to spend a huge amount of merit points to study them.

Their incredible value was difficult to put into words.

Han Chundong looked at Naruto and said, "Junior Brother

Nighcrypt, the best rule to follow is first come first served. Lesser Marsh Peak was the first to come here to request medicine concocting, so please take that into careful consideration!"

The dwarf looked over and said, "Junior Brother Nighcrypt, Nameless

Peak is willing to double their offer!"

Naruto rubbed his forehead, then looked back and forth between the two. Chuckling, he said, "It's true. First come first servedis the most fair. I'll start at Lesser Marsh Peak. I hope that grand elder and blood master from Nameless Peak won't take offense. Also, there's no need to offer double. I understand that both of you are here to represent your respective blood masters. How about this: I'll promise that no matter who I concoct medicine for, I'll get it done before the war starts. For both of you! I guarantee it!"

The two grand elders were visibly moved. The truth was that neither of them wanted to get into a bidding war. Seeing how smoothly Naruto had handled the situation, the felt even better about him than before. Nodding, they proceeded to chat a bit longer before clasping hands and leaving.

After seeing them off, Naruto returned to his immortal's cave and sat down cross-legged. After a moment of thought, he chuckled to himself.

"I have the emerald zombie from Corpse Peak, and I've gotten the grand elder from Middle Peak to fall for me. If I get a gargoyle from Nameless Peak and cultivate body refinement on Lesser Marsh Peak, then I'll be more important in the Blood Stream Sect than ever. I'll be similar to a bloodstreak elder. By the time Song Junwan becomes blood master, I'll be far more likely to snag the spot of grand elder for myself!"

—

Chapter 234

Chapter 234

Chapter 234: It Really Won't Explode?

Naruto had made up his mind, and there was no time to waste. The next morning at the crack of dawn, he left Middle Peak for Lesser Marsh Peak.

Lesser Marsh Peak was the pinky finger on the enormous hand that housed the Blood Stream Sect. Although it was smaller than the other fingers, the cultivators there all practiced body refinement, and were far more powerful and ferocious than their contemporaries in the sect.

Almost as soon as Naruto arrived on the mountain, he could see how much taller and burlier the cultivators there were. They exuded an aura of qi and blood that filled all of Lesser Marsh Peak.

Naruto was a bit shocked to be surrounded by so many mighty individuals. All of the cultivators were like that, regardless of whether they were male or female. Although he was a bit nervous, he refused to be intimidated.

"You people think you're as strong as me? Hmph! What good is there in being big and burly? I have the power of four berserk ghosts!" Blinking a few times, he hurried up one of the mountain paths. All of the cultivators he passed had wary expressions on their faces, as well as cold gleams in their eyes.

Obviously, the reputation of Plaguedevil had reached all ears on Lesser Marsh Peak, and the people there recognized him immediately.

Before long, Naruto was on the upper finger of Lesser Marsh Peak, where Grand Elder Han Chundong was waiting for him. After some pleasantries were exchanged, Han Chundong led him to Lesser Marsh Peak's Blood Master Temple.

Inside the temple, Lesser Marsh Peak's blood master was sitting crosslegged. As soon as Naruto stepped inside, he rose to his feet and smiled broadly.

"Junior Brother Nighcrypt!"

The blood master was a powerfully built middle-aged man who radiated a power and energy that seemed to surpass Han Chundong. Bai

Naruto felt almost like he was looking at a giant whose aura caused all of the blood qi in the area to surge into motion.

The sudden pressure that Naruto felt caused him to pause in mid stride and look in shock at the blood master, who was currently hurrying over to meet him.

Naruto paid close attention, and immediately picked up on some clues regarding his body refinement technique.

"It's similar to the second level of the Undying Heavenly King?" Despite being shaken inwardly, his expression remained the same as ever. Smiling broadly, he clasped hands and bowed in greeting.

"Nightcrypt offers greetings, Blood Master."

The blood master looked at Naruto with shining eyes, and then spoke in a booming voice. "There's no need for such formality, Junior Brother Nighcrypt. I'm a straightforward person, and hate beating around the bush. I need you to concoct me a batch of tier-4 Blood Body

Pills!

"Such pills only serve one function: to rapidly propel you to the next level in Lesser Marsh Peak's secret body refinement technique! "War is upon us, and everyone is working hard to prepare.

Unfortunately, this pill won't be hugely effective unless it's tier-5, and tier-4 versions are unavailable for purchase inside the sect. Therefore, what I need is not a single pill; I need at least a hundred tier-4 Blood Body Pills!

"Nightcrypt, are you confident enough to concoct me a hundred tier-4

Blood Body Pills?!" The blood master's eyes glittered as he looked at Naruto, his words echoing back and forth in Blood Master Temple.

Naruto's ears hurt a bit from the blood master's booming voice. Not willing to accept that, he raised his own voice into a virtual roar and replied, "If I have enough medicinal plants and pill furnaces, then a hundred pills should b

e no problem!"

At first, the blood master was surprised by Naruto's roaring voice. He was used to using a booming voice when talking with others, but wasn't used to the opposite happening. After looking Naruto up and down for a moment, he started laughing.

"Oh I have plenty of medicinal plants," he said. "As far as pill furnaces are concerned, come, Junior Brother Nighcrypt. I want to show you the one-of-a-kind pill furnace we've prepared for you!" The blood master's subsequent laughter shook the entire mountain peak. Waving his sleeve, he swept up both Naruto and the grand elder, who had been standing respectfully off to the side. All three of them then flew through the air toward a wide-open space which had been set aside on the upper finger.

It was protected by a powerful spell formation, the fluctuations and aura of which were so intense that even the hallucinatory mist that had appeared on Corpse Peak would not be able to escape it.

Clearly, Lesser Marsh Peak had taken many precautions before inviting him over to concoct pills. Seeing all of that, Naruto coughed dryly, but didn't say anything. Following the blood master, he entered an immortal's cave inside of the spell formation.

It was a newly built immortal's cave, in the depths of which was a vast hall set aside for a single object!

Almost as soon as Naruto laid eyes on it, he gasped, and his eyes glittered with bright light. He immediately began to circle around the object, and was unable to hold back his gasps as he did.

It was a pill furnace of enormous size. It was fully 90 meters in diameter, green in color, and engraved with countless magical symbols. There was something majestic about it that made it seem profoundly and shockingly sturdy.

"This pill furnace…." Naruto reached out and touched it, and the awe-inspiring feeling he got left him even more excited than before. One of his main problems had always been exploding pill furnaces, leaving him no option other than to reduce the medicinal strength of his concoctions, and preventing him from unleashing his full skill in the Dao of medicine.

The moment he saw this pill furnace, however, he was deeply shaken.

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, many generations ago, a blood master of

Lesser Marsh Peak robbed this precious treasure from the Pill Stream Sect. The truth is that it isn't the original precious treasure, only a replica. However it's a replica of none other than the Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron!

"I personally arranged for you to be able to use it today. With this furnace, you can be as bold as you wish in your medicine concocting. Don't worry, a precious treasure like this won't explode under any circumstances!" The blood master threw his head back and laughed proudly. He was a body refinement cultivator, but that didn't mean he wasn't a cautious person. He was very familiar with the moniker Plaguedevil, and had prepared a pill furnace that couldn't explode, placed inside of a spell formation so impenetrable that not even the slightest scrap of an aura could escape from it. Only after having made these preparations was he confident that no mishaps would occur.

Naruto took a deep breath as he walked around the pill furnace a few more times, examining it. He was already itching with the desire to go all out, to experiment with medicinal strength that, up to this point, had been impossible for him.

And yet, he was still a bit nervous. Looking over at the blood master, he said, "Are you sure that this pill furnace will never explode!?"

"Of course I'm sure!" the blood master replied, smiling proudly.

Patting the pill furnace gently, Naruto laughed and said, "Fine. If you're absolutely sure, then Nightcrypt will concoct your medicine for you!"

The blood master joined him in his laughter, then gazed at him deeply for a moment before throwing over a bag of holding.

Then he turned and left. The grand elder clasped hands formally, then also left.

Naruto was now alone in the immortal's cave, looking at the enormous pill furnace, his excitement building. After a moment passed, he examined the bag of holding, which was full of medicinal plants and bloodflame stones. It also contained a jade slip.

In addition to the pill formula for the Blood Body Pill, the jade slip also contained Lesser Marsh Peak's secret body refinement technique!

"Way of the Blood Fiend Body!" Naruto immediately set about studying it. By the time he finished, it was nighttime, whereupon he closed his eyes to think.

After a long moment passed, his eyes opened, and they shone with enlightenment.

The Way of the Blood Fiend Body had been studied by generation after generation of cultivators on Lesser Marsh Peak, and was derived from the huge hand that the sect rested on. It was essentially an inferior version of the Undying Codex, an imitation.

It derived power based on totem tattoos, and was divided into power levels of the ancient mammoth, the berserk ghost, the heavenly demon, and the blood fiend!

By absorbing blood qi into one's own flesh and blood, then catalyzing it with the secret technique, the body's basic structure would transform, and eventually be capable of unleashing powerful fleshly body power.

Although it seemed to have a lot in common with the Undying Codex that Naruto cultivated, the truth was that it was extremely counterproductive. The Undying Codex didn't change one's basic body structure, it directly unleashed inner power to create a powerful combination of offense and defense!

"However, the Way of the Blood Fiend Body does have some redeeming qualities. Maybe I can even use them to make an early breakthrough in the second level of the Undying Heavenly King!" After a bit of further examination, Naruto's spirits rose, and he even tested out some of the cultivation practices. When he did, rumbling sounds could be heard as blood qi rushed toward him. By using the secret techniques of the Way of the Blood Fiend Body, he stimulated his flesh and blood, but instead of allowing his basic body structure to be changed, he used the power to drive the Undying Heavenly King.

The night passed. The next morning at dawn, Naruto's eyes snapped open, and they shone with delight.

"That one night of cultivation was like three days of ordinary cultivation!

"So it does work! Hahaha!" Excited, Naruto mused that the Blood Stream Sect truly was his personal Holy Land. Looking over at the enormous pill furnace, his eyes shone with a strange light, and he suddenly smacked his hand down onto the furnace. A bang could be heard as the furnace's lid opened up. Without any hesitation, he flew up to stand on the edge of the furnace and looked down inside, which left him even more shocked than before.

"If this furnace really can't explode, then I think I need to test the limits of the medicinal strength I'm capable of producing!" Just when he was about to start, he suddenly paused for a moment.

"It really won't explode?" he thought, hesitating.

"Ah whatever. The blood master guaranteed that it wouldn't explode. It probably won't." Taking a deep breath, he tossed caution to the wind. A look of madness appeared in his eyes as prepared to concoct a huge batch of pills.

—

Chapter 235

Chapter 235

Chapter 235: Plaguedevil's Here

"The last time I used dragonchimp grass, I could only use one blade, but this time I'm gonna put in ten!

"Firecloud pears, huh? Let's put in twenty of them!

"So, it calls for starlight leaf? It says half a leaf should do, but with an incredible pill furnace like this, that's definitely not enough. I'm putting in ten." Murmuring to himself, he continued to circle the edge of the pill furnace, tossing in one type of medicinal plant after another. After making minor adjustments here and there, he would add more plants.

Bloodflame stones poured out of his bag of holding to land underneath the pill furnace, providing intense heat. However, this was no ordinary pill furnace. Other pill furnaces would have turned bright red from the heat, but this one hardly seemed to be getting hot at all.

Seeing that, Naruto got even more excited than before. He was slowly immersing himself in his medicine concocting, tossing more and more medicinal plants into the mix, doing nothing to prevent the medicinal strength from growing rapidly. At the same time, he was completely engrossed in making calculations regarding the medicine formula.

He felt completely and utterly satisfied. He didn't have to worry about the cost of the materials he was using, didn't have to worry about the medicinal strength increasing to unsafe levels, and didn't need to worry about losing control of the pill furnace. The only thing he worried about was how to concoct the pill.

His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot, but he felt wonderful, and more excited than he ever had been before. For seven days, he continued to add more medicinal plants to the mix. Eventually, more than half of the bag of holding had been emptied. By using the principles of mutual augmentation and suppression, Naruto had pushed the medicinal strength to an explosive level.

Rumbling sounds began to emanate from the pill furnace, which by this point was changing from green to bright red. By now, it seemed that the furnace really wouldn't explode.

Seeing that, Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"A precious furnace!" he exclaimed. With that, he descended back into the medicine concocting. Based on his calculations regarding the medicine formula, he continued to add medicinal plants. As inspiration hit him, and as his train of thought proceeded, he made changes as he saw fit. Combined with the All-Creation Plants and Vegetation technique, he was gradually reaching the medicinal strength he sought.

Another five days passed, and the rumbling sounds inside of the pill furnace grew more intense. By now, the furnace was bright red, and Naruto had added all of the medicinal plants he wanted to. He was sitting off to the side looking very content when he suddenly thought of something. Hurrying forward, he produced a drop of his own Undying Blood and added it into the furnace.

With that, he put the lid back on the furnace and locked it tight.

In that instant, any outlet for the medicinal strength was cut off, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out, The pill furnace began to shake, and the temperature inside began to rise rapidly.

Naruto was so impressed with the miraculous pill furnace that he didn't even think about any potential problems. As far as he was concerned, it wouldn't explode. Therefore, he decided to practice some cultivation off to the side. Occasionally, he would look over and make a few adjustments as the medicinal strength inside the pill furnace changed.

A few days later, he started to get worried. The pill furnace was now bright red, and radiating such intense heat that the area for three meters around the furnace was rippling and distorting. Cracks were even visi

ble on the ground, snaking out from the furnace.

Naruto swallowed, and edged away. The waves of heat battering his face caused his heart to begin to pound with fear.

"If a pill furnace this big exploded, I would lose my poor little life for sure…." Blinking, he thought back to what the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master had said. This furnace won't explode under any circumstances. Only then did he calm down a bit.

"There shouldn't be any problems, right…?" He was already starting to regret putting in so many medicinal plants. Lack of control was definitely one of his downsides. However, the pill furnace currently didn't seem to be in danger of exploding.

He waited for four more days. The furnace was still trembling, and the area of distortion had increased from three meters to thirty. The intense heat was even causing some of the nearby rock walls to slowly melt. The heat seemed to be building up with every passing moment. Naruto was sweating up a storm, and his eyes were already wide with terror.

He thought about trying to stop the concoction process, but wasn't able to interfere. The spirit medicine inside the pill furnace was already beginning to take shape. He could only imagine how the temperature might increase now that the medicine was actually forming.

Naruto took a long, nervous breath. He felt like he was sitting on top of a volcano that might erupt at any moment. He nervously edged backward until he was outside of the immortal's cave. Finally, he put on a lofty, enigmatic expression and walked out of the spell formation as he prepared to leave Lesser Marsh Peak.

In his opinion, Lesser Marsh Peak was now far too dangerous of a place to remain in….

On his way out, the grand elder detected him and flew over to stop him from leaving.

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt," he said politely, "where might you be headed now? Are you finished concocting our medicine?"

Naruto was very nervous, but his expression didn't show it at all. Clasping his hands behind his back, he coolly said, "Don't worry. The concocting process is done. However, the hundred Blood Body Pills need more time to develop. In three months I'll come back personally to extract the pills from the furnace.

"In the meantime, I'll head to Nameless Peak. After all, I promised to concoct medicine for them too." Despite having been forced to scramble to come up with an excuse, Naruto's expression was the same as ever. Lesser Marsh Peak's grand elder was still a bit suspicious, but couldn't find any fault with Naruto's reasoning.

"Well in that case, Junior Brother Nightcrypt," he said, "I'll personally escort you all the way to Nameless Peak!" He still felt that something was off, but nevertheless, gestured for Naruto to follow him to Nameless Peak.

Naruto blinked a few times, then nodded and followed along. Soon he had reached the border of Nameless Peak, where the dwarf grand elder came out to meet him. Only then did Naruto finally breathe a sigh of relief. Even as he proceeded on to Nameless Peak, he turned to look back at the grand elder from Lesser Marsh Peak.

"By the way," he said, "during the next three months, no one is permitted to enter that immortal's cave. And definitely do not let anyone touch the pill furnace. The pill furnace might burst open, and if it does, you'll be responsible!" With that, he looked away and followed the dwarf onto Nameless Peak. He also made a decision to never, ever go back to Lesser Marsh Peak….

"If what the blood master of Lesser Marsh Peak said is true, then the pill furnace won't explode. The medicinal pills will eventually be completed. If that pill furnace explodes, it's not my fault!" The more he thought about it, the more he believed himself to be in the right. Feeling much better, he followed the Nameless Peak grand elder to meet the local blood master.

In accordance with the previous agreement, the blood master gave Naruto a gargoyle. Furthermore, they had set aside an immortal's cave on the lower finger where he could concoct medicine.

By the time he went in to begin his work, word was already spreading through Nameless Peak about his arrival, leading to gasps among the cultivators there. They already felt like they were going to go mad in the coming days.

They knew about Naruto's nickname, Plaguedevil, and had heard that the terrors which came along with his pill concocting were like tribulations wrought by patriarchs. All of them felt as though they were heading into a life or death crisis….

The Nameless Peak cultivators began to think about everything that had occurred on Middle Peak and Corpse Peak. They weren't as confident as the cultivators from Lesser Marsh Peak, and were thus soon shaking in their boots.

"Plaguedevil's here! The terror he causes with his medicine concocting is unimaginable. Remember Zhao Shuimu from Corpse Peak? He hallucinated that he was a tuft of spirit grass! Even down to this day, he sometimes goes into a daze if he sees spirit grass…."

"That's nothing. You know Zhou Yibiao? When he sleeps at night, he sometimes yells out that he is Naruto…."

"Actually, there are quite a few cultivators from Middle Peak who have recovered, but still haven't grown back hair, and still have occasional bouts of diarrhea. In fact, it's been on more than one occasion that I saw someone from Middle Peak get the upper hand in a fight, only to suddenly look very uncomfortable. You know what I mean, right…?"

Discussions such as these spread like wildfire. As for the cultivators who actually resided near the location where Naruto was doing his concocting work, their scalps tingled like mad, and many of them simply left. Before long, more than half of the cultivators who normally occupied Nameless Peak had abandoned their immortal's caves and gone to stay with people they knew in the Inner Sect.

Naruto was a bit shocked at how quiet Nameless Peak became. Not a trace of a living person could be seen anywhere near his immortal's cave. Clearing his throat, he thought to himself, "I haven't even done anything yet! What are these people being so jumpy for?

"I concocted medicine on Lesser Marsh Peak and nothing happened!" A bit annoyed, he sat down cross-legged and looked around the immortal's cave for a moment until his gaze came to rest on something in the far corner.

A black shadow floated there, emanating a cold and sinister aura.

It was one of the Nameless Peak gargoyles, which were somewhat akin to the evil ghosts that could be found on Ghostfang Peak in the Spirit Stream Sect. The main difference was that the evil ghosts weren't intelligent, and didn't grow very large either.

In contrast, gargoyles became more intelligent as they grew, and could also practice their own form of cultivation. In terms of power and strength, they were no weaker than evil ghosts, and yet, were vastly more cunning and sly.

After they reached a certain level of power, they would develop a bizarre divine ability that allowed them to possess humans and even control them. By becoming something like an inner devil, they could kill people without leaving a single mark, whereupon they would viciously drain them of their blood.

Different methods could be used to raise different types of gargoyles. One of the reasons why the Blood Stream Sect was known as a devilish sect was because of the devilish gargoyles that they raised.

Naruto wasn't too sure about the origins of the gargoyles. That was one of the big secrets of the Blood Stream Sect. As for the gargoyle in the immortal's cave with him, it was completely ordinary, with low intelligence. It was even frightened of Naruto's murderous aura, and didn't dare to approach him. Instead, it cowered in the corner, trembling.

—

Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Chapter 236: You Handle It, Shadow!

Naruto looked at the trembling black shadow, and then pulled out a violet jade pendant and said, "Get over here!"

The shadow trembled again, then slowly floated over to Naruto. Now that it was in front of him, he could just make out a face inside the black mist.

With that, he reached out to grab it, only to find that his hand passed through the mist. Apparently, the gargoyle didn't actually have a physical body. Naruto was now more intrigued than ever.

"The Blood Stream Sect's gargoyles and the Spirit Stream Sect's evil ghosts are similar in some ways. Ghost come from the souls of people who have died, but what about gargoyles? Where do they come from?" After pondering the issue for some time, he couldn't come up with any theories. However, there seemed to be some connection between him and the gargoyle, something other than the jade plaque of control that had been given to him by Nameless Peak.

Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the gargoyle must have something to do with the giant hand and the Undying Live Forever Technique….

Even as Naruto sat there in thought, the face in the mist suddenly twisted into a ferocious expression, and the mist pounced on Naruto.

Icy coldness spread out, a coldness filled with intense ferocity. It was almost as if it wanted to consume Naruto's soul. The gargoyle's sudden outburst startled him so much that he unleashed the power of his cultivation base and flicked the thing.

The gargoyle let out a miserable shriek, and the mist faded a bit. Having no other options, it hastily retreated to the corner where it remained, trembling.

"What gall you have!" Naruto said angrily. Stomping forward, he aimed a kick at the shadow, which promptly dodged out of the way. Naruto gave a cold harrumph and looked down at the jade pendant. Not only could the pendant be used to control the gargoyle, it also contained descriptions of the various punishments and rewards that were usually used to train them.

The most common method was to feed the gargoyle one's own blood, which would strengthen the connection and also improve the gargoyle's ability to understand orders.

As the gargoyle grew, and its own cultivation base improved, it was also common to allow it to kill other things and drink their blood, which also would help the gargoyle grow stronger.

The description also mentioned that if the gargoyle showed any signs of misbehaving, it was important to crush such behavior as quickly as possible. Attempts at rebellion would only grow more intense until the gargoyle became impossible to control.

"You trifling, newborn gargoyle!" he said angrily. "How dare you try to bite the hand that feeds you!" With that, he used the jade pendant to lock the gargoyle in place, then walked over and kicked him a few times. The gargoyle's mist faded even more, until only a bit was left, whereupon he began letting out plaintive shrieks.

"You remember this," Naruto said sternly. "I'm the top dog here. If you dare to provoke me, I won't hesitate to put you in your place. Hmph. Now, what should we call you? How about Shadow?" After giving him a name, he ignored him, and focused on the medicine formula that the blood master of Nameless Peak had given him.

"Undying Blood Pill…." he murmured thoughtfully. He had heard of this pill before. It had been created years ago by a patriarch who had gained enlightenment of the Holy Pill Wall Fragment. It had come to be one of the most useful spirit medicines in the entire Blood Stream Sect.

Not only could it lead to spectacular results when raising gargoyles, it could help with refining c

orpses, as well as with the body refinement techniques of Lesser Marsh Peak. Because it had so many varied uses, the Undying Blood Pill had been in high demand in the sect from the moment it was first invented.

Unfortunately, it was very difficult to concoct. The tier-3 version was relatively easy, but the tier-4 version wasn't easy at all. When it came to tier-5 Undying Blood Pills, they were far beyond the ordinary, and could be used to summon some of the deepest reserve powers available in the Blood Stream Sect. Even tier-4 versions could be used to try to awaken some of the most ancient gargoyles.

The more Naruto studied the medicine formula, the more shocked he was. It required 97 types of medicinal plants, each one of which contained numerous transformations that had to be suppressed with Heavenspan River water. It even needed spirit blood from the enormous hand. Only after all of that could the Undying Blood Pill be produced.

"Even the slightest mistake in the ratios of the medicinal plants will result in a failure. Furthermore, when it comes to combining the plants, some aspects of the connections need to be neutralized, whereas some aspects need to be fused together. The result is that nine different streams of blood qi will be created!

"One stream of blood qi is a tier-1 version, and so on. The Nameless Peak blood master wants me to concoct a tier-4 Undying Blood Pill, which would contain four streams of blood qi!" Naruto's eyes glittered as he continued to study the formula. As he did, his admiration for the person who had created it grew and grew.

"No wonder this pill is so difficult to concoct. One stream of blood qi is a simple matter, but even just two requires vast amounts of augury and other calculations, along with incredible skill in the Dao of medicine. Working with three streams of blood qi is even more complicated, about ten times more so than two streams. And then four streams. That's almost ridiculous. Clearly, the only way to succeed is to use the AllCreation Plants and Vegetation technique to simplify matters!" Bai

Naruto eyes shone with a strange light. Obviously, concocting the Undying Blood Pill in the usual fashion was far too difficult. The only option was to do things backwards!

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto pulled out a pill furnace and some medicinal plants, and started to familiarize himself with the concoction process. Instead of trying to succeed the first time around, he decided to do a bit of testing first.

Time passed. Before long, half a month had gone by. Naruto never stepped out of the immortal's cave even once. He was completely immersed in his medicine concocting. He would concoct multiple batches per day, and whenever he ran out of bloodflame stones, he would simply ask for more. It was the same with medicinal plants.

It got to the point where medicinal plants were being sent over every day. Thankfully, the mountain peak had deep reserves. Naruto became more and more familiar with the Undying Blood Pill, and yet, as he did, he ruined one batch of spirit medicine after another.

In the past, he would have simply discarded such ruined spirit medicine, but this time, he hesitated, and looked over at the cowering gargoyle over in the corner.

"I wonder if gargoyles eat spirit medicine? They're ruined, but they still have some power left in them." After some thought, he tossed one of the pills over to the gargoyle.

"Eat it," he said, looking on in anticipation. The gargoyle's intelligence was only starting to develop, but he understood what was being said, and pounced on the medicinal pill. Within a moment, the pill had turned into black smoke which the gargoyle quickly absorbed.

"Wow, he does eat them!" Naruto was quite pleased. From then on, he tossed all of the ruined pills over to the gargoyle. After absorbing the smoke from each pill, the gargoyle would burp loudly, and then laze off to the side with an intoxicated look on his face. Eventually, he would fall asleep.

"Hahaha! So smart of me! These ruined pills have a use after all." After ensuring that the gargoyle wasn't suffering any ill side-effects, he felt more than ever that he'd done something great. With that, he continued to concoct pills, looking over at the gargoyle every once in awhile and tossing him a ruined pill. He wasn't stingy at all.

Time passed. Gradually, another half a month went by.

During that time, Naruto concocted many batches of pills, but every single one was a failure. Although he had gained enlightenment of the All-Creation Plants and Vegetation technique, he wasn't familiar enough with it to use it consistently. Problems continued to crop up. However, Naruto always came up with ways to overcome such problems. Furthermore, he didn't waste any of the ruined pills, but instead, fed them all to the gargoyle.

"I don't have anything else to give you, just these ruined pills." Naruto was actually quite pleased with the situation. Cultivators couldn't consume ruined pills, but they seemed harmless to gargoyles. In fact, the gargoyle had grown quite a bit in the last month. Instead of looking like a tiny imp, he was now about as large as a seven- or eightyear-old child. Of course, he was pitch black, and surrounded by pulsing black mist.

Most noteworthy of all was that the gargoyle seemed a lot more intelligent already. Instead of being completely useless, he was now able to assist Naruto a bit when given simple orders.

There were a few times when he seemed reluctant to consume the ruined pills, and yet he didn't dare to defy Naruto's orders….

On one occasion, Naruto made a mistake, and could tell that the pill furnace was about to explode. He immediately backed up and called out, "You handle it, Shadow!"

Shadow raced over and passed through the outside of the pill furnace.

Once inside, he took a deep breath, absorbing all of the spirit medicine. Afterward, he lay down on the ground off to the side, twitching, a glazed look in his eyes.

Naruto made a clicking sound with his tongue, very impressed by the gargoyle's behavior.

"Not bad, Shadow, not bad." Excited, he continued with his concocting.

At one point, the pill furnace began to emit pulsing black smoke, which Naruto knew would cause some sort of disaster, either acid raid, diarrhea, hallucinations, or something else.

Yet again, he called upon Shadow.

"You handle it, Shadow!"

Shadow pounced, breathing in deeply and sucking away all of the smoke. Then he lay off to the side while the smoke wreaked havoc on his insides. If he had saliva, he would definitely have been frothing at the mouth.

Naruto was moved.

"Great job, Shadow. You're awesome!" Naruto was very excited, and had already determined that he needed to bring Shadow with him whenever he concocted medicine. Shadow was truly outstanding. Whether it was ruined pills, noxious smoke, or exploding pill furnaces, he could solve all of the problems that cropped up when dealing with the impurities in the pills….

Naruto was so immersed in his medicine concocting that he didn't notice the rising spark of intelligence in little Shadow's eyes, that was apparently a result of consuming all of the impurities. Normally, he kept it well-hidden, and always tried to seem dazed and foolish in front of Naruto.

At one point, Naruto eyed a failed batch that had resulted in a strange pill. He had no idea what the pill did, and was just about to put it into his bag of holding, when he looked over at Shadow.

Blinking, he said, "You handle it, Shadow."

A tremor ran through Shadow, but then he flew over and took the pill. After consuming it, he flopped over onto his side.

—

Chapter 237

Chapter 237

Chapter 237: A Boom From Lesser Marsh Peak

Naruto's eyes went wide. Just when he was going to go over to examine Shadow closer, Shadow suddenly leapt to his feet, howling as he transformed into a mist. Screaming, he burst out of the immortal's cave. Naruto hurried out after him to find that the gargoyle had seemingly gone mad. He was running around, jumping up and down, sometimes collapsing into a shapeless mist, other times coalescing back into form. After a bit of time, he once again collapsed on the ground.

From that moment on, whenever he looked at Naruto, profound fear could be seen mixed in with the intelligence in his eyes….

Things progressed like that for about half a month. Naruto worked hard, and the tier-4 Undying Blood Pill slowly began to take form. He was already able to make pills with three streams of blood qi, and was on the very cusp of being able to produce four.

During that time, Shadow continued to consume medicinal pills. Although the quality of the pills improved, they were still ruined pills, and occasionally even toxic, but Shadow generally enjoyed them all.

Shadow also enjoyed leaving the immortal's cave occasionally and flying around above Nameless Peak. When he encountered other gargoyles belonging to other cultivators, it was clear that Shadow's murderous aura was much less pronounced than theirs.

The law of the jungle prevailed in the Blood Stream Sect, and it was even more brutal when it came to life among the gargoyles. The cultivators had to strictly control the gargoyles under their control, lest major issues crop up. However, there was something strange about Shadow. He got along with all of the other gargoyles on Nameless Peak, and never got into fights with them….

Naruto was quite surprised about that, but didn't put too much thought into it. He focused on concocting medicine. Another half a month passed, and he finally made a breakthrough and concocted a tier-4 Undying Blood Pill.

When the four streams of blood qi finally combined, Naruto began to laugh at the top of his lungs. Of course, his excitement came not from the fact that he had concocted the tier-4 Undying Blood Pill, but rather, because nobody had been affected during the concocting process.

There had been no acid rain, no exploding furnaces, no toxic smoke, no diarrhea, nothing. Most exciting of all was that Naruto finally felt as if he understood what it was like to be a grandmaster apothecary.

"Hahaha! Now people definitely can't call me Plaguedevil! I concocted medicine for Nameless Peak, and not a single problem cropped up!" Of course, he was just as surprised as he was happy. Also surprised were all the other cultivators in the Blood Stream Sect, especially those on Nameless Peak. Although they were still a bit leery, there didn't seem to be any signs of disasters. Apparently, Nightcrypt's medicine concocting truly had proceeded in complete safety.

"Has Plaguedevil really changed his ways?"

"I can't believe that nothing happened during his medicine concocting!"

There was one thing that happened which no one noticed, however. Naruto's gargoyle Shadow had been making the rounds on Nameless Peak, getting to know all of the gargoyles there….

The blood master and grand elder of Nameless Peak were delighted that the tier-4 Undying Blood Pill had been successfully concocted. Just as they'd promised, they provided generous compensation, along with a ceremony filled with pomp and splendor. They even decided that they would work more with Nightcrypt in the future.

Although the ceremony was held on Nameless Peak, Grand Elder Song

Junwan was invited to attend. It was held in Nameless Peak's Blood Master Temple, where Night

crypt was lavished with endless praise. Naruto felt that it wasn't the time to call attention to himself, so he simply stuck his chin up and smiled coolly.

Off to the side, Song Junwan watched the proceedings with a smile, and whenever she looked at Nightcrypt, her eyes would shine. Before long, the ceremony had been going for about an hour. At that point, Nameless Peak's blood master laughed loudly and walked over to Nightcrypt.

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, you are a real genius in the Dao of medicine, a true rarity in the world. In the future, your name is sure to rock the entire eastern reaches of the world of cultivation. If you ever concoct a tier-5 Undying Blood Pill, you will surely shake the entire sect! I'm sure that day isn't very far off!

Nameless Peak's grand elder then chimed in, "Anyone who concocts a tier-5 Undying Blood Pill will receive a big reward from the sect, and will be credited as having performed a major service!"

As everyone clustered around Naruto, chatting and laughing, he listened to their words with great pleasure. Just when he was about to do a bit of bragging, a deafening boom could be heard from outside.

It was like thunder from heaven, and came so suddenly that everyone was startled. All of Nameless Peak shook violently, and cracks even appeared in the ground. There was also a blast of heat that swept over everything. The entire crowd in Nameless Peak's Blood Master Temple looked out the door, their faces flickering with shock.

Outside, the sky had turned gray, and everything was still shaking. It wasn't Nameless Peak alone; Corpse Peak and Middle Peak were also physically rocking back and forth.

The Inner Sect district was thrown into complete chaos, as was the Outer Sect district. People were screaming and shouting, and almost immediately, beams of light could be seen as people flew up into the air.

Even the Blood Stream Sect's grand spell formation activated.

"What just happened?!"

"Don't tell me someone is attacking the Blood Stream Sect!"

"The war's starting!"

Even Ancestor Peak was completely shaken. As the blast of heat passed over it, the shocked prime elders sent divine sense out to scan the entire sect.

Naruto's face fell as he raced out of Blood Master Temple along with everyone else. The entire group was shaken, and as for Naruto, he was panting. Moments later, he was outside. Song Junwan took her place by his side, looking around vigilantly.

Cultivators were flying up from all of the other mountain peaks, looks of shock on their faces.

Before long, all gazes shifted in the direction of Lesser Marsh Peak!

Clouds of shocking black smoke were pouring up into the air from that direction.

The source of the smoke was a location right between the lower and upper finger, where massive fissures spread out in all directions from a huge hole.

Because of the belching black smoke, everyone soon realized where that huge boom had originated. "Lesser Marsh Peak?!"

"What happened over there…?"

Naruto squinted his eyes as he looked over at the masses of black smoke. After a moment, his eyes went wide, and his heart began to pound.

The big boom from moments ago had somehow seemed vaguely familiar, and after taking a look at the source of the black smoke, he realized that it was where he had been concocting medicine on Lesser Marsh Peak. Clearly, the sound from moments ago had come from an exploding pill furnace.

In that moment, he suddenly recalled that he had left a batch of medicinal pills brewing on Lesser Marsh Peak….

Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his heart began to pound even harder. That was when the wails of anguish began to rise up from Lesser Marsh Peak, and Naruto's scalp began to tingle.

"I'm finished. Kaput…."

Even as Naruto began to tremble in fear, and the rest of the Blood Stream Sect looked on in shock, several beams of light flew out from

Lesser Marsh Peak. In the lead was the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master. He was shaking visibly, and his eyes were bloodshot. As he looked down at the chaos on Lesser Marsh Peak, he seemed like he wanted to cry. After a moment, he threw his head back and let out a howl of grief.

He knew that everything that was happening was because of Nightcrypt. With that, he prepared to call out by name the person who was at fault, then, to track him down and kill him.

However, before the name 'Nightcrypt' could escape his lips, Naruto took action. Forcing his eyes to instantly become bloodshot, he strode forward toward the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master and shouted out in a voice that could shake heaven and earth: "My treasured pill!"

Beating his chest with his fists and tugging at his hair, he howled like a lunatic as he then shot at top speed toward Lesser Marsh Peak.

"Why is this happening? Dear heavens! What happened? My treasured pill!" He seemed to be going mad as he flew in a beam of light toward the source of the smoke on Lesser Marsh Peak, which was the center of all the chaos.

Lesser Marsh Peak was now completely scorched black, and more than half of the buildings and immortal's caves were completely destroyed. The cultivators all seemed to be in very bad shape, and flames of rage burned in their eyes. However, as soon as they saw Naruto, expressions of fear filled their faces.

Naruto ignored them as he raced in the direction of where he had been concocting medicine on Lesser Marsh Peak. The entire area was a crater. There was no spell formation, no immortal's cave. The only things left behind were the shattered chunks of the pill furnace, and intense heat.

In the air above the mountain peak were the blood master, the grand elder, and the bloodstreak elders. Many of them had blood oozing out of their mouths, and all of them looked astonished. The entire lot had been aware that Nightcrypt could be annoying, but none of them could ever have imagined that he could produce tragic results like this.

"Nightcrypt!" growled the blood master, a shocking level of killing intent burning in his eyes as he flew toward Naruto.

In the same moment that the blood master started moving toward him, Naruto began to tremble. Spinning around, he howled madly: "Lesser Marsh Peak blood master!

"I spent three months on that treasured pill! I poured my own blood, sweat, and tears into it! It was almost a tier-5 medicine!" Naruto's face was twisted as if with grief and madness, and an increasingly murderous aura was building up around him.

"Dammit, Blood Master, didn't you tell me that pill furnace couldn't explode? Didn't you tell me it was a precious treasure?! Why did you lie to me!?" Naruto seemed insane, even more maddened than the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master. At first, it seemed like he was simply making wild accusations in his madness.

"You…." The Lesser Marsh Peak blood master was incensed, but after he began to speak, realized there was little that he could say.

"Why? Why did you lie to me? All of my hard work, all of my effort concocting that pill, was based on a lie! You said it was a precious treasure taken from the Pill Stream Sect, that it wouldn't explode under any circumstances! If you had told me ahead of time that the pill furnace could blow up, then I would never have wasted so many precious medicinal plants! I could have just used ordinary concocting methods! Oh, my treasured pill!"

—

Chapter 238

Chapter 238

Chapter 238: Tier-5 Spirit Medicine!

"Do you know how much of my own blood, sweat and tears I poured into this treasured pill?!" Naruto shouted hoarsely. "Dammit! Why didn't you tell me the truth instead of lying to me!?" Crowds of Blood Stream Sect cultivators were converging on the scene to watch, and the streams of divine sense from Ancestor Peak were focused on the area.

"I told you not to get close to the pill furnace. Tell me, did you get close? Did you?!" Naruto finally began to chuckle bitterly, his face a mask of disappointment and sadness.

There was no way for the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master and grand elder to offer a retort to Naruto's words. The blood master truly had told Naruto that the pill furnace couldn't explode, and had also promised to take responsibility for any situations which arose. Naruto last words hit especially close to home.

The truth was that because the heat radiating from the pill furnace had continued to increase, slowly scorching everything on Lesser Marsh Peak, they actually had felt they had no other choice than to approach the furnace to take a look.

They were in the wrong, and yet, the losses sustained by Lesser Marsh Peak were so vast that they couldn't restrain their rage. The blood master gritted his teeth and said, "You jabbering troublemaker! Lesser Marsh Peak trusted you! We asked you to concoct medicine for us, and if you had, I would have taken responsibility. But I don't see any spirit medicine! You destroyed Lesser Marsh Peak, Nightcrypt. I demand an explanation!"

Snorting coldly, the blood master took a step forward as if to grab Naruto, and hopefully gain something from this disaster….

"Hold on!" Naruto said. Looking very serious, he took a step forward and breathed in deeply through his nose. "Something's off here. That smell…. Do you sense that medicinal aroma…?"

The Lesser Marsh Peak blood master frowned. Snorting coldly, he proceeded toward Naruto, but even as he did, Naruto flickered into motion, appearing a moment later next to a chunk that had once made up the wall of the pill furnace. Looking shaken and incredulous, he pulled the chunk off to the side, revealing a medicinal pill underneath, which glowed with five-colored light!

It also emanated a strong medicinal aroma which, combined with the five-colored light, caused the eyes of everyone who could see it to go wide. Their minds began to spin, and many people even gasped or cried out in shock!

"Is that a tier-5 spirit medicine!?"

"I've never even seen a tier-5 spirit medicine before. Even the Pill Stream Sect only has a few people who can concoct them. Tier-5 spirit medicines are all priceless treasures!"

"A five-colored glow is one of the signs that appears when a tier-5 spirit medicine is concocted!"

"Heavens! I can't believe it's actually a tier-5 spirit medicine!"

As the crowd erupted into pandemonium, Naruto mustered his courage, reached out, and grabbed the pill. He had never imagined that he would end up concocting a tier-5 spirit medicine, and wanted to simply take it and run. However, with so many people present, that wasn't possible.

Naruto wasn't the only shocked one. The Lesser Marsh Peak blood master stood off to the side, along with the grand elder and bloodstreak elders, and all of them were gasping.

When he saw Naruto pick up the spirit medicine, the blood master suddenly started laughing good-naturedly, and his murderous aura vanished.

"A misunderstanding, that's all. A misunderstanding. Hahaha…. I was pulling your leg just now, Grandmaster Nightcr

ypt." The blood master hurried forward, his face filled with a sincere smile.

Naruto snorted coldly. However, he couldn't think of anything to say in response, and was already wracking his brains as he tried to figure out what to do next.

"How about this, Grandmaster Nightcrypt: Lesser Marsh Peak would like to triple our previous offer of compensation!" The blood master, the grand elder, and the bloodstreak elders all hurried forward to cluster around Naruto.

That was when Song Junwan, who had been standing off to the side the entire time, stepped forward and coolly said, "How dare you threaten one of my Middle Peak cultivators right in front of me."

The hearts of the elders began to pound, and an extremely unsightly expression appeared on the blood master's face.

As the two parties faced off, an ancient voice suddenly rumbled out from Ancestor Peak.

"Nightcrypt has concocted a tier-5 spirit medicine, and is a true Chosen of the Blood Stream Sect. Let him be appointed as a bloodstreak elder of Middle Peak!

At the same time, a blurry figure appeared in midair, an old man

wearing a blood-colored robe. The incredible pressure radiating off of him caused everyone in the area to feel shaken, and they spontaneously bowed their heads and clasped hands in formal greetings.

"Regarding the pill, it belongs to Lesser Marsh Peak. However, Lesser Marsh Peak shall prepare the materials necessary, and personally craft the bloodstreak battlerobe for Nighcrypt!"

That old man was none other than the Song Clan patriarch. As soon as Naruto realized who he was, he took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed.

No one would dare to defy the orders of the Song Clan patriarch.

However, the Song Clan patriarch wasn't finished speaking. His placid voice continued to echo out through the sect. "It's good that everyone is gathered here, as I have three important announcements to make!

"First. In eight days, the cultivators of the four mountain peaks will all sacrifice some of their blood qi to summon the Blood Stream Sect's grand lich!

"Second. In a month, the trial by fire for the position of Middle Peak blood master will begin!

"Third. We will be going to war soon!"

As the Song Clan patriarch looked around at the gathered cultivators, gasps could be heard, and murderous auras began to build up.

"War!"

"War!" Everyone began howling at the tops of their lungs, causing the entire Blood Stream Sect to shake. Although Naruto was yelling just like everyone else in the crowd, he was actually feeling very anxious inside.

"Very well, you're all dismissed!" The Song Clan patriarch looked at Nightcrypt, smiled, and then turned and vanished.

Excited at the prospect of the coming war, everyone returned to their various mountain peaks. Although Naruto was reluctant to give up the tier-5 spirit medicine, he had no choice but to hand it over to the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master. Then, he left with Song Junwan to go back to Middle Peak.

Song Junwan didn't say much on the way back to Middle Peak, but her eyes flashed with cold light. As for Naruto, he was wrapped up in his own thoughts, and didn't feel like saying anything either. When they finally arrived, Song Junwan looked over at him and said, "Nightcrypt, in the trial by fire for the position of Middle Peak blood master, I want you to stand as Dharma protector for me, to help me win the title!

"The trial by fire will be dangerous, so you don't need to give me an answer right now. I'll be going into secluded meditation to prepare. You can inform me of your decision after I come out." She gave him a deep look and then headed toward the upper finger.

Naruto watched her leave, complex feelings twisting his heart. Eventually, he found himself back in his immortal's cave, sitting there cross-legged, more worried than ever.

Based on what the Song Clan patriarch had just said, Naruto realized that all of the discussion amongst the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs had led to a decision. The war with the Spirit Stream Sect would happen, and in only a few months.

The next seven days passed relatively uneventfully.

Early in the morning of the eighth day, the sound of tolling bells filled the Blood Stream Sect. Naruto took a deep breath and strode out of his immortal's cave to find that virtually all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the four mountain peaks were flying through the air toward the upper fingers of each of their respective mountains.

Then, eight figures appeared, flying out from Ancestor Peak. They were like giants that caused rumbling sounds to fill the area, and shone with dazzling light that made it impossible to see anything more than their outlines.

As soon as those eight figures appeared, the cultivators all dropped to their knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, patriarchs!"

Naruto was immediately shaken. Those eight figures were none other than the eight patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect!

Patriarch Limitless and the Song Clan patriarch were among them. There was another among the group who wore a violet robe. He seemed to surpass all of the other patriarchs as he hovered there in midair like a brilliantly shining sun.

Intense pressure immediately weighed down on the entire area.

"Everyone, release your blood qi, open the blood portal!" The voice rang out to fill the entire hand that the Blood Stream Sect rested on, shaking everything as a huge spell formation appeared.

Blood qi exploded out, starting from Lesser Marsh Peak. As the blood qi streamed from the tip of the finger, it formed a blood-colored pillar of light that shot up into the sky. Next, the same thing happened on Nameless Peak, Middle Peak, Corpse Peak, and finally, Ancestor Peak!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Five beams of blood-colored light shot up, staining the entire sky the color of blood, and creating an enormous vortex. The cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect were shaken, and could feel their blood qi seething as they unleashed the power of their cultivation bases.

At that point, one of the patriarchs stepped forward, a middle-aged man who was strikingly handsome. There was something entrancing about him that made anyone who looked at him want to admire and trust him.

"I am Droughtflame, and I will take the lead in summoning the reserve powers of the Blood Stream Sect. I need the help of nine disciples to help refine the qi and blood!

"Xu Xiaoshan, Song Que, Xuemei, Han Dong, Zhou Zhengfeng…." Although he was speaking in a calm tone, he was a patriarch, which caused even ordinary words spoken by him to carry vast pressure. Every time he called out a name, that person would fly up into the air to stand in front of him.

Soon, eight individuals had been called forth, and the sight of the assembled group caused the other Blood Stream Sect disciples to gasp. Every single one of the group of eight were Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators with the power of multiple Tideflows! All of them were top Chosen in the Blood Stream Sect!

Then, Patriarch Droughtflame's eyes came to rest on Middle Peak, and he uttered the last of the nine names.

"Nightcrypt!"

—

Chapter 239

Chapter 239

Chapter 239: Should I Help Myself To A Bit….?

Although Naruto was a bit taken aback, he quickly put a somber expression on his face and made sure his murderous aura was on full display. Then he shot up into the air to appear in front of Patriarch Droughtflame along with the other eight.

Not a single Blood Stream Sect disciple was shocked that Nightcrypt would be part of the group. In fact, for Patriarch Droughtflame to call him out was exactly what many people had expected would happen.

Not a single person even felt like commenting on the matter. Obviously, Plaguedevil was one of the most famous people in the Blood Stream Sect, and everyone recognized that he was a powerful Chosen!

Not only did the crowds of disciples on the mountain peaks feel that way, Song Que and the other Chosen didn't dispute his qualifications at all, although brutal gleams did appear in their eyes.

Naruto had already been in the Blood Stream Sect for a few years now. To mortals, that might be considered quite a while, but for cultivators, that amount of time would flash by very quickly. Even still, it couldn't be considered a very short period of time. Naruto had worked hard, and step by step, reached this day in which he was the focus of all attention, and had secured the approval of the entire sect.

Naruto could sense that fact, and although he had been prepared for this day to come, even he couldn't help but gasp inwardly at the status he had attained. It filled his heart with contentment and pride.

"Hmmmmphhh! Wherever Lord Uzumaki goes, he ends up shining as brightly as the sun or moon. Ai… who made me this outstanding…?" Although he felt wonderful inside, not a trace of those feelings showed on the outside. He looked as cold and dangerous as ever, with a powerful murderous aura that rivaled all of the other eight Chosen.

The eight patriarchs were all blurry and difficult to make out clearly, but when they looked at Nightcrypt, it was clear that they were nodding in approval. Some of the patriarchs even studied him more closely than the other Chosen.

The fact that a Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator could rise up in the fashion Nightcrypt had was so strange that some of the patriarchs had grown suspicious, and had secretly investigated him. However, because the mask he wore was a true precious treasure, throughout the years, not a single clue had ever slipped out that might reveal his secret.

Furthermore, his skill in the Dao of medicine was so important to the Blood Stream Sect that none of the patriarchs took their own suspicions too seriously.

"The nine of you will sit in meditation in front of these blood altars," Patriarch Droughtflame said. He waved his hand, sending nine beams of blood-colored light flying out, which transformed into nine blood-colored altars. "Transform qi into blood to help me open the portal and summon the grand lich!"

Naruto and the others all settled down in front of their respective blood altars.

In truth, there was no need for special help from these nine cultivators to summon the grand lich. However, after some discussion, the patriarchs had decided that because of the upcoming war, they should get a first-hand look at the power at the sect's disposal.

Among the eight patriarchs, Patriarch Droughtflame was the one most insistent on going to war, and therefore, he took charge of summoning the reserve powers of the sect, as well as looking over the nine cultivators who were being tested in the process.

His gaze seemed to contain intense pressure that left Naruto shaken inwardly. It was almost as if he could see the secrets of everyone he looked at; even the other eight cultivators surrounding Naruto averted their gazes humbly. E

ventually, Patriarch Droughtflame looked away from them, turning his gaze up into the sky. He then lifted his right hand and waved it through the air. In response, the blood-colored beams of light shooting up from the five mountain peaks all rumbled and began to grow larger. Simultaneously, the blood-colored vortex grew larger, and in the very center of it, a huge blood-colored eye became visible!

As the eye opened, the sky dimmed, and a massive wind kicked up. Intense pressure filled the world, and a blood mist spread out in all directions. All of the Blood Stream Sect disciples down below were shaken, and prostrated themselves toward the eye.

"Look up, and see the power which lets the Blood Stream Sect dominate the other three sects!" Patriarch Droughtflame's voice seemed to contain a bizarre power that forced everyone who heard it to look up into the blood eye in the sky.

Naruto was deeply shaken. However, it was at that point that his Undying Live Forever Technique stirred, and gradually seemed to form a resonance with the blood eye.

Song Que, Xuemei and the others were all mentally shaken, and yet none of them dared to look down. They forced their heads up to look at the blood eye in the vortex above.

Many people cried out in shock. Even Song Que and the other Chosen, despite their high position and deeper understanding of the secrets of the sect, couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

Naruto's eyes went wide, and his mind felt like it was filled with crashing lightning.

Within that blood-colored eye, just outside of the very pupil, were four shadowy figures, one of them being an enormous, violet-colored skeleton!

The skeleton was covered with crackling lightning, as well as a swirling aura of death. Although it wasn't moving at all, it emanated a powerful pressure that left anyone who could see it completely shaken.

Naruto knew a bit about Corpse Peak, and based on that, he quickly came to the conclusion that this was a grand lich! On Corpse Peak, there was nothing more powerful than grand liches, which surpassed even flying ghouls!

"Flying ghouls are comparable to Core Formation cultivators, but grand liches are like Nascent Soul patriarchs!"

The second blurry figure within the eye was a black mist that seemed to be filled with tens of millions of faces. All of those faces seemed to belong to old men, and radiated a powerful sensation of Time. Within that mist was a gargoyle, and from the powerful pressure it radiated, it didn't seem to be any less powerful than the grand lich!

The third shadowy figure was nothing more than a pile of dried-up skin that was so old it was impossible to determine its age. It radiated a terrifying aura that was even stronger than that of the grand lich or the gargoyle. Just looking at it filled one with a sense of wonderment. Many of the Blood Stream Sect cultivators who saw it were left gasping.

Shaken, Naruto looked over at the fourth shadowy figure, which was actually a sword!

It was a blood-colored sword, upon which sat a crimson imp. The imp had no hair on its head, and although it was only about as big as person's hand, it radiated an intense murderous aura that surpassed the other three shadowy figures!

"Corpse Peak's grand lich, Nameless Peak's million-faced gargoyle, Lesser Marsh Peak's totem canvas, Middle Peak's ancestral sword! These are the signature relics of the Blood Stream Sect, and they are actually defending what exists in the pupil of the blood eye, another of the Blood Ancestor's powerful reserve forces!

"Behold the complete Sacrificial Blood Dao Formation!" Patriarch Droughtflame waved his right hand, and the pupil in the blood eye began to expand to slowly reveal a fifth shadowy figure!

Clearly, it was being protected by the four figures outside of the pupil. The sight of the precious fifth resource of the sect caused Naruto to begin panting, and his eyes to widen as he slowly came to see… A scarecrow!

It was bizarre in appearance, with a patch of human skin held in one hand, and a steelyard balance in the other. A monstrous smile covered its face that made it seem as if it were sneering at the world…. When Naruto looked into the scarecrow's eyes, that smile seemed to fill his entire heart and mind.

Within moments, though, the Heaven-Dao aura within Naruto spread out, driving the image of the scarecrow out from inside of him. As he sat there panting in recovery, he noticed that Patriarch Droughtflame seemed to be looking at him with approval.

The other eight Chosen around him were in all still in a daze. Xuemei was the next to recover, followed by Song Que. One by one, they drove out the image from within their minds.

"These are the reserve powers of the Blood Stream Sect," Patriarch

Droughtflame said, speaking to the sect as a whole. "Unleash your blood qi. As for the nine of you Chosen, begin the refinement process. Help me summon the grand lich!

"After summoning the grand lich, the other spirits will eventually awaken of their own volition. After they have all woken, the Sacrificial Blood Dao Formation can emerge from within the world of the blood eye!" Immediately, the innumerable cultivators in the Blood Stream Sect who were below the Core Formation stage all began to rotate their cultivation bases.

Foundation Establishment cultivators, Inner Sect disciples, Outer Sect disciples. Tens of thousands of cultivators all called upon the power of their cultivation bases to send blood qi streaming out. A blood mist formed, rising up into the air toward the nine blood altars, into which it merged.

Naruto was seated in front of the fifth of the blood altars, and a tremor ran through him as the powerful blood qi began to merge into the altar, and through it, into him.

Before he even had time to think about what was happening, his Undying Live Forever Technique sprang into operation, absorbing the blood qi. He looked around, and saw that Xuemei, Song Que, and the others were all absorbing the blood qi. Apparently, they were using their own bodies as vessels; combined with a Blood Stream Sect secret magic, they were transforming the qi into blood.

Xuemei was the first to succeed. A drop of blood emerged from the top of her head and floated up to rest above her. Song Que was next…. Naruto quickly followed suit, using his special Undying Blood refinement technique to transform the blood qi inside of him into a drop of blood, which then floated up out of the top of his head.

Soon, blood had emerged from all nine of the Chosen. Time passed, and the drops of blood grew larger. After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Xuemei's eyes snapped open. The blood above her head, which was already the size of a fist, flew over toward Patriarch Droughtflame.

Patriarch Droughtflame's eyes flickered, and then he nodded his head slightly. The blood then transformed into a red beam of light that shot up toward the grand lich in the blood eye. A moment later, it touched the bones of the lich, which caused it to shake slightly, and a faint aura of life force began to emanate out from it.

"Eight more drops of blood!" Patriarch Droughtflame said coolly.

As massive amounts of blood qi continued to pour into the blood altars, Naruto looked on with a somber expression. However, inwardly, he was shaken.

"So much blood qi," he thought. "Should I help myself to a bit of it?"

Chapter 239: Should I Help Myself To A Bit…?

—

Chapter 240

Chapter 240

Chapter 240: I'm Just Too Honest

At first, Naruto was a bit hesitant. He looked around at the other Chosen in front of their blood altars and saw that, other than Xuemei, who had already succeeded, everyone else was still working with the blood qi.

After confirming the situation, Naruto was actually starting to get a bit angry at the excessive actions of the others. Take Song Que, for example. He had a foundation of eight Tideflows, and although it seemed reasonable that he would be slower than Xuemei, he shouldn't be that much slower! However, he was clearly only about seventy percent finished.

Everyone else was in a similar situation, with the slowest of the group being only thirty percent complete.

"Apparently I'm just too honest!" he thought. "I can't believe I'm still trying to figure out what to do, while those other jerks are already helping themselves to the blood qi to further their own cultivation!" Feeling more righteous than ever, he looked over at Xuemei and mused that she really was a fool. Apparently, her honesty was almost at the same level as his own.

"Ah whatever. I guess I'll just give in to the peer pressure. Since I'm undercover here, I don't want to do anything to stand out too much. I need to fit in, that's for sure…. Ai, I really don't want to do this." Sighing inwardly, he took a deep breath, and then began to siphon away about ninety percent of the blood qi….

Because of the suddenness of his action, the blood sphere above his head, which was already about half formed, suddenly withered. Although nobody down below noticed, Song Que and the others did, and their eyes burned with rage as they cursed him inwardly.

Patriarch Droughtflame hesitated for a moment, and gave Naruto a closer look. Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the other patriarchs. Actually, in addition to calling upon these nine Chosen to help summon the grand lich, the patriarchs had also intended for them to take advantage of the opportunity to increase their cultivation bases.

As for exactly how much they could improve their cultivation bases while simultaneously not drawing too much attention, that would be up to each individual.

Because Xuemei was focused on becoming blood master, she disdained such actions, and the patriarchs ignored that. But then Nightcrypt, despite being half finished, suddenly began to siphon away most of the blood qi for himself.

If Nightcrypt were the only one to do such a thing, it might not have mattered. However, a few moments later, Song Que, Xu Xiaoshan, and the others all followed suit. The patriarchs couldn't allow such a thing to go on.

After all, an underworldly fire had begun to burn around the grand lich in the blood eye….

"Whoever delays the summoning of the grand lich by not completing their blood sphere in the time it takes an incense stick to burn will be personally transformed into a lich by me!" The Song Clan patriarch snorted coldly and then spoke out in a voice that could only be heard by Naruto and the others.

Naruto's heart trembled. The blood qi he had just absorbed had already helped him significantly. His Undying Heavenly King had already climbed up to the power of five ghosts.

"So stingy!" he muttered to himself. However, he didn't dare to defy the patriarchs, and immediately restrained himself. Everyone else bowed their heads, and soon, the allotted deadline approached.

By this point, Naruto and the others all had blood spheres that were about ninety percent complete. The final ten percent would require full concentration all the way down to the last second. After all, no one wanted to complete their spheres early. The best thing to

do was wait until the last possible moment, and thus take advantage of the unbelievable opportunity that had been presented to further their cultivation with the help of the entire Blood Stream Sect.

In the short amount of time it takes an incense stick to burn, Naruto's Undying Heavenly King made another breakthrough. His fleshly body power now was equivalent to six berserk ghosts. He was tingling all over, and had to resist the urge to look up and howl at the top of his lungs.

"Can't keep this up, unfortunately. Time's almost up…." Although he was reluctant to stop, there was nothing else to do. Sighing inwardly, he was just about to take advantage of the final few dozen breaths of time to complete the blood sphere, when suddenly his heart thumped….

"I wonder… if I put a bit of my own Undying Blood into the mix, would I be able to control the grand lich?"

The thought excited him, and if it actually worked, could be considered an incredible service for the Spirit Stream Sect. But then he thought about how well the Blood Stream Sect had treated him, and was torn.

"Song Junwan, the Song Clan patriarch, as well as the other grand elders, have all treated me pretty well. Although they're a bit brutal, overall, they're not bad." Sighing, he also considered the fact that with his current cultivation base, it didn't seem very likely that he would be able to control a grand lich. And yet, he still couldn't make a decision.

"Well, I might as well try. Whether I succeed or not will be up to the will of the heavens." Naruto's eyes flickered, and he looked down. As everyone continued to transform the qi into blood, he did the same. And yet, he also extracted a bit of blood qi from his Undying Blood, and mixed it into the blood qi being provided by everyone else.

A few dozen breaths of time passed, and Patriarch Droughtflame's eyes flickered as he announced that the process was now ending. At that point, a blood sphere flew over from Song Que, Xu Xiaoshan, and everyone else. Naruto nervously opened his eyes as his blood sphere also flew over.

His blood sphere looked exactly like everyone else's, but also contained some authentic Undying Blood within it.

"They shouldn't notice," he thought. "After all, my Undying Blood is true and authentic. Any other kind of Undying Blood is only a replica. Even if they do notice, they'll just think it's because I'm stronger than everyone else. After all, I did perform an Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening…" As the eight blood spheres flew over, Patriarch Droughtflame studied them briefly, then waved his hand, sending them flying up to the grand lich in the blood eye.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the blood spheres merged into the grand lich. Moments later, a powerful life force erupted out, and the underworldly fire in the grand lich's eyes began to burn even more brightly than before.

Then, the grand lich slowly rose to its feet, threw his head back and roared. That roar shook heaven and earth, and caused all light to dim as a shocking energy radiated out.

A gale force wind sprang up, sweeping across everything, casting everything into murky darkness.

As the grand lich awoke, the million-faced gargoyle, the withered patch of skin, and the blood sword all trembled. Apparently, they were now heading toward the point of awakening….

Cracking sounds echoed out in all directions as fissures began to fill the pupil of the blood eye, as if a magical seal were being broken!

Before Naruto had time to assess whether or not his idea had worked, Patriarch Droughtflame waved his sleeve, as did all of the other patriarchs. Eyes glittering, they all flew toward the blood eye. The last to reach it was the Song Clan patriarch. Turning to look at everyone down below, he said, "In a month, the trial by fire for the position of Middle Peak blood master will begin!"

Even as his thunderous voice continued to echo back and forth through the sect, he stepped into the blood eye. In that instant, the million-faced gargoyle awoke. The patch of withered skin suddenly began to radiate life force, and the imp on the blood sword opened its eyes.

At the same time, more and more fissures spread out over the pupil, and it began to collapse. It was as if a door were being opened, that the eight patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect were now entering.

RUMBLE!

The sky suddenly seemed to fade, and the blood eye vanished. Down below, the cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect looked up from their meditation. The sect leader and the grand elders then dismissed the crowds. However, many questions remained in the minds of all present.

They had all seen the reserve powers, and yet, were unsure why the patriarchs had entered the blood eye. For some reason, no matter how they considered the matter, they couldn't help but assume it had something to do with the war.

Naruto was more nervous than ever. In the end, he'd been unable to determine whether or not his idea had worked. He pondered the matter as he headed back to his immortal's cave, where he stabilized the increase in power of his fleshly body. In the blink of an eye, nearly an entire month passed. Soon, it was only three days before the appointed day mentioned by the Song Clan patriarch, the trial by fire for the position of Middle Peak blood master.

By that point, everyone in the Blood Stream Sect was talking about the trial by fire. Every generation of the Blood Stream Sect always had four blood masters, who would eventually become blood rippers, a position higher than the prime elder.

In this generation, the Middle Peak blood master was the last spot that needed to be filled. Now that war was looming on the horizon, the trial by fire would finally be held to select the individual to become blood master. After the blood master was selected, the battle prowess of Middle Peak as a whole would be increased.

It was an important matter for the entire Blood Stream Sect, and even more so for the cultivators from Middle Peak. After all, in theory, any Foundation Establishment cultivator from Middle Peak could eventually become blood master.

Of course, it was common knowledge that this generation's blood master would be one of two people. Either it would be Xuemei, or it would be Grand Elder Song Junwan!

Discussions raged as the trial by fire neared.

"It will definitely be Young Lady Xuemei. She's at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment with nine Tideflows. If she doesn't become blood master, that would be a big loss for us here on Middle Peak!"

"I think the grand elder also has a good chance of succeeding. After all, she's in the great circle of Foundation Establishment. Xuemei might be at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, but that's still only mid Foundation Establishment. She's not quite on the same level as the grand elder!"

"The blood master trial by fire doesn't just come down to cultivation base power. There are other factors, such as the strength of the Dharma protectors they bring along."

The night before the trial by fire was to begin, Naruto was meditating in his immortal's cave, when suddenly, Grand Elder Song Junwan appeared outside. She was cloaked in moonlight as she came to stand outside the door, and when she smiled, she looked more beautiful than ever.

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, are you well-rested?" she asked softly.

—

Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Chapter 241: The Blood Devil is the Blood Lord!

In the days preceding Song Junwan's arrival outside his immortal's cave, Naruto had pondered what to do regarding her request. He knew that after she emerged from seclusion, she would come looking for him, to ask for his help during the trial by fire for the position of blood master. For many days, she hadn't come.

Just when he was trying to decide whether or not to take the initiative to go see her, he heard her voice. At that point, his eyes glittered, and he cleared his throat. Instead of immediately opening the door of the immortal's cave, he decided to take advantage of the situation to make her wait outside, thus increasing his own perceived value.

In truth, he wasn't sure which decision was correct. After all, if he didn't join her, he could take advantage of her absence to attempt to sneak into her immortal's cave and acquire the relic of eternal indestructibility. If he succeeded, then it would definitely be unnecessary for him to participate in the trial by fire.

However, that option was also inherently dangerous, so dangerous that it was hard to decide if it was a better choice than the trial by fire.

Even as he sat there thinking, the door of his immortal's cave swished open quietly, and Song Junwan stepped inside.

"You!" Naruto was so startled he jumped up and walked

backward a few steps. His immortal's cave was protected by a defensive spell formation, and yet Song Junwan had somehow entered despite it.

She smiled enigmatically as she looked Naruto up and down, almost as if her gaze could pierce into his heart. "I'm the grand elder of Middle Peak, and I currently stand in for the blood master here. I control every blade of grass and every rock. If I want to go into an immortal's cave, nobody can do a thing to stop me.

"Besides, why would Junior Brother Nightcrypt refuse to let me into his immortal's cave? Instead of making you say the words, I just decided to take the initiative." With that, she sat down in a stone chair and rested her chin on her palm.

Although her gaze wasn't seductive, there was something enticing about it, something that tugged at Naruto's heart in shocking fashion. His expression turned somber, and he growled, "Is becoming the blood master really that important to you?"

Song Junwan looked back at him quietly for a moment, then nodded.

"For many years, the Song Clan has administered Middle Peak, and generations of blood masters have all been Chosen from our clan. But this time around, things changed.

"Our patriarch made a deal with Patriarch Limitless, and one of the conditions was that the slut Xuemei would have a chance to compete for the position of blood master. In exchange, we got information about Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment.

"Unfortunately, Song Que failed to live up to expectations, and didn't reach Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. Even worse was that the slut Xuemei unexpectedly reached nine Tideflows. As of this point, Que'er is no match for her. Therefore, I am the only person left who has a chance at becoming blood master!

"And that is why I need your help. With you as one of my Dharma protectors, I think I have a hope of actually succeeding!" With that, Song Junwan waited for Naruto's response.

Naruto didn't say anything at first. After hearing about the details of Xuemei's involvement, everything made a lot more sense. However, he still felt that the competition for the position would be very dangerous. A long moment passed, and Song Junwan continued, "I wouldn't ask you to help me if it wouldn't benefit you as well. Considering that you're

already a bloodstreak elder, if I succeed, I will strongly recommend you to be the next grand elder!"

For some reason, she blushed slightly, and the charming seductiveness in her eyes seemed to intensify. It was almost like she were casting her vixen-like claws into Naruto in an attempt to drag him in.

Naruto coughed lightly and averted his gaze. Inside, he was still trying to decide what would be best. If he didn't participate in the trial by fire, there was always the chance that he could secretly acquire the relic of eternal indestructibility. Although making that attempt would be a big risk, participating in the trial by fire would be equally risky.

In one situation, he would have almost no control over how things played out. In the other, he would have a bit of control. In one scenario, here was a high chance of success despite the danger. In the other, the chances of success weren't as high, but were still good.

It took some time, but he made his choice. Gritting his teeth inwardly, he looked at Song Junwan and said, "If you want to become blood master, then of course I'll help you. However, I'd like to know a bit about the trial by fire. How exactly does the process work? How do you become a blood master?"

He had already decided that, even though he would attempt to help Song Junwan, his own safety was paramount. Perhaps by being careful, he could reduce the dangerous elements.

Song Junwan was already glowing with excitement. Eyes shining, she looked at Naruto, a smile growing on her face that she covered with her hand. Expression softening, she said, "To many people, the details of this trial by fire are a big secret. But I won't hide anything from you. To begin with, I have to be clear: in every trial by fire, death is a common thing." Although Naruto had been prepared for news like this, it didn't stop his heart from suddenly beginning to pound. Every time he heard the word 'death,' he would get anxious.

"One reason for that is that the trial by fire isn't held in the outside world, but rather, in the world beneath our feet…." Although she was speaking quietly, he words struck Naruto like lightning.

"Beneath our feet?" Stunned, Naruto looked down at the ground. It only took a moment for it to dawn on him what she meant, whereupon his eyes widened, and he gasped.

Song Junwan smiled at his reaction. "Back when you first arrived at the Blood Stream Sect, you noticed how the sect itself resembles an enormous hand, right?

"The Blood Stream Sect really is built on top of a huge hand. That hand belongs to a giant that is submerged beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River. Over the years, the various techniques of the Blood Stream Sect were all created after studying the hand.

"We also came to call the giant our Blood Ancestor!" A passionate, worshipful gleam appeared in Song Junwan's eyes, as if the matter she was discussing was the most important thing in the world. She wasn't the only person who would view the subject in this way; virtually everyone in the Blood Stream Sect did.

Naruto blinked, but didn't say anything in response.

"The Blood Ancestor was a giant, but just like us, possessed flesh and blood, a skeleton, as well as the five yin organs and six yang organs….

"Anyone who wants to become a blood master must gain the approval of the Blood Ancestor. That approval comes in the form of crystals, which grow in the organs of the Blood Ancestor. On Middle Peak's Blood Master Temple, there is an entrance that leads to the interior of Middle Peak itself. By following the blood vessels inside the finger, we can enter the body of the Blood Ancestor.

"Each of the mountain peaks corresponds with one of the five yin organs, with Middle Peak connecting to the heart. The blood crystals there are the goal. The first person to get the blood crystal wins the approval of Middle Peak, and can call upon the power of the blood qi of the entire peak. They will gain the ability to suppress the cultivation bases of all cultivators there, and even more impressive, raise all cultivators' battle prowess! That is a blood master!"

Naruto took a deep breath. He was more shocked than ever by what he was learning. Although he had understood a bit about blood masters, as of now, he realized how truly high of a position they occupied.

The difference between a mountain peak with a blood master and a mountain peak without one was so vast that it couldn't be put into words!

"I heard a story once…." Naruto said.

"You mean the legend of the Blood Devil?" Song Junwan replied immediately, smiling. Naruto nodded.

"That legend stems from conclusions reached over generations of research by the patriarchs. They all believe that somewhere in the Blood Ancestor's body is a legacy blood crystal!

"Whoever gets that legacy won't become a blood master, but rather, the Blood Devil, a position far higher than the blood masters. In fact, that position is even above the patriarchs. Because the Blood Stream Sect practices spirit blood cultivation, if the Blood Devil appears, speculation states that a single thought on his part could reduce the cultivation bases of the entire sect by fifty percent, from the Outer Sect all the way to the patriarchs!

"At the same time, a single thought on his part could increase the battle prowess of the entire sect by thirty percent! Simply describing a person like that as the Blood Devil isn't quite sufficient, so another term exists, a term known only to a select few in the sect. In fact, only the patriarchs of the top clans in the sect are aware of it….

"Blood Lord!" She spoke the words softly, but they seemed to contain great power.

"But legends are just that. Legends. Throughout the years, generations of patriarchs have searched through the body of the Blood Ancestor. Despite having searched most of the locations, they haven't found any legacy.

"I hope that one day while I'm still alive, I'll be able to see the Blood Lord rise up. Even the patriarchs are well aware that once the Blood Lord comes, he will either lead the Blood Stream Sect to unheard-of glory, or drag it down into ruin…. Because of that, some of the patriarchs hope the Blood Lord never comes. As for my Song Clan patriarch, he is not among that group."

Song Junwan smiled. "But enough about legends. Let's talk about the trial by fire itself.

"Your main purpose in coming along is to help me get the blood crystal. The most important factors leading up to that point are battle prowess and speed. Along with the other Dharma protectors, you must protect me, and help me beat Xuemei to the heart cavity!

"As long as I can get to the heart cavity first, that blood crystal will be mine!" Song Junwan's eyes gleamed with self-confidence.

"How many Dharma protectors will there be?" Naruto asked.

"Both Xuemei and I can bring up to twenty Dharma protectors." Song Junwan replied placidly.

"That many!?" Naruto said, a bit shocked. "What if one of the

Dharma protectors gets to the heart cavity before you?"

"Theoretically speaking, any of the Dharma protectors could become a blood master. All they would have to do would be to get to the heart cavity first, take the blood crystal, and absorb it."

Naruto blinked. If what Song Junwan said was true, then how could she prevent that very scenario from playing out? Presumably, she would have some method of retaining control other than being very particular about which Dharma protectors she selected.

Song Junwan chuckled lightly, but didn't offer any further detailed explanation. Much as Naruto had suspected, both she and Xuemei both had methods of retaining control, special command medallions given them by their respective patriarchs.

Only someone with the command medallion would actually be able to enter the heart cavity.

After a moment of contemplation, Naruto gritted his teeth and looked down at the ground. He wasn't interested in fighting to get the blood master title. After all, he wasn't even a real disciple of the Blood Stream Sect.

He just wanted to get into the grand elder's immortal's cave. Therefore, he needed to help Song Junwan become blood master, so that he could become grand elder. That would solve all the problems perfectly.

Naruto had already been in the Blood Stream Sect for years now, and at long last, his goal was in sight!

With that, he looked up and said, "I'll be there tomorrow morning at

Blood Master Temple!"

Song Junwan took a deep breath and looked at Naruto, her eyes glittering. Covering a smile with her hand, she took a step forward, then leaned forward and spoke into his ear, her lips nearly touching him, her warm breath caressing the side of his face.

"If you become grand elder, there are many things that could happen between us…."

Suddenly, her face flushed, as if she weren't sure why she had suddenly spoken those words. With a final piercing look at Naruto, she glided away.

—

Chapter 242

Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Trial By Fire for Blood Master!

"The vixen makes another move!" A fragrant, silky aroma entered Bai

Naruto's nose, causing a mysterious sensation to pulse through him. Anxious and more on guard than ever, he watched Song Junwan leave.

"This isn't gonna work," he thought, sighing. "One of these days, that vixen is going to go in for the kill. I might have incredible willpower, I might be an amazing fighter, I might have numerous, uncountable outstanding qualities, but this vixen is just too dangerous." After taking some time to calm down, he sighed again.

"Ah whatever. Once I get the relic of eternal indestructibility, I'll go back to the Spirit Stream Sect, and then things will be fine. Besides, I've been missing Xiaomei lately." Settling down cross-legged, he meditated until the following morning. Then, his eyes snapped open. His cultivation base was at its peak, and he was full of energy as he emerged from his immortal's cave. 1

"Everything comes down to this!" Chin stuck up, he proceeded along proudly. As he did, many cultivators saw him, and bowed their heads deferentially. This was his first time appearing in public with his bloodstreak battlerobe, which had been sent over a few days earlier from Lesser Marsh Peak.

Only bloodstreak elders could wear bloodstreak battlerobes, which had built-in magical devices that could defend against an attack from a Core Formation expert. Such robes could only be produced at significant cost.

Nightcrypt's handsome face combined with the bloodstreak battlerobe created quite an eye-catching scene. Many people looked over with awe and reverence on their faces.

Naruto enjoyed being treated in such a way, and even slowed down a bit as he flew through the air toward the upper finger. Eventually, he landed in front of Blood Master Temple, where a large group of people had already gathered.

Song Junwan and Xuemei's groups were clearly separated, and the two women were staring at each other coldly. Xuemei had twenty cultivators backing her, all of whom were awe-inspiring late Foundation

Establishment experts. Their expressions were placid, but they radiated intense, murderous auras.

Not every person in the group was considered Chosen, but they were all practiced killers who were famous even outside the sect. The reason why people like this would be Dharma protectors for Xuemei actually had a lot to do with the fact that her father was Patriarch Limitless.

Song Junwan also had a formidable group gathered behind her, including Song Que. Most were direct bloodline clan members of the Song Clan.

All of Middle Peak's bloodstreak elders were gathered, as were many other ordinary cultivators. Once the trial by fire began, they would all be waiting for the new blood master to come out.

Several blurry figures could be seen floating up above, and from the pressure that weighed down from them, it was obvious that they were patriarchs of the sect.

There were four of them, two of whom Naruto had only seen once before, during the grand lich summoning ritual. The other two were more familiar; the Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Limitless.

When Naruto arrived, the Song Clan patriarch saw him and gave him a glare. Shivering, Naruto ducked his head and hurried over to Song Junwan.

As he did, Song Que looked at him and chuckled coldly. "You can't do anything right, can you? You even managed to show up late for the trial by fire. If you're scared of dying, why don't you just stay home!"

Yawning, Naruto looked over, making sure to drag his eyes slowly over Song Que's recently re-grown hair and eyebrows. "As naughty as ever, aren't we, Que'er?"

YOU!" Song Que growled through gritted teeth. Glaring at Naruto, he was about to say more when Song Junwan intervened with a cold snort.

"Enough!" she said. "Both of you shut your mouths. If you want to argue, I'll personally arrange for it to happen, after the trial by fire!"

Naruto blinked a few times. Considering the somewhat oppressive atmosphere at the moment, he decided not to say anything else.

Up in midair, the Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Limitless exchanged a bemused glance. Then, Patriarch Limitless looked over the crowd and said, "Let the trial by fire for the position of Middle Peak blood master… begin!"

Patriarch Limitless then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and waved his finger toward Blood Master Temple.

Blood Master Temple began to rumble, and then a huge crevice opened up in the square outside the temple. Strong blood qi erupted out, along with intense, pulsing coldness and blinding blood-colored light. It almost looked like an enormous mouth ready to consume anything that came near.

However, closer inspection would reveal that the blood-colored light was anything but ordinary. It was possible to see other worlds inside of that light; apparently, if you stepped inside of it, you would be sucked into one of those blood-colored worlds.

The instant the crevice opened, one of Xuemei's Dharma protectors stepped forward, his cold eyes radiating killing intent. After looking over derisively at the people gathered behind Song Junwan, he stepped into the crevice and vanished.

One after another, all of Xuemei's Dharma protectors stepped forward and entered the crevice. Last to enter was Xuemei, who cast a cold glare at Song Junwan and her group before vanishing.

As the others were stepping into the crevice, Song Junwan lowered her voice and gave her Dharma protectors more information about the Endless World of Blood.

"The first stage of the blood master trial by fire is called the Endless World of Blood!

"Xuemei and I will not be able to pass through the first stage. It is only for you Dharma protectors….

"The body of the Blood Ancestor is a place that not just anyone can enter. The first stage tests the qualifications of the Dharma protectors that the two of us have selected. It will also determine exactly how many Dharma protectors will be able to proceed to the second stage!

"In order to enter the body of the Blood Ancestor, you have to become one with him. Although he is dead, there are still parts of him which contain life force. You must convince those living systems within the Blood Ancestor that you are one of them. Only then can you avoid being expelled.

"Within that crevice are numerous worlds, each one of which can only be entered by two people at a time. Xuemei's Dharma protectors have taken the initiative to select which worlds they will go into. As for you all, when you enter the crevice, you will automatically be dragged into one of those worlds with them!

"Once inside, you and the other Dharma protector will vie for the approval of the world. Those who succeed will be able to proceed to the second stage. Those who fail will be ejected. Not only must you be on guard against Xuemei's Dharma protectors, you must also watch out for the bloodbeasts within the world. They aren't intelligent, but they are completely and utterly bloodthirsty!

"I'll be waiting for you at the entrance to the second stage!" With that, she clasped hands and bowed to the assembled group. Song Que nodded back at her, his expression somber. Then he looked at Nightcrypt, snorted coldly, and strode over to the crevice. Moments later, he was gone, and the rest of the group began to enter.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Naruto gritted his teeth and leapt into the crevice.

Almost instant, a beam of blood-colored light swept over him, and he felt a massive force tugging at him. He completely lost control of his own body as he was sucked into the light.

Although the light didn't necessarily seem impressive from the outside, once it wrapped around him, he felt as if he were floating in a huge sea. As he was sucked along, he moved toward the end of that sea, where he saw an enormous, blood-colored sphere.

There were other spheres visible, all of which had people floating toward them. As the people neared the spheres, they were swallowed up.

Naruto was frightened, and looked away from the all the spheres. However, it was in that moment that something strange occurred. All of the blood spheres suddenly trembled, and then sent out even more blood-colored light, all of which shone onto Naruto.

Naruto wasn't sure if he was mistaken or not, but it almost seemed as if the blood spheres all wanted to be able to select him in particular.

There were even some blood spheres which were empty, having not been selected by any of Xuemei's Dharma protectors, which were also quivering, as if with anticipation.

Naruto felt his nervousness mounting, but before he could react, the first blood sphere to have reached out to him seemed to go mad. Before he could get close, it actually flew toward him, then slammed into him, seemingly delighted.

Naruto's vision went black, and he was sucked into the body of the sphere. When things began to clear up, he found himself in a strange world.

The sky was the color of the blood, the ground was the color of blood, everything was the color of blood, even the mountains and the plants.

"So weird," he thought, looking around vigilantly. The more he considered what had occurred, the stranger it seemed. After some thought, he decided it must have had something to do with his Undying Live Forever Technique.

"Could it be that I'm like a god in this place, and that's why all the blood spheres seemed to go crazy?" His eyes turned up in thought, and he cleared his throat. Then he cast his senses about, and was sure that he could sense the presence of a powerful will, a will that seemed filled with desire, something that was calling out to him.

"One of Xuemei's Dharma protectors is also in this place. I need to be careful. All of them are in late Foundation Establishment." He looked around again, vigilance mounting as he flew up into the air.

The more he flew along, the stranger things seemed. It was almost like he didn't need to use any cultivation base power to fly. The wind simply carried him along….

He didn't even see any bloodbeasts, to the point where he started wondering if they even existed here.

—

Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Chapter 243: Nightcrypt, I'm Jia Lie, And You're Dead!

The entire world, including the sky and the land, was the color of blood. Plants, trees, mountains; everything was crimson as far as the eye could see.

Off in the distance was a blood-colored desert, and the very end of which was an oasis which was also the color of blood, that led to an ocean.

In the middle of that ocean was a mountain, the peak of which pierced the clouds.

That mountain was where the will of the world was located, and whichever cultivator climbed it first would win the approval and blessing of the world. That person would then be able to leave, with the approval of the Blood Ancestor, and qualified to enter the second stage.

There were countless worlds inside of the Blood Ancestor, but Xuemei and Song Junwan had both brought twenty Dharma protectors. Of the total of forty Dharma protectors, in the end, only twenty would be qualified to proceed.

Obviously, the number of Dharma protectors who Xuemei and Song Junwan ended up with would determine who had the advantage in the second stage.

Xuemei's Dharma protectors had entered the crevice first, and the one who had selected this particular world was a gaunt, middle-aged man with cold eyes. His cultivation base fluctuations were those of late Foundation Establishment, and overall, he looked like a viper ready to strike at any moment. Clearly, whoever, ended up in his sights would likely end up dead.

This man was Jia Lie, and in terms of battle prowess, he could be considered among the top three in Xuemei's group of Dharma protectors. He was completely and utterly confident of being able to dominate any of Song Junwan's Dharma protectors, with the exception of one or two.

Although he appeared to be middle-aged, he was actually over a hundred years old. However, because of the unique techniques he cultivated, his fleshly body was at the ultimate peak. Furthermore, he'd been able to add a full sixty-year-cycle to his longevity during his Foundation Establishment trial by fire. He had reached five Tideflows, had an incredibly powerful cultivation base, and was an adept killer.

"This world is like a Blessed Land for me!" he thought, looking off into the distance. He was currently gripping a blood-colored sea snake by the head. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't free himself, and if Jia Lie wanted to, he could crush it to death in an instant.

Jia Lie completely ignored the snake as he looked at the towering mountain not too far off in the distance. He already felt somewhat amused by this first stage of the trial by fire for blood master. He'd only just arrived in the huge world, and yet, he was already relatively close to the location of the world's will.

The reflection of the vast ocean and the towering mountain could be seen in his eyes, as well as the pulsing fluctuations which spread out from the mountain.

"Even if Song Junwan's Dharma protector gets lucky, there's no way he could get as close as I am. I might as well just take control of the will of this world right now. I won't even need to kill the other Dharma protector. I wonder who it is. Nightcrypt maybe…?" He chuckled coldly. Originally, he had planned to kill Song Junwan's Dharma protector and then earn the approval of the will of the world. But now it seemed that might not be necessary.

Blurring into motion, he sped out over the blood-colored ocean, quickly closing in on the cloud-wreathed mountain. He proceeded along with caution, and as such, wasn't taken by surprise when an intense roaring sound shook everything in the area. A moment later, a huge bloodcolored dragon sped out from the other side of the mountain, fixed its eyes on Jia Lie, and then sped toward him rapidly. It was more than 30

meters long, and bristled with a murderous aura.

A sense of intense crisis gripped Jia Lie, and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. Eyes widening, he exclaimed, "Impossible! How could a bloodbeast like that be in this place? Foundation Establishment cultivators can't fight something like that!"

Even as he gasped in shock, more roars could be heard, and the auras of more bloodbeasts exploded from the vicinity of the mountain.

Something like a powerful wind blasted out, causing the blood ocean to churn and seethe. Moments later, countless murderous eyes appeared beneath the surface of the water. There were so many that anyone who saw them would be shocked.

Before Jia Lie could proceed any further, the bloodbeasts beneath the surface of the water joined the bloodbeasts from the mountain to attack him.

The sheer number of bloodbeasts Jia Lie saw caused his scalp to tingle in shock and fear. Not daring to proceed, he actually fell back. After he retreated by about 3,000 meters, the enormous dragon slowly turned around, the auras of the other bloodbeasts slowly faded, and even the creatures beneath the surface of the water disappeared.

Jia Lie's face was covered with sweat, and his breath came in ragged pants. Despite the supreme confidence he had in his cultivation base, to be stared at by so many bloodbeasts left him scared out of his mind. After a bit of time passed, he frowned anxiously.

"With so many bloodbeasts here, it won't be easy to go any further. I guess I'll just need to wait for the right opportunity to present itself before I move onward…." Gritting his teeth, he backed up a bit more, and then found a place to conceal himself and let time pass.

During the seven days which followed, he saw quite a few bloodbeasts coming and going. Finally, the killing intent in his eyes flared.

"Forget it. Things aren't going to change here any time soon. Instead of waiting around, I might as well go find Song Junwan's Dharma protector and kill him. Then I'll have plenty of time to wait around. Maybe if I'm lucky, my opponent will be Nightcrypt, and I can save a bit of effort by getting rid of him now!" Looking at the ocean of blood which stretched out behind him, he chuckled coldly.

Being an adept killer, he was naturally a skilled hunter as well. He had keen senses, and although the world he was in was large, he was confident that with his cultivation base, it would be no difficult task for him to track down the other Dharma protector.

Blurring into motion, he flew off to begin the search.

Before he got very far, though, the sea down below seethed, and a huge bloodbeast burst out from the depths. It had the torso of a human and the tail of a fish, and as soon as it appeared, it attacked Jia Lie with bloodthirsty violence.

After a short battle, Jia Lie killed the bloodbeast and proceeded along. However, before he could get very far, two more bloodbeasts burst out from the water to attack him….

Meanwhile, Naruto was flying through the air, marveling at how strange and quiet the world was. Despite having been flying along for a few days, he hadn't seen a single bloodbeast. Everything around him seemed to be completely empty.

He didn't even need to use his cultivation base. The wind simply pushed him along. Of course, the strangeness of the situation put him more on guard than ever.

"Something really weird is going on with this place," he thought. "And where is Xuemei's Dharma protector? I wonder if he set up an ambush for me since he got here first." He continued to look around vigilantly as he proceeded. Eventually, he reached the desert.

By that time, Jia Lie was fleeing in terror across the blood ocean, chased by several thousand maddened bloodbeasts. His face was pale white, and his expression was that of terror.

"Dammit! Why are there so many bloodbeasts? I didn't provoke them, and yet they're showing up one after another! They're like a flood!"

Before long, the tenth day passed. The more time that passed, the more Naruto felt as if something really strange were going on. He still hadn't even seen the slightest trace of a bloodbeast, but distinctly recalled Song Junwan saying such bloodthirsty creatures existed here. At this point, he was starting to wonder what exactly was going on.

Eventually, he caught sight of the end of the desert, with the bloodcolored oasis and the blood-colored ocean. His astonishment grew, as did his caution.

By now, Jia Lie's hair was disheveled, his skin sallow, and his eyes bloodshot. At long last, he burst out of the ocean region and into the oasis. After numerous dangerous encounters, he had finally made it out alive.

When he thought back to everything that had occurred in the ocean, he was filled with a sense of awe and dread regarding the world around him.

"It's a good thing I had all those life-saving magics and items, otherwise

I probably would have died. However, if things were that difficult for me, then it's probably the same with Song Junwan's Dharma protector. In fact, maybe he already got eaten by the bloodbeasts." He looked back out at the ocean, heart still thumping with fear. Just when he was about to sit down and rest, his heart trembled, and he looked off into the distance, where a beam of light could be seen flying lazily through the air.

"Hmm?" A cold light flashed through Jia Lie's eyes, and he quickly reigned in the power of his cultivation base. At the same time, he produced a pearl, which let out a soft, warm light that completely concealed his aura.

Unless he suddenly unleashed the power of his cultivation base, that pearl would make it almost impossible to detect him. It was one of the life-saving items that had enabled him to make it out of the ocean of blood alive. After activating it, he stood there unmoving, looking up into the sky.

"Nightcrypt? Hahaha! It's really him!" Eyes flashing with killing intent, he began to chuckle. Although Nightcrypt was very famous, Jia Lie felt nothing but disdain for him. "So what if you can concoct some medicine and please the patriarchs? You really think you're a Chosen? Even with your Inverse Blood Ancestral Awakening, you're only in mid Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment. I can kill you as easily as flipping over my hand. By cutting you down, I can accomplish the mission assigned to me by the blood master of Lesser Marsh Peak!"

Completely calm and confident, he pulled in his murderous aura and decided to wait for the right moment to attack.

Naruto proceeded along cautiously. He didn't move very fast, and kept his divine sense spread out in all directions. As he got close to the blood-colored oasis, he was about to fly over it, when he looked down. Although he hadn't opened his third eye, his intuition told him that the place harbored danger. Without the slightest hesitation, he backed up. "Hmm?" Jia Lie was surprised that Nightcrypt would have such acute senses. He gave a cold laugh. Considering how powerful his own cultivation base was, he decided that there was no need to hide any longer. He leaped up into the air, shooting directly toward Nightcrypt, his murderous aura exploding around him.

"Nightcrypt, I'm Jia Lie, and you're dead!" Laughing loudly, he shot forth accompanied by rumbles like that of thunder. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his finger, causing a huge bloodcolored hand to appear, which sped directly toward Naruto.

—

Chapter 244

Chapter 244

Chapter 244: Pure Malice

Naruto's eyes widened. Jia Lie had stuck out among Xuemei's Dharma protectors earlier, so he recognized him. His attack burst with powerful energy, and it only took a moment for Naruto to realize that this was a formidable opponent.

"Your cultivation base is higher than mine, but you were lying in wait to ambush me!?" he exclaimed loudly. "How shameless! Despicable! I hate your type! People like you should be struck by lightning!" Naruto was very angry, and was just about to unleash an attack, when suddenly his eyes widened with disbelief. Jia Lie likewise was completely astonished by what happened next.

Almost as soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, Jia Lie had laughed in response, and sent his blood-colored hand shooting forward.

But then, without any warning whatsoever, a deafening boom filled the sky, and a bolt of lightning appeared, as thick as a bucket. Before Jia Lie even had a chance to react, it slammed into him.

As the boom echoed out, Naruto's jaw dropped. Jia Lie cried out in alarm, and the blood-colored hand was destroyed. Before Naruto could do anything, a second lightning bolt appeared, then a third and a fourth, all of which shot directly toward Jia Lie.

Jia Lie screamed at the top of his lungs as the lightning smashed into him, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. At the same time, a look of utter incredulity could be seen on his face.

"What's going on!?" he bellowed in rage, simultaneously backing up as fast as possible. "What divine ability is this, Nightcrypt?!" Then he glanced up into the sky, and his scalp almost exploded from shock when he realized that a whole string of lightning bolts had appeared, over a hundred of them, and they were all beginning to descend toward him.

"No!" Jia Lie screamed miserably and abandoned any thoughts of tangling with Naruto at the moment. He slapped the top of his head, causing an ancient, dilapidated buckler to pop out of his mouth, which provided a modicum of protection as he fled.

However, the more than one hundred lightning bolts continued to slam down, and although the buckler managed to block them, Jia Lie was still left coughing up blood. The last dozen or so lightning bolts were too much for the shield, which shattered. Coughing up more blood, Jia Lie withered visibly. At that point, he pulled out a paper talisman, which he ignited, increasing his speed dramatically. With that, he sped off into the distance.

Naruto hovered there, jaw hanging open. He hadn't even had a chance to unleash an attack. All he'd done was say something.

It was a completely shocking and unfathomable scene. In the mere moments in which Jia Lie closed in on him, he was struck by over a hundred bolts of lightning, and then fled with his tail between his legs. Despite that, Naruto chose to do the cautious thing and just let him run.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up into the sky, and then looked at Jia Lie fleeing into the distance. Blinking, he suddenly started to get excited.

"Could it be… could it be that, without even my knowledge, my cultivation base has reached the point where I can kill someone with a mere word?!" The idea excited him, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wasn't very likely. After some more thought, he decided that it was either a coincidence, or something to do with the Undying Live Forever Technique. In fact, he was actually hoping Jia Lie would show up again so that he could analyze the matter further.

Filled with curiosity and anticipation, he slowly flew out over the ocean of blood.

Meanwhile, some distance away from Naruto, Jia Lie finally came to a stop in an area close to the ocean

. He had blood dripping down his chin, and his eyes burned with madness. However, within that madness could be seen fear, and even terror. As of this moment, he was absolutely convinced that the lightning which had struck him was not one of Nightcrypt's divine abilities.

"How did he do it? Dammit! How exactly did he do it? How did he get so much lightning to strike me!?

"Wait, I know. Nightcrypt is also known as Plaguedevil. He's vicious and merciless, as well as a profound schemer. He must have realized that I planned to ambush him, then figured out a way to cause anyone who neared him to get struck by lightning!" Even after more thought, he decided that this was the only possible theory that made sense. Although he wasn't absolutely convinced, he was having a hard time coming up with other ideas.

"Maybe it had something to do with that oasis. The area where it borders the desert had some unstable fluctuations. Maybe my sudden appearance and the unleashing of my cultivation base disturbed some natural law. As an apothecary, Nightcrypt knows a lot more about those kinds of things than me. Maybe he took advantage of that to cause the lightning…." Jia Lie gritted his teeth, and his killing intent began to rise even higher than before.

"I refuse to believe that if I prepare well enough, you'll escape my next attack. I'm going to hack you to pieces! You'll die in complete and utter torment!" Jia Lie had never suffered in such unlucky fashion, and it took him quite a bit of time to calm down.

"I'm going to sacrifice a bit of my cultivation base to completely conceal my life force and aura. With that level of concealment, nobody in the Foundation Establishment stage will be able to detect me without getting within 300 meters of me!" He gritted his teeth, and suddenly his face turned red and his body withered. Then he began to slink forward stealthily.

It took him about three days to track down Naruto, who was currently flying around over the ocean. As he flew, his passage kicked up gentle waves, and yet, not a single bloodbeast could be seen anywhere. Naruto was actually very interested in what the bloodbeasts looked like, and yet, still hadn't had a chance to see one.

As he flew along, bored out of his mind, he suddenly noticed the air rippling and distorting about 300 meters to his left. Even as he turned his head, he saw Jia Lie suddenly materialize.

Jia Lie threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Eyes bloodshot, he summoned a blood mist that completely covered him and then transformed into a gigantic, vicious head that lunged toward Naruto as if to consume him.

"Time to die, Nightcrypt!" Considering how close he was, it only took a moment for the blood mist head to be just up ahead of Naruto.

Before Naruto could react, and before the blood mist head could actually reach him, brightly colored light flashed through heaven and earth, wind screamed, and rain began to pour down. Then, an indescribably powerful gale sprang up right in front of Naruto!

The wind even caused the ocean water to rise up in shocking fashion. It smashed into the blood mist head, which shuddered for a moment before exploding to reveal the screaming Jia Lie.

"Impossible! How are you doing this, Nightcrypt…?"

He was completely helpless as the mighty wind swept him away, shredding his clothing, ripping at his skin until blood flowed. In that critical moment, Jia Lie pulled out a life-saving magical item which teleported him away just before he was torn to pieces.

Naruto took a deep breath. Moments ago, he had only been about 60 meters away from Jia Lie, and yet the mighty wind and the surging ocean hadn't even moved a single hair on his head.

That 60-meter distance was like the gap between heaven and earth….

Naruto watched mutely as Jia Lie was swept away in terrifying fashion. If he didn't understand what was happening by this point, he wouldn't be Naruto.

"This world is protecting me? We're related because of the Undying Live Forever Technique, so it's helping me?" Moved, he looked around at the world, and was more convinced than ever that this was the case. Excited, he stuck his chin up and then swished his sleeve.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, can reduce measly

Foundation Establishment cultivators to ashes!"

The pride he felt cleansed him of any nervousness. With that, he flew in grand fashion up into the air, sighing emotionally. Meanwhile, quite a distance away, Jia Lie was coughing up mouthfuls of blood. By this point, he was on the verge of going crazy.

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" Enraged to the point of trembling, he simply couldn't accept the situation.

"First there was the lightning, and then that wind. Just how is Nightcrypt doing it all? Don't tell me this world is actually taking care of him?! I refuse to believe it! I refuse to accept it!" Then he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Eyes completely bloodshot, he looked down at his injured and damaged body, and was relieved to see that his bag of holding was still clutched tight in his right hand.

He put on a new set of clothing, killing intent surging. His hatred for Naruto had reached the point where he couldn't bear to live under the same sky as him. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a small statue out of his bag of holding.

The statue depicted an evil ghost, completely vicious in appearance. After a moment of hesitation, Jia Lie bit the tip of his tongue and spit some blood onto the statue. The statue immediately melted, transforming into a black liquid that then took the shape of a magical symbol, which flew up and branded itself onto Jia Lie's forehead.

Jia Lie shuddered, then let out a piercing cry as the magical symbol spread out from his forehead, transforming into a black suit of armor. In the blink of an eye, the armor covered his entire body, healing his wounds, and causing his gaunt figure to suddenly ripple with muscles. Closer inspection would reveal that the transformation was party corporeal and party illusory.

"The Lesser Marsh Peak blood master gave me this Ghost Body. It will temporarily restore my cultivation base, and even advance it a bit! Nightcrypt's bizarre abilities won't do any good against the Ghost Body. I already understand his lightning, and although I don't really get that wind, I can now attack him from under the water! Plus, the Ghost Body can pass right through the wind!

"Nightcrypt, I refuse to believe that this world is taking care of you. And even if it is, I can defy the heavens and kill you!" Gritting his teeth, he reigned in his cultivation base and then dove down into the water, where he sped along at top speed.

—

Chapter 245

Chapter 245

Chapter 245: This Isn't Fair!

Three days later, Naruto was still flying around over the blood ocean. He could sense that, off in the distance, there were strange fluctuations which were obviously coming from the location of the world's will.

"I wonder why that Jia Lie hasn't shown up over the past few days?" Naruto actually missed him a bit. Every time he showed up, it was a chance to see how the world would protect him.

Because of his anticipation, he made sure to fly along even more slowly than usual. On the evening of the third day, when the blood-colored sky was starting to grow dark, the sea water beneath Naruto suddenly exploded with a shocking aura. Water showered up into the air, along with raging killing intent and a powerful roar.

"Prepare to die, Nightcrypt!" It was a voice filled with indescribable hatred, and along with it, a black-armored figure appeared. It was Jia Lie, who seemed to flicker between corporeal and illusory. As he flew out of the water, he rapidly increased his speed, shooting directly toward Naruto.

All of the power of Jia Lie's late Foundation Establishment cultivation base exploded out. That, coupled with the boost provided by the Ghost Body armor, put him incomparably close to the great circle of

Foundation Establishment, and caused intense pressure to weigh down

in all directions.

Naruto was delighted, and as Jia Lie closed in, he stuck his chin up and waved his sleeve. Pointing at Jia Lie, he said, "Back off!"

To see Naruto posing in such a way enraged Jia Lie even more, and caused him to accelerate even more rapidly. By this point, he was already about 9 meters away from Naruto, and not even a lightning bolt could intervene quickly enough to stop him. As far as he was concerned, Nightcrypt was going to die, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Mouth twisting into a vicious smile, he cried, "Like hell I'll–"

However, before he could even finish his sentence, a blood-colored hand suddenly shot up from the sea down below. It moved with indescribable quickness, forming a palm that slapped Jia Lie like a human would a mosquito.

A resounding smack could be heard. Jia Lie's black armor shattered, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. The bitterness of his scream would shock to the core anyone who could have heard it.

"No!" Despairing, Jia Lie coughed up a mouthful of blood as he tumbled away. His body was already on the verge of exploding, and his recently recovered cultivation base power was instantly damaged. He was now weaker than ever….

Naruto gasped and blinked a few times as the enormous blood hand sank back down into the water. As Jia Lie spun away off into the distance, Naruto's expression turned into one of admiration.

"You're really persistent, aren't you?" Sighing, he proceeded along, looking forward to the next time Jia Lie showed up….

Off in the distance, Jia Lie hovered above the ocean water, looking confused, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes. Throughout all his years of cultivation, he had always shed blood, never tears. And yet, here he was, crying.

In his perspective, this world was completely and utterly evil. All he wanted to do was kill Nightcrypt! As a result, he had been struck by lightning, flayed by wind, and then slapped by some terrifying bloodbeast.

By this point, he was starting to think that it would take a miracle for him to get out of this place alive.

"My cultivation base is higher than his! I've been in the Blood Stream Sect for much longer! Why is this world treating me like this!?" Tears continued to flow down his cheeks. From the moment he had entered this world, he had felt like he was in

a living nightmare.

By this point, he was completely and utterly terrified of Nightcrypt, and couldn't have been convinced by anybody to try to provoke him. Furthermore, he completely hated the blood master of Lesser Marsh

Peak, as well as Xuemei. The only reason he was here was because of

Xuemei. Otherwise, he would never have been forced to tangle with

Nightcrypt, nor would he have accepted the mission from the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master. He wouldn't have attempted to kill Nightcrypt so many times, and wouldn't have ended up in this state, targeted by the very world around him.

"This isn't fair!" Jia Lie was actually quite close to the mountain peak, and the will of the world. However, there were so many bloodbeasts on the mountain that he obviously had no hope of even getting near it.

As Jia Lie despaired, Naruto was flying casually through the air some distance away. Looking at the mountain in front of him, he felt the strong sensation that all he had to do was head up to the top of the mountain, and he would be able to pass the first stage of the trial by fire.

However, even as he closed in, the same huge dragon from before stuck its head out from behind the mountain and stared at Naruto. At the same time, countless terrifying auras surged out from the mountain itself, locking down onto Naruto. Apparently, if he got any closer, all of those bloodbeasts would charge into action.

Naruto stopped in place. Earlier, he'd only caught a glimpse of that huge hand, but now that he could actually see the bloodbeasts face to face, he realized that they looked very much like the kind of wild beasts you might see in the outside world. The only difference was that they were completely the color of blood. Actually, they seemed similar to banebeasts in certain ways.

Unexpectedly, the bloodbeasts were looking at Naruto with animosity, which caused the despairing Jia Lie to suddenly go wild with joy. Panting, his eyes widened, and hope gleamed therein.

"He can't get onto the mountain either!" Jia Lie exclaimed excitedly. At last, his chance had arrived. Quickly covering up his aura, he fixed his eyes on Naruto and began to search for another opportunity to snatch victory.

Naruto felt a headache coming on as he looked at the mountain full of bloodbeasts. After a moment of hesitation, he decided that the best thing to do would be to test out how much the world would protect him. Having made his decision, he carefully proceeded forward. If the bloodbeasts reacted too violently, then he could always retreat.

He slowly got closer and closer, until he actually stepped onto the mountain itself. That was when he really started to get nervous. However, the nervousness quickly began to fade as he realized that the bloodbeasts were just looking at him, and none of them were moving to block his path.

Joy rising, he began to stroll forward, completely unhindered. Meanwhile, Jia Lie hovered over the ocean, eyes wide with shock.

Moments later, a thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes, and then hesitation, and finally, an intense glowing light.

"I get it now! Although there are a lot of bloodbeasts here, as long as you don't exude any killing intent, the bloodbeasts won't interfere. That's definitely how to do it!

"For example, here I am floating on the surface of the ocean, right next to the mountain, and yet none of the bloodbeasts under the water are attacking me. It's obviously because I have no killing intent!" Jia Lie still felt a bit hesitant and unconvinced. However, if he gave up at this point, his newfound hope would be dashed. Therefore, he clenched his jaw and flew up into the air with an expression of determination. Making sure he had no killing intent, he proceeded forward with the utmost caution.

Soon he was nearing the mountain, and the numerous bloodbeasts turned their gazes upon him. Jia Lie stopped in place, scalp tingling, limbs trembling. However, he forced a smile onto his face.

"No ill will here!" he said. "I'm just passing through…."

However, in the instant he opened his mouth, the enormous, bloodcolored dragon suddenly howled, flying up into the air and then charging down toward Jia Lie. At the same time, the countless other bloodbeasts erupted with murderous auras and flew toward Jia Lie.

Eyes snapped open down in the ocean water, and countless bloodcolored giants rose up from the depths, howling as they surrounded Jia Lie.

Jia Lie let out a bloodcurdling scream, and tears streamed down his face.

"This isn't fair! You're cheating!" Jia Lie wept at how the world around him was toying with him. As the bloodbeasts pounced, his screams echoed out far and wide.

Naruto's heart was trembling. The sudden outburst among the bloodbeasts had startled him so much that he almost took to flight. But then he realized that the bloodbeasts were merely attacking Jia Lie.

He had been worried about Jia Lie in the beginning, but after realizing his own importance to the world around him, he stopped paying much attention to him. However, as of this moment, he started to feel a bit bad.

When he heard Jia Lie accusing him of cheating, he coughed dryly, but didn't attempt to make any explanations. After all, Jia Lie was actually right…. After arriving in this world, he hadn't done a single thing except fly around.

Even on the mountain, the bloodbeasts just let him pass by….

Naruto really felt that the world had treated him well. Looking back down at Jia Lie amidst the bloodbeasts, he considered throwing an Aphrodisiac Pill down….

"Ah, I shouldn't. I'm a good person, after all." Sighing, he proceeded on toward the peak of the mountain, where he found a stone stele, which emanated pulsing light that seemed to be calling to him.

After some thought, he approached the stele and placed his hand onto its surface. Instantly, his divine sense seemed to spread out to fill the entire world….

It was as if the world had somehow become a part of him….

In that moment, the blood ocean began to seethe, the sands of the desert floated up into the air, the sky trembled, and the lands quaked. Plants, mountains, everything in the world began to shake with joy, with approval, with worship!

The bloodbeasts kowtowed, roaring as they acknowledged allegiance to Naruto standing there on the mountain….

His life having been spared, Jia Lie trembled and looked up at Naruto, and knew that he would never, ever be able to forget this experience, nor the image of Nightcrypt standing there like the emperor of the entire world!

—

Chapter 246

Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Second Stage

This was Jia Lie's first time serving as a Dharma protector in a trial by fire for blood master. As such, he was completely unaware of what others who were participating in the trial might have encountered in the worlds they entered.

However, he was convinced that his experience was completely unlike the experiences of anyone else. In fact, he had the feeling that throughout all the trials by fire the Blood Stream Sect had held from ancient times until now, no one had ever done what Nightcrypt was doing.

He had no way to confirm whether his theory was correct, but when he looked around at the world trembling, and all the livings things prostrating in worship to Naruto, he impulsively followed suit.

As Naruto stood there on the mountain top, he was suddenly struck by the strange sensation that he could actually destroy the entire world with a single thought.

As of this moment, his Undying Live Forever Technique was in full operation, and after a moment passed, he realized there was a voice whispering in his ear.

"Come… come… come…."

Snapping out of his reverie, his eyes shone, and he took a deep breath.

Then he pulled his hand back from the stone stele. Everything in the world began to shine with bright, blood-colored light, which all shot toward Naruto, surrounding him.

The crimson light transformed into a door, which slowly opened right in front of him.

He looked at the door hesitantly for a moment, aware that if he stepped through it, he would be able to enter the second stage. Looking around at the world one more time, he stepped forward and vanished into the blood-colored light.

At some unknown location within the body of the Blood Ancestor, there was an open space that seemed to have no beginning or end, and was as quiet as death. The only thing visible were numerous cone-shaped pillars which rose up from the darkness below.

At the top of each pillar was a platform.

Two of those platforms were much taller than the others, but not very far away from each other. Xuemei was on one, and Song Junwan the other. Both of them sat cross-legged, staring at each other.

They had been sitting there for less than two hours. Because of the command medallion each of them possessed, they didn't need to acquire the approval of the Blood Ancestor the way the Dharma protectors did. They had come directly to this place to wait.

Time flowed differently in the Endless World of Blood. In the two hours that had passed for Xuemei and Song Junwan, an entire month had gone by inside.

Based on the analyses of both women, they would need to wait several more hours before any of the Dharma protectors began to emerge. In any case, the second stage of the trial by fire could not begin until both women used their command medallions to open it. Neither of them would be willing to do that until their Dharma protectors were all accounted for.

The two of them had been exchanging barbs back and forth the entire time, and after a short respite, it was Xuemei who resumed the conversation. Chuckling coldly, she said, "Song Junwan, why fight with me over the blood master position, considering how old you are? Is it really true that the Song Clan couldn't find anyone better, and was forced to let an old woman champion their cause?"

Song Junwan frowned, and she was just about to respond in kind when suddenly, her expression flickered, and she looked up into the air. Xuemei also looked up, her pupils constricting.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the shape of a huge door slowly took form.

"Someone got the approval of the world will so quickly!?" Xuemei thought. "It's only been two hours! That's about a month in the Endless World of Blood!" Xuemei's eyes w

idened, and her heart filled with shock. She was very familiar with how the blood master trial by fire worked. Supposedly, the most quickly a Dharma protector had ever obtained approval in the past was three hours, which was a month and a half on the inside.

"Who is it…?" Song Junwan thought, equally shaken. "Who overcame the other Dharma protector in the Endless World of Blood, dealt with the countless bloodbeasts, and still managed to get the approval of the will of the world? The fighting must have been intense for this person to have finished so quickly!" Whoever this person was, if it ended up being one of her own Dharma protectors, she would obviously be thrilled. However, if it was one of Xuemei's Dharma protectors, that would pose a big obstacle in her attempt to win the position of blood master.

After mentally reviewing all of her Dharma protectors, she couldn't think of any who could pull off such a feat. As such, her expression began to darken.

And yet, Xuemei had the same reaction. As she reviewed her own list of Dharma protectors, she wasn't confident that any of them could do something like this. Along with Song Junwan, she stared up at the illusory door.

A moment later, a blurry figure appeared within the door. It only took a few breaths of time for both women to see exactly who it was, and they both cried out in surprise.

"Nightcrypt!"

"Nightcrypt!?"

Xuemei's eyes flickered with killing intent, and her heart trembled with shock. She couldn't imagine how Nightcrypt had possibly acquired the approval of the world will so quickly.

After her initial shock, Song Junwan's heart swelled with delight, and her beautiful eyes were glued to Naruto.

When Naruto first stepped out of the door, his vision was swimming, and he couldn't see clearly. It only lasted for a moment, though, and then he saw all of the countless platforms around him, as well as Xuemei and Song Junwan.

"Junior Brother Nightcrypt, come on over here," Song Junwan said, smiling. Her voice was full of both tenderness and joy.

Xuemei snorted coldly, clenching her hands into fists.

Naruto blinked a few times, then headed over to Song Junwan. As soon as he touched down onto the platform, he walked over to her side.

"Um… I'm the first?" he asked quizzically.

"Of course you are," Song Junwan said, smiling sweetly. "How did you do it? Who was your opponent?"

To Naruto, her smile only seemed to reveal her inner vixen. However, he didn't allow his true feelings to show. He stuck his chin up, clasped his hands behind his back, and tried to look as proud and murderous as possible.

"Oh, it was simple," he said in a calm, deep voice. "I just walked through the world. As for my opponent, I never asked his name." From his wording and posture, he seemed completely proud and aloof. As for how he called the Endless World of Blood "simple," both Xuemei and Song Junwan could well imagine him summoning his blood sword and slashing his way through the world….

He likely ignored the countless attacking bloodbeasts, not even deigning to look at the world around him as he slaughtered his way to gain the approval of the world will.

Song Junwan's eyes glowed even more brightly before when she looked at Naruto, and as for Xuemei, she couldn't help but stare at him. Moments later, both women realized that he wasn't wounded at all, and their expressions flickered.

Just when Song Junwan was about to ask about it, Naruto flicked his sleeve and coolly said, "I'm tired. Please let me know when the second stage is about to begin." With that, he walked off to the side, where he sat down cross-legged, looking as arrogant as a wizened pine tree on top of a mountain. When he closed his eyes, his cold, cruel face and murderous aura caused Song Junwan's words to stick in her throat.

Inwardly, Naruto was laughing, and felt very proud of himself. As far as he was concerned, he was completely outstanding and utterly superior to everyone.

"Wait, I need to do something to make it seem a bit more realistic," he thought. With that, he slowly lifted his head and looked off into the distance, eyes filling with a look of melancholy and introspection.

That left Song Junwan and Xuemei even more shaken, although they weren't sure exactly what it meant.

Time passed. Two hours later, the air up above once again began to ripple and distort, and the door appeared again. A burly, dangerouslooking man appeared, seemingly out of breath as he emerged into the open. As soon as Xuemei saw him, she broke out into a smile. The burly man clasped hands and bowed to her in greeting, then approached the platform and sat down next to her. When he saw Naruto over on the other platform, his heart filled with shock.

He had assumed that he would be the first to emerge, and would never have even guessed that Nightcrypt would be faster.

As the hours passed, more and more Dharma protectors appeared. Song Que was one of them, although he looked exhausted, and his body was riddled with wounds. Clearly, it had been a difficult task for him to win the approval of the world will.

Ten hours later, the final Dharma protector appeared, and the first stage was officially over.

Both Song Junwan and Xuemei had selected their Dharma protectors carefully, and all of them were extraordinary in some way.

Unexpectedly, the two groups had been quite evenly matched, as there were now exactly ten Dharma protectors on either side.

The two women exchanged a frosty glance, and then both of them snorted coldly. Turning to their Dharma protectors, they began to explain the second stage.

"During the first stage," Song Junwan began, "you Dharma protectors fought for the approval of the world, and I did not participate. In the second stage, the fighting will be more brutal, and I will participate!

"The second stage is called the Blood Wasteland. It is a road without end, over which a deathly wind blows every fourteen hours. Once that wind blows, every living thing within the Blood Wasteland will be killed, reduced to nothing more than a skeleton.

"That is the path that leads to the heart cavity. Put simply, we have exactly fourteen hours to search the Blood Wasteland for the keys which lead to the heart cavity!" Off in the distance, Xuemei was making a similar explanation to her Dharma protectors.

"Every two hours, a key will appear at a random location within the wasteland. Anyone who gets one of the keys, and holds onto it until the fourteen hours have passed, will be teleported to the Ancient Blood Path which leads to the heart cavity. Of course, Xuemei and I don't need keys to enter the Ancient Blood Path.

"There are a total of seven keys, which means that only seven Dharma protectors can enter the Ancient Blood Path with Xuemei and myself!"

Naruto's expression flickered, as did the expressions of everyone else except for Song Que. One of them, a middle-aged cultivator, lowered his voice and asked, "What about the people who don't get a key?"

Song Junwan looked at the man for a moment, and then replied, "We are fighting as a team, and whichever party gets the most keys will be the winner. The disciples on the winning team who don't get keys will be not be teleported to the Ancient Blood Path, but neither will they be killed. They will simply be ejected.

"As for the losing team, whoever among them don't get keys will all be killed after the fourteen hours are up! Those are the rules, and not even the patriarchs can interfere to save the losers!

"Therefore, this is not the time for infighting! If a key falls into the hands of one of Xuemei's Dharma protectors, feel free to attack them. If your own teammates get them, however, you are prohibited from competing amongst yourselves!

"Infighting will not only increase our chances of losing, it could also lead to your deaths….

"The lot of you are either members of the Song Clan, or here because of certain promises I made. If I become blood master, your future prospects will be limitless. Everything that I have promised you, I will see done. If I lose, and Xuemei succeeds, then all of us will meet a grisly fate!" With that, Song Junwan clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto and the other Dharma protectors.

—

Chapter 247

Chapter 247

Chapter 247: What's That?

The ten Dharma protectors, Naruto included, all had different reactions to Song Junwan's words. As for Song Que, his expression darkened slightly, but other than that, didn't change much. Because of his position in the Song Clan, he actually knew more about the blood master trial by fire than most did.

After all, if he hadn't failed to reach Heaven-Dao Foundation

Establishment, he would have been the one taking the lead in this trial by fire. However, because he wasn't a match for Xuemei, the Song Clan had chosen Song Junwan as the one to vie for the Middle Peak blood master position which the clan had held for generations.

Because of how things had played out, Song Que was on the bad side of many of the older generation of the Song Clan. In turn, the rise of Nightcrypt had put even more pressure on him. That was especially true considering that Song Junwan had come to favor Nightcrypt. Song Que was left with few options.

The Song Clan had deep roots in the Blood Stream Sect, and had many direct bloodline clan members. Song Que was the face of the current generation of direct bloodline descendants, but that only meant that there were plenty of people hoping to see him fail miserably so that they could then replace him.

He needed to blaze a path for himself, to go all out with everything he had, to try to make sure his aunt succeeded. Only in that way would he be able to prove how valuable he was. That was also the only hope he had of eventually succeeding his aunt as blood master in the future.

Suppressing his revulsion for Nightcrypt, he was the first one to speak up after Song Junwan finished talking.

"I will do everything in my power to gain victory in the Blood Wasteland, and I will definitely not allow any infighting to occur. Grand Elder, please rest at ease. If anyone dares to cause problems, then if we get out alive, and that person also survives, then I'll teach him what it means to live a life worse than death!" Song Que's eyes shone with intense light, and were filled with killing intent.

As for the other Dharma protectors, they were left with little choice of what to do. In the Blood Stream Sect, cultivators loved to fight each other. But in this case, if they lost, they would all die. Therefore, they had to band together as a team to fight and defeat their opponents.

After a moment of silence, the Dharma protectors began to speak out.

"Grand Elder, as long as you can fulfill your promise, then I won't hesitate to put my life on the line!"

"The Song Clan has treated me well, and I'll definitely repay the favor!"

Already, they were less on guard against the people standing next to them.

Naruto was starting to get anxious, and couldn't help but feel that Song Junwan had conned him…. He had been aware that the trial by fire would be dangerous, but never could he have imagined that the danger would be completely out of his own control. If the entire team failed, he could end up dead….

Even as he was sighing inwardly, he suddenly realized that the whole group was looking at him. Without any hesitation he tilted his head back arrogantly, a cold look in his eyes as he said, "For Junwan, I would go through hell or high water! It's my duty!"

Strange looks could be seen on the faces of the other Dharma protectors, and Song Que gritted his teeth. However, he knew that he had no choice but to let go of his hatred for Nightcrypt. Snorting coldly, he looked away.

Song Junwan glanced at Naruto apologetically, but didn't offer any words of consolation. Instead, she offered one final warning.

"There are three people you need to be especially careful of. They are Yang Hongwu, Xiao Qing and Zhang Yun

shan! Of those three, Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan likely possess powerful magical items. As for Xiao Qing…." Her expression suddenly flickered with dread. "He should have reached Core Formation long ago, but hasn't…. In the past, he served as Patriarch Limitless' personal attendant!"

With that, she went on to give more details about the group of three cultivators.

Naruto's nervousness was mounting. About the same time that Song Junwan finished speaking, Xuemei also finished explaining matters to her Dharma protectors, who all seemed to be bursting with killing intent and murderous auras, and were looking over menacingly at Naruto and those around him.

Of course, Song Que took the lead in doing the same, and Naruto was more than happy to join in. Even back in the Spirit Stream Sect, he had participated in such staring contests.

"Hmmmph! I'm not afraid of anybody in competitions like these!" Although his eyes widened into a glare, he couldn't stop thinking about the three people Song Junwan had just described, and after finding them in the group, he fixed their facial features in his mind.

He would well imagine that he might run into them in the Blood Wasteland, and end up fighting bloody battles over the keys.

Only a total of seven people would be able to enter the third level, the Ancient Blood Path. Whoever those people ended up being, they would have a profound influence on who became blood master in the end.

At this point, Xuemei took a deep breath and said, "Shall we open the door, Song Junwan?"

She waved her right hand through the air, and a bright red light appeared in her palm, which flew out into the air in the form of a bloodcolored command medallion.

That command medallion instantly became the center of all attention. Even Naruto took a closer look. Both Xuemei and Song Junwan possessed such medallions, which not only let them bypass the first level, but ensured that they didn't need to get a key to enter the Ancient Blood Path.

"It's like all the decisions about this trial by fire were made behind closed doors, and everybody knows it…." Sighing, he looked over at Song Junwan. Song Junwan's eyes flashed as she also extended her right hand, causing the second blood-colored command medallion to appear in her palm.

Blood-colored light spread out from the two command medallions, flying up into the air above the platforms. As the light spread out, everything was bathed in crimson, and at the same time, the outline of a huge door appeared. As the door opened, pulses of heaven-shaking, earthshattering energy rolled out. Two beams of blood-colored light then shot toward Song Junwan and Xuemei, connecting with their command medallions and merging into their bodies.

"The second stage is starting. Follow me!" With that, Song Junwan flew into the air, followed closely behind by Song Que. The other Dharma protectors flew out into formation around Song Junwan, Naruto included, and the entire group shot toward the blood-colored door.

They managed to beat Xuemei into motion, and even as the eleven of them flew into the door, Xuemei and her group sped into motion behind them, transforming into beams of light that also shot toward the door.

Soon, not a single person could be seen on the platforms. The blood door slowly faded away, and within a few breaths of time, was gone.

The Blood Wasteland looked exactly as its name implied. It was a huge desert, filled with crimson sand and grit. Just looking around, it seemed like a completely barren wasteland.

Hot, screaming winds gusted, sending sand flying around everywhere. It seemed bleak and destructive, a place devoid of life.

Within the swirling deadliness of the desert sands, bleached bones were occasionally revealed, the remains of people who had died in previous trials by fire for the Middle Peak blood master position.

Naruto instantly sensed the aura of death which pervaded the entire area. Then he saw a nearby skeleton, and his pupils constricted.

He wasn't the only one who had such a reaction.

"After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the first key will appear," Song Junwan said. "Whenever a key appears, it will send a huge pillar of light up into the sky, a pillar of light that will not disappear, not even when the key is attained….

"Everyone split up. When that first pillar of light appears, head in that direction…. Remember, fighting each other over the keys is not allowed. Whoever gets it first must be offered protection by everyone else!

"I plan to offer myself up as bait to Xuemei. Knowing her deviousness, she won't wait until the Ancient Blood Path opens up before trying to kill some of you. She'll definitely start here, and will probably ask for help from her Dharma protectors to kill me!

"Even if she wasn't planning to do that, I'll try to goad her into it. If she did have that plan all along… well then, I think she'll be surprised at how things turn out. For the next fourteen hours, everything is up to you Dharma protectors!" With that, she flew off by herself.

Some distance away, she called out in a powerful voice that spread out in all directions, "Xuemei, do you dare to come out and fight me!?"

Not too far away from Naruto and his group, Xuemei and her team were just now appearing. When she heard Song Junwan's voice, her eyes flickered coldly.

"Don't worry about me," she said to her people. "You go get the keys. I'll handle Song Junwan!" With that, she flew in Song Junwan's direction.

It only took a moment before they were closing in on each other, eyes bursting with killing intent. Apparently, Patriarch Limitless and the Song Clan patriarch had reached an agreement. Song Junwan had a higher cultivation base, but didn't possess any spectacular precious treasures. As for Xuemei, her cultivation base wasn't quite as high, but she had many precious magical items, and was at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. As such, they were relatively evenly matched. In the blink of an eye, explosive combat was already underway.

As the two began to fight, booms filled the sky, rumbling out in all directions.

Everyone else looked on with serious expressions. Song Que was actually shocked that Song Junwan would be so daring. However, after only a moment of hesitation, he picked a direction and started flying. Everyone else followed suit, their admiration for Song Junwan growing.

Naruto blinked a few times as he watched Song Junwan, then quickly picked a direction and sped into motion.

"I never would have thought Song Junwan would put herself up as bait to get Xuemei to fight…. She must be well prepared for this. But then again, so must Xuemei. Presumably, it won't be easy to secure a complete victory in the second stage. I bet the two shrews are just trying to feel each other out." Shaking his head, he sped along, already having decided that no matter what happened, he would not try to fight for the first key.

"Let them fight over the first key, I don't care. Whoever gets it will have a bitter struggle keeping it until the end." Although this trial by fire didn't seem as intense as the Fallen Sword World, there was a time limit. Furthermore, the threat of death hung over everyone's heads. The fighting to come would surely result in bloody carnage.

"Hmmmmph! Whoever runs into one of those keys first is going to have some bad, bad luck. No… no wait, bad, horrific luck!" As he sped along, he pondered the best way to hide safely off in the distance. Occasionally, he would look around, sighing. That was when… all of sudden, right up ahead of him… a blood-colored light appeared.

"What's that?" he said, taken aback. Within the space of a few breaths of time, the light grew so intense it hurt his eyes to look at it. Then, it turned into a pillar that shot up into the sky.

—

Chapter 248

Chapter 248

Chapter 248: Get Away From Me, Stop Following Me!

Naruto's jaw dropped at the sight of the pillar of light, especially considering that floating right there in the middle of it was a key, right within arm's reach.

He took a deep breath. How could he ever have imagined that the random direction he picked to run in would turn out to be the exact location where the first key appeared?

Simultaneously, the appearance of the pillar of light caused Xuemei and

Song Junwan to stop fighting for a moment and look over. Also, the Dharma protectors from both sides, regardless of where they were, all stopped in place and looked over.

The people who had been selected as Dharma protector for this trial by fire were all outstanding individuals; obviously, they all knew that the first person to get one of the keys would automatically be put in a very difficult position. Every single one of them seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then they all started flying at top speed toward the light, bristling with murderous auras.

"Anybody who fights with me over that key had better not blame me for killing them!" Song Que howled, the battle prowess of eight Earthstring Tideflows surging around him.

"Everybody else might be afraid of you, but not me, Zhou Hua!"

"Snatch that blood key!" As the voices of the Dharma protectors rang out, it heralded the beginning of the fierce fighting that was destined to take place in the Blood Wasteland.

When Naruto heard the voices rising up, he shivered and said,

"Dammit! I gotta get out of here!"

By that point, more than a dozen figures were already heading in his direction. Naruto gasped and quickly began to back up.

However, the instant he began to move… to his complete and utter disbelief, the blood-colored key… began to move… straight toward him.

"Heavens, how could a key move!?" Naruto was about to cry. Currently, one of Xuemei's Dharma protectors was closing in, and as soon as he caught sight of the blood-colored key, his killing intent surged. Clearly, his first goal was not to get the key, it was to kill Naruto.

He was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, and held a bloodcolored greatsword in his hand.

When Naruto saw the man's deadly-looking blood sword, and his violent killing intent, it was obvious that the man wanted to kill him. Naruto immediately got angry. "Y-y-you're… you're pushing things too far! I just saw the key and didn't even touch it, and yet you're gonna try and kill me?!"

His eyes narrowed, flickering coldly. Although he hadn't fought much in the Blood Stream Sect, his battle prowess had increased to a dramatically terrifying level. Even as the sword slashed down toward him, he planted his right foot down onto the ground and then sprang forward with all the power he could muster. He instantly blurred into motion, leaving nothing for the sword to slash through other than afterimages. In the blink of an eye, he had bashed directly into Xuemei's Dharma protector.

It was none other than… the Mountain Shaking Bash!

It was backed by the power of Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment and three crystallized spiritual seas, which meant he was in mid Foundation Establishment. It was powered by the second level of the

Undying Heavenly King, the fleshly body strength of six berserk ghosts. The Mountain Shaking Bash was a secret magic of the Undying Codex, and when fueled by such multiple levels of incredible power, it ensured that Naruto was now like a vicious beast!

A bang rang out in all directions, low-pitched but shocking to the extreme. It was hard to imagine that a collision between two people would produce a sound as tragic as t

his.

Xuemei's Dharma protector screamed, and then blood spurted out of his mouth. Much of his body was already shattering, but that wasn't the end of things. His back bulged out, and his face turned violet as cracking sounds rang out from inside of him.

He began to spin backward through the air, his expression blank, his mind rapidly emptying.

At the same time, the dozens of other cultivators who were converging on the area looked on with tingling scalps as the Dharma protector who had just been bashed by Naruto… exploded!

Bones, flesh, and blood spattered in all directions, and the man's soul was transformed into ash!

Even as his scream continued to echo about, he was killed in body and soul!

In any other sect, what had just happened would have left everyone too stunned to do anything. But this was the Blood Stream Sect, and its cultivators were cruel and merciless. Xuemei's other Dharma protectors quickly overcame their shock, and three of their number were the first to fly toward Naruto.

Two of them were in late Foundation Establishment, and one of them was in the great circle. As they flew forward, three blood swords appeared, causing everything in the area to rumble. Most shocking among the group was one of the late Foundation Establishment cultivators, a middle-aged man with a long beard. Shockingly, he held an illusory stick of incense in his hand!

The incense was already burning, creating an aura that filled Naruto with an intense sensation of deadly crisis. It was like every inch of his flesh and blood were screaming at him that this incense was completely and utterly dangerous.

Naruto wasn't the only one to have such a reaction. The faces of the others in the area instantly fell….

"That's Yang Hongwu! He's the one Song Junwan said to look out for!" Naruto gasped, but what happened next caused his scalp to almost explode. There were about four or five people who… apparently because of the stimulation of the mysterious incense, began to emit auras, either from within their own bodies, or their bags of holding… that were all terrifyingly dangerous! Apparently, they were on the verge of joining the attack on him!

Naruto had a profound cultivation base that enabled him to kill a late Foundation Establishment cultivator with a single bashing attack. However, to face three at the same time, one of them being in the great circle, and in possession of a shocking magical treasure, left him shocked and terrified. More than ever, he felt that the older generation in the Blood Stream Sect were all fear-inspiring individuals.

All of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who Xuemei and Song Junwan had called upon to act as Dharma protectors were either Chosen of their generation, or other famous individuals from the past.

That was especially true of the one terrifying cultivator Song Junwan had mentioned, Xiao Qing, who, for some mysterious reason, hadn't broken through into the Core Formation stage.

Regarding magical treasures, the fact that Blood Stream Sect cultivators were fond of robbing and pillaging meant that they tended to have a bit more of them than disciples from other sects.

Considering the danger he was facing, it was no surprise that Naruto's scalp crawled with terror. However, none of that showed on his face. Backing up, expression cold, he said, "Nightcrypt doesn't have time to fool around with you people. I'm warning you, don't provoke me!" Combined with his icy, cruel expression, Naruto was under the impression that his words were completely domineering. Turning, he pushed forward with a burst of speed and vanished.

Even as he sped off, the three blood swords descended in a net of death. They missed him, but the smoke from the incense swirled around, filling the area with terrifying fluctuations.

Even the mere sensation of those fluctuations caused Naruto to pick up speed. Even as he left the first key behind, intense fighting broke out in his wake.

However, not everyone joined the attack. Some stood off to the side, and some merely left, clearly thinking the same thing that Naruto had, that fighting over the first key was too dangerous.

Naruto flew off into the distance, looking over his shoulder occasionally. Considering that everyone was in the late Foundation Establishment stage or even more powerful than that, the fighting was clearly a life-or-death matter. Nobody was holding back, and some people were already resorting to their life-saving magical items. Heavenshaking, earth-shattering explosions rocked the area, and fluctuations that bordered on Core Formation could be felt, leaving Naruto completely shaken.

"With the Undying Heavenly King, I might be able to take them on one by one, but fighting so many people at the same time, I might lose my poor little life…." Picking up speed, he sighed emotionally as he thought about how coincidental it was that the key had appeared right in front of him moments ago. Assuming he kept on flying as he was now, there shouldn't be any more such incidents.

As far as the fighting went, Naruto felt that maybe after the fourth key showed up, it would be a bit safer to start participating. After flying along for the better part of two hours, he had put quite a bit of distance between himself and the last location, and finally decided to look around for a place to meditate for a while.

"I've flown far enough away that I shouldn't run into anyone else," he thought. "As for the keys, whoever wants to fight over them can have at it." He was quite pleased at his own insightfulness, and was just musing about how bright and intelligent he was when the third hour in the Blood Wasteland arrived.

In that very moment…. Naruto's eyes went wide, and he let out an exclamation of shock. There, right in front of him, was a bright red dot of light.

Within the space of a few breaths of time, it began to grow so brightly that it turned into a pillar of light that shot up into the sky. Anyone in the Blood Wasteland would be able to see it.

It was a very strange thing, and all of a sudden, Naruto thought back to what had happened in the Endless World of Blood.

"No way…." he thought. "I'm not the one trying to become blood master. How could this be happening…?" Staring at the key in the pillar of light, he sighed, and then turned to leave, only to find that the key was flying toward him.

"Get away from me! Stop following me…."

Thinking about how the group of people had been fighting earlier, he wanted to cry. The terrifying ripples that had spread out from that fight were enough to send him running in the opposite direction.

However, the key behind him picked up speed, chasing Naruto relentlessly through the Blood Wasteland….

Soon, cultivators on both sides of the conflict realized what was happening, and their eyes went wide with disbelief.

The first key… appeared right in front of Naruto. That could have been chalked up to chance.

But for the second key to do the same…. They gritted their teeth and told themselves that it was another coincidence. And yet… they were completely dumbfounded at the sight of the key chasing Naruto.

—

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	6. Chapter 6

317

Chapter 249 Chapter 249

Chapter 249: I Can't Believe He Ate It!

"What's going on…?"

"Am I seeing things…? That blood-colored key is actually chasing Nightcrypt?!"

"This… this…." Although people were shocked, it didn't take long before them to react, and they began to speed toward Naruto to start fighting for the key.

Meanwhile, up in midair, Xuemei and Song Junwan saw what was happening. Song Junwan looked angry; she had seen what had happened with Naruto earlier, and felt it was a true pity that he had passed up the first key. Now here he was flying along while the key chased him, refusing to grab it. Song Junwan was furious.

"Nightcrypt!" she yelled. "The key is right behind you! Take it immediately! Everybody else, protect Nightcrypt!"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but when he considered that if he wanted to become a grand elder eventually, he would need Song Junwan's recommendation, and that she had just openly given him an order, he gritted his teeth, stopped in place and reached out to solemnly grab the key.

In that instant, the second blood-colored key suddenly erupted with dazzling light and shot into his hand. For some reason, Naruto was certain that, as it did, he heard something like a cry of joy.

"Come help me!" he cried. There was no time to think. He immediately began to back up as Song Junwan's other Dharma protectors arrived to intercept the enemy. A moment later, magical combat erupted all around him, causing resounding booming sounds to shake heaven and earth.

Not everyone was present; in fact, not even ten people were here. However, magical items were unleashed, and terrifying fluctuations spread out. It was in that moment, that someone shouted out in alarm.

"Wait a second, why is the blood-colored light so faint?!" The person to shout out was one of Xuemei's Dharma protectors, and currently, his face was a mask of incredulity as he stared at Naruto.

As his voice echoed out, everyone else looked over, and soon, all of their minds were reeling.

Naruto had actually noticed what was happening before anyone else. As soon as his fingers closed around the blood-colored key, the light that had been bursting out of it began to flow into his mouth. Once inside of him, it surged through his body, causing his Undying Heavenly King to operate at full function.

The blood-colored light emanating out from the key immediately began to grow dim…. It almost looked to everyone else as if Naruto were eating the key….

The effect was so pronounced that everyone could clearly sense the key growing weak….

"He… he's actually drawing on the power of the key?!"

"That's not just drawing on some of its power, he's obviously eating it!

Nightcrypt, stop that immediately!"

"Heavens! I've never heard of anybody doing such a thing. If… if he completely eats it, will its teleportation powers still work?" People were so taken aback all they could do was stare in shock.

Even Song Junwan and Xuemei, who were still locked in combat in midair, were staring at the blood-colored light fading away. Within the space of a few breaths of time, the light was completely gone.

What was left in Naruto's hand… didn't look anything like a key anymore…. Even as everyone stared at Naruto, his aura surged, and the power of the Undying Heavenly King exploded ferociously inside of him. He was about to try to explain, but when he opened his mouth, a burp echoed out loud and clear.

"I… burp… I didn't… burp… do it on purpose… burp." Naruto was so scared he was about to cry. Clasping his hands over his mouth, he looked around at the incredulous stares being leveled at him, which rapidly began to fill with killing intent. More nervous than ever, he began to back up.

"He actually ate that key!"

"The key's gone! That's one spot out of seven… gone! Kill Nightcrypt! This is his fault!"

"Kill him! The first and second keys both showed up near him. If the third one does the same and he eats that too, we'll lose another spot!"

"What if he eats all the keys? If that happens… we'll all be losers…." As their minds spun with the thought of what could happen, they howled and charged toward Naruto. As for Song Junwan's Dharma protectors, they hesitated for a moment, but then refrained from interfering. The scene which had just played out was simply too bizarre.

Another of Xuemei's Dharma protectors was a bit further off in the distance. After watching the depressing scene play out, and then hearing everyone crying out, his own anger surged, and he shot after Naruto.

By now, eight or nine people were chasing him, the weakest of them being in the late Foundation Establishment stage, with more than one being in the great circle. Most shocking of all was that several of them were clutching powerful magical treasures. Naruto was trembling in fear, but thankfully, was fast enough to evade them as he fled for his life.

Before Song Junwan and Xuemei could even react, a whole group was after Naruto. They were completely taken aback.

"You can eat those keys?" Song Junwan murmured. Xuemei was equally stunned.

Naruto flew through the Blood Wasteland at top speed. Some among the pursuers were faster than the others, but all were slower than Naruto, and before long, there was quite a distance between chaser and chased.

"Nightcrypt, you will die beyond the shadow of a doubt this day!"

"Dammit, I can't believe you completely absorbed that key! Y-y-you…."

Various divine abilities and magical techniques were unleashed, leaving Naruto so frightened he felt like his scalp would explode from terror. He felt completely wronged, and even more so, angered. He almost thought about turning around and fighting, but there were just too many opponents, all of them with higher cultivation bases than him, and many with powerful magical treasures. Although Xiao Qing wasn't among their number, Naruto had the feeling he might show up at any moment, and thus devoted himself fully to fleeing.

Before long, the third and fourth hours had passed, and the fifth hour was approaching….

In that very instant, the group of pursuers were shocked to find that the third dot of red light had appeared directly above Naruto's head. Even as he moved along, a blinding beam of blood-colored light shot up, which continued to float along with Naruto as he flew along…. "What exactly is going on here!? Dammit! Why is this happening?!"

"I can't believe the third key… appeared right above him!"

"Nightcrypt, you will die this day!"

Xuemei's Dharma protectors were going mad. Were Jia Lie here, he would tearfully tell them that… this was nothing. Had they been by his side in the Endless World of Blood, they would have been driven to complete despair.

Naruto was really starting to get pissed off. Looking around at everyone, he gritted his teeth, reached up, and grabbed the third bloodcolored key.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as massive amounts of blood-colored light poured into his mouth. Yet again, Naruto seemed to be gobbling it up….

"He… he ate another one!"

"There are only seven keys, and he already ate two!"

"If he keeps this up, then he'll end up eating all the keys. We have to kill him!" Everyone was starting to get anxious. Song Junwan's Dharma protectors were starting to hesitate, unsure of whether they should help Nightcrypt, or try to kill him.

Up in midair, Xuemei's eyes glittered with cold light, and she suddenly waved her right hand, causing the bracelet wrapped around her wrist to flash with blue light. Instantly, a blue beam shot out, and even as she was about to send it flying toward Naruto, Song Junwan swished her sleeve, sending out a blast of power to block the way.

Xuemei glared at Song Junwan. "Song Junwan! Something weird is going on with him. I refuse to believe that you can't see it!"

Song Junwan refused to respond, and simply launched another attack.

Xuemei grinned malevolently. Since she was being prevented from

doing anything about Naruto, she unleashed her full power upon Song Junwan. By this point, the two of them weren't simply feeling each other out, they were fighting with everything they had, including their secret weapons.

At the same time, just as murderous auras were beginning to rise up, the mad absorption of the blood-colored light by Naruto caused cracking sounds to ring out from inside of him. The Undying Heavenly King was operating at full speed with the nourishment that was being provided. Fleshly body power was rapidly building up, and clearly, Naruto was rapidly reaching the point of breaking through from the level of six berserk ghosts to seven.

Although he was being chased with murderous intent, the fact that his fleshly body was powering up so rapidly elated Naruto. He could sense his power rapidly growing, and his battle prowess increasing.

"If I could complete the second level of the Undying Heavenly King, and form the Heavenly Demon Body, then even if I run into one of those cultivators with the powerful magical treasures, I could still fight them!

"It's too bad I can't reveal my identity, otherwise I could definitely beat those old Foundation Establishment experts!

"Considering how things are at the moment, what should I do…?" Moments ago, he had sensed that Xuemei had been about to unleash something incredibly dangerous on him, and as a result, was only getting more nervous.

He looked over at Xuemei and Song Junwan briefly, then looked away. His head was starting to ache. Even as he tried to think of a way to resolve the situation, another sensation of imminent crisis filled him. This time, it didn't come from Xuemei, it came from behind him. One of Xuemei's Dharma protectors had been quietly closing in on him. It was none other than… Yang Hongwu!

His eyes flickered with cold, merciless light, and his hand clutched a burning stick of incense!

—

Chapter 250 Chapter 250

Chapter 250: Die!

Song Junwan had said to pay special attention to three of Xuemei's Dharma protectors. One of them was Xiao Qing, who was on the very cusp of Core Formation. Perhaps because of certain conditions in the Blood Wasteland itself, it was difficult for him to break through here. However, one could imagine that even after half of a breakthrough, he would still be powerful enough to dominate anyone else.

The second person Song Junwan had mentioned was Zhang Yunshan. The third was the very person who was closing in on Naruto at this very moment… Yang Hongwu!

Yang Hongwu's cultivation base was in the late Foundation

Establishment stage, and he had a powerful magical treasure. It was essentially a precious relic that could unleash terrifying power that exceeded his current cultivation base realm. With that item, he was virtually invincible to anyone in the same realm as him.

Up to this point in his cultivation, Naruto had never possessed any powerful magical treasures other than the turtle-wok. Had he remained in the Spirit Stream Sect, he would definitely have been bequeathed one by the sect itself when he reached late Foundation Establishment. However, he had left when he was still in early Foundation Establishment, before he qualified for such a reward.

After all, such powerful magical treasures were generally not given to anyone under late Foundation Establishment. Not only would such a person have difficulty unleashing the full potential of the item, there was also the risk that it could be robbed from them.

Naruto's pupils constricted; almost as soon as the smoke began to spread out from Yang Hongwu's incense, it filled his mind with a sense of imminent crisis. His fleshly body power was incredibly high, which lessened the sensation of danger, and yet, he was still jumpy with fear.

From what he could sense, if that power continued to build up, then it could seriously affect him in a negative way. By this point, his eyes were completely bloodshot.

"There are too many people and too many eyes in this place. So many techniques that I just can't use…." Naruto gritted his teeth, and then began to draw upon the Undying Heavenly King. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and moments later, a bizarre power surged out from the palms of his hands.

It was the power of gravity and repulsion, which he could just barely unleash. He had only ever scraped the surface of protomagnetic power, but was still able to call upon it when needed.

Naruto let out a hoarse shout as the two streams of power burst out, then converged together to form a powerful force of repulsion. He was immediately pushed backward at top speed, and in the blink of an eye, was speeding off into the distance.

Even as he did, the smoke coming from Yang Hongwu's incense sliced through the air into the spot he had just occupied. Considering how it seemed to slash rifts everywhere it went, it was obvious that if Naruto had been even a bit slower, he would have been cut to pieces.

Xuemei's Dharma protectors frowned, and killing intent flickered in Yang Hongwu's eyes. Naruto had already evaded him twice, even with his powerful magical treasure. That was something he found to be highly unusual.

"Measly Mortal-Dao mid Foundation Establishment. I can't believe he actually evaded me twice…. Seems like he's harboring a lot of secrets." Yang Hongwu took a deep breath, and then his chest caved in. Suddenly, his speed skyrocketed, pushing him past all of the other cultivators, transforming him into a beam of light that shot directly after Naruto.

He breathed in, but never exhaled, and then, a few moments later, he took another deep breath. Yet again, his chest caved in, and

his speed increased, closing the distance between himself and Naruto.

Seeing Yang Hongwu speed up toward him, Naruto's eyes grew even more bloodshot than before.

"You think I'm so easy to pick on?!" he shouted. Suddenly he spun in place, and instead of fleeing, barreled toward Yang Hongwu.

He shot faster than a bolt of lightning, appearing directly in front of Yang Hongwu and unleashing a punch with his right hand.

Killing intent flickered in Yang Hongwu's eyes as he extended his own right hand. The incense burned, and smoke swirled out toward Naruto.

"So, you wanted to lure me out to fight alone? Fine, take your shot!" Yang Hongwu laughed coldly as his powerful magical treasure spewed out even more smoke, creating a web of death that caused Naruto's scalp to tingle so hard it felt like it might explode. And yet, he didn't dodge to the side. As the smoke bore down on him, he poured even more power into his fist strike.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the energy of the second level of Naruto's Undying Heavenly King erupted out. The power of seven berserk ghosts could shake mountains, and at this moment, it caused sonic booms to echo out. The massive outpouring of power even caused a massive wind to spring up.

From a distance, the scene playing out was completely shocking. As Naruto punched out, the image of a berserk ghost appeared behind him. This was no ordinary berserk ghost; it was like the king of all berserk ghosts, and it howled at the top of its lungs as Naruto punched out.

Shockingly, the smoke which filled the area immediately began to shrink back as if it were about to be destroyed!

Although all of this takes some time to describe, it actually happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the massive blast slammed into Yang Hongwu. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he was shoved backward. His eyes suddenly shone with intense fear. Obviously, he had been aware that Nightcrypt possessed shocking battle prowess, but had still been confident enough to fight him alone. As of this moment, though, he could see that Nightcrypt was even more terrifying than he had realized before.

Blood also sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he felt like his body was about to be torn to pieces by the web of death. The power of Yang Hongwu's magical treasure slashed into the image of the berserk ghost, and yet, the power of Naruto's Undying Heavenly King ensured that he wasn't seriously injured, much less ripped to shreds. It took some effort, but he managed to wrench free from the smoke, destroying it in the process.

Even as the wisps of smoke dissipated, the air not too far away from Naruto distorted, and someone materialized. It was a young man with a fan in his hand. His expression was dark and somber, and his eyes flickered with killing intent. Without any hesitation, he waved his fan in Naruto's direction.

Wind screamed, transforming into a tornado that connected the sky and the land as it raced toward Naruto.

"Zhang Yunshan!" Naruto's pupils constricted from the sensation of imminent crisis. Throwing his head back, he roared, and his energy began to rise as another berserk ghost appeared behind him, then a third, and a fourth….

In the blink of an eye, seven berserk ghosts had appeared, causing heaven and earth to shake violently. All of them threw their heads back and bellowed. Although the terrifying energy they were releasing wasn't quite enough to form the Heavenly Demon Body, it was enough to create…. a giant hand!

It was a giant, pale white hand, not the clawed hand of a ghost, but rather a heavenly demon hand!

It was as pale as death, and the outlines of scales could just barely be seen on its surface, as well as vicious-looking bone spurs. As soon as the hand appeared, it smashed out toward Zhang Yunshan!

The first thing it hit was the tornado. A huge boom echoed out as the tornado shattered, and at the same time, the heavenly demon hand flickered and faded a bit. However, it wasn't destroyed.

Another boom could be heard, and blood oozed out of the corners of Zhang Yunshan's mouth. Even as he flew back at top speed, the heavenly demon hand faded away. Naruto's face was ashen, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood. His eyes were crimson, making him look cruel and vicious to the extreme. With a quick glance at Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan, he turned and sped off into the distance.

Yang Hongwu hesitated for a moment, wiping the blood from his mouth. At the moment, he was too shaken to chase after Naruto. The power that had just been unleashed, especially in that last attack, left him with the sinking feeling that Nightcrypt… hadn't even called upon his full battle prowess.

Even Zhang Yunshan's sneak attack had done nothing more than cause Nightcrypt to unleash even more power.

"Just how many secrets does this guy have…?!" Yang Hongwu took a deep breath. As for the youthful-looking Zhang Yunshan, his face was equally grim as he watched Naruto flee.

The rest of the pursuers were completely shocked, and all hesitated. After a moment passed, though, Zhang Yunshan and Yang Hongwu exchanged a glance, and then their eyes flickered as they led the group in pursuit.

Naruto's face was ashen as he sped along. On the outside, he seemed vicious and cruel, with his clothes stained with blood. However, inside, he was listless and panting.

"What a bunch of bullies. If I didn't have to be careful to keep my secret identity, I could wipe the floor with them…. Dammit. There are still six more hours left before this thing is over…." His anxiety increased as the seventh hour neared.

This time, he was mentally prepared. At the top of the hour, when the key was just about to appear, and he was just about to flee, he heard one of Song Junwan's other Dharma protectors crying out. "Nightcrypt, don't absorb any more keys! Give them to us!"

"Nightcrypt, stop it!" Song Que howled.

It was at that exact moment that the fourth key popped out, and immediately began to speed toward Naruto. It was almost as if he were a magnet, and no matter what he wanted, the keys would fly in his direction, transform into blood qi, and incite his Undying Heavenly King.

"Nightcrypt, are you… are you looking to die?!" Song Que was furious, and the other Dharma protectors felt like they were going insane. Once they saw Naruto starting to absorb the fourth key, they couldn't hold back any longer.

After all… they weren't sure if the keys still counted as being won by their team if Naruto absorbed them. If they did, then things were fine. But if they didn't, then when the wind of extermination swept through the wasteland… well, Song Que and the others didn't dare to gamble on the outcome.

"I don't want this either…." Naruto wailed. His original plan had been to hide somewhere in the Blood Wasteland and let everyone fight it out, then snatch one of the keys toward the end. But now, all of his plans were laid to ruin.

—

Chapter 251 Chapter 251

Chapter 251: My Plan

Thanks to Naruto, the trial by fire for blood master had been thrown into utter chaos….

In the Endless World of Blood, only poor Jia Lie had been struck with such ill luck… but now, in the Blood Wasteland, even Song Junwan and Xuemei were shocked by what was happening.

Everyone was going mad, and all of it was because of Naruto….

It wasn't that Naruto wanted it that way. He was just as nervous as everyone else. But his Undying Live Forever Technique was in full operation, and because of the rapid growth of his fleshly body power, Naruto's berserk ghosts… increased in number yet again!

The power of eight berserk ghosts caused cracking sounds to ring out from inside of him. Even as his energy surged, Song Que and the others gritted their teeth and joined the group that was chasing Naruto!

Naruto was getting more nervous than ever, and his mind was racing as he tried to decide what to do. Finally, he howled, "Song Que, go attack the person who got the first key! If you get that one, and I consume the rest, then Xuemei will never get onto the Ancient Blood Path!

"It's called divide and conquer! If you're focused on attacking them, they'll have to focus on defending, and I can just eat the keys. If you guys get your hands on the first key, I'll consume all the others. If you don't get it, then I'll make sure to leave the last two. That way, we'll definitely come out on top, and they'll be exterminated!

"That's my plan! Hahaha! We'll definitely win that way!" The more Naruto spoke, the more he made sense.

Song Que and the others were shaken. They were no fools, and as soon as they heard Naruto's plan, their eyes glittered.

As for Xuemei's Dharma protectors, their faces fell, especially the one who had acquired the first key, a middle-aged man whose complexion was now as pale as death.

Xuemei, who was completely tangled up in her fight with Song Junwan, was now getting more nervous.

"Nightcrypt, are you looking to die?!" she shouted. As for Song Junwan, she chuckled charmingly.

"We do things Nightcrypt's way!" she declared. Although her smile was lovely, her attacks were incisive, and she immediately began to push Xuemei back across the battlefield, who could do nothing to stop her. In fact, she couldn't even come up with a plan to deal with Naruto.

It was an anxious moment. Song Que and the others gritted their teeth, ceased chasing Naruto, and shot toward the Dharma protector with the first key. Xuemei's other Dharma protectors were then forced to cease chasing Naruto and offer defense. Immediately, chaotic fighting broke out.

Booms echoed out, and the brilliant light of divine abilities and magical techniques rose up into the air.

At long last, Naruto was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's a good thing I reacted so quickly, otherwise I would have been in way too much danger…. There are people with higher cultivation bases and powerful magical treasures, and some of them are secret experts. If they gang up on me, how am I supposed to fight them?" Naruto immediately began to flee, and yet, in that very moment, his pupils constricted. Although no one was visible in the area, he unhesitatingly unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash, gathering a huge amount of power and unleashing it in an explosive burst that pushed him forward at top speed.

Even as he shot forward, a blood-colored hand suddenly appeared out of thin air and unleashed a stream of 30-meter-long sword qi.

"Eee?" someone said. An old man stepped out of thin air, a man with a long violet robe

and age spots on his face.

Sweat was pouring down Naruto's face. The sensation of imminent danger he had just experienced was one of the most intense he had felt so far. If he hadn't dodged at just the right time, that attack would have stabbed into his forehead.

"Xiao Qing!" he said, eyes shining with vigilance. This old man was another of the three people Song Junwan had mentioned, the same old man who could supposedly break through from Foundation Establishment at any time!

Xiao Qing smiled and said, "I've been in secluded meditation for many years, and just came out. Even still, I've heard a lot of stories about you."

Although he was indeed a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was unlike the others. If he reached Core Formation, he would definitely become a prime elder. When he looked at Naruto, Naruto felt more on guard than ever; the man's gaze felt like two sharp swords.

"His spiritual seas are just a hair away from reaching full crystallization…. If I used everything in my repertoire, I could probably fight him. But considering how limited I am right now… I'm no match for him!" Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto began to flee.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Junior Brother Nightcrypt?" Xiao

Qing smiled and took a step forward with speed that matched Naruto's. Then he waved his sleeve, and a stream of blood-colored sword Chakra appeared and slashed down toward Naruto.

"What crap are you spewing?!" Naruto asked. "If I don't leave, then what else am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for you to kill me? Did your cultivation cause you brain damage or something?" With that, he blurred into motion, avoiding the blood sword.

Xiao Qing's smile went stiff. Throughout all the times he had fought people in his life, no one had ever spoken to him like this before. Expression turning grim, he let out a cold harrumph and said, "Illmannered cur! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to rip out your tongue! Let's see what quips you come up with then!"

Chuckling coldly, he took another step forward in pursuit. At the same time, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, summoning a stream of blood Chakra that shot toward Naruto.

Despite his anxiety, Naruto was still trying to come up with a plan as he flew along. "Seems you really did suffer from brain damage while you were cultivating. If I had no tongue, I might not be able to speak, but I could still use divine will to say something!"

As they sped through the Blood Wasteland, Xiao Qing attacked multiple times. On a few occasions, his magical techniques actually hit home, and yet, Naruto's terrifyingly powerful fleshly body defenses left Xiao Qing in shock.

With Xiao Qing's current battle prowess, he could dominate any other Foundation Establishment cultivator. And yet, Naruto was incredibly fast and abnormally tough. In fact, as the chase went on, he kept going even faster. His reserves of spiritual power were simply unbelievable.

"How could mid Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment possibly unleash such power!?" Xiao Qing's eyes flickered. The battle prowess being put on display by Naruto in the Blood Wasteland was completely and utterly shocking to him. Even more bizarre than that, though, was the situation with the blood-colored keys.

If there was only one strange oddity with Naruto, then it would be much easier to determine the cause, and then ascertain a method to deal with the situation. But with so many strange things happening, it was hard to decide where to start, and very easy to get going in the wrong direction.

Xiao Qing's eyes narrowed as he once again gave chase. As for Bai

Xiaochun, he was grumbling and complaining to himself. It felt like Xiao Qing was stuck to him with glue; no matter how Naruto tried to shake him, he would continue to pursue him. Were it not for the fact that Naruto had an incredible fleshly body, and was actually at Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, he would never have been able to sustain the speed he had been keeping up so far.

"Just wait until I make a major breakthrough with my fleshly body. Then I'll definitely show that old fogey how awesome I am!" Naruto gritted his teeth. By now, he actually looked forward to the arrival of the tenth hour. Now that he already had the power of eight berserk ghosts, for some reason, it didn't feel good enough. He actually wanted to consume that key and solidify the power of his berserk ghosts.

Time passed. Eventually, the seventh and eighth hours passed, and the ninth hour approached. As expected, a dot of blood-colored light appeared, which shot toward Naruto's forehead. In the blink of an eye, it was only a few inches away from him.

He didn't pause for even a moment as he sped on, and the red dot instantly sank into his forehead. Although bright red light initially filled the area, it rapidly dimmed. At the same time, the second level of the Undying Heavenly King was in full operation.

Rumbling sounds exploded out from within his body as the energy of nine berserk ghosts formed. Xiao Qing's eyes widened as he sensed the growing power within Naruto.

"There are many strange things about him. Now that he's absorbed that key, he's probably even more confident in fighting me." Xiao Qing closed in at top speed, and yet, before he could get close, Naruto looked back, eyes flickering with the desire to do battle. At almost the exact same instant, his fleshly body power skyrocketed.

"Xiao Qing, you old fogey, do you dare to fight with me, Nightcrypt?!" Naruto waved his right sleeve and pointed at Xiao Qing, as if challenging him to a duel!

"So, you're finally confident that you can fight me? Fine. I'll give you a chance!" Xiao Qing took a step forward, and the power of his cultivation base erupted.

"Alright, Xiao Qing, here I come!" Naruto roared, eyes bursting with the will to fight. However, even as he faced Xiao Qing, he began to speed backward. Drawing upon the incredible power of his fleshly body, he unleashed even greater speed than he had in the past.

Xiao Qing's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. Naruto was letting out a battle cry, and yet simultaneously fleeing off into the distance.

"Completely shameless!" Xiao Qing howled. His eyes burned with flames of rage, and yet the slight delay had put a huge distance between him and Naruto. At that point, Naruto stopped backing up. Turning his back on Xiao Qing, he fled at even greater speed than before.

"I want to fight you," he called out, "but can't at the moment. Just wait a bit. Once the eleventh hour arrives, and I've completed nine berserk ghosts, then I'll wipe the floor with you, you old fart!" Naruto didn't feel that he was being shameless at all. Instead, he felt that he had just out-strategized Xiao Qing.

—

Chapter 252 Chapter 252

Chapter 252: You Really Can't Blame Me This Time

"Not even the least bit confident in being able to fight me? What kind of Dao do you cultivate, Nightcrypt?! I can't believe that someone as useless as you exists in the Blood Stream Sect. I think I need to step in for the sect and do some housecleaning!" Xiao Qing was incensed. First, he had been ridiculed, then challenged to fight, and then, his opponent had simply run away. More killing intent than ever could be seen in Xiao Qing's eyes, and as he gave chase, he unleashed the power of his cultivation base, pushing himself forward with greater speed than ever.

However, Naruto was simply too fast. With the explosive acceleration provided by his fleshly body power, he managed to stay in the lead all the way through the ninth and tenth hours. Soon, the eleventh hour was rapidly approaching.

When it came, the sixth key appeared in the form of a red dot, right in front of Naruto's forehead. It only took the briefest of moments for it to fly into him.

Rumbling sounds echoed out from within Naruto's body, and he began to tremble visibly. His Undying Heavenly King was in full operation, and under the seemingly boundless addition provided by the blood-colored key, his fleshly body continued to increase in power. The expression provided by his mask was one of complete and utter ferocity as he threw his head back and howled at the top of his lungs.

As he did, eight berserk ghosts appeared behind him, and then… a ninth!

The appearance of the ninth berserk ghost caused Naruto's fleshly body strength to be completely incited, sending matchlessly powerful Chakra and blood power surging heavenward.

ROAR!

Blue veins bulged out on Naruto's face. In only a handful of hours, his fleshly body power had undergone a dramatic increase, so much so that it was difficult for him to endure. The nine berserk ghosts behind him were howling, and even as Xiao Qing closed in, Naruto prodded them with the power of his will, and they merged together!

That new berserk ghost was vastly larger than the others, almost as if it were a new form of life!

It was now pure white, with vicious-looking bone spurs sticking out all over it. It had sharp claws, and radiated a power that seemed capable of crushing heaven and earth. Strangely, though, it had no head!

It was a headless Heavenly Demon Body, incomplete, but shockingly powerful nonetheless. When it formed, Naruto howled, and seemingly infinite fleshly body power caused a tempest to spring out all around him. Within moments, it was a tornado connecting heaven and earth, an enormous, spinning vortex.

Xiao Qing stopped in place, his eyes widening. For the first time, a very serious expression could be seen on his face. Not only was Naruto stronger, but the image of the headless heavenly demon made him seem completely different than before.

"Alright Xiao Qing, come on, let's fight!" Although Naruto didn't look any different physically, the sensation he gave off was that he was growing rapidly. Having absorbed the blood Chakra from five of the keys, he suddenly felt that if he didn't unleash some of the power immediately, he would explode.

No such sensation had come from the previous four keys. But with the fifth key, he suddenly felt explosively powerful. Even as he called out, he took a step forward, and massive rumbling sounds could be heard as he shot toward Xiao Qing in a bashing motion.

The heavenly demon image behind him made the same bashing attack, except with power exponentially greater than Naruto's. It was such an explosive outburst that it seemed capable of bashing anything and everything to bits. Even the air twisted and distorted as he bore d

own on Xiao Qing.

Just when Xiao Qing was about to dodge out of the way, the charging Naruto suddenly extended his right hand, and a powerful gravitational force sprang out from his palm and seemed to latch onto Xiao Qing's neck.

Then the hand transformed into a fist. The air vibrated as powerful fluctuations spread out, locking down the entire area and making it impossible for Xiao Qing to even move.

Xiao Qing's eyes widened, and he roared as his hands flashed with an incantation gesture. Blinding, blood-colored light instantly spread out, transforming into a huge, crimson greatsword which slashed out toward Naruto!

Although all of this takes some time to describe, it happened in the blink of an eye. A deafening boom echoed out in all directions as Naruto's blow landed on Xiao Qing. Instantly, the two of them flew apart until they were 3,000 meters away from each other. The ground was shattered and destroyed, and a huge blast of wind rippled out, shaking everything.

The blood sword shattered, and the Heavenly Demon Body was split in two. Xiao Qing tumbled through the air, and blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth.

When the dust settled, Xiao Qing was off in the distance, his face ashen, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at Naruto, who was currently wiping the blood from his mouth. Naruto had vented more than half of the energy he had built up, and no longer felt like he was going to explode. At the same time, his fleshly body power seemed to be growing even greater as he stood there staring at Xiao Qing.

"Happy with the fight so far, Xiao Qing?!" Naruto said with a twisted smile, his eyes completely bloodshot.

Xiao Qing didn't respond. The sensation of danger he'd just felt from Naruto's explosive attack came partly because of his fleshly body power, and partly because there was something else about Naruto that he found completely disconcerting.

"He's definitely still hiding something!" he thought. Although he was still confident that he could kill Naruto, he knew that he would most likely end up seriously injured in the process. By this point in the trial by fire, most of the others had reached the point where they felt it was necessary to fight to the death. However, Xiao Qing knew about Xuemei's secret plan, and that everything that was happening now was just a smokescreen. Therefore, he wasn't ready to risk his life.

There was also another reason to make such a decision. Xiao Qing glanced over at an area some distance away from Naruto, and then turned to leave without uttering even another word.

Naruto did nothing to stop him, and in fact, felt a bit more relaxed to see him leaving. With that, he turned and looked off in the same direction Xiao Qing just had, his eyes shining with piercing light.

"You've been shadowing me for quite a while, Elder Brother. Why don't you show your face?"

Laughter echoed out as the air distorted, as if someone were using a magical item to distort space itself. A gaunt, middle-aged man appeared, a hunchback who, from the moment Naruto laid eyes on him, gave off the sensation that he was no less powerful than Xiao Qing.

Naruto had seen this man before among Song Junwan's Dharma protectors. However, nobody, not even Song Que, had seemed to notice that he was concealing the true power of his cultivation base. He was one of the aces Song Junwan had up her sleeve, someone similar to Xiao Qing.

Naruto's eyes widened a bit. From what he could tell, this man was a big reason why Xiao Qing had fled just now.

"I am your humble servant Song Zhen…." the man said in a raspy voice. He looked Naruto up and down, still a bit unconvinced that he was worthy of being one of Song Junwan's Dharma protectors. From what he could tell, there was something else going on between Song Junwan and Nightcrypt. That was the only explanation for why she would bring him along….

"I'm no gambler," he said slowly and calmly. "Nor do I wish to be exterminated by the wind in this place. I like things to be all sewn up. Soon, the thirteenth hour will be upon us. Let me have the seventh blood-colored key, and I won't make a move on you."

Naruto thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. As soon as the seventh key appears, I'll back up. But don't forget, those villainous keys love to chase me. Whether or not you can grab it will be up to you. If you're slow, then I don't want to hear any complaints."

Song Zhen gave him an empty smile, and then said, "Don't worry, Junior Brother Nightcrypt. As long as you don't intentionally try to absorb the key, then as soon as it appears, I'll grab it. However, if you do make a move on it, don't blame me for flipping out.

"Why don't you sit off to the side and meditate while we wait for the thirteenth hour?"

Naruto felt good about the idea. Although the keys were very helpful for his cultivation, the Blood Stream Sect in general was a Holy Land for his Undying Codex. As far as he was concerned, there was no need to get in a dangerous fight with this person over one single key.

In terms of the threat of being the losing team and getting exterminated, Naruto actually wasn't worried about it at all. After all the strange things that had been going on inside the body of the Blood Ancestor, he was quite certain that, regardless of who else was killed, he definitely wouldn't be….

Feeling very much at ease, he sat down cross-legged to meditate. Keeping his guard up in case Song Zhen did something unexpected, he made some adjustments to his cultivation base, slowly recovering and, at the same time, increasing his fleshly body power.

Song Zhen also sat down to meditate and wait for time to pass.

Song Zhen didn't seem too worried that a fight might break out between the two of them, and Naruto was too preoccupied to worry about it either. Time passed. Soon, the eleventh and twelfth hours had passed, and the thirteenth hour was upon them.

Song Zhen's eyes opened. Rising to his feet, he edged a bit closer to Naruto, and his right hand began to flicker with light. He stared at the air in front of Naruto, completely and utterly confident that when the seventh key appeared, he would be able to grab it.

Even if Nightcrypt tried to back out on their deal and tried to absorb the key, considering how close he was, Song Zhen was supremely confident that, with his own profound cultivation base, along with his innate speed that even the prime elders had praised, he would definitely be able to grab it.

Time inched along. There were ten breaths of time left. Six. Three.

Finally, the thirteenth hour arrived.

Song Zhen threw his head back and laughed loudly as his right hand blurred into motion, leaving behind afterimages as it shot forward. A huge blast of power erupted out which he didn't even bother to shield Naruto from.

However, at that exact moment, a bright red light suddenly shot out from inside Naruto!

The seventh key had appeared, but not in front of him. Contrary to what anyone might have imagined, it appeared inside of him!

Even Naruto was completely taken aback. Before he could do anything, the key was inside of him, and the blood Chakra was coursing through his body.

Song Zhen's jaw dropped.

"This…."

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"You really can't blame me this time. It appeared right inside my stomach!" he shrieked. Song Zhen's face flickered, and he suddenly let out an intense howl of rage.

"Nightcrypt!"

Chapter 253 Chapter 253

Chapter 253: Ten Ghosts Heavenly Demon Body!

As Naruto backed up, his Undying Live Forever Technique exploded into action, absorbing all of the blood Chakra from the blood-colored key and causing intense, thunderous rumbling to fill him.

Meanwhile, as the nine berserk ghosts behind him roared and howled, a tenth berserk ghost began to take shape, causing Naruto's fleshly body power to skyrocket.

Of the seven keys to be had in the Blood Wasteland, six had been absorbed by Naruto. By now, Naruto could clearly sense the fluctuations emanating from the first of those keys, some distance away.

It almost seemed as if all seven keys were required to form a whole.

However, there was little time for Naruto to think about that as he sped backward.

Song Zhen's rage had reached an indescribable level. With a completely ferocious expression, he howled and shot toward Naruto in a beam of light. At the same time, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, summoning a blood-colored greatsword, which he hefted as he closed in.

Then he slashed the sword out in an attack, backing it with the full cultivation base power of the great circle of Foundation Establishment. The sword rapidly grew as it cut through the air, until it was fully thirty meters long. The air distorted, and the sky filled with rumbling sounds as the sword light slashed toward Naruto.

Naruto's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. There was no time to ponder the situation. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and he called upon both his fleshly body and the power of his cultivation base, three crystallized spiritual seas. Intense ripples spread out as the Undying Live Forever Technique flew into motion, and true Undying Blood swirled out into the open!

That Undying Blood almost instantly expanded into the shape of a huge sword, which Naruto grabbed with both hands and raised up to meet Song Zhen's sword.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as he was flung backward.

Song Zhen was also shaken, and his Chakra and blood vibrated inside of him. Just as he was about to make another attack, though, Naruto wiped the blood off of his lips, grinned viciously, and then waved his right finger at Song Zhen.

Human Controlling Grand Magic!

Even in this critical moment, Naruto didn't call upon any of the magical techniques of the Spirit Stream Sect. He had created the Human Controlling Grand Magic himself, and despite the fact that it was incomplete, it was still freakish in many ways. As soon as he unleashed it, Song Zhen lurched to a stop amidst creaking sounds. Without even thinking about it, he unleashed the full power of his cultivation base, whereupon all of his clothing… was ripped to shreds!

Every scrap of cloth covering his body was destroyed, leaving him completely exposed to the breeze….

Song Zhen's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. Looking down at himself, he suddenly let out a shrill scream that filled almost the entire Blood Wasteland.

"Nightcrypt, I'm gonna kill you!" Trembling with madness, he threw another set of clothing on and prepared to attack again. However, in the brief moment that had passed, Naruto had unleashed explosive speed, and was now quite a distance away.

Naruto looked anxious and miserable. For some reason, this blood master trial by fire did not seem to be going at all the way a trial by fire should. It was like everyone was out to get him!

"Two more hours. I only have to last for two more hours!" Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath. It was at that point that he realized that the first blood-colored key was actually getting closer t

o him.

"Oh come on, no…." he thought, his scalp tingling. It hadn't been easy to get everyone else to go after that key. Although Song Zhen was chasing him, everyone else was now in a killing mood as they fought over that one key.

"Go away. Don't even get near me…." Tears were welling up in his eyes. Even if he could advance his Undying Heavenly King by absorbing that key, he wasn't willing to put his life on the line, especially considering that everyone would try to kill him if he did. Shivering, he changed directions and sped away from the key.

However, even as he did, the key suddenly sped up dramatically, to the point where Naruto was sure he could hear it whizzing through the air.

"Don't get near me…." He pushed forward with even more speed.

Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn as he shot through the

Blood Wasteland, Song Zhen hot on his tail. Then, up ahead, a bloodcolored pillar of light appeared, heading directly toward him.

It was none other than the blood-colored key.

"No!" he wailed.

It was the very key which had first appeared, and following it were a dozen or so Dharma protectors, all moving at top speed.

The key had originally been acquired by one of the Xuemei's Dharma protectors. However, just as Naruto had planned, the rest of the people in the trial by fire had been fighting over it, and it had changed hands numerous times since.

As the end of the trial by fire approached, Song Que acquired it. And yet, for some odd reason, just after he grabbed it, it surged with power and flew out of his hand, then shot off into the distance.

The other Dharma protectors were shocked, but there was little time to consider the matter. They all stopped fighting amongst themselves and shot after the key.

That was when they saw Naruto being chased by the enraged Song Zhen. The key sped up, heading rapidly toward Naruto; within the blink of an eye, and before he could do anything, the key shot into his forehead.

"Nightcrypt!" Song Que howled, his eyes completely bloodshot.

"Nightcrypt, don't do it…."

"Dammit, Nightcrypt, y-y-you…."

All of the Dharma protectors were going mad, both those on Xuemei's team and Song Junwan's. Moments ago, they had been fighting each other, but now their eyes were completely bloodshot as murderous auras erupted because of Naruto.

Naruto was trembling on the verge of tears. This was not how trials by fire were supposed to go!

That was exactly how Song Junwan and Xuemei felt as well. Although they were both still fighting up in the air, their hearts were filled with amazement at the absurdity of the situation. They almost weren't sure what to do now that Naruto had absorbed the final key. A moment passed, and they stopped fighting, then turned and began to speed toward Naruto.

"This isn't a trial by fire for blood master, this is a trial by fire to kill me…." Gritting his teeth, he immediately began to flee.

The last bit of hope for everyone in the Blood Wasteland had just been absorbed by Naruto. There were now no keys left….

According to the laws of this world, none of the Dharma protectors should be able to step onto the Ancient Blood Path. However, what was most terrifying of all… was the possibility that both teams would be classified as having lost.

If that were true, then when the fourteenth hour ended, all of them would be wiped out of existence….

The culprit who had caused the catastrophe… was none other than Naruto!

The hatred both sides felt for him was completely indescribable, and many of them were so maddened that the only thing they wanted to do was kill Naruto before they were exterminated by the world.

At the moment, nothing mattered. Not the sect, not their future, not the potential punishments they might face. They disregarded all of that and embraced the desire to kill. Rumbling could be heard as three cultivators immediately drew upon powerful magical treasures. Multi-colored light rose up from magical techniques, and booms could be heard as divine abilities were unleashed. All forms of rage and madness were poured out upon Naruto.

Naruto bolted into motion like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. As he fled, some people got the strange feeling that Nightcrypt… was used to doing this. Every move he made seemed designed to avoid the divine abilities and magical techniques, and in fact, he only seemed to move faster and faster.

Of course, the reason why Naruto seemed so familiar with what was happening was that back in the Spirit Stream Sect, he had often ended up in such situations because of the catastrophes he had wrought. By now, he was very familiar with what it was like to be chased, and in fact, reacted to it on an instinctive level….

Even as he fled, rumbling sounds filled him as the Undying Live Forever Technique continued to operate. The blood Chakra from the keys caused ten berserk ghosts to appear, which rapidly merged together.

As they fused and grew clear, his aura grew more powerful. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, he suddenly stopped in place as an intense rumbling sound echoed out from within him.

In that very moment, the ten berserk ghosts… completely merged together!

Intense howling could be heard as the ghosts became one….

"It's the ten ghosts Heavenly Demon Body!" he murmured, a strange light gleaming in his eyes as a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering energy erupted from inside of him!

Chapter 254 Chapter 254

Chapter 254: Time's Up!

The volume of the Undying Heavenly King was divided into five different body types, and four levels. The body types were the Mammoth Body, Berserk Ghost Body, Heavenly Demon Body, Asura Body, and finally the Heavenly King Body!

In terms of the levels, ten mammoths became one berserk ghost, ten berserk ghosts became one heavenly demon, ten demons became one asura, and ten asuras became one heavenly king!

Very few people in the cultivation world could fully cultivate the Undying Heavenly King. The resources required were incredible, such that most sects could never dream of sustaining it.

If Naruto had stayed behind in the Spirit Stream Sect, it might not have been impossible for him to cultivate to the level of the Heavenly Demon Body, but at the very least, it would have taken him a sixty-yearcycle, and would have required much in terms of luck and fortune.

But… because of how things had played out in the Blood Stream Sect, that time had been significantly reduced. Furthermore, because of the seven blood-colored keys, he was now already at the peak of the second level of the Undying Heavenly King!

At that level, ten berserk ghosts merged together to form… the Heavenly Demon Body!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Each breath that Naruto took as he stood there seemed to fill the entire world with intense rumbling sounds. Behind him appeared a pure white heavenly demon, its head thrown back as it roared. Ripples spread out that could topple mountains and drain seas, and the power radiating from Naruto swept out in all directions, creating a tornado that stretched high up into the heavens.

Massive wind battered the other cultivators, all of whom were forced to stop in place, their expressions flickering with shock. Dread could be seen in the eyes of Song Zhen and Xiao Qing.

"Don't tell me that's the body refinement magic of Lesser Marsh

Peak…?"

"Heavens! That energy… can Foundation Establishment cultivators even produce something like that?"

"Just how many secrets does Nightcrypt have buried inside of him!?" Even as gasps rang out, killing intent flickered in Song Zhen's eyes, and he took a step forward, his right hand flashing in an incantation gesture. In response, blood Chakra surged out to form a stream of crimson sword Chakra that shot directly toward the tornado.

In almost the same instant that he made his move, Song Que and the other cultivators gritted their teeth and attacked as well. In the blink of an eye, numerous divine abilities and magical items caused multicolored light to blast toward the tornado.

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and the ground quaked. The sky trembled, and the tornado distorted momentarily before exploding. Naruto was revealed, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth as the heavenly demon roared. At the same time, killing intent flickered in his eyes.

"We're all in the same sect together, so I didn't want to start fighting and killing. I didn't absorb those keys on purpose! You people are pushing things too far!

"We still have an incense stick's worth of time before the fourteenth hour is up. Let's see whether you people can wipe me out in that amount of time, or whether… I can wipe you out!" Naruto seemed like he was on the verge of unleashing complete carnage. He had been in the Blood Stream Sect for years now, and after mingling with such ferocious cultivators for so long, he had come to understand a truth about them.

The only way to get them to listen to reason was to be more brutal than they were!

Even as the words left his mouth, he burst into motion, appearing directly in front of Song Zhen. Song Zhen's pupils constricted, and his hands turne

d bright red as he struck out at Naruto.

"Back off!" Naruto growled, unleashing the Mountain Shaking Bash. Song Zhen's face fell as Naruto bashed into him; a boom rang out, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he was shoved out of the way. Naruto flew past him to the rest of the dozen or so Dharma protectors, where his right hand clenched into a fist. When he struck out, the full power of the Heavenly Demon Body was unleashed.

That was the power of ten berserk ghosts, and a hundred giant mammoths. It was a level of fleshly body power that any Foundation Establishment cultivator would find unbelievable. A sonic boom echoed out as the fist slammed into a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. His eyes immediately went wide as he realized he was powerless to defend himself. In the blink of an eye, his bones were completely shattered, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut.

Even as a scream rang out from the man, Naruto took another

step forward. By this point, the magical techniques and divine abilities from the surrounding cultivators were closing in. There were six blood swords, a blood dragon, and three ordinary flying swords.

As they neared, Naruto took a deep breath and then stepped forward to appear in front of another Foundation Establishment cultivator. His hand snaked out and latched onto the man, whose eyes widened with terror as Naruto viciously head-butted him.

A boom could be heard, and then the Foundation Establishment cultivator screamed as he was lifted up into the air to block three blood swords and two flying swords. As for the other incoming swords, they all hit Naruto.

Naruto trembled slightly, but otherwise seemed unaffected. In fact, his left hand even shot out to grab the magical blood dragon.

When his fingers crushed down onto it, it shattered. However, at almost the exact same instant, the besiegers attacked again. This time, Yang Hongwu unleashed his incense, and Zhang Yunshan called upon his powerful magical treasure. Song Que was in the group as well.

Naruto snorted coldly, and once again used the Mountain Shaking Bash. He was like an ancient wild beast that dodged the incoming attacks and closed in on Song Que. Blood sprayed out of Song Que's mouth, along with a choked cry. He was at the peak of eight Earthstring Tideflows, and had life-saving magical items, and it was only because of those things that he managed to come out relatively unharmed. Then he looked on in shock as Naruto borrowed the momentum of the Mountain Shaking Bash to speed past him.

"Trying to run?!" Xiao Qing said, eyes flickering with killing intent. Just when he was about to follow, Naruto suddenly looked over his shoulder and chuckled coldly.

"Who said anything about running?" Without any hesitation, he yet again called upon the Mountain Shaking Bash. The image of the heavenly demon roared as Naruto shot toward Xiao Qing, whose face instantly fell. He was rather frightened of this particular move of Naruto's, especially considering how he was able to use it repeatedly. Gritting his teeth, he considered fleeing, but there were too many people blocking his path.

A boom rang out as more than half of the group of pursuing Dharma protectors were sent staggering backward as they jointly diffused the energy of the attack. Even as that energy faded away, Naruto was upon them, and miserable shrieks began to ring out. By the time Naruto was fleeing again, another Foundation Establishment cultivator had been killed.

There Naruto was, off in the distance, covered with blood, none of which was his own. Although a bit of blood was oozing out of the corners of his mouth, any injuries he had sustained were already healing.

Although he was slightly out of breath, his two successive attacks in which no one could do anything to stop him, combined with his intense murderous aura and the fact that he was now soaked in blood, caused everyone who could see him to gasp in shock.

None of them were even sure of how many divine abilities and magical techniques had hit him, and none of them had even slowed him down. His defenses were unimaginable. Not only had the combined efforts of everyone present failed to force him into retreat, he'd actually started attacking with even more power than before!

Of course, this group of cultivators wasn't accustomed to fighting together, so their combined attacks weren't as powerful as one might imagine. However, it was still something that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators shouldn't be able to fight back against.

And yet, not only could Naruto hold his own, he was bringing the fight to them. The fear in the hearts of the other Dharma protectors only continued to mount.

Xiao Qing's eyes narrowed, and yet they still flickered with killing intent.

Even as he snorted coldly in his heart, he looked over at Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan. All three of them were clearly holding back, as if they were waiting for something.

Even as the three of them exchanged a glance, two beams of light suddenly appeared off in the distance.

Naruto looked up silently, and dispersed the power of another Mountain Shaking Bash that he had been planning to unleash.

It was Song Junwan and Xuemei, both of whom looked like devilish gods as they glared at Naruto. Song Junwan's face was ashen, and blood still caked the corners of her lips from the fighting with Xuemei. Currently, the look on her face was one of confusion and mixed emotions.

Next to her was Xuemei, whose face was also caked with blood beneath her mask. A wound could be seen on the back of her right hand, from which blood Chakra leaked. Song Junwan had inflicted that wound with her blood sword, and although the injury seemed small, it had destabilized Xuemei's cultivation base. Clearly, the fighting had taken its toll on Xuemei, and yet her eyes still glittered with cold sinisterness as she stared at Naruto. But then, she gritted her teeth for a moment and started laughing.

As her laughter rang out, the fourteenth hour ran to a close, whereupon… an indescribable feeling rose up in the world, as if a huge hand were pressing down on everything.

Everything went still. Naruto shivered. The other Dharma protectors were locked in place, unable to even think. They were now as motionless as statues.

Only Song Junwan and Xuemei seemed unaffected, apparently because of their glittering command medallions.

A boundless will seemed to be comparing the two parties to determine who had won and who had lost. After a few breaths of time passed, the will seemed incapable of making a decision, and faded away. At the same time, something like a force of expulsion wrapped around the immobilized cultivators. Apparently, they were about to be expelled from the body of the Blood Ancestor.

—

Chapter 255 Chapter 255

Chapter 255: The Throat Crushing Grasp Again!

"The time has come," Xuemei declared. "Thank you, Song Junwan, for bringing Nightcrypt along. If it weren't for him, then I wouldn't be completely confident in being able to get the title of blood master, not even with my trump card.

"But now, with the keys gone, the position of blood master can go to no one except me!" As her laughter echoed about, she looked over at Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan, and her smile was even visible on the surface of her mask!

The power of expulsion which had gripped the three of them vanished, and they began to regain mobility. Although their movements were a bit stiff, all of them managed to produce… something that only Song Junwan and Xuemei should have… blood master command medallions!

The blood master command medallions they had seemed somewhat faded, as if they couldn't quite match up to the command medallions possessed by Song Junwan and Xuemei. However, the expressions on the faces of the three men were the same as before, as if they had been expecting this to happen.

"I'd originally planned for these three to join my group after the fighting for the keys concluded. That way, I could crush all of your Dharma protectors in one fell swoop. However, the current situation will result in the same outcome." Xuemei laughed again, her eyes radiating coldness.

Song Junwan almost couldn't believe what was happening.

"What gall you have, Xuemei!" she cried. "Not only are you cheating, you're violating the most precious rules of the Blood Stream Sect!"

She felt a bitterness that bordered on despair; clearly, she had lost the struggle for the blood master position.

The truth was, even if Nightcrypt hadn't absorbed all of the keys,

Xuemei still would have cheated, still would have been able to delay Song Junwan on the Ancient Blood Path, and still would have been the first person to reach the heart cavity.

"Once I'm the blood master, nobody will care about what happened in here! Besides, those three command medallions can be used to get onto the Ancient Blood Path, but not the heart cavity!" Xuemei smiled as she looked up into the sky, where a vortex appeared. Rumbling could be heard as it opened up to reveal an ancient, blood-colored path….

The heart cavity lay at the end of that very path.

Xuemei blurred into motion as she headed toward the vortex. As for Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan, they also flew up into the air. Each one glanced over at Naruto as they flew past, killing intent flickering within their eyes. Knowing that he wasn't important now, they snorted coldly as they closed in on the vortex.

Song Junwan stood there quietly, her hands clenched into bitter fists of anger. She had lost. She hadn't even entered the Ancient Blood Path yet, but if she did, Xiao Qing and the others would be able to pin her down. Xuemei had everything under her control.

Song Junwan simply couldn't accept the situation, and also flew up into the air. Even as she closed in on the vortex, a voice suddenly echoed into her ears.

"There's no need to despair, Junwan." A tremor ran through Song Junwan, and her eyes shone with disbelief. Looking down at all of the figures who were fading away as they were expelled from the world, she saw Nightcrypt open his eyes. They looked like lightning flashing in the dark of night, lightning that could rip the heavens apart. Nightcrypt took a step forward, and then he was right next to her.

"You…?" she said, panting. This sudden development was almost unbelievable.

Voice cool, Naruto stuck his chin up and said, "Like I

said, I'm going to make sure you become the blood master." He was also surprised at what was happening. When the will had descended earlier, he immediately began to regain his senses, and was soon back to normal and able to see everything which had just occurred. Now, he flicked his sleeve and grabbed Song Junwan's arm as he shot toward the vortex.

Song Junwan shivered, but did nothing to resist, and in fact, her eyes shone more brightly than ever. Although she had the feeling there was something very strange about Nightcrypt, she followed along, and the two of them became beams of bright light that shot toward the vortex.

As soon as they entered, their vision swam, and everything vanished. Back in the Blood Wasteland, the vortex vanished, and the Dharma protectors all faded away.

The third stage of the trial by fire was called the Ancient Blood Path. It was a long, cramped road, at the end of which was the heart cavity. Whoever entered that heart cavity first, of either Xuemei or Song Junwan, would be the first to have a chance to acquire the blood crystal and become the blood master.

Currently, Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan were materializing on the Ancient Blood Path. When they solidified and looked around, Xuemei was nowhere in sight, causing their eyes to widen. From what they remembered, Xuemei had been right in front of them upon entering the vortex.

Even as they looked around in surprise, the air up ahead of them began to twist and distort, and a figure materialized up ahead, a figure wearing a mask with a plum blossom on it.

At first, Xuemei seemed a bit out of sorts, but quickly recovered. After looking around, her eyes glittered, and she started making her way up the path. However, it was at that moment that Naruto and Song Junwan appeared off to the side. Song Junwan quickly stepped forward to block Xuemei's way.

When Xuemei realized that Song Junwan wasn't alone, her eyes widened. As for Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan, they also were taken aback.

"Nightcrypt!"

Naruto stuck his chin up and looked around through narrowed eyes. "Hello, everyone. We meet again."

When he noticed that Xuemei's aura had stabilized, and her other wounds were gone, he was quite surprised. Even the wound on her right hand was nowhere to be seen, as if she had used some special healing method.

"What divine ability did she use to recover so quickly?" he thought.

"Even the injury caused by Song Junwan's blood sword is gone! Amazing!" Even as Naruto stared in surprise, Xuemei's eyes flickered with cold light.

"Xiao Qing, you handle Nightcrypt. You other two, stop Song Junwan!"

With that, Xuemei ignored Song Junwan and shot up the Ancient Blood

Path. Song Junwan was just about to try to stop her when Zhang Yunshan and Yang Hongwu pulled out powerful magical treasures and attacked, holding her back. Considering they had used counterfeit command medallions to enter the Ancient Blood Path, if Xuemei didn't become the blood master, and the sect leadership found out, they would likely be executed. Therefore, everything was on the line for them at the moment.

"Do you people have a death wish!?" Song Junwan said, her expression flickering. She considered trying to break away from them to pursue Xuemei, but Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan were unleashing the full power of their cultivation bases and magical treasures. The truth was, they weren't trying to kill her, they were simply trying to delay her, and their tactics were working.

If they could hold her back for ten breaths of time, the position of blood master would be secured!

Xuemei was already about thirty meters up the path, heading toward the end. Song Junwan was getting anxious, but even more anxious than her was Naruto.

"I can't let Xuemei win!" he thought. "If she becomes blood master, not only will I lose the relic of eternal indestructibility, considering what's happened between us, she'll definitely use her power to get revenge on me."

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto howled at the top of his lungs. The power of the Heavenly Demon Body erupted out, and his aura surged. Bursting into motion, he unleashed the

Mountain Shaking Bash, launching himself in the direction of Song Junwan, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan. As he closed in, he reached out and shoved Song Junwan.

"Get out of here, Junwan. Leave these guys to me!" As his howl echoed out through the Ancient Blood Path, he waved both hands into the air in front of him, unleashing a blast of power. The effects of the magical treasures slammed into him, and yet his momentum only seemed to build.

Apparently, he was going to hold the line all by himself!

It was a spectacular sight. The heavenly demon body roared, and fleshly body power erupted out. A wave of his hands caused Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan's Chakra and blood to roil, and they staggered backward.

"Nightcrypt, are you looking to die?!" Xiao Qing's eyes shone with piercing light, and as for Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan, they were enraged. All three of them instantly pounced back for another attack. However, even as they were about to join forces, a strange light appeared in Naruto's eyes, and he suddenly punched the ground.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The Ancient Blood Path trembled as mountain-toppling, sea-draining force rippled out, forcing Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan backward. Only Xiao Qing managed to close in on Naruto, his expression grimly ferocious.

"There were a lot of witnesses in the Blood Wasteland, so killing you might have caused some problems. But here, it's a different story. Since you're looking to die, Nightcrypt, I'll just help you fulfill your wish!" Xiao Qing laughed coldly as he closed in. He had been privy to Xuemei's plan, and therefore, had never been very worried about the blood-colored keys. Back then, he hadn't been very focused on killing Nightcrypt. It had been more of an impulse in the moment. But now there were no witnesses, and Nightcrypt seemed to be asking to die. Therefore, Xiao Qing's killing intent surged.

Naruto suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his veins of steel pulsing. "You know, that's the same thing I was just gonna say."

"It doesn't matter what tricks you have up your sleeve, you're going to die, beyond the shadow of a doubt!" Xiao Qing extended his right hand, and his two fingers made the shape of a sword. Blinding, blood-colored light spilled out, creating sword Chakra that shot toward Naruto's forehead.

Powerful cultivation base fluctuations erupted out, creating something like burning fire that could consume anything in its path.

However, even as he closed in, Naruto raised his right hand with indescribable speed. He made a grasping motion in the direction of Xiao Qing's throat, and a gravitational force grabbed ahold of the man. It was none other than … something that Naruto hadn't used even once since arriving at the Blood Stream Sect. It was… the Throat Crushing Grasp!

Chapter 256 Chapter 256

Chapter 256: You're Naruto!

The Throat Crushing Grasp had accompanied Naruto from Qi

Condensation into Foundation Establishment. He had used it in the Luochen Mountains and the Fallen Sword World, and had perfected it to the finest degree. Although it was a divine ability that came with the first volume of the Undying Codex, as he had proceeded with his cultivation of the Undying Heavenly King, it had become more and more explosive.

It had taken some effort on his part to hold back from using it. Back in the Blood Wasteland, there had been too many people watching him, so even during critical moments, he had suppressed the urge to use it, or other things like Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning or his Human Controlling Grand Magic.

After all, everyone knew that the Spirit Stream Sect focused on control magic, and if he used techniques or divine abilities based on such powers, his identity would likely have been exposed. It was the same with his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, which had, up to this point, remained closed.

There were even other things…. His turtle-wok and his wooden sword, as well as his other treasures which had received threefold spirit enhancements, had all remained hidden. But now… Naruto was out of patience.

As he shouted out, the Throat Crushing Grasp appeared, and a truly bloodthirsty aura erupted out of Naruto. In combination with the power of the Heavenly Demon Body, the Throat Crushing Grasp was at the level of being able to shake heaven and earth.

Rumbling sounds erupted as his right hand appeared in front of Xiao Qing, allowing the man's two-fingered blood sword to close in. The gravitational force which suddenly appeared caused Xiao Qing's face to fall.

He was convinced he must be mistaken, but for some reason, it seemed like Nightcrypt had suddenly changed into someone else.

Nightcrypt's claw-like right hand emanated a terrifying aura that filled his heart with fear. Gasping at the sensation of deadly crisis, he lurched back, changing the direction of his blood sword to slash at Bai

Xiaochun's hand. His body twisted in bizarre fashion to avoid the attack.

In that instant, the blood sword formed by his two fingers made contact with Naruto's Throat Crushing Grasp. A sound rang out like metal scraping on metal, and Naruto's hand clamped down hard onto Xiao Qing's fingers.

CRACK!

A shockwave spread out, and Xiao Qing let out a muffled grunt. As he spun backward, his entire right arm trembled. As for his two fingers, they were crushed into nonexistence!

Face flickering, Xiao Qing barked, ""Something's off with Nightcrypt!

Yang Hongwu, Zhang Yunshan, join forces and kill him!"

Instantly, Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan took deep breaths, gritted their teeth, and attacked. Smoke swirled off of the burning incense, forming a blade! A treasured fan swished, creating an explosive wind that resembled a dragon!

Naruto didn't slow down for even a moment. Howling like a wild beast, he charged onward after Xiao Qing, his right hand clenching into a fist. As he punched out, the heavenly demon appeared, and thunderous rumbling filled the air.

As that happened, Naruto's left hand flickered with an incantation gesture, and he waved his finger at Yang Hongwu. Instantly, more than a dozen flying swords shot out of his bag of holding. Although they were garishly painted with different colors, it was still possible to see that each one had three silver designs on its surface.

All of them were treasures that Naruto had performed spirit enhancements on, backed by the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, and controlled by the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation. As soon as they appeared, Yang Hongwu'

s expression flickered.

Even as rumbling sounds echoed out, Naruto continued on without pause, turning his head in the other direction and uttering a single word!

"Cauldron!"

A violet cauldron suddenly appeared in front of Zhang Yunshan. It was covered with engravings of magical symbols, and emanated a violet glow and a majestic aura that seemed capable of shaking the heavens!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Booms rang out as Naruto single-handedly fought all three opponents. Even as Xiao Qing's face fell, Yang Hongwu's smoke was pierced by the flying swords, and he himself let out a bloodcurdling scream as he flew backward, blood splashing out from numerous wounds.

Shockingly, even as he fell back, Naruto advanced. Clearly, Yang Hongwu was the first person he planned to kill. Protomagnetic Wings sprouted out behind him, and with a single flutter, he flew forward with speed that vastly exceeded anything from before. It was almost like a teleportation, placing him right in front of Yang Hongwu. Then, his hand shot out as fast as lightning as he unleashed the Throat Crushing Grasp onto Yang Hongwu's neck.

Screaming, Yang Hongwu went all out in an attempt to defend himself. However, he had lost the initiative. First was the flurry of flying swords, and then the burst of speed, and finally the Throat Crushing Grasp. His mind was in chaos, and despite all the experience he had engaging in magical combat, he simply couldn't recover from his shock.

A cracking sound rang out as the thumb and index finger of Naruto's right hand smashed down onto Yang Hongwu's neck, crushing it!

Yang Hongwu's scream was cut short, and a look of complete incredulity could be seen in his eyes as they bulged in death.

Off to the side, Zhang Yunshan shrieked, "Violet Chakra Cauldron

Summoning. You're… you're not Nightcrypt!"

Expression one of complete disbelief, he watched as Naruto grabbed Yang Hongwu's incense and then turned to face him.

Xiao Qing's expression flickered, and his cultivation base surged as he prepared to block Naruto. However, it was then that a large wok suddenly appeared in front of him. No matter what attacks Xiao Qing unleashed, the wok wouldn't budge, and he was blocked before he could even take a half step.

That short period of time was a moment of critical danger for Zhang Yunshan. Now that Naruto had revealed himself, how could he possibly leave witnesses? He took another step, and the Protomagnetic Wings fluttered, giving him another burst of speed. He added to the momentum with the Mountain Shaking Bash, which also caused his fleshly body power to skyrocket past its previous levels.

Not only was he moving at incredible speed, he was drawing upon unimaginable power. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but in addition to all that… he yet again used the Throat Crushing Grasp!

Two divine abilities from the Undying Codex were being used in unison, unleashing power so terrifying it was difficult to put into words. As he pierced through the air, his thumb and index finger began to slam together. Zhang Yunshan had no time to dodge, or even react. One second, Naruto was some distance away, the next second he was right in front of him, his fingers clamping down onto his neck.

There wasn't even a need for Naruto to crush his fingers down violently. As soon as they touched Zhang Yunshan's neck, his momentum and the power backing him sent Zhang Yunshan flying backward into the wall of the Ancient Blood Path.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The entire path trembled as Naruto's hand crushed Zhang Yunshan's neck and slammed him into the wall, sending cracks snaking out in all directions. As for Zhang Yunshan, his corpse was now crushed permanently into the wall!

At this point, Xiao Qing finally showed up, his hair disheveled, his eyes radiating madness.

"You're Naruto, aren't you?!"

If by this point he couldn't identify Naruto by the techniques he was using, then he didn't deserve to have lived this long. The Blood Stream Sect had long since performed a thorough investigation into Naruto, and virtually all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators had heard stories about him.

Everyone knew about Naruto's signature magical techniques…. Of course… even if Xiao Qing couldn't put the pieces together because of the Throat Crushing Grasp, Naruto had used the Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning together with it! That made it more than obvious!

"Killing you will count as a big service for the sect!" Xiao Qing now knew that Nightcrypt was Naruto, but without evidence, simply reporting the matter would be pointless. Even if he tried to notify Xuemei and Song Junwan, it wouldn't do any good. It was a moment of deadly crisis, and therefore, Xiao Qing didn't hesitate to begin to crystallize his final spiritual sea. Shockingly, he was… attempting to reach Core Formation right here and now! If he succeeded, then he could kill Naruto as easily as flipping over his hand.

Although there were certain risks involved, there was no time for delay.

Naruto filled him with a sense of complete and utter deadly crisis. After all, if Naruto hit him with the same attack he had just used on Zhang Yunshan, then his chances of coming out alive were only about forty percent!

However, in the very moment that his spiritual sea began to crystallize, Naruto's Heaven-Dao aura erupted out, an aura which could suppress any and all types of Earthstring Foundation Establishment. Although Naruto was only in mid Foundation Establishment, and couldn't completely prevent Xiao Qing's spiritual sea from crystallizing, he could cause waves to spring up in his spiritual sea, and reduce his Core Formation energy by thirty percent!

Even as he put pressure on Xiao Qing's rising energy, a third eye opened on Naruto's forehead. It was none other than his Heavenspan Dharma Eye.

The violet eye opened, releasing indescribable power. It was as if… everything from the most majestic heavens to the deepest hells were nothing more than insects!

At the same time, the control power that Naruto had been working on for years surged out from within his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, creating… something that couldn't be defended against!

Even if Xiao Qing suddenly wanted to resort to calling out to Song

Junwan and Xuemei, to tell them about Naruto, the Heavenspan Dharma Eye dashed all such hopes to pieces!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Xiao Qing felt as though lightning were striking his mind. He began to shake visibly, his expression twisting, his tongue lagging out of his mouth. A muffled howl erupted from his mouth, and blue veins bulged out on his face and neck. Shockingly, he watched as his right hand suddenly began to move, completely beyond his own control. Terror shone in his eyes as his hand reached high up into the air and then rocketed down toward the top of his head!

"No…!"

Smash!

His palm crushed his head, sending blood and brain matter showering out in all directions. Xiao Qing died instantly, and his partially crystallized spiritual sea immediately collapsed.

A tremor ran through Naruto, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Blood leaked out of his third eye, which began to close. A wave of exhaustion spread through him, and he even began to feel dizzy. Panting, he pulled his hand out of the wall, and out of Zhang Yunshan's corpse.

A blank look could still be seen in Zhang Yunshan's eyes as his head separated from his body and toppled to the ground!

Naruto had used only a few dozen breaths of time to kill all three of his opponents.

However, it had taken a lot out of him. His face was ashen, but thankfully, he had spirit medicine that he could use to recover. He immediately consumed some pills, and yet, there was no time to sit down and meditate. Retrieving the turtle-wok, and taking the three bags of holding from the corpses of his enemies, he turned to look toward the end of the path. The wings on his back fluttered, and shot forward, leaving behind nothing but afterimages and sonic booms.

Chapter 257 Chapter 257

Chapter 257: Boo!?

While Naruto was in the middle of fighting Xiao Qing, Yang

Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan, Song Junwan was barreling down the Ancient Blood Path thanks to the help provided by Naruto. She even burned some of her own life blood to speed up as she pursued Xuemei.

Up ahead, Xuemei frowned as she also accelerated. However, the fact that Song Junwan was burning her life blood ensured that she only got closer and closer. Soon, she was close enough to launch an attack, and the two of them started fighting.

As the fighting began, Song Junwan's face was paler than ever. Surprisingly, not only were Xuemei's injuries completely healed, her cultivation base also seemed to have made some progress, putting her on almost exactly the same level as Song Junwan. Because of their fierce fighting, the two women slowed down, and soon they could hear booms and explosions coming from behind them. There were also words being spoken, but because of the intense rumbling sounds, it was impossible to hear them clearly.

Song Junwan's expression flickered. Although she cared about the blood master title, she was also worried about Nightcrypt. After all, for him to simultaneously fight Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan would put him in great danger.

The fact that he was putting his life on the line to help her become the blood master filled her heart with stabs of pain. She was also confused, unsure of whether or not she was doing the right thing. However, there was little time to ponder the matter. Chuckling bitterly, she attacked Xuemei with all the power she could muster.

Xuemei didn't say much, and from the look in her eye, she was getting very anxious. However, Song Junwan had a profound cultivation base, and couldn't be taken care of quickly. Even as they continued to fight, the sounds behind them suddenly ceased. At the same time, the two women gradually got closer and closer to the end of the Ancient Blood Path.

Now visible was an arched doorway that was emanating intense bloodcolored light. Clearly, beyond that door existed blood Chakra so powerful that it was difficult to put into words.

That place… was the heart cavity, and also the location of the blood crystal. Whoever got inside first would have the first chance to get the blood crystal and become Middle Peak's blood master.

In the moment that the end of the path became visible, the two women heard a sound from behind them that resembled sonic booms, as though some powerful expert were unleashing all the power at his disposal to race toward them.

Also, it was obvious that whoever this person was, it would only take them about five or six breaths of time to reach them.

Xuemei knew that the chances of that person being Nightcrypt were not large, but she wasn't willing to bet on that fact. As she and Song Junwan got closer to the arched doorway, fighting the entire way, she suddenly smiled.

"Song Junwan, the title of blood master doesn't belong to you."

Although her smile wasn't visible because of the mask, her arrogance was audible in her voice. At this point, she extended her hand, and visible there on her wrist was a violet, triangular mark.

Almost as soon as the mark became visible, it flew off of her skin and transformed into three diamond-shaped sealing marks which immediately shot toward Song Junwan, emanating powerful pressure!

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Song Junwan shivered. Blood sprayed out of her mouth as she was shoved away from the arched doorway. The three diamond-shaped sealing marks were swirling around her, emanating sealing power that Song Junwan simply couldn't break free from.

Song Junwan trembled as she looked around at the sealing marks. The sealing method that was being used was almo

st beyond comprehension, and Song Junwan quickly came to the conclusion that it was the work of Patriarch Limitless. "Xuemei, you cheap slut! Not only did you cheat, Patriarch Limitless also ignored the rules and gave you a sealing treasure! Even if you do become the blood master, the Song Clan won't let this stand!"

"Be a good girl, now. The blood master title doesn't belong to you anyway." Xuemei laughed lightly as she took a stop toward the bloodcolored door.

Bitterness and despair could be seen in Song Junwan's eyes, and her hatred for Xuemei had reached the pinnacle. It was at that moment, when Xuemei was just about to step into the door, that deafening rumbling filled the area.

Naruto appeared, right next to Song Junwan. When he saw the three violet sealing marks, his expression flickered, and he punched out with his right hand.

That blow was backed by the power of a heavenly demon, but when it landed on the three violet diamonds, the sealing marks weren't affected at all. In fact, the force of his blow was directed back at him in a backlash. Naruto gasped.

"Is that a patriarch-level seal?"

Song Junwan had no time to ponder how Nightcrypt had managed to get past Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan. Taking a deep breath, her eyes flickered with determination, and she lifted her right hand up. Laying there in the palm of her hand was a blood-colored command medallion.

There was something very strange about the medallion, and as soon as it appeared, the sealing marks around her began to twist and distort. Although they didn't shatter, it was clear that they would collapse within the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Unfortunately, Song Junwan didn't have that much time on her hands.

"Nightcrypt, take my blood master command medallion. I don't care how you do it, become the blood master! You can't let that slut succeed!" Song Junwan was throwing caution to the wind. Without any more hesitation, she hurled the command medallion toward Naruto. Because of the strange properties of the medallion itself, it passed directly through the seal, to be snatched out of the air by Naruto. Almost immediately, he could feel it vibrating as if with joy, as if it viewed Naruto with ultimate approval.

Naruto's eyes widened, but this wasn't the time for consideration. If Xuemei succeeded, he would be in grave danger, and he couldn't let that happen. Gritting his teeth, he shot toward the blood-colored archway with blinding speed!

As Song Junwan watched this happen, her entire body seemed to weaken, and yet, a smile broke out on her face.

"Nightcrypt, if you succeed, I'll do everything I can to make sure your position as blood master is stable!" Suddenly, she was struck with the feeling that this was definitely the right decision. If Nightcrypt did manage to become the blood master, that was something the Song Clan could probably accept!

Naruto disappeared into the doorway, her words echoing in his ears.

The world of the heart cavity was filled with blood-colored light. In the very middle, a gigantic heart was visible, and although it was still and unmoving, it radiated an intense pressure that could shake heaven and earth.

Enormous blood vessels stretched out in all directions, making the entire place something like a maze.

Resting on top of the heart itself was a blood crystal which emanated both radiant light and intense pressure. From the feeling it let off, it seemed that anyone who acquired it would have control over part of a legacy. They would control…. one of the Blood Ancestor's fingers!

That blood crystal was required of anyone who wished to become the Middle Peak blood master!

Xuemei was currently speeding in the direction of the blood crystal, her eyes shining with a strange light. Oddly, a head-sized crystal was currently floating along next to her, within which was a blurry figure that was screaming at the top of its lungs.

"It's there! Right there…!"

"Shut up!" Xuemei growled, pushing forward with even more speed. However, it was at that moment that her eyes narrowed, and she looked back to see Nightcrypt stepping through the entrance.

Xuemei's jaw dropped, and her killing intent immediately spiked. However, all she did was look back at the heart and push forward with greater speed than before.

Naruto took a deep breath as he looked around. As soon as he caught sight of Xuemei, his wings fluttered, and he shot in her direction. By calling upon all of the protomagnetic powers of gravity and repulsion, he was capable of speed that far surpassed Xuemei's. At the very moment that she reached the heart, he caught up with her.

Naruto was actually feeling a bit depressed. His goal had been to become the grand elder, but thanks to a freak combination of factors, he was now fighting to become the blood master. There was no time to ponder the situation; he absolutely could not let Xuemei succeed, and therefore, he was left with few options.

"I guess I underestimated Song Junwan's boldness," Xuemei said, chuckling, and then her right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Instantly, a golden arc of electricity shot out from her finger toward Naruto.

Naruto was about to counterattack, but then his face flickered. That golden arc of electricity seemed even more terrifying than anything which Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, or Zhang Yunshan had unleashed. Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto used the Mountain Shaking Bash to evade the electricity and charge directly toward Xuemei.

As soon as he appeared in front of her, he unleashed a fist strike, causing her pupils to constrict. Her lovely left hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and she slapped at his fist. As soon as their hands made contact, her hand turned golden, and Naruto gasped at the sensation of intense power, which seemed no weaker than his own fleshly body power. As he staggered backward, he looked up to see shock in Xuemei's eyes as she also lurched backward.

Just as she was about to unleash another attack… the blood crystal seemed to respond to Naruto's presence. Vibrating, it suddenly flew up into the air and shot toward him.

The shocking scene caused Xuemei's eyes to fill with astonishment. At the same time, the blurry figure in the crystal hovering next to her screamed, "Stop him! Don't let him get it!"

"Shut up!" Xuemei said, grinding her teeth. Suddenly, her eyes turned bright gold, and the blood-colored light which surrounded her vanished. Golden light sprang up around her, and she grew visibly gaunt as she used a divine ability that gave her great strength at the cost of some of her life force. With that, she extended her right hand and pointed at Naruto.

This was none other than her most powerful trump card!

A hand materialized behind her that looked just like her own right hand, with finger extended. It was huge, and radiated an intense power that filled Naruto with an keen sensation of deadly crisis. Prickling stabs of pain filled him, as though the basic structure of his body were being altered!

The sensation of danger that washed through him exceeded anything he had felt when fighting Xiao Qing, Yang Hongwu, and Zhang Yunshan, and even surpassed the feelings he had experienced when he was being chased by the Luochen Clan. The only thing it could compare to was the feeling he'd experienced because of the girl in the white dress, back in the Fallen Sword World.

Rumbling sounds filled his mind, and he knew that he could not simply sit out this crisis and wait until it ended. Nor could he try to flee. If he did, he would die. His intuition was telling him that the only way to deal with this divine ability… was to attack it head-on!

Naruto's cultivation base erupted with power, and his wings flickered as the powers of gravity and repulsion erupted out, imbuing the Mountain Shaking Bash with even more power than before, and sending him shooting at top speed toward Xuemei!

"Golden Touch!" As the words left Xuemei's mouth, they rumbled like thunder. At the same time, she waved her finger down, and the huge hand behind her rumbled forth, emanating pressure like that of the heavens.

As they closed in on each other, Xuemei's finger stabbed toward Naruto's forehead. At the same time, his thumb and forefinger began to snap shut as he unleashed the Throat Crushing Grasp.

As of this moment, he was holding nothing back. He… was going all out with every bit of power he possessed! The turtle-wok appeared, shielding him as he reached out toward Xuemei's neck.

Just when they were about to make contact, Xuemei's body suddenly blurred as she tried to dodge to the side. And yet, Naruto had been prepared for that possibility, and gravitational force erupted out of his palm with unprecedented power. It locked down onto Xuemei, making it impossible for her to move out of the way. A look of panic rose up in her eyes, and in that moment… her mask… fell off.

Now it was possible to see… a spectacularly beautiful face, with pure, fair skin!

The instant Naruto saw her facial features, he felt like 100,000 lightning bolts were striking his mind, as if his brain were about to explode. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and instinctively blurted, "Boo!?"

Chapter 258 Chapter 258

Chapter 258: Blood-Colored Light From Middle Peak!

Unexpectedly… this young woman… was Du Lingfei!

Naruto would never forget that face. He couldn't forget it. This was the very same person who had gone missing all those years ago… Du Lingfei!

Naruto felt like his mind was spinning, as if his heart were being battered by massive waves of shock. Never could he possibly have imagined that such a familiar face would be beneath that mask.

At the same time, when Naruto said "boo", the unmasked Xuemei was equally shaken. An indescribable expression gripped her face, as though she had just been struck by lightning from heaven. She also felt as if waves of shock were battering her heart and mind.

There was only one person who would ever call her such a thing, and that was… Naruto from the Spirit Stream Sect!

"Naruto!?" she blurted.

She had long since come to believe that she would never see Naruto again. Back when they had parted, she had wished that she could sever her own thoughts, erase her memories of him. However, when she heard him call her "boo", it caused her to shake visibly. At that moment, she knew… that she would never be able to forget the Spirit Stream Sect, or the events in the Luochen Mountains. She would never be able to forget… Naruto.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl in the world of the heart cavity as Naruto and Du Lingfei looked at each other.

Naruto had been in the middle of unleashing the Throat Crushing Grasp with all the power of his cultivation base, but now, he did everything he could to alter the trajectory of the attack. A backlash hit him, and cracking sounds rang out from the bones in his arm as they shattered. Intense pain surged through him, but he still managed to twist the Throat Crushing Grasp so that it passed by Du Lingfei.

Unfortunately… although Naruto was able to call upon his incredible battle prowess to change the direction of the Throat Crushing Grasp… Du Lingfei's Golden Touch magic had been fueled by her own life force. Because of that, it surpassed the limits of her own Dao. In much the same way that a child could never control a raging tiger, she could do nothing to stop the magic once it had been unleashed.

"No!" she screamed, thrusting her trembling left hand out in an attempt to change the direction of the divine ability. Cracking sounds rang out as her arm twisted sickeningly. Although she managed to slightly change the trajectory of the huge hand, she couldn't slow it down at all, and it continued on directly toward Naruto.

Although all of this takes some time to describe, it all happened within the briefest of moments. Within the blink of an eye, the huge hand was directly in front of Naruto. A huge boom filled the air, and blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut.

The Heavenly Demon Body was destroyed as Naruto was simultaneously hit with his own backlash and Du Lingfei's mysterious divine ability!

His body was now being turned into gold. This was not the golden light of the Undying Gold Skin, but rather, the fundamental structure of his body was rapidly changing, transforming him into a statue of golden metal.

Tears began to stream down Du Lingfei's cheeks. Terrified, she flew toward Naruto.

"Xiaochun…."

Although it was shining with golden light, Naruto's face was deathly pale as he looked over at Du Lingfei. There were many questions he wished to ask her, and many things he wanted to say. The complex emotions could be seen in his eyes, but as he opened his mouth to speak, blood sprayed out. His body was curr

ently beyond his own control. His cultivation base was in chaos, and his vision was growing dim.

In her anxiety, Du Lingfei completely forgot about the trial by fire. Her mission was now the last thing on her mind. The only thing she was thinking about was Naruto as she sped toward him. However, at that very moment… the blood crystal apparently sensed that Naruto was coughing up blood. The crystal suddenly began to burn, emitting thunderous rumbling sounds as it moved toward him so quickly it was almost a teleportation. The air shattered as the blood crystal… appeared directly in front of Naruto.

The crystal seemed to thrum with excitement and joy as, without pausing for a moment, it shot toward his chest. As it neared, blood Chakra spread out and stabbed into him, fusing with his heart!

Naruto trembled visibly as intense pain spread out from his heart. He let out a hoarse shout as he was thrown backward, slamming into one of the huge blood vessels. Just before he hit the withered blood vessel, it erupted with life force, a soft power that simultaneously grabbed ahold of Naruto and pulled him toward it….

Naruto was sucked into the blood vessel. Blood-colored light flared, spreading out in all directions as the blood vessel seemed to be restored to its original condition.

Things didn't stop there, though. As the light filled the world of the heart cavity, all of the other blood vessels were enveloped in it, and began to emanate strong life force as well. Within moments, the blood vessels began to twitch, sending bursts of power… toward the heart itself!

Thump-thump!

The withered heart moved, emitting thunderous pounding that echoed out throughout the entire body of the Blood Ancestor.

At the same time, that movement seemed to suddenly shove Naruto along through the blood vessel, propelling him along toward some unknown destination.

That having been accomplished, the heart once again withered up, as did the surrounding blood vessels. An incredibly powerful force of expulsion then appeared, wrapping around Du Lingfei. No matter how much she might have wanted to stay behind, she was completely incapable. Mixed emotions could be seen in her eyes as she looked at the spot where Naruto had disappeared, and sighed. Although Naruto was injured, she knew that the other legacy which had taken hold of him would not fail.

She slowly reached down and picked up her mask as her body faded away, and she was expelled from the body of the Blood Ancestor.

Song Junwan, who was still outside the heart cavity on the Ancient Blood Road, also began to fade away as she was removed.

As of this moment, the only people who remained inside the world of the Blood Ancestor's body were the dead, and… Naruto!

As for the beating of the heart which had thundered out moments ago, although it only happened once, the sound echoed out into the outside world. The sky went dim, and the lands quaked. Waves even appeared on the surface of the Heavenspan River!

Countless cultivators in the blood Stream Sect felt their hearts begin to pound, and their cultivation bases suddenly freeze up.

From the Outer Sect disciples to the patriarchs, everyone was affected!

"What's going on!?"

"Something's wrong! My heart is beating out of control!"

"My cultivation base stopped working! It's destabilizing! How could this be happening?! And what was that sound just now!?" On Lesser Marsh Peak, Nameless Peak, Middle Peak and Corpse Peak, all cultivators, grand elders and blood masters flew out, their expressions flickering. On Ancestor Peak, the prime elders were shocked, and the blood rippers were all shaken from their trances in secluded meditation. Even the patriarchs were astonished.

The Song Clan patriarch was in the middle of meditating, but his eyes snapped open, and his expression flickered. Patriarch Limitless emerged from his immortal's cave and looked off into the distance, his eyes shining brightly.

"Has the Middle Peak blood master been selected?"

"Even if the blood master was selected, something extreme like this shouldn't be happening…."

Even as everyone looked around in shock, Xuemei and Song Junwan appeared in midair, alongside Song Que and all of the other surviving Dharma protectors.

Song Junwan was panting as she looked over in Xuemei's direction. However, Nightcrypt was nowhere to be seen. Assuming that Nightcrypt had failed, Song Junwan's heart began to pound. But then, she realized that Xuemei didn't seem to have reached the blood master level.

Behind her mask, her eyes seemed filled with confusion, almost as if she had lost control of her soul.

The arrival of the group from within the Blood Ancestor, as well as the sudden deafening sound from moments ago, left the cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect initially confused. But then, a heaven-shaking, earthshattering beam of blood-colored light shot up from Middle Peak, rising up into the air to form the image of a face.

It was none other than Nightcrypt!

"Blood-colored light from Middle Peak! That's the sign of the blood master!"

"That… that means that somebody succeeded in becoming the new blood master. But that face, it's Nightcrypt! Did he… become the new blood master? How is this possible?!"

"The Middle Peak blood master isn't Xuemei or Song Junwan! How could it possibly be… Nightcrypt!?"

Eyes went wide, and mind spun. People cried out in shock. Everyone was completely and utterly astonished.

That was especially true of the people on Ancestor Peak. Numerous streams of divine sense exploded out, even from the stunned patriarchs.

Despite the widespread shock, the cultivators of Middle Peak were all deeply moved. To them, it was a moment of profound solemnity. No matter whether they wished it or not, they felt a sudden uncontrollable impulse that caused them to drop down and kowtow to the face of Nightcrypt.

Song Que, Song Zhen, Song Junwan, Xuemei, Master God-Diviner… they all dropped to their knees. Everyone who cultivated the secret magics of Middle Peak had no choice but to give obeisance. They even felt as if their blood Chakra were on the verge of collapsing.

That was the power of a blood master! A person who could control the entire mountain peak!

—

Chapter 259 Chapter 259

Chapter 259: A Legacy Is Memories!

The face floating in the blood-colored light above Middle Peak told everyone that the blood master of Middle Peak had been determined, and it was none other than… Nightcrypt!

Everyone who was familiar with Nightcrypt's face was shaken. Xu Xiaoshan gasped and rubbed his eyes. Although it seemed somewhat improbable, it actually made sense for this to have happened.

Nightcrypt had risen to prominence over the course of only a few years, but had come to influence the entire sect. He was even famous on the outside.

For him to become the blood master was within the realm of predictability. In fact… it was a logical outcome!

The grand elder of Corpse Peak looked on with wide eyes. Next to him, the Corpse Peak blood master seemed equally dazed. However, it only took a moment for him to smile. Then, his eyes began to shine, as though he were looking at an equal.

Blood masters were a proud lot, and as far as they were concerned, the only people who were worthy of being adversaries… were the other blood masters!

"Interesting…." he murmured to himself. "Other mountain peaks have had blood masters who didn't come from the major cultivator clans. Up to now, Middle Peak has been the only one who hasn't.

"How did Nightcrypt manage to turn things around and become blood master when all the cards were stacked against him…? Considering how important he is with his skill in the Dao of medicine, he'll definitely be a formidable opponent in the future!"

The blood master of Lesser Marsh Peak, the tall, burly man, looked on with a strange light shining in his eyes. He knew that, as of this moment, he would not be able to treat Nightcrypt the way he had in the past. After a moment, he looked over at the grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak and said, "Prepare a really nice gift to send over and ease some of the previous tension."

Shaken, the grand elder nodded. He also knew that… from now on, Nightcrypt was on a different level. Before, the patriarchs had liked him, and yet, held his fate in their hands. A mere thought on their part could lead to his rise, and also his fall. But now… things were different.

Now that he was a blood master, he had his own solid foundation. He was one of the true powers of the Blood Stream Sect. He had the power of an entire mountain peak at his disposal, and had been approved by the Blood Ancestor. Not even the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs would casually make a move against him.

If Nightcrypt eventually reached Core Formation, he would become a blood ripper, which was a position superior to that of a prime elder. That would make him a core element among the core elements of the sect!

A person like that was someone nobody could afford to provoke.

The blood master and grand elder of Nameless Peak were feeling much the same way as their counterparts from Lesser Marsh Peak. They quickly made arrangements to bring an impressive gift along for their next visit to Nightcrypt.

Many thoughts and feelings could be found within the Blood Stream Sect now that Nightcrypt had become a blood master. As for Xuemei, she hovered there in midair, a blank look in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then simply coughed up some blood. Eyes flickering dully, she turned and headed toward Ancestor Peak in a beam of light.

Upon arrival, the first thing she did was confer with her father, Patriarch Limitless. Then she went to her immortal's cave on Ancestor Peak and went into secluded meditation.

People took note of Xuemei's attitude, but didn't ponder it too deeply. After all, anyone who failed to succeed in a fight for the position of blood master would find the situation hard to accept.

Xuemei was acting just as it would be expected for her to act.

Although Song Junwan had mixed feelings, she gritted her teeth and flew toward Ancestor Peak to find the Song Clan patriarch. The new blood master was not from the Song Clan, and that was a very important matter. It was now a fact that could not be changed, so the Song Clan Patriarch would surely have questions and direction for her.

"Nightcrypt," she thought, "I promised that if you stopped Xuemei from succeeding, even if you became blood master yourself, that I would help persuade the patriarch to accept and support you!" Taking a deep breath, her eyes shone with determination as she arrived at Ancestor Peak and offered greetings to the Song Clan patriarch.

Everyone was shaken by the events which were playing out. However, the cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect soon realized that something was odd about the situation….

"Weird, Nightcrypt is now the blood master. But… why hasn't he come out from the trial by fire yet?"

"In the past, the new blood master would be teleported out immediately.

But Nightcrypt… is still inside the Blood Ancestor's body?"

Soon, more and more people began to wonder the same thing. By that time, Naruto had appeared in a region inside the Blood Ancestor's body that no Blood Stream Sect cultivator had ever entered before!

It was a world that seemed to be formed from shattered ruins, from countless fragmented chunks of land that made up a larger continent. On first sight, it actually resembled an enormous, shattered mirror.

It was so large that its ends weren't even visible. The broken fragments stretched as far as the eye could see, emanating an aura of death that cast everything in a gray light.

There were no signs of life anywhere. Everything was gray, and the pressure that weighed down on the area mounted continuously.

Naruto looked around blankly, unsure of where he was. He remembered aborting his Throat Crushing Grasp. He remembered Xuemei's mask falling off. He remembered seeing Du Lingfei's face. However, everything had occurred too quickly. Not only could he never have been prepared for any of it to happen, it completely exceeded anything he could have imagined.

As he thought about what had just occurred, his mind trembled as though it were being rocked by thunder. There were so many questions he wanted to ask Du Lingfei, and yet before he could open his mouth to ask them, he was sucked into the blood vessel. The next thing he remembered was looking around at the gray world around him.

As he hovered in the air above the shattered world, he took a deep breath and looked down to examine himself. All of his wounds were gone, even the effects of Xuemei's Golden Touch. He was healed and restored to his absolute peak.

A powerful blood Chakra swirled inside of him, and his Undying Live Forever Technique was pulsing, seemingly forming a resonance with the world around him….

Ripples spread out from him that caused the world to fluctuate. As the two sets of fluctuations merged, the ripples grew more and more powerful, to a shocking degree.

At the same time, rays of light began to shine up from within the cracks that separated the shattered fragments of the world. Naruto began to pant as he slowly formed speculations about where exactly he was.

Back when he'd first entered the Blood Stream Sect, he had felt a resonance very much like this, the source being something below the surface of the sect!

Apparently, all such resonances that he felt in the Blood Stream Sect originated… from this very location!

This was their origin.

Heart pounding, he decided to try to take a step forward.

As he did, intense rumbling sounds filled the entire world around him. At the same time, the resonance between his Undying Live Forever Technique and the world grew more intense, more powerful. It was like the whole world was roaring.

It was a roar of complete excitement and anticipation!

The glow that filled the world began to flicker rapidly, and the beams of light shooting up from between the gaps began to link together. Soon, channels of electricity pulsed through the world, all of them connected.

The electricity flickered more and more quickly, and the rumbling sounds grew more intense. It was almost as if a life force were awakening that had been asleep for many years, something that was struggling to emerge from death because of the resonance which had formed!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Heaven and earth shook violently, and lightning crackled with unprecedented intensity. The entire world seemed to be waking up. The blinding beams of light were fully connected, filling the world with multicolored light as a powerful life force erupted out.

It came from nowhere, as if it had been waiting for countless years to emerge. Although it was only a moment of recovered youth, it was enough to fulfill the dying wishes of the giant that was the Blood Ancestor!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Deafening rumbling sounds echoed out, and the countless shattered fragments that made up the world began to tremble. Innumerable bolts of lightning were stirring, and then, they all simultaneously shot out toward Naruto!

In the blink of an eye, they were upon him, flooding over him, boring into his skin through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, even through the pores of his skin.

Shaking violently, Naruto threw his head back and let loose a long cry. More lightning poured into him, as if the accumulated life force of the whole world were using its last bit of power… to deliver a legacy!

This was the ultimate legacy, something above the blood master level. The lightning bolts all contained memories, countless memories which bored into Naruto, filling his mind, forming a complete tableau… of memories!

A legacy is memories!

Chapter 260 Chapter 260

Chapter 260: The Second Blood Ancestor!

They were not memories revealing the origins of the Blood Ancestor, nor were they recollections of his life. They did not include visions of what had occurred upon his death. Apparently, all aspects of the will of the Blood Ancestor had vanished completely.

Perhaps, in the moments before his death, the Blood Ancestor wasn't worried about trying to possess someone to return to life years later. He only wanted one thing…. To pass on his legacy!

His legacy… of the Undying Live Forever Technique!

Apparently, the Blood Ancestor felt that the legacy of the Undying Live Forever Technique was even more important than his own life!

Insane rumbling sounds filled Naruto's mind as the countless lightning bolts from the world poured into him. Soon, the life force he had felt began to fade and dissipate.

As for the lightning bolts, they bored relentlessly into Naruto, causing the fragmented memories to gradually solidify into the first portion of the legacy!

That was… the Undying Skin!

The first volume of the Undying Codex was the cultivation method for the Undying Skin, which now rapidly grew clear in his mind.

In fact, he even came to notice some areas where his own cultivation methods were slightly different. Apparently, this portion of the legacy was even more ancient than what he had studied!

Before Naruto could analyze it in much detail, rumbling filled his mind as the second portion of the legacy appeared. It was… the second volume, that of the Undying Heavenly King. Strangely, his version of the legacy was exactly the same as what Naruto had acquired from the gravekeeper!

There were absolutely no differences!

Naruto was already panting. Now, the third portion of the legacy appeared inside of him, and as soon as he saw it, he was completely shaken, and his eyes shone with excitement.

Shockingly, it was… the Undying Muscles!

The first sentence within the legacy of the Undying Muscles was… Grow the muscles by one portion, extend longevity by ten years!

Bit by bit, the complete mnemonic to cultivate the Undying Muscles appeared within his mind. Naruto was breathing hard; he knew that, with this legacy, even if he didn't eventually acquire the relic of eternal indestructibility, everything he had done had been worth it, just to acquire the cultivation method of the Undying Muscles!

But of course, the legacy wasn't over yet! Even as the Undying Muscles technique floated in his mind, the fourth portion of the legacy bored into him.

Floating there in his mind could be seen… the Undying Bones!

The resilience of power comes from the bones, and can support limitless strength!

Naruto trembled. His eyes seemed to burn with fire as the cultivation technique of the Undying Bones swirled in his mind. His heart was pounding as, for the first time, he took the initiative to absorb the lightning surrounding him.

"The next volume is definitely… the ultimate portion of the Undying Codex, the Undying Blood!" He howled inwardly, and his mind trembled as…

The Undying Blood appeared!

Blood is the ultimate foundation of the physical body!

As of this point, all five volumes of the Undying Codex had been passed on to Naruto, and existed in his mind, full and complete!

To Naruto, the complete Undying Codex was indescribably precious. Without this bit of good fortune, after he mastered the Undying Heavenly King, he would have been forced to find the Undying Muscles volume on his own. Unfortunately, the lands of Heavenspan were huge, and Naruto wouldn't even have known where to begin looking for it. Furthermore,

he would have been forced to expend significant resources to do so.

It would have been like searching for a needle in the ocean. Even if by some random chance he happened to acquire the cultivation method for the Undying Muscles, he would have next been forced to look for the Undying Bones method, and finally, the Undying Blood.

But now, he had the full and complete Undying Codex there in his mind. On Naruto's path of cultivation, this type of good fortune could only be described as remarkable!

The complete five volumes formed something cyclical, meaning that Naruto now understood the Undying Codex as a whole much better.

The skin was on the outside. The flesh was the heavenly king. The muscles increased strength. The bones provided the structure. The blood was the essence!

These five aspects together formed the Undying Codex, and if someone cultivated all of them to completion, then it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who could kill them. That person would essentially be undying!

Because of the unification of the Undying Codex within Naruto, his Heavenly Demon Body erupted with power. Blood Chakra surged inside of him, and when it combined with the lightning, it caused a second heavenly demon to appear behind him!

His fleshly body power increased exponentially. Trembling, he threw his head back and howled. And yet… the transmission of the legacy wasn't over yet.

The lightning which crackled around him began to coalesce into… a lightning crystal!

The crystal was glittering brilliantly, filled with innumerable magical symbols that flickered and glowed, almost as if they were thoughts. When Naruto looked closer, he realized that within those symbols, he could see faces.

After looking even more closely at the faces, his heart shivered, and he gasped. Most of those faces were people he recognized, cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect.

He saw Song Junwan, Song Que, the Song Clan patriarch, Patriarch Limitless, Xu Xiaoshan, the blood masters…. There were many, many people, including quite a few that he didn't recognize.

"This…." His eyes went wide. The matter didn't take much thought to comprehend; he quickly guessed who these faces were….

"These are all of the people who have drawn upon on the hand of the

Blood Ancestor to further their cultivation…. They borrowed the Blood

Ancestor's power for their cultivation, and thus… they established invisible connections with him!"

Naruto felt like his mind was being struck by thunder. In the moment that the lightning crystal formed, the countless fragments that made up the world around him faded and went dark. All of the life force which had been present was now gone, and yet, the lightning crystal flickered with boundless light.

The appearance of the lightning crystal didn't just cause the surrounding fragments to grow dark. Everything inside of the Blood Ancestor's body seemed to fade. It was as if… the lightning crystal surpassed everything else present.

"This legacy has two main parts!

"The first part is the legacy of the Undying Codex. The second part… is the Blood Ancestor's personal legacy!

"Throughout the years, everyone who has cultivated with the help of the Blood Ancestor has become connected to him. That connection is part of the legacy!

"In addition to the blood master legacies inside the Blood Ancestor, there is also the legendary… the one and only… Blood Devil legacy!

"That's what I'm receiving right now…. This is… the Blood Devil legacy!" Naruto's mind spun as he understood everything. The lightning crystal shot toward his forehead and pierced inside of him. Instantly, pain washed through him, and he howled.

Shaking from the agony, he suddenly seemed to leave his body. His consciousness floated up and out of his head, spreading out… to fill the entire body of the Blood Ancestor!

From the head, it raced out, reaching all the way to the feet and the hands….

Millions of strands of his consciousness filled the Blood Ancestor…. He could sense the waters of the Heavenspan River surrounding him, soaking him. His right hand was reaching out of the river, stretching toward the heavens, and yet, he had no energy left.

At the same time, he realized that a sect was located on his hand… and everyone in that sect relied on his help to practice cultivation.

From the patriarchs to the Outer Sect disciples, everyone had a bloodcolored gleam in their eyes. The sensation was very strange, but Naruto didn't have time to analyze it before everything suddenly ended.

His consciousness dispersed, and when he opened his eyes, he was back where he had been inside the body of the Blood Ancestor. It was almost as if everything which had just occurred was nothing more than a dream.

Naruto took a deep breath, and a blank look could be seen in his eyes. It almost felt as if… he had just become the Blood Ancestor!

Although the sensation had ended quickly, he still felt countless thoughts swirling around in his mind, thoughts that weren't his own. They were thoughts from countless years in the past, the thoughts of everyone who had ever called upon the Blood Ancestor for help in cultivation.

Now that the countless fragments of the world around him had faded into darkness, the legacy transmission was over. Although that ending came without any fanfare, Naruto felt different.

From what he could feel inside of him, he had the power… to suppress the cultivation bases of anyone who had cultivated the path of the Blood Ancestor. Whether they were people or animals, corpses or gargoyles…. Whether they were Outer Sect disciples or Inner Sect disciples, Dharma protectors or elders, blood masters or prime elders, blood rippers… or even patriarchs!

Although he couldn't completely suppress them, he knew that a single thought on his part could reduce their cultivation bases by at least half!

Of course, the person truly doing the suppressing wouldn't be him, it would be the Blood Ancestor. Now that Naruto had acquired the legacy of the Blood Ancestor, for all intents and purposes, he was the new Blood Ancestor!

Although his cultivation base was currently too low, not nearly as fearsome and terrifying as the original Blood Ancestor's, it was still correct to say… that after obtaining the thoughts of the legacy, he… was the living, second Blood Ancestor!

Chapter 261 Chapter 261

Chapter 261: Come Out, Du Xuemei!

Naruto also had the premonition that a single thought on his part could unleash blood Chakra to bolster anyone who cultivated with the help of the Blood Ancestor, and lead to an explosive rise in battle prowess.

The mere idea left Naruto's heart pounding. After blinking a few times, he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to shock the entire Blood Stream Sect with the wave of a hand.

But then he imagined another scene in which, after raising his hand, the Blood Stream Sect went crazy trying to kill him….

Of course, imposter Nightcrypt could see everything that Naruto was seeing, and couldn't help but tremble and let out an incredulous shriek. "Blood… Blood Devil! Heavens! I can't believe… that you've become the Blood Devil!"

The Blood Devil was a legend in the Blood Stream Sect. Supposedly, he would either lead the Blood Stream Sect to glory, or completely destroy it!

As soon as imposter Nightcrypt's voice rang out in Naruto's mind, Naruto took a deep breath, and his expression turned very serious.

"Quiet down!" he said, patting his bag of holding and looking around, heart pulsing with both excitement and anxiety.

"My original purpose was to become the grand elder…. Then I became a blood master, a development I could handle. Who could have imagined that I would become the Blood Devil…?" Although he couldn't help but feel wonderful, he was also scowling.

After all, some people in the sect would happily welcome the Blood Devil, whereas others… wouldn't permit him to exist, and would do anything to kill him!

"I definitely can't let anyone in the Blood Stream Sect know what's happened…. Ai. Being too outstanding is really annoying sometimes." Sighing, he stuck his chin up and waved his sleeve, looking very much like a lonely hero.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, reduced the Blood Stream Sect to ashes…." He sighed, thinking about how he had accomplished something in the Blood Stream Sect… that he would never have been able to accomplish in the Spirit Stream Sect.

As he thought back to everything he had done here, he sighed even more. Then he remembered that beneath Xuemei's mask was Du Lingfei's face, and a profound gleam appeared in his eyes.

"Xuemei… Du Lingfei!" Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and drew upon the legacy within him. Instantly, a vortex appeared in front of him, which he stepped into and vanished.

When he rematerialized, he was outside of the Blood Ancestor's body, hovering in midair above the Blood Stream Sect, within the convergence of the blood Chakra that resembled his face.

Numerous people were wrapped up in their speculations about what was happening, and as soon as they caught sight of him, cries of surprise rang out.

"He's come out!"

"He stayed inside the Blood Ancestor's body for much longer than any of the other blood masters. Could it be that he found some other sort of good fortune?"

"Hmm. Nightcrypt definitely seems a lot more powerful than he was before…."

Song Que grumbled bitterly. Xu Xiaoshan sighed. Master God-Diviner stood there trembling. Numerous gazes were all focused on Naruto. Everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts. However, the cultivators from Middle Peak were shaking, and the pressure that radiated out from Naruto caused them to involuntarily bow their heads and then drop down to kowtow.

The entire Blood Stream Sect was shaken. Naruto hovered in midair, looking down at all the disciples and their reactions. He enjoyed

being the center of attention, and on any other occasion would have assumed the pose of a member of the Senior generation. But at the moment, he was somewhat distracted. In fact, his attention was soon drawn to Ancestor Peak.

There, he could sense Xuemei's aura.

Whether it was because of becoming a blood master, or the Blood Devil, Naruto was pleased to some extent, but not as much as he might have been, and the reason for that was Du Lingfei.

"So, Du Lingfei is Xuemei…." he murmured to himself. "And Xuemei is

Patriarch Limitless's only daughter, with a very high position in the Blood Stream Sect…."

Although Naruto could never have predicted that Xuemei would be Du Lingfei, now that he thought about it, it did make sense.

After another moment of thought, his eyes flashed, and he transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Ancestor Peak. As he neared, numerous streams of divine sense appeared to examine him, but none blocked his path.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped onto the mountain and then began to follow Xuemei's aura to her immortal's cave.

It was surrounded by a grove of plum trees, and was closed tight. Apparently, Xuemei didn't want to see anyone at the moment.

Naruto stood at the border of the plum tree grove, looking at the large door. He wanted to see Xuemei, and ask her a question!

From the moment that Du Lingfei had disappeared, all the way until Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong had identified her as the spy in the sect, that question had been burning in Naruto's heart.

He wanted to know whether the things that had occurred back in the Spirit Stream Sect, especially the connection that had appeared between them when they were being chased by the Luochen Clan… were real or not!

"Xuemei, come out and see me!" he said loudly, his voice echoing among the plum trees. The people on Ancestor Peak who were watching him all heard what he said.

Inside the immortal's cave, Xuemei also heard. However, even after waiting for some time, Naruto got no response.

"Du Xuemei, come out and see me!" he said again. This time, he spoke even more loudly. By this point, all of the patriarchs on Ancestor Peak were watching the scene, as were the prime elders, and the blood rippers in their secluded meditation facilities.

They weren't sure exactly what had occurred between Xuemei and Nightcrypt, but they could well imagine what sorts of things might have happened in the struggle between her and Song Junwan, a struggle that ended with Nightcrypt becoming the blood master.

Time passed. Several hours later, there was still no response from within Xuemei's immortal's cave. Naruto stood outside of the plum tree grove, surrounded by silence, his expression gradually turning grimmer and grimmer.

Shaking his head bitterly, he gave one last look at the immortal's cave within the grove of plum trees, then slowly turned and left. If she didn't want to see him, then he didn't want to stand around uselessly.

Before he could leave Ancestor Peak, though, a beam of light flew down to meet him. A figure soon became visible, and it was none other than Song Junwan.

Naruto stopped in place and looked up at her. When their gazes met, he could see the mixed emotions in her eyes. Although she had thrown her command medallion to him, and had also said she would support him if he stopped Xuemei and became blood master himself, it was still impossible for her to cover up the complex emotions that she felt.

"I…." he began nervously. However, before he could say anything else, Song Junwan clasped hands and bowed.

"Song Junwan offers greetings, Blood Master. Please tarry a moment, the

Song Clan patriarch wishes to see you!"

Naruto stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then buried the matter of Du Lingfei deep in his heart; he didn't feel like thinking about it any longer. Instead, he considered the situation at hand. Even though he had technically become the blood master, if the sect itself didn't approve of the situation, anything could happen.

"My goal here is to get the relic of eternal indestructibility…." he thought. "I can't stop Du Lingfei if she wishes to reveal my identity. If she doesn't, though, then I have to pass the next test, which means seeing the Song Clan patriarch!" His thoughts were in chaos, but he managed to pull himself together and nod in response to Song Junwan. Then the two of them headed toward the Song Clan patriarch's immortal's cave on Ancestor Peak.

Song Junwan maintained her silence along the way, and Naruto wasn't really sure what to say. When they reached the entrance to the immortal's cave, Song Junwan stopped and looked over at him.

"I don't regret what I promised," she said. "I've already explained everything to the patriarch. In my heart, you are the blood master. As for how the patriarch views the matter, I've done everything I can to convince him to agree with me."

Naruto nodded. Then, taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and walked into the immortal's cave. As he passed her, Song Junwan hesitated for a moment, and then added one more thought.

"There have been times in the past when outsiders acquired the position of blood master. You… can take a hard stance with him." With that, she turned and left.

Naruto watched her leave, then continued on into the immortal's cave. Before long, he was in the cave's main hall. The first thing he saw was the Song Clan Patriarch, sitting cross-legged on a stone dais!

The patriarch seemed to emanate a feeling of profound age, and was surrounded by intangible fluctuations. As soon as Naruto neared, he felt incredible pressure weighing down on him.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The pressure from the patriarch's cultivation base caused Naruto to stop in his tracks, trembling. It felt as though countless mountains were crushing down onto him, and forced him to push back with all the might his cultivation base could muster.

After a moment, the pressure suddenly vanished, causing Naruto's cultivation base power to suddenly run wild inside of him. The heavenly demon appeared behind him, and his mid Foundation Establishment cultivation base erupted.

In that moment, the Song Clan patriarch opened his eyes, and his shining gaze came to settle on Naruto, seemingly piercing into the deepest layers of his heart.

Thankfully, Naruto had his heaven-defying mask. Despite the fact that he had lost control of his cultivation base, the mask still concealed his true level. The Song Clan patriarch looked him up and down, and apparently didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

The entire process only lasted for a few breaths' worth of time, but to Naruto, it seemed much longer than that. Sweat was rolling down his face by the time the Song Clan patriarch retracted his piercing gaze. At that point, Naruto took a deep breath, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Nightcrypt offers greetings, Patriarch."

—

Chapter 262 Chapter 262

Chapter 262: The Patriarch's Stepson!

As soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, the Song Clan patriarch snorted coldly, and then spoke words that echoed as deafeningly as thunder. "Admit to your crimes, Nightcrypt!"

Naruto's cultivation base was trembling, and the intensity of the patriarch's voice caused his face to drain of blood. He felt like he was a tiny rowboat being tossed about by the raging sea that was the patriarch's fury, a rowboat that could capsize and sink at any moment.

He almost felt like he couldn't endure, and was even considering using his newfound powers to suppress the patriarch's cultivation base. But then Song Junwan's words echoed in his mind. Although he couldn't be sure if what she'd said was true, after considering everything that had occurred between the two of them, he made his choice. Gritting his teeth, he pushed back against the pressure, lifted his head up and looked directly at the Song Clan patriarch.

"What crimes did Nightcrypt commit!?" he said coldly and slowly, his veins of steel pulsing, blood Chakra surging.

"The position of Middle Peak blood master belongs to either Song

Junwan or Xuemei," the Song Clan patriarch said coolly. "No matter what occurred, any person other than them who acquires the title will have no choice other than to return it! You took a position that doesn't belong to you! I will have that title back, and you will submit."

"I, Nightcrypt, am loyal and faithful to the sect. I've performed countless meritorious services. If I'm not allowed to have the trifling blood master title, then so be it. You want to take it back? Well, I can't stop you, but… don't even think that I'll submit to you!" Although Naruto was nervous, he could read between the lines. If the patriarch wanted to strip him of his blood master title, there wouldn't be a need to waste so many words. The patriarch could simply kill him.

However, the fact that he was spending so much time talking indicated that the Song Clan patriarch didn't actually want to remove the title from him. The truth was that such a title couldn't simply be given or taken. Naruto would have to die first, and then a certain amount of time would have to pass before another blood master could be raised up.

In fact, that was why Middle Peak had been bereft of a blood master for so many years.

With all these thoughts in mind, Naruto stood there, a look of unswerving determination on his face.

The Song Clan patriarch looked at Naruto and then let out a cold harrumph. "That girl Junwan knows me quite well, and has clearly taught you a thing or two. Am I right?"

Naruto blinked, but didn't utter a word in response.

The Song Clan patriarch flicked his sleeve and rose to his feet on the stone dais. "Nightcrypt, are you willing to accept me as your stepfather, to become my stepson?!"

Despite the fact that he spoke with a cool voice, the sound was so loud that the immortal's cave seemed like it might explode.

Naruto was completely shaken by the patriarch's words. Despite the vast difference in age between them, Naruto could tell that the patriarch harbored no ill will towards him, and actually viewed him as extremely important.

His heart filled with many complicated emotions as he stood there silently. After a long moment passed, he looked the Patriarch in the eye, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Nightcrypt offers greetings, stepfather!"

The hint of a smile broke out on the Song Clan patriarch's somber face, and within it could be seen his approval of Naruto

. The truth was that it didn't matter very much to him who exactly became the blood master, as long as that person… was close to the Song Clan, and had strong character.

The blood masters were the face of the Blood Stream Sect, and embodied the might of the mountain peaks. In the coming war, they would be very important figures to the sect as a whole.

The patriarch had long since been paying attention to Nightcrypt's doings. Although he still had some suspicions about how he had accomplished everything he did, he was still very pleased. That was especially true of his shocking skill in the Dao of medicine.

The only thing he wasn't very happy about was Nightcrypt's cultivation base. He was only in Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, and that seeming weakness would make future growth difficult.

"We are on the cusp of war. If you fight well, then I'll discuss matters with the other patriarchs. Perhaps we can pull off a heaven-defying act and remold your spiritual sea. Although such a thing couldn't be done overnight, we might be able to push you from Mortal-Dao into Core Formation.

"If you reach Core Formation, you will become a blood ripper. As for where you would end up in the end, it would all depend on your own good fortune. I can't say for sure what will happen, but considering your luck, you may be able to walk a path of your own." With that, he waved his right hand, and a fist-sized violet-colored lamp flew out to float in front of Naruto. Voice softening a bit, the Song Clan patriarch said, "Since you're my stepson now, I'm giving you this to keep you safe. It's a magical device that I used years ago. It can release a bloodflame that can burn anything and everything. It's comparable to the attack of a Core Formation cultivator."

Naruto looked at the violet lamp, and could immediately tell that it was something the Song Clan patriarch deeply valued. When he reached out to hold it, he could sense warmth flowing into him. The lamp also emitted a soft light that made it seem anything but ordinary. At the same time, it radiated a sense of intense danger that made Naruto feel like he was looking at a raging fire.

The fact that the patriarch was giving him something like this showed that he truly did view him as a stepson.

Although Naruto was delighted to have been given such a gift, it filled him with even more mixed emotions than before.

"Many thanks, stepfather!" he said softly, bowing his head.

With that, the Song Clan patriarch smiled broadly and said, "As a blood master, you may take an immortal's cave on Ancestor Peak, and may come and go as you wish. Furthermore, as my stepson, you may come to visit me anytime you wish. If you have any questions about your cultivation base, feel free to come to me to get an answer.

"Very well, take your leave. In seven days, a grand ceremony will be held to tell everyone under heaven that Nightcrypt… has become the blood master of the Middle Peak of the Blood Stream Sect!"

Naruto was a bit taken aback. He had never imagined that he would pass this test so easily. In fact, from the things the Song Clan patriarch had said, it was obvious how important he felt Nightcrypt to be. After making his way back to Middle Peak, he sat down in his immortal's cave, wondering if everything was a dream.

So many things had happened. First was the revelation that Xuemei was actually Du Lingfei. Then he became the blood master, and then the Blood Devil. And after all that, the Song Clan patriarch took him as a stepson. In the end… Naruto couldn't help but think that the Blood Stream Sect really had treated him well. He was already starting to feel very bad about all of his decisions.

Even as he sat there sighing to himself, night fell. Suddenly, Naruto's expression flickered, and he looked up. Outside of his immortal's cave, a voice could be heard, soft and respectful.

"Nightcrypt, my lord, may I seek an audience? It's me, Master GodDiviner."

Master God-Diviner stood outside the immortal's cave, a fawning expression on his face, looking both nervous and respectful. The moment he found out that Nightcrypt had become the blood master, he started getting very nervous. After thinking about everything that had gone on between them, he got the sensation that a cold wind was creeping up his back.

Not wanting to delay matters, he had braced himself and immediately headed over to Naruto, a valuable gift in hand.

The fact that Master God-Diviner had interrupted his ruminating left Naruto feeling a bit irritated.

"What do you want?" he said coldly. As soon as Master God-Diviner heard the words, his heart seized, and he cursed bitterly to himself.

Based on Nightcrypt's tone, it seemed like he wanted to settle accounts. Master God-Diviner could think of plenty of ways in which that might happen. Nightcrypt could throw him into the blood prison, or send him to the front lines in the coming war. There were many ways that he could be sent to his death.

Considering that Master God-Diviner was an elder of Middle Peak, there was no way he could extricate himself from the situation. Flustered at how he was teetering on the edge of death, he gritted his teeth and flopped down onto his knees.

"Blood Master, I beg for your favor. A person of great moral stature such as yourself will surely overlook the crimes of a scoundrel like me. In the past, I acted in ignorance. Blood Master, please be lenient. I implore you, take this ancient Godpower Talisman that I came across years ago. Surely it can sate your anger." Suppressing the pain he felt at losing such a powerful object, he held out a green paper talisman.

The talisman emanated fluctuations that Naruto could feel even inside his immortal's cave, fluctuations that seemed to have originated in ancient times. Heart trembling, he emerged from his immortal's cave to stand in front of Master God-Diviner and examine the talisman for a moment.

The arts used to create this ancient Godpower Talisman were long since lost to the world. It could provide a temporary but incredible boost to one's fleshly body, making one vastly more powerful.

To Naruto, it meant that he could power up to an incredible and shocking level.

Looking over at Master God-Diviner, he put the talisman into his bag of holding, then cleared his throat.

"We're all fellow disciples," he said. "There's no need to act like that. I've long since forgotten what happened before." With that, he patted Master God-Diviner on the shoulder.

Master God-Diviner had been incredibly nervous, and had even been wondering if he would make it out of this situation alive. Therefore, once he heard Naruto's words, relief flooded his heart. Feeling like he had unexpectedly been pulled away from death's door, and had even been treated magnanimously, he was now more grateful than ever.

Bowing his head over and over again, he repeatedly swore to follow Nightcrypt to the ends of the earth. Seeing the encouraging smile on Naruto's face, he felt even more moved. Finally, he left.

Naruto blinked a few times as he realized that, considering his current position, all he had to do was show people a bit of favor, and he would reap enormous benefits as a result.

Chapter 263 Chapter 263

Chapter 263: Looting The Lady's Bedchamber!

Time passed quickly. Seven days. During that time, many cultivators from Middle Peak came for formal visits. Obviously, they all brought gifts with them, hoping to resolve any past differences they'd had with Nightcrypt.

Naruto dealt with most of the people in the same way he'd dealt with Master God-Diviner. As a result, not only did his reputation in the Blood Stream Sect improve, but quite a few people were so thankful that they also implied that they wanted to become his followers.

Naruto was very pleased, and couldn't help but muse that he had handled everything perfectly. In fact, he decided that he would continue to use such methods in the future.

Eventually, it came time for the official ceremony to install Nightcrypt as the blood master. On that day, all cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect were present. Prime elders, blood rippers, and even four of the patriarchs showed up to bear witness to Nightcrypt taking his position!

As the grand elder of Middle Peak, Song Junwan formally presented the blood master robe to Naruto. As soon as the garments settled onto his shoulders, Nightcrypt's somber features grew even more solemn.

All of the cultivators of Middle Peak, including Song Junwan, dropped to their knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, Blood Master!"

Their voices echoed out for all to hear, accompanied by a heavenshaking, earth-shattering eruption of blood Chakra from the mountain peak itself, which rose up like a pillar into the sky.

As of this moment, Nightcrypt's name had become formally inscribed into the historical canons of the Blood Stream Sect. It was official. He was… Middle Peak's blood master.

The cultivators from the other mountain peaks didn't kowtow, but they did clasp hands and bow. Although Nightcrypt wasn't the blood master of those other mountain peaks, he was still a blood master, and was thus a figure deserving of respect, someone that no one in the sect could possibly dare to offend.

Naruto looked around at the kowtowing cultivators, and inside, sighed a thousand sighs as countless thoughts raced about in his mind.

It had been many years since anyone had occupied Middle Peak's Blood Master Temple, but from this day forth, it would be called Naruto's immortal's cave. Without his express invitation, no one would be able to set even a foot inside.

Not even Grand Elder Song Junwan could do so.

The ceremony lasted for most of the day. Toward the end, the blood masters and grand elders from the three other mountain peaks came to offer formal greetings, and then a feast was held in Blood Master Temple.

The atmosphere was jovial, and no one got the impression that Nightcrypt wasn't fit for the position. Song Junwan sat next to him to attend him, and when she looked over at him occasionally, although mixed emotions could be seen in her eyes, they also glowed brightly.

Throughout the entire occasion, Naruto never saw Xuemei, nor Patriarch Limitless. Eventually, the feast ended, and the guests departed. Naruto sat alone in Blood Master Temple, looking off into the distance, relishing the feeling… of power.

"The lives of everyone on Middle Peak… are in my hands." he murmured to himself. As he watched the setting sun, he could sense the fluctuations emanating out of Middle Peak, and the resonance it formed with him.

That was one of the unique abilities of a blood master. Furthermore, his powers weren't necessarily limited to Middle Peak. If required, he could step in for the blood masters of the other peaks to suppress people on those mountains.

"Du Lingfei doesn't want to see me," he murmured to himself.

"However, I

already have the answer to my question." He shook his head. The fact that he had been formally installed as blood master indicated that no one in the Blood Stream Sect was aware of his true identity.

That much was clear, much to Naruto's relief.

"Everyone has the right to make their own choices. I guess this is your choice." After a bit more thought, he finally put the matter to rest.

Naruto didn't want to stay in the Blood Stream Sect any longer than necessary. Whether it was for his own personal reasons, or for the fact that war would soon break out, he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"It's almost time to say goodbye…." He sighed and looked down the mountain toward Grand Elder Song Junwan's immortal's cave.

As the blood master, there were many methods he could employ to get into Song Junwan's immortal's cave. As far as her restrictive spells, and the attendants outside the cave, he could deal with them all as easily as flipping over his hand.

However, he couldn't go about the task casually. In the end, he called upon his authority as the blood master to assign Song Junwan a special mission.

She would be sent to a legacy pocket realm within the Blood Stream Sect. Normally, it was a place where the blood masters would go to reach Core Formation when they reached the great circle of Foundation Establishment. As for Song Junwan, she was reaching the point of breaking through to Core Formation, so being able to enter that pocket realm would be of incredible benefit.

Normally, it was a place that only blood masters could enter. Not even the patriarchs could easily arrange for others to go in. Only the blood masters themselves could hand that right over to another person.

When Song Junwan heard about the arrangement, she looked at Naruto with shining eyes. Apparently, this act resolved even the slightest remaining reservations she had in her heart. As for Naruto, he could hardly stand the look in her eyes, and inwardly cursed her vixen ways.

After handling Song Junwan, he also arranged for the attendants who guarded her immortal's cave to be sent off on a task. The result was a rare occasion: Song Junwan's immortal's cave was left completely unguarded.

It wasn't anything very noteworthy as far as the sect went. No one would ever dare to try to break into a grand elder's immortal's cave. Besides, there would be little point to doing such a thing.

After everything was arranged and taken care of, Naruto strolled out of Blood Master Temple and walked along the paths of the Middle Peak. The sky above was a muted orange color, and a gentle wind caressed his cheeks. No one else could be seen as Naruto slowly approached Song Junwan's immortal's cave.

After crossing the lake of blood, he found himself in front of the main door. Reaching out, he placed his hand onto the surface of the door. He could now control all spell formations on Middle Peak, so all it took was a slight push to send it swinging quietly open.

As the door opened, his heart began to beat faster, and his eyes shone with keen anticipation. He had been in the Blood Stream Sect for quite some time now, and from the time he had been a completely nobody all the way to his current situation, he had done everything in order to acquire the relic of eternal indestructibility.

As of this moment, his goal was at hand!

"I wonder… what exactly the relic of eternal indestructibility is?" Taking a deep breath, he strode into Song Junwan's immortal's cave. He was familiar with the place, and quickly walked into the inner sections of the cave, where Song Junwan's bedchamber was located.

Looking around, he saw decorations which clearly identified it as a woman's room. He almost felt like he was doing something a bit perverted. He cleared his throat.

Calming himself, he performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger, causing blood Chakra to form into a sword, which he sent stabbing down into the ground.

He began to dig a large hole, going deeper and deeper until he hit something that seemed to be made of metal, something so tough that when the sword Chakra hit it, the Chakra collapsed.

In fact, even though he could see the item with his naked eye, it was completely invisible to divine sense.

"Eee?" Leaping down into the bottom of the hole, he found himself standing on what appeared to be a black sheet of iron.

"This is the place!" Reaching down, he rubbed the iron sheet, which caused a cold sensation to pierce him down to his bones. After trying several different ways to dispel the stabbing cold, he drew upon the Undying Live Forever Technique and finally blotted it out.

Once again, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, forming a sword with blood qi, which he used to hew out more space along the edges of the iron sheet. Gradually, more of the metal was revealed.

Furthermore, a magical symbol became visible. It was very complicated and ornate, and Naruto wasn't sure how to read it. However, in the very center of the symbol was an indentation that seemed to be the exact shape of a medicinal pill.

Instead of pulling out the medicinal pill he had concocted back in the Spirit Stream Sect, he studied the iron sheet a bit more. Suddenly, he gasped.

"This is Middle Peak, which is actually the middle finger of the Blood Ancestor…. I wonder if this iron sheet is actually a ring on the giant's finger? A ring belonging to the Blood Ancestor!"

With that, he thought back to the moment when he had accepted the legacy, and had momentarily become the Blood Ancestor. Now that he thought about it, he was certain that a ring had indeed existed on the middle finger!

"There are all types of magical devices of holding. I wonder… if this ring is actually a ring of holding?" After a bit more thought, he slapped his bag of holding and produced the medicinal pill, which he carefully placed into the indentation in the magical symbol.

In the instant that it clicked into place, it melted, and the magical symbol lit up, causing blinding light to shine out. Thankfully, the light was contained by the immortal's cave, otherwise it would have been visible from quite a distance.

Naruto's heart was pounding as he backed up and looked at the magical symbol. Gradually, the light began to fade away, and cracking sounds could be heard. Naruto watched as the magical symbol changed shape, as though a sealing were being undone. Soon, it transformed into the shape of a door.

Naruto stood there, staring at the door for a long moment before finally gritting his teeth.

"I've come this far, I can't stop now. Let's see what exactly this relic of eternal indestructibility really is!" Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and vanished into the door.

When he reappeared, he was in another location, surrounded by blurry darkness. He wasn't sure how large of a space he was in, but he could see that right in front of him was a palm-sized turtle shell.

On top of the shell was a golden leaf!

Other than those two items, nothing else was visible.

—

Chapter 264 Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Disaster Brewing….

Naruto's eyes widened as he stepped forward and grabbed the golden leaf. Other than its unusual color, there didn't seem to be anything special about it.

As for the turtle shell, it was deathly still, and radiated an air of complete and utter ancientness. However, it didn't seem at all like the eternal and indestructible relic that Naruto had been expecting.

"Where's the relic of eternal indestructibility?" he exclaimed. Then he began to search around madly for anything else in the area. However, other than the turtle shell and the golden leaf, there was nothing present.

At one point, he bit down on the golden leaf, but it was so hard his teeth almost broke. Obviously, it wasn't intended to be eaten. Naruto was starting to go crazy. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was starting to wonder if he had been played. He quickly produced the soul of imposter Nightcrypt.

"Dammit, tell me the secret of eternal indestructibility!" Naruto raged. "The only things here are this leaf and this turtle shell. They're completely useless!"

Imposter Nightcrypt's soul stared around blankly, clearly flummoxed.

"This is impossible! The mysterious sect definitely said it was here…." Naruto was feeling more and more like he had been played. When he thought about all the toil and suffering he had put into this mission, even risking his own life, only to come here and find nothing, he felt more wronged than he ever had in his entire life.

He searched around a bit more, but to his increasing despair, found nothing. In the end, he stared down at the turtle shell. Of course, he loved turtles, but this turtle shell was tiny, much tinier than even his turtle-wok.

"Don't tell me the relic of eternal indestructibility is this turtle shell? But what is it supposed to do…?" Naruto was about ready to cry. Sighing and scowling, he finally put the turtle shell and the golden leaf into his bag of holding, and then walked out through the glowing door. Looking down at the hole he had excavated in the floor of the immortal's cave, he scowled, and then began to fill it in. Some time later, after making sure everything looked exactly as it had before he arrived, he trudged away.

Outside the immortal's cave, he sighed, then looked up into the sky. To him, it felt as if the world had just played a huge trick on him.

"All of my toil and suffering….

"Things got so dangerous I almost died….

"I… I…" Feeling incensed, he returned to Blood Master Temple, then pulled out the golden leaf and the turtle shell and studied them a bit. Eventually, he realized that the golden leaf was extremely durable, and apparently, impossible to tear apart.

However, other than that, it didn't seem special. He suspected that the leaf must contain some technique hidden inside of it, but even after opening his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, he couldn't see anything.

As for the turtle shell, it seemed dead, completely dried out, albeit relatively sturdy. Once upon a time, a living turtle had existed inside the shell, but now, that turtle was nothing more than a corpse.

Naruto didn't rest that night. By the next morning, his eyes were bloodshot, and he finally decided to give up on his research. He let out a sigh filled with grief and discontentment.

Imposter Nightcrypt's soul was so scared that he didn't dare to utter a peep, fearful that Naruto might flip out and kill him. However, he couldn't help but feel wronged in the whole matter; he hadn't been telling lies!

As he sank into despair, Naruto realized that he had no desire to rema

in in the Blood Stream Sect any longer. Sighing continuously, he began to think of a reason to leave. However, even as he did, a beam of light shot up from each of the other three mountain peaks.

Within those three beams of light were the three other blood masters. When they arrived on Middle Peak, their expressions were casual and relaxed, and apparently they had come simply to chat. Naruto couldn't help but wonder what their real purpose was, but he humored them. For a bit of time, they simply talked about random things.

Finally, the blood master from Lesser Marsh Peak couldn't restrain himself from getting to the point.

"Nightcrypt," he said. "The three of us have been given some top-secret information. Naruto, the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert from the Spirit Stream Sect, has not been in secluded meditation for the past few years. He actually left the sect some years ago to gain experience. Some people even suspect that he entered Blood Stream Sect territory! Whether or not that information is correct, we can't be completely sure. However, even the chance that it might be true means that we could have an opportunity to kill Naruto!"

Naruto's heart was already pounding, but he didn't let any of that emotion show on his face.

Tone solemn, the blood master continued, "All of us blood masters swore an oath to the patriarchs that we would hunt down and kill Naruto. We would exterminate the young successor of the Spirit Stream Sect, their Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert!

"In our cultivation, we have to cut down Chosen like that. Kill them, steal their good fortune, and use that to realize our own Dao!

"We swore a formal oath as blood masters, and since you're a blood master now too, we all need to stand as one! Since the oath has our names on it, then naturally, it should have yours as well!"

The blood masters from Corpse Peak and Nameless Peak nodded solemnly. From the way they were looking at him, it seemed they wouldn't leave until he agreed.

Naruto was already trembling in fear because of what he'd heard. Obviously, these people had sworn an oath, and yet failed to live up to it, and now they were trying to drag him into their little cabal….

He thought about refusing, but could tell that they wouldn't let him off the hook easily. Even as he hesitated, the Corpse Peak blood master produced a jade slip from his bag of holding.

"This is the oath we swore to the patriarchs. We had to make a special request to bring it here today. All you have to do is place your mark upon it, that's all." With that, he handed the jade slip over to Naruto.

Naruto eyes widened when he realized how well-prepared the group was. Inwardly, he cursed about how outrageous these blood masters were, forcing him to swear an oath to kill himself….

The more he thought about it, the worse it sounded. That was especially true when he examined the jade slip and saw that, in addition to the substantial reward that was being offered upon Naruto's death, there was also a punishment for failure. That punishment involved being confined to the sect's Abysmal Defile.

Naruto had heard of the Abysmal Defile before. It was a deep ravine filled with wind and fire, a place where cultivation felt like pure torture. Ordinary people couldn't even survive the place.

When he saw that, he felt more nervous than ever. As Naruto, he hadn't done anything to these three blood masters. What right did they have to make things so hard for him, to risk such incredible punishment in their attempt to kill him?

Seeing the fierce looks in their eyes, he gritted his teeth and put his mark onto the jade slip. Inwardly, he was chuckling coldly. "You people might as well abandon any hope of ever succeeding. Even with me in your little cabal, you'll be waiting forever!"

When they saw Naruto put his name on the oath, they all smiled and relaxed a bit. The truth was that this agreement had been a huge headache for them. Back when they had first sworn the oath, they had been attempting to take the lead among the other cultivators in the sect. However, after all the years that had passed, they still hadn't accomplished their mission. Now that Middle Peak had its blood master, they all agreed that they had to get the fourth blood master into their group no matter the cost. After all, an addition person to help would be the ideal situation.

"I might only have been promoted to blood master recently," Naruto said, sounding very serious, "but this is a serious matter. We need to turn up some clues immediately. Since Naruto is supposedly in Blood Stream Sect territory, then how about this… I'll go search for him right away! If I turn anything up, I'll send you three a message instantly. Then we can all attack together to take Naruto down!"

As soon as the other three blood masters heard his suggestion, their expressions brightened, and they exchanged meaningful glances. Then, all of them declared their own intentions of going out to search for Naruto. As soon as anyone found new information, they would notify the others. Feeling very pleased, they all left.

Naruto chuckled coldly inside, then began to pack his things in preparation for departure.

Some time later, he left the gates of the sect, and then turned to look back, his eyes filled with sighs and other mixed emotions.

The truth was that even he wasn't sure exactly how he felt about the Blood Stream Sect.

"It would be great if this war could be avoided somehow…." he murmured to himself. With that, he turned to look in the direction of Xuemei's immortal's cave on Ancestor Peak.

"The choice is yours," he said with a sigh. Then he turned and flew off in a beam of light.

Before he had gone very far, he suddenly realized that he already missed the Blood Stream Sect. He thought back to everything which had occurred there, and couldn't help but look over his shoulder one more time at the sect.

"I might not ever come back here again in my entire life…." Even as he hovered there looking back at the sect, his eyes suddenly went wide with shock.

Something was happening on Nameless Peak! A black cloud was rising up into the air, a huge mist filled with countless gargoyles. The gargoyles were exploding into action, howling at the tops of their lungs in voices that could shake heaven and earth.

"Down with the Blood Stream Sect! We will be free! We will be our own masters!"

"Cultivators of Nameless Peak, you have oppressed us gargoyles for too long! We refuse to submit to you! Today is the day we rebel against the Blood Stream Sect!"

The shrill cries of the gargoyles erupted out to shake the entire Blood

Stream Sect. That was especially true of the cultivators on Nameless Peak, who were utterly shocked. The gargoyles which had previously been under their command were suddenly completely ignoring their orders.

Even some of the oldest gargoyles were joining in, and they seemed the most enraged of all. There was one gargoyle who appeared to be their leader, and was located in the very center of the army.

That particular gargoyle suddenly launched into a speech, his voice loud and piercing.

"Fellow Gargoyles, the time has come to attack! Fear not, my master has already become a blood master, someone powerful enough to shake the world. Today is the day that we gargoyles rise to prominence! We will shake off the manacles placed upon us by Nameless Peak! Today, we fight for our freedom!"

Naruto gasped as he realized who the leader of the gargoyles was. It was none other than Shadow, the gargoyle he had fed medicinal dregs to when he had been concocting medicine on Nameless Peak. Back then, the gargoyle had been meek and subservient, but now, it seemed completely arrogant and despotic. His words immediately caused Naruto to shiver.

Swallowing hard, beads of sweat popping out on his forehead, Naruto quickly turned and made his way off into the distance, fearful that after the gargoyle insurrection was put down, the Blood Stream Sect would look for him to settle accounts.

"Dammit! I was wondering why nothing strange happened when I concocted medicine on Nameless Peak…. It turns out the disaster was brewing this entire time…." Looking like he might cry at any moment, he left behind the raging howls of the gargoyles and the cold snorts of the patriarchs. He fled for his life.

—

Chapter 265 Chapter 265

Chapter 265: Knocking Sounds….

After leaving the Blood Stream Sect, Naruto shot through the air in a beam of light. The sky stretched out in all directions, peppered with occasional clouds. Flying along as he was, Naruto felt as free as a bird.

The jungle which filled the Blood Stream Sect's territory was the color of blood, and in many areas, radiated a dangerous and brutal aura.

However, whatever deadly entities existed therein quickly shrank down into the shadows as soon as they sensed Naruto's blood qi.

Virtually everything in the area was connected in some way to the Blood Stream Sect, and Naruto soon found that it could all be suppressed by his aura.

As far as the cultivator clans in the area went, Naruto's high status in the Blood Stream Sect ensured that he could completely ignore them. When blood masters went out of the sect, even if they went out alone, they had numerous ways to suppress anyone or anything they came across. They could travel about completely unobstructed.

Even the most powerful beasts Naruto encountered would retreat once they sensed his aura. None of them dared to provoke him.

Naruto flew along enjoying the scenery, feeling very relaxed.

Along the way, he spent some time to practice cultivation. Now that he was away from the Blood Stream Sect, he could tell that his Undying Live Forever Technique was working a bit more sluggishly.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about that. Thankfully, he had the legacy of the Blood Ancestor, and could now be considered a true master of the Undying Codex. Although his cultivation of it had slowed some, he was practicing the true method, and was thus able to compensate for the decrease in speed.

As for the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, Naruto decided it was best not to cultivate it in Blood Stream Sect territory. A signature magical technique like that would be best practiced after he passed over the Luochen Mountains.

However, he was itching to try out his Human Controlling Grand Magic, and managed to find a few chances to practice with it. He hadn't spent much time working on it, but now that his cultivation base was at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, the spiritual power he could wield ensured that the Human Controlling Grand Magic was quite marvelous.

By now, he had been studying the powers of gravity and repulsion for years, and yet, wasn't willing to give up on them, and continued to spend time analyzing them.

When he got tired because of all the traveling, he would impose on one of the local cultivator clans. Whenever he left such clans, they would always throw a big fanfare out of respect for him.

As time went on, his sighs grew heavier. He was going to miss being a blood master. As far as he was concerned, giving up that title was worse than losing a fortune.

"Ai. I really am simply too righteous. Too principled! I'm giving up so much for the sake of the Spirit Stream Sect." The more Naruto thought about it, the more he felt like he was really making a huge sacrifice.

"And then there's Song Junwan…." Whenever he thought about her, he remembered her beautiful features, and would feel his heart growing hot. He sighed.

"Wan'er, good and evil just can't mix…." he said, trying to look as righteous as possible. However, the disappointment he felt forced him to turn back and look longingly in the direction of the Blood Stream Sect.

The further away he got, the more he thought about everything that he had done there. Eventually, he just had to grit his teeth and fly onward.

One day, an enormous mountain range rose up in front of him, stretching out along the horizon like a dragon. Although it seemed close, from

what Naruto could tell it was at least half a day away even if he flew at top speed.

"Once I get over those mountains, I'll be in Spirit Stream Sect territory…." Determination flickered in his eyes, and he was just about to fly onward when, all of a sudden, he caught sight of three beams of light flying through the air toward him.

Soon, an old man became visible, along with two younger men. The old man had a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, whereas the younger men were in the seventh or eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and were flying with the aid of magical devices. As they all flew along, the old man frowned and rebuked the younger men.

"War is on the horizon! You two are the future of the Shuiyue Clan! If you fly with speed like that, how do you think you'll manage to stay alive in the fighting!?

"To fly with magical items requires control of your cultivation base! However, skill is only one of the things that will enable you to fly!" The two young men gritted their teeth and worked harder to control their magical devices. And yet, no matter what they did, they still wobbled unstably. One of them even managed to get so out of control that he fell off.

"Imbecile!" the old man spat. "The clan has spent a lot of resources on training you, and yet you're as dumb as an ox!" He swished his sleeve, catching the young man before he fell. He was about to continue with his tirade when he suddenly sensed Naruto.

Irritated, the man looked over and said, "Hmph! What are you blind? Don't you know this is Shuiyue Clan territory? You're not allowed to fly around here. Screw the hell off!"

Naruto had originally planned to ignore the group of three and simply fly along. But then the old man had the nerve to curse him.

"What did you just say!?" Naruto said, glaring back at the old man.

The old man's eyes went wide, and then he gasped and began to tremble visibly.

"That's the blood master of Middle Peak," he thought, "Nightcrypt the Plaguedevil!"

The old man's face drained of blood as he thought back to what he had just said. Heart pounding, he bitterly clasped hands and bowed toward Naruto.

"The Shuiyue Clan offers greetings, exalted Blood Master!"

Naruto snorted coldly and then approached the group of three.

"How did you people know where to find me?" he asked icily.

The sight of Naruto looking them up and down caused the two young Chakra Condensation cultivators to bow their heads in terror. Even the old Foundation Establishment cultivator felt his scalp tingling in anxiety as he thought of all of the blood-curdling stories he'd heard about the blood master of Middle Peak.

"W-we didn't know you were in the area, oh exalted Blood Master. The Shuiyue Clan is based in this region, so we pay attention to all the passing cultivators. When we realized you had come, we immediately came out to offer greetings, and invite you to our humble clan to rest for a bit…."

Naruto nodded arrogantly. Considering he was a blood master, he figured it would be best to act much more brazenly than normal.

"Very well," he said. "Take me to this clan of yours."

The old man shivered. Plastering a smile onto his face, he immediately led Naruto back to his clan.

The Shuiyue Clan was located in Blood Stream Sect territory, and although it wasn't one of the larger cultivator clans, they were more powerful than the smaller clans. A middle-sized clan, they occupied three mountains that were covered with emerald green fruit trees, forming quite a contrast with the surrounding crimson-colored vegetation.

The fruit on the trees was pitch black, and emanated a strange, fragrant aroma which filled the entire Shuiyue Clan, giving it a somewhat otherworldly air.

As soon as Naruto got near, he noticed the strangeness of the clan, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Eee?!"

"Exalted Blood Master, these fruits aren't a product of the Shuiyue Clan. They grow here naturally. In the past, the Blood Stream Sect came to harvest some of the fruits, and determined that they were toxic. Because of that, they're inedible, and are only good for making poison. However, the aroma of the fruit can be used to drive away certain wild beasts. It also has certain hallucinogenic properties…."

The old man didn't seem very surprised at all by Naruto's reaction. Whenever anyone visited the Shuiyue Clan for the first time, they would be somewhat entranced by the fruits. However, despite many years of research, no one had ever found a use for the fruits by cultivators.

When Naruto flew into the Shuiyue Clan and stepped onto their first mountain, the clan members there were all shocked, and immediately began to bow in formal greeting. Naruto ignored them and walked up to one of the fruit trees. After plucking one of the fruits off of the tree, he looked at it closely, and quickly confirmed that the information he'd been given was true.

"The world of plants and vegetation is filled with all sorts of fantastic oddities…. This fruit's aroma truly can cause hallucinations…." As he looked around at the trees, he could tell that they were very old. After looking around for a bit, he was even able to find one tree on the third mountain that was so old he couldn't identify its age.

That tree was so large that ten people could wrap their arms around its trunk. It was somewhat withered, with more than half of the tree showing no signs of life.

The aroma emitted by the fruits on that tree were particularly strong. After sniffing one of the fruits, Naruto felt somewhat lightheaded, and was forced to rotate his cultivation base to dispel the effects.

"What a pity. You can dispel the effects within a breath of time with your cultivation base. If the effects lasted longer, maybe these fruits might be worth something." Shaking his head, he turned to leave. However, it was at that moment that his expression flickered, and he looked down at his bag of holding.

A moment before, he had sensed a certain aura inside the bag suddenly change. After scanning the bag of holding with divine sense, a strange expression appeared on his face. Waving away the surrounding members of the Shuiyue Clan, he pulled out a little palm-sized turtle shell, which was the potential relic of eternal indestructibility he'd acquired from Song Junwan's immortal's cave. Before, the turtle shell had seemed as hard as a rock. After all, whatever was inside the shell was long since dead. However, because of the fragrant aroma of the old fruit tree, the shell had changed, and whatever was inside now seemed different, somehow soft and pliable.

Suddenly, a green little tail popped out of the back of the shell. Naruto's eyes went wide as four little limbs emerged, and then an emerald green head….

"It's alive?" Gasping, he looked closer. Closer examination revealed that the head and limbs were all limp and lifeless. They almost just looked like mere decorations.

Something about it seemed strange, but Naruto wasn't sure what.

After a moment of thought, he shook the turtle shell back and forth a bit. When the head and limbs smacked into the shell, knocking sounds rang out….

—

Chapter 266 Chapter 266

Chapter 266: I'm Back!

He didn't stay very long in the Shuiyue Clan. As evening fell, the cautious and respectful clan members threw a big ceremony. Later, Naruto strutted out of the clan, then flew up into the air. A few hours later, he was getting close to the Luochen Mountains.

By now, the idea of finally going home surged strong in his heart. Taking a deep breath, he sped toward the mountains, carefully sending divine sense ahead of him to scan the path. Soon, he realized that there was something different about the mountains.

There was a strange aura lurking within them, something that caused Naruto's heart to jitter fearfully.

"What's going on…?" he thought. More cautious than ever, he proceeded along until it was late in the night. At that point, he was nearing a ravine that led into the mountain range, and that was when he saw something completely shocking.

A faintly glowing screen of light was visible, stretching high up into the heavens, almost like a gigantic wall!

That wall of light rose up from the mountains, climbing as far as the eye could see, completely separating the territory of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect. There was no need for Naruto to perform any tests to determine how powerful that wall was. He was sure that if he tried to force his way through it, he would instantly be destroyed in body and soul.

Face flickering, he confirmed that the shield wall contained the fluctuations of Spirit Stream Sect magic.

"The Luochen Mountains are the Spirit Stream Sect's strongest defense against the Blood Stream Sect!" Heart trembling, he thought back to some of the rumors he'd heard about the Luochen Mountains when he was in the Spirit Stream Sect.

Supposedly, the mountains formed the main line of defense that had been erected by the Spirit Stream Sect 10,000 years ago.

"Back in the Blood Stream Sect, I didn't get the sense that much was happening in the outside world. But the truth is that the war has reached the point that this shocking shield has already been put up. That's very telling." After a moment of thought, Naruto approached the ravine, then turned back and looked in the direction of the Blood Stream Sect.

A long moment passed. Finally, he checked the area to make sure he was alone, then took a deep breath and slowly reached up and put his hand on his face. After a pause, he removed the mask, revealing his true facial features!

He put the mask away and waved his sleeve to dispel the bloody aura of the Blood Stream Sect. Then he pulled in all the fluctuations of his Undying Live Forever Technique. A moment later, the aura of the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation erupted from his spiritual seas, and he began to walk toward the light shield.

When he made contact with the shield, a shocking presence gripped him, something that left him feeling icy and numb. From the feeling he got, he could be wiped out at any moment. He immediately stopped in place, unmoving, his anxiety mounting.

After a few breaths worth of time passed, the icy presence slowly faded away, and he could move again. Taking a step forward, he passed through the shield.

"I doubt that was the divine sense of one of the patriarchs," he thought. "It was probably the formation automaton of this spell formation!" Fear lingered in his heart as he looked back at the shield. Taking a deep breath, he looked around at vegetation that was no longer crimson, but rather, lush and emerald green.

The feeling he got was completely different than the Blood Stream Sect. Here, he could sense the aura of the Spirit Stream Sect!

"Naruto is back!" he murmured. With that, he blurred into motion, flying through the air and simultaneously unleas

hing the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation. As he did, violet light shone out around him, filling the area with the same color.

His third eye opened on his forehead, and his view of the world suddenly became brighter and more colorful. Now that he didn't need to conceal his techniques, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, drawing on Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning. Heaven and earth shook as he waved his sleeve, causing water vapor to roil about, which was the Waterswamp Kingdom.

He threw his head back and laughed uproariously. The feeling of not having to be worried about anything filled him with joy. The pressure and mixed emotions he had felt in the Blood Stream Sect were now gone, and he began to think about everyone he knew in the Spirit Stream Sect.

"Uncle Li, Big Fatty Zhang, Hou Xiaomei, Hou Yunfei, Xu Baocai, Elder Brother sect leader, Bruiser. I'm back!" Spirits high, he shot through the air at top speed.

Eventually he stopped to rest a bit, and pulled out the turtle-wok. The mere sight of it left him sighing deeply.

"I didn't dare to use it in the Blood Stream Sect. But now, I can finally perform fourfold spirit enhancements!" Naruto was very excited about the prospect. He had already collected plenty of material to create four-colored flame, and therefore, didn't waste any time.

Without any hesitation, he took out all of his magical items and began to perform spirit enhancements. He was especially excited to enhance his signature little wooden sword. After the enhancement, it didn't look like wood anymore, but rather, gold!

As for the Golden Crow Sword, it didn't change very much, but the light that shone off of it was more dazzling than before. Before long, almost all of his magical items had been enhanced.

As for the lamp that the Song Clan patriarch had given him, he enhanced that too. As the silver designs glittered on its surface, he held it in his hand, and his soul trembled. The fluctuations coming off of the lamp were terrifying to the extreme.

"I'm so powerful I even frighten myself!" he thought, eyebrows dancing up and down. After carefully putting the lamp away, he savored the experience of proceeding along back to the Spirit Stream Sect.

At one point, he suddenly recalled the little turtle, which he pulled out of his bag of holding, then shook back and forth a bit to produce the usual knocking sounds.

After playing around with it for a bit, he found to his surprise that he could actually grab the tail and stretch it out. When he let go, it would snap back into place with a twang.

"Wow, you can do that!? he said, shocked. He tried the same thing with the turtle's limbs, and even the head, and they all did the same thing.

He even tried throwing it down, and found that the little turtle could actually be used like a weapon. After finding some boulders, he threw the turtle at them, and they shattered. The little turtle, however, wasn't even scratched in the process.

Naruto was starting to get the feeling that this was no simple turtle. As he made his way back to the Spirit Stream Sect, he would often shake it, stretch it, and throw it around. A few days later, he suddenly realized that a faint aroma was emanating out from the turtle.

It was hard to detect, but after inhaling it, Naruto found that his cultivation base suddenly stirred. Then he rotated it, and large amounts of spiritual energy from the area rushed toward him, causing his spiritual seas to emanate shocking fluctuations.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. He tried to reproduce the effect, but failed. However, after examination, he realized that brief rotation of his cultivation base had resulted in the same progress it would normally take him a month of meditation to produce.

Gasping, he looked closer at the little turtle.

"Don't tell me this really is the relic of eternal indestructibility…?" he thought, heart thumping in his chest. After thinking about all the marvelous aspects of the little turtle, he once again gently shook it back and forth in his hand.

However, no matter which way he shook it, he couldn't reproduce that fragrant aroma. Not wanting to give up, he kept shaking it in his hand as he went along. Finally, three days later, the turtle once again emitted a fragrant aroma.

Naruto immediately sucked it in, causing his cultivation base to surge, and the surrounding energy of heaven and earth to rush toward him. He was almost like a vortex, sucking in all the local spiritual power.

There were some cultivator clans in the area, and when people saw what was happening, their eyes went wide, and their hearts trembled.

Elated, Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Hahaha! Yet again, Naruto's wits come out on top. This little turtle is great. I don't have to expend any effort at all, and can increase the speed of my cultivation." At that point, he decided that he would spend time every day shaking the little turtle.

A few more days went by, and he finally caught sight of the Spirit Stream Sect. The three mountain peaks of the south bank rose high into the air, as did the four mountain peaks of the north bank, and Mount Daoseed, which hung high over the Heavenspan River. Scintillating light rose up from all of the mountain peaks, as if they were building up energy….

Powerful pressure and fluctuations rolled out in all directions, with the Spirit Stream Sect being in the middle of it all.

Excited, Naruto shook the little turtle back and forth a few times.

"I'm finally back…. I can still remember how everyone could hardly stand to part with me….

"Considering I've been gone so long, everyone definitely misses me…. I wonder if Uncle Li has come out of secluded meditation yet…?" The more he thought about it, the more he was nervous for Li Qinghou.

Giving the turtle a few good shakes, he picked up speed and shot toward the entrance of the sect.

When he got close, four beams of light shot out from the sect, accompanied by a hoarse shout.

"Halt! Who goes there!?"

Four cultivators appeared, one of them in the great circle of Qi

Condensation, and the other three in the fifth or sixth level. Even as the words rang out, the glow of magical techniques sprang out of their hands. However, when they caught sight of Naruto, their eyes widened.

That was especially true of the cultivator in the great circle, who immediately began to tremble. It was none other than Chen Fei….

"Uzumaki Xiao– er, Sect Uncle Bai!" Thankfully, he was quick to change his wording. Without any hesitation, he clasped hands and bowed. The other three disciples' jaws dropped, and then they also clasped hands in greeting.

It felt wonderful to finally be home. Striking the pose of someone of the

Senior generation, Naruto nodded magnanimously and said, "Excellent, all of you. Remember to always work hard at cultivation."

With that, he proceeded along into the sect, bringing the group with him.

The Spirit Stream Sect's grand spell formation didn't hinder his path at all. As soon as he entered, he saw the south bank stretched out in front of him, bustling with activity. There was Green Crest Peak, Violet Cauldron Peak, and Fragrant Cloud Peak, as well as the servants district at the bottoms of the mountains. A few phoenixes were flying in the air, along with numerous cultivators. To Naruto, nothing could have been more familiar. He suddenly felt the urge to make sure that everyone who missed him knew that he was back.

Hovering there in midair, he threw his head back and roared, "Ladies and gentlemen of the sect, I, Naruto, am back!"

His voice echoed about like thunder.

Chen Fei stood off to the side, feeling bad for the south bank.

—

Chapter 267 Chapter 267

Chapter 267: You Guys Definitely Miss Me

"Brothers and sisters of the Spirit Stream Sect, Naruto is back!"

Naruto's voice echoed like thunder throughout the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, and could even be heard on the north bank….

Moments before, the sect had been buzzing with activity, filled with a din of voices. But a moment later, everything went completely quiet. Even the phoenixes flying in the air above the sect shivered and forgot to keep flying.

Because Li Qinghou had gone into extended secluded meditation, Elder Zhou had taken over as the peak lord of Fragrant Cloud Peak. When the thunderous voice interrupted his own meditation, his eyes opened and his jaw dropped.

Zhou Xinqi had been practicing cultivation on Mount Daoseed, and had just finished a session of meditation and was preparing to leave. When she heard the voice echoing back and forth like thunder, her face fell.

Xu Baocai had just been preparing to go visit some friends on Green Crest Peak to flaunt some new exclusive information he'd come across, when he was suddenly interrupted by the booming voice, and his eyes went wide.

Big Fatty Zhang was standing miserably in front of Xu Meixiang as she berated him. Then they heard his voice, and they both looked up.

All of the cultivators and disciples on the south bank who had been dragged into Naruto's antics were struck mute by the words they had just heard….

On Fragrant Cloud Peak, one elder had been in the middle of giving a lecture about cultivation to a group of disciples who seemed to be hanging onto his every last word. When he was interrupted by Naruto's booming voice, his face fell. As for the disciples, they didn't seem as shocked, but were clearly moved.

On Mount Daoseed, Zheng Yuandong stood there reading a jade slip, his expression grim. The news in the jade slip was anything but good, and he was just about to go to the Missions Office to announce an important mission, when suddenly, a booming voice interrupted his train of thought. Immediately, he stopped in his tracks, his expression flickering.

Also on Mount Daoseed were two prime elders whose faces fell. They had been among the group whose clothes were ripped to shreds by Naruto's gravitational repulsion pearl years ago.

Naruto looked around at the south bank, at how quiet it was, at how the birds couldn't even fly, and how even the cultivators who had been speeding through the air had suddenly stopped in place. He was visibly moved.

"Does everyone still remember me…? You guys definitely miss me. Without me around, your cultivation must have been very, very boring…." Sighing, he looked over at Chen Fei and the other three cultivators. "Don't you agree, Chen Fei?"

At first, Chen Fei wasn't sure what to say. Bracing himself, he chose to offer some praise.

"Sect Uncle Bai, you have unrivalled magical powers. You're completely and utterly famous. Upon returning, your solitary shout raised the spirits of everyone inside and outside of the Spirit Stream Sect!" Chen Fei's three companions were shocked to hear him say such things. They had already been surprised to see the reaction caused by Naruto's words from moments ago. But then they heard their Elder Brother Chen Fei, who they always took to be cold and distant, suddenly speaking in such a flattering tone. They couldn't help but gasp.

These three hadn't been around in the days in which Naruto came to be well-known. They had joined the sect in the later days, and had only heard stories about the things he had done. As of this moment, they were exchanging awkward glances.

Naruto gave a long chuckle. "Hahaha! You're rig

ht, of course. Everyone misses me to death. Look, a single shout on my part and everyone is at a loss for words.

"Don't worry, everyone. I'm back. And I won't ever be leaving again…." Sighing, Naruto was just about to shout out again at the top of his lungs, when suddenly countless, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering screams rose up from the three mountain peaks of the south bank.

"The heavens don't have eyes! Naruto is back!"

"Dammit! Didn't he go out to get experience? It's only been a few years, how come he's back so soon?!"

"Not good! The spirit tail chicken population is just getting back to normal…."

"The Apothecary Fiend is back!"

As the screams echoed out, the phoenixes up in the air let out miserable shrieks and quickly flew away. The cultivators who had stopped flying gasped. Obviously, most of the cultivators who were capable of flying were in the Foundation Establishment stage. When they thought about the terrifying scene in the square when Naruto ripped everyone's clothing to shreds, leaving them stark naked, their scalps went numb with fear, and they fled.

As for the ordinary disciples from the three mountain peaks, when they thought of the miserable scenes from the past, their hearts were filled with grief and indignation.

Zhou Xinqi gritted her teeth, her heart smoldering with hatred because of the words he had just spoken. With a cold snort, she decided to simply continue her session of secluded meditation….

Xu Baocai was scowling on the verge of tears, and had lost any mood to go out. However, as soon as he thought about Naruto's status in the sect, he flew out to go meet him.

Naruto blinked a few times in response to all the screams. Coughing dryly, he rubbed his nose, and then looked over at Chen Fei and his companions.

"Hahaha! What a passionate group, eh…?"

Sweat dripped down Chen Fei's forehead, but even after racking his brains, he couldn't think of what to say next. His three companions looked over at Naruto as reverently as if he were a god. They almost couldn't believe that a single sentence from a single person could cause the entire south bank to virtually collapse….

Naruto was starting to feel a bit awkward, and even a bit irritated. Back in the Blood Stream Sect, he had been a blood master, and wherever he went, people treated him with the utmost courtesy. All he had to do was speak half a word, or glare, and people would be so scared they would start shaking.

Even as he grumbled inwardly about how unfair it was, a beam of light shot out from Violet Cauldron Peak, which was none other than Big Fatty Zhang, who threw his head back and let loose a long cry.

Hou Xiaomei had been in secluded meditation, but now she burst with excitement as she flew out into the open….

Then there was Third Fatty Hei and Hou Yunfei. The people who had deep connections with Naruto felt differently than everyone else, and flew out, delighted.

Zheng Yuandong cleared his throat. Refusing to make an appearance wasn't really an option. As he stood there on Mount Daoseed, looking over at Naruto, he thought back to all the mischief he had caused in the past, and chuckled to himself.

It was in that very moment that a roar of delight echoed out from the north bank. Bruiser appeared, fully thirty meters tall, like a little mountain shooting through the air. His heaven-shaking, earth-shattering cry caused all of the countless beasts on the north bank to howl at the tops of their lungs.

The roaring of the beasts shocked the north bank into silence. Many disciples didn't understand what was happening and flew into the air. But then they saw Naruto off in the distance on the south bank, and immediately, their jaws dropped. Gasps began to ring out, along with cries of shock.

"Naruto!"

"He's back!"

Many of the north bank disciples were screaming and backing up; word began to spread like wildfire, sending the entire north bank into a commotion….

Naruto laughed heartily, stepping forward to meet Bruiser. Bruiser came to a stop in front of Naruto, his eyes wide and his face a mask of joy. Without any hesitation, he shrank back down into the shape he had been when he was born. Then he latched his teeth onto Naruto's pant legs and refused to let go, apparently worried that Naruto might leave him again to go on adventures alone.

Face beaming with joy, Naruto reached down and scooped Bruiser up into his arms. Then he embraced Big Fatty Zhang, who seemed to be bursting with information to tell Naruto. Before he could, Hou Xiaomei arrived, eyes fluttering as she looked at Naruto. Big Fatty Zhang immediately stepped to the side.

Naruto laughed happily again as he looked at Hou Xiaomei. He wasn't the ignorant youth he had been in the past. After everything which had occurred in the Blood Stream Sect, he had matured quite a bit. Suddenly, he was struck by impulse to lean forward and hug Hou Xiaomei.

Hou Xiaomei's face turned scarlet, and she pouted playfully as she pushed him away.

Before long, Hou Yunfei arrived, along with Xu Baocai. There were also many of the disciples whom Naruto had helped in the Fallen Sword Abyss. More than a hundred people clustered around him, filled with excitement. After a bit of time, they headed toward Mount Daoseed, chatting and laughing, telling Naruto about everything that had occurred in the sect in the years he had been gone.

One of the first things Naruto asked about was Li Qinghou. Nobody was very sure about the details, but no one had heard any bad news. Naruto felt a bit better hearing that.

Many people were surprised to see such a large group emerge to receive Naruto. That was especially true of the people who had suffered at his hands, who were completely incredulous at what they were seeing.

Never could they imagine that a person like that, a person who had annoyed and frustrated so many people in the sect, would have so many friends who truly liked him.

Chen Fei's three companions began to murmur among themselves.

"I've heard a lot of stories about Sect Uncle Bai…."

"Just what kind of person is he anyway?"

"For some reason, now that Sect Uncle Uzumaki is back, the Spirit Stream Sect seems different than before. Things are usually busy, and the fact that war could break out at any time is a pressure that constantly weighs down over our heads. But now… how come that pressure seems to have lifted a bit?"

Chen Fei didn't follow Naruto and the others. He watched them leave, feeling a bit conflicted inside. After hearing the comments of his companions, he fell silent for a moment, then softly said, "He's Naruto. Legacy echelon-designate. Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert. Nobody can compare to him. The light which shines from him can cast everyone else into shadow. Most people have a love-hate relationship with him, and yet, everyone believes in him! That's Naruto!"

The three companions said nothing further, but their eyes seemed to flicker with understanding. As Naruto made his way off into the distance, their expressions filled with even more reverence than before.

As the entire Spirit Stream Sect was shaken by Naruto's return, a certain person emerged from an immortal's cave on Irispetal Peak.

It was a young woman, and as she looked over at the south bank, the wind lifted her hair, revealing fair, delicate skin. Her eyes glistened like pools of deep water, and although she wore conservative clothing, it was impossible to conceal her attractive, curvaceous figure. The alluring look in her eyes, though, made it such that any person who got close to her would feel the fires of desire rising up in their hearts….

Covering a smile with her hand, she said in a melodious voice, "So, you're finally back, big bro…."

—

Chapter 268 Chapter 268

Chapter 268: We Believe You….

On the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, numerous eyes followed Naruto as he flew like the wind toward Mount Daoseed, surrounded by more than a hundred friends.

Occasionally, his laughter could be heard, along with various boasting words.

"Listen, guys, I really experienced some heaven-shaking, earthshattering things in the past few years. A bunch of people fought me for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and I almost destroyed an entire mountain! One of my flying swords cut down a whole group of Foundation Establishment cultivators! It was completely shocking! My scheming was god-like, and my magic unmatchable!

"Numerous powerful experts stood before me, trembling, their heads bowed. In fact, countless Chakra Condensation disciples would look at me with wide eyes, their faces draining of blood as they begged for mercy…." His voice echoed out in all directions, loud and proud.

His friends didn't believe a word of what he was saying. They laughed and even poked fun at him because of his boasting. However, their faces were all covered with smiles, smiles of affection, wistfulness, and anticipation.

To these people, Naruto was both a fellow disciple, and a friend who they would trust with their lives!

He was naughty and mischievous, but in critical moments, he could reverse fate. Although he often caused trouble, when lives were on the line, they would unhesitatingly put all trust in him!

He was a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert, the legacy echelon-designate, and to them, he didn't seem wildly arrogant. Although he annoyed people in countless ways, that simply made him less lofty and distant to those close to him. In their hearts, he was always and forever their friend.

That was especially true of Hou Yunfei. Such feelings of friendship were especially strong in him. He looked at Naruto, then looked over at Hou Xiaomei, and he smiled broadly, wishing them well in his heart.

Hou Xiaomei's face was bright red, and her heart was pounding. All she could think about was how Naruto had hugged her, and as she looked over at him, her eyes glittered brightly.

In fact, they glittered in much the same way Song Junwan's had….

Naruto was extremely moved to be surrounded by so many familiar faces. One by one, various memories about the Spirit Stream Sect began to flood into his mind.

He truly felt as if he had come home, and had already forgotten about the screams which he had heard moments ago.

Slapping his chest proudly, he said, "You guys don't believe me? You listen to me. I, Naruto, am totally awesome! One time, a Nascent Soul eccentric even praised me! And then guess what happened? He even took me as his stepson!"

"Oh, we believe you…." Hou Yunfei said, chuckling. Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of Big Fatty Zhang and the others, but they also looked over and assured Naruto that they believed him.

Naruto was a bit depressed to see them chuckling in such a way.

He very much wanted to tell them the truth. He had concocted medicine in the Blood Stream Sect! He had fought to the pinnacle inside the body of the Blood Ancestor! He was the illustrious and infamous blood master of Middle Peak!

But he couldn't do that. It was very frustrating to not be able to bask in his own glory.

"I'm telling the truth, guys! When I went out to get experience, I got a super impressive title! There was also this super beautiful vixen–" Even as he spoke the words, he looked over and saw Hou Xiaomei's eyes narrow into slits. "Um, but I didn't marry her…."

"Which beautiful vixen was that? Please, tell me the details, big bro Xiaoc

hun."

"Uh…." Naruto instantly went on guard. He was almost sure he could sense killing intent rising up in Hou Xiaomei. After all, he had become very sensitive to killing intent due to his experiences in the Blood Stream Sect.

He was just trying to figure out how to change the topic when, all of a sudden, a huge beam of light shot up into the air from Mount Daoseed, fully thirty meters wide.

Lands shook, mountains were rocked, and even the sky vibrated. The countless layers of clouds overhead began to spin into the form of a huge vortex. Rumbling sounds echoed out as something like a white sun appeared!

As the sun became visible within the vortex, something else took form within it: a huge black raven!

The raven's eyes were closed, and yet, it radiated an energy that could shake heaven and earth. As that energy spread out in all directions, it became a powerful pressure which weighed down on everyone present.

Both the south and north banks of the Spirit Stream Sect went completely quiet.

Even Naruto's face flickered. Apparently, he had his own ideas about what was happening, and his expression became very serious as he looked at the pillar of light. His heart began to pound as he peered at the white sun, and the raven, wondering what exactly would happen.

"I know I have a high position in the sect," he muttered hesitantly, "but there was really no need to go to such lengths to welcome me back…."

Xu Baocai swallowed hard, looking very nervous. Then he heard Naruto's words, and couldn't help but quietly say, "I heard the first wave was supposed to leave in a few days. From the look of things, they're leaving now."

Naruto still didn't understand what was happening, so he grabbed Xu Baocai's arm and asked, "What's going on? What first wave? Where are they going?"

"To the Luochen Mountains!" Xu Baocai replied, his expression grave.

Hou Yunfei's eyes began to shine brightly. After reaching Earthstring Foundation Establishment, his status in the sect was different than before, and he had even become the apprentice of one of the prime elders. As such, he had access to more privileged information than before. "Xiaochun, you've been gone for a while, but surely you've heard about the war between the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect. It's on the verge of erupting at any moment. However, we can't let the war be fought within the immediate vicinity of the Spirit Stream Sect. So, the sect has long since made arrangements for a huge spell formation to be erected in the Luochen Mountains, all for the purpose of fighting the Blood Stream Sect!"

Naruto was shaken. For some reason, he had felt as if the war were even further away than before.

"After all the initial preparations are complete, they'll teleport the first wave of cultivators over to the Luochen Mountains!" At almost the same moment that Hou Yunfei finished speaking, a profound and archaic voice echoed out from Mount Daoseed to fill the entire Spirit Stream Sect.

"First wave disciples, step forward immediately!"

Even as the voice rumbled out like thunder, Naruto looked around and saw beams of light flying from both the south and north banks toward Mount Daoseed.

Some of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators, others were in the great circle of Chakra Condensation. Some of the disciples weren't capable of flight, and sped along on the ground.

Among the beams of light, Naruto spotted Ghostfang and Beihan Lie. Their energy clearly surpassed that of ordinary cultivators, and they flew along like shooting stars toward Mount Daoseed.

Among the more than two thousand cultivators who made up the first wave, a few were prime elders, whose auras erupted out with particular intensity.

Last was a blurry figure who emerged from the vortex up above. He materialized into a middle-aged man, whose cultivation base fluctuations vastly exceeded those of the prime elders, and caused all light to dim.

Naruto almost immediately recognized the man. He was the same patriarch who had emerged to help Bruiser, and was also the same person who received the Song Clan patriarch. He was one of the five great patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect, Li Zimo!

People around Naruto immediately began to cry out in surprise.

"The third generation patriarch!"

It didn't take long for the cultivators of the first wave to gather behind the peak of Mount Daoseed. Li Zimo waved his right hand, and the pillar of light erupted, causing a blinding glow to spread out and cover the gathered cultivators. Next, the light flickered, and more than two thousand cultivators vanished.

Moments later, everything went back to normal. However, the pillar of light connecting Mount Daoseed to the heavens remained in place, causing faint rumbling sounds to echo out continuously. As for the other mountain peaks, although no light shot up from them, Naruto got the sense that they were pulsing with intense energy that could spill out in the form of light at any moment.

Everyone else in the Spirit Stream Sect was shaken. It was at that point that Naruto heard Hou Yunfei's voice again.

"That's the first wave. It will only be a few days now until the second wave is teleported out. There are a lot more people assigned to the second wave. I'm among them, actually."

Naruto's heart was already pounding. Looking over at Hou Yunfei, he saw him smiling warmly. At the same time, many of Naruto's other surrounding friends began to chime in to explain which wave they had been assigned to.

Naruto quickly realized that every single person present, even the Chakra Condensation cultivators, and even Hou Xiaomei, were all going to be fighting in the war.

It was obvious that this war was going to be the last stand for the Spirit Stream Sect!

Big Fatty Zhang could sense the atmosphere turning serious, and quickly said, "I heard my master say that the Spirit Stream Sect has been building a spell formation in the Luochen Mountains for years now, all for the purpose of defending against a Blood Stream Sect invasion. The power of that spell formation has been built up over generations, and is beyond extraordinary. The Blood Stream Sect might be strong, but it's impossible to say how the fighting will turn out!"

Others began to chime in.

"That's right! The Blood Stream Sect has pushed things too far. If we

had agreed to their demands, we would have been forced to live a life of servitude, just waiting around for them to come back and kill us later!"

"The Spirit Stream Sect has been my home from the moment I joined it. Live for the Spirit Stream Sect, die for the Spirit Stream Sect!"

"We can't avoid this war. Whether or not we win, we'll fight to the bitter end!"

Soon, everyone's eyes began to shine with flickers of killing intent.

—

Chapter 269 Chapter 269

Chapter 269: Vow To Slay Nightcrypt

They weren't the only ones to be having such a reaction. Throughout the Spirit Stream Sect, virtually all hearts were pulsing with killing intent. Some chose to hold it in, some gave voice to it. Either way, a spirit rose up that could shake heaven and earth, filling all of the mountain peaks that made up the sect.

Naruto had just returned, and hadn't been present for all of the Spirit Stream Sect's war preparations. However, he could well imagine what had gone on. As of this moment, everyone in the sect was completely united in their desire to fight!

Hou Yunfei turned to Naruto and said, "Xiaochun, considering you've been gone for a while, you might not have heard the news from the Blood Stream Sect. A terrifying Chosen rose up there, someone named Nightcrypt. He was even promoted to be the blood master of their Middle Peak!"

"What?" Naruto had been in the middle of worrying about the war between the two sects when Hou Yunfei's words struck his ears, causing him to narrow his eyes.

"That's right. Beihan Lie, Ghostfang, Shangguan Tianyou, and I all made an agreement. If we catch sight of this Nightcrypt, we'll all join forces to kill him immediately. Xiaochun, when the time comes, you have to help too, alright?!" Hou Yunfei's eyes flickered with the desire to kill. After reaching Earthstring Foundation Establishment, he had changed in fundamental ways. He was now his own man. However, in the end, he continued to value his friendships more than anything else.

Naruto's heart was pounding. Licking his lips, he was just about to reply, when the killing intent around him erupted at the mention of Nightcrypt's name. Even Xu Baocai was gritting his teeth in anger.

Big Fatty Zhang's eyes burned as if with fire, and of the group, only Hou Xiaomei seemed to look a little frightened.

"That Nightcrypt is completely vicious," someone said, snorting coldly, "and has killed too many people to count. Based on the news I heard, he loves to drink human blood. In fact, if he doesn't drink blood on a daily basis, he goes on a rampage. I heard it has something to do with the techniques he cultivates."

"He drinks human blood?" Naruto said, eyes going wide. It seemed completely incredulous. As far as he could remember, he had never done anything even similar to that.

"I heard that Nightcrypt has a completely twisted personality," someone else said. "He's a total pervert! He even has a bad reputation in the Blood Stream Sect. However, he's so ferocious that nobody there even dares to stand up to him."

"He's a pervert? He has a twisted personality…?" Naruto took a deep breath. For some reason, these descriptions didn't seem like him at all….

"That's nothing," Xu Baocai said with a growl of hatred. "I heard that he's addicted to refining corpses. How terrifying!"

Naruto's eyes went even wider.

Everyone seemed to want to top the others in terms of what they knew about Nightcrypt.

"In the end, though, he's truly a Chosen. At first nobody knew who he was, and he was only in Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment. Despite that, he actually defeated Xuemei and the Middle Peak grand elder. He even crushed Song Que! That's how he became the blood master!"

"I even heard that one of the Blood Stream Sect's patriarchs took him as a stepson…."

"Nightcrypt's Dao of medicine is completely devilish. That's why they call him Plaguedevil…."

As soon as people brought up the Dao of medicine and the Pl

aguedevil moniker, people began to look over at Naruto. His heart was now racing.

"Is this Nightcrypt really so bad?" Naruto blurted subconsciously. "Those are all probably just rumors…." However, as soon as he finished speaking, Big Fatty Zhang clenched his hands into fists.

Worried that Naruto might not take the matter seriously, he said, "Xiaochun, you have no way of knowing this, but Nightcrypt's most terrifying aspect isn't his brutality, but his augury magic. There's nothing he can't figure out! With the snap of his fingers, he can come to know anything in the heavens or on earth. In fact, he divined everything there was to know about you! We absolutely have to wipe this guy out of existence!"

Everyone around him nodded gravely.

Naruto looked at Big Fatty Zhang with wide eyes, thinking back to everything that had occurred when he came back as Nightcrypt….

Xu Baocai gritted his teeth and said, "That's right. We can't let that bastard live. Dammit! If I could have divine abilities like his, I could die without regret. Based on what I've heard, there are already about ten different cliques in the sect which have formed, all devoted solely to killing Nightcrypt.

"The legacy echelon cultivators released a statement that they vowed to kill him, and even the prime elders have plans in place. I also heard that the sect leader offered a big reward for his head!

"Once the fighting starts, Nightcrypt is going to be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!"

The closer Naruto and his friends got to Mount Daoseed, the more beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead. He felt wronged, of course. During his time as Nightcrypt, he hadn't done anything to offend so many people to the point where they should want to kill him.

That was especially true when he heard that the legacy echelon and the prime elders were planning to kill him, and that his own Elder Brother sect leader was offering a reward for him. Naruto's heart was pounding, and even as he prepared to say something, a voice suddenly echoed out from Mount Daoseed. It was none other than Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong.

"Naruto, come see me immediately!"

"What?!" Naruto immediately got nervous and jumpy, and even reached up to rub his own face and make sure he wasn't wearing the Nightcrypt mask. To the surprise of all his friends, he nervously bid them farewell and then flew toward the hall where Zheng Yuandong awaited him.

After arriving, he hesitated outside for a moment before taking a deep breath and then entering the hall. After looking around, he saw Zheng Yuandong standing with his back to him, hands clasped at his waist.

Flickering lamplight lit the hall, which also seemed to be filled with a pulsating pressure. Naruto had been a bit guilty before, but now started to get more nervous.

"Sect Leader, Elder Brother…."

"Naruto, what gall you have!" Zheng Yuandong said, spinning in place, his eyes flashing like lightning. His voice boomed like thunder, and his cultivation base flared, emitting the pressure of the great circle of Foundation Establishment. He was only a hair away from the Core Formation stage!

If it had been a mere matter of cultivation base pressure, Naruto wouldn't have been worried at all. But he already feared both Zheng Yuandong and Li Qinghou, and to hear his Elder Brother berating him angrily caused Naruto to immediately leap to the conclusion that he knew about the Nightcrypt situation….

"Elder Brother sect leader, I know I made a mistake…." he said, looking like he was on the verge of tears. In his mind, if the sect leader knew that he was Nightcrypt, then the best thing to do was admit fault.

"You're quite the daredevil aren't you?" Zheng Yuandong said furiously. "Do you even think before causing so much trouble? You asked to go out and gain experience, and that was fine, but then you went so far as to hide your aura? Do you know how many villains are out there looking for you? Did you know that the four blood masters of the Blood Stream Sect swore an oath to kill you? If they found you, you would never have been able to escape!

"The only thing the sect could do was spread word that you were in secluded meditation, and secretly search for you. We turned the whole Eastwood Continent upside down trying to find you!"

Naruto blinked a few times, then breathed a sigh of relief. Moved, he bowed his head meekly and admitted the error of his ways.

Zheng Yuandong scolded him a bit more, and when he was satisfied with Naruto's expression, he snorted coldly. By this point, he could see that Naruto's cultivation base was already in the mid Foundation Establishment stage, and his eyes softened a bit. However, he still seemed angry.

"Fine. I'm not going to ask about why you concealed your aura, or where you went. You're not a kid anymore, and you know how to behave yourself…. The real reason I called you here was to assign you a mission!"

Naruto could tell from the sect leader's body language that he'd gone a bit too far by leaving and concealing his aura. Trying to look stalwart, he slapped his chest and growled, "Elder Brother, just say the word. Even if it involves climbing mountains of blades and swimming through seas of burning oil, I won't even frown, no matter what you say!"

Naruto wanted to put on an impressive show, but he also didn't want to commit to anything specific. Although his words were impressive-sounding, he hadn't actually said that he would accept the mission.

Zheng Yuandong swished his sleeve dramatically and said, "The Spirit Stream Sect is about to go to war with the Blood Stream Sect. Your mission is, should you encounter the chance on the battlefield, you are to cut down the weakest of the Blood Stream Sect's four blood masters, Nightcrypt!"

"Huh?" Naruto thought. He felt like he was about to go crazy. The Blood Stream Sect wanted him to kill Naruto, and the Spirit Stream Sect wanted him to kill Nightcrypt….

The idea of trying to figure out a way to kill himself was so puzzling that Naruto couldn't help but frown.

Zheng Yuandong could see the odd expression on his face, and looked at him suspiciously.

"What's wrong? All of the Blood Stream Sect blood masters deserve to die!"

More nervous than ever, Naruto thumped himself on the again and said, "Elder Brother sect leader, don't worry. This Nightcrypt has a twisted personality, and loves to drink human blood. He is vile beyond description. Completely deranged, and deserving of punishment by all living beings. I heard that he seduced the grand elder of Middle Peak, and somehow won the favor of most of the patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect. A person like that is someone I definitely must exterminate!" Although he looked like the picture of righteous fury, inside, he was more anxious than ever.

"So, it turns out you know quite a bit about this Nightcrypt." Zheng Yuandong looked a bit surprised.

Naruto howled inwardly. It seemed that nothing he said today was coming out right. More nervous than ever, he continued, "I, Naruto, am devoted to righteousness. During my wanderings outside the sect, I heard of this maniac Nightcrypt. Elder Brother sect leader, don't worry. I, Naruto, guarantee that I will accomplish the mission!"

Zheng Yuandong's gaze slowly softened.

"With your Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base, and the fact that you're already in mid Foundation Establishment, you shouldn't have any trouble cutting down Nightcrypt on the battlefield. I'll assign some people to work with you, some of the prime elders and legacy echelon cultivators. They'll make sure you get your chance!

"Remember, you must accomplish this mission and kill Blood Master Nightcrypt. If you do, then you'll be able to join the legacy echelon even without reaching Core Formation!

"The legacy echelon is the true foundation of the Spirit Stream Sect. No matter how bad things get, all of the sect's resources will be focused on preserving the echelon!' The implication behind those words spoken caused Naruto to feel shaken, and yet, also caused warmth to rise up in his heart.

—

Chapter 270 Chapter 270

Chapter 270: Thoughtful

The way he heard it, his Elder Brother sect leader was saying that even if the Spirit Stream Sect lost the war, there was still a way for him to keep on living.

Perhaps because of his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base, he was already part of a select group of people who would remain safe. However, if he managed to cut down blood masters in battle, then it would ensure that his rank in the sect rose even higher!

"You just got back," Zheng Yuandong said slowly, "so go pay your respects to our Master. Then rest a bit. As for the arrangements for the battlefield, you've been placed into the fourth wave…."

Naruto took a deep breath. Clasping hands formally to Zheng

Yuandong, he didn't immediately leave, but instead asked about Li Qinghou. Li Qinghou hadn't offered him much of an explanation before going into seclusion, and back then, Naruto had assumed it was nothing more than an ordinary session of meditation. Never could he have imagined that he was actually trying to break through to Core Formation. That was no simple task.

"Your Uncle Li has already reached Core Formation," Zheng Yuandong said with a smile. "He's now in the legacy echelon. He's currently in recovery, and should come out any day now."

Eyes flashing with excitement, Naruto clasped hands and then rushed away.

After leaving the hall, Naruto went to pay his respects to the portrait of his Master. Then he returned to his own immortal's cave on Mount Daoseed. Bruiser was waiting there for him, and immediately ran up and started tumbling around at his feet.

"Did you recognize me last time I was here?" Naruto asked, petting Bruiser a few times.

Bruiser nodded and then let out a few yips.

"So, what did you think? Is your dad awesome or what? I went completely wild in the Blood Stream Sect. Nobody there ever dared to provoke me." Naruto was feeling very pleased with himself as he bragged about his accomplishments. However, it was then that he realized that Bruiser had matured even more. Shockingly, his cultivation base was on the verge of reaching late Foundation Establishment. Naruto immediately felt sour inside.

"Your cultivation is going a bit too quickly, isn't it?" he said. It didn't seem fair. He had worked long and hard to reach mid Foundation Establishment, and had even risked his own life. All Bruiser had to do was fool around all day, and he got the same result.

Bruiser appeared to be very proud of himself. Looking at Naruto, he made some barking sounds that no one else would be able to comprehend, but Naruto, having raised him, could understand. Naruto's eyes went wide, and he gasped.

"The peak lord of Irispetal Peak fed you medicinal pills every day!? The founding patriarch frequently came to adjust your Chakra passageways? The old dragon came and let you drink his life blood?

"What? You went to the arcane pocket realm? Y-y-you…." Naruto's eyes went wide as he glared jealously at Bruiser.

"Okay, tell me the truth. Did you go steal any bras while I was gone?" Bruiser howled softly in response. The two of them chatted back and forth until evening fell. However, worried that Bruiser's cultivation base might eventually exceed his own, Naruto finally called an end to the chatting and sat down to meditate and work on his Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation.

Over the course of the following days, quite a few people came to visit, but after that, things quieted down.

After spending time reminiscing with so many acquaintances, Naruto came to realize that the Spirit Stream Sect had changed while he'd

been gone.

Back before he'd left, everyone was focused primarily on their cultivation. Although there were some conflicts and rivalries, it was always possible to hear people chatting happily. Everyone had always seemed relaxed. But now, silence seemed to prevail, and pressure seemed to constantly weigh down on the sect.

A storm was coming, the war, and all of the disciples were wrapped up in preparing for it.

Thankfully, because of that pressure and seriousness, the killing intent of the cultivators grew more intense. The survival of their sect was on the line, and however deep the cultivators sank into the pressure, that was how explosive their performance would be on the battlefield.

The Spirit Stream Sect was stronger now than it had ever been!

Virtually all of the items in the market outside the sect had been purchased. Furthermore, because so many disciples were buying things, prices had climbed.

That was especially true of spirit medicine, paper talismans, and other items designed for warfare. As far as magical items went, they eventually sold out completely. And when it came to the disciples from Violet Cauldron Peak who could perform spirit enhancements, they were constantly busy, and the lines only continued to grow longer.

Quite a few people started coming to Naruto to ask for medicine concocting services. Even though they knew that terrifying things could result, they still wanted his help.

The more Naruto came to understand the situation in the Spirit

Stream Sect, the more his mood sank, and the more often he frowned. Currently, he was sitting on a boulder near his immortal's cave, a vantagepoint that allowed him to see the entire sect.

He could see all of the familiar mountains, the rushing Heavenspan River, and couldn't stop wondering what the result of all the fighting would be….

"The Middle Reaches, and the Sky River Court…." he murmured. The chance to take over the position occupied by the Sky River Court was something that could arouse an indescribable thirst among sects of the Lower Reaches.

"Is it really worth it…?" he said, sighing. From the bottom of his heart, he truly hoped that the two sects wouldn't actually go to war. Perhaps other people thought of the Blood Stream Sect as a vicious, brutal, and devilish sect. But as far as Naruto was concerned, they had treated him well.

Even as Naruto sighed, a soft voice spoke out behind him.

"Maybe the Sky River Court isn't worth it in and of itself. But the patriarchs' hope of breaking through to the next level is involved. Plus, the sect itself would then have a chance to grow even stronger. Once all of the other current disciples have access to the spiritual energy of the Middle Reaches, it would only take a few dozen years or so for them to rapidly increase their cultivation bases. When you consider all that, it changes the story, doesn't it?"

Taken by surprise, Naruto turned to look over his shoulder, and saw someone standing there in a long green robe, pulsing with powerful energy, and smiling. It was Li Qinghou.

Li Qinghou looked very different from how Naruto remembered him. He seemed more reserved and more dignified, and as Naruto looked at him, he got the sense that there was an enormous vortex inside of him, something that, if it were unleashed, could shake heaven and earth in enigmatic ways.

Naruto had never even sensed such fluctuations from the prime elders. Eyes widening, he shouted, "Uncle Li!"

With that, he leapt to his feet and rushed over to hug Li Qinghou.

Li Qinghou laughed and tousled his hair.

"Yeah, you've grown up quite a bit, haven't you?" In Li Qinghou's eyes, Naruto would always be that young boy who had lit an incense stick thirteen times on top of a mountain.

Li Qinghou's words almost caused tears to well up in Naruto's eyes. Back in the Blood Stream Sect, he had been forced to hide his identity, but had never forgot about Li Qinghou and his kindness.

After returning to the Spirit Stream Sect, he had been worried that something went wrong in Li Qinghou's secluded meditation. However, now that he could see that he truly had reached Core Formation, it filled him with incredible excitement, even more excitement than if he had just concocted a high-level medicinal pill.

"Xiaochun, the war is not as simple as you might imagine." Li Qinghou sat down, and Naruto sat down next to him. "In addition to everything I just mentioned, don't forget about the reserve powers at the sect's command. When it comes to having control over the Lower Reaches, and the glory that would come with it, there are many factors involved.

"The war between the Profound Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect is reaching a conclusion. The Pill Stream Sect has suffered major losses, and more than half of their disciples have already defected to the Profound Stream Sect. Although the Profound Stream Sect has also suffered significant losses, they're already in the process of recovering. The Pill Stream Sect has retreated to their sect headquarters, and it won't be long now before the two sects become one, and they'll be even more powerful than before.

"At this point, the Profound Stream Sect has two problems. One, they have to completely defeat the Pill Stream Sect. Two, they have to reorganize their sect and smooth out any internal conflicts. At the moment, the Profound Stream Sect is at its weakest, and has no choice but to press the Pill Stream Sect hard to defeat it. As for the Blood Stream Sect, they have been delaying in the hopes that the Spirit

Stream Sect will meet their demands and allow the sect to be sealed."

Naruto hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if he bring up a certain topic. "Do we really have to fight? Isn't there some other way?"

"Don't think too deeply into things," Li Qinghou replied softly. "This war is really unavoidable. Any sect that aspires to get to the Middle Reaches will have to go to war eventually. If we don't fight now, if we compromise, we will be bringing certain disaster down on ourselves in the future. We will wheeze and gasp our way to death over a thousand years. Does that really compare to going out in a blaze of glory in battle?!

"We can't prevent the war from happening, and neither can the Blood Stream Sect. There is no other option. If we claim to have given up on the opportunity to better our own sect, people won't believe us. Even oaths sworn between the sects will be worth little.

"The only way to end things without war would be for both sects to somehow come to trust each other in this moment of deadly crisis.

"However, it doesn't seem likely that such a thing could occur." Li Qinghou shook his head and looked over at Naruto.

"Don't think too much into it. Remember, you stay behind me when the time comes to fight. I fear that many people are going to die…." Li Qinghou sighed softly, then rose to his feet. Seeing that Naruto seemed to be lost in thought, he reached down and clasped his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go. I want to take you to see someone from the Senior generation. My own Master!"

Naruto looked up in surprise. This was his first time hearing anything about Li Qinghou having a Master. From what he knew, the only person who could be a Master to Li Qinghou would have to at least be a prime elder, or perhaps even one of the five patriarchs.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he followed Li Qinghou off of Mount Daoseed. As they rose higher, Naruto was surprised to find that Li Qinghou was actually flying up into the air behind Mount Daoseed.

There didn't seem to be anything behind Mount Daoseed except the flowing waters of the Heavenspan River.

—

Chapter 271 Chapter 271

Chapter 271: True Emptiness, the Most Wonderful Possession

Without looking back, Li Qinghou murmured, "Possession without possession is the most wonderful possession. Emptiness without emptiness is the true emptiness…." 1

Naruto was shaken by the words. Clearly, they contained profound meaning, and yet, he had no idea what that meaning was. However, Li Qinghou only seemed more impressive because of it.

Before long, they were in the air behind Mount Daoseed. Even as they neared their apparent destination, Naruto still didn't see anything out of the ordinary. After a moment of thought, he opened his third eye. Li Qinghou sensed what he was doing, and looked back at him, eyes shining with praise. Then, he stopped in place, hovering there while he waited to see what would happen.

As Naruto examined the area with the Heavenspan Dharma Eye, he saw nothing. Therefore, he decided he might as well unleash some of the power of his three spiritual seas. Pouring their power into his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, and adding in some of his Heaven-Dao aura, he once again looked around.

Pain stabbed into his third eye, but at the same time, his view of the world changed. Just barely, he could now see the vague image of a majestic mountain floating in the air behind Mount Daoseed.

"A mountain…." he blurted in shock. Unable to sustain the use of his Heavenspan Dharma Eye any longer, he closed it. Panting, he looked over at Li Qinghou, an expression of complete incredulity on his face.

Suddenly, an ancient voice spoke out of nowhere. "What you just saw is something that only the sect leader, the legacy echelon, and the prime elders know about. The Spirit Stream Sect's ninth mountain peak!"

Along with the voice, an old man emerged out of thin air. He had long white hair, and wore a flowing blue robe.

His face was ruddy, and on his forehead was a red, finger-nail sized birthmark. Despite his white hair, his face wasn't very wrinkled, and his eyes shone with a piercing light. Clutched in his right hand was a fourcolored jade pendant that glowed with dazzling light.

The air around him immediately began to ripple and distort, and the clouds in the sky began to churn. Shocking fluctuations flowed out from him, fluctuations which seemed to Naruto to be like pressure from heaven. Even more shocking was the murderous aura which surrounded him, making him seem less like an old man and more like an ancient wild beast!

"Greetings, Master," Li Qinghou said softly, clasping hands in formal greeting.

Despite having never seen the old man before, from his energy and murderous aura, Naruto instantly guessed who he was. Taking a deep breath, he clasped hands and bowed. "Naruto offers greetings, Patriarch!"

The old man looked Naruto up and down, a smile on his face that, because of his murderous aura, seemed particularly ferocious.

"You're not in the legacy echelon, and thus, have seen things you have no right to see. Admit your sin immediately, child!" The man's murderous aura almost immediately seemed to wrap around Naruto.

Naruto shivered, and his face drained of blood. To him, it felt as if he were surrounded by death and destruction, leaving him scared witless.

"Master, you've frightened Xiaochun," Li Qinghou said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

Naruto really was frightened. The combination of the old man's smile and his murderous aura caused all of the hair on Naruto's body to stand on end. He felt like he was in the grip of death, and it even felt as if his blood Chakra wanted to explode out of him to compare itself to the old man's murderous aura.

The old man chuckled darkly, waving his ha

nd so that a field of mist sprang up, surrounding him and ensuring that only a vague outline of his form was visible.

"Very well," he said from within the mist. "But I'm going to remember this, child. If you make any mistakes in the future, punishment will be waiting for you!"

Naruto blinked a few times, then stuck his chin up and tried to look as obedient as possible. Inwardly, though, he couldn't help but feel a bit of disdain. From what he could tell, the old man was just trying to scare him and teach him a lesson. Naruto himself had used such methods back when he was acting as blood master in the Blood Stream Sect.

"Sir, since you're my uncle's Master, then that makes you my Sect Grandfather. Sect Grandfather, please accept the formal greetings of the younger generation!" Naruto wasn't very impressed, but still bowed deeply. Looking up, he patted his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill bottle, which he held up above his head with both hands.

"Sect Grandfather, since this is our first meeting, sir, I would like to present you with the most precious spirit medicine I possess. Everyone who has consumed it has praised it to no end. The wonderful uses for this spirit medicine are virtually endless. Sect Grandfather, this gift is the sincerest expression of my familial piety, and I sincerely hope that you will accept it…." As he spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the old man in the mist, and especially the four-colored jade pendant he held, which was obviously some sort of precious item.

Li Qinghou already felt a headache coming on. For any other person to offer a gift to someone of the older generation would be something relatively commonplace. However, when it came to Naruto, Li Qinghou could already tell that something different was going on. Then he realized what Naruto was looking at, and smiled wryly.

This was clearly not a situation of offering a gift to the older generation, it was obviously him asking for a gift to be given to him….

As Li Qinghou smiled wryly, the old man's jaw dropped. After looking at Naruto for another long moment, he was fairly certain he understood what Naruto was thinking, and suddenly laughed.

"Ah, so you want a gift from me? Very well, I accept the medicinal pills, and will give you this jade pendant!" With that, the four-colored jade pendant flew out from the mist to hover in front of Naruto. At the same time, the spirit medicine flew from Naruto's hand into the mist.

Naruto was actually surprised. This wasn't at all what he had intended. In fact, the unexpected gift of the jade pendant left him feeling a bit embarrassed. However, he didn't hesitate at all to reach out and grab it, his heart swelling with excitement. After examining it closely, he realized that it was anything but ordinary. Furthermore, the power inside of it reminded him very much of the lamp that the Song Clan patriarch had given him.

"That's a spirit treasure that can be used by a Core Formation cultivator," the old man said, smiling. "Your cultivation base is a bit low, but if you catalyze the treasure with your Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment aura, you should be able to use it." With one more look at Naruto, the old man turned to leave.

"Qinghou, this kid isn't bad at all. Why don't you go ahead and pass on the Magic Plant Arsenal incantation to him?" 2

"Many thanks, Master!" Li Qinghou clasped hands and bowed. His entire purpose in coming here had been to gain his Master's approval to pass on the Magic Plant Arsenal to Naruto.

After all, Naruto was not his apprentice, but rather, the apprentice of another Master in the sect.

Having gained the patriarch's approval, Li Qinghou shot a glare at Bai

Xiaochun, then led him back to Mount Daoseed. Outside of Naruto's immortal's cave, Li Qinghou gave him a jade slip that contained the secret magic of the Magic Plant Arsenal.

"The Magic Plant Arsenal isn't a type of control magic. Instead, you will be able use the power of plants and vegetation to create battle prowess. Every type of plant and vegetation has innate spiritual qualities that you can incite, thus creating a certain level of power!

"Of course, that's only the first step. By combining different types of medicinal plants, you can create something like a spell formation, unleashing even greater power. With the Magic Plant Arsenal, you can create weapons almost instantly!

"The truth is that the spell formation I just mentioned isn't really a spell formation, but rather, a pill formula. Not the type of pill formula that you use with a pill furnace, but rather a formula to create weapons that can unleash the deadly power of plants and vegetation!"

It was a technique that required a certain level of skill with plants and vegetation. Considering the level of Naruto's Dao of medicine, he almost immediately understood what Li Qinghou was talking about, and in fact, didn't need any further instruction. With the jade slip Li Qinghou had just given him, he only needed the most important parts explained, and could cultivate the rest of it on his own.

Most important of all was that the jade slip contained the weapon formula, which had been pieced together over successive experiments performed by eighteen past cultivators of the Spirit Stream Sect!

Around the time evening fell, Li Qinghou prepared to leave. Before he did, he thought back to the medicinal pill Naruto had given to his

Master, and asked, "What kind of spirit medicine did you give to

Patriarch Ironwood?"

Naruto blinked guiltily, but having no other option than to tell the truth, he stuck his chin up and proudly said, "Patriarch Ironwood? Oh, I gave him the most precious type of medicinal pill I have in my bag of holding! It's the most famous pill in the Spirit Stream Sect, which I myself created!"

As soon as Li Qinghou heard this, his expression flickered with disbelief.

A moment passed, and then he hesitantly asked, "Aphrodisiac Pills?"

Naruto nodded, feeling a bit guilty, and when he saw Li Qinghou's ashen face, he suddenly started to get nervous.

"Hey, that pill is great," he said, "and that's no lie. Really, everybody loves it. Even the old dragon from the north bank praised it incessantly. After all, the patriarch is already getting pretty old, isn't he…?"

Mind spinning, Li Qinghou glared at Naruto one last time and then flew at top speed toward the ninth mountain peak….

Naruto still felt a bit guilty, and continued to mutter to himself after Li Qinghou left. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true! That pill really is the most precious one I have! What gives that old fogey the right to go scaring people! I didn't do anything to him!"

Naruto was actually a bit scared, and after some thought, decided it wasn't a good idea to stay in one place. Calling Bruiser over, he left his immortal's cave and headed toward the north bank.

By this point it was dark. Naruto and Bruiser slipped noiselessly into the north bank, and were soon in the Beast Conservatory. At that point, he started to relax.

"With Bruiser and the old dragon here, even if Patriarch Ironwood tries to come teach me a lesson, I'll at least have some backup to help me!" Sighing, Naruto couldn't help but muse that life had been much better in the Blood Stream Sect. As the Blood Devil, all he had to do was snap his finger, and any patriarch who came to teach him a lesson would have his cultivation base instantly reduced by half.

—

Chapter 272 Chapter 272

Chapter 272: With Bruiser On My Side, The Spirit Stream Sect Is Mine

Sighing, Naruto pushed away his memories of the Blood Stream Sect, then sat down cross-legged in one of the rooms in the honor guard station in the Beast Conservatory. He wanted to call Bruiser over to keep him company, but soon realized that after returning to the north bank, Bruiser was suddenly nowhere to be found.

"Bruiser's definitely up to no good again!" When he thought about all the things that Bruiser had done in the past, and the fact that they now had almost equal cultivation bases, not only did he feel it to be unfair, it also made him nervous.

"This won't do! I have to spend as much time as I can cultivating. I have to break out of mid Foundation Establishment and into late Foundation Establishment!" Taking a deep breath, he produced the little turtle and began shaking it back and forth.

The turtle's head, limbs, and tail flapped and flopped against its shell as Naruto shook it. It almost looked like a rag doll.

After shaking it for quite a while, though, no fragrant aroma appeared. Naruto was not happy.

"I suffered untold trials and tribulations, experienced untold danger, all to get this little turtle. So what if I got tricked into thinking it was a relic of eternal indestructibility? At least this fragrant aroma can benefit me!" Glaring at the turtle shell, he shook it even harder, causing more knocking sounds to ring out. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, some streams of fragrant aroma wafted out from inside.

Naruto's spirits were instantly lifted. Taking a deep breath, he absorbed the fragrance into himself through his mouth and nose, then began to work with the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation. Almost immediately, the energy of heaven and earth in the area began to rush toward him, creating an invisible vortex. At the same time, a sound like a roaring wave could be heard, as something very similar to a Tideflow began.

Because of the explosive influx of energy, the fourth of his nine spiritual seas began to show signs of crystallization.

Simultaneously, the cup of Heavenspan River water that he'd absorbed continued to melt and fuse into his fourth spiritual sea. Naruto was more excited than ever.

"It's working! Hahaha! This little turtle isn't completely useless after all!" Naruto settled his Chakra and cleared his mind, then immersed himself in the process of crystallizing his fourth spiritual sea. As time progressed, it grew more and more stable.

After an entire night passed, it was only about twenty percent complete, and he was starting to get a bit anxious. However, there was nothing else he could do. Patience was required when it came to provoking changes in the fourth spiritual sea.

Three days passed by in a flash. Bruiser had returned, mouth overflowing with a pile of multi-colored bras. He'd been about to jump on Naruto to wrestle with him, but when he realized that he was in the middle of cultivation, a serious expression gleamed in his eyes, and he placed himself outside the door to stand guard.

To Bruiser, none of the people or beasts in the Spirit Stream Sect, nothing in heaven and earth, was more important than Naruto. Naruto was his own heaven!

If anyone attempted to interrupt Naruto's cultivation, or do anything else harmful to him, Bruiser would protect him with his life!

All of the battle beasts on the north bank could sense how serious

Bruiser had gotten, and as a result, the north bank became very quiet. The beasts' masters were shocked to find that the beasts began to, of their own initiative, fly over to the Beast Conservatory, seemingly to stand guard at its borders. That was especially true o

f the beasts which resided in the Beast Conservatory itself.

One evening, when Naruto's fourth spiritual sea was about ninety percent crystallized, Ghostfang Peak on the north bank and Green Crest Peak on the south bank apparently reached their highest level of energy buildup, and glowing light shot up from them into the air, just like it had with Mount Daoseed. Within moments, rumbling that could shake heaven and earth filled the air, and two pillars of light appeared in the sky.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Deafening rumbling could be heard as the ground quaked. The sky trembled as the two pillars of light shot through the clouds, causing the vortex up above to grow even more massive.

All of the disciples in the sect detected what was happening and looked up, eyes shining. Almost immediately, conversations broke out.

"The second wave is going to leave soon!"

As the pillars of light continue to cause everything to shake and rumble, quite a few people headed toward Green Crest Peak and Ghostfang Peak! Numerous beams of light could be seen racing through the air as the Spirit Stream Sect's second wave of teleportations began!

The first wave, which had left only a few days before, had been led by Patriarch Li Zimo, and had been made up of around 2,000 people. That group was already stationed in the Luochen Mountains. As for the second wave, it contained far more people than the first wave, nearly 5,000.

They included Xu Song, Gongsun Yun and Hou Yunfei, as well as some of the other Chosen. There were also quite a number of Inner Sect disciples, and even Outer Sect disciples.

All of them had very serious expressions on their faces, and were clearly ready to fight for the Spirit Stream Sect. As the light on the two mountains grew brighter, Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared, along with some of the prime elders.

After the prime elders, a few figures appeared who shone with golden light. Although it was impossible to make out their features clearly, they emanated fluctuations which far surpassed the prime elders. They couldn't quite match up to the patriarchs, but the boundless sensation they gave off caused the cultivators of the Spirit Stream Sect to feel completely shaken.

"Those golden figures. Could they be…?"

"Legacy echelon cultivators!"

It only took a few moments for the golden figures to become the focus of all attention. Soon, people realized that the golden figures seemed to stir the Chakra flow of the entire Spirit Stream Sect.

Their every move and action caused the cultivators to tremble, and filled their hearts with boundless veneration and passion.

They were none other than legacy echelon cultivators, not the entire contingent, only a few of the whole force. Each of them was a Chosen among Chosen in their generation, the focus of all attention.

Along with the legacy echelon cultivators, one of the five patriarchs also appeared. He looked like a young man, but his eyes radiated something profoundly ancient. From the feeling he gave off, he had existed for innumerable years.

"I am Patriarch Redmoon!" he said, his expression hard and cold.

"For the Spirit Stream Sect, we will all…" Before he could finish speaking, the voices of countless Spirit Stream Sect disciple joined together to complete the sentence.

"Fight!"

Seeing the fighting spirit of the disciples caused Patriarch Redmoon to throw his head back and laugh. Flicking his sleeve, he caused the light shining up from the two mountain peaks to explode, and the power of teleportation to erupt out. It only took a moment for all of the 5,000 cultivators to vanish.

As for the cultivators who remained behind, it wasn't possible for them to give vent to their desire to fight. Instead, they looked around at the remaining five mountain peaks, which were glowing brighter and brighter.

They all knew that the next time one of the mountain peaks erupted with light, it would mean that the third wave was leaving.

As the teleportation of the second wave concluded, Naruto was in secluded meditation in the Beast Conservatory, his fourth spiritual sea already ninety-seven percent crystallized.

Two hours later, his eyes snapped open, and they flickered with dazzling light. Rumbling sounds filled him as his fourth spiritual sea became completely crystallized!

Bruiser immediately detected that Naruto had opened his eyes, and burst into the room. When he laid eyes on Naruto, he threw his head back and let out a joyful howl.

A broad smile could be seen on Naruto's face, and he was just about to say something when all of the beasts in the Beast Conservatory responded to Bruiser's howl, and joined in.

That wasn't the end of it. All of the beasts who had arrayed themselves outside of the Beast Conservatory also joined the howl. Apparently, Bruiser's actions had a powerful inciting effect on the emotions of all the other beasts.

The sound of countless howls filled the entire north bank, as if all the beasts were congratulating him. The cultivators there were completely shaken. However, the howls didn't last for long before they faded away. Even still, Naruto was deeply moved.

Eyebrows raised, he looked at Bruiser and murmured, "I… I just made a little breakthrough, there's no need to make such a ruckus…."

Bruiser dipped his head in embarrassment.

Heart beginning to pound, Naruto asked, "Bruiser, can you really control all of those battle beasts?"

When he saw Bruiser nod in response, his mind began to spin, and his eyes went wide. Even back when he had visited the Spirit Stream Sect as Nightcrypt, he'd gotten the feeling that the battle beasts took orders from Bruiser.

However, he'd been unable to look into the matter more closely at the time. That memory, plus what he had seen after returning, led him to a very shocking conclusion.

Now that he had confirmed his suspicion, it left him reeling. However, after a bit of time passed, he came to accept the situation.

"So that's what a beast king can do, huh?" he murmured enviously. Suddenly, he felt very pleased with himself, and his eyes began to shine brightly. With Bruiser on his side, he controlled nearly half of the Spirit Stream Sect.

That thought got him more excited than ever. Throwing his head back, he laughed uproariously. Finally, he was starting to feel the same way he had back in the Blood Stream Sect.

—

Chapter 273 Chapter 273

Chapter 273: Zhou Xinqi, It's Destiny

Although he felt wonderful for a moment, his feelings soon changed. On the one hand, he was happy that Bruiser was so powerful, but on the other hand, he was worried that he was falling behind.

"If my Bruiser is strong, then I have to be strong too!" Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the little turtle and started shaking it back and forth violently in the hopes of continuing his cultivation.

Despite shaking it for an entire hour, until his entire arm was sore, the floppy little turtle didn't emit any fragrant aroma whatsoever.

There was nothing Naruto could do, and he was starting to feel like the little turtle was completely useless. Eventually, he decided to give up. Sitting there with his chin resting on his palm, he began to think.

Despite how intelligent Bruiser was, he couldn't figure out why Naruto seemed to be in such conflict. However, seeing that he was being ignored, he decided to go out and play for a bit.

Having been so busy guarding Naruto over the past few days, he'd lost many opportunities to go run around, so now that he had a chance, he flew out of the door, howling….

Naruto watched Bruiser speed away, and sighed. Frowning, he continued to think.

"I have to come up with a way to increase my cultivation base. I have to get some inspiration regarding spirit medicine…. Just what spirit medicine could help me do what I want…?" After reviewing all of the medicine formulas he'd mastered, he still couldn't think of anything suitable to increase his cultivation base.

Just when he was about to admit defeat, his head shot up, and he smacked his thigh. Eyes shining, he said, "The River-Defying Pill!

"Yeah! I forgot about the River-Defying Pill!" Excited, he quickly smacked his bag of holding to produce the jade slip that contained the formula for the River-Defying Pill. He also began to flip through the Frigid School Medicine Manual. Before the enlightenment from the Holy Pill Wall Fragment, he didn't understand much of the Frigid School Medicine Manual, but now that wasn't the case.

After studying the medicine manual for a bit, and then looking over the River-Defying Pill jade slip, he continued to ponder the matter.

"You don't need any types of plants or vegetation," he murmured, "only water from the Heavenspan River. Furthermore, you don't need a pill furnace. You use your own body as the pill furnace…." Back when he originally saw the formula, he thought it was very strange, to say the least. However, as his skill in the Dao of medicine increased, and he absorbed more Heavenspan River water with the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, his understanding grew.

Although he didn't completely comprehend all aspects of the formula, he definitely understood more than before.

After some more thought, his eyes flickered, and he walked to the actual north bank of the Heavenspan River.

The banks of the river were a restricted area in the sect. Not even Inner

Sect disciples were permitted access to them. Only Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were also elders of the sect, were allowed to go there, and only a few times per year at that. By nearing the Heavenspan River itself, they were able to absorb some of its shocking spiritual energy to improve their cultivation.

However, the spiritual energy there was so powerful there that even

Foundation Establishment cultivator weren't permitted to stay very long. If they did, the spiritual energy in their bodies could be thrown into utter chaos.

As soon as Naruto arrived, he noticed two cultivators sitting crosslegged not too far away, practicing cultivation with the spiritual energy from the He

avenspan River. It was a man and a woman. The woman wore a sea-blue robe, and was very beautiful, with delicate, fair skin and eyelashes that fluttered slightly as she meditated. As soon as Naruto saw her, he smiled.

"I was just wondering why something seemed missing after I got back. I haven't seen Sect Niece Xinqi this entire time! So, it turns out she's been hiding over here."

The young woman was none other than Zhou Xinqi.

After examining Zhou Xinqi for a moment, he looked at the man sitting next to her, and frowned. For some reason, he almost couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that it was Shangguan Tianyou!

Naruto wasn't sure what technique Shangguan Tianyou had been cultivating, but his previously flowing black hair was now golden. He'd already been so attractive that he made other men jealous, but his new hair color, in combination with his exquisite facial features, made him even more handsome.

Furthermore, his energy was different. In fact, he was so eye-catching that most people would likely forget all about Naruto in his presence, and take Shangguan Tianyou to be the ultimate Chosen.

Even more annoying to Naruto was that Shangguan Tianyou had a mark on his forehead that looked very similar to Naruto's Heavenspan Dharma Eye. However, instead of forming the shape of an eye, it looked like a sword!

Sword Chakra emanated from the mark, causing Shangguan Tianyou to look very much like a sharp, unsheathed sword!

"I remember hearing that Shangguan Tianyou always benefited from good fortune. Not only does he have shocking latent talent, people always said that he's the reincarnation of some sword immortal. It seems those weren't just rumors after all." Even as he pondered the matter, it struck him that, considering how close Shangguan Tianyou and Zhou Xinqi were sitting to each other, it seemed that feelings must have developed between them while he was away.

That thought left Naruto even more annoyed than before. Sticking his chin up, he gave a cold harrumph, and decided that in the future, he would have to find an opportunity to show Zhou Xinqi exactly what kind of person Shangguan Tianyou really was.

Looking away from the two, he ignored them and picked a different area of the river bank to collect some Heavenspan River water.

Before cultivating the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, the only way Naruto would have been able to take away some of the golden water would have been to use some sort of magical device.

But now that he had the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, he simply calmed himself, and then prepared to use some of the water to try to refine a River-Defying Pill.

Off in the distance, Shangguan Tianyou's eyes slowly opened, and as he looked over at Naruto, they flickered with venomous animosity. Naruto had always been a thorn in his side. Whether it was in the Chosen battles before they all reached Foundation Establishment, or in the Fallen Sword Abyss, or in the robe-shredding incident, it all caused Shangguan Tianyou to feel deep hatred for Naruto.

Next to him sat Zhou Xinqi. Although it looked like she was in the middle of meditating, she hadn't completely retracted her divine sense, and had become aware of Naruto the moment he showed up. Frowning, she also opened her eyes and looked in his direction.

Her feelings regarding Naruto had changed over time. Originally, she had viewed him as a zealous and enthusiastic disciple. However, his terrifying talents in medicine concocting, plus the truth about the Chicken-Thieving Fiend, made it so that she wasn't really sure exactly how she felt about him.

Of even greater significance was that, after all the years that had passed, she had long since come to the realization that Fragrant Cloud Peak's mysterious little turtle was none other than Naruto.

There was no other explanation for how Naruto had made his rise in the Dao of medicine. That answer made her heart felt like it was being twisted in two directions, and the collision between her perceptions and reality was a heavy blow to her.

Then there was how Naruto loved to get people to call him Sect Uncle, which was even more annoying to Zhou Xinqi. Seeing that he had simply come to the Heavenspan River to collect some river water, she decided to just ignore him. However, even as her eyes were closing, they suddenly went wide.

Unexpectedly, Naruto wasn't using any magical device to collect the water. Instead, he had reached his right hand out and was about to plunge it directly into the river.

Regardless of how she felt about him, they were fellow members of the same sect, and she didn't want to see him hurt.

"Naruto, what are you doing!?" she cried. "You can't touch the

Heavenspan River water! If that water touches Foundation

Establishment cultivators like us, don't you know what will happen!? You'll–"

Shangguan Tianyou looked on, chuckling coldly in his heart, his eyes flashing with derision. He was actually looking forward to seeing Naruto's arm dissolved by the river water, and wasn't very pleased that Zhou Xinqi was interfering.

However, even as his displeasure rose, and Zhou Xinqi called out, Naruto's hand entered the river water, and then emerged with about a cup's worth of golden water in his hand. He looked over at Zhou Xinqi.

Looking at her expectantly, he said, "I'll what?"

It felt wonderful to be able to make such a scene right in front of Shangguan Tianyou.

Zhou Xinqi's jaw dropped as she looked at the Heavenspan River water cupped in Naruto's right hand. Some of it was even dripping back down into the river itself.

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes were as wide as saucers, and his mind was reeling. He was very well aware of how terrifying the water of the Heavenspan River was, and yet, Naruto had just reached his hand in and scooped some out.

"You…" Zhou Xinqi said incredulously.

Naruto examined the expressions on their faces, and his heart swelled with joy, especially when he looked at Shangguan Tianyou. With that, he lifted his hand up to his mouth and sipped some of the water. Then he stuck his chin up into the air and coolly said, "Possession without possession is the most wonderful possession. Emptiness without emptiness is the true emptiness…."

It was the same expression he had heard from Li Qinghou a few days before. Back then, it had sounded completely and utterly profound, and the truth was, he still didn't know what it meant. However, considering how shaken he had been when he'd heard it, he had decided that he should use it on someone else. Now that he finally had the chance, he suddenly felt completely abstruse and philosophical.

A tremor ran through Zhou Xinqi. At first, she thought she understood what he meant, but the more she thought about it, the more confused she was. Either way, Naruto suddenly seemed even more marvelous to her than he had before.

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes flashed brightly as he glared in disbelief at Naruto. Even though he didn't understand what Naruto had just said, he was sure that the words contained deep and profound meaning.

However, he simply couldn't believe that such a profound statement about the Dao could possibly come out of the mouth of someone like Naruto, and so naturally at that.

Naruto swished his sleeve. "Zhou Xinqi, you have a good heart. It was destiny that you should offer me such a heartfelt warning. Likewise, the words I have spoken to you this day are another destiny, if you can understand them…."

Giving her an aloof smile, he strolled away, his voice seemingly resonating with ancient profundity as he said, "Possession without possession is the most wonderful possession. Emptiness without emptiness is the true emptiness… therefore… emptiness is the most wonderful possession."

As Zhou Xinqi watched Naruto walking away, her inner vision of him suddenly changed completely….

Although none of the three of them noticed, there was a monkey standing next to the riverbank some distance away, accompanied by an old man, who was none other than the founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect.

"The little punk doesn't even know what that sentence means," the founding patriarch said with a chuckle. "And yet he throws it around anyway."

The look in the monkey's eyes was different from the look in the founding patriarch's eyes. Somewhere deep within them was hidden a profound, mysterious gleam.

—

Chapter 274

Chapter 274

Chapter 274: Once Upon A Time, I Was Also A Crazy Teen!

After leaving the bank of the Heavenspan River, Naruto was in very high spirits. He decided that he needed to remember that saying; it was definitely very useful.

"Hmmmmph! In the future, whenever I see things I don't like, I can use that phrase to scare people. It will definitely put people in their place!" After returning to the Beast Conservatory, he thought some more about how to refine the River-Defying Pill, and after hesitating a bit, he gritted his teeth and started working.

To make the River-Defying Pill, he needed to use his own body as the furnace. On the second day of his efforts, he screamed, and then poofing sounds could be heard, after which he flew out of his room.

Even after emerging out into the open, more poofing sounds could be heard coming from behind him.

"How could this be happening…?" he said. His insides felt like they were completely filled with swirling gas. The process of expelling it frightened Bruiser so much that he fled. Before long, the entire honor guard station was filled with a noxious odor.

Naruto was scowling on the verge of tears. The effects of the gas continued for almost the entire day before fading away. Naruto was so frightened that he didn't dare to perform any more tests.

"That thing is definitely not meant to be concocted by people. Terrifying! I always blow up furnaces when I concoct medicine. But if I use myself as the furnace to concoct a River-Defying Pill, then what happens if there's an explosion…?" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto felt more terrified than before. Worried that he might lose his poor little life, he decided to give up.

"I'm definitely not going to concoct that pill!" When he thought about the day of misery he had just endured, he suddenly had an inkling of what it must feel like to be a bystander to his own pill concocting.

Even as he stood there sighing, several beams of light appeared outside of the Beast Conservatory. It was Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei, and Xu Baocai. Almost Immediately, they detected the noxious odor filling the honor guard station.

"What's that smell?" Big Fatty Zhang said, eyes wide.

"Is that…?" Xu Baocai looked shocked. Then he seemed to think of something so outrageous that he immediately dismissed the notion.

Third Fatty Hei was actually a slender young woman. Her skin wasn't very fair, but she was tall and heroic-looking. At the moment, even she was frowning.

Naruto started to blush, and then cleared his throat.

"Oh, that's Bruiser. He ate some bad meat the other day."

Bruiser was currently standing off in the distance, and when he heard what Naruto was saying, he was about to howl. However, a glare from Naruto caused him to sit down dejectedly and stare at the group.

Seeing that Big Fatty Zhang and the others were still suspicious, Naruto quickly changed the subject.

"So anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

Declining to press Naruto about the noxious odor, Big Fatty Zhang looked over and said, "We came to bid you farewell. Tomorrow, the third wave will teleport away, and we three are part of it."

When Naruto heard that, his heart trembled. Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei, and Xu Baocai had all experienced significant advances in their cultivation base while he was in the Blood Stream Sect. As of this point, all of them were Inner Sect disciples.

None of them had reached Foundation Establishment yet, only the great circle of Chakra Condensation. People like that wouldn't be of much use on the battlefield. However, a large group of them toge

ther would be able to power a spell formation, something that could unleash terrifying energy.

Unsure of what to say, Naruto maintained his silence. The entire group felt as if a great weight were settling onto their shoulders.

"We might not necessarily lose this war," Third Fatty Hei said. "Since we have to fight, then we might as well work together to cut down the enemy!" Her words seemed to lift the spirits of Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai.

Naruto looked around at his friends, and then thought about the comrades who had died in the Fallen Sword Abyss. He simply couldn't imagine what it would be like to see Big Fatty Zhang and his other close friends falling in battle. He didn't want to see anybody die in the fighting. He didn't want any war. He just wanted everyone to keep living together happily.

"Don't look like that, Xiaochun," Big Fatty Zhang said. "We're not necessarily going to die. Come, come. We haven't had a drink together in a long time. Let's get drunk!" Laughing heartily, he produced a flagon of alcohol from his bag of holding. Everyone sat down and began to drink.

Time passed, and as they chatted, the heavy mood from before lifted.

Laughing the whole time, Big Fatty Zhang talked about all of Naruto's misadventures when he had joined the sect. Eventually, he reached the subject of the spirit tail chickens.

"Now hold on," Naruto said. "Those spirit tail chickens are just delicious…. Man, I miss them."

"I blame you two for dragging me into that!" Third Fatty Hei said, her face flushing. She had also participated in the Chicken-Thieving Fiend scandal, and had been severely berated by her Master because of it.

Xu Baocai beat his chest in lamentation regarding the matter of the blood notice he'd given to Naruto. At some point, somebody suggested that they actually go steal a chicken, and before they knew it, they had rushed over to the south bank. A short while later, they had a few chickens in hand, which they began to roast over an open flame.

As evening fell, Big Fatty Zhang suggested that they go back to the Ovens. The Ovens crew was delighted to see everyone, especially the fatties from years before who were still working there. Without any hesitation, large amounts of food and alcohol were produced.

As the sound of laughter and chatting rose up into the air, Hou Xiaomei arrived. Naruto pulled her over to sit next to him, and as she drank, her lovely face grew more flushed, and as a result, more attractive.

Chen Fei even showed up, albeit uninvited. The night wore on, and soon, Naruto was drunk.

Feeling more relaxed than ever, he pointed at Third Fatty Hei and yelled, "Third Girly, you bastard, I always thought you were a dude! I can't believe you turned out to be a girl!"

Third Fatty Hei glared at him, then snorted coldly and took a drink.

"Hey, Big Fatty, do you remember that Elder Sister with the pockmarked face? You know, the one who brought me here to the Ovens? You said something about the magpies singing. You had a huge crush on her. Remember? Well, what happened? Come on, tell us the truth!"

"Xu Baocai, that blood notice of yours scared your Sect Uncle Uzumaki half to death!"

"Chen Fei, you momma's boy, I can't believe you tried to ambush me.

Hummmphh!"

"Naruto, whenever we split the food loot, you always ate the most!"

"Yeah, that's right! By the way, did you know that the story about making the bowl bottoms thicker has become a legend here in the Ovens!?"

"Hahaha! Remember when we blocked the paths to the finish line…?"

"I'm sorry for what I did, Sect Uncle Bai…"

Everyone was jumping into the conversation.

Eventually, Big Fatty Zhang pulled out his wok, placed it down next to him, and excitedly yelled, "I would rather starve to death in the Ovens–"

"–than go climb the ladder in the Outer Sect!" Naruto finished at the top of his lungs. Third Fatty Hei and the other fatties all howled in response.

Although Xu Baocai wasn't from the Ovens crew, he also joined in. Even Chen Fei was moved, and soon, everyone was yelling at the tops of their lungs.

At one point, Naruto raised his flagon of alcohol and said, "Fruits and herbs of a magical nature; Nibble the edges but spare the stem; Slice the meat thin when there's some to butcher; As for the bones, leave some flesh on them; Spirit congee? Water it down until it's thin; Fine wine? Half a cup will do you in!"

"Wait, hold on, hold on!" Big Fatty Zhang said. "We can't just have six lines of truth. We need to add two more lines. Let's see. Make the bowl bottoms thicker by a thumb. Give all the chickens to Naruto!"

Big Fatty Zhang roared with laughter and slapped Naruto's shoulder. Then he staggered off to the side and slumped down to the ground, completely drunk.

It was rare to have a situation where everyone completely enjoyed themselves. However, a war was coming, and nobody was sure whether or not they would live to see the end of it. Therefore, they spent the night forgetting about their worries, drinking and yelling and laughing.

The sound of the commotion drew more attention, and people rushed over to see what was happening. Before long, a raucous party was underway in the Ovens.

Hou Xiaomei remained glued to Naruto's side. Of course, the effects of the spirit alcohol were something that even cultivators couldn't ignore, and slowly, she was getting drunk too.

By the time the third watch came, the Ovens was getting quiet, but Naruto forced his eyes to remain open. Looking around at the quiet scene around him, his eyes began to shine.

Picking up a flagon of alcohol, he guzzled down a mouthful, then slowly looked at all the unconscious figures around him. It was almost as if he were trying to commit their faces to memory. His grip on the alcohol flagon grew tighter, as if he were trying to forever brand this one moment of time into his heart. Or perhaps it was because there was a burgeoning determination inside of him to change the world around him into something else….

Eventually, his legs wobbled, and he slumped down into sleep. However, he continued to grip the flagon so hard that veins bulged out on the back of his hand.

At dawn, brilliant pillars of light climbed up from Irispetal Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak. Rumbling filled the air as numerous figures flew toward the mountain peaks.

Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei, Xu Baocai, and Chen Fei were among them. There were also legacy echelon cultivators and patriarchs. The third wave of nearly 30,000 cultivators was soon gone, teleported away.

Naruto lay there in the Ovens, watching as Big Fatty Zhang and his other friends left. An intense determination burned deep in his eyes.

Hou Xiaomei was still by his side. "Big bro Xiaochun…" she said softly.

"I'm in the fourth wave."

Naruto clasped her hand in his. Voice soft but determined, he said,

"I'll always be here for you!"

Now that the third wave had left, the Spirit Stream Sect was almost half empty. At the same time, the sect's spell formations were almost completely activated.

A few days later, Sunset Peak, Archway Peak, and Fragrant Cloud Peak, the final three mountain peaks, all erupted with heaven-shaking, earthshattering pillars of light.

As of this point, all of the spell formations in the Spirit Stream Sect had been fully activated, and the sect was completely locked down tight.

Patriarch Ironwood appeared, along with the remaining legacy echelon cultivators and prime elders. Zheng Yuandong was there, along with Li Qinghou, Xu Meixiang, and the other peak lords.

Most of the elders, Inner Sect disciples, and Outer Sect disciples also appeared. This was the fourth wave.

There would be a fifth wave, with the most powerful reserves of the sect, but this fourth wave was the largest so far. There were nearly 50,000 people present.

Naruto looked at the pillars of light and took a deep breath. As he emerged from the Beast Conservatory, Bruiser followed him, and he didn't look as frisky as usual. Apparently, he realized that war was coming. He and Naruto then shot toward the nearest pillar of light.

A large crowd was present. When Naruto showed up, and people recognized him, many of them edged closer to him. Although he was naughty and mischievous, the stories about what he had done in the Fallen Sword Abyss proved that when danger came, he was the person to trust!

The Spirit Stream Sect had chosen the Luochen Mountains as the battlefield, where they could rely on their spell formation. In the region between the sect and the mountains, eight lines of defense had been set up to fall back on in case the Luochen Mountains were lost.

This war would not be one of schemes and plots. It was a battle in which veins of steel were a necessity. People would be fighting to the death, and they would make it hard for the Blood Stream Sect to push them into retreat. They would show that picking on the Spirit Stream Sect was something that could not be done lightly!

Soon, everyone was present, and the teleportation began!

Brilliant light shot up into the air. It was as if a huge hand had grabbed everyone from the three mountain peaks and then carried them to the border with the Blood Stream Sect. The destination was…

The Luochen Mountains!

—

Chapter 275

Chapter 275

Chapter 275: Luochen Grand Spell Formation!

The Luochen Mountains marked the boundary between the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, and they stretched so far that it was impossible to see either end of the mountain range. When the spell formation built into the mountains was first activated, it wasn't possible to see the actual shield with the naked eye. But now, it was completely eye-catching, rising all the way up to connect with the heavens, an imposing sight that would shake anyone who looked at it.

Occasional ripples of power would spread out across the shield, as well as loud cracking sounds. Clearly, the destructive power of the shield had everything in the area completely locked down.

This was the Luochen Grand Spell Formation that the Spirit Stream Sect had set in place thousands of years in the past!

Numerous figures could be seen hovering in the air above the mountains, radiating cultivation base power that exceeded Foundation Establishment. All of them had their divine sense spread out to stand watch over the direction leading to the Blood Stream Sect.

The three initial waves of disciples had set up camp on the ground, a camp which spread out far and wide. The Outer Sect disciples were the most numerous of the bunch, and had been assigned to run drills with various spell formation arrangements. Occasionally, the rumbling caused by their activities would send powerful ripples out in all directions.

At a glance, it was possible to see dozens of spell formations run by Outer Sect disciples. The first three waves had brought quite a number of people to the mountains, but that only made it easier to imagine how many more formations would spring up after the fourth wave arrived.

The Inner Sect disciples were arranged according to the mountain peaks from whence they originated. They were also powering spell formations, formations which were vastly more powerful than those of the Outer Sect disciples. Such Inner Sect spell formations emanated powerful ripples which distorted everything in the area.

In addition to all of that, there were ranks upon ranks of war chariots. The chariots were crafted from the hardest metals, and each one featured a huge spike jutting out the front, thirty meters long and a meter wide at the base!

The chariots were also inlaid with countless spirit stones; not the lowgrade type, but rather, high-grade spirit stones! The chariots were so large and powerful that they required several cultivators just to operate.

The sight of hundreds of such war chariots was fear-inspiring, to say the least.

In another location, numerous enormous boulders were being magically formed together to create gigantic puppets fully 300 meters tall!

There were already over a hundred such puppets fully formed, and every step they took caused the Luochen Mountains to tremble. Also present were countless enormous battle beasts from the north bank, many of whom soared about in the air, emitting occasional roars.

The secret forces which had long since been sent out into Blood Stream Sect territory were active, looking for new information to send back to the Spirit Stream Sect. Even the spies in the Blood Stream Sect itself had been mobilized. Although such spies couldn't accomplish very much, they were successful in some of their efforts.

There were also enormous stone tower shields rising up from various boulders throughout the mountains. Although the layout of the tower shields seemed random, it was possible to imagine how, once they were all connected, they could defend against an incredibly powerful attack.

Everyone was very busy with all of their preparations. There was another area within the Luochen Mountains, a district large enough to fit tens of thousands of individuals. There, a huge spell formation had been carved into the ground, which was being guarded

by over a thousand cultivators. Moments ago, it had begun to glow with bright light.

The ground began to quake, causing all of the various Spirit Stream Sect disciples in the mountains to look up. Then, three massive pillars of light shot up from within the spell formation, reaching high up into the heavens.

The Luochen Mountains were shaking as the pillars of light distorted the air around them. Moments later, the light faded away, and tens of thousands of people became visible on the spell formation!

Naruto was among them!

This was the fourth wave of cultivators to be teleported into the mountains!

Teleportation was often an uncomfortable thing, and as soon as the group of people appeared, various reactions could be seen on their faces. Naruto's face went a bit pale, but other than that, he didn't seem affected. Instead of gaping around at the mountains around him, he located Hou Xiaomei in the crowd and hurried over to her.

Because of his status, it was easy to make his way through the throngs of people. No one got in his way. Soon, he was in front of Hou Xiaomei, whose face was ashen as she swayed back and forth unsteadily. Zhou Xinqi was there, holding her arm. As soon as Naruto reached her, he poured some spiritual power into her to help her acclimate.

"You'll be fine," he said. "Teleportations are usually like this." When he saw her pale face, he felt hurt inside. For some reason, his time in the Blood Stream Sect had made him a lot more sensitive on an emotional level….

Zhou Xinqi looked at Naruto, and then stepped back to let him take over. Shangguan Tianyou was also nearby. Eying Naruto coldly, he snorted.

Hou Xiaomei breathed in and out a few times, and soon recovered. Looking over at Naruto, she suddenly felt a bit disquieted. She had been working very hard at her cultivation, worried that she might not be able to keep up with Naruto. However, he only seemed to get further and further away. She feared that if she let up even the slightest bit, that he might get so far away she would be forever separated from him.

She reached out, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it tightly.

Now that Hou Xiaomei had recovered, Naruto looked around at the Luochen Mountains. Clearly, they had changed. On his way back to the sect, he had sensed that things were different, but hadn't been able to pierce through to see the true details of the matter. However, now it was very clear.

Everything looked different!

He saw the powerful figures hovering high up in the air. He saw the glittering shield. He saw all of the spell formations powered by disciples of the sect. He saw the war chariots, the stone puppets, the tower shields. He saw familiar faces everywhere, even Big Fatty Zhang and his other friends.

Other disciples began to guide the fourth wave cultivators to their places in the various spell formations. Everyone had an assignment.

Of course, the fourth wave consisted of tens of thousands of disciples, so the arrangements took time. Most of the new arrivals had to wait patiently until they were told what to do. It was the same with Naruto, who simply stood there looking at everything, shaken.

Clearly, the preparations for the battle were not yet complete, and he could only imagine how awe-inspiring it would be when they were!

The sight of everything caused his heart to tremble, especially considering that there were many things that the Spirit Stream Sect normally kept secret, which were now out in the open for everyone to see.

For example, when Naruto looked at the Outer Sect disciples drilling in their spell formations, he could easily see the similarities between their formations and the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art and Heavenspan Elephant Control Art. Clearly, anyone who cultivated either of those two techniques would have no problem participating in the spell formation.

The only thing they would need to work on would be cooperating with the others who were part of the formation. Furthermore, Naruto could tell that the Outer Sect spell formations weren't simple, and that they contained the potential for numerous transformations and variations.

As for the Inner Sect disciples, it was similar with them. Although the Spirit Stream Sect might seem soft on the outside, they were really a sect born for battle!

Only a battle sect would have the fortitude to defy the Blood Stream Sect, despite being weaker than them. They would rather go out in a bloody battle than yield!

As for the Luochen Mountains, they were even more marvelous than he'd realized. In addition to increasing the battle prowess of the Spirit Stream Sect, there also seemed to be something else lurking within them, something shocking. Naruto opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, and was instantly taken aback.

Inside of the mountains themselves existed a spell formation that caused Naruto's scalp to tingle. It was a self-destruct spell formation!

It was a trap, designed to send a message to the Blood Stream Sect in the event that they won: You may be able to defeat us, but you will feel the pain down into your bones, an agony that you will never be able to forget!

Naruto took a deep, alarmed breath. Meanwhile, Hou Xiaomei stood next to him, trembling, clearly shaken by what she was seeing. She looked over in the direction of the Blood Stream Sect, but from her vantagepoint, could see nothing but the crimson lands stretching out as far as the eye could see.

"Big bro Xiaochun," she said softly, "I heard that everyone in the Blood Stream Sect is like that Blood Master Nightcrypt from Middle Peak. They're brutal, and kill people like scything wheat! They usually spend their time in their sect fighting and killing each other. If you're not careful, you'll get cut down in an instant. You have to be careful when you fight them." According to her understanding, the Blood Stream Sect was a place rife with an aura of death. That was especially true considering the shocking tales of Nightcrypt which had been circulating recently. It was only natural for her to point to him as an example of what the sect as a whole was like.

Naruto's astonishment from before was giving way to more negative feelings now. Slapping his chest, he stuck up his chin and said, "Don't worry, Xiaomei. When Naruto is around, Nightcrypt wouldn't dare to show his face!"

As far as he was concerned, that was no exaggeration. In fact, it couldn't be closer to the truth.

Hou Xiaomei smiled in response, and although she didn't quite believe him, she pretended that she did. As always, her eyes were filled with an adoration that left Naruto feeling quite comfortable.

Even as he reveled in the lovely feeling, he looked over at Zhou Xinqi and said, "Sect Niece Xinqi, fear not. I'll protect you."

Zhou Xinqi almost couldn't reconcile this version of Naruto with the one she'd seen on the bank of the Heavenspan River. Sighing, she said, "You still have it in you to brag, even here? What's the point?"

Shangguan Tianyou gave a cold harrumph. Eyeing Naruto, he slowly said, "Naruto, Nightcrypt belongs to me! I'm going to cut his head clean off of his shoulders!"

That soured Naruto's mood immediately. Glaring at Shangguan Tianyou, he was just about to respond when suddenly, his heart trembled as an icy sensation filled him from head to toe. Turning, he saw a young woman looking at him through the crowd.

She was cloaked by her long, black hair, and was actually quite pretty. She was none other than Gongsun Wan'er.

As soon as she realized Naruto was looking at her, she turned to look back at him. Their eyes met, and she reached up to cover her mouth as she laughed. Although they were some distance apart, for some reason, the sound of her laughter filled Naruto with an incredible sense of danger. Something inside was screaming at him that this young woman was deadly!

—

Chapter 276

Chapter 276

Chapter 276: Daoseed Ninth Formation

Naruto's pupils constricted. This was his first time seeing Gongsun Wan'er after returning to the Spirit Stream Sect, and for some reason, she seemed completely different than he remembered!

The previous Gongsun Wan'er had been pretty, but not charming. The young woman he was looking at now, though, seemed to be charming down to her bones, charming in a way that would make you shiver inside.

Her facial features were the same as before, but she seemed completely different, so different that Naruto's scalp was tingling on the verge of explosion.

Her cultivation base fluctuations were being concealed, but something about her caused his eyes to narrow. Even his blood Chakra seemed to become sluggish inside of him.

"Something's off!" Even as Naruto's heart began to pound, Gongsun Wan'er turned and vanished into the crowd. Despite craning his neck and looking around, he was unable to find her again.

Slowly, the alarm he had felt began to fade away. However, he was still very certain about what had just occurred.

"How could Gongsun Wan'er have changed so much!?" Panting, Bai

Xiaochun thought back to when he'd looked into her eyes, and how he'd heard her melodious laughter. For some reason, that laughter seemed familiar to him.

Of course, he had known Gongsun Wan'er for quite some time. However, there was something about the familiarity of the laughter that seemed very different.

Apparently, Hou Xiaomei could sense Naruto's astonishment. She followed his gaze into the crowd, but didn't see Gongsun Wan'er.

"What's wrong, big bro Xiaochun?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head and declined to offer any explanation. Instead, he simply stood there thoughtfully. Slowly but surely, the tens of thousands of cultivators in the spell formation were being led to the spots that had been arranged for them. Soon, it was Shangguan Tianyou's turn.

One of the Inner Sect disciples from the north bank approached him, clasped hands formally, and said, "Sect Uncle Shangguan, as set forth by sect decree, you will take command of the third of Green Crest Peak's Foundation Establishment spell formations. Your will shall preside over the third spell formation. Please, Senior, accompany me, and I will show you the ins and outs of the formation."

With that, he began to lead Shangguan Tianyou away, under the eyes of many observers.

Most of the people who had just arrived were being sent to spell formations belonging to whichever mountain peak they had come from. It was a bit different with Shangguan Tianyou, though. He was proclaimed as the leader of a spell formation, which led to quite a lot of hushed discussion.

"Sect Uncle Shangguan really does live up to his reputation. The sect obviously has high hopes for his future. They even made him the leader of Green Crest Peak's third spell formation…."

"I was just looking around, and realized that each area in the Luochen Mountains is set aside for one of the mountain peaks. Each mountain peak has several dozen Outer Sect spell formations, a dozen or so Inner Sect spell formations, plus spell formations for the peak lord and elders.

Presumably, Shangguan Tianyou is going to the spell formation for

Chosen…."

"After coming back from the Fallen Sword Abyss, Sect Uncle Shangguan spent most of his time in secluded meditation, except for that time he went to challenge Ghostfang. Nobody is sure who won or lost, though…."

Naruto's lips twitched a bit in response to what was happening, unconvinced that Shangguan Tianyou was as amazing as people made him out to be. Despite th

e buzz of conversation, Shangguan Tianyou's expression was the same as ever as he strode along. He was used to being the focus of so many gazes. Turning to the north bank Inner Sect disciple who was leading the way, he coolly asked, "Who might be the leaders of the second and first spell formations?"

"Sect Uncle Shangguan," the disciple replied respectfully, "from what

I've heard, the second spell formation will be led by the elder of Green Crest Peak, and the first spell formation will be controlled by none other than the peak lord." Shangguan Tianyou nodded, then turned to look at Naruto and snorted coldly.

Moments later, a different disciple approached Zhou Xinqi, clasped hands, and bowed.

"Sect Aunt Zhou, I've come to lead the way, ma'am. You are to be the leader of Fragrant Cloud Peak's third spell formation."

Zhou Xinqi nodded silently. She and Shangguan Tianyou both left the teleportation spell formation, and Naruto watched them go. Zhou Xinqi didn't bother him much, but for some reason, he found Shangguan Tianyou very grating.

"I can't believe that guy gets to be one of the leaders. I guess that in addition to the Inner Sect and Outer Sect spell formations, all of the mountain peaks have spell formations for the Foundation Establishment cultivators, huh? Well what about me? Where am I supposed to go?" Even as he pondered the question curiously, one of the Inner Sect disciples from the south bank approached in a beam of light.

Before he even got close, he yelled, "Is Sect Uncle Uzumaki here…?"

He was actually sweating, and his voice was so loud that everyone in the area heard him, even Shangguan Tianyou and Zhou Xinqi, who both stopped in their tracks and looked over.

Naruto's eyes began to shine, and he took a few steps forward, waving to the Inner Sect disciple.

The disciple saw him and flew over, and before he even landed, was clasping hands and bowing, his eyes shining with reverence and worship.

"Greetings Sect Uncle Bai! The sect leader has commanded that you will not be a part of any of the spell formations from the south or north banks. Instead, you will lead the Mount Daoseed Foundation

Establishment formation!" Quite a few people heard the words spoken by the Inner Sect disciple, and conversations sprang up almost immediately as people looked over at Naruto.

"He's going to lead the Mount Daoseed Foundation Establishment formation?"

"Ah, that's how it should be. Sect Uncle Uzumaki has a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base. Putting him with any of the other seven mountain peaks would be a complete waste of talent. Only Mount Daoseed is suitable for Sect Uncle Bai!"

The gazes which fell upon Naruto were those of respect and envy.

Clearly, Naruto was very important, so important that the sect valued him far more than people like Shangguan Tianyou and Zhou Xinqi.

Zhou Xinqi looked at Naruto, then looked away and walked off. Although Shangguan Tianyou's expression was the same as ever, his hands were clenched into fists. To be so blatantly compared to someone else caused him to grit his teeth, swish his sleeve, and then fly away.

Naruto felt wonderful. Although Hou Xiaomei was sent to a location with other south bank Outer Sect disciples, Naruto and Hou Yunfei arranged for her to be sent to a central location, and also be protected at all times.

With that, Naruto followed the south bank Inner Sect disciple away. Soon they were in the middle of the ranks of the Spirit Stream Sect forces, where nine large spell formations had been burned into the ground. Each of the spell formations was fully 3,000 meters across, and emanated intense ripples and blinding light. They even seemed to be in sync with the grand spell formation that filled the entire mountain range.

Hundreds of disciples were working away busily at the spell formations, making adjustments and preparing them in various ways. The auras of the spell formations only continued to grow more and more shocking with every moment.

There were already quite a few people seated cross-legged in most of the spell formations. As for where everyone sat, those positions had already been decreed by the sect leadership, and couldn't be altered.

Closer examination revealed that within each spell formation, eight positions for cultivators were arrayed in an eight trigrams formation. In the middle were three other positions for the leaders.

Naruto recognized most of the cultivators in the various spell formations. They were all Foundation Establishment elders, and many of them nodded in greeting when they saw Naruto look their way.

Naruto was assigned to the ninth formation. The one difference between that spell formation and the other eight, was that it only had one leadership position.

"According to the orders of the sect leader, Sect Uncle Bai, you are the sole leader of the ninth spell formation, the Mount Daoseed formation!" The disciple who had been leading Naruto clasped hands respectfully and then left. Naruto made his way into the ninth formation and sat down in the spot in the center set aside for the leader.

At the moment, no other Foundation Establishment elders had arrived to fill in the other spots of the ninth formation. As such, Naruto closed his eyes and opened his cultivation base to begin getting used to the spell formation.

Almost immediately, the spell formation formed a resonance with Naruto's Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation. Because of that, he instantly felt as if he had become one with the formation.

His mind began to vibrate, and he was suddenly filled with the sensation that all he had to do was stand up, and he would transform into an enormous giant.

The feeling caused his mind to spin. Simultaneously, an intense light shot up from the ninth formation.

Quite a few of the Foundation Establishment elders in the other surrounding spell formations noticed what was happening, as did other cultivators in the area. The tens of thousands of cultivators from the fourth wave who were still being sent out to the various formations were all shaken, and looked over.

Soon, gasps could be heard. The light shining from Naruto's location in the ninth formation was creating the image of a 600-metertall giant. As it took shape, it was gradually possible to make out the facial features of the giant. They belonged to none other than Naruto!

Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei, Xu Baocai, Hou Yunfei, and all of his other friends in the different locations in the Luochen Mountains looked over in shock at the giant.

Ghostfang was sitting in position in the third formation of Ghostfang Peak, meditating. Then, his eyes snapped open, and he looked over at the giant.

Beihan Lie, Xu Song, and the recently arrived Shangguan Tianyou and Zhou Xinqi were all looking in the same direction.

As for Gongsun Wan'er, her eyes shone with a strange light.

Naruto was a bit dazed at first. He clearly felt as if he had become a giant, as if his thoughts were the giant's thoughts. Apparently, this giant was an external incarnation of himself!

The feeling of incredible power that coursed through him caused him to throw his head back and let loose a long, piercing cry. The heavens shook as if they had been struck by lightning, and everything in the area began to shake and tremble.

He tried to wave his arms, but his unfamiliarity with this form caused the giant to destabilize and then slowly collapse. Even still, the scene which had just played out left everyone who had seen it shocked.

Even the prime elders and legacy echelon cultivators up in the sky had been paying attention.

"So that's Naruto…"

"He only just stepped into the spell formation, yet can already unleash its power in an external incarnation…."

"It seems Naruto's techniques can form a direct resonance with

Spirit Stream Sect spell formations!"

"No wonder the sect leader arranged for him to have sole leadership of the ninth formation. Normally, three cultivators are required to create the spell formation incarnation. He can do it by himself!"

Chapter 277

Chapter 277

Chapter 277: Complete Spell Formation!

After Naruto's giant incarnation faded away, a brief silence followed, and then, a massive uproar filled the Luochen Mountains.

"That was Sect Uncle Bai!"

"Heavens! Didn't Sect Uncle Uzumaki just get here? I can't believe he can already unleash the power of the spell formation…."

Everyone was shaken. Some felt enthusiasm, but others weren't very happy. Quite a few were jealous!

Shangguan Tianyou's hands were clenched painfully tight. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to calm down, then sent his cultivation base power out to familiarize himself with his own spell formation.

He wasn't the only one that was paying close attention. Ghostfang, Beihan Lie, Xu Song, Gongsun Yun, and many others had already been outdone. During the following days, they did further research and experimentation, and began to follow Naruto's example. Soon, more and more giants began to appear.

Eventually, the tens of thousands of people from the fourth wave were all sent to their spots in the various spell formations. The other eight formations in Naruto's area were now almost completely full. As for his own ninth formation, the other eight people had all shown up one after another. None of them were strangers to Naruto; they were all disciples whom he had helped greatly in the Fallen Sword Abyss.

After realizing that they had been assigned to work with Naruto, they excitedly went about helping him with the giant incarnation, which grew more and more powerful.

As all of the groups worked together and grew more familiar with powering the spell formation giants, the Luochen Mountains filled with increasingly shocking energy.

As the giants appeared, they roared and moved about, sometimes even unleashing magical techniques. All light in heaven and earth dimmed. Even the Outer Sect formations with over a hundred people in them also formed giants which unleashed battle prowess similar to the great circle of Chakra Condensation.

The Inner Sect spell formation incarnations surpassed Chakra Condensation, and were similar to Foundation Establishment cultivators. And then there were the formations with the Chosen like Shangguan Tianyou, who radiated the power of the great circle of Foundation Establishment.

As for the first and second spell formations from each mountain peak, they were the strongest, and brimmed with power equivalent to Core Formation!

The three mountain peaks from the south bank and the four mountain peaks from the north bank were all on equal footing!

The smallest of the giants was roughly 150 meters in height. At first, many of them had semi-translucent bodies, making it possible to see the cultivators sitting cross-legged inside.

Toward the end, though, the giants became so solid that it was almost impossible to see anyone inside. The sight of so many giants in the Luochen Mountains was shocking to the extreme!

Already, the central ninth spell formation, the Mount Daoseed formation, was far more powerful than the formations of any of the other mountains.

Every time it appeared, the power of the Foundation Establishment cultivators within it caused the battle prowess of the giant incarnation to emanate fluctuations that, despite not being of the Core Formation level, were strong enough to fight a Core Formation cultivator!

Furthermore, when Naruto's giant incarnation appeared, it released a Heaven-Dao aura that caused thunderous rumbling to fill the air. Sparks of electricity even showered about in all directions.

Naruto was located in the giant's dantian region, with the other eight cultivators being located in other fixed positions within the body. On a few occasions after forming the giant incarnation, Uzumaki Xiaoc

hun sent it flying up into the air to unleash a fist strike that would shake everything in the area. Sometimes the giant would perform an incantation gesture, drawing upon the combined cultivation base power of eight people to summon an enormous violet cauldron. Based on the terrifying power, it was obvious that this giant could fight toe to toe with the Core Formation stage.

Naruto had never experienced anything like this before, and he could only throw his head back and let out a piercing howl.

Another three days passed…..

At high noon, the sky vibrated, and a column of light shot up into the air that far surpassed the light which had accompanied the cultivators of the fourth wave.

As the ground quaked, all cultivators of the sect looked up into the sky.

Everyone, even Naruto, watched as the blinding pillar of light slowly shrank into the form… of an enormous… white sun!

The instant the white sun formed, all of the surrounding air twisted and distorted, filling with fissures and rifts.

Within the sun could be seen the image of a raven, which apparently formed the core of the sun. Although its eyes were closed, it radiated a sense of intense might!

Beneath the raven floated… a mountain!

It was none other than… the ninth mountain peak of the Spirit Stream Sect!

The pressure weighing down from that mountain caused all of the Luochen Mountains to tremble.

A handful of legacy echelon cultivators flew out, as well as prime elders. Then, an old man appeared who, despite not being physically imposing, emanated the loftiest of airs.

He was none other than… the Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch!

Countless voices joined together in a thunderous roar as all cultivators in the mountains clasped their hands and offered formal greetings.

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

The earsplitting sound of their calls shook everything like thunder from the heavens.

Four other figures floated up from the mountains to join him, which were the other patriarchs that had led the previous four waves of cultivators out of the sect.

The founding patriarch looked over the forces of the Spirit Stream Sect, and then spoke in words that echoed out into every corner of the mountains, to reach every cultivator present. "The Blood Stream Sect… has already fully mobilized. They will be here soon!"

Everyone, including Naruto, felt shaken upon hearing those words.

"There will be deaths in this war. Even I may perish. However, any of us who fall in battle will be heroes of the Spirit Stream Sect for all eternity! "This war is a fight for the survival of the Spirit Stream Sect!

"This war will determine the peace and security of our sect for the next 1,000 years!

"This war is something the entire world of cultivation is paying attention to. The Spirit Stream Sect… may go out fighting, but we will never live a life of humiliation!

"Power up the final formation!

"Let's show the Blood Stream Sect exactly how strong and decisive the Spirit Stream Sect is!"

The cultivators felt their blood boiling in response to the founding patriarch's words, and joined together to shout, "Fight!"

Now that the founding patriarch had officially declared the war to have begun, the spell formation which filled the Luochen Mountains sprang to life, sending boundless light shining up into the sky.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Up in the sky, the ninth mountain peak towered high, seemingly capable of propping up the heavens. It was surrounded by nine shining magical symbols, each of them different, but all of them fully 3,000 meters tall. Lightning danced back and forth across the symbols, casting out light that filled the sky. At the same time, countless fist-sized magical symbols also appeared, spreading out like waves to cover the sky above the mountains.

Amidst the lightning and the magical symbols were nearly a hundred ancient figures, all of whom emanated shocking auras. These were all of the Spirit Stream Sect's prime elders!

The prime elders all had serious expressions on their faces. They looked like transcendent beings, their cultivation base fluctuations causing heaven and earth to dim, and causing a powerful wind to kick up. However, even more eye-catching than them was a group whose numbers had slowly been filled over the past 10,000 years…. The seventeen legacy echelon cultivators, Li Qinghou among them.

Those seventeen cultivators hovered above in the sky, shining with light that, from a distance, made them seem like seventeen stars that emanated heaven-shaking, earth-shattering pressure!

Above the seventeen star-like legacy echelon cultivators were… the five patriarchs who lived on the ninth mountain peak. Each of them possessed a Dharma Idol of incredible stature, something that could easily suppress prime elders or legacy echelon cultivators. The power they exuded seemed capable of crushing the heavens and shaking the earth. It was godlike!

The founding patriarch's Dharma Idol was clearly visible. It had three heads and six arms, and seemed as tall as the sky. The founding patriarch alone seemed far more glorious than all of the other four patriarchs combined.

Now that the spell formation had been fully activated, the shield of light that rose up to protect the Luochen Mountains began to crackle with lightning. As the lightning spread out to fill the shield, it transformed into an enormous wall of lightning!

On the surface of the lightning wall could be seen nine faces, each one of them 300 meters tall. Their eyes were closed as if in meditation, and they seemed to radiate solemnity and power. If you looked closely… you would see that, unexpectedly, one of those faces… was Naruto's!

Naruto almost stopped breathing when he saw that. Now that the

Luochen Mountains Grand Spell Formation was fully activated, Naruto could sense that his ninth formation was somehow fused with the mountains as a whole.

The sight of his own face on the wall left him shaken and completely shocked.

The ranks of war chariots were now complete. There were hundreds of them, and the black spikes which jutted out from them emanated terrifying power that seemed capable of exploding out at a moment's notice.

Also present were numerous stone puppets that all seemed poised on the brink of unleashing their power. With a single command, they would leap onto the battlefield and wreak havoc.

As for the countless battle beasts of the north bank, they were everywhere, filling sky and land, with the four spirit beast guardians of the four mountains leading them.

Then there were the enormous tower shields, which were now completely arrayed, creating an impenetrable defense for the Spirit Stream Sect disciples who remained behind them.

As for the spell formations, the disciples poured power into them, causing rumbling to echo out as giants appeared, coming from seven different directions.

Each of the seven mountains had dozens of spell formations for the Outer Sect disciples. As a result, hundreds of figures began to gather; some were human giants, others looked like giant beasts. Roars filled the air as ripples spread out in all directions.

The Inner Sect disciples' spell formations were all activated. Although they didn't have as many as the Outer Sect disciples, theirs were far more powerful. That was especially true of the spell formations set aside for the Chosen, which were even more shocking.

Just as the south and north banks were different, the incarnations of the spell formations were different, some taking the form of human giants, others of giant beasts.

The nine centrally located spell formations also erupted with terrifying fluctuations as they were powered by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

There were also hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators not assigned to spell formations, who were prepared to either fight or join the spell formations as their comrades fell.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be very impressive. But now that the Luochen Mountains spell formations were all activated, a shockingly bright light began to shine out above the ninth mountain peak!

Two beams of light appeared, both of which were magical items!

The first beam of light was a profoundly ancient violet cauldron! As soon as the cauldron appeared, intense pressure weighed down on the entire area, causing everything to tremble.

Within the second beam of light was… a sword! It glittered with silver light that indicated that it had benefited from a tenfold spirit enhancement. It was… the Heavenhorn Sword!

Ten silver designs covered the body of the sword, making it dazzlingly shocking. The mere sight left everyone shaken, and it was obvious that once this sword was unleashed in attack, it could shatter the heavens and decimate the earth!

—

Chapter 278

Chapter 278

Chapter 278: The Blood Stream Sect… Arrives!

A roar echoed through the air as an enormous dragon appeared. It was pitch black, with protruding scales and blood-red eyes. It seemed completely and utterly ferocious and deadly.

It was none other than… the Heavenhorn ink dragon!

Naruto was completely shaken by what he was seeing, and all of the other disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect felt their minds reeling. Whether it was the ninth mountain peak, the white sun, the legacy echelon cultivators, or the spell formation giants, all of them were things no one had ever seen before.

These were… the true reserve powers of the sect.

This was what the power of a sect truly looked like!

Even as everyone was trembling mentally, the black raven that sat within the white sun suddenly emitted a deafening cry.

Waaahhh!

It almost sounded like a crying baby, and was so loud that rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth. An arc-shaped shockwave shot through the Luochen Mountains, speeding across heaven and earth toward the territory of the Blood Stream Sect.

The shockwave was like an invisible blast of fury that swept across everything in its path. It flew onward for about 30,000 meters until it seemed to hit an invisible obstacle, whereupon cracking sounds filled the air. Suddenly visible was a mirror-like object which shattered into countless pieces.

In response, enormous blood clouds billowed out in all directions. Even the air collapsed as the true world beyond that 30,000-meter mark was revealed.

Blood clouds churned relentlessly, connecting heaven with earth, and within them, countless howling sounds could be heard.

Vicious faces were visible within the blood cloud, faces of both men and women. As the blood cloud neared the Spirit Stream Sect, the howling reached a thunderous level, and blood-colored light spread out near and far, staining all creation with the color of blood.

A rain of blood began to fall, and lightning crashed. Where the rain fell, seas of blood rose up, like a massive flood. Soon, rumbling sounds could be heard as blood-colored battleships became visible on the seas of blood, sending blood splashing about as they surged forward.

At the same time, an army became visible, an army filled with refined corpses and gargoyles.

The Blood Stream Sect… had arrived!

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he peered at the world of blood outside the Luochen Mountains. Within the swirling blood clouds and boundless blood sea were, not only battleships, but endless numbers of blood-colored war chariots!

The Blood Stream Sect's war chariots were different than the Spirit Stream Sect's. They were made from bones, and were terrifying and bizarre in appearance!

The blood-colored war chariots were manned by countless Outer Sect disciples, all of whom abounded with killing intent. Madness flickered in their eyes, and as they closed in, they stared at the Spirit Stream Sect disciples, whose hearts trembled in response.

The bloodthirsty gazes of the Blood Stream Sect disciples were filled with such brutality and murder that anyone who saw them would be shocked.

In addition to the war chariots and the battleships, the sea of blood also contained numerous blood giants. They were completely hairless, and were apparently formed from nothing but blood. Each step they took caused the seas beneath their feet to howl. Clustered around the blood giants were countless other disciples of the sect.

A seemingly endless army filled heaven and earth. It was a spectacular sight.

Up above were the blood clouds, and down below were the blood seas. Between them was endless darkness that seethed and churned as if it were alive.

It was only when lightning shot down from the clouds that the darkness was illumina

ted, to reveal dozens of ancient and barbaric giants, clad in battle armor, faces expressionless. Atop the heads of the giants sat cold-faced cultivators who emanated the fluctuations of Core Formation!

Furthermore, the feeling they gave off was not that of ordinary Core Formation. The blood Chakra that rippled off of them was especially intense, and at a single glance, Naruto was able to tell that they surpassed the level of the blood masters. And yet, each and every one of them showed signs that in the past… they had been blood masters!

Naruto's eyes went wide as he realized that these were cultivators whose position in the sect surpassed prime elders. They occupied the highest position under the patriarchs. They were… the blood rippers!

When blood masters reached Core Formation, they became blood rippers!

The dozens of blood rippers traveled along within the boundless darkness. However, on either side of the darkness were the hundreds of prime elders of the Blood Stream Sect, who bristled with divine abilities as they flew along.

Beyond them were more than a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators, who flew along in beams of light, clustered around the boundless darkness. The presence of so many powerful cultivators only made the blood rippers seem more majestic.

In the vanguard position ahead of the boundless darkness were four major forces. One of them was made up of countless gargoyles formed into the shape of a gigantic black head. Sitting atop the head were none other than the Nameless Peak blood master and grand elder!

The second major force was an enormous coffin, surrounded by countless refined corpses. Atop the coffin could be seen the blood master and grand elder of Corpse Peak, who sat there cross-legged, looking around with expressionless eyes.

The third major force was an enormous hand formed from blood and flesh that emanated shocking fluctuations of power. Sitting cross-legged in the palm of the hand were the grand elder and blood master of Lesser Marsh Peak.

The final major force was made up of an enormous blood sword. Matchlessly sharp, it emanated a blood-colored glow, and seemed capable of slashing rifts into the air itself. Atop that blood sword… could be seen a single person.

It was none other than Song Junwan, dressed in battle garb, an unsightly expression on her cold, elegant face. Clearly, the disappearance of Nightcrypt made it so that the forces of Middle Peak couldn't match up to the other mountain peaks. Considering that they were going to war, that effect was even more pronounced.

Down below, within the blood sea, were countless Outer and Inner Sect disciples. As they neared the Luochen Mountains, they ceased their war cries, and instead shot forward in silence, radiating intense, murderous auras.

Up above, the Foundation Establishment elders would occasionally flick their sleeves as they flew along, causing gale force winds to spring up and send the Outer and Inner Sect disciples flying along. The disciples didn't show any alarm or fear. As they flew into the air, they gathered into special formations that looked like blood-colored spheres of flesh.

When they landed back down, they would bash huge craters into the ground, after which the spheres would break apart into hundreds of disciples who would then continue to speed along.

The blood-colored spheres of flesh were shocking to the extreme, especially considering that the disciples who made them up seemed to be completely fearless, not even afraid of dying. They were like locusts, sweeping across the land in breathtaking fashion!

These blood spheres were one of the Blood Stream Sect's powerful battle magics!

Naruto's scalp was tingling. As the blood master of Middle Peak, he knew a lot about the Blood Stream Sect, and yet he was shocked to discover that the sect had many secrets even he was unaware of.

When he looked at Song Junwan sitting proud and alone atop the huge blood sword, mixed emotions filled his heart, and he felt anxiety rising up within him.

Clearly, the Blood Stream Sect was already more impressive than the Spirit Stream Sect, and yet that was only their ordinary disciples and cultivators. Their true power reserves, and the patriarchs, were within the blood clouds up above!

Vicious faces were concealed within those clouds, including eight figures who could shake heaven and earth. They were breathtaking people who no one would ever think to look down upon!

Each of those eight people had vortexes spinning around them, causing anyone who looked in their direction to see nothing but terrifying distortions.

Within one of the eight vortexes was a gargantuan, pitch-black gargoyle, atop whose head sat an old man with eyes like lightning.

In another of the vortexes was a grand lich, the same terrifying corpse which had been awoken recently. On the shoulder of the grand lich was none other than the Blood Stream Sect's Patriarch Droughtflame.

Patriarch Limitless was in another vortex, his body surrounded by

100,000 blood swords that could slash forests and destroy moons.

The Song Clan patriarch could be seen in another of the vortexes, standing atop a blood-colored banner. The banner was inscribed with golden magical symbols that pulsed with an electric, blood-colored light that spread out to fill the blood cloud and the blood sea.

All eight of the Blood Stream Sect's patriarchs were present. One of them, the one in the lead position, had taken the form of a blood-colored giant. Most noteworthy of all was that the giant's right hand clearly resembled the hand that the Blood Stream Sect was built upon.

That patriarch was none other than the Blood Stream Sect's… current arch-patriarch!

The Blood Stream Sect had eight patriarchs, but the Spirit Stream Sect only had five!

And yet, the terrifying strength of the Blood Stream Sect had yet to be fully revealed. Surrounding the arch-patriarch was an enormous, bloodcolored tree, which radiated boundless ancientness. That tree was one of the Blood Stream Sect's most precious treasures!

There was also a blood-colored mirror, fully 300 meters across. Countless images could be seen within the mirror, and all of them seemed to be emitting soundless howls, and were on the verge of bursting out into the open. Then there was the Blood Stream Sect's third precious treasure, two blood-colored lodestones which had been linked together into pair of blood-colored manacles!

The Blood Stream Sect's precious treasures also surpassed the Spirit Stream Sect's!

However, their ultimate reserve power was even more bizarre and fantastic. Perched high above the army, above the patriarchs and above the blood clouds, was… a shocking scarecrow!

At first, the scarecrow looked ordinary in nature, but closer examination revealed that it held a patch of human skin in its right hand, and had a steelyard balance in its other hand. A twisted smile could be seen on its face, and anyone who saw it would feel their heart pulsing with fear.

The arrival of the Blood Stream Sect included blood clouds in the sky, blood seas on the ground, and a swath of mysterious darkness. It was a terrifying sight to behold. It was as if a fiendish devil were looming over the Luochen Mountains, emitting intense pressure that could crush anything it encountered. Anyone who got in the way of the Blood Stream Sect would be destroyed in body and soul!

The cultivators of the Spirit Stream Sect felt their minds spinning, and yet, there was no time to unleash any emotion other than their explosive desire to fight!

Their will seemed to fuse with the Luochen Mountains, exploding out to join the magical symbols and lightning in the air, causing intense rumbling sounds to instantly fight back against the terrifying aura of the Blood Stream Sect.

Chapter 279

Chapter 279

Chapter 279

Naruto looked out at the Blood Stream Sect, at all of the familiar faces. Song Que was there, as were Song Junwan, Xu Xiaoshan, Jia Lie, Master God-Diviner, the three blood masters, and others…. There was also the Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Limitless, within the blood clouds.

The only person he didn't see in the crowd was Xuemei.

However, there was no time to think about her right now. At the moment, the sea of blood was only about 15,000 meters away from the Luochen Mountains.

At this distance, he could see the murderous expressions on the faces of all the Blood Stream Sect cultivators. He saw the killing intent in Song Junwan's eyes, and he saw how the gazes of the Song Clan patriarch and the others in the blood cloud flashed like lightning. Clearly, all of them were ready to kill and ready to die.

It was in that moment that the light of spell formations rose up from the Spirit Stream Sect. The giants roared, and the hundreds of war chariots emitted blinding light as they vibrated on the verge of springing into motion.

Naruto looked over and spotted Big Fatty Zhang in one of the giants, and although he couldn't quite see his face, based on what he knew of him, he knew that it was covered with a ferocious expression.

Lightning danced in the air above the Spirit Stream Sect forces, and the magical symbols glowed with dazzling light. The seventeen stars that were the legacy echelon cultivators floated there majestically, and the prime elders were already preparing their divine abilities.

The founding patriarch slowly raised his right hand. When it fell… they would attack in full force!

The host of cultivators from the Blood Stream Sect was just as prepared. Within the blood cloud, the arch-patriarch, the old man in giant form, stared at the Luochen Mountains, his eyes glinting with ferocious light. Clearly, he was on the verge of giving the final order to attack!

The distance between the two armies grew shorter and shorter. 15,000 meters. 9,000 meters… 6,000 meters… 3,000 meters!

The fighting would break out at any moment!

The founding patriarch's arm was just about to fall. The arch-patriarch's mouth opened to speak…. And within the dantian region of the ninth formation's giant incarnation, Naruto could be seen, his eyes completely bloodshot, his heart twisting with anxiety.

He did not want these two sects to go to war, nor did he wish to see people die. From a young age until now, all he cared about was living forever. He wanted to keep on living, and he wanted all the people he knew to keep on living with him.

His anxiety began to turn into madness, and in that moment of deep apprehension, he howled a howl that could shake heaven and earth. He had already decided it was time to put his life on the line. Just as the two sides were about to clash… he shot out alone from within the ninth formation giant!

Nobody could ever have anticipated that he would fly out alone in such away. In the heat of the moment, when everyone was focused completely on the fighting which was about to take place, no one could have imagined that they would see Naruto flying out of the ninth formation in a beam of light, a pair of wings fluttering at his back as he sped out of the Luochen Mountains!

The glowing shield that protected the Luochen Mountains was designed to defend against the Blood Stream Sect, and would do nothing to members of the Spirit Stream Sect!

Before anyone could react, Naruto was hovering in the air outside of the Luochen Mountains!

Everyone in the Spirit Stream Sect was completely and utterly shocked, and immediately began to cry out in alarm.

Big Fatty Zhang's eyes went wide, and his mind spun. He s

imply couldn't imagine what Naruto was doing flying out alone.

"Xiaochun, what are you doing?! Get back here!"

Hou Xiaomei was in one of the giants, and as soon as she saw what was happening, a tremor ran through her, and she screamed, "Big bro Xiaochun, you…."

Third Fatty Hei and Xu Baocai both gasped, and their eyes went wide.

They almost felt like their minds were being struck by lightning. Zhou Xinqi was in control of one of the spell formation giants, and although she almost couldn't believe what was happening, she cried, "Naruto…."

Li Qinghou was one of the legacy echelon cultivators high up in the air, shining like a star. However, when he saw Naruto fly out into the open, his eyes went wide as if with madness. "What are you doing, Naruto?!"

He wasn't the only one who almost went crazy. Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong reacted with a similar shout of anger, and even the founding patriarch gasped in disbelief.

Ghostfang, Beihan Lie, Xu Song and all the other Chosen were dumbstruck. A tremor ran through Shangguan Tianyou, and at the same time, a spark of joy flickered in his heart as he realized that Naruto would almost certainly be killed.

All of this takes some time to describe, but from the instant that Naruto flew out until the crowd reacted, only a moment passed. Even as everyone gaped in shock, Li Qinghou and the patriarchs prepared to fly out and retrieve Naruto.

Out beyond the border of the mountains, right between the two sects,

Naruto roared, "Stop! No fighting, everyone! Listen to me!"

Despite his words, no one seemed inclined to stop. Furthermore, it only took a moment for the shocked members of the Blood Stream Sect to realize who they were looking at.

"Naruto!" Song Que was the first. Madness rose up in his eyes, and threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Without any hesitation, he launched into motion. "Have a death wish, huh? Allow me to make your wish come true!"

Song Que wasn't the only one to react in such a way. More Blood Stream Sect disciples recognized Naruto, and were instantly delighted. Roaring with laughter, they all charged in his direction.

"Is this Naruto a complete moron, or what? I can't believe he flew out alone!"

"It doesn't matter why, and it doesn't matter if it's a trap, I'm gonna kill him!"

"Hahaha! Naruto's in the open now, and he's not gonna make it back alive!" Numerous figures flew out from the Blood Stream Sect. As for the blood masters near the boundless darkness, they had already discussed among themselves how to kill Naruto during the fighting. However, they knew that, considering how important he was to the Spirit Stream Sect, it wasn't likely they would have a chance to fight him alone.

And yet, Naruto had just foolishly flown out by himself, only to shout infantile words about stopping and not fighting. Laughing at the tops of their lungs, the three blood masters flew out as quickly as bolts of lightning.

Even Song Junwan was spurred into action. Master God-Diviner, Jia Lie, and numerous others were all striving to be the first to attack Naruto.

"Kill Naruto!"

The two armies weren't very far away from each other to begin with, placing all the people who wanted to kill Naruto very close. As that happened, the Song Clan patriarch laughed.

"Very amusing," he said, taking a step forward. Just as he was about to attack and kill Naruto, the Spirit Stream Sect's Patriarch Ironwood teleported out to block his path.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Patriarch Limitless flew out, and yet, Patriarch Li Zimo gave a cold snort and rushed to block him.

The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch flew out with a grim face and a murderous aura. His intention was to grab Naruto and bring him back behind the shield, but before he could get close, a teleportation interrupted him as the Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch appeared in front of him!

No words were spoken. Everyone immediately unleashed attacks.

Countless giants sprang out from the Luochen Mountains, driven by Hou Yunfei and other friends of Naruto. They along with Li Qinghou all had one goal: save Naruto! "Naruto, get back here!"

Naruto could see that his words were being completely ignored. The patriarchs were already starting to fight, and the Blood Stream Sect army was moment away.

There he was in the middle of the battlefield, watching as both sides prepared to slam into each other. As for the cultivators who were coming to try to kill him, they were only about 300 meters away. Jia Lie was using some unknown method to fly at incredible speed, putting him among the closest of the group.

Naruto was starting to get very nervous. Eyes shining madly, and clearly throwing caution to the wind, he roared at the Blood Stream Sect cultivators, "Back down, all of you!"

In response the Blood Stream Sect cultivators laughed at the tops of the lungs.

"Naruto, I was under the mistaken belief that you were a true

Chosen, but it turns out that you're just a lunatic!"

"Hahaha! I can't believe you think we're going to retreat! Who do you think you are?"

"Naruto, you might be the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Spirit Stream Sect, but on this battlefield, you're going to be a corpse in a matter of moments!"

After hearing Naruto's words, the three blood masters were convinced that he was a complete madman….

Jia Lie threw his head back and laughed uproariously, pushing forward with even greater speed. He didn't necessarily want to be the person to kill Naruto; he just wanted to be the first to land an attack on him. What a great story that would make in the future!

"Are you kidding me?" Jie Lie cried. "You Spirit Stream Sect scoundrel!

What gives you the right to tell us what to do?"

Naruto's face was grim as he stared at the incoming Blood Stream Sect cultivators. Slapping his bag of holding, he produced his Nightcrypt mask. Flicking his sleeve, he said, "What gives me the right? I'm the blood master of Middle Peak!"

Those words brimmed with murderous intentions, with veins of steel, with madness, with devilishness. As he placed the mask onto his face, a shocking aura erupted out to fill the world!

Chapter 279: Because I'm The Blood Master Of Middle Peak!

Chapter 280

Chapter 280

Chapter 280: Patriarchs, Stop This War!

"What gives me the right? I'm the blood master of Middle Peak!"

Two sects were on the verge of war, and were literally moments away from fierce fighting. But then, Naruto's voice rang out loud and clear for everyone to hear. His words were backed by a towering blood Chakra that erupted out in all directions, making his voice indescribably aweinspiring!

He wasn't attempting to be sinister, but because he was wearing his

Nightcrypt mask, he naturally reverted to the way he had been in the Blood Stream Sect. His voice was cold and ghastly, and a heavenshaking, earth-shattering murderous aura raged around him, causing everything to go silent.

The implication behind the words he had just spoken was something no one could ever have predicted. Both sects were immediately shaken, their hearts battered by great waves of shock that threatened to overwhelm them.

From a distance, the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect looked like two enormous clouds, one white and one red. Parts of those clouds were already starting to intersect, and yet… they now ceased moving. Everyone slowly looked over… at the spot between the two sects, the spot where numerous Spirit Stream Sect cultivators were rushing to provide defense, and numerous Blood Stream Sect cultivators were speeding with murderous intentions. Everyone was now looking at… Naruto!

Jia Lie, who as one of the closest to Naruto, felt as if his mind were being struck by lightning. Eyes widening, he began to tremble, and forgot to breathe. He was completely struck mute. Echoing in his mind were the words Naruto had just spoken… and his eyes were now faced with… the blood master of Middle Peak, Nightcrypt!

"You're… Nightcrypt…?" he said, trembling. Ever since the trial by fire for blood master, Jia Lie's fear of Nightcrypt had fermented, and now, he was completely dumbstruck.

The blood Chakra and murderous aura swirling around Naruto made it so that he didn't need to offer any proof. Jia Lie was immediately convinced… beyond the shadow of a doubt… that this was Middle Peak's Blood Master Nightcrypt!

He wasn't the only one to give voice to his shock. Not too far away from him was Master God-Diviner, who had just been bubbling with excitement at the thought of killing Naruto and growing his reputation. However, as soon as Naruto put that mask on, he turned into something that haunted Master God-Diviner's nightmares: Nightcrypt.

"Night… Nightcrypt!" he shrieked. "This is… impossible!"

Those two weren't the only ones among the charging Blood Stream Sect disciples. Moments ago, vicious, murderous grins had covered their faces, but now they were gasping. Their eyes were as wide as if they had been struck across the face with a piece of wood.

"Y-y-you…."

"How… how is this even possible?!"

"Heavens! Nightcrypt the Plaguedevil… is Naruto…?"

"I can't believe they're the same person!"

Xu Xiaoshan was so surprised he almost bit off his tongue. Never before in his entire life had he witnessed anything this outrageous. It almost seemed more unbelievable than the hallucinations he'd experienced on Corpse Peak. In fact, he was nearly convinced that he was seeing things.

Then there was Song Que, who's killing intent had previously been raging. Now, everything was reversed. His mind almost couldn't keep up with what was happening, and he hovered there, mouth gaping, trembling, eyes blanker than they had ever been in his life. It was a difficult thing for him to accept. As

far as Song Que was concerned, Nightcrypt was an enemy, and Naruto was an even more so an enemy. Unexpectedly, those two enemies were actually one and the same….

The battlefield instantly went silent. Even the patriarchs of the two sects forgot to fight, and simply looked down at Naruto.

The Song Clan patriarch's expression was that of shock and other mixed emotions. Patriarch Limitless seemed surprised and suspicious. The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch, as well as Patriarch Ironwood, seemed incapable of believing the preposterous scene which was playing out in front of their eyes.

The legacy echelon cultivators and the blood rippers were just as shocked as everyone else. As for the three blood masters who Naruto had previously sworn an oath with, they felt like their minds were about to explode.

"Nightcrypt… is Naruto?" murmured the blood master from Lesser Marsh Peak. He suddenly felt as if his world had been turned upside down.

The Blood Stream Sect cultivators weren't the only ones to be shaken.

Once Naruto put on the mask and turned into Nightcrypt, the

Spirit Stream Sect cultivators felt as if lightning and thunder were bashing their minds. Gasps rose up within the Luochen Mountains, along with countless cries of surprise, alarm, disbelief, and incredulity!

Shangguan Tianyou had been laughing coldly as he waited in anticipation for Naruto to be killed. But now, his eyes were on the verge of popping out of his skull. As he panted, his mind devolved into a complete blank.

Ghostfang, Gongsun Yun, Beihan Lie, and the other Chosen of the Spirit

Stream Sect were all profoundly shaken. That was especially true of Zhou Xinqi, whose eyes couldn't have been wider. To her, it seemed as if the world of this moment was a completely preposterous place.

She suddenly remembered what Naruto had said to Hou Xiaomei, that when Naruto was around, Nightcrypt wouldn't dare to show his face.

"This… this…." Zhou Xinqi felt as if everything around her was devolving into chaos.

Some distance away, Hou Xiaomei was gaping in shock. She almost couldn't reconcile that the grand and lofty Naruto that existed in her heart was also the most terrifying of all cultivators, Nightcrypt.

She wasn't the only one who had such a reaction. Hou Yunfei, Big Fatty Zhang, and Third Fatty Hei were all left completely speechless.

As for Li Qinghou… he suddenly felt as if he didn't even know Naruto, and could do nothing more than stare in shock.

Even as everyone reeled, Naruto looked at the hosts from the Blood Stream Sect, swished his sleeve, and then spoke in an infinitely cold and raspy voice, "How dare you fail to offer greetings to a blood master!"

Even as the words left his mouth, he drew upon his Undying Live Forever Technique, causing the energy of a blood master to ripple out. All cultivators from Middle Peak instantly felt an unstoppable pressure weighing down upon them!

It was a profound and dignified pressure that instantly changed the feeling of the battlefield for them.

Trembling, Jia Lie was the first to fall to his knees to kowtow. Then came Master God-Diviner. As the moments ticked by, the previously maddened disciples of Middle Peak began to drop to their knees. As the shocked Spirit Stream Sect cultivators looked on, even Song Que was forced by Naruto's blood master pressure to drop down and kowtow.

"Greetings, Middle Peak Blood Master!"

More and more such cries rang out, until all of the Middle Peak cultivators were on their knees, trembling, even the ones further back within the army.

At a broad glance, it was possible to tell that the number of people who were prostrating themselves to Naruto… made up a full twenty percent of the army. That was all of Middle Peak!

There was only one person that Naruto didn't cause any pressure to weigh down upon. That person was about 30 meters away from him, trembling, eyes filled with disbelief, pain, and other mixed emotions.

She was the grand elder of Middle Peak, Song Junwan!

Her reaction was different from the reactions of the others. Mostly, she felt pain. After Nightcrypt had gone missing, she had barely been able to sleep. She had poured all the resources at her disposal into searching for him. She had even implored the Song Clan patriarch to help. Just when the war was about to be fought, she had sat alone atop the huge blood sword, thinking about Nightcrypt, and wondering where he was. From the moment he had gone missing, her heart had been filled with a bitter melancholy.

Never could she possibly have imagined that it would be on this very battlefield, under these circumstances, that she would once again lay eyes on him.

Everything was quiet as Song Junwan looked at Nightcrypt. After a long moment, she spoke, her voice laced with bitterness and pain. "Just… who are you? Are you Nightcrypt, or Naruto? Who… who are you?!"

She was trembling, her eyes were bloodshot, and it was impossible to prevent the emotions she felt from ringing out in her words.

Naruto didn't respond immediately. Even he wasn't completely sure how he felt about Song Junwan. However, when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes, he softly replied, "I'm… I'm both!"

Song Junwan's tears flowed down her cheeks… then dropped slowly down to the ground below.

"You're both…? So everything was a sham…." She felt like a fool. As she thought back to everything that had occurred between herself and Nightcrypt, her heart filled with stabs of pain. Weakness flooded through her, and she began to weep like a helpless child.

Naruto gritted his teeth and looked up at the patriarchs of the two sects. Raising his voice, he said, "I am Naruto, legacy echelondesignate of the Spirit Stream Sect. I'm also the blood master of Middle Peak, Nightcrypt. Patriarchs, stop this war. Fighting isn't the only way to solve the problems we face!

"Both sides need something that can be a basis for trust between the two sects. Well… can't I be the basis of that trust!?" His words spread across most of the battlefield, and the cultivators who heard them said nothing in response.

The Song Clan patriarch hovered in mid-air, hesitating. Although he couldn't quickly accept the fact that Nightcrypt was Naruto, one thing was for certain: it didn't matter who Nightcrypt was, he was still the blood master of Middle Peak, and he cultivated Middle Peak's magics. However, despite how much the sect cared about Blood Master Nightcrypt, they wouldn't allow a blood master to interfere with matters that could affect the survival of the sect as a whole.

The Song Clan patriarch was just about to say something when Patriarch Droughtflame suddenly began to laugh coldly.

Eyes glittering, he cried out in a sinister voice, "Blood Master Nightcrypt has been captured by the Spirit Stream Sect. What a vile and shameless act, Spirit Stream Sect! How dare you attempt to use our own blood master against us! Today, I will eradicate you, destroy your legacies, and exterminate every member of your sect! Men, bring the blood master back into the blood clouds!"

With that, he waved his sleeve. The fighting… was now about to break out again!

Chapter 281

Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Blood Stream Sect, Stand Down This Instant!

Patriarch Droughtflame's reaction came very quickly, and almost immediately reversed the unfavorable situation which had just sprung up because of Naruto.

By defaming the Spirit Stream Sect, he gave the Blood Stream Sect cultivators a reason to sink back into rage.

The three blood masters' eyes glittered, and it was the same with Song Que and the other important figures in the sect. Three of the blood rippers, as well as some of the prime elders, unhesitatingly shot toward Naruto.

The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch laughed coldly. "Complete hogwash! Naruto is a Heaven-Dao cultivator of the Spirit Stream Sect. However, he is young and naïve, and was clearly bewitched by your demonic magic! How dare you try to kidnap him right in front of me! Men, get Naruto back to the mountains! I'll personally expel the Blood Stream Sect's demonic magic from within him!"

Almost immediately, cultivators from the Spirit Stream Sect side sprang into action, including Li Qinghou, who shot forward at top speed toward Naruto.

Legacy echelon cultivators closed in, along with prime elders, barreling toward the Blood Stream Sect forces, preparing to unleash powerful attacks to fight over Naruto.

Naruto was again the focus of the entire battlefield. Although he wasn't of supreme importance to either sect, neither was willing to give him up easily.

The Blood Stream Sect wanted to fight for Nightcrypt, to dispel the disadvantage that had appeared. As for the Spirit Stream Sect, they wanted Naruto back, and to cause the Blood Stream Sect's disadvantage to worsen.

Rumbling echoed out through heaven and earth as the fighting once again broke out.

Up in the sky, the patriarchs were unleashing attacks. The legacy echelon cultivators were fighting with the blood rippers. Prime elders from both sides were unleashing magical techniques and items, causing bright light to fill the sky.

The Blood Stream Sect's grand lich let loose a terrifying howl, and numerous refined corpses raced into motion. As they moved along, corpse auras spread out everywhere. Among those corpses, Naruto could see some that belonged to him, and knew that he could force them to stand down. However… a few corpses among an army like that didn't count for much. They were like a few grains of sand in a sea.

When it came to the gargoyles, they cackled madly as they swept out from the Blood Stream Sect forces in preparation to attack.

Then there were the countless blood swords. As a blood master, Naruto could suppress Middle Peak, but… there were multiple past blood masters who were now blood rippers. Although their level of control of the mountain peak couldn't match up to the current blood master, by combining forces and drawing upon the support of the patriarchs, they quickly suppressed Naruto's blood master powers, allowing the Middle Peak cultivators to fight once more.

Rumbling filled heaven and earth as the body cultivators from Lesser Marsh Peak sprang into action.

The Spirit Stream Sect's spell formation giants roared into action as they charged toward the Blood Stream Sect. Killing intent erupted from Shangguan Tianyou's giant, and it was the same with those controlled by Ghostfang, Gongsun Yun, Beihan Lie, Xu Song and Zhou Xinqi.

Countless battle beasts from the north bank howled as they flew out, a tide of beasts that was shocking to behold. The Heavenhorn ink dragon roared, black flames erupting from his mouth, filling the sky and creating a sea of fire.

Down below, more spell formation giants pounded across the ground toward the Blood Stream Sect army. As they closed in on each other, magical

battle equipment was unleashed, causing everything to shake and tremble.

Higher up in the sky, the Spirit Stream Sect's white sun and the Blood

Stream Sect's scarecrow both began to emanate shocking fluctuations.

A bitter look could be seen in Naruto's eyes. Even revealing his status as blood master wasn't enough to prevent the war from being fought. He looked around at all of the familiar faces fighting, and it made him feel like he was being torn apart inside.

"Why do we have to fight…?" he murmured. "This war obviously doesn't have to happen! Am I just not strong enough…? Is that why nobody will listen to me?" As he looked around, he realized the truth of the matter. Although both sects cared deeply about him, he simply wasn't strong enough, and definitely not important enough, to influence a massive, deadly war like this.

However, as far as he was concerned, if one sect wiped the other out, he would definitely see many familiar faces cut down, regardless of who came out victorious.

As he stood there trembling, he realized there was no backing down now. Nor did he need to. His cultivation base erupted as he flew up into the air, to once again stand between the two sides and roar, "I said… you people aren't allowed to keep fighting!"

His voice echoed out like thunder, and caused a few people to hesitate. However, the majority ignored him. As for Song Que, his smile grew even colder, and inside, he was mocking Naruto.

Master God-Diviner, Jia Lie and everyone else from Middle Peak were now freed from Naruto's blood master powers. Thanks to the blood rippers, they were now free to fight. Eyes flickering, hearts filled with all sorts of thoughts and feelings, they sprang into motion.

Only Song Junwan maintained her silence, and didn't attack. Because of the tears which still filled her eyes, her grief seemed even more profound than before.

Naruto waved his sleeve, brushing away the first round of attacks levied against him. Bloodshot eyes filled with madness, he roared, "Didn't you people hear me!? I said… you're not allowed to keep fighting!"

Unfortunately, his words were like a pebble tossed into a well, which would cause a few ripples on the surface of the water, but nothing more.

The Song Clan patriarch sighed and said, "Nightcrypt, my son, don't waste your words. Your position makes you overly sensitive, so just leave the battlefield. There's no need for you to fight in this war. You… can't control what's happening here."

Meanwhile, Patriarch Ironwood was fighting him with utter ferocity.

The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch sighed inwardly, then said, "Xiaochun, since the Blood Stream Sect is determined to fight, then any words you speak are useless. I understand how you feel, so just go back to the Luochen Mountains. There's no need for you to join in the fighting."

The Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch attacked with greater force than before, even drawing upon some of his magical items.

Booms rose up into the air, and shockwaves spread out across the battlefield. Naruto was shaking visibly as he looked around at the fighting. Finally, he lifted his right hand. He knew what he had to do now, and that it would likely be a disaster for the Blood Stream Sect. Memories from the Blood Stream Sect flitted through his mind, and yet, he had no other choice.

Filled with resolve, he threw his head back and let out a piercing howl.

That howl contained the fluctuations of his cultivation base, the power of his Undying Live Forever Technique, and even more importantly, the accumulation of all the madness he felt in his heart.

His blood Chakra erupted, rumbling out to form a gigantic blood-colored column of light that shot up into the air. Voice resonating with matchless dignity and splendor, he roared, "Blood Stream Sect, stand down this instant!"

With that, he shoved his right hand out in the direction of the Blood Stream Sect.

Instantly, rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and the bloodcolored light which surrounded him began to spread out rapidly. The heavens shook and the earth quaked as, in the blink of an eye, the light covered everything on the entire battlefield!

The sky shook as a huge blood-colored vortex sprang into being, which then transformed into an indescribably large blood-colored arm. The arm filled the sky, and mirrored Naruto's own gesture, shoving toward the army from the Blood Stream Sect!

A matchless and awe-inspiring power immediately emanated out from the arm, causing intense pressure to instantly spring out.

Many people had already taken note of the huge hand. When the patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect saw it, and especially the taciturn arch-patriarch, their faces immediately fell.

The shoving motion of the hand instantly caused the cultivators of Lesser Marsh Peak to tremble. Their faces went pale and filled with expressions of astonishment as they realized that all of the techniques they cultivated were being thrown into utter chaos. It was like some unheard-of sealing mark were suddenly crushing down onto them!

In the blink of an eye, the battle prowess of all Lesser Marsh Peak cultivators was unexpectedly reduced by half!

It wasn't just the Lesser Marsh Peak cultivators that were affected. Corpse Peak, Middle Peak, and Nameless Peak cultivators were all shocked, and began to cry out in alarm.

"What's going on…?"

"My cultivation base is destabilizing!"

"How is this possible!? My… my cultivation base is actually being sealed!"

It wasn't just the cultivators on the battlefield who were affected. The refined corpses, the gargoyles, the blood swords, everything suffered from the crushing pressure. Screams of terror rang out. Even the blood clouds began to dim, and the blood swords began to dry up.

As for the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs, their hearts and minds were spinning. To their shock, they found that even their cultivation bases were being suppressed!

Their very essences were being affected, making it impossible to fight back against the pressure!

Anyone who practiced any cultivation that was connected to the Blood Ancestor… could not avoid this curse!

—

Chapter 282

Chapter 282

Chapter 282: I Really Get It!

The blood masters of Lesser Marsh Peak, Corpse Peak, and Nameless Peak were shaking visibly, and blue veins were bulging out on their necks and faces. They could instantly sense an indescribable pressure crushing down onto them, wresting away their blood master powers!

Their ability to control the cultivators of their own mountain peaks was being taken away, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. In the briefest of instants, they went from occupying a high and lofty position, to being nothing more than ordinary cultivators.

The grand elders of the same three mountain peaks were equally cowed.

Song Junwan's face paled, and her eyes shone with disbelief. The fact that Naruto and Nightcrypt were one and the same was a development that had shaken countless people, but that shock was like nothing compared to what they were experiencing now.

"Impossible!"

"I'm the blood master of Corpse Peak!"

"What exactly is going on? I can't believe a simple gesture on his part can suppress all of us!"

Considering the blood masters and grand elders were reacting in that way, there was no need to even considering how the other cultivators felt. Master God-Diviner, Jia Lie, Song Que, Xu Xiaoshan, and everyone else in the Blood Stream Sect were completely rocked. It didn't matter what they wanted to happen; they had all cultivated based on the Blood Ancestor, and as such, were now being crushed by Naruto!

Naruto waved his hand, causing a vortex to spring up and an enormous blood-colored arm to appear, and that one act changed the entire situation on the battlefield!

Boundless and shocking rumbling sounds echoed out as everyone from the Blood Stream Sect, including Outer Sect disciples, Inner Sect disciples, the cultivators who inhabited the four mountain peaks, the prime elders, and even the blood rippers and patriarchs, were affected.

All of them were shaken, and their faces fell. It would be an understatement to say that in their world, the sun and moon had gone dark!

All of the Blood Stream Sect's glory and power was fading. No longer did they have the advantage in any sense of the word. They were weakening, and because of the sudden turnaround, countless disciples' minds began to collapse. Chaos instantly gripped the Blood Stream Sect.

As the chaos spread, it quickly became apparent that the Blood Stream Sect was on the verge of collapsing.

It was in that moment that someone, it was impossible to say who, suddenly let out a cry of terror that echoed in all directions.

"The Blood Lord! This is the power of the legendary Blood Lord!"

"Heavens! Nightcrypt…. Naruto…. I can't believe he's actually become the Blood Lord!"

"Blood Devil…." Such cries began to echo out one after another. Everyone was shaking inwardly, and those who hadn't been quick to realize what was happening were dumbstruck as they heard what the others were saying. The patriarchs up the sky felt their strength fading away, and their faces flickered as they began to cry out.

"I can't believe the Blood Devil is real!"

"The Blood Lord has come! Nightcrypt acquired the Blood Lord legacy!"

"How… how can we keep fighting now?!"

Amidst the chaos, the cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect all began to look up into the sky at the person who was single-handedly suppressing all of them: Naruto!

Naruto's hair was whipping about in the wind as he hovered there. Although he looked slightly more impressive than a blood master, he still didn't seem capable of altering the tide of a deadly battle such as the one which wa

s about to be fought.

And yet….

Everything had already changed. Someone who could single-handedly suppress an entire sect was not a person who could be disregarded. He was not a person who could be ignored!

Naruto took a deep breath. With the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators behind him, he stared out at the Blood Stream Sect, and although his raspy voice wasn't very loud, it somehow filled the entire battlefield.

"Now will you people listen to me…? Blood Stream Sect, if you really want to exterminate the Spirit Stream Sect, then you'll have to do so over my dead body!" Naruto's energy erupted, causing bloodcolored light to shoot high into the sky. At the same time, the pressure weighing down on the Blood Stream Sect increased, and his words seemed to crash like thunder in their ears.

The refined corpses were trembling, and one by one, began to bow their heads. The grand lich's eyes seemed to burn with sparks of flame as it threw its head back and roared, flying through the air to stand in front of Naruto.

His emerald zombie let out a similar howl, causing countless green hairs to shoot out into the surrounding zombies. In response, the other zombies' pupils dilated, and they suddenly turned on their masters in the Blood Stream Sect!

Things weren't over yet. Among the cloud of gargoyles was one seemingly ordinary gargoyle who suddenly let out an ear-piercing cry, causing all of the other gargoyles to similarly turn on the Blood Stream Sect and bare their fangs!

Now, not only had the Blood Stream Sect's cultivators been suppressed, more than half of the power at their disposal had been taken away from them!

The Blood Stream Sect patriarchs looked at Naruto with ashen faces and unprecedentedly complex expressions.

"He's the Blood Lord!"

Whether it was the arch-patriarch, Patriarch Limitless or even the Song Clan patriarch, the complex emotions in their eyes were completely beyond description. Had they known earlier that Nightcrypt was the Blood Lord, then the war definitely wouldn't have ended up like this.

There were mixed attitudes in the Blood Stream Sect regarding the legendary Blood Devil. Some people longed for him to appear, others did not. If the Blood Lord turned out to be an ordinary disciple, then he could be easily controlled and restricted, and could be forced to only do things that would benefit the Blood Stream Sect…. But now, contrary to all expectations, Naruto turned out to be the Blood Lord.

The Song Clan patriarch maintained bitter silence. The arch-patriarch seemed to be in a daze. Nobody knew what to think. As for Patriarch Limitless, he said nothing, and yet a bizarre light flickered in his eyes. Off to the side, Patriarch Droughtflame had his head bowed low, making it impossible for anyone to read his expression.

Song Junwan was in the crowd, looking at Naruto with a smile that was vastly more bitter than the bitterness in the hearts of anyone around her. As she looked up at Naruto, she was struck with the sensation that the gap between them was only continuing to grow wider.

She slowly bowed her head. She wanted to be able to hide, to be able to flee; as of this moment, she had no desire whatsoever to even see Naruto.

When Naruto saw the silence of the Blood Stream Sect, the mixed expressions on the faces of the patriarchs, and the gloominess of Song Junwan, his heart prickled with pain. However, there was nothing else he could do.

He had been nervous from the very beginning until now. Finally, from what he could tell, there was no way that the fighting could continue.

"There isn't any need to fight each other," he said softly. "I can represent the Spirit Stream Sect on your behalf to–"

However, before he could finish speaking, a droning sound rose up into the air from the Spirit Stream Sect side of the battlefield as intense fluctuations sprang up from the grand spell formation in the Luochen Mountains!

Naruto's eyes went wide, and he looked over his shoulder to see that all of the patriarchs had strange expressions on their faces!

That was especially true of the founding patriarch, whose eyes glittered with brilliant light. He had been shaken by everything which had occurred; never could he possibly have imagined that Naruto would not only be a blood master, but would also have become the Blood Stream Sect's legendary Blood Lord!

The importance of someone like that couldn't be understated. Not only could he suppress the Blood Stream Sect and reverse the tide of battle, he could provide them with an opportunity the likes of which could rarely be come across!

To see that opportunity right in front of them caused the five patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect to be completely shaken. Of course they cared about Naruto, but at the same time, this was a matter that pertained to the survival of their sect. In a moment like this, they were willing to betray their consciences for the benefit of the sect! After exchanging glances with the other patriarchs, the founding patriarch threw his head back and laughed.

"Excellent! Naruto, you have performed a great service for the sect today. Henceforth, you are a member of the legacy echelon, and are also the junior patriarch!

"Spirit Stream Sect, attack! Exterminate the Blood Stream Sect!" The founding patriarch immediately waved his hand, and the four other patriarchs shot in the direction of the Blood Stream Sect's patriarchs. At the same time, the spell formation in the Luochen Mountains began to shine with glittering light, and the giant incarnations, after a brief pause, charged forth, roaring. Countless battle beasts from the north bank howled. That group of battle beasts comprised roughly thirty percent of the prowess of the Spirit Stream Sect, and they were currently pouring out to cover heaven and earth.

This was an opportunity to mobilize the entire sect to inflict heavy losses on the Blood Stream Sect, and create a foundation for the Spirit Stream Sect that would last for 10,000 years.

The Blood Stream Sect was completely shaken. Almost simultaneously, all of them let out unyielding roars. However, there was nowhere to retreat to, and their hearts were all filled with grief, as well as profound hatred for Naruto.

"I despise you, Nightcrypt!"

"Who cares about blood masters and Blood Lords? You say you represent the Spirit Stream Sect? Hahaha! Nightcrypt… you're nothing!"

"Nightcrypt, even if I die in battle today, my ghost will haunt you for generations to come!"

As their bitter laughter rang out, the three blood masters, the prime elders, and the blood rippers drew upon all the battle prowess they could muster. As for the patriarchs, they gritted their teeth and let out anguished howls.

Naruto stared in shock at the Spirit Stream Sect patriarchs. Never could he have imagined that the Spirit Stream Sect would choose to attack in this moment. Staggering backward, he suddenly began to laugh, a laughter that almost seemed to be weeping.

"How naïve of me. I thought that suppressing one side would end the war. How wrong I was….

"I get it now… I really, truly get it…. I overestimated my position. I misjudged my own status. Well then, Spirit Stream Sect, you're my family, but as of this moment, I need to show you the true limits of my power!"

Looking up, his hair whipping about him, he waved his right hand in the direction of the Spirit Stream Sect….

He was calling someone!

"Bruiser!"

—

Chapter 283

Chapter 283

Chapter 283: Now Can You People Listen?!

In almost the same instant that the words left Naruto's mouth, Bruiser raised his head from amidst the boundless cloud of battle beasts in the Spirit Stream Sect army, and then let out a roar that could shake heaven and earth.

As his roar echoed out, he began to grow larger. 9 meters. 30 meters. 60 meters. 90 meters!

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into something like a small mountain, bristling with intense energy, with black flames roiling out from beneath his feet. He had the head of a dragon and the body of a horse, and as of this moment, was bursting with heaven-shaking, earthshattering power!

That was power that only a beast king could possess!

This was none other than beast king energy!

Incredible rumbling echoed out as Bruiser shot forward with lightning speed, then spun to a halt in front of Naruto and let out a deafening howl.

Although there were mixed emotions in his eyes, he didn't hesitate.

Regardless of the circumstances, he would do anything that Naruto asked of him, even if that meant fighting against the Spirit Stream Sect. As long as he was with Naruto, he didn't care!

There was only one important person in his life, and that was his father. Back when he'd lacked the power to even live, that person had offered soft, warm comfort, and that was something that Bruiser would never forget for his entire life.

His roar contained the power of a beast king, and caused all of the Spirit Stream Sect's battle beasts to shiver, and then turn toward their masters and howl.

The cry of countless battle beasts caused brightly colored light to flash in heaven and earth. Everyone in the Spirit Stream Sect was completely, utterly shocked, and began to cry out in astonishment.

"This…."

"What are you doing, Naruto?!"

"Heavens! Bruiser, you…."

The Spirit Stream Sect was struck by chaos. Their ranks began to dissolve, and the sudden change on the part of the battle beasts ensured that the forces of the north bank were completely thrown out of order. Even more shocking was that, after a brief moment of hesitation, the Heavenhorn ink dragon looked down at Bruiser, and then sped into motion. A moment later, he was right next to Bruiser, staring out at the Spirit Stream Sect.

Countless shouts of alarm rose up. The patriarchs, the prime elders and the legacy echelon cultivators all felt like they were going mad, and their eyes shone with intense disbelief.

To them, Naruto was a Heaven-Dao expert and the legacy echelon-designate. If he reached Core Formation, it would be virtually impossible to find anyone who could be a match for him.

However, at a single word from him, Bruiser caused all of the north banks' battle beasts to change sides. This sudden turn of events was something that, regardless of Naruto's status or position, no one could ever have possibly predicted would happen!

As of this moment, the Spirit Stream Sect as a whole was just as shaken as the Blood Stream Sect had been moments ago.

Shangguan Tianyou's hands were clenched into fists, and rage burned in his eyes. Mixed emotions could be seen on the faces of Ghostfang, Beihan Lie, Gongsun Yun, Xu Song, and all of the other Chosen.

Zhou Xinqi was struck mute, and Hou Yunfei's eyes were wide. As for

Hou Xiaomei, her jaw dropped, and her heart began to pound rapidly.

Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei, Chen Fei, and Naruto's other friends were all dumbstruck, completely and utterly shaken, even left reeling, by Naruto's actions.

Mixed feelings could also be seen in Li Qinghou's eyes. However, as he continued to look at Naruto, those feelings coalesced in

to a gleam of approval.

"Xiaochun has grown up," he murmured.

As the Spirit Stream Sect was shaken, and as the founding patriarch and other leaders looked in astonishment at Naruto, Naruto took a deep breath. The Blood Stream Sect was at his back now as he looked up at the patriarchs.

His heart burned with grief; he didn't want these two sets to go to war!

After a moment of silence, he said, "If you want to exterminate the

Blood Stream Sect, then just like I said before, you'll have to do it over

Naruto's dead body!"

Although his voice sounded sad, the determination therein was plain for all to see, and left everyone shaken.

The patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect were trembling. The blood rippers, prime elders, and the three blood masters were all shaking, strange and indescribable emotions rising up in them as they looked at Naruto.

Xu Xiaoshan, Song Que, and Jia Lie had similar reactions. In this most critical of moments, Naruto was stepping forward bravely on their behalf, causing warm feelings to suddenly rise up in their hearts.

As they looked at Naruto standing there, his back to them as he faced the Spirit Stream Sect, using his own life to protect theirs, he once again became Nightcrypt from Middle Peak!

A tremor ran through Song Junwan as she looked up at Naruto; once again, a bright glow appeared in her eyes.

As of this moment, all eyes on the battlefield were fixed solely on Naruto!

No one could afford to ignore his words now. Now, they had to pay attention!

He had single-handedly changed the course of the battle. He alone had suppressed the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect alike!

"Now will you people listen to me…?" he asked quietly, looking at the patriarchs of both the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect. Although his words seemed laced with sadness, they also contained something that made it impossible for anyone to refuse him.

He suddenly seemed far more powerful and glorious than anyone could have imagined, someone who could force everyone else to stay their hands.

"Why are we doing all this fighting and killing? What is the point of all this death? We're all cultivators of the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world, right? Is the point of our cultivation really just to kill people?!" In response to his words, the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators sank into further silence, as did the Blood Stream Sect.

The only sound on the battlefield was Naruto's voice.

"Cultivation is supposed to be about living forever, right? Magical techniques are supposed to be used to protect ourselves, aren't they? If we can avoid all the death and killing, then couldn't we find some better solutions to our problems? Why don't we at least give it a try?!" Although he started out speaking quietly, his voice continued to grow louder and louder until he was yelling. Pain stabbed at his heart, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He looked around at all the familiar faces, and could see people who were bleeding and wounded from the little bit of fighting which had already taken place.

The pain he felt grew stronger.

"I'm just a cowardly cultivator who's scared of death. But you know what? It's not just the idea of my death that scares me! I don't want to see my family die! I don't want my fellow sect members to die, and I don't want my friends to die!

"I don't want anybody to die, not in the Spirit Stream Sect, and not in the Blood Stream Sect either!" As his voice grew louder and louder, the cultivators from the Spirit Stream Sect bowed their heads. In the Blood Stream Sect, numerous clenched fists slowly relaxed.

The patriarchs of both sects heard Naruto's words, and it gave rise to complex feelings within their hearts.

"I didn't have to jump out in the middle of you two. I could have just stood by and watched you kill each other. Whether the Blood Stream Sect or the Spirit Stream Sect won in the end, I would have survived. After all, I'm a blood master of the Blood Stream Sect, and I'm essentially in the legacy echelon of the Spirit Stream Sect!

"But I didn't want that! If all of you hate me and blame me, that's fine, as long as I can stop you from killing each other!" As he yelled, tears welled up in his eyes.

His words shook many people down to their hearts. The look in Song Junwan's eyes grew softer. Hou Xiaomei, Zhou Xinqi, Hou Yunfei, Big Fatty Zhang, Song Que, Xu Xiaoshan….

Many cultivators on both sides had to agree that what Naruto was saying made sense, and their gazes also softened.

"Spirit Stream Sect, you know that this war will likely end with ninety percent of the disciples dying. Maybe the sect wouldn't be destroyed, but it would be a disastrous setback. The sect might even lose the qualifications to remain in the Lower Reaches." Turning his head, he looked at the Blood Stream Sect.

"Blood Stream Sect, even if you won, it would be a brutal fight. Afterward, you would have to face the Profound Stream Sect, and then the Sky River Court. Do you really think you could win? What will your chances be? Even if you do win, what good will it do to be one of the weakest sects in the Middle Reaches? It wouldn't be long before you were wiped out!" Naruto wasn't being polite in anything he said. He was simply stating the objective truth of the situation. Nor was he giving anyone a chance to try to refute his arguments. More and more cultivators were lowering their heads thoughtfully.

"I know for a fact that the Spirit Stream Sect doesn't really want this war, and neither does the Blood Stream Sect. You just feel that you have no other options. You have to fight for the chance to become a Middle Reaches sect.

"But why don't we just join forces? Why don't we become one big sect?

That would make us even more powerful! We can wipe out the Profound Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect, or maybe even absorb them to become stronger than ever. Then we can go wipe out the Sky River Court, and earn our spot in the Middle Reaches."

He clenched his hands into fists, getting more excited as he shouted, "There are plenty of resources available for Middle Reaches sects.

There's more than enough for us all. Cooperate, and everyone benefits! Fight together! Share victories and losses! Why won't that work?!

"Spirit Stream Sect, Blood Stream Sect, let's form a new sect! We can make a sect the likes of which has never been seen before! We can be the most powerful of all sects, a sect that can shake all other sects!" As his words echoed out into the hearts of the cultivators of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, it led to profound thoughts within their minds.

The patriarchs of the two sects maintained their silence. Everything Naruto was saying made sense. In the past, there had been no common ground that would ensure that they could trust each other. Even if they merged together into a larger sect, each side would always be suspicious of the other, and the possibility of a betrayal would always loom in their hearts.

But now, they had that common ground in Naruto. With him, their two sects were now inextricably linked.

—

Chapter 284

Chapter 284

Chapter 284

Only when Naruto had unleashed all his threatening methods was everyone finally left with no choice but to listen to each and every word that came out of his mouth.

To the Spirit Stream Sect, he was a Heaven-Dao expert, a legacy echelon cultivator that could control all of the north bank's battle beasts. Because of that, he was someone the sect could not and would not take lightly. In fact, he surpassed everyone in a way that had nothing to do with his cultivation base. He had the potential to eventually become the backbone of the entire sect.

As far as the Blood Stream Sect was concerned, as soon as Naruto revealed his Blood Lord powers, that made him more important than anyone else in the sect.

A mere thought on his part could either increase the Blood Stream Sect's battle prowess by thirty percent, or reduce it by half.

When the Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch looked at Naruto, he couldn't help but think of the shocking Blood Ancestor who lay beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River.

"I wonder if the Blood Lord can actually control the body of the Blood Ancestor?" he thought. Hesitation gripped his heart; he didn't dare to try to suppress the Blood Lord or take any unnecessary risks. The slightest slip could send the entire Blood Stream Sect into destruction!

"If we form a new sect, where will the headquarters be?" asked Patriarch Ironwood of the Spirit Stream Sect.

Naruto's idea was becoming clearer in his own mind, and his eyes shone with bright light, a light that appeared to be the desire to do battle! "If we make a new sect, the headquarters won't be located in any of the old sects' locations. The river branch occupied by the Sky River Court will be our new headquarters!"

Now that the identities of Naruto and Nightcrypt were merging together, everyone saw him in a much different light than they had before!

"With my Blood Lord powers, I can increase the battle prowess of the Blood Stream Sect by thirty percent. With my control over the battle beasts of the Spirit Stream Sect, I can unify their powers to make them even more formidable!

"With our two sects joined together, we will be like two infinitely sharp blades! We can absorb the Profound Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect, and then we'll be even stronger! We can dominate the Sky River Court and take over the Middle Reaches!

"The Middle Reaches will be an unfamiliar place to all of us, but if we put our roots down there together, we will always be able to trust each other!" As Naruto spoke, the patriarchs of the two sects looked on, sighing occasionally, thoughtful expressions on their faces.

As of this moment, they both knew that fighting wasn't an option. Bai

Xiaochun was too important to both the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect. Only a person like him had the potential to be the link between the two sects, an opportunity for them to truly join together.

After all, not only did the Blood Stream Sect have full faith in Naruto, but so did the Spirit Stream Sect.

Silence prevailed as countless individuals stood there in thought. Slowly, people began to whisper among themselves and discuss the matter in low tones. Moments ago, the two sides had been facing off with proverbial swords drawn, but now, that mood began to fade.

At long last, Naruto was starting to relax.

But then…

Patriarch Droughtflame, one of the eight Blood Stream Sect patriarchs, the very same patriarch who had presided over the summoning of the grand lich, suddenly looked at Naruto, his eyes flickering with profound killing intent.

"Complete and utter nonsense!" he said, his voice as cold as ice. "You o

bviously killed Nightcrypt and took his place! You're trying to deceive us all. Prepare to die!"

Even as his words rang out, he sprang into motion, shooting at incredible speed toward Naruto. As he did, he extended his right hand, and his Nascent Soul cultivation base erupted with heaven-destroying, earthextinguishing power. Everything began to shake violently as an enormous vortex sprang up around him.

As the vortex spun, a massive and deadly aura erupted, transforming into sword Chakra which instantly shot toward Naruto. Naruto was locked in place, immobilized and incapable of even struggling. At the same time, an intense, unprecedented sensation of deadly crisis rose up inside of him.

He had never felt as if he were closer to death. He was being attacked by a Nascent Soul patriarch, whereas his cultivation base was in mid Foundation Establishment….

The difference between the two was like the difference between an ocean and a puddle!

However, the killing move had not been unleashed yet. That came in the form of Patriarch Droughtflame's outstretched palm!

His palm caused everything to shake violently as intense flames raged out, scorching everything in the vicinity as they formed into the shape of a huge hand. The flaming hand radiated a power of extermination that could kill anything in body and soul. It could eradicate souls!

Patriarch Droughtflame's attack on Naruto came without any warning whatsoever. Not only did the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators not expect it, but even the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs were completely unprepared. Faces fell on both sides.

"Droughtflame, stay your hand!" cried the Blood Stream Sect's archpatriarch, his voice filled with urgency and rage. He instantly reached out with his right hand to try to stop Patriarch Droughtflame.

However, his cultivation base was currently suppressed, and although he could reach Patriarch Droughtflame, he couldn't stop him, only slow him down a bit.

The arch-patriarch's eyes flickered with cold light; Naruto was too important. If he died, the two sects would most certainly be forced to fight each other! They would be bereft of anything that could mitigate their conflict!

Their connection would have been severed!

The Song Clan patriarch's eyes widened, and his killing intent flared. Regardless of anything, Naruto was his stepson, and for someone to try to kill him right out in the open was something he couldn't tolerate. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, summoning a raging beam of sword Chakra that slashed toward Droughtflame.

Unfortunately, his cultivation base was also suppressed by half, and his sword Chakra quickly collapsed. Patriarch Droughtflame's hand of flame dimmed slightly, but continued to rumble toward Naruto.

At the same time, the founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect let out a roar of rage and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand.

Instantly, an enormous iron manacle appeared, which grew to 300 meters in size as it shot to intercept Droughtflame's attack.

When it hit the flame hand, it did far more damage than the archpatriarch or the Song Clan patriarch. The gigantic hand collapsed by half. And yet, because Patriarch Droughtflame had attacked so quickly, and thus gained the initiative, even all of those successive attacks couldn't stop him completely!

Even as cultivators from both sides howled in alarm and rage, the halfdestroyed flaming hand bore down on Naruto.

"Xiaochun!"

"Nightcrypt!"

Naruto's face drained of blood as he watched the fire closing in on him. As the sensation of imminent death filled him, he let out a roar that could shake heaven and earth.

Blue veins bulged out on his head, and cracking sounds filled him. It felt like his bones were about to shatter because of the intense pressure weighing down on him. As of this moment, he was sure that the chances of him making it out of this alive were very, very small!

However, he wasn't willing to resign himself to such a fate. His eyes suddenly flickered with red light. Roaring, he managed to perform a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a violet lamp to appear in his hands, which he brandished in the direction of the flames.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Violet flames shot out from the lamp, spreading out in all directions and forming the shape of an enormous face which rushed to meet the flames. That violet lamp was the gift that the Song Clan patriarch had given to Naruto. Despite how powerful it was, though, it couldn't match up to an old eccentric like Patriarch Droughtflame!

When the sea of flames formed by the violet lamp hit the incoming flaming palm, more of the palm was destroyed, and yet it continued on toward Naruto!

Blood sprayed out of his mouth from the force of the incoming attack, which sent him tumbling backward. He started to cough up more blood, but then gritted his teeth and swallowed it back down. With that, he extended his right hand, which held a four-colored jade pendant. Fourcolored light glittered out in all directions, creating a four-layered shield.

In that instant, the broken hand of flames slammed into the shield, causing numerous cracking and popping sounds to echo in the air as the four shield layers were destroyed.

With each shield layer, the flame hand's power was reduced, and yet, they couldn't stop it completely. In the blink of an eye, the shields were gone. In response, the patriarchs of both sects, as well as countless other friends of Naruto, all shouted out in fury!

The flaming hand destroyed everything in its path as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter. However, in the very moment before impact, Naruto extended his right hand to reveal a paper talisman.

It was none other than….

The Godpower Talisman! 1

He slapped the talisman down onto his chest, and let out a roar that echoed out in all directions. His hair flew around wildly as his Undying Live Forever Technique erupted. Rumbling could be heard that shook heaven and earth as two enormous heavenly demons appeared behind him. They threw their heads back and roared as, thanks to the power of the Godpower Talisman, Naruto's fleshly body power skyrocketed, reaching a level more than twice that of before!

And that was when the mostly-destroyed hand of fire slammed into him.

If the image could be turned into a painting, it would be the type that people would gasp upon seeing. Naruto wasn't even visible beneath the raging flames; the only thing that could be seen were two unbelievably shocking heavenly demons!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Intense rumbling sounds filled the air. The hand of flames had been repeatedly weakened and reduced, and now, it finally exploded. Flames shot out in all directions, and at the same time, cracks spread out across Naruto's two heavenly demons. Moments later, they collapsed into pieces.

Naruto was sent hurtling toward the ground like a meteor. When he landed, a huge boom could be heard, and a 30-meter-wide crater opened up!

At the bottom of the crater, Naruto lay there, his face as ashen as death, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. The force of the blow had knocked him unconscious. Furthermore, there was something else no one noticed, which was that a bit of black light could be seen on his right hand, that was currently fading away. 2

As soon as Naruto lost consciousness, the suppression of the cultivation bases of the Blood Stream Sect immediately ended!

There was one other thing that no one noticed. In the moment that Droughtflame attacked Naruto, a monkey could be seen somewhere in the Luochen Mountains, its eyes shining with incisive light. At the same time, within the clouds that made up the Blood Stream Sect, a pair of bright red eyes flickered.

Chapter 284: Droughtflame Attacks!

—

Naruto got the Godpower Talisman from Master God-Diviner in chapter 262 The reference to the black light is very vague, and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to refer to the life-saving bracelet Li Qinghou gave him

Chapter 285

Chapter 285

Chapter 285: Master Thousand-Faces!

Rumbling echoed out as two figures appeared just outside of the crater. One of them was the Song Clan patriarch, and the other was Li Qinghou's Master, Patriarch Ironwood.

A moment later, they were next to Naruto. The two patriarchs' eyes met, and instantly, both could see that the other was vigilant and on guard!

Now that the Blood Stream Sect's cultivation bases were unsealed, their energy surged. The blood clouds billowed out, and at the same time, the refined corpses and gargoyles trembled and then began to howl.

Bruiser hadn't been fast enough to intervene and help Naruto, and now he was glaring at Patriarch Droughtflame with hatred that erupted from his very bones!

The three blood masters were shaking. The blood rippers, the prime elders, the Inner and Outer Sect disciples, and also the patriarchs, were all so shocked that they could barely move!

At the same time, the cultivators of the Spirit Stream Sect were panting, and their eyes were glittering angrily as they stared at the Blood Stream Sect. Moments ago, the tension had been fading, but now, the proverbial swords were once again being drawn.

Everyone understood that based on the friction which existed, the fighting which had just seemed to be an impossibility could now break out at any moment!

Up in midair, Patriarch Droughtflame frowned slightly as he looked down at Naruto. Inside, he was sighing regretfully that he had only wounded him, and not killed him. Despite such a surprising outcome, there wasn't any need for him to keep fighting.

"He's only unconscious," he thought, "but that should suffice…." Eyes glittering, his murderous aura spiked as he looked over at the Spirit Stream Sect and said, "The seals have been lifted. Spirit Stream Sect, your despicable actions this day have ensured that you will be cleansed with blood! Children of the Blood Ancestor, join me in attacking the Luochen Mountains and eradicating the Spirit Stream Sect!" With that, he threw his head back and laughed long and hard, his killing intent pulsing around him. Quite a few disciples of the Blood Stream Sect flew up into the air, eyes shining with murderous gleams as they prepared to start fighting.

The Spirit Stream Sect cultivators clenched their fists, and the sharp looks in their eyes grew more intense.

However, just when Patriarch Droughtflame was about to fly into motion, a cold snort echoed through the air.

"Since when did you become the one to give orders to the Blood Stream Sect?" The words were accompanied by intense pressure, and a sealing force that caused all of the Blood Stream Sect disciples who had been about to attack to suddenly shiver and stop in place. Patriarch Droughtflame's expression flickered as he turned to look at the person who had just spoken, and was now striding toward him.

It was none other than the Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch, the most powerful cultivator in the Blood Stream Sect!

Earlier, his cultivation base had been reduced by half, but now those effects were gone, and his energy was surging. It was like the might of the heavens as he walked forward, everything around him twisting and distorting.

"What's the meaning of this, Master Godwind!?" Patriarch Droughtflame grated angrily, his expression turning grim.

"What's the meaning?" replied the arch-patriarch. "I just ordered you to stay your hand. Why did you attack anyway? I refuse to believe that Naruto is impersonating Nightcrypt. He is most definitely a blood master of the Blood Stream Sect, and even more importantly, the Blood Lord!" A cold light flickered in the eyes of the arch-patriarch, and as he spoke, his words rumbled like thunder

.

The Spirit Stream Sect cultivators' hearts were starting to pound, and as for the founding patriarch, a strange light could be seen in his eyes. The entire Spirit Stream Sect went completely silent as they watched events unfold.

Facing the intense pressure of the arch-patriarch, Patriarch Droughtflame began to edge backward. Then he turned to the other patriarchs and cried, "Of course I know he's a blood master. But do you people really believe that a nobody like him should be able to suppress the cultivation bases of everyone in the sect?! He has to die! His death will not harm the Blood Stream Sect in any way! In fact, it would be a blessing! I just did what you people were hesitating to do yourselves! That's all!"

Many people in the Blood Stream Sect began to wonder what they should think. As for the patriarchs, their expressions were grim, but it was impossible to tell what they were thinking.

As the arch-patriarch listened to Patriarch Droughtflame speak, a cold, grim smile spread out on his face. Then he said, "I can also suppress the cultivation bases of everyone in the sect. Don't tell me you think I should be killed too? Also, I'm very curious to know why your cultivation base wasn't suppressed just now!"

In response to his words, numerous Blood Stream Sect cultivators' mouths dropped. Cries of shock could be heard as people thought back to the events which had just played out. Although they hadn't noticed at the time, now that they thought about it, what had occurred was very clear.

The reactions were the same on the Spirit Stream Sect side, with the exception of the founding patriarch, whose eyes glittered faintly. He had noticed the clues earlier.

Patriarch Droughtflame's expression flickered, and beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead. There was no way for him to answer the archpatriarch's question. His original plan had simply been to take the risk and try to kill Naruto. If Naruto died, there was no way the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect would join forces. They would definitely start fighting.

"Dammit!" he thought. "This Naruto is too lucky. I can't believe he survived my attack!" Patriarch Droughtflame gritted his teeth as his body suddenly began to turn blurry, as he prepared to flee.

"Think you can leave just like that?" the arch-patriarch said, eyes flickering with killing intent. Without any hesitation, he waved his right finger at Patriarch Droughtflame.

At the same time, the other patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect shot forward to surround Droughtflame, preventing him from fleeing. Clearly, they had already come to the conclusion that he might try to do such a thing.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the arch-patriarch's finger caused ripples of extermination to spread out. Patriarch Droughtflame, seeing that he couldn't escape, threw his head back and bellowed. A quick incantation gesture caused flames to shoot out and battle against the ripples of extermination.

A deafening boom filled the air, and blood oozed out of the corners of

Patriarch Droughtflame's mouth. However, he used the force of the blast to fall backward. Even still, he was no match for an attack by the combined efforts of all of the Blood Stream Sect's patriarchs.

Six patriarchs attacked at the same time, unleashing magical techniques, magical items, and divine abilities.

A huge blood sword materialized and slashed down, controlled by none other than Patriarch Limitless.

Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds filled the air as the other patriarchs attacked one after another, unleashing power that seemed capable of destroying everything. A vicious, roaring dragon appeared, next to which was a patriarch who had once been a lowly disciple of Lesser Marsh Peak. As he advanced, the fist strike he unleashed shattered the sky and turned into a massive tempest.

The deadliest attack came from the arch-patriarch. The wave of his hand summoned a huge banner, which unleashed a black wind. That wind became a black phoenix, the roar of which was enough to shake anyone down to the soul. The phoenix moved so quickly as it bore down on Patriarch Droughtflame that there was no way he could avoid it.

In that moment of crisis, Patriarch Droughtflame suddenly started laughing. Face twisting, he reached both hands out and then slapped them down onto his body. Instantly, his hair turned completely white!

Simultaneously, innumerable faces appeared all over his skin. There were the faces of men and women, young people and old people, and all of them seemed to be distorting as they screamed.

"Dao of a Thousand Faces; Merciless Infiltration!" Patriarch Droughtflame laughed loudly as the divine abilities and magical techniques of the other patriarchs slammed into him, causing him to explode!

The resulting boom sent bright colors flashing through the sky, and gave rise to a huge wind. At the same time, the exploding body of Patriarch Droughtflame transformed into countless faces which rushed out in all directions.

Patriarch Limitless' eyes went wide, and he cried, "Master Thousand-

Faces from the Profound Stream Sect!"

The arch-patriarch and the other patriarchs were clearly shocked as they too realized who it was that could unleash a cloning magic like this!

They weren't the only ones. The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch, as well as the other patriarchs, were obviously astonished. This was a secret magic used by one of the most mysterious patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect!

The blast of countless faces was so powerful that not even the combined efforts of all of the patriarchs could contain them all. Although ninety percent were caught up by the web of destruction, a few escaped.

One of the faces was that of a young man. Borrowing the force of the initial blast, he shot out to a position 30,000-meters away. There, the face wriggled, transforming into a white-haired young man. Although his face was ashen from exertion, he didn't hesitate for a moment to flee at top speed.

"Master Thousand-Faces!" Killing intent raged in Patriarch Limitless's eyes as he shot forward in a blur to pursue the white-haired young man. In the blink of an eye, both of them had disappeared over the horizon.

Everyone in the Blood Stream Sect was shaken, and many people gasped. Nobody could possibly have anticipated that events such as these would play out; one of their own patriarchs, Daoist Sage Droughtflame, had actually been replaced by Master Thousand-Faces from the Profound Stream Sect!

Obviously, the real Droughtflame had been secretly assassinated at some point in the past, and his flesh used by Master Thousand-Faces to replace him via a secret magic!

Everyone thought back to how Master Thousand-Faces had just attacked

Naruto, and realized that it was all to prevent the two sects from joining together.

If Naruto had died, it would have led to mass destruction!

—

Chapter 286

Chapter 286

Chapter 286: Good… morning…?

Conversations erupted on the Blood Stream Sect side. One shocking event after another had played out on this day, leaving the entire sect completely shaken.

The Blood Devil had appeared, and one of the patriarchs turned out to be a spy. Such things could not simply be swept under the rug, and the whole sect was left feeling blank, and even humiliated.

The arch-patriarch had a bitter look on his face. Gritting his teeth, he looked over at the Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch, and then at the unconscious Naruto. Within moments, the two sects would either be fighting, or joining forces. The arch-patriarch was silent for a moment, but then suddenly, his ears suddenly twitched, almost as if some other being were speaking directly to him. His expression flickered, and then became one of complete determination.

"The Profound Stream Sect tried to sow disharmony between our sects, with the goal of getting us to slaughter each other. Not only did they murder Fellow Daoist Droughtflame, they tried to kill one of our blood masters. We cannot tolerate such things! When the Blood Stream Sect goes to war, we don't return home until blood has been spilled.

Therefore, the best thing to do is go wipe out the Profound Stream Sect!" As his words reached the hearts and minds of the Blood Stream Sect disciples, their confusion was quickly replaced with fury.

"I vow to wipe out the Profound Stream Sect!"

"Let's get revenge for Patriarch Droughtflame!" As their new goals came to be fixed in their hearts, their eyes shone, and they even swore oaths. The words of the arch-patriarch instantly caused their blood to boil, and their killing intent to seethe.

The blood clouds began to churn, and the blood seas grew even mightier as the Blood Stream Sect army began to fly off into the distance. The blood giants howled, and the blood-colored battleships sprang into motion. The ground rumbled as countless Outer Sect disciples flew into the air like locusts to become enormous spheres.

The Blood Stream Sect patriarchs spun and flew up into the blood clouds.

After a moment of silence, the Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch looked around at the other members of the sect, and could see the determination in their eyes. With a glance at a certain location in the Luochen Mountains that no one had been paying attention to, he listened to a voice speaking in his head for a moment, after which he gritted his teeth.

"The Profound Stream Sect interfered with the affairs of our two clans, and even tried to kill our junior patriarch! For that, they must die!" With that, he waved his right hand. "Spirit Stream Sect, the time has come to wipe out the Profound Stream Sect!"

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth. Killing intent surged, and the light of spell formations climbed into the sky. The giants began to speed off into the distance, and the white sun overhead caused the sky to shake!

Many people couldn't help but take a moment to look over at Naruto, the founding patriarch included. After gazing for a moment at him lying unconscious in the crater, they shot off to join the Blood Stream Sect on the continent that was the location of the Profound Stream Sect!

A war was about to be fought the likes of which had not been seen in the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world for 10,000 years!

Apparently, a new sect was on the rise, like the dawn sun, shining with countless beams of glorious light, interspersed with blood and death!

The main forces left, but a small contingent from each sect remained in the Luochen Mountains, including Patriarch Ironwood and the Song Clan patriarch.

Of course, their reason for staying behind was Naruto! Naruto was of

vast importance to both sects, and neither would feel comfortable leaving him in the care of the other sect. As Master Thousand-Faces had made clear, Naruto was also a major weakness for the two sects. As long as he lived, everything could proceed smoothly. But if he died, the connection between the two sects would be lost, and too many bad things could happen.

Naturally, Hou Xiaomei refused to leave Naruto's side. She had long since noticed Song Junwan, and her intuition immediately told her that something was going on between her and Naruto.

Song Junwan also refused to leave. The sight of the unconscious Bai

Xiaochun filled her with pain, as well as other indescribable emotions.

And thus, time passed. The Luochen Mountains became quiet once again. The Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect set up two camps right next to each other in the Luochen Mountains.

Directly in the middle of the two camps was an immortal's cave, which was kept under tight guard. Even the two patriarchs watched over the area to make sure that no accidents occurred.

Inside the immortal's cave, Naruto lay unconscious. Every day,

Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan would appear to accompany him. As time went by, Hou Xiaomei became increasingly convinced that something was going on between Naruto and Song Junwan. As for Song Junwan, she could obviously tell that Hou Xiaomei had a relationship of some kind with Naruto.

Soon, the cultivators from both sects came to sense the killing spirit that existed between the two women. Eventually, they even came to hear the two of them arguing loudly over the unconscious Naruto. When that happened, sympathy rose up in the hearts of all of the cultivators.

More time passed. A month later, Naruto's breathing had grown steady. Thanks to the inner workings of the Undying Live Forever Technique, he was slowly recovering. Coupled with the constant treatment of spirit medicines provided by the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect, he was rapidly getting better.

One afternoon, his cultivation base suddenly spun, and his eyes fluttered open. When he realized that he was alive, excitement surged in his heart.

He thought back to everything that had occurred before he passed out, and his heart continued to pound with fear. If he hadn't pulled out his turtle-wok at the last moment to defend himself, he would surely have been destroyed in body and soul.

"That Droughtflame is too vicious! Dammit, once I get strong enough, I'll definitely have to get revenge!" Gnashing his teeth inwardly, he was just about to sit up when he suddenly realized that something seemed wrong. Turning his head slowly to the side, he saw Hou Xiaomei standing close by, her hands on her hips, looking very much like a hot chili pepper as she glared at Song Junwan, who stood opposite her, casual and yet confident.

Perhaps because they were too focused on each other, they didn't notice that Naruto had opened his eyes.

At that point, Naruto's pupils constricted. Something about the scene seemed very odd, so he quickly closed his eyes and then opened them again a moment later. When he confirmed that he wasn't hallucinating, his heart suddenly thumped, and he began to feel very nervous. That was when Hou Xiaomei began to speak.

"What are you doing here again, old aunt Song?" she said, glaring. "You're getting pretty old, shouldn't you be in a retirement home or something? Why don't you hobble off and take a nap!? I can take care of big bro Xiaochun by myself!"

Song Junwan's phoenix-like eyes widened into a glare. Looking more regal than ever, she decided to put Hou Xiaomei in her place. "Look girl, I know that you're too young to understand the relationship between me and your uncle Xiaochun. Considering that you're Nightcrypt's niece, I probably ought to give you a good slap upside the face."

Hou Xiaomei snorted. "You're the niece! Your whole family are all nieces! Me and big bro Xiaochun are the perfect match! We're childhood friends, and we liked each other from the moment we joined the sect. In fact, it was only with big bro Xiaochun's help that I was able to get into the Outer Sect."

This was not the first time the two of them had argued with each other.

Such heated interchanges occurred on almost a daily basis. Even despite Song Junwan's control over her own temper, she had almost killed Hou Xiaomei on multiple occasions.

However, considering the plans to join the two sects together, and Naruto's role in that, she managed to hold back.

Naruto licked his lips, and then, considering how murderous the two women looked, quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious. However, he soon realized that something seemed even more wrong than before. Everything was too quiet.

The quiet got him even more nervous, and when he listened carefully, it caused his scalp to tingle; in addition to his own breathing, he could clearly hear two other people breathing, and very close to him at that!

Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. Pretending as if he were just waking up, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. The first thing he saw were two faces as beautiful as flowers.

One seemed mature, the other young and inexperienced. One was spectacularly elegant, the other was sweet and pure.

"Good morning…." he said nervously, blinking a few times.

Song Junwan suddenly smiled, and her gaze softened. Reaching out, she placed her hand onto his forehead to feel his temperature. Eyes as deep as pools of water, she softly said, "Don't be scared. You were just pretending to be unconscious, that's all. Now tell your big sis how many days you were faking."

Naruto swallowed hard and then said, "I…."

However, before he could finish speaking, Hou Xiaomei swatted Song

Junwan's hand aside and stepped forward to stand next to Naruto. Glaring angrily at Song Junwan, she said, "What do you think you're doing?! Big bro Xiaochun is very pure and innocent! How could he possibly have been pretending to be unconscious?!" Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, she looked suspiciously over at Naruto, lowered her voice, and said, "Big bro Xiaochun, you've been corrupted! Pretending to be unconscious is wrong!"

More sweat popped out on his forehead. Being around these two women made it feel like needles were pricking into his back. "I…."

After rolling her eyes, Song Junwan coolly said, "Nightcrypt, I'd like to speak with you alone. You owe me an explanation."

"Big bro Xiaochun, I also want to speak with you alone!" Hou Xiaomei said, not willing to be outdone by Song Junwan in any way.

Naruto was struck speechless. The two women glared at each other angrily, then turned to him to see what decision he would make.

Taking a deep breath, he put a very somber expression on his face. "Very well!" he said, deepening his voice. Hou Xiaomei had never seen Naruto speak in such a way, or seen such an expression on his face. She was shocked, and suddenly realized that this version of her big bro Xiaochun was even more attractive than the old version.

As for Song Junwan, her expression brightened; this was the Nightcrypt she remembered.

"Tell me what happened between the two sects after I fell unconscious.

And where are we now? In the Luochen Mountains, or somewhere else?" Naruto's new tactic seemed to work. Continuing to try to look as serious as possible, he listened to the events which had played out after he fell unconscious.

The Blood Stream Sect would never have agreed to let him go back to Fragrant Cloud Peak, and the Spirit Stream Sect would never have agreed to let him return to Middle Peak.

Therefore, the two sects had arranged for a contingent of cultivators to stand guard over him in the Luochen Mountains. The Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood had even stayed behind to stand as Dharma protectors. Naruto was moved.

Then Song Junwan went on to explain what was happening on the front lines of the war. The Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect were currently attacking the Profound Stream Sect. The Profound Stream Sect was no match for such a huge army, and had suffered setback after setback. They had already lost about half of their territory.

Naruto was shaken by how seriously the two sects took him. Even if he had wanted to go to the fighting, the patriarchs wouldn't have agreed.

"I guess it's my fault for being so outstanding…. Ai." Fretting luxuriously, he decided that the best thing to do at the moment was refrain from requesting to be sent to the battlefield. That way, he could avoid giving them any pressure, and could also avoid a situation where they suddenly went crazy and… agreed to let him fight.

"Ah, whatever. I should probably give the patriarchs a good excuse to refuse to let me go to the battlefield. My… my stomach suddenly hurts…. I guess my wounds haven't healed all the way yet. Well… I'll just continue to recuperate for a bit longer." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto decided that he was a very considerate person. Clutching his stomach, he continued to pretend to feel ill.

—

Chapter 287

Chapter 287

Chapter 287: Women Are Terrifying!

For the next several days, Naruto continued to pretend to be unwell. Every so often, he would leave the immortal's cave, look around at the world, and sigh deeply in his heart.

"I doubt there are many disciples such as myself who understand how things work. The patriarchs don't want me going off to war, so I've taken the initiative to pretend to be injured." He shook his head slowly. In his mind, he really had grown up and come to understand the world a lot better.

"If Uncle Li and my Elder Brother sect leader knew about this, they would definitely praise me." After some more thought, he realized that he shouldn't stay outside for too long, otherwise it might make his act seem unrealistic. Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan hadn't come yet, so the best thing to do was go back inside to sleep. If they showed up, he would definitely get the short end of the stick.

Every time he thought about Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan, his heart trembled.

"Terrifying," he thought. "The way they look at me, it's like they want to cut me in two pieces to share with each other." With that, he turned to hurry back inside. However, that was when Song Junwan came floating over.

Naruto's eyes went wide, and his heart began to pound.

"This isn't right. They never show up at this time…." Turning his head nervously, he saw that Hou Xiaomei had also come.

Taking a deep breath, he put a somber expression on his face and then, before they could get too close, loudly said, "I have to go see the patriarchs!"

Even as the words left his mouth, he blurred into motion, flying toward the patriarchs at top speed. About halfway there, he suddenly realized that he was being careless. He quickly began to weave back and forth as wobbly as possible, as if he were having problems flying. Finally, he landed on the ground with a thud, then walked the rest of the way, panting as he went.

In this part of the Luochen Mountains was a mountain with two peaks that jutted up, not very high, and not very far away from each other. This was where the Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood were staying.

As soon as Naruto appeared, both patriarchs looked down at him from the mountain peaks above.

"Naruto offers greetings, patriarch!" he said, clasping hands and bowing.

"Are your injuries getting any better?" Patriarch Ironwood asked with an enigmatic smile.

Just when Naruto was about to respond, a cold snort echoed out from the Song Clan patriarch on the other mountain peak.

As soon as Naruto heard it, his heart trembled, and he sighed. Without hesitation, he offered formal greetings again.

"Nightcrypt offers greetings, Father!"

The Song Clan patriarch smiled and said, "I saw that you had some trouble flying on your way over here. You still haven't recovered yet?" "I'm better," he replied, feeling a bit guilty. He knew that he couldn't truly deceive the patriarchs, so after some hesitation, he decided to push the envelope a bit and added, "But…. I think there's still a bit that's not better?"

Patriarch Ironwood laughed and said, "Ah, it doesn't matter. Since you're not fully recovered, just take some more time to rest."

With that, he waved his hand, sending a medicinal pill bottle flying toward Naruto

Naruto caught it and blinked a few times. After opening it, he was instantly moved; inside were tier-4 medicinal pills with excellent medicinal efficacy. However, they weren't designed for treating injuries, but rather, to help increase one's cultivation bas

e.

The Song Clan patriarch's eyebrows shot up, and then he waved his hand, sending two medicinal pill bottles flying out. Licking his lips, Naruto grabbed them, then opened them. His eyes went wide.

These bottles also contained tier-4 medicines, but they were supremegrade, bordering on tier-5. They were fairly bursting with blood qi, and would be of significant benefit to his Undying Live Forever Technique.

Naruto looked excitedly at the two patriarchs. They were definitely treating him very well. Obviously, they knew that his injuries had recovered, and in response, gave him spirit medicine to help improve his cultivation base.

"It seems I really have grown up," he thought. "I was worried about the patriarchs, and here they are hinting for me to continue to pretend to feel unwell." Sighing, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Patriarch, Father, don't worry, you've done the right thing to trust me!" Giving them a meaningful look, he turned and left.

The Song Clan patriarch chuckled, and Patriarch Ironwood smiled and shook his head. Although they wanted Naruto to go to war, they were worried about his safety. Therefore, they wouldn't force him to make any decision he didn't want to.

After returning to his immortal's cave, Naruto found that Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan had left. Sighing in relief, he sat down crosslegged and began to work on his cultivation.

He soon discovered that his cultivation base had already improved some compared to before he lost consciousness. Furthermore, his Undying Live Forever Technique had grown stronger.

"If things keep going like this," he thought excitedly, "then late Foundation Establishment is right around the corner!" Then he thought about how he had single-handedly stopped his two sects from going to war, and he felt very proud. However, just when he was about to pop one of the medicinal pills into his mouth, he suddenly heard Hou Xiaomei's voice coming from outside the immortal's cave.

"Big bro Xiaochun, I cooked up some medicine for you…." With that, the door of the immortal's cave opened, and Hou Xiaomei entered, her face a bit flushed, a bowl of medicine held in her hands.

The steam from the medicine caused Hou Xiaomei's face to be even more flushed than it might have been, and as soon as Naruto saw her fair, pure features, his heart began to pound.

But then, Song Junwan appeared right behind her, smiling broadly as she also brought in a bowl of medicine. The clothes she wore were different than what she usually wore back in the Blood Stream Sect. They were more conservative, and yet, couldn't conceal her curvaceous form. "Little bro Nightcrypt, I cooked up some medicine for you…."

The two women approached Naruto, each one holding out a bowl of medicine. Song Junwan had a faint smile on her face, whereas Hou Xiaomei looked a bit shy.

Naruto's heart immediately began to pound, and even as he was cursing their treacherous ways, he realized that Song Junwan had uttered the exact same words as Hou Xiaomei. He couldn't stop his eyes from going wide.

He looked left. He looked right. He hesitated. Finally, he decided that since Hou Xiaomei had come in first, that he might as well take her medicine first. With that he reached his hand out toward Hou Xiaomei's bowl.

Hou Xiaomei's eyes instantly brightened with excitement, and she glanced furtively over at Song Junwan, looking very pleased with herself.

When Song Junwan saw what was happening, she glared at Naruto, and then gave a cold harrumph. Instantly, an intense killing aura sprang up around her. Naruto gasped, and quickly changed the direction his hand was moving, sending it toward Song Junwan's bowl.

Before his hand could even touch the bowl, Hou Xiaomei's eyes turned red as if from grief. Trembling, tears welling up in her eyes, she said, "Big bro Xiaochun, I spent all day cooking up that medicine."

Naruto felt bad, and without even thinking about it, yet again changed the direction his hand was moving.

"Nightcrypt, do you remember all the things you said to me on Middle Peak?" Song Junwan said softly. "Drink my bowl of medicine first. I believe that everything you said to me was true." Unswerving determination could be seen in her eyes. Apparently, if he didn't drink her medicine first, then she would instantly leave, and henceforth refuse to believe anything he told her.

"I…." Naruto's hand stopped in place, and he looked at the two bowls of medicine, feeling almost like he was going insane.

"Did they plan to come at the same time or something?" he thought.

"ARRGGHHH!" He felt like he was about to collapse. Despite how much he'd grown up, he had never been in a situation like this, where no decision he made was the right one….

Eyes bloodshot, he gritted his teeth, and then reached out and grabbed one bowl with each hand. Weeping inwardly, he somehow managed to start drinking from both bowls, being careful not to spill any of the burning hot medicine on himself.

To drink from two medicine bowls at the same time felt very odd, but inside, Naruto was sighing with relief, and couldn't help but marvel at how quickly he had adapted to the situation. This way, neither Hou Xiaomei nor Song Junwan would be able to find fault with him.

However, after finishing the medicine, he realized that Song Junwan's killing aura was pulsing even more explosively than before. Glaring at him angrily, she spun and walked off. Hou Xiaomei looked completely heartbroken. Eyes flashing with bitter grief, she turned slowly and walked out of the immortal's cave.

Naruto watched in shock as the two women left. Grabbing his hair in both hands, he cried, "What… what did I do wrong? I drank them both! I didn't drink either one before the other…."

Scowling on the verge of tears, he stared at the closed door of the immortal's cave.

"If things keep going like this I'm gonna go crazy! I'm… I'm just gonna go into secluded meditation!" Having made his decision, he gritted his teeth and sealed the door of his immortal's cave as tightly as was possible. Taking a deep breath, he sat down cross-legged and took some time to calm himself down. Then he opened the bottles of medicinal pills given to him by Patriarch Ironwood and the Song Clan patriarch and began to meditate.

Days passed. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by. During that time, Naruto made constant progress in his cultivation. Bit by bit, he got closer to late Foundation Establishment.

His fifth spiritual sea was now fully crystallized, and his sixth sea was halfway there. Once his sixth spiritual sea crystallized, then he would officially break through the peak of mid Foundation Establishment and into the late stage.

Furthermore, during his meditation session, the power of the medicines he'd consumed for the purpose of treating his injuries also helped push his cultivation base higher.

Then there was the little turtle. Naruto would take it out every day and give it a thorough shaking. The fragrant aroma emitted by the turtle would cause boundless streams of spiritual power to flow into him, further hastening the crystallization of his sixth spiritual sea!

Sixty percent. Seventy percent. Eighty percent….

Another half a month passed. One morning at dawn, rumbling sounds filled Naruto as his sixth spiritual sea fully crystallized. Spiritual power that vastly surpassed anything from before flowed unceasingly through him, causing cracking sounds to fill the air around him. It was almost like a baptism.

His Heaven-Dao aura grew stronger, such that strange colors flashed in the sky. Patriarch Ironwood and the Song Clan patriarch noticed, as did other cultivators in the Luochen Mountains. All of them looked over in the direction of Naruto's immortal's cave, where a boundless Heaven-Dao aura seemed to be connecting in the heavens above!

Thunder rumbled, and a vortex appeared up above, spinning rapidly. Naruto's eyes opened, and they glowed with brilliant, lightning-like light. His sixth spiritual sea was fully crystallized!

Late Foundation Establishment!

Chapter 288

Chapter 288

Chapter 288: What Bird Is That…?

Naruto's open eyes flashed with scintillating light, illuminating the darkness of the immortal's cave like flickering lightning.

Intense cultivation base power surged through his body, not only causing a reaction in the sky overhead, but also causing fluctuations to pulse through his Chakra passageways.

The energy flowed through him, making a complete cycle before fusing into his spiritual seas, vanishing into the sixth, crystallized sea. It was like a convergence of massive weight and power that propelled his cultivation base higher.

Rumbling sounds filled him that only he could hear, shaking his mind and heart. It was almost like the Tideflows he had experienced in the Fallen Sword Abyss. Naruto took a deep breath, reveling in the feeling of intense power that vastly exceeded anything from before.

"Late Foundation Establishment!" Naruto looked up and started laughing, excitement written across his face. As of this moment, all of his hard work in the Foundation Establishment stage had come to fruition.

"From now on, I, Naruto, can easily crush anyone in early Foundation Establishment! If any early Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to provoke me, a slap from me will leave them screaming in pain!" Trembling in excitement, he rose to his feet, and as he did, cracking sounds rang out as a third heavenly demon appeared behind him!

Outside in the sky, the clouds swirled rapidly, and thunder crackled. Within the vortex up above, a heavenly demon appeared, and then a second, and a finally, a third!

Three enormous heavenly demons were right out in the open for everyone to see, and it instantly caused the cultivators of the Spirit Stream Sect who were garrisoned in the area to cry out in shock.

"What's that!?"

"Those… those look like Dharma Idols!"

"Heavens! What technique is Sect Uncle Uzumaki cultivating!?"

Similar cries could be heard coming from the Blood Stream Sect. Because of the techniques cultivated by Lesser Marsh Peak, the cultivators from the Blood Stream Sect already had speculations about what they were seeing.

"That's a Lesser Marsh Peak body refinement technique! That's the

Heavenly Demon Body!"

"Nightcrypt definitely deserves to be the Blood Lord. Now that he's reached this level in his body refinement, he'll definitely proceed to the blood fiend level!"

On the two mountain peaks, the Song Clan patriarch's eyes shone brightly, and Patriarch Ironwood's eyes glittered with mysterious light. Both of them were shaken by the heavenly demon incarnations they saw in the sky.

After a moment passed, the Song Clan patriarch said, "My boy

Nightcrypt's Heavenly Demon Body is already quite different from Lesser Marsh Peak's…."

A thoughtful look appeared on Patriarch Ironwood's face. The two of them exchanged a glance, but didn't say anything else.

Inside the immortal's cave, Naruto's excited laughter rang out as he felt his fleshly body power rising. He felt more blessed than ever.

"How could this be happening? The medicinal pills that Father and Patriarch Ironwood gave me shouldn't have pushed my cultivation all the way to this point. Unless….

"Unless my injuries stimulated some latent power inside of me! Hahaha! That must be it!" Naruto almost felt like dancing with joy. In his current state, he really felt incredibly powerful.

"Wait, hold on. I can't be arrogant, and I definitely have to keep working hard. Now that I'm in late Foundation Establishment, I have to crystallize my seventh through ninth spiritual seas, and reac

h the great circle of Foundation Establishment. Then I can break through to the Gold Core stage!" As he thought about the Gold Core stage, he began to pant, and his eyes shone with bright light.

"I heard that if you can reach the Gold Core stage, you'll get at least five hundred additional years of longevity…. Five hundred years…! If I succeed, that means I'll be able to live for at least a thousand years!" His hands clenched into fists, and his eyes shone as if with madness. The idea of being able to live for a thousand years filled him with so much excitement that he almost couldn't control himself.

"I also have the second volume of the Undying Codex. I've finished the steps with the ancient mammoths and the berserk ghosts. Next is the Heavenly Demon Body. Once I make enough heavenly demons, I can proceed to the Asura Body. Once I'm finished with the Asura Body, I can take the second volume of the Undying Codex to the highest level, the Undying Heavenly King Body!" Slapping his chest confidently, he laughed loudly and prepared to leave his immortal's cave to perform some tests and see exactly how powerful he had become.

However, after having only taken a few steps toward the door, his face suddenly fell. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he was able to clearly detect that two beams of light were flying in his direction. They were none other than Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei.

Obviously, they had sensed Naruto's cultivation base breakthrough, and realized that his session of secluded meditation was over.

As soon as he thought about the terrifying things that happened when those two women showed up together, his face went pale, and his heart began to tremble. He suddenly slapped his chest, causing his face to turn ashen. He swayed in place a bit, pretending to be weak as he trudged out of his immortal's cave. Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei approached, and they were clearly preparing to say some sarcastic things, but then they saw his weak demeanor, and their faces fell. Forgetting all about their desire to get into a row, they flew over.

"What's wrong, big bro Xiaochun!?"

"Nightcrypt, what's wrong? Weren't things going well just now?" Looking very worried, both women reached out to support Naruto by the elbow as they led him back into the immortal's cave to lay down on the stone bed.

As they comforted him with soft, gentle words, he was reminded of how tender they had been in past times. Now that they weren't fighting or arguing, he could breathe a sigh of relief.

He coughed a few times and then weakly said, "Perhaps toward the end my Chakra flow was interrupted. I just need some rest, and then I'll be fine."

As the two women waited on him, he lay back and closed his eyes to rest.

Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan knew that Naruto needed some peace and quiet, so they left silently. After they were gone, Naruto opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Not much remained of the elation he had felt because of his cultivation base breakthrough, and now, his expression was twinged with anxiety.

"What do I do now…?" he thought, scowling at the seemingly unbearable situation…. After a bit of consideration, he decided that the best thing to do was to continue to pretend to feel unwell.

Time passed. Before long, half a month had gone by. He couldn't continue to pretend to be weak that entire time, so he gradually started to pretend to look better. As time passed, Song Junwan caught on to the fact that he was pretending to feel unwell. As for Hou Xiaomei, she was a simple girl, but she wasn't stupid. Even she started to suspect.

When Naruto realized that, he was so scared he started shaking. This kind of life was a torture, and by now, he was considering trying to go join the war effort. However, the thought of the deadly dangers of the battlefield caused him to hesitate.

"Ah, whatever. I can hang on for a bit longer. Maybe I can think of some other way to deal with this…." Tugging on his hair in frustration, he continued to ponder the situation. Finally, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked very depressed.

Maintaining that look, he shuffled out of his immortal's cave, whereupon Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan arrived….

Gaze soft and voice gentle, Hou Xiaomei said, "Big bro Xiaochun, it's not good to stay cooped up in your immortal's cave. Let's go for a walk together, okay?"

"Um…." he replied hesitatingly.

Smiling enigmatically, Song Junwan reached out to support Bai

Xiaochun's left arm. "Nightcrypt, to cultivators like us, that type of injury is really nothing. Come on, let's go out into the Luochen Mountains for a bit. If you get your Chakra and blood moving, it will definitely speed your recovery."

In turn, Hou Xiaomei glared and reached out to support his right arm.

Naruto gaped in shock. He didn't even get a chance to respond to either of them before they were leading him out of the immortal's cave.

After only a few steps, his feet actually left the ground. He felt like a death row inmate being dragged to his own execution as the two women stared daggers at each other across him. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead, and he almost felt like crying.

It was currently dawn, and a faint fog covered most of the Luochen Mountains. As the morning light grew stronger, the fog began to dissipate; it was a very beautiful scene. After being carried out of his immortal's cave, quite a few cultivators from the two sects saw him, and looks of compassion appeared in their eyes as they hurried past the group of three.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it just as quickly. It didn't seem like a good time to talk. If he did, it would definitely lead to more headaches. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and decided that going for a bit of a walk wouldn't be so bad.

Even as such thoughts passed through his head, a bird flew by overhead. It was bright red, and quite beautiful, and as it flew along, it let out a melodious cry.

Song Junwan saw the bird, and looked surprised. "Look, Nightcrypt! A bloodspirit heron! I never thought I would see one of the Blood Stream Sect's bloodspirit herons here. I used to love to watching them flying around back on Middle Peak."

Even as Naruto looked up at the bird, Hou Xiaomei bristled with a killing aura and loudly said, "Bloodspirit heron? What are you talking about? That's obviously an irispetal ibis from the Spirit Stream Sect!"

Song Junwan looked over angrily at Hou Xiaomei, who, unwilling to be outdone, stuck her chest out and glared back defiantly.

Naruto was stuck between them, sweating profusely. Things were reaching a point where he almost couldn't deal with the headache. That was when Song Junwan laughed charmingly, and looked at Naruto with sparkling, mesmerizing eyes.

"Nightcrypt, what do you think? Is that bird a bloodspirit heron or an irispetal ibis?"

Not willing to be outdone, Hou Xiaomei grabbed Naruto's arm. Looking completely heartbroken, she softly asked, "Big bro Xiaochun, tell that old auntie that it's an irispetal ibis."

Chapter 289

Chapter 289

Chapter 289: Patriarchs, Send Me To The War!

Naruto felt like his head was about to explode. Eyes widening, he looked up at the bird, feeling like he was about to go insane…. The truth was that this bird actually had two names. In the Blood Stream Sect, it was called a bloodspirit heron, but in the Spirit Stream Sect, it was known as an irispetal ibis.

However, he wasn't sure which name to call it. That was especially true considering that killing intent was surging on both sides of him. He could almost feel the tears welling up in his eyes. How he hated that bird….

"Damn you, bird!" he thought. "Why? Why why why did you have to show up here!?" Trembling, he looked at Song Junwan on his left, and Hou Xiaomei on his right. Both of them were staring at him with looks of anticipation on their faces. He could well imagine that whoever he sided with, the other would be deeply and profoundly grieved.

Naruto gritted his teeth and prepared to make up a new name. However, that was when Song Junwan suddenly said, "Nightcrypt, don't you dare try to pull a fast one by making up a new name!"

"Big bro Xiaochun," Hou Xiaomei chimed in, "you can't say you don't recognize it. I know you've seen those birds in the Spirit Stream Sect before!"

It was a rare occasion: Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan were siding with each other as they stared at Naruto, deep emotions flickering in their eyes….

"I… I…." Sweat dripped down Naruto's face. By this point, he was in a state of complete despair. Back when they'd brought him medicine, he'd managed to pull a fast one, but as of this moment, that didn't seem possible.

"What do I do…?" he thought, his eyes glistening with tears. Based on how Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei were pushing him, it was obvious that they didn't care at all what the bird was called, they just wanted him to choose between the two of them.

Eyes bloodshot, he pointed up at the bird and howled, "Fine! I'll tell you.

That bird is a… it's a…."

Suddenly, he bit down on his tongue, and then unleashed his cultivation base power, allowing it to run wild within him. As it burst into his Chakra passageways, a sweet taste filled his mouth, and then he spat out a mouthful of blood. Then his vision started going dark, and he began to lapse into unconsciousness.

In the last moment before he passed out, he sighed deeply.

Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei were completely shocked. Not only did they see Naruto coughing up blood, considering that they were holding him up by the arms, they could sense that his cultivation base was in chaos. Hou Xiaomei looked like she was about to cry as she carried Naruto back into the immortal's cave. As for Song Junwan, she pulled out a huge collection of spirit medicines, which she began to push into his mouth.

Some distance away on the two mountain peaks, the Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood watched the scene play out, their eyes flickering with sympathy.

The Song Clan patriarch sighed and said, "Did the little brat really think getting involved with women could be so simple? I learned the truth of it years ago. With the flick of a sleeve, I detached myself from all impurities."

In rare fashion, Patriarch Ironwood seemed to completely agree with him. Nodding, he said, "Love is tribulation. Years ago, I severed such tribulation. Actually, now that I think about it, I can't even remember the faces of those old flames from years ago."

The two old men exchanged a look. For the first time, they were in unison on something. Shaking their heads, they began to think back to their own pasts.

A few days later, Naruto opened his eyes and hurried over to the copper mirror hanging on the wall in his immortal's cave. When he looked into the mirror, he saw a gaunt, pale figure. As far as he was concerned, his world was now a world of darkness….

After a long moment, he sighed and prepared to go outside and get some fresh air. He needed to calm down and think of an idea of how to deal with the situation.

"It won't work for things to keep going on in this way. Their games are going to drive me to an early grave…." Sighing, he pushed open the door of the immortal's cave, and was just about to step outside, when he suddenly went completely stiff.

"You two…." Sweat broke out on his forehead as he realized that standing right outside the door of the immortal's cave were Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei. It was impossible to say when they had arrived, but there they stood, right next to each other, smiling at him.

"Nightcrypt, let's go for a walk!" Song Junwan said, her eyes glittering charmingly.

"Big bro Xiaochun, I won't make you name the birds this time." Hou

Xiaomei said, blushing a bit and seeming more pure and charming than ever.

And yet, the eyes of both women seemed to have inadvertently come to rest on his feet.

Naruto felt all the hair on his body stand up on end. By now, he realized the truth. These two demonesses had become addicted to toying with him. Their games had reached the point where even which foot stepped out of his immortal's cave first was a point of contention….

This was ridiculous. These two demonesses weren't even human…. Trembling visibly, he didn't dare to step outside.

"Um, so… fancy meeting you two here, huh? I'm… I'm feeling a bit tired, I think I'll stay inside today…." Forcing a smile onto his face, he began to back up. However, in that instant, a killing aura sprang up from Song Junwan, and as for Hou Xiaomei, her eyes began to fill with tears as she looked piteously at him.

One seemed murderously angry, the other, wronged and maligned….

Naruto was on the verge of going mad. He was in such pain that he suddenly unleashed all of the spiritual power that he had carefully built up inside of himself. The chaotic power swept through him, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. Yet again, his vision went dark, and he collapsed.

Before losing consciousness, he didn't sigh, but tears filled his eyes.

Two days later in the middle of the night, Naruto lay on the stone bed, and his eyes slowly opened. Then, he lay there staring up at the ceiling, tears flowing down his temples.

"Back when it was Hou Xiaomei by herself, it was so great. She believed anything I said. But now….

"Back when it was Song Junwan by herself, everything went my way. All I had to do was lose my temper a bit, and she would do anything I asked. But now….

"With both of them together, it's simply terrifying…." As he thought back to how wonderful it had been to simply deal with them alone, more tears flowed.

"No. If things keep going on this way, I'm gonna end up dead!

"They're going to toy with me all the way to the grave, torment me to death! I'm already on the verge of going crazy. First was the medicine, then that bird. Next, they're trying to decide which foot I walk with. Before you know it, they're going to be watching to see which eye opens first, or which hand twitches….

"I can't stay around here any longer. These two demonesses are too terrifying. I've already coughed up blood twice. If this keep up, I could lose my poor little life." Trembling, face a mask of terror, he gritted his teeth!

"I need to join the war effort!

"On the battlefield, there's a chance I might get killed, but here, I'll definitely go crazy sooner or later…." He suddenly felt more than ever like he truly wanted to join the war. In fact, his heart had already left the Luochen Mountains; he had no desire whatsoever to stay.

He rose to his feet, his expression that of unswerving determination. He seemed different than he had moments ago; his veins of steel were pulsing, and his eyes shone with intense light. He quickly packed his bags, then quietly opened the door of the immortal's cave. Sending his divine sense out first, he looked around the area.

It was currently the middle of the night, and the moon was obscured by the clouds. Everything was pitch black, and silent except for the sounds of various night creatures and birds.

He looked around vigilantly to make sure that Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei weren't lying in wait. Then, he burst into motion, drawing upon all the speed he could muster, even using his wings. He became a beam of light that shot at top speed toward the two mountain peaks occupied by the Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood.

Fearful of attracting the attention of Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei, he moved as fast as he could without actually making any noise in the process. Soon, he reached the two mountains, where he stopped in place and took a deep breath. His eye shone with determination, and his expression was that of ultimate decisiveness. He suddenly seemed like a combination of both Naruto and Nightcrypt, heroic, extraordinary, and at the same time, formidable and ruthless!

He seemed taller than before as he strode forward to the base of the twin peaks. Eyes shining with cold ferocity, he clasped hands and bowed.

"I am legacy echelon disciple Naruto of the Spirit Stream Sect, and blood master Nightcrypt of the Blood Stream Sect. Greetings, Patriarchs!"

The Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood slowly opened their eyes, and looked down in surprise at Naruto.

A murderous aura sprang up around Naruto as he said, "Stepfather, Patriarch, as the blood master of Middle Peak, and as a legacy echelon cultivator of the Spirit Stream Sect, I must perform meritorious services! I must go to the battlefield to face the enemy!"

The Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood had strange expressions on their faces. After a moment, the Song Clan patriarch said, "I thought you hadn't recovered yet?"

"Stepfather, a few injures are like nothing when compared to the greater good of both sects!" He smiled broadly, as if he didn't care at all about his injuries. At the same time, the determination in his eyes grew more intense. "What cultivator can go through life without being injured? The important thing is the value of that injury. As for me, I was injured trying to project our sects!"

He looked very heroic as he stood there uttering such words. Anyone who might have been able to see him would have been shocked. He seemed boundlessly righteous, a manly man as strong as iron and completely unafraid of dying!

"The battlefield is a dangerous place, and death is a common thing there. Aren't you afraid of that?" Patriarch Ironwood asked softly.

Naruto laughed heartily. Smacking his chest casually, he said, "I'm a true man! Blood will be spilled on the battlefield, that's true. But how could I simply stand by and watch my fellow sect members fighting in battle while I relax in comfort? That… is not Naruto's way of doing things, and it is definitely not Nightcrypt's style!

"Patriarchs, there's no need for further discussion. I… I definitely want to join the war effort!" His sonorous words were spoken with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron.

"Very well," the Song Clan patriarch said. "That's exactly how a son of mine should act." He and Patriarch Ironwood exchanged a glance, then nodded. "Tomorrow morning, you can take this teleportation medallion to the teleportation portal. It will take you to our garrison in the Profound Stream Sect region!" Laughing heartily, the Song Clan patriarch waved his hand, sending a command medallion flying toward Naruto. Naruto grabbed the medallion and flashed a carefree smile.

"What's the point in waiting until tomorrow? My heart burns with the desire to kill the enemy! I can't sleep like that! I'll head to the teleportation portal immediately, and wade directly into battle. The time has come to put my life on the line for the sects!" Flicking his sleeve, he transformed into a beam of light that shot directly toward the teleportation portal. Moments later, the light of teleportation shot up into the sky, illuminating the darkness of night. A single figure could be seen in the light, his hair whipping around him, radiating determination, righteousness, and at the same time, bloody murder….

The Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood laughed and looked at each other. Seeing the smiles on each other's faces, they realized at some point, they had come to admire each other a bit.

—

Chapter 290

Chapter 290

Chapter 290: In Profound Stream Sect Territory!

The Profound Stream Sect was located on the Heavencraft Continent, and bordered the Pill Stream Sect. Because of the years of warfare, the Heavencraft Continent was in a very sorry state. Magical combat had left the land riddled with craters, and the explosions of spell formations left the spiritual power of the region in chaos. The entire place was a very dangerous location.

Earlier on, the Profound Stream Sect had managed to gain the upper hand over the Pill Stream Sect, and had even absorbed more than half of the other sect. However, because of the alliance between the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, the tide of the war had turned. At this point, internal conflict wracked the Profound Stream Sect.

That was especially true of the portion of the sect that had once belonged to the Pill Stream Sect. In despair over the imminent destruction of their sect, they had defected. But now they hoped to become an auxiliary member of the Spirit Stream and Blood Stream Sects, and as such, were resisting the Profound Stream Sect!

Numerous mountains were in a state of collapse. Rivers had vanished off the face of the earth. Entire mountain ranges were gone. Countless cultivators and even entire clans were now nothing more than corpses and bones strewn about on smoking battlefields.

Even the sky had been affected; it was now choked with smoke and ash.

Then the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect arrived, and the sky filled with blood clouds and dazzling white light. These two sects were only in the initial stages of joining forces, and even with Naruto connecting them, it was still a very difficult process. After all, they had been enemies for many years, and the distrust between them was still very intense.

Without the eruption of this war, the act of combining their sects would have been nothing more than a joke. Eventually, things would have fallen apart. However, with this war, they had a chance to truly unite.

Fighting against a common enemy gave the disciples of the two sects a chance to slowly get used to each other….

The Profound Stream Sect hadn't really been prepared for a joint assault by the Blood Stream and Spirit Stream Sects. What was happening was truly a nightmare. Before they even had time to smooth things out with the recently-absorbed factions of the Pill Stream Sect, two new enemies had arrived, like razor-sharp blades slashing at the exposed back of the Profound Stream Sect!

In a few short months, the Profound Stream Sect suffered heavy losses. More than sixty percent of the Heavencraft Continent had already been occupied, and 17 of their temple headquarters had been sacked!

Unlike most sects, the Profound Stream Sect didn't have just one headquarters. They had a total of 29, spread out like a net throughout the Heavencraft Continent. That was how they maintained their power on the continent.

The initial invasion was now over, and every day, minor battles were fought all over the continent. Booms rang out everywhere, and the land quaked violently.

Faced with the combined assault of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, the Profound Stream Sect could hardly even defend itself. They could only hide in their various temple headquarters and make their final stand.

During the course of the fighting, one Chosen after another gained valuable battle experience. They were like swords being sharpened into deadly weapons.

Ghostfang, Shangguan Tianyou, Zhou Xinqi, Gongsun Yun, Hou Yunfei… Lu Tianlei, Song Que, Xu Xiaoshan, Jia Lie, Master God-Diviner, and numerous other cultivators all made names for themselves on the battlefield.

Although Xuemei had not been present for the fight with the Spirit Stream Sect, she was there on the Heavencraft Continent. Considering that she was at t

he peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, she had power that could shake the world.

There was another person who made an unexpected name on the battlefield, taking down numerous enemies. Even other members of the sect came to fear her. She was none other than Gongsun Wan'er!

Not a single cultivator in the same stage as her could match her in combat. She even won some battles against prime elders of the Profound Stream Sect, striking awe into the hearts of the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect alike.

There were also Chosen of the Profound Stream Sect who made names for themselves. Nine-Isles was one of them. He was much more mature than he had been years ago in the Fallen Sword Abyss. Considering how bitter the fighting was, his name became an inspiration to many Profound Stream Sect disciples.

There were Chosen from the Pill Stream Sect as well. One of them was named Lin Mu, who cultivated the Primeval Medicinal Daoseed Incantation. He had long since betrayed the Pill Stream Sect, though, and had been accepted as an apprentice by Patriarch Nine-Heavens of the Profound Stream Sect.

He and Nine-Isles were the shining stars of the Profound Stream Sect, whose glory in battle dazzled anyone who saw them.

Among the bedraggled remnants of the actual Pill Stream Sect was a young woman named Chen Manyao, whose skill with poison exceeded even the late Fang Lin's, and whose abilities with illusion forms surpassed Zhao Rou's. She even managed to have a protracted battle with a prime elder, and performed other great services for her sect in battle.

The Chosen were like stars glittering in the night sky, each one of whom had their own chance to shine in battle. However, there was one star that was only just now teleporting onto the battlefield.

Everyone knew the name of that star; it was a name that couldn't be forgotten or overlooked. It was none other than Naruto!

Although he had yet to make a showing in the fighting itself, although he hadn't fought brilliantly in battle, although he hadn't killed numerous enemies or shed rivers of blood, he was a dazzling star that could not be compared to. His accomplishments were such that anyone who heard of them was completely shaken.

The blood master of Middle Peak and Blood Lord of the Blood Stream Sect!

Legacy echelon cultivator and junior patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect!

He had single-handedly stopped a huge war between two sects. He alone connected those two sects and convinced them to join forces. In fact, it was he alone who had unleashed the war of destruction upon the Profound Stream Sect.

Everyone had heard of him, and he existed in a spot above all other Chosen. While the other Chosen were still vying to make their name, he existed in a lofty position. The wave of his hand could completely change the tide of the war.

Everyone who heard his story was completely shaken. Nine-Isles roared in rage, his hatred for Naruto burning bright and hot. As for Lin Mu, he went into secluded meditation for a few days after hearing the stories. When he emerged, he said that he had prepared a huge surprise for Naruto!

Although Naruto hadn't been present for any of the fighting so far, his name still rang loud and clear in the ears of everyone on the battlefield. Somewhere on the border of the Heavencraft Continent, in a location that had already been taken over by the Blood Stream Sect and Spirit Stream Sect, in one of the former temple headquarters of the Profound Stream Sect, the glittering light of a teleportation rose up into the sky.

The cultivators stationed on duty by the teleportation portal looked at the light with vigilant eyes, ready to instantly attack if the wrong person appeared.

Among the group were Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie. Considering that the three of them were grouped together separately from the other cultivators, it was obvious that they had a higher position. Given the levels of their cultivation bases, as well as their reputation, they should have been on the front lines of battle. However, after receiving grievous injuries in the fighting, all three had been reassigned to this location.

None of them really liked each other, and it wasn't limited to Beihan Lie disliking the Blood Stream Sect cultivators. Master God-Diviner and Jia Lie also had a bit of a rivalry between them. Of course, such situations were common among frontline veterans.

As the light of teleportation grew more intense, the eyes of the three cultivators glittered brightly. Master God-Diviner was already performing a divination. Beihan Lie's eyes shone with cold light, whereas Jia Lie's eyes were narrowed, and the fluctuations of the great circle of

Foundation Establishment rolled off of him. Despite having been injured fairly seriously, he still commanded shocking power.

Although people frequently teleported into this particular portal, the cultivators who guarded the area always reacted in this way. A month before, a group of Profound Stream Sect cultivators had managed to teleport into the middle of Blood Stream Sect territory and launch a surprise attack.

As the light began to fade away, they realized that it was only a single individual who had teleported in. As his features became visible, the eyes of the surrounding cultivators went wide.

"Sect Uncle Bai!"

"Blood Master Nightcrypt!"

Everyone was crying out in shock. Jia Lie began to shake, Master GodDiviner's jaw dropped, and Beihan Lie let out a cold harrumph.

After materializing, Naruto stepped out of the teleportation portal and then looked around as the cultivators from the two sects offered formal greetings.

"Greetings, Junior Patriarch!"

"Greetings, Blood Lord!"

At first, Naruto looked a bit apprehensive. Glancing up into the blood-colored sky, he inhaled, and detected the stench of blood in the air, confirming that he was indeed on the battlefield. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief. At long last, he felt free again, as if he had finally extricated himself from a nightmare.

Taking a deep breath, and putting a somber expression onto his face, he looked around at the surrounding cultivators, his eyes flashing like lightning.

"What's the situation with the war?!" he asked. His energy surged, and the surrounding disciples of the two sects looked at him with eyes that burned with zeal. Then, they began to report what had occurred recently in the fighting.

Naruto listened as they spoke, and soon had a basic understanding of the situation. It was at that point that a bright beam of light suddenly shot in their direction. It was one of the prime elders of the Spirit Stream Sect; he moved with such incredible speed that, within the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Naruto. Naruto had seen this particular prime elder before.

"The patriarchs have issued orders. Junior Patriarch Naruto is to lead a contingent of cultivators to sweep previously conquered territory and root out any stragglers from the Profound Stream Sect. Any other matters which come up along the way can be handled as you see fit, as long as you don't waste any time!"

Naruto immediately understood that he was being given a relatively safe and easy mission, not an assignment to the front lines of battle.

Obviously, most clans in the conquered territories would be friendly, and any stragglers from the Profound Stream Sect would be weak and unimportant. Clearly, this mission had been specifically created just for him.

Although Naruto felt very appreciative, his expression was solemn and respectful, and his eyes shone with intense light as he said, "I'm afraid I can't comply!"

—

Chapter 291

Chapter 291

Chapter 291: The Middle Peak Blood Master Has Infinite Magical Powers! The Spirit Stream Heaven-Dao Expert Can Shake The Whole World!

"I came here to kill the enemy on the front lines! How could I possibly stoop to handling trifling errands!?" Naruto's energy surged, and as his sonorous voice rang out, everyone who heard him was shaken. All eyes burned with even greater fervor than before, with the exception of Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie. Those three were inwardly cursing him; they were far more familiar with his true nature than the ordinary disciples were.

The prime elder hesitated for a moment. Then, he looked at Naruto and said, "Junior Patriarch, these are the orders of the patriarchs. Stabilizing the conquered territory behind the battle lines is also very important."

Inwardly, Naruto was snickering, but outwardly, he put on a show of refusing again. The prime elder could do nothing more than continue to cajole him. It reached the point where the prime elder was getting ready to give up and back down. Then, to his surprise, Naruto suddenly agreed.

Gritting his teeth and looking very displeased, he said, "Alright, fine. I don't want to make trouble for you. I accept the mission!"

With that, he flew up into the air.

"Who is with me? Who is willing to join me as I stabilize the conquered territory and make a name for our two sects!?"

Virtually all of the cultivators began to cry out.

"I'm willing to follow you, Blood Lord!"

"Count me in, Junior Patriarch!"

"I'm coming too, Sect Uncle Bai!"

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the group of several hundred cultivators stepped forward. Among them were a contingent from the Blood Stream Sect's Middle Peak, who summoned an enormous blood sword, which they sent flying up into the air. It was hundreds of meters long, and radiated shocking energy.

Beihan Lie immediately shrank back. Master God-Diviner edged away. As for Jia Lie, after the trial by fire for blood master, he had come to deeply fear Naruto, and didn't hesitate to go in the opposite direction, worried that he might be spotted.

Naruto laughed heartily as he stepped onto the huge blood sword. Then he waved his hand, and numerous gargoyles flew over, along with a large number of flying ghouls. At the same time, all of the volunteers from the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect flew up to hover around the sword.

Naruto stood there, an enigmatic smile on his face as he looked down at the ground below.

"Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, Jia Lie. What are you three hiding from me for? Come, come! Join me in setting out on this mission!"

Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie were all shaking and cursing inwardly. None of them wanted to go, and yet the orders from their respective patriarchs had been clear. Naruto was leading the mission, and he had the right to pick anyone he wanted to go with him. "I–" Beihan Lie wanted to argue, but he only got one word out of his mouth before Naruto glared at him.

"I've been given a Dharmic decree by the patriarchs!"

Beihan Lie gritted his teeth and then flew over to the sword, depression gripping his heart. Master God-Diviner and Jia Lie were howling inwardly, but they knew they couldn't escape. Having no other choice available, they flew over and joined the team.

"That's more like it! Alright, let's go!" Naruto laughed again, then flicked his sleeve, sending the enormous sword, and the several hundred cultivators with it, flying off in grand fashion.

Naruto had never felt so impressive. He sat cross-legged at

the tip of the huge sword, looking around at the countless gargoyles and refined corpses, and then at the surrounding cultivators. That, coupled with the sight of Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie looking so depressed, left Naruto feeling very proud of himself.

"It seems that joining the war effort really was the right decision," he thought. "Even back in the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, I never got to show off like this. Who would ever have thought that I could do so right here?!" With that, he pointed his finger straight out in front of him.

"Sect Nieces and Nephews, come with me as we dominate the Profound Stream Sect!"

One of the Blood Stream Sect disciples was particularly clever. When he saw how Naruto was in such high spirits, he edged a bit closer to the sword and yelled at the top of his lungs, "The Middle Peak blood master has infinite magical powers!"

Quite a few of the other surrounding cultivators were shocked, and even Naruto looked over at the young man in astonishment. The young man seemed a bit embarrassed to have so many people staring at him, and he even started to blush. Just as he was thinking that he had gone a bit too far with his flattery, Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Don't say like things like that in the future. I'm an upright and frank person, and definitely not a big fan of flattery. Now, take this medicinal pill!" Naruto was actually very pleased, and his facial expression didn't match his words at all. In fact, he seemed to be encouraging such behavior as he threw over a tier-3 spirit medicine.

The young disciple was very excited, and seeing that Naruto was encouraging him, he raised his voice even louder and said, "That's how we truly feel! It's no flattery! The Middle Peak blood master has infinite magical powers!"

The other Blood Stream Sect disciples' eyes went wide, especially when they saw Naruto give a reward of some spirit medicine. Their eyes began to burn with passion, and they too joined in to call out, "The Middle Peak blood master has infinite magical powers!"

Over a hundred people were calling out the same thing, and it made Naruto feel wonderful. Coughing dryly, he handed out quite a few medicinal pills as a reward….

Of course, the hundred or so cultivators from the Spirit Stream Sect weren't very happy about what was going on. Glaring at the Blood Stream Sect cultivators, they also began to cry out.

"The Spirit Stream Heaven-Dao expert can shake the whole world!"

Naruto was so excited that he was shaking. His eyes shone, and his heart surged. Slapping his bag of holding, he sent large quantities of spirit medicine flying out. The disciples of the two sects all understood what was happening, and they clustered around Naruto, yelling at the tops of their lungs as they flew along.

"The Middle Peak blood master has infinite magical powers! The Spirit

Stream Heaven-Dao expert can shake the whole world!"

Only Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie simply gritted their teeth. They held Naruto in complete contempt, and refused to resort to fawning flattery. Not even if they died!

Naruto was very pleased, but also felt that he should be a bit more humble. Waving his hand, he said, "Alright, keep it down, guys, keep it down!"

And it was in this grandiose fashion that he proceeded along through the Profound Stream Sect territory that the two sects had already conquered.

Before long, the group reached a valley that housed a cultivator clan which had once been a part of the Profound Stream Sect. Once the invasion began, they surrendered, and yet, many in the clan were still loyal to the Profound Stream Sect. Although they put on a show of complying, they secretly hated the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect.

As of this moment, the patriarch and other clan members were currently discussing their next move.

"The Spirit Stream Sect has pushed things too far. They used to be allies of the Profound Stream Sect, but then they betrayed them!"

"Hmphh! And then there's the Blood Stream Sect. They're all a bunch of devilish cultivators, killers by nature! Sooner or later they're going to be punished by the heavens!" Even as they sat in the hall, cursing in righteous indignation, a shocking pressure suddenly began to weigh down on them.

Then, a cold voice rang out into their ears. "Everyone come out immediately to offer greetings to our blood master!"

Immediately, all of the cultivators' faces fell.

The clan's patriarch was in the mid Foundation Establishment stage. Face twitching, he strode out of the hall, followed by his fellow clan members.

Moments later, an enormous, blood-colored sword appeared up above, surrounded by more than two hundred cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect.

Standing on the sword itself was Naruto, surrounded by roaring shouts that echoed like thunder.

"The Middle Peak blood master has infinite magical powers! The Spirit

Stream Heaven-Dao expert can shake the whole world!"

The people from the cultivator clan were shaken as they stared up in shock. Meanwhile, Naruto's gaze swept over the valley.

His mission was to scour the regions behind the front lines to find any stragglers from the Profound Stream Sect. Furthermore, he wasn't to just randomly travel around looking for such stragglers. He had a jade slip that identified 37 cultivator clans who were suspected loyalists, and might be harboring such individuals.

According to the initial investigation carried out by the Spirit Stream Sect, there were suspicious aspects to all 37 of those clans that needed to be examined further. As for whether they ended up being spared, or wiped out, that was up to Naruto's judgement. Thankfully, the jade slip had a marvelous function that allowed the person holding it to detect fluctuations that would point directly toward any member of the Profound Stream Sect.

Seeing the grand display of glory and power in front of them left the cultivator clan shaken. After taking a deep breath, the clan's patriarch clasped hands, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Blood Master!"

Naruto didn't respond. The Heavenspan Dharma Eye on his forehead opened, and it was as if a curtain had been swept aside. He saw through all barriers within the valley, and quickly noticed that there was a necropolis hidden underground.

Within that necropolis were eight people seated cross-legged as they healed themselves. Although Naruto had never seen them before, based on their wounds, their clothing, and the fluctuations of Profound Stream Sect magic on them, he was sure who they were. Instantly, the jade slip in his hand began to glow brightly.

—

Chapter 292

Chapter 292

Chapter 292

Naruto looked down silently at the valley. After the tempering he had undergone in the Blood Stream Sect, he had become capable of acting ruthlessly, of cutting people down like grass. There weren't very many cultivators in this clan, and as for the people in the necropolis, they were all injured. With a simple order, he could wipe out the whole clan and the stragglers from the Profound Stream Sect.

After a moment of silence, he said, "You people already agreed to surrender and offer allegiance to the sect alliance. Why are you doing this…?"

His Heavenspan Dharma Eye began to shine as brightly as a sun, unleashing intense control power which instantly pierced all the way into the necropolis underneath the valley.

The eight injured Profound Stream Sect cultivators in the necropolis all began to tremble, and blue veins bulged out on their faces and necks. Hoarse shouts erupted from their mouths, and yet, their bodies weren't under their own control. Struggling the entire time, they reached up and then smashed their hands down onto the tops of their heads.

Popping sounds rang out as seven of them coughed up blood and then toppled over, dead. However, one of them, and old man, struggled free. Blood oozing out of his mouth, he shot out of the necropolis, an expression of shock on his face as he sped off in the opposite direction.

In response to the sudden development, expressions of shock and terror appeared on the faces of the cultivator clan members. As for the patriarch, his face went ashen, and he began to sway back and forth unsteadily as if he were about to pass out.

Before the old man from the Profound Stream Sect could get very far, Jia Lie shot after him in pursuit. Before long, a miserable shriek rang out, and then Jia Lie returned with the man's head. Murderous aura bristling, he hovered next to Naruto, looking down at the group in the valley and licking his lips as if he was imagining drinking their blood.

Jia Lie wasn't the only one; cultivators from both of the sects were doing similar things.

Silence filled the valley, and the bitter cultivators' despair grew more intense.

"This is war," Naruto said, "and there is no right or wrong. There are only different positions…. Take this as a warning. Follow our sect alliance. At the moment, there is no better option for you." With that, he waved his sleeve, and the blood sword began to fly off into the distance. The cultivators of the two sects cast cold glances at the cultivator clan before flying away.

After Naruto left, the cultivator clan stood there, feeling like they were in a dream. They had just been on the threshold of the gates of hell, and had somehow survived. Their hearts were still pounding with fear. After a long silence, the blank look in the eyes of the patriarch transformed into determination.

After looking around at his fellow clan members, he saw that many of them wore expressions of gratefulness. "That man," he thought, "must have been… the legendary Naruto. He truly is a Chosen. A single look from him killed all those people from the Profound Stream Sect…. He could have crushed us, but instead, let us go…. He threatened us, but at the same time, treated us well. Instead of causing us to hate him, we ended up feeling grateful…."

"Heh heh. If he keeps doing things that way, he'll reach amazing heights!" The old man gritted his teeth, and suddenly waved his right hand. Sword light erupted out, instantly slashing off the heads of three of his fellow clansmen!

It happened so quickly that the three victims didn't even have a chance to react.

"Henceforth," he announced, "the Hanyun Clan will follow the Sp

irit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect. Those three were inextricably linked to the Profound Stream Sect. By killing them, we sever all the old ties. Let that serve as a warning to any other Profound Stream Sect sympathizers!"

"If I hadn't stopped the war between the Spirit Stream Sect and the

Blood Stream Sect, then it wouldn't have been long before the Profound Stream Sect was hunting for stragglers just like I am now." Naruto sighed and looked around at the cultivators from the two sects. He suddenly realized that they were looking at him in a different way than before.

They seemed more passionate, and even more respectful. The way he'd killed the Profound Stream Sect stragglers, and then dealt with the Hanyun Clan, caused quite a few of the cultivators to approve of him even more than before.

Even Beihan Lie's attitude seem to have changed somewhat. There was something strange in his eyes when he looked at Naruto. As for Jia Lie and Master God-Diviner, they also glanced over at Naruto with odd looks.

Naruto smiled. He was aware that he had grown up quite a bit, and understood certain things much better than he had before. In some situations, he would do things that he didn't necessarily want to do, as long as it meant protecting his family, his friends, and his sect.

"My shoulders aren't broad enough to hold up the heavens. But I can certainly support my sect, my family, and my friends…."

Eyes shining brightly, he unleashed the power of his cultivation base, sending the blood sword rumbling through the air even faster than before. As it whistled along, they passed one cultivator clan after another that had surrendered. Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and countless heads turned to look at them as they passed.

When they found Profound Stream Sect cultivators, Naruto didn't actually have to do anything. The cultivators of the two sects would fly out to handle the situation. When it came to the cultivator clans involved, he didn't treat them all the same. Based on the observations he made, and his own judgement, some got the same treatment as the Hanyun Clan, but others ended up being wiped out.

That was the best way to cow the local populace and stabilize the conquered territory. It was also the only way that their forces on the front lines could continue to advance safely.

Soon, word spread about what Naruto was doing, and the cultivator clans began to prepare for his arrival. Slowly, the search for the Profound Stream Sect stragglers started to get more difficult. One option was to just destroy every clan on his list. However, that could destabilize the entire region behind the front lines. After all, the cultivator clans in question were not to be underestimated; there was a reason why the armies of the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect hadn't tangled with them during the initial invasion.

Furthermore, the complete and utter defeat of the Profound Stream Sect and their subsidiary clans was not the ultimate goal. The Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect wanted to absorb their power to strengthen themselves.

Three times in a row, they encountered cultivator clans who had completely sealed off their clan headquarters. No matter what Naruto said, or how angry he got, they refused to even respond to him. Thankfully, some of them offered up gifts to him, which he begrudgingly accepted.

Naruto was starting to feel very down. Looking at the mission jade slip, he frowned. The jade slip mentioned six particular cultivator clans regarding whom concrete evidence had been gathered, proving that they were not only harboring Profound Stream Sect cultivators, but were also planning insurrections.

"I don't get it. If the patriarchs have definite proof, why don't they just send people to wipe them out?" After thinking about the matter for a while, his eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh.

"Ah, now I understand. Dammit! How come I'm so slow on the uptake? Obviously the patriarchs are rewarding me by giving me a chance to extort some loot…. After I'm finished extorting them, the sect will send people over to destroy them!

"Hahaha! That's definitely what's going on!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto was more convinced than ever that he had just been muddle-headed before. He even decided that the blackmail aspect was an important part of his mission.

"The patriarchs are really great. Of course they want to reward me! Although, they could have just said so! There was no reason to be so vague about it." Feeling pleased, and looking forward to what was coming, he led his group of two hundred or so cultivators toward the next cultivator clan.

The following day, an emerald green mountain rose up in front of them. Glittering lights surrounded the mountain peak, which was obviously a powerful defensive spell formation.

He could immediately tell that this clan had done the same thing as the previous few clans, and had completely locked themselves down.

Standing there on the huge blood sword, Naruto said, "Xuanguang

Clan, I, Naruto, have come on official business–"

Before he could even finish speaking, rumbling sounds echoed out, and an enormous figure rose up above the mountain, a giant made of pure light.

The giant's eyes were closed, as if it were sleeping. However, moments later, a rumbling voice filled the air.

"Naruto, the Xuanguang Clan has sealed itself off to the world.

You're not welcome here!"

Immediately after the thunderous words echoed out, the giant slowly faded away, and the mountain went quiet. Obviously, they really had sealed themselves away.

Naruto wasn't very happy about being interrupted, but when he thought about the gift that would surely be coming moments later, he brightened a bit. Clearing his throat, he said, "I know you're completely sealed. But I can't just leave empty-handed. How about this: why don't you–"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted again. "Screw off!"

"Huh?" This was not the reaction he'd gotten from the other clans. Furthermore, he'd been interrupted a second time. He was really starting to get mad now.

"Are you really cursing at me? I never said anything unreasonable, did I? Look, I have a lot of people here with me, and we traveled a long way to get here. Why don't you–"

"Screw off!" The voice sounded even more enraged than before, and echoed out like thunder from the heavens.

"Fudge!" Naruto exclaimed. He had been interrupted three times in a row, and by this point, his fury was burning hot. How could this clan be so vile? Not only did they refuse to allow him to inspect their clan, they also refused to give him gifts, and even cursed him!

Looking around angrily, he said, "Sect Nieces and Nephews, this enemy is a crafty one, so we have to be even craftier. If we don't, how else will we accomplish our mission?!"

Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie all chuckled coldly inside.

"The Xuanguang Clan's spell formation draws upon all the spiritual energy in that mountain," Beihan Lie said coolly. "Even if we all attack it together, we wouldn't be able to break it open any time soon. If we rush things, it could destabilize the area behind the front lines. What exactly are we supposed to do?"

Everyone else looked over bleakly at Naruto.

Naruto was angrier than ever that the reward handed to him by the patriarchs was turning out to be so frustrating. After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth.

"Since they're being such bullies. I… I think I'll have to concoct some medicine!" The surrounding cultivators immediately began to tremble, and some of them even cried out in alarm. Within the blink of an eye, all two hundred of them backed up by 30 meters or so.

Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie were the fastest among the group. As soon as they heard Naruto mention concocting medicine, their faces fell, and they backed up as quickly as possible.

Chapter 292: I Must… Concoct Medicine!

Chapter 293

Chapter 293

Chapter 293: Plaguedevil Wreaks Havoc!

Naruto's jaw dropped, and he looked back and forth disappointedly.

"What are you guys doing…?" Coughing dryly, he continued, "It's for the sake of the mission! Besides, I'm really awesome at concocting medicine…."

People were already calling out advice.

"Sect Uncle Bai, there's no need to concoct any medicine, alright…?"

"Exalted Blood Master, let's just let this cultivator clan off the hook, okay…?"

Everyone all started talking at once, even Master God-Diviner.

Snorting coldly, Naruto waved his hand to produce a pill furnace.

"No way. I refuse to believe that they'll keep their doors closed to me!"

As soon as the pill furnace appeared, the surrounding cultivators of the two sects backed up even further. Naruto looked at the Xuanguang Clan, then chuckled darkly. Slapping the pill furnace, he produced a large quantity of medicinal plants and began concocting!

The disciples of the two sects were still backing up, panting, looks of fear flickering in their eyes. And yet, at the same time, they seemed to be looking forward to the outcome.

"What a tragedy for the Xuanguang Clan…."

"I can't believe they dared to provoke the Plaguedevil!"

"Did you guys know that back when Naruto concocted medicine in the Spirit Stream Sect, he invoked lightning from the heavens, and even acid rain…?"

"How could we not know? Back in the Blood Stream Sect, he almost blew up Lesser Marsh Peak!"

Naruto had a pill furnace, a bag full of flame crystals, and plenty of plants and vegetation. Considering his skill in the Dao of medicine, he quickly produced a batch of spirit medicine.

Based on what he recalled, this particular type of spirit medicine was one that he had first concocted on Corpse Peak, and could cause hallucinations. It only took a day before the pill furnace was trembling, and wisps of black smoke began to spread out from it.

When the disciples of the two sects saw the black smoke, they gasped and backed further away.

Even people in the Xuanguang Clan itself were starting to get nervous. They had heard of Naruto's nickname 'Plaguedevil,' and as such, were completely on guard. Although they had never faced an assault such as this one, they were ready.

Another half a day went by, and then Naruto threw his head back and roared as he slapped the pill furnace with both hands. A huge cloud of black smoke rose up, whereupon he waved his sleeve, sending it toward the Xuanguang Clan's mountain.

When the black smoke touched the glittering shield of light, the shield vibrated, but only blocked about half of the smoke. The rest passed right through. However, such a small amount of smoke was negligible considering the size of the mountain, and nothing much happened.

Naruto felt more down than ever, especially when he heard the jeering calls coming from the Xuanguang Clan.

"I always thought the Plaguedevil moniker sounded really impressive. But it turns out to be just for show. Naruto, our Xuanguang Clan might have surrendered to the Blood Stream Sect, but that doesn't mean you can come extort us any old time you want. You think we'll open our doors wide just because of your title? Screw off, and don't come back until you reach Core Formation!"

Naruto was now more irritated than ever. After glaring at the Xuanguang Clan's mountain for a moment, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"If one stream of smoke isn't enough, then I'll make a hundred! No, hundreds!" Considering how many people

were watching him, Naruto felt as if he had really lost some face. With that, he waved his right hand and began to concoct more medicine. This time, he produced even more black smoke. However, he didn't send it swirling toward the spell formation shield. Instead, he performed an incantation gesture, and at the same time, used his powers of gravity and repulsion to produce a glowing sphere.

Naruto's cultivation base had reached the point where he could prevent the sphere's power from shredding clothing to pieces. By inverting the power inward, it created a flowing cycle that made the sphere very suitable as a vessel to hold things.

Now, he poured smoke into it until it was completely full. Having accomplished that, Naruto waved his sleeve, sending the sphere shooting back toward Jia Lie.

"Take it!" he said, not even turning his head. Trembling with fear, Jia Lie caught the sphere. Then, Naruto continued to concoct. Astonishingly, five days passed in which he produced hundreds of the glowing spheres, all of them packed with hallucinatory smoke. Every sphere produced was tossed back to the group of two hundred cultivators.

When everyone was well armed, Naruto looked up at the Xuanguang Clan mountain, eyes bloodshot. Then he extended his right hand and pointed at the mountain.

"Xuanguang Clan," he yelled, "if you're that tough, then don't even think about coming out from behind your shield! Unleash the spheres!" Immediately, the cultivators launched the spheres with all the force they could muster, happy to be rid of the terrifying objects.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of beams of light were shooting toward the Xuanguang Clan's spell formation. As soon as they made contact, rumbling booms echoed out. The spheres shattered, and the powers of gravity and repulsion within them caused the shield to distort and ripple, breaking open numerous rifts.

Although the rifts quickly mended themselves, the hallucinatory smoke that belched out of the exploding spheres had plenty of time to pour into the spell formation.

Before long, cries of alarm began to rise up from the mountain, reaching a cacophony. Then, the mountain suddenly went silent. Naruto's eyes went wide as he looked over at the Xuanguang Clan. All of the two hundred or so cultivators at his back, including Beihan Lie, Master GodDiviner, and Jia Lie, were nervously doing the same thing, their eyes shining. This was their first time cooperating with Naruto in the act of concocting medicine, and considering they had personally unleashed the glowing spheres, they were eager to see the results.

After a protracted moment of silence, cackling laughter suddenly rose up from the mountain. Then the sound of weeping. And then roaring. All sorts of strange and unthinkable sounds could be heard.

The mere sounds were enough to cause Beihan Lie's skin to crawl. Gasps could be heard from the other cultivators, especially those from the Blood Stream Sect who had witnessed the tragedy of Corpse Peak.

The cultivators who had actually come from Corpse Peak had complicated expressions on their faces as they thought back to past events.

Three days later, the Xuanguang Clan surrendered. They didn't offer any stipulations; they simply opened up the mountain and received Naruto. In addition, they offered copious amounts of gifts. The fear and dread in the eyes of the their cultivators as they looked at Naruto couldn't have been more clear. Those three days had been a nightmare that they wouldn't forget for the rest of their lives….

The name Plaguedevil had now been established in the Heavencraft Continent, and the stories were already spreading….

Surprisingly, the cultivators of the two sects soon fell in love with this magic that only Naruto seemed capable of providing.

That was especially true of Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie.

Naruto was an honest and straightforward person, so he split up the extortion profits among all of his followers. Of course, he was quite pleased at how everyone seemed to approve of his tactics. As a result, he spent some time making more glowing spheres, for defensive purposes of course, until everyone had at least four or five….

There were different types of glowing spheres. Some had acid rain in them, some had hallucinatory smoke, some could summon lightning, and some would strike the victims with instant diarrhea….

Gradually, the general attitude of the entire team was influenced by Naruto. Even Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie were all subconsciously being corrupted….

Time passed. Two more months went by. During that time, there were a few injuries and casualties among the team. At one point during an inspection of one of the cultivator clans, they ran into a large group of Profound Stream Sect disciples who were just about to complete a large teleportation portal.

If that teleportation portal were completed, Profound Stream Sect cultivators from the front lines would be able to teleport into the area and cause major problems.

During the battle, the team tossed out a large number of his glowing spheres, then took advantage of the enemy's weakness to follow Bai

Xiaochun into battle. The result was an astonishing and shocking victory!

Although Naruto didn't go to the front lines to fight, his name spread far and wide throughout the conquered territories.

Furthermore, it wasn't just his glory that increased. The other cultivators in his team also benefited. Their ability to use long-range poison spheres, and the terrifying things that resulted, ensured that they gained much the same reputation. They fairly radiated fiendish, murderous auras as they dominated the enemy.

That caused them to grow even more fervently supportive of Naruto. They had truly fallen in love with this new style of battle that he had created.

Before they realized it, they had finished their mission, and their long path of destruction had led them very close to the front lines.

Naruto was surrounded by a completely transformed group of cultivators. The two months of fighting alongside him had changed them significantly.

Their bags of holding were packed with the spoils of war, and in addition, they had all grown very close to each other. Cultivators of both sects could often be seen laughing and chatting with each other, discussing which of the various poison spheres was the best. They even cooperated well with each other in battle.

A few months ago, no one in either sect would ever have believed that such a level of cooperation was possible.

However, it was a reality in Naruto's team.

Although Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie often had cold smirks on their faces, in their hearts, they viewed him differently than before, although none of them were quite sure exactly how.

That was especially true of Beihan Lie. As he looked around at the disciples, some of whom were in the Chakra Condensation stage, and some of whom were in Foundation Establishment, he was somewhat surprised to find that the previously injured and disorganized group now brimmed with battle prowess.

It was a battle prowess that surpassed that of some of the elite cultivators that he had seen on the front lines. Considering how much they loved this fighting style, he was sure that if they did go to the front lines, they would make a huge scene!

And all of that was because of Naruto!

Chapter 294

Chapter 294

Chapter 294: To The Front Lines

The war had reached a fever pitch on the Heavencraft Continent. Of the Profound Stream Sect's 29 temple headquarters, 28 had already been captured!

The last temple existed on what had once been the border of Pill Stream Sect territory. There it stood, tall and mighty, the final point of resistance.

It was located right in the middle of a sprawling mountain range that was even more majestic than the Luochen Mountains.

The mountain range was split in half, almost as if a giant as tall as the sky itself had cleaved it into two halves with the stroke of an axe. In the resulting gap, past generations of Profound Stream Sect patriarchs had paid an enormous price to erect a massive city!

That city was the final remaining temple headquarters of the Profound Stream Sect, and it was large enough to house millions of people. It was also protected by a vast number of spell formations. Virtually all of the surviving Profound Stream Sect cultivators were holed up in the city, which everyone knew would be the location of the final battle.

The army of the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect had been pushing the fight toward the city for a month already. They had attacked with incredible force, but this was the Profound Stream Sect's last stand.

Even with the bedraggled remnants of the Pill Stream Sect attacking the city from the other side of the mountain range, it had not fallen. The Profound Stream Sect was holding out until the bitter end, hoping that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would lose patience and intervene!

After all, the longer things dragged out in the Lower Reaches, the longer the Sky River Court would have to prepare in the Middle Reaches!

Because of that, the patriarchs of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects had initially intended to use a blitzkrieg strategy to end the war as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, their momentum had stalled just outside of this final enormous city.

Around the time that the two sides reached a deadlock, Naruto completed his mission. The majority of the Profound Stream Sect stragglers had been rooted out. In the process, Naruto and his two hundred followers had packed their bags of holding full of cultivation resources.

By this point, the entire group radiated the air of riches, and made a spectacular sight wherever they went. Eventually, they found themselves on a vast plain that was the final stretch before reaching the front line itself.

Even from this distance, they could detect the fluctuations of battle, and could hear the rumble of magic being unleashed.

The wind carried with it the reek of blood, and across the plain in front of them were strewn numerous corpses and patches of gore.

Naruto stood at the edge of the plain, vigilantly studying the scene spread out in front of him. There were no subversive cultivator clans here, and in fact, there were even squads of Blood Stream Sect cultivators moving about here and there. However, Naruto had developed a keen sense for danger, and could tell that by crossing this plain and heading to the front lines, there would definitely be danger.

The sense of danger weighed down on him heavily, especially when he saw the distortions in the air off in the distance, evidence of the fierce fighting that was going on. He couldn't help but think of his past experiences with the Luochen Clan, in the Fallen Sword Abyss, and in the trial by fire for blood master.

Naruto wasn't the only one who was on guard. The other cultivators around him felt the same, especially Beihan Lie, Master GodDiviner, and Jia Lie. Those three had been to the front lines before, and knew that fighting with the Profound Stream Sect was a very dangerous affair. If one wasn't careful, one could end up dead. After all, this was a war in which

whole sects faced the threat of extermination. In the fighting, no quarter was given, and one side or the other would end up dead.

At the moment, Naruto had two choices. He could head back into the conquered territory, or proceed onward to the front line to fight with the Profound Stream Sect cultivators.

"What should we do now?" he asked aloud. As far as he was concerned, taking risks wasn't the best thing to do. If he wasn't careful, he could lose his poor little life. Clearing his throat, he continued, "If we go back…."

Before he could finish speaking, his heart skipped a beat as intense murderous auras sprang up from the cultivators around him. Clearly, they were itching to fight.

Naruto blinked a few times as everyone turned to look at him with strange looks on their faces, as if they couldn't believe what he had just said. "If we go back into the conquered territory…."

Beihan Lie frowned. Master God-Diviner and Jia Lie's jaws dropped.

Naruto's heart skipped another beat, and regret began to rise up inside of him. However, he plastered a proud smile onto his face and stirred his cultivation base, causing his energy to soar. Looking more steel-veined than ever, he swished his sleeve dramatically and said, "If we go back into the conquered territory, how could we live with ourselves? We're cultivators, right? What are we afraid of, dying? Let's go to the front lines and fight the Profound Stream Sect to the death!"

Then he laughed bravely. The murderous auras of the surrounding cultivators erupted.

"Starting this day, we will fly our banner on the battlefield!" Laughing uproariously, he stepped out onto the plain.

Beihan Lie's heart trembled. Taking a deep breath, he also began to laugh heartily as he followed Naruto. Jia Lie and Master GodDiviner didn't suspect anything at all. Based on their experiences, Blood Master Nightcrypt was a violent and ruthless individual.

The other cultivators of the two sects also began to laugh vigorously, and soon, the entire group was moving across the plain toward the front lines.

With everyone clustered around him, Naruto looked completely extraordinary. However, inside, he was crying. He had no desire at all to go to the front-line battlefield. Unfortunately, he felt as if he had no other choice. His hand was being forced. Thus, he led his team across the plain, gnashing his teeth the entire way.

They went along for a few days, and Naruto's nervousness mounted. It reached the point where even the slightest stirring of a branch or blade of grass would cause his heart to leap with fear. One afternoon, a group of a few dozen beams of light suddenly appeared off in the distance.

It was a squad of Profound Stream Sect cultivators, and as soon as they noticed Naruto, their expressions flickered. However, instead of retreating, their faces filled with the desire to do battle. Roaring in rage and hatred, they closed it at top speed.

"People from the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects! Fight them to the death!'

"Die!" Among the dozens of cultivators were eight in the Foundation

Establishment stage. The entire group was clearly dead set on fighting.

Naruto was startled, but before he could even open his mouth to say anything, more than half of the cultivators surrounding him threw out glowing spheres. Upon reaching the Profound Stream Sect cultivators, the spheres exploded.

The Profound Stream Sect cultivators all had different reactions. Some of them suddenly looked around blankly. Some of them howled madly at the tops of their lungs. Some of them clutched at their throats. Some of them were clearly hallucinating, and started lurching about.

As they were thrown into chaos, the cultivators surrounding Naruto shot forward with flashing eyes and vicious grins. Booms rang out as the slaughter commenced.

The entire process lasted for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. Naruto watched as his zealous followers then tidied up the battlefield, sweeping up the bags of holding and distributing their contents to the rest of the team. Naruto was suddenly struck with the sensation that the group he led was as fierce as a pack of wolves or tigers.

Naruto took his share, and then declared, "Excellent. This is how we cultivators should be. This place is newly conquered territory! Let's clean things up here and make a name for ourselves on the Heavencraft Continent!"

The surrounding cultivators' expressions brightened, and within moments, they were speeding away off into the distance.

Half a month flew by, during which time Naruto and his team encountered groups of Profound Stream Sect disciples on four or five occasions. Their numbers ranged from dozens to hundreds.

At first, they seemed ferocious, but after the glowing spheres were unleashed, their ranks scattered. Naruto and his people met success in every encounter, and their killing auras grew stronger.

By now, Naruto wasn't nervous at all. He spent most of his time replenishing the glowing spheres. As they proceeded along, the fighting grew more intense. At one point, they encountered a group of nearly 300 Profound Stream Sect cultivators. Although the fighting was fierce, Naruto's side easily attained victory.

The glowing spheres were so effective that very few cultivators could escape their effects.

News spread until the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects as a whole had heard, and even the Profound Stream Sect forces knew of what was happening. However, because of the critical state of the war, they couldn't pay it much attention.

Naruto felt extremely relaxed. Currently, he was reclining comfortably on the huge blood sword, surrounded by shouting cultivators.

"The Middle Peak blood master has infinite magical powers! The Spirit

Stream Heaven-Dao expert can shake the whole world!"

At one point, a beam of light appeared off in the distance. It was a young man who held a stack of paper talismans in his hand. He was coughing up blood, and his face was ashen. Clearly, he was in a bad situation. Every few seconds, he would toss one of the paper talismans out to block the people that were chasing him. Those paper talismans were the only reason he was able to keep some distance between him and his pursuers.

Hot on his tail was a group of about 200 enemy cultivators.

At the head of that large group was another young man with bristling killing intent. He was only in mid Foundation Establishment, but his murderous aura made him seem as strong as late Foundation Establishment.

As soon as Naruto saw him, his eyes widened. "Nine-Isles!"

Then his eyes flashed as he realized that the cultivator being chased was none other than Xu Xiaoshan!

Chapter 295

Chapter 295

Chapter 295: Take Them And Have Fun!

Xu Xiaoshan was so far away that he couldn't quite make out who was in the group up ahead of him. However, he could see the enormous blood sword, and sensed the unique blood auras of Blood Stream Sect cultivators. Without any hesitation, he shot toward them.

When he made out Naruto, he looked like he was about to weep with joy.

"Naruto!" he shouted.

At almost the same time, Nine-Isles also spotted Naruto. At first his eyes widened, but then they shone with joy!

"I can't believe Naruto's here! I thought I would capture Xu

Xiaoshan today, but who could have guessed that we would also run into Naruto? He's dead!" Nine-Isles laughed loudly as he led his group of roughly 200 cultivators forward. If they had encountered some of the elite forces of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, it might have been a different story. However, he could tell that Naruto's group was filled with cultivators of all different levels. Other than Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie, the rest of them were obviously disciples of no note in their sects.

Nine-Isles was completely confident in being able to wipe such a group out. Laughing loudly, he continued to chase Xu Xiaoshan toward Naruto.

Quite a few among Nine-Isles' group of cultivators recognized Naruto, and although they were shocked, their desire to kill him burned bright.

All of them knew that this was a war of sect extermination, and they were aware that one of the main reasons why the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects had struck an alliance was because of Naruto!

Xu Xiaoshan also realized this, and it caused him to hesitate for a moment. However, he had no other options. If he didn't join Naruto, he would die. Indecision flickered in his eyes, and he cursed himself for getting into this situation. But then he realized that Naruto's expression was the same as always, and that the cultivators in his group didn't seem scared at all. In fact, many of them were even looking at Nine-Isles and his cultivators with contempt and derision.

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshan muttered, confused.

Naruto clasped his hands behind his back. Looking very proud of himself, he said, "Fear not, Xiaoshan! The Blood Lord is here to save you!"

Clearing his throat, he looked at the cultivators surrounding him, then waved his hand outward. To Xu Xiaoshan's shock, all the cultivators on Naruto's team began to produce glowing spheres.

"Attack!" Naruto roared. The cultivators of the two sects roared in response, and began to throw the glowing spheres. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of them were flying through the air like shooting stars.

Nine-Isles' jaw dropped, and the group behind him hesitated for a moment. Some in the group unleashed attacks to block the glowing sphere, but the spheres seemed to be impervious to magical techniques. They began to explode, sending vast quantities of smoke out to cover Nine-Isles and everyone around him.

The smoke instantly reduced the visibility in the area, but it didn't stop the miserable shrieks and howls from echoing out.

"My stomach…."

"Heavens! I've become an immortal…."

"Stay away everyone! Get away from me! What is this place…?"

Xu Xiaoshan's expression flickered, and he cried out, "Corpse Peak

Plague Smoke!"

Trembling visibly, he screamed and used all the power he could muster to fly away from the smoke, his face as white as a sheet of paper. He more than anyone was intimately familiar with that smoke, and his experiences had been especially memorable. The scene which

had played out because of that smoke was like a nightmare that would haunt him for the rest of his life. To see it showing up again here filled his heart with terror.

However, even as he fled from the smoke, the air began to clear. The 200 Profound Stream Sect disciples became visible, and it was a bizarre scene. Some of them were waving their arms, some seemed drunk, some looked as ashen as death, and some were surrounded by noxious odors.

Some were even hugging each other. As for Nine-Isles, he hovered there trembling, surrounded by a rippling shield of light that somehow protected him from the smoke. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing around him.

"What divine ability is this? Impossible! It's impossible! How could there be a magic like this!?" Profound fear of Naruto rose up in his heart. He suddenly thought back to the Fallen Sword Abyss, and it provoked a hoarse scream. Before Naruto could even attack, he pulled out a jade pendant and pushed down to activate it.

Seven-colored light spread out, along with cracking sounds.

Teleportation power surged, wrapping Nine-Isles up to teleport him away.

Naruto's pupils constricted. He was well aware that jade pendants which could teleport Foundation Establishment cultivators off of the battlefield were extremely valuable to any sect. Virtually priceless. He quickly opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, sending a golden beam of light shooting toward the departing Nine-Isles.

As soon as the golden beam of light slammed into Nine-Isles, he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Although he was still teleported away, the control power exerted by Naruto's Heavenspan Dharma Eye managed to grab onto his arm and rip it clean off of his shoulder.

Even as Nine-Isles was whisked away, Naruto's followers began to attack the cultivators who had remained behind.

Beihan Lie looked over at one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who was clutching at his stomach, a noxious odor surrounding him. "I remember you! You were one of the people who ganged up on me on the front lines!"

Grinning viciously, he closed in for the kill.

Jia Lie and Master God-Diviner unleashed magical techniques with murderous intent.

It was the same with all the other cultivators, and furthermore, by cooperating, they ensured that their own group sustained virtually no injuries.

Naruto's team had become intimately familiar with combat and fighting. Before long, the miserable shrieks faded away, and the fighting was over.

The only thing Naruto regretted was that Nine-Isles had escaped. As for Xu Xiaoshan, he was so completely shaken by what he had just seen that he forgot to breathe. Then he noticed that the cultivators of the two sects were all cooperating in the fighting. He even saw Beihan Lie and Master God-Diviner working together to fight an enemy.

"How is this even possible…?" he gasped, rubbing his eyes to clear them.

An hour later, the battlefield had been cleared of loot, and the group was on their way again. Xu Xiaoshan joined them, flying along next to Naruto and offering numerous fawning words of praise.

"Blood Lord Nightcrypt? Junior Patriarch Naruto? Sect Uncle Bai? Um, what do you think about giving me some of those glowing spheres everyone used back there…?"

Naruto looked very pleased with himself. He felt quite a sense of accomplishment at how his team was fighting so hard and well together.

"It's all a big meritorious service on my part…." he sighed to himself. Looking over at Xu Xiaoshan, he waved his sleeve and threw him a few glowing spheres.

"Take them and have fun!"

Xu Xiaoshan gingerly took the glowing spheres, heart pounding with anticipation. He couldn't wait to run into some Profound Stream Sect cultivators to use them on. He would show those Profound Stream Sect cultivators how awesome the Plaguedevil's poison smoke was!

Time flew by. Another two months passed. The war had been going on for half a year already, but the deadlock still hadn't been broken. Furthermore, more and more small-scale battles were being fought throughout the Heavencraft Continent. Most of those battles were between groups that numbered in the dozens or hundreds.

Naruto's name spread far and wide during that time. Every single battle he fought ended in victory. Eventually, his glowing poison spheres were also becoming famous. Profound Stream Sect cultivators on all fronts of the battle knew of the terrifying name of the Plaguedevil.

Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie also earned their own glory.

As for Xu Xiaoshan, he joined the group a bit late, but also rose to fame. He fell in love with Naruto's glowing spheres, and used them more enthusiastically than anyone else, especially the ones that induced hallucinations….

As for the Profound Stream Sect's patriarchs, and the other leaders holed up in their final headquarters, they also heard of the glowing spheres. However, all they could do was gnash their teeth; none of them dared to go out and fight.

Not even the Profound Stream Sect's prime elders and legacy echelon cultivators could shake their fear of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects. All of them were waiting for the final decisive battle to show their faces.

Everything was reaching a boiling point. Naruto's fame grew, and his group of followers grew more and more zealous as they wiped out the teams of Profound Stream Sect cultivators who still lurked about. Even the patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect were shocked by how things were playing out.

—

Chapter 296

Chapter 296

Chapter 296: You're Alive?!

Dusk was falling, but it couldn't darken the excitement that surged in Naruto's heart. Looking very pleased with himself, he sat crosslegged atop the blood sword, pointing out as he said, "Get 'em, boys!"

He felt wonderful inside and out, and powerful too. He couldn't help but think back to the events of the Fallen Sword Abyss, in which he'd led the Spirit Stream Sect disciples to grab all the entrances into the sword.

"What a wonderful memory!" he thought, sighing. But then he remembered how, after he helped all the disciples enter the sword, he ended up being caught alone outside. "I shouldn't jinx myself! But then again, things are different in this situation. I have two hundred fierce, powerful cultivators with me."

Naruto looked around at the people around him. Xu Xiaoshan was especially impressive, with glowing poison spheres hanging all over him, ready to be thrown out at a moment's notice. Naruto couldn't help but approve.

Beihan Lie had changed too…. Although he looked the same, he had learned to smile. As for Jia Lie and Master God-Diviner, they were cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect, and had been scary to begin with.

However, as the months passed, they had become even scarier.

If those four had experienced such changes, there was no need to even mention everyone else. Most of them had come to resemble Naruto in many ways. Normally, they spent their time laughing and smiling, and although they feared death to some extent, when they needed to fight, they unleashed their poison smoke and fought ferociously.

The mere sight of everyone around him caused Naruto to sigh emotionally.

"Thanks to my leadership, these brothers and sisters finally realize that cultivators should cherish life. As long as you have your life, you have everything." Sighing again, he slapped his bag of holding and pulled out the little turtle to shake around like he usually did. Over the course of the preceding months, he had taken time every day to shake the turtle like a rag doll. He had even come to find that the sound of the turtle's limbs and head knocking against its shell was very pleasing to the ears.

Occasionally, a fragrant aroma would waft out after a bit of knocking, which would cause massive amounts of spiritual energy to flow toward him. Because of that, Naruto's cultivation improved on a daily basis. His followers also benefited from the influxes of spiritual energy.

"This damned turtle does have some use after all." He looked down at the turtle, at its protruding head and limbs, and its stumpy tail, and gave it another vigorous shake. That was when he realized that something seemed off about it. The knocking sounds were different from before, and the turtle's extremities all seemed to be stiffer than before.

"Huh?" Surprised, Naruto shook the turtle even harder. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, the stiffened extremities went loose once again, and the knocking sounds went back to normal. Pleased, Naruto went on to finish his cultivation session.

The next afternoon, he led his group flying along through the front lines region. It was a vast area, and that, coupled with his illustrious fame, made it so that they often went days without encountering any Profound Stream Sect cultivators.

Naruto was starting to get bored. One day, he noticed Xu Xiaoshan and Beihan Lie bragging to each other about their achievements in battle. Naruto was interested in jumping into the conversation, but then he realized that they were actually looking at him furtively and intentionally ignoring him. Not very happy, he snorted and cons

idered reducing their glowing sphere supply by seventy percent. At the same time, he subconsciously shook the little turtle back and forth like usually. Suddenly, he frowned.

"Hey, why is the sound different?" Looking down at the turtle, he poked its extremities a few times with his finger and found that, yet again, they had turned stiff.

"Who knows how long this little turtle has been dead. Poor thing. Its limbs are even starting to stiffen up now." After some thought, he decided that he should try to help the turtle. After all, despite being dead, it had been of much assistance to his cultivation over the past half year or so.

Gripping the shell tightly, he started shaking it as hard as possible. He used quite a bit of force and shook it far more quickly than he usually did. Within the space of a few breaths of time, the fragrant aroma once again appeared, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to rush over.

However, Naruto wasn't finished yet. He kept shaking the turtle as hard as he could, determined to get its body to loosen up again.

The process lasted for the time it takes three incense sticks to burn.

Finally, the little turtle's body once again went loose, and a smile broke out on Naruto's face.

"If your spirit exists in the heavens somewhere, there's no need for you to thank me. I'll help you stay loose for as long as possible. I'll make sure that your fleshly body doesn't decay, not for all eterni–" Before he could finish speaking, the turtle suddenly lifted its head and opened its eyes. Its pupils seemed to be spinning, and yet, it was possible to see hatred and madness in its eyes as it suddenly opened its mouth and snapped at Naruto's hand!

Startled, Naruto immediately dropped the turtle and pulled his hand back.

The turtle's bite seemed to be fueled by indescribable hatred. When its jaws closed onto the air, a snapping sound rang out that shocked all of the cultivators in the area.

Naruto felt like his scalp was about to explode. If the turtle had successfully bitten one of his fingers, it would surely have shattered the bones. Not even his Heavenly Demon Body could stand up to snapping power like that.

"Y-y-y… you're alive!? You're not dead?!" Naruto edged backward, disbelief playing out on his face. He had studied that turtle for a very long time, and had never detected any life force in it at all. It had definitely been a corpse before, but as of this moment, it was alive.

Naruto's head was spinning, and his eyes were wide with incredulity.

The turtle wobbled a bit as it flew up into the air to float in front of Naruto. Its limbs were trembling, and its eyes were bloodshot.

Apparently, it was working hard just not to pass out. Glaring at Bai

Xiaochun, it howled, "You're the dead one! Your whole family's dead! Your whole sect is dead! Everybody named Uzumaki is dead! I hate you, you jerk!"

The cultivators of the two sects all looked over in shock. They were familiar with that little turtle; they all remembered seeing Naruto shake it around over the past few months, causing the energy of heaven and earth to rush over.

But now, the little turtle was actually alive!

Naruto took a deep breath and was about to say something, but then he noticed what appeared to be tears welling up in the turtle's eyes. The turtle had looked charming to begin with, with big, round eyes. Now, it seemed to be teetering on the verge of hysteria as it screamed, "Lord Turtle woke up five months ago! Why did you have to go around shaking me every single day!? There was one day when you shook me a thousand times! Don't you ever get tired? Lord Turtle almost threw up that day before he passed out again!"

The little turtle was shaking, and was so enraged that heatwaves were rising up from his body. It looked almost like he was about to explode.

Naruto already felt bad, so he quickly tried to explain. "Uh, I… I didn't do it on purpose! I thought you were dead! If you weren't dead, why didn't you say something earlier? Also, what was that fragrant aroma…?"

"Oh, you just had to bring up the fragrant aroma, didn't you!? AAARRRGHHHH! That's the spiritual energy Lord Turtle has been building up for years and years! You shook out tons of it! That was my collection! I spent tens of thousands of years building it up! ARGH! I hate you! I can't live under the same sky as you!" The enraged little turtle once again lunged toward Naruto to try and bite him. "I'm gonna bite you to death!"

Shocked, Naruto dodged to the side, but the turtle kept chasing him, snapping at him over and over again. Xu Xiaoshan, Beihan Lie, Jia Lie, and Master God-Diviner were all completely shocked, as were the other cultivators.

At first, Naruto was terrified at being attacked in such away. But then his expression flickered, and he spun in place. Murderous aura erupting, he shouted, "Enough!"

"No, it's not enough! Dammit! Lord Turtle is gonna slap you so black and blue you'll never recover!"

Naruto's jaw dropped. This turtle's language was definitely unique. Clearly, he wasn't about to let the matter drop. Backing up, Naruto quickly said, "Wait, let me explain!"

The little turtle rolled its eyes contemptuously and then said, "Oh no, you stay away from me. I have germophobia!"

"Huh? Germophobia?" Naruto was once again shocked, and the other onlookers were similarly stunned. But then, their expressions slowly began to turn into awe. For someone to be able to say something so profoundly insulting, but not use any obscenities, was something that none of them could ever hope to do.

Chapter 297

Chapter 297

Chapter 297: Heaven-Damned Little Turtle, I Hate You!

"Y-y-you…." Despite wracking his brain, Naruto couldn't think of any comeback. This turtle was simply too hurtful. Virtually every word out of his mouth was an insult.

That was especially true of what he had just said. To say he was germophobic and didn't want to talk to Naruto was an obvious insult to Naruto himself.

Rage burned in Naruto's eyes, and just when he was about to offer a response, the little turtle suddenly looked at him sympathetically. Shaking his head, he said, "Ah, some people have to be insulted really blatantly, otherwise they don't realize they're being insulted. Make things even slightly cerebral, and it takes them forever to realize they're being taunted."

Naruto was on the verge of exploding.

"Sharp-tongued blowhard!" he howled. "Bastard of a turtle! Y-y-you…."

However, the look of sympathy in the turtle's eyes grew even deeper.

Sighing, he casually said, "Finished with your self-introduction?"

The words crushed down onto Naruto with the weight of Mount Tai, like lightning on a sunny day. Trembling as if he had been struck physically, he was literally at a loss for words. All of a sudden, he realized that in terms of ability to insult people, this little turtle existed on a different plane than him. It was like the difference between heaven and earth, or the difference between mortals and cultivators….

They were different worlds….

Naruto wasn't the only one who felt like that. The other cultivators of the two sects were all left gasping. They had never encountered someone who could speak so bitingly. Xu Xiaoshan's eyes went wide as he stared at the little turtle. To him, it seemed almost godlike.

Beihan Lie felt the same way. He had never before seen Naruto in such a predicament. Jia Lie was going wild with joy, and although Master God-Diviner looked shocked, inwardly, he was getting very excited.

Regardless, everyone had already decided that they would avoid talking to the little turtle at all costs….

Naruto waved his hand, causing blood Chakra to explode out toward the little turtle. However, before the blood Chakra even reached it, the turtle suddenly shrank back into his shell. A bang rang out as the blood Chakra hit the shell, then faded away, leaving behind not even the tiniest scratch.

However, the turtle's muffled voice could still be heard from inside the shell.

"Bursting with rage, yet empty inside. If you don't vent a bit, you'll end up dead. Listen up Bai, you little whippersnapper, Lord Turtle has some advice. Why don't you go build a crystal wall for yourself? If you keep going down this path, it's not healthy…." 1

Naruto's jaw dropped. He actually had no idea what the little turtle was talking about, but he was sure that it wasn't anything good. The fact that he didn't even understand how he was being insulted got him even more mad than before. Suddenly, he thought back to how the little turtle had just talked about people not understanding how they were being insulted.

"I'm gonna concoct you into a pill!" Naruto raged. Waving his right hand, he summoned a pill furnace, grabbed the turtle, and then threw it inside. Eyes bloodshot, he pulled out a pile of earthflame stones and immediately began to try to concoct the little turtle into a pill, right there on top of the blood sword.

Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the surrounding cultivators. Considering how Naruto almost seemed to have gone mad, though, none of them dared to interrupt him. Everyone edged back until they w

ere about 300 meters away.

For the following few days, Naruto concocted like mad. Soon, his hair was in disarray, and he felt like he was on the verge of exploding. However, no matter what methods he used, he couldn't get the little turtle to melt. Occasionally, the little turtle would even hurl insults out from inside the furnace.

"You call this pill concocting? If you think this heat can melt Lord Turtle, you might as well stop dreaming. Look, whippersnapper, why don't you try again after practicing cultivation for 10,000 years or so?!"

"Hey hey. Not bad! Not bad at all! You realized Lord Turtle was hungry, so you threw some spirit plants in for me to eat. Keep it up, whippersnapper. I'm starting to like you!"

"Add some heat! Come on, Lord Turtle is freezing here! Heat, man, I need heat!"

Naruto was descending into complete madness. He felt like he was about to collapse, and had a mind to simply throw the little turtle away. However, it was a valuable treasure that he had only acquired after suffering untold hardships. He couldn't just give it up….

And yet, he couldn't just allow things to go on the way they were. He continued to stew over the matter for two days, until he suddenly realized that the little turtle hadn't said anything for quite some time.

"Hmm?" he muttered, looking surprised. Everyone else in the area was also astonished. They had actually gotten used to the little turtle's voice recently, so the sudden silence seemed odd.

Feeling a bit suspicious, Naruto cooled down the earthflame and opened the pill furnace to find that it was completely empty….

Well, it wasn't completely empty. There were some turtle droppings inside….

However, the little turtle was nowhere to be seen. By means of some unknowable method, he had somehow disappeared into thin air.

A very unsightly expression could be seen on Naruto's face, especially when he looked at the turtle droppings. He really wanted to beat that turtle flat into the ground….

"Hmmph! Well, I'm glad he's gone. I'll just pretend I never even picked him up to begin with!" His heart was filled with many mixed emotions as he gritted his teeth and put his pill furnace away. Finally, the other cultivators felt comfortable enough to get a bit closer to the blood sword.

Another five days passed. Naruto hadn't seen a single trace of the little turtle, and had dismissed his disappearance from his mind. Although he was a bit disappointed at losing it, when he thought about his maddening way of talking, he realized that overall, the fact that he had fled was a good thing.

His mood gradually got better, and his spirits lifted. One afternoon, just when he was getting everyone ready to continue along through the front lines territory, a golden beam of light suddenly shot up into the air off in the distance.

At the same time, the aura of Heavenspan River water also exploded out in all directions. Heaven and earth began to tremble, and the sky distorted. Many of the blood clouds on the battlefield were swept away, and the Spirit Stream Sect's white sun twisted, causing the black raven inside to tremble.

The Blood Stream Sect's reserve power, the ghastly scarecrow, also began to tremble. The same thing happened to the Profound Stream Sect's enormous city headquarters.

All patriarchs of the three sects who were currently in the Heavencraft Continent all turned their heads at the same time to see what was happening.

Naruto was quite close to the golden light, and felt the vibrations even more acutely. That was especially true considering that he cultivated the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, which was built upon the foundation of absorbing Heavenspan River water. Because of that, he was more in tune with the Heavenspan River than ordinary cultivators.

"That's…." Naruto gasped. The other cultivators around him were so shocked they were trembling. And that was when all of them, Naruto included, saw…

Another beam shooting toward Naruto from the expanding golden light.

As the beam of light got closer, a voice suddenly echoed out, "Dammit! You trifling little creature. Last time Lord Turtle took a nap, you were a wimp, and the nap before that, your dad was also a wimp!"

As soon as Naruto heard that voice, he was shaken to the core, and his mind began to spin. It was obviously the voice of the damned little turtle.

Furthermore, it was now possible to see that within the majestic golden light was a gargantuan crocodile!

It was at least 30,000 meters long, and completely golden. Its majesty was virtually impossible to describe, and it was clearly enraged, its roar echoing out louder than thunder from the heavens. 2

It was so angry that Naruto could see how bloodshot its eyes were. He gasped, his scalp tingling so hard it felt like it would explode.

This was the very same crocodile he had seen back when he was in the Chakra Condensation stage, a terrifying entity that lived within the water of the Heavenspan River.

Before Naruto could even react, the little turtle shot toward him with explosive speed. As he closed in, he sucked his extremities in, becoming a turtle shell that then disappeared into Naruto's bag of holding.

"Uhh…."

Naruto looked up with wide eyes at the distant crocodile, which was currently staring at him angrily. Clearly, it recognized him…. When it realized that Naruto was the master of the little turtle, it let out a shocking roar that caused the sky to dim, and a huge wind to kick up.

"Senior Goldcroc, I… I'm not the turtle's master! Really, I'm not…."

He wanted to drag the turtle out of his bag of holding, but when he looked inside, he couldn't find a single trace of him. There was no more time to think, as the terrifying crocodile was currently heading in his direction. A pair of wings popped out behind Naruto as he fled at top speed.

On the verge of tears, he screamed, "Heaven-damned little turtle, I hate you!"

The other cultivators had long since fled, and were sympathetically watching Naruto from a distance….

—

Even after doing a bunch of research, I couldn't determine exactly what the "build a crystal wall" is referring to. I think it's referencing the magical crystal walls that you see in animated shows sometimes. It's either that, or supposed to be something incomprehensible. I'm not going to bug Er Gen about something minor like this, so I'll leave it up to your imagination The golden crocodile appeared earlier in chapters 48 and 217

Chapter 298

Chapter 298

Chapter 298: Senior Goldcroc, Listen To Me, Sir!

Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot as he fled for his life. With his Protomagnetic Wings and the strength of his Heavenly Demon Body, he was capable of incredible speed.

In fact, he moved so quickly that he turned into a blur, a beam of light that was almost instantly far off into the distance.

"It's really not me…." he howled. Unfortunately, the golden crocodile was just as fast. In the blink of an eye, it was right on top of Naruto, filling the entire area with golden light.

Naruto felt like his scalp was about to explode, and he was trembling in fear. "Senior Goldcroc, listen to me, sir! I also hate that little turtle, alright!? You and me, we're not enemies! Our… our enemy is that damned turtle!"

At that point, the golden crocodile let out a powerful roar.

It sounded like thunder from the heavens, causing everything to shake violently. Naruto's eardrums were on the verge of popping, and with a miserable shriek, he shot onward with increased speed.

However, before he could get very far, the enraged crocodile's eyes flashed with cold light, and its mouth snapped open. That mouth seemed to become heaven and earth as it loomed over Naruto, casting everything below into darkness.

A powerful, fishy aroma blasted over Naruto, and his eyes went wide as he slowly looked up. Then he screamed.

From a distance, it was possible to see the enormous, 30,000-meter-long golden crocodile with its mouth open, and Naruto right in the middle!

Compared to the gargantuan crocodile, Naruto was like a tiny bug….

In the blink of an eye, the golden crocodile's mouth began to close as it prepared to consume Naruto. Naruto was screaming, his eyes completely bloodshot. In this moment of critical danger, he resorted to his Mountain Shaking Bash to break free, risking everything to try to get out of the crocodile's closing mouth.

Naruto felt like his heart was about to explode, and he really was about to start crying. A massive crashing sound echoed out behind him as the crocodile's jaws slammed shut.

Deep in his bones, he hated the little turtle for setting him up and getting this crocodile to come after him. Were it not for the fact that the turtle was nowhere to be found in his bag of holding, he would definitely have pulled it out and tossed it into the crocodile's mouth.

"We really aren't enemies! I… I… oh right, I've absorbed water from the Heavenspan River! Look! I have the aura of the Heavenspan River on me!" Trembling, Naruto unleashed the aura of the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, hoping to convince the crocodile that they were on the same team….

It was hard to say for sure, but it seemed that the aura of the

Heavenspan River worked. In almost the same moment that he unleashed it, the golden crocodile's eyes flickered with a strange light, and it stopped in place.

Naruto took advantage of that brief pause to blast forward, putting a bit of distance between himself and the golden crocodile. By this point, he was panting for breath, but before he could do anything else, a cold light flashed in the crocodile's eyes, and it lunged forward again with gaping maw.

The fishy aroma washed over Naruto once more. Screaming, he decided to throw caution to the wind, and opened his third eye. With the power of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye in full force, he looked back at the golden crocodile.

In that instant, his jaw dropped. Shockingly, the crocodile was actually not a crocodile! It had been formed from water from the Heavenspan River, and emanated the same fluctuations as the river! A moment later,

though, the images in front of him changed again, and it transformed back into the golden crocodile.

There was little time for thought. He unleashed the control power of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye against the crocodile. It was in that moment that the crocodile's mouth snapped shut a second time, barely missing Naruto.

However, the resulting blast of air sent Naruto tumbling head over heels, face pale.

Time passed. Two hours later, the golden crocodile was still chasing Naruto. It was hard to determine what exactly it was thinking. Despite how it was pursuing Naruto, it didn't seem to actually want to kill him. However, every time it opened its huge mouth, cold sweat broke out on Naruto's forehead.

Eventually, Naruto realized that the crocodile didn't seem to be trying to kill him, more just mess with him. Every time it closed its mouth, the blast of air would send him spinning off into the distance.

However, despite the fact that it wasn't trying to kill him, Naruto could also tell that if he didn't evade quickly enough, he really would be swallowed up…. He felt very wronged. Compared to this gigantic crocodile, he was like a baby. If the giant thing wasn't careful, it could definitely end his poor little life.

"Stop messing around…." he howled. He really was afraid that the crocodile's messing around would end up killing him.

He was scowling on the verge of tears as the golden crocodile once again opened its mouth. Naruto was virtually scared witless, and was just about to flee when something new happened. A long water dragon burst out from inside the crocodile's throat, charging toward Naruto and then crashing into him.

This wasn't ordinary water, it was Heavenspan River water. Any other person would have been killed in body and soul. But because Naruto cultivated the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, he was much more used to Heavenspan River water. In the blink of an eye, most of his clothing was dissolved. Thankfully, his bag of holding was made from high-quality materials, so it ended up only being damaged a little bit.

It was still painful though. Screaming, he fled from the crocodile's mouth again, heart filled with grief and indignation. He quickly put on a new set of clothing, and yet, even as he did, another water dragon burst forth.

Because of the intense pressure he was under, he was able to draw upon levels of power that had previously been hidden. That was especially true when it came to his Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, which was constantly absorbing the Heavenspan River water as it splashed into him.

Also because of the pressure, his seventh spiritual sea was beginning to crystallize.

The chase didn't last for very long, only about a day or so. Because of the incredible speed involved, Naruto was getting very close to the location where the three sects were preparing for the final battle. The next morning at dawn, he actually caught sight of the enormous Profound Stream Sect city in the middle of the vast mountain range.

He saw the army of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, which was currently leveling attacks that shook heaven and earth. The fluctuations of magical techniques caused dazzling, multicolored light to shine out in all directions.

The golden crocodile finally stopped chasing him. However, cries of astonishment could be heard as people on the battlefield caught sight of it. The patriarchs were fighting up in the sky, but even they were completely shocked by the sight of the crocodile, and then Naruto.

The golden crocodile hovered in midair, looking around coldly.

Apparently, it didn't find anything in the area worth looking at. Casting a meaningful glance at Naruto, it turned and vanished.

Naruto was so excited to see the crocodile leaving that tears were streaming down his face. The past day had been an incredible torment. The way the crocodile had messed with him left him feeling almost violated….

His hatred toward both the little turtle and the crocodile had sunk deep into the depths of his heart. However, it was in that moment that his eyes flickered with surprise.

"Eee?" Looking down at himself, he was suddenly overjoyed. His

Undying Live Forever Technique had made significant progress, and his Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation was becoming more refined. As for his seventh spiritual sea, it was more than half crystallized.

Although he felt a bit better, the price he had paid for these benefits was something he would never want to pay again. Sighing, he looked over at the huge city and the battle playing out around it.

The Profound Stream Sect was fighting back against the invaders with complete madness. They had enormous puppets fighting on their side that looked like mechanical marionettes clad in green armor. Each one required multiple Profound Stream Sect disciples to operate.

The Spirit Stream Sect's spell formation giants roared as they advanced across the battlefield. Small and large, they unleashed powerful attacks that caused the earth to quake.

As for the Blood Stream Sect, they used their locust-like spell formations to send huge sphere-like groups of cultivators bashing into the Profound Stream Sect's green-armored puppets. They were like blood-colored mountains that erupted with blood Chakra and auras of death.

Up above in the air were legacy echelon cultivators from both sides of the conflict, as well as prime elders. Even higher were the patriarchs, whose attacks caused the sky to shake and the world to tremble.

The Profound Stream Sect had a huge spell formation protecting it, as well as countless smaller spell formations to provide auxiliary support. In addition to that, there were countless flickering greatswords floating in the air around the city, arranged into a large sword formation.

Atop each sword sat disciples of their sect. Even two such swords together in formation would be incredibly destructive, but there were far more than that.

Ten of them would be even more awe-inspiring, and when it came to a formation with hundreds, it could cut down Foundation Establishment cultivators and even cause prime elders to tremble.

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	7. Chapter 7

303

Chapter 299 Chapter 299

Chapter 299: Re-Form!

There were some puppets higher up with golden armor, whose shocking power was comparable to the legacy echelon cultivators or the blood rippers. There weren't many such puppets, but those few that were engaged in the fighting shone like brilliant stars.

There weren't just Profound Stream Sect cultivators involved in the fighting. Their forces were bolstered by Pill Stream Sect cultivators who had surrendered. Because of that, the Profound Stream Sect was still strong.

The actual battlefield was so wide it was difficult to see one end from the other. It was large enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands of cultivators. In each and every place where people were fighting, deadly struggles played out.

Clearly, the Profound Stream Sect was at a disadvantage, and were suffering setback after setback. If it weren't for the grand spell formation protecting the city, they would long since have been defeated.

What was most shocking to Naruto wasn't any of that, though.

Visible within the spell formation were numerous wooden-faced Pill Stream Sect cultivators, who were fueling the formations with their own cultivation bases.

Most of the Pill Stream Sect cultivators had essentially been enslaved by the Profound Stream Sect. Originally, the goal had been to assimilate them into the sect, but the suddenness of the invasion forced the Profound Stream Sect to abandon such plans. Now, the cultivators were little more than human-shaped spirit stones used to support the grand spell formation.

All-in-all, it was a shocking scene. This was the first time that Naruto had ever seen a truly large-scale war being fought.

There was no wind on the battlefield, only the stench of blood that spread out in all directions, seeped down into the ground, and even seemed to pervade the insides of the cultivators who were fighting.

Rivers of blood flowed on the ground, and corpses could be seen everywhere. Some were mutilated beyond recognition, while others were intact. Either way, the blank eyes which stared out seemed to contain a longing for life that would never be fulfilled.

Naruto panted at the sight of the blood and death. Although he was no stranger to killing, to see fighting on such a large scale left him completely conflicted inside.

One half was screaming and urging him to flee this danger as quickly as possible.

The other half caused his heart to start pounding, and his mind to fill with the desire to wade into battle and fight with complete and utter madness.

He took a deep breath as the reality of the situation sank in. He knew that many of his friends were on this battlefield, and after seeing what it was like, there was no way he could flee.

A tremor ran through him as a sensation of utter determination rose up inside his heart. Then, he shot forward at top speed. Few people took note that he'd stepped out into the field of battle. However, Bruiser, who was in the middle of fighting one of the Profound Stream Sect's enormous battle beasts, suddenly shivered and let out a long cry.

It was a cry of joy, and as it rang out, the rest of the Spirit Stream Sect's battle beasts suddenly found their cultivation base and battle prowess slowly rising.

Because of that, both their fighting ability and their healing ability improved. Despite being somewhat surprised by this, the battle beasts were delighted.

At the same time, on the periphery of the battlefield, two Qi

Condensation disciples, one from the Spirit Stream Sect and one from the Blood Stream Sect, were in the midst of despair. Over and over again, they were being pushed back across the battlefield by four raving and bloodthirsty Profound Stream Sect disciples.

The two Chakra Condensation disciples chuckled bitterly and exchanged a glance. After working to

gether in recent days, they had struck up somewhat of a friendship. But now, death loomed over them, and there didn't seem to be any hope.

"I didn't like you people much at first, but if there's another life after this one, I hope that we can fight together again!"

"Hahaha! It's a deal!" Originally, they had been on two different squads, but the rest of their comrades had already died in battle. Now they stood shoulder to shoulder, laughing as they prepared to fight to the death.

It was in that very moment that a figure appeared, glowing with violettinged, blood-colored light. Before the four vicious Profound Stream Sect disciples could do anything, the light flashed by them, and their eyes went wide as their heads flew off of their bodies.

Naruto had arrived!

The two cultivators he'd just saved stared at him in shock for a moment before crying out in surprise. "Exalted Blood Master…."

"Sect Uncle Uzumaki!"

Naruto turned and looked at the pair. He had seen from a distance that they had obviously become friends during the deadly fighting.

Such friendships would be very important as the two sects merged. Naruto nodded at them, then flickered back into motion, heading to another part of the battlefield. Wherever he went, no one could stand up to him.

His Undying Live Forever Technique had reached the point where his fleshly body power was beyond description. At the same time, his defensive abilities were shocking.

Few people could withstand a blow from him, and every fist strike he launched contained deadly power. That was especially true of his Throat Crushing Grasp, which took down one enemy after another.

His Mountain Shaking Bash made it difficult to even see him on the battlefield. Even when Profound Stream Sect cultivators managed to surround him, he would unleash fury like that of a wild beast. Booms rang out, and bones were crushed. Not a single enemy could keep Naruto locked down!

"The Undying Live Forever Technique is obviously a technique designed to be unleashed in battle!" Naruto took a deep breath and retracted all of the power of his magical techniques. He had already learned to use them only at the right moment in the fight, which enabled him to maximize their effectiveness.

Using only his fleshly body power, he bashed into a Profound Stream Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even as the blood was still raining down, he spun and sent a fist strike toward someone trying to stab him in the back.

A look of profound shock appeared on the face of that cultivator in the moment before his arm exploded. Screaming, he fell back, and yet Naruto's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, sending blood-colored light shooting out of his finger to form a blood sword. Moments later, the enemy was stabbed dead.

Not pausing for even a moment, Naruto sped off into the distance. Relying on his speed, agility, and fleshly body power, he was like a fish in water.

Everywhere he went, if there were any Blood Steam Sect cultivators fighting, they would tremble as their cultivation base and battle prowess increased. As a result, their impassioned battle cries grew even louder.

Eventually, he reached an area in the middle of the battlefield where cultivators from Fragrant Cloud Peak were operating an enormous spell formation giant.

Another nearby giant looked particularly familiar; it was the ninth spell formation incarnation from Mount Daoseed. Originally, that spell formation had been meant for Naruto to control.

Without him, the giant's battle prowess had been significantly weakened, even more so than the other giants in the area. As of this moment, it was locked in combat with a black-armored puppet.

There were three types of puppets on the battlefield; green, black, and gold. The green puppets were the ordinary type. Black puppets were more powerful, and less common. The gold ones were the rarest. As for the black puppets, they came in various sizes, and the ones that were 300 meters tall had traces of gold visible in them.

In terms of battle prowess, those gold-fringed black puppets vastly surpassed the other black puppets.

This particular black puppet wielded a greatsword as it strode forward. Because the spell formation giant was relatively unprepared, it made it easy for the black puppet to stab the sword clear through it.

The giant distorted, and the people inside of it coughed up blood. Their eyes flickered with madness, and yet there was nothing they could do except watch the sword viciously slashing at the giant.

Rumbling sounds echoed out; it appeared as if the giant were on the verge of collapsing.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out scornfully from within the black puppet. "The Spirit Stream Sect spell formation incarnations are famous everywhere under heaven, especially the ninth formation from Mount Daoseed. How disappointing to see it in action today."

The puppet twisted its sword, and the spell formation giant teetered closer toward collapse. Everyone inside of it was laughing bitterly. Without Naruto, they were like a dragon with no head. Many of the incarnation's abilities were rendered useless, and at the moment, it seemed they would simply have to let the formation collapse and then fight to the death.

However, in that moment, a cold snort echoed out.

"Break formation!" A sealing mark shot out and landed onto the spell formation incarnation. The people inside trembled, and then their eyes flashed with joy as they looked at the person flying toward them.

It was Naruto. The group inside the spell formation began to laugh loudly, simultaneously performing double-handed incantation gestures. As Naruto's sealing mark fused into the giant, the incarnation suddenly began to dissolve.

Rumbling could be heard as it grew dim and faded away, and the people inside immediately scattered and then shot toward Naruto.

"Re-form!" Naruto roared, his hands flashing in an incantation gesture.

In the blink of an eye, they formed back up in midair, and at the same time, Naruto's hands blurred with incantation gestures, unleashing the power of the original formation!

Rumbling echoed out as a new spell formation giant took form. It was much taller than any of the other giants, and was completely corporeal. It looked exactly like a primeval giant, although its facial features closely resembled Naruto's.

Its eyes opened, and Naruto looked out, his gaze as piercing as a razor-sharp sword.

"You really wanna see how powerful the ninth Mount Daoseed formation is? I'll give you a good look!" Naruto's energy spiked, and he took a step forward, causing all the lands to shake.

The black puppet looked at him in shock, but then its eyes gleamed with the desire to do battle.

"Naruto?!"

Chapter 300 Chapter 300

Chapter 300: The Power Of The Incarnation!

The ninth formation from Mount Daoseed had been specially put together by the sect leader just for Naruto. Because he was a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was the only one who could unleash the true battle prowess of the formation. That was also why, moments ago, the formation had seemed so weak.

When fully powered up, it could unleash might similar to the Gold Core stage!

Before Naruto had appeared on the scene, the ninth formation had only been able to approach somewhat close to the Gold Core stage. But now, the enormous giant's energy was soaring, and it was completely different from before.

In the very instant that the black puppet uttered Naruto's name, the spell formation giant took a step forward, causing everything to shake as a domineering aura shot out in all directions.

Unexpectedly, the giant incarnation was using the Mountain Shaking Bash!

A string of sonic booms echoed out as the giant blurred into motion. An instant later, it was right in front of the black puppet. No matter how much the puppet had been prepared for an incoming attack, it simply couldn't dodge.

A massive boom echoed out in all directions.

The bashing power Naruto unleashed on the black puppet was enough to shatter the heavens. Trembling, the puppet flew backward through the air amidst loud cracking sounds. Although the expression on the face of the puppet never changed, the faces of the Profound Stream Sect cultivators inside of it completely fell as their cultivation bases were thrown into chaos. Their Chakra and blood instantly destabilized, and blood sprayed out of their mouths.

"Can't stand up to a single blow!" Naruto said, his voice as cold as ice. He took another step forward, yet again utilizing incredible speed to appear right above the black puppet, where he stamped his foot down viciously.

The resulting boom seemed capable of shattering the air. The black puppet couldn't fight back in the least, and was sent plummeting down toward the ground.

Before it could land, Naruto flickered into motion and appeared next to it, grabbing it by the arm and swinging it around violently.

The puppet was thrown back upward, only to meet Naruto again, who unleashed one punch into it after another, after another!

The black puppet attempted to dodge and evade, but was completely incapable. Battered by one terrifying fist strike after another, its external shields were distorted to the point of shattering.

"Despicable!" howled the black puppet. "How dare you attack in such a devious fashion!" The Profound Stream Sect cultivators inside the puppet could never have imagined that the giant would be so powerful after being re-formed by Naruto. After failing to seize the initiative, they were completely suppressed, left totally incapable of defending themselves.

As the shield twisted on the verge of breaking, the black puppet howled again. Black light surged from its surface, a destructive power that sped toward Naruto even as the shield shattered.

When the black light appeared, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he backed up. However, simultaneously, he spun his left foot around in an arc to smash into the black puppet's waist. Cracking sounds rang out, and rifts snaked out across the surface of the puppet as it hurtled down toward the ground.

The destructive black light sailed right past Naruto, who now hovered there looking down coldly at the black puppet. Snorting, he said, "That's all you've got? You don't even qualify to experience the full power of Mount Daoseed's ninth spell formation."

The defiant roars of the Profound Stream Sect echoed out from inside the bla

ck puppet. In the moment before it was about to slam into the ground, it twisted, slamming its right hand down to change its momentum. After barely forcing itself under control, the puppet immediately performed an incantation gesture with its left hand, converging all of the power of everyone in the puppet to summon a shadowy clone with a long sword. Without even the slightest hesitation, the clone slashed its sword at Naruto.

Naruto threw his head back and roared, causing golden light to spread out from his body. In turn, that light caused the giant incarnation to also begin to shine like gold!

Shockingly, it was the power of the Undying Gold Skin. The image of a heavenly demon appeared in the same position as the giant incarnation, almost as if the two were one.

Everyone in the area suddenly felt as if they weren't looking at the spell formation giant, but instead, a heavenly demon howling up into the heavens!

Naruto's heavenly demon incarnation clenched its fist and punched out toward the incoming shadowy clone.

Cyclonic ripples spread out as the fist slammed into its target. The clone instantly exploded like a shattered mirror.

"The Profound Stream Sect's magical puppets are famous everywhere under heaven," Naruto said calmly. "Especially the gold-tinged black versions. How disappointing to see it in action today." His words were almost exactly the same as the words uttered earlier by the cultivator in the black puppet.

The arrogant cultivator who had spoken those words let out an angry roar and sent the puppet flying toward Naruto, its hands flashing in an incantation gesture as it unleashed a magical technique.

However, before the magical technique could even fully form, an enormous 3,000-meter-tall violet cauldron appeared over the head of the black puppet and smashed down onto it, interrupting it.

"Game over!" Naruto said, his eyes flickering. At the same time, the heavenly demon strode forward and reached out toward the puppet.

The puppet's eyes flashed, and it opened its mouth, spitting out a stream of seven-colored toxic gas. Simultaneously, the puppet's body decayed significantly. As for the toxic gas, even the air was destroyed as it shot toward Naruto.

"Time to die!" the puppet said, laughing with anticipation. The group of Profound Stream Sect cultivators inside of the puppet had been waiting for just this opportunity to spit out the toxic gas. At the same time, the puppet's hands flashed in an incantation gesture, causing countless greatswords to materialize up above. More than 50 of them could be seen, and buzzing sounds emanated out as they gathered into a sword formation. Then, dazzling, lightning-like beams of light shot from it toward Naruto.

The sword formation and the toxic gas together were a deadly combination!

"Child's play!" Naruto said coolly. His Heavenspan Dharma Eye snapped open, causing exactly the same thing to happen with the Heavenly Demon Body! A third eye appeared on the forehead of the 300-meter-tall heavenly demon!

Instantly, the heavens began to tremble as the eye focused, not on the toxic gas, but on the enormous sword formation.

The more than fifty greatswords suddenly ground to a halt in midair!

Although the pause only lasted for a moment, that was all the time Naruto needed. Without the slightest hesitation, he pierced through the toxic gas to appear right in front of the black puppet.

"Impossible!" Numerous cries of shock and disbelief echoed out from within the puppet. The toxic gas was one of the puppet's trump cards, something that could shake even a powerful Gold Core cultivator. The Profound Stream Sect cultivators had been completely and utterly confident that it would destroy the giant incarnation!

However, what they were truly dealing with was not so much a spell formation giant, but rather, Naruto's heavenly demon! To it, a toxic gas like this counted for almost nothing!

In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, Naruto grabbed the black puppet's shoulder and ripped its arm completely off of its body. Four shocked Profound Stream Sect cultivators flew out from the shattered stump, and before they could even begin to flee, they were set upon by the nearby cultivators of the Blood and Spirit Stream Sects.

Even as their agonized shrieks rang out, Naruto's right thumb and forefinger snapped together as he unleashed the Throat Crushing Grasp onto the black puppet's throat.

A vicious cracking sound could be heard as the puppet's entire neck shattered, and its head flew up into the air. More Profound Stream Sect cultivators were ejected out. Despite losing an arm and a head, the black puppet wasn't completely destroyed, and the cultivators inside of it instantly sent it backward in retreat, their hearts pounding in fear because of Naruto.

But how could Naruto let the puppet escape? He took a deep breath, causing a vortex to spring up around him. A gale-force wind appeared, and his eyes flickered as his Heavenly Demon Body once again unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash!

BOOM!

It moved so quickly it was hard to track with the naked eye. Only a blur of afterimages could be seen as it blasted completely through the black puppet….

The puppet literally exploded into pieces, critically injuring the dozens of Profound Stream Sect cultivators inside of it, and sending some to their deaths instantly. Those who survived were still coughing up blood as the cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect closed in on them for the kill.

Naruto hovered in midair, breathing heavily. Although he had put on a powerful show, he was actually trembling. And yet, despite how he didn't truly wish to fight in such a way, in critical moments like this, he had no other choice.

Sighing, he was just about to proceed to another location when suddenly, a tremor ran through him as his gaze fell upon a location a few thousand meters away.

Standing right there was Xuemei, complete with her mask!

She seemed to be in bad condition, weak, with blood dripping out from underneath her mask as she fell back over and over again across the battlefield….

Surrounding her were four late Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Profound Stream Sect, all of whom surged with killing intent! —

Chapter 301 Chapter 301

Chapter 301: Extremely Enraged!

"I don't care how this war ends, Du Xuemei. You're gonna die!"

"Du Xuemei is at the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment.

Killing her would be like ridding the earth of the next Master Limitless!"

"Du Xuemei, I've been thinking about this day from the moment you killed my Junior Brother!" Of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators, some wanted to kill her for revenge, and some wanted to earn merit in battle.

Normally speaking, they would have been worried about Patriarch Limitless showing up. But with the sects all at war, all bets were off, and they had their chance!

As such, they attacked with full force, resorting to any means, fair or foul.

More blood oozed down Xuemei's chin, and it was laced with blackness; clearly, she had been poisoned. More than half of the Pill Stream Sect had been absorbed by the Profound Stream Sect, and they used poison as a powerful weapon!

Xuemei chuckled bitterly, and her expression flickered with despair.

Looking up, she saw her father in the middle of fighting one of the Profound Stream Sect patriarchs; clearly, he didn't have time to try to help her. The blood rippers and prime elders were all engaged in life-ordeath struggles, and besides, the battlefield was so large that it would be impossible for them spare her any attention. Even if they did notice her situation, they were so tangled up with Profound Stream Sect cultivators that they would never be able to come save her.

Besides, she didn't want to distract her father. Unfortunately, she had virtually no life-saving precious treasures left after the months of battle. To her bitterness, she could only stagger backward, blood oozing out of her mouth, her vision fading.

"Am I really going to die here…?" she thought. Gritting her teeth, she performed an incantation gesture to unleash a magical technique. As she did, the faint scar on the back of her hand was clearly visible….

Intense, murderous gleams could be seen in the eyes of the four Profound Stream Sect cultivators. As they closed in, chaotic fighting broke out, and Xuemei was sent staggering backward over and over again. Clearly, she was weakening, and more wounds could be seen on her body.

The shadow of death loomed.

It was in that exact same moment that Naruto looked over from his position 3,000 meters away….

The instant he saw her, his mind trembled. Clearly, she was in mortal danger, and there was absolutely no time for him to ponder the situation. The only thing he could think of was…

He had to save Xuemei!

However, the four Foundation Establishment cultivators were of secondary importance in the situation: the 3,000-meter-distance between himself and Xuemei was filled with numerous Profound Stream Sect puppets, making it impossible for him to draw upon the full potential of his speed!

His only option was to smash his way through!

Eyes turning bloodshot, he yelled out at the top of his voice:

"Middle Peak cultivators, to me!" With that, the heavenly demon leaped up into the air, letting out a roar that echoed like thunder from heaven.

Powerful blood Chakra erupted out of Naruto, forming a pillar of bloodcolored light that shot high up into the sky. Everything began to tremble, and even the patriarchs looked over in shock.

The first people to feel the effects of the sudden eruption of blood Chakra were the cultivators from Middle Peak. That was because, in addition to being the Blood Lord, Naruto was also their blood master!

All of the Middle Peak cultivators on the battlefield trembled as their blood Chakra seemed to resonate with Naruto's shout. Almost immediately, they were filled with the impulse to get

as close to him as they could!

The impulse was impossible to suppress; if they tried, it would destabilize their cultivation base. Furthermore, by not suppressing it, they found to their delight that their cultivation base power was rapidly increasing!

It only took the blink of an eye for all of the Middle Peak cultivators to be flashing through the sky toward Naruto.

As they gathered around him, their blood Chakra spread out to swirl around the heavenly demon, gradually forming into the shape of an enormous blood sword!

Naruto took a deep breath as he burst into motion, joined by the increasing numbers of Middle Peak cultivators as he charged toward Xuemei.

From a distance, the hordes of Middle Peak cultivators and the swordwielding heavenly demon looked like a sea of blood!

Further off on the battlefield, Bruiser let out a piercing cry as he led a huge group of battle beasts along, causing the earth to quake and the sky to distort.

There were also cultivators from the Spirit Stream Sect who, when they saw what was happening, felt their blood beginning to boil. In a very short period of time, there were already thousands of cultivators surrounding Naruto, slashing across the battlefield like a sharp blade!

Considering the battlefield as a whole, this was a shocking development that left even the patriarchs gasping.

The Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect were only in the initial stages of joining forces. Although many of the disciples had already become friends, overall, the two sects were still clearly divided, and mostly fought their own fights.

The truth was that only about fifty percent of the full fighting potential of the two sects was being unleashed on the battlefield.

That was also one of the reasons why the Profound Stream Sect had been able to struggle along up to this point. The Spirit and Blood Stream Sects were aware of this situation, but there was nothing they could do to change it at the moment. After all, they had only been allies for a short period of time.

However, as soon as Naruto appeared, he let out a long cry and sent blood Chakra raging up into the sky, and it completely changed the situation!

Wherever he went, the Blood Stream Sect's battle prowess increased, and the Spirit Stream Sect's battle beasts gathered around him and fought proudly with all the power they could muster.

Furthermore, the increase to the Blood Stream Sect cultivators' battle prowess was not limited to any particular cultivation base. Everyone from the Outer Sect to the patriarchs benefited!

Almost instantly, the battle prowess of the Blood Stream Sect as a whole increased by about thirty percent. The Blood Stream Sect gasped in shock, and as for the Spirit Stream Sect, although they received no such boost, when they saw the elation of the Blood Stream Sect cultivators, they fought even harder than they had before. When the two sides joined forces, they could unleash incredible crushing power!

Naruto was the center of it all, and cultivators were grouping around him rapidly, increasing the force from thousands to over ten thousand!

Most were from the Blood Stream Sect, and the closer they got to Naruto, the better and more powerful their techniques worked!

On the battlefield, there were many things that could be relied upon to stay alive, but one's own strength was one of the most important!

Naruto was like the glue between the blood Chakra and the Blood Stream Sect, and was also the force which bound the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect together. That was now more apparent than ever before.

The patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect, the Blood Stream Sect, and even the embattled Profound Stream Sect were all shaken. Even the patriarchs who were still holed up inside the city were astonished.

"So, he's Naruto?!"

"He's the one responsible for this war?!"

"Patriarch Thousand-Faces said that if Naruto died, the alliance between the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect would collapse!"

As all eyes were turning to look at Naruto as he led the surrounding 10,000 cultivators in a charge across the battlefield. All Profound Stream Sect disciples who saw what was happening were left completely shaken, and without even thinking about it, began to back up. Within the space of a few breaths of time, the 3,000-meter distance leading up to Xuemei was being closed!

As more people arrived to join the charge, more blood Chakra fueled the enormous blood sword, which was almost completely formed!

Xuemei heard the rumbling sounds, and could sense her cultivation base recovering. She even felt her battle prowess rising, enabling her to fight back against the Profound Stream Sect's Foundation Establishment cultivators. As for her four opponents, they were stunned. Although they weren't sure of the relationship between Xuemei and Naruto, they exchanged glances, and then gritted their teeth and called upon their ultimate trump cards. As of this point, they had to kill Xuemei as quickly as possible so that they could flee from Naruto.

One of the cultivators performed an incantation gesture to summon a black dragon. Another of them suddenly blurred as he produced a clone. The other two pulled out powerful magical treasures, one of them a long rope, the other, a black candle!

"Du Xuemei, prepare to die!"

The black dragon roared as it shot toward her, followed by the clone, which wielded a long, sharp sword. The rope twirled through the air, emitting a powerful aura, followed by the candle, the smoke of which seemed as sharp as blades.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as more blood spilled from Xuemei's mouth. The black dragon slammed into her, shoving her backward. As the clone closed in, she performed an incantation gesture, waving her right finger to summon a plum blossom symbol. The symbol destroyed the clone, and yet, she was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut.

Then came the rope and the candle, two deadly forces that quickly reached a position nine meters away from her!

Xuemei chuckled bitterly as her vision began to fade. Time even seemed to slow down. As her thoughts began to descend into past memories, she suddenly heard an anxious, enraged roar.

That roar came from none other than Naruto's Heavenly Demon Body. Seeing Xuemei in such a deadly situation, he sent the heavenly demon's hand shooting out with the gigantic blood-colored greatsword. Then, the sword slashed out toward the four Foundation Establishment cultivators!

"Die!"

Chapter 302 Chapter 302

Chapter 302: Flaunting Strength On The Battlefield!

The 300-meter-long sword seemed capable of slashing open the heavens. It was a dazzling arc of light that sliced through everything in its path, causing an intense screaming sound to fly across the battlefield.

It almost sounded like the howling of armies of ghosts, a sound which struck down to the very soul. The four Profound Stream Sect cultivators who had just been about to kill Xuemei were completely shaken. They almost felt as if a huge hand had reached into their minds and crushed their brains into paste.

They felt pain that ordinary people would never be able to withstand. It was only because of their powerful cultivation bases that they survived, and yet, blood oozed out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Looks of terror appeared in their eyes as they fell back at top speed.

Without any consideration for what would happen as a result, they drew upon every drop of power their cultivation bases could provide, even drawing upon their life force!

The greatsword which bore down on them filled them with a threatening sensation of deadly crisis that bordered on complete catastrophe!

Time seemed to slow as the blood-colored greatsword descended. The first Profound Stream Sect cultivator it hit screamed, throwing all of the power of his cultivation base into his defense, along with a host of defensive treasures. However, the sword destroyed his treasures with ease, shattering them without pause. A moment later, the man's head was sailing through the air.

As for the rest of his body, the sword was so large that, instead of cutting him in half, it completely destroyed him, transforming him into nothing more than a mist of blood!

His body, his soul, even his bag of holding and everything in it, were all completely destroyed!

The second and third cultivators let out more bloodcurdling screams as they too were reduced to nothing more than clouds of blood.

The last of the Foundation Establishment cultivators had the most powerful cultivation base, and was higher ranked than the others. Currently, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and he was trembling with madness. As the greatsword closed in on him, he produced a jade slip, which glowed with flickering light as the power of teleportation appeared.

All of this is lengthy in word, but happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. At the same time, Naruto's blood-colored greatsword slashed down toward the man.

The sight of the sword slicing through the air was so dazzling that even the blood rippers, legacy echelon cultivators, prime elders, and patriarchs of the three sects were all taken aback.

They had just seen three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Profound Stream Sect killed in body and soul, and now the last one was trying to teleport away from the very same blade which had killed his fellows.

The man vanished, and the greatsword slammed into the ground beneath the spot he had just occupied. Everything shook, and cracking sounds could be heard as rifts snaked out for 300 meters in every direction.

The final cultivator had vanished without a trace….

Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. Ignoring the man who had escaped, he turned to look at Xuemei. Blood dripped down from behind her mask as she looked back at him, mixed emotions in her eyes. A moment later, she collapsed into unconsciousness.

Immediately, Blood Stream Sect disciples rushed over to catch her, then led her off.

Naruto could see that she had been seriously injured, but not mortally so. Considering how important she was in the sect, she would definitely get the best spirit medicine the Blood Stream Sect had to offer.

He had a million things he wanted to say to her, but he knew that they would have to wait until the war was o

ver. However, he was still excited by one fact. "This time, you're not going to get to just go into secluded meditation to hide from me!"

Relishing the thought, he turned and looked in the direction of the huge city.

In the moment that he did so, the cultivator who had just teleported away suddenly materialized on the city wall. Fear lingered in his eyes, and he was out of breath, but his expression was vicious.

"Naruto, I'll never forget this!" he roared. "You can't kill me that easily! One day when you're not expecting it, I'll be there to kill you!" Only by shouting something like that could he suppress the terror he felt because of the sword he had just faced, and Naruto.

Taking a deep breath, he was just about to head down into the city when he realized that the other cultivators in the area were all looking at him with strange, shocked expressions.

"What are you…." To the man's surprise, he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his forehead. He reached up and touched his face, and his hand came a way wet with blood. A look of terror appeared in his eyes as a tremor ran through him. Before he could even finish speaking, his forehead began to split apart. Within the blink of an eye, his entire body collapsed onto the ground, cut in half!

He had been just a bit too slow to teleport away, and the greatsword really had slashed through him in the moment before he fled….

Blood splashed about in all directions, causing the surrounding Profound Stream Sect cultivators to shake madly with fear.

As for the 10,000 cultivators surrounding Naruto, after a moment of silence, they erupted into wild cheering.

"Junior Patriarch!"

"Blood Lord!"

Their cries echoed out loud and clear. Even the cultivators off in the distance could hear them, and then they began to join in. Soon, all members of the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect on the battlefield were shouting at the tops of their lungs.

The bedraggled Profound Stream Sect had already been suffering setbacks. Then Naruto showed up and killed four of their most powerful cultivators in quick succession. Almost immediately, large portions of the battlefield were affected….

It was a key opportunity, and the patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect immediately waved their sleeves and issued orders.

"Bring the final battle to the Profound Stream Sect!"

"Everyone, on the offensive!"

In response, the prime elders, blood rippers, and legacy echelon cultivators took the lead, transforming into bright beams of light that shot forth into the fighting. Tens of thousands of cultivators down below advanced. It was like a sea of blood filled with the giants of the Spirit Stream Sect, surging forward, an unstoppable force that crushed anything in its path as easily as a boulder crushing a drinking glass!

The ground quaked, and intense, fierce fighting instantly broke out everywhere. The Profound Stream Sect army trembled and fought back madly. Higher up in the air, the Profound Stream Sect patriarchs instantly realized that the reason all of this was happening was Naruto!

"If Naruto dies, we can turn things around!"

"We have to kill Naruto!" Unfortunately for the Profound Stream Sect patriarchs, they couldn't do anything against the combined Spirit and Blood Stream Sects. Their Core Formation cultivators were being locked down, and could not get anywhere close to Naruto.

"Pay any price to take down Naruto. Even sacrifice Foundation Establishment disciples if we have to!" As the orders went out from the patriarchs, the Profound Stream Sect cultivators on the battlefield had different reactions. Some hesitated, some shrank back. However, a good portion of the Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately charged toward Naruto's location.

There were also several black puppets which roared and began to stride toward him. Meanwhile, there were sword formations up above that the Core Formation cultivators of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects had mostly disregarded because of how easy they were to destroy. Now, those sword formations began to rotate and speed toward Naruto.

Scalp tingling, Naruto sprang into motion, barely dodging dozens of greatswords.

Naruto took a deep breath. He had known that the battlefield was a dangerous place, but now he was even more convinced of that fact. Although he had avoided the first volley of greatswords, more sword formations were flickering up above, and vast numbers of Profound Stream Sect cultivators were charging toward him. Eyes turning bright red, he threw his head back and roared, "Die!"

He felt like he was back being chased by the Luochen Clan, or even in the Fallen Sword Abyss. A murderous aura spun around him as he launched himself toward one of the nearest black puppets. After slamming into it, he called up Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning, and then the Throat Crushing Grasp, which shot like lightning toward the puppet's throat.

A cracking sound could be heard as a tremor ran through the puppet. Its head was destroyed, and it staggered backward. However, Naruto lunged forward, calling upon his fleshly body strength to grab it and hoist it over his head like a shield.

In that instant, dozens of greatswords screamed down from above, stabbing into the black puppet in numerous locations. The black puppet exploded, and the Profound Stream Sect cultivators inside of it were all killed instantly.

Panting, Naruto burst into motion again, heading toward the city, followed by tens of thousands of cultivators.

Enraged, he cried, "Follow me. Let's take this city down!"

—

Chapter 303 Chapter 303

Chapter 303: Fighting Lin Mu

For the Profound Stream Sect to attack with their spell formations twice in a row was quite an insult to the prime elders, blood rippers, and legacy echelon cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect and Spirit Stream Sect!

That was especially true for the Blood Stream Sect. Naruto's importance to them had become even more evident as the war went on. The entire sect had experienced an increase in battle prowess and cultivation base. If Naruto died, the Blood Stream Sect would be returned to their original state, which was something they couldn't possibly agree to. Therefore, the prime elders and blood rippers all began resorting to their trump cards to try to take out the sword formations belonging to the other powerful Profound Stream Sect cultivators.

The Core Formation cultivators from the Spirit Stream Sect were doing the same thing, including Li Qinghou, who was already feeling very anxious due to the two deadly situations Naruto had just faced. The killing intent in his eyes flickered, and magical images of plants and vegetation appeared around him as he attacked one of the spell formations.

Because of the intense efforts of the Core Formation cultivators from the

Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, their contemporaries from the Profound Stream Sect were incapable of using their sword formations to try to pin Naruto down, and were slowly being pushed back across the battlefield.

Naruto was under less pressure, but he hadn't forgotten the danger he had just been in, and it caused his anger to burn. He knew that in war, there was no right or wrong, just life or death. But that knowledge didn't help him shake his fear of dying.

"You people tried to kill me first…. Bunch of bullies. Even your patriarchs attacked me? And your grand spell formation?!" Roaring, he advanced across the battlefield, surrounded by tens of thousands of other cultivators. They crushed anything in their path, making it impossible for the Profound Stream Sect to stand against them. Slowly but surely, the Profound Stream Sect was being pushed back toward the mountains.

Other front-line areas of the battle weren't experiencing such dramatic turns of events, but the Profound Stream Sect was still being pushed back everywhere, and there didn't seem to be any hope for them to reverse the situation.

Many of the Profound Stream Sect cultivators were even starting to hesitate about whether to keep fighting. As could be imagined, the only reason they hadn't surrendered already was that their sect headquarters still stood. Were that not the case, the resolve of most such cultivators would have long since crumbled.

In a situation like that, they would have been faced with two options:

surrender, or be wiped out!

The fact that people were hesitating to fight back was extremely telling. In fact, many of them were hoping that the war would simply end as soon as possible, and that the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects would just take the sect headquarters….

There were even some who, in the face of such certain defeat, chose to intentionally die in the fighting!

As booms shook the battlefield, Naruto looked up into the mountains at the enormous city to which the Profound Stream Sect cultivators were retreating. Just when he was about to start fighting his way toward the city itself, rumbling sounds echoed out from within the city's glowing shield of light. Moments later, a large number of Profound Stream Sect cultivators charged out.

These were backup forces that the Profound Stream Sect had prepared. The war was reaching a deadly, critical level, so there was no reason to keep such cultivators out of the fighting any longer. There were only a few tens of thousands of them, and yet they blotted out the sky as they flew towa

rd Naruto. Interspersed among the cultivators was a sizeable force of black puppets.

When the new force slammed into the battle lines, the boom of magical techniques could be heard, and the glow of magical items rose into the air.

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he called upon the power of his Heavenly Demon Body to fight back against two black puppets. He used the Mountain Shaking Bash and the Throat Crushing Grasp, along with enormous violet cauldrons and deadly blood swords. He then grabbed one of the black puppet and smashed it headlong into the opposing forces.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The black puppet trembled, and the Profound Stream Sect cultivators inside of it screamed miserably. Cracking sounds rang out loud and clear.

Naruto completely ignored the other puppet as it peppered him with attacks. After seven or eight breaths' worth of time passed, the black puppet he held collapsed into pieces, and he spun in place to face the other puppet. As for the heavenly demon, its eyes shone with bloodthirsty light.

The puppet behind him shivered as the heavenly demon's gaze locked onto it. Then it began to fall back. Naruto snorted coldly as he gave chase, opening his Heavenspan Dharma Eye and sending control power shooting out. However, instead of trying to control the entire black puppet, he focused on one of its legs!

The leg suddenly jerked to a stop, and although the effect only lasted for a moment, that was all the time Naruto needed. Flashing through the air, he used the Mountain Shaking Bash to shoot like lighting toward the puppet.

When he bashed into it, countless agonized shrieks rang out from inside, and nearly half of the thing was destroyed. Naruto also suffered some superficial wounds, but his right hand shot up nonetheless, to viciously grasp the puppet's neck.

It was in that exact moment that a cold laugh reached Naruto's ears.

"Remember me, Naruto? I'm Lin Mu!"

As the words echoed out, a violet puppet flew out from the city. It was clearly different from the black puppets; countless faces were inlaid into the surface of the puppet, vivid and lifelike. Although their eyes were closed, their expressions were those of pain and suffering.

The puppet wasn't very large, only about 150 meters tall. It was being operated by nine people, and the person who had just spoken was a young man with black hair!

He was handsome, but a bizarre birthmark on his face left it looking like a yin-yang symbol. At the moment, he was staring at Naruto with an icy look!

Naruto's eyes flickered as he looked at the young man. He recognized him almost immediately; it was the same young man who had appeared in a vortex after Fang Lin from the Pill Stream Sect had been killed, back in the Fallen Sword Abyss! 1

Back then, Naruto had wondered who he was. It was only after going to the Blood Stream Sect that news about the fighting between the Profound Stream Sect and Pill Stream Sect spread, and that person rose to prominence.

He was none other than the consummate Chosen of the Pill Stream Sect,

Lin Mu. He had betrayed the Pill Stream Sect and joined the Profound Stream Sect, becoming an apprentice to one of the patriarchs there. As such, he had a complicated status in the sect. Some people even said that he had always been a disciple of the Profound Stream Sect, and that he'd been sent to the Pill Stream Sect as a spy.

Whether or not that was true didn't matter. What mattered was that at the moment, he fought for the Profound Stream Sect!

Even as Lin Mu's eyes locked with Naruto's, the violet puppet shot through the air at top speed.

As it closed in on Naruto, his eyes glittered, and his right hand snapped out in a grasping motion toward the black puppet's neck. He poured cultivation base power into the puppet, exterminating everyone who was inside of it, and then ripped its head off and hurled it toward the incoming violet puppet.

The black puppet's head whistled through the air toward Lin Mu's violet puppet. As it neared, a brilliant light shone off of the violet puppet, instantly turning the flying head into nothing more than ash.

Naruto was shocked. Lin Mu actually seemed to be a bit more powerful than Nine-Isles. However, there was no time to think about the matter at the moment. Without any hesitation, he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye.

Instantly, he could see nine shields surrounding the puppet, each one a different color!

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Cyan. Blue. Violet. Black. White!

The shields were already beginning to fall apart, and yet, they insured that his Heavenspan Dharma Eye couldn't affect the violet puppet at all. In fact, the collapse of the shield sent pain stabbing back into Naruto's third eye.

"I was waiting for you to do that!" Lin Mu said from within the shield. As the puppet closed in, it performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a bright crimson light to appear between its hands that resembled a sun. Scorching heat rippled out as the puppet lifted the sun above its hand and then threw it toward Naruto.

"Yang-Sun Art!" Lin Mu howled. The sun grew larger as it flew through the air, until it was fully 300 meters in diameter, and radiated matchless power.

Naruto's eyes widened. Lin Mu seemed very, very strong, and Naruto could already tell that if he made the slightest mistake, he would end up dead!

It felt as if he were truly fighting an equal, something he hadn't experienced fighting anybody since he reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, not even any of the other Chosen!

As he faced this powerful adversary, his left hand flashed in an incantation gesture, and his right hand slapped his bag of holding, causing a large number of medicinal plants to fly out. As the plants swirled through the air, his incantation gesture sped up, and his eyes shone with a strange light.

"Magic Plant… Arsenal!" In coordination with his words, the plants began to grow larger, and transform into various types of weapons. Soon, they had created something like a net, hundreds of meters wide, which shot toward the incoming crimson sun.

"Destroy that thing!" Naruto howled. Instantly, the enormous weapon-filled net made of plants and vegetation wrapped around the sun, simultaneously emanating incredible destructive power!

Lin Mu's expression flickered. Snorting coldly, he performed another incantation gesture.

"Yin-Moon Tribulation!"

Behind him on the left, a moon appeared, which rapidly grew until it was several hundred meters tall, and radiated such intense coldness that it made it seem as if winter were coming! Then, the moon shot toward Naruto!

The intense fight between Naruto and Lin Mu was already causing widespread shock, especially among Chosen such as Song Que and Ghostfang.

Never could they have imagined that someone in their own generation could actually stand toe to toe with Naruto!

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes were especially bloodshot, and his heart surged with defiance!

—

Chapter 304 Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Powerful Fleshly Body!

As Lin Mu sent the violet puppet's left hand waving through the air, the moon shot out like tribulation, radiating frigid coldness. Snowflakes even began to flutter in the air as it sped toward Naruto.

The violet puppet had unleashed a sun with its right hand and a moon with its left. Now it hovered there in the air like a god, radiating intense energy. Although the sun had been bound up by Naruto's Magic Plant Arsenal, the moon bearing down on the other side radiated a killing aura that caused everyone who felt it to tremble.

"Time to die, Naruto!" Lin Mu shouted hoarsely.

Naruto's eyes widened at the extraordinary display of power. Although he could sense the danger he was in, it also drove him to a state of maddened rage.

"You'll be the one to die!" he roared. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, causing the Undying Live Forever Technique to erupt with power. Blood Chakra surged out of him, and in the blink of an eye, it became a huge blood-colored greatsword, which he grasped and then swung toward the incoming moon.

By calling upon the Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation, he was able to summon a drop of Heavenspan River water from within his spiritual seas, which he fused into some blood qi, causing a fist-sized blood sphere to shoot out and join the blood sword.

The blood sphere caused the cultivators who saw it to feel completely shaken. Sensations of profound danger even rose up in their hearts.

"Is that…?"

"The aura of Heavenspan River water?!"

Even as astonished cries rang out, Naruto's blood-colored greatsword caused rumbling sounds to echo out as it slammed into Lin Mu's moon.

Everything began to shake violently, and a huge wind blasted out in all directions. At the same time, the blood sphere continued on toward Lin Mu.

The dazzling light shining from the sphere could be seen by people far away on the battlefield. Even the prime elders and legacy echelon cultivators were watching with wide eyes!

Even though they were currently in the Core Formation stage, back when they had been in Foundation Establishment, they couldn't have competed with Naruto or Lin Mu. The fight going on was completely and utterly shocking. Although Naruto and Lin Mu were relying on a spell formation and a puppet respectively, what they were doing proved that they were far beyond ordinary. They were clearly at the ultimate peak of Foundation Establishment.

A huge shockwave spread out. Naruto's Heavenly Demon Body twisted and distorted, and he fell back by several paces. Lin Mu's violet puppet emitted cracking sounds, and fissures could be seen on its surface as it, too, fell back.

Both of them were breathing heavily. As for Lin Mu, he also felt as if he were facing a powerful adversary. Eyes shining brightly, he threw his head back and laughed maniacally.

"So, it turns out you're even stronger than Nine-Isles. What a pity, though, Naruto. You're going to die here anyway!" The violet puppet leaped high into the air, raising its arms high as if to touch the heavens.

Then, a strange light appeared in its eyes as its right and left hands touched right in front of its forehead. At the same time, the puppet's voice thundered, "Sun and moon shine together!"

Almost immediately, both the sun and the moon reappeared within the violet puppet's hands. They superimposed, and it was like fire and water mixing. An intense tearing force shone out, becoming bright beams of light that caused everything to rumble and shake!

In the blink of an eye, everything within 300 meters was enveloped with light. First, it was freezing, then burning hot,

and then those forces combined, creating a bizarre power capable of melting anything and everything!

All cultivators within that area, even the cultivators from the Profound Stream Sect, began to scream in bloodcurdling fashion as they were wiped out of existence.

Naruto's Heavenly Demon Body was already showing signs of instability. Within the bright, shining light, it was like a snowball facing a raging fire, and instantly began to melt. Based on Naruto's calculations, it would only take a few breaths of time for both the Heavenly Demon Body and the spell formation giant to be transformed into ash.

In that critical moment, Naruto's eyes became completely bloodshot. The fact that dozens of fellow disciples had just been killed made him feel like his heart was being torn apart. Without any hesitation, he slapped his bag of holding, producing more than a hundred glowing spheres!

Those glowing spheres had been created by drawing upon the cyclical powers of gravity and repulsion, and then infused with vast amounts of toxic gas!

Naruto immediately flung the spheres as hard as he could in the direction of the violet puppet.

They became beams of light that shot toward Lin Mu at incredible speed, completely impervious to the effects of the bright light shining down in the area. None of them even showed a single sign of melting as they shot toward the puppet.

Then booms began to ring out as the glowing spheres exploded, sending large amounts of gas into the interior of the violet puppet!

All of this takes quite some time to describe, but happened extremely quickly. Naruto let out a howl as the light from the sun and the moon caused the Heavenly Demon Body to melt completely, revealing the half-destroyed spell formation giant beneath it.

Just when the giant was about to vanish, Naruto called upon the last bits of power remaining and yelled, "Break formation!"

Instantly, the spell formation incarnation shattered, ejecting the Spirit Stream Sect disciples out in all directions. Naruto himself leapt high up into the air, his Undying Live Forever Technique erupting with power. He had golden skin, and fleshly body defenses provided by the heavenly Demon Body. Drawing upon his shocking speed, he quickly escaped from the destructive perimeter of light!

Meanwhile, the violet puppet was beginning to tremble, and screams were starting to echo out from inside, as well as cackling laughter. After shaking for a moment, the puppet exploded, and an entire group of maddened Profound Stream Sect disciples poured out. Among them was Lin Mu, his face pale as he shouted, "Naruto!"

Lin Mu's hair was completely disheveled as he hovered there in midair. Moments ago, he had been completely convinced that his techniques would either kill Naruto or destroy his spell formation, leaving him completely vulnerable to the power of the violet puppet.

Never could he have imagined that everything would backfire. Just when the spell formation had been on the verge of melting completely, his own violet puppet was suddenly infected by a damnable toxic gas, and rendered completely useless!

Now, the two evenly matched opponents were bereft of any spell formations or puppets. When their eyes met across the battlefield, Naruto could see the killing intent in Lin Mu's eyes, and Lin Mu could see the madness flickering in Naruto's.

Inside, Lin Mu was trembling. He knew that Naruto's fleshly body power was beyond ordinary, and that his own superiority came in the form of magical techniques. Just as he was considering fleeing, Naruto shot forward, a murderous aura raging around him as he unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash. He began as nothing more than a blur of afterimages, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as he closed in on Lin Mu, his hand clenched into a fist!

"The time for magical techniques is over. Let's see whose fleshly body is stronger!"

Lin Mu wanted to evade, but quickly realized that he was slower than Naruto. He couldn't match up at all with someone who had cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique; Naruto was like a wild animal pouncing on prey. Lin Mu quickly bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood.

The blood formed a blood-colored buckler, which shot out to meet Naruto's fist strike.

Although the blood buckler wasn't destroyed by the punch, it was sent spinning backward, where it slammed into Lin Mu's chest, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood. Shocked, he began to back up.

"Think you can just run away?" Naruto said, chasing after him.

Lifting his right leg up, he kicked Lin Mu hard in the shoulder. Lin Mu gritted his teeth as he was shoved backward, blood soaking through his clothes.

He felt humiliated, and yet, there was nothing he could do. In terms of cultivation base, he didn't fear Naruto, nor was there any disparity between them when it came to magical techniques. But as for fleshly body power, he simply had no way of competing with Naruto.

He had no violet puppet, and wasn't strong enough to fight back physically.

"Dammit! Cultivators like us practice divine abilities! We search for great Daos, and work hard to live forever! Y-y-you're… y-y-you're just cultivating your physical body!"

"The only way to live forever is to not die!" Naruto replied confidently. "So of course I cultivate an undying body!" Lin Mu was unable to offer a response. Another blow hit him, and he coughed up more blood as he was knocked across the battlefield.

Killing intent swirled in Naruto's eyes as he bore down again on Lin Mu, within whose eyes flickered an unyielding gleam, and even madness. Lin Mu waved his arms, causing a pill furnace to fly out from his sleeve and shoot toward Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly and didn't even pause for a moment. In fact, he slammed directly into the pill furnace. It was a powerful magical treasure, and yet, could do nothing to Naruto. It was instantly sent flying off to the side as he arced through the air toward Lin Mu, looking like a blade of death!

—

Chapter 305 Chapter 305 Chapter 305

To be faced with such a deadly crisis caused Lin Mu's hair to stand on end. He waved his right hand, causing a command medallion to fly out. Drawing deeply upon himself, he spat some blood out onto the medallion.

Instantly, seven-colored light emerged from the medallion, shooting high up into the sky.

"Sword formations, protect me!" Even as the words left his mouth. Naruto appeared directly in front of him, right hand speeding forth in attack. However, before his blow could land, Naruto's expression flickered. Although the vast majority of the sword formations up above were being pinned down by the Core Formation cultivators from the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, there were still a dozen or so that suddenly shot toward Naruto, as fast as lightning.

Lin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Continuing to speed backward, he produced eight magical bucklers, as well as a jade slip, which he crushed. Instantly, the power of teleportation surged out around him.

Naruto's eyes flashed with brilliant light. "Another teleportation jade slip? I know the Profound Stream Sect is adept at equipment forging, but I think you've gone a bit overboard with the teleportation stuff!

"Although, did you really think that a dozen measly sword formations could slow me down?!"

Instead of evading the sword formations, he sped forward.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as four-colored light shone out to protect him, as well as a violet lamp. The dozen or so greatswords were blocked, and Naruto began to close in on Lin Mu.

Lin Mu's expression flickered, but before he could even react, Naruto used the Mountain Shaking Bash. At the same time, wings sprouted out behind him, propelling him at explosive speed. Almost instantly, the distance between him and Lin Mu was closed, and he encountered the first of the bucklers.

A huge boom filled the air, along with numerous cracking sounds. More than half of the defensive bucklers were shattered, and although that slowed Naruto down a bit, killing intent still flickered in his eyes. Next, he extended his right hand, and golden light shone out from his thumb and index finger. It was…

The Throat Crushing Grasp!

A gravitational force also appeared, causing the retreating Lin Mu to suddenly lurch to a stop. That was when Naruto smashed through the last of the bucklers, to appear directly in front of Lin Mu….

"Die!" he howled

Lin Mu was already starting to blur away because of the power of teleportation. Face twisting with madness, he shrieked and extended his right hand, which began to glow with a black light, along with the fluctuations of self-detonation.

He was detonating, not his body, but his right hand!

Even as Naruto closed in, Lin Mu's right hand exploded. As the force of the blow began to spread, Naruto stopped in place, and his Throat Crushing Grasp latched down on nothing but air. As for Lin Mu, his right arm had been destroyed from the shoulder on down!

It had been wiped away, not just from his fleshly body, but from his soul!

His expression was twisted with madness, and he was soaked in blood. By this point, he was ninety percent faded away, and based on the teleportation power swirling around him, Naruto could tell that there was something different about this teleportation. It was not like the teleportation he had seen Nine-Isles use, or the teleportation of the Foundation Establishment cultivator he had fought earlier!

Apparently, this teleportation was leading to somewhere much further away!

Heart thumping, he decided to try to probe for information. Voice cold, he said, "Even if you escape to that city, you'll still die in the

war!"

Lin Mu threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"You don't really think I'm going back to the Profound Stream Sect, do you? Don't try to trick me into revealing any information, Naruto. You won't be killing me in this war!

"I might have failed here, and lost my arm in the process, but next time we meet, I'll be prepared for all your tricks. Then I'll make you pay for what you've done, principal and interest!"

As Lin Mu continued to fade, and the power of teleportation grew stronger, Naruto looked at him and chuckled.

"Do you really think there'll be a next time?" he said coolly, his eyes shining mysteriously.

When Lin Mu saw the look in Naruto's eyes, his heart suddenly began to pound.

"That was a nice trick, controlling those sword formations. But guess what? I still have more tricks up my sleeve. Grand lich, kill him!" Naruto's Undying Live Forever Technique surged to life as he called upon the incredible power of the drop of Undying Blood he had used to connect himself to one of the most powerful entities in the Blood Stream Sect. Then, he pointed at Lin Mu!

Instantly, the grand lich, which was currently battling one of the enemy patriarchs, suddenly shivered. Its right hand, which had just been in the middle of unleashing a deadly attack, suddenly vanished, and when it reappeared, it was right behind Lin Mu!

Lin Mu let out an incredulous, miserable shriek as the hand pierced into the teleportation light and stabbed right into him, closing in around his heart!

RUMBLE!

Teleportation power erupted, and Lin Mu vanished. A moment later, he was gone. However, there in midair, gripped in the grand lich's hand, was a wriggling human heart!

It was bright red, but that color rapidly turned to gray. At the same time, an archaic aura spread out in all directions. Then the heart turned into ash. Naruto's pupils constricted.

However, there was no time to ponder the matter now, not in the middle of battle. Just when Naruto was about to lead another charge toward the city, he heard cheering off in the distance. Looking over, he saw a group of about two hundred cultivators flying through the air at top speed, throwing out glowing spheres left and right. As the toxic smoke in the spheres spread out, the group would then charge in and unleash carnage!

Xu Xiaoshan was in the group, and he was shouting battle cries at the top of his lungs. Also present were Beihan Lie, Jia Lie and Master GodDiviner. That group of four led the rest of the cultivators along as they fought toward Naruto.

This was the first time Naruto had noticed them, but they had spotted him some time ago. Although they had scattered during the incident with the giant crocodile, the sight of Naruto fighting spurred them into action. After grouping back together, they began to make their way across the field of battle to reunite with Naruto.

Although Beihan Lie would never admit it, he actually missed the months of battling alongside Naruto. When their eyes met, he snorted coldly, but at the same time, he started fighting even harder than before.

Then, Xu Xiaoshan looked over at Naruto and shouted, "Uzumaki

Xiaochun, we're here!"

Immediately following his call, two hundred voices rang out, "The Middle

Peak blood master has infinite magical powers! The Spirit Stream

Heaven-Dao expert can shake the whole world!"

Strange expressions appeared on the faces of the surrounding cultivators from all three sects.

Naruto was almost moved to tears. Swishing his sleeve, he called out, "Come, brothers! Let's go storm this city!"

The orders issued by the patriarchs moments ago had pushed the front line closer and closer to the city. The Profound Stream Sect's morale was crumbling, and they were in full retreat. Finally, one of the Profound Stream Sect patriarchs cried out, "Back to the city! Defend it with our lives!"

Immediately, the Profound Stream Sect cultivators outside the city all retreated at top speed. From Outer and Inner Sect disciples to the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment experts, every single one of them took to flight. As for the cultivators from the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, they shot after them in pursuit.

Even the patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect retreated, taking heavy injuries in the process. No counter-attacks were made. The entire sect fled back into the grand spell formation!

Everyone inside the city felt as if a huge weight were crushing down onto them. Outside, the cultivators of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects were filled with pride, and the desire to do battle! Without any hesitation, they launched a major offensive against the spell formation shield.

Light flashed in the sky, and thunder crackled.

Sword formations flew through the air. Spirit Stream Sect war chariots attacked like roaring dragons. Enormous javelins were launched. The spell formation shield that was the last line of defense for the Profound Stream Sect began to ripple and distort. However, it did not fall.

The army on the ground charged forward, unleashing powerful attacks into the mountains.

There was even fighting on the other side of the mountains, and although the scale there wasn't as grand as the main offensive, it was still brutal. Shockingly, the scattered remnants of the Pill Stream Sect were helping the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects lay siege to the Profound Stream Sect!

Their numbers were small, only a few tens of thousands. However, their hatred for the Profound Stream Sect vastly exceeded anything that the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects felt. Much of that was because, in addition to the actual cultivators from the Profound Stream Sect, there were also former Pill Stream Sect turncoats defending the city!

The fighting was fierce, and the reek of blood filled the area. Among the army of the Pill Stream Sect that assaulted the Profound Stream Sect from the rear was a young woman. She wore a white, gauzy veil, and was quite voluptuous. She radiated a bewitching power, and through her veil, it was possible to see that she was spectacularly beautiful!

That young woman had risen to prominence in this very war. She was Chen Manyao!

In addition to her poison skills, she was also a skilled strategist. Furthermore, some people said that her good looks made her the number one beauty in all of the Lower Reaches of the cultivation world!

Lin Mu, Nine-Isles, and virtually all other male cultivators were completely infatuated with her. Even the patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect were shaken by her beauty, and desired to take her as a concubine to use as a cultivation vessel.

However, she had a strong personality, and would rather die than submit to such an arrangement!

Currently, her eyes shone with profound light as she led the charge among the remnants of the Pill Stream Sect, sending out orders one after another. The charge of the Pill Stream Sect cultivators, combined with the assault of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, ensured that the Profound Stream Sect suffered nothing but defeat after defeat!

"The Profound Stream Sect still hasn't used the power of their precious treasure," she said softly. "Once they do, their defeat will be certain!" Next to her were two patriarchs, whose eyes glittered as they nodded in response.

Suddenly, one of them looked up. "They just used it!"

Chapter 305: Cutting Down Lin Mu

Chapter 306 Chapter 306

Chapter 306: The Slash Of The Heavenhorn!

In the Profound Stream Mountains, the spell formation protecting the city was gradually being worn down. Every time it was damaged, it would repair itself, but was clearly teetering on the verge of complete destruction. The newly returned Profound Stream Sect cultivators, as well as the Pill Stream Sect cultivators who had surrendered and were now bound by restrictive spells, were constantly feeding spiritual power into the formation to keep it operational.

Despite that, most of the Profound Stream Sect cultivators had sunk into reticent silence, wrapped up in numerous thoughts.

Although they were still capable of fighting, and were confident in being able to drag the war out a bit longer, they were all wrapped up in uncertainty regarding the future.

If they did drag things out, what good would it do…?

In the front, they faced the combined forces of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, and from the rear, they were being attacked by the remnants of the Pill Stream Sect. The Profound Stream Sect cultivators knew that, in truth, there was no hope for them.

The only thing that kept them going now was either loyalty to their sect, or fear of what would happen if they were defeated….

The patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect were all seriously injured. It was with great bitterness that they realized that their opponents would never give up in the fight.

"Even if we made a huge sacrifice to somehow kill Naruto, we still wouldn't be able to recover."

"They can't wipe us out like this. The Spirit and Blood Stream Sects… might be working together for now, but that won't last forever. We just need to hold out for a little bit longer…. Either their alliance will fall apart, or the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect will lose patience, and forbid them from trying to take on the Sky River Court…. The hope for all of that rests in killing Naruto!"

The patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect were not all in unison. Because of how the war had played out, they had different ideas about what exactly should be done. One of the patriarchs was an old man with a ruddy face and flowing red hair. Suddenly, he gave a cold harrumph and said, "What's the point of arguing about things now? Even if we surrender in the end, we can hurt the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects in the process, and even break their alliance. The vital intelligence that Thousand-Faces sent to us before he died is something we can't let go to waste!"

No one dared to speak up in opposition to him. This old man was the most powerful patriarch in the current generation of the Profound Stream Sect, Patriarch Crimsonsoul!

Cold light flickered in Patriarch Crimsonsoul's eyes, and before anyone could say anything else, he pointed outside of the city and said, "Release the precious treasure. Prepare the Heaven Bow!"

In response, the lands outside the city began to quake, and crevices opened up. Wider and wider they grew, until they were fully 300 meters wide.

The land almost looked like oceanwater, undulated wildly, much to the shock of the countless cultivators of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, who scrambled to get to safety. Then, a shocking roar issued forth from beneath the ground.

The roar was so astonishing that everyone who heard it couldn't prevent shock from filling their faces, and they even staggered backward. Some began to bleed out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. A few people who were closest to the origin of the roar simply couldn't withstand the sound, and their heads exploded.

Because of that roar, brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth!

Even the Gold Core cultivators and the patriarchs were astonished, and looked over in the d

irection of what sounded like explosive thunder from the heavens.

The lands collapsed, sending dirt and rocks exploding up into the air. An area of land hundreds of meters wide completely caved in, and everyone nearby staggered in place as another roar echoed out.

ROAR!

Then, something burst out from under the surface. It was an enormous black star beetle, with a carapace that resembled powerful armor, and long antennae with sharp pincers at the ends. It also emanated a shocking black glow. 1

As soon as it appeared, the black-armored star beetle charged into the battle lines, causing numerous Spirit and Blood Stream Sect cultivators to scream as they were crushed. Shockingly, this bug had battle prowess equivalent to a Nascent Soul patriarch!

In fact, in some ways, it was even more powerful than that. Furthermore, black mist roiled off of its body that dissolved everything it touched.

Naruto was shocked by the sight of the enormous black beetle. He had seen all sorts of gigantic wild beasts, but this was his first time seeing a bug this large.

Cries of shock rang out from the Gold Core cultivators among the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects as they recognized what it was.

"A black-armored star beetle!"

"One of the Profound Stream Sect's two precious treasures. They've finally unleashed their black-armored star beetle!"

The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch snorted coldly and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Waving his finger toward the sky, he said, "I summon the Spirit Stream Sect's… Heavenhorn Sword!"

Suddenly, the sky began to tremble, and a screaming sound echoed out. It sounded, not like the screaming of a person, but rather, the screaming caused by something ripping through the air at incredible speed!

In the blink of an eye, dazzling silver light shone out from above as a black sword appeared!

It looked like an ordinary sword, except that it was slightly curved. It had been forged from the shed horn of an inkdragon, and despite its relatively humble appearance, it was anything but ordinary. Visible on its surface were ten shocking silver designs!

That indicated that this sword had benefited from a tenfold spirit enhancement! Even a piece of scrap iron that had received a tenfold spirit enhancement would be called a rare and powerful weapon. But the Heavenhorn Sword was much more than that. With a spirit enhancement the likes of which it had received, it could be considered something above a precious treasure. It was halfway to being a spirit treasure!

When it came to magical devices, they were usually referred to in terms of three levels; magical treasures, precious treasures, and spirit treasures. In terms of quality, each level was broken up using the descriptions of mortal, earth, and heaven. For example, only heaven-tier precious treasures would be the kind that could protect an entire sect!

In terms of spirit treasures, even the most inferior type, the mortal-tier, would still be enough to be used as a reserve power for an entire sect.

Furthermore, they would never be unleashed lightly. Only if the sect faced imminent destruction would they be called upon.

The Heavenhorn Sword's arrival caused a great commotion among all of the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators on the battlefield. They immediately began to cheer loudly.

"That's our sect's Heavenhorn Sword! Hahaha! When the Heavenhorn Sword appears, it can slash forests and destroy moons!"

"The Heavenhorn Sword is so powerful it can shake mountains and dry up rivers!"

"It has a tenfold spirit enhancement. Nothing can compare to that!" As their cries rolled out, it wasn't just the Profound Stream Sect cultivators whose faces darkened. Even the Blood Stream Sect disciples had unsightly expressions on their faces; they weren't exactly happy to see the Spirit Stream Sect stealing the spotlight.

Among the patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect, only light snorts could be heard. Even they were shocked by the sight of the Heavenhorn Sword and its ten shocking silver designs. They had done much research into the precious treasures of the Spirit Stream Sect, but had never been able to uncover what incredible luck the sect had encountered to be able to perform a tenfold spirit enhancement without destroying the sword in the process.

The arch-patriarch sighed. "That's probably the only item in all of the eastern Lower Reaches that has a tenfold spirit enhancement."

Naruto looked up excitedly at the Heavenhorn Sword, and especially at the ten silver designs on it. Those designs instantly reminded him of his turtle-wok.

Although he didn't use the wok all the time, he knew that it was his most important secret. To this day, he still dreamed about using it to produce a magical item with a hundredfold spirit enhancement. He couldn't help but get excited about how shocked everyone would be if he succeeded at that.

"I'm definitely going to do that one day!" Even as Naruto's heart stirred with excitement, Bruiser was on another part of the battlefield. He had just been prepared to make another offensive charge when a tremor ran through him, and he looked up, not at the Heavenhorn Sword, but at the black beetle. Within his eyes gleamed a flicker of desire, and he had to suppress the urge to try to eat the beetle immediately. After all, he was aware of the vast difference in power between the two of them.

After looking up in thought for a moment, he began to creep across the battlefield toward the black beetle.

Meanwhile, the Heavenhorn Sword descended in flickering light, like a black lightning bolt filled with silver. It sliced through the power of beetle's roar like a hot knife through butter, a dazzling arc of light, a waterfall hundreds of meters tall, a silver rainbow!

Trembling, the black-armored star beetle looked up, and then roared as though it knew it was facing a powerful opponent. Black mist erupted from its body, forming into an even larger figure!

It was fully 3,000 meters tall, and although it wasn't fully solid, it was rapidly taking shape. The energy that erupted off of it left everyone gasping. Roaring, the black-armored star beetle shot directly toward the Heavenhorn Sword!

Rumbling sounds shook the whole world. The blinding light shining off of the Heavenhorn Sword became the most dazzling thing on the battlefield.

However, the Heavenhorn Sword simply tapped the beetle. When it did, the silver lines on its surface pulsed, and the black-armored star beetle let out a bloodcurdling scream. The outer layer of its body collapsed, and its true form was revealed. The expression on its face was one of terror, and it was about to flee, but to the utter shock of everyone observing, it was sliced into two pieces!

Blood exploded out from the two pieces of the corpse, revealing that the beetle itself was something like a puppet, within the middle of which was a bizarre, black crystal!

What delivered the killing blow wasn't the sword itself, it was the power of the tenfold spirit enhancement designs!

—

In Chinese, this bug is literally a "heavenly ox." It's also known as a longhorned beetle.

Chapter 307 Chapter 307 Chapter 307

"So, this is the terrifying level of a tenfold spirit enhancement!" The patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect almost couldn't believe their eyes, and were completely shaken. If people like them had such a reaction, then there was no need to even mention the Profound Stream Sect's Gold Core cultivators, whose scalps were tingling in astonishment.

Even the Blood Stream Sect cultivators felt their minds reeling. As for the patriarchs, they had known in the past that the Heavenhorn Sword was something to take very seriously, but to see with their own eyes how domineering it was forced them to admit that they had underestimated the signature sword of the Spirit Stream Sect!

"It seems the legends of the tenfold spirit enhancement were true," the Blood Stream Sect arch-patriarch said. "A tenfold spirit enhancement will produce shocking transformations…. In fact, it's just short of being a true spirit treasure!"

After joining forces with the Spirit Stream Sect, it was becoming increasingly clear to the Blood Stream Sect that they were adept at concealing their true strength. Although they still didn't quite match up to the Blood Stream Sect, if war had truly broken out, even if the Blood Stream Sect won in the end, they would have been forced to pay a severe price. In fact, they would most likely have lost any qualification to enter the Middle Reaches.

Furthermore, before they would even have had a chance to do that, the Profound Stream Sect would have come for them, and the current situation would likely have been reversed.

Everyone had been watching the clash between the Heavenhorn Sword and the black-armored star beetle. That was especially true of the people on the city walls. Actually, there was a stirring of spiritual energy originating from those walls that was locked down on the area around the black-armored star beetle….

As the Heavenhorn Sword rose back up into the air, the two halves of the black-armored star beetle toppled down to either side, and the battlefield went completely silent. But then, all of the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators broke out into thunderous cheering.

In sharp contrast, the Profound Stream Sect cultivators were forced to watch their sect's precious treasure, the black-armored star beetle, be cut in half. As its black blood oozed out in all directions, the shaken Profound Stream Sect cultivators slowly bowed their heads. Many of them looked more thoughtful than ever.

It was then that people started to realize that within the corpse of the black-armored star beetle, there was a very strange-looking crystal. Soon, more and more people were staring at it.

However, even more attracted to the crystal were the numerous battle beasts, who were staring at it wide-eyed.

"A beast king crystal!" the Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch said. But then his eyes flickered, and his face fell. "Wait, no, it's a fake!"

However, even as the words left his mouth, a tiny figure leapt out in front of everyone. It was Bruiser, who had shrunk down to the size of a hand, and was flying toward the corpse of the black-armored star beetle with shocking speed.

His eyes shone with longing, almost madness, and he was moving so quickly that he was nothing more than a colorful blur. Naruto's jaw dropped, and suddenly, he was stricken with the realization that something about the situation seemed off. Before he could react though…

A droning sound filled the air, and it was coming from the city walls of the Profound Stream Sect. The sound instantly grew in volume until it was earsplitting, and caused all hearts to tremble.

Next, a black arrow became visible. In the blink of an eye, it shot forth from the city, flying at unbelievable

speed toward the direction of the black-armored star beetle!

Its target was none other than Bruiser!

A tremor ran through Bruiser, a sudden, intense sensation of deadly crisis. He let out a howl as he tried to flee, or perhaps fight back. And yet all such efforts were useless; the arrow was only half a moment away from stabbing into his forehead!

Naruto instantly devolved into madness. Shouting out in a hoarse voice, he flew out into the air and opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye. All the control power of his third eye erupted, almost like an invisible hand which wrapped around the arrow in an attempt to halt its momentum.

Naruto shot toward the beetle corpse with all the power he could muster, blood oozing out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. As a result of all of his efforts, the arrow suddenly lurched to a halt!

In that moment, Bruiser shivered, and then leapt to the side. Just as Naruto was breathing a sigh of relief, the arrow swiveled in place. Instead of aiming at Bruiser, or even at Naruto, it was now pointing directly toward the black crystal!

It moved with speed just as incredible as before, and the sudden acceleration instantly shattered Naruto's control power….

All of this takes quite some time to describe, but happened with exceeding quickness. Few people on the battlefield were capable of even reacting. However, one of them was the Blood Stream Sect's archpatriarch, whose scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode.

"Nightcrypt, get back!" he shouted. "The target is you!"

The other patriarchs' faces fell as they realized what was happening, and although they wanted to do something to save Naruto, there was no time.

Although the previous situations he had encountered on the battlefield seemed dangerous, the truth was that the patriarchs had always been close by, and could have intervened if the situation got out of hand.

But now, things were developing too quickly, and the Profound Stream Sect had seized an opportunity with vicious determination. Naruto had flown out of his own accord because of the danger Bruiser had been in. Because of that, the ability of the patriarchs of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects to protect him had suddenly faltered!

Although few other people might have noticed the opportunity which had developed, how could Patriarch Crimsonsoul of the Profound Stream Sect not notice? This was a situation that he had personally manipulated!

Naruto's pupils constricted, but he didn't have any time to ponder his next action. A sensation of mortal crisis filled him, and he was left with few ways to defend himself. Shouting, he grabbed Bruiser, and then a black light shone out as the turtle-wok appeared. Simultaneously, Naruto curled up into the smallest ball possible inside of the wok.

Just as he did that, the arrow struck the black crystal that was inside the corpse of the beetle. Instantly, a huge boom shook the area, and a black shockwave spread out for 90 meters in every direction. Everywhere the shockwave passed, it obliterated any living thing it touched, even the grass. Everything was wiped away; the cultivators it hit didn't even have a chance to scream.

The corpse of the black-armored star beetle was completely eradicated, and a huge crater was hewn out of the ground!

Soon the boundless black light faded away, revealing the only thing to have been left behind: a black wok on the edge of the crater, sitting there motionless.

As everyone peered over to look, the wok trembled, and then slowly lifted up to reveal Naruto's face. He appeared to be so terrified that he was shaking. The sensation of having just escaped with his life left tears running down his cheeks.

"Profound Stream Sect," he shrieked, "things aren't finished between us. Y-y-you… you people actually tried to ambush me again!?" Fear still throbbed in his heart. Despite having been saved by the turtle-wok, he was still convinced that he was about to die.

However, when used by Naruto, the spirit enhancement wok was extremely powerful. Without it, his poor little life would have been lost. His heart was pounding, and the residual fear that flowed through him caused his knees to wobble.

Crawling out from underneath the wok, and cradling Bruiser in his arms, he said, "Bruiser, you almost got your dad killed, did you know that!?"

Bruiser looked like he was about to cry; he knew that he had slipped up.

Seeing Bruiser's reaction, Naruto couldn't bear to criticize him any further. Then, flames of rage began to rise up in his eyes as he looked over at the city walls, and the old man standing atop them with a huge bow in his hands.

"You just wait for Lord Uzumaki, you old fart!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I… I want that bow of yours!"

"I can't believe he's not dead!" Patriarch Crimsonsoul said, lowering the enormous green bow. The bow itself emanated a profoundly ancient Heaven-Dao aura. It was none other than the Profound Stream Sect's second precious treasure, the Heaven Bow!

The arrow from moments ago had been loosed by that very bow!

The Profound Stream Sect had long since come to realize that it would be impossible for any of them to directly kill Naruto, not even the Gold Core cultivators. One of the enemy patriarchs would definitely step in to save him. The Spirit and Blood Stream Sects were simply too protective of Naruto.

The entire time, Patriarch Crimsonsoul had never been able to find a chance to kill Naruto, and had eventually come up with the plan from moments ago, to sacrifice the black-armored star beetle, and then use a crystal infused with the aura of a beast king to attract Bruiser. If Naruto didn't make a move to save Bruiser, then the plan would have been for naught. However, as long as Naruto appeared… then he could detonate the black crystal and destroy everything in the area, including Naruto!

If Naruto died, it would be a fatal blow to the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, and would have made a split between the two even more likely. Even if the Profound Stream Sect eventually surrendered, they would have a chance to rise up again in the future!

However, after everything was said and done, Naruto didn't end up dead. A very unsightly expression could be seen on Patriarch Crimsonsoul's face, and his heart was filled with bitter sullenness.

When the Spirit and Blood Stream Sect patriarchs realized that Naruto had survived, they breathed sighs of relief. Toruho was shaking; moments ago, he had been struck mute with fear. It was the same with all of Naruto's other friends on the battlefield.

As the fury of the two sects burned hotter than ever, they attacked. The Heavenhorn Sword slashed into the spell formation, and the other precious treasures of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects were unleashed.

A huge blood-colored tree appeared, as well as a blood mirror. Numerous powerful objects sent heaven-rending, earth-crushing power toward the Profound Stream Sect!

Chapter 307: Target… Naruto!

Chapter 308 Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Yin-Yang Ravens

Powerful tremors ran across the surface of the spell formation shield. When the Heavenhorn Sword struck it, dazzling silver light shot out, and the shield distorted visibly. The entire spell formation teetered, and although it didn't collapse, it clearly experienced a significant drainage of spiritual power.

At the same time, the patriarchs of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, as well as the Gold Core cultivators, were joined by large numbers of Foundation Establishment experts to unleash powerful attacks.

The enraged Naruto also charged forth, continuously unleashing his blood Chakra to keep the Blood Stream Sect cultivators at their peak. Bruiser was at his side, equally furious. Howling, he released his beast king aura, causing countless battle beasts to go mad as they attacked the spell formation.

Gargoyles, refined corpses, blood swords and violet cauldrons could be seen everywhere. Then the Spirit Stream Sect's ninth mountain peak appeared, causing everything to shake violently…. The mountains themselves began to crack and crumble!

Blood clouds spread out, instantly staining the mountains and the city red. On the other side of the mountain range, the remnants of the Pill Stream Sect were attacking with full force, battering the rear portion of the spell formation to the point of destruction!

From the look of it, the spell formation couldn't hold on for much longer, and in fact, the only way to prevent it from collapsing was to reduce its range.

The Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch had a very grim look on his face. The deadly crisis that had just befallen Naruto left him feeling both anxious and furious. "Profound Stream Sect…. I'm not interested in waiting around for you to unleash your true reserve powers. Let's see if you still dare to hold back under the force of the Blood Stream Sect's reserve powers!"

The arch-patriarch was the Blood Stream Sect's only cultivator in the great circle of the Nascent Soul. His fury was something that could only be stood up to by the Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch and patriarch Crimsonsoul of the Profound Stream Sect.

Those three were all in the great circle, and thus, vastly more powerful than any of the other Nascent Soul cultivators.

The arch-patriarch performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then pointed his finger up into the sky. Voice resounding like heavenly thunder, he shouted, "Blood Stream Night Effigy!"

As the words left his mouth, the sky began to vibrate, and a red bolt of lightning suddenly appeared. As it streaked through the sky, it slashed open a huge rift, within which appeared a bizarre scarecrow with glowing red eyes!

Cruel cackling echoed out from the mouth of the wicked-looking scarecrow. In one hand it held a patch of human skin, and in the other, a steelyard balance. As soon as it appeared, intense and shocking pressure roiled out to fill heaven and earth.

That pressure alone caused the spell formation to begin to tremble on the verge of collapse.

The Blood Stream Sect cultivators gasped, and then their eyes shone with strange light. This was none other than the true reserve power of the Blood Stream Sect.

The reserve powers were the foundation of any sect!

Countless red lightning bolts crashed in the sky above as the scarecrow suddenly vanished. When it reappeared, it was right outside of the spell formation shield, where it lifted its right hand up. As it did, the steelyard balance grew immeasurably large, and then, within the weighing tray, an image appeared.

Upon closer examination, that image proved to be the entire mountain range that the Profound Stream Sect's city was built into! Then, the steelyard balance began to move, as though i

t were weighing the importance of the mountain range and the city!

The ground quaked and the mountains trembled. The city began to sway back and forth. Cracks appeared in the spell formation shield, almost as though heaven and earth were weighing the city!

Once the weighing process was over, the mountain range and the city would be reduced to ashes!

Naruto took a deep breath. To see the bizarre image of the scarecrow, and the quaking mountains and city, made him realize that reserve powers of this level were something that not even patriarchs could deal with.

"I wonder what the true reserve power of the Spirit Stream Sect is like?" he thought, his mind reeling. The patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect had very serious expressions on their faces. Patriarch Crimsonsoul's eyes flickered, and then he suddenly extended his right hand and slammed it down onto the ground.

The resulting boom caused everything to tremble. Countless rocks and rubble suddenly leapt up into the air as an altar rose up from a square in the middle of the city.

"Exalted Celestial Incense!" Patriarch Crimsonsoul roared. At the same time, a thumb-sized chunk of black incense appeared on the surface of the altar!

It radiated an incredibly ancient air, as though it had existed for countless years. Furthermore, it had obviously been lit on many occasions in the past; now, only a small bit remained….

As soon as it appeared, it began to burn, sending delicate streams of green smoke out through the spell formation, where they began to form into an image!

Instantly, the scarecrow's red eyes began to glow even more brightly than before. It only took a brief moment for the image of green smoke to coalesce into the form of a cultivator!

He appeared to be a middle-aged man wearing a Daoist robe and Daoist headgear. He bore the demeanor of a transcendent being, and seemed graceful in a way that surpassed the mortal world. From the aura and energy that exploded out from him, he almost seemed to be fused with heaven and earth. Instantly, the blood clouds in the sky began to churn, and the ninth mountain peak began to tremble.

Then the middle-aged cultivator waved his finger, and everything began to distort. The steelyard balance in the hand of the scarecrow exploded violently, making it impossible to continue the weighing process. Everyone was completely and utterly astounded.

The eyes of the Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch gleamed with bright light. He knew that the Profound Stream Sect's reserve power was extraordinary, and now that he was able to witness it with his own eyes, he thought back to some of the stories he'd heard, and instantly realized the truth. "The power of the Deva Realm!"

Naruto's heart was shaken. He looked at the man made from smoke, and could feel the terrifying pressure radiating off of him. A moment later, he realized that just looking at him filled his eyes with pain, and caused his mind to reel.

To him, it seemed as this man had replaced the heavens, and was he himself heavenly might!

The scarecrow's eyes began to glow with increasingly intense redness. Letting loose a powerful shriek, it took the patch of human skin it held in its left hand and then swung it around to cover its own body! In the blink of an eye, the scarecrow transformed into a child, which opened its mouth in terrifying fashion as it lunged at the middle-aged man. The conflict between these two ultimate reserve powers was causing everything under the sky to shake violently!

Lights flashed in the sky, and a huge wind kicked up, accompanied by thunderous booms. The founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect didn't hesitate at all to also perform an incantation gesture, then wave his hand upward!

"Spirit Stream Yang Raven!"

The founding patriarch's words were accompanied by cacophonous rumbling sounds. It was as if two hands were ripping open the heavens to reveal a bright, clear sky beyond. There, the shocking image of a white sun could be seen!

Within the white sun was a black raven. The raven's eyes opened, and they emitted blinding light. Then it cawed in deafening fashion!

Even as ripples flowed out from the raven, it took a deep breath, completely absorbing the white sun. Then it became a streak of light like a shooting star that headed in the direction of the spell formation shield.

"Pill Stream Sect, produce your reserve power!" shouted Patriarch

Crimsonsoul, his expression vicious. Instantly, one of the sealed Pill Stream Sect cultivators in the city, a former patriarch of the Pill Stream Sect, gritted his teeth and then waved his hand.

Rumbling filled all creation as the sky once again opened up in the exact same position where the white sun had appeared. However, this time, what appeared was something completely different: a black sun!

The instant the black sun appeared, it cast darkness everywhere below. Most strangely of all, within the black sun was a bird that looked almost exactly the same as the Spirit Stream Sect's raven!

However, this raven was actually white!

All cultivators who could see what was happening were gasping in shock. Many of them had eyes as wide as saucers. The fact that the reserve powers of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Pill Stream Sect were so similar made it obvious that the two sects were connected somehow!

Naruto's eyes went wide as he watched the white raven open its mouth and suck in the black sun. Then, eyes gleaming as if with hatred for an archenemy, it shot toward the Spirit Stream Sect's black raven. When the two collided, a massive boom shook everything in the area.

The Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch suddenly thought back to a rumor he'd heard. "Yin-Yang Ravens!"

Supposedly, when the Spirit Stream Sect made its foray into the Lower Reaches 10,000 years ago, they had possessed no reserve power. Later, they had joined forces with the Pill Stream Sect, which was when they suddenly came to have a spirit treasure!

"Either way, this battle is almost over," thought the arch-patriarch.

"There's no way the Profound Stream Sect has a third reserve treasure."

The Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch exchanged a glance with the

Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch, and they nodded to each other. The truth was that they could have made a massive attack like this earlier on. However, they had drawn things out to give the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects a chance to fight together. At the same time, they were able to chip away at the morale of the Profound Stream Sect. After all, their goal was not to wipe out the Profound Stream Sect, but rather, to absorb it!

Now that the Profound Stream Sect had revealed their reserve power, there was no suspense at all left in the war.

The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch waved his sleeve, and then spoke in a voice as cold as ice: "Profound Stream Sect, do you surrender?!"

Chapter 309 Chapter 309

Chapter 309: The Profound Stream Sect Surrenders!

"Profound Stream Sect, do you surrender?!" The words of the Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch echoed out in all directions.

Simultaneously, orders were passed down to the disciples. The giants powered by the Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect roared as they battered the spell formation, joined by the enormous blood spheres composed of Outer Sect disciples from the Blood Stream Sect.

A huge boom rippled out from this first major attack. The cultivators inside the Profound Stream Sect's city were having a difficult time continuing to power the spell formation, and were left trembling. And that was only from an attack by the Outer Sect disciples! The sheer numbers involved left the Profound Stream Sect cultivators' cultivation bases in chaos.

At the same time, the Outer Sect disciples shouted in unison: "Profound

Stream Sect, do you surrender?!"

Their voices were like thunder that rattled the hearts and minds of the Profound Stream Sect cultivators. Before they could even begin to do some breathing exercises to recover, a wave of refined corpses, gargoyles, war chariots and battle beasts charged forth in a second major attack.

That attack was even more intense than the previous attack, and released even greater pressure than the previous one. The Profound Stream Sect cultivators felt as if their cultivation bases were about to be torn to pieces. Even the patriarchs were included. Everyone was well aware that the attacks leveled by the two sects would only continue to get stronger!

Before they even had time to react, and almost concurrent with the second attack, the Inner Sect disciples of the two sects launched a third attack! The spell formation incarnations of the Spirit Stream Sect and the locust-like magic of the Blood Stream Sect formed together into something like a sharp sword which slashed toward the spell formation!

"Profound Stream Sect, do you surrender?!"

Their cry caused the entire city to shake. The spell formation shield distorted, and the Profound Stream Sect cultivators shook violently. Their cultivation bases couldn't take much more. This third attack was even more powerful than the others, and many of the pale-faced cultivators inside the formation were even beginning to wither up.

There was no chance for any of them to rest or recuperate for even a moment. Things weren't over yet. Next came the Chosen and peak lords from the seven mountain peaks of the south and north banks of the Spirit Stream Sect, in the form of enormous spell formation giants. At their side were their contemporaries from the four mountain peaks of the Blood Stream Sect. A fourth powerful attack!

This attack was completely different from the first three. It was like stabbing a dagger into the heart of a dying person. The spell formation trembled, and the cultivators supporting it from within all began to cough up blood. Yet again, there was no other choice for them but to allow the spell formation to shrink.

Next came the spell formation giants from Mount Daoseed, including Uzumaki

Xiaochun's. Joining them were the blood masters and elders from the Blood Stream Sect. Terrifying roars echoed out as they unleashed the fifth major attack!

That attack unleashed power even greater than all of the previous attacks put together. Naruto joined in the thunderous battle cry as the spell formation distorted, and then shrank down again. Mountains in the area crumbled, and the city seemed in grave danger of simply collapsing!

More blood spilled out of the mouths of the cultivators powering the spell formation, whose Chakra passageways were already significantly injured. Some of them were so withered that they had to be replaced. As that happened, the thunderous shout of t

he Spirit and Blood Stream Sects reached their ears.

"Profound Stream Sect, do you surrender?!"

The Profound Stream Sect cultivators' hearts were pounding in their chests, but before they could pull themselves back together, a sixth major attack headed their way!

That attack came from the well over 100 prime elders from both sects. They held nothing back as they unleashed the most powerful attack yet onto the spell formation!

The spell formation rumbled as cracks spread out. It shrank down again, exposing the outer areas of the city. More cultivators inside coughed up blood, and many of them lapsed into unconsciousness.

The main emotion in the minds of most cultivators in the city was despair! And yet, another attack was already incoming. The cultivation bases of the blood rippers and legacy echelon cultivators erupted. Trump cards were unleashed without hesitation. Visually, the seventh major attack looked like shooting stars slamming into the spell formation shield.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The damage to the spell formation spread out even further. The walls of the city began to fall, revealing the exhausted, bitter Profound Stream Sect cultivators inside. Some of the cultivators who had been powering the spell formation were instantly destroyed in body and soul.

The area covered by the spell formation shrank yet again, leaving many cultivators outside of its protection.

Some of those cultivators had once been members of the Pill Stream Sect. They could only sit there silently with gritted teeth; they had no desire to be considered part of the Profound Stream Sect anymore.

Then, the eighth major attack closed in!

Six patriarchs of the Blood Stream Sect and four from the Spirit Stream Sect joined together for the eighth attack! They were like ten gods, and the mere sound of them unleashing their battle prowess was like thunder from the heavens.

"Profound Stream Sect, do you surrender?!" The air shattered, and the ground quaked violently. As the attacks of ten patriarchs slammed into the spell formation, the patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect roared and held nothing back to resist.

Booms rang out constantly. More than half of the city was destroyed now, and all of the patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect were left coughing up blood. Their faces were ashen, and their bodies withered. They looked older than before, and even Patriarch Crimsonsoul was staggering backward, blood spraying out of his mouth.

It was in that moment that the remnants of the Pill Stream Sect unleashed their own powerful attack. A huge pill furnace smashed into the spell formation shield, and the tens of thousands of cultivators behind it attacked with suicidal abandon. Another powerful shout filled the air.

"Profound Stream Sect, do you surrender?!"

One of the cultivators within the Pill Stream Sect was a young woman with a gauzy white veil. Her facial features were obscured, but her eyes were visible, and they were spectacularly beautiful. Virtually all of the cultivators in the Pill Stream Sect were obsessed with her. Within that sea of people, she was like a pearl on a beach, resplendent and beautiful!

Booms echoed out as the spell formation trembled. When the pill furnace slammed into it, a huge gap ripped open. Patriarch Crimsonsoul spread his arms wide, and the power of a great circle Nascent Soul cultivation base exploded out as he joined the scattered remnants of the Profound Stream Sect cultivators who were powering the spell formation.

However, that was when Naruto noticed something up in the air above the spell formation. His eyes went wide when he realized that he was looking at a very familiar monkey.

The old monkey was holding an enormous staff raised overhead. Eyes flickering with an archaic light, as well as a dignity that could shake heaven and earth, he smashed the staff downward.

"Profound Stream Sect, do you surrender?!" roared an ancient-sounding voice. The spell formation shook violently, and finally, exploded!

A shockwave blasted out in all directions. Patriarch Crimsonsoul coughed up an enormous mouthful of blood. The other cultivators of the Profound Stream Sect were all soaked in blood from various wounds. At the same time, something shot into the city, something that moved so quickly it was impossible for anyone to see it clearly at first. Only when it landed on the altar in the middle of the city was it possible to tell that it was a rabbit!

The rabbit's eyes glittered with a mysterious light as it snatched the incense off of the altar and extinguished it!

When that happened, the middle-aged man fighting the scarecrow suddenly vanished. Then the scarecrow looked down, radiating the terrifying energy that only the deepest reserve powers of a sect could. That energy locked down onto the wounded patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect, making it impossible for them to even move.

Everything happened almost too quickly to process. The monkey appeared, broke open the spell formation, then the rabbit extinguished the incense, and finally the scarecrow sent energy crushing down. It all happened within the space of a few breaths of time.

Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared at the rabbit on the altar. Suddenly, he got a very bad feeling….

That was when Naruto suddenly realized that numerous cultivators from the two sects were all vying with each other to enter the city. That was even true of the scattered remnants of the Pill Stream Sect on the other side, led by the young woman in the white veil. Naruto slapped his thigh.

"Battle merit! Whoever gets into the city first will get a big reward!" Suddenly inspired, he roared and shot off at top speed. Bruiser seemed to understand exactly what he was thinking, and gave him a push off. Naruto flew forward, wings flapping, blasting across the battlefield like a meteor. He immediately passed everyone else, and then quickly stepped onto the shattered city wall.

"Profound Stream Sect, are you going to surrender?!" The echo of his shout caused Patriarch Crimsonsoul's heart to fill with bitterness. He looked around at the Profound Stream Sect cultivators, and then over at Naruto. He knew that after surrendering, he would have to come up with a method of resolving the differences between the two of them. Even as his eyes flickered, the other patriarchs clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"We surrender!"

Everything went quiet for a moment, and then cheering erupted from the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects. The Profound Stream Sect cultivators sighed, and Naruto's eyebrows shot up and down in excitement. Sticking his chin up, he waved his sleeve and proudly said, "With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto reduced the Profound Stream–"

Before he could finish speaking, a little turtle head popped out of his bag of holding and looked up at him. The turtle sighed.

"Ah, it's been a long time since I've heard someone blow their own horn so loudly."

Chapter 310 Chapter 310

Chapter 310: Du Xuemei Offers Greetings, Blood Master!

Naruto's jaw dropped. For years now, his moments of sleeveflicking monologue had always been one of great pride. Never before had anyone interrupted him. Eyes wide, he stared down at the green little turtle head sticking out of his bag of holding.

"Dammit, you're still in my bag of holding!?" Just as he reached his hand over to grab the turtle, the turtle rolled its eyes, stuck its head back inside, and vanished.

Naruto was fuming with rage. The little turtle was really a disaster for him. Whenever he thought about how it had provoked that enormous golden crocodile, his head started to ache.

However, despite his simmering rage, he couldn't find the turtle no matter how he looked. Gritting his teeth, he decided to start using a new bag of holding. After switching the contents, he hurled the old one outside of the city.

"If you're so awesome," he said angrily, "let's see you pop your head out of this one!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the little turtle's head popped out of the new bag of holding and looked contemptuously at Naruto.

"Considering you just gave Lord Turtle a new house, I'll play along. Go ahead and bow down in worship!"

Naruto felt like he was about to start crying. After a long moment, he sighed and resigned himself to the fact that he couldn't do anything about the little turtle. With that, he looked around dejectedly at the other cultivators of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects as they poured into the city and started taking the Profound Stream Sect cultivators into custody.

As for the monkey and the rabbit, Naruto looked around for quite a while, but couldn't find any clues as to where they'd gone off to. Even Bruiser had disappeared now that the city had fallen….

"I was the one who made that monkey and that rabbit…." he thought sadly. It was really a strange situation, and suddenly he couldn't help but think back to all of the other little animals from back in the Spirit Stream Sect.

Soon, the remnants of the Pill Stream Sect were pouring in from the other side. Mixed emotions could be seen as they looked at their compatriots who had given into the Profound Stream Sect. At the same time, they complied with the instructions of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects as their own sect was absorbed into the alliance.

The patriarchs of the Profound Stream Sect, especially Patriarch Crimsonsoul, were not magically sealed. Instead, the arch-patriarch and the founding patriarch calmly accepted their surrender.

When it came to the lower ranking cultivators, the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects had their ways of ensuring that they were taken in by the alliance.

Naruto didn't need to help with anything. He simply watched as the excited and enthusiastic cultivators of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects cheered and went about their work. Now that the war was over, it was possible to say that the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world had truly been united!

All that was needed now was a bit of time for the Lower Reaches to build up strength, and then they could march to challenge the Sky River Court!

Naruto had been the center of all attention during the fighting, and now, he was like a sun shining down on the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects. Everyone looked at him with passion and respect. As for the female disciples, strange gleams could be seen in their eyes, which made Naruto feel wonderful. He quickly set aside the matter of the little turtle, and simply savored the moment. Assuming the pose of an important person from the Senior generation, he began to stroll through the city.

Whenever he enco

untered cultivators he knew, he would smile and nod. As he passed, an endless stream of "Greetings, Junior Patriarch" could be heard

Eventually, Naruto was displeased to discover that he actually wasn't the only person to have become extremely famous during the war. There was another person from the Pill Stream Sect who everyone was talking about….

She was none other than the beautiful Chosen Chen Manyao!

Although she had a powerful cultivation base, and was skilled in both strategy and tactics, what most people noticed was her spectacular beauty. Because of the semi-transparent veil she wore, it was impossible to tell the true extent of her good looks, but even still, countless people would stare at her with beating hearts.

At one point, Naruto looked over, annoyed, to see a whole group of disciples clustered around her. Suddenly, she looked up at him, her eyes cold and icy.

The look she was giving him left him feeling even more annoyed than before.

"Her cultivation base isn't as profound as mine, and her position isn't as high as mine either. Her techniques don't measure up, and her background can't compare. What's so amazing about her!?" After some thought, he was also convinced that she wasn't as good-looking as he was either. He widened his eyes into a glare, and she looked away. Laughing and chatting, she led the group of cultivators away.

Naruto snorted coldly. By this time, evening was falling, and he began to ask around about his friends, such as Xu Baocai, Big Fatty Zhang, Hou Yunfei, and Third Fatty Hei. He learned that some had been injured, or even collapsed from exhaustion, but none had perished. Breathing a sigh of relief, he offered sincere thanks to all of the other disciples who had been with his friends in the various spell formations.

Naruto could be a diplomatic person when necessary, and was well aware that the likely reason why all of his best friends had survived the war was because people had been watching out for them for his sake.

The other disciples from the various spell formations were very moved by his expression of thanks, and their respect for him grew.

Eventually he found some prime elders of the two sects who were sighing over how brutal the fighting had been. When Naruto appeared, they smiled and began to chat. After some pleasantries, he asked about where Xuemei had been taken.

One of the Blood Stream Sect's prime elders winked knowingly and said, "Xuemei was seriously injured during the fighting. Although she'll recover, she needs to spend some time in secluded meditation. Since she's an important disciple of the Blood Stream Sect, she'll definitely be in the eastern section of the city, where the least damage was sustained. Head over there, you should be able to find her."

Having determined Xuemei's location, Naruto cleared his throat and continued to engage in some idle chatter before taking his leave and heading toward the eastern section of the city.

Along the way, he looked around at the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects taking control of the remnants of the city, and felt very pleased. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that his decision back in the Luochen Mountains had been the correct one.

It was already possible to see that the disciples of the Spirit and Blood

Stream Sects were starting to get comfortable with each other. Naruto was very pleased. Eventually, he passed through the center of the city, where the Profound Stream Sect's treasure store was located. Although the sky was dark, there were still quite a number of cultivators there, busily clearing out the treasures. Suddenly, Naruto's expression flickered.

"I remember hearing that the Holy Pill Wall Fragment back in the Blood Stream Sect had been robbed from the Pill Stream Sect. Presumably, the other half remained with the Pill Stream Sect. Since the Pill Stream Sect was conquered by the Profound Stream Sect, I wonder if that wall fragment is in the Profound Stream Sect's treasure storehouse…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto hurried over to find the disciple in charge of clearing out the treasure storehouse.

If any other person had asked about the matter, they would have been rebuffed immediately. But Naruto was different. The disciple in charge only hesitated for a moment before nodding and helping Naruto search for the wall fragment. He even escorted him into the storehouse itself and handed over the wall fragment personally.

The only stipulation was that records had to be kept that Naruto had taken the wall fragment. Naruto didn't mind that at all. Excitedly accepting the wall fragment, he began to study it.

Of course, he didn't enter into a trance, but only made a cursory examination. Almost immediately, he could tell that this wall fragment would help him to advance by leaps and bounds with his skill in the Dao of medicine.

"I wonder if I could eventually try to concoct the River-Defying Pill?" Shaking his head, he put the wall fragment away, bowed deeply to the disciple in charge, and then continued on his way to the eastern section of the city.

By the time he arrived, the moon was climbing high into the sky. This area of the city hadn't received nearly as much damage as the other parts, and was also much quieter. Only the occasional cultivator could be seen, most of them on guard duty. Any of them who spotted Naruto would immediately clasp hands in greeting.

After asking around, Naruto determined where Xuemei was staying. His heart had already begun beating a bit faster. Without any hesitation, he headed in that direction, and soon found himself in front of a type of residence referred to as a spirit abode.

It wasn't very large, but was surrounded by flickering spell formations. Some of them were Blood Stream Sect formations that absorbed blood Chakra from the area, which would allow the cultivator inside the spirit abode to heal more quickly.

Stopping in front of the door, Naruto took a deep breath. There were many things he wanted to ask Du Lingfei, and yet suddenly, he felt himself hesitating.

After a moment of thought, he chuckled calmly.

"Regardless of anything," he thought, "she's my boo. Before, we were enemies, but now the two sects have become one." With those thoughts on his mind, he stepped forward and reached his hand in the direction of the door.

Soft rumblings could be heard as he sent power toward the spirit abode. He was just about to say something when the door swung open. There appeared Xuemei, her mask on as usual. After looking at him for a moment, she softly said, "Du Xuemei offers greetings, Blood Master."

Chapter 311 Chapter 311

Chapter 311: That… Scar!

The moon cast shafts of white light down onto the earth below, creating a scene of both biting coldness and gentle softness. Overall, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Xuemei looked very striking as she stood there in front of the door to the spirit abode. She wore a voluminous robe, but the curves of her body were still visible beneath the fabric. She looked very beautiful.

Her voice was soft, but at the same time, slightly raspy in a way that almost made Naruto's ears itch….

Last time, it didn't matter what Naruto said when he tried to get her to come out of her immortal's cave, she had remained inside. To see her suddenly appear right out in the open caused him to smile.

"Last time you refused to see me. This time, there's nowhere for you to escape to."

The familiar way in which he spoke to her, not even bothering to address her, caused her to look deeply at him, a strange light gleaming in her eyes. Although she wore a mask, making it impossible to see her facial features, there was something about her that seemed very weak.

"Many thanks for your kindness in saving my life, Blood Master. When you came to my immortal's cave last time, I was injured, and had just lost the struggle to become blood master. I felt blank inside, and didn't feel up to facing you. Please forgive me." With that, she clasped hands and bowed deeply. As she did, her sleeve slipped down, revealing a scar on her hand that had clearly been there for some time. As she bent over, some of her curves became even more prominent than before, and Naruto couldn't help but take a look.

Naruto cleared his throat and said, "Why are you being so polite, boo? Take off that mask so I can see you."

Excitement building in his heart, he took a step toward the door.

Xuemei's eyes widened. Never could she have imagined that Naruto would say something like that, nor that he would start walking toward her. Without even thinking about it, she stepped backward.

Suddenly, her knees went weak, and she staggered a bit. Eyes flashing with anger, she said, "Blood Master, please behave yourself. You showed great kindness by saving me, but that doesn't give you the right to dishonor me! I'm Xuemei, not some 'boo'."

"Cut the crap!" Naruto said, feeling less than pleased. He took another step forward, unleashing the power of his cultivation base to flash forward with incredible speed. In the briefest of instants, he was right in front of Xuemei.

At any other time, Xuemei's cultivation base would have been strong enough to resist him. But she was still recovering from a grievous injury, and wasn't a match for him in any way. In the blink of an eye, he reached out, grabbed her mask, and pulled it off!

As her mask was plucked off of her face, black hair spilled down her shoulders like a waterfall. Naruto threw the mask off to the side, and her face was revealed, ashen, with starkly cold beauty. She was clearly angry, but was so weak that her anger didn't burn as hot as it might have.

Although she wasn't soul-shakingly beautiful, her classic good looks were enough to put her on the same level as Song Junwan!

However, this person was not Du Lingfei!

Xuemei backed away further. Her face was pale, and her hair was disheveled. She was even trembling. Eyes flaring with coldness, she pointed at Naruto and said, "What do you think you're doing, Nightcrypt!?"

Because of her overall weakness, the coldness in her eyes seemed more like humiliation.

When Naruto saw her face, his expression flickered wildly, and a murderous aura sprang up a

round him. His eyes were instantly shot with blood.

"If you're not my boo," he said, "then who are you?!" His mind was spinning with shock and anxiety.

Xuemei's expression became even more icily angry than before. She almost couldn't believe the way Naruto was acting. She had emerged to thank him for saving her life. But unexpectedly, he had ripped off her mask, and then started talking like a madman. Backing up again, a fierce look appeared in her eyes.

"Have you gone crazy, Nightcrypt? I'll say it again. I'm not your boo! I'm Xuemei!"

"You're not Xuemei!" Naruto's heart and mind were in chaos, and he felt like he was going insane. As he stared at Xuemei's face, he thought back to what he had occurred inside the Blood Ancestor. The last time that mask had fallen off her face, a very different face had been revealed!

"What do you mean I'm not Xuemei? What are you talking about?!"

Xuemei continued to edge away nervously. She suddenly got the feeling that this version of Naruto was very, very dangerous, like a bolt of lightning just waiting to strike.

"Who are you?" Naruto shouted at the retreating Xuemei. "Why are you pretending to be Xuemei? Where's the real Xuemei!?" He needed answers. He couldn't accept a situation in which he walked away without an explanation. Flying forward, he reached out and, to Xuemei's horror, attempted to grab her arm.

However, it was in that moment that a light cough suddenly filled the spirit abode. To Naruto, that light cough felt like thunder rumbling in his ears.

He staggered in place, and Xuemei managed to duck out of reach of the hand he had been reaching out toward her. She quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the flickering image of a plum blossom to appear in front of her. She was now radiating a prickly killing intent, her mind seething with rage toward Naruto.

Naruto shook his head violently, but the rumbling sound inside of him didn't stop. Face pale, he stopped in place and looked at the middleaged man who was walking out of the room behind Xuemei.

He had stern features, and looked as dangerous as an unsheathed sword. Shocking pressure rolled into the room with him, making it impossible for Naruto to even take a step.

"Patriarch Limitless!" Naruto said, his pupils constricting. At any other moment, he would have been trembling in fear to face the pressure of a Nascent Soul patriarch, but at the moment he didn't care.

Patriarch Limitless had a very serious look on his face as he walked forward and patted Xuemei on the shoulder. Xuemei didn't seem pleased, but didn't dare to defy her father, and reigned in her killing aura.

"Father," she said by way of greeting. Settling her Chakra and blood, she dissipated the blood-colored plum blossom.

"Patriarch Limitless, look at your daughter!" Naruto said, glaring at him. "She's not Xuemei!"

Clearly, he was so enraged that, despite the pressure weighing down on him, he wasn't willing to back down.

Patriarch Limitless looked coldly at Naruto and said nothing. However, the longer he went without talking, the more pressure roiled out. Naruto began to tremble, until finally, he let out a roar, causing streams of blood Chakra to erupt out. That was blood Chakra from the Blood Ancestor, and when it fused with Naruto, his energy grew even more powerful. It rose up higher and higher, until he was on a similar level as Patriarch Limitless!

Xuemei's heart trembled as she looked at Naruto, and then her father. There was a strange light in her father's eyes that she recognized. When that light appeared, it meant that the person he was looking at was very important.

"I only have one daughter, and this is her!" Patriarch Limitless swished his sleeve, causing his own energy to dissipate.

In response to Patriarch Limitless's words, Naruto's face drained of blood. However, he still wasn't willing to give in, and said, "I saw Xuemei's face in the heart cavity, and she didn't look like that!"

"Take a close look at my daughter's face," Patriarch Limitless said. Although he spoke calmly, it was in a voice that could clearly tolerate no arguments. It was like heavenly thunder pounding in Naruto's mind.

Heart quivering, Naruto took a deep breath and looked closely at Xuemei. Then he looked back at Patriarch Limitless. Finally, he took a few steps back, a look of confusion building up on his face.

The facial features of Patriarch Limitless and Xuemei were very similar. Most likely, even mortals would be able to notice the similarities, much less cultivators, who had much keener senses. Obviously, this was a father and a daughter!

The look on Naruto's face grew even more blank. He thought back to what Du Lingfei looked like, and then compared it to Patriarch Limitless, and realized that the two of them didn't look anything alike.

"Then who did I see back in the heart cavity?" He staggered backward again, almost as if he had been struck physically. The confusion in his eyes grew more intense. He simply couldn't believe how everything was playing out. He suddenly started wondering if he was remembering things wrong….

If the woman in front of him really was Xuemei, then how could he have seen Du Lingfei in the heart cavity? Who exactly was Du Lingfei?!

Naruto bitterly recalled everything which had occurred in the trial by fire for blood master. Gradually, he began to tremble as he thought back to the events which had played out in the Blood Wasteland. In the moment before the teleportation, he remembered seeing a wound on Xuemei's hand, and also remembered that blood had been dripping down from behind her mask. Clearly, she had been wounded!

However, once they reached the tunnel beyond, Xuemei's wound had disappeared, and there was no blood on her face. In fact, all of her injuries had been healed!

Back then, he had assumed that she had used some special technique to heal herself, and hadn't paid much attention to the situation. But now, he realized that there was something very strange about the whole thing!

Heart pounding, he looked up at Xuemei's hand, and then, began to shake. Right there on her hand was a scar, plainly visible for anyone to see!

The sight of that scar caused incredible waves of shock to batter Naruto's heart!

At that point, Patriarch Limitless's face turned somber, and he slowly said, "So, it seems you saw the mysterious person in question…."

Chapter 312 Chapter 312

Chapter 312: No One Can Handle That Responsibility Except For Me!

Naruto understood. That scar explained everything. The person he had encountered in that tunnel in the blood master trial by fire had not been Xuemei.

"Mei'er doesn't remember anything that happened after she entered the tunnel that day," Patriarch Limitless said slowly, his expression serious. "That includes everything involving you becoming the blood master. She only remembers waking up outside of the Blood Ancestor.

"After realizing she had no memories of the events in the tunnel, her heart was filled with confusion and panic. She immediately came to report everything to me, and even I was shocked. I used all the power at my disposal to investigate the matter, but couldn't come up with any explanation. If you know the person in question, tell me who it is!"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, didn't reveal Du Lingfei's name. He suddenly realized that, considering he didn't know who she really was, he also didn't know if her name was even really Du Lingfei….

Everything about her was a big mystery. As he sank further into silence, he also realized that all the clues he had pieced together so far were useless.

Finally, he shook his head and clasped hands formally to Patriarch Limitless and Xuemei. Then he turned and left. Xuemei sighed. Obviously, Naruto had some sort of connection to whoever it was that had replaced her in the tunnel. She could also see that Naruto had been struck with deep sadness.

Patriarch Limitless watched Naruto leave, and did nothing to stop him. Naruto had a very special position, and if there was something he didn't want to talk about, Patriarch Limitless couldn't force him to do so.

Naruto walked down the street for some distance, then randomly selected an empty spirit abode to enter. Once inside, he looked up at the moonlit sky and thought back to everything he remembered about Du Lingfei. Then he reviewed what he had learned from Patriarch Limitless and his daughter. After a while, he sighed.

"Du Lingfei, just who exactly are you…?"

A month went by, during which time the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects slowly absorbed the Profound and Pill Stream sects. The enormous city became their new sect headquarters. As for the cultivators of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, the time they had spent fighting together left many of them with close friendships.

Although the two sects were not yet fully united, there was much less friction than before. Occasional conflicts would break out, but overall, things were getting very calm.

Everyone seemed to be keeping themselves under control. After all, the war wasn't over yet. Although there were no opponents to fight in the

Lower Reaches, everyone knew their true goal was the Middle Reaches!

Only by becoming a Middle Reaches sect could the war truly be considered over!

That shared goal was like glue binding the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects together. As for the patriarchs and the Gold Core cultivators, they knew more than anyone that if the two sects worked together, they could be like a powerful weapon. However, any disunity could lead to mutual destruction!

Because of those realities, and because of Naruto, the two sects' alliance continued to grow firm and strong.

After reaching an agreement with the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, Patriarch Crimsonsoul and the rest of the Profound Stream Sect did their best to join in the efforts. They wanted to be a part of the future Middle Reaches sect, and to have a chance to continue to pass down their traditions.

The Profound Stream Sect cultivators were very sincere in their desire to cooperate. They had been well and truly b

eaten, and now that a new sect was being founded by the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, they wanted to be a part of it. They also wanted to go to the Middle Reaches and have access to the abundant resources there. Because of that, they didn't refuse any of the demands made of them, and worked hard in every aspect that was required.

It was the same with the Pill Stream Sect. As for those who had betrayed their sect in the past, mercy and understanding were shown, and they were allowed to return to their previous positions.

Those two sects had previously been bitter enemies, but now, in this new sect, they had no choice but to be subservient to the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects. If they wanted to have a say in the future affairs of the sect, they had to maintain good relations with the other sects, including the Profound Stream Sect. That was the only way to ensure that they got their share of the resources to be had in the Middle Reaches.

Naruto didn't pay much attention to the goings-on between the sects. He knew that the patriarchs would handle affairs in the best way. Having little else to do, he went into secluded meditation. After burying the matter of Du Lingfei in his heart, he emerged refreshed. Just when he was about to go find Big Fatty Zhang and his other friends, the founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect sent him a Dharmic decree, calling him to the grand hall in the middle of the city.

Naruto wasn't interested in attending any meetings, but he didn't really have any choice. Sighing, he headed in the direction of the grand hall. Along the way, any disciples who caught sight of him would clasp hands and bow, expressions of respect and awe on their faces. Naruto's heart immediately swelled with pleasure.

As he walked along, he would wave and call out greetings.

"Your hard work is much appreciated, Sect Nieces and Nephews!"

"Keep up the good work! Well done!"

"You have my support, all of you!"

Slowly but surely, his sour mood faded. Eventually, he reached the grand hall, and the disciples on guard duty clasped hands and cried, "Greetings, Junior Patriarch!"

Naruto's heart soared into the heavens.

Assuming the posture of someone of the Senior Generation, he clasped his hands behind his back and said, "Keep working as hard as you are, and one of these days, you might become junior patriarchs too!"

With that, he chuckled and strode into the grand hall.

As soon as he entered, he sucked in a deep breath. The pressure within the hall was so immense that the air was rippling. Right there up ahead of him was an entire group of patriarchs!

Patriarch Ironwood and the Song Clan patriarch had not come to join the main force. Without them present, that left four patriarchs from the Spirit Stream Sect and six from the Blood Stream Sect.

Four patriarchs were present to represent the Profound Stream Sect, including Crimsonsoul. Finally, there were three patriarchs from the Pill Stream Sect. In total, there were seventeen Nascent Soul Daoist masters, whose soul fluctuations completely filled the enormous hall.

As soon as Naruto entered, the eyes of all seventeen individuals focused on him. Different expressions could be seen in those gazes. The patriarchs from the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect were calm. The Profound Stream Sect patriarchs had conflicted expressions, especially Patriarch Crimsonsoul, whose heart trembled with a certain sense of powerlessness.

As for the three Nascent Soul patriarchs from the Pill Stream Sect, their eyes shone with strange gleams of interest.

It all made sense, of course. The entire situation in the cultivation world of the Lower Reaches had been changed because of Naruto!

To see so many Nascent Soul experts staring at him caused Naruto to shiver. Suddenly, he was struck with the fear that the patriarchs might have decided to dispose of him now that his usefulness was over, or that they wished to settle accounts based on his past mistakes. His face turned pale, and his eyes widened. Looking around nervously, he became more convinced that he was right.

"Um, good morning, patriarchs…." he said cautiously. With the exception of the Spirit Stream Sect patriarchs, all of the other Nascent Soul experts gaped in surprise. However, none of them spoke. Instead, their gazes grew more profound as they stared at him, making it impossible to tell what they were thinking.

The Spirit Stream Sect's founding patriarch looked at Naruto and said, "Naruto, there's something you must–"

The looks on the faces of the patriarchs' faces caused Naruto's heart to tremble. As soon as the founding patriarch started speaking, he was convinced that he was going to say something bad. It would definitely be some sort of dangerous mission or assignment. Naruto's face fell, and his heart began to beat rapidly.

He suddenly realized that he couldn't allow the founding patriarch to finish that sentence. If he did, it would be very hard to refuse the request. Before he could finish speaking, Naruto clutched at his chest and screamed, then coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.

Staggering backward, his face turned a sickly pale color, and he gasped, "Patriarchs, I was seriously injured in the fighting, which opened up previously healed wounds! I need to go into secluded meditation to recover. Alright, I won't disturb you any longer. Bye now!"

With that, he hurried toward the door.

Before he could take more than a few steps, the founding patriarch glared at him and said, "Stop right there!"

Naruto stopped in place, looking like he might cry at any moment. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, he looked piteously over his shoulder at the founding patriarch.

"Patriarch, I really am injured. It's bad. Really bad. Besides, I've gotten too famous recently. If I go out on my own, tons of people are going to be after my head. Why don't you give the mission to someone else? I really can't be going out into battle…."

The founding patriarch looked like he was being struck by a sudden headache, and was unsure of whether to laugh or cry. The other patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect were all smiling wryly. They had heard of Naruto's personality, but this was their first time seeing it firsthand, and they were struck speechless.

The patriarchs from the Blood Stream Sect were even more astonished. Patriarch Limitless almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, and the arch-patriarch was shocked. It was hardly necessary to mention the Profound Stream Sect or the Pill Stream Sect. Patriarch Crimsonsoul's eyes were wide as saucers, and his expression was one of complete incredulity, as if he had just seen a ghost. He almost couldn't believe that the Naruto he had seen on the battlefield was the same person as the one standing in front of him.

He even started to wonder if was hallucinating, or if Naruto had somehow been replaced.

The three patriarchs from the Pill Stream Sect were completely taken aback. The words Naruto had just spoken were echoing in their minds, and they had a hard time reconciling that this was the person who had brought about such momentous changes to the eastern Lower Reaches.

"We don't want you to go out on another mission!" said the founding patriarch, shaking his head.

Naruto blinked, then asked for confirmation a few times.

"I already said, we don't want you to go out on a mission. Just as you suggested before all of this started, we are discussing the founding of the new sect. We need a name for it, and were wondering if you had any suggestions."

"Oh?" Naruto said. Nervous, he began to blabber: "A sect name, huh? Hm. What about the Undying Sect? Or the Live Forever Sect? No, no, those won't do. We're going to the Middle Reaches of the river, right? We need something with the word 'river' in it. How about the River-Defying Sect? Or we could go with the Turtle River Sect. Hey, that's a good name! Turtle River Sect! There's some deep meaning in that one. Wait. Let me think some more. What about the Bastards of–"

"We'll go with River-Defying Sect," the founding patriarch interrupted, worried about where Naruto would go next, and that he might say even more unseemly sect names. "There's another matter to discuss. During the ceremonies, we need to officially name the junior patriarch of the sect. In addition to the name of the sect itself, we also wanted to ask your opinion on who to pick!"

"Officially name the junior patriarch?" Naruto's eyes widened, and finally, his heart eased up with the realization that they really hadn't called him here to give him a dangerous mission. Breathing a sigh of relief, his expression turned from nervousness to solemnity. The blood disappeared from his lips, and the paleness of his expression turned into dignity. Suddenly, he looked like a mountain peak, standing there tall, reticent, and heroic.

Veins of steel pulsing and eyes flashing like lightning, he said, "No one can handle that responsibility except for me!"

—

Chapter 313 Chapter 313

Chapter 313: The Founding Of The River-Defying Sect!

The sudden change in Naruto's demeanor caused more eyes to widen among the patriarchs who sat in the grand hall. That was especially true of Patriarch Crimsonsoul of the Profound Stream Sect, who couldn't help but rub his eyes a bit, and then look back at Naruto in confusion.

It was the same with the Pill Stream Sect, and even the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs were shocked.

The patriarchs from the Spirit Stream Sect were smiling wryly in embarrassment. The founding patriarch glared at Naruto for a moment, then rubbed his forehead. Sounding a bit displeased, he said, "It might be good for you to think about it for a while, don't you think…?"

"Patriarch, I don't think anyone else but me is suitable to become the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect. What's there to think about? I agree!" Naruto stood there, looking off into the distance, fairly radiating energy. His hair swirled around him, and his eyes seemed to shine like the stars. He seemed like something beyond a Chosen, almost like a deity!

The Blood Stream Sect's arch-patriarch cleared his throat and said, "You're already completely famous. Why don't you give some of the other disciples a chance…?"

Naruto flicked his sleeve and gazed up into the air, looking completely stern and awe-inspiring. It was as if his righteousness could shake everything in heaven and earth. "Patriarchs, the reason I'm so famous is because I take my responsibilities seriously! That's an important quality! I, Naruto, am a person who loves my sect. How could I force other disciples to sacrifice themselves to handle my responsibilities? I could never treat them so unfairly! That's not how Naruto operates. Not ever! Fate has selected me for this role, and if the sect picks me, then I won't frown even if I have to go through hell or high water!"

"But you've been wounded," Patriarch Crimsonsoul suddenly said, "and as the junior patriarch, you would likely encounter even more situations in which you could end up wounded."

Naruto's eyes widened, and for the first time, he actually took a moment to think. After a moment of indecision, he gritted his teeth and then chuckled casually. "As cultivators, which of us haven't shed some blood? I, Naruto, have a dream. I dream that for the rest of my life, the day will never come that I am forced to shed even a single tear for my sect. Even if I have to shed a lifetime of blood, I will make that dream become a reality. And that is because I… am the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect!"

Although Naruto was smiling, it was a smile of utmost sincerity and solemnity. It contained his hopes for the sect, and his determination to stride into the future. As he spoke, his energy surged, and everyone in the grand hall was shaken inwardly.

Were it not for the fact that all of the patriarchs had witnessed Naruto's performance from earlier, they would all be convinced that he was the epitome of righteousness and loyalty!

The hall fell into silence. Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the patriarchs. A long moment passed, and finally the founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect chuckled.

"Very well then. In a month, we'll hold the ceremony. The River-Defying Sect shall be founded in the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world! Furthermore, we will send a petition to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity

Sect in the Upper Reaches, asking for permission to replace the Sky River Court!"

Laughing Loudly, Naruto said, "I've been waiting for this war for a long time!" Aft

er conferring a bit more with the patriarchs, he turned and left, heart swelling with pride.

Upon leaving the hall, his spirits did not fall. Everywhere he went, people looked over, at first in shock, and then with expressions of fervor and respect.

Upon arriving back at the spirit abode, he sighed comfortably, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Those old fogeys scared the daylights out of me. I thought they were going to give me a dangerous mission or something. Why didn't they bring up the junior patriarch thing earlier?!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he shook his head and settled down cross-legged.

"As the junior patriarch, I'm definitely going to be completely and utterly famous. Hahaha! Soon I'm going to need to change the rallying cry. I can't use the Middle Peak blood master has infinite magical powers, the Spirit Stream Heaven-Dao expert can shake the whole world anymore! It'll have to be the River-Defying junior patriarch is unparalleled under heaven!" Such thoughts got him even more excited than before.

"In terms of safety… hmph! Being the junior patriarch is definitely the safest of all. They're not going to be sending me out on missions, that's for sure. And I'll definitely have lots of other disciples to guard me whenever I leave the sect." Naruto felt wonderful, and could hardly wait for the ceremony the following month.

The official founding of the River-Defying Sect became the hottest topic of conversation among the disciples of the four sects. Furthermore, word spread until the entire eastern Lower Reaches was abuzz!

All of the smaller sects, as well as countless cultivator clans and numerous rogue cultivators, were all completely shaken. To them, even a single one of the four great sects was a vast and important organization, but now, all of the four great sects had joined into one!

A powerful organization like that hadn't ever appeared in the history of the eastern Lower Reaches. Before long, word spread to the cultivator clans and smaller sects in the delta region. However, there was even more news that started to circulate, news that got everyone shaking with madness and astonishment!

The goal of the River-Defying Sect wasn't just to join together into one large sect. They wanted to fight their way into the Middle Reaches and take over the Sky River Court as the dominant sect there!

That news virtually drove people crazy. After all, if the River-Defying Sect succeeded, then it would mean that four slots would open up for new sects in the Lower Reaches!

The River-Defying Sect's thirst to become a Middle Reaches sect only continued to grow stronger. Likewise, the thirst of the delta sects and cultivator clans to establish their place in the Lower Reaches was just as strong!

And thus, disputes arose, as well as secret treaties. The entire eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world was shaken. As the commotion grew, everyone was focused on the grand ceremony to come!

The River-Defying Sect did not establish an official sect headquarters. As for the city in the mountains, it was only a temporary base. According to the River-Defying Sect, the only suitable headquarters was currently occupied by the Sky River Court!

Despite being only a temporary headquarters, it didn't take long for the more than 1,000,000 cultivators of the four sects to renovate the entire city. They even expanded it, making it look more glorious than before. The reserve powers of all four sects were present, marked by enormous vortexes up in the sky, which emanated shocking pressure at all times.

As the ceremony approached, the sects and clans of the Lower Reaches used any and all means necessary to arrange for emissaries from their various organizations to hurry toward the city. As for those who weren't powerful enough to send people such a long distance in such a short time, they were simply out of luck.

Of course, the eastern Lower Reaches was a huge place, and most sects had connections to other cultivator clans, as well as forces in the delta regions. Because of that, a vast number of people converged on the city to attend the ceremony, so much so that the city itself couldn't contain them, forcing them to set up camp in the surrounding area.

More people arrived every day. Soon, the time for the ceremony arrived.

On that day, the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect decorated the entire city. They all wore new Daoist robes, and looked completely spectacular. The vortex above rumbled with power, and the seventeen patriarchs hovered in the air like seventeen gods. Beneath them were more than a hundred legacy echelon cultivators in the Gold Core stage, who were precious gems in the sect, and the hope for future glory.

Further down were the hundreds of prime elders, who shone like glittering stars. Then were the even larger numbers of Foundation Establishment cultivators, whose energy caused brightly colored lights to flash in heaven and earth. The people outside the city who had come to observe the ceremony were completely shocked, and couldn't help but cry out in shock.

Suddenly, an archaic voice echoed out in all directions, a voice that boomed like thunder and caused the hearts of all cultivators who heard it to tremble on the verge of exploding. "Let heaven and earth bear witness! Let an oath be sworn to Time itself! This day is the day the River-Defying Sect is founded!"

"We, the Spirit Stream Sect, henceforth abandon the name of our sect, and join the River-Defying Sect!"

"We, the Blood Stream Sect, henceforth abandon the name of our sect, and join the River-Defying Sect!"

"We, the Profound Stream Sect…."

"We, the Pill Stream Sect…."

The voices of the patriarchs of the four sects began to ring out, one after another.

Their voices filled the entire world with intense rumbling sounds. As their oaths echoed out, it proved that in the eastern Lower Reaches, a sect was rising up the likes of which had never been seen before!

Naruto's heart pounded with excitement as he hovered in midair, looking up at the ceremony going on.

It was then that a strange sign suddenly appeared in the sky!

Golden light flooded out, flickering, scintillating, as if a bolt of golden lightning had appeared. Then, a huge vortex appeared higher up in the sky, a vortex fully 30,000 meters wide!

It was as if the sky itself were collapsing. Intense pressure weighed down that affected even the patriarchs, the Gold Core cultivators, and the River-Defying Sect's reserve powers. This energy made them seem like fireflies looking up at the bright moon!

The pressure didn't just affect the River-Defying Sect. The entire city began to tremble, and the cultivators who had come to observe the ceremony started to shake. They felt as if heavenly might were crushing down on them, and they dropped to their knees, trembling, to kowtow.

Not a sound could be heard in all creation.

The River-Defying Sect's patriarchs were all trembling as they struggled to raise their heads. In the huge vortex up above, an enormous eye slowly opened. It was several thousand meters wide, and as it looked down, everyone who saw it was shaken.

It was as if the entire world were a bottle, and someone outside of the bottle were looking into it through the bottleneck!

Naruto's heart was pounding in shock; he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

The eye slowly took in the sights below, and then a powerful voice erupted out from the vortex to fill heaven and earth.

"River-Defying Sect, hear the decree of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!"

—

Chapter 314 Chapter 314

Chapter 314: I Live For The Sect

The patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect exchanged enthusiastic glances. Then the arch-patriarch of the Blood Stream Division clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"We will comply with any decree!"

The ancient voice then continued: "The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect approves your petition to go to war, and permits you to destroy the Sky River Court and take over its position."

Each word spoken by the voice boomed like thunder, echoing out in all directions. When the last words were spoken, a golden beam of light shot toward the arch-patriarch, coming to a stop in front of him in the form of a jade slip!

Simultaneously, the vortex vanished. It was as if the giant figure from before had never been there. After a brief moment of silence, the archpatriarch lifted the golden jade slip high above his head!

As he did, all of the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect, as well as all of the other cultivators who had come to observe the ceremony, broke out into uproarious cheering!

"Victory belongs to the River-Defying Sect!"

"Victory belongs to the River-Defying Sect!"

"Victory belongs to the River-Defying Sect!"

The cacophony of their cheers echoed out to fill the entire world around them. The cultivators of the River-Defying Sect were extremely excited, especially those from the Spirit Stream Division and the Blood Stream

Division. Of course, their enthusiasm quickly rubbed off on the disciples of the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions. Soon, all eyes were filled with confidence and anticipation.

After all, the best way for new allies to get used to each other was to fight side by side in war!

Under the bloody grindstone that was war, the four sects would truly become one, would truly transform, and would truly achieve glory!

Even as everyone was cheering at the tops of their lungs, the archpatriarch's gaze swept across the crowd and came to rest on Naruto. Then he spoke out in a voice that instantly suppressed all other noise, becoming the only thing people heard! "Naruto, step forward for the official conferring ceremony!"

Naruto shivered. The atmosphere already had his blood boiling, so he took a deep breath to calm himself, then strode out in front of the seventeen Nascent Soul patriarchs.

"Disciple Naruto offers greetings, Patriarchs!" As he clasped hands and bowed, his expression was somber, and a murderous aura slowly began to build up around him. He seemed as firm and unyielding as iron, like a celestial warrior who had seen hundreds of battles, a person possessing unmatchable energy.

His features were somehow chiseled and grim, and deep in his eyes, stars, moons, and other heavenly bodies swirled about. The power of his blood Chakra flowed out, creating a blood-colored suit of armor around him, complete with a blood-colored cape!

As of this moment, Naruto did not seem timid or cowardly, nor even the least bit naughty or mischievous. He stood as straight and tall as a mountain peak, and seemed as profound and deep as the ocean!

Everyone watching the scene was shaken, especially the cultivators who were just seeing him for the first time. They gasped, and looks of profound respect appeared in their eyes. They had all heard of Naruto, and knew that he was the person responsible for all the momentous changes in the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world!

Now that they could see him for the first time in person, he looked exactly like the cool, collected Chosen that they had imagined. The same thing was going through all of their minds: he was obviously a person who lived up to his reputation!

"So that's Naruto?! He's the ultimate Chosen!"

"I've

only heard some stories about this Naruto. Some people say that he's wise, intelligent, and courageous, a natural-born prodigy, a star who shines with boundless light! However, I've also heard more than a few people say that he's a greedy coward, completely despicable and shameless…."

"People like him are bound to be the subject of plenty of jealousy. Now that I think about it, I also heard some bad stories about him. But those stories are probably just made-up."

The people who knew him best were the cultivators from the Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect. Many of those cultivators were looking at him with wide eyes, almost as if they didn't even recognize him. Big Fatty Zhang gasped, and Hou Yunfei shook his head with a smile. Xu Baocai and many of Naruto's other friends were all simply sighing at how skilled he had become at striking the right pose at the right time.

Naruto felt very proud of himself, and was completely filled with anticipation at the glorious scene which would play out when he officially became the junior patriarch. However, none of those emotions showed on his face. His expression was somber, and his veins of steel were pulsing. He stood there coolly, looking just like he had when he was Nightcrypt. People immediately began to cheer. All the while, strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the seventeen patriarchs. However, inwardly, they were relieved. Many of them had been worried that Naruto might act the way he had when he'd met with them earlier, and ruin the ceremony.

"Naruto, as the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, you must shoulder a weighty responsibility. Henceforth, you are a core element of our sect. Your life, your honor, and everything else about you are all inextricably linked with the sect.

"The glory of the sect is also your glory! The shame of the sect is also your shame! Likewise, your glory and shame will belong to the sect!

"No matter where you go, no matter how much time passes, your home, your roots, and your everything… are the sect!

"If the day ever comes that the sect falls, it will be your responsibility to restore it! If the day ever comes that the sect basks in unheard-of glory, it will be your responsibility to defend it! You must ensure that the RiverDefying Sect never becomes divided, and never loses its heart and soul!

"Naruto, are you prepared to shoulder such responsibility? Your answer please!" The arch-patriarch's expression was unprecedentedly calm as he spoke in a voice as explosive as thunder, a voice which caused all hearts to tremble.

Naruto shivered, and suddenly, all of his pride and complacency vanished. His desire to bask in glory faded away, and he stood there quietly, looking, in rare fashion, truly solemn and respectful.

He suddenly realized that the position of junior patriarch wasn't just about glory and fame. It was a serious responsibility. For the rest of his life, he would never able to separate himself from or part ways with the River-Defying Sect.

It would be his home, and also, the most precious thing in his life. Uzumaki

Xiaochun suddenly found himself in a bit of a reverie. He thought back to Mount Hood in the Eastwood Mountains. He thought about his relatives in the village he had grown up in. He thought about how he had held his parents' hands as they passed away. He thought about all the times he'd lit that stick of incense. He thought about everything he'd done in the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect.

Without even thinking about it, he looked over at Toruho among the legacy echelon cultivators. Li Qinghou's heart was filled with pride, pride that the same Naruto he had brought to the sect was now grown up. To see Naruto where he was now, and to see him looking over at him, caused Li Qinghou's face to fill with a smile of deep gratification.

When Naruto saw Toruho smile, he took a deep breath, and an expression of determination filled his face. Looking back at the Blood Stream Division's arch-patriarch, he clasped hands formally.

"Yes. I'm prepared." He spoke the words slowly, because they were words of utmost importance. After speaking them, the gazes fixed upon him didn't make him feel grand and impressive. Instead, he felt as if a very heavy responsibility had just come to rest on his shoulders!

The arch-patriarch gave Naruto a profound look. Because of his age and his cultivation base, he could see that Naruto had spoken from the bottom of his heart, with complete sincerity. The arch-patriarch nodded, and then looked over at the founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Division. Both patriarchs could see the looks of determination in each other's eyes.

Without any hesitation, the arch-patriarch said, "On this day, Uzumaki

Xiaochun is conferred with the title of junior patriarch of the RiverDefying Sect!"

Trembling, the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Greetings, Junior Patriarch!"

It wasn't just the Outer and Inner Sect disciples who bowed. The Foundation Establishment cultivators and the Gold Core experts also joined in. The junior patriarch of the sect occupied a position second only to the patriarchs themselves. It was even higher than the legacy echelon!

Song Que and the other Chosen all had no choice other than to bow their heads. Shangguan Tianyou's hands were clenched tightly, and bitterness gripped his heart, but he had no other options available.

Then, a thunderous rumbling filled the air as the countless other cultivators in the audience also offered formal greetings.

"Greetings, Junior Patriarch of the River-Defying Sect!"

The deafening sound flowed out to fill heaven and earth, causing everything to tremble. Naruto looked around, his heart surging. From the look on his face, he had many things he wished to say, and yet, wasn't sure how to express them.

A moment passed, and his thoughts slowly coalesced into a single sentence. Although he didn't speak it out loud, it settled down onto his heart, like an indelible mark that would be there for the rest of his life.

"I live for the sect!"

He only spoke the words in his heart, but from the expression on his face, the River-Defying Sect's Nascent Soul patriarchs could tell what he was thinking. As they looked back at him, their eyes were filled with reminiscence, encouragement, and deep sighs.

Meanwhile, on the roof of a certain spirit abode within the city, a monkey could be seen, sitting there, looking up at the goings-on with a faint smile on his face.

"The sect isn't going to let you down, kid!" the monkey murmured.

Sitting next to the monkey was a rabbit, who was also staring up into the sky.

—

Chapter 315 Chapter 315

Chapter 315: Secrets Of Two Sects!

The grand ceremony to commemorate the founding of the River-Defying Sect was now over. However, the events which had just occurred became a daily topic of conversation among the countless people who inhabited the eastern Lower Reaches of the cultivation world.

Whether it was the Dharmic decree of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, or the fact that Naruto had been conferred the title of junior patriarch, it all left an indelible impression upon the minds of the people regarding the power of the River-Defying Sect.

Soon, the bustle in the temporary headquarters began to die down as the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect departed.

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's response to the River-Defying Sect's request indicated that a new war was on the horizon. The four divisions of the River-Defying Sect took that war very seriously, and for many people in those sects, it was the culmination of their life's work!

They would be fighting to establish a new sect headquarters, to rise from the Lower Reaches into the Middle Reaches. It was a war of utmost importance!

There were many preparations to be made, and all of the various patriarchs agreed that they needed to go all out, to hold nothing back! The Pill Stream Division and the Profound Stream Division returned to their former territories to prepare everything for departure, including their reserve powers….

According to the agreement that had been reached by the patriarchs, they would head to the Blood Stream Division in two months' time. From there, they would set out onto the Heavenspan River, and head upstream toward the Sky River Court!

As the divisions left their temporary headquarters, Naruto had various sect matters to attend to due to his status as the junior patriarch. On one particular evening, the founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Division had a long discussion with him.

The discussion was held in a grand hall, along with Patriarch Ironwood and the other Nascent Soul patriarchs. Also present were Zheng Yuandong and Li Qinghou.

Before beginning to speak, the founding patriarch waved his hand, sealing the entire area so that their words would remain private. Even more surprising to Naruto was that the other patriarchs all lent their power to the sealing. Clearly, they were being very cautious.

In a final display of caution, the founding patriarch produced a Feng Shui compass, which, upon activation, sent black and white light streaming out to form yet another sealing layer.

Naruto could sense terrifying pressure coming from that Feng Shui compass. Although it looked ordinary, and even a bit worn, he could tell that it contained a level of power similar to the reserve powers of the sects.

However, the compass was so dilapidated that it apparently only had the strength left to seal down an area, and nothing more.

When the sealing was done, the founding patriarch sighed and looked over at Naruto, a very serious expression on his face. "This Immortal-Executing Compass was passed down by the ancestors. With it here, not even a Deva Realm expert would be able to eavesdrop on us, at least not without expending significant effort.

"Xiaochun, the information I'm about to tell you must be kept completely confidential. If word spread, it could lead to a complete and utter disaster!"

Naruto was already starting to get anxious, and was actually wondering if it would be better to not hear this information. After all, it meant that in the future, the mere slip of the tongue on his part could result in him losing his poor little life. Even as he hesitated over the matter, the founding patriarch continued.

"We didn't originally intend to reveal these matters to you, but since you are now th

e junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, there are some things that can't be kept secret. If certain events played out in the future, and you weren't aware of the truth, it could cause problems for you."

Naruto could only focus, take a deep breath, and look intently at the founding patriarch.

"Our Spirit Stream Division's origins do not lie in the eastern cultivation world!" Not even paying attention to Naruto's reaction, the founding patriarch looked up, a gleam of reminiscence flickering in his eyes. "We come from the northern cultivation world, from a riversource sect that was called the Frigid School!"

"What?" Naruto said, immediately shaken. Never could he have imagined that the founding patriarch would have something like this to say. To find out such information about the origins of the Spirit Stream Sect came completely out of the blue, leaving Naruto a bit taken aback. Furthermore, when the founding patriarch mentioned the Frigid School, it instantly caused him to think about the Frigid School Medicine Manual.

"Long ago, the Frigid School was the dominant sect at the mouth of the river in the north. It was just as prominent as the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. However, because of an unexpected rebellion, the Frigid School collapsed and was supplanted. The survivors had no other choice but to swallow their humiliation and flee for their lives. Eventually, they came to the eastern cultivation world, where they set down new roots!

"Only two survivors actually made it here. One of them was my Master, and the other was the true spirit of the Frigid School!

"My Master secretly helped the Spirit Stream Sect become one of the four major sects in the Lower Reaches. As for that true spirit, she is the true reserve power within the Spirit Stream Division!" The other patriarchs in the hall maintained silence. As for Zheng Yuandong and Li Qinghou, both of them had looks of solemnity and shock; apparently, this was also their first time hearing this information.

"However, the true spirit was gravely injured, and could do little more than sleep in the form of a frigid corpse. In all the years that have passed, she has never awakened. The only method to awaken her is to use something called the River-Defying Pill. With that medicinal pill, the true spirit can be temporarily awakened to resolve virtually any crisis.

"The truth is that back when we were about to go to war with the Blood Stream Sect, our final hope rested in the true spirit. Unfortunately, we only have one River-Defying Pill, and can use it only in the absolutely direst of circumstances!" As the founding patriarch spoke, his words seemed to contain a profound level of ancientness.

Naruto's heart was already reeling from the waves of shock that pounded against it. He could hardly even breathe steadily.

"Over the years, we have tried every possible method to concoct another River-Defying Pill. Unfortunately, all such efforts have failed. After we get back to the headquarters, I need you to go offer formal greetings to the true spirit, and also, think of a way to concoct a RiverDefying Pill, before we get to the Middle Reaches!

"If you can, then the Spirit Stream Division will be able to provide crucial assistance to the River-Defying Sect as a whole!" Anticipation shone in the eyes of the founding patriarch as he looked at Naruto. As for Naruto, he took a deep breath; his mind was spinning, and he almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. After a moment, he thought back to the formula for the River-Defying Pill.

His research into the pill had led him to the conclusion that it was very, very strange. It was only now that he realized that it was specifically intended to help a true spirit.

"The River-Defying Pill and the Frigid School Medicine Manual," he murmured.

The founding patriarch nodded. "A Senior member of the sect gave those two items to you."

"It was that monkey, wasn't it?" Naruto asked suddenly.

After a moment of hesitation, the founding patriarch nodded. Suddenly, numerous puzzle pieces clicked into place in Naruto's mind.

The matter at hand was a weighty one, and he needed more time to digest all the information. After leaving the hall, he returned to his spirit abode, still marveling in disbelief at everything he'd heard. Settling down, he pulled out the Frigid School Medicine Manual, as well as the formula for the River-Defying Pill, which he began to study closely.

"River-Defying Pill…." he murmured softly. He was suddenly extremely curious about the true spirit the patriarch had mentioned, and very much wanted to see what she looked like.

The following day, the last of the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions left. As for the Blood Stream Division cultivators, they were still making preparations for departure. They had something very important to do back in the former location of their sect.

Before leaving, the arch-patriarch came to find Naruto, who was still ruminating over the information about the origin of the Spirit Stream Division. As Naruto would soon find out, the information the archpatriarch had to share was just as shocking as the information he had learned from the Spirit Stream Division.

The arch-patriarch quickly set up a spell formation seal, then looked over at Naruto, his expression very serious as he said, "Xiaochun, do you know where our Blood Ancestor came from?"

"Huh? Where the Blood Ancestor came from?" Naruto was taken aback, and couldn't help but wonder why these two sects had so many secrets. Both of them had impressive backgrounds, the truth of which left him reeling…. He was almost in a daze as he looked at the archpatriarch.

The arch-patriarch sighed disappointedly. "Oh, so you don't know. I'd assumed you would have learned something when you accepted the legacy…."

All Naruto could do was smile wryly in response.

"Well, the truth is that none of us know the true origins of the Blood Ancestor, so let's not worry about that for now. The Blood Stream Sect researched the Blood Ancestor for many years. Eventually, that research led to our theory regarding the legacy of the Blood Lord. Now we know that we were correct. All of those years of research paid off.

"However, there was more to the theory. Based on all of the research, we are fairly certain that the body of the Blood Ancestor can still move!"

Naruto's eyes were getting wider and wider. Never could he have imagined that the body of the Blood Ancestor could be controlled and moved. Then he thought back to how he had temporarily felt himself take over the body of the Blood Ancestor back when he had received the legacy, and he began to pant.

"The body of the Blood Ancestor is enormous, and exists mostly beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River. You are aware of the grand spell formation set up on the five mountain peaks that are the five fingers of the Blood Ancestor, correct? The true function of that spell formation is to allow the Blood Stream Division to control the body of the Blood Ancestor!" Naruto immediately thought back to when Patriarch Limitless and Xuemei had tapped into the spell formation on Middle Peak to influence the blood Chakra in the area.

After becoming a blood master, Naruto had been able to directly sense the spell formation; it almost seemed like a set of clothing that existed on the surface of the Blood Ancestor.

By this point, he was starting to understand what the Blood Stream Division was planning to do.

"Succeeding at such a task will be extremely difficult, and the Blood Stream Sect prepared years to do just that. We have even set up spell formations inside of the Blood Ancestor's body. However, up til now, we have been missing a core element!

"We need someone who can take all of the blood Chakra from all of the cultivators of the Blood Stream Division and focus it together. That is the power that can be used to control the body of the Blood Ancestor. According to our research and speculations, only the Blood Lord can do such a thing!

"My hope is that you will return to our headquarters, enter the body of the Blood Ancestor with us, and take control of it! Then we will head up the river and launch our assault on the Sky River Court!

"With the help of the Blood Ancestor, the River-Defying Sect's chances of successfully defeating the Sky River Court will be greatly increased!" The arch-patriarch's eyes were glowing with a profound light; after all, this was everything he had worked toward throughout his entire life.

After a long moment of silence, Naruto nodded. He was also filled with anticipation at the thought of controlling the body of the Blood Ancestor. The arch-patriarch smiled, then made arrangements for exactly when to take Naruto inside the Blood Ancestor. Afterward, he left with the rest of the Blood Stream Division to go back and make the necessary preparations.

A few days later, the Spirit Stream Division forces began to depart. Naruto joined them as they left the city, and it was only then that he was certain that no one else was going to come reveal more secrets to him.

"So many secrets…." he thought, sighing. He was a bit proud of himself. Obviously, he was the type of person who people trusted enough to share secrets with.

—

Chapter 316 Chapter 316 Chapter 316

Now that the four divisions had made their departure, the city was mostly empty, occupied only by a small garrison of cultivators that had been left behind.

The forces of the Spirit Stream Division were the last to leave, mostly because of the vast number of people they had to transport.

Furthermore, they weren't in Spirit Stream Division territory anymore, so moving the ninth mountain peak involved a huge effort. In fact, it would take several teleportations to get it all the way back to the sect headquarters on the Eastwood Continent.

Of course, Naruto didn't have to get involved with the actual movement of the army, nor did the patriarchs have to waste energy on it. Zheng Yuandong was the sect leader, and it was in times like this that his authority was in full swing.

Some prime elders and even a patriarch stayed behind with the main force to escort them, but the founding patriarch took Naruto and the other legacy echelon cultivators away ahead of them.

To use the teleportation powers of the ninth mountain peak required a significant wastage of power. However, as long as too many people weren't on the mountain, the sect could pay the price. It didn't take long before the light of teleportation was rising up into the sky. Countless cultivators looked up into the sky with respectful adoration at Naruto and the other legacy echelon cultivators.

Sighing, Naruto looked down at the earth far below. He wished he could take Big Fatty Zhang with him, as well as Hou Yunfei and his other friends. Even Zhou Xinqi. However, he didn't bother annoying the patriarchs with such a request. After all, with each additional person to be teleported, even more resources would have to be wasted.

"It's not that I don't want to help you out, brothers and sisters," he murmured, waving at his friends down below. "I just can't…." Even as Shangguan Tianyou looked on with gritted teeth, and Ghostfang gazed up somewhat blankly, Naruto vanished.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Naruto's vision swam. The power of teleportation gripped his mind for a while, and when things became clear, he found himself in midair above Mount Daoseed in the middle of the Spirit Stream Division.

The discomfort that came from teleportation didn't affect Gold Core cultivators, and as for Naruto, he had a powerful fleshly body and a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base. Although his face went a bit pale, and his cultivation base trembled unstably for a moment, after taking a few deep breaths, he felt fine. That caused the surrounding legacy echelon cultivators to look twice at him.

That was especially true of Li Qinghou, who seemed particularly pleased.

It was on more than one occasion that, when in private with Xu

Meixiang, he had brought up how proud he was of Naruto.

"Come with me, Xiaochun!" said the founding patriarch, his expression serious as he strode forward. As for the other legacy echelon cultivators, they went back to the sect with the other patriarchs to begin making various important preparations. One of the reasons they had been teleported across continents to return was their status in the sect, but another reason was that they had an important task ahead of them.

They needed to create a fleet of ships, enormous vessels that could carry the divisions up the Heavenspan River. They would create a small fleet of Heavenspan Battleships!

To make the trip to the Middle Reaches over land would be virtually impossible, and also incredibly dangerous. There were even some areas of the land that would be virtually impassable. The resources involved in making such a trip were difficult to imagine, and such wastage would put them in a bad position in

the fighting to come. Therefore, after much discussion, the more than ten patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect reached their decision.

They would travel up the river!

Obviously, any ship that could go against the current in the Heavenspan River would be something completely beyond ordinary. The materials used to construct it would have to be meticulously selected. Obviously, neither the Pill Stream Division nor the Profound Stream Division was in a position to make such a vessel. Therefore, this vitally important task had come to rest on the shoulders of the Spirit Stream Division.

Although the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions had provided many of the materials necessary to make the ships, they still lacked material to make the keels!

The best thing to use for the keels would be the spine of some gigantic beast, and after much discussion, the Spirit Stream Division made a decision on what to use. What was now necessary was for the legacy echelon cultivators and the patriarchs to procure that beast spine, and then craft the battleships as quickly as possible. Then, they would have their Heavenspan Battleships, which would be able to carry the more than 1,000,000 cultivators of the four great sects!

Everyone immediately got to work without taking even a moment to rest. As for Naruto, he followed the founding patriarch toward a restricted area behind Mount Daoseed.

"Xiaochun, your task is to do your best to concoct a River-Defying Pill. First, I'll take you to where the true spirit rests in slumber. Perhaps that will be of some assistance to you in your concocting work." Naruto couldn't help but be nervous at the founding patriarch's serious tone. However, he was very curious about this most profound of the sect's reserve powers. At the same time, his heart was filled with respect.

"True spirit…." he murmured to himself. He followed the founding patriarch into the restricted area, and after having taken only a few steps, everything around him started to turn blurry, almost as if it were an illusion. Naruto's heart skipped a beat, and he hurried along nervously behind the founding patriarch. For some reason, he had the feeling that they were now somewhere deep underground, even beneath the Heavenspan River itself!

Soon, things became clear, and Naruto saw an enormous karst cave up ahead!

Four cave entrances could be seen leading into the cave, with Naruto and the founding patriarch standing in one of them. Down below, golden water could be seen. The glow of spell formations lit the entire area, which Naruto quickly realized were connected to both the mountain peaks of the south and north banks, but also to the Heavenspan River itself! Furthermore, the spell formations seemed to be siphoning water from the river!

It wasn't an offensive spell formation, it was solely defensive.

Naruto couldn't help but gasp at the sight of it. After looking around, his gaze came to rest in the middle of the karst cave, where he saw a coffin.

The coffin had no lid, and from his current vantage point, he could see that inside of it rested the corpse of a baby girl.

Despite being a corpse, the girl seemed to contain signs of life, as well as a profoundly ancient air….

Naruto's mind instantly began to spin, as though something were sucking away at his consciousness. Suddenly, he felt as if he could see a supremely elegant woman walking toward him.

He felt like his soul and his body were suddenly beyond his own control. He forgot everything, even life and death. Even as he gazed blankly out at nothing, shivering, the founding patriarch whispered, "This is the true spirit of the Frigid School!"

Naruto's mind began to recover, and he took a few steps back. His face was ashen, and his body was covered with cold sweat. The fear which he had felt moments ago continued to grip his heart.

The founding patriarch reached out and placed his right hand on Naruto's shoulder."Your cultivation base is too low, so you can't look at her for too long. However, with my assistance, you should be able to last for about ten breaths of time. Hopefully that will be of some assistance in your concocting of the River-Defying Pill."

With that, he sent boundless cultivation base power into Naruto, causing him to shiver as he once again looked over at the corpse of the baby girl.

This time, his mind didn't feel so much like it was being sucked away. He looked at the corpse as closely as possible, trying to commit every detail to memory.

Soon, the ten breaths of time were almost up. After a brief moment of hesitation, Naruto decided that simply looking with his naked eye wouldn't provide much help to him in concocting the River-Defying Pill. Gritting his teeth, he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye.

The instant his third eye opened, what he saw was no longer the corpse of the baby girl. Instead, it was a supremely elegant woman lying there.

Her eyes were closed, and she was completely unmoving. She was surrounded by writhing black mist that resembled countless maggots, which constantly attempted to chew their way into her body. Clearly, it was the spell formation and the water of the Heavenspan River that slowed their progress.

Inside of the woman's chest was a cauldron that emanated deep blue light. Apparently, the black mist maggots were terrified of the cauldron, and the light which shone out of it; they avoided it at all costs.

Unfortunately, the glow of the cauldron was very faint, as though it only contained the slightest scrap of power left within it….

Then, to Naruto great surprise, something happened that he almost suspected was an illusion. The woman's eyes opened, revealing complete and utter blackness as she looked at Naruto. "The RiverDefying Pill draws life from the Heavenspan River water. Converge the energy of heaven and earth to stir the might of the frigid cauldron and suppress the power of the nine devils…."

Naruto shivered and impulsively cried out, "She opened her eyes and said–"

Before he could finish speaking, the founding patriarch's face turned ashen, and blood began to ooze out of his mouth. Even still, a look of delight filled his face and he looked over at Naruto.

"You saw the true spirit open her eyes? She spoke?!"

Naruto nodded incredulously. The founding patriarch excitedly clasped hands and bowed to the baby girl, then led Naruto away, peppering him with questions the entire time.

Even after stepping back onto Mount Daoseed, his eyes still flashed with excitement.

"The fact that the true spirit opened her eyes indicates that she also believes you have the potential to concoct the River-Defying Pill. Come. I'll take you to look at the one River-Defying Pill we have in the sect.

After studying it, you can try to concoct your own!" He clasped Naruto by the arm, and the two of them vanished. When they reappeared, they were outside an immortal's cave on the ninth mountain peak, a place heavily sealed by numerous spell formations. The founding patriarch immediately waved his hand, causing a box to fly out of the cave. When the box landed in front of Naruto, the lid opened, revealing a violet medicinal pill.

It seemed completely ancient, as though it had been concocted countless years in the past. As soon as it appeared, strange colors flashed, and a huge wind kicked up. Naruto could immediately sense an indescribable life force power within the pill.

"River-Defying Pill…."

Chapter 316: The True Spirit's Eyes Open!

Chapter 317 Chapter 317

Chapter 317: I'm The Little Turtle!

The life force was so incredible that grass and plants sprouted up beneath Naruto's feet. It spread out rapidly, until everything within 300 meters was a world of lush vegetation, complete with blooming flowers.

The power of the life force only continued to explode out, but before too much time could pass, the founding patriarch waved his sleeve, sealing the River-Defying Pill back into the little wooden box. As soon as the lid of the box closed, the life force vanished.

The plants and vegetation in the area rapidly withered up, and within the space of a few breaths of time, they had vanished, almost as if they had never existed to begin with.

Naruto looked around with wide eyes.

He had never seen any medicinal pill like this one. The power of the life force he had just felt was almost unbelievable, and was also terrifying to the extreme.

"The River-Defying Pill can't be brought out into the open for too long. Every moment that this box is opened, some of the medicinal strength fades away…." The founding patriarch obviously didn't want to waste even the slightest bit of the pill that wasn't necessary, and as he looked over at Naruto, a look of pain could be seen in his eyes.

"This medicinal pill is a Ten Breaths River-Defying Pill. According to the legends, if the pill is created perfectly, the result will be an Eternal RiverDefying Pill, which would permanently awaken the true spirit.

"Xiaochun, whatever you need to concoct the River-Defying Pill, just say it. The sect will support you in any way possible!"

Naruto didn't say anything at first. He thought back to the moment he had looked at the true spirit, and also the terrifying power of the medicinal pill from moments ago. He didn't feel confident at all in being able to succeed, and had to force himself to nod in agreement. Then, he made his way off slowly.

After returning to his immortal's cave on Mount Daoseed, he sat down cross-legged to think. On the one hand, the River-Defying Pill was very important to the sect, and on the other hand, the mere sight of the terrifying power of the pill was very enticing.

"How do you make a pill with such terrifying life force power? Furthermore, I didn't get the sense that there were any plants and vegetation in that pill. Apparently, it really doesn't use plant ingredients." He had attempted to concoct the River-Defying Pill in the past, and knew that it involved absorbing Heavenspan River water and then using one's own body as the pill furnace.

"But if there are no plant ingredients, only Heavenspan River water, how can you produce such intense life force power?" Frowning, he sat there and continued to ponder the situation.

The next day, he looked very tired. However, he took out the formula for the River-Defying Pill to study it a bit further, as well as the Frigid School Medicine Manual. After some time, he gritted his teeth and put them away, then produced the Holy Pill Wall Fragment he'd acquired in the Profound Stream Sect city.

"I really don't think my current skill in the Dao of medicine is high enough to concoct a River-Defying Pill…." he thought, sighing. With that, he peered at the Holy Pill Wall Fragment, doing the best he could to try to gain further enlightenment of the Dao of medicine which was contained inside. Soon, his gaze began to empty as he sank into his pursuit of enlightenment.

Time passed. Before long, half a month had gone by. During that time, Naruto remained in seclusion, seeking enlightenment. As for the legacy echelon cultivators and the patriarch, they were busy working on the Heavenspan Battleships. Slowly but surely, the cultivators from the a

rmy were returning to their headquarters. Patriarch Ironwood came back, and so did Hou Xiaomei.

The Spirit Stream Division once again began to bustle with activity. Everyone was involved in the preparations for the campaign to the Middle Reaches, and the Sky River Court.

One day, a tremor ran through Naruto, and the blankness in his eyes faded away. Now, they were glowing brightly. He immediately opened the Frigid School Medicine Manual, and sure enough, it looked different than before.

There were many areas he couldn't understand before, places that looked like a blur. But now, he understood the deeper meaning. His eyes began to shine even brighter. A few days later, he put the Frigid School Medicine Manual away, and then closed his eyes for a long moment. After some time passed, his eyes opened again.

"I need Heavenspan River water!" he murmured. With that, he pulled out a jade slip to send a message to the sect leadership.

The patriarchs had appeared to be completely engrossed in working on the Heavenspan Battleships, but they had been secretly looking over at Naruto the entire time. As soon as they heard that he needed Heavenspan River water, Patriarch Ironwood personally went to deliver a bucketful to him.

Naruto looked at the Heavenspan River water with rising anticipation. Waving his right finger, he caused a drop to fly up in front of him, whereupon he opened his mouth and sucked it in. Instantly, the Heavenspan River water entered him, and caused intense rumbling sounds to echo out throughout his body.

"Use my body as the pill furnace, merge life force into the Heavenspan River water, cause the life force to flourish, transform it into a spirit medicine!" Eyes closed, he continued to manipulate the Heavenspan River water inside of his body, attempting to fuse it with his own life force.

The following day, rumbling sounds filled the immortal's cave. Naruto's hair was in complete disarray, and his immortal's cave was filled with a completely noxious odor. However, he wasn't ready to give up yet. Taking out another drop of Heavenspan River water, he decided to try again.

Before long, another half a month had gone by. During that time, rumbling sounds echoed out constantly from Naruto's immortal's cave, along with a noxious stench that soon filled all of Mount Daoseed. However, no one complained. The founding patriarch had long since personally spread word that Naruto was working on a very important medicinal pill for the sect!

"Not enough life force. Just not enough!" After spending half a month without any sleep or rest, Naruto was looking a bit gaunt. His hair was completely disheveled, and his eyes were bright red. He looked like he was going crazy. He had used more than half of the bucket of Heavenspan River water, and had failed every time time.

The main reason for that was that he lacked enough life force. After some calculations, he realized that his own life force wasn't enough to fill 1/100,000th of the required amount of life force to finish a single River-Defying Pill.

"I think that even if the other cultivators in the sect sacrificed life force to help, it would take 100,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators to make even a Ten Breaths River-Defying Pill….

"Either 100,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators or 10,000 Gold Core cultivators. Maybe 1,000 patriarchs. How is this pill even possible to concoct…?" He shook his head. Although it was theoretically possible to make such a pill, it just didn't seem realistic. The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect probably couldn't succeed, let alone the Spirit Stream Division of the River-Defying Sect.

"Maybe I've been going about it the wrong way…." he thought, frowning. However, no amount of thought provided any additional ideas. Finally, he had no choice but to find the founding patriarch and declare sadly that he was giving up.

Although the founding patriarch sighed inwardly in disappointment, he felt bad at how exhausted Naruto looked. He also knew that the River-Defying Pill was something that could not be concocted casually; after all, one generation after another in the Spirit Stream Sect had failed to produce one.

"It doesn't matter," he said consolingly. "You can't force success in this matter, Xiaochun. In three days, myself and the other patriarchs will take the legacy echelon cultivators into the chasm on the north bank. Why don't you come along? Within the chasm is an arcane pocket realm that we discovered in the past. Years ago, I saw the skeleton of a deva beast there, although I was unable to take it away at the time.

"There are many places inside that no one has ever explored. Although there are certain to be some dangers, there will also be opportunities to seize destiny. Who knows, perhaps you might be able to come across some good fortune before the war begins."

Naruto nodded tiredly. It was quite a blow to him to have failed, so it was with great disappointment that he trudged back to his immortal's cave. There, he sat down to meditate and ponder everything he had done with the River-Defying Pill.

Hou Xiaomei was back, but she could tell that it wasn't a good time to disturb Naruto, so she stayed away. Big Fatty Zhang and his other friends did the same. Three days went by quickly, and Naruto slowly recovered. Soon, his cultivation base was back at the peak, and his disappointment at failing to concoct the River-Defying Pill had temporarily vanished.

That was when the jade slip in his bag of holding began to vibrate, and he opened his eyes. When he took out the jade slip, the words of the founding patriarch echoed into his ear, summoning him to the meeting place in the Beast Conservatory.

"I did my best," he murmured, "and can't concoct the River-Defying Pill at the moment." Taking a deep breath, he looked around at the sect he knew so well, then shot forward in a beam of light toward the north bank.

Along the way, the Spirit Stream Division cultivators who spotted him had very respectful looks on their faces as they bowed in greeting. Such reception brightened Naruto's mood, and he subconsciously clasped his hands behind his back and assumed the posture of someone of the Senior generation. Smiling, he nodded back at those who greeted him.

He was especially happy to see so many of the exuberant and youthful female disciples blushing when they looked at him out of the corners of their eyes. Soon, his mood was fully restored. Clearing his throat, he stopped trying to look like someone from the Senior generation and tried to seem a bit more dashing and energetic. Smiling broadly, he flew through the air in dramatic fashion, reveling in the excited cries which echoed out behind him.

"Hahaha! It turns out that I really am quite the dashing fellow! Ai. I guess it's just my fault. I'm simply too attractive." Feeling more wonderful than ever, he continued to fly along until he happened to spot Zhou Xinqi. When their eyes met, Naruto smiled, and she frowned and made to pass him by.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. From what he could tell, there had been some misunderstandings between himself and Zhou Xinqi, so it was with great solemnity that he suddenly said, "Sect Niece Xinqi, please wait a moment."

Zhou Xinqi stopped and looked over at him calmly.

"Do you have orders for me, Junior Patriarch?"

Clasping his hands behind his back, he tried to look as melancholy as possible as he stuck his chin up into the air. "There's something I've been wanted to tell you for quite some time now, but I never found the right opportunity. Today, I'm going to boldly tell you the truth. And that is… that I'm the little turtle!"

With that, he pondered what to say after Zhou Xinqi expressed her shock.

"Oh, I know," Zhou Xinqi said, her expression the same as ever. With that, she flew off in a beam of light.

"Huh?" Naruto said, jaw dropping as he looked at Zhou Xinqi making her way off into the distance. Her reaction had been completely and utterly calm, which was not at all what he had been expecting.

Before he could react, raucous laughter exploded out from his bag of holding.

"You're the little turtle? Hahaha! Ohhhhhh, I get it. Well, since you love Lord Turtle so much, I won't insult you as much in the future."

—

Chapter 318 Chapter 318

Chapter 318: Everyone In Your Family Is A Tadpole

Naruto smacked his bag of holding in frustration. The little turtle had become quite the headache for him, but there was nothing he could do about the situation. Sighing, he watched Zhou Xinqi leaving, then slowly shook his head and turned to head in the direction of the Beast Conservatory on the north bank.

It was impossible to say where exactly Bruiser was. When Naruto arrived on the north bank, the only thing that met him was a distant howl. Even Bruiser was ignoring him. Naruto felt more depressed than ever.

"The child has grown up," he said with a sigh, "and now he just ignores his father!" With that, he headed into the Beast Conservatory.

The Beast Conservatory was like a second home to Naruto. As soon as he arrived, the battle beasts looked over and let out happy roars of greeting.

"Come on, be a good boy, Blackie. Don't bully poor Daisy!"

"What are you doing, Mr. Blackbear? Fighting again? What did I tell you last time? Alright, you're in time out for the next two hours!"

Naruto greeted the battle beasts as he went along, and soon he had a whole group clustered around him as he headed toward the chasm where the Heavenhorn ink dragon lived. The patriarchs were already gathering at the edge of the chasm, as well as the legacy echelon cultivators. All of them had very serious expressions on their faces.

When Naruto was reminded that his cultivation base was the weakest of the group, he waved the battle beasts away. Then he sidled up to the edge of the chasm and looked inside. Deep down, he was just able to make out a shadowy form that was the Heavenhorn ink dragon.

Soon, everyone had gathered, and the founding patriarch looked over the group and said, "Many years ago, I saw the skeleton of a deva-level beast inside the chasm. However, no amount of effort on my part was enough to bring it back with me. Now, we are on the verge of marching to war, and are in the middle of constructing the Heavenspan Battleships. The spine of that beast would be perfect to use as ship keels!

"We five patriarchs will do our best to retrieve the remains of the beast. As for the rest of you, feel free to join us, or to explore the depths of the chasm. Perhaps you can find some good fortune therein!

"The pocket realm inside the chasm is a land of treasures, and contains things from the ancient era. There are many places that even I haven't visited. There are places of destiny, and places of danger. Remember not to stray too far. If anything untoward happens, crush this jade slip of retreat to be returned to us immediately!" With that, he waved his sleeve, sending jade slips flying out to everyone present.

Naruto took the jade slip and examined it. He could immediately sense the teleportation power of the ninth mountain peak on it, and felt a bit more at ease. After all, this pocket realm was part of the Spirit Stream Sect, and was covered by numerous sect spell formations. As such, it should be a relatively safe place.

After all the explanations were made, the founding patriarch looked down into the chasm, his eyes shining brightly. "Heavenhorn, open the arcane pocket realm!"

The Heavenhorn ink dragon gave a thunderous roar in response, and then raised its head. Eyes shining with mysterious light, it shot downward into the chasm.

Intense rumbling sounds spread out through the ground. All of the battle beasts in the Beast Conservatory went silent, and the rest of the beasts throughout the north bank began to tremble. Bruiser had been in the middle of pacing in circles around a female battle beast that resembled a qilin, when suddenly, he shivered and looked up. At the same time, an enormous vortex appea

red at the very bottom of the chasm. A wild wind belched out from within it, causing everyone's clothing to whip about wildly. Black mist erupted up, filling the area with a sensation of profound ancientness.

Even at their current distance from the vortex, it was obvious that another world existed on the other side. They could just barely see numerous lushly vegetated mountains, as well as an enormous dragonlike creature with leathery wings flying about in the air. As soon as the vortex appeared, the creature looked over and then began to fly in their direction.

However, the Heavenhorn ink dragon was even bigger than the winged dragon. It stuck its head out of the vortex, and then a crunching sound could be heard, along with an agonized shriek, as the winged dragon was gobbled up.

The ink dragon's enormous frame slid through the vortex to appear within the arcane pocket realm, where it let out a roar that could shake heaven and earth. Instantly, the entire world went quiet….

The confidence shown by the Heavenhorn ink dragon showed that it was familiar with the arcane pocket realm. That made sense considering that it had originally come from that place!

Even as Naruto gasped, the founding patriarch spoke once more. "Heavenhorn will stand guard. The entrance will remain open for a month, after which time you must return!" With that, the founding patriarch and the other four patriarchs flickered into motion, turning into five beams of light that shot into the vortex and then disappeared over the horizon.

The legacy echelon cultivators were all proud people, and although they had a measure of respect for Naruto, he was still only in the Foundation Establishment stage, while they were all in the Gold Core stage. After nodding curtly to Naruto, they all shot toward the vortex.

"Xiaochun, don't go very far in," Toruho said. "If anything bad happens, crush that jade slip immediately!" With that, he offered a few more warnings. By this point, the other legacy echelon cultivators were getting impatient, so he flew down to meet them. They were planning to go to a place that would be too dangerous for Foundation Establishment cultivators, making it inappropriate to bring Naruto along.

Besides, opportunities for good fortune like this were not easy to come by.

Naruto watched Toruho making his way off into the distance, and then stood at the edge of the chasm, looking down hesitantly as he tried to decide whether or not to go in.

"Come, come, child," the Heavenhorn ink dragon said, smiling. "It's quite safe in here. Just stay within 500 kilometers of the entrance, and I can protect you personally!"

Naruto coughed dryly as he thought the matter over again. Finally, he decided that since this place was a pocket realm belonging to the sect, and he also had a teleportation jade slip, it couldn't be too dangerous. He was also curious to see what the pocket realm looked like. Finally, he flew out into the air and then shot down toward the vortex. A moment later, he was in another world.

The first thing he noticed was the wild wind that screamed through the entire world. It was different from the wind on the outside, stronger, seemingly mad as it attempted to freeze everything it touched.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, where an enormous vortex could be seen, beyond which was the Spirit Stream Sect. The Heavenhorn ink dragon was swirling through the air near the vortex. It looked down at him and smiled.

"Don't worry. I know this place well. Other than a few terrifying entities that you shouldn't provoke, everything else in here should be safe. Besides, those terrifying entities are all sleeping. Fear not! Here, take some of my aura to protect you as you go along!" Laughing, the Heavenhorn ink dragon spat out a stream of black mist, which coalesced into the form of a dragon scale that floated down toward Naruto.

Elated, Naruto grabbed the scale, and then clasped hands and bowed to the Heavenhorn ink dragon. "Many thanks, Senior!"

With that, he flew further into the world, reminding himself not to go further than 500 kilometers away from the entrance.

The cold wind buffeted him as he flew along. Down below, the lands were covered with green vegetation, as well as seemingly endless rolling mountains that seemed rife with secrets and mystery. As far as Naruto was concerned, this place seemed like a completely wild and savage land.

The sky was dark. There were no clouds, and no sun, but it wasn't completely black. After flying along for some time, Naruto finally spotted the horizon, where the sun lurked and cast a bit of light out into the world.

Strange odors reached his nose, something like the aroma of animals and their droppings. Although it was faint, it immediately got him feeling a bit nervous.

There were no signs of human life, but the auras of countless wild beasts could be detected. After having traveled only about 50 kilometers away from the entrance, he could sense that there were eyes looking up at him from the jungle below, eyes belonging to vicious and terrifying creatures.

However, he had the Heavenhorn ink dragon scale, which cast fear into the hearts of such creatures. Even those who seemed comparable to the Gold Core stage weren't willing to get near him.

At one point, he spotted a leopard-like beast which suddenly grew to 300 meters in length before gobbling down an ox-like creature that was several dozen meters long. It even swallowed the creature's' bones! Then it shrank back down to its original size, looked coldly at Naruto, and disappeared into the jungle.

"This place is so dangerous…." he thought, shivering. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted the vortex up in the sky behind him, and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he proceeded on for another 50 kilometers or so. Eventually, he sat down on a boulder at the top of a mountain, looking around at the majestic terrain rolling out in all directions.

"So boring," he said, picking up a pebble. "This place isn't fun at all…." With that, he tossed the pebble down into the forest. A moment later, the vegetation rustled, and then several two-headed bird-like creatures appeared. They were about half as big as an average human, and let out deafening cries as they glared at Naruto, who shivered in response. The birds soared around in the air for a bit before diving back down into the jungle.

"Forget this! I'm going back. None of these beasts are friendly at all." Swallowing, he turned to head back in the direction of the Heavenhorn ink dragon.

However, in the same moment that he flew up into the air, an enraged roar echoed out from one of the distant mountain peaks.

It was only a single roar, but it caused the entire world to shake. Countless mountain peaks trembled, and numerous beasts cried out in anguish, not daring to even lift their heads.

Naruto felt like his scalp was about to explode. His mind was reeling, and his ears twinged with pain as looked over at a familiar figure flying toward him from off in the distance.

"Aren't you just a little tadpole? What's so special about you? How dare you threaten me! Last time Lord Turtle awoke, I saw your dad! You're a tadpole and so was he! Everyone in your whole family is a tadpole…."

—

Chapter 319 Chapter 319

Chapter 319: Swallowed Up

The figure flying toward him looked very familiar. The beam of light it created as it shot through the air was dazzling, and its voice echoed about in grand fashion.

It was none other than the little turtle.

Naruto's jaw dropped, and his hair began to stand on end. He felt like his mind was being struck by 100,000 bolts of lighting, with accompanying thunder pounding into his ears. He immediately let out a shout of alarm.

"When did you get out of my bag of hold–"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw what was happening behind the little turtle. The mountain peak was exploding into a cascade of rocks and rubble. The ground trembled, and numerous birds and beasts fled in terror as a gargantuan toad emerged from under the surface of the earth.

The toad was huge, more than 30,000-meters long…. As it flew up into the air, it blotted out the sun, and cast an enormous shadow down onto the ground. At the same time, an aura of indescribable madness and brutality echoed out!

The toad's eyes were crimson with fury as it glared down at the fleasized little turtle. Then it let out a howl that caused the grounds to shake violently and the sky to distort!

AAOOOWWW!

The air was torn to shreds as a sonic boom rolled out in all directions.

As the little turtle barreled along, it also seemed enraged, and let loose a torrent of abuse.

"What are you screaming for? I know you're male! You're not even worthy of your own parents, you degenerate! Last time Lord Turtle was around, you were just a tadpole, and I could have crushed you to death in a second! No wait. I could have crushed your dad to death! No wait. Crushed your grandpa!"

The toad's eyes burned with bright red light as it slammed down onto the ground, causing everything within 3,000 meters of it to collapse. Crevices snaked out like spiderwebs as the toad then launched itself back up into the air, flying madly toward the little turtle.

Naruto's hair whipped around him madly, and he was sent staggering backward, screaming the entire time.

"Damn you, you bastard turtle! I hate you!" Naruto appeared to be on the verge of tears. The toad seemed ferocious and brutal to the extreme. Although it wasn't as terrifying as the golden crocodile, it definitely was the type of creature to avoid provoking. And yet, the little turtle had managed to completely enrage it. Naruto wanted to kill the little turtle, especially for the fact that he was flying straight toward him. Feeling very much like he was going crazy, he unleashed all the speed he could muster to flee in the opposite direction.

He used his Heavenly Demon Body, his wings, and what little of the powers of gravity and repulsion he could control. Then he added the Mountain Shaking Bash, going all out to become nothing more than a blur of afterimages.

Although the speed he was capable of couldn't be described as slow, the little turtle was faster. In the blink of an eye, he was right next to Naruto.

Looking over at him, he stuck his bottom lip out mockingly and said, "What are you scared of? Lord Turtle's here! Years ago, I crushed tons of those tadpoles. Aiya. Lord Turtle is tired now. I need to rest for a bit. Don't disturb me, or else I'll insult you to death!" The little turtle yawned, then became a blur of light that vanished into Naruto's bag of holding.

In the moment before disappearing, he hollered, "Hey little tadpole! If you think you've got what it takes, go ahead and fight with my master! Don't come looking for me until you can beat him!"

Naruto howled in rage, and was just going to start cursing the little turtle when an even more intense

roar echoed out behind him, and he looked back to see the huge toad glaring at him with utter madness!

Looking back down at his bag of holding, tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm sorry!" he said. "Lord Turtle, please, let me off the hook! I actually really like turtles…." However, the little turtle didn't respond at all.

Naruto was wracked with grief. He thought back to the golden crocodile, and realized that if things kept going on like they were, the little turtle might cost him his poor little life….

"You'll get what you deserve one of these days!" he howled as he sped into motion again. "Senior Heavenhorn, save me!"

Off in the distance, the Heavenhorn ink dragon was still soaring about in the air. As soon as it heard the cry of the toad, it looked over in surprise, and its eyes widened.

Then it heard Naruto, and saw him fleeing at top speed, and all of the scales on its body stood on end.

"Dammit!" it roared. "How did you manage to get the old toad so pissed off!?" The Heavenhorn ink dragon was actually trembling inwardly. Although it seemed like a powerful creature, there were some older beasts within this world that even it didn't dare to provoke. As it turned out, this toad was one of them.

"Stay away!" the dragon cried. "Don't come over here!" Of course, Naruto wasn't listening, and sped in the direction of the dragon as quickly as he could.

Even as the Heavenhorn ink dragon trembled, the toad let out another roar. Then, the terrified dragon's eyes turned bright red, almost as if it were on the verge of unleashing its fury.

Naruto was instantly moved at how well the old dragon was treating him, and pushed forward with greater speed.

"Senior Heavenhorn, how kind and virtuous of you! I, Naruto, will always remember this, and I'll definitely pay you back once I get to the sect…."

Naruto's gratitude seemingly knew no ends. From what he could tell, the dragon still must be grateful for how much he'd helped it all those years back. Suddenly, the toad roared again, but this time, it also shot out its tongue, which was indescribably long, and moved with a speed that was difficult to put into words.

In the blink of an eye, the Heavenhorn ink dragon had become the target. Clearly, the toad wanted to wipe out the dragon first, and then take care of Naruto afterward.

The dragon's eyes went wide as an intense sensation of deadly crisis surged through it.

"Fellow Daoist Toad, did this punk provoke you? I'll take care of him for you! Kiddo, how dare you provoke my big bro. Do you have a death wish!?" Although the Heavenhorn ink dragon's words echoed out in dramatic fashion, inwardly, it was trembling. As for the old toad, it seemed taken aback. Its tongue stopped moving, and instead of continuing to attack the Heavenhorn ink dragon, it suddenly shot toward Naruto. Before he could react, it wrapped around him and hauled him off of his feet.

Naruto screamed. Although he wanted to weep, the tears wouldn't come. Before he could do anything else, the sound of rushing wind blasted past his ears, and everything turned dark.

All the Heavenhorn ink dragon could see was the huge tongue wrap around Naruto and then, in the blink of an eye, roll back up into the toad's mouth.

The Heavenhorn ink dragon was trembling, but it put an ingratiating smile on its face as the toad glared at it, then turned and hopped off into the distance.

After confirming that the toad was gone, the Heavenhorn ink dragon took a deep breath.

"That's it. Game over. Young Naruto was eaten by the old toad. Although, now that I think about it, the toad takes a long time digesting things. Naruto's fleshly body is pretty tough. He should be safe for a while." The dragon quickly reached out to make contact with the patriarchs in the hopes of rescuing Naruto as quickly as possible.

Naruto was now inside the toad. Everything around him was black at first, but slowly his vision adjusted, whereupon his face drained of blood. He was surrounded by mucus and other fluids. Everything was wriggling. It was too terrifying to even describe with words, and furthermore, a horrifically acidic odor filled the air that caused Naruto to nearly throw up.

He was currently plastered down against a swath of flesh, and when he tried to lift his arm, numerous strings of mucus spread out and drooped down.

"Heaven-damned little turtle, I hate you!" To his horror, he realized that his clothing was slowly dissolving. Thankfully, his Undying Live Forever Technique and powerful fleshy body ensured that he was not harmed.

It took a lot of effort, but he managed to struggle into a sitting position. Then he rose to his feet and looked around, frowning.

"That toad definitely swallowed me up. I must be inside of it now…." Sighing in despair, he was just about to try to walk out, when he realized that the way ahead was completely sealed shut. Anger surging, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and summoned a blood Chakra sword. Without any hesitation he slashed it down in front of him.

"Open up!"

A sound rang out like metal scraping on metal, and not a single scratch was visible.

"This won't work. I need to figure out some other way to open the toad's mouth. I guess I should go further in. Maybe… dammit! Could it be that the world-famous cultivator Naruto… will have to use the back door?!" Scowling on the verge of tears, he kept struggling to make a decision. He tried using the teleportation jade slip, but found that it didn't work in this location. Sighing piteously, he began to make his way further into the depths.

His clothing continued to melt. Thankfully, his fleshly body was strong enough that he could hold on for the moment. As he walked along, his feet stuck to the sticky ground, causing him to almost throw up on multiple occasions.

"I'm gonna kill you, little turtle!" Enraged, he rifled through his bag of holding several times, but wasn't able to find even a trace of the little turtle.

—

Chapter 320 Chapter 320

Chapter 320: Eternal Parasol!

Feeling like he had no other choices at hand, Naruto proceeded onward, step by step. Eventually, he lost track of exactly how many steps he'd taken. Thankfully, his cultivation base was in late Foundation Establishment, and his seventh spiritual sea was on the very cusp of being fully crystallized. Because of that, his spiritual power reserves were deep, allowing him to hold his breath for very long periods of time.

Most important of all was his powerful fleshly body. Despite the stinging sensation and the acrid odor, he was able to grit his teeth and proceed onward.

"Worst case scenario, I just wait to be saved. That old dragon might fear death, but he'll definitely inform the patriarchs of what happened…." He couldn't believe he was so unlucky, and at the same time, his hatred for the little turtle grew even stronger.

Cursing the entire way, he proceeded deeper. Every once in awhile, he saw the corpses of various animals that were apparently difficult for the toad to digest. Some of the bones had been dissolved down until they were pitch black, but still refused to melt completely. Naruto shuddered.

"I don't want to become a skeleton…." he murmured, hurrying forward. He didn't want to stay in this place for even a moment longer than necessary.

As he walked along, the little turtle suddenly stuck his head out of his bag of holding. Looking around, he blurted, "Wow, you really ended up inside here!"

Naruto's eyes bulged with madness, and his hand shot down to grab him. However, the little turtle ducked his head back into the bag of holding, and Naruto grabbed nothing but air.

"Get out from inside there!" Naruto roared, shoving his hand into his bag of holding.

The turtle chuckled coldly. "You think I'll come out just because you tell me to? What do you take Lord Turtle to be, a complete blockhead? I'm not going anywhere!"

"Y-y-you…." Naruto rifled angrily through his bag of holding, but was unable to find a trace of him.

Tears began to well up in his eyes. He truly couldn't handle this situation anymore. The little turtle was just too good at causing disasters. Every time he provoked terrifying entities, Naruto ended up feeling like he was going to get killed. "I'm sorry…. Lord Turtle… if things keep going like this, I'm going to end up dead thanks to your games."

"Well, considering you're being so well-behaved, Lord Turtle will give you some good fortune. You do what I tell you, and you might find something very interesting in this place." The turtle slowly stuck its head out of the bag of holding, but only by a little bit. Naruto almost tried to grab him, but knew that the little turtle was always completely on guard, making it difficult to succeed. Sighing, he decided to follow the little turtle's directions. After going back and forth for awhile, they reached a wall of flesh in a very remote location.

"This is the place. Alright, come on, hurry up! This is one of the weakest spots here. Use as much strength as you can to break open a hole. This is the place I remember noticing when I was strolling around before. There's a treasure buried here!" The little turtle immediately got excited.

"Buried treasure?" Naruto said, a look of shock appearing on his face.

"You heard me!" the turtle said, sighing. "It's a good thing Lord Turtle had nothing better to do than get you swallowed by this big toad. It's just too bad that you didn't get swallowed by that golden crocodile. It had a treasure inside of it too." Naruto looke

d dejectedly at the wall of flesh in front of him, then gritted his teeth and began to rotate his cultivation base. The power of his spiritual seas surged, and the image of a heavenly demon appeared behind him. When his cultivation base was at its highest level, he howled and then lashed his right hand out with lightning-like speed. At the same time, his thumb and index finger closed in on each other as he used the Throat Crushing Grasp.

A boom rumbled out, and a crack opened up in the spot the little turtle had indicated. The body of the toad trembled, and then twitched, causing a rain of acid to splash about inside of it.

The acid was very powerful, and the bits that landed onto Naruto caused white smoke to rise up into the air. It actually hurt quite a bit. The acid started to build up to the point where Naruto wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. Soon it was up to his ankles, like a rising tide. Screaming, he continued to unleash powerful attacks.

"Faster, faster," the turtle urged. "Come on!"

"You're doing great, Naruto. You can do it!"

"I support you!"

The little turtle continued to shout out encouragement until Naruto couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Shut up…!"

After unleashing quite a few attacks, the crack opened up wide enough that he was able to grab the sides with his hands and rip it open even further.

A crevice was torn open wide enough for Naruto to fit through. There was no time for contemplation. The acid was rising dangerously high, and his entire body hurt. Without any hesitation, he dove into the crack.

He was now in a tunnel, and surprisingly, the walls were made, not from flesh, but rather, stone. Even more surprising was that there was no acidic aroma anymore, but instead, a delicate fragrance that felt quite refreshing.

Even as he looked around in surprise, the little turtle flew out of his bag of holding, an excited expression on his face.

"Hahaha! Lord Turtle has finally dusted off the old tools of the trade.

This is incredible. Come on, let's see what treasure there is to be had…." Eyes shining, the little turtle shot down toward the end of the tunnel, which opened up into a small stone chamber!

Naruto hurried along. After entering the stone chamber, he looked around in astonishment. It was roughly 300 meters in diameter, and was surrounded by what appeared to be countless red and green vines that bored into and out of the stone itself.

The red and green vines were very thick, and were all wriggling and writhing. Closer examination revealed that they were most likely part of the toad's body.

"This place…." Naruto murmured. He looked down toward the middle of the stone chamber, and noticed a stone dais, upon which was a jade slip and a black parasol. He quickly realized that the fragrant aroma was coming from the parasol.

"There really is treasure hidden here!"

Before he could examine the area any further, the little turtle's eyes began to shine, and he said, "Now this is impressive. Someone used a powerful divine ability to get this giant toad under control right before it reached the level of a beast king. Not only did that person manage to slow its progress toward becoming a beast king, he converged all of the toad's nerves into this location. It's not quite a magical sealing, but it's almost the same. It brought the toad under control, and basically turned it into a mobile immortal's cave!

"Unfortunately, that parasol is only half-completed. Some accident must have befallen the owner of this immortal's cave before he finished his work. Otherwise the toad would have eventually become a beast king. Hm, methods like these, controlling a beast king, turning it into an immortal's cave, using its life force to extend one's own…. Those are all the methods of the ancient cultivators of the Dao of the devils!"

As the little turtle flew excitedly around the immortal's cave looking around, Naruto's heart began to pound. Although he didn't quite understand everything the little turtle was talking about, his final words were completely astonishing.

"A cultivator from ancient times? That could control a beast king…?" Naruto wasn't completely unfamiliar with beast kings. Bruiser was a battle beast who had the potential to become a beast king in the future. Although he wasn't fully in the beast king level, he could already control countless other battle beasts, enough to shake an entire sect.

As Naruto took a breath to calm himself, the little turtle landed in front of the stone dais in the middle of the immortal's cave. As he looked at the jade slip and the black parasol, his eyes shone with an intense glow.

"Hurry up and see what's written on that jade slip, kid. It's definitely going to explain who did all of this. Maybe there's even a teleportation technique in there to get us out of here. If so, we can leave right now."

Naruto walked nervously over to the jade slip. After a bit of hesitation, he leaned over to look at it more closely, and when he was sure it was safe, he picked it up and poured some spiritual power inside.

Instantly, an ancient voice spoke in his mind.

"The ancestor wisheth to wage war, and assist I shall. I will likely meet my downfall. This parasol doth be named Eternal. Were the parasol to be completed, it would be a heaven-tier spirit weapon.

"This beast is named Blueland, and it doth be a natural-born traitor. Only if thee possess the power of a Deva can thee control it. If thy cultivation base doth not suffice, use my technique to absorb the beast's life force, and raise thine own!"

The voice faded away, and then the technique for absorbing the beast's life force appeared in Naruto's mind. He put the jade slip down. Feeling a bit dazed, he looked over at the parasol, and then his eyes began to shine brightly.

"After it's complete, it will be a heaven-tier spirit weapon? A spirit weapon!? The treasures which make up the reserve powers of entire sects are called heaven-tier!?" Panting, he stepped forward and picked up the black parasol.

The instant he touched it, the parasol began to glow with flickering light, and a blast of cold air spread out from it. Naruto felt almost like he was being frozen in place, as though his blood were solidifying. A sensation of deadly crisis filled him, and yet, he fought it under control. However, he was unable to open the parasol. Eyes shining, he looked at it and then started laughing.

However, picking up the parasol had apparently opened a magical seal. Suddenly, the entire immortal's cave began to tremble, and a muffled roar could be heard outside the immortal's cave. At the same time, intense pressure began to weigh down.

Apparently, the huge toad had detected what was going on, and was doing everything it could to crush the immortal's cave into dust!

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, along with cracking sounds. The tunnel outside of the immortal's cave collapsed, and massive amounts of acid flooded in, along with a noxious odor. The immortal's cave couldn't hold on much longer, and began to collapse. Naruto was trembling, and the pressure weighing down on him caused his knees to tremble, and blood to ooze out of the corners of his mouth.

Chapter 321 Chapter 321

Chapter 321: The Might Of The Eternal Parasol!

Naruto's face fell. Even as he recalled the words spoken to him from within the jade slip, the little turtle shrieked and flew back into his bag of holding.

"If you die, kid, I'll burn some incense for you! It's too bad that Lord

Turtle just escaped the clutches of evil, only to get stuck in this place…."

Naruto was completely infuriated. Gritting his teeth, he howled,

"Shut your mouth!"

However, now was not the time to worry about the little turtle. "Listen up, you big toad! I know you can hear me! Let me go, and I won't hurt you!

"I agree that the cultivator from ancient times pushed things too far with you. That doesn't have anything to do with me. I'm innocent, alright!? Let me go! We don't have any grudges with each other…. Let's talk things over! There's no need to hurt each other, okay? When I really attack, I frighten even myself!"

Even as his words were still echoing about, rumbling sounds filled the inside of the huge toad, and intense pressure exploded out. Naruto trembled, coughing up a mouthful of blood as his bones creaked ominously.

Within the intense pressure, he could sense a raging malice, as though the hatred the toad felt for the ancient cultivator was now being transferred to Naruto. Apparently, no matter what Naruto said, it wouldn't listen at all.

"You…." he said, trembling, a sensation of deadly crisis rising up within him. However, before he could say anything else, the pressure mounted, and the immortal's cave began to collapse even more quickly. The little turtle was screaming, and Naruto was on the verge of going mad.

"You big bully!" he cried, wounds opening up all over him, soaking his robes with blood. There was no time for rumination. The toad was clearly attempting to kill him. Gritting his teeth, he followed the instructions within the jade slip, reaching out with his right hand to grab the black parasol. Then, he stabbed it viciously down into the ground.

The razor-sharp tip of the parasol slid smoothly into the ground, and then down into the flesh and blood of the toad!

As blood spurted out, Naruto's eyes gleamed, and he tightened his grip on the parasol. With the other hand, he performed an incantation gesture and simultaneously muttered some incomprehensible words of enchantment. Then, just in the moment that the immortal's cave was about to completely fall to pieces, he roared, "Eternal!"

In response, black light exploded out from the Eternal Parasol. In the blink of an eye, it filled the immortal's cave, and then began to spread out to cover other parts of the toad's body.

As the black light spread, it stimulated various restrictive spells which had been placed throughout the toad. The spells began to rumble, and yet, apparently because of the vast amount of time which had passed, most of them were weakened and in complete disrepair. In the end, only a few thousand activated fully. However, each one of that small group alone managed to create a massive gravitational force, something like a black hole!

The thousand or so restrictive spells were like a thousand black holes inside the huge toad, with the Eternal Parasol forming the nucleus of them all.

As the gravitational force spread out, the toad began to tremble, and emit increasingly intense roars. Naruto was shaking as, all of a sudden, the black holes began to gobble up the life force of the toad and send it toward the Eternal Parasol!

An indescribably boundless power of Chakra and blood then began to flow through the parasol into Naruto's right hand!

RUMBLE!

Naruto's mind

was spinning. His gaze was vacant, and his hair whipped around him. It felt like his soul was about to fly out of his body. His mind slowly became a blank as the seemingly endless power of Chakra and blood flowed into him!

Qi and blood could also be considered life force, and as it flowed madly into him, Naruto's Undying Live Forever Technique began to spin of its own accord. It was almost like immortal nectar being poured down onto cracked, parched ground. The technique rapidly advanced until Naruto was shaking where he stood. His fleshly body began to grow stronger at an incredible, explosive rate!

A third heavenly demon appeared!

A fourth heavenly demon appeared!

Almost immediately, four heavenly demons appeared behind him, their heads thrown back as they howled, sending boundless might out in all directions. However, the struggling of the toad only intensified.

Unceasing rumbling sounds echoed out as the more than one thousand restrictive spells began to collapse, causing miserable shrieking sounds to echo out inside of the toad's body.

However, the gravitational force persisted. With every breath of time that passed, boundless life force flowed through the restrictive spells and into the Eternal Parasol, to be absorbed by Naruto. As it did, more heavenly demons formed!

A fifth!

A sixth!

The little turtle cautiously peeped out of the bag of holding, and then his jaw dropped. He even started to feel a little jealous.

"Dammit, what kind of luck is this!?" Finally, he simply rolled his eyes in a rare moment of speechlessness. By this point, he could tell that, in truth, not even 10,000 Narutos put together would be a match for the huge toad. However, the toad was filled with countless restrictive spells, all of which were focused onto the parasol.

More accurately, Naruto wasn't the one absorbing the toad's life force, it was the parasol. All Naruto had to do was recite the correct enchantment.

"Who exactly put this immortal's cave here?" the turtle thought. "This kind of thing is really rare!"

Meanwhile, in the wild mountains outside, the huge toad was roaring so loudly that brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth. A huge wind screamed in all directions, and mountains in the area were collapsing into pieces as the toad flailed back and forth, withering visibly the entire time.

Birds and beasts alike were shaking in fear, and many were killed in the quaking. The entire 5,000-kilometer area was being turned into nothing more than ruins as the toad descended into madness. Beyond that region, the five patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect were closing in at top speed, along with the legacy echelon cultivators.

The Heavenhorn ink dragon was with them, leading the way. The founding patriarch's expression was grave; they had been at a critical juncture in extracting the beast skeleton when the news came in from the dragon. Although they couldn't stop the process in the middle, they had been able to speed up their work. After successfully collecting the beast skeleton, they summoned the legacy echelon, and then used the Heavenhorn ink dragon scales they all possessed to head over to rescue Naruto.

"That toad probably has battle prowess in the late Nascent Soul stage," the founding patriarch said through gritted teeth. "If it dares to hurt our junior patriarch, I'm going to sever its tendons and skin it alive!" Patriarch Ironwood, Li Zimo, and the other two patriarchs were all extremely anxious; if something bad happened to Naruto, it would be a disaster for the River-Defying Sect.

Although they would still be just as powerful as before, there would surely be schisms and divisions in the near future.

Li Qinghou's eyes were completely bloodshot, and he radiated icy killing intent as he shot through the air.

The Heavenhorn ink dragon was feeling very nervous, and didn't dare to say much. All it could do was lead the way as quickly as possible. Soon, they were within the 5,000-kilometer area that was affected by the toad's rampage. Before the Heavenhorn ink dragon could even comment, intense booms could be heard, and mountains could be seen collapsing. The ground was shaking violently, and countless birds and beasts were dying. The patriarchs and legacy echelon cultivators all gasped.

"What's going on!?"

Shocked, and even more nervous than before, the group headed forward at top speed.

It was around that time that Naruto's seventh heavenly demon roared into existence.

After that was the eighth, and then the ninth!

Nine heavenly demons all appeared behind him, causing his fleshly body to rocket to unprecedented heights. The cultivation of the Undying Live Forever Technique required life force; with enough of it, the potential for progress was virtually limitless.

Back in the Blood Stream Sect, he had been able to use the blood Chakra of the Blood Ancestor to quicken his progress. Now, he was using the Chakra and blood from this huge toad to make terrifyingly quick progress toward the second level of the Undying Live Forever Technique.

The tenth heavenly demon was rapidly forming, and once it was complete, Naruto would reach the Asura Body level of the Undying Live Forever Technique!

After the Asura Body was the highest level, the Undying Heavenly King Body!

When that time came, he would be able to break through the second shackle of life, and potentially form a Fleshly Body Nascent Core, which was also more commonly known as an Undying Heavenly King Core!

RUMBLE!

Naruto was trembling visibly. As the life force poured into him and the tenth heavenly demon took shape, a miraculous transformation was occurring in his spiritual seas.

His seventh spiritual sea suddenly crystallized, and then his eighth! In fact, the process was going along so rapidly that his ninth spiritual sea was already about half crystallized, and was continued to grow more solid by the second.

He was growing stronger in all aspects. To Naruto, this was an incredible good fortune, and all of it was because of the Eternal Parasol!

The parasol seemed to radiate an evil aura as it rapidly sucked in the life force of the toad through the restrictive spells. By this point, the toad was like a candle flickering on the verge of being extinguished!

—

Chapter 322

Chapter 322

Chapter 322: Trifling Toad Monster

The toad wanted to fight back, but all it could do was roar in frustration. As the gravitational force continued to suck away at its life force, it let out a miserable shriek and withered down even more….

As that happened, Naruto's ninth spiritual sea reached a state of ninety percent crystallization. With ten percent more, he would reach the great circle of Foundation Establishment, a level of power vastly greater than before. It was in that moment that…

His tenth heavenly demon fully formed!

In the blink of an eye, the ten heavenly demons superimposed, instantly becoming a blurry field of mist.

The mist seethed and roiled, sending out terrifying fluctuations; apparently, a completely awe-inspiring Dharma incarnation was forming!

Then, a magical halo of fire appeared within the mist, a fire that seemed to contain infinite screaming souls.

Beneath the fiery halo, two red dots appeared that looked like eyes. Only half a moment later, though, two more red eyes appeared next to the first two. Then a third pair appeared!

From the look of it, the figure within the mist had three heads!

Within the following short few breaths of time, two enormous, pitchblack arms stretched out from inside the mist. However, things weren't over yet. A second pair of arms appeared, and then a third! After that was a black suit of armor!

The image which was forming was something that seemed powerful enough to prop up heaven and earth, a figure of incomprehensible power!

It had three heads and six arms, and radiated terrifying might. This was none other than the manifestation of the Undying Asura Body!

Naruto shook as his fleshly body power skyrocketed. He was now vastly stronger than he had been before, and when he opened his eyes, they shone so brightly that they could surpass the light of the sun and the moon!

It was in the moment that his eyes opened that his soul seemed to return. Pulling the Eternal Parasol out of the toad's flesh, and thus ending the absorption of life force, he blurred into motion. Howling, he reached out, tore a huge opening in the wall, and shot out into the open!

As he flew up into the air, he probed his cultivation base and saw that it was only a hair away from the great circle of Foundation Establishment. Then he confirmed that he had upgraded from the Heavenly Demon Body to the Asura Body, whereupon elation filled his heart.

The huge toad was now completely emaciated and panting for breath. Before, it could have easily defeated Naruto, but now that much of its life force had been sucked away, it could do little more than gasp and look pleadingly at Naruto, as if begging for mercy.

Fear had truly gripped its heart. Earlier, it had completely ignored Naruto's suggestion, and had hoped to take him by surprise and kill him, and thus completely change its own fate. But now, the only emotions in its eyes as it looked at Naruto were supplication and terror.

That was especially true when it looked at the black parasol he held, the mere sight of which left the toad trembling.

Naruto felt a bit bad for the toad. Sighing, he said, "I mentioned in the beginning that we could have worked things out, but you decided to bully me. Like I said, when I attack, I frighten even myself. Still don't believe me?"

He shook his head and sighed even more deeply at how much of a straightforward and upright person he was. Whenever he attacked people, he always gave them a warning, but sadly, no one ever believed him.

Even as he prepared to sigh some more, several beams of light appeared off in the distance. Heart thumping, and having no time to ponder his next action, he quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then po

inted his finger at the toad. Trying to look as threatening as possible, he stuck his chin up and coolly said, "How dare you, mister invincible, unsurpassable toad monster! You think you can fight with me, Naruto? Hmmmphhh! Well, do you surrender or not!?"

In almost the same moment, the patriarchs and legacy echelon cultivators burst onto the scene, and saw the shocking sight of the withered toad.

The toad didn't look huge and impressive like before. It looked almost like a mere pile of skin, lying there gasping for breath, its eyes shining with terror as it looked at the person standing in front of it….

That look in its eyes seemed to be one of complete and utter dread.

As for the person standing in front of the toad, it was none other than Naruto.

When they heard Naruto's words, the newcomers exchanged dismayed, even confused, glances. They had rushed over here from distant locations with the intention of rescuing Naruto. How could they ever have imagined that a scene like this would meet them upon their arrival?

Toruho was dumbstruck, and the legacy echelon cultivators were left gasping. Even the patriarchs' jaws had dropped.

A look of incredulous disbelief could be seen on the face of the Heavenhorn ink dragon. The sight of the emaciated toad seemed completely unbelievable, to the point where the dragon was starting to question whether it had made a mistake in judgement earlier.

After a moment of silence, the founding patriarch looked over at Heavenhorn. "Heavenhorn, um… are you sure this is the toad you mentioned earlier?"

"I…." mumbled the Heavenhorn ink dragon. After a moment of contemplation, it was sure that this was the same huge toad. However, the scene playing out before them seemed completely unbelievable. The dragon couldn't help but look over at Naruto, reverence rising up in its heart.

Pretending that he'd just noticed the new arrivals, Naruto turned his head to look at them. His veins of steel were pulsing, his murderous aura roiling out in all directions. Clasping hands and bowing, he coolly said, "Greetings, Patriarchs. I very much appreciate your expression of goodwill. However, I, Naruto, have already vanquished this unbeatable toad monster!"

Strange looks appeared on everyone's faces. Clearly, they knew he was showing off, and yet there was nothing they could say by way of retort. They began to smile wryly as they realized that, apparently, Naruto was never going to truly grow up.

"How did you do this?" the founding patriarch asked. He could see that the toad's cultivation base really was at the late Nascent Soul stage, perhaps even in the great circle. It was actually very close to being in the Deva Realm.

"I was born with the power of the gods," Naruto replied, clasping his hands behind his back and sticking his chin up. "As someone who has reached Heavenstring Foundation Establishment, I can shake the heavens. I called countless bolts of Heaven-Dao lightning down upon this creature, seriously injuring it. The only reason I showed it mercy in the end was because I pitied it." His casual tone mixed with the words he spoke caused everyone present to wish they could give him a good smack across the face.

Even Toruho felt the same way. Seeing Naruto show off like this left him chuckling wryly inside.

"Patriarchs and other Fellow Daoists, thank you for coming to save me. I was injured in the process, and yet single-handedly defeated this unsurpassable monster. Even still, your expression of friendship will forever be inscribed upon my heart. To return the favor, allow me to present this monster as a gift to the sect!" With that he flicked his sleeve.

"After all, with the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, can reduce any kind of beast to ashes…."

The founding patriarch's cheek twitched. He really couldn't take any more of this. With a final glare at Naruto, he looked over at the toad. Inside, he was delighted. Waving his hand, he collected the toad into his bag of holding. Although the toad's vital energy had been seriously damaged, with time and rest, it would recover, and could prove to be another powerful spirit beast guardian for the Spirit Stream Sect.

There was even a bit of beast king aura left on the toad. The patriarchs were delighted. They could sense its life force had recently been drained away, but they didn't say anything.

Although they had their suspicions, they kept them to themselves. As for the legacy echelon cultivators, they all approved. When a disciple acquired good fortune, it belonged to that disciple. If others in the sect tried to steal it away, it would lead to discord within the sect.

Besides, Naruto was the junior patriarch. Not even Nascent Soul masters would go overboard in dealing with a person like that.

Soon, the group was on their way back, and Naruto was in their midst looking exactly like a lonely hero. Of course, inside, he was bursting with joy!

"So," he thought, "this place really did turn out to have some good fortune. Excellent. Very excellent. I guess I won't get rid of the little turtle after all. Perhaps he will lead to more good fortune in the future."

Although he felt completely pleased, he suddenly recalled what the

Heavenhorn ink dragon had done, and looked over at it with a glare.

Heavenhorn's heart trembled. It had been able to tell earlier that ninety percent of the toad's life force had been drained away, and that fact left the dragon trembling in fear. It wasn't sure what secret method Naruto had used to accomplish such a task. Regardless, it was a terrifying thing. Now, an ingratiating expression could be seen on its face when it looked at Naruto. Actually, its behavior earlier was quite similar to how Naruto himself would have acted….

Naruto nodded magnanimously at the dragon. It was in that fashion that the group returned to the entrance, flew through the vortex, and found themselves back in the Spirit Stream Sect.

After everyone emerged, the vortex vanished, and the Heavenhorn ink dragon sank back down into the chasm to stand guard.

—

Chapter 323

Chapter 323

Chapter 323: Gathering At The Blood Stream Sect!

Now that the patriarchs and the legacy echelon cultivators were back, the final work on the Heavenspan Battleships began. Everyone in the sect helped out as the deva beast spine was used to craft the keels of the ships!

There were a total of three, each one a different size. The largest was 300,000 meters long, and completely awe-inspiring in appearance. It hadn't started moving yet, but it looked like a gigantic mountain that caused all of the Spirit Stream Sect disciples who saw it to tremble in awe and reverence!

And that was just based on its appearance! The largest of the

Heavenspan Battleships emanated a shocking aura that surpassed that of a Nascent Soul patriarch. It was at a completely different level altogether; the aura of a deva!

After the Nascent Soul stage was the Deva Realm. This battleship had been made with the spine of a deva beast, and even though it couldn't necessarily unleash the full might of the Deva Realm, it was still incredibly powerful. It would make their trip up the Heavenspan River much safer. That, coupled with the Dharmic decree from the riversource Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, would ensure that they faced almost no hazards along the way.

Of course, the largest of the battleships was big enough to contain all of the Spirit Stream Sect cultivators who were going to war!

The second of the battleships was a bit smaller, being only 210,000 meters in length, and had been prepared specifically for the Profound Stream Sect. The last of the battleships was the smallest, being only 90,000 meters long. However, it had been constructed in the same fashion as the largest, and radiated the aura of the Deva Realm.

Before leaving their temporary headquarters, the patriarchs of the four sects had already agreed that the Blood Stream Division didn't need a Heavenspan Battleship. Apparently, they had their own way of traveling up the Heavenspan River.

When the third Battleship was completed, all the disciples in the Spirit Stream Division felt shaken. Everyone knew that the most critical part of the war was coming!

They would soon travel up the river to destroy the Sky River Court and take its place!

Naruto had no desire to see anyone die. However, he was no saint either, and didn't allow such feelings to extend to people he didn't even know. What he cared about were his family and friends!

Half a month later, the founding patriarch's voice echoed out through the sect, accompanied by the tolling of bells. "All disciples of the RiverDefying Sect's Spirit Stream Division who have been assigned to fight will now board the battleship! Our next destination is the Blood Stream Division, further up the Heavenspan River!"

The Spirit Stream Division instantly stirred into action. There was no chaos. Thanks to the arrangements made by Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong, as well as the various peak lords, all disciples and battle beasts boarded the battleship in an orderly fashion.

The precious treasures and reserve powers of the sect were also loaded onto the battleship. Naruto even saw a familiar coffin, which was now covered. Under the patriarch's care, it was placed in a secret location on the battleship!

Naruto knew at a glance that the coffin contained the true spirit!

"They're even bringing the true spirit…." he murmured to himself. The Spirit Stream Division was clearly going all out in this war effort!

It took three full days to move the Spirit Stream Division's ninth mountain peak onto the battleship. By this point, the Spirit Stream Sect seemed empty. There were only some Outer Sect disciples left behind to operate the grand spell formation and protect the headquarters. The two unused battleships vanished by m

eans of the teleportation power of the ninth mountain peak.

Naruto stood on the battleship looking back at the old headquarters, a profound look in his eyes. Hou Xiaomei stood next to him. Looking a bit scared, she edged closer.

Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds then echoed out as the Spirit Stream Division's Heavenspan Battleship vanished!

When it reappeared, it was beyond the Luochen Mountains, which was the limit of its teleportation power. As soon as it appeared in Blood Stream Division territory, the people who had been sent out to receive the Spirit Stream Division bowed respectfully, and at the same time, gasped in shock at the sight of the huge ship.

It wasn't just them. Any living beings in the area who could see the Heavenspan Battleship with its deva pressure were shocked. Everything went completely silent.

The Blood Stream Division disciple led the way. Rumbling sounds echoed out that could break all barriers as the Heavenspan Battleship headed in the direction of the Blood Stream Division headquarters.

As Naruto stood there at the front of the battleship looking out at the lands in front of him, he felt a great sense of familiarity. The battleship was incredibly fast, even faster than Nascent Soul patriarchs. It only took about six hours before the Heavenspan River became visible off in the distance. There, the hand of the Blood Ancestor could be seen stretching out of the river, forming the mountain peaks of the former Blood Stream Sect!

For most cultivators of the Spirit Stream Division, this was their first time seeing the headquarters of the Blood Stream Division. Although they had heard stories, to see it personally was completely different, and all of them were left astonished.

"That's a hand!"

"Heavens! I can't believe there's actually a huge hand stretching out of the Heavenspan River. If the five fingers of that hand can each make a whole mountain peak, then how big is the rest of the giant…?"

"So this is the Blood Stream Division, huh…?"

Even as everyone marveled, the Heavenspan Battleship slowly approached the headquarters. The Profound Stream Division and the Pill

Stream Division had not been tasked with creating their own

Heavenspan Battleships, so they had long since come to the Blood Stream Division headquarters and set up camp outside. Earlier, the camps and the sect headquarters had been quite bustling, but the arrival of the Heavenspan Battleship changed that. Now everyone was looking over and gasping in shock.

Even the cultivators of the Blood Stream Division had that reaction.

The Spirit Stream Division was shaken by the sight of the huge hand, and the Blood Stream Division was shaken by the Heavenspan Battleship. Even the patriarchs of the other three divisions were taken aback, and their eyes began to shine brightly.

"A deva beast's spine as the keel, crafted into a Heavenspan

Battleship!"

"The Spirit Stream Division truly is adept at keeping secrets. Of our four divisions, they are the best at concealing their resources!"

Even as everyone gave voice to their astonishment, the 300,000-meterlong Heavenspan Battleship descended into the Heavenspan River itself. Massive golden waves rolled about, leading to quite a bit of nervousness on the part of the onlookers. Eventually, though, the huge battleship came to rest calmly on the surface of the Heavenspan River!

The water didn't corrode the ship or hurt it in any way. The Deva Realm aura rolled out, and even the vicious spirits which inhabited the waters avoided it….

At first, silence reigned, but then, wild cheering broke out. Although most gazes shone brightly, Patriarch Crimsonsoul from the Profound

Stream Division didn't seem very happy, and gave a cold harrumph.

"Patriarch Frigidsect, we gave you enough materials to make at least five Heavenspan Battleships!"

"Don't be so impatient, Crimsonsoul. I've already made all the preparations for the Profound Stream Division and the Pill Stream Division." The founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Sect laughed heartily as he waved his hand. Immediately, a second battleship appeared and began to descend toward the Heavenspan River, followed by a third.

Finally, a smile broke out on Patriarch Crimsonsoul's face, and his eyes burned with anticipation as he looked at the 210,000-meter-long Heavenspan Battleship. As for all of the materials he had provided, that didn't matter anymore. A battleship with the might of a Deva Realm beast was far more than worth it.

As for the patriarchs of the Pill Stream Division, they felt slightly left out. However, their 90,000-meter battleship was still formidable, and they knew they were the weakest of the four divisions.

As Naruto looked around at everything that was happening, the gathering of the four divisions of the sect, and the familiar Blood Stream Division headquarters, he felt more content than ever.

"With my help, four great sects united and became the River-Defying Sect. Maybe the name isn't that amazing, but it was my idea!" As he looked around proudly, he happened to catch sight of Song Junwan on Middle Peak.

She was smiling as she looked over at Naruto, and he was just about to wave to her when he suddenly found that he couldn't move his arm. Looking over, he realized that Hou Xiaomei was casually holding it in her own arm. First, she glared at Song Junwan, and then she pointed up into the sky and excitedly said, "Look, big bro Xiaochun, an irispetal ibis!"

Without even thinking about it, Naruto looked up and saw a bird flying through the air. Suddenly he shivered….

Meanwhile, Chen Manyao was standing behind one of the patriarchs in the Pill Stream Division's camp, looking at the battleships. When she saw Naruto, an imperceptible flicker passed through her eyes, but then it vanished. A moment later, her skin began to prickle as she realized that someone was looking at her, someone who was on the Spirit Stream Division's battleship.

It wasn't Naruto, but rather, another disciple in the Spirit Stream Division, a graceful, beautiful young woman!

She wore a long green garment that did little to conceal her curvaceous form. An unreadable expression could be seen on her face, as well as an enigmatic smile.

Chen Manyao suddenly felt icy cold, inside and out. There was an instinctual terror that rose up inside of her. Her heart began to beat, and she quickly averted her gaze.

"Who is she…? How come her gaze is so terrifying!?"

Chapter 324

Chapter 324

Chapter 324: Merge The Qi, Wake The Ancestor

The young woman who had been looking at Chen Manyao was none other than Gongsun Wan'er. Smiling slightly, she looked around, apparently feeling somewhat bored.

She didn't seem to be interested either in the previous battles or the fighting to come. Only when she turned to look at Naruto standing somewhat stiffly next to Hou Xiaomei did her eyes brighten in a way that no observer could notice.

"What's your connection to that old bastard, huh big bro?" She chuckled, and for a brief moment, her pupils turned white. However, no one noticed, and the effect quickly passed.

Under the leadership of the various patriarchs, the cultivators of the Profound Stream Division and the Pill Stream Division flew up toward their respective Heavenspan Battleships to begin familiarizing themselves with them.

Meanwhile, in the Blood Stream Division, arch-patriarch Master Godwind hovered in midair looking at the three battleships. After a moment, he turned to the Spirit Stream Division's Patriarch Frigidsect.

After realizing that Master Godwind was looking at him, Frigidsect laughed and said, "Master Godwind, river transportation has been arranged for the other three divisions. I'm curious to see how your Blood Stream Division plans to head upriver."

From the way he laughed and spoke, he clearly felt very proud of himself. After all, creating three Heavenspan Battleships was definitely a major accomplishment.

Arch-patriarch Master Godwind snorted and said, "No need to get nervous. You'll see soon enough."

In his heart were mixed emotions including jealousy, as well as anticipation. With that, he looked in Naruto's direction.

"Nightcrypt, my boy, are you ready?!" When the cultivators from the other three divisions heard his words, they looked in surprise toward Naruto.

Naruto was currently feeling a headache coming on as he looked up in the sky in the direction that Hou Xiaomei had pointed. Off in the distance, Song Junwan was smiling, but there was a coldness in her eyes which made a million needles look soft. Naruto had no idea how to resolve the situation. Therefore, when he heard the arch-patriarch's words, he was inwardly delighted. Putting on a very somber expression, he said, "Patriarch, disciple is ready!"

With that, he struggled free from Hou Xiaomei's devilish clutches and flew up into the air.

Smiling proudly, Hou Xiaomei looked away from Naruto toward Song Junwan standing there on Middle Peak. Song Junwan snorted coldly. After Naruto had escaped from the Luochen Mountains, she and Hou Xiaomei had clashed and bickered constantly. Neither of them liked the other very much at all.

Looking very excited, the arch-patriarch spoke out in a voice that boomed like thunder, "Very well. Foundation Establishment and Gold Core cultivators of the Blood Stream Division, present yourselves! The time has come to activate our greatest reserve power!"

To the shock of the other three divisions, numerous beams of light flew out from the Blood Stream Division headquarters.

All of the Foundation Establishment Dharma protectors, grand elders, blood masters, prime elders, and blood rippers were there. Not a single one was missing!

All seven patriarchs were present. Even Patriarch Limitless looked very excited.

Master Godwind's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and blood Chakra erupted from the assembled crowd. Instantly, the sky began to vibrate, and blood clouds began to form. The clouds rapidly began to converge upon themselves, shrinking down into a bolt of blood-colored lightning which shot down toward the enormous hand stretching up out of the river. In response, t

he magical symbols on the spell formations in that area flickered and shone as they seemingly melted, revealing a large gap. That gap had apparently already existed on the skin of the Blood Ancestor's hand, an ancient wound that had existed for countless years.

From a distance, the wound almost looked like a huge canyon.

The cultivators from the other three divisions were amazed, especially the patriarchs. Their eyes went wide as they realized what the Blood Stream Division intended to do.

"That's… that's… impossible!" Frigidsect said, a look of complete incredulity on his face.

Looking extremely proud of himself, Master Godwind said, "Blood

Ancestor. Fleshly body: 108 major acupoints!"

He had been looking forward to this day for a very, very long time, and been making preparations for countless years. This was the culmination of generations of hard work and research on the part of numerous Blood Stream Sect cultivators!

As his words echoed out, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Blood Stream Division began to fly forth with solemn looks on their faces. Song Junwan, Song Que, Jia Lie, and Master God-Diviner were among them, as were the blood masters and grand elders. All of them headed directly toward the gap which had been opened up in the hand.

After they vanished inside, secret means were employed to teleport them to the various 108 major acupoints located elsewhere in the Blood Ancestor's body.

Some were transported to various locations on their own, others went in teams. After taking their places, streams of life force power began to rise up from the Heavenspan River, causing rumbling sounds to echo about in the sky.

Looking even more excited, Master Godwind said, "Blood Ancestor.

Fleshly body: 72 blood apertures!"

In response, the prime elders' expressions flickered, and they let out excited cries as they shot toward the opening in the arm.

The 72 apertures had to be manned by 72 Gold Core cultivators. In the case of some of the cultivators who were weaker than the others, a team of two was necessary. Before Naruto's arrival, they had run various drills to prepare, but this was the moment of truth!

As the prime elders disappeared into the enormous arm, it was possible to see dots of light shining up from the Blood Ancestor's enormous body beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River.

Those glowing dots of lights, some of which were visible on the hand, extended out of the river, numbering exactly 72!

The cultivators from the other three divisions were all gasping. Even Gongsun Wan'er's eyes were glittering with surprise.

Voice rising to a roar, the arch-patriarch said, "Blood Ancestor. Fleshly body: 37 meridians!"

Instantly, the eyes of the blood rippers began to glow, and their blood Chakra erupted out as they shot toward the opening. They disappeared in the blink of an eye. By this point, every bit of the Blood Ancestor's body was glowing with blood-colored light!

The light was so intense that it was rising up beyond the surface of the golden river water. At the same time, an indescribable pressure was spreading out, causing the vicious spirits within the river to scream and flee. None of them dared to get even close, and they were clearly more terrified than they had been upon sensing the Deva Realm aura from earlier.

"Three spiritual souls, seven physical souls. One Nascent Soul Daoist master for each physical soul. If the spiritual souls are lacking, the Blood Ancestor's body will not move. Nightcrypt, my boy, you will fill the position of the three spiritual souls! You are well prepared, all of you. Whether or not the Blood Ancestor's body can move will be up to you!" Laughing loudly, the arch-patriarch flew toward the opening, as did the other six patriarchs, giving Naruto a glance just before disappearing.

Moments later, rumbling like thunder echoed out, and the river water began to churn as the seven powerful patriarchs took their positions in the head of the Blood Ancestor, where they became the physical soul!

Shockingly, well over two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, over a hundred Gold Core experts, and dozens of blood rippers, plus seven Nascent Soul patriarchs, were unleashing shocking power inside the body of the Blood Ancestor, to give him the strength to rise to his feet once again!

Although it was a simplistic movement, it would still be shocking enough to cause the wind to scream and the ground to quake.

However, as the arch-patriarch had said, the truly critical factor, Uzumaki

Xiaochun, had not yet gone into action. The Blood Stream Division had actually performed this exercise before, but they had been unable to get the Blood Ancestor to move even an inch.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Upon opening them, he sent blood Chakra exploding out of him, becoming a pillar of crimson light that shot up into the sky. At the same time, he blurred into motion, heading directly toward the opening in the Blood Ancestor's hand.

As soon as he entered, it felt as if the Blood Ancestor's body were calling to him. That call helped him to speed along even faster through the body; he didn't need any special techniques or magics. He proceeded forward without the slightest obstacle.

"The Foundation Establishment cultivators are the acupoints. The Gold Core experts are the apertures. The blood rippers are the meridians. The patriarchs are the physical soul. And I'm the spiritual soul!" Eyes shining with a strange light, he shot toward his destination, which was located in the Blood Ancestor's chest. He was heading toward the heart!

That was also the last place where he had seen Du Lingfei!

Nothing blocked his path, and before long he was traveling the same path he had gone along once before. Eventually, he arrived in the heart cavity, the same place he had entered not so long ago in the past!

When he saw the withered heart, and the countless blood vessels filling the area, he took a deep breath. Then he shot toward the heart itself. In the blink of an eye, he fused into the heart, completely replacing it!

—

Chapter 325

Chapter 325

Chapter 325

The beating of his heart echoed out into the Blood Ancestor, becoming the Blood Ancestor's heart. The blood vessels around him began to tremble as his consciousness spread out through them. He could soon sense the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the 108 major acupoints, the prime elders in the 72 apertures, the blood rippers in the 36 meridians, and even the 7 patriarchs who had become the physical soul!

"I… am the Blood Ancestor!" Naruto roared. Although his voice couldn't be heard on the outside, all Blood Stream Division cultivators inside could hear it clearly!

It was like a signal calling out to them, prompting all of them to roar at the tops of their lungs, and unleash all of the blood Chakra they possessed!

The blood Chakra began to surge through the Blood Ancestor, starting from the acupoints, then moving through the blood apertures, then the Chakra passageways, and into the seven physical souls. Then it converged upon Naruto's consciousness. No other person could do this but him, the Blood Lord. When he received the legacy of the Blood Ancestor, he became connected to the Blood Stream Sect, and thus, all of the cultivators in it. He was related to the Blood Ancestor!

The only thing they had lacked was the consciousness, something that could link everyone together. The only person who could do that was obviously the Blood Lord!

Rumbling sounds echoed out from inside the body of the Blood Ancestor as his enormous frame twitched, a motion that sent countless waves surging across the Heavenspan River, and caused the headquarters of the Blood Stream Division to quake violently.

The countless Blood Stream Division disciples who had long since packed their belongings and evacuated the headquarters now stood on the banks of the river, watching excitedly as the scene played out.

"Stand up!"

"Stand up!" It was hard to say who said it first, but soon, all of the cultivators of the Blood Stream Division were shouting it. The other three sects looked on with complete astonishment.

However, controlling the Blood Ancestor was no simple task. Even with all the preparations they had made, for the following seven days, the only thing that happened was that the Blood Ancestor continued to twitch here and there.

The Blood Stream Division cultivators' nervousness mounted, and eventually, they stopped shouting. However, in their hearts, they were cheering as loudly as ever.

The other three divisions stopped paying very close attention, especially the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions, who were focused on working with their Heavenspan Battleships.

Suddenly, on noon of the seventh day, the hand which had once been the headquarters of the Blood Stream Sect moved, accompanied by muffled rumbling!

That simple movement was enough to cause the Blood Stream Division cultivators to let out shouts of joy. The cultivators of the other three divisions looked over in shock to see Middle Peak slowly bending over!

As it did, countless buildings and structures were destroyed and began

to fall down. However, no one seemed to care about that. Everyone was paying attention to the Blood Ancestor's body, submerged beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River, as it slowly twitched again.

River water churned, and huge waves rolled out. Slowly but surely, the other fingers on the hand began to move. The cultivators of the Blood Stream Division were going mad with excitement, and the other cultivators were gasping constantly.

Indescribable rumbling sounds echoed out. Everyone who was witnessing this event felt as if they were watching a myth play out before their own eyes.

Despite having prepared mentally, the shock which rose up in the hearts of those present was impossible to avoid. All cultivators,

even the patriarchs of the other three divisions, looked on with flickering expressions and wide eyes.

Founding patriarch Frigidsect was sweating as he murmured, "If the

Blood Ancestor of the Blood Stream Sect can truly stand up…."

As it turned out, Naruto was even more important to the Blood Stream Division than he had previously imagined!

Patriarch Crimsonsoul also gasped when he saw the huge fingers bending. He swallowed hard, and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. Suddenly, he felt relieved that the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects hadn't mobilized the Blood Ancestor to attack the Profound Stream Sect. If that had happened, they would have been lucky to come out of the fight with even half of the people they currently possessed.

Things didn't end with the moving of the finger. In the following days, boulders continue to fall down into the waters below. The former Blood Stream Sect headquarters didn't just look like mountains anymore, but rather, an actual hand!

In fact, some places on its surface truly resembled skin!

The Profound and Pill Stream Divisions had finally completed their work with their Heavenspan Battleships, and just like the cultivators from the Spirit Stream Division, they were now ready to begin traveling. It was at that point that the Blood Ancestor's entire hand moved!

On that day, under the eyes of countless onlookers, the five fingers which had once been the headquarters of the Blood Stream Sect slowly clenched together into an enormous fist!

Intense rumbling echoed out, and countless boulders were shattered, causing a hail of rubble and rock to rain down. Countless cries of shock rang out as, unexpectedly, the entire arm moved!

Although it was only a simple motion, because the arm was actually connected to both the land and the river, everything quaked violently, and huge rifts snaked out in all directions. Massive portions of land surrounding the Heavenspan River simply collapsed.

The river itself surged with huge waves, waves so powerful that the Pill Stream Sect's Heavenspan Battleship actually began to rock back and forth.

"What's happening…?"

"The arm just moved. Don't tell me…."

"Don't tell me that hand is going to push down onto the ground and lift up the rest of the body!" After the words left Patriarch Crimsonsoul's mouth, everything went silent. By now, everyone could see what was about to happen. The patriarchs of the three divisions, as well as all of the other disciples, could do nothing but watch in muted silence. As for the Blood Stream Division, they yet again began to call out.

"Stand up!"

"Stand up!"

"Stand up!"

Their voices were louder this time as they gave voice to the emotions which had been building up for the past half month.

Amidst the cheering, the Blood Ancestor's arm continued to move. Cracking sounds rang out, and more boulders and rubble fell. Inside of the Blood Ancestor, the Foundation Establishment and Gold Core cultivators, along with the patriarchs, were all sending explosive cultivation base power out, which was continuously fusing with the Blood Ancestor.

The most difficult job, though, was up to Naruto!

Not only did he have to merge the consciousnesses of everyone present into one, he had to send that merged consciousness back out into the rest of the Blood Ancestor's body. He was the crux of it all, and every time he made even the slightest mistake, it led to failure.

During the past half month, he had performed numerous tests, and had failed on countless occasions. However, he never gave up. The cultivators of the Blood Stream Division were giving him their support, their strength, and their divine sense. What he had to do was take that and use it to give the Blood Ancestor the strength to stand up!

Currently, he was sitting cross-legged in the heart of the Blood Ancestor, trembling visibly. His heart was pounding, and boundless blood Chakra was flowing through the blood vessels out into the Blood Ancestor.

"I… am the Blood Ancestor!" he roared. Everything he had experienced in the past half a month had led up to this moment. Not only was he guiding the consciousnesses of everyone present, he was doing so without the slightest misstep, sending power to all corners of the Blood Ancestor's body.

His eyes were completely bloodshot as he howled at the top of his lungs. His mind was reeling as he experienced something very similar to when he had received the legacy. He was now the Blood Ancestor!

The feeling was even more intense than before. Naruto took a long, deep breath as he seized hold of the feeling, then lifted his right hand and pushed it forward.

In that exact same moment, the cultivators of the three divisions were looking on with wide eyes. Suddenly, people began to cry out in shock!

"It's…."

"It's moving!"

Everyone watched as the enormous hand which had once housed the headquarters of the Blood Stream Sect rose up, angled down, and then planted itself onto the ground. It was almost as if the body attached to that hand were about to use it to push itself into a standing position!

Deafening booms filled the area, and countless crevices opened up in the ground. Dust billowed out in all directions, sweeping about like a cyclone as a huge depression opened up in the land.

Massive waves rolled out over the surface of the river in completely unheard-of fashion. At the same time, two enormous beams of light suddenly shone up from beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River!

They were eyes! The eyes of the Blood Ancestor, and the eyes of Naruto!

After countless years of silence, the two eyes on the enormous head down below had opened!

Chapter 325: The Blood Ancestor's Eyes Open!

—

Chapter 326

Chapter 326

Chapter 326: Destination: Middle Reaches!

The cultivators of the four divisions of the River-Defying Sect would never be able to forget the unbelievable event they were witnessing. It was now burned down into their minds, into their very souls, and would be there for all eternity!

As the hand settled onto the surface of the ground, the rest of the arm shot out from beneath the surface of the water!

The river surged with powerful waves that sent even the Profound Stream Division's 210,000-meter Heavenspan Battleship rocking back and forth. As for the Pill Stream Division's battleship, the patriarchs had to intervene to keep it stable.

The minds of all onlookers were left blank as they stared at the enormous arm sticking up out of the Heavenspan River.

Amidst the silence which prevailed, the two beams of light continued to shoot up into the sky. Intense rumbling sounds were accompanied by flashes of multi-colored light, as well as a powerful wind. Then, everyone could sense an indescribably powerful energy radiating out as the hand shoved down.

Something like an island appeared in the middle of the Heavenspan River, which was actually a head that slowly rose up from the surface of the water!

By now, even the 300,000-meter long Heavenspan Battleship was affected by the surging waves. All three of the huge battleships were being pushed away down the river, causing gasps to ring out among the onlookers.

Even Gongsun Wan'er's eyes were wide, and an extremely rare expression of shock could be seen on her face.

Slowly, the head rose up, revealing two eyes that would leave anyone who saw them completely shaken to the core. Next, a nose became visible, and then the lips. Finally, a roar shot out from the mouth, a roar which could shake the heavens.

The sounds filling heaven and earth exceeded thunder. The Blood Ancestor's hand continued to push down as, next, his neck was revealed!

Before anyone could even react, the Heavenspan River virtually exploded, sending 300-meter-tall waves rolling out as another hand stretched out from the water and planted itself onto the opposite bank.

The ground quaked as crevices opened up and portions of the land completely collapsed. Beneath the hand of the Blood Ancestor, the seemingly rock-hard earth became as soft as putty.

Now that both hands were firmly planted, everything was cast into shadow as an unforgettably enormous figure slowly rose to a standing position above the Heavenspan River.

The head, the neck, the shoulders, and the chest rose up to an unimaginable height. 300 meters. 3,000 meters. 30,000 meters. Soon, the portion of the Blood Ancestor which rose up above the river reached a height of tens upon tens of thousands of meters.

His broad shoulders were almost as wide as the Heavenspan River itself. Every scrap of muscle on his body radiated terrifying pressure, and his waist was so narrow that it almost formed a triangle with his shoulders….

Although everything beneath his waist was below the surface of the river, anyone who possessed the ability to do so would be able to see that the Blood Ancestor's feet were already planted on the river bottom!

To cultivators, the Heavenspan River was profoundly deep, but to the Blood Ancestor, that was not the case!

Although it was the Blood Ancestor who was standing up, Naruto was now the Blood Ancestor's soul, and its entire body was under his control. As he looked out of the Blood Ancestor's eyes, heaven and earth seemed much smaller. To him, the mountains were nothing more than playthings, and the mighty river below him was like a stream.

The mightiest of trees were like grass, and the cultivators were like tiny ants.

The feeling was difficult to describe. As he lifted his gaze, he felt as if he could reach up

and pluck the heavenly bodies out of the sky. His heart swelled, and after a moment, he couldn't help but throw his head back and let loose a long cry!

That cry shook the highest heavens, and filled the entire continent. Birds and beasts trembled in terror, and the waters of the Heavenspan River surged. The huge golden crocodile which lay beneath its surface looked up, and even it appeared to be shaken.

There were other enormous beasts who were similarly terrified, and left shaking.

"Blood Ancestor!" murmured founding patriarch Frigidsect. His scalp was tingling, and he was shaking visibly. Next to him, Li Zimo, Patriarch Ironwood, and the other patriarchs were similarly ashen-faced and incredulous.

"I can't believe it actually moved…."

"Now that is how to make an impression. The Blood Stream Division is going to use the body of the Blood Ancestor to move upriver!" Patriarch Crimsonsoul was struck speechless, and the other Nascent Soul Daoist masters from the Profound Stream Division were all completely taken aback.

It was even more the case with the Pill Stream Division. All eyes were focused on that towering figures which blotted out even the sun!

If even the patriarchs were reacting in such a way, there was little need to mention the Gold Core and Foundation Establishment experts. All cultivators from all four divisions were shaken and excited. Of course, most excited of all were the cultivators from the Blood Stream Division. All of them dropped to their knees to kowtow to the Blood Ancestor, calling out at the tops of their lungs.

"Greetings, Blood Ancestor!"

"Greetings, Blood Ancestor!" The words echoed out throughout the lands in shocking fashion!

Meanwhile, aboard the Spirit Stream Division's Heavenspan Battleship, Gongsun Wan'er was looking at the Blood Ancestor with a strange expression on her face. She seemed confused, and was frowning; apparently, she was trying to recall something, but was having trouble doing so.

Then she saw the Blood Ancestor's eyes, and she felt as if she were looking at Naruto's eyes. At that point, a mysterious light rose up in her own gaze.

There was another woman who had a very strange expression on her face, an expression of both reverence and fear, as well as a level of incredulity that surpassed virtually everyone else present.

That young woman was in the Pill Stream Division. She was so beautiful as to cause almost any male to lose control around her… Chen Manyao. There was another shadowy figure that no one else detected, not even Naruto. In the moment that he took full control of the Blood Ancestor, that figure appeared high up in the sky.

He wore a long black robe, and it was impossible to make out his facial features. However, he was clearly very old, and was permeated with an aura of death.

He was looking at the Blood Ancestor with mixed emotions, including reminiscence.

If Naruto had been able to see him, he would have recognized him immediately. That old man was the same man he had run into in the nameless mountains, the person who had saved his life. The gravekeeper!

After a moment, the gravekeeper sighed, and then vanished without a trace….

As the Blood Ancestor rose to his feet, massive amounts of Heavenspan River water flowed off of him, pouring down like rain toward the surface of the earth. The patriarchs gasped and immediately drove the water away from the cultivators of their various divisions. After all, that water was so powerful it could instantly melt many of the weaker cultivators upon contact.

Naruto looked back down at the area around him. He was still not quite used to the new sensations he was feeling. However, after seeing that his disturbance of the Heavenspan River water hadn't hurt anyone, he breathed a sigh of relief. As of this moment, he realized that his own body was actively benefiting from having seized control of the Blood Ancestor, and was slowly growing more powerful.

His Asura Body was improving!

"It's too bad the Blood Ancestor is dead. I can control his body, but can't unleash the true power he was capable of in life. Even the fleshly body power I can unleash is only a small portion of his true potential." After taking some more time to analyze his connection to the Blood Ancestor, he had a better idea of the situation.

Even the small portion of power he controlled was enough that a single fist strike on his part was more than a Nascent Soul patriarch could withstand!

After a bit more contemplation, he sensed the thoughts and fluctuations of the other Blood Stream Division cultivators inside the Blood Ancestor. He could even sense the divine sense of arch-patriarch Master Godwind. With that, he stretched out the hand that had once been the headquarters of the Blood Stream Sect, and placed it back down onto the ground.

When he spoke, his voice caused all the lands to shake.

"Blood Stream Division, to me!"

The excited Blood Stream Division disciples excitedly flew forward toward the opening in the hand. After they were all safely inside of the Blood Ancestor, Naruto lifted the hand back up, and then pointed up the river.

"Army of the River-Defying Sect, let us begin our march!"

As his thunderous voice boomed, Naruto sent one of the Blood Ancestor's legs forward, and he began to walk up the river!

Spirit Stream Division founding patriarch Frigidsect took a deep breath and then waved his hand, sending the Spirit Stream Division into action. The 300,000-meter Heavenspan Battleship erupted with shocking power as it began to slice through the water after the Blood Ancestor.

The Profound Stream Division and the Pill Stream Division similarly sent their battleships into motion. Soon, they were all following along, traveling up the Heavenspan River toward the Middle Reaches!

The sun was beginning to set. A huge giant was in the lead, followed by three enormous battleships. As they proceeded up the river, the heavens shook and the lands quaked. It was a majestic sight!

All beasts who inhabited the Heavenspan River were completely incapable of hindering their path, and did nothing but flee from them.

Chapter 327

Chapter 327

Chapter 327

The Heavenspan Sea occupied the very center of the world. It was a vast, boundless body of golden water that not even Nascent Soul cultivators would dare to enter without some sort of magical device designed for sea travel.

Only people in the Deva Realm could possibly make an attempt at crossing the sea, and with difficulty at that.

In the east, west, south and north regions of the Heavenspan Sea, there were places where the sea water poured through openings that created four enormous rivers. Although those rivers didn't reach the very borders of the world, they did come close.

Each of the four great rivers had a riversource sect at the base of the river, in the location where the sea and the river met. The sect which controlled the eastern river was the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. After the river flowed for a certain distance, it split up into four smaller branches of the same river.

The locations where those four rivers branched off came to be known as the Middle Reaches of the cultivation world. Those locations were home to the Starry River Court, the Sky River Court, the Dao River Court, and the Polarity River Court!

Those four sects were deserving of the domineering reputation they maintained in the eastern Middle Reaches of the cultivation world. Any one of them was powerful enough to completely dominate the other smaller sects in the region, as well as the vast number of cultivator clans.

Although each river branch that formed the Lower Reaches was occupied by four powerful sects, even if those sects combined forces, they wouldn't be a match for one of the larger sects that occupied the Middle Reaches. However, there was only one reason for that!

The patriarchs of the Lower Reaches sects were all Nascent Soul cultivators, whereas the patriarchs of the Middle Reaches sects were in the Deva Realm!

The Deva Realm was something completely different from the Nascent Soul stage. It was an almost unimaginable level of power, and the difference between it and Nascent Soul was even greater than the difference between Nascent Soul and Gold Core!

It was almost impossible to even fathom the disparity!

Because of the threat of such power, none of the sects in the Lower Reaches would ever dream of trying to topple a Middle Reaches sect, not unless some heaven-defying event occurred. Furthermore, the chances of one of the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Lower Reaches breaking through to become a deva were miniscule.

Even people who overflowed with latent talent would be hard-pressed to find an opportunity to do so. The reason for that was because in the Lower Reaches, the spiritual power of the Heavenspan River was different, the resources were different, and the techniques were different. An even bigger reason was that Deva Tribulation was virtually impossible to transcend without a Dharma protector!

However, the biggest reason was that the Middle Reaches sects would never let one of their subordinates in the Lower Reaches produce a deva! That would be a threat to their own positions!

However, none of that applied in this situation. An exceedingly rare opportunity had arisen with the Sky River Court.

For some unknown reason, the Sky River Court had done something to enrage the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. As a result, two devas had been sent to execute judgement on the Sky River Court's Deva Realm patriarch. Supposedly, they had even extracted part of his soul to create something that was rarely ever seen in the world, and very valuable: a deva soul.

In addition to that, more than seventy percent of the Sky River Court cultivators had been put to death, and that included portions of the reserve powers and precious treasures.

If they had wanted to, they could have simply exterminated the entire Sky River Court. Instead, they h

ad issued an important ruling allowing it to stay in place!

By allowing the Sky River Court to survive, they had created the spark which led to the war among the four subordinate sects in the Lower Reaches.

By leaving the severely weakened Sky River Court in place, they provided an enticing goal for the Lower Reaches sects. Of course, the Sky River Court wouldn't just sit around waiting to be supplanted. If they could survive the assault of the Lower Reaches sects, then according to the stipulations of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, they would have a chance to continue to exist!

If they managed to raise another of their cultivators to the Deva Realm in the future, then they might be able to return to their previous level of glory.

It wasn't that they weren't aware that the four sects had ended up joining forces. They did know, and yet, didn't dare to interfere. According to the rules set forth by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, they weren't allowed to meddle with the affairs of the Lower Reaches sects. They had no choice but to sit still and await the final punishment which had been arranged by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

That punishment was none other than the invasion of the Lower Reaches sects!

The sect headquarters of the Sky River Court was built atop the

Heavenspan River itself. It was ten times larger than any sect in the Lower Reaches; after all, it was almost impossible to see one side of the river from the other in this area.

Much further down the river from that location was where it split into four more branches, which was the Lower Reaches of the cultivation world.

On the first of those four branches, it was possible to see an enormous giant plodding along, half-submerged in the river water. Every step the giant took sent water surging and spraying about, and the countless vicious spirits and other vile creatures nearby fleeing for their lives.

Even the most powerful of entities which lived in the river would choose to hide in the face of the power they felt, and would simply allow the giant to pass by.

Occasionally, it was possible to see a rabbit flitting about on the shoulders of the giant.

Some distance behind the giant was a 300,000-meter-long Heavenspan Battleship, slicing through the water. Countless cultivators could be seen on the battleship, most of them seated cross-legged in meditation as they attempted to get themselves into peak readiness for the fighting to come. A somber and solemn aura surrounded the entire battleship.

Two more battleships could be seen further back in the river, one of them 210,000 meters long, the other 90,000 meters. They seemed just as solemn as the first battleship.

Naruto had converged the consciousnesses of numerous powerful cultivators to take control of the Blood Ancestor. His eyes shone with bright light as he strode through the river water. He could sense the vastness of the world around him, and to him, the water bashing against him felt soft and gentle. He couldn't help but feel a grand sense of wonderment.

"One day, I won't need to use the body of the Blood Ancestor to get this exact same feeling!" With that, he took another step forward, moving thousands of meters in the process.

Based on the speed of the Blood Ancestor and the Heavenspan Battleships, it only took a few days for them to pass unobstructed through the river until they reached the spot where it connected to the larger river upstream!

Stretching out to the horizon was a massive river that only the patriarchs had ever seen during their formal visits to the Sky River Court every sixty-year-cycle. For the other cultivators, it was their first time ever seeing a river this big; it was ten times wider than the Heavenspan River they were used to.

"The Middle Reaches Heavenspan River!"

"Is this the Heavenspan River? It's so huge!"

"Compared to this river, ours really is nothing more than a stream!" The cultivators of the three divisions on the Heavenspan Battleships could immediately sense that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was ten times stronger than that which existed in the Lower Reaches.

Many people took in deep breaths, whereupon cracking sounds could be heard coming from inside of them. They had never encountered spiritual energy this strong, and for many, it immediately allowed them to break through cultivation obstacles that had hindered them in the past. "This… this is the Middle Reaches! My cultivation base…."

"The only way to take over the Sky River Court is to defeat them in battle. If I continue to cultivate here, I'll definitely be able to reach the level of a Nascent Soul patriarch!"

Even the patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect were panting in excitement. In fact, their feelings ran even deeper than the other cultivators, because they were finally closing in on their ultimate goal: becoming devas!

If they could put down roots in the Middle Reaches, the resources and spiritual power there would make the Deva Realm more than just a distant dream. Furthermore, no one from above would come to interfere as they reached the breakthrough point; after all, having a Deva Realm expert was one of the main requirements for Middle Reaches sects!

Naruto could sense the excitement of the patriarchs. As he controlled the body of the Blood Ancestor, he took a deep breath, and everything in heaven and earth shook. A massive surge of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth raced toward him, as he became like a black hole. After the spiritual energy entered the body of the Blood Ancestor, he sent it out to the cultivators of the Blood Stream Division, and then took a bit for himself.

His ninth spiritual sea had previously been just on the verge of crystallizing. As of this moment, it only took that single breath to finish the process!

The instant it fully crystallized, Naruto trembled as his cultivation base erupted with power vastly greater than before.

After nine spiritual seas fully crystallized, that was the great circle of Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!

"The Middle Reaches…." he thought, brimming with excitement. All of a sudden, he felt as if he were connected by destiny to the Middle Reaches; if not, why else would he have made a breakthrough the instant he entered…?

Despite being inside of the Blood Ancestor, he was still able to suck in spiritual energy without any wastage. It seemed boundless.

Eyes flickering, he sent the Blood Ancestor leaping forward. Massive rumbling could be heard as the Blood Ancestor flew through the air and then splashed down into the river that was the eastern Heavenspan!

RUMBLE!

Water splashed everywhere, and huge waves rolled out. It was in that moment that the three Heavenspan Battleships also burst out into the Middle Reaches!

Chapter 327: Cultivation Base Breakthrough!

Chapter 328

Chapter 328

Chapter 328: Dire Skybanyan!

Naruto felt truly free and unrestricted as he sent the Blood Ancestor up into the Middle Reaches. By this point, he could control the body of the Blood Ancestor with complete agility and dexterity.

The river began to get deeper, and soon it was up to the chest of the Blood Ancestor.

As for the three Heavenspan Battleships, because of the abundance of spiritual energy, they were able to move more quickly, making it easier for them to keep up with the giant.

Rumbling echoed out from the Heavenspan River as the group proceeded on upstream.

It was at this point that the patriarchs of the three divisions issued orders, and the enormous sails of the battleships were unfurled. Upon each sail could be seen three shining, golden characters!

River-Defying Sect!

This was the first time that the name of the River-Defying Sect had been announced in the Middle Reaches of the cultivation world. As the wind caused the sails to flap, the words looked particularly impressive!

The patriarchs of all four divisions had agreed to do this ahead of time.

Back then, the arch-patriarch Master Godwind hadn't been completely sure that the plan with the Blood Ancestor would work. Therefore, the plan was to use the three Heavenspan Battleships, not just to transport the members of the sect, but also to impress and awe those who saw them.

It was an attempt to threaten anyone who harbored thoughts of trying to carve out their own spheres of power in the territory currently controlled by the Sky River Court.

Clearly, this method was working!

The cultivation world of the Middle Reaches was far larger in area than the Lower Reaches. Considering that all of the Lower Reaches was simply one part of the territory controlled by the dominant Middle

Reaches sect, it was possible to imagine how large of an area that was.

Occasionally, smaller sects and cultivator clans were visible on the shores of the river. Clearly, such organizations had unique relationships with the Sky River Court to be permitted to establish themselves so close to the river itself.

Normally, they were a proud and arrogant lot, comfortable in their respected position within the Middle Reaches. As for the Lower Reaches, they looked down on them with disdain.

But now that the Sky River Court was being punished, such organizations were getting more and more nervous. Then they saw the three Heavenspan Battleships, and their eyes went wide. They were struck with fear and awe, and could scarcely believe what they were seeing. And that was without even mentioning the enormous giant that led the way for the battleships.

"They're the River-Defying Sect?"

"They come from the Lower Reaches…."

"They're going to attack the Sky River Court in the hopes of replacing it!" The cultivator clans and small-scale sects were all trembling in nervousness, completely shaken by what they were seeing!

Once the battleships and the giant made their way off into the distance, the cultivator clans and small-scale sects immediately sent word to others that they knew in the Middle Reaches. Before long, everyone was shaken, and even the Courts on the other rivers became aware of what was happening.

Of the other sects and clans in the territory of the Sky River Court, some were terrified and some were nervous. However, there were some who merely narrowed their bloodshot eyes, as if they were trying to decide what to do.

However, other groups which had never been treated very well, especially groups more on the borders of the Sky River Court territory, quickly made up their minds.

"This is an opportunity for the River-Defying Sect, but it's also an opportunity for our Zhoushi Clan!"

"We can show up in the River-Defying

Sect's moment of greatest need. If we join them in attacking the Sky

River Court, the merit we earn in battle will be a protection for our clan.

It will buy us at least 1,000 years of stability!"

"Let's risk it! If we don't attack now, the heavens only know when we might get another chance!"

Before long, the entire Sky River Court territory was in a huge commotion as numerous organizations began to head in the direction of the Sky River Court's headquarters.

Meanwhile, Naruto's progress up the Heavenspan River had slowed some. This was a decision made by the patriarchs of the four divisions. As far as they were concerned, it wouldn't make any difference if they arrived at the Sky River Court a day earlier or a day later.

Besides, they wanted to wait for news of the River-Defying Sect to spread in the area. That way, any sects or clans who wished to join them would have time to make their decision. Furthermore, any who were on the fence would have a chance to make their way to the area near the Sky River Court to observe how things played out.

By waiting until the right moment to strike at the Sky River Court, they would be able to maximize the benefits of winning!

When Naruto heard their plan, he couldn't help but sigh. Clearly, the patriarchs were making a gamble. However, he knew that all of them were profound at scheming and planning, and were the slyest of sly foxes.

When they all got together to plan, they would hash things out to the finest detail.

At one point, the patriarchs of the other three divisions gathered on the shoulders of the Blood Ancestor. As they sat there cross-legged, Master Godwind materialized in illusory form on the Blood Ancestor's ear to confer with them. "Our attack on the Sky River Court will encompass three major offensives!"

Restrictive spells were cast to ensure that no one would eavesdrop.

As for Naruto, he looked askance at the ant-like forms on his shoulders, and couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

"The first offensive will be via the water! This assault must be lightningswift, and we must achieve victory as soon as possible. Only in that way can we impress the cultivator clans and the other sects, and give them the confidence to join us!"

"That's right. The second offensive will be through the jungle! The Sky River Court is enormous, and is surrounded by jungle on either side. The fighting will be bitter, and the main goal will be to reach the Sky River Court headquarters!"

"Heh heh. So what you're saying is that the third offensive will be on the sect headquarters itself!"

"Yes. But the most difficult part of the final offensive won't be dealing with the cultivators of the Sky River Court. It will be the Dire Skybanyan, which feeds on the flesh and blood of 1,000,000 cultivators every hundred years! The Sky River Court's deva patriarch might have perished, but according to our intelligence reports, their Dire Skybanyan is still very much alive. Furthermore, its power is similar to that of a deva…."

As the patriarchs discussed their plans, Naruto listened in, heart pounding with shock. When he heard them mention the Dire Skybanyan, he couldn't help but be intrigued.

Time passed. Half a month later, the first of the cultivator clans presented themselves to the River-Defying Sect on the bank of the river, and declared their allegiance!

They would join the River-Defying Sect in attacking the Sky River Court!

These organizations who didn't feel the need to wait and see how the fighting went before joining were taken very seriously by the RiverDefying Sect. Although they weren't invited to board the battleships, they were promised many benefits in the future.

In the following days, more organizations appeared to offer allegiance. Another half a month passed, and by that time, 30 cultivator clans and five small-scale sects had joined the alliance with the River-Defying Sect.

As they got closer to the Sky River Court, this trend influenced many of the other organizations, and became a major factor in their own decisions.

By this point, the River-Defying Sect felt that they were ready. With that, they pushed forward at full speed. Rumbling could be heard as the Blood Ancestor flew through the Heavenspan River, slicing through the water, followed by the three Heavenspan Battleships.

A few days later, the members of the River-Defying Sect finally caught sight of something astonishing up ahead on the river. It was a gigantic tree that reached high up into the sky, and actually connected both banks of the river!

It was an enormous banyan tree that was called a skybanyan!

The tree had lived for many, many years, and was tens of thousands of meters tall. Its roots were buried into both banks of the river, with rootlets dangling down to brush the surface of the water below. Many of the rootlets had grown together in clumps, creating walkways for people to tread upon. The entire sight was completely shocking!

The roots which sank into the banks of the river actually formed countless smaller skybanyans, almost like children to the mother that was the enormous larger tree. Because they were all connected together, they were like a huge jungle!

That jungle fairly radiated an aura of blood and gore. It was like an enormous graveyard, something which was nurtured by the power of flesh and blood.

That was because skybanyans were trees that loved to feast on skin and gore!

Although the patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect had already spread word about the skybanyans, when the members of the sect saw them with their own eyes, they couldn't help but be shaken mentally.

The main tree radiated an aura of death, and many of its branches and limbs were withered, as were many of the smaller trees in the disorganized jungle which surrounded it.

Even more astonishing was that in the middle of the trunk of the main tree, an enormous handprint could be seen, as if a palm strike had been delivered with the intention of destroying it!

Clearly, the Dire Skybanyan, despite not being dead, was panting on the verge of passing away. Even still, the scant bit of power that it still retained was enough to threaten everything in the area!

The Sky River Court was a place that abounded with a sinister air. Currently, not a single cultivator was visible in the area, and yet it was possible to detect glares of hatred falling upon the River-Defying Sect from within the skybanyans. Most of those gazes were leveled on Naruto and the Blood Ancestor.

—

Chapter 329

Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Attacking The Sky River Court

In the moment that the Blood Ancestor and the three Heavenspan Battleships appeared in front of the headquarters of the Sky River Court, the entire Heavenspan River seemed to go quiet.

At first no one from either side said a thing. They only looked at each other, gazes burning with killing intent.

Whether it was the Sky River Court or the River-Defying Sect, neither could be considered in the right or in the wrong.

As the silence wore on, an intense pressure built up until the air itself seemed to solidify. At the same time, numerous organizations that existed within the territory of the Sky River Court were all watching to see what would happen.

After a long moment, an illusory version of the Blood Stream archpatriarch appeared out in the open. Facing the Sky River Court, he clasped hands and bowed deeply. "I, Master Godwind, offer greetings to the presiding sect!"

Next, the Spirit Stream founding patriarch appeared in person. Bowing, he said, "I, Frigidsect, offer greetings to the presiding sect!"

After him were the strongest patriarchs from the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions. Their expressions were wistful as they clasped hands and offered formal greetings.

"I, Crimsonsoul, offer greetings to the presiding sect!"

"I, Sievepill, offer greetings to the presiding sect!"

At first, the Sky River Court maintained silence. Of the countless gazes emanating from the Dire Skybanyan, many were filled with mixed emotions. After a long moment passed, a hoarse voice echoed out.

"Master Godwind, Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul, Sievepill. It's been a long time, Fellow Daoists…." As the voice filled the air, an old man emerged from the Sky River Court, hovering tall and straight. He had long white hair, and a malicious air to him. Especially terrifying was the fact that, on the left side of his face, he had a huge growth of flesh the size of an infant's head.

Eight people appeared along with him, just behind him; shockingly, each one was a Nascent Soul cultivator. The strongest of them all was the old man, who was clearly in the great circle, and even had a bit of a HeavenDao aura to him. Given enough time, that old man would most likely be able to reach the Deva Realm.

The old man flashed a bitter smile. Eyes filled with profound ancientness, he said, "This fight doesn't need a lengthy preamble. I know that you have come to offer greetings today because of the judgement set forth by the presiding sect. There is no right or wrong here today, at least, not that exists between our two sects….

"However, there is one thing that I'm certain of. And that is…" As the man spoke, mixed emotions could be seen on his face. His voice grew softer and softer, until Master Godwind and the other patriarchs were straining to hear what he said. However, in that very moment, a crimson eyeball suddenly opened on the tumor on the side of his face, and it radiated venomous hatred and madness. Then the old man shouted, "… you people will all die here today!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the air around the three Heavenspan Battleships began to twist and distort as tens of thousands of people materialized. All sorts of cultivation bases were present. However, each and every person was extremely fast, and was adept at using spatial manipulation magic. In the blink of an eye, they were already attacking the battleships.

Even more such figures appeared in the vicinity of the patriarchs, and those figures' murderous auras were especially intense!

Clearly, the Sky River Court was attempting to take advantage of the River-Defying Sect's moment of unpreparedness to launch a sneak attack, and hopefully, seize the upper ha

nd!

However, in the very moment that the Sky River Court's cultivators attacked, rumbling echoed out as an enormous sword materialized. Almost as soon as it appeared, it divided into tens of thousands of smaller greatswords which slashed through the air toward the Dire Skybanyan!

This was the Profound Stream Division's sword formation, which normally took a significant amount of time to prepare. The fact that it had suddenly appeared right here and now indicated that the four patriarchs' politeness earlier had just been for show!

This was a situation of fighting viciousness with ferocity! This was a war that would determine the fate of two sects, and there was no room for righteousness or morality. Any such weakness would come at a bitter price!

Rumbling booms filled the air as shields of light sprang up around the

Heavenspan Battleships, completely blocking the attacks of the Sky River Court cultivators and preventing them from advancing toward the ships. Simultaneously, blood-colored light erupted from the Blood Ancestor, protecting the patriarchs.

In the direction of the Sky River Court, the Dire Skybanyan began to glitter with light, and then countless leaves flew out to block the sword formation. The mutual sneak attacks launched by both sides had failed to secure the upper hand for either one of them. Neither sect was showing any consideration for the other, nor was anyone interested in having a discussion. The fighting had begun!

Countless vine-like branches shot out from the Skybanyan like vicious, bloodthirsty snakes. Accompanying them were numerous cultivators, almost blurs as they shot through the air toward the River-Defying Sect.

The Sky River Court cultivators were skilled with spatial manipulation magic, and were far faster than ordinary cultivators. Furthermore, they were very skilled at concealing themselves. The truth was that in the Middle Reaches of the cultivation world, the Sky River Court was known for being able to kill anyone, anywhere!

It was even correct to say that the Sky River Court was a sect of assassins!

In the blink of an eye, more than ten thousand Sky River Court cultivators appeared, blotting out the sky as they unleashed deadly attacks. They flitted through the air as if they were performing teleportations; almost as soon as they became visible, they would vanish to another spot.

This was the first time that the River-Defying Sect was facing such techniques, and that gave the Sky River court a clear advantage!

Then there were the vines, which brimmed with astonishing strength as they screamed through the air. At the same time, numerous smaller skybanyans on the two banks of the river emerged from the ground and transformed into treants. Howling, they launched themselves out over the Heavenspan River toward the River-Defying Sect.

Some of the treants were dozens of meters tall, some of them were hundreds of meters tall. In each and every one of them, Sky River Court cultivators could be seen, sitting there meditating as they unleashed power to control the treants' shocking strength.

Even as the Sky River Court forces charged forth, Naruto sent the Blood Ancestor leaping up into the air. As a result, massive waves rolled out across the surface of the Heavenspan River water. Many of the Sky River Court cultivators were simply impeded by the waves, but others who didn't evade them quickly enough screamed miserably as they were inundated and then melted by the water.

How could the Sky River Court possibly ignore the fact that the Blood

Ancestor had just leaped up into the air? The truth was that the Blood Ancestor was actually the focal point of this fight. Instantly, countless vines shot out from the numerous skybanyans, which flew through the air and began to wrap around the Blood Ancestor.

Those vines emanated shocking strength, and were backed by the will of the Dire Skybanyan itself.

Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light. Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed all of his blood qi, viciously waving his right hand and snapping all of the vines. Naruto was well aware that his mission in this battle was to neutralize the Dire Skybanyan!

As he proceeded forward toward the enormous tree, more and more vines snaked out, speeding toward him with wild abandon as they attempted to impede his progress.

At the same time, the 300,000-meter-long Heavenspan Battleship shot forward, glittering with the light of spell formations as countless giants rose up on its deck. Roaring, the giants leaped out to fight with the Sky River Court cultivators.

A similar thing occurred with the second battleship. A vast host of puppets flew out, smashing into the forces of the Sky River Court.

More sword formations appeared up in the sky, and then a rain of swords began to fall. Then came the Pill Stream Division. An enormous cauldron materialized up in the air, which began to bathe everything in the area with soft light.

There was something toxic about the light, and any Sky River Court cultivator who it touched began to shake violently. In contrast, the RiverDefying Sect cultivators who the light touched felt their cultivation bases rising and their wounds being healed.

Chen Manyao's voice rang out as she gave orders to the Pill Stream

Division, and toxic gas immediately began to spread toward the enemy.

In the blink of an eye, massive rumbling sounds rose up to the heavens.

Up in the air, the patriarchs from all four divisions began to fight with the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Sky River Court. Booms rang out. In the initial fighting, it wasn't clear which side had the upper hand among the patriarchs. Although the Sky River Court was outnumbered, the old man who was half a step into the Deva Realm actually gave them a bit of an advantage.

The prime elders, legacy echelon cultivators, and Gold Core experts of the River-Defying Sect formed the backbone of the army. They outnumbered the Sky River Court, and thanks to their constant attacks, the Sky River Court's Gold Core cultivators were suffering one defeat after another!

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But then, the three Heavenspan Battleships erupted with blinding light, beams of destruction fully 300 meters wide.

The power source for the beams of light were the skeletal parts of the Deva Realm beast that formed their keels. As the light shot forth, rumbling sounds filled the air, and any Sky River Court cultivator who got in the way was instantly transformed into ash.

The target of those destructive beams of light was none other than the Dire Skybanyan!

Chapter 330

Chapter 330

Chapter 330: Locking Down the Dire Skybanyan!

For the River-Defying Sect, there was one key to this battle.

The Dire Skybanyan!

The attacks from the Heavenspan Battleships had one purpose: to clear the way for Naruto to reach the Dire Skybanyan.

The three beams of light cut through everything like razor-sharp knives slicing through bamboo. When they slammed into the Dire Skybanyan, the tree trembled and let out a bitter cry that caused blood to ooze out of the mouths of any cultivators in the vicinity.

However, it didn't affect the Blood Ancestor at all. Under Naruto's control, the Blood Ancestor leaped high into the air to appear directly in front of the ancient skybanyan. Then, a giant fist formed and slammed into the tree with the force of ten mountains.

A huge boom echoed out, and the gigantic tree trembled even more violently. Suddenly, enormous waves surged out on the surface of the Heavenspan River as a 30-meter-wide root exploded out. It was over 3,000 meters long and razor-sharp, causing whistling sounds to echo out as it sped toward the Blood Ancestor.

SMASH!

The Blood Ancestor wasn't hurt, but many of the Blood Stream Division cultivators inside coughed up blood from the force of the blow, and had to struggle to prevent their cultivation bases from surging out of control. Naruto knew that time was limited, so he quickly unleashed another fist strike.

It was a fist strike that could seriously injure even a Nascent Soul cultivator, but the Dire Skybanyan did not fall!

And yet, the ancient tree was shocked by the threatening power of the

Blood Ancestor, and could tell that only a small portion was being used. If the Blood Ancestor's full battle prowess were unleashed, a single fist strike would be more than enough to cause the Dire Skybanyan to explode into countless fragments!

Even still, the small portion of power being used was still shocking. Although the tree wasn't confident in being able to harm the giant, it was sure that it could kill the person inside who was controlling it!

At the moment, it was willing to pay any price to do just that! As Naruto battered it, the tree began to sway back and forth. As for the cultivators of the Sky River Court, it was with complete shock, and fully bloodshot eyes, that they attempted to intervene.

It was in that moment of crisis that a second root shot out toward the Blood Ancestor, then a third and a fourth.

Whistling screams filled the air, and Naruto gritted his teeth. Considering he was in the heart cavity, the brunt of the attacks were being borne by others. Even still, blood was oozing out of Naruto's mouth, and on top of that, the power of the attacks was increasing.

Moments later, a fifth root appeared, then more, until there were eight. The cultivators inside the Blood Ancestor were having a hard time sustaining such force, and many of them were lapsing into unconsciousness. As a result, Naruto's control over the Blood Ancestor was beginning to falter.

However, the sustained barrage by the Blood Ancestor had knocked open a gap in the trunk of the Dire Skybanyan!

"I can't keep things up like this!" Naruto thought, eyes flickering. Roaring at the top of his lungs, he stretched the Blood Ancestor's hands out, shoving them into the gap that had opened, and then exerted all the strength he could muster to rip the opening wider!

An ear-piercing ripping sound echoed out, causing numerous Sky River Court cultivators on both banks of the river to let out bloodcurdling screams. Even the Nascent Soul cultivators fighting up in the air were shocked.

Naruto ripped the gap open to double its previous size, causing the screams of the Dire Skybanyan to echo high into the heavens. As the h

uge tree struggled, the waters of the Heavenspan River water seethed, and massive waves rolled out as a gigantic root erupted into the air.

When the huge root slammed into the Blood Ancestor, Naruto felt like he was about to pass out. Many of the other cultivators inside the Blood Ancestor coughed up blood. Naruto could sense his control over the Blood Ancestor slipping away.

It was in that very moment that two enormous, 30,000-meter-long roots suddenly rose up from within the Heavenspan River.

They were clearly different from the other roots; they were the main roots of the Dire Skybanyan! They were like enormous pillars, one on the right, one on the left, smashing toward the Blood Ancestor!

It was a critical moment in which there was no time for pondering or consideration. Naruto's eyes were bright red, and he was operating fully on instinct. The Blood Ancestor's left hand reached out to grab the huge root on the left side. Clamping it under the Blood Ancestor's left armpit, Naruto sent the right hand out to grab the other root and do the same!

Rumbling sounds echoed out from the right and left. Naruto's face was as white as a sheet of paper as he exercised the last bit of control he was capable of… to bend the Blood Ancestor's legs!

"Maybe I can't kill you, but I can lock you down!" The Blood Ancestor gripped the two main roots tightly, then began to sink down into the river!

Intense rumbling sounds could be heard as the Blood Ancestor sank below the surface of the Heavenspan River, holding the two roots as he descended toward the river bottom. No matter how the Dire Skybanyan struggled, it was incapable of preventing this from happening.

ROAR!

The Dire Skybanyan was going mad, but was helpless. In the blink of an eye, the sinking Blood Ancestor caused the Dire Skybanyan to begin to tilt over.

Now that it was locked in place, it was difficult for the Dire Skybanyan to struggle, let alone unleash its most powerful divine abilities. Taking advantage of the moment, Naruto opened the Blood Ancestor's mouth and let out a shocking roar from beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River.

Instantly, a blast of air carved out a tunnel within the water, within which appeared numerous Blood Stream Division cultivators. Borrowing the force of the blast of air, they shot out into the open. Gold Core cultivators, Foundation Establishment experts, patriarchs, and even vast numbers of Outer and Inner Sect disciples all burst out into the open.

All of them had injuries, but as soon as they bathed in the light cast by the Pill Stream Division's cauldron, their wounds began to mend. Clearly, they had been prepared for this moment. As soon as they were out in the open, members of the other three divisions rushed to aid them, and many of them grouped up into the Blood Stream Division's locust-like battle formations.

The Nascent Soul cultivators, including Master Godwind, Patriarch Limitless, and the Song Clan patriarch, all roared and transformed into beams of light that went to join the Nascent Soul battles.

Although all of them were injured in various ways, as soon as they joined the fighting, the Nascent Soul battles became like the Gold Core battles, and favored the River-Defying Sect!

As for the Gold Core battles, they became even more one-sided.

The last person to fly out of the Blood Ancestor's mouth was Naruto, blood spraying out of his mouth. As soon as he was visible, eight cultivators from the Spirit Stream Division shot toward him.

These eight were no strangers to Naruto. They were the same compatriots with whom he had formed the ninth spell formation of Mount Daoseed. Without the slightest hesitation, they closed in on Naruto, and immediately, the light of a spell formation appeared.

"Form up!" Naruto roared. Instantly, light rose up around the nine of them, becoming a 300-meter-tall giant, which leaped into the air. As it sailed upward, its right hand shot out, and a blood-colored greatsword appeared. That sword was formed from the blood Chakra of the cultivators of Middle Peak!

Naruto raised the sword high into the air and then slashed it down, whereupon it sliced a nearby skybanyan into two parts!

RUMBLE!

Everything shook wildly, and all onlookers were completely shaken by the preparation and teamwork shown by the River-Defying Sect.

That was especially true of the audience of cultivator clans and smaller sects. Their minds were completely spinning, and their scalps were tingling with shock.

The power and determination shown by the River-Defying Sect left them completely shaken down to their souls.

The battle between the Blood Ancestor and the Dire Skybanyan was something no one would ever be able to forget for their entire lives. Whether it was that fight, or the fighting with the Nascent Soul cultivators or the Gold Core experts, it was clear that the Sky River Court had the disadvantage!

All of the cultivators from the clans and sects were left gasping, their eyes shining with strange light.

—

Chapter 331

Chapter 331

Chapter 331: Indestructible In Foundation Establishment

The fighting spirit among the River-Defying Sect and the Sky River Court raged over the Heavenspan River. Rumbling sounds filled the air, and vicious gleams could be seen in the eyes of all cultivators!

Miserable shrieks echoed out, and magical techniques lit up the sky. Although the River-Defying Sect's patriarchs and the Gold Core cultivators held the advantage in the fighting, the assassination techniques used by the Sky River Court were a big source of frustration. When facing such techniques, even the slightest misstep could lead to death.

After all, when the Sky River Court had initially been punished by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, their top-level forces, and even middle level forces, had all suffered severe losses. However, the low-level cultivators hadn't been affected as much.

The fighting going on over the Heavenspan River was incredibly fierce. The four divisions of the River-Defying Sect had already experienced such fighting in the Lower Reaches, and were familiar with large-scale battles. Although they were initially surprised by the Sky River Court's unique battle tactics, it didn't take long before the fighting reached a deadlock.

As far as the River-Defying Sect was concerned, that was a good position to be in. All they needed to do was wait for the patriarchs and Gold Core cultivators to seize victory, and then the rest of the enemy forces could be easily crushed!

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out. As for the clans and sects which had already sworn allegiance to the River-Defying Sect, although they weren't making a huge showing on the battlefield, they were providing significant assistance, and were fighting just as fiercely as everyone else.

As the deadlock continued, numerous Chosen rose to prominence in the fighting. Shangguan Tianyou controlled one of the spell formation incarnations, and the sword Chakra he unleashed caused a web of swords to appear, a dazzling sight as it swept across the battlefield.

Ghostfang didn't say much, but his attacks were extremely intimidating. The spell formation he was part of became just like him, abounding with ghost qi. Numerous pitch-black ghost hands appeared, which unleashed deadly violence onto the Sky River Court enemies.

Then there was Hou Yunfei, Gongsun Yun, as well as cultivators from the Blood Stream Division such as Song Que, Xuemei, Master God-Diviner, Jia Lie, Song Junwan, the three blood masters and the grand elders. Everyone was attacking with full power, making a spectacular showing on the battlefield.

Others were also present, such as Nine-Isles from the Profound Stream Division. He had long since recovered, and usually spent his time avoiding Naruto. Now, he took advantage of the opportunity this battle presented him to vent his frustration.

There were few Chosen among the Pill Stream Division disciples. The spectacular beauty Chen Manyao was actually the only one, but she was extremely skilled in commanding the army on the field of battle. Pill Stream Division squads of three to five cultivators roved about, unleashing toxic gases, or using healing powers to aid their comrades.

In fact, it was mostly because of the Pill Stream Division that the RiverDefying Sect was able to benefit from the deadlock.

Chen Manyao's orders kept the Pill Stream Division cultivators completely in order, moving about the battlefield with particular skill and finesse.

As Chen Manyao sent out one order after another, strange light gleamed in her eyes. She was like a star shining over the aquatic battlefield, and became the second most important target for the Sky River Court.

The person who people were paying attention to the most, however, had just emerged from the Blood Ancestor and then formed a giant incarnation. It was Uzumaki Xiao

chun, who wielded an enormous greatsword formed from blood qi!

Considering that the look in Naruto's eyes was the same as the look in the eyes of the Blood Ancestor, everyone could tell that he had been the person in control of the blood giant!

Of course, even though the Sky River Court had been prohibited from interfering with the affairs of the Lower Reaches cultivation world, they were able to gather intelligence. As such, they knew that he was also the person responsible for unifying all of the Lower Reaches sects.

Therefore, almost as soon as he appeared, the Sky River Court forces glared over at him and sent a wave of assassins in his direction. At the same time, numerous smaller skybanyans began to race toward him, expressions those of madness and ferocity.

Naruto's eyes glowed with red light. As of this moment, he felt like he was back fighting the Luochen Clan, or in the Fallen Sword Abyss. Even the fighting outside the Profound Stream Sect city had been similar. Throwing his head back, he roared, causing blood Chakra to surge around him, increasing the battle prowess of the Blood Stream Division cultivators in the area.

Bruiser could sense Naruto's energy, and also let out a howl, causing waves of battle beasts to leap toward the Sky River Court forces.

Then there were the refined corpses, gargoyles, and puppets. A dazzling display could be seen on the battlefield as endless booms and crashes rang out.

Naruto swung his blood sword at an incoming skybanyan treant.

Even as he did, an explosive voice roared, "Die!"

The voice came seemingly out of nowhere. Simultaneously, eight Foundation Establishment cultivators materialized out of thin air. Every one of them was clearly a cold-blooded assassin, and none of them paused for even a moment before unleashing their most powerful attacks onto Naruto.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he followed through with his blood sword strike. Even as he slashed the skybanyan treant into two pieces, his energy erupted, and an enormous figure formed behind him. In the blink of an eye, it became crystal clear; shockingly, it was the manifestation of his Undying Asura Body!

The undying asura and the spell formation incarnation merged together, and when the combined attacks of the eight Foundation Establishment cultivators landed on it, the only thing that happened was that the Foundation Establishment cultivators coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Looks of disbelief and terror appeared on their faces.

"Impossible!"

"What type of fleshly body is that? I can't believe something like this exists!"

"Dammit! He's almost at the point where he's indestructible within the

Foundation Establishment stage!"

The eight cultivators were so shocked that their Chakra and blood was in chaos. Looking at Naruto like he was a ghost, they didn't hesitate for even a moment to begin to flee at top speed.

"Indestructible in Foundation Establishment?" Naruto wasn't hurt in the least. He let go of the blood sword, allowing it to dissipate as he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing all of the resulting blood Chakra to form into a cloud of smaller blood swords, which shot out like a tempest wind.

The eight Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't have the time to flee very far. The blood sword formation swept over them, slashing away their flesh and blood and chopping their bones into dust. By the time the wind passed, not a single trace remained of the eight cultivators.

When the other Sky River Court cultivators saw this, they gasped in shock. As for Naruto, his eyes flickered with cold light as he looked around the battlefield. He saw River-Defying Sect cultivators dying here and there, killed at the hands of the assassins. Hatred began to gleam in his eyes, and instead of continuing his fight with the skybanyan treants, he began to flit across the battlefield looking for the elusive assassins.

Everywhere he went, thunderous booms could be heard. The assassin's murderous methods didn't hurt Naruto at all, not with the explosive power of his Asura Body.

Instantly, the assassins began to tremble and hide. None of them dared to get anywhere near Naruto. Just as Naruto was about to start hunting them down, a roar of rage echoed out behind him, and it came from one of the skybanyan treants that was twice as tall as any of the others.

A bizarre gleam could be seen in the eyes of the huge treant, whose body was festooned with freshly severed heads. Some of those heads belonged to Spirit Stream Division disciples, and when Naruto saw that, his murderous aura erupted.

Suddenly, a face appeared on the trunk of the treant. It was a young man, whose venomous eyes were filled with madness. Looking at Naruto, he said, "Indestructible in Foundation Establishment?

Invincible within your stage? Trifling Lower Reaches punk. I'll show you what it means to be invincible. I'll show you what an indestructible Foundation Establishment fleshly body is!"

Looking nervously at the treant speeding toward him, Naruto murmured. "A Sky River Court Chosen? Every time I see people looking crazy like this, I feel like I need to bring them to their senses…."

Without any hesitation, he shot forward with the Mountain Shaking Bash!

Every time the Mountain Shaking Bash appeared, his energy rose even higher than before!

As the Mountain Shaking Bash was unleashed, a second asura appeared behind him, which merged with the first asura, causing his power to skyrocket!

He moved with such speed that the treant had no time to react. He was nothing more than a blur of afterimages, like an entire mountain smashing through the air toward the treant.

A huge boom echoed out, and everyone in the area gasped. As for the treant, it let out a bloodcurdling scream as it was sent flying backward, tumbling through the air like a kite with its string cut, all the way until it slammed into the ground on the bank of the river.

At that point, it went silent.

"Can't take a hit, can we?" Naruto said proudly. The other eight cultivators in the formation with him all smiled wryly, and knew that the situation had been under control the entire time. There were few people in the Foundation Establishment stage who could withstand the Mountain Shaking Bash.

—

Chapter 332

Chapter 332

Chapter 332: Someone's Definitely Protecting Me

A huge crater was now visible in the jungle on the right bank of the river.

There, the broken and shattered body of a skybanyan treant could be seen. It was currently dead, but struggling out from inside was the arrogant young Chosen who had spoken with Naruto moments ago.

There was no madness or arrogance on his face now, only terror. After a bit of hesitation, his reverence toward Naruto caused him to simply sit down in place cross-legged and meditate.

Naruto felt very pleased. It was only after emerging from the Blood Ancestor that he realized that his time inside the giant had been incredibly beneficial, especially to his Undying Live Forever Technique. Thanks to the absorption of power inside the giant, he had already reached the point of being able to materialize a second asura.

Of course, he knew that he would be one of the main targets on the battlefield, and had actually waited for someone to try to plot against him. Just when he was being picked on, that was when he chose to fight back with vicious force.

Considering that he had knocked the arrogant Chosen completely off the battlefield, and that the young man hadn't made a peep afterward, Naruto felt more at ease than ever.

"Let's see who dares to pick on me now!" he said proudly.

The surrounding Sky River Court cultivators looked at him with terror in their eyes, and just as he had said, not a single one dared to approach him. Even the smaller skybanyan trees were trembling at the sight of his use of the Mountain Shaking Bash.

As for the cultivators, they were forced to stew in their irritation, and hope that the spell formation around him would crumble, leaving him out in the open. Only then would they be able to show him what it was like to fight without the protection of a spell formation!

"Dammit! I refuse to believe that he can keep that spell formation powered up for much longer!"

"Hmph! Once he's out in the open, we can see what this guy's real battle prowess is like!" Although they were cursing him in their hearts, the Sky River Court cultivators had no choice other than to flee from Naruto.

"Hey," he howled cockily, "don't run! I'm ready to fight till the bitter end! Bring it on!" However, he simply watched them as they ran away, feeling more wonderful than ever.

Thanks to Naruto, the River-Defying Sect cultivators were able to relax momentarily, and also solidify their defensive positions within the deadlock.

Before long, the River-Defying Sect Gold Core cultivators were able to increase their advantage. Hundreds of Gold Core experts had pooled their power to create a sword formation that had already injured numerous contemporaries among the Sky River Court.

Some of the Sky River Court Gold Core cultivators had already met their end in the fighting, and soon, the group as a whole began to retreat. Down below, people looked up to see the Sky River Court Gold Core cultivators being chased across the battlefield by the River-Defying Sect. Finally, one of the River-Defying Sect's prime elders indicated that the time had come to attack, and the four divisions charged forth excitedly over the river water.

Now that the River-Defying Sect was seizing the initiative on the river, the Sky River Court's Nascent Soul expert who was half a step into the Deva Realm shoved back Master Godwind, Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul, and Sieve Pill. Waving his sleeve, he pointed toward the Dire Skybanyan and howled in a mixture of grief and anger, "Protect the sect headquarters! Activate the grand spell formation!"

As his words echoed out like thunder, a green field of light shot out from the enormous Dire Skybanyan an

d exerted a powerful gravitational force.

That force locked onto the cultivators of the Sky River Court and, in the blink of an eye, hauled them back toward the tree. That included the Gold Core cultivators and the Foundation Establishment experts.

With the spell formation activated, this part of the Heavenspan River was completely sealed tight. The River-Defying Sect would now be forced to expend significant effort to break through, which should have given Sky River Court some breathing room in the already dire situation they were in!

Unfortunately for them, the Dire Skybanyan's spell formation wasn't complete. Astonishingly, there were two enormous gaps in the shield, one on the right side and the other on the left!

Obviously, the reason they had waited until now to activate the formation was because it was so weak! The spell formation actually had openings.

"Abandon the Heavenspan River!" said Patriarch Frigidsect. "It's time for the second offensive. Attack the Sky River Court headquarters through the jungle!" In accordance with the previously drafted battle plans, the most powerful division, the Blood Stream Division, teamed up with the weakest division, the Pill Stream Division, and headed to the left bank of the river, where they began to pour into the jungle.

The Spirit Stream Division and the Profound Stream Division joined forces to head into the jungle on the right bank.

This was the jungle offensive!

Because the jungle was so cramped and crowded, it wasn't appropriate to use the spell formation giants or the Profound Stream puppets. In the jungle offensive, all of the disciples would rely on their own power to fight.

Countless cultivators were attacking from both flanks, fighting their way rapidly toward the Sky River Court's headquarters. The Sky River Court forces had little time to rest. All of their cultivators, even the Gold Core experts, spread out to try to stop the advance of the River-Defying Sect. Once again, fighting broke out between the Nascent Soul patriarchs!

Before the truly deadly fighting began, the River-Defying Sect patriarchs made arrangements for the Outer and Inner Sect disciples to retreat to the Heavenspan Battleships, where they would be safer.

Only Foundation Establishment cultivators and higher would participate in this battle. After all, without spell formations to protect them, any injuries the weaker disciples received would likely lead to deaths.

That was war!

To provide an incentive, the patriarchs had agreed that none of the spoils of war procured in the jungle offensive needed to be offered up to the sect, but could be kept by whoever won them!

However, infighting among fellow sect members was strictly prohibited. Everyone was excited, but at the same time, didn't dare to violate the rules.

After Naruto's spell formation broke apart, he exchanged glances with his eight compatriots, then they all clasped hands and bowed to each other. None of them spoke as they shot at top speed into the jungle.

Naruto took a deep breath. As he looked at the jungle, what he thought about most was his encounter with the Luochen Clan. The surroundings here looked very similar to those mountains back then.

"Considering I'm so important, there will definitely be someone looking out for me…." Even still, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and slapped his bag of holding. Instantly, a big stack of paper talismans appeared. Next, smacking sounds rang out as he began to place them all over his body. Within moments, a hundred layers of glowing shields appeared. He limited the number of course; too many shields would be too eye-catching.

Having accomplished that, he sped into motion, drawing upon the explosive power of his fleshly body to speed into the jungle toward the Sky River Court's headquarters, the Dire Skybanyan.

The jungle was very humid, and the occasional miserable scream echoed out here and there. Some of those screams came from the forces of the Sky River Court, others came from the River-Defying Sect. Naruto was soon panting. After less time passed than it takes half an incense stick to burn, his expression flickered, and he suddenly dodged to the side. As he did, four Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared. Two of them unleashed palm strikes that slammed into the ground exactly where Naruto had just been standing.

The other two attacks landed on Naruto's shields!

The shields emitted cracking sounds, but held fast. In fact, they even sent backlash attacks to the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, instantly destabilizing their Chakra and blood. As the two cultivators staggered backward, Naruto howled and shot forward, smashing into one of the cultivator's chest.

A boom could be heard, and the cultivator shrieked. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as his chest caved in, and he tumbled across the ground for several meters before coming to a stop, dead.

Even as the other three cultivators stared in shock, Naruto's hand flashed with black light as it shot out with lightning speed. A gravitational force erupted, and one of the fleeing Foundation Establishment cultivators suddenly found himself flying toward Naruto. Before he could do anything, Naruto's hand had clamped onto his throat!

The Throat Crushing Grasp!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto clenched his fingers together. The Foundation Establishment cultivator's eyes bulged, and then he was dead!

When the other two cultivators saw what had just occurred, their eyes went wide, and they began to flee in terror. When they had seen him on his own, they had been itching to tangle with him, but never could they have imagined that, even without his spell formation incarnation, he would be completely terrifying!

Even as they turned to flee, Naruto extended his right hand, and blood Chakra swirled into the shape of a 30-meter-long beam of blood-colored light, which then slashed out like the sharpest of blades.

The two fleeing cultivators shivered, then looked down in shock to find that they had been cut in half at the waist!

Chapter 333

Chapter 333

Chapter 333: The Scream Of The Phoenix

Almost exactly when Naruto cut down the last of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators who had just ambushed him, a strange cry rose up from the distant Sky River Court.

"Hehehe. Hehehe…." Everyone who heard the bizarre, echoing laughter felt a cold chill spreading out across their body, almost as if they were being frozen.

As the laughter rang out, a beam of light rose up from within the Sky River Court, which came to a stop high in the air. Visible there was a cloth doll!

It was only about a meter tall, and dressed in a ragged garment full of holes. It only had a few tufts of hair on its head, and a bizarre smile on its face!

It seemed like something completely ordinary, the type of toy any child might have at hand. But as it hovered there, it emanated a terrifying aura, and let out cackling laughter.

Its eyes shone with red light, making it seem viciously bloodthirsty. Almost as soon as it appeared, it flickered, vanishing, to reappear in front of one of the River-Defying Sect cultivators. The cultivator's eyes went wide, and then his head exploded, sending blood spraying out in all directions, accompanied by mad laughter.

Everyone who saw the scene play out gasped. As for Naruto, his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode.

"Is that the Sky River Court's reserve power precious treasure?" he thought. At the same time, Gongsun Wan'er was in another location in the jungle, looking up at the doll with scorn flickering in her eyes.

That was when, all of a sudden, another beam of light cut through the air, speeding rapidly toward the cloth doll. Within that beam of light was the Blood Stream Division's reserve power, the scarecrow!

It also wore a bizarre smile, and held a patch of skin in its hand. As it flew along, it threw the patch of skin on as if it were a garment, and then sped toward the doll.

Shocking rumbling echoed out as the two bizarre beings slammed into each other and started fighting. The freakish laughter which rang out was bizarre to the extreme!

Many of the River-Defying Sect cultivators breathed sighs of relief. However, Naruto, along with the Gold Core experts and some of the particularly quick-thinking Foundation Establishment cultivators, all had anxious looks on their faces!

"If that doll is the Sky River Court's reserve power, then good. But what if it's not the reserve power, but rather a lower-level precious treasure? If a mere low-level precious treasure requires the Blood Stream Division's reserve power to handle, then what would their true reserve power look like?!" Based on what Naruto could see, the doll didn't really seem like a reserve power. If the Dire Skybanyan was considered a reserve power, then Naruto couldn't even imagine what other types of reserve powers the Sky River Court might have.

Even as shock gripped his heart, a piercing scream rang out through the air, and something else flew out from the Sky River Court headquarters. It was a shroud, complete with brownish blood stains and a terrifying, indescribable aura.

Clearly, this shroud was on the same level of power as the cloth doll!

As it screamed through the air, a stream of smoke suddenly rose up from below. Golden light poured out from the smoke, which formed into the shape of a middle-aged Daoist. The Daoist immediately strode forward to intercept the shroud!

That projection was the reserve power of the Profound Stream Division!

The lands were filled with the rumbling of combat, which caused Naruto to start to pant. He was feeling anything but safe at the moment, so he quickly produced some more talismans. After collecting the four bags of holding from his enemies, he cautiousl

y made his way forward across the battlefield.

Doing his best to avoid looking up at the fighting in the air above, he focused on his surroundings, trying to move as quickly as possible. At one point, his eyes suddenly flickered, and he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Waving his finger, he summoned a violet cauldron, which then smashed down toward the ground.

A huge crater opened up. Snorting coldly, Naruto opened his third eye, and immediately saw something standing next to the cauldron that was only visible because of the power of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye.

Not pausing for even a moment, he burst forward, clenching his hand into a fist and unleashing a fist strike backed by the power of his Asura Body.

The figure up ahead seemed shocked, and fell back at top speed. However, the force of the blow still slammed into him, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. The figure solidified into a middle-aged man, who was looking at Naruto with shock.

"You can see me!?" Even as the words left his mouth, he turned to flee. However, a pair of wings sprouted out behind Naruto, and a single flap sent him rocketing forward, his right foot spinning through the air in a powerful, swiping kick.

The cultivator tried to defend himself, even pulling out a large collection of defensive magical items. However, a boom rang out as the magical items were easily destroyed by Naruto's kick. The kick then smashed into the cultivator, crushing the life out of him instantly.

Naruto didn't stop moving. Grabbing the enemy's bag of holding, he proceeded onward, keeping his Dharma eye open. Any enemies who had concealed themselves in his path were completely incapable of escaping. Soon, Naruto changed his trajectory, taking advantage of his sight to help out any fellow sect members who were in trouble.

He saw many corpses along the way. Some were Sky River Court cultivators, others belonged to members of the River-Defying Sect. Some of them were people he knew, which caused him to sink further into silence.

He was unsure of how to express the emotions he was feeling, but he was sure of one thing: his murderous aura was growing more intense by the moment….

"So, this is what cultivation brings…?" he murmured. He understood the truth of matters. He had come to that understanding long ago, based on what he had experienced with the Luochen Clan, in the Fallen Sword Abyss, and fighting outside the Profound Stream Sect city. However, whenever he came face to face with reality, it filled him with complex emotions.

Even as he sank further into silence, he suddenly heard a shrieking call off in the distance. It was a scream of anxiety and grief, and as soon as he heard it, his heart trembled painfully.

Although other people might not be sensitive to that cry, to Uzumaki

Xiaochun, it was like thunder crashing into his mind. He recognized that call!

"A phoenix?" Naruto sped up, heading as fast as he could in the direction of the anxious cries. As he neared, he saw the very same phoenix that had consumed his Aphrodisiac Pill all those years ago. It seemed to be completely maddened; despite being injured and soaked with blood, it was doing everything it could to attack a black-robed young woman from the Sky River Court.

The young woman's face was grim, and there was a long, ugly scar on it that marred her beauty. Her eyes gleamed with a murderous light, and she radiated a sensation of intense danger.

Held in her hand was the severed head of an old man, whose eyes were still filled with the disbelief that had struck him in the moments before death.

On the ground at the young woman's feet was a headless body, clad in the robes of the Spirit Stream Division, blood pooling up around it.

As soon as Naruto saw the head, his eyes went wide, and he began to tremble. "Elder Zhou!"

The severed head belonged to none other than the Spirit Stream Division's Elder Zhou from Fragrant Cloud Peak, who had taken over as peak lord from Li Qinghou!

Naruto was shaking visibly, his lips trembling, his mind filled with countless scenes from the past….

He remembered back in the ovens when he and Big Fatty Zhang had pilfered the precious materials that had been meant for Elder Zhou….

He thought back to when this very phoenix had led Elder Zhou to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion to accuse him….

He thought back to Elder Zhou's enraged howls as he shot off of Fragrant Cloud Peak to chase Naruto, and how he had screamed miserably the entire time….

Back in the qualifying round before the north and south bank Chosen

Battles, he had intended to come in last. However, it had been Elder Zhou's provocation that caused him to flee and take first place….

The memories filled his mind, and then shattered in a burst of indescribable grief. That grief filled his heart, until it was ready to explode out like lightning from the heavens.

Glaring at the young woman, his hands slowly clenched into fists.

When the phoenix saw Naruto, it shrieked in anguish and then began to fly toward him. That was when the young woman slowly raised her hand and pointed at the phoenix.

A black stream of light flew out, transforming into a huge mouth that shot toward the phoenix to consume it.

"Are you looking to die!?" Naruto roared. He took a step forward, and his veins of steel began to pulse. Another step, and he was past the phoenix, where he unleashed a fist strike onto the enormous black mouth.

A boom echoed out as the black mouth collapsed, sending black mist pouring out in all directions. However, the mist didn't dissipate. In the blink of an eye, it reformed into the shape of the young woman!

The version of her off in the distance was nothing more than an afterimage. Her true body was now right in front of Naruto, sneering with disdain as she stabbed her index finger toward his forehead!

Because of how close she was, dodging the move wasn't an option. And yet, Naruto hadn't even considered doing such a thing. His Undying Live Forever Technique erupted with power, and his Asura Body manifested behind him. Instead of retreating, he headbutted her!

The young woman's face fell. Never could she have imagined that he would do something so vicious. Before she could react, his head slammed into her finger, causing a cracking sound to ring out. The young woman immediately sped backward, her finger mangled and her eyes shining with a very serious look.

"I don't have time to waste tangling with you!" she said hoarsely, turning to leave.

"Yeah, well tangling with you is exactly what I feel like doing!" Although Naruto's forehead was injured, he didn't seem to notice. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he shoved his palm out. "Blood Annihilation World!"

Instantly, boundless blood Chakra erupted out from him, forming sealing marks which then took the shape of a whole world that blocked the young woman's path of retreat.

—

Chapter 334

Chapter 334

Chapter 334: Completely Crushed!

"Looking to die!?" the young woman said with an enraged laugh, the killing intent in her eyes bursting with intensity. Her cultivation base was in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, and she was an extremely adept killer. In fact, she had killed quite a few other cultivators in the great circle. Were it not for the fact that she was on a special, urgent mission, and Naruto was clearly beyond ordinary, she would never have just fled.

And yet, here he was, blocking her path as if he didn't know what was good for him!

Naruto's expression was placid, but his eyes were bloodshot, and he was surrounded by a strong murderous aura that caused the Blood Annihilation World to ripple and distort. Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his finger in the direction of Elder Zhou's corpse.

Instantly, all of the Elder Zhou's shed blood began to merge together and float up into the air, where it turned into a blood-colored sword!

Staring at the woman, he said, "Don't get anxious…. It will only take a moment for me to cut you down with this sword!"

In response, the woman's laughter grew louder. And yet, for some reason, perhaps because of the expression on Naruto's face, she felt unease growing inside of her.

"Since you have a death wish," she said, "I guess I'll help you get what you want!" Eyes flickering with killing intent, she performed a doublehanded incantation gesture. Instantly, her body blurred, and nine streams of black mist erupted out, which began to gobble up the spiritual energy in the area. In the blink of an eye, the nine streams of mist had become nine enormous waves, racing toward Naruto from nine different directions.

Apparently, if those nine waves converged upon each other, they would explode with shocking power!

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, the young woman attacked with surgical precision and quickness. In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, the nine waves were locked down on Naruto and closing in rapidly.

Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light, and his heart burned with lingering pain. The death of Elder Zhou, and the anguish of the phoenix, gave him an even clearer understanding about war, and about cultivation. Within the bitterness visible in his eyes, a killing intent erupted out. Instead of backing away from the waves, he lifted his right hand and waved it out in front of him.

In response, a surge of violet Chakra erupted, whizzing through the air to form a huge, 300-meter-wide violet cauldron that settling around him protectively.

BOOM!

A deafening boom rang out as the nine waves slammed into the huge cauldron.

The cauldron began to tremble; the force of each successive wave was greater than the wave before it, and from the look of things, the cauldron was about to collapse.

"Die!" said the young woman, hovering some distance off in the air. At the same time, she lifted her right hand and viciously stabbed out with her index finger.

In response, the nine waves swirled and transformed into countless black leaves. The leaves began to spin around the enormous cauldron, emitting an incisive aura that slashed at it like countless sharp blades.

Rumbling echoed out, and the cauldron shook even more violently than before. Finally, the slashing of the leaves caused the cauldron to shatter, allowing the leaves to speed inside toward Naruto.

Naruto watched all of this happen without commenting. The woman's magical techniques were strange, and she was clearly no stranger to magical combat. However, he didn't care about any of that. Taking a deep breath, he slapped his bag of holding and produced

a black parasol.

It was none other than the Eternal Parasol!

Without any hesitation, he lifted it over his head and opened it!

His cultivation base erupted with the power of nine crystallized spiritual seas. Streams of Heaven-Dao aura also swirled about, seemingly connecting him to heaven and earth. Strange ripples even appeared in the sky above the battlefield.

The huge black parasol almost seemed like the night itself as it spread out to cover Naruto. At the same time, he poured his cultivation base power into it, causing a black glow to spread out.

That glow was the black of night!

At the same time, an astonishing gravitational force erupted out, causing the young woman's face to flicker. Then she cried out in alarm as her body began to tremble and then wither rapidly. White streams of mist began to pour out from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, which were then sucked relentlessly toward the black parasol.

Those streams of mist were her life force!

"What is that thing!?" she shrieked, shaking violently. She tried to back away, but seemed locked in place in midair. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't prevent her life force from streaming out of her. Even as her hair began to turn white, she suddenly bit down on her tongue, unleashing the power of self-detonation!

Her right eye exploded, sending blood spraying out in all directions. However, the force of the explosion ripped her free from the gravitational force, shoving her backward by several dozen meters. There, she coughed up more blood, then glared at Naruto with venomous hatred and, at the same time, fear. Of course, most of her terror was because of the Eternal Parasol.

Almost immediately, her body began to turn translucent as she prepared to fade into the air and make her escape. Her only desire now was to escape the Blood Annihilation World and then leave this place.

Without any hesitation, Naruto put away the Eternal Parasol and shot after her at top speed. Inwardly, he was bemoaning the fact that his ruse hadn't played out exactly as he'd wished. He'd intentionally provoked her into attacking with the hopes that he could use his Eternal Parasol to drain her life force.

However, this young woman was a Chosen of the Sky River Court, on the very cusp of reaching the Gold Core stage. Not only was she more than an ordinary cultivator, but Naruto's current cultivation base made it difficult for him to control the parasol. Because of that, she managed to escape.

Even as he bore down on her with lightning speed, she began to fade away, until only ripples were visible in the spot where she had just been.

"You're not getting away!" he said, his voice filled with an intense coldness that even he didn't realize was there, a coldness like the dead of winter. As the coldness spread out, he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye.

As soon as he looked around with his third eye, he unhesitatingly clenched his fist and unleashed a fist strike directly to his left.

A boom rang out, and the air distorted. The young woman suddenly became visible, blood oozing out of her mouth, a look of incredulity and terror on her face.

"How did he find me!?" The young woman's heart was starting to pound. She had been injured again, and was now incapable of fleeing. "Dammit, how could the River-Defying Sect have a cultivator like this? His cultivation base isn't weak, nor is his fleshly body. His magical techniques are bizarre, and he obviously has a lot of experience fighting. He's actually managed to pin me down!" Because of Naruto's strange techniques, she was incapable of fleeing the Blood Annihilation World. Suddenly, her left eyes was shot with blood as she realized that instead of fleeing, she had to risk everything in a fight to the death!

"Inverse Blood Sky Spirit!" she shrieked. Instantly, all of the blood in her body began to flow in reverse, causing an intense energy to rise up from within her. At the same time, a powerful aura of plants and vegetation began to spread out.

From a distance, she appeared to be surrounded by scintillating, emerald-colored light. Numerous types of plants and vegetation began to grow around her, almost as if she were becoming one with the jungle around her. Then the plants began to twist and distort as they shot through the air toward Naruto.

It was almost as if Naruto wasn't just fighting this young woman, but rather all of the plants in the jungle around him!

"Let's see how you handle this!" she said, her killing intent surging. Countless leaves, vines, and flowers became a tempest hundreds of meters in diameter. As they swept out, the Blood Annihilation World began to emit creaking noises as it teetered on the verge of collapse.

Cultivators on both sides of the conflict in the area all noticed, and were shocked.

"I'll show you exactly how I handle it!" Naruto replied, his expression growing even more icy than before. Taking a deep breath, he reached out with both hands and performed an incantation gesture. As the tempest of vegetation closed in, he swept his hands violently through the air, simultaneously uttering three words!

"Magic Plant… Arsenal!"

BZZZZZZ!

His hair whipped about him as his energy soared, and he drew upon his great circle cultivation base, his Heaven-Dao aura, and his skill in the Dao of medicine, to use the very magic that Toruho had bestowed upon him, the Magic Plant Arsenal!

Buzzing sounds filled the air as the vegetation around him suddenly stopped in place and began to tremble. It was almost as if two forces of will were battling it out within the tempest, vying for control over the plants and vegetation!

"Impossible!" the young woman gasped, her face falling.

—

Chapter 335

Chapter 335

Chapter 335: Fatality!

The black-robed young woman's control over plants and vegetation had to do with her Dao of medicine. Coupled with the technique she cultivated, it created something like an innate divine ability that she could use to communicate with and manipulate all types of plants.

Although the Sky River Court was adept with spatial manipulation magic, their ultimate reserve power was the Dire Skybanyan. It was only natural for people who practiced cultivation on the huge tree to develop a connection with plants and vegetation. In fact, all disciples of the Sky River Court eventually formed a bond with a lesser skybanyan, which they could use as a weapon in battle!

Such an arrangement was less of an external manipulation of the plant, and more of a bonding in which the plant assisted the cultivator!

However, Naruto's abilities were completely and utterly different. Using his skill in the Dao of medicine, and the Magic Plant Arsenal, he didn't seek to bond with or gain assistance from the plants, he sought total control!

He was skilled with techniques of mutual augmentation and suppression, and was familiar with how to fuse different types of plants and vegetation together. Coupled with his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base and nine crystallized spiritual seas, he was capable of domineering feats that were beyond other Foundation Establishment cultivators!

This young woman was a Chosen from a Middle Reaches sect. Were it not for that, she would have long since been crushed by Naruto. Even still, her struggles were proving useless!

"Begone from me!" he said, voice echoing like thunder, his eyes shining with strange light. With that, he waved both hands.

In response to his berating words, the tempest of plants and vegetation had no choice other than to turn in place and shoot back toward the black-robed young woman.

Complete incredulity could be seen in her eyes, and she almost seemed incapable of accepting the situation. By this point, she also realized that she had been tricked into the situation with the black parasol.

She was already becoming terrified of Naruto's battle tactics, especially that parasol. However, what was worst of all was that Naruto hadn't given her any chance to effectively utilize her spatial manipulation magic. His third eye made her feel like she was completely and utterly exposed no matter what she did.

Without spatial manipulation magic, it was difficult to utilize any assassination techniques, and also impossible to become invisible. It was almost like trying to fight with a limb having suddenly been crippled. She felt weaker than ever.

After experiencing so many setbacks, she finally decided to resort to her magic of plants and vegetation to kill Naruto. And yet, contrary to anything she could have imagined, he wrested control over her plants and vegetation as well!

"I refuse to accept this!" she shrieked, her eyes more bloodshot than ever. She was almost on the verge of going crazy. As a Chosen of the Sky River Court, she had always been a proud and arrogant person, someone who could easily crush anyone in the same cultivation level as her. In fact, she was only a hair away from Gold Core. Never before had she ever encountered a situation in which someone in the same stage as her could control her so easily!

As the tempest closed in on her, she let out a miserable shriek. Then, she suddenly dropped to the ground and planted both hands down in front of her. Looking up, she shouted, "Treesoldier Incantation!'

Suddenly, brown tendrils began to spread out from her feet and bore into the ground, tendrils that almost looked like roots!

At the same time, every portion of skin visible on her body was suddenly filled with bulging green ve

ins, to the point where her skin looked like the surface of a plant!

As her skin turned green, her life aura suddenly erupted, transforming from that of a cultivator to that of a treant!

The Treesoldier Incantation was a legendary secret magic of the Sky River Court that allowed a cultivator to transform into a treant!

"I refuse to believe that you can wrest away my control of plants and vegetation!" she yelled hoarsely. As of this point, she had completely transformed into a huge treant!

Rootlets spread out from her feet into the ground, causing the energy of the plants and vegetation to surge toward her.

In the blink of an eye, she was huge, fully 300 meters tall. From a distance, she almost looked like a true skybanyan!

When the tempest of plants and vegetation hit her, it instantly submitted to her, swirling around her before converging onto her right hand, where it formed the shape of a battle-axe!

It was a green battle-axe formed from countless types of plants and vegetation, and it radiated power that caused the surrounding jungle to tremble. By this point, the battle between this young woman and Naruto was starting to attract quite a bit of attention.

"Time to die!" she roared in a sonorous voice, her killing intent surging. With that, she lifted her tree-like arm into the air and then slashed the battle-axe down toward Naruto.

As it descended, the power of plants and vegetation surged and grew, until nearly half of the power of the entire jungle was converged into that deadly blow!

An intense sensation of deadly crisis erupted inside of Naruto. By this point, his control over the Blood Annihilation World had weakened to the point where it had collapsed. The resulting blast caused even more people to take notice of what was happening.

"That's Sect Uncle Uzumaki!"

"Elder Sister Tong!"

As cultivators on both sides of the conflict began to cry out in alarm, Naruto took a deep breath and then closed his eyes. Then he raised his right hand, not to perform an incantation gesture, nor to rotate his cultivation base. Instead, the image of a huge spike appeared in his mind!

As that spike appeared, the water vapor in the area began to swirl, growing denser and thicker, filling an entire 50-kilometer area.

Within that area, cultivators of both the River-Defying Sect and the Sky River Court trembled as a sensation of crushing pressure began to weigh down on them.

Even the Gold Core cultivators up in midair looked shocked!

The young woman in treant form was also shaken. However, there was no time to ponder the situation at the moment. Instead, she focused fully on sending the battle-axe slashing down toward Naruto. Closer and closer it neared….

Naruto's clothing and hair were even being destroyed by the power of the incoming battle-axe….

When the axe was only about nine meters away from Naruto, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and when they did, a terrifying wind sprang up as the entire 50-kilometer area was filled with a watery swamp!

"Waterswamp Kingdom!" he murmured, almost as if he were calling out to something or someone. Although his words were spoken softly, they caused even Nascent Soul cultivators to tremble…. A roar suddenly echoed out, a roar like that from ancient times, a roar that filled the world with profound ancientness!

Heaven and earth trembled as the roar increased in intensity. In the blink of an eye, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling filled all creation. Every cultivator in the area was trembling, and the young woman in treant form had a look of complete and utter incredulity on her face.

The moment that look appeared on her face, and even as her battle-axe descended, the image of a huge spike suddenly appeared around Naruto!

30 meters. 300 meters. 3,000 meters. 30,000 meters!

Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions as the spike rose higher and higher. Furthermore, after it reached 30,000 meters in length, more rows of spikes became visible beneath it. All light dimmed, and a huge wind screamed across the lands!

The young woman had no chance to land a blow on Naruto. The spike stabbed through her, and she screamed as she was pushed higher and higher into the sky!

Even as despair washed through her, the young woman reverted from treant form back into human form. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and her eyes began to grow dim. She was panting on the verge of death!

Powerful fluctuations rolled out across the lands. Just barely visible within the dense water vapor were row upon row of spikes, as well as an enormous body!

However, even the 50-kilometer wide swamp wasn't large enough to contain that enormous body, making it impossible for anyone to tell exactly what type of creature it was!

In any case, compared to that enormous creature, the young woman impaled on its spikes was almost too small to see….

All cultivators in the area looked on with total shock. The process didn't last long, only a few breaths' worth of time. Then the Waterswamp Kingdom creature let out a bellow before slowly fading away. The water vapor vanished, and everything returned to normal. The pressure disappeared, and the body of the young woman fell down from the sky and landed in front of Naruto with a thud.

Blood was oozing from wounds all over her body. She was now hovering on the brink of death, her eyes filled with bitterness and rage as she stared at Naruto. Using her last bit of energy, she opened her mouth to curse him.

However, even as her lips moved, he waved his sleeve, and the blood sword which he had formed from Elder Zhou's blood slashed down and took off her head!

Her head tumbled off to the side, her eyes growing dim. She was dead in body and soul!

The blood sword slowly faded away….

Just as Naruto had said, he used that sword to take her life away. Blood for blood!

Without saying a word, he collected her bag of holding, then sighed and turned to leave. However, it was in that very moment that an anguished howl echoed out from off in the distance.

"Junior Sister Tong!"

—

Chapter 336

Chapter 336

Chapter 336: Battling Core Formation!

The voice was completely beyond ordinary, and was accompanied by a gale-force wind that shook everything in the area. The ground around Naruto shattered, and many objects in the area exploded.

Even Naruto was badly shaken, and found himself staggering backward several steps from the force of the sound.

His face flickered as he looked up and saw a young man flying through the air toward him. He had long, wild hair, and his eyes burned red with killing intent as he closed in.

Although his speed couldn't be counted for much within the Gold Core stage, it was vastly beyond anything Foundation Establishment cultivators were capable of. The majestic sight caused Foundation Establishment cultivators from both sides of the conflict in the jungle to be completely shaken.

Soon, alarmed cries could be heard. "A Gold Core cultivator!"

The River-Defying Sect had dispatched people to lock down all of the enemy Gold Core experts, to prevent them from attacking the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

And yet, for some unknown reason, a Gold Core cultivator had suddenly appeared right here, and was bearing down on Naruto with murderous intentions. Some distance behind him was one of the RiverDefying Sect's Gold Core cultivators, who was racing to block his path.

However, even as the River-Defying Sect Gold Core elder was about to intercept the young man from the Sky River Court, the young man waved his hand, sending a green beam of light shooting backward. Moments later, a huge skybanyan treant emerged from the light!

The skybanyan treant was the young man's battle weapon, something that he normally would care for just as much as his own life. However, after summoning the battle weapon, the young man cried out in a frantic voice, "Buy me ten breaths of time, even if you have to pay for it with your life!"

A tremor ran through the skybanyan treant, but it didn't hesitate for even a moment. Energy surging, it shot forward and blocked the Gold Core elder from the River-Defying Sect!

The young man's murderous aura surged sky-high as he shot toward Naruto, his eyes so bloodshot they were almost bleeding. He had only been in the Gold Core stage for about half a year, but he was completely and utterly confident that he would only need ten breaths of time to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

The sight of the young woman's severed head tumbling off to the side moments ago had filled him with intense pain. She had been his Daoist partner, his Junior Sister, and he had already sworn an oath to himself that he would personally kill the one responsible for her death.

"Die!" he howled, smashing his hand toward Naruto. The wave of his hand was backed by an early Gold Core cultivation base, causing a black palm to appear that screamed through the air toward Naruto.

It radiated a terrifying aura that no Foundation Establishment cultivator could possibly stand up against, and even caused the air to distort as it sped along.

In the face of such a murderous aura, Naruto immediately began

to fall back, his pupils constricting. A sense of deadly crisis overtook him, causing his flesh and blood to scream that he was in incredible danger!

There was no time to contemplate the situation, and he knew that he couldn't rely on someone to intervene. Although people would come to rescue him eventually, he would have to hold out until that moment.

There was only one thought running through his mind at the moment….

"I can't die here. If I want to stay alive, then I have to fight!" Naruto sped backward rapidly, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that summoned three huge violet cauldrons, along with num

erous spirit enhanced flying swords, all of which flew to block the enormous hand.

BOOM!

Those three cauldrons could be considered astonishingly powerful in the

Foundation Establishment stage, but the hand summoned by the Gold Core young man completely destroyed them one after another. As for the spirit enhanced flying swords, as soon as the hand touched them, they began to fall apart.

The hand destroyed them all like a hammer crushing ice cubes, then proceeded on toward Naruto!

Intense rumbling sounds could be heard. Blood sprayed out of Uzumaki

Xiaochun's mouth, and his entire body flickered with gold light as his Undying Skin erupted with power to defend against an early Gold Core attack. Although he was sent tumbling backward, he was not killed!

The killing intent in the young man's eyes grew stronger. Without uttering a single word, he advanced, viciously waving his sleeve to summon a black wind. The black wind quickly transformed into a black dragon, which let out a powerful roar as it shot toward Naruto.

There was no time for thought or planning. Roaring, Naruto opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, causing violet light to erupt out. At the same time, his little wooden sword appeared, shining with the dazzling silver light that came from multiple spirit enhancements. Naruto wasn't just defending himself, he was fighting back!

When the power of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye locked onto the black dragon, the dragon roared and began to struggle. Although intense pain stabbed through the eye into Naruto, he continued to unleash its power until the black dragon began to show signs of imminent destruction.

Lips twisted into a sneer, the young man said, "Can the light of a tiny firefly dare to contend with the glory of the shining moon?!"

With that, he advanced again. At the same time, rumbling sounds could be heard as the black dragon began to grow larger, sloughing off the effects of the Heavenspan Dharma eye. Naruto coughed up some blood, and blood even began to ooze out of his third eye.

The little wooden sword continued to speed through the air, and when it hit the black dragon, a booming sound could be heard. The Gold Core young man's eyes then went wide as he saw the sword pass completely through the dragon.

However, it was merely a stab wound. The difference in cultivation base between Naruto and the young man was too vast. Without even a pause, the black dragon roared and headed toward Naruto.

The dragon hadn't even touched him, and yet his entire body was wracked with pain. Even his bones felt like they were creaking, and his Chakra and blood were in chaos. Madness began to rise up in his eyes.

Off in the distance, he could see several beams of light racing urgently toward him; clearly, those were the patriarchs coming to rescue him….

Unfortunately, they were too far off. If he couldn't continue to hang on for a little bit longer, the patriarchs wouldn't be able to help him.

Although he feared death, he was also aware that such fear would do him no good right now!

"Asura Body!" he roared. His Undying Gold Skin was operating at full power, causing golden light to shine out from him in all directions. At the same time, the manifestation of the second volume of the Undying Codex, the Asura Body, appeared. Instantly, his fleshly body power rocketed up as he prepared to face the incoming black dragon.

A huge boom filled the air when the dragon slammed into his chest. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and the dragon collapsed into numerous strands of black mist. Naruto's body trembled on the verge of collapse as he was thrown backward. Even as he did, a shout of rage could be heard from the young man, who burst through the remnants of the black dragon toward Naruto.

In the blink of an eye, the young man's palm was bearing down on Naruto's chest!

In the moment before it struck, enraged shouts could be heard from the patriarchs. Heaven and earth shook violently, and the Gold Core youth began to tremble. However, he ignored everything around them, gritting his teeth as he shoved his palm forward.

"You're dead!"

Madness could be seen in Naruto's eyes as well. He knew that there was no way he could avoid this blow. Therefore, he raised his right hand, and black light shimmered from his thumb and index finger as he sent the Throat Crushing Grasp toward the young man!

But then, rumbling echoed out as the young man grabbed Naruto's right hand with his left and twisted it to the side. Cracking sounds could be heard as bones were broken, and pain surged through Naruto. An expression of madness twisted his face; clearly, he was about to do something completely outrageous. Even as his right arm was wrenched to the side, and a palm strike was about to land on his chest, he used the Mountain Shaking Bash!

It was a case of even if I die, I'm going to make sure you feel some pain!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Mountain Shaking Bash was unleashed, and Naruto shot forward. He couldn't prevent his hand from being crushed, nor could he block the incoming palm strike. So, he chose to simply body-slam the Gold Core youth!

Even as the destructive palm strike slammed into his chest, a black glow could be seen as the turtle-wok appeared to defend him. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth; he had been injured, but not killed!

"That's all you've got?!" Naruto said, smiling even as blood oozed out of his mouth. His vision was blurred, and he could barely move. Since that was the case, he decided that he might as well use what little energy he had left to force his nine spiritual seas to merge together!

If he did that, he would reach the Gold Core stage!

Normally, such an act would be preceded by much preparation, but as of this moment, Naruto was going to attempt to force it to happen!

As for his Gold Core opponent, after being hit by the Mountain Shaking

Bash, he was flung backward, and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Then he looked over at Naruto with complete disbelief and shock.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator can actually hurt me? And that wok, it actually blocked my extermination strike?!" The young man's killing intent grew stronger than ever when he realized that Naruto was still not dead. Madness gleamed in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth. Despite the fact that people were only moments away from intervening and rescuing his target, he drew upon the full power of his Gold Core cultivation base and shot toward Naruto.

Considering that Naruto was so grievously wounded, he was sure that one final attack would be enough to kill him!

This was his last chance to kill Naruto before he himself was killed!

"I might die, but you're going to die first!" he roared, picking up speed! —

Chapter 337

Chapter 337

Chapter 337: Gold Sun!

Naruto's consciousness was fading. At the same time, everything around him seemed to slow down. He suddenly found himself thinking about how he used to light incense on Mount Hood, and everything that happened in the Spirit Stream Sect, the Blood Stream Sect, and then the River-Defying Sect….

As those memories flashed through his mind, he smiled.

It was a smile of both bitterness and helplessness.

He practiced cultivation in order to live forever, and yet, in pursuit of that goal, he always ended up in deadly crises. The slightest mistake in such a situation could lead to him losing his poor little life.

It was somewhat of a paradox.

"To live forever," he murmured, "you don't just have to struggle against the heavens, you have to fight other people. It's a narrow, rugged path to walk, a path that most people give up on. Many people meet defeat, or end up losing their way….

"Living forever…. That's the whole reason I started to practice cultivation. To live forever….

"Live forever…. I'm going to live forever!" Suddenly, everything became incredibly clear. Although he felt incredibly weak at the moment, he was completely focused on living forever. That one simple thought continued to fill his mind, like the rumblings of thunder!

"I can't count on other people all the time. I have to get stronger! Only if I get strong enough can I make sure that nobody interferes with my will to live forever!" Naruto trembled as his heart and mind roared, causing his nine spiritual seas to begin to rage and emit thunderous rumblings.

The Heaven-Dao aura which had built up in his nine spiritual seas throughout Foundation Establishment suddenly erupted out. It was like a string, connecting all of the nine spiritual seas and drawing them together into one!

Naruto had already been in a position to begin the process of reaching Gold Core. Now, being completely focused on his desire to live forever, and with his life actually being on the line, he was ready to break through!

"Live forever!" Naruto threw his head back and roared, and as he did, his nine spiritual seas erupted with shocking energy, energy that surged out of him and connected to heaven and earth!

The Heaven-Dao aura caused colors to flash in the sky, and a huge wind to kick up. An enormous, swirling vortex appeared overhead, so large that the entire Sky River Court was covered!

The sudden appearance of the rumbling vortex caused many people look up and then involuntarily gasp!

Even as the wind swept around Naruto, bolts of lightning appeared up above, as well as an illusory scene that looked something like nine seas.

It was in that exact moment that his Gold Core opponent closed in with killing intent surging. Even as he reached out to attack, his face fell, and the energy surging from Naruto battered him backward by over 30 meters!

"You…." the young man said, his face a mask of disbelief. What shocked him was not the fact that Naruto was choosing this moment to step into Core Formation, but rather, that this type of Core Formation was something completely different than anything he had ever seen before!

Never before had he ever seen such strange signs and portents appear in heaven and earth during Core Formation.

Naruto hadn't even actually reached Core Formation, and yet the mere pressure and aura was so powerful that he couldn't get close. The young Gold Core cultivator was completely and utterly taken aback.

He wasn't the only one. Everyone in the area was shocked beyond belief!

"That…."

"That's…." That's a Heaven-Dao aura. Don't tell me… don't tell me he's going to reach Heaven-Dao Gold Core!?"

The Nascent Soul Daoist masters from the Sky River Court were also shocked, and some of them even had looks of jealousy on their faces.

Heaven-Dao Gold Core was something out of legend!

The term Gold Core was actually a blanket term often applied to different levels. The Core Formation stage was more properly classified into the heaven, earth, and mortal varieties. The Mortal-Dao of men led to Mortal Core. Earth-Dao led to Earth Core. And Heaven-Dao led to Gold Core!

Only Heaven-Dao Gold Core could truly be considered Gold Core!

The only way to reach Heaven-Dao Gold Core was to start out in HeavenDao Foundation Establishment. And yet, being in Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment wasn't a guarantee of being able to reach Heaven-Dao Gold Core!

Heaven-Dao Gold Core experts were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns, and not a single one had appeared in the last 10,000 years, not even in the Middle Reaches. The crushing pressure exerted by the Heaven-Dao Gold Core stage was something that could only be read about in the ancient records.

Although the Nascent Soul patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect weren't as surprised as everyone else, they were still taken aback. They knew that Naruto was in the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment stage, but that didn't necessarily mean that he would reach Heaven-Dao Gold Core!

There was always a chance that he would fail, but if he succeeded, and formed a Heaven-Dao Gold Core, then it would mean his future potential was almost limitless, and he would also be capable of crushing anyone else in the same stage as him!

The battlefield suddenly went quiet. The Heaven-Dao aura which was now crushing down on everyone ensured that all fighting stopped!

All eyes were looking in the direction of Naruto. Not even a deva would be able to interfere with the process of Heaven-Dao Gold Core, and if they tried, they would be punished by the heavens!

Failure or success would not depend on any outside force, only on the person striving to reach Core Formation!

As everyone watched, the crashing of thunder grew louder and louder in the sky above. At the same time, Naruto's ninth sea began to merge with the eighth, and at the same time, the first sea merged with the second!

As the four seas merged together, colors flashed in the sky, the wind screamed, and the pressure grew more intense. Even the Nascent Soul cultivators were panting.

"The merging has started…."

"The process of breaking through from Foundation Establishment into Gold Core involves merging the spiritual seas. To start out by merging four together is the best. Merging six spiritual seas at the beginning is rare, and for someone to merge eight would be rare even in the Upper Reaches riversource sects!"

"Naruto already has four of the seas merged together…." The Gold Core and Nascent Soul cultivators were all looking up at the signs in the sky, and commenting among themselves.

However, many of the cultivators from the Sky River Court actually sighed in relief when they saw that Naruto had only merged four of the seas.

"A mere four merged spiritual seas means that he will fail to reach Heaven-Dao Gold Core!" The Sky River Court cultivators weren't the only ones to realize this; the patriarchs from the River-Defying Sect were now starting to get nervous.

As the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, the patriarchs viewed him with utmost importance. They had originally planned to do everything in their power to help Naruto reach Heaven-Dao Gold Core after the battle was over.

But then, something unexpected had happened, and Naruto was forcing Core Formation in the middle of the fighting. To the RiverDefying Sect, this unexpected event was turning out to be a big setback.

However, it was at this point that, all of a sudden, cries of shock began to rise up.

"He's not stopping at four!"

"Another merging is taking place!"

Two spiritual seas had merged on the top, and two on the bottom. But now, the first two spiritual seas were beginning to merge with the third!

And that wasn't the end of it! The eighth and ninth spiritual seas were slowly beginning to join together with the seventh!

As that happened, the Heaven-Dao aura grew even more intense, suppressing the cultivation bases of all cultivators, and even throwing them into chaos.

More and more cries of shock rang out.

"How could this be happening?!" The Sky River Court cultivators were completely shocked, especially the young Gold Core expert who had been trying to kill Naruto moments ago. That young man was trembling, his expression that of complete disbelief, and his heart was filled with regret at the realization that he had provoked a monster.

"Six seas!" Patriarch Frigidsect from the Spirit Stream Division and Master Godwind of the Blood Stream Division were both overjoyed. The other patriarchs had the same reaction, and as for Toruho and the other Gold Core cultivators, they were watching with wide eyes.

And yet, before the uproar could even commence, something else happened up above in the sky!

The first three spiritual seas began to merge into the fourth!

Simultaneously, the seventh through ninth spiritual seas began to connect to the sixth!

Everything was changing!

The bottom four spiritual seas and the top four spiritual seas were drawing closer together, and between all of them was the fifth spiritual sea!

Although the fifth spiritual sea didn't seem to be doing anything at all, it was obvious that all nine of the spiritual seas were merging together! The Heaven-Dao pressure grew stronger than ever, exploding out into the entire area with unprecedented intensity!

That pressure was almost like a natural protection offered to anyone stepping into the Heaven-Dao Gold Core stage. As the pressure roiled out, something else happened that no one noticed. The ancient gravekeeper appeared high up in the sky. First, he looked at the spiritual seas, then down at Naruto….

Everyone watched as the nine spiritual seas slowly converged upon each other; as they did, they began to form a shape….

Clearly, that shape was a circle!

The nine golden spiritual seas were completely eye-catching. To everyone who was looking at them, they seemed almost like a golden sun!

It was a true and authentic Gold Core!

Chapter 338

Chapter 338

Chapter 338: Heaven-Dao Gold Core!

Qi Condensation. Foundation Establishment. Core Formation!

In the Lower Reaches, the gaps between those three stages were like enormous gorges that separated the cultivators into groups. With the exception of some extreme circumstances, someone in a higher stage could easily crush anyone from a lower stage!

During Chakra Condensation, cultivators absorbed the energy of heaven and earth and then transformed it into rivers and lakes. During Foundation Establishment, those rivers and lakes became spiritual seas, giving the cultivators such strength that Chakra Condensation couldn't even compare to it!

Overall, that transformation wasn't so much an improvement in the quality of the power, just the sheer amount!

However, Core Formation was different!

After crystallizing the spiritual seas and then merging them together into a core, unprecedented levels of battle prowess could be unleashed. Furthermore, it wasn't just a situation of increasing the amount of power; the quality was also vastly improved!

Depending on how many spiritual seas were merged together, different types of cores could be formed: Mortal Core, Earth Core, and of course, Gold Core!

If Naruto were not a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator, but had traveled the more common path of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, then at this point he would have formed an Earth Core.

But he was different. He was a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator, and as such, he walked the path of the Heaven-Dao Gold Core!

A Heaven-Dao aura was spreading out in all directions, causing crushing pressure to weigh down on cultivators of the Sky River Court and the River-Defying Sect alike. Everyone was forced to stop fighting, and none of them could even emit cultivation base fluctuations.

It was as if some mysterious natural law was at work!

Gasps rang out without cease across the field of battle, and countless eyes were all focused on the enormous Gold Core which hovered in the air above Naruto!

Everyone was shocked, but different thoughts were going through the minds of different people. For example, Shangguan Tianyou's hands were clenched into fists, and a defiant gleam could be seen in his eyes. Not only was he jealous, he simply refused to admit that he was falling behind.

Song Que was also trembling, and his heart was filled with anything but calm. However, even he wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling as he watched Naruto. It was similar with all the other Chosen.

Zhou Xinqi, Ghostfang, Master God-Diviner, the three blood masters, as well as Nine-Isles from the Profound Stream Division, were all people who fully deserved to be called Chosen. However, they were now being forced to watch Naruto rise to prominence, the first among their generation to reach Core Formation. The emotions which rose up in their hearts were complicated and difficult to put into words.

Then there was Chen Manyao from the Pill Stream Division. A strange look could be seen in her eyes, and since no one was paying attention to her, no one saw as she slowly lifted her right hand. However, even as she did that, a gaze from afar locked down onto her, a gaze filled with iciness and menace.

A tremor ran through Chen Manyao as she suddenly felt extremely cold. Looking around, she realized that the person who was looking at her was one of the disciples of the Spirit Stream Division, the same person she had seen on the Heavenspan River back at the Blood Stream Division headquarters. It was a young woman named Gongsun Wan'er!

As various thoughts ran through various minds, a sound suddenly crashed out from within the nine spiritual seas, a sound that surpassed heavenly thunder!

RUMBLE!

All light went dim, and all hearts were shaken. It w

as as if the heavens were roaring. At the same time, a bolt of golden lightning shot out from the clouds above, filling the air around the nine spiritual seas and transforming into countless hands that shoved against them!

In response, the nine merged spiritual seas began to shrink down!

Among the forces of the Sky River Court, the most powerful cultivator, the old man who was half a step into the Deva Realm, suddenly blurted, "Nine lightning bolts smelt the core!"

In almost the exact same moment, the Nascent Soul patriarchs from the River-Defying Sect also began to cry out.

"It really is Heaven-Dao Gold Core! In the moment of this type of Core Formation, the heavens form lightning that assists in the smelting of the core itself!"

"It seems like assistance, but the truth is it's like a Tribulation! Only by withstanding nine strikes of lightning can success be had…."

Even as the hubbub of conversation echoed out, the nine spiritual seas shrank down, and Naruto trembled. Blood began to ooze out of his mouth, and a terrifying aura radiated out from him. That aura seemed like an aura of complete madness; if he made the slightest mistake, he would be destroyed. Not only would he fail to succeed at his Core Formation, but he would be ripped to shreds, destroyed in body and soul!

Attempting to reach Core Formation without being fully prepared was an extremely dangerous task!

When the River-Defying Sect cultivators saw blood oozing out of Uzumaki

Xiaochun's mouth, they started to get even more nervous than before. However, they could do nothing to help him. Outsiders could not interfere during Heaven-Dao Gold Core Formation. Everything was up to Naruto and Naruto alone.

His eyes were completely bloodshot as he looked up into the sky at the spiritual seas, which was also the exact moment when another crackling boom filled the air.

RUMBLE!

A second golden lightning bolt appeared, even bigger than the last one. As it descended, it wrapped around the nine spiritual seas and began to crush them with pressure!

Things weren't over yet, though. A third boom came, then a fourth and a fifth. Each golden lightning bolt which appeared was bigger than the last, and the pressure they exerted onto the nine spiritual seas caused them to shrink down rapidly. Soon, the core formed by the spiritual seas was only about 300 meters wide, and it glittered with golden light!

As for Naruto, he was trembling, and blood was pouring out of his eyes, nose, and ears. He truly seemed like he was hovering on the verge of collapse.

And yet, the end had not yet been reached. A sixth boom could be heard, then a seventh. More golden lightning appeared, and the nine spiritual seas seemed to be trembling on the verge of collapse, as if they might explode at any moment!

Six bolts of lightning were difficult enough, but then a seventh appeared, and a Heaven-Dao aura even more shocking than before spread out. The core formed by the merged spiritual seas began to ripple and distort!

By now, the spiritual seas had shrunk from 300 meters to 30, and looked more than ever like they might collapse.

"Xiaochun!" More than one person among the River-Defying Sect was calling out Naruto's name. That was especially true of those who were his close friends. They were more nervous than anyone. Hou Yunfei, Big Fatty Zhang, and Toruho were all wracked with anxiety. Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan seemed completely on edge.

In sharp contrast, the cultivators of the Sky River Court were already beginning to sigh with relief now that it seemed that the Core Formation process was going to fail. That was especially true of the Core Formation youth who had been fighting Naruto. A vicious smile spread out on his face, and the regret in his heart began to fade. He began to sigh with relief, and killing intent once again rose up in his eyes.

"So, it seems I won't even need to do anything. I can just watch him die!"

However, even as the sigh of relief left his mouth, Naruto gritted his teeth and struggled to lift his head, staring up at the nine spiritual seas as an eighth rumbling sound caused heaven and earth to shake!

As the deafening sound spread out, an eighth golden lightning bolt appeared, larger and wider than any of the previous ones. It looked like a golden dragon as it wrapped around the nine spiritual seas and began to crush them!

Heavenly lightning was shaking the sky!

The Gold Core formed from the nine spiritual seas shrank from 30 meters down to a mere 3. The core rippled and distorted out of shape, and cracks could even be seen on its surface!

Naruto was trembling so hard that blood was seeping out of his pores, turning him crimson. His eyes were bloodshot and filled with madness. That was when his Undying Live Forever Technique kicked into effect, and golden light spread out from him. Behind him, his Asura Body manifested!

"Form!" he shouted. Booms like thunder filled him, and his life force power erupted, healing him. After the eighth lightning bolt vanished, the Gold Core formed from his nine spiritual seas was still there, and it was no longer misshapen!

People gasped loudly in shock, but even as they did, a rumbling crash filled the sky, the ninth!

"The last lightning bolt!" said Master Godwind softly, even as he shook visibly.

"Either he succeeds, or he dies!" said the old man from the Sky River Court, his voice low. As he looked at Naruto, mixed emotions could be seen on his face. He knew that if Naruto successfully reached Heaven-Dao Gold Core, then as long as he didn't meet an unexpected end, he would surely reach Nascent Soul, and most likely, the Deva Realm!

—

Chapter 339

Chapter 339

Chapter 339

Intense rumbling sounds could be heard as the ninth bolt of golden lightning shot through the air. It was far larger than any of the preceding lightning bolts, and caused the entire sky to turn the color of gold as it sped toward Naruto's three-meter Gold Core.

The crushing pressure exuded by that lightning bolt was both the strongest and the final round!

Naruto let out a long cry as he released all the power of his cultivation base. His Undying techniques were in full swing, and his will, soul, and everything else about him was completely and utterly focused. Nothing else in the world even existed at the moment. His mind was devolving into chaos, and yet, there was one thing that remained….

"I must form this Gold Core! I want to live forever!" Without even realizing what he was doing, he threw his head back and roared, then shot up into the air toward the Gold Core.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

From a distance, it was just possible to see him arriving at the Gold Core at the exactly the same time as the bolt of lightning!

As of this moment, heaven and earth were turning blurry, the sky was shaking, and the land was being rocked back and forth!

As of this moment, so much golden light filled the world that it became the only color in existence!

As of this moment, it was almost impossible to even distinguish Naruto from the lightning, as both merged into the Gold Core!

As of this moment, every person on the battlefield was completely focused on the events playing out above!

No longer was the lightning visible, nor Naruto. Not even the Gold Core itself could be seen.

The only thing it was possible to see now was a field of endless gold!

No one was able to determine whether Naruto had succeeded. The ancient records didn't contain detailed information about what could happen in a scenario like this. They only contained a general overview; currently, no one had any idea to judge what was happening.

The only thing they could do now was wait!

The Heaven-Dao pressure slowly began to dissipate, and the golden light started to fade….

Everyone was looking anxiously up into the sky, countless thoughts running through their minds. However, all of them realized that this would likely be both the first and last time any of them ever saw someone reach Heaven-Dao Gold Core!

It was the same in both the River-Defying Sect and the Sky River Court.

As for the young man who had been fighting Naruto earlier, he was shaking all over. The idea of Naruto reaching Heaven-Dao Gold Core filled him with a level of dread he could never have even imagined before.

"There's no way he's going to succeed! "he shouted to himself, his expression distorting with rage. "There's no way!"

However, even as the young man shouted to himself, the gold light faded away completely, and everyone caught sight of Naruto!

There he hovered, his eyes closed, his hair floating around him, his arms outstretched. Golden light shone from him, making him look like a celestial being. Everyone was completely shaken.

That was when his eyes suddenly snapped open!

Instantly, rumblings like thunder echoed out in all directions, and at the same time, terrifying cultivation base fluctuations rolled out.

That was something that a Foundation Establishment cultivator could not accomplish. That was something that came only with the power of a Gold Core!

"Impossible!" the young man cried, his mind spinning. Cries of alarm rang out from the Sky River Court, whereas cheering could be heard from the River-Defying Sect.

"Did it work!?"

"Junior Patriarch!" "Xiaochun!

Even as the cheers rang out, Naruto hovered there, somewhat in a daze. He could sense the cultivation base power coursing through him, and felt his previous injuries and wounds vanishing. The power he was experiencing was not just from his fleshly body; it was a comprehensive power that gave him the feeling that a mere wave of his hand could crush everything around him.

"So, this is Gold Core, huh…?" he murmured. He could clearly sense that the nine spiritual seas inside of him were gone, and had been replaced by a spinning Gold Core!

This was true Heaven-Dao Gold Core!

Every time the Gold Core spun, it released more power than the last time. As the cultivation base power poured through him, his body underwent a heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformation.

It wasn't just an addition to his longevity; he was ascending to a higher form of life. Everything around him now looked different than before.

There were more colors, everything was more crisp and detailed, and he seemed closer to everything!

Furthermore, a Heaven-Dao aura erupted out from him that far surpassed the aura from his days in Heaven-Dao Foundation

Establishment. It connected him to heaven and earth in such a way that he almost felt as if he had the power to summon heavenly lightning!

There was another indescribable feeling that existed inside of him, something like what he had experienced in the world of the Blood Ancestor. It was almost as if he were being doted upon by heaven and earth; when he looked up into the sky, it seemed strangely familiar to him.

"Gold Core!" Clenching his hands into fists, he threw his head back and let loose a long cry. Everything around him shook, and the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect began to cheer even more loudly than before.

"I think I can keep going!" he thought. Taking a deep breath, he sent his Undying Live Forever Technique into motion. Shockingly, an asura appeared behind him, then a second, a third, and a fourth….

One asura after another appeared, causing his energy to skyrocket. By this point, he was already far beyond the ordinary early Core Formation level. Everyone, especially the Chosen, were completely shocked.

"He's… he's going to keep going?"

"How is this possible?!"

"That's fleshly body power. Don't tell me he's going to form a fleshly body Gold Core?!" Numerous onlookers were crying out in shock.

Stepping into Core Formation in the middle of a battlefield was a shocking thing in and of itself. But then he actually reached Heaven-Dao Gold Core, and after that, continued to increase his fleshly body power. The cultivators of both the River-Defying Sect and the Sky River Court were so shocked that they were going into a daze.

Even as they went silent, a fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and finally, a ninth asura appeared behind him. Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as the energy of nine asuras caused everything to shake violently.

Naruto's breakthrough was not limited to his cultivation base; he was actually making progress with his Undying Asura Body!

The nine asuras were like nine Dharma Idols, surrounding Naruto and roaring into the heavens just like he was.

It was a sound that surpassed heavenly thunder, and caused everyone to be shaken to the core. Even the plants in the jungle were trembling, and all Chakra Condensation, Foundation Establishment, and ordinary Core Formation cultivators felt their cultivation bases teetering unstably.

Gasps and cries of astonishment could be heard everywhere!

But then, a tenth asura appeared next to the ninth one, and a massive tremor ran through Naruto.

It was in that moment that he could sense a shackle inside of him!

"The five great shackles…." he murmured to himself. He had already broken through the first shackle back when he had mastered the Undying Skin. Now, the second shackle had appeared!

Although he couldn't break through it at the moment, he could at least make contact!

To him, it felt as if four enormous mountains were weighing down onto him. It was something he couldn't detect before, but now his senses were heightened, and the feeling couldn't be clearer. He suddenly had the urge to destroy those mountains, to break free and truly rise up!

"I'm almost at the point of achieving the Undying Heavenly King Body. Once that happens, I can form an Undying Heavenly King Core!" As he thought back to the details of the second volume of the Undying Codex, his eyes shone with anticipation, and his heart thumped with excitement. At that point, he looked down at the young man he had been fighting before, who was now trembling with terror.

Almost as soon as their gazes met, the Heaven-Dao aura vanished, and the pressure faded away.

The young man's hair began to stand on end, and he started to back up. He really had no choice other than to give up on the fight; as of this moment, Naruto filled him with indescribable terror.

The fact that Naruto was looking directly at him caused his heart to pound wildly. That gaze was like two sharp swords stabbing into his heart at mind, causing his Earth Core to shake.

In the same moment that the young man turned to flee, several streams of divine sense, as well as a group of cultivators, began to race toward him from the Sky River Court to save him. However, Naruto was much closer to him than they were. He already had shocking speed back in Foundation Establishment, and now that he was in Heaven-Dao Gold Core, he was even faster!

"You're not getting away!" he said, his voice as cold as ice. The young man had forced him to take the dangerous and potentially deadly choice of forcing Core Formation early. As a result, Naruto's killing intent surged with complete intensity.

He took a step forward, and wings sprouted behind him. The Mountain Shaking Bash gave him an explosive burst of speed, causing him to leave behind afterimages and a series of sonic booms. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of the young Core Formation cultivator!

"You just hit me with a palm strike. Now it's my turn!" His voice echoed out like the winter wind as he reached his hand back and then sent his palm flying toward the young man.

Chapter 339: Making Contact With The Second Shackle!

Chapter 340

Chapter 340

Chapter 340: One Palm Eradicates Core Formation!

The palm strike caused an illusory golden wave to sweep through the air, and thunder to boom up above. It contained the power of Naruto's Heaven-Dao Gold Core, as well as fleshly body power that had already made contact with the second shackle. It was a domineering power that no one in the same cultivation stage as him could possibly stand up to.

The young Core Formation cultivator let out a howl like a caged animal. The sensation of deadly crisis he felt caused his heart to tremble. In his madness, he realized that he couldn't flee, and that his only chance to get out of the situation alive was to withstand this palm strike. Suddenly, he was in almost the exact opposite situation as before!

There was little time to consider the situation at the moment. Howling, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a vast array of magical items. Then he performed an incantation gesture, and stabbed his finger toward Naruto. He even went to the lengths of spitting his own Earth Core out of his mouth!

"I refuse to believe that you can kill me right after you stepped into Core Formation!" he shrieked.

Naruto's eyes shone with intense coldness as his hand shot forward with lightning-like speed. When it made contact with the magical items, they couldn't stand up to the power for even a moment.

They were destroyed like dried twigs as Naruto's palm sped forward to the young man.

Then the palm made contact with the young man's extended finger, and it was almost instantly blotted out of existence. As the golden HeavenDao power reduced it to ashes, the young man screamed miserably. However, Naruto didn't pause for even a moment; his palm continued forward, smashing into the young man's Earth Core!

Instantly, rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and the Earth Core collapsed into nothing more than fragments. Blood sprayed out of the young man's mouth, and a look of despair filled his eyes as Naruto's palm made contact with his chest!

"You want me dead? How about I kill you first!?" Naruto's words were spoken softly, but they were filled with a ferocity that could chill the soul.

Even before he finished speaking, his words were drowned out by a blood-curdling scream….

The young man was shoved backward, tumbling through the air. Before he could come to a stop, his body exploded, sending a rain of blood spattering all over the Sky River Court Core Formation cultivators who had come to aid him.

From the moment Naruto began to strike out until the end of the fight, only a moment had passed. Quick and efficient!

The Core Formation cultivators who had just arrived were clearly shocked. Only now did they understand how truly frightening a HeavenDao Gold Core expert was!

He had only just stepped into Core Formation, and could already cut down someone in the same level. Furthermore, he had completely dominated his opponent. How could these other Core Formation cultivators be anything other than astonished?

Everything went silent for a moment, after which the River-Defying Sect cultivators began to cheer again as their fighting spirits rose. As for Naruto, he hovered there, looking up at the Nascent Soul cultivators some distance off.

For the first time, he felt that he wasn't so far removed from them after all.

Master Godwind from the Blood Stream Division threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "Children of the River-Defying Sect," he cried, "attack with full force! Storm the Sky River Court!"

In response, the River-Defying Sect cultivators located in the jungle on either side of the river all roared and began to attack! Naruto took a deep breath, and the

n caused a blood-colored light to explode out from him that vastly exceeded what he was capable of in Foundation Establishment. As it spread out, the cultivators of the Blood Stream Division yet again found their battle prowess increasing!

Rumbling could be heard as the fighting resumed in full force, and in ever more bitter and deadly fashion than before!

From high up in the air, it was possible to see River-Defying Sect cultivators swarming through the jungle on both banks of the river. They were like two sharp blades, slicing toward the Sky River Court headquarters with deadly abandon.

The Sky River Court couldn't fight back for much longer. They were being pushed back relentlessly, and the signs of imminent defeat were clear!

That was when an emerald green lantern suddenly flew out from the Sky River Court. As it rose into the air, it grew larger and larger, until it was fully 300 meters tall, and emanated shocking pressure. Surrounding the lantern were countless vengeful spirits, who let out vicious screams as they flew with the lantern toward the left bank of the river.

That lantern was none other than one of the Sky River Court's precious treasures!

Before the lantern could fly very far, a black sun shot up from the right bank of the river. Inside of the sun was a white raven, whose opened eyes emanated intensely cold light. It let out a cry that could shake the soul as it shot toward the lantern!

As the pace of the battle increased, the time had arrived for the RiverDefying Sect to release their reserve powers. Of course, a reserve power like the black sun was little more than a precious treasure to the Sky River Court.

When the precious treasure and the reserve power closed in on each other, a huge gravestone, hundreds of meters tall, appeared in the air above the right bank. It instantly began to smash down toward the ground, emanating a profoundly archaic air. As it descended, the ground down below began to bulge up, as if it were forming a grave.

Then, a withered hand shot up from the dirt, and a hoarse howl echoed out over the right bank.

How could the River-Defying Sect not be prepared for something like this, though? As soon as the gravestone appeared, a white sun shot up over the right bank, within which was a black raven. It let out a piercing cry as it shot toward the gravestone. As it neared, the hand which had emerged from the dirt dissolved into ash, and a face floated out from the gravestone. Howling, the face shot toward the white sun as if to consume it.

The fighting was proceeding with utter intensity as reserve powers and precious treasures were unleashed. Cultivators fought fiercely with other cultivators. Slowly but surely, the River-Defying Sect was pushing the Sky River Court back, and getting closer and closer to the Sky River Court headquarters itself!

The time had come for the third offensive, the assault on the headquarters!

As the offensive proceeded, large numbers of River-Defying Sect cultivators poured out of the jungle and began to fight on the Dire Skybanyan itself!

Booms rang out. The light of magical techniques rose up into the air. Bitter screams echoed here and there.

The battle between the patriarchs was growing more intense. People on both sides were receiving grievous injuries, and yet none of them were willing to back down, and instead, began to fight with even more madness.

Battles were going on between the Gold Core cultivators everywhere, both on the river banks and within the sect headquarters itself!

Naruto was no longer tangling with the Foundation Establishment cultivators. Instead, he was higher up, battling the Core Formation cultivators from the Sky River Court. The River-Defying Sect had already had the upper hand in that regard, so there was little danger involved for him. Furthermore, it was giving him valuable experience in fighting other Core Formation cultivators.

As his battle prowess continued to climb, the Core Formation cultivators of the Sky River Court were increasingly shocked.

Meanwhile, on a towering mountain some distance away from the Sky River Court, three figures materialized. Despite the distance, they were able to clearly see everything that was happening on the field of battle.

Two of those figures were men, and one was a woman. The woman was beautiful, and emanated an aura that resembled the starry sky itself. She was there in illusory form, sometimes taking clear shape, sometimes blurring visibly. Anyone who stared at her too long would feel themselves growing dizzy.

Of the other two men, one was middle-aged, and emanated a pulsing black mist that formed into the shape of numerous black skulls. The grass near the man was all dead, and even the rocks were beginning to decay. Clearly, that black mist contained shocking power, and closely resembled devil qi!

Finally, there was an old man wearing a Daoist robe. He bore the demeanor of a transcendent being, and possessed a profound and mysterious aura. Anyone who got close to him would be able to hear a faint sound like the music of a Dao.

These three people came from the other three great sects in the Middle Reaches, the Starry River Court, the Polarity River Court, and the Dao River Court!

The woman who was phasing in and out of visibility, she came from the Starry River Court, which was widely known to wield the power of the starry sky! The man with the devil Chakra came from the Polarity River Court, which was widely regarded as a devilish sect! As for the old man, he came from the top sect in the Middle Reaches, the Dao River Court! "The Sky River Court will be defeated this day. Interesting."

"It seems our new neighbors aren't weaklings, either. That will make things a bit more fun."

"They even have a Heaven-Dao Gold Core cultivator. The Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect will surely take note of that…."

"You know, since the Sky River Court is going to meet defeat, their shares will need to be redistributed…."

The three of them exchanged slight, knowing smiles. Apparently, their true hope was that neither side came out truly victorious.

—

Chapter 341

Chapter 341

Chapter 341

The fighting was getting more bitter than ever. Of course, the casualties on the Sky River Court side far outmatched those of the River-Defying Sect. People were being injured or killed almost every moment, leading to taciturn silence within the Sky River Court itself.

In the very center of the Sky River Court was a tree growing upon the larger tree. At the crown of that smaller tree was a log cabin, outside of which stood an old man in a white robe, who was looking out at the fighting. The booms and screams of battle were clearly audible from his position.

He seemed completely exhausted, and if one were to look closely at him, an aura of death could be detected. He seemed to be on the verge of breathing his last breath.

Next to the old man was a handsome boy with rosy lips and white teeth. He was almost pretty, and even emanated a fragrant aroma. He wore fresh, clean clothes, and almost looked like a celestial creature of some sort. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he studied the battlefield. He seemed particularly interested in Naruto.

After a long moment passed, the old man spoke in a voice hoarse from exhaustion. "Fellow Daoist Li, haven't things gone on long enough?" The boy smiled and looked over at the old man. "Oh no, not quite yet." He sighed. "Fellow Daoist Chen, if you had known things would turn out this way, would you have repented of your sins earlier?"

The old man stood there quietly for a moment. Then his eyes went a bit dimmer, and he said, "When will enough be enough? Plenty of people have died already."

After a moment of thought, the boy smiled and said, "Fine, fine. How about this: produce your Sky River Court reserve power. Once it's destroyed, we can end the punishment."

The old man seemed to tire even further. Many people had actually come to assume that he was dead already. However, as the true patriarch of the Sky River Court, this old man was in the Deva Realm, and had numerous means by which to prolong his life, even after receiving a grievous injury. Despite being like an oil lamp about to wink out, he was still able to continue living.

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect didn't want to completely eradicate the Sky River Court. Rather, they wanted this old man to watch it being destroyed. They wanted him to understand that this was his punishment. Only after enough cultivators had died could the remaining disciples have a chance to keep on living.

The old man sighed, and then reached out and tapped the tree trunk next to him.

The tree shivered, and the effect rapidly spread out. In the blink of an eye, the entire Dire Skybanyan was shaking. Then, countless white insects began to crawl out from inside of the tree!

Each insect was only about the size of a finger, but they let out piercing cries, along with powerful auras. As soon as they appeared, they began to fly up into the sky.

This development caused an immediate stir. The fighting stopped momentarily as swarms of the creatures flew up out of the Dire Skybanyan. It only took moments before they blotted out the sky; it was a completely hair-raising sight.

Among the cultivators of the Sky River Court, only a few recognized what those insects were, and when they did, looks of terror appeared on their faces.

The entire sect was filled with white insects, and the droning sound they caused as they flew up. Everyone looked on in shock as the countless bugs flew up, creating a sea of insects.

If a sea of insects were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But these bugs were clumping together, and before long, they had created the shape of a vicious, gargantuan beetle!

Upon forming, the beetle wasn't white, but rather, bright red. It was fully

3,000 meters lon

g, and covered with countless vicious spikes that emanated the black glow of deadly poison.

After forming, the enormous beetle let out a terrifying screech that caused numerous cultivators to cough up mouthfuls of blood. That included cultivators from the Sky River Court as well as the RiverDefying Sect.

The terrifyingly ferocious nature of this beetle cast cold shock into the hearts of all present.

Even Naruto was trembling at the sight of the beetle. Despite his recent step into Core Formation, the beetle's aura left him shaking in utter terror!

"A death beetle!"

"One of the Sky River Court's two reserve powers! A death beetle!" The numerous Nascent Soul cultivators of the River-Defying Sect were visibly taken aback. Frigidsect and Master Godwind exchanged a look, and each could see the serious expressions on the others' faces.

After letting out a powerful roar, the beetle lunged forward, spitting out a huge stream of green fluid that sprayed about like rainwater. Everything it touched began to dissolve, even the ground!

Instantly, miserable cries began to ring out; even the Sky River Court cultivators were being affected.

The corrosive power of the acid raid went far beyond anything Naruto had created in his pill concocting. Terrified, he began to back up.

"What is that freakish thing!?"

Even as everyone was reeling in shock, the death beetle burst into motion, sending a shower of spikes out in all directions. Then, it opened its mouth, snatched up a Core Formation cultivator and swallowed him down.

Next, it landed hard on the ground, where it curled up into a ball and began to roll about, crushing everything in its path into a bloody pulp….

Not even attacks from the Nascent Soul cultivators could do anything to hinder its path. Even when some particularly powerful attacks were successful, the huge bug would simply break up into countless smaller white insects, then reform moments later.

Inside the log cabin, the boy began to clap his hands slowly. Smiling, he said, "Ah a death beetle. An excellent mid-grade spirit treasure!" The old man didn't respond.

"This River-Defying Sect has quite a few reserve powers at their disposal, but they're all mortal-tier spirit treasures. Although, they do have that extraordinary Blood Ancestor of theirs. What a pity that the patriarchs issued orders not to touch it." The boy shook his head sadly.

"I did hear that their Spirit Stream Division has a very mysterious origin. Perhaps they have a spirit treasure that can broaden our horizons?" The boy was only getting more interested by what was happening.

As he looked out at the battlefield, the death beetle was smashing back and forth, inflicting serious damage on the River-Defying Sect.

If the situation wasn't resolved, the deaths involved would be serious. The patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect all looked over at Frigidsect.

Master Godwind sounded quite anxious as he said, "Brother Frigidsect, didn't you say that you would take care of the death beetle?!"

Frigidsect hesitated for a moment. Then he looked at the huge beetle, and gritted his teeth. Without saying a word, he shot through the air toward the Spirit Stream Division's Heavenspan Battleship out on the river.

After ten breaths of time passed, the death beetle spat out another rain of acid, and sent another wave of spikes shooting out. More screams echoed out, despite how the Nascent Soul cultivators of the RiverDefying Sect were doing their best to block the attacks. That was when a shocking aura suddenly rose up from the river, specifically, from the Spirit Stream Division's Heavenspan Battleship!

In response to the aura, the death beetle shivered. It wasn't the only one. All cultivators on the battlefield, from the Chakra Condensation stage to Nascent Soul, were shaking uncontrollably. Their faces began to fall, and their cultivation bases began to spin out of control.

Even the boy in the log cabin was visibly shocked. Then, a look of unprecedented solemnity appeared on his face as he looked over at the Heavenspan Battleship.

"That's…."

The old man's face fell, and a look of complete incredulity appeared on his face.

"A high-grade spirit treasure?!"

Somewhere on the battlefield was Gongsun Wan'er, who moments ago had worn a carefree expression on her face. Suddenly, she stopped in place, and a mysterious gleam rose up in her eyes as she looked over at the Heavenspan Battleship.

The entire battlefield went still. Even the Dire Skybanyan, which up to this moment had been continuously attempting to free itself from the grip of the Blood Ancestor, suddenly stopped moving.

In the Heavenspan Battleship, in a heavily guarded secret chamber, Frigidsect was kneeling down in front of a coffin. Inside of the coffin was the corpse of a baby girl, whose eyes had just opened!

The terrifying aura that had just appeared came in the moment that she opened her eyes.

Trembling, Frigidsect raised his voice and said, "True spirit, please exterminate this death beetle!"

The instant the words left his mouth, the corpse of the baby girl vanished from within the coffin.

When she reappeared, she was in the air above the Heavenspan Battleship!

The baby girl hovered there, silently looking up into the sky, an expression of confused curiosity in her eyes, almost as if she were thinking about the past. As she floated there silently, all eyes were focused upon her.

Everyone felt their hearts and minds trembling, and were filled with the urge to drop down in worship. As for the boy in the log cabin, he was shaking visibly.

"That's… that's…." A look of complete and utter disbelief filled his face.

Chapter 341: The True Spirit Awakens!

Chapter 342

Chapter 342

Chapter 342: Undying Heavenly King Core!

The boy wasn't the only one to react in such a way. The old man's eyes shone with strange light as he stood there panting. Outside of the Sky River Court headquarters, the three observers from the other sects all had looks of complete shock on their faces.

"Who is that!? Her aura… it's…."

"I've never felt so shaken, not even when facing a deva-level patriarch…."

"Who could ever have imagined that the River-Defying Sect would have reserve powers like this!?"

Even the other three divisions of the River-Defying Sect were completely and utterly shocked. Master Godwind's eyes were wide as he was yet again impressed with how well the Spirit Stream Division kept their true strength hidden. Never in all eternity could he have imagined that they would have power such as this at their disposal….

Naruto's eyes were wide as he looked at the baby girl. Although there were other people who might know more about the girl than he did, he still was more familiar with her than most.

In fact, back when he'd laid eyes on her for the first time, he'd even heard her voice….

Now that the baby girl had emerged from the coffin, allowing Naruto to directly sense the indescribably terrifying fluctuations rolling off of her, he couldn't help but pant.

All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but from the moment she opened her eyes until the instant she appeared in midair, only the briefest of moments passed.

Before anyone could even react, the baby girl looked away from the sky, taking in everyone in the world with her gaze, including the enormous beetle.

Then she simply lifted her hand and pointed at the bug!

In that instant, the death beetle began to shiver, and then seemed to lose any ability to fight back. No one could even see any ripples of a magical technique, and yet, the death beetle began to shake violently….

A moment later, the beetle was nothing more than ash dissolving in the air. The wave of the baby girl's finger had stirred natural law, and completely wiped the beetle out of existence!

The response to the scene which had just played out was complete silence….

The eyes of the River-Defying Sect cultivators were wide, and the Sky River Court cultivators' minds were reeling.

Naruto hovered there in midair, eyes wide with shock. He had just witnessed something that no one else had noticed. With the power of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, he had noticed that the wave of the baby girl's finger had caused a vibration on something that looked like a thin thread….

That slight fluctuation gave rise to transformations that he didn't understand, but the result was that the death beetle was blotted out of existence.

What had just occurred was something that could not be explained with an understanding of magical techniques and divine abilities.

As for the three people from the other sects, their scalps were tingling, and they were shaking visibly. In fact, they weren't even capable of imagining what kind of power could simply wipe away a mid-grade spirit treasure like that death beetle.

However, they could imagine what would happen if that power were turned upon them; they would be instantly turned into nothing more than ash….

Back in the Sky River Court, the young boy gasped and murmured, "An

Outsider…. I can't believe the Spirit Stream Division has an

Outsider…." 1

The look in his eyes as he observed that baby girl couldn't have been more serious.

The old man suddenly chuckled. "Outsiders are inauspicious…. Everyone in the Hea

venspan Realm knows that. Furthermore, any sect that has dealings with Outsiders also becomes polluted and inauspicious…."

A gleam of anticipation could be seen deep within the old man's eyes.

The boy maintained his silence. He was one of the five devas of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and had a very profound understanding of the world around him. He was well aware that Outsiders truly were incredibly inauspicious. However, at the same time, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's stance toward them was to stay hands off and simply ignore them.

"Damn," thought the boy. "There must be someone very powerful in the

Spirit Stream Division…. The point of revealing that Outsider wasn't just to kill the death beetle, it was to put on a little show for me. Well, I can do the same thing!" Gaze flickering across the battlefield, he suddenly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pushed his hand down onto the tree trunk next to him.

The old man's face fell as if he wished to stop the boy, and yet, was unable to. Almost as soon as the boy pushed down onto the tree trunk, the ancient Dire Skybanyan that was the home of the Sky River Court suddenly surged with life force, and began to struggle mightily.

Powerful roaring could be heard as countless branches flew out onto the battlefield and began to wrap around the Sky River Court cultivators, even the Nascent Soul experts. Then the branches lurched back, dragging the cultivators into the Dire Skybanyan.

As the cultivators were swallowed up, they became nutrients for the Dire Skybanyan, causing its life force to surge.

That in turn caused the enormous palm-print on the Dire Skybanyan's trunk to heal up. Countless branches spread out over it, and leaves sprouted. More intense roars could be heard, and then the enormous tree jerked, snapping the two main branches which had been pinned down by the Blood Ancestor. With that, the gigantic tree reared up to its full height.

The tree let out a bellow that shook heaven and earth, and then, its eyes opened, bright red eyes which stared at the baby girl up in the air.

The baby girl only had ten breaths of time to be awake. Although everything almost seemed to be happening in slow motion, the truth was that those ten breaths of time still hadn't passed yet, only about eight or nine.

The baby girl was already starting to wither up, and the light was fading from her eyes. And yet, she didn't even bother to glance at the roaring tree. Instead, she turned her head to look at the shocked Naruto!

Naruto's mind instantly began to spin as a familiar yet mysterious voice spoke to him.

"I'll give you a bit of my Chakra and blood. I hope… that you can concoct the

River-Defying Pill sooner rather than later."

The baby girl waved her right index finger, and a drop of blood flew out of the tip, which shot with lightning-like speed toward Naruto's forehead. In the blink of an eye, it had fused into him!

Having accomplished this, the baby girl vanished.

A moment later, she reappeared back inside of the Heavenspan Battleship, in the coffin, her eyes closed, once again nothing but a desiccated corpse.

A tremor ran through Naruto, and his Chakra and blood began to seethe. That drop of blood which had just been absorbed into his body apparently contained boundless power. As the power spread out, Naruto let out a long, piercing cry. At the same time, nine asuras appeared behind him. Then, with the stimulation of the blood drop, a tenth asura came into being.

As the tenth asura appeared, Naruto's eyes turned bright red. Throwing his head back, he let out a howl that caused heaven and earth to shake. Everyone in the River-Defying Sect was completely shocked.

His fleshly body power instantly began to rocket up, and he suddenly felt as if he were pushing against the second shackle. It seemed that just a bit more power would break through it!

"Undying Heavenly King Body!" Blue veins bulged out on his face and neck as a shockwave blasted out from him. At the same time, the ten asuras behind him began to merge together!

When they became one, a terrifying fleshly body power instantly exploded out of Naruto.

Bursts of golden light shone out from the single asura as golden armor fell down upon it. Its physical appearance was changing rapidly!

No longer did it have three heads and six arms. It was now an enraged heavenly king, enormous, fully 300 meters tall. It was an Undying Heavenly King! 2

The appearance of the Undying Heavenly King indicated that Naruto was finally breaking through the second shackle.

As he did, he threw his head back and roared. He suddenly felt freer. His fleshly body power was skyrocketing, and at the same time, something became visible inside of the projection of the Undying Heavenly King. It was a golden core!

It was none other than an Undying Heavenly King Core!

Naruto took a deep breathing, causing the Undying Heavenly King and the core within it to fly toward him. In the blink of an eye, it merged into him, causing an energy that was even more terrifying than before to explode out!

That was the power of two cores!

At the same time, the drop of blood from the baby girl instantly gave Naruto deeper enlightenment of the River-Defying Pill. As of this moment, he had new ideas, and was slightly more confident in being able to concoct the pill!

Meanwhile, the Dire Skybanyan was still rising up into the air, and countless River-Defying Sect cultivators were fleeing from it at top speed. As for the cultivators of the Blood Stream Division, they were following the directions of Master Godwind to head back toward the Blood Ancestor.

Although everyone was shaken by what was happening with Naruto, there was no time to ponder the situation. Master Godwind immediately roared, "Nightcrypt, my boy, take control of the Blood Ancestor! Kill that Dire Skybanyan!"

—

Chapter 343

Chapter 343

Chapter 343: No More Sky River Court; Welcome The Honorable RiverDefying Sect

It was a critical juncture. In order to test out the true spirit, the young boy gave new life to the Dire Skybanyan, which had previously been panting on the verge of death. However, the price which had been paid was enormous: the lives of all of the cultivators of the Sky River Court.

It was an unforeseen turn of events that caught the River-Defying Sect unprepared. According to any estimation, after the death beetle was destroyed, the Sky River Court should have surrendered.

After all, the death of that beetle was supposed to signify the end of the punishment.

But now everything had changed. The Dire Skybanyan roared as its enormous frame rose up over the Heavenspan River. Countless roots were connected to either side of the river bank, making it look almost like a giant.

Outside of the log cabin, the boy frowned. He didn't care at all about the deaths of the Sky River Court, nor about what the River-Defying Sect was doing. He only cared about that baby girl.

"So, she can only remain active for ten breaths of time, huh…?" The boy shook his head sadly. After a moment, a look of sadness appeared in the eyes of the old man, and even pain. He almost seemed to be hesitating over some decision.

As for all of the other cultivator clans and sects that had come to observe the fighting, they were completely shaken by what they had seen, and could hardly control their own breathing. That was especially true considering that they had seen the powerful death beetle wiped out with the single wave of a finger. Then the Dire Skybanyan suddenly surged with life force. Everyone began to back up, trembling.

Most of the River-Defying Sect cultivators had managed to flee successfully. Although a few had been wounded or killed in the process, most were now back in the Heavenspan Battleships, whose shields had been raised. As for the Blood Stream Division, most of them were on the banks of the river.

Naruto had no time to think about the matter at the moment. He was surging with incredible power, and his skin was the color of gold. The feeling of being at the peak of the Undying Skin and Undying Flesh left him with the sensation that he could hurl mountains and drain seas.

As soon as Master Godwind called out to him, he blurred into motion. He could now move even more quickly than when he had just stepped into the Heaven-Dao Gold Core stage. Although the waters of the

Heavenspan River were very dangerous to most people, they wouldn't harm Naruto at all!

Thus, he dove into the water and shot downward toward the Blood Ancestor. It only took a few breaths of time before the Blood Ancestor's eyes opened and began to shine with golden light. Slowly but surely, the Blood Ancestor rose to his feet!

Before, something like this wouldn't have been possible. Naruto needed the combined strength of countless other Blood Stream Division cultivators to take control of the Blood Ancestor. But now, with effort, he was able to do it single-handedly.

As the Blood Ancestor rose up from within the waters of the Heavenspan

River, the Blood Stream Division cultivators flew into the air and quickly disappeared inside. Then, the Blood Ancestor began to radiate even more incredible power than last time. Under the control of Naruto, the blood-colored giant leaped up into the air.

It was in that moment that the Dire Skybanyan turned its gaze to the Blood Ancestor. Hatred and animosity burned inside of it as it sent countless branches and vines swirling together to form a huge hand, which then shot toward the Blood Ancestor in the form of a fist.

Instead of retreating in the face of such an attack, the Blood Ancestor continued to fly through the air, even higher than last time. In a flash, he a

ppeared directly in front of the Dire Skybanyan, whereupon he reached out and grabbed ahold of the incoming hand, then unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash.

Boundless golden light glittered as the Blood Ancestor bashed into the Dire Skybanyan, ripping it up by the roots and sending it flying backward several thousand meters.

Everyone who was watching could scarcely believe their own eyes. The events which were playing out this day completely surpassed the imaginations of anyone present, to the point where they almost felt as if they were suffocating.

The Blood Ancestor and the Dire Skybanyan were both gargantuan giants, large enough to be the headquarters of a huge sect. And here they were fighting at close quarters; each blow unleashed contained the power to destroy heaven and earth. Shockwaves blasted out in all directions, sending earth and vegetation flying everywhere. Even the waters of the Heavenspan River were affected.

The giant and the tree fought back and forth relentlessly across the landscape, felling mountains and hewing massive craters into the earth. Of course, the Dire Skybanyan hadn't truly recovered; it had only been aided by being fed the life force of the entire Sky River Court. The tree had long since been doomed to die.

Considering the intensity of the fighting, it wouldn't be long before its injuries flared out of control, and it slipped away into death!

The enormous tree let out roars of rage as it was battered backward and backward. Because of the unrelenting attacks of the Blood Ancestor, the Dire Skybanyan was unable to seize the initiative. Naruto had already become very comfortable in his control over the gigantic body.

His Heaven-Dao Gold Core surged with energy, releasing constant power. His Undying Heavenly King Core also seethed, unleashing boundless fleshly body power.

With the increase of his cultivation base, Naruto could also send his consciousness to greater limits. His mind now filled the Blood Ancestor, and at the same time, his fleshly body formed a resonance, giving him an unheard-of level of control. Sometimes, he even forgot that he was actually inside of the Blood Ancestor.

It was almost as if he truly were the Blood Ancestor!

"Die!" he howled. However, his voice came out of the Blood Ancestor's mouth, rumbling like thunder. The Dire Skybanyan was shoved backward again, and yet, before it could get very far, Naruto reached out and grabbed it by the arm, flinging it through the air.

The Dire Skybanyan slammed into the ground some distance away, then struggled to rise up again. Meanwhile, the log cabin inside the huge tree hadn't been affected at all. The boy still stood outside of it, a thoughtful expression on his face. As for the old man, a look of determination had finally solidified in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and pushed his hand down onto the trunk of the tree. In that instant, his body withered, and a powerful aura of death completely surrounded him.

The boy looked over at him.

"Fellow Daoist," he said coolly, "please pardon my actions from moments ago. I got caught up in the heat of the moment, and my desire to interact with an Outsider. That was unfair to you, and it also made things hard for the River-Defying Sect.

"Ah well…. If this is the choice you wish to make, so be it. With new life breathed into the skybanyan, your mark will be left behind for all time.

"It will also serve as a bit of recompense to the River-Defying Sect on my part." With that, he waved his sleeve behind him, stepped out into the air, and vanished.

The old man didn't say anything when the boy disappeared. He looked at the huge struggling treant, and at the same time, his body withered. Everyone in the Sky River Court was dead, and he didn't have much longer to live either. Therefore, he was choosing to sacrifice himself to give the Dire Skybanyan a chance to live.

At the same time, some of his own will and life force would remain behind within the tree.

"Henceforth," he murmured. "I acknowledge allegiance to the River-

Defying Sect. I will protect it, just as you protected the Sky River Court!" With that, he withered up, fusing into the Dire Skybanyan.

The Dire Skybanyan shivered, and then the red glow in its eyes faded away. Even as that happened, the Blood Ancestor sailed toward it, fist held back in preparation to launch a blow. That was when the Dire Skybanyan prostrated itself and said in a deep voice, "I acknowledge allegiance…."

Even as the words echoed out, a scintillating light flew out from inside of the huge tree. The light shrank down until it revealed a green crystal, which was the heart of the Dire Skybanyan. Whoever controlled that crystal would have the Dire Skybanyan's life in their hands.

Under Naruto's control, the Blood Ancestor stopped moving right in front of the Dire Skybanyan.

Everything went silent, and all of the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect looked over at the Blood Ancestor.

It wasn't just them. The surrounding cultivator clans and smaller sects were also waiting to see what the Blood Ancestor would do.

No one could interfere. The choice was up to Naruto. Not even the Nascent Soul patriarchs could do anything. Naruto hesitated for a moment, then smiled and reached out to grab the green crystal.

Instantly, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering swell of cheering rose up from the three Heavenspan Battleships.

"Victory!"

"From now on, our River-Defying Sect is a Middle Reaches sect!"

"We won, we won!"

Within the cheering could be heard crying, whistling, and shouts of excitement. Everyone in the River-Defying Sect was boiling with elation. Moments later, a beam of bright light became visible, shooting through the sky. As it neared, a stone stele could be seen inside.

The stone stele slammed into the ground, burying itself halfway into the earth. Visible on the top half were three characters.

River-Defying Sect!

Beneath those three characters was another smaller line of characters…. Subdivision of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

That stone stele was a sign of the approval of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and as soon as the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect saw it, their excitement grew even more intense. This was everything they had worked hard for, and at long last, they had confirmation. Many of them began to think back to all the fighting that had been involved in becoming a Middle Reaches sect, and it left them sighing.

The surrounding cultivator clans and small-scale sects all began

dropping to their knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, River-Defying Sect!" More and more voices joined together, creating a cacophony of sound. As for the three representatives from the other sects, they took deep breaths as they recovered their composure. With a final look at the Blood Ancestor, they turned and left.

Everyone knew that from this day on…

The eastern Middle Reaches was no longer controlled by the Sky River Court, but rather, the honorable River-Defying Sect!

Chapter 344

Chapter 344

Chapter 344: Getting To Work

The River-Defying Sect had taken control over the Middle Reaches!

All of the cultivator clans and smaller sects were completely shaken, as were the representatives of the three other major sects.

The entire structure of the Middle Reaches would change, and it also meant that one of the four major overlords had been replaced. That was even more meaningful considering that the River-Defying Sect had come from the Lower Reaches. To the sects subservient to the other three major sects, new doors had suddenly been opened.

At the same time, the River-Defying Sect was now busier than it had ever been before. Regardless of the level of their cultivation bases, the disciples of all four divisions were mobilized to aid in the construction of a new sect headquarters.

That new River-Defying Sect headquarters was being built on the former location of the Sky River Court itself!

The patriarchs of the four divisions had long since discussed and come to an agreement regarding how it would be laid out and what it would look like. Not only did their plan fulfil the requirements of each of the four divisions, it put the sect in the perfect position to both defend and attack. After all, this new headquarters would need to stand for thousands upon thousands of years, and would be a source of glory and honor for the entire sect!

The nucleus of the headquarters was to be an enormous mountain, half of which rested beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River, and the other half of which rose high into the heavens!

Although one might think that such a mountain would impede the flow of the Heavenspan River water, various magical means would be used to ensure that the river continued to flow just as before.

The mountain would stretch high into the clouds, so tall that it was impossible to see the summit.

As for the name of the mountain, it would be called Mount River Defiance! That mountain would be the nucleus of the sect, where all the important decisions would be made. The patriarchs would live there, and the reserve powers would be held there as well.

Mount River Defiance would form the center of the sect, with four majestic mountain ranges stretching out from it in four directions. Transported into the area by powerful magics, each one would stretch out for 500 kilometers, and would feature eight peaks that, despite being impressively tall, did not rival Mount River Defiance.

Those four mountain ranges would be assigned to the four divisions of the River-Defying Sect, the Spirit, Blood, Profound, and Pill Stream Divisions!

The main gate of the River-Defying Sect would face the Heavenspan River, and would be guarded by two enormous figures. On the left there would be a towering giant that thrummed with powerful blood qi, and yet appeared to be sleeping, which would be none other than the Blood Ancestor! On the right side would be the Dire Skybanyan, standing guard over the River-Defying Sect just like the giant.

The towering tree and the enormous giant would cause all other smaller sects in the Middle Reaches to cower in fear and terror.

The planned layout of the River-Defying Sect seemed simple, but the truth was that much thought had been put into it. For example, a grand spell formation would be erected to defend the sect, a spell formation that was ten times larger than the one the Spirit Stream Sect had created years ago in the Luochen Mountains.

This was the type of enormous sect that deserved to occupy the Middle Reaches, a sect that was clearly so powerful that none of the other forces in the region would dare to trifle with it.

The River-Defying Sect sent emissaries back to the Lower Reaches with new regulations for the four sects which had risen up in their absence.

The old customs were reinstated; in the past, the four great sects of the Lower Reaches had se

nt tribute upriver every year. The same arrangement would continue into the future.

The River-Defying Sect also locked down the borders of the Lower Reaches, ensuring that the new sects would have time to fully establish themselves and not face any outside invaders.

While the shocking memory of the destruction of the Sky River Court was still fresh in the minds of all, this first Dharmic decree issued by the River-Defying Sect was something that no one was willing to defy, not even the other three major Middle Reaches sects. No one wanted to incur the ill will of the River-Defying Sect.

Although the River-Defying Sect was weaker than the other three major sects, they had received approval from the presiding sect upriver. As such, the other sects couldn't very well offend them before they even had a chance to establish themselves.

Because of that, the River-Defying Sect's territory was peaceful and calm, although the population was filled with both excitement and nervousness.

The River-Defying Sect had many important affairs to attend to. Whether it was the construction of their new headquarters, the pacification of the Lower Reaches, or the task of bringing their new territory under control, there were countless tasks that required careful attention.

The first matter to take care of was to assign a mountain range to each of the four divisions. Once each division had a mountain range, they could go about setting it up according to their own styles and requirements.

Because of Naruto, the Spirit Stream Division took the east mountain range. There were few changes to their division. The same seven mountain peaks remained that had once been on the north and south banks of the river. The only difference was that the eighth mountain now belonged to the Core Formation cultivators.

The mountain range occupied by the Blood Stream Division was the one closest to the Blood Ancestor, which would ensure that the cultivators there were able to practice their techniques with the least interference possible. Another new rule was instituted; in order to become a blood master of one of their eight mountain peaks, a cultivator had to reach Core Formation first!

As for the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions, they had similar rules as before. The Profound Stream Division specialized in spell formations and clone cultivation, whereas the Pill Stream Division focused on the Dao of medicine. When all was said and done, the River-Defying Sect had a strong foundation in virtually all aspects; they truly met the requirements for a large sect!

The construction efforts all proceeded with great fanfare.

There was also much work to be done on what had once been the battlefield surrounding the Sky River Court. The corpses of many RiverDefying sect cultivators who had died in battle needed to be cleared away.

Those cultivators were given proper burials, and their names were inscribed to be remembered for all time. They were brave heroes of the River-Defying Sect whose names would be sung in songs for generation to come.

There were many, many tasks to accomplish. Now that the fighting was done, one of the main matters at hand was to select a new sect leader. Thankfully, such matters were the responsibility of the patriarchs; Naruto didn't have to worry about them.

Days passed, and soon Naruto realized that everyone around him was busy in some way or another. Whenever he walked around, the disciples of the River-Defying Sect would cast reverent gazes in his direction, and offer formal greetings. At first, it felt wonderful, but soon, the thrill began to fade.

"This is so boring," he murmured. "I think I'll go chat with Xiaomei." It took a bit of searching, but he soon found her. She was with a team of fellow cultivators operating a spell formation giant to clear away rubble.

As soon as he saw her, he called out, "Xiaomei–"

"Don't bother me now, big bro Xiaochun," she called out, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I'm busy." With that, she continued on with her work.

Naruto stood there awkwardly for a moment before catching sight of Big Fatty Zhang.

"Eldest Brother–"

Big Fatty Zhang looked over with a serious expression, then said, "Can you save it for later, Xiaochun? I have a bunch of spirit enhancing to do…." With that, he went back to his work with Xu Meixiang and the other spirit enhancers.

Naruto smiled, but inside he felt embarrassed and even crestfallen. Just when he was about to leave, he noticed Hou Yunfei flying in his direction.

"Big Bro Hou–"

"No time to chat, Xiaochun. Master sent me to work on the Magic Pavilion…." Hou Yunfei flew by without even stopping.

Smiling wryly, Naruto looked around at the people bustling about, and then decided to head to the Blood Stream Division. As soon as he set foot on the mountains, he saw Song Junwan commanding a group of Middle Peak disciples as they constructed a new Middle Peak.

"Big Sis Song–"

"Go hang out somewhere else, Nightcrypt!" she barked, flicking her sleeve. Then she issued some more orders to the Middle Peak disciples.

Naruto's jaw dropped. Even as he was trying to decide how to respond, a quavering voice reached his ears from behind.

"Junior patriarch, do you mind just leaving? You're making me nervous…."

Naruto felt like he was about to go mad. Sighing, he turned and moped off.

Everyone he knew was ignoring him because of the various tasks they had been assigned. Even Bruiser had been given an assignment, and was overseeing some of the battle beasts.

Naruto felt like he was the only idle person in the entire RiverDefying Sect. The only people who qualified to give him orders were the Nascent Soul patriarchs, and they were all busy with important matters. In fact, it was even possible to occasionally catch wind of the sounds of arguing and discussion coming from Mount River Defiance.

"The elites usually do the most work, but apparently a person as incredible as me, a junior patriarch, actually ends up with nothing to do…." Completely incapable of thinking of any important tasks to attend to, he could only sigh.

"Ah whatever. I guess I should go concoct some medicine…." After finding his way to the bank of the Heavenspan River, he found a good location, sat down cross-legged, and began to think back to what he had learned from the true spirit about the River-Defying Pill.

"She gave me some good fortune, so I should definitely try to concoct that pill!" Gradually, he sank down into the calm that came with seeking enlightenment, and began to analyze the formula for the River-Defying

Pill.

Time passed. Soon, night had fallen. Although the River-Defying Sect cultivators were all very busy, it was customary to rest at night, so soon, all heaven and earth grew quiet.

Most of the corpses on the battlefield had been cleared away, although a few remained here and there.

At the moment, the moon hung high in the sky, illuminating all of the lands down below. But then, a dark cloud appeared, which slowly spread out, casting darkness everywhere. Then, a white robed figure appeared out of thin air.

—

Chapter 345

Chapter 345

Chapter 345: Unclean Thing….

Heaven and earth were nothing but a vast swath of darkness. As the white-robed figure appeared, a sinister coldness swept out. Because of the darkness which surrounded the figure, it was only just barely possible to identify her as a woman.

Her long hair flowed about her as she strolled across the battlefield through the darkness of night.

Wherever she went, everything around her grew so cold it seemed to hover on the verge of becoming ice. The plants and vegetation withered as though the white-robed woman was sucking away their life force. At the same time, her own life force rapidly grew stronger.

Before long, she was next to a pile of corpses belonging to former cultivators of the Sky River Court. Looking down at them, she chuckled, then sucked in a breath which caused the corpses to begin to wither up. In the briefest of moments, the corpses became nothing more than skeletons that looked like they had been dead for years.

The young woman didn't stop there. She proceeded along through the battlefield, causing numerous corpses to transform into skeletons. As this occurred, her body grew increasingly distinct. In the end, she stretched her neck a bit to loosen it, then floated over to another location where a large amount of Sky River Court cultivators' corpses lay.

This location belonged to the Blood Stream Division, and these corpses had been set aside for them to use in their corpse refining. The entire area was sealed tight with spell formations, and yet, they posed no obstacle to the young woman. She floated right through them until she was right above the corpses. Then, a strange gleam could be seen in her eyes as she yet again breathed in deeply….

Instantly, the vast quantity of corpses began to wither. In the blink of an eye, the more than 10,000 corpses turned into nothing more than bones. Some of those bones even dissolved into ashes….

By this point, the young woman's features were even clearer. After a moment passed, she burped lightly, then slowly looked up into the sky. The dark clouds began to fade away, and a shaft of moonlight fell down to reveal her face.

Shockingly, that young woman was Gongsun Wan'er!

"Well I'm not starving anymore, but what a pity that they were all dead. If only I could eat something living!" Covering her mouth, she chuckled, then turned and vanished into thin air.

With her departure, the dark clouds disappeared completely, allowing the moonlight to shine down onto a field of pale white bones….

No one detected Gongsun Wan'er that night, not even the Nascent Soul patriarchs….

Naruto suddenly sneezed as a cold feeling swept over him. Emerging from his meditative trance, he looked around for a moment, then, after seeing nothing out of the ordinary, closed his eyes again.

The next morning at dawn, the disciples responsible for the corpses suddenly realized that the corpses were now nothing more than dried up bones. Their jaws dropped, and soon cries of alarm rose up into the air. The matter instantly caused a huge stir in the River-Defying Sect.

"What… what could have happened!?"

"Heavens, how could all the corpses here have dried up overnight…?"

"There's not even any flesh or blood left at all. They look like they've been dead for ages. They definitely didn't look like that yesterday!"

As the news spread, everyone was completely and utterly shaken. Even the patriarchs' meeting regarding the sect rules was thrown into chaos.

Naruto was eventually disturbed by the racket, and quickly went to see what was going on. As he hovered in the air, he heard the various discussions, and then looked over at the corpses on the battlefield.

"What happened?" he thought, shocked. The fact that all of the flesh and blood had vanished from the corpses left him with a very bad feeling.

It was in that exact moment that more than ten beams of light shot off of Mount River Defiance. It was the patriarchs of the four divisions, who had very serious expressions on their faces as they sped in the direction of the Blood Stream Division's corpse refining district.

Behind them were a large number of Core Formation cultivators. Seeing what was happening, Naruto quickly flew up to join them.

A large group of cultivators had already gathered in the area, and were discussing the situation. When they saw the patriarchs and the Core Formation experts, they quickly quieted down. However, curious expressions could be seen on their faces; they could tell that the events of the previous night were clearly no small matter.

Obviously, the fact that the corpses' flesh and blood had been drained away meant that someone or something had done the deed. If that news spread, it could definitely cause problems.

The Nascent Soul patriarchs soon arrived at the corpse refining district and began to investigate. Before long, their expressions began to flicker.

That was especially true of the three most powerful of the patriarchs, the great circle Nascent Soul experts Frigidsect, Master Godwind, and Crimsonsoul. They could sense a lingering aura in the area that caused their expressions to turn very grim. After exchanging glances, Master Godwind of the Blood Stream Division said, "When the Dire Skybanyan was uprooted, it created rifts for earth Chakra to seep through. That's what caused this event. There's no need for anyone to panic. I'll set up some spell formations to keep the earth Chakra sealed."

Next, Frigidsect and Crimsonsoul also made similar statements. Considering their reputations in the sect, such words quickly eased the hearts of most of the disciples.

However, Naruto wasn't too far off from the Nascent Soul cultivators, and when he looked around, he instantly sensed the cold aura in the area. There were even streams of frigid Chakra which entered his body and caused his life force to grow sluggish.

He didn't quite believe the patriarchs' explanation, but hesitated for a moment and looked over at Frigidsect. Frigidsect gave him a meaningful look that indicated he should hold his tongue.

The matter was quickly swept under the rug. All four divisions entrusted key disciples to guide the flow of conversation in the sect. This, coupled with the fact that everyone was so busy, and that no living cultivators had been affected, ensured that discussion of the matter faded away quickly. Although a few people harbored some suspicions, no one attempted to dig for more information.

However, that very night, there was a secret meeting on Mount River Defiance between the patriarchs and the Core Formation cultivators. Naruto was present.

Master Godwind of the Blood Stream Division looked over the gathered Core Formation cultivators, then slowly began to explain.

"The strangest thing is that none of us patriarchs detected anything unusual during last night's odd events….

"Those corpses were completely drained of all flesh and blood, and although they didn't contain any true life force, they would have contained other strange powers. Even more odd was that the corpses originally had a strong aura of death. However, my inspections earlier didn't reveal even a trace of such an aura!

"The only aura remaining in the area was something extremely sinister, something akin to the power of the Nine Serenities underworld!

"I can only hope that we patriarchs' conclusion in the matter is not mistaken…. From what we could tell, something visited the RiverDefying Sect last a night, something that shouldn't even exist in the world of the living, the powerful ghost of some dead entity!

"Only the ghosts of the dead thrive on auras of death. Furthermore, after reaching a certain level of power, such ghosts require life force from living beings!"

Considering that Master Godwind was a Nascent Soul Daoist master, everyone simply listened to his words and took them to heart.

The Core Formation cultivators were completely shocked. As for Naruto, his face drained of blood.

"A ghost…." he thought, shivering, his hair standing on end.

It was Patriarch Crimsonsoul who spoke next, his voice hoarse, a strange light gleaming in his eyes. "There isn't any need for anxiety. We're giving you this information so that you can be on guard. The other patriarchs and I will set up an airtight spell formation! If that ghost appears again, we'll make sure it is completely destroyed!"

As his gaze swept over the Core Formation cultivators, it lingered for a moment on Naruto, who was currently trembling and scowling on the verge of tears.

It was with complete and utter terror that Naruto left Mount River Defiance. His thoughts were in utter chaos, and he couldn't stop thinking about how he had suddenly been dragged out of meditation the previous night. At that point, his skin began to crawl.

"Don't tell me that some unclean thing was out looking for me last night!?" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto almost screamed. Not daring to return to the place he had been concocting pills the previous day, he decided to stay on Mount River Defiance. As far as he was concerned, staying close to the patriarchs would obviously be the safest thing to do.

Because he was the junior patriarch of the sect, he was able to lay claim to a small area of his own on Mount River Defiance, where he personally dug out a simple immortal's cave. Then he thought about the unclean thing from the previous night, and again, his skin began to crawl. Gritting his teeth, he went to find some Profound Stream Division disciples to help him set up some defensive spell formations.

Most cultivators in the sect would be content with one spell formation, but Naruto was terrified at the moment, so he tracked down dozens of top experts from the Profound Stream Division. With their help, he set up dozens of spell formations, most of them designed to ward off evil spirits.

The experts from the Profound Stream Sect had very odd expressions on their faces when they left. And yet, Naruto still didn't feel safe. Gritting his teeth, he spent a huge sum of merit points to purchase a vast quantity of paper talismans, most of them designed to ward off or suppress evil spirits. After plastering so many talismans onto himself that he looked like a boiled sticky-rice dumpling, he finally felt at ease.

"Hummmphh! That unclean thing won't dare to cause trouble for me now. I'm close to the patriarchs, I have tons of spell formations set up, and all kinds of talismans ready. I refuse to believe that ghost would set foot in my direction!" Breathing a sigh of relief, he strolled out of the front door of his immortal's cave.

—

Chapter 346

Chapter 346

Chapter 346: The Mysterious Power Appears Again!

A few days later, the work on the sect headquarters continued. No more incidents occurred, and everyone would have quickly forgotten about it were it not for the fact that Naruto only appeared in the open blanketed with paper talismans.

Xu Baocai and some of his other friends were very curious about the situation, and Naruto couldn't simply refuse to tell them the truth of the matter. Therefore, he used a variety of vague wording to explain that the River-Defying Sect was being haunted by a ghost.

Xu Baocai and the others were quite frightened, and soon started imitating Naruto, plastering all sorts of paper talismans on themselves to ward off evil spirits. Of course, they didn't quite use as many as Naruto did….

Naruto's talismans covered virtually every inch of his body other than his face.

When he went out and about, jaws would drop, and eyes would go wide.

Whether it was Zhou Xinqi or Ghostfang, Song Que or Nine-Isles, all of them were completely taken aback. One evening when Naruto was strutting about festooned with talismans, he happened to run into Gongsun Wan'er.

Even she was shocked by Naruto's appearance. Jaw dropping, she blurted, "Elder Brother Xiaochun, what are you…."

"Well, if it isn't Junior Sister Gongsun." Naruto looked her up and down, then glanced around furtively, stepped closer, and whispered, "Look, I'm gonna tell you something that you have to keep secret. The River-Defying Sect is haunted by a ghost! That's why I have all these paper talismans on, to ward off evil spirits."

Gongsun Wan'er's eyes went even wider. A moment passed, and she jokingly looked him up and down, then reached out and rubbed some of the talismans. Finally, she forced a smile onto her face, promised that she wouldn't tell anyone else, and left.

Feeling very pleased with himself, Naruto continued on his way.

Eventually, everyone was talking about the matter of the sect being haunted. By the time the patriarchs of the four divisions realized what was happening, it was too late to quell the rumors. Naruto's eyecatching appearance left them frustrated and shaking their heads wryly.

"He's at Gold Core, and he's still scared of ghosts…."

"Besides, that ghost is so terrifyingly powerful that those paper talismans he's wearing would be completely useless against it."

Chuckling dryly, the patriarchs decided to just ignore the matter. A few more days passed, and when Naruto realized that no further incidents were forthcoming, he finally started to feel more at ease.

Sighing emotionally, he said, "It doesn't matter what demons or devils or ghosts come around, with my special anti-evil clothing, they'll all be turned into nothing but ash. Ai. Yet again, I've saved the sect. Nobody even knows the true extent of what I, the junior patriarch of the RiverDefying Sect, have done to help out all my other fellow disciples!" It was currently late at the night, and he was sitting cross-legged in his immortal's cave, meditating.

However, even as the words left his mouth, ripples spread out across the floor. They were strange ripples that seemed to be separating the area from the world outside, and they were accompanied by a frigid coldness.

The sudden development caused Naruto's eyes to widen, and a shrill shriek to escape his lips. He leapt to his feet, slapping his bag of holding and producing a huge stack of evil-warding paper talismans.

"Get out of here! Stay away! I'm dangerous! I'm wearing hundreds of evil-warding talismans!" Howeve

r, even as he backed up, trembling, a red beam of light shot out of his bag of holding, which was none other than the mask he had worn during his time as Nightcrypt.

The mask was vibrating, and emanating ripples, and soon, the voice of an old man began to speak from within the mask.

"You–"

"'You' who?!" Naruto shrieked. Without any hesitation, he threw the entire stack of paper talismans at the mask, and then poured all of the Heaven-Dao Gold Core power he could into it. Within that stack were talismans of sealing, crushing, and warding, and once the power hit them, they virtually exploded.

Rumbling filled the air, and the mask trembled as countless paper talismans slapped down onto it. Whatever connection it had with the ground was severed, and the mask fell down. In that same moment, the fluctuations vanished, and everything went back to normal.

Beads of sweat covered Naruto's forehead. Even in the heat of the moment, he knew that the voice which had spoken was not the ghost he feared, but rather, the mysterious group that was behind the mask….

A moment later, the soul of imposter Nightcrypt flew out of the mask, trembling with fear. Looking at Naruto, he cried, "They came! They really came….

"We're finished, Naruto, finished! You took the relic of eternal invincibility, and now the mysterious power is after us!

"We're dead for sure…. There's no way they'll show leniency to betrayers. They'll probably skin us alive and turn us into fertilizer…."

"Shut up!" Naruto barked, annoyed and surprised at the same time. However, he also felt somewhat guilty. After all, he really had taken away the little turtle.

"Dammit. I'm not even wearing the mask! How could they have tracked me down anyway!?" He thought about simply throwing the mask away, but couldn't quite bring himself to get rid of something so precious. Besides, the soul of imposter Nightcrypt was still stuck inside, so if he threw it away, he would be screwing him over too.

"What… what do we do, Naruto?" If imposter Nightcrypt weren't a soul body, he would definitely have been leaking tears.

Naruto looked anxiously at imposter Nightcrypt, then took a moment to think about the situation. Despite some consideration, he couldn't come up with any solution other than to hand the mask over to the patriarchs.

"What a pity to get rid of a treasure like this that can change your appearance." Naruto wasn't sure about what to do. Another half a month went by, and when nothing else happened with the mask, he finally started to calm down.

The work on the sect headquarters was approaching its conclusion.

The patriarchs were also reaching the end of their discussions about how to handle the situation in the Lower Reaches, as well as the territory currently under the control of the River-Defying Sect.

Most importantly, they were finalizing all the official sect rules.

According to the new arrangement, one of the four divisions would be formally in charge of the sect for a two-hundred-year period. After those two hundred years, the sect affairs would pass to the next division. The same arrangement would determine who the sect leader was. The first division to wield leadership power in the sect was the Spirit Stream Division. No longer was Zheng Yuandong to be the leader of the Spirit Stream Division, he was to be the sect leader of the entire River-Defying Sect!

Although his cultivation base was a bit lacking, he was more than qualified to handle the responsibilities!

In fact, with the agreement and help of the patriarchs, Zheng Yuandong decided to sacrifice his potential for future growth to make an immediate breakthrough into Core Formation. Furthermore, he made arrangements for Toruho to succeed him as the second sect leader, one hundred years later.

At the end of the Spirit Stream Division's two hundred years of leadership, the Blood Stream Division would take over. After that would come the Profound Stream Division, and then finally the Pill Stream Division.

None of the patriarchs were opposed to the arrangement!

Soon, the sect headquarters was completed. The Blood Ancestor and the Dire Skybanyan stood tall, and the four mountain ranges spread out in all directions. The last step was to activate the grand spell formation, and then everything would be finished!

The cheering was deafening. A month before, the three Heavenspan Battleships had been sent downriver to the Lower Reaches, and had returned with the disciples who had been unable to fight in the war for various reasons.

With all the disciples present, the River-Defying Sect now had well over 1,000,000 members. It was quite a bustling place.

A grand ceremony was held to commemorate the occasion, and numerous invitations were sent out into the Middle Reaches to the other three great sects, as well as certain ancient cultivator clans.

The formalities lasted for seven days. The Starry River Court, Dao River Court and Polarity River Court all sent people to offer formal congratulations. Not a single one of the cultivator clans failed to send representatives.

As for the four major sects who had risen up in the Lower Reaches, they also sent representatives with congratulations and gifts. During that seven-day period, the River-Defying Sect was the talk of the entire Middle Reaches.

As the junior patriarch of the sect, Naruto obviously had a very high standing, and was the subject of much attention. He made public appearances every day, wearing ceremonial clothing and showing off his veins of steel. He could not have glittered with any greater glory than he did. Naruto quickly fell in love with his role. However, the patriarchs, as well as Li Qinghou, only got more nervous, fearing that he would reveal his true nature in front of all the crowds.

However, no one noticed any such clues. He chatted with people wittily, and was definitely the center of attention. Whenever he intentionally unleashed his murderous aura, everyone in the area was shocked.

The patriarchs were very pleased with his performance, and Naruto was quite proud of himself. To him, it was actually a very simple matter to put on such an act. Seven days later, the ceremonies ended, the visitors left, and the sect quieted down.

At the moment, the biggest problem facing the River-Defying Sect was… They had no Deva Realm cultivator!

The other three great sects in the Middle Reaches all had a Deva Realm patriarch to oversee the sect. That was the only way to truly be a great sect, and it was a fatal weakness for the River-Defying Sect!

—

Chapter 347

Chapter 347

Chapter 347

It was only now that Naruto was learning about how the higher levels of the cultivation system in the Heavenspan Realm worked. After Chakra Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul came the Deva Realm!

The Deva Realm was completely terrifying. It was like a complete fusion with heaven and earth, in which the cultivator didn't unleash his own power, but rather, the power of all creation around him. He drew upon the energy of heaven and earth to emit crushing pressure and utilize divine abilities that went beyond the imaginations of even Nascent Soul cultivators.

For many years, there had only ever been four Deva Realm cultivators in the eastern Middle Reaches of the Heavenspan River. However, one of them, the deva from the Sky River Court, had been killed, leaving only three behind.

Deva Realm experts were powerful enough to be able to destroy entire sects, which meant that if one of them attacked the River-Defying Sect, it would most certainly be destroyed.

Even with Naruto controlling the Blood Ancestor, and the assistance of the Dire Skybanyan, they would still be defeated. Only by calling upon the assistance of the true spirit would they be able to survive, and unfortunately, they had already used their one and only River-Defying Pill.

Although the River-Defying Sect currently seemed very powerful, they were lacking the highest level of power they needed. One of the driving forces in the patriarchs' ability to reach a decision regarding the sect rules, and in fact, one of the reasons they had all agreed to fight together into the Middle Reaches to begin with, was that the spiritual energy and resources there were such that reaching the Deva Realm was a distinct possibility.

At the moment, the three people most likely of being able to reach the Deva Realm were Master Godwind, Frigidsect, and Crimsonsoul!

After the ceremonies were over, Master Godwind and Crimsonsoul chose to go into secluded meditation. The other patriarchs did the same. Each and every Nascent Soul cultivator hoped to eventually reach the point of becoming a deva!

In all of the eastern Heavenspan River, there were no more than ten devas total, and that included the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! From that, it was easy to see not only how powerful they were, but also how rare.

In a grand hall on Mount River Defiance, the founding patriarch of the Spirit Stream Division, Frigidsect, had called Naruto to explain to him certain matters regarding the sect and devas. "Although you can't quite say that in the Deva Realm it's possible to live as long as heaven and earth, with the energy at your disposal, you can remain unwithered for almost all eternity. Your battle prowess would be such that you could dominate the entire cultivation world!

"Therefore, I will be going into secluded meditation to strive for my chance to break through into the Deva Realm!"

This was actually Naruto's first time hearing about the Deva Realm, and he already wished he could reach it.

"What's after the Deva Realm?" he asked.

Frigidsect remained silent for a moment, but his eyes were already shining brightly. "After that is the Demigod Realm!"

Unexpectedly, the moment he said the word 'demigod', a peal of thunder rang out in the sky above!

The sudden crack of thunder startled Naruto.

"Even saying the name can cause fluctuations to appear in heaven and earth. The Demigod Realm defies description. Perhaps people like that really are just as the name describes, part god!" The truth was that not even Frigidsect knew much about the Demigod Realm.

"In all of the eastern cultivation world, there is only one demigod, and he is the living reserve power of the

Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. That patriarch is the only reason why the

Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect became a riversource sect!"

This was Naruto's first time hearing such things, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Without even thinking about it, he asked, "What's after Demigod?"

"I don't know!" Frigidsect replied, shaking his head. Having finished his explanation of cultivation, he extended his right hand, and three glowing motes of light appeared.

Within those motes of light could be seen a scroll painting, a reptilian scale, and a dagger!

The scroll painting possessed the air of something that had existed for many years, and pulsed with an ancient aura. As for the scale, Naruto's first impression was that it was beginning to rot; he couldn't even tell what kind of creature it came from.

And then there was the dagger, which actually looked less like a dagger and more like a black horn!

"The Landscape of Nine Provinces is an earth-tier precious treasure, capable of storing a vast quantity of items. Anything that gets sucked in can be refined, and then sealed with an enslaving branding mark. It can provide an incredible boost to speed, and is even capable of short-range teleportation!

"The Ancient Devil Scale is also an earth-tier precious treasure. Not even a Nascent Soul expert could break through it. Unfortunately, I only have this one scale. With more, a full suit of armor could be forged, which would make it even more difficult for Nascent Soul cultivators to deal with you!

"Last is this dagger, which is also an earth-tier precious treasure. It can summon a rebel dragon of incredible power!"

"You're giving all of these to me?" Naruto said, his heart starting to pound as he eyed the motes of light. Any one of the objects in front of him would be enough to arouse his excitement, let alone all of them. He swallowed hard.

"As the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, you will represent the sect when you go out into the world. It's only natural that these three precious treasures should go to you. Take some time to get used to them. In the future, it will be up to you to make a name for the RiverDefying Sect!" Frigidsect smiled. Naruto was incredibly important to the River-Defying Sect, and the patriarchs had all agreed that since they were going into secluded meditation, Naruto should be given three precious treasures to use for his own protection.

Naruto was visibly excited, and quickly offered profuse thanks. Then he took the three precious treasure and began to fondle them lovingly. Frigidsect cleared his throat.

"I'm going to enter into secluded meditation now. In a moment, someone from the Senior generation will come to pay you a visit, so please wait for him. Finally, take this jade slip. It's an arcane cultivation technique for you now that you're reached Core Formation, a secret magic of the former Frigid School!" A strange expression could be seen on Frigidsect's face, but before Naruto could look up to notice, Frigidsect tossed him a jade slip, turned, and vanished.

"Someone from the Senior generation?" Naruto asked, catching the jade slip. "But who?" However, Frigidsect was gone. As the moments ticked by, though, Naruto's anticipation grew.

"Maybe they're going to give me some more rewards…." he thought, getting more excited. As time went on, he was coming to find that, as the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, he was treated very well. Someone from the Senior generation was even coming to give him a gift! Taking a deep breath, he rose to his feet and stood there straight and tall, trying to look as somber as possible.

Inside, he was already feeling pleased with himself; he knew that this pose was one that the older generation would definitely be pleased with.

After waiting for a bit, Naruto was starting to lose patience. But then, he suddenly got a very strange feeling, as if someone were watching him. Without even thinking about it, he turned around, and when he saw what was right there in front of him, his eyes went wide.

At some indeterminable point, a rabbit had appeared right behind him!

The rabbit didn't walk around on all fours like a normal rabbit. It stood on its hind legs. It had its hands clasped behind its back much like a person would do, and it was staring at Naruto with its red eyes. Its ears stuck straight up above its head, and although it looked somewhat comical, there was something ancient in its eyes that made the rabbit seem completely beyond the ordinary.

"You…." Naruto said. Gasping, he backed up. Then he clasped his hands over his mouth. Perhaps other people might not recognize this rabbit, but Naruto did. He would probably recognize it even if it were transformed into a pile of ash. This was none other than that damnable talking rabbit!

The truth was that way back in the fight outside the Profound Stream Sect's city, when he saw the rabbit and the monkey together, he'd begun to suspect that something strange was going on. Now that the rabbit had appeared again, he began to pant. However, he quickly plastered a smile onto his face, and then cautiously clasped his hands in greeting.

"Um… disciple offers greetings, Senior!"

The rabbit snorted coldly as it looked Naruto up and down. For some reason, the rabbit wasn't repeating his words like it usually did, and although that should have made Naruto happy, he was only left with a dark premonition.

Getting more nervous, he backed up a few paces and said, "Senior, I–"

"You looked quite pleased with yourself when you tried to chase me down last time," the rabbit said, his voice cracking with ancientness. "However, I won't lower myself to your level."

Naruto immediately started to get more nervous.

"I've come here today to perform a little test. Let's see if those precious treasures of yours will really work." As he glared at Naruto, his mouth widened into a smile, a smile that filled Naruto's heart with terror. Letting out a shriek, he didn't hesitate at all to turn and flee.

However, in the moment he started to move, the rabbit blurred into motion, raising his right foot and kicking Naruto hard on the back.

A rumbling sound echoed out, mixing with Naruto's scream as he flew through the air. However, even as he flew, he righted himself and then shot forward with greater speed.

"Help! He's trying to kill me! A killer rabbit! Patriarchs, save me! Save me!" Naruto sped along frantically, his shrieks echoing out in all directions. Many disciples heard, and immediately looked up to see what was happening.

What they saw was a rabbit flying through the air, slamming into Naruto and sending him spinning. Then the rabbit began to cackle with laughter.

"Scream! The louder the better! Remember how you tried to blow me up during our last chase? Dammit! I went to hide in 10,000 Snakes Valley, and yet you suddenly showed up looking for me!

"I even went all the way to the Blood Stream Sect to hide from you. Y-yyou… you little bastard! I can't believe you tracked me down to the Blood Stream Sect!" The rabbit's eyes were bright red as it chased after Naruto.

Naruto's screams echoed out into the sky. Soon, certain cultivators from the Blood and Spirit Stream Divisions recognized the rabbit, and began to cry out in alarm.

"That's…."

"Heavens, that's the talking rabbit!"

"What's that rabbit doing here? And why isn't it repeating things!?"

Chapter 347: When The Talking Rabbit Stops Repeating….

Chapter 348

Chapter 348

Chapter 348: The Rabbit's Weakness….

Naruto felt more than ever that he was being unjustly accused. He instantly drew upon the full power of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, and even his Undying Heavenly King Body. Although that pushed him forward with incredible speed, it didn't make him faster than the rabbit. Furthermore, the rabbit was a very crafty character, and knew just where to kick him for it to hurt the most.

Scowling on the verge of tears, he considered calling upon the three precious treasures he had just been given. But before he could, the rabbit shot forward with blinding speed, causing a series of sonic booms to echo out as he kicked Naruto over and over again.

Most outrageous of all was that the rabbit actually chose to kick him in the face….

Naruto felt like he was going to go crazy. The rabbit was obviously refusing to give him a chance to use the precious treasures, all in its attempt to bully its way to revenge.

"You can't blame me for everything! You're the one who loves to repeat everything! Y-y-you're… you're a total bully!"

Behind him, the rabbit roared, "You think I want to repeat what everybody says? Dammit! Nobody asked you to bring up that topic! This… this is all your fault!" The rabbit unleashed more kicks at Naruto.

"All your fault! Especially the last time! I can't believe you only said half a sentence! Do you know that you almost drove me literally insane!?

"Listen to me, you little punk, the next time I'm repeating what people say, you had better finish your sentences!" The angrier the rabbit got, the harder and more viciously it kicked Naruto.

Naruto was sore all over, and was being driven to the point of rage.

"He's trying to kill me!" he howled. "He's trying to kill me!

"Somebody save me! I'm the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect! I've spilled my own blood for the River-Defying Sect!

"Save me, patriarchs!" However, no matter how loudly he shouted, the Nascent Soul Daoist masters didn't respond at all. Naruto felt completely maligned.

"You're pushing things too far, rabbit!

"So what if I only said half a sentence? If I had said any more, and you repeated it, I would have lost my poor little life!

"I said half a sentence back then, and I'll say half a sentence next time too!

"In fact, I'll do it now…. What comes after I, Naruto? Tell me!

Hurry up, spit it out! What comes after I, Naruto?!"

As the words left his mouth, a tremor suddenly ran through the rabbit. A blank look appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly lurched to a halt in midair.

"I, Naruto…."

In response, Naruto's jaw dropped, and it was the same with the other disciples who had come to see what was going on. Everyone was looking at the rabbit, which now looked completely different from before.

Instead of keeping his hands clasped behind his back, he dropped down on all fours, like a normal rabbit. Ears sticking straight up, he began to repeat the same words over and over again.

Naruto's heart was already pounding, but instead of continuing to flee, he cried, "Come on, tell me! What words come after I, Naruto?!"

Equally nervous, the rabbit howled, "I, Naruto…."

"Come on, tell me! Spit it out!" Looking excited, Naruto took a few steps forward toward the rabbit. Now that he had found what appeared to be the rabbit's weakness, he was eager to take advantage of it.

"I, Naruto…. The rabbit's eyes were so red that they looked like they might start bleeding. His fur was standing on end, and the pressure being put on him from Naruto made him tremble on the verge of collapse. With that, he let out a bellow like a crack of thunder, then turned and began to flee for his life. At the same time, it began to cry out all sorts of gossip, a large amount of it having to do with Patriarch Crimsonsoul. Incensed, Crimsonsoul himself appeared and tried to chase down the rabbit, but it soon disappeared.

At long last, Naruto realized that the rabbit clearly wasn't stable mentally. Sometimes it was clear-headed, other times not. Only when it was clear-headed did it act like an old bastard. The most important thing was that their last encounter had left a deep impression on him; the matter of saying only half a sentence could drive the rabbit nearly to collapse….

"So that's how it is! Hahaha! Trifling little rabbit. How dare you try to tangle with Naruto! Let's see if you ever dare to mess with me again in the future!" He breathed a sigh of relief, and was just about to continue to boast when suddenly he realized that Patriarch Crimsonsoul had given up on chasing the rabbit, and was currently glaring at him.

Then he thought back to some of the things the rabbit had said, and quickly ducked his head and hurried back to his immortal's cave.

"It wasn't my fault," he muttered. "Nobody did anything to help me! Everyone just watched the poor junior patriarch getting beaten up by that rabbit!" Rubbing his face discontentedly, he decided that it would be best not to go out very often. After all, if he ended up chasing the rabbit again, who knew what the thing might say.

"Hey, what about Bruiser? Where did he get off to? I haven't seen him for days now. I bet he's off messing around with some female beast!" Because of the special connection between the two of them, he could tell that Bruiser was safe, though, so he didn't give it much more thought.

"Ah whatever. I never took the time to rest and recover after reaching Heaven-Dao Gold Core. I might as well take advantage of the time now to go into secluded meditation." With that, he made his decision. He immediately sealed his immortal's cave up tight and began to focus on cultivation.

Time passed. A month later, he opened his eyes, and found that his cultivation base was much more stable than before, and had even made a bit of progress. With that, he slapped his bag of holding and produced a jade slip.

It was pitch-black, and didn't seem very impressive. However, as soon as he put his hand on it, a sensation of intense coldness filled him. This was none other than that the technique that Frigidsect had given him….

After scanning the jade slip with divine sense, Naruto's expression flickered with surprise.

"Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation!

"The cultivation of this technique requires Heavenspan River water.

However, instead of consuming it, you alter its structure into two types: Frigid and Will….

"Use the technique to form the Frigid, use the Frigid to evolve the Will….

"If one masters it, one's Will can freeze everything in the area with frigid coldness. Hmm… what's the Will it talks about?" As he continued to study the jade slip, his surprise grew. Eventually, he put the slip down.

"So, Will is the ultimate level of control power, something completely and utterly bizarre. Essentially, it comes by fusing control power with one's own thoughts!

"The Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art develops control power, and the

Violet Chakra Heavenspan Incantation uses that control power to create the Heavenspan Dharma Eye. That's only the initial step toward fusing control power with one's thoughts. The Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation involves a complete fusion of one's thoughts with control power. Then, true Willpower can be developed and grown…."

Naruto took a long, deep breath, and slowly picked up the jade slip again. Finally, he understood the truth; the Spirit Stream Sect techniques were all steps in a ladder leading to the ultimate form of power: Will!

"In that case, I can definitely succeed with my Human Controlling Grand Magic!

"In fact, by using Will, I can also complete my work with the powers of gravity and repulsion!

"Will…." he murmured. Looking over at a rock in the corner of the Immortal's cave, he tried to use nothing but his own thoughts to get it to fly up into the air.

Almost immediately, the little rock trembled in place. Although it didn't fly up, Naruto was already delighted. He had just moved that rock without any magic, without any cultivation base power, without any divine abilities. He had used only his own thoughts.

After a bit of time passed, he suppressed his excitement and began to think about going to get a huge bucket of Heavenspan River water to start cultivating. All of a sudden, he thought about his Undying Live Forever Technique. Closing his eyes, he began to review the information he had received from the legacy of the Blood Ancestor, the third volume of…

Undying Muscles!

Muscles were the source of speed, and the power of muscles could make a person strong and tough. When you combined such levels of speed and power into a fist strike, the shocking results would surpass anything that had come before it!

Even more fantastic was that the ultimate combination of speed and power in the Undying Muscles technique led to an incredible divine ability, a hexing magic that could be unleashed with every punch or kick!

It was a hexing magic that could seal anything and everything!

The first two volumes of the Undying Technique provided miraculous divine abilities in addition to the ultimately powerful fleshly body improvements, and this one was no different.

"The Undying Hex!" Naruto's eyes shone with bright light. That was the divine ability that came with the third volume, something similar to the Throat Crushing Grasp and the Mountain Shaking Bash!

Unlike the other two volumes, the Undying Muscles were not divided into different levels. Instead, the goal was to apply the technique to every part of the body!

It was divided up into the four limbs, the torso, and the head!

The only way to master the technique was to apply it to each and every one of those body parts!

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	8. Chapter 8

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Chapter 349 Chapter 349 Chapter 349

After delving into the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation and the Undying Muscles, Naruto was filled with anticipation regarding what was to come in the future. That was especially true after sensing his own flourishing life force. Although he wasn't completely sure of the limits of his longevity, he had the feeling that it was at least a thousand years or so.

Many people found cultivation to be dull and boring, but he didn't mind it at all, and quickly immersed himself in the Frigid School Will Evolving Incantation and the Undying Muscles.

After some consideration, he decided that he would begin cultivating the Undying Muscles with the big toe on his left foot.

"I'll go one toe at a time," he thought. "That will be the most stable way to go about it!" He was fully convinced that this was the right course. He could already imagine the screams of pain from his enemies when they were completely caught off guard by the power of his toe.

"Only an idiot would start with the fingers. What good are fingers? Everyone is prepared for someone to attack with the hands. Besides, in a critical moment, how could your fingers help you to escape? But toes are different. Not only can they catch people off guard in a sudden attack, they can also be used to run away at full speed. As long as I have my poor little life, I have everything!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto was convinced that he was the epitome of wisdom, intelligence and courage. He was so pleased that he started looking around for a copper mirror to admire himself in, only to discover that there were no mirrors in his immortal's cave.

"That won't do!" he thought. "I can't believe there's not a single mirror in here!" He was feeling more than a little disappointed. However, it was at that point that he thought back to the young woman from the Sky River Court whom he had killed in battle. When he'd scanned her bag of holding, he remembered seeing a mirror.

He quickly opened his bag of holding and began rifling through its contents until he found a round, palm-sized copper mirror. He also looked for the little turtle, but didn't find even a trace of him. However, he was used to the turtle's mysterious vanishing acts, and thus wasn't very surprised.

After examining the mirror for a bit, Naruto was delighted to discover that it wasn't just an ordinary mirror, it was actually a useful magical item. Although it wasn't as extraordinary as his three precious treasures, it was still quite impressive: it could form a magical clone.

However, it wasn't the type of clone that could be used for fighting, and was more for distracting the enemy. Back when he had been fighting the young woman, he had completely dominated the fight. Plus, his use of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye had made the use of such a clone useless.

"Not bad at all, actually," he said as he fiddled with the mirror. A moment later, he decided to study the mirror with his third eye. As soon as it opened, he said, "Eee?"

Violet light flickered within the immortal's cave, then disappeared a moment later when he closed his third eye.

"It seems that young woman didn't even know the true function of this mirror. Not only can it form magical clones, it can also keep souls alive!" Another surprise was that the fluctuations of this mirror were very similar to the fluctuations of the mysterious mask. Although they weren't exactly the same, they were very close.

After playing with it for a bit longer, he finally put it off to the side and resumed his cultivation. Time passed. Before long, half a month had gone by.

One night when he was in t

he middle of a session of cultivation, all of the hair on his body suddenly stood on end. Opening his eyes, he noticed that the floor was rippling wildly, and a cold air was building up in the immortal's cave, as if it were being separated from the wider world around him.

At the same time, a red beam of light flew out from his bag of holding, and the mask appeared. Then, an ancient voice spoke, seemingly trembling with anxiety.

"Don't–"

Naruto gasped. Before the voice could say more than a single word, he produced a stack of paper talismans even larger than before, poured his Heaven-Dao Gold Core cultivation base power into them, and then threw them at the mask.

Smacking sounds rang out again, along with a roar of rage from within the mask. Then the mask clattered to the floor, and the ripples vanished. Only then did imposter Nightcrypt's soul float out, trembling.

"Finished!" he screamed. "We're finished! They came again! What do we do? What are we supposed to do…?"

Naruto was also terrified, and was convinced that if he'd acted any slower, he would have been placed in extreme danger.

"Damned evil spirit!" Naruto said, grinding his teeth. Then he looked over thoughtfully at imposter Nightcrypt's soul. After a moment, a gleam of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Imposter Nightcrypt, I'm going to give you a new home, and you need to cooperate. Otherwise I'll have to throw you into the Heavenspan River along with the mask to feed the fishes!"

Imposter Nightcrypt began trembling again, and it seemed like he wanted to say something. However, considering how bloodshot Naruto 's eyes were, he didn't even dare to open his mouth. He simply nodded, eyes shining with terror.

"I can mop the floor with that old rabbit," Naruto said with a growl,

"so I refuse to believe that I can't handle this wimpy little mask!" Snorting coldly, he pulled the mirror out and studied it a bit further. Then he performed an incantation gesture with both hands and pointed at the mask. Imposter Nightcrypt immediately began screaming, but then Naruto glared at him and he quickly shut his mouth.

Naruto slipped into complete focus as he unleashed his HeavenDao aura. His Gold Core seethed as his cultivation base erupted with power. As a result, his right hand turned completely golden. At the same time, his Heavenspan Dharma Eye opened, shining with intense violet light.

A terrifying shockwave blasted out from Naruto . The violet light shining from his Heavenspan Dharma Eye was now tinged with gold as a stream of Heaven-Dao aura raced through it to landed onto the mask. Almost instantly, Naruto was able to see the areas where imposter Nightcrypt's soul was connected to the mask itself.

As soon as he saw the connections, he didn't hesitate for even a moment to chop his hand through the air, causing golden light to flicker brightly.

"Sever!" he growled. Rumbling sounds echoed out as his hand chopped into the connections. The connections trembled; although they were tough, they were now being assaulted by a Heaven-Dao aura, and could only hold firm for a short moment. Then they melted away!

Imposter Nightcrypt immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream as his soul shot out of the mask. Unexpectedly, as soon as he appeared in the open, some powerful force seemed to grab ahold of him as if to drag him away.

Imposter Nightcrypt screamed in terror, and Naruto 's jaw dropped. Thankfully, he already had the mirror ready to go. He quickly waved his sleeve, sending the mirror flying toward imposter Nightcrypt. In the blink of an eye, Nightcrypt was sucked inside.

After everything was over, Naruto was left gasping for breath. Although the events which had just occurred had seemed simple enough, they had actually been incredibly draining. A quick check confirmed that imposter Nightcrypt was now in the mirror. His soul seemed to have been weakened significantly, and he was unconscious, but not seriously injured. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he turned his gaze to the mask. Snorting coldly, he pulled out more paper talismans, which he slapped onto the surface of the mask. In the end, even he wasn't sure how many restrictive spells were sealing the mask, but there were layers upon layers of them. Finally, Naruto felt a bit more at ease.

"Let's see if you manage to misbehave again now that you're in that state!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he put the mask away, and then continued with his cultivation.

Another half a month went by, during which time the mask didn't act up again. Naruto was starting to get a bit distracted, and even found himself pondering the issue of the River-Defying Pill.

Half a month later, he couldn't sit still any longer.

"I'm already in the Gold Core stage," he thought, "which is already pretty awesome. I need to strike a good balance between hard work and leisure. I can't just sit around cultivating all the time." The more he reasoned on the subject, the more it made sense to leave secluded meditation. With that, he opened his immortal's cave and stepped out into the open….

After taking in a deep breath of fresh air, he looked around at the RiverDefying Sect, and deep in his heart, a sense of intense pride rose up. Clasping his hands behind his back, he began to stroll through the sect, appreciating the sights as he went.

"It's been a long time since I saw Big Sis Song," he thought. "Man, I miss her…." Whenever he thought about Song Junwan's scorchingly sexy appearance, his heart surged with warm feelings. After blinking a few times, he decided that he should go find her and say some loving things.

As he walked along, the leaves in the trees rustled, and the birds sang. The spiritual energy in the River-Defying Sect was abundant, and the entire place seemed like a celestial paradise. He encountered many River-Defying Sect disciples, including young men and young women, all of whom gazed at him with looks of awe and reverence. Because of his status as junior patriarch, he had almost one of the highest positions in the entire sect.

Such looks of awe were especially noticeable on the faces of the disciples from the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions, who didn't actually know very much about him. After all, his pure and fair appearance was quite pleasing to the eye. Plus, he enjoyed putting on a good show in public. The truth was that there were quite a few young female disciples who had taken a liking to him.

At the moment, he was passing through the Profound Stream Division, and ran into some disciples who were offering him greetings. Suddenly, a female disciple flew out from one of the mountains. She was quite a beauty, but was blushing furiously as she hurried over to Naruto . To his shock, she bit her bottom lip and averted her gaze as she quickly handed him an envelope. Before he could say anything to her, she turned and hurried away.

Cultivators usually used jade slips to communicate with each other, making handwritten letters somewhat of a rarity. Naruto gaped in shock for a moment, and then looked down at the envelope to discover that a heart was drawn on its surface….

"Is this…?" His eyes went wide, and he gasped. Then he began to shiver in excitement.

"A love letter!"

Chapter 349: A Love Letter

Chapter 350 Chapter 350

Chapter 350: You're Lying!

All of the disciples in the area had stopped walking, and were now looking at Naruto .

The envelope he was holding in his hand was most certainly a love letter!

Of course, Naruto didn't have much experience getting love letters. As for the surrounding disciples, from the looks in their eyes, they all seemed to be wishing him well over the matter, and some of the male disciples even seemed a bit jealous.

Naruto 's hands were trembling as he held the envelope, and his heart surged with emotions. Then, his eyes widened, filling with excitement.

"This is the first time in my entire life that I've been given a love letter! The only letters I got in the past were fighting notices!" He was so moved that tears began to seep out of the corners of his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the young woman who'd given him the letter, who was fleeing as quickly as a frightened bunny.

"Although I don't even know your name," he murmured, "I will definitely cherish this love letter, the first one that has ever been given to me in my entire life. Years from now, I'll show it to my descendants so they can appreciate how charming their patriarch was in his youth!" Even as he sighed deeply in his heart, he realized that all of the surrounding River-Defying Sect disciples were looking at him, and he felt even more wonderful than before.

"I love the River-Defying Sect," he thought, "and I love all of my fellow disciples…." It was with some difficulty that he collected himself and then oh-so-carefully placed the love letter into his bag of holding. With that, he stuck his chin up, flicked his sleeve, and prepared to make a little speech. But then…

Another female disciple of the Profound Stream Division bit her lip as she made a big decision. Without any more hesitation, she hurried over to Naruto , head lowered and cheeks flushed as she pressed an envelope into his hand and then rushed off.

Naruto 's jaw dropped at the sight of this second love letter resting there in his hands. Instead of a heart drawn onto the surface of the envelope, it showed two little clasped hands.

Naruto wasn't the only shocked one. The other disciples who'd begun to gather to see what was happening all began to cry out in shock.

"There's nothing strange about the junior patriarch getting a love letter.

But I can't believe he actually got two of them!"

"Aggghhhh! Everybody knows that I, Xu Xiaoshan, am one of the most handsome guys in the sect! How come nobody's ever given me a love letter!?"

Even as the discussions broke out, Naruto 's hands began to shake, and then he threw his head back and let loose a long cry of joy. His eyes were sparkling, and he was trembling visibly. At the same time, he was deeply and profoundly moved, down to the core of his being.

"This is only the second love letter I've ever received in my entire life! I never could have imagined that I would actually receive two love letters!" Naruto couldn't be more excited, and he was virtually panting as he looked at the retreating form of the young woman who'd just given him the letter. After carefully putting the love letter away, his eyes began to gleam with unprecedented determination.

"I shouldn't be so selfish as to just worry about my own affairs. Ever since I became the junior patriarch, I've become the complete center of attention. All of the disciples are watching me, and that includes the female disciples!" Brimming with righteousness, and eyes glittering, he decided that now wasn't the best time to go visit Song Junwan. Instead, he began to strol

l through the mountains of the Profound Stream Division.

Before he'd gone very far, a third female disciple hurried over to him and shyly handed him an envelope.

Then there was a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth….

Over the course of the following hours, Naruto continue to feel more and more moved. He had received dozens of love letters, all of them hand-written. He was now filled with deep and profound emotions.

In response, the disciples who had begun to follow him devolved into pandemonium.

"Heavens, another one!"

"How could this be happening? He's gotten so many love letters. Th-ththis…."

"Are those girls all blind or something? He might be the junior patriarch, but I'm a Chosen too!"

Naruto was already in a bit of a daze. The first few love letters had left him moved, but now he had dozens of them, and almost couldn't believe it. The sight of so many blushing female disciples caused waves of emotion to batter his heart.

"Am I… am I really so outstanding?" he thought giddily.

Eventually, he left the Profound Stream Division's mountains and headed into the Pill Stream Division. Unexpectedly, the first thing that happened was that a female disciple ran over bashfully and handed him a love letter.

In fact, one of the particularly creative female disciples had concocted a medicinal pill which she had carved with countless lines of text….

It was evening before he returned to Mount River Defiance. Never could he have been prepared for the events of the day, and they left him feeling more blessed than ever.

"I guess I really am just too outstanding. Hahaha! I guess that's what happens when you're dashing like me. Well, like I've always said, only dashing people can get special treatment like this." Naruto 's giggling laughter filled his immortal's cave as he sat down cross-legged, pulled out all of the love letters he'd received, and spread them out in front of him. It was almost as if a whole group of attractive female disciples were all standing there, bashfully expressing their love to him….

After studying the drawings on the envelopes, he began to open and read each letter.

Naruto was left trembling, and his face was even a bit flushed. That night, his heart burst with emotion over and over again. By the time he finished reading all of the letters, the light of dawn was rising up over the horizon.

After the sun was up, Naruto rose to his feet, straightened up his garments, and then hurried out of his immortal's cave, a broad smile covering his face. However, even as he stepped into the open, he stopped, then went back inside to change into his official junior patriarch's robe.

It was a very ornate Daoist robe, ocean-blue and seemingly filled with rippling waves. It had five golden dragons embroidered on it, all of them very vivid and lifelike. Every move he made in the robe caused mysterious light to ripple around him, making him look even more heroic and impressive than before.

This particular Daoist robe had been prepared for him specifically for the grand ceremony earlier, and he'd only worn it for those seven days. Back then, he'd believed it to be a bit too uncomfortable. But now, he quickly donned the robe, and then examined himself in the mirror. Pleased with how incredibly handsome he looked, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, then finally opened the door and stepped outside.

As the day went on, he strolled through the four divisions of the sect, his chin stuck up as high as ever. Of course, his attire instantly attracted the attention of the River-Defying Sect disciples. During the night, the news about the love letters had spread, and was now the subject of much discussion. As of now, many people were looking over at Naruto with odd expressions on their faces.

Of course, most of those odd expressions could be seen on the faces of the male disciples. On the other hand, the female disciples' eyes shone brighter than ever when they saw Naruto in his junior patriarch's robe.

In one short hour, Naruto was delighted to find that more girls were giving him love letters. They came from the Profound Stream Division, the Pill Stream Division, and even from the Blood Stream Division!

Yet again, the onlookers were completely taken aback, and the male disciples began to cry out in distress.

"Wh-what… what exactly is going on here!?"

"Heavens, the junior patriarch must have received over a hundred love letters between today and yesterday!"

"Crazy! This is just completely crazy…."

Naruto struggled to keep himself under control. Maintaining a soft and warm expression, he accepted the love letters, and then gave slight smiles to the female disciples who delivered them.

When he heard the cries of shock and the exclamations of envy, his heart burst with joy. That was how he spent the following days. During the night, he would spend his time reading the love letters. The matter quickly became the talk of the entire sect.

Everyone had different perspectives on what it meant for Naruto to have garnered the affections of almost all the female disciples.

The gossip in the sect was almost all about Naruto ; everyone was talking about him. People like Xu Baocai and Big Fatty Zhang were fairly jealous. As for Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan, when they heard the news, grim expressions appeared on their faces, and their anger began to burn.

"371 letters! Hahaha! That's only in the past couple of days! I can't believe I actually got 371 love letters!" Even as the sect was in an uproar, Naruto was sitting in his immortal's cave, looking at his piled-up collection of love letters.

"Am I… am I really so outstanding?" Naruto was nearly drunk with pride. Waving his right hand, he produced his little copper mirror and began to examine himself. Sighing emotionally, he realized that he needed someone to share this moment with.

"Copper mirror, what do you think? Who is the most outstanding person in the entire River-Defying Sect?!"

Of course, imposter Nightcrypt was inside the copper mirror. As soon as he heard Naruto talking, he promptly continued to pretend to be unconscious. He had heard such words uttered by Naruto numerous times in the past few days. Considering how terrified he was of Naruto , he didn't dare to respond, fearful that if he bungled his response, he would be punished.

Naruto 's eyes widened into a glare. "You think I don't know you're awake, copper mirror!?" he barked. "Answer the question!"

Terrified, imposter Nightcrypt opened his eyes and then fawningly said,

"Master, you are definitely the most outstanding person in the entire

River-Defying Sect!"

"You're lying!" Naruto said angrily.

Imposter Nightcrypt was so frightened by Naruto 's response that he nearly passed out. That was especially true considering how bloodshot Naruto 's eyes were. He seemed to be brimming with anger. Imposter Nightcrypt immediately gave a piteous cry and then said, "I'm not lying! I… I hereby swear an oath! I swear I'm not lying at all. You're not just one of the most outstanding persons in all the lands of Heavenspan, you're the most, most, most outstanding!" "Really?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Imposter Nightcrypt knew what Naruto was trying to do.

Therefore, it was with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron that he quickly replied, "Absolutely. Positively! It's true from many points of view!"

Naruto sighed. Looking very pleased, he put the mirror away, and then began to organize the love letters.

"Well since you put it that way, I guess I understand. No wonder so many Junior Sisters love me. So that's how it is!"

—

Chapter 351 Chapter 351

Chapter 351: Come Hang Out In My Immortal's Cave….

Seeing that Naruto had been placated, imposter Nightcrypt was both howling in frustration, and at the same time, sighing in relief. Even still, his terror regarding Naruto only continued to grow.

What worried him most was that he had no idea what things might happen in the future….

Sighing in contentment, Naruto put the copper mirror away, then organized the love letters and slowly put them away into his bag of holding. By this point, he was completely determined to show the love letters to his descendants so that they too could bask in his glory.

Feeling wonderful, Naruto went on to cultivate the Frigid School

Will Evolving Incantation, and then work on his big toe with the Undying Muscles. Glancing outside, he realized that it wasn't dawn yet, and he got a bit irritated.

"What's taking the sun so long to rise?!" he muttered. Having nothing else to do, he decided to ponder the issue of the River-Defying Pill again.

Time slipped by, and soon it was the fourth watch. Outside, everything was quiet. Suddenly Naruto 's face sank as a cold sensation washed over him, and ripples began to spread out on the floor beneath him. In the blink of an eye, they had filled the entire immortal's cave.

Although no one on the outside could hear anything, inside the immortal cave, some powerful force seemed to be trying to cut the immortal's cave away from the world around it. At the same time, the sealed mask in his bag of holding erupted with brilliant red light.

Apparently, the mysterious group behind the mask were paying a huge price to try to break the seals and try to communicate with Naruto .

The mask flew out of his bag of holding, and the ancient voice began to speak urgently.

"Listen to what I–"

This time the voice managed to speak a bit more than the previous time, leaving Naruto petrified. Screaming, he waved his right hand viciously through the air, sending a huge stack of paper talismans slamming into the mask. At the same time, he sent cultivation base power surging out, completely suppressing it.

Despite all of that, the mask was still struggling, and the ancient voice was still speaking. However, despite how viciously the voice struggled, it wasn't possible to tell what it was saying.

"You're forcing me to do this!" Naruto said, his eyes bright red, his heart pulsing with fear. After using all of the paper talismans he had at his disposal, he raced out of his immortal's cave, heading at top speed toward the Heavenspan River at the bottom of Mount River Defiance.

Upon his arrival, he sent a fist strike in the direction of the river, causing a huge wave to roll out across its surface, then scooped up a bunch of the water into a large jade bucket.

He had originally intended to use that bucket to collect water for cultivation purposes, but things were different now. After racing back to his immortal's cave, he saw the mask, still struggling, a muffled voice echoing out from inside of it. This time, the words were more coherent.

"You… don't… need… to refuse–"

"I refuse, dumbass!" Naruto roared, shoving the mask down into the bucket of Heavenspan River water.

In that instant, the conversation ended, and everything went silent.

After looking cautiously at the bucket for a moment, Naruto finally breathed a sigh of relief, then gave a slight harrumph.

"Did you really think Lord Uzumaki wouldn't be able to come up with a solution? Now, let's see how you act up this time!" Sighing proudly, Naruto sealed the bucket of Heavenspan River water and then put

it in his bag of holding.

If the mask had been submerged in Heavenspan River water with imposter Nightcrypt inside, then his soul would have been negatively affected. That was why Naruto had chosen to move imposter Nightcrypt into the copper mirror.

Now that the incident with the mask was over, Naruto felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Not only did he wish to avoid officially offending the mysterious organization, he also wanted to avoid dragging the River-Defying Sect into the matter.

After all, the entire situation was his doing, so unless he was left with absolutely no other options, he didn't want to hand the mask over to the sect to handle. At this moment, he was almost weak with relief that the situation had been resolved.

In the following days, he continued to go out every morning to receive love letters.

Eventually, Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai came to Naruto and expressed their desire to accompany him during his daily excursions to receive love letters. Naruto was naturally unable to refuse them. When they personally witnessed the female disciples rushing over to give Naruto love letters, their eyes went wide with open envy…. "Ninth Fatty, I've lost a lot of weight, haven't I? Why don't any of the girls give me a love letter?!" Big Fatty Zhang was a bit depressed. The truth was that despite having lost so much weight, he still had a bit of a belly.

Xu Baocai was equally downtrodden. Of course, he had already recorded the details of the legendary love letter incident into his little notebook. At the moment, he felt like he had ants crawling around in his heart….

In response to Big Fatty Zhang's question, Naruto stuck his chin up and cleared his throat.

"To be honest, it takes skill. There's no need for you two to get anxious. Just be patient, and I'll explain everything…." Even as Naruto was preparing to dazzle them with his insights, he noticed that Xu Baocai's eyes had gone wide, and that Big Fatty Zhang was staring at something behind him.

Naruto 's jaw dropped as he realized that it wasn't just Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai who were acting in such a way. He quickly looked over his shoulder and saw a young woman gliding up the path toward him.

She appeared to about eighteen or nineteen years of age, with large black eyes and plump rosy-red lips. She was charming and graceful as she swayed toward him, refined and beautiful in a way that defied description.

Her garments were simple yet elegant, and covered her slender frame in just the right way. Her skin was as pure as a lotus, and she had long legs that looked like they had been carved by a master craftsman. Her face was so beautiful it was like a work of art. She was clearly a peerless beauty among women.

She was none other than Chen Manyao!

Xu Baocai gasped. "The number one hottest girl in all of the River-

Defying Sect!"

Actually, he was the one who had proclaimed her to be the so-called number one hottest girl. Not only had he officially recorded it in his notebook, he had also spread word about the matter personally. He had even dreamed about her on more than one occasion. As soon as he laid eyes on her, he subconsciously puffed his chest out and stood straighter. In the past, he had often come off a bit awkward in front of pretty girls, but as of this moment, he actually seemed a bit heroic.

Big Fatty Zhang subconsciously sucked in his stomach, and his eyes began to sparkle.

Naruto heard all of the gasps around him, and noted the reactions of Xu Baocai and Big Fatty Zhang. "You must be exaggerating," he said. With that, he proceeded to look Chen Manyao up and down. Although he had to admit that she was pretty, he didn't think that she was so shockingly good-looking as to leave one dumbstruck.

"Hmph," he thought. "She's definitely not received as many love letters as I have!" Sticking his chin up, he couldn't help but muse to himself that this Chen Manyao was far too pretentious.

Just when he was about to stalk off impatiently, Chen Manyao suddenly spoke in a voice that sounded like a hundred spirit creatures singing in a choir.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, please wait a moment."

Naruto 's jaw dropped. This was the first time Chen Manyao had ever greeted him. Turning his head, he watched her approach.

When his gaze fell upon her, she blushed slightly. Looking somewhat embarrassed, she bowed her head, and then pulled a pink handkerchief out of her sleeve, which she quickly placed into his hand.

Seemingly mustering her courage, she said, "If you have time, Elder Brother Uzumaki, why don't you come to my immortal's cave tonight at the third watch? We can hang out a bit…."

As the words left her mouth, the flush on her spectacularly beautiful face deepened. Giving him a dazzlingly bewitching look, she turned to leave. As she did, the turn of her head revealed that her fair neck was just as red as her face. Ducking her head, she hurried off into the distance.

Naruto was completely taken aback as he looked down at the handkerchief. Considering how many love letters he had received, he was no stranger to receiving them in the form of a handkerchief. However, this was the first time that any girl had been so bold as to actually set a time and place for a date with him….

Naruto looked back at Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai and said, "What exactly does she mean by hang out in her immortal's cave…?" Big Fatty Zhang simply stood there with his mouth hanging open.

Xu Baocai was as shocked as a wooden chicken, and although he was still standing there as heroically as possible, a look of incredulity could be seen on his face, and his mind was spinning. He had already been jealous of Naruto receiving so many love letters, but just now, he had personally witnessed him getting one from Chen Manyao….

Of course, in recent days, Chen Manyao had become the dream girl of many male disciples in the sect. She was completely famous, and existed on a different level than any other female disciple. She was widely known as the number one hottest girl in the sect!

And yet here she had taken the initiative to invite Naruto to hang out in her immortal's cave.

Xu Baocai forced himself to exhale slowly. Jealousy burning in his heart, he said, "How should I know what she means…?"

—

Chapter 352 Chapter 352

Chapter 352: Come On In, Elder Brother Uzumaki

Naruto looked over at Xu Baocai, and could see that he was clearly a bit irritated. Naruto blinked a few times, then glanced at Big Fatty Zhang, whose eyes were glowing with admiration. Big Fatty Zhang even reached out and clasped Naruto 's shoulder.

"Go on, Naruto. Afterward, you'll truly have grown up…."

Coughing dryly, Naruto tossed the handkerchief into his bag of holding, then swished his sleeve and grandly announced, "You think I'll go just because she wants me to? Hell no!"

That only seemed to make all the surrounding onlookers admire him even more. However, what no one noticed was that, even as he threw the handkerchief into his bag of holding, a profound light flickered deep in his eyes.

Xu Baocai was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Sometime in the afternoon, after Naruto returned to his immortal's cave, Xu Baocai finally started to spread the news about Chen Manyao's amorous date proposal to Naruto .

The gossip spread even faster than before, like a tempest that swept through all four divisions. The matter with the love letters was like a mere ticking timebomb, whereas Chen Manyao was the spark that caused it to explode.

The four divisions were thrown into a complete uproar. Cries of shock and astonishment filled the air everywhere.

"What!? I can't believe Chen Manyao is wooing Naruto !"

"Th-this… this is just crazy! Who cares if all those other girls gave him love letters. Why did my beloved Junior Sister Chen have to go and do the same thing!?"

"This can't be true!"

"What!? They're going to 'hang out' in her immortal's cave tonight during the third watch? What exactly are they planning to do together?!"

Word spread through the entire River-Defying Sect, until even the sect leader and the Core Formation elders heard. There were also a few patriarchs who weren't in secluded meditation at the moment who also caught wind of the matter.

However, whether it was the old news about the love letters, or this new development, none of them took the matter too seriously. In fact, some of them even joked about it a bit. As for Toruho , he had a serious discussion with Xu Meixiang about what type of person Chen Manyao was….

Two of the patriarchs who happened to be out of their secluded meditation were Nascent Soul patriarchs from the Pill Stream Division, and they were actually very pleased with this development.

The Profound Stream Division Nascent Soul experts were also fairly excited. They knew how important Naruto was to the sect; if one of the disciples from their division became Naruto 's Daoist partner, it would be of incredible benefit to them.

However, the patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Division, as well as Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong, all felt headaches coming on. That was especially true of Zheng Yuandong, who knew Naruto better than most. This new development, coupled with the way Naruto had been strolling around the sect every day recently, accepting love letters, caused him to let out a long sigh.

"When is Naruto going to grow up a little bit more?" he thought. "He's already reached Gold Core! Maybe by the time he reaches Nascent Soul he'll be a bit better?" In the end, he simply shook his head. By this point, he had actually given up on the hope that Naruto 's personality would change much.

Considering the entire sect was talking about the matter, it didn't take long before Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei heard about what was happening. Both of them immediately started to get anxious. Although they had been angered

by the love letter situation, they hadn't viewed it as a serious threat. This was different. This latest deadly intrusion by Chen Manyao left both young women filled with sensations of intense crisis.

"Slut!"

"Completely shameless!"

Both of them sat in their Immortal's cave, stewing in rage. Song Junwan had an explosive temper, and Hou Xiaomei was as fiery as a hot pepper sometimes. Both of them seemed on the verge of erupting.

For the first time ever, they dropped their differences and met together to discuss the situation. After hashing things out, they made an agreement; that very day when evening fell, they would strike!

Naruto was currently sitting in his immortal's cave, looking at Chen Manyao's handkerchief, a strange light flickering in his eyes as he thought about the situation. Suddenly, his face fell as he detected a killing aura just outside of his immortal's cave. Looking over his shoulder, he realized that Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei were standing outside.

Shivering with fear, he quickly put the handkerchief away, then opened the door, a warm smile on his face.

"Big Sis Song, Xiaomei, what are you two doing here? The two of you have completely occupied my thoughts lately! I've missed you so much…."

Song Junwan's eyes went wide, and she snorted coldly. Completely ignoring Naruto , she stalked into the immortal's cave and inspected every inch of it. Then she gave Naruto another glare before leaving.

Even as Naruto 's jaw dropped in surprise, Hou Xiaomei stepped forward and grabbed him by the arm.

"I've missed you too, Big Bro Naruto. I'm going to stay here with you tonight!"

"Huh?" Naruto said, stunned.

"What's wrong, Big Bro Naruto?" she said, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked up at him. "You don't want to spend time with me?"

Naruto shook his head. Slapping his chest, he said, "Of course I want to spend time with you. How about–"

Before he could finish speaking, Hou Xiaomei smiled and dragged him into the immortal's cave. Once inside, she sat down and started talking, and didn't stop for the entire night. Naruto could only watch as time passed by. When the third watch came, he let out a long sigh.

Hou Xiaomei's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong, Big Bro Naruto? Are you thinking about your date with Elder Sister Chen Manyao that I heard about?"

Naruto 's heart trembled. Making himself the picture of righteousness, he said, "Who cares if she asked me on a date!? I'm not going to go just because she wants me to. I'm Naruto , the junior patriarch of the sect. No way would I go!"

The following morning at dawn, Hou Xiaomei left, and Naruto finally breathed a sigh of relief. But then, Song Junwan arrived. And that was how the next day and night went.

For the following month, Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei took turns standing guard over Naruto , giving him no chance to accept any love letters and no chance to go on any dates….

Thankfully for Naruto , the sect had just been established, and there were many tasks at hand. Eventually, both Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan were called away on various assignments. At long last, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, during the month which had passed, the matter of the love letter, as well as the situation with Chen Manyao, had become a thing of the past. Furthermore, the actions of Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei had put an end to the aspirations of the other female disciples.

By the time Naruto was finally free to walk around in the sect, he was very disappointed to discover that not a single person approached to hand him a love letter.

"I should have known this would happen…." he thought, crestfallen. Not willing to accept the situation, he strolled around the entire sect a few times over the following days, until he was completely convinced that there were no love letters to be had.

Sighing dejectedly, he returned to his immortal's cave where he slumped in a daze. Finally, late in the night, he looked out at the darkness and his eyes narrowed.

"As the junior patriarch of the sect, it wouldn't be very appropriate to simply ignore Chen Manyao's request for a date. I think I should go over and see exactly what she has planned!" Eyes flickering, he decided that he really had to make a decision based on the overall situation, especially considering his status in the sect. Clearing his throat, he cautiously made his way through the sect, being careful to avoid notice.

Soon, he found himself outside of Chen Manyao's immortal's cave.

The mountains of the Pill Stream Division were quiet this night. Naruto scouted the immediate vicinity to make sure there was nobody lying in wait, and then, he inspected the area surrounding the cave. He even went so far as to use his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, which allowed him to see the form of a young woman sitting in meditation inside the cave.

Seeing that there didn't appear to be any traps, Naruto finally felt a bit more at ease.

It was a very quiet and peaceful location. A narrow path led up to the immortal's cave, next to which was a small cistern filled with lotuses. Milky moonlight cascaded down onto the violet lotuses, which cast a lovely fragrance out into the night.

Naruto clasped his hands behind his back, looked up at the moon, and then cleared his throat.

"Junior Sister Chen, are you asleep? It's me, the junior patriarch. I've come for our date."

Almost instantly, a shocked voice responded from within the immortal's cave.

"Is that you, Elder Brother Uzumaki?" Even as Chen Manyao's soft voice could be heard, the door to the immortal's cave swung open, and she appeared in the open. She was wearing a tight-fitting blouse that completely revealed her curvaceous figure, and looked especially attractive because of the moonlight.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, please come in," she said, flashing a smile that made flowers look dull. She turned and gestured for him to enter.

Naruto looked her up and down, but didn't take a step forward. An enigmatic smile appeared on his face, as well as something fierce and a bit domineering!

—

Chapter 353 Chapter 353

Chapter 353: The So-Called Wildlands!

The flush on Chen Manyao's face deepened. At the moment, she almost felt like she was standing there naked in front of Naruto . Stepping back, she angrily said, "Elder Brother Uzumaki…."

Naruto shook his head, his eyes shining intimidatingly. "Very amusing. Unfortunately, your acting skills aren't up to par, Chen Manyao. You gave me a handkerchief for absolutely no reason! You asked me to come at the third watch, without any explanation!

"I sat around for an entire month, and you never sent me a message…. Chen Manyao, do you really think that the junior patriarch of the sect has the intelligence of a three-year-old child? Or did you take me for one of those idiots who nearly passes out as soon as he sees a pretty woman?! Did you secretly arrange for that whole love letter situation, all to give yourself a chance to launch a sneak attack during the chaos?!"

Every word Naruto spoke was as cold as ice, and in the end, he unleashed the power of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core cultivation base, causing intense pressure to weigh down. A powerful wind even swept through the area, causing Chen Manyao's face to fall, and her knees to tremble.

After all, she was only in the Foundation Establishment stage!

Naruto clasped his hands behind his back and stuck his chin up.

He looked more somber than ever, with a powerfully murderous aura and a gaze as sharp as a blade. "I didn't really need to come here, but as the junior patriarch, how could I not notice all the clues? Naturally, I had no other choice than to come and see what your true purpose in all of this is!"

Chen Manyao started backing up. "Elder Brother Uzumaki, I…"

Before she could continue, Naruto 's eyes flashed with cold light, and he waved his hand, sending a dagger-shaped horn flying out to hover above him, which instantly began to radiate the pressure of a precious treasure. In combination with the Heaven-Dao Gold Core cultivation base fluctuations, it caused an intensely murderous air to begin to crush down onto Chen Manyao.

That dagger-shaped horn was none other than Naruto 's Renegade Dragon Horn!

"Don't move even a muscle," he said casually. "You have three chances to explain yourself properly, and what you just said counts as one of those chances. Don't forget that, as the junior patriarch, I have the authority to execute any disciple I wish."

Although he spoke the words as if he were having an ordinary conversation, he had actually pushed the big toe of his left foot down into the ground, and had prepared it to unleash explosive force. If anything happened, he would instantly leave the area.

His Landscape of Nine Provinces was also ready to be used at a moment's notice.

Chen Manyao stopped moving, and gave Naruto a deep look. She didn't fail to notice that Naruto had stopped right on the edge of the spell formation she'd set up. Clearly, he had come well-prepared.

For the first time, fear of Naruto was beginning to take hold in her heart. Finally, she chuckled, and dropped the bashful act she had put on from before. Now, a mysterious light gleamed in her eyes.

Smiling, she said, "No wonder those old fogies care so much about you…. Naruto , I bear you no ill will. Of that I can swear an oath. The reason I wanted you to come here was so that you could meet a certain person!"

"You still have one chance left!" Naruto said coolly. The Renegade Dragon Horn hovering above him began to emit a cold light.

Chen Manyao's face twitched. After a moment of silence, she gritted her teeth and said, "Nightcrypt. Mask. Naruto . Mysterious grou

p. Spy. Relic of eternal indestructibility!"

A grim expression overtook Naruto 's face, and his eyes widened.

Mind reeling, he didn't hesitate for even a moment to send the

Renegade Dragon Horn flying forward toward Chen Manyao. At the same time, he pushed down with his big toe, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as he shot backward. Simultaneously, he produced the Landscape of Nine Provinces.

Currently, his heart was pounding. Although he had noticed that there was something suspicious about Chen Manyao, never could he have imagined that she actually worked for that same mysterious group he'd been in contact with for so long!

In the exact same moment that he took action, a black vortex appeared on Chen Manyao's forehead, from within which shot streams of black energy that wrapped up the Renegade Dragon Horn. Despite the fact that the horn was backed by Naruto 's Gold Core power, it instantly lurched to a stop.

At the same time, an ancient voice echoed out from within the black strands.

"Fellow Daoist, please just trust me this once. I had no choice but to use this method to make contact. I even revealed the secret identity of my apprentice Yao'er. I'm willing to risk her life to get the chance to talk with you. Please, can't you just trust me!?

"You can leave at any time you wish. Just let me say a few things. If you don't like what you hear, I won't try to stop you from leaving!" Even as the words echoed out, the black strands formed together into the vague image of an old man. Within that old man's eyes could be seen complex emotions, profound secrets, and even more surprising, respect and politeness toward Naruto !

Naruto forced his breathing under control. By this point, he was high up in the air. Furthermore, the fluctuations rolling out from the area had been noticed by others in the River-Defying Sect, and some of the nearby cultivators on patrol flew over, including a late Core Formation elder.

"Junior Patriarch, what's wrong?"

"What happened?!" The patrolling cultivators looked around suspiciously, and yet strangely, didn't seem to notice the old man formed from black strands of energy. The only thing they could see was Naruto , hovering there in midair, cultivation base power rippling out from him.

Everything down below was invisible to them.

The old man quickly said, "The only way for anyone to see or even detect me would be if a Deva Realm expert were in the River-Defying Sect. However, you are not within the cloaked area, so they can see you!"

Of course, Naruto was the only one who heard him speaking.

Naruto 's face was grim as he first looked over at the suspicious cultivators who'd flown over, then looked back down at the image of the old man.

Seeing Naruto 's reticence, the old man hurriedly continued, "The lands of Heavenspan are vast. The Heavenspan Sea is in the middle, and four great rivers spread out in the four directions from that sea. Those are the eastern, western, southern and northern cultivation worlds!"

"Each of the four major rivers splits up into four smaller rivers, which in turn become four streams. Beyond the streams are countless deltas that stretch further than the imagination can process. Although it seems like the spiritual energy of the Heavenspan Rivers is infinite, the truth is that when compared with the lands of Heavenspan as a whole, that spiritual energy is negligible. In fact, it's not even enough to fill half of the realm!

"The rest of the lands of Heavenspan are places that the spiritual energy of the Heavenspan Rivers don't touch, places that have come to be known as the Wildlands!" As soon as Naruto heard the man's explanation, his mind began to spin.

In the past, he had wondered about this very subject. The only explanation he had ever been given was that the places without the aura of the Heavenspan River were restricted areas where cultivators couldn't survive!

The words being spoken crashed like thunder in his mind. Based on what he could tell, it didn't seem like this old man was lying.

Tone serious, the old man continued, "By way of illustration, the areas with the spiritual energy of the Heavenspan River, the four major rivers and the riversource sects, are like the countries that exist in the mortal world. As for the people who live in the Wildlands, we are like defectors or even rebels!

"I am from the Wildlands, and the Blood Stream Sect's Blood Ancestor also came from the Wildlands!

"It is only because of some unique matters pertaining to Karma that the

Blood Ancestor's corpse stayed in the Heavenspan River!"

Naruto 's pupils constricted. He had long wondered why the mysterious organization was so interested in the relic of eternal indestructibility that was located on the Blood Ancestor. Based on the old man's explanation, it now started to make more sense.

"We don't really need the relic of eternal indestructibility. If you want it, then go ahead and keep it. The reason for my change in attitude, and the reason I'm telling these things to you, is that because of the legacy of the Blood Ancestor, you have become the second generation Blood Ancestor!

"In the final analysis, you have sown Karma with us in the Wildlands!" The old man was already starting to calm down. As long as Naruto didn't immediately leave, he would have his chance to explain things, and maybe even discuss matters.

What he feared the most was that Naruto would do the same thing he'd done before, and refuse to even listen to him.

"I tried to communicate with you via the mask, but you were too cautious. Therefore, I took a great risk, and expended significant resources, to have Yao'er enact the plan to get you over here!

"I represent an alliance of cities within the Wildlands, and we hope to keep in contact with you long-term. An arrangement like that would benefit you because we have agents in virtually all of the sects in all the four major rivers. We can provide you help in many ways, and we can also keep you informed about anything important happening in the world!

"However, you would also need to do things for us…." With that, the old man clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto .

Naruto was completely shaken, and was almost on the verge of leaving. However, he couldn't find fault with anything the old man had said, and in fact, many of his own questions had been answered. It was also true that revealing Chen Manyao's secret identity was in fact a show of good faith.

That was especially true considering that the old man had even admitted to setting up the situation with the love letters. It seemed that the old man was willing to explain the answer to any question he had.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto turned his attention to the patrolling cultivators, who, having checked the area and found nothing amiss, were looking at him hesitantly.

"You may take your leave," he said, "all of you. I just had a bad feeling a few moments ago. Sorry for the trouble." With that, he clasped hands and bowed to them.

The Gold Core elder looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, but didn't ask any further questions. Nodding, he led his men off.

Soon, everything was quiet again.

"So," Naruto suddenly said, "you can answer any question that I have?"

—

Chapter 354 Chapter 354

Chapter 354: Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

Seeing that Naruto had sent away the patrolling cultivators, the old man finally breathed a deep sigh of relief. He knew that he had struck a chord, and now the two of them could truly interact.

"I can't guarantee that I'll be able to tell you anything. But there are very few things the Wildlands don't know about. We have agents all over the lands of Heavenspan. And by that, I mean the Lower Reaches, the Middle Reaches, and even at the the sources of the rivers! We have people everywhere!" After hearing this first question of Naruto 's, the old man had been a bit hesitant. However, after a moment of careful thought, he had decided that the best thing would be to tell the truth. There was even a certain pride to his tone. After all, he was very confident in his ability to generate intelligence reports.

Naruto was silent for a moment, and then he said, "Fine. I want information about a person!"

"What level of cultivation base?" the old man replied immediately.

Naruto thought about it, then said, "Should be Foundation

Establishment!"

"Foundation Establishment cultivation base? Simple. Since this is our first time working together, how about I provide the information for free? No cost whatsoever. Just tell me the person's surname and given name, and what specifically you want to know." The old man was immediately relieved. Although there were a lot of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the lands of Heavenspan, it was a simple matter for the Wildlands to get information about them. Furthermore, there was virtually no risk involved.

Naruto had been a bit skeptical at first, but after seeing how confident the old man was, hope started to rise up in his heart.

"Her name is Ryuzetsu . At least, she… she started out at the Spirit

Stream Sect with that name. Then I ran into her again in the Blood Stream Sect's trial by fire for the blood master position. I want to know who she really is!"

"Find out her true identity? Even if those are the only things you know about her, that's enough for us to uncover her identity. Please wait a moment!" Smiling confidently, the old man faded away, having returned to the Wildlands to carry out the search.

Chen Manyao was sitting off to the side cross-legged, her eyes closed. Apparently, the old man had sent her into a trance and sealed her, in order to prevent damage to her soul while he used her as a medium.

Naruto took a deep breath and waited silently. Time passed. An hour flew by. The old man had not returned, and Naruto was starting to get nervous.

More time went by, enough for half an incense stick to burn. Suddenly, a tremor passed through Chen Manyao, and black strands flew out of her forehead again, which then took shape into the image of the old man.

However, this time, he seemed a bit ashen-faced. A strange light could be seen in his eyes as he looked at Naruto , and even confusion.

"Well?" Naruto quickly asked. "What information do you have?!"

The old man hesitated, then said, "Why don't you ask about someone else?"

"Huh?" Naruto said, both shocked and angry. "Didn't you say it would be a simple task? It's just information about a person. What happened? You couldn't find her?"

The old man smiled wryly. Along with the confusion in his eyes was a gleam of terror. After a moment passed, he shook his head. "We really couldn't find any information."

Naruto 's eyes widened. After looking at the old man for a moment, he suddenly pulled his bag of holding out and threw it onto the ground

.

"The little turtle is in there. I can't find him, but I know he's there, and you guys should be able to find him. Take the bag and tell me who Ryuzetsu is!"

The man looked deeply at Naruto , then smiled and decided not to hold anything back. "Really, why don't you ask about someone else? I can't get any information about this Ryuzetsu . Just moments ago, I sent people to investigate, and the entire city started shaking. Signs and portents were seen in heaven and earth! Most terrifying of all was that in the briefest of moments, a large portion of my agents out in the world suddenly died!

"Does it sound to you like I can keep investigating? Whoever this person it, she's either profoundly mysterious or backed by a power too incredible to imagine. I would suggest you refrain from provoking her, and it would probably be best if you never ran into her again."

Everything he had just said was the truth. The investigation he had just ordered had resulted in a cataclysmic response. He almost couldn't believe that a casual question on the part of Naruto could lead to such drastic upheavals. It also left him even more amazed and intrigued by Naruto 's own secrets.

Naruto stood there silently for a moment, his mind and heart battered by huge waves of shock. He could tell that the man hadn't been lying to him. After a moment passed, he said, "You didn't turn up even the slightest clue?"

Seeing how determined Naruto was, the old man hesitated. Considering that he wanted to maintain a long-term relationship with him, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "There is only one clue. Most of my agents who were just killed met their deaths in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! As for what that indicates, you can be the judge for yourself!"

With that, the old man clasped hands and bowed.

"If you want to contact me, you can do so at any time via the mask. If you'd rather not use the mask, then you can make use of Yao'er. She might be my agent, but she bears no ill will toward the River-Defying Sect. I hope you can show her some kindness…." With that, the man broke up into countless black strands that flew back into Chen Manyao's forehead.

Chen Manyao shivered, then opened her eyes. When she saw Uzumaki

Naruto standing there, it seemed like she wanted to say something. However, after a moment, she simply gave a curtseying bow, then went back inside her immortal's cave.

Naruto hovered in midair, looking up at the starry sky and the moon. Many thoughts ran through his head.

"The fact that most of the casualties among his agents were in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect indicates that I should be able to find more clues about Ryuzetsu there.

"Just who exactly are you, Ryuzetsu …?

"Trying to track you down like this is really exhausting…." He shook his head slowly. He had long since come to believe that the matter of Ryuzetsu was a thing of the past. However, there had always been questions in his heart that he couldn't quite forget about.

With that, he turned and headed back to Mount River Defiance. However, instead of going to his immortal's cave, he paid a visit to Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong.

By now, Naruto knew that he couldn't keep so many secrets from the sect. Therefore, he explained everything about Chen Manyao, the Wildlands, and the mask.

He left at dawn, having revealed everything to his Elder Brother sect leader. As for what would happen next, he didn't even want to think about it. However the sect chose to deal with the situation, he would support the decision.

Of course, Zheng Yuandong couldn't make a decision about something so weighty by himself, so he consulted with the patriarchs of the four divisions. The patriarchs summoned Chen Manyao, and in the end, nothing much happened. Everything soon went back to normal.

Chen Manyao remained in the River-Defying Sect, the celestial goddess to many of the male disciples. She was still a Chosen, and only Naruto and the patriarchs, as well as Zheng Yuandong, knew where she truly came from. Apparently, some sort of agreement had been reached….

With that matter having been handled, Naruto returned his focus to cultivation. Whether it was the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation or the Undying Muscles, he made progress with all of them. He was in the Middle Reaches now, in one of the four great sects. The spiritual power of heaven and earth was strong here, much stronger than in the Lower Reaches. Therefore, his speed of progress improved.

Of course, he wasn't the only one to benefit. Zhou Xinqi and the other Chosen like her were all in secluded meditation, gradually making their way toward the great circle of Foundation Establishment.

After that came Core Formation, although none of them would dare to do what Naruto had done, and reach for Core Formation in the heat of the moment. Most of them would take at least half a sixty-yearcycle to prepare before attempting the critical breakthrough.

As was to be expected, many of them were competing to see who could reach Core Formation first. Furthermore, not all of them got along, and thus were waiting until Core Formation to try to settle their differences.

Only people like Song Junwan, who had long since reached the great circle, could attempt to step into Core Formation with only a few years of preparation.

As for people like Big Fatty Zhang, Xu Baocai, Hou Xiaomei, Third Fatty Hei, and others, the improved spiritual energy in the Middle Reaches also helped them in their cultivation. That was especially true of Big Fatty Zhang, who made the most startling progress of all. He was already in mid Foundation Establishment.

Everyone in the River-Defying Sect was making progress. In fact, the first wave of Chakra Condensation cultivators had already been sent to locations set aside by the River-Defying Sect for the Earthstring Foundation Establishment trials by fire.

Middle Reaches sects had trials by fire that were beyond compare with those in the Lower Reaches.

As the sect seethed with activity, Bruiser finally returned. He appeared out of the blue, and as soon as he stopped in front of the immortal's cave, Naruto rushed out to meet him.

Bruiser was covered with wounds and scars, many of which seemed to run very deep.

However, he seemed to be in a very good mood, and his eyes were shining brightly. Unexpectedly, the aura of an imminent breakthrough was strong upon him!

Bruiser had gone missing almost as soon as the construction work on the new sect headquarters had begun. Naruto had been able to sense that he was alive, and had assumed that he'd gone off to look for some female beasts to spend time with. It was only now that he realized his assumption had been incorrect.

As Naruto 's eyes met Bruiser's, he realized that the reason Bruiser had gone missing was that he'd left for deadly training.

Bruiser had come to view himself as a bit useless; on numerous occasions in which Naruto had faced deadly crises, he had been completely unable to help!

—

Chapter 355 Chapter 355

Chapter 355: Bruiser's Tribulation!

Naruto felt a lump forming in his throat.

"Don't do this kind of thing again, okay!" he said loudly. "I'm your father! Are kids supposed to protect their dad? No! I'm supposed to protect you! Wait until I'm old and feeble, then you can protect me!

"Also, don't just disappear next time. If you want to go do something, say something to me first!"

Eyes glittering, Bruiser nudged Naruto with his head, then dropped down, rolled over onto his back, and stuck his tongue out. He looked very charming, causing the warm feelings inside of Naruto to grow even stronger.

Reaching out, he sent some of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core aura into Bruiser, straightening out his Chakra passageways. Bruiser hummed contentedly, and even reached his head up and licked Naruto 's face.

After healing Bruiser's internal injuries, Naruto looked at the wounds on his body, then produced a large quantity of medicinal pill for him to consume.

Each and every one of those pills could be sold for quite a few spirit stones, but when it came to Bruiser, Naruto wasn't stingy at all. The main thing he was worried about was making sure that Bruiser's injuries didn't worsen.

After consuming the medicinal pills, Bruiser bared his teeth in a fond smile. As of this moment, Bruiser and Naruto looked very much like family.

Naruto went on to scold Bruiser a bit more, and Bruiser wagged his tail and continued to rub up against Naruto . Eventually, Naruto didn't have the heart to reprimand him anymore.

After they went back into the immortal's cave, Bruiser's wounds continued to fade away, and the breakthrough aura on him grew even stronger.

Naruto could tell that Bruiser was definitely on the verge of breaking through to Core Formation. Core Formation was of great significance to battle beasts. Although battle beasts' Tribulations weren't like cultivators', they were still dangerous. Furthermore, Bruiser was a beast king, so his Tribulation would be different from that of ordinary battle beasts.

Worried, Naruto went to seek the counsel of Zheng Yuandong. After all, Bruiser was very important to the River-Defying Sect as a whole, and especially the Spirit Stream Division. Zheng Yuandong immediately issued a Dharmic decree, identifying the peak of Mount River Defiance as the location where Bruiser would attempt to step into Core Formation.

A large number of spell formations were set up, and work went underway to gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in that location. In addition, a large number of Core Formation cultivators were called upon to stand as Dharma protectors.

Even Patriarch Li Zimo, at Naruto 's request, ended his session of secluded meditation to also stand as Dharma protector.

Naruto paid visits to the other three divisions as well, and as a result, they all offered assistance. The Blood Stream Division provided several precious treasures designed for transcending tribulation, and the Pill Stream Division assigned over a thousand disciples to concoct pills.

As for the Profound Stream Division, they were the ones tasked with creating special spell formations on the mountain peak.

The power of all four divisions had been called on for this special occasion of Core Formation. It was enough to make any ordinary disciple envious. Of course, some of that had to do with Bruiser being a beast king, but more of it was because of Naruto 's status.

Seven days later, when Bruiser was completely healed, and the aura of an imminent breakthrough was strong, rumbling sounds echoed out from the summit of Mount River Defiance. Heaven and earth shook, an

d the clouds converged, along with intense, thunderous rumblings. Bruiser took his place on the altar at the mountain's summit, throwing his head back and roaring into the heavens, a roar that seemed capable of piercing the clouds.

The cultivators of the River-Defying Sect were shaken, and quite a few people flew up to see what was happening. "Bruiser's reaching Core Formation!"

"Beast king Core Formation is so impressive!"

"Beast kings are rare enough, and Bruiser is like a beast king among beast kings! Of course this is going to be extraordinary!"

As the discussions raged, the battle beasts in the Spirit Stream Division began to howl in support of Bruiser. The Heavenhorn ink dragon appeared, looking up into the sky, and then over at Bruiser, nervousness and anticipation gleaming in its eyes.

Naruto stood next to Bruiser, eyes sparkling. Of course, he was standing as Bruiser's primary Dharma protector.

Suddenly, the clouds converged together, and a black lightning bolt appeared, which immediately began to descend toward the altar on Mount River Defiance.

Roaring, Bruiser launched into the air, refusing to draw help from the spell formations or the surrounding Core Formation Dharma protectors.

As he closed in, he viciously head-butted the lightning bolt.

BOOM!

Heaven and earth trembled as the lightning bolt shattered into countless sparks which rained down in all directions. Bruiser howled in delight, turning to look proudly at Naruto before looking back up into the sky.

In response to Bruiser's smug behavior, Naruto cleared his throat. After all, it almost seemed like something he would do. Inside, his anxiety was mounting.

"Stay focused!" he called out. "If things get out of hand, get back down here. Don't worry, it won't be a loss of face…."

In almost the exact same instant that the words left his mouth, a second lightning bolt began to fall. Even as Bruiser bashed into it, destroying it, a third lightning bolt appeared, then a fourth and a fifth.

Each of the lightning bolts was larger than the one before it, and they descended toward Bruiser with incredible speed. Trembling, Bruiser roared and continued to face them head-on.

The third lightning bolt sent Bruiser tumbling back down to the ground, where he landed inside the spell formation. Just when Naruto was about to hurry forward to help, Bruiser gobbled up some of the medicinal pills that had been placed nearby. Eyes blazing red, he threw his head back and let out an enraged roar, then shot back up into the air, rocketing up with incredible speed, a beam of light surrounded by shocking violet flames.

Then, astonishingly, he actually slammed into the Tribulation clouds up above!

Naruto took a deep breath; Bruiser seemed even crazier than he himself.

Even Patriarch Li Zimo was surprised to see what was happening, and the Core Formation cultivators who flanked him in midair were also shocked by Bruiser's valiance.

Disciples from the other four divisions who were observing the event were crying out in shock.

"This… this is incredible!"

"Heavens! Is Bruiser going to destroy the Tribulation clouds?!"

Even as their voices rose up, the clouds seethed as a seventh, eighth, and ninth lightning bolt began to build up power. Then, gasps rang out as Bruiser yet again slammed into the cloud layer.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The clouds collapsed, and the three bolts of Tribulation Lightning exploded, sending out a powerful shockwave that left all the onlookers astonished.

Amidst the collapsing clouds, Bruiser rapidly grew in size until he was 600 meters long, a sea of violet flames surrounding his feet as he threw his head back and let loose a long cry.

As his cry echoed out, he continued to grow larger, his body radiating intense energy of heaven and earth. It was as if he were experiencing a baptism of sorts, and as a result, an aura spread out from him the likes of which was the subject of ultimate respect. It was the aura of a beast king!

It grew stronger and more powerful until all hearts trembled in response.

As for Naruto , his excitement was continuing to mount.

As the beast king aura raged, and the energy of heaven and earth converged, a violet-colored Core could be seen forming above Bruiser.

It radiated scintillating light, sending out a medicinal aura that left everyone in the area feeling refreshed and energized.

Naruto was getting even more nervous. Seven days earlier, he had consulted the ancient records, as well as Patriarch Li Zimo, and had come to find that battle beast Core Formation usually didn't involve Tribulation Lightning. That only came with beast king Tribulation.

After the Tribulation Lightning was when heaven and earth formed the Core, which Bruiser would then consume. That was actually the most dangerous part of the process.

Because the beast king aura formed a natural core of heaven and earth, it could be used by other cultivators or beasts for numerous purposes. Whether it was for cultivators to concoct spirit medicines, or for other beasts for use as a second core, it was something intrinsically attractive to many. In fact, if another beast managed to wrest it away, they could refine their own blood and gain a chance to rise up to the level of a beast king!

Even as Naruto looked on nervously, and the Violet Core was moments away from condensing completely, a cry echoed out that could shake heaven and earth!

It seemed capable of piercing metal, of stabbing directly into the heart and mind.

Off in the distance, a flying snake could be seen, fully 3,000 meters long. It shot through the air toward Bruiser's Violet Core, eyes radiating sinister light. Shockingly, this snake had an aura similar to Bruiser's!

This flying snake was another beast king!

—

Chapter 356 Chapter 356

Chapter 356: Beast King Violet Core!

The flying snake was roughly 3,000 meters long and 30 meters thick. It almost looked like a flood dragon as opposed to a serpent, especially considering that it had two long, curved horns, and three-clawed talons!

Its scales reflected dazzling sunlight, and if one examined it closely, they would detect a holy air to it.

The beast king aura which roiled out from it made it seem like the monarch of all beasts, and caused all of the River-Defying Sect's battle beasts to tremble. The pressure weighing down on their blood made it such that none of them dared to even think about fighting back against the huge snake.

The only exception was the Heavenhorn ink dragon, whose scales stood on end as it howled in defiance.

Heaven and earth went dim, and a huge wind kicked up. Down below, the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect were completely astonished, and began to cry out in surprise.

"That's…."

"Another beast king!"

In the cultivation world of the Lower Reaches, beast kings were rare, and few people even had a chance to see a single one in their entire lives.

Bruiser's birth had been unexpected and quite coincidental.

In the Middle Reaches, beast kings were also rare. However, considering how vast of a territory the Middle Reaches covered, they were not impossible to find. In fact, quite a few roamed the depths of the mountains and jungles.

In the moment that the flying snake beast king appeared, Li Zimo's face flickered, and he rose to his feet, brilliant light shining in his eyes. His Nascent Soul aura erupted out, and he flicked his sleeve, sending a powerful gale force wind shooting toward the flying snake.

Behind him, Bruiser threw his head back and howled, causing his own beast king aura to surge, almost as if he wished to outshine the flying snake.

However, it was obvious that whether it was in terms of aura or cultivation base, the flying snake far surpassed Bruiser. Bruiser was like a baby, and the flying snake was like an adult.

Behind Li Zimo and Bruiser, there was another aura that rumbled out, which transformed into a beam of blood-colored Chakra that shot up into the clouds. It was… Naruto !

That pillar was formed from the power of Naruto 's Chakra and blood, and because of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core cultivation base, it was even tinged with golden light.

"How dare you!" Naruto shouted, his eyes crimson. Flying up into the air, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, sending a black light flying out of his bag of holding. It was none other than the Renegade Dragon Horn, which shot toward the flying snake, fueled by the full power of Naruto 's cultivation base.

At the same time, he opened his third eye, causing violet light to spill out onto the creature.

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as Li Zimo's tempest bore down on the flying snake. A moment later, Naruto 's Renegade Dragon Horn also closed in, bursting with a Heaven-Dao aura. The flying snake's eyes widened, and it quickly coiled up, apparently relying only on its fleshly body power to defend itself.

Incredible rumbling echoed out as the tempest collapsed, and the Renegade Dragon Horn was sent spinning off to the side. At the same time, the flying snake was shoved backward by a full 300 meters.

Bruiser let out another roar of rage, turning to glare at the flying snake with a look of utter ferocity. However, he also had his misgivings; he was currently at a critical juncture as his Violet Core continued to form.

The flying snake was a big threat, and made Bruiser very, very uneasy. In that moment, a tiny figure suddenly appeared next to him, reached out, and placed a hand on his side. Bruiser was curr

ently 300 meters tall, so that figure was miniscule in comparison. However, the hand which reached out to him seemed powerful enough to shake mountains, and as soon as it touched him, all of his anxiety and nervousness vanished.

That figure was none other than Naruto !

"Focus on your Core Formation," he said. "I'll take care of everything else!" As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the greedy flying snake some distance away.

Moments later, Li Zimo appeared next to Naruto , and the Core Formation Dharma protectors flew up into the air as well.

At the same time, the Profound Stream Division's spell formation erupted with power, materializing nine greatswords which immediately locked onto the flying snake.

The flying snake's cold eyes widened. It was a beast king, and in the

Nascent Soul level at that. However… this was the River-Defying Sect, one of the four great sects of the Middle Reaches, and the flying snake wouldn't intentionally provoke them unless it was absolutely necessary.

Bruiser's Core Formation had been so enticing that it simply followed its feelings and tried to grab the Violet Core. With Bruiser's beast king core, a breakthrough from Nascent Soul into the Deva Realm would have been much more possible.

The cultivators of the River-Defying Sect were equally leery of the snake. Even Li Zimo didn't wish to tangle with a fully-developed beast king unless absolutely necessary.

Beast kings were capable of summoning countless lesser beasts to fight for them, and if that happened, it would put the River-Defying Sect in a very unfavorable situation.

The two sides were in somewhat of a deadlock as they stared at each other. However, that was when even more streams of Nascent Soul divine sense flew out and locked onto the flying snake.

Although the River-Defying Sect didn't want to tangle with a beast king, if it truly attempted to attack the sect, then they wouldn't hold back in the fighting. They would kill the beast no matter the cost.

Li Zimo's eyes narrowed, and he began to speak in a voice as cold as ice. "Considering you've practiced cultivation all the way to your current level, your excellency, it's only appropriate to address you as a Fellow Daoist. Today, the River-Defying Sect's champion battle beast is stepping into Core Formation. In order to prevent any

misunderstandings, Fellow Daoist, would you kindly take your leave?!"

The snake's eyes glittered defiantly, and it looked over at Bruiser. By that time, the Violet Core above Bruiser was shining with dazzling light.

The strange aroma continued to billow out in all directions as the Violet Core… formed!

In that moment, Bruiser's eyes shone with intense excitement as he watched the Violet Core shoot toward his open mouth. Just when he was about to swallow it up, the air next to him distorted and… a hand reached out to grab the Violet Core!

Everyone was shocked by this sudden development. As for Naruto , his eyes were completely bloodshot, and a cry of rage escaped his lips as he unhesitatingly unleashed a fist strike onto the outstretched hand.

At the same time, three cold snorts echoed out from Mount River Defiance, and Master Godwind, Frigidsect, and Patriarch Crimsonsoul instantly teleported out. Surprisingly, none of them showed any signs of having recently been in secluded meditation; apparently, they had actually been watching over the proceedings the entire time. As soon as they appeared, they surrounded the hand and unleashed powerful divine abilities.

Master Godwind spoke, his voice hoarse and echoing with killing intent. "You've been surveilling the River-Defying Sect for some time now, haven't you, your excellency!? Did you really think we wouldn't be able to deal with you!?"

The attacks of the three patriarchs caused deafening roars to fill the air. The hand shattered to pieces, and the Violet Core continued downward toward Bruiser. However, at the same time, laughter rang out in the clouds as three beams of light suddenly shot down.

Within those beams of light were indistinct figures, all of whom were moving with lightning speed toward the Violet Core.

"I originally thought some unique treasure had appeared. I can't believe it's actually the Violet Core of a beast king!" Bizarre laughter echoed out from within all of the beams of light. However, it was in that moment that the spell formation rumbled, and a huge greatsword appeared that slashed toward the incoming beams of light.

Next, even more patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect appeared. Everyone had assumed that they were in secluded meditation, and yet, just like Master Godwind and the others who had just appeared, that was clearly not the case!

The flying snake's eyes glittered as it once again shot toward Bruiser.

As of this moment, Naruto understood what was happening. Over the last months, everything in the sect had seemed peaceful, but the truth was that numerous hidden entities had been infiltrating and spying on them. Bruiser's attempt at Core Formation was a unique situation that was drawing all of them out of hiding.

The patriarchs hadn't been in secluded meditation at all, and had actually hoped for this to happen.

The patriarchs were willing to take advantage of Bruiser for their goals, but to Naruto , he was too important. Even if the sect was completely prepared for what would happen, he was too anxious to take any risks. Eyes bloodshot, he let out a roar of rage as he shot toward… the Blood Ancestor!

—

Chapter 357 Chapter 357

Chapter 357: Malicious Intentions

Chaotic fighting was unfolding. After the River-Defying Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators appeared, even more shadowy figures emerged to join the struggle.

All of those figures had been concealing their auras to prevent the RiverDefying Sect from identifying them. Furthermore, it wasn't just a single group of people; there were four groups!

Even as the fighting broke out, the Blood Ancestor's eyes opened, revealing the maddened gaze of Naruto . Bruiser was his son, and as a father, it enraged him to see people bullying him. He simply couldn't stand it that people were trying to steal Bruiser's Violet Core!

"Screw the hell off!" he roared through the mouth of the Blood Ancestor. Rumbling sounds echoed to the highest heavens as the Blood Ancestor's right hand clenched into a fist and unleashed a fist strike.

That fist strike was powered by the entirety of Naruto 's cultivation base; his Heaven-Dao Gold Core joined with his Undying Heavenly King Core to unleash explosive power. The enormous fist of the Blood Ancestor was like an entire continent rumbling through the air, causing the sky to shatter and sending an enormous shockwave blasting out.

The faces of the infiltrators fell, and they scrambled to get out of the way. Those who were too slow immediately began to cough up blood.

As for the flying snake, the fist hit it directly, and it screamed as it flew backward.

Suddenly, everything went quiet. Everyone was looking at the enormous Blood Ancestor, shock written across their faces as they tried to determine if it even had any weaknesses.

Master Godwind and Frigidsect exchanged a glance. Originally, they had intended to let the fighting go on a bit longer in the hopes of luring out more infiltrators. However, now that Naruto had taken control of the Blood Ancestor, they knew that delaying things could further enrage him. After a moment, they nodded to each other.

"Time to end things," Frigidsect murmured. "Even those who haven't showed their faces will be too frightened to make a move after what they've seen already!" He waved his hand, and a black sun appeared up in the sky, to be joined moments later by a white sun. The two suns overlapped, as did the two ravens inside the sun. The newly-formed raven then opened its eyes and emitted a deafening cry.

Then… the raven flew out. At the same time, cackling laughter could be heard as a scarecrow stepped out of thin air. The Heavenhorn Sword also appeared, flying toward Frigidsect in a beam of golden light.

Things weren't over yet. Although the spell formations which had been set up looked like they were tapped out, they suddenly glittered with brilliant light, and began to shine three times as brightly as before. Three enormous glowing swords appeared, which began to destroy everything in their path.

Heaven and earth shook violently as all of the intruders fled for their lives. Unfortunately, few could get very far. The Heavenhorn Sword slashed one of them in half, and the cackling scarecrow appeared in front of another and began to skin him alive! Moments later, the victim was revealed to be a projection, but the sight of the attacking scarecrow was still bone-chilling!

The light from the black and white suns made it impossible for any of the infiltrators to hide, and the black and white raven proceeded to slaughter them.

However, none of that was very impressive when compared to the three glowing swords created by the spell formations. They quickly broke down into three nets, each one made up of 100,000 swords, which proceeded to slash their enemies to pieces.

The flying snake appeared to be on the verge of escaping, but Li Zimo snorted coldly and chased after it. From a dista

nce, the River-Defying Sect made for a spectacular sight. It was almost like flowers of swords were blooming above it….

Strangely, many of the people who died didn't shed blood, and as their corpses fell to the ground, they simply vanished. Only a small group of actual bodies remained.

Clearly, those who didn't leave corpses behind weren't there as their true selves, but had come in clone form. To them, the loss of a clone like that would be somewhat of a waste, but wouldn't truly injure them.

As the clones vanished and the flower of swords began to fade, the Violet Core safely entered Bruiser's mouth. He swallowed it, and almost instantly, his aura began to rise.

Inside the Blood Ancestor, Naruto 's face was ashen, and he looked completely exhausted. Even with his double cores, it was a draining thing to take control of the Blood Ancestor.

As he looked over at the patriarchs, the animosity in his gaze was apparent.

The patriarchs exchanged awkward glances. The truth was that Bruiser's Core Formation hadn't been part of their long-term plan; they had originally intended to use other methods to draw out the infiltrators.

Even still, they were worried that Naruto would take things the wrong way, so Frigidsect appeared to offer a complete explanation.

In the end, Naruto snorted coldly and made a lot of demands on Bruiser's behalf before agreeing to let the matter drop.

"Those old fogeys…." he grumbled to himself. "They're all wily old foxes!" Then when he saw how Bruiser's energy was continuing to rise higher and higher, he got wrapped up in excitement and decided to forgive them for the time being.

Beast kings needed to rest and recuperate after reaching Core Formation, and the patriarchs themselves offered to stand as Dharma protectors for Bruiser during that time. Naruto joined them, sitting there cross-legged as he waited for Bruiser to recover completely.

However, waiting around was very boring. Soon he started to think about the baby girl that was the true spirit, and the River-Defying Pill. As the time passed, he became wrapped up in pondering the issue of how to concoct the pill.

"I'm not going to be able to concoct the pill inside of me…. That would only work if I had plenty of life force, which I don't…. Although concocting it outside of the body is possible, it would be too difficult." He frowned in consternation.

"Having a drop of blood from the true spirit should make it a bit easier… but I still don't think I have enough skill in the Dao of medicine to succeed." Naruto felt quite dejected. It was a depressing thing to know what to do, but be unable to do it.

"The simplest thing would be to concoct in within myself…. But I lack life force…. Life force… hey, wait a second!" Suddenly, his eyes sparkled, and he looked down at his bag of holding.

"The little turtle… is the relic of eternal indestructibility. His life force should be sufficient… shouldn't it?" As Naruto considered all these matters, his excitement grew. However, he didn't dare to give voice to his ideas, lest the little turtle catch on.

"The little turtle is too treacherous. I have to think of a way to get him to willingly give me some life force…." He couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache whenever he reminisced about the good old days when the little turtle had been unconscious. Suddenly, his heart thumped.

"Unconscious…." A crafty gleam appeared in his eyes as he suddenly realized that the best thing to do would be to concoct some sort of powerful knockout medicine!

Early in the morning seven days later, Bruiser suddenly opened his eyes and let out a long cry. As he did, violet light exploded out around him, and the fluctuations of Core Formation roiled out.

At the same time, all of the other battle beasts in the River-Defying Sect began to howl. Having accomplished their task of standing as Dharma protectors, the patriarchs left with smiles on their faces.

Bruiser was in high spirits. Although he spent the next few days with Naruto , he eventually got bored and ran out to have fun. This time, though, he didn't leave the River-Defying Sect. Instead, he spent his time with the other battle beasts, as well as the female disciples he liked.

Naruto let him do as he wished. At the moment, he was almost completely focused on concocting his knockout medicine. Therefore, he remained in his immortal's cave, mentally reviewing the countless medicine formulas which existed in his mind.

Time passed. Two months flew by.

Naruto had come up with a plan, and was making constant improvements to the new medicine formula. On a few occasions, the little turtle popped his head out of the bag of holding to look at Naruto . He wasn't a mind-reader, so he had no way to determine what exactly Naruto was thinking. However, the crazed look in his eye left the little turtle with a bad feeling.

Of course, Naruto didn't give up on cultivation. In addition to mentally pondering the medicine formula, he continued to work with the Undying Muscles and the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation.

One morning at dawn, he finally finished his mental work with the medicine formula. At the same time, he suddenly realized that a jade slip in his bag of holding was vibrating. Upon producing it, he heard Frigidsect's voice speaking in his mind.

"Naruto, come to the grand hall on Mount River Defiance. The other three great sects of the Middle Reaches have come for a visit."

Naruto was a bit taken aback. In recent discussions with the patriarchs, he'd been told that according to the speculations, some of the people who had infiltrated the sect had been rogue cultivators, but others had come from the three sects.

After all, the River-Defying Sect was a newcomer, and the other three sects were definitely certain to feel them out.

Considering how things had played out, Naruto couldn't help but snort coldly as he rose to his feet. After donning his junior patriarch robes, he put an icy expression on his face and headed toward the grand hall.

Along the way, he saw other cultivators of the River-Defying Sect looking in the direction of the grand hall, grim expressions on their faces.

Eyes flickering, Naruto hurried along until he caught sight of three groups of cultivators, all of whom wore expressions of disdain as they tried to shove away the River-Defying Sect disciples guarding the entrance of the grand hall.

—

Chapter 358 Chapter 358

Chapter 358: Arrogant And Despotic!

Each group had roughly a dozen people in it, including Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they all wore different Daoist robes.

The first group had black robes decorated with images of blood moons, and radiated particularly murderous auras. They had sneers on their faces, and icy gazes filled with killing intent.

Another group wore garments decorated with a starry sky. They were all exceedingly attractive, and the disdain in their sparkling eyes couldn't have been clearer.

The final group dressed in Daoist robes that were black and white. That group contained both male and female cultivators, and radiated a feeling that made them seem as if they had transcended the mortal world. Despite that lofty air, they also looked completely disdainful.

Naruto had read introductions regarding the other three sects, and could immediately tell where they were from. The group wearing the starry sky designs were from the Starry River Court. The people with murderous auras were from the devilish Polarity River Court. As for those in the black and white Daoist robes, they were from the most powerful of the sects, the Dao River Court!

The disciples of these three sects were standing directly in front of the grand hall, preventing anyone from entering. They were the guests, but they were acting like the hosts! They were even driving away the RiverDefying Sect disciples who had been assigned to guard duty. Directly up above in the sky, an enormous, pitch-black lizard could be seen, and when it deigned to look down, its gaze was as cold as ice. It even seemed like it wished to eat the River-Defying Sect disciples.

Some distance away from the lizard was an enormous battleship, fully 3,000 meters long, and completely silver in color. It reflected the sunlight in dazzling fashion, and pulsed with terrifying power.

In another direction was a gigantic meteor, fully 3,000 meters across and surrounded by a scorching sea of flames. The heat radiating from the meteor was such that many plants and trees down below began to wither up.

Even as Naruto approached, a middle-aged cultivator from the Starry River Court shoved one of the Foundation Establishment disciples of the River-Defying Sect, causing him to stagger backward thirty meters.

"Back off," said the Starry River Court cultivator. "Nobody is allowed in here!" Sneering, he turned and started chatting with his fellow sect disciples. "This really is a puny sect. I can't believe they have trash like this guarding the grand hall."

His comrades sneered, and the disciples of the other two sects looked even more disdainful than before.

The River-Defying Sect disciples were furious, but managed to hold their tempers. They well knew that the River-Defying Sect had only just entered the Middle Reaches, and didn't have a very stable position. Considering that the other three sects had only just arrived for their formal visit, and the patriarchs were all in the grand hall having a meeting, any conflicts which broke out could have very negative ramifications.

On the other hand, it was obvious that the disciples from the other sects were trying to provoke a conflict….

However, when they realized that the River-Defying Sect disciples weren't taking the Uzumakit, their faces turned even more grim. Despite that, none of them made any openly aggressive moves. As the disciples of the three sects exchanged hesitant glances, the leaders among each group began to talk loudly.

"I heard there are a lot of self-proclaimed Chosen in the River-Defying

Sect. Where's Naruto ? How about Song Que, Ghostfang, Nine-

Isles, Shangguan Tianyou, and Chen Manyao? Where are they?"

"The Nascent Soul Daoist masters are having a

meeting in the grand hall, and we Juniors are stuck out here, bored out of our minds. Why don't the River-Defying Sect Chosen come out to show their stuff?"

The other disciples in the three groups knew what their leaders wanted them to do.

A young man stepped out of the crowd from the Polarity River Court, and each step he took caused cracking sounds to fill the air; clearly, he had incredible fleshly body power. Looking around, he laughed loudly and then said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Di Gong, and I'm in late Foundation Establishment. Fellow Daoists from the River-Defying Sect, please step forward and give me some cultivation tips!"

He wasn't the only one to walk out into the open. Cultivators emerged from the other two sects as well, to make similar taunts.

"Seriously?" one of them said. "Nobody from the majestic River-Defying

Sect will dare to swap pointers with me? What kind of a sect is this?!"

The River-Defying Sect disciples were panting in anger. A moment later, one of the late Foundation Establishment disciples from the Profound Stream Division charged toward Di Gong.

Two more disciples began to charge toward the cultivators from the other two sects.

"Get your ass back in line!" Di Gong said, laughing. Planting his right foot down onto the ground, he kicked off, spinning his leg through the air. Unexpectedly, though, this wasn't a kick powered by his fleshly body; a vast quantity of wind blades appeared, which shot forward in a dangerous magical attack!

The Profound Stream Division disciple unleashed a flying sword, but to his surprise, the sword passed directly through Di Gong. By the time he realized that what he was looking at was an afterimage, it was too late, and Di Gong was right in front of him. Before he could react, Di Gong unleashed a fist strike which smashed right into him.

Di Gong wasn't done yet, though. Laughing with vicious killing intent, he prepared to unleash another attack on the same disciple. The surrounding disciples of the River-Defying Sect were enraged, and a few of them flew over to try to save their fellow disciple.

Meanwhile, the other two disciples who had flown out to challenge the visiting sects were being beaten back. Furthermore, their opponents seemed to be in the same killing mood as Di Gong.

When Naruto saw these events playing out, rage flickered in his eyes. In a flash, he appeared in front of the Profound Stream Division disciple, where he stood in place. When Di Gong's fist slammed into him, it didn't even move a hair on his head. The force of Di Gong's blow was redirected back at him, causing blood to spray out of his mouth as he tumbled backward, a look of shock on his face.

"A Core Formation cultivator?!" Di Gong bellowed. "How shameless, River-Defying Sect! You dare to have a Core Formation cultivator fight the Foundation Establishment stage?!"

Even as his words were echoing out, Naruto blurred into motion again, becoming a series of afterimages as he sped forward to rescue the other two disciples. He did the same thing, using his body to block the attacks being sent against them. He wasn't hurt at all, whereas the attackers from the other two sects were sent tumbling backward, coughing up blood and shouting out in rage.

"Completely shameless!"

"How dare a Core Formation cultivator ambush a Foundation

Establishment disciple!"

Di Gong and the other two disciples were completely enraged as they stared at Naruto with cold gazes.

Naruto blurred into motion again, ending up in front of the cultivators of the three sects, hands clasped behind his back and chin stuck up. Glaring at them, he said, "So what if I attacked some Foundation Establishment cultivators? I've attacked Chakra Condensation disciples in the past too. Is that shameless? Besides, did you actually see me do any attacking? You were obviously hitting me! Seems to me like you're the shameless ones! Three Foundation Establishment cultivators actually had the gall to gang up on me, a Core Formation expert! You people are going way overboard, you bullies. Don't push me too far. When I get mad, I frighten even myself!"

The cultivators of the three sects stared back at him angrily, thinking back to try to remember if he really had made an attack or not….

Meanwhile, the disciples of the River-Defying Sect were more excited than ever, and began to call out greetings.

"Junior Patriarch!"

"Greetings, Junior Patriarch!"

"Greetings, Junior Patriarch!"

The leaders of the groups from the other sects instantly realized who was standing in front of them, and their pupils constricted.

At this point, a young man strode out from the Starry River Court, his eyes flickering with cold light. Hidden in his hand was a black spike; in his estimation, if he could cripple Naruto here, there might be some negative consequences, but overall, it would be a big win. "How amusing," he said. "So, you're Naruto , huh? Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Chen Yunshan. Why don't we swap pointers about–"

Even as he began to speak, Core Formation cultivators stepped out from among the disciples from the Polarity River Court and the Dao River Court, their eyes shining with cold light.

However, before Chen Yunshan could finish speaking, Naruto yelled, "You're forcing me to do this!"

With that, he threw a medicinal pill toward Chen Yunshan.

"Huh?" Chen Yunshan said, jaw dropping. He waved his sleeve, but it didn't prevent the medicinal pill from exploding, causing black smoke to swirl out. His fellow disciples were also shocked, and waved their sleeves to disperse the smoke. However, there was some strange property to the smoke that made it impossible to dispel, and it even began to seep into them through their skin.

Of course, as soon as the medicinal pill appeared, strange expressions appeared on the faces of the surrounding disciples of the River-Defying Sect. That was especially true of the disciples from the Spirit and Blood Stream Divisions. They immediately began to back up, dragging the disciples of the other two divisions with them. Within moments, they were more than 300 meters away.

The cultivators of the Dao River Court and Polarity River Court were shocked, and couldn't figure out why Naruto had just thrown out a medicinal pill. Furthermore, the reactions of the River-Defying Sect were very telling, and they subconsciously began to back up as well.

"What are you doing, Naruto ?!" Chen Yunshan yelled angrily. Just when he was about to take a step forward, his eyes suddenly twitched. Simultaneously, one of his comrades behind him suddenly howled, lunged forward, and hugged him from behind!

"Junior Sister Li," he cried, "I've finally found you!"

Within the blink of an eye, the dozen or so cultivators from the Starry River Court began to go crazy. One of the affected cultivators spread his arms wide and began to run back and forth. Another of them began to rave madly. Another suddenly began to smile broadly. Only the Core Formation disciple was able to stave off the effects with great effort.

"I'm flying! Fly, fly away…."

"What is this place? Everybody get back! AIIIEEEE…."

"Hahaha! I've finally reached the Deva Realm! From now on, I'm unparalleled under heaven!"

Some of the affected disciples wore looks of terror on their faces, and began to scream at the tops of their lungs. There was one who suddenly seemed drunk with pleasure, and immediately flew up into the sky toward the huge lizard.

"Hey baby," he said. "Don't be scared, I'm coming…."

—

Chapter 359 Chapter 359

Chapter 359: Bullying Others With Force!

Hissed expressions of shock and surprise could be heard outside the grand hall. As for the disciples of the River-Defying Sect, they were looking at Naruto as if he were some sort of god.

That was especially true of the disciples from the Blood Stream Division, many of whom literally shed tears as they thought back to situations they had encountered in the past.

The disciples from the Spirit Stream Division felt similarly sympathetic.

As for the Profound Stream Division, many of them had faced Naruto and his team on the battlefield, and had been similarly tormented….

Then there was the Pill Stream Division disciples, whose eyes shone with bright light. They had heard many stories of Naruto 's pill concocting, which by this point were virtually legends. To see such things occurring with their own eyes filled their hearts with passion.

Off to the side, the disciples of the Polarity River Court and the Dao River Court looked profoundly alarmed. Not only were they crying out in shock, they were rushing backward at top speed, doing anything they could to avoid contact with the black strands of smoke.

"W-what's… what's going on!?"

"Heavens! What kind of pill is that!? It's absolutely terrifying!"

"I can't believe a medicinal pill like that exists in the world! Look, even the Core Formation cultivator can't hold out any longer! That medicinal pill is horrifying!"

The disciples of the two sects looked over at Naruto with expressions of unprecedented fear, especially the female disciples. The more they thought about the ramifications of what they were seeing, the more frightening it was! Regardless of the levels of their cultivation bases, all of them felt profound terror of Naruto rising up inside of them.

Naruto coughed dryly and then shrugged his shoulders at the cultivators of the Polarity River Court and Dao River Court.

"You see?" he said, sounding very wronged. "They forced my hand. Like I said, when I get angry, I frighten even myself. But they didn't listen, did they? They insisted on bullying me!" Suddenly, he cocked his head to the side, as if he'd just remembered something. Looking at the Core Formation cultivators from the other two sects, he said, "Oh right, you two were about to say something, weren't you?"

The cultivators of both sects were trembling, and the Foundation Establishment disciples edged backward again, trying to put some distance between themselves and the Core Formation elders. As for those elders, their hearts were starting to pound. Glancing over at the tragic scene playing out, the quickly offered explanations.

"Oh no, I wasn't going to say much. Just that you really live up to your reputation, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki. You're like a dragon among men!"

"Yeah, exactly! Your sect is definitely going to be very popular in the

Middle Reaches!"

Naruto laughed heartily in response. Looking very pleased with himself, he was just about to boast a little bit more when suddenly, a cold snort echoed out thunderously from inside the grand hall. Everything trembled as a figure sped out of the hall, an old man with a full head of fiery red hair, and eyes that sparkled like lightning.

Instantly, the maddened disciples shivered, and then began to vomit.

After a moment passed, their pale faces once again filled with color.

They were clearly weakened, and when they looked over at Uzumaki

Naruto, their gazes were filled with both confusion and terror.

That was especially true of Chen Yunshan, who was glaring murderously at Naruto . In his heart, he had already vowed to kill Naruto in the future, to settle the

score for the humiliation he had just experienced.

After rescuing the maddened disciples, the red-haired old man turned his gaze upon Naruto . Of course, considering that the man was vastly above Naruto in both terms of cultivation base and status, it wasn't appropriate to meet his gaze. Therefore, Naruto simply looked down innocently and kicked at a nearby pebble.

The red-haired old man gave a cold harrumph, then stalked grim-faced back into the grand hall.

Naruto immediately looked back up and glared in the old man's direction. Then he glanced around at the other disciples around him, and tried to decide whether or not to enter the hall himself.

That was when Frigidsect's voice echoed out. "Naruto, stop causing trouble outside. Come in."

Sticking his chest out proudly, Naruto took a deep breath and walked somberly toward the entrance to the hall. The disciples of the three sects looked at him with mixed emotions in their eyes. Furthermore, none of them were in any mood to harass the RiverDefying Sect any more.

Upon entering the grand hall, Naruto heard the voice of the redhaired old man he'd just seen.

"The River-Defying Sect is not the Sky River Court. It doesn't make any sense at all for the River-Defying Sect to get the Sky River Court's shares for no reason!"

Naruto scanned the hall, and saw Frigidsect, Master Godwind, and Patriarch Crimsonsoul sitting in the position of honor, grim expressions on their faces. Seated in two rows in front of them, on the left and right, were eight other cultivators.

Without a single exception, all of those cultivators had Nascent Soul cultivation bases, and profound ones at that. Terrifying fluctuations spread out from them in all directions.

"That's right," one of them said. "Resources are limited, and we all have sects to sustain. Obviously, the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker. You can't blame anyone but yourselves for that."

Although the Nascent Soul cultivators of the three sects noticed Naruto enter the hall, none of them paid him much attention, with the exception of the red-haired old man, whose eyes glittered with brutal ferocity.

Naruto pretended not to notice, striding somberly over to stand next to Frigidsect.

Frigidsect gritted his teeth. Voice rigid with anger, he said, "The River-

Defying Sect took over the Sky River Court, and that includes the Sky

River Court's shares!"

"Brother Frigidsect," said another of the Nascent Soul cultivators, "these are simply the rules governing the Middle Reaches cultivation world. It's not like we're specifically targeting the River-Defying Sect."

As Naruto listened to the Nascent Soul cultivators' discussion, he gradually came to understand why the three other sects had come to visit.

There was an arcane pocket realm in the Middle Reaches that opened once every sixty-year-cycle, within which were copious amounts of spirit plants. Some were the type that only appeared once every ten thousand years, others were virtually extinct in the outside world. Furthermore, there were a few that were critical ingredients to concocting Deva Pills, which could give Nascent Soul cultivators a much better chance to advance to the mortal-tier Deva Realm. The value of such pills to virtually any sect couldn't be put into words.

Every time the spirit plants in the arcane pocket realm were harvested, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would take roughly half of the crop, and divide the rest among the four great sects.

The entrance to that arcane pocket realm was located in a sealed legacy zone, an area that had been constructed ages ago by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect itself. By sealing the entrance to the pocket realm within a legacy zone, it not only kept the spirit plants safe, is also provided a chance for disciples of the four sects to earn magical techniques and divine abilities from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. That was also a way for the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to scout for possible new disciples.

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had long since established rules governing how to split up the harvest from the pocket realm. Before the opening of the realm, the four sects would send disciples into the legacy zone to acquire legacy seals. Only one hundred such seals were available, and the number acquired by the disciples would determine how many resources their sect got when the shares were divided.

It was now only a few dozen years before the arcane pocket realm was to be opened again. Last time, the Sky River Court had taken second place in terms of shares, earning thirty percent of the resources, all of which still remained in the treasure storehouses, untouched. Those resources were extremely important to the Nascent Soul patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect, who could make use of them in their attempts to reach the Deva Realm.

But now, the three sects had come to redistribute the shares from the previous harvest, and wanted the River-Defying Sect to hand over the resources, and even make up for any that were missing!

The red-haired old man from the Starry River Court looked at Frigidsect and then spoke in a harsh tone. "Those resources belonged to the Sky River Court, not the River-Defying Sect. If you want resources like that, you're going to have to work for them yourself!"

Naruto frowned as his train of thought was interrupted, and his attention was drawn to the Nascent Soul cultivators from the three sects. Based on what he understood, the Dao River Court was the strongest of the sects, and had taken first place last time. To them, this wasn't a very big issue, and as such, they weren't saying much in the discussion.

The Polarity River Court had come in third, and also had little to say. From what Naruto could tell, the Starry River Court had come in last, and had the greatest motivation to push the issue.

They weren't willing to back down, and it was primarily them who were trying to intimidate the River-Defying Sect. In fact, it was entirely likely that they had made offers of compensation to the other two sects to make this meeting happen.

Essentially, they wanted to take advantage of the River-Defying Sect's weakness to steal their resources!

Frigidsect and the other patriarchs were doing their best to suppress their fury. Just when the red-haired old man was about to say something more, a white-robed old man from the Dao River Court, who had been dozing the entire time, suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Enough. The matter is settled. We've already been in contact with the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, who have come up with a method to resolve the issue. Although the legacy zone is usually only opened once every sixty-yearcycle, this time, we are being allowed to open it outside of the normal schedule! We'll send our disciples in to take the trial by fire, and use the results to determine how the shares are redistributed. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Frigidsect?"

Frigidsect maintained his silence for a moment, then took a deep breath.

He well knew that he wasn't in a position to disagree. If he did, it could have serious negative ramifications in the future. Furthermore, considering the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had already given their stamp of approval, the River-Defying Sect had no qualifications to disagree.

"Deva Realm…." he thought. "If only the River-Defying Sect had someone in the Deva Realm, then things wouldn't play out like this!" Finally, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

Smiling, the white-robed old man rose to his feet. "Excellent. In that case, I won't disturb you any further. See you in a month at the arcane pocket realm!" With that, he walked out of the hall. The Nascent Soul Daoist masters from the Polarity River Court had icy smiles on their faces as they also left.

Last was the red-haired old man from the Starry River Court. Just before walking out of the hall, he looked back at Frigidsect and said, "Oh, one more thing. I forgot to mention the requirement to enter the legacy zone. The only people who qualify are Core Formation cultivators who reached the stage within one sixty-year-cycle."

In response, the faces of Frigidsect and the other patriarchs turned even more grim.

Chapter 360 Chapter 360 Chapter 360

When he saw the reactions of Frigidsect, Master Godwind, and Patriarch Crimsonsoul, the red-haired old man chuckled disdainfully, then flicked his sleeve and walked out.

Rumbling could be heard outside of the grand hall as the cultivators of the three sects boarded their magical flight devices and then shot off into the distance, leaving behind nothing more than billowing winds and swirling dust.

"Dammit!" Crimsonsoul said through gritted teeth.

Master Godwind frowned. "I guess this is our fault for not understanding the rules of the Middle Reaches cultivation world…."

Frigidsect smiled wryly and said, "With the plentiful resources here in the Middle Reaches, it's not as difficult for cultivators to reach Core Formation within a sixty-year-cycle. In the Lower Reaches, such an accomplishment is very, very difficult…."

At that point, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and looked over at Naruto .

Moments later, Master Godwind and Crimsonsoul were also looking at him.

Naruto felt a bit unnerved to be stared at by these three, and couldn't help but subconsciously take a few steps back.

"Um… Patriarchs, I–"

"Naruto, the reason we were just bullied and humiliated right now is because our sect is too weak!"

"That's right, Naruto. Now that I think about it, there's only one person in the entire River-Defying Sect who reached Core Formation within a sixty-year-cycle…." 1

"Nightcrypt, my boy, as the junior patriarch, surely you understand how important this matter is to the future development of the sect!"

Although the words spoken by the three patriarchs were all different, as were the expressions on their faces, the gleams in their eyes were exactly the same.

"I…." Naruto suddenly felt as if his throat were bone dry. Moments ago, he had been standing there listening quietly, feeling much the same anger as the patriarchs. But then the three old fogeys suddenly turned to stare at him, and even worse, when they began to talk, their words caused his heart to tremble.

Inwardly, he was crying out in grief, especially when he thought about the fact that he really was the only Core Formation cultivator in the sect who had reached that stage within a sixty-year-cycle. When it came to legacy zones, sects would usually send seven or eight people, but in this case, he would be going in alone.

The mere idea struck Naruto with fear, and it was even worse considering that he had just aggressively heaped bad fortune onto the disciples from the Starry River Court, and had also brazenly threatened the Polarity River Court and the Dao River Court.

At this point, his expression suddenly turned somber. A bitter look appeared in his eyes as he continued, "Listen, Patriarchs, the truth is that I actually lied about my age before. Um yeah….

"Now that I'm the junior patriarch, I can't continue to hide the truth.

Back when I was found on that mountain, I wasn't a teenager, I was actually forty!

"I just looked young, and decided to perpetuate the lie. I was wrong, I know. I should have told you the truth, and not caused such confusion for the sect during important times!"

Naruto 's voice was filled with regret, and he truly sounded as if he were divulging a long-harbored secret. As he spoke, his hands slowly clenched into fists.

"Patriarchs, I truly feel terrible. Every time I think about my true age, and how I've hidden it for so long, I feel worse and worse. Alright, well I guess it's time to go into secluded meditation now…." Even as he spoke, he turned and hurried toward the doo

r.

Crimsonsoul was frowning, and Master Godwind looked quite anxious.

Just as they were about to speak, Frigidsect smiled wryly and said,

"Naruto, you're going, whether you want to or not."

However, Naruto didn't stop heading toward the door.

"Nobody wants our sect to seem weak, right?" Frigidsect continued. "If we can't produce a single Core Formation cultivator who succeeded within one sixty-year-cycle, it will only mean further humiliation at the hands of the three other sects. I'm afraid if that happens, we won't have a very strong foundation in the Middle Reaches."

When Naruto heard that, he slowed down a bit, his heart twisting with indecision.

Frigidsect seemed to be getting a bit worked up as he went on, "But that's okay. You're the most important of all, Naruto. The sect is your home, and we're your family. We won't force you to do anything you don't want to do. Even if we get bullied and humiliated, we'll protect you, and all the other disciples too!"

Naruto was at the door, looking out at the world outside, indecision gripping his heart and refusing to let go.

"This time," Frigidsect said, "the River-Defying Sect will just have to concede defeat. Master Godwind, Crimsonsoul, there's no need to send me secret messages with divine sense. I've already made my decision!" Frigidsect suddenly seemed older, his voice laced with bleakness and exhaustion.

Naruto stood there looking up sadly into the sky.

"What?" Frigidsect said loudly. "What's that you say via projected message, Master Godwind? No. Although we know going in that we will lose, and only want to do it to keep from losing face, we can't send Naruto in alone! Yes, I know. Naruto once said in his heart that he lives for the sect. Yes, I know we treat him well. I know all that. But you might as well give up trying to persuade me!

"Crimsonsoul, stop projecting messages. My mind has been made up. It doesn't matter that Naruto has precious treasures to defend himself with, as well as a Heaven-Dao Gold Core. It doesn't matter that he has cultivated an incredibly powerful fleshly body, and that it would be virtually impossible for anyone under Nascent Soul to kill him. Nor does it matter that, by the Dharmic decree of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, killing is forbidden in the legacy seal competition. Naruto is our junior patriarch! Even if the place offers no dangers whatsoever, we definitely can't take any risks at all!"

Naruto gritted his teeth and turned to face the three patriarchs, looking almost like he was about to cry. "Fine. I'll go, alright? Enough with the persuading…."

The instant the words left Naruto 's mouth, Frigidsect rose to his feet, walked over to him, and clasped him enthusiastically on the shoulder.

"Good kid! Alright, the matter's set!

"This jade slip will tell you everything you need to know about the legacy zone. Study it carefully….

"Make whatever preparations you need to. In a month, the three of us will personally escort you to the legacy zone!" With that, he turned and sped away.

Master Godwind and Crimsonsoul gave approving glances to Naruto , but fearing that he might suddenly change his mind, they quickly teleported away….

Naruto looked around with wide eyes at the empty hall. He reached his hands out as if he wanted to grab onto something, but the only thing he had to grab onto was his hair.

"Those crafty foxes!" he wailed. "Schemers, all of them! There's no way they didn't know about the rules. Obviously, they knew from the beginning, and were just trying to con me. I… I …." Scowling, Naruto suddenly felt as if he was very, very naïve. After walking dejectedly out of the hall, he looked up into the sky, and it somehow seemed very, very dark.

He moped all the way back to his immortal's cave, where he sat down cross-legged in grief. Then he thought about how he would have to single-handedly go up against people from all three of the other sects, and he suddenly felt quite lonely.

"Wait, it won't be just me. I can take Bruiser with me! He reached Core Formation in less than a sixty-year-cycle! The two of us against all those people….

"How will we handle it? They're definitely going to bully us! What do I do…?" Hanging his head dispiritedly, he took out the jade slip and started to go over the information about the legacy zone.

According to the detailed description in the jade slip, there were a total of 100 legacy seals inside. Last time, the Sky River Court sent 13 qualified disciples into the legacy zone, who managed to acquire 30 seals. Unfortunately, none of them managed to acquire enlightenment of any of the legacy techniques.

In the end, the Sky River Court got thirty percent of the resources, whereas the Starry River Court, who came in last place, only got ten percent.

The rules for how to distribute the resources were set down by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and couldn't be changed.

Naruto sighed again. For the following several days, he continued to mull over the matter until he made his final decision.

"Fudge! I already said I'd go, right? Fine. Fine. Fine! I'll go!" After he thought about how many other people he would be competing against, he decided to go buy a huge amount of paper talismans.

He didn't purchase them with merit points, but rather, got them on credit. Next, he went to the Treasure Pavilion, where he did the same thing to acquire a large collection of magical items.

Finally, he purchased some armor and more leather clothing. Realizing that the only thing he lacked was a big black wok, he searched the sect up and down until he found an extraordinarily sturdy iron wok that was more than suitable.

Next, he gritted his teeth and requested some multi-colored fuel from the patriarchs, which he used to perform fivefold spirit enhancements on all of his items, including the big black wok.

Despite how many items he had purchased, he still didn't feel safe. Next, he went to the Profound Stream Division to request some spell formations, then to the Blood Stream Division to request spirit blood, and finally to the Pill Stream Division to request spirit medicines.

By the time he was finished with all these activities, half a month had passed. For the next half month, he focused on cultivation, and ended up inching closer toward a breakthrough.

As for his work with his Undying Muscles, the big toe on his left foot was finished. Whenever he called upon it, shocking fleshly body power would surge through him, originating from the toe.

Unfortunately, using that power would also cause his shoe to explode.

Because of that, Naruto also prepared a large number of shoes for his left foot.

Eventually, the long-awaited day came. At dawn, Naruto walked out of his immortal's cave, wearing numerous layers of leather clothing, and a black wok strapped to his back. He had paper talismans plastered all over him, and overall, looked very sad.

Then he headed toward the summit of Mount River Defiance, followed by the curious Bruiser, who was wearing a suit of armor and plenty of paper talismans, and yet radiated an air of complete ferocity.

Chapter 360: Fine. Fine. Fine! I'll go!

If you recall, Toruho was the only person in the sect recently who had a chance to reach Core Formation in TWOsixty-year-cycles, not one. This fact was mentioned in multiple chapters, including chapters 72, 97, and 175. If "the hope for the generation" was for him to do that, then obviously he didn't reach Core Formation in one sixty-year-cycle.

Chapter 361 Chapter 361

Chapter 361: Only One?

Many disciples emerged to watch Naruto go up to Mount River Defiance. Everyone knew why the other three Middle Reaches sects had come last month, and it left them simmering with rage. They also knew that Naruto was going to represent the River-Defying Sect in a fight inside an arcane pocket realm!

When news spread that the only person in the entire sect who qualified to go was Naruto , many cultivators started to get worried.

The River-Defying Sect was a newcomer to the Middle Reaches, as unfamiliar with the cultivation world there as they were strangers to it.

In these unfamiliar surroundings, the River-Defying Sect seemed impressive, but the truth was that until they produced a Deva Realm expert, they were in a very precarious position, and could be easily supplanted.

A feeling of uneasiness and lurking danger existed in the hearts of not only the ordinary disciples, but even the patriarchs. Thankfully, they had the Blood Ancestor and the Dire Skybanyan, as well as the shocking true spirit which made even the other three great sects nervous.

Those were the only things that gave the River-Defying Sect a modicum of stability.

Naruto was aware of all of that. Therefore, despite the fact that he didn't really want to go to the arcane pocket realm, and despite the ferocity he had witnessed among the disciples of the three sects, he had chosen to go along with the arrangement. Gritting his teeth and trembling with fear, he led Bruiser slowly up to the top of the mountain.

Waiting there for him were Master Godwind, Frigidsect, and Crimsonsoul. Three late Nascent Soul Daoist masters would be escorting him to the arcane pocket realm.

Everyone watched silently as Naruto made his way to the top of the mountain. Ghostfang emerged from his immortal's cave, an absentminded look in his eyes as he thought back to the time he had fought Naruto back in the Spirit Stream Sect.

That was the first time he had ever lost to someone in the same generation as him, and although he hadn't appeared to have been affected in any way, it had awoken in him a strong desire to surpass Naruto .

At a certain point, though, he had come to realize that Naruto 's progress was almost unbelievable. He was already so far ahead that it almost seemed impossible to catch up.

Then there was Song Que, who stood atop one of the mountains in the Blood Stream Division, hands clenched tightly into fists. He was thinking about the Fallen Sword World, Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, and everything which had occurred after that. Within his eyes burned flames of defiance!

"I'm definitely going to surpass you one day!"

As for the blood masters and other top Chosen in the Blood Stream Division, all of them were equally unsettled. While they were concerned about their sect, they also couldn't help but compare themselves to Naruto . The fact that none of them even qualified to go into the arcane pocket realm was profoundly chafing to all of them.

Zhou Xinqi was having a hard time controlling her breathing, and NineIsles' eyes were completely bloodshot. Master God-Diviner and Jia Lie were both unsettled. In the past, there had been one dazzling Chosen who was currently stuck at a cultivation base bottleneck. That was Lu Tianlei, who spent most of his time alone, refusing to go out. However, as of this moment, he chose to emerge from his immortal's cave and stare off at the figure ascending Mount River Defiance.

Chen Manyao appeared, as did Gongsun Wan'er. Gongsun Wan'er's expression was the same as ever, her lips perpetually upturned into a faint smile. However, compared to all the people just mentioned, the person with the most complicated emotions of all was teetering on the verge

of madness: Shangguan Tianyou!

He stood tall and straight, his features as stunningly handsome as ever. He had no desire to even look at Naruto , and therefore refused to emerge from his immortal's cave. Although he couldn't see Uzumaki

Naruto, his heart felt as if it had been bitten by the most poisonous of serpents, and the pain he felt was difficult to put into words.

Eyes bloodshot and fists clenched, he said, "You're just a cheap bastard with no parents and no education. I'm Shangguan Tianyou! I'm definitely going to crush you beneath my feet!"

Although there were people who were jealous or angry, there were others who were sending Naruto away with blessings and well wishes. Big Fatty Zhang, Hou Yunfei, Xu Baocai, Third Fatty Hei, and Toruho were all present. Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan were there too, wishing him well, but at the same time, very nervous.

Countless eyes were fixed upon Naruto as he ascended the mountain. Soon, he was at the very same altar where Bruiser had reached Core Formation.

That was where the three patriarchs were waiting for him. As soon they looked over and saw his getup, their jaws dropped, and they exchanged awkward glances. Finally, Frigidsect coughed dryly and then waved his hand.

Instantly, a silver beam of light descended from the sky above. It was the Heavenhorn Sword, which began to grow larger and larger until it was fully 3,000 meters long!

"Alright, Naruto, it's time to leave!" he said. With that, he blurred into motion, shooting toward the Heavenhorn Sword. Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind joined him, and within moments, they were on top of the sword, where they sat down cross-legged in a row. Naruto gritted his teeth and flew up to join them. Behind him, Bruiser threw his head back and roared as he followed along.

Bruiser's eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation. This was his first time being allowed to go out with Naruto for a trial by fire, and being alongside him for such an event was extremely exciting.

"Let's go!" Frigidsect said, his voice booming like thunder. The Heavenhorn Sword began to shine with dazzling silver light, and then rumbling echoed out as it shot off with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but rolling sonic booms and a long streak of silver light.

Only after Naruto left did people begin to speak again in the RiverDefying Sect. Nine-Isles, Song Que, Ghostfang, and the other Chosen like them all went back into secluded meditation, their eyes filled with the determination to advance. All of them swore to reach Core Formation as quickly as possible.

Even Big Fatty Zhang gritted his teeth and went into secluded meditation.

Virtually everyone in the same generation as Naruto did the same thing.

The cultivation world of the Middle Reaches was so large that it couldn't really be described as being divided into continents. Instead, the word 'domain' was used. As for the realm occupied by the River-Defying Sect, its name had recently been changed from the Sky Domain to the Defiance Domain.

As for the arcane pocket realm, it was located far away from the Defiance Domain in the Dao Domain, next to a seemingly endless desert. Because the desert was so far away from the Heavenspan River, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was rather faint there.

It was in that region of scarce spiritual energy that the arcane pocket realm existed, and despite its remoteness, it couldn't be judged as a place devoid of good fortune.

There was a temple in that desert, a place of extreme ancientness that had existed longer than anyone could remember. This was the location where the legacy seals existed, and also the entrance to the arcane pocket realm!

Surrounding the temple were more than a hundred stones sticking up out of the desert sands, each one well over 300 meters tall.

The stones were very strange-looking, and at first glance seemed to have been distributed randomly around the temple. However, closer examination would reveal that they had been placed in a specific pattern which altered the state of heaven and earth in the area. Shockingly, those stones were a powerful spell formation!

Powerful fluctuations rolled out from the spell formation that even Nascent Soul cultivators would be leery of. Clearly, the only person who could have possibly put such a spell formation into place was a deva!

The forces of the Starry River Court and the Polarity River Court could already be seen sitting cross-legged in meditation atop the stones. Each of the two sects had more than twenty cultivators who had yet to live for a full sixty-year-cycle. There were men and women, all of them with calm expressions. However, there was no hiding the aloof pride in their eyes; they were all top Chosen in their sects.

The truth was that they had a right to be proud. A mere glance at any one of them would reveal how different they were from ordinary cultivators.

The two sects had spent vast amounts of resources to raise these Chosen, who were seeds that would grow to be pillars of their respective organizations. One of them was Chen Yunshan.

The two sects were seated apart from each other, and their auras were clearly different. As for the Starry River Court, their cultivators were surrounded by a murky radiance that almost seemed like countless stars, pulsing with a profound aura.

In sharp contrast to them were the Chosen of the Polarity River Court. They had fiendish, murderous auras, and gazes which seemed capable of penetrating into their opponent's hearts and minds. They seemed like people who killed at the drop of a hat, and were surrounded by a seething black mist. It was just barely possible to see the outlines of devilish spirits within that mist, roving to and fro.

The energy on display here was something the likes of which no sect in the Lower Reaches cultivation world could ever have. Only the great sects of the Middle Reaches could put on a display like this!

As the forces of the two sects sat there waiting, the cultivators began to look up into the sky as they sensed certain fluctuations off in the distance.

A moment later, a streak of silver light appeared off in the distance, which was the Heavenhorn Sword. As it pierced through the air, the power of a tenfold spirit enhancement rippled out in all directions. Clearly, the River-Defying Sect was trying to put on a good show. In the blink of an eye, the sword was closing in on the spell formation, allowing the cultivators of the Starry and Polarity River Courts to see the figures atop it.

Ignoring the three patriarchs, their gazes came to rest on Naruto .

It was hard to say who among the two sects said it, but the surprise and derision in that person's voice couldn't have been more clear. "Only one person?!"

Chapter 362 Chapter 362

Chapter 362: The Legacy Competition Begins!

Everyone in the two sects began to snicker. Then, they simply looked away from the Heavenhorn Sword, their hearts filled with disdain.

Everyone knew that they were gathered to fight for a share of soon-tobe-redistributed resources. Because of that, the number of people who participated was crucial. If the River-Defying Sect could only produce one person who qualified, then there was no suspense in the matter. The River-Defying Sect… would be lucky to get one percent of the resources in the end.

The Starry River Court cultivators were especially aware of why this redistribution of resources was happening. Not only were they very complacent, they simply couldn't hide their disdain for the River-Defying Sect.

Chen Yunshan was the only one present whose eyes flickered with killing intent; he already hated Naruto down to his guts. Not only had the events of the previous month plagued his nightmares afterwards, he had been punished by the sect, and had become a laughingstock among his contemporaries. Because of that, his rancor continued to fester day by day.

Glaring at Naruto , he thought, "It's too bad we're not allowed to kill anyone in here, otherwise you'd be dead!"

As for the people from the Polarity River Court, they weren't interested at all in the River-Defying Sect. To them, this was merely a mission to accomplish for the sect. Everyone here was to be rewarded, and they couldn't help but feel some disdain for the River-Defying Sect, who had only brought one person.

Rumbling sounds filled the air as the Heavenhorn Sword shot down from the sky. After coming to a stop some distance above the ground, the three patriarchs led Naruto and Bruiser off of the sword and down to the ground.

Naruto was panting, and his eyes were wide as he took in the crowd of cultivators from the two sects. He almost couldn't believe that all of them were in the Core Formation stage. Each and every one was clearly an outstanding individual, and Naruto 's heart was already starting to fill with an intense sensation of danger because of it.

"How… how could there be so many of them…?" he thought, a miserable expression on his face. The mere idea of having to compete with more than forty other top experts to get the legacy seals seemed almost too much for him to take.

The three patriarchs were also frowning as they looked over the forces from the Starry and Polarity River Courts. As for the Nascent Soul cultivators leading the two groups, they merely looked over and gave faint smiles. Clearly, they weren't interested in chatting.

Compared to these two sects, the River-Defying Sect looked quite weak.

"So," Chen Yunshan said all of a sudden, "it turns out the River-Defying Sect doesn't just have one person. They have a beast, too. I guess that brings their total to one and a half." He started laughing, and was soon joined by others from his sect.

Another cultivator called out, "I think it's a bit more than one and a half. Look at this guy! Just how many paper talismans does he have stuck on himself? And look at that huge black wok on his back!"

More laughter rose up as the Starry River Court cultivators began to mock Naruto 's outfit.

As for the cultivators from the Polarity River Court, when they saw Naruto and Bruiser, a few of them were unable to conceal the glitters of greed that rose up in their eyes. Clearly, they could see how amazing of a creature Bruiser was.

Bruiser couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy having so many Core Formation cultivators staring at him. Almost instantly, the scales that covered his body began to stand on end, although the armor and paper tal

ismans he was wearing made it impossible for anyone to see that. However, they could see the violet flames which sprang out beneath his feet, and the roar which echoed out from his mouth.

Naruto had been feeling a bit anxious, but Chen Yunshan's words, and the gazes which caused Bruiser to feel so anxious, stirred up his anger.

And yet, anger did little. Compared to the two other sects, the RiverDefying Sect… really was too weak.

The three patriarchs were already starting to regret having brought Naruto to participate in this challenge. Earlier, they had assumed that his battle prowess and precious treasures would be enough to allow him to get at least a few of the legacy seals and come away unscathed, no matter how many of the other Chosen wanted to harm him.

Besides, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had already laid down rules for how the fighting over the legacy seals would go. No one was allowed to kill any of the other Chosen, an arrangement which was for the benefit of all four sects. After all, none of them wanted their Chosen disciples to die in a place like this.

Because of all that, the three patriarchs had felt comfortable bringing Naruto here. Even if he didn't come away with much in terms of the legacy seals, at least he could get to know some of the other Chosen in his generation, and get some precious fighting experience.

But now that they realized he would be single-handedly facing dozens of opponents, the three patriarchs were starting to hesitate.

In that moment, a booming like thunder filled the sky, and an enormous silver battleship appeared out of thin air!

As the ship appeared, countless bolts of lightning crackled about in all directions, destroying the clouds around it as it descended.

That battleship belonged to… the strongest of the four Middle Reaches sects, the Dao River Court!

In almost the exact same instant that the battleship appeared, numerous figures flew off of it and began to descent at top speed. It took only a moment to determine that there were more than forty of them….

There were men and women among the cultivators, and all of them seemed to radiate an air that transcended the mortal world, as well as shocking cultivation base fluctuations. All of them… were cultivators who had stepped into Core Formation in less than a single sixty-year-cycle!

Middle Reaches sects controlled much larger territories than Lower Reaches sects, and also had access to much more resources. Furthermore, the energy of heaven and earth in the area was far stronger. Because of that, the sects here had many, many more Chosen than Lower Reaches sects did. It almost wasn't even possible to compare the two regions.

Along with the more than forty Core Formation cultivators, an intense pressure began to weigh down as the same white-haired old man appeared who had made the final decision in the grand hall on Mount River Defiance a month ago.

The old man looked over the collected cultivators, and didn't seem to be surprised at all that the River-Defying Sect only had Naruto with them. Smiling faintly, he said, "I would like to welcome the emissary from the presiding sect to oversee our four sects' competition for the legacy seals!" Even as the words left his mouth, the clouds up above swirled together as if driven by a powerful wind, rapidly forming into the shape of an enormous eye!

As the eye looked down, it radiated terrifying ripples that caused all light to dim.

Instantly, the cultivators of the Starry River Court and the Polarity River Court rose to their feet, clasped hands and bowed. It was the same with the Dao River Court cultivators, as well as Frigidsect, Master Godwind, Crimsonsoul, and Naruto .

Next, a booming voice spoke. "The rules covering this competition for legacy seals are the same as always. Killing… is not permitted. Anyone who intentionally ends the life of another will be destroyed in body and soul!"

Instantly, colorful light sprang up from the temple in the middle of the huge spell formation. The stones began to tremble, and the pressure weighing down began to fade away, making it possible for the cultivators to now enter the temple.

"Let the competition begin!" said the voice. Instantly, the forty cultivators from the Dao River Court began to fly toward the temple.

In the blink of an eye, the disciples from the Starry and Polarity River Courts followed. As for Naruto , he gritted his teeth, and then took Bruiser along in the same direction.

As he went along, he mentally reviewed everything he knew about the legacy seal competition. He knew that upon entering the temple itself, he would be teleported to a strange dimension. In the very middle of that dimension was a towering mountain surrounded by shocking spell formations that made it very difficult to approach the mountain itself.

A hundred legacy seals were located inside of the mountain, and would fly out in succession to the surrounding area, where the cultivators could fight over them.

Whoever acquired and absorbed the most would get some type of technique!

Naruto and Bruiser followed the group through the stone spell formation. Considering that Naruto was cautious by nature, he didn't hurry, and by the time he reached the temple itself, the other the disciples from the three sects had already entered.

Finally, he took a deep breath and looked over at Bruiser.

"Bruiser, remember to stick close to me. There are going to be a lot of bad people in there." Bruiser gave a soft howl and nodded his head. Naruto took a moment to straighten his garments, his paper talismans, and the big black wok. Then he gritted his teeth and stepped into the temple.

The moment Naruto and Bruiser entered the temple, the light around them faded away, and jarring rumbling sounds could be heard. Outside the temple, intense pressure once again weighed down, making it impossible for anyone to approach the temple. At the same time, a light screen was projected into the air above the temple, cast by the stone spell formation.

Clearly visible on the light screen were the names of all four sects, next to which were glowing circles, faint and barely visible. The three patriarchs from the River-Defying Sect all exchanged glances. Those glowing circles represented the number of legacy seals acquired by the various disciples in the legacy zone.

As the circles glowed more and more brightly, they would create columns of light which… would make it instantly obvious how many legacy seals each sect had acquired!

Outside of the stone spell formation were the Nascent Soul cultivators of the various sects, who numbered in the dozens or so. At the moment, the red-haired old man from the Starry River Court looked courteously toward the Nascent Soul experts from the Polarity River Court and the Dao River Court.

"The Dao River Court will definitely take first again," he said with a slight smile. "As for second place, well Brother Ouyang, I know that the Starry River Court can't compete with the Polarity River Court. Therefore, we haven't set our goals too high. Third place will do." The red-haired old man chuckled.

The cultivator whom the red-haired old man had referred to as Brother

Ouyang was a middle-aged man wearing the robes of the Polarity River Court. Smiling, he said, "Brother Zhou, you're overthinking things. Let's just wait and see who takes second and third place."

Despite his words, his expression was one of utmost confidence.

As the cultivators of the three sects chatted, they completely ignored the River-Defying Sect.

Master Godwind, Frigidsect, and Crimsonsoul all had unsightly expressions on their faces as they sat there silently.

—

Chapter 363 Chapter 363

Chapter 363: One Should Be Enough

In this legacy zone, heaven and earth were currently cloaked in darkness!

The sky was leaden, a perfect complement to the pitch-black lands that stretched out below it. However, serving as a perfect foil to the darkness were the brilliant beams of light that were breaking out in multiple locations within the dimension.

Those beams of light all contained cultivators, and the brilliance they cast instantly illuminated the murky world around them.

Because of the new light, it was now possible to see that the dimension wasn't very large. Furthermore, in the exact center of it, there was a mountain with a peak so tall it pierced the clouds. It was so immense that anyone looking up at it would feel like a tiny insect.

The surface of the mountain was covered with numerous sealing marks, which moments ago, had been the same color as the surface of the mountain itself. However, the arrival of the cultivators caused them to glow with bright light.

Close examination revealed that the sealing marks on the mountain… were limited in number! There were exactly one hundred of them!

This towering peak was none other than… the Mountain of Legacy Seals!

It was also the brightest location in the entire legacy zone. As the crowd of cultivators appeared, Naruto became visible within one of the beams of light.

Next to him was Bruiser. As soon as they both appeared, Naruto activated his paper talismans, causing dazzling, colorful lights to appear all around him. It actually looked quite attractive; he was like an entity of colorful light.

Next, he helped Bruiser activate all of his paper talismans, until he looked equally as colorful.

Because of that, they became very conspicuous within the legacy dimension. Quite a few gazes shifted in their direction, gazes of derision and mockery.

Naruto had already been nervous to begin with, and when he realized people were staring at him, he gasped, and his heart filled with icy fear.

"This place is so dangerous! So much killing intent!" Naruto put a restraining hand on Bruiser's back, and then looked around vigilantly. After confirming that people were looking at him but not heading in his direction, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he began to glare back at people.

"I've never lost to anybody when it comes to contests like this. Am I right, Bruiser? Alright, come on. Let's both glare at them. Show them how badass the two of us are!" From that point on, whenever anyone looked over at him, Naruto would glare back with a murderous stare, as did Bruiser.

One particular young man from the Starry River Court who was relatively close to the two of them smiled mockingly and said, "Junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect? Did you bring all of the paper talismans from your entire sect with you? Do you have enough? Or should I give you a few of mine?"

Naruto turned and cast him a fierce glare. "Sure. Hand a few over!"

The young man's scorn increased. Laughing coldly, he ignored Naruto and began to head in the direction of the Mountain of Legacy Seals.

He wasn't the only one. The disciples of the three sects all began to transform into beams of light that headed in the same direction. Because of how close the mountain was, none of them flew, but instead, sped along on foot.

Naruto chose not to act blindly and without thinking. Instead, he took some time to assess the situation. The disciples approaching the Mountain of Legacy Seals were all going along on foot. Not a single one was flying. Furthermore, all of them stopped at a certain point roughly 15,000 meters from the base of the mountain.

Furthermore, the disciples didn't simply scatter. Instead, looks

of vigilance could be seen on their faces as they began to gather in ranks according to their sects. Suddenly, rumbling sounds filled the air as numerous lightning bolts appeared in the area between the cultivators and the mountains, as well as a gale-force wind.

The lightning bolts were as thick as buckets, and the intense wind was pitch black and contained incredible power. In fact, the wind almost looked like black dragons sweeping back and forth within the 15,000meter region.

Anyone with eyes could see how incredibly powerful the lightning bolts and the blasts of wind were.

Other types of magic began to spread out. There were gigantic hands, blades of ice, and tongues of fire. There were illusory projections that looked like shrieking ghosts.

Thorns began to grow up out of the ground, and deep crevices opened up randomly here and there.

Obviously, the 15,000-meter area was a place rife with danger. Even Nascent Soul Daoist masters would be leery of such an area, let alone Core Formation cultivators.

Naruto looked over and noticed one of the cultivators from the Polarity River Court summon a puppet, which he sent into the 15,000meter region. Before it got far, a bolt of lightning struck it, reducing it to nothing more than ashes. Naruto gasped, and his face drained of blood.

"The jade slip said this Mountain of Legacy Seals was dangerous, but it didn't say it was this dangerous! That puppet… was at the same level as Core Formation, and it got destroyed by a single lightning bolt!" Naruto stood in place hesitantly, trembling the entire time.

Naruto wasn't the only one to react with such shock. Several disciples of the three sects used various magical means to try to enter the 15,000-meter area on their own, but in the end, were left sighing in frustration.

"It must be because this isn't the usual time to enter the legacy zone. The defensive spells around the Mountain of Legacy Seals must be much more powerful than usual…."

"Usually the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's emissary limits the power, but not this time…."

After discussing the matter, the three groups tightened their formations and then began to slowly make their way into the 15,000-meter area in groups. Whenever dangerous situations arose, they would pool their power to defend themselves.

Before long, booms filled the air, and the lands began to quake.

Naruto stood there in hesitation for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. At that point, one of the hundred sealing marks on the Mountain of Legacy Seals suddenly began to shine brightly, then flew up into the air and spiraled out into the 15,000-meter region.

Almost instantly, all of the disciples of the three sects looked over nervously at the sealing mark as it circled out further and further away from the mountain. When it reached the 13,500-meter mark, the disciples started making attempts to acquire it.

The cultivators from the Starry River Court unleashed all of their cultivation base power, creating a stream of brilliant starlight fully 3,000 meters long. It only took a moment for the stream of starlight to bear down on the sealing mark as if to wrap it up and drag it away. At that point, the people from the Polarity River Court let out a bellow as they erupted with devil qi, summoning a huge flying head that shot toward the sealing mark and began to contend with the Starry River Court.

The Dao River Court had the most people in the legacy zone. When they looked over at what was happening, many of them took deep breaths and then began to emanate a strange power that seemed almost like natural law. Instantly, the air surrounding their group began to twist and distort.

Then, rumbling could be heard as a towering giant took form. Without any hesitation, the giant strode forward and reached out to grab the legacy seal!

As soon as the giant's hand closed around the sealing mark, it vanished and reappeared in the hand of one of the Dao River Court cultivators.

"It's mine!" he cried excitedly, throwing his head back and laughing as he absorbed the mark into his body. The other Dao River Court disciples were a bit jealous, and the Starry and Polarity River Courts were disappointed, but didn't let it show on their faces. In fact, some of them even smiled in congratulation.

Naruto was left gasping at the scene which had just played out. He also understood the rules in this place a bit better now. Once the sealing marks flew out from Mountain of Legacy Seals, the people who were closer to the mountain would have an advantage in trying to acquire them.

"One should be enough for me!" he thought, gritting his teeth. He didn't set his expectations too high. As long as he could get one, then at least he could call the mission a success. Trying to get more than that would surely be too dangerous….

With that, he headed toward the mountain. By the time he reached the border and prepared to step in, the cultivators of the three sects were already about two or three hundred meters in.

Almost as soon as he entered, a black blast of wind shot toward him, filling his head with a sense of explosive crisis. Letting out a shriek, he backed up. Then a lightning bolt shot toward him, and he fell back again, scowling on the verge of tears. Within moments, he was back outside the 15,000-meter area. Only then did the various defensive magics ignore him.

"What do I do now…?" he thought. Not daring to enter the area again, he looked over at Bruiser, who stared back at him blankly….

—

Chapter 364 Chapter 364

Chapter 364: You Bullies!

"This won't work!" Naruto thought sullenly. He considered approaching the Mountain of Legacy Seals from a different direction, but after a quick survey, was convinced that the other areas were actually more dangerous than this one.

Viewed with the naked eye, all areas surrounding the Mountain of

Legacy Seals were possible avenues of approach. However, with his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, Naruto could tell that the general area where he and the members of the other three sects were was the only viable option for success.

Other areas were vastly more dangerous, and in fact, the three sects were all staying in roughly the same area, relatively close to each other.

Only by pooling their strength were they gradually making progress. The Dao River Court was strongest, and they were already about 1,500 meters in. On either side of them, and a bit further back were the Polarity River Court and the Starry River Court, the former being over 1,200 meters in, and the latter roughly 900 meters.

Naruto was the only person standing alone on the outside.

"Since I'm on my own, there's no way I can stay inside for long. I'm only going to have a couple chances…." Eyes bloodshot, he produced some more paper talismans and slapped them down on himself and Bruiser.

He also pulled out some defensive magical items.

Finally, he turned and whispered to Bruiser, "In a bit, when the right opportunity comes along, I'm going to make my move and try to grab one of the legacy seals. If anything goes wrong, you save me!"

Bruiser immediately nodded. He could see how dangerous the 15,000meter area was, and although he was very happy to finally be outside on a mission with Naruto , he was also very nervous.

Naruto stood there staring at the Mountain of Legacy Seals, waiting for his next opportunity. After about ten breaths of time passed, another of the sealing marks suddenly began to glow brightly, then flew out into the air.

It flew a few circles in the 9,000-meter region, then went further out, whereupon the forces of the three sects prepared to begin fighting over it.

However, the sealing mark moved too quickly, and flitted through the grasping hands of the cultivators of the three sects. Naruto 's eyes went wide, and then he howled at the top of his lungs as he activated all of his paper talismans, unleashing the explosive power of his Undying Heavenly King Body, and used the Mountain Shaking Bash. Worried that all that might not give him enough speed, he pushed off using the big toe of his left foot. In the blink of an eye, he was nothing but a series of afterimages that shot into the danger zone.

He was moving so fast that he was little more than a blur as he arrived in front of the sealing mark, and then reached out to grab it. However, in almost the exact same instant, the people from the Starry River Court shouted in rage and pooled their power to block his path.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as he was shoved backward, and the

Starry River Court's stream of stars snatched the sealing mark away.

Naruto didn't want to accept it, but was out of options, and had to flee back to safety. Along the way, he was struck by a bolt of lightning, which destroyed most of his his activated paper talismans.

"You big bullies!" he fumed, glaring back. However, before his anger had much of a chance to flare up, two sealing marks suddenly flickered and flew into the air off of the Mountain of Legacy Seals. The Polarity River Court went all out in their attempt to grab the first, but the second managed to slip past the three sects. Naruto 's eyes widened, and then he burst into motion to make another attempt. More lightning crashed around him, and he had to

dodge seas of flames. All of his paper talismans were destroyed, and even his black wok was shattered. However, all of that brought him right up to the sealing mark.

"Beat it!" A cold snort ripped through the air, sending crushing pressure into Naruto 's mind. At the same time, rumbling sounds filled the air as the Dao River Court's illusory giant stormed toward him.

The giant waved its hand, unleashing a terrifying burst of power, a magical technique that was no weaker than the magics of the world itself. Before Naruto could do anything, the giant was upon him.

At that point, he drew upon all of his fleshly body power, as well as his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, to fight back. He continued to reach out his hand toward the sealing mark, which was now only nine meters away.

However, that was when the giant's fist struck out, sending a violent tempest of wind into Naruto that carried him away, head over heels.

Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as another set of paper talismans was completely destroyed, along with quite a few of his defensive magical items. At the same time, the force of the blow left him temporarily immobilized.

After all, the giant was backed by the power of a whole group of people, whereas Naruto was acting alone. After grinding to a halt, he looked up as the giant casually grabbed the sealing mark which he had been just on the verge of taking. At the same time, numerous magics were unleashed by the world around him.

The giant looked over its shoulder at him, expression that of scorn. "You think a bit too much of yourself!"

Then it shot back toward the group from the Dao River Court.

In the moment of crisis in which the magical techniques bore down on Naruto , Bruiser let out an angry roar, grabbed Naruto 's robe, and started dragging him backward.

However, that was when the stream of stars from the Starry River Court appeared and blocked their path, making it impossible for them to escape. The lightning slammed into Bruiser, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. Thankfully, Naruto had recovered by that point, so he grabbed Bruiser and rushed back out toward the safe area.

The people from the Polarity River Court watched Naruto and

Bruiser flee with contempt. A cold snort rang out and someone said, "The River-Defying Sect isn't strong enough to get even one sealing mark. Be a good boy and stay outside. Don't look for trouble in here!"

The Starry River Court people were equally derisive. Chen Yunshan even said, "If you try to mess with us, we might not be able to kill you because of the rules, but the defensive spells here could destroy you. Nobody would care if that happened."

The evil intentions hidden within those words couldn't have been more clear!

Even as Naruto continued to retreat, a black wind hit him from behind, causing blood to spray from his mouth. When he finally made it to safety, he looked back to see that the cultivators from the other sects were all about 1,500 meters into the zone of defensive spells.

"Complete and utter bullies!" he thought, anger burning. Then he looked down and saw how hurt Bruiser was, and his rage simmered even hotter. Glaring over at the cultivators of the three sects, he growled, "I don't care if you snatch the sealing marks away from me, or even if you hurt me. But you hurt Bruiser!

"You people are forcing my hand!" Eyes more bloodshot than ever, he gritted his teeth and gave Bruiser some medicinal pills. Looking back at the situation, he saw that the Dao River Court was now about 3,000 meters in. With that, he blurred into motion, taking Bruiser toward one of the areas he had observed earlier with this Heavenspan Dharma Eye, a place that seemed impossible to pass through.

Meanwhile, outside of the legacy zone, at the border of the stone spell formation, the Nascent Soul cultivators from the four sects were looking at the glowing screen, and the four circles of light which represented the achievements of the disciples.

The Dao River Court's circle was the brightest, with the Starry and Polarity River Courts also lit up, but not as bright. Only the River-Defying Sect's circle had remained dark the entire time.

The level of brightness indicated how many sealing marks had been obtained, and therefore, the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Dao River Court were all smiles. Of course, none of this was unexpected. As far as they were concerned, the Dao River Court should be the one to take first place.

The red-haired old man from the Starry River Court laughed heartily and said, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoists. It seems the Dao River Court really will take first place again.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't seem the Fellow Daoists from the RiverDefying Sect are doing very well. Definitely not as well as the Sky River Court did last time. They took second place back then, and almost tied with the Dao River Court."

The faces of Crimsonsoul, Frigidsect, and Master Godwind, were all very grim. Eventually, they had no choice but to sigh. They had been prepared for defeat from the beginning, but had still hoped that Naruto would be able to get at least one sealing mark.

"Fellow Daoist Frigidsect," the red-haired cultivator said, "what do you say we make a little bet? I'm guessing your River-Defying Sect won't be able to get more than two sealing marks!"

Frigidsect's expression darkened even further, and it was the same with the other two patriarchs. As for the Dao River Court and the Polarity River Court, they looked very amused at what was happening.

Suddenly, Master Godwind looked over at the red-haired old man and slowly said, "A bet? What are the stakes?!"

The red-haired old man smiled coldly and said, "I happen to have a Starry Meteor from the Starry River Court, which can unleash an attack with power similar to the Deva Realm. I'll put that up against one of your River-Defying Sect's Heavenspan Battleships!"

Frigidsect's expression flickered, and Master Godwind's eyes glinted with incisive light. Starry Meteors were in fact spirit treasures from the Starry River Court, and were of similar value to Heavenspan Battleships. However, the Heavenspan Battleships were much more precious to the River-Defying Sect than Starry Meteors were to the Starry River Court. Clearly, this red-haired old man had planned this all along!

—

Chapter 365 Chapter 365

Chapter 365: What's That…?

"We're only talking about two sealing marks," he said in a cold voice. "Is the River-Defying Sect really not even confident in getting two little sealing marks?" The red-haired old man narrowed his eyes.

Master Godwind maintained his silence, as did Patriarch Crimsonsoul. The two of them looked over at Frigidsect. If the River-Defying Sect won a bet like this, it would be a big gain for their sect. Getting a Starry Meteor would make up for some of the losses that were going to occur within the legacy competition.

However, if they lost, and had to hand over a Heavenspan Battleship, the overall battle prowess of the River-Defying Sect would be significantly reduced.

In the end, the Heavenspan Battleship belonged to the Spirit Stream Division, and furthermore, Frigidsect knew Naruto better than the other two. Therefore, he was the one who would make the final decision.

Frigidsect looked up at the dark circle which represented the RiverDefying Sect, and took a moment to think back to all the miraculous things Naruto had accomplished. If they won the bet, it would be a big boost in confidence and morale for the sect. If they lost…. Well, even refusing to take the bet would mean that they had lost to the other three sects.

The stakes were high, but the truth was that the River-Defying Sect didn't actually have much to lose.

"You're on!" Frigidsect said through gritted teeth. In response, the redhaired old man laughed heartily. The truth was that earlier, he had already given orders to the disciples who had gone into the legacy zone.

Not only was their mission to get as many legacy seals as possible, they were also to stop the River-Defying Sect from getting even a single one!

"Considering that," he thought, "it's theoretically possible he could get a single seal by accident. But he definitely won't be able to get two!" Inwardly, he was chuckling coldly. What made him even more confident was that he knew that because it was not the usual appointed time for the trial by fire, the defensive spell zone outside the Mountain of Legacy Seals would be more difficult. Thererfore, it would be virtually impossible for Naruto to get close to the mountain on his own.

The Dao and Polarity River Courts were paying close attention to what was happening. It was obvious to them what the Starry River Court was trying to; not only were they trying to secure the resources which had once belonged to the Sky River Court, they were trying to weaken the River-Defying Sect. In the future, it was easy to imagine how they, in their greed, would begin to swallow up the River-Defying Sect to strengthen themselves!

After all, the Starry River Court bordered the River-Defying Sect!

In the past, the Sky River Court had completely dominated the Starry River Court, and on many situations, the Starry River Court had been forced to wait to see what the Sky River Court did before they themselves took action. But now, the Sky River Court was no more, and the Starry River Court had a new neighbor!

As the matter with the bet played out on the outside, the Dao River Court forces inside the legacy zone reached the 3,600-meter mark. Apparently, that was their limit. Not even their powerful giant could progress much further without being destroyed.

The Polarity River Court was about 2,700 meters in, not quite as far as the Dao River Court. However, the Dao River Court wouldn't be capable of snatching every single one of the legacy seals, ensuring that the Polarity River Court would still be able to get a good share.

The Starry River Court was the weakest of all, and was only about 1,500 meters in. Despite being behind the Polarity and Dao River Courts, they would still be able to g

et some of the seals, and simultaneously deprive the River-Defying Sect of any.

By this point, about ten sealing marks had flown out from the Mountain of Legacy Seals.

Naruto had led Bruiser to a point some distance away from the three sects, although they were still within eyeshot.

With his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, he had located the perfect spot. The pressure weighing down in the area was vastly greater than the safe spot where the three sects had entered.

"Bruiser, I need you to shrink down," he said, his voice cold. "Dad's gonna take you to have some fun!"

Bruiser looked surprised, but a moment later, he shivered and began to shrink down in size. Soon, he was small enough that Naruto was able to place him in the folds of his robe. Then, Naruto took a deep breath, causing a tremor to run through him.

Cracking sounds rang out as he used the power of the Undying Live Forever Technique and his Heaven-Dao Gold Core to shrink down. Bones and flesh alike became smaller, until Naruto was the size of a small child.

His clothing was too large, so he simply ripped it off. Then he waved his finger toward the ground, and a flash of black light could be seen as the turtle-wok appeared!

"You people are forcing my hand!" he said through gritted teeth. "I didn't want to cheat!" Naruto didn't like using the wok publicly, but right now, he was out of options. Taking a deep breath, he lay down on the ground and dragged the turtle-wok over him.

Now that he had shrunk down, it was easy for him to fit underneath it, making it look very much like an actual turtle as it lay there on the ground.

Almost in the same moment, a delighted exclamation could be heard from within his bag of holding.

"Hahaha! You definitely deserve to be my pet! Good job, Little Uzumaki. Master approves!" It was none other than the little turtle, who flew out with a pop and landed on the ground just behind Naruto .

"You shut up!" Naruto yelled. Ignoring the little turtle, he tilted the edge of the turtle-wok up and looked at the 15,000 meters of dangerous territory up ahead, then began to crawl forward.

The little turtle followed along, laughing. From a distance, it looked like two turtles, one big and one small, crawling slowly into the zone of restrictive spells.

Almost as soon as they entered, a bolt of lightning many times bigger than any of the previous bolts fell from above and slammed into the turtle-wok. However, the wok was virtually indestructible, and no amount of lightning could do anything to it. Naruto felt some vibrations, but that was it. With the added protection of the wok, his Undying Live Forever Technique and Heaven-Dao Gold Core ensured that he was completely unharmed.

Off in the distance, the cultivators of the three sects were currently fighting over one of the legacy seals when they suddenly sensed that something strange was going on with Naruto . The cultivators began to look over, and soon noticed the two turtles….

"What's that…?"

"It's a turtle shell!"

"I can't believe that guy from the River-Defying Sect is using this method to get into the defensive spell zone! Hahaha! Naruto actually found a turtle shell somewhere and is using it for protection?"

"Wait, it's not just one turtle. Look! There's an even smaller turtle behind the first one. Hilarious!"

Roars of laughter could soon be heard from the three sects. Even the group from the Dao River Court couldn't contain their scorn. The people from the Starry River Court were laughing the loudest, especially Chen Yunshan.

"Naruto ," he yelled through his laughter, "aren't you the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect? I can't believe you're willing to become a turtle just to get some legacy seals. Come, come. Just kowtow to me a few times and I'll give you a few for free. What do you say?"

Naruto could hear the mocking of the three sects, and couldn't help but let out an angry harrumph. "You just wait and see what happens!" he thought.

As he crawled forward, black winds screamed, and seas of flame battered him. Blades of ice shot toward him, along with countless other magics. However, none of them could stop him.

With the turtle-wok on his back, he crawled relentlessly forward until he was 300 meters in.

The mocking cries coming from the three sects began to die down. In fact, many people's eyes began to widen, and gasps could be heard.

"What kind of turtle shell is that!?"

"How… how is this even possible? The area Naruto is in is far, far more dangerous than where we are."

"The lightning, the fire, the wind… none of it has any effect on that turtle shell. Woah! Look, he's picking up speed!"

Jaws dropped as the turtle shell, apparently having become used to the area, began to go faster and faster.

600 meters. 900 meters. 1,200 meters. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the magics slammed into the turtle shell, and yet nothing could stop it from accelerating. Before long, it had passed the 1,500-meter mark.

"Impossible!" Chen Yunshan howled. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing, and was panting as a result. He wasn't the only one to react in such a way. Everyone from the Polarity River Court had similar looks of disbelief on their faces.

By this point, more than a hundred bolts of lightning had struck the turtle shell, and yet, it only continued to move faster and faster.

Of course, despite the fact that Naruto was hidden under the turtle shell, all of them knew exactly what kind of expression was on his face. One of utmost pride….

"Hmmmph! When Lord Uzumaki takes action, he frightens even himself. I can't believe you people dared to bully me!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he continued to crawl along on his hands and knees. Soon, he was 1,800 meters in. Then 2,100 meters. Then 3,000 meters!

Not even the cultivators from the Dao River Court dared to lightly enter such a region, but Naruto didn't seem worried at all. In fact, soon the cultivators of the three sects could hear Naruto humming a little tune.

Not a single one of the dangerous magics in the area had even the slightest effect on the turtle shell.

"This… this… this…." Everyone was completely and utterly stunned.

Chapter 366 Chapter 366

Chapter 366: Shameless! Cheater!

The cultivators from the three sects were virtually going crazy. Of course, they wished they could do something to stop Naruto , but he was in an area of extreme danger that they didn't even dare to enter….

They could only watch wide-eyed as the two turtles sped further and further into the zone of defensive spells. 3,900 meters. 4,800 meters. Before long, Naruto was 6,000 meters in, a distance that none of the rest of the sects dared to attempt to match.

"6,000… 6,000 meters!?"

"Dammit! How could this guy possibly get 6,000 meters in? Doesn't… doesn't that mean that he's going to get past the Dao River Court and have the first chance to get the legacy seals?!"

As the cultivators of the three sects realized what was happening, shouts of astonishment and jealousy began to rise up into the air.

6,000 meters in, the magic was so intense that it fell like rain. At that point, Naruto stopped for a moment, slowly lifted the edge of the turtle-wok and looked out with eager anticipation.

He could hear the shouts of astonishment coming from behind him, and it made him happier than ever. Even as he wallowed in his pride, the

Mountain of Legacy Seals began to tremble, and a legacy seal flew out.

As it circled about, it got closer and closer to Naruto .

"Hahaha! Now nobody can even think of stealing it from me. Hey little legacy seal, come over here!" Smiling broadly, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, and then waved his finger at the incoming legacy seal.

Whoever was closest to the legacy seals obviously had the advantage, and at the moment, nobody was there to compete with Naruto . The legacy seal shivered in place, then shot toward Naruto , disappearing into the turtle shell.

"Got one!" he cried excitedly, absorbing it.

When the cultivators of the three sects saw this happen, their eyes turned as red as rabbits'. That was especially true of the people from the Dao River Court. They poured power into their giant to try to get it to move forward, and even as they did, another legacy seal flew out and was grabbed by Naruto . The rage of the cultivators burned hot and bright.

"Are you looking to die, Naruto !?'

"This isn't fair!"

"You're pushing things too far, Naruto !"

Naruto only began to hum his little tune louder than before. After resting for a bit longer under the turtle shell, he saw a third legacy seal, which he quickly sucked into the shell.

"I guess I'll just wait here and grab each one as it comes along. Hmph!" Feeling more pleased than ever, and more awesome, Naruto thought about bringing out his mirror to ask imposter Nightcrypt how amazing he was.

However, it didn't seem like a good idea at the moment, so he suppressed it.

He was feeling quite comfortable underneath the turtle shell, grabbing legacy seals at leisure. However, the cultivators of the three sects were simmering on the point of complete madness.

If things kept going the way they were, then Naruto would likely pull off a miracle, a miracle that would leave them humiliated more than they had been in years!

That was especially true of the dozens of Core Formation Chosen from the Dao River Court. The pressure on them was suddenly quite intense. The entire group went all out, causing the illusory giant to turn even more corporeal, and then carry them forward 1,500 meters in a wild sprint.

The Polarity and Starry River Court cultivators also took various risks, gritting their teeth to shoot forward once again.

The three sects advanced in grand fashion, with cultivators using all sor

ts of magical items, divine abilities and magical techniques. They utilized everything within their power to try to head deeper into the danger zone.

When Naruto sensed the surge of energy behind him, and realized that the three sects were trying to catch up, his anger flared.

"This is my spot! I can't believe you people are going to try to steal from me again. Complete bullies!" Gritting his teeth, he hunkered down in the turtle shell and started crawling forward again.

The little turtle followed along, laughing in amusement.

Time passed. As Naruto crawled forward, he continued to grab the legacy seals as they flew out. Eventually, the Dao River Court reached the 6,000-meter mark. The Polarity River Court was right behind them, and even the Starry River Court had reached the 3,600-meter mark. All three sects had truly reached their limit. And yet, to their complete despair, Naruto had already crawled up to the 9,000-meter mark.

And he kept going. Soon, he reached 10,500 meters. Then 12,000….

The distances involved left the Dao River Court in a state of complete hopelessness. The Polarity River Court was filled with bitterness, and the Starry River Court was going mad. One legacy seal after another flew out and was taken by Naruto . All the cultivators were filled with a sense of indescribable powerlessness.

"12,000… 12,000 meters…."

"This can't really be happening…." As of this moment, the Starry River Court had two legacy seals, the Polarity River Court had one more than them, and the Dao River Court had the most with five.

All of the other legacy seals were going to Naruto ….

To make matters even worse, Naruto was loudly announcing how many he'd acquired.

"Thirty-one!"

"Thirty-seven!"

"Forty-three!"

The Mountain of Legacy Seals was shaking violently. From ancient times until now, nothing like this had ever happened. No one had ever gotten so close to the mountain, or acquired so many legacy seals.

Naruto was completely elated. He even took a moment to look back at the cultivators from the other three sects, and felt more wonderful than ever. After that, he decided he might as well keep crawling forward. "Forty-seven!"

"Fifty-three!"

"Fifty-seven!"

Naruto 's voice continued to ring out as he got closer and closer to the Mountain of Legacy Seals. The cultivators of the three sects felt as if wild beasts were trampling their hearts. As they watched Naruto , their eyes burned with madness and killing intent. From the look of things, if they could, they would ignore the rules and simply kill him.

"Shut up!"

"Dammit. You're completely shameless! Cheater!"

"I'm gonna kill you!"

Naruto turned around and disdainfully lifted the back edge of the turtle-wok to peer out at the three sects. Then he cried out as loudly as possible, "Do you people dare to come over here!? We can have an epic fight. I dare you! Come on! I'm waiting for you right here!"

Saying such words was like pouring fuel onto the fire. The three sects exploded with rage, especially Chen Yunshan, whose face was distorted from fury.

A moment passed, and then Naruto sighed and said, "Why aren't any of you coming over? How about…. you all come together?! I'll take you all on at once! What do you say…? Lord Uzumaki is getting tired of waiting…. Ai, heroes are always so lonely. The scenery here is wonderful, what a pity none of you dare to come share it with me."

With that, he grabbed another legacy seal.

Naruto was used to calling out the numbers by now, so he yelled, "This is the fifty-ninth!"

After some thought, he was curious what it would be like even closer to the mountain, so he began to proceed forward again.

At the same time, the cultivators of the three sects realized that they couldn't stay in their current positions safely, and began to move in the opposite direction.

Of course, a scene of similar madness could be seen outside of the legacy zone….

Some time earlier, the River-Defying Sect's circle on the glowing screen had suddenly lit up.

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul, and Master Godwind were immediately delighted. After all, that glowing light represented the honor of the whole sect. Based on how bright their glowing circle was compared to the other three sects, they were able to speculate that Naruto had acquired a single legacy seal.

"Even one makes this whole thing worth it!" Crimsonsoul thought, tightening his hands into fists. Not too far away, the red-haired old man from the Starry River Court felt his heart suddenly tremble. He even frowned, although it only lasted for a moment.

"Congratulations, River-Defying Sect," he said with a false smile. "You got lucky and managed to get a single legacy seal. However, luck will only carry you so far in–" Before he could finish speaking, the RiverDefying Sect's glowing circle suddenly got a bit brighter. Then, only moments later, it brightened again. Soon, it was brighter than the Starry River Court's circle.

The Nascent Soul patriarchs from the other three sects were shocked, especially those from the Starry River Court.

"How is this possible?!"

The three patriarchs from the River-Defying Sect were also astonished, and exchanged incredulous glances.

The red-haired old man's expression was extremely unsightly, and rage could be seen flickering in his eyes. All of a sudden, he felt as if the disciples he had sent into the legacy zone were completely useless. Even as he began to feel regret in his heart, the River-Defying Sect's glowing circle got even brighter!

There were no rumbling sounds, but everyone felt as if their minds were crashing with thunder. The River-Defying Sect's glowing circle was getting brighter with indescribable speed. A moment later, and it surpassed the Polarity River Court!

The Nascent Soul Daoist masters from the Polarity River Court couldn't prevent their expressions from flickering.

Moments later, the River-Defying Sect surpassed the Dao River Court. The white-haired old man took a step forward to stare more closely at the glowing circles. Everyone had looks of madness overtaking their faces.

The brightness of the River-Defying Sect's glowing circle was increasing so dramatically that it completely exceeded the imaginations of all present!

—

Chapter 367 Chapter 367

Chapter 367: Living Mountain Incantation!

It was so bright that it was almost painful to look at, as if it were the only light which existed. Even the light from the other three sects combined was completely and utterly crushed by it.

"W-what's… what's going on!?"

"Don't tell me that all of the legacy seals are being taken by only one person from the River-Defying Sect?!"

"Impossible!"

"Heavens, even when the Dao River Court took first place last time, the light wasn't this bright. How… how many legacy seals does that represent?" The Nascent Soul experts from the three sects were all shocked. The red-haired old man from the Starry River Court was physically shaking, and his face was covered with an expression of utter incredulity.

"Maybe the circle got broken somehow…?" he murmured. The Nascent Soul Daoist master from the Polarity River Court was panting, and a look of unprecedented anxiety could be seen in his eyes.

Originally, the matter of redistributing the resources wasn't very important to the Polarity River Court, especially considering the compensation the Starry River Court had offered to gain their support. However, if things kept going the way they were, that compensation wouldn't even make up for the losses they would incur.

Now, in this moment of anxiety, their anger toward the Starry River Court was growing.

If the Polarity River Court had such a reaction, there almost wasn't even a need to mention the Nascent Soul experts from the Dao River Court. They were all trembling, and looks of despair could be seen flickering in their eyes. If they didn't end up with more resources than they had in the previous competition, their decision to join in the Starry River Court's little plan would result in indescribable losses.

Furthermore, the sect's deva patriarch would surely be furious.

After thinking about the consequences at stake, one of the other

Nascent Soul cultivators from the Starry River Court said, "Impossible.

This is definitely a mistake…."

However, his words of consolation fell completely flat. The area outside of the stone spell formation descended into a deathly silence. All of the Nascent Soul Daoist masters were looking at the glowing circles, and it was completely obvious that the River-Defying Sect's circle was continuing to grow brighter.

At the same time, the circles representing the other sects hadn't changed at all…. Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind were all dumbstruck.

Even they had no idea what could be going on inside the legacy zone….

"What… is Naruto … doing in there?" Crimsonsoul murmured, looking over in confusion at Master Godwind and Frigidsect.

Meanwhile, back in the legacy zone, the disciples of the three sects were howling in fury. Naruto was currently 12,000 meters in, and continuing forward toward the Mountain of Legacy Seals itself.

By this point, deep despair had taken root in the hearts of everyone present….

From the first moment this legacy zone had been opened in ancient times until now, not a single Core Formation cultivator had ever reached the actual foot of the mountain. In fact, no one knew what dangers existed there, nor what would happen if someone reached that point.

But now, everyone watched helplessly as the damnable and shameless Naruto used his cheating methods to pull off a miracle.

"It's not fair…."

"I can't believe you can actually cheat the system here!"

"Oh heavens, have you no eyes? Send lightning to smite this despicable Naruto !" Tears welled up in their eyes as Ba

i Naruto reached the 15,000-meter mark. He was now right at the foot of the Mountain of Legacy Seals!

As soon as he reached that point, his jaw dropped. It felt as if he had just passed through a sheet of water, and he involuntarily stopped moving. Oh-so-carefully, he tilted up the edge of the turtle shell, and could sense that there was no lightning, no black wind, and no magic of any other type.

"Eee?" Curious, Naruto backed up a few meters, and sure enough, could feel the lightning and other magic battering the turtle shell. Then he moved forward a bit, and the sensation vanished.

Under the despairing gazes of the crowd from the three other sects, Naruto went back and forth a few times to confirm that the ninemeter-area right beneath the mountain was free of any sort of defensive spells.

Trembling with excitement, he slowly pushed the turtle shell off of himself and stood up, cracking sounds ringing out as he returned to his normal size. Then, he clasped his hands behind his back, flicked his sleeve, and stuck his chin up. Glancing back scornfully at the cultivators of the three sects, he said, "Hmmmmmph! Wanna fight with me? Who of you dares to come over here and have a duel to the death with Naruto !?"

No one responded, but if looks could kill, then the gazes falling onto Naruto would have chopped him into mincemeat….

Seeing that nobody was going to say anything, Naruto couldn't help but sigh like a lonely hero. Then he turned and looked up at the Mountain of Legacy Seals, which was so toweringly tall that he couldn't even see the top.

"I wonder what it would feel like to touch it…?" he thought. After pondering the matter for a moment, he decided that it most likely wouldn't be very dangerous. Therefore, he cautiously reached out and tapped the surface of the mountain with the tip of his finger.

Nothing happened, and he breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, the cultivators of the three sects simply stared with wide eyes….

"I guess I have nothing to worry about." Flicking his sleeve, he planted his hand firmly down onto the mountain and prepared to boast a bit.

However, in the moment that his hand landed on the mountain, rumbling sounds began to echo out.

The ground began to shake, and the sky vibrated as the dozens of remaining legacy seals on the mountain suddenly began to blaze with light, and then fly into the air!

They made a spectacular sight as they swirled about, each one radiating dazzling, multicolored light.

The cultivators of the three sects were completely shocked to see so many legacy seals flying out at the same time, and many of them unleashed magics to try to grab them.

Shocked, Naruto was just about to pull his hand away from the mountain when suddenly, all of the dozens of legacy seals began to speed in his direction.

He couldn't have evaded them even if he wanted to. He was like a black hole, and all of the seals were flying toward him, fusing into his body and merging with the seals he'd already acquired.

As they combined, a mnemonic appeared inside of Naruto 's mind, a fragmented divine ability!

Because it was incomplete, he couldn't quite make it out clearly. However, it was in that moment that the cultivators from the other sects who had acquired legacy seals earlier all began to scream. At the same time, their bodies began to twist and distort as the seals that they had absorbed earlier flew out from inside of them.

"How could this be happening?!"

"No! That's my legacy seal!" Amidst the cries of shock and alarm, the legacy seals sped toward Naruto and merged into him. As of this moment, Naruto had… one hundred legacy seals!

Each and every one of those hundred seals was inside of him, merging together!

The fragmented divine ability was now complete and easy to see!

"Living Mountain Incantation!" Naruto 's mind spun as the divine ability was imprinted into his mind. Even before the process was complete, he could tell that this divine ability was something completely shocking!

Suddenly, an ancient voice began to speak inside of Naruto 's mind. "Merge with the mountain, become a living mountain. Stand in front of the mountain and be called an immortal!"

The voice started out as a mere whisper, but by the end, its words echoed like thunder.

That was especially true of the final word spoken, immortal, which was spoken with heaven-rending, earth-crushing volume!

Meanwhile, outside of the legacy zone, the River-Defying Sect's glowing circle was exploding with intense light. In fact, the light was so bright that it formed a pillar which shot up into the air!

Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds echoed out as the beam of light ascended into parts unknown. The Nascent Soul cultivators from the three sects looked on with minds reeling.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, as the River-Defying Sect's light grew stronger, the lights representing the Dao, Polarity, and Starry River Courts grew dimmer, until they reverted to their original appearance. The River-Defying Sect's beam of light… had consumed the light from the three other sects!

"This is impossible!"

"Something definitely went wrong. Majorly wrong!"

"From ancient times until now, no one has ever lost a legacy seal that they had already absorbed!" Looks of unprecedented shock appeared on the faces of the Nascent Soul cultivators, and it was with completely bloodshot eyes that they looked over at the River-Defying Sect's patriarchs.

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind were looking on with wide eyes. They didn't have any idea what was going on inside the legacy zone either, but one thing was for sure; they couldn't help but feel strong reverence for Naruto !

—

Chapter 368 Chapter 368

Chapter 368: Let Me Explain

"What is your River-Defying Sect doing in there? This is wrong!" The redhaired old man from the Starry River Court was trembling from the enormity of the situation. After all, the Starry River Court would be hard pressed to deal with a furious Dao River Court and Polarity River Court.

In fact, it was now possible to tell that only about a third of the anger of those two sects was directed at the River-Defying Sect, with the rest being reserved for the Starry River Court!

Therefore, the only option left for them was to try to drag the RiverDefying Sect down too.

However, even as the words left his mouth, the sky above began to shake, and a gigantic, blinding figure of light appeared out of thin air. Instantly, intense pressure weighed down, and the lands began to quake. All of the Nascent Soul cultivators immediately clasped hands and bowed formally.

"Greetings, Emissary!"

The figure of light looked at the temple in the middle of the stone spell formation, but despite the level of his cultivation base, he wasn't able to see exactly what was happening inside. Of course, he didn't really care about that. Although a divine ability was being secretly imparted to a legacy successor, that in itself wasn't a major incident. The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had a total of 300 secret legacies, and all of them were shocking in power. With the exception of a few dozen that were particularly powerful, it was hard to determine which ones were stronger than the others.

"If I remember, the Living Mountain Incantation is rated in the top ten among the secret legacies. Unfortunately, it's far too difficult to cultivate, which is why it's virtually unheard of to see anyone use it.

"Now that I think about it, it's been tens of thousands of years since this arcane pocket realm was tamed and this secret legacy was left behind in it." The gigantic figure of light waved his hand, and ripples spread out across the sky like waves rolling across a sea.

"Today," he said, his voice rumbling like thunder, "someone has mastered the Living Mountain Incantation. Listen ye of the four great sects: within a month, inscribe this person's information onto a jade slip and deliver it to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to be kept on file!"

With that, the figure began to fade away. The only reason he had come was because he had sensed the Living Mountain Incantation taking form. Having accomplished his task, he immediately returned to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

As the enormous glowing giant disappeared, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Starry River Court sat there with faces as pale as death. No longer did they try to accuse the River-Defying Sect of cheating. No matter what had occurred within the legacy zone, the emissary's words had to be accepted as fact!

Naruto of the River-Defying Sect had obtained a complete legacy, and had gained enlightenment of the Living Mountain Incantation!

Crimsonsoul, Frigidsect and Master Godwind exchanged glances, and could immediately see the excitement in each other's eyes. They even seemed to be sitting up a bit straighter than before.

The Dao River Court and the Polarity River Court sat there in taciturn silence for a moment. Then, they both took the initiative to approach the River-Defying Sect.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Frigidsect. Hahaha! The junior patriarch of your honored sect has gained enlightenment of the Living Mountain Incantation, and even attracted the attention of the Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect. In the future, he will surely rise to tremendous heights!"

"Fellow Daoist Crimsonsoul, now I understand why you were so confident earlier. This kid Naruto is really extraordinary! Now

that I think about it, he really stuck out to me back when we came to visit you before. He's like a dragon amongst men!"

These Nascent Soul Daoist masters weren't currying favor. Rather, they were worried about how to explain the matter when they got back to the sect, and were hoping that the River-Defying Sect would bend the rules and not take all of their resources….

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind were adept schemers, and knew exactly how to handle the situation. Suppressing their excitement, they decided not to mention anything about the resources.

"Naruto is a naughty and mischievous kid," Frigidsect said. "We're just as worried as you are about what's going on inside the legacy zone."

The Dao and Polarity River Courts knew exactly what was being implied when the first thing Frigidsect mentioned was Naruto 's safety.

"It's impossible to send messages into and out of the legacy zone, so it's hard to say what's going on. But don't worry, Fellow Daoist Frigidsect. The matter of the legacy seals is over. Everyone will be teleported out within the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

Having heard this, Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind were much relieved, and even began to chat randomly with the other patriarchs. As for the group from the Starry River Court, they sat off to the side, their faces ashen as they ignored the other sects.

Meanwhile, back in the legacy zone, now that Naruto had absorbed all of the sealing marks, the defensive magics faded away. There was no crushing pressure, no lightning, no black winds or seas of flame. In the blink of an eye, they were all gone.

Naruto was completely absorbed in the Living Mountain Incantation, when suddenly Bruiser bumped him. Looking around, he realized that none of the defensive spells were in operation, and the cultivators of the three sects were about 3,000 meters away from him, their eyes flickering with cold fury.

"The defensive spells are gone?" Naruto shivered, and then subconsciously took a few steps back. The looks being given him by the three sects caused his hair to stand on end.

"Hey there, Fellow Daoists! You know, we're all Middle Reaches sects. We're on the same team…." Even as he stammered an explanation, the cultivators of the three sects began to walk wordlessly in his direction, the coldness in their eyes flaring.

Backing up, he continued, "Killing people isn't allowed! Don't do anything impulsive, okay? You definitely don't want to fly off the handle…." Naruto 's heart was pounding. He could tell that their tempers had been riled up to the point of detonation. Plus, not only did they need to vent their frustration, they also coveted his turtle-wok.

"Dammit," he thought. "why did the defensive spells suddenly vanish?" Trembling and on the verge of tears, he continued to back up.

"Listen, Fellow Daoists, you guys all have big teams, but I'm all alone. Getting the sealing marks was just a matter of luck. I know you're feeling frustrated, but you were doing the best you could! Don't be sore losers! Come on, Fellow Daoists, let's all calm down. I really didn't do it on purpose…."

Surprisingly, some of the other cultivators actually listened to his words and stopped walking. After all, the matter was over now, and fighting about it wouldn't solve any problems. However, it was still difficult to rid themselves of the fury which existed in their hearts.

Seeing that his words were having some effect, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He was well aware that this was not the time to get people riled up. Although it was true that anyone who killed someone else would be executed in punishment, if he lost his poor little life in the process, what good would that do…?

Just when he was about to continue offering some consolation, the little turtle suddenly flew up and landed on top of his head. Naruto 's heart instantly began to pound with a feeling of impending doom. Before he could say or do anything, the little turtle cleared its throat and then shouted, "It seems you people just don't understand. Listen, I'll explain what my master just said in a clearer way. What he actually means is that you people are a bunch of moronic noobs. How dare you try to fight with my Naruto ? Stop gawking and screw the hell off!"

His voice was so loud that no one could possibly not hear him. The cultivators of the three sects who had just been calming down suddenly felt their rage burning hotter than ever.

That was especially true of the people from the Starry River Court, who immediately devolved into madness. Chen Yunshan was the first to give voice to his rage.

"Kill Naruto ! If we work together, we can completely exterminate him. As long as we do it together, there's no way our sects are going to do anything about it!

"That wok of his is a precious treasure!

"Kill him, and maybe the legacy seals inside of him will be available for the taking again!" Although nobody quite agreed with Chen Yunshan's assessment of the situation, their killing intent was bursting. The rage which they had been suppressing had been ignited by the little turtle's words!

Instantly, shouts of fury rose up as dozens of Core Formation cultivators all flew into the air toward Naruto . It was a majestic sight as they unleashed all sorts of magical techniques in a deadly attack.

"That's not what I meant at all!" Naruto shrieked as he took to flight. He was no fool, and knew that no matter how strong he was, his Undying Heavenly King Core and Heaven-Dao Gold Core couldn't stand up to dozens and dozens of Earth Core Chosen all at the same time.

As for being screwed over by the little turtle, it only caused the hatred in his heart to grow. Tears were on the verge of leaking out of the corners of his eyes. Even as dozens of crazed enemies closed in, the little turtle popped its head out and shouted, "Bring it on you idiotic weaklings! My master can beat you all single-handedly. Bring it on! If you think you have what it takes, then fight!"

"You shut up!" Naruto shouted. Then he reached out, grabbed the little turtle, and hurled him backward toward the crowd.

"Kill him, alright!?" he screamed. "He's the one who said it, not me!" The turtle shot through the air so quickly that nobody could possibly evade him, and with smacking sound, he banged into the face of one of the cultivators from the Starry River Court.

The cultivator was hit so hard that it nearly knocked his teeth out, and as he staggered backward, the black silhouette of a turtle could be seen on his cheek, complete with four limbs, a head, a tail, and a turtle shell.

Then the little turtle whizzed through the air back to Naruto .

"What do you think?" he said, looking very proud of himself. "Is Lord Turtle awesome or what? Hmph! When Lord Turtle leaves his mark somewhere, not even a demigod can erase it. A demigod! Did you hear that, you little punk? You're going to have Lord Turtle's mark on your face for all eternity!"

The cultivator reached up and felt the black mark on his face, and to his horror, realized that he really couldn't wipe it away. Heart filling with even more anger than before, he spat the blood out of his mouth and once again began to chase after Naruto .

—

Chapter 369 Chapter 369

Chapter 369: Marks….

Naruto 's heart was thumping with pure fear…. If he was being chased by a single person, he would definitely turn and fight.

He might even try fighting if there were two or three people. Considering how heroic and incredible he was, he figured he could probably come out on top in a situation like that. After all, with the level of his fleshly body, it wasn't likely that only two or three people in the same cultivation level as himself would be strong enough to kill him.

But when he looked over his shoulder, he saw dozens of Core Formation cultivators all bearing down on him with burning killing intent. From what he could tell, if that many people all attacked him at once, it wouldn't matter if his Undying Live Forever Technique was even stronger than it was, he would still lose his poor little life.

Such thoughts filled his heart with both gloom, and also rage toward the little turtle.

The little turtle didn't seem to think he had screwed Naruto over at all, though. He flew along off to the side, eyes gleaming with excitement, letting loose a stream of shouting.

"Hahaha! Bring it on, bring it on! Ya bunch of wimps! Let's see if you have what it takes to kill my master!" Then he lowered his voice to talk to Naruto . "Don't be afraid, Little Uzumaki. They're just a bunch of wimps, right? Come, come. Throw me back toward them again, I'll crush them to death!"

"Shut up! This is all your fault!" Naruto didn't dare to throw the little turtle back toward the crowd of cultivators from the three sects. When he thought about the enraged look on the face of the man who had been marked with the turtle, his heart trembled. As he pushed forward with greater speed, all sorts of dazzling magical techniques shot toward him. Ice mountains, lightning, seas of flame, twisting vines, hundreds of flying swords, and even a gigantic vortex-like wave of water.

Although the pressure weighing down from this tide of magical techniques couldn't compare to the defensive spells from earlier, the sheer number involved created a shockingly deadly force. Unfortunately, the turtle-wok wouldn't be of much help in this situation. After all, the restrictive spells from before had only blasted into the turtle-wok, and hadn't attempted to lift it up. These people wouldn't just let him hide underneath and pretend to be dead.

"I'm finished. Kaput. The Mountain of Legacy Seals is gone, why hasn't the teleportation begun? If it doesn't start soon, then I'm dead!" He continued to speed along rapidly, the enraged roars of his pursuers echoing out constantly behind him.

"Don't you run, Naruto !"

"You were just blowing your horn a few seconds ago, why are you running like a scared rabbit now?!"

"Hmph! You challenged us to fight before, and now we're giving you the chance. Stand and fight!"

Everyone from the other three sects was giving vent to their frustration, and their killing intent was so intense it caused brightly-colored light to flash in heaven and earth.

From a distance, the roughly one hundred Core Formation cultivators were like countless streams of light shooting after Naruto . That was especially true of the Starry River Court cultivator who had been branded with the little turtle mark. His heart was completely overtaken by rage. No matter how he rubbed at his cheek, he couldn't wipe the mark away. The odd looks given to him by people nearby were especially humiliating.

"I'm gonna kill you, Naruto !" he screamed, his voice rising up above the voices of all the other cultivators.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Naruto dodged the

flying swords, pierced through the vortex, and leaped over a sea of flames. However, a few lightning bolts managed to hit him, causing him to shake visibly. Bruiser, who was still nestled in the folds of his robe, struggled to get free, but Naruto pushed him back.

"Stay put, there are some bad people out here!" Unfortunately, the legacy zone wasn't very big, and Core Formation cultivators could move very quickly. As a result, they were already starting to run in circles.

To Naruto 's despair, he found that the Core Formation cultivators were slowly getting closer and closer. Furthermore, the teleportation effect had not yet activated. Worse, the Core Formation cultivators were splitting up into three groups to try to surround him.

He was really on the verge of going crazy. Eyes completely bloodshot, he shouted, "You people are forcing me to do this!

"Get over here, little turtle!" When the little turtle heard this, his eyes immediately lit up, and he shot toward Naruto 's outstretched hand. Then, he let out a whoop as Naruto tossed him violently into the air!

A whizzing sound could be heard as the little turtle turned into nothing but a blur of afterimages. This was a type of speed that Core Formation cultivators couldn't match. In the blink of an eye, he had landed smack dab onto the right cheek of a burly man from the Polarity River Court.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the burly man screamed and staggered backward, blood spraying out of his mouth along with quite a few chunks of teeth. When he looked up, a black turtle mark could be seen on his face.

It had a head, a tail, four limbs, and seemed very lifelike….

The burly man's jaw dropped, and he reached up to rub the side of his face. When he realized that the mark wouldn't rub off, he looked over at the cultivator from the Starry River Court who had a similar mark, and then his eyes turned completely bloodshot. Roaring with rage, he shot directly toward Naruto .

In fact, he even unleashed some unique divine ability that caused him to suddenly accelerate past everyone else. Shockingly, it took him only a moment to be right in front of Naruto .

"Time to die, Naruto !" The burly man extended his right hand, and a powerful Core Formation aura erupted, creating a huge vortex. At the same time, the indistinct image of a huge devil hand appeared behind him.

Devil Chakra swirled out, pouring into the devil hand as it shot toward Naruto to grab him.

As it closed in, it grew larger, until it was fully 300 meters tall.

Naruto let out a shout as he waved his right hand, summoning a violet cauldron which instantly smashed into the devil hand.

Intense rumbling sounds echoed out. This violet Chakra cauldron was formed by the power of a Heaven-Dao Gold Core, causing the devil hand to collapse as soon as it was hit. The resulting shockwave caused the burly man from the Polarity River Court to cough up a huge mouthful of blood. Naruto wasn't harmed in the least, and yet his anger continued to burn. Reaching his right hand up into the air, he shouted, "Little turtle!"

The little turtle immediately flew back into his hand, after which he strode over to the burly man and reached his hand back.

"Now I'll give you another!" he howled, then smashed the little turtle down onto the burly man's other cheek. Then he hit his chest, and before the man could react, had hit him in nearly a dozen other places.

Blood sprayed out of the man's mouth, and his eyes burned with madness. Finally, he drew upon his own life force to shove Naruto and then speed away, the madness in his eyes replaced by terror.

As he fled, it was possible to see more than a dozen little turtle marks all over him….

"Bring it on!" Naruto yelled confidently. Just when he was about to give voice to some taunts, more than a dozen magical techniques descended toward him like rainwater. The sight of so many lightning bolts, seas of flame, vortexes, wild winds and vines caused Naruto 's heart to seize with fear. Immediately, he fell back.

A moment later, countless magical techniques slammed into the spot he had just been occupying.

"You people are too brutal! Stop ganging up! If you have what it takes, come fight me one at a time!" Drawing upon the Undying Live Forever Technique, and his powerful fleshly body, he continued to flee at top speed.

Chen Yunshan from the Starry River Court immediately yelled out, "We have to team up to deal with a shameless villain like you! If we kill you together, it won't matter that we broke the rules!"

His words instantly bolstered the killing resolve of many in the group.

"Chen Yunshan!" Naruto yelled, glaring over at him. He had been targeting Naruto from the beginning, and that left Naruto feeling very angry. Seeing how he continued to try to incite the crowd, Naruto angrily threw out the little turtle.

"Hit him in the mouth! Shut him up!"

The little turtle sailed excitedly through the air. When he appeared directly in front of Chen Yunshan, Chen Yunshan's face fell, and he tried to dodge. But he simply wasn't capable of evading the little turtle. A boom rang out as the little turtle slammed into his face, sending all of his teeth flying out of his mouth as he staggered backward.

"Naruto !" he screamed. Eyes completely bloodshot, Chen Yunshan ignored the mark which had just been left on his face and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, streams of starlight power descended onto him, giving him blinding speed as he chased after Naruto .

—

Chapter 370 Chapter 370

Chapter 370: I'm Gonna Kill You, Naruto !

"Screw the hell off!" Naruto roared, unleashing the Mountain Shaking Bash, sending him barreling toward Chen Yunshan with explosive speed.

They were both moving incredibly quickly, but Naruto had the advantage. As he closed in, he stretched out his left leg and tapped his big toe on Chen Yunshan. A deafening boom echoed out, as well as a miserable shriek from Chen Yunshan as he was sent flying. At the same time, golden strands appeared on the surface of his body, apparently some sort of restrictive spell that was boring into Chen Yunshan and sealing his flesh and blood.

"You think a bit too much of yourself! One of my toes can send you flying!" Naruto 's left shoe had exploded, revealing the fact that his big toe was flickering with golden light. Brushing off his robe, he produced a new shoe, put it on, then continued to flee.

Behind him, the enraged cultivators of the Starry River Court helped the trembling Chen Yunshan to his feet. Even as he coughed up a mouthful of blood, he realized that his cultivation base had been sealed, making it completely impossible for him to use it at all. Eyes flaring with madness, he howled, "Fellow Daoists from the Starry River Court, set up the formation and kill this guy. Fellow Daoists from the Polarity River Court and Dao River Court, if we don't join forces and cut him down, how can we ever live down the humiliation of this day!?"

The cultivators of the Starry River Court exchanged glances and then nodded. Unleashing the power of their cultivation bases, they called upon the same stream of starlight they had used to deal with the defensive spells earlier, sending it shooting toward Naruto with incredible speed.

As that happened, the group from the Polarity River Court looked at each other, then howled, sending devil Chakra surging out to form a gigantic head.

The vicious-looking head let out a fierce howl, causing intense pressure to weigh down all around it as it shot after Naruto .

The cultivators from the Dao River Court weren't any more willing to let the situation drop. If they did, they could only imagine what would happen upon returning to their sect: they wouldn't even be able to look anyone else in the eye! Moments later, intense rumbling sounds echoed out as the illusory giant appeared again.

Howling, the giant began to charge toward Naruto .

From a distance, it was possible to see a stream of starlight, a gigantic head, and an enormous giant, all three of them deadly divine abilities, closing in on Naruto .

Naruto 's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode.

"You guys are really serious, aren't you?! I can't believe… you're actually using spell formations against me!" By this point, his Undying Live Forever Technique was in full operation, and he was flying along as fast as his Heaven-Dao Gold Core could push him.

Unfortunately, the combined divine abilities of the three sects were even faster than that. Moments later, intense rumbling sounds could be heard as the stream of starlight appeared in front of him.

Naruto trembled, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.

Before he could do anything else, though, the huge head closed in, spitting out a blast of frigid devil Chakra that surrounded him, making it almost impossible to move, and freezing the blood that spilled out of his mouth. Before he could recover, the giant unleashed a fist strike onto him.

BOOM!

Frozen blood shot out of Naruto 's mouth as he was flung backward, his hair in wild disarray and his eyes completely bloodshot. As he flew through the air, he slapped his bag of holding, producing a fistful of medicinal pills with he hurled into th

e air behind him.

Those medicinal pills contained all sorts of strange properties, and as soon as they exploded, they immediately caused problems for all the pursuing cultivators. Naruto continued to flee, so nervous that he was bordering on madness.

"Dammit! Why hasn't the teleportation started!? Patriarchs, I'm about to lose my poor little life!" Tears welled up in his eyes as he watched the cultivators of the three sects building up another volley of divine abilities.

"What are you scared of?" the little turtle said disdainfully. "I'm still here! Just throw me at them. They're just using some lame Dharma Idols and magical projections, that's all. Lord Turtle has destroyed so many of those kinds of things that he can't even remember how many."

Naruto threw his head back and roared, "You people push things too far!"

A murderous aura erupted out from him as he reached his hand back and then hurled the little turtle out as hard as he could.

BOOM!

The little turtle instantly appeared in front of the Dao River Court's giant, which could do nothing to stop him. In the blink of an eye, he had pierced through the giant and was heading toward the Dao River Court cultivators who were operating it.

This time, the little turtle struck a female disciple. She was the type of person who radiated an extraordinary air, and despite her killing aura, she was quite beautiful. But then, an enormous smacking sound rang out as the little turtle hit her right in the middle of the face.

Tears leaked out of her eyes from the pain, and she let out an agonized shriek. Then, she realized that everyone was looking over at her with odd looks on their faces. Heart pounding, she pulled a mirror out of her bag of holding, and when she looked at herself, she screamed in bloodcurdling fashion.

"I'm gonna kill you, Naruto !" she raved, her hair flying about in disarray. Without any hesitation, she shot after Naruto as fast as she could. Unfortunately, he was far too quick and agile.

The young woman's impulsive action instantly affected the other cultivators who were operating the giant.

As for Naruto , considering how effective this tactic was, he quickly grabbed the little turtle and threw him out again.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Then, Naruto went crazy, constantly tossing out the little turtle to fight back against the magical techniques and divine abilities.

Before long, more than half of his pursuers had little turtle marks on their faces, chests, waists, stomachs, and even some… on their rear ends.

The mark of the little turtle was actually a very terrifying thing; even if he hit their clothing, the mark would pass through and end up on their skin. The marks even glowed, as if they were worried that people might not notice them.

Not even thick clothes or powerful magical defenses were capable of stopping the little turtle marks from glowing brightly. There was one young female disciple who got hit on the chest, and nearly collapsed when everyone looked over to see her and the glowing turtle mark there….

People used all sorts of defensive magical items when the little turtle closed in, but they were all useless. The terrifying little turtle was causing everyone in the battle to go crazy.

The divine abilities and magical techniques they were unleashing were influenced by their surging emotions, or perhaps by the turtle marks. In any case, they eventually just faded away.

"There's too many of you for me to beat in a fight, but I can sure embarrass you guys to death!" Naruto was shocked, and initially felt that the little turtle was being too vicious. However, as soon as he thought about how these people were trying to kill him, he angrily yelled, "Little turtle, are you sure those marks of yours can't be erased?"

"Don't worry," the little turtle said proudly, "not even a demigod could erase them!"

With that, Naruto glanced back at the cultivators who had no marks on them, seemingly itching to get at them.

"Great! They were the ones who pushed things too far, so they can't blame me for this!" Gritting his teeth, he hurled the little turtle out again, sending him flying toward one of the unstruck cultivators.

Those unmarked cultivators were currently hesitating a bit. However, they had convinced themselves that the marks couldn't possibly be indelible. In their minds, they would certainly be able to find a way to deal with them after returning to the sect. Even if they couldn't, surely someone from the elder generation would be able to help them. Therefore, it was with burning rage that they continued to chase after Naruto .

Booms rang out continuously as all of them were branded with the mark of the little turtle. Furthermore, all of their powerful divine abilities and magical techniques were faltering. The stream of starlight collapsed, followed by the huge head. Then the Dao River Court's giant fell into pieces.

The only thing chasing Naruto now was a mob of enraged cultivators, all of whom had turtle marks on them.

"I swear to the heavens, I'm gonna kill you, Naruto !"

"Dammit! If I don't kill you today, I'm not surnamed Liu!"

Naruto 's powerful fleshly body was being pushed to its limit. He was coughing up blood and covered with wounds, and yet, his counterattacks were incisive and penetrating.

Whether it was his own attacks, or the little turtle marks, he had pushed everyone to the absolute limits of fury.

Thankfully, it was in that moment that teleportation power began to fill the legacy zone.

Beams of teleportation light began to rise up, and the mob of pursuers suddenly stopped in place. If they didn't enter those teleportation lights before the time limit was reached, they would lose their chance to leave, and not even their sects would be able to do anything to save them. As of this moment, they had to abandon any hopes of killing Naruto .

Having been forced to give up, they stared at Naruto with such murderous glares that it seemed they were trying to cut him to pieces with their eyes.

Naruto breathed a huge sigh of relief as he leaped into one of the teleportation lights. Looking over his shoulder, it was with great pride that he looked at the little turtle marks glittering on all of his opponents.

"Hmph! You guys are the ones who pissed me off! When I attack, I frighten even myself!"

The little turtle looked at the crowd of enemies and seemed completely satisfied. He even appeared to be sighing. From the look of it, he was more proud of himself than Naruto was.

—

Chapter 371 Chapter 371

Chapter 371: Patriarchs, Save Me….

Outside the temple and the stone spell formation, the Nascent Soul cultivators were waiting anxiously for the disciples to emerge. Suddenly, beams of light descended from above, within which were the disciples of all the sects.

Without a single exception, the disciples all had black turtle marks on them, either on their faces, or on other parts of their bodies. The Nascent Soul cultivators from the three sects couldn't stop their eyes from widening at the sight.

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind instantly had a very bad feeling….

"All of you…." Before any of the Nascent Soul Daoist masters from the three sects could inquire into the matter, another beam of light shot up from one of the enormous stones in the spell formation. Then, Naruto appeared. The instant he was fully materialized, he shot at top speed toward the patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect.

"They're trying to kill me!" he shouted as he neared. "Save me, patriarchs! I almost lost my poor little life! They want me dead!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the other disciples atop the enormous stones devolved into madness. Disregarding the fact that they were in the presence of members of the older generation, they all shot toward Naruto .

"I'm gonna kill you, Naruto !" Rumbling sounds echoed out as the nearly one hundred cultivators who had just returned all launched attacks. All of the Nascent Soul cultivators were completely taken aback.

As for Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind, their expressions turned very grim. Considering that all these people wanted to kill Naruto , they could only imagine what dangers he must have been facing just now inside the legacy zone.

"Humph!" Crimsonsoul said, taking a step forward and stomping his foot onto the ground. A massive shockwave spread out in all directions, sending the cultivators of the three sects tumbling off their feet.

"Naruto is the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect! Which of you dares try to kill him!?" These cultivators were all Chosen, but they were still just in the Core Formation stage, and couldn't possibly compete with Crimsonsoul. The fearsome aura emanating out from him now caused them all to tremble inwardly.

Even as Naruto cowered behind Crimsonsoul, Frigidsect, and Master Godwind, he felt very moved, and couldn't help but muse that all the dangers he had faced in the legacy zone were worth it.

Frigidsect's eyes glittered, and his expression was grim as he looked over at the Nascent Soul cultivators from the other sects and said, "Dao River Court. Polarity River Court. Starry River Court. You three had better give us a good explanation for this!"

Master Godwind stepped over to Naruto and put his hand on his shoulder, using his cultivation base to scan Naruto for injuries. At first, he seemed surprised, but then he gave Naruto a look that no one else noticed.

Naruto instantly understood his intention. Forcing his face to look even paler than before, he let out a wail, then bit his tongue and coughed up some blood.

Placing his hand onto his chest, he began to pant for breath. Pointing at the cultivators of the three sects, he said, "They're… so vicious! They… they tried to kill me… I… I just…."

When the other cultivators saw this, the fury they had been suppressing raged even higher than before. They had all seen how tough Naruto was with their own eyes. Furthermore, he had been as quick as a six-legged rabbit, which had made him very difficult to hit in the first place.

And yet here he was claiming to be seriously injured….

p"Naruto , you–"

Although several people began to shout in rage, before they could say more than a word or two, the white-haired old man from the Dao River Court grimly shouted, "Shut up, all of you!"

His thunderous voice instantly crushed down on everyone, causing the disciples' hearts to tremble. Averting their gazes, they quickly went silent.

"The Dao River Court will provide an explanation within one month's time. Fellow Daoists from the River-Defying Sect, I hope you will take some time to consider the matter we discussed earlier, and provide an answer as soon as possible." Looking over at Naruto , he forced a smile onto his face, then left along with the other Dao River Court cultivators.

As for all of the turtle marks on the disciples, he completely ignored them….

As the Dao River Court cultivators were leaving, the group from the Polarity River Court offered some similar words about providing an explanation, then left. Last was the Starry River Court. As for the expression on the face of the red-haired old man, it couldn't have been more unsightly….

Glaring at the disciples of his sect, he was just about to turn and leave when Master Godwind suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist, I expect that Starry Meteor to be delivered within the month!"

Without even looking back, the red-haired old man said, "I wouldn't go back on my word for a paltry Starry Meteor!"

With that, he gave a cold harrumph and left with his disciples.

In the silence which followed afterward, Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind looked over at Naruto with incredulity written on their faces.

Naruto continued to clutch at his chest. Complexion ashen, he looked piteously over at the three patriarchs.

"Patriarchs, you have no idea how miserable I was in there. If things had gone on for even a moment longer, it would have been the end of me.

You would have needed to pick a new junior patriarch for the RiverDefying Sect."

The three patriarchs weren't sure whether to laugh or cry. After a moment, Crimsonsoul said, "How did you do pull it off?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, even I'm not sure. They wanted to kill me almost as soon as they saw me. It was really bewildering."

"I'm talking about the legacy seals."

"Oh, the legacy seals! Look, I don't want to brag, but as soon as I went inside, the legacy seals acted is if I were their master or something. They just kept rushing toward me. I didn't even need to go after them. It was a real headache." Naruto ' braggadocio caused the three patriarchs to simply stand there staring at him. Unsure of the situation, he cautiously probed, "So, did we win? I got all the legacy seals, and I even got this thing called the Living Mountain Incantation."

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind all exchanged glances, and then suddenly burst out laughing. The truth was, they didn't care how Naruto had managed to get all of the legacy seals. However, he did it, he was the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, and they were all on the same team!

"You didn't just win. You won big!" Master Godwind laughed heartily.

Relieved, Naruto also started laughing, feeling prouder of himself than ever.

"Alright, let's get back to the sect!" Frigidsect said excitedly, his eyes shining with approval of Naruto . With that, he swept Naruto up into the air toward the Heavenhorn Sword.

On the way back to the River-Defying Sect, the patriarchs told Naruto about everything which had happened outside. It was almost unbelievable. They had acquired one hundred percent of the resources, which meant that all of the other three sects had to take the shares they'd acquired in the last competition and send them to the RiverDefying Sect.

There was nothing they could do to complain about the matter. After all, the rules set forth by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect at the request of the three sects themselves. In addition to all that, the River-Defying Sect was also to get a Starry Meteor.

Because of all of that, the River-Defying Sect's overall power would continue to grow stronger.

As of now, they were in a good position whether to wanted to act aggressively or be more defensive. Furthermore, because of the situation with the resources, there would be more interactions with the Dao and Polarity River Courts. In the negotiations which would eventually come regarding the redistribution of resources, they could not only make the other two sect's happy, but probably get better benefits for themselves.

Most importantly of all, because of the heaven-shaking, earth-toppling events which had just occurred, the River-Defying Sect was now much closer to having a Deva Realm patriarch.

They had enough resources, and enough information. It wouldn't be long before Crimsonsoul, Frigidsect, and Master Godwind all had their chance to become devas!

With the solid foundation they were establishing, the River-Defying Sect was finally in a position to have a true position of power in the Middle Reaches.

Naruto wasn't interested or skilled in politics or scheming, so as far as he was concerned, the dealings with the other three sects were best left in the hands of the wily foxes Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind.

In terms of what the patriarchs wanted him to focus on, they made it clear right away.

"Matters between all the sects aren't really important. What you need to do now is work on understanding the Living Mountain Incantation. It's one of the three hundred secret legacy magics in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!"

"If you can master the Living Mountain Incantation, your battle prowess will increase to a shocking level!"

Naruto immediately began to meditate upon the Living Mountain Incantation.

However, as he contemplated the technique, he realized that it came with some very harsh requirements in terms of cultivation.

Furthermore, it needed to be cultivated in a special environment. Based on the description that came along with the technique, that environment could only be found in a land of mountains within the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect itself.

Naruto was a little depressed about that, but knew that there was nothing he could do about it now. Even as he let the matter drop, he realized that they were nearing the sect headquarters!

There, the Blood Ancestor towered over the lands, and the aura of the Dire Skybanyan suppressed everything in the area. The four mountain ranges stretched out like dragons.

That was the River-Defying Sect!

—

Chapter 372 Chapter 372

Chapter 372: They're Talking About Me!

Naruto hadn't been gone very long, and furthermore, everyone had been aware of the purpose behind his departure. As such, the entire sect had been quietly awaiting his return, and wondering what had occurred.

Although everyone had been prepared for the worst, no one had been able to keep from wondering what it would be like if Naruto managed to pull off a miracle.

Actually, the patriarchs had already sent word back to the sect about the result. Everyone knew that the River-Defying Sect had acquired one hundred percent of the resources, that the other three sects had been crushed, and that Naruto had single-handedly driven countless Chosen crazy.

Therefore, as soon as Naruto returned, the entire sect erupted into wild cheering that shook the heavens.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, you're incredible!"

"The junior patriarch smashed the Starry River Court and trampled the

Polarity River Court. He's unparalleled under heaven!"

Naruto had just stepped off of the Heavenhorn Sword, and when he heard all of the cheering, he was instantly enlivened.

Reaching over excitedly to tug at Frigidsect's sleeve, he said, "They're talking about me!"

Frigidsect cleared his throat, but didn't say anything. Pulling his sleeve out of Naruto 's grasp, he headed back toward Mount River Defiance with Master Godwind and Crimsonsoul.

Naruto flew out into the air, filled with excitement at the sight of all the disciples in the sect cheering at him. After only a moment of thought, he realized that now was not the time to look icy and cold. Trying to appear as affable as possible, he cleared his throat and headed to the most crowded area he could find.

Over the course of the following days, Naruto spared no effort in spreading different versions of the stories of his accomplishments in the legacy zone. However, in each version, he was always incredibly heroic and mighty, and single-handedly crushed his opponents.

Naruto could clearly tell how much the disciples in the sect adored him. In fact, there was one occasion when he merely smiled at one of the female disciples, and she literally fainted from excitement.

As of this moment, Naruto felt as if the whole world were beaming at him with approval. Even the sun seemed to be grinning….

Bruiser was also the subject of much acclaim, and immediately went to show off to some of the female beasts he spent time with.

Half a month went by before things finally started to calm down. After thinking about everything that had happened in the legacy zone, Naruto was more concerned than ever about his cultivation base.

"I need to get stronger…." he thought. With that, he somberly went into secluded meditation to cultivate the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation and his Undying Muscles.

The Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation was a very profound technique indeed. Before, his cultivation of it had mostly consisted of him fumbling around in the dark. He had even been forced to ask some questions of Frigidsect before being able to wrap his mind around it.

"Use the technique to form the Frigid, then use the Frigid to evolve the Will…." Closing his eyes, he did as the mnemonic described, taking a drop of the Heavenspan River water that he had absorbed and transforming it into a power of frigid coldness.

Gradually, frigid Chakra began to build up around him, until frost appeared on the walls of his immortal's cave. At the same time, his body began to get colder and colder.

A few more days went by, and finally, he opened his eyes. Deep within, a profound gleam could be seen; as of this moment, Naruto was convinced that h

e had grasped the quintessence of the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation.

"First form the Frigid, then evolve the Will. Frigid…." He slowly lifted his right hand and looked at his fingers, the tips of which were covered with white frost.

"I don't have enough frigid qi. According to the description in the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation, people who manipulate frigid Chakra are divided into four levels. Frigid Acolytes, Frigid Adepts, Frigid Masters, and Frigid Paragons!

"Frigid Acolytes can summon frigid Chakra and use it to freeze objects within a small area. Frigid Adepts can freeze everything in a 3,000-meter area, and Frigid Masters can create a frigid land 30,000 meters across! Furthermore, those frigid domains can also be used to create clone projections!

"As for Frigid Paragons, they can even freeze portions of the

Heavenspan River!" Naruto 's eyes shone with a strange light as he contemplated what it would be like to freeze part of the Heavenspan River. Even freezing just a small portion would be an act of power that would leave everyone in awe.

"Right now, I don't even count as a Frigid Acolyte." Naruto took a deep breath. He knew that this wasn't a matter that could be rushed. The only thing he could do was slowly absorb Heavenspan River water and accumulate frigid qi.

The frigid Chakra would build up inside of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, and once the nine spiritual seas that made up the core were completely transformed into frigid qi, it would indicate that he was at the peak of the Gold Core stage.

"I wonder how many years that will take…." he thought, shaking his head. However, he didn't feel anxious. After all, he currently had more than a thousand years of longevity to work with.

Therefore, he focused on his Undying Muscles. By this point, he could progress from his big toe to his second toe….

Other than his cultivation, he also had the River-Defying Pill to worry about. Although he now felt comfortable with the concoction process, he still hadn't been able to come up with a way to solve the life force problem.

Although absorbing some of the Chakra and blood of the true spirit had improved his confidence, after some tests, he found he still couldn't succeed.

Most importantly, he still couldn't come up with enough life force from the Heavenspan River water.

"It must have something to do with my cultivation base. I'm just not strong enough to extract the boundless life force from the Heavenspan River." He shook his head. For now, worrying about the concocting part wasn't even worth it; he needed to figure out how to get the life force he needed.

As his train of thought progressed, he looked down at his bag of holding and recalled the idea he'd come up with before going to the legacy zone.

The root of the entire problem was that he needed life force, and he had long since determined where he would get it.

The little turtle!

The undying, indestructible qualities of the little turtle ensured that it had plenty of life force. However, the problem was that the little turtle would definitely not cooperate willingly. That was why Naruto had begun to secretly plan how to concoct a certain type of spirit medicine.

He wanted to make a high-level medicine that would knock the little turtle out!

Although it sounded like a simple enough task, it wasn't. He would only have one chance to succeed; if he somehow tricked the little turtle into taking that medicine, and it worked, then all would be well. But if the medicine didn't work, then he could only imagine what lengths the feisty turtle would go to in his attempt to get revenge.

"What a headache!" he thought, sighing. After some time passed, he gritted his teeth and continued on with the concocting effort in the same way he had been before. Thankfully, the three sects were supposed to visit soon to delivered the resources they owed, which would surely include a large number of legendary spirit medicines. After some thought, Naruto decided that he should definitely go study some of them.

As Naruto went about his cultivation and medicine concocting, the cultivation world of the Middle Reaches was astir. Although the three sects had done everything they could to suppress news of what had occurred in the legacy zone, it was virtually impossible to sweep such a momentous event under the rug. Before long, everyone in the Middle Reaches had heard about it, and everyone was thoroughly shaken.

Furthermore, when everyone heard that the task had been accomplished by Junior Patriarch Naruto alone, and that not only he had been up against dozens of top Core Formation Chosen, but he had also left a special mark on all of them, it led to a complete uproar.

And that was before people heard about the Living Mountain Incantation.

By that point, people were starting to look into his background, and soon, the details about his life began to spread.

He had joined the Spirit Stream Sect as a teenager, and had fought a bitter battle against the Luochen Clan in which he risked his own life to defend his fellow disciples. He took first place in the Chosen battles in his sect, and was also an eccentric genius when it came to concocting medicine. Later, he infiltrated the Blood Stream Sect, and became both a blood master and their Blood Ancestor. He alone had prevented a war between the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, and even convinced the two sects to join forces. Then they absorbed the Profound and Pill Stream Sects. In the end, he became the junior patriarch of the newly formed River-Defying Sect!

Any one of the many things he had accomplished would be shocking, let alone all of them together.

It didn't take long for Naruto 's fame to spread throughout all of the cultivation world of the Middle Reaches.

Of course, the River-Defying Sect controlled the information that leaked out about him. They had no desire for the world as a whole to learn his true nature. That was kept secret.

One matter that led to gasps throughout the Middle Reaches was that all of the Core Formation Chosen who had entered the legacy zone had ended up with turtle marks on their bodies and faces.

They were very strange marks, marks that would shine brightly at night, and could not be covered up, even with thick clothing or magical shields….

It was a shocking matter, and no matter how the three sects attempted to erase the marks, they couldn't. The combined efforts of numerous Nascent Soul cultivators proved useless, to the point where the deva patriarchs of the sects got involved.

Shockingly, not even the deva patriarchs could do anything about the marks. In the end, the entire cultivation world was stunned by the matter.

As for the Core Formation cultivators who had been affected, the matter left them filled with sorrow but unable to weep. Furthermore, they now hated Naruto more than ever. Most of them went into secluded meditation and refused to come out into the open. To them, being branded with that turtle mark was like a fate worse than death.

Because of the terrifying nature of Naruto 's turtle mark, countless people were terrified, and resolved to never, ever provoke him.

—

Chapter 373

Chapter 373

Chapter 373: Three Breaths River-Defying Pill!

As the entire cultivation world was talking about Naruto , something else happened. The Dao, Polarity, and Starry River Courts all took time to come visit the River-Defying Sect.

During the negotiations, the River-Defying Sect didn't refuse to compromise with the Dao River Court and the Polarity River Court. In the end, they reached an agreement whereby which those two courts only handed over some of their resources.

Because of that, not only did those courts come to understand the RiverDefying Sect a bit better, they also developed their relationship in a good direction. After all, there had never been any hate between them, only an instinctual aversion to newcomers.

After everything that had happened, such aversion was much reduced.

However, when it came to the Starry River Court, the River-Defying Sect didn't back down at all. They knew that they had to put on a good show for everyone paying attention to the situation. If they let the Starry River Court off the hook, then it would be entirely possible for more situations like that which had occurred with the resource redistribution to arise in the future.

The River-Defying Sect had the upper hand, and the Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect had set forth rules governing the situation. The Starry River Court had no other choice than to comply, and hand over all of their resources, plus the Starry Meteorite.

Of course, because of that, the two sects came to view each other as enemies.

The Dao and Polarity River Courts were more than happy to see such a development. After all, their patriarchs were also wily old foxes, and were well aware that the River-Defying Sect was merely asserting itself as a newly-arrived sect who had fought its way up from the Lower Reaches. Not only did they not fear conflict, they were also willing to work peacefully with the Dao and Polarity River Courts. Naturally, those two courts were fine with such an arrangement.

There were many schemes and plots involved with the overall situation, and none of that was of much interest to Naruto . Almost as soon as the sect received all of the resources, he went over to look through the medicinal plants.

Generally speaking, not a single request by Naruto would ever be denied in the River-Defying Sect, so before long, Naruto had a whole collection of spirit plants in hand. He found all of the plants he remembered reading about, including some types of virtually extinct immortal grasses that he was confident would work well in a knockout medicine.

Next, he went straight into secluded meditation. During the concocting process, he did something fairly unusual. He intentionally gave voice to words which were completely different than what he was actually thinking.

It was all for the goal of knocking out the little turtle….

The concocting process lasted for a month. Afterward, rumbling sounds filled the immortal's cave, and to Naruto 's excitement, two fingernail-sized white medicinal pills appeared.

It was impossible to tell the quality of the pills, but a mere whiff of their aroma would cause all of the pores on a person's body to suddenly open up as if they were about to receive an incredible replenishment of energy. Anyone would think that it was an uncharacteristically high-level medicine.

That was because Naruto had created a surface layer for the pill made from a very expensive medicinal plant. Based on the luster and sheen of the pill, it was clearly the type of amazing pill that would cause anyone to drool with desire.

Of course, it was only Naruto 's meticulous selection of various spirit plants that led to the color of the pill.

What was impossible to tell by looking at the pill was that on the inside, it contained the knockout medi

cine that Naruto had conceptualized only after intense and prolonged effort.

After looking at the resulting spirit medicine, Naruto couldn't help but take a deep breath. Expression flickering with excitement, he pondered how to get the little turtle to consume it. Just asking him to consume it wouldn't work. Furthermore, he needed to prevent potential retaliation on the part of the little turtle.

After some thought, his eyes sparkled and he murmured, "This spirit medicine is incredibly valuable. Very, very rare in the world. Based on the aroma, it's obviously a spectacular delicacy. I don't think I can bring myself to consume it now. I can only eat it in a critical moment, a moment when all of the extinct immortal grasses I used could be considered worth it. Only then could I possibly eat these two consummate spirit medicines!"

Panting, he carefully put the two spirit medicines into a small bottle, then sealed it and put it into his bag of holding.

After some thought, he seemed to still be worried about them, and quickly took them out again. After opening the bottle to ensure that the pills were still there, he tucked the bottle into the fold of his robe. Then he went to take a short walk. Only afterwards did he seem to be convinced that they were safe. After gritting his teeth, he sealed the bottle again and then put it into his bag of holding.

During the following few days, he took the bottle out constantly to check the number of pills inside.

At first, he checked after the amount of time it took an incense stick to burn. Then he checked every two hours. Then he checked every few days. Eventually, he settled on a duration of four hours. Every four hours, he would check on his pills as if they were precious treasures. Finally, a look of deep satisfaction appeared on his face.

"Hmmmph!" he thought. "Ah, little turtle, I've definitely piqued your curiosity. When the time comes…. hah!" That was what he was thinking every time he checked on the pills. Another ten days passed. Then, in the afternoon, Naruto opened his bag of holding and was instantly shaken to the core.

The pill bottle only had one pill in it!

Naruto quickly suppressed his excitement, worried that the little turtle might notice. Plastering a look of shock onto his face, he rifled through his bag of holding, and after finding nothing, opened his third eye, which he powered with the full strength of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core.

Violet light spilled out, illuminating the entire immortal's cave. Finally, after much searching, he managed to find a crease in the corner of the bag of holding, where he saw the little turtle!

The reason bags of holding could hold so many items was that they created small, unique dimensions. Such dimensions often contained cracks and fissures that weren't visible to the naked eye. Although he had examined this particular crack before, he had never found anything unusual in it. But now, he just so happened to have found the little turtle!

The little turtle was already unconscious, his head lolled to the side and his limbs stuck out, unmoving….

Naruto chuckled. He knew that the only reason he had been able to spot the turtle was because he was unconscious. Were it not for that, the crafty little thing would still have been able to evade him, Heavenspan Dharma Eye or not.

After cautiously taking the little turtle out of his bag of holding, a snapping sound rang out, and it returned to its previous state. After shaking him, his head and limbs began to smack against his shell, producing distinctive knocking sounds.

Thrilled, Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Then he began to exact his revenge, shaking the little turtle as hard as he could.

"Who said you could curse me, huh?

"Who said you could piss off that big crocodile, huh?

"Who said you could provoke that toad, huh?

"You got me injured and even got people to try to kill me!"

He angrily shook the little turtle, causing knocking sounds to ring out in the immortal's cave. Before long, the turtle began to emit the fragrance which Naruto found so familiar.

Naruto 's excitement instantly grew, and he couldn't help but think back with a sigh to how things had been before. Worried that the little turtle might wake up, he quickly produced a pill furnace and threw the little turtle inside. Then he poured in a large quantity of Heavenspan River water. Settling his Chakra and clearing his mind, he set about concocting a River-Defying Pill!

Time was limited; he had no idea when the little turtle might wake up.

Worried about the prospect of revenge, he went about the concocting even faster than usual.

Thankfully, he had reviewed the formula for the River-Defying Pill hundreds if not thousands of times, and was completely familiar with the process. As soon as the pill furnace heated up, he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and got to work.

Three days later, the entire pill furnace was glowing bright red. Then, the pill furnace burst open, and the little turtle flew out and flopped onto the ground. At the same time, a virtually transparent medicinal pill appeared, which apparently possessed some level of intelligence, as it immediately attempted to flee.

As soon as the medicinal pill appeared, the sky above the River-Defying Sect began to dim, and a huge wind kicked up. The Nascent Soul cultivators' expressions flickered as, in almost the exact same instant, Tribulation Lightning formed up above!

A bolt of lightning appeared, and before anyone could do anything, it slammed down onto Naruto 's immortal's cave, causing it to burst open. Naruto quickly tossed the little turtle into his bag of holding and then opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye. After locating the semitranslucent medicinal pill, he immediately began to chase after it.

By this point, all of the River-Defying Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators were flying out into the open. Although they weren't sure exactly what was happening, they knew that any event which provoked Tribulation Lightning was no light matter.

"Patriarchs!" Naruto shouted anxiously. "Quick, set up a spell formation! I concocted a River-Defying Pill and it's alive! It's trying to get away!" In response, Frigidsect shivered, and his eyes went wide. With a roar, he unleashed his cultivation base, causing intense pressure to fill the entire area.

Even the old monkey appeared, shooting toward the pill with speed that far surpassed Naruto .

Thanks to the cooperation of several of the patriarchs, the fleeing medicinal pill was eventually apprehended by the old monkey. As for the Tribulation Lightning, the Nascent Soul cultivators handled it easily.

The old monkey excitedly held the pill up toward his nose and inhaled. "A Three Breaths version!" he said.

"That's fine too. Even a Three Breaths version will be useful!" The old monkey gave Naruto a deep look that contained both approval and gratitude. Then he flashed into motion, disappearing with the medicinal pill.

Naruto was a bit disappointed. He had concocted that medicinal pill, only to have it taken away by someone else. Just when he was about to go look for Patriarch Frigidsect to complain, suddenly, an incredible pressure weighed down from above. This wasn't pressure from Tribulation Lightning, and it caused everything in the entire area to tremble. All cultivators of the River-Defying Sect felt themselves shaking as if heavenly might were descending!

Then, a bemused voice echoed out in all directions.

"How amusing. My first visit to your River-Defying Sect, and I run into some Pill Tribulation!"

Chapter 374

Chapter 374

Chapter 374: Hostage!

A boy appeared up above, wearing a long red robe. As he strode forth, the pressure that felt like heavenly might grew even more intense.

Ripples even appeared on the surface of the Heavenspan River, and the plants and vegetation in all four mountain ranges of the River-Defying Sect bent over as if they were bowing in obeisance.

If even the plants and vegetation were affected, it almost wasn't necessary to mention the cultivators. Frigidsect and the other patriarchs hesitated for only a moment; as soon as they saw that boy, expressions of dread rose on their faces.

Even the Dire Skybanyan was trembling.

"A deva…." Frigidsect said, trembling. He exchanged a glance with Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind. They had heard about this boy; in the vast eastern cultivation world, there was only one Deva Realm expert who maintained the physical appearance of a child….

He was one of the five Deva Realm experts of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, Li Yuanda!

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind immediately clasped hands in formal greeting and said, "Greetings, Senior Li!"

The other Nascent Soul cultivators were shaken, and quickly followed suit.

Naruto was standing off to the side, and immediately started to get nervous. This was his first time seeing a deva, and from the heavenlike pressure weighing down from him, it made it seem like the whole world was being crushed. Heart pounding, he didn't even dare to look at him directly. He couldn't help but marvel at how this boy, despite not being tall as Naruto himself, was so incredible.

The boy looked at Naruto with an enigmatic smile, but didn't say anything to him. Then he waved his sleeve.

"Frigidsect, the three of you lead the way to your grand hall. I have an important message for you!"

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind looked very somber as they voiced their assent and then respectfully led the way. The Nascent Soul cultivators followed along with serious expressions on their faces. The entire River-Defying Sect fell into silence, and many people started to get nervous, wondering why the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect might have sent a deva.

Naruto 's nervousness was mounting. For some reason, he got the feeling from the way the boy had looked at him that something strange was going on. After returning to his immortal's cave, he began to repair the damage done by the bolt of lightning, frequently looking over his shoulder at the summit of the mountain. Suddenly, he thought of something, and opened his bag of holding to check to see if the little turtle was still asleep. Upon finding that he was, he put him back in the place where he'd found him.

"That way," he murmured to himself, "even if he suspects something happened after he wakes up, I can just pretend I don't know what he's talking about." Although he was pleased with himself for how he'd handled the situation, he couldn't help but feel nervous about the arrival of the boy, and once again looked up in the direction of the grand hall.

In that very moment, the boy-like Li Yuanda was sitting down in the seat of honor in the grand hall on Mount River Defiance. Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind stood respectfully off to the side, while the other Nascent Soul cultivators waited outside.

"It seems I'm connected by destiny to your River-Defying Sect," the boy said coolly. "I was the one who slaughtered the majority of the Sky River Court before your arrival." Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind were shaken by those words.

"That's why I was the one selected to come here today, to tell you about another of the rules in the Middle Reaches cu

ltivation world.

"Every so often, all of the four great sects that exist downriver of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect must send an important disciple or two upriver to be political hostages! 1

"I'm here to take your hostages back with me to the Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect." The boy looked at Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind, whose expressions flickered with surprise as they looked up at him.

"Hostages?" Although this was Frigidsect's first time hearing of the arrangement, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. After all, the four great sects of the Middle Reaches were important parts of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and were essentially like feudal vassals.

Master Godwind took a deep breath and said, "We'll definitely pick our hostage candidates as quickly as possible!"

He was well aware that when a deva came with a request, it wasn't something they could refuse.

"You don't need to do anything," the boy said calmly. "I've already made the decision for you. The main hostage will be Naruto ." The hearts of the three patriarchs began to pound.

With that, the boy sent some divine sense sweeping out into the rest of the River-Defying Sect.

With the exception of the location where the true spirit was resting, which was a place he didn't wish to disturb, the rest of the sect was like an open book to him, although apparently, he didn't notice the monkey.

"Eee? There's something special about that girl…!" A strange light flickered in the boy's eyes, and he waved his hand, causing the image of a young woman to appear, seated cross-legged in meditation. That girl was none other than Gongsun Wan'er! "She's going to be the other hostage! Go ahead and notify them, and also explain that they can take no more than five fellow disciples of your sect to act as their Dao protectors. The entire group will come with me to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to continue their cultivation."

The three patriarchs were grumbling inwardly. The truth was, they didn't care much about Gongsun Wan'er. Although she had respectable latent talent and potential, what they really cared about was Naruto . Master Godwind hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Senior–"

Before Master Godwind could finish speaking, the boy's eyes turned cold and he interrupted, "Hmm? Planning to refuse?"

Instantly, Master Godwind turned extremely cold, almost as if he were being frozen. He couldn't even speak a word.

Frigidsect quickly offered further explanation. "Senior, there's something you might not be aware of. Although Naruto is our junior patriarch, the truth is that he's extremely naughty and mischievous, and definitely not the ideal candidate for a hostage. Senior, I'm just worried that he might cause problems for your honored sect."

"That's absolutely right, Senior," Crimsonsoul said with a smile. He was also aware of how important Naruto was to the River-Defying Sect. "Naruto isn't just naughty and mischievous, he loves concocting medicine. The downside to that is that he always causes huge problems, creating plagues and harming everyone in the area. Not even chickens

or dogs can escape his tribulations. If he goes to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, I'm afraid he really might cause a big catastrophe…."

"None of those things will be problems," the boy responded. "The majestic Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect controls all of the eastern reaches, and leads the cultivation world on behalf of the Heavenspan Sea. Do you really think we can't handle one Core Formation cultivator?

"Even if he were more naughty and mischievous than he is now, even if he caused worse disasters, do you really think he would bring the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to its knees?!

"He likes concocting medicine? Well, in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, we have the best pill furnaces, the best medicinal plants, and the best concocting facilities. Whatever problems he has with concocting medicine, they can be solved there. Fear not! Naruto might be a hostage, but at the same time, he will be a disciple of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

"Very well, the matter is settled, and there will be no more discussion. Go. In three days, I will take your disciples back to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!" Clearly, the boy would brook no further argument.

Waving his hand, he sent out a gentle light that carried Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind out of the grand hall, after which the door slammed shut with a bang.

Outside the hall, Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind looked at each other with grim expressions. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do in this situation.

Master Godwind sighed and said, "Well, we don't have much time. It won't be difficult to explain the matter to the girl, but as for Uzumaki

Naruto… Brother Frigidsect, why don't you go talk to him first? We can go later to offer more explanations. We also need to think about which disciples to send with him as Dao protectors."

Of course, Master Godwind was very worried about the whole thing. Uzumaki

Naruto was the Blood Ancestor, and if mishaps occurred after he left, the Blood Stream Division would be at a serious disadvantage.

"Well, at least he can take Dao protectors, right?" Crimsonsoul said through gritted teeth. "Even though he can only take people from his generation, they'll at least be of some help. Whoever he wants to go with him will have no choice in the matter. I'll explain everything to them!"

Frigidsect sighed. Frowning, he headed toward Naruto 's immortal's cave, where he found the restless and antsy Naruto , and then explained the situation to him.

Naruto 's jaw dropped, and he stared at Frigidsect, his mind spinning. "Hostage? In the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect?"

He had read about political hostages in the ancient records, and knew that they always suffered all sorts of tragic and grievous fates. He was especially worried about going alone; being all by himself in a strange sect didn't seem safe at all.

The River-Defying Sect was great! He had an incredibly high standing, lots of female disciples liked him, and people offered formal greetings to him wherever he went. The mere thought of going to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect caused his vision to grow dim.

Yelping, he lurched forward and grabbed onto Frigidsect's leg.

"Patriarch, I don't wanna go!" he wailed, "I'll miss you all too much! This is my home! Don't make me go!

"I just made a heroic contribution to the sect! I… I'm the junior patriarch!

"For years now, I've always been ready to stand up for the sect during hard times. I saved my fellow disciples from the Luochen Clan, I made a name for myself in the Fallen Sword Abyss, I went undercover in the Blood Stream Sect! But my biggest contributions have been to the RiverDefying Sect! Patriarch, I don't wanna go!

"I can't stand to part with all of you. I'll miss my fellow disciples! Don't make me go, please…! Have Shangguan Tianyou go instead! He'd be a great choice. He's heroic and confident and super handsome! Heaven and earth would weep if he doesn't become the hostage. Or how about Song Que? The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect doesn't have somebody like him, do they? So send him! Or what about Beihan Lie or Nine-Isles? They would be great choices! If not, then how about Chen Manyao. Send her…."

Frigidsect felt a headache coming on. Sighing, he looked down at Naruto and softly said, "Naruto, if I had any choice in the matter, I definitely wouldn't make you go."

A tremor ran through Naruto , and he looked up at Frigidsect, looking like he was about to cry.

"I really have to go?"

Frigidsect tousled Naruto 's hair. A kind look appeared in his eye as he said, "Yes, you do. However, you can take some Dao protectors with you. Also, it won't be for very long. You'll be back here at home before you know it."

—

The practice of exchanging political hostages goes way back into

Chinese history all the way to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE)

Chapter 375

Chapter 375

Chapter 375: Naruto 's Dao Protectors….

Naruto felt as if his heart were withering. Looking up again at

Frigidsect to make sure he wasn't pulling a prank, he finally exclaimed, "Why did you make me so outstanding, oh heavens? I can't believe that even the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect can't do without me!"

Moments ago, Frigidsect had been feeling sad, but after hearing Naruto 's words, he could do nothing but cough dryly. Now that he thought about it, in some ways, sending Naruto to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect wasn't that bad of a choice after all.

"You leave in three days," he said. "Take this command medallion. It gives you the authority to select any Dao protectors from your current generation to accompany you…." With that, he handed Naruto the command medallion and then turned to leave. Before walking out the door, he added one final reminder.

"You can select, at most, five Dao Protectors. The Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect won't allow any more than that."

Naruto stood amidst the ruins of his immortal's cave, watching Frigidsect leave. Then he slumped down, somewhat in a daze. After wrestling with his thoughts for an hour, he watched the sun rise and then finally sighed.

"Ah, whatever. Since the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect wishes for me to come, then I guess I'll go check things out." Although he was still a bit depressed, the idea of being able to select his own Dao Protectors was an exciting thought.

"I'm not going to take Bruiser with me," he murmured. "The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is too much of a strange and dangerous place.

"So. Dao protectors, hm? Who should I pick? I'm going to be in a strange place, so I'll definitely need someone good at digging up information!" With that, he began to think about everyone he knew.

"They'll need to be quick-witted, and good at making discreet inquiries. I need someone who'll be able to find out about everything in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and quickly at that. I'll need to know all the rumors! It will definitely require a pure genius…."

Suddenly, he slapped his thigh, and his eyes began to shine. "Xu Baocai!"

Back in the Spirit Stream Sect, Xu Baocai had always been adept at rooting out information. He knew who all the top beauties in the sect were, and how they were ranked. Naruto also remembered how, whenever Xu Baocai got some new information, he would make a record of it in his little notebook.

"He prefers to hand-write things instead of using jade slips. Only a person completely dedicated to his work would do that. Yeah, nobody would be fit for this position other than Xu Baocai!" Chuckling, Naruto thought about how quickly Xu Baocai had fit into the RiverDefying Sect as a whole, and how he knew about all the gossip and news. In fact, whenever Naruto wanted to know anything, he was completely confident in being able to get an answer from Xu Baocai.

Without any further hesitation, he shot through the air toward the mountains of the Spirit Stream Division. As he neared Xu Baocai's immortal's cave, he saw Xu Baocai standing outside, his eyes sparkling like gems, and his expression one of intense sorrow. Almost immediately, Xu Baocai began to wail, "Sect Uncle Uzumaki, I'm going to miss you so much! I heard that you're going to become a hostage in the

Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Who knows when we'll meet again, Sect

Uncle Uzumaki? You take care of yourself!"

"Wow, you got the news that quickly?" Naruto said, surprised. He had just been informed himself, and yet somehow, Xu Baocai already knew.

"Yeah, that's right," Xu Baocai said proudly. "Nobody knows more about what's going on in the River-Defying Sect than Xu Baocai. Wherever I go, I find out all the secrets. I have countless ways of ferreting out information." This was actually what Xu Baocai was most proud of, and he couldn't tolerate when people doubted his abilities.

"But don't worry, Sect Uncle Uzumaki," he continued in a serious tone. "I'll continue to make sure everyone knows about all of your stories. All the new recruits in the sect will hear everything about you." Inwardly, he was feeling very pleased. The recent events in which virtually all the female disciples in the sect had become infatuated with Naruto had left him very depressed. As far as he was concerned, with Naruto around, it would be very difficult to get a Daoist partner of his own. All of the girls he liked turned out to be smitten with Naruto , which left him feeling very down.

As soon as he'd heard that Naruto would be leaving for the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, his heart had swelled with excitement.

Naruto was actually very pleased by what he had just heard. Clasping Xu Baocai's shoulder tightly, a look of both sincerity and sorrow appeared on his face as he said, "Listen, my brother, I was actually hesitating before. After all, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect will be an unfamiliar place, and I didn't want to drag any of my sect brothers and sisters into this situation with me. But after what you said just now, I completely understand!"

"Huh?" Xu Baocai suddenly realized that he hadn't gotten all the information, and that something about the situation was clearly off.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Naruto said, "I need a Dao protector who can help me get information in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and that person is you!"

A tremor ran through Xu Baocai, and his eyes widened. Suddenly, he understood everything, and his face fell. "Sect Uncle Uzumaki, um, my cultivation base is a bit low…."

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "I need someone who can get information, not someone with a high cultivation base!"

"B-but… but I'm really clumsy…."

"Ah, don't worry about it. As long as you can root up all the secrets and get all the news about the places we go to, that will be enough. Besides, I'm well acquainted with your brave personality. The blood notice from years ago proved that. Alright, don't bother with any pretence of refusing. I know you'll miss me too much if I leave you behind. Therefore, the matter is settled!" Naruto laughed heartily, but then he noticed that Xu Baocai's face was a bit ashen, and he appeared to be on the verge of refusing. Therefore, Naruto quickly pulled out the command medallion Frigidsect had given him and waved it in front of Xu Baocai's face.

"A patriarch's command medallion!" Xu Baocai said with a gasp. He was completely and utterly thunderstruck, and unsure of how to react. After a long moment passed, he felt like he was about to cry; he knew that he couldn't refuse even if he wanted to. All of a sudden, he felt a bit sick to the stomach.

Naruto put his arm around Xu Baocai's shoulder and the cleared his throat. Chuckling, he said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. Come, come, Little Treasure. You know everything about the sect, so help me analyze the situation a bit. Which other dependable disciples do you think I should bring with me?"

Xu Baocai appeared to be on the verge of tears. The thought of going to the unfamiliar Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was a terrifying thing. However, despite how much he didn't wish to go, he didn't have a choice. Based on what Naruto had just said, it appeared that they would be able to drag some other people into the situation with them, which helped Xu Baocai focus.

Gritting his teeth, he pondered the situation for a moment, and soon thought of Master God-Diviner. Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner had developed a bit of a grudge between each other, and Master God-Diviner had even given him a nasty look before. Both of them had happened to like the same female disciple at one point, but in the end Master GodDiviner won her over. Sadly, Xu Baocai's cultivation base was too low, so he had been forced to accept the situation. However, he never forgot about what had occurred.

Therefore, when he realized that he had a chance to drag others into the situation with him, the first person he thought about was Master GodDiviner.

"Well," he said, "we'll need someone good at divination and fortunetelling. He'll need to have a high cultivation base, too. That way, when danger comes, he can divine the details ahead of time and we can figure out the best way to protect ourselves. If I were going to pick someone, I would definitely pick Master God-Diviner from the Blood Stream Division!"

"You're absolutely right. We definitely need someone who can perform divination!" Naruto was fully convinced. Grabbing Xu Baocai, he headed toward the Blood Stream Division to find Master God-Diviner.

To their surprise, when they reached Master God-Diviner's immortal's cave, they found him standing outside, his hands clasped behind his back, looking up into the sky. His bags were already packed and lined up next to him, and apparently, he had been waiting for them.

"So, you're finally here," he said calmly. He seemed completely cool and collected, almost as if he belonged in a higher world.

Looking a bit melancholy, he flicked his sleeve and said, "I long since divined that tribulation was coming my way. It was decreed by fate that I would leave the sect for a period of years, and that the tribulation would come during that time. Considering that someone from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect came to visit, it was obvious that my tribulation was nigh."

With that, he looked over at Naruto and Xu Baocai, his countenance completely otherworldly. "It doesn't matter where you're going. I will accompany you; it is my tribulation, and it has been decreed by fate!"

Xu Baocai couldn't help but gasp at the sight of Master God-Diviner, standing there with his robe fluttering in the wind, looking like some sort of transcendent being. The words he had just spoken were enough to shock just about everyone.

Naruto had a look of complete incredulity on his face as he said,

"I… I can't believe you actually divined that we were coming!" But then, he walked a few circles around Master God-Diviner, who suddenly recalled how terrifying Naruto could be, and started to get a bit nervous.

"Alright, Master Snortsnort," Naruto said, "answer me this. Can you divine where I'm going to hit you in a just a moment!?"

"I–" Master God-Diviner's face turned pale, and he instantly began to curse in his heart. He had complete and utter confidence that Uzumaki

Naruto would do just as he had said and launch a blow. Master GodDiviner suddenly shrank down, and instead of looking like a transcendent being, he reverted to his normal appearance. In fact, he even looked a bit devious.

Smiling, he said, "I was just kidding around with you, Junior Patriarch! Actually, sir, Master Godwind came last night and told me to get ready for you to come, and that I had to do whatever you told me. I was so excited at the prospect of accompanying you, Junior Patriarch, that I couldn't sleep the whole night. Therefore, I decided to just pack my bags and wait for you."

Naruto laughed heartily and clapped Master God-Diviner on the shoulder. From the expression on his face, he clearly seemed very pleased with himself, and also was reveling in how much more intelligent he was than Master God-Diviner. As for Master God-Diviner, he appeared to be on the verge of crying. Worried that Naruto would press the matter, he quickly offered a reminder.

"Junior Patriarch, Xu Baocai and I won't be enough. We need someone with us who's really good at fighting!"

Chapter 376

Chapter 376

Chapter 376: An Uninvited Guest

"It would need to be a very skilled warrior," Master God-Diviner said somberly, "an expert who could keep us safe at all times. We need some muscle, a person with an extraordinary cultivation base, and even more importantly, shocking potential for growth!"

Xu Baocai was nodding his head vigorously, and Naruto was looking at him with an intent stare.

Shaking his head, Master God-Diviner continued, "Don't forget, we don't know how many years we'll be in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Therefore, we can't be sloppy in our selection. The best thing to do would be to pick someone who will likely reach Core Formation shortly after arriving."

"You couldn't be more correct!" Naruto said, eyes sparkling. Then he laughed loudly.

Master God-Diviner inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he said,

"Junior Patriarch, I have a suggestion. Why don't you pick from either Song Que, Ghostfang, Nine-Isles, or Beihan Lie? Which one do you think is better?"

After some thought, Naruto murmured, "Hmm. Any of them would do, actually. But Song Que is my nephew, after all. Going to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect will actually be an incredible opportunity, so the most appropriate thing would be to give that chance to him."

Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai exchanged a look of surprise, but didn't dare to say any further. Instead, they merely praised Naruto for how much he took care of his juniors.

And that was how Song Que became their muscle. Of course, none of the three of them actually went to Song Que to tell him. Naruto called over a disciple from the Blood Stream Division and sent him to deliver the news.

"I can take five people, and now I have three…. Hmm. Next I need to pick someone to be my confidante!" It didn't take much consideration for him to think of Big Fatty Zhang.

"Eldest Brother is definitely the best choice to be my confidante. Plus, even though the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect will be new to us all, it is a riversource sect, which means that Eldest Brother will probably be able to get some good fortune of his own." With that, gave orders to Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner to prepare for departure in three days. Then he flickered into motion, becoming a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.

After he left, Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner exchanged bitter smiles as they pondered what the future held for them.

When Naruto arrived at Big Fatty Zhang's immortal's cave, he was in the middle of performing some spirit enhancements. Naruto waited outside for a bit of time, a smile on his face, until Big Fatty Zhang finally opened the door. After seeing that it was Naruto , he laughed heartily, then hurried out proudly with a flying sword in hand.

"What do you think? A threefold spirit enhancement!"

Naruto looked at the sword in surprise. Apparently, Big Fatty Zhang had become shockingly skilled at spirit enhancement. He immediately offered some praise, which Big Fatty Zhang soaked up readily.

"So, why have you come?" Big Fatty Zhang said. "As long as I can help out, I'll do it without even the slightest frown!"

Naruto hesitated for a moment. Although it was true that Big Fatty

Zhang might be able to get some good fortune in the Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect, he would probably be a lot safer if he stayed behind in the River-Defying Sect. After pondering the matter briefly, he described the situation and then left Big Fatty Zhang make the choice for himself.

Almost as soon as he heard what was happening, Big Fatty Zhang's eyes began to shine. Reaching out, he grabbed Uzumaki Xia

ochun's arm.

"I'll go. No questions asked! The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! That's a riversource sect, right? My Master said that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is the only place in the eastern cultivation world where they perform fifteenfold spirit enhancements!

"They even have a legacy technique for spirit enhancement! Ninth Fatty, you definitely have to take me."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Then he chatted a bit with Big Fatty Zhang to make sure he was truly determined to come along, before finally nodding in agreement.

"Alright, Eldest Brother. Meet me in three days at the grand hall on

Mount River Defiance!"

After leaving Big Fatty Zhang, Naruto returned to his ruined immortal's cave on Mount River Defiance. There, he sat down crosslegged and pondered who to pick as his last Dao Protector.

"Xiaomei and Song Junwan… ah what a headache. I only have one spot left, and there are two of them…. What am I supposed to do? Who should I take?" Actually, the truth was that even if he could take both of them along, he would do everything possible to prevent that from happening. It really didn't have anything to do with the number of spots left.

After much thought, he couldn't come up with any good ideas. Therefore, he decided to stop thinking about it for a while. Closing his eyes, he slipped into meditation to calm himself and ponder what gains he might achieve in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

Deep in the night, he opened his eyes, looked around, and sighed.

"I'm gonna miss this place too much," he thought, shaking his head. He still hadn't decided who to pick to fill the last Dao Protector slot. It was at that point that his expression flickered, and he looked up, a somber and even intimidating look on his face.

Moments later, the air in the direction in which he looked began to ripple and distort, and a slender, graceful woman emerged. Completely ignoring his intimidating expression, she stepped forward to stand right in front of him.

A fragrant aroma accompanied this young woman, who was none other than Chen Manyao!

She wore a close-fitting black garment that only served to accentuate her natural beauty. As she stood there beneath the shimmering moonlight, she looked completely and utterly enticing.

That was especially true when her long, luxurious hair rippled in the breeze. Furthermore, there was something charming and soul-stirring in her eyes that made her dangerously attractive.

"What are you looking at me so viciously for?" she asked in a voice so soft and weak that it would cause anyone who heard it to be even more attracted to her, and would leave most men hard-pressed to resist the urge to throw her to the ground and ravage her.

Naruto looked up at her with a frown. He knew that the sect leadership had come to an agreement with whatever group backed her, which was the only reason why she had been allowed to stay in the River-Defying Sect.

However, he still felt completely on guard against her.

"What do you want?!" he asked calmly.

"Oh nothing. What, I can't just come to see you?" Somewhere in her eyes could be seen a trace of bitterness, like a grudge. As she looked at Naruto , she realized that he was looking her up and down, causing a spark of aloof pride to rise in her heart. Just when she was about to continue speaking though, she suddenly realized she couldn't move a muscle, and that a third eye had appeared on Naruto 's forehead.

The violet eye seemed to possess a strange power, a power that left Chen Manyao completely immobile. A moment later, her right hand began to move, completely beyond her own control. It slowly rose to one of the buttons on her garment, and undid it, revealing some of her curvaceous body that had previously been concealed under the tight fabric.

After that first button was removed, Naruto 's third eye closed, and Chen Manyao's body returned to her own control. She was panting, and her forehead was beaded with cold sweat. Without even thinking about it, she backed up a few steps, her face flickering between the red of anger and the green of humiliation.

"You came here for a reason," Naruto said grimly, "and I'm not the kind of person who would pretend you haven't. I'll ask you again, what do you want?!" He was actually trying to imitate the way Song Que would talk to people, and he pulled it off more than perfectly.

Chen Manyao took a breath to still her heart. Not daring to do anything rash, she backed up again, and then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Junior Patriarch, I very much hope you'll agree to let me take the final spot."

"No way," Naruto said immediately. "Now get out of here."

"Junior Patriarch, please hear me out. With me at your side, you'll be able to communicate with the Wildlands any time you wish, and plus, I can find out all sorts of information for you. In addition to that, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect has a battleship that can take you to the Wildlands! My home….

"If you agree, I'd be willing to share some of the secrets of the Wildlands with you. Another thing you can't forget is that I know a lot about the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and I can even–" At this point, before she could even finish speaking, Naruto waved his sleeve, causing a wind to wrap around her in preparation to throw her out.

"Naruto ," she gushed, "there are clues about Ryuzetsu in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Take me with you and I can help you find them! Only I can do that, because I'm a Wildlander! The agents in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect know me, but they don't know you. I'll even swear an oath to help track down those clues!" As she spoke, the wind around her slowed to a crawl, but when she finished speaking, it picked up again and carried her off of Mount River Defiance.

Even as her anxiety built to a crescendo, Naruto 's cold voice echoed in her ears.

"Meet me in two days at the grand hall on Mount River Defiance."

Having sent Chen Manyao away, Naruto sat there silently at the edge of the ruins of his immortal's cave, looking up into the starry sky. If Chen Manyao hadn't spoken that one name, he would never have even considered taking her.

However, that name left him unsettled. By now, even he wasn't sure exactly how he felt about Ryuzetsu .

It was almost as if nothing about her was real except for what had happened in those mountains.

"Maybe all I want is an answer," he murmured, "and the truth…." As he sat there beneath the moonlight, his eyes flickered with reminiscence.

Chapter 377

Chapter 377

Chapter 377: The Celestial!

Time passed. Soon, the moon rose again, and now… there was only one day left.

Naruto had filled all five spots for his Dao Protectors, and couldn't stop thinking about the benefits and drawbacks of going to the unfamiliar Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. On the final day, he went to visit Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei to bid them farewell, which left him feeling very down. Finally, he sat down cross-legged to pass the final night. It was around the third watch when Frigidsect appeared next to him, without word or sound to herald his coming.

He looked down at Naruto , saw the sadness on his face, and sighed.

Naruto opened his eyes, looked at him, then looked away without saying a word.

"Naruto," Frigidsect said in his ancient voice, "you're going to be leaving tomorrow….

"There are some things I need to explain to you. Master Godwind, Crimsonsoul and I have come to an important decision…." Overlooking the fact that Naruto was ignoring him, he smiled and sat down next to him.

"I know that your goal in practicing cultivation is to live forever. The thing is, all of us want to live forever. That's one of the reasons why we all work hard at cultivation.

"Unfortunately, on the road that leads to living forever, there are other things that pop up, things that are sometimes even more important than our final goal. Right now, you probably don't understand what I'm talking about, but by the time you reach my age, I think you will.

"The reason we cultivators can increase our longevity has to do with our cultivation bases. With Foundation Establishment, you get an additional

100 years of life. With Core Formation, 500. And did you know that Nascent Soul cultivators receive an increase, at minimum, of 1,000 years?! Do the math yourself…. If you reach Nascent Soul, how long can you live?" Frigidsect looked expectantly at Naruto .

Naruto had been planning to ignore Frigidsect no matter what he said. Regardless of how much he understood the decisions made by the sect, that didn't stop him from feeling depressed about the situation. However, to hear Frigidsect bring up this topic, the topic upon which he was most focused in life, and in which all his hopes lay, ensured that he couldn't hold himself back from doing the calculations.

It really was simple. Upon realizing that after reaching Nascent Soul, he would be able to live for 2,000 years, Naruto 's eyes shone, and his heart began to beat.

"2,000 years…." he murmured, licking his lips. He might have been able to refuse to think about the Nascent Soul stage if he hadn't calculated the exact numbers involved. But now, he could hardly refrain from panting, and his desire to reach Nascent Soul was even more intense than ever.

"And again, that's the minimum. If you use special techniques and methods, or certain spirit medicines, you can increase your longevity by multiple times over. Of course, people who do that have to pay a heavy price. Although their cultivation bases are not limited in any way, they are doomed do die eventually, no matter what happens. Such people live a long time, but not forever. I'm in that very situation." Frigidsect sighed and looked at Naruto .

Naruto looked back at him. "Do a lot of people do that?"

"Yes. But don't forget that the path cultivators travel is a long and winding one. From Chakra Condensation to Foundation Establishment, from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, from Core Formation to Nascent Soul…. Many people are ejected off of the path before they can get very far.

"Out of a hundred Chakra Condensation cultivators, one wi

ll be lucky to reach Foundation Establishment. Of course, that still leaves us with a lot of Foundation Establishment cultivators, but out of every hundred, one might reach Core Formation, if they are lucky…. When it comes to Nascent Soul, well… even if you count all the people who have died, the Spirit Stream Division hasn't even produced ten of them, even going back years and years. Given that… do you think reaching Nascent

Soul is difficult?"

Frigidsect sighed again before continuing. "It most definitely is difficult. The process is a challenging one, to say the least. Either you succeed and become a Nascent Soul Daoist master, or you fail and die. Of course, sects in the Middle Reaches have much higher rates of success among cultivators who attempt to step into the Nascent Soul stage. However, that doesn't change the difficulty level for the people involved."

Naruto didn't say anything. He knew that Nascent Soul was a difficult stage to reach, and that even with his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, he would only have a slightly higher chance of success.

"Naruto, although becoming a hostage in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect means losing a bit of freedom and independence, the truth is that you have an extremely rare opportunity!

"The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is a riversource sect, responsible for watching over all of the eastern Heavenspan River. The spiritual energy there is very strong, far beyond that of the Middle Reaches. They have all sorts of unique techniques and divine abilities, plus many types of fantastic spirit medicines.

"After you get there, you can take advantage of all the power available in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to increase your chances of reaching the Nascent Soul stage!" Frigidsect was slowly raising his voice, causing it to pound into Naruto 's ears.

Naruto could hear the sincerity in Frigidsect's voice, and could tell that he wasn't being dishonest in any way. It really was true that he would have a better chance of reaching Nascent Soul in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

That, along with his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, wouldn't give him a one hundred percent chance of success. However, he would have an astonishing seventy percent chance!

Thinking of the matter that way, going to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect wasn't a bad thing at all. In fact, it was actually incredible good fortune when it came to his cultivation!

Much of Naruto 's negative feelings were already draining away, and his eyes were beginning to shine brightly.

"If you become a Nascent Soul cultivator in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, you can even join their parliament of elders, and would gain a relatively high level of power and influence. At that point, even being a hostage wouldn't matter, and wouldn't be an obstacle to you in any way. In fact, your hostage status would be a shield of sorts to you as a member of the parliament of elders!

"Furthermore, if you become a Nascent Soul cultivator there, it would be of incredible benefit to the River-Defying Sect!" After all of the analysis provided by Frigidsect, Naruto couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Patriarch," he said quietly, "I think it's a big waste for you to be a cultivator. You should go off and become a diplomat…."

Frigidsect roared with laughter before tousling Naruto 's hair.

"I'm not finished yet! Stop interrupting!" Then, his expression turned serious. "Naruto, much like Foundation Establishment and Core Formation, there are three ways to enter the Nascent Soul stage. The first is the simplest, and yet the most dangerous because of the high failure rate. Although you can make the attempt multiple times this way, every failure leads to a loss of longevity. That method is… using Nascent Soul Pills!"

Naruto was listening very intently. There was no information in the sect records about the Nascent Soul stage, so this was his first time hearing such an explanation.

Frigidsect shook his head before continuing, "That method leads to a low-grade Nascent Soul, with only a slim chance of ever becoming a deva. It is also the most commonly used method….

"The second method is… by using a five elements heavenbeast soul!

The so-called heavenbeast soul is the soul of a dead Deva Realm beast. All such souls have a certain measure of five elements power, and any cultivator who steps into Nascent Soul with one will not only be very powerful, they will also have a good chance at becoming a deva!"

Naruto was shaken, and immediately committed the words 'five elements heavenbeast soul' to memory. Never could he have imagined that it was possible to reach the Nascent Soul stage with the soul of a deva-level beast.

"Then there's the third method…." Frigidsect paused for a moment, his eyes shining brightly with both veneration and madness. This sort of expression was something rarely seen on his face.

Naruto instantly started to get even more nervous.

"This last method is the stuff of legend. In fact… in the Heavenspan Realm, only one person has ever done it. The requirements are incredibly strict. That method is… by using five elements deva souls!

"A deva soul is the soul of a dead Deva Realm cultivator. One of the unique properties of deva souls is that each one contains the power of one of the five elements, either metal, wood, water, fire, or earth. To reach the Nascent Soul stage using this method requires… five different deva souls!

"Anyone who succeeds… becomes completely invincible within the

Nascent Soul stage!"

Naruto gasped. "Five deva souls?!"

To him, it seemed almost inconceivable. Devas were already rare to begin with; even in the Middle Reaches, there were currently only three of them. If you added in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, there wouldn't even be ten.

Considering all of that, using the five elements deva souls method seemed virtually impossible.

Frigidsect sighed. "From ancient times until now, the number of devas who have existed is very limited, and the souls of any who die are rare and precious items…. Because of that, you can see why using the five elements deva souls method to step into Nascent Soul is unimaginably difficult, and thus, the stuff of legend."

Naruto took a deep breath, and couldn't hold back from asking, "Patriarch, didn't you just say that someone did succeed once? Who is that person…?"

Frigidsect didn't respond for a moment. Looking up into the sky, he said, "The Celestial!"

"The Celestial?" Naruto was taken aback.

"He is the most powerful cultivator in the Heavenspan Realm… and also the one who rules over the four great riversource sects…. He lives on the island in the middle of the Heavenspan Sea…. The Celestial! "Common people like us can't even speak his name. If you do, he will sense it, and no one wishes to do that. That is why people simply call him… the Celestial!" Frigidsect sighed yet again.

"According to the legends, he reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, Heaven-Dao Gold Core, and used the five elements deva souls method to reach Nascent Soul. The entire time, he walked the heavenly path 1. You've had some contact with the Wildlands, so you can probably imagine what type of position the Celestial occupies!"

In Chinese "deva" consists of the characters for "heaven" and "person" put together, so all three of these paths have "heaven" in them

Chapter 378

Chapter 378

Chapter 378: I'll Be Back!

Naruto reeled as he thought back to the old Wildlander he had spoken to by means of Chen Manyao. The things that old man had told him clicked into place with what he had learned just now, and suddenly, he understood.

If the four main branches of the Heavenspan River and the sects that grew near them were the feudal governments, then this Celestial… was the emperor!

Naruto sat there in silence with Frigidsect for a long moment. Finally, Frigidsect rose to his feet and extended his right hand, within which was a blue-green walnut!

Apparently, the walnut had been crafted from jade, and inside of it was… a sleeping soul.

It didn't emanate any soul fluctuations at all, and in fact, even examining it with divine sense didn't reveal the slightest fluctuation. Naruto stared at it blankly for a moment.

"Is that…?"

Frigidsect looked at the walnut, then at Naruto , his expression alive with anticipation.

"Naruto, your service to the River-Defying Sect has gone above and beyond the call of duty. The fact that you are a member of the RiverDefying Sect… is a true blessing. Unfortunately, we are too small and weak now, and are unable to provide you much in the way of help. However, after discussing matters with the Fellow Daoists from the other divisions, we all agreed that it was appropriate to take this… a deva soul… and give it to you!" Frigidsect's voice echoed like thunder in Naruto 's ears, causing his mind and heart to tremble.

"A deva soul!?" Naruto 's eyes widened. If he hadn't just heard Frigidsect's explanation of the rarity of five elements deva souls, he wouldn't have thought this item to be of much value. But now, now that he understood everything, his heart was filled with waves of shock.

It wouldn't be a wild guess to assume that this deva soul was the only one in the entire River-Defying Sect. In fact, there might not even be a second one in all of the eastern cultivation world of the Middle Reaches.

After all… deva souls were items that Middle Reaches sects usually wouldn't possess. It was only because the Spirit Stream Division had once been the Frigid School that it had one!

"This…." For the first time ever, Naruto didn't reach out to take the treasure being offered him. It was so valuable that he didn't dare to even touch it.

"We were going to give this to you eventually anyway," Frigidsect said with a smile. "We're just handing it over a bit early. Don't feel any pressure. After all, reaching the Nascent Soul stage by means of a five elements deva soul is something legendary, to say the least. Think of this wood-type deva soul as a direction to follow. If you can't collect any other deva souls, then perhaps you can find someone in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect who will trade you a five elements heavenbeast soul for it. Either way… we have long since begun to think about how to make your path to the Nascent Soul stage as clear as possible!"

Naruto was trembling, and was even having trouble breathing. He looked up at Frigidsect for a long moment, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks, Patriarch!"

"Very well. I've said everything I needed to say, and it's nearly dawn. I'll wait for you at the grand hall on Mount River Defiance with the rest of the patriarchs." Patting Naruto on the shoulder encouragingly, he turned to leave. For some reason, he seemed especially old underneath the pale moonlight.

Naruto carefully placed the deva soul into his bag of holding. His mind was currently in chaos; not only wa

s he feeling really hesitant about leaving the sect, he was deeply and profoundly moved.

Soon, dawn arrived, and as the first rays of light pierced through the clouds and illuminated the River-Defying Sect, they revealed a scene of lush mountains and flowing rivers. Everything was peaceful and quiet, with pulses of spiritual energy filling the entire area. The River-Defying Sect truly looked like a celestial paradise.

A look of determination could be seen in Naruto 's eyes as he straightened his clothing and headed toward the summit of the mountain.

At the same time, Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner gathered their belongings, mustered their courage, and headed in the same direction.

Big Fatty Zhang was very excited as he flew into the air, and as for Chen Manyao, she shot through the dawn air in a beam of colorful light.

Somewhere in the Blood Stream Division, an immortal's cave opened, and Song Que walked out. His face was ashen, his fists clenched, his teeth gritted. Unfortunately for him, he had no choice in the matter, so he flew up into the air and headed toward Mount River Defiance.

In addition to them, other cultivators of the River-Defying Sect began to step out of their immortal's caves. News had spread over the past few days, and many people knew about the matter of the hostages. In fact, if the sect hadn't specifically forbidden people from visiting Naruto to express condolences and bid him farewell, he would have gotten almost no rest.

As of this moment, all of the cultivators in the entire sect had emerged.

During the past three days, they had been prohibited from disturbing Naruto , but now, they simply had to see him off.

Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei were in the crowd, both of them looking very sad as they flew toward Mount River Defiance.

When Naruto arrived at the grand hall, he saw Frigidsect and the other Nascent Soul cultivators there waiting for him. He also saw that he wasn't the first disciple to arrive. Gongsun Wan'er had come a bit earlier, and when she caught sight of Naruto , she smiled slightly.

Naruto had been informed earlier that Gongsun Wan'er was also to be a hostage. For some reason, he'd always found there to be something strange about her, although he wasn't sure what. When she looked at him, he forced a smile onto his face and walked over to stand next to her. Strangely, she had no Dao Protectors.

Surprised by that, he asked, "Where are your Dao Protectors?"

"I don't need any," she replied with a smile.

Naruto blinked a few times, and was about to inquire further when Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai arrived, followed by Big Fatty Zhang and Chen Manyao.

Last of all was the ashen-faced Song Que, who was wearing a very grim expression. Upon arriving, he snorted slightly and then stood next to Master God-Diviner, looking somewhat sulky.

Cultivators were gathering outside of the mountain to say their farewells to Naruto .

Naruto could see Song Junwan and Hou Xiaomei in the crowd, as well as Hou Yunfei, Third Fatty Hei, and many other familiar faces. None of them could cover up the gloomy expressions on their faces. All of a sudden, Naruto realized that his life truly was bitter sometimes… he always seemed to be saying goodbye to people.

It had been like this back when he had left the village, and back when he had left the Spirit Stream Sect. Now here he was in the River-Defying Sect, and it was the same thing….

Just when he was pondering whether or not to make a short speech like he usually did, an intense pressure suddenly exploded out from the grand hall. At the same time, the door to the hall slowly opened.

The boy appeared, clad in a red robe, his hands clasped behind his back. Although he was not very tall, he seemed grander than heaven and earth, which was, of course, because of the heaven-shaking, earthshattering energy which roiled off of him.

As the pressure of the Deva Realm filled the entire River-Defying Sect with solemn silence, the boy looked at Naruto and Gongsun Wan'er, then nodded slightly.

"Since everyone's here, let's be off!" He waved his hand up into the sky, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out, as if the sky itself were being crushed. Then, two illusory hands appeared, ripping a huge hole into the air itself.

Then, a 30,000-meter-tall giant emerged to hover above in the air.

The giant had a powerful fleshly body, and a savage aura. Although it wasn't quite as impressive as the Blood Ancestor, it was still a completely shocking sight.

As it hovered there, the mountains below almost seemed like toys that it could crush at will.

Gasps could be heard among the River-Defying Sect cultivators, and even Naruto 's eyes went wide. That was especially true after the giant threw his head back and howled, then dropped to its knees and prostrated itself in the direction of Mount River Defiance.

"Master!" it said, its voice deafening as it rolled out in all directions.

Even as everyone in the sect was shaken, the boy flicked his sleeve, causing the visions of Naruto and everyone around him to blur. Their bodies were suddenly filled with pain, and they vanished. When they reappeared moments later, they realized that they were looking down at Mount River Defiance….

All of them were now… on the head of the giant!

To be able to teleport people without any spell formations whatsoever was something that Nascent Soul cultivators could only do with great difficulty. However, this young boy had done it with the flick of his sleeve, as if it hadn't taken him any effort at all.

This was the first time that Naruto had been shaken in such a way by a deva. Even more shocking was that each hair on the giant's head was like a huge tree, making his head almost like a forest.

Xu Baocai shrieked, and Big Fatty Zhang's face drained of blood. Master

God-Diviner was left trembling, and even Song Que started panting a bit. Chen Manyao took things in stride a bit better, whereas Gongsun Wan'er was the only one who didn't seem to have any reaction whatsoever.

As for Naruto , he was a true Gold Core cultivator, so although his face paled a bit, he stood there in place, looking down at the RiverDefying Sect. Suddenly, he cried out in a loud voice, "I'm leaving… but I'll be back!"

The Deva Realm boy looked over at Naruto with a smile, then sat down cross-legged on one of the giant's huge hairs. A moment later, the giant rose to its feet, roared, and leaped back into the hole in the air, vanishing in an instant!

The only thing left behind for the River-Defying Sect cultivators to see were some ripples, and the echoes of Naruto 's voice.

End of Book 3

Chapter 379

Chapter 379

Book 4: A Different Kind Of Hostage!

Chapter 379: Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect

Beyond the Middle Reaches was the true eastern Heavenspan River, vast and majestic, so grand that it wasn't possible to see the end of it. It was an area so large that the entire Middle Reaches cultivation world couldn't even compare to it.

If you followed it along far enough, it reached the place where the river flowed out from the sea!

In that location was a waterfall so large and boundless that it virtually defied description. It was as tall as an enormous mountain, and so wide that it was impossible to see one end from the other. As the waters flew down, they transformed into the eastern Heavenspan River!

One could only imagine what existed at the top of that waterfall: the Heavenspan Sea!

The spiritual energy in the area was so strong that it also defied description; the spiritual energy of the Middle Reaches cultivation world couldn't even compare to it. This was the location of the sect headquarters of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

Shockingly, that headquarters rose up from within the boundless mists at the bottom of the waterfall. Towering high above the waterfall itself were seven rainbows, which were organized into three levels.

The first level, and the highest, was made up of a single rainbow. The second level had two rainbows, one on the left and one on the right. Beneath them was the third level, made up of four rainbows lined up in a row….

Considering how enormous the waterfall itself was, it only made sense that the rainbows were even more majestic. Astonishingly, those seven rainbows were actually part of Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

Even from a distance, it was just barely possible to see countless indistinct figures flying back and forth through the air, making it very clear how enormous the sect was!

Furthermore, those rainbows were only part of the sect. Higher up, at the very top of the waterfall, was an enormous, ancient battleship!

It was pitch black, and emanated the most archaic of auras. There was something ghastly about it, and it was even possible to see ghostly figures inside, perhaps the reserve powers of the sect itself.

In addition to all that, there were four gigantic cities built on the banks of the Heavenspan River, two on each side.

Any one of those cities alone was larger than any of the four great sects of the Middle Reaches, and could clearly house millions upon millions of people. The mere sight of this sect would leave anyone completely shaken.

This was the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

At the base of the waterfall were four enormous cities.

Towering above the waterfall were seven rainbows.

And behind the waterfall was the Heavenspan Sea!

A moment ago, the enormous giant had just stepped out of thin air to appear some distance off from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Naruto was on the giant's head, looking at the sect and gasping. The mere size of the sect was enough to cause his head to spin.

Then, as he got closer, he could feel the spiritual energy getting stronger, so strong that it was almost uncomfortable.

Naruto wasn't the only one to have such a reaction. Everyone else was left similarly gasping.

Master God-Diviner's face was a mask of incredulity. "How did they do this? Rainbows are fundamentally immaterial, but that's what the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect actually built their headquarters with!"

"You're right," Chen Manyao said, keeping her voice low. "Rainbows are immaterial. However, experts in the Demigod Realm can take that which is immaterial and make it eternal!

"Furthermore, the seven rainbows are strictly separated by a ranking system. From bottom to top, tho

se ranks are: Starry, Sky, Dao, Polarity, Mortal, Earth, Heaven!

"See the highest rainbow? That's Heaven! The next two below it are Earth and Mortal. The four rainbows which make up the bottom level are Starry, Sky, Dao, and Polarity!

"We're from the River-Defying Sect, but technically, we count as the Sky River Court. Therefore, our final destination will be the second rainbow of the third level!" Naruto listened intently as Chen Manyao explained everything she knew about the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

"Those four cities on the banks of the river are nothing more than the outer sect. You see, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's ranking system is a bit different from what we're used to." Even Gongsun Wan'er seemed to be surprised at how much Chen Manyao knew, and was listening carefully.

The Deva Realm boy opened his eyes and looked over. "You seem to know quite a bit, little girl."

Chen Manyao's face flickered. Fearful of angering a Deva Realm eccentric, she nervously clasped hands and said, "Please don't take offense, Senior."

"None taken," the boy said coolly. "The more you explain, the fewer words I have to waste in my own introduction. Listen up, all of you. Just as the girl said, the ranking and organization of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is different from that of most other sects, and that's intentional.

"Most sects have an outer sect, an inner sect, a conclave, and a legacy echelon, or some variation thereof. But not the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. We are organized by color. Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet. Those seven colors are how we organize our sect. It doesn't matter who you are, as long as you're under the Nascent Soul stage, you have to follow that ranking system. Everyone starts out as a red-robed disciple, and rises in the ranks, not based on cultivation base level, but based on how many merit points you accumulate!

"The more merit points you get, the higher your rank. Newcomers do not even qualify to step onto the rainbows. Only becoming yellow-robed disciples gives you that right, the right to ascend from ground to the rainbows." As the boy talked, the giant strode forward, carrying them toward the second city on the left bank of the Heavenspan River, at the base of the waterfall.

"Very well, this city is where you will start out. As for where you end up later, that will depend on your own personal good fortune." He rose to his feet, flicking his sleeve to send a jade slip flying over to Naruto . "Take this jade slip. Once you're in the city, someone will arrange everything for you." With that, he waved his sleeve again, causing a wave of power to pick Naruto and the others up and fly them off of the giant's head. Then the giant roared, ripping open the sky in front of it and vanishing into the hole.

As for the boy, he also disappeared, reappearing out of sight, far up on the second level rainbow!

After the boy left, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked over at the huge city, which teemed with countless people, beyond which was the enormous waterfall and the rainbows.

This place was gigantic, and completely unfamiliar to Naruto , leaving him feeling more isolated than ever, a stranger in a strange land.

"These four huge cities have simple names," Chen Manyao said softly. "Starry City, Sky City, Dao City, and Polarity City. Once in the cities, don't make the mistake of underestimating anyone. There could be people with powerful cultivation bases who simply don't have enough merit points to rise beyond the level of being an orange-robed disciple.

"Remember, in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, everyone under the Nascent Soul stage is a disciple, and their ranking is based on the color of their robes, not their cultivation base. That is why Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect cultivators are often called seven-colored disciples!"

With Chen Manyao there to explain things, Naruto and the others weren't at such a loss even though they were newcomers to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Things were already starting to become clear.

"What are the requirements to reach the first and second level rainbows?" Gongsun Wan'er suddenly asked.

Chen Manyao had long since been very leery of Gongsun Wan'er, and thus, did absolutely nothing to conceal her knowledge.

"The first rainbow is also called the Heaven Rainbow, and is occupied by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's one and only demigod patriarch. Beneath it is the Earth Rainbow on the left and the Mortal Rainbow on the right. The Earth Rainbow is for the devas, and the Mortal Rainbow is for the sect leader. It is also the location of many trials by fire and special cultivation zones.

"Most terrifying of all is that ancient battleship at the very top of the waterfall, which actually rests on the Heavenspan Sea itself. All of the four riversource sects have a battleship like that, and they are boundlessly mysterious and infinitely powerful!" With that, she glanced over at Naruto , cleary done with her explanation, and also obviously not planning to divulge any information about the Wildlands.

Only she and Naruto were aware of her involvement with the Wildlands, and he didn't plan to say anything either. As for Gongsun Wan'er, she merely smiled, and didn't ask any further questions.

"Well, let's go," Naruto said with a sigh. "Now that we're here, we might as well find a place to settle down." With that, he headed toward the city, and everyone followed along.

As they neared the city itself, they sensed invisible fluctuations spreading over all of them. Naruto took out the jade slip he'd been given, which began to glow with a bright light that was none other than teleportation power. Before anyone in the group of seven could react, they had vanished.

When they reappeared, they were in a grand hall somewhere in the middle of the city. As soon as they appeared, and before they could even see their surroundings clearly, and icy voice spoke out.

"Hostage Naruto . Hostage Gongsun Wan'er. Within these bags of holding you will find identity medallions and red Daoist robes for both you and your Dao Protectors.

"From this day on, all of you are cultivators of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!" Two bags of holding appeared out of thin air and flew toward Naruto and Gongsun Wan'er.

Before they had a chance to even open them, streams of power wrapped them up and threw them out of the hall. Moments later, they were out on the street. No one even spared them a second glance; apparently, they were used to people appearing like this.

Naruto looked around blankly. Xu Baocai and Big Fatty Zhang were a bit pale-faced from the teleportation. Song Que and Master GodDiviner seemed to have handled it a bit better, and Chen Manyao didn't appear to be affected at all.

However, the cold reception from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was something none of them were used to.

Feeling less than pleased with the treatment, Naruto took a deep breath, looked back at the grand hall, and shouted, "Hey, I'm an important political hostage!"

Chapter 380

Chapter 380

Chapter 380: I'm Hungry

Naruto 's shout provoked no response from within the hall. Master

God-Diviner and the others exchanged awkward glances. As for Naruto , he was extremely displeased. After all, he was an important political hostage, a status that he felt should come with at least some level of respect.

"Right guys?!" he said, looking over angrily at Big Fatty Zhang and the others. "Come on, I'm an important political hostage!"

Big Fatty Zhang cleared his throat and looked left and right, but didn't say anything.

"Ah well, whatever. I guess this hostage will just have to rough it out. Alright guys, what should we do now?" Sighing, he looked over at Master God-Diviner.

"Um," Master God-Diviner began cautiously, "well… maybe we should check things out first before making any decisions." Xu Baocai and Big Fatty Zhang seemed to agree with him. Chen Manyao didn't say anything, and Gongsun Wan'er simply stood there with a slight smile on her face. As for Song Que, he looked just as grim as always, and didn't seem interested at all in even looking at Naruto .

Naruto looked around at everyone, and felt a headache coming on. He was already starting to regret bringing all these people with him. However, he couldn't change the situation now. Therefore, he decided to do just as Master God-Diviner had suggested, and began walking down the street in the city.

As he went along, he slowly forgot about his mistreatment from before. Soon, he began to gasp and let out exclamations of shock. He wasn't the only one to react in such a way; the others were similarly astonished by the things they saw.

After all, they were at the source of the entire eastern Heavenspan River, and this city had an enormous population. Most of the people in the city were disciples of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, but others were from various families and clans that had lived in the city for generations.

One of the strangest things that Naruto realized was that he hadn't seen a single overweight person in the city so far. Everyone was skinny to the point of being gaunt. Some of them even looked like little more than skin and bones. Furthermore, everyone always seemed to be rushing about, as if they didn't want to waste even a bit of time. Another strange thing was that none of them revealed even the tiniest sliver of their cultivation base. Naruto was a Gold Core cultivator, so he was able to pick up some clues here and there. However, most other cultivators would look around and see people who looked like nothing more than mortals.

Suppressing his curiosity about that, Naruto focused on all the things that were for sale in the city. Just about anything could be bought, from spirit treasures to magical items to ancient books. There were all sorts of medicinal pills as well.

There was spirit food available, some of which was made from precious materials of heaven and earth. Other spirit foods were the meats of different types of wild beasts. The prices for the spirit foods were astronomical, and yet to the surprise of Naruto and his companions, people still would buy them, although it always seemed to be with some level of reluctance.

Naruto had never seen such a bustling city before, nor had any of his companions. Thus, they took their time strolling through the city, slowly taking in all the sights and sounds.

As time passed, they were convinced of one thing… prices in the city were simply beyond belief. Thankfully, Naruto had been given a sizeable sum of spirit stones back in the River-Defying Sect, but even with what he had, it only took a quick calculation on his part to come to the conclusion that he didn't have enough to buy any of the t

hings he really wanted.

After a few hours of wandering the city, the entire group came to another shocking realization: for some reason, all of them were very hungry!

This development caused their eyes to grow wide. After all, once cultivators reached Foundation Establishment, they didn't need to consume physical food. Instead, they subsided on spiritual energy alone.

But as of this moment… a sensation of profound hunger had risen up within all of them.

"What's going on…? I'm… I'm hungry!" Naruto rubbed his belly and then looked over at Chen Manyao with a confused expression on his face.

Chen Manyao was also clearly taken aback. After a moment of thought, she pulled out a jade slip which she used to send a message to someone. After a moment, an odd expression appeared on her face. Looking around at her companions, she hesitated, then said, "Did any of you notice… that your cultivation bases have progressed already?"

Everyone quickly checked their cultivation bases, and sure enough, it was just as Chen Manyao had said. They hadn't experienced huge advancements, but the evidence was there; they had just been so entranced by the bustling city that they hadn't noticed.

Chen Manyao went on to explain, "Considering how close we are to the Heavenspan Sea, the spiritual energy is especially strong, and after entering our bodies, it throws our five yin organs into chaos. Although it causes our cultivation bases to advance more quickly, it's also very draining on us…. That's why we're feeling hungry. Essentially… the energy drain is so severe that we can't sustain our cultivation without eating normal food."

Even as Chen Manyao explained the situation, Naruto 's stomach began to grumble loudly.

When she finished speaking, his face fell. Other than death, the thing he feared most in life was hunger. Back on Fragrant Cloud Peak when he had begun to practice the Undying Live Forever Technique, he had almost starved to death. After reaching Foundation Establishment, he had never felt the pangs of hunger, but now, here they were rising up again.

Chen Manyao smiled bitterly and said, "Furthermore, I just asked… a friend of mine, and was told that everyone in the city has to eat a huge amount of food every day to replenish their energy. Also, it has to be spirit food."

Big Fatty Zhang was already starting to get very nervous. Just like Naruto , he feared hunger as if it were the shadow of death. "So… so does that mean we have to be eating constantly?"

"Once you become a yellow-robed disciple and get into the rainbow district, then the aura there will aid in your absorption of spiritual energy, and the problem will resolve itself naturally." Chen Manyao's brow was also furrowed because of the sensation of hunger she felt.

Gongsun Wan'er rubbed her belly, licked her lips, and then chuckled.

"Well then, I think I'll go get something to eat. See you all later."

With that, she waved at them and melted into the crowd.

"Junior Patriarch, what do we do…?" Master God-Diviner said, looking at Naruto . "I'm hungry too…."

Xu Baocai had the same reaction, and even grim-faced Song Que finally turned to look expectantly at Naruto .

Rubbing his bag of holding anxiously, Naruto gritted his teeth and said, "Let's just suck it up for now. We need to find a place to stay first, then we can worry about how to get something to eat."

The others agreed that it was a good idea. All of them produced some medicinal pills to temporarily relieve their hunger, and then began searching through the city for a place to stay.

Soon, they found the location where Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect disciples could get immortal's caves, which was when Naruto learned that all the immortal's caves were rented out, not sold. After looking over the rent prices, Naruto couldn't help but gasp.

"This… this is way too expensive!"

The cultivator in charge was an orange-robed disciple, and all he did was look at Naruto coldly, refusing to even say a word.

It was soon apparent from the incredible prices that only very wealthy people could afford immortal's caves here. Ordinary people had to settle for spirit abodes. Of course, the prices for spirit abodes were also very high.

Since they had few options available, Naruto and his companions agreed to rent the cheapest spirit abode they could find. By the time they acquired the jade slip key and found the spirit abode in the city, it was starting to get dark outside.

It was located in the city's east district, and was very simple and crude. It actually reminded Naruto of his residence back in the village when he was young. Furthermore, to his agony, renting it for half a year cost him half of the spirit stones he'd been given by the sect.

A whole day had been wasted already, and all of them were getting increasingly hungry. By this point, all of their stomachs were grumbling loudly. Sighing, Naruto tossed the bag of spirit stones over to Master God-Diviner and told him to go find some food.

Master God-Diviner excitedly caught the bag of holding and then rushed out, to return shortly with a large collection of spirit food which he divided out equally. Now that they had food, everyone sat around silently eating, wrapped up in their own thoughts.

As for Naruto , he couldn't stop thinking about how much he missed the River-Defying Sect.

The night passed silently. The next day at dawn… Naruto was awoken by the sound of his own grumbling stomach. Looking around at everyone else, he could tell that they already looked a bit skinnier than they had the day before.

"Dammit! What wickedness is this? How are we supposed to deal with this?!" It was a terrifying situation; he was so hungry he could hardly see straight. Producing more spirit stones, he asked Master God-Diviner to go out again to buy spirit food.

And that was how the first day passed. Then a second day went by, and a third, and a fourth….

During that time, everyone from the group went out to explore the city at some point, but would return frowning and the settle down crosslegged and unmoving, not willing to waste any energy.

Despite trying to save energy, all of them, Naruto included, were started to get much thinner. That was especially true of Xu Baocai, who was already at the point of looking like skin and bones.

However, none of that was truly frightening. What scared them the most was that the bag of holding was on the verge of running out of spirit stones, most likely within two days…. Even Naruto 's personal bag of holding was almost ninety percent devoid of spirit stones.

"We have to think of a plan!" he said passionately, looking around at everyone with a serious look on his face. "Going on like this won't work. You guys are my Dao protectors! Go out and make some money!"

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Song Que rose to his feet, a look of determination flickering in his eyes, as well as a bit of madness. Naruto looked at him curiously, and was just about to ask what he was going to do when Song Que blurted, "I've had enough of this!

"Enough, do you hear me Naruto ? Dao protector? Forget it, I quit! Song Que can solve his own problems for himself. From now on, you're on your own! It all comes down to the merit points, right? Maybe I wasn't a match for you in the Blood Stream Sect, or in the River-Defying Sect, but here in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, I'm going to become a yellow-robed disciple on my own merit, and get promoted to the rainbow district!"

Naruto 's eyes widened angrily, and he was just about to offer a retort, when suddenly Master God-Diviner rose to his feet….

—

Chapter 381

Chapter 381

Chapter 381: Out Of Options

Master God-Diviner gritted his teeth in hesitation for a moment before continuing, "Junior Patriarch…. Junior Patriarch, I'm leaving too. If we all stick around here, we'll never solve the problem of being hungry. Look, why don't you–"

At the sudden realization that everyone was apparently planning to go their own way, Naruto shot to his feet.

"Don't go, guys! You're my Dao protectors! I brought you here with me! What am I supposed to do if you all leave…?" What was especially terrifying was the realization that the spirit stones the sect had given him were almost all gone. The fact that everyone was leaving at that point was what hurt the most.

"I brought you here with me! You're supposed to take care of me…." Despite his protestations, Song Que simply snorted coldly, then turned and left. His plan was to go on some missions to earn the resources he needed to take care of himself.

"Que'er…." Naruto called after him. However, Song Que didn't even look over his shoulder. As for Master God-Diviner, he was getting ready to leave too, but Naruto reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Master God-Diviner," he said piteously, "I won't call you Master

Snortsnort anymore, okay? Don't go…."

"Junior Patriarch, I don't have any other choice. Before coming here, none of us had any idea that merely staying alive in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would be so difficult. I think I'll go start performing some divinations to get some food to eat…." Although his words were chosen well, inside, he was furious, and at the same time, couldn't stop thinking about how much he missed the River-Defying Sect. Shaking himself out of Naruto 's grip, he left the spirit abode and was gone in a flash.

"I can't believe you people!" Naruto said angrily. As far as he was concerned, Song Que and Master God-Diviner were being completely unreasonable. If they had gone out on their own earlier, it might have been tolerable, but instead, they waited until he ran out of spirit stones to abandon him.

Even as Naruto stood there fuming, Chen Manyao sighed and stood up. Looking over at Naruto , she said, "This is my fault for not getting complete information. Junior Patriarch, I'm going to go look for some friends of mine. If destiny will have it, we'll meet again in the rainbow district."

Without giving Naruto a chance to respond, she flew out of the spirit abode.

Chen Manyao's sudden departure pushed Naruto toward the brink of madness. After all, she had come to him to ask to join the party, and now here she was just throwing him to the wayside. Thankfully, he could console himself with the fact that Xu Baocai and Big Fatty Zhang were staying behind.

"Hmph! Fine, if they want to go, let them go. At least Eldest Brother and Little Treasure have some loyalty!" Looking over at them, he slapped his chest and said, "Look you two, don't worry, I'll–"

However, that was when Xu Baocai rose awkwardly to his feet. "Junior Patriarch, I–"

"Hey what are you doing? Sit back down!" Heart pounding, Naruto was just getting ready to physically block Xu Baocai's path, when he noticed the look of determination in his eyes, as well as the tears.

"Junior Patriarch," he pled, "let me go, please. I… I don't want to die of starvation! Look at me! I'm the weakest of all of us, and I'm already skin and bones! If things keep going like this, I'm going to be the first one to die!

"Show

me mercy, I beg of you! Let me go!

"Please, Junior Patriarch…." He even started tugging at Naruto 's sleeve.

The anger faded from Naruto 's face, and he sighed. "Alright, everyone has the right to pick their own path. Leave if you want!"

"Many thanks, Junior Patriarch!" Eyes filled with gratitude, Xu Baocai fled the spirit abode.

As soon as he was outside, he caught sight of Master God-Diviner off in the distance. The two of them exchanged a glance, then joined together and headed off into the city, chuckling.

Looking quite proud of himself, Master God-Diviner produced a chunk of spirit meat from his bag of holding and started munching on it as he said, "Song Que has pretty high ambitions and isn't very flexible. I bet he really did think that he was in a bad position. We're different though. Finally, we're free from the clutches of evil!"

Xu Baocai hesitated for a moment, then produced a similar chunk of spirit meat. After taking a bite, he said, "Are you sure this is a good idea though? After all, we're still technically Dao protectors."

Clearly, the two of them had quite a collection of resources built up. After all, for the past several days, all of the food they'd been eating had been provided by Naruto .

Master God-Diviner hesitated for a moment. After a bit of thought, he said, "There's nothing we can do about that. If we had stayed back there, we would still have gone hungry eventually anyway, what with the junior patriarch's way of handling things. Don't worry, let's take care of ourselves first, and then we can meet back up with him when we get to the rainbow district."

After a bit more chatting regarding their plans, the two of them headed off into the city to find their own place to stay.

As of this point, the only people left in the spirit abode were Naruto and Big Fatty Zhang. Big Fatty Zhang looked at Naruto standing there in anger, then sighed and closed his eyes to meditate.

Despite Naruto 's rage, there was nothing he could do about the situation. At least he had Big Fatty Zhang there to accompany him. However, the next day, not even Big Fatty Zhang could take it any longer. When evening fell, he walked over to Naruto and said, "Ninth Fatty…."

Naruto instantly started to get nervous. "Eldest Brother, are you–"

"Ninth Fatty, it's not that your Eldest Brother doesn't care about you. If things keep going like this, I'm gonna die. I'll go out to perform some spirit enhancements. Don't worry, Ninth Fatty, after I get some money built up, I'll come back and take care of you!" Big Fatty Zhang had clearly made his mind up, and Naruto didn't say anything to try to change his mind.

Big Fatty Zhang clapped Naruto on the shoulder, then took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming as if he had accepted a holy mission. With that, he walked out of the spirit abode….

Naruto was the only person left. As the sun slowly sank down over the horizon, he stood outside the door looking more lonesome than ever. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"Gone. They've all gone…." Crestfallen, he walked back into the spirit abode and sat down, his hunger growing.

"What am I supposed to do? I'm so hungry!" Considering that night was falling, he finally went out and used some of his dwindling spirit stone savings to buy some more spirit food. Then he looked around at all the red-robed disciples hurrying here and there on various missions.

Although some of the missions were dangerous, considering that Naruto 's cultivation base was in the Gold Core level, they wouldn't pose any threat to him. However, the rewards for accomplishing such missions were small.

Based on his calculations, doing missions to survive would require him to do them almost all day every day. That was mostly because the high level of his cultivation base meant that the drain on his body was even more noticeable.

And of course, the missions with bigger rewards were the ones that were more dangerous.

Despite putting some thought to it, he couldn't come up with any good ideas. Sighing, he went back to his spirit abode. Back inside, the little turtle finally woke up and stuck his head out of Naruto 's bag of holding. He looked at Naruto suspiciously, clearly wondering why he had been asleep so long. However, Naruto wasn't in any mood to pay attention to him. Seeing how he was being ignored, the turtle's suspicions faded, and he disappeared back into the bag of holding.

A few more days passed. Naruto went out into the city a few times to try to get inspiration for what to do. He completely suppressed his cultivation base, ensuring that no fluctuations whatsoever emerged from him, which also reduced the drain on his body.

However, no matter how many ideas he came up with, he found that there were already people in the city using those methods to earn merit points. Trying to compete with them would be pointless. He even tried to find some unique missions at the Missions Office suited to his style, but there were simply too many disciples there looking for missions.

By this point, he knew exactly why all of the people he had seen in the city were always thin and in a hurry, and also had such strange cultivation bases. The pressure weighing down on them on a daily basis created something like an instinct. Because of the interference of the spiritual power, it was impossible to see who was powerful and who was weak.

"Don't tell me that a majestic Gold Core cultivator like me is actually going to starve to death!" he lamented. He was getting to the point that he was so hungry he couldn't take it. His bag of holding was now completely devoid of spirit stones, and he was almost out of food. Soon, he would have nothing left to eat other than spirit plants.

Of course, he had plenty of those, because he was always equipped with numerous ingredients with which to concoct medicine. However, even if he sold them all, the merit points they would earn would vanish just as quickly as his spirit stones.

"I can't keep going on like this, or I'm going to die! This Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is just too wicked! I can't believe they treat their disciples so harshly! I'm a Gold Core expert! I'm an important political hostage! Don't they even care that I'm starving to death!?" Depressed, he even considered resorting to theft. However, the punishment for theft in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was so severe that he quickly abandoned such thoughts.

"Alright, I'm out of options. I guess I'm going to have to use my best skill to solve this problem. I'm… I'm going to concoct medicine!"

—

Chapter 382

Chapter 382

Chapter 382: Ultra Fasting Aid Pill!

"Even if some disastrous things happen as a result, I don't care. Things are already bad enough as it is. What do I have to be scared of? I'm gonna concoct some sort of medicine that prevents hunger long-term! In fact, I already came up with a name for it! Ultra Fasting Aid Pill!" Eyes bloodshot, he slapped his bag of holding, producing a pill furnace, as well as some flamestones. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he devoted all of his thoughts to the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill he wanted to concoct.

Some people in the world perform better under more pressure, and Naruto was just that type of person. In fact, he was extraordinary even among people like that.

The truth was that surviving in this city wasn't as hard as Naruto imagined it to be, especially for Gold Core cultivators. In fact, it was relatively simple. All he had to do was take on a few relatively dangerous missions every once in a while, or do smaller, easier missions on a daily basis. Using either of those methods, it would only take a year or two to save up enough merit points to become a yellow-robed disciple and be promoted to the rainbow district. Of course, it would require a bit of frugality, but it was nothing undoable.

But Naruto didn't like danger, and didn't want to do any missions.

Only when he was so hungry that he could hardly see straight did the pressure build to the point where he finally exploded with creativity and innovation.

For the following four days, he didn't rest or sleep. He ate what little food he had left, and even nibbled on some spirit plants, until finally, the pill formula for his Ultra Fasting Aid Pill came to be complete in his mind.

"My Ultra Fasting Aid Pill will be a concentration of the quintessence of heaven and earth! Upon consuming it, one will receive temporary replenishment, will be relieved from the pressure caused by the draining of ordinary energy, and will even find that the spiritual power inside of their body has become gentler and easier to work with!" Naruto was trembling with excitement, and although he was now quite gaunt, his eyes were shining brightly. Having completed the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill formula, he immediately began to concoct.

Six hours later, his first batch appeared, and although it only contained three pills, the mere odor emanating from them caused Naruto 's hunger to lessen!

"Hahaha! I really am a genius. It worked! My Ultra Fasting Aid Pill worked!" Surging with excitement, he took the three pills out of the furnace, and was just about to consume them when he hesitated, and thought back to all the bizarre and strange things which had happened in the past when he had concocted medicine.

"Maybe it would be better to do some tests." Gritting his teeth, he left his spirit abode, sold a few medicinal plants to get some merit points, and then went and bought a spirit chicken.

Back in his spirit abode, he gave one of the Ultra Fasting Aid Pills to the spirit chicken, then carefully watched to see what happened. After a full day passed, he was convinced that nothing had gone wrong, and that the spirit chicken was fine. At that point, his eyes blazed with excitement.

"Looks like I really did succeed!" He threw his head back and laughed uproariously, then went to work on the next batch. Before long, he had several dozen Ultra Fasting Aid Pills.

"Now that I think about it, it would be a waste for me to consume these pills myself. I actually like spirit food a lot better than medicinal pills." After some thought, he decided to try to sell some of the pills. Filled with anticipation, he left the spirit abode yet again.

Instead of trying to sell the pills to one particular shop or another, he went to one of t

he busiest public squares in the east district of the city, and after spending a bit of time, found a suitable location to set up a vendor's stand. After placing three pill bottles onto the stand, each of which containing a single pill, he sent some power from his cultivation base into a jade slip, causing it to send bright, multicolored light shining up into the air above him. Immediately, four brightly-glowing characters could be seen….

Ultra Fasting Aid Pill!

With that, he settled down to wait for customers.

It didn't take long. After all, the term 'Ultra Fasting Aid Pill' was quite eye-catching. Before long, people began to gather around him.

"Ultra Fasting Aid Pill? I've never heard of that medicinal pill before."

"Considering how things work in Sky City, I almost can't believe this guy dares to sell a fasting aid pill. He's either a con artist or a psycho."

"Hmph. Fasting aid pills don't do any good here!"

More and more people gathered and began to discuss the matter, but no one was willing to buy a pill. That was even more so considering that Naruto 's quoted price was 100 merit points.

Naruto soon got nervous, and was even starting to consider dropping the price. However, that was when a certain cultivator appeared in the crowd. He was currently gaunt, but considering his height, he had obviously once been very muscular. Furthermore, he had a cold gleam in his eyes, and a murderous aura that anyone could detect.

He wasn't alone, either. Walking along next to him was a young boy with a waxen face and listless eyes.

As soon as the big man appeared, the gathered crowd went silent, and many of them even backed up a bit. Apparently, they recognized him, and didn't dare to do anything to offend him.

"Ultra Fasting Aid Pill? 100 merit points, huh…?" The big man's eyes narrowed as he looked at one of the pill bottles, then back at Naruto . Because of the way that everyone in the city suppressed their cultivation bases, it was impossible for the man to determine Naruto 's cultivation level. However, based on his judgement, he placed him at Foundation Establishment or higher. Eyes glittering coldly, he said, "If this thing really works, then it would definitely be worth 100 merit points. But… if it doesn't, then you'll either pay me back tenfold, or I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget for a long time!" Before Naruto could even react, he reached out, grabbed one of the pill bottles and crushed it, then tossed the medicinal pill to his child.

The boy morosely opened his mouth and swallowed the pill.

Of course, everyone was watching closely to see what would happen. As for Naruto , his expression was the same as ever, but inside, his nervousness was mounting, although it wasn't because of the big man. From what he could tell, the man was only in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, and Naruto knew that he could stomp the man in a fight even if he were hungrier than he already was.

What had him nervous was his uncertainty about how effective the pill would be….

As everyone looked on, the boy's expression suddenly flickered. His eyes opened, and he began to shake visibly, causing the audience to crane their necks to see what would happen next.

Gradually, the onlookers' eyes began to widen, and then cries of disbelief and shock began to ring out.

"W-what's… what's going on!?"

"Heavens! I can't believe this Ultra Fasting Aid Pill actually works!"

"How is this possible?!"

As such exclamations continued to fill the air, the young boy's gaunt frame suddenly began to fill in with flesh. Within only a few breaths of time, he was the picture of a healthy boy. He was even a bit chubby!

Gasps and cries of astonishment could be heard in all directions. As for the big man who had bought the pill, he was shaking, and his eyes began to shine with shock.

"Immortal medicine! That's immortal medicine!" The man quickly reached out to grab the remaining two bottles, but before he could, Naruto leveled a cold gaze at him.

The man's mind filled with rumbling sounds, and his hand lurched to a halt. As of this moment, a sensation of deadly crisis had filled him, and something inside of him was telling him that if he dared to try to steal the pill bottles, he would be struck dead instantly!

"I painstakingly concocted these pills with undying wheatgrass," Naruto said coolly. "It's very expensive. I only offered it up for 100 merit points because I knew that nobody would be interested or even trust that they were real. As of this moment, these pills cost 300 merit points each!"

The big man took a deep breath and said, "Fine, 900 merit points for the first pill plus these two!"

Without any hesitation, he pulled out a jade slip and transferred 900 merit points to Naruto . Then he grabbed the pills and hurried off.

Although everyone else in the crowd wished they could have bought the pills, nobody was able to do anything. That was when Naruto cleared his throat and produced three more bottles from his bag of holding….

In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he sold thirty Ultra Fasting Aid Pills. Only after all of the pills had been snatched up did he put away his vendor's stand, and then stroll off proudly, hands clasped behind his back.

"Hmmmmmph. Master God-Diviner schemed his way out of the group, but little did he know that Naruto could casually come up with 9,000 merit points with almost no effort!" The sight of so many merit points in his identity medallion filled his heart with complete satisfaction.

"Right now, I'm a red-robed disciple, which means I have to spend 100,000 merit points to become an orange-robed disciple. However, to leave Sky City and fly up to the rainbow district, I need to become a yellow-robed disciple, which costs 1,000,000 merit points.

"That's not very much…." Feeling very proud of himself, he rubbed his belly and then hurried to a nearby spirit food restaurant. After buying enough food for five people, he began to stuff himself, simultaneously contemplating how wonderful life was. Filled to bursting, he returned to his spirit abode and began to concoct more medicine.

Chapter 383

Chapter 383

Chapter 383: Attracting Attention

As the night wore on, Naruto became obsessed with pill concocting in a way that was completely different from before. By the time the sun rose, he had concocted 50 Ultra Fasting Aid Pills, whereupon he hurried out of his spirit abode toward the public square.

This time, he had barely set up his vendor stall and put the medicinal pill bottles out before a whole crowd of cultivators had gathered, pushing and shoving in their madness to buy some of the pills.

It didn't take long before all 50 of the Ultra Fasting Aid Pills were gone. Naruto was completely taken aback. However, after a bit of thought, he realized why the pills sold so quickly.

Compared to the outrageously expensive spirit food in the city, the pills were very cheap. Furthermore, they were so effective that no one could possibly be unmoved by them. After some consideration, though, Naruto decided not to raise his prices. As far as he was concerned, the inhabitants of the city had things rough as it was, and besides, he was already making a great profit.

However, the next day as he was passing by a random shop, he noticed to his astonishment that they had an Ultra Fasting Aid Pill for sale for 3,000 merit points!

Upon arriving at the public square, he couldn't even sit down before eight cultivators rushed over and began fighting over the chance to be first in line. And furthermore, all of them wanted to buy his entire supply of pills.

By now, Naruto was on guard, and after a bit of observation, came to the realization that these cultivators were all employees of various shops in the east district. Obviously, they wanted to purchase the pills at a low price and then resell them for a profit.

Naruto was not very pleased at all, and immediately established a new rule governing sales. Each customer could only purchase one pill at the normal price. The second pill would be twice as expensive. The same went for the third pill. However, this new rule wasn't very effective. After all, the cultivators in Sky City were most unscrupulous….

Naruto simply ignored that, though, and continued selling pills for seven days. By that point, he had accumulated close to 100,000 merit points.

Meanwhile, the matter of the Ultra Fasting Aid Pills in the east district had caused quite a commotion. Many people had heard of them, including certain powerful organizations in the city.

There were countless such organizations in Sky City, which were essentially gangs of cultivators. The largest and most powerful of them was the Celestial Sky Society, which controlled nearly eighty percent of the shops. With that monopoly, and the fact that they were backed by a deva clan, no one ever dared to provoke them.

When it came to the east district, there was no single person from the Celestial Sky Society who ran it, but rather, there were three of them, all of them famous orange-robed disciples. Currently, they were meeting in a secret location, serious expressions on their faces as they studied… an Ultra Fasting Aid Pill!

They took turns holding it in their hands and looking at it from all angles. None of them spoke, and a bit of time passed before someone called out greetings from outside of the secret chamber.

Standing outside was an old man with a full head of white hair. He was surrounded by a strong medicinal aroma, and as soon as he entered, the three orange-robed cultivators rose to their feet and greeting him respectfully.

The old man didn't waste any words. Pointing at the Ultra Fasting Aid

Pill, he said, "This pill contains 123 different types of medicinal effects. The combination of so many types of effects can lead to infinite variations…. I've never seen anything like it in my life.

"In terms of ingredients, it co

ntains nineteen different varieties of medicinal plant, which, when merged together, give rise to those 123 different medicinal effects. If my speculations are correct, a unique concoction method was used to produce the pill!

"Whoever concocted it might not have overall skill in the Dao of medicine to rival my own, but when it comes to the techniques of mutual augmentation and suppression, he definitely is my superior!" This old man had spent several days researching the pill, and had been left completely shaken by what he saw.

One of the three orange-robed disciples couldn't help but ask, "Is there any way you can reproduce the formula and technique so that we can concoct it ourselves?"

"Apparently you didn't understand what I just said. Let me put it this way: not only have I never heard of an Ultra Fasting Aid Pill before, even after researching it, I can assure you that the formula is not like anything I've ever seen before. There are some flaws to it, but consuming it won't cause any significant harm. At worst, it might cause some temporary damage to one's vital energy. However, any such damage will quickly be repaired. Furthermore, after consuming the pill, a cultivator will be able to stave off the draining of their energy for about half a month. In the final analysis, I'm convinced… that someone

recently invented this pill formula!

"Do you really think that I can simply analyze and reproduce such a powerful, recently invented pill formula? I don't have that level of skill!"

Eyes shining brightly, the old man continued, "However, what I can do is take an existing pill and possibly split it up into more than one pill. Unfortunately… that would reduce the quality and make the side-effects worse."

The three orange-robed disciples didn't respond. All of them knew that if these pills continued to be concocted and sold to the inhabitants of Sky City, it would have a seriously detrimental effect on the sale of spirit food. In fact, it could even end the industry altogether.

Obviously, the Celestial Sky Society had no desire for the status quo to change.

If only they could acquire the pill formula, then they would be able to get a handle on the situation, and perhaps even prevent the pill from being concocted!

The three orange-robed disciples exchanged glances, and then two of them turned to the third.

"Killing people violates the rules set forth by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect," said one of the two, "so we should avoid that if possible. Even the main headquarters agrees with that." Both of the men clasped hands respectfully. "Therefore, Fellow Daoist Zhou, would it be possible for you to get in contact with the cultivator selling this pill, and somehow acquire the pill formula? If not, well… hmph, I guess we could use the cooperation method!"

Meanwhile, Naruto had been enjoying life for the past seven days. He was both pleased and shocked at his rapidly growing accumulation of merit points, and had been constantly splurging on the most expensive spirit foods. He had even gone to the Magic Pavilion to buy a large collection of magical items and defensive treasures.

What excited him most was that in Sky City, there were certain shops that sold beast mounts. The most expensive could cost millions of merit points, and even the cheapest went for more than 100,000.

Naruto immediately fell in love with the idea of having a beast mount. After all, the cultivators he had seen in the city who went around on such mounts were all extraordinary figures. His desire itched in his heart, but unfortunately, he was worried that he couldn't actually afford one. Therefore, he waited a few days until he couldn't hold back anymore, and then spent over 100,000 merit points on a battle mount.

To most cultivators in the city, a mount like this would be considered a luxury. It was fully 90 meters long, and looked like a fearsome crocodile. It had three eyes, was covered with armor-like scales, and had a cultivation base comparable to the early Foundation Establishment stage.

When Naruto sat on the back of the crocodile, he felt extremely grand and imposing. Its growling cry echoed like thunder, and ensured that he was the subject of much envy as he rode it back to his spirit abode.

"In a few days, I'll pick a new place to stay," he thought. "This spirit abode doesn't fit me anymore. I need an immortal's cave! And the best one at that!" Even as his eyes sparkled with pride, he realized that there was an orange-robed cultivator waiting for him outside of his spirit abode, hands clasped behind his back.

He was flanked by seven or eight red-robed disciples, all of whom seemed energetic and ready to fight. In fact, they weren't suppressing their cultivation bases, which ensured that a weighty pressure filled the entire area surrounding the spirit abode.

However, even the orange-robed disciple was only in the great circle of Foundation Establishment. As for the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, Naruto could tell that they wouldn't pose a threat to him at all, so he ignored them.

They looked at him, and he looked back at them. As for the orangerobed disciple, as soon as he got a look at Naruto 's face, his expression turned very serious.

Everyone in the city usually suppressed their cultivation bases to the limit. However, as for this orange-robed disciple, with careful scrutiny, he could determine if a person was weaker than him or not. The only people he would be unable to assess would be people who were already in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, or higher.

Currently, he couldn't assess Naruto at all….

However, it didn't occur to him that Naruto might be in Core Formation…. That was because, despite how packed Sky City was, there were actually very few Core Formation cultivators there.

After all… with a Gold Core cultivation base, it would be a relatively simple thing to go on missions and earn the merit points necessary to be promoted to the rainbow district.

"Well this might be a problem…." the orange-robed cultivator thought, frowning. Despite having run a background check on Naruto , he hadn't found any information about him other than his surname. After a moment, he decided that, considering the level of cultivation base he was dealing with, he shouldn't beat around the bush. The Ultra Fasting Aid Pill was too important, and therefore, the best choice in the situation was to start out by trying to cooperate with its maker. His frown turned into a smile.

As Naruto neared, the orange-robed disciple clasped hands and bowed.

"Brother Uzumaki, I presume? I am your humble servant Zhou Tao, a leader of sorts within the Celestial Sky Society. I was hoping to discuss the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill with you. If we cooperate, I think we can make a handsome profit!"

Chapter 384

Chapter 384

Chapter 384: Schemes and Tricks

"What do you mean work together?" Naruto said, looking down at Zhou Tao from his position atop the crocodile.

Zhou Tao was not very pleased that Naruto hadn't dismounted from the crocodile, but his tone of voice didn't reveal that as he said, "Your humble servant wishes to purchase the precious pill formula for the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill. Would you be willing to part with it for 100,000 merit points, Brother Uzumaki?"

"It's not for sale," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. With that, he flew off of the crocodile, then swished his sleeve, causing it to fly into his spirit beast bag. Just as he was about to step into his spirit abode, Zhou Tao moved to block his way.

"Brother Uzumaki, if you don't want to sell the formula, that's fine. But would you be willing to let the Celestial Sky Society be the exclusive dealer for your pill?"

"Exclusive dealer?" Naruto looked at Zhou Tao for a moment. The truth was that going out to sell the pills on his own over the past few days had been a bit troublesome. If this Zhou Tao could do that for him, it would definitely save some effort.

"The Celestial Sky Society virtually runs Sky City," Zhou Tao said with a smile. "Therefore, I am very confident that within a few short months, we could get your Ultra Fasting Aid Pill to every corner of the city. By that point, you would be able to make a huge profit without having to do any of the grunt work yourself."

Naruto thought about it for a moment, and then began to discuss the particulars with Zhou Tao. Two hours passed, and they finally agreed that the Celestial Sky Society would buy the pills for 300 merit points, resell them at a higher price, and then split any subsequent profits 50/50. Naruto almost felt like he was taking advantage of them, but Zhou Tao seemed quite pleased. Smiling, they swore a Dao oath and recorded it on a jade slip, which they then sent to the Justice Bureau of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to make the deal official.

Before leaving, Zhou Tao smiled and asked, "Brother Uzumaki, might I know your illustrious given name? Since we're partners now, I'd like to know a bit more about you."

Naruto stuck his chin up, waved his sleeve and loftily said, "You can just call me Apothecary Uzumaki."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Zhou Tao smiled again and then took his leave.

In the following days, Naruto went crazy concocting medicine. Furthermore, he increased his daily quota from 50 pills to 100.

That was his limit. Every time Zhou Tao came to collect the pills, he would simply hand over 30,000 merit points. As for the extra money from the profits, that would come later, after all sales were finalized.

Another seven days went by in a flash. During that time, the Celestial Sky Society's hard work ensured that the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill created a huge stir in the east district. The entire place was thrown into an uproar, and the cultivators there were going crazy. Although the prices were quite high, many cultivators bought them, and soon, the spirit food market began to drop.

Before long, virtually all of the cultivators in the east district were talking about Ultra Fasting Aid Pills. Furthermore, the Celestial Sky Society made a point of crediting Apothecary Uzumaki. As a result, virtually everyone in east district knew that the Ultra Fasting Aid Pills were concocted by Apothecary Uzumaki, with the Celestial Sky Society cultivators being nothing more than dealers representing him.

Naruto found something odd about that, but didn't do anything to stop them from spreading his name. Eventually, Zhou Tao came to share the merit point profits, which was a sum of tens of thousan

ds. When he said that such profits would only continue to increase, Naruto got more excited than ever.

Of course, what Naruto didn't know was that after the Celestial Sky Society got the Ultra Fasting Aid Pills, their apothecary spared absolutely no cost or effort to turn the 100 pills into 3,000. Because of that, the negative side effects grew even more extreme!

Over the course of the past week, Naruto had given them 700 pills, but they had turned that into over 20,000 pills to sell. Furthermore, they didn't just sell them in the east district, they also sent them to the west, south, and north districts. As for Naruto , there was no way for him to catch wind of that in the short time which had passed.

For the first time, Naruto had more than 200,000 merit points saved up. Excited, he finally decided to spend 100,000 of them to become an orange-robed disciple.

The new clothing was very comfortable, and as he went around on his battle beast, he felt extremely grand. With his Ultra Fasting Aid Pill, he could easily dominate everything under heaven. However, even as he proceeded along down the street looking down upon all creation with haughtiness, he suddenly heard someone scream. Shocked, he stood up on his battle beast and craned his neck to see a cultivator off in the distance, writhing on the ground as his flesh rapidly withered up.

Before he could even react, more people in the crowd suddenly fell to the ground, screaming as their bodies began to wither. Naruto instantly started to get nervous.

"What's going on? Is the city under attack!?" He immediately sent his battle beast rushing back toward his spirit abode. Along the way, he was astonished to discover that dozens of people were falling to the ground and withering up. In fact, he even noticed that one of them was a cultivator who had bought his pill in the past. More than ever, he now felt that something strange was going on.

Unfortunately, things were only getting started. The next day, even more people in the east district were suddenly struck with incredible, explosive levels of hunger. More than a hundred people were affected, and already, the news was spreading like wildfire.

Although no one had died yet, all of them ended up with damaged vital energy. Some could recover after a bit of rest, but for others, the injuries were more serious.

Of course, the wrath of the cultivators was aroused, and as people began to look into the situation, it quickly became apparent that everyone who had been struck with sudden hunger and gauntness, without a single exception, had consumed an Ultra Fasting Aid Pill.

In terms of how serious the injuries to vital energy were, nobody paid much attention. As far as everyone was concerned, that didn't matter. Furthermore, thanks to the whisperings of certain individuals, people quickly began to lay the blame on Naruto .

"These Ultra Fasting Aid Pills are fake!"

"Apothecary Uzumaki is a swindler!"

"Dammit! Things are already bad enough here, I can't believe someone would stoop to conning us! If there weren't strict rules here, I'd personally go and kill Apothecary Uzumaki!"

More and more people began to fall to the symptoms. As for the friends and family of the victims, as well as they other cultivators who weren't affected, they all began to simmer with rage. Of course, there were people egging them on secretly, attempting to sway public opinion and stoke the fury which was building in the east district.

The anger quickly began to transform into killing intent, and despite Uzumaki

Naruto being a Gold Core cultivator, this wasn't the River-Defying Sect. This was the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, a place where he was a stranger. Furthermore, he had nobody to protect him, and as such, the rising anger being directed toward him filled him with a sensation of deadly crisis!

It soon reached the point where he was nearly scared out of his mind.

Thankfully, he had experienced similar situations in the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, so before anything could actually happen, he packed his bags and fled into the night.

Now that he was descending from the high of suddenly having so many merit points, it occurred to him that he had been well played by the Celestial Sky Society.

"Damn you, Celestial Sky Society! I didn't do anything to offend you people!" Gritting his teeth, he sped along under the cover of darkness, feeling very sorry for himself, and at the same time, extremely irritated.

To have been schemed against and then toyed with in such a matter was a huge loss of face, and the anger in his eyes soon began to burn brightly. Of course, he couldn't bring himself to just flee without getting to the bottom of the situation. Not daring to go confront anyone from the Celestial Sky Society, he found some of the people who had been struck by side effects, and did a bit of research of his own. Soon, he understood the truth.

"The Ultra Fasting Aid Pills these people consumed were altered. They weren't the pills I gave to the Celestial Sky Society! My pills might have some impurities, but the side effects should have been limited to minor damage to vital energy. Nothing that a bit of rest couldn't fix! Something that minor would be worth it in exchange for half a month without being hungry and having your energy drained!

"But the Celestial Sky Society changed my spirit medicine and made it far more harmful. They even reduced the effectiveness!

"Why would they do something like that!?" Gritting his teeth, he drew upon the power of his cultivation base to flee the east district and go to the north district. However, after arriving, it was to his shock that he found that there were also people there who had been harmed by consuming Ultra Fasting Aid Pills. By this point, a thought struck him like lightning.

"I get it. The Celestial Sky Society is the most powerful organization in Sky City, and they control most of the shops and stores. The biggest profits in the city come from spirit food, and the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill struck a huge blow to the spirit food industry!

"They came to me, not to work together to sell pills, but to completely destroy the reputation of my Ultra Fasting Aid Pill!" The more he came to understand what had occurred, the angrier he got.

"Well isn't this interesting. They didn't use magic or try to assassinate me, they schemed their way to victory! Well, Naruto can play that game too! You just wait, Celestial Sky Society. You just wait!" Gritting his teeth, he settled down in the north district.

—

Chapter 385

Chapter 385

Chapter 385: Running Into Master God-Diviner

After arriving in the north district, Naruto rented another spirit abode. He also spent some merit points to get some food, and then sat down and focused on cultivation for a few days until the commotion in the city died down.

Now that he was at the very source of the Heavenspan River, he could continuously work on his Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation, as long as he had enough food to make up for the energy drainage.

The energy of heaven and earth in the area was majestic beyond description, and ensured that his cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds. Although he hadn't quite broken past the Frigid Acolyte level, he was definitely far beyond his previous point.

By now, he could emit shocking pulses of frigid Chakra out of his palm to form something like a projection of a person. That projection was one of the key signs of the Frigid Acolyte level, a frigid shadow.

He also persisted in the cultivation of his Undying Muscles, making sure to spend time working on it every day. By now, he had completely finished his work on his second toe, and had moved on to his third toe.

"The patriarchs were right," he thought with a sigh. "My cultivation is moving a lot faster here in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect."

Time marched on.

Three months later, the waves caused by the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill incident had mostly died down. Virtually everyone in Sky City had heard that the whole thing was a scam, and as such, were very leery of any type of fasting aids.

Because of that, it was impossible to sell Ultra Fasting Aid Pills, and even if someone created a new type, no one would trust that it was real, and even fewer people would dare to consume one.

The Celestial Sky Society had achieved their goal with minimal effort. In fact, they had even made a bit of profit in the process. Not only had the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill been done away with once and for all, all of the blame had been placed onto the head of the now-missing Apothecary Uzumaki.

Of course, the Celestial Sky Society also apologized to everyone who had been injured because of the pills, and used various means to provide compensation. In the end, there were almost no negative ramifications for them.

The only thing they regretted was that they hadn't managed to incite the populace to rise up and put Naruto to death. However, as far as they were concerned, he was nothing more than a talented apothecary, not someone worth worrying about.

It was a war that had been fought without unleashing a single magical technique, and Naruto … had been thoroughly defeated!

That fact left Naruto profoundly irritated. Had he lost in magical combat, he wouldn't have cared. But to have been defeated this way left him filled with fury, almost to the point of madness. Never before had he been humiliated in such a fashion, and he had even considering relying on the power of his cultivation base to go stomp the Celestial Sky Society. But then he realized that considering how large of an organization they were, even with his Gold Core cultivation base… they probably wouldn't be that easy to deal with.

"Relying on one's cultivation base isn't a true display of skill," he said to himself through gritted teeth. "Wherever Naruto falls down, that's where he rises back up! I can scheme too, can't I!?" With that, he took a sip of Hundred Flowers spirit alcohol, and then ate a mouthful of Precious Jade spirit rice. Those two particular brands of spirit food were relatively expensive, and had been his favorite back in the east district. Thankfully, after arriving at the north district, he still had some left over that he'd bought earlier.

Unfortunately, over the past three months,

he had been forced to watch as his food supply dwindled and the merit points in his identity medallion were slowly eaten away. He hardly had any left now.

"I guess I was just living too extravagantly before…." he thought. He was even starting to regret having spent those 100,000 merit points to become an orange-robed disciple, and also realized that it had been a bit impulsive to buy his crocodile mount.

"What am I supposed to do?" he thought, scowling on the verge of tears. "I can't sell Ultra Fasting Aid Pills anymore. Don't tell me that I'm going to have to go back to living frugally and survive by consuming my own Ultra Fasting Aid Pills…?" With that, he ate another mouthful of spirit rice, his anger toward the Celestial Sky Society continuing to grow.

Half a month later, he was on the verge of completely running out of spirit food, and he had almost no merit points left. Sadly, he had yet to come up with an idea of how to earn more merit points. Finally, when he was sure that the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill commotion had died down, he sighed, took a bath in spirit water, and then worked up a quick disguise so that people wouldn't recognize his face. Then he left his spirit abode.

"I guess I have no choice but to sell my crocodile mount, plus all of those magical items I bought. Probably that jewelry too." Although he was loathe to do such a thing, he didn't really have any other choice. After jumping onto his crocodile's back, he thought about how grand he must look with his orange robe. Unfortunately, his bag of holding was virtually completely empty….

Thankfully, crocodiles were one of the most common types of mounts in Sky City, so nobody connected the current Naruto to the Apothecary Uzumaki of the east district.

As he proceeded along through the north district, quite a few people looked at him with envy and respect. There were even some orangerobed disciples who looked at him that way. After all, only people with lots of money or power could afford battle beast mounts. That, coupled with the glitter of the magical treasures with which he festooned himself, all made him look very impressive.

However, such gazes only made Naruto feel worse.

"After today," he thought dejectedly, "nobody is going to look at me like that anymore." Sighing, he decided to parade around the city for a bit longer.

It was with great wistfulness that he toured the north district all the way until evening was about to fall. At that point, he gritted his teeth and decided to head to the Spirit Beast Pavilion. Along the way, he passed a certain alley where he happened to notice a familiar cultivator standing there.

He was holding a banner in his hand upon which were written three characters.

Master God-Diviner….

He was clearly much thinner than he had been when he had parted ways with Naruto . His face was waxen and sunken in, his eyes listless. He seemed to be in very bad shape.

Few people paid any attention to him as they walked past, and even when he called out to try to drum up business, people simply ignored him. Considering the bleak expression on his face, and his blank stare, it almost looked like his soul had left him.

Naruto was shocked at his appearance, and immediately felt bad for him. Patting his crocodile mount, he headed over in Master GodDiviner's direction.

Even before he got near, the crocodile's enormous frame cast a huge shadow over Master God-Diviner, who shivered and looked up. The sight that met his eyes was a ferocious 90-meter-long crocodile looming over him.

It had armor-like scales that glittered in the evening light, and the breath that escaped its nostrils as it breathed was enough to leave one's mind spinning. Atop the crocodile was Naruto , clad in the garments of an orange-robed disciple, looking very grand, surrounded as he was by the glittering light of magical treasures.

Master God-Diviner was instantly shaken, and his eyes began to shine with unprecedentedly bright light. His experiences during the past few months had left him with a keen understanding regarding people like this. They were like Chosen in Sky City, people with tens of thousands of merit points at their disposal, many of whom were very close to becoming yellow-robed disciples.

They were the truly powerful figures in the city, people whom Master God-Diviner had come to envy and look up to during the past months. As of this moment, his excitement was building at the prospect of getting a client like this. Eyes sparkling, he straightened out his robe and then clasped hands and bowed.

"Brother, please wait a moment! I am your humble servant Master God-

Diviner, and if possible, would like to speak a word with you!"

Naruto blinked a few times, then remembered that he was in disguise. Therefore, he pretended to think about the matter for a moment before finally voicing his assent.

Master God-Diviner was so excited that he was trembling. The truth was that he hadn't even prepared any words to say in a situation like this. The mere fact that someone had agreed to listen to him left his eyes brimming with tears of excitement. Mustering his courage, he told himself, "Master God-Diviner, ahhh, Master God-Diviner. You definitely have to please this fellow. Look at how impressive he is! If you make him happy, the merit points will surely come flowing in. Furthermore, you might even be able to convince him to take you on as a permanent diviner!"

With that, he put a serious expression on his face and then performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then peered at Naruto as if to look into his future. Soon, powerful fluctuations began to roll off of him, making him look quite imposing.

However, a moment later, his eyes widened, and he began to tremble.

"No. No, it can't be. This can't be right. Why are my divinations showing me him? Hold on, let me start over…." By this point he was breathing heavily, and a look of complete incredulity could be seen on his face. He quickly performed another double-handed incantation gesture, after which his eyes grew even wider. He almost looked like he had seen a ghost.

"You're… you're…."

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto 's face as he looked down at Master God-Diviner from his position on the crocodile.

Obviously, Master God-Diviner had deduced his true identity, which was no surprise considering that he did have some skill with divination.

After all, he had divined information about Naruto back in the Blood Stream Sect days, and had always been fairly accurate….

"How did you get yourself in such a bad situation, Master Snortsnort?" Naruto said. "I mean, I thought I had it bad, but obviously, you have it way worse than me."

"Naruto !" Master God-Diviner felt like he had just been struck by lightning. Trembling, he staggered backward. When he had performed the divination just now, what he had seen had been almost impossible to believe. Now that he recognized Naruto 's voice, he was left reeling in shock.

Naruto felt quite pleased to see Master God-Diviner reacting in such a way. However, he cleared his throat and said, "Keep your voice down…."

—

Chapter 386

Chapter 386

Chapter 386: Why Aren't You Kowtowing!?

"You…. I…." Master God-Diviner stared at Naruto , his mind reeling, almost unable to believe how events were unfolding. However, he could believe it, no matter how much he didn't want to.

He was currently teetering on the verge of passing out, and all he could think about were the grand aspirations he had harbored upon leaving Naruto 's spirit abode all those months ago, and also Naruto 's voice calling out to him as he left.

Back then, he had been absolutely certain that he had made the right decision. Now, though, it felt like the world was playing a cruel joke on him….

That was especially the case when Naruto said, "you have it way worse than me." That caused tears to instantly well up in Master God-Diviner's eyes.

There Naruto was, glittering with the light of magical treasures, his face glowing with a healthy sheen, riding a huge crocodile. He didn't seem to have things bad at all, and it caused Master God-Diviner's heart to fill with an intense sensation of injustice.

The past few months had been very difficult. Few people believed the divinations he performed, and he had even gotten into some disputes with customers. At first, he hadn't worried about that, but as more and more people got angry with him, he had been forced to flee in terror from the east district. Eventually, he ended up in the north district, where he managed to get back on his feet to some extent.

Unfortunately, his income was scanty, and he ended every day feeling hungry. Even worse, he had to pay a merit point protection fee to one of the local gangs to be allowed to have a spot to perform divinations.

As he thought about all these things, Master God-Diviner smiled bitterly. Realizing that he had to accept reality, he sighed and said, "You really think you have it bad? I think you've actually gained some weight since I saw you last."

Naruto hopped off of the crocodile, which he then sucked into his spirit beast bag. As he stood there with his orange robe and glittering magical treasures, Master God-Diviner couldn't help but gasp inwardly. He well knew that to become an orange-robed disciple, one had to pay 100,000 merit points. Plus, a crocodile mount like the one Naruto had would cost about the same. After all, Master God-Diviner had even enviously passed through the Spirit Beast Pavilion before.

"Oh, I have it bad alright," Naruto said sadly, "let me tell you. Ai. It's been two meals now since I've had any Precious Jade spirit rice, and a whole day since I ran out of Hundred Flowers spirit alcohol. Plus, I haven't bathed in spirit water for nearly half a day. Look, I even smell a bit sweaty! I can't believe I've gotten so poor!" Everything he had just said was true. After all, his life in the east district had been one of luxury and excess. Now that he was in the north district, everything was different, and he couldn't help but feel irritated about that.

Master God-Diviner's eyes glazed over. The mere words 'Precious Jade spirit rice' left his heart trembling. Spirit rice like that was something he had only heard about, and had never even been able to smell, let alone taste. It was incredibly expensive, and it had once been his dream to try some. And yet here Naruto was saying that he had gone two meals without eating any….

And then there was 'Hundred Flowers spirit alcohol.' That sent Master God-Diviner even further in the direction of madness. That was the most expensive types of alcohol available in the city, and among his current circle of friends, being able to even drink a mouthful would have made him the subject of

envy and jealousy. And yet here Naruto was saying that he hadn't had any for a day! That implied that he normally drank it on a daily basis….

And when bathing in spirit water was mentioned, tears began to stream down Master God-Diviner's face. A mere glance at Naruto 's skin confirmed that it was glossy and imbued with spiritual energy. That wasn't from his cultivation base; it was caused by the special properties of the spirit water in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Such water left the body with a layer of natural protection that was mysterious and profound, to say the least.

However, such protection was definitely a luxury; if one went for five days or more without bathing in spirit water, it would naturally fade away.

Master God-Diviner stared at Naruto , eyes glistening miserably.

"Junior Patriarch…."

"Ah, whatever," Naruto said, waving his hand in grandly dismissive fashion. "I brought you here with me, didn't I? Therefore, I'm responsible for you. You might have mercilessly dumped me early on, but I'm a magnanimous person. From now on, you stick with me, alright?" Master God-Diviner immediately began to tremble. The truth was that he would have stuck with Naruto even if Naruto tried to drive him away. He had already resolved to swear an oath to follow Naruto even if it meant following him into death!

"Many thanks, Junior Patriarch!" From the excited way he put his banner and table away, it was clear that he felt no attachment to his vendor spot. Hurrying to follow Naruto , he said, "So, Junior Patriarch, where are we going?"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but then decided to simply tell the truth. "Let's go to the Spirit Beas–"

However, before he could finish speaking, three beams of light sped toward them. Apparently, these three people had noticed Master GodDiviner getting ready to leave, and were now attempting to intercept him.

Three cultivators landed in front of Master God-Diviner, one of them a middle-aged man with a cultivation base in the great circle of Foundation Establishment. "Leaving early because you got a new customer, Master God-Diviner?" he said. "Very well, at least pay your daily fee before leaving!"

The man's eyes flashed like lightning, and although he wasn't exactly fat, neither was he skinny, and he wore an orange robe just like Naruto 's. Obviously, he lived a fairly comfortable life here in Sky City.

Glancing at Naruto , he looked back at Master God-Diviner, a false smile stretching out across his face.

Master God-Diviner's face fell. These three were by no means strangers to him; they came from the group that controlled this area. They and a few dozen other cultivators that made up the gang forced all of the vendor stalls in the area to pay a protection fee for the right to do business.

Master God-Diviner was clearly embarrassed, and didn't want Naruto to see him in such a situation. Lowering his voice, he said, "I didn't do any business today. How about tomorrow I–"

One of the red-robed disciples among the three interrupted Master GodDiviner and said, "We don't care if you did business or not. The fee is 10 merit points a day! That's what we agreed to, so pay up!"

Master God-Diviner's expression flickered with distress. He knew that Uzumaki

Naruto, with his Gold Core cultivation base, wouldn't even bother to spare these three a glance. But Master God-Diviner still didn't want to lose face in front of Naruto . After all, he had been the one to part ways, and if he needed Naruto 's help in this situation, it would be far too embarrassing.

Gritting his teeth, forced a smile onto his face and prepared to pull out his identity medallion.

But then, the man in the orange robe said, "Now that you have such a high-class customer, Master God-Diviner, I'm afraid the 10 merit point fee won't be enough. We need you to pay for next month in advance!"

Rage immediately began to flicker in Master God-Diviner's eyes. "You people–"

"Now now, hold that temper of yours! If you don't have enough, I'm sure this new customer of yours wouldn't mind giving you an advance on your services." The orange-robed cultivator looked at Naruto with a false smile, his eyes lingering on his numerous glowing magical treasures. Despite his greed, though, he didn't dare to push things too far. He could tell that Naruto most likely had an impressive background. However, trying to get a few hundred merit points out of him wouldn't be too excessive.

"Junior Patriarch…." Master God-Diviner said hesitantly. However, Naruto waved his hand to cut him off. Eyes shining brightly, he looked over at the orange-robed cultivator.

"Well, isn't this interesting. I can't believe I never thought of this myself." The look in Naruto 's eyes left the orange-robed disciple feeling very unsettled, and the two red-robed disciples suddenly had very serious expressions on their faces.

"You dare to try to take my money with a Foundation Establishment cultivation base?" Naruto said. "I'm afraid things don't work like that." With that, he threw his head back and began to laugh loudly. The three cultivators instantly realized something was wrong, and were just getting ready to attack Naruto when he suddenly waved his hand, causing a gale-force wind to spring up.

Rumblings sounds filled the air, and blood sprayed out of the mouths of the three cultivators as they were sent tumbling backward thirty meters.

"Core Formation!"

Before the three of them could stop hurtling through the air, Naruto made a grasping motion, turning the wind into bonds that wrapped around them and pulled them toward him.

"I have the feeling you people are in need of a good leader. What do you think? Join me, and we can rule everything under heaven!" Naruto was being very sincere, and in his mind, the grandiose words he had just spoken should definitely cause the three men to drop to their knees and kowtow.

The three of them were trembling, and appeared to be on the verge of weeping.

Even Master God-Diviner was a bit taken aback.

"Don't worry. With me around, nothing bad will happen to you. Come, come. Lead the way to your headquarters so I can meet all the other Fellow Daoists in your group." As of this point, he had completely abandoned his plan to sell his crocodile mount. These three cultivators had unwittingly opened a door that Naruto had never imagined even existed….

All of a sudden, he could almost see all the merit points that were waiting for him….

—

Chapter 387

Chapter 387

Chapter 387: Fantasy Pills

In Sky City, the east district had the reputation of being luxurious and extravagant. The north district was more out-of-the-way, and not as well off. Most of the cultivators there were just ordinary people without impressive backgrounds.

The Azure Dragon Society had started out relatively unknown in the north district. Considering the impressive name they had picked for their organization, one could well imagine the heroic aspirations of its founders.

But ideals don't always measure up to reality. In the hundred years since its founding, they had never grown beyond the small sphere of influence they had started out with on the very edge of the north district.

Luckily, the headquarters of the Azure Dragon Society happened to be an immortal's cave, and not a spirit abode. It even had a courtyard with a fountain. Unfortunately, the courtyard was overrun with weeds, and the fountain had long since dried up, but the place was good enough for a small organization like the Azure Dragon Society.

The Azure Dragon Society only had about thirty members, and made their living from protection fees and selling spirit medicines that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect neither prohibited nor endorsed. Although they couldn't count as being rich, they at least had it better off than average cultivators.

Over their hundred-year-history, eight of their number had already become yellow-robed disciples. The most successful of all was one of the original founders, who was now in the early Gold Core stage and lived in the rainbow district. For old times' sake, and to keep the organization going, he occasionally came back to offer some support and assistance. However, it wasn't a simple thing to return to Sky City, so such visits were somewhat of a rarity.

Therefore, the moment Naruto walked through the door of the Azure Dragon Society with his Gold Core cultivation base, he was their new leader.

After Naruto and Master God-Diviner entered the immortal's cave, booms and bangs began to ring out. Then everything went silent. Moments later, people began to call out greetings.

"Greetings, Boss!"

Naruto sat down proudly in the seat of honor, Master God-Diviner standing next to him with a somber expression on his face. Everyone else in the room was bruised and battered as they kowtowed, expressions of fear filling their eyes.

With the exception of Naruto , everyone present was in the Foundation Establishment stage. The orange-robed disciples, including the one Naruto had met earlier, both had bitter expressions on their faces.

Smacking the arm of the chair, Naruto raised his voice and said, "We're all brothers here! Don't worry. Now that I'm in charge, we're going to take over Sky City!"

The thirty members of the Azure Dragon Society exchanged awkward glances, but none of them dared to say a word. To Naruto 's pleasure, they simply bowed their heads. With that, he toured the immortal's cave, picking the largest room for himself, where he sat down to practice some cultivation. As time progressed, he was coming to find that he was getting used to the strong spiritual power and energy drainage in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and because of that, his cultivation speed only continued to increase. For example, his Undying Muscles were making rapid progress.

As for Master God-Diviner, he didn't have any feelings toward the Azure Dragon Society, either negative or positive. However, he already felt like he was somewhat in a leadership position, so while Naruto was in secluded meditation, he took it upon himself to audit the Azure Dragon Society's account books. He also collected and organized all of the loose merit points.

The Azure Dragon Society

cultivators weren't happy about that, but didn't dare to say anything. Nor was there anything they could do about it. Naruto was a Gold Core cultivator, and was like an enormous mountain that they could do nothing to contend with. All they could do was accept the situation. In fact, some of them hoped that having a Gold Core cultivator as their boss might put them on the path to a new and better lifestyle.

However, such hopes and dreams gradually faded as time passed. Half a month went by, during which Naruto never came out of his room and never did anything. However, considering the income of the Azure Dragon Society, all they had to do was be a bit frugal, and the addition of two new members didn't cause much trouble.

Unfortunately, Naruto did have a very big appetite, and also demanded the best quality food. He even required plenty of spirit water to bathe in every day. Because of that, anger began to fester in the hearts of the Azure Dragon Society.

After an entire month went by, even Master God-Diviner was reaching the limits of his patience. Since he was in charge of accounts now, he could see with his own eyes that the Azure Dragon Society's merit points were rapidly dwindling.

Eventually, Master God-Diviner led all of the cultivators to Naruto , who was currently in the middle of eating a spirit chicken. Weeping, they began to explain their woes.

"Boss, please spare us. Our meager profits aren't enough to fill your appetite, sir…."

"This isn't going to work long-term, Boss! With expenses like these, the Azure Dragon Society is going to have to sell our immortal's cave within a few days at most!"

Even Master God-Diviner chimed in to voice his frustration.

Naruto immediately felt bad. He had lived so extravagantly in the east district that his current lifestyle seemed like a big step down. However, to others, he seemed to be living in the lap of luxury.

Even worse, he had made significant progress in his cultivation of his Undying Muscles, which caused his energy to be drained at a much higher rate than before. He had tried using some Ultra Fasting Aid Pills, but that could only help on a superficial level.

The truth was that he hadn't even realized that he was eating more food than usual. Considering how small the Azure Dragon Society was, he had already emptied their storerooms.

The orange-robed cultivator that Naruto had met in the very beginning looked tearfully at him and said, "Please, Boss, let us off the hook! We've already cut back on food this past month. We increased protection fees and the prices we charge for our Fantasy Pills, but even with that, we're not making enough money to get enough food to eat…."

Naruto cleared his throat in embarrassment. During his month of secluded meditation, he had completely forgotten about the grand words he had spoken about leading them to take over new territory when he first took over the Azure Dragon Society.

"Wait," he said, "what are these Fantasy Pills you just mentioned?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, Fantasy Pills are a type of spirit medicine that have gotten popular in the past few years. They don't really do much of anything other than induce hallucinations. Of course, the cultivators who consume them can alter the hallucinations to a certain degree, and thus experience any type of fantasy they wish….. The possibilities are endless…." Naruto immediately demanded to see one of the pills, so the orange-robed cultivator pulled a small wooden box out of his bag of holding and handed it over.

Naruto accepted the box and opened it. Placed inside was a fingernail-sized black medicinal pill that emanated no medicinal aroma whatsoever. Curious, Naruto picked it up to examine it more closely.

Master God-Diviner leaned over to have a look too. He had heard of the pills, of course, but this was his first time seeing one.

Intrigued, Naruto used his fingernail to start scraping the black coating off of the pill to see what was inside. The sight of an entire Fantasy Pill being so casually destroyed caused pain to rise up in the hearts of the rest of the Azure Dragon Society.

As Naruto scratched the coating off, his expression changed from one of curiosity into surprise. Then his eyes widened. After piercing through the black coating, a wisp of gray smoke began to swirl out from inside.

Upon seeing the smoke, Naruto gasped, and Master God-Diviner cried out, "Junior Patriarch, is that your hallucination smoke?!"

The Azure Dragon Society cultivators' jaws dropped, although they really had no idea what Master God-Diviner was talking about.

A grim expression appeared on Naruto 's face as he reached out and grabbed the strand of gray smoke. After examining it closely, he was absolutely certain that this so-called Fantasy Pill was concocted from the very same hallucination smoke that he had accidentally created when concocting pills back in the Blood Stream Sect!

During the great war of the four sects, he had altered the formula using the powers of gravity and repulsion, and then used it to create weapons for his compatriots to use.

How could he ever have imagined that he would actually find that same medicine so far away in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect? Clearly, someone had acquired one of his hallucination spheres and then altered the formula, reducing the hallucinatory effects and also changing it so that whoever took the pill could control the hallucination to some extent and become lost in a wonderful world of their own making.

Considering that Naruto was an expert in the Dao of medicine, it only took a moment for him to understand everything that had happened.

However, the changes to the medicinal pill were crude at best, and Naruto could tell that they could lead to dangerous side-effects. In the end, though, the fact that this pill had been created using his own hallucination smoke left Naruto feeling very angry.

"To take without asking is robbery!" he said through gritted teeth. Eyes flashing with anger, he looked at the Azure Dragon Society. "Where did this Fantasy Pill come from?"

The Azure Dragon Society's two orange-robed cultivators could tell that something was off. The expressions on the faces of Naruto and Master God-Diviner were very telling, and they could only guess that some unimaginable turn of events had occurred. However, they didn't dare to keep any secrets.

"From the Celestial Sky Society!"

"Yeah, the Celestial Sky Society is the biggest organization in Sky City. They have connections to all the businesses in the city, and they also control the city's underworld. They're the ones who distribute the Fantasy Pills. We smaller organizations just resell them for a small profit…."

—

Chapter 388

Chapter 388

Chapter 388: The Rise Of The Azure Dragon Society

"The Celestial Sky Society again!?" Naruto 's eyes flickered with icy coldness. Clenching his hand into a fist around the black medicinal powder in his palm, he looked around at the Azure Dragon Society cultivators and said, "How well do the Fantasy Pills sell?"

The two orange-robed cultivators were panting, and their eyes were shining brightly. One of them quickly responded, "They sell great! We usually distribute a few hundred pills per month, and that's just us. If you counted all of the north district, the sales would probably be tens of thousands per month. As for Sky City as a whole, probably 200,000 or more. One Fantasy Pill is worth 50 merit points, so that's the equivalent of at least 10,000,000 merit points per month!"

When Naruto heard that, his eyes almost turned green, and he began to pant. "If the Celestial Sky Society can use my hallucination smoke to earn merit points, then so can I!

"All of you, wait here for me. I'll concoct some high-quality Fantasy Pills for you to sell!" With that, he rushed into his room and slammed the door behind him.

The Azure Dragon Society members looked over at Master God-Diviner, hearts filled with curiosity over what was to come.

"Master God-Diviner, is it true that our boss really invented the Fantasy Pill?"

"Is our boss really an apothecary? Can he… can he really concoct Fantasy Pills? Heavens! If that's true, then good times are definitely to come!"

Master God-Diviner was more excited than anyone, but he didn't let it show on his face. Looking around, he smiled faintly, and then gave a confident nod.

"Don't you worry," he said. "I can't speak for the boss when it comes to other matters, but I can tell you that my junior patriarch is the best there is at medicine concocting!"

When the Azure Dragon Society heard that, their anticipation grew, and it was almost possible to see them calculating their future profits.

As soon as Naruto entered his room, he waved his hand, summoning several dozen pill furnaces from his bag of holding. These were furnaces that he had collected back in the River-Defying Sect, and were all different sizes and shapes. Considering how familiar he was with the hallucination smoke, he didn't plan to produce just one batch of Fantasy Pills at a time. He was going to concoct multiple batches simultaneously!

The main thing he was concerned about was maintaining a standard of quality. After all, these pills weren't designed to be used in war, so he needed to control the hallucinatory effects. And that meant he had to control the strength of the pills.

Of course, Naruto had invented the hallucination smoke to begin with, so his ability to do that vastly exceeded that of the Celestial Sky Society's apothecary. He was completely confident that he would be able to concoct Fantasy Pills that were on a whole different level than the trash produced by the Celestial Sky Society.

In terms of how to actually contain the hallucination smoke, the black coating on the Celestial Sky Society's Fantasy Pills had given him a bit of inspiration. After studying it a bit, he improved it, and then managed to actually fuse the smoke itself with the coating!

Time passed, and outside, the Azure Dragon Society waited in eager anticipation. Three days later, Naruto emerged, eyes bloodshot but shining with excitement. Waving his sleeve, he sent out countless violet medicinal pills from his bag of holding. As they piled up on the ground, they formed a small mountain of more than a thousand pills.

The Azure Dragon Society members were shaking with excitement. Then, one of the cultivators c

lasped hands and bowed to Naruto , hurried forward and carefully picked up one of the pills. After placing it into his mouth, he closed his eyes, and within moments, a look of intoxicated pleasure appeared on his face. Throwing his head back, he howled with complete and utter madness.

Clearly, he was experiencing no side-effects. As for the other cultivators, they knew that an important test was being performed, so they watched closely. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the cultivator still hadn't woken up from his reverie, and everyone else started to get very excited.

"The Celestial Sky Society's Fantasy Pill lasts for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, but boss's pill lasts for even longer than that!"

"And from the look of it, there are no harmful side-effects whatsoever!" Even as the Azure Dragon Society devolved into a hubbub, another incense stick's worth of time passed. Only then did the cultivator's eyes open.

Although he seemed to be in a bit of a daze, he was clearly satisfied in an unprecedented way. After a long moment passed, he regained his senses. Trembling, he said, "The hallucination was much more realistic than the Fantasy Pills from the Celestial Sky Society! And easier to manipulate! In fact, after a certain point, I completely lost myself! I didn't need to control the hallucination at all: it did everything I wanted. How pure! How unadulterated. This… this is what a Fantasy Pill is supposed to be like!"

The rest of the Azure Dragon Society grew even more excited. Panting, the cultivators looked at the pile of Fantasy Pills and realized that it was essentially a huge pile of merit points.

One of the orange-robed cultivators excitedly said, "Boss, if you let us sell these Fantasy Pills, we can clear the stock in two months at the most!"

As of this moment, Naruto truly was like nobility to these cultivators, a grand figure who existed on a different level than them.

Naruto was tired, but looked excited, and was clearly pleased with the quality of the Fantasy Pills he had concocted. Looking at Master GodDiviner, he said, "For now, steer clear of the Celestial Sky Society. When the time comes to butt heads with them, I don't just want a little scuffle…."

Master God-Diviner saw the gleam in Naruto 's eyes, and after a moment of thought, nodded. In recent days, he had made some inquiries of his own, and had heard stories of Apothecary Uzumaki from the east district, and the methods the Celestial Sky Society had used in dealing with his Ultra Fasting Aid Pill.

His information had left him ninety percent that Naruto and Apothecary Uzumaki were one and the same. As of now, he was completely convinced, and also understood why Naruto had disguised his appearance. In fact, he still hadn't even revealed his name to the Azure Dragon Society.

"Celestial Sky Society…." Master God-Diviner thought, his eyes narrowing. Almost immediately, countless nefarious plans sprang up in his mind, which he began to explain to the rest of the Azure Dragon Society.

Naruto remained off to the side, completely satisfied with Master God-Diviner's performance. With Master God-Diviner at his side, he didn't feel like a lone wolf anymore.

At this point, he suddenly thought about Xu Baocai and the others. "If only the rest of you merciless betrayers could turn over a new leaf. I can't believe you just abandoned me…."

Depressed, he went back to his room to practice cultivation.

After Master God-Diviner finished explaining all of his plans, the Azure Dragon Society went to work. They even got their friends and family involved in selling the Fantasy Pills. Considering that the Azure Dragon Society had been around for more than a hundred years, they had good relations with many of the other small organizations in the north district. As such, the Fantasy Pill sales started out with a bang.

Most of the merit points they earned were spent on recruitment efforts. Life was hard in Sky City, so as long as enough merit points were offered, there would be no shortage of people willing to join up.

Naruto had plenty to keep him busy. To keep up with demand, he had to concoct more and more Fantasy Pills, until he was concocting them in batches of fifty at a time.

With the Fantasy Pills to support them, the Azure Dragon Society was able to fully call upon its hundred years of connections and history. With the help of Master God-Diviner's plans and schemes, their numbers grew in shockingly rapid fashion.

As their territory expanded, cultivators came constantly, hoping to join. Fantasy Pill sales skyrocketed, until all of the north district was shaken.

Because of how vice-boss Master God-Diviner had arranged everything, the Celestial Sky Society still hadn't noticed what was happening. Although only half a month had passed so far, that half month had seen heaven-shaking, earth-toppling changes for the Azure Dragon Society.

Eventually, the Celestial Sky Society finally took note of what was happening. Ten days after that, it had been a full month since the Azure Dragon Society began their big expansion. They had reinvested all of the merit points into their growth plans, and Naruto had even decided to go all in by selling his crocodile mount to help out. By that point, the Azure Dragon Society had over a thousand members.

In Sky City, that didn't really count as anything amazing in terms of membership, but it was big enough that it was a cause for concern for the Celestial Sky Society. Unfortunately, the Azure Dragon Society was large enough now that using force on them wasn't an option. If any fighting broke out, they might end up breaking the rules of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

Not even the Celestial Sky Society dared to push things too far when it came to the official rules of the sect.

Naruto was getting better and better at concocting the Fantasy

Pills. In fact, sometimes he just set the pill furnaces up and then had Master God-Diviner watch over them until they were ready to be completed.

With more spare time on his hands, Naruto was able to focus more easily on cultivation. At the same time, he had returned to his previous extravagant lifestyle. However, he no longer ate the Precious Jade spirit rice. Instead, he favored Heavenspan spirit rice, which was prepared by a special method using Heavenspan River water.

It was the same with the alcohol; he only consumed the best. He had a new mount, too, a blue-eyed qilin lizard. Whenever he went out on that mount, flanked by a hundred followers, he made a very impressive sight.

Time passed. Two more months went by, and not only did the Azure Dragon Society continue to grow, they had expanded their influence into three of the other districts, ensuring that their Fantasy Pill sales only continued to increase. Simultaneously, the Celestial Sky Society's Fantasy Pill sales were dropping significantly.

After all, the two pills were on completely different levels!

Naruto 's life was getting better and better…

Chapter 389

Chapter 389

Chapter 389: People Can Live Like This?

"Things here are so expensive!" That was Naruto a year ago, when he first arrived in Sky City.

"Hey, this looks pretty nice. It's a bit expensive but… ah whatever, I'll just grin and bear it!" That was Naruto during his days profiting from the Ultra Fasting Aid Pills.

"This looks great! I'll take it!" That was Naruto when the Azure Dragon Society was beginning to rise to prominence in the north district.

And now….

Currently, Naruto was in the Magic Pavilion, looking at about a hundred magical items on display. Sounding very pleased with himself, he began to point at some of the objects. "This one. That one. Oh, that one too…. Those are the three I don't want. I'll take everything else!"

The shop attendants were sweating, and their hearts pounding at having such a rich and important person to deal with.

Naruto really couldn't help but live so extravagantly. Whether it was in terms of food, clothing, or anything else, he only got the best. If you added up the value of everything he was currently wearing, it would be valued at something around 7-800,000 merit points. In fact, if he wanted to be promoted to the rainbow district, it would be a very simple thing.

But Naruto couldn't bear to leave Sky City, and was convinced that life on the rainbow definitely wouldn't be as nice. In fact, he had even made some inquiries, and had been informed that his suspicious were correct; nobody on the rainbow lived like he did now. Therefore, he had made up his mind to spend the rest of his time as a hostage in Sky City.

"Only an idiot would go to that rainbow!" he thought, humming a little tune as he swaggered through the crowd. When people in the north district caught sight of him, expressions of both envy and respect could be seen in their eyes. He was beside himself with delight, and couldn't stop thinking about how outstanding he was. Everywhere he went, he ended up being the center of attention.

The truth was, he didn't really care much about the money, and didn't even pay much attention to how much the Azure Dragon Society was saving up. As long as there were enough merit points to keep the Azure Dragon Society running, he didn't care.

However, there were a few aspects to his wonderful life that he wasn't too pleased about. Because the Azure Dragon Society had expanded so quickly, their new recruits were a mix of good and bad. Other organizations within Sky City had sent people to infiltrate them, and that was especially true of the Celestial Sky Society.

Furthermore, as the Azure Dragon Society expanded into the other three districts, rumors began to spread.

Some rumors claimed that Naruto was none other than the Apothecary Uzumaki from the east district. Others focused on how wicked and violent the Azure Dragon Society was. The third type of common rumor focused on how harmful and addictive the Fantasy Pills supposedly were.

In the end, virtually all of the rumors were about the Azure Dragon Society and Naruto , like a wide net slowly being stretched out over the both of them.

Master God-Diviner quickly caught on to this. Other than the first small group of cultivators who had made up the original Azure Dragon Society, few people ever saw him. He was Naruto 's trusted adviser who lurked in the shadows, unseen by the public. When Naruto got Master God-Diviner's report about the rumors, he took it very seriously. He was well aware of the devious ways of the Celestial Sky Society, and could well imagine that their lack of action during the past few months was because they were waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow.

p

Considering how seriously Naruto took the matter, Master God-

Diviner did so as well. He quickly mobilized all of the Azure Dragon Society to try to counteract the rumors. Unfortunately, their work did little to quell the gossip, and in fact, it grew even worse.

One evening, Naruto was enjoying his evening meal, an exotic spread of the finest delicacies piled up as high as mountains… with two lovely female cultivators there to serve him.

Master God-Diviner also sat at the table, providing his usual daily report regarding the affairs of the Azure Dragon Society. That was when the news came in….

"Boss, the investigations we started running a few days ago identified one of the main sources of the rumors. We captured him and brought him in, and now we just need you to come decide what to do, boss!"

Naruto grunted an acknowledgement as he continued to munch on the chicken leg he had just picked up.

Master God-Diviner smacked his hand down onto the table and gave a cold harrumph. "Bring him here! Let's see who it is that had the gall to stir up trouble for us!"

Before long, shrill shrieks of terror could be heard, drawing closer and closer to the room where Naruto and Master God-Diviner were eating dinner.

"Fellow Daoists of the Azure Dragon Society, spare me! I'm sorry… really, I'm truly sorry…." The shrieking grew louder and louder as two burly Azure Dragon Society cultivators dragged a young man with disheveled hair into the room.

The young man didn't struggle at all as the two burly cultivators forced him onto his knees. Not daring to look up, he continued to whimper and cry for mercy.

"Spare me, Boss Azure Dragon. I'm sorry, sir, really, I won't ever dare to do it again….

"I was a fool to work for the Celestial Sky Society. Please, forgive me, Boss Azure Dragon…." The young man's wails were truly inspiring of pity.

However, as the young man prattled on, Naruto stopped gnawing on the chicken leg and looked closer at him. Next to him, Master GodDiviner's eyes widened.

Then, the two of them exchanged a glance. Both of them had simultaneously realized that, unexpectedly… the young cultivator begging for mercy… was Xu Baocai!

He had been beaten up, his nose swollen and his hair completely disheveled. His voice was hoarse, and he still hadn't even dared to lift his head.

A strange expression appeared on Naruto 's face. Clearing his throat, he finished the chicken leg and then suddenly yelled, "Xu Baocai!"

Xu Baocai had been kneeling there with his head bowed. In response to Naruto 's sudden outburst, he screamed and prepared to continue begging for mercy. However, the voice from just now seemed very familiar, and without even thinking about it, he looked up… to find an unfamiliar face behind the mounds of exquisite delicacies on the table.

The other face at the table was not unfamiliar, though. Shocked, he realized that the second person sitting there was Master God-Diviner.

Xu Baocai's jaw dropped, and a blank expression filled his eyes. In that moment, the unfamiliar face suddenly blurred, and then… he was looking at a face that was anything but unfamiliar.

Xu Baocai's mind was spinning, and a look of complete and utter incredulity could be seen on his face.

"Uzumaki–" he shrieked. However, before he could finish his sentence, a chicken leg shot through the air and entered his mouth.

Coughing dryly, Naruto smiled and said, "How did you get yourself in such a bad situation, Xu Baocai? I mean, I thought I had it bad, but obviously, you have it way worse than me."

After seeing Naruto 's reaction, the two men holding Xu Baocai released him. Aware that some things weren't meant for their ears, they quickly departed.

Xu Baocai's eyes were completely bloodshot from crying. As he looked at Naruto with his glittering magical treasures, his face glowing with health, his table full of spirit food, Xu Baocai began to pant. The combined value of all of that wasn't quite enough to rise to the yellowrobed disciple level, but it was very close. In sharp contrast, the income he made from selling information couldn't reach that level in a sixtyyear-cycle!

Furthermore, the fact that Naruto was now Boss Azure Dragon was completely mind-blowing, to the point where tears began to leak out of his eyes….

In addition to all that, the two women waiting upon Naruto weren't actual people, they were ingeniously crafted puppets. Xu Baocai trembled at that. Such life-like puppets were astronomically expensive.

Xu Baocai also couldn't help but notice all of the glittering magical treasures that Master God-Diviner was wearing, and how his cultivation base fluctuations were clearly at a higher level than the last time they had met. Much to Xu Baocai's bitterness, Master God-Diviner was obviously getting very close to Core Formation.

By now, he was filled with deep and utter regret regarding his earlier decision to leave the group. As he thought back to the rough and bitter days he had experienced trying to gather and sell information, he almost couldn't believe he had been so arrogant. Furthermore, how could he have missed the fact that Naruto had become the boss of the Azure Dragon Society? The mere thought of how leaving Naruto had caused him to lose out on this incredible opportunity left him extremely bitter.

"Junior Patriarch, I really messed up…." he said, staring up piteously at Naruto . As of this moment, he had decided in his heart that he would stick with Naruto no matter what, even if he tried to drive him away.

"Ah, whatever," Naruto said, waving his hand in grandly dismissive fashion. "I brought you here with me, didn't I? Therefore, I'm responsible for you. You might have mercilessly dumped me early on, but I'm a magnanimous person. From now on, you stick with me, alright?"

Tears of gratitude immediately began to pour down Xu Baocai's face. As for Master God-Diviner, he cleared his throat awkwardly. After all, the words Naruto had just uttered sound quite familiar to him….

"It's getting late," Naruto said, "so why don't you go rest up? Tomorrow we can reminisce a bit about old times." Having finished eating, Naruto waved his hand, and one of the serving girls came over to wipe his mouth with a handkerchief. Sighing, he stuck his chin up and looked at the girl, then said, "Let's go. Carry me over to my pill concocting station."

The two serving girls picked Naruto up and floated away. He didn't even need to walk at this point….

Master God-Diviner quickly rose to his feet, clasped hands, and bowed. Then, in a voice which sounded well-rehearsed, said, "Farewell, m'lord…."

This display left Xu Baocai shocked into stupefaction. How could he ever have imagined that life could be lived in such a way…?

Chapter 390

Chapter 390

Chapter 390: Kidnap Naruto

"I want to live like this too!" Xu Baocai wailed inwardly as he watched Naruto leave.

A moment later, Master God-Diviner rose from his bow, cleared his throat, and said, "Brother Xu, it's been a few months. How did you end up in such a bad situation?"

Xu Baocai's wrath was immediately aroused. After all, it had been the goading of Master God-Diviner that had convinced him to leave Naruto to begin with. However, he knew that now was not the time to give voice to his anger. All he could do was put a bitter expression on his face and curse Master God-Diviner inwardly.

Master God-Diviner actually felt a bit bad. Sighing, he said, "Don't blame me for all this. Even I had no idea that our junior patriarch would rise to such shocking heights…. In Sky City, not everything depends on cultivation base, you know." With that, Master God-Diviner arranged for a place for Xu Baocai to stay, and even gave him some merit points as pocket money….

As Master God-Diviner led Xu Baocai to his new accomodations, Xu Baocai came to realize that Master God-Diviner also occupied a lofty position within the Azure Dragon Society; all the cultivators in the immortal's cave who saw him gazed upon him with expressions of deep respect.

Xu Baocai was starting to get more and more excited….

That night, he found it hard to sleep. The next morning at dawn, he walked bleary-eyed out of his room, uttering another oath under his breath.

"I have to become more important to the junior patriarch than Master God-Diviner is!"

With Xu Baocai back, Naruto now had one more of his original group of Dao Protectors.

Xu Baocai immediately began to go above and beyond the call of duty when it came to his work, gathering information and propagating rumors. Under his direction, the Azure Dragon Society wasn't just able to quell some of the bad rumors being spread about them, they were actually able to fight back with increasing effectiveness.

Xu Baocai was going all out, using every trick in his book to achieve the best results possible.

Naruto had plenty of spare time on his hands. Master God-Diviner took care of day-to-day operations, Xu Baocai was responsible for handling intelligence, and they had a few dozen orange-robed disciples to act as sub-bosses. The Azure Dragon Society was growing more and more stable.

Their expansion hadn't slowed in the least, and in fact, they were still growing. As a result, their Fantasy Pill business grew with shocking speed.

The Celestial Sky Society had been doing plenty of plotting and scheming, but it did little good. They were very capable of handling problems with individuals, but when it came to other large organizations in the city, they fell short. The rise of the Azure Dragon Society had come too quickly and unexpectedly, and because of that, the Celestial Sky Society was completely incapable of dealing with them.

The matter with the rumors had been one part of their initial plan, and although it had started out well, in the end, it fell flat. As their other strategies failed, the Celestial Sky Society grew increasingly enraged by the Azure Dragon Society.

One reason was that everything they did had to be accomplished from the shadows. Eventually, their research into the Fantasy Pill revealed that the boss of the Azure Dragon Society was none other than the very same Apothecary Uzumaki who had created the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill.

Unfortunately, when they tried to investigate Naruto 's past, they came up with nothing. Not even their agents in the Azure Dragon Society itself could come up with any information. Apparently, very few people within the Azure Dragon Society even knew the level of his cultivation base. Thank

s to the training provided by Master God-Diviner, the original members who did know a bit about Naruto were circumspect and kept their information to themselves.

Although the Celestial Sky Society was a bit apprehensive that Naruto seemed to have come out of nowhere, it wasn't completely unheard of for people in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to be so secretive. As far as looking into the origins of the Fantasy Pill, it might have seemed like a good idea, but the truth was that they had come across the pill completely by accident, and had no idea where it came from. Besides, the eastern cultivation world was a huge place, and the things that went on in the Lower Reaches were of little interest to people upriver.

As the days marched by, the Celestial Sky Society watched the Azure

Dragon Society growing larger and larger. Eventually, the Azure Dragon Society's Fantasy Pill sales surpassed the Celestial Sky Society's, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The Celestial Sky Society's headquarters was in the central district of

Sky City, and currently, a meeting was going on there to try to decide what to do about the Azure Dragon Society. Some were in favor of continued plotting and scheming, with the eventual goal of breaking the Azure Dragon Society apart. However, a plan like that would take some time to be effective. At one point in the meeting, a cold snort echoed out.

"We can't wait any longer. It's not that our Celestial Sky Society can't use force to solve the problem, it's that we can't afford to break any rules. These people from the Azure Dragon Society are just too stubborn. Look, what's the point of having endless meetings about this? Have you people forgotten how powerful the Celestial Sky Society is? Let's just go kidnap that Apothecary Uzumaki!"

"But we don't know the level of his cultivation base!" someone protested. "Without that bit of knowledge, trying to do something like that…."

"There are plenty of things under heaven that we don't know. Is that a good reason to just back down? No matter how impressive his background, can he match up to the Celestial Sky Society? We come from a deva clan! As for his cultivation base, there's no way he's a Nascent Soul expert. It's even highly unlikely that he's at Core Formation. If he were, why wouldn't he have been promoted to the rainbow district? Why would he waste his time here concocting medicine?!"

The person making these arguments had a relatively high position in the organization, and as such, no one was willing to go against him. Although most of them weren't quite convinced that it was a good idea, they merely exchanged glances and then held their tongues.

Soon, the Celestial Sky Society was stirring. They didn't have any Core

Formation cultivators, only people in the great circle of the Foundation Establishment stage, and a few quasi-Core stage experts. After all, there were only red- and orange-robed disciples in their organization. Those who had reached the yellow-robed level had already left, and couldn't easily be called back.

In order to handle Naruto , they gathered ten quasi-Core cultivators, as well as a few dozen in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, plus even more who were in late Foundation Establishment.

After night fell, they headed straight into the north district, toward the immortal's cave that was the headquarters of the Azure Dragon Society.

A group that powerful was strong enough to dominate any other organization in the entire city.

They didn't hold anything back in terms of speed. After all, this was a surprise attack, and the success of their plan hinged on clinching victory in the first move. Although the main plan was to kidnap him, if worse came to worst, they were also prepared to kill him, and deal with the consequences later.

It was a dark and windy night, and Naruto was just preparing to settle down cross-legged to start cultivating his Frigid School WillEvolving Incantation. After all of his recent cultivation, he was nearing the peak of the Frigid Acolyte level.

The frigid Chakra which swirled around him would be shocking to anyone who could see it, and caused layers of frost to slowly cake the walls of the room. Thankfully, his cultivation was mostly focused inwardly, because such intensely frigid Chakra could freeze even Foundation Establishment cultivators to death.

He had just settled his Chakra and cleared his mind when, all of a sudden, his eyes widened. Looking up, a strange expression appeared on his face. But then, he merely cleared his throat, and then closed his eyes to meditate.

Meanwhile, numerous shadowy figures were approaching the immortal's cave. After exchanging glances, they charged forward, which caused the Azure Dragon Society's defensive spell formation to spring up.

Immediately following that, thunderous booms filled the air as the Celestial Sky Society cultivators unleashed all of their most powerful attacks, blasting the spell formation shield to pieces. The Azure Dragon Society responded immediately, the cultivators inside shouting at the tops of their lungs and unleashing magical techniques in all directions.

"Beat it!" But then the ten quasi-Core cultivators waded into the fight, and no matter how well-prepared the Azure Dragon Society cultivators were, they couldn't deal with such power. They were immediately put on the defensive. By this point, the sub-bosses of the Azure Dragon Society realized what kind of people they were fighting.

"Quasi-Core stage!" Gasps rang out as the ten quasi-Core cultivators stomped everything in their path as easily as dried weeds.

In almost the exact same instant, the spies that had infiltrated the Azure

Dragon Society appeared. "Boss Azure Dragon's room is right there!"

Arrogant expressions could be seen on the faces of the ten quasi-Core cultivators as they shot toward Naruto 's room. Six of them were faster than the others, and it was with complete disdain that they crashed into his room.

As for the other four, they remained outside to prevent anyone from entering.

"After tonight, the Azure Dragon Society won't have any boss at all!" one of the quasi-Core cultivators said loftily.

The Azure Dragon Society cultivators were getting very nervous, and the cultivators from the Celestial Sky Society were chuckling coldly, convinced that their mission had been accomplished, and that once a boom rang out from that room, they could flee.

However, instead of a boom, their ears were met with silence. After the six quasi-Core cultivators charged into his room, no sounds of combat emerged. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop!

Expressions of shock began to appear on the faces of everyone in the crowd, with the exception of Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai, who were looking on with disdain.

"What happened…?" someone whispered. Something definitely seemed off about the situation. The door to the room looked like a black mouth ready to swallow up anyone who entered it. Many people present felt chills running down their spine just at the sight of it.

The four quasi-Core cultivators exchanged glances, and then gritted their teeth to take action. They couldn't just leave now and return with no information to report! Joining their power together, they moved to enter the room. However, before they could reach the door, a blast of frigid Chakra erupted from the room, filling the area.

As the frigid Chakra filled them, it felt like they were being frozen in place, causing their eyes to go wide with disbelief. One of the quasi-Core cultivators suddenly began to emit red light as he burned a paper talisman in defense. With the power of the flames assisting him, he managed to stagger backward a few paces, his face ashen. Eyes wide with shock and terror, he cried, "Core Formation!"

—

Chapter 391

Chapter 391

Chapter 391: Are You Fellow Daoist Zhang Dahai?

Even as the words escaped the lips of the cultivator who had spoken them, he felt more frigid Chakra wrap around him, making it impossible for him to move. As for all of the other cultivators outside in the main area of the immortal's cave, including those from the Azure Dragon Society and the Celestial Sky Society, they were completely and utterly shaken.

"What!?"

"Core Formation? Heavens! The boss of the Azure Dragon Society is actually at Core Formation!?"

"There are only a few Core Formation experts in all of Sky City!

Shouldn't he be in the rainbow district!?"

"Dammit! I've never seen a Core Formation cultivator so bored as to forsake missions and merit points just to make a profit with business!" The Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Celestial Sky Society had expressions of complete shock on their faces as they began to flee.

Even if they had more people on their side, they wouldn't be able to win in a fight against a Core Formation expert. The only thing they could think about now was escaping the area as quickly as possible.

But how could Naruto simply let them get away? A cold snort echoed out like thunder from his room, crashing into the ears of all of the Celestial Sky Society cultivators in the area.

Agonized shrieks rang out as those cultivators began to tremble, and their cultivation bases destabilized. Having lost the ability to even move, they fell down out of midair to be immediately captured by the excited cultivators of the Azure Dragon Society.

The fact that a mere snort could do that to such a powerful group of cultivators was dumbfounding. Of course, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had just been captured had encountered Core Formation experts before. But from what they could tell, Naruto was far, far more terrifying than any such people that they had met.

He hadn't even stepped out of his room; he had simply tossed the quasiCore cultivators out.

However, that simple action had a profound effect on the Azure Dragon Society cultivators. Their boss was now even more mysterious and unfathomable than before, shocking to a heaven-shaking, earthshattering degree. As for the people from the Celestial Sky Society, their hearts overflowed with indescribable astonishment and terror.

Naruto felt more than pleased about everything, and didn't feel at all like he was a Gold Core expert bullying Foundation Establishment cultivators. In fact, he felt quite the opposite.

"I didn't go looking to cause problems for them," he thought. "They came looking for trouble." Of course, he was also aware that what had just occurred could never be kept a secret; it wouldn't be long before news about him being in the Core Formation stage would fill all of Sky City.

"Well, that's fine," he thought. "I was going to reveal myself soon anyway. To do it this way will make the Azure Dragon Society's expansion go even smoother." Marveling at his own command of strategy, and also at his impressive display of might, he chuckled complacently and then closed his eyes again to continue meditating.

Naturally, Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai took care of everything outside. After taking all of the Celestial Sky Society cultivators into custody, they quickly began to plan what to do next.

The following day, rumors began spreading through all districts of the city. Furthermore, the stories being told were so vivid and lifelike that everyone could visualize them as if they had been present.

"Did you hear? Last night, the Celestial Sky Society sent ten quasi-Core cultivators, dozens of people in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, and c

ountless late Foundation Establishment cultivators to attack the Azure

Dragon Society. However, they were totally routed! In fact, the Azure

Dragon Society captured them all!"

"How is that possible…?"

"How is it not possible? Guess what? The boss of the Azure Dragon Society is actually a Core Formation cultivator!" It didn't take long for the rumors to fill the city, until everyone was talking about the matter.

After all, Core Formation cultivators were somewhat of a rarity in Sky City. Normally speaking, they would be completely focused on doing missions to earn merit points, not engaging in idle activities with the organizations and gangs in the city.

The four cities at the base of the waterfall were essentially considered to be outside of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, like the outer sects of most other sects. As such, everyone desired to leave them as quickly as possible.

As the gossip proliferated, the Azure Dragon Society's reputation grew more and more exaggerated. At the same time, the Celestial Sky Society was shaken to its core. As for the leaders in their headquarters, they were enraged to the limit. After a few days passed, they eventually sent an emissary to the Azure Dragon Society and paid a hefty ransom of merit points to get their cultivators back.

The Celestial Sky Society quieted down, and thus ended the first stage

of the conflict. It wasn't that Naruto hadn't considered completely wiping them out and being done with it. After all, the Celestial Sky Society didn't have any Core Formation cultivators at all. However, having been in Sky City for so long, he had come to an even deeper understanding of the background of the Celestial Sky Society.

The truth was that, in terms of manpower, they didn't really count for much. He really could wipe them out single-handedly if he wanted to. However, the leadership of the organization were all servants in a deva clan, that deva being the very same boy who had brought Naruto to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to begin with. After finding that out, Naruto abandoned any ideas of wiping them out.

As things continued to ferment in the Celestial Sky Society, the Azure Dragon Society continued to expand and become more famous.

Naruto 's Fantasy Pills continued to rise in popularity in all five of the city's districts. Eventually, the Azure Dragon Society reached a terrifying level of power.

Their merit point reserves also continued to grow, and more cultivators sought the security that came from being part of their ranks. There were even some smaller cultivator clans and minor organizations that officially joined the Azure Dragon Society.

They had tons of merit points, and a boss in the Core Formation stage. Because of that, it only took one year for them to grow from a small gang into Sky City's second largest organization!

By that point, they had long since moved their headquarters from the original immortal's cave to the very best area in the north district. Were it not for the fact that people couldn't actually own property in Sky City, they would likely have bought all of the real estate in the area and rented it out.

In addition, Naruto wasn't busy at all anymore. He had hired a huge team of apothecaries to concoct medicine for him. Of course, he kept the pill formula a secret.

In contrast, Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai were both very busy handling the affairs of the organization. Eventually, Naruto thought about his other Dao Protectors, and wondered whether or not they had heard about his recent accomplishments….

"Song Que is definitely out doing missions, so he probably doesn't know. But Eldest Brother has surely caught wind of the situation. Why hasn't he come looking for me?"

Even as he contemplated the matter, Chen Manyao showed up. She simply walked through the entrance of the immortal's cave and said that she was Madam Uzumaki, the Daoist partner of the Azure Dragon Society's boss. Considering that the boss of the Azure Dragon Society was like the sun in the noonday sky, that made Chen Manyao extremely important as well. No one was willing to offend her, and they quickly escorted her to see Naruto .

After listening to her explanation about why she'd left and then come back, Naruto felt a bit of a headache coming on. Realizing that he couldn't send her away, he sighed and agreed to let her stay.

Because she continued to claim to be Naruto 's Daoist partner, everyone in the Azure Dragon Society treated her with extreme respect. Naruto didn't feel like dealing with the matter, so he focused on Big Fatty Zhang. Worried that he might be in some sort of danger, he passed down orders that the entire Azure Dragon Society was to be on the lookout for him. Of course, in the orders, he didn't use the nickname Big Fatty Zhang, but rather his friend's true name, Zhang Dahai.

The Azure Dragon Society was a huge, powerful group, so tracking down a single person was not a very difficult task. That was especially true considering that the orders had come from the boss himself. In fact, to many cultivators, it was an opportunity to make a name for themselves in the organization, and so soon, everyone was looking for Big Fatty Zhang.

It was impossible to prevent the Celestial Sky Society from hearing

about the matter, and they also began a search for Big Fatty Zhang. There was nothing that could be done about the matter, and Naruto knew that, so he also sent people to keep watch over the Celestial Sky Society.

As the search went on for Big Fatty Zhang….

There was a small cultivator clan in the west district whose clan chief had just recently joined the Azure Dragon Society and had quickly risen to the rank of sub-boss. He had just been given the notice handed down to look for Big Fatty Zhang, and as soon as he saw the picture of the subject of the search, beads of sweat popped out on his forehead.

For some reason, the person the boss was looking for looked very much like a spirit enhancer who had accidentally destroyed one of his magical items about six months before in a failed spirit enhancement attempt. That young spirit enhancer had claimed to be surnamed Zhang. In his fury, this sub-boss had imprisoned the spirit enhancer and forced him to perform spirit enhancements day and night to make up for the loss.

Something like that didn't involve killing, so the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect didn't care about it. Eventually, the sub-boss had forgotten about the lone spirit enhancer, but now that he suddenly came to mind, the man started trembling.

He thought back to when he'd apprehended the spirit enhancer, and remembered thinking that as long as the young man didn't die, he could use him to perform spirit enhancements in the future. Regret and nervousness gripped him as he realized that it was possible the young man very well could have died since then. Without any hesitation, he began to rush toward the clan's spirit enhancement workstation.

Even from a distance, he could make out the gaunt and shriveled Big Fatty Zhang, his eyes listless as he weakly held a flying sword out in front of him. Off to the side, one of the clan servants was berating him loudly.

"Hurry it up! If you destroy another flying sword, then I'm gonna–" Before the servant could finish speaking, he saw the clan chief rushing over, and immediately put on a fawning expression. Just when he was going to clasp hands in greeting, the clan chief slapped him across the side of the face, sending him spinning through the air with a squawk to land about 30 meters away.

"Dammit! I can't believe you were being so rude to my honored guest!"

When Big Fatty Zhang saw this happen, he shivered and looked over nervously at the clan chief.

However, the clan chief was even more nervous than him. Hurriedly helping Big Fatty Zhang to his feet, he cautiously asked, "Are you Fellow Daoist Zhang Dahai?"

—

Chapter 392

Chapter 392

Chapter 392: Dao Protector Reunion

In Big Fatty Zhang's mind, this clan chief was a completely domineering figure, and he had never before seen him act this way or speak with such courtesy. In this part of the city, he was the kind of person who could bring a torrent of trouble to anyone who bothered him. Not only was he an orange-robed disciple, he was also the chief of an entire cultivator clan!

Supposedly, this clan had once produced a cultivator who went all the way to the Nascent Soul stage, and although he had long since perished, he had left an impression on the cultivators in this part of the city that continued on down to this day.

Big Fatty Zhang had started out very confident in being able to make a living with his spirit enhancement abilities, but after a string of failures, including one very important magical item belonging to this clan chief, he had ended up being imprisoned in their clan headquarters. Half a year had gone by, and Big Fatty Zhang felt like he was descending into insanity. He didn't do anything other than perform spirit enhancements, and never got enough food to make him full. Were it not for his intense determination to keep living, he probably would have long since died from hunger and exhaustion.

He was instinctively afraid of the clan chief already, but to hear the man speak his own name left Big Fatty Zhang trembling even harder than before. However, deep in his heart, he also felt anger, and that seeped into his eyes. If looks could kill, then the way he was staring at this clan chief right now would cause the man to explode violently.

"Um… Fellow Daoist, please, just tell me. Are you Zhang Dahai?!" The clan chief's anxiety was mounting, and he didn't dare to even think about simply killing the young spirit enhancer to silence him. The Azure Dragon Society was too big and powerful, and the matter would definitely be found out eventually. If the boss found out he'd imprisoned Zhang Dahai, only to kill him later, the entire clan would be doomed.

"Yeah, that's right!" Big Fatty Zhang yelled. "I'm Zhang Dahai!"

The clan chief felt like his head was about to explode. He started shaking physically, and his pupils constricted into tiny dots. To see him reacting this way gave Big Fatty Zhang a very bad feeling. Suddenly feeling weak at the knees, he cursed inwardly and was just about to say something more when the clan chief unexpectedly spun to face the clan servant he had just knocked to the side.

"You dumbass servant!" he shouted. "Don't you remember how I told you this young man was an honored guest? You're supposed to respect guests! You were instructed to take care of him, but instead, you used him to screw me over!" With that, he raised his hand and slapped the servant again, sending him spinning off to the side once more.

Blood sprayed out of the servant's mouth, along with a bitter scream. Completely bewildered by why his master would suddenly act this way, he was just about to beg for mercy when the clan chief yelled, "Men, get this servant out of my sight! Cripple his cultivation base and throw him into the dungeon!"

With that, the clan chief hurried over and helped Big Fatty Zhang to his feet. Smiling at him amiably, he tried to sound as apologetic as possible as he said, "Brother Zhang, all of this was a big mistake. If you want me to execute that servant, just say the word!

"Ai, you must have had it so difficult these days, Brother Zhang." Patting the dust off of the dumbfounded Big Fatty Zhang's shoulders, the clan chief supported him by the arm as he led the way to the clan's main hall.

Raising his voice, he called out, "Prepare the best spirit food and the finest liquor as my apology to Brother

Zhang!"

Within moments, the entire clan was buzzing with activity. Although everyone was scratching their heads in confusion, none of them dared to question what was happening. An entire table of spirit food was prepared, and the clan chief himself waited upon Big Fatty Zhang. He even called over some female clan members to sit next to him.

Big Fatty Zhang was more taken aback than ever at this sudden change of events. Never had the clan chief acted so politely, and he couldn't fathom why he would be acting like this. However, after seeing all the spirit food on the table, he put the matter out of mind and immediately began wolfing it down.

The clan chief stood off to one side, trembling inwardly, but keeping a smile plastered on his face as he continuously served new dishes.

Furthermore, the beautiful female clan members continued to give Big Fatty Zhang meaningful glances. Although they were somewhat confused about why they had been told to do this, they didn't hold back, and one of them even began to gently massage his neck. The others kept his drinking glass full, and even chatted with him in subdued tones.

Although Big Fatty Zhang was feeling very nervous about what was going on, he simply gritted his teeth, threw caution to the wind, and enjoyed what was happening.

Two hours later, Big Fatty Zhang had eaten and drunk to his heart's content. Finally, he slapped the table and looked over at the clan chief with a glare.

"Alright, just what is going on here!?"

The clan chief couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice as he replied, "Brother Zhang, what happened before really was a big mistake on my part. Please, don't take it to heart." Clasping his hands, he eyes the female clan members, then gritted his teeth and continued, "Brother Zhang, if you don't despise them too much, why not just take these daughters of the clan as your own!?"

The young women gasped, and opened their mouths to protest, but the clan chief's fierce glare kept them silent.

Big Fatty Zhang was scared speechless, and more nervous than ever. He simply couldn't decide what to do. After a moment passed, he asked, "Why are you doing this…?"

Considering how Big Fatty Zhang was pressing the issue, the clan chief didn't dare to try to pull the wool over his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Brother Zhang, the boss of the Azure Dragon Society is scouring the city looking for you…."

"Azure Dragon Society?" Big Fatty Zhang said, looking confused. He had been imprisoned back when the Azure Dragon Society was first starting to rise to prominence. Back then, there had been plenty of people who had never even heard of them, including Big Fatty Zhang.

Considering the expression on Big Fatty Zhang's face, the clan chief quickly explained how, during the past few months, the Azure Dragon Society had risen to the heights of glory. Big Fatty Zhang was now shaking harder than ever.

"Somebody important like that is looking for me?" He grabbed a big flagon of alcohol and took a long drink.

Before long, evening was falling. Peppering Big Fatty Zhang with nonstop apologies, the clan chief led him out and toward the north district to finally meet the illustrious Boss Azure Dragon.

Along the way, Big Fatty Zhang heard a lot of people on the street talking about the Azure Dragon Society, and his nervousness grew.

Soon, the moon hung high overhead, and the two of them were in the north district, right outside of a sprawling immortal's cave.

It had eighteen enormous stone golems standing guard outside, along with countless cultivators. Inside, it was just barely possible to see rank upon rank of powerful cultivators patrolling about.

Glittering spell formations surrounded the immortal's cave, and high in the sky above it was a magical projection of an azure dragon. It was extremely realistic, and a mere glance at it would be enough to fill anyone's heart with shock.

"Th-this… this is the Azure Dragon Society?" Big Fatty Zhang asked hesitantly. The clan chief nodded. Of course, this wasn't the clan chief's first time coming here, but he was still extremely nervous.

Big Fatty Zhang was already having trouble breathing, and truly could not fathom why an important person like the boss of the Azure Dragon Society would possibly be looking for him. However, he had no choice but to follow the clan chief as he cautiously headed toward the main gate and reported in.

Before he could even finish making an explanation, three beams of light shot out from inside the Azure Dragon Society. The person in the lead had a long orange robe on, and wore a beautiful headdress embroidered with an azure dragon. It was none other than Naruto !

He was festooned with various defensive jade jewelry, and glittered with dazzling magical treasures. He even had a halo hovering above his head, and couldn't have looked more impressive. Flanking him were Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner. By this point, Xu Baocai looked very different than he had when he'd first been reunited with Naruto . His face had a healthy glow, and he was also covered with all sorts of glittering treasures. He looked like the picture of riches and honor.

As soon as Naruto appeared, the Azure Dragon Society was thrown into a hubbub. Cultivators and maidservants poured out from inside the immortal's cave, and the cultivators who were already outside trembled and dropped to their knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, Boss!"

"Greetings, Boss!" Their cries created a rumbling like that of thunder. At that point, Big Fatty Zhang realized to his shock that the clan chief next to him had also dropped to his knees and was kowtowing.

Big Fatty Zhang was the only one left standing, his eyes wide as he stared in shock at Master God-Diviner, Xu Baocai, and Naruto .

"Ninth Fatty!" Big Fatty Zhang said, completely flabbergasted.

"Eldest Brother!" Naruto cried. Laughing loudly, he stepped forward and embraced Big Fatty Zhang. Big Fatty Zhang returned the embrace heartily, looking like he had just been reunited with family.

When the clan chief from the little cultivator clan saw that, his heart shook with fear that Big Fatty Zhang would try to get revenge on him, and put a look of ultimate remorse and supplication on his face.

Big Fatty Zhang was so excited that he didn't even notice how the clan chief was looking at him. His laughter mingled with Naruto 's as the two of them excitedly headed toward the immortal's cave.

—

Chapter 393

Chapter 393

Chapter 393: File A Grievance….

Of the five Dao protectors Naruto had brought with him, the only one unaccounted for was Song Que. The other four had all returned to Naruto 's side.

Even Chen Manyao was behaving herself. To Naruto , it felt completely wonderful to have people relying on him for reasons other than his cultivation base. It was something he often thought about during his meditation sessions.

Now that Big Fatty Zhang was back, Naruto felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. Big Fatty Zhang was different than Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai. Their friendship had begun on the very first day that Naruto became a part of the cultivation world.

In fact, almost as soon as Big Fatty Zhang arrived at the Azure Dragon Society, he became its second most important figure, with a standing higher than Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai. Of course, Master GodDiviner and Xu Baocai took this in stride; they were well aware of how close Naruto and Big Fatty Zhang were.

As the Azure Dragon Society expanded and grew more powerful, not only did they compete with the Celestial Sky Society with their Fantasy Pills, but in other areas as well.

However, such efforts couldn't be met with success quickly, and needed a lot of merit points to be invested. At the moment, the Fantasy Pills were still the bread and butter of the Azure Dragon Society.

Naruto didn't actually have a hand in such matters; he delegated the authority to Big Fatty Zhang and the others. Overall, Naruto was completely pleased with how amazing he was. The only thing that he wasn't happy about was that he actually didn't own his own immortal's cave; everything in Sky City was rented out by the sect.

After making some inquiries, he learned that it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone in Sky City who owned their own property. The only way to get one would be to have someone very powerful backing you.

Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have any powerful backers, so he had no choice other than to abandon the idea. Instead, he focused on his cultivation, using much of his profits from the Azure Dragon Society to purchase spirit medicines and spirit food to increase the speed of his progress.

It was only after spending about 1,000,000 merit points that he finally reached the point where he had successfully cultivated the third level of the Undying Live Forever Technique from the toes of his left foot all the way up to his calf!

When that part of his leg pulsed with the power of his Undying Muscles, he could send astonishing fluctuations rolling out from it, fluctuations that could shake heaven and earth with intense power.

The power in his left leg vastly surpassed that of his right leg, and was the source of the most incredibly fleshly body power he had at his disposal.

After a few tests, Naruto realized that he hadn't just experienced an increase in strength, but also speed. At the moment, his left leg could move at least twice as fast as his right!

Of course, even before that, he had been one of the top figures in his cultivation level in terms of speed, thanks to his Undying Heavenly King Body and Heaven-Dao Gold Core. Therefore, anyone who saw his speed now would be left gasping with shock!

In fact, thanks to this increase in speed, Naruto actually felt as if the other parts of his body were sluggish.

"One day, when I finish cultivating the Undying Muscles, then when I burst out with full speed…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto 's eyes shone with anticipation.

Back in the Middle Reaches, in the River-Defying Sect, it would have taken a very long time to reach this point, even with the help of the

Blood Ancestor. But here at the source of the river, in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the indescribably strong spiritual power, plus the vastly superior spirit medicines and spirit food, made everything completely different!

The only catch was that acquiring those resources required merit points, and a lot of them. Thankfully, that was exactly what Naruto had!

In addition to his success with his Undying Muscles, the vast quantity of merit points at his disposal ensured that his Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation also advanced by leaps and bounds.

The Heavenspan River water here was much different than in the Lower or Middle Reaches. It was so much stronger and purer that the lesser versions could hardly compare. At one point, he even spent tens of thousands of merit points to buy an entire a bowlful.

Eventually, he reached the peak of the Frigid Acolyte level. With the wave of a hand, he could cause frigid coldness to fill a 300-meter area, within which would appear a single blurry frigid shadow.

Naruto could switch positions with the frigid shadow at will; if used correctly in combat, it was a trick that could help him win in an unexpected way, and perhaps even turn a defeat at the hands of a powerful opponent into a victory!

Naruto was very excited about this, and even set up a special training ground to practice in. After sealing the place so that he was completely alone, he performed some tests. Upon summoning the frigid shadow in a location inside the 300-meter frozen area, he could take a step forward and then instantly take the shadow's place. It was almost like a teleportation! After familiarizing himself with the process, he was left so excited that it was difficult to put into words.

After reaching the peak of the Frigid Acolyte level, his techniques all improved, and his cultivation base also advanced. Because of the frigid Chakra buildup in his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, his cultivation base was now at the peak of the early Gold Core stage!

With one more step forward, he could break through into mid Gold Core!

Naruto was already certain of how to head in the direction of that breakthrough. It was none other than reaching the Frigid Adept level!

"Once I reach the Frigid Adept level, I'll step into the mid Gold Core stage!

"And that day isn't too far off!" He threw his head back and laughed uproariously, musing that coming to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect really was the right choice. In fact, if he had known how wonderful Sky City was going to be, he would have come earlier.

Even as Naruto reveled in complacency, the hostilities between the Celestial Sky Society and the Azure Dragon Society were increasing. In fact, numerous meetings had been held in the Celestial Sky Society to try to figure out what to do about Naruto and the Azure Dragon Society.

Unfortunately, Naruto was a Core Formation cultivator, something that had caught them completely unawares, and had also lost them the initiative. Their previous failed attempt to take him out had also significantly damaged their awe-inspiring reputation.

Of even greater significance than that was that the sheer size of the Azure Dragon Society made any schemes and plots they hatched relatively useless. Furthermore, in terms of their ability to use force, although they had a powerful background, they didn't have even a single Core Formation cultivator in their organization.

Although everyone talked about how they came from a clan with a deva patriarch, the truth was that the top orange-robed disciples in the Celestial Sky Society were nothing but servants in that clan. As such, their background sounded very impressive, but nobody in the clan really cared that much about them.

They really had no choice other than to report the matter to some of their superiors and hope that someone would show up to help them. However, despite having made several such requests over the past months, nobody had paid them any attention. Things to do with Core Formation cultivators weren't very important to the clan as a whole, and definitely wouldn't mobilize the forces of the entire clan to help them. The Celestial Sky Society would have to handle the matter on their own.

After waiting for quite some time without getting a response, the people in the Celestial Sky Society realized what was going on, and yet, weren't willing to just give in.

"We can't let things keep going on this way!"

"That's right. That damned Azure Dragon Society rose up too quickly and violently. If we don't do something soon, we're going to be playing second fiddle to them forever!"

"But the clan has been ignoring us. Ai."

"I can't believe we haven't been able to turn up any information about the background of Boss Azure Dragon. There's something fishy going on, I'm telling you! It's almost as if someone has wiped out all records of him!"

As the discussion played out, a shadowy figure sat off to the side, a person who seemed to be wreathed in flickering darkness. Suddenly, he spoke in a sinister voice.

"Since the clan is ignoring us and Boss Azure Dragon is too mysterious, then why don't just take the Fantasy Pills out of the picture? That would cripple the Azure Dragon Society, resolve this deadlock, and also make it more clear how to completely finish things.

"As for exactly how to take the Fantasy Pills out of the picture, it's simple. You people just never put enough thought into it. Just file a grievance with the sect regarding Fantasy Pills!

"After all, they still aren't really legal to sell!" His words were met with silence, and yet, all of the Celestial Sky Society's leaders' eyes began to shine brightly.

The person who had just spoken was none other than the boss of the Celestial Sky Society.

After the decision was formalized, the Celestial Sky Society sprang into action. They compiled a list of all the supposed side effects and harmful aspects of the Fantasy Pill and reported them to the sect. Furthermore, they backed the effort with all the money and connections they had at their disposal.

Three days later, an order came down from Sky Quarter Rainbow, which was announced everywhere in Sky City.

The Sky Quarter peak lord had ordered that disciples were forbidden from purchasing Fantasy Pills!

And there was more! A jade slip shot through the air in a bright beam of light toward the immortal's cave that was the headquarters of the Azure Dragon Society. It pierced through all of the defensive spell formations like a hot knife through butter before coming to a stop before Naruto . Then, scintillating light burst out from it, along with a profoundly ancient voice.

"Hostage Naruto from the River-Defying Sect is to report immediately to the Sky Quarter peak lord!"

—

Chapter 394

Chapter 394

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HOME COMPLETED 7 KILLERS (七杀手) [KR] ACQUIRING TALENT IN A

DUNGEON (HALTED) [KR] BREAKERS CHILD OF LIGHT (光之子) COILING

DRAGON (盘龙) [KR] EMPEROR OF SOLO PLAY DRAGON KING WITH

SEVEN STARS (七星龙王) [KR] GOD OF CRIME HEROES SHED NO TEARS

(英雄不流泪) HORIZON, BRIGHT MOON, SABRE (天涯明月刀) I SHALL

SEAL THE HEAVENS (我欲封天) [KR] I'M SORRY FOR BEING BORN IN THIS

WORLD! [EN] OVERTHROWING FATE [KR] PRAISE THE ORC! [KR] SEOUL

STATION'S NECROMANCER STELLAR TRANSFORMATIONS (星辰变)

WARLOCK OF THE MAGUS WORLD (巫界术士) CHINESE A MORTAL'S

JOURNEY TO IMMORTALITY A WILL ETERNAL (一念永恒) AGAINST THE

GODS (逆天邪神) ANCIENT STRENGTHENING TECHNIQUE BATTLE

THROUGH THE HEAVENS (斗破苍穹) CHARM OF SOUL PETS (宠魅) CITY

OF SIN (罪恶之城) DEMON HUNTER (狩魔手记) DESOLATE ERA (莽荒纪)

EMPEROR'S DOMINATION (帝霸) GATE OF REVELATION (天启之门)

HEAVENLY JEWEL CHANGE (天珠变) IMPERIAL GOD EMPEROR (御天神帝)

INVINCIBLE (无敌天下) LEGEND OF THE DRAGON KING (龙王传说) LORD

OF ALL REALMS (万域之王) MARTIAL GOD ASURA (修罗武神) MARTIAL WORLD (武极天下) MONARCH OF EVERNIGHT (永夜君王) PERFECT

WORLD (完美世界) REBIRTH OF THE THIEF RENEGADE IMMORTAL (仙逆) SKYFIRE AVENUE (天火大道) SOVEREIGN OF THE THREE REALMS (三界独尊) SPIRIT REALM (灵域) SPIRIT VESSEL (灵舟) TALES OF DEMONS & GODS (妖神记) TALISMAN EMPEROR (符皇) TERROR INFINITY (无限恐怖) THE GODSFALL CHRONICLES (陨神记) THE GRANDMASTER STRATEGIST

(一代军师) THE GREAT RULER (大主宰) TRANXENDING VISION (超品透视)

UNRIVALED TANG SECT (绝世唐门) UPGRADE SPECIALIST IN ANOTHER

WORLD WU DONG QIAN KUN (武动乾坤) KOREAN DRAGON MAKEN WAR I

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AWE – Chapter 394

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Chapter 394: Sky Quarter Rainbow

Naruto had just been in the middle of performing some breathing exercises, so the sudden arrival of the jade slip caused his eyes to go wide. Shivering, he said, "The Sky Quarter peak lord? He wants to see me?

"What does he want? I don't even know him!" From the tone he had detected in that voice just now, the speaker hadn't seemed very pleased.

"What's going on!?" Even as Naruto 's nervousness began to mount, Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai showed up, serious expressions on their faces. Big Fatty Zhang seemed very angry, and the other leaders all looked extremely anxious.

Xu Baocai gritted his teeth and said, "Junior Patriarch, the Starry Sky

Dao Polarity Sect just issued orders prohibiting the trafficking of Fantasy Pills! This is definitely the handiwork of the Celestial Sky Society. They're trying to cut off our main source of income!"

Xu Baocai's life had been quite comfortable lately, and he had very much enjoyed seeing merit points rolling in without stop. But now, it seemed that it all was coming to an end; how could he not get nervous?

"What do we do, Boss?"

"Without Fantasy Pills, the Azure Dragon Society is in great danger!"

"That's right. Weve been expanding too quickly recently, and the news about the restrictions on the Fantasy Pills is definitely going to spread like wildfire through the city…."

Xu Baocai wasn't the only nervous one. The other cultivators in the Azure Dragon Society were all thinking the same thing. After all, the vast majority of the Azure Dragon Society's income came from Fantasy Pills.

Without those pills, the Azure Dragon Society's enormous size would quickly become its biggest disadvantage. After all, to maintain its current size required a significant merit point expenditure in salaries.

If too much time went by, they would be forced to cut back in certain areas, and the Celestial Sky Society would definitely take advantage of that. They would go in for the kill, and try to destroy all the advances that the Azure Dragon Society had made in the past.

In the final analysis, the biggest problem was that the Azure Dragon Society didn't have any resources built up. Compared to the Celestial Sky Society, they were like a huge, empty building, fundamentally unstable and prone to collapse at any moment.

Sadly, other than Naruto 's Dao protectors, virtually all of the other Azure Dragon Society cultivators present were all starting to ponder what move to make next.

If the leadership was doing that, it almost wasn't necessary to mention the ordinary cultivators who made up the rest of the organization. Naruto knew that if he didn't handle this situation well, the entire Azure Dragon Society could collapse.

However, now wasn't the moment to ponder the Azure Dragon Society's situation. The glittering jade slip still hovered in front of him, and even as everyone who had just rushed in was still peppering him with questions, his eyes flashed, and he cleared his throat.

"What are you getting so anxious for!?" Everyone's mouths snapped shut. Naruto was the boss of the Azure Dragon Society, and a Gold

Core cultivator. Even more importantly, he was the inventor of the Fantasy Pill. Although he didn't have much of a role in the daily operations of the organization, the Azure Dragon Society was his, and he was the most stabilizing force within it.

"I know the Celestial Sky Society has powerful backers, but did you really think I wouldn't have some too?!" With that, he rose to his feet, stuck his chin up, and the pointed at the jade slip.

"Look at that, all of you. What is it?" Everyone looked over in surprise, and soon people realized that it was an object from the rainbow district.

"That's the command medallion of the peak lord of Sky Quarter

Rainbow!"

"I knew I saw a beam of light flying down from Sky Quarter Rainbow! So, it came here. It was actually a message for our exalted boss!" The cultivators of the Azure Dragon Society couldn't help but gasp as they looked over at Naruto , eyes shining with bright light.

"Don't tell me that the boss actually has special connections with Sky

Quarter itself?!" As everyone was reeling in shock, Xu Baocai, Master God-Diviner, and Big Fatty Zhang were all staring at Naruto with blank looks, completely unable to wrap their minds around how he could possibly be connected to the Sky Quarter peak lord.

"As long as you understand the situation," Naruto said coolly. "Well, now I'm going to go pay a formal visit to the Sky Quarter peak lord. We'll figure out our next step after I get back!" With that, he waved his sleeve, grabbing the jade slip and walking out the chamber.

As he left, all of the Azure Dragon Society cultivators clasped hands and bowed. Although they were still somewhat worried, they felt much more relieved than they had been moments before. That attitude would have a big influence on the cultivators under their control, and at the very least, would ensure that the restrictions placed on Fantasy Pills would not cause chaos in the Azure Dragon Society, at least not for the time being.

Naruto 's act had been pulled off perfectly. Even Big Fatty Zhang had been taken in, and watched Naruto with both confidence and anticipation.

However, as soon as Naruto left the Azure Dragon Society's immortal's cave, he almost collapsed into tears. Moments before, he had been standing tall and straight, but now he was wracked with anxiety. At the same time, his rage toward the Celestial Sky Society burned hotter than ever. However, there was no time now to dwell on his anger.

"What does the Sky Quarter peak lord want with me…?" he thought nervously as he headed toward a certain location in the central district of Sky City that led to the rainbow district.

This was where newly-promoted yellow-robed disciples would come to head to the rainbow. As for red- and orange-robed disciples, they could only enter this area if they had special invitations or orders.

Upon reaching the teleportation portal, he produced the jade slip and took a deep breath. Trying to look solemn and tragic, as if he were going for broke, he stepped forward into the portal.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, along with the dazzling light of teleportation, which wrapped around him for a moment before fading away, and him along with it.

When he reappeared, he was in the third level of rainbows at the bottom of the waterfall, on the second rainbow.

As soon as he materialized, he looked around to find himself surrounded by richly ornamented buildings connected by green jade paths. Immortal trees flourished everywhere, and spiritual energy wafted about, making the place seem like the picture of a celestial paradise.

There were ponds and immortal's caves, as well as domesticated spirit creatures frolicking within the trees and waters. Soft, seven-colored light permeated the entire area, creating a spectacular scene of beauty.

Yellow-robed disciples could be seen everywhere, sitting in meditation or strolling about. Everything was quiet and peaceful, completely lacking the raucous brouhaha common in Sky City. There were flowing crowds of people, and yet all of the cultivators looked cold and indifferent. Each and every one seemed tall and slender, with mysterious light swirling around them that made them seem like something from beyond the mortal world.

Apparently, there was some sort of restrictive spell in place that made the strong spiritual energy softer and more gentle, and ensured that one's energy was not drained while absorbing it.

Naruto was immediately taken aback. This was his first time seeing the world that existed on the rainbow, and he couldn't help but rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, it was all there. One interesting thing he noted was that although the rainbow district was large, it was only about half the size of Sky City.

Even as Naruto looked around in amazement, the air in front of him distorted, and a female yellow-robed disciple stepped out of thin air. She had long flowing hair, and lovely facial features, although her expression was a bit cold. Looking Naruto up and down, she said, "You're Naruto ?"

A serious expression took over Naruto 's eyes. This young woman was at the peak of the early Core Formation stage, just like him, and yet the method she had used to appear in front of him was quite astonishing.

This was his first time encountering someone in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect who was in the same cultivation level as himself, and also his first time seeing first hand some of the divine abilities and magical techniques that he had only just heard about so far.

If her cultivation base had been higher than his, he might have reacted differently. But considering they were in the same level, he decided that he couldn't let himself look weak, so he proudly stated, "Yeah, I'm Naruto . Who are you?"

"Come with me. My Master wants to see you. By the way, watch your step around here. Core Formation cultivators can get killed here very easily if they get lost." With that, she turned and began to walk off.

Her words made Naruto feel more nervous than ever as he hurried to follow her. The two of them became two beams of bright light that shot off into the distance.

As they flew along, Naruto looked down at the things passing by below, and quickly came to realize how the Sky Quarter Rainbows were set up. There were five ring-shaped districts that seemed to be filled with more coldness and pressure the further they went toward the center.

Eventually, the young woman led him to the middle ring, where a shockingly tall mountain peak became visible. It was surrounded by dazzling seven-colored light, and was completely devoid of any type of plants or vegetation. The only thing visible on the peak was an enormous temple, gray in color and surrounded by an indescribable energy. Just by looking at it, Naruto got the feeling that it wasn't a temple, but rather, an ancient wild beast.

The young woman came to a stop after leading Naruto to the foot of the mountain. Then, she stepped back a few paces, maintaining her silence. Even as Naruto was wondering what exactly she was doing, an ancient voice suddenly drifted out from the temple at the peak of the mountain.

"Admit to your crimes, Naruto !"

—

Chapter 395

Chapter 395

Chapter 395

In response to the words, Naruto 's anxiety suddenly faded away, and he sighed inwardly. At the same time, he inwardly thanked the Senior cultivators back in the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect, who had often scared the living daylights out of him by uttering such words.

As soon as the words registered in his mind, he was relatively certain that he wasn't in trouble. Whenever members of the Senior generation spoke like that, it was like they were brandishing a club, only to hand out rewards afterward.

Having realized this, Naruto immediately knew what to do next. Gasping, he plastered an expression onto his face that was a mix of bitterness, defiance, and anger. At the same time, he tried to look like he felt deep respect for the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and hoped to rise within its ranks, but simultaneously, missed the River-Defying Sect. As these expressions all played out on his face, it created the perfect complicated look that a hostage should have.

As he stood there silently, he clasped hands and bowed deeply, as though he had thousands of words he wished to speak, and yet didn't.

Instead, he was simply waiting to see what would happen to him.

Although he didn't say anything, his expression spoke volumes.

Naruto had mastered this tactic of responding to accusations with righteous indignation back in the Blood Stream Sect, and had always found it to be particularly effective.

As for the cold-faced young woman, when she saw the expression on Naruto 's face, her jaw dropped.

The voice which had just spoken out from the mountain maintained silence for a moment before continuing, "Fine, we'll let the matter drop. After all, you're a hostage from the River-Defying Sect, which is an important sect connected to the Sky Quarter. Give me the formula for the Fantasy Pill. It has some blemishes, but at the same time, could come in useful."

Naruto hesitated, causing a protracted moment of silence. Then, the ancient voice once again spoke from within the seven-colored light shining out of the temple. "I won't force you to give it to me for free. I'll pay you 1,000,000 merit points, and immediately promote you to a yellow-robed disciple. Henceforth, you will no longer reside in Sky City!"

When the young female cultivator heard this, her eyes went wide, and she looked up at the temple in shock.

Naruto was feeling very pleased with himself, but didn't let that show on his face. Actually, he was feeling a bit of disdain at the moment. After all, he had plenty of merit points, and if he'd wanted to be promoted to the rainbow district, he could have done it long ago. He often spent tens of thousands of merit points on a single meal, not to mention all of the puppet maid servants he had to wait upon him.

Plus, he had lots of subordinates to take care of. In the end, his monthly expenses probably exceeded 1,000,000 merit points.

"Only a complete moron would come here," he thought. "Life is great back in Sky City! I'm super powerful, my cultivation goes really quickly, and nobody causes me any problems!" Naruto had already decided that he didn't want to be promoted to the rainbow district, and this trip had proved it. Everyone had cold expressions here, and it didn't look like a fun place at all.

Upon hearing the peak lord's offer, Naruto took a deep breath, clasped hands and bowed deeply, his expression more somber than ever.

Sounding profoundly righteous, he spoke out in a loud voice, "Peak Lord, of course disciple is willing to give you the pill formula. As for the merit points, I don't want them. I have no desire to become a yellow-robed disciple in that fashi

on. That's simply not my style. Naruto will become a yellow-robed disciple with the merit points he earns with his own two hands!"

The cold-looking young female cultivator looked at Naruto again. Moments ago, her Master the peak lord's offer had been completely astonishing to her. In all her years as his apprentice, this was her first time hearing him be so generous. But then, her shock only continued to grow as Naruto refused the offer!

She couldn't help but gasp. Never before had she seen anyone turn down such an opportunity; 1,000,000 merit points was a huge sum to any cultivator. It was the type of savings most people spent an entire sixty-year-cycle building up.

As for the peak lord, were it not for the fact that he had already heard about Naruto 's antics in Sky City, he would also have been shocked. After all, throughout all his years serving as the peak lord, he had never seen any disciple turn down the opportunity to become a yellow-robed disciple.

Up in the temple, he was sitting there with an odd expression on his face, looking off to the side, where stood the vague image of a whiterobed young woman. Melancholy and other mixed emotions could be seen on her face as she looked at Naruto .

She seemed to exist somewhere between illusory and corporeal, and was difficult to see clearly. However, from the way the air around her distorted and filled with rifts, it was possible to determine that she either had a shocking cultivation base, or possessed some unimaginably powerful precious treasure!

When the young woman didn't react to Naruto 's statement, the Sky Quarter peak lord's frustration rose. The truth was that he didn't need the medicine formula at all, nor did he want it. However, someone who he didn't dare to provoke had tasked him with watching out for Naruto , and therefore, he had been looking for an opportunity to give him a large sum of merit points.

But without a good excuse, how could he stoop to helping a mere Core Formation cultivator? After all, he was the Sky Quarter peak lord, and although he wasn't a deva, he was half a step into that realm, and a hostage definitely wasn't someone he should care about.

And yet, here Naruto had gone and rejected his offer.

The peak lord was starting to feel very frustrated. After all, the person he didn't dare to provoke, the one who had made the demands of him to begin with, was standing right next to him. It was none other than that young woman in the white robe!

"Cut the crap!" he said. "Considering my status, you think I'm just going to take things from you? Tell me what you want, and as long as it's in my power, I'll meet your demands!"

Naruto wasn't the only one to gape in response to the words. The cold-faced female cultivator gasped; as of this day, her view of her Master had changed. Clearly, he wasn't trying to trade with Naruto , he was simply handing things over to him….

"What powerful backer does this Naruto have!?" she thought, looking at him with wide eyes, her heart pounding.

Shocked, Naruto looked up toward the dazzling temple at the peak of the mountain, and suddenly felt a bit nervous. Something about the whole situation seemed odd, as if this peak lord wouldn't let him go without giving him something. In fact, it seemed like refusing the offer would enrage the man.

Even as he hesitated, the peak lord once again demanded that he hurry up and accept the offer.

Naruto grit his teeth. Eyes sparkling, he looked up at the temple and said, "Peak Lord, disciple is extremely grateful for your kind intentions. If you truly wish to give me something, Senior, well… down in Sky City you have to rent everything. I really can never feel at home. After coming here all alone, sir, I really wish I could have my own piece of land, something that belongs just to me. What do you think?

"When I find the right location, I'll build myself a little mansion right on top of it…." With that, he looked up toward the mountain peak, anticipation written on his face.

Although he had been a bit hesitant to make the request, it was to his surprise that he saw a seven-colored beam of light immediately fly out from the temple and come to a stop right in front of him in the form of a little seven-colored flag.

"The east, south, and central districts are off limits. But go ahead and select any open land in the west or north districts. Plant that flag in the ground, and that 5-kilometer area will be your personal property!" With that, the Sky Quarter peak lord sighed in relief, then sent a wave of seven-colored light to push Naruto and the cold-faced female cultivator away.

The female cultivator was completely taken aback, and couldn't stop staring at the seven-colored flag in Naruto 's hand. Even as the peak lord's personal apprentice, she had never received such treatment, and she couldn't prevent her eyes from shining brightly. How could she ever have imagined that her Master would give Naruto the gift of personal property!?

In Sky City, a 5-kilometer-area of personal property was so expensive that it was impossible to even imagine, and yet her Master had handed it over without even pausing. From what the young woman could tell, Naruto must have a very powerful backer indeed.

"He really gave it to me?" Naruto thought with a gasp, clutching the seven-colored flag in his hand as he was pushed 300 meters away from the mountain. As he looked over his shoulder, he was fairly certain that he could see through the door of the seven-colored temple, where the vague image of a young woman could be seen. It was impossible to tell exactly what she looked like, and even in the moment in which he saw her, she vanished.

With that, he turned and left, taking his suspicions with him. A moment later, the young woman who had just vanished materialized again, this time wearing a veil.

"Long time no see, Naruto…." she murmured. A moment later, a passing breeze lifted the veil for just a moment, revealing a spectacularly beautiful face.

Had Naruto been there to see it, he would have recognized this young woman immediately. She looked very much like Ryuzetsu !

Slowly, a smile spread out on her face, the type of smile that comes when reuniting with someone important, a smile filled with warmth and anticipation.

Chapter 395: Seeing Ryuzetsu Again!

Chapter 396

Chapter 396

Chapter 396: Comeback Time!

Puzzlement and confusion could be seen in Naruto 's eyes the entire way out of the rainbow district. The cold female cultivator leading the way suddenly seemed much warmer than before, and even looked at him a few times out of the corner of her eye to size him up.

When they reached the teleportation portal, she smiled and gave him a curtseying bow.

"Brother Uzumaki, sorry for my lack of manners earlier. Oh, my name is Qing Xuan."

Then the light of teleportation rose up between them. Naruto 's vision swam, and the echo of the young woman's words was replaced by the cacophonous din of Sky City.

Naruto felt almost like he had been dreaming just now. But then he pulled the seven-colored flag out of his bag of holding and looked it over, and his eyes began to shine brightly with excitement.

"I can't believe he actually gave it to me!" The idea of having his own five-kilometer area of personal property in Sky City was spine-tingling.

However, he didn't forget his suspicions about why exactly things had played out as they did. Looking back up in the direction of Sky Quarter Rainbow, he murmured to himself, "Somebody is secretly helping me….

The Sky Quarter peak lord was obviously being forced to give me a gift.

Otherwise, why did he never actually take the pill formula!?" Lost in thought, he headed back toward the north district. However, his reverie didn't last long; soon he realized that everyone around him was talking about the Azure Dragon Society.

"Did you hear? After you consume that evil Fantasy Pill, it gives you permanent brain damage! How sadistic!"

"It doesn't just give you brain damage. If you consume enough of them, your latent talent deteriorates, and you slowly go crazy! I even heard of some people who died from them!"

"There's worse! They're addictive. Once you start consuming them, you go crazy if you try to stop! I should have known the Azure Dragon Society would be responsible for a sadistic pill like that!"

"The boss of the Azure Dragon Society was the one who invented it!

Hey, do you guys remember the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill? He made that too!

What a depraved devil!"

Naruto was not very happy about such talk. Although his Fantasy Pill wasn't perfect, it definitely wouldn't cause any sort of permanent harm, and the positive aspects of the pill more than made up for any side effects.

Furthermore, nobody had ever died from consuming them.

However, the rumors were too perfectly crafted, and by the time Naruto arrived at the north district, word had spread to the other districts as well.

Based on the animosity being voiced toward the Azure Dragon Society and Boss Azure Dragon, Naruto couldn't help but imagine what would happen if someone recognized him. All it would take would be for someone to shout out and identify him, and everyone around him would surely pounce on him.

He was trembling with fear, but in order to play it as safe as possible, he walked through the crowd cursing the Azure Dragon Society as loudly as possible. After hurrying along for some time, he finally arrived at the Azure Dragon Society's headquarters.

Upon his return, everyone offered greetings, but clearly, they were very nervous. Seemingly on the verge of tears, Xu Baocai said, "Junior Patriarch, that shameless Celestial Sky Society has been spreading rumors everywhere, slandering the Azure Dragon Society! A lot of our people have already renounced their membership!"

"The situation is completely out of control…." Master God-Diviner said, a bitter smile on his face. Despite the fact that they had been on guard for a counter att

ack, the Celestial Sky Society was too big of an organization, and had connections in the city that went far deeper than the Azure Dragon Society's.

Big Fatty Zhang and Chen Manyao seemed very anxious, and the other

Azure Dragon Society cultivators were all standing there in mute silence. Everyone was obviously waiting to hear what exactly had occurred during Naruto 's trip to the rainbow district, and if anything positive had come of it.

If the result was indeed positive, then they would stick with the Azure Dragon Society and wait to see how things developed. If not, then they would have to start considering how they would survive after having offended the Celestial Sky Society.

Naruto was very angry. After all, the Celestial Sky Society had been the group who had started selling the Fantasy Pills, and those versions had been crafted from stolen hallucination smoke. Now, they were going so far as to pin all the blame on Naruto , which was a humiliation that left him fuming. Then he thought back to how he had been set up in the situation with the Ultra Fasting Aid Pill, and his anger reached the point where he almost couldn't contain it.

Big Fatty Zhang eyes shone with vicious light as he said, "Ninth Fatty, the Celestial Sky Society has pushed things too far. Let's go have it out with them once and for all!"

Clearly, his experiences recently had left him with a much sharper killing aura to him.

"Junior Patriarch," Xu Baocai said. "I think we really do need to just go fight it out with them. But how are we supposed to do that considering the sect rules…?"

"There's nothing we can do!" Master God-Diviner jumped in. "With the Fantasy Pills outlawed, we have no way to make a living. What are we supposed to do?!" All the other cultivators simply stood to the side as the discussion progressed. Finally, one of the orange-robed disciples stepped forward, clasped hands and bowed to Naruto .

"Boss, did anything good come of your trip to the rainbow district?" As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone quieted down and looked at Naruto expectantly.

Naruto took a deep breath to suppress his anger, then said, "Of course some good came of it. But we still can't sell Fantasy Pills."

The silence which met his words was even deeper than the silence from before.

After looking over the group, he asked for someone to bring him a map of Sky City, then turned and walked into his room

Time passed. The next day, more cultivators left the Azure Dragon Society. The day after that, even more left. That trend continued with each passing day.

By the time seven whole days had passed, the continued pressure from the Celestial Sky Society saw ninety percent of the cultivators leave the Azure Dragon Society. The Azure Dragon Society had risen with explosive speed, and although such people had been happy to join it at the peak of its success, none of them had any desire to stay with it as it declined.

The group's subsidiary organizations in the other districts of the city collapsed, and the smaller clans and gangs that had joined them abandoned them and cut all ties.

All sorts of rumors swirled in the city, and the Celestial Sky Society took advantage of the situation to absorb as many former members of the Azure Dragon Society as possible. Soon, the Azure Dragon Society's headquarters was almost completely empty.

There were now less than 1,000 cultivators remaining, and after two days passed, more left. By the ninth day, they had less than 200 members.

The majestic Azure Dragon Society had almost completely fallen in only nine days. The matter shook all of Sky City, and further reinforced the Celestial Sky Society's reputation of being powerful and having deep resources. In some ways, it was not a big surprise. Everything about the Azure Dragon Society had been based on their incredible income of merit points. Without time to truly settle down, they were like an empty building that could collapse when hit by a single big wave or a single gust of wind.

Only a bit more than 100 cultivators stayed behind, and they were either the original members, or very sentimental and loyal. This time around, Naruto 's Dao protectors didn't leave, not even Chen Manyao. They all sat around in the immortal's cave, waiting for Naruto 's door to open.

During the nine days which passed, Naruto didn't rest. Instead, he carefully studied the map of Sky City, poring over every street and alley, studying each aspect in the most minute detail. It was the evening of the ninth day when he finally emerged.

His eyes were bloodshot, but he looked excited. Although he was a bit surprised that only a few people remained in the Azure Dragon Society, after a moment of thought, he threw his head back and laughed.

When the remaining members of the Azure Dragon Society saw him laughing, their hearts began to thump with hope.

Eyes shining with mysterious light, he took a deep breath and then said, "Alright, Fellow Daoists. Pack your bags. We're moving!

"The Azure Dragon Society has fallen, but I've thought up a new name which will take us even farther than before!" Swishing his sleeve, he said nothing more. However, the rest of the cultivators' moods were instantly lifted. Master God-Diviner was the first to start packing his bags, and before long, the entire group of more than 100 cultivators was walking out of the immortal's cave!

Their destination was not in the north district, but rather, in the west district!

Quite a few cultivators noticed them as they made their way along, and when people realized that they were the Azure Dragon Society, they began to follow curiously. Everyone was wondering where the bedraggled remnants of the organization would go. There were even some people sent by the Celestial Sky Society to follow them.

Naruto completely ignored them, and it was without the slightest pause that he headed to an area on the very edge of the west district. Shockingly, what existed there was a vast desert!

When people realized where he was heading, their jaws dropped in shock. After all, within that dessert was a ruined city where cultivators of Sky City would often go to carry out important missions!

—

Chapter 397

Chapter 397

Chapter 397

Not very far into the desert itself were the crumbled ruins of a temple, which was the entrance to a necropolis that stretched out under the surface of the city.

The necropolis was huge, almost half the size of Sky City itself. All sorts of rare beasts, immortal grasses, and spirit plants grew there. It was a source of abundant resources for cultivators.

The ruins of the necropolis were the only place where disciples could go on missions inside Sky City itself. In fact, many of sect missions required that disciples go there.

It was a special place, much safer than locations on the outside. Although it was indeed the ruins of an ancient necropolis, it had been put there by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect for the express purpose of allowing disciples to train.

There were some creatures and areas in the ruins that certain disciples couldn't easily handle alone, but they were few and far between. Furthermore, Sky City itself was considered to be inside of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and as such, many disciples preferred to come to this place to go on missions.

Because of that, it tended to be a very bustling place.

The land itself was extremely valuable, and no one in Sky City other

than the Celestial Sky Society was powerful enough to set up shop there. Generally speaking, they let anyone inside, but when people came out, they were required to share thirty percent of whatever profits they had acquired inside. Either that, or they had to spend a significant amount of merit points to get a special command medallion from the Celestial Sky Society that let them go on their way with no questions asked.

Only the Celestial Sky Society, with their deva clan background, could do such a thing. Many people had thought of trying to take similar advantage of the ruins, but the Celestial Sky Society wouldn't let them.

After all, the Celestial Sky Society had paid an enormous price for the right to take control of that location, and the profits they earned made up more than fifty percent of their total income.

With such enormous profit at stake, the Celestial Sky Society obviously viewed the place as being extremely important.

As Naruto led his group of over a hundred people toward the desert, everyone was shocked, including the cultivators from the Celestial Sky Society.

"What's wrong with this Azure Dragon Society? What do they think they're going to do here?"

"Don't tell me that they want to go into the necropolis ruins to go on some missions?"

"It doesn't look like that's what they're doing…."

Outside of the ruins was a checkpoint manned by large numbers of Celestial Sky Society cultivators, and as soon as they saw Naruto and his followers heading their way, serious expressions appeared on their faces, and they rose to their feet.

There was also quite a crowd of cultivators preparing to go into the ruins to go on missions. When they saw the big group approaching, curious expressions appeared on their faces.

Nobody said a word. As for the Azure Dragon Society cultivators Naruto had brought with him, none of them really understood what was happening, not even Big Fatty Zhang and the other Dao protectors.

Finally, Xu Baocai couldn't hold back from asking, "Junior Patriarch, what are we doing here?"

"This is where we're moving to!" Naruto replied loudly, not even bothering to look back. Instead, he simply kept his eyes fixed ahead as he walked forward, completely ignoring the Celestial Sky Society cultivators.

Those cultivators didn't dare to get in Naruto 's way. Not only was he a Gold Core cultivator, more importantly, the rules of the Celestial Sky Society stated that anyone could

enter the ruins. It was only upon leaving that they had to pay the Celestial Sky Society their share of the loot.

Naruto passed the Celestial Sky Society cultivators, and then stopped at a point roughly 3,000 meters from the ruins of the temple. After looking around for a moment, he seemed to be quite pleased.

"Alright," he announced "This is our new home!"

Master God-Diviner blinked a few times and then glanced around.

A blank look could be seen in Xu Baocai's eyes, and Big Fatty Zhang was staring mutely in shock. Even Chen Manyao's jaw had dropped.

If they had such a reaction, there was little need to even consider how the other cultivators from the Azure Dragon Society reacted. They simply exchanged blank, awkward stares.

When the Celestial Sky Society cultivators heard Naruto 's words, they immediately burst into loud laughter.

"Very amusing. They think they're going to live here or something? This whole area belongs to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, not any individual person."

"Just what does the Azure Dragon Society think they're going to do?"

They weren't the only ones who found it hard to hold back from laughing. The crowd which had followed along, as well as the cultivators who had gathered in preparation of entering the ruins, were all roaring with laughter.

"I know the Azure Dragon Society got castigated recently, but don't tell me they're all actually insane? Do they really think they can just settle down in this place?"

"Boss Azure Dragon is a Core Formation cultivator, but even he couldn't have taken over this area during the height of his power. This place is the lifeblood of the Celestial Sky Society, and they're backed by a deva clan. If Azure Dragon Society tries to settle down here, that clan will definitely put them in their place."

As the mocking laughter surrounded them, Master God-Diviner's face turned red, and Xu Baocai looked very awkward. Furthermore, the embarrassment and confusion in the eyes of the Azure Dragon Society cultivators grew deeper.

Big Fatty Zhang and Chen Manyao coughed dryly, and appeared to be hesitating about whether or not to say anything.

"Naruto–"

In that moment, Naruto stuck his chin up and waved his sleeve, sticking his arm out to reveal what was clasped in his hand: a small, seven-colored flag, shining with dazzling light!

Instantly, intense pressure weighed down on the area, and all the laughter ceased. As for Naruto , he looked very pleased with himself as he cast the little flag straight down into the ground at his feet!

"Activate!" he roared. The instant the little flag pierced into the ground, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling filled the air, a sound like the crashing of thunder!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Everything began to shake violently as a gale force wind spiraled out of the little flag, engulfing the entire area and causing even more intense pressure to weigh down!

The Dao protectors' faces flickered, and they backed up, gasping. The Celestial Sky Society cultivators, the passersby, and the cultivators hoping to go on missions all began to edge backward.

The pressure weighing down on them seemed like heavenly might, the source of which was the little flag that Naruto had just stabbed down into the ground!

As the wind screamed and the lands shook, Naruto 's hair whipped about him, and the seven-colored light swept out, filling a 300-meter area around the flag.

However, things weren't over yet. The light continued to spread, and in the blink of an eye, had filled 1.5 kilometers. Then 2.5 kilometers! And finally, 5 kilometers!

Seven-colored ripples filled that entire area, completely replacing the desert sands which had existed there before. Everything flickered with scintillating light, as well as silence, which was broken only by the gasps of the other cultivators in the area.

But then, before any of them could react, the land began to tremble again, and more intense rumbling sounds rose up as the seven-colored ripples slowly merged into the ground. As they vanished, an enormous sealing mark became visible!

An enormous, indelible sealing mark!

Then, a powerful force of expulsion appeared, a force which no one in the area could possibly fight back against as it wrapped around them and removed them from the 5-kilometer area.

Everyone was completely flabbergasted….

"That was… that was the force of expulsion that the Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect spell formations create for personal property!"

"That's impossible! How could that be a true force of expulsion?

Heavens! Only people who have the approval of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's grand spell formation can have personal property with a spell formation like that!"

"There aren't even ten locations in all of Sky City that are personal property!"

"I can't believe Boss Azure Dragon can stake claim to personal property!" The surrounding cultivators felt as if lighting were crashing around in their minds, giving rise to shouts of astonishment and disbelief. Even the people from the Azure Dragon Society, including the Dao protectors, were all struck mute with astonishment.

However, most mind-blowingly shocking of all was that the entrance to the necropolis ruins was located within that 5-kilometer area!

As the cries of shock rose up, Naruto stood there with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin held high. Looking extremely pleased with himself, he said, "Ahem. I'll be setting up a little inn right here, and I already thought of a name for it. It's going to be called the Live Forever Tavern.

"Everyone, feel free to enter the necropolis just as before. However, since this place is my home, before entering, I request that you enjoy a cup of spirit tea. Once you do, you're considered a friend!"

Then he cleared his throat, smiled broadly, and continued, "Don't worry, a cup of spirit tea is very cheap. Furthermore, when it comes to the loot from inside the necropolis, I'll charge much less than the Celestial Sky

Society did. Only ten percent!"

The people from the Celestial Sky Society felt their hearts surging with shock. Control of the entrance to the ruins had just been viciously wrenched out of their control!

As for all of the other cultivators, their eyes began to shine brightly. The

Celestial Sky Society had charged thirty percent, so obviously, the Azure Dragon Society was doing everything they could to keep the masses happy.

Chapter 397: Live Forever Tavern

Chapter 398

Chapter 398

Chapter 398: Mid Gold Core Stage!

As soon as Naruto took the seven-colored flag given to him by the Sky Quarter peak lord and stabbed it into the ground in that desert, everything in the 5-kilometer area around it became his personal property. The matter instantly caused a major commotion within Sky City.

The news spread like wildfire, until everyone in the entire city was talking about the matter in tones of complete shock and disbelief.

"Personal property?! How… how is that even possible?!"

"There are less than ten places in all of Sky City that count as personal property, and they're only given out as rewards for people who perform incredible meritorious service for Sky Quarter Rainbow! The Azure Dragon Society obviously has some powerful backers!"

"That's what I said! Everyone was wondering why the Azure Dragon

Society dared to challenge the Celestial Sky Society, and now we know! The Boss Azure Dragon is incredibly mysterious and unfathomable. It wouldn't be surprising if he had a deva on his side!"

Even as word spread in the city, the news was brought to the leadership of the Celestial Sky Society, who reacted with looks of dumbfounded shock.

They had worked themselves to the bone fighting against the Azure Dragon Society both physically and in terms of wits. Now, Naruto had unleashed a deadly counter strike. Just when he seemed to have been defeated without possibility of recovery, he turned everything around. The Celestial Sky Society simply couldn't accept the situation.

"Personal property!?" Countless cries of shock filled the Celestial Sky Society, and many members were filled with bitterness and hesitation.

In the briefest of moments, everyone's opinions of the Azure Dragon Society had completely changed. After all, they now controlled the only entrance into the necropolis ruins.

As for everyone who had recently abandoned the Azure Dragon Society, their hearts swelled with regret, and yet, there was nothing they could do about the situation. The Azure Dragon Society wasn't recruiting anymore, and rejected any people who took the initiative to apply for membership.

It didn't take long before, there in the desert in the west district of the city, right next to the entrance to the necropolis ruins, a tavern was erected by the over 100 members of the Azure Dragon Society.

It was a huge tavern consisting of multiple structures, and even had outdoor seating under numerous tented pavilions. The more than 100 members of the Azure Dragon Society became waiters who specialized in selling spirit tea.

People who wanted to enter the necropolis ruins couldn't do so with a Celestial Sky Society command medallion. Instead, they had to buy a cup of tea.

It only took a few days to build the tavern, and then it was open for business. Of course, Sky City was a subsidiary of Sky Quarter Rainbow, and yet not a single peep had been heard from there regarding the matter. Apparently, no one up on the rainbow cared about what was happening, and that in and of itself was extremely telling. It also fueled even more speculation regarding the mysterious background of Boss Azure Dragon.

Time passed, and the Celestial Sky Society was forced to simply deal with the situation. Soon, the number of people entering the ruins returned to its normal rate, and before long, the fact that the Azure Dragon Society was only collecting ten percent of the profits from inside ensured that more and more cultivators chose that location to go on missions. Eventually, more than 100,000 disciples were entering the ruins on a daily basis.

Considering the volume of customers, it was little wonder that the Azure Dragon Society was very busy. Soon, the outdoor pavilion seating couldn't accommodate th

e crowds, and they had to erect even more pavilions.

In terms of the merit point profit, when Naruto checked into it, he gasped. They were earning so much more profit than when they had been selling Fantasy Pills that it was simply terrifying.

"The Celestial Sky Society must be filthy rich!" he said, swallowing hard. Next to him, Big Fatty Zhang looked at the merit point reports, his eyes shining as he likewise denounced the Celestial Sky Society.

No one personally kept the merit point profits. They were collected in a command medallion belonging to the organization as a whole. That way, the millions of merit points wouldn't accidentally force anyone to rise to the position of a yellow-robed disciple if they didn't want to.

In fact, Naruto was actually very worried that he one day might accidentally get himself promoted to yellow-robed disciple. If that happened, he would probably cry himself to death. Therefore, he was very careful never to have more than a few hundred thousand merit points on his person at any given time. Most of the merit points were stored in the Azure Dragon Society's joint command medallion.

A few days passed, and the tavern continued to explode in popularity. As for the Celestial Sky Society, their income dwindled. They had lost the Fantasy Pills, and they had lost their control of the ruins. After much debate, they finally sent people to try to work out a deal with the Azure Dragon Society.

Naruto had Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai handle the negotiations. Naturally, the Azure Dragon Society didn't agree to any compromises, and eventually just drove the Celestial Sky Society cultivators away.

Naruto felt very, very pleased with himself. By now, Sky City truly felt like home, and his share of the merit point profits was very satisfactory.

"Ah, now this is life," he thought, standing on a balcony in the tavern, looking down at all the hustle and bustle.

Even more pleasing to Naruto was that because of his recent cultivation progress, he had reached the point of an imminent breakthrough. From what he could tell, it would only be a few days before he reached the mid Gold Core stage.

Therefore, he set aside external matters and went into secluded meditation in a secret room in the tavern, hoping to achieve that breakthrough as quickly as possible.

That session of secluded meditation lasted for a month.

At that point, Naruto 's eyes snapped open, and a bright blue light could be seen in his pupils. At the same time, intense streams of frigid Chakra were roiling off of him.

The frigid Chakra soon filled the entire area, causing the temperature in the chamber to drop rapidly. Cracking sounds could be heard as ice began to cover the walls, ceiling, and roof.

"Frigid Acolytes can form frigid shadows and unleash the magic of frigid coldness. As for Frigid Adepts, they can freeze everything in a 3,000meter area!" With that, he waved his hand.

Instantly, his hand turned as clear as crystal, making it possible to see the blood flowing through the veins beneath his skin. Apparently, the cold in the chamber didn't affect him at all.

"Time to break through," he said. Rising to his feet, he sped out of the secret chamber, and before anyone could detect his passage, was gone from the tavern.

He became a beam of light, shooting through the air to appear in a location deep in the desert. It was a remote area with no signs of life whatsoever, and definitely no cultivators from Sky City. Few people would ever come to a distant place like this.

It was a place that blistered with intense heat; despite being so close to the Heavenspan River and the Heavenspan Sea, this was still a desert, and the temperature was so high that it distorted the air, making it difficult to see anything clearly.

As Naruto stood there, the blue light in his eyes grew more intense. After looking around to confirm that there really was no one present, he suddenly closed his eyes, whereupon a blast of intense frigid Chakra spread out to fill the 300-meter-area around him. Instantly, the blazing heat of the desert was completely neutralized, and the ground even froze up!

In fact, because of the sudden juxtaposition of hot and cold, thunderous rumbling sounds filled the air. However, things weren't over yet. Uzumaki

Naruto rotated his cultivation base, and as the power of the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation erupted, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the 300-meter-area of coldness to expand rapidly

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

600 meters. 900 meters…. 1,500 meters!

And yet, the process was not over! Naruto 's hair whipped around him, and although his eyes were closed, it couldn't stop the blue light from spilling past his eyelids and spreading out in all directions. Both of his hands were as translucent as crystal, making it seem almost as if he were made of ice!

The area of frigid Chakra soon reached 2,100 meters, and the cracking sounds continued as the heat of the desert was driven away. Frigid Chakra erupted, spreading out to 2,700 meters!

2,760 meters. 2,850 meters. 2,940 meters. Within the space of a few breaths of time, the frigid Chakra had filled an area of 2,997 meters!

There were only three meters left!

Three meters to the Frigid Adept level!

"Frigid Adept!" Naruto roared as his eyes snapped open. Intense rumbling sounds echoed out from his cultivation base as the frigid Chakra in his Heaven-Dao Gold Core continued to expand.

In that moment, the area covered by his frigid Chakra reached 3,000 meters! The intense coldness within that area was such that the ground was completely iced over, turning the area into a world of freezing ice!

In that moment, Naruto 's Heaven-Dao Gold Core broke through from the early stage to the mid Gold Core stage! Simultaneously, a Heaven-Dao aura spread out in all directions.

Outside of that 3,000-meter-area, the desert was just as hot as ever. However, because of the presence of the intense cold right next to it, even the air began to shatter. It was a completely and utterly shocking sight.

Naruto 's eyes overflowed with excitement, and then flickered, causing numerous illusory projections to appear within the 3,000-meterarea, all of which looked exactly like Naruto . These were none other than his frigid shadows!

Suddenly, he switched places with one of them. There was no speed involved, because it was just like a teleportation. If anyone had been there to see so many versions of Naruto , they would definitely have gasped in shock.

Moments later, the numerous frigid shadows converged, revealing Naruto 's true form. Waving his sleeve, he dispelled the area of coldness, allowing the heat to sweep back in. The resulting tempest sent his hair whipping about as he threw his head back and laughed heartily.

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	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 399 Chapter 399

Chapter 399: Song Que's Dream…

If anyone had been there to see what was happening, they would have been deeply shaken. This was something that could not be accomplished by ordinary mid Core Formation cultivators, or even the top Chosen of the generation!

Furthermore, this was the riversource Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, whose Chosen vastly surpassed those in the Lower or Middle Reaches. And yet, what Naruto was currently doing would shock all such Chosen.

And the might of the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation was only just revealing its potential!

"This… this is only the Frigid Adept level. When I reach the Frigid Master level…." Uzumaki Naruto's eyes shone with anticipation as he thought back to the description of the technique.

"Frigid Masters can create a 30,000-meter frigid domain with actual clones! These are just frigid shadows, not true clones!" At this point, he couldn't help but think about the Frigid Paragon level!

"Frigid Paragons can even freeze portions of the Heavenspan River!" Uzumaki Naruto's hands were clenched into fists, and the anticipation in his eyes shone strong and bright. However, this session of cultivation was not yet over, and his breakthrough wasn't going to be limited to the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation. The time had come for his Undying Muscles!

Next, he looked down at his left leg, the muscles of which had by now been refined to completion, making his leg the strongest part of his entire body by far, and also the most resilient.

Eyes glittering, he lifted his left foot up and then stomped it back down toward the ground, fueling the motion with all the power of his Undying Muscles. Even before the foot actually made contact, the ground began to quake, sending countless volumes of sand flying up into the air.

And yet, Naruto wasn't satisfied. In the moment that his foot made contact with the ground, his eyes flashed, and he said, "Undying Hex!"

Countless crevices snaked out in all directions, creating something like a natural restrictive spell. In that instant, everything in the area was simultaneously sealed in place and then destroyed. The area around Naruto began to collapse, sending massive amounts of dust flying up into the air.

Sounds like muffled thunder echoed out in all directions, reaching even the inhabited parts of Sky City.

Naruto let out a yelp as tumbled downward through the flying dust and sand. Then, moments later, as the dust settled, he could be seen at the bottom of an enormous, 300-meter-wide crater!

Covering the crater were countless interlocking golden threads, which were none other than the manifestation of the divine ability which came after the Throat Crushing Grasp and the Mountain Shaking Bash, the Undying Hex!

It could seal anything and everything!

At the bottom of the crater, the dust-covered Naruto was struggling back to his feet, not sure whether to laugh or cry. He had forgotten that he was in a desert, and that there was only loose sand and dirt beneath his feet. To suddenly tumble down and end up covered in dirt right in the moment of triumph was definitely a loss of face, but after climbing out of the crater and confirming that no one was in the area to see him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he composed himself for a moment before transforming into a beam of light that shot back in the direction of the tavern.

Moments after he left, cultivators from Sky City arrived to see what had caused the commotion. When they caught sight of the 300-meter-wide crater, all of them gasped in shock.

"This… this desert was put here by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, wasn't it?!"

"No ordinary force could cause this kind of damage her

e. I can't believe someone actually managed to create a crater like this.

Could it be that one of the famous Chosen in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity

Superstars came down here to do some training?"

"Not even Core Formation cultivators could do something like that. It must have been somebody from the top 1,000 in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars!" When the subject of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars came up, looks of envy could be seen on the faces of all the cultivators present.

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars were very important in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect; they were an elite group of cultivators under the Nascent Soul stage who were ranked according to power and ability. Anyone on that list could single-handedly shake the eastern cultivation world.

Even as the discussion about the matter unfolded, a beam of light appeared off in the distance, within which was a handsome young man. He seemed weary and travel-worn, but his eyes shone brightly, and astonishingly, his cultivation base was a step beyond the great circle of Foundation Establishment; he was in the quasi-Core stage!

A mere glance at him would confirm that by merely crystallizing his spiritual seas, he would step into Core Formation. Although there was always a possibility of failure, considering the fluctuations that rolled off of him, that didn't seem likely in his case.

There was also a murderous aura surrounding the young man which, when coupled with the scars on his face, made him seem somewhat unapproachable.

He was none other than Song Que!

Back when he had parted ways with Uzumaki Naruto, he had immediately gone outside the sect to start working on missions. Lots of them. Nearly a year had passed, and he had faced many potentially fatal situations. However, he had gone all out to complete most of his missions, and had only a few more to go, all of them inside of the necropolis ruins. After accomplishing those missions, he would have a savings of tens of thousands of merit points.

As he passed through the area, he noticed the crater, and couldn't help but stop to take a look.

"Whoever made this crater must be completely extraordinary…. one of these days, I'm going to be just as incredible!"

The other cultivators looked at him warily. After all, the dangerous gleam in his eye, his murderous aura, and his generally sinister air made him seem like the type of person no one would dare to provoke. He seemed like the person who lived a life surrounded by death.

When Song Que noticed the looks of fear in their eyes, he was secretly pleased, and even a bit proud. He felt as if he had become a new person in the last year or so, and had become much more powerful. From what he could tell, he was just around the corner from becoming a yellowrobed disciple.

"I wouldn't be surprised if those other losers had starved to death by now. Hmph!" In his arrogance, he couldn't help but muse that Master God-Diviner, Xu Baocai, and Big Fatty Zhang were all completely useless. Only Chen Manyao had a bit of potential.

Of course, the mere thought of Naruto caused Song Que to grind his teeth. Naruto had crushed him for the first time in the Fallen Sword Abyss, stealing his chance to reach Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, and that was a source of constant angst, something he would never forget for the rest of his life. And then there were all the things which had occurred in the Blood Stream Sect, which had nearly driven him crazy. Even how things had played out in the River-Defying Sect were almost beyond bearable.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you made a fool of me in the Fallen Sword Abyss, twice as badly in the Blood Stream Sect, and three times as badly in the RiverDefying Sect. You just never shut up about Que'er this and Que'er that. You just wait until I become a yellow-robed disciple, then I'll make a fool of you ten times worse than you ever did to me!" As he spoke, his eyes began to shine even more brightly than before.

He was completely and utterly confident that he could do exactly as he had planned.

"The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is a land of good fortune for me. Before coming here, the clan patriarch told me he had full confidence that I would become a Nascent Soul cultivator here!" Looking down, he tapped his bag of holding to produce a blue command medallion.

It wasn't large, but it was very significant. Earlier, when he was outside the sect on a mission, he had run into another cultivator from Sky City who had sold it to him for a hefty sum. It was none other than a command medallion which could be used to enter the necropolis ruins run by the Celestial Sky Society.

"Whether or not I get enough merit points to become a yellow-robed disciple will depend on how things go in these ruins. Hopefully, I'll come out with enough to get my promotion, and then I can ascend to the rainbow district!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, his eyes began to burn with passion and anticipation.

"First, I'll go scout out the ruins a bit. Then I'll go make some special preparations to finish the missions." Smiling, he shot off in the direction of the necropolis entrance.

Before long, he was closing in on the location, which was when he caught sight of a rather large tavern that had been erected around it.

He also saw the outside seating area with the tented pavilions, and cultivators bustling about wearing white garments that make them look like waiters.

A lot of other ordinary disciples could also be seen going into and coming out of the ruins.

"Well, they certainly deserve to be known as the top organization in Sky City. Only the Celestial Sky Society with their deva clan backers could build a tavern like this." He sighed, eyes gleaming with envy when he thought about how much income the Celestial Sky Society must be making by controlling the area. Sadly, there was nothing he could do about that.

"I bet they make more in a day than I could save up in a year…."

He had spent the entire past year outside the sect working on missions, and thus had no idea about what had gone on in the city during that time. Sighing with envy, he produced his Celestial Sky Society medallion and headed toward the tavern.

—

Chapter 400 Chapter 400

Chapter 400: Que'er, It's You!

The ruins of the temple were very different from the rest of the desert. Right in the middle of them, a huge door could be seen, which was the entrance that led into the necropolis.

Next to the ruins and the door was the Azure Dragon Society's tavern, and the bustling pavilions filled with countless cultivators.

Some of them were calculating their earnings from inside the necropolis, others were finishing their cups of spirit tea before heading inside. The rules were actually a bit different from when the Celestial Sky Society ran the area. Although the Azure Dragon Society only collected ten percent of the profits, they also required that anyone entering the necropolis purchase a 10-merit-point cup of spirit tea first.

Even with that new rule, they were being much kinder than the Celestial Sky Society, leaving the cultivators of Sky City very pleased. Of course, nothing could cause them to forget that they were on private property, which was threatening in and of itself.

Furthermore, many frightening rumors had spread regarding Boss Azure Dragon, and nobody dared to do anything to offend him.

As the hustle and bustle continued in the pavilions, Song Que approached with a cold expression on his face and his murderous aura roiling. That was how he had grown used to carrying himself outside the sect; generally speaking, it made it much easier to handle matters when he looked intimidating.

Song Que had no plans whatsoever to enter one of the pavilions, and instead headed straight toward the ruins with the intention of doing some scouting. However, one of the young Azure Dragon Society cultivators noticed that he was planning to bypass the pavilions, and quickly hurried over.

Clasping hands and smiling, he politely said, "Hello, Fellow Daoist, I'd like to invite you to come over and buy a cup of spirit tea."

The courteous way that the Azure Dragon Society cultivators treated customers was a result of the rules put in place by Chen Manyao.

After all, their being here was already a subject of envy, and despite having reduced prices, they still needed to treat customers courteously. At the same time, if anyone came along who didn't show them courtesy in return, the Azure Dragon Society would make sure they came to know that troublemakers weren't welcome!

"Spirit tea?" Song Que said, surprised. "I'm not buying any spirit tea!"

Although he wasn't pleased, when he thought about how powerful the Celestial Sky Society was in the city, he suppressed his irritation and flashed the command medallion. "See that? I have a command medallion!"

His tone of voice instantly attracted the attention of some of the other cultivators in the area, who looked over with strange expressions on their faces.

The young man from the Azure Dragon Society didn't seem to be offended, and the smile never left his face. After taking over the location, the Azure Dragon Society had encountered other people like this who didn't know about the change in arrangements. Clasping hands again, the young man offered a kind explanation.

"I'm very sorry, Fellow Daoist, but your command medallion is from the Celestial Sky Society, and they don't operate in this location anymore. We're the Azure Dragon Society, and things work differently under our control." With that, the young man patiently explained the rules, and as he did, Song Que's expression changed multiple times.

He had spent a lot on that command medallion, all for the purpose of avoiding the thirty percent fee charged by the Celestial Sky Society. Now that he was being told that the command medallion was useless, Song Que was nothing less than flabbergasted.

"How is this even possible?" S

ong Que said. "The Celestial Sky Society is so powerful, you people…." Song Que was starting to get anxious. If it was really true that the command medallion was useless, that would be a big blow to his plan to be promoted to a yellow-robed disciple.

By this point, Song Que's murderous aura was pulsing dangerously; he already had a short temper to begin with, and in his anxiety, his wording began to turn sharp. "You people can't do this! This command medallion was extremely expensive!"

The cultivators in the area began to edge away, clearly amused by the scene which was playing out. There were even some cultivators in the crowd who secretly worked for the Celestial Sky Society, and joined in to fan the flames.

"The Azure Dragon Society had better explain this!"

"Yeah, that's right! I bought the same kind of command medallion for a pretty penny! Don't tell me it's completely useless now!"

The expression on the face of the young man from the Azure Dragon Society suddenly turned grim. Snorting coldly, he said, "Get the hell out of here! If you cause any more trouble, don't blame the Azure Dragon Society for being impolite!"

Song Que had just faced a year of deadly danger, and his killing intent could erupt at the slightest provocation. Eyes flashing with cold light, he unleashed the power of his quasi-Core cultivation base, causing a powerful wind to rush through the area as he took a step forward.

The young man from the Azure Dragon Society looked shocked, and cries of astonishment rose up in the area. From the look of things, a huge commotion was about to break out. However, in that very moment, someone spoke in a quizzical voice.

"Song Que?" Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai had just been passing by, and when they looked over to see Song Que, their jaws dropped.

Song Que had been bristling with a murderous aura, but when he caught sight of Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai, it changed to an expression of astonishment. That was especially the case because of the healthy glow they had, and the way all of the Azure Dragon Society cultivators in the area looked at them with expressions of reverent respect.

"You two…." Something seemed off to Song Que, but before he could react any further, Uzumaki Naruto, who had heard the commotion and taken the time to straighten up his robes before stepping out, scanned the area with divine sense. Upon seeing Song Que, he blinked a few times, and then smiled broadly and rushed out.

As he appeared in the open, the numerous Azure Dragon Society cultivators looked at him with expressions of reverence as they dropped to their knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, Boss!"

The reaction of the Azure Dragon Society cultivators caused a stir in the crowd. When people looked over and saw Uzumaki Naruto, they gasped and rushed to clasp hands and bow their heads.

"Greetings, Boss Azure Dragon!"

It only took a few moments for everyone in all of the pavilions to join in. As for Song Que, he looked over at Uzumaki Naruto, dumbfounded, his mind spinning and his eyes completely blank.

"Que'er!" Naruto cried, a loving expression on his face as he hurried over. "You finally showed up! How did you get yourself in such a bad situation, Que'er? I mean, I thought I had it bad, but obviously, you have it way worse than me."

When people heard Uzumaki Naruto's words, more gasps could be heard, and then people looked over at Song Que with envious looks. Considering that the boss of the Azure Dragon Society was addressing this cultivator as Que'er, it confirmed that the two of them had a very close relationship.

Clearly, this Que'er was a generation below Boss Azure Dragon when it came to family ranking.

Song Que's face was as white as a sheet, and his mind was being battered by tsunamis of astonishment. He suddenly felt like the entire world had been turned upside down. Here Naruto was, glittering with the light of magical treasures, numerous jade pendants hanging all over him. Even at a glance, it was obvious that he must be wearing more than 1,000,000 merit points' worth of ornamentation.

In addition to that, he was flanked by more than a dozen puppet maidservants, each of whom had a leashed spirit creature with it. Their combined value had to be in the millions of merit points.

Song Que had spent an entire bitter year eating frugally and risking his life to reach the threshold of being a yellow-robed disciple. Now, he felt like he was about to fall to pieces mentally.

"Y-you're… you're Boss Azure Dragon?" he stammered. He felt like his vision was swimming, as if the sheer incredulity of the situation was more than he could process.

As that happened, Big Fatty Zhang and Chen Manyao approached. Song Que tore his vision from Naruto to look at them, and when he saw the finery they wore, he suddenly got a very bad feeling.

"You guys…."

Xu Baocai cleared his throat and looked at Song Que with an expression of pity and compassion.

"Song Que, we own this place. The junior patriarch built the Azure Dragon Society into what it is today, and this tavern belongs to us. This whole area is the personal property of the junior patriarch. Your command medallion really doesn't do any good here. But considering that you're the junior patriarch's nephew, then we're all on the same team, right? Who cares about command medallions! Just toss that thing in the trash. You can go into the necropolis any time you wish. Right, Junior Patriarch?"

Naruto wore a very somber expression as he patted Song Que's shoulder. Looking very much like someone in the elder generation, he nodded his head.

"Que'er, your aunt entrusted your safety to me. As your Senior, it's my responsibility to care for you. Despite how you callously abandoned me when we first got here, you're my nephew, so I can cut you some slack. Listen. Those ruins are quite dangerous, and as your uncle, I really can't see you facing such peril. How many merit points do you need? I'll make up the difference, and you can become a yellow-robed disciple immediately. All it will take is a single word on my part."

In response to his words, countless gasps could be heard in the area, and many covetous gazes fell upon Song Que. Most people could only dream of becoming a yellow-robed disciple, and yet they had all personally heard Naruto say that he could give that honor as a gift to Song Que. The envy in their eyes couldn't have been more obvious.

However, Song Que was a proud person, so to hear terms such as 'uncle' and 'Que'er' caused his anger to spike to the heavens. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and then, unable to control himself, he passed out flat on his face.

—

Chapter 401 Chapter 401

Chapter 401: Incredible Gall!

Song Que opened his eyes later that night to find himself lying in one of the rooms of the tavern. After looking around blankly for a moment, he realized that the events which had occurred earlier in the day were no hallucination. On the one hand, he almost felt like crying, but on the other hand, his rage burned hot.

"How could this be happening…? I… I worked myself to the bone for an entire year. I skimped on food and clothing! I risked my life….

"And Uzumaki Naruto…. Why? Why?! WHY?!" By now, tears really were threatening to well up in Song Que's eyes. As he thought back over his life, he realized that it had consisted of two main segments.

The first part of his life had been flush with success. He had been a Chosen of the Blood Stream Sect, with unlimited prospects for the future. However, that part of his life had ended when he had met Uzumaki Naruto, and then the second part began, a life of humiliation and suffering.

"I wasn't his equal in the Fallen Sword Abyss, in the Blood Stream Sect, or in the River-Defying Sect. And now the same thing is happening here in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. I… I don't match up to him in any way!" Enraged, Song Que decided that he simply didn't have the face to stick around. Gritting his teeth, he walked out of the room and flew up into the air to leave.

But then, with no warning whatsoever, a beam of light exploded out from Sky Quarter Rainbow and shot down toward him. Stunned, he quickly checked his merit points, and then his eyes widened.

Sure enough, he had more than 2,000,000 merit points, which was far more than the required amount to become a yellow-robed disciple. In fact, it was enough that he didn't need to personally go hand them in; the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's spell formation would automatically promote him to the rainbow district.

Those were the rules in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

As the light descended, all of the cultivators in Sky City could see it, and it caused their eyes to shine with envy and hope. As for Song Que, mixed emotions could be seen on his face as he looked back down at the tavern below. Even he wasn't sure exactly what he was thinking.

He was the first among the River-Defying Sect group to become a yellow-robed disciple, and the first to be promoted to the rainbow district. However, in the end, he was actually the biggest loser.

Even as he stewed in his thoughts, Naruto emerged and looked up at him. Clearing his throat, he gave a farewell wave of his hand.

"Focus on your cultivation when you get up there. Don't lose face for your aunt and me! If you run into any problems, or if anyone bullies you, make sure to tell me. As your uncle, I'm family! Make sure to stay in touch…."

Song Que's mixed emotions got even more complicated upon hearing that. Glaring at Uzumaki Naruto, he sighed as the beam of light surrounded him, and he vanished in the direction of the Sky Quarter Rainbow. After he left, the only thing that remained behind was a seven-colored glow that caused all onlookers' hearts to surge with the desire to experience the same thing themselves.

Having seen Song Que off, Naruto returned to his room feeling wonderful about himself for his good deeds. He could only imagine the look on Song Junwan's face after he returned and told her how he'd cared for her nephew.

"Que'er sure is lucky to have an uncle like me!" Feeling very much like a magnanimous member of the Senior generation, he sat down crosslegged to work on his Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation.

Now that he was in the Frigid Adept level, his cultivation speed had increased, which led to a greater energy drainage

. As such, he had to eat a shocking amount of spirit food every day.

Since he had plenty of food to replenish his energy, he decided that in terms of his Undying Muscles, it was time to move on to his head. Naruto felt that the fist was the most obvious weapon to use in combat, and at the moment, the speed and power of his left leg was already sufficient for use in a fight. As for what an opponent would be least on guard against, the head seemed the best choice.

The thought of suddenly headbutting someone in the middle of a fight got him very excited, so it was with great enthusiasm that he set about refining the muscles in his head.

Business in the tavern had stabilized, and fewer incidents occurred. The Azure Dragon Society's profits had also evened out, and they were starting to build up some savings. By now, they were something of a unique organization within Sky City.

They were very famous and powerful, and were essentially on equal footing with the Celestial Sky Society. They had far surpassed the old version of the Azure Dragon Society.

However, as it became clear that the Live Forever Tavern was going to be a part of Sky City for a long time, the leaders in the Celestial Sky Society felt like they were going crazy. Sadly for them, the tavern was built on private property, and none of their plans to deal with the situation had any effect.

Even if they tried to physically fight it out with Uzumaki Naruto, they would lose, and besides, that would be a violation of sect rules. The only thing they could do was bring the matter to the attention of their superiors in the deva clan they were part of.

It had been a year since the Celestial Sky Society's income had begun to decline, and at long last, the elder in the clan who managed outside affairs took note. After reading the latest report from the Celestial Sky Society, he snorted coldly and said, "Trifling orange-robed disciple! What tremendous gall! Bully people if you want, but how dare you steal things that belong to our clan!"

This particular elder was a Nascent Soul cultivator, and although he wasn't one of the most important people in the clan, his words carried a lot of weight. After a bit of thought, he decided that it would be best not to do anything rashly, so he took out a jade slip to do a bit of research into why Naruto had been given personal property.

"The Sky Quarter peak lord traded it to him for the formula for Fantasy

Pills. Well, I don't care if this Naruto has some connections to the

Sky Quarter peak lord, I'm going to go teach him a lesson anyway!"

Flicking his sleeve, he was just about issue some orders to go beat up Naruto and take back the land when, all of a sudden, a piercing sound rose up outside of his room.

Moments later, a violet jade slip flew through the spell formation protecting his room, then came to a stop right in front of him.

The Nascent Soul elder's face fell when he looked at the jade slip and saw the character "Heaven" inscribed on it. Trembling, he reached out with both hands to respectfully accept the jade slip, then scanned it with divine sense. As he did, his eyes widened.

"What… what kind of backer does this Naruto have…?" Violet light spilled out of the jade slip, and it vanished.

When the jade slip was gone, the Nascent Soul elder's face returned to normal, although a bit of fear could still be seen lingering in his eyes. He immediately ceased any thoughts of issuing orders to the clan, and at the same time, felt his anger rising at the realization that he had almost done something which would have brought harm to the clan as a whole. Snorting coldly, he immediately sent people to bring the boss of the Celestial Sky Society up to the rainbow for a meeting.

The boss of the Celestial Sky Society was a middle-aged man who, when he was told a Nascent Soul elder from the deva clan had summoned him, hurried over to the teleportation portal as quickly as possible. His initial assumption was that he would be given orders to go beat up Naruto and take back the entrance to the necropolis. However, what he found was that the ashen-faced Nascent Soul elder had called him up to issue a tongue-lashing.

"I can't believe you annoyed me with such a small matter as this. Why didn't you just take care of it yourself!?"

The Nascent Soul elder was virtually yelling, causing the boss of the Celestial Sky Society to tremble with fear. After voicing numerous subservient words, he hurried away, almost on the verge of tears. Whenever he had to deal with Uzumaki Naruto, it felt like no matter how much power he had on his side, he would always end up hitting his head against the wall.

"What did he mean small matter…? Boss Azure Dragon has personal property! I'm just a Core Formation cultivator! How can an outer clan member like me deal with something like that?" Sighing continuously at the unfairness of it all, he walked through the clan courtyard, musing that since the clan didn't seem to care about the matter, he probably shouldn't do anything to provoke Uzumaki Naruto.

"Ah whatever. If this is how the clan wants things to be, then fine." Just when he was about to teleport back to Sky City, he looked over and saw a young man in an extravagant yellow robe, walking along with a group of other cultivators.

This young man had a high place in the clan, and the arrogant expression on his face fit him perfectly because of it. The boss of the Celestial Sky Society instantly recognized him as a clan Chosen, Li Yuansheng, who had reached Core Formation in less than a hundred years. A few years ago, when he was still in Foundation Establishment, he had come to Sky City to collect some merit points from the Celestial Sky Society, which was why the boss remembered him so clearly. The boss immediately clasped hands and called out a greeting as the group passed by.

Li Yuansheng stopped and looked over. Recalling their last meeting, he said, "What brings you here?"

The boss of the Celestial Sky Society felt his heart pounding with excitement. Immediately, he launched into a very vivid account of the frustrating matter of Boss Azure Dragon.

Li Yuansheng's friends immediately began to make some teasing comments.

"Brother Li, does your clan really just let people steal their business!?"

"How amusing, the boss of the Azure Dragon Society is a mere core

Formation cultivator, and yet he dares to steal from the tiger's mouth?"

The boss of the Celestial Sky Society clasped hands and bowed deeply, then said, "Young Lord, could you please take charge of the situation?!"

Li Yuansheng's eyes flickered, especially because of the words just spoken by the other cultivators. Snorting coldly, he said, "Well, I'm bored today anyway, so I might as well go check the situation out myself. I can't believe this guy has such incredible gall!"

—

Chapter 402 Chapter 402

Chapter 402: Threatening Home!

The boss of the Celestial Sky Society was delighted, and immediately began to lead the way. As for the other cultivators with Li Yuansheng, they were all silkpants from various clans in the rainbow district. Because of how they had been showered with cultivation resources by their clans, their cultivation bases, despite being in the Core Formation stage, were extremely high.

Generally speaking, they had little to occupy their time, so seeing that something interesting was afoot, they all followed along with Li Yuansheng, laughing and chatting the entire time. One by one, they entered the teleportation portal, and were zipped down to Sky City.

The boss of the Celestial Sky Society was very excited, but he knew that when it came to silkpants like this, however quickly they got interested in something, that was also how quickly they would lose interest. Therefore, he wasted no time hurrying in the direction of the west district.

"Boss Azure Dragon Society is a complete villain!" he said. "He created that Ultra Fasting Aid Pill, which hurt a lot of fellow disciples!

"He was also the one who invented those Fantasy Pills, which were so bad the sect outlawed them. Given the extent of his vile deeds, it's impossible to even guess how many people in Sky City hate him! "Young Lord, you're not just acting for the benefit of the clan, you're wiping out an evil that threatens the entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!"

Along the way, the Celestial Sky Society boss continued to spout all sorts of stories to Li Yuansheng and the other silkpants. They found it all very amusing, although they didn't believe much of what they were being told.

"I can't literally wipe him out," Li Yuansheng said coolly. "If he has his own personal property, then he definitely has powerful backers. But considering he's offended a deva clan, that won't help him." Although Li Yuansheng was a silkpants, he was also a Chosen from a deva clan, and despite his arrogant nature, was not the type to lose his head because of a bit of flattery and oily words. "Of course, after I handle the matter, you should know how to proceed going forward."

With that, he gave a meaningful look to the Celestial Sky Society boss, who immediately understood what he was implying. Li Yuansheng wanted some merit points in compensation for his help! The Celestial Sky Society boss quickly nodded his head to indicate that he understood.

Li Yuansheng responded with a slight smile. As far as he was concerned, going to pick a fight with the Azure Dragon Society wasn't a big deal, so he simply continued to laugh and chat with his friends as they headed toward the west district.

Along the way, quite a few Sky City cultivators noticed them, and many of them looked very shocked. With the exception of the boss of the

Celestial Sky Society, everyone in the group was a yellow-robed disciple.

The sight of so many colorful yellow robes caused many hearts to tremble with astonishment and envy. Clearly, this was a group that had come down from the rainbow district.

It didn't take long for some people to realize which direction these yellow-robed disciples were heading: the west district! As speculations rose about what they were planning to do, many people began to follow along cautiously.

Soon, a crowd of several hundred people was following them. Li Yuansheng didn't pay them any attention; as a Chosen from a deva clan, and a yellow-robed disciple, he would receive a reception like this just about wherever he went in the eastern cultivation world.

The group didn't proceed along with any great haste. Eventually, they reached the desert, from which point they could just make out the ruins, and the enormous tave

rn next to it.

There were still quite a few cultivators coming and going, despite the fact that it was already evening. However, as soon as the cultivators in the area noticed Li Yuansheng and the other yellow-robed disciples, expressions of shock appeared on their faces.

"Yellow-robed disciples!"

"Look at how many of them there are! And look at that guy with them. Isn't that the boss of the Celestial Sky Society?!"

"It's no wonder. The Celestial Sky Society is backed by a deva clan, and now they've finally come to deal with the Azure Dragon Society!"

Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, Li Yuansheng and his friends flew toward the tavern, unleashing their Core Formation cultivation bases with reckless abandon. Instantly, rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and a huge wind kicked up. Intense pressure weighed down on the area, causing all cultivators to tremble in place.

It was like layer upon layer of pressure descending from the heavens, like numerous mountains crushing down onto the shoulders of all the cultivators. As for the cultivators of the Azure Dragon Society inside the tavern, their faces fell, and they began to cry out in alarm.

Master God-Diviner rushed out into the open, his eyes shining with a strange light. Thanks to his enormous income of merit points, he had recently been able to surpass the great circle of Foundation Establishment, and was now in the quasi-Core stage.

Big Fatty Zhang also appeared. His progress in cultivation was the fastest among all of the Dao protectors. Perhaps it was because he had an affinity for the spiritual energy near the source of the Heavenspan River, or perhaps it was because he was so skilled at spirit enhancement, but those things, coupled with the help of some merit points, helped him to break through into the great circle of Foundation Establishment.

Thus, he made quite the impressive figure as he rushed out to see what was happening. Xu Baocai and Chen Manyao also appeared, expressions flickering with uncertainty. When all of them saw a group of a dozen or so yellow-robed disciples in the air above, all of them radiating the pressure of Core Formation, they were completely taken aback.

The boss of the Celestial Sky Society looked extremely excited as he shouted, "Tell Boss Azure Dragon to get the hell out here this instant!"

Obviously, he hated the Azure Dragon Society down to his marrow, so being able to utter such words left him feeling very satisfied.

The group of several hundred onlookers who had come to watch the show couldn't help but look on with wide eyes at what was happening.

"The Azure Dragon Society is finished…."

"The Celestial Sky Society is so powerful! They're backed by a deva clan…. Even a single command from a deva clan is enough to send countless cultivators crazy with the desire to please them!"

"I've seen that guy before. He's Li Yuansheng! Heavens! He's a Chosen who ranks somewhere in the 900's among the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars!" Such exclamations rang out loud and clear for all to hear.

Only the true superstars among Chosen could make it into the top 1,000 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. After all, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was a huge sect, so large that it would be difficult for any outsider to even calculate how many disciples were in it.

As the crowd devolved into a hubbub, and as the boss of the Celestial Sky Society roared out his challenge, Naruto opened the window a crack to see what was happening outside. When he saw the dozen or so cultivators hovering up above, he simply rolled his eyes. After all, this was his personal property, so there was nothing for him to worry about. Clearing his throat, he swaggered out into the open.

"Who's causing all this racket!?" he said, standing on the balcony, frowning with disdain. "Leave, all of you!"

With that, he waved his sleeve, activating the spell formation power from the seven-colored flag. Instantly, violet winds spread out to drive the unwanted guests away. However, that was when Li Yuansheng smiled and suddenly produced a jade slip, which he pushed his finger down onto.

"Disperse formation!"

As soon as those two simple words left his mouth, the power of the spell formation vanished as if it had never existed. Uzumaki Naruto's jaw dropped as Li Yuansheng burst into motion, white flames erupting around him as he shot down like a meteor.

As he closed in, his mid Core Formation cultivation base erupted with power, becoming intense pressure. From a distance, it almost looked like the fires of the heavens had appeared right in front of Uzumaki Naruto.

"Don't make me say it again," Li Yuansheng said coolly, his expression one of complete scorn and disdain. "Get the hell out here!"

The sight of such shocking flames caused Uzumaki Naruto's pupils to constrict. This person's cultivation base was at the same level as his own: the mid Core Formation stage. Also, he was attacking with extraordinary power. In fact, he didn't appear to be holding anything back, indicating that he not only wished to seriously injure Uzumaki Naruto, he wanted to destroy his tavern!

Master God-Diviner and the other Dao protectors all shouted out in alarm, but as for Uzumaki Naruto, his anger spiked. This was his home, and for someone to show up like a bandit and try to wrest it away from him caused his fury to burn.

"You get the hell out!" he said, his right hand flashing with an incantation gesture. Instantly, the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation roiled out, sending shocking frigid Chakra spiraling out from his palm to freeze everything within a 3,000-meter area.

Li Yuansheng's heavenly flame blasted into Uzumaki Naruto's right palm, and was deflected, causing it to rage out into the surrounding area. However, not only did it not affect any of the frozen buildings or structures of the tavern, the flames themselves were transformed into little frozen flower petals!

Li Yuansheng's face fell as frigid coldness swept into him. Strangely, the frigid Chakra couldn't be dispelled, but instead, became like countless tiny ice chunks, causing blood to instantly ooze out of the corners of his mouth and freeze into chunks.

However, his breathing wasn't affected, so he barked, "The rest of you join forces and–"

However, before the complete sentence left his mouth, Naruto looked up. Frigid Chakra swirled around him, completely eradicating the flames as he burst into motion, shooting toward Li Yuansheng.

Considering the incredible speed he was capable of, it only took a moment before he was right in front of Li Yuansheng, where he quickly performed an incantation gesture. In response, the frigid cold in the area swept toward Li Yuansheng, whose face fell as he let loose another attack. A moment later, a huge boom filled the area as all of his friends unleashed attacks, causing the air to collapse as a huge mouth formed and attempted to consume Uzumaki Naruto.

"Naruto!" Big Fatty Zhang yelled. He wanted to help, but unfortunately, was incapable.

Unexpectedly, the instant the huge mouth seemed to be on the verge of swallowing up Uzumaki Naruto, he vanished. When he reappeared, he was behind the group of a dozen or so Core Formation cultivators, his expression grim, his murderous aura raging in much the same way it had back when he was Nightcrypt!

A moment later, the Core Formation cultivators turned around, their faces masks of disbelief as they cried out in alarm.

"A minor teleportation? That's impossible!"

—

Chapter 403 Chapter 403

Chapter 403: How Dare You Try To Hurt Me!

It wasn't just the dozen or so Core Formation cultivators who were muttering exclamations of shock. The other cultivators in the area were also looking on with disbelieving expressions.

"There's no way that was a minor teleportation!"

"Core Formation cultivators can't teleport!"

"He must have some sort of precious treasure! Either that, or he's mastered some special technique…."

The commotion was no surprise. Only Nascent Soul Daoist masters could perform minor teleportations, which were considered to be divine abilities that resulted when one's consciousness began to merge with heaven and earth.

People under the Nascent Soul stage simply couldn't do that, not unless they possessed some unusual means of accomplishing it, but even that would indicate that such a person was not the type to be trifled with.

A person who could teleport in such a way would be impossible to surround in battle, and would almost always have the initiative. A mere thought on their part could allow them to attack or retreat at will.

The pupils of Li Yuansheng and his friends all constricted, and their hearts began to thump in their chests.

After Naruto evaded the combined attack of the dozen or so Core Formation cultivators, the layer of ice which had built up on the surface of the tavern faded away, revealing that it hadn't been damaged at all.

To see Naruto use a divine ability that could freeze a 3,000-meter area and then easily dispel the effect left the Azure Dragon Society cultivators very excited. As for the crowd that made up the audience, they couldn't help but gasp.

Li Yuansheng and his friends were clearly shocked, but then their expressions turned serious; despite being silkpants, they were all disciples of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, people who were experienced and knowledgeable. Before, they hadn't thought much of Naruto at all, but now that they had actually tangled with him briefly, they viewed him in a completely different light.

Furthermore, from the murderous aura which surrounded him, they could tell that he was not just some ordinary cultivator. He obviously had a lot of experience fighting, even more than the type of cultivators who went out on missions for the sect.

Li Yuansheng's heart surged with anger, and he shot a glare at the boss of the Celestial Sky Society. As of this moment, he already regretted leaving the rainbow district, and he especially regretted bringing his friends with him. If he and his friends couldn't handle one opponent, then it wouldn't be long before they became the laughingstock of the sect.

The boss of the Celestial Sky Society couldn't stop trembling. He had known that Boss Azure Dragon was a Core Formation cultivator, but never could he possibly have imagined that he would be so vastly superior to other ordinary cultivators. Not only could he hold his own against a group of a dozen or so people in the same cultivation level as him, he had actually gained the advantage. He was the type of incredible cultivator who had access to some sort of teleportation magic. "Um…." Even as the boss of the Celestial Sky Society began to pant in fear, Li Yuansheng's eyes turned icy cold, and he flickered into motion. In the blink of an eye, he became an enormous ball of flame that shot toward Uzumaki Naruto. At the same time, his friends all unleashed various divine abilities, and the sky filled with multicolored light as a dozen Core Formation cultivators yet again joined forces to attack Uzumaki Naruto.

"You people push things too far!" Naruto said, his anger building.

He took a step forward, causing frigid Chakra to explode out in all directions. He b

ecame the center of a whirling tempest that almost instantly slammed into his would-be attackers.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto once again vanished, appearing a moment later behind one of his Core Formation opponents. Even as the man's face fell, Naruto clenched his right hand and unleashed a vicious fist strike.

More rumbling could be heard as the man's clothing suddenly swirled through the air to defend against the fist strike. Trembling, the man tumbled backward, blood spraying out of his mouth as frigid Chakra poured into him. Instantly, the blood coming out of his mouth began to freeze up.

"So," Naruto thought with a frown, "his clothes can defend against a significant blow…."

Meanwhile, the injured Core Formation cultivator shouted frantically out in the hopes of warning his friends. "He has tremendous fleshly body pow–"

However, even as the words left his mouth, wings popped into being behind Uzumaki Naruto, a flutter of which sent him rocketing forward at blinding speed to appear in front of the man yet again. This time, he reached out with lightning quickness and grabbed his opponent.

A moment later, a boom rang out, as well as a scream, as the Core Formation cultivator was flung into the ground. Numerous bones in his body were now broken as he lay there in a crater, looking up at Naruto with fear written across his face.

Then, Naruto used another teleportation to appear in front of a second opponent. This time, he didn't use a fist, but instead, his left foot, which he spun through the air rapidly in a vicious kick.

A sonic boom echoed out, and the air distorted. At the same time, this second opponent's face fell as he drew upon all the strength he could to defend himself. However, the power and speed in Uzumaki Naruto's left leg was backed by his Undying Muscles, and before his opponent could do anything, his foot landed on the man's lower back.

A pop rang out that sounded almost like an inflated paper bag bursting. The second cultivator's eyes went wide, and before he could even open his mouth to speak, blood sprayed out of it, and he was sent flying hundreds of meters off to the side. Shockingly, some of the vertebrae from the man's lower back had been shoved out of his skin and were even sticking out through his clothing! His screams could not have been any more agonized.

And yet, things weren't over yet. Golden strands exploded out around the cultivator, some sort of restrictive spell that sealed his cultivation base and made him seem like little more than a mortal.

Everyone who could see what had just occurred was left gasping.

"This Boss Azure Dragon is totally vicious! Plus, he actually has the power to seal people with his attacks!" The battle still wasn't over, though. Naruto spun in place, unleashing all the power of his Undying Live Forever Technique to defend against the magical techniques that two Core Formation cultivators had just unleashed from behind him. Then, a vicious expression appeared on his face as he once again spun his left foot in a powerful kick. Instantly, the two cultivators who had just tried to attack him from behind were sent flying through the air, golden strands wrapping around them and sealing them. Both of them now had numerous broken bones to deal with, and one of them had been injured so badly in the leg that he was bleeding profusely.

Next, several huge violet cauldrons materialized and began to smash down toward Uzumaki Naruto's opponents. As they did, he performed another minor teleportation, appearing next to a fifth cultivator.

However, by this time, the other cultivators were prepared, and instantly attacked with deadly force.

Naruto snorted coldly and used the Mountain Shaking Bash to shoot forward like an explosive dragon to slam into a nearby cultivator. That cultivator instantly coughed up blood as he was sent tumbling backward, his chest caved in. Next, Naruto turned in place and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, waving at three incoming attackers.

"Frigid!" he murmured inwardly. Instantly, frigid Chakra billowed out, and cracking sounds could be heard as the air in front of him froze up. At the same time, the three incoming cultivators suddenly stopped in place.

Because of their faltering momentum, Naruto sped forward and kicked out again with this left foot. Boom. Boom. Boom!

All three were sent spinning away, blood spraying out of their mouths.

All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but from the moment Naruto first made a move until this moment, only a few breaths' worth of time had passed. The silkpants were routed one after another, until the only ones who remained standing were Li Yuansheng and three others.

Those three were trembling in shock. After looking around at their defeated comrades, they quickly began to back up, having no desire to participate in any more of Li Yuansheng's affairs. The pitiable state of their friends was the most effective warning message that could possibly have been sent to them.

At the same time, the gasps of the onlookers grew into a strange

silence. Apparently, they were so flabbergasted by Uzumaki Naruto's actions that they couldn't even utter a sound.

Li Yuansheng was shaking visibly. For the space of a few breaths of time, all he could do was look around at his friends, who were either unconscious or running away. Within moments, he was the only person left hovering there in midair. Uzumaki Naruto's teleportation ability, and his shocking battle prowess, made him like a monster to people in the same cultivation level as him, someone virtually impossible to fight against!

Beads of sweat popped out on Li Yuansheng's forehead as he looked down at Naruto with bloodshot eyes. Suddenly, a cold feeling rose up from the pit of Li Yuansheng's stomach, and he began to back up.

"Why don't you come on down from up there too?!" Uzumaki Naruto, his eyes flickering with icy light.

Because of the frigid shadows in the area, and his incredible speed, he appeared as if by teleportation right in front of Li Yuansheng, who had been just on the verge of trying to flee. Then, he reached out with his right hand, drawing on the power of his Heavenly King Body in his attempt to grab Li Yuansheng.

A gravitational force appeared, and the frigid Chakra in the area transformed into countless needles of ice that instantly turned toward Li Yuansheng and began to speed in his direction. Li Yuansheng's face fell, and he shouted, "How dare you try to hurt me! I'm Li Yuansheng, from a deva clan! I don't care who you have backing you, I'll see you expelled from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect within three days!"

—

Chapter 404 Chapter 404

Chapter 404: I'm A Hostage!

Although the words uttered by Li Yuansheng were spoken in a moment of panic, they were clearly a powerful threat. As far as he was concerned, most cultivators who managed to make it into the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would view being driven out of it as a fate worse than death.

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was the riversource sect in the eastern Heavenspan River. Anyone expelled from a sect like that would not be welcome in any other sect in the eastern cultivation world, be that in the Lower Reaches or the Middle Reaches. Any such person would have no choice but to become a rogue cultivator.

In the Heavenspan Realm, rogue cultivators occupied an extremely low position. They were not allowed to practiced cultivation close to the Heavenspan River itself, and if they were caught secretly attempting to do so, they would immediately be driven away by the sects that controlled those areas.

Rogue cultivators who managed to reach the Nascent Soul stage had it a bit better off, but anyone beneath that level lived a very bitter existence.

And thus, Li Yuansheng did not hesitate to resort to such a threat. After all, according to the rules of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the fact that Boss Azure Dragon was a disciple of the sect meant that if Li Yuansheng wanted to see him dead, it would be either very, very difficult, or outright impossible. However, considering his position in the clan, having him expelled would be very easy.

Then, once he was on the outside, and no longer had the protection of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, killing him could be accomplished with little more than a thought!

Although he didn't actually know who Naruto had backing him, he didn't seem to care, nor did he care that this area was personal property. After all, on Sky Quarter Rainbow, any one of the hallmasters of the Ten Halls had the right to bestow personal property in Sky City. Although many in Sky City itself viewed personal property as something completely mindboggling, Li Yuansheng didn't think very much of it at all, considering that he came from a deva clan.

As soon as the words left Li Yuansheng's mouth, a tremor ran through Uzumaki Naruto, and his eyes widened. Without any hesitation, he pulled his hand back, and at the same time, caused the countless shards of ice stabbing toward Li Yuansheng to vanish.

"What did you just say!?" he said, sounding somewhat nervous as he looked at Li Yuansheng.

This response caused all of the surrounding silkpants to stare in shock, as well as all of the other surrounding cultivators. Considering how shocked they had all been because of the fight which had just been playing out, this sudden reversal left them completely taken aback.

The abrupt change in Uzumaki Naruto's actions seemed completely incomprehensible. Moments ago, he had been bursting with seemingly unstoppable momentum, but then, a mere threat uttered by Li Yuansheng seemed to make him weak in the knees.

Even Li Yuansheng was surprised, and in fact, his heart was still pounding in fear. He had uttered that threat in the heat of the moment, fearing he had no other options. Unexpectedly, it seemed to have worked, and as such, delight rose up in his heart, and the fierceness is his eyes grew more intense.

"Hmph. So, now you know what it means to be afraid, do you? Well it's too late. I don't care who you have backing you, in three days or less, you will no longer be a member of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and will have no choice other than to get the hell off this land!" Li Yuansheng clasped his hands behind his back, sending his words echoing out and his energy surging. Overall, he seemed very mighty and impressive.

He could well imagine how, within a single breath of time, this Boss Azure Dragon would b

e stricken by profound panic. Either he would explode into a rage, or he would bitterly bow his head in acquiescence. Li Yuansheng very much wanted to know which of those two reactions he would see.

"That's the difference between our statuses in the sect," he thought. "Hmph! Let's see whether or not this guy has what it takes to submit to fate." As a cold, sinister smile spread out on Li Yuansheng's face, the surrounding silkpants exchanged glances. The turn of events had been quite sudden, and it didn't seem quite right that the vicious person from moments ago had suddenly become so nervous.

What happened next went beyond the powers of imagination or prediction of Li Yuansheng or anyone else present. As soon as Naruto heard Li Yuansheng's words, his face lit up with excitement, and even joy.

"Are you serious? Hahaha! Great! Wonderful! You're Brother Li, right? Wow, I can't believe I just offended you the way I did. Well, it wasn't on purpose. Why didn't you say earlier that you could get me out of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect within three days!? If you had spoken up in the beginning, I would never have moved a muscle against you and your friends!" At this point, though, he still seemed concerned about the situation. Seemingly hesitant, he continued, "Brother Li, let me just make sure I understood you correctly. We need to make things very clear. You said that you would get me out of the sect within three days, right?"

The silkpants in the area were completely flummoxed, and Li Yuansheng didn't seem to know what to make of the situation. The people in the audience were exchanging awkward glances, completely unsure of what was going on, and unable to comprehend why Naruto seemed so excited.

"You…." Li Yuansheng suddenly felt lost, and began to wonder if he and this Boss Azure Dragon were even talking about the same thing. Finally, he couldn't hold back from saying, "Did you hear what I just said? I told you that in three days or less, I would have you kicked the hell out of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! Kicked out, you hear? That means you won't be a disciple here anymore! Driven away! Expelled!"

Naruto nodded eagerly, and seemed to be in higher spirits than ever. "Yeah, as long as you're sure you can pull it off, Brother Li. Wow, you truly are my greatest benefactor!"

With that, he turned toward Xu Baocai and the other Dao protectors.

"Xu Baocai!" he shouted. "Eldest Brother. Master Snortsnort! Hurry up and express your thanks to Fellow Daoist Li! He can get me out of the

Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! I don't have to be a hostage here anymore.

We can all go home!"

Master God-Diviner, Xu Baocai, and Big Fatty Zhang all looked up sympathetically at Li Yuansheng.

As for Li Yuansheng, the blank look on his face changed as soon as he heard the word 'hostage'. His eyes went as wide as if he had just seen a ghost. Pointing at Naruto with a trembling finger, he said, "You're a hostage?!"

"Yeah!" Naruto said loudly, swishing his sleeve. "I'm an important political hostage!"

Most other hostages would be very embarrassed or even angry to have their status revealed publicly, and as a result, they usually ran around with their tails between their legs. Uzumaki Naruto, on the other hand, loudly announced it in grandiose fashion.

Most of the time, he felt quite depressed when he thought about the fact that he was a hostage. But at the moment, the look on Li Yuansheng's face left him feeling wonderful, and in fact, he couldn't help but muse that being a hostage wasn't that bad after all….

When the crowd heard Uzumaki Naruto's words, they immediately erupted into chaos. The boss of the Celestial Sky Society looked like he had been struck by lightning, and his jaw was hanging open.

At long last he realized why he had never been able to dig up any information about the background of Boss Azure Dragon….

"Dammit! I can't believe he's a hostage! And even more unbelievable is how brazen he is! Hostages are supposed to go around filled with grief and indignation!" The tears that filled the Celestial Sky Society's boss were enough to form a new Heavenspan River….

"Y-you… you…." Li Yuansheng's mind was reeling so hard he couldn't even talk. He had the power to drive out any ordinary disciple, no matter what their background was. However, even if he were more powerful than he was, there was no way he could do anything to a hostage, who was an important connection between two sects. Not even Nascent Soul cultivators could do such a thing. Only a Deva Realm expert would have the authority to weigh in on the matter, and the clan deva would definitely not do so for such a trivial matter.

Clearly, his threat from moments ago had been nothing more than lunacy, and to have it thrown back at him in this way made it feel like had just been slapped across the face. Not only did rage build up in his heart, but his face flushed bright red, and he then coughed up a mouthful of blood. Howling with rage, he spun and shot back toward the rainbow district, not pausing for even a moment along the way.

Waving his hand, Naruto called, "Ai, what are you leaving for!? Hey, Brother Li! Don't go! You promised to get me out of the sect within three days!"

When his words reached Li Yuansheng's ears, Li Yuansheng coughed up another mouthful of blood and then howled, "Intolerable bully!"

At the same time, he pushed forward with greater speed than before.

He wasn't the only one. The remaining silkpants in the area looked over at Naruto with fear and awe at his incisive methods. Bowing their heads, they quickly fled, the more able ones supporting the injured ones on their shoulders.

Naruto cleared his throat as they made their way off. Then, he flicked his sleeve proudly and sighed in disappointment.

"I really hate it when people pretend to be threatening and awesome, only to turn out to be fakers. If you can't get me out of the sect, don't pretend you can! There's nothing funny about practical jokes!" Sighing, he looked down at the tavern, and his Dao protectors, who didn't seem to know whether to laugh or cry. Finally, he headed back into his room to continue his cultivation.

Before long, word about Naruto being a hostage began to spread through Sky City. It was a momentous development, and cleared up a lot of suspicions people had harbored. Soon, word even spread to the other three cities in the sect, leaving everyone there completely astonished.

That was especially true of the hostages in the cities belonging to the Starry River Court, Polarity River Court, and Dao River Court. All of them were left completely flabbergasted.

"I never realized you could be so domineering as a hostage…."

"I really need to go pay a visit to this Uzumaki Naruto!"

Virtually all of them decided to go meet Naruto and chat about their experiences as hostages, and perhaps get some advice about how to improve their situation in the sect.

As for the Celestial Sky Society, their repeated setbacks left them with no other choice than to bow their heads. They knew that there was nothing they could do to fight Naruto directly. After more meetings, the Celestial Sky Society boss finally gritted his teeth and said, "Since we can't provoke him, let's just get him out of Sky City!"

Chapter 405 Chapter 405

Chapter 405: Promotion….

The rules governing the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's promotion system worked in two ways. Either disciples voluntarily handed over 1,000,000 merit points to get their promotion, or, if they saved up enough merit points, the sect's grand spell formation would detect it and automatically promote them.

Such a method had been enacted to prevent any individual from saving too many merit points, and also to control inflation within the sect. Furthermore, it wasn't under the control of any individual, but rather, the spell formation, which was linked to the identity medallions of all disciples, making it impossible to cheat.

Of course, the second method was rarely seen, as it required a very large number of merit points. When a person's merit points exceeded the limit, they became like a beacon on a dark night, and instantly attracted the attention of the spell formation.

Naruto had used this exact method on Song Que. By transferring a large amount of merit points from the Azure Dragon Society to Song Que's identity medallion, it ensured that as soon as he flew out into the open, he was noticed and whisked away to become a yellow-robed disciple.

At the moment, the leaders of the Celestial Sky Society were so terrified of Naruto that they decided they had to simply get him out of the city.

"We'll only have one chance. If we don't get enough merit points into his command medallion, the strategy won't work, and after that, Boss Azure Dragon will be on guard. If we tried to do it a second time, it would be very difficult."

"Let's throw caution to the wind! The Celestial Sky Society will foot the bill to get him out! Even all those merit points will be worth it if we can achieve that goal!" After making their decision, they waited a few more days until the fluctuations of the sect's grand spell formation had reached a certain level of intensity. That night, the moon hung high and bright in the sky, bathing the lands with white moonlight. Although it made everything seem soft and hazy, Sky City was just as busy at night as it was during the day.

In the desert on the edge of the west district, the Azure Dragon Society's tavern was in operation as it usually was. Cultivators came and went, not willing to rest just because it was dark outside.

Naruto was sitting at a table in the tavern, flanked by two maid servants who were cooling him with large fans. If those fans had been on display outside of the tavern, they would have caused quite a stir. In terms of their value in merit points, either one would be enough to purchase a powerful magical treasure. However, as far as Naruto was concerned, they might as well have just been ordinary fans.

Even the table itself had been crafted from 1,000-year-old mahogany. If that wood had been used to make something like a flying sword, it would have been an extraordinary weapon, but in this case, it had simply been made into a table….

The table was piled with all sorts of delicacies, the type that would go for astronomical prices on the outside. Even the bowls and the chopsticks had magical properties.

The room was extravagantly decorated, so much so that a Nascent Soul cultivator who entered it would be shocked.

Xu Baocai, Master God-Diviner, and Big Fatty Zhang were all there as well, eating and drinking to their hearts' content. As they laughed and chatted, Chen Manyao sat demurely next to Uzumaki Naruto, fanning herself with her own fan, occasionally joining in on the conversation.

Their clothes were extremely luxurious, exactly the type you would expect the nouveau riche-type to wear….

"So," Naruto said, "it turns out you can't trust anything that Li Yuansheng guy says.

Three days have passed, and nobody has said I could leave the city." Rubbing his belly, he let out a contented burp.

Xu Baocai chuckled and said, "You know, Junior Patriarch, things are actually pretty good here. Hahaha! We get the best to eat and drink, and the best of everything else. We wouldn't even have it this good off in the River-Defying Sect. Although now I'm really curious about what life in the rainbow district is like."

"Look!" Naruto suddenly shouted, pointing at Xu Baocai and hurrying over to throw his arm around Big Fatty Zhang. "Look at this guy! You see that? That's ambition. Keep it up, Xu Baocai, keep it up." With that he let out a loud guffaw. "It's a good thing we never let him into the Ovens back in the day. Come on, Xu Baocai, we have it way better off here than the rainbow district! Only an idiot would want to get promoted. I'm going to stay right here for the rest of my life!" He emphasized his last words with a dramatic wave of his hand, looking very, very satisfied.

Master God-Diviner and Big Fatty Zhang roared with laughter, and Xu Baocai looked a bit embarrassed. Just when he was about to defend himself, Naruto waved his hand dismissively and said, "Listen to me, guys–"

Just when he was about to brag about his visit to the rainbow district, and explain how everyone there was so cold and distant, his expression suddenly flickered as he realized that his bag of holding was vibrating. Slapping it, he produced his identity medallion and scanned it with divine sense.

Shocked, he realized that his merit point balance was increasing rapidly.

"What's going on?" he said, puzzled. Then his eyes widened as, in the briefest of moments, his balance shot past 1,000,000. Soon, he had 2,000,000 merit points. Then 3,000,000. Then 4,000,000!

Shrieking in terror, and without any time to offer any explanations, he quickly began to transfer merit points to the others. However, no matter how quickly he acted, it was still too slow. Within the blink of an eye, his merit point balance reached more than 5,000,000.

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's grand spell formation was most sensitive and active during the full moon, and it just so happened that the moon outside was shining as brightly as a signal fire. It took only a moment for the spell formation to notice what was happening, and send power rushing into the tavern, and the room Naruto was in.

"No!" he screamed. To the shock of Master God-Diviner, Xu Baocai, Big Fatty Zhang, and Chen Manyao, and before any of them could react, the stream of light entered the room and wrapped around Uzumaki Naruto.

Even as the light grabbed him, his merit point balance continued to increase with maddening speed. Unexpectedly, it had already reached more than 7,000,000.

That incredible balance seemed to anger the spell formation, which was by no means gentle as it grabbed Naruto and yanked him out of the room and up into the sky.

As Uzumaki Naruto's screams echoed out in all directions, his four Dao protectors rushed out, shaken, and yet completely helpless to do anything.

"I don't wanna go! I wanna stay here! I don't wanna become a yellowrobed disciple! I'm much more suited to being an orange-robed disciple…." By this point, it was obvious that he had fallen victim to the scheming of the Celestial Sky Society. Furthermore, considering the incredible sum of merit points involved, it was clear how determined the leaders of the Celestial Sky Society were to get rid of him.

The beam of light which was dragging Naruto away was far larger and brighter than the usual type. As such, it lit up the night sky, filling all of Sky City, drawing the attention of numerous gazes, many of which were filled with excitement.

As for all of the cultivators who had suffered the side-effects of the Fantasy Pills and the Ultra Diet Supplement Pills, they couldn't have been more delighted. Some of them even started banging on drums and gongs as they cheered.

"Old Devil Uzumaki is finally leaving!"

"The heavens do have eyes! Boss Azure Dragon is getting promoted!"

"Hahaha! That fiend is the number one villain in Sky City. Now that he's leaving, it's like a huge mountain is being lifted off of our shoulders!"

The cheers in the city mixed with Uzumaki Naruto's screams to echo out into the night. His Dao protectors looked on with shocked expressions as the powerful beam of light dragged Naruto through the night sky toward Sky Quarter Rainbow.

On that very rainbow, the disciples in charge of receiving other newly promoted disciples were standing on the official welcoming platform, expressions of disbelief on their faces as they looked down at the cheering Sky City. If they could hear the sound from that far up, it could only be imagined how enthusiastic the crowds were down below….

The disciples exchanged awkward glances. Never before had they seen such tumult in the city below, and never had they seen the beam of light sent to welcome a new disciple to the rainbow district being so large and bright. Soon, Naruto was there in front of them….

As soon as Naruto sensed the cold gazes of the other disciples, he wailed, "I don't wanna become a yellow-robed disciple!"

Tears even welled up in his eyes as he cursed his previous complacency, and his carelessness in not taking preventative measures against such tactics as the Celestial Sky Society had just used.

The grief that spilled from his heart into his voice was the kind that would incite sorrow in the hearts of anyone who heard it, and caused the surrounding disciples' jaws to drop. Usually, people who were brought up to the rainbow district were beside themselves with joy. This was their first time seeing anyone sad about the matter.

Naruto sighed repeatedly, and appeared to be on the verge of tears as he left the welcoming platform. His surroundings were beautiful, with strong spiritual energy, pools and ponds everywhere, and even immortal mountains. However, considering how cold and indifferent everyone was, Naruto still felt that his tavern was a much better place.

Scowling, he realized that he simply had to accept the situation.

Sighing, he murmured to himself, "You just can't be too outstanding. Ai. I never thought that I, Uzumaki Naruto, who always tries to keep such a low profile, would be ripped away from the mundane world to become a yellow-robed disciple."

Chapter 406 Chapter 406

Chapter 406: Sky Quarter

The two disciples escorting Naruto both wore yellow robes, and eyed Naruto more than a few times as they walked along, apparently unsure of what to make of him.

After all, he had made quite a commotion upon his arrival. Usually, these two yellow-robed disciples were quite harsh in their treatment of newcomers, but for some reason, they were being very polite to Uzumaki Naruto.

"Sky Quarter Rainbow has the Ten Halls," one of them explained, "and all newly promoted yellow-robed disciples end up joining one of them. The selection process doesn't happen each time a disciple is promoted, but rather in groups, once per year."

"However, your luck runs strong, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki," said the other. "We only have four months to go until the next Hall Selection Forum." Not only were these two explaining how things worked on Sky Quarter Rainbow, they were also explaining his new responsibilities.

"One of the reasons Sky Quarter Rainbow is divided up into five rings is because of the Ten Halls. The inner ring is where the peak lord lives, and nobody can go there without being summoned. As for the other areas, they are set aside for use by the Ten Halls."

Last time Naruto had been here, he had merely been passing through, but this time, thanks to the introduction given by these two disciples, he was already coming to a much better understanding of Sky Quarter Rainbow.

Although it was called a rainbow, it actually had flat ground inside just like any other location. There was a seven-colored sky overhead, and the dirt beneath their feet also featured seven colors, although it wasn't generally visible because of the green limestone which covered almost everything.

The only places where the seven-colored dirt was visible was on the immortal mountains which rose up in certain locations. What left the deepest impression of all on Naruto was how soft and gentle the spiritual energy was. He could already tell that it would be very easy to absorb, and wouldn't lead to the terrifying energy drainage that was common in Sky City.

From his current vantagepoint, Naruto could look to the side and see lushly vegetated hills and mountains interspersed with blue bodies of water, which were the lands of Heavenspan. There was also a golden channel of water stretching off as far as the eye could see, which was the Heavenspan River.

In the other direction was the vast and boundless sea!

Last time Naruto had been here, he had come to the inner ring, and hadn't been able to see much. At the moment, though, he was in the outer ring, and was able to glimpse the magnificent golden waters of the sea. The sheer grandeur caused him to gasp in shock.

Furthermore, the strength of the spiritual energy in that sea seemed beyond imagination. It even caused mighty waves to roll across the surface of the water, the crashing of which even reached all the way to the rainbow and Uzumaki Naruto's ears.

"That's the Heavenspan Sea?" he murmured, shaken.

The two cultivators escorting him couldn't conceal the pride which rose up on their faces. After all, being a yellow-robed disciple in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was truly a glorious position. One of them smiled.

"That's right. Only disciples who get promoted to the yellow-robed level qualify to live here and enjoy the majestic sight of the Heavenspan Sea!"

That sea formed the center of the lands of Heavenspan, and was the source of its spiritual energy. It was a sea that would never dry up, a sea that would flourish for all eternity!

As Naruto looked at the Heavenspan Sea, he was struck with the sudden impulse to fly out and explore it. After a moment, he took a deep breath and turne

d his gaze to look at the ancient battleship which existed on top of the waterfall.

From this vantage point, it was clearly visible. It was pitch black, and appeared to be in a state of extreme damage and dilapidation, especially its sails. Within the ship, terrifying, shadowy figures floated here and there.

The mere sight of it caused Uzumaki Naruto's hair to stand on end, and he quickly looked away.

As they walked along, Naruto caught sight of other cultivators who lived on Sky Quarter Rainbow. All of them were yellow-robed disciples, without a single one wearing robes of green or cyan. From what Naruto could tell, the green- and cyan-robed disciples were either very rare, or lived in a different area.

Just as he remembered from his last time here, the cultivators were very aloof and cold. None of them spoke to each other; at most, they would occasionally exchange a glance. Because of that, Sky Quarter Rainbow was a very quiet place.

Naruto wasn't used to such silence, but there was little he could do about it. The cultivators escorting him along eventually took him to the location where new disciples were required to check in. He handed over his identity medallion for inspection, and then was given a yellow robe and a jade slip key to an immortal's cave. After exchanging a few parting words, the two disciples who had led him up to this point took their leave.

Naruto sized up his surroundings, feeling very out-of-place and very alone. Frowning, he followed the map in the jade slip until he found his immortal's cave on the very edge of the fifth ring.

It was a very ordinary immortal's cave, and the only good thing about it was that if he stood at the window, he could catch a glimpse of the sea far off in the distance.

The cave was relatively small and ordinary, but most newly-promoted disciples would be elated to be given such a dwelling, which vastly exceeded the standards of virtually every cultivator in Sky City.

But to Uzumaki Naruto, it was like a hovel compared to his room back in his tavern. Sighing, he stood there looking around blankly for a moment, then resigned himself to his misfortune and began to tidy the place up. A bit later, he sat down cross-legged to do some cultivation.

As his session of cultivation progressed, he grew more and more calm.

Sure enough, his progress surpassed what he could accomplish in Sky City, and plus, there was no energy drainage. Once again, he was filled with the sensation that he didn't need to eat food.

With every breath he took, boundless spiritual energy poured into him, filling his body, swirling here and there. Gradually, Naruto immersed himself in his cultivation.

During the following ten days, he spent much of his time in cultivation, but also took some time to explore and familiarize himself with his new surroundings. Whenever he encountered fellow disciples, they treated him very coldly. Even if he called out a greeting, they would ignore him. However, he soon got a good sense of the true power of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. During those ten days, he realized that almost all of the yellow-robed disciples he encountered on Sky Quarter Rainbow were Core Formation cultivators!

Although a few were in Foundation Establishment, most of those were in the quasi-Core stage. Everyone possessed incredible battle prowess, which was quite a shock to Uzumaki Naruto.

He also asked about the location where the Living Mountain Incantation was intended to be cultivated, but was disappointed to find that it wasn't on Sky Quarter Rainbow at all. Instead, it was on the second level of rainbows, where the sect leader resided.

Looking up at the rainbows above him, he murmured, "On the second level, there are two rainbows, the one on the left being for the devas, and the one on the right set aside for the sect leader, as well as various training grounds and trials by fire…."

He was a newcomer, and because of how everyone was so cold and indifferent, it wasn't easy for him to get information.

After becoming a yellow-robed disciple, there were certain restrictions regarding returning to Sky City. Such restrictions didn't really apply to people like Li Yuansheng and his friends, but for Uzumaki Naruto, getting back down to the city was a very complicated ordeal.

However, jade slips could still be used to communicate, and he soon got news from Master God-Diviner and the other Dao protectors. After Uzumaki Naruto's departure, the mood in the Azure Dragon Society had turned very bleak. However, after making some adjustments to the profit margins, they were fairly certain they would be able to get by.

Although the Celestial Sky Society had begun to cause more problems, they still feared Uzumaki Naruto, and thus, didn't do anything overtly aggressive. The Dao protectors also told him that they planned to handle a few important affairs regarding the tavern, and then do their best to be promoted to the rainbow district as well.

That got Naruto very excited. Without all of his Dao protectors, he was actually very bored, with little to do other than cultivate his Undying Live Forever Technique and Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation. Things went on like that for about a month, until one day in the middle of a session of cultivation, his expression suddenly flickered. Waving his hand, he sent the door of the immortal's cave creaking open, revealing a figure approaching, bathed in the morning sunlight.

When that person saw the door of the immortal's cave open, he stopped in place for a moment, seemingly in thought, before proceeding forward again. Soon, his handsome, grim face was clearly visible.

He was none other than Song Que!

"Que'er!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he shot to his feet. Just when he was about to rush forward to pull Song Que inside, Song Que snorted coldly and took a few steps back, refusing to enter.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he said in a stony voice, "the details regarding my promotion to yellow-robed disciple aren't important. What's important is that I owe you because of it. There are some things you probably haven't been told about since you're new, so listen up!

"First. In three months, both you and I will be part of the Hall Selection Forum. Because I got here a bit before you did, I've learned a few things about it. There are some halls which many people desire to enter, mostly because they are safer, and can even lead to lucrative opportunities. Some examples are the Hall of Magical Techniques, the Hall of Defenders, and the Hall of Spirit Enhancement. However, some halls are considered perilous, and there are high mortality rates among the disciples who join them. Most notable among those are the Hall of Covert Operations and the Hall of Devil Slayers! Be careful when the time comes!

"Second. During the month since you've arrived, word has spread that someone is out to give you a hard time… or worse. You should consider who it is you might have offended and take precautions!" With a final look at Uzumaki Naruto, Song Que turned and left. Apparently, his only reason in coming had been in an attempt to pay back his debt of merit points.

Note: This is our meme master's 500th meme, let's join him in a round of applause!

Chapter 407 Chapter 407 Chapter 407

A thoughtful expression could be seen on Uzumaki Naruto's face as he watched Song Que hurrying off. Before long, though, a slight smile could be seen.

By this point, Naruto didn't view Song Que as being any sort of rival. In fact, he actually believed Song Que's life to be a bit rough. He went around all the time trying to look tough, surrounded by a murderous aura, constantly looking to pick fights.

Naruto wouldn't forget how he had come to offer these warnings.

After some thought, he came to the conclusion that, based on what Song Que had told him, it was likely that Li Yuansheng was looking for an opportunity to cause problems for him because of the matters with the Celestial Sky Society.

Unfortunately, knowing the identity of the person targeting him didn't really provide much help. After all, it would be impossible to prepare for all of the ways Li Yuansheng could get to him in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. The only thing he could do was be as cautious as possible.

"If we were in the River-Defying Sect, I'd definitely show him a thing or two!" Naruto let out a harrumph and proceeded to ponder how he would handle the situation if he were in Li Yuansheng's shoes. After a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"The Hall Selection Forum!" he thought, a tremor passing through him. The more he thought about it, the grimmer his expression grew, and the more certain he was that the Hall Selection Forum was where Li Yuansheng would try to make a move on him. However, Naruto couldn't think of any way to counter such a move. At one point, he even considered trying to reach out to the Sky Quarter peak lord.

Unfortunately, without being expressly summoned by the peak lord, it was impossible to gain access to the inner ring. Even a simple visit to offer greetings had to be approved by the peak lord, and despite going on several occasions to do just that, Naruto was never allowed to enter, and was forced to return gloomily to his immortal's cave.

He basically had no options at the moment, so he simply decided to wait it out until his Dao protectors arrived. Soon, Master God-Diviner, Big Fatty Zhang, and Chen Manyao all paid the requisite number of merit points to get their promotions.

Xu Baocai was the only one who stayed behind. After all, business in the tavern still had to be managed. The tavern itself was the main reason everyone had been able to get up to the rainbow district to begin with, and someone had to stay behind to run it, at least for a while.

After being received by the disciples at the welcoming platform, the Dao protectors got their clothing and identity medallions and then went to find Uzumaki Naruto. It was a happy reunion, even for Chen Manyao. After working closely with Naruto and everyone else, and gaining the approval of Naruto himself, she was now considered to be part of their circle of friends.

After the initial reunion was over, they all sat down in Uzumaki Naruto's immortal's cave. First, the Dao protectors explained how things had gone in the tavern after he left, and then he told them about everything that had happened to him. When he was finished, he said, "And so, I need all of your help to figure out what to do about the Hall Selection Forum."

Master God-Diviner and Big Fatty Zhang frowned in thought, but unfortunately, they were new here, and couldn't think of a single countermeasure to take. Eventually, they looked over at Chen Manyao.

Naruto did the same thing. Chen Manyao was from the Wildlands, and knew other agents in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, so she was obviously the best-equipped to provide a solution. Chen Manyao smiled. "Don't worry, Naruto. I shou

ld be able to take care of the situation. Just tell me which hall you want to join."

Naruto was so happy that he almost couldn't hold back from leaping forward and hugging her. Laughing heartily, he said, "You're so awesome, Yao'er! Alright. I want to join the Hall of Defenders!"

Chen Manyao's face turned a bit red, and after glaring at Naruto for a moment, she pulled out a jade slip to make contact with her comrades in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. After a moment passed, she gave Naruto a smile of confirmation, which got him even more excited. At that point, Big Fatty Zhang said that he wanted to join the Hall of Spirit Enhancement, and as for Master God-Diviner, he wanted to get into the Hall of Magical Techniques.

Later, the Dao protectors left. At long last, Naruto didn't feel completely lonely any more. In fact, his cultivation speed even seemed to pick up, and before he knew it, three months had passed.

Including his first month, that meant four months had gone by, and it was time for Sky Quarter Rainbow's yearly Hall Selection Forum.

That morning at dawn, the sound of tolling bells filled Sky Quarter Rainbow, and all of the disciples who had been promoted to the yellow robe level in the past year all made their way out of their immortal's caves, looking both solemn and apprehensive.

All of them knew that their fates for the following years would be determined on this day. Whichever hall they ended up joining would determine how they grew in the years to come, and would also have a huge influence on how long they managed to stay alive. Because of that, all of them were completely on edge.

Of course, the rules of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect were strict. The ten halls selected who would join them, not the other way around. Because the new disciples had absolutely no say in the matter, they could only wait nervously until the announcements were made.

Naruto had long since straightened his clothing in preparation for the event. As soon as the bells began to toll, he strolled out of his immortal's cave glowing with excitement, visualizing what it would be like to join the Hall of Defenders.

Over the past few months, he had spent some merit points to get a bit more detailed information about the various halls, and knew that the Hall of Defenders could only be described as wonderful. They were tasked with defending Sky Quarter Rainbow as a whole. However, considering that Sky Quarter Rainbow was in the middle of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the chances of someone invading the place were virtually zero. Because of that, the cultivators who were members of the Hall of the Defenders tended to enforce sect rules within the rainbow district itself.

They were a very impressive group, similar to the Hall of Justice back in the Spirit Stream Sect.

Naruto was very excited about the prospect, and was sure that as a member of the Hall of Defenders, he would surely become very famous on Sky Quarter Rainbow.

It didn't take long before more than 200 newly promoted yellow-robed disciples were hurrying toward the inner ring.

For most disciples, the Hall Selection Forum was the only time they would ever be able to visit the inner ring, where a huge square existed atop the seven-colored mountain there.

Of course, this was Uzumaki Naruto's second time to the inner ring, so things were somewhat familiar to him. Upon entering the square, he caught sight of Big Fatty Zhang, Master God-Diviner, Chen Manyao, and even Song Que.

Although he was able to catch their eyes, they were separated by enough distance that it wasn't possible to exchange words. The entire square was filled with a very somber air. Before long, the sound of bells faded away, and silence filled the air for a moment before ten beams of light appeared out of nowhere and shot down toward the ground.

Instantly, crushing pressure filled the area, causing the faces of Naruto and all the other disciples to flicker; it felt as if their bodies were being pushed down into the ground. At the same time, ten cultivators appeared.

Some were men, some women, some seemed old, some did not, but all were Nascent Soul cultivators. Three of the women were beautiful, and yet looked very stoic. Somehow, such expressions only made them seem more attractive.

As for the others, some had faces wrinkled with age, whereas others looked like young men or women. Some appeared to be kind and amiable, while others were surrounded by murderous auras, and seemed like very vicious characters.

"Greetings, Hallmasters!" It was hard to say who spoke first, but soon, all of the gathered disciples were bowing their heads and calling out greetings to the ten Nascent Soul cultivators who were the hallmasters of Sky Quarter.

Naruto did the same, peering out of the corner of his eye at the ten Nascent Soul cultivators and wondering which one was the hallmaster of the Hall of Defenders. At the same time, he couldn't help but gasp at the power of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Even Sky Quarter Rainbow alone had enough power to dominate any sect in the Middle Reaches, assuming that sect didn't have a deva.

"And they have three other rainbows just like Sky Quarter," he thought, shaken. "There's also Starry Quarter, Polarity Quarter, and Dao Quarter…."

At that point, one of the ten Nascent Soul cultivators said, "And now, you will come to join the hallmaster who calls your name."

"Chen Biao!"

"Xu Ke!"

"Zhou Songli!"

As the names of the disciples were called out, they respectfully hurried over to the side of whichever Nascent Soul cultivator had called them.

"Song Que!" said one of the fierce-looking Nascent Soul cultivators. Song Que took a deep breath and flew over. Eventually, Chen Manyao was called by one of the beautiful women, and by some lucky chance, Big Fatty Zhang was called by one of the other beauties.

Master God-Diviner wasn't sure if luck was with him when he got called by an icy-faced young man. As the crowd began to thin, Uzumaki Naruto's nervousness grew, and he continued to flash glances in the direction of the Nascent Soul cultivators, hoping to remind them of his presence.

Unfortunately, the Nascent Soul Daoist masters all had completely expressionless faces, and none of them were even looking in his direction. Furthermore, Naruto soon realized that, unexpectedly, there was one among the Nascent Soul cultivators who hadn't said a single word so far.

He was a kindly-faced old man, who looked over the dwindling group of cultivators with a wide smile that did nothing to reveal what he was thinking.

It didn't take long before the group of more than 200 had been whittled down to less than a dozen or so. Naruto stood there, blinking, wondering what exactly was happening. Then he looked over at Chen Manyao and realized that she was wearing a look of shock, at which point, his heart began to sink.

By now, the nine Nascent Soul Daoist masters weren't saying anything else, and in fact, were all looking at the kindly-faced old man. The beautiful Nascent Soul cultivator who had selected Big Fatty Zhang smiled and said, "Brother Feng, we're finished with our selections."

The old man laughed heartily and then swished his sleeve.

"Alright. If you don't want this group, then I'll take them." He waved his finger, causing seven-colored light to spread out beneath the feet of Naruto and the others and carry them over to his side.

"Very well then," he said with a smile. "I'll take my leave now." The other Nascent Soul cultivators called out farewell as he carried Naruto and the others off into the distance.

Uzumaki Naruto's heart was pounding as he looked around at the other cultivators and then nervously asked, "Senior, which hall are we?"

The old man turned and looked back at him, and the kindness that was on his face before was now nowhere to be seen. His smile was sinister, and he suddenly possessed a powerful, murderous aura that caused Uzumaki

Naruto to gasp. "Congratulations on being selected by the Hall of Devil Slayers!"

"The Hall… of Devil Slayers…?" Naruto said, his eyes widening in terror. Never could he have imagined that after calling upon the help of Chen Manyao, he would actually be taken away by the Hall of Devil Slayers. Instantly, rage boiled up inside of him.

The other disciples around him had a variety of expressions on their faces, and none of them looked happy.

"Throughout the history of Sky Quarter Rainbow, the most dangerous hall of all is the Hall of Devil Slayers. They also have the highest casualty rate!"

"Heavens…. I heard that a few decades ago, the Hall of Devil Slayers went on a mission outside the sect, and thousands of disciples died in the briefest of moments…."

"I heard that the disciples in the Hall of Devil Slayers all get sent out on missions to assassinate enemies, and can get killed at the drop of a hat…."

"Noooo…."

Chapter 407: Hall of… of Devil Slayers?

Chapter 408 Chapter 408

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AWE – Chapter 408

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Chapter 408: This Square!

The entire group was crying out in alarm. None of them could have guessed that they would actually have been selected by the Hall of Devil Slayers, and even as they trembled in terror, the hallmaster glared back and said, "Shut up, all of you!"

His thunderous voice instantly crushed the entire group into silence. Neither Naruto nor any of the rest of them could reconcile the kindly-faced old man from before with this stern hallmaster and his sharp gaze.

"In the Hall of Devil Slayers, we subdue demons and exorcise devils. The Dao we pursue is that of slaughtering our enemies. Do the lot of you really wish to forsake such honor and glory? Listen up. I'm only going to use ten percent of my speed, so don't fall behind. The last person to meet me in the grand square of the Hall of Devil Slayers' main temple will immediately be sent out on a very 'important' mission! Of course, I'm the type of person who likes to offer rewards in addition to punishments. If any of you can beat me to the square, you won't have to go on any missions for the next three years!" With a cold snort, he pushed forward with greater speed.

Everyone gasped. From the hallmaster's tone of voice, whatever

'important' mission he had in mind wou

ld not be a good thing for any of them. Without any hesitation, all of them shot forward with all the speed they could muster.

Naruto appeared to be on the verge of tears, and at the same time, was furious at having been screwed over. That, coupled with his terror regarding the Hall of Devil Slayers, caused him to speed after the hallmaster as quickly as possible, his mind filled with all the rumors he had heard recently.

Especially terrifying were the quavering words spoken by his fellow disciples moments ago.

"It probably wasn't Chen Manyao's fault. She has no reason to screw me over. Most likely, she just didn't have enough backing to keep me safe. I'd bet everything that it was Li Yuansheng and his deva clan. He's pulling out all the stops to try to get me killed!" Gritting his teeth, he looked around to measure how fast his fellow disciples were, after which his eyes flashed with determination, and he picked up speed.

As he accelerated, the wind screamed past his ears, and he left behind nothing more than afterimages. In the blink of an eye, he caught up with the leaders of the pack, barreling forward as if he were fleeing for his life.

Not only did he not wish to come in last, he couldn't stop thinking about the possible reward if he could beat the hallmaster to the square. The idea of being exempt from missions for three years was like rocket fuel inside of him. His eyes were completely bloodshot as he gritted his teeth and kept his eyes fixed on the old Nascent Soul cultivator up ahead. Although the hallmaster was moving quickly, he obviously wasn't going all out. In fact, he was strolling casually through the air, each step talking him thousands of meters along.

As far as the hallmaster was concerned, it would be quite impressive if any of the disciples could merely keep up with him at this pace.

Furthermore, putting them in their place a bit also had its benefits. After all, life in the Hall of Devil Slayers was a bitter one, and he always tried to take the new recruits down a notch or two.

Sighing, he proceeded along up ahead when suddenly, he heard a whistling sound behind him, causing a look of surprise to play out on his face. Sending his divine sense back, he saw Naruto flying along at an almost impossible speed, passing all of his comrades and actually closing in toward him. In fact, he was only moments away from catching up altogether.

"Eee?" the hallmaster muttered in surprise. In all the years he had selected new recruits for the Hall of Devil Slayers, never had he encountered anyone this fast. Having no other choice, he sped up a little bit, instantly pushing himself several hundred meters forward.

Naruto was gasping for breath as he caught up, only to see the hallmaster suddenly accelerate and put a few hundred meters between the two of them. As the anxiety welled up inside of him, two wings appeared, which gave him another explosive burst of speed.

As the two of them raced along, it was clear to see that Naruto was actually moving a bit faster than the hallmaster. With his wings, his fleshly body power, and his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, he was soon able to close the distance, until he was only a few dozen meters behind the hallmaster.

The hallmaster's eyes widened, and pushed himself along a bit faster. By this point, he was virtually at his limit when using only ten percent of his power. Through all the years that he had been tasked with selecting new disciples, he had never encountered anyone who could force him to use more than ten percent. However, to his shock, he found that Naruto was nothing like the other disciples.

In fact, the hallmaster also realized that if he only used ten percent of his cultivation base power, then at some point, Naruto would actually pass him up.

By now, they could actually see the Hall of Devil Slayers up ahead, and that was when Naruto actually pulled up alongside the hallmaster. His panting gasps were audible in all directions, and blue veins were bulging out of his forehead. From the look in his eye, his life was on the line.

As far as Naruto was concerned, his life really was on the line. Up ahead was the Hall of Devil Slayers, a huge mountain surrounded by swirling clouds and covered with countless pavilions, temples and other buildings. Cultivators were hustling about everywhere, and most notable of all were the enormous characters carved upon the mountain itself!

Hall of Devil Slayers!

Each character that made up the name was fully 300 meters tall and as red as blood. Not only did they make a shocking sight, they emanated a terrifying, murderous aura.

Uzumaki Naruto's pupils constricted as he realized that he was definitely going to pass up the hallmaster, and then win three years of being exempt from going on missions.

"What does this little punk think he's doing?" the hallmaster thought, glaring over. "Trying to embarrass me?!"

He was a Nascent Soul Daoist master with a profoundly high cultivation base. Even though he was limiting himself to ten percent of his cultivation base power, it would still be quite a loss of face if someone in the younger generation actually surpassed him. Frowning, he looked at the Hall of Devil Slayers up ahead, and was just hesitating about what to do when….

Naruto was only about 3,000 meters away from his final destination. Suddenly, he shot forward with even greater speed, drawing upon the Mountain Shaking Bash, which caused rumbling sounds to echo out as he passed the hallmaster. Within moments, he would be stepping down onto the square.

The hallmaster's glare intensified, and inwardly, he was cursing. Taking a step forward, he finally resorted to a minor teleportation.

However, even as he did, Naruto sent frigid Chakra roiling out, creating a 3,000-meter area of frozen ice around him. Suddenly, he also did something that resembled a minor teleportation, and in the following moment, was right at the temple standing over the square.

The hallmaster's jaw dropped as widely as if he had just seen a ghost as he also finished his teleportation.

"I'm first!" Naruto cried, simultaneously panting for breath.

"Hahahahaha!"

Looking around, he was absolutely convinced that he was the first person to reach this spot. It was in that moment that an ancient voice floated over to him from off in the distance.

"Not bad. You really did get there first. However, what are you doing way over there? The square I was talking about is right here." Naruto spun, his jaw dropping as he realized that the hallmaster was actually standing in another square some distance away, smiling broadly at him.

Naruto looked around and confirmed that he was standing in the square outside the main temple, and that the hallmaster was in the square of one of the side temples. Instantly, Uzumaki Naruto's face turned grim, and dejection rose up in his heart.

"You…." he said, almost on the verge of tears. Despite the hallmaster's shamelessness, there was nothing Naruto could do about it, so he simply sighed sadly and then hurried over. Clasping hands and bowing deeply, he said, "Disciple Naruto offers formal greetings, Hallmaster!"

The hallmaster smiled, once again looking kindly like he had before. However, inwardly he was snorting coldly, and had determined not to forget that Naruto had actually gone so far as to surpass his own speed.

Now that the hallmaster had arrived, other members of the Hall of Devil Slayers began to hurry over. The first to arrive was a middle-aged cultivator with a goatee and a late Core Formation cultivation base. He clasped hands respectfully in greeting to the hallmaster, and also offered some fawning words that he apparently didn't mind Naruto hearing.

The hallmaster smiled and nodded in response, after which the middleaged man stood off to the side, where he looked at Naruto with a sparkling glint of interest.

Before long, the other new recruits arrived, the last one being a trembling quasi-Core cultivator. The hallmaster gave him a cold look and then looked away. However, the man with the goatee seemed to have marked the last-place disciple with his eyes.

"I am Feng Youde, hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers. From now on, all of you are cultivators of the Hall of Devil Slayers, and must abide by all of our rules and customs. Master Cloud-Dao, I'll leave them in your hands!" With that, the hallmaster flashed into motion, flying up toward the summit of the mountain, leaving all the new recruits standing around with blank expressions.

The man with the goatee, whom the hallmaster had called Master Cloud-

Dao, flashed a cold smile at Naruto and the others and then said, "There is no need for fear, ladies and gentlemen. I am your humble servant Master Cloud-Dao, the honor guard of the Hall of Devil Slayers. From now on, we're all on the same team. However, your first task as new recruits is to go out alone on a mission, which I will assign to you right now." For some reason, it seemed like something special glittered in his eyes when he looked at Uzumaki Naruto.

Chapter 409 Chapter 409

Chapter 409: Going On A Mission….

"Zhao Ke, you will go to the Nineshadows Continent to kill the devil cultivator Zhou Wu. Last month, he committed murder, and even went to the lengths of forging an evil magical weapon. He must be eliminated!

"Lu Peng, your mission is to kill Chen Fan from the Yunchen Clan. He has an early Core Formation cultivation base, but according to our latest information, he was gravely injured recently, so he shouldn't put up much of a fight. Bring back his head! 1

"Han Ping, your destination is the Holypatron Continent, where you will be escorting a representative of the Liumin Clan to bring their yearly tribute to the sect!"

As Master Cloud-Dao rattled off the missions, it was clear that some were more dangerous than others, but generally speaking, they were all roughly within the same level of difficulty. After all, this group had just joined the Hall of Devil Slayers, and Master Cloud-Dao wasn't trying to intentionally make things hard for them. As for the merit point rewards for the missions, the smallest was 20,000, with the largest being multiple times higher than that.

As for the cultivator who had come in last in the race to the square, his mission actually didn't seem very hard at all. All he had to do was deliver a message to a place called Grandforest Mountain.

Most of the cultivators seemed relieved after hearing their missions. As for Uzumaki Naruto, he continued to wait nervously for Master Cloud-Dao to speak his name and explain his mission.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you will travel to Whitegrove Cliff on the Eternalflux Continent to kill the notorious sex fiend Zuo Hengfeng, a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Your reward upon success will be 30,000 merit points." With that, he tossed a jade slip to Naruto and went on to assign more missions. Soon, everyone had their missions, after which Master Cloud-Dao looked over the group and smiled. 2

"Fellow Daoists, these first missions of yours shouldn't be very difficult, and I truly hope they go smoothly. However, if any of you dare to disrespect the arrangements set forth by the Hall of Devil Slayers by not going on your assigned mission, you will face a punishment the likes of which you can't even imagine. Very well, you have two hours to prepare before leaving!" Master Cloud-Dao swished his sleeve and left. Meanwhile, other disciples from the Hall of Devil Slayers who had been waiting off to the side hurried over with uniforms and identity medallions for the new recruits.

Everyone exchanged unsettled glances and then, not being in the mood for chit-chat, rushed away to prepare as well as they could for their missions.

Naruto did the same, hurrying back to his immortal's cave as quickly as possible. Along the way, he couldn't stop thinking about how he didn't want to go out on the mission. Unfortunately, this wasn't the River-Defying Sect, and he didn't have any basis upon which to refuse to go.

"Kill the notorious sex fiend Zuo Hengfeng? Is he really in the late Foundation Establishment stage? If so, then the mission shouldn't be very hard at all!" However, something seemed suspicious about the whole thing. Chen Manyao had attempted to arrange things, but he had still ended up in the Hall of Devil Slayers. Although he wasn't sure how Li Yuansheng had pulled it off, he couldn't shake the feeling that this first mission would somehow be very dangerous.

After arriving at his immortal's cave, he sat there nervously, waiting for everyone to return. Big Fatty Zhang came first, then Master God-Diviner, and finally, Chen Manyao, who immediately rushed to apologize and explain.

"Junior Patriarch, I really did my best. I made some inquiries af

ter the fact and confirmed that it was Li Yuansheng who ruined my plans…."

Big Fatty Zhang and Master God-Diviner were very angry. Although they had ended up going to the halls they had wanted, for Naruto to end up in the most dangerous place of all, the Hall of Devil Slayers, left them incensed.

Naruto sighed. By this point, he wasn't worried about how he had ended up in the Hall of Devil Slayers, he was more concerned with exactly how dangerous this mission of his was going to be.

Scowling on the verge of tears, Naruto said, "Look, we might as well drop that topic. Hurry up and look into this mission for me. What's so dangerous about it? I have to leave within the hour."

With that, he went on to explain everything he knew about the mission.

His Dao protectors nodded seriously, and instead of wasting time sitting around talking about the matter, they all hurried away to see if they could get any information.

However, there was very little time to work with. Naruto quickly packed what he would take with him on the mission, and then watched the time ticking down on the jade slip. When there was only enough time left for an incense stick to burn, he walked out of his immortal's cave, looking quite crestfallen.

Big Fatty Zhang and Chen Manyao were still trying to find information for him. As for Master God-Diviner, he called upon the full power of his cultivation base to perform a divination.

"Don't worry, Junior Patriarch," he said somberly. "My divinations are always very accurate. Although you will face some danger on this outing, as well as some misfortunes, in the end, a person of very high rank will come to your aid!" Actually, not even Master God-Diviner was sure whether he was actually offering a true prediction, or just comforting Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto let out a long sigh, and was about to say something when the mission jade slip began to emit intense light, urging him to leave the sect and begin his mission.

Naruto gritted his teeth, and from the look in his eyes, he seemed ready to throw caution to the wind. With that, he rushed over the teleportation portal, where he was whisked away to the Eternalflux Continent.

The Eternalflux Continent was one of 97 continents within the territory of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Although it wasn't considered very remote, it was still some distance from the sect itself.

Although it was well within teleportation range of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the teleportation portal itself was on the edge of the continent, some distance away from Whitegrove Cliff itself.

It was currently summer, and the jungle was very hot and humid. Mountains zig-zagged across the landscape, and there were no signs of human habitation, not even in the area near the teleportation portal.

The portal was located in a mountainous valley, surrounded by restrictive spells and other defenses, making it impossible for anyone other than cultivators from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to use it.

After the glitter of the teleportation light faded away, Naruto was revealed, long-faced and clearly not in a good mood.

"I sure hope this mission goes smoothly…." he murmured to himself. When he thought back to the mission into the Luochen Mountains, he couldn't forget about how smoothly it had gone at first. Everything had seemed quite safe until the very end.

"I shouldn't think about that. I'll just do what I can and make sure I don't lose my poor little life. If I can't handle the mission, I'll just abandon it." Gritting his teeth, he double-checked his magical items, making sure he had his Renegade Dragon Horn ready, as well as his Ancient Devil Scale and the Landscape of Nine Provinces. With those three precious treasures at his side, he was a bit more confident.

"You just wait until I get back, Li Yuansheng. Things aren't over between us yet!" Gritting his teeth, he sighed and thought back on the wonderful life he had led in Sky City, and how coming to the rainbow district had been like falling into the depths of the Yellow Springs.

Within the mission jade slip was a map. After confirming his current location, he began to fly along at a good pace in the direction of Whitegrove Cliff.

Down below, the terrain was covered with thick jungle, complete with enormous, towering trees. As he went along, he didn't see anybody within the jungle itself. The only thing on the ground was a thick blanket of leaves which had been decaying there for who knew how many years. In many areas, the leaves had rotted into nothing more than a sludge.

It was currently overcast, and although it wasn't raining, the muffled sound of thunder could be heard.

The entire place seemed very desolate, and left Naruto feeling very, very alone. He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly.

"The best thing would be to find some of the local cultivators and see if I can get some news about Whitegrove Cliff and this Zuo Hengfeng." After a moment, he changed out of his yellow robes and into a more nondescript outfit, after which he went about trying to find some locals.

However, he really did seem to be in an out-of-the-way location. After spending ten full days searching, he couldn't find a single cultivator in the jungle. The only thing he saw was the occasional wild beast.

One of them was a 300-meter-long anaconda, and once he even caught sight of a flock of birds with human heads and pulsing murderous auras. Almost in the same moment that he noticed the birds, a mouth suddenly open up in one of the trees, which then gobbled one of them up. The sight of that caused Uzumaki Naruto's scalp to grow numb, and he even climbed a bit higher into the air as he flew along.

"Something really seems off here. Don't tell me that this Eternalflux Continent is completely uninhabited…?" The deeper he got into the jungle, the more beasts he saw down below. There were even some who were comparable in power to the Core Formation stage. At that point, Naruto stopped in place.

"How could late Foundation Establishment cultivators live permanently in a place like this?!"

Even as he was pondering the issue, he saw a huge lizard leap up from the jungle and fly toward the clouds. As it sped higher and higher, it increased in size, and to Uzumaki Naruto's wide-eyed shock, transformed into a flood dragon!

As it swirled about in the clouds emanating terrifying pressure, Naruto gasped and backed up.

"I can't do this mission! There's no way. Is the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect trying to get me killed!?" Eyes bloodshot, he gritted his teeth, spun in place, and headed back in the direction of the teleportation portal.

The Chinese characters for this Chen Fan are different than the Chen Fan from ISSTH I just wanted to point out that in Chinese, what I am translating as Eternalflux is the term for "perpetual motion." In Chinese "perpetual motion" is "eternal motion," and considering the importance of "eternity/eternal" in the title of the story, I wanted to keep that word. Up to now, I've kept the naming convention for the continents as a single word, and didn't feel like Eternalmotion rolled off the tongue very well. Furthermore, the name of the continent isn't really important. And thus, the Eternalflux Continent came to be….

Chapter 410 Chapter 410

Chapter 410: A Surprise For Feng Youde!

Ten days had passed since Naruto left the Hall of Devil Slayers and the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. All of Uzumaki Naruto's Dao protectors were very nervous. Although none of them really knew much about the mission he was on, after spending a significant amount of merit points, they managed to dig up more information about the Foundation Establishment cultivator he was supposed to track down and kill. What they found was that this cultivator had a fairly significant background.

They immediately tried to get in contact with Naruto to inform him of what they had discovered, only to find that for some mysterious reason, he was impossible to reach!

Perhaps it was because of how distant the Eternalflux Continent was, or perhaps there was some other reason. In any case, he was currently out of contact.

Even as they stewed in their nervousness, Feng Youde, the Nascent Soul Daoist master who was the hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers, was sitting in a temple meditating.

By now, he had long since put everything which had occurred with the new recruits out of his mind. He didn't even care whether or not they lived or died on their missions; throughout the years, too many disciples of the Hall of Devil Slayers had died to even count.

Generally speaking, the first missions assigned to new recruits weren't very difficult, and had a high survival rate. Several days ago, he had asked Master Cloud-Dao a few perfunctory questions regarding the missions that had been assigned, and had then proceeded to focus on cultivation.

As he sat there in the temple, he suddenly realized that something in his bag of holding was flickering with bright light. Frowning, he opened his eyes and wondered who it was that had dared to displease him by interrupting his meditation. Looking down, he used divine sense to scan a jade slip in his bag of holding, whereupon his expression flickered and his eyes widened.

He even gasped, and soon, an expression of bewilderment and incredulity could be seen on his face.

"The Heavenspan emissary is summoning me!?"

He only knew a bit about the Heavenspan emissary, who was a very enigmatic figure, and was said to have come from the Heavenspan Sea to stay temporarily in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Even the sect's demigod patriarch treated the emissary with respect.

An eminently important person like that was someone the hallmaster would normally only be able to gaze at from a distance, and yet now, he was being personally summoned! Feng Youde's normally kind-looking face was now twisted with anxiety. Not daring to tarry, he rose to his feet and hurried out of the temple he had been meditating in, transforming into a beam of light that shot up past the second level rainbows and directly toward the summit of the first level rainbow.

The entire area was sealed off by a restrictive spell, but after the spell scanned Feng Youde, he was let through. For some reason, that only caused his nervousness to mount.

The first level rainbow of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was occupied by the sect's demigod patriarch, and more recently, by the mysterious Heavenspan emissary.

After Feng Youde was let past the defensive barrier, he didn't dare to actually set foot onto the rainbow, and merely waited above it, hands clasped and bowing deeply.

"Feng Youde, hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers on Sky Quarter Rainbow, is here to request an audience with the Heavenspan emissary."

Almost immediately, a blurry figure stepped out of thin air, looked Feng Youde up and down, and then led him down toward the rainbow.

Feng Youde's anxiety continued to build as the blurry figure led him to a valley filled with birdsong, the fragrance of flowers, and strong spiritual

energy, as well as a pond filled with seven-colored fish swimming lazily about. Closer inspection revealed that the fish looked very much like infant dragons.

Adjacent to the pond was a log cabin, within which a figure could be seen playing a zither. The music floating up from the zither was graceful, and yet filled with a twinge of killing intent. Somehow, it affected the spiritual energy in the valley, causing vague images of wild beasts to appear, beasts that were shocking to the extreme.

Feng Youde took a deep breath, then walked forward to a position roughly 300 meters from the log cabin. At that point, the pressure weighing down on him was so intense that he didn't dare to proceed any further. Clasping hands, he bowed deeply and said, "I am Feng Youde. Greetings, Heavenspan Emissary."

His expression couldn't have been more respectful. This emissary was a person who even the demigod patriarch respected, so whether it was in terms of cultivation base or background, Feng Youde knew well that being disrespectful in even the slightest aspect wasn't an option.

After a long moment passed, the voice of a young woman drifted out from within the log cabin. "Feng Youde…."

The mere fact that she had spoken his name caused Feng Youde's expression to turn even more somber. Yet again, he bowed deeply.

"There's no need to be nervous," the young woman continued. "I called you here today because I have a task in mind for you…."

"Anything, Emissary! Whatever orders you have, I, Feng Youde, will do everything in my power to see them accomplished!" The determination in his voice could sever nails and chop iron, and anyone who heard it would be convinced that he would go to any and all lengths to keep his word.

A moment passed, and the young woman spoke again. "You have a disciple in your Hall of Devil Slayers named Uzumaki Naruto. Make sure that nothing untoward happens to him during his time on Sky Quarter Rainbow. If you keep him safe until he reaches the Nascent Soul stage and joins the parliament of elders, I will bestow upon you a bit of good fortune that will see you reach the Deva Realm!"

Feng Youde was taken aback by her words. He was a Nascent Soul cultivator and hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers. Being the wily fox that he was, he understood that in some situations, the less you knew, the safer you were.

That was especially true when it came to powerful people like the Heavenspan emissary. The less he understood about this situation, the better. Furthermore, when he heard about good fortune that would help him become a deva, his eyes immediately shone with bright light. Were any other person to make him such an offer, he wouldn't believe it, but this was a promise from the Heavenspan emissary! As such, he completely and utterly trusted the young woman's words!

"Deva Realm…." he murmured, eyes glittering with excitement. Of course, his desire to reach the Deva Realm was intense, but the current level of his cultivation base made it such that, although becoming a deva wasn't impossible, it was becoming less and less likely by the day. Therefore, the words of the Heavenspan emissary couldn't have been more enticing to him. Clasping hands, he bowed even more deeply than before.

"Fear not, Emissary. I will do exactly as you say, beyond the shadow of a doubt!" Brimming with excitement, he turned and left, flying back toward Sky Quarter Rainbow in a beam of prismatic light.

Along the way, he couldn't stop bubbling with excitement over the thought of the good fortune which had been mentioned, and how this could very well be his lucky break. He tried to bury his excitement, and yet, it was impossible for him prevent his eyes from glittering brightly.

"I can't believe this Naruto prompted someone so powerful to personally issue orders about him!" For some reason, the name Naruto seemed familiar to him, but at the moment, he couldn't put a face to the name. Whoever he was, Feng Youde was already determined to take good care of him during his time in the Hall of Devil Slayers, keep him out of any sort of danger, and groom him all the way to the Nascent Soul stage.

"Hahaha! It seems my chance at the Deva Realm is just around the corner!" With that, he pushed forward with a bit more speed, quickly arriving at Sky Quarter Rainbow and the Hall of Devil Slayers.

"Send for Master Cloud-Dao immediately!" he said. There were simply too many disciples in the Hall of Devil Slayers for him to remember them all by name, and therefore, the best way to deal with them was through Master Cloud-Dao.

After all, Master Cloud-Dao was responsible for the records of all the disciples and their mission assignments. As Feng Youde's most trusted assistant, he had done a wonderful job of managing things over the years.

Just as Feng Youde was settling down in his temple, Master Cloud-Dao arrived. Fearful of keeping Feng Youde waiting, he had even used a secret magic to arrive as quickly as possible, which was why the lingering sound of sonic booms could be heard outside. After landing outside the temple, he quickly straightened up his garments, put an ingratiating smile onto his face, and hurried inside.

Upon entering, he saw that the kindly-faced Feng Youde was not sitting in his chair at the head of the hall like he usually did. Instead, he was pacing back and forth, his expression tinged with a delight that most people would not notice. However, after working closely with him as an aide for so long, Master Cloud-Dao couldn't help but notice it.

"Greetings, Hallmaster!" Master Cloud-Dao said. Looking like the picture of a toady, he continued, "Congratulations, and please accept my most sincere felicitations! From the healthy glow on your face, disciple can tell that some momentous event has occurred!"

Upon hearing Master Cloud-Dao's words, Feng Youde laughed heartily.

"Oh you!" he said, smiling and wagging his finger. "If you spent less time working on reading faces and more time on cultivation, you might break through to the Nascent Soul stage!"

Master Cloud-Dao chuckled with the realization that he had judged the situation correctly. "Disciple–"

However, even as he prepared to offer some more flattery, Feng Youde swished his sleeve and interrupted, "Alright, that's enough with the adulation. We have a disciple in the Hall of Devil Slayers named Uzumaki Naruto, right?"

Master Cloud-Dao's jaw dropped. "Huh? Uzumaki Naruto?"

Chapter 411 Chapter 411

Chapter 411: Are You… Talking About Me?

Upon seeing Master Cloud-Dao's reaction, Feng Youde frowned, raised his voice, and said, "Well, is there?"

Unsure of why exactly Feng Youde was asking about Uzumaki Naruto, Master Cloud-Dao immediately started to get nervous. Nodding his head, he said, "There is…. He was in the last group of new recruits…."

Feng Youde laughed loudly as he suddenly recalled Uzumaki Naruto, and how his burst of speed had been a bit irritating. Now, however, Feng Youde's attitude was completely different. Someone very important cared about Uzumaki Naruto, which meant that he obviously was not anybody ordinary…. "Oh, I remember him now. Well, go get him, no wait, go invite him to come see me. And remember to be very polite!"

"Huh?" Master Cloud-Dao said, his eyes widening and his head beginning to spin. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he realized that something about the situation was definitely not right. The fact that Feng Youde had used the word 'invite' spoke volumes, and caused Master Cloud-Dao's nervousness to mount.

When Feng Youde realized that the mention of Uzumaki Naruto's name caused Master Cloud-Dao to start sweating, he immediately suspected that something was going on. Gaze sharpening, he said, "Well? What are you standing around for?"

Bracing himself, Master Cloud-Dao said, "Hallmaster… Uzumaki Naruto… he's… he's still out on his first mission."

Inwardly, he was cursing Li Yuansheng. The reason why Master CloudDao had recognized Naruto at first sight was because he had personally worked very hard to make sure that he ended up being recruited by the Hall of Devil Slayers.

According to the agreement he had reached with Li Yuansheng, if he could get Naruto killed, he would receive all sorts of rewards. This wasn't Master Cloud-Dao's first time handling such a matter. As far as he was concerned, one disciple couldn't possibly be very important in the grand scheme of things, not even a hostage. This was the Hall of Devil Slayers, and if he wanted to see someone dead, that person would definitely die.

All of a sudden, Master Cloud-Dao's heart began to pound.

"His first mission?" Feng Youde said, looking a bit surprised. Then, his gaze turned as sharp as daggers. As the hallmaster, he didn't pay much attention to the day-to-day affairs of the Hall of Devil Slayers. However, he was aware of the corruption and vice that existed within its ranks. Obviously, Naruto must have offended someone, otherwise, Master Cloud-Dao wouldn't be reacting in such a way.

"What mission is he on?" Feng Youde said, sounding a bit displeased.

Face clinching bitterly, Master Cloud-Dao said, "He… he was sent to kill the notorious sex fiend Zuo Hengfeng…."

Feng Youde's left eyelid twitched as he glared at Master Cloud-Dao, and then spoke in the most frigid of tones, "Where exactly is this mission to be carried out? Tell me the truth!"

By this point, Master Cloud-Dao was actually quite confused, and was already furious at Li Yuansheng. Furthermore, if the hallmaster was connected to Naruto in some way, why hadn't he said so earlier?! "In the immortal's cave of Eccentric Earthvile. Zuo… Zuo Hengfeng was recently accepted as Earthvile's new apprent–"

"What!?" Feng Youde exclaimed, his eyes widening in rage. Flicking his sleeve, he sent a wind screaming through the temple that instantly caused all the miscellaneous items lying about to be reduced to ash. As for Master Cloud-Dao, he began to tremble visibly. Brimmi

ng with rage, Feng Youde yelled, "You sent Naruto to the immortal's cave of Eccentric Earthvile, a Nascent Soul Daoist master, to kill his apprentice!? Get him back here immediately! He shouldn't be out doing missions!"

He backed his words with the power of his Nascent Soul cultivation base, causing them to echo like thunder throughout the Hall of Devil Slayers.

Terrified by Feng Youde's display of anger, Master Cloud-Dao dropped to his knees to kowtow. Nearly weeping, he said, "It's… it's too late. He's been gone for ten days already. Also… um… I gave him a faulty jade slip that won't work outside of the sect…."

"Y-you… you…." Feng Youde felt his heart go cold. It was as if he had been struck by lightning out of a blue sky, and immediately, his robes were soaked with sweat. Eccentric Earthvile was a late Nascent Soul stage expert who had gathered quite a band of rogue cultivators.

Furthermore, he had certain proclivities, the mere thought of which got Feng Youde shaking with nervousness. If the Heavenspan emissary hadn't made that special request, it might not have been a big deal, but now that she had, Feng Youde knew that if Naruto died outside the sect, there would be severe repercussions, the extent of which he couldn't even begin to fathom.

Then he thought about how even the demigod patriarch showed respect to the emissary, and he began to shake harder. Eyes completely bloodshot, he roared, "What have you done!?"

A resounding smack sounded out as Feng Youde slapped Master Cloud-

Dao in the face, sending him tumbling out of the temple. Then Feng Youde shot up into the sky, where he called out in a voice that filled the entire Hall of Devil Slayers.

"Every cultivator in the Hall of Devil Slayers has ten breaths of time to assemble in the main square!

"Deploy the Devil-Slaying Battleships!

"Activate the teleportation portal that leads to the Eternalflux Continent.

Power it up as much as possible! Immediately!" Everyone who heard Feng Youde's frenzied howl was deeply shaken and didn't dare to delay for even a moment. All of them flew over at top speed, and within the blink of an eye, over 10,000 cultivators were gathered in midair, bowing to Feng Youde.

At the same time, ten shocking battleships appeared, terrifying in appearance and pitch black in color.

And yet, things weren't over yet. The teleportation portal leading to the Eternalflux Continent began to power up, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions. The flurry of activity in the Hall of Devil Slayers attracted the attention of the other halls, and even the notice of the Sky Quarter peak lord on his seven-colored mountain.

However, before any of the other powerful figures in the sect could inquire about what was happening, Feng Youde led all of the more than 10,000 cultivators of the Hall of Devil Slayers onto the battleships. Then, the power of teleportation surged out, whisking them away. Of course, to teleport so many people so far and so quickly came at significant cost.

As the massive rumbling sounds echoed out, the cultivators from the other three rainbows looked over in complete shock.

"What's happening on Sky Quarter Rainbow?"

"Was that… was that the Sky Quarter's Hall of Devil Slayers?

Considering the extent of that teleportation, they must be on their way to wipe out an entire sect!"

The cultivators on Sky Quarter Rainbow were even more astonished, including Li Yuansheng, who was suddenly struck by a very bad feeling.

Meanwhile, as the entire Hall of Devil Slayers was mobilizing and teleporting to the Eternalflux Continent, Naruto was cautiously making his way through that very continent. He had already decided to abandon his mission, and was currently heading back to the teleportation portal.

Considering the speed he was able to maintain, he was still about three days away from his destination. Inwardly, he was sighing, and couldn't stop wondering how he would be punished for failing to accomplish his mission.

"Well," he encouraged himself, "no punishment could be worse than losing my poor little life."

Even as he made his way along, he suddenly noticed three beams of light heading in his direction from off in the distance.

Within those beams were three people, one of them a young man with handsome features, holding a fan in his hand. He wore bright red robes, and looked quite stunning. However, his eyes were a bit sunken, as if from too much drinking and licentious behavior.

Flanking him were two old men, both of them in the early Core

Formation stage, who looked about with cold eyes as they escorted the young man.

The small group caught sight of him in almost the same moment that he caught sight of them, and everyone seemed surprised. To run into cultivators in a wilderness like this wasn't an everyday occurrence. Naruto was immediately on guard, and when he was able to get a good look at the young man's face, his heart began to pound.

That young man looked exactly like the image of Zuo Hengfeng in the mission jade slip!

"At last the fishy element of the mission is revealed!" Naruto thought. "This guy is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he has two Core Formation experts to back him up! Dammit! I'm the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, and not even I got an escort like that!" After blinking a few times, he pretended that he hadn't noticed the group of three, and decided to just be on his way.

Even as he turned to leave. Zuo Hengfeng caught sight of him, and his eyes lit up. Snapping open his fan, he cooled himself a bit as a carnal smile spread out across his face.

"It's been a long time since I saw a cultivator as dainty as this one. Wow, snow-white skin, slender…. Enough to make anyone sigh in praise. There's something so fresh and pure about him! If he put on women's clothing, he would definitely be a top-rate beauty!" He laughed lightly, and his eyes began to burn with passion.

At first, Naruto didn't respond to Zuo Hengfeng's words, but as they sank in, he suddenly got a bad feeling. Looking back, he saw the flames of passion burning in Zuo Hengfeng's eyes, and the sight caused Uzumaki Naruto's scalp to prickle.

That look almost made him feel like he wasn't wearing any clothing at all! It was very bizarre, to say the least. "W-what… what did you say?"

Licking his lips, Zuo Hengfeng laughed again, and then pointed at Naruto with his fan. "Seniors, grab him! He's the perfect gift to give to my Master!"

The two Core Formation cultivators frowned slightly. They had a rough sense of Uzumaki Naruto's cultivation base, and would normally avoid such a person. However, since Zuo Hengfeng said he wanted this person captured to give as a gift, they looked Naruto over closely, and then had to admit that he perfectly suited the tastes of Eccentric Earthvile.

Eyes flickering with cold light, they began to head in Uzumaki Naruto's direction.

Eyes gleaming with excitement, and face slightly flushed, Zuo Hengfeng said, "Don't worry, darling, we'll have some time to whisper sweet nothings into each other's ears at some point."

Gasping, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes went wide, and he yelled, "Hey, I'm a guy!"

Zuo Hengfeng chuckled darkly and said, "Oh, I know. Don't worry, little boy, I have plenty to teach you. Beauties like you aren't very common out here in the wilderness!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the two Core Formation experts closed in on Naruto with explosive speed.

Chapter 412 Chapter 412

Chapter 412: Naruto's Indignation

These two Core Formation cultivators had profound cultivation bases, and were accustomed to joining forces to cut down their enemy. Instead of attacking on their own, they split up and closed in on Naruto from the left and right.

As they approached, the old man on the left performed an incantation gesture, causing black mist to explode out of his hand and take the form of a vicious black dragon. Despite being made of mist, it pulsed with an aura of rot, and even the air around it seemed to be decaying. At the same time, an acrid air spread out from it that caused the leaves and vegetation in the jungle below to wither up into ash. The mere sight of it caused Uzumaki Naruto's pupils to constrict.

The old man on the right was equally as vicious. With each step he took through the air, red lotuses bloomed beneath his feet which, despite being illusory, were clearly part of a spell formation that was sealing down the area tight.

As the spell formation formed, the old man's eyes suddenly flickered with bizarre magical symbols that caused the atmosphere in the area to push down with incredible pressure.

"One of them uses an aura of death to rot everything around them," Naruto thought, "and the other creates a spell formation with every step he takes…." Inwardly, he was feeling very glum. He hadn't even wanted this mission to begin with, and had even been trying to flee. He had only run into his intended target by chance. Even then, he had pretended not to recognize Zuo Hengfeng. And yet, despite all of that, Zuo Hengfeng had arrogantly put his evil intentions on full display.

That in itself was irritating to Uzumaki Naruto, but even worse were the things that Zuo Hengfeng had just said out loud. Not only did Naruto find them revolting, they caused fury to begin to burn in his heart. The mere thought of what might happen to him if he were to be captured caused chills to run up his spine. Shouting out in rage, eyes flashing with cold light, he unleashed his murderous aura, and even as his two Core Formation opponents closed in, he chose not to retreat, but rather, to step forward.

As he advanced, he called upon the Frigid School Will-Evolving

Incantation, which spread out rapidly, causing cracking sounds to fill the air. The aura of the Frigid Adept level spread out for hundreds of meters in all directions, turning everything as cold as the dead of winter. Snowflakes even appeared in the air, causing both the Core Formation cultivators and Zuo Hengfeng to be engulfed by bitter iciness. Zuo Hengfeng's face immediately fell.

"A technique from the Dao of frigid coldness!" The two Core Formation experts' pupils constricted as the frigid Chakra wrapped around them. For someone to cultivate the power of frigid Chakra to this level, to the point where transformations manifested in heaven and earth, was something rarely seen among Core Formation cultivators.

With the exception of Uzumaki Naruto, everything in the area seemed to be in the process of freezing rapidly.

All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but actually occurred in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. As the frigid Chakra billowed out, Naruto took a step forward, and the rotting black dragon reached a point where it was only about three meters in front of him.

However, the black dragon couldn't move beyond that point. The frigid cold in the area caused the vicious dragon to freeze, and in the blink of an eye, it was nothing more than ice.

Ignoring it, Naruto took another step forward, vanishing and then reappearing in front of the old man on the right. Without any pause, he clenched his hand into a fist and punched out.

A look of incredulous shock appeared on the old man's face as he staggered

backward, blood spraying out of his mouth. Then he shouted, "A minor teleportation?!"

He wasn't the only one to react with such shock. The old man on the left gasped in astonishment.

Even as the words left the mouth of the old man on the right, Naruto shot like lightning toward the other man, reaching out with his right hand to unleash the Throat Crushing Grasp. Simultaneously, a powerful gravitational force locked onto the man, ensuring that Naruto reached him in the mere blink of an eye.

A sensation of deadly crisis rose up in the old man's mind, and he began to pant. Having no time for consideration, he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture, causing even more black mist to erupt out into the area, forming the image of a gigantic skeleton. As Naruto closed in, the old man called upon the full power of his cultivation base to try to block the killing move.

The old man on the right was equally wracked with anxiety. By now, he realized that they had provoked a completely terrifying individual, and knew that if his partner died, then it would be very unlikely that he would make it out of the situation alive. Eyes completely bloodshot, he let out an urgent shout, causing the magical symbols in his eyes to shine with intense brightness. Magical symbols even swirled about on the surface of his skin as he dove through the frigid cold in the direction of Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he gave a cold snort. Not only did he not slow down, he summoned a pair of wings, and also used the Mountain Shaking Bash to add a further burst of speed. Deafening sonic booms rang out as he passed up the old man who had been attempting to bar his path, and then slammed into the black mist which had just been summoned.

Before the black mist of rot could do a single thing to Uzumaki Naruto, his hand had pierced through it with lightning-like speed and latched onto the throat of the Core Formation cultivator.

"You…." The old man's eyes went wide with disbelief and shock, but before he could say more than a single word, Uzumaki Naruto's hand clenched down. The old man screamed and lunged backward. The flesh was ripped out of his neck, causing blood to spray everywhere, and yet, he was a Core Formation cultivator with powerful life force, and that in and of itself didn't kill him. He quickly backed up, his eyes shining with terror, and yet, before he could get very far, Naruto waved his finger in his direction.

Instantly, the Renegade Dragon Horn flew out of his bag of holding, piercing through the air in a blinding flash before stabbing into the old man's forehead and shooting through his head.

The old man's eyes went wide as he was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut before slamming into the ground below. Even in the moment before he died, his eyes were filled with incredulity, as if he couldn't imagine how he had possibly been defeated so easily. The moment the battle began, his opponent had used a teleportation to gain the upper hand, and then completely dominated him, leaving him dead only a few breaths of time later.

In the moment of the old man's death, his partner, the man who had used the magical symbols and spell formation, gasped. Heart pounding, he sent the magical symbols flying out of his body toward Uzumaki Naruto.

However, before they could get close, they all collapsed.

Incredible rumbling sounds echoed out as a massive force slammed into the old man, sending him tumbling through the air. Terror gleamed in his eyes as he spun to a stop next to Zuo Hengfeng. Without the slightest hesitation, he shot his right hand out to grab Zuo Hengfeng.

A bang rang out, and Zuo Hengfeng coughed up some blood. The passion in his eyes had already transformed into terror, leaving him rooted in place. However, that didn't stop the old man from grabbing him and fleeing in the opposite direction.

Everything happened with fluid, unnatural speed.

"Think you can leave just like that?!" Naruto said. Then his third eye opened, and violet light burst out.

As soon as the violet light wrapped around the old man, his steps faltered, and something began to drag him backward. A look of despair appeared in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Get out of here, Young Lord! This guy… isn't a normal Core Formation cultivator!"

With that, he violently shoved Zuo Hengfeng out in front of him. Blood oozed out of the corners of Zuo Hengfeng's mouth as he became a beam of light that shot away at top speed. By this point he was shaking in fear, and his heart was gripped by regret; never could he have imagined that the cultivator he chose to pick on would be someone so powerful.

"Dammit, dammit…." he muttered, shivering. He even drew on his longevity, using a blood escape art to harm himself in an attempt to gain enough speed to flee.

As he accelerated, he heard an agonized shriek from behind him, which was then cut off abruptly. That caused Zuo Hengfeng to shake even harder.

Moments ago, Naruto had used his Heavenspan Dharma Eye to bind the second Core Formation expert. Then, a wave of his hand had sent copious amounts of frigid Chakra pouring into him, almost instantly transforming him into an ice statue, which dropped down to the ground below and shattered into countless pieces.

Looking at the fleeing Zuo Hengfeng, Naruto growled, "You! You forced me to do this!"

Thinking about Zuo Hengfeng's licentious smile, and the way it sent shivers down his back, Naruto planted his right foot into the ground and then pushed off. A huge crater opened up as he used the momentum to shoot forward, also drawing on his wings and the Mountain Shaking Bash. Not even Zuo Hengfeng's blood escape art could help him evade that.

As Naruto closed in, frigid Chakra spread out, and Zuo Hengfeng shook violently. Moments later, the frigid Chakra began to freeze his legs into place, and he started to slow down!

Then, Naruto waved his finger, causing the frigid Chakra to form into numerous ice blades which instantly slashed toward Zuo Hengfeng.

"How dare you try to kill me!" he screamed. "My Master is–" However, it was at that point that the ice blades slashed him into pieces, killing him in body and soul!

Chapter 413 Chapter 413

Chapter 413: This Sect Treats Me Great

Naruto truly was revolted by the situation. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Hmph! Who cares who your Master is? If I hadn't killed you, you scoundrel, you would have eventually gotten stronger and then come for revenge. Then what? Even if you couldn't beat me, what if you went to pick on my friends?!"

At that point, the little turtle stuck his head out of Uzumaki Naruto's bag of holding.

"You know, Lord Turtle has some experience with things like this. Based on what that guy was shouting before he died, I'd guess he has a powerful Master who will show up at any moment and–"

"Shut up!" Naruto said, looking around nervously. For some reason, he felt very unsafe at the moment, and just when he was about to head toward the teleportation portal at top speed, a thunderous howl of rage ripped through the air.

"Who killed my beloved apprentice!?" The words were spoken at such a high volume that a powerful wind blasted through the lands, dimming the sky and causing many of the trees down below to sway back and forth.

Uzumaki Naruto's face fell. "This is your fault, little turtle! Why'd you have to go and open your big mouth!"

Based on the terrifying nature of the words which had just been spoken, Naruto was sure that they didn't come from the mouth of a Core Formation cultivator, but rather, a Nascent Soul Daoist master.

The mere idea of a Nascent Soul cultivator caused his hair to stand on end. Shrieking, he drew upon all the power he possessed to flee toward the teleportation portal.

"How dare you look down on Eccentric Earthvile! And how dare you kill my beloved apprentice right outside of my very own immortal's cave! Are you looking to die?!" Based on the volume, Naruto could tell that whoever was speaking was now much closer to him.

Looking over his shoulder nervously, he saw a 3,000-meter-wide black cloud that clearly contained the power to topple mountains and drain seas. It was filled with countless vengeful souls, all of them screaming and tearing at each other with their teeth. It was a very shocking sight.

Standing on top of the cloud was an old man in a black robe, who was clearly Zuo Hengfeng's Master, Eccentric Earthvile. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his eyes flashed like lightning. His grim expression did nothing to conceal his rage, and despite the fact that he was more than 3,000 meters away, as soon as their gazes met, Naruto felt his mind reeling and his cultivation base destabilizing.

"He's really a Nascent Soul expert!" Tears were welling up in Uzumaki Naruto's eyes, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that he was being falsely accused.

"I was leaving!" he thought. "He was the one who started picking on me….

"Why did the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect give me this mission anyway!?

It looked like nothing more than killing someone in late Foundation

Establishment, but the truth was that the despicable bastard had a Master who's a Nascent Soul expert!" Feeling more wronged than ever, he unleashed his Undying Live Forever Technique, and even sent some frigid Chakra roiling out to call upon his minor teleportation abilities. And yet, nothing could prevent the black cloud from catching up to him.

"Time to die!" As the words echoed out, the black cloud began to envelop Uzumaki Naruto. At the same time, a huge, 300-meter-wide hand stretched out toward him.

It was a shocking sight, and the pressure weighing down in the area was immense, enough to lock down everything around it. The lands quaked, and the plants and vegetation down below began to wither. Naruto also felt the li

fe force inside of his body stirring, as if it were about to be sucked away.

The hand got closer, and in the critical moment, Naruto screamed, unfurling his Landscape of Nine Provinces, which gave him another burst of power similar to teleportation.

In the moment that the hand was about to land on him, Naruto vanished, reappearing a few dozen kilometers away, face completely ashen. Not bothering to even look behind him, he began to flee at top speed.

Behind him, Eccentric Earthvile stamped his foot down onto the black cloud, sending it racing toward Uzumaki Naruto.

"You can't escape! " he shouted. "Once I get my hands on you, I'll skin you alive and turn you into a lantern!"

As he neared, Eccentric Earthvile's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he waved his finger toward the ground.

Instantly, the plants and vegetation beneath Naruto withered, transforming into black mist which rose up into the air. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a huge circle that resembled a sealing mark, and made it impossible for Naruto to proceed past its borders.

Uzumaki Naruto's face fell as another enormous black hand rumbled toward him. Screaming, he once again used the Landscape of Nine Provinces.

Yet again, he vanished, but when he reappeared, he wasn't 3,000 meters away. Instead, his path was blocked by the perimeter of the black circle that had just formed.

As soon as he was out in the open, the huge black hand once again shot toward him, causing an expression of despair to appear on his face. Considering his pursuer was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was incapable of fleeing.

"Do you really dare to try to kill me!?" he shouted. "I've got powerful people backing me up! If you dare to harm me, you'll get killed for sure!" In response, Eccentric Earthvile simply snorted more coldly than ever and sent the black hand speeding toward Uzumaki Naruto.

"Not even my turtle-wok will be able to block this…." Naruto thought, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes at how unfair all of this was. As soon as Zuo Hengfeng said something threatening, his Master showed up. But when Naruto tried the same thing, nothing happened….

In that moment of critical danger, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot as he prepared to throw all caution to the wind and make a final move. But then….

"How dare you, Eccentric Earthvile!" The voice which spoke came from a distance, and seemed to be flustered on the verge of going mad.

Instantly, the huge black hand faltered, and Eccentric Earthvile turned his head, a look of complete shock in his eyes. He even gasped.

Naruto was similarly shocked, and looked off toward the horizon, where a huge army had just appeared. Winds screamed and the lands shook as ten enormous battleships appeared, speeding toward him over the jungle.

The battleships were teeming with more than 10,000 cultivators, all of them bursting with cultivation base fluctuations. The ripples streaming out from them made heaven and earth seem as if it were an ocean covered with surging waves.

Shockingly, the prows of all ten battleships suddenly lit up with blinding light. Even as Naruto looked on, that light transformed into stabbing blasts of energy that shot through the air toward Eccentric Earthvile. Deafening rumbling could be heard, and all creation shook violently as the beams closed in with lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of Eccentric Earthvile. Face falling, he waved his sleeve, completely ignoring Uzumaki Naruto, as he hurtled backward at top speed.

Even as he fell back, rumbling sounds echoed out as the black hand shattered under the force of the light beams. The black clouds were destroyed, and as for Eccentric Earthvile, although he managed to defend himself, he was still shoved backward 3,000 meters until he slammed into the ground, opening up a massive crater.

Everything in the area shook violently, leaving Naruto gasping in shock. Then, a figure blurred into motion off of one of the battleships, simultaneously shouting, "Eccentric Earthvile, how dare you harm one of the disciples of the Hall of Devil Slayers!"

The voice belonged to none other than the kindly-faced Feng Youde, hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers, who suddenly appeared directly in front of Eccentric Earthvile, toward whom he unleashed a vicious palm strike.

"Are you crazy, Feng Youde?!" Eccentric Earthvile roared, falling back yet again, his face a mask of terror and confusion. As far as he was concerned, no matter what he might have done to provoke Sky Quarter's Hall of Devil Slayers, it couldn't possibly have elicited a response of this level!

However, even as the words left his mouth, the ten battleships once again powered up and unleashed piercing beams of light toward him. Booms rang out, and blood sprayed out of Earthvile's mouth as he fell back anxiously. By this point, his hair was in complete disarray, and he was clearly in bad shape. One of his arms had been ripped off, and his expression was one of both rage and frustration.

"Ten Devil-Slaying Battleships?! Y-y-you're… y-y-you're crazy! How many resources did you waste to deploy them?! You paid that price just to kill me? Is it really worth it!?" Trembling in fear, Eccentric Earthvile unleashed all of his secret magics in his attempt to flee, and yet, his heart was gripped by despair. From what he could tell, he would most likely perish this day. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would go to such lengths to try to kill him.

"I have to admit that dying under the volley of ten Devil-Slaying

Battleships is–" It was in that moment of despair, and just when Earthvile was about to start begging for his life, that he suddenly realized something seemed off. Looking over his shoulder, he realized that Feng Youde wasn't pursuing him.

Elated, he sped off into the distance, heart pounding with lingering fear.

Naruto looked on in complete shock at the ten battleships, and the hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers. The impressive sight left him completely and utterly moved.

"This sect really does treat me great…." he thought, his eyes turning red with emotion. Earlier, he had harbored some suspicious about the sect, but now, in his excitement, he turned toward the hallmaster, clasped hands and bowed.

"Disciple–"

Before he could even get a single sentence out, Feng Youde rushed over nervously and asked, "Uzumaki Naruto, how are you doing!?"

—

Chapter 414 Chapter 414

Chapter 414: Naruto, The Hall Of Devil Slayers Is Your Home

Naruto was truly moved at how well the sect was treating him.

That was especially true considering that the hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers had personally led more than 10,000 people and ten extraordinary battleships to his rescue.

The hallmaster even remembered his name! Although it was true that the more than 10,000 cultivators who had come along were all looking at him with surprise and even suspicion, it didn't stop him from crying out, "Disciple Naruto is safe and sound!"

A smile broke out on Feng Youde's face as he amiably said, "You're not injured at all?"

Even as the words left his mouth, he looked Naruto up and down to see if he was hurt. He even produced some medicinal pills, which he handed over.

"Take those after we get back, just in case you have any internal injuries that aren't obvious at the moment. The Hall of Devil Slayers can't have disciples like you shed either blood or tears!" Eyes shining with approval, he clasped Uzumaki Naruto's shoulder.

"Uzumaki Naruto, as a Core Formation cultivator, you held out for a long time against that Nascent Soul Daoist master. You've performed a great service for the Hall of Devil Slayers!" With that, he laughed heartily, causing the surrounding 10,000 or more cultivators to exchange awkward glances. Although none of them were sure exactly what services Naruto had performed, they already had their suspicions regarding what was going on. Feng Youde truly did seem to be treating Naruto far better than he should.

There were even some disciples who had been in the Hall of Devil

Slayers for quite some time, and were very familiar with Feng Youde. When they saw him acting in this way, their eyes went wide with surprise. Never before had they seen him treating a disciple in this way. Everyone knew that despite his kindly face, he was very narrow-minded and petty, and if he got even slightly annoyed at someone, he would treat them with the coldest of cold shoulders.

In fact, many disciples in the Hall of Devil Slayers secretly called Feng Youde "Hellgod Feng".

However, at this moment, Hellgod Feng was treating Naruto as gently as a spring breeze, a sight which left all of the onlookers completely shocked. Then all of them thought back to how Hellgod Feng had urgently summoned everyone, and even deployed the ten DevilSlaying Battleships, all to save Uzumaki Naruto.

"Who is this Uzumaki Naruto? What kind of background does he have?!"

"What's Uzumaki Naruto's connection to the hallmaster?"

As speculations ran through the minds of everyone present, Master Cloud-Dao was there in the crowd, trembling from head to toe. Fear and sorrow gripped his heart, and hatred for Li Yuansheng and his plots against Naruto festered in his bones.

"Damn you, Li Yuansheng! Are you trying to get me killed or something?!"

Naruto was a bit surprised to hear Feng Youde say that he had performed a great service for the sect. Apparently, he must have done something without realizing it. Therefore, he stuck his chest out and tried to be the picture of someone who didn't fear death.

"These wounds are nothing," he said in a loud voice. "Besides, all I did was kill twenty or so Gold Core cultivators and then about a hundred Foundation Establishment experts. After that, I had a bit of a tussle with that Nascent Soul eccentric, that's all. I, Uzumaki Naruto, have sworn to defend the Hall of Devil Slayers with my own life, to sacrifice everything for it if necessary. It's nothing more than duty! Compared to that, what are some trifling merit points!?" It was with great effort t

hat the surrounding cultivators held back from laughing out loud, and many strange expressions could be seen. Even Feng Youde had to clear his throat. His words from moments ago had been uttered with the intention of safeguarding Uzumaki Naruto, and creating a good excuse to give him a large amount of merit points upon returning to the sect.

Therefore, Uzumaki Naruto's exaggerated statement left Feng Youde feeling a bit awkward. Seeing that Naruto was preparing to continue with his speech, he quickly interrupted, "Very well, let's get back to the sect!"

With that, he waved his sleeve, sending everyone back toward the teleportation portal in beams of scintillating light.

They returned to Sky Quarter Rainbow with much pomp and grandeur, and the completely unexpected trip out of the sect caused Uzumaki Naruto's name to immediately become the talk of the Hall of Devil Slayers. Furthermore, the way Feng Youde treated him caused everyone to look at him with expressions of deep reverence and respect.

Everyone watched with shining eyes as Naruto joined Feng Youde and Master Cloud-Dao in entering the main temple in the Hall of Devil Slayers. In fact, Naruto led the way, under the approving gaze of the kindly-faced Feng Youde.

As for Master Cloud-Dao, he almost never saw any version of Feng Youde who resembled this, and it left him completely shaken and even terrified. He was well aware that he was the one at fault for provoking this near disaster.

Smiling more sincerely than ever, Feng Youde looked at Naruto and said, "Naruto, you really did an excellent job today, and performed a great meritorious service for the sect. Therefore, I will take the responsibility for making the following decision: henceforth, you are completely exempt from mission duty in the Hall of Devil Slayers! From now on, you can simply focus on your cultivation!"

Naruto had been silent the entire way back, reveling in how moved he was. For Feng Youde to say what he had just said left him even more shaken than ever.

"Hallmaster," he said excitedly, "you're treating me far too well."

Off to the side, Master Cloud-Dao watched Feng Youde and Naruto chatting, and couldn't help but murmur bitterly to himself, "Too well? More like impossibly well…."

Feng Youde laughed loudly, and then spoke in a very kind voice, "I'm just doing what should be done. From now on, the Hall of Devil Slayers is your home! You won't face any danger here, and can simply relax and focus on cultivation. Work hard, and you should be able to reach the Nascent Soul stage very soon!"

Naruto took a deep breath. For some reason, he felt well and truly blessed. However, the blessings had come very suddenly, and no matter how he thought about the matter, he couldn't determine what meritorious service he had actually performed.

"If you ever hit any snags in your cultivation, you just come looking for me and I'll help you out. As far as merit points go, considering the meritorious service you've performed, you can have access to any cultivation resources you need from the Hall of Devil Slayers!" "Hallmaster–" Naruto said, shivering a bit.

"Hahaha! There's no need to look at me with that child-like expression, Naruto. The Hall of Devil Slayers is your home, and as the head of the household, it's my job to treat you well. In fact, I've already taken the liberty of acquiring some medicinal pills perfect for Core Formation cultivators. Here, take them, and don't forget, the best way you can repay the kindness you've been shown is to break through to the Nascent Soul stage as quickly as possible." Smile widening, he handed a bag of holding to Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto shivered again. Accepting the bag of holding, he clasped hands and bowed, then said, "Hallmaster–"

However, Feng Youde interrupted again and offered some more words of encouragement before finally dismissing Uzumaki Naruto.

After Naruto left, the smile vanished from Feng Youde's face, and he spun grimly to look at Master Cloud-Dao.

"How could you have done this, Master Cloud-Dao?!"

Master Cloud-Dao immediately flopped to the ground to kowtow, his face ashen. "Hallmaster, please forgive me…."

"It's a good thing Naruto wasn't hurt, otherwise you would have put me in a horrendous position!" Snorting coldly, Feng Youde waved his sleeve, causing a powerful wind to wrap around Master Cloud-Dao and throw him violently out of the hall, blood spraying out of his mouth.

"If it weren't for your years of faithful service," Feng Youde continued, "I would definitely have you skinned alive! From now on, if the slightest bad thing happens to Naruto in the Hall of Devil Slayers, I'll come looking for you to settle accounts!"

As Master Cloud-Dao staggered to a stop outside, he clasped hands, bowed, and said, "Don't worry, Hallmaster, I'll accomplish this task or die trying!"

A moment passed, and no more word came out from the temple. Master Cloud-Dao wiped the blood off of his mouth, and then turned to look in a certain direction, his eyes burning with venom, venom directed, not toward Uzumaki Naruto, but toward Li Yuansheng!

"Li Yuansheng!" he said through gritted teeth. With that, he flew into motion, leaving the Hall of Devil Slayers and heading toward the immortal's cave Li Yuansheng occupied when outside of his clan.

Upon arriving, he banged his fist on the main door so hard that the entire immortal's cave shook. Li Yuansheng had been in the middle of meditating, but now his eyes snapped open, and he rushed out to find Master Cloud-Dao simmering in anger just outside.

"Brother Cloud-Dao, you–"

Before he could finish speaking Master Cloud-Dao performed an incantation gesture, causing a rift to break open in midair and rush toward Li Yuansheng. "I thought you were worth making friends with, Li Yuansheng! How could you do something so sinister!?"

Li Yuansheng's jaw dropped, and he leaped backward to avoid Master Cloud-Dao's divine ability.

"Sinister?" he said angrily. "How was I sinister?"

"You asked me to get rid of Uzumaki Naruto, but it was all a setup to get me killed! Do you know who Naruto is? Well, do you, Li

Yuansheng? What did I ever do to offend you!?" Before Li Yuansheng could even react, Master Cloud-Dao dashed forward and launched a palm strike that struck Li Yuansheng directly in the chest.

Li Yuansheng staggered backward, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth, eyes blazing with shock. "That's impossible! He's nothing but a hostage from a Middle Reaches sect! He's only–"

"That guy is anything but ordinary. When Hallmaster Feng heard that he was in trouble, you should have seen the look on his face. He summoned 10,000 disciples and ten Devil-Slaying Battleships to go rescue him!" When Li Yuansheng heard this, his eyes went wide, and an exclamation of shock escaped his lips.

"How is that possible…?"

"How should I know?" Master Cloud-Dao raged. "You should have seen how badly Eccentric Earthvile was hurt!"

By this point, his hatred toward Li Yuansheng was bone-deep. However, he knew that Li Yuansheng came from a deva clan, so after venting some anger, he simply swished his sleeve and left.

Chapter 415 Chapter 415

Chapter 415: Who Dares To Try To Take Uzumaki Naruto's Poor Little Life?!

After Master Cloud-Dao left, Li Yuansheng went back into his immortal's cave, his face ashen and yet green with fury. Blood still smeared his lips as he balled his hands into fists and growled, " Naruto is nothing more than a hostage from a Middle Reaches sect. The River-Defying Sect is still unstable, and doesn't even have a Deva Realm cultivator yet. They could be destroyed at any moment. How could a hostage like that have anybody powerful supporting them?"

Li Yuansheng gritted his teeth and contemplated giving up on the matter. However, that seemed too bitter of a pill to swallow, especially when he thought back to the humiliation he had endured in Sky City. It only took a moment for him to lose his cool immediately. Eyes flickering with cold light, he thought, "It must have just been a coincidence. Hallmaster Feng must have had a beef with Eccentric Earthvile. There's no way that Naruto can have somebody that powerful watching out for him!

"Since Master Cloud-Dao won't help me, I guess I'll have to handle things myself. This time, I'll make sure Naruto knows the height of the heavens and the breadth of the earth!" Li Yuansheng pulled out a jade slip, thought for a moment, and then decided that he would call upon the resources of his clan….

A few days later, Li Yuansheng emerged from his immortal's cave, a

grim expression on his face as he headed straight for the teleportation portal that led down to Sky Quarter Rainbow. His destination: the desert, and Uzumaki Naruto's tavern.

Now that Big Fatty Zhang and the other Dao protectors had been promoted, Xu Baocai was the only one who remained to lead the rest of the Azure Dragon Society. For the most part, he just watched the merit points rolling in, and enjoyed a comfortable life.

"Ah, this is the life. I can have anything I want at the snap of a finger. Even the junior patriarch and all of them up in the rainbow district are probably jealous of me." He was currently laying on his belly, enjoying a full body massage being performed by eight maidservants. The feeling of their warm, dainty hands caused a wide smile to spread out across his face. He even reached his arm around the waist of one of the beautiful maid servants and pulled her close.

"You'll be keeping me warm tonight," he said, smiling so broadly his eyes became nothing but slits.

The maidservant flushed and said, "Lord Baocai, you…."

Xu Baocai laughed heartily. Heart burning with passion, he was about to roll over when, all of a sudden, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering noise filled his ears. In the blink of an eye, everything began shaking violently, and the roof of the tavern shuddered as if it were about to be torn off.

Instantly, numerous agonized shrieks rang out, and the entire tavern began to collapse into rubble. Screaming, Xu Baocai scrambled to safety, heart pounding with rage. Just when he was about to cry out some orders, he looked up and saw the yellow-robed Li Yuansheng floating up above in the air.

"You have the time it takes an incense stick to burn to get in touch with Naruto and tell him to get the hell down here. If he doesn't show up in time, then I'll rip that property-bestowal flag right out of the ground!" With that, Li Yuansheng waved his right hand, sending a sea of flames down to engulf the remnants of the tavern.

As the tavern began to burn, a little flag was revealed, which was none other than the flag Naruto had received, granting him the right to personal property in Sky City.

Xu Baocai looked around with bloodshot eyes at the ruins around him, and the wailing cultivators of the Azure Dragon So

ciety. Obviously, Li Yuansheng was trying to goad Naruto out into the open, but at the moment, Xu Baocai couldn't think of anything else to do other than make contact with him.

Without any hesitation, he pulled out a jade slip to send a message.

Meanwhile, Naruto was in his immortal's cave on Sky Quarter Rainbow, consuming the medicinal pills Feng Youde had given him and reveling in the feeling of his cultivation base rising. After performing some breathing exercises, he expelled some impure vital energy from his mouth, and then prepared to continue with his cultivation.

He had taken the time to contemplate the events which had played out on the Eternalflux Continent on a few occasions, but still couldn't make heads or tails of them. No matter how many explanations he came up with, none of them made much sense.

"First there was that incident with the Sky Quarter peak lord, and then Feng Youde's sudden change in attitude. What's going on here? Should I take the initiative to do a little investigating of my own?" Even as he was rubbing his chin thoughtfully, his expression flickered, and he pulled a jade slip out of his bag of holding. As soon as he sent some divine sense into it, he heard Xu Baocai wailing,

"Save us, Junior Patriarch…. Li Yuansheng is here, he burned the tavern to the ground! Lots of brothers of the Azure Dragon Society are injured….

"He said to tell you that you have the time it takes an incense stick to burn to get down here or else he'll take the property-bestowal flag! What do we do, Junior Patriarch…?"

As soon as Naruto heard this, he gasped, and his anger began to burn. "You want my flag? That's my personal property! You burned my tavern to the ground? Li Yuansheng, ah, Li Yuansheng. I still haven't settled accounts for the last time you plotted against me in secret, and now you try to bully me out in the open!?"

Naruto was completely incensed. Xu Baocai had been bullied, the tavern had been destroyed, and his property-bestowal flag was being threatened. There was no other option for Naruto than to shoot to his feet.

"You want me down in Sky City, huh? Not convenient to make a move against me on Sky Quarter Rainbow? Alright, that's exactly what I wanted anyway!" Hanging his Hall of Devil Slayers identity medallion around his neck to make sure he had no problems getting down to the city, he flew out of his immortal's cave.

"Let's go see if Li Yuansheng will dare to make a move against me when I go as a representative of the Hall of Devil Slayers! Will he dare to disrespect the hall?!" Seething with anger, he rushed over to the teleportation portal. Just before teleporting down, though, he hesitated for a moment, and then sent a quick message to Hallmaster Feng Youde. He felt much better after that, and quickly teleported down and shot toward the west district, and the desert.

Even from a distance, he could see the large crowd of cultivators gathered to look at the black smoke rising up into the air from the rubble that used to be his tavern.

Then he saw Xu Baocai and the other Azure Dragon Society cultivators huddled off to the side, ashen-faced and bleeding, and Li Yuansheng hovering in the air amidst a sea of flames, right above Uzumaki Naruto's flag of property bestowal.

"Li Yuansheng," Naruto roared, "how dare you threaten that flag of mine!" With that, he shot into the air toward Li Yuansheng, simultaneously sending frigid Chakra roiling out to quench the flames of the burning tavern.

As soon as Li Yuansheng looked up and saw Uzumaki Naruto, a cold smile twisted his face, and he waved his finger. In response, the air around Naruto twisted and distorted, and numerous pulses of astonishing energy erupted out. At the same time, four figures stepped out of thin air.

Uzumaki Naruto's face fell, and he stopped in place, causing the frigid Chakra around him to grow stronger and stronger as he looked around at the four newcomers.

They were all young men with cultivation bases in the mid Core

Formation stage. Obviously, these were not like the silkpants friends Li Yuansheng had brought with him before. These four had grim expressions on their faces, and intensely murderous auras. These were true Chosen, people who were practiced killers. In addition to all of that, their handsome features were all similar in some ways, and they all wore identical green robes!

Most of the cultivators in the crowd didn't recognize them, but a few did, and immediately began to call out in shock.

"The Flashflame Four!"

"They're definitely the Flashflame Four! They're in the top 300 of the

Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars!"

In response to the cries of shock, Naruto frowned and looked over at the group. All of these four green-robed disciples emanated incredible pressure similar to that of Zuo Hengfeng's two Core Formation cultivator escorts.

Li Yuansheng threw his head back and laughed. Clasping hands and bowing to the Flashflame Four, he then turned his attention to Uzumaki Naruto, and his eyes shone with piercing light.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I don't care what happens today, I'm going to uproot your property-bestowal flag and put an end to the days of your tavern!"

With that, he let loose another stream of laughter. He had complete and utter confidence in the Flashflame Four, especially considering that all of them were in the same cultivation level as Uzumaki Naruto, the mid Core Formation stage. From what he could tell, they should have no trouble dominating Naruto in a fight.

"In fact, I'm not just going to take your flag. I'm going to make sure you personally understand that there are certain people in the world who you can't afford to offend!" More laughter erupted from Li Yuansheng's mouth as he waved his hand, sending his sea of flames down to engulf what little remained of the tavern.

"Attack!" he cried. Instantly, expressions of disdain could be seen on the faces of the Flashflame Four, and they began to walk forward. As they did, shocking flames erupted out from them, to the point where they themselves almost looked like beings made from flame.

Clearly, they weren't attempting to kill Uzumaki Naruto, but they most certainly were attempting to seriously injure him.

Eyes flashing, Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and shoved it out in front of him, causing the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation to erupt with power. As frigid Chakra began to build up in the area, he fell backward several paces, then threw his head back and roared.

"You bunch of insufferable bullies! You're pushing things too far! Four of you ganging up on one of me? Plus you want to steal my flag and destroy my business! What's next, you're going to take my poor little life!?

"Hallmaster, hurry, they're trying to kill me!" Naruto let loose his words with as much power backing them as possible, causing them to echo like thunder through the entire area. Before the Flashflame Four or Li Yuansheng could react, booms filled the sky, and a huge wind kicked up. Boundless fluctuations of power roiled through all creation as a blast of energy descended from above.

An old man suddenly appeared up above, his expression grim and his eyes shining with icy coldness. As he neared, the pressure in the area mounted, causing the land to quake and leaving everyone in the area trembling.

This old man was none other than the hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers, Feng Youde!

"Who dares try to take Uzumaki Naruto's poor little life!?" he cried, his rage causing heaven and earth to shake violently.

—

Chapter 416 Chapter 416

Chapter 416: Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars

The voice which filled the area was backed by the might of a Nascent

Soul cultivation base, and it instantly caused the faces of the Flashflame Four to fall, and their bodies to tremble. If the voice had belonged to an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, their reaction might not have been so extreme. After all, the entire group had extraordinary latent talent, and were also listed among the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. They were the type of people who wouldn't be fazed by ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.

But Feng Youde was in the late Nascent Soul stage, a cultivation base level that surpassed most ordinary Nascent Soul experts, and as such, the hearts of the Flashflame Four were filled with fear.

Of course, most terrifying of all was not Feng Youde's cultivation base, but rather, his status in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. People who were capable of rising to the position of hallmaster on any of the rainbow districts were few and far between.

And even more telling was that he was the hallmaster of the Hall of Devil

Slayers. Although each of the four rainbow districts had its own Hall of Devil Slayers, the cultivators from any of them were always fierce and terrifying. Very, very few people would ever dare to provoke a Nascent Soul eccentric like that, and the fact that he had shown up burning with fury left the Flashflame Four trembling in fear.

If that was the case with those four, there was little need to mention Li Yuansheng. While it was true that he was from a deva clan, and that such a clan wouldn't fear a single Nascent Soul hallmaster, Li Yuansheng was not here as a representative of his clan. He had come here of his own volition.

Not even a powerful clan like his would risk offending a hallmaster because of a conflict with a single clan member, not even one who could potentially reach the Deva Realm one day.

Li Yuansheng understood that immediately, and therefore, was filled with terror. Inwardly, he was howling in grief, and couldn't help but think back to what Master Cloud-Dao had told him.

"How could this Naruto have someone so powerful backing him!?" he thought. For the first time, Li Yuansheng regretted everything he had done, especially when he saw the trembling Flashflame Four glaring at him with venomous hatred.

Bracing himself, he clasped hands and began to speak, "Senior Feng, please, I–"

Moments before, Naruto had been staring at Feng Youde in shock.

Despite having sent the message requesting help, he was still deeply shaken by the fact that Feng Youde had actually come in person. After all, this was not a sect affair at all, and thus, the lengths to which Feng Youde was going to watch out for him were beyond what he ever could have imagined.

Therefore, as soon as he realized Feng Youde's stance in the situation, he pointed at the Flashflame Four, and interrupted Li Yuansheng to say,

"Hallmaster, these were the ones who wanted to take my poor little life. And that guy down there was trying to force me to give him my property-bestowal flag! Once that flag came out of the ground, I would be dead for sure!"

Even the Flashflame Four opened their mouths to offer some explanations.

As Feng Youde hovered there in midair, he couldn't help but feel a bit down. After receiving Uzumaki Naruto's message, he had hesitated about what to do. After all, considering his status, it was completely inappropriate for him to act like Uzumaki Naruto's bodyguard. But considering what the Heavenspan emissary had promised him, he had ended up gritting his teeth and intervening.

Upon arriving and seeing the Flashflame Four attacking Uzumaki Naruto, he made his decision. He would help Naruto in this situation, and do it in a way that wo

uld scare any other disciple who harbored thoughts of causing problems. That way, there would be no further such incidents in the future.

"N-no, that's not what happened, sir!" Li Yuansheng stammered. "Senior Feng, please listen to–"

Eyes radiating coldness, Feng Youde snorted, interrupting Li Yuansheng and simultaneously waving his sleeve. Instantly, a majestic power parted the clouds and descended, transforming into a powerful attack. To the shock of Naruto and everyone else present, that attack slammed into the Flashflame Four, causing blood to spray out of their mouths as they were violently tossed 300 meters away.

"Get the hell back to where you came from," Feng Youde said coolly, "and focus on cultivation. From now on, don't get involved in things like this!"

Seeing how events were unfolding, Naruto also shouted, "Yeah, get the hell back to where you came from and focus on cultivation. From now on, don't get involved in things like this!"

The Flashflame Four staggered to their feet, blood oozing out of their mouths. Not daring to offer even a single retort, they clasped hands, shot angry glances at Li Yuansheng, then turned and left.

Trembling, Li Yuansheng began to back up subconsciously, but before he could get very far, Feng Youde's ice-cold gaze fell on him. Then Feng Youde waved his sleeve, sending a gale-force wind slamming into Li Yuansheng, who screamed and coughed up blood as he was thrown off into the distance.

"I don't care how long you've had a grudge with Uzumaki Naruto. If you insist on causing problems, then I'll issue an order pulling you into the Hall of Devil Slayers for a bit of hardcore training." In response, Li

Yuansheng's face became a mask of terror, and he trembled even more than before. Not only did he have no desire to join the Hall of Devil Slayers, he was also filled with incredible regret and bitterness that Naruto had someone so powerful watching out for him. Bowing his head, he turned to make his escape, vowing to never cause problems for Naruto ever again.

Naruto could see how scared he was at the threat, and therefore, couldn't hold back from excitedly yelling, "That's right, Li Yuansheng! If you ever provoke me again, you can come join me in the Hall of Devil Slayers! Hey, where are you going? Hold on a second, you destroyed my tavern! You owe me!"

Heart dripping with blood, Li Yuansheng gritted his teeth and threw a bag of holding out behind him before scurrying off into the distance.

Delighted that everything had been resolved, Naruto looked up at Feng Youde, then clasped hands and bowed.

"Many thanks, Hallmaster!"

Feng Youde looked down at Uzumaki Naruto, cleared his throat, and offered a few words of encouragement. Then he turned and left. The sensation of having been summoned by another person left him feeling very unsettled.

After Feng Youde left, Xu Baocai and the other Azure Dragon Society cultivators turned to look at Naruto as if he were some sort of god.

Never could they have imagined that their moment of deadly crisis

would have been resolved in such a way.

The mere wave of his hand summoned a Nascent Soul cultivator, something that left everyone shaken, including all of the cultivators who had come to watch the show.

Under the glowing eyes of all present, Naruto strutted over to Xu Baocai and the others, puffed his chest out, and handed over a sizeable sum of merit points. Eyes sparkling, he then made his way proudly back to Sky Quarter Rainbow and his immortal's cave.

"I can't believe I'm so important to him," he thought. "He actually came when I summoned him, and unwillingly at that, from the look on his face. Actually, the Sky Quarter peak lord also had the same look on his face back when I saw him….

"Has someone forced them to watch out for me? But who?"

Time passed. An entire month flew by. During that time, Li Yuansheng didn't cause any trouble for Uzumaki Naruto, nor did the Hall of Devil Slayers assign him any missions.

Whenever he went to visit the Hall of Devil Slayers, if he saw something he liked, he would take it on credit. The only exception were certain extremely rare and precious items which were only made available to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars.

Naruto didn't pay too much attention to those things. Life was good, and his cultivation base was slowly progressing.

Eventually, he came to realize that if he wanted to cultivate his Living Mountain Incantation on the second-level rainbow, all he needed to do was buy a certain type of command medallion from the Hall of Devil Slayers, which acted as a single-use pass. Considering that they weren't very expensive, he bought several.

Of the second-level rainbows, the one on the left was for the deva patriarch, whereas the one on the right was for the sect leader.

That rainbow was also known by the name Myriad Star Rainbow.

Myriad Star Rainbow was also the location of various unique locations for training and trials by fire, which were accessible to disciples who possessed the requisite command medallions.

There was a reason for Myriad Star Rainbow's name, and that was because it was also where the list of cultivators in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars was on display. Cultivators like that were the type who could shake the entire eastern cultivation world!

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars list was quite eye-catching; it took up roughly thirty percent of Myriad Star Rainbow, upon which could be seen a collection of numerous glittering stars.

The stars were distributed among the various seven colors of the rainbow, most of them being in the red portion; those were so densely packed that they were impossible to count. After that, the numbers were distributed as such: orange, thousands; green, a single thousand; cyan, four or five hundred; blue, a bit over a hundred. The fewest stars were in the violet section, where only eight were visible!

Each of those colors represented a different trial by fire, and as for the stars, they stood for different Chosen!

Only those who qualified to be on this rainbow were considered to be Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. Of course, many, many cultivators didn't qualify, and as such, anyone who could get onto that list was the subject of much envy on the part of others, and would instantly be quite well-known.

Furthermore, in order to foster this trend, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's grand spell formation had a special function; a disciple who looked closely at any of those stars would suddenly find the name of that particular Chosen floating in their mind.

Because of that, countless disciples in the sect were completely and utterly determined to become one of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars.

Once their name was on that rainbow, their names would be able to completely shake heaven and earth. Of course, only cultivators under the Nascent Soul stage could be Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars!

Chapter 417 Chapter 417

Chapter 417: The Ravine of Endless Mountains

Naruto was currently in line at the teleportation portal which led to Myriad Star Rainbow. Since had time to spare, he looked up at the three sections of the rainbow up above. Recently, he had spent a bit of time getting more familiar with the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars arrangement.

Those who qualified to be listed as stars on that rainbow were true Chosen who received special treatment from the sect, and access to resources far beyond what was available to ordinary disciples. There were even special items that could only be purchased on Myriad Star Rainbow, and only by those on the list.

Naruto had recently learned that the trials by fire in the seven layers of the rainbow were all very dangerous, and that every year, disciples ended up dying within them.

"Those trials by fire seem really dangerous," Naruto thought. "I really don't get why so many people want to participate in all that fighting and stuff."

And yet, there was never a shortage of disciples willing to take on the challenge.

One of the reasons had to do with the incredible rewards available once someone got onto the list. Of course, there were also prizes that were awarded for simply getting on the list to begin with, such as merit points and various rare items.

Naruto looked at the different colors of the rainbow, and eventually his eyes came to rest on the top level, the violet one, and the eight stars which rested there. Those stars were the highest of them all, and when Naruto realized that everyone seemed to be staring at them, he couldn't help but be skeptical.

"Let's see who's in first place…." He looked up at the highest star in the violet section of the rainbow, and a moment later, a name appeared in his mind.

"Zhao Tianjiao!" Uzumaki Naruto's eyes went wide. He had never seen someone with a name like this before, which literally meant "Chosen." It was a very domineering name, and yet, Naruto couldn't help but tartly mutter to himself, "Not as good as my name…."

Next, he looked at the second star on the rainbow, and moments later, another name appeared in his mind. This one was obviously a Daoist name.

"Heretic!" Naruto gasped, and yet again, felt a bit annoyed. "What kind of a crappy name is that? Heretic schmeretic…."

With that, he moved on to the third name.

"Chen Yueshan…." It was obvious at a glance that this name belonged to a female cultivator. Just as Naruto was about to continue down the list, people started pushing him from behind. The area around the Myriad Star Rainbow teleportation portal was usually quite crowded, so people weren't happy about someone blocking the way.

Looking away from the rainbow, Naruto proceeded along in line until he reached the teleportation portal. After vanishing, he reappeared on Myriad Star Rainbow.

This was his first time here, but he had come well-prepared. He had acquired a map of the place in the Hall of Devil Slayers, and after confirming his location on it, he flew up into the air.

There were cultivators everywhere, most of them having come from the third level rainbows either to practice cultivation or to attempt to get into the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars.

"This place is pretty busy!" Naruto thought in surprise. It was a lot louder here than on Sky Quarter Rainbow. Naruto even spotted some vendor stalls which had been set up by disciples to peddle various items. Such stalls seemed very popular.

As for the locations set aside for special types of cultivation, almost all of them had lines of disciples waiting to enter. Some of those lines

had hundreds of disciples in them, which was definitely something new to Uzumaki Naruto. As he made his way along, he eventually reached the special location set aside for cultivating the Living Mountain Incantation.

It was a desolate, weed-choked ravine, next to the entrance of which was a greenish-black boulder. Sitting on top of the boulder was a gaunt middle-aged man with a jaw that jutted out like an ape's. His skin was so tan it was almost black, and from a distance, he almost looked like a monkey wearing human clothing.

Naruto blinked a few times, and couldn't help but stare a bit at the odd-looking man. Clearly, he was a Core Formation cultivator, and yet there was something about him that made him seem extremely powerful, something that Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on. It was almost as if there was some terrifying energy in him that was somehow impossible to release into the open.

And yet, Naruto had the distinct premonition that if this man actually attacked someone, that power would indeed erupt, and when it did, it might even be enough to fight someone in the Nascent Soul stage.

"The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect really is a terrifying place…." he thought. "Even the random guards are completely spine-tingling." At that point, Naruto looked around and realized how cold and desolate this place was. Nobody was lined up to get in, and after a moment, he even wondered if he had somehow lost his way and was in the wrong place. However, after double-checking his map, he was certain that he was in the right place.

As he stood there, the man on the boulder suddenly opened his eyes and spoke in a grating, ear-piercing voice. "The Valley of Floating

Flowers is on the right. The Peak of Green Cliffs is to the left. The Pool of

Emerald Waters is behind me. And up ahead is the Crag of Martial Sealing."

"Um, thanks, Elder Brother," Naruto replied, "but I'm actually on my way to the Ravine of Endless Mountains."

"Really?" the man said, looking a bit shocked. After looking Naruto up and down, his eyes suddenly sparkled. "You cultivate the Living Mountain Incantation?"

Naruto immediately nodded.

The man chuckled, and the look in his eyes softened. With that, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger at the adjacent ravine. Instantly, the ravine trembled, and then began to ripple and distort. Suddenly, an enormous stone hand stretched out from the valley, over 30 meters wide. Apparently, the hand was waiting for Naruto to step onto it.

The man looked back at Naruto and said, "It's been a long time since anyone cultivated the Living Mountain Incantation.

"It is not a technique, but rather, a divine ability focused on becoming a human mountain, and thus having access to unlimited power. It is divided into four levels, those levels being the Mortal Mountain, the Earth Mountain, the Heaven Mountain, and finally, the ultimate level… the Immortal Mountain!

"The key to this type of cultivation is the mountain meld. After all, mountains have spirits, and in this ravine you will find countless mountains. Find one with whom you are connected by destiny, and then gain enlightenment of that mountain's spirit. If you succeed, you can unleash the power of the Living Mountain!" The man waved his finger, and a deafening roar filled Uzumaki Naruto's ears as more information about the Living Mountain Incantation poured into his mind.

Expression somber, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply to the man.

"Many thanks for your help, Elder Brother. Might I request to know your honored name?"

"You can just call me… Stonemountain!"

Stonemountain smiled faintly and then closed his eyes and went back to meditating, looking very much like a stone monkey.

Naruto once again bowed, then took a deep breath and hopped onto the huge stone hand which had stretched out from inside the ravine. As soon as he did, the hand closed into a fist around him, then pulled him into the ravine. Moments later, the hand began to fade away, and as it did, the ripples that had appeared moments ago faded away, and the ravine looked as desolate as it always had.

Uzumaki Naruto's vision swam a bit, and rumbling echoed in his ears. However, all of that soon faded away, and when he could see clearly, he realized to his shock that he was in a completely unfamiliar world.

The sky was a bluish-green color, and down below… was a boundless sea of clouds, with countless mountain peaks poking up through them. To see so many mountain peaks stretching as far as the eye could see was indeed very shocking.

"The Ravine of Endless Mountains…." he thought, shaken. After flying around a bit, he did just as Stonemountain had said and began to search for a mountain that was connected to him by destiny.

"How am I supposed to know if we're connected by destiny, though?" he murmured to himself, feeling a bit confused. "Do I just find a mountain that looks good to me?"

As he flew along over the sea of clouds, he looked this way and that for an eye-catching mountain.

As Naruto flew along through the Ravine of Endless Mountains, outside on Sky Quarter Rainbow, Song Que was sitting cross-legged in his immortal's cave, his eyes shining brightly.

"Finally…. I've finally reached the moment of Core Formation!"

Currently, he had numerous spell formations set up around him, and had already notified his hall of what he was doing. He had also procured some medicinal pills designed specifically for Core Formation. Popping one into his mouth, he closed his eyes and prepared to make his breakthrough.

Half a month after Song Que, Chen Manyao also began to break through to Core Formation!

Two days after that, Master God-Diviner… also started to make his breakthrough!

Other than Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai, all of the Dao protectors who had followed Naruto to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect were making their attempts to break through to Core Formation.

The three in that group had already made extensive preparations. Combined with the fact that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was a riversource sect with abundant spiritual energy, it made it much easier for them to attempt their breakthroughs. As for Chen Manyao and Master God-Diviner, the vast amount of merit points at the disposal of the Azure Dragon Society also had something to do with it.

As for Big Fatty Zhang, he couldn't come close to the others in terms of preparations, but Naruto had been sure to take care of him, and had set aside plenty of merit points for him to use. As such, his cultivation base had now reached the great circle of Foundation Establishment.

That meant that for him, Core Formation was just around the corner!

—

Chapter 418 Chapter 418

Chapter 418: All Mountains Have Spirits

As Uzumaki Naruto's Dao protectors went into secluded meditation to attempt to break through from the Foundation Establishment stage, Naruto was flying around in the Ravine of Endless Mountains, looking for a mountain that was connected to him by destiny.

"Just which of these mountains is destined for me?!" he thought, frustrated. There were countless mountains within this world of clouds, and although most of them looked impressive, none of them seemed to be connected to him by destiny.

Naruto was not sure what to do, and just kept flying around aimlessly. He wasn't even sure how much time had passed. Just when he was about to randomly select a mountain to try out, he caught sight of a very unique mountain off in the sea of clouds, and a tremor passed through him.

This mountain actually looked less like a mountain and more like a statue! It depicted a giant, kneeling down on one knee, right hand outstretched as if to grasp at the sky. The facial features were worn down and not possible to identify, but there was something in the statue's eyes that left Naruto completely shaken.

He was almost sure he could hear a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar echoing in his ears, and could almost see that enormous giant trying to rip open the heavens.

"Looks kind of like the Blood Ancestor!" he thought. As he flew nearer to the mountain, he realized that a shocking pressure was weighing down on him, a pressure that left him trembling and shaking.

Instantly, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"Could it be that this mountain is the one connected to me by destiny? If it wasn't, then why did I start to feel pressure after looking at it? That proves that it's connected to me by destiny, right?!" Excited, he continued to fly closer to the statue.

It was in that moment that the little turtle suddenly stuck his head out of Uzumaki Naruto's bag of holding and disdainfully murmured, "Destiny? Yeah right. This statue is in the middle of this dimension; anybody who reached this point would feel pressure, as long as they were alive. Don't let your imagination run wild, Little Uzumaki."

"You shut up!" Naruto barked angrily. Ignoring the little turtle, he flew closer to the statue until he was able to alight onto its open hand. At this point, he felt more than ever that the statue was similar to the Blood Ancestor, so he quickly sat down cross-legged to meditate.

"This statue and I are definitely connected by destiny. Definitely!" With that, he proceeded to cultivate the Living Mountain Incantation with complete and utter determination.

The following day, he opened his eyes and was depressed to find that despite having spent the entire time trying to meld with the mountain, there had been no reaction whatsoever.

"All mountains have spirits…." he thought, shaking his head. With that, he closed his eyes and spent another three days trying to solve the mystery. However, the only result was that he got more depressed.

"Does it really have a spirit?" he thought. "I don't feel anything…." He thought a bit more to try to come up with some more ideas, and then closed his eyes to try again. Time passed. At a certain point, he lost track of how many attempts he had made, and yet despite all that, he hadn't provoked a single reaction from the statue. However, thanks to his unswerving determination, he eventually began to notice some trends, and soon, something like varying layers of fluctuations appeared in his mind.

However, that didn't solve the problem completely, so Naruto gritted his teeth even harder and continued to work. Two months later, Song Que emerged from his seclu

ded meditation facilities on Sky Quarter Rainbow, accompanied by thunderous rumbling. At the same time, a Core Formation aura roiled out in all directions, causing the clouds to swirl about, and attracting much attention from people in the area.

A screaming whistle rang out as Song Que flew up into the air, eyes sparkling like the stars, body shining like a treasure. The cultivation base power rippling out from him, the Core Formation pressure, was enough to rip apart heaven and earth!

Eight crystallized spiritual seas now existed inside of him, which had formed together into an Earth Core!

An Earth Core formed from eight spiritual seas gave him power and might that made him one of the most powerful among Core Formation experts.

"This is the day that I've been waiting for! At long last. Core Formation!" Song Que threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he declared excitedly, "I'll be passing you up in no time!" Eyes shining with anticipation, he flew back into his immortal's cave to stabilize his cultivation base.

Not long after Song Que reached Core Formation, Chen Manyao and Master God-Diviner also succeeded. If this event had occurred back in the River-Defying Sect, it would have attracted quite a bit of attention, but in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, Core Formation cultivators were relatively common. Of course, that made sense considering how large the sect was, and how it controlled all of the eastern cultivation world.

It was a sect where all sorts of powerful experts gathered, and as such, trifling Core Formation cultivators weren't anything that people would pay much attention to. Only after reaching the Nascent Soul stage could one be considered strong enough to dominate any other location in the eastern cultivation world.

Despite the fact that reaching Core Formation wasn't a very big deal in this sect, Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao were both very excited.

Meanwhile, back in the Ravine of Endless Mountains, Naruto was dejectedly continuing his work atop the enormous statue.

"How come it isn't working!?" Another half a month went by, and Naruto was on the verge of mental collapse. Up to this point, all efforts to meld with the mountain had ended in failure, and the only headway he'd made was in being able to sense the mountain spirit inside of it.

"At this rate, it's going to take over a hundred years to get this right!"

Naruto was on the verge of going mad. After arriving in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, he had done a bit of investigating, and knew that the Living Mountain Incantation was one of the sect's 300 secret magics. Not only that, it was actually listed within the top 10. From ancient times until now, only a few people had ever succeeded in cultivating it, from which its difficulty could be seen. Although some people succeeded at it almost right away, there were others who never succeeded even in an entire lifetime.

"Ah forget it. This is too hard." Depressed, he rose to his feet, looked down at the statue-like mountain beneath his feet, and then gave a slight harrumph.

"Well, even if I can't use this Living Mountain Incantation, it doesn't matter. I still have my Waterswamp Kingdom and the powers of gravity and repulsion!" When it came to the magic of gravity and repulsion, his extensive research had led his cultivation to the point where he could form small spheres that contained the powers of gravity and repulsion. Based on what he could tell, it wouldn't be very long before he had complete control over that magic.

As far as his Waterswamp Kingdom went, that was one of his trump cards, something he wouldn't use unless absolutely necessary.

Still feeling a bit disgruntled, Naruto stepped off of the mountain into the air. With a final look at the statue, he sighed and began to make his way off into the distance.

Before long, he was out of the Ravine of Endless Mountains. As soon as that enormous hand placed him outside of the mirror-like entrance, he looked over at Stonemountain, who sat there looking like a statue of a monkey, in exactly the same posture as he had when Naruto entered the ravine months before.

But then, Stonemountain opened an eye and looked over at Uzumaki Naruto. "Nobody has ever succeeded at melding with the mountain on their first attempt. Even people with exceptional latent talent usually need ten tries.

"To meld with the mountain, first forget yourself, then forget the mountain. When you wake up, you will be the mountain, and the mountain will be you…."

Naruto stopped in place for a moment, thought about what Stonemountain had just said, then nodded. Clasping hands, he bowed and then made his way off. Back in his immortal's cave, he sat down cross-legged and meditated for a bit longer on what he'd just been told.

Before long, he opened his eyes, and they sparkled brightly.

"Core Formation!?"

Before long, a beam of light pierced through the sky toward him, transforming into a young woman with spectacularly beautiful features, and a yellow robe that completely complemented her figure in every way.

"Hello, Elder Brother Uzumaki." She was none other than Chen Manyao. Smiling charmingly, she landed outside of Uzumaki Naruto's immortal's cave and was just about to say some more words when the door opened and Naruto stepped out. Clicking his tongue, he circled around her and looked her up and down.

Face flushing, she pouted playfully and said, "What are you doing, Elder Brother Uzumaki?!"

Sounding slightly flirtatious, he looked away and said, "It's been a few months since we last saw each other, wife. Congratulations on reaching Core Formation!"

Back in Sky City, Chen Manyao had taken to calling herself Uzumaki

Naruto's "wife" during the time that she coveted his merit points. However, to hear him use this term now caused the flush on her face to grow deeper. Eyes sparkling with a seductive gleam, she stepped closer to him.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki," she said softly, her breath caressing his cheeks, "as long as you promise me one thing, then you can do anything you want to me."

"What one thing?" Naruto coughed dryly, eyeing some of Chen Manyao's more prominent curves.

"Simple. Just join us in the–"

"Save your breath!" he interrupted, shaking his head. This was not Chen Manyao's first time bringing up this subject. Back in Sky City, she had hinted on numerous occasions that he should join the Wildlanders, but he had always refused.

"The sects of the Heavenspan River are the orthodox ones," he said proudly, "and you Wildlanders are the renegades. I, Uzumaki Naruto, am from a famous orthodox sect, and am backed by entities so powerful even I don't know who they are. How could I possibly join a bunch of traitors?" Of course, he had only learned the details of such matters from Chen Manyao herself. However, after much thought, he had thought the matter through clearly, and decided that joining forces with the renegades would be risking his poor little life.

"Maybe one day you'll change your mind." Chen Manyao said with a slight smile, as if she didn't mind at all that he'd refused her. With that, she changed the topic.

"Oh right. Elder Brother Uzumaki, the reason I came here today is that I have some clues regarding Du Lingfei…."

Chapter 419 Chapter 419

Chapter 419: Respect The Rank

Naruto suddenly looked at Chen Manyao with glistening eyes.

Chen Manyao covered her mouth as she laughed lightly, her eyes sparkling with charm. Seeing how much Naruto was interested in such news, she didn't beat around the bush.

"Based on a comprehensive investigation I carried out, I am sure that, despite not knowing Du Lingfei's exact current location… she is definitely in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!"

Although Naruto didn't say anything, his eyes continued to glitter brightly.

"The things I've promised to do for you, I will do," Chen Manyou said. "I'll continue to investigate, and when I get some more specific information, I'll tell you immediately. Just keep in mind that Du Lingfei is likely already aware of your presence here." Giving Naruto one last look, she turned and left.

Naruto stood at the entrance of his immortal's cave for some time after Chen Manyao left, looking at the setting sun on the horizon, at the spreading shadows of evening, and at the majestic golden sea spreading out as far as the eye could see. At the same time, he thought back to many memories of the past.

Two hours later, he took a deep breath, settled his heart, and walked back into his immortal's cave to meditate. By now, he was not as stubbornly attached to learning the truth about Du Lingfei as he had been years ago.

A few days later, though, he was still feeling somewhat unsettled. Not only was the matter of Du Lingfei still eating at him, but his troubles with the Living Mountain Incantation were continuing to frustrate him, and he couldn't stop thinking about what Stonemountain had said.

"Forget myself, forget the mountain. When I wake up… I will be the mountain, and the mountain will be me…." Naruto frowned. Although he understood the words in general, it was the word 'forget' that was obviously the most important part.

Of course, it was easy to talk about forgetting something, but to actually do so was another matter, and at the moment, Naruto had no idea how to go about doing it.

"How do I forget…?" he murmured anxiously. "Go into a trance? The mnemonic doesn't specifically say anything about going into a trance…. I wish there was some way you could just say forget and then instantly forget! That would be perfect." Almost as soon as the words escaped his lips, he suddenly froze in place, his eyes shining with a strange light.

"Say forget and then instantly forget…." He licked his lips, eyes sparkling as he thought back to his own Fantasy Pill, which, upon being consumed, placed one into a hallucination in which one forgot about reality.

"That's right!" He smacked his thigh excitedly, then rose to his feet and started pacing back and forth in his immortal's cave. After spending much time in thought, he produced one of his Fantasy Pills and looked it over carefully. After a moment, his brow furrowed as he thought of the very strange expressions that appeared on the faces of cultivators who took the pill, and then started to worry that he would look like them if he consumed it.

"No, that won't do. Since I'm going to consume it myself, I need to be much more careful. I need to adjust the formula to suit me specifically." After spending some more time in thought, he hurried out of his immortal's cave to the Hall of Devil Slayers to get some necessary ingredients.

When the disciple in charge of the supply depot saw Naruto coming, he smiled and then respectfully bowed in greeting. Naruto visited the Hall of Devil Slayers quite often to acquire items he needed, much of whic

h he purchased on credit. It was an arrangement the likes of which had never occurred in the Hall of Devil Slayers, and as a result, he was very famous.

"I need to re-concoct this pill. I need a pill designed for me, something that's not dangerous at all. Say forget and then instantly forget, say wake up and then instantly wake up. That's the pill I need!" The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Therefore, he produced a huge sum of merit points to acquire the medicinal plants he needed, all of which were very rare.

As he browsed through the available items, he suddenly saw one particular spirit plant that had no flower, but instead, seven leaves, each one a different color.

Almost immediately, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes lit up, and he gasped.

"Seven-colored mistysea grass!" Back in the Spirit Stream Sect, he had read some information about seven-colored mistysea grass on a jade slip. It was a spirit plant known to emit a hallucinatory mist that could be used in psychedelic medicinal pills. Not only was it unusually effective, but it had absolutely no harmful side-effects.

"Give me some of those!" he said excitedly, pointing at the sevencolored mistysea grass.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, the sect limits the sale of this type of medicinal plant.

Only people in the top 1,000 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars can buy it."

"Huh?" Naruto said, his jaw dropping. After hesitating for a moment, he still couldn't suppress his excitement about the plant, and immediately flew toward the main temple in the Hall of Devil Slayers.

Along the way, numerous disciples of the Hall of Devil Slayers cast respectful glances in his direction. Normally when he came here, he would strut around and show off a bit, but now, he was simply too excited, and rushed directly toward the temple.

"Hallmaster," he cried out before even arriving, "it's me, Uzumaki Naruto. May I request an audience?" Master Cloud-Dao was standing guard outside the temple, and when he saw Naruto coming, he smiled and did nothing to block his path, allowing him to enter directly into the temple.

Feng Youde was sitting at the end of the temple, meditating. However, as soon as Naruto hurried in, his eyes opened.

Forcing a smile onto his face, he said, "How can I help you, Naruto…?"

Recently, Naruto had been in the Ravine of Endless Mountains, leaving the Hall of Devil Slayers much quieter. Before that, he had always come over with one issue or another to annoy Feng Youde.

"Hallmaster," Naruto said anxiously, "I really need some sevencolored mistysea grass. Do you happen to have any? Can I have a few stalks…?"

Feng Youde pulled out a jade slip to check how much seven-colored mistysea grass was in the Hall of Devil Slayers. After a moment, his face twitched; although seven-colored mistysea grass wasn't a very rare plant, there wasn't a big supply on hand. The Hall of Devil Slayers only had three stalks. Furthermore, considering the hallucinatory effects of the plant, it could only be safely handled by cultivators with a relatively high cultivation base. As such, the sect had put limitations on how it could be distributed.

Feng Youde sighed and said, "Ah, this isn't a big deal. Just go find someone in the top 1,000 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, and have them buy it for you."

As of this point, he really felt like he had become Uzumaki Naruto's Dao protector. Suppressing the gloomy feeling which had risen up in his heart, he raised his voice and he said, "Master Cloud-Dao, could you please handle this?"

Master Cloud-Dao nodded in assent and hurried over.

Naruto was immediately moved. His entire purpose in coming here was to seek help from Feng Youde in getting someone from the top 1,000 to buy the plants for him. Throwing his arm over Master CloudDao's shoulder, Naruto quickly led him out of the hall.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki," Master Cloud-Dao said quickly, "the Hall of Devil

Slayers only has a few dozen disciples in the top 1,000. All of them are Chosen, obviously, and are a proud and arrogant lot. Obviously, any of them who agree to help you will expect some sort of compensation in return." Master Cloud-Dao did nothing to hide the truth from Uzumaki Naruto. As the honor guard of the Hall of Devil Slayers, not only did he wish to avoid offending Uzumaki Naruto, he also sought to avoid provoking those who were in the top 1,000.

"No problem!" Naruto said, waving his sleeve. If there was one thing he had a lot of, it was merit points. Filled with zest, he hurried along after Master Cloud-Dao toward a distant immortal's cave.

Upon reaching a certain distance, Master Cloud-Dao stopped to offer an explanation. "This is the immortal's cave of Junior Brother Zhou. He's already in the late Core Formation stage, despite not being even a hundred years old. He reached the green portion of the rainbow, earning a rank of 777 in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars!

"Junior Brother Zhou is a true Chosen, and is very famous in the Hall of Devil Slayers. He also has a lot of followers among the lower-ranking disciples. Let's go pay him a visit. Remember to be very courteous, and definitely don't say anything to offend him." Master Cloud-Dao offered a few more exhortations along these lines, and Naruto nodded in agreement the whole time. He knew that when going to ask for help, one had to be on their best behavior.

Before the two of them could even get close to the door, three cultivators rushed forward to block their path. These three cultivators had profound cultivation bases, but once they saw that it was Master Cloud-Dao approaching, they stepped aside. However, after reaching the door, no amount of calling out on the part of Master Cloud-Dao provoked even the slightest response.

"I guess Junior Brother Zhou isn't home…." Master Cloud-Dao said a bit awkwardly.

Naruto frowned and then opened his third eye a tiny slit. Instantly, he could see inside of the immortal's cave. Reclining on a divan was a young man being waited upon by several maid servants. A look of scorn could be seen on his face as he blatantly ignored Naruto and Master Cloud-Dao.

"Don't worry, Junior Brother Uzumaki, let's just move on. Next is the immortal's cave belonging to Junior Brother Chen. He's a friend of mine, so he should be able to help out with a small matter like this." Naruto was starting to get a bit depressed, but he followed Master Cloud-Dao along to a second immortal's cave.

Apparently, Master Cloud-Dao really was friends with this Junior Brother Chen, who immediately opened the door and allowed them in. However, despite the fact that he didn't treat them coldly, neither did he treat them with much warmth. After Master Cloud-Dao explained the situation, Junior Brother Chen looked over coolly at Naruto and said, "I'll handle it after my current session of secluded meditation."

"Many thanks, Elder Brother Chen!" Naruto said quickly. "By the way, how long is your–"

"At the soonest, two years. Perhaps as much as five." Looking a bit impatient, he waved them out of his immortal's cave.

—

Chapter 420 Chapter 420

Chapter 420: You Look Down On Me!

Uzumaki Naruto's eyes widened into a glare, and if it weren't for the fact that Master Cloud-Dao was pulling him away, he would almost certainly have begun arguing with the cultivator named Chen, who looked on coldly as the two of them left the cave.

Then, a loud bang could be heard as the door slammed shut. Moments later, a cold voice echoed out from inside the cave. "Can't wait? Go challenge the trials yourself then!"

"Fine!" Naruto barked back angrily. "What's so amazing about getting into the top 1,000 anyway? If you don't want to help, so be it, but there's no need to be such a jerk about it!"

Master Cloud-Dao smiled bitterly and quickly tried to comfort Uzumaki Naruto. "Calm down, Junior Brother Uzumaki." He shook his head. "Ai. Look, all of the people in the top 1,000 are top Chosen! They're not the type of people we can just tell what to do. The sect views them all as important future figures, especially those who are in the top few hundred in the rankings. For example, I heard that not too long ago, Sima Feiru occupied an entire cultivation district and wouldn't let anyone enter. It caused quite a disturbance, but in the end, nothing was done about it. Nobody wanted to risk offending him."

Naruto had heard of this Sima Feiru, and knew that he ranked somewhere in the 90's. He was a spectacular and domineering Chosen, not from the Hall of Devil Slayers, but rather, from the Hall of the Sect Sanctum.

Next, it was to Uzumaki Naruto's sorrow that Master Cloud-Dao led him to the third location, and then the fourth….

Of the few dozen cultivators in the Hall of Devil Slayers who were in the top 1,000, most were currently in secluded meditation, and others were away. As the day passed, not a single Chosen paid any attention to Naruto and Master Cloud-Dao. The two of them were either ignored or outright rejected. Although different expressions could be seen on the faces of the various Chosen, none of them could hide the arrogance that seeped out from their very bones. Naruto couldn't have been more irritated.

"They're as arrogant as spirit tail chickens!" By now it was evening, and Naruto was both furious and humiliated at how this seemingly inconsequential task had gone. In fact, he even felt the impulse to simply go try to get into the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, ai, look there's still one more left. He's more reasonable than the others, we should definitely be able to succeed! Don't get angry. This is just how Chosen are! They fought their way through a crowd of tens of thousands to get to where they are now. Think of the danger involved in that! It's only natural that they would be a bit proud and arrogant…." Master Cloud-Dao had been cajoling Naruto in this way the entire day. Although he did feel slightly embarrassed about what had occurred, he was also a bit derisive of Naruto for relying on Feng Youde to do everything for him. If he had true skill, why didn't he just take the challenge himself instead of going around begging for help?

Naruto took a deep breath, suppressed his feelings of depression and followed Master Cloud-Dao to the final immortal's cave. As it turned out, this cultivator was a bit more reasonable. After hearing the request, he smiled immediately.

"Ah, this is a simple matter. I've actually done things like this before. However, I charge an intermediary fee. Junior Brother Uzumaki, I've heard quite a lot about you, so for a mere 1,000,000 merit points, I can get those medicinal plants for you!"

Uzumaki Naruto's eyes went wide. 1,000,000 merit points wasn'

t a price he couldn't afford, but the seven-colored mistysea grass he wanted should only cost a few tens of thousands. And yet this guy wanted to charge him 1,000,000?

Seeing Uzumaki Naruto's expression, the cultivator smiled, a smile of both disdain and confidence. "Think it's expensive? Don't want to pay? That's fine! If you're good enough, just go try to get into the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. If you can get into the top 1,000, then you won't need any help from me at all."

Trying to keep his breathing calm, Naruto spun on his heel and, without saying a single word, walked off. Master Cloud-Dao hurried along behind him, sighing. Worried that Naruto was going to devolve into a rage, he prepared to offer some words of consolation. However, after some distance, Naruto stopped and turned to him.

"Many thanks for your help today, Master Cloud-Dao."

After a moment of hesitation, Master Cloud-Dao said, "Um… Junior Brother Uzumaki, listen, we can still make this happen. Let's just go talk to the hallmaster. He can issue a Dharmic decree, and force them to help you whether or not they want to."

Naruto had obviously noticed the veiled looks of scorn that Master Cloud-Dao had attempted to hide throughout the day. Gritting his teeth, he said, "There's no need!"

Master Cloud-Dao eyes widened. "You mean–"

"It's only the top 1,000, right? I'll challenge the trials!" Flicking his sleeve, he transformed into a beam of light that shot toward his immortal's cave.

Master Cloud-Dao stood there watching him leave. After a moment, he laughed softly. "If you actually have what it takes, then why did you need to go begging for help? I bet that within a few days, you'll be back asking for help from the hallmaster."

After returning to his immortal's cave, Naruto rested for a bit, then sent a message to his Dao protectors, asking them to get as much information as they could about the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. During the following month, all sorts of inquiries were made, and Naruto even went to Myriad Star Rainbow to observe other people making their attempt to get onto the superstars list.

Another half a month passed. Finally, Naruto felt that he was well enough prepared. Gritting his teeth, he said, "It's only the top 1,000, right? What's so special about that? When I come back, I'll definitely be in the top 1,000!"

Eyes glittering, he packed a few things and then headed for the teleportation portal leading to Myriad Star Rainbow and the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials.

The trials took up nearly thirty percent of Myriad Star Rainbow, and regardless of the time of day or night, the entrance was almost always packed with people. People went into the trials all the time, and if anyone ever succeeded in causing their own star to rise in the ranks, people would immediately notice and get jealous.

The entrance to the trial was an ancient, greenish-black door, fully 3,000 meters tall, carved with countless profound magical symbols that emanated bizarre light and tremendous pressure.

The door was flanked by two enormous statues that depicted, not cultivators, but rather, enormous lion-like beasts, completely fierce and savage in appearance.

The door was opened by just a crack, a crack which from a distance seemed very small, but was actually several dozen meters wide, leaving plenty of room for cultivators to come and go. Even as Naruto arrived, he saw a handsome man in a green Daoist robe flying toward the entrance on a cloud.

As soon as the other surrounding cultivators saw the man, they began to cry out.

"That's Zhao Yidong from Starry Quarter Rainbow! Elder Brother Zhao!"

"This time, Elder Brother Zhao is definitely going to get into the top 1,000!"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Elder Brother Zhao is a Chosen from Starry Quarter Rainbow, and a member of the Hall of Sea Sentinels. The first time he took the trial, he got into the top 5,000. The second time, he made it into the top 3,000. And the third time, he got to 1,500th place. This is his fourth time, and I have the feeling he'll definitely get into the top 1,000!"

Even as they cried out, the star representing Elder Brother Zhao on the green section of the rainbow lit up, prompting even more people to pay attention to it.

Even as everyone focused their attention on Zhao Yidong, Naruto took a deep breath and headed toward the gate. Virtually no one was paying attention to him at all; everyone wanted to see if Zhao Yidong would make it into the top 1,000.

The major milestones in the trial were the 10,000th spot, then the 1,000th, 500th, and 100th. Furthermore, breaking through to a higherranking level would provide vastly more incredible rewards.

Rising in the rankings in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars was a way to make a name for oneself. Being in the top 10,000 could be a point of great pride, but only by breaking into the top 1,000 could one truly be considered a true Chosen of the Halls!

Anyone who made it into the top 500 would be considered a Chosen of the Quarters. After that was the top 100. Anyone who reached that level was considered to be a true superstar of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

"I can do it too!" Naruto thought, his eyes flashing with determination. Because of what he had experienced in the Hall of Devil Slayers, and because of the passionate atmosphere around him, Uzumaki Naruto's heart was starting to pound in excitement. He suddenly felt the same as he had back in his Chakra Condensation days, when he was challenging the stone steles of plants and vegetation.

With that, he shot forward toward the crack in the door, and in the blink of an eye, was inside. Rumbling sounds filled his ears, and his vision swam as numerous images flashed by. Everything was a blur, almost as if the entire world had been turned upside down.

A force began to drag at him that, when combined with the power of the teleportation exerted upon him by the door, became an incredible pressure, like a huge hand grabbing at him and pulling him into another dimension!

His entire body was shaking, and his face drained of blood; this was his first time experiencing a teleportation this intense. Were it not for his powerful cultivation base, he might have been trembling on the point of collapse right now.

Actually, everyone who took the trial experienced this. The truth was that anyone who couldn't handle the pressure would be ejected; the trial by fire actually began with this teleportation!

As things became clear, a blast of heat hit his face, and based on the aroma he had just smelled, he even wondered if his hair was being burned away. He quickly backed up a few steps and looked around to find himself in a world whose border was made up of crimson cliffs.

Beneath the cliffs was a sea of lava that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Fire raged and liquid rock surged, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions.

At the same time, numerous wild beasts flew out of the cliffs and attempted to make their way off into the distance.

However, many of them were scorched by the flames, and ended up being burned into ash and swallowed up by the sea.

—

Chapter 421 Chapter 421

Chapter 421: How Warm!

Some of the roaring, struggling beasts were stronger than the others, and managed to make their way far off into the distance, where a mirror-like object was visible, into which they disappeared!

Naruto looked around at everything that was happening, and then reviewed some of the information he had gathered in recent days.

"The ranking system of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars is divided into different colors, seven in total. The first level of the trial by fire is the red level, and is the simplest of all. You have to get through this sea of flames. As long as you get thirty percent into the sea itself, your personal star will rise up in the rankings!

"The key is how far you can get; that determines your final ranking. After a certain point, you can go right to the next trial by fire. The number of people who actually reach the very end of the red trial is very small…."

Sighing softly, he looked at all of the countless beasts rushing out into the sea of flames, their miserable shrieks echoing out as they died. As of this moment, he was more impressed than ever by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars.

"No wonder people go so crazy over the rankings. I've never seen anything like this. So, to get through this first level, you're supposed to use one of those beasts!" With that, he patted his bag of holding to produce a seven-colored jade pendant, which he had purchased earlier for a few merit points. This jade pendant was designed specifically for the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials by fire, and by crushing it, the owner would be safely teleported out of the trial by fire in the blink of an eye. It would also keep a record of the person's accomplishments and how far they had proceeded.

Of course, throughout the years, there were always people who didn't crush the jade pendant fast enough, and ended up dying.

Naruto stepped closer to the edge of the cliff. He could tell that flight was prohibited in this area, leaving him with no choice but to leap down and try to land on one of the beasts flying out from the base of the cliff. After looking down for a moment, he jumped out and began to speed down toward a crimson anaconda that was just flying out over the lava.

When Naruto slammed onto the flame anaconda, it twisted back and forth in an attempt to hurl him off of its back. However, Uzumaki

Naruto stamped his right foot down, sending out a burst of power that instantly cowed it. Eyes shining with madness, it continued to speed along.

All the beasts in this place knew that as long as they could reach the final destination, they would have their freedom.

For them, this red trial by fire was actually a prison!

"Alright, be a good little snake and go a bit faster…."

Naruto nervously maintained his position on the flame anaconda as it sped along for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. As he proceeded along, he noticed that not only did the sea down below grow choppier, but also, that he wasn't alone. He saw about seven or eight other cultivators, some of whom attempted to switch mounts midflight to be able to get further along into the sea.

There were even two of them who cast covetous gazes at Uzumaki Naruto's mount. After all, he was riding a flame-type beast, which could last longer than other beasts in these intensely hot conditions.

"That's a flame anaconda!"

"Flame-type beasts aren't very common here…." Both of those cultivators quickly steered their own mounts in Uzumaki Naruto's direction, clearly hoping to snatch his beast.

"What are you people doing?!" Naruto shouted angrily. Both of the cultivators were in the mid Core Formation

stage. None of them said anything, and in fact, after eyeing him for a moment, they both unleashed attacks upon the sea of flames below, causing a huge wave of lava to suddenly roll in his direction.

There was no time for Naruto to get angry. As the heat surged toward him, he suddenly realized that he was probably on the verge of being burned to a crisp. Screaming, he dodged to the side, and yet still managed to get splashed.

A moment later, he suddenly stopped screaming, and looked down in surprise at his arm. Although some holes had been burned into his garment, the skin beneath hadn't been harmed at all.

"Eee?" Naruto blinked a few times, which was when some more drops of burning lava filled the air around him. Instead of trying to avoid them, he let them land on him, whereupon they burned through his clothing down to his skin.

However, all he felt was a bit of a warm sensation, not the scalding pain he had anticipated. At that point, his eyes lit up. Not too far off, the two cultivators who had been closing in on him with ill intentions looked on with incredulous expressions on their faces.

"He… he wasn't hurt?"

"Does he have some sort of magical item protecting him? Wait, that's impossible. Magical items aren't allowed in this trial!" Even as they looked on in shock, Naruto reached his right hand down into the lava below, and even swept it back and forth a few times.

"So nice and warm…." he said excitedly.

When the other two cultivators saw that, their eyes nearly popped out of their skulls.

"Impossible!"

"Heavens! He… he actually stuck his hand into the lava!"

"What the…."

As for Uzumaki Naruto, he couldn't have been more excited, and immediately threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"What kind of a sea of lava is this? I thought it was supposed to be scary!" Looking very pleased with himself, Naruto stepped off of the flame anaconda and dropped down into the lava. Almost immediately, his clothing burned away, revealing his body beneath, absolutely unharmed in any way. He even seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Not bad. Not bad at all…." Then he looked up at the two cultivators who had been on the verge of attacking him, and were now staring back at him with faces as white as sheets. Before Naruto could do or say anything against them, they pulled out their seven-colored jade pendants, crushed them, and faded away.

Clearly, they had been worried that Naruto might try to get back at them by unleashing some sort of deadly attack.

"Cowards!" he shouted smugly. "Get back here! Come down and have some fun in the lava with me…." With that, he turned and began to swim forward through the lava. Soon, he caught sight of other cultivators in the trial, and when they saw him, they immediately let out cries of shock and disbelief. "What's… what's that…?"

"Is that… is that a person!?"

"Heavens! There's actually someone swimming through the lava! That lava is hot enough to melt unfathomantium metals!"

"Could that thing be some sort of beast in human form?!"

As such cries filled the air, Naruto swam along casually, feeling very proud of himself. He even took the time to wave to some of the other cultivators. "Why don't you come down and join me. It's very nice and warm…."

Soon, he had swum thirty percent into the sea of lava, which was the requisite point to make the rankings. That was when, all of a sudden, a new star lit up on the crimson portion of the rainbow outside.

Of course, the crimson part of the rainbow was filled with countless stars, so the appearance of a new one wasn't necessarily something very incredible. However, every time a star appeared for the first time, it would shine more brightly than normal to attract the attention, and envy, of those looking on.

"Hey look, a new star! Someone got promoted!"

"Let's see who it is. Hmm. Uzumaki Naruto? I've never heard of him."

Normally speaking, there would have been more discussion about the topic, but considering that Zhao Yidong was in the middle of making an important run, most people were focused on his star.

In fact, there were even some people who had special types of command medallions with which they could watch the competitors inside of the trials. Obviously, such medallions were extremely expensive, so people wouldn't waste them on a cultivator who hadn't made it into the top 1,000.

Because no one would ever think to use such a method to observe Uzumaki Naruto, nobody on the outside knew that he was swimming through the lava.

However, many people in the trial by fire itself saw him, and their cries of shock continued to ring out ceaselessly.

Furthermore, Naruto could achieve quite a bit of speed while swimming, such that he was actually faster than a lot of the flying beasts.

He even started humming a little tune as he picked up speed. Any time he started to feel uncomfortably hot, he would release some frigid qi. Because of that, he always felt wonderful as he headed toward the bank of the sea.

"This trial by fire is way too simple," he thought. Clearing his throat, he thought about what a pity it was that more people didn't realize he was swimming through the sea of lava.

"Once I get out, I'll be able to tell people about this, and they'll definitely think I'm super awesome." Excited, he continued to pick up speed until the bank of the sea was just up ahead.

Meanwhile, back outside, a few of the spectators happened to notice that one of the stars on the red portion of the rainbow was rising at an unusually fast speed. In fact, it was already approaching the border of the red part of the rainbow.

"So fast! Who is that? Uzumaki Naruto? That's the same guy who just appeared for the first time!"

"What's going on? His star just appeared on the rainbow, and he's already reached the end of the red portion?!" One of the disciples with one of the special command medallions decided to focus it on Uzumaki Naruto's star, to see what type of beast he was using….

Within the space of a few breaths of time, his eyes had grown as wide as saucers. His jaw dropped, and then he cried out, "How… how could this be happening?!"

Chapter 422 Chapter 422

Chapter 422: He's Swimming?

What the cultivator saw was Uzumaki Naruto, looking very pleased with himself and even humming a little tune as he swam merrily through the majestic sea of lava….

The cultivator's cry of astonishment caused quite a few other disciples in the area to look over and see what was happening. The sight that met their eyes was the cultivator with the medallion shaking physically, his expression flickering between numerous emotions, his eyes so wide it seemed they might pop out of his head. Then, he raised a trembling hand to point at the star that represented Uzumaki Naruto. Voice quavering with disbelief, he shouted, "He's… he's swimming!"

Even more people were now looking over, and yet few seemed to understand what the cultivator was talking about. One of the curious disciples even asked, "What do you mean swimming? Who?"

"Uzumaki Naruto! That guy whose star just started rising. He… he's actually swimming in the sea of lava!" This time, the cultivator's shout was met with complete silence. His words seemed beyond comprehension, and in response, many people looked up at Uzumaki Naruto's star.

Some of them couldn't resist the temptation, and pulled out their own special command medallions to check the scene out for themselves. When they finally saw for themselves that Naruto really was swimming through the lava, they also began to cry out in shock.

"It's true! He's… he's really swimming!"

"Heavens! This is impossible! I've never seen anyone swim in the sea of lava before!"

"How could this be happening…? Is he a man or a beast?!"

Such cries led to even more people paying attention. The sudden turn of events left everyone completely shaken, and soon, more curious disciples began to pay the requisite price to use their command medallions to watch personally. When that happened, more excited reactions could be heard, and soon, the area outside the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials devolved into a complete commotion.

"Who exactly is this Uzumaki Naruto?!"

Amidst the exclamations of shock, many of the cultivators began sending messages to friends, and some of the generous ones even began to project the images from their command medallions for others to see. More people began to rush over to the area, causing the commotion to grow.

The same thing was happening back in the Hall of Devil Slayers in Sky Quarter. Master Cloud-Dao had already received word of what was happening. Having pulled out his own command medallion, it was with gaping jaw that he watched Naruto swim along through the lava.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Word was spreading rapidly, but Naruto had no way of knowing that he was the center of such attention. He was focusing on swimming forward, and also contemplating how wonderful it would feel to show off later in front of everyone…. Eventually, he climbed up onto the opposite bank. Jumping up and down a bit to get all the lava off him, he looked down at himself and then proudly threw on another set of clothing.

"It's been a long time since I took a bath," he said. "Feels great!" Of course, little did he know that large numbers of people in the sect were watching his every move….

That included all of the female disciples, many of whom were blushing, but none of whom looked away for even a moment….

Big Fatty Zhang was currently in the Hall of Spirit Enhancement when suddenly, cries of shock began to ring out. After asking curiously what was going on, he was shown an image which was none other than Naruto leaping out of the lava….

"Naruto…." he said,

his mouth gaping.

Back in the trial by fire, Naruto looked back at the vast sea behind him, then stuck his chin up and flicked his sleeve.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto reduced this trial to ashes." Sighing, he assumed the pose of a lonely hero, then began to stride away from the sea. As he did, his vision swam, and he left the red trial by fire. When he reappeared, he was in the next trial, the orange one!

Meanwhile, back outside, Uzumaki Naruto's words and the expression on his face only added fuel to the fire that was the commotion among the onlookers. Many strange expressions could be seen, although no one gave voice to exactly what they were thinking. "A dark horse! He's definitely a dark horse!"

"How far do you think this Naruto will get?"

As the discussions raged through the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, Naruto was just appearing in the orange trial by fire. Almost immediately, deafening rumbling sounds filled his ears, and around him, the world trembled.

In almost the same moment that he appeared within the orange trial by fire, a mountain-like boulder suddenly began to drop down toward him, moving at incredible speed.

Letting out a shriek, he dashed backward, just in time to see the boulder smash into the ground where he had been standing, causing everything to tremble and shake, and even sending crevices snaking out in all directions. Heart pounding, Naruto looked back up, and what he saw left him gasping.

The world was completely gray, including the sky and the land. However, that was not the shocking part. Unexpectedly, two enormous stone golems were also there in the world with him.

Both of them were tens of thousands of meters tall, and every move they made caused heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds to echo out. Their bodies were constructed of numerous rocks and boulders lumped together, making them look both like statues, and like puppets. Most terrifying of all was that they were fighting each other!

As they fought back and forth, they let out howls and roars that sounded like thunder. Numerous smaller rocks and stones fell off of them with each blow that landed, which would smash into the ground below, opening up huge craters. Even larger craters would open up when the two stone golems' feet landed on the ground as they took steps.

In addition to the quaking of the ground, the fighting giants caused powerful gusts of wind to sweep out in all directions. They also unleashed divine abilities that unleashed stone dragons and stone spikes which wreaked havoc everywhere.

Uzumaki Naruto's expression flickered as an intense sensation of crisis swept through him. Anxiously dodging the various dangerous elements, he looked around and noticed that there were other cultivators in the area.

Those were the other disciples participating in this trial by fire, and all of them were scurrying about like ants as they avoided the falling stones, blasts of wind, and divine abilities, desperately attempting to get past the area in which the two stone golems fought.

Unfortunately, that was by no means an easy task…. They were caught in the crossfire, like fish who suffered when a castle's walls caught on fire and crumbled into the moat. The two gigantic fighting stone golems put the cultivators down below in extreme danger.

Based on what Naruto could tell, those stone golems were beyond the level of the Nascent Soul stage, and were more like the Deva Realm boy who had come to take him from the River-Defying Sect. As he looked around in shock, he reviewed the information he had studied about the orange trial by fire.

The entire world around him was like a prison, with the two stone golems being prisoners who were forced to fight each other constantly as part of their punishment.

They were forbidden from directly killing any of the disciples of the

Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, but the side-effects of their combat could. Because of that fact, this particular trial by fire was much more difficult than the previous one.

"No wonder there are only a few tens of thousands of stars on the orange portion of the rainbow," Naruto thought, "as opposed to the innumerable amount on the red portion…. Furthermore, only a few thousand people are ever good enough to get past this trial by fire and onto the yellow level of the rainbow." With that, he began to cautiously make his way forward, relying on his incredible speed to stay out of danger. Although he wasn't putting on a poor performance, the people on the outside who were watching him had to use up merit points for every second that they continued to observe.

Therefore, many people weren't very pleased with what he was doing.

"What? He literally swam through the red trial by fire! Why is he going through the orange trial like that?"

"That's what I was thinking. I'm not going to waste any more merit points watching this guy. Forget it!"

Even as people grumbled on the outside, Naruto was picking up speed in the trial by fire. Suddenly, a blast of wind bore down on him, within which was half of a stone dragon.

Uzumaki Naruto's expression flickered, and when he realized that he didn't have time to dodge, his eyes flickered with cold light, and he suddenly spun his left leg out in a sweeping kick toward the dragon.

A boom filled the air as the stone dragon exploded, and the wind faded away. Gritting his teeth, Naruto shot forward, getting closer and closer to the exit the entire way. However, at a certain point, he stopped in place and looked up at the two enormous stone golems, and as they fought back and forth, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Before, the two stone golems hadn't stood out much to him, but now that he was closer, and had had a chance to look at them for a bit longer, all of a sudden, they seemed a bit familiar.

"If these two stone golems knelt down and stopped moving, then they would look exactly like… that statue I saw in the Ravine of Endless Mountains!" Gasping, he realized that the more he looked at the giants, the more they looked like that statue. Before long, he was absolutely convinced that they were the same type of creature as the giant in the Ravine of Endless Mountains!

"If you want to cultivate the Living Mountain Incantation, you have to meld with the mountain, and understand everything about it. You have to gain enlightenment of its spirit, and forget yourself. You have to become a human mountain. When you wake up… you will have completed a circle. The divine ability will be complete, and you will have succeeded in becoming… a living mountain!" Panting, he looked up at the two fighting stone golems, and suddenly everything became clear. All his previous areas of confusion were destroyed instantly.

Eyes flashing with excitement, he murmured, "There is no better place than here… to seek enlightenment… of the Living Mountain

Incantation!"

Chapter 423

Chapter 423

Chapter 423: No Stopping

Naruto was currently only about 3,000 meters away from the exit of the orange trial by fire. Considering the speed he was capable of, it would only take a bit of effort for him to proceed on to the yellow trial.

In fact, there were many other disciples in the area who, despite trying their very best, couldn't make it past the wind and divine abilities to reach the very spot he was standing in.

Many of them were shocked that he had made it through so quickly, but none of them were paying much attention to him. After all, they were more concerned with their own situation; the slightest lapse in concentration could leave them crushed to death in an instant.

Because of the intense danger, all of the other disciples were essentially risking their lives.

The contrast between all the other disciples, and Uzumaki Naruto, who was simply standing there watching the stone golems fight, was very obvious, and some of the cultivators on the outside who were watching him were taken aback.

"What's wrong with this Uzumaki Naruto? He didn't do anything very special in this section, but he did go really fast. Why doesn't he just go out through the exit?!"

"This guy is pretty incredible. He's already in the top 10,000, and once he gets to the yellow section of the rainbow, he'll instantly be in the top 5,000!"

"What's he doing just standing there?"

As the cultivators on the outside looked on, puzzled, Naruto was still trying to decide what to do. As he stood there, various key aspects to the Living Mountain Incantation were unlocked within his mind, and with each second that passed, it became clearer that this was an opportunity he could not afford to pass up on.

Unfortunately, his divine sense was restricted within the trial by fire, and could only spread out a few hundred meters. Only being able to observe the giants with his naked eyes was almost like looking at them through a veil.

"If I could get a bit closer, and observe them with divine sense, then I'm pretty sure I could come to understand these stone golems in a much more complete sense!" Eyes bloodshot, he struggled back and forth for a short time before gritting his teeth. "If worst comes to worst, I can just use the seven-colored jade pendant to teleport to safety!"

With that, he burst into motion, not toward the exit, but in the opposite direction!

Everyone looking on was immediately shocked, but before anyone even had a chance to cry out in shock, Naruto became a beam of light speeding across the ground of the orange trial by fire. All of the other cultivators within the trial by fire looked on with wide eyes.

"What is he doing…?"

At the same time, Naruto shot along, heading directly toward the stone golems, and then, maintaining his incredible speed, he began to fly up the legs of the nearest one.

From a distance, Naruto looked like a tiny bug compared to the enormous stone golem. And yet, he was extremely agile, and quickly scrambled and leapt his way up to the giant's back. Eventually, he reached something of an outcropping where, despite the swaying of the giant's movements, he was able to settle down cross-legged and send his divine sense out to observe the giant.

By this point, everyone was gasping in shock; both the cultivators in the trial by fire, and the audiences outside watching events play out on the projected screens.

"He… he jumped up onto the giant itself?"

"Is this Naruto crazy?!"

"Wait, is he going to start practicing cultivation? Heavens! What is he thinking? Most people try to get out of that place as quickly as possible. But he actually went backward, and n

ow is going so far as to practice cultivation. It's a trial by fire, not a place for cultivation!" Uzumaki Naruto's actions were causing a huge stir both inside and outside of the trial by fire.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yidong's star was not the subject of much attention anymore. Uzumaki Naruto's actions, despite the fact that he was only in the orange trial by fire, were leading to profound shock among the audience.

As time passed, word continued to spread through the cultivators of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and even more people began to pay attention to what was happening.

As for Song Que, he was in the middle of a session of meditation, when suddenly his bag of holding began to vibrate. Opening his eyes, he produced a jade slip from inside that had a short message from one of his friends. After scanning it, his eyes went wide, and he shot to his feet.

"Uzumaki Naruto?!" Without any hesitation, he rushed out of his immortal's cave and looked over at the orange section of the rainbow overhead. Upon finding one particularly bright star, he focused on it, and moments later, Uzumaki Naruto's name appeared in his head.

As the commotion in the outside world spread, Naruto was inside the trial by fire, doing his best to stay in one place on the back of the giant. Enduring the screaming winds, he sent his divine sense pouring out to observe the internal structure of the stone golem.

There was no more suitable place to study this stone golem than the position he had occupied!

"To meld with the mountain," he murmured, "you have to understand it first!" With that, he rose to his feet and began to climb higher up through the cracks and crevices on the back of the stone golem. The entire time, the stone golem was engaged in fierce fighting with its opponent, swaying back and forth amidst heaven-rending, earthcrushing rumbling sounds.

On a few occasions, Naruto was almost hurled off of the surface of the stone golem, especially whenever the other stone golem landed a blow on it, which caused everything around him to shake violently.

Once, the opposite stone giant attacked with a fist strike that summoned a divine ability, leaving Naruto coughing up blood. Despite being relatively hidden among the crevices on the giant's back, he still felt as if his inner organs were vibrating on the point of collapse.

And yet, determination filled his eyes. Tightening his grip on the rocky surface, he once again sent some divine sense out to understand more about the stone golem.

Everyone watching the scene was left gasping, and even the two stone giants had noticed him. However, other than strange gleams which appeared in their eyes, they did nothing, and simply continued to fight.

Meanwhile, in another location on Myriad Star Rainbow, outside of the Ravine of Endless Mountains, Stonemountain was sitting cross-legged on the same greenish-black boulder. Slowly, his eyes opened, and he looked in the direction of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials, his gaze coming to rest on Uzumaki Naruto's star on the orange portion of the rainbow. Gradually, a strange light rose up in the man's eyes, and a smile broke out on his face.

"Now that's clever," he murmured quietly.

Back inside the orange trial by fire, Naruto took a deep breath and climbed higher up the giant. By now, he had a fairly thorough understanding of the internal makeup of the enormous stone creature, except for its head. Of course, that was the most dangerous area of all.

But Naruto was currently engulfed within the Living Mountain Incantation, in much the same way that he often lost himself in concocting medicine. It was with a seeming complete lack of the fear of death that he flew higher, even as the two stone golem battered at each other endlessly.

Wings appeared behind him as he pushed on with greater speed, and he even relied on the Mountain Shaking Bash and the Undying Muscles in his left leg. Sonic booms echoed out, and a series of afterimages stretched out behind him as he shot upward to appear on top of the stone golem's head. Winds battered him, making it almost impossible to stand still, but he grabbed onto one of the stone hairs sticking out of the giant's head, and then sent his divine sense out with reckless abandon.

Apparently, the stone golem did not like its head being interfered with. Frowning, it jerked its head to the side, causing a violent wind to rise up within the trial by fire. Instantly, the other cultivators within the trial began to emit agonized shrieks, and quickly began to crush their jade pendants to teleport away.

Naruto finally couldn't hold on any longer, and was flung off of the giant's head. At the same time, the huge stone golem began to swing its mountain-like hand toward Uzumaki Naruto, almost the way a human would in an attempt to grab a fly out of the air.

As Naruto watched the huge hand filling his field of vision, his eyes suddenly flashed with enlightenment.

"Spirit-meld!" Naruto roared, his hands flashing in a doublehanded incantation gesture as he used the spirit-melding techniques described in the Living Mountain Incantation. He had attempted this same thing numerous time in the Ravine of Endless Mountains, and had failed each time. But this time, he suddenly felt something stirring in his mind, a connection of sorts with this enormous stone golem.

It was a unique, indescribable connection, almost as if he were melded with the emotions of the giant. He could feel how ancient it was, and could feel its madness and bitterness. He could also sense how much it hated this world, and especially the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

A tremor ran through Uzumaki Naruto, and the same thing happened to the stone golem. Its eyes shone with bright light as it looked at Uzumaki Naruto, and suddenly, instead of trying to grab Uzumaki Naruto, it swatted at him!

Instantly, Naruto was sent flying through the air, spinning head over heels toward the exit of the orange trial by fire!

Naruto barely had time to pant before he was within the teleportation range of the exit, and was sucked away toward the yellow trial by fire. In the moments before he faded away, he looked back to see both of the stone giants standing there staring at him.

Moments later, intense rumbling sounds once again echoed out. Apparently, their performance would not conclude for all eternity. They would not rest until they died!

Chapter 424

Chapter 424

Chapter 424: Trial Of Skill

Because the same wind that carried Naruto to the exit was like a heavenly tempest filling the entire trial by fire, everyone else who was still inside anxiously teleported out as soon as they could.

As they reappeared one by one outside of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trial, not a single trace of fury could be seen on their faces. Instead, they wore expressions of incredulity and shock.

"What technique does this Naruto cultivate? That stone golem actually took the initiative to send him to the exit!"

"How is that possible…?"

"In the red trial by fire, he swam through the sea of lava. In the orange one, the stone golem helped him. Where does this guy come from?!"

As the clamor rose up from the audience, Uzumaki Naruto's star climbed from the orange section of the rainbow into the yellow one, to join the several thousand other stars there!

That indicated that Naruto was now in the top 5,000!

Considering the momentous event which was playing out, more and more audience members were personally paying merit points to be able to observe Naruto as he made his way through the trials by fire.

Meanwhile, as soon as Naruto appeared within the yellow trial by fire, he sensed intense, frigid coldness somewhere nearby, and could also tell that the ground was trembling.

There was still some of bewilderment in his eyes; the events which had played out in the orange trial by fire were still a bit hard to reconcile. His heart even trembled with a trace of residual fear. Plus, there was the sensation he had experienced when the stone golem reached out to grab him in the end. All of it left him gasping in astonishment.

"There are way too many secrets in this Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Those stone golems were obviously some race of creatures, locked away within the trial by fire. How come these Starry Sky Dao Polarity

Superstar trials all seem like prisons!?" He was both trembling with fear and shaking in excitement. After all, he had taken a significant step with his cultivation of the Living Mountain Incantation, making progress far beyond anything he had before.

"All I need to do is get into the top 1,000 so I get the seven-colored mistysea grass. Then I can concoct that medicinal pill, and be strong enough to fully cultivate the Living Mountain Incantation!" With that, he looked around excitedly at the yellow trial by fire. Despite what he had experienced so far in the red and orange trials by fire, what he saw around him left him profoundly shaken, and deeply moved by the methods of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

The dimension he was in now was a single room. Standing in the middle of the room was a burly man with a red rope tied around his head. He held a pair of iron tongs in one hand, which he used to hold a red-hot sword in place below him!

Further down, below the red-hot sword, was a channel filled with black liquid that seemed cold beyond description, and emanated a frigid aura.

The burly man held an iron hammer in his other hand, which he used to hit the sword with all the force he could muster.

The resulting booms which rang out were completely deafening.

Clearly, this burly man was a blacksmith, and this room was an ironworks! Furthermore, Naruto had apparently been shrunk down to a size much smaller than before, and was now standing on the iron tongs!

Or perhaps Naruto hadn't been shrunk down, and this place was just enormous, with the blacksmith being a giant! Considering the proportions, if that were true, then the blacksmith was no smaller than the stone golems from the last trial.

Every time the iron hammer smashed down, the entire dimension shook! Uzumaki Naruto's face was completely as

hen, and his mind was spinning from the frightening nature of the scenario. Shivering, he looked up at the gigantic blacksmith and his huge hammer, then at the red-hot sword being held by the tongs, and then down at the channel below….

From his perspective, that body of water might as well have been a sea.

After a long moment of indecision, Naruto finally gritted his teeth and charged forward, leaping up onto the red-hot sword. Almost immediately, he could sense the heat rising up into his feet, so he rotated his cultivation base to fight back, and proceeded forward.

As he ran along pell-mell, he felt tears welling up in his eyes. This place was simply too hot, and he couldn't help but let out yelps of pain and even leap up into the air. He would have flown if he could have, but flight was restricted in this dimension.

Not only was there the heat to deal with, but there was also the enormous iron hammer. It was like an enormous falling star smashing onto the sword, and if he wasn't careful and got struck, Naruto knew that his powerful fleshly body would do nothing to protect him, and he would be crushed out of existence.

"I'm gonna get myself killed! Killed!

"Agghhh!" he screamed. "Lord Uzumaki is gonna die from this heat!" This heat vastly exceeded the heat from the sea of lava in the red trial by fire, and at the moment Naruto wasn't sure if there was anything special that he could do to pass the trial. However, he did remember that above the yellow portion of the rainbow was the green portion, with only about a thousand stars. That meant that in all of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, only about a thousand Core Formation cultivators had passed this trial.

Considering how enormously large the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was, a thousand was a very small group of people, and from that, it was possible to determine how difficult this trial by fire was!

But Naruto was incredibly fast, and also cultivated the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation. By focusing all of his frigid Chakra in his legs and feet, he was able to counteract the heat to some degree. Although it still hurt, he was able to keep speeding along. As of this point, he had made it about thirty percent across the sword.

"Have to go faster…." he thought, fearing that he was going too slow. He was like an ant bustling across a hot kettle, and when the people on the outside saw what he was doing, their eyes went wide.

They had all seen people challenge this trial, and many of them had attempted it themselves. All of them knew that it was very difficult, and that people usually challenged it only with the greatest caution. In fact, most people spent the majority of their time within the trial just observing the surroundings.

After all, this trial was not just about speed, but about the ability to withstand heat. Furthermore, it was necessary to take advantage of the timing of the fall of the hammer. When the hammer hit, the entire sword would shake, and also release some intense heat. By accelerating and decelerating in conjunction with the vibrations caused by the hammer, it was possible to time things perfectly and get across without being burned.

This type of test was especially designed to hone the divine sense of the cultivators who took it. With exceptional control, they could reduce the danger significantly.

Never before in history had anyone attempted the trial in the way Naruto was doing, by just recklessly running forward at top speed.

"This Uzumaki Naruto, he… he…."

"This guy is definitely a weirdo who doesn't like to do things the normal way…." Outside, people exchanged wry glances as Naruto sped along screaming as loudly as a rabbit with its tail on fire. That was especially true when some of the disciples heard the things Naruto was muttering under his breath.

"What kind of crappy trial by fire is this? What is it testing, how well people can get burned? Ah, I'm gonna die from the heat!

"How did everyone else pass the trial? I bet none of them matched up to me. They probably ran crying through the whole thing, or maybe even crawled!" Naruto himself was on the verge of tears as he flew along, accelerating the entire time. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, he was about seventy percent across….

"Hmmphhhhh! Naruto is the awesomest as usual!" Seeing that he was almost at the end, his spirits rose, and although he continued to shriek in pain every so often, he was still very pleased.

"Now that I think about it, this heat is actually pretty comfortable for my feet."

Everyone looked on in complete silence, stunned by Uzumaki Naruto's reckless method. From the look of it, he was just about to finish the third trial.

"There's no way he's going to pass the trial like this!" Quite a few people spoke words similar to this as they looked on in envy.

"Dammit. How come he's going through this third trial so fast!? Aren't you supposed to get through based on timing out the vibrations…?" More and more people began to comment in such a way, until Naruto was about ninety percent of the way across, and closing in on the end.

Naruto was feeling very pleased with himself, when, all of a sudden, he realized that something wasn't right.

"Why is the sword moving?" Even as he looked around in surprise, looks of delight could be seen on the faces of the people observing on the outside.

Apparently, the huge giant working with the sword was happy with the results. Lifting it up with the tongs, he began to stretch it down toward the black liquid in the channel below.

"Hahaha! He's quenching the iron!"

" Naruto sure got unlucky. I can't believe he's going to quench the iron!"

"This only happens one time out of ten. Naruto just got lucky enough to see it!" As everyone reveled in Uzumaki Naruto's misfortune, he was standing there on the red-hot sword, an agonized shriek escaping his lips.

He could see what was happening, but before he could react at all, the giant was plunging the sword, and Naruto along with it, right into the black ocean of frigid qi.

Naruto immediately began to scramble backward, but before he could get more than a few paces, and before he had time to pull out his seven-colored jade pendant, the black liquid was rushing up toward him. "No, I don't wanna–"

—

Chapter 425

Chapter 425

Chapter 425: Pissing Off The Guardian

When Big Fatty Zhang saw what was happening, he immediately got nervous, and cried out, "Naruto!"

Chen Manyao was also taken aback. As for Master God-Diviner, without even thinking about it, he began to perform an incantation gesture in the hopes of divining some information about Uzumaki Naruto's safety. Even Song Que was completely shocked.

As for everyone else, they were also stunned, but at the same time, somewhat happy. However, in the following instant, their expressions flickered wildly.

"Why… why isn't he teleporting out?"

"Don't tell me he ran out of time…."

"Maybe he didn't bring in a teleportation pendant?"

"No way! Did he really die, just like that?" The sudden turn of events left everyone flabbergasted, and unsure of how to react. Based on everything they knew, Naruto should have just teleported out as soon as he realized he was in danger.

However, after nobody appeared on the outside, they realized that he hadn't even pulled out a teleportation pendant, leading to various reactions.

"He didn't really die, did he…?"

"Well, that is everfrigid water. I've seen a few people fall into it before, and all of them died instantly…."

"This…." Nobody was really completely sure of what to say. The situation really seemed very strange.

However, that was when, all of a sudden, the eyes of one of the cultivators in the audience went so wide they almost popped out of his skull. Pointing up at the stars, he shouted, "S-swim… he… h-he's… he's swimming again!"

Quivering, everyone looked up at the climbing star, whereupon gasping sounds began to ring out.

Moments before, back in the yellow trial by fire, within the black sea-like channel of water, Uzumaki Naruto's head had just popped up into the open. Taking a deep breath, he shivered and looked around, his face looking a bit blue.

"Where the hell am I?" he thought, shivering on the verge of tears. "I feel like I'm about to freeze to death." By now, he was convinced that these trials by fire weren't fun at all. They either involved searing heat or freezing cold, and were all a torment.

"If it weren't for that medicinal plant, I definitely wouldn't come to this place. What kind of a crappy trial by fire is this?" At the moment, he was mostly out of options. Flight was restricted, and the sword was nowhere to be seen. Therefore, he decided that he might as well start swimming through the frigidly cold water….

"Don't tell me this trial by fire is a test of swimming skill?" Sighing and shivering, he proceeded to swim forward. As he did, the people watching on the outside devolved into complete chaos.

Of course, Naruto had no way of knowing that. As he swam along, the freezing cold caused his face to turn bluer and bluer. Even his joints started stiffening up. It was at that point that he realized the frigid Chakra in the area was actually boring into his pores and swirling into his HeavenDao Gold Core.

"Eee? Don't tell me the frigid Chakra here can actually help my cultivation?"

Without any hesitation, he unleashed his Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation, sending frigid Chakra swirling out from inside of him. In the blink of an eye, it had filled the entire area.

In response, the frigid Chakra in the water around him suddenly began to surge toward him. Cracking sounds could be heard and the sea began to freeze as the Chakra rushed into Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto's mind was spinning as his Heaven-Dao Gold Core rotated with maddening s

peed, constantly absorbing the frigid Chakra and building up greater reserves.

Delighted, Naruto drew even more deeply upon the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation, watching as the absorbed frigid Chakra caused his Heaven-Dao Gold Core to slowly increase in size. At the same time, his cultivation base began to advance!

Before, he had been in the mid Gold Core stage, but now, he was rapidly approaching the late Gold Core stage. Furthermore, he was also moving away from the Frigid Adept level, and nearing the Frigid Master level.

This sudden stroke of good fortune left Naruto feeling so ecstatic that he couldn't help but cry out at the top of his lungs.

"Good fortune! Woohoo! This trial by fire is awesome. I can't believe there's so much good fortune to be had! Hahaha!" Thrilled, he began to absorb the frigid Chakra at an even more rapid pace. Gradually, a whirlpool began to build up around him as nearly all of the frigid Chakra within the sea of water began to madly rush in his direction. Eventually, the water ceased being black, and started becoming increasingly transparent.

One could well imagine how, if all of the water in the sea began clear, it would no longer be a channel of frigidly cold liquid.

Everyone on the outside was watching with gaping jaws, completely struck numb by the god-like performance being put on by Uzumaki Naruto. "Were the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials made for this guy?"

"He swam through the red trial by fire, and sought enlightenment in the orange one. And now in the yellow trial he's practicing cultivation?!"

"What's going on!?"

A whole din of voices could be heard, most of them filled with jealousy.

Big Fatty Zhang and the other Dao protectors sighed in relief, except for Song Que, whose eyelids were twitching, and whose hands were clenched into fists as he thought back to the Fallen Sword World….

"Wherever Naruto goes, he razes the place to the ground!" he growled through gritted teeth.

Many people throughout the rainbow districts of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect were now watching Uzumaki Naruto, and could hear his exclamations of delight at how his cultivation base was rising. As of this moment, he was only about 3,000 meters away from the exit, but had already stopped swimming and was just floating there, reveling in the feeling of growing stronger.

"Hahaha! This place really is like a holy land for me!" Naruto watched excitedly as his cultivation base continued to climb. Just when he was thinking that breaking through to the late Gold Core stage in this place wasn't just a dream after all, he got the intense feeling that someone was watching him.

Looking up nervously, he saw that the gigantic blacksmith was staring straight down at him….

Naruto shivered as an intense sensation of deadly crisis spread through him. As quickly as possible, he stopped absorbing the frigid qi.

"Okay, I guess I'll leave now th–" Before he could offer any explanation, the blacksmith howled and began to swing his enormous hammer down toward Uzumaki Naruto.

Shrieking, Naruto began to swim like mad. As the hammer descended, the black liquid in the channel filled with waves from the force of the incoming blow.

Blood sprayed out of Uzumaki Naruto's mouth as the waves swept him about. Then, he sent frigid Chakra surging out of him, not for 3,000 meters, but instead for 9,000 meters, causing everything to turn to ice. Although flight was prohibited, Naruto could use his frigid Chakra clones to switch positions in something like a teleportation, which was exactly the method he employed to race toward the exit.

Almost as soon as he vanished, the huge hammer smashed down into the spot he had just occupied, shattering the layers of ice and sending a huge shockwave out in all directions. Blood sprayed out of Uzumaki Naruto's mouth, and yet, he still managed to accelerate.

He was now very close to the exit, but in the blink of an eye, the blacksmith had raised his hammer and was sending it back down. Shrieking, Naruto barreled through the exit of the yellow trial by fire and was teleported to the next level.

Upon seeing Naruto vanish, the huge blacksmith snorted coldly, then looked down at the black water, frowning. He had not swung his hammer with full force just now; if he had, Naruto would never have escaped. This blacksmith was different from the stone golems, and was actually on good terms with the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. As such, when this insect came along and began to steal his frigid liquid, all he could do was drive him away.

Everyone who saw what had just occurred was left gasping in shock. In fact, more gasps had come out of the mouths of these disciples than normally could be heard in a whole year. "He actually pissed off the guardian…."

"He's not challenging the trials by fire, he's actually there to steal stuff!" Angry exclamations and expressions of disbelief could be heard everywhere. Almost no one outside of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials was sure whether to laugh or cry.

"In any case, this Naruto is definitely a top Chosen. However he managed it, he's gotten through three trials, and is closing in on the top 1,000!"

"Yeah, well let's see how he does in the next challenge. It's incredibly difficult. If he gets past it, he'll be in the top 500!"

Although Zhao Yidong was already in the fourth challenge, nobody was even paying attention to him anymore. Everyone was looking closely at Uzumaki Naruto's star, and wondering how he would fare in the fourth level, the green trial by fire!

—

Chapter 426

Chapter 426

Chapter 426: A Naughty Bridge

"What a stingy blacksmith…." Naruto thought as he flew into the exit. Even as he was being teleported away, he already missed the frigid sea. In the short time he had spent in it, he already advanced to the very peak of the mid Gold Core stage.

Before coming to this place, he would never have even dared to hope that such good fortune would come his way.

"If only I'd had just a bit more time, I could have broken through!" After reluctantly leaving the third trial by fire, he found himself in the fourth.

This fourth level corresponded to the green portion of the rainbow, and as soon as he arrived, he tucked away his regret at having left the third trial by fire, and looked around vigilantly. A moment later, his vigilance turned into surprise.

Here, the sky was blue and dotted with fluffy white clouds. A gentle breeze touched his face, and everything seemed very peaceful and devoid of danger.

"Hm, something's not right," he thought. According to the information he had collected, the fourth trial by fire was related to thunder and lightning. Even just reaching this point got one very close to being in the top 1,000.

"That's my goal, the top 1,000…." He looked around hesitantly, but then thought about how simple the third trial by fire had been, and he puffed his chest out and sped into motion.

However, in the instant that he took a step forward, the previously sunny sky suddenly filled with countless black lightning bolts which shot down toward him.

Face falling, Naruto fell back as the lightning converged up ahead of him, ripping the air apart into the form of a rift that a person could pass through.

Beyond that rift, Naruto could see another dimension.

It was a world filled with lightning, similar to the black lightning from moments ago, but blindingly bright.

There was so much lightning dancing about that it was impossible to count the number of bolts. Furthermore, there was a shocking, gigantic bridge made of lightning itself that stretched out through the dimension!

It was impossible to say how the bridge had been built, but it seemed to have been formed by countless bolts of lightning merged together in shocking fashion.

Astonishingly, it was possible to see a person about halfway across the bridge, trudging forward with great difficulty. It was none other than Zhao Yidong!

With every step that he took, vast quantities of lightning would rain down to block his path and even try to knock him off of the bridge.

The sight of what was happening caused Naruto to gasp, but at the same time, he realized that this lightning bridge was going to be quite a headache.

"First was the fire, then the stone, then the ironworks. I can't believe there's actually a bridge of lightning here in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. What a bunch of showoffs." Feeling a bit annoyed, he decided that after getting back to the River-Defying Sect, he would have to sit down and talk with the patriarchs about getting some dimensions like this set up.

After standing there watching for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "I have to get into the top 1,000!"

Looking like he was staring death straight in the eye, he leaped through the rift and into the world of lightning.

Almost immediately, bolts of lightning snaked together to form a huge net which began to descend upon him.

It happened so quickly that, before he could try to take evasive action, the lightning slammed into him, provoking an agonized shriek. Down on the bridge, Zhao Yidong heard the sound, looked back, then shook his head scornfully.

"Another fool who overestimates himself," he said. With that, he gritted his teeth and

continued forward.

However, even as Zhao Yidong looked away, the lightning dissipated from around Uzumaki Naruto. His clothing had been ripped up, and his hair was standing on end. He was even shivering a bit. Having been struck by countless bolts of lightning left him feeling almost like he was vibrating, and yet, he was unharmed.

After a moment, he let out a long breath, and his eyes began to shine brightly. A pleased expression appeared on his face, and he couldn't help but let out a faint moan of pleasure.

"Feels great…." Just now, he had come to find that being struck by lightning caused the countless impurities that had built up over his years of consuming various medicinal pills to break down and seep out of his pores.

It was almost like being cleaned or purified, as if countless tiny little hands were massaging him all at the same time. The prickly sensation was quite pleasant, and was something he had never experienced in all his years of practicing cultivation.

When people on the outside noticed the expression on his face, they were struck mute. Although most of them had various speculations about how Naruto would handle this trial, none of them could have imagined that things would turn out this way.

"Is he… even human!?"

"How shockingly tough must his skin be to not only not feel pain when being struck by lightning, but to actually enjoy it?"

"There are limitations placed on the lightning in there, but each bolt is comparable to the mid Core Formation stage. And those which strike the bridge include some in the late Core Formation stage!"

As everyone gave voice to their shock outside, back in the lightning dimension, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes glittered as he realized how comfortable he felt. He could sense the spiritual power in his body thrumming, and there were even some Chakra passageways that he normally had difficulty finding that were now completely visible.

Because of the cleansing of the lightning, his cultivation base had also increased slightly. Excited, he began to move forward along the bridge, which caused countless bolts of lightning to converge and then slam into him. And yet, that only caused him to sigh in satisfaction yet again.

"This place is awesome!" he said, probing his skin a bit to confirm that he really wasn't injured. As far as he was concerned, this trial by fire really was too simplistic. With that, he began to edge back and forth at the bridge entrance, letting out moans of contentment as the lightning struck him. As for Zhao Yidong, he was so shocked his eyes were bulging.

"Did he really come to challenge this trial?" Gasping, he looked at Uzumaki

Naruto, and then himself, and then simply gritted his teeth and proceeded onward.

Eventually, the lightning bolts actually seemed to be a bit weak, so Naruto finally stepped onto the bridge.

Zhao Yidong looked back, his lips twisted into a cold smile….

"Done showing off? Who cares that you're attuned to lightning? The lightning outside of the bridge is completely different. Being able to deal with that lightning doesn't mean that when you get onto the bridge you'll be able to do the same thi–" However, before Zhao Yidong could finish speaking, an even louder moan escaped Uzumaki Naruto's lips.

More impurities were forced out of him, after which he took a deep breath and looked around at the bridge with shining eyes.

"This is one naughty bridge, alright. Very naughty!" With that, he took another step forward, and then shivered and moaned again. With each step, he moaned, the sound of which was distinctly audible to everyone watching on the outside. Soon, embarrassed expressions could be seen on their faces, and many exchanged awkward glances.

That was especially true of many of the female disciples, all of whom were blushing.

"Completely shameless!"

"This bridge is obviously supposed to test the limits of the fleshly body.

But once this guy shows up, everything changes!"

"Dammit! He's just showing off the toughness of his skin. How cocky!"

As of this moment, Big Fatty Zhang, Master God-Diviner, Chen Manyao and Song Que, despite how well they knew Uzumaki Naruto, were all smiling wryly. As for Master Cloud-Dao, he was there in the Hall of Devil Slayers, gaping in shock.

Naruto wasn't really sure what was going on. However, every time he challenged a trial, unique circumstances unfolded that ensured that his name was being spread throughout the sect in a very short time.

Not only was he thoroughly enjoying the pleasurable sensations, but he was delighted to have the accumulated impurities forced out of him, and realized that, once again, he was hovering on the verge of a breakthrough.

As he continued on happily, he soon reached Zhao Yidong, and when their eyes met, Zhao Yidong's expression couldn't have been grimmer.

The sensation of being passed up so casually left him clenching his fists in anger.

Waving his hand enthusiastically, Naruto said, "Greetings Elder Br–"

However, Zhao Yidong simply snorted coldly and looked away. Gritting his teeth, he took another step forward, trembling when the lightning slammed into him.

Naruto hurried forward and clasped Zhao Yidong's shoulder. "You're doing it the hard way! Look, I'll show you. You have to make some noise! That makes going forward a lot easier."

"Screw off!" Zhao Yidong yelled.

Naruto was instantly enraged, and shot an angry glare at Zhao Yidong. He had come with good intentions, only to be treated completely rudely! Giving his own cold snort, he walked forward, moaning the entire way to the end of the bridge. Then he turned and glared at Zhao Yidong one last time before jumping into the exit.

Zhao Yidong could only grit his teeth in anger at the ease with which Naruto had proceeded through the trial. He took a few more steps, and then realized that he had reached his limit, and it was time to give up. But then he thought back to what Naruto had said moments ago, and hesitated. Finally, he decided to give it a shot. Opening his mouth, he exhaled sharply out as he took another step forward….

Although he wasn't sure if it was an illusion or not, he actually felt less pressure than before. Furthermore, the breath which he had just exhaled contained some impure vital energy.

Shocked, he gritted his teeth and then decided to imitate Uzumaki Naruto's method. As he went forward, more lightning bolts hit him, but he was still able to go about 30 more meters before he couldn't hold on any longer, and had to teleport away.

In the moment before he left, though, his eyes shone with excitement as he realized that he now had the key to passing the bridge.

"Next time, I'll definitely succeed!"

Chapter 427

Chapter 427

Chapter 427: Bullies!

Outside the trial was complete silence, as all of the disciples looked on with wide eyes. Soon, their expressions began to transform into those of jealousy, envy, contemplation, awkwardness, and confusion.

The method Naruto had used was outrageous, and yet, it had enabled him to pass what they all viewed as the incredibly difficult green trial by fire. Their minds spun in astonishment for a long moment, after which a commotion broke out which could shake heaven and earth.

"Is that really the trick?"

"No way! You can really do it that way?!"

"I can't believe you can use such a perverted method to get past this trial! Plus, Zhao Yidong had obviously already reached his limit, but then he changed methods and got 30 meters farther!"

Conversations weren't just echoing out on Myriad Star Rainbow, but in all of the other rainbow districts as well. Everyone was astounded by the unheard-of method Naruto had used to get past the green trial, and many people were very excited.

There were some Chosen who had been stuck in the green trial level for some time, whose eyes were now shining brightly as they realized they might have a chance to get further than they had before. Even if they had to embarrass themselves a bit by moaning, that was something they could accept!

After all, there were more than a thousand stars in the green section of the rainbow, but if you could get past those onto the cyan rainbow, you would be in the top 500. The difference between the top 1,000 and the top 500 was incredible!

The former consisted of the Chosen of the Halls, the latter consisted of the Chosen of the Quarters!

"I get it now. The key to this trial isn't just speed and fleshly body strength. It can also be used to aid your cultivation!"

"Those weren't just ordinary moans. They were timed with his breathing. If you're careful, you can use the power of the lightning to cleanse impurities in your body. You can actually strengthen your fleshly body, and even strengthen your Chakra passageways!"

"You know, you might not even need to moan. You probably just have to regulate your breathing. It might not make sense at first, but once you figure out the secret, you can pass it easily!" Numerous Chosen who had long been stuck in the green trial by fire were suddenly enlivened, and rushed in the direction of the Myriad Star Rainbow teleportation portal. Within moments, quite a few people were flying toward the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials from all four of the rainbow districts.

Of course, it wasn't that no one in the sect knew the secret of the green trial by fire. However, the sect's demigod patriarch had issued orders that those who did know the trick were forbidden from explaining the truth to others.

Furthermore, all of the other hundreds of disciples who had passed that trial already were not as free and uninhibited as Naruto was….

It was only now, thanks to Uzumaki Naruto, that the secret of the green trial was now beginning to spread. It could well be imagined that soon, the number of people able to pass this trial would grow rapidly.

"That's definitely the case. I remember watching some of the other people pass this green trial, and all of them were always breathing in a very strange way!" Chosen were streaming forward to rechallenge the green trial by fire, one of them being a young man who laughed uproariously as he charged into the entrance.

Almost as soon as that young man entered, more Chosen appeared, dozens of them, each and every one ready to use Uzumaki Naruto's method to try to pass the trial!

Of course, Naruto was unaware of all of that. After he vanished from within the green trial,

he reappeared in the next challenge, the cyan trial by fire!

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials were broken up into colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet. There were seven different trials by fire, and as for the cyan trial, only about 500 people had been able to make it this far. That indicated that Naruto was already within the top 1,000!

"Well, that wasn't very hard," Naruto said, clearing his throat and swishing his sleeve.

Although he wasn't sure of his exact ranking, when he remembered how many stars were visible on the green portion of the rainbow, he stuck his chin up proudly and looked around at the dimension that contained the cyan trial. "Originally I planned to just get into the top 1,000. Who would have thought that I would accidentally get into the top 500? What a headache…."

Everything around him was gray, including the sky and the land. Silence prevailed, and there was something sinister in the air. Visible upon the ground were rows upon rows of gravestones that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

An ominous coldness pervaded the dimension, something that Uzumaki

Naruto almost immediately identified as an aura of death. It was strong, so strong that it caused the air to ripple and distort off in the distance.

As he looked around, fear built up in his heart. After all, the silence was terrifying.

"Why did the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect have to go and make a creepy place like this? The aura of death is way too strong. There are definitely ghosts around!" Naruto felt the hair standing up on the back of his neck, and swallowed hard as he looked around. Face slowly turning ashen, he thought back to the unclean thing the patriarchs had mentioned back in the River-Defying Sect, and then swallowed again. Without any further hesitation, he pulled out some paper talismans designed to ward off evil spirits, and began to slap them down onto himself.

"Damned Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. How am I supposed to pass this trial?" Even as his fear mounted, a sinister gaze suddenly locked down on him from afar. It almost felt like a blade coming to rest on the top of his head.

At the same time, a shrill cry filled the air that sounded like metal scraping against metal, as a vengeful soul rose up from one of the gravestones. It had a long, creepy tongue sticking out of its mouth, and its eyes seemed to burn with resentment as it stared at Uzumaki Naruto. Then, it began to speed toward him.

It moved with incredible quickness, and in the blink of an eye, was right in front of him. Naruto gasped, waving his right hand to unleash the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation. Instantly, frigid Chakra erupted from his finger, slamming into the vengeful soul, which let out a miserable shriek as it began to crumble to pieces. However, it wasn't destroyed; instead, it began to retreat.

"Eee? Not as strong as I expected." Excited, Naruto was about to start chasing it down when the fleeing soul's eyes suddenly gleamed with hatred, and even as it fell apart, it let out a heaven-shaking, earthshattering screech!

The screech filled the world, causing rumbling sounds to fill heaven and earth, and leaving the sky and earth shaking violently. Next, vengeful souls rose up from all of the gravestones in sight. Swarms of the things filled the air, their appearance ferocious and terrifying, and their presence causing the aura of death in the dimension to grow vastly stronger than before.

Naruto stopped in place, eyes widening, scalp tingling in fear.

"S-so… so many…." When he realized that all of the vengeful souls were glaring at him, he shrieked and began to back up. Even as he did, a noise like rumbling thunder filled the air as the gigantic image of a ghostly specter rose up off in the distance.

He appeared to be a shadowy soul wearing an emperor's crown, almost as if he were the monarch of all the vengeful souls. He was so large that he seemed capable of shouldering the heavens. Green flames flickered in his eyes, a cold smile covered his face, and he carried an enormous trident in one hand. His body looked to be composed of countless other vengeful souls, whose faces were twisted mixtures of laughter and tears.

"Now that you're here, don't leave…." The voice which spoke seemed to contain countless other voices, some of which were crying and some of which were laughing. The enormous soul emperor then waved the trident through the air to point toward Uzumaki Naruto, after which a shocking energy pulse shot out, which caused all of the other vengeful souls in the dimension to scream shrilly.

Then, rumbling sounds filled the air as the countless, densely-packed vengeful souls began to surge in Uzumaki Naruto's direction.

To make things worse, even more vengeful souls could be seen approaching from over the horizon. Naruto couldn't help but let out a shriek; this was the largest group of ghosts that he had ever seen in his life….

Terrified, he gritted his teeth and growled, "Sorry, but Lord Uzumaki doesn't feel like messing around with you!"

As far as Naruto was concerned, he had reached his goal of getting into the top 1,000. If he hadn't, things might be different, but considering the danger here, and the fact that he hadn't been interested in challenging the trials to begin with, he didn't hesitate at all to pull out his seven-colored jade pendant. Just when he was about to crush it, the enormous soul emperor off in the distance looked at him scornfully.

"Are you going to fight me or not?!" he said in his sinister, thunderous voice.

Uzumaki Naruto's expression flickered. To be directly challenged in this manner, and then just leave, would be a bit of a loss of face. "I…."

However, before he could say anything else, the vengeful souls in the area began to scream even more loudly than before, apparently at the behest of the soul emperor!

The sound felt like stabbing pain in Uzumaki Naruto's mind, causing him to gasp. If he had to fight the soul emperor alone, he might have done it, but considering how awe-inspiring and terrifying the sea of vengeful souls was, he couldn't help but come away with the feeling that these ghosts were bullying him.

"Wait for me, alright? I'm too tired at the moment. I'll go back and rest a bit, then return and show you a thing or two!" With that, he crushed the jade pendant and teleported away.

—

Chapter 428

Chapter 428

Chapter 428: Don't Try To Convince Me!

There was a whole crowd of people outside who were spending merit points to watch Naruto in the cyan trial by fire.

When they saw him screaming in the face of the endless sea of souls, strange expressions appeared on everyone's faces. This trial by fire was a bit different than the ones before it; it tested one's ability to endure the attacks of the vengeful souls, and for how long.

Everyone had assumed that, considering Uzumaki Naruto's extraordinary performances before, he would surely pass this trial in some amazing way. But then they saw him fleeing in fear, leading first to shock on their part, and then sighing.

"Well, it's no wonder Uzumaki Naruto's momentum faltered here. After all, this trial by fire is connected to the Wildlands, and is designed to prepare us disciples for what exists out there. Even Eldest Brother Zhao Tianjiao had trouble on his first run. It wasn't until later that he managed to take 1st place."

"Exactly. You know, according to a story I heard, all of the souls in the cyan trial by fire were actually brought here from the Wildlands…."

"The fact that Naruto got all the way into the top 500 on his first attempt at the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials is extraordinary. It looks to me like he's ranked at over 490! Now that he's in the top 500, he's not a Chosen of the Halls, he's a Chosen of the Quarters! That's a completely different status altogether!"

Even as the discussions raged, Naruto appeared in a white column of light at the main gate of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials by fire. As soon as he appeared, countless disciples looked over, gazes filled with envy and other mixed emotions. To see so many people looking at him with open jealousy caused Naruto first to blink a few times, and then begin to calm down from his frenzy of moments ago.

"They were all watching me?" he thought, starting to get excited. Looking up at the rankings, he could see his star in the green section, in the top 500.

"No wonder everyone was watching me…." he thought, clearing his throat at the thought of how awesome he was. Puffing his chest out a bit, he tried to look as much like a Chosen as possible.

"They were all watching me. I really am too outstanding. Ai. I should keep a lower profile. I am a hostage after all." Feeling incredibly wonderful at being the center of so much attention, and completely forgetting about his hectic final moments in the cyan trial by fire, he stuck his chin up, swished his sleeve, and strutted away.

As he walked along, the eyes of the disciples who looked in his direction shone with respect. He could have simply flown along, but considering his new reputation as a Chosen in the top 500 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, he realized that he shouldn't be so arrogant. Instead, he decided to give as many fellow disciples as possible a chance to meet him and offer formal greetings up close.

"Yet again I think of the bigger picture," he thought proudly. Everyone was quick to make way for him, leaving Naruto feeling more pleased than ever. In fact, he even took the opportunity to wave to the nearby disciples.

"Hello everyone!" Naruto really felt like he was at the pinnacle of existence, with the only disappointing thing being that only a few hundred people were present.

"If only there were a few more people around," he thought. Sighing, he strolled away through the crowds. One of the members of that very crowd was a young woman who was currently watching Naruto walk off.

She wore a long green robe, and was the type of cold person that no one was willing to g

et close to. There was even a sinister, frigid aura around her that made people standing in the area feel uncomfortable and unsettled.

She had been watching Naruto closely the entire time, and when he had started acting proud moments ago, she had chuckled and placed her hand over her mouth. Right now, her eyes were glittering with a very strange light.

Looking up at the entrance to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials, she murmured, "They do seem pretty interesting."

That young woman was none other than Gongsun Wan'er!

She had parted ways with Naruto almost as soon as they had arrived in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. She had long since been promoted to Sky Quarter Rainbow, and was now a green-robed disciple. As of this moment, her eyes were sparkling with profound light; clearly, she was very interested in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars.

Naruto slowly made his way along Myriad Star Rainbow, clearing his throat to draw the attention of any groups of disciples he encountered. When he got back to Sky Quarter Rainbow, voices assailed him the moment he began to materialize in the teleportation portal.

"It's Uzumaki Naruto!"

"He ranks at over 490 in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. Uzumaki Naruto!"

After the effects of the teleportation faded away, he saw a large group of people gathered outside, their eyes shining with admiration and fervor.

The exclamations being uttered got Naruto even more excited than he had been. Right now, he felt more like a Chosen than he ever had. Smiling faintly, he walked out, waving to the crowd.

"Hello, all of you!

"Keep up the good work, everyone.

"This isn't my honor and glory, Fellow Daoists, its honor and glory for Sky Quarter!"

Every wave of his hand caused more oohs and ahs to be heard. However, what was somewhat confusing to the cultivators near the teleportation portal was that Naruto was simply standing there. Soon, strange expressions could be seen on their faces.

"Why isn't Naruto leaving?"

"There's something strange about his facial expression. Why does he seem so different from all the other Chosen I've seen…?" When Naruto saw their expressions, and realized what was happening, he waved his hand a final time and then left.

The entire way back to his immortal's cave, he walked very slowly, taking the time to smile and nod to everyone he encountered. Quite a few people had been paying attention to his run through the trials, but the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was a vast organization, and there were still plenty of people who hadn't heard about what happened. As for those people, they returned his smiles with blank stares.

Naruto wasn't too happy about that, and actually wished he had someone to go spread word about him. After all, considering how awesome and respectable he was, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to go praising himself.

"This won't work! Word spreads far too slowly in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. I need to think of a method to remedy this." After arriving back at his immortal's cave, he thought back to the matter of his personal glory, and how to get more people to learn of it.

"I brought Xu Baocai along, not just to get information, but to spread it. Leaving him down in Sky City is a big waste." With that thought in mind, he sent a message to Xu Baocai telling him to handle matters in the tavern and then get promoted as quickly as possible to come help.

Xu Baocai was thrilled at the prospect of his talents finally being used to the fullest extent possible. After thinking about the matter for a short while, he decided that he needed to convince Naruto of how important he was, and quickly composed a response.

"Junior patriarch, I have an idea. As you know, I'm very familiar with this sort of thing, and based on my understanding of the situation, I would bet that people are going to come offer formal greetings soon. Remember, when they show up, you have to pretend that you're not happy with your performance, and emphasize that you plan to go challenge the trials again. The more you do that, the more people will be convinced of your future potential. And don't forget, do not try to show off in front of the people who come to visit."

After receiving Xu Baocai's message, Naruto was convinced that it was great advice. Therefore, after a bit of thought, he opened the door of his immortal's cave and stood there to keep an eye out for any passersby or visitors.

"Ai, what a headache. Based on what Xu Baocai said, there will probably be a lot of people coming to offer formal greetings soon." Sighing, he pulled his magical mirror out of his bag of holding and looked himself over. Then he put it away and clasped his hands behind his back, putting a somber, thoughtful expression onto his face. He even seemed to be seeking enlightenment as he stared up into the sky.

Before long, two beams of light appeared, which were none other than Master God-Diviner and Big Fatty Zhang. In the short time which had passed recently, Big Fatty Zhang was already in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, and was surrounded by some faint, seemingly illusory mist that was quite shocking in appearance.

As for Master God-Diviner, he was in the early Core Formation stage, and was equally spectacular-looking. They had both been quite shaken by Uzumaki Naruto's performance, and as for his current appearance as he stood there outside of his immortal's cave, it was beyond ordinary. He seemed lofty to an extreme degree, especially the way the wind caused the hem of his garment to stir slowly, along with his long, black hair. Considering the profound look in his eye, he seemed to have the air of a transcendent being, someone who didn't even belong in the mortal world.

"Junior Patriarch…."

"Naruto…."

Before Big Fatty Zhang and Master God-Diviner could do anything other than call out a greeting, Naruto swished his sleeve, looking both determined and unhappy.

Glancing at them out of the corner of his eye, he said, "Don't try to convince me!"

Instantly, Big Fatty Zhang and Master God-Diviner's eyes went wide.

—

Chapter 429

Chapter 429

Chapter 429: Meld With The Mountain

"I hate that cyan trial by fire! I didn't know what I was doing, otherwise how could I, Uzumaki Naruto, have placed only in the 490s?

"I'm definitely going to get my star higher. I'm going to get past the cyan part of the rainbow and into the blue portion! Actually, I'm going to go all the way to the violet trial by fire! Just wait until next time and watch me do it!" The decisiveness in his voice could sever nails and chop iron, and his entire person seemed to radiate a valiant air.

Big Fatty Zhang and Master God-Diviner were immediately shaken, and stood there a bit awkwardly for a long moment.

"Don't be discouraged, Naruto," Big Fatty Zhang said finally. "I heard that when you pass the blue trial, you leave a statue behind that other people who take the challenge have to beat in a fight. Of course, that also means that you have to beat the statue left behind by the previous winner. But you shouldn't have any problem next time you challenge the trials. You'll definitely leave your own statue behind!"

"That's right, Junior Patriarch. The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is huge, so you getting into the top 500 is already a huge accomplishment. I'm sure that next time, you'll make even a bigger stir!"

As they persuaded him, his gaze softened a bit. However, as he looked down from the sky, the regret and defiance could still be seen in his expression.

Master God-Diviner and Big Fatty Zhang weren't quite sure what to make of the situation, so they offered some more encouragement. In the end, though, Naruto still didn't seem to be in a very good mood. Finally, they clasped hands and left.

As soon as they were gone, Uzumaki Naruto's expression relaxed, and he looked very proud of himself.

"Hahaha! My performance was spot on. Xu Baocai really earned his keep this time!" Thinking back to the expressions on the faces of Big Fatty Zhang and Master God-Diviner, his excitement rose. However, that was when another beam of light appeared, flying toward him, within which was none other than Chen Manyao.

As she approached, Naruto once again looked up, clasped his hands behind his back, and put a defiant expression on his face. The profound gleam once again filled his eyes, and before she could even say anything, he said, "Don't try to convince me! I hate that cyan trial by fire…."

And to Chen Manyao's astonishment, he went on to repeat exactly what he had said to Master God-Diviner and Big Fatty Zhang.

Chen Manyao was taken aback, and almost felt as if she didn't know this version of Naruto who was standing in front of her. "Naruto, you don't need to feel bad…."

Over the course of the following several days, whenever people came for a formal visit… they would see this version of Uzumaki Naruto, and hear the same words. As a result, the admiration and respect they felt for him continued to grow.

Three days later, Xu Baocai finished wrapping up matters in the Live Forever Tavern and was promoted to Sky Quarter Rainbow. The very first thing he did was go to Uzumaki Naruto's immortal's cave, where the two of them hunkered down for a long meeting. Afterward, Xu Baocai requested a sizeable sum of merit points for operating expenses and then made his way off, bursting with smugness and pride.

Xu Baocai really did have some unique methods for digging up information and spreading rumors, and in this situation, he was using his talents to the absolute limit. As he propagated stories about Naruto being a Chosen, several different tales about Naruto began to spread. Some of the stories praised him, and others belittled him, and there wer

e actually some aspects of each story that contradicted the others. However, that only led to more people talking about the subject.

Before long, Uzumaki Naruto's name was well known in all of Sky Quarter Rainbow. Of course, Naruto had his own role to play; he went out every day to places where disciples gathered, his hands clasped behind his back, looking defiant and lost in thought. Of course, the cultivators on Sky Quarter Rainbow weren't familiar with Uzumaki Naruto, and so from what they could tell, he looked like the picture of a proud Chosen, whose determination and confidence ran deep in his bones.

Because of that, many cultivators began to look forward in anticipation to the next time Naruto challenged the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials.

To be the center of such attention on a daily basis left Uzumaki Naruto's heart bursting with joy. Of course, he had long since gone to buy the seven-colored mistysea grass, which had been the entire reason he had challenged the trials to begin with.

After combining them with the ingredients he had already prepared, he went into secluded meditation for a few days and concocted a medicinal pill that could be used to forget the self.

The resulting pill glowed with seven-colored light that reflected in Uzumaki Naruto's proud eyes.

"This time I'm definitely going to gain enlightenment of the Living Mountain Incantation!" Spirits soaring, he thought back to the stone golems he had encountered in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trial, and felt more confident than ever about succeeding. Medicinal pill in hand, he flew out of his immortal's cave and headed to Myriad Star Rainbow, and the Ravine of Endless Mountains.

Outside of the ravine, he once again saw Stonemountain, sitting there on the boulder, looking very much like a monkey.

Yet again, Naruto was unable to determine the level of Stonemountain's cultivation base. Furthermore, there was something about his aura that seemed similar to that of the stone golems. After staring for a moment, he clasped hands and bowed. " Naruto offers greetings, Elder Brother Stonemountain."

Stonemountain's eyes opened, and he looked at Naruto for a moment before giving a rare smile and then a nod. Not saying a single word, he waved his hand.

Instantly, the ground trembled, and the familiar stone hand stretched out. Naruto leaped up onto it, whereupon his vision swam and he was teleported away. When things were clear again, he once again found himself in a strange world, with countless mountain peaks stretching out in all directions.

This time, his eyes shone with confidence as he retraced the path he had followed last time until he found the mountain that looked similar to the stone golems. Once he found it, he settled down cross-legged on the giant's head.

Then, he produced the medicinal pill he had just concocted, hesitated for a moment, and gritted his teeth.

"I acquired the Living Mountain Incantation back when I got all of the legacy seals from that legacy zone. If I don't cultivate it to completion, it would definitely be a big waste. I have to succeed this time!" Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the medicinal pill he had created to forget himself.

"To meld with the mountain," he murmured, "first forget yourself, then forget the mountain. When you wake up, you will be the mountain, and the mountain will be you…." Following the methods described in the Living Mountain Incantation, he began to seek enlightenment of the structure of the mountain, and then meld with it. He tried several dozen times, until it became something of a reflex to do it. Only then did he place the medicinal pill into his mouth and swallow.

Once the medicinal pill sank down into his belly, it melted, transforming into warm currents that filled his body, creating something of a stream leading to his head. Then rumbling sounds filled him, almost like thunder from the heavens. At the same time, his mind began to devolve into chaos, eventually becoming a complete blank.

Although his mind was a blank, he remained seated there just as before, trying to gain enlightenment of the structure of the mountain, and then meld with it.

Time passed. Three days later, Naruto was still sitting there motionless. He had forgotten about himself, and his mind was a complete blank. He had even forgotten about the golem-like mountain he was seated upon. His mind seemed to be completely devoid of thought.

Eventually, on the seventh day, some simple thoughts appeared in his mind. More days passed, and the thoughts seemed to slowly converge, transforming into the outline of a stone golem.

That outline looked very similar to the mountain beneath him, and also the stone golems in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials….

Another half a month passed, and Naruto still had not woken up. The image of the stone golem in his mind was growing more and more complete, and increasingly lifelike.

Meanwhile, out in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, something happened that rocked the entire sect; even the sect leader was shaken deeply.

Gongsun Wan'er… challenged the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials!

At first, few people paid much attention to her. However, as her star rose, people began to notice the unique methods she was using to pass the trials, and more people started to pay attention to her!

In the red trial by fire, she became a god of death within the sea of lava, slaughtering beasts the entire way and using their corpses to cross the sea. The other disciples in the trial by fire with her were completely shocked to see her make a bridge of corpses!

In the orange trial by fire in which the stone golems were fighting each other, all the other disciples cowered in fear, whereas she simply walked straight through. In the yellow trial by fire, she did the same thing by simply walking casually across the metal being forged. In the green trial by fire with the lightning, she actually absorbed much of the lightning through her mouth as she walked across the bridge.

Most shocking of all was that in the cyan trial, her mere appearance within the trial caused the vengeful souls to tremble and hide away. Only the soul emperor showed up to fight her, and in the end, they fought to a draw!

The entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was shocked by what had occurred.

After all, the soul emperor's power was equivalent to the early Nascent Soul stage!

Chapter 430

Chapter 430

Chapter 430: I Can Too!

As Gongsun Wan'er stepped from the cyan trial into the blue trial, Naruto slowly opened his eyes in the Ravine of Endless Mountains.

He had a blank expression, and just barely visible within each eye was the flickering image of a stone golem.

Only gradually did he begin to become aware of his surroundings. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, he took a deep breath, and was fully conscious. He felt like he had just woken up from a long sleep, with his thoughts being a bit sluggish.

"Did it work?" Rubbing his forehead, he slowly stood up and then checked his cultivation base. However, he still wasn't sure if he had succeeded; everything that had happened recently was a complete blank.

"This…." After a moment of hesitation, he used the techniques of the Living Mountain Incantation to perform an incantation gesture. When he did, a tremor ran through him, and his eyes widened as an explosively powerful force began to build up inside of him.

At almost the exact same instant, the images of two stone golems grew clear in his eyes. As for the power inside of him, it continued to build, and he suddenly felt as if his own body were restricting it and making it impossible to release. Without even thinking about it, he opened his mouth.

In that instant, a rumbling sound that resembled his voice exploded out in a roar. As it did, the illusory image of a gigantic stone golem appeared above him, roughly 30 meters tall!

As he roared, he leapt up into the air, his eyes shining with berserk light. The power inside of him had reached the point where he felt that he had to release it, so he clenched his hand into a fist and then unleashed a punch toward one of the other nearby mountains.

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as an enormous force slammed into the mountain peak, causing it to tremble violently and then explode into pieces. The sea of clouds in the area roiled violently, and from a distance, it almost looked like Naruto was at the center of a huge vortex.

The power that he had just unleashed was by no means weaker than that of the early Nascent Soul stage, and had been pure fleshly body power. Perhaps it was even correct to say that it was a magic pertaining to the fleshly body!

It was a secret magic just like his Throat Crushing Grasp, Mountain Shaking Bash, and Undying Hex!

After unleashing the fist strike, Naruto felt a tremor pass through him. Then, the illusory image of the stone golem faded away into obscurity. Uzumaki Naruto's face was a bit pale, and yet, his eyes were shining with disbelief and excitement.

"This is totally different from the Undying Live Forever Technique.

Although I won't be able to use it as many times in a row as the Throat

Crushing Grasp or the Mountain Shaking Bash, this Living Mountain Incantation is actually the most powerful technique I can unleash. It's way more domineering than the Throat Crushing Grasp!" After a quick check, he confirmed that using the fist strike seemed to converge all of the different types of power in his body, and that after using it, he was almost completely drained.

Even still, it was worth it to be able to unleash a strike that could shake heaven and earth!

"Hahaha! I finally succeeded. From now on, the Living Mountain Incantation will be one of my trump cards. Hmph! Naruto is now invincible to anyone under Core Formation!" Filled with excitement at how awesome he was now, he flew away in high spirits to leave the Ravine of Endless Mountains.

Upon emerging out into the open, he immediately turned to look at Stonemountain on the boulder, hoping to share his success. After all, despite not being able to assess Stonemountain's cultivation base, he could sense from his aur

a that he too cultivated the Living Mountain Incantation.

However, he quickly realized that Stonemountain was staring off in the direction of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials.

"Elder Brother Stonemountain," Naruto called out excitedly, "I succeeded!"

"Mhmm." Stonemountain had a very serious expression on his face as he continued to look in the direction of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials.

Surprised at the reaction, Naruto repeated himself. "Elder Brother

Stonemountain, I said that I just succeeded with the Living Mountain Incantation!"

Stonemountain didn't even look over at him, and in fact, seemed to be getting even more somber by the moment. "Oh. Congratulations."

The fact that he had just succeeded in fully cultivating a powerful trump card, but had no one to share his joy with, was a bit depressing.

However, he couldn't resist the urge to look over at the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials to see what Stonemountain found so interesting.

Almost immediately, he realized that on the blue portion of the rainbow, there was a star that happened to be glittering more brightly than the others, to an eye-catching level. Focusing on the star, he suddenly found that Gongsun Wan'er's name had popped into his mind.

"Huh?" he said, jaw dropping. He quickly took out a command medallion and spent some merit points to see what was happening inside the trial. To his shock, he saw Gongsun Wan'er in the blue trial, fighting some unknown young man!

His cultivation base was in the great circle of Core Formation, and he was wearing a cyan robe. His face was expressionless, and he was surrounded by countless swirling bolts of lightning. As he fought back and forth with Gongsun Wan'er, he unleashed divine abilities that were definitely beyond his own cultivation level.

Despite that, Gongsun Wan'er unexpectedly waved her finger, causing the young man to shake violently and then explode into pieces.

Naruto gasped, and as for all of the other cultivators in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect who were watching the scene, they were completely shaken. After all, the statue in the blue trial by fire was left behind by the most recent previous successful challenger.

In other words, the statue she had just defeated represented a consummate Chosen who occupied 8th place in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars!

Anyone who wanted to get into the blue section of the rainbow would have to fight the statue left behind by the previous victorious challenger. That was the only way to get into the violet portion of the rainbow. In the moment that Gongsun Wan'er attained victory, a statue of her formed right there in the blue trial by fire.

That indicated that anyone who came after her to try to get into the blue trial by fire would have to defeat the statue of Gongsun Wan'er in battle. A moment later, Gongsun Wan'er vanished, to appear within the violet trial by fire!

In that instant, the star which represented her on the outside rose from the blue section of the rainbow all the way to the violet section, becoming the ninth star therein!

Countless cries of shock and surprise filled the air. After all, for many years, the current generation of Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars had only seen eight stars in the violet section of the rainbow. But as of this moment, there were nine!

According to the sect rules, anyone who reached the violet portion of the rainbow would have any request they made of the sect fulfilled, as long as it wasn't too excessive!

Another thing happened when Gongsun Wan'er entered the violet trial.

No one could see her anymore. According to the rules of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials, it was permissible to observe the first six trials by fire, but as for the final trial, the violet one, only the people who entered the trial itself were allowed to know what happened inside.

Very few people were aware of what the violet trial by fire was like.

It only took a few moments for Gongsun Wan'er to appear back out in the open, and her name remained in the ninth spot. Immediately, rumors began to spread through the sect regarding what that indicated.

Even still, Gongsun Wan'er had risen to prominence by reaching 9th place. It was a spectacular accomplishment that shook the whole sect. Even more shocking, moments later, a Dharmic decree was sent out from the sect leader's portion of Myriad Star Rainbow.

"Gongsun Wan'er, your request is granted. Henceforth, you are no longer a hostage, but rather, a core disciple of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!"

Everyone was completely stunned by the announcement, and actually, it was the first time that most people even realized that Gongsun Wan'er had been a hostage. As for Uzumaki Naruto, his eyes were wide with shock. This was his first time realizing how amazing Gongsun Wan'er actually was. However, he also felt a bit irritated. Then he thought back to everything that had ever happened with Gongsun Wan'er, and suddenly, his vigilance rose.

"What's so amazing about that…?" he muttered as he left the Ravine of Endless Mountains. As he walked along, nobody paid much attention to him at all; they were all talking about Gongsun Wan'er.

More irritated than ever, he returned to Sky Quarter, and found that all of the cultivators there were also talking about Gongsun Wan'er. Depressed, he went back into his immortal's cave and sat down.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "I can do the same thing. I got all the way to the cyan trial last time. It's just that there were too many ghosts! I should figure out a way to suck all of the ghosts into one place and keep them from moving. Then I can just walk past them." Frowning, he began to think about the matter.

A few days later, he looked up, his eyes bloodshot, but his expression one of excitement.

Chapter 431

Chapter 431

Chapter 431: Master, Spare Me!

"They're just some little ghosts, right? It'll only take a bit of thinking for

Lord Uzumaki to figure out a way to transform them into nothing but ash!" Naruto spent several days wrestling with the problem. At first, he considered using evil-warding talismans, but considering the vast numbers of vengeful souls in the cyan trial by fire, he decided that such a method wouldn't be very reliable.

Besides, back when he had first faced all the vengeful souls back then, he had plastered a good amount of such talismans on him, and it hadn't done much good at all.

"Evil-warding talismans aren't going to work. In that case, I need to concoct a medicinal pill. Only then will I be confident enough to succeed…." At that point, his eyes glittered with anticipation.

After some thinking, he came up with an idea for a new pill formula that he was sure would work. It wouldn't require many medicinal plant ingredients, and would mostly serve as a vehicle with which to use the powers of gravity and repulsion that he had begun to study in the Spirit Stream Sect.

"I need to concoct a spirit medicine that will cause all of the vengeful souls to gather together in one spot…." He wanted to make something that, as soon as it appeared in the open, would cause all of the vengeful souls in the area to rush toward it at top speed. The mere idea of concocting a pill like that got him fidgeting in excitement.

Eyebrows dancing in anticipation, he began pacing back and forth in his immortal's cave, continuing to analyze his new pill formula. Finally, he slapped his thigh.

"This is definitely going to work. The glowing sphere I made with the powers of gravity and repulsion could rip clothes to shreds, and even form hallucination smoke. I can definitely use it to gather souls together!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto made his decision. He rushed out of his immortal's cave and went over to the Hall of Devil Slayers, where he got quite a large collection of medicinal plants, after which he returned and went into secluded meditation.

Three days later, rumbling sounds filled his immortal's cave. Uzumaki Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the white spirit medicine he had just concocted. Taking a deep breath, he drew upon the powers of gravity and repulsion and began to infuse them into the pill. Gravitation and repulsion were not easy to cultivate, but Naruto had spent dozens of years on his research, and as such, was able to manipulate them, albeit with some amount of difficulty.

It took several hours, but he managed to infuse the medicinal pill with the powers of gravity and repulsion, after which he excitedly pulled out his copper mirror.

"Imposter Nightcrypt, get out here!"

Imposter Nightcrypt's soul shivered. He didn't really have any desire to emerge from the copper mirror, and yet, didn't dare to refuse. Trying not to cry, he flew out into the open.

"Master, you–"

Before he could finish his sentence, Naruto shouted, "Take this!"

And then he crushed the medicinal pill.

A boom rang out, and Uzumaki Naruto's clothes were instantly shredded to pieces, leaving him buck naked. As for imposter Nightcrypt, he instantly screamed, and yet, after a moment, the scream faded into an exclamation of surprise.

"Huh? I'm not hurt! Hahaha! I'm fine!" Imposter Nightcrypt hadn't been affected at all. Excited, he looked over at Uzumaki Naruto, who was looking back at him with his bloodshot eyes twitching a bit. Imposter Nightcrypt shivered, and then slunk off to the side, convinced that Naruto was in a very dangerous mood. Panti

ng, Naruto looked down at the crushed remnants of the medicinal pill. Then he completely ignored imposter Nightcrypt, threw on another set of clothing, and began to concoct another pill.

Another three days passed….

"Take this!" Naruto shouted, crushing the medicinal pill.

A boom rang out, and this time, his clothes were completely unaffected. However, the force of the explosion slammed Naruto into the wall of the immortal's cave, causing cracks to spread out in all directions.

Only after a long moment passed did Naruto then fall down to the ground, leaving a human-shaped indentation in the wall. Face ashen, and yet also filled with determination, he gritted his teeth and started working again.

As for imposter Nightcrypt, when he saw what had just happened, he couldn't help but gasp.

"What… what kind of medicine is he concocting?"

Another four days passed, and another medicinal pill appeared in Uzumaki Naruto's hand. His eyes were so bloodshot that they were almost completely red as he backed up until he was leaning up against the wall.

Convinced that this time would be a success, he crushed the pill and shouted, "Alright, take this!"

This time, his clothing was again shredded to pieces, and instead of being pushed backward, he was pulled forward, body completely out of his own control as he slammed into the opposite wall. Popping sounds rang out, and cracks spread out in the wall. Meanwhile, imposter Nightcrypt looked at Uzumaki Naruto, shivering violently.

"He's… he's not concocting medicine, he's trying to kill himself!" Imposter Nightcrypt was shaking in fear and anxiety, not at the prospect of Naruto dying, but at the fact that Naruto had tested the first pill on him. He couldn't imagine what fate he would meet if Naruto succeeded in concocting whatever pill he was planning.

By this point, Naruto was furious. After struggling to get out of the wall, he once again began to concoct. A few more days went by, and he had a new version of his spirit medicine. This time, he crawled into one of the holes he had previously punched into the wall, in the hopes that such a position would keep him safe. With that, he gritted his teeth and prepared to crush the pill.

Unable to keep control of himself, Imposter Nightcrypt wailed, "Master, spare me!"

Naruto sighed and said, "Trust me, this time it's going to work!"

With that he crushed the pill. Instantly, a huge boom rang out as the powers of gravitation and repulsion erupted out. This time, the pill merely exploded, and Uzumaki Naruto, despite being hidden in the wall, was still hit by the blast. The entire immortal's cave even rocked back and forth.

Naruto was wrenched out of his position in the wall and slammed into the ground, where he lay for a long moment before struggling back into a sitting position. Then, he yet again began to concoct medicine, seemingly as if his life depended on it.

Imposter Nightcrypt was trembling on the verge of collapse, and couldn't stop wondering what his future held. It was a true torment; every time he saw the tragic results when Naruto crushed one of his pills, his terror mounted.

A few more days passed, and Naruto started to get ready to perform another test. Wailing, imposter Nightcrypt said, "Master, spare me, please!"

He truly wished to be spared. He felt like a prisoner on death row, whose head had been placed on the chopping block, only to have the axe veer to the side and miss its mark over and over again. It was a truly agonizing feeling.

"Trust me, this time it's going to work!" Howling, Naruto crushed the medicinal pill, causing another boom to echo out….

Time passed. Two whole months. During that time, Uzumaki Naruto's immortal's cave continued to rock and sway on a regular basis. As for Naruto himself, were it not for the fact that he had a tremendously powerful fleshly body, he would have been severely injured on several occasions.

Finally, on a day when imposter Nightcrypt was wracked with despair, a boom rang out, and a powerful gravitational force erupted out. Imposter Nightcrypt was instantly grabbed up and, in almost the exact same instant, was sucked over to Uzumaki Naruto's palm.

"Hahaha! Success at last!" Naruto cried, standing there in the wreckage of his immortal's cave, his hair in complete disarray, but his expression one of pure excitement. Clearly, Imposter Nightcrypt hadn't been the only one to be in torment over the past two months.

As of this moment, he had created a medicinal pill that, when crushed, would unleash the powers of gravity and repulsion, and drag any nearby soul bodies to the location where the pill had been crushed.

"I'm going to call it the Soul Convergence Pill!" With that, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Although he was tired, he was almost mad with excitement, and had already decided that he would rest up a bit and then go challenge the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials again.

"This time I'm definitely going to show those measly ghosts a thing or two!" Feeling prouder of himself than ever, he concocted some more Soul Convergence Pills, then settled down cross-legged to do some breathing exercises.

Over the following month, Naruto went mad concocting Soul Convergence Pills. Whenever he got tired, he would do some breathing exercises, then start work again as soon as possible. As time went along, not only did he build up a shockingly large collection of pills, but because of the constant cycle of exhausting himself and then recovering, his cultivation base began to creep closer toward the late Gold Core stage!

One day when he finished a run of concocting, and had just settled down to do some breathing exercises, he suddenly looked out of his immortal's cave, an expression of surprise on his face.

Soon, three beams of light became visible, flying toward him. They were none other than Master God-Diviner, Chen Manyao, and Xu Baocai, and all of them looked very anxious.

Considering he was at the peak of the mid Gold Core stage, Naruto could tell even from a distance that they were upset, and that something was clearly going on.

Even before they reached the immortal's cave, they began to call out at the tops of their lungs.

"Junior Patriarch, Big Fatty Zhang's in trouble!"

"Naruto, hurry up and save Big Fatty Zhang!"

Upon hearing their words, Uzumaki Naruto's face fell. Swishing his sleeve, he slammed open the door of the immortal's cave and rushed out in a blast of wind.

Grabbing Master God-Diviner by the shoulders, he shouted, "What's wrong with Eldest Brother?"

Chapter 432

Chapter 432

Chapter 432: Wracked With Anxiety!

Master God-Diviner could see how anxious Naruto was, and knew how important Big Fatty Zhang was to him. Shivering, he replied, "Big Fatty Zhang is trying to reach Core Formation, and fell into a deadly crisis!"

Looking equally anxious, Xu Baocai offered further explanation. "Last month, Elder Brother Zhang could tell that he was on the verge of reaching Core Formation, and went into secluded meditation. Master God-Diviner and I stood as Dharma protectors outside of his immortal's cave. At first, everything seemed normal, and we assumed he would only need a couple of months to finish the process. But for some reason, on the third day, his aura began to weaken. As of now, there's only a faint bit of it left!"

"I went too," Chen Manyao said anxiously, "but his immortal's cave is sealed tight, and we can't get in. We didn't want to blow up the door either, in case that would cause further problems." Considering how long she had been part of the group, she considered herself part of them now, and was just as anxious as they were about Big Fatty Zhang being in danger.

After hearing their explanations, Naruto didn't hesitate for even a moment. Transforming into a beam of prismatic light, he shot through the air at high speed toward Big Fatty Zhang's immortal's cave.

Master God-Diviner, Xu Baocai and Chen Manyao all followed along as fast as they could. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Big Fatty Zhang's immortal's cave appeared up ahead. Uzumaki Naruto's heart was pounding with nervousness; Big Fatty Zhang was his Eldest Brother, and the two of them had a deep connection. After all, the two of them had begun their friendship on the very day Naruto joined the Spirit Stream Sect.

His mind was almost a complete blank as he landed in front of the immortal's cave, the door of which was sealed tightly. Naruto quickly sent out some divine sense, backed by the power of his mid Gold

Core stage cultivation base. Almost instantly, he could sense Big Fatty Zhang's aura, and how weak it was. Apparently, the flame of his life force was on the verge of being snuffed out.

It almost looked as if he had made repeated efforts to reach Core Formation, and had failed each time, causing much of his life force to waste away.

"How could this be happening?!" Naruto said. Eyes bloodshot, he clenched his hands into fists and then called upon the explosive power of his Undying Hex, as well as the frigid Chakra that came from being on the verge of the Frigid Master level. Almost instantly, the door of the immortal's cave was covered with spider-web like cracks, before exploding into bits.

Naruto charged inside, to find Big Fatty Zhang sitting there as ashen as death, looking like little more than a skeleton!

A faint mist surrounded him, some of which would occasionally be sucked into his body before flowing out again. As that happened, Big Fatty Zhang's aura slowly faded, to be replaced by an increasingly strong aura of death. From the look of it, he was hovering on the very brink of perishing.

"Eldest Brother…." Naruto murmured. It felt like his heart was being cut in half by the sharpest of blades. Without hesitation, he reached out and put his right hand on the top of Big Fatty Zhang's head, then poured life force into him, hoping to bolster the flickering flame of his life force.

It only took a moment for Naruto to realize that there was some sort of strange power inside of Big Fatty Zhang, something that was repelling the outside life force. That power felt like some sort of complete and utter determination. Furthermore, there in Big Fatty Zhang's dantian region was a

dense cloud of mist that looked almost like a sphere.

Every so often, the mist would converge together into the shape of a core, after which it would fall apart.

Apparently, the mist swirling around Big Fatty Zhang had been created by the same force.

"What's going on!?" Naruto said, stunned. Because of the force of expulsion inside of Big Fatty Zhang, any life force he sent in was almost completely dispelled. At best, he could slightly reduce the speed at which Big Fatty Zhang's life force was fading away. At the current rate, it would likely be only two hours or so before Big Fatty Zhang wasted away into death.

It was in that moment that Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao arrived. When they saw Big Fatty Zhang's appearance, they both gasped.

"How is this possible?" Master God-Diviner said, looking shocked. "Big Fatty Zhang was only in secluded meditation for a month! How could he have been reduced to this state? It looks like he made ten failed attempts at reaching Core Formation!"

Chen Manyao looked a bit more closely at the mist, and then suddenly, she said, "That mist…. Big Fatty Zhang is a spirit enhancer. Could it be… that he's trying to form a Will Core?!"

"Will Core?" Naruto looked up at Chen Manyao, his expression fierce, not because of Chen Manyao, but because he was hovering on the brink of madness because of Big Fatty Zhang.

Chen Manyao immediately revealed everything she knew about Will

Cores. "In ancient times, spirit enhancers often attempted to form Will Cores. However, it's fundamentally very dangerous, and nowadays, virtually no one even tries. Only someone completely and utterly confident in their spirit enhancement abilities could attempt it successfully. It's basically like creating something from nothing!

"If the spirit enhancer successfully forms the Will Core, he will experience incredible good fortune afterward. But if he fails, he will be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!"

Upon hearing the explanation, a tremor ran through Uzumaki Naruto, and he suddenly realized he had sensed a form of utter confidence within the mist inside Big Fatty Zhang. Suddenly, a look of regret appeared on Uzumaki Naruto's face.

"Will Core…." He couldn't help but think back to the Spirit Stream Sect, and how he had tricked Big Fatty Zhang into thinking he had succeeded, all to prevent his feelings from being hurt. From that moment on, Big Fatty Zhang's journey along the path of spirit enhancement had completely changed.

As of this moment, Naruto realized that Big Fatty Zhang's path of spirit enhancement was closely related to his confidence, and that his confidence had been significantly affected by Naruto himself.

"You guys keep feeding him as much life force as you can. I'm going to get a Nascent Soul Daoist master!" With one final glance at Big Fatty Zhang's dwindling aura, Naruto raced out of the immortal's cave and headed toward the Hall of Devil Slayers.

Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao immediately began to pour life force into Big Fatty Zhang, as did Xu Baocai, who had only just arrived.

Uzumaki Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he raced along, his mind empty except for a single thought: he could not allow Big Fatty Zhang to die!

A whistling sound echoed out in all directions on Sky Quarter Rainbow as he shot at top speed toward the Hall of Devil Slayers.

The Hall of Devil Slayers was some distance from Big Fatty Zhang's immortal's cave, and Naruto couldn't have been more anxious. Therefore, he used as much speed as possible, unleashing the Mountain Shaking Bash and also relying on the power of the Undying Tendons in his left leg.

Before long, he was nearing the Hall of Devil Slayers. However, it was at that point that, just up ahead, five cultivators were being blocked from passing through the area.

The people blocking their path were three disciples wearing long green robes, with cold expressions on their faces. When they saw Naruto hurrying in their direction, one of them realized who he was, and hesitated a moment before calling out,

"You there, get back! This whole 500-kilometer area is set aside for our

Young Lord's personal cultivation!"

"Yeah. Our Young Lord is Sima Feiru!" Apparently, they thought that uttering the name Sima Feiru would be a huge threat. After all, this was essentially the same thing they said to anyone who tried to pass through this area.

Quite a few people on Sky Quarter Rainbow were familiar with Sima Feiru. After all, he ranked 97 in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. As a member of the top 100, he was extremely famous!

At any other time, when he was in his usual mood, Naruto would never have bickered with these people about being able to pass through. But at the moment, his heart was on fire because of the situation with Big Fatty Zhang, and he had absolutely no patience. He couldn't have cared less if Sima Feiru had the area locked down. In fact, if an even more famous Chosen had done the same thing, he still wouldn't have taken the time to go around!

At this moment, every breath of time counted. Completely ignoring the three green-robed disciples, he continued onward at top speed.

The three disciples' faces flickered, and one of them said, "How dare–"

However, before he could finish speaking, Naruto roared, "Beat it!"

Instantly, a wild wind sprang up, and the three disciples' ears filled with deafening rumbling sounds as an incredible force smashed into them, forcing them off to the side as Naruto shot past them into Sima Feiru's sealed, 500-kilometer land.

Almost immediately, a powerful aura erupted from a deep cistern within that 500-kilometer area.

"Who dares to interrupt my cultivation!?" Along with the voice which echoed out, a magical technique was unleashed that caused a huge face to appear above the cistern. It was the face of a young man, twisted in rage.

This person was none other than Sima Feiru!

Chapter 433

Chapter 433

Chapter 433: Twelve Hours

In the moment that Sima Feiru's voice echoed out, a burst of late Core Formation cultivation base power erupted out from the cistern.

Simultaneously, ten figures shot up into the air from various directions, which were none other than Sima Feiru's followers. Cold smiles could be seen on all of their faces; clearly, they were confident that anyone who disturbed their Young Lord's cultivation would meet a grisly fate.

This was not the first time Sima Feiru had staked claim to a cultivation area, nor was it the first time someone had attempted to interfere with him when he did. However, nobody had ever been successful in an attempt to drive him away, and everyone always ended up backing down.

As for Uzumaki Naruto, in his anxiety and rage, his eyes flickered with cold light as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed down at the freezing cistern.

"Shut up!" he shouted, unleashing the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation through his right index finger. Instantly, frigid Chakra that bordered on the Frigid Master level shot down.

Even as Sima Feiru prepared to burst out of his cistern, the frigid Chakra poured down like a beam of light, slamming into the water. Instantly, cracking sounds rang out, and the entire cistern was frozen solid!

Not only was the cistern frozen, but the gigantic face was as well, and even Sima Feiru as he prepared to burst out into the open.

Sima Feiru's face fell; before he could even struggle, he was locked in place, and the terrifying frigid Chakra that entered him turned him into a statue of ice….

His mouth was stuck open, and his eyes were wide with complete and utter disbelief.

As for his followers in the area, they all gasped, and their eyes went wide.

"How… how is this possible?!"

"Is that Uzumaki Naruto? Heavens! He only ranks in the 490s, doesn't he? I can't believe he sealed Sima Feiru with the single wave of a finger!"

Sima Feiru's followers were left with minds spinning as Naruto flew past them.

Considering his speed, it didn't take him long to reach the Hall of Devil

Slayers, which he entered without the slightest hesitation. Outside, Naruto wasn't extremely famous, but inside the Hall of Devil Slayers, everyone treated him with the utmost respect. Because of how Feng Youde cared for him, Naruto could do virtually anything he wanted. Nobody dared to interfere with him at all, and within moments, he was in front of the main temple.

Upon entering the temple, he immediately caught sight of Feng Youde sitting at the far end. Hurrying over, he clasped hands and bowed deeply. " Naruto offers greetings, Daoist Master! Daoist Master, I beg of you to save a life!"

"What's wrong this time?" Feng Youde said, a bit begrudgingly.

Naruto quickly explained the situation with Big Fatty Zhang, and continued to beg for Feng Youde's help, bowing over and over again at the waist as he did so.

Feng Youde's expression soon turned serious. He had never seen Naruto acting so earnestly. After hearing the situation, he thought for a moment, and then frowned.

"A Will Core, huh? Very well, I'll go take a look." With that, he rose to his feet. Even as Naruto continued to bow and scrape, Feng Youde flicked his sleeve, taking Naruto away with him in a teleportation.

When they reappeared, they were about 500 kilometers away, whereupon they teleported again. That put them outside of Big Fatty Zhang's immortal's cave. To see a teleportation magic like that with his own eyes left Naruto shaken, and at the same time, a bit envious. Feng Youde led the way into Big Fatty Zhangs immortal's cave, where Master God-Diviner, Chen Manyao, and Xu Baocai were waiting. When they saw that Naruto had brought Feng Youde with him, they quickly bowed and backed away.

Feng Youde cared about Uzumaki Naruto, but not the others, so he paid them absolutely no attention. Walking over to Big Fatty Zhang, he put his hand onto his forehead and sent some divine sense into him. After inspecting him for a moment, his expression turned even more grave than before.

When Naruto saw that, his heart began to pound, and his face drained of blood.

"It really is a Will Core…." Feng Youde said, withdrawing his hand and frowning. Sighing, he looked over at Uzumaki Naruto. "Half a month ago, I might have been able to help. But at this point, he's a candle flickering in the wind, only a step away from death. I simply don't have the power to save him."

Naruto felt like he had been hit with a sledgehammer. His heart was pounding, and his face was pale white as he staggered backward a few paces. Grief filled him, pushing him to the point where he felt like he was going to collapse.

Almost immediately, he began to think back to all his memories of Big Fatty Zhang.

"Isn't there some other way?" he said, looking over at the corpse-like Big Fatty Zhang.

"Who is he to you?" Feng Youde asked, a profound light gleaming in his eyes.

"He's my Eldest Brother!" Naruto replied. From the look in his eyes, he would clearly pay any price to save Big Fatty Zhang. Feng Youde was shaken by the level of determination he saw.

Up to this point, he had only been watching out for Naruto because of the promise given him by the Heavenspan emissary. But now, after seeing the look in his eyes, he could sense a level of sentiment in Naruto that he hadn't seen for quite some time.

"Who would have thought that this kid would care so much about his friends…?" he murmured inwardly. Based on the level of his cultivation base, and his years of experience, he could tell that Naruto was not putting on a show.

After a moment of thought, he inspected Big Fatty Zhang more thoroughly. Enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, whereupon he said, "You might still have a chance to save your Eldest Brother. However, the help of a Nascent Soul cultivator won't do it. You would need a Deva Realm cultivator from the Senior generation. Either that, or the power of a deva. Only then could the chaos surrounding the Will Core be nullified, and the core fully formed!"

A tremor ran through Uzumaki Naruto, and his eyes began to shine with bright light. Without the slightest hesitation, he said, "The power of a deva? How do I get that?! I'll pay all of my merit points if I have to!"

Even Master God-Diviner, Chen Manyao, and Xu Baocai could sense the unswerving determination in his voice.

Feng Youde shook his head. "The power of a deva can come only when an almighty deva gathers some of his or her aura into a talisman, transforming it into a disposable magical item. Usually, devas will give such talismans to their apprentices as a form of protection.

"Such items take years to craft, and are astronomically valuable. They're not the type of thing you can purchase with merit points."

Master God-Diviner sucked in a breath and exchanged a glance with Xu Baocai. Based on what they had just heard, it didn't seem like ordinary disciples would ever be able to get that type of item, something which was normally reserved for the apprentices of devas.

Naruto turned even more ashen than before, and yet, he now had hope.

"If you want to get the power of a deva," Feng Youde continued, "you would have to take a deva as your Master. Either that, or challenge the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials, and reach the violet section of the rainbow. At that point, you would receive a boon from the sect, and could request the power of a deva!"

"The violet section of the rainbow?" Xu Baocai said faintly. "Is that even possible…?"

Despite having only been in the rainbow district for a short time, Xu Baocai had learned a bit about the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, and he knew that reaching the violet portion of the rainbow was indescribably difficult.

The violet trial by fire was the final trial, and in the current generation of disciples, there had long since been only eight in that group. It was only recently that Gongsun Wan'er had become the ninth.

If someone else reached that level, there would be ten!

Xu Baocai wasn't the only one to be taken aback. Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao were also shocked. Although all of them had confidence in Uzumaki Naruto, when they heard that he needed to get the power of a deva by reaching the violet portion of the rainbow, their faces fell.

Naruto stood there quietly for a few breaths of time, then looked up. "How much time do I have?"

Feng Youde sighed. "You've made up your mind, then. Very well. I'll take your Eldest Brother back to the Hall of Devil Slayers to watch over him. Even still, you'll have no more than twelve hours!"

The look in Uzumaki Naruto's eyes turned as sharp as the edge of blade.

"Many thanks, Daoist Master. I'll leave this instant!"

Without even the slightest hint of hesitation, he turned, rushed out of the immortal's cave, and sped toward the teleportation portal!

—

Translator: Deathblade. (Follow me

on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest) Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme archives: Tocsin. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Transcendent Patrons:Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208. AWE Glossary. Xianxia-inspired T-shirts.

—

Hey everyone, this chapter is slightly short, coming in at around 1,600 words instead of the usual 2,000.

Someone complained in the last chapter, implying that I censored a comment because it said that 433 was a short chapter (at least I'm pretty sure that was the implication of the complaint. The comment was kind of sarcastic, so I'm not completely sure). First of all, 433 was not a "short chapter" by my standards, and let me explain. Normally, chapters are around 3,000 Chinese characters, but the English version can vary, coming in at around 2,000, give or take a few hundred words. I consider short chapters to be roughly 1,600 words or less, which tends to happen when the chapter is only 2,000 Chinese characters long. Usually those chapters come because Er Gen released an extra chapter or two as part of some event, or maybe he was busy or sick and couldn't do a full chapter. Another reason a chapter might be short could be because of me cutting out "filler content" during the editing process, which I do more often nowadays. Sometimes there are just a few too "rumbling sounds" and "expressions of shock" even for me.

In order to calculate the length of the chapter in English words, I look at the word count generated by the WordPress page. I do it that way to save time. I know it's not completely accurate because it includes some text which is not story content, but it provides a very simple standard by which to judge chapter length. Whenever a chapter is calculated by WordPress to be less than 1,700 words, I will leave a note saying that it's a short chapter. The only time I didn't do that during AWE was during that big stretch of chapters in which Er Gen had health problems and posted more short chapters than usual. I supposed I might have missed one here or there too when rushing to launch a chapter. Frankly, there is little benefit for me to do this other than to provide a service to you readers. Throughout the years, I often see people asking "are the chapters getting shorter?" and want to make it easy to determine whether they are (or not).

Another thing to point out is that, from what I can tell, the person who made the comment was complaining because their comment got flagged for moderation. Just to be clear, the reason it was flagged was not because of talking about the word count. It was because the commentor edited the comment. Whenever anyone edits a comment, it automatically gets flagged for moderation.

Chapter 434

Chapter 434

Chapter 434: Challenging The Trials Again!

"Twelve hours…." Naruto thought as he sped across Sky Quarter Rainbow. As of this moment, his veins of steel were pulsing, and he seemed ready to risk his life and fight to the death!

He couldn't just let Big Fatty Zhang die, nor any of his other friends. He knew that the cultivation world was a brutal place, and that he was relatively powerless to alter the course of major events, but he still couldn't give up. Back when war had been on the cusp of breaking out between the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, he hadn't given up. Back during the fight between the River-Defying Sect and the Sky River Court, he hadn't given up. Back during the fighting at the Mountain of Legacy Seals, he hadn't given up.

And neither would he give up now!

That was his way of walking the path of immortal cultivation. That was his decision. That was what was important to him!

Naruto drew upon all the power of his cultivation base to shoot at top speed toward the teleportation portal. Then, he sped through Myriad Star Rainbow toward the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials.

From the moment he busted open the door of Big Fatty Zhang's immortal's cave to the moment he reached the entrance of the trials, only two incense sticks' worth of time had passed. Currently, a few hundred cultivators were gathered there. Many of them spent a lot of time at the entrance, watching the performances of others in the hopes of improving their own chances of success.

There was quite a din of conversation in the area, but as soon as Uzumaki

Naruto appeared, he was noticed by some of the gathered cultivators. After all, his previous charge all the way to the 400s had been an unusual event that drew a lot of attention.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

"He's back! How long has it been?"

"I've heard of this guy. People said he was really irritated at his last performance, and that the next time he challenged the trials, he would definitely rise in the rankings!" Everyone began to look over at Uzumaki Naruto, which would normally cause him to slow down and relish the praise. But he wasn't in the mood for that now. His expression was grim, and he even radiated a murderous aura as he shot past the crowds and into the entrance, not pausing for a moment!

When challenging the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials, one had to start all over from the beginning. That was a standard rule that no one could change. Regardless of the fact that Uzumaki Naruto's star was high up on the cyan portion of the rainbow, he still had to start from the first trial.

His vision swam, and when things became clear again, a blast of heat hit his face. Without pause, he leapt off of the cliff and dropped down toward the sea of lava.

As soon as he touched the surface of the lava, his eyes glittered, and he unleashed all of the speed he was capable of. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he shot forward, causing huge waves to roll out on the sea of lava. He almost seemed to be running along a flat surface, which, combined with his murderous aura, caused all the other trial-takers in the area to gasp.

Meanwhile, some in the crowd outside were already spending merit points to watch Uzumaki Naruto's performance. Of those, most had expected him to do the same thing he had last time, and swim through the lava. Therefore, the scene playing out now cause their hearts to seize with shock, and almost immediately, people began to cry out in shock. That in turn caused more people to start watching him challenge the trials.

"He's doing something different from the first time. He's actually running on top of the lava!"

"Heavens! It was shocking enough when Gongsun Wan'er killed

her way across, but seeing Naruto run on the surface of the sea is equally astonishing!"

As everyone outside cried out in shock, Naruto proceeded forward with a grim expression on his face, not reducing his speed at all, and in fact, accelerating. He only used a bit more time than it takes half an incense stick to burn to cross the entire sea of lava, step onto the far shore, and enter the second trial!

In the second trial, the stone golems were still fighting fiercely. Boulders rained from the sky, and fierce winds swept about. However, Naruto didn't stop for even a moment!

None of the obstacles in the challenge seemed to affect him at all, and all of them actually crumbled before even touching him!

However, that almost didn't count for anything compared to the most shocking development of all. To the astonishment of the crowd, the two enormous stone golems actually stopped fighting when they noticed Uzumaki Naruto!

"Get me through this place!" Naruto said, calling upon the power of the Living Mountain Incantation. Although he didn't summon his own stone golem, the aura of the incantation itself was enough that the stone golems could sense it. To them, it felt very familiar, almost as if something or someone was communicating with them.

As soon as Naruto asked for help getting through the trial, it was to the utter astonishment of the crowds that one of the stone golems actually reached down toward Uzumaki Naruto, not to attack him, but to grab him and throw him through the air toward the exit.

Explosive rumblings sounds could be heard as Naruto was propelled by the full power of the stone golem, transforming into something like a shooting star that pierced through the air of the second trial and right into the teleportation portal leading to the third trial!

He had passed through the first and second trials in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn!

Everyone on the outside was going mad with astonishment.

"Heavens! This… this Uzumaki Naruto…."

"He was actually holding back last time!"

By now, the cultivators outside were starting to send messages to their friends, causing more and more cultivators to pay attention to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trial.

Meanwhile, Naruto was already in the third trial, the one that featured the enormous blacksmith and ironworks. Currently, the enormous sword that was the path to the exit was being beaten by the blacksmith with his hammer.

Just like before, Naruto didn't hesitate for a moment. Instead of trying to make his way across the sword, he dove right down into the frigid sea below!

This time, he didn't absorb any frigid qi, but instead, drew upon his own frigid Chakra to freeze everything in the area. Then, just like he had done with the sea of lava, he began speeding across the surface.

Something different happened in this trial, though. Almost as soon as

the huge blacksmith noticed Naruto in the frigid sea, his expression twisted with rage as he recalled what had occurred last time.

Roaring, he reached down with his huge hand to grab Uzumaki Naruto.

As the hand bore down, Uzumaki Naruto's murderous aura spiked, and instead of dodging, he drew upon his Undying Live Forever Technique, and especially the fleshly body power in the Undying Tendons of his left leg. Then, just before the hand grabbed him, he managed to kick off of it, causing incredible rumbling sounds to echo out. Blood sprayed out of his mouth from the force, but he managed to make use of it to accelerate, and fly at top speed toward the exit.

As for the hand, it stopped in place, the veins stretching out from the point of the kick's impact apparently having been sealed. The hand was temporarily locked in place, causing the blacksmith to roar in rage. Then he slowly clenched his hand into a fist, causing many of the veins to burst before he regained motion.

However, in that short period of time, Naruto disappeared into the exit. Again, he didn't even use the time it takes an incense stick to burn! As of this moment, he was in the fourth trial!

The green trial had the bridge of lightning. However, Naruto didn't appear to be fazed by the lightning at all, and instantly proceeded forward with incredible speed. Lightning slammed into him, but he didn't slow down at all. No matter how the lightning inundated him, his speed wasn't reduced, and in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn, he was at the end of the trial.

When he disappeared into the exit, the people in the audience looked on in stunned silence.

"He only used two incense sticks' worth of time to pass the first four trials. Heavens…."

"How much was he holding back last time? This speed is unbelievable!" "He's crushing the trials even more than Gongsun Wan'er. This is crazy!"

"He's heading into the cyan trial now. Last time, that was where he stopped…."

Everyone seemed to think that there was something strange going on with Uzumaki Naruto, but didn't put too much thought into it. They were all very curious to see how he fared in the cyan trial.

The cyan trial was a world of vengeful souls and endless gravestones. As soon as Naruto appeared, cyan smoke rose up, and countless terrifying souls appeared. Staring at Uzumaki Naruto, they let loose heavenshaking, earth-shattering howls.

—

Chapter 435

Chapter 435

Chapter 435: The Power Of The Soul Convergence Pill!

The sight of so many vengeful souls left Naruto shivering a bit. Ghosts filled him with indescribable fear, and yet, right now he had no other option available but to face them.

"Shut up!" he yelled with just as much rage as all the howling vengeful souls. Time was of the essence at the moment, and the only thing that occupied his thoughts at the moment was that he only had twelve hours to get to the violet trial by fire.

Big Fatty Zhang's life was on the line!

Even as Naruto yelled at the souls, they flew into the air toward him. As for Uzumaki Naruto, he didn't back down, nor did he slow his pace. Instead, he shot directly toward the vengeful souls.

Outside, the cultivators of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect looked on, their eyes glued to the scene playing out in front of them. All of them were incredibly intent on seeing how Naruto tackled the cyan trial.

"It looks like this Naruto is going to use some sort of divine ability or something…."

"This trial tests how long you can stand up to the bombardment of the vengeful souls, and how many you can take out. Anyone who wants to last any length of time has to be very careful about their spiritual power, and not waste a single bit. It requires a lot of control."

"Gongsun Wan'er pulled off something of a miracle. The vengeful souls didn't dare to actually fight her, although the effect didn't do anything to the soul emperor. Even still, something like that never happened before in history."

"I wonder how many souls this Naruto will take out…."

Even as the discussions played out in the audience, Naruto was inside the cyan trial, rocketing toward the incoming vengeful souls at top speed.

From a distance, it looked like a sea of souls, shaking heaven and earth as they screamed through the air.

However, in the moment before that sea crashed into Uzumaki Naruto, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill.

It was white, and didn't emit any medicinal aroma. In fact, it didn't seem to be extraordinary in any way. As for the audience, they were stunned, and couldn't imagine why Naruto would possibly pull out a medicinal pill at this critical moment.

But then, Naruto hurled the pill down toward the ground, simultaneously shouting, "Take this!"

The instant the pill hit the ground, it shattered, sending invisible ripples spreading out in all directions. At the same time, the faces of the incoming vengeful souls flickered as they suddenly changed directions and flew down toward the location of the shattered pill. Apparently, their soul bodies were completely beyond their own control!

Some sort of indescribably powerful gravitational force had appeared, which sucked in the vengeful souls, crushing them together. First it was ten, then a hundred, then a thousand, and then ten thousand!

Almost instantly, an opening appeared within the sea of souls, right in front of Uzumaki Naruto. At the same time, more than 10,000 souls were sucked down toward the ground, screaming the entire time. In the blink of an eye, a black, fist-sized sphere took shape!

Within that glowing sphere were more than 10,000 vengeful souls!

The audience members' minds were spinning, and they looked on with wide eyes as Naruto flew forward without pausing for a moment. As he did, he produced another of his Soul Convergence Pills.

Every time he threw out one of the pills, all of the souls in the area would be sucked into a black, glowing sphere. Gradually, the vengeful souls grew fewer and fewer as more and more black spheres appeared, each of them filled with numerous screaming souls, none of whom c

ould escape.

Eventually, Naruto saw the enormous soul emperor in the middle of the cyan trial by fire. Unleashing his cultivation base power, the soul emperor shot toward Naruto and howled, "Begone from this place!"

Power erupted from the soul emperor, causing the sky to dim, and yet, Naruto simply waved his right hand, throwing out dozens of Soul Convergence Pills at the same time.

"Take this!" he shouted. As the pills exploded, the howling soul emperor's face suddenly filled with disbelief and shock.

Without any warning, his body suddenly split up into dozens of parts, all of which were sucked away and sealed by the medicinal pills….

Naruto didn't even pay attention to the result. Instead, he continued to speed here and there, tossing out medicinal pills. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn… the cyan trial by fire which had caused problems for countless cultivators in the past… was devoid of even a single vengeful soul.

Naruto sped past countless gravestones toward the far end of the trial by fire, and then vanished into the exit.

The spectators outside were trembling in shock. They had had their speculations about what would happen, but never could any of them have imagined that Naruto would use a shocking method like this to pass the trial!

From ancient times until the present, no one had ever done anything like it. Everyone knew that the point of this trial was to exterminate as many vengeful souls as possible, and yet, as of this moment, the trial was completely empty….

"Th-this… this…."

"I thought Gongsun Wan'er's performance was spectacular. I never thought that this Uzumaki Naruto… would actually surpass her!"

"The vengeful souls didn't dare to attack Gongsun Wan'er, and she fought to a draw with the soul emperor. But Uzumaki Naruto… he actually absorbed the soul emperor…."

Soon, a deathly silence fell over the audience. Uzumaki Naruto's run through the trials was doing much the same as Gongsun Wan'er's. The entire sect was shaken as word spread, and more people began to turn their attention toward the trials.

Back on Sky Quarter Rainbow, in the main temple in the Hall of Devil Slayers, Big Fatty Zhang was sitting cross-legged just like he had been before. By this point, he was completely without consciousness, and the flame of his life force was almost gone. Were Feng Youde not there to bolster him, that flame would already have flickered out.

Outside of the temple, Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner were watching the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials, along with Chen Manyao. All of them were completely shaken by what Naruto was pulling off.

The other disciples in the sect didn't really know Uzumaki Naruto, but they did. Given his personality, they knew that he normally wouldn't take risks like this. Everything he was doing was for the sake of Big Fatty Zhang.

As the news about Naruto spread, shaking the sect, he appeared within the blue trial by fire. In total, he had used only a bit more than an hour to pass all five of the previous trials, and yet, that was not a reason for him to relax. He was now at the final challenge, after which he would be able to enter the violet stage.

In terms of ranking, he didn't care about that, and wasn't even thinking of it. However, he knew that this trial would be the most difficult.

After all, his opponent here would be… Gongsun Wan'er!

Or, more precisely, a statue of Gongsun Wan'er!

The dimension in which the blue trial took place wasn't large, only about 30,000 meters across. Beyond those borders, everything was a blur. Within the very center of the 30,000-meter area was a lone statue depicting a young woman. She was beautiful, but there was something strange about her; she pulsed with a frigid aura that caused everything around her to turn a light blue color.

At almost the exact same instant that Naruto appeared, the statue's eyes opened, revealing an intense coldness as they locked onto Uzumaki Naruto.

That gaze was like a pair of knives stabbing into Uzumaki Naruto's own eyes and piercing into his mind. A tremor ran through him, along with an intense sensation of deadly crisis.

He had fought once with Gongsun Wan'er, long ago. However, after returning from the Blood Stream Sect, he had always felt that there was something very strange about her, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what that was. Because of that, he had always avoided her.

At long last, in this blue trial by fire, he would be tangling with her once again. Although this was only a statue representing her, Naruto knew that it would attack him with the full power that Gongsun Wan'er had used when she challenged the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials.

Furthermore, he knew that unless Gongsun Wan'er had held back during her own fight, this statue would be just as powerful as she was in real life. Although it wouldn't be quite as intelligent as she was, because it wasn't a real life-form, it wouldn't sense any pain. In the end, the statue's strong points would cancel out its weak points, and vice versa.

As soon as Uzumaki Naruto's gaze locked with Gongsun Wan'er's, her body blurred, and four versions of herself appeared, almost like clones. Incantation gestures flashed, and they all waved their fingers in Uzumaki Naruto's direction.

Instantly, four streams of light shot toward him, each one a different color. As they streamed through the air, they intersected with each other, forming into an ice flower with four petals, each one a different color. Then, the flower began to rotate rapidly as it shot toward Uzumaki Naruto.

As it passed along, the ground beneath the spinning flower froze up, and the temperature dropped rapidly, until cracking sounds rang out in all directions….

On each of the four flower petals was a face that resembled Gongsun Wan'er, smiling in enigmatic and bizarre fashion. Naruto was even sure that he could hear sinister chuckling.

Despite the hair-raisingly terrifying smiles, Naruto knew that there was no time to ponder the situation. Drawing upon his Frigid School WillEvolving Incantation, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then shoved it out in front of him!

—

Chapter 436

Chapter 436

Chapter 436: Battling Gongsun Wan'er!

That simple gesture, backed by the Frigid School Will-Evolving

Incantation, as well as his Gold Core, caused frigid Chakra from the Frigid Adept level to surge out, distorting the air as it shot to meet the fourcolored ice flower.

When they made contact, a huge boom echoed out in all directions. Three of the flower's petals shattered into ash, but the final one only grew larger, transforming into an ice blade that sliced through Uzumaki Naruto's frigid Chakra and continued onward.

The shocking speed of the ice blade caused Uzumaki Naruto's expression to flicker. After making contact with the ice flower, his Frigid Adept power had been almost completely sucked away, and as the ice blade neared, the intense cold caused his blood to begin to freeze up. Thankfully, in addition to his Heaven-Dao Gold Core, he also had his Undying Heavenly King Core, which vibrated as it stimulated his fleshly body power.

As the ice blade neared, Naruto howled and clenched his right hand into a fist, which he punched out at the ice blade.

A huge boom could be heard as the ice blade shattered into bits. At the same time, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood and then looked down to see the flesh of his right hand shredded and bleeding. However, now was not the time to retreat. Instead, he blurred into motion, heading directly toward the statue of Gongsun Wan'er, unleashing more frigid Chakra and using his frigid shadows to perform a minor teleportation.

Shockingly, he appeared right in front of the expressionless Gongsun Wan'er, whereupon his left leg swept out in a kick, backed by the full fleshly body power of his Undying Tendons.

In the same moment that Naruto attacked, Gongsun Wan'er, seemingly ignoring him, performed an incantation gesture with her left hand and then pushed her finger down onto her forehead. As she did, a burst of frigid Chakra emerged that vastly surpassed that from before.

Everything around her instantly froze, and at the same time, an enormous ice hand materialized behind her, which shot toward Naruto as if to grab him!

Naruto had already sent his foot flying through the air with explosive power, so it smashed into the ice hand, destroying most of it. However, the hand still continued onward to slam into Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto was sent spinning backward, blood spraying from his mouth. And yet, his eyes shone with ferocious light as he completely ignored his own injuries and once again summoned a frigid shadow as he prepared to teleport to safety.

As he did, his expression flickered as he realized that Gongsun Wan'er's frigid Chakra had formed something like a sealing power, a barrier that obstructed his ability to change locations with his frigid shadows.

As for the mostly destroyed ice hand, it quickly repaired itself, and then began to grow larger. In the blink of an eye, it was fully 300 meters tall, and once again began to rumble through the air toward Uzumaki Naruto.

Up to this point, Naruto hadn't even been able to get close to Gongsun Wan'er, who currently stood behind the ice hand, staring at him coldly.

The ice hand closed in, growing larger the entire time, until it was more than 3,000 meters tall. Uzumaki Naruto's pupils constricted as he realized that he wasn't sure what to do at this point. For the entire time during this fight, he had been reacting, and had yet to take the initiative. If he couldn't turn things around, then he would surely meet defeat.

"So, you want to compete in terms of frigid qi…? Fine, let's do it!" Anxiety for the safety of Big Fatty Zhang was the most important thing right now, so Naruto knew that if he couldn't defeat this statue of Gongsun Wan'er, he wouldn't get into t

he violet trial. Therefore, he took a deep breath and then drew upon a vast amount of frigid Chakra from his Gold Core, all of which he converged upon his right hand, causing it to turn a deep blue color.

Then, he shoved his blue hand directly toward the ground!

"Frigid… mountain!" Rumbling sounds echoed out as the frigid Chakra exploded downward toward the ground, causing a mountain of ice to form, and freezing everything in the area.

Even as the ice hand closed in, the mountain of ice rose up hundreds of meters into the air. Then, the two forces met.

He was drawing upon so much frigid Chakra that his Chakra passageways were pulsing with pain, and yet, he didn't seem to notice. He was drawing upon virtually all of the frigid Chakra his Gold Core was capable of, completely regardless of the consequences. It almost seemed like an insane suicide attack!

The ice mountain continued to grow rapidly, until it was also 3,000 meters tall. That was when the ice hand reached it!

"Detonate!" Naruto shouted, his eyes bloodshot.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The ice hand shattered and the ice mountain exploded, sending a powerful shockwave out in all directions. Blood sprayed out of Uzumaki Naruto's mouth as he was sent tumbling backward, and for the first time… the statue of Gongsun Wan'er was harmed by Naruto seemingly insane attack.

Popping sounds emanated out as a tremor ran through her. Shockingly, Gongsun Wan'er's forehead split open, a crack that ran all the way down to her mouth, and was completely terrifying in appearance.

The battle had only just begun, but had already reached a completely shocking level. Everyone watching outside was glued to the action, especially because of the fact that Gongsun Wan'er had only recently become famous by breaking into the top 10. Furthermore, Uzumaki

Naruto's cultivation base was only in the mid Gold Core stage, putting him at a clear disadvantage. Everyone watching the fight was completely shocked.

"Mid Gold Core stage versus late Gold Core! This Uzumaki Naruto… has really been hiding his strength!"

"He has frigid qi, and so does Gongsun Wan'er. This battle is going to be determined by who has better control!"

"I never thought that this Uzumaki Naruto… would get so far!"

All of the top 100 Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars who heard about the matter were moved, and instantly stopped whatever type of cultivation they were currently practicing to watch.

Fights like this were not often seen, and in fact, even the superstars in the top 10 came out of their immortal's caves to observe.

In the battlefield that was the blue trial by fire, Naruto was gasping for breath as he stared at the statue of Gongsun Wan'er.

Gongsun Wan'er had used frigid Chakra when he fought her back in the Spirit Stream Sect, but her control of it in this battle was on a completely different level. She used it with a finesse that left Naruto completely shocked.

He wasn't sure what method she used to cultivate frigid qi, but however she did it, the results were astonishing, and seemed to surpass his own Frigid Adept powers. In addition to that, their cultivation bases were not on the same level. He was in the mid Gold Core stage, and despite how close he was to a breakthrough, he was not in the late stage.

As for Gongsun Wan'er, considering the fluctuations of her cultivation base, it was obvious… that she was in late Core Formation!

"It doesn't matter," he said, his eyes glittering with cold light. "I have to win this fight!" He had just used all of the frigid Chakra at his disposal in a near-suicidal attack, which had resulted in wounding his opponent. As of now, the situation was different than before, and this was the moment in which he needed to clinch a victory.

With that, he blurred into motion, using the fleshly body power of his left leg to shoot forward at incredible speed. As he did, he slapped his bag of holding, causing numerous flying swords to emerge, all of which had received multiple spirit enhancements. At the same time, a flash of black light could be seen, which was none other than his Renegade Dragon Horn!

The Renegade Dragon Horn formed the center of a sword formation that descended like rain toward the statue of Gongsun Wan'er. At the same time, Uzumaki Naruto's right hand shot out in a gripping motion that flashed with black light: the Throat Crushing Grasp!

However, even as the sword formation descend onto Gongsun Wan'er, the statue's eyes flashed and her right hand shot up, ripping into her own throat and then, in completely shocking fashion… dragging a spinelike bone sword out of her own body!

As the bone sword appeared out in the open, a sound like that of countless screaming souls filled the entire blue trial by fire. As for Uzumaki Naruto, he was instantly filled with a sense of profound and deadly danger.

Everyone on the outside devolved into cries of shock and astonishment.

At the same time, the statue of Gongsun Wan'er didn't hesitate for even an instant before slashing the bone sword viciously toward Uzumaki Naruto's incoming sword formation!

The air shattered around the bone sword, as though heaven and earth were about to be destroyed. Everything in the area turned black, with the starkly white bone of the sword shone so brightly that it became the only light in the dimension.

One by one, the flying swords began to shatter into pieces, until only the Renegade Dragon Horn was left. Even that couldn't last for very long before cracks spread out on its surface and it began to collapse. In the final moment, it was sent spinning off to the side as the bone sword slashed toward Naruto with shocking power!

"So, this is your trump card, huh?!" Naruto murmured, his pupils constricting. At the same time, he slapped his bag of holding, causing a black scale to fly out and block the path of the bone sword.

Simultaneously, he took a deep breath and then stretched both hands out wide before pushing them down toward the ground. Eyes shining with bizarre light, it was with the softest of voices that he said,

"Waterswamp!"

Chapter 437

Chapter 437

Chapter 437: The Kingdom Crushes The Statue

In the same moment that Naruto spoke, the 30,000-meter frozen area suddenly filled with piercing pulses of moisture, water vapor so thick that it made it difficult to see!

From a distance, that 30,000-meter area seemed to have been transformed into a frozen swamp!

Uzumaki Naruto's hair whipped around him as a burst of energy surged out from beneath his feet!

At the same time, a brutal and wild aura erupted out, along with a roar that seemed to echo from ancient times, something that left all onlookers' minds spinning.

ROAR!

It wasn't just the cultivators watching the fight who heard the sound; even cultivators in other areas could hear the echoing cry of some beast!

Disciples throughout the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect looked around with flickering expressions, and many of them even cried out in alarm.

"What was that!?"

"Did you guys hear that? What type of beast makes a sound like that?!"

"Heavens! Even though we're outside of the trial by fire, we can still hear it! What kind of divine ability does that?!"

Meanwhile, on Starry Quarter Rainbow, there was a bright red mountain that rose high into the sky. At the top of the mountain was a young woman with hair like fire, sitting there meditating. She was very beautiful, and seemed to be surrounded by shapeless, invisible flames that would instantly eradicate anyone who got too close to her.

Moments before, she had been completely focused on meditation, and hadn't been paying attention to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials. But as soon as the beast roar echoed out, she detected it, and her expression flickered as she looked over in the direction of Myriad Star Rainbow.

"And here I thought Gongsun Wan'er would be the only one to make it onto the violet portion of the rainbow before the soul-hunting expedition. Apparently, I was wrong."

That young woman occupied 3rd place among the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, Chen Yueshan!

She wasn't the only one who noticed what was happening. In a deep cistern on Polarity Quarter Rainbow was a bare-chested young man with thin lips and cold eyes. He seemed like the completely merciless type, and was currently fighting a fierce battle with a host of vengeful souls. Despite the fierce attacks of the souls, they were being efficiently exterminated by the young man.

As soon as the roar echoed out, he stopped in place and looked up, his eyes shining with mysterious light.

"It doesn't matter how many people get onto the violet portion of the rainbow. When the soul-hunting expedition begins, I'll kill anyone who gets in my way!"

This young man was one of the top superstars in the sect, who ranked even higher than Chen Yueshan. He occupied 2nd place, and was known by the Daoist name Heretic!

Considering that the roar was so powerful even people outside of the trial heard it, there was little need to mention how it affected the statue of Gongsun Wan'er. Her eyes began to shine brightly, and instead of backing up, she propelled the bone sword toward Naruto with even greater speed than before.

As it pierced through the air, it emitted ear-splitting whistling sounds!

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Naruto's murderous aura skyrocketed as he shoved his hands high into the air and shouted, "…. Kingdom!"

Ear-splitting rumbling sounds spread out as the entire 30,000-meter area turned into a huge, watery swamp. Then, an indescribably large spike rose up like a mountain out of the ground, filling the entire world. Beneath the enormous spike, it was possible to see black, scaled skin!

In addition, there were more spikes spreading out all over the creature below.

The 30,000-meter area was actually like a window, allowing only a glimpse at the shockingly large beast beneath!

As soon as the first huge spike appeared, it smashed into the statue of Gongsun Wan'er, causing indescribable rumbling sounds to echo out. Everyone watching the scene gasped, and as for those who ranked higher in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, they seemed to be the most shocked of all. That was especially true of Chen Yueshan and Heretic, both of whom looked on with widening eyes.

Deafening rumbling sounds filled the entire blue trial by fire, sounds which surpassed heavenly thunder. It was almost like two continents colliding, releasing a destructive shockwave that instantly shattered Gongsun Wan'er's bone sword into countless fragments.

At the same time, her statue dimmed and was covered with countless cracks, as though it might collapse at any moment as she sped backward in retreat. However, her bone sword was by no means ordinary in any way. Despite its physical form having been destroyed, its sword Chakra still existed, and it actually pierced all the way through the huge bone spike to Uzumaki Naruto.

This was the first time anyone had ever pierced his Waterswamp Kingdom, and the sword Chakra moved so quickly that he had no time to evade it.

When the sword Chakra hit him, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his entire body was wracked with pain. Whether it was his bones or his flesh, he felt like he was about to explode, and he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut.

Apparently, these two opponents were evenly matched, and had just seriously injured each other!

Everyone on the outside felt their hearts being battered by waves of shock. Not only were they completely shaken by Uzumaki Naruto's magical technique, but they were filled with fervor from being able to watch this most ultimate of Core Formation battles!

It was easy to imagine how, even if Naruto ended up losing in the end, he would still become quite the center of attention!

"Both of them are almost on the same level as Nascent Soul experts!"

"Gongsun Wan'er is already in the late Core Formation stage, but this

Naruto is only in mid Core Formation!"

"I asked around, and apparently Naruto is from the River-Defying Sect in the Middle Reaches, and so is Gongsun Wan'er! Heavens! I can't believe the River-Defying Sect is so incredible. Both of the hostages they sent are completely heaven-defying!"

As everyone discussed the events playing out, back inside the blue trial by fire, the cracked statue of Gongsun Wan'er looked up, her eyes shining with cold light. Then she reached up and placed her palm onto her forehead.

A pop could be heard as her forehead collapsed, and more cracks spread out over her body. However, by opening her forehead, she apparently drew on the truly frigid coldness of her life essence, which erupted out with utter madness.

As the frigid Chakra spread out, cracking sounds could be heard, and everything around the Gongsun Wan'er statue was frozen. Within the blink of an eye, she transformed into an enormous ice giant, dozens of meters tall.

If all that happened was that she became an ice giant, it might not have been a big deal. However, as she grew in size, a frigid Chakra began to swirl around her that seemed lethally cold, dropping the temperature in the 30,000-meter area so rapidly that, in the blink of an eye, everything was completely frozen!

The frigid Chakra was so powerful that even the air froze, and the land began to crack to pieces!

In fact, the only sound to be heard in the dimension were the popping sounds of everything freezing up!

Furthermore, Gongsun Wan'er was only continuing to grow larger!

"Frigid Extermination!" Everyone on the outside was so shaken that even the Nascent Soul experts were watching the fight, some of whom recognized where Gongsun Wan'er's frigid Chakra actually came from, leading to exclamations of astonishment.

As more and more of the Nascent Soul cultivators picked up on the clues, their expressions flickered with shock. Even the sect leader of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect emerged from his secluded meditation facilities to watch the fight.

If they had such reactions, there was little need to even consider how everyone else was reacting. Within the blue trial by fire, Uzumaki Naruto's face fell as he sensed the exterminating power of the frigid qi. He could tell that, within moments, he would be frozen solid, killed in body and soul!

"Dammit! How did Gongsun Wan'er get frigid Chakra like this!?" In the critical moment, Naruto looked around at everything rapidly freezing, and knew that he only had one option.

"Living Mountain Incantation!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the images of two stone golems appeared, one in each of his eyes. At the same time, a stone golem began to take shape around him!

After melding with the mountain, you become the mountain, and the mountain becomes you!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Naruto was no longer visible. Instead, what everyone saw was an enormous stone golem dozens of meters high!

Instantly, the stone golem emitted an aura that would cause any Core Formation cultivator to be stricken with shock. Even the Nascent Soul cultivators were left gasping. As that energy surged out, it slammed into the frigid qi, resulting in a deafening explosion.

Soon, cultivators on the outside recognized what it was that they were seeing, causing cries of astonishment to echo out. Even the Nascent Soul cultivators were shaken.

"The Living Mountain Incantation!"

Gongsun Wan'er's Frigid Extermination had been shocking enough, but then the Living Mountain Incantation was thrown into the mix, leaving everyone thoroughly flabbergasted.

"I can't believe someone actually succeeded in cultivating the Living

Mountain Incantation!"

"This Naruto is completely incredible!"

Even the sect leader had a very serious expression on his face.

Meanwhile, outside of the Ravine of Endless Mountains, Stonemountain sat there on the boulder, his eyes shining with a strange light. Apparently, his smile was one of excitement!

As of this moment, a huge ice giant was facing off against an enormous stone golem. The energy emanating off of the two caused the entire blue trial by fire to tremble violently.

"Die!" Naruto howled.

Chapter 438

Chapter 438

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AWE – Chapter 438

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Chapter 438: Cultivation Base Breakthrough!

As soon as Naruto shouted "die," a scene of violent destruction played out in front of the eyes of all onlookers. Naruto shot forward in a beam of blue light, drawing upon the Living Mountain Incantation and leaping forward with…

The Mountain Shaking Bash!

The strength of the stone golem bolstered Uzumaki Naruto's fleshly body, making it vastly more powerful than before, to a virtually indescribable degree. Furthermore, he moved so quickly that it almost seemed like a teleportation.

He pierced through the frigid qi, unleashing a series of sonic booms that crushed everything around him before appearing directly in front of Gongsun Wan'er!

The statue had already been seriously damaged, and of course, was only a statue, not the true Gongsun Wan'er. As such, it was completely incapable of dodging or evading the attack. Instead, her hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as she attempted to block the strike!

Uzumaki Naruto's eyes were bright red as he put everything on the line in this last-ditch effort. If he couldn't secure victory at this point, then not only would he lose his chance to advance to the violet trial, but he would also be unable to rescue Big Fatty Zhang!

That was not an outcome he could accept.

There was only one thought in his mind….

"I have to win!" Howling, he closed in, using the stone golem's body to launch a spinning kick with his left leg, which slammed d

irectly into the ice giant summoned by Gongsun Wan'er's statue.

The power of that kick was backed by the fleshly body power of the

Undying Live Forever Technique, as well as the Living Mountain Incantation and the Mountain Shaking Bash. Furthermore, it also contained his Undying Hex. It was… a devastatingly deadly attack!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the foot sailed through the air, causing the entire blue trial by fire to tremble. The statue of Gongsun Wan'er attempted to use both arms to block the incoming left foot, but as soon as it made contact, the statue's arms began to collapse. Uzumaki Naruto's foot smashed through them like a boulder crushing a drinking glass to land directly on the statue's chest!

Almost instantly, the statue's chest began to cave in, and then cracks spread out in all directions. However, the statue wasn't dead yet; all Naruto had managed to do so far was destroy an outer layer of ice shields. Although the statue was seriously damaged, it was still able to defend itself.

However, as the statue fell back, Naruto drew once again upon the power of the stone golem to launch into another Mountain Shaking Bash, fueling it further with the power of his left leg. This time, he sent the stone golem's hand shooting out, its thumb and forefinger glittering with black light.

It was none other than… the Throat Crushing Grasp!

Rumbling echoed out as the throat of the statue was crushed, and then… the entire statue began to fall apart….

The final move had come as fast as lightning, and was delivered with ruthless efficiency. In the blink of an eye, the ice giant was destroyed, and the statue shattered!

As that happened, a beam of teleportation light shot down, which was none other than the entrance to the violet trial!

Simultaneously, Uzumaki Naruto's Living Mountain Incantation faded away, and the stone golem vanished. Naruto was revealed in person, his face ashen as he floated down to the ground. Clearly, he was having trouble standing, and even coughed up three consecutive mouthfuls of blood. Despite his seeming weakness, though, his eyes shone with a gleam of determination that left everyone in the audience completely shaken.

"He… won?!"

"A mid Core Formation cultivator fought someone in the late Core

Formation stage, and actually won?!"

"Heavens! He just beat the statue of Gongsun Wan'er! Doesn't that mean… that he qualifies to enter the violet trial? He's going to become… the tenth superstar to be on the violet portion of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect rainbow!?"

Outside of the trials, everyone was devolving into a huge commotion. Nearly half of the entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was shaken to the core, even more so than when Gongsun Wan'er had recently challenged the trials.

An uproar was sweeping through the sect, and especially through Sky Quarter Rainbow, where Naruto came from. The hubbub there was far more intense than in other locations.

Back on that very rainbow, Song Que was standing outside of his immortal's cave, his hands clenched tightly into fists. It was difficult to read his expression, but his heart was filled with bitterness. He simply could not bring himself to admit that he didn't measure up to Uzumaki Naruto, but the endless succession of evidence had pushed him to the brink of collapse.

Xu Baocai, Master God-Diviner, and Chen Manyao were all shaken deeply. Although all of them knew that Naruto was no ordinary cultivator, never could they have imagined that he was this incredible.

Gongsun Wan'er was also on Sky Quarter Rainbow, sitting outside of her immortal's cave on a boulder, looking up toward the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials. She had just watched the entire fight play out between her statue and Uzumaki Naruto, and at the moment, a strange expression could be seen on her face. In fact, when her statue collapsed, she actually smiled.

"So, big bro is as awesome as ever!" She even clapped her hands softly, a mysterious light flickering in her eyes.

Outside of Sky Quarter Rainbow were Chen Yueshan and Heretic, both of whom were superstars and chosen from the top 3. They were completely shaken by the battle they had just witnessed. As for Chen Yueshan, her eyes shone with a mysterious light, whereas Heretic simply snorted coldly. Although he didn't say anything, the arrogant look in his eyes couldn't have been clearer.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect had been watching, and were moved by Uzumaki Naruto's actions. As of this moment, it was correct to say that within the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect… there wasn't a single person who didn't know Uzumaki Naruto!

However, even as everyone devolved into exclamations and discussion, someone suddenly cried out.

"No, wait… look at Uzumaki Naruto. He's… he's starting to practice cultivation!"

In response, more people looked over and saw what was happening.

"Frigid qi. Look at the frigid qi…."

Naruto really was practicing cultivation, although it wasn't intentional. After Gongsun Wan'er's statue was destroyed, frigid Chakra began to spread out from it and fill the blue trial by fire. And since it had nowhere else to go, it began to stream toward Uzumaki Naruto.

Whether Naruto wanted it or not, the frigid Chakra began to pour into his body, sweeping through his Chakra passageways and heading toward… his Heaven-Dao Gold Core!

It was strong frigid qi, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a vortex with Naruto at the center!

As it rushed into his Gold Core, it filled it to thirty percent capacity, then forty percent, fifty percent, sixty percent….

As more frigid Chakra rushed into him, he trembled at the sensation of his cultivation base rising. Before, he had been at the peak of mid Core Formation, but as of this moment, he was breaking through into late Core Formation!

It took only a short moment for the overall frigid Chakra in his Gold Core to reach sixty percent, and yet, it hadn't stopped!

His Gold Core was made from nine spiritual seas, sixty percent of which were now a world of intense coldness. And then… Naruto shivered, threw his head back and let loose a long cry as his frigid Chakra reached… seventy percent!

The Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation involved gathering frigid Chakra into the Gold Core, which meant that thirty percent was the peak of the early stage, and sixty percent was the peak of the mid stage.

Earlier, his overall level of frigid Chakra had reached roughly sixty percent, but now… having reached seventy percent, intense rumbling sounds exploded within him as his cultivation base released shocking power.

This was… the late Gold Core stage!

And things weren't over yet! More frigid Chakra poured into him, pushing his Gold Core frigid Chakra past seventy percent to eighty percent!

When the final bit of frigid Chakra was sucked in, his Gold Core frigid Chakra capacity had reached eighty-five percent, and his cultivation base was still climbing. As of now, he was very close to reaching one hundred percent capacity and being at… the great circle of the Gold Core stage!

As his cultivation base rose and his energy surged, the blue trial by fire shook violently, and on the outside, the star that represented Naruto shone with blinding light!

Everyone outside was completely shaken!

"This Uzumaki Naruto, he… he actually just had a breakthrough!"

"Late Core Formation! He just reached late Core Formation!"

"He could fight late Core Formation when he was only in mid Core Formation. Now that he's in the late stage, doesn't that mean he could fight someone in the great circle!?"

"What good fortune…. It's all because he cultivates a technique that uses frigid qi. By absorbing the excess frigid Chakra from Gongsun Wan'er's statue, he was able to break through!"

—

This is a bit of a short chapter, coming in at around the 1,600 mark.

—

Dear readers: Those of you who have followed my translations for a long time have probably noticed that I've always struggled with capitalization. Early on, I capitalized almost everything, from Spirit Stones to Cultivators. Over the years I changed a lot of the capitalization conventions, and now that I'm heavily involved with editing ISSTH, I'm finally making some changes that I should have made years ago, changes that also affect AWE. Some have already occurred, such as changing Elder to elder or Patriarch to patriarch. Well, more terms are now on the chopping block. I've already changed Outer Sect to outer sect and Inner Sect to inner sect, and now one of my most early translation choices is getting the axe. Henceforth, we will not have Chosen, but rather, chosen.

Long story short, words which are common nouns should be lower-case, and chosen is one of those words. It's not a unique title or name, and as such, will not be capitalized. The only time things like chosen or patriarch will be capitalized is when they are used in conjunction with a name, or as a replacement for a name. So Patriarch Frigidsect is one of the patriarchs, and when Naruto addresses him without using his name, he would say, "Greetings, Patriarch!"

At some point, I may go back to the live AWE chapters to change them, or I might just wait until the translation is finished and we go into editing mode on AWE.

—

Chapter 439

Chapter 439

Chapter 439: I Only Have A Wish

Although it might not have seemed possible, the commotion outside grew even more chaotic. This second time in which Naruto challenged the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials had involved him pulling off one miracle after another!

First was the incredible speed with which he made it through the early trials, then was his victory over a late Core Formation expert while he himself was only in the mid stage, and finally was his cultivation base breakthrough!

Because of all those things, everyone outside was left reeling. After all, of the group that made up the nine cultivators who were already in the violet portion of the rainbow, eight were in the great circle, with Gongsun Wan'er being the only one in late Core Formation. And yet now, someone else had joined, someone who had entered the group in the mid stage and then immediately risen to the late stage!

As everyone discussed the matter, Naruto shivered, and the frigid Chakra inside of him settled down, placing him firmly in late Core Formation. However, there was no time for him to probe his cultivation base; instead, he shot toward the light of teleportation. Even as he did, numerous motes of light in the area swirled together to form another statue.

It was a statue of Uzumaki Naruto!

When he stopped for a moment to look back at it, he saw that it resembled him perfectly, and its aura was very similar to his. However, the statue's expression was cold and blank as it stood there, completely unmoving.

Naruto took a deep breath. He knew that from now on, anyone who tried to get into the violet portion of the rainbow would have to fight his statue as the last part of their trial!

After a moment, he looked away, headed into the teleportation light, and then vanished!

Of course, the discussion among the audience didn't die down at all. The events which had unfolded on this day were things rarely ever seen, especially considering that there were now ten extremely famous cultivators in the sect. It was a momentous, joyous occasion.

Because Naruto had made his breakthrough after the battle, that meant that anyone who tried to challenge that trial in the future would fight the mid Core Formation version of him, not the late stage Naruto from after the victory.

That statue represented a certain status in the sect. As long as it remained undefeated, no one would be able to enter the violet trial, and as of this moment, more people were staring at the statue than there had been people watching Naruto himself.

As for Uzumaki Naruto, when he stepped into the teleportation light, he vanished, disappearing from the blue trial by fire and reappearing within the violet trial!

Meanwhile, on the violet portion of the rainbow, a tenth star had appeared, and all the eyes that had been focusing on the statue shifted over to look at it.

Although no one could see what was happening with Naruto now, everyone was wondering.

The mere fact that no one knew what was going on in the violet trial made the entire scenario more mysterious. That added level of mystery made everyone want more than ever to know what would happen next. In a short few months, two people had reached the violet portion of the rainbow, and the mere thought of what happened inside that violet trial was a motivating force for many other cultivators.

As such thoughts filled the minds of all present, Naruto appeared within the very violet trial that no one else could see, to find himself in a dimension that was different from all of the other trials by fire.

Stretching out in front of him was a river, upon whose bank he stood.

A blank look could be seen in his eyes, as though he had forgotten something. Furthermore, as he looked around, he got the sensation that nothing around him w

as real.

"What did I forget?" he thought in surprise, sitting down on the riverbank to think. However, even after some time passed, the only thing he could remember was his name. All of his other memories seemed to have disappeared.

The confusion in his eyes grew deeper.

His original plan upon entering the light of teleportation had been to abandon the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trial as soon as he entered the next stage. After all, by that point, his goal would have been met, and he could request the power of a deva to save Big Fatty Zhang.

Time was of the essence.

However, as soon as he entered the mysterious violet trial by fire, he couldn't remember any of that.

"No," he murmured, "I remember that there was something important I needed to do." Frowning, he tried harder to think back to whatever it was that he'd forgotten, and it was in that moment that he suddenly heard someone singing.

The voice rose and fell, making the lyrics of the song impossible to make out. However, the person singing seemed old, ancient even. A moment later, a lonely boat appeared on the river.

An old man sat in the boat, wearing a wide bamboo hat, and pushing the boat along with a long bamboo pole. Upon nearing the bank, he looked up, revealing a face wrinkled with age. Smiling, he said, "Is your heart unsettled?"

Naruto looked up at the old man and the boat. Feeling confused, he replied, "I feel like I've forgotten something."

"Everyone forgets things sometimes," the old man said with a smile. "Why don't you come aboard and listen to my ballad? Perhaps that will help you remember whatever it is you've forgotten."

Naruto sat there quietly for a moment, then rose to his feet and hopped into the boat. With that, the old man pushed on the bamboo pole, and the boat once again began to move down the river.

As Naruto sat there in the lonely boat, the old man began to sing. Strangely, no matter how closely Naruto paid attention, he was unable to make out any of the words the old man sang.

After a moment, he couldn't hold back from asking, "What are you singing?"

"A folk song," the old man replied.

Naruto listened for a bit longer, then asked, "Does it have a name?"

"It doesn't." Smiling, the old man continued, "It's a ballad, the end of which no one will ever hear. Nine other people came before you, and none of them listened to the entire song. The first person listened to it for the longest, but gave up eventually." With that, he continued singing. Naruto sat there silently, both listening and also trying to recall what it was that he had forgotten. The water in the river was by no means still; waves rolled back and forth, and after a bit of time, a rather large one hit the side of the boat. As Naruto swayed back and forth with the rocking of the boat, his mind stirred, and suddenly, he remembered something.

He was in a room with his father, who was gripping his hand tightly as he said, "Naruto, you have to keep on living…."

A tremor ran through Naruto as that memory sparked a fire which raged through his mind, causing his memories to flood back into him with mountain-toppling, sea-draining power.

"I have to save Eldest Brother!" he thought, shivering as he remembered everything from before. He suddenly stood up, whereupon the boat vanished, along with the river. The entire room around him was now completely empty.

In front of him was the old man, though, who turned and looked at Uzumaki Naruto, eyes sparkling with bizarre, mysterious light.

"Do you see clearly now?" the old man asked.

"Huh?" Naruto said. "Oh. I don't want to participate in this trial by fire. I need to save someone!" Now that he had regained his memories, this trial seemed even stranger than before.

The old man looked at him for a long moment, and then repeated, "Do you see clearly now?"

Naruto was starting to get a bit angry. "I–"

However, he only got one word out of his mouth before the old man shook his head and interrupted with a sigh. "Fine, I know what you're thinking. Get into the violet trial, and you can ask for a boon from the sect. As long as it's not too excessive, your wish will be granted. For example, your hostage status can be removed."

"I want the power of a deva!" Naruto said immediately.

The old man nodded. "After you leave, someone will deliver it to you."

With that, he waved his hand, causing a vortex to spring up in the void, which began to tug Naruto toward it.

Just before going through the exit, Naruto stopped and looked back at the old man, who was walking away from him into the void.

"Just now," Naruto said, "you asked if I could see something clearly. What were you talking about?"

The old man didn't look back. Voice cool, he replied, "Your Dao!"

Naruto was confused. The old man continued to walk away, and as

Naruto sank into the exit, he called out, "I'm not sure what my

Dao is, but I do have a wish, and that's to live forever!"

The old man stopped walking, looked back, and smiled. "That's your Dao!"

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Naruto vanished, to appear moments later outside of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials!

The first thing that met him was the sound of numerous discussions, shortly after which, his vision grew clear. Almost immediately, he caught sight of countless cultivators looking at him with envy and respect.

At the same time, a solemn voice spoke out from the sect leader's portion of Myriad Star Rainbow.

"Hostage Naruto of the River-Defying Sect, your request has been granted. You will be bestowed with the power of a deva!"

A bright beam of light shot down from the sky to appear in front of Naruto in the shape of a crystalline leaf that pulsed with incredible power!

Everyone in the area felt incredible pressure weighing down onto them, making it hard to even breathe, almost as if their cultivation bases were being suppressed. Shockingly, that leaf contained wood-type deva power!

Furthermore, it was a full portion of power, not just a tiny scrap!

—

Chapter 440

Chapter 440

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AWE – Chapter 440

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Chapter 440: The Extraordinary River-Defying Sect

When Naruto appeared outside of the trials, and the sect leader's voice echoed out, everyone who had been watching his performance was left completely shaken.

It only took moments for countless fervent gazes to be turned in Uzumaki Naruto's direction. Normally speaking, he would have given everyone an opportunity to approach and offer words of praise. But he was in no mood for that now.

As soon as he had that power of a deva, he shot into the sky, transforming into a beam of light that sped directly toward the teleportation portal.

He had no idea how much time had passed, and anxiously wished to get back to the Hall of Devil Slayers on Sky Quarter Rainbow to save Big Fatty Zhang!

As he left, numerous discussions broke out amongst the audience. Naruto was now listed among the absolute most high-level disciples within the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

He was in the top 10!

Although no one was sure of what he had experienced within the violet trial, they did know that the violet portion of the rainbow now had a tenth star!

It was easy to imagine how, in the days to come, Uzumaki Naruto's name would continue to rise to unprecedented heights within the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

However, Naruto was not in the mood to revel in the glory of his achievement. He pushed forward with all the speed he could muster until he was at the teleportation portal, where he vanished, to reappear moments later on Sky Quarter Rainbow.

As soon as he stepped off of the teleportation portal there, he saw numerous Sky Quarter Rainbow cultivators gathered, looking at him with expressions of awe as they called out greetings.

"Greetings, Elder Brother Uzumaki!"

Naruto was too nervous about Big Fatty Zhang to do more than simply nod in response, and then hurry on his way. Considering he was now in late Core Formation, he could move faster than ever as he shot off in a beam of light.

Literally nothing could have blocked his path, although no one attempted to do so, not even when he passed directly through some of the other Ten Halls.

Because he was in the top 10 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, he had a special place in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, as well as special privileges. Thus, he arrived at the Hall of Devil Slayers in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn.

Instantly, numerous cultivators emerged to offer formal greetings, their faces filled with respect. Back before he had challenged the trials, everyone in the Hall of Devil Slayers had only pretended to respect him, and secretly scorned him for relying on a powerful backer to become important.

Some of them had changed their tune a bit after he got into the top 400. But now that his name was on the violet portion of the rainbow, everything had changed.

"Greetings, Elder Brother Uzumaki!"

"Elder Brother Uzumaki…."

More and more people appeared, and more voices rang out. There were some people Naruto recognized, including Master Cloud-Dao, who was waiting outside the main temple. As soon as Master Cloud-Dao caught sight of him, he clasped hands and bowed in deep and exaggerated fashion.

"Congratulations, Elder Brother Uzumaki!"

Master God-Diviner, Xu Baocai, and Chen Manyao were also waiting outside of the main temple, and when they caught sight of Uzumaki Naruto, excited expressions appeared on their faces.

Naruto nodded to everyone, then walked into the temple looking very serious. The first thing he saw was the gaunt, skeletal form of Big Fatty Zhang, sitting there cross-legged in the middle of the temple, a pained expression on his face. Clearly, his life force was so faint that it was almost nonexistent, and a strong aura of death surrounded him. Had Feng Youde not been there the entire time bolstering him with his Nascent Soul cultivation base, Big Fatty Zhang would have long since slipped into death.

"Daoist Master, I've brought the power of a deva!" Looking trepidatiously at Big Fatty Zhang, Naruto quickly pulled out the wood-type leaf he had just received.

Feng Youde looked up and made a grasping motion, causing the leaf to fly over and come to a rest above Big Fatty Zhang's head.

Expression somber, Feng Youde performed an incantation gesture and pointed out at the leaf, which began to tremble and emit a greenish glow. At the same time, green strands of energy emerged from the leaf and began to bore into Big Fatty Zhang.

Big Fatty Zhang shivered, and the look of pain on his face faded away. Almost immediately, a faint, ruddy glow could be seen on his cheeks, and the mist which surrounded him began to swirl back inside of him. Instead of spreading out in all directions like it had been, it was taking form inside his dantian region.

Seeing that, Uzumaki Naruto's nervousness immediately began to fade. Finally, Feng Youde took a deep breath and rose to his feet.

"With the help of the power of a deva, your Eldest Brother's Core

Formation should proceed smoothly from here on out. However, he did drain a lot of his life force. The process should take a full half year before it's complete." He sighed. "Fine… you can leave him here for me to watch over."

"Many thanks, Daoist Master!" Naruto said excitedly, clasping hands and bowing deeply. Then he looked over one more time to confirm that Big Fatty Zhang was safe, which was when he realized how exhausted he was.

The fight with the statue of Gongsun Wan'er had been a huge draw on both his cultivation base and his energy in general. Coupled with all the anxiety he had felt regarding Big Fatty Zhang, everything returned to hit him at once. Now that he was sure Big Fatty Zhang was safe, he left the temple and returned, not to his immortal's cave, but rather, one of the empty residences in the Hall of Devil Slayers, where he sat down to do some breathing exercises and recuperate.

He rested for three days straight.

During that time, the commotion which had begun three days before continue to sweep through the sect, and Uzumaki Naruto's name grew more famous than ever. Soon, the details of his background became more commonly known. As such, the cultivators in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect… came to know of the River-Defying Sect.

After all… two of the top 10 Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars… were from the River-Defying Sect!

"This River-Defying Sect… is extraordinary!"

"It's hard to even wrap your mind around the fact that two River-Defying

Sect hostages are in the top 10!"

"I heard that when Naruto came from the River-Defying Sect, he brought some Dao protectors with him…. I bet those Dao protectors are incredible too!" Slowly but surely, the identities of Uzumaki Naruto's Dao protectors came to be known.

Song Que. Big Fatty Zhang. Xu Baocai. Master God-Diviner. Chen Manyao. Those five names gradually became the subject of much discussion. Xu Baocai didn't think much of the matter, and actually basked in the glory, whereas Song Que had a hard time accepting it.

In fact, on the fourth day, Song Que left his immortal's cave and headed toward the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials to prove that, although he might not be Uzumaki Naruto's equal, he was still not far behind.

Because he was one of Uzumaki Naruto's Dao protectors, a lot of people paid attention to his run, and when he ended up being ranked within the 600s, it caused quite a stir.

After Song Que was Chen Manyao, who placed around the same as Song Que, neither very high nor very low.

Master God-Diviner didn't really want to go, but ended up being convinced, and after going all-out, reaching a rank in the 900's.

Xu Baocai hesitated about whether or not to go, and in the end, didn't dare to try. As far as he was concerned, if he couldn't get into the top 1,000, then it would be too embarrassing to try.

Xu Baocai didn't challenge the trials, but Song Que, Chen Manyao, and

Master God-Diviner all did, and it caused the name of the River-Defying

Sect to rise to even greater heights. Eventually, the peak lord of Sky Quarter Rainbow personally sent down instructions to notify the RiverDefying Sect of what had occurred, and to give them a bit of a reward.

The reward itself didn't count for much, but the peak lord's attitude did. Furthermore, the performance of Naruto and his Dao protectors ensured that the other three great sects in the Middle Reaches were even more hesitant than before to cause any problems for the RiverDefying Sect.

That was especially true because of how both Naruto and Gongsun Wan'er had reached the top 10. The other three sects were shocked, and immediately did their best to contact the River-Defying Sect and improve relations.

In response to all of this, the patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect were very excited.

Patriarch Frigidsect threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "Ah, Naruto. Wherever the kid goes, he becomes a star. Nothing can keep him down!"

The other disciples in the sect were overjoyed, especially Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan, as well as Uzumaki Naruto's other friends.

A month went by in which Uzumaki Naruto's name continue to rise in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, to the point where literally everyone had heard of him, even the devas.

As for Big Fatty Zhang, he never awoke, but was in stable condition. He was no longer gaunt and skeletal, and the mist which surrounded him was slowly merging into his body. He had passed the moment of deadly crisis, and within a few months, would have formed his Will Core and stepped into Core Formation!

—

Chapter 441

Chapter 441

Chapter 441: Soul Hunting Expedition

Everything was turning up, and Uzumaki Naruto's mood was improving.

Considering that, he now felt up to public appearances, and not just on Sky Quarter Rainbow. He went to the other rainbow districts as well, and the adulation he received left him feeling quite pleased. From what he could tell, he was almost at the ultimate peak of life.

"Ai. With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto reduced the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars to ashes. What a headache. Imposter Nightcrypt, why do think I'm so outstanding?" Before leaving his immortal's cave, he would always pull out his copper mirror to examine himself, and when he was in a good mood, he would always ask this same question of imposter Nightcrypt.

As for imposter Nightcrypt, every time he heard that question, he felt as if he were covered with goosebumps. And yet, he would still plaster on a smile and rack his brains to come up with some new words of flattery to please Uzumaki Naruto.

The little turtle always seemed to be busy, and never came out even once to say anything sarcastic. As such, Naruto felt more wonderful than ever at being here in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

Unfortunately, good things never last forever. Another half a month went by, and a Dharmic decree came down from the demigod rainbow!

It happened one morning when Naruto emerged from his immortal's cave in very high spirits. He looked at the distant sea, felt the breeze caressing his face, and took a deep, contented breath. Patting his bag of holding, he produced his copper mirror.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Hey Nightsies, come, come, explain to me why Lord Uzumaki gets praised wherever he goes."

Of course, he was just getting ready to go strolling about to receive some praise and adulation.

Poor Imposter Nightcrypt was on the verge of crying. Over the course of the last half month, he had scraped the bottom of the barrel in his attempts to come up with new material, and his existence was now a torment that made life almost unbearable.

"Master, please spare me…." he groveled piteously.

Naruto was not very pleased by his reaction. Glaring, he was just about to respond when, all of a sudden, thunderous rumbling filled the air, causing everything to shake. Colors flashed in the sky, and a screaming wind kicked up. All of the rainbows were shaking, including the deva rainbow and Myriad Star Rainbow.

Everyone from the devas down to the Chakra Condensation disciples were completely shaken, and no matter what they were doing at the moment, looked up with flickering expressions.

Startled, Naruto almost dropped his copper mirror as he looked up into the sky, astonishment and confusion playing out on his face.

"What's going on!?"

A moment later, a profoundly dignified and ancient voice echoed out from the demigod rainbow to fill the entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

"A Heavenspan imperial decree has been issued, and a soul-hunting expedition will begin. In one month, the Starry Sky Battleship will set sail for the Wildlands!"

Every single word spoken by that ancient voice almost seemed like natural law, causing all creation to fill with rumbling sounds, and all hearts to be shaken. As for Uzumaki Naruto, he wasn't quite sure exactly what the voice was talking about.

After all, he had only just entered the top 10 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, and didn't have a very complete understanding of how things worked for that group. However, as for everyone else who was in the top 100, they couldn't hold back their excitement upon hearing the announcement.

"The soul-hunting expedition is finally going to happen!"

"After this trial by fire, Ill definitely be able to step into the Nascent Soul stage!"

"Hahaha! I've been waiting for this day for a long time now!"

On Starry Quarter Rainbow, atop a mountain peak covered with endless flames, was 3rd place holder Chen Yueshan, who rose to her feet, her long hair swirling around her as her eyes burned with passion.

"The soul hunt…."

On Polarity Quarter Rainbow, 2nd place holder Heretic, one of the top superstars in the sect, was fighting a host of vengeful souls at the bottom of a deep cistern. Suddenly, a tremor passed through him, and his eyes began to shine with excitement.

"It's finally happening, huh…? Alright, Zhao Tianjiao, now we can finally see which of us will get a deva soul, and then step into the Nascent Soul stage! It's definitely going to be me!"

As waves of astonishment swept through the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, somewhere outside of the sect, in a seemingly endless mountain range, a young man walked along beneath the trees. He was tall and slender, with a very cold expression, and a greatsword strapped to his back. The reek of blood surrounded him as he walked, as if he had slaughtered countless enemies on his journey.

Shockingly, he held a head in his hand. It was the head of an old man, his expression twisted viciously, and emanating an aura that indicated his cultivation level when he had been alive: the Nascent Soul stage!

As the young man strode through the trees, he suddenly stopped in place and produced a jade slip from his bag of holding. Upon looking at the information in the slip, his eyes shone with a gaze so bright and corrosive that the surrounding plants and vegetation began to wither and die.

"So, the soul-hunting expedition that I've been waiting for is finally happening!" The young man's gaze intensified, and the destructive effect on the plants and vegetation spread. In the blink of an eye, everything in an entire 3,000-meter area withered away into death!

This young man was none other than the 1st place holder among the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, Zhao Tianjiao!

After the news about the soul-hunting expedition came down from the demigod rainbow, the sect leader quickly sent out a number of orders, as did the peak lords from the four rainbow districts.

All sorts of information began to spread through the sect, until everyone was bubbling with gossip.

After hearing some of the talk, Naruto still wasn't completely sure of all the details, and quickly summoned Xu Baocai.

As soon as he stepped into Uzumaki Naruto's immortal's cave, he said,

"Junior Patriarch, this is something big. Very big!"

"Alright," Naruto said nervously, "hurry up and explain exactly what this soul-hunting expedition is!"

Sounding very excited, Xu Baocai said, "Junior Patriarch, I already got all the information. The soul-hunting expedition is basically good fortune for all Core Formation cultivators preparing to step into the Nascent Soul stage!"

"Huh?" Naruto said, looking surprised. "Good fortune?"

Based on some of the information he'd heard, the soul-hunting expedition, although not anything like a death sentence, was definitely very dangerous.

"That's right!" Xu Baocai continued. "I just heard about it myself. If you want to break through from Core Formation into the Nascent Soul stage, you have to do it by one of three ways. First is by using a Nascent Soul Pill, which is the mortal-tier method. The second method is by using a five elements deva beast soul, which is the earth-tier method. Last is the most legendary of all, the heaven-tier method, in which you use a five elements deva soul. However, that final method is virtually impossible!"

"If you stay inside the sect, even reaching the earth-tier Nascent Soul stage is quite difficult. After all, deva beast souls are just as rare as deva souls.

"However, things are different in the Wildlands. Supposedly, there is a river in the Wildlands which is similar to the Heavenspan River. The difference is that it is a river that the living cannot see. It's an underworld river, a path that all the souls from the entire world travel after death!

"Because of that, souls are a lot more common in the Wildlands. In fact, they're everywhere. Within that literally uncountable number of souls, it's possible to find, not only deva beast souls, but also deva souls!

"And that's why the place is the ultimate place of good fortune for Core Formation cultivators!" From the level of Xu Baocai's excitement as he spoke, it was evident that he would leap at the chance to be qualified to go the Wildlands.

"The Wildlands…." Naruto said. The truth was that Naruto knew a bit more about the Wildlands than Xu Baocai did, and the first thing that popped into this mind was that something seemed strange about this trial by fire. It was definitely not as simple as it sounded.

After all, there weren't just souls in the Wildlands, there were also cultivators!

"This soul-hunting expedition is going to happen in the Wildlands. That ancient battleship is going to sail across the Heavenspan Sea toward another path which leads to the Wildlands!" Xu Baocai pointed to the huge, mysterious battleship at the top of the waterfall.

Naruto looked up at the ship, and was shaken as he recalled something Chen Manyao had said back when she had been trying to convince him to let her join his group of Dao protectors. She had mentioned this very ship, and Naruto now realized that she must have known about this soul-hunting expedition all along!

"The only people who qualify to go to the Wildlands on this ten-year-long trial by fire are famous people among the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. Congratulations, Junior Patriarch. It's hard to say for sure, but when you come back, you'll probably be a Nascent Soul cultivator!

"The ultimate goal of the trial by fire is to acquire a deva soul. Anyone who does can bring it back to the sect and exchange it for a complete set of five elements deva beast souls!

"Even if you can't get a deva soul, and only get a single deva beast soul, you can still bring it back to the sect and trade it for a precious Nascent

Soul Pill!"

Chapter 442

Chapter 442

Chapter 442

"I even heard that a lot of the top 100 Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars could have reached the Nascent Soul stage years ago, but have been suppressing themselves just so that they could join this soul-hunting expedition!" Beaming with delight, Xu Baocai continued to explain everything he'd learned.

The more Naruto heard, the grimmer his expression got. In the end, he felt deeply conflicted about the whole trial by fire.

Finally, he made a decision. "I definitely can't go," he thought.

"Absolutely not!"

Suddenly, Xu Baocai's face lit up as if he had just remembered something. Looking shocked and incredulous, he said, "Oh right, there's something else you definitely don't know about, Junior Patriarch, something huge. Heavens! Even I had never heard a whisper about this. It was only after word of the trial by fire began to spread that I caught wind of it.

"Junior Patriarch, did you know that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is a lot bigger than you ever imagined? That's right. What you see around us here is not the entirety of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. There are other parts of the sect that are located within the Great Wall!" Even Xu Baocai was still shaking from this shocking news, despite having heard it some time ago.

"The Great Wall?" Naruto said, a look of shock appearing on his face.

"The four sections of the Great Wall all connect eventually, creating a huge circle that protects the Heavenspan Sea, and all the sects too!

"Everything outside the Great Wall is the true Wildlands! According to what I heard, everyone who takes part in the soul-hunting expedition has to actually go outside of the Great Wall, on more than one occasion…." As he talked, and brought together all of the various bits of information he had learned, Xu Baocai's expression slowly changed as he realized that, clearly, this Great Wall was separating two opposing forces!

His voice gradually faded away, and his pupils constricted.

"You get it now, don't you?" Naruto said, scowling a bit as he looked at Xu Baocai.

"It can't be like that, can it?" Xu Baocai said quietly. "Maybe the area outside the Great Wall is just really dangerous. That's why they built it, to keep out the danger? Or maybe to keep all the souls from getting inside?" Xu Baocai was feeling more and more like there was something mysterious going on, and he shivered, almost like an instinctual reaction to piecing together some puzzle.

Not daring to think about the subject too deeply, Xu Baocai left in somewhat of a daze. As for Uzumaki Naruto, he was scowling on the verge of tears. Based on the sensation of danger he was feeling, he knew that he had to think of a way to make sure he didn't go on the soul-hunting expedition. And yet, before he could, the orders of the sect leader and the peak lords spread out to all of the disciples.

"All Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars in the top 1,000 are required to join the soul-hunting expedition. It will last for ten years, during which time you must go outside of the Great Wall at least three times! After the ten years are up, you may return to the sect headquarters!" Almost immediately, Naruto was filled with a sense of foreboding.

"I'm finished," he moaned. "Kaput…." After all, this was not the RiverDefying Sect, where he had so much sway with the patriarchs. He had only just reached the violet portion of the rainbow, and made a name for himself. As far as he could tell, he had no options available.

"This mission is going to be way too dangerous! The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's so-called Great Wall is ob

viously there to keep out, not just the souls, but the traitors…." After much thought, he decided to go to Chen Manyao's immortal's cave to see if he could get some answers.

Chen Manyao didn't seem surprised at all to see him. After inviting him inside, they sat down, and an enigmatic smile appeared on her face.

Naruto cleared his throat and said, "So, um, Manyao, do you think I've treated you well here in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect? You still haven't fulfilled that one promise from early on."

Chen Manyao covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. She was beautiful to begin with, but whenever she laughed or smiled, she seemed even more attractive.

"Don't worry, Junior Patriarch. Even in the Wildlands outside of the Great Wall, you'll be safe as long as you're careful. Furthermore, this trip will definitely be an opportunity for good fortune. You never know. You might even end up with a deva soul. Although, if you're really worried, you could always join our side."

Naruto sighed. Avoiding the topic she had brought up, he said. "Ah come on, how many deva souls can there be in the world? After all the years that have passed, surely any that did exist have already been found."

"There are some things you probably don't understand completely,

Junior Patriarch. The Wildlands are special. The Underworld River there contains a huge amount of souls. Throughout all the countless years that have passed since the Heavenspan Realm came to exist, all the souls which have died end up in that river, and build up in the Wildlands. Even if there were fewer deva souls than there are, there would still be some!"

"They build up?" he murmured, a look of shock appearing on his face.

"I don't know the details, and in fact, I don't even know why it happens that way. But what I do know is that the Wildlands has been building up souls for years and years." Chen Manyao seemed very earnest in her words.

"There isn't any spiritual energy in the Wildlands," Naruto pointed out, "so how do the people there practice cultivation?"

"There is no spiritual energy," Chen Manyao said softly. "But there are plenty of souls. Hunt them, absorb them, and that is how you can practice cultivation!"

After a long moment passed, Chen Manyao once again brought up the subject of Naruto joining the Wildlanders. This time, Naruto didn't refuse outright. He thought about it for a bit, then turned and left.

As he walked along the paths of Sky Quarter Rainbow, he heaved sighs left and right. His intuition was telling him that this soul-hunting expedition was going to be very dangerous. And yet, there was nothing he could do to get out of it. Therefore, he had no choice but to accept his fate. Face grim, he flew back to his immortal's cave.

Along the way, quite a few cultivators noticed him and called out respectful greetings. However, he was no longer in the mood to revel in their attention. Evening was falling, and the light of the setting sun reflecting off of the golden waters of the Heavenspan Sea made for quite a beautiful scene. Naruto looked out at it, then sighed, thinking about how he already had a deva soul. If he really ran out of options, he could always find a safe place inside the Great Wall to hide for ten years, then come back to the sect, trade it for a set of deva beast souls, and then step into the Nascent Soul stage.

Feeling sorry for himself, and still wrestling with what decision to make, he walked up to his immortal's cave and prepared to enter. However, just before stepping inside, he stopped and looked up, and his eyes flashed.

Unexpectedly, someone was waiting for him inside of his immortal's cave!

He immediately drew upon the power of his cultivation base, waving his finger to cause the front door to swing open, revealing a young woman, standing there with her back to him!

As soon as he saw her back, a tremor ran through him, and he began to breathe heavily.

"You…."

As soon as the words escaped his lips, the young woman slowly turned, revealing a face that shocked Naruto down to the core!

"Naruto…." she said softly, her eyes glistening.

"Du Lingfei!" he said. He had often thought about what it would be like to see Du Lingfei again. As of this moment, he realized that it was not as shocking of an event as he had imagined. Although it had come like bolt out of the blue, deep in his heart, he had long since prepared for their reunion.

His eyes flickered with complicated emotions as a quiet moment passed. All of a sudden, he thought about how the Sky Quarter peak lord had treated him, and how Feng Youde had taken him under his wing. During the entire time he had been in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, it had always seemed like someone was out there, secretly watching out for him. Although he had had his various speculations, now that he saw Du Lingfei standing there, everything made complete sense.

Her expression complex and filled with melancholy, she said, "Naruto, I'm sorry for–"

"Was that you in the Blood Stream Sect!?" he interrupted, speaking his words slowly and with force.

"Yes!" she replied without the slightest hesitation.

Staring at her, he continued with more questions. "Were you an agent of some sort? Why? What were you doing in the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect? And what are you doing here?"

Chapter 442: Du Lingfei Appears In Person!

Chapter 443

Chapter 443

Chapter 443: Boarding

"I had no choice in the matter," she said bitterly, shaking her head.

The pain visible in her smile softened Uzumaki Naruto's heart a bit. Lowering his voice, he said, "Who exactly are you? Where are you from?"

After a long moment of silence, she took a deep breath and said, "I'm from the Heavenspan Sea, and that's all I can say. Don't ask any more about it…."

Shaken, Naruto remained silent.

Outside, the sun was setting, and the sky was growing dark. It was quiet in the immortal's cave, with the only sound being their breathing.

Eventually, the immortal's cave grew dark, and finally, Naruto decided to ask another question, a question which had been lurking in his heart for a long time, a question which he very much wanted to know the answer to.

"Back in the Luochen Mountains, the tears you shed, were they real, or just for show…?"

She didn't directly answer his question. Instead, she extended her right hand, within which appeared a violet tongue of flame. As it burned, it released a shocking energy, something that surpassed the energy of the leaf Naruto had received that contained the power of a deva. This made it seem like a deva was actually standing right there with them. Furthermore, within the burning violet flames was… a soul!

Looking up at him, she spoke in a voice that was almost a murmur. "Do you think this deva soul is real, or just for show?"

To see Du Lingfei holding a deva soul shocked Naruto to the core. He also had a deva soul, the wood-type soul that Patriarch Frigidsect had given him. He had been shocked when he was told how valuable deva souls were, but back then, their true value had been some abstract to him.

Now, on the verge of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect sending numerous disciples on a soul-hunting expedition, he was more acutely aware than ever of how valuable deva souls were.

Anyone who wanted to achieve reach Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul needed five deva souls, each one a different type. When it came to deva beast souls… any single deva soul could be traded for a set of five of them!

From that alone, it was easy to calculate how astronomically valuable any deva soul was!

Before Naruto could even respond to her words, Du Lingfei sent the fire-type soul floating over to Uzumaki Naruto. As it did, her body began to slowly fade away.

The entire time, her gaze was soft as she looked at Uzumaki Naruto, and seemed to be filled with regret and sentiment.

"The Wildlands is a dangerous place. You… should make sure not to do anything risky. When you get back, trade that deva soul for a set of deva beast souls…. At that time, I'll explain everything!" With that, she disappeared.

Naruto simply stood there the entire time, declining to speak. After she faded away, he closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and reached out to take the fire-type deva soul. Then he sat down cross-legged to think, although he wasn't sure about what.

Time passed. Half a month flew by, and the day of the trial by fire grew closer. Eventually, Naruto had no choice but to rouse himself and start preparing. He got very busy, both concocting pills, performing spirit enhancements, and doing everything else he could to get himself in peak condition.

On the day before the trial by fire was to begin, he emerged from his immortal's cave and went to the Hall of Devil Slayers to say goodbye to Big Fatty Zhang. Big Fatty Zhang had not yet awoken, but had recovered significantly. His aura was stable, and his cultivation base was growing stronger. Within two or three months, he would have successfully reached Core Formation. He sat down in

front of Big Fatty Zhang, feeling more than ever like he couldn't bear to leave. "Eldest Brother… the next time we see each other will be in ten years. I really wish I didn't have to leave."

He spoke many more words from his heart, until the sun began to set. Worried that he might be disturbing Big Fatty Zhang's Core Formation, he left the temple and went to see Feng Youde. Clasping hands deeply, he offered sincere thanks for the help Feng Youde had given him.

"Maintain a calm heart, that's the best thing you can do," Feng Youde said. "If you want to repay me, then come back as a Nascent Soul cultivator. As far as your Eldest Brother is concerned, I guarantee to watch over him."

Clasping hands and bowing again, Naruto again expressed his gratitude. Of course, Xu Baocai would not be going along, so he went to visit and leave some parting instructions. Finally, he gritted his teeth and went back to his immortal's cave, where he mediated through the night. Nothing happened during the night, and the sun rose into a cloudless sky. The day had come in which the trial by fire was to begin.

The thunderous sound of booming drums filled the entire sect, prompting all of the cultivators to emerge excited and filled with anticipation.

Naruto had packed his bags, and looked very sad as he walked out the door of his immortal's cave and stood there trembling.

Almost in the same instant, a huge rumbling sound rippled out from the direction of the sea down below. It almost sounded like the roaring of a giant, and it caused huge waves to roll across the surface of the sea as the enormous, ancient battleship thrummed with power.

As the ship powered up, the mysterious, ghost-like entities inside of it began to howl and scream, and eventually fled in terror. Apparently, the will of the battleship itself was awakening, causing its energy to rise to the point where even the rainbows that made up the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect were shaking.

Naruto took a deep breath as he stared at the enormous battleship. It was fully 300,000 meters long, pitch black, and in very bad condition. It seemed ancient beyond belief, and there was something ferocious about it that made it seem like the type of ship no one would dare to even approach. The corpse of some enormous, rotting beast had been lashed to its prow, something so disfigured it was impossible to determine what it was. However, it was clearly humanoid, and had once been 30,000 meters tall.

The surface of the battleship was covered with countless spikes, all of which glowed with black light. It was easy to imagine powerful magical techniques being unleashed by means of those spikes, and how they would surely cause heaven and earth to tremble!

The ship had five decks, some parts of which were apparently locked down with magical seals.

Even as Naruto was studying the battleship, it began to move, releasing explosive power that caused huge waves to roll out across the surface of the golden Heavenspan Sea.

Even as the battleship stirred into motion, an old man flew off of the deva rainbow. He was ancient, with flowing white hair that made him look like a transcendent being. In addition, he had a third eye on his forehead, giving him a very intimidating appearance.

"I am Chen Hetian, and I will lead you on the journey to the sect outpost, where the soul-hunting expedition will be held. The journey across the sea will be a long one, more than half a year. All of you… board the ship immediately and prepare for departure!" The three-eyed old man's final words struck the hearts of the listeners like lightning.

Immediately, the top 1,000 Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars from all four of the rainbow districts began to fly at top speed toward the battleship.

As for Uzumaki Naruto, he gritted his teeth and decided that he had no choice but to throw caution to the wind. Howling at the top of his lungs, he joined the crowd flying down toward the battleship.

Almost as soon as he took to flight, Naruto could sense the intensely powerful spiritual energy from the Heavenspan Sea slamming into him like a hurricane.

It was a blast that was difficult to endure despite the fact that he was a Core Formation cultivator. Everyone who was flying toward the ship trembled unsteadily for a moment before accelerating toward the ship again.

Everyone was weighing each other up, trying to go along as fast as possible through the battering spiritual energy to prove that they were better.

One of the cultivators flying along was a young woman, who happened to take the lead by a wide margin, flying through the air like a ball of fire. She was Chen Yueshan, and even as she closed in on the battleship and seemed moments away from stepping onto it, a cold snort echoed out as Heretic appeared. With a single step forward, he seemingly teleported, surpassing Chen Yueshan to become the first person to step onto the ship!

When Heretic used what appeared to be a divine ability of teleportation, the other cultivators were shocked, and Chen Yueshan's eyes flickered with a flash of light.

Even Naruto sucked in a breath. By using his frigid shadows, he could perform minor teleportations, but what Heretic had done just now was completely different!

Some of the people near Naruto knew what it was they had just seen, and cried out in astonishment.

"That was the Wind Dash!"

"Wind Dash?" Naruto murmured, taken aback. Meanwhile, more cultivators were landing on the ship. Naruto didn't go very quickly, and arrived within the first hundred or so.

Almost immediately, the cultivators who landed on the ship edged away from each other. Clearly, the spirit of competition and rivalry was strong already, and one could only imagine how the situation would intensify when they got to the Wildlands.

As far as Naruto was concerned, these people were all acting like fiends and monsters, so he quickly found an empty corner away from the crowd.

"What's with all the fighting and killing?" he thought. "These people… can't they be more simple and pure like me?" As he looked around, he eventually caught sight of Song Que, Master God-Diviner, and Chen Manyao, which put him in a slightly better mood. However, it wasn't convenient to approach them at the moment.

Off in the distance, he also noticed Gongsun Wan'er, but when he thought about how strange she was, he ducked his head and avoided her gaze.

—

Chapter 444

Chapter 444

Chapter 444: 1st Place Zhao Tianjiao

As people continued to alight onto the ancient battleship, the three-eyed old man who had just emerged from the deva rainbow vanished, reappearing on the ship itself. Actually, he wasn't alone; he was joined by five Nascent Soul cultivators.

It seemed as if the ship was just about to set sail, and yet, it was in that moment that a beam of light pierced through the air off in the distance, causing intense whistling sounds to echo through the air.

"How could I, Zhao Tianjiao, not participate in a major event such as this!?"

It was a travel-worn young man, tall and slender, with long black hair and an icy cold aura. Shocking cultivation base fluctuations rolled off him that, despite being at the great circle of the Core Formation stage, felt even more profoundly powerful than that. He actually seemed like a Nascent Soul cultivator, and even though he wasn't quite in that level, as he approached, it was possible to see him occasionally blur to the point of being impossible to see.

In truth, he was actually using a teleportation ability. Although he could only teleport for short distances, he was still only a Core Formation cultivator, which made him shocking to a level that surpassed even Heretic.

It took only a few moments for the young man to reach the ship and land on the deck. As he stood there looking extremely lonely and proud, he was so different from the other cultivators that he was like a full moon in a field of stars!

"It's Eldest Brother!"

"Heavens! Was Eldest Brother teleporting just now?"

"Elder Brother Heretic has his Wind Dash, but Eldest Brother was using real minor teleportations!" Everyone in the crowd was looking at Zhao Tianjiao with expressions of reverence and respect.

"Hey, I can teleport too!" Naruto grumbled to himself in irritation. Although he wasn't fully convinced that Zhao Tianjiao was as amazing as the crowd apparently thought he was, he had to admit that he had skill. Furthermore, Naruto could sense from the shocking fluctuations rolling off of him that he was stronger than the statue of Gongsun Wan'er.

The three-eyed Chen Hetian looked over at Zhao Tianjiao, his gaze soft, and yet his words sharp as he said, "And what reason do you have for being late and delaying things?!"

Clasping hands respectfully, Zhao Tianjiao said, "A year ago, a Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect disciple went missing, and in my efforts to find him, I found that these three freaks were responsible. They all fled in different directions, though, which cost me a bit of time."

With that, he waved his sleeve, causing three heads to tumble down onto the deck.

Two of them were old men, and one was a middle-aged, but all of them had looks of lingering astonishment in their dead eyes. Based on the aura which still remained on them, all three had been Nascent Soul cultivators!

When the surrounding disciples saw the three severed heads, they immediately began to call out in surprise.

"Patriarch Riverwater!"

"Enlightened Sage Headwind!"

"That's Eccentric Flamecloud!"

"All three of them are Nascent Soul experts! Heavens…. Eldest Brother actually killed all three of them!"

"He definitely deserves to be called Eldest Brother!"

Chen Yueshan's pupils constricted, but she didn't say anything, and as for Heretic, his expression turned extremely grim, and he began to breathe heavily.

Uzumaki Naruto's eyes went wide, and he even gasped. Although he had known that Zhao Tianjiao was incredible before, at this point he could tell that he was definitely someone to avoid provoking at all costs.

pLooking at the three severed heads, he murmured to himself, "Ah whatever. I'll just have to deal with the fact that he has a slightly better name than me!" 1

Chen Hetian nodded slightly and then, without another word, turned and headed to the highest deck on the ship, leaving the Nascent Soul cultivators behind to handle the rest of the disciples.

One of the Nascent Soul cultivators, a middle-aged man, stepped forward with an expressionless face and said, "All of you are Chosen of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and are already somewhat familiar with this trial by fire. As such, we will not waste time with further explanations.

"However, there is one thing that I must make clear. Our voyage will take half a year, and during that time, you will live in quarters assigned to you based on your ranking in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars! "The top 3 will be staying on deck 2. Take your pick of the cabins there to be your own personal immortal's caves. Those of you in 4th to 10th place will stay on deck 3, where you will also have personal immortal's caves within which to further your cultivation.

"Those of you who occupy 11th through 100th place, you will stay on deck 4. Everyone after that will be on deck 5!"

Meanwhile, the ship had already begun to pick up speed as it moved across the surface of the sea; the crashing of waves against the sides of the ship was already audible.

There was also a fierce wind, and a bit of sea spray that carried with it a powerful corrosive element that didn't harm the ship, but could be detrimental to cultivators if it touched them.

Naruto was a little nervous about that, but when he heard that everyone was being assigned to their quarters by means of their seniority in the ranking system, he was instantly enlivened.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" he thought. "The people with higher rankings should have better accommodations!" He already couldn't wait to see what his own immortal's cave would look like.

"Use these identity medallions as keys to your immortal's cave. Very well, you're all dismissed!" With that, the middle-aged cultivator

Nascent Soul spun on his heel and flew up to deck 1 with the other

Nascent Soul experts, where they entered their own cabins to meditate.

Now that the members of the Senior generation were gone, the 1,000 other cultivators on board all dispersed, apparently eager to get off of the main deck and away from the powerful sea winds and corrosive spray.

Zhao Tianjiao was the first to fly into motion, heading toward deck 2, with Chen Yueshan and Heretic following close behind. Many of the other cultivators were a bit envious of the fact that those three got an entire deck to themselves, and yet, there was nothing that could be done about the matter.

Naruto didn't feel any irritation at all. He flew excitedly toward deck 3 with the other top 10 cultivators, including Gongsun Wan'er.

As for the other cultivators, they stewed in their frustration and jealousy as they looked for their own immortal's caves.

Naruto was brimming with anticipation as he entered deck 3, and it was to his delight that he discovered that the entire deck had been renovated and fitted with only seven cabins.

Using the identity medallion he'd been given, he randomly selected one and branded the cabin to himself. Then he opened the door, stepped in, and looked around. Despite everything he had seen and done in his life so far, the sight which met his eyes was such that a gasp of shock escaped his lips.

The cabin was huge, fully 300 meters from side to side. Furthermore, it wasn't actually a single cabin, but a suite of cabins, with seven rooms, plus a pill-concocting workstation. It contained everything a person could possibly need, and was incredibly luxurious.

The floor wasn't made of wood as one might expect on a ship, but rather, green limestone that was suffused with spiritual power. The slabs were partially translucent, and inside of them could be seen swirling mists and clouds. Not only were they beautiful in appearance, but the spiritual energy that emanated from them could be used in cultivation. Furthermore, there were defensive spell formations built into the cabin that also provided complete sound-proofing from the rumbling sounds that echoed outside.

Even more extraordinary was that the cabin came with six puppet handmaidens, who were tasked with keeping the entire cabin in order at all times. On one side of the cabin were windows which provided a spectacular view of the golden sea outside, and there was also a balcony where one could enjoy the sea breeze if one wished, or even do a little fishing.

Considering that it was currently about noontime, and the sun was shining brightly outside, Naruto had the sudden impulse to go outside and soak in the warmth of the sun.

The truth was that this cabin was so large that it could fit a hundred people and still have room to spare.

"How luxurious! The fact that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect will treat the higher-ups so much better is… it's wonderful!" Taking a deep breath, he toured the cabin for a bit before sitting down cross-legged to do some breathing exercises.

Time flashed by. During the three days which followed, Naruto only continued to be more pleased with his accommodations. That was especially true when he found that every day, his puppet handmaidens would bring large quantities of spirit food.

The amount of spirit food was so extensive that even after working hard, he couldn't consume it all. For him, life was even better than it had been in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and after eating, he would pat his belly and burp a bit, then lay down on a divan on the balcony to enjoy the sea breeze and the warmth of the sun.

"I'm in the top 10, and things are great. I wonder what the three rooms for Zhao Tianjiao and the others are like? How big are they?"

Thinking of Zhao Tianjiao caused Naruto to suddenly be reminded of Song Que and his other Dao protectors. At that point, he realized that, considering how large his room was, and how it was almost empty, he might as well enjoy it with some others. With that thought in mind, he excitedly rushed out of his cabin and headed to deck 4.

The first thing he did was try to get an idea of what the cabins on deck 4 were like. Considering that there were always people coming in and out of one cabin or another, it didn't take long for him to get an answer.

Deck 4 was much smaller than deck 3, and each cabin was only a few dozen meters across. Even still, all of the cabins were single-occupancy. However, when he got down to deck 5, he saw that things were much more cramped.

Quick reminder that Zhao Tianjiao's given name "Tianjiao" uses the same characters as the word I usually translate "Chosen"

Chapter 445

Chapter 445

Chapter 445: Finally, I Can Get Some Real Food

There were more than a hundred cabins on deck 5, none of them very large. Furthermore, not a single one was a single-occupancy cabin; they were designed to house five people each….

Although each person in each cabin had a separate living area which they could seal off with a spell formation, comparing these quarters to Uzumaki Naruto's accommodations was like comparing the earth to the heavens or the dirt to the clouds.

After looking around for a while, he found Master God-Diviner's cabin, where Master God-Diviner sat looking around anxiously at his murky surroundings. The mere thought of spending half a year in conditions like this left him feeling very sullen.

Just as he was about to become completely and utterly dispirited, Naruto appeared….

"Junior Patriarch…." he cried.

"Alright," Naruto said with the wave of his hand, "you're coming with me. My place is plenty big." Master God-Diviner was instantly elated, and to the envy of the other cultivators in the cabin, he hurried over to Uzumaki Naruto's side.

Naruto cleared his throat, clasped his hands behind his back, and went about looking for his other friends. Eventually, he found Song Que who, by chance, was in the same cabin as Chen Manyao.

As soon as Chen Manyao saw Uzumaki Naruto, she flashed him a radiant smile that couldn't have been more enticing. As for Song Que, his face was already about as grim is it could be; the past few days had been extremely annoying to him, considering that this was the first time he had ever stayed in a room with other people.

Sighing, Naruto said, "Que'er, your aunt entrusted you to me, so how could I possibly stand idly by while you suffer? Why don't you come along with your uncle? I feast on spirit food every day, and have so much I can't even finish it all."

Song Que's face darkened, and he glared at Naruto with gritted teeth.

Of course, that made Naruto feel wonderful. He knew that Song Que didn't like him, and therefore, he didn't like Song Que very much, and would occasionally find opportunities to intentionally mock him.

Just when Naruto was about to invite Chen Manyao to come with him, she spoke up.

"I'll come with you, big bro Naruto. I know you feast on spirit food every day, and have so much you can't finish it. I'll help you with that problem!" Covering her smile with her hand, she glided over to Naruto side, where she joined Master God-Diviner.

Seeing that Song Que wasn't even going to say a word, Naruto shook his head and turned to leave. However, he stopped at the door and looked back at Song Que.

"You're really not coming? The spiritual energy in my cabin is much stronger than it is here, so your cultivation will proceed more quickly."

Song Que really didn't want to go, but the truth was that he didn't know any of the other cultivators in his cabin on deck 5. The idea of having to spend half a year with them darkened his mood even further.

Then he heard Naruto mention that the spiritual energy in his cabin was strong, and would aid in cultivation. That finally gave Song Que the excuse he needed.

"I have to surpass him," he thought. "A true man knows when to stand tall and when to submit. I can't let myself fall too far behind during this half year. The only reason I'm doing this is for cultivation purposes, and that's all!" After convincing himself in this fashion, Song Que clenched his jaw and rose to his feet, face grimmer than ever as he walked over to Uzumaki Naruto's side.

Naruto was a bit surprised,

having been certain that Song Que wouldn't join him. Clasping Song Que's shoulder, he said, "That's the spirit! We're all one big family, right? Considering the relationship between myself and your aunt, you should listen to me more closely in the future. After all, when did your uncle ever treat you unfairly?"

Sighing, Naruto felt more than ever like someone from the older generation, and knew that he had to take care of Song Que no matter how he did it. Then, after he got back to the River-Defying Sect, he would make sure Song Junwan knew all about it. She would definitely be pleased.

Sighing, he led all of his Dao protectors back to deck 3….

After entering Uzumaki Naruto's cabin, not even Song Que's willpower could prevent him from gasping and looking around with shock at the size of the room, the spirit food, the puppets, the limestone floor, and the balcony. Almost immediately, he felt stabs of pain pricking at his heart….

In that moment, he madly swore an oath in his heart that he would focus fully on cultivation, and strive for his own chance to break into the top 10. The difference in treatment between that group and where he was at almost couldn't be described in words.

In fact, that difference was so great that Song Que could even feel his eyes getting a bit moist.

As for Master God-Diviner, he also gasped, and was instantly drawn to the windows. During the past three days, the only way he had been able to feel the sun on his face was to go to the main deck, but things were too noisy there, and the spray from the waves was too dangerous. But in Uzumaki Naruto's cabin, one could look out the windows at any time, or even sit on the safety of the balcony.

Master God-Diviner was instantly overwhelmed with excitement.

As for Chen Manyao, she was also stunned into silence. Before, she had assumed the difference in accommodations would be big, but not this big. As of this moment, she couldn't help but feel a bit irked at how the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had arranged things.

The looks on their faces caused Naruto to sigh. He hadn't actually intended to show off in this situation, and was now worried that his friends might misunderstand his intentions. As such, he quickly tried to explain how he felt.

"This is all my fault," he said. "If I had worked a bit harder, maybe I could have made it into the top 3. I heard that their accommodations are even better than these, and bigger. Mine are only so-so…." Naruto really was just trying to smooth things over, but the result was that even stranger looks appeared on the faces of his three friends.

Seeing this, Naruto was just getting ready to try to explain things further, when all of a sudden, an ear-piercing cry rang out from the sea outside. The cabin was protected by a spell formation, so the fact that the cry was distinctly audible went to show how incredibly powerful it was. In fact, the entire battleship even began to sway from side to side a bit.

Uzumaki Naruto's face fell, and his three Dao protectors had similar reactions. All of them rushed over to the balcony and looked out, whereupon they saw a streak of silver light shooting out of the sea and up into the sky.

That streak of light was what had caused the noise just now, and had also sent a huge wave slamming into the side of the ship. As such, it was possible to imagine that whatever it was that was causing that light was extraordinary!

Gasping, Naruto craned his neck in an attempt to see what was inside of the light, and almost immediately could tell that it was something with a Heaven-Dao aura!

Although others might not notice it, because Naruto had a

Heaven-Dao Gold Core, he was more acutely attuned to such matters.

"What is that…?" he thought. At this point, he couldn't hold back from opening his Heavenspan Dharma Eye. Almost immediately, rumbling sounds filled his mind, and he felt stabbing pain in his forehead. He quickly closed his third eye, which had already begun to leak some blood.

Even in that short moment, Naruto had been able to catch a glimpse of what was in the light, and it left his mind and heart battered by waves of shock!

Within that light was a silver-colored dragon!

Apparently, that dragon was injured, and even as it flew along, silver blood leaked from its wounds….

In the instant that the silver dragon appeared, the three-eyed deva Chen Hetian was meditating on deck 1. Suddenly, all of his eyes opened, and his expression flickered with incredulity and joy.

"A silvermoon dragonfish!" he shouted. "Kong Lie, the five of you come with me right now. We're going to catch that beast!"

With that, he vanished, to reappear a moment later up in midair. As for the five Nascent Soul cultivators, they teleported out to join Chen Hetian. Even as they appeared out in the open, expressions shining with anticipation, the silver light began to disappear over the horizon.

"Let's go! If we get that dragonfish, I'll give all five of you an incredible reward!" Chen Hetian's eyes burned with passion as he and the five Nascent Soul cultivators shot off into the distance.

Many of the other cultivators on the ship could tell that something strange was going on, and had hurried up to the main deck. When they saw what was happening, various expressions appeared on their faces.

On deck 2, Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan appeared to see what the commotion was about, with Heretic being the only one who didn't react.

Although no one noticed, Gongsun Wan'er was in her cabin, standing at the window and looking at the silver light fading off into the distance. A strange smile could be seen on her face, and on the tip of her index finger was a single drop of silver blood, which she quickly licked away.

"Finally, I can get some real food," she said with a chuckle.

Considering how fast Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul cultivators were moving, and the speed of the battleship, it only took about ten breaths of time before they were completely separated.

Everyone on the battleship began to discuss matters, but soon the talk quieted down. With the deva and the Nascent Soul cultivators gone, and the vast sea stretching out in all directions, a sense of unease filled the hearts of everyone present.

Time passed. Three days later, Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul cultivators still weren't back, and everyone aboard the battleship felt greater pressure weighing down on their shoulders. Furthermore, there was a strange and mysterious aura that seemed to be building up around them.

Chapter 446

Chapter 446

Chapter 446: Dinner? Tonight?

Days passed. Song Que, Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao all had their own personal space in Uzumaki Naruto's cabin, and were able to enjoy the treatment that only cultivators in the top ten of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars could receive. Filled with gratitude, they did their best to focus on their cultivation.

Naruto wasn't very far from the great circle of Core Formation, and couldn't help but feel that he was already quite formidable. Therefore, he spent most of his time basking in the sun on his balcony and looking out at the sea, which was exactly what he was doing right now.

The main deck of the ship wasn't very far above Uzumaki Naruto's balcony, and among the cultivators there was Gongsun Wan'er, who was apparently also staring out at the sea.

Naruto finally looked away from the sea water and then took a long swig of spirit alcohol.

"Now this is the life!" he said with a sigh. Behind him were two puppet hand maidens who were massaging his shoulders.

Occasionally, huge waves would roll across the surface of the water, but at the moment, it looked more like a beautiful golden mirror. By this point, Naruto was used to the wind, and as for the sea water, because of the techniques he cultivated, it wouldn't harm him unless he was exposed to it for long periods of time.

Furthermore, because of the spell formation built into the battleship, the incredibly intense spiritual energy in the water was softened and purified before entering the ship.

Sighing, Naruto looked back at his huge cabin, and saw Song Que, Master God-Diviner, and Chen Manyao all sitting cross-legged in meditation, apparently completely focused on their cultivation. Feeling a bit bored, he decided that he should probably go find someone to chat with.

"These guys are too focused on cultivation. This half a year is a time to enjoy things. Once we reach our destination, we'll be heading into the outposts of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and the Great Wall…. Things definitely won't be as comfortable there.

"Wouldn't it be great if Xu Baocai were here?" Taking another drink of spirit alcohol, he was just contemplating how to alleviate his boredom when, all of a sudden, he saw a golden flash of light off in the distance.

Some distance away, a school of golden fish had just leapt up out of the sea water, flashing through the air like golden sparks before splashing back down into the water.

Considering how sharp Uzumaki Naruto's vision was, he could see the fish quite clearly, and was able to tell that they were about as long as a human arm. They were covered with glittering golden scales, and most shocking of all, had two heads! Furthermore, those two heads weren't located next to each other. Rather, the second head was where a fish's tail would normally be.

"Golden loaches!" Naruto exclaimed, shooting to his feet. He recognized these strange fish from one of the volumes of spirit creatures he had studied in the Spirit Stream Sect, and knew that they were a very rare type of spirit fish!

Such spirit fish didn't need to be refined into medicinal pills to be consumed as food. They were a precious material of heaven and earth that could strengthen the Chakra passageways and bolster divine sense. Fish like that could be very useful for cultivators, and if they were older than a hundred years of age, could even help when stepping into the Nascent Soul stage.

As Naruto looked excitedly out at the sea, the school of golden loaches once again broke the surface of the water. Then a huge amount of water exploded up as a fish ten times larger than any of the other ones launched itself up into the air. Just like the other fish, it w

as golden in color and had two heads. However, there was something ancient to this one, as though it had lived for a very long time. Furthermore, its scales glittered with a golden light that surpassed the other fish.

"A hundred-year-old golden loach!" Gasping, Naruto waved his hand, sending a stream of frigid Chakra out which instantly wrapped around the fish. However, a stream of power shot back toward him, destabilizing his cultivation base and very nearly dragging him off of the balcony.

Expression flickering, he quickly called out at the top of his lungs, "Que'er, Master Snortsnort, Little Manyao, hurry up and help me! I hooked a precious treasure here!"

Song Que, Master God-Diviner, and Chen Manyao immediately opened their eyes from meditation. Song Que seemed a bit irritated, and Master God-Diviner was also slightly annoyed. As for Chen Manyao, she had the same smile on her face that she usually did. However, when all of them looked over and saw the huge loach leaping into and out of the water, their eyes went wide. Song Que was the first to rush out, followed by Chen Manyao and Master God-Diviner.

"Hurry up and help me!" Naruto said excitedly. "If we can catch this fish, we'll have a great dinner tonight!" With that, he poured some more cultivation base power into his efforts. Thankfully, as a member of the Spirit Stream Sect, he had been cultivating control power for quite some time, and was very familiar with it. Therefore, despite the fact that the fish had already dropped back down under the surface of the water, he still managed to maintain a connection to it.

The struggling of the enormous fish was causing huge waves to roll out, along with intense crashing sounds. Thankfully, Song Que and the others quickly arrived to help. Song Que's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and a shadow spread out from his feet and into the water. Although the water weakened it a bit, it still managed to shoot directly toward the huge fish.

Master God-Diviner also performing an incantation gesture as he unleashed the power of a magical item.

Chen Manyao's actions were the strangest of all; after performing an incantation gesture, she opened her mouth and spat out a pink cloud, which rapidly shrank down into the shape of a mist hawk that let out a piercing cry as it dove toward the fish.

Naruto let out a whoop of excitement. Moments ago, he had been bored, but now everything had changed.

"Come on everybody, don't hold anything back!" he shouted. "We can't let this fish get away!" Uzumaki Naruto's excitement was rubbing off on the others, whose hearts began to pound. Considering how much this huge fish was struggling, they all could tell that it wasn't anything ordinary.

The fish struggled mightily, even letting out muffled cries that reached the cultivators who were gathered on the deck. As for Gongsun Wan'er, she wasn't too far away from Uzumaki Naruto's position, and when she looked down, she could actually see the fish, as well as Naruto and his Dao protectors.

Laughing softly in amusement, she waved her finger in the direction of the huge fish, unleashing her own cultivation base power to aid Naruto and the others.

Naruto sensed that Gongsun Wan'er was helping them, and was quite moved.

"Wan'er!" he shouted. "Help us reel in this fish and we'll all have a great dinner!"

Gongsun Wan'er looked down at Uzumaki Naruto, smiled, and said,

"Dinner? You mean tonight?"

"Yeah!" he replied, not thinking much about her question. Under the combined efforts of the group, the struggling fish slowly weakened, and soon, they managed to heave it up out of the water toward the battleship.

Laughing excitedly, Naruto extended his hands to grab the fish.

Simultaneously, excited smiles broke out on the faces of Song Que, Master God-Diviner and even Chen Manyao. Although catching his huge fish hadn't involved any danger, they were out in the middle of the Heavenspan Sea, and had worked quite hard to succeed.

However, even as the huge fish flew through the air, a figure burst into motion from the deck, moving like lighting to unleash his great circle Core Formation cultivation base power. Before anyone could do anything, he had waved his finger in the direction of the fish.

Instantly, a huge hand appeared in the middle of the air, which rumbled toward the exhausted fish, and then hit it with such intense power that it instantly died!

Next, the hand wrapped around the fish and pulled it back toward a young man on the deck of the ship, who swished his sleeve to pull the fish into his bag of holding.

"What are you doing!?" Naruto shouted, enraged. Unable to react in time, he had no choice but to fly up to the deck, fuming with anger. Song Que, Master God-Diviner, and Chen Manyao all joined him, where they confronted the young man face-to-face.

"Hey," Naruto said, "we saw that fish first, and we're the ones who weakened it. We were just about to grab it, you thief!"

Shockingly, the young man in front of them had once been in the top 3 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, but was now in 5th place. His name was… Ji Fang!

"Are you kidding me?" Ji Fang said, a cruel expression twisting his face.

"I have the fish now. It's mine!" Of course, he completely ignored Song Que and the others, and only looked at Naruto and Gongsun Wan'er, albeit with complete scorn.

—

Chapter 447

Chapter 447

Chapter 447: The Return Of The Unclean Thing!

Ji Fang had been eyeing the golden loach the entire time. Virtually everyone on the battleship had almost instantly begun to covet it, with the exception of Zhao Tianjiao, Chen Yueshan and Heretic.

Therefore, Ji Fang had simply decided to snatch it in the heat of the moment. Although he did fear Naruto to some extent, he was confident that he could handle him, even if he teamed up with Gongsun Wan'er.

After all, Naruto wasn't the only one with people to back him up; Ji Fang had his own followers. Therefore, he didn't even bother to respond, and simply turned on his heel and walked off.

"Insufferable bully!" Naruto grumbled angrily. To have his belongings openly robbed was a bitter pill to swallow, and he was just about to step forward the prevent Ji Fang from leaving when Master GodDiviner grabbed his arm.

"Junior Patriarch, just let it go. Ji Fang used to be in the top 3, and even though he's dropped down to 5th place, he's still terrifyingly powerful!"

"It's just a fish," Song Que said through gritted teeth as he watched Ji Fang walking away, "There's no need to get into a big fight over it. That might make things problematic once we reach the sect outposts." Considering that everyone was persuading him to back down, Naruto clenched his jaw and let out a cold harrumph. He could tell than both Song Que and Master God-Diviner felt the same way and didn't want to offend Ji Fang. Even if Naruto made a move on his own, it would still drag them into it, so therefore, he really had no choice other than to just grin and bear it.

"That guy is too overbearing," he muttered. "With a personality like that, he'll definitely get killed once we reach the Wildlands!" With that, he returned dejectedly to his cabin.

After the scene was over, only Gongsun Wan'er remained standing there. Although no one noticed it, she was chuckling as she watched Ji Fang walking away. Then she licked her lips, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

"Looks yummy," she murmured to herself.

Nothing happened that night for Uzumaki Naruto. He sat cross-legged in meditation, mulling over the day's events and feeling more irritated by the moment.

"I can't just let this drop," he thought. "Ji Fang might have some skills, but I have even more skills! I have to think of a way to teach him a lesson he won't ever forget!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, he opened his bag of holding to look for the little turtle, but even after searching around for quite a while, couldn't find him.

By the time the first rays of dawn emerged, he was feeling more depressed than ever. However, it was at that point that the still and quiet atmosphere of the battleship was broken by a bloodcurdling scream that echoed out from deck 3, the very same deck that Uzumaki Naruto's cabin was on.

There was something terrifying about that scream, as if it had been fueled by a life force that was in the midst of being extinguished. Quite a few people heard the scream, including Uzumaki Naruto.

"What's going on!?"

Song Que and the other Dao protectors opened their eyes and looked around, shocked. Before long, the other top 10 chosen on deck 3 began to emerge, Naruto included.

Even Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan came down from deck 2, and joined in as everyone searched for the origin of the scream!

It didn't take long before they discovered that one of the cabins on deck 3 had a shriveled corpse in it!

The corpse was discovered in Ji Fang's cabin… and after examining it closely, everyone could tell that it was no

ne other than Ji Fang himself!

"This…." Naruto said with a gasp.

Ji Fang had been withered dry to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. Despite being little more than a skeleton, he clearly hadn't been dead for long, and yet, already seemed to be rotting. Everyone present was a Core Formation cultivator and a top chosen, and therefore, it didn't take long before they all noticed… that Ji Fang had died in a very strange way. Apparently, all of his blood had been drained away!

Gasps and looks of astonishment appeared on the faces of everyone present. After all, Ji Fang was in the great circle of Core Formation, and possessed incredible battle prowess. And yet, there were no signs of magical combat in the area, as though Ji Fang had been killed in the briefest of instants!

Even more telling was that Ji Fang's cabin was filled with intense, frigid coldness, something that caused everyone's minds to tremble.

Naruto stared mutely at Ji Fang's corpse, his eyes wide with incredulity. He had been thinking about Ji Fang all night, and never could have imagined that the following day, he would actually be dead.

"He really died?" Naruto was having trouble controlling his breathing, especially when he realized that the corpse itself actually looked very familiar. Before he could put much thought into it, the faces of Master God-Diviner and Song Que drained of blood, and looks of fear began to shine in their eyes.

Chen Manyao also gasped, and a look of fear spread out across her face.

If the three-eyed Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul cultivators had been present, things might not have been as terrifying. But all of those members of the Senior generation were gone, and none of the Core Formation disciples present were quite sure what to do. Therefore, everyone looked to Zhao Tianjiao to take the lead. After approaching the corpse and examining it for a moment, his expression flickered and he said, "It seems that some sort of unclean thing is on board the ship with us. Everyone needs to be extra careful!"

All the disciples present shivered in fear, and as for Uzumaki Naruto, he felt his scalp going numb. Unfortunately, the mystery of Ji Fang's death was not something that could be explained at the moment, so everyone eventually dispersed, maintaining full vigilance along the way.

Heart pounding with fear, Naruto returned to his cabin with Song Que, Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao. As soon as they were all inside, he closed the door and then looked at his ashen-faced friends.

Worried that he might be reading too much into the situation, he tentatively asked, "Did you guys also think that corpse looked familiar…?"

Face filled with alarm and terror, Master God-Diviner replied, "Junior

Patriarch… that corpse… reminds me of the corpses back in the RiverDefying Sect!"

"It looks exactly the same!" Song Que growled.

"I noticed it too," Chen Manyao said after a moment. "This corpse looks just like those other corpses…."

Upon hearing their responses, Naruto felt like his scalp was tingling so hard it was going to explode. Considering how familiar the corpse seemed, and coupled with Zhao Tianjiao's words, he couldn't help but think about what had happened back in the River-Defying Sect. Now, the confirmation of his three Dao protectors left him convinced that the two events were connected.

"Dammit!" he wailed. "How could this be happening? I… I came all the way here, and that unclean thing followed the entire way…?" The more he thought about it, the stranger it and more terrifying it seemed. In fact, he immediately produced some evil-warding talismans from his bag of holding and plastered them onto himself.

Of course, that wasn't enough for him. He quickly urged Master GodDiviner and Song Que to help him set up some more spell formations in the cabin. Then he went into his own private room and set up some additional spell formations, and also made sure he had plenty of Soul Convergence Pills ready.

"I have evil-warding talismans, spell formations, and Soul Convergence Pills. If that unclean thing has any sense at all, it won't dare to provoke me…. Yeah, that's right. If it provokes me, it will definitely meet a miserable end!" Scowling on the verge of tears, he continued to try to encourage himself with the fact that Song Que and the others were also present. Considering that they were around, it wasn't likely that the unclean thing would come for him.

But then he remembered that Ji Fang had been in the great circle of Core Formation. Considering that he was also in the Core Formation stage, that left him feeling more unprotected and unsafe than ever. The image of Ji Fang's desiccated, blood-drained corpse remained floating in his mind constantly.

"Just what kind of ghost are we dealing with…?" he thought. "When is that deva Chen Hetian going to get back…?"

It was in this manner that he stewed in his anxiety and vigilance for an entire night.

He wasn't the only nervous one, of course. Song Que, Master GodDiviner, Chen Manyao, and all the other chosen on deck 3, and even the disciples on decks 4 and 5, were all very anxious.

If any other person had been killed, it probably wouldn't have been a big deal. But Ji Fang had been in 5th place in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, with extraordinary battle prowess. And yet, he had still met a bizarre and grisly fate, leaving everyone feeling completely ill at ease.

When dawn came, and people checked around and found that no one else had died, people finally began to breathe sighs of relief. Naruto was slightly less anxious, but not by much. Taking advantage of the daylight, he set up more spell formations both inside and outside of his room. Sadly, he wasn't good at creating paper talismans, otherwise he would have painted many, many more such items to ward off evil spirits.

Three days passed by in a flash. No one died, and soon, the atmosphere on the ship returned to normal. People once again went up onto the main deck. However, everyone still felt a great weight on their hearts, and often looked up into the sky, hoping to see three-eyed Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul cultivators returning.

Eventually, half a month went by…. And yet, Chen Hetian and the other still were not back. However, no one had been killed during that time. At long last, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe Ji Fang was killed, not by the unclean thing, but by… that big fish?"

Chapter 448

Chapter 448

Chapter 448: Junior Brother Uzumaki, A Word Please?

After much thought, Naruto wasn't able to determine whether or not the hundred-year-old loach could possibly have been the cause of death. However, he knew that he definitely couldn't come up with any answers locked in his room, so eventually, he called on his Dao protectors to discuss the matter further.

Over the past few days, his Dao protectors had been too rattled to focus fully on cultivation, but once they heard this new fish theory of Uzumaki Naruto's, they began to calm down.

Finally, after more than half a month of remaining in seclusion, Naruto emerged and headed up to the main deck. There, he happened to catch sight of Gongsun Wan'er, who also seemed to have come up to the deck to relieve her boredom. Upon catching sight of Naruto and his Dao protectors, she smiled and joined them.

Most of the cultivators on the deck were grouped together in twos or threes, although a few of them stood by themselves.

As such, Uzumaki Naruto's group was the largest present. Song Que was walking behind him, radiating his usual murderous aura that made him seem completely unapproachable. Master God-Diviner was walking next to him, looking almost like his personal assistant. And then there was Gongsun Wan'er on one side with her incredible good looks, and Chen

Manyao on the other side with her spectacular beauty. Together, they made quite a sight.

Many of the cultivators in the area looked over at Uzumaki Naruto, and although some of them had cold looks on their faces, many seemed envious.

Naruto took a deep breath of sea air, looked up into the sky, and then gazed out at the golden sea. Gradually, the weight in his heart seemed to lessen.

"Ai," he sighed. "I can't believe our wonderful voyage took such a turn for the worse." Looking around at the crowd, he suddenly realized that a lot of people were looking at him. Turning, he realized that Gongsun Wan'er and Chen Manyao were right by him, and by chance, both of them happened to be smiling at him. They were two different smiles, and two different facial expressions, but they were both very beautiful. All of a sudden, Uzumaki Naruto's mood got even better.

As of that moment, he discovered a new hobby. In the following days, he would take time every day to go for a stroll on deck, and would always make sure to chat openly with Chen Manyao and Gongsun Wan'er. As they smiled and laughed with him, many of the other cultivators in the area would look over enviously.

The more looks like that he got, the more he liked this new hobby, and at the same time, he felt less distant from Gongsun Wan'er.

"Gongsun Wan'er really is pretty when she smiles," he thought, glancing around proudly at the crowd. As he did, he noticed that up ahead, Zhao Tianjiao was standing there, looking as cold as a statue.

During the past few days, he had caught sight of Zhao Tianjiao a few times, as well as Chen Yueshan. Both of them were superstars in the top 3, with extremely high status. They were the type of people who didn't need to have an entourage to provoke countless envious glances from the surrounding cultivators.

As Zhao Tianjiao walked along, a group of seven or eight other cultivators trailed along behind him, looking very subservient. Naruto actually recognized some of them from back on Sky Quarter Rainbow, when he'd gone around asking for help to get some sevencolored mistysea grass.

Lowering his voice, he leaned over and said, "Hey Master Snortsnort, why do you think all of the superstars are so cold-looking? Zhao Tianjiao looks like he's above everyone else, and it's the same with Chen Yueshan and Heretic. They hardly ever hang out with anybody else, and spend most of t

heir time in secluded meditation."

Master God-Diviner hesitated for a moment and then said, "Well, ummm… maybe they act that way because everyone expects them to be like that."

Even as Naruto contemplated this possibility, he looked over at Zhao Tianjiao, and found that Zhao Tianjiao had turned and was looking back at him.

Suddenly, their gazes met.

Although Zhao Tianjiao's expression was placid, there was something intense within his eyes that Naruto found to be almost painful. Of course, although Naruto was definitely the type who feared death, he was not the type who shrank back when someone simply looked at him. As soon as he felt the painful intensity of Zhao Tianjiao's gaze, his own eyes began to shine as he stared back.

Though no sound could be heard from the interlocking of their gazes, both of their minds filled with intense fluctuations. Uzumaki Naruto's expression flickered, and he stopped walking, and then Zhao Tianjiao retracted his vision. And yet, unlike Uzumaki Naruto, Zhao Tianjiao didn't stop walking. Instead… he headed in Uzumaki Naruto's direction.

Zhao Tianjiao occupied 1st place among the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, so no matter where he went, he was always the center of attention. When people realized that he was walking toward Uzumaki Naruto, everyone began to pay close attention.

That was especially true considering that he was flanked by seven or eight followers, making it seem like a grand procession.

Song Que's expression turned very serious, and although Master GodDiviner initially gaped in shock, his expression quickly became the same as Song Que's. Even Chen Manyao looked surprised. The only one among the group whose expression was the same as ever was Gongsun Wan'er, who even seemed interested to see what would happen with Zhao Tianjiao.

As Zhao Tianjiao proceeded forward, silence fell upon the main deck. Everyone was watching as he slowly came to a stop right in front of Uzumaki Naruto.

His expression was as cold as ice, and he looked like a glistening, unsheathed sword, as powerful as a mountain who could look down upon everything below him. As he measured Naruto up, Naruto blinked a few times, wondering what exactly was going on. After all, he and Zhao Tianjiao had only ever seen each other a few times, and had never even exchanged words.

After a moment, Naruto couldn't hold back from saying, "Elder

Brother Zhao?"

Almost as soon as the words left Uzumaki Naruto's mouth, Zhao Tianjiao responded in a cold voice, "Junior Brother Uzumaki, a word please?"

Although Zhao Tianjiao didn't unleash any of his aura, considering his status and accomplishments in battle, he was the type of person that would leave anyone feeling cold with fear.

"Huh?" Naruto replied, feeling a bit shocked. After a moment of thought, he nodded. The truth was that he wasn't scared, just curious as to why a superstar like Zhao Tianjiao would want to talk with him.

Zhao Tianjiao's face remained as cold as ever as he headed toward the prow of the ship. As he neared, the cultivators who had originally been gathered there backed away to make room.

More curious than ever, Naruto followed along. Of course, he maintained his vigilance the entire way; although he doubted that Zhao Tianjiao had any ill intentions, he was prepared for anything.

Soon Naruto and Zhao Tianjiao were alone at the prow of the ship, whereupon Zhao Tianjiao waved his right hand, causing a glittering shield of light to rise up that cut them off completely from everything outside. Clearly, this was not a defensive shield, but rather something that would block both sound and divine sense alike. As of this moment, the two of them would be able to speak freely without anyone else being able to hear.

Uzumaki Naruto's curiosity continued to mount as he looked expectantly at Zhao Tianjiao, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Zhao Tianjiao stood there quietly for a moment looking at Uzumaki Naruto, his expression extremely solemn, as though he were wrestling with an important issue. Uzumaki Naruto's curiosity was reaching the boiling point, and as for everyone else on the main deck, they were watching the scene play out with various expressions on their faces.

"I wonder why Eldest Brother wants to talk with Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Something strange is going on… could it have something to do with the death of Ji Fang?"

"Now that I think about, there was some friction between Ji Fang and Uzumaki

Naruto right before Ji Fang died…."

All sorts of speculations filled the hearts of the onlookers.

Even as Naruto was going to try to make his own guess, Zhao

Tianjiao took a deep breath and said, "Junior Brother Uzumaki…."

Naruto leaned forward intently.

Looking very serious, Zhao Tianjiao said, "Junior Brother Uzumaki, those… those two girls you hang out with are pretty good-looking…."

"Huh?" Naruto said, stunned. Considering the serious look on Zhao Tianjiao's face, he almost wondered if he had misheard him.

"Um… listen, don't take this the wrong way, Junior Brother. I don't have any feelings for them…. I just want to know how you managed to win them over. I've been watching you the past few days, and really want to understand how you managed to get two hotties like that to hang out with you." Zhao Tianjiao had a somber expression on his cold-looking face. He seemed tall and proud, like an unsheathed sword. And yet, the words he spoke caused Uzumaki Naruto's eyes to go as wide as saucers.

Had he not heard the words with his own two ears, Zhao Tianjiao's somber expression would have made it completely impossible for Naruto to guess what it was he wanted to talk about. It was completely unexpected….

Naruto scratched his head, feeling a bit confused. Without even thinking about it, he said, "They're the ones who took to hanging out with me. I couldn't get rid of them if I tried…."

When Zhao Tianjiao hear this, his expression turned even more serious than before, and he even frowned. Considering his status and incredible battle prowess, a frown like that would make anyone who saw it feel like a thunderstorm were descending.

Of course, no one could hear what the two of them were talking about. They could only see the expressions on their faces. First, they saw the incredulity and disbelief of Uzumaki Naruto, and immediately began to come up with explanations for why he was reacting in such a way.

"Something big is happening! Look you guys! Naruto is shaking his head. Now he's explaining something!"

"This is really weird. Look at Eldest Brother's expression. It's even more serious than before. It's almost like… he doesn't believe what Naruto just told him!"

—

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	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 449 Chapter 449

Chapter 449: So, You're That Kind Of Person….

As the onlookers speculated about what was happening, Song Que and Master God-Diviner looked on in shock, completely unable to come up with any ideas of what Zhao Tianjiao and Naruto might be talking about. Even Chen Manyao seemed very curious.

Gongsun Wan'er was the only one with a slight smile on her face.

Meanwhile, up at the front of the ship, Naruto was only just now recovering from his shock. It was with a very odd expression that he looked at Zhao Tianjiao, pondering how this was the 1st place Eldest Brother from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, a person with a profound cultivation base, who could cut down Nascent Soul experts….

"Hm, this is the kind of guy I should probably make friends with," he thought. "That way, if someone picks on me in the Wildlands, I'll have someone to help me out. Things will probably go much more smoothly with a friend like him." With these thoughts on his mind, Naruto smiled and patted Zhao Tianjiao's shoulder like he would a close companion. Voice as casual as a spring breeze, he said, "Eldest Brother…."

Zhao Tianjiao wasn't used to people touching him, and was about to back away, when he heard Naruto's tone of voice, and could tell that he was speaking with heartfelt sincerity. Therefore, he allowed Naruto to continue to clasp his shoulder.

"You have to trust me on this one, Eldest Brother. Those two girls you saw me with, there are only two of them, right? Well, back in the RiverDefying Sect, I got love letters from tens of thousands of girls!" Naruto sighed and tried not to look proud of himself.

Assuming that Naruto must be exaggerating, Zhao Tianjiao frowned.

Of course, the expressions playing out on their faces fueled more discussions among the onlookers. That was especially true when Naruto clasped Zhao Tianjiao's shoulder, and Zhao Tianjiao didn't back away. Shocked expressions appeared on the faces of everyone present.

To these people, Zhao Tianjiao occupied the highest of high positions, and was a completely proud and aloof figure. He was the type of cold person that no one could ever get close to. Therefore, to see this sudden change in behavior was quite shocking.

Back at the prow of the ship, Zhao Tianjiao was frowning in disappointment at Naruto. In fact, he was actually planning to simply turn and leave.

"Hey! You still don't believe me? Alright, look at this!" Naruto hated when people didn't trust what he said, so he quickly patted his bag of holding, causing a rustling sound to fill the air as vast quantities of love letters began to spill out like rain.

There were so many of them that they quickly formed a tiny mountain right there on the deck. Zhao Tianjiao gasped, his eyes going wide with shock and disbelief. He even picked up a few of the letters and read them, whereupon an expression of even greater astonishment appeared. It quickly became obvious that all of the love letters were written by different people, and were not fake. There were even some jade slips in the pile, within which could be seen the beautiful faces of the girls who had delivered them…. "Th-this… this…."

Zhao Tianjiao was starting to pant, and his heart trembled fiercely as it was battered by waves of shock. He looked up slowly at Naruto, the same expression in his eyes that he would have if he was facing a deva.

Swishing his sleeve proudly, Naruto stuck his chin up and said, "See? Now do you believe me? And this is only some of my collection. I have more in my bag of holding. With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, won over the hearts of countless female cul

tivators in the River-Defying Sect!"

The strange scene which was now playing out caused the hearts and minds of the onlookers to be filled with both shock and speculation. No one could hear the words being spoken, and divine sense was useless, so all they could do was watch what was happening.

When people saw the huge pile of letters pouring out of Naruto's bag of holding, they gaped in shock. At first, many people didn't take the letters to be anything special, but soon people realized that many of them were folded up into the shape of hearts.

"What are those things? Heavens! Eldest Brother is actually going through and reading some of them! Why do I get the feeling that those are love letters?"

"Nah. No way! Have you ever seen anyone with that many love letters? There must be more than 10,000 of them! They're obviously not love letters! Besides, look at the expression on Eldest Brother's face. He's clearly privy to some mysterious secret, right?"

"How come this Naruto only proves to be more and more enigmatic?!"

Of course, when Chen Manyao recognized the love letters, she made a 'pshaw' sound, seemingly unsure of whether to laugh or cry.

Before people could look at the scene too closely to analyze what was happening, Zhao Tianjiao took a deep breath and waved his hand, causing the sound barrier to suddenly blur, making it impossible for anyone to even see the two of them.

Expression extremely somber and profoundly sincere, Zhao Tianjiao clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto.

"Junior Brother Uzumaki, I almost can't believe that someone as young as you has such uncanny skill. I wonder if you might be willing to deign to teach me a thing or two?"

Naruto was yet again taken aback by the strange sight of Zhao Tianjiao looking so serious and yet uttering such words.

"You want to learn that kind of stuff?" Naruto asked quizzically.

Eyes shining with solemnity, Zhao Tianjiao took a deep breath and yet again bowed deeply. "Junior Brother Uzumaki, please teach me. I want to be happy in life, and if you can bless me with such kindness, I'll never forget it for as long as I live!"

Naruto blinked a couple times as he finally came to realize what was going on. Zhao Tianjiao was clearly the type of person who seemed cold and distant on the outside, but was secretly very passionate and romantic. After a moment, Naruto laughed heartily.

"Hey, we're brothers, right? What do you mean teach you a thing or two? Let's schedule some time and I'll teach you everything I know. Just tell me which girl it is that you like. There's no challenge that Love Saint Naruto can't handle!" He even slapped his chest confidently to emphasize his words.

Zhao Tianjiao heaved a long sigh of relief. They immediately set a time to meet and discuss the matter further, after which Zhao Tianjiao bowed deeply, then dispelled the sealing shield and walked away somberly.

Naruto put all of the love letters away, and then strutted proudly back to his Dao protectors. Master God-Diviner seemed very curious, and although Song Que was feigning complete disinterest, it was obvious that he was paying close attention to Naruto.

After a moment, Master God-Diviner couldn't hold back from asking,

"Junior Patriarch, what were you talking about over there with Zhao Tianjiao?"

"I can't say," Naruto said, shaking his head in very enigmatic fashion. "It's a matter which touches on the most important thing in Elder Brother Zhao's life. How could I possibly reveal that information so casually?" Clasping his hands behind his back, he strolled off proudly toward his cabin.

Of course, his secrecy only caused Master God-Diviner and the others to grow more curious, and it was the same with everyone else who had been present to witness the scene. In fact, many people began making discreet inquiries to try to dig up information, although none of that produced any results.

Three days passed, during which time Naruto never left his cabin. Instead, he waited patiently for Zhao Tianjiao to come consult with him.

Seeing this, Master God-Diviner couldn't help but ask about the situation a few more times, but each time, his inquiries were rebuffed. Finally, though, Naruto sighed and said, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Zhao Tianjiao?" Master God-Diviner replied, shocked. Even Song Que's ears perked up.

"That's right," Naruto replied calmly. "The truth is that the only person on this entire battleship that can help him is me, Naruto." With that, he closed his eyes and continued to meditate, looking prouder of himself than ever.

Master God-Diviner and Song Que exchanged a quizzical glance. However, no amount of speculation on their part could provide any insight. Finally, when evening was falling on the third day, Zhao Tianjiao's voice could be heard outside the cabin door.

"Is Junior Brother Uzumaki in?"

Master God-Diviner and Song Que looked over at Naruto, who slowly opened his eyes.

"Que'er, hurry up and get the door."

"Manyao, please give us some privacy."

Chen Manyao gave a light harrumph. She had her own speculations about what was going on, but had no choice but to glide over to her room and close the door. As for Song Que, his eyes widened to a glare, but he knew that he was a guest under someone else's roof, so therefore he simply gritted his teeth and went to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Zhao Tianjiao appeared, solemn as ever as he walked in with two followers.

The two followers had anxious expressions on their faces; they happened to be two of the Chosen from the Hall of Devil Slayers that Naruto had visited to ask for help buying medicinal ingredients. Back then, both of them had intentionally made things difficult for Naruto. One of them had quoted an astronomical price, and the other had pretended to be in secluded meditation.

How could they ever have imagined that Naruto would suddenly rise to the top in spectacular fashion, reaching the violet portion of the rainbow and shaking the entire sect? Of course, even after all of that, they had still felt confident that Naruto wouldn't come looking for revenge, not considering that they were followers of Zhao Tianjiao.

But now, it was to their complete disbelief that they learned that Zhao Tianjiao and Naruto were somehow very close to each other. What was even more shocking was that Zhao Tianjiao had a very serious expression on his face, and was being very polite.

The two of them couldn't help but be quite shaken.

Upon entering, Zhao Tianjiao took a deep breath and, completely ignoring the fact that Master God-Diviner and Song Que were still present, clasped hands and bowed deeply. "Junior Brother Uzumaki, I hope you won't laugh at me when I tell you that I've always been in love with Junior Sister Yueshan. I just don't know how to win her over. In terms of compensation, I'll give you anything you ask for, as long as it's in my power. Even a deva beast soul!"

Chapter 450 Chapter 450

Chapter 450: Win Charm!

Master God-Diviner took a deep breath, and Song Que stood off to the side with a look of blank shock on his face. No matter how either of them had considered the matter, they could never have guessed that the preeminently proud Zhao Tianjiao would say something like that upon entering Naruto's cabin.

They weren't the only ones to be completely taken aback: Zhao Tianjiao's two followers were also struck with shock.

That was especially true considering that the compensation Zhao Tianjiao was offering was a deva beast soul. All four of the other cultivators present were completely flabbergasted by that; back at the sect, a deva beast soul could be traded for a Nascent Soul Pill, which showed how incredibly valuable they were.

Meanwhile, Naruto sat there cross-legged, not even having bothered to rise to his feet. In fact, he was actually frowning in displeasure.

Then he snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve and angrily said, "Elder Brother Zhao, you and I got along with each other at first sight, and it was the sincerity of your request that convinced me to help you. And yet here you go and offer compensation? Do you really think that I, Naruto, am the kind of person who cares about compensation from you?!"

Face turning even more grim, he continued, "Deva beast soul…? Hmph!

If I want one of those, I'll get it myself. You may leave now, Elder Brother

Zhao. See yourself out!"

Master God-Diviner and Song Que suddenly found it hard to breathe, and Zhao Tianjiao's two followers' jaws dropped. As for the latter, they had never heard anyone in the current generation of disciples speak to Zhao Tianjiao in such a way. Just as they were about to step forward and berate Naruto, Zhao Tianjiao raised his hand to stop them.

Giving Naruto a deep look, he suddenly smiled, which was something he very rarely did.

"How foolish of me, my brother. Please don't be angry."

The sincerity of his smile and his words caused the hearts of his two followers to begin to pound even harder. They had been followers of Zhao Tianjiao for a very long time, and had never once seen him smile. Not only was that shocking in and of itself, but it also made them even more terrified of Naruto.

Laughing heartily, Naruto rose to his feet.

"Eldest Brother, the truth is that I'm just trying to get the best you have to offer. You see, the reason I want to help you is not because I want to make a quick profit, but rather, because I seek long-term compensation.

And that compensation is none other than your friendship!" Naruto was of the opinion that the words he had spoken were particularly impressive, and was feeling quite proud of himself for coming up with them.

Master God-Diviner and Song Que exchanged a glance, and even Zhao Tianjiao seemed surprised. But then, Zhao Tianjiao's smile grew even more sincere than before. Shaking his head, he sat down in front of Naruto.

"I'm in love with Chen Yueshan, Naruto . What am I supposed to do?"

Naruto sat down, placing a flagon of spirit alcohol down between them as he did. Master God-Diviner, being as quick-witted as he was, quickly took it upon himself to serve them. Naruto lifted his cup and took a sip, his eyes glittering faintly.

Zhao Tianjiao didn't rush him. Taking a sip of his own alcohol, he sat there waiting for Naruto to speak.

It took Naruto a moment to organize his thoughts, after which, he began to speak, his expression placid, but seemingly profound, like someone who had long since achieved the Dao.

"Love is a complex and ever-changing thing, like an entire world of interlocking thoughts and emotions. It's not common fo

r people to be able to see thing clearly when it comes to love, especially considering how many things affect it. Consider: one's personality, one's actions, one's status, and one's other relationships all play a part, as well as sundry other factors."

Placing his drinking vessel down, he slowly continued, "Loving someone is a simple thing. However, getting that person to love you back is a skill unto itself.

"Upon first entering the cultivation world, I did not shrink back from that tribulation called love, and in fact, dominated the field for decades. I received 37,931 love letters, and won the hearts of tens of thousands of young women. I've seen many instances of love, and seen many beautiful women age and fall by the wayside. Although I can't say that I understand everything about the topic, based on what I've experienced, I can claim to have learned a bit." Waving his sleeve, he stuck his chin up, and from the look in his eye, he seemed to have many profound thoughts running through his head.

Master God-Diviner's eyes went even wider than before, and as for Song Que, his lips curled with a bit of scorn. The two of them exchanged a look, and both could see how much the other was scoffing at Naruto's blatant, showy display.

Zhao Tianjiao coughed dryly, and was about to say something when Naruto suddenly gave him a piercing look.

"What I am about to explain now is a secret that took me half a lifetime to perfect. Anyone who masters this secret will have the power to shake heaven and earth, and even cause signs to appear in the sky. Were it to fall into the wrong hands, wicked hands, it would lead to countless young women being struck witless with terror, and likely, plunged into an abyss of misery…. Therefore, all of you must remember that this is a secret which cannot be spread beyond this room!

"The field of love is like the field of battle. In battle, you seek victory, and in love, you seek to win the heart of the person you love!

"Therefore, I, Naruto, have taken everything I have learned in life, and combined it all into a single character. Win!" As he spoke, his voice grew louder, and seemed to surge with intensity.

"When you break apart the character win 赢 into all its smaller elements, you get 亡 death, 口 mouth, 月 moon, 贝 shell-money, 凡 and mortal! 1

"The death character represents an awareness of deadly crisis. The mouth character represents the power to communicate properly. The moon character represents how important timing and the environment are. The shell-money character represents how important spirit stones are. The mortal character represents how you must always keep your mortal heart calm and peaceful, especially in critical moments." Upon hearing these words, Zhao Tianjiao's expression flickered.

He wasn't the only one to react in such a way. Master God-Diviner couldn't keep his expression calm, and Song Que's mind began to spin with numerous thoughts. Even Zhao Tianjiao's two followers gasped, as though they had just received important enlightenment.

Never before in their lives had they heard words spoken like this, and the more they thought about them… the more they made sense! "This is the summary of all the insight of Love Saint Naruto… my secret method, the Win Charm!" To emphasize his words, Naruto slapped his hand down onto the ground, the sound of which echoed into the minds of everyone present, leaving them utterly shaken.

"This…." Master God-Diviner looked in shock at Naruto, his mind filled with thoughts of the Win Charm.

Song Que was gaping in disbelief, trying to figure out how Naruto could possibly have come up with something like this….

Zhao Tianjiao lost control of his breathing for a moment before calming down. As of this moment, he was completely convinced that Naruto knew what he was talking about. He really was like a deva, and his Win Charm left Zhao Tianjiao feeling as if he had been struck by lightning. Suddenly, whole new worlds of possibility had opened up.

"This guy took the battlefield that is love," he thought, "and all the techniques and skills involved with it, and bound them together into a single character…. Just how profoundly skilled is he?" Zhao Tianjiao couldn't stop from rising to his feet, clasping hands, and bowing deeply to Naruto.

Naruto looked completely and utterly calm. Furthermore, at some unknown point, he had produced a fan, which he slowly swished through the air as he gazed around with an enigmatic smile on his face.

The truth was that Naruto hadn't come up with the Win Charm on his own. He had received quite a bit of help from imposter Nightcrypt. After all, back in the Blood Stream Sect, imposter Nightcrypt had gained a lot of experience in the love department…. Although all of his experiences had left him shedding proverbial tears of blood, were it not for his special techniques, neither he nor anyone else in his position could ever have accomplished what he had.

A profound look appeared in Naruto's eyes as he slowly said, "The Win Charm is just an overview, which I have explained to you today so that you can understand how the field of love is just like the field of battle!

"And now, I will give a more detailed explanation of the essence of the Win Charm!

"Death, mouth, moon, shell-money, mortal. The first aspect is the death character, which represents an awareness of deadly crisis. You must be prepared for dangerous threats at any moment, and must always remind yourself that a crisis might be around the next corner!

"After all, Elder Sister Chen is a natural born beauty with spectacular latent talent. You can't just simply think of her as a young woman with no Daoist partner. Obviously, there are many, many other disciples in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect who secretly have a crush on her, so many that you have no way of knowing how many there are!

"In fact, forget about the sect as a whole. Even on this very ship, there are surely many disciples who are already in love with her, so if you ignore that sensation of crisis now, then you have already met defeat!" To Zhao Tianjiao, Naruto's words felt like a fist punching him in the face. Moments ago, he had felt as if he suddenly understood things more, but now he was left shaking in fear. The truth was that he truly did care about Chen Yueshan, but because of his personality, found it impossible to express himself directly. He didn't even know how to try to woo her. Therefore, when he had seen how easily Naruto seemed to handle women, he had come to him for advice.

First, he had been shaken by Naruto's love letters, and then came the shocking Win Charm. By now, he had complete and utter faith, and couldn't wait to hear what was coming next.

"So, what am I supposed to do?!" he asked anxiously.

"Calm down," Naruto said sincerely, "I'm not finished yet. Although you must always foster that sense of crisis, you mustn't let it show on your face. Keep it alive in your heart only. That way… you will always understand that time is limited!"

Zhao Tianjiao took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Seeing that, Naruto's eyes twinkled with approval. Nodding his head, he continued, "Very good. Now, let's move on to the mouth character, which represents communication and interaction. You say you love Elder Sister Chen, therefore, I won't even wait for your response to the next issue. Have you told her about your feelings, or done anything to act on them? Obviously not, and that's fine. You don't want to be too hasty about such matters. However, you need to find more opportunities to interact with her, and when you do, you must be charming and witty. That's very important. And don't worry about what exactly to say. I'll teach you everything."

—

Chapter 451 Chapter 451

Chapter 451: Love Saint Naruto

"I…." Zhao Tianjiao began nervously, but couldn't even figure out what to say after that. After hearing everything that Naruto had said so far, his heart was already filled with profound gratitude.

"Next," Naruto continued, "is the moon character, which represents timing and environment. We're all on a ship right now, and the two of you are staying on the same deck. That means you have the advantage in terms of location. With me on your side, you'll definitely succeed!" He emphasized his last words by clapping his hands together loudly, then raising his voice and continuing, "Next is the shell-money character, which I don't think we even need to discuss. You surely have plenty of spirit stones. Last is the mortal character, which is very important, and is the antithesis of the death character. You see, despite embracing a sense of crisis within you, you must also have a calm heart. You must not let yourself get flustered; you have to keep control. And remember, as we proceed, I'll take care of everything!"

His voice seemed to thrum with encouragement and power, causing Zhao Tianjiao's blood to pump harder, and his mood to soar.

As for Master God-Diviner and the others present, when they heard Naruto's more detailed explanation, they started to get even more excited, and began to pay more close attention than ever. After all, they could tell that what Naruto was saying could probably help them as well.

Only Song Que still felt a bit of derision, although even he couldn't quite tear himself away from listening.

Coughing dryly, Naruto said, "Don't get excited yet, I haven't finished speaking."

Zhao Tianjiao personally refilled Naruto's drinking vessel, after which Naruto took a sip of alcohol to wet his throat. Then he continued, "My explanation of the Win Charm was mostly so that you could understand why Love Saint Naruto was able to dominate the field of love for decades. At this point, we need to start talking specifics.

"You see, on the field of love, you have to know yourself, and know your enemy. Furthermore, you have to be willing to adapt. If you want to get her to fall in love with you, you first have to get on the good side of her friends and family. If they think you're a good person, then you'll be a good person to her, even if you really aren't!" Naruto spoke with complete and utter confidence, making his words utterly convincing.

Master God-Diviner suddenly slapped his thigh, and his eyes sparkled with bright light. Sitting up straight and tall, he looked at Naruto with an expression of reverence; clearly, he took Naruto's words to be like gospel at this point.

Naruto, however, seemed a bit annoyed at the interruption.

Looking askance at Master God-Diviner for a moment, he continued, "There is a fact of which you might not be aware. When it comes to female cultivators, many of them lack a sense of security, something which is compounded by the brutal nature of the cultivation world. If you can give a girl a sense of security, then you will be like a beam of light on a dark night. She will naturally be drawn to you. Once you succeed in that, then you will have taken your first step toward success…." In response to these words, Zhao Tianjiao's eyebrows shot up with excitement.

Apparently, Master God-Diviner was worried he might forget what he was hearing, and had pulled out a jade slip to inscribe the information permanently. As for Zhao Tianjiao's two followers, they were staring at Naruto with looks of awe and reverence.

"There are two important techniques you must master. Put simp

ly, they are both ways to get her attracted to you! After you acquire her attention, you need to do as the line from the ancient poem says: hold a lute in your arms and use it to cover your face. In other words, make yourself seem mysterious! When she approaches you, back off! When she backs away, get closer to her! After a number of such back-and-forth encounters, she will eventually be filled with unquenchable desire! And that, heh heh, is when you will finally have hooked her!" Even Naruto was getting excited by this point, and was waving his arms in dramatic gestures as he spoke.

"That is how to conceal the fact that you are pursuing her, and actually make it seem like she's the one pursuing you!

"Back in the Blood Stream Sect, I used this exact method to win the heart of Que'er's aunt."

Song Que's expression grew even darker, and all of a sudden, it made complete sense why his aunt, who had never been one to be attracted to the immature type, fell head over heels for Naruto….

Although Song Que felt like simply walking out of the room, he had to admit that much of what Naruto was saying could be useful in the future. Therefore, he quickly came up with an excuse to stay behind. "I'm definitely going to make sure my aunt knows the truth about this Naruto!" he thought.

Zhao Tianjiao was completely shaken. Given the expression on Song Que's face, it was obvious that Naruto wasn't lying. Therefore, Zhao Tianjiao's confidence only continued to grow.

"At that point, though, you will not have secured your win on the field of love. Your position will still be very precarious, and you will have to work hard to consolidate your standing." Naruto felt extremely proud of himself at how shaken everyone was by his words. The truth was that during the past three days, he had spent a lot of time discussing the matter with imposter Nightcrypt, and had himself been quite shaken by what he had heard.

"I understand!" Zhao Tianjiao said excitedly. "I get what you mean by consolidating my standing. It's like cultivation. After you make a breakthrough, you have to stabilize your cultivation base. I get it!"

"No, you don't get it!" Naruto barked, glaring. "What you get is how to build upon existing feelings. That's not what I'm talking about. The highest realm in this aspect of love is being able to keep your distance! You need to get her worked up emotionally, to give her the feeling that she could lose you at any moment. That's when you finally make your move!

"You absolutely, positively must not spend too much time with her during this phase. If you do, she'll be too complacent regarding the growing feelings between the two of you. You must make her treasure such feelings! You must make her hell-bent on being with you.

Remember, the easier something is to get, the less precious it will be in the end." Suddenly, Naruto lapsed into silence, an expression of reminiscence and longing appeared on his face, as though he were lost in his memories of love, and the bittersweet recollections of an immature youth.

The truth was that he was actually thinking back to what he and imposter Nightcrypt had discussed, reviewing what came next in the speech, and mentally rehearsing how to say it. After enough time passed for two incense sticks to burn, his thoughts were in order.

Of course, during that time, Zhao Tianjiao was on the verge of prostrating himself in admiration, and was convinced that Naruto must abound with countless stories regarding love and relationships.

In any other circumstance, there was no way that Zhao Tianjiao, with his level of experience in life, would be so easily swayed. But the truth was that his heart was completely wrapped up with thoughts of Chen Yueshan. Therefore, Naruto's words left him totally shaken, and the way Naruto was explaining things left him utterly bereft of any powers of judgement….

Eyes still flickering with the gleam of reminiscence, Naruto began to speak in a voice so soft it seemed that he had forgotten about Zhao Tianjiao's presence. "You have to take your time. Make it seem like you are slowly coming to accept her….

"Then, when the moment is right, you give her the surprise of her life. Make her feel that the only reasonable decision is to become your Daoist partner. Up to that point, she will have been stewing in nervousness over the prospect of losing you, only to be suddenly overwhelmed with joy. When that happens for you, Elder Brother Zhao, I will finally be able to offer my congratulations to you for succeeding!"

At this point, he seemed to have fully emerged from his memories of the past, and looked over at Zhao Tianjiao. Raising his voice, he said, "However, I have to warn you, Elder Brother Zhao, relationships are not easy, and since you are going at it with a long and complicated plan, you must promise to never cast your loved one away. If you do, you will surely be punished by the heavens!" By this point, Naruto's words were spoken so loudly that they were almost deafening. Zhao Tianjiao was completely shaken, and immediately jumped to clasp hands and bow deeply.

Expression serious, and eyes shining with determination, he spoke in the most decisive of decisive voices, "I, Zhao Tianjiao, hereby solemnly swear that if I can tie the knot with Junior Sister Yueshan, then she will be my only Daoist partner for my entire life! If I break my oath, may the heavens destroy me and the earth bury me!"

"Good!" Naruto said, nodding approvingly like a member of the

Senior generation. "Since that's the case, then it's not in vain that I,

Love Saint Naruto, have explained my secrets to you!" Then he looked over at Master God-Diviner, Song Que, and Zhao Tianjiao's two followers. "The same goes for the rest of you too!"

Master God-Diviner didn't hesitate for a moment to swear a similar oath. As for Song Que, when Naruto looked directly at him, he felt a bit guilty, and almost swore an oath, but finally just snorted and refused to speak.

As for Zhao Tianjiao's two followers, they were completely shaken, and didn't even think twice about swearing oaths.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction. After taking another sip of alcohol, he looked at the fervent Zhao Tianjiao, then smiled and stuck his chin up.

"Very well, the formalities having been dispensed with, the time has come for you to go ingratiate yourself with Elder Sister Yueshan's close friends and family."

"Wait," Zhao Tianjiao said miserably, "I can't do that! Junior Sister

Yueshan only has two good friends, and both of them left for the Wildlands years ago. Furthermore, in terms of her family, her father is my Master, and he's very strict. How can I ingratiate myself with him?" "Your master is old three-eyes?" Naruto said, his jaw dropping.

Zhao Tianjiao cleared his throat, and was thinking of correcting the way Naruto referred to his Master, but considering that he was here asking for help, he pretended that he hadn't noticed.

Naruto's heart suddenly surged as he realized that if he could get Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan together, then it would essentially mean that he would have a deva on his side. He immediately began to consider more ways to handle Zhao Tianjiao's situation.

After a moment, his eyes began to sparkle.

"Very well, let's shift tactics. You need to get Elder Sister Yueshan's attention. Therefore, we need to know what type of man she likes."

"I'm not sure!" Zhao Tianjiao said, looking even more miserable than before.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. The easiest way to get an idea about someone's personality is to look at the clothing they wear. How about this: you leave it to me to pick what clothes to wear over the next few days. It shouldn't take long to figure out what she likes." As Naruto imagined all the different clothing he would have Zhao Tianjiao wear, he couldn't help but muse that this was the perfect plan. With that, he pulled Zhao Tianjiao closer and began to whisper into his ear the details of which outfits he should get ready.

Zhao Tianjiao's expression flickered. His eyes went wide, he hissed, he gasped, and soon, a bitter expression appeared on his face.

"Do we really have to do it that way?"

"Yes, absolutely! Pay attention to her reaction. If she frowns, or simply looks away, it means she doesn't like that outfit. If she looks more closely, it means she's interested. Either way, you need to keep me informed immediately of all developments."

Zhao Tianjiao seemed to be vacillating, leading Master God-Diviner and the others to wonder exactly what outfits Naruto wanted Zhao Tianjiao to wear.

But finally, Zhao Tianjiao decided to throw caution to the wind. Gritting his teeth, he nodded and said, "I'll do whatever you say!"

—

Chapter 452 Chapter 452

Chapter 452: Infinitely Changeable Chosen

Teeth gritted and eyes bloodshot, Zhao Tianjiao said, "Tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning, I'll go through with your plan!"

Heart swelling with determination, he gave Naruto a deep bow of thanks, and then turned and left.

His two followers exchanged awkward glances, then bowed to Naruto and hurried to follow Zhao Tianjiao back to deck 2.

After Zhao Tianjiao and his followers left, Master God-Diviner rose to his feet and looked over at Naruto with a look of complete reverence, having been completely overwhelmed by Naruto's mastery of the ways of love.

As the expression goes, listening to the words of a wise man can be superior to ten years of studying from books, and that was exactly how Master God-Diviner felt now. If he could master Naruto's consummate techniques, then after he got back to the River-Defying Sect, he would have the power to rebuke the heavens and rise to the pinnacle of all creation.

Such thoughts left Master God-Diviner completely excited, and he immediately stepped forward to refill Naruto's drinking vessel with alcohol.

"Junior Patriarch, you must be tired from all that speaking, please quench your parched throat."

Chin tilting up, Naruto looked at Master God-Diviner, and felt quite pleased to see how subserviently he was acting. Taking a drink of alcohol, he nodded approvingly.

At first, Master God-Diviner was a bit taken aback, but he quickly recovered and said, "Junior Patriarch, your shoulders must be tired. Come, come, allow me to massage them."

With that, he hurried over and began to knead Naruto's shoulders.

"Junior Patriarch," he continued politely, "if you want it softer or harder, just say the word."

Feeling extremely pleased with himself, Naruto laughed loudly and continued to fan himself. As far as he was concerned, he really was incredible; by consolidating and then revealing all of imposter Nightcrypt's skills and knowledge, he had left everyone completely flabbergasted.

Song Que couldn't take this scene anymore, although secretly, he was quite shaken. He would never deign to reveal that fact to Naruto though. Snorting lightly, he rose to his feet to leave when, all of a sudden, Master God-Diviner asked a very interesting question.

"Junior Patriarch, I'm very curious about the advice you gave to Zhao

Tianjiao a moment ago. What kind of clothes did you tell him to wear?"

Naruto straightened out his sleeve and replied, "Oh, you want to know that?"

At this point, Master God-Diviner decided to go all-in with the flattery. "Junior patriarch, you are consummately wise, intelligent, and courageous. I know that I'm not smart enough to hide my curiosity from you, sir, so I figured I might as well ask directly."

Naruto simply couldn't cover up how proud he was of himself.

Laughing, he continued, "Well, that's true. I'm Love Saint Naruto! I dominated the field of love for decades! What is there that I haven't seen!?

"Ah, whatever. You can't to go up to deck 2 to see for yourselves tomorrow; that would interfere with the plan anyway." With that, Naruto slapped his bag of holding and produced his copper mirror.

"Que'er, why don't you deliver this mirror over to Elder Brother Zhao. Tell him to keep it on his person so that we can see what's happening, and I can give him instructions as needed."

Song Que hesitated, but caught the mirror as Naruto tossed it over. Although he was inclined to refuse, he was also curious about the plan with Zhao Tianjiao, and therefore, gritted his teeth and l

eft to deliver the mirror.

Nothing happened during the night. The following morning, Naruto, Master God-Diviner, Song Que and Chen Manyao were all gathered around a jade slip, which emanated a soft light above it in the form of a screen. The images on the screen were very clear, and revealed a room that was vastly larger and more luxurious than Naruto's.

In addition to the room, Zhao Tianjiao was there, although only his face was visible at the moment.

He was frowning, apparently vacillating about what to do, and also clearly aware that Naruto could see him. Finally, after a long moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "This is all for the sake of Junior Sister Yueshan. I'm… I'm gonna put everything on the line!"

Zhao Tianjiao took a moment to gather his focus, and then, without any hesitation, performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, a field of mist appeared around him, from within which could be heard loud rustling sounds.

Since Naruto and the others were observing through the copper mirror, it was impossible to see through that mist unless they used some special techniques. Considering that, Master God-Diviner, Song Que, and Chen Manyao were all extremely curious about what was happening.

Soon, the rustling sounds faded away, but the mist remained in place. Apparently, Zhao Tianjiao wasn't willing to emerge from inside. Time passed. A lot of time. Finally, Zhao Tianjiao's eyes could be seen from within the mist, shining as brightly as stars.

"Naruto , you can hear me, right?" he said, his voice quavering a bit.

"Based on my observations, every day at about this time, Junior Sister Yueshan emerges from her cabin. Therefore, I'm going to do just as you asked. I'm going to walk out and make sure… that she sees me." Zhao Tianjiao seemed very nervous, so nervous in fact that even having a higher cultivation base wouldn't have enabled him to control it. And yet, in addition to that nervousness, there was also a hint of excitement.

A moment later, Zhao Tianjiao's eyes narrowed, and then the mist began to vanish, and he strode toward the door.

By the time the door opened, the mist had vanished, revealing a sight… that left Master God-Diviner, Song Que, and Chen Manyao's eyes as wide as saucers.

He was wearing a pink outfit, including pink trousers, a pink hat, and pink robes…. Everything was pink…. Even his face seemed pink, although that was likely from embarrassment. Most noteworthy of all was that he held a pink, feathered fan in his hand….

Zhao Tianjiao looked absolutely nothing like he usually did. Usually, he was cool and aloof, a higher being of sorts, a person with no expression on his wooden, ice-cold face!

But now, he was completely pink, almost as if he were trying to be flirtatious. It was a shocking transformation, and even Naruto, who had come up with this idea to begin with, felt like his mind was being struck by lightning.

As all the observers reeled in shock, Zhao Tianjiao gritted his teeth and, according to the plan put in place, he strode out the door with a coquettish look on his face. He fanned himself slowly, his eyes narrowed, and even went so far as to pull out a pink flower and bite it between his teeth. As he strolled in the direction of Chen Yueshan's cabin, he looked like the picture of an important government official on his way to take some liberties with women.

"Th-that's… that's really Elder Brother Zhao?" Master God-Diviner stammered. Song Que was just as shaken, and Chen Manyao's eyes were wide with shock.

It was in that very moment that the door of Chen Yueshan's cabin opened, and she walked out into the open. She stood tall and straight, clad in a green robe, apparently having just bathed. There were even a few beads of moisture on her neck that made her look as beautiful as a water lily. Although it wouldn't be correct to call her one of the most beautiful women in existence, she was definitely the type to catch the attention of any male.

Apparently, she was on her way to the deck to enjoy the sea breeze, but even as she slowly pushed open the door to her cabin, her eyes fell upon Zhao Tianjiao.

In that instant, her eyes went so wide they became completely round.

Her jaw dropped, and she forgot to keep pushing the door open. As for Zhao Tianjiao, he was so nervous that he couldn't think of anything to say, and before he could think of what to do, Chen Yueshan recovered her senses. Eyes going blank, she stepped back into her cabin and slammed the door shut.

The slamming of the door struck Zhao Tianjiao senseless for a moment, and the flower even fell out of his mouth. Then, he hurried back into his own cabin and pulled out the copper mirror.

"Well, how did it go, Naruto ?" he said. "I… I feel like things were a bit off…." As of this moment, the crestfallen Zhao Tianjiao didn't seem at all like the Eldest Brother of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Instead, he seemed more like a confused teenager.

"Stand firm, Elder Brother Zhao!" Naruto said solemnly, projecting his words through the copper mirror to Zhao Tianjiao. "Did you forget what I said to you about keeping your mortal heart calm? I saw everything that happened just now. Elder Sister Yueshan's reaction was completely normal. Don't worry at all. We just need to keep doing things as planned."

Naruto seemed to be struggling to sound confident, but Zhao Tianjiao didn't notice. After hearing Naruto's words, he steeled himself, took a deep breath, and nodded solemnly.

"I'll do whatever you say!"

"Trust me," Naruto said, slapping his chest, "what happened just now is no problem at all."

The truth was he was feeling a bit guilty about what had happened, but did his best to sound encouraging. Gritting his teeth, he became more determined than ever to help his Elder Brother Zhao win over the beautiful Chen Yueshan.

The following morning at dawn….

Zhao Tianjiao paced back and forth in his room, building up his courage.

When he was ready, he swished his sleeve and summoned the mist. When he pushed open the door and dispelled the mist, he was wearing a completely different set of clothing….

—

Chapter 453 Chapter 453

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HOME COMPLETED 7 KILLERS (七杀手) [KR] ACQUIRING TALENT IN A

DUNGEON (HALTED) BATTLE THROUGH THE HEAVENS (斗破苍穹) [KR]

BREAKERS BLUE PHOENIX CHILD OF LIGHT (光之子) COILING DRAGON

(盘龙) [KR] EMPEROR OF SOLO PLAY DRAGON KING WITH SEVEN STARS

(七星龙王) [KR] GOD OF CRIME HEROES SHED NO TEARS (英雄不流泪)

HORIZON, BRIGHT MOON, SABRE (天涯明月刀) I SHALL SEAL THE

HEAVENS (我欲封天) [KR] I'M SORRY FOR BEING BORN IN THIS WORLD!

[EN] OVERTHROWING FATE [KR] PRAISE THE ORC! [KR] SEOUL

STATION'S NECROMANCER STELLAR TRANSFORMATIONS (星辰变)

WARLOCK OF THE MAGUS WORLD (巫界术士) CHINESE A MORTAL'S

JOURNEY TO IMMORTALITY A WILL ETERNAL (一念永恒) AGAINST THE

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SOUL PETS (宠魅) CITY OF SIN (罪恶之城) DEMON HUNTER (狩魔手记)

DESOLATE ERA (莽荒纪) EMPEROR'S DOMINATION (帝霸) GATE OF

REVELATION (天启之门) HEAVENLY JEWEL CHANGE (天珠变) IMPERIAL

GOD EMPEROR (御天神帝) INVINCIBLE (无敌天下) LEGEND OF THE

DRAGON KING (龙王传说) LORD OF ALL REALMS (万域之王) MARTIAL

GOD ASURA (修罗武神) MARTIAL WORLD (武极天下) MONARCH OF

EVERNIGHT (永夜君王) PERFECT WORLD (完美世界) REBIRTH OF THE

THIEF RENEGADE IMMORTAL (仙逆) SKYFIRE AVENUE (天火大道)

SOVEREIGN OF THE THREE REALMS (三界独尊) SPIRIT REALM (灵域)

SPIRIT VESSEL (灵舟) TALES OF DEMONS & GODS (妖神记) TALISMAN EMPEROR (符皇) TERROR INFINITY (无限恐怖) THE GODSFALL

CHRONICLES (陨神记) THE GRANDMASTER STRATEGIST (一代军师) THE

GREAT RULER (大主宰) TRANXENDING VISION (超品透视) UNRIVALED

TANG SECT (绝世唐门) UPGRADE SPECIALIST IN ANOTHER WORLD WU

DONG QIAN KUN (武动乾坤) KOREAN DRAGON MAKEN WAR I

REINCARNATED FOR NOTHING INFINITE COMPETITIVE DUNGEON

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AWE – Chapter 453

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Chapter 453: I'll Do Whatever You Say, Naruto !

In the same moment that Zhao Tianjiao walked out of his room, Chen Yueshan's door opened and she slowly walked out, dressed exactly the same as she had been the day before.

Even as she walked out, she subconsciously turned to look at Zhao Tianjiao….

Today, Zhao Tianjiao wasn't wearing pink. This time, he wore a long white robe and a scholar's hat, making him look completely different than before.

He seemed refined and learned, a man of erudite knowledge, righteous instead of cold, and even smiling broadly. The smile was a bit stiff, but compared to his usual self, he seemed much warmer.

Most astonishing of all were the deep emotions which swirled in his eyes, emotions that Zhao Tianjiao didn't need any help from Naruto to put on display.

As he stood there outside of the door of his cabin, he looked like the picture of a young scholar preparing to go take the imperial examinations. As soon as Chen Yueshan looked over, she saw him, and their gazes met.

At that point, Chen Yueshan's jaw dropped, and she gasped. Without even thinking about it, she took a few steps back, and appeared to be on the verge of hurrying away down the corridor. However, the strangeness of the situation caused her to turn and walk back into her cabin, after which the door slammed shut behind her.

Doing his best to control his nervous breathing, Zhao Tianjiao hurried back into his own cabin. He seemed to be a lot less flustered than the day before, though,

and was continuously reminding himself to remain calm.

"She doesn't like playboys and doesn't like scholars. Naruto was right.

I really need to try out multiple angles here…."

On the third morning when Chen Yueshan walked out, she couldn't help but look over in the direction of Zhao Tianjiao's cabin, whereupon she instantly caught sight of him standing there….

This time, he was wearing a full suit of armor, with a greatsword strapped to his back. The way he bristled with a murderous aura made him seem like a matchless hero, a general ready to charge into the thick of battle.

Yet again, Chen Yueshan was completely taken aback. However, instead of being confused, she was more curious about what was happening, and even thought about asking Zhao Tianjiao what was going on. However, the strangeness of the situation made her a bit embarrassed to do that, and after a moment of hesitation, she went back into her room.

"Keep up the good work, Elder Brother Zhao!" Naruto said excitedly via voice transmission. "You'll succeed in no time. It seems that Elder Sister Yueshan has abandoned any plans to go up to the deck. That indicates that you've attracted her attention!"

Zhao Tianjiao was also getting excited, as he could sense that things were already a bit different between him and Chen Yueshan. Feeling more confident in Naruto than ever, he hurried to prepare the following morning's attire.

On the fourth day, Chen Yueshan hesitated in her cabin before finally deciding to go outside at the same time she usually did. This time when she opened the door, it wasn't with the intention of going to the main deck, but rather, to see what crazy antics Zhao Tianjiao would get up to.

As soon as she emerged, she didn't even have a chance to look over at his cabin before she realized that the corridor was filled with the dazzling twinkle and glow of pearls and gold. Today, Zhao Tianjiao looked like the epitome of a rich and powerful person.

He was festooned with countless spirit pearls and other treasures, including at least three rings of holding on every finger on both of his hands, for a total of more than thirty. His forearms were also completely filled with bracelets of holding.

He seemed proud and arrogant, as if he were the richest person in all the world. As soon as Chen Yueshan saw him like this, her eyes went wide, and she was convinced that something was wrong with Zhao Tianjiao.

Frowning, she hurried back into her room, her eyes sparkling a bit, and her heart pounding for some unknown reason as she thought back on the events of the past few days.

Crestfallen, Zhao Tianjiao paced back and for in his room. "I'm finished,

Naruto . Finished! I told you that Junior Sister Yueshan wasn't so lowbrow. I… I should never have dressed up like that."

"Calm down," Naruto said sternly. "We want to give Chen Yueshan just enough rope to hang herself with. Only by dressing up in this fashion could you provide the perfect foil for tomorrow, and leave her truly shaken. Don't worry, I've already decided what you're going to wear. It's time to pull out our trump card!"

"Trump card?" Shivering, Zhao Tianjiao looked at the copper mirror, his eyes shining brightly.

"That's right. After the past few days of observation, I, Love Saint Naruto, can draw upon my decades of experience to see through all of Elder Sister Yueshan's defenses!" With that, he laughed loudly.

However, inside, his confidence was beginning to waver a bit. So far, the plan had not quite gone as he had expected.

Based on his original assumptions, it should have only taken four days of dressing up to identify what Chen Yueshan liked. However, as of this moment, she was completely unreadable.

"It almost seems like she likes all of them, and at the same time, none of them…." After some more thought, he was convinced that it was time to deal the finishing blow.

The night passed quickly. Zhao Tianjiao was too nervous to do any meditation, and kept pacing around, thumping himself on the chest. When the appointed time came, he rushed out of his cabin under the careful observation of Naruto and his Dao protectors.

Outside, he stamped his foot down and then began to remove his clothing.

One piece at a time fell to the ground until he was almost completely unclothed, revealing his strong, muscular body. He even pulled out a vial of medicinal oil that Naruto had provided and spread it out on his skin, making him look even more athletic than before, as if he were on the verge of unleashing explosive and shocking power.

He had an almost perfect physique, with tight muscles bulging out everywhere, making him almost like the ultimate representation of manly attractiveness….

This was the trump card that Naruto had prepared for Zhao Tianjiao!

Zhao Tianjiao wasn't quite thinking straight at the moment, otherwise he would never have agreed to do something like this. However, he had already followed the plan up to this point, so there was no going back now. He could only grit his teeth as he placed all of his hopes on Naruto's plan.

He even began to practice a few poses that Naruto had taught him.

Chen Yueshan's door opened, and she cautiously stepped outside, looking slightly scared. Then she looked over in the direction of Zhao Tianjiao's cabin, and saw him standing there bare-chested, shifting from one pose to another. At that point, her mind began to spin as she was shaken to the core.

After seeing all of Zhao Tianjiao's strange transformations over the past few days, Chen Yueshan finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Overwhelmed by curiosity, she finally said, "Elder… Elder Brother Zhao, what… what are you doing…?"

To hear her speak was almost too much for Zhao Tianjiao to take. Thankfully, he had been practicing remaining calm, and thus, he stuck to the plan. Maintaining the pose he had just struck, he turned his head and looked deeply into Chen Yueshan's eyes.

His eyes burned in a way that caused her heart to begin to pound, and suddenly, a flush spread out over her face. Seemingly flustered, she suddenly rushed back into her cabin.

When Zhao Tianjiao saw that, he got so excited he couldn't control himself anymore.

"I did it, Naruto ! Hahaha! Did you see that? Not only did she talk to me, but she actually looked me up and down a few times! And she blushed!"

Back in his own cabin, Naruto slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Now that's more like it! This indicates that Elder Sister Yueshan likes it when you look strong and enticing!"

He couldn't be more excited that the plan he had designed and executed had finally made some major progress.

Moments later, Zhao Tianjiao was back in his cabin, pacing back and forth in excitement, his eyes shining brightly. "How could I have never noticed that Junior Sister Yueshan liked me when I looked like that? You're awesome, Naruto ! Hahaha!"

"Yeah, I know," Naruto said. "Like I said, this was a trump card designed by Love Saint Naruto!" Clearing his throat, he continued in a stern tone, "However, it's too early to get excited. This is only the first step. You've got Elder Sister Yueshan's full attention, but now we need to solidify things. We need to make sure that she gets even more attracted to you than ever, and that your face is burned indelibly into her heart!"

Zhao Tianjiao immediately nodded. Looking very serious, he said, "What do you want me to do?!"

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose as he sat there in thought. After a long moment, he looked up, and his eyes were shining even more brightly than before.

"Elder Brother Zhao, we can't delay our next move. We get to work tomorrow….

"It's been a few days since Elder Sister Yueshan has gone up to the main deck. If she doesn't see you out in the corridor tomorrow, then she'll probably go outside. Therefore, you need to be there waiting for her, in a place where there are a lot of waves crashing against the side of the ship!

"Remember, you need to wear some really thin clothes! Once Elder Sister Yueshan appears, make sure some of the Heavenspan Sea waves splash on you and soak your clothes. That way, your strong, muscular body will again be completely revealed to Elder Sister Yueshan. That will make her even more attracted to you than ever!" Master God-Diviner, Song Que, and Chen Manyao all stood off to the side, strange expression on their faces as they listened in on the conversation.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Tianjiao said, "I'll do whatever you say, Naruto !"

—

Chapter 454 Chapter 454

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HOME COMPLETED 7 KILLERS (七杀手) [KR] ACQUIRING TALENT IN A

DUNGEON (HALTED) BATTLE THROUGH THE HEAVENS (斗破苍穹) [KR]

BREAKERS BLUE PHOENIX CHILD OF LIGHT (光之子) COILING DRAGON

(盘龙) [KR] EMPEROR OF SOLO PLAY DRAGON KING WITH SEVEN STARS

(七星龙王) [KR] GOD OF CRIME HEROES SHED NO TEARS (英雄不流泪)

HORIZON, BRIGHT MOON, SABRE (天涯明月刀) I SHALL SEAL THE

HEAVENS (我欲封天) [KR] I'M SORRY FOR BEING BORN IN THIS WORLD!

[EN] OVERTHROWING FATE [KR] PRAISE THE ORC! [KR] SEOUL

STATION'S NECROMANCER STELLAR TRANSFORMATIONS (星辰变)

WARLOCK OF THE MAGUS WORLD (巫界术士) CHINESE A MORTAL'S

JOURNEY TO IMMORTALITY A WILL ETERNAL (一念永恒) AGAINST THE

GODS (逆天邪神) ANCIENT STRENGTHENING TECHNIQUE CHARM OF

SOUL PETS (宠魅) CITY OF SIN (罪恶之城) DEMON HUNTER (狩魔手记)

DESOLATE ERA (莽荒纪) EMPEROR'S DOMINATION (帝霸) GATE OF

REVELATION (天启之门) HEAVENLY JEWEL CHANGE (天珠变) IMPERIAL

GOD EMPEROR (御天神帝) INVINCIBLE (无敌天下) LEGEND OF THE

DRAGON KING (龙王传说) LORD OF ALL REALMS (万域之王) MARTIAL GOD ASURA (修罗武神) MARTIAL WORLD (武极天下) MONARCH OF

EVERNIGHT (永夜君王) PERFECT WORLD (完美世界) REBIRTH OF THE

THIEF RENEGADE IMMORTAL (仙逆) SKYFIRE AVENUE (天火大道)

SOVEREIGN OF THE THREE REALMS (三界独尊) SPIRIT REALM (灵域)

SPIRIT VESSEL (灵舟) TALES OF DEMONS & GODS (妖神记) TALISMAN

EMPEROR (符皇) TERROR INFINITY (无限恐怖) THE GODSFALL

CHRONICLES (陨神记) THE GRANDMASTER STRATEGIST (一代军师) THE

GREAT RULER (大主宰) TRANXENDING VISION (超品透视) UNRIVALED

TANG SECT (绝世唐门) UPGRADE SPECIALIST IN ANOTHER WORLD WU

DONG QIAN KUN (武动乾坤) KOREAN DRAGON MAKEN WAR I

REINCARNATED FOR NOTHING INFINITE COMPETITIVE DUNGEON

SOCIETY OVERGEARED RED STORM THE BOOK EATING MAGICIAN

ORIGINALS CONDEMNING THE HEAVENS LEGENDS OF OGRE GATE THE

DIVINE ELEMENTS RESOURCES ABOUT US CONTACT US GENERAL FAQ

BASIC DAO PRIMER DEATHBLADE'S LEARNING CHINESE FAQ GENERAL

GLOSSARY OF TERMS CHINESE IDIOM GLOSSARY WUXIA-XIANXIA TERMS

OF ADDRESS "CORES" IN CHINESE CULTIVATION NOVELS TJSS

BIOGRAPHY ERGEN BIOGRAPHY IET BIOGRAPHY POSTING SCHEDULE

TERMS OF SERVICE TRANSLATOR THOUGHTS SERIES FORUMS WIKI

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AWE – Chapter 454

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Chapter 454: Don't Worry, I'll Take Care Of Everything

Early the next morning, Naruto rushed up to the main deck. The past few days, he had become completely wrapped up in helping Zhao Tianjiao pursue Chen Yueshan.

He took great pleasure in the sense of accomplishment it gave him, and as for his Dao protectors, they were also part of the whole effort, so it was with no little curiosity that they also headed up to the deck to see how events would play out.

It was early in the morning, and was somewhat of a stormy day. Great golden waves would occasionally slam into the ship, sending golden water spraying onto the deck.

Heavenspan Sea water could be very dangerous to ordinary cultivators, but top Chosen could endure it for quite some time.

Superstars such as Zhao Tianjiao wouldn't be harmed in any short period of time. A bit of water splashing on someone like him wouldn't corrode his skin at all, and he wouldn't truly be harmed unless he was submerged in the water itself.

Time ticked by, and soon it was noon. As Naruto waited, the wind and the waves began to die down. Not a cloud could be seen in the sky.

Naruto was just starting to get nervous, and was even thinking of changing his plan, when Zhao Tianjiao finally appeared. He looked over at Naruto and smiled, but th

en put a serious expression on as he strode confidently toward a place on the deck where the waves splashed especially vigorously. Standing there, he looked back in the direction of deck 2.

Just when Naruto was about to transmit some reminders to Zhao Tianjiao, Chen Yueshan appeared on deck 2, strolling along, a slight frown on her face. Apparently, she was a bit disappointed at not having seen Zhao Tianjiao out in the corridor like she usually did.

As soon as she emerged into the open and headed to the main deck, she saw Zhao Tianjiao standing there at the prow of the ship, his eyes burning with passion. Instantly, their gazes locked.

By this point, even Naruto could see that there was something different between Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan.

"Don't miss this opportunity!" he murmured, feeling shaken. If Zhao

Tianjiao didn't strike while the iron was hot, then all of their work so far would have been a waste. They might be able to continue on with other plans in the future, but they would never be able to recover their original momentum. Worst of all was that because of the sudden calm in the wind and the waves, there was no ocean spread, which caused Naruto's heart to begin to pound with anxiety.

He wasn't the only nervous one. Zhao Tianjiao's anxiety was also mounting.

Seeing that the opportunity was about to slip through their fingers, Naruto gritted his teeth and then drew upon the full cultivation base power of his Gold Core, as well as his Undying Live Forever Technique and blood qi, to summon an enormous blood sword!

Simultaneously, he sprang into motion, shooting toward Zhao Tianjiao at high speed. Even as he flew through the air, the blood sword materialized, and he grabbed it, swinging toward the water outside of the ship.

"Don't even think of trying to escape, you weird old fish!"

His blood sword screamed through the air, piercing into the sea water and, backed by the full force of Naruto's power, causing a huge wave to swell up.

As the wave smashed into the side of the ship, it turned into countless droplets, some of which splashed onto Naruto, while the others drenched Zhao Tianjiao.

Zhao Tianjiao had already been wearing somewhat thin garments, and now that they were soaked with sea water, they became almost completely translucent. Furthermore, they stuck to his skin, revealing his perfect physique and bulging muscles to everyone gathered on the deck.

The glittering sunlight which fell from above made Zhao Tianjiao look almost like he was made from gold. The shocking sight was made even more unique because of the fact that Naruto had also been soaked.

Naruto was a bit thin, but handsome, and considering that the sun was also shining down on him, it made him look like an immortal. As he turned his head, his hair swung through the air, making him look completely beyond the ordinary.

Although he and Zhao Tianjiao looked completely different, both of them were the type that numerous female cultivators would swoon over, and in fact, all such young women on deck were staring at them.

Chen Yueshan's heart began to pound as she looked Zhao Tianjiao up and down, her face flushing. Some of the other cultivators present were looking at Naruto, curiosity rising up in their hearts.

Not only did Naruto look almost otherworldly, but the fact that an attack backed by his late Core Formation cultivation base was powerful enough to cause waves to rise up on the surface of the Heavenspan Sea showed what incredible battle prowess he possessed.

Suddenly, people recalled the fight between Naruto and the statue of Gongsun Wan'er, and thoughtful expressions appeared on their faces.

Excitement surged in Zhao Tianjiao's heart as he saw Chen Yueshan looking at him, and noticed the flush on her cheeks. Before meeting Naruto, nothing like this had ever happened before, and at the moment, he was filled with such boundless gratitude that he felt as if he had no choice but to give voice to it. However, that was when Naruto grabbed him.

"You need to quit while you're ahead," hissed. "Did you forget what I told you before? Don't get impatient!"

Zhao Tianjiao nodded, and the two of them quickly turned to leave. Many eyes followed them as they walked away, and numerous hearts were shaken at the realization that Naruto and Zhao Tianjiao seemed to be quite close with each other.

"Lots of people want to be friends with Elder Brother Zhao, but he's too lofty. You just can't get close to him. How did Naruto do it?!"

"Plus, you can tell from the look on his face that Elder Brother Zhao really trusts Naruto…."

Even as murmured conversations broke out, Naruto dragged Zhao Tianjiao back to his cabin. After changing clothes, they sat down across from each other to confer. Zhao Tianjiao was bursting with excitement; the events of the past few days had been too special and important for him to maintain his calm.

"Naruto , as of this point I'm absolutely sure that Junior Sister Yueshan is attracted to me, and not just perfunctorily either. So, what's the next step?" The look in his eye as he faced Naruto was one of utter sincerity and anticipation.

"Don't worry," Naruto said with a confident smile, "I'll take care of everything." Then his expression turned somber. "Getting her attracted to you is just the first step. We'll definitely get her to fall in love with you as well. However, don't get overconfident! A good start doesn't necessarily guarantee the perfect outcome. There are a lot of important things left to do, and you have a long way to go to reach your goal. Are you ready for that, Elder Brother Zhao?!"

"I'll do whatever you say, Naruto !" Zhao Tianjiao said, looking equally as somber.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction.

"Remember what I said about a sense of security? That's the most important thing to think about right now. You have to make sure that you give Elder Sister Yueshan that sense of security. When she is in danger, you have to thrust yourself in harm's way, perhaps even being injured, to keep her safe."

Zhao Tianjiao frowned thoughtfully "A sense of security? Considering Junior Sister Yueshan's cultivation base and status, there isn't much on this ship that could make her feel insecure."

Apparently angered that Zhao Tianjiao was falling short of expectations,

Naruto slapped the table and said, "Not much that could make her feel insecure? Have you forgotten about that unclean thing?

"Listen, you can secretly set up a spell formation just outside Elder Sister Yueshan's cabin door. Then when that unclean thing shows up again, it will get trapped, and you can be the first person to jump out and attack it. Not only will that show how mighty you are, but it will also show that you will always be there to protect Elder Sister Yueshan. With you there, she will definitely have a sense of security."

Zhao Tianjiao apparently wasn't very impressed by this plan. "I can easily set up a spell formation, but… I can't control when the unclean thing shows up. What happens if it never comes back, or never goes near Junior Sister Yueshan's cabin?"

Naruto felt a headache coming on. Recently, he had come to find that although Zhao Tianjiao was cold and proud, he was not very flexible, and always tended to think of things one way. "Come on, don't be stupid," he said. "You're the number one Chosen in the sect, right? Don't tell me you don't have some confidantes? Have your confidantes dress up like the unclean thing. Then you show up, an invincible knight in shining armor there to save the princess.

"Also," he continued, "you need to remember the right thing to say in the critical moment. You say, Junior Sister Yueshan, as long as I'm around, I'll never let anyone harm a hair on your head!"

Zhao Tianjiao thought it sounded a bit corny, and initially hesitated. However, considering how much he trusted Naruto's sense of judgement, he finally nodded. Producing a jade slip, he sent a message to summon his followers.

Before long, eight of his followers showed up at Naruto's cabin, one after the other. All of them clasped hands and bowed to Naruto and Zhao Tianjiao, expressions of utter respect on their faces as they wondered why they had been called.

"Naruto , which ones do you think would do best?" Zhao Tianjiao asked.

Naruto looked the group over. Eventually, his eyes came to fall upon the two cultivators from the Hall of Devil Slayers on Sky Quarter Rainbow, the same ones who had offended him not too long ago. Even as they shivered, he said, "These two Junior Brothers look familiar, how about them?"

The two followers already had bad feelings about what was to come.

Chapter 455 Chapter 455

Chapter 455: Elder Sister, Hear Me Out

Seeing that Naruto had already made his choice, Zhao Tianjiao dismissed the others, then turned to look at the two who had been selected.

"This is one of the most important things in my entire life," he said to them, "and it all depends on you two!"

The two cultivators immediately got nervous, and at the same time, felt ill premonitions about what was to come. They exchanged a quick glance, but knowing that they had no choice in the matter, they both nodded and asked what they were supposed to do.

After Zhao Tianjiao explained everything, the followers' eyes turned blank with shock. Upon hearing that they were to dress up as villains and then allow Zhao Tianjiao to beat them up, they couldn't help but grumble inwardly at how Naruto nursed his grudges. How could he still be interested in getting revenge over a minor event from so long ago? However, Zhao Tianjiao was obviously very serious about the matter, and they were his followers, so they had no choice but to agree.

Clasping hands, Zhao Tianjiao bowed and said, "Don't worry. When I attack you, it will look quite fierce, but I won't hit you very hard. You'll have plenty of time to just run away."

The two followers gritted their teeth as they glanced furtively at Naruto. By this point, they had both determined to never again do anything to provoke him; it was truly frightening how he never let anything go, and wreaked his revenge in the most complicated ways….

Naruto stood off to the side, all smiles. Inwardly, he was snorting coldly; the truth was that he really had nursed that grudge, and when he thought about how one of these cultivators had asked for 1,000,000 merit points to help him, and the other had told him to wait for five years, he couldn't help but feel angry.

After going over the plan several times, the two followers left miserably.

As for Zhao Tianjiao, he was filled with anticipation. According to Naruto, they couldn't delay at all, and would carry out the plan that very night. Upon success, Zhao Tianjiao would have made significant progress in getting closer to Chen Yueshan.

"It will definitely work!" Zhao Tianjiao said to himself as he left to get ready.

As the sky grew dark outside, Zhao Tianjiao set up a whole series of spell formations outside of Chen Yueshan's cabin, using all the power of his cultivation base to do so.

Considering how he truly loved Chen Yueshan, it didn't matter that this was all part of an act; he was meticulous in how he set up the spell formations, not holding anything back. He even used some special materials to make the spell formations especially effective against illusory spirit entities.

Before long, it was the dead of night. Master God-Diviner and the other Dao protectors wanted to come along to watch, but having so many people present would attract too much attention, so the only person Zhao Tianjiao brought along to deck 2 was Naruto.

"I have to be here," Naruto said quietly. "That's the only way for me to direct things properly. Tonight is too important to leave things up to chance!" Zhao Tianjiao was fully convinced. Without Naruto here, he wouldn't have the faintest idea what to do.

Therefore, he led Naruto to a corner with a clear vantage point of the entire corridor, and then used a deva-level magical device to cloak him in invisibility. Finally, he took a deep breath and stood there to wait for the next phase of the plan.

Time passed, and the two of them remained in place, unspeaking. As the moments ticked by, Zhao Tianjiao got more nervous, as did Naruto. Of course, Naruto was nervous about seeing his meticulously scripted plan come to

life.

"The time has come for Love Saint Naruto to shine!" he murmured to himself, eyes glittering. They waited in silence for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, after which two shadowy figures suddenly appeared, dressed in voluminous black robes with deep hoods that covered their faces. Faint mist surrounded them, making them seem almost like illusory spirit creatures.

Of course, these were Zhao Tianjiao's two followers, and considering that their faces were covered, it was impossible to see the bitter looks on them. Gritting their teeth, they headed at full speed toward Chen Yueshan's cabin.

As they approached, they did as they had been instructed by Naruto, and emitted bizarre shrieking noises that echoed out in all directions.

The next part of the plan was for Zhao Tianjiao to leap out with a roar, looking like he would fight to the death rather than allow Chen Yueshan to be hurt.

But then, even as the two followers began to shriek, and Zhao Tianjiao tensed in preparation to take action, his expression turning into one of rage…

There was an unexpected turn of events.

All of a sudden, the door to Chen Yueshan's cabin was violently kicked open from inside.

Then, Chen Yueshan herself appeared, her eyes flashing with bluishgreen light as she transformed into a series of afterimages. Right hand flashing with an incantation gesture, she sent a gale force wind surging out toward one of Zhao Tianjiao's two followers.

Blood sprayed out of the young man's mouth, and he staggered backward as if he had been struck by a mountain. At the same time, Chen Yueshan snorted coldly and took a step forward to appear in front of the other of the two followers. Clenching her right hand into a fist, she unleashed a powerful and even somewhat manly punch.

Cracking sounds reached Naruto's ears, whose eyes went wide as he watched the two cultivators being beaten backward by the shocking power of Chen Yueshan's fleshly body, blood spraying out of their mouths.

Gasping, he said, "This… this…."

Zhao Tianjiao was equally struck mute; things were not playing out how Naruto had planned, and as of this moment, he had absolutely no idea what he should do.

Chen Yueshan's eyes were flickering with killing intent; she had a profound cultivation base, and although she had pretended to not pay much attention to Ji Fang's death, the truth was that from that moment on, she had been extra vigilant. Zhao Tianjiao had been able to get close to her cabin undetected because of his own incredible cultivation base, but as soon as his two followers got close, she noticed them.

Zhao Tianjiao's two followers were already soaked with blood, and were shedding so many tears of sorrow that they could form a new Heavenspan Sea….

From what the two of them could tell, if the fight went on much longer, they would both be killed. Therefore, even as Chen Yueshan was about to press the attack, the two of them both threw back their hoods to reveal their faces.

"Elder Sister, hear me out…."

"Don't hit me, Elder Sister…."

Even as the words escaped their lips, they couldn't help look over at Zhao Tianjiao, who was standing there with his jaw hanging open.

The lamentations shining within the eyes of the followers couldn't have been more clear. You said it was just an act…. You said it would only be fake blows…. You said we would have plenty of time to run away….

Eyes flashing, Chen Yueshan snorted and looked in Zhao Tianjiao's direction.

Beads of sweat were running down Zhao Tianjiao's forehead, and his heart was pounding wildly with alarm. Without even thinking about it, he turned to look at the place where Naruto was hiding in the cloak of invisibility. Naruto's heart was also pounding; never could he have imagined that the seemingly soft and gentle Elder Sister Yueshan, who so often had blushed at the sight of Zhao Tianjiao, would be so explosively violent and terrifyingly fierce.

Most nerve-wracking of all was the thought of what would happen if Chen Yueshan found out that he had been directing Zhao Tianjiao in his attempt to seduce her. Would she fly into a rage and vent her explosive temper on him…?

Bracing himself, Zhao Tianjiao said, "Junior Sister, I–"

However, before he could continue with any sort of explanation, a bloodcurdling scream echoed out from deck 3, a scream filled with the utmost terror and indescribable fear. Everyone who heard it was immediately shaken.

Naruto's face fell, Zhao Tianjiao's pupils constricted, and Chen

Yueshan looked similarly serious. Zhao Tianjiao's two followers gasped.

Before any of them could react, a white, shadowy figure flew up from deck 3 to deck 2.

It was impossible to see clearly, but it had a freezing aura that spread out in all directions, causing ice to build up on everything, and causing everyone' souls to suddenly feel as if they might turn to ice.

On this very night, the unclean thing… chose to make a comeback!

As soon as that white shadow appeared, Zhao Tianjiao, being the one with the highest cultivation base among the group, quickly took action. He was not acting in the heroic way that Naruto had asked him to, but instead, was immeasurably grim. A murderous aura burst out from him, making him look like a god of death as he strode toward the white shadow.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Zhao Tianjiao attacked with incredible power. Lightning bolts appeared, each thrumming with incredible power. Such lightning bolts would cause even Nascent Soul cultivators to frown, and as they converged onto Zhao Tianjiao's person, they emitted heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power.

Before the white shadow could reach Chen Yueshan, Zhao Tianjiao slammed into it, causing a huge boom to echo out!

Naruto gasped. He had been aware that Zhao Tianjiao was strong enough to kill Nascent Soul experts, but to see him in action personally was quite a different experience.

"Elder Brother Zhao, I can't believe you're so strong!"

Chapter 456 Chapter 456

Chapter 456: Mysterious White Shadow

Even as Naruto looked over, Zhao Tianjiao threw his head back and roared, performing a double-handed incantation that caused the countless lightning bolts to converge on his palms in the form of a pair of one-meter-wide spheres.

Although the lightning started out as silver, in the blink of an eye, it turned golden, and then shot directly toward the white shadow.

"Be destroyed!" Zhao Tianjiao shouted, his energy surging in such shocking fashion that Naruto couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

"So badass!" Naruto thought, completely shaken. The dazzling balls of lightning were blindingly bright, and pulsed with a terrifying power that was incredibly astonishing.

The white shadow was difficult to make out clearly, as if it weren't even corporal, but rather, a glob of light. But suddenly, it twisted and distorted, transforming into a white hand that shot forth toward Zhao Tianjiao with incredible speed.

Intense rumbling sounds echoed out into the dark of night, filling the entire ship, which was when Naruto realized that Zhao Tianjiao's goal was actually to arouse everyone on board. If he could get more people to come and join the fight, they could pool their power to eradicate the white shadow once and for all.

However, Zhao Tianjiao had underestimated the power of the white shadow. When the huge hand came into contact with the balls of lightning, a huge boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of Zhao Tianjiao's mouth as his lightning spheres collapsed into pieces.

Naruto had never seen lightning destroyed like this before; it transformed into countless sparks which scattered around in all directions, accompanied by crackling, pitter-patter sounds as it hit the walls of the corridor.

The white shadow was powerful, but was still shaken by Zhao Tianjiao's full-power attack, which shoved it backward a few meters, and even caused it to dim a bit. But then, it shivered, splitting up into nine different parts that all shot toward Zhao Tianjiao, apparently intent on either possessing or consuming him.

Simultaneously, a frigid coldness spread out from the shadow that seemed capable of freezing the soul.

When Chen Yueshan saw the danger Zhao Tianjiao was in, her face fell, and she leapt forward, right hand clenched into a fist that rocketed toward the incoming white shadows. Simultaneously, her left hand flashed in an incantation gesture, causing bursts of moonlight to gather around her, merging together into the image of a full moon.

Bizarre light streamed out from the moon which, under the direction of another incantation gesture, poured into Chen Yueshan herself as she shot toward the white shadows.

Shockingly, as she passed along, the power of Time erupted out, as though the moonlight itself were causing everything it touched to age!

Zhao Tianjiao's eyes were burning with anger in this critical moment of danger. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly shoved his hands out in front of him, causing thunderclaps to echo out as a whole series of golden balls of lightning began to build up around him.

However, things weren't over yet. Zhao Tianjiao's two followers also joined in the fight, gritting their teeth as they bravely leapt toward the seemingly illusory white shadows.

As everyone joined forces in the fight, Naruto gritted his teeth off to the side. He knew that, considering everyone was working together, if he didn't join in, he would never have the face to appear in front of Zhao Tianjiao and the others later on. Roaring, he emerged from his cloak of invisibility and charged toward the white shadows.

In his anxiety, Naruto couldn't help but wonder why no one else had shown up to help. However, the truth was that from the momen

t the white shadow had appeared up until now, only about ten breaths of time had passed.

Even as everyone joined forces, the nine separate white shadows which had just sprang into motion changed directions. Two of them shot toward Zhao Tianjiao's followers, two headed toward Chen Yueshan, two headed toward Naruto, and the remaining three continued toward Zhao Tianjiao.

More rumbling sounds echoed out. The white shadows slammed into the two followers, causing blood to spray out of their mouths as they staggered backward, trembling. Not only were their lips turning purple, but the hair all over their body was turning white. However, what was most shocking of all to Naruto was that their eyes were turning blank, as if their souls were flickering on the verge of being extinguished.

Chen Yueshan also noticed that, and let out a furious shout. At the same time, her Moon Time Disk slammed into the two white shadows, causing a boom to ring out, and leaving Chen Yueshan shuddering in place. Cracks even spread out across the floor beneath her feet. At the same time, numerous frigid ice spikes appeared all around her, blocking her path and making it impossible for her to move. Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth as she shouted, "Watch out, Elder Brother Zhao!

It's a soul attack!"

Simultaneously, she performed numerous incantation gestures and pressed her finger down on various acupoints to prevent her injuries from worsening.

As for Naruto, he closed in on the two white shadows, performing an incantation gesture with his right hand to unleash the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation. Instantly, Frigid Master power spread out in all directions; he was fighting cold with cold!

As rumbling sound spread out, Naruto trembled visibly; he was currently in the late Gold Core stage, making his frigid Chakra incredibly shocking. By this point, he would even be able to cause ice to build up on Heavenspan River water. However, the frigid coldness being utilized by the white shadows was different than his own, and also different than the type he remembered the statue of Gongsun Wan'er using. This was a type of coldness that could cause the soul to fall into a deep slumber!

It truly was… a soul attack!

Naruto's face fell as he sensed the frigid Chakra pouring into him and rushing toward his head!

In that moment of crisis, he let out a powerful roar, simultaneously drawing upon his Undying Live Forever Technique as he lifted his left foot up and then slammed it down into the ground!

What he was unleashing was not incredible fleshly body power, but rather… the Undying Hex!

Furthermore, he wasn't using the Undying Hex on his opponent, but rather, himself!

Cracking sounds echoed out as rifts spread out across the surface of his skin, apparently coming from the inside of his body to the outside. In the blink of an eye, they had completely covered him, and also prevented the frigid Chakra from invading his soul.

Everything happened so quickly that Naruto really had no time to react; everything he was doing came from instinct alone, even his use of the Undying Hex.

Battle instinct was something that Naruto had learned about back in the Luochen Mountains. Perhaps it was his terror regarding death, or his intense obsession with being able to live forever, but either way, in moments of crisis such as this, his instincts were more on point than ever.

As the effects of his Undying Hex spread, Naruto found that the invading frigid Chakra was blocked outside of him, and what was inside of him was being forced out.

Even as Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, his face suddenly twitched as he looked over at Zhao Tianjiao, who was currently under attack by three white shadows. The shadows easily destroyed all of the spheres of lightning that Zhao Tianjiao had unleashed, and then formed together into a white sword that stabbed toward his forehead.

Zhao Tianjiao's face fell as, at the same time, the ground beneath his feet began to freeze up. In that moment of ultimate danger, Naruto opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, causing control power to erupt out toward the flying sword.

"Stop right there!" he shouted as violet light streamed out from his third eye, backed by his late Gold Core stage cultivation base. The light then wrapped around the white sword, which lurched to a stop right in front of Zhao Tianjiao.

That slight pause was the opportunity Zhao Tianjiao needed. Before, he had been sure that he wouldn't be able to avoid the blow, and had planned to let the sword stab his forehead, and then take advantage of the moment in which his opponent attacked his soul to use some other method to fight back. Although he had been confident in being able to succeed, it still would have been a dangerous move. But now that Naruto was helping him, it was without the slightest hesitation that he took action, causing his eyes to become completely replaced by flickering, golden lightning!

"Lightning Detonation!" he roared. Instantly blinding lightning erupted from his eyes, spreading out in all directions. The white sword instantly began to fall to pieces. Then it retreated, and all of the other white shadows flew toward it, taking a human shape that seemed to look deeply at Zhao Tianjiao and then Naruto before fading away.

It almost seemed as if it could come and go as it pleased!

Chapter 457 Chapter 457

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HOME COMPLETED 7 KILLERS (七杀手) [KR] ACQUIRING TALENT IN A

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AWE – Chapter 457

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Chapter 457: Elder Brother Zhao, You're Hurt!

After the white shadow vanished, Zhao Tianjiao's two followers coughed up more mouthfuls of blood. However, because the source of the frigid Chakra was gone, they were finally able to suppress it, leaving them as ashenfaced as death and looking around with lingering fear.

Both of them felt overwhelmed with grief at how unlucky they were. First, they were attacked by Chen Yueshan, only to be surprised by an actual spirit creature, whereupon they nearly lost their lives.

Of course, the reason for it all was Naruto, and as of this moment, they yet again swore to themselves that they would never do anything to provoke him. And in fact, they were already trying to think of ways to curry his favor. After all, if they got swept up in any more of Naruto's sudden brainstorms, they might end up getting killed before they even got to the Wildlands.

As for Chen Yueshan, after looking around to confirm that the white shadow was gone, and the ice spikes surrounding her were fading away, she turned her attention to Zhao Tianjiao.

Zhao Tianjiao was sweating and gasping for breath. Ever since reaching the mid Gold Core stage, it had been rare for him to encounter anyone who was a match for him in a fight. And then he reached the great circle of the Gold Core stage, after which th

e only opponents who could cause problems for him were Nascent Soul experts. As such, he had come to be quite confident in his abilities.

But at the moment, his heart was pounding with fear. From what he could tell, the cultivation base power unleashed by that white shadow was definitely less than the Nascent Soul stage!

"It had battle prowess comparable to the great circle of Core Formation. And yet it was so formidable that not even Nascent Soul experts could match up to it!" Breathing deeply, Zhao Tianjiao looked around the area and realized that, up to this point, they were still alone. No one had come to investigate the sounds of battle. Apparently, that white shadow had sealed down the entire area just before the fighting broke out.

Now that the shadow was gone, though, the sealing had been removed.

As Zhao Tianjiao got his breathing under control, he prepared to go track down the white shadow. As for Chen Yueshan, she moved to follow.

Off to the side, Naruto was wiping the sweat from his brow and pondering how he was willing to go the extra mile for Zhao Tianjiao, when suddenly he realized that Zhao Tianjiao seemed to want to go chase after the shadow. Naruto immediately cleared his throat loudly.

When Zhao Tianjiao didn't notice, Naruto's anger spiked, and he cleared his throat even louder.

Thankfully, Zhao Tianjiao hadn't reached the point of being completely beyond hope. After hearing Naruto clear his throat, he stopped in place, suddenly remembering that the point of tonight's mission wasn't the spirit entity, but rather, to make sure that Chen Yueshan felt a sense of security.

Suddenly, his heart swelled with gratitude for all the help Naruto had given him. Glancing over at him, he couldn't help but think that Naruto really was a true friend. Putting a somber expression on his face, he abandoned any thoughts of chasing after the white shadow, and instead held his arm out to prevent Chen Yueshan from proceeding any further.

"Junior Sister Yueshan," he said calmly, "there's no need to chase after it. Since the spirit entity decided to flee, I doubt it can be tracked down any time soon. If we go running off into the night, it could easily cut us down one by one."

"If only father were back!" Chen Yueshan said through gritted teeth, both fear and anger visible in her eyes. "Then that damned spirit would definitely have been destroyed in body and soul!"

Based on what she knew of her own battle prowess, if she had been alone just now, she would have been no match for the white shadow. Without Zhao Tianjiao there, she might have met a similar fate as Ji Fang.

The mere thought of Ji Fang's grisly death left Chen Yueshan's heart pounding with fear.

"Many thanks, Elder Brother Zhao," she said softly.

Zhao Tianjiao's heart leapt with excitement, but he didn't let it show on his face. Turning to Chen Yueshan, he spoke in the deep voice that Naruto had instructed him to use, making sure it was coupled with a look of complete sincerity. "Junior Sister Yueshan, as long as I'm around, I won't let you get hurt in any way!"

Clearly, Zhao Tianjiao was willing to brave countless spears and swords, even seas of flame for Chen Yueshan's sake. He would face countless dangers, and go through hell and high water without even a single frown! He would die for her without regret!

His words, the expression on his face, the way that he had fought heroically against the white shadow, and most especially the sincerity in his eyes, made him seem to thrum with both veins of steel and tender sentiments. When he looked into Chen Yueshan's eyes as he spoke, it was like molten lava pouring into her heart.

Chen Yueshan instantly began to breathe more rapidly, and her heart started racing as wildly as a frightened baby deer. The sensation she got from looking at Zhao Tianjiao made her almost dizzy, and as she heard his words ringing in her ears, and saw him standing there like an indomitable hero, she thought back to everything they had experienced just now, and for some unknown reason, suddenly felt a strong sense of security.

Gradually, her face began to flush, and she bowed her head, her mind blank, as if she wasn't even sure of what she was thinking.

Zhao Tianjiao's two followers gasped, and their faces went pale.

Although they had already recovered from being injured, when they saw Chen Yueshan's expression change, they couldn't help but think back to the instructions Naruto had given earlier, and all of a sudden, he became more godlike to them than ever.

"I can't believe it actually worked!" the first one thought.

"Heavens!" thought the other. "Elder Sister Chen's affections have clearly been aroused!"

The two followers exchanged a shocked look.

Zhao Tianjiao was already going wild with excitement, and had to struggle to keep himself under control. He almost couldn't restrain himself from throwing his head back and roaring to the sky. As of this moment, everything he had done was worth it, and his gratitude toward Naruto couldn't be greater. At the moment, he wanted to reach out and embrace Chen Yueshan, but then he hesitated, nervous about the fact that he didn't know what to do next. He quickly looked over at Naruto.

Naruto immediately sighed inwardly. "How can Zhao Tianjiao be so dense?" he thought. "Even at this point he still has to ask me what to do? What a headache…."

For a moment, he simply rubbed his forehead and thought about how much of a good person he was.

Then he dropped his hand, and at that point, his expression was one of utter anxiety. Leaping forward toward Zhao Tianjiao, he suddenly shouted, "Elder Brother Zhao, you're… you're injured! Heavens! It looks bad. Elder Brother Zhao, are you alright?!"

Almost immediately, Naruto's voice pierced into Chen Yueshan's daze, and she looked over with concern written on her face.

Zhao Tianjiao turned to Naruto, shocked, and was about to say that he wasn't hurt at all, when Naruto suddenly reached out to support him by the elbow, and simultaneously jabbed him hard in the back.

Zhao Tianjiao finally realized what was going on. Letting out a miserable groan, he caused his face to drain of blood and then said, "I'm hurt… I'm hurt, and it's bad!"

He suddenly lurched to the side as if he might fall over.

Chen Yueshan was in a bit of a daze, but when she saw what was happening, she leaped forward to support Zhao Tianjiao by the other elbow. This time, Zhao Tianjiao didn't act dense at all, and managed to fall into her arms.

"Junior Sister Yueshan, it doesn't matter if I'm injured, I still won't leave your side. I'm staying right here to protect you!"

Chen Yueshan's flush deepened, and her heart quivered. Not bothering to check whether he was really injured or not, she cast a glare at Naruto and then began to lead Zhao Tianjiao in the direction of her cabin.

Zhao Tianjiao leaned up against her, and as he passed Naruto, looked over and winked. By this point, his admiration for Naruto was like the crashing of the waves of the Heavenspan Sea, ceaseless and unending….

Naruto chuckled inwardly as he watched Chen Yueshan and Zhao Tianjiao head into her cabin. As of this moment, he felt so pleased with himself that he could hardly stand it. Without even thinking about it, he stuck his chin up, waved his sleeve, and assumed the pose of a lonely hero.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto… ah, never mind. No reducing anything to ashes today." After all, it was a wonderful day for Zhao Tianjiao. Motioning to Zhao Tianjiao's two followers to come along, he turned to leave deck 2.

The two followers didn't dare to ignore Naruto's gesture, and immediately followed along.

Upon returning to deck 3, which was the origin of the original scream that had preceded the arrival of the white shadow, Naruto mingled with the crowd to see if he could figure out what had happened. Soon, he found that the victim was one of the eight Chosen whose cabins were on deck 3.

His happy mood quickly dissipated, to be replaced with nervousness. He quickly hurried back to his own cabin, although even after closing the door, he still felt unsettled.

"Everyone who has died so far has been from deck 3. Plus, I actually attacked that white shadow just now. What if it comes back for revenge…?" The more he thought about the situation, the more anxious he got.

—

Chapter 458 Chapter 458

Chapter 458: I Can't Take It Anymore, Naruto

Naruto felt jittery all the way until late in the night, until he eventually called over Master God-Diviner, Song Que, and even Chen Manyao to have a little chat.

Eventually, Chen Manyao and Song Que closed their eyes to meditate, leaving only Master God-Diviner and Naruto awake to give each other cultivation advice. Whenever Naruto started to brag about something, Master God-Diviner would respond very enthusiastically, which made Naruto feel wonderful. Eventually, he even started to explain some of the tips and tricks he'd learned from imposter Nightcrypt.

Previously, Naruto had assumed that the death of the cultivator the previous night would lead to another situation like before, in which a long period of time went before tragedy struck again. However, it was only the next evening when another scream ripped through the night, causing Naruto to nearly leap up into the air in fear.

"What was that!?" he shouted. Master God-Diviner, Song Que and Chen Manyao were all alarmed, but went out nonetheless to find out what had happened. Soon, they learned that one of the more than fifty chosen assigned to deck 4 had been completely drained of blood during the night. Naruto's fear continued to mount.

Things weren't over yet. Over the course of the next few days, the deaths continued to occur on deck 4, and with greater frequency. After a half a month had gone by, the nightly screams and deaths had all of the cultivators onboard shaking with fear.

Based on the look of the corpses after they were discovered, everyone came to the conclusion that the killer had incredible battle prowess that Core Formation cultivators were defenseless against.

Terror gripped the hearts of all aboard. As for Naruto, in his anxiety, he set up more and more spell formations both inside and outside of his cabin.

He wasn't the only one to do that. No one on deck 4 dared to sleep alone anymore, and huddled together in groups of between three to five. After that, the deaths seemed to slow down.

A few more days went by, and although no one died, the shadow of dread still loomed large, and Naruto continued to fear that the white shadow he had fought would come back for revenge. Considering that there seemed to be safety in numbers, he finally asked for help from Gongsun Wan'er….

He told her that if she came to his room, everyone from the RiverDefying Sect would be in one place, ready to brave the crisis together.

Upon receiving his invitation, a strange look appeared on Gongsun Wan'er's face. Covering a smile with her hand, she followed him back to his room to join the group.

When everyone was assembled, Naruto felt a little better.

"With me and Wan'er here, and Master God-Diviner, Song Que, and Chen Manyao to back us up, even if that white shadow shows up, we'll definitely be able to break free and cry for help." Seven days later, not a single additional death had occurred. Naruto was finally starting to relax, and once again began to think back to everything which had occurred with Zhao Tianjiao.

That was actually just about the time that Zhao Tianjiao actually came to see Naruto, his face a bit flush and clearly in high spirits. A smile covered his face, as if he had just experienced some wonderful, lifechanging event.

"Naruto , I think things are pretty much taken care of. Junior Sister Yueshan definitely doesn't look at me like she used to. Hahaha!" Upon looking around the room, Zhao Tianjiao realized that there was a new addition to the group, that being Gongsun Wan'er.

He had never paid much attention to Gongsun Wan'er before, but gave her a nod as he walked in and sat down

cross-legged in front of Naruto.

"Okay, Naruto ," he continued excitedly, "what do we do now? What's the next step? Am I supposed to reveal my true feelings to Junior Sister Yueshan?"

Zhao Tianjiao had never felt more blessed than he had during the past few days. He had visited Chen Yueshan every day in her cabin, where the two of them would sit down and spend the whole day chatting. In fact, they had spoken more to each other in the past few days than they had in the past ten years combined.

Naruto cleared his throat and then cast a very serious look at Zhao Tianjiao, complete with a bit of a glare. "What happened? Did a few days of happiness knock all the sense out of you?!

"Let me ask you, Elder Brother Zhao, are you looking for a momentary burst of youthful passion, or a love that will last as long as the world itself?!" Naruto's words hit Zhao Tianjiao like a club to the face. Suddenly, his heart trembled, and a serious expression overtook his face.

"I don't want youthful passion!" he said earnestly. "I want love that will last as long as the world!"

Naruto's expression softened, and it was with heartfelt sincerity that he continued, "Elder Brother Zhao….

"I know that you want to make Elder Sister Yueshan your Daoist partner as quickly as possible. But that's the wrong way to look at it. Have you forgotten the Win Charm that I taught you, and how you have to keep calm!?

"I already told you before, once you get her attention and give her a sense of security, the next thing to do isn't to push things forward, it's to back off!

"You need to make yourself seem mysterious. You need to advance things by backing away! Make Elder Sister Yueshan incapable of resisting the urge to get near you. Leave her hanging, and make her take the initiative to reach out to you!

"You have to remember this point! Keep your distance, and don't seem too excited. Accept her a little bit at a time, that's all. Only then, after enough time has passed, can you provide her with a hard-earned reward!" Naruto explained things meticulously, but couldn't prevent his words from revealing how disappointed he was that Zhao Tianjiao hadn't learned his lesson already.

As for Zhao Tianjiao, he was fully persuaded, and after Naruto was done speaking, he gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll do whatever you say!"

Filled with determination, he rose to his feet and left.

Over the following several days, Zhao Tianjiao did exactly as Uzumaki

Naruto had asked him to do. He started to back off from Chen Yueshan a bit, even disappearing for days at a time. When he did show up, he acted a bit coldly.

Occasionally, when Naruto directed him to, he would revert to giving her enthusiastic attention.

Sometimes he was distant, sometimes he got close to her. At first Chen Yueshan was confused by this, but soon, she started to get angry.

Eventually, her confusion and anger combined, and she came to the conclusion that something was wrong. After that, she decided that she had to figure out exactly what was going on, and why Zhao Tianjiao seemed so different than she remembered.

At that point, she started to seek him out with the hopes of figuring out exactly why they had been going back and forth as if fighting….

The process went on for about a month, during which time, the mysterious deaths aboard the ship resumed. Yet again, they occurred on deck 4, where some of the cultivators had stopped sticking together in groups, and had gone off on their own. It was those solitary cultivators who ended up being killed.

Once the screams and the corpses returned, fear yet again rose up in the hearts of everyone onboard. As the death toll rose, terror mounted to an almost unbearable degree.

No matter what types of investigations were carried out, no one could come up with any clues whatsoever. Furthermore, suspicions were running high, and few people trusted each other. Plus, it soon reached the point where two or three people were dying at a time….

Most shocking was one instance when a total of thirteen people died, all of their blood drained away until they were nothing more than desiccated corpses. Everyone onboard was shaken to the core.

Naruto was completely terrified at how dangerous this ship was, and couldn't stop hoping that the three-eyed Chen Hefan would return….

"If this keeps up, there won't be anyone left to reach the Wildlands!" Scowling on the verge of tears, he even called Zhao Tianjiao and his two familiar followers over to his room, hoping to have safety in numbers.

Those two followers were also scared out of their minds, fearful of the white shadow coming to exact vengeance. They had been spending their days shaking in their boots, so when Naruto asked for them to join him, they were actually elated, and couldn't help but rejoice at how wonderfully he was treating them. They immediately began to fawn over him and seek favor, offering to do anything he wished without the slightest complaint.

A few more days went by. By this point, the voyage was more than half over, and Zhao Tianjiao was reaching his breaking point. He felt like he was boiling inside; after all, he clearly loved Chen Yueshan dearly, and yet wasn't able to get close to her.

As for Chen Yueshan, she persistently tried to get to the bottom of the strange situation. Zhao Tianjiao very much wanted to give voice to his true feelings, but whenever he reminded himself of Naruto's plans, he swallowed his words.

Even still, he eventually couldn't take it anymore. One evening, he returned to Naruto's cabin to find his own followers next to the reclining Naruto, massaging his shoulders and legs. One of them was even quietly asking Naruto if the massage was comfortable.

Zhao Tianjiao looked haggard and thin as he stared at Naruto and said, "Naruto , I can't take it anymore. I can't count how many times I've wanted to reveal my true feelings. If things keep going like this, I don't see how I can be with Junior Sister Yueshan for as long as the world exists."

Chapter 459 Chapter 459

Chapter 459: Confession Of Love….

Naruto was currently staring in shock at Zhao Tianjiao. His recent days had been spent in abject fear as he thought nonstop about how to defend himself if the white shadow returned. Having not talked with Zhao Tianjiao about the matter for some time, he'd almost forgotten about the whole situation.

Zhao Tianjiao's words immediately jolted him out of his reverie. Feeling guilty, he forced a smile onto his face and made a show of calculating some things on his fingers. Then he slapped his thigh.

"Perfect timing!" he said loudly. "Elder Brother Zhao, tomorrow at noon you will confess your love to Elder Sister Yueshan. This is the final move. It won't be long now before you can take that beautiful woman in your arms and never let her go for the rest of your life!"

Zhao Tianjiao seemed instantly enlivened, and began to pace back and forth in the room, his expression that of both excitement and anxiety. Hands clenched into fists, he seemed to be completely wrapped up in thinking about what was going to happen.

At one point, he suddenly stopped in place. "What happens if she rejects me?" he asked nervously. "What then?"

Naruto sighed. "Considering Love Saint Naruto's decades of experience dominating the field of love, I can tell you the main reason why declarations of love tend to fail. They're too rushed!

"But you're different," he continued, gesturing grandly. "You've spent a lot of time with Elder Sister Yueshan, and therefore, what you need to worry about most is your wording. Fear not. I, Naruto, am extremely adept at such things, and can definitely provide you with some help!"

Zhao Tianjiao was completely convinced of Naruto's skills, and therefore, would do anything he said. As far as he was concerned, with Naruto there to help him, any difficulties he faced would be resolved as easily as a sharp blade could cut through bamboo.

"I'll help you come up with a comprehensive plan," Naruto said with a calm smile that made him look more enigmatic than ever. Then, he and Zhao Tianjiao spent the entire night discussing the matter. In the morning, Zhao Tianjiao left, in high spirits and brimming with confidence.

Noontime came, and it was a beautiful day. A gentle breeze blew across a calm sea that had only slightly rolling waves. From a distance, the sea almost looked like a huge golden mirror.

Off in the distance were some of the unique seabirds that lived in the Heavenspan Sea, soaring about and letting out occasional cries.

Zhao Tianjiao stood at the prow of the ship, dressed in a long cyan robe and looking particularly handsome. His eyes shone with profound light, and from a distance, he looked as imposing as a mountain. His back was straight, and he seemed to brim with an intense energy that would cause him to instantly stand out in the eyes of anyone who came to look at him.

He was looking off into the distance, his hands folded at the small of his back, his chin raised, his hair fluttering in the breeze. He looked as attractive as a perfectly sculpted statue, seemingly divine and mighty in an otherworldly way.

Of course, no one could possibly know that Naruto's voice was actually speaking in his ear.

"No, no, no! Put your left hand on your hip. Yes. Yes! Hold your chin up as you look off into the distance!

"Keep that same look in your eye. Don't change it!

"Move your left foot half a pace forward. Mhmm. Yes, that looks good. Wait, you seem too somber. This is a confession of love, not an interrogation. Soften up a bit…."

Naruto was tucked away in a nearby corner where he could see Zhao Tianj

iao, and was transmitting instructions via divine sense. Whatever instructions he gave, Zhao Tianjiao followed immediately. He was nervous about what was to come, but had complete confidence in Naruto, so he simply steeled himself and waited for the moment of truth.

"Okay, that's perfect. Don't move. The time you agreed to meet Elder Sister Yueshan is almost here." Naruto was also excited. All of his meticulous plans with Zhao Tianjiao recently came down to this moment. All the preparations were set. It was time for the final move.

"It has to work!" he murmured, clenching his hands into fists. Even as he waited in anticipation, Chen Yueshan slowly walked out from her cabin on deck 2.

She seemed different than normal, and had clearly dressed up a bit. She looked entrancing in her long, cyan robe, with her hair coiled up in braids to reveal her snow-white neck. Her skin was fair beyond belief, and as the noon sun shone down on her, she seemed pure, holy, and dazzlingly beautiful.

There was a bit of a flush to her face, something almost shy. She also seemed nervous, as was evidenced by how she unconsciously fiddled with a jade ring on her finger.

After stepping onto the main deck, she noticed Zhao Tianjiao at the prow, and slowly began to walk in his direction.

Naruto ducked his head down and excitedly transmitted the news to Zhao Tianjiao. "She's coming. Don't look back! She's walking right toward you!"

Zhao Tianjiao trembled imperceptibly, and did his best to maintain his pose, simultaneously sending some divine sense out to confirm that Chen Yueshan was walking in his direction. Before long, she was standing there at his side, and her fragrance caused his heart to skip a beat before beginning to race.

"Why did you want to see me, Elder Brother Zhao?" she said softly, clutching at the insides of her sleeves with her delicate hands. For some reason, she found this version of Zhao Tianjiao to be somewhat strange, and yet at the same time, attractive.

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked on, nervous that a mistake might be made.

Zhao Tianjiao slowly took a breath, but didn't turn to look at her. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the sea beyond, quickly reviewing the words Naruto had instructed him to speak. Suddenly, he pointed up into the sky and said, "Yueshan, see how pure and blue the sky is? My feelings for you are just like that, pure and free from the contamination of the mortal world. Eternally unchanging."

In response to his words, Chen Yueshan looked up at the sky, and her heart suddenly began to beat a bit faster. Even her breathing turned a bit ragged.

Naruto couldn't help but praise Zhao Tianjiao inwardly. At long last, he was finally getting into the swing of things. From Naruto's perspective, his wording just now had been perfect….

"It took me a long time to come up with that," Naruto thought, feeling very pleased with himself. However, in the same moment that Chen Yueshan looked up at the azure sky….

The muffled rumble of thunder could be heard as, for some unknown reason, the weather suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, dark clouds began to form, and before Naruto could even react, more thunder echoed out. As of this moment, the sky was no longer blue, but rather, had been contaminated into a grayish black color.

Naruto's jaw dropped, and Zhao Tianjiao's eyes went wide. Even Chen Yueshan seemed taken aback.

"What's… what's going on?" Naruto thought, gasping. Something about the situation definitely seemed strange.

Zhao Tianjiao didn't say anything, and even Chen Yueshan appeared to be at a loss for words, and even a bit embarrassed. After a long moment passed, Zhao Tianjiao gritted his teeth and decided to proceed.

"Yueshan…." With that, he raised his voice and pointed out at the sea. "Look at how calm the sea is. It is like my heart, now that I have you in my life. Henceforth, I swear to the mountains and pledge to the seas that you and I shall share both honor and disgrace. Not a single woman in the entire world could ever cause my heart to even tremble in the slightest. It is just like this endless, tranquil sea, unmarred by the slightest wave!"

A tremor ran through Chen Yueshan as she followed the line of Zhao Tianjiao's finger to look out at the sea. However, even as the words left his mouth….

More thunderous rumbling echoed out from the clouds, and huge raindrops began to fall, splashing down noisily onto the ship and the sea alike. Suddenly, huge waves appeared on the water, which was no longer calm at all….

Naruto almost leapt to his feet, and was instantly covered in cold sweat. The events of the day were far too strange, and had Naruto's mind racing with all sorts of crazy thoughts about what was causing them.

"Could it be that I misjudged the destiny of these two lovers…?" he thought in surprise. Zhao Tianjiao was on the verge of tears; it was almost as if heaven and earth were directly opposing him, and intentionally turning his words against him. His fury began to mount, and yet, it was in that moment that Chen Yueshan suddenly laughed softly.

She was beautiful to begin with, but when she laughed, her eyes turning into twin crescent moons, she was even more exquisite. Reaching out her delicate, jade-like hand, she clasped Zhao Tianjiao's hand in hers, and immediately, her feelings were made clear.

Zhao Tianjiao shivered as his eyes met hers, and in that instant, a memory was created that would last for all eternity.

Chen Yueshan had fallen in love with Zhao Tianjiao long ago, back when her father had first taken him in as an apprentice. She had always been charmed by how bumbling and inarticulate he was in daily life, only to become a fierce tiger in critical moments.

She had even tried to get close to him in the past, but Zhao Tianjiao had never seemed to respond to her. He spent most of his time in training, and eventually, Chen Yueshan got disheartened, and buried her feelings away. Occasionally, she would think back to those emotions and sigh.

After the journey on the battleship began, and she saw Zhao Tianjiao walk out in a pink outfit, she had been shocked. Then, everything that happened after that had seemed something like a dream….

Naruto let out a long sigh. Seeing what was happening now between Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan, he mused that even if he had misjudged their destiny, there was nothing he could have done differently. Chuckling, he reveled in his status as a love saint, and then stuck his chin up and assumed the pose of a lonely hero. Waving his sleeve, he murmured, "With the snap of a finger, I, Uzumaki–"

However, even in that moment of self-satisfaction, and before he could finish speaking, the thunderous rumbling in the sky grew more intense, and several figures appeared, all of them flying at high speed toward the battleship.

At the head of that group was none other than that three-eyed Chen Hetian!

Chapter 460 Chapter 460

Chapter 460: The One With The Spine

The deva was back!

"Father!"

"Master!"

Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan immediately backed away from each other, as if they had just been caught doing something wrong. At the same time, feelings of embarrassment and anxiety rose up in both of them.

Three-eyed Chen Hetian wore a grim expression as he glared at Zhao Tianjiao. Behind him, the five Nascent Soul cultivators all seemed exhausted, and yet, were still exchanging enigmatic smiles. Strange expressions could also be seen on their faces as they sized up Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan.

Because of Chen Hetian's glare, and the odd expressions on the faces of the Nascent Soul experts, Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan immediately realized that… these old-timers had heard the entire confession of love from moments ago.

Furthermore, the strange phenomena in the sky and sea almost certainly had something to do with Chen Hetian.

Off to the side, Naruto felt a chill running up his spine. All of a sudden, he was struck by a very bad feeling. He thought about trying to sneak way, but decided that wouldn't be appropriate. Instead, he looked in a different direction and tried to pretend that he was just a passerby taking in the scenery. He even took out a flask of spirit alcohol and began to sip it slowly….

Zhao Tianjiao was sinking into his nervousness. The person he feared most in life was his Master, and at the moment, not only was he anxious, he was also embarrassed. However, Chen Yueshan was not. After the initial shock of her father's arrival, she reached out again to grab Zhao Tianjiao's hand, then looked up with an expression that said she wouldn't back down an inch.

"Finally grew some spine, eh Zhao Tianjiao?" Chen Hetian said. Giving Zhao Tianjiao another good glare, he snorted coldly and looked over at Naruto's hiding spot.

His gaze was like a razor-sharp knife that cut right down to Naruto's heart. Naruto looked up in thought for the briefest of moments, then caused his face to flush as if from drinking. Staggering a bit, he slurred, "Nice stuff!"

Swaying back and forth, he retreated backward and then ducked around the corner to escape Chen Hetian's gaze. Once out of sight, he began to hurry down the corridor.

Chen Hetian snorted again. Paying no attention to Naruto, he led the five Nascent Soul cultivators up to the cabins on deck 1.

Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan exchanged a look. Then, Zhao Tianjiao forced himself to calm down. Bracing himself, he went off to offer formal greetings to his Master, as well as an explanation; he didn't want his Master to have any ill feelings toward Chen Yueshan or Naruto.

Naruto jogged all the way back to his cabin. Once inside, an anxious expression could be seen on his face.

"If I had known this was going to happen, I would have had him confess his love yesterday! What a weird coincidence. How come old three-eyes had to return today…? If he finds out I'm the one who got Zhao Tianjiao together with his daughter, it could turn out to be a real disaster for me." The more he thought about the situation, the more nervous he got. And yet, there was nothing he could do other than sigh and try to come up with a contingency plan.

After a few days passed, Naruto still hadn't seen Zhao Tianjiao.

However, Chen Hetian hadn't come looking to cause problems, so Naruto's anxiety started to ease. However, that was when Chen Hetian actually issued an order throughout the ship.

"All disciples are to remain confined in their assigned cabins until they are called up to deck 1 for questioning!" Chen Hetian's voice sounded very sombe

r, even angry. Not a single person aboard dared to disobey his orders, so Song Que and the other Dao protectors all returned to their assigned living quarters.

Soon, Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul experts began to make the rounds, inspecting each and every cabin. Obviously, they had been informed about the numerous deaths which had occurred while they were away, and were now making a thorough investigation.

The inspection was very meticulous. Next, all disciples, regardless of their ranking, were questioned thoroughly by Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul cultivators. Soon, it was Naruto's turn.

Naruto nervously headed up to deck 1, and as soon as he was in the presence of three-eyed Chen Hetian and the other top experts, he clasped hands in greeting.

"Disciple Naruto offers greetings, Seniors!"

"You're Naruto, huh?" Chen Hetian said, eyes shining brightly.

Naruto nodded nervously, keeping his eyes fixed on the threeeyed old man.

Chen Hetian looked at him closely, then coolly said, "So you're the one with the spine…."

Then he closed his eyes and let the Nascent Soul cultivators proceed with questioning him. One of those Nascent Soul experts had a gaze like lightning that seemed capable of piercing all illusions.

Naruto answered all of their questions, and was soon dismissed.

As he left, sweat dripping down his forehead, he sighed and thought, "What did old three-eyes mean when he said I'm the one with the spine…? Was he praising me? Or insulting me? I was obviously just trying to make sure his apprentice and his daughter are happy for the rest of their lives…. What am I supposed to do if he makes things difficult for me later on?" Naruto couldn't quite make heads or tails of the situation, and even after much thought, he was forced to sigh and give up any efforts to figure things out.

It took half a month for all of the disciples on the battleship to be questioned. Even after the investigation, though, no amount of analysis on the part of Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul cultivators could lead them to any conclusion on the subject.

They also inspected the corpses, of course, but the only result was that their expressions turned very grim, and they were left completely at a loss.

Thankfully, after Chen Hetian returned, no more deaths occurred. Time passed. Two more months went by, during which time Naruto never caught sight of Zhao Tianjiao or Chen Yueshan. He really had no idea what was happening with them.

It was only in the sixth month of the voyage, when land appeared on the horizon again, that he finally saw them.

After all the time which had passed, Zhao Tianjiao's cultivation base seemed to have improved. His eyes sparkled as he appeared on the main deck, and it was the same with Chen Yueshan, who walked at his side. In fact, there was a faintly discernible aura on both of them that seemed to indicate that, with the necessary items to form a Nascent Soul, both of them could advance to the next cultivation stage.

Quite a few people noticed that, and were immediately envious. Obviously, Chen Hetian had returned with good fortune for his apprentice and daughter.

Naruto was in the middle of moping along on the main deck when he saw Zhao Tianjiao. He in turn saw Naruto, and his expression brightened. Hurrying over, he pulled him off to the side and handed him a white bottle.

"Your sister-in-law and I saved this for you. It's a bit of silver dragon blood. Consume that, and your cultivation base will advance quite a bit."

Remembering that Chen Hetian and the Nascent Soul experts had gone chasing after a silver dragon, Naruto was immediately excited and quickly took the white bottle. Seeing that Zhao Tianjiao still trusted and liked him, Naruto felt very relieved.

"You already want me to call her sister-in-law?" he said with a smile.

"Does she know?"

Now that he knew everything had been settled, he could sigh with relief. Obviously, old three-eyes wouldn't be causing problems for him later….

Looking a bit awkward, Zhao Tianjiao cleared his throat and said, "Yeah, she knows…. Your sister-in-law told me to express her profound thanks to you."

Then he clasped Naruto's shoulder, and a serious expression appeared on his face.

"Naruto , you need to focus on your cultivation. From the look of things, you've been slacking off recently. That's definitely not the right attitude. We're going to reach the shore soon, and once we do, your battle prowess is going to be the crux of everything!

"I'm guessing you don't know much about the Wildlands, so let me explain a few important details, so you'll know what's going on once we get there. These are some things that even I just recently learned from my Master."

With that, Zhao Tianjiao pulled Naruto further away from anyone else, apparently not caring at all that people realized how close they were with each other now. Lowering his voice, he said, "The Heavenspan Sea lies in the very middle of the Heavenspan Realm. Four rivers stretch out from it, which all break up into smaller branches. In that sense, they are almost like the branches of a tree. The areas near the water have spiritual energy, but the lands themselves are too vast, far larger than can be reached by all of the rivers. That is why there is so much land out there with no spiritual energy, the places which we call the Wildlands.

"The Wildlands don't just exist far beyond the rivers, they also exist in the areas between each of the four main rivers. There are plenty of locations there that have no spiritual energy. That's why the Great Wall was built."

A very serious expression could be seen on Naruto's face. He took the Great Wall very seriously, and had even asked Chen Manyao about it. As a result, he knew how important it was to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

Therefore, despite having heard information similar to this before, he was still paying rapt attention. After all, this pertained to a ten-year trial that could very well result in his death if he wasn't careful.

"The Great Wall is like a circle of protection that ensures that the main branches of the Heavenspan River can thrive in safety. It's like a border of sorts, beyond which are the Wildlands. The Wildlands are barren and infertile, and constantly at war. Furthermore, within those Wildlands are not only vengeful souls, but also savage giants!"

"Savage giants?" Naruto exclaimed. He couldn't help but think about the powerful organization that backed Chen Manyao.

"I don't understand too much about them myself. But apparently, the savage giants practice cultivation in much the same way that we cultivators do, except that most of them cultivate body refinement exclusively. They're savage and brutal, and whenever they get their hands on a disciple of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, they eat them alive!"

Naruto's eyes went wide, and he gasped.

"Eat them alive?!"

Chapter 461 Chapter 461

Chapter 461: Disembarking

"The Wildlands are completely barren, so they absorb soul power from the souls they collect. Of course, they also thirst for spiritual energy, so whenever cultivators go into their lands, they try to capture them to drink their blood and absorb the power it contains. The barbaric savages have been our enemies since ancient times, and are always trying to get closer to the Heavenspan Sea to get spiritual energy. Our job is to keep them out." Zhao Tianjiao seemed a bit surprised at how Naruto had suddenly turned pale in the face, but didn't think too much of it.

"That's why the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect built three cities between the Heavenspan Sea and the Great Wall itself, to keep out the savages and the vengeful souls!"

Worried that Naruto needed more than just a general introduction, he continued, "In a few days, we'll disembark, and arrive at the first city. It's called East Sea City, and has strong spiritual energy. Obviously, it's the safest location behind the Great Wall.

"The further you get from East Sea City, the weaker the spiritual energy gets. The second city is called World City, where a large military force is garrisoned. It can be considered a transfer hub on the way to the Great Wall itself, but is also a major line of defense."

By this point, Naruto had suppressed his terror at the thought of being eaten alive, and was listening carefully to all the new details Zhao Tianjiao was providing.

"Beyond World City, the spiritual energy gets even weaker, until you reach the Great Wall itself. That's the location of the third city, which is simply named Great Wall City. That is where the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's most terrifying, steel-veined cultivators are stationed. Any one of those cultivators can be viewed as a god of death. Even I wouldn't dare to provoke any of them." As soon as Zhao Tianjiao mentioned Great Wall City, his eyes shone with respect and passion.

"Those cultivators form an army which is called the Hall of Steel Veins. They… are the true defenders of the Great Wall, and are at constant war with the Wildlands savages. Of course, the casualty rate among them is very high.

"According to what I've heard, the Hall of Steel Veins is broken up into five legions. Anyone who achieves the rank of captain in one of those armies will be very famous upon returning to the sect. After all, such a person would be backed by the Hall of Steel Veins, which surpasses even the devas. After all, the Hall of Steel Veins is the only hall in the sect… personally overseen by the demigod patriarch!"

Naruto continued to nod in response to everything he was hearing, and couldn't help but think that the name of the Hall of Steel Veins was particularly impressive.

"As for me," Zhao Tianjiao continued, "my first goal is to go take a look at the Wildlands, maybe get some experience, and then… join the Hall of Steel Veins. After that, I'll make some impressive military contributions and fight to reach the rank of colonel!" 1

"Huh?" Naruto said, looking in surprise at Zhao Tianjiao. For some reason, it seemed to him like Zhao Tianjiao was essentially talking about putting himself right in the path of death itself….

Zhao Tianjiao clasped Naruto's shoulder again, and his eyes were warm as he continued, "The only place where a deva is stationed is in Great Wall City itself. Actually, one of the purposes of this journey is for my Master to relieve Senior Zhou from his position there. For the next hundred years, my Master will be stationed on the Great Wall, tasked with repelling any invasions!" Although Zhao Tianjiao was actua

lly older than Naruto, the recent events caused him to view him as a very close friend. Zhao Tianjiao didn't have very many friends, and once he made one, that person was a brother for life.

"Naruto , getting a deva soul is only a secondary goal for me. My main purpose is to get into the Hall of Steel Veins. But you're different. You need to fight hard to get one of those deva souls.

"Remember, there are a lot of souls in the Wildlands. Every living entity that dies in the lands of Heavenspan ends up there, as long as their soul isn't destroyed. They travel along the Underworld River all the way through the Wildlands, which is one reason why the Wildlands represent death and hell!"

By this point, Zhao Tianjiao's voice was so low that he was clearly talking about secret matters, things that could not be spread to outsiders. And yet, fearing that Naruto might end up pursuing the wrong path, he decided to clarify things a bit more. "Because souls have been building up there for years and years, it can be stated with certainty that there are definitely some deva souls there. Unfortunately, they only appear once every few thousand years, and are as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. According to my Master's calculations, the number of deva souls that exist in all the Wildlands can probably be counted on two hands! Furthermore, the number of people who have used deva souls to become a Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul expert are even fewer than that. There is only one, the Celestial."

Naruto had often wondered exactly how many deva souls there could be in the Wildlands, so this new information left him quite shocked. Considering that he already had two deva souls, he had often wondered if he could potentially… reach the legendary Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage.

However, after what Zhao Tianjiao had just told him, he realized that such a task would be far too difficult to accomplish. He had two deva souls in his bag, the value of which likely surpassed even his own imagination.

The thought of those two deva souls made him think of who had given them to him. One had come from Patriarch Frigidsect, and the other had come from… Du Lingfei!

"So, you shouldn't try to pursue the path of the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul. It's a dream, a fantasy that could never become reality. You should aim for deva beast souls. They are rare, but are more plentiful than deva souls. According to my Master's calculations, there are probably fifty or so deva beast souls in the Wildlands, although nobody can be completely sure." After offering a few more warnings and reminders, Zhao Tianjiao finally left, leaving Naruto standing there alone, looking at the distant shore growing closer and closer.

"We're almost there…. Ten years! What am I supposed to do for ten years?" Naruto sighed.

Three days passed by in a flash, and the battleship continued to near the shore. One afternoon, virtually all the cultivators on board spontaneously began to gather on the main deck.

From there, it was possible to see an enormous green city rising up where the land met the ocean, part of which was a huge harbor.

The power of spell formations filled the area, as well as the flicker of magical symbols. Waiting on the docks were quite a large number of cultivators.

The ship began to slow down, and two hours later, the cultivators onboard were close enough to see the people on the dock with their naked eye.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the huge battleship slowly came to a stop roughly five kilometers away from the harbor itself. At that point, eight somber-faced Nascent Soul cultivators flew out from the city to receive them, followed by large numbers of Core Formation cultivators.

"Greetings, Senior Chen!"

"Please accept our congratulations, Senior Chen!"

Voices rolled out like waves as Chen Hetian and the five Nascent Soul cultivators appeared. After nodding in response to the greetings, they simply flew off into the city.

Some formalities were exchanged, and then Naruto and the rest of the hundreds of Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars flew out over the five kilometers of the Heavenspan Sea into the East Sea City.

The entire way, the Core Formation cultivators who had emerged from the city were sizing up the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, and made no attempt to conceal their disdain. Obviously, these were seasoned veterans who were looking at a group of new recruits.

Naruto also took the opportunity to measure up the Core Formation cultivators from East Sea City. It didn't take long for him to realize that, without a single exception, they all had intensely murderous auras, even those who were in the Early Core Formation stage. These were people who were no strangers to killing, and their eyes even had a crimson tinge to them.

According to what Naruto had heard, that crimson tinge came after killing large amounts of vengeful souls. Apparently, it was the outworking of some sort of natural law, and there was no harm to it whatsoever. Furthermore, it made a person seem quite threatening.

Before long, they were in the city, and unexpectedly, nobody came out to receive them. However, one of the East Sea City cultivators who was in the great circle of Core Formation handed everyone a command medallion.

"Welcome to the sect outpost. This is your one and only authentication device, so don't lose it! If you go out into the Wildlands and try to come back into the Great Wall without it, you will be refused entrance. Be very careful with it.

"There are no official arrangements for any of you. This is a trial by fire that is set to last for ten years. During that time, you have to go out into the Wildlands at least three times. Make sure records are kept of any such outing. If you don't meet that requirement, then when the ten years are up, you won't be allowed to return to the sect.

"Finally, let me remind yourself to take good care of yourselves. Remember… you are only allowed to stay in East Sea City for a single day. For every day beyond that in which you remain, the total length of your trial by fire will be increased by an entire month. After leaving East Sea City, be very careful to control your usage of spiritual power." With that, the man turned and flew off into the city.

Naruto was already very anxious. This unfamiliar East Sea City had actually seemed like a pretty nice place, and he had initially planned to stay here for as much of the ten-year period as possible, only to find out that he couldn't.

The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars exchanged glances. Obviously, everyone had their own plans and goals in this unfamiliar location, and it only took moments before people began to disperse and head off in different directions.

In Chinese, the names of these military ranks make it clear how many soldiers are under the command of a given rank. A captain leads 100 men, and a colonel leads 1,000. The details about the ranks will be recorded in the AWE glossary for future reference. Included in the info on the glossary is a super-minor spoiler in terms of a lower rank that isn't mentioned in this chapter, but will come up fairly soon.

Chapter 462 Chapter 462

Chapter 462: You People Just Wait!

Naruto took a deep breath as a very serious expression played out on his face.

Back when he was on the eastern Heavenspan River, he had always felt as the River-Defying Sect were still nearby. But now, he was in a completely strange place, with virtually no familiar faces around whatsoever.

It was with a very somber expression that he looked over at Song Que and his other Dao protectors and said, "In a strange place like this, we have to stick together more than ever! Song Que, Master God-Diviner, Chen Manyao, as my Dao protectors, the time has come to show your true skill and ability!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve, eyes shining brightly.

"For the most part, I have been the one to protect the lot of you, whether it was in Sky City or on Sky Quarter Rainbow, and even on the battleship. But now… the time has come for you to protect me. Here's the plan, we'll–" Before, he could finish speaking, Chen Manyao cleared her throat.

"I need to leave now, Naruto …."

"Huh?" Naruto blurted.

"It's not that I don't want to stay and help you out. But… you know the situation. I… I want to go home." She gave him a profound look that seemed to say she didn't wish to part with him. It even contained other, unique implications. A long moment passed. Then she sighed and took a curtseying bow.

"We'll meet again if destiny will have it…." With that, she turned and disappeared into East Sea City. Although her departure was a bit sudden, it wasn't completely unexpected to Naruto. He knew that her home lay beyond the Great Wall, and that one of main reasons for coming with him was because she wanted to return there. She had said as much even back in the River-Defying Sect.

Naruto sighed and looked over at Song Que and Master GodDiviner. Just when he was about to explain his plan to them, Song Que snorted coldly. Looking around at East Sea City, as well as the lands beyond, he thought to himself, "This is the perfect place for me. I, Song Que, am the type of person who likes to live in the middle of extreme danger. The more brutal a place is, the more opportunities there will be for deadly training. That is the only way to get more powerful. This is my chance to crush Naruto ten times over!"

Heart surging with heroic aspirations, and face covered with a look of utter determination, he didn't even deign to look at Naruto as he said, "Naruto, whether it was in the Blood Stream Sect, the RiverDefying Sect, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, or on that battleship, I was never able to measure up to you…. But this time, in this place, I will finally surpass you. This is my last opportunity, and I won't let it slip by!"

With that, he transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

"Que'er…." Naruto said, his eyes wide, his body trembling. The scene which was playing out seemed very familiar…. Suddenly very nervous, he looked over at Master God-Diviner.

"Master God-Diviner, you–"

"Junior Patriarch… um… I don't really want to part ways, but I've been given some assignments by the Hall of Defenders. Um… see you in ten years, alright?" Master God-Diviner looked a bit embarrassed, but was actually not being deceptive at all. The Hall of Defenders really had given him some assignments.

After blinking a few times, Master God-Diviner clasped hands and bowed, then flew away…. As of this point, Naruto was left standing alone with Gongsun Wan'er. She looked over at him, smiled faintly, then left.

Uzumaki Xiaochu

n looked around at the enormous East Sea City, stunned. Nothing looked familiar, and he felt completely alone, and at the same time, angry.

He also couldn't help but recall what had happened upon arriving at Sky City in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, how Song Que and the others all abandoned him….

"Fine! Want to spread your wings? Go ahead. If you have what it takes, you can come looking for me later!" He was both furious and depressed, a mixture which actually got his fighting spirit quite worked up.

"I'm definitely going to live it up here, and that's when you people will realize that abandoning me for the second time was the worst mistake of your lives!" Naruto really was very angry at how everyone had just disappeared without a trace, leaving him completely unprepared. Considering what had occurred last time, he had assumed that his Dao protectors would never again abandon him….

"You eat my food, drink my alcohol, use my stuff!? Fine, you people just wait!" Gritting his teeth, he looked around, scowling on the verge of tears as he tried to decide what to do and where to go. That was when one particular group of six people who had been just about to leave changed directions and headed toward the lonely Naruto. "Naruto !" someone called out. It was none other than Zhao Tianjiao. Naruto turned and saw him, as well as Chen Yueshan, who were flanked by two male cultivators and two female cultivators. The two male cultivators were the very same followers of Zhao Tianjiao who had been so impressed by Naruto recently.

As for the female disciples, Naruto didn't recognize them, but based on what Zhao Tianjiao had told him early on about Chen Yueshan, he assumed that they were the two good friends of hers who already lived in East Sea City.

"Elder Brother Zhao," Naruto called out.

Laughing heartily, Zhao Tianjiao landed next to Naruto and clapped him on the shoulder. "What are you doing here alone? If you don't have anything else to do, why not join us? It's probably better to stick together anyway. I'm planning to go do a bit of sightseeing and eventually head out past the Great Wall."

Smiling faintly, Naruto said, "I told my Dao protectors to go their own way. They have their own destinies, and I don't wish to block their paths to the future. As for me, it's only natural that I want to tackle the world on my own. Only in that way can my heart be as tranquil as the sky, and my mind as broad as the earth. That is the key to the Dao of the heavens!"

Chen Yueshan landed next to Zhao Tianjiao, and although she was smiling as she looked at Naruto, there was a hint of anger in her eyes. Clearly, Zhao Tianjiao had told her about all the things Naruto had taught him.

Zhao Tianjiao's two followers immediately bowed with great respect toward Naruto, whom they didn't dare to offend in any way. As for Chen Yueshan's two friends, they merely sized him up curiously.

When Chen Yueshan spoke, her voice was soft and pleasant, "Junior Brother Uzumaki, we were just about to leave, but Elder Brother Zhao was worried about you, so we came back to look for you. We were planning to go exploring a bit as well, and it's always safer to travel in numbers, so why don't you join us?"

Naruto very much liked what he was hearing. Zhao Tianjiao laughed and grabbed his arm, leaving Naruto incapable of refusing no matter how much he tried. With that, the group shot up into the air and left East Sea City.

As soon as they left the city, Naruto could tell that there was a difference in the spiritual energy, but it wasn't very noticeable. After all, they were still very close to the Heavenspan Sea.

What was noticeable was that the hard-packed soil outside the city was a blackish violet color. It almost looked like it was suffused with countless volumes of blood, making it very sinister in appearance.

They also saw many craters, one of which had turned into a lake filled with black liquid.

Chen Yueshan looked around at the blackish violet lands and said, "My father told me that from the time the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was founded until now, the Great Wall has only been breached once. A huge army of Wildlands savages invaded, and the resulting slaughter caused rivers of blood to flow through the lands…."

Naruto already felt a bit uneasy. In addition to the odd-looking soil, there were also strange and terrifying flora and fauna. There were 25meter-tall trees that, instead of foliage, had huge human heads growing at their tops. Any small creatures who happened to pass by the sinisterlooking trees would instantly be gobbled up.

At one point they happened to see a cloud of black, cottony seeds floating into the air off of a willow tree. When Zhao Tianjiao saw that, his expression flickered.

"Let's take the long way around," he said. "Those are the larvae of bloodsoul ticks! If they get into your skin, they'll burrow into your body and start feasting on your blood and soul! The only thing that can stop them are city-level spell formations! We would be powerless to defend ourselves!"

Naruto opened his third eye and instantly confirmed that they were indeed not floating seeds, but rather, densely packed insect larvae.

Everyone was shaken, and quickly fled in the opposite direction. It took them a few days to pass by the area, and despite having avoided the tick larvae, Naruto was still trembling in shock. Along their way avoiding the larvae, they had passed what at first appeared to be a pile of rotting bones, but was actually a flock of undead birds which stunk like carrion, and were indescribably ferocious-looking. Just as the flock of undead birds seemed to notice the group of cultivators, and was preparing to attack them, a crevice opened up in the seemingly empty ground beneath them. A powerful gravitational force erupted out, and the entire flock of undead birds was sucked into the crevice. As the crevice closed up, crunching and cracking sounds filled the air.

By that point, Naruto's heart was pounding, and his face was as ashen as death.

Chapter 463 Chapter 463

Chapter 463: World City

"And we're still inside the Great Wall…." Naruto thought. Everything he had seen so far was giving him a much clearer understanding of this area.

"If things are like this inside the Great Wall, then… what is it like on the outside?" The truth was that he didn't even want to know the answer to that question. The group flew along for quite a while, passing through three teleportation stations. Eventually, they were getting close to the halfway point across the area that was inside of the Great Wall.

That was the location of World City.

They had faced dangerous situations along the way, but nothing they couldn't handle. After all, the lands between East Sea City and World City were relatively safe.

Occasionally, they saw other cultivators, most of whom traveled in groups of between three to five. Very rarely did they ever encounter someone alone, and when they did, they were people with cold faces and vigilant expressions, who gave Naruto's group a wide berth.

There was also an exhaustion visible in their eyes that caused Naruto's heart to grow even colder than before.

"This place is even more crazily dangerous than I thought it would be…." he thought, heart pounding. The closer they got to World City, the more such feelings within him intensified.

Time passed. As they got closer to World City, Naruto realized that the soil around them was growing blacker, and the vegetation was becoming even more bizarre. Even the birds and the beasts were growing stranger, and more and more black in color.

Besides all of that, the most telling change that Naruto could sense was the spiritual energy, which was getting weaker and weaker. Zhao Tianjiao and the others in the group had a hard time adjusting to it, but it wasn't as bad for Naruto. At the moment, the spiritual energy levels were about the same as they were back in the Lower Reaches.

To people who were only used to the spiritual energy in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, it was a huge difference, but Naruto didn't find it very shocking.

A few more days went by and, at long last, they reached the second of the three cities, World City!

It was different than East Sea City, enormous, like a gigantic cube made from black bricks. Black light shone out from it in all directions, and just barely visible on the walls were patrolling cultivators….

Enormous magical cannons that were clearly defensive weapons could be seen on the walls, and as for the enormous stone slabs that made the bricks, they were all inscribed with sealing marks, indicating that the entire city was itself a spell formation.

Although that spell formation was only partially active, it still kept the city perpetually sealed. This was the second major line of defense inside the Great Wall!

If Great Wall City ever fell, then this place… would serve as its replacement. There were many cultivators in the city, and the resources available were plentiful beyond belief. The truth was that, in addition to acting as a backup defense location, this place existed as a supply depot for Great Wall City!

In the dim light of evening, World City looked like a hulking beast, sinister and predatory. It was the type of place that would leave someone shaken even looking at it from a distance, as if it had its own murderous aura!

"That's World City up ahead," Zhao Tianjiao said. "We'll rest up a bit here and then begin the second leg of the journey. We will definitely be facing some dangerous situations on the second part of the journey, so all of you need to prepare mentally." The faces of the others in the group were extremely somber, and as for Naruto, he was wailing inwar

dly.

There were bones scattered about outside of the city, some of which were bleached by the sun and had clearly been laying there for a very long time. The entire area seemed very wild and desolate.

Naruto could tell that many of the bones were clearly not those of cultivators, and yet, were not beast bones either. They seemed humanoid, but much thicker and longer, as if they belonged to giants of some sort.

Such bones were very resilient, and even among those which were scattered about, almost none were broken.

Naruto's heart started pounding at the implication.

"Don't tell me that those are the bones of Wildlands savages from beyond the wall?" he thought.

When Zhao Tianjiao noticed Naruto looking at the bones, he said, "When the Great Wall was breached, World City… was besieged. Although it happened a long time ago, these bones were intentionally left out in the open so everyone would understand the brutality of war! "We cultivators pursue our Dao, but at the same time, we have to defend our sect, and the world around us! We can't let the Wildlanders through to the Heavenspan Sea!" With that, he and Chen Yueshan flew along toward World City.

Zhao Tianjiao's followers and Chen Yueshan's friends went too, leaving Naruto to be the last to catch up.

"What's with all the fighting and killing…?" he thought. "Ah, whatever. Now that I've seen for myself how dangerous this place is, I have to agree with Du Lingfei. I need to find a place to hole up for ten years, then I can trade one of my deva souls for some deva beast souls."

Having made his decision, Naruto took a deep breath and hurried forward, keeping a somber look on his face. Although he was inwardly terrified, he obviously wouldn't let such feelings show.

Quickly catching up to Zhao Tianjiao, he declared, "You're absolutely right, Elder Brother Zhao! We cultivators have to put our lives on the line to fight the Wildlanders!"

Zhao Tianjiao laughed heartily in response. Soon, they arrived outside the city gates, where their identity medallions were examined before they were allowed inside.

World City seemed large on the outside, but after entering, it seemed even larger. The streets were packed with cultivators going this way and that, and yet, there was no din of conversation, almost as if no one wanted to speak out loud.

Naruto could tell that resources were definitely abundant in World City. Whether it was medicinal pills, magical items, or paper talismans, goods were available everywhere. Furthermore, the prices weren't too outrageous. In fact, many of the medicinal pills were cheaper here than they would be in other places.

Another thing that stood out to Naruto was the garrison in the city!

It was packed with cultivators, all of whom radiated murderous auras, and also wore unique clothing that was decorated with a blood-colored hand!

That hand pulsed with the power of a spell formation that made each and every one of those cultivators seem like the type of person who had climbed mountains of corpses and swam through seas of blood. Whenever cultivators from the garrison went out into the city, everyone else treated them with the utmost respect.

"Those cultivators are members of the Hall of Steel Veins," Zhao Tianjiao explained, "but they're different from their compatriots in Great Wall City. These people only go beyond the walls to fight occasionally. Most of the time, they're on guard here in World City." When Zhao Tianjiao looked at the cultivators from the Hall of Steel Veins, his eyes shone with respect and anticipation.

"They go beyond the walls occasionally?" When Naruto thought about the fact that these people only occasionally went beyond the wall, and yet seemed completely shocking, he couldn't help but wonder… what the cultivators stationed in the third city were like.

As he wallowed in his anxiety, the group found an inn to stay at for the night. As for Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan, they went to visit the elders in the garrison; considering their status, that was a right that only they possessed among the group.

Zhao Tianjiao invited Naruto to come along, but after some thought, Naruto decided that he would explore the city instead.

Evening fell, and the sky turned dark. Despite that, World City was just as busy as it was during the day, and all the shops remained open. Naruto walked along looking at the crowds and window shopping. The crowds were very quiet; even when people spoke, it was in a nearwhisper.

It was a very strange environment, to say the least.

Chapter 464 Chapter 464

Chapter 464: Bones of Giants

Since everyone was either not talking, or talking in whispers, Naruto decided that the best thing to do was follow the ancient wisdom of imitating the locals. Therefore, he tried to look as cold and aloof as possible, even a bit sinister, all in the hopes of blending into the crowd.

Before long, things didn't seem as strange as they had been. Naruto felt like he was just like everyone else, and was soon strolling around happily. After a bit of time passed, he stopped in place and looked over at one particular nearby shop.

"Scattered Souls Pavilion?" After looking at the name of the shop, he peered inside, and saw that the walls were stacked with countless strange-looking bottles. There were also quite a few cultivators inside browsing through the bottles.

Curious, Naruto turned, headed into the shop, and picked a bottle to look at. As soon as he saw what was inside, his eyes widened.

The bottle contained a mist that was at first tranquil and calm. However, as soon as he looked closely at it, the mist shrank down into the form of a face that glared out murderously at him.

It was the face of a young woman, viciously contorted into a ferocious expression. A moment after it formed, it banged into the side of the bottle as if it were trying to get at Naruto! That face was none other than a vengeful soul!

It happened with no warning whatsoever, and Naruto had been completely unprepared for such a reaction, so he couldn't hold back from letting out a yelp of surprise. Almost immediately, the surrounding cultivators looked over at him with frowns on their faces.

Simultaneously, all of the other bottles in the shop began to tremble and vibrate as the mists inside of them turned into faces that looked at Naruto with glaring eyes.

To see so many vengeful souls staring at him caused Naruto's scalp to tingle with fear. He could also hear strange noises that resembled a mixture of laughter and weeping.

There were even some voices that seemed to be singing. The sounds swirled and mixed together, seemingly boring all the way down into his soul.

"Release me!"

"Hey, big bro, remember me…? We know each other!"

"I've eaten plenty of little kids just like you throughout the years!"

"Hahaha, bwahahaha…!"

The voices grew louder and louder until they echoed in Naruto's mind like thunder. At that point, a cold glow appeared in his eyes, and frigid Chakra began to swirl within him. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he unleashed the Undying Hex onto his own chest.

Instantly, all of the sound died away, and everything returned to normal. The vengeful souls in the bottles were still staring at him, but apparently, they could sense that they were incapable of affecting his mind, so they looked away and began to transform back into spheres of mist.

The other cultivators in the shop also began to look away and return to browsing the bottles.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked around, his gaze eventually coming to rest on a man in the corner of the shop. He was old, and wore a gray robe that matched the color of his hair. Hands clasped behind his back, he walked forward and smiled at Naruto.

"You new here?" he asked quietly.

Naruto nodded, a bit depressed as he realized that he was pretty sure he now knew why the people here didn't like to talk much.

"In World City and the lands beyond it, you need to keep your voice down to avoid getting tangled up with vengeful souls. The best thing to do is transmit your voice with divine sense.

"There are far, far too many vengeful souls out there. Some of them you can see with your eyes, and

some not. What you see in these bottles are none other than the souls of the dead. You see, both inside and outside of the Great Wall, souls are the most valuable resource. Whether it's for cultivation, concocting medicine, or making magical items, you have to use souls." With another smile and a nod, the old man turned and walked away.

Naruto offered his thanks, and then took a bit more time to look around at the souls. What he found was that Foundation Establishment level souls were the cheapest and most plentiful, with Core Formation souls being more expensive. He didn't see any belonging to Nascent Soul experts.

Eventually, Naruto left and melted back into the crowd. This time, he was even more careful than before as he walked along the moonlit streets. Eventually, he reached another shop that caused him to stop and stare.

Within that shop, they were selling… savages!

Just as the bones outside the city had indicated, the savages looked very much like cultivators, except bigger and taller. Most of them were three meters tall or more, and were extremely muscular.

The savages on display were packed into coffins, and had sealing marks on them rendering them immobile. There were both men and women, and each and every one of them had very impressive fleshly bodies.

As Naruto approached, he was noticed by one of the salesmen, a man with a Foundation Establishment cultivation base and a waxen face. After looking Naruto up and down, he clasped hands respectfully and quietly said, "Senior, our Wildlander servants might not be the absolute best available in World City, but they're definitely top-of-theline."

Naruto looked curiously at the savages, and was shocked to find that they had teeth as sharp as wild animals.

"You see," continued the salesman, "even down to their teeth and bones, their fleshly bodies are very powerful, making them excellent servants. Furthermore, they've been sealed with restrictive spells, so that you can control their life or death with a single thought."

"They don't look like Chen Manyao at all…." Naruto thought curiously. He considered purchasing one, but in World City, the only currencies accepted were spirit stones and battle credit. Merit points were completely useless.

"They're so incredibly expensive…." he thought.

Considering how many years the salesman had been working here, he could tell what Naruto was thinking. Chuckling softly, he said, "Senior, I'm guessing you're relatively new to World City. Let me explain: these savages aren't really very expensive at all. Outside the Great Wall, in the cities inhabited by the savages themselves, captured Foundation Establishment cultivators sell for a price ten times as large as savages of a similar cultivation level!"

"What?" Naruto said, a look of shock appearing on his face. "The savages sell cultivators out there?"

"Of course!" the salesman replied coolly. "To the savages, cultivators from inside the Great Wall are like the most nourishing type of food available. They don't have spiritual energy out there, and inside of every cultivator is a spiritual sea. To them, cultivators… are like living spirit stones!"

Naruto's scalp prickled with fear. The mere thought of being captured by savages outside the Great Wall, and then sucked dry like a spirit stone, left him trembling inside and out.

"This place is way too dangerous…." he thought. Looking quite displeased, he left the shop, and instead of exploring the city more, went back to the inn.

Before long, dawn arrived, and Zhao Tianjiao came looking for Naruto. It was time to leave World City and head toward the Great Wall itself.

They moved slower than before. The spiritual energy was getting weaker, making traveling more strenuous, and increasing the amount of time it took to recover from exertion. Furthermore, this leg of the journey was clearly more dangerous than the previous one.

The lands were actually losing their black tinge, and were almost completely violet, as if they really had been soaked through-and-through with blood. It was the same with the water in the rivers. It was a completely shocking sight to Naruto and the others in the group.

There were mountains here and there, all of them bare of vegetation, as well as the occasional abandoned village. There were also mobs of vengeful souls that flew about, which usually had at least a few dozen that were as powerful as the Core Formation level.

Thankfully, the vengeful souls weren't particularly aggressive. Generally speaking, they would just fly by without stopping. Even still, Zhao Tianjiao and the other kept a close eye on them, and obviously, Naruto was even more cautious.

He kept his mouth sewn shut tight, refusing to utter even a peep. Only after the vengeful souls were completely out of sight would he let out a sigh of relief.

As they proceeded forward, they rarely saw any other cultivators. There were almost no signs of life in this barren wasteland, and even the flora and fauna were few and far between, and were the type that put everyone on guard.

Each plant or tree they encountered seemed stranger than the last, and more ferocious.

Naruto even saw one huge tree that was literally running along the ground as it chased after a pitch-black, nine-meter-tall spiked leopard. After catching the creature, the tree devoured it alive.

At one point, an enormous, undead hand shot out of a ravine to grab a passing black eagle, which it crushed into a pulp as it extracted its blood….

The squishing sounds were enough to cause one's heart to prickle with shock!

Chapter 465 Chapter 465

Chapter 465: Wildlands Cloudgyre

The strange things they were seeing far surpassed anything they had seen during the first part of the journey. The trip from East Sea City to World City had been like a romp through the park compared to this. Although they had faced some tricky situations, overall, everything had gone quite smoothly.

The path from World City to Great Wall City was much more tempestuous. Whether it was the vegetation or the animals, everything was bizarre to the extreme, and of course, left Naruto completely terrified. Even Zhao Tianjiao, with his incredible cultivation base and extraordinary courage, proceeded with extreme caution.

Chen Yueshan seemed a bit pale in the face, and the others in the group were shaken terribly on numerous occasions. Even the slightest breeze left them jumpy.

This was a very different world than the one they were used to. The spiritual energy was weak, leaving everyone feeling stifled. They even had to rely on magical devices and spirit stones to sustain flight.

As for the spiritual energy within their bodies, they didn't dare to use it. In fact, to prevent it from seeping out, Zhao Tianjiao magically sealed himself.

Everyone else took similar actions. Of course, Naruto had taken such precautions much earlier….

Although sealing one's own body would slightly reduce one's spiritual senses, it would solve the problem of leaking spiritual energy. That was important in a place where spiritual energy was scarce, and one was essentially adrift alone, unconnected to heaven and earth.

That method was useful for solving the problem of spiritual energy leakage, but did nothing to alleviate the danger. Whether it was because of the souls flying about, or the bizarre entities which inhabited these lands, they had to proceed with extreme caution.

Despite their carefulness, an incident occurred about two months after they left World City. They were all sitting cross-legged on the magical skiff that Zhao Tianjiao had purchased, when suddenly, a terrifying howl split the air.

The deafening cry pierced through the skiff's sealing shields to batter the minds of everyone onboard. Zhao Tianjiao's eyes opened, and Naruto's heart trembled. Everyone looked up in the sky to see what appeared to be clouds converging together.

Within moments, they had taken the shape of an enormous beetle, fully 3,000 meters long, which quickly turned pitch black!

Clearly, this 3,000-meter-long pitch-black beetle was attempting to block their path, and its intense howls caused everything in the area to shake.

"A Wildlands cloudgyre!" Chen Yueshan blurted. Zhao Tianjiao's face fell, and the others in the group seemed equally shaken.

"The origin of Wildlands cloudgyres are unclear," Zhao Tianjiao said, "and no one knows exactly how they form. If I remember correctly, they can pop up anywhere in the Wildlands, whether that's inside the Great Wall or outside!

"They have no predefined form, and can take almost any shape, even that of plants or vegetation. Clearly, this cloudgyre has taken the form of a beetle!

"Cloudgyres aren't really animals; they're a manifestation of the weather, and one this big will surely attract the attention of Great Wall City!"

Without any hesitation, he steered the flying skiff to the side in an attempt to avoid the black beetle. As the skiff veered off course, an intense sensation of danger filled Naruto, and his heart leapt up into his throat.

However, even as they tried to change directions, the 3,000-meter-long beetle stopped roaring and then looked over at them with a cold gaze.

That gaze in and of itself was enough to drive Naruto wild with fear, and send his mind spinning. Everyone el

se was also sweating in fear.

Before anyone could react, the black beetle once again let out a deafening roar, then opened its mandibles….

Instantly, a gravitational force spread out, accompanied by thunderous rumblings and screaming winds. It was almost as if the black beetle's mandibles had become a black hole!

Everything began to shake, causing dust and pebbles to rise up into the air, and even distorting the clouds above. A nearby flock of viciouslooking birds screamed as they were sucked toward the beetle.

The ground was shaking so hard that a hill in the area was ripped off of the ground and began to spin toward the beetle.

Everyone's minds were being battered by waves of shock, and as they did their best to remain firmly attached to the skiff, their hair and garments whipped in the wind. If they weren't already being protected by the spiritual power of the vessel itself, they would have been pulled out into the air and ripped to shreds. In fact, the skiff was already twisting and distorting on the verge of breaking.

From high above, it looked like the black beetle was the center of an enormous vortex sucking in everything around it, even the trees!

Zhao Tianjiao, Naruto and everyone else were extremely nervous, and didn't think for a moment about conserving spiritual energy. They immediately unleashed the full power of their cultivation bases to power the skiff as it flew out of the vortex.

As the skiff struggled through the air, the spirit stones which had been placed into its power slots glittered with bright light, then turned dark and transformed into ash.

The spirit stones having been fully drained, and with the extra power from the cultivation bases of the entire group, the skiff seemed to roar with rage as it pulled out of the gravitational vortex and then shot off into the distance.

Behind them, the black beetle howled in rage, but didn't pursue them.

Naruto sat there in taciturn silence, his mind a blank. All of his cultivation base power was being poured into the skiff, and it was the same with everyone else. Only after they had gone all out to flee, and were some distance away, did they slow the skiff and stop near a random mountain. There, they breathed long sighs of relief, and exchanged awkward glances that were tinged with lingering fear.

"That cloudgyre… was at least as powerful as the great circle of the

Nascent Soul stage…."

"Cloudgyre…." Naruto looked over his shoulder in the direction they had fled from. He felt like he had just barely made it out of that situation with his poor little life. If the flying skiff hadn't been able to rip free from the gravitation vortex, what would have happened…?

There was no answer to the question. In the Wildlands, cloudgyres didn't just cause problems for cultivator, but the savages as well. They were manifestations of the weather, not the power of humans, and nothing that entered their jaws ever came back out alive.

Therefore, no one really knew what happened to the things that they consumed….

"I can't believe that freakish thing even exists…." Naruto said with a frown.

Trying to sound comforting, Zhao Tianjiao said, "With our command medallions… we should be mostly safe as long as we're careful. As long as we don't go beyond the Great Wall…."

Chen Yueshan was a bit ashen, but she nodded. The only thing they could do in this sparsely populated land was hope that the power of the command medallions truly would keep them safe. That was what they were designed to do, considering that they were disciples of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

"You sure about that…?" Naruto said, scowling on the verge of tears as he pulled out the command medallion. He already regretted coming along with Zhao Tianjiao to this place. It would have been a much better idea to say holed up in East Sea City for ten years. Better and safer!

Evening was falling. Unfortunately, draining the spirit stones to gain a burst of speed had damaged the power slots on the skiff, and they couldn't use it anymore.

However, Zhao Tianjiao and his group had begun the journey well prepared. After a bit of rest, Chen Yueshan produced another flying skiff, which they set up with new spirit stones and then resumed their journey.

Along the way, they were even more cautious than before. They had wasted a lot of their own cultivation base power, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was very weak. Therefore, they had to use spirit stones to recover, a process which was long and difficult.

Two more months went by. During that time, they faced some dangerous situations, but passed through them all safely. Even still, the mental strain was growing.

Thankfully, the slow and steady recovering process of their cultivation bases had pushed them close to their peak level. As a result, Naruto felt a lot safer than before.

At one point, Zhao Tianjiao shook his head and said, "Even I still can't believe that things are so dangerous inside the Great Wall…. I wonder what it's like on the other side.

"Naruto , our main goal still hasn't changed. After we get to the Great Wall, we're going outside to get some experience. Are you going to join us?"

Naruto looked out wistfully at the lands around them, and then shook his head.

"I don't think so," he replied. "Um… I think I'll explore Great Wall City a bit. The better I get to know the city, the less trouble I'll have later on."

Chapter 466 Chapter 466

Chapter 466: The Incredible Great Wall!

"Naruto ," Zhao Tianjiao said, his tone serious, "as you know, everyone participating in this ten-year-long trial has to go out on at least three missions beyond the wall. You can choose when to do that, but there is no way to get out of the responsibility. In other words… you have to go out of the Great Wall at some point!"

Zhao Tianjiao clasped his shoulder. "When the time comes, you'll have to go, even if you don't want to…. Otherwise, you'll fail the final test, and won't be able to go back to the sect."

Naruto's heart trembled. The thought of going out three times on missions made the world seem like a much darker place. Although he had heard of that arrangement, he hadn't give it much thought before, and had assumed it wouldn't be anything worth worrying about. But after seeing the dangers on the journey so far, he realized that the slightest misstep could lead to him losing his poor little life. Then he contemplated going outside of the Great Wall on three different occasions, and couldn't help but think that it was nothing less than a deadly trap….

However, he didn't let any of his fear show on his face. In fact, he even stuck his chin up, as if he didn't care at all about the subject. "It's only three times, right? Not a big deal at all. You don't need to remind me, Elder Brother Zhao, when the time comes, of course I'll do what needs to be done."

Zhao Tianjiao laughed loudly and smacked Naruto's shoulder. "Good! That's how Zhao Tianjiao's Junior Brother Uzumaki should act!

"Very well, I won't go on and on about it. Based on our current speed, we should catch sight of the Great Wall itself within about half a month. That's where we will part ways…. I hope that by the time we meet again, whether its inside the Great Wall or out, that both of us will have made names for ourselves!" With that, he took out a flagon of alcohol, took a long drink, and then handed it to Naruto. As of this moment, Zhao Tianjiao seemed tall and mighty, and absolutely impressive. Behind him, Chen Yueshan looked on with sparkling eyes.

Naruto slapped his chest, took the flagon, and drank a big mouthful. Despite how grand he was trying to look, it was to his disappointment that he realized that Chen Yueshan and the others in the group all had eyes fixed on Zhao Tianjiao.

"Ahem," he thought to himself. "Low profile. I'm the type who keeps a low profile…."

Half a month flew by. One morning, when the first rays of dawn were peeking out from the east, Naruto opened his eyes and looked over at the horizon to see… something that looked almost like a mountain range. It was… the Great Wall!

The sight left Naruto completely shaken, and was almost impossible to describe with words. The Great Wall was like a hulking dragon lying on the horizon, snaking back and forth for as far as the eye could see.

It was fully 6,000 meters tall, a barrier that completely separated the lands on either side, and completely prevented anything on the outside from getting in.

In addition to the physical structure of the wall, there was a black, shimmering shield of light that rose from the top of the wall into the heavens. With that shield in place, everything on the other side was completely sealed out!

The wall and the shield together created what seemed like an impassable barrier!

As for the wall itself, it wasn't black, but violet…. Naruto was even able to detect the reek of blood coming from it…. It was possible to imagine that, years in the past, the wall had actually been black, but over time, h

ad been stained by the endless flow of blood which ran down it!

The lands leading up to the wall were completely barren and devoid of life. There was a bleakness to the area that even seemed to affect the clouds above, staining them violent and spinning them into a wild vortex that emitted occasional rumbling sounds.

Red lightning danced in that vortex, almost like red dragons flitting about and roaring.

The wall was violet, and the shield was black. Each tile and brick that formed the wall emanated incredible pressure, and all of that together… created the ultimate division between the lands of Heavenspan and the Wildlands!

Currently visible atop the wall itself were over a hundred magical cannons, ferocious weapons that seemed mighty enough to destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth.

Right in the middle of the Great Wall was a city that was fully ten times larger than either East Sea City or World City. That city formed the gate which led into and out of the Great Wall!

Countless auras could be detected within that city, each and every one of which seemed to pulse with the blood of countless battles, and were suffused with complete and utter determination. Based on what Uzumaki

Naruto could sense, there were millions upon millions of such auras.

Furthermore, in addition to the numerous Nascent Soul auras, there was something else, something… that could shake heaven and earth, something powerful that it seemed to be a part of creation itself.

It was… a deva!

Deva were rare, but there was one here. Furthermore, it was a deva that neither Naruto nor Zhao Tianjiao were unfamiliar with. It was Chen Yueshan's father, three-eyed Chen Hetian, who had arrived in the city much earlier than them.

In the following years, he would be tasked with leading the defense against the Wildlands!

In the very middle of the city was a five-sided pagoda, a tower that stretched 30,000 meters into the sky. From the top of that tower, everything on either side of the Great Wall was clearly visible. The intense light which flickered inside of it was enough to shock anyone who laid eyes on it.

At the very top of the pagoda was a huge pearl fully 300 meters wide, inside of which was a mysterious, swirling mist that occasionally formed together into an eye with two pupils!

Anyone who that eye looked at would instantly begin to shake, as if the will of the heavens were focusing on them!

Even as Naruto was looking at the tower in shock, Zhao Tianjiao whispered, "Starry Sky Pagoda!"

When Zhao Tianjiao looked at the pagoda, it was with utter fervor and deep respect.

"It's a holy object of our Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. The Starry Sky

Pagoda. I heard that sealed inside of that pearl… is a true spirit!"

"True spirit!?" Naruto said, a look of shock appearing on his face.

"Even I don't know what a true spirit really is. But my Master told me that with that true spirit in place, the Great Wall is no longer an inanimate object. Instead, it possesses a life force of its own.

"The pagoda not only possess all types of strange defensive powers, but also forms the heart of the Great Wall. All matters pertaining to battle credits and resource distribution are under the control of the pagoda." Suddenly, Zhao Tianjiao took a deep breath and pointed his finger out.

"Naruto , look! Surrounding the Starry Sky Pagoda are the banners of the five legions!"

Sure enough, five banners could be seen flapping in the wind, a dazzling and eye-catching sight that made it possible to distinguish the five legions of the army, even from a distance!

The five banners were all a different color, and all had different sigils. All of them were very unique, but one of them seemed to stand out in particular to Naruto. The sigil on that banner depicted a Wildlands savage that had been skinned alive!

The sigil was extremely lifelike, and it was even possible to see the skinned savage howling from the pain. Naruto was almost sure that he could hear a bloodcurdling scream when he looked at the banner.

"Those banners represent the five legions that make up the Hall of Steel Veins, each one of which has accomplished incredible things during the wars throughout the years. The five legions are the Skin Flayers, the Black Demons, the Bane Stars, the Savage Butcherers, and the Soul Slaughterers!

"The Skin Flayers!" Naruto said with a gasp. For some reason, that name really caused his mind to tremble.

"Each legion has their own banner, which not only represents what they've accomplished in battle, but also demonstrates how incredible they are. See the Skin Flayers' banner? I've heard that their legion is incredibly bloodthirsty. Whenever they march to battle, they skin their enemies alive. Their name alone causes the savages outside the Great Wall to tremble in fear!" From the way Zhao Tianjiao's eyes glowed with reverence, it was obvious that he very much wanted to join one of the five legions.

Naruto swallowed hard. After seeing the five banners, he thought more than ever that he should keep his distance from them.

Zhao Tianjiao was almost breathless as he revealed everything he knew. "Naruto , did you know that beyond the Great Wall, the savages have something called the Execution List? Once your name gets on that list, everyone in the Wildlands will do everything they can to kill you!

"The generals of the five legions are all in the top 10 of that list, the highest among them being the general of the Skin Flayers, Uzumaki Lin. He has the same surname as you, and is highest on the list at sixth place, surpassed by only the devas!"

The more Naruto learned about the Great Wall, the more dangerous and unsafe it seemed.

—

Chapter 467 Chapter 467

Chapter 467: The Skin Flayers

As the group neared Great Wall City, they reached a certain point where a rippling fluctuation appeared, surrounding them and locking them in place.

It was impossible to detect with the naked eye, and almost immediately surrounded them with indescribable restrictive power that made it almost impossible for them to move. Even Zhao Tianjiao suddenly lurched to a stop and couldn't move a muscle!

The same thing happened to Chen Yueshan, Naruto, and the others in the group. All of them were suddenly as stiff as boards, completely incapable of movement.

Next, the rippling power used some unknown method to examine their identity medallions and confirm that the medallions belonged to them. Even Chen Yueshan, daughter of three-eyed Chen Hetian, was examined thoroughly.

After that, another fluctuation passed through them, and they could sense their souls being examined!

It only lasted for a moment, but even that short bit of time left Naruto and the others all trembling as if they had just had a brush with death.

After all, they had just been immobilized and scanned with divine sense; if they had harbored any ill intentions at all, they would have been killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!

After the rigid examination, the fluctuations locking them in place slowly faded away, and they regained the ability to move. Expressions flickering, they continued on toward Great Wall City.

Moments before, when the small group was being stopped and inspected, a door had opened somewhere in Great Wall City, and a middle-aged cultivator had stepped out, clad in a black suit of armor. He emanated the fluctuations of the great circle of Core Formation, as well as a bleakly murderous aura which grew more intense by the moment. The man took only four steps, and yet, that placed him right in front of the newly arrived group.

Even Zhao Tianjiao could sense that this man's murderous aura was unusual and unique.

When his eyes fell upon Chen Yueshan, he immediately clasped hands and bowed. "I am your humble servant, Colonel Li Hongming of the Skin Flayers.

"The inspection you underwent just now was merely protocol. Great Wall City's spell formation has a special function which strictly inspects every person who comes in. I hope you can forgive me for the unexpected inconvenience." From the way Li Hongming was speaking, it was clear that he didn't expect a response from any of them, but rather, wanted them to listen carefully.

"It is not permitted to tarry inside of Great Wall City, and in fact, the other trial-takers won't even be allowed inside. They can only pass in and out of the Great Wall via a side gate, and must take no more than the time it takes an incense stick to burn to do so.

"However, the deva patriarch passed down orders that your group would be allowed in the city, albeit for only a single day. After that, you must leave…. I've been tasked with overseeing your stay, and therefore, you are not allowed to leave my sight. Please do abide by that

arrangement." With that, he turned and began to walk off.

When Naruto examined Li Hongming, he could tell that the man's cultivation base was only a bit higher than his own, and yet, his murderous aura was vastly more intense. Furthermore, his eyes seemed to radiate a feeling of blood, as though he had killed too many souls to even count.

The fact that a person like that was a mere colonel in charge of a thousand soldiers left Naruto even more shaken regarding the five legions.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Tianjiao hurried after Li Hongming and asked, "Brother Li, why did the inspection from before even go as deep as our souls?"

Without even turning his head to look at Zhao Tianjiao, Li Hongming

said, "One sixty-year-cycle ago, the vengeful souls outside the Great Wall devised a unique possession technique that allowed them to masquerade as cultivators. They used that technique to try to infiltrate Great Wall City and assassinate the generals. From that point on, we took precautions against such methods. Everyone who wants to enter the city must first undergo a soul inspection!"

Zhao Tianjiao nodded and didn't ask any further questions. Naruto followed along cautiously with the rest of the group as Li Hongming led them into Great Wall City itself!

He could instantly tell that the place was different from East Sea City or World City. First of all… there were no shops anywhere to be seen. Although there were a lot of people present, most of them wore suits of armor, and had cold, expressionless faces.

This wasn't really a city, it was… a huge military base!

The cultivators were all members of the five legions, each of which had their own section of the city to themselves. There was a harsh, stern atmosphere that weighed down everywhere, leaving Naruto and the rest of the group feeling somewhat unsettled.

Even Zhao Tianjiao was affected.

When Li Hongming saw the reactions of Naruto and the others, a cold smile appeared on his face, and a bit of scorn could be seen in his eyes. He obviously didn't have a very good opinion of them, and were it not for the orders of the deva patriarch, he would never have lowered himself to the point of giving them a tour of the city.

As far as he was concerned, his current task was simply taking him away from fighting or cultivation.

"They're nothing but a bunch of highfalutin kids from the sect, here to see what war looks like." Although his heart was filled with scorn, he kept his face expressionless as he led them through Great Wall City.

Along the way, various cultivators from the five legions looked over at Li Hongming, and when they saw the type of armor he was wearing, would clasp hands and offer respectful greetings.

"Greetings, Colonel!"

"My respects, Colonel!"

Naruto heard many such greetings being called out, and when he saw the looks of respect on the faces of the other cultivators, couldn't help but be curious about the rank of colonel.

Zhao Tianjiao and the others were all wrapped up in their own thoughts as they looked around at the violet walls of the city.

Everything in the city was violet, including the buildings, and emanated a reek of blood.

"Great Wall City is divided into five districts, corresponding to the five legions. We are currently in the district assigned to the Skin Flayers, which is itself larger than all of World City.

"The Skin Flayers' district is further subdivided into ten garrisons. As for that area over there… it belongs to General Uzumaki Lin." Li Hongming was currently pointing to an area with a vast, 300-meter-tall building that looked like a violet coffin.

The coffin was emblazoned with the sigil of the Skin Flayers, and emanated a very sinister air. As he looked around, Naruto could see the looks of zealous devotion in the eyes of the cultivators when they looked at the huge coffin. It was the same even with Li Hongming.

"The other areas are similar, so I won't take you to look at all of them."

Having led them on a rather circuitous route through the city, Li

Hongming finally took them into a rather ordinary-looking courtyard.

Li Hongming looked up at the noon sun and then coolly said, "It's getting late, so why don't you rest up a bit. There's a curfew at night, so remember that, and be careful."

Naruto looked up at the sun, and could tell that it was actually very early, and not anywhere close to night time. Li Hongming clearly didn't want to waste any more time showing them around.

"I'll escort you out tomorrow morning at first light." With that, Li Hongming turned to leave.

Zhao Tianjiao was frowning, and seemed to be on the verge of saying something when Chen Yueshan took a step forward and said, "Brother Li, please wait a moment."

Li Hongming stopped in place. If anyone else in the group had spoken up, he would have ignored them, but Chen Yueshan's status was different. Frowning slightly, he turned to look at her.

"Brother Li, would you mind taking us up to the Great Wall to look around?" she said lightly, giving voice the words that Zhao Tianjiao had just been thinking.

After a moment of silence, Li Hongming slowly said, "There's currently a battle going on, making it quite dangerous. If we go up, I can't guarantee your safety. Are you sure you want to go?"

"Yes, we're sure!" Zhao Tianjiao said, nodding his head.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but seeing how everyone else was nodding, he decided to go along. "We definitely want to go have a look!"

Li Hongming did nothing further to dissuade them. Turning in a different direction, he began to lead them toward the Great Wall itself.

Chapter 468 Chapter 468

Chapter 468: Savage Giants!

It was some distance to the edge of the city where it connected to the wall. Even with Li Hongming leading them, it took the time it takes an incense stick to burn before they arrived.

As Naruto stood there, looking up at the enormous wall, he felt so truly insignificant that it was suffocating.

Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan had the same feeling, as did the others in the group. The imposing pressure of the wall caused their hearts to race, their blood to boil, and their cultivation bases to spin rapidly.

Their reaction only served to increase Li Hongming's disdain.

"Alright, get onto the stairs. In a moment you'll get to feel what war is like." As soon as Li Hongming stepped onto the stairs, ripples spread out in all directions, revealing what appeared to be more than 10,000 steps leading up to the top of the wall!

Zhao Tianjiao immediately stepped forward, and Chen Yueshan followed, pausing briefly on the first step before hurrying after Li Hongming.

From where Naruto was standing, he couldn't hear anything that was happening beyond the wall, but as soon as he stepped onto the stairs, he could instantly hear screaming and yelling. At the same time, his heart began to thump as if with the desire to do battle. "Something's off!" he thought. After looking around for a moment, he quickly hurried after the others.

Soon, the stairs were blurring by beneath his feet, and the sounds of screaming and yelling were getting more intense. Before long, he had reached the final stair, and was on top of the wall. At that point, the sounds of battle rang loudly in his ears.

He could hear agonized screams, enraged roars, and maniacal laughing, along with booms and rumbling that could shake lands and rock mountains.

The wall was so wide at the very top that a hundred people could patrol it in formation. And yet, it was still packed with cultivators, all of them wearing black suits of armor emblazoned with the sigil of the Skin Flayers, their murderous auras rising high into the heavens.

Some of them were operating the enormous magical cannons, sending destructive beams of light down ino the area beyond the wall. Others were at the ramparts, unleashing magical techniques and powerful attacks.

There were some who had flown off the wall and were fighting the mistlike clouds that were hordes of vengeful souls.

The deafening sounds of battle instantly assailed Naruto's mind, leaving him gasping in shock. However, he quickly recovered, and looked over to find Li Hongming staring at him in shock.

As it turned out, he was the first to regain his senses. Neither Zhao Tianjiao nor any of the others had recovered from the shocking sight of the field of battle.

Naruto was the first of the group to recover, which was apparently quite a surprise to Li Hongming, who had been standing there with his arms crossed, looking at the small group. Throughout the years, he had seen many such trial-takers come to the Great Wall, and whenever they saw true battle for the first time, they always needed a bit of time to recover.

At the minimum, it usually took them several breaths of time to do so, and yet this nameless cultivator in front of him had only required a single breath of time. In fact, from the look of it, it might have been even slightly faster than that. Apparently, this young man was no stranger to war.

Of course, compared to Zhao Tianjiao and the others in the group, Naruto had a lot more experience on the field of battle. Thanks to everything that had occurred in the Lower Reaches and the Middle Reaches, he was very familiar with large-scale conflicts.

However, despite his familiarity, it was still a shock to see all of the cultivators atop the wall fighting, and especially

with the magical cannons. Furthermore, all of that quickly tore his attention to what was happening outside the wall!

Beyond the wall, the sky was crimson, as though it had been stained red by countless years of flame. Even the ground outside was bright red, a sharp contrast to the black soil inside the Great Wall.

Down below the wall were vast numbers of vengeful souls, their faces twisted into vicious expressions and they screamed and howled, doing everything in their power to try to destroy the wall itself.

They were the souls of men and women, old and young, all of them vicious beyond compare, and charging forward in tide-like waves of attack.

The number of souls was mind-boggling. Wherever Naruto looked, he saw nothing but vengeful souls, whether it was on the ground or in the air. It was as if he were looking out at a massive sea of souls.

Some were attacking the black glowing shield, and others were gnashing and biting at the wall itself. Many were flying up and trying to attack the Skin Flayers who were out in the open.

Although the vengeful souls could attack and retreat at will, the black shield and the wall held strong against them.

For the Skin Flayers, things were different. Most of them were on the wall, and even if they did charge out into the open for an offensive, they always had to return to the wall at some point, and rely on the protection of the shield to weaken the souls for a period before beginning another offensive.

In addition to the vengeful souls, there were occasionally giants visible within the enemy forces. Most of them were about three meters tall, and despite being physically imposing, seemed emaciated and sickly. Even still, they were crazed, bloodthirsty and completely vicious, and their eyes radiated with unfathomable hatred whenever they looked in the direction of the Great Wall.

Naruto instantly recognized those giants; they were none other than Wildlands savages!

Most of them held back, looking for opportunities created by the sea of souls. Once such an opportunity presented itself, they would call upon their fleshly body power to rocket through the air like meteors.

The attacks of the savages were what the Skin Flayers on the Great Wall would get most nervous about. Whenever they happened, the cultivators would fly off of the wall to counter-attack with full force!

Rumbling booms filled the air, and crimson blood and gore filled the battlefield as the bitter fighting went on. Even as Naruto looked around to take everything in, the savages outside seemed to take notice of him. They could tell that he and his group were new arrivals, and one of them, who happened to be a bit larger than the others, suddenly launched himself into the air toward them.

Howling, he sped along in a beam of light, simultaneously performing a double-handed incantation gesture, which caused numerous vengeful souls to join him in his charge!

In the blink of an eye, Naruto saw blackened, yellowish teeth and an emaciated body hurdling madly in his direction!

Li Hongming's pupils constricted, and he strode forward, right hand flashing in an incantation gesture before waving his finger in the direction of the savage. At the same time, numerous nearby Skin Flayers also began to charge forward.

To see the savage staring at him in such bloodthirsty fashion caused Naruto's heart to prickle in fear. And yet, the more danger he was in, the more explosively he would react. Having no time to considering the situation, he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, causing a violet beam of light to shoot out.

The violet light almost instantly landed on the savage, wrapping around him. The effect only lasted for a moment before he freed himself, but within that time, Naruto performed an incantation gesture, causing shocking frigid Chakra to roil out. Cracking sounds could instantly be heard as layers of ice sprang up around the attacking savage.

Simultaneously, Li Hongming and the other soldiers attacked, causing booming sounds to echo out in all directions. That was when Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan recovered. Expressions flickering, they also joined in the attack.

Amidst the rumbling sounds, the savage let out a miserable shriek, and was torn to shreds. Black blood burst out in all directions, but was too far away from the wall and the shield to hit them. Instead, it splashed down onto the ground below, where it hissed and sizzled as it dissolved the soil.

"The savages' blood is filled with various toxins," Li Hongming explained, "and is strong enough to erode the wall itself. It's a new development from within the last hundred years, and is why we can't let the savages even get close to the Great Wall." From the look in his eyes, the disdain he had felt toward Naruto seemed to have lessened significantly.

—

Chapter 469 Chapter 469 Chapter 469

Naruto looked down wide-eyed at the crater which had been melted by the savage's blood, and his heart trembled.

"They're not savages," he thought, "they're more like pill furnaces on the verge of exploding…. I can't believe that's what happens when you kill them…."

Despite the fact that he was even more nervous than ever, he could tell that Li Hongming was looking at him differently than before, so he forced his chin up and coolly said, "It's been quite some time that I've hoped to feast my eyes on fighting like this. Presumably, battles like this don't happen very often."

Li Hongming's derision for Naruto was continuing to lessen, so he smiled and explained, "Of course they do! Small-scale skirmishes like this happen every two or three days."

Naruto would rather have not heard such an explanation, and his heart immediately began to thump. Looking out beyond the wall, he saw a sea of souls, the countless savages, and even certain locations where there were huge, ferocious battle beasts.

"This is a small-scale skirmish?" he thought in surprise. "What are the big battles like?" Not only did everything look very dangerous, but it reminded him that he had to go outside of the Great Wall on at least three missions. What a headache!

Smiling faintly, Li Hongming looked at Zhao Tianjiao and the others and said, "Very well, it's dangerous here on top of the wall. Now that you've had your look at war, why don't we head back down?"

Naruto was just about to agree when Zhao Tianjiao took a deep breath. Eyes sparkling, he looked down at the fighting and said, "Brother Li, how long will this battle last?"

Li Hongming looked around for a moment to assess the situation, then replied, "From the look of things, I'd say the soul tide will recede tonight. Then there will be a day or two of peace and quiet."

"In that case, I'll wait here. Once the battle is over… I'd like to immediately go out into the Wildlands to begin my training!"

Naruto had known all along that Zhao Tianjiao would think in this way, and wasn't surprised at all.

However, Li Hongming seemed quite taken aback. "You want to go outside of the Great Wall?"

"That's why I came here. To go out into the Wildlands!"

Li Hongming looked at Zhao Tianjiao a bit more closely for a moment before clasping hands and bowing deeply. "In all the years I've been stationed here in Great Wall City, I can't count how many people have gone out into the Wildlands, never to return. Fellow Daoist Zhao, the fact that you have such a goal despite your incredible status is truly worthy of respect. I truly hope that your journeys are safe, Fellow Daoist."

Zhao Tianjiao laughed heartily, then looked over at Chen Yueshan.

Placing her hand over her mouth to cover her smile, she walked over without a word to stand at Zhao Tianjiao's side. Her message was clear; she would stay with Zhao Tianjiao wherever he went. It might be dangerous on the outside, and she might have a reputation as being one of the most beloved young women in the sect, but at the moment, those things didn't matter to her.

As for Zhao Tianjiao's two followers, and Chen Yueshan's two close friends, none of them said anything. Originally, they had planned to go along with Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan, but after seeing the deadly fighting just now, they were left so shaken that they could only look down at the ground in an attempt to hide the shame on their faces. Zhao Tianjiao didn't seem to care. Smiling broadly,

he looked at Naruto. "Naruto , will you be joining us?"

Naruto cleared his throat. Considering that he was only in the late Gold Core stage, he didn't feel that going out into the Wildlands would be a very good idea.

Perhaps once he reached the great circle, then he would go out. At least at that point, he would be more capable of defending himself. By then, he could just make a quick trip outside and back, and hopefully, wouldn't find himself in too much danger.

By enduring the next ten years in such a fashion, he could then go back to the sect and trade his deva soul for a set of five elements deva beast souls. Taking the safe and easy route to the Nascent Soul stage was the way for him.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto felt more confident in his decision than ever, and was just trying to decide whether or not to explain his decision, when suddenly, cries of shock could be heard from the surrounding Skin Flayers.

Many faces in the area filled with astonishment, and despite the fact that the spiritual energy was so weak, many people unleashed the power of their cultivation bases.

The sudden development left Naruto, Zhao Tianjiao and everyone else stunned. Looking out at the battlefield, they saw that the seemingly endless tide of souls had suddenly stopped moving.

In fact, they even began to back up. At the same time, there were no vicious expressions on their faces anymore, but rather, what appeared to be flickers of intelligence. It was a very odd-looking sight; such expressions seemed very out of place.

If that were all there were to the situation, it might not have been a big deal. But then, the vengeful souls threw their heads back and let out ear-piercing howls, and at the same time began to rush toward each other and clump into groups.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten 300-meter-tall soul emperors had formed on the battlefield. They had broad shoulders and seemingly muscular bodies made up of countless souls, and each one of them wielded different magical weapons. The mere sight of them was enough to shake heaven and earth.

The more than ten enormous soul emperors let out terrifying howls as they brandished their magical weapons in shocking fashion.

Naruto's eyes went wide at the sight of the soul emperors, and he couldn't help but think of the soul emperor he had seen in the cyan trial by fire back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

That soul emperor there looked almost exactly like these ones!

"This… this…." The terrifying soul emperors out on the battlefield seemed incredibly powerful, almost as if they were comparable to… Nascent Soul experts!

In addition to the more than ten soul emperors, Naruto could also see… that there were certain souls out on the battlefield that were different from the others!

The ordinary vengeful souls weren't intelligent, and couldn't use magical items. For the most part, they acted on instinct, and were mostly illusory, like smoke. But now, seven or eight figures could be seen on the battlefield, clad in voluminous black robes complete with deep hoods that obscured their heads and faces.

It was impossible to say when they had appeared, but now they hovered in midair, surrounded by crackling black lightning.

There were also some vengeful souls that were beast-like in appearance, and held enormous weapons in their hands as they strode forward.

In addition, at one point off in the distance, swirling smoke formed into the shape of a warhorse with blood-red eyes and flames surrounding its hooves.

Seated on the back of the warhorse of smoke was a gray-robed man!

Clearly, that man was no vengeful spirit, and neither was he a savage. He was… a cultivator! Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he was like a cultivator. He was tall and thin, and the skin of the hand which held the reins of the horse was pure white and seemingly devoid of any dirt or filth whatsoever.

There was something elegant about him, something that made him seem beyond ordinary. Furthermore, he wasn't alone. Flanking him were seven or eight men and women wearing dilapidated clothing, yet who were very good-looking. As they stood there staring at the Great Wall, eyes flickering coldly, the cultivation base fluctuations rolling off of them placed them in the Core Formation stage.

Immediately, the nearby emaciated savages bowed their heads and clasped hands, expressions of awe and reverence on their faces.

When Naruto saw the black warhorse, the first thing he thought of was Bruiser. Then he looked more closely at the figure in the gray robe mounted atop it, and realized that there was definitely something different about him.

He almost seemed like a king to the vengeful souls and the savages, as if he could single-handedly control all of them…. For some reason, Naruto found himself thinking about Chen Manyao and the group she represented.

When Li Hongming saw the gray-robed figure, his expression flickered.

"Who would have thought that a small-scale skirmish like this would see the appearance of… soul cultivators and necromancers!"

Zhao Tianjiao stared at the gray-robed man, coldness rising up in his heart as he asked, "Soul cultivators? Necromancers?"

"In the Wildlands, vengeful souls are considered to be the lowest ranking and least powerful of all entities. Then come the savages, and after that, the soul cultivators. At the top… are the necromancers! As for the soul cultivators, they are powerful cultivators who treat the savages like nothing more than servants. There is no spiritual energy for them to cultivate, so they settle for the next best thing. They use soul vitality instead of spiritual power, and that is why they are called soul cultivators!

"The people responsible for capturing the most powerful vengeful souls, the masters of soul manipulation techniques, and the ones who extract soul vitality for the soul cultivators to use, are rare in the Wildlands, and are highly valued. They are the necromancers!

"Necromancers are terrifying beings. Each and every one is a powerful expert who can control souls, merge them together, and even contain souls inside their bodies to be unleashed with devastating power!" Li Hongming said in a low voice.

Chapter 469: Necromancers!

Chapter 470 Chapter 470

Chapter 470: Who Said I'm Scared?

Even as Li Hongming was explaining about soul cultivators and necromancers, the gray-robed man on the black warhorse extended his right hand and pointed at the Great Wall. In response, the more than ten gigantic soul emperors roared and began to charge across the battlefield, followed by the numerous battle beasts in the area.

Of course, not all of the vengeful souls on the field of battle had been used to make the soul emperors, so there were plenty of ordinary vengeful souls to accompany them in their charge.

There were also the pitch-black souls in midair, surrounded by black lightning, and the souls with special magical weapons. As the charge began, intense rumblings echoed out that were enough to topple mountains and drain seas.

The savages also howled as they began to run toward the Great Wall, with only the gray-robed man and the seven or eight soul cultivators remaining unmoving as they watched the scene play out.

The battle was ramping up, and deafening rumbling sounds were already filling the air. As for Zhao Tianjiao, he stood looking out at the battle, listening intently to Li Hongming's explanation. Although Zhao Tianjiao knew quite a bit about the Wildlands, Li Hongming had personally been here fighting battles for many years, so clearly, his understanding was much deeper and clearer.

Naruto stood there licking his lips as he looked at the soul cultivators and the gray-robed man. He had a bit of a different perspective than Zhao Tianjiao; he had been dealing with the Wildlands for a long time now, and was very glad to have this additional information from Li Hongming.

"Neither the vengeful souls nor the savages are the true rulers of the Wildlands," he thought. "The real ones in charge are the so-called rebels who have been forced to live out there!

"Originally, there probably weren't very many of them, but after all the years that have passed, they've multiplied and become many.

Considering how barren the place is, they have no choice but to use soul vitality to practice cultivation. And that's why they're called soul cultivators.

"The necromancers must just be outstanding figures among soul cultivators. He said they're adept at manipulating souls, so I wonder if the process is similar to how medicine is concocted or magical items are forged?" Even as Naruto was wrapped up in these thoughts, Chen Yueshan frowned. 1

"Even if soul cultivators are strong, and necromancers are rare, what are they doing here? What gives them the courage to take on the entire Great Wall with just that small group? Aren't they worried that we will charge out and kill them?!"

Chen Yueshan wasn't the only one pondering that very question. Zhao Tianjiao had also been thinking about it. Even Naruto looked over expectantly at Li Hongming.

Li Hongming didn't respond. Instead, he extended his right hand, within which appeared a jade slip that he apparently used to transmit some orders. Next, ten enormous magical cannons suddenly began to power up on the Great Wall, sending powerful fluctuations out in all directions. Moments later, rumbling sounds could be heard as bright beams of light shot out from the cannons out onto the battlefield.

The air distorted around the beams of light as they shot toward the soul emperors, some of whom let out miserable shrieks as they were destroyed. The beams of light cut through them like a hot knife through butter, and then proceeded onward to destroy more savages and souls behind them. In an instant, the light was closing in on the necromancer.

Those ten beams of light were powerful enough to destroy Nascent Soul cultivators, and yet, when they hit the necromancer and the soul cultivators, their bodies simply faded a

way.

Obviously, they hadn't been killed, but rather, had visited the battlefield via projection, and not with their true forms!

Chen Yueshan's jaw dropped, and Zhao Tianjiao's pupils constricted. Even Naruto was completely taken aback.

Apparently, Li Hongming wasn't at all surprised by Chen Yueshan's question, and had even been expecting it. "Back when I first arrived at the Great Wall, I had similar questions. Unfortunately, no one provided me with any answers, and I only learned the truth after seeing things with my own eyes." Turning to face her, he said, "I suspect you don't know as much about the Wildlands as you think you do.

"The Wildlands are huge, much larger than the Heavenspan River that we come from. The vengeful souls there are so numerous that they are without end. For countless tens upon tens of thousands of years, the savages there have been born with the power of gods running in their veins. After they grow up, some of them become giants that are thousands of meters tall!

"There are also countless vicious beasts in the Wildlands, the type that would shock you to hear them described. Remember, it's not just the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect who resists the Wildlands, it's all of the sects in the Heavenspan River basin!

"Furthermore, we aren't the only ones who have devas! Nor are we the only ones to have demigods!"

As Li Hongming continued with his explanation, Naruto looked out at the spot where the necromancer and the soul cultivators had been standing, as well as the terrifying battle which was playing out.

Even as he was sighing and cursing about ending up in a place like this, Zhao Tianjiao threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"If the Wildlands were filled with weaklings, then what would be the point of going there for training? The lands out there are filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons, which make them the perfect place for me! Besides, the Wildlands might be strong, with even devas and demigods, but we have the Celestial!

"With the Celestial on our side, the Wildlands will be the Wildlands for all eternity. They will always be stuck outside the Great Wall, and will never pollute our Heavenspan Sea!" Zhao Tianjiao seemed very grand as he stood there and uttered such words, so much so that Li Hongming also joined him in laughing.

"That's right. We have the Celestial, so the Wildlands will always and ever be stuck on the outside. That's how things have always been!" A strong gleam of approval could be seen in Li Hongming's eyes as he looked at Zhao Tianjiao.

As the two of them laughed together, Zhao Tianjiao looked over at Naruto, and could see that he was nervous.

"Naruto , does it scare you to see all those souls and hear about how strong the Wildlands are? Cultivation is fundamentally a defiance of the heavens, so we cultivators should obviously dominate the battlefield to carve out our own great Dao!"

When faced with the heroic-looking Zhao Tianjiao and Li Hongming, Naruto knew that he couldn't let himself look scared. Glaring at them, he slapped his chest hard and loudly declared, "Scared? Who said I'm scared? I could destroy those puny souls as easy as turning over my hand!"

Looking out at the tide of souls and the soul emperors, Naruto decided to make his words even more persuasive, and to truly convince them that he wasn't afraid. Therefore, he had to take some action. Slapping his bag of holding, he produced a Soul Convergence Pill…

Looking disdainfully down at the battlefield, he threw the pill out.

"Take this!"

As the medicinal pill flew through the air, he performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger at it.

As he did, the pill landed amidst the sea of souls, and then exploded!

Instantly, a terrifying gravitational force erupted out, becoming a black hole fully 300 meters wide.

All of the souls in that area were in the middle of howling and charging toward the Great Wall. However, in the blink of an eye, their howls were cut short. Meanwhile, expressions of wide-eyed astonishment suddenly appeared on the faces of the Skin Flayers up on the wall.

Within that 300-meter area, all of the vengeful souls were suddenly sucked beyond their control in the direction of the exploded pill, and in the blink of an eye, the entire area was empty!

From a distance, there was a now a large, 300-meter hole in the middle of the soul tide, something completely eye-catching that everyone was looking at.

To the astonishment of everyone, after the souls were sucked together, they became a head-sized soul sphere that dropped down onto the ground. From the look of it, there were over 10,000 vengeful souls inside of it, all screaming and struggling to no avail to free themselves.

Not only were the cultivators on the Great Wall shocked, the savages on the battlefield were completely astounded. There were also many nearby vengeful souls who instinctively stopped in place and looked over.

Even some of the soul emperors looked over in surprise.

"This… this…." Li Hongming said, his mind spinning. Earlier, he had assumed that Naruto was pulling out a medicinal pill simply to get some face, but what had actually resulted left him completely and utterly shocked.

Zhao Tianjiao's eyes were wide as he looked at the newly-emptied 300meter circle in the middle of the battlefield, and the more than 10,000 vengeful souls struggling in the soul sphere. Gasping, he turned to look at Naruto, his expression one of slight confusion.

Chen Yueshan, as well as the others in their group, were standing there with hearts pounding as they suddenly remembered Naruto's actions in the cyan trial by fire back in the sect.

After a moment of silence, the Skin Flayers on the wall erupted into chaos, their eyes shining with disbelief and shock as they looked over at Naruto.

"Heavens! What just happened!?"

"What… what magical item did he throw out just now!?"

"This is unheard-of! I can't believe this! I don't think I've ever seen anything that works so well against vengeful souls!"

"Who is that guy!?"

Seeing that not only had his pill worked quite well, but he had also attracted quite a bit of attention, Naruto was immediately enlivened. Therefore, he pulled out a whole pile of Soul Convergence Pills and, with a mighty shout, threw them out over the wall, and then began to perform an incantation gesture.

Booms began to ring out on the battlefield, and soon, vast numbers of vengeful souls were screaming in anguish. Even one of the soul emperors was caught up, and ended up being sucked away into a soul sphere….

The crowd of cultivators on top of the wall stood there in stunned silence.

Naruto was more excited than ever by this development. Clearing his throat, he happily stuck his chin up and waved his sleeve.

"Who said I was scared? With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto reduced all those souls to ashes! You think I'm scared of them?"

—

Footnote: A quick note that "necromancer" has a Chinese character in it that is relatively common in AWE and in xianxia stories in general, and that is 炼. You will often see this characters translated as "refine" because that is the most common dictionary definition for the character on its own. However, when combined with other words, that "refine" character doesn't necessarily mean refine. For example, 炼丹 is literally "refine pill" but is a real-world Daoist term that means to concoct or make pills of immortality. That's why I translate 炼丹 as pill concocting. In AWE, the terminology (in Chinese) is slightly different, so we have medicine concocting instead of pill concocting, with the verb being the same, but the noun part changing from the "pill" character to the "medicine" character. Anyway, I digress.

If you remember way back in chapter 4 of AWE, there was a line that talks about the main skills relevant to immortal cultivation, those being medicine concocting, equipment forging, and spirit enhancement. All of those terms use the character 炼 as the verb. I chose early on not to try to have all those verbs match, since the former two were holdovers from ISSTH, and clearly should not use the "refine" definition. Furthermore, I felt that spirit "enhancement" was a more accurate description of that skill. In the case of the necromancers, we find that same Chinese character used again. As for what exactly it means (refine/concoct/forge/use/manipulate souls), you can't tell from the context. In any case, they practice some sort of technique/skill/magic that has to do with souls.

Chapter 471 Chapter 471 Chapter 471

"Naruto? Scared?" Feeling very pleased with himself, Naruto tried as much as possible to flaunt his veins of steel, as if the slightest word of provocation would cause him to throw all caution to the wind and fight it out to the death with his enemies.

The shocking result of him throwing out so many Soul Convergence Pills led to more silence as virtually all of the Skin Flayers on top of the wall looked over at Naruto, their jaws hanging open and their eyes shining with ardor.

Even Zhao Tianjiao could barely breathe. His words earlier had been casually spoken, and he had never imagined that Naruto would react the way he did. With the mere wave of his hand, he eradicated a huge number of vengeful souls.

He wasn't the only one. In addition to the Skin Flayers in the area, someone had been watching unseen from the huge coffin off in the distance. That gaze seemed to be completely fixed on Naruto for a long moment before retracting back into the coffin.

"I've gone through just about everything you can imagine," Naruto declared. "Back when the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect were about to go to war, I was the one who single-handedly stopped it.

After the sects joined forces, we went on to subjugate the entire cultivation world of the Lower Reaches!" Looking off into the distance, he tried to look as heroic as possible.

"Later on, I charged into battle with a million other cultivators, including those from the Pill and Profound Stream Divisions. In fact, I was the one who came up with the name of the River-Defying Sect!" As he swished his sleeve, the wind blew his hair, making him seem even more impressive than before.

"When the River-Defying Sect fought the Sky River Court, I led the charge, cutting down countless enemies. I even took control of the body of the Blood Ancestor to fight the Sky River Court's reserve power, the Dire Skybanyan!

"Fellow Daoist Li, now do you understand why I wasn't very shocked by the sight of the battlefield earlier? On my path of cultivation… I've already experienced far too many wars." There was a tenacity visible in Naruto's expression, and something in his eyes that seemed both profound and ancient.

Because of that, he seemed more than ever like he had veins of steel, and lacked any fear of death. Anyone who saw him at this moment would be shocked, and even Li Hongming was panting a bit.

These weren't stupid people; none of them knew Naruto, and since this was their first time meeting him, he seemed completely and utterly impressive. Plus, his Soul Convergence Pill truly had shaken the entire battlefield, and left everyone's' minds spinning.

On the battlefield beyond the Great Wall, the savages were trembling in fear, and none of them even dared to advance. As for the remaining vengeful souls, they were already backing up.

"Naruto , Elder Brother really misjudged you!" Zhao Tianjiao said, sounding a bit self-reproaching. Thinking back to everything that had occurred since he had met Naruto, he quickly clasped hands and bowed apologetically.

Letting his sleeve drop, Naruto lowered his voice and said, "It's no matter. Elder Brother, you're not the first person to assume that I, Naruto, am afraid of death. And the truth is that I actually do fear dying. But the reason is that I fear dying for no reason, and fear that my life will be devoid of a future!"

At the moment he felt wonderful, and couldn't help but muse that the events just now would ensure that in the future, no one would ever dare to say that he was scared of fighting in battle.

"Naruto …." Zhao Tianjiao sa

id, shivering a bit.

"I understand your sentiments, Elder Brother Zhao," Naruto replied, "so there's no need to speak them aloud. Fellow Daoist Li, the battle is not over yet. I suggest you issue orders to take advantage of the opportunity I've won you, before it fades away!"

Li Hongming looked deeply at Naruto, and without saying a single word, waved his hand toward the battlefield outside the Great Wall.

The magical cannons on the Great Wall rumbled to life, sending beams of destructive light out into the enemy forces, and at the same time, large numbers of cultivators flew into the air, unleashing divine abilities and magical techniques in a riot of colors.

Soon, rumbling sounds filled the air. The vengeful souls struggled to fight back, but Naruto continued to throw out Soul Convergence Pills, making it impossible for them to rally together. As a result, they continued to fall back across the battlefield.

Bangs rang out one after another as he tossed numerous medicinal pills out. One 300-meter-area after another was opened up, and the seemingly endless tide of souls was finally being beaten back. Miserable shrieks and bloodcurdling screams rang out without end.

As the tide of souls shrank, the beasts and the savages had no cover, and were unable to defend themselves against the blasts of the magical weapons. Soon, they were being cut down like chaff, with the survivors devolving into sheer madness.

Savages relied on vengeful souls for almost everything, and using them as cannon fodder to charge the Great Wall was one of the primary tactics of the Wildlands forces. But now, that tactic was completely useless!

Hearts trembling, the savages finally realized that too many strange things were occurring in this battle, and that they had no chance of surviving. Having no other choice, they began to retreat.

Before, it had seemed the battle would last until night fell, but as of this moment, evening hadn't even fallen, and it was already concluding. The Skin Flayers almost couldn't believe what was happening. In all their years fighting savages and vengeful souls, they had never experienced anything like this.

As the Wildlands forces retreated, Li Hongming clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Many thanks for your help in this battle, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki," he said sincerely.

The Great Wall was designed as a defensive barrier, so unless dire circumstances presented themselves, the cultivators wouldn't go beyond its bounds for protracted lengths of time. Therefore, it wasn't just Li Hongming who turned to bow to Naruto, all of the Skin Flayers in the area who had stayed behind also joined in.

"There's no need to thank me," Naruto said somberly. "I do everything for the Heavenspan River and Sea, for my comrades-in-arms, and for my sect! If anything, I should be thanking you! Without your year-round service here on the wall, where could any of us safely practice cultivation?!

"Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Daoists, thank you, all of you!" With that, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

His words were spoken with a sincerity and deep emotion that touched the hearts of all present, and caused them to approve of Naruto even more than before. As for Li Hongming, he laughed heartily and then said, "Brother Zhao. Brother Uzumaki. Come, come. I will personally arrange for a feast so that we can eat and drink to our heart's content!" With that, he smiled and led the way off of the Great Wall.

His attitude was completely different this time around. Along the way, he passionately introduced the various areas of Great Wall City, and even told them some things he knew about the Wildlands. Instead of taking them to an inn, he led them to his own personal residence. There, his maidservants laid out a huge feast, and they began to socialize and eat.

"Brother Zhao, if you go outside the Great Wall, you will be completely surrounded by danger. I know that you have an impressive background, but you still have to watch out for yourself. Here, take this jade slip. These are all the maps I've collected during my years doing missions outside. Perhaps they will be of some use." After handing over the jade slip, he raised his cup in a toast to Zhao Tianjiao.

"Many thanks!" Zhao Tianjiao said, nodding his head somberly as he accepted the jade slip and drank with Li Hongming.

"Brother Uzumaki, I'm sure you have grand aspirations of your own that you will be pursuing, but no matter what happens, if you need help in any aspect, just say the word and I'll be there." From the sincere way Li Hongming looked at Naruto, it seemed that he really did approve of him, and even wanted to be friends.

Instead of responding with words, Naruto simply raised his drinking vessel and took a long drink. Then the three of them all joined together in a round of contented laughter.

Chen Yueshan remained off to the side, watching them with a smile and occasionally refilling their drinking vessels.

Time passed, and soon it was late in the night. The three young men were all Core Formation cultivators, and were sincerely interested in being friends. Their conversation flowed naturally, and they even exchanged some tips about puzzling cultivation problems. Overall, it was a very beneficial conversation for all of them.

Eventually, the sky began to grow light, and Zhao Tianjiao put down his drinking vessel. Eyes shining, he rotated his cultivation base to dispel the effects of the alcohol, and then rose to his feet.

"Naruto . Brother Li. It's time for me to take my leave. I hope that when I return, the three of us can once again eat and drink together!" With that, he clasped hands in farewell. Next, Naruto and Li

Hongming watched as Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan went to say their farewells to their friends and followers at the other table. Then they left the courtyard, escorted by some of the Skin Flayers to leave the Great Wall and head… into the Wildlands! Their friends and followers all went their own separate ways.

"Stay safe on your travels, Elder Brother Zhao!" Naruto murmured as he watched them leave. In his heart, he truly admired Zhao Tianjiao, both for his cultivation base and his temperament. He even felt a bit of an impulse to follow him out into the Wildlands. However, he managed to quickly suppress that terrifying impulse before it could do anything.

"Elder Brother Zhao has his path, and I… I have my own road to follow." Taking a deep breath, he lifted his drinking vessel and drained of the last bit of alcohol.

"My road leads back to East Sea City," he thought. "I'll find somewhere there to spend a few years, and then decide what to do. I definitely don't want to stay in this crappy place for any longer than I have to." Fully convinced that this was the right course of action, he rose to his feet to bid farewell to Li Hongming.

"Brother Uzumaki, I know that you're anxious to be on your way, and I don't have much time on my hands either. I have some orders to carry out, and hope that we can meet again soon in the future. And now, let me escort you to the side gate." With that, he led the way toward one of the side gates of Great Wall City. As they walked along, the bright, morning sun shone down to light their path.

Naruto would occasionally look out at the sky which hung over the area outside the Great Wall, and send his well wishes in the direction of Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan. Before long, they were at the side gate.

All he had to do was walk outside, and then he could return along the path he'd traveled to come here.

Turning to Li Hongming, he sighed and said, "Brother Li, if we're connected by destiny, then we'll meet again."

Li Hongming hesitated for a moment, then said, "Naruto …. You know, I really feel like this is the best place for you. Why don't you think about joining the Skin Flayers? If you enlist, then I can definitely expedite your application!"

"Huh?" As soon as Naruto heard the words spoken by Li

Hongming, the sentimental feeling in his heart vanished, to be replaced by trembling fear. He didn't want to stay at the Great Wall for any longer than he had to. It was just too dangerous. He was about to shake his head in refusal, but realized that doing so would be a bit embarrassing.

Sighing, he said, "I would love to join. Unfortunately, I'm well aware that the process of enlisting with the Skin Flayers is very complicated. I don't want to add any trouble to your busy life, Brother Li. One day, if I can do it completely on my own merit, then I'll definitely join the Hall of Steel Veins…. Well then, I guess I'll be off now!" Fearing that Li Hongming might do more to try to get him to stay, he turned to leave.

However, before he could take a single step, a grave, somber voice echoed out through the air.

"Do you really want to join the Skin Flayers?"

Chapter 471: Do You Really Want To Join The Skin Flayers?

Chapter 472 Chapter 472

Chapter 472: Conscripted For Ten Years!

Not only was the voice somber, but it was the weighty type that would apparently not tolerate the slightest bit of disobedience. Anyone who heard that voice would instantly feel shaken inwardly.

Even as the voice echoed out, a middle-aged man appeared, clad in a long black robe. A moment ago, he had been some distance away, but a single step brought him to stand right in front of Naruto, blocking his path forward.

"Huh?" Naruto said, his eyes going wide. Whoever this man was, he moved incredibly quickly, so quickly that before his words had finished entering Naruto's ears, the man was already standing right there in his line of sight.

He was handsome, with long black hair that made him quite dashing despite the fact that he seemed to be middle-aged. There was also something profound about him, as though his gaze contained the starry sky itself. A mere look at him left Naruto shaken.

Although his clothing seemed casually selected, the way he stood there made him seem as if he were fused with heaven and earth. He was not quite at the level of a deva in that regard, but seemed capable of reaching that level at any time. It was as if he could draw upon the energy of heaven and earth and transform it into boundless battle prowess.

He was not in the Deva Realm, but neither was he in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage. He had reached a point where he could understand some of the magical laws of heaven and earth, which meant that he… was in the quasi-Deva Realm!

Naruto suddenly felt as if his breathing were stifled, and he couldn't even speak.

Although what had occurred so far takes a bit of time to describe, all of it happened in the time it takes to say a short sentence. When Li Hongming saw who was now standing there, his expression turned profoundly solemn, and his eyes began to shine with fervor. Clasping hands, he bowed extremely deeply.

"Greetings, General!"

Naruto's heart immediately flip-flopped as he realized who this man was. Considering that Li Hongming had called him General, it meant that he was obviously... the commanding general of the Skin Flayers!

Naruto immediately clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, General."

The black-robed man looked calmly at Naruto and then said, "I just asked you if you really want to enlist with the Skin Flayers."

Naruto immediately regretted what he had just said. Seeing the black-robed general staring at him, he started to get nervous, and stammered, "Um... w-well I don't..."

Before he could finish speaking, the black-robed man's eyes began to shine aggressively.

"Hmm?" A murderous aura suddenly exploded off of him, transforming into wave-like ripples of rage that threatened to capsize the tiny rowboat that was Naruto. "Think your answer through clearly before you give it."

Despite how calmly he spoke, the man's words echoed like thunder in Naruto's mind.

Naruto felt an indescribable pressure weighing down on him, leaving him both trembling and literally on the verge of tears. His eyes were red, and he suddenly had the feeling that if he didn't agree to enlist, then he might be struck down dead on the spot.

Swallowing hard, he said, "Um... I'm a hostage... it's kind of a sensitive position..."

"Hostage?" Looking surprised, the man waved his right hand, causing a jade slip to appear in his palm. After examining some in

formation inside, he looked up in thought for a moment.

Naruto's heart was pounding with anxiety. He was completely convinced that he must not stay by the Great Wall; it was far too dangerous, and if he didn't leave, he would likely lose his poor little life. However, because of what was happening right now, his emotions were quickly devolving into complete despair.

After a long moment of silence, the black-robed man put away the jade slip and said, "That doesn't matter. Since you wish to stay here, then I can resolve the issue of you being a hostage. Very well, the matter is settled. From this day on, you are a soldier in the Skin Flayers!"

Naruto's eyes went wide, and seeing that the black-robed man was already turning to leave, he quickly cried, "I'm a chosen! I'm in the top ten of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars! I'm free to do whatever I-"

"Chosen?" the man said, not even bothering to look back, his voice ringing with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron. "That's even better!"

Anger rising, Naruto cried, "I... I don't want to enlist! I take back what I said, alright?"

"Taking it back won't do any good. You've been conscripted. Term of service: ten years." The man stopped walking and then extended his right hand, within which appeared a violet command medallion, emblazoned with the terrifying, murderous sigil of the Skin Flayers.

"As a general of one of the five legions here at the Great Wall, I have the power to conscript anyone I want. Those were some nice medicinal pills you used yesterday, and will be of great use here. Let me put it his way, Naruto: you're staying here... whether you want to or not!"

Flicking his sleeve, he looked over at Li Hongming.

"Li Hongming!"

"Sir!?" Li Hongming replied loudly.

"Get him his uniform and then take him to the Armory!" With that, the man left, completely ignoring how Naruto was reacting to all of this.

Naruto felt like weeping, but no tears would come. That was even more the case considering that as the black-robed man had spoken moments ago, a few dozen cultivators had appeared in the area, bristling with murderous auras. They were the type who had obviously fought in countless military campaigns, and had done so much killing that their eyes glowed red. The mere fact that they were looking at Naruto left him jumpy.

Clearly, if he refused to comply with the orders, they would not let him leave alive!

Naruto was both furious, and also filled with regret. He knew that all of this was the result of him trying to show off a bit...

"If I could take it all back," he thought, scowling on the verge of tears, "I would never have jumped out into the limelight..." Then, he looked at the back of the black-robed man as he headed off into the distance, and decided to throw caution to the wind.

"General!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

His words echoed out like thunder, causing the eyes of the surrounding cultivators to grow even sharper than before. Li Hongming was clearly getting anxious, worried that Naruto might do something to offend Uzumaki Lin. He well knew that Uzumaki Lin was the type of person who could slaughter both savages and cultivators without batting an eyelid. His rules for the Skin Flayers' legion were very strict, and thus, Li Hongming quickly tried to give Naruto a meaningful look.

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Lin stopped in place for a second time.

"What do you want?!" he said, turning around slowly, his eyes as cold as ice.

Naruto immediately shivered as though he had suddenly been dropped into the dead of winter. He wasn't the only one to have such a feeling. Li Hongming and the other cultivators were suddenly trembling in their boots.

Dejected by how terrifying the man's gaze was, Naruto lowered his voice and said, "If you want to conscript me into the Skin Flayers, that's fine. But you haven't told me what my salary will be!"

Li Hongming gasped in response. He knew that Uzumaki Lin was a moody person, and if Naruto provoked him in the wrong way, it wouldn't matter what his background was. If Uzumaki Lin wanted Naruto dead, then nobody in Great Wall City could stop him.

"You'll serve for ten years," Uzumaki Lin said coldly. "Each year, your salary will be five times what you get in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! As for other rewards, you can acquire them using battle credit!" With that, he turned to leave.

"General!" Naruto shouted.

This time, Li Hongming was wailing inwardly at how brazen Naruto was acting. Li Hongming himself would never dare to open his mouth a second time, were he in Naruto's shoes.

The other surrounding cultivators all felt the same. From what they could tell, this Naruto... really had some balls.

As for Uzumaki Lin, his murderous aura suddenly intensified by multiple levels. His hair began to fly around in the air as his aura raged out, causing brightly-colored lights to flash in heaven and earth. As of this point, he looked like a god of death as he stared wordlessly at Naruto, making the entire area seem more and more cold. The entire Skin Flayers' district was now completely and utterly silent.

Naruto was trembling. The truth was that he didn't really want to yell out, but at the same time, he had the feeling that if he didn't make some demands now, he wouldn't get another chance later. Therefore, he steeled himself and said, "I had two Dao protectors, both of them dear friends... They were in charge of keeping me safe. Um... I'd really hate to be stuck here all alone, is there any way you could send for them?"

Had Song Que or Master God-Diviner been there to hear his words, they would immediately have coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and instantly begun to curse him. To join the army that defended the Great Wall was like a death sentence, and anyone with sense would refuse to do so... Furthermore, there was no way that either of them could have imagined that after fleeing again, Naruto would be trying to get them back...

However, neither Uzumaki Lin nor Li Hongming knew Naruto very well, so to them, his words carried a different meaning. From what they could tell, Naruto was worried that if he stayed at Great Wall City, his Dao protectors would probably go through a lot of trouble going around searching for him. Thus, in his attempt to care for them, he was asking that they join him.

The fact that, despite being under such pressure and facing Uzumaki Lin's murderous aura, Naruto would still make such a request showed how much he valued friendship and loyalty.

Uzumaki Lin's expression immediately softened a bit.

"I'm afraid that's not possible..." he said. "However... I can promise that if you gain enough battle credit, then you can go find your two friends and conscript them yourself!" With that, Uzumaki Lin flickered into motion and disappeared, not giving Naruto any more chances to say anything else.

Chapter 473

Chapter 473

Chapter 473: You're Bullying Me Too!

Face falling, Naruto watched Uzumaki Lin leave, then turned to look at Li Hongming.

An odd half-smile appeared on Li Hongming's face as he looked back. Laughing lightly, he said, "Congratulations on attracting the attention of the general, Naruto . It's a big honor to have someone like him personally recruit you and vouch for you. In all the years that I've been in the army, I've only seen that happen to three people. You're the fourth."

Naruto immediately began to grumble to himself that he didn't want to become the fourth person to be personally conscripted by the general. However, he had no choice but to accept his fate, and thus, left with Li Hongming.

As the side gate got further and further away, he couldn't help but feel like he had lost his freedom, his control over his life, and his chance to pursue his dreams...

"Why did things have to turn out this way...?" he thought, sighing continuously. Complaining inwardly the entire time, he followed along as Li Hongming took him to get his uniform, which was a suit of black armor. After changing into the armor, Naruto realized that he looked quite heroic, and yet, that didn't make him feel any better than before.

As they walked along, Li Hongming excitedly told him about the history of the Skin Flayers. Naruto listened morosely as they head toward the location Uzumaki Lin had indicated for him to be taken, the Armory.

What was referred to as the Armory was a well-guarded area filled with numerous courtyard residences. Despite being a colonel, even Li Hongming was inspected thoroughly before being allowed inside.

"The Armory is one of the most important locations in the Skin Flayers district. The only people who are allowed to live in this area are the grandmasters who concoct medicine, create paper talismans, and forge weapons and armor.

"Naruto ," Li Hongming said with a sigh, "the general really did take a liking to you!" Naruto immediately sensed that the Armory was somewhat different than the other areas outside. Not only was it more peaceful and quiet, but there was also somewhat of an accumulation of spiritual power.

Something else that was strange was that all the cultivators in the Armory seemed very arrogant. As Li Hongming proceeded along, he would clasp hands in salute, and yet they all completely ignored him in response.

Seeing Li Hongming being given the cold shoulder made Naruto a bit angry.

"What's so amazing about these people?!" he asked.

Li Hongming laughed and replied, "Naruto , they're all grandmasters.

They're the people who make the tools we require to fight in battle.

That's just the way things are."

At that point, they stopped outside of the seventh building in the Armory.

"Naruto , this is as far as I can take you. From now on, we're fellow comrades-in-arms. If you need help with any issue, just let me know." After a few more words of advice, he turned and left.

Naruto sadly watched Li Hongming leave, then turned and stepped into the building which had been prepared for him. It was thousands of meters across, and other than a three-story structure at one end, was mostly just a large courtyard neatly paved with green spirit stone slabs. Considering that Great Wall City as a whole was virtually devoid of spiritual energy, that made this location a wonderful place for any cultivator.

Although Naruto didn't really want to be stuck in Great Wall City, he had to admit that this residence wasn'

t too bad. He even saw a lovely little lake off to the side.

Lakes were a rarity near the Great Wall, and any that did exist were filled with black water. Therefore, to see a lake like this one with cool, clear waters instantly left him feeling relaxed.

"Ah well, I might as well just follow orders." Sighing, he walked over and sat down next to the lake, contemplating what was to come in the future. At that point, he noticed that there were three golden carp swimming back and forth in front of him. They had long whiskers that indicated they had lived quite a long time, and most shocking of all was that they were partially translucent. Clearly, they were not mortal-tier creatures, and were the type of creatures that could be used as ingredients in medicinal creations.

"These dragonfishes must have lived for at least a sixty-year-cycle.

That's pretty rare. They're the main ingredient for Fishdragon Pills."

After watching the fish for a bit, he decided to go for a walk through the Armory. Soon he realized that all of the buildings had numbers on them, and the smaller the numbers were, the larger the buildings. Furthermore, the locations of the larger buildings were also better.

He was in building 7, which was one of the best buildings in the entire Armory. After examining the building records, he looked over at the little lake that now belonged to him and murmured, "According to the records, there should be a whole school of dragonfish. Why are there only three?" Before he had time to think about the matter, his expression suddenly flickered as he looked over at a nearby wall. There, a figure was flying through the air, using some unknown method to circumvent the defensive spells and enter right into his courtyard.

It was a gaunt old man with an arrogant expression on his face, and a cultivation base in the late Core Formation stage. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he noticed Naruto, whereupon his eyes flickered in surprise. However, instead of saying anything, he simply walked over to the edge of the lake and, in plain view of Naruto, reached into the water and grabbed one of the dragonfish. Then he turned to leave.

Naruto was stunned at how condescending the man was acting. Clearly, Naruto was standing right there, yet the man pretended not to see him and then went so far as to grab one of his treasured fish.

Naruto had already been feeling depressed about being here, but now, his anger sparked.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?" he barked.

"Concocting medicine," the old man replied, not even bothering to stop.

"If the general wants to bully me, that's fine. But you think you can bully me too?!" As Naruto's anger burned, his eyes shone with icy light. Reaching out, he made a grasping motion, simultaneously opening his third eye and sending violet light pouring out. The shocked old man attempted to flee, but was too late. In the blink of an eye, the dragonfish he had taken was snatched by Naruto and thrown back into the lake.

As of this moment, Naruto realized that there really were less dragonfish in the lake than there should have been. Obviously, the others had been stolen, and likely, all by this old man.

A very unsightly expression could be seen on the old man's face as he backed up a few steps. Glaring at Naruto, he chuckled coldly and said, "I've been living in building 8 for years, and have never seen anyone as brazen as you. The dragonfish from building 7 are mine for the taking. As for you, you trifling child, do you really think you can act so wildly in my presence?!"

Naruto had already been irritated to begin with, and the man's words only served to increase his irritation.

"Pipe down!" he said, taking a step forward. Instantly, cracking sounds could be heard as frigid coldness spread out in all directions, causing layers of ice to build up everywhere. Then, he performed something like a minor teleportation, placing him directly in front of the old man.

The old man's expression flickered, and before he could even think of fleeing, Naruto punched out with the Living Mountain Incantation. A force like an entire mountain slammed into the old man, who tumbled backward several hundred meters, blood spraying out of his mouth.

"Screw off! From now on, all the dragonfish in this place are surnamed Uzumaki!"

Although the old man's eyes flickered with venomous hatred, he didn't press the issue, and simply turned and left.

Driving away the condescending old man lifted Naruto's mood quite a bit, so he sat down next to the lake to meditate. Before long, evening had arrived.

As the colors in the sky changed, Naruto was just about to rise to his feet when he suddenly turned to look up into a different direction. A moment later, a few beams of light appeared, moving with lightning-like speed toward Naruto.

Three figures approached, and in the lead was Uzumaki Lin, clad in a black suit of armor, his face completely expressionless.

Behind him were two old men with murderous auras and Nascent Soul cultivation bases, both of whom were clearly sizing up Naruto curiously.

Naruto immediately stood up and said, "Greetings, General."

"Have you gotten used to the environment in the Armory yet?" Uzumaki Lin asked.

Naruto blinked a few times, then carefully responded, "It's alright, just a bit quiet, that's all."

Having heard this, Uzumaki Lin looked at one of the old men and said, "Lin Tao, arrange for some handmaidens to care for Naruto's daily needs."

The old man nodded, pulling out a jade slip to send out some orders.

Naruto was a bit taken aback at how quickly his needs were being cared for. Just as he was considering what else he should say, Uzumaki Lin looked down at the clear waters of the lake for a moment, then up into the sky.

"The Great Wall has existed for many years," he said. "In fact, it's older than the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect itself. Do you know how many cultivators have been stationed in this city over the years, how many have fought here against the Wildlands...?

"Too many. The five legions of the Hall of Steel Veins have only been garrisoned here for the past 10,000 years or so.

"Generations come. Generations go. People perish. People leave. But the Great Wall remains.

"Although there is a bit of rivalry between the five legions, overall, relations are good. We live up to our various areas of responsibility, guard the wall, and prevent the Wildlanders from invading."

Chapter 474

Chapter 474

Chapter 474: What Could Possibly Go Wrong When Concocting Medicine?

Naruto was having a hard time keeping up with what Uzumaki Lin was saying, or at least, having trouble understanding what the point was.

However, there was nothing else he could do but stand there and listen.

"The five legions all have a general and ten major generals," Uzumaki Lin continued. "Each major general has ten colonels beneath them, and so on, down to the lieutenants and the captains!

"As for me, I am the current general of the Skin Flayers." Uzumaki Lin looked back at Naruto, and his gaze grew even sharper than before. "I'm not the type of man to mince words. I like to say things directly, and I always mean what I say. I have a strange personality. Some people say that I'm temperamental, and others say that I'm bloodthirsty.

"Some say that I will definitely become a deva someday, and others speak of my incredible natural-born talents. People call me brilliant, and say that I have a profound understanding of strategy and tactics. There are all sorts of such talk.

"I don't like it. I'm not interested in hearing those things, and in fact, there is only one thing that I like to hear people talking about. Do you know what that is?"

Considering how Uzumaki Lin seemed to be blathering on so much, Naruto had to admit that he really was quite weird. It almost seemed as if he were just randomly saying whatever came to mind. For example, what he had started talking about earlier seemed to have nothing to do with what he was talking about now.

Therefore, Naruto simply stood there blinking for a moment until Uzumaki Lin frowned.

"I asked you a question. Do you know what I like to hear people talking about?" From the look in his eye, he expected Naruto to answer the question.

"Um... no?" Naruto said, musing that this Uzumaki Lin really was an odd fellow.

Uzumaki Lin's eyes flickered with cold light as he said, "You know, I don't like it when people do things half-heartedly!"

Naruto was cursing inwardly, and yet, Uzumaki Lin's cultivation base was far higher than his own, so there was little choice. Therefore, he plastered a look on his face to make it seem like he was thinking very deeply. Then, after a long moment passed, he slapped his thigh. Eyes shining, he said, "I know! Senior, in the future, you want people to look back and remember that there was once a cultivator named Uzumaki Lin, a man who led armies across all creation, and who protected the Great Wall for his entire life!" Naruto was of the opinion that his flattery was flawless, and was actually starting to feel proud of himself, when he noticed that Uzumaki Lin's expression had turned grim.

"Wrong!" Uzumaki Lin said, flicking his sleeve, his eyes beginning to shine brightly. "I like people to talk about how Uzumaki Lin has a wonderful grandfather. That is because my father's father ranks second only to the demigod patriarch in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. He is... a deva grand elder!

"And what does that mean? That means that nobody in the entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would ever dare to provoke me! Furthermore, I'm free to provoke anyone I wish! And beyond that, it means that I can dominate anyone and everyone in Great Wall City! It also means that the Skin Flayers have a profoundly shocking backer to rely on. From the day that I became the general of the Skin Flayers, I've had access to anything I wanted. If I lack a single thing, I simply make a request of the sect!

"In summary, the point of what I'm saying is that when

you join up with the Skin Flayers, other than Deva Realm Senior Chen, there is no greater force to be reckoned with in this city than me!" With that, he leveled a cool gaze onto Naruto. "Understand?!"

"Uh... yeah..." Naruto said, staring in surprise at Uzumaki Lin. Finally, he understood what the general had come here to do, which was simply to show off his family background... Of course, there wasn't much difference between that and the way that Naruto often showed off...

As for the Senior Chen that he had referred to, Naruto was aware that he meant Chen Yueshan's father, the three-eyed Chen Hetian.

Uzumaki Lin nodded approvingly. As for the two Nascent Soul experts flanking him, they had no expressions on their faces whatsoever, as if they had long since grown used to Uzumaki Lin's personality and speeches.

Sounding very serious, Uzumaki Lin continued, "Well, now that you understand what I like to hear people talking about, you also understand that as long as you work for me, you can have anything you need. And you also understand what I want from you! I want your service!" By this point, Uzumaki Lin's eyes were beginning to shine with passion.

"I want you to work hard for our legion, to kill savages, to defeat vengeful souls, and to help us win more campaigns!

"That is why I conscripted you into the Skin Flayers. I want you to work hard at concocting medicine. Make medicines that can help us in our fight on the Great Wall. As long as you do that, you can have anything you want here in Great Wall City. In fact, I can even make things happen for you in the sect itself.

"For example, would you like the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to open more slots for River-Defying Sect cultivators to come join the sect?

"Would you like your hostage status to be removed?

"Even if I can't personally make it happen, my grandfather can. The only requirement is your military service!

"Therefore, Naruto, I want you to concoct that same medicinal pill you used before. I want lots of them. The more the better. And if possible, I want them to be even more powerful than before!"

Generally speaking, silkpants weren't anything to fear. Naturally skilled silkpants were, though. And even more fearful were ambitious silkpants. They were the most terrifying of all...

Naruto was actually a bit impressed by Uzumaki Lin. However, considering they were both surnamed Uzumaki, it was a bit annoying that Uzumaki Lin had someone so powerful to rely on, whereas Naruto himself didn't.

Of course, Uzumaki Lin's request was something Naruto had assumed was coming. Furthermore, considering the things that tended to happen when he concocted medicine, he also figured it was probably good to at least mention that possibility at the outset.

If he didn't, and something bad happened, then the next time he saw Uzumaki Lin, the man would surely be furious.

This wasn't the River-Defying Sect, where he could do just about anything he wanted. Nor was it the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect headquarters, with Du Lingfei there to make sure he was safe.

He was now at the front lines of a war. He had seen how much fighting and killing went on beyond the Great Wall, and could sense the murderous aura that filled the entire city. He could well imagine how, if he caused some disaster, he would have a hard time protecting his poor little life, and would likely be left with no other choice than to flee the city.

Therefore, he took a deep breath and gave Uzumaki Lin a very serious look.

"General, I can definitely concoct a lot of Soul Convergence Pills for you. That's no problem at all. However, I invented that pill, and am familiar with the instabilities that can crop up during the concocting process. To be honest, not even I can truly explain why those things happen."

Feeling a bit nervous, but not wanting to hide the truth, he continued, "If you want more powerful Soul Convergence Pills, then I need to do more research and experimentation. I'm not saying that I can't do that, but I do have to point out that from the time I was very young until now, I always cause huge commotions whenever I concoct medicine..."

"That doesn't matter," Uzumaki Lin said, waving his hand dismissively. "What could possibly go wrong when concocting medicine?"

"I'm serious, General," Naruto continued cautiously. "Back in the Spirit Stream Sect, one of my pill concocting sessions caused acid rain to fall all over the whole sect. A lot of people had their clothes melted right off... Another time, a whole bunch of animals mutated. You can't even imagine how terrifying that was.

"Another time, I provoked lightning from heaven that destroyed my entire immortal's cave... Later on, all the snakes in 10,000 Snakes Valley rebelled and invaded the sect because of me." The two Nascent Soul experts behind Uzumaki Lin already looked a bit fearful.

As for Uzumaki Lin, he hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively again. "Those are just minor problems. Things like that won't hurt anybody!"

Looking a bit embarrassed, Naruto said, "I'm not finished yet...

"Um... later on in the Blood Stream Sect, my pill furnaces kept exploding... and one time I made this smoke that caused everyone on the mountain to come down with near-deadly diarrhea... And that's not even mentioning my Fantasy Pill, which gives people all sorts of crazy hallucinations. Oh, right. There was one time that I almost blew up an entire holy mountain..."

The two Nascent Soul experts with Uzumaki Lin were actually major generals in the army, but even they were trembling in fear. The vivid descriptions provided by Naruto sounded like nothing less than disasters, no matter how they analyzed them...

The worst thing of all was that they could tell that Naruto wasn't lying... He really was telling them of the consequences of his own medicine concocting.

Uzumaki Lin's eyelids twitched a bit, and he hesitated for even longer this time. But finally, he waved his hand even more forcefully than before.

"It doesn't matter. You just take responsibility for getting those medicinal pills to the army. Whatever you need to do it, just ask. As for any problems which crop up during the concocting process, I'll take responsibility!"

At long last, Naruto was able to breathe a sigh of relief. From what he could tell, now that he had offered an honest warning, if anything bad happened later, it wouldn't matter.

"Although," he murmured to himself, "everyone who has said similar things in the past always ended up regretting it..." Whenever he thought back to everything that had occurred with medicine concocting in his life up to this point, he always sighed. At this point, he realized that considering Uzumaki Lin had said he could have anything he needed, he decided not to hold back out of politeness.

"Okay. I need a hundred of your best, most expensive pill furnaces! Each one must have been used to successfully concoct thirty batches of medicinal pills, should have high-quality medicinal aromas, and must all look identical. Otherwise, I would have to spend time getting used to each one, which would be a waste of time..." After the briefest of moments, he added, "...and therefore, a waste of my military service!"

Chapter 475

Chapter 475

Chapter 475: This Old Guy Offended Me

When Uzumaki Lin realized that Naruto wanted a hundred pill furnaces, and had even more requirements beyond that, he hesitated for a moment. After all, the type of pill furnace being requested were very valuable. However, Naruto's final added words were very convincing, so Uzumaki Lin nodded in agreement and said, "No problem at all!"

"I also need 10,000 high-grade earthflame crystals," Naruto continued, "not a single one of them lacking even an iota of earthflame power. They need to be fully charged! By the way, that 10,000 is only for the first month. I'll need the same amount every month afterward."

"Simple!" Uzumaki Lin said, smiling broadly. As far as he was concerned, any requirements that could be solved by means of spirit stones weren't a problem at all.

Seeing Uzumaki Lin's casual reaction, Naruto felt slightly irritated, and thus went on to say, "I need fuel for five-colored flame, six-colored flame, seven-colored flame and eight-colored flame!"

Uzumaki Lin hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said, "I'll do my best."

"Plus 1,000 cloudysoul leaves! 1,000 earthspirit tubers! 1,000 atmosphere flowers..." With that, he went on to name several dozen types of medicinal plants, any one of which could only be purchased via a sizeable amount of merit points back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity

Sect. There were some that were only available for purchase to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, and even a few which were considered to be extinct. But Uzumaki Lin considered himself to be incredibly rich, and after a moment of thought, agreed to all the demands.

Despite wracking his brains, Naruto couldn't think of any other ingredients or items he needed, so decided to change tactics a bit. "Oh right. Concocting medicine is very draining on one's energy and cultivation base, and will be even worse considering the surroundings. If you want me to work without resting, then I need some supreme-grade spirit alcohol to keep my cultivation base going!"

Uzumaki Lin immediately let out a hearty burst of laughter. "You got it!" However, only a moment later, his eyes shone with a cold light, and his murderous aura began to pulse dangerously. "However… although, I can give you everything you've asked for, when it comes to what I want, if you fail to-"

Flicking his sleeve, Naruto interrupted proudly to say, "No ifs! When it comes to concocting medicine, when Naruto says that he can do it, he definitely can!"

Naruto couldn't have anyone questioning his ability to concoct medicine, after all!

Uzumaki Lin seemed taken aback, and yet, didn't get angry. In fact, a broad smile could be seen on his face. He respected people with skill, and Naruto seemed completely confident in his abilities. As such, Uzumaki Lin could only assume that he truly was very skilled at concocting medicine.

Furthermore, Uzumaki Lin wasn't worried about any so-called disasters. After all, no one in Great Wall City would dare to provoke him. On the other hand, if Naruto didn't end up concocting the medicine, then Uzumaki Lin would make sure he reaped the harsh consequences of lying.

Laughing, he looked at Naruto and said, "Very well. You'll get everything you need within three days. If there's anything else you require, say the word. The only thing I care about is that you succeed in the end!"

After a moment of thought, Naruto looked over at the wall leading to bui

lding 8. Not only had the old man from that building casually stolen his property, he had also given him a very dirty look. Earlier, he knew that, as a newcomer, it would be wisest not to cause any problems that might have negative ramifications later.

But now that he realized how important Soul Convergence Pills were to Uzumaki Lin, he decided that he might as well add in one last requirement and see how Uzumaki Lin handled it. Eyes narrowing, he said, "I'm afraid my courtyard isn't large enough to contain all one hundred pill furnaces, and that old guy over in building 8 offended me earlier."

Uzumaki Lin seemed surprised, and looked at Naruto deeply for a moment.

"You know, Naruto, the more requirements you add on, the less room you have for failure. Very well. Henceforth, building 8 belongs to you! As for Grandmaster Chen, you won't see him for the next ten years. Furthermore, you-" Before he could finish speaking, an intense rumbling roar could be heard from beyond the Great Wall, something so loud that the whole city seemed to shake.

Uzumaki Lin's pupils constricted, and Naruto's heart instantly began to pound in shock. Everyone looked over in the direction of the Great Wall, and could see that, at some unknown point, the clouds in the darkening evening sky had formed a huge vortex. The vortex was so large that it was impossible to even see the end of it, and pouring out of it, like prisoners escaping from a jail cell, were endless numbers of vengeful souls, all of whom were furiously charging in the direction of Great Wall City.

The vast number of souls was enough to make anyone's scalp go numb. They seemed evil and ferocious to the extreme, and a few of the unfortunate cultivators from the five legions who happened to be outside the wall dispatching some enemies were pounced upon and instantly reduced to desiccated corpses!

"How could this be happening?! Someone's using some type of grand magic to tap into the Underworld River!" With that, Uzumaki Lin shot with lightning-like speed toward the Great Wall.

Naruto gasped, and once again realized that the intense sensation of deadly crisis he was feeling right now was just how life was at the Great Wall!

The flames of battle could rage at any time!

After a long moment, he exhaled slowly, more conscious than ever that his Soul Convergence Pill could probably be very useful on the battlefield.

Thankfully, he was very familiar with how to concoct Soul Convergence Pills, and since all he had to do was make them a bit stronger, was confident that it wouldn't be extremely difficult. After all, he only needed to adjust the pill formula a bit. He had been devoted to the Dao of medicine for years, and had even concocted a River-Defying Pill, so he had absolute confidence in being able to add bit of strength to a trifling Soul Convergence Pill.

Despite that, he still felt a bit nervous, not because of the pill itself, but rather, the strange things that often happened when he went about his concocting work. However, Uzumaki Lin had unequivocally guaranteed to take responsibility, so therefore, Naruto felt a bit better.

Considering the level of his Dao of medicine, there was no saying that he would even cause any problems at all. Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto was very excited, and decided that Great Wall City actually wasn't a very bad place after all.

"I, Naruto, end up being like a shining star wherever I go. Ai. It's not like I want to be that way." Humming a little tune, he swaggered back into his residence.

The next day, a large group of cultivators entered building 8, and Uzumaki

Naruto soon heard bellows of rage coming from Grandmaster Chen. However, such cries soon faded away, and less than two hours later, the wall between buildings 7 and 8 had been torn down.

In the end, the two courtyards were connected, and a new spell formation put in place. As of this point, Naruto's residence was about twice the size as it had been.

The limestone flooring in the two courtyards was connected, and soon, more spiritual energy than before could be detected. Although it was still rather weak, to anyone else in Great Wall City, it would be a luxury. In fact, the only other type of people who would have access to so much spiritual energy would be major generals.

When Naruto emerged from his residence and looked out at the expansive courtyard, he felt quite satisfied. From what he could tell, no one in the same generation as him could possibly have a finer immortal's cave.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Despite being very happy, he did feel that the place was a bit empty. However, that afternoon, one of the major generals in the Skin Flayers arranged for about a dozen handmaidens to come over and help take care of the place. At that point, Naruto felt that everything was perfect.

Of course, the fact that Naruto had moved into the Armory, and that the day after, Grandmaster Chen had been kicked out of building 8 by the Skin Flayers, was news that shocked all of the other grandmasters.

The residents of the Armory were all famous cultivators, and although none of them were really close friends with each other, when they saw the aggressive way that Naruto threw his weight around, they weren't very happy.

"Let's see how long things last for this kid!"

"Hmph! General Uzumaki Lin of the Skin Flayers only cares about results. If this Naruto doesn't make him completely happy, he's definitely going to be furious!"

"The more Uzumaki Lin gives you, the worse things are if you fail. This kid is a complete idiot. He's definitely going to be dead sooner rather than later!"

Naruto was unaware of how the other grandmasters in the Armory were talking about him, but whenever he went out for a walk, he could sense their coldness.

"Hmph," he muttered. "I can't help but feel that my residence is still a bit too small." Another day went by. Around evening, Naruto went for another stroll, and when he came back, his eyes immediately began to shine.

There in his courtyard were one hundred pill furnaces, neatly lined up, each one of them fully three meters tall. Standing in front of the pill furnaces was one of the same major generals who had come to visit him with Uzumaki Lin a few days before. The old man was flanked by four youths, all of whom were staring wordlessly at Naruto.

The pill furnaces were greenish-black, and were all identical, carved with auspicious qilins. They all emanated powerful auras as well.

Furthermore, despite the fact that furnaces weren't being used to concoct anything at the moment, they were surrounded by a strong medicinal aroma.

Hurrying forward excitedly, Naruto quickly began to inspect the furnaces, after which his eyes shone brightly. "He actually did get me a hundred pill furnaces, all of them tier-3 at that!"

Chapter 476

Chapter 476

Chapter 476: Its Gonna Blow!

Off to the side, Naruto saw a pile of a few dozen bags of holding. Upon checking them, he gasped at the sight of 10,000 earthflame crystals. Furthermore, everything else that he had asked for was there, without exception.

Even the spirit alcohol he had requested had been provided in full measure.

"Uzumaki Lin wasn't just showing off. Three days! It only took him three days to get all of this!" By this point, his eyes were shining with excitement and determination. Furthermore, he was determined that, considering Uzumaki Lin had kept his promise, there was absolutely no reason to hold back from working hard to keep his.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto looked over at the major general.

"If it's not too much trouble," he said, "please let the general know that I won't hold anything back in my work!"

The old man nodded. "These are four of my best soldiers. You have a big responsibility to bear, so I'm going to leave them here to stand guard and make sure nobody disturbs you." With that, the old man turned and left.

The four young men had cold expressions on their faces as they walked some distance off and then sat down cross-legged. From the look of it, they weren't there to protect him, but to keep an eye on him.

After all, the items which had just been delivered were extremely valuable, and had only been acquired through some effort on Uzumaki Lin's part.

Naruto immediately ignored the gazes of the four young men. He was simply too excited. The sight of so many pill furnaces and so many medicinal plant ingredients had him itching to get to work.

"It's been a long time since I concocted any medicine..." he murmured, licking his lips. Having nothing to fear regarding future ramifications, Naruto couldn't help but feel that everything in life was going perfectly at the moment.

He even threw his head back and laughed merrily. As for the four young men, they looked over at him and frowned, but did little else.

"To make my Soul Convergence Pills more powerful, I can't just add more medicinal ingredients. I need to completely readjust the formula..." With that, he sat down cross-legged and began to take the medicinal plants out of the bags of holding. Then, the light of augury flickered in his eyes as he began to analyze them on a deep level.

Soon, the foundations of a new medicine formula appeared in his head. Three days went by in a flash, during which time Naruto didn't sleep or rest. He was completely immersed in the process of adjusting the medicine formula. His eyes soon became shot with blood, and occasionally he would stand up and pace around in the courtyard, muttering to himself.

"No, that won't work!

"Should I use smelting techniques? There isn't much spiritual energy here, so it would be hard to make that work...

"Completely seal the pill furnace? The impure vital energy would make the ingredients melt faster, but with so much Chakra in the mix, there would be a bigger risk of the furnaces exploding..."

Naruto muttered and frowned, seemingly bedeviled. As for the four guards, they often exchanged awkward glances at Naruto's strange behavior.

Meanwhile, the other grandmasters in the Armory had heard that Naruto was beginning to concoct medicine, and their hearts were all filled with cold laughter. Some of them even went over to Naruto's residence to try to get a peek at what he was doing. The

guards didn't pay them any attention. As long as they didn't enter the residence itself, they wouldn't do anything to interfere with them.

"He's being deliberately mystifying. I can't wait to see the true level of his skill!"

"Hmph! If he doesn't concoct the first batch successfully, his head will be on the chopping block!"

Of course, even to these grandmasters, the sight of a hundred topquality pill furnaces was shocking, and led to quite a bit of jealousy and envy.

Two more days went by, and some of the grandmasters who had gathered outside started to get impatient and leave. Before long, only eight remained behind. Uzumaki Lin also came for a visit, his face grim because of the fighting that was going on outside. After looking at Naruto for a moment, he decided not to disturb him, and left.

On the afternoon of the sixth day, Naruto suddenly looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face a bit wan. However, a strange gleam could be seen in his pupils.

"I need to use the cloudysoul leaf as the main ingredient. Yes. I'll bolster the formula with just a bit of earthspirit tuber, add in the unique properties of the atmosphere flower, and then seal the pill furnace up tight. That should increase the power of the Soul Convergence Pill by several times! Well, there's only one way to find out if I'm right. I'll start out with ten batches." By this point, Naruto had lost track of time, and wasn't even aware that there were people around watching him. Convinced that he was going in the right direction, he waved his right hand, causing ten pill furnaces to fly over and land in front of him. Then he waved his sleeve, sending their lids flying off.

Next, he tossed some earthflame crystals underneath the pill furnaces, and unleashed their earthflame power. In the blink of an eye, the ten pill furnaces turned bright red, and began to emanate intense heat. The four young guards all looked over, intense expressions of concentration on their faces.

Naruto was completely focused on the furnaces. Even as they continued to heat up, he unhesitatingly began to put the medicinal plant ingredients inside, following the formula that currently existed in his head. Because this was his first test, he was careful with every action, hoping to prevent any failures from cropping up at the end of the concocting process. He even put all the ingredients into the furnaces in very careful order. In this session of concocting, he was at his peak state, whether that meant his thinking, or his actions.

That was why he had selected only ten furnaces, and also why he was being very careful about the order he put the ingredients in. Finally, his eyes shone as he put the lids back onto the furnaces, performed a double-handed incantation gesture, and then roared, "Seal!"

Numerous magical sealing marks flew out from his hands, landing on one of the furnaces, which trembled in response. After the sealing was performed, its lid was closed tighter than ever, leaving not even the slightest opening.

He employed more than a hundred such sealing marks, until he was sure that the furnace was absolutely shut tight. It wasn't even possible for smoke to emerge from it.

Having accomplished these things, Naruto had sweat dripping down his face. However, he didn't look away from the furnaces. Slapping his bag of holding, he produced a bottle of spirit alcohol, downed it, and then continue to add sealing marks to the furnace. When he was satisfied, he went on to seal the other nine furnaces, after which he took a few steps back, face a bit pale. Settling down cross-legged, he began to do some breathing exercises.

The four young guards had been watching the whole time, and although they pretended that they understood what was going on, they really didn't. However, the surrounding grandmasters apparently did.

"Is he sealing the medicinal ingredients?"

"No, that can't be right. You don't seal the ingredients by sealing the furnaces, do you? What is he thinking?"

"Sealing the furnaces increases their chances of exploding. Does this Uzumaki

Naruto really know how to concoct medicine?!"

"He's wasting all of those precious medicinal plants! I guarantee you that those furnaces will explode within eight hours! Hmph! When the time comes, you people just wait and see if I'm right!" The disdain that the grandmasters felt for Naruto was very clear.

Time passed, and soon the eight-hour mark approached. The grandmasters were all staring at the pill furnaces, and just as they had predicted, the furnaces were not just bright red, they were trembling and emitting cracking noises. There were even heatwaves spreading out in all directions.

The situation seemed especially dire with five of the furnaces. Cracks were spreading out over their surfaces, and it seemed very likely that they were going to explode.

Naruto's eyes went wide when he saw those five particular furnaces. Backing away, he shouted, "Those furnaces are gonna blow.

Everybody, heads up!"

Even as he edged away, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as he tried to protect the five pill furnaces that weren't cracked.

As for the four young guards, cold smiles could be seen on their faces.

These young men had fought in countless battles, and had profound Core Formation cultivation bases. As far as they were concerned, they had seen everything there was to see, and therefore, a few exploding pill furnaces wasn't anything to worry about. Right?

As for the grandmasters outside of the residence, they were all looking on disdainfully, and even with disinterest.

"What's the big deal about a few trifling pill furnaces exploding? This

Grandmaster Uzumaki really doesn't know how to keep his cool."

"When a concocting session ends with the pill furnace exploding, the size of the explosion depends on the type of pill furnace and the type of pill. A tier-3 pill furnace will make a bit of a bang, but it's nothing to be scared of."

"Sealing the pill furnace might make the medicinal pills inside slightly stronger, and can lead to the furnace exploding, but won't add that much power."

When the four young guards heard what the grandmasters were saying, they calmed down a bit. However, considering how close they were to the pill furnaces, some of them brought out defensive magical devices just in case.

Chapter 477

Chapter 477

Chapter 477: What Magical Items Were They?!

One of the young guards was so confident in the level of his cultivation base that he didn't even take out a defensive magical device. As the surrounding grandmasters continued to scorn Naruto...

The surfaces of two of the five weakened pill furnaces were suddenly covered with nothing but cracks. Apparently, the energy that had been building up inside them had reached a point that the furnaces couldn't contain it anymore. Finally, both furnaces exploded.

A wave of energy immediately burst out, filled with shockingly terrifying power. Shrapnel buzzed out in all directions like meteors, accompanied by a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom.

As the energy wave spread outward, the air distorted, and brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth. Everyone in the area felt their ears tingling with pain from the intense noise.

The courtyard's spell formation was instantly damaged, and although it wasn't completely destroyed, several enormous holes were punched into it.

As for the four young guards, their eyes went wide and their mouths opened, but they had no time to do anything else. In the blink of an eye, the energy wave from the two exploding pill furnaces was upon them.

The three who had taken precautionary actions had it better off. Blood sprayed out of their mouths as they were blown back several hundred meters. There, they slammed into the ground, bones shattered and blood oozing out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Even their soul flames were flickering, as though their souls might be wrenched out of them at any moment.

As for the fourth young guard, the cocky one who had failed to take out a defensive magical item, he screamed miserably as the energy blast picked him up and hurled him far off into the distance. No one could even tell where he landed...

Things weren't over yet, though. If those four young guards were affected in such a way, it almost wasn't necessary to mention all of the grandmasters, none of whom had produced any defensive items at all. Despite being outside of the courtyard, they were incapable of fleeing, and as the energy wave continued to spread, miserable screams rang out as they were violently hurled backward.

Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and their souls seemed to teeter unstably. Each and every one was injured without exception...

Simultaneously, everything in the area began to shake, and quite a few nearby buildings collapsed. The power that was being unleashed right now was almost unimaginable!

"This is impossible!"

"Heavens! Was that explosion really from a pill furnace?!"

"How could this be happening? What did Naruto do to that pill furnace? I've been concocting pills for my entire life, and I've never seen an explosion like that! That was more like some sort of deadly magical attack!"

Even as their shrieks rang out, the Armory continued to tremble, and numerous cultivators flew out into the open and looked in the direction of Naruto's residence, shocked expressions on their faces. Naruto was quite frightened by what was happening. However, he had been retreating to begin with, and also had an incredibly powerful fleshly body, and furthermore, didn't hesitate to unleash some frigid Chakra to protect himself. As such, he was unharmed.

Even he had been completely unaware that his newly developed medicine formula would cause an explosion of this scale. It was almost on the same level as an attack by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Furthermore, the Soul Convergence Pills were designed to affect souls, and therefore, everyone affected felt as if their souls were about to be ripped out of their bodies. Many of them were now staring ahead blankly, as if they had lost the ability to even thi

nk.

And that was the result of only two exploding pill furnaces. It was easy to imagine what could happen if more of them exploded. Most likely, the people in the area would either be ripped to shreds, or at least, sustain incredible damage to their souls.

"This... this..." A look of blank shock could be seen on Naruto's face as he looked at the remaining three pill furnaces. Cracks were spreading out on their surfaces, and energy was continuing to build up inside of them. Clearly, they were about to explode. Gasping, Naruto began to back up.

It was in that instant that an enraged roar filled the air.

"Naruto!" It was like a deafening clap of heavenly thunder that shook everything in the area. Simultaneously, a black-clad figure suddenly teleported into the area from off in the distance.

It was none other General Uzumaki Lin of the Skin Flayers!

Feeling both wronged and crestfallen, Naruto blurted, "You can't blame me! I warned you about this!"

After all, he really had offered a warning, only to be disbelieved...

Moments before, Uzumaki Lin had been on the wall, offering support to the troops as they fought. Because someone had tampered with the Underworld River, there were currently boundless amounts of vengeful souls outside of the Great Wall. The five legions were under a lot of pressure, especially because necromancers had been spotted out in the enemy forces. It was for that very reason that Uzumaki Lin had personally taken charge of the battle.

However, before the necromancers could make a move, a huge explosion had rocked the Armory, sending out an energy blast that shocked even Uzumaki Lin. Alarmed, he had teleported over, to be met with a scene of complete disaster. Everyone in the area was coughing up blood, and in addition to that, there were three severely damaged pill furnaces that were clearly on the verge of detonating.

Despite being enraged, there was no time for thought or planning on Uzumaki Lin's part. Roaring, he grabbed the three pill furnaces, then teleported up to the Great Wall and hurled them out toward the other side.

Outside of the Great Wall, countless vengeful souls blotted out the sky because of their sheer numbers. Many of them were converging together to form soul emperors that howled at the tops of their lungs as they charged, seemingly oblivious to their own existence or destruction. As the shimmering shield rising up from the wall rippled under the force of the attacks, the cultivators of the five legions poured all the power they could into their magical cannons, sending destructive beams of light out without cease. Unfortunately, there were just too many souls, and the resistance of the cultivators was already proving to be somewhat futile.

There were also large numbers of savages intermingled amidst the souls, who used their formidable physical bodies to viciously fight their way toward the wall, where they would unhesitatingly self-detonate. As a result, casualties were rising among the five legions.

It was in that moment that the three scarlet pill furnaces, each one of them roughly three meters tall, sailed through the air like suns, crushing anything in their path.

Then, they landed on the ground, so many cracks spreading out on their surfaces that it seemed impossible for them to last any longer without exploding!

The savages seemed shocked that they were being attacked by pill furnaces, which were objects completely unfamiliar to them. One of the savages, who was several dozen meters tall, snorted coldly and flew through the air toward the nearest furnace, upon which he unleashed a mighty fist strike.

In that instant, the combined forces inside and outside of the furnace proved too much for it to sustain. A boom echoed out that could shake heaven and earth as the furnace exploded, sending burning shrapnel out all over the battlefield. As everything in the area shook violently, countless vengeful soul screamed, and many of the nearby beasts which couldn't avoid the blast were instantly lit on fire.

The savage who had just struck the pill furnace screamed as the energy overwhelmed him, wiping out most of body as he was flung backward.

However, the explosion itself was not the most powerful aspect of the blast. The medicinal strength of the Soul Convergence Pill was instantly unleashed into a 3,000-meter area, causing all of the vengeful souls to tremble as they were latched onto by a powerful gravitational force. Then, the energy shockwave rolled past, shredding them to bits!

Everything happened so quickly that the savages and vengeful souls had no time to react. Moments later, the other two pill furnaces exploded, and in the briefest of instants, deafening booms and shrill screams filled the entire battlefield.

Numerous savages were slain, and countless beasts and souls were ripped apart. Seas of flame erupted out, and enormous, shocking craters were torn into the ground...

As the blood and gore spread out in all directions, the surviving savages looked around in shock, and even the mostly unintelligent vengeful souls seemed terrified...

"What were those magical items!?"

"How could this be happening? I've never seen anything like this!" One by one, the savages turned to look at the Great Wall, expressions of profound fear on their faces.

The truth was that they weren't the only ones to react in such a way. The cultivators on the Great Wall, not only the Skin Flayers, but also the cultivators from the other four legions, were dumbstruck.

"What were those things...?"

"How come they seemed like pill furnaces?"

"How is that even possible? How could pill furnaces release power like that!?"

"I'm pretty sure that General Uzumaki Lin of the Skin Flayers personally threw them out! Could it be some sort of newly invented magical item?!"

Everyone was shaken, and in fact, Uzumaki Lin was so shocked that his anger completely dissipated. He stood there looking out blankly at the craters outside of the Great Wall, and the terrified souls and savages, and after a moment, he began to pant. Then, his eyes began to glow with unprecedented brightness, and even joy.

Chapter 478

Chapter 478

Chapter 478: Do You Know What Youve Done, Naruto?

"The explosion is of secondary value," Uzumaki Lin thought, his eyes shining more brightly by the moment. "The most important aspect is the medicinal effect, which increases the potency by severalfold..." Finally, he laughed loudly for a moment before turning and heading back toward the Armory.

Naruto was currently feeling very out of sorts as he stood there, nervously watching the remaining five pill furnaces. Quite a few cultivators had come to investigate the huge noise from earlier, and were now staring in shock at the wreckage in the area.

Although Naruto's residence hadn't been completely destroyed, it had been severely damaged. Of the four guards, one had been flung to parts unknown, and the remaining three were now looking at Naruto with expressions of dread on their faces.

As for the grandmasters, they were all consuming medicinal pills and glaring angrily at Naruto.

"You really can't blame me," he said nervously. "I warned you all ahead of time...

"Listen to me, everyone. Either back up, or take out some defensive magical items. After all... you people came here of your own volition. I didn't ask you over.

"When I used to concoct medicine back in the day, no one would even get close. Back on Middle Peak in the Blood Stream Sect, the minute I started concocting medicine, everyone fled the whole mountain." It would probably have been better if Naruto hadn't said anything at all. As soon as the words left his mouth, the people who had just recently been injured flared into a rage.

"You destroyed the Armory! You hurt your fellow disciples! Let's see how you explain this to the general, Naruto!"

"When other people cause pill furnaces to explode, they lose the pill, nothing more. But you were obviously trying to cause problems!"

Everyone was glaring at him with gritted teeth, especially the grandmasters, who now hated Naruto more than ever. After all, they had merely come to see what was happening, and could never have guessed that their lives would have been at risk because of exploding pill furnaces. Even more terrifying was how they had felt their souls being tugged at.

Naruto really felt a headache coming on, and that was only compounded when he thought about how angry Uzumaki Lin had been. Obviously, Uzumaki Lin had ignored all of the warnings that Naruto had given.

As he considered that point, his frown deepened, and his sighs grew longer. Even as he was trying to come up with some good ideas about how to explain himself, a beam of light rumbled through the air in his direction.

It was none other than General Uzumaki Lin!

He was moving with such incredible speed that he appeared above the Armory only a moment later, where he dropped down in front of Naruto.

Looking very somber, and eyes shining with an odd gleam, he looked at Naruto and said, "Do you know what you've done, Naruto?"

Naruto had no idea what had occurred outside of the Great Wall, and as a result, his heart was pounding with fear and anger. Therefore, he decided to just throw caution to the wind.

"General," he said loudly, "I told you about what can happen when I concoct medicine. You said that I should focus on my work, and that you would take responsibility for everything else. You said the results of my work would have nothing to do with me. You said-"

Before he could finish speaking, Uzumaki Lin stepped forward and grabbed his arm. Not only

was he incredibly quick, but his cultivation base was far beyond Naruto's. Therefore, it was impossible for Naruto to evade him. As soon as Naruto felt himself being grabbed by Uzumaki Lin, a tremor ran through him, and he prepared to call upon his frigid Chakra to defend himself. However, it was at that point that he realized Uzumaki Lin had a very strange expression on his face.

His eyes were shining with unprecedented brightness, and he could hardly keep his breathing under control. He was almost looking at Naruto the way one might look at a rare gem.

"How could the results have nothing to do with you? More like the opposite! Hahaha! Uzumaki, my boy, you definitely didn't disappoint. Keep up the good work! Concoct away to your heart's content. Who cares about a few exploded pill furnaces, right?!

"Do things exactly how you want to. The more explosions that occur, the better. In fact, if you can make them even more explosive, that would be great. The more terrifying the better. And don't worry, I'll take care of any dangerous situations!" With that, he threw his head back and laughed heartily.

Not only was Naruto shocked by Uzumaki Lin's words, but so were all the other spectators, who had all assumed that Uzumaki Lin would descend in a deadly rage. Never could they have imagined that things would turn out opposite of the way they had anticipated.

"What's... what's going on...?" The recently injured grandmasters almost couldn't believe what they were seeing. It surpassed their imaginations to the point that it didn't even seem real.

Even as everyone stared in shock, Uzumaki Lin thought back to what had just occurred outside the Great Wall, and his excitement continued to build. As far as he was concerned, each and every exploding pill furnace was a deadly weapon that could be unleashed upon the souls and savages!

Furthermore, they could be used to accumulate incredible battle credit!

Throughout the years, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had come up with many ideas to deal with the Wildlanders. They had tried all sorts of soul-exterminating techniques, but none of them would ever be very effective for long. Usually, the Wildlanders would come up with a way to neutralize whatever effect was being used against them.

Therefore, Uzumaki Lin wasn't expecting Naruto's new method to be effective for very long. However, even just being able to dominate the sea of souls temporarily would be a good thing. Furthermore, the Underworld River had recently been tampered with, which was a major event. Even the Deva Chen was enraged by that development.

"Uzumaki, my boy," Uzumaki Lin said seriously, "I only have one requirement, and that is to work faster. Can you pick up the speed of your concocting work?!"

Naruto was a bit taken aback. This was his first time hearing Uzumaki Lin address him as 'my boy,' and it sounded somewhat intimate. It took him a moment to realize that Uzumaki Lin wasn't actually reprimanding him, but rather, encouraging him to make more exploding pill furnaces.

"I can't believe someone wants me to detonate pill furnaces intentionally. I guess Uzumaki Lin must have found some use for them..." Unable to hold back his curiosity, he simply asked Uzumaki Lin directly.

Uzumaki Lin didn't conceal the truth. He explained what had just occurred outside the Great Wall, after which Naruto's face lit up with excitement.

Lifting his head proudly, he said, "Well, that's what I thought would happen. Did you really think my research was just about how to improve the Soul Converge Pills? Obviously, I was aiming for something more useful, and apparently, I succeeded.

"When Naruto concocts medicine, he always ponders how to do it in the most timely and advantageous fashion. You know, I actually intended for the pill furnaces to explode. Furthermore, the medicinal pills in the furnaces were only ninety percent complete. The final blast of energy was what catalyzed the last bit of the process, releasing the perfect amount of medicinal strength at exactly the moment of detonation!" With that, he flicked his sleeve and stuck his chin up.

Everyone else in the area exchanged awkward glances; if they hadn't heard his nervous explanations from moments before, they might actually have believed him... Uzumaki Lin cleared his throat, but didn't interrupt Naruto's boasting. Apparently, he even approved of it.

That in and of itself left everyone even more shaken. None of them had ever seen Uzumaki Lin treat someone with such courtesy. It made it very obvious how highly he valued Naruto.

Waving his sleeve proudly, Naruto said, "Don't worry, Brother Uzumaki, it will take three days at the most for me to get another batch of exploding furnaces ready. No problem at all."

Uzumaki Lin laughed heartily, then set a specific date to come get the furnaces, after which he turned to leave.

Before vanishing, he cast an ominous glare at the grandmasters in the area, causing them to duck their heads and scatter. They were all feeling very down about the whole thing, but there was nothing they could do but grit their teeth and endure.

As for the three young guards, they were thoroughly rebuked by their major general for what had happened. Later, their friends told them what had occurred outside of the Great Wall, leaving them completely awestruck. [1]

As for the young guard who had been blasted off to parts unknown, he eventually was found, weak-kneed and nearly torn to shreds. The terror he felt toward Naruto couldn't have been more intense.

And thus, the ordeal ended. As for the other five pill furnaces, Naruto opened them up later that night to find that, even though the furnaces hadn't detonated, the medicinal pills inside of them were nothing more than slag.

He pondered the matter for a while, then got some rest. The following morning at dawn, he emerged from his residence, sat down in front of the pill furnaces and took a deep breath. Then he shouted, "Everybody, stay back. Don't say I didn't warn you. Naruto is starting to concoct medicine!"

His voice echoed out like thunder to fill the entire Armory.

The other grandmasters hurried out of their residences and scurried off into the distance, their hearts burning with fury. As for the four young guards, they began to tremble, and despite not wanting to stay behind, had no choice in the matter. They could only brace themselves, rotate their cultivation bases, and remain fully vigilant.

Apparently, Naruto's warning was effective. Feeling very pleased, he flicked his sleeve to begin concocting. This time, he decided to work on twenty batches!

[1] I don't think I mentioned before that, as the name makes clear in

Chinese, major generals command 10,000 men

Chapter 479

Chapter 479

Chapter 479: Thirteen!

"I think I'm heading in the right direction. I just overlooked a few of the problems that cropped up because of the ingredient interactions. I should be able to do a few tests and work things out. In any case, as long as the furnaces continue to explode, the general will be happy." Naruto sighed, convinced that life in Great Wall City was actually wonderful.

At the very least, he could concoct medicine in any way he wished, without fear of any punishments. He even got rewarded for detonating pill furnaces, which had never happened before.

Looking at the furnaces which had survived the first concocting session, Naruto calmed himself and put a somber expression on his face. This time, he intended to vary the ingredient levels in each pill furnace, that way he would be able to quickly identity which medicine formula was the most effective.

Having reached the conclusion that this was definitely the best idea, he got to work. Drawing upon the incredible speed of his fleshly body, he began to produce medicinal plants and toss them into the furnaces. He would occasionally adjust the earthflame, ensuring that all of the various batches were being concocted slightly differently.

Of course, he couldn't forget how Uzumaki Lin had requested more power.

Therefore, he added extra atmosphere flower to some of the furnaces, and yet, was careful not to go overboard. After all, he was concocting these pills in his own residence, and if he somehow lost control of one of the batches, causing the furnace to explode ahead of schedule, he could end up hurting himself.

It was with caution and reserve that he continued to walk back and forth between the twenty different pill furnaces, making adjustments and occasionally adding more medicinal plants until all twenty of the furnaces were glowing bright red, and were emanating powerful medicinal aromas.

As he descended into complete and utter focus regarding this concocting session, the four young guards were off to the side, trembling with fear and anxiety. Then, after a few hours had passed, they noticed that Naruto was putting lids onto all of the pill furnaces and sealing them. Instantly, the four guards' minds began to reel.

"This is bad! Grandmaster Uzumaki is sealing the pill furnaces again!"

"Heavens! The last set of furnaces exploded because they were sealed, and the energy couldn't escape. After enough energy built up, the furnaces couldn't take it any longer, and exploded..."

"What do we do now?!" The four of them exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth and pulled out defensive magical items, simultaneously backing as far away from the pill furnaces as they could.

Naruto's eyes were glued to the pill furnaces, and as he adjusted the earthflame, rumbling sounds began to rise up. "This time, one of these furnaces is definitely going to explode. It's hard to say which one it will be, but as long as just one of them blows, that will be enough!"

Of course, his mind was filled with the various ingredient ratios for all twenty furnaces. That, coupled with his manipulation of the earthflame and other concocting methods, would hopefully lead him in the direction of the ultimate medicine formula.

Soon, sixteen hours had gone by. All twenty pill furnaces were bright red, and were emanating terrifying fluctuations, as well as intense heat. The four young guards were shaking visibly, and their hair was standing on end.

"Last time it took only eight hours. But now... now..."

"It's already been sixteen hours so far!"

Suddenly, four of the pill furnaces began to emit cracking sounds, and appeared to be in the process of breaking open!

Naruto's eyes went wide, and he shouted, "They

're gonna blow!"

Simultaneously, he backed up, performing a double-handed incantation gesture as he threw a handful of paper talismans out in front of him, and even used a few magical items to put up some shields.

The faces of the four young guards completely fell, and yet, even as they hesitated about what to do, cracks spread out across the surfaces of seven more pill furnaces. Even the ground beneath those furnaces was starting to sink down and distort; clearly these furnaces were about to detonate!

"Elev... eleven!"

"Last time only two detonated, and we almost had our souls wrenched out of our bodies. This time eleven are gonna blow!" Without any hesitation, everyone began to flee from the courtyard.

As for Naruto, he was so shocked that his eyes were on the verge of popping out of his head.

"Eleven of them this time!?" Even as a feeling of unease rose up in his heart, and he backed up, two more pill furnaces emitted cracking sounds! Two more furnaces were about to explode!

"Thirteen?!" Naruto said with a gasp. Suddenly, he had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Even as he backed up more, shocking auras spread out from the thirteen pill furnaces, and more cracks appeared on their surfaces. By this point, it was actually possible to see with the naked eye that the energy buildup in the furnaces had reached the point where they would detonate at any moment.

However, that was when a peal of maniacal laughter suddenly rang out, and Uzumaki Lin miraculously appeared, looking down elatedly at the thirteen pill furnaces, as if they were the most valuable of precious treasures. With that, he swished his sleeve, and the thirteen scalding hot pill furnaces flew up into the air like miniature suns. Then, Uzumaki Lin called upon the full power of his cultivation base to shoot up toward the top of the Great Wall.

Immediately, the cultivators of the five legions saw Uzumaki Lin and the thirteen brightly glowing pill furnaces, and thought back to the incredible scene which had played out only days before.

At that point, Uzumaki Lin let out a powerful roar as he flung all thirteen of the pill furnaces out onto the battlefield.

The war recently had been playing out differently than usual, and the fighting had been going on this entire time. In the first stage of the conflict, the Wildlanders probed and harassed the Great Wall. Then they tampered with the Underworld River. And now, they were even drawing upon entire tribes of savages.

Although there weren't a huge number of tribes involved at the moment, there were a lot more present than usual. Furthermore, the savage tribes were currently in the middle of a major assault in which more than 10,000 savages joined together in a charge. In addition, they were surrounded by massive hordes of souls from the Underworld River.

Within that vast sea of souls were certain unique souls who were different and more powerful than the others, and it was with madness and ferocity that they hurtled toward the Great Wall and the shield.

The magical cannons on top of the Great Wall itself were being fired constantly, cutting through swath after swath of the enemy. It was in this moment that Naruto's thirteen pill furnaces were hurled out.

Each one of the thirteen furnaces was only about three meters tall. Compared to the battlefield as a whole, they were very tiny. However, the intense red color with which they shone, coupled with the wild aura which spread out from them, instantly caught the attention of both the five legions and the savages.

As the pill furnaces flew through the air, many of the savages' faces fell. Those were ones who, although they had not seen the three pill furnaces a few days before, had heard the stories of the soul-exterminating magical items that the Great Wall forces were now using.

Because the exploding furnaces were a new development, the Wildlands forces had not yet devised a way to deal with them. All they could do was watch as the pill furnaces sailed through the air, then landed onto the ground with deafening booms.

The ground trembled as flames rushed out in all directions, along with blasts of energy that rolled along like tsunamis.

Even more shocking was the soul-shredding power contained within the blasts. That was the medicinal effect of the Soul Convergence Pills, which spread out to fill a 30,000-meter area. Within that area, all vengeful souls screamed in terror, but were unable to flee. Within the blink of an eye, the energy swept over them, completely destroying them!

It was a force that could not be defended against, and moved with incredible speed. From a distance, it almost looked like a pair of hands wiping away everything within that 30,000-meter area!

Moments later, those areas were completely empty...

The members of the savage tribes were flabbergasted. At the same time, at a location some distance away from the Great Wall itself was an area protected by spell formations and filled with ragged tents. In the middle of that area was a black altar floating in the air, upon which an old man sat cross-legged. Currently, his eyes were shining with disbelief and fury.

The source of that fury was an image he was looking at, projected onto a screen of water. Clearly visible was that empty, 30,000-meter area right outside the Great Wall!

Chapter 480

Chapter 480

Chapter 480: Promotion To Lieutenant

The plain covered by the spell formation was vast, and was filled with black mists and countless vengeful souls whose screams echoed about and caused the mists to seethe and churn.

However, that was only on the borders of the mist-filled area. In the middle was the location filled with dilapidated tents, apparently created from the hides of enormous beasts. There were so many of the tents that they were virtually impossible to number, even from a distance.

Within each tent lurked numerous savage giants, clad in hide garments. Some of them were sleeping, others would occasionally walk here and there among the tents. Whenever any of them looked in the direction of the center of the enormous camp, expressions of awe would appear on their faces. Furthermore, if the giants happened to cross glances, they seemed to have to force themselves to hold back from fighting. Apparently, they were extremely violent and short-tempered. Any of them who couldn't hold their temper and actually began to fight would quickly be separated by streams of divine sense sent out by the tribal chiefs.

The camp was split up into ten areas according to the tribes, and although the giants all looked similar, they had clear differences in skin tone and eye color.

In addition to the giants were the beasts, which were kept beyond the tens of thousands of tents. Each beast was secured by iron chains, and occasionally let out thunderous roars that shook heaven and earth.

In the very center of the tents was a circular area demarcated by a ring of more than a thousand 9-meter-tall black boulders that emitted intense pressure in all directions. In fact, the air for 30,000 meters in all directions rippled and distorted because of it, seemingly carving that area out of the world itself.

Obviously, the black boulders were no mere decorations, but had some sort of magical function!

Occasionally, people could be seen walking into and out of the shimmering light cast by the boulders!

Although such cultivators were not dressed in expensive, extravagant clothing, they were clearly different from the giants. They were goodlooking, well-washed and clean!

Clearly, these were none other than... Wildlands soul cultivators!

Whenever such soul cultivators emerged from the central area in the tents, the savage giants who saw them would drop to their knees and kowtow respectfully.

In the Wildlands, soul cultivators occupied a high position, almost like nobility. They were almost like gods who enslaved the savages and commanded the seas of souls.

Also in the middle of the ring of black boulders... floating in midair... was a black altar!

"Dammit!" The old man sitting on the altar had a very unsightly expression on his face, and his eyes burned with fury as he watched the scene playing out on the water screen. Thirteen pill furnaces sailed out from behind the Great Wall, then exploded, completely razing a 30,000meter area.

The looks of fear on the faces of the savages were clearly visible, and as for the vengeful souls, they were clearly terrified...

"Pill furnaces..." the old man murmured, his eyes flashing with hatred.

This was his second time seeing pill furnaces thrown out from behind the Great Wall. Of course, what was most shocking was not the explosions themselves, but the medicinal strength of the pills inside of them!

Although it was impossible to say what those pills were, they were terrifyingly effective at handling vengeful souls.

"How can we carry out the grand elder's plan this way…? We need to get that Chen Hetian outside of the Great Wall and then kill him..." The old man frowned. He was sure that it wouldn't take long for the tribal chiefs among the savages to realize the implication of this development. Wi

th those terrifying pill furnaces being used, the sea of souls would be of little help. As such, the savage giants would have no backup, and it would be difficult to force them to charge into battle.

Back on the battlefield outside the Great Wall, the sudden appearance of a 30,000-meter area of emptiness resulted in complete silence. Atop the Great Wall, the cultivators of the five legions all gasped, their eyes going wide and their jaws dropping.

Then, a huge commotion broke out.

"Were those... the same type of pill furnaces as last time?"

"Heavens! This time was even more shocking than last time. Thirteen exploding pill furnaces really devastated the sea of souls!"

"The countless vengeful souls... are clearly terrified!"

After all, everyone had seen dear friends injured and killed in the fighting. Because of that, their emotions were running particularly high, and many of them turned in the direction of the Skin Flayers' district, their eyes shining with bright light.

After that, the fighting continued. However, it was clear that the savages and the vengeful souls were slightly hesitant compared to before. Occasionally, they would look up into the sky, seemingly fearful of descending pill furnaces.

Uzumaki Lin was thrilled as he turned and headed off of the wall. Back in the Armory, Naruto was standing there looking absentmindedly at the unexploded pill furnaces, wondering what was happening outside the Great Wall.

However, the situation in the city was the same now as it had been before. Unless something incredibly shocking happened, like the previous appearance of the Underworld River, people inside the Great Wall wouldn't be able to hear anything about what was happening on the outside.

Uzumaki Lin soon came whistling through the air toward Naruto, and before he even arrived, his laughter filled the air. As soon as Naruto heard that laughter, his heart calmed, and he struck a lofty pose. Clasping his hands behind his back, he stood there looking like a transcendent being, elegant and graceful to the extreme.

"Uzumaki, my boy, you did wonderful!" As Uzumaki Lin touched down, excitement could still be seen on his face as he waved his hand, sending a violet command medallion with the Skin Flayers' sigil on it flying toward Naruto.

"The five legions of the Hall of Steel Veins have clear punishments and rewards in place. Naruto, your success in the Dao of medicine has earned you the right to lead ten soldiers. Henceforth, you are a lieutenant of the Skin Flayers!"

Considering that Naruto was new to the Great Wall, he wasn't completely familiar with everything, and didn't know much about the position of lieutenant. However, the four young guards who had been watching over them immediately cast envious glances at the violet command medallion.

All of them had been members of the Skin Flayers for years already, and still had not reached the rank of lieutenant. And yet, Naruto had just barely arrived, and was already being promoted.

In any other circumstance, they would have found this hard to accept. However, the fear inspired in them by the exploding pill furnaces ensured that, after merely exchanging a few glances among themselves, they all admitted it was reasonable.

"Not only does that command medallion represent your position in the Skin Flayers, it also will keep a record of your battle credits. The number of enemies killed by each of your exploding pill furnaces will be collected there!" The approval in Uzumaki Lin's eyes couldn't have been clearer, and the truth was that were it not for the strict rules in the five legions, he would have directly promoted Naruto to the rank of captain.

"Lieutenant?" Naruto murmured, accepting the violet command medallion. When he did, something warm spread out from the medallion and entered his body, instantly enlivening him. As of that moment, he realized that this command medallion was no ordinary item. After merging it with his divine sense, he could sense a strange connection between himself and the enormous, towering pagoda in the middle of Great Wall City.

"That's right," Uzumaki Lin said. "Don't underestimate the rank of lieutenant. As of now, you can select ten cultivators from the army to be your personal entourage. They will have no choice but to follow any and all orders you give them!" After giving a bit more encouragement, Uzumaki Lin said that he hoped Naruto would be able to make more exploding pill furnaces, and increasingly powerful ones at that. Finally, he left.

Naruto stood there looking at the lieutenant's command medallion for a moment before blinking a few times and looking up at the four young guards. Immediately, the four of them stepped forward and saluted solemnly.

"Greetings, Lieutenant!"

Feeling wonderful, Naruto looked over the group of four, then glanced down at the command medallion momentarily. Clearing his throat, he looked at the young men and said, "You've been stationed here for some time, and yet I don't know your names."

"Zhao Long, at your service!"

"Sun Li, at your service!"

"Xu Deshan, at your service!"

"Zhou Wu, at your service!"

Considering everything these four young men had seen over the past several days, and the fact that Naruto was now a lieutenant, they looked him with solemn expressions of awe. That was especially true of Zhao Long, who was in the late Core Formation stage, and seemed especially in awe of Naruto. Part of that was because he was the very same young man who had been blasted off into parts unknown a few days before...

"From now on, you four are under my command. We have six more spots open, so I'll let you four handle that. Hurry up and find the right people. With me in charge, we will advance triumphantly to the highest of heights!" Naruto felt that the words he had just spoken were quite extraordinary and inspiring.

Zhao Long and his companions could see that Naruto was on the rise, and that following him was a good choice for them. After a moment of hesitation, they exchanged glances, then voiced their assent and left to find more cultivators.

After they were gone, Naruto began to inspect the pill furnaces again. Around evening, Zhao Long and the other returned, six cultivators in tow. Four were men and two were women, and all of them were looking curiously at Naruto.

Chapter 481

Chapter 481

Chapter 481: Lining Ones Pockets...

This group of six all had extraordinary cultivation bases. After saluting Naruto, they offered their names and stated the levels of their cultivation bases. Four were in early Core Formation, one was in the mid stage, and one was in the late stage, the latter being one of the young women.

Her name was Liu Li. She was pretty, with phoenix-like eyes set in a young face. Despite her youthful appearance, she was buxom in a way that her armor couldn't hide. In fact, her armor had been crafted in a way that made her look good-looking, and even heroic.

Naruto was the lieutenant of the squad, with Zhao Long and Liu Li being the next strongest, and his immediate subordinates. Already, their group was strong enough to shake almost the entire Middle Reaches cultivation world.

Furthermore, from what Naruto could tell, this group of ten were all friends with each other. Presumably, they had met in some other part of the army, and got along quite well. Most likely, they also had the ability to form and operate a spell formation. With their combined power, it would probably be possible for them to tangle with someone in the Nascent Soul stage, and if not defeat them, at least cause them quite a headache in battle!

As Naruto sized them up, they were doing the same to him. The truth was just as Naruto had suspected; they had long since been a small team. Zhao Long's suggestion, plus the fact that they had personally witnessed the pill furnaces exploding on the other side of the wall, convinced them that becoming followers of this mysterious apothecary would be a good thing for them.

Unfortunately, now that they were actually laying eyes on him for the first time, they were a bit let down. Not only did he seem quite young, but there was something that made him seem somehow untrustworthy.

Naruto gave a few words of explanation about his requirements and then, considering that it was already evening, gave them the rest of the day off. From this day forth, they would live in his courtyard, and would be responsible for carrying out all of his commands.

During the night, the fighting still went on outside of the Great Wall. However, because of the spell formation shield, Great Wall City itself was very quiet.

Naruto sat quietly in his residence, looking at this lieutenant's command medallion. After a moment, he sent some divine sense into it, and once again felt the connection between himself and the huge eye on top of the pagoda.

At the same time, he branded the medallion with his life sense, causing it to flicker with violet light. Moments later, he was able to see his accumulated battle credit.

"43,753?" he murmured.

"Lieutenants are pretty impressive. But if I could become a captain, it would probably be even more impressive. Then I could command a hundred cultivators." Filled with anticipation at the thought, he decided to check the requirements to get a promotion to captain.

"1,000,000?" His jaw dropped.

"That's way too much..." he thought, frowning. Then, he read further into the matter, and his frown deepened.

"There are different rewards for exterminating vengeful souls than there are for killing savages. And you get even more battle credit for taking out soul cultivators and necromancers." At this point, his eyes began to shine.

"Well, no need to get antsy. I can get battle credit by just making exploding pill furnaces, right? Doing that is a piece of cake. It all comes down to Soul Convergence Pills!

"If I could concoct a truly powerful Soul Convergence Pill, then I could rake in a whole bunch of battle credit with almost no effort!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto felt more excited than ev

er.

Of course, battle credit was good for more than just getting promotions. Therefore, he decided to check what items were available for purchase.

All you had to do was go to the tower and meet the requirements of the eye, and then whatever you wanted was yours.

After a moment of silence, he murmured. "I really don't have enough battle credit at the moment."

With that, he decided to check his cultivation base.

"I'm not too far from being at the great circle of the Gold Core stage. Sadly, the spiritual energy here is too weak. It won't be very easy to speed up my cultivation that way... If I got enough military credit, though, I could easily get my hands on some cultivation resources." After some thought, he sent some divine sense out to confirm that no one was in the area watching him. Then he produced a handful of paper talismans which he set up around his residence.

Then he guiltily opened up his bag of holding and pulled out some earthspirit tubers!

The earthspirit tubers were completely golden, and were covered with countless ringed lines which could be used to determine their age. Each tuber had more than a hundred of them.

"They're all more than a hundred years old..." he thought, licking his lips. The truth was that, although he did need these tubers to concoct Soul Convergence Pills, he didn't need very many.

The reason he had requested a thousand of them, as well as certain other precious medicinal plants, was that he planned to secretly keep a few for himself, and use them to increase the power of his Chakra and blood, and also strengthen his life force.

After all, life force was key to cultivating his Undying Live Forever Technique.

"With these earthspirit tubers, my Undying Tendons should advance by leaps and bounds!" Even a single hundred-year-old earthspirit tuber would fetch an astronomical price if sold publicly. In fact, in auctions, they would usually be classified as precious materials of heaven and earth.

In Great Wall City, only someone like Uzumaki Lin would be able to acquire so many at the drop of a hat. Naruto could only imagine how he'd done it. A huge price must have been paid to get the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to part with a thousand of them.

With such thoughts on his mind, he looked around again to make sure that no one was spying on him. Then he took one of the earthspirit tubers and performed a spirit enhancement using his turtle-wok. After all, he had also requested fuel for numerous different types of multicolored flame. Almost immediately, the earthspirit tuber was even more extraordinary than it had been before.

Unfortunately, he only had enough fuel to enhance a few more. When he finally gave up, he picked up one of the spirit enhanced earthspirit tubers and took a bite.

He suddenly felt like he was right back in the Ovens, causing his heart to swell.

"I wonder how Eldest Brother is doing back on Sky Quarter Rainbow?" he thought. Suddenly he recalled everyone he knew back in the RiverDefying Sect, such as Li Qinghou, Hou Xiaomei, and Song Junwan. All sorts of memories floated up in his mind.

At the same time, he felt his life force surging hotter and hotter until it was like a fire. He immediately began to work with his Undying Live Forever Technique, causing the Undying Tendons in his left leg to become like a black hole, sucking in all of the heat.

The night passed quickly, during which time Naruto consumed the entire hundred-year-old earthspirit tuber. Anyone else who did something like that would find their life force surging with incredible vitality.

But Naruto was different. His Undying Live Forever Technique almost seemed like a bottomless pit. Thankfully, the Undying Tendons on his left leg were almost complete, and he was even beginning to develop his right leg.

Soon, he could sense that his fleshly body power was increasing with incredible intensity.

When the light of day spread out, he began to concoct medicine again. This time, he didn't fall behind at all, but instead, increased to fifty batches. Thanks to the constant testing, he was making some progress toward a more powerful Soul Convergence Pill, and yet, was not pleased with the results. So far, nothing seemed to have reached the ultimate level that he knew was possible. However, he wasn't in a hurry, and was convinced that his tests would soon lead to a complete success.

Besides, with every day that passed, pill furnaces continued to detonate.

As far as Uzumaki Lin was concerned, everything was going great. In fact, at one point when Naruto was worried that he would run out of pill furnaces, Uzumaki Lin had a whole new batch delivered...

General Uzumaki had long since fallen in love with the exploding furnaces. To him, they weren't tools for concocting medicine, they were weapons to harvest vengeful souls!

As time went by, Naruto continued to work on his cultivation. Eventually, he found that he had gone through so many earthspirit tubers that he only had a few dozen left.

That night, his entire right leg seemed to burn with incredible heat, and to pulse with incredible power. Rumbling sounds echoed out, causing everything in the area to shake.

"It worked!" he thought excitedly. As of this moment, he could sense a terrifying fleshly body power radiating from both of his legs!

In combination with the Undying Hex, he was confident that not even a Nascent Soul cultivator could catch up with him now, at least not without using a minor teleportation! Bursting into motion, he sped to a location 3,000 meters away in his courtyard, and by the time he had come to a rest and was standing there, the sound of his movement still hadn't reached his ears!

"Faster than the speed of sound!" Elated, Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

Chapter 482

Chapter 482

Chapter 482: Ji Feng

The sound of Naruto's voice echoing out in the courtyard attracted the attention of Liu Li, Zhao Long, and the others. Expressions flickering, they all rushed out to see what was happening.

As soon as they approached, they could sense the powerful fluctuations in the air, prickling against their skin, apparently the result of something passing by with incredible speed.

Then they saw Naruto off in the distance, laughing uproariously, and they gasped, exchanging glances of astonishment and disbelief.

All of them could tell at a glance that Naruto must have been testing out some new technique, something that involved moving with incredible speed.

Liu Li looked at Naruto a bit more deeply, then murmured to herself, "Who would ever have thought that Apothecary Uzumaki would have a secret magic like that…?"

She, along with Zhao Long and the others, all clasped hands in salute.

Naruto was quite pleased to see the astonishment in the eyes of Zhao Long and the others. Clearing his throat, he gave some words of encouragement regarding a few things, then strutted back into his residence.

Zhao Long and the others were significantly affected by what had just occurred. Days later, they would still think back to what had happened, and feel their hearts trembling. That was especially true of Liu Li and Zhao Long. Being in late Core Formation, they felt especially taken aback.

"That speed... it couldn't just be a secret magic. It would also require shocking levels of fleshly body power..."

"With unbelievable speed like that, an ordinary fist strike would be like a divine ability!"

As time passed, Uzumaki Lin continued to come collect pill furnaces, which he would send over the Great Wall to explode on the battlefield. Each explosion would rouse the hearts of the five legions. That was especially true considering that the power and effectiveness of the exploding furnaces increased every day. Of course, that made them only that much more of a headache for the Wildlands savages.

The pill furnaces mostly targeted the vengeful souls, and didn't just converge them together in one spot, but rather, wiped them out of existence. The destructive power of the explosions ensured that the once boundless sea of souls outside the Great Wall was slowly showing signs of weakening.

Were it not for the fact that this campaign was backed by ten tribes of savages, as well as soul cultivators and necromancers, then the souls would most likely have already dissipated.

The Wildlands were in a very tight situation at the moment, and couldn't think of any good strategies to turn the tables. Of course, they had no way of knowing that it was all due to the fact that Naruto was now working for the five legions. On one occasion, Uzumaki Lin took Naruto up to the wall to experience for himself the power of the exploding pill furnaces. Of course, that was only after Uzumaki Lin swore up and down that there wouldn't be any danger at all.

As soon as he set foot on the wall itself, he could sense the countless gazes of the cultivators of the five legions, gazes filled with respect and awe.

Naruto immediately fell in love with the sensation. Being in the center of the public eye made him feel very much like a true hero...

From that day on, whenever Uzumaki Lin came to take the pill furnaces away, Naruto would go along to witness the explosions.

When he saw the blasts of energy, and heard the deafening booms, it lifted his spirits to the maximum. Furthermore, with each explosion, the battle credit in his command medallion rose higher, which got him even more excited.

"This is definitely the place for me!" Naruto looked out at all the craters beyond the Great Wall, the infuria

ted savages, the recoiling sea of souls, and swished his sleeve. "With a single massive snap of my finger," he mused proudly, "I can destroy anything and everything."

An entire month flew by, during which time the sea of souls continued to grow thinner. It was something that had not occurred for many years, and got the cultivators in Great Wall City into very high spirits.

Conversely, the Wildlands forces were now paying closer attention to the situation than ever.

"I have over 300,000 battle credits!" Naruto murmured. Every day, he would check to see how much his battle credit had increased, and was always pleased with the result. From what he could tell, he was definitely making enough to sustain his cultivation.

One afternoon when Naruto had just sealed fifty pill furnaces, he didn't stand there watching them like he usually did. Instead, he swaggered out of the Armory and headed toward the huge pagoda in the middle of the city.

Not only did that pagoda operate the city's grand spell formation, it was also where the five legions would go to spend battle credit. Therefore, it was a very important place.

It was only natural that a place like that was also the dwelling place of a deva. Generally speaking, cultivators from the five legions could be seen coming and going there on a daily basis.

As soon as Naruto showed up at the pagoda, people recognized him. All of them seemed to view him favorably, and would salute him with clasped hands. Naruto called out greetings in return, sighing at how popular he was.

Upon reaching the pagoda itself, he sent out some divine sense to check what items were available for purchase. It was in that moment that cries of shock rose up around him, and a bright beam of light appeared up above. That light shot down with incredible speed, surrounded by a frigid coldness that was shocking on a deep level.

"It's Ji Feng!"

"Of all the cultivators in the great circle of Core Formation in the five legions, he's the one most likely to get promoted to major general! Ji Feng!"

"I haven't seen him for a long time. I heard he was sent out on a secret mission outside the Great Wall, to infiltrate the Wildlands and gather intelligence!"

As the discussions went on, the beam of light faded away, and a young man appeared, clad in a blood-colored suit of armor. He had long black hair, and a handsome face that was marred by a long scar which ran from the top of his forehead down to the corner of his mouth, and transformed his good looks into something grotesque! As he hovered there in midair, he completely ignored everyone around him as he stared up at the huge eye atop the pagoda.

Down on the ground, Naruto looked up at Ji Feng. He didn't recognize him, but something about the strength of his cultivation base reminded him of Zhao Tianjiao.

"He must be a famous person like Zhao Tianjiao..." he thought.

Ji Feng had terrifying cultivation base ripples, and a murderous aura that was more powerful than anyone Naruto had seen in the five legions other than Uzumaki Lin. And considering that Uzumaki Lin was half a step into the Deva Realm, that was very telling.

"A fiendish killer!" Naruto thought with an inner gasp. Although Ji Feng seemed intimidating, Naruto wasn't convinced that he would lose to him in a fight. After all, fiendish killers like this guy were usually the crazy type. Just when Naruto was about to look away, Ji Feng waved his hand in the direction of the huge eye.

That motion caused a vast quantity of vengeful souls to pour out of his sleeve. There were more than 10,000 of them, screaming and struggling. However, once the gaze of the eye locked onto them, they were sucked up, and in the blink of an eye, had been absorbed.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

Simultaneously, expressions of astonishment could be heard in the area.

"Elder Brother Ji Feng just offered a sacrifice of 10,000 vengeful souls!"

"Not many people increase their battle credit by offering a sacrifice in such a way. Only top experts like Ji Feng can pull off something like that."

"There were more than 10,000 vengeful souls, but in terms of quality, they were varied. I'm afraid his battle credit will only increase by a few tens of thousands."

Even as the discussions continued, Ji Feng turned and blurred into motion, speeding off into the distance. As for Naruto, it was only at this point that he finally realized you could earn battle credit in such a fashion.

"What a pity. Right now, my exploding pill furnaces simply tear the vengeful souls to shreds. If I could use Ji Feng's method, I could earn even more battle credit." Sighing, he shook his head. After giving a final glance to Ji Feng disappearing in the distance, he poured some divine sense into his command medallion, establishing a link with the huge eye.

A moment later, all sorts of information appeared in his mind.

"I can't believe you can trade for so much stuff here... They even have

Nascent Soul Pills..." Considering the shocking fact that Nascent Soul Pills were for sale, then it was no surprise at all that they had the type of medicinal pills that could help during the Gold Core stage.

There were also magical items, paper talismans, and medicinal plants of all types. Naruto's heart was already pounding with excitement.

Many of the items were unique to this location, such as soul grasses from the Wildlands, and even... Underworld River water!

The Underworld River was illusory in nature, almost like something that belonged to another world. It had very unique properties, and was difficult to summon. In fact, other than devas, no one could manipulate it.

Chapter 483

Chapter 483

Chapter 483: Ill Make Your Pill Furnaces A Thing Of The Past!

"Underworld River water..." Although Naruto wasn't sure what that type of water could be used for, he could see that a single drop was extremely expensive. Obviously, it was something very useful for cultivators.

"Perhaps cultivators want Underworld River water... the same way

Wildlands soul cultivators want Heavenspan River water?" Although Naruto hadn't been at the Great Wall for very long, he had heard that in the Wildlands, Heavenspan River water was extremely valuable.

Because of that, quite a few people would smuggle it out into the Wildlands to trade with the soul cultivators. Although the practice was strictly forbidden, it was impossible to prevent it from happening altogether.

There was even a black market within Great Wall City itself. However, Naruto wasn't interested in that.

What he was interested in were Nascent Soul Pills!

He quickly found the listing for Nascent Soul Pills, and when he saw the price attached to it, he couldn't help but gasp. Earlier, he had assumed that he had a good amount of battle credit built up. However, after seeing how expensive things were, he felt really bad for himself.

"Nascent Soul Pills cost millions of battle credits..." Looking sadly at his violet identity medallion, he sighed. After all, Nascent Soul Pills had other uses than just breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. They served the general function of increasing one's cultivation base level, and therefore, could also be used to break through to the great circle of Core Formation.

The reason for that was that the main way Nascent Soul Pills helped with breakthroughs was by means of providing power through the medicinal ingredients. However, only some of those ingredients were specifically for the purpose of forming the Nascent Soul itself. At the moment, what Naruto cared most about was the extra power the pills could provide.

"One pill... With one Nascent Soul Pill, I could probably get to the great circle of the Gold Core stage!" At the moment, Naruto had to give up on the idea of purchasing a Nascent Soul Pill. Instead, he bought some other high-grade medicinal pills useful for the Core Formation stage, as well as some magical items he needed, then left.

After returning to his residence, he sealed the place thoroughly and then took out his turtle-wok and performed sixfold spirit enhancements on everything he had just purchased, as well as some other items in his bag of holding.

After he was finished, he looked hesitantly at the numerous designs on the objects he had enhanced.

"I only have two sets of seven-colored flame fuel, and one set for eightcolored flame... That's all Uzumaki Lin could give me." Back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, he had tried to track down fuel for various levels of multi-colored flame, but hadn't been successful. At that point, he had come to understand that seven-colored flame fuel was possible to find, but when it came to eight-colored flame fuel, it was very rare.

It had probably been difficult for Uzumaki Lin just to get this one set.

After a moment of thought, Naruto pulled a jade box out of his bag of holding, opened it, and examined the contents. Inside was a fingernail-sized stone that initially seemed completely ordinary in nature. However, it was possible to sense a shocking power within that stone, power that could be unleashed by the smallest bit of friction.

That stone was none other than eight-colored flame fuel!

After studying it for a bit, he carefully closed the lid of the jade box and shook his head.

"I need to hold onto this eight-colored flame fuel," he thought, "and only use it on a really good magical item." Afte

r putting away the eight-colored flame fuel, he began to consume the medicinal pills he'd just enhanced.

As he did, spiritual power began to course through him, transforming into strands of frigid Chakra that gathered inside of his Gold Core.

Another month flew by.

The higher Naruto's cultivation base grew, the easier it became to concoct medicine. He continued to produce successful batches of Soul Convergence Pills, and although he wasn't very happy with the outcome, the final versions continued to improve compared to his original version.

Naruto was certain that it wouldn't be long before he would be able to produce a satisfactory Soul Convergence Pill. Furthermore, he had decided that the best option was to wait until he made a significant improvement before presenting the pill to Uzumaki Lin.

By now, Naruto was very pleased with his life in Great Wall City. Not only did everyone respect him, but the pill furnaces being constantly tossed over the wall and exploding among the enemy caused his battle credits to increase on a daily basis.

His exploding furnaces were now one of the deadliest weapons at the disposal of the Skin Flayers, and were a source of great pressure for the Wildlander necromancers.

Were it not for the fact that this was a large-scale assault, the Wildlands forces would have long since retreated. Whenever Naruto went out to personally witness the devastating effects of his exploding furnaces, he could sense that the fighting was continuing to intensify.

By this point, it wasn't just a single savage tribe who was participating in the offensive... there were now six of them. Before, there had been about 10,000 savages on the battlefield, but now there were around 80,000. It had been many decades since a battle this large had been fought in the war.

Whenever the savage giants roared and charged into battle, all heaven and earth would shake violently.

Furthermore... more and more soul cultivators were showing up to fight. The cultivators of the five legions took them very seriously, and would often send out their most powerful experts to contend with them.

However, the soul cultivators were always under the protection of large groups of savage giants, and although a few of them were successfully taken down, they never went out without a fierce fight.

Both sides ended up suffering casualties, although it was generally worse for the Wildlands. After all, the five legions had the Great Wall to protect them, and most importantly, the exploding pill furnaces were wreaking havoc on the mostly unintelligent vengeful souls.

Were it not for the pill furnaces, the vengeful souls, who didn't fear extermination at all, would have posed a huge problem for the five legions.

By this point, there was virtually no one among the forces of Great Wall City who hadn't heard of Naruto. Also... his name was spreading outside of the Great Wall as well. Many of the savage tribes were now aware of who he was, and that the magical items which were so useful against the vengeful souls were created by none other than him!

In fact, he had already been placed onto the Wildlands' Execution List, and was in the top 100!

All the people above him on the list were incredibly famous individuals who the Wildlands hated deeply.

It couldn't be stated that Naruto had completely changed the course of the war. A few exploding furnaces couldn't do something like that. However... he had influenced the state of battle, and that effect continued to grow as time passed!

Furthermore, the chiefs of the savage tribes, as well as the necromancers, all hated him with a vengeance!

The chiefs mourned those who had been lost among their various tribes, and the necromancers, who were a proud and lofty lot, were now forced to spend almost all their time keeping the vengeful souls under control.

Generally speaking, controlling these souls should have involved simply directing their momentum. After all, the souls which poured directly out of the Underworld River were particularly fierce. But now... the threat of the exploding furnaces made the souls very difficult to control. Some of them tried to flee, and others even tried to fight back against those controlling them.

Currently, a meeting was taking place on the vast plain with the more than 1,000 black stones.

Surrounding the black-robed old man on the floating black altar were ten figures. All of them wore gray robes, and emanated terrifying fluctuations which identified them as none other than necromancers!

One of them was speaking to the old man in a raspy voice.

"Exalted emissary, we can't keep going on like this. We have to do something to resolve the situation!"

In addition to the necromancers, there were also ten giants on the altar, all of whom seemed extremely ancient. They looked different from the other giants, larger and far more intelligent. One of those ancient giants looked at the black-robed old man and slowly said, "I agree, exalted emissary. If things keep going on like this, the warriors of our tribe will lose the protection offered by the tide of souls. Without that protection, they're no match for the cultivators on the wall! Exalted emissary, please use your divine abilities to put an end to this catastrophe!"

Considering what the necromancers and the tribal chiefs were saying, the old man thought for a moment, and then responded in a sinister voice, "We can't waste too much soul power before the appointed time...

"However, don't worry. I've already made some preparations, and I think the time is right to make a move. Pay close attention to the battle tomorrow. I'm going to make Naruto's pill furnaces a thing of the past!"

Chapter 484

Chapter 484

Chapter 484: Narutos Fury!

Naruto was sitting cross-legged inside Great Wall City, feeling very uneasy, although he wasn't sure why. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he looked around with a strange expression on his face. However, after a moment passed, nothing happened, so he went back to cultivation.

Eventually, when the sun was setting, he finally let out a long breath and then emerged from his residence.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Bring the furnaces over!"

Instantly, Liu Li, Zhao Long, and the rest of his squad all sprang into action and began setting up fifty pill furnaces in a circle around him.

By now, they had grown used to Naruto's ways, and how famous he had become now that he was on the Wildlands' Execution List.

At the same time, he had treated them well, bestowing medicinal pills and magical items upon them frequently. After all, despite not having a huge accumulation of battle credit, he did get more and more on a daily basis, and was not the stingy type. He wanted everyone around him to be just as happy as he was.

Therefore, Zhao Long and the others didn't mind being ordered around. After setting up the pill furnaces, they took their places to stand guard.

After things were set up, Naruto nodded in satisfaction. Waving his hand, he opened all of the pill furnaces, and then sent large quantities of medicinal plants flying out. As was his usual custom, he made unique adjustments to all fifty of the medicine formulas.

The pill furnaces began to heat up, whereupon Naruto began to walk amongst them, occasionally adding ingredients to a furnace here, or adjusting the heat to a furnace there. After about two hours had passed, all the proper adjustments had been made, and he began to seal the furnaces.

As Naruto sealed pill furnaces, Zhao Long and the others exchanged glances, and then began to whisper among themselves.

"I wonder how many will explode this time?"

"I bet it will be twenty or less!"

"Yesterday, seventeen blew up, so I bet that it will be more than twenty today!"

This was how things usually went...

After sealing all of the furnaces, Naruto brushed off his hands and walked back into his residence, paying the furnaces no more heed.

Another eight hours passed, after which one of the pill furnaces began to emit cracking sounds. As usual, Uzumaki Lin showed up, whereupon Naruto ended his session of cultivation and walked out to meet him.

"Thank you for your hard work, Grandmaster Uzumaki," Uzumaki Lin said with a smile. He viewed Naruto more favorably with each day that passed.

"It's no trouble at all," Naruto replied grandly, looking very much like an important hero. "I do everything for the Great Wall! However, I have to say, Old Uzumaki, I'm almost out of pill furnaces, and am running very low on medicinal plants, especially earthspirit tubers. Next time, bring a few more than usual."

"No problem. I'll handle it right away!" Uzumaki Lin continued to watch the furnaces with sparkling eyes until more cracking sounds began to ring out. With every pill furnace that began to show signs of exploding, Uzumaki Lin would get more excited. Furthermore, in order to ensure that they would all explode at the same time, he would often draw upon the power of his cultivation base to suppress the more unstable ones.

Eventually, when twenty-seven pill furnaces were on the verge of exploding, and the others clearly weren't, Uzumaki Lin laughed heartily, flicked his sleeve, and shot toward the Great Wall with the furnaces.

As usual, Naruto flew along behind him to see what would happen on the battlefield. After all, such direct observations of the explo

ding furnaces helped a lot when it came to adjusting his medicine formulas.

Uzumaki Lin knew that Naruto liked to watch the explosions personally, so he flew slow enough that he could follow along. When they both reached the Great Wall, Uzumaki Lin flung the twenty-seven furnaces out in twenty-seven different directions.

When the cultivators of the five legions saw what was happening, they began to cheer in support. In contrast, the savages down on the battlefield gritted their teeth and began to back up. As for the vengeful souls, once the pill furnaces appeared, they became almost impossible for the necromancers to control, and instinctively began to scatter.

The mere sight of what was happening before the pill furnaces detonated left Naruto feeling quite wonderful. However...

Even as the savages and souls began to flee, a dozen or so sphereshaped beasts suddenly flew out onto the battlefield.

They moved with incredible speed, and at the same time, expanded rapidly, becoming a dozen 30-meter-tall spheroids that shot toward the incoming pill furnaces.

As they closed in, the spheroid beasts opened their mouths wide. Next, intense sucking sounds could be heard as the pill furnaces were suddenly wrenched in their direction.

The unexpected development occurred so quickly that before anyone on the Great Wall had a chance to react, the spheroid beasts had gobbled up all of the pill furnaces!

Moments later, muffled thuds could be heard from inside them. The creatures bulged, and their eyes went wide, but after a moment, nothing else happened, and they actually just closed their eyes again.

Then, they slowly deflated, returning to their original size. Finally, they opened their mouths and burped out wisps of black smoke, which slowly faded away in the wind.

The entire battlefield went silent. The cultivators on the wall looked on with wide eyes, and Uzumaki Lin stood there trembling, the killing intent in his eyes rising rapidly.

The dozen spheroid beasts were all surrounded by rippling distortions that indicated that they were under the protection of powerful guardians. If Uzumaki Lin personally went out to try to deal with him, he would be in great danger, and the rest of the forces on the wall would be forced to decide whether or not to come out to aid him.

"Dammit!" Uzumaki Lin growled, the killing intent in his eyes growing stronger. By this point, he had come to understand that the Wildlanders' goal in this entire campaign was to get deva patriarch Chen Hetian to come out of the city. If that happened, a trap would likely be sprung in an attempt to kill him.

"I never could have guessed that they would come up with a way to deal with the pill furnaces in less than half a year. Those weird beasts have obviously been mutated recently..." Even as Uzumaki Lin sighed darkly, the savages outside the wall began to cackle madly. As for the vengeful souls, their murderous auras grew even more intense, and they once again began to charge across the battlefield.

This time, the charge was made with more intense violence than before. Booms instantly rang out, along with miserable screams.

The cultivators of the five legions could do little more than steel themselves and once again fight to defend the Great Wall.

As of this moment, few people were paying any attention at all to Naruto; everyone knew that his exploding pill furnaces had been rendered useless.

To see the pill furnaces that he had so painstakingly prepared for detonation be consumed just like that first left Naruto staring in mute shock. It was almost as if his mind had been smashed with a sledgehammer.

"How could this be happening? What kind of beasts are those?!" He felt as if his heart were in physical pain.

"No more battle credit? No more medicinal plants? No more pill furnaces? And on top of it all, I wasted a whole bunch of time and energy on concocting medicine!" Naruto let out a bellow of anger, his eyes completely bloodshot.

At the moment, he felt like someone had just ruined his life. Without battle credit income like he had before, his dreams of being promoted to captain would be completely dashed.

When he thought of that, his anger grew even hotter.

Furthermore, having his pill furnaces destroyed right in front of all the other cultivators was like a slap to the face, and was a severe blow to his self-esteem. As he stood there glaring at the spheroid beasts, he felt like he had just fallen out of the sky and slammed into the earth.

"You just wait. How dare you consume Naruto's pill furnaces! I'm gonna make you regret it!"

Rage burning, he spun and shot back to the Armory. As for Uzumaki Lin, he saw Naruto's reaction and sighed. Uzumaki Lin knew that it wouldn't be long before all of the savage tribes in the Wildlands would have those same spheroid beasts, which had obviously been specifically designed to deal with Naruto's pill furnaces!

Before long, Naruto was back in the Armory and walking into his courtyard residence. "How dare you consume my pill furnaces! How dare you destroy my medicinal pills! Challenging me, huh?! Trifling little beasts. With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto will reduce all of you to ashes!

"Zhao Long. Liu Li. All of you stand guard, and don't let anyone inside. I'm going into secluded meditation!" Waving his arm, he dragged eight pill furnaces with him into his personal residence, slamming the door shut behind him with a bang. Zhao Long and the others gasped, unsure of what had happened. None of them had ever seen Naruto like this.

"What's going on?" As they exchanged awkward glances, uneasy feelings rose up in their hearts.

Chapter 485

Chapter 485

Chapter 485: Aphrodisiac Pill To Shock All Creation!

As Naruto settled down cross-legged in his residence, he had a fierce expression on his face, and his eyes were so wide that all of the veins were visible, and they seemed like they were on fire. Waving his hand, he produced an earthflame crystal and settled one of the pill furnaces in front of him.

"I can't believe you made me lose face in front of all those cultivators! Dammit! Naruto is afraid of a lot of things in heaven and earth, but he's not afraid of beasts like you!" Waving his sleeve, he sent a huge pile of medicinal plants flying into the pill furnace.

"I refuse to believe that I can't mop the floor with those big-bellied beasts. How dare they consume my pill furnaces and destroy my medicinal pills! It's bad enough they wrecked my battle credit income, but they also had to discredit me! They're intentionally embarrassing me!" The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and at the same time, he began to concoct medicine as if he were bedeviled.

It had been a long time since he had sunk into a state like this. His hands almost blurred, and rumbling echoed out from the pill furnace. Soon, the medicinal liquid in the furnace began to form, and a strong medicinal aroma spread out.

Three days passed by in a flash, during which time Naruto never stepped out of his residence. Instead, he remained inside, concocting medicine, and occasionally letting out peals of maniacal laughter.

"How dare you provoke me! I'm gonna show you once and for all how awesome Naruto is!

"Hmmmmph! This medicinal pill isn't strong enough yet. Just wait, you trifling beasts, you just wait!"

When Zhao Long, Liu Li, and the others heard his laughter, they gasped in fear at the strange state that he was in.

By this point, they had heard about what occurred outside the Great Wall a few days before, that the savages had used some strange, spheroid beasts to consume Naruto's pill furnaces. At that point, they understood why he'd come back so angry .

"Is he really that mad just because they figured out how to stop his pill furnaces?"

Another half a day went by. On the evening of the third day, Naruto's door slammed open, and he stepped out, thin, emaciated, and his hair completely disheveled.

"Zhao Long, go tell Uzumaki Lin that I need skythicket leaf, female beast musk, male beast bones, earthdragon root..." In one breath, Naruto rattled of several dozen types of medicinal plants. "And I need them today!"

With that, he walked back into his residence and slammed the door.

Zhao Long was starting to get nervous. For some reason, this version of Naruto seemed very dangerous. As soon as Naruto walked back into his residence, Zhao Long hurried off to find General Uzumaki Lin, and before long, the medicinal plants Naruto had requested were delivered.

Zhao Long cautiously knocked on Naruto's door, which opened as Naruto reached out to grab the medicinal plants. Through the crack of the opened door, Zhao Long was just able to make out a cloud of swirling pink smoke.

As for Naruto, he looked haggard and thin, with a terrifying, demonic gleam in his eyes.

Another two days passed. For some time now, a huge vortex had filled the sky because of the tampering with the Underworld River, but for some reason it was now obscured with clouds, clouds that were filled with bolts of crackling lighting. Then, without any warning, large amounts of lightning suddenly began to descend upon the armory.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Armory's spell formation activated. At the same time, Naruto's hoarse laughter could be heard filling th

e air. The combination of all the sights and sounds immediately caused Zhao Long and the other guards to looked around in alarm.

"What's going on!?"

"W-what's happening!?" Simultaneously, wisps of smoke were beginning to seep out from the cracks and crevices in the corners of Naruto's residence building. In the blink of an eye, they filled the area, and from the way they were moving, they almost seemed intelligent, like a whole group of tiny snakes.

Zhao Long and the rest of the guards began to edge away in fear. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, and yet, as soon as the smoke appeared in the Armory, vast quantities of ants suddenly rushed out into the open and began fleeing in the opposite direction.

Ants weren't a very common site in Great Wall City, but at the moment, they carpeted the ground. Before any of the guards could react, the entire Armory was thrown into a commotion.

"W-what's causing this!?"

"Heavens! There's thunder and smoke and ants! Something big is going on, but what?!"

Considering what was happening in the Armory, other cultivators in the five legions were devolving into a commotion. Furthermore, the savages outside of the Great Wall could see the strange lightning, and were wondering what terrifying item had appeared inside of Great Wall City.

As everyone reeled in shock, and as the heavens rumbled with thunder, a lightning bolt that seemed to be composed of countless other lightning bolts put together slammed down onto the Armory, piercing through its spell formation shield and landing onto Naruto's residence.

The ground quaked, and the entire residence shook as much of it was destroyed. Zhao Long and the other guards backed up in terror, gasping the entire time.

"What kind of medicine is Grandmaster Uzumaki concocting?!" Meanwhile, what could only be described as crazed laughter rang out from the wreckage of Naruto's residence.

"Still not good enough! Zhao Long, go get me three thousand portions of the same set of ingredients I had you get last time!"

A tremor ran through Zhao Long as he looked at the mostly-destroyed residence, and the increasingly thick smoke emanating from it. It caused a sensation of intense danger to fill his heart. Swallowing hard, he looked over at the other guards, and could see how ashen their faces were. Thoroughly bewildered by what was happening, he gritted his teeth and hurried off.

When he returned, Uzumaki Lin was with him.

When Uzumaki Lin saw the wreckage, and the terrifying pink smoke, he looked up at the thunderclouds in the sky, and called out, "Naruto , there's no need to be impulsive about the-"

"Leave me alone! They're just a few beasts, right? I have tens of thousands of ways of dealing with stupid-ass beasts like that! Just wait and see!" A long moment passed, and then Naruto spoke again. "Zhao Long, throw those medicinal plants over here!"

Zhao Long didn't dare to refuse. After glancing at Uzumaki Lin and getting confirmation, he tossed a bag of holding into the pink smoke.

A bit of time passed in which Uzumaki Lin considered trying to do more to convince Naruto to stop. However, that was when rumbling sounds could be heard inside the smoke, which suddenly transformed from pink to red. At the same time, more bolts of lightning began to fall from above. Shockingly, even as the first round of lightning fell, more lightning could be seen converging higher up.

In the blink of an eye, fully 10,000 lightning bolts merged together into something like a net that covered the entire sky. Even Uzumaki Lin gasped at the sight of it, let alone the other ordinary cultivators in Great Wall City.

Even the charging Wildlands army suddenly stopped in place to look at what was happening. As for the beasts in the army, they were suddenly stricken by very uneasy feelings. Some of them even began to pant, and look over toward Great Wall City with red, glowing eyes, as if they were being stimulated into madness.

Uzumaki Lin was suddenly stricken by a very ominous feeling when he saw the smoke turn red. There was something terrifying about it, something that didn't have anything to do with one's cultivation base, but rather, with some other, deeper instinct. "Naruto , don't... don't get too worked up. I'm working on a way to deal with those spheroid beasts. You just-"

"Don't even try to convince me!" came the growling interruption. "I, Naruto, will definitely show those beasts that Lord Uzumaki's pill furnaces are not that delicious after all!" Inside the residence, Naruto was sitting right in front of eight crimson-hot pill furnaces, his hair disheveled, his face gaunt, surrounded by large quantities of medicine bottles. He had gone crazy in his pill concocting, relying completely on spirit alcohol to sustain his cultivation base, as well as numerous special medicinal pills.

By this point, it was correct to say that Naruto had gone all out!

With a shout, he slapped his hands onto the surface of each of the violently shaking pill furnaces.

Cracks spread out across their surfaces, whereupon intense gravitational forces sprang up. At the same time, the red smoke stirred, instantly rushing into the eight pill furnaces!

As soon as the smoke vanished, Naruto appeared in front of Uzumaki Lin and the others. A bright gleam flickered in his eyes as he threw his head back and laughed at the top of his lungs.

"Trifling big-bellied beasts! I, Naruto, have prepared a wonderful gift for you. Let's see if you ever dare to consume my things again!

"I used several thousand sets of supreme-grade ingredients, and even cleansed the impurities with tens of thousands of bolts of lightning. Then I purified the medicine again with a secret magic, and then went so far as to ruin the pill furnaces to refine them a third time! The result is something paramount, something unparalleled in heaven and earth, something that affects both male and female beasts. A single whiff of it will drive them crazy to the point of insanity! It is an Aphrodisiac Pill to shock all creation!"

Chapter 486

Chapter 486

Chapter 486: Worldwide Death Warrant For Naruto!

Zhao Long's eyes went wide, and Liu Li gaped in shock. Everyone else had similar expressions on their faces as they looked at Naruto standing there, laughing crazily.

"Aphrodisiac Pill?" Uzumaki Lin said, mouth agape.

Before anyone could ask any more questions, Naruto waved his sleeve, sweeping up all eight pill furnaces as he used the power of his Undying Tendons in his legs to leap into the air toward the Great Wall.

"Alright, big-bellied beasts," he said, his eyes shining brightly as he sailed through the air, "Naruto is coming for you!"

As for Uzumaki Lin, his eyes flickered as he suppressed his confusion and took a step to follow Naruto. As for Zhao Long and the others, after a moment of hesitation, they also flew into motion toward the Great Wall, filled with curiosity about the medicinal pills Naruto had created in such a terrifying state.

It didn't take long for Naruto to be atop the Great Wall itself, where he let out a shout and threw all of the pill furnaces out toward the battlefield.

Down below, the giants of the savage tribes, as well as the seemingly endless sea of souls, were in the middle of a charge toward the wall. Now that the pill furnaces' power had been negated, the vengeful souls were under less pressure, and were easier to control. As a result, the necromancers had power to spare, which they used to upgrade some of the vengeful souls, making them much more powerful than before.

More booms rang out on the battlefield than ever before. The increased power of the vengeful souls ensured that less savages were falling in battle, and at the same time, the pressure on the five legions had increased.

As for the eight pill furnaces that had just been tossed out, they were crimson from heat, and were a shocking sight to behold. The mere thought of what would happen if they exploded was terrifying to contemplate.

In fact, as soon as they appeared, the savage giants felt anxiety rising up in their hearts. However, they didn't panic. As they stared at the incoming furnaces, the black-robed old man on the black altar some distance away, as well as the necromancers and tribal chiefs by his side, were all watching the scene play out on a screen of water.

"Scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh?" the black-robed old man said coolly. "That move won't work anymore!"

Expression cold, he performed a right-handed incantation gesture and then waved his finger at the water screen. The screen rippled, after which a dozen or so spheroid beasts on the battlefield suddenly raised their heads and bellowed.

Then, looks of disdain appeared on their faces as they opened their mouths wide and inhaled deeply!

Instantly, the eight pill furnaces wobbled back and forth, and then shot toward the spheroid beasts, who began to fight amongst each other to consume them. Within moments, all of the pill furnaces had been swallowed down.

As for the beasts who hadn't managed to swallow any furnaces, they began to howl in discontent.

When the old man on the black altar saw the scene playing out, he smiled faintly, a look of scorn in his eyes.

This was the second time that the cultivators of the five legions had witnessed pill furnaces being consumed. Uzumaki Lin stood there quietly, while the other cultivators let out light sighs.

Naruto was the only one who simply stood there, looking coldly at the eight beasts who had swallowed the pill furnaces.

"Eat up," he murmured, "and don't spill a drop!"

A muffled thump rang out, and the huge beasts' bellies expanded for a moment before shrinking back down to normal. The beasts then looked threateningly to

ward the Great Wall and let out menacing howls before turning, as if to leave. Simultaneously, a large number of savage giants flew over to protect them. Meanwhile, the other savage giants on the battlefield began to call out in taunting fashion.

"That's all you've got? Those magical items are useless against us now!"

"Those wimps on the Great Wall are still trying this gimmick? Eight pill furnaces aren't even enough to get our beasts full!"

"How moronic can you get? Their pill furnace trick didn't work last time, and yet they tried the same thing again!"

When the cultivators of the five legions heard the laughter ringing out from the battlefield, they gritted their teeth in frustration. Were it not for orders passed down by the deva to hold their position on the wall, they would definitely have poured out in deadly fashion and filled the battlefield with rivers of Wildlander blood.

Uzumaki Lin sighed, and turned to Naruto as if to say something.

Before he could, Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he murmured, "Any moment now, and their laughter will cease. When I get pissed off, I frighten even myself."

When Uzumaki Lin heard that, he was taken aback. And then, before he could ask any questions, the eight beasts who had consumed the pill furnaces suddenly stopped moving.

A moment later, their expressions flickered, and slowly, their eyes began to turn bright red. They began shivering, and even opened their mouths to burp out pink smoke. In fact, their entire bodies suddenly seemed to be glowing red.

Hoarse pants could be heard, which soon turned into clamoring howls. As the surrounding savage giants looked on in shock, the eight beasts suddenly turned on them and pounced in full madness.

Two of the beasts even turned on their own kind with maddened howls. It took only a moment before all eight of the beasts were pouncing on anything nearby that moved...

All of them were under the complete control of the Aphrodisiac Pill!

Furthermore, because the Aphrodisiac Pills had exploded inside of the beasts, the energy released was impossible to dispel. It was difficult to put into words the incredible power contained in pills like that, pills which had been refined four times!

Whether the beasts were male or female didn't matter. As long as the pill furnaces had exploded in their stomachs, they were bereft of all sense of reason, and became lost within the effects of the Aphrodisiac Pill. If that were all there were to the situation, it might not have been a big deal. However, they continuously belched out pink smoke, smoke that didn't affect the vengeful souls, but most definitely affected the savage giants!

All the giants had to do was get a whiff of that smoke, and their faces would instantly flush. A moment later, their eyes would turn both blank and bloodshot at the same time, and they would throw their heads back and roar.

In the briefest of moments, the entire battlefield was thrown into complete and utter chaos...

Screams and shrieks rang out in all directions. As of this moment, the area outside the Great Wall didn't look like a battlefield at all, but rather, a scene of absolute pandemonium...

One of the main reasons why these Aphrodisiac Pills were so terrifyingly effective was that Naruto had combined his original formula with his Fantasy Pill formula. He had even performed spirit enhancements on some of the main ingredients. Thus, the pills were far more shocking than they had ever been before.

The cultivators on the Great Wall looked down, their minds spinning, looks of blank shock on their faces, their hearts battered by waves of astonishment because of what they were witnessing.

"Th-this... this..."

"They... dammit! What exactly is going on?!"

"What medicinal pills were they? Heavens!"

Everyone from the five legions was talking about what was happening, whether they were ordinary soldiers, lieutenants, captains, and even the colonels and major generals. Without exception, the shocking scene playing out caused them all to lose their cool.

Even Uzumaki Lin, a general of the five legions, felt his mind spinning in astonishment.

In fact, the indescribable scene playing out was so shocking that the huge eye on top of the pagoda flickered. Then, three-eyed Chen Hetian appeared. He was a respected deva, and yet even he couldn't help but gasp, and then look over at Naruto with a very strange expression on his face.

"Is this really the Great Wall?" he thought.

In fact, everyone was similarly stunned. As of this moment, the name of the pill's creator, Naruto, was being indelibly branded into the minds of everyone present. "For the rest of my life, I must make sure to never, ever provoke the terrifying Naruto!"

As countless gasps rang out, and the chaos on the battlefield continued to play out, the black-robed old man on the black altar, as well as the surrounding necromancers and tribal chiefs, were all watching what was happening.

Deathly silence prevailed on the altar, as all eyes were completely glued to the water screen. No one was talking, and in fact, none of them were even breathing. It took a long moment before any breathing to occur, but when it did, it soon turned into panting, and eventually the entire group was physically shaking.

Then, cries of rage began to ring out from the altar.

"Naruto!"

"The Wildlands will destroy you or die in the attempt!"

"Heaven-damned Naruto! Y-y-you... you will not die a good death!"

"Issue a death warrant! Tell the whole world that this Naruto must die! If he doesn't die, the Wildlands will live in disgrace for all time!"

Chapter 487

Chapter 487

Chapter 487: Major Progress With The Soul Convergence Pill!

Naruto looked out at the chaos on the battlefield and cleared his throat. Then he stuck his chin up and flicked his sleeve.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto gave all savages and beasts no other choice than to be reduced to ashes!" Looking like the picture of a lonely hero, he turned and strolled dramatically off the Great Wall. As he did, the cultivators behind him watched him leave, shock and other mixed emotions clearly visible on their faces.

Some of those expressions were those of reverence, some were fear, and others were plain terror...

As Naruto left, the magical cannons on the Great Wall rumbled to life. How could the five legions not take advantage of this spectacular opportunity? Some of the cultivators even charged onto the battlefield itself, where every enemy in their path was crushed like twigs. Naruto didn't need to know the final outcome of the battle. He was content knowing that his message had been clearly sent to the Wildlands: provoke Naruto, and pay the price!

The Aphrodisiac Pill was not without fault. For example, although it worked quite well on beasts, if the savage giants wished to protect themselves from its effects, they could do so in many ways. The only reason it had worked so effectively in this situation was because of the element of surprise. And of course, Naruto was well aware of that.

However, he didn't plan to use the Aphrodisiac Pill as a way to accumulate battle credit. He simply wanted to use it to frighten the Wildlands, and ensure that they didn't dare to send beasts to consume his exploding furnaces.

"Hmph! Well, exploding furnaces can't be a long-term tactic anyway. I need to switch things up a bit, and the key to that is my Soul Convergence Pill." As Naruto left, Zhao Long and the others followed him, their hearts trembling, the mere sight of Naruto's back causing their hair to stand on end.

When it came to thoughts of Naruto's terrifying Aphrodisiac Pill, both Zhao Long and Liu Li felt the same. Not only were they scared to death, but they also couldn't help but muse that he was truly born for battle...

In the following few days, word spread to all of the cultivators in Great Wall City. Stories abounded about what had occurred when Naruto made his move, and yet again, his name shook the entire city.

Not only were his pill concocting techniques fear-inspiring, but his medicinal pills were horrific. Most of the grandmasters who lived near him in the Armory were so scared that they moved away...

By that point, the Armory was almost half empty, and when Naruto realized that, he simply waved his sleeve and had the empty half consolidated into his own personal headquarters.

Of course, because of his actions, he earned a huge amount of battle credit, which immediately got him promoted from lieutenant to captain.

Because of that, despite his residence being much larger than before, the increased number of subordinates under his control ensured that it didn't feel empty at all.

Not only was Naruto famous within Great Wall City, but he was now well-known beyond the wall as well.

Of the hundreds of tribes that occupied the eastern Wildlands, all had heard of Naruto and his horrifying Aphrodisiac Pill, as well as the tragic defeat the Wildlands had suffered because of them. For those reasons, Naruto's name rose high on the Wildlands Execution List. Before, he had been in the top 100, but now, he was in 27th place!

Of the people higher than him on the list, the weakest were Nascent Soul cultivators. In fact, many of the people below him on the list were in that same cultivation level. Naruto was the only Core Formation cultivator

in the top 50.

He was now famous, had a huge accumulation of battle credit, and had earned the rank of captain. Everywhere he went in the Great Wall, the cultivators who saw him would salute with clasped hands.

It was a wonderful feeling that Naruto loved, and he couldn't help but muse that staying here had been a good decision. In fact, he would often take out his copper mirror and ask all sorts of questions that drove imposter Nightcrypt crazy.

Imposter Nightcrypt would wrack his brains with new ways to flatter Naruto, until Naruto would eventually start to get embarrassed and stop asking questions.

Meanwhile, Naruto's cultivation by no means stagnated. With all his battle credit, he was able to get plenty of medicinal pills to help with his Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation. At the same time, he continued to work on his Soul Convergence Pill.

Although his cultivation speed was actually moving along quite rapidly, whenever he thought about how much it cost to get the Nascent Soul Pill that would propel him into the great circle of the Gold Core stage, he would always worry that he was going too slow.

However, despite his cultivation base rising at a relatively slow rate, his

Undying Live Forever Technique was making huge progress. After all, Uzumaki Lin had been utterly shocked by Naruto's skill in the Dao of medicine, and was more than happy to provide him with anything he asked for.

He didn't even mind that some of the medicinal plants being requested were actually for personal use. As far as he was concerned, Naruto was just too important.

With so many medicinal plants at his disposal, Naruto's speed with the Undying Live Forever Technique picked up. By this point, he had Undying Tendons spreading throughout his left arm. One night, his left arm even began to glow with bright light, and turned translucent to the point of being able to see his blood and veins inside.

Eyes widening, he clenched his hand into a fist, which caused cracking sounds to emanate out. Then he punched out into the air, and his hand moved so quickly it was almost invisible.

The sensation of incredible power which spread out from his body gave him a very clear idea of how much fleshly body strength he had at his disposal.

"Success! I have Undying Tendons in both legs as well as my left arm. Now I just need to finish my head, right arm, and torso!

"When that happens, I'll have completed my work with the Undying Tendons, and as such, the third volume of the Undying Codex. Then, all I'll have to do is break through from Gold Core to Nascent Soul!

"Once I'm in the Nascent Soul stage, I can finally cultivate Undying Bones!" The mere thought of Undying Bones caused Naruto to purse his lips in excitement.

According to the descriptions in the Undying Codex, once he cultivated the Undying Bones, he would essentially have reached the point of having an indestructible fleshly body.

"Skin, flesh, tendons, bones, blood!" he said softly.

"Undying Skin is for defensive purposes. Undying Flesh gives power. Undying Tendons helps with speed. Undying Bones provides the unifying factor for all three, allowing one to unleash incredible force!" Having considered all these matters, his anticipation regarding the Undying Bones grew even greater.

"Even without Undying Bones, and only being half-finished with my Undying Tendons, my fleshly body power combined with my Gold Core cultivation base puts me in an incredible position with my cultivation level." A flicker of pride appeared in his eyes as he thought back to his fight with the statue of Gongsun Wan'er. Back then, although he had a Heaven-Dao Gold Core, he was still only in the mid Core Formation stage.

During the fight, he had been unable to truly unleash what he was capable of. After all, even an ocean of water that has to pass through a tiny bottleneck, will be limited.

Things were different now, though. As he inched closer to the great circle, and had half a body's worth of Undying Tendons, he was completely confident that if he had to fight that Gongsun Wan'er statue again, he would be able to secure victory as easy as flipping over his hand!

"Elder Brother Zhao Tianjiao could kill Nascent Soul experts when in Core Formation... I should be able to as well." Naruto could tell that if he truly unleashed the full power of his cultivation base, the terrifying level of power would be no weaker than what Zhao Tianjiao was capable of.

"From now on, not a single person beneath late Core Formation will be a match for me!" Flicking his sleeve, he laughed loudly.

Sometimes, good things come in waves. It was only three days after the Undying Tendons in his left arm were finished that, after nearly half a year of endless experimentation, he produced a batch of Soul

Convergence Pills that were exactly what he had been looking for!

These Soul Convergence Pills were no longer black, but rather, gold!

They emanated an invisible aura that distorted the air around them, and in addition to that, a black hole could be seen spinning inside of them.

Furthermore, if you looked at one of the pills for too long, you would almost feel like your soul was going to be tugged out of you.

The moment the golden Soul Convergence Pills appeared, he knew that they were high-grade pills. Although they still had some impurities, those impurities wouldn't cause too many problems.

These were the most perfect Soul Convergence Pills he had concocted so far.

Excited, he sent a message to Uzumaki Lin, and then took Zhao Long and his other guards up to the Great Wall.

Uzumaki Lin was there to meet him, and immediately noticed the golden medicinal pill he was holding.

"Soul Convergence Pill?" he asked, looking excited.

"Exactly!" Naruto replied, a proud smile on his face as he held the pill in his hand and looked out beyond the wall, his eyes glittering.

Chapter 488

Chapter 488

Chapter 488: The Might Of The Pill!

The battle outside the Great Wall had been going on for the better part of a year. However, because of the chaos which had played out recently, the Wildlanders had been driven into a fury. At the same time, the savage tribes didn't dare to show their faces.

Few savage giants could be seen on the battlefield, and those that were visible kept their distance from the wall. There were few beasts either. However, the tide of vengeful souls continued to smash into the wall and the shield. Although this form of attack wasn't particularly effective, the sheer numbers involved ensured that the shield continue to ripple and emit light.

Clearly, the vengeful souls had no hope of breaking through the defenses of the Great Wall. The magical cannons were firing constantly, and the cultivators of the five legions attacked with surgical precision. As a result, most of the souls which got close were destroyed.

A battle like this had not taken place from the moment the Great Wall came into existence until this moment. By this point, it was impossible to determine exactly how many vengeful souls had been destroyed. And yet, there were always more souls to replace them.

Furthermore, because the Underworld River had been tampered with, the number of souls only seemed to increase.

It was in that moment that Naruto took a deep breath and strode out to the edge of the wall, his eyes shining with anticipation. When he threw out the golden Soul Convergence Pill, it turned into a streak of golden light that flew out into the very middle of the soul tide.

When it thumped onto the ground, it didn't break apart like the previous version of the pill had. Instead, it emitted gold, rippling light in all directions.

Instantly, both the cultivators on the wall and the Wildlands savages could see that the golden ripples extended to fill a 3,000-meter area!

Within that 3,000-meter area, all of the vengeful souls trembled, and before they could do anything, a whooshing sound filled the air as all of the souls were sucked together into one spot.

The Soul Convergence Pill became like a black hole, and in the blink of an eye, countless screams could be heard as all of the more than 10,000 souls in the area of the pill became streaks of light that were absorbed into the pill itself.

However, that wasn't anything very impressive, and Uzumaki Lin even frowned in response. The power of this Soul Convergence Pill didn't seem to measure up to the exploding pill furnaces.

However, before he could put too much thought into the matter, the golden Soul Convergence Pill which had sucked in all the souls in the 3,000-meter area suddenly change color. In the briefest of moments, it turned bright red!

In that instant, an incredible rumbling sound echoed out as the second deadly effect of the Soul Convergence Pill was unleashed. The pill exploded in wild fashion, sending red ripples out to cover a 30,000meter area!

As that happened, the vengeful souls that were covered by the red ripples began to shake violently, as if they were struggling against something. Then, the brutality in their eyes vanished, and their bodies vanished as quickly as a strand of smoke in a storm wind! Furthermore, in the moment of vanishing, their eyes suddenly seemed to be looking around and seeing everything clearly!

Within that clarity, there seemed to be a look of relief...

The battlefield once again went silent. The savage giants began to tremble as they looked over at the terrifying medicinal pill that was clearly as powerful as ten exploding furnaces. Without even thinking about it, they began to edge away.

Back on the Great Wall, everyone, Uzumaki Lin included, gasped in the realization that this new pill was clearly as effective as ten or more exploding furnaces. And that was just one me

dicinal pill!

Uzumaki Lin looked over excitedly at Naruto and asked, "Grandmaster Uzumaki, are you the only one who can use this pill, or can it be used by others, too?!"

"When Naruto concocts pills, of course they're the type that anyone can use!" Even Naruto had been a bit shocked by what had happened outside the wall. That was especially the case because of how the vengeful souls had looked relieved right before vanishing. That left Naruto feeling very strange.

Even he had been unaware that there would be another incredible use to the pills. Apparently, they could purify the souls they affected.

Meanwhile, something else happened that no one else noticed. A blurry figure had appeared high up the sky, who was now looking down at the ground below. It was an old man, and although it was difficult to make out his facial features, if Naruto had been close by, he would have recognized him immediately. He was none other than the gravekeeper! Surrounding him were what appeared to be illusory, rippling fluid, which was none other than Underworld River water.

He looked deeply at Naruto, then turned away and vanished into the Underworld River water.

Down on the Great Wall, Uzumaki Lin's eyes shone as brightly as the sun.

"Wonderful. Can you mass-produce them?"

Naruto blinked a few times, then looked out at the battlefield and waved his hand dismissively. "Of course I can. However, as you can probably tell, I don't have enough medicinal plants or pill furnaces."

Delighted, Uzumaki Lin threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"That's no problem at all. Would a thousand pill furnaces be enough?! As for the medicinal plants, I can take you to see the liaison from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. As long as your demands aren't too excessive, he should be able to accommodate you."

Naruto realized that Uzumaki Lin was reminding him not to get too greedy. Chuckling, he replied, "Of course..." while simultaneously trying to decide what medicinal plants he would ask for.

Uzumaki Lin took a deep breath to keep his excitement under control as he thought about what it would be like for all the soldiers in the Skin Flayers to have a Soul Convergence Pill ready to throw out at any time. It could completely change the entire course of the war!

In fact, he could even see himself as being the first general from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to actually lead a devastating campaign into the Wildlands!

The meritorious services he would perform, and the glory he would accumulate, would be talked about throughout the ages. Having reached this point in his train of thought, Uzumaki Lin couldn't prevent his heart from racing as he looked from the battlefield back to Naruto.

"Naruto , according to the deva patriarch, this Wildlands offensive is different from anything in the past. Although it might seem like they're on the run right now, the truth is that within the next few months, they will lead a charge greater than anything so far!

"During that battle, it is highly likely that one of their almighty Deva Realm experts will join the fight. Of course, Senior Chen will handle that part of the fighting, and we wouldn't be able to do much to help. But in terms of the rest of the battle, it will be huge, and we will see an unimaginable number of savages and souls.

"Therefore, not only must you hurry and concoct as many Soul Convergence Pill as possible, you should also try to come up with a way to produce a type of exploding furnace whose detonation surpasses anything you did before by multiple times. The bigger the explosion, the better!"

In response to Uzumaki Lin's words, Naruto stood there thoughtfully. The truth was that he didn't particularly want to concoct medicinal pills with the express purpose of getting the furnace to explode. After all, he was an apothecary, and apothecaries were supposed to concoct medicine, not explode furnaces. His exploding furnaces had only resulted from an unexpected turn of events during the concocting process.

Back when he had first arrived in Great Wall City, he would have been too nervous to refuse, but right now, he felt a bit daring, and also determined. He was a grandmaster, right?! Therefore, he glared back at Uzumaki Lin and shook his head.

"General Uzumaki, I'm afraid you can just forget about-" However, before he could finish speaking, Uzumaki Lin's expression flickered, and at the same time, both of them heard numerous cries of alarm rising up.

Some distance away from the Great Wall, more than a hundred beams of light could be seen screaming through the air at incredible speed, clearly ignoring any threat to themselves. As they closed in, it was possible to see that there were over a hundred giants, each one of them at least 60 meters tall. From their size, and from the incredible fluctuations rolling off of them, it was obvious that these were powerful experts from whatever tribe they came from.

The cultivators on the wall instantly focused on the incoming giants. Soon, the giants began to self-detonate, causing incredible booms to ring out. However, even as that drew the attention of more cultivators on the wall, three beams of light appeared from a different direction, like three arrows ripping through the air, borrowing the force of the selfdetonating giants to reach the Great Wall itself.

Soon, it was clear that within these three beams of light were not giants, but rather, soul cultivators!

There were two men and one woman, and as soon as they appeared, they unleashed a bizarre divine ability that caused a demonic green light to form together into a huge hand. In response, Uzumaki Lin's eyes glittered, and he waved his right hand, sending out a powerful surge of energy toward the three soul cultivators. In that same moment, Naruto looked over.

He was separated from the three soul cultivators by the shield, and yet, they were staring directly at him with venomous hatred. Before Uzumaki Lin's divine ability could get close to them, all three self-detonated!

There had to be a good reason for two waves of attackers to all selfdetonate!

Heart pounding, Naruto slowly began to back up.

Chapter 489

Chapter 489

Chapter 489: Assassination Attempt!

A huge boom echoed out as the necromancers' self-detonation sent a huge shockwave rolling out in all directions. At the same time, an illusory figure appeared within the explosion. It was a gray specter riding a black soul horse, and it was moving with speed that far outmatched that of the necromancers from moments before. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the shield and was bearing down on Naruto!

"Quasi-Deva Realm necromancer soul!" Everything happened so quickly that everyone was rooted in place in shock, with the exception of Uzumaki Lin, who immediately leapt to intercept the enemy. However, the incoming necromancer soul was already resigned to being destroyed, and was holding nothing back in his attack. Stretching his right hand out, he pointed his finger at Naruto, sending a green stream of energy out toward him. Even Uzumaki Lin attacking with all the power he could muster only slowed down the green energy, and it was still moving so quickly that no Core Formation cultivator would be able to evade it.

Naruto's face drained of blood as a sensation of deadly crisis filled him. In that dangerous moment, he roared at the top of his lungs and drew upon the power of the Undying Tendons in both of his legs to fly backward with speed that surpassed the Core Formation level. After putting some distance between himself and the stream of green energy, he drew upon his frigid Chakra to teleport 300 meters away. Only by doing all of these things was he just barely able to extricate himself from the danger!

The spot he had once occupied was pierced through by the green energy. Sadly, all of the Skin Flayers within several hundred meters of that spot who were hit by the fluctuations of the energy were instantly transformed into pools of blood...

None of them even had a chance to scream before they were killed. With the exception of Uzumaki Lin and Naruto, everyone was killed instantly. As for the Skin Flayers beyond that radius, their faces went ashen in terror.

Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. His bones were all on the verge of being crushed, and even his five yin organs and six yang organs were almost destroyed. And that was just from the fluctuations rolling off of the attack itself!

Looking around at the pools of blood that were all that remained of the nearby cultivators, Naruto's heart trembled.

"You-" Before he could say anything else, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Thankfully, he had a powerful fleshly body and a Gold Core cultivation base. Because of that, he had avoided death. And yet, he still ended up being seriously injured.

Spitting more blood out of his mouth, he looked over at the illusory necromancer, who was just now being wiped out by the gaze of the enormous eye on the tower.

Even as the illusory necromancer was destroyed, a look of deep confusion could be seen in his eyes that said, How did he survive? How did he escape death!?

Originally, the necromancer had assumed that even if Naruto managed to avoid the initial attack, being nothing more than a Core Formation cultivator, he would definitely be killed by the resulting fluctuations.

After all, that necromancer had a quasi-Deva Realm cultivation base,

and plus, there had been absolutely no indication that there would be an assassination attempt. In order to guarantee success, the Wildlands had sacrificed more than a hundred savage giants as a distraction, as well as three soul cultivators. In addition to all of that, the assassin was actually the soul of a powerful necromancer. All of that had been done just to try to kill Naruto!

The mere sight of Naruto caused all Wildlanders to seethe with hatred, and yet, they had met with nothing but defeat in their effort! Sweat was currently pouring down Uzumaki X

iaochun's forehead. The sensation of imminent death moments ago had been incredibly intense. The three soul cultivators had been extremely powerful, with Nascent Soul cultivation bases. As for the necromancer, he was on the same level as Uzumaki Lin, half a step into the Deva Realm. Because he existed as a soul body, and also had some special techniques on his side, he had been able to get through the shield to deliver a single attack.

If Uzumaki Lin hadn't been there, Naruto wouldn't have been able to evade the attack even if he was capable of greater speed than before!

Uzumaki Lin had a very unsightly expression on his face. Naruto had almost been killed right next to him, which was in and of itself a baldfaced provocation. Naruto was extremely important to him; perhaps if he had already concocted a large number of Soul

Convergence Pills, his loss could be accepted. But at the moment, he hadn't even started working. For him to die now would have been a huge blow to the cultivators of Great Wall City.

In his anxiety, he rushed over to Naruto and handed him a medicinal pill that glowed with violet light.

"Take this Godly Vestige Pill!"

With a single whiff of the pill's medicinal aroma, Naruto was able to identify it as a holy pill that was designed to heal injuries. Without hesitation, he popped it into his mouth, and an instant later, his entire body thrummed with spiritual power and life force. At the same time, all of his wounds and injuries began to fade away.

It was a miraculous pill the likes of which Naruto had never seen before, but he could tell that it was something incredibly valuable. In fact, Uzumaki Lin probably kept it on hand as a life-saving contingency plan for himself. However, at the moment, Naruto wasn't interested in getting more information about that. Turning to Uzumaki Lin, he said, "General Uzumaki, when you invited me to the top of the Great Wall to observe the fighting, you said over and over again that it would be safe!"

Naruto was still feeling a bit jumpy and frightened, so as soon as he finished speaking, he backed a bit further away from the edge of the wall.

Uzumaki Lin felt horrible. Clasping hands apologetically to Naruto, he then glared out at the battlefield with killing intent flickering in his eyes.

Of course, Naruto wasn't angry at Uzumaki Lin. Were it not for Uzumaki Lin stepping in to help, Naruto might not even be alive at the moment. "Can necromancers really just go right through the Great Wall's shield?" he asked.

Although Naruto's question had been worded rather vaguely, the point was obvious: he had almost just died. He usually maintained vigilance wherever he went, but because of the spell formation shield protecting the Great Wall, had always assumed that he was safe.

After a moment of silence, Uzumaki Lin replied, "Most people can't. In fact, necromancers with physical bodies can't either. Only in soul form can they do such a thing. However, after passing through the shield, the eye on the tower will detect them, and they will be killed within three breaths of time. Therefore, very few necromancers would choose to do such a thing."

Forcing his breathing under control, Naruto glared out at the battlefield beyond the wall. At the moment, the savages were retreating, as was the tide of souls.

"Naruto , please forgive my carelessness today," Uzumaki Lin said, turning back to look at Naruto. "Why don't you come with me to see the sect liaison? All you have to do is say the word to him, and any resources you need will be yours."

Naruto immediately understood Uzumaki Lin's implication. Uzumaki Lin was giving him an opportunity to stuff his pockets as a way of making up for what had happened. Therefore, he suppressed his anxiety over the events which had just occurred, cast a final hateful glare at the savages, and then followed Uzumaki Lin away.

Soon, they were back in the city, and heading to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect liaison office. Considering his status, Uzumaki Lin didn't need to act polite. Striding up to the entrance, he barked, "Song Yiduo, get out here right now!"

Moments later, a fat, middle-aged man hurried out, huffing and puffing. Clasping his hands in greeting, he said, "What do you need? Just say the word."

Uzumaki Lin looked over at Naruto and nodded, then stood there looking thoughtfully up into the sky.

At the moment, Naruto felt that the best way to deal with his anxiety was to crush it with cultivation resources. Therefore, he didn't hesitate to say, "I need 5,000 earthspirit tubers, and each one needs to be at least 500 years old!"

Song Yiduo shivered like a wild boar whose tail had just been stepped on. Yelping, and fat jiggling, he replied, "500 years old? 5,000 of them? That's impossible!"

Ignoring him, Naruto continued, "I also need skydragon plums, seven seas ginsengs, wyvern scales, and godglory herbs. 10,000 each!" Song Yiduo was about to respond when Naruto cut in and added,

"Plus, fuel for nine-colored flame. A hundred portions!"

Song Yiduo's anger flared. "Impossible! I don't have those things on hand! Who could?!"

Completely ignoring Song Yiduo, Naruto continued, "Also, I need 10,000 bottles of spirit alcohol designed to replenish the cultivation base!

"And a hundred Nascent Soul Pills!

"Oh right. That - what's it called? - Godly Vestige Pill! I want a hundred of them too!"

By this point, even Uzumaki Lin was getting a bit nervous. From what he could tell, it would probably require sending a message to his grandfather to acquire such a collection.

As for Song Yiduo, he was wailing inwardly with grief. He was in charge of all the day-to-day affairs in Great Wall City, and if expenditures got too high, he would be punished. Conversely, if he didn't spend enough to keep the five legions happy, they would get angry.

Naruto waved his hand dismissively and looked over at Uzumaki Lin. After a moment of thought, Uzumaki Lin gave Song Yiduo a wry smile and then dragged him off to the side. First, he started out whispering, but then got angry, and finally, smashed his fist into a nearby ornamental rock, scaring the daylights out of Song Yiduo. Then the two of them walked back to Naruto.

With a wry smile, Uzumaki Lin hustled Naruto away, worried that he would start making more demands. "He couldn't get you the ninecolored flame fuel or the Godly Vestige Pills even if you killed him. Everything else, he can handle. As for the Nascent Soul Pill, I need to think about how to pull that off..."

Chapter 490

A+ A- Chapter 490

Chapter 490: It Could Be!

Naruto had been mentally reviewing all of the wonderful things he knew about to try to figure out more things to request, but before he could, he found himself being dragged away by Uzumaki Lin.

Even still, Naruto was chuckling inwardly. He had demanded an exorbitant compensation moments ago, and would have been happy if only part of his requests had been fulfilled.

Feeling very pleased with himself, he looked over at Uzumaki Lin, the deadly crisis he had just endured still fresh in mind.

"General, didn't you just ask me if there was a way to make the pill furnace explosions even more powerful...?"

"What?" Uzumaki Lin replied, his pupils constricted. "Didn't you say that was impossible?"

Naruto's eyes widened into a glare. "Impossible? What do you mean impossible? Of course it's possible. Or at least, it could be!" Gritting his teeth, he continued, "All you want is a bigger explosion, right? It's simple. Some time back, I actually caused a pill furnace explosion so big it almost leveled an immortal mountain! All the plants and vegetation were incinerated, and everything else was burned to a crisp!"

As soon as Uzumaki Lin heard this, his eyes began to shine brightly. He was completely obsessed with the exploding pill furnaces, and as such, he quickly asked, "What do you need? Just say the word!"

"The specific medicinal pill formula is one aspect. But more important is the actual furnace involved. I need the same type of pill furnace they had back in the Blood Stream Sect. I'm not really sure how to explain it. Why don't you have the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect send some people to the River-Defying Sect, and look for the grand elder of Lesser Marsh Peak in the Blood Stream Division? He can explain the details. Just have the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect make some similar pill furnaces based on his specifications!

"Pill furnaces like that are especially strong, so the explosions they make are incredibly large!

"Just don't forget that I'm from the River-Defying Sect, General Uzumaki, so please make sure the representatives from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect are a bit more polite than usual!"

"No problem at all!" Uzumaki Lin said enthusiastically. Laughing, he told Naruto to go back to the Armory on his own, while he went back to discuss things with Song Yiduo.

Naruto made his way back to the armory, his mood much better than before. By now, he had recovered from the sensation of deadly crisis. However, he couldn't forget the ordeal he had just gone through, nor the icy killing intent he had seen in the eyes of the necromancer who had attacked him.

"I can't believe that the Wildlanders were willing to sacrifice over a hundred savage giants, three soul cultivators, and a necromancer, all to try to kill me..." As of that moment, he made the decision to never go up onto the Great Wall itself unless it was absolutely necessary.

After all, once his new exploding furnace made its debut, and he started pumping out Soul Convergence Pills, the Wildlanders would hate him more than ever. Before long, his head would definitely fetch an astronomical price in the Wildlands.

That thought left his heart stirring with fear and fury both.

"I never wanted any of this," he thought with a sigh. "But I guess there's nothing I can do about it. We're just on different sides, that's all." Then he thought about the fact that he would be leaving in ten years, and breathed a sigh of relief...

"Might as well not worry about it. In ten years, I'll be gone anyway. For now, I need to focus on battle credit, and even more importantly, getting myself into the

great circle of the Gold Core stage. I also need to cultivate my Undying Live Forever Technique to completion. Once I do all that, I'll be in a much better position." After returning to the Armory, he went into secluded meditation and began to work on his cultivation.

Seven days sped by in a blur. Naruto himself had no idea how Uzumaki

Lin and Song Yiduo managed it all, but on the eighth day, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's teleportation portal was activated, and a whole batch of supplies was sent to Great Wall City.

That afternoon, Uzumaki Lin came personally to Naruto's residence, and with the wave of his hand, sent a thousand pill furnaces rumbling down out of the sky.

There were also numerous bags of holding, plus something completely new. There were ten shocking pill furnaces, each of which was fully 300 meters tall. When they descended from the sky and landed onto the ground, everything in the area shook violently.

Dust blew out in all directions as incredible pressure weighed down. Zhao Long and all of the other soldiers under Naruto's command looked at the pill furnaces with complete shock.

"Those... those are pill furnaces?"

"Heavens! I've never seen a pill furnace that big before!"

"There's no way those are pill furnaces. Those are some kind of powerful magical treasure! Look at what they're made from! That's the same stuff they make Nascent Soul-level battleships from. Deep sea meteoric iron!" Even as their cries rang out, Naruto emerged from his meditative trance and walked out of his room. When he saw the pill furnaces out in the courtyard, he gasped just as loudly as everyone else.

"Well, what do you think?!" Uzumaki Lin said, laughing triumphantly. In order to procure all of these items, Uzumaki Lin had been forced to beg for help from his grandfather, and had used every other method at his disposal. Furthermore, to produce these ten enormous pill furnaces, all of the power of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had been mobilized, and they had even called upon help from other parts of the eastern cultivation world.

The River-Defying Sect had been completely shaken when an emissary from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect arrived and respectfully asked many questions of them. At the same time, they got some news about Naruto, leaving the entire River-Defying Sect very excited.

"Those are all of the medicinal plants you requested," Uzumaki Lin continued, pointing at all of the bags of holding. "By the way, this is about the limit of my abilities to procure resources..."

Feeling profoundly pleased, Naruto rushed over to examine the bags of holding, his heart beating more rapidly with every moment. Within moments, his face was flushed with excitement.

Although there were no Nascent Soul Pills or nine-colored flame fuel, there were ten Godly Vestige Pills, as well as all of the medicinal plants he had requested. Although there wasn't a mind-bogglingly large number of them, everything he had asked for was present. Most importantly, the earthspirit tubers and other ingredients that could increase life force were all present in large numbers.

Eyebrows raised in delight, Naruto nodded repeatedly as he inspected the bags. Next, he walked over to inspect the pill furnaces, including the 1,000 ordinary furnaces, and also the ten 300-meter-tall ones.

After examining the huge pill furnaces, Naruto was delighted to find that in terms of quality, they actually exceeded the pill furnace he'd used on Lesser Marsh Peak. Furthermore, they could also be sealed even tighter; the surfaces were covered with spell formations for just that purpose.

"Naruto , most of the things you requested are here. For the items that aren't, give me some time to try to think of a way to get them. Right now, the most important thing to consider is that the biggest battle yet to be fought will be coming in the next few months!

"Therefore, time is of the essence. You need to start producing Soul Convergence Pills as quickly as possible, and also work on those ten destructive furnaces!" With a final deep look at Naruto, Uzumaki Lin turned and left.

Naruto rubbed his hands together, eyes shining as he circled around the ten huge pill furnaces a few more times. Finally, he threw his back and laughed.

"Zhao Long. Liu Li. You and the rest of the battalion are going to help me make some unheard-of super-pills, the likes of which have never been seen before!" The 100 members of the battalion all voiced their agreement, whereupon the ten huge furnaces were set up in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by the 1,000 ordinary furnaces in concentric rings.

Unfortunately, there were simply too many furnaces, so Naruto waved his hand, issuing orders to his men to expand his residence. After tearing down and absorbing more of the nearby empty residences, he had a new courtyard that was fully 30,000 meters across, giving them more than enough space.

The first furnaces he started to work with were the huge ones. Uzumaki

Naruto knew that they were extraordinary, and therefore, used ten times as many earthflame stones as usual. In fact, he even went to the length of putting some of the stones inside the pill furnaces themselves. He also added numerous medicinal plants that would cause violent explosions when they got hot enough. For each type of plant, he was liberal with his usage, adding in hundreds of portions.

"All I want is an explosion, right? For concocting other types of medicines, I need to put a lot of thought into the formula, but for exploding furnaces, it's simple." Brimming with self-confidence, he walked among the ten huge pill furnaces, adding medicinal plants in here and there, and even adding in some low-quality Soul Convergence Pills he had concocted in the past.

He also added some of the other medicinal pills he had in his bag of holding that he didn't plan to use in the future. After a bit of thought, he also went so far as to add quite a few types of poison medicine...

Still worried that the explosions wouldn't be powerful enough, he gritted his teeth and added in many of the strange pills he had concocted in the past, pills that he would never dare to consume.

In the end, he had no idea exactly what type of bizarre medicinal pills would form within the furnaces, but the entire point was to make the ingredients inside of the furnaces unstable to the point where they would explode.

Finally, he patted his hands in satisfaction.

"That should do it," he said, looking contentedly at the ten huge furnaces. By now, he very much looked forward to seeing what they would do when they finally exploded.

Having accomplished these things, he rested a bit before beginning to work with the 1,000 ordinary pill furnaces.

Chapter 491

A+ A- Chapter 491

Chapter 491: Drum Of The Celestial Warrior!

Two months went by in the blink of an eye. As time passed, the 300meter-tall pill furnaces gradually began to turn crimson, and emanate shocking levels of heat. However, Naruto still wasn't completely satisfied, and would often add more earthflame stones.

To ensure that he got the best results possible, he even went to Uzumaki Lin and asked if any top experts were available who could bless the flames. Uzumaki Lin and Naruto were on completely the same train of thought when it came to those ten huge furnaces, so Uzumaki Lin didn't even hesitate for a moment before agreeing to his request.

In fact, Uzumaki Lin personally went to seal the pill furnaces, and then had ten of his subordinates who were Nascent Soul cultivators come and converge Nascent Soul flames from their cultivation bases to help heat up the furnaces.

When Naruto went out every day and saw ten Nascent Soul cultivators looking almost like living earthflame stones, he couldn't help but anticipate the results.

"I wonder what these things are going to end up doing?" Eventually, he was forced to simply suppress his curiosity and wait. During the two months which passed, he produced batch after batch of Soul Convergence Pills. In fact, he quickly reached the point where he was concocting more than 10,000 per day.

Zhao Long and the others would collect the completed pills, after which Naruto would use his command medallion, which was connected to the pagoda and the huge eye, to brand them with divine sense. Then, cultivators sent by Uzumaki Lin would take the pills away to be stored for distribution when the big battle came.

The reason the pills were branded with divine sense was so that Naruto would get some battle credit when they were used in the fighting. He wouldn't get all the credit for each pill, but rather, thirty percent.

That was the agreement he and Uzumaki Lin had come to. As for Uzumaki Lin, since he was the financial backer of the pill, and also a general, he also received a small cut of all battle credit earned by the Skin Flayers. As for pills which ended up being used by the other four legions, Uzumaki Lin would get a thirty percent cut.

The fact that everyone was profiting handsomely was quite pleasing to both Uzumaki Lin and Naruto. Uzumaki Lin was already very protective of the Soul Convergence Pills, and had even sent a contingent of men over to stand guard over the Armory.

A large number of Soul Convergence Pills were created during those two months, and at the same time, Naruto still managed to set aside plenty of time for cultivation. Although he currently wasn't making much in terms of battle credit, with all of the medicinal plants that had been delivered by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, his cultivation went on as normal. His frigid Chakra continued to grow stronger, and he was getting closer and closer to the great circle of the Gold Core stage.

However, his most rapid area of advancement was with his Undying Live Forever Technique. With so many earthspirit tubers at his disposal, all of them hundreds of years old, he had a shocking amount of life force to work with. As such, his entire left arm was now filled with Undying Tendons, and he was reaching the point of completion with his right arm.

Naruto munched on earthspirit tubers the way a rabbit would munch on carrots on a daily basis. He even tended to nibble a bit here and there when concocting medicine. After another ten days passed, rumbling sounds echoed out into the evening sky as Naruto's right arm came to be fully filled with Undying Tendons.

Everything down to his fingers throbbed with shocking power, and when he shot his right arm out with full speed in the form of a fist, cracking sounds filled the air.

Even more strangely, when he clenched his hand into a fis

t, it almost felt like he was grasping onto the fabric of space itself, and that by moving his hand, he could twist the air around him.

Looking down excitedly at his arms he said, "I've finished cultivating both arms and both legs!"

He could sense that his arms were now filled with incredible power and speed.

"This place is more of a holy land than the Blood Stream Sect was!" Uzumaki

Naruto was extremely excited. After all, the Undying Live Forever Technique was a huge drain on resources, and that trend only grew more pronounced the more one cultivated the technique. Without the chance occurrences that had led him to large amounts of resources, he would never have been able to cultivate it to its current level.

Before, he had been in the late Gold Core stage, but only had Undying Tendons in one of his legs.

But now, thanks to the indescribably valuable earthspirit tubers, he had advanced by leaps and bounds. Of course, one thing that Naruto didn't know was that the amount of earthspirit tubers he had consumed so far was actually more than half of the available reserves for the entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, reserves that had been built up over the course of many years. After all, few people in the cultivation world raised earthspirit tubers, which were fundamentally hard to grow. Most of them existed in arcane pocket realms, and only transformed into medicinal plants after having grown for a hundred years.

"Now the only parts left are my torso and head. At this rate, it should only be a few more years before I succeed completely with my Undying Tendons. At that point, I should be able to break through... the third shackle!" The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. After experimenting a bit more with his newfound power, he looked up proudly, and mused about the fact that if he had a match with Eldest Brother Zhao Tianjiao, he would actually have a chance at victory.

"Aiya. I wish I could find a Nascent Soul expert to fight." However, after a moment passed, he realized that such an idea didn't make much sense, and quickly changed his mind. Clearing his throat, he murmured, "No need to be so impulsive..."

With that, he took a moment to readjust his thinking, then went back to cultivation.

Another month went by. One day, when Naruto was in the middle of meditating, he suddenly heard what sounded like a war drum being beaten outside. The thunderous sound filled the entire city, and caused many cultivators to rush out and look up into the sky.

Zhao Long and the others were in the middle of watching over the pill furnaces in the courtyard when they heard the war drum, and their expressions instantly flickered. The ten Nascent Soul cultivators also opened their eyes and looked up in the direction of the tower and the eye.

That eye was where the sound of the war drum was coming from...

"The Drum of the Celestial Warrior!"

"We haven't heard the Drum of the Celestial Warrior for a long time!"

"Whenever that drum sounds, it means that an army of savages larger than 500,000 strong is coming!"

Even as the cries of alarm rose up, the beating of the drum caused the blood within the veins of the cultivators to flow more swiftly than before, Naruto included. The sound of the drum filled them with a desire to fight, and caused their bones and blood to vibrate. The sound even caused their cultivation bases to grow slightly more powerful.

That was the power of the Drum of the Celestial Warrior. Furthermore, there were additional benefits; all of the cultivators in Great Wall City found that they had begun to glow with a faint violet light.

That light was a type of armor that made their defenses stronger, and gave them a slight boost to agility.

Moments later, bugles began to sound, filling the city and drawing the attention of all cultivators of the five legions, no matter what they were doing.

Naruto walked out of his room to find that Uzumaki Lin was flying over toward him at top speed. A moment later, he came to a stop up in midair, his expression serious as he looked down at Naruto.

"The Wildlands has sent an almighty Deva Realm expert, along with more than 100 necromancers, 1,000 soul cultivators, and 100 savage tribes with 700,000 giants. There are also innumerable beasts and souls. This is the major attack we've been waiting for!"

Naruto shivered. Despite having been prepared for this moment, the news was still shocking.

"The deva patriarch has sent down orders that all cultivators in the city should prepare for battle. This is going to be the biggest fight we've had in years!

"Naruto, I'll be very busy commanding the army, and won't have time to watch out for you. Make sure to take care of yourself in the coming battle." With that, Uzumaki Lin looked over at the ten huge pill furnaces. Although they were radiating intense heat, they had not yet reached the point of detonation. Unfortunately, there was nothing else that could be done. Uzumaki Lin nodded at the ten Nascent Soul cultivators, who joined him as he flew off toward the wall.

Zhao Long and the rest of the battalion were already getting into their armor, and from their expressions, they hungered to do battle.

Ever since they had become Naruto's followers, they hadn't gone out to fight on the battlefield. Now, with the Drum of the Celestial Warrior tugging at their hearts, their killing intent was burning hot, and their eyes were shining with the red light could only be seen among warrior cultivators from Great Wall City.

Naruto looked around quietly at Zhao Long, Liu Li, and all of the other soldiers under his command. After a moment, he patted his bag of holding to produce numerous sets of armor, sundry magical items, countless bottles of medicinal pills, and stacks upon stacks of paper talismans. Although he didn't have so many items that they could be referred to as endless, he definitely had enough to equip more than a thousand soldiers for battle. Without any hesitation, he sent the items flying out to Zhao Long and the other hundred cultivators in the battalion.

"I'm your captain, and you fight under my banner!" he said. "Although I haven't given you much in the way of rewards up to this point, I've long since prepared for this battle. These magical items, medicinal pills, and paper talismans are for you!

"One suit of armor, isn't enough, so I've prepared multiple sets for all of you. Make sure you're well covered! Ideally, all of you should make sure to wear your spirit helmets at all times! In terms of magical items, I've prepared more than twenty for each of you. Even if you just use them for the force they unleash when detonated, at least you'll be able to take down more of the enemy!

"As we all know, you should never allow yourself to run low on medicinal pills, especially not in the middle of a battle! Therefore, I've prepared all sorts of pills for you, including pills to replenish your cultivation base, to heal injuries, and even some poison pills!

"Remember, when you go out into battle, you represent me, Naruto!

"Furthermore, I've personally prepared a set of 100 Soul Convergence Pills for each of you. As for orders for battle, I only have one... As you go about killing the enemy... please... you absolutely must make sure to keep yourselves alive!" Naruto's voice quavered a bit by the end of his speech. Waving his sleeve, he sent numerous bottles of Soul Convergence Pills flying out to Zhao Long and the rest of the battalion.

Everyone was stunned, and soon, their eyes brimmed with gratitude. All of them knew that the things Naruto was giving them had been purchased with his own battle credit.

Furthermore, everything was high quality, and would give them a clear advantage among anyone of the same cultivation level as them.

With that, Naruto took a deep breath and unleashed his murderous aura. Eyes glinting, veins of steel pulsing, he turned into a beam of light as he led his battalion up to the Great Wall. "Let's go!"

Chapter 492

A+ A- Chapter 492

Chapter 492: Battle Of A Hundred Tribes

Before Naruto and his battalion could even reach the Great Wall, a blood-colored cloud suddenly appeared on the horizon, spreading out with incredible speed.

Within the blood-red cloud were countless vengeful souls that looked quite different from the ordinary type. These souls were crimson, and seemed to contain something boundlessly evil.

As they neared, the souls began to clump together into the shape of a head, fully 9,000 meters tall. It was the face of a young woman, complete with long, flowing hair and eyes that sparkled with sinister coldness. Astonishingly, that head radiated an energy that seemed capable of rocking both heaven and earth!

Standing on the very top of the head was a young woman in a crimson garment, who was barely visible within the cloud. Although it was impossible to make out her features clearly, she radiated an aura that seemed to fuse with heaven and earth!

The scene playing out was completely and utterly shocking!

"Chen Hetian!" the young woman cried in a voice that wasn't loud, and yet echoed out in bizarre fashion, completely disregarding Great Wall City's spell formation to fill the entire city. Anyone who heard the voice would sense their mind spinning, and would feel as if they were drowning in a sea of blood. Virtually all of the cultivators of the five legions, including the ones inside the city, couldn't help but scream in response.

Naruto was leading his 100-man battalion up to the wall when the sound hit them all. His subordinates immediately found blood oozing out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and began to shriek in fear. Naruto also began to tremble; it felt like two daggers were stabbing into his ears, and it was only because of the Heaven-Dao aura within his Gold Core that he was mostly unscathed by the sound.

"A deva!" Naruto gasped. At the same moment, the eye atop the enormous pagoda in the middle of the city suddenly cast bright light out.

Although it wasn't the dead of night at the moment, the sky was dark, casting all the lands into murkiness. Therefore, when the huge eye began to shine brightly, it made it look like a heaven-shaking, earthshattering sun.

As the light spread out, the cultivators in Great Wall City and on the wall itself quickly recovered from the effects of the deafening noise, which was rapidly driven out past the shield.

Suddenly, an old man appeared within the huge eye, flashing through the air to appear high above Great Wall City. The instant he appeared, a ghost image sprang up resembling the entire city, which vanished moments later as he stepped out beyond the wall. "Back down RedDust, you she-devil!"

That old man was none other than Chen Yueshan's father and Zhao Tianjiao's Master, Chen Hetian!

He wore a long white robe, had a third eye on his forehead, and just like the young woman in red, seemed connected to both heaven and earth.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as these two shocking forces appeared out in the open. In the blink of an eye, Chen Hetian had reached the blood cloud, and vanished inside. Moments later, muffled rumbles like the crash of thunder echoed out from inside, and the cloud itself began to churn and seethe.

Naruto couldn't help but gasp at the sight. Clearly, that young woman was a deva from the Wildlands, and the battle she was fighting with Chen Hetian was beyond that which ordinary cultivators could participate in.

Moments later, Naruto and the rest of his battalion recovered, and proceeded up to the Great Wall. The first thing they heard upon arriving were the booms and screams of the combat going on beyond the wall.

There were more than 700,000 savages from over a hundred tribes out there, a mighty force that was so awe

-inspiring that Naruto's eyes went as wide as saucers upon seeing them.

So many vengeful souls were gathered that it was impossible to see the end of them; within their midst were the giants, who were equally innumerable.

Based on the slight differences between them, these giants were clearly from more than a hundred different tribes, and interspersed among them as they charged toward the wall were numerous vicious beasts.

The lands quaked because of their passage, and even the Great Wall itself seemed to be swaying back and forth.

And that was just the land. Up in the sky were even more giants and vengeful souls, screaming through the air along with thousands of soul cultivators!

Among those soul cultivators could be seen both men and women, all of them good-looking, but with cold expressions. They were people who could attack with vicious power, and at the same time, could control the savages among whom they were scattered!

Further off in the distance were even more powerful figures, figures who were guarded closely by even more soul cultivators. Necromancers! Most of the necromancers wore dark robes, and with the single wave of a hand would send countless vengeful souls screaming out in front of them in devastating attacks.

Even further off in the distance were five black altars hovering in midair. Black beams of light shot out from the five altars, connecting together in a pentagram-like sealing pattern. High up in the sky, the pentagram split the air and cracked it open, allowing numerous ghostly hands to stretch out from beyond, accompanied by cackling screams.

Atop each altar was a wrinkled old man in a black robe, all of whom were chanting scriptures that caused the rifts overhead to widen.

Those were merely the things Naruto could see with his own eyes. The army was so huge that it was impossible to even see where it ended.

The vast size of the army left Naruto wondering if the Great Wall forces could even hold out against it. As he looked around, he could see various expressions on the faces of the cultivators of the five legions. However, none of them were expressions of fear, as if this enormous army were nothing out of the ordinary.

It didn't take long for the Great Wall's shield to begin to ripple and distort, and then slowly begin to advance forward onto the battlefield. At the same time, the cultivators of the five legions began to break up into groups and charge forward to fight.

At that point, Naruto received orders from the colonel who was his commanding officer, instructing him to lead his troops into the fight.

As the shield advanced across the battlefield, the forces of the Great

Wall began to engage in close-quarters fighting with the Wildlanders.

The savage giants were the least difficult of the enemy forces to deal with, considering that they weren't very numerous. The vengeful souls which surrounded them didn't fear being destroyed, and had always been the most troublesome. However, that was before Naruto came to the Great Wall.

As of this moment, it was to Naruto's surprise that cultivators of the five legions were already tossing out Soul Convergence Pills into the fight.

Soon, the booms of exploding Soul Convergence Pill filled the air, as well as the shrieking of the vengeful souls who were sucked together in one place, and those who were destroyed in the secondary blast.

Not only were the vengeful souls affected in devastating fashion, but the savage giants were also injured by the explosions, and were sent staggering backward with blood spraying out of their mouths.

Even just one Soul Convergence Pill was powerful on its own, but to have more than a thousand exploding at the same time struck terror into the hearts of the Wildlands forces.

Thus, the five legions were able to advance slowly but surely across the battlefield!

In addition, the several thousand elite cultivators of the five legions were specifically targeting the soul cultivators and engaging them in deadly duels.

The sounds of fierce fighting filled the battlefield, and although everything seemed chaotic on the surface, the truth was that the Great Wall forces had the advantage, both because of their shield, and because of the Soul Convergence Pills.

As the shield inched across the battlefield, the five legions followed along, forcing the Wildlands savages to either retreat, or get stuck inside the shield to fight the cultivators, and eventually be cut down.

Furthermore, because of how the cultivators of the five legions were well-disciplined and frequently rotated their forces up to the front lines and back, there were few casualties. It was really a terrifying situation for the enemy.

It was the same on the ground and up in the air as well.

As for the huge eye atop the pagoda, its gaze swept across the battlefield, killing giants and decimating vengeful souls, hewing furrows into the earth and sending powerful ripples through the sky.

Chapter 493

A+ A- Chapter 493

Chapter 493: Soul Convergence Power!

Although the hundred Wildlander tribes vastly outnumbered the five legions, they were as disorganized as a plate of loose sand.

Normally speaking, the five legions would never have such an advantage. Considering how things normally went during such battles, the vengeful souls would always cause a huge headache for them, and also provide a powerful measure of defense for the Wildlanders.

Usually, the charge of the vengeful souls would prevent the Great Wall's shield from advancing across the battlefield, and could even push it back or threaten to break it.

After all, the attack of such a vast number of vengeful souls was difficult to even describe. Although a single soul couldn't do much to the spell formation shield, masses of them together were terrifying.

But now, as soon as that tide of souls got close to the five legions, Soul Convergence Pills were unleashed, instantly hewing out enormous spaces that were completely free of vengeful souls. Furthermore, the explosions would also injure the savages.

It was almost as if the Wildlands army had been grabbed by its figurative neck and was being shoved backward.

"Dammit, how come they have so many of those pills?!"

"This is impossible! I thought the Great Wall only used pill furnaces!" "What kind of medicinal pill is that? I remember something like this happening once, but that was a single pill. Dammit! They're throwing out thousands of them!"

"How... how do we fight back against this?!"

The fury of the tribal chiefs rose high into the heavens, and even the soul cultivators were left frowning.

As for the esteemed necromancers, of which there were only a few more than a hundred, all they could do was force the vengeful souls to attack in an attempt to somehow reverse the situation. Unfortunately for them, that was no simple task.

"This is all the doing of that Naruto!"

"Dammit! If we don't get rid of him, our Wildlands forces are going to suffer a huge loss!" Numerous hateful gazes were cast toward the Great Wall from the tribal chiefs and the necromancers.

All of that made Naruto quite nervous, and he even backed up a few steps in his position on top of the wall, worried that there might be another assassination attempt. Down on the battlefield, Zhao Long and the rest of the battalion were engaged in fierce fighting.

Compared to the five legions as a whole, Naruto's battalion wasn't very large. However, they stuck out quite a bit. After all, they all wore multiple layers of armor, and when they attacked, they destroyed their opponents as easily as a boulder crushing a drinking glass. In moments of danger, they would toss out vast quantities of Soul Convergence Pills, to the point where the other cultivators of the five legions were looking over at them enviously.

Most over the top was how they wouldn't hesitate to detonate their own magical items to defend themselves. Even some of the colonels in the army noticed what was happening.

"Whose men are those!?"

"Heavens! Look at how many Soul Convergence Pills they're using. How do they have so many?!"

"And the magical items! I just saw them blow up six at the same time!

Those things are expensive!"

"That's nothing. Look at how much armor they're wearing. Five or six layers at least! They don't even get hurt when the savage giants selfdetonate!"

The performance of Zhao Long and the rest of the battalion couldn't have been more eye-catching, and the numbers of vengeful souls and savages that they cut down far exceeded any of the other cultivators. Nothing could stand in their way as they fought

their way across the battlefield.

"Keep it up guys!" Naruto shouted excitedly. Turning to some of the soldiers manning positions on the wall near him, he proudly said, "Those are my men! What do you think? Pretty awesome, huh?"

The other cultivators were left speechless by how well-equipped Naruto's battalion was. Many of them even looked over at Naruto and sighed in envy.

"They're not Skin Flayers, they've obviously become Grandmaster Uzumaki's personal retinue..."

It was in that very moment that something like a sudden clap of thunder rang out in the distance. Uzumaki Lin and the other leaders of the army were clearly startled, and as for Naruto, his heart leapt in fear. Everyone looked over to see the clouds parting off in the distance as a river appeared!

The river was so wide it was almost like a sea, and was pitch black in color. Within those waters could be seen countless vengeful souls, all of them howling as they attempted to break free from the water. However, none of them seemed capable of doing so, and were swept away with the current.

"Underworld River!" someone shouted in alarm. Naruto immediately backed up a bit more, looking up wide-eyed at the huge Underworld River. Moments later, an enormous hand suddenly appeared next to the flowing waters of the Underworld River.

Instantly, incredible pressure erupted out, causing the Great Wall's spell formation shield to tremble. Even Chen Hetian, who was in the middle of battling the red-garbed young woman, was shocked by what was happening.

Next, the huge hand began to chop down like a blade, slashing into the Underworld River, causing intense, mind-numbing rumbling sounds to fill the air.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

It was with a deafening roar that the Underworld River was ripped open, creating something like a tributary that poured out in the direction of Great Wall City!

The gap that had been opened up began to close, but couldn't prevent a massive number of vengeful soul from pouring out. Black Underworld River water rushed through the air toward the battlefield, and the Great Wall shield.

Some of the savage giants weren't quick enough to react, and were swept up by the water. Screaming, they were dissolved away, instantly becoming part of the river itself.

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it happened so quickly that before anyone could react, the countless vengeful soul from the Underworld River had reached the Great Wall's shield.

A huge boom echoed out as the shield trembled in unprecedented fashion, and rapidly began to weaken!

As the shield weakened, it shrank back, forcing the cultivators of the five legions to retreat. Naruto immediately began to get nervous.

As for Uzumaki Lin, when he saw what was happening, he roared, "Everyone, toss out your Soul Convergence Pills! I refuse to believe these vengeful souls can't be vanquished!"

The cultivators of the five legions gritted their teeth and began to toss out Soul Convergence Pills as they backed up.

It took only the briefest of moments for the sky to fill with countless medicinal pills. The pills were designed to affect the souls, not the waters of the Underworld River, and yet, they were still partially effective.

Furthermore, there were so many of them that when they exploded, they transformed into numerous whirlpools within the Underworld River.

Instantly, those whirlpools began to absorb the nearby vengeful souls, and at the same time, began to merge together with each other as they grew.

Soon, one gigantic whirlpool could be seen in the Underworld River, which sucked in a massive amount of soul bodies before it trembled and then detonated!

The blast spread out, sending Underworld River water splashing out in all directions, along with countless miserable shrieks.

Although the Great Wall's shield had been weakened, the cultivators of the five legions still had the advantage. The Underworld River began to fade away, and the gap that had been opened up in it had already closed up. Apparently, the hand which had opened the gap could only do so once.

Countless vengeful souls on the battlefield had been destroyed, and the ones which remained behind had been thrown into such chaos that the necromancers couldn't control them, and some even began to flee or attack the Wildlanders.

It was the perfect opportunity for the five legions to make their move. Without the slightest hesitation, Uzumaki Lin sent out orders to counterattack. The shield once again began to advance, the cultivators of the five legions moving with it.

Zhao Long and the other members of Naruto's battalion were like razor-sharp blades that slashed through the enemy with reckless abandon.

In response to everything which had just occurred, Naruto frowned. Even he hadn't been aware that the detonation of his Soul Convergence Pills could be so devastatingly effective.

"Weird," he thought, blinking a few times. "I never thought they would be so powerful..." He could also see numerous leaders among the savage giants glaring at him in hatred. If looks could kill, then he would definitely have been chopped to pieces and boiled to death on the spot.

"Um..." For the first time, Naruto actually felt a bit guilty. At the same time, he felt more in danger than ever. Sadly, they were just on different sides, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Chapter 494

A+ A- Chapter 494

Chapter 494: Not The Time To Fear Death

As Naruto's anxiety mounted, the twists and turns in the battle down below caused the red-garbed young woman fighting Chen Hetian to frown.

However, the intensity of the fight she was participating in ensured that she didn't have much attention to spare. The blood cloud surrounding her seethed, and rifts snaked out into the sky as a result of the attacks being unleashed.

As the cracking sounds rang out above, some of the rifts even reached down to the ground, almost like lightning bolts that caused huge explosions when they touched the soil.

Naruto's scalp prickled in fear as he watched one of those rifts hit a soul cultivator who was comparable to the Nascent Soul stage. As soon as the rift touched him, he was ripped to shreds, destroyed in body and soul.

"Deva..." he breathed. This was his first time witnessing the true power of devas, and it left his mind reeling. The level of power on display far surpassed that which a human body could handle. It was something completely beyond what ordinary cultivators were capable of dealing with.

"Merge oneself with heaven and earth," he murmured, "and borrow their boundless might..." From his perspective, everything around Chen Hetian and the red-garbed young woman became weapons to use at their disposal, whether it was the wind, or the clouds, or other things. Anything in heaven and earth could be used like divine abilities!

There were also illusory forms which took shape around them, figures from ancient times which began to battle each other... Thankfully, the Great Wall still had the overall advantage in the

battle. The cultivators of the five legions continued to advance, and the tide of souls was pushed away. Without the vengeful souls to protect them, the army of 700,000 savage giants had to fight the five legions directly, and were suffering one setback after another.

Naruto felt quite relieved because of that. After all, despite having participated in quite a few wars, this was definitely the largest one he had ever been part of.

However, in the exact moment in which Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, the over one hundred necromancers among the Wildlands forces suddenly looked up. Because of how the necromancers had just lost control of the vengeful souls, that meant that they now had attention to spare. One by one, they began to settle down cross-legged, after which they pulled out black sticks of incense, the smoke of which they inhaled deeply, causing them to instantly slip into deep trances.

Moments later, even as large groups of soul cultivators approached to guard them, shadowy figures appeared above the heads of the necromancers!

They were the necromancers' own souls, which emanated shocking auras as they then shot toward the Great Wall's shield!

Although the shield could keep most Wildlanders out, with the help of the incense they had just inhaled, the necromancers could now pass through it!

This was almost the same thing which had occurred during the assassination attempt on Naruto!

As soon as Naruto saw the souls flying out of the necromancers, he backed up again. As he did, the souls became beams of light that shot forth and pierced through the Great Wall's shield. Without hesitation, the five

five generals of the various legions, Uzumaki Lin included, flew forth to meet the necromancer souls in battle, followed by the various major generals of the armies.

The souls of the necromancers were thus prevented from reaching the Great Wall itself. Furthermore, the huge eye also began to shoot out terrifying, destructive beams of light.

At the same time, the savage giants received new orders from their tribal chiefs. Eyes turning red, they howled and began to charge toward the Great Wall, disregarding all danger to themselves!

Booms rang out as they began to self-detonate, throwing themselves fearlessly at the shield, which began to distort and weaken once again!

The Wildlanders were making a major offensive!

Tens of thousands of giants blew themselves up, instantly shoving the shield backward across the battlefield. Many of the cultivators of the five legions who weren't quick to react were caught up in the explosions and died screaming.

However, such screams paled in comparison to the screams of the cultivators who the giants managed to grab ahold of.

Naruto's face went pale when the sounds reached his ears. He even personally watched as two of the giants ripped a cultivator in half and began to eat him alive. As a result, both giants clearly began to head toward a cultivation base breakthrough.

The savages also practiced cultivation, but instead of using spiritual energy, they absorbed soul power. However, that didn't mean that they didn't desire to absorb spiritual energy. In fact, they found spiritual energy to be delicious!

"Eat them!"

"It's been a long time since I dined on a cultivator..."

"Hahaha! Now that's the flavor I'm talking about!" The savage giants charged forward with

forward with madness, grabbing any cultivators they could get their hands on and devouring them as ravenously as wild beasts.

Some of them continued to self-detonate, explosions which not only weakened the shield, but also completely destroyed any cultivators unlucky enough to get caught up in them.

Naruto's ashen face began to flush in response to what he was witnessing. Although he had heard that the savages ate human flesh, this was his first time seeing it actually happen.

"Now is not the time to fear death!" he growled through gritted teeth.

Although he had felt a bit guilty earlier because of his Soul Convergence Pills, now that he saw the brutality of the Wildlanders on full display, his heart suddenly turned cold and grim.

After a moment of silence, he spun and shot back down to Great Wall City, transforming into a beam of bright light that headed directly toward the Armory.

Back in the Armory, numerous pill furnaces were set up in concentric rings. Although the ten 300-meter-tall furnaces weren't being attended by the Nascent Soul cultivators anymore, they were still bright red, and were emanating intense heat waves.

Naruto quickly examined the ten huge pill furnaces, then took a deep breath and waved his sleeve. In response, all of the huge furnaces rumbled up into midair and then began to circulate around Naruto.

Then, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing numerous sealing marks to fly out to the furnaces, backed by the power of his Gold Core and filled with a Heaven-Dao aura. As they sank into the pill furnaces, muffled sounds like thunder began to echo out. Although the huge pill furnaces

huge pill furnaces had not quite reached the point of detonation yet, Naruto was a skilled apothecary, and naturally had his ways of forcing them to explode early. By relying on the external power of the sealing marks he had just unleashed, he could prematurely destabilize the medicine within the furnaces.

Although the resulting detonation would be slightly less effective, a huge amount of power had already built up in the furnaces during the past several days. Having placed his sealing marks onto the furnaces, he shot back up toward the Great Wall, furnaces in tow.

When he returned, quite a few cultivators of the five legions noticed him, as did many of the Wildlands savages. After all, the 300-meter-tall furnaces were completely eye-catching, especially considering that they were all bright red, and emanated shocking fluctuations.

"Those are..."

"Grandmaster Uzumaki's pill furnaces!"

Expressions of excitement and profound anticipation appeared on the faces of the cultivators of the five legions.

Similar expressions could be seen on the faces of the generals and major generals who were fighting the necromancer souls, especially Uzumaki Lin.

As for the faces of the necromancer souls, they flickered with shock, and the Wildlands savages gasped.

The tribal chiefs were especially astonished.

"They're... they're so huge!"

"Heavens…."

Before anyone could recover from their shock, Naruto flew up into the air above the Great Wall, howling as he hurled the ten enormous furnaces out over the battlefield. They were like ten burning suns that pierced through the air, sailing right into the army of countless savages.

In that instant, the entire battlefield went quiet, and all eyes came to be fixed onto the burning, sun-like pill furnaces...

Chapter 495

A+ A- Chapter 495

Chapter 495: Devil Uzumaki

The chiefs of the more than one hundred Wildlands tribes were all completely shaken.

During the course of previous skirmishes, the power of the exploding pill furnaces they had seen left them completely shocked. Now, the sheer size of the furnaces they were looking at left them incapable of even breathing.

"They're... they're so huge!"

"If those ten furnaces explode..." The chiefs' eyes went wide as their hearts were slammed by waves of shock. And they weren't the only ones. Upon seeing the furnaces, the tens of thousands of madly charging giants were suddenly overwhelmed by painful memories.

"Devil Uzumaki!"

"Dammit, it's that Devil Uzumaki!"

In their terror, countless numbers of giants tried to retreat. Devil Uzumaki was the nickname the Wildlands tribes had given to Naruto after the appalling scenes of devastation he had wreaked upon them.

Not even Naruto was aware that he had been given that nickname, and yet, it was already widely known in the Wildlands.

In that moment in which all eyes were locked on the pill furnaces, a shrill cry suddenly rang out from within the Wildlands forces. "Pay any price to lock down those pill furnaces!"

Instantly, numerous soul cultivators and tribal chiefs all drew upon the full power of their cultivation bases to summon a massive, allencompassing net.

The net shot across the battlefield with incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, had reached the pill furnaces. Although the net managed to block some of the furnaces, the furnaces were moving so quickly that four of them managed to slam into the ground, instantly crushing the giants who had been too slow to evade them.

As soon as they touched the ground, a deafening boom rang out that could shake heaven and earth, a sound that surpassed everything else on the battlefield, a sound that rose to the highest heavens and the furthest reaches of the earth!

As the first of the 300-meter-tall pill furnaces filled with cracks

and exploded, lands shook and mountains were rocked. It was like the end of days as a blue sea of flames erupted out from the location of the pill furnace, instantly spreading out to fill an area ten of thousands of meters across.

Wherever the blue flames passed, agonized shrieks rose up as the giants were incinerated. In addition to the flames, the shrapnel from the furnace itself became meteoric blades of flame that slashed through everything in their path!

And things weren't over yet! There was also a shockwave which spread out, picking up the burning giants and hurling them violently across the battlefield.

The boom of the explosion made it seem like heavenly lightning was crashing into the earth in an unceasing waterfall. Simultaneously, tendrils of five-colored smoke spread out rapidly, boring into the bodies of the giants, provoking bloodcurdling screams as the giants' flesh began to rot and decay.

Others amongst the giants were seemingly struck senseless, and simply stood there unmoving as the flames burned them away!

And yet... things still weren't over! The second pill furnace cracked and exploded, then the third and the fourth. One by one, massive explosions ripped across the battlefield, filling an area 300,000 meters across, and transforming it into little more than rubble!

And that was only four of the pill furnaces. The other six had been wrapped up by the huge net and sealed.

Even still, the explosion of those four pill furnaces was a devastating blow to the Wildlanders!

Vast numbers of giants were burned alive. Meteor-like shrapnel pierced bodies left and right, and the shockwave sent countless savages tumbling across the battlefield.

Most calamitous of all was the five-colored smoke!

That smoke didn't leave a single living thing in its wake. It was the result of countless types of strange pills whose medicinal effects touched the savages in ways that not even Naruto could have anticipated.

Agonized shrieks continued to ring out as blood sprayed out of the mouths of the

the soul cultivators, many of whom were sent tumbling backwards. Furthermore, those four pill furnaces had not only killed countless savages, but they had also wreaked incalculable damage on the survivors.

Those surviving giants... had their will to fight destroyed! Their determination was cut away, and as they backed away, their eyes were filled with fear, astonishment, and utter incredulity.

"Devil... Devil... Uzumaki!" Chaotic cries of alarm began to ring out, as if they were they only way to dispel the terror felt in the hearts of the Wildlanders. When their horrified gazes turned toward Naruto on the Great Wall, he could sense how fearful they were.

Actually, it wasn't just the savage giants who were reacting in such a way. As of this point, many of the cultivators of the five legions had forgotten to breathe, and were looking over at Naruto with looks of extreme reverence and awe.

He had created the original exploding pill furnaces, and he had concocted the Soul Convergence Pills. As for the supernova-like detonations just now, they had also originated with him... He had crushed the enemy with impunity over and over again, to the point where every last individual among the five legions knew his name.

As the effects of the explosion began to fade away, it became clear that the space in front of the five legions on the battlefield was almost completely empty... There were only four enormous craters... and six ruined furnaces that had not exploded.

The battlefield was almost completely silent, the only sounds to be heard coming from the deva battle, and the fighting of the souls of the necromancers against Uzumaki Lin and the other leaders of the armies. Everyone else on the battlefield was simply staring in complete and utter shock.

Further off in the distance were the five altars in pentagram form and the black beams of light. The black-robed old men sitting there chanting scriptures were trembling as they looked out

looked out at the battlefield. Then they glanced up at the devas fighting, and then looked silently over at Naruto standing on the Great Wall.

Despite how far away they were, it was almost as if he were standing right in front of them.

Currently, Naruto was staring with gaping jaw at the battlefield. After a moment passed, he remembered to breathe, after which, his heart began to thump in fear. At the same time, he realized that his battle credit was rising at shocking speed.

"At this rate, I'm definitely going to be promoted to colonel!" Even as his heart began to swell with excitement, a gaze was suddenly leveled upon him from within the blood cloud.

At the same time, a stream of blood mist shot out in his direction; it was none other than an attack by the Deva Realm young woman in red clothing.

However, there was no way Chen Hetian would simply allow that to happen. Laughing loudly, he blocked the attack, and then, the fighting between the two of them resumed at even more intense levels.

At first, Naruto was startled, but seeing that the attack couldn't reach him, he sighed in relief. However, before even half of that sigh could escape his lips, more gazes fell upon him from within the Wildlands army. Those gazes came from the numerous tribal chiefs, all of whom were now staring fixedly at Naruto.

The ferocity and madness in those gazes completely surpassed anything from before...

"What are they all looking at me for...? Well, I think my work is done here anyway. This place is way too dangerous now. I'll just head off the wall." Having made his decision, he was just about to leave when, all of a sudden, a howl rippled through the air that seemed intense enough to shred the heavens.

As it did, the rifts which had previously opened up in the heavens were completely ripped open, creating a pentagram-shaped hole. Muffled cries could hole.

Muffled cries could then be heard. "Hungry... so hungry..."

At the same time, one terrifying ghost hand after another stretched out, which quickly grabbed the black-robed old men and dragged them up into the rifts.

The old men didn't resist at all! They simply allowed the ghost hands to drag them up, whereupon sickening crunching sounds echoed out!

That strange scene instantly caused the cultivators of the five legions to stare in shock, and threw their breathing into chaos.

As for Naruto, his eyes went wide as he looked at the pentagramshaped opening up in the sky, a bad feeling rising up in his heart. Even as he began to race backward toward the city, an incredible rumbling sound erupted from the pentagram, revealing a gargantuan mouth!

Apparently, that mouth existed in some location beyond the heavens, and was so huge that the opening could only reveal part of it.

It was greenish, with black teeth that were stained with blood and gore. Almost as soon as that mouth appeared, more words could be heard.

"Hungry... so hungry...!" Even as everyone was shaken, the mouth shifted to face the direction of the Great Wall and then begin to inhale deeply...

Heaven and earth dimmed, and everything began to shake as an indescribable gravitational force erupted from the mouth. Not even the spell formation shield could do anything to stop it, and within moments, many of the cultivators of the five legions were shocked to find themselves flying up into the air, their bodies completely beyond their own control!

Whooshing sounds could be heard as more than half of the five legions' cultivators were suddenly sucked beyond the shield and toward the huge mouth!

There were quite a few cultivators on the Great Wall itself who were affected, even Naruto. Trembling, he found that he was completely incapable of retreating. A scream escaped his lips as he was sucked off of the Great Wall and out onto the battlefield beyond the shield.

Chapter 496

A+ A- Chapter 496

Chapter 496: I'm Friends With Your Commanding Officer

"Noooo..." Naruto screamed. However, the incredible gravitational force simply plucked him off of the wall and sent him flying out into the air and past the spell formation shield.

A sensation of profound crisis filled Naruto, rumbling in his mind like heavenly thunder and causing his face to drain of blood.

Even as he screamed, he looked around and realized that there were many other cultivators of the five legions who, just like him, were being sucked toward the enormous mouth behind the pentagon.

Some of them had already reached the mouth itself, and were being shredded into masses of blood and gore. The entire battlefield was shaken by their screams; this was a huge blow to the forces of the Great Wall!

The mouth was like a hungry ghost, and the gravitational force exerted by it caused heaven and earth to grow dim. The screaming winds swept the cultivators through the air, who were now calling upon all sorts of techniques to try to protect themselves.

Some used secret magics, others used powerful magical treasures. Some combined the two. A few even called upon their powerful trump cards!

Some succeeded and some failed. As for Naruto, he was so scared out of his mind that he could only think of one thing.

"I can't let myself reach that mouth..." Gritting his teeth, he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, whereupon intense fluctuations of spiritual power erupted out, transforming into a restrictive spell that instantly tried to lock him in place.

However, it wasn't very useful... As he watched himself flying over the heads of the savage giants, and as the enormous ghost mouth grew larger, Naruto truly started to get anxious.

Eyes completely bloodshot, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then slapped his hands onto his chest.

"Living Mountain Incantation!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Instantly, his body began to expand, almost as if he were being surrounded by countless boulders. As the boulders merged together and swirled around him, he flew along another 300 meters or so, whereupon Naruto wasn't visible anymore. Instead, he had been replaced by a huge stone golem!

He was now 300 meters tall, like a small mountain, and also much heavier than before. Even with the gravitational force tugging at him, he suddenly lurched to a stop, and began to fall downward!

Then, he landed on the ground with a boom, causing shockwaves to roll out from the point of impact. However, despite being on the ground, he was still being pulled toward the mouth.

Naruto's stone golem face bore the same features as his normal face, except that they were twisted ferociously as he threw his head back and howled. Shoving his hands forward, he stabbed them into the ground in front of him, causing everything to tremble!

Using all the power at his disposal, he shoved himself like a nail into the ground, ensuring that, no matter how wildly the gravitational force tugged at him, he didn't move.

The gravitational force didn't last for very long, only about ten breaths of time. Then the mouth behind the pentagram rift closed, taking the blood and gore that remained of the cultivators it had sucked away with it. Then, the rift slowly began to close up.

Naruto was shivering, his breath coming in ragged pants as he reverted from his Living Mountain Incantation form to normal. Seeing the huge mouth fade away, he felt as if he had just passed through a deadly tribulation.

Naruto wasn't the only one among the cultivators of the five legions to have resisted the gravitational force exerted by the mouth. After all, considering that there were hundreds of thousands of cultivators among the forces of the Great Wall, it w

as impossible for the mouth to have affected them all. Furthermore, many of them had trump cards of their own to use, and as such, had been able to pass through the tribulation.

However, there was no time to rejoice. As the surviving cultivators looked around, they realized that they were surrounded by numerous Wildlands giants, whose cold eyes seemed to flicker with ravenous hunger!

The truth was that the Wildlanders didn't necessarily care whether or not the huge mouth actually consumed many of the five legions cultivators. They simply wanted to get them outside of the shield.

As long as they were outside of that shield and within reach of the army, then most of their lives would be within the hands of the Wildlanders!

The generals and major generals of the armies were in the middle of fighting the necromancer souls, and were unable to do anything other than shout, "Fall back immediately!"

At the same time, more beams of light began to shoot out from the enormous eye to attack enemies on the battlefield. Simultaneously, the spell formation shield began to advance, hoping to bring the exposed cultivators back under its protection.

Some of the cultivators who were close to the shield to begin with were able to retreat behind it with reckless bursts of speed. However, there at least 200,000 who were too far away to make it, or who were blocked by the vast numbers of giants!

"Kill them!" the tribal chiefs shouted. The truth was that the savage giants on the battlefield didn't need any orders to do just that. Roaring, they began to charge the nearest cultivators!

Hundreds of thousands immediately intercepted the cultivators who had been pulled beyond the shield, making it impossible for them to retreat!

Lingering fear could still be seen on Naruto's ashen face, and he was still trembling. His heart felt cold as he looked around at the battlefield, almost on the verge of tears. Moments ago, he had been safe on the wall, relishing the sensation of having so much battle credit being added to his name. But now, he was now surrounded by the enemy, and in mortal danger.

This turn of events was too sudden, and he almost couldn't accept it. However, as he looked around at the scores of savage giants, he realized he had no choice. All of them were glaring at him with madness and greed as they rushed in his direction, cackling madly.

"Devil Uzumaki's here! Kill him!"

"Hahaha! I can't believe Devil Uzumaki is right in front of me!"

"He's mine! I'm gonna eat him!"

Naruto almost felt like his head was going to explode as the giants neared. They were so close that he could smell the rotting stench that came from their mouths.

His eyes were bloodshot, and the sensation of deadly crisis was like a needle slowly poking into his mind. However, it was in that moment that, all of a sudden, his veins of steel began to pulse, and a murderous aura erupted out.

"Hey, I'm... I'm friends with your commanding officer..." he said.

However, the clever words which came out of his mouth did no good. This was not a situation in which he could retreat, and as such, his fleshly body began to pulse with power.

"My flesh belongs to me, not you people! You want me dead? Well you're gonna regret it!" With that, he slapped his bag of holding, causing numerous suits of armor to fly out. Most people would, at most, wear a few sets of armor at the same time. But somehow, Naruto was using a strange method to don far more than was normal. Plus, he was putting them on with blinding speed.

Flying swords flew out to surround him, as well as magical items. Within the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by scintillating, multicolored light.

And yet, things weren't over yet. Stacks of paper talismans appeared, which he slapped all over himself, then activated, creating a glittering shield with more than a thousand layers.

Quicker than words could describe, Naruto was armed to the teeth, which was when the dozens of incoming savage giants slammed into him. These giants all had profound cultivation bases that were comparable to Core Formation. However, they were completely incapable of penetrating Naruto's defenses, and in fact, were hit with a backlash that sent them stumbling backward, blood spraying out of their mouths.

The other nearby giants stared, dumbstruck.

"Dammit, I can't believe he's wearing more than ten suits of armor! How do we pierce through that!?"

"And look at all the paper talismans! Even one of them alone would be very expensive, and he's using more than a thousand!"

"Heavens! He's like a living bag of holding!"

Considering that he was temporarily invincible, Naruto took a deep breath and mustered his courage. Seemingly ready to put his life on the line, he charged toward the nearby giants.

"You people push things too far!" he roared. Although some observers might think that having so many suits of armor, defenses, magical items, flying swords, and the like would be very cumbersome, they didn't affect his speed at all. In the briefest of moments, he was upon the nearest savage giant, whom he slammed into before a reaction was even possible.

Chapter 497

A+ A- Chapter 497

Chapter 497: Going All Out!

Even as the savage giant was shoved away, Naruto's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he pointed out, sending a dozen flying swords out at top speed, completely cutting off the giant's path of retreat.

There was no time for the giant to even react. In the blink of an eye, miserable shrieks rang out as the flying swords slashed him to pieces.

He died so quickly that he didn't even have a chance to self-detonate before being destroyed in body and soul.

Naruto didn't hesitate for even a moment. After cutting the giant down, he exploded into action, bearing down on the next giant and waving his hand to send his flying swords forward.

The giant wanted to evade, but Naruto was too quick, and within moments, the giant's head was flying through the air!

As that happened, more giants closed in and prepared to attack.

Naruto looked up, simultaneously reaching out with his right hand and then slamming it into the ground, causing rumbling sounds to echo out, as well as a gale force wind. The savage giants' faces fell as Naruto unleashed incredible speed to fight back against more than ten of them at the same time.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Although the scene playing out now didn't count for much when considering the battlefield as a whole, in that particular area, Naruto was a like a god of death!

The giants in the area couldn't do anything to stop him or even obstruct his path. However... overall, there were just too many savage giants.

It didn't take long before more than a hundred of them were unleashing deadly attacks. Naruto's defenses were beginning to crumble, one layer at a time. And yet, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and even gleaming with madness.

"What a bunch of bullies! I can't believe all of you are ganging up on one person!" Both offended and enraged, he shot forward like a meteor, then slammed into the chest of one of the giants, who flew backward uncontrollably. However, the rest of the more than one hundred giants were circling around him, cutting off all avenues of escape. Finally, Naruto slapped his bag of holding and tossed out a big handful of medicinal pills.

As they flew through the air, they exploded, sending streams of hallucination smoke out in all directions. As soon as the smoke bored into giants' bodies, they began to act very strangely, giving Naruto the perfect opportunity to break past them.

However, even as he did, hundreds more howling giants poured toward him, their killing intent surging. There were even a few in the lead position who reeked of the aura of self-detonation.

Naruto's eyes widened. By this point, he couldn't evade even if he wanted to. More than ten savage giants all self-detonated simultaneously, sending corrosive blood out in all directions. Naruto's face fell as a huge portion of his defenses crumbled. And yet, he borrowed some of the force of the momentum to flee!

Unfortunately, the battlefield was huge, and he was a great distance from the spell formation shield. There was no way he could make it to the shield in any short period of time, and furthermore, hundreds of savage giants were swarming forth to surround him.

"You're dead, Devil Uzumaki!"

"I'm gonna eat ya!" As the giants closed in, more fierce fighting broke out. The madness in Naruto's eyes burned hotter than ever as he waved his hand, causing roughly thirty percent of the magical items swirling around him to explode.

The shocking force released by the detonation of the magical items sent hundreds of savages tumbling backward with blood spraying out of their mouths. However, before Naruto even had an opportunit

y to flee, more giants began to close in on him.

Shockingly, they appeared to be trying to bury him with numbers.

Cold grins appeared on the faces of the distant tribal chiefs. As of this point, they were certain that as long as nothing unexpected happened, Naruto would be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt. However, some of the chiefs even began to head in his direction.

As for the other chiefs, they headed in other directions to start fighting the five legions' colonels who had been pulled out past the shield!

As the battlefield sank into chaos, Chen Hetian's anxiety began to mount. Never before had the Wildlands used tactics like this, and it had caught him completely unprepared. Unfortunately, considering how he was being pinned down by the red-garbed young woman, there was little he could do reverse the situation.

Although Uzumaki Lin and the other generals and major generals were still inside of the protection of the spell formation, the necromancer souls they were fighting were extremely dangerous and vicious.

The entire tide of battle had been reversed in the shortest of moments. The shield continued to advance, and more cultivators were returning to its safety, but too many of the five legions' forces had been separated, making it difficult for them to extricate themselves from danger.

Because of the recent turn of events, the battlefield had quickly become a sea of blood!

Naruto's throat was already hoarse from the shouting. He was completely inundated by a sensation of deadly crisis, and was spattered with blood and gore. Considering how he was being completely surrounded, he finally had to abandon his idea of trying to use frigid Chakra to teleport to safety.

Although he had put on an impressive performance so far, the truth was that up until now, he had mostly been relying on fleshly body power. After all, he was outside of the Great Wall, where there was almost no spiritual power at all. If he used magical techniques, he would not be able to replace the spiritual energy they used, and would quickly drain himself.

Once that happened, death would be just around the corner!

Therefore, he could only use spiritual power in the most critical of moments. Gritting his teeth, he decided to detonate another large portion of magical items.

An earth-shaking explosion rang out, and more savage giants were seriously injured. However, the bloodthirsty madness in their eyes shone brightly as, instead of retreating, they lunged forward and selfdetonated.

The booms sounded like drums of death that finally battered through the remaining layers of Naruto's personal shields.

His armor could only hold out for so long, and even the detonation of his last group of magical items barely allowed him to break through. By that point, his armor was crumbling into dust.

Behind him was a pile of corpses. In the short amount of time that the fighting had been going on, Naruto's strength and madness had shocked the nearby giants to the core!

"I can't believe Devil Uzumaki... single-handedly killed so many of us!"

"Dammit! Not only is he shockingly skilled at concocting medicine, but his battle prowess is incredible! He can't be left alive! I'm definitely gonna eat him!"

"He has shocking levels of defense, but at the moment, is right out in the open. He's definitely going to die today!" Roaring, the giants once again raced to surround him. Among the group were three who were larger and fiercer than the others, and also faster. They were the first to close in on him.

Naruto's face was ashen, and he was stooped over, panting for breath. The giants were closing in on him like a rising tide, and it almost seemed impossible for him to kill all of them. When he heard their roars, and smelled the reek of blood in the air, his eyes turned crimson.

"You think you can kill me just because I ran out of defenses?" All of a sudden, he started laughing, a laughter that contained no small amount of madness. By this point, he had already decided to throw caution to the wind. It was obvious that he was in a deadly predicament, and if he didn't go all out, he wouldn't even have a chance of making it out alive.

Continuing to laugh, he stood up straight, and his fleshly body power began to thrum. Then, a blast of wind shot out in all directions as his skin turned completely golden, and the illusory image of a Heavenly King appeared behind him. Simultaneously, numerous complex magical symbols that resembled hexing marks appeared all over his legs and arms.

His Undying Live Forever Technique was now on full display!

With that, he took a step forward, and then unleashed... the Mountain Shaking Bash!

The sudden development happened too quickly for the three of the fastest giants to react. A moment later, a string of afterimages stretched out as Naruto shot forward toward the nearest of them.

That giant had originally been grinning in confidence because of his own incredible fleshly body strength. However, when Naruto slammed into him, his eyes went wide, and before he could cry out... he was launched into the air with a bang!

The cracking sound of breaking bones could be heard, and blood spurted out in all directions. Finally, the giant screamed, and yet before he could land on the ground, a pop could be heard as he exploded into a cloud of blood and gore!

A single move on Naruto's part had killed him in body and soul!

Chapter 498

A+ A- Chapter 498

Chapter 498: Who Else Wants To Die!?

After exterminating the first giant, Naruto spun to face the other two incoming giants. Just when they were about to unleash attacks, Naruto grinned viciously and lifted his right hand. Even as the second giant was striking out with his fist, Naruto's hand moved as quickly as lightning to grasp onto his throat.

His hand wasn't even big enough to wrap around that throat, and yet his hand still contained incredible destructive power. In the blink of an eye, his two fingers clamped down with crushing strength!

Black light spread out, and the giant's throat and neck were crushed!

It was none other than the Throat Crushing Grasp!

Things weren't over yet, though. After killing the second giant, Naruto's right foot swept through the air toward the third giant, who was just preparing to slash at him with a serrated greatsword.

However, when Naruto's right foot slammed into the sword, cracking sounds rang out as the sword shattered. Then Naruto's foot contacted the giant's arm, reducing it to a haze of gore. Even as the giant screamed, black threads spread out to completely seal him!

Apparently, the sealing was an indescribably painful one. Continuing to scream, the giant dropped to his knees, unable to move.

It was none other than the Undying Hex!

"Who else wants to die!?" Naruto growled. His skin was gold, his hair was flying in the wind, and his murderous aura was as explosive as ever. He looked like some sort of god!

As he glared at the other savage giants in the area, his eyes radiated madness and ferocity, causing the savages to hesitate, their eyes shining with

disbelief.

They had just witnessed how powerful he was, even when surrounded by more than a thousand giants. Before, they had assumed he was impressive only because of his defenses, but now they had watched him kill three of their own in a row, even without any defenses to back him up.

Not a single one of them dared to respond to his challenge...

He had killed three giants with precision and ruthlessness. However, it had not been a simple task; they had not been ordinary savages, but rather, had cultivation bases comparable to the great circle of Core Formation. They were actually half a step into the Nascent Soul stage.

So far, Naruto's Undying Live Forever Technique was the key to everything. Because of how it helped him recover quickly, it ensured that his battle prowess remained very potent for a long time.

In fact, although his murderous aura made him seem very threatening at the moment, he was actually taking time to relax and build back some energy.

It was in that moment that a voice rang out from off in the distance.

"Here I come!"

Then, the ground began to tremble, and Naruto looked up to see a 300-meter-tall giant running in his direction, clad in beast pelts.

The giant's hair was flying about crazily, and a ferocious expression could be seen on his scar-covered face. He made a very impressive sight, and clearly possessed massive amounts of power. As for the other giants, they rushed to make way for this newcomer, expressions of reverence on their faces.

As the giant got closer and closer, the other giants began to howl excitedly. "King!"

"King!"

"King!"

Naruto's heart immediately started pounding. It wasn't quite clear what

what the other giants meant; was 'king' this giant's name? Either way, the simple wave of his hand knocked all of the other giants out of the way.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto looked over at him, the giant glared at him with vicious rage and then lifted his food to stomp on him!

"Time to die!" Both in terms of size and speed, this giant was completely shocking, and fairly radiated intense fleshly body power.

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and yet he knew that he wouldn't be able to evade this attack. If he even tried to, he would quickly be surrounded and overwhelmed by the other giants in the area.

"You'll be the one dying!" Naruto yelled, his anger burning. Instead of trying to avoid the giant's descending foot, he clenched his hand into a fist and struck out!

From a distance, the two opponents were so mismatched it almost seemed like a joke. The giant was 300 meters tall, whereas Naruto was like a tiny ant. And yet, he was relying on his fleshly body power to fight back with a fist strike!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

A deafening boom filled the sky, causing the entire battlefield to tremble!

At the same time, a shockwave rolled out in all directions!

When Naruto's fist made contact with the giant's foot, he began to shake. Howling, he poured all of the power he could into the fist strike, causing his skin, his bones, and even his blood to begin to vibrate.

It was almost as if his life force and body itself were about to be destroyed!

"How could I possibly die in this place!?" Naruto howled. Pulses of boundless

of boundless power rippled through him, originating from his own flesh and blood as it created a powerful energy to counter-attack.

"Die, die, DIE!" Naruto roared as he punched out again and again.

The power of his Undying Skin, Undying Heavenly King, and Undying Tendons all merged together, making a black glow that spread out from his fist to cover the huge giant!

The 300-meter-tall giant began to tremble, and then let out an agonized howl as his right leg collapsed into a mass of blood, ripped flesh and shattered bone. Then, the black light continued to spread out, doing the same thing to the giant's other leg, his torso, his arms, and finally his head. In the blink of an eye, his entire body was reduced to a mass of gore!

Blood splashed down like rain in all directions as the giant was destroyed in body and soul, leaving Naruto standing there completely alone.

Silence spread out as the surrounding giants stared in shock at what had just occurred. Their minds felt as if they were being struck by countless bolts of lightning.

"King is dead?"

"How could this be happening? King! He was King! The boundlessly powerful King was actually killed by Devil Uzumaki's fist strike!?"

"How is this possible!? Heavens! Is Devil Uzumaki a Holy Tribe warrior, or are we?! That fleshly body power, it... it..." All of the savages were shaking in terror of Naruto.

Naruto had clearly proven that his power came, not from his defenses, but from his fleshly body. Not even the boundlessly powerful King had been a match for him!

As the rain of blood spattered down onto the surrounding savages, their hearts drained of the desire

of the desire to do battle. At the same time, that figure standing in the middle of all the falling blood became like a thing of nightmares.

Naruto wasn't affected at all by the corrosive rain of blood as he looked around coldly at the rest of the giants in the area.

"Who else wants to die!?"

Not a single giant responded. Instead, they just stood there, panting, their expressions those of terror.

"Who else wants to die!?" Naruto repeated, his murderous aura raging. Then he took a step forward, only to find that the ashen-faced giants stepped backward in response.

"You want to kill Naruto? Well let me ask you. Who else wants to die!?" The thunderous roar of Naruto's voice spread out across almost half of the battlefield, reaching the ears of many of the other savage giants as they fought with the cultivators of the five legions.

As for the cultivators who heard, they trembled and looked in the direction the voice came from. Some of them had strange expressions on their faces, but most of them gritted their teeth and began to head in his direction.

Before long, more and more of the scattered five legions cultivators began to close in on Naruto. They were wounded and bedraggled, and yet none of the giants dared to block their paths. Before long, a group of hundreds had gathered around Naruto.

When they saw him, and the mountains of corpses that surrounded him, their hearts were filled with complete and utter shock.

"Our respects, Grandmaster Uzumaki!"

"Our respects, Grandmaster Uzumaki!"

As their stunned cries rang out across the battlefield, it became clear that all of these cultivators now viewed Naruto as their figurehead.

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	11. Chapter 11

I

Chapter 499

A+ A- Chapter 499

Chapter 499: Frigid Domain!

When Naruto saw all of the cultivators gathering in his area, and how the suddenly cowardly giants were doing nothing to stop them, his heart quivered with an anxious feeling.

For some reason, the current situation seemed like a great opportunity...

"The larger the group, the stronger we are..." he thought. The expression on his face remained as cold as ever, and his energy continued to surge as he waved his hand and called out in a hoarse voice.

"Let's go! I'm taking you back to the Great Wall!"

As his words entered the ears of the surrounding cultivators, they began to tremble.

In their moment of helplessness, surrounded by savages and faced with the prospect of almost certain death, what they wished for more than anything was to get back to the Great Wall. Of course, all of them knew that doing such a thing on their own was virtually impossible.

That was especially true when they saw so many of their comrades falling in battle. To be in a situation like that, only to have someone offer to lead them back to the Great Wall, someone who the giants were terrified of and who seemed actually capable of following through on his words... led to a sensation they would never ever forget. The gratitude which rose up within them was intense to an indescribable degree!

Who else wants to die!? The words so recently uttered by Naruto were still echoing in their hearts, which were now pulsing, not with anxiety, but with anticipation. Without any hesitation, they began to form up protectively around Naruto, their eyes shining with hope and the desire to live.

"Let's go!" Naruto said. "We kill anybody who tries to get in our way! Join our voices together so that more cultivators can join us on our way back! Even if we don't make it all the way back, we'll make sure that everyone in this part of the world remembers our battle cry for the

rest of their lives!"

Naruto's voice was like the last bit of hope in the world, and it caused the surrounding hundreds of cultivators' eyes to shine bright red.

After Naruto was satisfied that the cultivators were sufficiently worked up, he waved his arm, gritted his teeth, he stepped forward to lead the formation, which was the best way to control the power of the group. And then, even as he and the rest of the cultivators hovered right within the jaws of death, he shouted out at the top of his lungs and burst into motion toward the distant spell formation shield!

"Advance!"

The rest of the cultivators also began to shout out.

"Advance!"

"Advance!"

Hundreds of them clustered around Naruto, adding their power to the formation as they shot like a deadly spear across the battlefield.

As they moved along, the savage giants immediately backed up, convinced that if they didn't, they would die. That feeling was especially bolstered by the savagery Naruto had just put on display.

All of them knew that if they simply fell upon him with wave upon wave... they would eventually overwhelm him with numbers.

And yet... not a single one blocked his path. The hundreds of cultivators shot across the battlefield with Naruto in the lead, who relied only on his fleshly body power, and didn't draw upon a single magical technique.

Of course, there was a reason for that. In his opinion, there were obviously a lot of people who were aiming to kill him, and thus, he needed to keep his spiritual power in reserve as a trump card. Thankfully, his Undying Live Forever Technique came with shocking restorative powers, and as such, he was able to lead the cultivators forward without any resistance!

They crushed anything in their path like a hammer crushing an ice cube. As for the cultivators he led, they had grasped onto that last bit of hope, and were willing to give their all to make sure that no one even got close

close enough to take it away.

As they barreled forward, their voices rang out for everyone to hear.

"Who else wants to die!?"

"Fellow Daoists of the five legions, join us and get back home!" More and more cultivators who were locked in deadly combat on the battlefield did everything they could to join the group, which was now growing larger and larger. Soon, it didn't number in the hundreds, but rather, the thousands.

As a result, their momentum picked up, and they became even harder to resist!

They were now a major focus on the battlefield, to the point where the cultivators who had managed to stay in place on the Great Wall could see them. Even Chen Hetian caught a glimpse of them, and was instantly moved.

"Unleash all the power of the eye!" he bellowed. "Focus the spell formation shield to extract Naruto!" In response to his words, numerous beams of light shot out from the enormous eye, screaming through the air to clear a path for Naruto.

As for the spell formation shield, it trembled as a small section bulged out and began to spread across the battlefield toward the group he was leading.

By this point, more and more tribal chiefs were paying attention to what was happening.

Finally, the red-garbed young woman fighting Chen Hetian suddenly shouted, "Kill him!"

Chen Hetian roared in anger and attacked with full force, but other than that, could do nothing but watch as the thousands of soul cultivators who were standing guard over the necromancers suddenly turned their heads in Naruto's direction.

A large number of them then rose to their feet, becoming beams of light that shot toward Naruto and the cultivators he led. They moved with incredible speed, and despite the fact that they were made up of all sorts of handsome men and beautiful women, from the mysterious light that shone in their eyes, it was obvious that they possessed powerful soul magic.

Naruto had heard Chen Hetian's words earlier, and saw both the

both the beams of light shooting out from the enormous eye and the spell formation reaching out to meet him. Even as excitement rose up in his heart, the red-garbed young woman called out her orders, and whistling sounds filled the air as numerous soul cultivators shot in his direction.

"Complete and utter bullies!" he thought, his anxiety mounting. Just when the chance to escape was right in front of him, these people were rushing to block his path, and as a result, his anger began to burn.

"Brothers, cut down those soul cultivators. With them out of the way, we can return to the Great Wall!" The surrounding thousands of cultivators could see exactly what Naruto meant, and all began to shout out battle cries.

Unfortunately, the soul cultivators didn't come alone. By utilizing some unknown technique, they forced the retreating giants' eyes to suddenly turn blank, as if they had suddenly lost their ability to think. Then the giants roared and joined the charge. It was the same with the various battle beasts.

Thankfully, not all of the giants were affected, only some of them. Even still, the group that did join in the attack was not small compared to Naruto and the cultivators he led.

In the blink of an eye, the soul cultivators were on them, some of them focusing on Naruto, and others attacking the men with him. Almost immediately, the troop formation began to fall apart.

A middle-aged soul cultivator suddenly faded into being right in front of Naruto, his eyes shining with cold light as his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Instantly, green strands of flame sprang into being in his palm, which shot toward Naruto.

Behind him were seven additional soul cultivators, none of them slower than him. Apparently, all the first soul cultivator planned to do was slow Naruto down to give his fellows time to finish him off.

Further off in the distance were even more soul cultivators, dozens of them, spreading out

them, spreading out to try to cut down all possible paths of escape for Naruto.

"Wanna kill me?!" Naruto shouted, his eyes flickering with madness. Instead of trying to dodge out of the way of the expressionless middle-aged soul cultivator, Naruto charged forward, seemingly oblivious to his own life or death. He slammed into the man, instantly causing blood to ooze out of his own mouth, but then didn't hesitate to unleash the Mountain Shaking Bash. Instantly, the man was shoved backward with deadly force into the group of seven incoming soul cultivators.

This sudden development caused the seven soul cultivators' eyes to flicker. Without any hesitation, they shoved their hands out, sending seven illusory soul dragons roaring toward Naruto as if to consume him.

"Just what I've been waiting for!" Naruto roared. Instantly, blue light appeared in his pupils, and before anything else could happen, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering frigid Chakra erupted out!

Frigid School Will Evolving Incantation!

Although the frigid Chakra was not quite at the Frigid Paragon level, it was very close!

The frigid Chakra instantly spread for thousands of meters, causing all savages and soul cultivators within that area to begin to tremble as they iced over. The giants were especially affected.

As for the soul cultivators, their expression flickered; this turn of events completely surpassed their power of prediction. Especially shocked were the soul cultivators closest to Naruto, who were stunned to find that their cultivation bases were freezing up.

In the blink of an eye, an area thousands of meters across had become like the dead of winter. Icy coldness filled the area, as well as astonishing frigid qi. Everything was frozen over to the point where... blue snowflakes appeared and began to fall.

Although Uzumaki was trembling with fear and anxiety, he was also grittily fierce as he said, "Time to do some killing!"

He had no desire to die, and therefore, the only option now... was to kill the enemy!

This was a frigid domain!

This was... Naruto's world!

Chapter 500

A+ A- Chapter 500

Chapter 500: Battle Prowess That Shocks The Masses!

Within the frigid domain, giants and soul cultivators alike trembled in fear as their cultivation bases were seemingly frozen solid!

Not a single person under Nascent Soul could escape its effects!

Even people in the great circle of Core Formation, or quasi-Nascent Soul experts were by no means exempt! The shocked giants and soul cultivators' first instinct was to flee.

However, thanks to the frigid Chakra locking them down, they were incapable of doing so. Naruto took a step forward, and with the wave of his hand caused the middle-aged soul cultivator in front of him to explode to bits. The other seven soul cultivators were howling in rage, and yet couldn't do anything to fight back.

Moments later, booms filled the air as the seven Core Formation soul cultivators exploded to bits, sending frozen chunks of blood and gore out in all directions.

"This is my world!" Naruto said, his eyes shining with fierce light as he waved his finger down at the ground, causing the frigid Chakra to surge out again!

This time, it didn't spread out for thousands of meters, but rather, for 30,000!

The 30,000-meter frigid domain was a tool of the Frigid Master!

Within that area, everything was frozen solid and couldn't stand up to Naruto any more than dried twigs and limp weeds. Each and every attack he unleashed cut down another Core Formation soul cultivator, one after another!

Everything was happening too quickly; nothing could prevent the slaughter from being carried out!

A savage giant shivered, and then his head exploded, sending frozen chunks of flesh out in all directions. Naruto burst through him, hand flashing in an incantation gesture that caused a dozen nearby soul cultivators to explode to bits!

However, there were so many savages and soul cultivators that even with the help of his Frigid Master powers, Naruto couldn't wipe them all out in a short period of time. As the moments ticked by, the terrified and despairing soul cultivators looked around with flickering eyes, hoping to find some way of extricating themselves. Soon, some of them began to twitch and move.

When Naruto saw that, he snorted coldly, performed a doublehanded incantation gesture, and then stretched his arms out wide.

"Domain projections!"

Instantly, what appeared to be a dozen human-sized mirrors appeared in the area, from within which stepped a dozen shadowy figures.

Shockingly, all of those figures looked exactly like Naruto!

These clone-like entities were frigid domain clones who immediately began to slaughter the enemies around them.

Giant after giant, soul cultivator after soul cultivator, one by one they were destroyed in body and soul. Even those who were regaining their ability to move couldn't do so quickly enough, and died screaming.

Booms rose up as the entire frigid domain became like a terrifying hell!

Unfortunately, to use divine abilities and magical techniques in this way would quickly drain one's cultivation base. Were Naruto back in the lands of Heavenspan, it would have been easier to use and easier to recover from. But he was in the Wildlands, where there was no spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Whatever spiritual power he lost was lost for good, and therefore, he was being drained of energy at a rapid pace.

As such, Naruto could only keep up the current action for the space of a dozen breaths of time or so. After that, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and the freezing domain around him began to melt and fade away.

As that happened, screams began to ring out; some of the soul cultivators and savage giants had been smashed to pieces, but because they were frozen in place, hadn't been immed

iately killed.

But now, blood and gore filled the 30,000-meter area, and the ground was littered with the corpses of hundreds of giants and roughly seventy or eighty soul cultivators!

The other soul cultivators and giants who hadn't entered the freezing area earlier were now left gasping in horror and disbelief at Naruto.

"H-how... how is this possible?!"

"How could he be so strong? He's not a Core Formation cultivator; that was obviously the power of the Nascent Soul stage!"

"He slaughtered those Core Formation experts as easily as if he were stomping on ants!"

Not only were the giants and soul cultivators shocked, but the cultivators of the five legions who had remained within the freezing area but weren't affected by the coldness were also dumbfounded.

As they looked around, panting, their eyes began to shine with passion, and for many, worship!

In an era where the law of the jungle prevailed, powerful experts always gained respect. That was even more true in the cultivation world than the mortal world. As of this moment, the way that Naruto had dominated the battlefield ensured that a deep impression would be left on the hearts of all present!

"Come with me," Naruto said loudly. "We're going back to the Great Wall!" Naruto's breath was coming in ragged gasps, and exhaustion gripped him tight. He had already drained much of his cultivation base. However, he still threw his head back and roared as he led the cultivators of the five legions charging across the battlefield once again.

The way the cultivators clustered around him protectively caused him to sigh in relief; despite the carnage he had just unleashed, he was jumpier than ever. Only he could truly be aware of how nervous he was at the moment.

However, he didn't think it was appropriate to let anyone know how afraid he was, which was a skill he had long since mastered. As he sped along, he pulled out a bottle of spirit alcohol and guzzled it down, sparing some to give to a few of the surrounding cultivators.

At the same time, he surreptitiously pulled out a Godly Vestige Pill and tucked it into his palm in case he needed it later.

His Godly Vestige Pills were his trump cards. One such pill could completely heal any injuries in the blink of an eye. Although it wouldn't restore his spiritual power, he did have plenty more spirit alcohol in his bag of holding.

Everyone in the group around him was getting excited as they charged viciously toward the shield. At the moment, the savages and soul cultivators were powerless to stop them, and by now, they were only about 3,000 meters away from the shield. However, there were also hundreds of soul cultivators speeding in their direction.

Further off in the distance were numerous tribal chiefs who radiated shocking auras. Clearly, they had the battle prowess of the Nascent Soul stage, and yet, under the command of Chen Hetian, the enormous eye within Great Wall City continued to send destructive beams of light out to prevent them from getting closer!

Unfortunately, there were too many Core Formation soul cultivators for the enormous eye to do anything about them. As they closed in, they unleashed wave after wave of soul power which forced the giants to join their attack.

The giants' eyes would turn blank, and then they would howl as they lurched forward and self-detonated as soon as they got close enough!

From the look of things, the giants and soul cultivators were going to throw everything at their disposal toward Naruto to prevent him from escaping!

The power of the detonations rippled out, and corrosive blood splashed everywhere. Many of the group of thousands of cultivators were injured, and tumbled backward as a result. At the moment, it seemed like the troop formation they had created would fall apart at any moment.

Anxiety mounting, Naruto guzzled down another mouthful of spirit alcohol, then burst into motion, unleashing more frigid qi.

However, as the frigid Chakra spread out, the soul cultivators' eyes flickered, and all of them quickly responded by sending out clouds of black mist. Within those mists were soul shadows that screamed through the air toward Naruto, fighting back against the frigid Chakra and simultaneously providing the soul cultivators with a measure of protection.

Theoretically speaking, all Naruto had to do was unleash slightly stronger frigid qi, or keep the current frigid Chakra roiling out for a bit longer. If he did, then his opponents wouldn't be able to do anything against him, at least not for the following ten breaths of time.

After all, the soul cultivators from earlier had been powerless to resist, and the current batch were only just able to fight back on a small scale!

However, Naruto could do neither of those things. Not even relying on spirit alcohol could negate the fact that there was no spiritual energy in the Wildlands.

There was only one thing that Naruto could do, and that was rely on his veins of steel to go all out to fight the soul cultivators, even if he got injured in the process!

And that was exactly what he did. He quickly closed in on the nearest soul cultivator, ignoring the divine ability being unleashed against him. Grabbing his opponent's arm, he unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash, crushing him to pieces!

Things weren't over yet, of course. He took another step forward, placing him right in front of a soul cultivator who had just summoned a pitch-black soul sword. Allowing the sword to bite into his shoulder, he grabbed the man's neck with his left hand, then crushed his fingers down viciously.

Without pausing for a moment, he continued forward, using Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning as well as a host of wind blades to destroy everything in his path!

Chapter 501

A+ A- Chapter 501

Chapter 501: Trying To Defeat A Nascent Soul Expert!

Naruto seemed like he had already descended into madness. He had received numerous injuries, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. Behind him, the ground was littered with corpses, and the soul cultivators ahead of him were completely shaken.

To them, Naruto seemed insane and completely bereft of the desire to live. Despite having killed quite a number of soul cultivators, he was clearly seriously injured.

However, he didn't seem to care about any such injuries as he strode forward, shouting, "Die!"

Suddenly, an old soul cultivator appeared in front of him, reaching out with a hand that was already decaying into blackness. By the time his hand was extended, it looked like nothing but ashen bones as he tried to grab Naruto's chest, apparently to rip out his heart.

At the same time, eight other soul cultivators in the area drew so deeply upon themselves that blood began to ooze out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Soul power battered Naruto's frigid Chakra as they charged in attack; if they could just slow down his momentum, then perhaps their combined force would be enough to destroy him in body and soul.

In the face of such danger, Naruto laughed viciously and allowed the old man's pitch-black bone hand to slam into his chest. The old man's eyes lit up with delight, and just when he was about to grab down, his face fell as he realized that it felt like his hand had run into a chunk of iron. Heart pounding, the old man made to retreat.

However, that was when Naruto lunged forward, headbutting the man in the face. As the man's head was crushed, he screamed and tried to fight back, and yet, the frigid Chakra had suppressed even his quasiNascent Soul cultivation base, and a moment later, he was dead in body and soul.

After killing the old man, Naruto spun, his hands flashing in a double-handed incantation gesture to summon a gale-force wind that blasted against the other eight soul cultivators

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and yet he shot like lightning toward the eight enemies, landing vicious fist strikes onto their chests that sent them tumbling backward like kites with their strings cut.

All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but actually occurred within about ten breaths of time. During that time, he had already killed at least a hundred soul cultivators, and many savage giants. Behind him, the ground was soaked with blood and gore.

As his frigid Chakra faded away, he staggered a bit to the side, where some of the cultivators of the five legions reached out to prop him up. Those cultivators' eyes were bright red; after witnessing Naruto's brave ferocity, they were also pushed deeper into madness, and took it upon themselves to protect him as they again charged forward.

Naruto's face was pale white, and he was having a hard time breathing. However, with the help of the other cultivators, he managed to grit his teeth and put a Godly Vestige Pill into his mouth. Then he pulled out a few bottles of spirit alcohol to restore his spiritual energy.

The main reason he had been willing to sustain such injuries moments ago was because he had the Godly Vestige Pill to fall back on. As soon as the miraculous pill entered his mouth, heat washed through him, and in the blink of an eye, all of his injuries were being healed.

Meanwhile, the cultivators continued to charge toward the shield, which was now only about 1,500 meters away. Along the way, other nearby cultivators had noticed what was happening, and had been hurrying over to join them the entire time, causing their numbers to swell to over 10,000.

Of course, they weren't the only large group of cultivators who had managed to group together. There were seven or eight other

such groups, all of whom were in formation and trying to reach the shield. Furthermore, all of them were rallying around a powerful figure of some sort.

And of course, Naruto was just such a leader!

However, he was a bit different from the other core figures who had rallied troops around them. Those people had long since grown in prestige and power. In contrast, Naruto had slaughtered his way into fame in a very short time!

He seemed to lack any fear of death, and was willing to fight back against hundreds of soul cultivators and savage giants. Because of that, he had gained the complete approval of everyone around him.

As his group blasted through layer after layer of opposition, and got closer and closer to the shield, one of the Nascent Soul tribal chiefs finally used some unknown method to make it past the destructive beams of light being sent out by the huge eye.

At first, the tribal chief was only about 30 meters tall, but as he closed in, he rapidly grew in height to 300 meters tall. Every step he took caused his energy to rise to even more shocking heights, even causing a powerful wind to sweep about in all directions.

As he sped toward Naruto, cries of alarm rang out from the cultivators.

"Time to die, Devil Uzumaki!" he howled in rage, his voice echoing like thunder. The mere sound of his voice was such that the cultivators who had been clustered protectively around Naruto began to tremble and cough up blood.

With that, the tribal chief lunged forward, shoving his mountain-like hand forward and unleashing pressure that the cultivators of the five legions could not fight back against. From the look of it, there was nothing anybody could do to stop this chief.

Even as Naruto stood there, supported by another cultivator, he looked up, and his pupils constricted.

"Nascent Soul..."

There was no time for hesitation. He had already surmised that the Wildlanders wouldn't let him escape so easily, which was why he had held back so many of his other trump cards.

Although the scene which was playing out was shocking, it was by no means unexpected. Gritting his teeth, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then dashed forward to meet the tribal chief, frigid Chakra swirling around him, his Undying Live Forever Technique on full display.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them met, and an intense boom filled the air. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he almost felt like the pressure and might of the Nascent Soul stage alone was enough to crush him into oblivion!

However, the tribal chief didn't come out unscathed. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his eyes shone with incredulity as he staggered backward several steps.

"What level is your cultivation base?! You're not injured?!" In his shock, the tribal chief asked two questions in one breath. From what he had been able to tell, this Devil Uzumaki was actually on equal footing with himself, which seemed like a complete impossibility.

Naruto wiped the blood off of his mouth and said, "My cultivation base level? The level that can kill you!"

A quick glance confirmed that the beams of light from the giant eye would definitely keep the other tribal chiefs at bay temporarily. However, if he didn't take care of this tribal chief quickly, then death would be just around the corner.

Eyes flickering, he decided to completely throw caution to the wind. Quickly performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he shoved his hands down toward the ground!

"Waterswamp!"

Instantly, ripples spread out through the air, causing water vapor to spring out of nowhere as the entire area was transformed into a huge swamp!

When that swamp appeared, the tribal chief's face fell, and the profound sense of deadly crisis that inundated him caused his heart to begin to pound.

"This Devil Uzumaki is very strange..." The chief's eyes flickered with killing intent; well aware that he couldn't let Naruto finish using this technique, he suddenly lunged forward.

"You're dead!"

"Nope," Naruto retorted. "You're dead!" With that, he flung his hands over his head, causing his hair and his blood-stained garments to whip about as energy surged in all directions.

"... Kingdom!"

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The lands quaked as a massive spike shot out from the ground, then a second, and then a third! One after another, they rose up like mountains, provoking looks of wide-eyed shock from everyone on the battlefield.

The tribal chief had been in the middle of lunging forward, and was stabbed directly by one of the spikes. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and a look of utter shock appeared on his face.

Frigid Chakra poured into him as he looked down at the spike, and the swamp around him. From what he could tell, that water vapor hid some shockingly enormous beast!

And yet, things weren't over yet. Naruto leaped into the air above the tribal chief, spreading his arms wide as he howled, "Living Mountain Incantation!"

In the blink of an eye, rocks began to form around him until he looked like a huge stone golem!

With the power of a living mountain, he bore down on the tribal chief and then crushed him with vicious ruthlessness!

"Elder Brother Zhao can kill Nascent Soul experts, and so can Uzumaki

Naruto!"

Chapter 502

A+ A- Chapter 502

Chapter 502: How Is This Possible!?

Below the tribal chief was the Waterswamp Kingdom. He was surrounded by frigid qi, and was looking up at Naruto's living mountain power. The combination of all of those factors created a deadly gambit that was Naruto's last hope for survival. These were his most powerful trump cards!

Early on, he had assumed that he would face a moment of ultimate danger such as this, and as such, he had been holding back a bit of fleshly body power, and even some of his spiritual power, all for a moment like this!

Furthermore, because of his Godly Vestige Pills, he was much more confident of being able to survive. Therefore, he also knew that he had to go all out!

Although he feared death, in a moment like this when the flame of his life force could be snuffed out at any moment, such fear was useless. If he wanted to keep himself from dying, he had to risk his life!

Throw caution to the wind!

That was his line of thinking. As he descended, the maddened tribal chief also drew upon every ounce of power he could to fight back against this unprecedentedly deadly crisis. The most unbelievable aspect to the entire situation was that he was a Nascent Soul expert. Although he was only in the early Nascent Soul stage, that still counted as Nascent Soul!

And it didn't matter how strong Naruto was, the chief could sense that he was only in the late Core Formation stage, not even the great circle!

Despite that, despite the fact that this was a late Core Formation cultivator, he imparted such a sensation of imminent danger that the chief couldn't help but feel both humiliated and terrified.

However, there was no time for thought or planning, nor any time for discussion. The tribal chief's cultivation base power erupted out, bolstering his fleshly body to the point where he looked like a heavenly king!

The savage giants were different from soul cultivators in that they focused mostly on fleshly body cultivation. Although this tribal chief had some magical techniques at his disposal, the true foundation of his power was fleshly body strength.

"Wanna kill me?!" the chief roared, throwing both his hands above him to smash into the Living Mountain Incantation.

"None other!" Naruto roared back, unleashing everything that his Living Mountain Incantation, Waterswamp Kingdom, and Frigid Master powers were capable of.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Wind blasted out in all directions, and brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth. The entire battlefield trembled, and cultivators from both sides of the conflict all simultaneously stared in the same direction to see what would happen.

The eyes of the other tribal chiefs were glued to the scene, and at the same time, their minds were battered with waves of shock. Even the necromancers and the top experts from the five legions were all looking over at Naruto!

He was the complete and utter center of attention!

As everyone looked on, a heaven-rending, earth-crushing boom ripped through the air. Then, a moment later, the Frigid Master aura began to fade, and the Waterswamp Kingdom spikes began to vanish.

Up above in the air, Naruto was trembling and coughing up blood as he tumbled backward. Cracking sounds rang out as his living mountain form cracked and crumbled. Soon, his true form was revealed, and after coughing up another mouthful of blood, he popped another Godly Vestige Pill into his mouth!

When he looked up, he didn't even take the time to see the outcome of his attack, but instead, bolted toward the shield.

At the same time, the fading effects of the Living Mountain Incantation, Waterswamp Kingdom, and Frigid Master aura slowly revealed the Nascent Soul tribal chief.

At first, he stood there completely unmoving, but th

en a breeze swept passed, and he trembled. Then the chief slowly crumbled and transformed into ash, starting from his feet and head, and slowly spreading to the rest of his body!

He had been completely destroyed, from his physical form down to his soul!

In the moment of his death, his eyes continued to shine with terror and defiance. And yet, nothing could stop him from fading away into the wind...

The battlefield went silent for a long moment before panting sounds began to rise up, and then a huge commotion.

"Impossible!"

"Heavens! A late Core Formation cultivator just killed a Nascent Soul expert!"

"This... this... He wasn't an ordinary Nascent Soul expert either, he was a tribal chief from one of the Wildlands tribes! His fleshly body power must have been shocking!"

"This Devil Uzumaki... Dammit, not only did he come out alive, but he actually ended his opponent! What brilliance!"

Even as the exclamations of astonishment rang out, the more than

10,000 cultivators in the area began to cry out in joy and cluster around Naruto as they all shot toward the shield.

The other giants and soul cultivators in the area were completely shaken. As Naruto barreled toward them, their faces turned ashen with fear, and they scattered, not daring to provide even the slightest bit of resistance!

Naruto had put far too many giants and soul cultivators to death. He had even killed one of the tribal chiefs. How could any of them even think of trying to stand in his way!?

The enormous eye began to send beams of light out with even more rapidity, making it impossible for any other tribal chief to get closer. Meanwhile, Naruto's own battalion was also speeding in his direction. They had been trying to reach him the entire time, intent on joining and guarding him.

After all, Naruto had always treated them well, plus, his current achievements in battle ensured that he would almost certainly be promoted in the army. How could they possibly be anything but aweinspired?

As for the spell formation shield, it continued to bulge out toward him, to the point where all of the savages and soul cultivators, and even the tribal chiefs could see... that he would be within that shield in moments!

In the moment he did, a tremor ran through him, and all of the valor and bravery from moments before vanished, to be replaced by lingering fear. His face was ashen, and he was panting as he turned back to look at the countless savages gnashing their teeth beyond the shield.

"You just wait for Lord Uzumaki to come back and show you a thing or two!"

Inside of the shield, Uzumaki Lin and the other top experts were still fighting the necromancer souls. Unsightly expressions could be seen on the faces of the necromancers, many of whom had received grievous injuries. As soon as Naruto made it back inside the shield, the necromancer souls exchanged glances and made as if to charge in his direction.

And yet, how could Uzumaki Lin and the other top experts let that happen? Without the slightest hesitation, all of the major generals, as well as other Nascent Soul experts from the five legions, leapt forward to fight them. Moments later, the necromancer souls scattered, not in an attempt to get at Naruto, but to flee back outside of the shield.

They all headed in different directions, and although some of them were close enough to Naruto that they might have been able to send a casual attack in his direction, considering how many cultivators surrounded him, and considering how he had fought the tribal chief, they were so frightened that they just left.

Naruto maintained full vigilance as all of this happened. Soon, the necromancers were gone, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Surrounded by all the cultivators he had led off of the battlefield, he began to speed back toward the Great Wall.

When he finally reached the wall itself, he finally seemed to run out of energy. Heart pounding, he thought back to everything which had occurred during the fight, and was left with the sensation that he had barely escaped with his life.

Eventually, as evening gave way to night, Chen Hetian and the redgarbed young woman finally stopped fighting. The day of battle had finally come to an end, and the only thing left behind on the battlefield were mounds of corpses.

The Wildlands had suffered grievous casualties, and yet, so had the five legions. After a night of rest, the fighting resumed in the morning, just as fierce as before.

Three months passed, during which time the fighting raged. At the same time, the savage giants' army continued to receive reinforcements, and it was the same with the five legions. Cultivators from World City were continually being sent to bolster the forces at the Great Wall, and ensure that their overall strength didn't lessen.

During the three months, one name after another rose to prominence within the five legions, all thanks to the battle credit they had accumulated. Of course, Naruto was the most spectacular of them all.

Although he never went back to the front lines during the three months which had passed, his bravery and veins of steel during the initial battle caused the more than 10,000 cultivators who he had led to safety to view him with reverence and awe.

Furthermore, his battle credit continued to rise, although no one in the five legions could determine the exact extent of it!

Meanwhile, a similar situation occurred among the Wildlands forces. Because of the fierce fighting, one powerful expert after another rose to fame, the vast majority of them being... necromancers!

A month before, as the battles seemed to be winding down, the necromancers seemed to abandon the tactic of using souls as their weapons, and instead began to fight personally on the battlefield. When they did, the attacks they unleashed shocked everyone present.

That was because the magical items they wielded, despite not being at the level of precious treasures, were all decorated with a minimum of seven spirit enhancement designs!

There were even some of them that had received tenfold spirit enhancements!

Most shocking of all were three particular necromancers who were in the late Nascent Soul stage. Their magical items unleashed shocking power that not only enabled them to easily kill other Nascent Soul cultivators, but also allowed them to challenge quasi-Deva Realm experts like Uzumaki Lin.

Each of those three Necromancers wielded magical items with thirteen silver designs on them. Shockingly, they were magical items with thirteenfold spirit enhancements!

Many of the cultivators from the legions were shocked by this, especially Naruto. In fact, it was so unbelievable to him that he personally went up to the wall to see for himself.

"How is this possible?!"

Chapter 503

A+ A- Chapter 503

Chapter 503: Promotion To Colonel!

Naruto almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. In the lands of Heavenspan, the most advanced spirit enhancement he had ever seen was tenfold.

But now, in a completely unexpected turn of events, he was looking at magical items which had been enhanced far beyond that.

"There's something strange going on. Could it be... that the Wildlands harbors some mysterious secret regarding spirit enhancement?!" Even as he pondered the issue, he subconsciously cast his senses toward the turtle-wok inside his finger.

Most telling of all about the whole thing was that Uzumaki Lin and the other most powerful experts didn't seem to find the matter unusual at all. It was almost as if they were used to seeing necromancers using such spirit enhanced magical items. Furthermore, their eyes burned passionately at the sight of them, and they attacked with greater fervor than before, clearly in the hopes of getting their hands on one of the enhanced treasures.

Apparently, for the generals and major generals, one of the key things they could gain from battle wasn't battle credit, but rather, the spirit enhanced treasures of the necromancers.

The fighting went on for another month, after which the Wildlands finally retreated... The Great Wall forces didn't chase after them.

After all, the Great Wall had suffered extensive losses in this battle as well.

Neither Chen Hetian nor the red-garbed young woman came out on top in their conflict, and in fact, both received similar injuries. It was only in the moment that the Wildlands armies began to retreat that Naruto finally got a good look at the young woman in red.

She wore a long red garment and had flowing black hair. She seemed very young, and was beautiful in a way that surpassed even Chen Manyao.

Of greater significance, however, was her cultivation base, which made her radiate an air of nobility that would cause anyone who looked at her to feel their heart pounding in their chest.

Of course, Naruto didn't really care about any of that. At the moment, he was looking glumly at Li Hongming, who had come to the Armory to visit Naruto the very afternoon the fighting ended. Li Hongming had been a colonel to begin with, and still was, but had risen within the ranks of the colonels thanks to his accumulation of battle credit during the fighting.

"Naruto, you're famous now! Completely famous! According to the secret reports I saw, the Wildlands has increased the bounty on your head. Do you know what the reward is for your death?

"A deva beast soul! Although the reward is only one of them, and it's not clear what type, that's still something incredibly valuable. After all, if you can collect enough five elements deva beast souls to meet the requirements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, you can step into the Nascent Soul stage!

"Only people in the top 10 of the Wildlands Execution List have rewards like that attached to their names. Congratulations! Naruto... you're already in the top 10!

"The only people even close to you on that list are Nascent Soul cultivators. In fact, you are the only Core Formation cultivator in the top 30!

"Devil Uzumaki. That's what the Wildlanders call you now!" Li Hongming was sincerely offering his congratulations to Naruto, and had actually hurried over here just to tell him this news. However, Naruto was left shaking in fear.

"A deva beast soul as a reward..." Naruto couldn't help but gasp in shock as his heart began to pound. He could only imagine how badly the savages and soul cultivators in the Wildlands would want to kill him now.

Li Hongming was left sighing continuously in his heart. When he thought back to the time Ba

i Naruto had first arrived, it would have been impossible to predict that he would become so famous both inside and outside the Great Wall.

The two of them chatted a bit more about some random things, until eventually Li Hongming could sense that Naruto was feeling down. Finally, he patted his shoulder and left.

Afterward, Naruto sat down and sighed.

"Ah, whatever. No matter where I go, I always put on a breathtaking performance. Ai... Worst case scenario, I just don't go outside the Great Wall after this. I'll stick around until the ten years are up, and then head back to the sect." Only by comforting himself in this way could he somewhat still his pounding heart.

And yet, his anxiety just wouldn't go away. Not only was he worried about the Wildlands soul cultivators trying to get the bounty on his head, but he also couldn't keep from being nervous about the other cultivators in the five legions. After all, his head was very valuable now...

Thankfully, he didn't have to stew in his worries for too long. Now that the fighting was over, the promotions were being handed out. Many cultivators were being promoted from ordinary soldiers to the rank of lieutenant or captain.

As for Naruto, he was one of only two captains who were promoted to colonel!

Now that he was a colonel, he could occupy both the Armory and his own personal colonel's command center. Furthermore, in addition to Zhao Long and the original battalion of 100 men... he would now command an additional 900 cultivators!

It took a huge amount of battle credit to earn a promotion from captain to colonel, which made such promotions very uncommon as a result of only one battle.

The other captain to receive a promotion to colonel had already been stationed in Great Wall City for a hundred years. The only reason he had finally been able to get his promotion was because he was about to break through into the great circle of Core Formation, and had risked his life in countless battles.

The truth was that despite how many soul cultivators Naruto had cut down, and regardless of the fact that he had slaughtered a tribal chief, he still shouldn't have had enough battle credit to get promoted. The only reason he was now a colonel was because of his Soul Convergence Pills and pill furnace bombs!

In that fashion, he had advanced by leaps and bounds, and been promoted to colonel in one fell swoop!

As an apothecary, he had invented Soul Convergence Pills, which ended up changing the course of the battle. Furthermore, his exploding treasures also shocked everyone near and far. And then there was his battle prowess. After cutting down numerous soul cultivators, and even a tribal chief, it was clear that his fleshly body was similar to the Nascent Soul level. And although he wasn't a true Nascent Soul expert, he could obviously do things that ordinary Core Formation cultivators could not!

In addition to all that, he had saved the lives of over 10,000 soldiers, causing countless cultivators to revere him.

To top it all off, he was now in the top 10 on the Wildlands Execution List!

All of these various honors and glories were like a shockwave that rolled through all of Great Wall City. In addition, it caused the generals of the other four legions to suddenly view Naruto as being vastly more important than he had been before.

Whoever had Naruto in their legion would not only have a valiant warrior, but would also have Soul Convergence Pills and exploding pill furnaces. Plus, they would have someone who thousands upon thousands of other cultivators revered. He was really a comprehensive package.

The generals of the other four legions were quite excited, and therefore, it was no surprise that on the evening in which Naruto was promoted to colonel, a bright beam of light suddenly appeared outside of the Armory.

Within that beam of light was an old man wearing a pitch-black suit of armor. He pulsed with a black energy, and had the illusory image of a fierce tiger floating above his head. His eyes were bright red, and he seemed to pulse with demonic qi. Overall, he made a very terrifying sight.

In addition to all that, he had a very profound cultivation base, being half a step into the Deva Realm. Heaven and earth trembled upon his arrival, and all of the cultivators in the Armory looked up and then clasped hands in salute.

"It's the general of the Black Demons! Greetings, General!"

Zhao Long and his compatriots were shaken, and as for Naruto, he had been in the middle of meditating when he felt the sudden pressure in the area. Walking out, he saw the general of the Black Demons hovering in midair.

Naruto had never interacted personally with the man; they had only seen each other on the battlefield. Feeling a bit surprised to see him here, Naruto clasped hands and bowed.

The old man laughed heartily as he landed in front of Naruto, his eyes shining with approval and admiration.

"Grandmaster Uzumaki, why don't you join the Black Demons? Whatever compensation they're giving you here, I'll triple it!"

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Uh..."

He had a lot of freedom in the Skin Flayers, and hadn't planned to leave. However, this general's eyes burned as if with fire; clearly, he really wanted Naruto to agree to the proposition. Naruto hesitated for a moment, and just when he was about to say something else, another beam of light appeared in the sky. Before anyone could say a word, a new voice rang out.

"Don't listen to him, Grandmaster Uzumaki. Why don't you join the Bane

Stars? Not only will I offer you ten times your current compensation, but I can also guarantee that you won't be injured by the Wildlanders even a single time. I definitely won't let you end up in any critical situations such as those which unfolded before!" Even as the words rang out, a middle-aged man in a crimson robe appeared.

He was very attractive, and had a warm smile that lacked even the hint of a bad temper; he was almost humble-looking. However, Naruto had seen him fight in battle, and knew that his murderous aura was beyond comparison to anyone except for Uzumaki Lin.

"You'll guarantee my safety?!" Naruto blurted, his heart suddenly pounding. He had just been pondering the issue of how dangerous things were, so to hear the general of the Bane Stars make an offer like that instantly got him excited.

When the general of the Black Demons saw Naruto's expression, he instantly started to get nervous, and was just about to insert some words when, all of a sudden, a cold snort filled the air.

"The Black Demons and the Bane Stars are all stingy tightwads, Grandmaster Uzumaki. What's the use of joining miserly legions like theirs? If you come to the Savage Butcherers, I'll increase your compensation by twentyfold. I'll also guarantee your safety, and get you any medicinal plant you need. The same goes for spirit alcohol and medicinal pills. Whatever cultivation resources you require will be at your disposal!" A third beam of light appeared, and as it touched down, a tall, burly man came into view.

Chapter 504

A+ A- Chapter 504

Chapter 504: The Five Legions Compete

The burly man wore a suit of heavy armor, and looked almost like a mountain. His eyes flickered with a brutal gleam as he glared at the old man and the middle-aged cultivator.

The generals of the Black Demons and the Bane Stars glared back at him, and it almost looked like a fight might break out at any moment.

"Ummm?" Naruto said, blinking a few times. Although he was very pleased by the fact that the generals of these three legions were competing over him, he had to conclude that the offer from the Savage Butcherers seemed the best of them all.

However, it was in that very instant that another cold snort echoed out, along with a blast of wind that caused intense rumbling sounds to fill the air. Then, numerous bolts of lightning descended from the sky, which swirled together into the form of a white-haired cultivator.

In the blink of an eye, he was standing there in Naruto's courtyard, lightning crackling beneath his feet, transforming the entire courtyard into something like a lake of lightning.

Of course, the lightning didn't harm Naruto or his men. However, the faces of the other generals flickered as they were forced to rotate their cultivation bases to keep themselves from harm.

"What do you think you're doing, Master Soul Slaughterer?!" shouted

the burly man from the Savage Butcherers.

"What am I doing? Competing with you people, obviously. Grandmaster Uzumaki, why not join the Soul Slaughterers? I can guarantee you ten years of safety, and fifty times your current compensation. Plus, I can ensure that you will be rich and taken care of after you go back to the sect. I'll give you access to all the medicinal plants and other resources you need, and I'll even give you a priceless Nascent Soul Pill! All you have to do is nod your head yes, and I'll hand the pill over immediately!" Even as he spoke, he lifted his right hand, which was holding a crystalline medicinal pill!

The pill instantly erupted with a shocking medicinal aroma that Zhao

Long and the others had no trouble identifying as that of a Nascent Soul Pill. Nascent Soul Pills were one of the most important types of cultivation resources in existence at the Great Wall. They were even hard to get in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and extensive records were kept on their distribution. They were second in value only to deva beast souls.

In fact, most people actually valued them more than deva beast souls.

After all, despite the fact that using deva beast souls to step into the Nascent Soul stage would lead to incredible power, it would only work if you possessed all five souls of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

However, any cultivator in the great circle of the Core Formation stage would have a good chance of achieving a breakthrough with a Nascent Soul Pill. Although breaking through using that method came with certain downsides, such as being less powerful than someone who used deva beast souls, it was still the Nascent Soul stage!

And besides, very few people would be able to build up a full collection of five elements deva beast souls.

Not even Naruto had been able to get his hands on a Nascent Soul Pill since he had arrived in Great Wall City. As such, he knew how valuable they were, and here, this white-haired cultivator was holding one of them in his hand. All he had to do was nod his head, and he could have it!

How could Naruto not be excited about that? His eyes were burning with passion as he looked at the pill; although he didn't actually plan to step into Nascent Soul using that method, the pill could still be very useful. With it, he could ascend to the great circle of Core Formation almost immediately!

That would definitely save him a lot of time. The other three generals loo

ked at the Nascent Soul Pill, their hearts trembling. It wasn't that they didn't have Nascent Soul Pills of their own to offer; they did. However, such pills were so valuable that they couldn't help but hesitate about what to do.

The more Naruto looked at that Nascent Soul Pill, the brighter his eyes shone. Taking a deep breath, he glanced over at the other three silent generals, and decided that if he hesitated any longer, he might lose this chance. Just when he was about to nod, an enraged shout ripped through the air.

"Absolutely disgraceful! Screw off, fools! Dammit, how dare the four of you bastards show up here in Skin Flayers territory and try to steal my people!

"That's nothing more than a Nascent Soul Pill! Ignore them, Naruto! I'll give you three Nascent Soul Pills!" It was none other than Uzumaki Lin, his voice cracking like thunder as he appeared in front of Naruto to stare furiously at the four other generals.

As far as he was concerned, the fact that they had shown up in his territory to brazenly attempt to recruit one of his men was completely embarrassing. Thus, his murderous aura raged as he waved his sleeve, sending a blast of air rumbling toward the other generals.

Shocked, Naruto backed up, and as for Zhao Long and the others, they had long since fled.

The four generals' faces fell; clearly, none of them had expected Uzumaki Lin to actually unleash an attack. They immediately drew upon the power of their cultivation bases, and were about to start fighting back, when all of a sudden, a beam of light shot out from the enormous eye atop the pagoda.

The beam slammed down right in the middle of all five generals, forcing them to back away from each other. At the same time, Chen Hetian's ancient voice echoed out with icy coldness.

"You're dismissed, all of you. The five of you are generals, so start acting like it!"

Gritting his teeth, Uzumaki Lin glared at the other four generals. The generals, fully aware that they were in the wrong, cleared their throats, then cast longing glances at Naruto before turning and leaving.

Naruto blinked a few times, looked around, and then turned his attention to Uzumaki Lin. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he said, "Um, they came looking for me..."

Face grim, Uzumaki Lin walked over to Naruto.

"Naruto, those four bastards are real tricksters. Don't listen to them. You stay here with me. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe, and I'll keep you supplied with whatever medicinal plants you need. Compensation won't be a problem either, nor will Nascent Soul Pills!" With that, he winced a bit as he pulled two Nascent Soul Pills out of his bag of holding and handed them over to Naruto.

"I only have two at the moment. Take them. With a bit of time, I can come up with a way to get a third." Inwardly, Uzumaki Lin was cursing at the fact that he now needed to come up with yet another Nascent Soul Pill. The truth was that they weren't impossible to acquire, but it always took a long time to save up enough resources to buy one.

Naruto took the two Nascent Soul Pills, his heart quivering with anticipation. Then he looked back at Uzumaki Lin, suddenly struck with how well the general was treating him. And then he thought about how he would be continuing to serve as the man's subordinate for some time, and his expression suddenly turned very serious. Shaking his head, he said, "What kind of person do you think I am, General?! If I wanted to join one of the other legions, I could have agreed before you showed up. General, don't you understand why I was buying time?

"I can't afford to provoke those four generals! Therefore, I also couldn't simply refuse them. And that was why I was waiting for you to come take control of the situation!" With that, he flicked his sleeve. Looking more serious than ever, he continued, "General, you have treated me with great kindness. How could I possibly cause difficulties for such a benefactor? Two Nascent Soul Pills are valuable enough on their own. I won't take a third from you even if you offer it!" With that, he clasped hands and bowed deeply in salute, feeling very pleased with himself. From what he could tell, his words just now had brimmed with righteous intent, and had been worded perfectly.

Regardless of how much Uzumaki Lin truly trusted what Naruto had just said, he was still moved. After looking at Naruto for a long moment, he realized that he was definitely the type of person who knew how to act properly in front of others. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Naruto, if possible, try to build up enough battle credit over the next ten years to become a major general!

"If you can reach that rank, your status and position will be completely different. Even your River-Defying Sect's position will change for the better. When major generals return from the five legions to the sect, they become elders of the Hall of Steel Veins. That's a status that surpasses the position of anyone in any of the other halls!

"If you can reach that level, you would be in one of the most powerful groups in the entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! As long as you didn't ever betray the sect, you could do almost anything you wanted!" Uzumaki Lin didn't offer any more detailed explanation than that. After making a few more vague statements, he turned and left.

Afterward, Naruto thoughtfully walked back into his room. Then he pulled out his command medallion and checked how much battle credit was required to be promoted to major general, and gasped.

"That much...?"

He was left almost completely speechless. He had no idea how the other major generals had ever managed to get promoted; it took more than a hundred times as much battle credit as it took to get promoted to colonel. That basically implied that it would take a hundred battles such as the one he had just fought in to get that promotion.

"Well forget that, then," he thought. "I'll just stick with being a colonel." Feeling a bit discouraged, he shook his head and put his command medallion away. Then he pulled out a Nascent Soul Pill, whereupon his eyes yet again began to shine.

"The great circle of Core Formation..." Trying to keep calm, he set up some restrictive spells around his residence, and then told Zhao Long and the others that he would be going into secluded meditation. By the time all his preparations were complete, it was deep into the night.

When everything was ready, he slowly put one of the Nascent Soul Pills into his mouth!

Instantly, he began to tremble, and his mind filled with rumbling sounds. Then, shocking energy of heaven and earth surged through him, converging in the location of his Gold Core.

Chapter 505

A+ A- Chapter 505

Chapter 505: Great Circle of Gold Core!

RUMBLE!

The boundless power of the Nascent Soul Pill slammed into him like an enraged wave, pouring into his Gold Core and causing his Chakra passageways to thrum.

His Gold Core, which was filled with a Heaven-Dao aura and nine spiritual seas, rumbled as the spiritual power of heaven and earth crashed into it, causing his cultivation base aura to immediately begin to rise.

Before, he had been in the late Gold Core stage, and very close to the great circle. The frigid Chakra within him had already reached the eighty percent level, and once he reached the one hundred percent level, he would achieve the breakthrough he sought.

As the energy of heaven and earth filled his Gold Core and its nine spiritual seas, he unleashed his Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation, causing frigid Chakra to pulse out rapidly!

That wasn't ordinary frigid qi, it was of the Frigid Master level!

Once he entered the great circle; his frigid Chakra would also break through to the Frigid Paragon level!

As a Frigid Paragon, he would be able to freeze portions of Heavenspan

River water. Furthermore, when combined with his other extraordinary abilities and powers, he would be able to freeze anyone in the Core Formation stage in place, and even kill them with a mere thought.

The aura of a Frigid Paragon could even cause major problems for Nascent Soul experts!

After his breakthrough into the great circle, the power of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core would be able to unleash its true potential. It was the most powerful type of Gold Core, the type which could shake the Nascent Soul stage!

Before, he had only been able to fight the Nascent Soul tribal chief by relying on Godly Vestige Pills and his incredible fleshly body strength. But once he stepped into the great circle, then even if he faced ordinary soul cultivators with divine abilities of the Nascent Soul stage, he would definitely be able to fight them toe to toe!

"The great circle of the Gold Core stage..." Such thoughts filled Uzumaki with anticipation, as well as excitement. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, and therefore, he calmed his thoughts and focused on the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation, sending pulses of frigid Chakra out of his body.

Frigid Chakra filled the building, instantly freezing everything over. In fact, from the outside, the building almost looked like an enormous ice cube!

As the cracking sounds rang out, Zhao Long and the others who were standing guard looked on in shock. Moments later, even some of the nearby pill furnaces were frozen just like the building.

Thankfully, Naruto had warned them ahead of time of what to expect, and they were some distance away. Were they not, they very well could have been in danger of being frozen in place.

"What technique does our exalted colonel cultivate!?"

"That... that frigid Chakra is so strong! It's horrifying!"

Zhao Long and Liu Li exchanged glances, as did everyone else. Even as they looked on, frigid Chakra filled more than half of the Armory!

Everywhere it went became a world of frozen ice!

Thankfully, during the course of Naruto's rise to prominence, the other grandmasters had all moved away. If they hadn't, they would also have been frozen in place in their residences.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, the entire Armory was frozen. It looked like an ice mountain that astonished not only Zhao Long and the others in the regiment, but also the other Skin Flayers in the area.

There were even major generals with Nascent Soul cultivation bases who were astonished, and as for Uzumaki Lin, he personally flew over to see what was happening. After looking down at the Armory, his eyes began to shine with a strange light.

"If hed possesesd frigid Chakra of this level before, he would have been able to fight his way back to safety much more easily than he did." Eyes sparkling with approval, he quickly issued orders for more Skin Flayers to come and stand guard as Dharma protectors.

The last to take note was the deva Chen Hetian. A beam of light shot out from the enormous eye to shine upon the Armory, which closely examined the situation before retracting a moment later.

"This seems to be some new transformation of frigid qi..." Chen Hetian murmured thoughtfully.

Time passed. Naruto's session of secluded meditation lasted for several months, during which time fighting resumed outside the Great Wall, but little more than small-scale skirmishes. Nothing like the fighting earlier that year occurred.

Eventually, his months of cultivation led to a crucial moment. The

energy of heaven and earth provided by the Nascent Soul Pill had converged in his Gold Core, causing his spiritual seas to vibrate as frigid Chakra completely froze his Gold Core!

From the look of it, his core was transforming into an Ice Core!

By this point, the Gold Core was more than ninety percent iced up, and pulsed with a freezing aura that left Naruto motionless and seemingly frozen.

Another three days passed. That evening, when the final bit of the Gold Core came to be covered with ice, Naruto's Gold Core truly had transformed into an Ice Core!

Rumbling sounds echoed out in his mind as his eyes snapped open. At the same time, boundless streams of energy erupted out from inside of him.

Cultivation base breakthrough!

No longer was he in the late Gold Core stage, he was now in the great circle!

"It worked!" he shouted, his eyes gleaming with strange light. As of this moment, he could sense that the golden Ice Core inside of him contained frigid Chakra that vastly surpassed anything from before.

Furthermore, as that Chakra flowed through him, it didn't harm in in the least.

He slowly extended his right hand, causing a stream of frigid Chakra to emerge from his fingertip. Instantly, the layers of ice around him began to tremble, as though an incredible pressure had suddenly descended onto the existing ice, a pressure from the emperor of all freezing things!

Instantly, more ice began to build up in the armory, causing all of the cultivators who had been standing guard to back up to avoid it.

"Frigid Paragon...?" Naruto murmured, his expression the same as ever as he looked thoughtfully at his fingertip. For some reason, it felt as if some unexplainable transformation was occurring to the Ice Core inside of him.

It was almost as if something were growing inside...

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. Although he couldn't be sure if something really was inside of the Ice Core, he could definitely sense some familiar fluctuations, and was certain that if he made another breakthrough, the results would be astonishing!

"It almost seems like control power...?" he murmured.

"Wait, I get it. Since I cultivate the Frigid School Will-Evolving

Incantation, and have just made a major breakthrough, then I most likely have Will growing inside of the Ice Core!"

Naruto already had his own speculations and understanding regarding the so-called Will. After a bit of time, he suppressed his curiosity; the answer would come when his Willpower was eventually brought out into the world. Then he would know for sure.

"My cultivation base is now in the great circle of the Gold Core stage.

Next is my Undying Live Forever Technique..." The strength of the Nascent Soul Pill had already pushed him into the great circle, but there was still a bit of power left, which he could transform into life force.

"These Nascent Soul Pills really live up to their reputation. What a pity I don't have the medicine formula. Of course, based on what I can tell, main ingredient is almost certainly immortal birthing grass!"

Immortal birthing grass was a near-extinct type of medicinal plant whose primary function was to provide life force power. In the legends, that type of life force could be used to become an immortal. Of course, that wasn't true at all, and yet, it went to show how valuable immortal birthing grass was.

"From what I can tell, as long as I prevent the Nascent Soul Pill from taking my core and forming a Nascent Soul, then I can absorb the life force with my Undying Live Forever Technique, and make a huge advancement!

"The third level of the Undying Codex is the Undying Tendons. I've already cultivated it in both arms and both legs, and am lacking only in the torso and head. The requirements for the torso are significant..." After a moment of thought, he looked at the second Nascent Soul Pill, gritted his teeth, and put it in his mouth!

Anyone on the outside who saw him consume a second Nascent Soul Pill would have been completely flabbergasted. For one thing, Nascent Soul Pills were incredibly valuable, and furthermore, few people would ever need to consume more than one to make their breakthrough.

As soon as he consumed the second pill, the energy of heaven and earth erupted out into his Chakra passageways. Almost immediately, it began to head toward his Ice Core, where normally speaking, it would shatter the core and begin to form a Nascent Soul!

However, as soon as the energy began to speed toward the Ice Core, Uzumaki

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he unleashed his Undying Live Forever Technique. Rumbling sounds could be heard as a huge vortex formed in his torso, and a shocking gravitational force sprang into being. In the blink of an eye, all of the energy of heaven and earth veered off course and began to pour into that vortex.

Chapter 506

A+ A- Chapter 506

Chapter 506: The True Undying Hex!

The Undying Live Forever Technique could be cultivated with incredible rapidity as long as enough life force was available. Naruto had learned that many years ago.

Also, he had come to understand that cultivating it required a huge, almost preposterous expenditure of resources. There was no way the

River-Defying Sect could sustain such a resource drainage, and even the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, one of the riversource sects, would be hard-pressed to do so.

And as of this moment, he had only reached the third level of the Undying Codex, the Undying Tendons. Later, he would need to work on the Undying Bones and Undying Blood, and could scarcely imagine what level of life force would be required for that.

"I can't worry about all of that!" he thought, his eyes shining with determination as the vortex in his torso sucked in the life force from the Nascent Soul Pill. Almost immediately, his body began to radiate intense heat that began to melt the surrounding ice, and caused his blood to seethe as it surged through his veins.

As the heat filled him, he could clearly sense his Chakra passageways being reformed. As they were, black light filled him, the representation of powerful fleshly body power flowing through his body.

As it connected to the power in his four limbs, something like a restrictive spell began to spread out to surround him!

Time passed, although Naruto couldn't be sure how much. Suddenly, his eyes opened to find that his entire body with the exception of his head was radiating a black light that was painful to look at. Eyes shining, he cast his senses throughout his body, and could immediately tell that his fleshly body power had increased far beyond its previous level.

However, that was not the most shocking aspect to the change. He could also sense that his body was much lighter. Or at least, that was what it felt like. As of this moment, he was quite sure that he could move so quickly that he could pierce through the air.

Curious, Naruto was struck with the desire to test out his theory. However, he suppressed that desire and decided to examine himself a bit further. Suddenly, he gasped.

"This..." To his delight, he realized that he was just on the verge of making contact with the next shackle of mortality!

That feeling brightened his spirits immediately. From what he could tell, all it would take would be one more bit of advancement to spread his Undying Live Forever Technique to his head. Unfortunately, the life force from the Nascent Soul Pill was already fading away.

"What a pity," he thought sadly. However, he was still excited. "I'm in the great circle of the Gold Core stage, and made a big breakthrough with my Undying Live Forever Technique. As of this point, not a single ordinary Core Formation cultivator would ever dare to provoke me!"

Laughing heartily, he rose to his feet. No longer suppressing his desire to pierce through the air, he took a step forward.

When he did, the layers of ice in front of him exploded, and Naruto vanished!

As that happened, the other layers of ice in the area cracked and shattered, and in the blink of an eye, the building was revealed. The effects quickly spread out into the courtyard, and within the space of a few breaths of time, to the entire Armory!

Cracking sounds filled the air, causing the Skin Flayers to look around in surprise. Zhao Long and the others from the regiment looked on in shock as the masses of ice, and the mountain that had been the residence, all collapsed!

Everything in the Armory, from buildings to pill furnaces, all shattered as they transformed into a blast of wind that spread out in all directions.

Then, countless gasps rang out as people realized that Naruto was nowhere

to be seen.

"The grandmaster is missing?!"

"W-what's... what's going on!?" Zhao Long, Liu Li, and others from the regiment rushed over to the collapsed residence, and sure enough, Naruto was gone.

As they began to search for him, something happened on the battlefield outside the Great Wall. Of course, there was no fighting going on at the moment, although the landscape was shattered and there were corpses everywhere. That was how the area outside the Great Wall usually looked, like a scene from the underworld.

Occasionally, various Wildlands animals that enjoyed feasting on carrion could be seen munching on severed limbs and crunching on other parts of the corpses.

Suddenly, ripples spread out into the air, after which a black glow appeared, which seemed to take the shape of a magical symbol.

The carrion-eating animals were startled, and many shot off in the opposite direction, not daring to get close to the black glow. At the same time, the cultivators on duty atop the Great Wall also noticed what was happening. Some of the magical canons even began to warm up, as if they were about to unleash attacks.

The ripples outside of the wall eventually formed into the shape of a bubble, which popped, after which a figure staggered out. Killing intent appeared in the eyes of the cultivators on the wall, and they were about to attack when suddenly, some of them began to call out in surprise.

"Grandmaster Uzumaki!"

"It's Naruto!" Gasps could be heard as the cultivators realized who it was they were looking at, and yet were unable to reconcile his sudden appearance on the battlefield.

The person down there was definitely none other than Naruto!

At first, he glanced around in confusion. When he finally realized where he was, his scalp began to prickle in fear.

"What am I doing here?!" Instantly, his anxiety mounted as he thought about what would happen if a group of soul cultivators suddenly showed up. Without any hesitation, he began to speed back toward the Great Wall.

"Let me in!" he cried as he flew along. Seeing that the cultivators on the Great Wall were hesitating, he quickly pulled out his identity medallion to prove who he was. With that, he passed through the shield and landed on the wall itself.

The cultivators still seemed a bit suspicious though, and began to ask some questions.

"Grandmaster Uzumaki, what... what were you doing out there?"

"We didn't see anyone go out beyond the wall. You're supposed to get permission from a general before doing that!"

"Um, an accident, that's all," Naruto said, clearing his throat. "Just a little accident." Now that he was back inside the protection of the Great Wall, his heart began to calm down. Earlier, he had been attempting to test out his ability to pierce through the air, and hadn't been expecting to suddenly step into a void of darkness.

Within that void, he felt like his body was collapsing, and, terrified, had struggled to emerge. When he did, he was dropped onto the battlefield outside of the Great Wall.

The mere thought of what had just occurred left his heart pounding with residual terror. After offering some more vague explanations, he hurried back to the city.

"Way too dangerous," he thought. "I definitely can't take risks like that anymore..." Despite his lingering fear, though, he had to admit that what he had just done was extraordinary. He had actually pierced through the Great Wall and its spell formation shield with something almost like a minor teleportation.

"Or maybe that's not it... After all, outside of battle situations, the huge eye will prevent cultivators from the five legions from leaving the shield without orders. And of course, they can't get back in without an identity medallion.

"And yet, I definitely managed to get out. Why?" He blinked a few times, and after a moment, couldn't help but feel that what he had done just now felt like a strange manifestation of his Undying Tendons.

"Don't tell me it's the Undying Hex? Maybe it can affect or even bypass other restrictive spells?" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto considered doing some more tests. However, the sensation of almost being ripped apart in that void was something he couldn't stop thinking about.

"No, it's too dangerous. If I want to do some more tests, I'll have to wait until my Undying Tendons are complete, and I've broken through the next shackle." Shaking his head, he finally got back to the Armory. That was when Zhao Long and the rest of the regiment finally found him.

Zhao Long immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The members of his regiment felt more than ever that Naruto was a mysterious and enigmatic figure, and were shocked that he had been able to vanish despite all of them being present to stand guard.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Grandmaster!"

"Grandmaster, do you want us to start rebuilding things?"

As of this point, the Armory was uninhabitable, but as a colonel in the Skin Flayers, he had his own command center. Therefore, he simply waved his hand and said, "We're done with this place for now. Let's go to my command center!"

Chapter 507

A+ A- Chapter 507

Chapter 507: I Have To Become A Major General!

Great Wall City was divided up into east, west, south, north, and central districts, one for each of the five legions.

The Skin Flayers occupied the east district, which was further divided up into ten garrisons, one for each of the major generals. The major generals were all Nascent Soul experts, people who had climbed mountains of corpses and swam through seas of blood to get to their current position. Their murderous auras and battle prowess vastly exceeded those of others in their same cultivation level.

Without illustrious service performed for the army, and also powerful backers, it was virtually impossible to become a major general!

As for the garrisons, they were divided into ten command centers, which belonged to the ten colonels who led them. As for the lieutenants and captains, they occupied locations within the command centers of the colonels.

Naruto's command center was in the garrison belonging to Major General Zhou Xingjun of the 3rd Corps, right next to Li Hongming's command center. After Naruto was promoted to colonel, Major General Zhou Xingjun had almost immediately arranged for troops to be assigned to him.

Clearly, the army cared a lot about Naruto, because all of those cultivators came from the group of 10,000 that he had personally rescued off of the battlefield. Originally, they had been members of other parts of the army, but had been specifically reassigned by General Uzumaki Lin.

The entire group of cultivators felt incredible gratitude toward Naruto, and had personally witnessed his ferocity and madness in the heat of battle. As such, they were fully convinced of his abilities, and were very excited to serve in his regiment.

As Naruto was making his way over to the command center, some of the cultivators of the regiment were drilling on the parade ground, practicing the use of various divine abilities, their faces expressionless.

Others were sparring amongst themselves. Although everyone appeared to be completely ferocious, they all maintained careful control at all times.

The majority sat crosslegged, meditating in silence. The entire command center seemed filled with a very somber air, and a weighty pressure that would make any outsider hesitant to enter it.

The place had been like this ever since Naruto was promoted to colonel, and in fact, the troops under the command of the other colonels all trembled in fear when they passed by it.

Suddenly, a beam of light appeared in the sky which shot down toward the command center. Immediately, all the soldiers inside looked up with cold eyes.

Within the beam of light was a middle-aged man with a somber expression and pulsing veins of steel. "The exalted colonel is coming!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the cultivators in the command center trembled with excitement.

Immediately, the captains began to shout out orders. "Get into formation!"

Soon, the entire place was buzzing.

When Naruto finally arrived, he saw many familiar faces lined up outside the command center. As soon as the group caught sight of him, they stepped forward a pace and then shouted out in a mighty voice, "Greetings, Colonel!"

Their words echoed like thunder to fill the entire 3rd Corps. As for Li Hongming and the other colonels, they were shaken, and quite a few of them rushed out of their own command centers to see what was happening.

What they saw was the assembled cultivators of Naruto's regiment, pulsing with tenacity, as if their very bones were filled with the desire to do battle. It was as if all Naruto had to do was say the word, and they would raze any area to the ground in a blaze of destruction!

Li Hongming and the other colonels were deeply shaken.

"Valiant troops and a gallant officer!"

"Not only are they grateful to Naruto, but they also personally witnessed his veins of steel and vicious fighting. Therefore, they truly respect and admire him. Because of their zealous devotion to him, until the day comes that they pay back the kindness he has shown, they might as well be his personal army!"

This was Naruto first time visiting his command center and seeing all the cultivators he recognized from that fateful battle. Now that he could sense how heroic and dauntless they were, it got his own blood pumping a bit faster. All of a sudden, he found himself thinking about how he had faced countless dangers that day during the war.

After a long moment, he took a breath as a feeling of profound emotion filled him. After all, he knew that, while he had saved them, they had also saved him!

The looks of reverence and awe with which they gazed at him caused his heart to tremble. Without any hesitation, he waved his hand toward the command center and said, "Come on men, let's drink and eat together! What battle credit we earn, we spend together, and when we have to flee for our lives, we do it shoulder to shoulder!"

Naruto felt that his words were particularly domineering, and when the cultivators under his command heard them, they exchanged amused glances, then clasped hands and shouted, "Sir, yes sir!"

As their voices resonated through the area, Li Hongming and the other colonels exchanged odd glances. They had seen quite a few commanding officers give speeches to encourage their troops, but had never heard anyone say things as directly as Naruto had.

Some distance away in the Skin Flayers' district was an enormous building that looked like a coffin, within which Uzumaki Lin stood looking in Naruto's direction, shaking his head and smiling.

Ten armor-clad individuals stood near him, most of them middle-aged, but some older. Moments ago, the group had been discussing business relating to the Skin Flayers, but after the scene which had just played out, they had sent their divine sense over to observe, and now, all of them seemed to be reminiscing about the past.

"This Naruto sure is candid," Uzumaki Lin said with a chuckle. "I can't believe he just said that they would flee from battle shoulder to shoulder." He turned to look at one of the group of ten, an old man with white hair. "Brother Zhou, Naruto is very important to the Skin Flayers. Please make sure to take special care of him."

The ten men surrounding Uzumaki Lin were none other than the ten major generals of the Skin Flayers. As for the white-haired old man, he was Naruto's commanding officer, Major General Zhou Xingjun of the 3rd Corps. Upon hearing Uzumaki Lin's words, he smiled and nodded his head.

"Don't worry, General. I'll make sure to keep Grandmaster Uzumaki safe and sound."

Uzumaki Lin nodded in response, then looked away from the scene outside and resumed his discussion with the major generals.

Meanwhile, the members of Naruto's regiment clustered around him as he headed into the command center. Once inside, he looked around at what was to be his new residence. As for Zhao Long and his original squad, they were now Naruto's personal guard, and they quickly made strict rules regarding who was allowed into the command center. Without express orders, no one from outside the regiment could gain entrance.

After all, not only was Naruto a colonel, but he was also on the Wildlands Execution List, and in the top 10 at that. The reward on his head was a deva beast soul, something that would be lucrative to Wildlanders and cultivators alike...

In fact, in the past, there had been situations in which people on the Execution List were killed by cultivators, not Wildlanders.

Before long, half a year had gone by.

By now, Naruto had been serving at the Great Wall for two years. After his promotion to colonel, fighting went on as usual beyond the wall, but they were all skirmishes that didn't come close to the scale of the huge battle the year before.

Naruto was now very familiar with life in Great Wall City, and had taken up a new hobby. Every few days, he would don his colonel's armor and strut out of his command center, surrounded by large numbers of his men, to stroll through the city.

He very much enjoyed the looks of awe and envy that people cast in his direction when he appeared in public. In fact, it was something he would never grow tired of.

At first, Zhao Long and his original squad found this very odd, as did the other cultivators in the regiment. However, they gradually grew used to it, and realized that this was just Naruto's personality. Although it was a bit embarrassing, it gradually became nothing out of the ordinary.

However, Naruto continued to do it so often that he appeared to be neglecting his day-to-day duties. It reached the point where Uzumaki Lin caught wind of it. Annoyed, he made some special arrangements. The next day, when Naruto led his regiment out of the command center to enjoy the gazes of the other cultivators in the army, he had just begun to savor the buzz of conversation around him when all of a sudden, a group of several thousand cultivators appeared, all of them wearing suits of armor. As they proceeded along, they cleared a 300meter path through the crowds in front of them.

Not even Naruto was exempt, and was forced off to the side.

"What are you people doing?!" he complained.

Without any hesitation, the cultivator in question flashed a command medallion which was emblazoned with the surname Nian, as well as the sigil of the Skin Flayers! "Major General Nian Herong is coming through. Back up, all of you!"

Within the five legions, the only people who had command medallions with their surnames on them were the major generals!

As soon as the command medallion appeared, the cultivator didn't need to say anything else. With the wave of his hand, the thousands of cultivators under his command began to drive Naruto and the others backward. Naruto wasn't too happy about that, but there was little he could do about. All he could do was watch as the nearly 10,000 cultivators cleared a path through the area. Moments later, a dazzling sight appeared not too far off in the distance. It was an old man in a crimson suit of armor, flanked by ten colonels, all of whom had respectful expression on their faces.

Everyone who had been cleared out of the 300-meter path began to cheer and cry out fervently, in a way that vastly surpassed how they had reacted when they saw Naruto. The drone of their enthusiasm instantly bore deep into Naruto's ears.

"It's a major general!"

"Heavens! You hardly ever see the major generals walking around..."

"The major generals of Great Wall City can shake all creation! They're the kind of people who cause the lands to tremble wherever they go!"

Naruto could merely gape in astonishment at the ostentatious and domineering scene which was playing out in front of him. At the same time, he felt a bit down-hearted.

"What's so amazing about him?" he thought. "He's just a major general, right...?" Then he gritted his teeth.

"I have to become a major general!"

Chapter 508

A+ A- Chapter 508

Chapter 508: Dont Tell Me I Have To Seduce Mistress Red-Dust...?

Naruto had left in the highest of spirits, and came back feeling like he was at the bottom of the barrel. After returning to his command center, he thought back to the sight of the major general's procession, and felt very irritated.

"Major general..." he thought, gritting his teeth. Then he considered how the major general had walked along with an escort of ten colonels, while he himself was only a colonel.

"I can't settle for this. I have to become a major general!" With that, his eyes began to shine with determination. Over the course of the past half year, he had spent almost no time on cultivation, nor had he done any pill concocting. Most of his time had been spent enjoying the perks of being a colonel. However, as of this moment, he had received a sharp reminder that being a colonel was not the end of the line for him.

Now that the idea of being a major general was stirring in his mind, he thought back to how Uzumaki Lin had encouraged him to work hard to get promoted.

"If I retire as a major general," he murmured, "then when I get back to the sect, I'll be an elder in the Hall of Steel Veins..." Realizing that he didn't have all of the information he needed, he decided to go out and make some inquiries.

The truth was that such matters were not secret within the five legions, and were in fact quite well-known. It only took a bit of asking around for Naruto to get all of the information he was looking for. Elders in the Hall of Steel Veins had a position far above ordinary elders. In fact, they were on a level that put them only slightly below the sect leader, a fact which left Naruto gasping and deeply moved.

"How is that even possible!? This is the sect leader of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect we're talking about! He's only in the Nascent Soul stage, but he's still in a very high position. And elders in the Hall of Steel Veins are just below that...?" Naruto almost couldn't believe it at first, but after further enquiries, he came to understand why it was the case.

"The five legions operate beyond the control of the sect leader. Even the deva stationed at the Great Wall is only here to oversee things. The only person who directly controls the five legions is the demigod patriarch!

"The reason the Hall of Steel Veins is so powerful is because it only follows his orders!" Naruto was both flabbergasted and also palpitating with eagerness.

If he could somehow manage to become a major general, then when his commission was up and he went back to the sect, he could get a set of five elements deva beast souls and step into the Nascent Soul stage. Furthermore, he could also become an elder in the Hall of Steel Veins!

When that happened, he would have a very high position, higher than ordinary elders in the sect. Not only would that be a big help to the River-Defying Sect, but it would also be immensely beneficial on a personal level.

The mere idea left his heart burning with anticipation, to the point where his eyes sparkled with the light of countless stars.

"I absolutely have to become a major general!" he said, slapping his thigh.

Now that he had set his goal, though, it immediately led to new anxiety. After all, he had already calculated how much battle credit it would take to become a major general, which was more than a hundred times the amount he had earned in that huge battle.

In the better part of a year which had passed since then, no major battles had even occurred.

More than a month went by, and he only got more depressed. Eventually, he climbed to the top of the great wall and looked out toward the Wildlands. Unfortunately, all he could do was wish t

hat their huge army would come back.

"Why aren't they attacking...?" he said as he stood there sighing. "Dammit! I don't have much time to work with, only seven or eight more years. What am I supposed to do...?

"I guess the savages and soul cultivators are just too scared, and don't dare to come over and fight!"

The other cultivators noticed how he was acting, and heard his constant sighing. Soon, they began to exchanged awkward glances.

As far as they were concerned, it was a good thing that the Wildlands savages hadn't attacked in full force. However, Naruto didn't seem to think so, which they found very strange.

Of course, the sight of him acting in such a way led some of them sigh inwardly and muse, "Why aren't they attacking? Isn't it because of you? If it weren't for you and your special methods, they would be doing things the way they usually did, and attacking several times per month."

Naruto waited a bit longer, and yet there was no change. Every day that went by, he continued to try to think of a solution to the problem, until his eyes were bloodshot. Finally, he decided that he had to do something to speed things up.

"Fine, if the savages insist on being so uncooperative, then I'll just have to think of a new way to earn battle credit! I absolutely have to become a major general!" With that, he headed toward the huge pagoda in the middle of the city.

From what he remembered last time he had gone to exchange battle credit, the five legions had an Execution List just like the Wildlands did. Taking the heads of some of the people on that list came with hefty rewards.

"Now that I'm a colonel, I have lots of powerful experts under my command. I refuse to believe that I can't earn some battle credit with their help!" It didn't take Naruto very long to reach the central district, and the base of the tower, where quite a group of cultivators was gathered. When they caught sight of him, they gave him solemn nods of greeting.

Naruto looked up at the eye at the top of the tower, then pulled out his identity medallion and sent some spiritual sense into it to begin browsing the Execution List. The first thing that jumped out to him was the first name on the list.

As soon as he saw it, his eyes went wide.

"Mistress Red-Dust!"

Mistress Red-Dust's information was clearly listed there in first place on the list. She had a Deva Realm cultivation base, and was a ruthless fighter who was cold and cruel to the bone. In fact, there was even a reminder that, because she was a deva, it was best to avoid her at all costs.

The number of cultivators she had killed since she made her debut was shocking to behold, including many Nascent Soul cultivators.

Most shocking of all was that she hadn't even been practicing cultivation for 200 years!

To become a deva so quickly seemed almost impossible to Naruto, especially considering how impoverished the Wildlands were. There was no energy of heaven and earth there, only soul power. And yet, despite being in those conditions, this Mistress Red-Dust had managed to set a heaven-defying pace in her cultivation.

"I remember Mistress Red-Dust..." Naruto murmured. As soon as he focused on her name, a picture appeared in his mind. It depicted a young woman, more beautiful than Chen Manyao, wearing red garments that accentuated her good looks, and yet made her seem very dangerous. Her murderous aura was shocking to the extreme, even though it was just a picture.

Naruto remembered seeing her in the flesh during the battle outside the Great Wall. She had been in the middle of fighting Chen Hetian when she had actually made a move to try to kill Naruto...

Of course, anyone who looked at Mistress Red-Dust's name on the list would see the same image Naruto was seeing.

She was a spectacular figure, who had a reward on her head so high that it was astonishing to behold. Anyone who killed her would be promoted to general!

If there were no generals who needed to be replaced, then a new legion would be created! That was a reward that surpassed even Naruto's ideal of becoming a major general. As soon as he saw that reward, his eyes burned with passion and envy. However, it also caused him to purse his lips.

"So stupid! The only person who could take that shrew out is a deva, and why would a deva want to be a general in the army?" Naruto shook his head. If he was good enough to take out a deva, then he wouldn't be sitting around at the Great Wall. He would definitely be back in the River-Defying Sect already. Besides, when it came to devas, they weren't the type of people he would ever be willing to offend.

Sighing, he went on to look at the second name on the list, which also belonged to a deva, who went by the Daoist name Wakening Insects. The number of merit points offered up for his death was shocking, to say the least.

Astonished, Naruto continued to go down the list. Soon, he began to frown as he realized that all the names in the top 30 were those of Nascent Soul stage necromancers. Although some of the names at the bottom of the list were Core Formation cultivators, the battle credit reward for them wasn't very high. After a few calculations, Naruto found that he would have to kill everyone from 30th place all the way down into the 200's to earn enough battle credit to become a major general.

"What am I supposed to do, then...?" he thought, sighing. Obviously, he had to give up on the idea of killing people on the Execution List. It was simply too dangerous of an undertaking. However, the thought of the honor, glory, and benefits that came with being a major general were something he just couldn't give up on. There had to be a way to get more battle credit.

"What a headache!" he thought. "How am I supposed to pull something like this off when the only thing I'm good at is concocting pills?

"Wait a second. That's not right. There is something I'm good at!"

Stopping in place, he thought back to his time hanging out with Zhao Tianjiao, and how he had called himself a love saint. Suddenly, his heart began to pound.

Looking back at the Execution List, he blinked a few times, feeling a bit torn.

"Don't tell me that in order to become a major general, I'm going to have to rely on my sex appeal to seduce Mistress Red-Dust...?" The mere thought left him grieving in indignation. That was especially true considering that she was so much older than him. Although she was pretty, who knew what kind of eccentricities she had? The more he thought about it, the more that plan seemed like a huge sacrifice.

"Not worth it..." he thought, feeling more crestfallen than ever. With that, he abandoned the idea.

Quick note about Mistress Red-Dust's name. First of all, this is a Daoist name, not her real name. That fact is not confirmed until later in the novel, but it seems pretty obvious from the get-go. It's a hard name to pin down how to translate. There are different ways to interpret it, but I'm going with the way the term is used in Buddhist philosophy. The "red dust" is a metaphor referring to the world of mortals or human society. In terms of why she would have such a name, there is no explanation provided at this point, so you will have to contemplate that on your own.

Chapter 509

A+ A- Chapter 509

Chapter 509: My Own Mission

"Could it be that the heavens are jealous of me, Naruto? Have I been doomed to never become a major general?!" Feeling overwhelmed by sorrow, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked up into the sky. After a long moment, he sighed and turned to leave the pagoda.

However, in that very moment, one of the cultivators nearby opened his bag of holding and produced a collection of vengeful souls. Bags of holding couldn't be used to hold vengeful souls for long periods of time, and in fact, these souls were already starting to grow dim. As soon as they flew out into the open, a gravitational force sprang out from the huge eye.

In the briefest of moments, the souls were sucked up, which seemed to enliven the huge eye.

Naruto suddenly stopped in place, his eyes growing wide. Clearly, after turning in all of the vengeful souls, the cultivator from just now had been given some battle credit. Instantly, Naruto's spirits lifted.

Eyes shining brightly, he slapped his eyes.

"Of course! How could I have forgotten? You can turn in souls to get battle credit... In fact, as long as you keep turning in souls, your battle credit will continue to climb."

However, only a moment after getting excited, he suddenly felt even more down than before. "That won't work either..." After all, there wasn't very much fighting going on lately, which meant that there were very few souls on the battlefield. He was extremely adept at taking care of souls, but had nowhere to exercise his talents. Sighing, he trudged away.

After returning to his command center, he sat there in frustration, mulling the matter over from different angles. In the end, he could only think of one solution. If he wanted to get more souls, he would need to leave the Great Wall and go out into the Wildlands to search for them himself.

"No way, I can't do that! It's too dangerous! There's no way I'm going to openly court death." Sighing, he gave up on the idea. No longer in the mood to go strolling about outside the command center, he decided to focus on cultivating his Undying Live Forever Technique.

The third level of the Undying Live Forever Technique was the Undying Tendons. All he had to do was cultivate that part of the technique using his head, and he would be finished. At the moment, he had plenty of medicinal plants that he could use to make medicinal pills, and yet, he knew that the head was different from the limbs and torso. Therefore, he went about his cultivation cautiously. After a bit of work, he was able to confirm that there was indeed some danger in cultivating the Undying Tendons in his head. Therefore, he pondered the matter for quite some time before proceeding.

Before long, half a year had gone by. In a few more months, Naruto would reach the three-year-mark at the Great Wall. As the months passed, there were a few battles here and there. Every time a battle came along, Naruto would get very excited. Although he wouldn't personally participate, his subordinates would fight, and as a result, he would get some vengeful souls and battle credit.

However, he was still a very long way away from becoming a major general.

When he was only two months away from the three-year-mark, he was meditating in his command center, working on his Undying Live Forever

Technique, when he realized that he was fifty percent finished with the Undying Tendons in his head. However, it was at that point that he began to slow down with his cultivation. It was definitely dangerous to work on the Undying Tendons in the head, and he had almost fallen into deadly crises on multiple occasions.

One day, he suddenly realized that something was glowing red inside his bag of holding. Surprised, he opened his eyes from his meditation

and looked down.

"What's going on...?" he thought curiously. As soon as he opened his bag of holding, dazzling red light spilled out, light that was coming from his identity medallion.

"It's glowing?" he thought. This was the same medallion he had received upon debarking the huge ship years ago. He remembered being told to never lose it or allow it to be damaged, lest he be incapable of going into and out of the Great Wall. Furthermore, it was also his ticket back to the sect.

He had never forgotten those warnings. Afterward, he had even performed a few experiments, and had confirmed that the medallion was made in some fashion that made it impossible for him to affect it in any way.

Now, that very same identity medallion was shining with blinding red light. If that were all there were to the situation, it might not have been a big deal. But to Naruto's astonishment and anxiety, he found that the jade medallion was... emanating the fluctuations of imminent self-detonation.

"What's happening?!" he thought, leaping to his feet, his face falling. Not daring to be hesitant, he cast some divine sense into the medallion, whereupon a message appeared in his mind.

"You have only two months until the deadline to complete your first mission. If there is no record of you leaving the Great Wall within that time, this jade medallion will self-destruct!"

Naruto's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. After sending more divine sense into the medallion to confirm that he had received the message correctly, he began to drip with sweat.

"Dammit! I knew I had to go on three missions during the ten-year trial, but this is the first time I've heard about having to do one within the first three years!" His anxiety immediately began to grow as he thought of the prospect of the medallion being destroyed, and being unable to return to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

"This is blackmail!" he fumed. The truth was that he wasn't the only one in this position. There were other chosen who hadn't gone on any missions during their first three years, who were now similarly staring at their brightly-glowing identity medallions.

Clearly, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had prepared methods to deal with any lazy disciples who neglected to go on missions.

Wracked with anxiety, Naruto flew out of his command center to find Uzumaki Lin. Considering his current rank, he didn't have to make any special requests to see the general, and was soon right in front of him.

"General, save me!" he cried piteously.

Uzumaki Lin had been meditating, but as soon as he heard Naruto's words, he opened his eyes. Before he could even ask about the situation, Naruto held the glowing red medallion aloft and explained.

When he was done, he stood there staring at Uzumaki Lin with wide eyes with a look that said, I'm your subordinate, you have to help me!

Most of Uzumaki Lin's subordinates were lifetime devotees of the five legions, who had enlisted directly into the Hall of Steel Veins. As such, he wasn't very familiar with the rules and regulations regarding the chosen who were out on trials by fire. Furthermore, were it not for the fact that Naruto had put on such a spectacular performance when he had first arrived, Uzumaki Lin would never have conscripted him.

"Alright, calm down!" Uzumaki Lin said. Pulling out a jade slip, he sent out a few messages of inquiry. After receiving the information he needed, he slowly looked back up at Naruto.

Nervous, Naruto said, "General, I'm a colonel! It won't really be a big deal if the medallion self-destructs… will it?"

"You are indeed a colonel in the Skin Flayers," Uzumaki Lin replied, "but you were conscripted. If you were a major general it might be a different story, but... you still have to follow the rules of the sect.

"I should have thought of this myself, but don't worry, I'll help you resolve the situation." This was Uzumaki Lin's first time seeing Naruto in such a state, so he smiled and immediately started to call upon his network of contacts to try to solve the problem.

When Naruto saw that Uzumaki Lin was starting to transmit a large number of messages through his jade slip, and remembered how he had an important background, he started to calm down. However, after a bit of time passed, a frown appeared on Uzumaki Lin's face. Naruto's heart immediately began to pound.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, an unsightly expression could be seen on Uzumaki Lin's face. Putting away the jade slip, he hesitated for a moment and then said, "Hmph. Those people back at the sect are complete philistines. Not flexible at all. Naruto, I can reduce your mission requirement from three to one. But you'll still have to go out at least once. Take some time to think about it. After all, it's only one mission, right?"

Uzumaki Lin was actually feeling a bit embarrassed. He really had tried to help Naruto out, but had made so many special requests of the sect in recent years that it made things difficult. As for the elder in charge of the missions, he simply wouldn't budge. Unfortunately, there was nothing more Uzumaki Lin could do other than offer Naruto a bit of comfort.

Naruto felt like crying, but could tell that Uzumaki Lin had already done all he could by reducing the mission requirement down to one.

"General, I'm in the top 10 of the Wildlands Execution List! The people out there hate me to death! They'll kill me as soon as they see me. I... I don't dare to go beyond the wall!"

Uzumaki Lin cleared his throat. "Don't worry. Look, just put on a disguise! Go out, finish a mission, and get back as soon as possible. Nobody will even notice that you left. Only the two of us will be in on the secret.

"Besides, although the sect won't budge on the mission issue, there are other ways I can help. For example, the rule says you have to go on a mission, which means that Great Wall missions also count. Since you're a colonel, I hereby give you the authority to post your own missions. Just make a mission for yourself, and go accomplish it. Simple. All you have to do is make sure that it's a mission suitable for the Gold Core stage. After all, the true spirit in the eye of the pagoda is responsible for declaring missions officially complete."

"I can post my own missions... and go on one of those..." Naruto's eyes lit up. Laughing heartily, he clasped hands in salute and then left.

Chapter 510

A+ A- Chapter 510

Chapter 510: Highway Robbery!

"At one's darkest hour, a glimmer of hope always appears!" Naruto hurried back excitedly to his command center, his mind abuzz with ideas. As soon as he got back, he had Zhao Long bring him a map of the area outside the Great Wall.

After studying the map for a while, he pointed at a little valley barely five kilometers away.

"That's the place!"

Looking a bit surprised, Zhao Long peered down at the valley, which seemed ordinary in every aspect, and was generally a place devoid of signs of life. In fact, he couldn't think of any reason why Naruto would be pointing it out.

"Colonel, what's so special about that valley?" Zhao Long asked.

Waving his hand in a grand fashion, Naruto replied, "According to the intelligence reports I have at my disposal, there's an early Nascent Soul stage soulhorn deer that lives in that valley. Anyone who can kill that creature and turn in its soulhorn will receive a battle credit reward. Go post the mission immediately."

"Huh?" Zhao Long said, confused. Soulhorn deer were native to the Wildlands. Not only were their horns valuable ingredients for medicines, but they could also be used as the primary component to make soulhorn bows. However, soulhorn deer usually gathered in locations where there were a lot of vengeful souls. Considering that the valley in question was only about five kilometers away from the Great Wall, there definitely weren't any souls there, which mean that it would be impossible to find a soulhorn deer in the same location.

Besides, battles were constantly being fought near the Great Wall, so even if a soulhorn deer happened to end up in the valley, it would quickly flee. After all, soulhorn deer weren't stupid, and definitely wouldn't choose a dangerous place like the Great Wall to settle down.

Most importantly, early Nascent Soul stage soulhorn deer were almost never found outside of the depths of the Wildlands...

After a brief moment of confused hesitation, Zhao Long looked over at Naruto and said, "Um... Colonel, are you sure there's a soulhorn deer there? Also, major generals are the only ones who have the right to post missions. We-"

"Look, if I say there's a soulhorn deer there, then there is. Just put the mission briefing together and send it to the general." Naruto waved his hand dismissively.

Zhao Long smiled stiffly, clasped hands, and asked, "Very well, sir. How many battle credits is the reward?"

Naruto cleared his throat and then said, "Well, it's a very dangerous mission that will be filled with countless dangers. The chances of making it back alive would be small. I guess the only option will be to post a handsome reward. Very well. Set it at 100,000,000 battle credits."

Zhao Long's jaw dropped, and he gasped loudly. However, it only took a moment before he realized what was going on, whereupon a strange look appeared in his eye.

"Oh right," Naruto said, giving Zhao Long a very serious look,

"don't forget to remind the general to let me know just before he posts the mission. We definitely can't have anyone else snatching it up!"

Zhao Long gave another stiff smile, nodded, then hurried away. As he went along, he couldn't help but envy Naruto's ability to embezzle so brazenly. Soon, he reached Uzumaki Lin, where he reported in officially and then handed over the mission briefing.

When Uzumaki Lin took the jade slip and looked at it closely, then saw that the reward was 100,000,000 battle credits, his eyes went wide and he almost threw the jade slip on the ground. "This is highway robbery! If he wants ba

ttle credits, that's fine, but he can't be so obvious about it! A soulhorn deer in valley five kilometers away, and at the early Nascent Soul stage?! And then he has the nerve to put a reward of 100,000,000 battle credits!?" Uzumaki Lin wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. However, considering that he hadn't been able to convince the sect to exempt Naruto from mission duty, he couldn't simply refuse to post the mission. After a bit of thought, he reduced the reward from 100,000,000 to 1,000,000, then sent it to the pagoda in the center of the city.

Even a reward of 1,000,000 was still significant, and would be enough for an ordinary soldier to get a promotion to captain.

"The brat's getting a lucky break this time." Uzumaki Lin posted the mission a bit begrudglingly. After all, since it was a Skin Flayers mission, which meant that the reward would come from the Skin Flayers' coffers. Nonetheless, he posted the mission, sending a message to Naruto right before it went public.

As soon as the mission appeared in the listings at the pagoda, it was noticed, causing quite a commotion to break out.

"A mission for 1,000,000 battle credits! Heavens! Quick, get it!"

"What... what mission is that? It's in valley five kilometers away? An early Nascent Soul stage soulhorn deer? How... how is that even possible?!"

"I want that mission!" All of the cultivators who saw the mission instantly tried to do everything they could to be the ones to get their hands on it.

However, none of them were a match for Naruto. He had been waiting for the mission to be posted, and had also received advanced notice from Uzumaki Lin. Almost as soon as the mission showed up, he accepted it, and then swaggered away under the envious gazes of those around him.

"Trying to steal my mission, huh?" he thought. "I was the one who made the mission! Even if you got it, you still wouldn't find a soulhorn deer in that valley!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he peeked into his bag of holding, where he happened to have some soulhorns that he had requested as ingredients for concocting Soul Convergence Pills. One of them was clearly from an early Nascent Soul stage soulhorn deer.

"All I have to do is go over to that valley with my identity medallion in hand, then come back and turn in the mission." It was quite a stimulating feeling to be able to utilize one's power and connections to be able to earn battle credits in such an open and above-board way.

However, despite feeling so pleased with how things were going, he was still very cautious about going outside of the Great Wall. After much thought, he decided that he definitely couldn't take any risks.

"Even though it's only five kilometers away, I can't just casually head over by myself. I definitely need to bring some people with me." He was absolutely convinced that this would be the best course of action, although he wasn't sure if it made sense to bring his entire 1,000-man regiment along.

On the other hand, bringing too few people would be too dangerous. In the end, he gritted his teeth and murmured to himself, "I don't care about how it looks. Safety is the priority. I'm bringing all 1,000 of them with me!" Having made his decision, he quickly passed down orders to his subordinates, making it clear that they weren't to spread word of the matter.

None of them questioned Naruto or what he was doing. He was their colonel, and had also saved all of their lives. Therefore, all Naruto had to do was point in a direction, and they would fight with bloodthirsty ferocity!

It also helped that Naruto had always treated them fairly. He had even spent his own battle credits to equip them with plenty of armor and magical items. He had also passed out a lot of medicinal pills that he himself had concocted. As a result, his regiment was better equipped and prepared for battle than most others in the legions.

After a few days of preparation, it came time to go out on the mission. That night, the moon wasn't very bright, and the lands were blanketed in darkness. The regiment dressed in disguises to make their passage outside the Great Wall easier, and then prepared to leave.

Everyone in the regiment had been stationed at the Great Wall for years, and were very familiar with how soul cultivators operated. Furthermore, they were all acquainted with the lands bordering Great Wall City. By disguising themselves as soul cultivators, complete with a few vengeful souls on display, they would definitely be less noticeable on the outside.

The only way their disguises would be pierced would be if some extremely powerful expert came along, or if they were forced to use a divine ability that required spiritual power.

After all, there was little fundamental difference between ordinary cultivators and soul cultivators. The main distinction was that the former used spiritual energy, while the latter used soul power.

The thousand members of the regiment didn't go out in battle formation. Rather, they scattered and headed out one by one. However, all it would take would be a single word from Naruto, and they would all group back together.

After making all the arrangements for his subordinates, Naruto nervously put on his own disguise, then gritted his teeth and went out beyond the wall.

Outside, he reached up to feel his face, and realized that he still didn't feel at ease. Therefore, he patted his bag of holding to produce a large bucket of water, which was full to the brim with Heavenspan River water. Inside of that water was a semitransparent mask made from flesh, the very same mask he had acquired from imposter Nightcrypt. That mask could change one's appearance and aura, and even the fluctuations of one's life force.

"There are some mysterious things about this mask, but at the moment, I absolutely have to hide my appearance and aura.

"I need to seize the moment! Go to the valley, come back, and then everything will be over.

"Besides, it's not like I'm going to run into some Wildlands army in a little valley five kilometers from the Great Wall. Things shouldn't be too dangerous."

With that, he took the mask out of the Heavenspan River water and put it onto his face. Instantly, his appearance changed. No longer was he a young man, but instead, a sallow-faced, middle-aged soul cultivator. Furthermore, his spiritual power fluctuations vanished, to be replaced by intense, rippling soul power.

As of this moment, he looked exactly like a soul cultivator!

It was only at this point that he finally started to feel comfortable, and began to speed across the lands under the darkness of night. The light of the waning moon made it just possible to see the shadows cast by the boulders that littered the landscape, as well as bones of the dead...

The occasional lonely soul could be seen floating through the air, and every once in a while, carrion-eating beasts would lift their heads to look around.

Chapter 511

A+ A- Chapter 511

Chapter 511: They Cant See Me!

It was late in the night, and the dim moon cast a pale, fragmented light over the lands. Coupled with the patchy clouds, it made everything murky and difficult to see. The occasional cries of various beasts could be heard, along with the wails of lonely souls that drifted to and fro.

This was not Naruto's first time outside the Great Wall, but the last time, he had been in the middle of a battle, whereas this time, he was out alone, and that was terrifying. After all, despite being in the great circle of Core Formation, he was still a bit leery of ghosts and souls.

He wasn't afraid of them as much as he had been in the past, mostly because of his years serving at the Great Wall, and his deeper understanding of the Wildlands.

Although he hadn't seen everything there was to see in the world, he had seen enough that he didn't fear the specters of the dead like he had in the past.

As he sped along through the night, it was impossible not to notice the skeletons of savage giants sticking up from the soil. Sighing, he thought, "The whole reason I got into immortal cultivation to begin with was because I want to live forever. Who would ever have thought that my path would bring me to a place like this?"

Shaking his head, he proceeded along, contemplating how fate liked to drag people down all sorts of different paths, paths they might never have intended to walk.

Another moment passed, and he cleared his mind of such thoughts and focused on being careful. He even slowed down a bit. By this point, he was about three or four kilometers away from the Great Wall, and more and more souls were becoming visible. Although the amount of souls was nothing compared to the soul tide that would fill the area during battles, there were still enough of them that Naruto had to be extra careful.

Most of the lone souls weren't humanoid in shape, but were spheres of mist that pulsed with icy coldness. Occasionally, they would converge together into the form of beasts or vicious spirits that would then pounce on the carrion-eating animals in the area.

Some of the souls would burrow into the corpses lying on the ground, as if attempting to possess them. However, most of the corpses in the area were too old and stiff, making such efforts fruitless.

As Naruto moved forward, he was careful to give any souls he saw a wide berth. It wasn't that he couldn't handle them in a fight, but rather, that there was no need to do so. There were too few of them, and they were too low quality for him to even care about. Besides, if a fight broke out, it could attract attention, and perhaps cause other problems. If there had been enough souls that it would be worth it to attack and collect them, he might have thought about it. But right now, it wouldn't be worth it.

Eventually, when he was only about half a kilometer away from the little valley that was his destination, his eyes began to shine as he looked up ahead of him.

"That's quite a large number of souls." From what he could see, there were over a thousand random souls flying about, occasionally letting out shrill cries. Normally speaking, there wouldn't be so many souls in this area. However, because of Naruto's Soul Convergence Pills, many of the souls in the attacking forces had fled and scattered, to gather in places like this.

"More than a thousand souls would be a good bit of battle credit."

Starting to get a bit excited, he inched forward, then pulled out a Soul Convergence Pill, quickly disabled the explosion effect, and threw it forward with all his might. The pill became a bright beam of light that landed right in the middle of the flock of souls, where it shattered, unleashing a gravitational force that quickly sucked in all of the more tha

n 1,000 souls.

Then Naruto rushed over, grabbed the soul sphere and giddily tossed it into his bag of holding. After looking around to confirm that he hadn't attracted any unwanted attention, he proceeded toward the valley.

The moment he entered the valley, he realized that there were a few hundred souls inside, and his delight grew.

"Who would have thought that I would make a bit of extra profit on this little venture?" As of this moment, he was pleased with how lucky he had gotten, and how smoothly things were going.

After glancing around the valley one more time, he pulled out another Soul Convergence Pill, and was just preparing to throw it out when all of a sudden, his heart trembled. Eyes sparkling with vigilance, he turned to look over his shoulder.

Behind him, a cloud of red mist was billowing out of the ground.

However, it didn't seem to see Naruto, and flew right past him into the valley.

That red mist was a soul that, upon entering the valley, took the form of a vicious bird head, which then began to attack and consume the other souls in the valley.

"It's at the Nascent Soul level!" Naruto exclaimed to himself. As the soul in question attacked and consumed the other souls, its red color grew brighter, causing Naruto to lick his lips.

Souls of that level weren't as valuable as deva beast souls, but were still worth quite a bit of battle credit. However, Naruto was still a bit hesitant.

"Logically speaking, that soul should have attacked me first. Why didn't it? Maybe... it can't see me?" Something about the situation seemed very strange, so he carefully took a few steps forward into the valley. However, not a single soul in the valley even looked his way.

In fact, some of them even flew right past him as they attempted to flee the Nascent Soul-level soul.

"They really can't see me?" he thought. Both surprised and emboldened, he hurried further into the valley and looked around at the souls flying everywhere, his eyes shining more brightly by the moment. Finally, he reached out with his hand, grabbed one of the passing souls and threw it into his bag of holding.

Not even the crimson Nascent Soul-level soul seemed to be paying attention to him, and was simply going around attacking other souls.

Before long, there were almost no souls left other than the crimson one, and by that point, Naruto was fully convinced that the souls couldn't see him. Heart pounding, he reached up and felt his face to confirm that he was wearing his mask.

"Last time I was on the battlefield, the souls could definitely see me. But this time they can't. It must be... because of this mask!" Then, oh so carefully, he reached up and took the mask off.

The instant it left his face, the crimson soul suddenly shivered and turned to stare straight at him. Then it opened its mouth, apparently preparing to scream and pounce on him.

However, before it could make a noise, Naruto quickly put the mask back on. The crimson soul seemed surprised, but quickly closed its mouth and then began searching around the valley, apparently looking for traces of whoever it was it had just seen.

Seeing all this happen caused Naruto's excitement to grow.

"What a goldmine! I can't believe the mask can do this too! It's a good thing I didn't get rid of it back then." With that, he walked up to the confused crimson soul, and before it even realized what was happening, reached out with lightning-like speed, grabbed it, and threw it into his bag of holding.

"Got it! This mask is like a precious treasure for collecting souls. If I use it with my Soul Convergence Pills, I should be able to get enough battle credits to become a major general in no time!" The more he thought about the prospect, the more excited he got. He quickly walked the length of the valley to make sure that his mission could be counted as having been accomplished, then looked up to see that dawn was nearing. Walking out of the valley, he decided that since he was invisible to souls, and also had about a thousand subordinates shadowing him, that he was actually in a very safe position.

Unless a huge army of savages showed up all of a sudden, he wasn't really in any danger at all.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he made a decision.

"It would be a big pity to go back right now. Since I'm outside the wall already, I might as well take the time to collect a few souls for battle credit."

Chapter 512

A+ A- Chapter 512

Chapter 512: Bring It On! Who Dares To Make A Move!?

Chapter 512: Bring It On! Who Dares To Make A Move!?

Having made his decision, Naruto did his best to keep his excitement under control as he sped off into the distance. This time, instead of avoiding all of the random souls, he would walk right up to them and then grab them with the swish of a sleeve.

The entire time, not a single soul noticed him at all.

"Hahaha! Now this is how to get battle credit!" As he went along, he didn't let a single soul escape.

His collection continued to increase, especially when he ran into larger groups of souls, which was when he would walk right into the middle of them and crush a Soul Convergence Pill in his hand. With a whoosh, all of the souls would then be sucked into his bag of holding.

"So sick! This mask is the key to dominating the Wildlands!" Over the course of the next four hours, he continued to move about to and fro picking up souls, until he had well over 10,000. Unfortunately, that was the best he could do without running into a truly large group of souls.

As for his subordinates who were shadowing him, ready to jump out and protect him at any time, many of them saw him going around collecting the souls, and were somewhat surprised, but took it in as a matter of course.

From their perspective, Naruto was the bane of vengeful souls, and therefore, virtually nothing he did with regard to them would be very surprising.

Time passed. Eventually, the light of dawn was spreading out across the sky, and Naruto was more than a hundred kilometers away from the Great Wall. By this point, he was almost completely beyond the area that could be considered the battlefield, and was truly in the Wildlands.

All sorts of strange rock formations and ferocious plants could be seen, as well as the occasional beast. He even saw a few savages.

At one point, Naruto caught sight of a soul cultivator in the mountains off to the distance, chasing after a beast of some sort.

This soul cultivator didn't look much like the ones he had seen on the battlefield. He wore ordinary clothing, and wasn't very handsome. Based on his aura, he seemed to be in the Core Formation stage, except that the soul power fluctuations coming off of him were not pure, but rather, heterogeneous...

A few years before, Naruto wouldn't have known what to make of this soul cultivator. But as a colonel of the five legions, he had access to intelligence reports that gave him a much deeper understanding of the Wildlands.

The soul cultivators in the Wildlands were not united, and in fact grouped together in all sorts of different organizations. There were even some soul cultivators who didn't belong to any organization, and were like rogue cultivators.

The most powerful forces in the Wildlands were gathered in metropolises called 'cities of the kings'. There was even one city that bore the 'imperial' designation. The forces who occupied such cities were the ones who fielded the huge armies, and were the home of the type of soul cultivators he had seen before on the field of battle.

However, people like that were actually the minority. Most soul cultivators were scattered, and did not belong to powerful organizations. Most of the time, they came from small groups that controlled tiny bits of territory in random places. As for the soul cultivator with the heterogenous soul power Naruto was looking at now, he was obviously one of those types.

When Naruto realized how far away he was from the Great Wall, he stopped and decided that it would be best to end his mission and go back.

Just as he was turning around, though, a muffled boom could be heard from the mountains off in the distance. A cloud of dust shot up into the ai

r as one of the mountains actually collapsed, transforming into something like a crater.

Revealed within that crater was a huge group of souls that almost instantly began to fly out in all directions. Naruto's jaw dropped.

"What's going on?" he thought. Almost immediately, other savages and soul cultivators in the area noticed that something strange was going on. When they saw all of the souls suddenly flying out, they began to rush in the direction of the crumbled mountain to try to grab some of them.

To Naruto, souls were essentially battle credit, but they were just as valuable to the Wildlanders. Not only could they be used as weapons to attack the Great Wall, but they were also useful for cultivation in a place where there was no energy of heaven and earth.

Also, anyone who could get their hands on souls could turn around and sell them to necromancers, who would use them not only for cultivation, but to create soul medicine.

Furthermore, the areas of the Wildlands closer to the Great Wall would often have more souls because of all the people who died in battle. It was for that very reason that there were giants and soul cultivators lurking around in the area, hoping to collect more souls than was possible in other areas.

Looking around, Naruto could see at least a few dozen savage giants and more than ten soul cultivators, all rushing forward to fight over the souls.

"There must be tens of thousands of them..." Naruto thought. As for the group which was rushing forward to compete over the souls, not a single one was in the Nascent Soul stage. They were all in Foundation Establishment or Core Formation, with the three strongest of them being in the great circle of Core Formation. Therefore, he didn't hesitate to rush forward along with them, grabbing souls with every step he took.

"Mine! They're all mine!"

The savages and soul cultivators had no idea who Naruto was, and assumed he was just another soul cultivator. However, it didn't take long before they realized that he was grabbing more souls than everyone else. In fact, he was getting about half of them.

Then, it became apparent that, as he moved about, none of the souls were reacting to him. He would simply reach out and grab them, in quite a contrast to all the effort they were putting forth.

For those who were in Foundation Establishment, there was little they could do about it, but for the handful who were in the great circle of Core Formation, it didn't take long for their eyes to flicker with fury and killing intent.

"Where did this monkey come from? He's so fast!"

"Dammit, he's single-handedly grabbing more souls than all of us put together? Does he have a death wish or something?!"

One of them was an old man in nondescript clothing, whose eyes glittered with violet light. Although there were three soul cultivators in the great circle, the other two seemed to be following this one's lead as they all turned to look at Naruto with coldly glittering eyes.

There were no formal rules in the Wildlands, where the fittest survived, and the law of the jungle prevailed above all. In the end, strength was the most important. When Naruto saw the group of three staring at him, he stopped in place, narrowed his eyes, and looked back at them angrily, his murderous aura on full display.

If any of them had been in the Nascent Soul stage, he would never have done such a thing, but since they were only in the great circle of Core Formation, how could he possibly fear them?

That was even more the case considering that he had a thousand subordinates not too far off. All it would take would be a single order, and they would rush over to help him. Therefore, not only was Naruto not afraid, he was actually feeling a bit arrogant at the moment. Glaring viciously, and looking very much like he was on the verge of attacking with full force, he roared, "Bring it on! Who dares to make a move on me!?"

None of the savages or soul cultivators had attacked him to begin with because of his fear-inspiring speed. Now, he looked like some sort of fiendish devil, the type who was used to vicious fighting. Therefore, the old man simply snorted coldly, ignored him, and proceeded on toward the crater.

The other Core Formation experts did the same, and as for the other soul cultivators and savages in the Foundation Establishment level, they obviously had no intention of provoking him. All of them just continued on toward the crater in the hopes of lucking out and getting some souls.

Seeing this, Naruto chuckled darkly, and then let out a few cold harrumphs.

"So, they do realize how awesome Lord Uzumaki is. Guess they have some sense after all!" Sticking his chin up, he looked very much like the kind of person who was unparalleled under heaven and could crush anyone in front of him in battle. At this point, he couldn't just leave and go back to the Great Wall, so he clasped his hands behind his back and headed toward the crater.

As he got closer to the crater, he was finally able to spot a cave mouth at the bottom of it. That was where all the souls were emerging from. Surprisingly, some of them were even crimson, indicating that they were at the Nascent Soul-level.

"How could there be so many souls?!" Elated, he leaped forward and began to collect one soul after another. When the soul cultivators and savages in the area saw him snatching so many souls right out from under their noses, their killing intent continued to grow stronger.

Pursing his lips to suppress his laughter, Naruto envisioned what it would be like if they attacked him, and then he suddenly called a thousand cultivators to his side to fight for him. The mere thought of the grandiose spectacle got him so excited he started hoping they would actually attack him.

"Come on, hurry up and make a move!" he thought. With that, he picked up speed in collecting souls, focusing on those which were in the Nascent Soul level.

Moments later, the old man in the great circle of Core Formation suddenly grinned in terrifying fashion. All of a sudden, a black mist poured out of him, transforming into the shape of a huge skull around him. Then he began to walk toward Naruto.

However, in that very moment, an intense rumble that far surpassed any sound from before rose up from the crater.

RUMBLE!

Chapter 513

A+ A- Chapter 513

Chapter 513: This Soul Is For Giant Ghost King!

The sudden, intense rumbling was quite startling, both to the old man and to Naruto. That was not to mention the other savages and soul cultivators in the area. Before anyone could react, a heavenshaking, earth-shattering shockwave erupted from within the crater.

As a result, everyone, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, was violently thrown backward. In fact, some who were in the Foundation Establishment level were ripped to shreds, with even their souls being destroyed in the process.

Naruto was left gasping, and everyone else was shocked to the core.

"What's going on!?"

"First the mountain collapsed into a crater, and now the crater is falling apart. This..."

"Don't tell me that some powerful magical treasure is coming into the world!"

Even as the cries of astonishment began to ring out, a gravitational force erupted from within the crater that didn't affect anyone in the area except for the countless scattering souls. Instantly, they began to tremble as they were sucked back into the crater.

At the same time, shocking roars began to emanate from the crater, causing Naruto's mind to reel from the incredible, shocking force contained within it.

Everyone reacted in such a way, with the exception of the old man. His eyes suddenly flickered with disbelief, and he even began to tremble in excitement.

"That's... that's..." Even before the man could finish his sentence, another intense rumbling sound echoed out, accompanied by a ball of white mist that shot up into the air. Just barely visible within that mist was a golden blur that appeared to be some entity trying to fly up into the heavens!

Only a moment later, the golden entity within the mist became clear, which was none other than a golden crocodile!

At the same time, a metal-type aura erupted out, causing rippling fluctuations that both Naruto and everyone else instantly recognized.

"A deva beast soul!" The savages and soul cultivators began to cry out in shock, and their eyes instantly burned with madness and greed. Of course, those who were merely in the Foundation Establishment level began to back away, aware that they didn't qualify to compete for something like this, at least not do so and stay alive.

The savages and soul cultivators who were in the Core Formation level were going mad with glee. As powerful experts of the Wildlands, they lived in an impoverished place where fighting for resources was the natural order of things. Rewards come only with risk, and that was a virtual instinct for people like this.

Deva beast souls were rare, something that some people might never even see in their entire life. Just catching sight of one could be considered good fortune for some.

The sudden and unexpected appearance of one right here led everyone present to go wild with anticipation.

Without any hesitation, everyone present shot directly toward the golden crocodile!

Although the golden crocodile seemed confused, almost like a newborn creature without much intelligence, it quickly realized that a whole group was bearing down on it with the desire to take it.

Booms could even be heard as some of the Core Formation soul cultivators and savages began to fight each other. Clearly, a large number of them were actually from the same organization, and were teaming up to beat away the rogue soul cultivators.

As for the three who were in the great circle of Core Formation, they were virtually invincible, and quickly began to close in on the deva beast soul. Although the deva beast soul hadn't fully regained its senses, its instincts were still there, and it quickly began to back up. Naruto's eyes wer

e wide, and his mind was spinning. He actually possessed deva souls, but this was his first time seeing a deva beast soul. Despite being less rare than deva souls, they were still astronomically valuable, and if he could turn it in for battle credit, it would count for nearly thirty percent of what he needed to get a promotion to major general.

Therefore, it was no surprise that his excitement instantly built to a frenzy.

"That belongs to me!" he roared, unleashing all the speed he could to blast toward the deva beast soul. In the blink of an eye, he was in the crowd of soul cultivators, waving his sleeve to unleash blasts of power and knock people out of his way.

Although he was actually using spiritual power, the mask made it seem like soul power, and revealed absolutely no clues about the truth. Screams rang out as the soul cultivators were hit with power, causing blood to spray out of their mouths as they looked over in confused terror at Naruto.

Naruto was like an explosive dragon, holding nothing back as he battled his way forward. Soon, he was almost upon the deva beast soul, which would normally cause it to flee in the opposite direction. And yet it didn't even seem to notice him.

Naruto was very pleased at that, and was well aware that the beast couldn't see him because of his mask. Laughing heartily, he reached out to grab the soul. However, that was when the old soul cultivator madly shouted, "Heed my command and block this monkey! I want that soul as a gift for Giant Ghost King!"

The enraged old man's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture. At the same time, the others under his command recklessly charged forward to block Naruto's path, their eyes glowing red with madness.

This was the combined attack of more than ten people, two of them in the great circle of Core Formation, four in late Core Formation, and the rest in the early and mid stages.

However, despite all of that, they weren't a match at all for Naruto, and were incapable of preventing his advance. And yet, their wild charge did have the effect of frightening the deva beast soul.

The soul couldn't see Naruto, but could see the others, and immediately began to flee. As a result, Naruto snatched nothing but air, after which he was struck by the divine abilities and magical techniques launched by the more than ten soul cultivators.

Naruto was shaken, but not hurt, and yet could do nothing other than watch as the deva beast soul fled. At the same time, the old soul cultivator tossed out a glowing red sphere, which was a magical treasure specifically designed to capture souls. As soon as it left his hand, it transformed into a huge net which neatly wrapped up the fleeing deva beast soul.

Enraged, Naruto unleashed the power of a Frigid Paragon in a blast toward the ten Core Formation soul cultivators.

In the blink of an eye, they were transformed into lifeless statues of ice as the entire 30,000-meter area became a frigid domain!

The old man was scared out of his mind. How could he ever have imagined that Naruto would be so terrifying? In this moment of crisis, all he could do was grab his net and then slap his hand down onto the crown of his head, causing a statue of a giant ghost to appear.

It had two horns, green skin, and the faces of countless vengeful souls bulging out from its skin. Not only did it look matchlessly vicious, but it radiated a terrifying fleshly body power. As for its eyes, they glowed red, as if the statue had just climbed up out of the underworld! This statue depicted something completely and utterly legendary, something that existed above berserk ghosts. This was a giant ghost!

As the statue flew out, it radiated green light, as well as a sinister, murderous aura that seemed to contain fluctuations of the Deva Realm.

Because of that murderous aura, Naruto's Frigid Paragon domain suddenly slowed, giving the old man just enough time to flee with the deva beast soul.

Even still, he was covered with ice and coughing up blood. Clearly, his blood and internal organs had been negatively affected, and yet he still managed to shout, "I'm the seventh apprentice of Marquis Lan, direct subordinate of Giant Ghost King! I'm here on a mission! How dare you injure me!"

The old man could see how much danger he was in, and how furious Naruto was. Trembling inwardly, he pointed down at the statue of the giant ghost, which began to rumble loudly. Then, fifty shadowy figures burst out from inside, which transformed into fifty savage giants. All of them had expressionless faces and glowing red eyes, and quickly began to grow until they were fully 30 meters tall. Based on the powerful fleshly body fluctuations rolling off of them, they were all in the Core Formation level.

Most shocking of all was that they wore matching armor engraved with images of giant ghosts! Because of that armor, they were even more powerful than they would have been normally. Furthermore, they were arranged in a formation designed to protect the old man!

Protected from the frigid qi, the old man breathed a sigh of relief as he continued to speed away, and even had a bit of killing intent flickering in his eyes as he looked back at Naruto.

Chapter 514

A+ A- Chapter 514

Chapter 514: I'm An Army Officer, Fool!

There was no way Naruto couldn't be startled by the sudden appearance of more than fifty savage giants. He had been impressed with the statue to begin with, but this new development left his eyes flickering. Then he heard how the old man referred to himself, and realized that this was no ordinary soul cultivator.

Furthermore, these giants were different from the other savages Naruto had seen in battle. Although giants in the armies he had seen were numerous, and abounded with killing intent, they were very similar to the rogue soul cultivators he had seen. They were disorganized and unable to work together. These fifty giants he was facing right now were clearly different.

There was something even colder about their demeanor, and the madness lurking within them caused Naruto's pupils to constrict. Clearly, these giants practiced some special type of cultivation that made them elite among their savage compatriots.

Even their armor was beyond ordinary, and capable of defending them against his Frigid Paragon powers. Plus, the power of their formation was such that they could easily protect the old man as he fled.

Simultaneously, when the power of that formation reached its pinnacle, it thrummed with an energy similar to the spell formation giants of the River-Defying Sect!

That was a power similar to the cultivation base of a Nascent Soul expert!

Of even more concern to Naruto was the giant ghost statue, which contained a bit of deva-level defense power. Even if he managed to use his Frigid Paragon powers to freeze all of the elite savages in place, it was the power of a deva that formed the nexus of the spell formation.

"So, is this the true power of the Wildlands...?" he thought. Over the course of the battles he had fought with the Wildlands armies, he had slowly come to look down upon them. But now, such feelings were fading away.

Within the spell formation, the

old man's eyes glittered with killing intent. "How dare you attack me after I revealed my identity. Do you have a death wish or something?!"

Although he was a bit intimidated by Naruto's display of strength, he knew that if he didn't kill him, the enmity caused because of the stolen deva beast soul was not something that could be easily resolved at a later date.

Naruto chuckled coldly. Staring the old man in the eye, he slowly said, "What's so impressive about ganging up on people? Do you have the guts to fight me in a duel?!"

In response, the old soul cultivator laughed as loudly as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the entire world. Eyes flaring with icy killing intent, he said, "Are you a moron or something? So what if I'm ganging up on you? What are you going to do about it?!"

With that, he lifted his right arm in preparation to give the order to kill Naruto.

However, it was in that moment that Naruto also started laughing. Lifting his chin up proudly, he suddenly revealed a jade slip, which he then crushed between his fingers.

"Fine. Ganging up it is. Come, my brothers!"

The old soul cultivator was taken aback by Naruto's words. Then, sensing a change in the wind, he looked off into the distance.

Suddenly, dozens of beams of light appeared off in the distance to shoot toward them.

The old man laughed coldly. "Hmph. That's not very many peop-"

However, before he could finish his sentence, more beams of light appeared in a different direction. Rumbling sounds echoed out as, within the blink of an eye, dozens upon dozens of beams of light appeared, shooting through the air at blinding speed.

Within the briefest of moments, hundreds of beams of light could be seen!

The old man's face turned ashen, choking on his own breath and trembling physically. And yet, things weren't over yet. Hundreds more beams of light began to

to speed toward the area, causing the old man's defenses to begin to vibrate.

There were a thousand of them, causing the old soul cultivator's face to turn as white as a sheet of paper. Eyes wide, he began to pant with incredulity and disbelief.

"This... this is impossible!"

He had no idea why so many people had been hiding in the area, nor was he sure how he had missed any signs of them. Most frightening of all was that, without fail, all of them were in the Core Formation stage!

There were even quite a few who were in the same cultivation stage as himself, the great circle of Core Formation!

Feeling very dashing and spirited, Naruto pointed at the old man and shouted, "Brothers, put this old man to death!"

"Die!" shouted the thousand cultivators, pouring through the air like a grand army, causing intense rumbling sounds to fill the area as their murderous auras raged. These were top troops under the command of an intrepid officer, a sight which caused the old soul cultivator's mind to spin. Even more shocking was that the fifty savage giants gasped and began to back up. Not even they could possibly have dreamed that they would end up facing a huge number of cultivators in this place!

The old soul cultivator could immediately tell that if this group massed together, there would be no way for him to make it out of the situation alive.

"Flee!" he screamed. The fifty savage giants immediately drew upon the full power of the spell formation, which accelerated rapidly in an attempt to get the man outside of the closing net.

"Get him, boys!" Naruto roared.

Although the spell formation was moving at incredible speed, these were cultivators of the five legions. Furthermore, they had gone through a lifeor-death trial with Naruto, and had been hand-picked from tens of thousands of other soldiers. Therefore, it was with murderous ferocity that they shot toward the fifty savage giants. The majestic sight

majestic sight of a thousand of his men attacking fifty giants with deadly intent immediately got Naruto's blood boiling, so he shouted, "Fudge! How dare you steal my deva beast soul! Even worse, you actually went so far as to gang up on me!"

There was no way the fifty giants could last for long under such an attack. They fought back, roaring, and yet the thousand cultivators of Naruto's regiment were well-trained, and quickly fell into their own formations, which the giants were incapable of defending against.

As the giants were destroyed in spectacular fashion, the old soul cultivator trembled, clearly on the verge of tears because of the unfairness of the situation.

"You big bully!" he screamed, his hair flying about wildly as the few surviving giants tried to force their way out of the situation. "What's so impressive about ganging up on people? If you have what it takes, why don't you fight me in a duel?!"

"Are you a moron or something?" Naruto replied proudly, spitting the old man's words right back at him. "So what if I'm ganging up on you? What are you going to do about it?!"

With that, he shot toward the old man with deadly force.

Soon, more bitter screams rang out.

By this point, all of the fifty giants were dead, most of them having chosen to go out in self-detonation. However, the resulting explosions were of little use. Naruto had been prepared for that, and used his Frigid Paragon energy to dispel the force. As a result, not a single one of his men were killed!

Actually, if he had allowed his men to go all out, disregarding even their own safety, it would have been even easier to get rid of the fifty giants. However, he didn't do that. He wanted every single person that he took out of the Great Wall with him to get back safely!

As the last of the fifty giants died, the statue of the giant ghost

the giant ghost above the old soul cultivator's head began to power up to attack.

But how could Naruto possibly let that happen? Now that the old man was alone on the battlefield, Naruto sped forward and lashed out with his palm. In the blink of an eye, a force like that of a mountain slapped into the enormous statue.

A boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of the old man's mouth.

As for the statue, it immediately began to spin downward toward the ground, clearly on the verge of collapsing.

"Get that statue!" Naruto barked as he pursued the old man. "It's definitely a precious item!"

Some of his men immediately went to retrieve the giant ghost statue.

Meanwhile, the vengeful souls had all been sucked back into the crater, which had fully collapsed into an enormous, mist-filled pit.

The old man finally fell down out of the sky and landed at the edge of that pit, coughing up blood. Bitter laughter escaped his lips; the attack from just now had revealed to him how shockingly powerful his opponent really was. His five yin organs and six yang organs were almost completely destroyed. His soul power was in chaos, and the flame of his life force was about to wink out.

"I'm the seventh apprentice of Marquis Lan, direct subordinate of Giant Ghost King! It doesn't matter where you're from, if you kill me, then you'll die for sure!" Despairing, the old man made one last-ditch effort to frighten Naruto.

However, even as the words escaped his lips, Naruto appeared in front of him and reached out to grab his neck. Then he relieved him of the deva beast soul and said, "Who gives a crap about some Giant Ghost King? I'm an army officer, fool!" The disdain in his voice was clear as he laid some restrictive spells onto the old man and then tossed him over to some of the men in his regiment.

"Take him with us!"

Chapter 515

A+ A- Chapter 515

Chapter 515: Be A Good Boy And Take The Medicinal Pill

When the old soul cultivator heard Naruto call himself an army officer, his eyes went blank. Then, a moment later, his mind began to reel, and his face completely fell. He even forgot to breathe for a moment. Earlier, he had been confused as to why Naruto would suddenly have a thousand men to back him up, and had assumed that he was from another of the powerful group of soul cultivators.

Fear of displeasing the organization led by Giant Ghost King might have been able to keep him alive. After all, Giant Ghost King was one of the four great kings of the Wildlands, and one of only five demigods. Therefore, few people would be willing to offend him.

But now that the old man realized that Naruto was actually from the lands of Heavenspan, his eyes filled with despair. However, that only lasted for a moment, whereupon venomous hatred appeared. Before he could do anything else, though, Naruto bopped him on the head.

"What are you so surprised about? And what is that look in your eye supposed to mean?!" Naruto was clearly not very pleased with the man's reaction. As far as Naruto was concerned, he was actually being very merciful; most other people in his situation would have just killed the old man right off the bat.

Instead, he was a very kind person. Instead of killing him, he planned to take him back to the Great Wall and trade him in for battle credit. But then the man dared to give him a dirty look.

The old man gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly at his lack of options. Unless he wanted to die on the spot, he would just have to endure the situation. After all, considering his background as someone from Giant Ghost City, it was likely that he wouldn't be killed after being handed over to Great Wall City.

Sighing, he gritted his teeth and bowed his head.

Naruto bopped him on the head again and then complacently said,

"Yes, yes, that's much better. Behave

yourself, now!"

Feeling like a very grand figure, he was just about to flick his sleeve and withdraw his regiment back to the Great Wall, when all of a sudden, a chorus of piercing screams rang out from the mist inside the pit.

For some reason, those screams sounded familiar to Naruto, as if they were coming out of the mouths of souls. Frightened, he backed up a few paces and then peered down into the pit.

The pit was so incredibly deep that, combined with the mist, it was impossible to see the bottom of it. In fact, not even divine sense could reach its end.

And yet, the screaming just now had clearly been coming from a large number of vengeful souls, perhaps even as many as 10,000 or more.

Even as Naruto assessed the scene cautiously, grave expressions appeared on the faces of the cultivators of his regiment. Then, Zhao Long stepped forward and whispered, "Colonel, there's something strange going on here. It almost seems like there's some sort of natural restrictive magic in place. We should probably get going immediately."

Naruto agreed that there was something very odd about this place. First the mountain had collapsed into a crater, and then the crater had turned into a pit. Plus, there was that deva beast soul. All of those things had happened in a very short period of time. Plus, neither the Great Wall nor any of the savage tribes had sent anyone to investigate the matter.

It was almost as if nobody had been able to detect what was happening.

Naruto's expression was just as grave as everyone else's as he nodded in agreement. But then he looked down into the mists, which were apparently filled with large numbers of souls, and couldn't help but think about how much of a pity it would be to just leave.

"That's a bunch of battle credit down there..." he murmured to himself. Opening his third eye, he rotated his cultivation base, which sent a beam of violet light out. Almost immediately, the power of his Heavenspan Dharma Eye began to dispel the mists. Seeing that this method was

was working, he added some cultivation base power, which caused the mists to melt away at an even more rapid pace.

Naruto wasn't the only one who could see what was happening. The old soul cultivator and all of the men in his regiment could also see the mists vanishing.

Soon, the gaping pit was revealed. Although it was still impossible to see the bottom itself, it was possible to see innumerable souls floating around inside of it!

Even just at the entrance, there appeared to be more than 100,000 of them, with quite a few being at the Nascent Soul level. Considering how many there were, it was impossible to even guess how many the entire pit contained.

The number was essentially incalculable!

The scene was profoundly shocking to Naruto, and caused the cultivators of his regiment to stare with wide eyes.

There were so many souls in sight now that, despite the fact that everyone in the regiment had Soul Convergence Pills, they could tell that if the souls all attacked them at once, they would definitely be killed. Furthermore, the rancor these souls emanated surpassed that of ordinary souls, and made it clear that if they attacked together, it would be a situation of enormous danger.

As for the old soul cultivator, he was staring into the pit of souls, feeling completely shaken and unwilling to even move a muscle. He knew what kind of terrifying power that group of vengeful souls represented, and that if their attention was attracted, he wouldn't have to worry about the cultivators who had just captured him; the souls would rip his flesh apart as they consumed him and then possessed his body.

If he got taken back to the Great Wall, he might be a prisoner of war, but at least he would be alive. But if those souls took to action, then he would definitely be fated to die.

As a soul cultivator of the Wildlands, he was far too familiar with souls to do anything other than fear them in this situation.

Thankfully, the souls seemed to be in a state of partial hibernation, and weren't interested in leaving the pit.

the pit. As long as they weren't riled up, they would likely stay put and not attack.

Everyone was shocked, and Naruto's scalp was tingling. However, as he looked at the vengeful souls, he saw something a bit different than everyone else. He saw a huge amount of battle credit!

"If I could capture those souls, I could turn them all in for battle credit... Look at how many of them there are! Heavens! Maybe becoming a major general isn't just a pipe dream after all!" His lips were pursed tight in excitement, and yet he was still feeling a bit hesitant. After all, the sheer number of souls meant that even with Soul Convergence Pills, it was still a very dangerous situation.

"The best thing would be to lure them out a bit at a time, or maybe split them up into groups..."

Although he had his mask to protect himself, he still wasn't comfortable relying completely on that to stay safe. On the other hand, simply walking away would be a huge pity. After a bit of thought, he crept backward and quietly signaled for the rest of his regiment to do the same.

After they were a few hundred meters away from the edge of the pit, in a relatively safe location, Naruto looked over with glittering eyes at the old soul cultivator he'd captured.

The old man had just been sighing in relief that they were moving away from the pit of souls when, all of a sudden, he realized that Naruto was staring at him.

The old man's heart started to thump in his chest. He had the distinct premonition that whatever plans this Core Formation cultivator had for him, they definitely couldn't be good.

Before he could open his mouth to say something, Naruto chuckled darkly, stepped forward, and patted the man on the shoulder.

"Listen, Fellow Daoist, why don't we forget about the matter of you trying to steal my deva beast soul? All you have to do is just do me a little favor. What do you say? It's nothing difficult. I'll simply give you a medicinal pill, then you walk into that

walk into that big pit, and crush it. Remember, you can only crush it after you get into the pit. Alright? Simple!"

Then, it was with a very fervent and hopeful look in his eyes that he produced a Soul Convergence Pill and held it out.

The old man's mind spun, and he began to tremble as he looked at Naruto. Seemingly on the verge of tears, he said, "Please let me off the hook, oh exalted one. I'm... I'm more than happy to become a prisoner of war. I have a lot of information about Giant Ghost City! I'm... I'm very valuable as a hostage!"

"I know, I know. Come, come. Just be a good boy and take this medicinal pill." Clearing his throat, Naruto forcibly opened the old man's hand and put the Soul Convergence Pill in his palm. "Alright, off with you now."

Starting to struggle, the old man loudly said, "I'm not going anywhere!

You might as well just kill me! Forget it!"

Naruto was clearly very displeased.

"If you refuse," he said angrily, "then I'll have my men rough you up a bit and then throw you inside! Look, you're gonna go into that pit where you want to or not!" Instantly, the surrounding cultivators of Naruto's regiment began to stare at the old man with cold killing intent.

The old man was trembling in fear, and simultaneously bristling with rage. However, he could tell that he was out of options. If he didn't do as he was asked, then it was obvious that this fiendish killer would toss him headfirst into the pit of souls anyway.

Gritting his teeth helplessly, the old man closed his hand around the medicinal pill. Then, he threw caution to the wind as he began to creep forward to the edge of the pit.

In the same moment that he began to move forward, Naruto and his regiment fell back until they were 3,000 meters away. There, they prepared to run away at top speed if necessary.

Only at that point did Naruto finally turn to look back at the old man as he prepared to dive into the pit.

Chapter 516

A+ A- Chapter 516

Chapter 516: Kill Me First!

The old man's face was a mask of grief, and his heart was filled with ceaseless venomous curses toward Naruto. Even though he realized that he was holding a Soul Convergence Pill, he hadn't yet made any connection to Naruto himself. After all, while not every single cultivator in the five legions was armed with Soul Convergence Pills, enough were that they could be considered common.

"Damned monkey! You're definitely not going to die a good death!" Gritting his teeth, he edged closer to the pit, where he looked back to see Naruto and the other cultivators waiting nervously, clearly ready to flee at a moment's notice. Immediately, the old man's heart filled with disgust.

And yet, he had no other options in front of him. If he did as Naruto asked, maybe he would get out of the situation alive. But if he caused problems, he could theoretically revel in the thought of his captors being killed, but he himself would also perish.

As he stood there at the edge of the pit wavering back and forth about what to do, Naruto impatiently cried out in a hushed voice, "Hurry up! We're all waiting on you!"

Yeah, well keep waiting, bitch! the old man cursed inwardly. Clenching his jaw, he toed the edge of the pit, and was just preparing to jump in when the vengeful souls inside suddenly stopped floating around and then turned to look at him.

The old man's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode, and his mind was spinning into a complete blank. Finally, he let out a shout and simultaneously crushed the medicinal pill. Before any of the souls could do anything, a massive gravitational force sprang out.

Instantly, more than 10,000 vengeful souls were sucked up, without even a chance to fight back. In the blink of an eye, they became a soul sphere, which the soul cultivator grabbed. However, the other vengeful souls were now riled up, and began howling, even the ones in the depths of the pit. Then, they began to pour out into the open like a massive tempest.

The old soul cultivator shrieked as he spun around and began to flee. Behind him, a cloud of souls rose up into the air, tens upon tens of thousands of them.

"Help me!" the old man shrieked as he fled. Feeling angrier than ever at Naruto and his men, he headed straight in their direction.

The old man was quick, but Naruto was quicker. In almost the same moment that the old man crushed the Soul Convergence Pill, he and his men began to flee in the opposite direction.

The old man saw this, but had no other option than to push forward with greater speed. Sadly, his cultivation base had already been sealed and limited, making things very difficult. Behind him, a sea of souls bore down, their howls echoing out in all directions.

The sensation of deadly crisis that filled him, and the despair, made it so that the old man couldn't hold back his curses.

"You won't die a good death, you monkey! If I become a ghost, I'll haunt you to the end of your days!"

The cultivators were trembling at what they saw, and Naruto's heart was pounding as he fled. As he looked over his shoulder, what he focused on was not the old man, but the huge sea of souls. "1,000,000... no, wait, 10,000,000... no wait... Heavens, how many souls are there!?" Naruto's scalp was tingling in terror as he pushed forward with greater speed. As for the old man, there was no time to pay any attention to him, which Naruto felt a bit bad about. After all, it was his own greed which had put the man in this situation.

Even as he smiled bitterly, his expression suddenly flickered, and he looked over his shoulder again to see the old soul cultivator howling as he fled from the

souls. But then, after the souls reached a position several hundred meters away from the edge of the pit, they suddenly stopped giving chase. Instead, they flew back up into the sky and then circled back toward the pit, where they vanished. Moments later, everything was quiet again.

Naruto looked on in shock, as did the other cultivators. As for the old man, he felt like he had just survived a deadly catastrophe, and was looking around with incredulous delight.

"I'm... I'm not dead!" he muttered as tears of joy streamed down his face. However, before he could even calm down from the thrill of having survived, Naruto walked up and gave him an appraising glance.

The old man suddenly went stiff with anxiety. Considering that he was completely surrounded by Naruto's forces, it was obvious that he couldn't escape, and all of a sudden, the old man thought back to the curses he had just been uttering. Without any hesitation, he handed the soul sphere over to Naruto.

"Exalted one, I-" However before he could continue with any explanation, Naruto began to walk around him slowly, poking and prodding him a bit here and there. The old man's anxiety quickly mounted.

"They didn't chase you very far, did they?" Naruto said. "Don't tell me it's because of some secret of yours?" After circling the man a few times without finding anything out of the ordinary, still seemed suspicious. "Alright, how about this. Considering that the souls don't seem inclined to chase you, why don't we do a little experiment...?"

With that, he produced another Soul Convergence Pill and handed it to the old man.

In response to Naruto's words, the old man nearly exploded. Eyes going wide, he was unable to suppress his rage as he yelled, "No!

Fudge, I don't care if you tell your men to skin me alive, there's no way I'm going! Kill me first!"

The old man really was angry. Earlier, he had been staring death in the face, the result of which was that he was now hovering on the verge of mental collapse, and even hysteria.

The surrounding cultivators didn't feel bad for the man at all.

Furthermore, they realized that if the man really would rather die than do as requested, then it would be virtually impossible to force him to help them. Therefore, a few of the cultivators stepped forward with clasped hands.

"Colonel, allow me to go test things out!"

"Let me go, Colonel!"

"Colonel, this experiment was made for me!"

Naruto could immediately tell that these cultivators were trying to return the kindness he had shown them. However, there was no way he would agree. After all, he was most likely in the safest position of them all with his mask.

Looking over at the pit, he gritted his teeth and said, "Stand down, all of you." Then he glared at the old man. "And as for you, what are you yelling for? Boy do you have a loud voice."

With the wave of a hand, he bound the man up again and then tossed him back to his subordinates. With that, he looked at the pit for a moment before walking toward it.

Zhao Long and some of the others were just about to try to persuade him not to go, but he was too quick. Even as he flew toward the pit, his voice echoed back into their ears.

"Get back and wait for me." When Naruto arrived at the edge of the pit, his heart was gripped with anxiety and indecision. Further back, the cultivators of his regiment were waiting nervously, in contrast to the old soul cultivator, who was chuckling coldly and cursing inwardly.

"I'm a Wildlands soul cultivator, and probably do have some of the aura of Giant Ghost City on me. Those souls didn't want to chase me, but as for that monkey of a cultivator, he's definitely dead!" Actually, the old man had no idea why the souls had abandoned the chase, but was relatively convinced that his own analysis was correct. Even if it wasn't, he was still sure that the souls would consume Naruto the instant he got too close.

As he chuckled coldly to himself, and the other cultivators looked on nervously, Naruto's eyes began to shine with determination.

"I should be fine. They definitely can't see me!" Rubbing his mask to reassure himself, he took another step forward, and was inside the pit.

Of course, at the slightest sign of anything wrong, he was prepared to call upon the full strength of his fleshly body power, even to the point of harming himself, to flee. However, as soon as he entered the pit, he realized that the souls weren't even looking at him. Instead, they simply continued to float around like before.

The thousand cultivators of his regiment, as well as the old soul cultivator, were all shocked.

"What's going on...?"

Naruto was delighted, but continued to maintain vigilance. He proceeded carefully through the throngs of souls, and the entire time, not a single one showed even a hint of paying attention to him.

Soon, he was deep within the crowd of souls, where he pulled out a Soul Convergence Pill and crushed it.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as a gravitational force erupted out. In the blink of an eye, more than 10,000 vengeful souls were sucked into a soul sphere, which Naruto tossed into his bag of holding. In response, the other souls were thrown into a commotion, which caused Naruto to tense up for a moment before he realized that they still weren't able to see him.

Even as his subordinates looked on in shock, Naruto chuckled, clasped his hands casually behind his back, and stuck his chin up, making himself look just like a lonely hero.

Everyone looking at him saw what appeared to be tens of millions of souls howling and screaming in madness, ready to destroy everything in their path. There were even some crimson souls of the Nascent Soul level who appeared right by Naruto.

And yet, he calmly waved his hand and collected all of the souls nearby into a soul sphere.

He looked like a consummate master, completely calm and collected, and in no danger whatsoever!

Chapter 517

A+ A- Chapter 517

Chapter 517: A Deva?

The thousand men in Naruto's legion looked on in both shock and fervor. However, when they considered who Naruto was in the army, they realized that with him, nothing was beyond the realm of possibility.

He was Grandmaster Uzumaki! He was in the top ten on the Wildlands

Execution List! He had crushed a Nascent Soul cultivator in battle!

In terms of how many vengeful souls he had put an end to, it was impossible to even say. In fact, to call him the bane of vengeful souls was no exaggeration.

These cultivators viewed Naruto with blind devotion, and therefore, were able to take the matter in stride. However, the old soul cultivator was so shocked he felt like the world was spinning around him.

"How... how is this even possible?!"

"Th-there... there must be hundreds of millions of souls in there! This...

it's..." The old man had already reached the point where he could barely speak coherently. Considering what he himself had just experienced, the fact that Naruto was acting completely calmly was almost impossible to accept.

But what happened next was even more terrifying. Even as the old man's mind teetered on the verge of collapse, he watched Naruto pull out another Soul Convergence Pill and crush it. Immediately, more souls were sucked in, whereupon he pulled out another pill.

And that was how Naruto proceeded into the depths of the pit.

Every step along the way, he pulled out another Soul Convergence Pill. 10,000 souls. 30,000. 50,000. 100,000... 200,000. 500,000... Not very much time passed at all before Naruto had collected at least 1,000,000 souls. And he was barely exerting any effort at all...

Of the 10,000,000 or so souls that existed at the entrance to the pit, it was clear that over ten percent had already been collected by Naruto. The old soul cultivator was completely and utterly flabbergasted.

What was especially shocking was how casually Naruto strutted along, almost as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard. The old man's eyes looked like they might fall out of his face at any moment, and he could hardly breathe.

"Nascent Soul!" he screamed inwardly. "Dammit, this guy is definitely a Nascent Soul eccentric! That's the only explanation for this! He's definitely a Nascent Soul eccentric who possesses some sort of powerful magical treasure!" The old man was convinced that this was the only way to explain Naruto's incredible performance. The way he had cut down Core Formation experts as if it were child's play indicated that he was definitely a Nascent Soul cultivator!

"Damned Heavenspan cultivators. I can't believe someone who's clearly a Nascent Soul expert would find it amusing to disguise himself as a Core Formation cultivator and then go around bullying people!" Even as the old man stewed in his bitterness, Naruto reached the point where he had collected the majority of the souls around the entrance. Although he was excited, he suddenly realized that he was running low on Soul Convergence Pills.

He quickly flew out of the pit and sped over to Zhao Long and the other members of his regiment, who were staring at him as if he were some sort of god.

"Hurry up and loan me your Soul Convergence Pills!" Naruto said. "I'll pay you back later!" Without hesitation, the cultivators in his regiment began pulling out their Soul Convergence Pills and handing them to Naruto.

Naruto was delighted to suddenly have so many Soul Convergence Pills at his disposal. He quickly turned and rushed back into the pit, where he began to head down toward the very bottom of the pit to collect more souls.

Zhao Long and the others hesitated for a bit,

but then cautiously creeped over to the edge of the pit and looked over the edge to watch.

What they saw was shocking to the extreme. There was Naruto, standing on top of a white surface, looking around in astonishment and disbelief.

At first, no one was quite sure what they were seeing, but upon closer examination, they realized what that white surface was, and their minds reeled.

"That's..."

"Heavens, he's standing on... on a..." All of the cultivators in the regiment felt like their heads were about to explode, and as for the soul cultivator, he was literally screaming.

"How is this possible?! It's a skeleton?!"

The mouth of the pit was actually an entryway leading into what they were now looking down into, an enormous necropolis!

It was virtually impossible to describe how large the necropolis was, but it was possible to see a shocking skeleton right there inside!

It was fully 300,000 meters in size, and from what they could see looking through the passageway, that was only part of the skull!

Naruto was actually more shaken than the rest of them. At first, he hadn't realized what exactly the white surface that the was standing on was, but after a moment, he realized it was a skull. And then he saw... the ghastly 300,000-meter skeleton!

It wasn't a human skull, but rather the skull of some enormous crocodilian creature, stretching down into the necropolis. The bones were like mountain peaks, so shocking that Naruto gasped out loud.

Furthermore, the enormous necropolis also contained... seemingly innumerable vengeful souls! None of the souls had fixed shapes, but rather, existed as misty spheres of different colors, within which faces would occasionally appear.

Considering how many of the souls there were floating around in the necropolis, it was possible to estimate that there were at least 100,000,000, or maybe more. Even a deva who was privy to this sight would feel shocked to the core. After all, if 100,000,000 souls all attacked at the same time, even a deva would perish under the assault, unless they possessed some special means of controlling the souls.

"Crocodile... The deva beast soul that I grabbed looked like a crocodile. Could it be... that this skeleton was its fleshly body?!" The mere thought left Naruto utterly shocked.

"So, does that mean that all these other souls showed up after it died, or... did they kill it!?" It was impossible to determine the answer to the question just by looking, but Naruto certainly hoped that his former supposition was the correct one, not the latter.

And yet, for some reason, he had the feeling that something very strange was going on here, and that the latter... might not be too far from the truth.

It took a long moment for him to calm down. The only thing he could do was bury his speculations in his heart. Only one thing was for certain; there was definitely some big secret hidden in this place. Clearly, the restrictive spells that filled the area were one reason why no one had noticed the strange phenomena or come to investigate. Of course, a huge hole had opened up, which ensured that it wouldn't be long before either the Great Wall or the Wildlanders discovered the place, and when that happened, there was no way Naruto would be able to investigate the area alone.

"These souls are all battle credit!" he thought, his eyebrows dancing in anticipation. With that, he reached out and began to crush Soul

Convergence Pills. In the blink of an eye, countless souls were all rushing toward him to form soul spheres.

However, there were so many souls in the area that the ground began to shake, and the screaming of the souls pierced dangerously into the minds of the onlookers.

The cultivators of Naruto's regiment, as well as the old soul cultivator, felt their own souls trembling in response to the sound, and some people even found blood oozing out of the corners of their mouths. They quickly began to back up in terror. The soul cultivator was especially frightened considering that his cultivation base had been sealed. He was coughing up mouthfuls of blood, and his face was as ashen as death.

"How many souls are down there!? Heavens! That sound couldn't come from any less than 10,000,000 souls. Or maybe even... 100,000,000!" The old man was reeling in disbelief. Based on his experience, even large armies that marched into battle would never go in with more than 10,000,000 souls. A force of 100,000,000 was something that he had never even laid eyes on.

Zhao Long and the other cultivators in the regiment were astonished, and also worried for Naruto. However, none of them revealed such feelings as they backed up and kept their eyes fixed on the pit.

Down inside, Naruto was looking around ashen-faced as he realized he had discovered another use to the mask. Shockingly, it could reduce the effects he felt because of the shrieking of the souls, making it possible to stand there without being hurt.

"Rich! I'm rich!" he exulted inwardly. Eyes shining with excitement, he continued to collect more and more soul spheres, simultaneously calculating how much battle credit he would earn.

A day flashed by, during which terrifying howling sounds continued to echo out from the pit. Outside, everyone was looking on nervously, except for the old soul cultivator, who was trembling in astonishment and terror.

"Heavens! Just what kind of cultivation base does this guy have!?

"There's no way that a Core Formation cultivator could remain so close to that sound without exploding. Not even a Nascent Soul expert could do it for long!

"The only kind of person who could, would be... a deva!

"He... he couldn't possibly be... a deva, could he?!" The old man's thoughts were in chaos as his terror mounted. Before, he had harbored a slim bit of hope that he might be able to get out of the situation alive and then get revenge. But now, such thoughts were long gone.

"Heavens! If he's really a deva, then everything makes sense. Deva eccentrics always have strange habits, perhaps even... masquerading as Core Formation cultivators..." Convinced that he had gotten to the bottom of the truth, the old man felt even more terrified than before.

Chapter 518

A+ A- Chapter 518

Chapter 518: It's All To Become A Major General!

To everyone on the outside, the passage of time left them more and more nervous. Inside the pit, Naruto's eyes were shining, and his eyebrows were dancing with happiness.

He was now almost out of Soul Convergence Pills. It had taken a whole day to go through several thousand of them, which meant that he had already collected tens of millions of souls.

Whenever he scanned the thousands of soul spheres in his bag of holding, he could almost see all of the battle credit coming his way, and couldn't help but muse on how amazing he was.

"I absolutely have to become a major general!" he declared loudly, eyes shining with excitement. After using his last few Soul Convergence Pills, he patted his bag of holding a bit begrudgingly.

"If I had known this was going to happen, I would have come prepared!" There were still so many vengeful souls in the area that they were almost impossible to count. It made him feel like he had encountered an iceberg made of gold, but had only been able to see the tip of it.

The feeling of not wanting to leave caused him to heave numerous sighs.

"Well, there's nothing I can do," he thought with gritted teeth and bloodshot eyes. "For the sake of the safety of my brothers on the outside, I should probably get back. Then I can concoct some more Soul Convergence Pills and come back later!" There were definitely more than enough vengeful souls here to propel him to the rank of major general. The feeling of having that promotion just within arm's reach was exciting, and the mere thought of how different his life would be as a major general got his heart racing. Finally, he turned and headed out of the pit.

As soon as he flew out into the open, the cultivators of his regiment bristled with excitement as they awaited his orders. As for the old soul cultivator, he was trembling physically because of the waves of shock battering his heart.

Clearly, Naruto wasn't injured at all. His eyes were bloodshot and he seemed tired, but in very high spirits. All of that only served to convince the old man that his previous suppositions were correct.

"He's definitely a deva..." the old man thought, seemingly on the verge of tears. As far as he could tell, nobody but a deva could possibly survive in that terrifying pit for a day without being hurt.

"Why the hell is a deva picking on me like this...?" he thought, staring at Naruto with despair.

Everyone watched as Naruto set up a rudimentary spell formation over the entrance of the pit, then flew over, swished his sleeve, and said, "Let's get back to the Great Wall!"

The cultivators in the regiment breathed sighs of relief.

Although these were all crack troops under the leadership of a famous officer, they had been away from the Great Wall for quite some time. Plus, the area they were in seemed far too quiet. Although they could tell that there were natural restrictive spells in the area that were likely the reason that no one had sensed the strange phenomena, they also knew that the longer they stayed in one place, the more danger they would be in.

If any of the powerful groups in the Wildlands showed up, they would definitely end up facing a major crisis.

Therefore, as soon as the orders left Naruto's lips, they scattered and began to make their own way back to the Great Wall.

As for Naruto, he began to retrace his own route back. After proceeding for a bit, he looked back in the direction of the pit, and saw what appeared to be nothing more than a mountain range of countless overlapping shadows. There weren't even any sounds coming from the area.

Considering it was currently late at night, the countless s

hadows looked very foreboding.

"Are the restrictive spells in there really natural?" Naruto thought. Recalling the image of the huge crocodile skeleton, he quietly turned and proceeded back toward the Great Wall.

On his initial trip leaving the wall, he had proceeded with caution as he made his way along. Although he was still cautious on the way back, he was in a much different mood. Furthermore, the trip back went very smoothly. Although he ran into a few small groups of vengeful souls, none of them slowed him down, and within a few hours, he was within sight of the Great Wall.

It was now just before dawn on his third day outside. Although the lands were bathed in darkness, the spell formation shield on the wall made it seem like a huge dragon hulking there, radiating shocking energy that would astonish anyone who laid eyes on it.

Of course, Naruto and his regiment were used to the sight of the Great Wall, but not the old soul cultivator. He began to tremble even harder than before. And yet there was nothing he could do as the cultivators of the regiment produced their identity medallions and entered the Great Wall through one of the small entrances.

Even till this point, the old man had no idea who Naruto really was. After entering Great Wall City, the cultivators sent him to the prisoner of war camp, where he would be handed over to the interrogators for questioning.

As for the thousand men in his regiment, Naruto didn't treat them stingily. As soon as they regrouped, he rewarded each of them with a soul sphere.

Although the 10,000 souls they were each being given wasn't necessarily a huge amount, considering that Naruto had only collected only a few tens of millions of souls in total, it still counted as a lot. It was an amount that not even Uzumaki Lin or the other generals would hand out as a reward.

"Brothers, stick with me, and you'll always have alcohol to drink and meat to eat. Whenever good things happen to me, I won't ever forget about you!" Not only did the eyes of the men shine brightly, they needed no reminder from Naruto to understand that the matters which had occurred on the outside needed to be kept under tight wraps.

Naruto didn't waste any time. After handing out the rewards to the regiment, he didn't rest, but instead, excitedly went to his residence to work on concocting medicine. His main goal, of course, was to produce as many Soul Convergence Pill as he could in a short time.

As for the soulhorn mission, he had Zhao Long and some of the others go hand it in. Not long after they did, Naruto's identity medallion vibrated and emitted bright red light as 1,000,000 battle credits were added to it.

Another three days passed, during which time Naruto didn't rest at all. Eyes bloodshot, he concocted medicine like mad, producing one batch of Soul Convergence Pills after another. Including some others he'd had lying around, he now had more than 5,000, and simply couldn't wait any longer.

"Long delays usually lead to trouble. The longer I wait, the more likely someone is to find that place..." By this point, it seemed more likely than ever that he would be able to get a promotion to major general. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind. When night fell, he slipped out of the command center, not telling anyone that he was leaving. By utilizing his Undying Tendons and the Undying Hex divine ability he had gained enlightenment of, he left the city.

After vanishing, he once again felt like his body was about to be ripped apart. A long moment passed, whereupon he reappeared on the battlefield outside of the Great Wall. Then, without any hesitation, he sped off into the night.

Of course, he was already wearing his mask. Based on the soul fluctuations it sent out, along with his murderous aura, it ensured that any savages or soul cultivators who saw him along the way perceived him to be someone no one would provoke.

After drawing upon all the speed he could muster, Naruto soon reached those same shadowy mountains that he had left a few days before. Making sure he wasn't being followed, he headed into the mountains.

However, after searching thoroughly, his face fell as he realized that the pit was nowhere to be found!

"This is definitely the spot... Why isn't it here? Could it be something to do with the restrictive spells?" After looking around a few times, he finally decided to open his third eye. However, not even that revealed any clues.

Most other people would likely have given up at that point. But Naruto wasn't so willing to give in. He continued to search here and there, calling upon his Heavenspan Dharma Eye every so often. After several hours had passed, and dawn approached, the countless overlapping shadows that were the mountains suddenly seemed to start folding in on themselves.

"So that's how it is!" Naruto thought, his expression brightening.

Chapter 519

A+ A- Chapter 519

Chapter 519: Huge Soul?!

The natural restrictive spells in the area seemed complex, but were actually quite simple. The layout of the overlapping mountains in the area would shift depending on the time of day.

The way the mountains were organized affected the method of entry. Back when Naruto had first come to the area, there hadn't been any such restrictive spells active. However, upon leaving, it had been when the break of dawn was approaching.

Therefore, the route he remembered could only be retraced at that same time.

In fact, even at that exact same time, it also required additional effort to find the path. Thankfully, Naruto had his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, and was thus able to find the path.

Upon realizing these facts, he quickly left the mountains and then flew back in.

This time, he quickly found a path leading into the depths of the mountains. After about two hours passed, he found the pit!

Suppressing his excitement, he refrained from immediately jumping inside, and instead surveyed the area. For one thing, he checked the spell formation he had set up earlier to see if anyone else had come by. After discovering that the spell formation was unaltered, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he flew into the pit and descended into the necropolis.

Upon entering the necropolis, Naruto was thrilled to find that the number of souls had returned to the amount from before. There were clearly more than 100,000,000, which was the original amount before he collected the majority of them.

"Could it be that the souls here are literally without end?!" Overjoyed, he began to toss out Soul Convergence Pills.

"100,000 battle credits!"

"1,000,000 battle credits!"

"Hahaha! 10,000,000 battle credits!" Naruto was bubbling with happiness. The only thing he regretted was that he didn't have more Soul Convergence Pills. This time, he spent a total of two days before he ran through all 5,000 of them. The only reason he took so long was that he tried to make sure that each pill was used in the most effective manner. As such, he continued to proceed further and further into the necropolis.

Two days later, he emerged from the pit with 50,000,000 vengeful souls in his possession. After waiting until the break of dawn was nearing, he followed the same path to the outside and then left for the Great Wall.

He proceeded with extreme nervousness, feeling like he was holding an incredibly valuable treasure, and that someone might try to rob him at any moment. If some accident occurred, and his trip back to the Great Wall was interrupted, then his dream of becoming a major general might be dashed to pieces.

Thankfully, his mask was very powerful, and made him look just like a soul cultivator. Coupled with the caution he showed, it ensured that he didn't run into any problems. When he finally reached the battlefield outside the Great Wall, he used his Undying Hex ability to get back into the city.

"Now I have more than 70,000,000 vengeful souls. If I convert them all to battle credit, it will be a huge amount. Sadly, I still have to get a lot more before I can get that major general promotion. I have to keep working hard!" Feeling excited, but also worried that something unexpected might occur in the pit, he recruited all of his subordinates to go out and borrow as many Soul Convergence Pills from other members of the five legions as possible.

After all, most of the Soul Convergence Pills that he had concocted since arriving at the Great Wall had been distributed among the five legions.

Of course, Naruto didn't remain idle while his subordinates went to borrow Soul Convergence Pills. He went to many of the commissaries in the city that specialized in spell formations, and bought as many prepack

aged formations as he could get his hands on.

After all, he wasn't sure how many Soul Convergence Pills his subordinates would be able to get, and wanted to be fully prepared on his next trip to the pit.

A few days later, he was delighted to find that his subordinates had managed to get their hands on over 90,000 Soul Convergence Pills.

"So many! This time I should definitely be able to succeed in getting that promotion to major general! With these 90,000 Soul Convergence Pills, plus all the souls I've already collected, I should be able to get a total of 1,000,000,000 vengeful souls!" With that, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Then, later that night, he slipped out of the city once again.

Being so familiar with the route, he proceeded along casually, entering the mountains right before the break of dawn. He encountered no problems along the way, and was soon at the pit. There, he put all of the spell formations in place, and then flew on down.

After looking around at all the vengeful souls, Naruto was ecstatic to discover that, yet again, they had been replenished to the 100,000,000 level.

"This time, I'm definitely going to get that promotion to major general!" Feeling enormously proud of his imminent success, he headed into the necropolis, tossing out Soul Convergence Pills left and right.

The cracking sound of medicinal pills shattering filled the air. With every pill that shattered, 10,000 vengeful souls would be gathered into a soul sphere. Considering the vast amount of Soul Convergence Pills he had at his disposal, it only took him three days to actually clear out the entire necropolis!

Then, after an incense stick's worth of time passed, streams of mist began to flow up from the ground, which were filled with countless vengeful souls! The roaring souls began to fly to and fro inside of the necropolis as they searched for Naruto, and yet, couldn't find him.

Naruto chuckled darkly as he waited for a bit until the souls had been restored to the 100,000,000 level, then once again began to collect them.

"They're mine!

"All mine!

"Hahaha! I'm going to be a major general!" What made him even more proud was that he was developing some techniques to collect the souls even more quickly than before. This time, it only took him two days to clear out the entire necropolis.

Then, before long, a third wave of souls appeared...

It was in this fashion that seven days sped by. At that point, he started to run low on Soul Convergence Pills; he only had a few thousand left.

Of course, he wouldn't leave until he was completely out. However, it was at this point that something unique happened; for some unknown reason, after clearing out the necropolis and waiting for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, no new souls appeared.

"Hmm. Aren't there any more?" Curious, he flew here and there in the necropolis for about an hour, and yet no souls could be seen. Stunned, he murmured, "I guess there really aren't any more."

He could only shake his head and sigh ruefully at the fact that he still had some Soul Convergence Pills left, but no vengeful souls to collect. Unfortunately, he was very close to having 1,000,000,000 vengeful souls, which was how many he needed to become a major general.

"And here I thought I had found a never-ending supply of battle credit. Who could have thought this place would run out so quickly?" Feeling less than pleased, he waited around for a bit longer to confirm that no more souls were forthcoming. Finally, he began to fly toward the exit.

However, just when he was about to fly out into the open, everything around him began to tremble, and then, a huge rift opened up in the ground of the necropolis.

In fact, not only was there a rift, but there were numerous crashing sounds like thunder. Apparently, the necropolis was collapsing! Even the shocking crocodile skeleton was beginning to sink down into the earth!

This development caused Naruto's face to flicker, and then transform into an expression of delight.

"Don't tell me there's another level down below?!" However, as he looked down, all he saw was a thick, seemingly endless stream of black mist pulsing out from below.

Within that mist, it was just possible to see a gigantic ghost hand stretching out as if to grab Naruto, accompanied by a roar of rage.

The sight of the gigantic ghost hand caused Naruto's face to fall, and filled his heart with an intense sensation of deadly crisis. Every bit of his flesh and blood began to scream at him that he was descending into incredible danger!

"It can see me?

"I'm finished! I must have provoked some gigantic soul that wants to destroy me!" Screaming and shivering, he hurled out several thousand Soul Convergence Pills, which detonated shortly after, creating a massive gravitational force that caused the ghost hand to distort and slow down. At the same time, Naruto began to flee for his life.

Even as he shot out of the pit, another roar of rage could be heard from behind him, and the enormous ghost hand once again reached out to grab him.

Chapter 520

A+ A- Chapter 520

Chapter 520: Black Pillar Of Light!

As the ghost hand moved forward, the air around it distorted, causing everything near Naruto to be completely locked down. Naruto couldn't escape any more easily than he could have escaped from a locked cage!

Because of the profound sensation of crisis, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and blue veins even began to bulge out on his face and neck. Just when the hand was about to grab him, though, he roared and called deeply upon his Undying Hex.

He took a step forward, causing his body to suddenly begin to turn blurry. By the time his foot landed, he had suddenly vanished!

A boom rang out as the shocking ghost hand closed around the space Naruto had just occupied, and yet, grabbed nothing but air.

An enraged roar filled the pit, a roar so loud that it broke through the spell formations, causing everything to tremble and attracting the attention of numerous people in the area.

Meanwhile, only about five hundred meters beyond the entrance, Naruto appeared, staggering forward, coughing up numerous mouthfuls of blood, his face ashen.

Shockingly, his back was also bloodied, and five long wounds had been scraped down it!

It looked the type of serious injury that could even damage internal organs. Thankfully, Naruto had a very powerful fleshly body, and thus managed to hold himself together. Blood was oozing out of his mouth, and his heart was pounding with lingering fear, and yet he didn't even pause for a moment before speeding off.

Even as he shot out of the strange mountains, a black pillar of light rumbled up into the sky behind him, creating a shockwave that rolled out in all directions.

The natural restrictive spells in the area were all smashed by the powerful energy shooting out from the pit, and were completely destroyed.

Naruto was scared out of his mind, and was fleeing for his life through the wild terrain, heart pounding as he focused solely on getting back to the Great Wall.

"I'm finished. Kaput. I got too greedy, didn't I, and summoned something big…?" Feeling very dismayed that he had brought about such a catastrophe, he pushed forward with greater speed.

Meanwhile, many savages and soul cultivators near the pit could see what was happening, and looked over in astonishment.

"What's going on!?"

"Those fluctuations are unbelievable!" Even as they cried out in surprise, they began to head in the direction of the pit to investigate.

Thankfully for them, after the black pillar of light shot up and destroyed the spell formations and natural restrictive spells, the enormous ghost hand didn't appear again.

Therefore, they weren't in any extreme danger, and in fact, after they arrived at the pit and peered down inside, some of them flew in to look around more.

The forces in Great Wall City also noticed the black pillar of light. Chen Hetian stepped out of the huge pagoda, and looked at the black pillar and its incredible fluctuations, a very serious expression on his face.

"Send someone to investigate," he ordered. "Find out what that is!" Even as he passed down orders, Uzumaki Lin saw the black pillar and sensed its fluctuations.

Further out in the Wildlands, on the plain with the encampment of hundreds of savage tribes, a large tent could be seen in the middle of the camp. Seated inside that tent was a young woman in a long red robe, who was none other than Mistress Red-Dust. Suddenly, her eyes opened, and she looked up into the sky at the pillar of light.

"Could that be...?" After a moment of hesitation, she passed down orders for people to go investigate.

Even as the two major forces sent people to look into the situation, two figures could be seen standing in

the mountains a few kilometers away. One was a young man, the other a young woman, and they appeared to be in sore straits. Their clothing was ripped and torn, and haunted expressions could be seen in their eyes, the type that would leave anyone who saw them shaken. They almost looked like wild beasts.

There was nothing about these two that indicated they were cultivators. They had soul fluctuations rippling off of them, and also possessed shockingly murderous auras.

The young man seemed cold and proud, while the young woman was extremely beautiful. Both of them had clearly been injured fairly recently. Although their injuries had healed, the evidence of their presence was clear; apparently, these two had fought numerous bloody battles.

This young man and woman were none other than Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan!

After leaving the Great Wall years ago, they had begun to travel about in the Wildlands. They had fought many battles, and even built up a small team composed of other cultivators from the Great Wall whom they had encountered during their travels. However, at this point, everyone else was dead, leaving them as the sole survivors. They had gone through what was essentially a baptism of blood, leaving them completely reborn inside and out.

In the past, there had been something tender and immature about them, but that was long gone now. Instead, they were completely composed and cold-looking!

"We need to get back to the Great Wall as quickly as possible..." Zhao Tianjiao said. "I already sent a message to Master. Once we get back, we can spend the rest of our time as members of the five legions." He chuckled, causing the scar that ran from the right corner of his mouth to his ear to twist in ferocious fashion.

Chen Yueshan seemed slightly distressed as she stood there next to Zhao Tianjiao. In response to his words, she looked over at him and nodded, her gaze lingering on his scar. He had earned that scar in battle when he had saved her from a dangerous necromancer.

The mere thought of the bitterness of that battle left her heart thumping with fear. Thankfully, their training outside the wall had resulted in injuries, and yet had resulted in them finding a deva beast soul!

Just as they were about to head back to the Great Wall, they saw a shocking black pillar of light shooting up into the air off in the distance. After some discussion about the matter, Zhao Tianjiao sent a message to his master Chen Hetian asking for instructions about what to do. After word came back, they began to head, not toward the Great Wall, but toward the black pillar.

Thanks to the black pillar of light, both the Wildlands and the Great Wall were sending people to investigate the situation.

Meanwhile, Naruto was speeding along at top speed, his face ashen. Eventually, he caught sight of the Great Wall, whereupon he gritted his teeth and yet again called upon the Undying Hex to pass inside.

After coughing up some blood, he staggered back into his residence in his command center, whereupon he fell over, unconscious.

Three days later, he woke up and struggled into a cross-legged position. After examining himself, he found that his five yin organs and six yang organs were all in extreme pain, and his cultivation base was in total chaos.

"That ghost hand was absolutely horrifying," he thought. "And it didn't even grab me, just graze my back..." When he thought back to everything that had occurred, the fear in his heart continued to eat away at him. Of course, he also knew that one of the reasons he was so hurt was because he had used the Undying Hex to pierce through the air and get past multiple spell formations.

Whether it was the natural restrictive spells from the mountains, or the Great Wall's spell formation, piercing through the air to get past them was very harmful to him.

Thankfully, his Undying Live Forever Technique was very powerful, and was able to sustain such stress. Normally speaking, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would hardly be able to accomplish what he had accomplished.

Another upside to the situation was that Naruto's regenerative powers vastly exceeded those of normal people. In combination with all of the medicinal pills he had at his disposal, it only took him about seven days to be almost completely recovered.

During that time, he didn't dare to go out. As he pondered the ghost hand, the black pillar of light, the destruction of the necropolis, and the enormous, 300,000-meter crocodile skeleton, he came to the conclusion that the pit definitely harbored some monumental secret!

Then he thought about how he was the one responsible for everything that had occurred, and it struck him with even more fear. At the same time, he felt wronged.

"It's not like I did it on purpose..." he thought, sighing. After all, he had only been trying to get his hands on some souls.

During his period of recovery, he continued to get reports from Zhao

Long and the rest of his regiment. That was how he learned that both Great Wall City and the Wildlands had taken the matter of the black pillar of light very seriously. In fact, quite a few people had entered the pit to explore the area.

Unfortunately, there was no other news than that.

Another half a month went by, during which time bits of news continued to trickle in. Considering that Naruto was only a colonel, he didn't have access to very many details. Therefore, he went to Uzumaki Lin to ask for more information. Apparently, quite a few people had been sent to gather intelligence, and although there had been some conflicts with the Wildlands forces, they were still able to send back some useful information. Supposedly, there was a big necropolis in the area where the beam of light had originated. When Naruto heard that, he felt a bit more at ease.

"I guess I just opened a necropolis, that's all," he said to comfort himself. Looking out at the quiet streets in the city, he rubbed his bag of holding, and his eyes began to shine. "Well, the whole reason I went through all of that was to become a major general. I think now the time has come to finish the job!"

Chapter 521

A+ A- Chapter 521

Chapter 521: Turning In The Vengeful Souls

When he thought about how impressive and glorious it would be to become a major general, his excitement began to build. With that, he hurried out into the command center, where Zhao Long and the others clasped hands in salute.

Waving his hand in grand fashion, he tried to sound as heroic as possible as he said, "Come, my brothers. Join me at the pagoda to witness... my promotion to major general!"

Zhao Long's eyes went wide, but he quickly began to send messages to call everyone together. Before long, all 1,000 members of Naruto's regiment were notified, and were hurrying over.

"Brothers," he said loudly, "once I become a major general, we'll have more meat to eat and more alcohol to drink!" Then he flew into the air toward the pagoda.

All the cultivators in the regiment were very excited, and none of them questioned Naruto's words at all. If he said that he was going to become a major general, then they had complete confidence that he would do just that.

It made quite a grand sight as the entire group clustered around him and flew toward the pagoda.

The sight of more than a thousand beams of light shooting through

Great Wall City captured the attention of quite a few other cultivators. However, many soldiers had looks of derision on their faces. After all, the sight of Naruto parading through the city wasn't anything new. The only surprising thing was how long it had been since they last saw him do it.

Most of them gave him little more than a single glance. Before long, Naruto and his men were outside of the pagoda, where quite a few other cultivators were gathered to either purchase items or turn in souls.

The arrival of Naruto and his men didn't cause too much of a stir, and most people just continued on with whatever business they had at hand.

Ignoring them, Naruto walked up to the pagoda, took a deep breath, and then flew up into the air, just as he had seen the top chosen do in the past when they handed in vengeful souls. There, he waved his sleeve, producing a soul sphere which he subsequently crushed!

A boom could be heard as souls poured out from the crushed soul sphere. The sight of so many souls attracted a bit of envy from some of the cultivators present, although most of them weren't paying much attention.

"Oh, it's Naruto!"

As soon as the 10,000 vengeful souls appeared, the giant eye atop the pagoda absorbed them.

Feeling quite pleased with himself, Naruto patted his bag of holding to produce another soul sphere. After crushing it, another 10,000 souls appeared, which the eye absorbed. Then he produced a third sphere, causing quite a few curious eyes to look up at him from below.

Just when he was about to crush the third soul sphere, a blood-colored beam of light appeared off in the distance, which caused a murderous aura to fill the entire area.

"That's... Ji Feng!"

"Colonel Ji Feng! Back before Naruto rose to prominence, he was considered the Core Formation cultivator most likely to become a major general! I wonder which of the two of them will actually succeed?"

As the crowd buzzed, the beam of light faded away, revealing a young man with long hair, clad in a suit of blood-colored armor.

That young man was none other than Ji Feng!

He hovered to a stop in midair on the other side of the huge pagoda, making it possible for him to look Naruto right in the eye. When he did, an expression of scorn appeared on his face.

"Trifling apothecary," he thought. "Other than a nice cultivation base, what do you have? I, Ji Feng, have too much battle credit to count. What makes you think you deserve to compa

re yourself to me?!"

Not only did Ji Feng despise Naruto, he despised his Soul

Convergence Pills as well. As far as he was concerned, Naruto was nothing more than an apothecary who had used some fancy tricks to get into a good position, and didn't compare to him at all!

He actually hadn't planned to hand in any souls today, but after seeing Naruto show up, he decided to come put him in his place.

Naruto recognized Ji Feng. Technically speaking, this was their second time encountering each other. The first time had been back when he first got to the Great Wall, and had come to check how much battle credit he had to spend to get certain items. At that time, Ji Feng had handed in 10,000 souls to the pagoda and caused quite a stir. Of course, that was before the advent of Soul Convergence Pills, when getting 10,000 souls together in one place had been quite an accomplishment.

When Naruto saw the scorn in Ji Feng's eyes, he was actually a bit surprised. "I never did anything to offend you, did I?" he thought.

But after thinking about it for a moment, he realized what was going on, and glared at Ji Feng.

Ji Feng looked back at him coldly, and soon, it became obvious that they were having a bit of a showdown.

When the cultivators down below saw what was happening, their spirits were roused, and they began to pay close attention.

"They're having a stand-off!"

"I'm more of a fan of Colonel Ji Feng. He got his battle credit from climbing mountains of corpses and swimming through seas of blood!"

"Didn't Colonel Naruto do the same thing though? Forget about the Soul Convergence Pill, for a moment. Do you know how many people he saved in that battle!?"

As people talked about the matter, and even placed some bets, Ji Feng chuckled coldly and then waved his arm, sending a collection of 100,000 vengeful soul streaming out of his bag of holding. Although the souls were somewhat listless and faded, as soon as they appeared in the open, the huge eye quickly absorbed them.

"100,000 souls..."

"Colonel Ji Feng definitely deserves his reputation as a top chosen in the five legions. He doesn't even use Soul Convergence Pills, but still managed to collect 100,000 souls!"

After tossing out the 100,000 souls, Ji Feng looked over coldly at Naruto, and from the look in his eye, his message was clear. You have souls, right? Well let's have a little contest and see who has the most!

A smile immediately broke out on Naruto's face. Now that he thought about it, handing over souls all by himself was actually pretty boring. But who would have thought that Ji Feng would suddenly show up and want to have a contest? The truth was that Naruto loved crushing opponents in this way. Sighing, he waved his hand to send twenty soul spheres flying out.

A boom rang out as the soul spheres collapsed, sending out a vast cloud of 200,000 souls. Almost as soon as the shocking sight appeared, the huge eye atop the pagoda began to shine brightly, and quickly absorbed them.

Then, Naruto looked over at Ji Feng with an expression of open provocation.

Ji Feng's expression turned grim, and he chuckled in disdain. Waving his hand, he sent tens of thousands of souls flying out of his bag of holding. However, he didn't stop there. Having emptied one bag of holding, he pulled out another, opened it, and sent an additional group of tens of thousands of souls out to be absorbed by the huge eye.

This scene immediately provoked exclamations of shock from the surrounding cultivators.

"Heavens! Just how many vengeful souls does Colonel Ji Feng have?!"

"How did he possibly get so many souls...?"

Everyone else was shocked, but Naruto was actually feeling a bit impatient.

"Alright, how many souls do you have?" he said loudly. "Just spit out the number. Sitting around while you open up a bunch of bags of holding is too boring. How about this. You say a number, and if I can't produce that many souls, then I'll admit defeat."

The arrogant tone with which he spoke immediately caused the entire area to go quiet.

"Think you're really tough stuff, don't you?" Ji Feng replied. "Well, since you're asking to be humiliated, then I'll oblige!" Then his hands blurred as he sent one bag of holding after another flying out, until there were nine of them. "Feast your eyes upon 2,700,000 vengeful souls!"

Although Ji Feng's words were spoken with coolness and calm, it was impossible to conceal the arrogance which existed deep in his bones.

Complete and utter silence met Ji Feng's words and actions. A few breaths of time passed, and then, with the exception of Naruto's subordinates, everyone devolved into a huge commotion.

"2,700,000? Heavens!"

"I can't believe that the exalted Colonel Ji Feng can produce so many souls! That's... that's as many souls as you'll see in a small-scale battle outside the Great Wall!" In addition to crying out in surprise, many cultivators began to send messages to their friends, telling them to hurry over to watch the scene playing out.

"Hurry up, Colonel Ji Feng is handing in 2,700,000 vengeful souls! This kind of thing has never happened before, it's incredible!"

"Get over to the pagoda!"

Meanwhile, Ji Feng was looking over at Naruto with feigned indifference, a faint smile on his face that reflected his confidence in having secured a victory.

"I don't have that many souls," he said, "only about 2,000,000. What about you, Naruto...?"

Sticking his chin up, Naruto said, "You're right, that isn't very many. Only 2,000,000? A drop in the bucket!"

Naruto felt like he was a top martial arts master fighting a little kid. It was actually a wonderful feeling. Chuckling, he waved his hand.

300 soul spheres flew out... But things didn't stop there. Next came another 300, and then 400... That was a total of 1,000 soul spheres, all floating there for everyone to see!

Chapter 522

A+ A- Chapter 522

Chapter 522: The True Spirit Protects Its Food

The sight of 1,000 soul spheres flying out into the open caused jaws to drop everywhere. Ji Feng was so shocked that he wasn't even sure he could believe what he was seeing. Everything was deathly quiet in the area surrounding the pagoda.

As for the cultivators who were currently in the middle of flying over to the pagoda, when they got close and saw 1,000 soul spheres, their eyes went wide.

"One... one thousand?"

"Heavens! Don't tell me he actually has 10,000,000 vengeful souls? How is that even possible?!"

"There's no way that each of those soul spheres has 10,000 vengeful souls in it. Is there?"

Everyone was reeling in shock, and Ji Feng was struggling with an intense feeling of unease. Although it was impossible to tell exactly how many souls were inside each of the 1,000 soul spheres, he couldn't help but get very nervous. Just when he was about to open his mouth to say something, though, Naruto, who apparently didn't feel he had dominated the situation enough, licked his lips and said, "Using 1,000 soul spheres to crush your 2,000,000 souls is a bit boring.

Check this out!"

Every time he encountered a situation like this to totally show off, he got very excited. Clearing his throat loudly, he waved his hand in a circle, causing another 1,000 soul spheres to fly out. However, things weren't over yet...

Another 1,000 appeared. Then another. And another.

In the blink of an eye, a total of 10,000 soul spheres were floating around!

Everyone present felt their minds reeling as they gasped in astonishment. As they stared, they mentally calculated how many souls that could represent, and were filled with even more incredulity than before. In fact, many of them couldn't even believe that their own calculations were correct.

"No way..."

"10,000? Okay... theoretically it's possible. Maybe each of the soul spheres only has a few souls in it...?" Even as everyone waited in nervous uncertainty, Ji Feng lost his ability to keep his mouth shut.

"You think you can pull a fast one, Naruto?" he said loudly. "I refuse to believe that you have 10,000 souls sealed inside each of those soul spheres. What a joke! 10,000 soul spheres with 10,000 souls each? Do you really think that someone like you can collect more than 100,000,000 souls?" Considering how bloodshot Ji Feng's eyes were, it was clear that he definitely didn't believe Naruto had 100,000,000 souls.

After all, a group of souls that large would only be seen in large-scale battles. Furthermore, if they were all released at once, they would most certainly blot out the sky and cause the lands to quake violently.

"Don't believe it? Well why don't you just take a look?!" Lifting his chin slightly, Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger at the soul spheres.

"Open!"

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

10,000 soul spheres exploded, and in the blink of an eye, souls immediately began to spill out, filling the entire 30,000-meter area, and then rapidly expanding to fill a 300,000-meter area!

And yet, things weren't over yet! Within a single breath of time, that area stretched to 3,000,000 meters!

Of course, Naruto was doing that on purpose. If he had wished, he could have prevented such a dramatic display. But right now, the entire 3,000,000-meter area around him was filled with vengeful souls. That area far surpassed the limits of Great Wall City, and ensured that the entire city was now cast into darkness. Heaven shook and the earth quaked, causing countless cultivators of the five legions in the city to look up in

shock.

"Are the Wildlands attacking?"

"Did the spell formation get destroyed?!"

"What's... what's happening?!" As countless exclamations of shock rose up, the cultivators near the pagoda were trembling mutely, as if their minds had been reduced to complete blanks...

Even the generals of the five legions were shaken. Uzumaki Lin flew out into the open and looked up in astonishment at the sky, as did the other generals.

"How... how many souls is that!?"

Numerous beams of light were flying through the air toward the pagoda as almost all of the cultivators of the five legions struggled with each other to be able to witness what was happening.

The commotion caused Chen Hetian to emerge from the pagoda, whereupon he looked around in disbelief. At that point, the huge eye atop the pagoda began to shine with unprecedentedly bright light, a light that seemed excited. It was almost as if the eye itself possessed a spirit, and that spirit were jubilant.

A gravitational force sprang out, causing winds to scream as a vortex formed. Soon, the shocking sea of souls began to slowly shrink down as it was absorbed, the process of which took a full hour.

As the light bathed Naruto, he felt satisfied to an indescribable degree. And of course, his battle credit skyrocketed.

As the sea of souls faded away, Naruto hovered there in midair, his chin stuck up, his expression tranquil, but his heart leaping with excitement. In fact, he had to repeatedly remind himself that in this moment, he needed to keep his cool.

The cultivators in the area were stupefied, and were looking at Naruto both as if he were a god, and also as if he were some sort of freak of nature!

Ji Feng was trembling as violently, as if Naruto had struck him physically. His entire world suddenly seemed to have been turned upside down, his mind rendered a complete blank. Clearly, this was an event which he would never be able to forget for the rest of his life.

People began to look over at Ji Feng with expressions of sympathy. The blow which had just been delivered to him was a vicious one; his opponent had used 100,000,000 souls to crush his paltry 2,000,000...

Even Uzumaki Lin and the other generals were looking at him with sympathy, as was three-eyed Chen Hetian. In that moment of extreme pride, Naruto cleared his throat loudly and said, "Everybody back up a bit.

The next set is even larger..."

Before anyone could react, the huge eye atop the pagoda sent out blinding beams of light that almost seemed to be pandering to Naruto as they created incredible pressure that pushed all of the surrounding cultivators away!

Not even Uzumaki Lin and the other generals were exempt. Soon, the only person standing nearby was Chen Hetian, who was staring with wideeyed shock at what was happening. He had never seen the true spirit inside of the eye do anything remotely like this. It was almost as if it were following orders from Naruto.

Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he muttered, "This... this..."

That was when Naruto slapped his bag of holding, causing numerous soul spheres to pour out of it. 1,000. 3,000. 5,000...

In the blink of an eye, another 10,000 soul spheres had appeared!

Even as gasps began to ring out, more soul spheres flew out. 15,000. 20,000... 30,000... 40,000...

Every single cultivator in the entire city was shaken to the ultimate degree. Finally, when the number of soul spheres reached 60,000, the people erupted into a thunderous hubbub.

"Impossible!"

"Did this Naruto tap into the Underworld River or something!?"

"So many souls... Heavens! Are... are they really souls?!"

"Unheard-of. This is completely unheard-of!"

Uzumaki Lin and the other generals were dumbstruck, and Chen Hetian was completely flabbergasted, and incapable of even reacting.

However, most elated of all was the huge eye. It seemed openly excited, as though it were trembling in joy.

Soon, more than 80,000 soul spheres were visible, and the excitement of the huge eye began to affect the Great Wall's spell formation. The spell formation shield was rippling and distorting, the sight of which cast shock into the hearts of the onlookers.

Outside in the Wildlands, people could see the distortions on the spell formation shield, and although they weren't sure what was happening, they could tell that something momentous was occurring. Curious, Mistress Red-Dust finally sent some divine sense out toward the Great Wall to see what was going on.

It was at that point that 90,000 soul spheres were out in the open. Then the huge eye emitted a scream of frenzied delight that caused everything in heaven and earth to tremble!

The sound of it caused Mistress Red-Dust's divine sense to instantly shatter. Back in her tent in the Wildlands, her eyes snapped open, and she coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.

"Impossible!" she exclaimed. "I can understand why the true spirit in that eye is willing to protect the Great Wall, considering it made an agreement with the Celestial. But why would it go so far as to use True

Spirit Resonance to wound me and force me away?!"

Chapter 523

A+ A- Chapter 523

Chapter 523: Promoted To Major General!

When Mistress Red-Dust's divine sense was shattered, Chen Hetian detected it. First, he looked out at the Wildlands, then he looked down at the huge eye, his expression that of amazement.

Obviously, he had also detected the True Spirit Resonance...

A true spirit could call upon the quintessence of its voice to unleash a True Spirit Resonance, but would usually only do so in extremely dire circumstances. It was quite draining on the true spirit, but was incredibly powerful, so much so that even a deva would be forced to go all out to defend against it.

Although the True Spirit Resonance from moments ago had not been fully powered, it had been enough to destroy Mistress Red-Dust's divine sense, and would definitely have been very draining to the true spirit.

The true spirit and its pagoda were closely connected to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and in fact, only a few people knew the true origin of the true spirit, one of those people being Chen Hetian. The truth was that it... came from Heavenspan Island in the Heavenspan Sea!

To the riversource sects on the four branches of the Heavenspan River, Heavenspan Island was like a supreme entity. In the mortal world, emperors were often supported by noble ministers, and the relationship between the four riversource sects and Heavenspan Island was much the same. The sects were the nobility, and Heavenspan Island was the imperial palace!

Heavenspan Island was also the home of the Celestial. Naturally... he was the ruler of the lands of Heavenspan.

And now, the true spirit who had been convinced by Heavenspan Island to guard the Great Wall had suddenly acted in this way... As a result, Chen Hetian couldn't help but look with glittering eyes at the more than 90,000 soul spheres, and Naruto.

"It's protecting its food... Mistress Red-Dust was just unlucky to send her divine sense over right in this moment. As for this Naruto, how did he get his hands on so many vengeful souls…? He's certainly full of secrets." Over the years, Chen Hetian had secretly been paying close attention to Naruto. Whether it was his Soul Convergence Pills or his exploding pill furnaces, he had watched over everything carefully. He had even sent some Soul Convergence Pills back to the sect for them to analyze. Of course, he had done all of these things very carefully; he knew that running investigations into members of the five legions was a sensitive task.

Even as Chen Hetian pondered these things, Naruto grandly swished his sleeve.

"Open up!" he roared. Instantly, all of the 90,000 soul spheres vibrated before bursting open. Clouds of souls immediately poured out, filling the entire city and then pouring out beyond it.

30,000 meters. 300,000 meters. 3,000,000 meters. 30,000,000 meters... In the blink of an eye, the cloud of souls spread out to cover all creation!

It was such a shocking event that it wasn't just the cultivators of the five legions in Great Wall City who were astonished. Even people in World City noticed what was happening, and their expressions flickered in surprise.

It was the same in the Wildlands, where the savages and soul cultivators were completely flabbergasted.

"What's going on!?"

"Heavens! What... what is that?!"

As the cloud of souls spread out, shocking everyone in the area, the eye atop the tower began to tremble as if in excitement. Then, bright rays of light erupted from the eye, almost as if the true spirit felt that the previous absorption method was too slow, and that it needed... to come out into the open!

The shining light rapidly converged down into a single point, which then flew out of the eye and transformed into a bat! It was partially translucent,

with bright red eyes, and after it came out into the open, it threw its head back and roared, causing an enormous, shadowy figure to appear in the sky above it.

That shadowy figure was also a bat, so big it filled the entire sky. As soon as it appeared, it took in a deep breath which caused heaven and earth to tremble as the cloud of souls began to move. They almost looked like tide waters as they moved inexorably toward the enormous bat.

The ordinary cultivators of the five legions were trembling in shock; never before had anyone been privy to the fact that there was a bat inside of the huge eye!

Although Uzumaki Lin and the other four generals had been aware of it, they had never personally seen it, and therefore, all of them were also gasping in astonishment.

Heaven and earth distorted as the massive cloud of souls was absorbed by the gigantic bat. The process took approximately two hours, after which the enormous shadowy bat looked around with cold but contented eyes. A moment later, it ignored everything else around and allowed its gaze to focus on Naruto. Within that gaze was approval, and also a sort of newly-acquired closeness.

A moment later, the image of the bat transformed back into a dot of light that returned to the huge eye.

Naruto was a bit taken aback by everything that had occurred, having never imagined the act of turning in a few souls would result in such a scene.

Now, he hovered there, heart racing amidst the quiet as all gazes shifted from the huge eye to him.

He blinked a few times, mind racing as he tried to come up with an explanation. Meanwhile, his identity medallion in his bag of holding began to vibrate with unprecedented intensity. Startled, Naruto pulled out the medallion and scanned it, whereupon his eyes went wide.

"So many!"

The battle credits in his identity medallion were currently skyrocketing. Within moments, it passed the point necessary to receive a promotion to major general, and still kept going. Soon, he had enough for two such promotions! Only then did the total begin to slow.

The staggering number of battle credits was such that Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. His heart began to beat rapidly, and although he wasn't actually sure exactly what he could get with so much battle credit, he was sure that it was definitely enough to become a major general.

Clearly, the true spirit in the huge eye was very pleased with him...

Naruto looked excitedly at his battle credit, and forgot any plans of trying to explain the situation. Holding his identity medallion high above his head, he shouted, "I want a promotion to major general!"

The surrounding cultivators were stunned.

"What... what did he just say? Major general!?"

"Naruto wants a promotion to major general?!"

"This is astonishing! Whether it was the cloud of souls, or the actions of the eye, or his request for a promotion, this... all of this... Heavens! Naruto is definitely going to become a legend!"

"He's actually handing in souls to become a major general?"

In almost the same moment that the words left his mouth, the battle credit in his identity medallion was reduced by roughly half.

Then, blinding light shone out from the medallion, as Naruto's rank as listed inside was altered. Before, he was a colonel, but now he was... a major general!

However, attached to the title was another word: acting.

After all, the rank of major general was a very important one, and was essentially the highest rank any ordinary cultivator could achieve within the five legions. The five generals and the deva patriarch all had to ratify the decision and submit it to the true spirit, whereupon a report would be sent to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

Another factor to consider was that there were currently no open slots for major generals within the five legions. If a new major general were to be promoted, one of the previous major generals would have to be transferred away.

It was a complicated process that required numerous formalities. Therefore, when Naruto spoke the words out loud, and the crowd began to clamor in response, Chen Hetian, Uzumaki Lin, and the other generals immediately felt headaches coming on.

Sighing, Chen Hetian transmitted his thoughts to Uzumaki Lin and the generals. "Well, what do you all think? How do we handle the situation?"

However, none of them had any idea what to do; this sudden turn of events had been completely unexpected.

If Naruto had used some other means to rise through the ranks, they might not have needed to consider the matter. However, his actions had caught them completely unprepared. Not even Uzumaki Lin, who had actually attempted to stoke Naruto's ambitions in the first place, could ever have imagined that he would actually become a major general so quickly.

Much of their shock stemmed from the fact that from the moment the Great Wall had been built until now, Naruto was the first person to ever hand in enough souls to be directly promoted to major general.

Seeing that nobody else was saying anything, Uzumaki Lin braced himself and said, "Well, I think Naruto clearly has the skills necessary. I don't see any problem."

"This is not children's game!" Chen Hetian replied angrily. The rank of major general was far too important to be taken lightly. However, there was no way to deny that Naruto had earned it. Refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the promotion would be preposterous.

Meanwhile, Naruto was not very happy. Unaware that Chen Hetian and the generals needed to approve the promotion, he couldn't help but feel a bit irritated that he was listed as only an acting major general.

"Senior Bat, this isn't very sincere of you!" he said loudly. "I gave you a whole bunch of souls! I mean... there were more than 1,000,000,000! And you only made me an acting major general?!" Not willing to give up so easily, he raised his voice and continued, "If you act like this, then why should I turn in more souls later? And what about all the other Fellow Daoists here? Why should they turn in souls if they can't trust that they'll be rewarded properly?!" The huge eye glittered as if in thought. After a few breaths worth of time passed, and even before Chen Hetian and the others could finish discussing the matter... a message appeared within the identity medallions of all cultivators of the five legions.

"Naruto has been promoted to the rank of major general!" The true spirit had gone over the heads of Chen Hetian and the generals to directly report the matter to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!

Chapter 524

A+ A- Chapter 524

Chapter 524: Taking Command Of The 3rd Corps

"Major general?!" As news spread back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, people were initially taken aback, and then quickly sank into astonishment. Big Fatty Zhang had long since succeeded at forming his Will Core and had been taken in as an apprentice by the hallmaster of the hall of Devil Slayers. He was in the middle of a session of cultivation when the news came in, and was immediately enthused.

"Good job, Naruto!"

Meanwhile, back at the Great Wall, the five legions were in an uproar. Earlier, they had heard Naruto's request, but hadn't seen any confirmation that the promotion had been granted. But then, moments later, the message was sent out indicating that Naruto had indeed become a major general!

Naruto was beside himself with joy as he looked at his identity medallion, and the word "acting" vanish from in front of his rank of major general. Very pleased with himself, he laughed loudly and said, "From this day on, Naruto is a major general!"

Chen Hetian, Uzumaki Lin, and all the other generals were shocked. After exchanging glances, a strange expression appeared on Uzumaki Lin's face, and Chen Hetian looked up wryly at the true spirit in the huge eye.

Clearly, the promotion was the true spirit's way of thanking Uzumaki

Naruto. After all, a huge amount of vengeful soul like that would be unprecedentedly useful to the true spirit.

In the end, Chen Hetian sighed and decided not to worry about the matter any more than necessary.

"Uzumaki Lin," he said, "considering that Naruto is a Skin Flayer, why don't you arrange for one of your current major generals to retire..." Then, he departed, shaking his head the entire way.

Seven days sped by in a blur. The entire time, Great Wall City was filled with talk of Naruto handing in souls, and his promotion to major general. In fact, such stories would continue to persist for much longer than seven days.

Although countless cultivators were envious of what had happened, it also sparked hope in their hearts. Suddenly, they felt much more anticipation for the possibilities their own futures held.

Naruto was extremely famous by this point. Although his name wasn't necessarily known among everyone in the three major cities within the Great Wall region, everyone in a position of power had heard of him.

Something else happened during the seven days which passed. The major general of the 3rd Corps, of which Naruto's regiment was a part, was convinced by Uzumaki Lin to return to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

That major general wasn't angry with Naruto, but rather, quite grateful. He had been serving at the Great Wall for far many years, and upon returning to the sect, would become an elder in the Hall of Steel Veins. He would also be generously compensated by the sect for all the battle credit he had accumulated.

Although he would miss the Great Wall in some ways, going back to the sect was actually the best option for him. Normally speaking, major generals were such important people that they couldn't just leave the Great Wall whenever they wished. In fact, the other major generals were actually a bit envious.

Before leaving, he visited Naruto to both express his thanks and also transfer his personal staff over for Naruto to make use of. Naruto was quite moved at the man's sincerity, and guaranteed over and over again that he would treat the staff extremely fairly.

A few days after the old man left the Great Wall, Naruto's official commission was handed down. He was now the major general of the 3rd Corps of the Skin Flayers!

The day the commission came down, Naruto was trembling with excitement, an

d looked as proud as a rooster as he put on his intimidating, glittering major general's armor. The suit of armor had a built-in spell formation that, upon activation, instantly caused his entire person to blur and distort, as if intense, shocking energy were building up.

His hair even flew around him wildly for a moment before his features became clear again. With that, he pulled out his copper mirror to examine himself.

After preening for a long moment, he chuckled and said, "What do you say, little magic mirror? How do I look?"

Imposter Nightcrypt's soul appeared within the mirror, holding back a sigh as he put a shocked expression onto his face.

Of course, Naruto was elated by his response.

After a long moment passed, imposter Nightcrypt seemed to recover from his shock, and then began to praise Naruto in very exaggerated fashion.

"Heavens! Sir, are you really the imposing, handsome, carefree, and consummate chosen Naruto? Impossible! The exalted Naruto, who in my heart is a figure who shines more brightly than the sun itself, is clearly a colonel!"

Although Naruto was very pleased by this, he hid his smile behind a blank face and said, "Alright, enough with the flattery. Do you really think Naruto the kind of person who likes to be brown-nosed? I wanted your opinion on whether or not the armor fits properly!"

Imposter Nightcrypt rolled his eyes inwardly, well aware that if he did as Naruto had actually asked, and stopped flattering him, then Naruto would punish him.

"I don't like brown-nosing either," imposter Nightcrypt said. "Nobody in this world does!" Inwardly, he was filled with disdain, but didn't show that. Instead, he continued to flatter Naruto for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before actually getting around to answering the initial question.

"That armor was made specifically for you, wasn't it? It fits perfectly! Although, I do have to say that the reason it looks so intimidating isn't because of the armor itself, but because of how you wear it!" Hearing imposter Nightcrypt's boot-licking was one of Naruto's favorite pastimes, and he truly admired his way with words. Finally, he cleared his throat, tossed some medicinal pills into the copper mirror, and then somberly walked out of his residence.

Outside, the 10,000 cultivators of the 3rd Corps were all standing at attention. As soon as Naruto appeared, Zhao Long stepped forward and shouted, "3rd Corps, hand salute!"

As soon as the words left Zhao Long's mouth, the 10,000 cultivators clasped hands and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Major General!"

When they shouted their greeting, their words echoed about as loudly as thunder.

Seeing 10,000 people lined up in front of him caused Naruto to sigh inwardly and think back to how he had come to Great Wall City all by himself, and had climbed from the rank of lieutenant to captain, and then colonel. Now, here he was at the very pinnacle, a major general.

The mere thought of how much work he had put into becoming a major general left him sighing ceaselessly.

Finally, he waved his hand and said, "Very well, let's go for a bit of a walk."

With that, his thousand-man regiment from before stepped forward and fell into ranks around him to act as his personal guard. At the same time, the ten colonels under his command also stepped forward.

As they flew up into the air, the rest of the corps spread out to clear a path and make sure no one got too close.

Naruto felt extremely excited to be so awe-inspiring, and was very pleased that all of his hard work had paid off. He even made sure to proceed along slowly so everyone could look at him, and also took time to chat with his colonels. The cautious way they carried out conversation with him left him very pleased.

Quite a few people noticed that he was parading through the city. Some time back, he had done the same thing as a colonel, but this time, he was a major general.

The news that Naruto had been commissioned as the major general of the 3rd Corps of the Skin Flayers was big news in the Wildlands. Intelligence regarding him was actually very important in general there. Whether it was his exploding pill furnaces or his Soul Convergence Pills, everything he did seemed to hurt them.

When the news reached Mistress Red-Dust in her command tent, she looked at the intelligence report before crushing the jade slip.

"So that's what happened the other day," she said. "Naruto turned in souls to get battle credit, which then earned him a promotion to major general." Kneeling in front of her was a necromancer in a gray robe, whose cultivation base fluctuations placed him in the Nascent Soul level. "According to the information from our spies," he said, "that's exactly what happened. More specifically, Naruto handed in more than 1,000,000,000 souls..." Even the necromancer almost couldn't believe the number he had just spoken out loud.

"1,000,000,000..." Mistress Red-Dust murmured, her eyes flickering with cold light. After a moment, she waved her hand. "Send down orders to put Naruto in 5th place on the Execution List. Increase the bounty on his head to two deva beast souls!

"Yes ma'am!" the necromancer said with a somber nod of his head. With that, he left.

Before long, word spread to Great Wall City that Naruto was now in 5th place on the Wildlands Execution List, and that the reward for killing him had increased to two deva beast souls. When Naruto heard the news, he was quite shocked.

"How ruthless of them..." he thought. He almost couldn't believe that the Wildlands hated him so much that they were willing to pay two deva beast souls to see him dead.

Chapter 525

A+ A- Chapter 525

Chapter 525: Proud Song Que

"If things keep going on like this," Naruto thought, "I wonder if they'll increase the reward to an actual deva soul one day?" After thinking about the frightening implications for a moment, he buried such thoughts and then decided that he would never again take a single step outside the Great Wall on his own.

"Hmmmph! If I do have to go out, I'll take my entire 10,000-man corps with me. I refuse to believe that anyone in the Wildlands can kill me with them around! Of course, there might be some spies among the cultivators here, but I'm in the middle of Great Wall City after all!" Such reasoning left him feeling a bit comforted, but not completely.

"Wait a second. My cultivation base is still too low. I'm only in the great circle of the Gold Core stage. If I want to make a breakthrough, I'll at least need a full set of deva beast souls. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth..." Although he still had a lot of battle credit, he definitely didn't have enough to trade for a deva beast soul.

Furthermore, if he wanted to trade in one of his deva souls, he would have to wait until he was back in the sect. To pull a deva soul out by the Great Wall would be too risky.

"Maybe I can't increase my cultivation base, but I can definitely make some progress with my Undying Live Forever Technique!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto took out a jade slip, filled out a list of certain items he needed, and passed it off to Zhao Long to take care of.

Now that Naruto was a major general, he had a lot of special privileges. Not only could he post simple missions without needing any authorization, but he could also make requests for supplies.

Of course, considering how much battle credit he had, he didn't want to take advantage of his position, so he also gave Zhao Long plenty of resources to purchase the necessary items.

Before long, Zhao Long returned with the precious materials he had requested. Then, Naruto announced that he would be going into secluded meditation, whereupon he began to cultivate his Undying Live Forever Technique.

"This time I can't hold anything back. I have to get my Undying Live Forever Technique to the great circle of the third level!" Taking a deep breath, he pulled out an earthspirit tuber and popped it into his mouth. As the life force within the tuber began to course through him, he closed his eyes and began to work with his Undying Live Forever Technique.

Almost immediately, that life force transformed into streams of heat that flowed toward his head, where they began to take the shape of Undying Tendons.

His work required focus and concentration, and couldn't be rushed. Thankfully, he had so much battle credit that it was easy to get the precious materials he required. Time passed. Before long, a year had gone by.

That year was mostly spent in quiet cultivation. Naruto rarely appeared out in the open, and therefore, the talk about the events leading up to his promotion gradually began to die down.

Another half a year went by, and the talk died down even more. One day when Naruto was sitting there cross-legged in his secluded meditation facilities, his eyes snapped open, and it almost looked like lightning was crackling within them.

Settling his breathing, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then waved his hands out in front of him. Instantly, all of the precious materials arrayed in front of him shattered into dust.

Then, the dust clumped together and flew into his mouth, sucked away in an instant.

Boundless life force erupted out inside of him, which Naruto immediately sent flowing toward his head. By this point, the Undying Tendons in his head wer

e more than ninety percent complete, with only a tiny fraction remaining incomplete. It was almost like a huge door that needed to be slammed at with great force before it could open.

As Naruto was completely focused on achieving a major breakthrough with the third level of the Undying Live Forever Technique, it was high noon outside, and the sun was shining down hot and bright onto the lands outside the Great Wall.

Some distance away, the same black pillar of light could still be seen shining up into the sky. It was something the cultivators of the five legions had grown used to in the more than one year since it had appeared. Although many people had been dispatched to gather information about it, nothing conclusive had ever been determined.

The only thing that was clear was that the necropolis was huge, and filled with the skeletons of many shocking beasts. Other than that, it appeared to be empty.

However, neither the Wildlands nor the Great Wall forces were willing to give up on trying to uncover its secrets. They were constantly trying to uncover new information. It was because of that that the Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect issued orders that all of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity

Superstars were required to investigate the location at least once.

Therefore, all of the various chosen who had scattered in different directions over the years were forced at some point to head in the direction of Great Wall City.

During the year and half that Naruto was in secluded meditation, quite a few people passed through Great Wall City on their way outside to investigate the necropolis.

When it came to Naruto, only the Hall of Steel Veins could give him orders, and naturally, they wouldn't order him to do something like that.

Currently, there was a group of three chosen outside of the Great Wall, all of them disguised as soul cultivators. One was a beautiful woman, one was a gaunt middle-aged fellow in mid Core Formation, and the third was a strapping young man with a murderous aura so strong it made him seem completely unapproachable.

At the same time, though, there was something about him that made people trust him and not hesitate to follow his orders. His eyes were profoundly cold, making him look like a sheathed sword just waiting to strike. Clearly, he was the type of person who no one would be willing to provoke casually.

Quite a few vicious-looking scars could be seen on him, but instead of diminishing his appearance, they actually served to make him even more attractive to female cultivators.

If Naruto were here, he would recognize this young man in an instant. He was none other than Song Que!

As soon as the group of three caught sight of the Great Wall, the beautiful young woman sighed and said, "Finally back!"

The middle-aged cultivator was clearly moved as well. "Who would have thought that our journey would take three years? Without you, Brother

Song, I'm afraid we would have ended up dead and buried in the

Wildlands."

He would never forget the events which had unfolded over the past three years. At the outset, their group had numbered more than ten. However, on their very first mission they ended up stranded in a very dangerous location, unable to send messages requesting backup, and also cut off from news about what was happening on the outside.

They had been trapped in that danger zone together with a large group of savages and soul cultivators. Despite the fact that the two groups were from the Wildlands and the Great Wall respectively, no major conflicts had broken out at first. However, as time progressed, the situation devolved into open fighting.

It was Song Que who had combined force and charm to bring the situation under control. By winning over the savages and the soul cultivators, he had managed to direct the efforts of the entire group into finding a way out of the trap.

As for his two companions, they felt like they had survived a huge catastrophe, and they couldn't help but feel respect and gratitude toward Song Que for how he had helped them.

The young woman looked over enviously at him and said, "That's right, Big Bro Song. With everything you've accomplished, you'll definitely be able to achieve a meteoric rise. I wouldn't be surprised if you get into the top 10 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. In fact, considering your current battle prowess, you probably already qualify to tangle with the current top 10."

Song Que smiled faintly and didn't bother to act modestly. Even he was convinced that his three bitter years in the Wildlands had turned him into a completely different person.

He had achieved a cultivation base breakthrough, and was currently in late Core Formation. Furthermore, thanks to certain secret magics of the Blood Stream Division, he now possessed enough battle prowess that he had been able to kill a soul cultivator in the great circle of Core Formation.

Such an accomplishment was definitely worthy of pride. He could well imagine what it would be like to get inside the Great Wall, and go back to World City. At that point, he would surely be one of the best of the best among the chosen.

"Even if some of the others stumbled into good fortune, none of them could compare to me!" Another source of pride was the fact that during the three years in which he had been in the Wildlands, he hadn't accomplished only three missions, but rather seven. All of them had been completed within the danger zone that he had ended up trapped in. Furthermore, because he had personally united the cultivators and the Wildlanders, he had also made valuable connections with people in the Wildlands.

Although he hadn't acquired a deva beast soul, he had managed to get more than 300 Nascent Soul-level souls, each and every one of which could be sold for a significant profit.

Most importantly of all, he had uncovered some clues as to the location of a deva beast soul. Not even his two companions were aware of that, only him.

His current plan was to finish out his first five years of the trial finishing missions, improving his cultivation base, and exploring the Wildlands. The final five years would be devoted to reaching the great circle of Core Formation, and searching for a deva beast soul.

"Considering my accomplishments in battle and the missions I've completed, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn that to find someone who has surpassed me. Hmmmmph. From what I heard a few years ago, Naruto got stuck in Great Wall City doing work as an apothecary."

Chapter 526

A+ A- Chapter 526: New Major General?

Song Que chuckled coldly, convinced that this time, he would soon be crushing Naruto ten times over. He could even visualize himself stomping Naruto underfoot and forcing him to beg for mercy.

"You dare to call yourself my uncle?! Well this time I'm going to make you call me grandfather!" The thought of Naruto groveling mournfully filled Song Que's vicious heart with pleasant warmth.

Of course, he had received absolutely no news about Naruto's escapades in Great Wall City. After his three years in isolation from the world, he had rushed directly back toward the Great Wall, with no way of knowing how much things had changed.

It was with a heart surging with pride that Song Que finally arrived at the Great Wall and laid eyes on the enormous spell formation shield. Of course, before he and his group could even get close to the shield, cold gazes filled with killing intent locked onto them.

Then, an icy voice rang out from the wall.

"Who goes there?!"

Song Que's expression flickered, and he suppressed the arrogance in his heart as he stopped in place. No matter how incredible he thought himself outside the wall, now that he was back here, he didn't dare to do anything rash.

After all, he was absolutely not in a place to be able to provoke the five legions. Behind him, his two companions stopped in place, their faces ashen.

Clasping hands respectfully, Song Que called out, "Sir, I am your humble servant Song Que. These two friends of mine are fellow disciples of the sect. We are returning from running missions on the outside, and would like to request entrance into Great Wall City."

The person who had spoken from the wall moments ago was none other than Zhao Long, who happened to be on duty at the moment. Of course, he was a member of the Skin Flayers' 3rd Corps, and one of Naruto's private guards. Considering that Naruto was in secluded meditation at the moment, most matters relating to the 3rd Corps were handled by him and the ten colonels.

Zhao Long looked Song Que and his companions over, and after a moment, his gaze softened. After all, he was aware that Naruto came from the sect headquarters, as did these chosen, and that it was possible they could all know each other. Waving his hand, he sent some cultivators flying out to retrieve the group's identity medallions and excursion permits for inspection.

Zhao Long himself looked over the medallions, using a special technique to confirm that there was nothing suspicious about them. Then he checked the jade slips that were the excursion permits, which were required of any cultivator who left the wall. Whenever a cultivator went outside, the soldiers of whichever legion was on duty at the time would stamp the permit. Upon return, if the soldiers of a different legion were on duty, then the permit would need to be sent to the original legion for verification.

However, Zhao Long could tell at a glance that their verification stamps were from the 3rd Corps of the Skin Flayers. The only difference was that they had been issued during the command of the previous major general. According to the rules and customs of the five legions, whenever a new major general took command, new verification stamps would need to be created.

Zhao Long looked up and said, "Your identity medallions are authentic. However, let me remind you that once you enter the city, the spell formation will lock onto your identity medallion. If y

our true identity does not match up with the information in the medallion, if you are an impersonator or have been possessed, then you will be instantly killed in body and soul!"

Song Que and his companions were a bit taken aback, but after exchanging glances and nodding, they proceeded forward. This was the first time for any of the three of them to return to Great Wall City after going outside, and therefore it was impossible for them to avoid being nervous. After all, it was impossible to say how many cold, murderous gazes atop the wall were fixed on them.

Soon, they were passing through the spell formation. Rippling fluctuations appeared that scanned them thoroughly, then slowly faded away. After that, they found themselves standing there beneath the wall.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Song Que looked up at the figures atop the wall, and was suddenly struck with the impulse to join the five legions.

After the many spectacular things he had accomplished on the outside, joining the five legions didn't seem like a bad choice, or anything particularly difficult.

Seeing that the group had passed through the spell formation with no problems, Zhao Long smiled faintly and then issued orders for the side door to be opened. When the group actually entered the door, they found Zhao Long waiting for them on the other side.

Clasping hands in greetings, Zhao Long smiled and said, "That inspection was a necessary formality, Fellow Daoists, I hope you weren't offended."

A moment later, his gaze came to rest on Song Que, who was clearly the most exceptional of the group, and who he deemed worthy to try to recruit.

Song Que smiled in response. He could tell that Zhao Long seemed to be singling him out, and it already felt wonderful. Obviously, Zhao Long was no ordinary soldier, so Song Que clasped hands respectfully and then began to chat amiably. Before long, they even exchanged names.

Now that they knew each other a bit better, Zhao Long said, "Brother

Song, are you interested in joining the Skin Flayers?"

"Um..." Although Song Que was actually very pleased to be asked this question, he put a look of hesitation onto his face.

From what Zhao Long could tell, Song Que was quite a talented individual, and therefore, he had decided to try to recruit him for Naruto. Facial expression warm, he said, "Don't worry, you don't need to make a decision right away. Take some time to think about it, and tell me your answer later. By the way, the three of you will need to update your excursion permit stamps.

"Your current stamp was issued by our 3rd Corps, but a new major general recently took command. The three of you will need to come with me to the garrison to update your stamps."

"A new major general?!" Song Que exclaimed. His two companions exchanged a shocked glance. Although they weren't very familiar with the Great Wall, they knew that major generals were extremely important people, and that such a change in command didn't happen every day!

Song Que didn't dare to do anything rash. Of course, he would go so far as to chat casually with Zhao Long, but when it came to a major general, he wouldn't do anything even remotely offensive. He was well aware that the cultivators of the five legions, who lived their lives to defend the Great Wall, were the most terrifying of individuals. That was especially true of their major generals, all of whom were exalted figures who could shake heaven and earth.

Even though Song Que viewed himself as chosen, in front of a major general, he would be like a bug. The mere thought of what it must be like to be a major general caused him to sigh.

"I wonder if I, Song Que, might one day have a chance to reach a lofty position like that of major general." Although such thoughts left him slightly discouraged, he forced himself to be optimistic, and also reminded himself that although he might not have come back as mighty as a major general, he was still vastly beyond anyone else in his generation. He was also looking very much forward to encountering Naruto, whom he would instantly stomp underfoot. When that happened, he would make sure Naruto knew what a real chosen was like!

Such thoughts made his heart blossom with delight, and he almost couldn't wait to finish handling the formalities regarding his excursion permit so that he could go find Naruto!

He immediately nodded to Zhao Long, as did his companions, and moments later, the three of them were heading to the garrison of the 3rd Corps.

Along the way, Song Que thought about asking for more details about the major general, but then decided not to. Instead, he gave a meaningful look to his female companion. The two of them had been working together for quite some time, and therefore, she immediately picked up on the hint and took it upon herself to make some inquiries.

"Who exactly is the new major general?" she asked.

"You don't know?" Zhao Long said. Chuckling, he continued, "Well, I don't want to say too much. Who knows, maybe you and the major general already know each other."

With that, the conversation topic was ended, and Song Que and his companions were left more curious than before.

As Song Que and his companions were having their stamps updated, Naruto happened to reach a critical moment in his cultivation. After absorbing all of the precious materials, his eyes gleamed with determination as he gritted his teeth and felt the power of the energy flowing through his Chakra passageways.

The rippling fluctuations turned into mighty waves that raged up to the top of his head, transforming into something like a heavenly water dragon that then shot through the final Chakra passageway in his head.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

No one but Naruto could hear the intense sounds battering his mind. At the same time, he began to tremble violently, and even heard cracking sounds entering his ears.

It was almost as if a door had been opened by the intense life force, whereupon Naruto let out a roar and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, more precious materials were crushed and then breathed in through his mouth.

As the final Chakra passageway in his head shattered, allowing the life force to rage freely through his entire body, he suddenly sensed something like a seal or weight pressing down on him with mountain-like force. It actually felt quite uncomfortable.

It was almost like something completely suppressing him. Although he had never been able to detect this specific pressure before, it now pervaded his consciousness. Furthermore, it was something the likes of which he had sensed twice before in the past, when working with the Undying Skin and Undying Heavenly King.

As of this moment, he had made contact with… "The third shackle!"

Chapter 527

A+ A- Chapter 527

Chapter 527: You're The Major General?!

"The next step is to figure out a way to break through it!" Taking a deep breath, Naruto reined in the life force, whereupon his entire body began to glow with black light.

At the same time, an intense fleshly body power coursed through him, to the point where simply clenching his fist caused cracking sounds to explode out.

Most shocking of all was the speed he was now capable of. Eyes flickering, he waved his sleeve to open his secluded meditation room, and then took a step out.

The instant his foot fell, he vanished. Although it almost seemed like a teleportation, it wasn't. It was just incredible speed that instantly took him out of the room and up into the air above.

As he hovered there in the air above the 3rd Corps' garrison, he realized that a bird was flying in front of him, its wings beating very slowly, a look of shock on its face. Then he looked around and noticed that everything around him seemed to be moving in slow motion.

It was a shocking feeling, and immediately led him to the realization that the speed he was now capable of was so great that it bordered on teleportation.

"Once you get fast enough, everything gets slow?" he murmured.

Because he was now hovering in one place and not moving, everything quickly returned to normal.

It was at that exact same moment that Zhao Long led Song Que and his two companions in through the main gate of the garrison. As they did, they saw a tall, slender figure hovering in the air above them, radiating shocking energy that made him seem like some devilish god...

Just as they were looking up at that devilish god, Naruto looked down and saw Song Que.

Instantly, their gazes locked...

Song Que's eyes went wide, and he gasped, then quickly looked down. Closing his eyes, he told himself that he had just been seeing things, most likely because of how he had been thinking about crushing Naruto recently.

"That's definitely it," he told himself. "Just seeing things..."

However, even as he struggled to get himself under control, Uzumaki

Naruto enthusiastically shouted, "Que'er!"

Naruto was so excited he was trembling, and his eyes were shining as brightly as if they were on fire.

As for Song Que, as soon as he heard "Que'er," his mind was shaken into emptiness. Any endeavors to convince himself that he had been seeing things vanished into absolute nothingness.

His attempts to prevent himself from trembling left him looking very stiff and unnatural as he stood there with a blank look on his face, feeling like he was being struck by endless bolts of lightning.

Naruto began to laugh heartily as he dropped down to the ground and then began to hurry over toward Song Que and his two companions.

It was only at this point that the other cultivators of the 3rd Corps realized that their major general had emerged from meditation. Instantly, the cultivators who made up his personal guard began to fly over in beams of light.

The first person to reach him was the beautiful Liu Li, accompanied by others of his private guard, who clustered around him and saluted respectfully.

"Congratulations on emerging from meditation, exalted one!"

Looking very serious, Zhao Long walked a few steps away from Song Que and his companions, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Congratulations on emerging from meditation, exalted one!"

Looking very pleased at the words of congratulations being offered by his personal guard, he hurried up to Song Que.

Meanwhile, other cultivators in the garrison realized that Naruto was out of secluded meditation, whereupon dozens upon dozens of beams of light began to fly in his

direction.

Ten of the beams of light surged with the aura of the great circle of Core Formation, and also radiated profound dignity. They were people who, in any other circumstance, would dominate any area they entered.

They were the colonels of the 3rd Corps, including Li Hongming. All of them approached and offered respectful greetings.

"Greetings, Major General!"

As more and more people arrived and saluted in greeting, Naruto came to stand in front of Song Que, his eyes shining with excitement. Everyone in the area could sense how happy he was.

"It's really you, Que'er. It's really you! How did you get yourself in such a bad situation, Que'er? I mean, I thought I had it bad, but obviously, you have it way worse than me.

"When we left, your aunt entrusted your safety to me. As your Senior, that's simply my responsibility. Although you mercilessly cast me to the side in the past, as your uncle, I can be magnanimous when necessary. How about this: forget about going out and doing missions. You stick with me. I'm a major general now, and you can be one of my personal guards!"

Naruto really was excited to be reunited with an old friend. Of course, it was all the better considering how arrogant Song Que had acted upon parting ways. Furthermore, although Naruto was very happy to be a major general, he wouldn't be able to return to the RiverDefying Sect any time soon, and it was a bit disappointing to have no old friends around to bask in his glory. Therefore, he was so excited right now he felt like he could explode; it was really one of the most incomparable feelings in the world.

Song Que's two companions were clearly in a state of shock as they looked at Naruto. Although the clothing he wore was relatively simple, it somehow made him look very impressive. He was almost like the bright moon surrounded by countless lesser, faintly twinkling stars.

There was something about him that just seemed innately superior. Although he clearly wasn't in the Nascent Soul stage, he seemed even more terrifying than if he was. Then they heard everyone calling him major general, and their minds began to spin as they realized that this person in front of them was none other than the major general of the 3rd Corps! Complex, indecipherable emotions immediately began to overwhelm them!

Furthermore, they immediately recognized that he was Naruto.

After all, they were all chosen from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, and it would have been harder for Naruto to be more famous than he was among their number. They almost couldn't believe what they were seeing in front of their very eyes, and could do little more than gasp in anxiety. Plus, it was all made even more shocking because this was the first time they had heard that Song Que had such a shocking background. His uncle was a major general!

Trembling, they subconsciously bowed their heads, clasped hands, and offered greetings.

"Greetings, Major General, greetings."

A blank look could be seen in Song Que's eyes as this happened. Everything was developing too quickly, and there was no way he could have prepared himself for this turn of events. Just moments ago, he had been reveling in thoughts of how incredible he himself was, and how he would heap humiliation onto Naruto. And now, here Naruto was standing right in front of him as a major general...

Face ashen, Song Que began to stammer, "Naruto... how is this even possible? Y-you... you actually became a major general?!"

He could hardly bring himself to believe that it was true; it was almost as if his life were a huge comedy playing out.

However, as soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto's personal guards began to frown, clearly not happy at all. Liu Li even let out a cold harrumph. They were crack troops who served a famous officer, and their murderous auras immediately began to rage, crushing down onto Song Que and his companions.

"How dare you use the major general's personal name!" Zhao Long shouted. "You can't just call him by name whenever you wish!"

Although he approved of Song Que in general, the fact that he would question his commanding officer in this way caused him to immediately lose his temper.

Li Hongming and the other colonels were also frowning in displeasure, to the point where killing intent rose up in their eyes. In fact, the entire garrison suddenly became like a hulking beast, staring at the three newcomers as if they were about to consume them!

The sight of so many glares being cast at them caused Song Que and his two companions' hearts to pound on the verge of bursting. As for the young woman, she immediately flopped to the ground to kowtow, to be joined moments later by the middle-aged man. Based on the intense murderous auras around them, they were certain that if they didn't do so, they would be killed in body and soul!

Song Que was trembling, and his face was ashen. He could sense the intensity of the murderous auras just as the other two could, and yet, he wasn't afraid. Instead, he just stood there staring at Naruto, his grief and indignation pushing aside all other thoughts, and his frustration building to the point where it threatened to inundate him like flood waters.

"This is impossible... it's simply impossible..."

Chapter 528

A+ A- Chapter 528

Chapter 528: Hes Just A Kid

Song Que thought back to the first day he had met Naruto, and everything which had happened since then. Naruto had always been there, hanging over him like thunderclouds of misfortune, impossible to dispel.

Back in the Fallen Sword Abyss, Naruto snatched his heavenstring energy. Then in the Blood Stream Sect, he stole away the position of blood master. Later, he seized control of the lofty title of junior patriarch. Each and every time, Song Que found himself outmaneuvered and defeated.

After coming to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, he had mustered his courage and fought on his own as hard as he could, only to be outdone again.

The same thing happened on the huge battleship. Later, after arriving in a strange land, he had unleashed every scrap of his explosive potential, all in the hopes of rising to prominence. When he did, he would finally crush Naruto and put him in his place, make him kneel on the ground, and then crush him underfoot!

Even in this moment, he could still envision himself stepping on Naruto's chest, shoving his finger in his face, and yelling, "From now on, whenever you see me, you'll grovel your way off into the distance!" And yet, such a thing could only happen in his dreams. Yet again, Song Que found himself being crushed, and not just by a little bit. He was being crushed to a heaven-rending, earth-shattering degree, by a major general!

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Song Que's grief and indignation reached the point where tears began to roll down his cheeks.

Startled at seeing tears on Song Que's face, Naruto spun around and yelled, "What are you people doing? Get rid of those murderous auras! This is my dear nephew! What are you doing trying to frighten him? He's just a kid!"

Then, he turned and gave Song Que a warm look, and even reached out to tousle his hair.

When Song Que heard Naruto call him a kid, veins began to bulge out on his neck and face.

"Naruto!" he roared. Then, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he toppled backward onto the ground, unconscious.

This was actually the second time he had passed out in Naruto's presence. The first time was back in Sky City in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect...

Song Que woke up the next morning. After looking around grimly, he gritted his teeth and prepared to leave. However, as soon as he walked out the door, three cultivators appeared in his path. The one in the lead position was Zhao Long, who leveled a cold stare in his direction.

"The major general went back into secluded meditation. Before he did, he passed down orders to conscript you into service. From now on, you're one of the major general's personal guards. You will accept this assignment!"

A snarl immediately appeared on Song Que's lips.

"Remember your place, Song Que," Zhao Long continued. "In any other corps of the army, you would have been executed on the spot for the impudence you showed yesterday. Thankfully for you, the major general took pity on you for old time's sake. Not only did he not punish you, but he also rewarded you by placing you in his personal guard, under my command! From now on, disrespect toward the major general will not be tolerated at all!

"If you continue to act arrogantly, then for the sake of the major general,

I'll be forced to put you to death!" Zhao Long hadn't consulted Naruto regarding the last part of his speech. After all, he knew that there was a special relationship between the two of them. However, as the leader of Naruto's personal guard, there were some matters that were better to nip in the bud. If it turned out that Song Que did

n't know what was good for him, Zhao Long would definitely risk Naruto's wrath by putting him to death!

He had been following Naruto for years now, and therefore, viewed Naruto's honor and glory as his own responsibility, and would brook no violations against it!

Song Que could see the killing intent in Zhao Long's eyes, and could sense the intimidating, murderous intentions within him.

A tremor passed through him as he realized that everything Zhao Long had just said was no mere threat or exaggeration...

Another half a month went by, and despite his reluctance, Song Que was getting used to being one of Naruto's personal guards.

During that half month, Naruto spent time stabilizing his Undying Live Forever Technique. At this point, he was at his absolute peak both in terms of fleshly body and cultivation base. Most importantly, he had become more familiar with his ability to move at such incredible speed that the world slowed down around him.

After emerging from secluded meditation, he headed to his private office in the 3rd Corps to get the latest briefings from his colonels.

Naruto knew that since he was a major general, he had to listen very carefully to the reports. The last to report in was Zhao Long, who explained everything that had occurred in Great Wall City and within the 3rd Corps recently.

The beautiful Liu Li stood behind Naruto, kneading his shoulders. She had been one of Naruto's personal guards for years now, and generally had a cold and icy demeanor. However, whenever Naruto was exhausted, she wouldn't hesitate to give him a soothing massage.

"Up to now, more than a hundred huge caves have been discovered inside the necropolis. Each one is filled with terrifying skeletons. Two deva beast souls were found there, and big battles erupted because of them. One of them was taken by our side, another was won by the Wildlands.

"More news came in about half a month ago. Beneath the necropolis with the hundred caves, there is another terrifying area that no one has discovered how to enter yet." With that, Zhao Long concluded his report. Then he casually added one more item.

"The new member of your personal guard, Song Que, has been performing satisfactorily. However, he has a bit of a rebellious side, and sometimes refuses to follow orders. As such, sir, I was planning to send him to the necropolis out in the Wildlands to learn a thing or two."

Naruto shook his head and smiled. "No, no, don't do anything to put him in real danger. I'm his uncle, you know. Besides, it's normal for kids to be headstrong sometimes. How about this: I'm planning to go take a trip to World City in a few days. Now that I'm the major general of the 3rd Corps, it's my responsibility to conscript some new chosen to join our ranks." Actually, Naruto had been planning to do this for some time now. After what had occurred with Song Que, he thirsted to see more eyes bulging out of the faces of people who knew him.

Zhao Long immediately started to get nervous, and was even thinking of trying to persuade Naruto to change his mind. In the end, however, he simply voiced his assent, and went off to make special preparations to ensure that Naruto was kept safe.

Although it wouldn't be possible to take the entire 3rd Corps on the trip, Zhao Long did have the authority to select five colonels, along with their five regiments, a total of roughly 5,000 soldiers.

A few days later, Naruto submitted a request via jade slip to Uzumaki Lin, asking for permission to go to World City for a recruitment drive. For a major general to leave the city like this was a major event, so obviously, a general had to sign off on it ahead of time.

Upon reading the request in the jade slip, Uzumaki Lin understood immediately that Naruto wanted to go show off a bit, and make sure his companions realized how incredible he was. The truth was that Naruto wasn't the only person who had ever done a thing like that. Even many colonels would do the same type of thing.

Considering what he knew about Naruto's personality, Uzumaki Lin decided that he might as well just directly approve the request. In fact, he even transmitted some information to Naruto, not only giving him some warnings about what to avoid, but teaching him a few things about how to successfully accomplish his goals. Naruto was initially shocked, but then realized that it merely went to show how experienced Uzumaki Lin was.

"We're here on the front lines," Uzumaki Lin said, "so the people in World City will definitely be ready to shower you with praise and even gifts. However, don't push things too far..." He went on to offer a few more words of wisdom before finally approving Naruto's request.

Another two days passed, and after all of the formalities were taken care of, the gates of Great Wall City opened, and a procession of thousands of black-armored cultivators emerged to head in the direction of the Heavenspan Sea. Right in the middle of all of them, of course, was Naruto.

He wore a golden suit of armor, and looked remarkably intimidating. With the proud wave of an arm, he sent his men into motion.

Zhao Long and Liu Li flanked him, and Song Que was also there, albeit begrudgingly. The colonels had arranged for the troops to fly through the air in tight formation, and scouts had been sent ahead to make sure they didn't stumble into danger. Everything had been set up to protect Naruto and crush anything that got in their way.

Even from a great distance, it was possible to detect the heavenshaking, earth-shattering murderous aura that radiated out from the group!

Song Que was actually a bit nervous as he looked around at the troops around him. He had come to a better understanding of Great Wall cultivators recently, and it was to his despair that he had come to realize that a group like this could eradicate him in the blink of an eye. He wouldn't even be able to make them pause in their tracks.

What left him even more unsettled was that the entire group would leap to obey any command Naruto gave them.

There were even Nascent Soul cultivators within that group of 5,000, including some of the colonels. This was roughly half of the entire 3rd Corps, and wherever they went outside of Great Wall City, vicious animals and plants alike would tremble and not dare to get close.

Not even the bizarre cloudgyres would dare to appear in front of 5,000 cultivators from Great Wall City.

Thus, not a single obstacle at all blocked their path as they drew closer and closer to World City.

Chapter 529

A+ A- Chapter 529

Chapter 529: The Riches Of World City

When Naruto originally made the trip from World City to the Great Wall, he had been with Zhao Tianjiao and the others. Because of the incredible dangers they had faced, their small group hadn't been capable of much speed on their journey.

But now he was traveling through the same area with an army at his command. Furthermore, they had spell formations to increase their speed. Therefore, it was less than a month later that the group of roughly 5,000 cultivators saw an enormous city rising up on the horizon.

It was a city that seemed to abound with murky darkness, and was none other than World City!

The cultivators of the five legions who were camped in World City were there as a backup in case Great Wall City fell. If that happened, they would provide the bulk of the force which would counter attack.

Because Naruto was a major general, news of his arrival had been previously announced to the garrison in World City. As such, there were numerous cultivators lined up in formation roughly five kilometers outside the city, waiting to receive him.

Furthermore, the city magistrate, as well as the leaders of the other major organizations in the city, were all present. After all, a major general was the type of person that anyone would view with the utmost importance. Of course, the city magistrate had been directly appointed to his position by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, but not even he would be willing to sow hostility with the legions due to an act of negligence.

The garrison in World City had four major generals, and they were all on their best behavior. Despite being the same rank as Naruto, he was from the front lines, which meant that they didn't quite measure up to him in terms of status. They had worked their way up through the ranks because of their administrative abilities, and were much more suited to the peaceful World City than the brutal front lines of battle.

At the moment, well over a thousand people were waiting for Naruto, roughly half of whom were from the five legions, with the other half being made up of the forces of the city magistrate and other powerful organizations.

Most of them were whispering in hushed tones about the new major general, on his way to recruit troops.

"It's definitely a bad thing for us that this guy is coming!"

"That's right. Normally, they only send colonels here from Great Wall City. Plus, this guy was just promoted. He wouldn't be here unless it was on some important mission."

"Do you guys really believe that he's here to levy troops?" The city magistrate was a middle-aged cultivator with a Nascent Soul cultivation base, who, contrary to expectations, was actually quite plump. Although he had a kind face, it was currently twisted with anxiety.

Although his cultivation base could be considered high, when it came to the five legions, that didn't really matter. Besides, he had only achieved his breakthrough with a Nascent Soul Pill, and had reached his current position by greasing the wheels back at the sect.

He was also wondering why this major general had really come to World City. The fact that the four World City major generals all seemed similarly suspicious only served to further his reservations.

Even as everyone was discussing the matter, nine bright beams of light appeared off in the distance. As muffled rumbling filled the air, the congregated cultivators turned to look in the direction of the light, and soon, nine soldiers came into view.

All of them had expressionless faces and seethed with murderous auras. Despite being mere Core Formation cultivators, they very much seemed like the type of people who one couldn't afford to underestimate.

"The exalted major general will be arriving soon

. Thank you for coming to receive him, ladies and gentlemen!" After making their introductions, a few of the group of nine went back the way they came to report in, while the rest inspected the area.

Very serious expressions could be seen on the faces of the city magistrate, the major generals, and the other city leadership officials.

Another two hours went by before intense rumbling sounds could be heard. Everyone in the waiting crowd looked up with sober expressions as rippling fluctuations filled the sky like waves.

Moments later, the vanguard of the 3rd Corps appeared, bristling with energy, looking like a sharp blade as they sliced through the clouds!

Everyone gasped at the impressive sight.

That was especially true of the four major generals, who all smiled bitterly when they realized that the subordinates under their control were clearly not a match for the cultivators from the 3rd Corps.

Just behind the vanguard were two regiments of a thousand men each, stretched out in wings to the left and right.

The two regiments with their pulsing murderous auras almost looked like a bow, taut and ready to unleash mighty arrows. Next came Naruto, surrounded by his personal guard, and flanked by more troops. Almost immediately, Naruto became the focus of all attention, what with his glittering golden suit of armor.

As the army approached, the gathered cultivators got even more nervous. In contrast, Naruto was feeling very excited, and was continuously sighing in satisfaction.

"Back when I first came to this place, not a single person knew my name. Now, every single person with a title or power has come out to receive me." As of this moment, Naruto was fully convinced that all the hard work he had gone through to reach his current rank was definitely worth it.

As they drew close to the city magistrate and other cultivators, Naruto barked out an order, and the army halted in place just in front of the city officials. Then, troops were sent out to scout the area, while the other cultivators under Naruto's command stared coldly at the people from World City.

Of course, that made everyone, city magistrate included, even more nervous than before.

Moments later, the four major generals took deep breaths and flew up into the air, where they clasped hands and bowed.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, we've been waiting for you!"

Naruto laughed heartily, waving his hand at the vanguard soldiers, who parted to make way for the four major generals. They quickly approached and introduced themselves, and also offered some introductory gifts. Considering that they were all members of the five legions, and were being very courteous, Naruto was very happy. Smiling, he began to chat amiably with them.

A moment later, the city magistrate and other important figures exchanged glances, then sighed and flew up into the air to offer greetings.

They also surreptitiously offered some gifts, which left Naruto feeling even more pleased than before. Then, they clustered around him and began to escort him toward World City.

"Brother Uzumaki, you are truly a consummate chosen. I almost can't believe you've reached the rank of major general at such a young age! Your future prospects are limitless!"

"That's right. I've long since heard about all of your impressive exploits back in the sect, Major General Uzumaki."

"You truly are a great hero, Major General. By the way, what important task has brought you here? If those of us here can be of any help at all, just say the word." Talk like this spilled out of the mouths of the officials, officers, and other important people the entire way toward the city, causing Naruto to burst with joy. However, he didn't utter a peep about why he was here, which was what Uzumaki Lin had advised him to do.

So far, everything had gone according to the plan laid forth by Uzumaki Lin, including the cold demeanor of the soldiers, and the way that Naruto refused to talk about his reason for coming. The goal was to make the important people from the city more and more anxious, and prompt them to lavish him with more gifts.

That was exactly what happened. Upon arriving at the city itself, he found that the road ahead had been cleared and barricaded to make the path clear for him. When he looked around at the expressions of respect and anticipation on the faces of the World City cultivators as they looked at him, he sighed even more deeply.

If he wanted to, he could have anyone killed instantly with a single order. Or, if he fancied a female cultivator, a word from him, and everything would be taken care of. Men would be sent to handle the matter, and she would be delivered to his room later that night.

At least, Naruto was confident that he could do such things given his current rank.

A few days passed, during which time the powerful organizations in the city continued to send him gifts on a daily basis, until they were piled up like a little mountain. As of now, Naruto fully understood why so many people would fight hard to be promoted to major general.

Of course, he didn't forget about his plan to recruit troops. Zhao Long arranged everything. Men were sent out to look for the various members of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars who had come with Naruto on the boat trip over from the sect. Whenever any of them were spotted, a record was made, and a report would be given to Naruto. Then, the simple nod of his head would result in them being conscripted.

After searching through all the familiar names, though, he didn't see any mention of Gongsun Wan'er or Master God-Diviner. Of course, when it came to Chen Manyao, Naruto was fairly certain that she must have long since returned to her home in the Wildlands.

As for Gongsun Wan'er and Master God-Diviner, it was impossible to say where they were, and even using a transmission jade slip to try to reach them didn't work.

"Gongsun Wan'er has always been very mysterious, so I might as well forget about her. But where did Master God-Diviner get off to?"

Seven days went by, during which Naruto continued to collect gifts. It reached the point where he didn't even bother to organize them, and would just casually toss them into his bag of holding.

One evening when he was contemplating whether or not to send some people to search specifically for Master God-Diviner, the plump city magistrate came for a visit.

"Brother Uzumaki," he said with a laugh, "today is your lucky day!"

"Huh?" Naruto's jaw dropped, as he was completely unsure of what the city magistrate was talking about.

Chapter 530

A+ A- Chapter 530

Chapter 530: A New Move

The city magistrate still seemed to be in shock at the nature of the news he bore as he chattered, "Brother, the mere threat of your presence here has resulted in something marvelous. You see, a local official had become wrapped up in taking bribes, and was even embezzling military resources. However, he got so scared by you that he turned himself in, and ended up forfeiting all of his personal property in exchange for his life. I went over to inspect the confiscated materials personally, and was shocked to find that he was incredibly rich!

"Most spectacular of all was a ginseng root that was more than 9,000 years old! I doubt you've ever seen anything like it. The rootlets are as transparent as crystal, and the buds all look like spirit pearls. It's virtually priceless, and in fact, is probably worth more than all of the man's other assets combined."

"More than 9,000 years old?!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes going wide with shock. "You're right, I've never seen anything like that..."

If he used a ginseng root like that in a medicinal pill, the level of life force it could provide would defy description, and would be a huge help in his Undying Live Forever Technique.

"Don't worry, Brother..." the city magistrate said with a knowing smile. Lowering his voice, he continued, "I already had the ginseng root secretly delivered to Zhao Long. After I leave in a moment, he'll surely come to present it to you for your enjoyment.

"As for all of the other confiscated resources, I've put them all in order for you to take back to the Great Wall and handle as you see fit with the other generals."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the city magistrate. All of a sudden, he felt as if a new world were opening up to him, and couldn't shake the feeling that this city magistrate was a genius.

As of this moment, everything became clear, and Naruto felt as if he understood life in a different way.

"So, this guy is also a bit dirty, and couldn't figure out why I was here. Worried

that I had come to audit the military resources, he decided to take the initiative. Not only did he hand the 'confiscated' resources over to me, but he also arranged for a big gift to placate me. Flawless! On top of all that, he didn't even directly give me the gift, that way he wouldn't run into any trouble later because of it! So smart!" All of a sudden, he felt like he had learned a new move from this city magistrate, and was just about to say something to further the conversation when his expression flickered.

Inside of this bag of holding, his identity medallion was shining with bright light. Pulling it out and casting some divine sense into hit, he heard Uzumaki Lin's stern voice.

"Major General Naruto, the Wildlands is mounting a huge offensive. Return to the Great Wall post haste!"

Naruto's face fell, causing the city magistrate to hesitate for a moment. He was just about to ask about what was happening, when Naruto suddenly called out in a thunderous voice, "Zhao Long!"

Zhao Long, who had been standing guard at the door, immediately rushed in and clasped hands in salute.

"Send down orders immediately. R&R is over. In half an incense stick's worth of time, the 3rd Corps moves out and returns to the Great Wall!"

A tremor passed through Zhao Long, who quickly voiced his assent and then left to pass down the orders.

Feeling quite nervous, the city magistrate asked, "Brother Uzumaki, this..."

Naruto interrupted him with a hearty laugh. "Nothing important.

The Wildlands are attacking, that's all. I need to take my leave now,

Brother. If destiny will have it, I hope we meet again in the future."

Then he clasped hands and paid the city magistrate no further heed as he turned to leave.

The city magistrate was delighted to hear that Naruto was leaving, and respectfully escorted him along his way.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, the roughly 5,000 cultivators of the 3rd Corps were all assembled. Naruto waved his hand, and the entire group flew up into the air above World City and prepared to make their way

way off to the Great Wall.

However, just when they passed over the city walls, two beams of light suddenly appeared off in the distance. Clearly, they were two cultivators engaged in a deadly chase.

Being chased was a cultivator with disheveled hair and numerous wounds all over his body. Clearly, he was running low on spiritual energy, and were it not for his dogged persistence, would have already begun to beg for mercy.

"Hey, Master God-Diviner, that soul belonged to me! How dare you steal it. Are you looking to die?! Nobody can save you now!" A young man was giving chase, his expression so cold that he almost seemed to be made of ice. His eyes radiated rage, and he didn't hesitate to burn his spiritual power to chase after his quarry.

"Don't be such a bully, Heretic! I saw that soul first! You're the one who's trying to steal it from me!" These two cultivators were none other than Master God-Diviner and Heretic. Even as he yelled, Master GodDiviner drew upon some more of his scant spiritual power to pull out a little flag, which he waved through the air to deliver a burst of speed. With a whooshing sound, he shot through the air toward World City, which was when he happened to catch sight of the more than 5,000 cultivators in the air.

Immediately, his eyes shone with delight. After all, this group of cultivators was exactly what had kept him going recently. The last few years had been very rough on him. At one point, a chance series of events led to his bag of holding being broken open. All of his belongings were lost or destroyed, including his magical items, his identity medallion, and his transmission jade slip. He had almost died during that incident. However, he didn't come out empty-handed; he ended up winning a little flag that could increase his speed, which was truly a powerful magical treasure.

In a desperate attempt to stay alive, he had used some of his last remaining spiritual power to perform a divination, which had told him that a major turning point in his life would come at World City. He had

He had immediately begun to hurry in that direction, which was also when he had come across the unexpected news that Naruto had become a major general.

The news left him profoundly shaken, but at the same time, filled him with joy. Eyes shining, he had determined to seek asylum with Naruto.

However, along the way, he happened to come across a Nascent Soullevel soul, and had been just on the verge of nabbing it when Heretic came along. The two of them immediately began to struggle over the soul, and although it was impossible to say who had truly laid eyes on it first, somehow, Master God-Diviner ended up with it in his hands. Overjoyed, he had taken to flight, using his little flag to keep himself one step ahead of Heretic the entire time during their chase.

Now that he saw the 5,000 cultivators over World City, he immediately cried out at the top of his lungs, "Save me, Junior Patriarch! Heretic is trying to kill me!"

Heretic's eyes began to shine brightly. Although he was shocked by the large group of cultivators, and was fairly certain that they were from the Great Wall, he had a strange, introverted personality, and thus, had not heard the news about Naruto. The sight of the huge group of soldiers initially struck him with an uneasy feeling that caused him to pause for a moment, but then killing intent flickered in his eyes, and he decided that he couldn't let Master God-Diviner reach his goal. Gritting his teeth, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, his face flushed red as a huge, illusory hand formed right in front of him.

"Nobody can save you now!"

Intense rumbling sounds that tugged at the soul filled the air as the huge palm shot toward Master God-Diviner. This was one of Heretic's trump cards, and it came at a significant wastage of spiritual power. As such, it wasn't the type of thing he would use casually, and yet the importance of the current situation definitely warranted it.

Master God-Diviner's face fell as his heart filled with an intense sensation of deadly crisis. His face also drained of

also drained of blood as he realized that even his little flag wouldn't give him enough speed to evade the illusory palm.

Moments before, Naruto had looked over at what was happening, and immediately recognized Master God-Diviner. Then he heard Master God-Diviner's shout, and saw the gigantic, illusory hand.

Naruto's pupils constricted. Having no time to ponder the situation, he stepped forward, whereupon everything around him slowed down. Next, he shot forward to stand between Master God-Diviner and the huge palm.

There, he raised his right hand to meet the incoming hand. A huge boom echoed out, and at the same time, Naruto's view of the world returned to normal. The power of the attack dissipated, leaving behind nothing more than rippling fluctuations.

Everything happened so quickly that none of Naruto's 5,000 soldiers realized what was going on. Not even Heretic or Master GodDiviner had eyes fast enough to process the situation. All Heretic saw was his enormous illusory hand suddenly collapse.

But then, as the energy faded away, he noticed a slender figure standing in front of Master God-Diviner, hand raised up into the air.

Heretic's eyes widened, and he sucked in a breath as a look of utter incredulity swept across his face. He immediately recognized Naruto, and realized that he must have drawn upon speed that bordered on teleportation to appear in front of the illusory palm, a trump card technique that he had subsequently destroyed.

Even more shocking was that after destroying that trump card, Naruto didn't seem the least bit hurt or even fazed!

Heretic's heart leapt up into his throat, and even the Nascent Soul experts among the forces of the 3rd Corps were looking at Naruto with very serious expressions. All of them were utterly flabbergasted at the incredible display of speed from moments ago.

With such astounding speed, it wouldn't be impossible for Naruto to make a sudden, killing move against a Nascent Soul expert!

Master God-Diviner felt like he had just been plucked out of the jaws of death, and was filled with excitement at the sight of Naruto hovering there in front of him.

"Save me, Junior Patriarch, Heretic is trying to kill me!"

Chapter 531

A+ A- Chapter 531

Chapter 531: Its Like Looking At Myself

Naruto slowly looked up at Heretic and said, "What are you doing trying to kill one of my men?"

Considering how he was clad in a golden suit of armor, he looked very impressive to say the least.

Heretic's pupils constricted as he stared at Naruto. Inwardly, his heart was being battered by waves of shock, not only because of the 5,000 cultivators behind Naruto, but also because of his incredible display of speed, and how he had so casually dispatched Heretic's trump card.

He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. After all, Heretic occupied 2nd place among the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, while Naruto was only in 10th place. For him to have transformed so much in a few short years was shocking to the core.

After a few breaths of time went by, Heretic gritted his teeth and said,

"He stole that soul from me!"

"Rubbish!" Master God-Diviner shot back. "You're trying to steal it from me! Junior Patriarch, I saw it first, and was even planning to give it to you as a gift, sir!" With that, he produced a soul from inside of his flag and then, suppressing the pain he felt in his heart, handed it over to Naruto.

"You!" Heretic growled, eyes shining with cold light.

Naruto already felt a headache coming on. Obviously, it would be impossible to determine who was stealing what from whom.

Furthermore, he couldn't help but sigh at the fact that the two of them were fighting over a Nascent Soul-level soul.

"Is it really worth it for you two to be fighting over a soul like that...?" Shaking his hand, Naruto patted his bag of holding, causing 100 Nascent Soul-level souls to fly out...

Master God-Diviner and Heretic both shivered at the sight, and began to pant in mute shock.

"So... so many..."

"Heavens..."

Naruto was quite pleased at their reaction. Smiling faintly, he continued to speak to them in an admonishing tone, "You're both fellow disciples of the same sect! What's the point in all the fighting? It's just a soul, right? Here, you two take these hundred souls and split them between the two of you." Master God-Diviner shrieked and

lunged forward to start grabbing souls. He was so destitute that a single such soul could drive him crazy, much less the number floating out in the open right now. After grabbing half of the souls, he eyed the remainder of the group covetously, but didn't dare to touch them. Hurrying back over to Naruto, he said, "I can't believe I finally found you, Junior Patriarch," he said with a bit of a wail. "You have no idea how bad things went for me when we were apart..."

From the look of things, he seemed determined to stick by Naruto no matter what.

By this point, Naruto's 5,000 men were surrounding them. "Alright, enough," he said with a slight frown. "Back when you cast me aside, I never saw any expression like that on your face. Well, considering how incredibly magnanimous I am, I supposed I'll let you become my follower." With that, he turned to leave.

Deeply touched, Master God-Diviner immediately made to follow Naruto. By this point, his admiration for Naruto flowed like a mighty river. Back in Sky City, he had believed Naruto's rise to prominence to be something of a fluke. But here he was in the Wildlands, a major general, something that left Master God-Diviner shocked on the deepest level. In fact, he had already sworn an oath to himself to never abandon Naruto for the rest of his life.

That was even more the case when he noticed Song Que among Naruto's men, which immediately got him even more on guard. Back in Sky City, Master God-Diviner had been the first to start following Naruto again, and it had led to incredible benefits. Now, he was only the second to join him, which put Song Que in his sights as a major rival.

When Heretic realized that nobody was paying much attention to him, he began to shiver, and it was made worse by the sight of all the souls floating in the air. It was all a huge blow to his self-esteem. Clenching his hands into fists, he ignored the souls and faced Naruto.

"Naruto!" he roared.

Instantly, Naruto's 5,000 men turned to look at him with

with cold glares. Heretic's body went stiff, but he clenched his teeth and continued, "I want to enlist at the Great Wall!"

When Naruto saw how Heretic's eyes were shining with determination, he thought back to how Uzumaki Lin had spoken with such solemnity to him all those years ago, when he had been about to leave through the side door of Great Wall City.

Back then, he had been just as devoted to the idea of shedding blood for the sect that it caused him to sigh at the thought.

"So," he mused inwardly, "it seems this Heretic and I are similar. We both are willing to suffer personal loss in the pursuit of justice and righteousness." Although his heart was currently softening, his gaze only continued to grow sharper.

Thinking back to how Uzumaki Lin had looked on that day, he stuck his chin up, and clasped his hands behind his back. Armor glittering with golden light, and eyes sparkling brightly, he looked closely at Heretic.

"Do you really wish to join the Skin Flayers?" he asked, trying to sound exactly like Uzumaki Lin had sounded back then. His voice was somber, but also seemed to carry a weight that made it impossible to disobey.

Anyone who heard that voice would instantly feel shaken inwardly.

Heretic immediately responded in a loud voice, "I-"

However, before he could finish speaking, Naruto's eyes began to shine even more brightly.

"Think your answer through clearly before you give it," he interrupted, his tone cool, and yet his words echoing like thunder.

Panting a bit, Heretic gritted his teeth and replied, "I really wish to enlist!"

"You're so much like me back then. Alright, whatever. As the major general of the 3rd Corps of the Skin Flayers, I have the authority to conscript anyone I want into service. Henceforth, you are one of my soldiers!" With that, he flicked his sleeve. "You'll serve for five years.

Each year, your salary will be twice what you get in the Starry Sky Dao

Polarity Sect! As for other rewards, you can gain them via battle credit!

"Furthermore, I can promise you that if you earn enough battle credit to become a major general, then you can go conscript anyone else you like

you like to become one of the Skin Flayers!" With that, he gave Heretic a profound look, and mused that he was almost the spitting image of himself back when he had been recruited.

"I must have looked exactly the same back then," he thought. "So passionate. So enthusiastic. So unique. Such a consummate chosen." Wrapped up in the enchanting memories, he cleared his throat and led the 3rd Corps off into the distance.

Along the way, the army pushed with even greater speed than they had on their way to World City. After all, Uzumaki Lin had ordered him to get back as quickly as possible. Therefore, it only took a few days before Great Wall City became visible up ahead. Almost immediately, it was possible to see a shocking, blood-colored cloud on the other side of the wall, which had taken the shape of the face of a young woman.

She was very beautiful, but extremely solemn-looking, as if she viewed herself as being above all other living beings. She almost seemed a part of the heavens above, and emanated the shocking pressure of a deva.

This young woman occupied first place on the Great Wall Execution List. She was Mistress Red-Dust!

Fighting Mistress Red-Dust was none other than three-eyed Chen Hetian. Their battle caused numerous booms and rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions. Meanwhile, endless masses of savage giants could be seen on the ground below, as well as soul cultivators and necromancers!

Although the spell formation shield was there to protect the Great Wall, the rumble of battle could still be faintly detected from beyond the wall. Clearly, shocking fighting was underway.

As the protective shield rippled, the cultivators of the five legions grouped into spell formations and unleashed constant counter attacks. Beams of light erupted from war chariots and magical cannons, all of which caused widespread destruction.

The huge eye was also participating in the fighting. Whenever the

Wildlands forces managed to group together and lead a huge charge, they were routed before they could reach the Great Wall.

Some distance away from the wall were three enormous vortexes, from within which poured countless masses of savage giants.

However, there were no vengeful souls!

Clearly, the Wildlands still had not devised a method of

a method of neutralizing the Soul Convergence Pills, and were instead relying on a huge army of savage giants.

As soon as Naruto saw what was happening, he took a deep breath. As a major general, he could not shrink back in fear of the enemy, and therefore, he gritted his teeth and said, "3rd Corps, proceed immediately to the Great Wall!"

As Naruto roared and led the 3rd Corps forward, Master GodDiviner and Heretic followed along in shock. Master God-Diviner's eyes were as wide as saucers, and his knees were shaking. After seeing how dangerous this place was, he already regretted having sworn to follow Naruto. However, he was also certain that Naruto wouldn't let him go even if he wanted to, and sighed bitterly.

As for Heretic, he was panting, and his eyes burned with passion, as though the prospect of being able to fight in battle already had his blood boiling.

It didn't take long before Naruto was taking his men through the side gate. Then they were inside Great Wall City and heading toward the wall itself.

A rare situation was playing out in this battle; the fact that the Wildlands had chosen not to use vengeful souls made the five legions' Soul Convergence Pills relatively useless. Furthermore, exploding pill furnaces were only of limited use, and this battle was so huge that they weren't effective on a large scale.

However, the huge enormous pill furnaces were still the foundation of Naruto's power in Great Wall City. Despite having grown very busy collecting souls earlier, he hadn't stopped his work with his pill furnaces. Therefore, it was only natural that some of the sealed pill furnaces would appear in this battle.

Booms rang out, accompanied by miserable shrieks. Unfortunately, the fact that there were only a limited numbers of pill furnaces available ensured that they were quickly used up.

The Wildlands had prepared well for this offensive. Considering how many savage giants were pouring out of their three vortexes, it was obviously that many more than 100 tribes were involved.

There were definitely no less than 1,000,000 giants fighting, many of them unhesitatingly resorting to self-detonation in their attempts to break through the spell formation shield.

Chapter 532

A+ A- Chapter 532

Chapter 532: Wronged!

Strangely, no matter how powerful the attacks of the Wildlanders seemed, Uzumaki Lin and the other generals didn't issue any orders for their soldiers to fight back. Instead, they were ordered to stay behind the shield.

In fact, as the shield retreated, they retreated!

The only fighting that went on was with any necromancers who were able to pierce through the shield itself!

As of this moment, the battle seemed somewhat lopsided. Countless savage giants roared forth to attack the shield, which was slowly being pushed back across the battlefield.

The cultivators of the five legions were pulling back until the point that they were in the shadow of the wall itself. Anxiety was mounting among the soldiers, and yet the eyes of Uzumaki Lin and the other four generals glittered brightly, as though they were waiting for just the right moment to order a counter attack.

"And that should do it..." Uzumaki Lin murmured, looking both edgy and eager at the same time.

Even as the cultivators continued to fall back, the huge eye atop the pagoda in the middle of the city suddenly flared to life, revealing the image of a bat!

Instantly, cold-blooded laughter pierced into the ears of everyone present as the bat opened its mouth and then spit out a stream of vengeful souls!

1 soul. 10 souls. 1,000 souls. 10,000 souls. Soon, it was almost impossible to count how many souls were pouring madly out of the bat's mouth. The bat was like a bottomless pit; within the blink of an eye, more than 100,000,000 souls could be seen flying out of Great Wall City and through the shield toward the massive army of giants!

And things weren't over yet. The souls continued to pour out. 100,000,000. 200,000,000. 300,000,000. Within mere moments, there were fully 500,000,000!

The cultivators of the five legions looked on, eyes wide with disbelief. The Wildlanders were even more incredulous.

Savage giants, soul cultivators, and necromancers alike reacted with complete shock.

"Th-this... this..."

"Impossible!"

"Heavens! I can't believe there are so many vengeful souls! Aren't we the ones who fight with vengeful souls? How can the Great Wall have so many of them!?"

"Even if they saved up for a very, very long time, it would still be very difficult to get that many!"

As rumbling sounds rose up into the sky, the Wildlanders looked on in disbelief. What was happening was so shocking they felt like their world had been turned upside down. After all, they were usually the ones who drove the vengeful souls into attacking the Great Wall.

And yet now, everything had been turned around. The Great Wall was sending the vengeful souls charging in attack against them!

Even more outrageous was that there were 500,000,000 of them. That was more than had been used by the Wildlands in the previous major battle. The sight of the seemingly endless group of vengeful souls rushing toward them caused the Wildlands savages to tremble in shock and terror.

In the blink of an eye, the 500,000,000 souls fell upon the savage giants, whom they bored into, provoking agonized shrieks before causing their bodies to explode.

Such explosions did not merely occur here and there. Within a few short breaths of time, tens upon tens of thousands of giants exploded, causing a mist of blood to build up on the battlefield.

As the souls charged forth, the huge army of giants began to fall apart, and the previously lopsided state of affairs changed.

Almost instantly, chaos prevailed, and no matter what the soul cultivators did to try to keep the giants under control, nothing worked. Even the necromancers' eyes were bright red as they drew deeply upon their own powers to try to take control of the souls. However, there wer

e simply too many of them, making such efforts totally futile.

Most important was that the huge bat in the eye was continuing to spit out souls, creating a tide that crushed everything in its path like a boulder crushing a drinking glass.

The cultivators of the five legions were extremely excited, and as their blood boiled, they began to cry out at the tops of their lungs.

"Those are the souls Naruto handed over!"

"I get it now! Those are Major General Uzumaki's souls!"

"Hahaha! This is unheard-of. This is the first time the grand forces of the

Great Wall have sent vengeful souls to attack the Wildlands!"

At the same time, Uzumaki Lin and the other generals threw their heads back and laughed uproariously. This was the moment they had been waiting for!

"Skin Flayers," Uzumaki Lin roared, "follow me into battle!" Howling with laughter, he charged forward across the battlefield, the Skin Flayers following along behind him.

The other four legions similarly advanced into battle, and within moments, the five legions were cutting through the enemy like sharp blades. With the savages in chaos and the vengeful souls providing cover, they emerged from behind the shield to unleash slaughter.

As for the spell formation shield, it flickered with bright light, and then, instead of pulling back, began to push forward, completely uninhibited.

"Naruto!" someone screamed in a voice replete with hatred and murder. It was none other than Mistress Red-Dust, who was in the middle of fighting back and forth with Chen Hetian.

She wasn't the only one to put the pieces of the puzzle together. As the giants suffered defeat after defeat on the front lines, they heard the exclamations of the five legions, and soon realized that Devil Uzumaki was to blame. Then, countless roars of rage and howled curses could be heard.

"The Wildlands' humiliation will never go away unless Devil Uzumaki is killed!"

"Devil Uzumaki, our Holy People won't rest until you're dead!"

"If you fall into my hands, Naruto, I'll make you suffer for a thousand years!"

Even as words such as these began to echo out across the battlefield, Naruto and his five regiments stepped onto the wall itself. Immediately, Naruto's jaw dropped.

"What did I do this time?" Then he saw the countless vengeful souls smashing into the Wildlands army, and rubbed his eyes a bit before looking out again to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

The 5,000 cultivators he led looked out at the battlefield, and then glanced over at Naruto, odd expressions on their faces. Master God-Diviner was completely shaken, and although he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, he could hear what the savage giants were screaming about. Looking over at Naruto, he felt his scalp prickling in shock, and even trembled from the feelings of reverence that rose up within him.

"Sure enough, the junior patriarch is completely extraordinary. Not only did he already become a major general, but he somehow got the Wildlands to hate him down to the core of their being!"

Heretic was as stunned into silence, as if he had been physically struck.

Naruto was feeling quite anxious due to the unimaginable events which were playing out. He turned his head to look up at the bat in the huge eye, and then back out at all the eyes on the battlefield staring at him, and then his eyes glittered. All of a sudden, he was struck with the realization that this was a perfect situation to show off a bit. Sticking his chest out, he looked down his nose at the battlefield.

Clasping his hands behind his back, he coolly said, "Trifling savages. I can reduce the lot of you into ashes without even stepping foot onto the battlefield!"

In response, the savages cursed, and the five legions cheered. As of this moment, Naruto felt more important than heaven or earth.

However, it was also in that moment that Mistress Red-Dust turned to glare at him with gritted teeth. The last major battle had been a defeat for the Wildlands because of Naruto, and now the same thing was happening with this battle. Mistress Red-Dust's desire to kill Naruto surged more powerfully than ever.

However, with Chen Hetian there blocking her path, there was nothing she could do to Naruto.

Therefore, she raised her voice and said, "Wildlanders, hear my orders! I hereby call upon my authority as Mistress Red-Dust to place Naruto in 1st place on the Execution List, and also increase the reward on his head!

"That reward is now a full set of five elements deva beast souls! The bounty is good throughout all creation, and is available to both members of our Holy People and cultivators from the Great Wall. The only requirement is to kill Naruto! I, Red-Dust, swear an oath upon my cultivation base, and vow to never break my word in the slightest aspect. Furthermore, I will not reveal the identity of the person who kills him, nor divulge even the slightest bit of information about them. If I violate any aspect of this oath, let my cultivation base be ruined and my life destroyed in body and soul!" As Mistress Red-Dust's piercing words rang out, thunder rumbled up in the heavens, as if to bear witness to her promise. That in itself indicated that Mistress Red-Dust had just uttered a Dao oath!

When a Dao oath was uttered, it could not be violated!

As her words echoed back and forth, the entire battlefield went quiet, and countless eyes turned to fall upon Naruto.

Such gazes didn't just come from the Wildlands forces, but also from cultivators of the five legions!

The reward which had just been proclaimed was simply too dramatic! A complete set of five elements deva beast souls was equivalent to a deva soul, and their value to someone who wanted to step into the Nascent Soul stage was beyond description!

Furthermore, Mistress Red-Dust had promised not to divulge any information about the person who killed Naruto. Because of that, many hearts began to race with excitement.

When Naruto saw so many murderous and greedy gazes falling upon him, his expression flickered, and he even started shaking. Without even thinking about it, he slapped his bag of holding, causing more layers of armor to build up around him. Suddenly, he had no desire to try to show off, and instead, had a very bad feeling.

"Hey this wasn't my fault!" he muttered, feeling very wronged. "Who would have known that bat would spit all those souls out...?" The unexpected calamity not only had him feeling very nervous, but he was also filled with regret. It felt like a cold wind was creeping up his back as he suddenly realized that his poor little life was now being threatened.

"This is completely unfair!"

Chapter 533

A+ A- Chapter 533

Chapter 533: Something Big

The entire state of the battle had changed. A boundless soul tide swept out, shoving the Wildlands savages backward, causing agonized screams and intense rumbling sounds to fill heaven and earth.

Blood soaked the ground red, and the sky darkened. In the moment before death, countless gazes came to rest on Naruto, gazes of hatred and madness that caused Naruto's own expression to rapidly become unsightlier than ever.

He truly felt as if he had been wronged. To him, it made sense that people would hate him for his Soul Convergence Pills or his exploding pill furnaces. But what was happening now had nothing to do with him. In fact, there wasn't even any evidence that the battle credit in his identity medallion was increasing.

"No battle credit, and on top of that, I'm the scapegoat? Something seems weird!" The more terrified he got about the situation, the more it felt like he had somehow been scammed.

However, even as he stewed in his anxiety, and the Wildlands seemed to be on the verge of being completely crushed, the three distant vortexes began to shine brightly and emit thunderous rumbling sounds.

Next, an enormous, pitch-black 3,000-meter tall hand with nine fingers stretched out of the leftmost vortex. The hand quickly grabbed one of the nearby savage giants, and then threw it toward the five legions as if it were as light as a baby chicken.

The screaming giant turned into a beam of light that shot toward the five legions, where it then exploded, creating a powerful attack. A moment later, the huge hand grabbed another savage giant and threw it across the battlefield in similar fashion.

Things weren't over yet, though. Another huge, pitch-black, ninefingered hand emerged from the rightmost vortex. After that, an enormous head stuck out from within the centermost vortex.

The head had no eyes on its face, but had a long, black horn protruding from its forehead, as well as a blood-red mouth. Apparently, it was some sort of evil ghost!

Moments later, the ghost let out a roar that caused heaven to shake and the earth to tremble!

ROAR!

A sound wave rolled out that crushed everything in its path, suppressing all other sounds until it was the only thing audible on the battlefield. As the sound wave passed along, it prevented the savage giants from retreating, and blasted the five legions back like a gale-force wind.

From a distance, the three vortexes almost looked like windows leading into another world, from within which an enormous giant had stuck its head and hands.

Even more noteworthy was that the roar of the ghost instantly pushed an indentation into the advancing tide of souls!

Uzumaki Lin, the generals, and Chen Hetian were all shocked. This development alone wouldn't be enough for the Wildlands to take back the initiative in the battle, but considering that they were the ones waging this war, it was obvious that they had come prepared.

Although the unexpected appearance of the soul tide had been devastating, they obviously had other trump cards to call upon. This became apparent when, with no warning whatsoever, hundreds more of the window-like vortexes appeared in other locations on the battlefield.

More arms and heads stretched out, along with roaring sounds that caused the savage giants' eyes to gleam with madness, as though their hearts were being touched. Instead of retreating, the all began to roar at the tops of their lungs and then charge toward the five legions, seemingly in complete disregard to their own safety.

A grim expression could be seen on Naruto's face. Clearly, the Wildlands had come very prepared for this battle, and that idea left him feeling profoundly uneasy. There was no time to ponder the matter now, however, so Naruto simply extended his right hand

and cried, "3rd Corps, take control of the Great Wall's magical canons. Blast those evil ghosts to bits!"

The cultivators of the five regiments quickly fanned out to follow his orders.

As of this moment, the battlefield situation was more unstable than ever!

Booms rang out, and enraged roars filled the air along with agonized shrieks. The spell formation shield rippled as both sides fought back and forth.

Although the forces of the Great Wall were clearly outnumbered by the Wildlands, with the vengeful souls and the spell formation shield, they actually had the advantage, although they had to pay a heavy price to keep the upper hand in battle.

The Wildlands savages were going crazy, and their strategy of selfdetonation was almost impossible for the Great Wall forces to deal with.

The battlefield was like a huge meat grinder, oozing blood every moment as countless combatants died.

How bitter!

Evening had already fallen. Chen Hetian and Mistress Red-Dust were still engaged in such a spectacular battle that neither of them could spare any attention for the battlefield.

As for Naruto's corps, half of them were down on the battlefield, and half of them were on the wall itself. However, all of them were fighting passionately. As for Naruto, he was trembling, but as he saw the blasts of the magical cannons shooting out onto the battlefield, he knew that the time had come for him to actually take part in the fighting.

However, even as his eyes began to glow red, and he leapt off of the wall with a large group of cultivators, the land down below began to quake.

At the same time, deafening rumbling sounds filled the air, and a mighty wind kicked up. Mountains crumbled and trees were felled as sounds ripped across the lands that vastly surpassed the soundwaves the evil ghosts had unleashed.

RUMBLE!

Savage giants coughed up blood, as did the cultivators of the five legions. The sound which was battering them was completely deafening!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as he looked off toward the horizon, where previously, a single black pillar of light had risen up into the sky. Now, there were two pillars of light!

As the second pillar of light shot up, countless powerful ripples spread out through the air.

Both sides of the conflict were shocked to the extreme.

"Another pillar of light appeared!"

"W-what's... what's going on!?"

"What happened?!" The expressions of all the combatants flickered, and as for Naruto, his heart began to tremble with anxiety. Before he could do anything more, though, another deafening roar split the air, causing more blood to spray out of the mouths of savages and cultivators alike as a third pillar of light shot up!

Everyone was so flabbergasted that they couldn't hold back from shouting out in alarm!

Up in the air, Chen Hetian's face fell, and it was the same with Mistress Red-Dust. Immediately, they stopped fighting, backed away from each other, and looked over in the direction of the pillars of light.

"What happened...?"

"Two more pillars of light have appeared!"

And yet, things weren't over yet. Even as everyone looked on in shock, yet another intense rumbling sound echoed out, and then a fourth and a fifth.

A total of eight explosive sounds rocked the lands one after another!

Everything was shaking violently, and even the sky seemed like it might be rent apart. There was no need to even mention the mountains that existed between the Great Wall and the pit where the pillars of light originated. Almost everything was crushed flat and reduced to ashes!

The drastic events playing out made it difficult for many people to even stand up. Blood oozed out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and agonized shrieks rang out constantly. Some of the savage giants and Great Wall cultivators were injured so badly, or had their cultivation bases destabilized so profoundly, that they instantly died!

The spell formation shield shattered into pieces, and to Naruto's shock, cracks even began to spread out in the Great Wall itself!

"This... this..." As the incredible rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, more pillars of light appeared.

Six, seven, eight. Shockingly, a total of eight black pillars of light appeared, bringing the grand total to nine!

Nine pillars of light shot up into the heavens, creating something like a spell formation that seemed capable of pushing away the heavens and shaking all life forms.

Chen Hetian couldn't control his panting, and Mistress Red-Dust's eyes were wide. Down below, savages and cultivators alike were stunned, standing there motionless as blood oozed out of their orifices.

Naruto was similarly bleeding, and as he looked at the nine black pillars of light, his heart surged with a very bad premonition.

"Something big is happening!"

Chapter 534

A+ A- Chapter 534

Chapter 534: News About A Deva Soul!

Almost in the same moment that the nine pillars of light appeared together, Chen Hetian and Mistress Red-Dust both pulled out transmission jade slips; clearly, both of them were receiving messages from other parties.

Their faces flickered with equally unreadable expressions, and they began to pant. Finally, they looked up into each other's eyes and began to transmit a conversation.

It only took a few breaths worth of time for the two of them to reach an agreement, whereupon Chen Hetian waved his hand and called out to the forces below.

"Five legions, fall back!"

At the same time, Mistress Red-Dust's eyes glittered as she looked at the Wildlands army and spoke in a cold voice.

"Holy People, fall back!"

Considering that both of them had been issued the same orders, there was no way for the fighting to continue. The battle was over. The Wildlands savages retreated, seemingly puzzled, and at the same time, shocked because of the nine pillars of light.

The Great Wall forces reacted similarly. Numerous speculations rose up in the hearts of the cultivators as they pondered what could possibly have caused the two devas to agree to stop the fighting! Whatever it was, there was a high likelihood that it had something to do with the nine pillars of light!

As Uzumaki Lin and the other generals oversaw the retreat back to the wall, the Wildlands army disappeared into the darkness of the evening.

As for Chen Hetian, he suddenly faded away, vanishing for several hours. When he reappeared in the huge pagoda, it was late in the night. The first thing he did was summon Uzumaki Lin and the other generals of the five legions to convene a meeting.

By that time, the cultivators of the five legions were all back in their various garrisons.

Naruto was there with his 3rd Corps, looking at the nine pillars of light rising up into the sky off in the distance. Although it was night, and the beams were black, they still emanated a soft glow that made them

clearly visible.

The uneasy feeling in Naruto's heart continued to rise.

"Just what exactly is happening...?" he thought nervously. "I'm not sure about the other pillars, but the first one came because I grabbed too many souls and instigated some kind of chain reaction.

"Could it be that someone else provoked the soul of that wicked ghost I saw? Or maybe something happened inside the necropolis?" The more Naruto considered the situation, the more he was convinced that someone else had done something. After all, both the Great Wall and the Wildlands had sent a lot of people into the necropolis to investigate it.

"What if the soul of that evil ghost escaped? What if it's after me!?" That thought caused him to start chewing on his lip in anxiety. Looking around fearfully, he thought back to how terrifying that evil ghost had been, and realized that he completely lacked any sense of security. "What am I supposed to do...? Please tell me I'm wrong about this!" By now, he was scowling on the verge of tears, and couldn't stop sighing inwardly.

Chen Hetian's meeting with Uzumaki Lin and the other generals only lasted for about two hours. Afterward, the generals flew out of the pagoda, eyes shining with excitement that they couldn't keep hidden.

By the time Uzumaki Lin got back to the Skin Flayers' district, it was almost dawn. The first thing he did was issue orders to the major generals. "All major generals will come to my residence immediately for a meeting!"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but then took a deep breath and flew out toward the huge coffin-like residence that belonged to Uzumaki Lin. Before long, he caught sight of the other major generals of the Skin Flayers, all of whom had somber but curious looks on their faces. After exchanging salutes with clasped hands, the group flew into Uzumaki Lin's residence.

Inside the grand hall, Naruto and the other eight major generals stood before Uzumaki Lin and saluted with clasped hands. "Something big happened!" Uzumaki Lin said, his eyes flashing

flashing like lightning. Everyone shivered inwardly.

As of this point, Naruto's heart was pounding, as he expected Uzumaki Lin to go on to talk about how an evil ghost had escaped from the necropolis.

Before anyone could ask any questions, Uzumaki Lin excitedly said, "A deva soul was located!"

With the exception of Naruto, all of the major generals seemed stunned.

"A deva soul!"

"I can't believe a deva soul was located!"

"I've been stationed at the Great Wall for years now, and have only heard stories of deva souls! I've never even seen one with my own eyes!" Although all of the other major generals were already Nascent Soul experts, the astronomical value of a deva soul was still very enticing.

Naruto finally relaxed a bit. He knew what deva souls were like, and obviously, the powerful evil ghost he had faced in the pit was not a deva soul. As long as that evil ghost didn't show up, Naruto wouldn't be too worried. Furthermore, considering how familiar he was with the Great Wall now, he was also acutely aware of how valuable deva souls were!

For one thing, a deva soul could be traded for a full set of five elements deva beast souls. Conversely, a set of five elements deva beast souls could also be traded for a deva soul, although it would be virtually impossible to find someone who would make that trade.

After all, deva souls were incredibly rare.

Almost anyone who actually possessed a deva soul would keep that fact a well-hidden secret, and attempt to collect the other four needed deva souls. If word spread about such a thing, the ramifications would be grave. To date, only the Celestial on Heavenspan Island had ever done such a thing.

It was even rumored that the Celestial did not wish for any other person to use deva souls to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Although it was just a rumor, if the Celestial really did wish to prevent such a thing from happening, it would be a simple thing to have someone walking

someone walking down that path be put to an end.

All of the ambiguous stories left people feeling very unsure about what to believe.

In any case, Naruto didn't spend too much time worrying about it.

What he cared most about was his poor little life. Upon looking around and seeing the expressions on the faces of the other major generals, he felt very proud of himself.

"It's just a deva soul, right? What's the big deal? I have two in my bag of holding." Of course, despite such thoughts, he put a similar expression of madness and anticipation on his face.

Uzumaki Lin seemed to be very pleased at the reaction his words were getting. He had been equally shocked when Chen Hetian gave the news to the generals. However, the reason for his shock was not the value of the soul itself, but rather, some further information that had been provided by Chen Hetian.

At first, Uzumaki Lin was hesitant to divulge that information to the major generals. But since it was likely that the other generals would tell their major generals, and that Uzumaki Lin would need help to come out ahead in the coming competition and win the deva soul, he decided to proceed.

"A complete set of five deva souls can help a cultivator create a HeavenDao Nascent Soul, but that's only one of the benefits of having such souls. Another is that they can give Nascent Soul cultivators a much better chance of success when stepping into the Deva Realm!

"Even a single deva soul can increase that possibility, and if you can get a full set, the chances are astronomically better!"

Although Naruto wasn't very impressed, some of the other major general's eyes were popping out of their heads. From the way they gasped, they were clearly flabbergasted by this new information.

"They can increase your chances of stepping into the Deva Realm..."

"I can't believe deva souls are so useful!"

Uzumaki Lin looked over the group silently, paying close attention to their reactions. Of the nine major generals excluding Naruto, three didn't

Naruto, three didn't seem to be reacting at all. Two had slight changes of expression, and four were clearly shocked.

As for Naruto, he had a cool expression on his face. From what Uzumaki Lin could tell, the information he had just revealed was not of much concern to Naruto, who was still thinking about reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Obviously, his reaction would be different from the other major generals, who were all already Nascent Soul cultivators.

Of course, the truth was that Naruto's coolness came from the fact that he already had two deva souls. As the old saying goes, a full man doesn't understand the feelings of a hungry man.

Naruto blinked a few times when he realized Uzumaki Lin was looking at him. Then he looked thoughtfully at the other major generals, and finally clasped hands and bowed toward Uzumaki Lin.

"General, this seems like a great opportunity. If you can get that deva soul, you'll have a much better chance at becoming a deva!"

Naruto's words brought the excited major generals back to their senses. Obviously, getting a deva soul right now wouldn't help them much, considering how far away from the Deva Realm they were. Even if they got one, news would definitely spread about it.

Obviously, the person closest to a cultivation base breakthrough was none other than General Uzumaki Lin, who was standing right in front of them. When the excited major generals saw the way his eyes glittered coldly, and heard Naruto's words, they immediately realized that Naruto was actually reminding them of the reality of the situation.

The truth was that they were out of sorts because of the shocking news of a deva soul, otherwise they wouldn't have needed such a reminder. Considering the cold look in Uzumaki Lin's eyes, the major generals in question immediately felt gratitude for Naruto.

Those four major generals looked over at Naruto with profound looks. One of them even clasped hands and bowed to Uzumaki Lin. "General, where exactly is this deva soul?"

Chapter 535

A+ A- Chapter 535

Chapter 535: Roster

An enigmatic smile could be seen on Uzumaki Lin's face, evidence of his approval of the reminder Naruto had offered just now. After all, there were some things that weren't appropriate for Uzumaki Lin to directly say himself. Looking at the major generals, he nodded.

"All of you have seen those black pillars of light," he said. "As I'm sure many of you have already deduced, there have been some dramatic developments regarding the necropolis in that direction.

"By this point, the necropolis has completely collapsed, revealing an entrance within an entrance, a path that leads to a shocking labyrinth.

"Outside of the entrance is a stone stele, upon which is a line of text that clearly indicates a deva soul exists inside the labyrinth!"

No one responded. As for Naruto, his heart skipped a beat. Moments ago, he had finally been calming down, only to suddenly be as tense as a taut bowstring. Although he had guessed that the deva soul would be connected to the necropolis, he had hoped it wouldn't be the case. He couldn't help but think that this entire scenario had all begun with him collecting souls in that pit, and that made him very nervous.

"Senior Chen Hetian has issued orders. Tomorrow evening, a group of 30,000 soldiers will be heading into the labyrinth, with him leading them! Of course, the security of the Great Wall is paramount, so in terms of who will be going, Senior Chen will consider the matter carefully, and announce the roster later tonight.

"I'll be going along as well, but not to enter the labyrinth. The other generals and I will lead armies to encamp in the area and guard against any sneak attacks from the Wildlands. Even the true spirit from the pagoda will be present.

"All of you go back to your corps and make whatever preparations are necessary. Whichever Skin Flayer manages to bring back that deva soul for me will earn a handsome reward for whatever major general leads their corps!"

Naruto heart was pounding. He didn't care about the deva soul at all; he only cared about his poor little life. The fact

that such a large group was being selected to go into the labyrinth only increased his nervousness. The mere thought of how terrifying that evil ghost was, and the fact that the Wildlands had a huge bounty on his head, caused his heart to leap up into his throat in fear that he might be sent along.

"Considering how important this whole thing is," he thought, "and how low my cultivation base is, they probably won't send me, right?" That made him feel a bit better.

Trying to sound as serious as possible, he looked at Uzumaki Lin and said, "General, this whole thing seems a bit strange. There's a labyrinth with a stone stele that outright says there's a deva soul inside? It seems pretty likely to me that this is just a big trap set up by the Wildlands!"

After Naruto was finished speaking, another of the major generals spoke up. "Sir, I was thinking the same thing. Besides, even if one of us Skin Flayers manages to get our hands on the deva soul, if Senior Chen feels like taking it away, well... And another thing, General. Can this information really be trusted?!"

Uzumaki Lin smiled faintly. "We generals already discussed these very matters with Senior Chen. Actually, Senior Chen secretly took a trip to the labyrinth himself already, and confirmed that it is no trap. As for the other matter, the generals have already made a formal agreement with him to make sure nothing like what you've mentioned will happen...

"We agreed to let him pick which 30,000 individuals will go into the labyrinth, and he agreed that whoever gets the deva soul will receive his personal protection and approval!

"As for whether or not the basic information can be trusted, Senior Chen revealed the truth to us in our meeting...

"The news came directly from his apprentice Zhao Tianjiao, and his daughter Chen Yueshan. They were on their way back from a mission in the Wildlands when the first pillar of light appeared. That was when he sent them into the necropolis to investigate the place!

"Unfortunately, their current situation is unknown, and in fact, we're not even sure

sure if they're alive. Presumably, they are trapped somewhere in the labyrinth, and can't make contact. Supposedly, the labyrinth is enormous, and definitely impossible for any one person to search thoroughly. That is one reason why Senior Chen is taking 30,000 people with him. In addition to the matter of the deva soul, there is another important purpose to the mission; to find Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan, and escort them out safely." When Naruto heard this, his heart immediately trembled.

"Elder Brother Zhao..." Naruto recalled how horrifying the gigantic evil ghost had been, and then thought about how Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan were missing. Then he began to pant in anxiety.

Soon, the meeting with the major generals concluded, and Uzumaki Lin dismissed them. Naruto was very worried. On the one hand, it was possible that Zhao Tianjiao was in trouble, and on the other hand, he feared being selected to go into the labyrinth.

"With so many people going in to look for Elder Brother Zhao and Elder Sister Chen, they should be fine. So I really, really hope they don't pick me." After sighing all the way back to the garrison, he sat in his quarters, brooding.

"They'd better not pick me to go into that labyrinth. As soon as the Wildlanders see me they'll definitely go crazy. Plus, considering how far away from the Great Wall that place is, there might even be cultivators from the five legions who get greedy for the bounty!" The mere thought of the wild reward Mistress Red-Dust had put up for his head, and how numerous cultivators from the five legions had turned to look at him in that moment, caused his heart to grow cold with dread. But then he thought about how Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan were basically in trouble because of a situation he had caused, and he grew even more anxious.

Before long, the light of dawn filled the sky. However, Naruto wasn't in the mood to go out and do anything. Instead, he stayed inside to fret and pray about the roster.

Meanwhile, Chen Hetian sat grim-faced in the pagoda beneath the huge eye, his

eye, his mood one of anxiety and regret. After all, if he hadn't sent his apprentice and daughter into the necropolis, events wouldn't be playing out the way they were.

His daughter and apprentice had gone through a dangerous mission in the Wildlands, and were coming back safely when he ordered them into further danger. The mere thought of it caused his heart to prickle with pain. Thankfully, his daughter's life slip was still intact. Furthermore, he had given her a handful of precious treasures to protect herself. Therefore, he wasn't completely overwhelmed with worry.

He had only agreed to let the two of them go out into the Wildlands after careful consideration and deliberation. He had been worried about them the entire time, and only relaxed a bit when he found that they were on their way back safely.

Never could he have imagined that things would turn out like they did.

He hadn't revealed the entire truth of the situation to Uzumaki Lin and the generals. Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan had been in the middle of fleeing from some Wildlands soul cultivators when they stumbled into a restrictive spell that unleashed the eight pillars of light. Only then, when the mountains were crumbling and the earth was shaking violently, did the entrance to the labyrinth appear.

Furthermore, a gravitational force had appeared, which sucked everyone inside. Zhao Tianjiao had only been able to send one quick message out before being cut off, words filled with terror and alarm: "This labyrinth is a land of ghosts! It opens in the evening and closes in the morning..."

"The labyrinth is a land of ghosts..." Chen Hetian had murmured. After the Wildlands army retreated, he vanished for a few hours, which was when he personally went to the location of the labyrinth.

He had even tentatively entered. However, once inside, he realized that not only was the place huge, but there was also something about it that rapidly suppressed his divine sense down to a very limited state. Clearly, there was no way that he alone would be able to search for and find his daughter and apprentice.

Plus, in the short time he had been inside,

had been inside, he had seen things which caused fear to rise up even in him. However, the realization that his daughter and apprentice could be killed at any moment filled Chen Hetian with immense anxiety.

Thus, he had made his agreement with Uzumaki Lin and the other generals. Considering the level of Chen Hetian's cultivation base, he didn't care too much about a deva soul. Therefore, for the sake of his daughter and apprentice, he recruited the help of the legions to search the labyrinth.

If he had been in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect instead of the Great Wall, he could have mustered 3,000,000 cultivators with ease. But he was dealing with the five legions of the Hall of Steel Veins, which answered to the demigod patriarch. When it came to the security of the Great Wall, 30,000 cultivators wasn't a small number. But the wall could still be manned in their absence, and therefore, a deal had been reached.

Currently, Chen Hetian held a jade slip, within which were the records regarding all of the cultivators in the five legions. Included in the information was a detailed description of each cultivator's cultivation base, as well as what skills and techniques they were adept with.

As Chen Hetian browsed through the records, he selected one cultivator after another to join the mission.

Most of the cultivators he selected were in the Core Formation stage, skilled with the use of divine sense, and very quick.

He also selected some Nascent Soul cultivators, but was limited in the total number he could pick, and was thus being very choosy.

Before long, the list of 30,000 was almost complete, which was when

Chen Hetian's divine sense locked down onto one name in particular.

"Naruto..." he muttered. Naruto had only joined the Skin Flayers because of a chance series of events, and had only been a member for a few years. To cultivators, that was a fairly short period of time, and yet, there were plenty of records regarding his accomplishments, many of which came from when he had been unexpectedly sucked out onto the battlefield.

For one thing, he was noted for his incredible speed.

Chapter 536

A+ A- Chapter 536

Chapter 536: Intolerable Bullying!

Chen Hetian paused when he got to Naruto's name. Naruto had become very important to the Great Wall in the short time since he had joined the Skin Flayers, and Chen Hetian knew that. Furthermore, he was aware of the close friendship between him and Zhao Tianjiao.

Of course, when evening fell, it wouldn't just be Chen Hetian and 30,000 cultivators showing up outside the labyrinth. There would be a host of Wildlands savages and soul cultivators...

Deva souls were just as precious to the Wildlanders, who could use them to add extra power to their secret magics. Because of that, Chen Hetian was worried about the Wildlanders contending for the deva soul.

However, of even more concern was the fact that the more soul cultivators and savages who entered the labyrinth, the more likely they would be to encounter his apprentice and disciple.

Therefore, Chen Hetian wanted someone in the labyrinth whom the Wildlanders would be especially drawn to, upon whom they could focus their killing intent. He wanted someone who the Wildlanders would specifically want to track down...

And there was no one who met those requirements more perfectly than Naruto... The Wildlanders hated Naruto with a vengeance, and the instant they saw him, would definitely try to chase him down and kill him. After all, the reward on his head was for a complete set of five elements deva beast souls, which was something no one in the Wildlands could remain ambivalent about.

For all intents and purposes, any Wildlander who went into the labyrinth without very specific orders to the contrary would most likely choose to try to hunt down and kill Naruto.

Naruto's mere presence would attract the attention of all the

Wildlands forces. Not only would that make things safer for other Great Wall cultivators, but it would increase their chances of getting the deva soul.

"Naruto..." Chen Hetian murmured, his eyes glittering. The truth was that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had long since been working on a way to crack the secret of the Soul Convergence Pill.

Such pills were far too important to the sect to be controlled by any one person. Of course, Naruto had also been kept in the dark, to prevent any frustration

or defiance on his part.

The sect had almost reached the point of determining the medicine formula, and as for the exploding pill furnaces, the sect had also begun to come up with their own methods of reproducing the effects. Because of all of that, whether it was to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect or Chen Hetian himself, Naruto wasn't of much value anymore.

If the current situation hadn't come about, Chen Hetian would have continued to use him as before. But now, with the lives of his apprentice and daughter on the line, he was more than willing to sacrifice Naruto if it meant getting the slightest advantage.

With such thoughts on his mind, Chen Hetian unhesitatingly added Naruto's name to the list!

By the time the sun was high in the sky, Chen Hetian had completed the

30,000-name-long list. He was already nervous. After all, the labyrinth would be opening up later in the evening.

After sending the name list into the huge eye, he called upon his authority to notify all of the cultivators who would be marching toward the labyrinth. One by one, the identity medallions of the cultivators in the five legions began to vibrate as the news came in.

"I'm included!"

"This mission is going to be dangerous, but rewards come only with risk!"

"There's a deva soul in that labyrinth! Heh heh. There are definitely going to be soul cultivators too, and they all have terrifying spirit enhanced weapons. If I can get one, then all of this will be worth it even if I don't get that deva soul!"

Different reactions could be seen on the faces of the various cultivators in the five legions who received orders to join the mission. Many were very excited at the chance to join a deva on an important assignment. Some were frowning at the thought of how dangerous things would likely be. However, they were cultivators of the five legions, and therefore, they refrained from complaining.

After all, at the bottom of the order was a line of text which explained that anyone who refused to go on the mission would be treated as a deserter!

And at the Great Wall, deserters were put to death!

As everyone else received their orders, Naruto was sitting in his quarters, trembling as

as he looked at his identity medallion. After looking at the message, he shrieked loudly as the blood drained from his face.

"Deserter!? Deserters are punished with death by a thousand cuts... I don't want to go!"

Leaping to his feet, he stared at the identity medallion so hard that his vision began to fade. He felt like he was a lamb who had walked right into the jaws of a tiger, and the sense of profound danger he felt inundated every scrap of his flesh and blood. Terrified, he immediately transmitted a message to Uzumaki Lin.

After a long moment passed, Uzumaki Lin responded.

"Senior Chen has made his decision. I tried to fight him on the point, but he refused to budge. I'm sorry, Naruto, nothing can be done about it."

Naruto's heart immediately went very cold, and his gaze filled with rage as he stared at his identity medallion.

"I've performed great services for the Great Wall! I'm a major general!"

Naruto was extremely angry, and refused to believe that Chen Hetian was unaware of the lengths the Wildlanders would go to try to kill him if he went outside of the Great Wall. In fact, within that labyrinth, it wouldn't be surprising if five legions cultivators gave in to the temptation to try to kill him.

Furthermore, there was almost nothing he could do to defend himself. If he went, it wouldn't just be extremely dangerous, it would be almost like a death sentence!

Despite all of that, Chen Hetian had intentionally selected him to go, and had refused Uzumaki Lin's request to make a change. Clearly, Chen Hetian was doing all of this on purpose.

"He must intend to use me as Uzumakit to distract the Wildlanders..." Naruto thought, his eyes glinting red with anger, and his blood pumping wildly. Certain that his analysis was correct, his rage continued to mount. To him, it felt as painful as if someone were standing behind him, poking a sabre into his back to force him to jump into a fiery pit. He almost couldn't breathe.

"If I don't go, I'll be punished with death by a thousand cuts. Plus, the

River-Defying Sect would be implicated. I'm not simply being put into extreme danger, I'm being sentenced to death...

"I've been defending the Great Wall for

Wall for years now! I've earned countless battle credit. And this is how the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect treats me!?" Naruto was so angry that he balled his hands into fists, his face turning red and blue veins bulging out on his neck. Then, after a long moment, he began to chuckle bitterly

There were no options. It was either a literal death penalty or a figurative death sentence, and therefore, he had no choice other than to pick the latter.

"They must have already cracked the secrets of my Soul Convergence Pill." There was nothing he could do about that. By this point, he was physically trembling, although it wasn't from fear, but rather, fury!

The incident with the Fantasy Pills back in Sky City had been a clue about how the sect tended to treat him, but he had never imagined that after everything that happened later, he would reach a point like this.

After struggling to get himself under control, he chuckled bitterly and began to pack his belongings. Since he had no choice in the matter, the only thing he could do was make sure he was as prepared as possible to keep on living.

He took out the Eternal Parasol and his eight-colored fuel. Originally, he had hoped to use the eight-colored flame at some other time in the future, but now, he didn't hesitate to use it to perform a spirit enhancement on the parasol.

After placing the parasol into the turtle-wok, eight dazzling silver designs appeared!

He did nothing to cover them up. After all his years at the Great Wall, he had seen Wildlands soul cultivators in battle who wielded magical items with multiple spirit enhancements on numerous occasions. From what he could tell, the spirit enhancement techniques in the Heavenspan River were different from those in the Wildlands.

He had long been curious about that, and had even asked Uzumaki Lin about it, but the only answer he had been given was that it had something to do with necromancers. Uzumaki Lin was hesitant to give any information beyond that.

Naruto's own enquiries had also indicated that the answer had something to do with necromancers, but had uncovered little else, and he had been forced to simply forget about trying to get an answer. After performing an eightfold spirit

an eightfold spirit enhancement on the Eternal Parasol, he made similar preparations with his medicinal pills, armor, and magical items, performing spirit enhancements on as many as he could.

At one point, both Master God-Diviner and Zhao Long came to inform him that they had been selected for the mission. Zhao Long took the news in stride, but Master God-Diviner was terrified, and begged Naruto to try to get him off the list.

"Junior Patriarch, save me! I just got here! This... this isn't fair!"

Roughly 800 members of the 3rd Corps had been selected to go on the mission, Song Que included.

All of them were completely taken aback to hear that Naruto was also included. Master God-Diviner was especially dumbfounded, and eventually just left with a bitter smile on his face. Obviously, if Naruto couldn't get out of the mission, then there was no hope for anyone else to be exempted.

After sending everyone away, Naruto sighed and headed to the pagoda in the middle of the city, where he spent all of his battle credit to purchase paper talismans, as well as spirit alcohol that could be used to restore spiritual power.

Only with sufficient spiritual power could he protect himself within the labyrinth. As for the 800 other members of the 3rd Corps, although he was responsible for their safety, considering the limited time involved, he did what he could to help them, but it wasn't much.

Soon, it was only two hours away from evening. That was when Chen Hetian emerged from the pagoda and summoned the 30,000 cultivators who had been selected for the mission, then waved his hand and shot out beyond the wall.

Worried that the group would travel too slowly, he performed an incantation gesture, causing a mass of clouds to build up that quickly carried the 30,000 cultivators across the lands. Because of that, it only took about two hours to reach the entrance of the labyrinth.

Naruto was there in the crowd, glaring furiously at Chen Hetian.

However, considering the level of the man's cultivation base, Naruto knew that he could only sigh helplessly about the situation. However, that didn't prevent him from swearing an oath.

"You just wait until I become a demigod, you old fossil! Then I'll get my revenge in full!"

Chapter 537

A+ A- Chapter 537

Chapter 537: Devil Uzumaki Is Here!

Along the way, Naruto had considered putting his mask on. However, it wasn't very convenient to do so with so many people around, so all he could do was scowl and maintain his place within the crowd.

Currently, he was wrapped up in thoughts about how to keep himself safe. However, up to this point, he hadn't come up with any new ideas. The only thing he could think to do was try to find an opportunity inside the labyrinth to put on his mask and change his identity.

"That's my only option..." he thought sullenly, his expression grim.

While Chen Hetian was leading his group of 30,000 cultivators toward the nine black pillars of light and the labyrinth beneath them, the Wildlands forces were doing the same.

After all, when compared to a deva soul, the war was of little consequence. The fighting had gone on for countless years, and the Great Wall had held strong over and over again.

Unfortunately for the Wildlanders, deva souls were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. Therefore, whenever one appeared, it became the most important aspect of anything. As with the Great Wall, they had their misgivings about whether or not the labyrinth was some sort of trap. However, when it came to Mistress Red-Dust, she had immediately come to certain speculations regarding the place, even when the first black pillar of light had appeared.

Later, when the single beam turned into nine, her speculations had been confirmed as being true!

"It is almost completely without question that this is one of the ten sepulchers of the second-generation arch-emperor!" Mistress Red-Dust had been visibly moved by the sight of the nine black pillars of light, and they immediately caused her to recall a bit of history that her father had related to her.

Before the rebellion led by the Celestial from Heavenspan Island, the realm was not called the lands of Heavenspan, but rather, the lands of the arch-emperor. Furthermore, there were actually two emperors who ruled in those lands. One was the arch-emperor, and the other was the hell-emperor.

The arch-emperor presided over the

Ancestor River, and the hell-emperor presided over the Underworld River! The Ancestor River was none other than the modern-day Heavenspan River!

One of the emperors presided over the living, the other presided over the dead!

One was the ultimate entity in the world, the other was the ultimate expression of the faith of its people!

Before the second-generation arch-emperor's longevity ended, he drew upon the energy of all living things in heaven and earth to construct ten sepulchers. The first sepulcher was the actual location of his remains, and would remain eternally unopened. However, the other nine sepulchers contained various funerary objects left behind after his death, as well as numerous legacies.

His entire purpose in leaving behind the sepulchers was in case one of his later descendants ended up facing a powerful enemy. In such a situation, they could rely on the sepulchers to gain the power to fight back. Of course, the sepulchers were protected by restrictive spells that made them impossible for people to search for and find.

The location of the sepulchers had been passed down from one archemperor to the next over several generations, and were kept top secret. However, something unexpected happened during the reign of the fifthgeneration arch-emperor!

He died a sudden and unexpected death, without the opportunity to pass on all of his secrets. Because of that, the location of the secondgeneration arch-emperor's sepulchers became an unsolvable mystery.

It was during the reign of the ninth-generation arch-emperor that Heavenspan rose to prominence. All the lands rebelled, and the rulers of the world changed. The battered and broken survivors of the archemperor's bloodline fled into the Wildlands, and the sepulchers of the second-generation arch-emperor became little more than legend.

Mistress Red-Dust was deeply excited about the possibility of the labyrinth being one of the sepulchers of the second-generation archemperor. "Each sepulcher would be surrounded by dozens of caves, each of which would contain the remains of deva-level beasts. There would also be a stone stele with details regarding the trial by fire inside. Other than one of the sepulchers of the second-generation archemperor, I can't think of any other location that would directly offer

offer a deva soul as a reward!"

She didn't tell anyone about what she knew, but at the same time, was relatively certain that few people in the world had even heard about the second-generation arch-emperor. Of course, the mere mention of a deva soul was enough to stir all of the local Wildlands soul cultivators into a frenzy, and to avoid suspicion, she did nothing to prevent them from taking action.

In fact, having so many soul cultivators along exploring the labyrinth at the same time as her would make it easier for her to cover up her true intentions, and make her way through the maze.

And that was what led to all of the soul cultivators and savages in the area rushing at top speed toward the labyrinth.

Many of them had never fought on the battlefield, and did not belong to any of the major powers of the Wildlands. They were essentially rogue cultivators, and they were showing up in droves.

Currently, the sky was growing dark as evening approached, and numerous such figures were starting to show up outside of the labyrinth's entrance. At the moment, it was too early for the labyrinth to be open, and therefore, the new arrivals either stuck together in groups of three to five people, or waited alone off to the side.

As evening grew nearer, rumbling sounds filled the air from the direction of the Great Wall as 30,000 beams of light appeared. The commotion instantly drew the attention of the Wildlands soul cultivators and savages, whose eyes began to glitter with killing intent.

The buzz of conversation soon rose up.

"The rebel cultivators!"

"Hmph! Rebel cultivators from the Great Wall! And a big group of them!"

"Yeah, so what? This is the Wildlands, and we're the Holy People!"

However, despite the Great Wall having sent a large group, they were actually outnumbered by the Wildlands soul cultivators, of whom there were at least 100,000.

Chen Hetian was in the lead of the group of 30,000, and as they neared and saw the cold stares being leveled at them, he snorted.

The sound of that snort immediately slammed like thunder into the ears of the

of the Wildlanders, many of whom couldn't hide their shock as they realized who was in the lead of the Great Wall cultivators.

However, Chen Hetian wasn't interested in starting a fight. He could sense Mistress Red-Dust's aura locked onto him, and was also aware that, just like himself, she was interested in entering the labyrinth.

Therefore, other than his cold snort, Chen Hetian did nothing to the surrounding Wildlanders, not even look at them. He just remained there outside the entrance, waiting for evening to fall.

Naruto was trying to keep himself hidden within the army of 30,000, and was hoping that none of the soul cultivators would recognize him. He even edged his way through the crowd until he was concealed behind a tall, burly man. Then, by peering through the spaces between the man's arms, he took a look at the area up ahead, which was riddled with pits and craters. It actually didn't look very much at all like it had the last time he was here.

In the very middle was the largest of pits, which was covered with a shimmering gray shield of light. Apparently, the place was closed, and no one could enter it.

Just outside of that pit was a 30-meter-tall stone stele which radiated a sensation of ancient time, as if it had existed in place for countless years on end.

Lines of text could be seen on the stone stele which were too small to read with the naked eye. However, by boosting the vision with one's cultivation base, they would become quite clear.

"Beneath the labyrinth is a realm of trials by fire. Travel through the labyrinth, and pass one of the trials by fire. Whoever takes 1st place will acquire a deva soul!" After reading the text rather quickly, Naruto didn't pay it any more attention. After all, the main thing he was concerned about was protecting his poor little life.

In fact, he even bowed his head and tried to tune out the muttered conversations of the Wildlanders. After all, the gazes of those

Wildlanders who turned in his direction made him feel very uneasy.

"They can't see me,"

can't see me," he told himself. "They can't see me..." He even turned to the side a bit to make it harder for people to notice him.

However, there were just too many soul cultivators and savages present, and they were congregated in almost every direction possible. Furthermore, more were showing up every moment. Despite the fact that Naruto was trying to hide in the crowd, that crowd of 30,000 were completely eye-catching, and all of the soul cultivators and savages were eyeing them. Even if Naruto had been able to hide in a better way, he couldn't make himself invisible. It was only inevitable that people would find him, and even if he used cursory methods to disguise himself, they would have been able to detect his aura.

The only way to evade detection would have been to put on his mask. However, there were too many people around, and besides, old threeeyes would definitely have spread word that he had an appearancechanging ability. Then he would have been in even more danger than before. The best thing to do was to wait for the right moment inside the labyrinth to put on his mask!

Even as he was shrinking down in an attempt to keep hidden, one of the soul cultivators off in the distance happened to catch sight of his profile.

Almost instantly, the young man's eyes went wide. Pointing in Uzumaki

Naruto's direction, he shouted, "Devil Uzumaki! I just saw Devil Uzumaki!"

The explosive volume of his voice ensured that all of the soul cultivators in the area heard him. Jaws dropping, they all turned in the direction he was pointing.

Inwardly, Naruto was howling in grief. Moments ago, he had felt that he was doing a very good job of hiding himself, and could never have imagined that someone would so viciously call out his name.

Numerous gazes fell upon him, as sharp as swords, and although not everyone could see his face clearly, there were plenty who could!

"Devil Uzumaki!"

"It's Devil Uzumaki! I can only see his back, but that's definitely him. Hahaha!

I can't believe Devil Uzumaki is here!"

"It's really him!"

Chapter 538

A+ A- Chapter 538

Chapter 538: Run, Naruto

Naruto was howling inwardly, his scalp tingling in terror. Even if he were more powerful than he currently was, there were just too many Wildlanders, all of whom wanted his head for the bounty on it.

Immediately, he began to tremble, and hurried in a different direction to try to hide.

However, the people who had already caught sight of him were yelling out loudly, causing more Wildlanders to turn their gazes in his direction. Some people even flew up into the air, eyes flashing like sharp arrows as they locked onto his position. The cultivators of the five legions who were in his area subconsciously began to back away from him, pushing away the 3rd Corps soldiers as they did. The burly man he had been hiding behind instantly felt pressure weighing down on him, and moved away.

"Don't go, bro!" Naruto exclaimed. "Let me hide behind you for a bit, and once the danger is past, I'll definitely give you some handsome compensation!" And yet, the burly man simply hurried off without so much as a backward glance.

Naruto was getting very anxious, and was about to look for other cultivators to hide behind when he realized that everyone was struggling to get away from him, leaving him completely exposed.

Before long, everyone in the entire area was looking at him!

"Devil Uzumaki!"

"The Wildlands' humiliation will never go away unless Devil Uzumaki is killed!"

"I can't believe he has the guts to show up here! Hahaha! Devil Uzumaki is mine! Forget about the hidden treasure and the deva soul. I don't care about that stuff. If I can kill Naruto, I'll get a full set of five elements deva beast souls! That's pretty much the exact same thing as a deva soul!"

"How outrageous! He dares to show up

here despite having a bounty of deva beast souls on his head! He's basically taunting us!"

Naruto was grief-stricken and enraged at the same time, and felt his guts cramping up inside of him from the terror. The greedy, hateful gazes of the Wildlands soul cultivators and savages only seemed to intensify with every moment that passed...

Plus, all of his compatriots from the Great Wall were backing away from him, and some even gazed at him with glittering eyes, making his heart feel as cold as ice.

"I didn't want to come here! I'm not taunting anybody..."

Almost everyone was looking at him with evil designs, and the way they seemed to think that he was a treasure worth looting caused sweat to break out on his forehead.

After all, whoever it was that killed him would get a full set of five elements deva beast souls, which could theoretically be used to trade for a deva soul.

"Most importantly, if somebody killed me, not only would they get a set of five elements deva beast souls, they would also get my two deva souls! They would be rich in an instant!"

The more he thought about it, the more Naruto realized that he was actually more valuable than any of the treasures hidden in the labyrinth.

"How did this happen?" he thought, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm... I'm worth more than all the secret treasures down there..." The more he thought about how unfair it was that all his service for the Great Wall had ended up at this point, the more he ground his teeth, and the more bloodshot his eyes got.

Some of the soul cultivators and savages, and even some of the scattered necromancers, had such vicious glares that it seemed like they might charge forth at any moment to try to

to kill him.

Even as Naruto was left exposed by the Great Wall cultivators, there were some of his men from the 3rd Corps who were trying to rush over to help, but were clearly too late.

After all, if some of the soul cultivators really did attack, the entire situation would get out of control immediately. Eyes flickering because of the deadly crisis, Naruto suddenly took a step forward and shouted, "Who else... wants to die!?"

As his voice echoed out like thunder, the soul cultivators and savages who had been contemplating attacking him suddenly recalled how he had fought in battle years ago!

Some of them had seen the fight with their own eyes, and others had just heard about it. Either way, all were struck with fear by the thought of it, and began to hesitate.

After all, Naruto had incredible battle prowess, and whoever tried to attack him first would not only be incapable of killing him, but would also have a hard time staying alive. Even as they hesitated, the setting sun sank behind the clouds, and evening fell.

As the lands were blanketed in golden light, the gray shield covering the entrance to the labyrinth vanished, allowing miserable shrieks and other noises to echo out from within.

It sounded like the howling of countless ghosts, piercing deep into the minds of everyone present.

Naruto was wracked with anxiety, but didn't see any other options available. Although going into the labyrinth would place him in the middle of extreme danger, it also would give him an opportunity.

Therefore, as soon as the entrance was revealed, and while everyone else was still reeling in shock, he gritted his teeth and shot forward in a blast of speed, becoming a series of afterimages that made a beeline toward the entrance.

He drew upon the Mountain Shaking

Mountain Shaking Bash, causing a thunderclap to echo out. In the blink of an eye, he was at the entrance. Of course, unwilling to let anyone think he was scared, he bellowed, "Elder Brother Zhao, Elder Sister Chen! Naruto is on his way to rescue you!"

Then he disappeared, grabbed up by the natural teleportation function of the entrance.

Almost immediately, the killing intent of the savages, soul cultivators, and necromancers burned high, and they shot forward to give chase.

"Don't even think about running, Devil Uzumaki!"

"Kill Devil Uzumaki and get that bounty!"

"Chase him!"

Chen Hetian looked on, his face completely expressionless. However, when he heard Naruto's words, his eye twitched slightly. Then he waved his sleeve and said, "Five legions, heed my command. Enter the labyrinth!"

The 30,000 cultivators didn't dare to hesitate, and all flew toward the labyrinth, Chen Hetian along with them.

Within moments, the entire group that had been gathered outside the entrance was nowhere to be seen. And yet, there were still beams of light approaching from the distance to join those who had entered the labyrinth.

Meanwhile, news that Naruto had entered the labyrinth was being spread among the soul cultivators in the areas nearby.

In one of the Wildlands tribes some distance away, a savage chief was sitting cross-legged when he got a report about the matter. Instantly, he looked up from his meditation. "What? Devil Uzumaki showed up?!"

Gritting his teeth, the tribal chief burst into motion. "Devil Uzumaki is dead, and I'm going to make sure it happens!"

Similar scenes played out in other tribes. At the same time, the rogue soul cultivators who abounded in the Wildlands also got the news through their own channels of communication, and their eyes began to shine brightly.

"Devil Uzumaki... Mistress Red-Dust increased the reward on his head to a whole set of five elements deva

five elements deva beast souls! Whoever kills him can definitely get to the Nascent Soul stage!"

"Heh heh. At first, I wasn't very interested in that labyrinth. After all, it would take a lot of good fortune and pure luck to get the deva soul. But now there's another option. For all intents and purposes, there are two treasures to be had in that labyrinth!"

"Come on, let's get going to the labyrinth!"

It wasn't just the soul cultivators and savages who were going crazy.

There were necromancers and other high-ranking Wildlanders who thirsted for a set of five elements deva beast souls. After hearing that Naruto had made an appearance, all of them began to rush toward the labyrinth.

During the several hours which passed after the entrance opened, more and more Wildlanders poured into the area and unhesitatingly entered the labyrinth.

Their goal was not to take first place in the trial by fire that was the labyrinth itself, and thus acquire a deva soul. Most people viewed that as being a goal too difficult to reach. Their goal was to kill Naruto! Kill Naruto and get a set of deva beast souls!

Furthermore, of those people who had come to the labyrinth with the intention of winning the deva soul, virtually all of them had planned to trade it for a set of deva beast souls. Therefore, to them, it actually made more sense to try to kill Naruto!

Because of that, Naruto was now just as valuable as the deva soul, if not more...

Killing Naruto was the key to everything!

Regardless of when they came to the decision, the Wildlanders were almost all interested in searching for Naruto, and as soon as they entered the labyrinth, they began to rush out in every direction to try to find him.

Chapter 539

A+ A- Chapter 539

Chapter 539: Ill Intentions

Another two hours went by, during which more and more people appeared near the entrance of the labyrinth. Eventually, a young man arrived who caused the other soul cultivators and savages in the area too look over in shock.

"Beat it!" he said. The coldness of his words caused everyone in the area to scatter immediately to make way.

The young man hovering in the air above the entrance to the labyrinth was exceedingly handsome, and wore expensive clothing that made him look very different from the soul cultivators and savages. There was something noble and grand about the way he carried himself.

He had a star-shaped mark on his forehead, a sigil that pulsed with strange power and caused the young man to radiate a mysterious pressure.

Strapped to his back was a pitch-black greatbow that had nine silver designs on its surface. Anyone who laid eyes on that weapon would instantly be filled with both fear and envy.

Soon hushed whispers could be heard in the area. "He's from one of the aristocratic necromancer clans..."

Looks of respect soon appeared in the eyes of the soul cultivators, and as for the savages, they trembled as they bowed in greeting.

In the Wildlands, necromancers occupied extremely high positions, and the aristocratic necromancer clans were extremely powerful, to the point where they were even highly valued by the nobility. [1]

The easiest way to identify whether a necromancer was a rogue cultivator or from one of the aristocratic clans was to examine his or her forehead. Only necromancers from the aristocratic clans would have ancestral sigils like this young man.

This young man was not in the Nascent Soul stage, only in the great circle of Core Formation. However, because of his status as an aristocratic necromancer, he was the type of person who commanded respect no matter where he went in the Wildlands.

His name was Zhou Yixing [2], and as he stood there outside of the entrance of the labyrinth, he completely ignored all of the surrounding soul cultivators and savages. Originally, he hadn't planned to enter the labyrinth. Neither had he participated in the recent war with the

Great Wall. Such things were beneath him. After all, although the clan he came from couldn't be considered extremely large, it was quite famous in this particular area.

He only had one reason for coming to the labyrinth: Naruto!

"Although my Zhou Clan might get a complete set of five elements deva beast souls soon, I would never be in the running to get them... But, if I can kill Naruto, then I'll definitely have those souls for my own. Then, after I reach the Nascent Soul stage, I'll be able to rise in the necromancer rankings. I can finally try to conjure ten-colored flame, or perhaps even eleven-colored flame. With ten-colored flame, I will rise to the absolute peak of the master necromancer rank. And if I can make eleven-colored flame, then I'll finally be a terrestrial necromancer!" With such thoughts on his mind, Zhou Yixing's eyes sparkled with anticipation, and he flew directly into the entrance to be teleported into the labyrinth.

By this point, there were fully 200,000 people inside the labyrinth, with only 30,000 of them being from the Great Wall. The rest of that number was comprised of soul cultivators and savages, as well as a few hundred necromancers.

Although everyone was teleported to different locations throughout the labyrinth, considering there were 200,000 of them, they made a huge splash upon their entrance.

The labyrinth was essentially a complicated, sprawling maze in which divine sense was severely limited. As for all the people who wanted to track down Naruto, they immediately scattered in different directions to look for him, and yet, none of them were able to find a single trace.

That only made the Wildlanders more anxious, as they worried about the prospect of someone else being the one to find him. Because of that, whenever the Wildlanders ran into cultivators from the Great Wall, they mostly ignored them, not wanting to pull time away from their search.

Not all of the Wildlanders were searching for Naruto. But he had attracted the attention of most of them, and thus, there was much less pressure on the Great Wall cultivators. Of course,

course, if the Wildlanders came across a lone Great Wall cultivator, they would attack in the hopes of getting some treasure. It wasn't limited to the Great Wall forces either; Wildlanders would even attack each other if the opportunity arose.

At the same time, many strange and bizarre things began to occur in various parts of the labyrinth….

Naruto had long since donned his mask of flesh, and looked like a middle-aged soul cultivator. He was currently creeping along carefully in the labyrinth, terrified of being recognized. Back when he had first entered the place, he had shot through the tunnels at top speed, randomly picking directions in the hope of losing his pursuers. In that he had succeeded, but as a result, he now had no idea where he was. He tried to use some magical techniques in the hopes of figuring a way out, but quickly found out that the labyrinth contained a sealing pressure that made such magics of heaven and earth impossible to use.

"So what if I'm lost? Everyone else is going to be just as lost as me." Rubbing his forehead a bit, he looked around at the walls of the tunnels, which all looked exactly the same to him. He almost felt a bit dizzy.

The tunnels had low ceilings, making it impossible to fly up into the air and get one's bearings. Plus, divine sense was limited. Naruto had even tried blasting his way through the walls, but it had little effect. Even more frustrating was that it was impossible to leave marks on the walls to keep track of which tunnels he had passed through. Worse of all was that the entire place was freezing cold.

It was a sinister coldness that differed from his frigid qi, and made the entire labyrinth seem like it was a cemetery or graveyard. On numerous occasions, Naruto got the sensation that someone was watching him from behind.

However, whenever he looked over his shoulder, he didn't see anything behind him.

"What kind of awful place is this...?" he muttered, chewing on his bottom lip. After walking a few more steps, he suddenly

he suddenly stopped in place, his eyes shining with a fierceness that made him seem like a sharp, drawn blade.

It was in that moment that four figures hurried around a corner up ahead of him. Three of them were soul cultivators, and one was a savage giant who had shrunk his body down to a height of three meters.

They were obviously a team of some sort, and they all had profound cultivation bases at the great circle of Core Formation. Shockingly, one of the soul cultivators had a partially formed Nascent Soul, indicating that he had failed in his attempt to reach the Nascent Soul stage and was now considered a pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Being in the pseudo-Nascent Soul stage had upsides and downsides. The upside was that such a cultivation base was higher than even the great circle of Core Formation. The downside was that if a person with that type of cultivation base wished to complete their Nascent Soul, the difficulty level would be ten times greater than normal.

This group of four was moving in formation, with the giant taking the lead position, and the three soul cultivators following. Although the soul cultivators weren't wearing very extravagant clothing, they all had magical items swirling around them.

One had a green flying sword with six silver designs. The other had a similar sword, except that it was red!

Clearly, those two swords had both received sixfold spirit enhancements!

Even more shocking was that the pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator had a glittering pearl floating above him that had seven silver designs on it!

The group of four swung around the corner with vigilant expressions on their face, and almost immediately caught sight of Naruto with his mask on.

Naruto stood there, staring back at them. This was not the first group of Wildlanders he had come across. He had run into a few other groups along the way, all of whom had simply looked at him for a moment before proceeding along their way.

Naruto and the group of four stood there for a few breaths of time, sizing each other up. Then, Naruto backed up a bit to a bit to make room for them to pass. The Wildlanders continued forward, eying Naruto and his multiple layers of armor. When they were roughly thirty meters away, the giant suddenly turned and started running toward him, cackling madly.

"They still don't know who I really am," Naruto thought. "They just liked my armor, and since I'm alone, think they can rob me. I need to finish this quickly!" Eyes flashing with cold light as the savage giant closed in, Naruto took a step forward with speed that left his opponents completely taken aback.

Before any of them could see him clearly, they heard a muffled boom, and then the screams of the savage giant, who flew backward through the air for a brief moment before exploding into bits, sending arrow-like streaks of blood toward the soul cultivators.

When things became clear, they saw Naruto standing in the spot once occupied by the savage giant, slowly lowering his fist.

Their eyes went wide, and their hearts started to pound at the realization that they had provoked a powerful expert. However, it was too late for regrets by this point. All three of the soul cultivators had fought on the field of battle, and knew that when enemies faced each other in a fight, there was only one option.

The blood streaking toward them contained corrosive toxins, and there was nothing that the three of them could do to negate it. Therefore, the pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator sent a burst of light streaming out of his pearl, which created a glimmering shield that blocked most of the blood. Then the killing intent of the three soul cultivators began to surge.

"Die!"

In English, the words 'aristocracy' and 'nobility' can be virtuallysynonymous, but the two Chinese terms being used here are very different. In this case, what I'm translating as 'aristocratic clans' is basically referring to rich and powerful clans who have long histories in the area, but aren't necessarily connected to the government. The nobility, on the other hand, would be part of the government or ruling class.

Zhou Yixing's given name, Yixing, literally means "one star."

Chapter 540

A+ A- Chapter 540

Chapter 540: Nine-Colored Flame

Two of the three soul cultivators performed incantation gestures, sending their two flying swords screaming through the air toward Naruto at top speed.

Both swords had sixfold spirit enhancements, and thus, Naruto was very well aware of how dangerous they were.

Simultaneously, the pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator began to chant an indecipherable enchantment that caused the pearl floating above him to fill with black mist. Then, the image of an evil ghost appeared, which lunged out toward Naruto with outstretched hands.

Considering how they quickly blocked all of Naruto's possible avenues of approach to them, it was obvious that this group had worked together before in the past. Just as they were preparing to move forward, though, Naruto snorted coldly.

"You guys have spirit enhanced treasures, huh? Well so do I!" With a flourish, he pulled a black parasol from his bag of holding!

It was none other than the Eternal Parasol.

In the past, Naruto's cultivation base had only allowed him to use a fraction of the power of the parasol. But now he was in the great circle of the Gold Core stage, and although he still couldn't unleash its full potential, he didn't have trouble using it like he had before.

Almost in the same movement with which he produced the parasol, Naruto shoved it out in front of him and pushed his finger down onto the handle. Then, a pop could be heard as the black parasol opened up, just in time to meet the flying swords and the misty ghost.

The two flying swords slammed into the defensive barrier that was the parasol, and were sent spinning off to the side. As for the misty ghost, it let out a shriek and made as if to retreat. However, that was when a bizarre, smiling face appeared on the surface of the black parasol. The face began to inhale, and the ghost shrieked as it was sucked in. Although all of these things take some time to describe, they took place in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint.

A moment later, the three soul cultivators were looking at Naruto with expressions of complete and utter

shock, and the pseudo-Nascent Soul expert was so shocked that his eyes were bulging out of his head. The sight of the eight silver designs on the surface of the Eternal Parasol left him panting in shock. But then, only a moment later, his eyes glinted with ferocity, and he took advantage of his two companion's astonishment to suddenly reach out and shove them.

The two soul cultivators' faces fell; never could they have imagined that their own leader would act so ruthlessly! And yet their bodies were completely beyond their own control as they tumbled toward Naruto. Simultaneously, the pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator retreated as quickly as possible.

From what he could tell, this middle-aged cultivator not only had a powerful fleshly body, but he also had a profound cultivation base and shocking magical items. He was like a prowling wolf who was completely confident in being able to move about on his own. Not only did he not fear people ambushing him, he intentionally put himself out in the open to attract attention.

As the three soul cultivators were thrown into chaos, Naruto closed the parasol and took a step forward, utilizing such blinding speed that he transformed into a series of afterimages that instantly appeared directly in front of his two weaker opponents. Then, he struck out twice in quick succession with his right hand, striking each of them in the chest.

Agonized shrieks rang out, and blood erupted from the mouths of the two soul cultivators as they tumbled backward like kites with their strings cut. Unexpectedly, they also began to wither up as their life force turned into white mist that swirled out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and headed toward the Eternal Parasol.

Naruto was used to the Eternal Parasol consuming life force, and now that it had received an eightfold spirit enhancement, it was even more powerful than before. However, the fact that it could do so from a distance was new to him. Of course, now wasn't the time to ponder the new development. Seeing that the pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator was trying to flee, he immediately began to give chase.

When the pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator heard the screams of his companions, he looked

looked over his shoulder and saw their life force being extracted. Mind reeling, he blurted, "You're not a soul cultivator, you're a necromancer!"

Naruto was a bit taken aback, but didn't let it show. Snorting coldly, he pushed forward with explosive speed that clearly put him in a place to catch up within moments. The pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator was cursing inwardly; despite the level of his cultivation base, he could tell from Naruto's display of battle prowess that there was no way he could fight him. Finally, he shouted, "Exalted one, wait! I'm willing to become your follower! It's much better to explore the labyrinth with followers than to do it alone, exalted one...!"

Naruto's expression flickered as he realized that what the man was saying actually made sense. As long as he was on his own, he would almost certainly run into more ambushes, and the more fighting he did, the more likely his divine abilities and magical techniques might expose his true identity.

With someone else to traverse the labyrinth with, he would be able to avoid many annoying situations... Having reached this point in his train of thought, he waved his right hand and sent a powerful blast of energy out toward the pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Blood oozed out of the corners of the man's mouth, and his eyes flickered with fury. However, he simply gritted his teeth and stopped fleeing. Then he clasped hands respectfully and bowed toward Naruto.

"I, Chen Jue, am willing to become your follower, exalted one!"

Naruto didn't say anything in response. After looking Chen Jue up and down a few times, he pointed toward the man's forehead, sending a stream of frigid Chakra into him that came to rest in his chest.

Now, all it would take would be a single thought, and the frigid Chakra would erupt, instantly crushing the man's heart.

Chen Jue shivered, but didn't dare to evade the frigid qi. After accepting Naruto's restrictive spell, he sighed with relief at having managed to preserve his own life, at least temporarily.

"Let's go!" Naruto said in a raspy voice, proceeding forward.

"Yes sir," Chen Jue said, taking a deep breath as he proceeded to scan the area for threats. He knew

He knew that his only chance at staying alive was to stick close to this necromancer, and hope that after everything was over, he would be allowed to go free.

Although no expression could be seen on Naruto's face, he was secretly eyeing Chen Jue and feeling very pleased with how brilliant he was. Wherever he went, people would bow and scrape and even weep at the chance to become his follower. He really had no choice but to agree to the arrangement, although he was very curious to know how the man would react upon finding out that he was now a follower of Naruto.

It was all really very amusing. In fact, Naruto decided that from now on, he would have to pretend to be a man of few words; that way, he would seem even more threatening.

"Besides, what this Chen Jue said actually makes a lot of sense. The more soul cultivators I have following me, the safer I'll be..." Continuing to ponder the issue, he raced along with Chen Jue.

Every turn and tunnel of the labyrinth seemed the same, and leaving marks on the wall was virtually impossible. Naruto's head was already spinning as he tried to keep track of where he was. Finally, he decided that he would stick to the right. When moving along, he would hug the right wall of the tunnel, and when he reached the occasional intersection, he would always pick the right-hand path.

Three days passed in a flash, during which time Naruto and Chen Jue ran into Wildlanders and Great Wall cultivators on numerous occasions. Soon, Naruto realized that many of the others were doing the same thing he was, and traveling in one fixed direction.

For the most part, everyone avoided each other. It seemed no one wanted to get into fights. Even when they ran into larger groups of Wildlands soul cultivators, when they saw how Chen Jue treated Naruto, and spotted the Eternal Parasol with its eight silver designs, they immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was a necromancer, and not to be provoked.

Because of that, he encountered no dangerous situations during those three days. At one point on the fourth day, he fourth day, he suddenly stopped in place, his eyes flashing.

"There's something strange up ahead," he said to Chen Jue, speaking in a raspy voice. Surprised, Chen Jue looked at the tunnel up ahead, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Naruto couldn't see anything specific either. However, from his battle with Luochen Clan onward, he had continuously developed his sensitivity to danger. As a result, he was never mistaken in identifying perilous situations.

He could sense that even though the area up ahead didn't seem unusual, there was killing intent lurking there. Without any hesitation, Naruto began to back up. As for Chen Jue, although he wasn't sure what exactly was going on, he didn't dare to defy Naruto, and also began to edge backward.

Almost at the same time, a peal of cold laughter rang out, and in the blink of an eye, ripples spread out through the air like waves on water, and numerous figures appeared out in the open.

Shockingly, there were more than a dozen people in the tunnel now!

All of them had profound cultivation bases, and all of them were charging toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he spun, raising his Eternal Parasol. Eight silver designs erupted with blinding light, and the bizarre face appeared again. Just when it seemed that fighting was about to break out, a cold voice drifted out from the ripples in the air.

"Don't be so disrespectful!"

Almost immediately, the soul cultivators who had been charging toward Naruto stopped in place.

At the same time, a young man stepped out from the ripples, his expression grim. He was clad in a long, expensive garment, and had a star-shaped sigil on his forehead. He was none other than Zhou Yixing! Intense fluctuations of soul power rolled off of him, soul power that completely differed from that of the soul cultivators. There was something abstruse to it, an indecipherable pressure of incredible magnitude.

Even more shocking was that flickering within the palm of his hand was a tongue of underworldly flame.

The flame had many colors to it. In fact, closer examination would reveal nine different colors. The instant Naruto saw it, his eyes went wide and his mind spun. That fire was...

Nine-colored flame!

Chapter 541

A+ A- Chapter 541

Chapter 541: Red Hats, Green Hats, Were A Bunch Of Little Hats...

When Chen Jue saw Zhou Yixing and his nine-colored flame, his expression instantly became one of deep respect. "Nine-colored flame! A master necromancer!"

Zhou Yixing ignored Chen Jue, as if he felt soul cultivators weren't even worth looking at. All he cared about was Naruto, or more specifically, the Eternal Parasol in his hand. However, after examining it for a moment, he seemed a bit unconvinced about Naruto himself.

Turning his gaze from the parasol to Naruto, he asked, "Are you a soul cultivator, or a necromancer?"

"Nine-colored flame..." Naruto thought, his mind reeling as he stared at the fire in Zhou Yixing's hand. Based on what he could sense, it was clear that Zhou Yixing was not a Nascent Soul cultivator, but instead, was in the great circle of Core Formation.

And yet, Naruto could tell that if the power contained within the nine-colored flame were to be released, it would be shocking to the extreme.

Even as Zhou Yixing was sizing up Naruto, Naruto was doing the same. He could tell that the young man was eyeing his Eternal Parasol, which he had originally pulled out to use as nothing more than a threat. Considering this newcomer's cultivation base, his nine-colored flame, and what Chen Jue had just said, Naruto knew exactly what kind of person he was.

"Wildlands…. Spirit enhancement…. Necromancy..." Based on the information Naruto had learned years ago about necromancers, and the fact that he had seen so many spirit enhanced magical items in the Wildlands, he was already starting to come up with some theories about how the two were connected.

However, now was not the time for protracted contemplation. Naruto's gaze met Zhou Yixing's, and both of them could sense the powerful fluctuations emanating from the other.

Frowning, and eyes glittering with cold light, Zhou Yixing said, "It's rare that I run into someone I can't personally assess. I'm going to ask you again. Are you a soul cultivator, or a necromancer?"

As he spoke the words, the soul cultivators with him leveled icy gazes

onto Naruto.

"A necromancer!" Naruto replied, narrowing his eyes. However, in his opinion, words alone wouldn't be very convincing. Therefore, after taking a quick moment to analyze Zhou Yixing's soul power fluctuations, he released some of the power of his cultivation base.

Furthermore, he used the miraculous powers of the mask to adjust the fluctuations so that they seemed to be soul power instead of spiritual power. It was a powerful, domineering energy that could not come from a soul cultivator, and contained pressure that was unique to necromancers. Immediately, the surrounding soul cultivators' expressions flickered.

As for Zhou Yixing, his pupils constricted as he quickly analyzed the soul power. Then he glanced at Naruto's Eternal Parasol, and once again, a frown appeared on his face.

"Was I mistaken just now?" he thought. "I could have sworn that my nine-colored flame bent toward him when he got close to me, as if it wanted to fly out of my hand in his direction.

"It only lasted for a moment before returning to normal, but that's definitely never happened before... Was it that parasol? No, I don't think so... There's something very strange about this guy... Well, maybe I can figure out the answer after killing him." Even as Zhou Yixing hesitated, Naruto also stood there trying to decide what to do.

Considering that it was nine-colored flame he was looking at, he was tempted to try to kill this young man and take it. After trying to assess how he measured up in strength, and then looking at the nine-colored flame, he was still hesitant, not because of the number of opponents, but because he wasn't sure how powerful nine-colored flame was.

And yet, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he could perform a ninefold spirit enhancement on the Eternal Parasol with that flame, making it even more powerful, and also increase his chances of getting out of the labyrinth safely.

"This guy doesn't know how fast I am, so if I suddenly make a move, he'll probably automatically use that nine-colored flame to attack me..." As they stared at each other, both could see the coldness in

in each other's gazes. A moment passed, and then Zhou Yixing pointed at Naruto with his left hand.

"Kill him!"

Even as the words left his mouth, Naruto took a step forward, instantly resorting to the top speed he was capable of. A series of afterimages stretched out behind him as he sped forward so quickly it made it impossible for anyone to react.

In almost the same moment that he began to move, he was right in front of Zhou Yixing, his right hand rocketing forward in a fist strike!

Although he wanted the nine-colored flame, he didn't reveal that fact in his first move, which was a punch leveled square at Zhou Yixing's chest!

Zhou Yixing's eyes went wide; never in his wildest imagination could he have guessed that his opponent would be so fast. After being struck, Zhou Yixing flew backward and waved his right hand through the air, causing the nine-colored flame to erupt into a sea of fire that moved to block Naruto's attack.

The surrounding soul cultivators were shocked by what was happening, but charged Naruto nonetheless. As for Chen Jue, he moved to defend Naruto. In the shortest of moments, fierce fighting broke out!

To see a nine-colored sea of flame roaring toward him caused Naruto's heart to start pounding. Although he had already decided to go all out in this battle, he could already sense how terrifying the ninecolored flame was, and was unsure if he could survive being hit with it. However, since the fight had already broken out, all he could do was grit his teeth and unleash his frigid qi.

The power of a Frigid Paragon instantly filled the area, freezing the soul cultivators solid before they could do anything.

The ground and tunnel walls alike were frozen, making the entire area a world of frigid coldness. When the frigid Chakra made contact with the ninecolored sea of flames, it sunk down into something like a mouth that opened up to swallow the fire.

Intense rumbling sounds were spreading out into the labyrinth in every direction!

"Be sealed!" Naruto roared. Instantly, frigid Chakra began to converge onto the nine-colored

the nine-colored flame in an attempt to seal it. However, the incredible nine-colored flame was actually causing the frigid Chakra to melt!

Unfortunately for the nine-colored flame, it had no foundation upon which to burn, and therefore, it quickly began to grow dim, as if it might be snuffed out an any moment. Expression flickering, Zhou Yixing quickly prepared to pull the flame back into his hand. However, how could Naruto possibly allow that to happen? In almost the same moment that the frigid Chakra made contact with the nine-colored flame, he snapped his Eternal Parasol open.

The bizarre face yet again appeared, looked at Zhou Yixing, and then began to inhale. As for Zhou Yixing, it was to his terror that he felt something locking down onto his life force. The fact that his opponent had such shocking battle prowess, and also had a frigid domain, was completely mind-blowing.

In response to the appearance of the ghost face on the Eternal Parasol, he reached up and pushed down onto the star sigil on his forehead, causing starlight to erupt out in an attack on the Eternal Parasol.

The Eternal Parasol shivered, and yet, it had enough power to fight against Zhou Yixing's starlight, which in turn gave Naruto just enough time to reach out and grab the sealed nine-colored flame.

In one fluid move, he tossed the flame, and the frigid Chakra seal which contained it, into his bag of holding. After all, he realized that by using his frigid qi, he risked revealing his identity. Furthermore, the starlight magical technique that Zhou Yixing had just used seemed very bizarre, and considering that Naruto had already acquired the nine-colored flame, he didn't want to keep fighting. Without any hesitation, he began to flee in the opposite direction.

"Are you looking to die!?" Zhou Yixing roared, his eyes brimming with rage and his hair starting to unravel from its top knot. So far, he still hadn't deduced Naruto's identity. However, this opponent was blocking his path, had stolen his nine-colored flame, and made it impossible for him to have time to unleash any magical techniques. As such, his rage such, his rage was burning extremely hot.

Slapping his bag of holding with his right hand, he produced the black greatbow that he usually kept on his back. Speeding after Naruto, he pulled the bowstring back and then unleashed a screaming, illusory arrow.

It was a soul arrow formed from soul power, and as soon as it left the bow, it pierced through the air to appear right in front of Naruto.

His bow was a precious treasure that had received a ninefold spirit enhancement. The sheer power on display caused Naruto's eyes to widen before yet again opening his Eternal Parasol to defend himself.

Intense rumbling sounds rang out as the power of the parasol was unleashed. As for Naruto, he trembled as the parasol absorbed the power of the attack, and yet was shoved backward nonetheless. After a moment, he struggled to a stop, whereupon he looked over at the greatbow.

"Why didn't you say that you had other precious treasures!" he said, licking his lips. Instead of fleeing, he began to stride toward Zhou Yixing.

Zhou Yixing's jaw dropped; never before had he met someone as openly brazen as this. Not only had he stolen his nine-colored flame, but the mere sight of his greatbow caused him to stop fleeing and come back to rob him of it.

"Are you looking to die?!" Zhou Yixing roared a second time. Then he pulled the bowstring back and launched three soul arrows in rapid succession.

Off in the distance, Chen Jue was shaking in fear. Although Zhou Yixing hadn't yet recognized Naruto, the instant that frigid Chakra appeared, Chen Jue did, and it sent his mind into a tailspin. The first thing that popped into his head was that he himself was doomed to die. Howling inwardly in grief, he tried to decide whether or not to flee.

Then, the fighting between Naruto and Zhou Yixing started again.

That was when something completely unexpected happened!

"Red hats, green hats, we're a bunch of little hats...

"Red heads, green heads, our favorites are the white heads..." A strange chanting song that almost sounded like a nursery rhyme suddenly filled the air!

Chapter 542

A+ A- Chapter 542

Chapter 542: Red Heads, Green Heads, Our Favorites Are The White Heads...

There was something entrancing about the sound of the chant that left Naruto, Zhou Yixing, and Chen Jue all completely shaken. Even more spine-tingling was the fact that it wasn't a single voice chanting the nursery rhyme, but a whole group of them!

They sounded like children, laughing and giggling as they sang. As the sound of their voices moved along, invisible sound waves filled the air, causing the walls to begin to ripple.

Then, faces appeared on the walls, one after another. There were men and women, old and young, and without exception, they appeared to be terrified. Then, they started to scream...

"The red hats are coming!"

"Run! The red hats are on their way..." The faces seemed to want to flee or hide, but couldn't. Even more bizarre, faces began to rise up out of the ground.

Most shocking of all was that the walls began to move dramatically, causing the path behind Naruto, Zhou Yixing, and Chen Jue to be sealed up tight, placing them in a dead end!

All three of the cultivators were physically trembling, and the hair on the backs of their necks began to stand on end.

All of them were struck by a feeling that came, not from their cultivation bases, but from their souls. It was the cold, prickly dread that one would face when being tracked down by a predator.

It didn't matter that Naruto cultivated the Frigid School WillEvolving Incantation, the coldness he felt right now left him shivering.

"What's going on!?"

This dread left the entire group completely disinterested in fighting each other. All of a sudden, an agonized shriek rang out, and a hand shot out from the corner of the intersection just up ahead. The hand was dripping with blood, and as soon as it appeared,

it tried to grab on to the wall, in clear view of Naruto and the others.

However, there was clearly something around the corner tugging on the owner of the hand. The hand flexed, and the fingers clawed against the wall to grab at something, and yet, it was soon dragged back around the corner.

Then, horrifying crunching sounds could be heard, during which time the singing of the nursery rhyme ceased.

Trembling violently, the terrified Chen Jue inched over toward Naruto, hoping that the proximity would bring him some measure of safety.

Naruto's face was ashen, and he was also shaking as he stared wide-eyed at the corner behind which the hand had just disappeared. What he wanted to do was flee in the opposite direction, but unfortunately, the three of them were now right in the middle of a dead end!

Zhou Yixing seemed just as shocked. Through the several days in which he had been in the labyrinth, he had picked up a sizeable group of followers, with whom he had survived several ambushes and cut down quite a few opponents. However, he had never encountered anything as bizarre as this.

The terror he felt now caused his pupils to constrict as he stared at the corner where the hand had just disappeared.

About then, the chewing sounds ceased, and the nursery rhyme resumed.

"Red hats, green hats, we're a bunch of little hats...

"Red heads, green heads, our favorites are the white heads..." The joyful tone of the singing caused the scalps of all three cultivators to tingle on the verge of exploding.

It was at that point that a bright red hat suddenly flew out from around the corner.

The hat's brim dripped with blood as it swayed back and forth a bit, then suddenly stopped in place, as if it had just noticed Naruto and the others. "White

others.

"White heads..." the hat said in the voice of a child. Then it began to fly forward, causing the group of three to back up. However, that was when it became clear the hat wasn't heading toward them, but rather, to the dozen or so soul cultivators who had been locked down within layers of ice!

In the blink of an eye, the red hat landed on the head of one of the cultivators, causing the ice to instantly shatter and reveal the cultivator beneath.

The cultivator wasn't dead; the flame of his life force was still burning. Instantly, his eyes opened, and his expression twisted with fear as he let out a miserable shriek. However, what was even more hair-raisingly shocking was what happened next.

As the hat settled down onto the head of the soul cultivator, the man's body began to shake, and crunching sounds like chewing began to fill the air.

"Get off! Get off me!" The cultivator screamed madly. He even reached up and grabbed the hat to try to take it off his head, but it did no good. After a few breaths of time passed, his struggling ceased, and he eventually just stood there motionless. Finally, the hat flew up into the air, dripping blood the entire time.

At that point, Naruto and the others could see that the cultivator's head was now completely white! That was because his skull was now visible!

His skull wasn't intact though; there was a large chunk missing, allowing everyone to see that the inside of his head was now completely hollow.

"Red heads, green heads, our favorites are the white heads..." the red hat sang, chuckling as it flew around in a circle and then landed on top of another of the ice-sealed soul cultivators. At the same time, more laughing, giggling hats flew around the corner, some of them

of them red, some of them green.

"Red hats, green hats, we're a bunch of little hats..." There were dozens of them, all dripping with blood as they flew along singing. Within moments, the hats were fighting amongst themselves to land on the heads of the sealed cultivators.

However, there were only a dozen or so cultivators, and many more hats than that. Before long, there were no more cultivators available, and the hats began to turn their attention to Naruto, Zhou Yixing, and Chen Jue.

In that very instant, the faces on the walls and floor began to scream. "We're finished. Finished! They're here!"

The remaining hats began to laugh happily as they shot toward the group of three. Naruto was already wound tight. Howling, he waved his hand to send over a thousand paper talismans slapping down onto his body. At the same time, he tossed a whole stack over to Chen Jue.

"Run for your life!" he shouted. Then he burst into motion, simultaneously donning numerous layers of armor, causing slapping sounds to echo out. Glittering light from more than ten layers of armor filled the tunnel, along with the glitter of paper talismans. In the blink of an eye, he was off in the distance, blazing along at full speed with seven or eight hats chasing after him.

Chen Jue gritted his teeth and slapped the paper talismans onto himself, simultaneously unleashing the power of his cultivation base as he prepared to go all out. Utilizing every magical technique he could think of, he began to flee, five or six hats pursuing him doggedly.

Zhou Yixing stood there in mute astonishment. He almost wanted to cry at the unfairness of it all. Only seven or eight hats had chased Naruto, and only five or six went after Chen Jue, leaving him there with nearly a dozen hats to deal with.

"How could deal with.

"How could this be happening?!" he moaned, his face turning ashen. Then, just as the dozen or so hats began to fly in his direction, he gritted his teeth and sent starlight shining out of the star sigil to fill the area.

The hats suddenly flew out from the other side of the starlight, as if they hadn't been able to find Zhou Yixing at all. Then, the starlight began to fade, and Zhou Yixing was nowhere to be seen.

The hats searched the area thoroughly, but when they couldn't find anything, began to fly off again, singing the entire time...

Meanwhile, in another location in the labyrinth, more starlight appeared, from within which Zhou Yixing staggered out, coughing up a massive amount of blood as he did. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and the star sigil on his forehead was much dimmer than before.

"Dammit, I can't believe I had to use the power of my clan's star sigil!" Thinking back to the bizarre hats, he couldn't help but shiver. After looking around to confirm that none of them were in the area, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"He stole my nine-colored flame, and then tried to rob me of my precious bow. He has frigid Chakra and a powerful fleshly body. Why does he seem so much like Naruto!?" After reviewing everything he remembered about Naruto, he was more convinced than ever that he had just encountered him, and yet, couldn't be sure.

"If that really was Naruto, it means he has some sort of item that lets him change his aura! But... dammit! Teleporting out of that situation has me completely turned around. I'm going to have to start searching for clues to find the right path again!" Sighing, he began to move through the tunnels of the labyrinth once more.

Chapter 543

A+ A- Chapter 543

Chapter 543: Blood-Soaked Buns

In the location where Naruto, Chen Jue, and Zhou Yixing had just tangled with the hats, there now remained only a dozen or so soul cultivators, standing there motionless.

They were nothing more than corpses, with their empty, white skulls clearly visible. It was a very bizarre sight.

The faces on the wall and floor began to breathe sighs of relief and simultaneously chatter with each other about what had just occurred.

"They're finally gone. The red hats have gone! Hahaha!"

"The hats were acting really strange today. They didn't bully us at all!"

"Yeah, you're totally right! Very strange indeed. Something odd is going on..." Then, in the middle of their conversation, their expressions flickered, and their eyes went wide. Looking down the tunnel, they all snapped their mouths shut. Currently, the terror glimmering in their eyes vastly exceeded that which had come from the hats, and they all began to shiver visibly.

Further down the tunnel, a figure had become visible, blurry at first, but rapidly becoming clear. It was a beautiful young woman with long hair. For some unknown reason, there was something very bizarre about her, although it was impossible to say exactly what.

"So many people have come. Even big bro is here!" The young woman chuckled, her eyes turning into twin crescent moons in the process and making her look even more pretty. At the same time, she looked profoundly bizarre, because visible within her eyes were two pupils each! Shockingly, she had one large pupil and one small pupil, the two of which overlapped! Anyone who might have been able to peer into her eyes would have been shocked to the core.

As for Naruto, if he had been present, he would immediately have recognized this young woman as being none other than Gongsun Wan'er!

Except, he was currently in the middle of fleeing madly for his life from

eight hats. He had attempted to fight back, but his magical techniques were absolutely useless against them. He had even resorted to some of his special methods of increasing his speed, and yet the hats were always able to keep up.

"What are you chasing me for!? My... my head doesn't taste that good!" As he raced along pell-mell, he ran into the occasional soul cultivator or giant savage, which was when he finally came to realize that the hats weren't specifically after him. As the hats encountered others to eat, he was slowly able to lose them.

When he was finally free, he breathed a sigh of relief. However, the thought of what he had just gone through continued to cause his heart to pound in fear. At the same time, though, the fact that the hats had given up chasing him to go after other people left him feeling a bit down.

"Don't tell me my head really doesn't taste very good after all?" he grumbled. Finally, he cleared his mind of such thoughts and found an out-of-the-way corner where he could have some privacy. Waving his hand, he sent a mist spreading out to fill the area, as well as some frigid Chakra to lock the place down. Then, he licked his lips and pulled the ninecolored flame out from his bag of holding.

After carefully removing the ice seal which contained it, he looked excitedly at the fire, which despite having grown dim, was still filled with nine colors. Considering the intense heat he could sense from it, he was convinced that everything he had just gone through was worth it.

"This nine-colored flame is incredible! If it had been linked to a solid foundation, then my frigid Chakra would have been incapable of sealing it.

"With this flame, I can definitely perform a ninefold spirit enhancement on the Eternal Parasol... "Then it will be even

even more powerful than it already is, and will definitely make it much easier to stay safe around here." After looking around one more time to make sure he was alone, he produced his turtle-wok and the Eternal Parasol, and prepared to begin the spirit enhancement process.

However, after only a moment passed, he hesitated. "I wonder if the energy of heaven and earth in this labyrinth will be sufficient..."

Back when he had performed some spirit enhancements in Great Wall City, he had clearly sensed that, because of the weak levels of spiritual energy, the enhancement process wasn't very stable.

Thankfully, his miraculous turtle-wok had ensured that the spirit enhancement worked no matter what. Therefore, despite having a dim nine-colored flame, and being in the middle of the labyrinth, he decided to grit his teeth and proceed with the plan.

"I need to increase my chances of getting out of here alive. That's worth doing a bit of testing. If it fails, then so be it." When it came to safeguarding his poor little life, Naruto would never be stingy. Therefore, he immediately began the spirit enhancement process.

As soon as the nine-colored flame was absorbed by the turtle-wok, the designs on its surface began to shine with dazzling light. Naruto looked on nervously, eyes wide, until the designs were fully lit. Then, he excitedly tossed the Eternal Parasol inside.

The turtle-wok immediately began to tremble, and the designs on its surface shone even more brightly, almost as if they knew what was happening. Then, the designs shot toward the Eternal Parasol, transforming into the ninth spirit design on its surface! A tremor ran through the Eternal Parasol, and Naruto was almost sure he could hear something like an excited cheer. Then, the turtle-wok went calm, and everything went back to normal.

"It worked? Just like that? I didn't feel any energy of heaven and earth at

earth at all!" Surprised, he picked up the Eternal Parasol and examined it, confirming that the spirit enhancement truly had worked.

Then he looked at the turtle-wok again, and finally back at the Eternal Parasol. Every time he'd performed spirit enhancements in the past, it had always incited the energy of heaven and earth in the area, but this time, nothing of the sort had occurred.

After thinking everything over, Naruto's eyes suddenly glittered.

"The flame was different!

"For all of my other spirit enhancements, I always used multi-colored flame fuel to make my own fire. But this time, I had the fire to start out with. Plus, it was Wildlands fire..." Soon, Naruto found himself thinking about soul cultivators and necromancers, and how they often had magical items with numerous spirit enhancements. As of this moment, he felt like he had another piece of the puzzle.

"Maybe the way they do spirit enhancement in the Wildlands doesn't require the energy of heaven and earth. Considering how barren of spiritual energy this place is, that seems like the only plausible explanation." After a bit of thought, Naruto decided that a deadly labyrinth was not the place to sit around trying to analyze the situation. Shelving thoughts about spirit enhancement for the moment, he retracted the mist and the frigid qi, and then began to cautiously search for an exit.

Another two days passed, and Naruto's careful explorations did not lead to any more bizarre situations like the hats. However, he noticed that he seemed to be encountering fewer and fewer people, whether they were Great Wall cultivators or Wildlands soul cultivators and savages.

"Before, I was running into at least ten per day. But now, it's more like four or five, or even fewer..." Looking around at the tunnel walls, he couldn't help but feel like the labyrinth was a huge mouth intent on consuming everyone. The thought made everyone.

The thought made him shiver.

"I can't let that happen to me! I have to find the exit!

"But everything looks the same. How do I get out...?" None of the ideas he came up with, such as leaving marks on the wall, were of any use whatsoever.

Finally, he just resorted to his old, somewhat mindless method of sticking to the right. As he proceeded along, another three days passed. Soon, he was feeling so lost he was dizzy, and was also scowling on the verge of tears. That was when he turned a corner, and saw something that caused his eyes to go wide.

A creepy sensation filled him, becoming an icy coldness that left him gasping.

There were no hats. Instead, he found himself looking at something like a large, open square, with tunnels leading into it from all four directions. Right in the middle of the square were two enormous candles with green flames that cast odd, flickering light out. As a result of the shadows cast by the flames, the square seemed completely terrifying.

Sitting between the two candles was an enormous platter, atop which was a mountain-like pile of steamed buns!

However, these buns appeared to be soaked in blood, so much so that they were dripping with it! It was a horrific sight that caused Naruto's scalp to tingle so hard it felt like it might explode.

Gathered in the square were several hundred Great Wall cultivators and Wildlands soul cultivators and savages. There were even a few necromancers too. All of them were standing there motionless, expressions those of madness as they stared at the blood-soaked buns. Although none of them were talking, it was possible to hear them panting as they stood there.

A fragrant, sweet aroma wafted up from the blood-soaked buns that, when it entered Naruto's nose, made him so nauseated he wanted to vomit up his internal organs!

Chapter 544

A+ A- Chapter 544

Chapter 544: Sacrifice Of Flesh And Blood!

Naruto's face went completely ashen, and not because his cultivation base had been affected, but because of the fear he felt; within the group of hundred gathered in the square, there were a few with Nascent Soul cultivation bases. That left Naruto feeling thoroughly petrified.

He started backing up, and yet, had only taken a step when he realized that there were people in the square that he recognized.

"Zhao Long... Master God-Diviner..." The two of them were behaving just like everyone else in the square, staring at the platter of bloodsoaked buns, their expressions those of savage madness.

By this point, Naruto was starting to struggle over what to do.

"Zhao Long has been a loyal and devoted follower of mine for years now. Back when I got stuck on the battlefield, he led the charge to try to reach me..." Slowly but surely, Naruto's eyes were starting to turn bloodshot.

"I'm the one who forced Master God-Diviner to become my Dao protector, and I'm also the one who conscripted him into the army. The tribulation the two of them are facing today all has to do with me..." Naruto was so torn he could hardly breathe straight. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and yet, at the same time, he was scared! The terror he felt at the thought of dying was almost completely overwhelming.

Clearly, the square that stretched out in front of him was a location of extreme danger. If he turned and left now, he would most likely be able to get away safely. But if he stepped into the square, who knew whether or not he would get swept up into the calamity?

As he stood there wallowing in indecision, it was almost as if there were two people on either side of him, one telling him to go save his friends, the other screaming at

him to flee immediately.

Naruto couldn't help but think back to the situation with the Luochen Clan all those years ago. Although his current predicament wasn't exactly the same, it was certainly similar...

As he stood there vacillating, the flames on top of the huge candles suddenly danced wildly, which caused the several hundred cultivators in the square to suddenly howl madly as they rushed toward the platter of blood-soaked buns. To their eyes, what lay on the platter in front of them was not a pile of blood-soaked buns, but rather, the ability to live forever, or to increase their cultivation bases, or other types of amazing good fortune.

In the briefest of moments, all of them went crazy, even going so far as to start fighting each other to be the first to grab a blood-soaked bun. Those who did manage to get ahold of one of them would excitedly take a huge bite and then start cackling madly.

Any who didn't get one of the blood-soaked buns would fly into a rage and look for someone to steal a bun from. The scene playing out in front of Naruto right now left him trembling with fear and terror!

Furthermore, because he was watching from an outsider's perspective, he quickly realized that none of them were actually eating blood-soaked buns! What Naruto had assumed to be corporeal buns were actually not real. The people in the square were actually fighting over nothing!

Furthermore, those who believed they were eating a bun were actually voraciously devouring their own hands!

Some of them had already ripped their own fingers off, causing blood to spray about everywhere. And yet, they weren't satisfied! It was with complete insanity that they went on to bite their palms, crunching them all the way down to the wrist!

And some of them were even chewing their way down to their own elbows, expressions of delight on

on their faces the entire time...

Those in the square who weren't able to snatch one of the "bloodsoaked buns" were madly trying to rip the hands and arms off of those who had. Bitter fighting was already playing out everywhere.

Some people were cut down by magical attacks, and as their flesh and blood exploded out, others in the area would pile onto them and start to feast...

As all of these things began to happen, the flames of the two enormous candles danced, and female voices could be heard, singing...

"Eat up, eat up... Delicious, isn't it...?"

Naruto felt like his mind was being struck by countless lightning bolts, and he was shaking visibly at the horror in front of him!

That was when he saw Master God-Diviner finally get one of the "bloodsoaked buns" and then begin to laugh uproariously as he lifted his hands up toward his mouth. Off to the side, Zhao Long, who hadn't managed to get his hands on the prize, was now starting to fight over one of the corpses of the other cultivators...

In that moment, Naruto's hesitation vanished. Eyes bloodshot, he made his decision. Throwing caution to the wind, he took a step forward.

The instant his foot touched down in front of him, everything around him seemed to slow down. At the same time, his frigid Chakra rushed out in all directions to fill the square. In the next instant, Naruto moved with such incredible speed that, combined with his frigid domain teleportation, he appeared right in front of Master God-Diviner. Without hesitating at all, he reached out and grabbed Master God-Diviner's hand in the instant before it reached his mouth. Jerking the hand back, he shouted, "Master God-Diviner, wake up!"

A snapping sound rang out as Master God-Diviner's teeth clicked down on nothing but air. Then he looked up at Naruto and howled; clearly, anyone who interfered with him in

him in any way was little more than an enemy.

Master God-Diviner's hand blurred in an incantation gesture and then shoved out at Naruto. At the same time, he lunged forward like a rabid dog as he tried to bite down onto the hand Naruto had grabbed.

Naruto looked over anxiously at Zhao Long, who was now laughing madly as he dragged one of the corpses off to the side. Unfortunately, Naruto's vision was starting to cloud over. In fact, the bloodsoaked buns on the platter up ahead were now starting to transform into Live-Forever Never-Die Pills!

The mere sight of such pills caused Naruto's mind to reel. However, he bit down onto his tongue to clear his mind. Already, the frigid Chakra in the area was beginning to fade away, meaning that time was very limited.

"Dammit!" he yelled. With that, he reached out with his left hand and grabbed Master God-Diviner by the throat. Holding him fast no matter how he struggled, he rushed over to Zhao Long, who was just in the middle of taking a bite of bloody flesh, and grabbed him up. Then he rushed back toward the tunnel mouth.

Suddenly, two soul-chilling screams erupted from the candle flames as two women became visible. They looked exactly the same, middle-aged with disheveled hair, and they were both looking straight at Naruto.

"How dare you meddle in our affairs! You've disturbed our sacrifice of flesh and blood, and therefore, you will not leave this place alive!"

In response to the voices, Naruto shuddered. Then he looked around, and saw everything in the area slowly becoming piles of LiveForever Never-Die Pills.

"Live forever... Live forever..." Even as he felt himself descending into madness, all of a sudden, a tiny strand of Willpower rose up in his Gold Core.

The Willpower poured into his mind like boiling water poured onto snow. Instantly, the illusions he had been seeing

had been seeing vanished, and he looked around ashen-faced to find that more than eighty percent of his frigid Chakra had been melted by the candles.

Once it was completely melted, he would be incapable of teleporting away, and would have to rely only on his fleshly body speed to escape, which wouldn't be sufficient...

By this point, many of the cultivators in the area had caught sight of Naruto, and to them, he was good fortune to be had! They quickly began to turn and head in his direction.

Roaring, Naruto called upon all the power he could muster to teleport through his frigid qi. Even as it collapsed, he appeared right at the edge of the square, and then bolted into the nearest tunnel entrance.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw the two women floating in the candle flames, screaming at him.

"Think you can escape just like that?" they screamed, suddenly flying into the air toward him.

Even as he fled at top speed, the air rippled in a different tunnel, and Gongsun Wan'er appeared. Striding forward, she shoved her right hand out viciously in the direction of the two women.

"Screw off! How dare you try to mess with one of my people!"

The two women screamed miserably. Although the wave of Gongsun Wan'er's arm had not contained even a bit of magical power, the two women flickered as if they might vanish. At the same time, expressions of unprecedented shock and terror appeared on their faces.

Not daring to move forward even an inch, they dropped down and kowtowed.

"Get back to your sacrifice of flesh and blood," Gongsun Wan'er said coolly. "And from now on, mind your own business." As she spoke, the tiny second pupil in each of her eyes began to shine with a mysterious light.

It was that very light that caused the two women to tremble in terror, and creep backward toward their candles.

Chapter 545

A+ A- Chapter 545

Chapter 545: I'm Zhou Yixing, You Moron!

Naruto raced down the tunnel, unaware of what was happening behind him in the square. Eventually, when he was far enough away that he couldn't detect even a bit of the sweet aroma, he finally slowed down and then checked his surroundings.

Convinced he was far enough away from the square, he put Zhao Long and Master God-Diviner down, both of whom were unconscious. Master God-Diviner seemed in better shape than Zhao Long, who was currently biting down on a chunk of bloody flesh.

Naruto removed the chunk of flesh and put a medicinal pill in Zhao Long's mouth, and then did the same for Master God-Diviner. Then he bopped them both on the top of the head.

The two of them shivered, and then slowly opened their eyes. They looked up in confusion at Naruto with his mask on, and then looked around to try to determine their location. Finally, they recalled what had occurred in the square, and both of them began to retch. Zhao Long even curled up into the fetal position.

Upon recovery, Master God-Diviner looked at Naruto with an expression of gratitude. Clasping hands, he bowed and said, "Many thanks for your kindness in rescuing us, Fellow Daoist!"

He was well aware that, considering how terrifying the situation had been, without someone there to rescue him, he might have ended up eating himself to death.

The residual fear still had him trembling.

After Zhao Long managed to stop vomiting, he looked at Naruto with clasped hands and then bowed deeply. Although Naruto looked like a soul cultivator, he was still profoundly thankful.

"This place is very dangerous," Naruto said. "You two take care of yourselves." By now, he felt physically and emotionally exhausted. From the moment he had entered this labyrinth, he had been fighting with cultivators or running from terrifying entities, and it was getting very hard to handle. Whether it was

the red hats or the blood-soaked buns, they all left Naruto feeling very threatened. Sighing, he gave Master God-Diviner and Zhao Long some medicinal pills and paper talismans, then left.

He chose not to take them with him; if his identity were revealed, it would place them all in great danger. Besides, he had the feeling that going around in this place on his own was much safer.

After he left, Master God-Diviner and Zhao Long exchanged a silent glance, then looked down thoughtfully at the medicinal pills and paper talismans they had been given. Then they talked for a bit, which led them to the decision of joining forces.

A few more days went by. Naruto made his way through the labyrinth as cautiously as ever. Unfortunately, after leaving the square with the blood-soaked buns, he was just as lost as ever.

Gritting his teeth, he used the same method as before to try to figure out where exactly he was. However, the more time that passed, the more his fear mounted. Before long, he reached a point where he hadn't seen anyone else for a full two days.

The entire labyrinth seemed filled with nothing other than corpses, and his heart was wound as tight as a taut bowstring.

"Something weird is going on. Don't tell me that more than 100,000 people are all dead?" The thought left him feeling completely stifled. He had no idea where he was heading, and couldn't find the exit. He couldn't leave marks on the walls to keep track of where he'd been, and actually had the feeling he was going in circles. On top of it all, he now felt like he was alone. He was so jumpy about everything that he wasn't even thinking about his mask and disguise.

Another day passed. He had decided to pick up speed, and yet, still hadn't encountered anyone else. His terror grew. Then he thought of the person who had landed him in

in his mess, and gnashed his teeth. "Damn that Chen Hetian! I served the Great Wall well, and this is how you repay me!?"

It was in that moment of rage when Naruto suddenly heard the sound of whistling air. Apparently, someone was heading in his direction at top speed. Considering it had been days since he'd seen anyone else, he was actually delighted.

However, at the same time, he maintained full vigilance, backing up and keeping his eye on the intersection up ahead.

At the same time, the whistling sound stopped, as if whoever it was on the other side of the corner had also detected the presence of another.

Naruto had no idea who was around that corner; it could be a person or a ghost for all he knew. Whoever it was, they seemed equally befuddled about Naruto. For a very long moment, nothing happened as the two of them stood there silently, the tension mounting.

Finally, Naruto took in a quiet breath and pulled a flying sword out. With the wave of a sleeve, he drew upon his control power to send it flying toward the intersection. Meanwhile, a black shaft of light flew out from the other side of the corner.

Within that black shaft of light was a soul arrow which slammed into Naruto's flying sword, shattering it to pieces. A moment later, the soul arrow was right in front of Naruto, forcing him to summon a huge cauldron to block its path.

Even as the resulting boom shook the area, Naruto suddenly laughed.

As soon as he saw that soul arrow, he recognized the type of arrow it was, and thought of the bow which shot it, and of Zhou Yixing! He actually didn't know Zhou Yixing's name, but he did remember the star sigil on his forehead. Because the character 'star 星' rhymed perfectly with the character 'gorilla 猩,' he decided to make up his own name.

"So, it's you! Mr.

you! Mr. Gorilla!"

Now that he was sure that he was dealing with a person, and not some freakish entity, his spirits were lifted immediately. Rushing forward, he burst into the intersection in almost the same moment that Zhou Yixing emerged.

When Zhou Yixing saw Naruto, his expression flickered. He had been jumpy with fear lately himself. Although the bizarre entities in the labyrinth weren't completely impossible to escape from, without his star sigil, Zhou Yixing would likely have been killed long ago.

At the moment, he seemed to be in bad condition. His hair was disheveled, and his bag of holding was running low on magical items. Worse, his star sigil was fading away from being used so many times. Once it ran out, the only way to get a new one would be to return to his clan and kowtow in front of the ancestral shrine for 49 years.

As far as he was concerned, the main reason he was on the verge of losing his star sigil was Naruto. Before encountering him, everything in the labyrinth had gone well, but afterward, he had been plagued with bad luck.

Never could he have imagined that after days without seeing anyone, the first person he would encounter would be Naruto!

"You're the gorilla, Naruto!" he shouted. "Everyone in your family is a gorilla!"

Actually, he wasn't completely sure who this person was, but was convinced that he had to be Naruto. Even as Naruto neared, Zhou Yixing lifted his greatbow and unleashed a rapid succession of nine soul arrows.

In response, Naruto laughed and opened his Eternal Parasol, easily blocking all of the soul arrows before closing in on Zhou Yixing.

Zhou Yixing immediately noticed the nine designs on the Eternal Parasol, and recalled that before, it only had eight. His eyes turned red, and he let out a bellow of rage.

It didn't take much speculation on his part to reach the conclusion that his own nine-colored flame

own nine-colored flame had been used to perform another spirit enhancement. The fact that Naruto had succeeded with the spirit enhancement on the first time seemed like a complete stroke of luck, and further incensed Zhou Yixing.

"No need to get angry, Mr. Gorilla. Just tell me what your name is!" Closing the Eternal Parasol, he performing an incantation gesture and waved his hand, sending frigid Chakra blasting out to form a hail of ice spikes which sped toward Zhou Yixing.

The truth was that Naruto was very happy to have encountered Zhou Yixing, and was not inclined to kill him, not after spending so many days alone. He had even begun to regret leaving Master God-Diviner and Zhao Rong behind, so any familiar face at all was like a blessing.

"I'm Zhou Yixing 周一星, you moron!" he roared, leaping back to avoid the ice spikes, and simultaneously performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused numerous vengeful soul to burst out from inside of him. The souls quickly merged together into a magical symbol, which then erupted with soul fire as it moved forward to meet the ice spikes.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the ice spikes shattered, releasing a shockwave that Zhou Yixing took advantage of to retreat. At the same time, he shot out a succession of eighteen soul arrows!

"Time to die!" he screamed.

Without his Eternal Parasol, Naruto would have had a hard time dealing with Zhou Yixing's bow, which also had received a ninefold spirit enhancement. But things were different now.

"Zhou Yixing 周一猩? You mean the xing for gorilla? So you really are a gorilla! Hahaha!" Naruto snapped open the Eternal Parasol and yet again blocked the soul arrows, then unleashed his frigid Chakra to send out a volley of ice spikes.

His plan was to capture Zhou Yixing alive, and then hopefully extract some necromancer secrets from him. Even better, if he ran into some powerful enemy, he could toss him out as Uzumakit or cannon fodder...

Chapter 546

A+ A- Chapter 546

Chapter 546: An Arrow With A Golden Design!

Booms echoed back and forth in the tunnel as the true power of the Eternal Parasol was put on full display. Not a single one of the eighteen soul arrows harmed it in the least, and although Naruto couldn't see the bizarre face on the top of the parasol, Zhou Yixing could.

To Zhou Yixing, the smiling face looked hair-raisingly terrifying, and even reminded him of the red hats from before.

"What the hell kind of parasol is that!?" he thought, his scalp tingling. As for the frigid Chakra in the area, it was so cold that he felt himself shivering inside.

It was a moment of deadly crisis in which Zhou Yixing's eyes shone with madness as he flew backward. This time, instead of summoning soul arrows, he pulled a new type of arrow out of his bag of holding!

It was bright red and emanated intense heat, which caused the frigid Chakra in the area to tremble on the verge of collapse. When Naruto saw it, his expression flickered.

"What... what is that...? Why does it feel so much like nine-colored flame?! No, wait. Could that be a ten-colored flame...? Aiieee..." Naruto was completely stunned that Zhou Yixing would have a precious object like this on him.

What made Naruto even more nervous was that at one glance it looked like an arrow, but a moment later, it actually looked like it was made from fire!

It was almost as if it existed in a state between corporeal and illusory! Even more extraordinary was that Naruto spotted... a golden design on the surface of the arrow!

"Golden design..." Although he initially wasn't certain what that golden design was, it sent his mind spinning, and within moments, he had reached a conclusion.

"That's... a precious treasure which

has received an elevenfold spirit enhancement!"

A tenfold spirit enhancement led to ten silver designs, but the mark of an eleventh spirit enhancement was a single golden design!

Naruto's speculation was correct. That arrow... was none other than a fire soul arrow with an elevenfold spirit enhancement!

Zhou Yixing felt that he had no other choice than to pull out this trump card of his that he had been hoping to save for some other occasion. It was a special item given to him by his clan to use as a last-ditch line of defense!

It was a precious treasure with an elevenfold spirit enhancement, which, in combination with his ninefold spirit enhanced greatbow, was capable of killing Nascent Soul cultivators!

The fact that he was resorting to this arrow showed how much Zhou Yixing wanted to kill Naruto.

"Time to die, Naruto!" he roared as he knocked the arrow to the bow. Meanwhile, Naruto's hair was standing on end, and his pupils were constricted as a sensation of deadly crisis swept through him.

As of this moment, he was convinced that this arrow... could most definitely kill him!

There was no time for thought or planning. As Zhou Yixing drew the bow,

Naruto let out a shout and opened his third eye. Instantly, Zhou Yixing shivered, and a confused expression appeared on his face as the hand he was using to draw the bowstring back suddenly stopped moving.

In that same moment, rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto used the Living Mountain Incantation, and also stretched his hand out to call upon his Waterswamp Kingdom!

As the area around him turned into a watery swamp, he pulled his frigid Chakra back in, causing a tempest to rage around him. And yet, things weren't over yet. The power of the Undying Live Forever Technique surged

surged around him, pushing his fleshly body power to the limit.

All of these things take some time to describe, but actually happened in the briefest of moments. A moment later, the star sigil on Zhou Yixing's forehead erupted with starlight, breaking him free from Naruto's control. As sweat began to drip down his face, he released the bowstring. Then, a thrumming sound could be heard... as a fire soul arrow with an elevenfold spirit enhancement flew forth!

The instant it left the bow, it transformed into a huge fire dragon, extremely lifelike in appearance. As the dragon shot toward Naruto, it ran into the frigid Chakra tempest, shattering it, and then continued forward until it ran into a huge spike that was rising up from the ground.

As a deafening boom rocked the corridor, Naruto leapt into the air, transforming into an enormous stone golem. Extending his right hand, he unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash and then the Throat Crushing Grasp, using all the power of a living mountain and his fleshly body in one massive attack.

After all, this arrow could kill a Nascent Soul cultivator, and therefore, he had no hope of being able to evade it!

His only hope now... was to capture it!

As his Gold Core spun rapidly, a black light suddenly flashed out from inside of him as his turtle-wok appeared to block the fire soul arrow.

A huge boom echoed out as the two connected, and the fire soul arrow even let out something like a miserable shriek as a shockwave rolled out. However, because all of these things were happening so quickly, and because Naruto's current position blocked Zhou Yixing's line of sight, he couldn't see exactly what was happening.

Just when the fire soul arrow was about to collapse into pieces, Naruto used the power of

power of his fleshly body and the strength of a living mountain, as well as the force of the Mountain Shaking Bash and the Throat Crushing Grasp, to reach out and grab the throat of the fire dragon. Then, the might of the Undying Hex surged out to prevent the arrow from exploding!

Massive rumbling filled the tunnel, and the intense shockwave that spread out caused blood to spray out of the mouth of Zhou Yixing as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut, his expression a mix of disbelief and shock.

How could he ever have guessed that his fire soul arrow, which could kill a Nascent Soul expert, would be grabbed by Naruto!?

As soon as Naruto laid his hand on the fire soul arrow, his Waterswamp Kingdom spike collapsed, and his frigid Chakra faded away. His stone golem form shattered, and he was revealed, coughing up a cloud of blood.

He was thrown backward, his layers of armor disintegrating into ash, and yet, his hand held fast onto the arrow. The struggling fire dragon roared and fought, but in the end... it shrank back down into an arrow! "Impossible!" Zhou Yixing cried, his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. Panting as a sensation of deadly crisis filled him, he looked at the unbelievable scene playing out in front of him, his heart filled with terror. Finally, he drew upon the star sigil on his forehead, which began to pulse with the power of teleportation.

Naruto slowly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his killing intent burning as he took a step forward. "Time to die, Zhou Yixing!"

That step almost seemed to land directly on Zhou Yixing's heart. He trembled visibly, and let out an involuntary shriek. If his fire soul arrow couldn't kill this opponent, then what could? Mind spinning and

Mind spinning and having no time to think, he pushed down onto his forehead, causing a massive burst of starlight to pour out of his star sigil, which wrapped around him and teleported him away.

He didn't dare to do anything other than flee. At the moment, the mere thought of Naruto left him terrified.

Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood as Zhou Yixing was whisked away, after which his jaw dropped.

"I can't believe he ran away so quickly. I didn't even get to finish coughing up that blood..." As soon as Naruto had sensed the power of teleportation coming from Zhou Yixing's star sigil, he had intentionally coughed up some blood to try to make himself look weak. His plan had been to trick Zhou Yixing into staying behind, and then show off how powerful he really was.

Ideally, he would have ended up killing Zhou Yixing. However, in defiance of all his expectations, Zhou Yixing didn't even wait for him to cough up the blood before vanishing.

Sighing, Naruto pulled out a Godly Vestige Pill and consumed it. As he began to recover from the fight, he looked down at the arrow in his hand and then began to laugh merrily.

"I probably shouldn't kill this Zhou Yixing anyway. Every time we fight,

he ends up giving me a precious item. Nine-colored flame. A soul arrow with an elevenfold spirit enhancement. Hahaha! Hmm... there's also that bow of his." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he excitedly thought back to the fight which had just played out.

The arrow had been incredibly powerful, so much so that he had been terrified of it. If it wasn't for his use of his Heavenspan Dharma Eye and the protection of the turtle-wok, he would either have been captured, or absolutely destroyed!

Chapter 547

A+ A- Chapter 547

Chapter 547: Sshhh...

"That was really a nice bow..." Naruto thought, licking his lips. The more he pondered how amazing the bow was, the more excited he got, and at the same time, realized he had put on too good of an act earlier. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up scaring his lucky star away. [1]

"I probably shouldn't call him Mr. Gorilla in the future. What a pity this labyrinth is so big. Most likely I won't run into him again." Sighing, he realized that he already missed Zhou Yixing.

A moment later, he looked back down at the fire soul arrow with its elevenfold spirit enhancement. The arrow only continued to leave him more shaken, especially with the way it seemed to flicker back and forth between illusory and corporeal. The longer he looked at it, the more he felt like it was tugging at his own soul.

"Is the arrow itself extraordinary, or... or is it the elevenfold spirit enhancement that's made it so incredible?!" Taking a deep breath, he thought back to the Heavenhorn Sword back in the River-Defying Sect, with its tenfold spirit enhancement. How might that sword change if it had an elevenfold enhancement? Presumably, it would be even more incredible than before.

"What an awesome arrow," he thought, quickly putting the arrow into his bag of holding. Patting his bag contentedly, he mused that he really had profited well by coming into the labyrinth.

"Hmmmmphh. I bet nobody in this labyrinth is richer than me, not even that deva. I've got stuff in my bag of holding that would shock even him!" Although he was quite proud of himself, he also couldn't forget all of the ordeals from the past several days, and the bizarre things that had occurred. That left him feeling a bit stiff, and drove away any feelings of pride. He even had to remind himself that he mustn't allow himself to grow lax in his caution.

"No amount of riches is worth more than my poor little life!" Shaking his head, he looked around cautiously before proceeding forward. Meanwhile, in

a tunnel not too far away from Naruto, starlight swirled, and Zhou Yixing stepped out into the open, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

By this point, the star sigil on his forehead was visibly cracked, and looked like it might collapse at any moment. Zhou Yixing felt like weeping about it, although he currently had no tears to shed.

"It's all your fault, Naruto!" he raged as he stood there trembling and ashen-faced. "You took my nine-colored flame and my fire soul arrow. Damn you, Naruto! If it wasn't for you, I never would have even come here. Damn you and damn this labyrinth!"

Zhou Yixing felt like he was hovering on the verge of going insane. As of this moment, he only had one teleportation left before his star sigil was destroyed for good.

Before entering the labyrinth, he couldn't have possibly guessed that it would be so dangerous, and that he would have to rely on the power of his star sigil so many times. By now, he completely regretted his decision.

"I absolutely, positively must not run into any of those bizarre entities... And I definitely have to avoid Naruto... I can't believe my fire soul arrow didn't kill him. He's completely inhuman!" Sighing, he began to creep forward, mind focused on a single thing: finding the exit, leaving, and never coming back. As for Naruto... he had already made a decision. After he got back home, he would ask his entire family to track him down and kill him.

As Zhou Yixing was resolving to avoid Naruto at all costs, Naruto was proceeding through the labyrinth, feeling dizzy from how all the walls looked exactly the same.

"Where is that exit...?" he thought anxiously. "This is crazy! I'm totally turned around. Alright, whatever. I'll just count this intersection as my starting point!"

Taking a deep breath, he took out a jade slip and then continued with his previous custom of sticking to the right. This time, however, he tried to take measured, uniform steps. At the same time, he began to

to trace out his path in the jade slip. It took patience, but he stuck with it. Whenever he reached intersections, he would pick the right-hand side. Gradually, an outline of his route began to take shape in the jade slip.

A few more days went by. By this point, he had been in the labyrinth for nearly a month.

Thankfully, he had plenty of spirit alcohol, which helped him keep his cultivation base and battle prowess sufficiently powered. However, he would still run into occasional situations in which he needed to draw upon spirit energy, and after a few more months passed, he began to run low on spirit alcohol.

Naruto's anxiety continued to build, and he started to lose track of time. One day, he suddenly saw movement up ahead of him in the corridor.

"Who's there?!" he said loudly, pulling out his Eternal Parasol.

However, whoever it was up ahead completely ignored him and kept moving. Heart pounding, Naruto was about to start backing away when he suddenly saw clearly who it was up ahead of him, and his jaw dropped.

It was one of the cultivators from the Great Wall, someone he recognized. However, to his shock, he realized that the man's eyes were completely blank, and his face was slack and expressionless...

His cultivation base seemed to have slipped back down into Foundation Establishment, and even more strange was the fact that he wasn't really walking! His feet dragged on the ground, and although he wasn't floating through the air, it almost seemed like he was being pushed along from behind.

The man didn't seem to notice Naruto, who stood there wondering exactly what was going on. He thought about taking the initiative to attack him, but then hesitated and decided not to inadvertently provoke him. Instead, he simply stepped to the side and watched him closely as he passed by.

The entire time, the man didn't stop or even look at him. He just walked on by. That was when Naruto's gaze fell upon the man's back, and suddenly, he felt all the hair on

hair on his body stand up on end.

"Wh-wh... wha... what is that?!" Backing up, his face drained of blood as he looked at what was sticking to the man's back. It was... a life-size person made of paper!

The paper person had arms, legs, and a head with a lifelike face! It was stuck to the cultivator's back as if it had always been a part of him, and yet, Naruto could tell that life force and cultivation base power was flowing constantly from the cultivator into the paper person.

The paper person's eyes were closed, but Naruto could clearly see that its expression, and also its facial features, were slowly coming to resemble the cultivator it was stuck to.

The bizarreness of the spectacle caused Naruto to shiver in fear, and even place his hand over his mouth from the horror. Worried that he might attract the attention of the paper person, he simply watched the cultivator trundle off into the distance. Then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What the hell is this place...?" he thought. Whether it was the red hats, the blood-soaked buns, or this paper person, everything gave him a feeling of terror.

Furthermore, the paper person seemed like something that couldn't be fought against using the cultivation base, but rather, something that affected the soul directly.

After everything which had occurred so far, Naruto was feeling very jumpy. Not daring to continue in the direction he had been heading, he picked a new path and continued to try to keep track of his progress. However, despite his vigilance, he soon realized that there were five people up ahead. Some were Great Wall cultivators, some were soul cultivators, and some were savage giants. Furthermore, all of them were trudging along just like the cultivator he had seen earlier.

Because they were walking away from him, and thus had their backs to him, he could see that there were paper people stuck to all of them...

Sucking in a quiet breath, he began to back up, and then picked another direction. However, to his shock, it wasn't

shock, it wasn't long before he ran into a group of ten cultivators, all of whom had paper people stuck to their backs...

"Dammit, what's going on?" Naruto anxiously picked a new path to follow, and after a bit of time passed and he didn't see any paper people, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. The next day, as he was walking along, he suddenly stopped in place when he realized that someone was heading toward him at top speed from up ahead.

It was a soul cultivator, and as soon as the man caught sight of him, his expression turned grim. After sizing Naruto up to get a sense of his power, he snorted coldly and continued to fly through the air at top speed...

Originally, Naruto had been happy to find that the man's expression wasn't blank like all the other people he had seen recently, and was about to call out a greeting. However, when the man flew past him, Naruto's eyes went wide.

There on the soul cultivator's back was a paper person! Clearly, the man had no idea the paper person was there. A moment later, the paper person's eyes opened and it looked at Naruto with an odd smile. Then it raised a finger to its lips and pursed its lips as if to say sshhh...

Apparently, it was telling Naruto that it was involved in a game of hide-and-seek, and that he shouldn't say anything...

Naruto was so scared that his face went completely ashen.

Goosebumps broke out all over him, and he even began to sweat. Worried about some misunderstanding with the paper person, he nodded, and even slapped his chest to emphasize that he wouldn't speak up...

The paper person seemed to understand, and nodded in satisfaction before closing its eyes again.

After the soul cultivator disappeared into the distance, Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow.

"These paper people must be able to sneak up on you without you ever realizing it..." Nervous, he suddenly looked over his shoulder. [1] Don't forget the 'star' wordplay involved with Zhou Yixing

Chapter 548

A+ A- Chapter 548

Chapter 548: Ill Take Off Now... Sshhh...

Naruto whipped his head around with lightning speed, and gave no advance warning that he would do so. However, he didn't see anything attached to his back. He even reached up with his hand and felt around to make sure there was nothing there, before breathing a sigh of relief.

"Alright, good. There's nothing on my back." Even still, he was very nervous about the whole situation. The soul cultivator from moments ago was the first person he had encountered recently who had seemed conscious. And yet, the fact that he still had a paper person on his back was very telling, and was also quite confusing to Naruto.

After glancing around, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Finally, he gritted his teeth and picked a new direction to head in.

He continued to encounter more cultivators, almost as if they had been gathering in this area. That would explain why he had gone for so long without seeing anyone. However, almost everyone he encountered had a blank expression and a paper person on their back.

Those who were lucid were often fleeing madly through the tunnels, or even thrashing about as they tried to grab at their backs. Others were ripping their clothing off. However, nothing anybody did could stop the paper people from sticking to them...

Everything that was happening had Naruto jumping at his own shadow, and constantly looking over his shoulder. Occasionally, he would encounter locations with magical nodes on the ground, upon which lay paper people, apparently absorbing energy.

Naruto was slowly slipping into a panic, and resorted to increasingly higher speed. He tried to skirt around any areas that had paper people, and eventually noticed that he was encountering fewer and fewer

cultivators. However, for some reason, everything seemed to be getting more frightening and more cold, to the point where his hair started to stand on end. Finally, he stopped and picked a different direction.

However, the next day, Naruto was startled to discover that no matter which direction he picked, the sinister coldness only continued to grow stronger.

"Don't come after me..." he muttered, scowling on the verge of tears. Heart burning with anxiety, he rotated his cultivation base to push the sinister coldness away from him.

However, despite reducing its effects a bit, he couldn't prevent it from touching him... One day as he was rushing nervously through the tunnels, he caught sight of a pile of corpses!

There were more than a thousand of them, and without exception, they all had paper people on them!

The paper people appeared to be either sleeping or absorbing energy from the corpses. In fact, many of the corpses had more than one paper person on them, with some having as many as seven or eight...

What caused Naruto's eyes to go wider than anything else was one gray-robed necromancer who had dozens of paper people wrapped around him and absorbing his energy.

The necromancer wasn't dead, and apparently, was still aware of what was happening. However, his eyes were completely filled with despair.

Shuddering with fear, Naruto murmured, "This place must be a paper person hive!"

From what he could tell, there were at least two thousand paper people in the area!

"They can't see me. They can't see me..." Fearful of attracting their attention, and worrying that he was disturbing their mealtime, he quietly began to tiptoe backward.

However, before he could take even five steps, one of the dozens of paper people on the necromancer looked up, almost as if

if it had smelled something. Sniffing the air, it turned to look at Naruto, and then its eyes began to shine with strange light.

Naruto was nearly scared out of his mind, and stopped moving. Swallowing hard, he looked back at the paper person, and then slowly raised his finger to his lips and said sshhh.

The paper person seemed surprised, and a moment later, lowered its head. Relieved, Naruto was just preparing to back up again, when all of a sudden another of the paper people looked up at him.

Tears welling up in his eyes, he said, "I didn't mean to disturb you guys. Eat up, alright? I'll... I'll just take off now. Sshhh..." However, before he could continue to back up, the paper people that were looking at him suddenly began to let out a round ear-piercing shrieks.

It was a sound that could batter at the soul itself, and by the time the second round of shrieks filled the air, all two thousand of the paper people in the area had looked up, and many of them were flying toward Naruto.

Naruto was almost scared witless. Screaming, he turned and fled for his life.

"You people don't play fair! I... I saw one of your friends earlier, and when he asked me to sshhh I didn't break his cover..."

Soon, Naruto had disappeared into one of the nearby tunnels, being chased by two thousand paper people. After everything went silent, the area with the corpses suddenly went very quiet, and a bit later, a mist began to build up.

The mist covered the corpses, which then started withering up rapidly. In the blink of an eye, they became nothing more than ash.

Not even their bags of holding or magical items could stand up to the mist, and

mist, and were soon gone. Then, the mist began to converge upon itself, wriggling and twitching as it formed into a humanoid shape.

As the shape took form, it became a young woman, extraordinarily beautiful, the smile on her face covered by a hand. If anyone had been present to witness that smile, they would have been struck cold with terror from how bizarre it was.

She had long black hair, and a curvaceous figure that her ocean-blue robe could do nothing to conceal. She was none other than Gongsun Wan'er!

As of this point, the second pupil in each of her eyes had a figure visible within it, the face of a young girl, who was also smiling.

"Don't be scared, big bro. They're just playing hide-and-seek with you, that's all..." Despite the softness of her voice, her expression was ice cold as she took a step forward, dissolving yet again into a mist that spread out in all directions.

Somewhere off in the distance, Naruto was shrieking and sweating as he fled from the two thousand paper people. No matter how fast he went, they stuck with him. It was almost as if there was some strange connection between them and him that enabled them to match his speed.

Naruto was nearly convulsing with fear as he barreled down the tunnels, downing one bottle of spirit alcohol after another. He kept up top speed for more than an hour, and yet to this despair, found that even after that time, he hadn't managed to shake a single paper person.

None of his divine abilities or magical techniques did anything to help.

His frigid domain didn't affect the paper people, and although his Eternal Parasol was strong enough to stave off one or two at a time, there were too there were too many overall.

Plus, if he slowed down at all, they would rush toward him without stopping.

The idea of being buried in a pile of two thousand paper people, all of whom wanted to suck him dry until he was a pile of bones, left him shivering in terror.

"I didn't do anything to offend you people? What are you chasing me for?!"

He even thought about using his Waterswamp Kingdom to see if it could take out some of the paper people, but it cost far too much spiritual power to use, which meant he needed to save it for only the most critical of moments.

After all, the amount of spiritual power it took to use the Waterswamp Kingdom one time was enough to keep him moving at top speed for a full day.

"Dammit! Alright, I'll keep running for two more hours, and if the paper people are still chasing me, then I'll try out my Waterswamp Kingdom!" Gritting his teeth, he continued to move along at top speed.

An hour flew by, and Naruto was feeling more hopeless than ever. He hadn't run into a single other person, and was dejected to find that the paper people didn't ever seem to get tired. He felt like he was about to go mad, and was just thinking about using the Waterswamp Kingdom when he noticed a young man flying toward him. As the young man got closer, it was clear that he was trembling. And then he saw the two thousand paper people behind Naruto, which caused him to gasp, and then turn to flee in the other direction.

However, despite how quickly this newcomer reacted, Naruto still managed to get a look at his face.

First, he was shocked, and then, delighted! "Zhou Yixing!"

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	12. Chapter 12

279

Chapter 549

A+ A- Chapter 549

Chapter 549: Your Comeuppance Is At Hand, Naruto

Naruto was extremely happy to see Zhou Yixing, and felt like he had just run into an old friend. After all, he hadn't seen any other living beings for quite some time.

To unexpectedly run into Zhou Yixing right here left Naruto feeling as if the two of them were connected by destiny somehow.

Plus, the fact that he ended up profiting handsomely every time they met got him very excited.

"Don't run, Zhou Yixing!" he shouted. "I'm not gonna take that bow of yours! Get the attention of these 2,000 paper people, okay, my lucky star!?"

The joy in Naruto's voice caused Zhou Yixing to tremble on the verge of insanity. He truly felt as if he had fallen into more bad luck than was possible in one lifetime...

"You're the lucky star! Everyone in your family is a lucky star!" Rage filled him at how sharp Naruto's eyes were. Just now, Zhou Yixing had spun around as quickly as possible, and yet somehow, had still been recognized. Then, he'd been called 'lucky star,' which pushed him deeper into madness, to the point where he felt like he was going to collapse.

During his recent travels through the labyrinth, he had prayed

constantly that he never meet Naruto again, and yet... that was exactly what had happened!

"Oh heavens, why? This labyrinth is so big, why did you have me run into this damnable Naruto!?" This was the third time Zhou Yixing had encountered Naruto, and by this time, he was sure he had worse luck than anyone in the world.

During their first meeting, he lost his nine-colored flame.

Then he had his fire soul arrow taken away. The third time, Naruto came running at him with 2,000 paper people in pursuit...

Zhou Yixing had been just as terrified recently by the paper people as Naruto had. To see more than 2,000 of them in one place had him terrified to the extreme.

"Do I owe him a debt from a previous life or something!?" Eyes bloodshot and expression twisted from rage, he turned to glare viciously at Naruto.

"You want my help to get the attention of those paper people?" he yelled. "Fine! Since you have a death wish, I guess that means fate has put you in my hands to be killed today!" Zhou Yixing was convinced that by taking advantage of the paper people, he would be able to have his chance to kill Naruto!

"The perfect opportunity!" Howling, he threw caution to the wind, pulling out his black greatbow with its ninefold spirit enhancement. Then, he pulled the bowstring back and unleashed a succession of 36 soul arrows, simultaneously flying backward away from Naruto!

36 was Zhou Yixing's limit, and was such a strain that he was already coughing up blood. And yet, that was how much he hated Naruto! All the way down to the bones!

The 36 soul arrows screamed through the air toward Naruto, whose face fell at the realization that, in his excitement at running into his lucky star, he had pushed things too far. The truth was that this really was the perfect opportunity for Zhou Yixing to kill Naruto.

"I can't believe you're being such a bully, Mr. Gorilla!" he shouted. As the 36 soul arrows

arrows closed in, it was clear that they were locked onto his position, and that he couldn't dodge them. Considering that there were paper people right behind him, it put him in a very dangerous position. Therefore, he waved his right hand and snapped the Eternal Parasol open.

Then, the 36 soul arrows all exploded, and Zhou Yixing mockingly shouted, "Your comeuppance is at hand, Naruto!"

Ignoring any injuries it would wreak upon him, he took a breath and launched another 30 arrows.

The arrows slashed through the air like lighting, instantly reaching Uzumaki

Naruto's position and then exploding with incredible force. Even if Naruto were stronger than he already was, he couldn't have done anything other than fall back in the face of such an attack.

As he did, the 2,000 paper people increased their speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

Bizarre smiles could be seen on the faces of the screaming paper people, and looks of greed and madness filled their eyes as they pounced toward Naruto.

Off in the distance, Zhou Yixing watched what was happening with such excitement that he was shaking. Then he threw his head back and laughed at the top of his lungs.

"I didn't kill you, Naruto, this is just the will of the heavens!" Zhou Yixing felt wonderful at being able to instantly rid himself of the depression that had gripped him so deeply recently.

As Zhou Yixing watched the paper people pouncing toward Uzumaki

Naruto, he cackled madly and then said, "Naruto, you-"

However, before he could finish speaking, his eyes went wide, and his words stuck in his throat!

"Impossible!" To Zhou Yixing's shock, one glimmering shield after another

after another had sprung up around Naruto, until there were more than a thousand of them, creating a 30-meter-thick barrier around him.

As the shields spread out, the paper people who had been pouncing on Naruto stuck to its surface.

However, because there were so many of them, they ended up looking like a huge paper ball!

Inside of the paper ball, Naruto was drenched in the sweat of fear.

In the heat of the moment, he had been too short on time to use his Waterswamp Kingdom, and therefore, had resorted to defensive talismans to stop the advance of the paper people.

After confirming that the shields were effective against the paper people, he looked through the cracks in their arms and legs at the gaping Zhou Yixing off in the distance.

"Zhou Yixing!" he bellowed, then began to move in his direction!

Zhou Yixing's jaw dropped, and his mind began to spin as the huge paper ball began to speed in his direction. The sheer number of paper people that huge ball represented caused Zhou Yixing's scalp to tingle so hard it felt like it might explode.

"He's still not dead!?" he blurted in rage. Spinning, he began to flee, and yet despite the speed he was capable of, was no match for Naruto.

"What do I do? What do I do!? Don't tell me I'm really going to have to resort to my final star sigil teleportation!?" Swept up in a feeling of madness, he gritted his teeth and prepared to unleash the starlight within the star sigil. However, that was when he suddenly realized that the 2,000 paper people stuck to the surface of the shields were actually absorbing their

actually absorbing their power, which was causing the paper ball to shrink.

"Hmm?" Enthused, Zhou Yixing immediately abandoned his plan to teleport away. Heart thumping with excitement, he came to the conclusion that Naruto was actually shooting himself in the foot, and once his shield disappeared, he would be killed in body and soul.

Feeling more thrilled with every moment that passed, Zhou Yixing proceeded onward, keeping an eye on what was happening behind him and even laughing at the situation.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed out from the paper ball, startling Zhou Yixing. However, after confirming that it was maintaining the same speed as before, he calmed down.

"Let's see how long you manage to hold out, Naruto!"

Inside the paper ball, Naruto was chuckling coldly, and thought about what Zhou Yixing's reaction would be to the fact that... he could pull hundreds of thousands of paper talismans out of his bag of holding if he felt like it.

"Hmph. If I pulled them all out at one time, you would definitely freak out!" However, Naruto was still worried. After all, he didn't have an endless supply of talismans, and would run out of them eventually. Looking around at the paper people absorbing the energy of the shields, he quickly came to the conclusion that they found the shields to be delicious.

Heart pounding, he put some more thought into the matter, then pulled out another paper talisman and threw it off to the side. Sure enough, some of the paper people immediately pounced on it and began to absorb it happily.

Eyes flickering, Naruto looked at Zhou Yixing fleeing off into the distance, and then decided to take one more risk.

Chapter 550

A+ A- Chapter 550

Chapter 550: Theres... Something On My Back!

Because Naruto was mostly out of sight inside the paper ball, and also because Zhou Yixing had to focus on moving ahead, he didn't see what had just happened. He was excited, only occasionally looking back to see how much the paper ball had shrunk.

By this point, the ball had already shrunk from its previous size of 30 meters down to about half of that.

In addition, Naruto was slowing down, as if he were about to succumb to exhaustion. Zhou Yixing could even hear him let out a howl of seeming despair.

"Your comeuppance is at hand, Naruto!" Feeling almost completely free from care or worry, Zhou Yixing laughed loudly and pondered how all of this had been carefully planned out and executed by none other than himself.

"When I want someone dead, that person wouldn't dare to try and stay alive!" Laughing, he looked back at Naruto slowing down, the paper ball having shrunk down to roughly 9 meters. By this point, Zhou Yixing was confident enough to stop in place to watch Naruto be reduced to a desiccated corpse.

"Zhou Yixing!" Inside the paper ball, Naruto was looking quite flustered. No matter how he yelled out in anger, his speed continued to drop, until he couldn't even move forward. Of course, his struggles pleased Zhou Yixing to no end, who was now staring fixedly to watch the final result.

"Yell all you want," he said with a chuckle. "Even if you yell your throat out, nobody will come to save you!" Zhou Yixing was pleased as punch at how little effort he was now expending. As for the shield surrounding Naruto, it was now so small that it was impossible to catch even a glimpse of him inside of all the

paper!

It was a critical moment in which Zhou Yixing nervously watched what was happening, and was even visualizing what would happen next. In his mind, the paper ball would soon break through the shield, and Naruto would scream miserably as he was destroyed in body and soul.

Not only could he keep a record of everything that was happening, but he would be able to take Naruto's bag of holding in the end. Then he could draw upon the final bit of teleportation power in his star sigil, and go get his reward of a full set of five elements deva beast souls!

Even as he excitedly contemplated that outcome, he saw the paper ball collapse, causing him to crane his neck forward to observe the outcome...

In the exact same moment that the ball collapsed, a huge clump of paper talismans suddenly flew out into the air, a development which occurred so quickly that Zhou Yixing could never have reacted in time. In the blink of an eye, all of the paper talismans landed on the ground right in front of him.

Zhou Yixing's jaw dropped, and before he could do anything, the paper talismans exploded, causing numerous shield layers to spring up around him.

The talismans were defensive in nature, and quickly spread out to surround Zhou Yixing. At the same time, all of the paper people near Naruto suddenly turned over to look in Zhou Yixing's direction. Completely ignoring Naruto, their eyes lit up with madness as they pounced onto the shields surrounding Zhou Yixing!

All of these things take some time to describe, but from the moment the shield around Naruto collapsed until the paper talismans landed in front of Zhou Yixing and the paper people pounced, only two breaths of time had passed.

Zhou Yixing's face fell, and his mind

mind began to spin. Things were turning out exactly the opposite of how he had imagined. Screaming, he tried to back up, but it was too late. The paper people moved so quickly that in the following moment, Zhou Yixing found himself in exactly the same situation Naruto had just been in.

"Naruto!" he bellowed in rage, his heart quivering with regret and madness. "Shameless! Completely shameless! You will not die a good death, Naruto!"

Meanwhile, Naruto was fleeing madly. The situation he had just been in was far too dangerous for his liking. Now that Zhou Yixing had replaced him, he forgot about his desire to get his bow and fled without hesitation.

"My poor little life is worth way more than that bow. I guess Zhou Yixing still counts as my lucky star!" When he looked over his shoulder at the shrinking paper ball, he worried that the paper people might still notice him and give chase, so he tried to get as far away as possible.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yixing was inside the paper ball, looking around in sullen fury as the paper people got closer and closer to him. Soon, tears began to leak out of the corners of his eyes.

At the moment, he had no time to ponder how Naruto was the bane of his existence. Instead, he reached up and pushed down onto his forehead.

Rumbling sounds then echoed out as starlight filled the area, and the power of teleportation erupted. When the starlight faded away, Zhou Yixing was nowhere to be seen. Within a few moments, the paper people had completely devoured all of the shields, whereupon they scattered and began to search the area. When they found nothing, they drifted off into different random directions.

In a tunnel somewhere else in the labyrinth, starlight glimmered, and Zhou Yixing

Zhou Yixing stepped out, coughing up blood. He did nothing to hold it back, leaning up against the wall as blood spilled out from inside of him. Then he chuckled bitterly.

As for the star sigil on his forehead, it gradually grew dimmer, until finally, it crumbled into ash and blew away...

"My star sigil is gone..." he lamented. As he thought back to everything which had occurred with Naruto, he felt more than ever that he was the bane of his existence. More tears began to pour down his cheeks. "I'm not going to try to kill him. I hope... I hope I never see him again for the rest of my life!"

In that moment, Zhou Yixing seemed to age significantly. He had been wounded both physically and mentally, and was even starting to question the purpose of his own life...

In sharp contrast to Zhou Yixing's bitter grief, Naruto was in extremely high spirits. He felt like he had just survived a major tribulation, and had finally secured safety for his poor little life.

He wasn't even angry about Zhou Yixing's previous treachery. After all, without Zhou Yixing there, he might not be alive right now.

He had even gone to the lengths of sacrificing himself to save Naruto.

"Ah whatever. If we're connected by destiny, Brother Zhou, then you'll probably make it out alive yourself. I hope we have a chance to meet again one day." Relishing the thought of what might happen then, Naruto hurried along his way.

However, as he walked through the tunnels, he started getting the feeling that something was off. He suddenly whipped around to check his back, but didn't see anything. Reaching over his shoulder, he fumbled around with his hand, but couldn't feel anything.

Unsure of whether he was just imagining things, he kept going. Eventually, he noticed a

he noticed a Great Wall cultivator approaching from the other direction looking very nervous, as if he had just survived some dangerous ordeal.

When their eyes met, Naruto could instantly see that the man was terrified...

A moment later, the cultivator bowed his head and stepped to the side to allow Naruto to pass. Naruto was thinking of asking the cultivator some questions, but quickly dismissed the idea when he realized the man had a paper person on his back.

Naruto immediately sped up, flying past the cultivator. Some distance away, he looked over his shoulder to find the cultivator rushing toward him aggressively. But then, the man suddenly stopped in place and nodded in terror...

Seeing that Naruto had noticed him, he shrieked and fled.

Naruto was at first taken aback, but then he thought back to when he had seen one of the paper people on someone else's back. That paper person had said sshhh, and he had nodded in response...

The nod of the cultivator just now had seemed very similar, and at that point, Naruto's terror began to mount...

"There's no way I have a paper person on my back..." he thought, his mind spinning. Face turning ashen, he looked over his shoulder over and over again until his neck hurt. However, he didn't see anything. Unfortunately, divine sense was suppressed in the labyrinth, making it impossible to use it to scan himself. Even reaching around with his hands didn't reveal anything...

Finally, he decided to pull out his copper mirror, but still couldn't see anything on his back.

He proceeded onward, filled with suspicions. As time went on, his expression turned more and more unsightly, until he was absolutely certain that there was something on his back.

Scared out of his mind, and hair standing on end, he breathed,

"There's... there's something on my back!"

Chapter 551

A+ A- Chapter 551

Chapter 551: Ill Be A Good Boy...

Naruto let out a yelp of fear, and looked over his shoulder, trembling. He also fumbled around behind his back. And yet, he still didn't have any evidence that anything was there.

However, the feeling only kept getting stronger, to the point where he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"There's definitely something there!" Tears welling up in his eyes, he let out a shout as he plastered some paper talismans onto him. And yet, after the shield layers sprang up, he still felt the same.

No matter what he did, he felt like there was someone clinging to him.

"How come nothing works…?" he thought nervously. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed the Living Mountain Incantation, transforming into a stone golem and then back again. Despite that, he still felt like something was there.

In fact, the sensation was even stronger. Most terrifying of all was that Naruto was sure that whoever was behind him was absorbing his life force.

"No... that's my longevity!" he wailed. "That's my chance to live forever!

I don't want this! Come on, let's talk things over. Just get off my back..."

He even pulled out the Eternal Parasol and poked it over his shoulder, but whoever was stuck to his back refused to budge.

Naruto was starting to feel confused, and he even went so far as to use his Waterswamp Kingdom. However, nothing changed...

"What am I supposed to do? Don't tell me that I, Naruto, am going to lose my life right here!? I refuse to accept this! I'm still young! I haven't even gotten married yet. I haven't had kids..." And yet, in his fury and grief, he only continued to descend into confusion.

He started to look a bit listless as he trudged along, even staggering a bit, almost as if he were being pushed forward from behind. The truth was that

he did have a paper person on his back, as if it had always been a part of him. Furthermore, it was greedily sucking away at his cultivation base and life force.

This paper person was different from the others, though. It wasn't white. It... was red!

Furthermore, it had six eyes, which opened and closed continuously in a very strange fashion.

As he walked along, he didn't notice how, when other paper people would appear near him and look at him greedily, they would subsequently notice the red paper person on his back, and then shiver and flee.

Eventually, he was completely alone, walking along in confusion and slowly transforming into something more like an old man.

However, at some point as he walked along, a fair, graceful female hand reached out, completely disregarding the presence of the red paper person, to land directly onto Naruto's shoulder.

It was a smack that sent a tremor running through him, rousing him as if from sleep. Suddenly recalling everything which had been going on, he shrieked and leapt forward a few paces before spinning to look back.

What he saw caused his jaw to drop.

Right there in front of him was a beautiful woman in a long gown. She had an odd-looking smile on her face, and it even looked like she had some blood on her lips, as if she had just eaten something and forgotten to wipe her mouth. That young woman was none other than…

"Gongsun Wan'er!"

In her hand she held a red paper person, who was screaming and struggling as it tried to break free. However, such efforts were useless, and soon, a pleading look could be seen in the thing's eyes.

Looking down at the red paper person, Gongsun Wan'er smiled, and the second pupil in each of her eyes began to shine with cold light. "You really have some guts to bully my big

big bro."

With that, she squeezed her fingers together, prompting the paper person to scream as it was crushed to bits!

Then, white wisps of smoke rose up and floated back toward Naruto, which was none other than his lost life force being returned to him.

Face turning more ashen, he subconsciously backed up a few steps. For some reason, this version of Gongsun Wan'er seemed like a complete stranger to him.

As he thought back to his past memories, he was certain that it had been a very long time since he felt anything like this. In fact, now that he thought about it, he realized that Gongsun Wan'er had always seemed a bit different after he got back from the Blood Stream Sect.

Plus, the blood on her lips was clearly not her own; it had come from something she'd eaten. Naruto immediately began to pant as a hair-raisingly terrifying feeling overwhelmed him.

The sinister coldness in the area far surpassed anything he had felt from the red hats or the blood-soaked buns. Not even the hive of paper people had been as cold as this.

Most shocking of all was how she had called him big bro, which, for some very odd reason, seemed familiar...

Voice quavering, he continued to back up as he said, "Uh... Wan'er, it's you... what are you doing here...?"

He almost couldn't tear his eyes away from the blood on Gongsun Wan'er's lips.

Noticing his gaze, she reached up and touched her lips softly, then licked them clean and smiled at him. It was a smile that caused Naruto's heart to go cold. He couldn't be certain whether he was imagining things or not, but he was almost sure he had seen a second mouth inside of her just now!

In addition, he could see that she had two pupils in each of her eyes! He was shaking visibly and scared witless, and yet,

and yet, that feeling of fear also stoked his anger. At the same time, cold sweat began to drip down his back.

Teeth chattering, he said, "Wan'er, I... I have an errand to run, so, um... see you later."

With that, he prepared to leave.

Gongsun Wan'er covered her smile with a hand, and said, "Ah, why don't you come play with me, big bro!?"

Strangely, her voice was different from before, and almost seemed like that of a child. As it echoed back and forth in the labyrinth tunnel, Naruto's body went stiff, and his eyes went wide. The way she had called him big bro had already seemed familiar, and now that he heard that child's voice, his mind began to spin.

Shrieking, he backed up again, eyes filling with incredulity as he pointed at Gongsun Wan'er and blurted, "Wh-who... who... who are you?!"

"How could you have forgotten me, big bro?" Although her words were spoken softly, they crashed like thunder in Naruto's mind. Memories flooded into his mind as he thought back to the Fallen Sword World, and how among the banesouls had been a young girl holding a skinned, bloody teddy bear!

"How is this possible?!" he thought, his mouth and throat going dry. He felt like he was going crazy, and couldn't even breathe. It was almost like being hit in the head repeatedly with a big stick.

Gongsun Wan'er smiled at his reaction. Then she casually waved her right hand, causing a blood mist to spring up next to her, which rapidly converged together into the form of a tall man.

He was burly and well-built, but terrifyingly, had no skin. Blood-slicked muscles were all that could be seen, with occasional blue veins bulging out here and there.

As soon as Naruto saw that burly man's face, a name popped into his mind.

"Lei Shan!"

This man had once been a chosen of the Profound

of the Profound Stream Sect. Lei Shan! Based on the cultivation base power rolling off of him, his strength was comparable to the Nascent Soul stage. However, his eyes were empty and vacant, almost as if he were a puppet. [1]

"Just wait for me here, big bro," Gongsun Wan'er said in her child's voice. "I'm still not full yet. I'm going to take teddy to go get a bit more food, and then we can play together. You wait here like a good boy, now. I'll be very upset if you disobey!" Smiling happily, she turned and skipped off into the distance, accompanied by Lei Shan, who walked alongside her with an expressionless face, the faint sounds of thunder rumbling out from him as he walked.

Naruto watched all of this happen with an ashen face. He felt cold all the way down to his marrow, and had already decided that he wouldn't wait around for Gongsun Wan'er and Lei Shan even if someone threatened to kill him. As of this moment, he finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, and realized that the terrifying young girl from the Fallen Sword Abyss had emerged into the world in Gongsun Wan'er's body.

Whether it was the haunting of the River-Defying Sect or the deaths on the ship, all of them were carried out by that girl...

And then Naruto remembered that she had originally transformed because of a medicinal pill he had concocted, and his heart flip-flopped.

"Um... don't worry!" he said loudly. "I'll be a good boy. I won't go anywhere... Oh, by the way, there's a guy out there named Zhou Yixing. He's very fair and delicate, and clearly very delicious. Why don't you go play with him for a bit...?" After waiting for a bit to confirm that the girl was gone, he turned and fled.

1\. Lei Shan was last seen "alive" in chapter 150

Chapter 552

A+ A- Chapter 552

Chapter 552: Realm Of Trials By Fire

Naruto had never harbored even the slightest intention of doing what Gongsun Wan'er told him to. As far as he was concerned, only an idiot would have sat there obediently waiting for her to come back.

"Think I'm a moron? That I'm just gonna sit around waiting?" As he fled nervously, he pondered how quickly she had trusted that he would do what she said... "Well, all's fair in both love and war. Whatever. It's not like I'll be around to find out what happens later anyway."

Although he wasn't sure of exactly what was going on, or what the girl was thinking, he continued to flee at top speed. As usual, he used his simplistic method of sticking to the right to try to find the exit.

A few days passed, over which he didn't encounter anyone, and hadn't run into any bizarre situations either. Because of that, he picked up speed, and eventually, the path of his movement as outlined in the jade slip became clearer. Eventually, he stopped and examined the would-be map.

Then he looked around at his surroundings for a moment. Although he couldn't be absolutely sure, after examining the jade slip, he was fairly certain... that he had passed through this area before.

"So, this place is a big circle... The labyrinth is made up of a whole bunch of massive, interconnecting concentric rings...

"What I have been assuming is the right-hand wall is actually the lefthand wall in other locations. They're the same wall!

"In that case, there are two possibilities. The first is that all of the rings in the labyrinth are never-ending dead-ends, and only one of the rings has the exit!

"The other possibility is that none of the rings have an exit, and that the exit... is in some other location." Naruto rubbed his

forehead and sighed. Despite how long he had been in the labyrinth, he had no idea whether or not anyone else had found the exit. Although it was a huge and complicated place, there were plenty of amazing geniuses among cultivators, so just because he hadn't solved the puzzle didn't mean no one else had.

Muttering a bit, he looked at the jade slip for a bit longer, then headed down a path that headed left, continuing to track his progress as he went along. Whenever he encountered a place that he thought he had passed before, he would pick a different path. However, the entire time, he generally continued to go to the right.

"I have to find a spot where this ring connects to the next ring... It's got to be around here somewhere!" Gritting his teeth, he proceeded to search.

"There's no guarantee that this method will find me the exit, but as long as nobody interferes and gets me lost again, I think it has a good chance of succeeding!"

Half a month later, Naruto was looking a bit haggard. However, he had long since found a way into the next ring, and had also confirmed that it was also a never-ending dead end.

However, he didn't give up looking for a way to the next ring.

As time crawled by, bad luck seemed to be further away than ever, and good luck seemed just around the corner. Another month passed by. By this point, Naruto's jade slip was filled with a complicated outline of the various paths he had traveled. As he moved along, he was constantly absorbed in studying the unfolding map. Eventually, he stopped in place and looked up to find that ahead of him was a wideopen square!

The square did not contain any candles or blood-soaked buns. Right in the middle of

of it was an altar with a glowing door atop it.

As soon as he saw that door, his heart swelled with excitement.

"Finally! I finally found it!" Naruto took a few moments to calm himself down. Furthermore, he didn't just blindly charge toward the door. He took a moment to examine his surroundings, and after confirming that there wasn't anything overtly dangerous, he began to slowly make his way forward. Soon, he was at the end of the tunnel and right at the border of the square, where he looked at the shining door and began to laugh loudly.

"What kind of crappy labyrinth is this anyway? With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto brought this place to the verge of becoming ash. Now, with a bit of thought on my part, I'll finish the job and breeze through the exit." Feeling very proud of himself, he flew toward the altar and the glowing door.

There was no rumbling or any other sound as he flew inside and disappeared.

His vision swam, and when it grew clear, he looked around and instantly began to tremble. In fact, he couldn't even breathe.

There didn't appear to be any ground in this place, just an empty void. Stretching out in all directions were numerous glowing spheres of starlight, well over a thousand of them.

Within each globe of starlight was a person. There were ordinary cultivators, soul cultivators and savage giants, all of them sitting crosslegged with their eyes closed, as if in meditation. Occasionally, the expressions on their faces would change. Some would grit their teeth, some would look elated. All sorts of different emotions could be seen.

Naruto actually recognized many of the people in the spheres as people from both the Great Wall and the Wildlands who had gathered outside the labyrinth.

"It seems that more than a thousand other

thousand other people got to the end of the labyrinth before me." After looking around for only a moment, he saw Chen Hetian, Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan.

Among those from the Wildlands, he spotted a woman in a long red gown... Mistress Red-Dust!

Mistress Red-Dust's glowing sphere was very eye-catching, sending dazzling light out in all directions, making it much brighter than any of the other spheres.

Not even the light of a hundred of the other glowing spheres would come close to hers.

After examining the situation a bit more closely, Naruto realized that he was also surrounded by a glowing sphere of starlight, and that he was just another amongst the group of more than one thousand people floating within this starry sky.

In the middle of all the stars, floating there right in the boundless void, was a shocking, soul-stirring stone stele of enormous size!

Naruto wasn't even able to tell exactly how large it was. It had words written on its surface describing the rules of the trials by fire here. Furthermore, each glowing sphere was connected to the stone stele by a faintly shimmering thread!

Naruto trembled inwardly at the sight of this second stone stele, which looked similar to the first one outside the labyrinth. Based on the description written on the stone, passing a trial by fire here was the way to leave the labyrinth, and whoever took first place would acquire the deva soul.

By this point, Naruto realized that he had definitely reached the end of the labyrinth, and entered the realm of the trials by fire.

"Deva souls are great and all, but my poor little life is most important. This place seems pretty safe, so I think the best thing will be to wait for someone else to get the deva soul, and then just leave..." With that, he reached out

he reached out with both hands to touch the glowing sphere that surrounded him, to see if it was possible to emerge from within it. Unfortunately, the sphere itself was an unbreakable barrier that was impossible to pass.

That actually made him very happy.

"Seems I was right. This place is great! Hahaha! If I can't get out, then other people probably can't get in. We can all just sit around in harmony!" He was quite pleased with how fair and considerate this realm of trials by fire was.

Even as he reveled in his delight, he noticed some starlight off in the distance forming into a glowing sphere. Inside, a shadowy figure appeared who quickly became distinct.

"Zhou Yixing!"

Zhou Yixing looked very excited at having been able to find the exit. Just like Naruto had, he looked around at his surroundings and almost immediately noticed the shocking stone stele. After a bit of time passed... he saw Naruto.

When their gazes met, Zhou Yixing's eyes went wide.

As for Naruto, he laughed heartily. Apparently, Zhou Yixing really was Naruto's lucky star. Not only had he luckily escaped death, but he had also found the exit. Even though Naruto wasn't sure if Zhou Yixing could hear him, he waved his hand enthusiastically and called out a greeting.

Zhou Yixing's face twitched as he glared at Naruto. Then he gritted his teeth and turned away, worried that if he kept looking at Naruto, more bad luck might come his way...

After seeing Zhou Yixing look away, Naruto cleared his throat and rubbed his nose, then looked around, feeling a bit bored.

"These people are taking forever! It's just a trial by fire, right? Hurry up and finish!" Yawning, he looked back at the stone stele to see if he could figure out what was taking so long.

Chapter 553

A+ A- Chapter 553

Chapter 553: Spirit Enhancement?!

Any cultivator within one of the glowing spheres merely had to look in the direction of the text on the stone stele, and the words would appear in their minds. Although the descriptions of the trials by fire seemed simple, anyone who took 1st place in any of the trials listed on the stele would be named the overall 1st place winner!

It didn't matter which trial by fire it was, or when the cultivator started it. As long as they took 1st place, they would immediately be teleported to the third level of the labyrinth, which was the location of the deva soul!

However, the description wasn't clear about whether or not others might also be able to reach that third level. Based on the way the rules were described, it seemed possible that if the 1st place winner didn't acquire the deva soul quickly enough, then the 2nd and 3rd place winners of the trial by fire might also be teleported to the third level, and thus have a chance to acquire the deva soul.

There was also a point explaining how the further one proceeded in a trial by fire, the more brightly that person's glowing sphere would shine. From that, Naruto could tell that Mistress Red-Dust was further along than anyone else. Likely, she would take 1st place and get the deva soul.

Naruto felt a bit disappointed about that. After all, he wasn't absolutely set on winning another deva soul, but if he could do so without much trouble, he would be more than happy.

At this point, though, there didn't seem much hope. He had arrived too late, behind over a thousand others. Sighing, he looked closer at the stele to see the information about the various trials by fire.

The first was a trial regarding battle prowess.

"No way am I gonna do that one," he murmured with the shake of his head. "All the fighting and killing doesn't suit me at all!" The second trial by fire caused his eyes to glitter. It was a trial of medicine concocting.

"Medicine concocting, huh? I'm pretty good at that!" Enthused, he proceeded down the list.

"Divine ability trial? Equipment forging trial? God soul trial?

None of those will do. There's no way I could match up with Granny RedDust in divine abilities. I can't forge equipment, and I haven't even formed a god soul yet, whatever that is. I guess medicine concocting is the best bet for me." Naruto was started to get interested in the idea, especially considering how boring it was. With that, he continued to look at the rest of the trials.

"Supreme unity trial? Spirit enhancement trial? Intrepid body trial?" Naruto had no idea what the supreme unity trial was about, so he dismissed it. As for the intrepid body trial, he had his speculations.

"Sounds like that's a test of fleshly body power. Definitely not for me. Too dangerous." He continued to look down the stone stele, upon which were at least a hundred different trials by fire of all sorts. Many of them were tests of things Naruto had never heard of, and eventually, his attention was drawn back to the trials of medicine concocting and spirit enhancement. However, he was still hesitating.

"It's too bad that time is so limited, otherwise I would pick the medicine concocting. But when it comes to spirit enhancement..." Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit, glittering with a mischievous light as he realized that this was the perfect opportunity to cheat...

"If I can use my turtle-wok, then a spirit enhancement trial wouldn't be hard for me at all. Maybe I would still have a chance of snatching 1st place away from Mistress Red-Dust!" The more he thought about it, the more excited he got.

"Yeah, might as well. I have no chance of catching up in medicine concocting, so I guess I should place my bet on spirit enhancement. If I win, I'll get a deva soul, and if I lose, no harm done." And thus, his decision was made. Focusing on the spirit enhancement trial, he followed the description on the stone stele, allowing his mind to sink into the words.

Rumbling sounds filled his mind, and everything around him began to spin. All of a sudden, he realized that his soul was leaving his body and flying toward the stone stele.

Shocked, he looked back to see himself sitting cross-legged in meditation

meditation in the glowing sphere. Because his soul was no longer in his body, the mask on his face stopped working, and slowly fell down onto his chest.

Naruto was taken aback by this unexpected turn of events, and yet there was nothing he could do to change the situation. In the next moment, his soul slammed into the stone stele.

More rumbling sounds filled his mind, like the sound of thousands of ghosts screaming simultaneously, trying to shred his soul to pieces.

Thankfully, it didn't last for long, only a few breaths worth of time. Then the sounds faded away, his blurred vision turned clear, and he found himself in a private chamber of some sort.

The walls were pitch black, and seemed oppressively sinister. The chamber was completely empty except for three stone daises, each one roughly waist-high. Atop the center dais was a withered yellow leaf that seemed completely ordinary in nature, and in fact, that was exactly what it was. It was a leaf so ordinary that it couldn't have been more mundane.

Floating above the left-hand stone dais was a slowly-burning tongue of red flame. The flame wasn't very hot, only a bit more than ordinary flame from the mortal world. However, Naruto could instantly tell that it was no ordinary flame; it was the one-colored flame that was commonly seen in the cultivation world.

On the right-hand dais were some random materials such as rocks, vegetation, and metals, as well as some other things that Naruto didn't recognize.

However, there was something familiar about them, and after a moment, he realized that they reminded him of some of the things he had seen Big Fatty Zhang use when performing spirit enhancements.

Other than the three stone daises, there was nothing else in the room. Clearly, this room was designed to be a spirit enhancement workshop, and the current task was to perform a onefold spirit enhancement.

Naruto looked around, and took a moment to study the onecolored flame. Then he thought back to how the mask had fallen off his face outside, and started to get nervous. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm probably fine. The glowing spheres are really tough, otherwise, the people who

people who showed up first would have ended up getting killed. First things first, I need to see if I can summon my turtle-wok..." After all, he didn't have his bag of holding in this place, nor any of his other belongings. Therefore, he took a deep breath and then waved his finger like he usually did to summon the turtle-wok.

Instantly, a black light shot out, resolving into the shape of the turtlewok!

Naruto was taken aback, but quickly began to laugh proudly.

"It came in with me! Hahaha! I can't believe it actually came in with me!" Eyes shining brightly, he thought about what it would be like to take 1st place and get his hands on that deva soul.

"With my turtle-wok, who can possibly compete with me?!

"Hmmphhh! When Naruto wants to take 1st place, who dares to stand in his way!" Confidently swishing his sleeve, he stuck his chin up proudly. However, he knew that time was of the essence, so he quickly suppressed his excitement and walked up to take the one-colored flame. Then, he excitedly threw it into the turtle-wok.

In response, the turtle-wok trembled and soaked up the flame, and the designs on its surface began to shine brightly.

More confident than ever, Naruto chuckled and then carefully picked up the withered leaf. After looking it over and confirming it was just an ordinary item, he muttered, "What a waste to enhance a leaf like this." However, he felt fairly certain that, no matter what items he enhanced here, he would not be able to take them with him, so in the end, it didn't really matter how the fuel was used. Therefore, he tossed the leaf into the turtle-wok.

Instantly, the turtle-wok's designs flared with light that coalesced onto the leaf. A moment later, the blinding light faded away, and a single silver design could be seen on the surface of the leaf!

Naruto quickly picked it up and looked at it. Other than the silver design, he couldn't find anything else about it that was unusual.

"What a waste," he thought, shaking his head. Looking over at the lefthand dais, he saw that another tongue of flame had appeared, this one with two colors. Of two colors. Of course, it was none other than two-colored flame.

"I guess it doesn't matter. This is just a trial by fire, and none of this stuff belongs to me anyway. No skin off my back." With that, he casually took the two-colored flame and started another spirit enhancement.

Before long, the leaf had two silver designs on it. Then a third, a fourth, and so-on, until there were a total of eight. By this point, Naruto was really bemoaning the whole situation.

"An eightfold spirit enhancement..." he murmured, looking at the leaf in his palm. It was still withered, but was clearly more durable and tough than before. It was even glowing a bit, and was obviously much more than an ordinary leaf. It was now some sort of treasure.

At this point he had another idea, considering that it had become a valuable treasure. If he could brand it to himself, then perhaps it would recognize him as its master, and then allow him to take it away with him when he left...

Hoping for the best, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, sending his personal mark into the leaf, which glowed in response. It was a success!

Pleased, Naruto took the nine-colored flame and began to perform another spirit enhancement...

Nine, ten...

Before long, there were a shocking ten silver designs on the surface of the leaf. Although it still looked withered, its fundamental nature had changed, and it now glowed with a bright light. Anyone who looked at it would take it to be jade or some other precious stone!

"Tenfold enhancement..." Naruto murmured. Looking over at the stone dais, he watched as an eleven-colored flame took form, entrancing and eye-catching.

Most accurately speaking, the eleven-colored flame wasn't actually made up of eleven colors. However, Naruto could tell just by looking at it that it was eleven-colored flame!

It was impossible to describe exactly how he knew it. Further, there was something about how the fire was constantly changing that tugged at his soul with shocking power.

Thinking back to the golden design on the fire soul arrow, Naruto's eyes glittered, and he thought, "In the past, I speculated about what miraculous transformations would occur with an elevenfold spirit enhancement..."

Chapter 554

A+ A- Chapter 554

Chapter 554: Profoundly Mysterious!

When Naruto's soul entered the trial by fire dimension inside of the stone stele, none of the other people participating in the trials could see.

However, Zhou Yixing still hadn't selected which trial by fire to enter. At one point, he got a strange feeling, and looked over to find that one of the glowing spheres off in the distance was growing brighter.

At that point, his jaw dropped as he realized that he was looking at Naruto sitting there, his mask having fallen off of his face.

Naruto's glowing sphere was much brighter than it was before, and from the look of it, appeared to already be among the 500 brightest spheres.

"So, it turns out he really is Naruto! How could he be going so fast!? What trial by fire did he pick?!" Unconvinced that Naruto could possibly be advancing so quickly, he took a deep breath and tore his gaze away, determined to focus solely on his own trial by fire.

Meanwhile, back in the private spirit enhancement workshop, the turtlewok was absorbing the eleven-colored flame, and Naruto was looking on in anticipation as the leaf began to shine brightly.

The light was far more dazzling than that from the previous ten enhancements, causing silver to flood the area. But then, as Naruto looked on with wide eyes, the ten silver designs overlapped, transforming into a single golden design!

"So, it really does work that way!" At this point, Naruto assumed the process was concluded. However, in a sudden, unexpected turn of events, the instant the golden design appeared, the leaf wriggled, and began to turn green!

After it was completely green, life force could be sensed inside of it, leaving Naruto thunderstruck.

"How... how is this possible?!" he exclaimed. Even as he

looked on, the leaf stalk began to grow out, turning into a branch that had even more leaves on it. Shockingly, even those leaves began to grow out into larger branches...

Naruto forgot to breathe as he watched a small tree trunk form, and more branches spread out. As of this moment, the turtle-wok actually contained a small tree!

The tree brimmed with life force, and seemed completely corporeal. A dazzling golden design could be seen on its surface. Furthermore, the incredible transformations had completely wiped away Naruto's own mark.

"With an elevenfold spirit enhancement, that one leaf turned into an entire tree!

"The elevenfold enhancement even erased my branding mark...

"And the silver design transformed into a golden one!" However, after looking more closely at the tree, Naruto could tell that it wasn't completely stable. Occasionally, it would blur, as though it existed somewhere in between the level of a leaf and a tree.

That was the same characteristic shared by the fire soul arrow.

Naruto was completely shaken by the precious spirit enhancement he had performed. As of this moment, he had a much deeper understanding of how spirit enhancements worked. With that, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed out, hoping that he could brand his mark onto the little tree to make it his own.

As soon as the mark settled onto the tree, Naruto confirmed that even elevenfold spirit enhanced items could also be branded to a master.

"So," he thought, gnawing his lip, "when a treasure receives an elevenfold spirit enhancement, it transforms on a fundamental level. It doesn't matter who it belonged to before, anyone who leaves a branding mark on it will become its new master..." By this point, he had completely forgotten about his goal of taking 1st place in the

the trial by fire. All of his interest was focused on the spirit enhancements.

"The first ten enhancements left silver designs. Could it be that the next ten all leave golden designs? But what about after that? What kind of designs will appear then?" Naruto's eyes shone with unprecedented brightness as he looked over at the stone dais, upon which another flame was taking form. Without the slightest hesitation, he began to perform more spirit enhancements.

Twelvefold. Thirteenfold. Fourteenfold!

More golden designs appeared on the surface of the little tree, until there were four. At the same time, the tree grew more healthy and strong. The trunk became thicker, and more branches spread out, each of which was covered with numerous leaves. Also, a strong pressure began to radiate out from the tree.

When Naruto sensed the increasingly powerful pressure coming from the tree, his excitement grew. By now, he was completely entranced with spirit enhancing, and kept his eyes glued to the tree as he grabbed the fifteen-colored flame and started another enhancement.

In the instant that the spirit enhancement was completed, the turtle-wok began to tremble in unprecedented fashion. This was a reaction Naruto had never witnessed before; the golden light which shone out of the wok was so intense it was almost completely blinding.

As of this moment, Naruto realized that a fifteenfold enhancement must be a point at which drastic transformations occurred.

"What transformation, though...?" Naruto murmured, gnawing excitedly on his lip. Soon, the golden design on the turtle-wok faded, and the tree grew bigger. At the same time, it began to pulse faintly with the power of a deva!

"Deva!" Naruto blurted, his expression one of complete incredulity. Although he hadn't interacted with devas very many times, he had done so enough to recognize the fluctuations of the

of the Deva Realm.

After looking carefully at the tree, he reached out to touch it, and when he did, he suddenly felt as if he were connected to the heavens.

"I can't believe that spirit enhancement is so profoundly mysterious!" Expression flickering, he took a few steps back. Then, seemingly entranced, he grabbed the next tongue of flame off of the stone dais and began another spirit enhancement

RUMBLE!

Sixteenfold. Seventeenfold. Eighteenfold. Nineteenfold. Twentyfold...

He performed five spirit enhancements in a row, causing the tree to grow larger and larger. By now, it seemed to fill most of the workshop, and even seemed like it might break through the walls to continue its growth. Upon looking up, Naruto couldn't even see the top of the tree. Thankfully, there was still some room inside of the turtle-wok to continue performing spirit enhancements.

Ten golden designs covered the surface of the tree, dazzling and eyecatching. Furthermore, the deva power the tree radiated caused Naruto to tremble physically.

To him, it almost felt like there was an actual deva standing in front of him, a deva far more powerful than either Chen Hetian or Mistress RedDust.

Apparently, this level of power was the peak of the Deva Realm!

It was like a brooding thunderstorm that, if it touched Naruto, would kill him in body and soul, regardless of how powerful his fleshly body was. In fact, Naruto was fairly certain that it was even strong enough to render Chen Hetian and Mistress Red-Dust completely powerless!

Even more exciting to Naruto was the fact that the tree still had his mark on it. With a single thought and the wave of a finger, he could make it into a magical item of his own possession.

With a magical item like that, he was completely confident in being able to dominate Chen to dominate Chen Hetian or Mistress Red-Dust.

"I... I created this treasure because of my turtle-wok. I wonder if there are any other precious treasures in the world that have twentyfold spirit enhancements?!

"If... if I can take this tree with me, then I've definitely struck gold! I... I could go back to the River-Defying Sect immediately!" However, his excitement quickly devolved into concern of what was at stake. Considering how powerful the tree was, he couldn't imagine that he would actually be able to take it out of this place. Therefore, he reached out to the newest tongue of flame and put it into the turtle-wok.

"Twenty-onefold!"

Meanwhile, on the outside, Zhou Yixing felt his hair standing on end. Earlier, he had decided which trial by fire to select, and was just about to enter it, when Naruto's glowing sphere began to shine even more brightly.

The truth was that Naruto's sphere really was increasing in brightness far too quickly. Zhou Yixing's eyes went wide as he watched it rapidly surpass almost all of the other glowing spheres in the area!

All of the people in those spheres had arrived in this area before Naruto, and yet now, didn't measure up to him at all. He was even catching up to Mistress Red-Dust, who had once been the clear leader!

Although he hadn't caught up yet, from the way the light of his sphere emanated boundless brightness, it didn't seem impossible for him to catch up to Mistress Red-Dust.

Zhou Yixing's eyes couldn't have been wider, and his mind was spinning. Convinced he must be seeing things, he rubbed his eyes, and yet, upon opening them, nothing had changed.

"How could this be happening?!" he muttered through angrily gritted teeth, his jealousy rising. "Dammit, don't tell me he's actually going to take 1st place?"

Chapter 555

A+ A- Chapter 555 Chapter 555: The Pinnacle!

Twenty-onefold!

Rumbling sounds echoed about within the workshop, causing the walls to shake to the point where they were beginning to break apart. However, the three stone daises remained in place. As for Naruto, he grabbed one of the tree branches for stability. As he did, the ten golden designs on the surface of the tree began to converge together.

Naruto was panting, and forced himself not to blink as he waited to see what transformation would occur with a twenty-onefold spirit enhancement.

This was an opportunity for him to get a glimpse of the power of spirit enhancement that he would never be able to see on the outside.

Currently, the intense rumbling sounds weren't just affecting the area around the tree; the huge stone stele on the outside was also shaking.

The process lasted for about a dozen breaths' of time, whereupon Naruto's eyes went wide as the ten golden designs began to turn violet.

In the end, they became a single violet design!

When the violet design was complete, the tree didn't continue to grow larger. Instead, blinding violet light shone out, and a face suddenly became visible on its surface, as if it were turning into a living being.

There was something profoundly ancient about the face, and yet, when it opened its eyes, they shone like that of an infant as they looked around curiously.

The deva aura of the tree faded away, and was replaced with a pressure that was even more terrifying. Although the pressure remained mostly inside of the tree, Naruto was still able to sense it, and could tell that if it were unleashed, it could do mind-boggling things. Naruto's scalp was tingling so hard it

felt like it might explode. Mind spinning, he cautiously checked to see if his branding mark was still on the tree.

When he saw that the mark was still there, unchanged by the twentyonefold spirit enhancement, he sighed in relief.

"After the tenth enhancement, the leaf became a tree. After the twentieth, the tree became a spirit. A tree spirit? A plant spirit?"

Swallowing hard, and wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked at the tree and face, which still had a blank look it its eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Whatever it is, my mark is still there. Considering the twentyonefold enhancement is completely heaven-defying, I wonder what will happen after the thirtieth enhancement?" As Naruto considered all these matters, his anticipation regarding a thirtyfold enhancement grew keener than ever.

Looking over at the stone pedestal, and the new flame, his eyes shone with madness as he began to perform more spirit enhancements.

Twenty-two!

With every spirit enhancement after the twentieth, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds rocked the area. The workshop had long since been destroyed, and as for the tree, it was trembling violently. At the same time, the light in its eyes grew more profound, and it even began to show signs of intelligence.

It was almost as if it were growing profoundly older with each passing moment.

Outside, the stone stele was shaking, almost as if it were unable to withstand the spirit enhancements that Naruto was performing!

And as for Naruto's glowing sphere, it was so bright that it had long since outshone Mistress Red-Dust's, and was almost the only thing visible in the entire void!

By this point, Zhou Yixing was in complete despair, especially after he calculated how much time had passed.

"This Uzumaki

Naruto is completely inhuman! I hope I never meet him in person ever again!" What was happening was a huge blow to Zhou Yixing, and had him completely downhearted.

Naruto's spirit enhancement session was causing the stone stele to shake so violently that many of the trial-takers in the surrounding glowing spheres found their trials interrupted. Apparently, the stone stele didn't have the power to sustain all of the trials by fire, and therefore, people soon began to regain consciousness.

At first, those who recovered looked around blankly, but soon cries of alarm began to ring out.

"What's going on!?"

"Hey, what am I doing out here? I wasn't finished with my trial by fire!"

"Heavens! Look at how badly the stone stele is shaking! What's happening? And whose sphere is glowing so brightly?!"

"Naruto!"

The stone stele was still shaking, but hadn't collapsed. Although more and more trial-takers were being ejected, Naruto wasn't showing any signs of stopping in his mad burst of spirit enhancement.

Twenty-three!

When the three violet designs appeared, the stone stele began to shake even harder, and had no choice but to eject hundreds more of the trialtakers. And yet, after a moment, even that wasn't enough, and soon everyone other than Mistress Red-Dust and Naruto was interrupted!

It didn't matter how the other people were progressing in their trials by fire, they were all removed. Over a thousand people were now awake, and the buzz of conversation was louder than ever.

Of course, as all of the other trial-takers were interrupted, their glowing spheres went dark, until there were only two that glowed with blinding light. One belonged to Naruto, and the other, to Mistress RedDust!

Naruto's glowing sphere was completely radiant, with Mistress

with Mistress Red-Dust's being significantly less bright. And yet, hers was still bright enough to attract quite a bit of attention.

"It's Naruto!"

"Heavens! Which trial did Devil Uzumaki go into? Not even a deva can compare to him!"

Meanwhile, Naruto's hair was in complete disarray, and he was shouting in excitement.

"Twenty-four!"

With the fourth violet design, even more intelligence gleamed in the tree's eyes, and it even looked down at Naruto.

That was when a crack appeared on the stone stele outside, causing widespread astonishment among the onlookers.

And yet, things weren't over yet! Naruto madly yelled, "Twentyfive!"

He couldn't even determine the color of the fire he had just thrown into the wok, but as soon as it entered, intense violet light streamed out, and a fifth violet design appeared on the tree.

At that point, the face on the tree let out a sigh that seemed to originate in the most ancient of times. The echoing sigh also seemed to be filled with the evidence of countless other living beings, lives that were constantly multiplying. At the same time, the tree itself was evolving in a direction that seemed almost completely outrageous to Naruto!

Unfortunately, it was still missing something to be complete, and what it was missing was more spirit enhancements!

"A world...? Don't tell me that after the thirtieth spirit enhancement, this tree will become its own world?!" Naruto's mind spun with unprecedented enlightenment, and his body trembled. However, he still reached out to get the new fire from the stone dais. Sadly, the dais was incapable of producing a twenty-sixth flame, and instead, crumbled into dust...

In addition, the other two daises and the tree also crumbled away! Naruto felt like his mind was being

mind was being struck by countless bolts of lightning. This trial by fire had been of incredible benefit to him, and was definitely unprecedented good fortune!

Not only had his own spirit enhancement abilities improved, but it was likely that he now knew more about spirit enhancement than almost anyone else in the lands of Heavenspan! It would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone as knowledgeable as him!

What left him most shaken of all was that he now realized how much he had overlooked spirit enhancement. Spirit enhancement could turn what was useless into something miraculous. Essentially, it was the greatest source of good fortune in the entire world!

Naruto's heart was pounding, and deep inside of him, he suddenly had a profound desire to focus on spirit enhancement, for much the same reason he had developed his desire to learn how to concoct medicine. Spirit enhancement could help him live forever!

"Live forever? It can even turn you into a world!" From what he could tell, the path of spirit enhancement could possibly be a more direct route to his goal, and that was because of the turtle-wok!

"Just where exactly did my turtle-wok come from?!" The incredible spirit enhancement powers of the turtle-wok left Naruto even more curious about its origins.

Even as he was shaken by all of these things, a voice echoed out that seemed to come from beyond the heavens.

"You have taken 1st place!" At the same time, a profound darkness spread out over the realm of the trials by fire, seemingly sealing it in place. As for Naruto, before he could even react to anything, he found himself being sucked into a vortex.

Chapter 556

A+ A- Chapter 556

Chapter 556: Third Level!

Outside of the stone stele, in the glowing sphere of light, Naruto's eyes opened. A blank look could be seen in them, and before he could react, the glowing sphere became another vortex which sucked him inside. Then the vortex vanished.

At that point, the stone stele finally stopped shaking, although the crack on its surface remained.

Furthermore, the spirit enhancement trial vanished from among the list of available trials...

When the more than 1,000 spectators saw that, their jaws dropped, and their minds began to spin.

"Naruto vanished!"

"Did he really take 1st place!? That means he must have just gone to the third level to get the deva soul!"

"How could it be him!? Damn that Devil Uzumaki! Why did it have to be him!?"

"Hmph! Actually, it's good that he's getting the deva soul. If a deva won it, none of us would ever have a chance of taking it away. But there's no way Devil Uzumaki will be able to keep his hands on it!"

"That's right. Now Naruto is worth more than ever. Kill him, and not only will you get a full set of five elements deva beast souls, but you'll also get a deva soul!"

However, even as the discussion raged, people realized that Mistress Red-Dust's glowing sphere was still lit up, making it even more eyecatching than before. Not only had she not been ejected from the trial by fire, but she was apparently very close to completing it.

At that point, it became obvious that Naruto might not be the one to get the deva soul. If he didn't move quickly enough in the third level, then not only would he fail to get the deva soul, but he might also lose his life.

After all, he would be stuck alone with a deva who wanted him dead. As for how that scenario would end, few people even needed to wonder. Zhou Yixing was trembling, his eyes shining with

rabid excitement. "Go, Matriarch Red-Dust, go! Get to that third level and slaughter that damned Naruto!"

In the third level of the labyrinth, which was the location of the deva soul, there was a huge, octagonal sepulcher. Not only were there brightly shining lamps illuminating the entire area, but there were also eight statues, one in each corner.

The statues were fully 300 meters tall, and yet, compared to the overall size of the sepulcher, seemed insignificant. The floor was made up of overlapping tiles that resembled dragon scales, and in fact, closer examination revealed an inlaid depiction of nine golden dragons!

All nine of those dragons were situated around an altar, as if that altar were their revered leader!

And that was only the floor! The walls of the sepulcher were covered with innumerable openings, from which erupted beams of multicolored light, which swirled together in midair to form the shape of an enormous golden dragon!

It was extremely lifelike, as though it were real and corporeal, coiled about on the ceiling, with its head resting just above the altar, its eyes closed as if sleeping.

The way that everything in the sepulcher seemed to point to the altar truly made it stand out. As for the altar, there was no coffin on top of it, only a green stone stele!

It seemed ancient, as if it had existed for countless years, and was covered with lines of script that had obviously been left behind for later generations to read.

However, anyone who got close enough would instantly realize that the stone stele was actually floating above the surface of the altar!

There was some mysterious power holding the stone stele up, and ensuring that it floated there completely unmoving. Furthermore, floating in the space between the stone stele and the surface of the altar was a blue and white jade bracelet!

Within the jade bracelet was a wisp of green mist that was apparently a distillation of the quintessence of heaven

heaven and earth. Occasionally, the swirling mist would form together into a drop of water, which would emanate the soul fluctuations of the Deva Realm!

This was the deva soul, and a water-type deva soul at that!

Currently, golden light was flickering above the golden floor roughly 3,000 meters to the right of the altar, which was where Naruto was materializing.

At first, Naruto looked confused, which was no wonder considering how many teleportations he'd just gone through. He had been completely focused on spirit enhancement, only to have his soul whisked back into the glowing sphere. Then, just when he had opened his eyes, he was taken to this place.

He looked around blankly for a moment, then noticed the golden dragon's head above the altar. At that point, his eyes went wide, and he gasped and took a few steps back. Then he looked around at all the holes in the wall which were projecting the light that formed the dragon.

"Oh, I thought it was a real dragon, but turns out it's fake. Trying to scare Lord Uzumaki, huh?" Even as he breathed a sigh of relief, his thoughts began to clear, and as he recalled everything which had just occurred, he realized that he must be in the third level!

"I took 1st place!" Eyes shining with excitement at the thought of how much he was benefiting from all of this, he looked around and then prepared to fly toward the altar. However, that was when his face suddenly fell.

"My wok..." Unsure of whether or not he had left his wok behind during the sudden teleportation, he quickly attempted to summon it.

Thankfully, the black light appeared, and the wok popped out. Sighing in relief, he put it away. Then he remembered his mask, and looked down to find it stuck to his chest. After putting it back on, he hurried toward the altar.

After looking up at the shining dragon, he reached out to see

to see if he could touch it, only to find that his hand passed through it. Finally, he relaxed a bit.

"This place is decorated very nicely. It has a glowing dragon in the air, and even the floor is made of dragons. You know, it actually reminds me of a tomb, except that there isn't a coffin." By this point, he was standing right in front of the stone stele, and could see that right beneath it was a white and blue jade bracelet, filled with mist!

Many people would never even have the chance to see a single deva soul in their entire life, and would thus have difficulty identifying one. But Naruto already had two in his bag of holding, and therefore, he instantly realized that the mist in the bracelet was a deva soul!

Clearly, the deva soul was being suppressed by the power of the stone stele, which would also make it difficult to take it away. Looking up at the stone stele, Naruto began to read the script, whereupon his eyes widened, and he subconsciously took a few steps back, his eyes shining with disbelief.

I am the second generation arch-emperor, and this is one of nine of my sepulchers that do not contain my fleshly remains. My cultivation base came from my father, the emperor before me. In accord with his wishes, upon my death, I did not hesitate to split apart my three spiritual souls and seven physical souls, and send them into the sepulchers for my descendants to acquire as good fortune.

All people in this world are of my blood, and thus, any who reach this point will be one of my descendants...

Located here is my seventh physical soul, which is also a deva soul...

Naruto was shaken by what he read, and could only speculate at what further secrets were hidden in this place...

Panting, he continued to read the script, which left him even more shocked, as it shocked, as it described how to use deva souls.

After he finished reading all the text, Naruto was shocked to find that, before, he had been completely unaware of how to properly use deva souls. Before, he had been under the impression that all you had to do was collect five deva souls and put them together in much the same way that you would put together a set of five elements deva beast souls, then absorb them internally. At that point, you could break out of Core Formation and step into the Nascent Soul stage!

The truth was that there was much more to it than that!

It was true that five deva souls were needed to reach the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage. However, it wasn't necessary to wait until collecting a set of five before beginning to absorb them! Each deva soul could be absorbed individually, and then used to produce a clone with exactly the same cultivation base as one's true self!

This was Naruto's first time hearing about such a thing. Perhaps no one had ever told him because... no one else knew about this either! This bit of information was something which had been erased by the passage of countless years of time!

If one could absorb five different deva souls of different types, not only would the five clones give one indescribable battle prowess, but all one had to do was fuse the clones with one's true self, and then use that incredible power to instantly reach the Nascent Soul stage without any chance of failure!

From the process of reaching the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, it was possible to see how incredibly powerful it was.

Of course, there was a downside. Upon absorbing even a single deva soul, it became impossible to ever again attempt to use deva beast souls to form a Nascent Soul! Once one started down the path of the HeavenDao Nascent Soul, one could never go back.

Chapter 557

A+ A- Chapter 557

Chapter 557: Deva Soul In Hand!

Naruto's heart was pounding from the fact that, if he counted this deva soul right in front of him, he now had three in his collection. Furthermore, all of them were different types of souls. Deva souls were very rare to begin with, and was impossible to say if or when he would be able to find two more of different types. After a bit of thought, he sighed.

"Forget it. Going with deva beast souls is definitely the safest bet."

Although he was a bit disappointed that there was basically no way for him to reach the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, he was fairly certain that no one outside of this sepulcher was aware of the other usages of deva souls. That was a bit of information that he might be able to profit from later.

With such thoughts on his mind, he reached out to see if he could erase the script from the stone stele. That way, if someone else ever came along, Naruto would still remain the only person privy to the secrets he had just learned.

To his delight, a quick test proved that the words on the stone stele had been there for so long that it took almost no effort on his part to wipe some of them away. Just when he was preparing to erase the entire body of text, he suddenly saw one line off to the side that he hadn't noticed before.

I have intentionally left these words behind, and thus, anyone who defaces them shall be cursed...

"Cursed!?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes going wide and his hair standing on end. He pulled his hand away from the stone stele as if it were a hot iron. "How sinister, this second generation arch-emperor! Why did he have to make the warning

so small you can't see it unless you stick your nose right up to the stele?! If he didn't want people to erase the text, he should have used some magic to make sure people couldn't." Gritting his teeth, he decided he couldn't take any more risks. The idea of a curse left him completely jumpy, and looking around in fear.

"I only erased a few words, that's all. Plus it wasn't on purpose. Shouldn't be a problem..." Following the method described in the text he had just erased, he carefully performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger at the stone stele.

Instantly, the stele began to vibrate, and then move backward, freeing the light blue bracelet. Even as it began to fly into the air, Naruto reached out and grabbed it!

"Deva soul in hand!"

In the moment that Naruto grabbed the bracelet, something happened in the realm of trials by fire in the second level. Mistress RedDust's eyes snapped open.

Instantly, her glowing sphere became a vortex which sucked her away, and the crowd broke out into a huge commotion.

"Matriarch Red-Dust just disappeared!"

"She finished her trial by fire! She's being teleported to the deva soul!"

"What a pity. Now none of us have any hope of getting the deva soul."

Zhou Yixing couldn't have looked more excited, and started laughing loudly. "This time, you're definitely dead, Naruto! Maybe I can't handle you, but I refuse to believe that you'll have any other choice than to flee from Matriarch Red-Dust and her deva cultivation base!"

At the same time, another loud cracking sound rang out from the huge stone stele, as the fissure which had opened up because of Uzumaki

Naruto's spirit enhancement activities widened. In fact, seven or eight smaller fissures spread out from the main one. At the same time, enormous, thundering rumbling

rumbling sounds began to ring out into the void, almost as if some invisible giant were striking the stele.

Everything began to shake, and a sensation of imminent collapse filled the entire area. Everyone present looked around in shock and fear.

"What's going on!?"

"Is this place gonna collapse or something?!"

"Let's get out of here! We're underground! If the place collapses, we'll be buried alive!"

The cultivators in the glowing spheres were getting very nervous. As the stone stele began to crack, the glowing spheres started to twist and distort, and some of them even began to crack just like the stone stele. Some of the cultivators managed to blast open the spheres and fly out from inside.

Although none of them knew why the imminent collapse was occurring, it seemed likely to them that someone had triggered the destruction of the labyrinth, which meant that they were in danger of being killed.

There was little time for contemplation. After breaking free from the glowing spheres, people began to speed here and there in an attempt to find an exit.

Zhou Yixing also broke free and began to join the search. However, the more than 1,000 people quickly discovered that, to their despair, there were no exits!

Chen Hetian was among them. Eyes shining brightly, he flew high up in an attempt to use his deva cultivation base to break free.

Booms rang out, and the area where Chen Hetian had attacked rippled and distorted. However, the depression he had formed with his attack quickly restored itself, and the signs of imminent self-destruction did not lessen. If anything, they grew more pronounced. Destructive bubbles even began to appear, which would instantly shred any cultivator too slow to avoid them to pieces.

Chen Hetian's face fell at the realization that not even he with his incredible battle prowess could break the barriers leading out of this place.

this place. Without any hesitation, he called out in a booming voice, "Listen up everyone. I don't care if you're from the Great Wall or the

Wildlands, join me in attacking the barrier. Let's get out of here!"

Everyone knew that time was limited, and therefore, regardless of which side of the war they came from, they all joined forces under Chen Hetian, unleashing divine abilities and magical attacks to try to break out. As they did, the bulge created in the barrier grew more pronounced...

As the realm of trials by fire shook, drastic events were playing out in the rest of the labyrinth. The previously indestructible walls were now cracking and crumbling. Countless faces appeared on them, screaming as they attempted to flee, and yet, they were incapable of doing so.

The labyrinth as a whole was rocking as violently as if it were being held in someone's hand, and shook back and forth. The cultivators who were still searching for exits within the main part of the labyrinth were completely shaken, and it was all they could do just to stay on their feet.

Everyone could tell that a major crisis was developing, and that the entire area was about to collapse.

"How could this be happening?!"

"Dammit, I still haven't found the exit. Don't tell me I'm going to die in here!" Bitter howls of grief and anger filled every corner of the labyrinth.

Master God-Diviner was still making his way through the tunnels when he saw, to his despair, that the walls were falling apart around him. He even saw a whole group of red hats flying through the air, screaming.

"It's all over. I'm finished..." he moaned. In another area not too far from the realm of trials by fire, Song Que was laughing bitterly as the labyrinth fell apart around him. He could tell that the exit was

the exit was just up ahead, and yet, before he could reach it, drastic upheaval struck.

"Could it be that I, Song Que, will end up buried in this labyrinth?!" Unwilling to give in, and yet bereft of any other options, he threw his head back and roared bitterly.

Dramatic events were unfolding outside of the labyrinth as well.

There were many people gathered outside. Uzumaki Lin and two of the other generals had summoned large armies to camp outside the entrance. There were large groups of Wildlanders on the other side of the entrance, with hundreds of thousands of savages and soul cultivators, as well as quite a few necromancers.

Both sides were waiting to find out who would get the deva soul, and in order to prevent a large-scale conflict from breaking out, had encamped in the area.

However, before anyone could even emerge from the labyrinth, intense rumbling sounds began to echo out. Shocked expressions could be seen on the faces of Uzumaki Lin and the generals, as well as the Wildlander necromancers. As of this moment, the entire area for 500 kilometers around the labyrinth was shining with bright light.

At the same time, the land was beginning to cave in, causing a mushroom cloud of dust to rise high into the sky.

The effects only continued to spread. Mountains collapsed, and the lands quaked as surely as if earth dragons were thrashing about beneath its surface.

Everyone began to back away nervously from the expanding area of collapse.

"Something's happening!" Uzumaki Lin's heart was pounding, and he considered going to investigate. However, as the lands collapsed, an aura erupted out that destabilized the souls of everyone present. It seemed obvious that anyone who got too close would get sucked into the destruction.

Clearly, the area of collapse was transforming into a huge spell formation, the size of which only continued to grow larger!

Chapter 558

A+ A- Chapter 558

Chapter 558: Big Sis Red-Dust, Let Me Explain

"What's going on in there!?" On the Wildlands side, the high-ranking necromancers were all shocked, and began to edge backward nervously.

Compared to the pressure radiating out from the area of collapse, the cultivators in the area were like bugs!

Meanwhile, as everyone outside looked on anxiously, the third level where Naruto stood was also collapsing!

Apparently, the sepulcher itself was the reason why the entire labyrinth was collapsing; the instant Naruto grabbed the bracelet, everything began to shake violently. Even the statues were starting to fall apart.

The head of one of the statues fell off, slamming into the ground and causing a spiderweb of cracks to spread out.

It was the same with the walls, and even the altar seemed to be crumbling. The golden light dragon was distorting, and slabs of stone were falling down from the dome-like roof up above, causing booms to ring out when the pieces hit the ground.

At the same time, dust rose up everywhere, making it difficult to see.

Naruto's expression flickered; all of these sudden developments had come completely without warning, leaving him totally unprepared.

Just when he was about to start backing up from the altar...

In an area to the left of the altar, near one of the corners of the sepulcher, the light of teleportation glimmered, and a red, shadowy figure emerged.

Moments later, the nearest statue began to fall over, causing the shadowy figure to flick a sleeve and reduce the statue to rubble. As the dust flew about, the shadowy figure began to speed in the direction of Naruto and the altar.

Naruto immediately recognized who it was that had teleported into the

room. "Mistress Red-Dust!"

Mistress Red-Dust's expression was grim, and her eyes burned with anger. Just as Naruto before, she was a bit disoriented. She had just finished her trial by fire, and then been teleported to this place to find everything collapsing. Although she wasn't sure of exactly what was happening, when she saw Naruto and the bracelet he was about to put into his bag of holding, she knew it was the deva soul. At that point, everything clicked.

She had not taken 1st place, Naruto had. And he had reached the deva soul before her!

"How impudent!" she yelled. "You don't even qualify to speak the name Mistress Red-Dust! How dare you steal the treasure of the sepulcher, Naruto. Do you have a death wish or something?!" Her eyes burned with killing intent, and when her piercing voice stabbed into Naruto's ears, it felt like a sword was ripping into his brain.

He staggered backward as if he had been struck with a hammer, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. He suddenly felt frigid Chakra boring into him, causing his spine to arch. Shivering, and pupils constricting, he realized in that moment that he was only moments away from dying!

"I'm finished. Kaput!" He knew exactly how much the Wildlanders hated him, and remembered Mistress Red-Dust herself proclaiming a bounty on his head right outside the Great Wall. The way she was looking at him now, it almost seemed like she wanted to eat him alive.

In that moment of deadly crisis, his mind spun to come up with an idea. That idea came almost instantly, and without hesitation, he reached out with his right hand to wipe some

some of the text off of the stone stele!

His goal was to wipe away the text about the curse, but from what Mistress Red-Dust could tell, he was urgently trying to wipe away all of the words.

Her eyes widened, and she waved her hand, sending a gust of wind out to slam into him.

"Big Sis Red-Dust... let me explain!" However, blood sprayed out of his mouth as he tumbled away from the stone stele. However, because he had been so close, he still managed to wipe away that one line of text...

It seemed obvious that he was trying to win her favor, which was really the only option he had at the moment...

In almost the same moment that Naruto flew away from the altar, Mistress Red-Dust's blow landed, and the altar was blasted into bits, leaving the stele hovering there alone.

Some of the flying rubble hit Naruto, causing more blood to spray out of his mouth.

"She's trying to kill me!" Naruto trembled as he fled, unable to stop thinking about the fact that he was essentially stuck in a small room with Mistress Red-Dust. She was like a raging, explosive dragon, and he was like a tiny bunny rabbit. There was no way she would calm down, and if she hit him with a deadly blow, he would be killed instantly...

He already regretted taking the deva soul, and regretted everything he had done in the trial of spirit enhancement. How could he have known that he would take 1st place?

"Let's just hope that Mistress Red-Dust's curiosity gets the better of her, and that she picks up on the fact that I was going to erase the script on the

on the text, then finishes the job..." Over and over again, he prayed inwardly for that very thing to happen.

"I really didn't take 1st place on purpose!" he called out in a quavering voice. "Big Sis Red-Dust, you have to believe me..." Even as the altar was destroyed, and cracks spread out into the floating stone stele, Mistress Red-Dust appeared in front of it. As she began to read what was left of the text, her eyes went wide, and she seemed to forget about drawing on the power of her cultivation base.

Seeing that Mistress Red-Dust had been distracted by the stone stele, Naruto urgently began to speed around, looking for an exit. However, even as the sepulcher collapsed around him, no exit was there to be found.

"Dammit. Where's the exit! There's got to be one around here somewhere! If the second generation arch-emperor went to the trouble of giving someone a deva soul, he had to provide a way out too. Otherwise what would be the point!?" Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot. Finally, he let out a shout and used his Undying Hex!

The power of the Undying Hex could pierce through both spell formations and land alike, and although it hadn't worked in the labyrinth, considering that everything was collapsing, he had to give it a shot here.

And yet, just as he was about to take a step, Mistress Red-Dust let out a cold snort, looked over at him, and waved her hand.

"Trying to run?!" she growled. Incredible power filled the sepulcher, sealing the entire place down and locking Naruto in place.

It felt like a mountain was crushing down on him; his bones creaked and cracked, and he coughed

and he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood as the Undying Hex was interrupted.

Thankfully, he had a tough fleshly body. Before anything else could happen, he tossed out a heap of spirit enhanced magical items. There were dozens, some of them with threefold spirit enhancements, some with sixfold enhancements. All at once, he detonated them, creating a huge blast that pushed away the forces crushing against him. Without any hesitation, he fell back, moving away from that area as quickly as possible, feeling like he had just stepped away from the gates of hell.

"Big Sis Red-Dust," he cried, "Just take the deva soul, alright? Why don't we just talk things-"

Mistress Red-Dust turned to look at him. At the moment, there was no time for protracted consideration. She knew that Naruto had wiped away some of the words on the stone stele, which would make it very difficult to completely understand the rest of the contents.

That was especially so concerning she had seen the extra information about how to use deva souls, which was something even she had never heard of. Clearly, that was information that could not be left behind for others to read. Without another moment of hesitation, she waved her hand, shattering the stone stele and destroying any words which remained upon it.

"Too late," she said coolly. Then, she burst into motion, heading directly toward Naruto. As of this moment, she had three reasons to kill him. One was the deva soul. The second was to prevent him from spreading word about the information on the stone stele. And the third was because she hated him. Therefore, it was without the slightest hesitation that she unleashed a deadly attack.

Chapter 559

A+ A- Chapter 559

Chapter 559: Beaten But Not To Death

In the same moment that Mistress Red-Dust destroyed the stone stele, it activated some unseen restrictive spell. The slowly-fading golden light dragon suddenly opened its eyes, causing all of the light shooting out of the holes in the walls to suddenly change direction and sweep through the crumbling sepulcher.

The golden dragon vanished, and in the blink of an eye, the entire sepulcher was filled with dazzling, colorful shafts of light. Most of them landed on Mistress Red-Dust, causing her face to fall.

The light possessed some corrosive power that instantly dissolved Mistress Red-Dust's clothing, revealing her milky white skin. Then, glowing red dots appeared on her that began to eat down into her skin, a corrosive attack that required cultivation base power to fight against. Magical items were useless against it, and therefore, Mistress Red-Dust waved her hand in an attempt to destroy the light-emitting holes. However, nothing worked, and she was forced to simply try to evade the touch of the light.

Naruto was shocked by all of this, but was in no mood to ogle Mistress Red-Dust's lithe body. Some of the light flying around the room landed on him as well, although the effects seemed rather mild...

"The curse. It's the curse... I wiped away a line of text, but Mistress Red-

Dust is far guiltier! Hah, the arch-emperor is a smart one after all!" Naruto was feeling very proud of himself, and yet, before he had much time to gloat, a red mist sprang up around Mistress Red-Dust, she threw another set of clothing on, and then began to speed in his direction.

The mist was rapidly being whittled away by the shooting light, and yet, Mistress Red-Dust seemed to think she had plenty of time to kill Naruto!

Naruto's eyes widened, and he let out a yelp of fright.

"Your

curse isn't working, second generation arch-emperor..." With that, he shot forward with another burst of speed, becoming a series of afterimages as he fled from Mistress Red-Dust.

However, Mistress Red-Dust was a deva, and even a casual effort on her part was something that a person like Naruto, in the great circle of the Gold Core stage, would be powerless to fight against.

A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. Despair filled his eyes; if he couldn't find the exit, he would be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!

"You're too slow." Mistress Red-Dust said coldly. She took a step forward that seemed to simultaneously stretch and shrink the space around her. Clearly, she was about to place herself right in front of Naruto.

Naruto's hair stood on end as he backed up, letting out another shriek. However, it was in that moment that the sepulcher began to sway back and forth even more dramatically than before. Virtually all the statues along the walls were now falling to pieces.

Furthermore, a burst of teleportation power suddenly appeared. Clearly... a teleportation spell formation was activating!

Its effects weren't limited to the sepulcher. In the realm of trials by fire, as well as in the tunnels of the labyrinth, teleportation power began to build up. Obviously, the teleportation was only moments away.

When that happened, everyone inside would be teleported away...

As of this moment... the exit was opening!

To everyone else, the chance to leave meant a chance to survive. But that wasn't the case for Naruto. Considering how Mistress RedDust was attacking him, he wouldn't be able to hold out until the teleportation formation activated!

However, the teleportation power interfered with Mistress Red-Dust's technique, leaving her in exactly the same place she had been in moments ago. Aware that a teleportation was imminent, her eyes flashed with determination as

as she began to stride toward Naruto.

The shafts of light didn't seem to be hurting her very much at this point, and although the red dots on her skin were painful, she was able to suppress their effects with her cultivation base. Having no other options available, she summoned another cloud of red mist, and then attacked Naruto again.

Naruto was like a trapped animal. In the moment he had in which Mistress Red-Dust was delayed, he quickly pulled out a Godly Vestige Pill and popped it into his mouth, then continued to fall back. However, all Mistress Red-Dust had to do was take a single step, and his speed was useless. In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of him, whereupon she waved her right index finger in his direction.

Although she moved her finger casually through the air, it contained wildly destructive power. A sense of profound deadly crisis immediately caused Naruto's bloodshot eyes to go wide. Considering he had no options left, he decided to throw caution to the wind and simply attack her with everything he had!

Naruto knew that his only chance now was to buy some time for the teleportation spell formation to finish activating.

"Let's finish this!" he roared, unleashing all of the potential of his

Undying Live Forever Technique. Utilizing his Undying Gold Skin, Undying Heavenly King, and Undying Tendons, he reached out toward Mistress Red-Dust and pinched his fingers together!

It was none other than the Throat Crushing Grasp!

But then, a boom echoed out, along with a scream from Naruto, as Mistress Red-Dust simply grabbed his hand! With a slight gleam of disdain in her eye, she tossed him to the side.

Cracking sounds could be heard as his fingers were broken, and a massive force sent him flying away. Thankfully, his cultivation base and Undying Live

Undying Live Forever Technique made him extremely tough. Despite not being killed, he slammed over and over again into the ground, bones shattering and blood spurting out everywhere! His Undying Live Forever Technique had been completely routed!

It took only the shortest of moments for Naruto to be severely injured.

Chuckling coldly, Mistress Red-Dust said, "Aren't we the tough one? Got anything else left in you?"

Then she flickered into motion to eradicate the last bit of Naruto's life force. Naruto could tell how badly he had been injured, and could sense that the flame of his life force was on the verge of being extinguished. Groaning, he stuffed his mouth full of Godly Vestige Pills, but swallowed only one of them.

Waves of heat washed through him, repairing his body with incredible speed. However, that was all the time it took Mistress Red-Dust to reach him.

Eyes bloodshot, he released the power of his cultivation base, causing frigid Chakra to shoot out with reckless abandon. He even drew upon his spiritual power, not holding back even the smallest bit. In the blink of an eye, the entire sepulcher filled with cracking sounds as it froze into a world of ice.

There was no time for thought or planning. Naruto immediately turned and fled.

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it took place in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Mistress Red-Dust's eyes flickered with scorn; she could tell that Naruto was trying to buy time, and yet, was still confident that even still, she would be able to crush him to death.

As the frigid Chakra bore down on her, she waved her hand, causing it to crumble and disperse. Then she reached out with her finger, piercing through the air to appear right in front of Naruto.

She was

Naruto.

She was planning to end Naruto's life in that moment, but before she could, the shafts of light destroyed her red mist, forcing her to summon it again. Before she could, the red dots on her skin corroded her even further, forcing her to combat the effects with her cultivation base. Because of all of those distractions, she could only spare thirty to forty percent of her power to attack Naruto.

Naruto was spattered with blood, but could do nothing to dodge or evade her. Howling with rage, he resorted to the Mountain Shaking Bash!

A boom rang out, along with a miserable howl as Naruto was flung off to the side again, where he slammed into the crumbling wall. Virtually all of the bones in his body were broken, and the flame of his life force was once again pushed to the edge of being extinguished.

However, almost no time passed before he bit down onto one of the Godly Vestige Pills he'd put into his mouth earlier. Warmth spread through him again, healing him almost instantly.

Even as Mistress Red-Dust closed in him again, he danced to the side in lively fashion, causing her brow to furrow. Snorting coldly, she momentarily stopped worrying about the dots on her skin or the red mist, and unleashing a mighty blow onto Naruto.

"I refuse to believe that you can recover from a true killing blow!"

The massive image of an illusory hand closed in on Naruto, causing the air to twist and distort and releasing explosive energy in all directions.

"Lord Uzumaki isn't the kind of guy you can just kill whenever you want,

Granny Red-Dust!" Even as the huge hand bore down on him, Naruto whipped out his Eternal Parasol. Nine silver designs shone on its surface as he snapped it open. Then, the bizarre face appeared.

Chapter 560

A+ A- Chapter 560

Chapter 560: What Was That Thing!?

In the same moment that he produced the Eternal Parasol, he also pulled out countless paper talismans, which he plastered all over himself. At the moment, his mind was empty of anything other than thinking of ways to buy time.

When Mistress Red-Dust's palm attack hit the Eternal Parasol, a massive boom filled the air. Cracking sounds could be heard, as if the Eternal Parasol couldn't sustain the force. Fissures appeared on its surface, and the ghost face twisted as if in agony.

The parasol was then ripped out of Naruto's hand and sent tumbling to the side. There was no time for him to think about retrieving it as he was sent flying backward, blood spraying out of his mouth. The shield layers created by his paper talismans were so thick that they almost didn't fit inside of the sepulcher, and when Mistress Red-Dust's palm slammed into them, the result was astonishing.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

One by one, the paper talismans were destroyed, and the shield layers fell apart. However, Mistress Red-Dust's palm attack also began to fade. Within the space of a few breaths of time, both the shields and the talismans were spent, and Naruto was still falling back, the power of a Godly Vestige Pill sweeping through him and healing him.

Although this exchange seemed relatively simple, if Uzumaki Lin had been there to see it, his heart would have twinged with pain. It was as if Naruto had just defended himself with a big stack of money!

Naruto's face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Even as he backed away from Mistress Red-Dust, and did everything he could to buy time, he continued to pepper her with insults.

"Hey Harlot Red-Dust, do you see now how hard it is to kill Lord Uzumaki?

You just wait until I become a demigod, then I'll come for revenge!"

"Dammit!" Mistress Red-Dust cursed angrily. She had already attacked multiple times, and had not been able to kill Naruto. Furthermore, the teleportation power in the area was building up to a peak. Eyes flashing with the desire to kill, she sent red mist swirling around to form a tempest that began to block up the holes in the walls of the sepulcher!

Although the mist was rapidly corroded, it gave Mistress Red-Dust the few breaths of time free from the shafts of light that she needed to build up the full power of her cultivation base. Then, she prepared to unleash a blow that she was sure would kill Naruto!

She had long since noticed that the shafts of light didn't affect Uzumaki

Naruto, and yet were extremely bothersome and dangerous to her. Obviously, she had fallen into a trap laid by Naruto, all of which centered around the script on the stone stele.

After blocking the holes on the walls, Mistress Red-Dust's eyes glittered, and she took a step toward Naruto.

As her foot fell, the air around her sunk in, creating something that looked like a huge, sinister mouth. Then, a powerful gravitational force sprang out, grabbing onto Naruto and dragging him toward the mouth.

Naruto was scared out of his mind, and quickly performed an incantation gesture with both hands. Then he waved his finger toward the mouth and shouted, "Waterswamp!"

Suddenly, the entire sepulcher twisted and distorted as water vapor roiled out everywhere, turning the entire area into a watery swamp!

Next, a terrifying aura erupted out, something that seemed to come from primordial times. Time and space both seemed affected, as if the entire area within that swamp now existed in ancient times! Mistress Red-Dust's pupils

pupils constricted.

Before she could do anything, though, Naruto shouted,

"Kingdom!"

Instantly, five mountain-like spikes began to rise up from within the watery swamp, shooting straight toward Mistress Red-Dust.

However, Naruto didn't even pause for a moment. Leaping into the air, he roared, "Living Mountain Incantation!"

After directly transforming into a 30-meter-tall stone golem, he joined the Waterswamp Kingdom spikes in a merciless attack on Mistress RedDust.

In response to the Waterswamp Kingdom, Mistress Red-Dust's eyes shone with a curious light. And yet, a moment later she chuckled coldly.

"A very mysterious magical technique. I'm not sure which sect you come from to have a divine spirit beast guardian like that. It's too bad... that you can't fully summon it. And even if you could, I wouldn't give you the time to do so. First, I'm going to kill this creature, then I'm going to kill you!" Even as the words left her mouth, Mistress Red-Dust performed an incantation gesture and sent red mist roiling out from her palm. In the briefest of moments, it transformed into a long red spear that she thrust, not toward the incoming spikes, but toward the ground where the actual watery swamp was located.

The red spear stabbed down toward the space below, piercing into whatever world lay beneath, and the creature inside, the creature which even Naruto had never seen.

Subsequently, a roar of rage echoed out from below, causing Mistress Red-Dust's spear to shatter. Even the sinister mouth she had formed with her magical technique collapsed. At the same time, the five mountain-like spikes continued to shoot up from below!

The were not straight, but rather curved, and if one looked at them for more than a moment, one would be struck by how they resembled the claws of some beast. However, they were so enormous that those mere claws

mere claws were like mountains. Furthermore, the creature appeared to be enraged by Mistress Red-Dust, and was trying to get out of the watery swamp to reach her...

Unfortunately, Naruto's cultivation base wasn't strong enough to support the Waterswamp Kingdom. As the clawed hand stretched out, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he let out a shriek as he felt his cultivation base and life force being ripped at violently. Clearly, the power required to fully allow the clawed hand to appear in the open was enough to completely wither him to death... Terrified, he had no choice but to dispel his own magical technique, and dissipate the power of the Waterswamp Kingdom...

Mistress Red-Dust's expression flickered into one of shock as she staggered backward. "What was that thing!?"

Naruto's face was just as ashen as Mistress Red-Dust's. He knew that his Waterswamp Kingdom was powerful, but had never realized it was this powerful. The claws on one of the creature's hands had been enough to nearly kill him. As he contemplated the fact that if he wasn't careful using the Waterswamp Kingdom, he could get himself killed, he shivered...

Even more depressing was how fanatically crazy Mistress Red-Dust was acting. What was the deal with that? All she had to do was follow through with his plan and attack the mountain-like spikes, whereupon he could have blocked her path and even used his Living Mountain Incantation.

Instead, the Waterswamp Kingdom was now gone, and he was stuck out in the open in his stone golem form. The only upside was that by this point, the holes in the wall had destroyed the red mist, and the shafts of light were now shooting toward Mistress Red-Dust.

Naruto knew that time was running out for him. Therefore, he let out a shout and sped toward Mistress Red-Dust like

Mistress Red-Dust like a meteor!

Just as Mistress Red-Dust was recovering from her shock at the enormous creature she had just had a brush with, the shafts of light returned. Anger immediately burned in her heart; were it not for those shafts of light, she would never have had so much difficulty killing Naruto!

However, the shafts of light, and the red welts they left on her skin, caused intense pain, and required significant effort to suppress. Furthermore, the slightest lapse of attention on her part could lead to permanent consequences.

Naruto was turning out to be incredibly resilient. Plus, he had all sorts of random items and techniques to keep him going. Finally, Mistress Red-Dust barked out a cold laugh, and then glared at Naruto with more killing intent than ever.

"You're running out of time!" Taking a deep breath, she yet again ignored the red welts and abandoned the use of the red mist to defend herself. Performing an incantation gesture, she summoned another long, red spear, and hurled it toward Naruto.

That spear contained the true power of a deva!

In the same instant that the spear flew out into the air, Naruto produced an arrow. It was... the fire soul arrow that had received an elevenfold spirit enhancement! Treating his body like the bow and his arm like the bowstring, he viciously hurled the arrow toward Mistress Red-Dust.

The fire soul arrow pierced through the air with numerous cracking sounds, the shocking golden designs on its surface shining brightly. In the blink of an eye, it reached the red spear, and the two of them collided, unleashing a deafening boom.

Normally speaking, the red spear would have been far too powerful for the fire soul arrow to deal with. However, it was in that moment that Uzumaki

Naruto shouted, "Detonate!"

Chapter 561

A+ A- Chapter 561

Chapter 561: Deva Soul Merger!

When the fire soul arrow exploded, it sent a huge shockwave out in all directions. The long red spear slowed down for a moment, but after completely destroying the arrow, continued on toward Naruto.

In the blink of an eye, it slammed into him, causing a boom that shook the entire sepulcher. The walls cracked, the floor shattered, and Naruto's 30-meter-tall stone golem form collapsed, revealing his true form.

He was holding his turtle-wok in front of him, coughing up blood as he was flung violently backward. Although he wasn't dead, his internal organs had been crushed, and his bones shattered. Skin and muscle were shredded, and he was left hovering on the brink of death.

Naruto chuckled bitterly, his eyes flickering with despair. He was well aware that without his turtle-wok, he would have been killed moments ago. After all, he was facing a deva...

The restorative warmth of the last Godly Vestige Pill he had placed into his mouth earlier was already fading away. He only had one more pill in his bag of holding, which he produced now and put into his mouth.

As of this moment, he was out of tricks. If he was injured again, there would be no recovery. And since he was facing repeated attacks at the hands of Mistress Red-Dust, that meant that he now had no chances at survival.

He had used just about every trick he could think of so far, and all of them were weak at best when used against the power of a deva. And clearly, this Mistress Red-Dust was very insistent on seeing him dead.

Whether it was the deva soul itself, the knowledge he possessed of how to use such souls, or just the general Wildlands hatred toward

him, she had more than enough reasons to want him killed.

The teleportation power was still building up in the sepulcher, but from what Naruto could tell, if the battle continued on as it had so far, he wouldn't last until it finished.

"I can't believe he's not dead!" Mistress Red-Dust thought. She was really starting to go crazy because of how this fight was progressing. She was a deva, and although there were some mitigating factors to explain why she couldn't kill someone in the great circle of the Gold Core stage, if news spread that he had stood up to her over and over again, it would turn her into a laughingstock.

The fact that the wok he had pulled out was capable of blocking her red spear caused Mistress Red-Dust's eyes to glitter. However, she didn't hesitate to once again advance on Naruto, her cultivation base surging as she summoned a Dharma idol into being behind her.

It was an enormous head that bore Mistress Red-Dust's features. Devas were vastly more powerful than people beneath them, even without Dharma idols. To summon a Dharma idol would draw significantly on the deva's cultivation base, and would normally only be used when fighting another deva. And yet here, Mistress Red-Dust was so anxious to kill Naruto that she didn't hesitate to resort to that method.

When Naruto saw the Dharma idol, his eyes turned even more bloodshot than before, and he smiled a mad smile.

"I guess there are no more options now!

"There is only one thing left to do to buy time, one chance to hold out until the teleportation begins and I can flee this death trap!

"It's going to force me down a one-way path that I'll never be able to come back

back from, but I have to protect my poor little life! Time to go all out!"

The madness in Naruto's eyes grew as the idea swirled in his mind; as of this moment, he really didn't have any other options available.

As Mistress Red-Dust closed in with murder in her eyes, Naruto let out a shout and slapped his bag of holding, producing a blue and white jade bracelet.

Immediately, the deva soul inside the bracelet began to shine with scintillating light.

Almost as soon as the bracelet appeared in the open, Mistress Red-Dust seemed to realize what he was thinking of doing, and roared, "How dare you, Naruto!"

At the same time, she picked up speed, reaching back with her right hand to deliver a fierce palm strike. That simple motion caused all of the energy in the entire sepulcher to surge into her palm, which she would then use to crush Naruto.

Behind her, the Dharma idol's eyes glared menacingly, and it began to race toward him.

"You're forcing me to do this, Harlot Red-Dust!" he yelled angrily. Even as she neared, he unhesitatingly crushed the jade bracelet!

As the deva soul floated out, a look of despair could be seen in Naruto's eyes as his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture.

"Deva soul merger!"

Instantly, the deva soul shot toward him, merging into his chest. However, that was when Mistress Red-Dust's palm arrived, collapsing the air around him, shattering everything, and shoving him backward, blood spraying from his mouth, hair flying around wildly. His chest caved in, instantly revealing the flesh and blood beneath his flayed skin!

At the same time, shocking fluctuations began to spread out from inside of Naruto, and then a double-image of himself appeared, which stepped out in front of him. It looked

him.

It looked exactly like him, as if a second Naruto had suddenly appeared!

"Deva soul clone!" Mistress Red-Dust exclaimed, the killing intent in her eyes growing stronger.

It most definitely was a deva soul clone of Naruto, with a complete cultivation base that was virtually exactly the same as Naruto's. His first action was to protectively grab his own true self and flee from Mistress Red-Dust.

The clone was also bleeding and injured, but he gritted his teeth and unleashed all the speed he could muster.

At the same time, Naruto's true self didn't hesitate at all about what to do next. It was a moment of deadly crisis, and Mistress RedDust's fury was blazing, and therefore, he yet again slapped his bag of holding.

"Fudge! Alright, if I'm gonna absorb deva souls, what's the difference between one and two!? Alright, Red-Dust, you pushed Lord Uzumaki, so he's gonna push you back. To death!" Gritting his teeth, he produced the deva soul that Du Lingfei had given him and slammed it down onto his chest, using the prescribed method to instantly absorb it.

"You! Impossible!" Mistress Red-Dust's eyes were wide and her mind was reeling. She almost couldn't believe what was happening; Naruto actually had an additional deva soul!

"Dammit!" she growled, her madness growing. She had just unleashed power sufficient to destroy Naruto's true self and clone, and yet, that was when another double-image appeared and stepped out. Just when the true self and the water clone were on the verge of being shredded to pieces, the flames of their life force flickering on the verge of eradication, a second clone appeared!

This was Naruto's fire clone!

The fire clone stood directly in front of the water clone, roaring as he drew upon the full power of

full power of his cultivation base and battle prowess to fight back against Mistress Red-Dust...

Only a moment later, blood was spraying out of the fire clone's mouth, and he was bloody and battered. Even his bones were visible, many of them shattered.

However, the time he had bought ensured that Naruto's true self was still alive.

"So what if you have two clones? You're still dead!" Mistress Red-Dust was feeling quite humiliated. The battle so far had been quite a blow to her, and she even regretted how she had conducted herself so far. If she had known before that Naruto had two deva souls, she would simply have allowed the shafts of light to injure her in exchange for the ability to crush him with her full might!

What left her more flabbergasted than anything, though, was what happened next. Even as the two clones fought back against her with all their power, Naruto's true self pulled out another deva soul, this one in the form of a green, jade walnut, which he crushed into his chest. As soon as he merged with the deva soul, a third clone stepped out! It was none other than a wood clone!

Three clones stood with Naruto's true self to defend against

Mistress Red-Dust, howling and fighting back with unyielding defiance!

Mistress Red-Dust was herself on the verge of collapsing mentally at the absurd sight in front of her. To her, Naruto was like some sort of freak; not even in her dreams could she ever have imagined that a person like him would have so many deva souls!

"Impossible! Y-y-you... you have how many deva souls?!" Mistress Red-Dust's heart was in physical pain, and the regret she currently felt went all the way to the deepest level of her being!

Chapter 562

A+ A- Chapter 562

Chapter 562: Beast Claw Shreds All!

"I don't care how many deva souls you have," Mistress Red-Dust shrieked. "I wouldn't care if you had a Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul cultivation base! Today is the day you're going to die!" Mistress RedDust's face was distorted with such madness that it seemed even her aura was negatively affected. As she yelled, her Dharma idol grew larger, transforming into a sun which began to rumble toward Naruto.

Naruto's true self was joined by three clones to fight back against a single deva-level palm strike being delivered by Mistress Red-Dust. With even one less clone, all of them would have been killed in body and soul.

Although death still seemed to be an inevitability, at least they were able to delay that dismal outcome for a bit longer than before.

Thankfully, it was in that very moment that, as the sepulcher collapsed into nothing around them, the teleportation spell formation was completely and fully activated within the sepulcher.

The glow of teleportation began to rise up around everyone present, whether they were in the tunnels, the area surrounding the trials by fire, or in the sepulcher itself!

Anyone and everyone that was still alive was being wrapped up in the teleportation power.

Back in the realm of the trials by fire, the combined efforts of Chen Hetian and everyone else present had resulted in them being able to break the barrier surrounding the void they were in. And yet, to their surprise, the only thing they found beyond that barrier was another void.

However, despair was not in order, as the light of teleportation began to build up around them, leading to sighs of relief on the part of all present.

"We can finally get out of here!"

"Yeah, but considering

how enormous the spell formation must be, who knows where we'll end up afterward..."

"What are you scared of? We're all members of the Holy People, we'll be fine as long as we end up somewhere in the Wildlands..."

"Heh heh. How do you know we won't be transported into the lands of

Heavenspan...?"

Such talk rose up everywhere within the labyrinth. Everyone was feeling much more relaxed now that the teleportation was beginning.

Of course, the light of teleportation was also there around Naruto and Mistress Red-Dust, causing Naruto's expression to brighten, but Mistress Red-Dust's eyes to blaze with fury.

If Naruto got away now, before she had used all the power she had at her disposal, it would be the greatest humiliation of her life. That in itself caused her fury to burn hotter than ever.

"You're not going anywhere, Naruto!" she screamed. Then her Dharma idol began to pick up speed, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as it closed in on Naruto, threatening to turn him and everything around him into nothing more than ash.

The moment that the teleportation light had appeared, Naruto had assumed that he'd held out long enough, and finally had hope of surviving. But when he saw the Dharma idol speeding toward him, he suddenly realized that his hope was like a candle flickering in the wind, with that wind being imminent destruction!

"How could I possibly die in this place!?" His eyes were so bloodshot that they were pure crimson, and that included his three clones in addition to his true self. Naruto's true self threw his head back and roared, disregarding all matters of safety pertaining to his cultivation base or his spiritual power. As if this moment, none

none of that mattered. If he didn't get past this moment, he would be dead forever!

"Living Mountain Incantation!" shouted his true self. Despite being seriously injured, rumbling sounds surrounded him as he transformed into a 30-meter-tall giant. At the same time, his three clones echoed his words.

"Living Mountain Incantation!"

"Living Mountain Incantation!"

"Living Mountain Incantation!"

All three of the clones transformed into 30-meter-tall stone golems. Then, even as the four stone golems prepared to defend against the incoming attack, the clones joined their voices with his true self's to shout, "Waterswamp... Kingdom!"

Four stone golems performed incantation gestures and then shoved their hands down toward the sepulcher floor, causing the entire area to turn into a watery swamp!

In fact, the borders of the swap seemed to go past the edges of the sepulcher and out into the void beyond, as though this weren't a single Waterswamp Kingdom, but rather, four!

As the four Waterswamp Kingdoms expanded and then merged into

each other, they became a watery swamp that was four times larger than the original!

That was a huge difference! Almost immediately, a roar erupted out from the Waterswamp Kingdom, as if from ancient times.

The sound alone caused Mistress Red-Dust's face to fall, and was so loud that it reached the locations outside the trials by fire, and the labyrinth as a whole.

"Come forth, my life essence spirit!" Naruto shouted, throwing his head back and laughing madly. His voice was a bit hoarse, and he was physically shaking. His cultivation base and life force were being drained madly, and it was the same with the three clones, and yet, that was when something came out of the watery swamp that did not look like the spikes from before!

Five twisted mountains could be seen, and yet,

and yet, closer examination would reveal that they were no mountains!

It was the clawed hand of some enormous beast, with talons as pitch black as night!

As the five talons stretched up, it was possible to see further down into the watery swamp, to what appeared to be a forest-like stretch of pitchblack hair, beneath which was green skin!

However, because of the incredible size of the clawed hand, even a Waterswamp Kingdom that was quadruple its normal size was still not large enough for it to fit through. Only the claws could emerge into the open, where they shot toward the incoming palm and Dharma idol!

Were anyone capable of illustrating this scene, it would have been completely shocking to behold. When the five talons touched the Dharma idol and the palm, it was the palm which began to tremble first, and then collapse into pieces. As for the sun-like Dharma idol, it erupted with radiant light and a powerful shockwave that rippled out in all directions.

Anything that remained of the sepulcher was smashed into rubble and sent spinning into the pitch-black void beyond.

In fact, that made it possible to see Chen Hetian and the others far off in the distance, who had long since noticed what was happening, and were looking on in complete shock.

The shockwave sent Naruto stumbling backward, his stone golem form crumbling to reveal his true form.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as his three clones became white motes of light that spun back into his true self. Naruto could tell that all of the clones were seriously injured. Half of his water clone's body had been destroyed, his fire clone's chest was completely caved in, and worst off was his wood clone, of whom only half whom only half a head remained.

Although his true self remained completely intact, he was also severely injured. Most of his bones were crushed, and the majority of his flesh and blood had been destroyed. Even his skull was cracked and on the verge of shattering...

Thankfully, he had used his Living Mountain Incantation right before summoning the Waterswamp Kingdom, otherwise he would have been killed, and not just injured.

He and all of his clones would have been rendered into nothing more than dust!

Naruto didn't even have the energy to smile bitterly. His vision was fading, and he couldn't move. He could also sense the flame of his life force teetering on the verge of being extinguished. If he had plenty of time to rest, the power of his fleshly body would ensure that he could recover. But at the moment, he had used every trick in his book, and had nothing left.

Off in the distance, Chen Hetian and the others looked on with gaping jaws. Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan were completely wrapped up in their anxiety, and Chen Hetian's pupils were tiny dots. As for Zhou Yixing, he looked quite excited.

"Your comeuppance is at hand, Naruto!" Zhou Yixing hadn't seen Naruto's clones, nor had anyone else. Nobody had really been able to see clearly everything that just happened.

It was in that very moment that an incredible rumbling sound filled the entire area. The light of teleportation grew dazzlingly bright, and even before Zhou Yixing could laugh out loud, he began to fade away. So did everyone else.

Naruto was finally completely gripped by the power of teleportation, and began to disappear.

"Naruto!" Mistress Red-Dust screamed, her hair whipping around her as she took a step forward.

Chapter 563

A+ A- Chapter 563

Chapter 563: Vanished Without A Trace

Usually, Mistress Red-Dust was beautiful, with a curvaceous body, the fairest of skin, and entrancing eyes. But right now, she was bedraggled, shaking, and seriously injured. On top of that, she was furious. Never before could she possibly have imagined that Naruto would turn out to be so difficult to kill!

She was covered with red welts, the result of trying to fight in the middle of dealing with a curse. For a beautiful woman like her, such a thing was a heavy price to pay.

Although she was confident in being able to dispel the effects of the curse eventually, the pain and numbness she felt because of it right now had her going mad with fury.

"Naruto!" she screamed, her hatred for him taking root in the very marrow of her bones. As of this moment, she could not live under the same sky with him. It didn't matter that they were still surrounded by the dazzling light of teleportation, the fact that he wasn't dead yet caused her eyes to shine with insanity as she took another step forward toward him.

She had to kill him before he teleported away!

She could never rest easy with him alive. Before, she had disliked him because of his Soul Convergence Pills and exploding pill furnaces, as well as the general humiliation and pain he had caused to the Wildlands.

Furthermore, the actions of the soul tide and the true spirit in Great Wall City had put a significant

dent in her years of accomplishments in the war, which caused further hatred in her heart toward Naruto.

However, considering the level of her cultivation base, and the fact that Naruto was like a bug beneath her, none of those things had really mattered very much. He would be killed eventually, and his meddling wouldn't cause any permanent problems for the war effort.

But now, things were different!

If it had been anyone else in that sepulcher, even a Nascent Soul cultivator, they would never have survived in a fight against her.

And yet Naruto had!

Not only had he survived, he had left her bruised and injured. Plus, he had revealed the fact that he had three deva souls, a fact that left her completely unsettled.

"He's keeping some big secret, and if he brings it to fruition, then given enough time, he'll be so terrifying that today's events will seem like nothing! He'll bring about disaster after disaster!

"I've already reached the point where I can't live under the same sky as him. How could I possibly let him get away now!?" Gritting her teeth and ignoring the fact that she was already starting to fade away because of the teleportation power, she edged closer to Naruto.

Then she reached out with her hand. This was the moment in which she would eradicate him, ending his life once and for all. Only then would she feel at ease. After all, considering how difficult it had been to kill him in this state, if

if he grew stronger, he would be even more terrifying.

It was a moment of critical danger for Naruto. Despite being in the middle of teleportation, with his body fading away, at the current speed with which Mistress Red-Dust was moving, it seemed highly likely that she would strike him before he vanished. Then, it wouldn't matter that he was teleported away; the only thing to be teleported would be a corpse!

In that moment, Naruto's listless eyes suddenly sparkled, and he drew upon the last little bit of life force he had left.

He couldn't move his body, and his cultivation base was completely stagnant. The injuries to his fleshly body were severe. However, he didn't want to die. He wanted to live! There were so many things he had yet to do in life, and to accomplish them, he needed to live forever!

"I want to live forever! I can't die!" Roaring inwardly, he closed his two eyes and opened the third eye on his forehead, his Heavenspan Dharma Eye!

Furthermore, it wasn't just his true self who did it. Inside of him, his three clones also opened their Heavenspan Dharma Eyes. The power of four Heavenspan Dharma Eyes merged together and shot out toward Mistress Red-Dust!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Instantly, control power surged out. Despite the fact that it filled his entire body with intense pain, he ignored that and focused his gaze fully on Mistress Red-Dust!

Rumbling sounds continued as she lurched to a halt. Although she recovered a moment later, that moment was all the

all the time that was needed.

Blood oozed out of Naruto's Heavenspan Dharma Eye as the power of teleportation surged. Grabbing the Eternal Parasol just in the nick of time, he vanished.

As for the magical technique that Mistress Red-Dust had just been preparing, it shot through the space that had previously been occupied by Naruto, and did absolutely nothing...

"Naruto!" she screamed shrilly, her eyes burning with hatred. Then, a moment later, she also vanished.

At the same time, teleportation light swept through the rest of the labyrinth, causing everyone else to disappear, including Master GodDiviner, Zhao Long, Song Que, and others...

Great Wall cultivators, soul cultivators, and savage giants alike were all whisked away as the labyrinth collapsed, leaving behind nothing but a huge, sinking crater.

Within that enormous area, the space that had once been created by the nine black pillars of light was replaced by a single white pillar that shot into the sky and then sent ripples out in all directions.

Uzumaki Lin and the Great Wall forces, as well as all the people from the Wildlands, all clearly saw what was happening, and were shaken. Furthermore, all of them very much wanted to know what occurred within the labyrinth.

It wasn't until a month later that everyone came to know about the teleportation spell formation which had been activated, and how everyone inside had been teleported to different parts of the Wildlands!

Some people ended up in areas relatively close to the labyrinth, others were sent deep into the Wildlands, to places where to places where transmission jade slips were useless...

As more and more Great Wall cultivators managed to make it back to Great Wall City, news began to spread about what happened in the trials by fire. Stories of Naruto began to be told again, causing the news to resound in Great Wall City and the Wildlands alike...

He had taken 1st place in the trials by fire!

He had been the first to enter the sepulcher!

Later, Mistress Red-Dust also entered the sepulcher, where the two had fought a bitter battle. After the sepulcher collapsed, it was revealed that Naruto had apparently survived the fight up to that point!

But then the teleportation began, and as for whether or not he made out it alive, nobody knew.

After a second month passed, Mistress Red-Dust increased the reward on Naruto's head to an unheard-of level. Five deva beast souls and one deva soul!

Both the Wildlands and the Great Wall forces were completely shaken. Not even the Great Wall's Execution List had a reward so high.

Naruto was now in 1st place on the Wildlands' Execution List! It was also in that fashion that the Great Wall forces came to realize that Naruto was not dead!

Currently, Uzumaki Lin sat in Great Wall city, a melancholy look on his face and an alcohol flagon in hand. Sighing emotionally, he murmured, "As long as you're not dead, Naruto, I'm happy. I really let you down this time... Where are you...?"

End of Book 4: A Different Kind Of Hostage

Chapter 564

A+ A- Chapter 564

Chapter 564: A Fated Pair...

Book 5: The Peak Of Life!

The Wildlands were huge, so huge that few people even knew their true extent. However, most cultivators who understood a thing or two about them were able to guess.

If the entire world were circular, then the Heavenspan Sea would be in the very middle, with four enormous rivers stretching out from it in each of the cardinal directions. The tributaries, streams and even the deltas were all like tree branches that grew out from the rivers.

The areas in which the Heavenspan River existed were the Heavenspan Realm. The places where that river didn't exist occupied roughly half of the 'circle' that made up the world. And those locations were known as... the Wildlands.

There was even a well-known saying: Everything beyond the Great Wall is the Wildlands!

In the areas between the four major rivers were the four major sections of the Great Wall, which acted like gates, keeping the Wildlands locked on the outside, and the Heavenspan Realm sealed on the inside.

If one could look down from high enough, the four sections of the Great Wall would make something like a large circle.

More precisely, there were two circles. The inner circle was the Heavenspan Realm, and the outer circle was the Wildlands. Theoretically speaking, if one kept walking for long enough, they could walk in a huge circle through the Wildlands. As such, it was also possible to reach any of the four major rivers without even setting foot on a boat. [1]

Somewhere deep in the Wildlands, there was a boundless jungle, dense to the extreme, filled with countless towering trees that formed an enormous canopy overhead. Because of that canopy, only scattered bits of sunlight made it through to the rotting marshlands below.

Enormous jungles like this existed in numerous locations within the

Wildlands. Although such areas were devoid of the spiritual power of the Heavenspan River, they still teemed with life. In fact, whether it was the plant life or the local savages, everything seemed to be free of certain constraints that spiritual power brought, and thus were especially large and tough.

One particularly large tree in this jungle had bones littering the ground beneath

it, many of which had bite marks on them. There were also the scattered feathers of flying creatures. In the middle of all the bones, leaning up against the tree itself, was a person. His hair was messy and knotted, and he was devouring the carcass of some small creature. The crunching sounds of his chewing were terrifying as they echoed out into the jungle; apparently, he was so hungry that he didn't care whether or not he was eating the flesh or the bones, or both!

Considering all the bones surrounding this person, it seemed that he had eaten quite a bit during this meal. It was a really frightening scene...

Not too far away, beneath another large tree, was a corpse! Clearly, that corpse had been laying there rotting for many weeks.

It was so withered up that it was difficult to make out its facial features, but based on the clothing, it had been a cultivator in life. There was even a bag of holding laying off to the side next to the corpse.

The living person devouring the raw meat was none other than Naruto.

As for the corpse... not even Naruto had any idea who it was.

Naruto had been teleported to this location on a stormy night roughly two months before. Considering how badly injured he had been, he had struggled just to crawl over to the base of the tree. Using his last scrap of spiritual power, he had pulled out his damaged Eternal Parasol and stabbed it into the ground next to him, relying on the pressure it emanated to protect himself. Having been completely drained of spiritual power, he simply lay there, unmoving.

Eventually, Naruto noticed a young man lying on the ground at the base of another nearby tree. At that point, the young man had not been dead. He had stared in disbelief at Naruto for a long moment, neither of them talking, until he finally leaned his head down onto the ground and died.

Seeing the young man die had frightened Naruto, but at that moment, he had been too weak to even move. The emotion of the moment, combined with his

his exhaustion, had shoved him into unconsciousness.

He didn't wake up for almost a week. Unfortunately, he was still too weak to move at that time. His injuries were truly severe, and he had been pushed to the very brink of death, leaving him completely empty of any sort of spiritual power. To recover would definitely require time. After all, he didn't even have enough spiritual power to open his bag of holding.

He was surrounded by the corpses of various wild animals, which he didn't remember seeing there when he had passed out earlier. Clearly, the animals had come too close to the Eternal Parasol, and had been killed by the pressure it emitted.

Furthermore, the power of the parasol had also protected the corpse of the young man at the other nearby tree.

"It's a good thing that I ended up pulling the Eternal Parasol out of my bag of holding instead of something else. Otherwise... I would have woken up to find myself eaten." He sighed bitterly, his heart filled with anger.

"To think that a magnificent major general like myself would fall to this level... You'll get what's coming to you one of these days, Granny RedDust! I'll show you how awesome Lord Uzumaki is! And as for you Chen Hetian, you and I are now archenemies!

"Ai. I really got hurt badly this time..." Naruto wanted to cry, and at the same time, felt his fury building. However, he couldn't even turn his head, only move his eyes around to examine his unfamiliar surroundings.

Eventually, he forced himself to accept his current situation, and also realized that since there was no spiritual energy, he was obviously not near the Heavenspan River. Clearly, he had been teleported out into the Wildlands.

After a while, he sighed. Feeling bored, he rolled his eyes over to look at the corpse lying beneath the tree.

Earlier, it had been impossible to determine what had caused the young man's death. But now his skin was pitch black, leading to the obvious conclusion that he had been hit with a poisonous magical technique that had burned his heart and blood vessels until he died.

Suddenly, another wave of exhaustion swept through Naruto,

Naruto, and he passed out again. Another week or so went by before we woke up, but this time, he could move his head a bit.

Furthermore, he didn't feel completely numb. In fact, he felt little stabs of pain all over himself, almost like needles. It was a somewhat unbearable feeling, and yet, he could do little more than sigh.

"Well at least I can feel pain. That means I'm slowly recovering." There were more animal corpses piled up in the area now, and he was so hungry he felt dizzy. Unfortunately, he could only move his head, nothing else. Swallowing, he lay there blankly for a bit before looking back at the corpse to analyze it a bit further.

"It looks like he was in early Foundation Establishment... Doesn't look like he was teleported here from the labyrinth. More like a local soul cultivator. Seems like he was fleeing for his life from somebody or something." Naruto wasn't too worried about that fact. After all, he had already been laying in one place for about half a month without anyone passing by.

As time passed, and Naruto continued to watch the corpse rotting away, he picked up on more and more clues.

"Doesn't seem like a rogue cultivator. Must be from some local cultivator clan..."

"I remember looking at him right before he died. He looked haggard, and defiant. He must have had some aspirations in life that he never fulfilled..."

"Seems pretty young. Smart and good-looking, although not as much as me."

He often muttered things like this to himself. After all, as he was slowly recovering, he literally had nothing to do except study the corpse.

When he got tired, he would go back to sleep. Eventually, two months later, he was excited to discover that he could move again. The first thing he did was crawl over one of the animals that had been killed because of the Eternal Parasol.

He devoured the entire thing in a single mouthful.

Over the course of the past two months, he had become so hungry he could barely see straight. That was compounded by the fact that his recovery was rapidly emptying him out. Therefore, he ate all of

ate all of the nearby animals in a single sitting. He even ate the tiny birds, feathers and all.

The more he ate, the warmer he felt, and the more energy he had. In the end, after devouring everything in sight, he rubbed the back of his neck and finally felt alive again.

"I'm back!" he yelled excitedly. It was a wonderful feeling to escape with one's life against all odds. As he thought back to everything which had happened in the labyrinth, it truly felt as if he had ended up stepping halfway through the gates of the underworld.

Sighing, he walked over to the corpse.

"Thank you for keeping me company these past two months, my brother," he said softly. "I guess it was fate that we met here. If I ever have the chance, I'll do my best to pay you back." Reaching down, he picked up the bag of holding lying next to the corpse.

Meanwhile, on a barren mountain some distance away from the jungle, someone was sitting cross-legged in meditation, in a cave.

There were seven or eight corpses laid out in front of him, all of them belonging to Foundation Establishment cultivators. They were little more than skin and bones, with their flesh and blood having been absorbed.

Eventually, the cross-legged figure's eyes opened, although instead of shining brightly, they glimmered with faded life, as if this person had received significant injuries. Ignoring the corpses, he rubbed his forehead and gritted his teeth.

"Even if you're dead, Naruto, one of these days I'll pay you back for the humiliation you brought upon me. I'll avenge myself upon your friends and family, a thousand times over!"

He was none other than... Zhou Yixing!

1\. Early descriptions of the lands of Heavenspan refer to how the areas between the rivers are devoid of spiritual energy. I think that the idea is that those areas are within the Great Wall, and are more like "dead zones" as opposed to being part of the Wildlands. If anyone remembers any specific passages which seem to contradict this, or contradict the description in this chapter, please let me know so that I can go back to clarify and adjust the narrative.

Chapter 565

A+ A- Chapter 565

Chapter 565: Necromancers!

Naruto stood there in the jungle, holding the bag of holding and looking down at the corpse of the young man. For some reason, he really felt as if it had been destiny which teleported him to this location, where this corpse had accompanied him for two months. He sighed.

"Allow me to give you a proper burial, my brother." Naruto could tell that he was recovering rapidly now. However, his spiritual power was still so depleted that he couldn't even open his bag of holding.

Therefore, he used the Eternal Parasol to dig a pit, into which he lowered the corpse of the young man.

Patting the soil he had filled the grave back in with, he said, "Don't worry, in a few more days I should have enough spiritual power built up to open your bag of holding. Then we can see what's inside, and maybe I'll even learn your name. Then I can put up a proper grave marker for you."

Then he walked back over to the tree he had spent the last two months under and sat down cross-legged to try out some breathing exercises.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any spiritual power in this part of the

Wildlands, so he was forced to rely only on the restorative powers of his own body, and the bits of spiritual energy which had built up in his flesh and blood over the years.

A few days passed. It was early evening, but because of the darkness that blanketed the jungle floor, it seemed like the middle of the night. As Naruto sat there meditating, he slowly opened his eyes, and a brief flicker of light could be seen.

"Got some spiritual power back!" His heart was pounding with excitement. After all, he was in a strange land bereft of spiritual power, and that left him feeling very uneasy. Panting a bit, he slapped his bag of holding, which flashed with light as a bottle flew out.

It was a bottle of spirit alcohol!

He excitedly poured the spirit alcohol down his throat, whereupon it

turned into warm currents that flowed through his Chakra passageways in a very pleasing fashion. He was like a dried, parched land that was finally receiving rain, and it caused prickling sensations to fill him.

"That's the feeling!" he murmured, tears welling up in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he rotated his cultivation base, not allowing a bit of the spiritual power from the spirit alcohol to go to waste.

A few hours later, Naruto was laughing madly, his eyes glittering at the small fraction of spiritual power which he had built up, which was only about five percent of his total limit. Although it was only a small amount, it was enough to open his bag of holding numerous times.

Therefore, he opened the bag again to pull out a dozen or so bottles of spirit alcohol, consumed them all, and then sat quietly to perform breathing exercises. For the following three days, rumbling sounds filled him as spiritual power poured through his body.

On the afternoon of the third day, Naruto opened his eyes, and tears flowed out.

"I've finally recovered completely! Man, that was hard! Whether it's in terms of body or cultivation base, I'm back to normal! You just wait for Lord Uzumaki to get his hands on you, Granny Red-Dust!" Laughing loudly, he stood up and assessed his spiritual power levels. To his delight, he found that he was actually a bit stronger than before.

Thanks to the deadly battle he had fought, his position within the great circle of the Gold Core stage had advanced, both in terms of fleshly body power and cultivation base.

In fact, when it came to his fleshly body, he felt more than ever that he was on the verge of being able to break through the next shackle!

He couldn't help but sigh, especially when he thought back to how closely he had brushed with death during his fight with Mistress RedDust.

Taking a deep breath, he looked around a bit, which was when his excitement began to wane, and he even started to feel a bit

bit anxious.

"I don't even have any idea where I am in the Wildlands. Wherever I am, it's too dangerous here. I need to get back to the Great Wall." Now that he thought about it, if any of the soul cultivators or savages found out that he was Naruto, they would surely skin him alive.

The mere thought of what that would be like left him shivering. Finally, he looked over at the simple grave he had erected, and finally decided to open the bag of holding that had belonged to the young man.

It contained a variety of miscellaneous items, few of which were of any interest to Naruto. After all, it was the bag of holding of a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, what did interest Naruto was the collection of bone slips. Much like jade slips, they could store information, and after skimming through the group in the bag of holding, Naruto found three that were of particular interest.

The first bone slip contained a map of the immediate area. After

studying it for a while, Naruto still had no idea where he was. There was absolutely nothing on the map that indicated how far away the Great Wall was.

"Well that doesn't help much..." he thought nervously. With that, he moved on to the second bone slip, after which his eyes glittered, and he looked over at the grave mound.

"Your name is Uzumaki Hao?" he murmured. The second bone slip had some detailed information about the identity of the dead young man, including some dying words he had inscribed. [1]

His name was Uzumaki Hao, and was a bastard son from one of the local aristocratic necromancer clans. Apparently, he wasn't very well liked in the clan, and had provoked the ire of the wrong people, who plotted against him. That was what led to him perishing when and how he did.

From what Naruto could tell, the necromancer clan in question wasn't considered to be spectacularly famous.

"Aristocratic necromancer clan..." After some more thought, he moved on to the third bone

third bone slip, which contained the most intriguing information so far. It was a detailed description of necromancers, with information he had wondered about back at the Great Wall.

Essentially, it was a basic primer to necromancy!

Even the first few sentences left Naruto completely shaken.

"Necromancy is an amalgamation! Necromancers use the foundation of spirit enhancement, medicine concocting, and equipment forging as the basis of necromancy!"

Naruto had long since noticed that there was something strange about the spirit enhanced treasures wielded by the Wildlanders, and had come to his own conclusions about why that was. Now, the information in this bone slip corroborated his previous speculations. After going on to read through the rest of the information, he was left stunned.

At that point, the Wildlands didn't seem as profoundly mysterious as they had before. All of the various clues suddenly fit together to form a complete picture.

The lowest of the low in the Wildlands were the savage tribes. The giants had been the last to become civilized, and were treated mostly like servants. They actually worshipped the soul cultivators, and viewed them as protectors of sorts.

Soul cultivators occupied a much higher position than the savages, and were not very different from ordinary cultivators. The only difference was that they couldn't practice cultivation with the spiritual power of the Heavenspan River, and instead had to rely on the soul vitality provided by the necromancers.

In the sprawling Wildlands, there were far more savages than soul cultivators, and yet, the soul cultivators couldn't be described as few and far between. They had their clans and powerful organizations, and there were also many who were like rogue cultivators.

As for the necromancers, they were like the nobility of the Wildlands. Any necromancer of any sort occupied a very high position. Not only could they produce the soul vitality that soul cultivators needed to advance their cultivation, but they could also forge magical items and bless such items with spirit enhancements!

Because of that, necromancers were extremely important to the Wildlands as a whole.

Of course, necromancers had their own ranking system based

ranking system based on fire. The truth was that although Wildlands necromancers resembled the spirit enhancers from the lands of Heavenspan in some ways, they were actually very different.

In the lands of Heavenspan, spirit enhancers would search for fuel to make multi-colored flame. However, the necromancers didn't need any fuel. Although they also experienced a similar issue of having a high failure rate, they didn't need to rely on fuel; they worked directly with the flame itself.

Of course, such flames didn't exist on their own. Necromancers used different types of souls and special methods to conjure them!

Anyone who could conjure one-colored flame was considered an initiate necromancer. Upon being able to conjure four-colored flame, one was promoted to the journeyman rank. Seven-colored flame was the standard to become a master necromancer.

Most necromancers in the Wildlands fell into those three ranks.

Ten-colored flame was the absolute peak for master necromancers, and not very many necromancers could reach such a level. After going beyond that level, necromancers would experience a period of transformation, after which, they were ranked according to the denominations of terrestrial, celestial, earthly, and heavenly!

Being able to conjure eleven-colored flame made one a terrestrial necromancer! In the Wildlands, any terrestrial necromancer was a person who could dominate the lands wherever he went.

The next level beyond that was the celestial necromancer, of which there were even fewer. In any of the necromancer clans, a celestial necromancer occupied the highest of positions, similar to that of a grand elder or the reserve powers. After all, the hallmark of celestial necromancers was the ability to conjure fifteen-colored flame!

Earthly necromancers were legendary, and in all of the Wildlands, there were only three. To become an earthly necromancer, one had to conjure eighteen-colored flame!

The highest level of all was that of the heavenly necromancer. From ancient times until now, not a single one had ever appeared, and they were considered only a theoretical rank. After all, to reach the heavenly rank, one had to conjure twenty-one colored flame!

1\. Uzumaki Hao's surname is the same as Naruto's, which means

"white"

Chapter 566

A+ A- Chapter 566

Chapter 566: Necromancy and Spirit Enhancement Are The Same!

"Necromancy and spirit enhancement are basically the same thing..." Naruto murmured to himself as he looked at the information in the bone slip. From what he was reading, all of the various types of multicolored flame in the Wildlands were produced by necromancers, a fact which caused Naruto's heart to leap with excitement.

After generations of experimentation and research, the formulas for everything from one- to fourteen-colored flame had been wellestablished. In fact, there were multiple variations on how to conjure each of those types of flame.

Such formulas weren't exactly secret within the Wildlands. Although not every necromancer had the skill to use all of the formulas, all of the aristocratic necromancer clans had the formulas in their records.

However, the formula for fifteen-colored flame was a tightly-kept secret that not even mid-level necromancer clans had access to. Only the large clans and other major powers had them.

As for sixteen-colored flame, that was a secret among secrets.

In any case, because of all these factors, when it came to spirit enhancement, the Wildlands existed on a far higher level than the lands of Heavenspan.

The information in the bone slip made it clear that simply possessing a certain level of flame didn't guarantee success in using it to perform a spirit enhancement. The more colors in the flame, the higher the chances of failure. That was one area in which there was no difference between the Wildlands and Heavenspan cultivators. Also similar was how failure led to complete destruction of all the materials involved. From what Naruto could tell, that was a sort of equalizer between the two sides.

However, what he had learned about how the necromancers could conjure their own flame was still very shocking.

"If I could learn the formulas for producing multi-colored flame..." Naruto was aware that his biggest advantage was his turtle-wok. After all, just because someone could conjure fourteen-colored flame

didn't mean that they could successfully perform a fourteenfold spirit enhancement. But for Naruto, it was the exact opposite!

As a result, he felt completely and utterly shaken.

The bone slip also had information about so-called soul vitality, which was really just soul medicine. Soul medicines were much like spirit stones in that the soul cultivator not only used them for cultivation, but as currency.

In terms of how to make soul medicine, it wasn't very difficult. The initial process was the same as when conjuring multi-colored flame, except that in the end, the final result became soul medicine instead!

Soul medicines made from ten-colored flame or less were considered low-grade, and were further classified according to how many flames had been used to make them. For example, soul medicine made from one-colored flame was a level one low-grade soul medicine. If it was made from ten-colored flame, it was a level ten low-grade soul medicine.

Soul medicine made from eleven-colored flame was known as midgrade, and was much more expensive. Furthermore, mid-grade soul medicine could only be conjured by terrestrial necromancers.

In terms of high-grade soul medicines, they were very rare, and could only be produced with fifteen-colored flame or higher. They were what was referred to as soul vitality.

There was also a type of soul medicine referred to as supreme-grade, but was mostly something of a legend that was conjured using twentyone colored flame!

Soul medicine and soul vitality were the main reasons that necromancers had risen to prominence in the Wildlands!

In terms of services they performed for others, they could conjure soul medicine for use in cultivation, and could use their necromancy to place spirit designs onto magical items, transforming them into spirit enhanced soul treasures.

In terms of their own powers, there was one thing that necromancers could do that no one else could, and that was use their necromancy to create soul slaves. By transforming large groups of vengeful souls into slaves, and then directing

directing their movements and actions, they could use them as powerful weapons to kill the enemy. Furthermore, they could use their soul slaves as a basis with which to conjure soul medicine and make multi-colored flame...

After reading all of the information in the bone slip, Naruto realized that necromancers truly were strong in all areas.

"Necromancers... can do just about everything!" He couldn't help but think back to everything that had happened when he was performing spirit enhancements back in the trial by fire. Then he thought about how all-encompassing the powers of the necromancers were. From what he could tell, necromancers weren't just nobility in the Wildlands, they were like... the direct descendants of the land itself!

"I have to become a necromancer!" Eyes burning with passion, he gripped the bone slip hard in his hand and reviewed the information therein. Then he searched through Uzumaki Hao's bag of holding again. However, there were no bone slips which had formulas for multicolored flame.

"I guess Uzumaki Hao's cultivation base wasn't high enough to have formulas like that. Or perhaps his position in the clan was too low?" Looking over at the grave mound, he reached out and inscribed some words into the tree above it.

Here lies Uzumaki Hao.

Then he clasped hands and bowed to the grave. After that, he turned and burst into motion. Although he was moved by what he had learned about necromancers, he knew that the most important thing for him to do at the moment was to get back to the distant Great Wall.

"I guess I have to rely on my appearance-changing trick again." With that, he used his mask to change his appearance to that of Uzumaki Hao.

"I'll use Uzumaki Hao's identity temporarily." With that, he picked up speed.

"There are some odd things about this mask, though..." he thought with a frown. After all, the mask itself came from the Wildlands, where there was some powerful group that could theoretically

could theoretically track him down by means of it.

"The fact that they could locate me with the mask before indicates that there is some branding mark on it that I can't detect." Although that powerful group had never shown much hostility toward him, Naruto didn't want to bet his life on their lack of interest. A moment later, his eyes glittered as he recalled the change which had occurred back in the trial by fire, when he performed an elevenfold spirit enhancement on the leaf. Not only had its appearance changed, but his own branding mark had been wiped away from it, forcing him to bond it again.

"That sounds like a good way to handle the situation!" Having made up his mind, he continued onward, using the map in the bone slip to navigate his way toward the edge of the jungle.

Not long after he had left, a mysterious gray mist began to build up in the area surrounding the grave mound.

Then, sounds could be heard like someone walking along a bed of brittle leaves.

Soon, a figure appeared, walking slowly through the mists to come to stand in front of Uzumaki Hao's grave.

It was an old man in a long gray robe, with an expressionless face. If Naruto had been there, he would have recognized him immediately. He was... the gravekeeper!

The old man looked at the grave mound for a long moment, then turned to look in the direction Naruto had taken before. A moment passed, and then the old man turned and walked away.

As Naruto sped through the jungle toward its border, Zhou Yixing walked out of the cave on the mountain some distance away.

He looked much healthier than before, and his eyes shone brightly. Although he wasn't completely back to normal, he was mostly recovered. However, when he thought back to the losses he had sustained in the labyrinth, depression gripped his heart, and he gritted his teeth in his teeth in frustration.

"It's all the fault of that Naruto! The world will be a better place with him dead!" Snorting coldly, he looked around, and then began to reinforce the spell formations he had set up in the area.

Despite the two months that had passed, he still wasn't fully recovered from the injuries he had suffered in the labyrinth. However, after being teleported to this place, he was lucky enough to encounter a few wandering Foundation Establishment soul cultivators.

After killing them, he used a secret magic to consume their flesh, blood, and cultivation bases, which helped him recover quite a bit. However, as a necromancer, he was well aware that this location was far beyond his own clan's territory, and that he was a stranger here. Even he was in great danger here.

During the two months in which he had stayed in place, he had used spell formations to trap a few more soul cultivators, who provided nourishment for his recovery.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the Jungle of Lost Souls, which would mean I'm very, very far away from home..." Frowning, Zhou Yixing looked around again, and then sighed.

"That means I'm in the territory of the giant ghost king, one of the four great kings of the Wildlands, a demigod with five devas under his command... If I want to get home, I'm going to have to pass through Giant Ghost City at some point. That's where the teleportation portal will be." After some thought, he finished his work with the spell formations.

"There won't be as many soul cultivators out in the open once I leave the region of the Jungle of Lost Souls. I'll capture a few more and restore my cultivation base, then head to Giant Ghost City." Having made his decision, he was just about to go back into the cave when his expression flickered as he noticed a figure speeding through the jungle some distance away.

Chapter 567

A+ A- Chapter 567

Chapter 567: I Hate People Named Uzumaki!

"Not a bad cultivation base, this Core Formation soul cultivator!" Eyes widening and heart beginning to race, Zhou Yixing looked at the figure speeding out from the jungle and licked his lips. After weighing matters, his eyes shone with determination.

"If he goes in a different direction, then I'll ignore him. But if he enters the range of my restrictive spells, I can consume him with ease!

"Absorbing him would be the equivalent of consuming over a hundred Foundation Establishment soul cultivators. Not only would that completely heal me, but it would push my cultivation base to the peak!" He quickly backed up into the darkness of the cave, keeping his attention focused on the incoming figure, who was none other than Naruto.

Naruto followed the map out of the jungle, and upon emerging into the open, he saw the evening sky up above, and a barren landscape stretching out in front of him. There were mountains everywhere, all of them the completely inhospitable type that left one with a choking sensation.

Occasionally, spheres of mist that were vengeful souls could be seen floating here and there. The entire area seemed very sinister...

"This place looks wilder than the places I visited outside the Great Wall!" Sighing, he proceeded forward.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yixing was crouching in his cave on the barren mountain. When he realized that the cultivator who had just flown out of the jungle wasn't heading in his direction, he hesitated for a moment, after which a brutal gleam appeared in his eyes.

"I'm thinking too much into it. I just need to consume him, and then I'll be back to normal... Considering that I'm a necromancer, and he's just a soul cultivator, I should be able to crush him with ease!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Zhou Yixing's expression

turned even more fierce. Waving his hand, he summoned his ninefoldenhanced black greatbow, and then leaped out from the cave, shooting eighteen arrows in quick succession at Naruto!

Naruto sensed him as soon as he leapt out in the open. Spinning, he looked in Zhou Yixing's direction, and when he saw him, his jaw dropped.

The eighteen soul arrows screamed through the air, eighteen beams of light that bore down so quickly on Naruto that, before he could react, they were right in front of him.

"Zhou Yixing?" he thought. Almost immediately, excitement rose up in his heart. How could he have possibly imagined that he would actually run into a familiar face here? Even more surprising was that the familiar face was none other than his lucky star! Naruto was already exuberant at how considerate Zhou Yixing was to show up in such a way.

However, he quickly came to a decision. "I can't let him figure out who I am..."

Not hesitating any further, he waved his right index finger at the eighteen soul arrows.

Instantly, a vortex sprang up to meet the arrows, and intense rumbling sounds rang out as the arrows exploded. The resulting shockwave blasted out, sending dust up in all directions. At the same time, Naruto continued forward, completely unharmed.

Zhou Yixing's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, and his heart began to pound so hard he started shaking. All of a sudden, a very bad feeling filled him.

"Dammit," he cursed inwardly, "this guy's way stronger than me!" Already regretting his impulsiveness, he shot back toward the safety of his restrictive spells on the mountain.

However, that was when Naruto chuckled darkly and strode forward. As he did, his visage blurred, and in the blink of an eye, his wood clone stepped out and shot toward the barren mountain in a blur of

of light.

At first, Naruto hadn't noticed the restrictive spells on the mountain, but now that they had caught his attention, he could see how deadly they were. And yet, that didn't bother him. Waving his hand, he sent another clone speeding toward the mountain.

Because he was currently wearing his mask, the clones he produced also looked like Uzumaki Hao.

When Zhou Yixing saw all of this happening, his face fell dramatically.

"Clones!" From what Zhou Yixing understood, anyone with a clone was an extraordinary individual, and shockingly, this person had two. Then he remembered whose territory he was currently in, and came to the conclusion that this person must somehow be connected to the giant ghost king. It probably wouldn't have mattered if he absorbed him, but now that it was obvious he wasn't a match, his regret only continued to grow more profound.

"Stay your hand, Fellow Daoist! I'm Zhou Yixing from the eastern Zhou

Clan. This was just a misunderstanding! I mistook you for an old enemy of mine!"

Naruto chuckled. Intentionally keeping his voice a bit raspy, he said, "Misunderstanding? Is that what you say to everyone surnamed Uzumaki? I was just passing through here, and I'm supposed to believe this little ambush of yours was a mere misunderstanding?"

Then he waved his hand, sending his two clones slamming down onto the mountain peak, where they began to batter the restrictive spells into oblivion.

However, these were no ordinary restrictive spells, so the two clones couldn't accomplish the task immediately. Overall, it took them the time it takes half an incense stick to burn before breaking through them all.

From Naruto's perspective, things were going very slowly, but to Zhou Yixing, it was the opposite. The restrictive spells he had used were a specialty of his clan, and were particularly powerful. The fact that this person could break the formations

the formations so easily left him completely shocked.

Even as he tried to keep his restrictive spells operational despite the onslaught of the two clones, he nervously called out, "Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, please, just listen... I'm a necromancer, and a master necromancer at that! I can compensate you with some soul medicine..."

At the moment, the fact that this person was surnamed Uzumaki didn't really make him pause for thought. After all, Uzumaki was a relatively common surname.

Inwardly, Naruto was smiling broadly; dealing with Zhou Yixing actually gave him a warm feeling of familiarity. On the outside, however, he maintained a proud expression as he waved his hand and caused shocking soul power fluctuations to roil out. The fluctuations were so domineering that it was instantly obvious that they weren't from a soul cultivator, but rather, a necromancer.

"I'm a necromancer too!" he said in a cool voice that abounded with dignity. When Zhou Yixing heard it, he shivered, and his eyes turned more bloodshot than before.

"You think I'm scared of you or something!?" he roared. Performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he sent a black mist pouring out of his greatbow, which formed into a black arrow with a vicious ghost face on it. Then, Zhou Yixing pulled back the bowstring.

"Feeling a bit cocky, huh?" Naruto responded loftily. He blurred again as his water clone stepped out, transforming into a third beam of light that shot toward the mountain.

"You have another clone!?" Zhou Yixing blurted. With three clones battering at the restrictive spells, it was obvious they wouldn't last for much longer. Finally, Zhou Yixing let out a shout as he unleashed a black arrow toward Naruto.

The ghost face arrow howled as it closed in. As it did, Naruto proudly lifted his chin, fully confident that even Zhou Yixing in his peak state wouldn't be a match for him.

match for him. Considering that he was currently injured, he was even less in a place to fight him. After all, Naruto was now even stronger than he had been back in the labyrinth.

As such, he didn't even pay attention to the arrow. He simply reached out and grabbed it forcefully.

The arrow lurched to a halt, and the ghost face screamed miserably. However, no struggles on its part did any good. Zhou Yixing's mind was already spinning by this point.

"Impossible!"

Even as he gaped in shock, a series of explosions rang out as the three clones finally broke through the last of the restrictive spells, and then surrounded Zhou Yixing.

Zhou Yixing struggled a bit, but within moments, had been subdued, and his cultivation base sealed. Then, Naruto's true self stepped over into the cave, clearing his throat as he looked him up and down.

Zhou Yixing's heart immediately began to beat wildly. Glaring up at Naruto, he gritted his teeth and said, "My Zhou Clan has served the nine serenities king to stand guard over the east for years. Plus, I'm from the clan's direct bloodline! If you kill me, the Zhou Clan will definitely avenge my death!"

Smiling faintly, Naruto ignored Zhou Yixing's threats and picked up his bag of holding. After erasing the branding mark, he opened it and looked inside.

Unfortunately, it was mostly empty except for some miscellaneous objects. There were four tongues of seven-colored flame, which Naruto was happy to collect, along with the greatbow.

Zhou Yixing stared angrily at Naruto as he rifled through his bag of holding, grief pulsing in his heart. He simply couldn't figure out why he would be bullied by Naruto in the labyrinth, only to escape and be bullied by someone else named Uzumaki.

"I hate people named Uzumaki!" he wailed inwardly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Chapter 568

A+ A- Chapter 568

Chapter 568: Bring It On! Lets See Whos Scared Of Whom!

After looking through Zhou Yixing's bag of holding inside and out for quite a bit, he found little else of interest.

Glaring in irritation, Naruto said, "If you're a direct bloodline clan member of the Zhou Clan, what's the deal with your bag of holding? It's virtually empty!"

"You're too late!" Zhou Yixing replied angrily. "Before I ran into you, some other damned brute took away all my stuff!" To have someone rob him and then look down on him with disdain was pushing him to the brink of madness. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined ending up this poor state. Once upon a time, his bag of holding had contained nine-colored flame, a fire soul arrow, plenty of soul slaves, and a huge collection of soul medicine.

However, all of that had either been stolen from him or used up in the labyrinth...

When Naruto saw how angry Zhou Yixing was getting, he narrowed his eyes. He had noticed Zhou Yixing's use of the term 'damned brute', and was fairly certain who he was referring to. Clearing his throat, he ignored Zhou Yixing and then began to examine a few bone slips that he had found in his bag of holding.

There was quite a bit of information, but most of it was already known to

Naruto. After quite a bit of searching, he didn't find any formulas for multicolored flame, which was the main thing he was interested in at the moment.

However, what he found in the last bone slip left him feeling a bit better. It had a map much larger than the one he currently possessed, which showed almost the entire Wildlands. Although it wasn't very detailed, it at least made his current situation a bit clearer.

One thing he noticed was that there were five enormous cities marked on the map. Four of the cities were located in the cardinal directions of east, west, south and north. Those four cities were Nine

Serenities City, Giant Ghost City, War Champion City and Spirit Advent City!

Those four huge cities controlled large areas within the Wildlands.

Furthermore, far away in a location between War Champion City and

Spirit Advent City was a fifth city, which was listed as the imperial city!

Lost in thought, he put the bone slip away. After a moment, he looked back at Zhou Yixing.

Seeing the look in his eye, Zhou Yixing knew that his life or death would be decided within the next few moments. Glaring back angrily at Naruto, he snarled, "If you're gonna kill me, kill me!"

Chuckling, Naruto squatted down in front of Zhou Yixing and said, "Calm down, I just want to ask you some questions. If you answer them well, then I might be pleased enough to spare your life."

Worried that his clones might be frightening Zhou Yixing too much, he waved his hand, and they faded away into motes of white light that merged back into his body.

"If you think I'm going to tell you anything, you might as well stop dreaming right now!" Zhou Yixing shouted, spraying a bit of spittle out of his mouth as he did. "If you've got what it takes, just kill me! The necromancers from my clan will definitely avenge my death!" Zhou Yixing knew that this necromancer would likely want to use his soul for necromantic purposes. Therefore, he didn't believe at all that his life would be spared.

Bitterness filled Zhou Yixing's heart, but he was ready to die, and therefore, decided to throw caution to the wind and take a stand.

Zhou Yixing's raving reaction actually startled Naruto, but when spittle almost landed on his face, he started to get mad.

"You really think you're tough stuff, don't you Zhou Yixing!? I didn't even ask you any questions, you fool, and you've already refused to answer!?" Naruto almost couldn't believe how brazen Zhou Yixing was acting. Here he was, a prisoner of war, and yet he dared to act like a bully!

Zhou Yixing chuckled

chuckled coldly. Convinced that he was about to die, he didn't even attempt to conceal the scorn in his eyes as he said, "Hmph! I don't care what questions you have. You can forget about getting even a scrap of information out of me. By the way, I might as well tell you that the Zhou Clan has made interrogation and torture into an art. People like me train in that kind of thing from childhood! If you have what it takes, go ahead and see if you can get me to open my mouth. I can't wait to see you try!"

That scorn touched a nerve in Naruto, whose eyes widened as he slapped his bag of holding. Suddenly, an Aphrodisiac Pill appeared in his hand, and before Zhou Yixing could even see what it was, he shoved it into his mouth. Then he bopped him on his chest, whereupon the pill slid down Zhou Yixing's throat.

"I'll show you what true terror means," Naruto raged, "and then we'll see if you talk or not!"

Zhou Yixing was immediately alarmed at the warm currents of energy that began to flow through him. Although he maintained a calm front, inside he began to get nervous. However, he managed to maintain his angry glare at Naruto.

It didn't take long for an unnatural expression to appear on Zhou Yixing's face as he felt himself growing hotter and hotter. At the same time, an explosively impulsive urge began to fill him, causing his eyes to turn red. He also began to pant heavily. The torturous feeling caused him to start shaking, and yet, he seemed to possess incredible tenacity that allowed him to endure the feeling. He even managed to continue to stare hatefully at Naruto.

After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Zhou Yixing seemed like he was about to catch on fire, and yet, he hadn't uttered a peep. Naruto was actually somewhat moved. "Why are you being like this? I just want to ask you

ask you a few questions." Sighing, Naruto was just about to try to talk some sense into him when Zhou Yixing suddenly began to cackle madly.

"Cut the crap! Is this all you can do? What else ya got? Bring it on!" Although his voice quavered a bit, he seemed to brim with selfconfidence, and even went so far as to spit a glob of spittle at Naruto.

Naruto dodged out of the way, his fury burning. The two of them faced off angrily for a long moment, until finally Naruto pointed at him and said, "Alright, you're forcing my hand, Mr. Zhou!"

Even as he spoke the words, his wood clone stepped out and flew down the mountain toward the nearby jungle. He returned moments later, whereupon he waved his sleeve, sending a three-meter-long pig-like creature flying toward Zhou Yixing. Its skin was covered with long, thick fur, and it was clearly male.

The pig-creature looked around warily, and even let out a few squeals, but underneath the pressure that emanated from Naruto, it couldn't even move.

Zhou Yixing stared at the creature in shock, unsure of exactly what Naruto was planning to do. Next, Naruto waved his hand, removing Zhou Yixing's bonds but leaving his cultivation base sealed.

Zhou Yixing's expression flickered at the sudden return of mobility, but then his eyes fell onto the pig-creature, and he almost couldn't hold back from pouncing onto it.

As he stood there, his eyes crimson, his entire body shaking, beads of sweat popped out all over him. He looked like he was burning up inside, to a degree that far surpassed anything from before.

"Talk," Naruto said with a sigh. "There's no reason to be like this. Don't worry, all you have to do is tell me what I want to know, and I won't kill you."

"I'll die before I talk. You might as well forget about learning anything from me!" Zhou Yixing felt like he might explode at any moment. His expression was distorted, and blue veins were bulging

veins were bulging out all over him. The intense heat inside of him was something he had never felt in his entire life.

"You've vastly underestimated Lord Zhou's willpower! It's so strong that even my clan patriarchs praised me for it!" Zhou Yixing was soaked in sweat, and was clearly on the verge of burning up. However, he still managed to back up a bit, and finally, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, more disdain in his eyes than ever.

Naruto's expression flickered in surprise, and even some heartfelt admiration for Zhou Yixing. Based on what he could tell, he really did have terrifying willpower and endurance, something that was beyond the grasp of ordinary people.

"I understand, Fellow Daoist Zhou. Your willpower surpasses that of common folk. Quite amazing. All I wanted to do was ask you a few questions, I really had no choice but to push things this far. Please don't hold a grudge over what happens next..." Sighing deeply, he looked over at the pig-creature, and then back at Zhou Yixing.

"I just hope this pig-creature has as much willpower as you do..." Shaking his head, he pulled out an Aphrodisiac Pill, crushed it into powder, and prepared to feed it to the creature.

When Zhou Yixing saw this, he stopped laughing and stared with eyes so wide they looked like they might explode. He began to pant and even grunt, and the blood drained from his face. His legs were shaking, as if he might collapse at any moment. Although he wasn't sure exactly what type of medicine he had been given that had driven him into this madness, the thought of the same thing happening to the pig-creature caused his scalp to tingle violently. He didn't even dare to think about what might happen next.

He didn't dare to bet that the pig-creature had any level of willpower, and before long, the thought of what was to come filled his mind with indescribable bitterness. And yet, his lip curled... "Bring it on! Let's see who's scared of whom!"

Chapter 569

A+ A- Chapter 569

Chapter 569: Make It Stop!

"Ah, a true man!" Yet again, Naruto was moved by how Zhou

Yixing was still refusing to give in after things had gone so far. In Naruto's estimation, there were few true men like this in the world, other than himself of course.

It was quite a shock to find another true man, and yet that was exactly what was happening right now. Sighing, he couldn't help but feel that he and Zhou Yixing were actually quite similar in certain ways.

Sighing deeply, he said, "It pains me to put a true man into a situation like this. However, in order to respect your wishes, I will comply with your request. Furthermore, I will look away so that I don't see your ignominy."

After all, he simply couldn't bear to watch a true man shed tears.

"If you can endure what happens next, then I won't ask you any questions!" Gritting his teeth, Naruto looked at Zhou Yixing one last time, fully convinced that he deserved to be called a true man. With that, he held the powder of the crushed pill out in front of the pigcreature's snout...

After consuming the powder, the pig-creature began to tremble, and much more quickly than Zhou Yixing had. Then its eyes turned red, and it began to squeal over and over again, as if in arousal. And then it began to look around.

In response, Zhou Yixing shivered, and no matter how stiff he tried to keep his upper lip, it didn't stop him from letting out a shriek.

Even more terrifying was how the pig-creature suddenly turned and looked at him, it eyes shining with madness and fire. It began to stamp its hooves into the ground and squeal even louder, the sound of which intensified Zhou Yixing's shaking.

Were it not for the fact that Naruto had placed his hand restrainingly onto the pig-creatures' back, it would have already

pounced...

Because of the horrifying nature of the situation, Zhou Yixing's shriek was filled with incomparable terror. By this point, he was completely devolving into fear, to the point where he was losing control...

He could very clearly imagine what would be happening in the moments to come, and knew that he wouldn't last for very long...

Meanwhile, Naruto's eyes shone with both determination and admiration as he slowly removed his hand from the pig-creature's back, then turned and walked toward the mouth of the cave.

He truly did admire Zhou Yixing, and was determined to keep his promise. Considering how much he respected him, if he said he wouldn't watch the outcome, then he definitely wouldn't. He sighed again, a sigh filled with no small amount of grief.

"I really can't bear to watch a true man cry... Why did you have to push me into doing this?" Shaking his head, he walked out of the cage. As he did, he heard the pig-creature squeal loudly, and heard the miserable shrieks of Zhou Yixing as he tried to dodge the thing.

"Lord Uzumaki, I'm sorry!" he shouted, "Stop this! Ask me whatever you want, I'll tell you anything you need to know!" Zhou Yixing was using every scrap of energy he had to dodge back and forth, completely cognizant of the fate in store for him if the pig-creature managed to pin him. By this point, he had completely abandoned any attempt to look brave, and was shrieking miserably.

In response to his words, Naruto stopped in place, a look of pride flashing through his eyes. Face lighting up, he turned to look at the scrambling Zhou Yixing.

"You agree to answer my questions?"

Zhou Yixing was so terrified that tears were already leaking out of his eyes. Scrambling backward, he shrieked, "I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want to know. Just make it stop!"

Pleased and yet somewhat disillusioned, Naruto shook his head at

at the sadness of the world's loss of another true man.

"It seems that I really am the only true man in this heaven and earth. Ah, whatever." Sighing, he stepped forward and grabbed the pigcreature, then gave it to one of his clones to take back to the jungle.

After the pig-creature left, Zhou Yixing leaned up against the cave wall and then slumped down to the ground, panting, his face completely ashen. His clothing dripped with sweat as he looked up at Naruto, feeling very much like he had just sidestepped an utter catastrophe.

As of this moment, Naruto didn't even seem human to him, but rather, like one of the most evil and wicked beings in existence...

Squatting in front of Zhou Yixing, Naruto put a look of complete sincerity on his face as he placatingly said, "See, Zhou Yixing? I never had any ill intentions. I just wanted to ask you some questions, that's all. Come, come, be a good boy and tell me all of the flame formulas you know. Let's start with one-colored flame."

Zhou Yixing's eyes went wide with shock.

"Th-that's... that's all you wanted to ask me?" Zhou Yixing almost couldn't believe that he had heard correctly.

Naruto shot to his feet and angrily barked, "Of course that's all I wanted to know! What, don't tell me you're going to go back on your word, are you?! That pig-creature can't have gone very far..."

"I'll tell you! Of course I'll tell you!" Zhou Yixing looked up at the cave ceiling and forced the tears of frustration and anger back into his eyes. He felt like he was going crazy, to the point where his heart was palpitating. He had assumed this necromancer wanted to ask him about top secret information, and never even considered that he would simply want to know some flame formulas. Virtually all the aristocratic necromancer clans had formulas for everything from one- to

one- to eleven-colored flame. Furthermore, such formulas were available for purchase at the cost of soul medicine in all of the cities of the kings...

If he had known that these were the questions he was to be asked, he would never have held out for so long. When he thought back to the pain he had endured, he felt like the entire world was spinning around him.

But then, his mind suddenly trembled as he realized that something about the situation seemed off. If this Necromancer Uzumaki was from one of the necromancer clans, then it would be impossible for him to be unaware of the formulas for various multicolored flames. The fact that he was asking questions about the formulas meant that he wasn't telling the complete truth about what he wanted.

Obviously, he was simply playing games!

Zhou Yixing's eyes flashed as he became more and more convinced that his analysis was correct. Glaring at Naruto, he contemplated resisting, but the mere thought of the pig-creature's blazing eyes caused his heart to tremble. Gritting his teeth, he began with the formula for one-colored flame, and explained everything up to fourteen-colored flame.

Naruto was in very high spirits as he took out a jade slip and took notes about everything. After Zhou Yixing finished, he even had quite a few detailed follow-up questions. Zhou Yixing's explanations seemed quite satisfactory, and in the end, Naruto was beaming with joy.

Of course, this caused Zhou Yixing to curse inwardly. All of the formulas he had explained were genuine; he didn't dare to give any false information. After all, this was a necromancer he was dealing with. And yet, this Uzumaki fellow seemed completely immersed in his little act.

"Fudge, this guy sure can put on a good show!" Zhou Yixing thought, grinding his teeth. The humiliation he was enduring had him completely seething with anger.

Naruto happily put the jade slip away and asked a few

asked a few more questions, each of which further convinced Zhou Yixing that he was being cruelly toyed with...

After all, many of the questions seemed completely random and superfluous, to the point where Zhou Yixing couldn't even imagine why they were being asked. His humiliation continued to fester.

Finally, Naruto asked, "Hey, wait a second, Zhou Yixing. What about the formula for fifteen-colored flame? Spit it out."

With that, he stared expectantly at Zhou Yixing.

At this point, Zhou Yixing couldn't take it anymore. Eyes burning with flames of anger, he shouted, "Enough with the act, Uzumaki! What's going on here?! You expect me to believe you don't know we're in Giant Ghost City territory?! You really don't know that the giant ghost king is one of the four great kings!? You really don't know that the teleportation portal is in the city itself!?

"Is this some kind of game to you?! I can't believe you asked me how old I am and how many Daoist partners I have. What's the point!?

"You're a necromancer, but you don't know that only the great clans have the formula for fifteen-colored flame? Dammit! How long are you going to keep toying with me!?" Zhou Yixing was so angry he was weeping.

His outburst left Naruto feeling a bit embarrassed. Many of the questions he had asked were just things he was randomly curious about, with others being completely inane and pointless. Seeing how angry Zhou Yixing was, Naruto chuckled and then smacked the back of his head, rendering him unconscious.

Ignoring him, he walked to the entrance of the cave and stood there, looking solemnly out at the lands in front of him.

"At long last I understand how the Wildlands' forces are organized," he murmured. "Strange. Why didn't the information back at the Great Wall make this clear? A lot of these things are obviously not secret. I wonder if someone intentionally got rid of some of the details..."

Chapter 570

A+ A- Chapter 570

Chapter 570: Flame Conjuring Techniques

In the Wildlands, the five great powers were split among five enormous cities!

Of those five cities, four were the cities of the kings, and one was the imperial city! Those cities were Nine Serenities City, Giant Ghost City, War Champion City, Spirit Advent City, and lastly... Arch-Emperor City!

The Wildlands was structured in the same ancient fashion as the lands of Heavenspan. At the peak of everything was the current arch-emperor, and beneath him were the four kings!

The four kings were like feudal vassals, who controlled the four major cities, and raised and kept armies.

In the imperial city, there were also lords and marquis who were ranked lower than the kings. Essentially, the Wildlands was structured very much like a feudal empire.

Naruto had learned all of this information by asking one question after another of Zhou Yixing earlier. Although he was surprised by some of the new things he had learned, it all made sense based on what he had known before. After all, he had long since come to understand that the soul cultivators and the necromancers were the true rulers of the Wildlands.

However, what he hadn't known was that years and years ago, the Celestial from Heavenspan Island had overthrown the current empire. Afterward, the surviving members of the overthrown dynasty had fled to the Wildlands, which led to the current situation.

He was currently in territory ruled by one of the four great kings, the giant ghost king. As for the jungle behind him, it was called the Jungle of Lost Souls, and was relatively close to Giant Ghost City.

Furthermore, Giant Ghost City lay in the western regions of the lands of Heavenspan, whereas the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was in the east. That put him very, very far away from home.

If he wanted to get back to the eastern branch of the Heavenspan River, he would have to cross the Heavenspan Sea, which was something that not even Nascent Soul cultivators could do. Only people with Deva Realm

cultivation bases could do such a thing.

Of course, there were other methods of travel, such as using teleportation portals. It wouldn't be extremely difficult to get to the eastern Heavenspan region via that method. Unfortunately, by means of a very vague line of questioning, Naruto was able to learn from Zhou Yixing that only people born in the Wildlands could use those teleportation portals.

The foundation of such teleportation portals was soul power, which gave them many other strange properties.

And yet, not even Zhou Yixing had been absolutely sure about all of that. Most of the information he provided was based on things he had heard but couldn't personally verify. In the end, Naruto lapsed into silence for a bit, staring out at the sky outside the cave.

"Ah, whatever," he thought with a sigh. "I might as well give it a shot.

Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and be able to teleport out of here."

Shaking his head, he looked back at Zhou Yixing, who was lying there unconscious after being bopped in the head.

Despite the fact that Zhou Yixing had tried to kill him three times, simply ending his life here didn't seem like the right thing to do. If they were back at the Great Wall, it would have been a different story, but out here all alone in an unfamiliar place, it seemed like a better choice to keep him as a traveling companion.

Besides... Naruto was absolutely convinced that Zhou Yixing was truly his lucky star. With him to lead the way, the Wildlands didn't seem like such a perilous place after all...

That thought left Naruto even less inclined to kill him. After a bit more thought, his hand flashed in an incantation gesture, and he put a few hundred restrictive spells onto Zhou Yixing. Having accomplished that, he held Zhou Yixing's life in his hands, and could kill him with a mere thought.

"It wouldn't be good to keep him completely cut away from his cultivation base. What would happen

happen if we ran into some trouble and he got killed? That wouldn't do." After some more thought, he unsealed ten percent of Zhou Yixing's cultivation base. However, that still left him feeling a bit uneasy, so he reduced him to only half of that.

"With only five percent of his cultivation base, he's essentially a Foundation Establishment cultivator. That gives him a bit of freedom, but will ensure that he doesn't try to escape." Marveling at how well he treated his lucky star, he ignored him, settling down cross-legged to experiment with one of the flame formulas Zhou Yixing had explained to him.

In order to make sure nothing unexpected happened, he summoned his three clones, sending one to the cave entrance, and having the other two sit on either side of him as Dharma protectors.

Three days went by in a flash. Zhou Yixing had long since regained consciousness, and was lying there motionless. He could sense that ninety-five percent of his cultivation base was sealed away, and yet, was still very relieved. Obviously, his captor didn't plan on killing him, and had instead sealed his cultivation base. For the moment, he was safe.

However, when he thought of how unlucky had been since going to the labyrinth, he couldn't stop the grief from welling up inside of him, and simply lay there, staring at the cave ceiling.

As Zhou Yixing lay there in a daze, Naruto was fully immersed in studying the flame formulas. The more he did, the more shocked he grew, to the point where he began muttering to himself.

"So that's how you conjure multi-colored flame... Different types of flame require different types of souls as the ingredients. Actually, there are very strict requirements in that regard.

"To make two-colored flame, you need to start out with one-colored flame... After you get two-colored flame, you can put more souls into it and thus conjure three-colored flame..." The more he studied, the more his eyes began to sparkle with interest. There were many differences between conjuring flame and concocting

and concocting medicine, but there were enough similarities that it made it easy for him to gain a basic understanding of the process.

"Interesting..." he thought, licking his lips. He knew that concocting medicine was one of his best skills, and therefore, the idea of getting good at conjuring flame was very enticing.

For the moment, he decided to forget about two-colored flame and focus on one-colored flame. He even decided to do some tests to see if he could perform a conjuring himself.

After carefully studying the formula, he had his water clone take his bag of holding outside to capture some vengeful souls.

Zhou Yixing watched all of this happen with flashing eyes. He was especially shocked by Naruto's clones, and couldn't stop thinking about how they had crushed his restrictive spells as easily as dried weeds.

"Just what kind of divine ability does this Uzumaki guy cultivate? It's not like I've never seen clones before, but most of the time they're illusory, and usually only have about ten percent of the true self's cultivation base. Even that is extraordinary. But this guy's clones seem to be just as powerful as his true self. It's... completely impossible!"

Zhou Yixing pondered the subject for a couple of hours, until it was dark outside. Then, a figure suddenly burst into the cave, startling him. However, it turned out to be the clone which had left earlier.

The clone walked over to Naruto's true self and handed him the bag of holding, then sat down cross-legged next to him and continued meditating.

Naruto's eyes opened, and he waved his hand, causing eight vengeful souls to emerge from his bag of holding. They were blurry balls of mist that occasionally took the shape of savages or beasts that growled at Naruto.

After studying them briefly, a very serious expression overtook Naruto's face as he sank into the same state he often did when concocting medicine. Reaching out, he grabbed all eight of the souls and crushed them down into his palm. Almost immediately, it felt as

it felt as if some natural law were at work. To his surprise, streams of fiery light began to seep out of the cracks between his fingers, which quickly faded away. When he opened his hand a moment later, it was completely empty.

Off to the side, Zhou Yixing's lip curled into a sneer.

"He's using Zhou Clan flame conjuring techniques... Hmph! The techniques of our clan were bestowed upon us by the nine serenities king. Although we don't have the best techniques available, they're still incredible. Most people need to practice for a decade to use them with skill, and sometimes even a few sixty-year-cycles. Even one-colored flame usually takes people a year to master. The clan chief praised my abilities as being exceptional, and I took three months and thousands of sessions to succeed. This guy is obviously used to other techniques, but is still trying to master Zhou methods. Doesn't know his own limits!"

Naruto frowned as he looked down thoughtfully at his palm. After analyzing matters a bit, he pulled out eight more souls, and then grabbed them into his hand to try again.

The same thing happened as before, as fiery streams of light escaped his hand. However, this time, they didn't fade away. They actually began to glow more brightly, and then, transformed into a tongue of onecolored flame, burning right there in his palm!

Zhou Yixing's eyes went wide with shock, and his jaw dropped. He was very well aware of how different the various flame conjuring techniques were. It was a very difficult thing for a necromancer familiar with one system to master the techniques of another, and would usually require a lot of fine-tuning in the process.

But this Necromancer Uzumaki... had used the time it takes an incense stick to burn to master it on the second try!

Zhou Yixing was so shocked he started panting.

"Beginners luck, that's all. This guy is just lucky!" Despite the way he comforted himself, he swallowed hard and stared at the one-colored flame Naruto had conjured.

Chapter 571

A+ A- Chapter 571

Chapter 571: Just Who Exactly Are You!?

"It's not that hard!" Naruto said proudly, looking at the onecolored flame. Conjuring flame and concocting medicine really were similar in a lot of ways.

Although the specific techniques were different, there were plenty of commonalities. For example, when conjuring flame, one mixed together certain types of souls, and then made adjustments based on the subsequent transformations.

The main difficulty lay in the fact that all the adjustments needed to be made in one fell swoop, when the souls were crushed together into the palm. The slightest mistake at that point would lead to a failure.

Of course, the process also required the use of one's cultivation base. Both spiritual power and soul power counted as energy of heaven and earth, and were a required element.

To a novice, all of those different factors would require time to get used to. But Naruto's first failure had only been because he didn't make the proper adjustments in the necessary moment. Afterward, he had analyzed the situation, and then decided to simply think of the souls as medicinal plants with unique properties, his hand as the pill furnace, and his spiritual power as the fire to heat the furnace!

After that, everything became clear.

Therefore, he succeeded on his second try!

The sight of the one-colored flame in his hand got him very excited, as if a huge door had been opened, leading to a new road to follow.

"Necromancers are like the direct descendants of heaven and earth! And I'm a necromancer!" He laughed heartily, aware that his ability to conjure one-colored flame made him an initiate necromancer in the Wildlands.

"Next up, two-colored flame..." Eyes glittering, he produced some more souls from his bag of holding, then followed the formula. Treating the souls like medicinal plants, he combined them according to the required ratios, adjusted his spiritual power, and then closed

his hand over the souls to act as the pill furnace.

It might have seemed complicated, but Naruto had been concocting medicine for years, and was very familiar with such tasks. His eyes shone as he immersed himself in his work, and soon, the onecolored flame and the various souls combined, and a second color appeared within the flames.

Zhou Yixing couldn't help but rise to a sitting position, his eyes wider than ever as he stared at the two-colored flame forming in Uzumaki

Naruto's palm. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Impossible! It took me a full three years to succeed at conjuring twocolored flame!" Zhou Yixing almost looked like he'd seen a ghost, and the disappointment in his heart was very uncomfortable.

"Well, it's not like it's that amazing. It's just two-colored flame, right?

Not really a big deal. This Uzumaki guy is just really lucky, that's all!" Even as Zhou Yixing stewed in his irritation, the two-colored flame finished forming.

However, things weren't over yet. Naruto pulled out some more souls, roughly fifty this time, and used what seemed to be an even more complicated method to feed them into the two-colored flame. Gradually, a third color appeared, and he had a three-colored flame!

Naruto didn't seem very impressed with the three-colored flame. Without even pausing, he waved his sleeve to produce a few hundred vengeful souls. Then, eyes glittering, he fed the souls into the threecolored flame, which roiled like a sea of fire. Although it seemed like he was simply throwing them in, he actually put them in according to a very specific order, making adjustments the entire time. However, the overall process happened in a flash.

A moment later, the sea of fire shrank back down into a tongue of flame, this time... with four colors!

"How is this possible?!" Zhou Yixing exclaimed inwardly, his eyes wider than before as

as he stared at the four-colored flame. Before, he had chalked everything up to luck, but by now, he couldn't continue to convince himself that it was mere chance.

The fact that Naruto had produced four-colored flame in almost one smooth action indicated to Zhou Yixing that he was actually dealing with a journeyman necromancer!

However, everything was happening so quickly that Zhou Yixing began to wonder if this was someone from his clan that he didn't know...

But he quickly quashed the idea. Glaring at Naruto, he gritted his teeth, unable to conceal the envy which flickered in his eyes.

"I refuse to believe that this guy is really this amazing. That's nothing but a trifling four-colored flame. There's no way he's going to be able to conjure a five-colored flame using Zhou Clan techniques. After all, when trying to conjure five-colored flame, there is an extremely difficult factor that most people-" Before he could finish that thought, Naruto produced over a thousand vengeful souls, combined them, and fed them into the four-colored flame. The flame danced wildly as though it were about to wink out, and yet, Naruto somberly closed his hand over it. Then, moments later, he opened his fist to reveal... a fifth color! Zhou Yixing was struck numb, and his scalp started tingling madly.

"I don't care how amazing his guy is, there's no way he can conjure nine-colored flame! He can't! I don't care how awesome he thinks he is, or how talented, he still needs time to stabilize the flame!"

Naruto had no way of knowing that Zhou Yixing was virtually going crazy. Had he known, he would have been very pleased, but at the moment, he was fully focused on the five-colored flame in his palm. Instead of continuing on to try to conjure more flames, he spent time pondering why the five-colored flame had almost

had almost winked out earlier.

After a bit of time passed, he reached a conclusion...

"There was a conflict with the soul ingredients. The formula isn't perfect! When five-colored flame forms, some of the souls clash with each other. If the disturbance is contained, the flame is conjured. If not... then it's a failure.

"So, it seems that I can't really trust the formulas after all." After some more thought, he proceeded to try to conjure six-colored flame, and did just as the formula required, which was produce 3,000 souls.

Generally speaking, it was very important to maintain the proper ratio of souls, and also mix them together at the right time. For many journeyman necromancers, that was a very difficult thing to do, but for Naruto, it was a simple thing, even with 3,000 souls.

Before long, the 3,000 souls were all arranged and adjusted properly, and were pouring into the five-colored flame. Before long, he had his sixcolored flame!

Next was seven-colored flame. By this point, Zhou Yixing couldn't have been any more shocked, and was in fact wracked with feelings of intense jealousy, and at the same time, despair.

It was simply impossible for him to imagine how someone could be so talented that they could use his clan's flame formulas to conjure everything up to a seven-colored flame in one single session.

It was simply inhuman... What was even more amazing was that Zhou Yixing had been the one to tell him the formulas, and yet, hadn't mentioned the most important things to pay attention to. One example was how important it was to contain the disturbances that arose in fivecolored flame. And yet, despite leaving such things out, this Necromancer Uzumaki had figured everything out on his own. Zhou Yixing couldn't help but be a bit terrified.

When eight-colored flame appeared in Naruto's palm, Zhou Yixing felt a bit numb, and simply stared in shock, stared in shock, unsure if he was seeing things or not...

But then, rumbling sounds echoed out as a nine-colored flame appeared, and Zhou Yixing shrieked involuntarily. Leaping to his feet, he pointed at Naruto, his face as ashen as if he had just seen a ghost, his heart filled with such astonishment that he was about to faint.

"This is impossible!" Zhou Yixing shrieked hysterically. "It's simply impossible... You failed on your first try at one-colored flame, but after that, succeeded with everything up to nine-colored flame! I... I don't know a single master necromancer who would dare to claim to be able to do that. Only terrestrial necromancers are capable of such a thing! Just who exactly are you!?"

The miraculous performance he had just witnessed seemed unbelievably preposterous.

Naruto frowned at being interrupted, and looked over at Zhou

Yixing with an angry glare. Of course, at the same time, he was feeling very pleased at having just conjured nine-colored flame.

"Pipe down!" he said in his best imitation of someone from the Senior generation. Trying to suppress his excitement at having a nine-colored flame in his palm, he calmed himself and pulled out 30,000 souls. Then he opened his fingers, allowing the nine-colored flame to transform into a sea of fire. Carefully arranging the 30,000 souls, and pouring in his spiritual power in just the right way, he began to feed the souls into the fire. Some went in alone, others in groups of three to five. Before long, they were all inside.

Of course, the speed at which he did all of that defied description. Within about ten breaths' of time, the souls were merged into the fire, whereupon Naruto extended his hand and closed his fist.

RUMBLE!

His hand became like a black hole that sucked in all the surrounding flame. Then, when he opened his fingers, he saw... a ten-colored flame!

Chapter 572

A+ A- Chapter 572

Chapter 572: I Refuse To Believe!

The instant the ten-colored flame appeared, the entire cave was illuminated by brightly-colored light. In fact, the light even pierced through the walls of the cave, making the entire mountain light up brightly.

An intensely strong pressure emanated out from the flame, causing Naruto's eyes to go wide with excitement. He even started to tremble visibly.

"I did it! I concocted ten-colored flame!" He even felt more excited about personally conjuring multi-colored flame than he usually did when concocting medicine.

In contrast to Naruto's excitement, Zhou Yixing's mind was struck as if by lightning. He simply stood there gaping, his thoughts wiped clean by the sight of the ten-colored flame.

He wanted to believe that he was simply hallucinating... but unfortunately, wasn't able to fool himself in such a way. He had just witnessed his own clan's formulas used to conjure everything from oneto ten-colored flame.

It was a matter that had already turned his world upside down. Back home, even patriarchs who were terrestrial necromancers wouldn't be able to do such a thing.

Even more shocking was that this necromancer had only just learned his clan's formulas. Despite that, he had still succeeded, something that left Zhou Yixing feeling completely lost.

"This is impossible... impossible... How could this be happening...?" His face was as white as a sheet of paper as he muttered crazily to himself. It was a huge blow to him, after all, and when he compared himself to this Necromancer Uzumaki, he couldn't help but feel like he himself was little more than trash.

"Inhuman! He's really and truly inhuman!"

Disappointment surged through him, washing away the jealousy from before. The difference between him and this necromancer... was like the difference between the clouds and the mud beneath them. He didn't even qualify to be jealous.

Ten-colored flame marked the absolute peak of the master necromancer rank. In all of the Wildlands, the number of necromancers who could conjure ten-colored flame was very limited. Any person like that was

capable of dominating the field virtually anywhere they went.

Master necromancers at the peak of their level could attract other large numbers of soul cultivator followers. Furthermore, considering that they could conjure ten-colored flame, when they made soul medicine, it would be considered level ten low-grade soul medicine.

Most necromancers welcomed soul cultivator followers. After all, it took a lot of souls to conjure flame. For example, ten-colored flame required 30,000 vengeful souls. For a necromancer to get all those souls singlehandedly would be quite troublesome. Therefore, having followers to help was the natural way of things.

Although, not all necromancers liked having followers. A few of them liked to do things on their own for various reasons. In terms of getting souls, it was also possible to go to the cities of the kings, or the necromancer clans, and trade soul medicine for what they needed.

In any case, necromancers who reached the master rank were generally well-known if not famous. If destiny was on their side, they could achieve a heaven-shaking, earth-toppling advance and become terrestrial necromancers. Terrestrial necromancers were even more famous, and were high above master necromancers in terms of standing.

Naruto took a deep breath as he tore his gaze away from the tencolored flame to look over at Zhou Yixing. When their eyes met, all of Zhou Yixing's pride and defiance crumbled, completely destroyed by the ten-colored flame. Mumbling bitterly, he didn't even dare to hold Naruto's gaze.

Naruto's heart thumped happily. Clearly, it would be much easier to get Zhou Yixing to do what he said in the future.

"Well, since I've already scared him this much, I might as well keep going. I bet that when I conjure an eleven-colored flame and become a terrestrial necromancer, Zhou Yixing will be so shocked he'll end up half dead." Filled with anticipation, Naruto chuckled darkly to himself and then pulled out the jade slip with the information about the flame formulas. Even as Zhou Yixing stood there watching, he

he reviewed the eleven-colored flame formula.

Zhou Yixing hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, there's a big difference between ten-colored flame and eleven-colored-"

"You just sit quietly and watch," Naruto interrupted proudly. His previous ten successes left him feeling very confident. From what he could tell, conjuring flame was actually a very simple matter.

The way Naruto responded to Zhou Yixing caused his heart to begin to pound. The truth was that if he could actually personally witness an eleven-colored flame being conjured, it would be a good thing for him. That was especially true considering that the techniques being used were his own clan's. To Zhou Yixing, it would be almost the same as watching one of his clan's patriarchs conjuring flame.

Zhou Yixing sucked in a breath and sat there stock still, gaze fixed on Naruto's hand.

Naruto was very pleased by Zhou Yixing's reaction. Making sure to look very impressive, he contemplated the formula for eleven-colored flame, then slapped his bag of holding to produce 60,000 vengeful souls, which erupted like a tempest into the cave. Then, he waved his right hand and sent the souls into the fire.

After about ten breaths of time passed, his expression flickered. Although he was able to control the way the 60,000 souls merged together, as they poured into the ten-colored flame, he realized that an unforeseen transformation was underway. The pressure of the flame power was too intense. Naruto wasn't too familiar with the fluctuations of flame conjuring, but could clearly sense them.

"Not good!" Naruto's face fell. Losing control of even one of the souls meant losing control of the entire ten-colored flame. The souls suddenly all poured into the fire at the same time, causing the flame to flicker wildly. Then, a popping sound could be heard... as the flame winked out.

A green wisp of smoke rose up and then faded away. Naruto's jaw dropped, and Zhou Yixing was equally stunned.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat.

his throat. To have just finished bragging only to fail dramatically caused his face to burn as if with fire. Roaring angrily, he slapped his bag of holding to produce more souls, and then began to conjure flame, starting from the one-colored variety and going all the way back up to ten. Then he stared at the ten-colored flame and reviewed everything that he had done so far, and then, started another attempt at elevencolored flame. Soon, rumbling sounds could be heard as... he failed again!

"I refuse to believe that I can't succeed!" Naruto furiously smacked his back of holding, only to realize that he was running out of souls... Then he slowly looked over to Zhou Yixing, who had recovered from his earlier shock and was staring at Naruto with a strange expression on his face.

Feeling both humiliated and even more angered, Naruto said, "What are you looking at?! Go get me some more souls! If you don't come back with at least 100,000, then don't come back!"

Giving Zhou Yixing one last good glare, he waved his sleeve, sending him flying out of the cave.

Once outside, Zhou Yixing gnashed his teeth in anger at the domineering ways of this Necromancer Uzumaki. Clearly, he just wasn't skilled enough to conjure eleven-colored flame, and Zhou Yixing had even tried to warn him. Not only had he ignored him, but he had even started bragging. Then when he failed, he vented his anger on Zhou Yixing.

Chuckling coldly, he said, "Hmph! You really think it's that simple to become a terrestrial necromancer?!" Unfortunately, because of the restrictive spells Naruto had placed on his cultivation base, he had no choice other than to follow orders and go catch some souls.

Unfortunately, Naruto's clone had already captured all of the nearby souls, so no matter where he searched in the area, he couldn't find a single one. Gritting his teeth, he expanded his search. As he walked along, evening began to fall. At the same

At the same time, dark clouds filled the sky, and rain began to fall, rain that was acrid in odor and hurt when it touched his skin.

Occasionally, green bolts of lightning would crackle across the sky above.

At any other time, Zhou Yixing would simply have rotated his cultivation base and ignored the rain. But having ninety-five percent of it sealed, he was forced to endure it in misery and cursing.

"I hate people named Uzumaki! If only the hell-emperor would notice what was happening, send down a bolt of hell-lightning and wipe that guy off the map!"

After sending Zhou Yixing out to hunt for souls, Naruto sent his three clones out to do the same thing, except that he told them to search in the jungle.

His clones had the same cultivation base as he did, and were also equipped with Soul Convergence Pills, which made things a bit easier for them than it was for Zhou Yixing. As for Naruto himself, he sat there silently, analyzing his previous failures and working on some more conjurings.

One day, two days, three...

Soon, seven days had gone by, and Naruto had successfully conjured more than ten tongues of ten-colored flame. However, he hadn't been able to push a single one to the eleven-colored level. Every time, he met with failure.

As his fury and humiliation grew, his eyes became more bloodshot. His hair was disheveled, and he seemed bedeviled as he madly tried to determine the reason for his failure. As more time passed, he began to change the formula he was using for eleven-colored flame, even though he didn't realize it.

Thanks to the changes, his skill in flame conjuring advanced steadily. However, he continued to face difficulties at every turn, the reason being that there was actually a bottleneck between ten- and elevencolored flame.

Not only did one need to adjust the formula, but one also had to have perfect control over ten-colored flame. Days passed, and Naruto continued to descend into a state of bedevilment...

Chapter 573

A+ A- Chapter 573

Chapter 573: Help Me, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki!

As Naruto went about his flame conjuring, eight days went by...

Meanwhile, some distance away, Zhou Yixing was flying along through the air, his hair disheveled, coughing up blood.

Chasing him was a group of more than a hundred savage giants.

"You people push things too far!" Zhou Yixing howled in frustration. Naruto had asked him to bring back 100,000 souls, but with his cultivation base sealed, that was an almost impossible task. Although he was actually in late Core Formation, he had never recovered completely from the labyrinth, and that meant that the five percent of his cultivation base he had access to gave him battle prowess roughly equivalent to early Foundation Establishment.

At one point, he had considered taking advantage of his relative freedom to flee. However, he soon discovered that if he went too far away from Naruto, the restrictive spell inside of him would begin to show signs of detonation. As such, he had no choice but to abandon such thoughts of fleeing, and continue to curse Naruto even more than before.

At one point, he realized that he was being stalked, or perhaps even hunted. Just when he had turned to flee, he found that a group of savage giants had appeared to block his path. He fought and killed some, but their numbers continued to grow until he was virtually surrounded. As of that moment, he realized that he was like a weak animal being assaulted by vicious predators.

Because of the dangerous crisis, he finally resorted to using a secret magic to break free, something that drained him of some of his life force but gave him a huge burst of speed. Unfortunately, his use of the secret magic only got the savage giants more interested

in him, and they began to dog him relentlessly.

Zhou Yixing couldn't have been more frustrated. If his cultivation base wasn't sealed, then he would never have let these Foundation

Establishment giants off the hook. He would have cut them all down with a mere thought.

But now, his soul power was sealed, and most of his magical techniques were unusable. The predicament had tears leaking out of his eyes as he realized that if the giants caught him, he would definitely die.

"I'm a master necromancer!" he shouted. "How dare you do this to me!" Even as Zhou Yixing's voice rang out, two soul blades suddenly screamed through the air toward him, a powerful attack that slammed into him and sent him staggering to the side, coughing up blood.

The more than one hundred savages behind him were all completely focused on chasing him, and there were even two soul cultivators with them, who were eying Zhou Yixing as if he were some sort of treasure.

However, once they heard him call himself a master necromancer, their expressions flickered with hesitation. A similar reaction could be seen among the savages.

"Necromancer?" one of the soul cultivators said. "His soul power fluctuations are weak, so even if he's a necromancer, we should still be able to take him. But what if he's hiding his true cultivation base level? What if he's really in Core Formation, but injured? That means that if we don't kill him now, we could be bringing a huge disaster on us in the future..."

After a long moment of hesitation, the two soul cultivators exchanged a glance, and then one of them called out, "If you're really a master necromancer, then make some seven-colored flame! Then we'll believe you. In fact, we'll even offer an apology and give you some gifts

gifts of compensation!"

Zhou Yixing was instantly more frustrated than before. He had no sevencolored flame on him, and because his cultivation base was sealed, he couldn't conjure any. Having no way to prove who he was, he simply roared in fury and then used his secret magic to flee again.

To see Zhou Yixing flee actually left the two soul cultivators feeling quite relieved.

"How dare he impersonate a necromancer!"

"He can't get far. Chase him down! If we kill him, the current crisis our Blackmountain Tribe is facing can be solved! Besides, he's injured and only in the Foundation Establishment stage. He's a gift from the hellemperor to our Blackmountain Tribe to help us pass this difficult time!"

With that, they began to chase after him again.

The chase continued, with Zhou Yixing using all the power he could muster to flee. Soon, he was so angry and tired that he felt like he was going to explode.

"I hate people named Uzumaki!" he cursed inwardly. "Everyone in the world named Uzumaki is on my hate list now! I kindly told him that eleven-colored flame was very hard to summon. If he wanted to ignore my warning, fine, but why did he have to get so angry when he failed!?

"If it weren't for him getting pissed off and forcing me to go find souls, I would never be in this situation!"

More and more enemies were joining the chase, giving the infuriated Zhou Yixing no other choice than to continue to use his secret magic to race back toward Naruto in the cave, coughing up blood the entire time.

This was a day that Zhou Yixing would never be able to forget for his entire life. Only by repeatedly drawing on his life force to fuel his secret magic was he able to stay alive.

stay alive. By now, some of his hair was turning white, revealing the true price he was paying to flee.

Eventually, he caught sight of the barren mountain where Naruto was located. Never could he have imagined that he would be so overjoyed at the prospect of returning. Tears leaking out of his eyes, he looked back at his pursuers and shouted, "You people just wait!"

The two soul cultivators, and the giants they led, got a bad feeling when they looked at the mountain that was Zhou Yixing's destination, but didn't stop chasing him. The soul cultivators even gritted their teeth and performed incantation gestures to unleash a joint soul power attack.

Instantly, two soul blades appeared, each one a dozen meters long or more. Even as they appeared, they fused together, becoming a 30meter long weapon. At the same time, the savages howled in fury, causing streams of Chakra and blood to erupt from their bodies, a black mist that merged with the soul blade, causing it to grow even larger. By this point, it was fully 150 meters long as it slashed toward Zhou Yixing.

As a result, the two soul cultivators were significantly drained, and the more than one hundred savages all had ashen faces. And yet, they were looking toward Zhou Yixing with keen anticipation.

"Tribal secret magic!" Zhou Yixing exclaimed, shocked. Wracked with anxiety, he coughed up eight mouthfuls of blood as he again unleashed his secret magic, narrowly staying ahead of the soul blade as he shot toward the mountain.

"Help me, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki!" he shouted. At the same time, the 150meter long soul blade bore down on both Zhou Yixing and the mountain itself, clearly moments away from reducing everything to dust!

Naruto's three clones were still out collecting souls, so his true self sat alone

self sat alone inside the cave on top of the mountain. Currently, a vicious expression could be seen on his face; his hair was wildly disheveled, and his eyes were completely bloodshot, as if with madness.

Right in the middle of his palm was a tongue of ten-colored flame, into which he was feeding a seemingly endless stream of vengeful souls. He was completely and utterly focused, and didn't dare to allow himself to be distracted. His eyes were bloodshot, and he didn't even know how much time had passed. All he knew was that his repeated failures had come at incredible cost. Because of all that, he had no idea what was happening outside the cave.

"This time it's definitely going to work. It has to!" The ten-colored flame gobbled up all the souls, and an eleventh color was just about to appear in the flames, when all of a sudden, the flame destabilized. Naruto's face fell, and he quickly performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and then pushed his finger into the flame.

However, the flame only flickered more wildly, and then powerful fluctuations began to roll out of it that caused Naruto's expression to flicker.

It was in that moment that Zhou Yixing's scream reached his ears, as did the howling of the more than one hundred savage giants.

Then, all such sounds were drowned out by the massive explosion which occurred when the ten-colored flame completely destabilized and detonated!

Shrieking, Naruto shot backward, pulling out his Eternal Parasol to protect himself as the entire mountain shook violently!

Before the soul blade could even reach the mountain, the top blew off, and massive flames shot out in all directions!

Flaming rubble and even lava spewed out, completely destroying the soul blade as if it had never even existed.

Chapter 574

A+ A- Chapter 574

Chapter 574: Successor Of The Hell-Emperor

Everything was happening too quickly. Whether it was Zhou Yixing or his pursuers, none of them even had a chance to react before the entire mountain in front of them erupted like a volcano.

The way the mountain collapsed, even to the point where lava was streaming out of it, made them feel as if they were suddenly facing some vicious monster. Shrieking, everyone began to back up.

Thankfully, the flame and lava didn't shoot out very far, and soon began to fade away. Zhou Yixing had been blackened a bit, and that was even after he had shot backward at full speed for fear of being incinerated.

Everyone was completely shocked, and all hearts began to pound in astonishment.

It was then that an enraged voice echoed out from within the remaining sea of flames.

"How dare you people! I can't believe you would actually interrupt my flame conjuring!" Even as the fury of the words continued to float in the air, the last of the fire faded away, and Naruto appeared, a very unsightly expression on his face as he strode forward.

His robes were in tatters, but the rage in his heart couldn't have been more intense. He had been absolutely convinced that he was about to succeed, and was sure that the only reason he had failed was because he had been interrupted.

As soon as his bloodshot eyes caught sight of the savages and soul cultivators, Naruto slapped his bag of holding to produce a sevencolored flame.

"A master necromancer!" As soon as the savages saw the sevencolored flame, they began to instinctively tremble and pant in fear.

As for the two soul cultivators, they were in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, but even they were staring at Naruto with pale-faced astonishment.

They knew that seven-colored flame was the hallmark of master necromancers, and that people such as that were the type who could gather large groups of soul cultivator followers. Furthermore, it

was now obvious that the person they were chasing must be the follower of this master necromancer.

Not only had they tried to kill the follower of a master necromancer, but they had interrupted that very master necromancer when he was conjuring flame... The two soul cultivators, who were already sweating profusely, then noticed how bloodshot Naruto's eyes were, and that he was clearly enraged. Immediately, they clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Please quell your anger, Master Necromancer..."

"We really didn't know that you were here conjuring flame, Master Necromancer. Please, quell your anger. We... we can offer compensation!" After hearing the soul cultivators' trembling words, and seeing them bowing, the savages behind them all dropped down to kowtow.

When Naruto saw all of that, his fury began to subside. After all, the interference during the critical moment of flame conjuring was not the main reason his eleven-colored flame had failed. The biggest fault lay in his lack of control.

Although he had solved all the previous problems he had encountered, a new problem had suddenly arisen, which led to the explosion moments ago that had shocked even him.

"There were obviously some internal instabilities. But there were instabilities before, and never such an explosion..." Muttering thoughtfully to himself, he pondered the situation in search of an answer. Meanwhile, the two panicked soul cultivators offered profuse apologies. However, then they considered the crisis their tribe was facing, and suddenly exchanged a glance.

"Grandmaster," one of them said, "now that your immortal's cave is destroyed, could it be that you are temporarily without a place of residence? If so, why not come to our tribe to rest up a bit?"

Naruto glanced back at the destroyed mountain cave, and then nodded. What he needed right now was exactly that; a quiet place to analyze the problem with the eleven-colored flame.

Considering how the soul cultivators and the savages were treating him, Naruto finally understood what kind of a position necromancers occupied in the Wildlands.

Wildlands. It was definitely beyond anything he had imagined before.

Off to the side, Zhou Yixing was stewing in his own anger. After all, he had mentioned that he was a master necromancer, and yet the savages and soul cultivators had refused to believe him.

Soon, the soul cultivators and savages were cautiously leading Uzumaki

Naruto back to their tribe. It wasn't a very large tribe, with only about a thousand members, who made their home in one of the local mountain valleys.

The tribe was fortified, but in a very primitive fashion, with immortal's caves dug into the sides of the mountains. Naruto was immediately treated as an honored guest, and was personally give an immortal's cave that had previously belonged to one of the two soul cultivators. Even better, they constantly provided him tribute in the form of vengeful souls.

There were other forms of compensation as well. Yet again, Naruto was struck by how important necromancers were in the Wildlands. Whenever he ran into any of the savage giants, they looked at him with a mixture of fear and respect. Naruto was quite sure that if he asked them to, they would do anything he wanted.

As for the two soul cultivators, they clearly respected and feared him, but at the same time, wanted something of him, although they seemed hesitant to speak of it openly.

Everyone assumed that Zhou Yixing was one of Naruto's followers, and therefore, they also treated him with great respect, and gave him handsome compensation, although not quite to the same level as Naruto.

After being in the tribe for only about half a month, his daily usage of souls ensured that the two soul cultivators couldn't prevent from gritting their teeth when they handed them over. Finally, Naruto started to feel bad about it.

The next time they came to deliver souls, he sighed and said, "Alright, spit it out. What do you want my help with?" The two soul cultivators couldn't conceal

couldn't conceal their excitement. They had been holding back this entire time, so now that Naruto took the initiative to bring up the subject, they exchanged a glance and then revealed the truth.

Two months before, the hell-emperor had issued a proclamation indicating that he would be selecting a successor to receive his legacy. Very demanding qualifications had been put in place for the successor, and virtually everyone in the Wildlands was going mad to prepare, including people in the city of the kings, as well as the necromancer clans.

There was a cultivation base limitation for those who could compete to become the successor, and for many, that meant that a vast quantity of soul medicine was needed to improve their cultivation base. As a result, the three great clans that lived under the control of Giant Ghost City were going all out in their preparations, which included issuing strict orders to the tribes in their respective areas of influence to provide large amounts of soul medicine. Any tribe who couldn't meet the requirement would face potential execution.

Because of an event which had occurred recently, the Blackmountain Tribe was particularly weak, and was temporarily incapable of producing any soul medicine. As a result, they had come up with three ways to solve the problem: sell other products produced in their tribe; find a necromancer to help them; or resort to banditry to try to get soul medicine.

They were currently utilizing all three different options to try to escape from this disaster...

Naruto found the whole explanation a bit confusing. However, Zhou Yixing's eyes went wide. In fact, the news that the hell-emperor was looking for a successor caused his eyes to shine with unprecedented brightness.

Naruto maintained a neutral expression, and managed to casually ask for some more details in a way that didn't reveal his lack of understanding. Of course, Zhou Yixing was so excited about the whole matter that he didn't notice that at all, and proceeded to and proceeded to tell Naruto everything he knew.

It was only at this point that Naruto finally came to understand that, in addition to the arch-emperor from the imperial city, there was also a hell-emperor in the Wildlands!

There was a legend about the hell-emperor which stated that after the first generation arch-emperor died, his soul didn't vanish, but instead, became the Underworld River. It went on to control the aspect of death in the world, and was the spirit of the Underworld River. That was the origin of the hell-emperor!

From generation to generation, the faith of the people ruled by the archemperor would bolster the hell-emperor's strength. In fact, over the years, the savages had been influenced by the soul cultivators to the point where they also began to exercise faith in the hell-emperor.

Essentially, the arch-emperor was a physical leader who everyone could see, whereas the hell-emperor was a symbolic luminary!

Also according to legend, the hell-emperor's palace existed deep within the Underworld River, which was where the hell-emperor resided. Occasionally, he would send emissaries out into the world of the living, people who were always treated with the utmost respect, even by the reigning arch-emperor.

Two months before, the Underworld River had appeared above the imperial city, and a stone stele descended with a Dharmic decree. According to that decree, a successor was to be chosen within one sixtyyear-cycle, a successor who could become the next generation hellemperor!

The Wildlands were fully shaken; after all, this was the first time in countless years that there had ever even been mention of the hellemperor choosing a successor.

All of the clans, marquis, and lords in the imperial city, as well as the powerful forces in the four kingly cities and even other influential groups, were profoundly moved. Everyone wanted the hell-emperor's successor to come from their group!

Two prerequisites had to be met to be a potential successor: First, to have a Nascent Soul cultivation base. Second, to officially acquire candidacy qualifications!

Chapter 575

A+ A- Chapter 575

Chapter 575: Spirit Enhanced Nascent Soul!

Of the two requirements, the latter was the most important.

After all, even in the Wildlands, Nascent Soul cultivators were no rarity. That was especially the case because powerful necromancers could make soul medicine that gave them an advantage over the soul cultivators. For them, it was much easier to break through from Core Formation into the Nascent Soul stage.

Therefore, the most difficult of the prerequisites was to gain candidacy qualifications!

"How do you get the candidacy qualifications?" Zhou Yixing asked, looking very serious, his heart pounding in his chest. The matter of the hell-emperor choosing a successor was a monumental one for the entire Wildlands, so even Zhou Yixing, despite not having a Nascent Soul cultivation base at the moment, was still thinking of trying to join the competition.

Naruto sat there listening thoughtfully as the two soul cultivators explained everything they knew. After all, the matter was no secret.

"To get candidacy qualifications," said one of the soul cultivators, "you have to be a necromancer. Most importantly, you must have performed at least a fivefold spirit enhancement on your Nascent Soul. That's the only way to get candidacy qualifications!"

As soon as Zhou Yixing heard this explanation, his face fell. "How are you supposed to do that?! Nascent Soul spirit enhancement is a highlevel skill, legendary even among necromancers! It's true that doing such a thing can lead to explosively quick cultivation progress, and also incredible power. But... very few people can even attempt to do such a thing! And a fivefold enhancement... isn't that courting death!?"

Naruto's eyes glittered brightly. He had never heard of anything like this before; the idea of performing a spirit enhancement on one's own Nascent Soul seemed unimaginable, and also incredibly difficult.

After all, there was always the chance of a spirit enhancement failing, and that probability would increase with each enhancement from the first to the fifth. If an enhancement on a magical item failed, then the item would be destroyed, but if an enhancement on one's own Nascent Soul failed... then presumably, the outcome would be the same.

A failure leading to the destruction of one's Nascent Soul would result in being obliterated from existence. Not very many people would

dare to attempt such a thing... Naruto was shocked, and at the same time, realized why Zhou Yixing's face had drained of blood. Obviously... the only people who would make such an attempt would either be supremely self-confident, or utterly crazy.

"That's definitely the requirement," said the soul cultivator. "Even still, the chance to become the successor of the hell-emperor has already got many Nascent Soul experts preparing to compete... Don't forget that in Arch-Emperor City, there is that mysterious stone stele that came from the Underworld River itself. Supposedly, it can sense if anyone in the Wildlands comes close to meeting the two prerequisites, and will then list their names publicly, showing how many spirit enhancements have been performed on their Nascent Soul.

"The name list on that stone stele is right out in the open for everyone to see. I heard that the names of seven or eight chosen Nascent Soul experts are already there... After a sixty-year-cycle passes, whoever occupies the 1st place spot on that stone stele will become the successor of the hell-emperor..." After hearing this next set of information, Zhou Yixing's ambitions were instantly crushed. The entire thing seemed completely insane. The idea of performing five spirit enhancements on his Nascent Soul seemed more like trying to play chicken with death five times in a row.

On the other hand, Naruto blinked and said, "A fivefold spirit enhancement on your Nascent Soul? That doesn't seem very hard."

"Not very hard?" Zhou Yixing blurted, staring at Naruto with wide eyes, clearly having forgotten his place for the moment. By now, Zhou Yixing was convinced that there was no way he could ever participate in a competition like this, and his excitement from before began to wane.

"Even if you think a fivefold spirit enhancement isn't hard," he said tartly, "do you really think that all you have to do to stay in 1st place is that? The Nascent Soul chosen are definitely going to be fighting it out to the last man. The fivefold spirit enhancement is just the beginning. If you want to get into 1st place and stay there, you'll probably have to perform more spirit enhancements than that!

"When the time comes, think

think about the fact that all of the chosen in the competition will come from powerful organizations and groups. Five definitely won't be the limit. I bet we'll see seven or even eightfold enhancements!

"You know, there's even a legend that if you can perform a fifteenfold spirit enhancement on your Nascent Soul, you can break through into the mid Nascent Soul stage. An eighteenfold enhancement will get you into the late Nascent Soul stage. A twentyfold enhancement is the great circle. There probably isn't even a need to mention the legendary realm of a twenty-onefold spirit enhanced Nascent Soul, which is guaranteed to push you into the Deva Realm! But who would possibly dare to attempt such a thing!?"

By this point he realized that he had just spoken a bit impetuously, and his heart began to pound. Worried that he might have pushed the boundaries too far, he said, "It's definitely a dead end. Literally. Besides, if you want to fuse with heaven and earth and reach the Deva Realm, you can also use fifteenfold spirit enhanced magical items. Although there's always a chance of failure using that method, it's still a much more stable path to take."

An imperceptible flicker of light ran through Naruto's eyes as he suddenly came to a deeper understanding of how Wildlander necromancers became devas.

For one thing, it had to do with the ranking of the necromancer in question. After all, the requirement to make a cultivation base breakthrough in such a fashion was to perform a fifteenfold spirit enhancement on a magical item, and to fuse with heaven and earth.

And only celestial necromancers could conjure fifteen-colored flame...

"It seems that everything in the Wildlands has to do with necromancers..."

Necromancers could progress their cultivation by performing spirit enhancements on their nascent soul. However, it was a path in which one step could lead to the heavens, but a misstep could lead to the Nine Serenities underworld. Life or death would be determined in the briefest of moments.

At least... that was how it would be for most people. As for Naruto, his heart was already racing madly as he contemplated his turtle-wok and its spirit enhancement abilities.

"If I ever reach the Nascent Soul stage

Soul stage one day... then maybe I can use my turtle-wok to advance my cultivation base by leaps and bounds. In fact... it might not even be impossible to become a deva."

Of course, he knew that such matters were for the distant future. Right now, the most important thing was to get back to the Great Wall, and also, get more deva souls.

He had already formed three deva soul clones, which meant that he couldn't achieve cultivation base breakthroughs with deva beast souls anymore. The only option he had now was to find metal- and earth-type deva souls.

The more he thought about deva souls, the more anxious he got.

By this point, the two soul cultivators had finished all of their explanations. Looking at Naruto with pleading eyes, they clasped hands and bowed.

"Exalted one, the entire Wildlands has been shaken by this matter recently. Whether it's the princes in the imperial city, or the chosen from the cities of the kings, or the necromancer clans, they've all gone crazy... They're using every method they can think of to fight for the chance to become the successor of the hell-emperor.

"It's the same in Giant Ghost City. Not only is the city itself demanding large amounts of soul medicine, the three great necromancer clans are also doing the same thing in the hopes of improving the cultivation bases of their clan members. Because of that, the taxes have been raised very high recently...

"In fact, the orders only came down recently that our soul medicine tribute requirement had been more than doubled... Our Blackmountain Tribe really can't meet the requirement, so we had no choice but to try to think of some other way to pay up." The more they talked, the more the Blackmountain Tribe soul cultivators seemed to sink into despondency.

"Grandmaster Uzumaki, we beg of you to help us. If you can concoct five hundred portions of low-grade soul medicine for us, we would be more than willing to pay a soulhoarding pagoda in exchange." The two soul cultivators clasped hands and bowed deeply, and then one of them pulled a small gray pagoda out of his garment and respectfully held it out toward Naruto. A gray mist pulsed out of

pulsed out of the little pagoda, completely surrounding it and making it difficult to see it clearly. At the same time, it emanated a feeling of ancientness, as though it had existed since primeval times.

The five levels of the pagoda were all integrated smoothly, making it look more like a conical tower than a traditional pagoda. Even more surprising to Naruto, he could sense the power of spatial magic within it, something very similar to bags of holding.

"Soulhoarding pagoda..." he murmured to himself. Although he had never seen a soulhoarding pagoda before, at a single glance, he could tell that this was an item used in the Wildlands to collect and hold vengeful souls! [1]

If you put vengeful souls into a bag of holding, they would slowly deteriorate in much the same way that food would rot away if left out in the open. Only the legendary soulhoarding pagodas could keep vengeful souls fresh indefinitely.

As Naruto examined the soulhoarding pagoda, Zhou Yixing looked on enviously. Although soulhoarding pagodas weren't exactly rare, they were still very valuable, and were highly prized by necromancers. As for this particular pagoda, it was clearly very well crafted, and very old.

Although a five-story soulhoarding pagoda might not be anything particularly amazing to extremely powerful necromancers, to ordinary necromancers, they were like precious gems. However, to Naruto, it seemed like little more than a bag of holding.

"What so amazing about that?" Zhou Yixing grumbled inwardly. "I had one before too..." And yet, he couldn't help but be a bit envious. His previous soulhoarding pagoda, which had been gifted to him by his clan patriarch, only had three stories. Unfortunately, after being injured by Naruto in the labyrinth, he had encountered another powerful enemy, and in the resulting fight, the pagoda had been destroyed...

As Zhou Yixing stewed in his envy, Naruto looked thoughtfully at the soulhoarding pagoda. Then, his eyes flashed as if with lightning.

"Now I understand why I kept failing at conjuring eleven-colored flame!"

1\. The Chinese character I'm translating as "hoard" is the same as the character in "bag of holding." So it could also be a "soul holding pagoda." Or conversely, you could change bags of holding to "bags of hoarding"

Chapter 576

A+ A- Chapter 576

Chapter 576: I'm Looking At You!

Naruto almost couldn't control his breathing as he reached out and made a grasping gesture, causing the soulhoarding pagoda to fly out of the soul cultivator's hand and fly toward him.

As soon as he had it in hand, he sent some divine sense inside, and detected a strong spatial power that was uniquely designed to nourish souls!

Now that his speculations were confirmed, his eyes began to shine with bright light.

"So, I was right! Soulhoarding pagodas really are like bags of holding! Except, they're specifically designed to hold vengeful souls. If you put souls into a bag of holding, they slowly degenerate and eventually just fade away. But if you put them in a soulhoarding pagoda, they'll stay in perfect condition forever!

"Furthermore, the reason I couldn't conjure eleven-colored flame wasn't a lack of proficiency with the technique, nor any problems that cropped up during the process. The reason... was because the souls I was using to try to make the eleven-colored flame had already begun to degenerate!

"Although they had only degenerated a small bit because they were in a bag of holding, a little bit of degeneration with such a large group of souls would eventually build up into a major instability!

"The instability would only get more intense until eventually... it leads to detonation!

"So basically, if I keep the vengeful souls inside of a soulhoarding pagoda, then when it comes time to conjure flame, I shouldn't have any problem at all. I should definitely be able to conjure eleven-colored flame!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto was more excited than ever, and couldn't wait to test out his theory.

When Zhou Yixing and the two soul cultivators saw how excited Uzumaki

Naruto was, none of them were really sure what was going on. Zhou Yixing was a bit taken aback, but the two soul cultivators were starting to get excited, convinced that this grandmaster necromancer was going to help them.

Deciding that it was best to

strike while the iron was hot, they exchanged a glance, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Grandmaster," one of them said, "there are plenty of vengeful souls in that soulhoarding pagoda. As for the extra beyond what it will take to concoct the soul medicine in question, please keep them as our means of apologizing for everything that happened before."

Ignoring Zhou Yixing and the two soul cultivators, Naruto continued to examine the soulhoarding pagoda with his divine sense, and then began to count how many souls were inside.

From the number, he could tell that the Blackmountain Tribe was both anxious about the matter they had brought to his attention, and also sincere in their offer.

Feeling very pleased, he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll help you concoct the-"

Before he could finish speaking, though, he suddenly looked up into the sky.

Soon, a beam of light became visible, streaking through the air at incredible speed as it headed directly toward the Blackmountain Tribe.

Even before it arrived, the aura of the great circle of Core Formation erupted from inside, causing the beam of light to shine radiantly in the evening sky.

Everyone in the Blackmountain Tribe was shaken, and countless savages gasped. As for the two soul cultivators standing near Naruto, their faces fell as they looked up.

Zhou Yixing was clearly shocked, and his pupils constricted as he realized that whoever this newcomer was, he had a profound cultivation base that was on par with his own.

Everyone watched as the beam of light reached a position above the Blackmountain Tribe, and then faded away to reveal a middle-aged man with long black hair that flowed over his shoulders. He had average features, but his murderous aura was especially strong. Furthermore, he was surrounded by a black mist, within which could occasionally be seen twisted faces that were apparently vengeful souls.

The fluctuations emanating off of the man were not the soul power fluctuations of a soul cultivator. No, this man... was a necromancer! Everything and everyone in the area was shaken

shaken by this lofty figure who gazed out of the corner of his eye at what was happening down below. After looking at Zhou Yixing, his gaze fell onto Naruto for a moment, and then he noticed the soulhoarding pagoda. At that point, a cold gleam appeared in his eyes, and he looked over at the two soul cultivators.

"Are you the leaders of the Blackmountain Tribe?" he said coldly. "Step forward and offer greetings!" From his tone of voice, he seemed like the ultimate ruler of this area, as if his mere presence was good fortune for the Blackmountain Tribe.

Almost immediately, the two soul cultivators stepped forward nervously and then clasped hands and bowed deeply in formal greeting.

"Greetings, exalted necromancer," they both echoed.

"I, Li Feng, am here to solve the problem of your Blackmountain Tribe's five hundred portions of low-grade soul medicine. So hand over that soulhoarding pagoda!" Li Feng was clearly not making a request, and expected his words to be obeyed immediately. If not, he would raze the entire area to the ground.

Actually, the entire reason he had come here was because he had been passing through the area and had heard the news that the

Blackmountain Tribe was offering a soulhoarding pagoda in exchange for a large batch of low-grade soul medicine.

The prospect of getting a soulhoarding pagoda was very enticing to Li Feng. After all, soulhoarding pagodas were relatively commonplace among necromancer clans, but Li Feng was a rogue cultivator. To him, paying the price of five hundred portions of low-grade soul medicine to get a soulhoarding pagoda would definitely be well worth it.

As soon as he'd heard the news, he'd hurried over to the tribe's headquarters. Unfortunately, as soon as he saw that the soulhoarding pagoda was in Naruto's hands, he realized that he had probably arrived a bit too late...

And yet, it was too important of an opportunity for him to just give up. And besides, he was still confident that he could get the soulhoarding pagoda for

pagoda for himself, regardless of whether or not he had come late.

Naruto simply stood there, blinking a few times but withholding any comment.

The two Blackmountain Tribe soul cultivators were a bit stunned. Before

Naruto had shown up, they would have been ecstatic at Li Feng's arrival. But now that there were two necromancers to deal with, they weren't sure what to do. Obviously, they didn't want to offend either one of them.

After a long moment of hesitation, one of them said, "Um... exalted one, this other grandmaster already agreed to help us. Er..."

In response, Li Feng's gaze sharpened, becoming something like sword light that shot toward Naruto.

"The affairs of this region have nothing to do with you," he said. "Furthermore, I want that soulhoarding pagoda. Give it to me immediately." His glare was terrifying to behold, and his words were spoken with the utmost arrogance. From the cold look in his eye, he would obviously fly into a complete rage if Naruto didn't do exactly as he said.

There was also a certain disdain in his coldness, a disdain birthed from supreme self-confidence.

Naruto glared back up at Li Feng in irritation. As far as he was concerned, he had done the right thing by refraining from going around bullying people, and yet, here someone had come to try and bully him. That was especially true considering that the soulhoarding pagoda was at stake. That pagoda was very important to him, and was not something he would simply abandon.

"What are you looking at?!" Li Feng said, his eyes flickering icily.

"I'm looking at you!" Naruto replied, popping his neck. "Got a problem with that?!" As he stared, he mused that, in his entire life, he had never been bested in a staring contest. Considering that, he actually made his gaze look even more fierce as he stared up at Li Feng.

The two soul cultivators from the Blackmountain Tribe looked at Li Feng and then Naruto, and finally just sighed. By this point, they

this point, they knew that they couldn't do anything about the situation, and would just have to wait and see how things played out. Besides, as long as they got what they were looking for out of the deal, it didn't matter to them who won out in the end.

After a few breaths worth of time, Li Feng suddenly laughed out loud. However, it was an icy, disdainful laugh that seemed to say he didn't want to lower himself to the level of speaking at length with Naruto. With that, he extended his right hand, within which appeared... a ten-colored flame!

Almost immediately, the ten-colored flame caused the fading evening light to grow even dimmer. The Blackmountain Tribe savages almost immediately began to cry out in surprise.

"Ten-colored flame!"

"Heavens, he's... he's at the peak of the master necromancer rank!" The savages all began to drop to their knees to kowtow.

The savages weren't the only shocked ones. The two soul cultivator's minds were reeling, and they immediately rushed forward to kowtow, feeling completely shaken.

"The peak of the master necromancer rank! Necromancers like that are very rare. With only a bit of progress, he'll reach the terrestrial rank!"

"A necromancer like that agreeing to concoct soul medicine for us is good fortune for our tribe!"

"I can't believe that this Li Feng is at the peak of the master necromancer rank! Wonderful, wonderful! Looks like we have a chance to survive after all!"

Off to the side, Zhou Yixing was feeling very excited at the chance to gloat at Naruto's misfortune. If Li Feng could crush this

Necromancer Uzumaki in battle, then Zhou Yixing would finally be free of his current situation. "Come on," he thought, "start fighting. Take him out!"

Li Feng was very pleased at the crowd's reaction. The truth was that he had only recently succeeded in conjuring ten-colored flame, so the feeling of being virtually worshipped for showing it in public was quite new to him. Looking down at Naruto with a cold sneer, he said,

"Screw off!"

Chapter 577

A+ A- Chapter 577

Chapter 577: Bullying...

Li Feng really was extremely confident in himself. He could tell that Naruto had an extraordinary cultivation base, but he didn't care. The fact that he had the power of ten-colored flame on his side made him fully confident in being able to look down on almost anyone in the same cultivation level as himself.

He was a necromancer who relied mostly on soul fire when it came to magical combat. As long as his opponent wasn't a higher ranked necromancer than himself, and had a similar cultivation base, then he was confident in being able to secure victory.

Li Feng looked down at Naruto, chuckling coldly in his heart, completely confident that as long this opponent of his wasn't completely foolish, he wouldn't dare to cause problems.

Naruto frowned as he looked up at the openly aggressive Li Feng. At the same time, the words being spoken by the onlookers reached his ears. As far as Naruto was concerned, Li Feng was being far too overbearing. Obviously, he was pulling out a ten-colored flame in an attempt to steal Naruto's thunder!

Shaking his head inwardly, Naruto couldn't help but think that Li Feng didn't match up to him at all. "This Li Feng has a Core Formation cultivation base, but his personality clearly doesn't match. We cultivators should emphasize inner qualities, and should refrain from bombastic showboating. Even if you want to show off, you shouldn't do it in such crude fashion."

At the same time, he was wondering whether he should just exterminate him with a single blow, or show him by example what it meant to make a big scene.

As he tried to decide what to do, the two soul cultivators from the Blackmountain Tribe began to make vague requests of Naruto to return the soulhoarding pagoda. Considering that he could only conjure seven-colored flame, whereas Li Feng could conjure ten-colored flame, it

seemed obvious who was in the superior position.

However, they kept their requests extremely vague, as they didn't want to offend Naruto.

Naruto simply ignored them, prompting Zhou Yixing to clear his throat and whisper, "This is not the type of person you want to mess with, exalted one. Why don't we just back off...?"

Naruto's glare intensified. More displeased than ever, he decided that it was indeed time to show, not only Li Feng, but everyone else present, what it meant to make a scene!

"I hate it when people try to show off in front of me!" he thought. Sticking his chin up and looking around with disdain, he waved his hand to produce a tongue of seven-colored flame.

The instant the seven-colored flame appeared, strange looks could be seen on the faces of the savages and the two soul cultivators. As for Li Feng, he chuckled softly and said, "I think you've bitten off a bit more than you can chew."

Naruto snorted. "Li Feng, when you run into necromancers in the Wildlands, you would do well to hold back from saying things like that.

You should really take this advice of mine to heart."

The words sounded very profound and meaningful, and coupled with the way his hair floated around him and his clothing rippled in the wind, it made him seem very elegant and beyond ordinary.

There was something archaic to his voice, something that echoed about in heaven and earth. It almost seemed rueful, as though he were thinking back to memories of the past. The entire picture he presented was instantly etched deeply into the minds of those present.

"Allow me to elaborate," he continued. "You see, in a situation like this, you have no idea who exactly you are dealing with, and no clue as to what incredible individual you might be facing." Shaking his head, he waved his left hand, causing a vast quantity of vengeful souls

souls to pour out from the soulhoarding pagoda.

As soon as the souls appeared, Naruto threw the seven-colored flame out in front of him, causing it to spread out into a sea of fire. Then, he sent the vengeful souls pouring inside.

It happened very quickly. In the blink of an eye, rumbling sounds could be heard as the sea of flames rushed back into Naruto's palm, transforming into a single entity. It was... a tongue of flame with an additional color!

It had become eight-colored flame!

All of the savages looked over with wide eyes.

"Eight-colored flame! He... he just conjured flame!"

"The wave of a hand turned seven-colored flame into eight-colored flame. This... this..."

The two soul cultivators were completely shaken. They had seen necromancers conjure flame in the past, but had never seen anyone do it as casually as Naruto just had. He had moved with utmost fluidity, seemingly transforming seven-colored flame into eight-colored flame with almost no effort!

They weren't the only shocked ones. Up in midair, Li Feng was equally stunned. After all, when he conjured eight-colored flame, it was always a very difficult process. All of a sudden, he had a very bad feeling, and almost lost control of his facial expression. Chuckling coldly, he said, "You must have had a lot of practice with eight-colored flame, right? So what if you've been stuck at that level for a long time? You still don't qualify to stand in front of me!"

Naruto looked up at Li Feng, his expression placid as he said, "If eight-colored flame isn't enough for you, how about nine-colored flame?"

Casually waving his hand, he spread the eight-colored flame out into a sea of fire, then sent more vengeful souls pouring out of the soulhoarding pagoda. No time passed at all before the sea of flames began to swallow up the souls.

Despite the speed with which it happened, there was obviously some pattern involved in the way that

way that the souls were fed into the sea of flames. Then, Naruto slowly closed his palm into a fist, causing the sea of fire to fall back in upon itself within his grasp. After the fire was all contained between his fingers, he opened his hand again, revealing a flame with... nine colors!

"Nine-colored flame!" The savages were no longer stunned, but were left gasping in shock. The two soul cultivator's eyes were popping out of their heads, and they were panting, their minds reeling out of control.

Li Feng was beginning to shake as he stared at the flame in Naruto's hand. The casual way that he had conjured the nine-colored flame was something that Li Feng had never seen before, and left him feeling as if unprecedented levels of pressure were weighing down on him. It seemed almost unimaginable that someone could conjure ninecolored flame with such ease.

If he wanted to conjure nine-colored flame, he would have to go into secluded meditation and spend significant time clearing his thoughts before making an attempt. And even then, he wouldn't succeed every time.

"This is impossible..." he muttered, panting.

"Nothing is impossible," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head. "Just because you think something is hard doesn't mean that everyone will feel the same. I mean, it's just nine-colored flame, that's all..." Looking as calm as ever, he sent more vengeful souls flying out of the soulhoarding pagoda, filling everything within a 300 meter area and forcing the crowd to back away as his nine-colored flame spread out into a raging sea.

It was a shocking sight. The vengeful souls merged into the sea, a process which took a few breaths worth of time, after which Naruto once again closed his palm into a fist.

Within moments, the raging sea of fire had shrunk down and was hidden within his hand.

Everyone was devolving into madness at Naruto's performance, which made him

which made him seem like the ultimate ruler of flame! It was as if all types of fire would capitulate and acknowledge allegiance to him!

"Even ten-colored flame isn't really a big deal!" Naruto said, smiling faintly. When he opened his hands, all faces fell as scintillating light exploded out in all directions to reveal... ten-colored flame!

Furthermore, this ten-colored flame seemed particularly vibrant and lively, its heat so intense that the air rippled, almost as though it were about to ignite!

Everyone in the area was forced to back up again, expressions of profound shock on their faces as they looked at Naruto.

Clearly, Li Feng's ten-colored flame was much dimmer than Uzumaki

Naruto's. Despite being of the same level, it was obviously weaker by far!

Along with the appearance of the ten-colored flame came shocked exclamations from the savages, expressions of complete and utter astonishment.

"The peak of the master necromancer rank!"

"Heavens, Grandmaster Uzumaki... is actually at the peak of the master necromancer rank!"

The two soul cultivators were completely stunned, and looked like they had seen a ghost. Never in their wildest imaginations could they have guessed that Naruto would conjure a ten-colored flame, the quality of which clearly surpassed that of Li Feng's.

Li Feng was shaking visibly, and his hair was already disheveled. As he stared at the flame in Naruto's hand, his mind began to turn into a blank.

"Impossible. This is just impossible..." Moments ago, he had been hovering there with a feeling of complete superiority, but now he suddenly found that there was someone present who was far superior to himself.

Zhou Yixing was similarly shocked. He had known before that Naruto could conjure ten-colored flame, and yet, the flame currently dancing in his palm caused Zhou Yixing's heart to pound wildly.

"Is... is that really ten-colored flame? I've never seen ten-colored flame that dazzling..." Zhou Yixing looked up at Naruto's face, terror written on his own.

Chapter 578

A+ A- Chapter 578

Chapter 578: Terrestrial Necromancer!

Naruto was quite pleased by all the looks of shock among the crowd that surrounded him. However, he didn't allow any hint of that to show on his face, and in fact, pretended as if he couldn't care less about what was going on.

After glancing at the tongue of flame in his palm, he looked up at the shocked Li Feng and said, "If ten-colored flame isn't sufficient, well then... how about eleven-colored flame?!"

In response, the savages of the Blackmountain Tribe erupted into wild cheering, and the two soul cultivators let out shouts of surprise.

"Eleven-colored flame... Only terrestrial necromancers can conjure that! No wonder..."

Zhou Yixing gasped, and up in the air, Li Feng was trembling.

Before any of them could say anything, Naruto's eyes glittered with profound light. The time had come to test out whether his previous analysis was correct or not. He sent some divine sense into the soulhoarding pagoda, which shivered as it began to belch out large quantities of vengeful souls.

As they filled the area, coldness spread out, an ill wind that made the place seem like a land of death. Even as the vengeful souls howled and attempted to flee, Naruto said, "Flame, disperse!"

He waved his hand, and the ten-colored flame spread out in all directions to form a huge sea of fire. Yet again, the onlookers backed away in fear.

Ten-colored light filled the sky, and the wind screamed as the intense power of the flame exploded out in all directions. The sea of fire was like a cyclone whipping about as it devoured all of the vengeful souls.

The mist-like strands that were the fleeing souls could not possibly have been fast enough to escape the flames, and it took only about thirty breaths of time before the entire 3,000-meter area surrounding Naruto was completely devoid of

any vengeful souls.

The sea of fire raged in shocking fashion around Naruto, making it almost impossible to see him. Everyone in the area looked on with shock and terror, their hearts battered by waves of astonishment.

As of this moment, Naruto truly looked like a sovereign of flame!

That was even more the case when he extended his right hand and said, "Form!"

It was only a single word, but it seemed to contain the power of magical law, a power that forced the fire in the area to begin to converge onto Naruto's palm, a process which took only the briefest of moments.

As he closed his fingers, every last bit of fire disappeared into his hand, after which, the entire audience looked on with Uzumakited breath and quivering hearts.

No one spoke. Zhou Yixing stood there, heart pounding, almost unable to believe what he was seeing, and at the same time, more nervous than ever before.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, as if everything which was happening was beneath his interest. Of course, the truth was that he was feeling immensely proud of himself, and was reveling in the gazes of the audience. He even intentionally slowed his movements as he opened his fingers.

The moment his fist opened up... a tongue of flame appeared, the heat of which caused everything in the surrounding 3,000-meter area to ripple and distort. An intense sensation of deadly crisis filled the hearts of all present, and everyone was certain that the slightest touch of that flame would reduce them to nothing but ashes.

At the same time, thunder rumbled in the sky above; the appearance of the flame had provoked a heavenly sign!

All eyes were fixed dead on the flame, which had become the most dazzling and eye-catching thing in existence to the people present!

At the same time, the ground beneath Uzumaki

Naruto's feet began to melt, as if it couldn't endure the intense heat of the flame.

However, Naruto himself wasn't harmed in the least!

The numerous colors within the flame danced and leapt, making it difficult to see the number of colors clearly. However, anyone who focused the power of their cultivation base on their eyes would quickly be able to tell that the flame... had eleven colors!

Shockingly, it was... eleven-colored flame!

A short silence prevailed, after which the entire audience erupted into shouts of excitement and praise, causing a sound wave to roll out in all directions.

"Is that really eleven-colored flame!? I've never seen eleven-colored flame in my entire life!"

"Eleven-colored flame. Eleven-colored flame! Grandmaster Uzumaki isn't at the master rank, he's a terrestrial necromancer!"

"A terrestrial necromancer... A person like that would be welcomed with full honors in any necromancer clan. In fact, it would be the same even in Giant Ghost City!"

The savages were completely overwhelmed, and as for the two soul cultivators, they were virtually struck mute. Shaking physically, they looked at Naruto in disbelief, feeling like they might collapse at any moment.

"Terrestrial... terrestrial necromancer...?"

"He's a terrestrial necromancer!" Upon recovering their wits to some extent, they immediately flopped down and began to kowtow, their hearts filled with awe and reverence. To them, a terrestrial necromancer... was the type of grand entity that could shake all the lands with the single stomp of a foot!

And just such a person was standing right in front of them! Then the two of them contemplated how they had just suggested that he return the soulhoarding pagoda they had offered. Despite how vaguely they had made the suggestion, the mere fact that they had struck them both with deep levels of fear and panic.

If they had such a reaction, it almost wasn't necessary to mention Li Feng, whose eyes were on the verge

the verge of popping out of his skull. Shivering physically, he suddenly dropped out of the air and landed onto the ground.

"Grandmaster, please calm yourself..." he said, ashen-faced, his fear going so deep that his soul began to tremble. The fact that he had possibly offended someone he should never have offended caused his hair to stand on end, and filled his heart with a sea of bitterness and grief.

At the same time, he was stunned that an illustrious terrestrial necromancer would concoct soul medicine for a small tribe just to get a soulhoarding pagoda...

Zhou Yixing was equally flabbergasted, and was staring with brightly shining eyes at Naruto. Earlier, he had had his doubts, and had even felt scorn for Naruto, but now, he was fully convinced of what kind of person he was, and his heart began to burn with fervor.

He knew for a fact that this necromancer hadn't been able to conjure eleven-colored flame before. Then, after not much time passed at all, he conjured that very flame with complete ease, even perfection. It left Zhou Yixing completely shaken and in awe.

More than that, he actually felt that it was good fortune for him to have become the follower of a terrestrial necromancer! That was especially because of the ease with which he conjured flame. Clearly, this Necromancer Uzumaki was spectacularly talented, and that meant that there was always the possibility that he would reach the celestial rank! Since Zhou Yixing was his first follower, and had no one else to compete with, that meant it would be easier to curry favor.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Zhou Yixing's zeal and devotion grew.

Naruto stood there for a moment, basking in the gazes, and then cleared his throat and looked over at Li Feng.

"Alright, alright, an important person like me wouldn't stoop to the

stoop to the level of causing problems for someone like you. Although, considering how talented you seem, you really need to listen to me when I tell you to keep a low profile... Look at how awesome I am! And yet, did you ever see me going around trying to show off?" He waved his hand, storing the eleven-colored flame away in his bag of holding. Then he swished his sleeve, keeping his chin stuck up as he sauntered back toward his immortal's cave.

Li Feng chuckled bitterly in his heart. As far as he was concerned, if this grandmaster considered himself to be keeping a low profile, then he obviously had no idea what it meant to do the opposite. However, he didn't dare to speak such words aloud. All he did was gratefully voice his agreement. At the same time, he had similar thoughts to the ones Zhou Yixing had just had.

"If I could become a follower of this terrestrial necromancer, and receive some occasional pointers, that would be good fortune for me... And what if he even agreed to teach me some things…?" Life as a rogue cultivator was hard, and people like Li Feng would rarely get a chance to even see a terrestrial necromancer. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and decided that, no matter what happened, no matter how much fawning or fighting it took, he would become this necromancer's follower.

At that point, he subconsciously glanced over at Zhou Yixing and thought, "This guy must already be one of his followers. I've got to do better than him!"

Zhou Yixing noticed Li Feng's glance, and could guess what he was thinking. Less than pleased, he decided to keep his guard up even more than before. "There's no way I'm going to let this guy surpass me as a follower!"

Both of them could see the hostility in each other's glances.

Chapter 579

A+ A- Chapter 579

Chapter 579: Rebranding The Mask!

Instead of leaving, Li Feng chose to stay in the Blackmountain Tribe, where he planted himself at Naruto's side and leapt to meet his every demand, even if it meant going through hell and high water.

It put a lot of pressure on Zhou Yixing, and also served to increase his own zeal and devotion.

Naruto didn't drive Li Feng away. Instead, he wallowed in the wonderful feeling of having two people fawning over him.

"Ai. I really am just too outstanding. Wherever I go, people kowtow to me left and right. It's really hard to reject such treatment. I guess I'm just too much of a softy." Of course, the savages were even more fanatical about Naruto than before, and the soul cultivators had begun treating him as if he were some sort of god.

All the energy of the tribe was focused on fulfilling any request that Naruto made, which he found to be a wonderful thing. At the same time, he didn't forget that he had promised to concoct soul medicine for them.

However, before taking on that task, there was something very important to be done, something that could not be delayed. That very night, he sent his three clones out into the darkness to stand guard, and then sealed his immortal's cave with numerous restrictive spells. Finally, he sat down cross-legged and carefully took off his mask.

After the mask was off, he looked around vigilantly. Outside, his clones did the same thing. Only after they were all sure that the coast was clear did Naruto relax a bit.

"Now that I can concoct eleven-colored flame, it's time to perform a spirit enhancement on this mask and see if I can remove the branding mark inside and replace it with my own!

"If I do that, then nobody should be able to find me through it!" Eyes sparkling,

he pulled out his turtle-wok and prepared everything from one- to eleven-colored flame. After performing the first ten spirit enhancements, he put the eleven-colored flame into the wok.

Almost instantly, the wok began to shine with bright golden light that instantly filled the entire immortal's cave. The energy which pulsed within that golden light left Naruto feeling completely shaken.

Thankfully, this wasn't his first time using eleven-colored flame; he had also done so in the illusory world of the trial by fire. Therefore, he settled his Chakra and calmed his mind, then waited for the turtle-wok to suck in all of the golden light. When the time was right, he put the mask into the wok.

"It's definitely going to work!" The mask was very important, so of course Naruto was very concerned with how things could turn out. His eyes were glued to the mask as the golden light in the wok grew more dazzling and boundless, transforming into countless golden threads that converged on the mask itself.

Then, they rapidly merged together, covering the mask and causing deep rumbling sounds to echo out in the immortal's cave. Finally, right before his eyes, the mask... began to melt!

Within moments, it had transformed into a milky white liquid that emanated a fragrant aroma, a mere whiff of which left Naruto feeling enlivened.

"An elevenfold spirit enhancement returns the object to its essence. That leaf transformed into a tree, whereas this mask... became a drop of essence liquid." The milky white liquid rapidly formed into a pearl that glowed with soft light. Shockingly, on the surface of that pearl was... a golden design!

As the turtle-wok went dark, Naruto's anxiety mounted. Finally, he picked up the pearl, whereupon he could sense an aura within it that contained the power of illusion.

By merely sensing that aura, he suddenly felt as if he were surrounded by an illusory world. No

No longer was he in his immortal's cave; he was in a celestial paradise, filled with immortal mountains, immortal cranes, spirit flowers, and mystical mists. It was almost impossible to tell whether it was real or not.

Thankfully, the sensation quickly passed, and he regained his senses. Then, he looked suspiciously at the pearl he held in his hand.

"This thing's powers of illusion surpass that of the old mask by far! There are probably even more differences that I will have to discover over time." Heart pounding wildly, he examined the pearl further to ensure that there were no branding marks on it. Only then did he place his own branding mark onto it.

The white pearl flickered as a link was created between him and it.

"It worked! I never felt anything like this with the mask!" Laughing heartily, Naruto pushed the pearl down onto his forehead, whereupon it vanished into his Heavenspan Dharma Eye. Moments later, his facial features blurred, and then transformed back into Uzumaki Hao's.

As of this point, there wasn't the slightest crack in his mask disguise.

Whether it was his soul fluctuations or any other aspect of him, not a single shred of evidence that he was Naruto remained.

In the past, certain almighty figures such as demigods might have been able to notice some abnormalities caused by the mask. But now, not even demigods would pick up on any clues.

Meanwhile, in the very moment that Naruto transformed the mask into a pearl by removing the previous branding mark and replacing it with his own, something happened in a location a vast distance away in the Wildlands.

In that location was a shocking city that was completely golden and matchlessly large. It almost looked like a golden dragon, emanating an intense pressure that would suppress anything in the area.

That city... was none other than Arch-Emperor City!

In the very middle of Arch-Emperor City, floating

City, floating high in the air, was an area filled with floating clouds that seemed to contain a city of its own within them. It was... the location of the imperial palace!

Inside the palace, in an extravagantly decorated hall, an old man sat cross-legged in meditation. He wore luxurious clothing, and was the type of person who seemed threatening without being angry. He occupied a very high position, the type who could determine the fates of tens upon tens of thousands of people with a single word.

His cultivation base was profoundly enigmatic, and even from a distance, he looked like a divine, godly being!

The moment the branding mark was erased from the mask, the old man's eyes opened, causing golden light to spill out. Anyone who looked into those eyes would be shaken to the core. As soon as the old man's cultivation base fluctuations began to roll out, the entire imperial palace began to shake.

"It's gone..." he murmured, frowning. A moment later, he waved his hand, causing the main door of the palace hall to swing open noiselessly and reveal a middle-aged man, who bowed and scraped his way inside.

"Grand Heavenmaster, his excellency was startled by your cultivation base fluctuations just now. He has asked your humble servant to come and inquire as to what aroused your wrath..."

"It seems his excellency is a bit too high strung," the old man replied. "Now that I think about it, it's the perfect time for him to go into secluded meditation. That way he can increase his cultivation base a bit and build up some courage. Pass down orders that his excellency will enter a ten-year period of secluded meditation, starting immediately." With that, the old man closed his eyes.

Back in the area near Giant Ghost City, Naruto was in the Blackmountain Tribe, feeling at his face. Pleased, he called back his three clones, then studied the soulhoarding

studied the soulhoarding pagoda for a bit before summoning a large group of vengeful souls.

Then he waved his hand and pinched his fingers together, creating something like a gravitational force that caused the cloud of souls to converge on his palm. As they formed into a one-colored flame, he spread his arms wide, causing the flame to transform into something that looked like a piece of crystal.

"So, this is soul medicine?" Naruto grabbed the crystal, and could immediately sense the soul power fluctuations coming from it. Then he began to study it a bit more closely.

"Seems simple enough. The only difficulty lies in how many colors are in the flame... So, only people who can conjure flame can concoct soul medicine. I just wonder... if you can use real medicine concocting techniques to make the soul medicine even better?" After some thought, he produced a pill furnace, tossed the soul medicine inside, and began to use some of the concocting methods he knew.

However, nothing happened. Naruto even took out some medicinal pills and tried to combine them with the soul medicine. He put quite a bit of effort into it, even adding in some plants and vegetation, and yet, in the end, got little out of it.

"Well, that doesn't work. It adds a bit of medicinal mist to the soul medicine, but that won't do much of anything at all. Definitely too much of a waste of resources to provide any help in cultivation. Not worth it... However, it seems I can get a bit of effect by adding toxic elements." In the end, he just gave up. Although it seemed like a pity, there really weren't any significant changes to the soul medicine. In fact, only grandmaster alchemists would even notice the slight changes inside. However, all of this made sense considering the Wildlands was a place devoid of medicinal plants and vegetation.

Chapter 580

A+ A- Chapter 580

Chapter 580: Demigod Soul!

Even after further study, Naruto was left with no other option than to give up on the idea of combining soul medicine with ordinary medicinal pills. Although he was a bit disappointed, there was simply no way to get these two completely different types of medicine to work together.

"Oh well. At least I know how to add toxic elements. Perhaps that will prove to be useful one of these days." With that, he continued on with the task of concocting soul medicine.

After all, he had promised the Blackmountain Tribe that he would do this for them, and he was the type of person who lived up to his promises. Therefore, the following days were focused mostly on that task.

All of the work was done with the souls they provided. Considering the predicament they were in, and how soft-hearted Naruto was, he didn't impose any further requirements on them.

A few days later, Naruto was looking at 500 full portions of lowgrade soul medicine, and feeling very pleased at how impressive he was.

"I guess it isn't that bad that I'm stuck away from the Great Wall temporarily. Since I'm good at concocting soul medicine, I should be able to dominate the scene out in the Wildlands just as well as back home." He was immeasurably self-satisfied, and couldn't help but sigh at how outstanding he was; no matter where he went, he always managed to come out on top.

"Perhaps that's just my biggest strong suit." He closed his eyes to revel in the feeling, but then, he couldn't help but think back to the scene back in the labyrinth when everyone was teleported away. That got him wondering about where Master God-Diviner, Song Que, and Zhao Long had ended up.

"I wonder where they are now...?" All of sudden, he was filled with anticipation at being reunited with them somewhere in the Wildlands. For some reason, that made him feel less lonely. After thinking about it for a bit longer, he

cleared his throat and then reached up to feel his disguised face. In the past few days, he had come to find that, not only did the power of the pearl mask cover his own aura, but it also disguised the fluctuations that were caused by conjuring flame. Now, he could conjure flame whenever or wherever he wanted, and no one would be able to detect it.

"What a lovely treasure!" Eventually, he put the matters of the mask aside for the time being and pulled out his soulhoarding pagoda to examine it.

"After I give the 500 portions of low-grade soul medicine to the Blackmountain Tribe, my task here will be accomplished. Although this place isn't bad, there's no reason to stay here." With that, he settled into contemplation. On the one hand, he really needed to figure out how to get back to the Great Wall, but on the other hand, he also wanted to acquire the formula for fifteen-colored flame.

Most importantly, he needed to find more deva souls. If he didn't, he would be unable to break through from the Gold Core stage into the Nascent Soul stage.

"It's all the fault of that damned Mistress Red-Dust!" The thought of who had pushed him into this predicament caused him to gnash his teeth.

Furthermore, he was now determined to make sure that, one day,

Mistress Red-Dust and Chen Hetian knew exactly how awesome he was!

Before, he had scanned the soulhoarding pagoda a bit with divine sense, but had never taken the time to study it in detail. Now that he was finished with his soul medicine task, he calmed himself down to do just that, his goal being to figure out how soulhoarding pagodas worked.

However, after a detailed inspection, he couldn't come up with any clues. The soulhoarding pagoda was filled with a mist that his divine sense had a hard time piercing. However, he could sense a profound sensation of age within the pagoda.

"There's too much of that mist... That's what's making it

it hard to see inside... Alright, soulhoarding pagoda, you just watch and see how I handle you! Hmmmphh! Since you belong to me now, I'll use spirit enhancement techniques to clean you up a bit! I don't care whose branding mark is hiding inside of you, I'm going to erase it for good!" What had occurred with the mask had impressed upon Naruto what exactly he could do with magical items that had been given to him by others. Therefore, it was with great secrecy that he sent his three clones out to collect more vengeful souls.

On top of that, he ordered Zhou Yixing and Li Feng to do the same thing, as well as the rest of the Blackmountain Tribe.

A few days later, his three-pronged method of attacking the matter resulted in him having enough souls to produce everything from one- to eleven-colored flame. That very evening, he conjured the eleven-colored flame he needed!

Without the slightest hesitation, he then produced his turtle-wok and tossed the soulhoarding pagoda inside to give it an elevenfold spirit enhancement!

Golden light flashed, and the soulhoarding pagoda changed appearance.

Instead of being gray, it was now crystalline and exquisite. Furthermore, it had a single golden design on its surface. The little pagoda was now completely different, and would be extremely enticing even to the most powerful necromancer.

Naruto grabbed the crystalline soulhoarding pagoda and then elatedly branded it with his mark. When he felt the invisible connection that came into being as a result, he could finally relax.

"Now this soulhoarding pagoda truly belongs to me, and me alone." Laughing heartily, he sent some divine sense inside it to examine it again. This time, there was no obscuring mist blocking his ability to clearly see it through and through.

But then, his expression turned very serious. "Eee?"

He sent more power into his divine sense, causing it to fill the entire soulhoarding pagoda.

There, very deep inside, in an area which had once been covered by mist, Naruto could now see... evidence

see... evidence of a restrictive sealing spell!

The sealing mark was very faint, and wouldn't be detectable except upon close examination.

"A sealing mark..." His first thought was that the members of the Blackmountain tribe must have been courting death by trying to con him. But soon, he realized that that was probably not the case. Based on what he could detect, the sealing mark seemed to be just as ancient as the soulhoarding pagoda itself.

After a bit of thought, his eyes glittered, and he attempted to open the sealing mark and see what exactly was inside. But after a few tries, he found that the mark was apparently fabricated from an aura of death. Without a massive blast of divine sense, it would be impossible to open.

In fact, Naruto could tell that he was currently incapable of getting past it!

"Interesting. A seemingly-ordinary soulhoarding pagoda turns out to have an ancient sealing mark inside..." He retracted his divine sense and then sat there thinking, his eyes shining brightly.

"If I want to open it, I have to blast it with incredible power... My cultivation base isn't strong enough at the moment, but... that doesn't necessarily mean I'm out of options!

"Alright, soulhoarding pagoda, you just watch and see how Lord Uzumaki does things!" With that, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a large bucket!

It was as tall as a person, and almost two meters wide, and as soon as it appeared, it erupted with powerful spiritual power. Shockingly, that bucket was filled to the brim with... Heavenspan River water!

Back during the haunting of the River-Defying Sect, Naruto had, in his fear, submerged his mask in this very bucket. Even he had forgotten about that matter for a while. Considering that he needed a big blast of spiritual power to deal with the soulhoarding pagoda, this was the perfect item to retrieve from his bag of holding.

"Heavenspan River water is a major rarity in the Wildlands. This bucket might not make me the richest person here,

richest person here, but definitely a big moneybags." Licking his lips, he looked at the bucket and then back at the crystalline soulhoarding pagoda.

"With the spiritual power in this bucket, I should be able to blast open that sealing mark." Eyes sparkling, he performed a right-handed incantation gesture and then waved his finger at the soulhoarding pagoda. Instantly, a gravitational force sprang up, causing more than half of the water in the bucket to surge toward the sealing mark in the depths of the pagoda.

The soulhoarding pagoda shook physically as Naruto sent his divine sense inside to watch the sealing mark falling apart under the barrage of Heavenspan River water. And yet, even as it broke apart, it began to heal itself.

Naruto quickly performed another incantation gesture, sending more water into the pagoda. The healing signs vanished, and more cracks appeared; it looked like the sealing mark would fall apart at any moment.

However, it was in that very moment... that suddenly, a terrifying aura leaked out that caused Naruto's face to immediately fall!

Even just brushing against that aura with his divine sense left him utterly shaken and gasping for air. Leaping to his feet, he exclaimed, "That's... that's..."

He quickly performed an incantation gesture to pull all of the Heavenspan River water back from inside of the pagoda.

Thankfully, after he did that, the sealing mark ceased collapsing. However, it had apparently lost its ability to repair itself, and now remained in a dilapidated state, as if only a bit more power could destroy it.

Naruto got his breathing under control and then stared back into the pagoda, his eyes shining with fear...

"That aura surpasses anything I've ever felt from any person, even from devas... It's very similar to the aura I sensed back in the trial by fire in the labyrinth, when I performed the twenty-onefold spirit enhancement on that leaf... That's an aura which surpasses devas. Don't tell me it's...

the Demigod Realm! What exactly is sealed inside of this pagoda!?"

Chapter 581

A+ A- Chapter 581

Chapter 581: Trump Card

Naruto was so nervous his throat was completely dry. After a long moment passed, he carefully sent his divine sense back into the soulhoarding pagoda and inched it toward the sealed area.

From the perspective of his divine sense, the sealed area looked like it was covered with countless cracks, as though the slightest nudge would break it. Naruto remained there hesitantly, analyzing the faint pulses of energy which occasionally emerged from the other side.

"I'm finished. Kaput. I've caused another disaster..." Depressed, he realized that it wasn't an option to just run away, and that he really needed to take a look to understand what he was dealing with. Exercising utmost caution in his control of his divine sense, he slowly sent it into one of the cracks.

He didn't send much in, only a teeny bit, but that was enough to give him a general idea of what was inside the sealed area!

Shockingly, there was a dimension inside!

It was an empty space filled with gray light, in the depths of which could be seen... an old man sitting there cross-legged in meditation!

His face was a mass of wrinkles, and he had no hair. Shockingly, he was being tightly restrained by 999 chains formed from magical symbols.

His aura vastly surpassed that of a deva, and to Naruto, he looked like some sort of god or deity. The mere pressure emanating off of him left Naruto trembling!

"Is he... a demigod...?" Naruto thought, barely able to breathe. What he was seeing via his divine sense almost defied belief. Fearful of attracting the old man's attention, he carefully began to retract his divine sense. At the same time, he decided that he didn't really want this soulhoarding pagoda after all...

However, it was in that same moment that the old man's eyes snapped open to reveal light as bright as a shining sun. At the same time,

he suddenly transformed into a crimson, three-headed python. Naruto couldn't hold back from letting out a shriek.

"Spare me, Senior..." he wailed as he pulled his divine sense back.

However, a moment later, he stopped his divine sense from moving.

"Eee?" he murmured. It was only at this point that he realized the chained old man didn't seem corporeal. Rather, he was partially translucent, almost as if he weren't complete...

Even more telling was that his gaze, despite being fiercely powerful, was somewhat blank, almost as if he weren't conscious...

"He's a discarnate soul?" Naruto gasped and looked a bit closer.

"A discarnate demigod soul!"

After confirming what he was looking at, Naruto carefully retracted his divine sense. Then, he sat there, heart pounding, looking at the crystalline soulhoarding pagoda he held in his trembling hands.

"If there are deva souls, then it makes sense that there would be demigod souls... Although the soul in the pagoda is discarnate and incomplete, it still counts as a demigod soul!

"Clearly, it didn't originally belong to a cultivator, but rather, to a demigod-level beast... It must have been some almighty entity in ages past, which was killed by some cultivator. Its discarnate soul was then sealed, either by whoever killed it, or perhaps even by itself. Whatever exactly occurred, it ended up in this soulhoarding pagoda..."

Naruto licked his lips at the thought of how precious this treasure was that he had acquired. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he sent his divine sense back into the pagoda to study it further. The following day at noon, he finally finished his inspection, whereupon his eyes shone with enlightenment.

"It really is an unconscious discarnate soul that was fused into the pagoda... If the pagoda were to be destroyed, the sealed soul would also be destroyed. However, that would simultaneously result in a blast of destructive energy that would probably kill even a deva, or at least inflict

inflict serious injuries...

"This thing is essentially a disposable magical item! The soulhoarding function is just a secondary feature, or perhaps something to disguise its true function!" Naruto was completely shaken, and couldn't even imagine what entity would be able to turn a discarnate demigod soul into a disposable magical item.

It almost didn't seem real that he could so casually acquire an item that would be threatening even to a deva.

However, that wasn't necessarily a good feeling. More like a hairraisingly terrifying one.

"Was it really a coincidence...?" he thought, recalling everything that had led up to him being teleported out into the Wildlands... The more he thought about everything, the more it seemed like something fishy was going on...

After a bit more thought, he put the soulhoarding pagoda away and then summoned the two soul cultivators. They quickly rushed into his immortal's cave and bowed in greeting, nervous about what was going on.

Looking at the two soul cultivators with eyes that flashed like lightning, he cut right to the chase and asked, "Where did you get this soulhoarding pagoda!?"

In order to make sure they didn't lie to him, he cracked open his Heavenspan Dharma Eye just a bit so that he could sense any changes in their auras and fluctuations.

The soul cultivators were trembling under the might of the pressure weighing down on them, and didn't dare to hold anything back; they went on to tell him everything about the soulhoarding pagoda in extreme detail.

As it turned out, the pagoda was an ancient legacy heirloom in the Blackmountain Tribe. Not even the two soul cultivators were really sure of its origins. After all, most savage tribes in the Wildlands would have some object left behind by a founding ancestor. Some would be incredibly valuable, while others would be relatively insignificant.

After hearing this, Naruto called over the leaders of the savages in the tribe and asked some detailed questions. In the

In the end, he dismissed everyone and sat there, frowning.

Clearly, the soulhoarding pagoda was nothing more than something passed down from generation to generation in the Blackmountain Tribe. It, like other similar legacy items, had been around for such a long time that no one knew much about where it came from.

He still didn't feel confident based on what he knew, though, so he went back to the leaders of the savages and asked to see the other things left behind by their ancestors.

After examining them all closely, he couldn't find any useful clues.

Eventually, he was forced to abandon his search for information about the origin of the soulhoarding pagoda.

Late that night, he stood outside of his immortal's cave, studying the sky, the lands, and the mountains. Eventually, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"I hope I'm just overthinking things... Well, in any case, this soulhoarding pagoda can at least be a powerful trump card! It's too bad I can only use it once, though!" Sighing, he put the matter aside and stopped thinking about it.

A few days later, he chose to leave the Blackmountain Tribe. Upon his departure, all of the savages kowtowed, their eyes filled with awe and reverence.

The two soul cultivators behaved similarly.

Naruto looked around, heart swelling at how popular he was... Back in his home village, everyone had gathered to see him off with great fanfare. It was the same in the Spirit Stream Sect, the RiverDefying Sect, and of course Sky City in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect...

Now here he was in the Wildlands, where the Blackmountain Tribe was similarly seeing him off with great fanfare.

A moment later, he swept the crowd with divine sense to make sure that none of them had any gongs or drums hidden in their clothing, after which he was convinced that they were sincerely seeing him off. "You're all dismissed," he said with the wave of his hand. Then, he

hand. Then, he stuck his chin up and strode off, looking as grand as possible.

Zhou Yixing followed close behind, his eyes shining with determination. He had long since vowed to follow this Grandmaster Uzumaki wherever he went. Of course, he continuously cast vigilant glances at the person who was walking next to him.

That person was none other than Naruto's other follower, Li Feng...

Li Feng could see Zhou Yixing glancing at him, and it made him just as vigilant. Considering that this Grandmaster Uzumaki hadn't driven him away, it indicated his approval. Therefore, Li Feng knew that at the moment, his greatest competition was none other than the damnable Zhou Yixing.

The three of them proceeded along for a bit before Zhou Yixing finally couldn't take it anymore. Spinning, he glared at Li Feng and shouted, "What are you following us for?! Screw the hell off already!"

Then, he turned and bowed to Naruto at the waist, plastering onto his face a fawning expression that he had been practicing lately...

"Grandmaster," he said, "this guy is up to no good. He's obviously following us because he has some sort of nefarious plan!"

Naruto gave a noncommittal grunt, but nothing more. Taking out a map, he checked to see which direction Giant Ghost City was.

Li Feng looked over scornfully at Zhou Yixing as he clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Please don't misunderstand, Grandmaster. Your humble servant has no such intentions. Because of my deep reverence for you, I sincerely wish to be your follower!" Li Feng was telling the truth. He wanted so much to be Naruto's follower that he almost had to hold back from grabbing his leg so that he wouldn't be sent away.

However, Naruto didn't pay much attention to him. Instead, he just turned to leave.

Zhou Yixing, on the other hand, felt wonderful. Casting another glare at Li Feng, he hurried after Naruto, his expression more fawning than ever.

Chapter 582

A+ A- Chapter 582

Chapter 582: Uzumaki Clan, East Outskirts

Li Feng was getting very, very nervous. After all, this Grandmaster Uzumaki was a terrestrial necromancer, the most powerful necromancer Li Feng had ever met.

The benefits of being a follower of a person like that defied description, and Li Feng knew that if he didn't seize this opportunity, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Aware that he had to do something to make himself valuable, he quickly cried, "Wait for me, Grandmaster Uzumaki! I can be of a lot of use. For example, when you need souls, I can go looking for them for you. I can also-"

Naruto paused midstride. After all, the things that Li Feng was saying made sense.

As for Zhou Yixing, his heart was starting to pound with anger. Back before Naruto had proved to be a terrestrial necromancer, he had felt that being his follower was somewhat of an insult. But now things were completely different; as far as he was concerned, Naruto was almost like a deva.

Zhou Yixing had done a lot of boot-licking to try to get Li Feng kicked away, only to have him shamelessly offer to do the same things that he himself was responsible for.

"I can do that too!" he shouted, worried that Naruto would agree.

Naruto blinked a few times, but maintained his calm. He could tell that these two viewed each other as competition, and the truth was, he was actually pleased by that. Without saying anything, he continued along.

Feeling a bit better, Zhou Yixing glared over at Li Feng and pondered how he would stomp him to death if his cultivation base were unsealed...

Li Feng couldn't just sit around and let Zhou Yixing act like this. Turning anxiously toward Naruto, he raised his voice and said,

"Grandmaster Uzumaki, I... I know a place where you can get a huge amount of souls!"

"So do I!" Zhou Yixing shouted immediately. "I know lots of places

like that!"

"I can concoct soul medicine for you, Grandmaster!" Li Feng said. "I'm at the peak of the master necromancer rank, so I can make plenty of soul medicine to keep you safe, your majesty!"

"I can concoct soul medicine too!" Zhou Yixing said through gritted teeth.

"You're pushing things too far, Zhou Yixing! I know a place where you can get Heavenspan River water! That stuff is incredibly valuable! Even a single drop can get you tons and tons of soul medicine! Can you match that, Zhou Yixing?!" Li Feng shouted.

"I..." If Zhou Yixing were back home, he could definitely do that, but here, there was no way...

Naruto's eyes brightened. He had been aware that Heavenspan River water was rare in the Wildlands, and that it was valuable, but he had never really put much thought into exactly how valuable it would be...

Seeing that Zhou Yixing appeared to be at a loss for words, Li Feng started to get excited, and immediately began to list out all his selling points in the hopes that he could get Naruto's attention.

"I know somewhere you can get a deva soul!

"I can gather all kinds of information from the area!

"I can-"

Eyes bloodshot, Zhou Yixing was just about to offer a retort when Naruto suddenly stopped and turned around.

Then, Zhou Yixing's heart began to pound as he realized that Naruto was staring at Li Feng.

"Did you just say that you know the location of a deva soul?"

Bursting with excitement at Naruto's reaction, Li Feng immediately clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Grandmaster Uzumaki, your humble servant absolutely has some information about a deva soul. According to the rumors, the giant ghost king himself has one. In addition to him, each of the three great necromancer clans within Giant Ghost City territory also has one!"

Naruto frowned. From what he could tell, this information might as well be a complete fabrication.

Zhou Yixing was delighted to see Naruto frowning, and decided that he had

had to counter attack. "Hmph. The giant ghost king is a demigod expert. How could you possibly just take a deva soul from him?! And as for what you said about the necromancer clans, that's pure speculation!"

Li Feng stared at him coldly for a moment, then chuckled. Putting a very respectful expression onto his face, he looked at Naruto and said, "How could I possibly do anything to deceive Grandmaster Uzumaki?

Obviously, the deva soul possessed by the exalted giant ghost king is not something to go after. As for the necromancer clans, there are two who I can't say for certain have a deva soul. But one of them does. I'd stake my life on that fact!

"I was once a vassal in that very clan, and during one of their ceremonies, I had the honor of seeing that deva soul with my own eyes. It bore the semblance of sandy soil, and instantly caused incredible pressure to weigh down in the entire area!" As soon as Naruto heard Li Feng's complete description, his eyes sparkled.

Deva souls were precious treasures in the Wildlands just like they were in the lands of Heavenspan. They were the type of thing that few people could ever lay eyes on, and as such, few people knew what they would look like. However, Li Feng's description matched the description exactly.

"If he's telling the truth, then that means he saw an earth-type deva soul. I already have fire, wood, and water... I'm just missing metal and earth!" Naruto's heart was palpitating in eagerness.

"Which clan are you talking about?" Naruto asked, his eyes sparkling.

Li Feng hesitated for a moment, but considering that his chance to be Naruto's follower was at stake, he finally said, "The Uzumaki Clan, on the east outskirts of the city!"

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. The clan Li Feng had just mentioned sounded very familiar, and when he realized why, his jaw dropped...

"The east outskirts of the city…" he

city…" he thought. "Three great necromancer clans... the Uzumaki Clan... Isn't that the clan Uzumaki Hao came from?" Such thoughts got his heart pounding. "But a clan like that, a great clan attached to Giant Ghost City... they must have a deva patriarch!"

Naruto licked his lips, and yet, was still hesitating. However, he absolutely had to get more deva souls, and considering that he was already masquerading as Uzumaki Hao, it would probably make things easier.

As he hesitated, the nervous Li Feng began to give more information about the Uzumaki Clan. As far as he was concerned, even offending the Uzumaki Clan would be worth it if he could be Naruto's follower.

Although he had served at the Uzumaki Clan as a vassal, he had never noticed Uzumaki Hao during that time. After all, Uzumaki Hao was only in early Foundation Establishment, and wasn't considered an outstanding member of the clan. It would only be natural for Li Feng, a master necromancer, to ignore him.

Naruto's mind spun as he considered the matter for a long moment. Finally, he gritted his teeth and thought, "I might not succeed in the end, but I should at least give it a shot. After all, I do have my demigod pagoda... Even if my identity gets exposed, I shouldn't be in too much danger."

At the same time, his anger toward Mistress Red-Dust smoldered. After all, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't need to get deva souls to step into the Nascent Soul stage.

"It's all the fault of that shrew Mistress Red-Dust. Once I'm awesome enough, I'll definitely teach her a lesson! And the same with Chen Hetian!" Finally, he made his decision, and formally agreed to let Li Feng be his follower. With that, the three of them flew off in the direction of the Uzumaki Clan.

Along the way, Naruto reviewed the bone slips he had found in Uzumaki Hao's bag of holding, and also thought about the circumstances surrounding Uzumaki Hao's

surrounding Uzumaki Hao's death. Obviously, returning to the clan as Uzumaki Hao would probably cause something of a stir.

"Very well, Uzumaki Hao. If I get a chance, I'll figure out who's responsible for your death and get revenge!"

A few days later, they were closing in on the Uzumaki Clan. Obviously, it wouldn't do to take Li Feng and Zhou Yixing with him, so at a certain point he stopped and arranged for them to stay in the vicinity and work on their cultivation, ready to come the instant he called for them.

He dropped his cultivation base from the great circle of Core Formation down to where Uzumaki Hao's had been, in early Foundation Establishment, and also flew a bit slower than before, doing everything he could to make himself look like Uzumaki Hao should. He even put a taciturn expression onto his face.

"Uzumaki Hao was a bastard son, so the clan probably doesn't care about him very much..." It only made sense to him that Uzumaki Hao wouldn't look very happy to come back to the clan after almost being killed.

This area was considered the outskirts of Giant Ghost City, and all of it was controlled by the Uzumaki Clan. It was a huge area, populated to the point where it was essentially a huge city.

The city was violet, and almost looked like it had been imprinted into the earth itself from above. The city wall was formed by statues of dragonsnakes, which formed together to make four huge gates, the entrances to the clan!

There was clearly a spell formation at work, which emanated terrifying pressure that both filled the Uzumaki Clan and made it stand out among the lands that surrounded it.

As soon as Naruto entered the vicinity of the city, he felt eyes on him from all directions, although no one looked at him for too long.

As for the power of the spell formation, it caused his heart to tremble.

"The Uzumaki Clan... definitely has a deva patriarch!"

Chapter 583

A+ A- Chapter 583

Chapter 583: Uzumaki Hao, Bastard Son

"Am I still me...?" Naruto thought. Even he could tell that he had changed in a fear-inspiring and dangerous way. "There's a deva patriarch here! I... I can't believe I'm actually attempting to steal a deva soul right out of the tiger's mouth..."

He rubbed his eyes a bit, but no tears came away. He really was at the point where he wished he could cry, but there were no tears to shed. Inwardly, he sighed.

There was no question that a younger version of himself wouldn't have entered this place even upon the threat of being beaten to death. Yet... here he was, taking the initiative.

"It's all the fault of Mistress Red-Dust and Chen Hetian! They're forcing me to do this... Dammit, when I get angry, I frighten even myself!" No matter how he sighed, though, there were no other options available. Settling his thoughts, he tried to make himself look even more taciturn as he headed into the city.

"The Uzumaki Clan is one of the three great necromancer clans attached to Giant Ghost City. Of course they have a protective spell formation... It's hard to say whether or not the spell formation will check whether people have the blood of the clan in their veins. And it's also hard to say whether or not my mask will be able to deceive it if it does... I'm guessing it can." Naruto proceeded forward nervously, prepared

to flee in an instant if necessary.

More and more gazes seemed to pass over him, until he was roughly 300 meters away from the city entrance. At that point, the extremely lifelike dragonsnake statues opened their eyes and looked in his direction!

Their sinister gazes were coupled with a terrifying aura that left Uzumaki

Naruto certain that if they decided he wasn't a member of the Uzumaki Clan, and tried to enter uninvited, that he would be struck with lightninglike destructive power.

Naruto stood there thoughtfully for

a few breaths' worth of time, then walked forward, entering the perimeter of the clan spell formation. Almost immediately, Uzumaki Hao's identity medallion in his bag of holding began to glow with a soft light. At the same time, his mask unleashed imperceptible fluctuations that completely fooled the spell formation, ensuring that it believed him to be Uzumaki Hao, and not Naruto!

As soon as he entered the perimeter of the spell formation, the gazes which had been resting on him vanished, and the eyes of the statues grew dark. Then, a creaking sound could be heard as the huge main gate slowly opened.

A middle-aged man walked out who was in the great circle of Chakra Condensation. He had his hands tucked into the opposite sleeves of his robe, and was extremely gaunt. Eyes anything but kind, he frowned as he looked Naruto up and down.

Naruto was finally relaxing a bit now that he had passed the first step of entering the Uzumaki Clan. Steeling himself, he headed toward the main gate.

However, the middle-aged man quickly stepped in front of him, scorn written on his face as he coolly said, "Well, you're back, Young Master Uzumaki Hao. Did you forget the madam's orders? Bastard sons are only allowed to enter through the side door! I can't believe you triggered the clan spell formation and even forced the dragonsnake gate open! You've obviously forgotten your place! This gate is not for the likes of you to enter."

Naruto looked over at the man with a slight frown. He had been aware that Uzumaki Hao wasn't well-liked in the clan, but would never have guessed that even a lowly gatekeeper would treat him with such scorn. That indicated there was more to Uzumaki Hao's low standing in the clan than Naruto understood.

"This is blatant humiliation," he thought.

When the sharpness of Naruto's gaze stabbed into the gatekeeper's eyes, his mind trembled. It felt as if an intense

intense coldness had suddenly gripped his mind and dragged him into the dead of winter. Shocked, he didn't dare to keep looking into Naruto's eyes, and even subconsciously stepped out of the way to make room.

Naruto walked past, his face expressionless. It was only after he entered the gate and walked off that the gatekeeper recovered.

"How could Uzumaki Hao's gaze be so intense?" he muttered. "It wasn't like that before!"

After entering the clan itself, Naruto began to simply stroll around. The place was large, but it was a clan, so there weren't things like stores and shops. There were only mansions belonging to the various bloodlines of the clan. Everything was luxuriously decorated, complete with ornamental rocks and trees. Members of the clan walked about here and there, and some flew about overhead. Overall, it was a bustling place.

Before he could get very far, a young woman dressed like a servant appeared up ahead, walking toward him as she talked with a friend. When she saw Naruto, her eyes flashed with scorn, and she snorted coldly.

"Is anyone even awake at the Department of Visitor Affairs? Apparently, they'll let any cretin through the gates!" With that, she walked past.

Naruto was just about to glare back at her angrily, but restrained himself.

"Just deal with it," he thought. "After all, I'm not really Uzumaki Hao." Taking a deep breath, he looked over his shoulder at the servant girl and then continued on his way. As he explored the city, he encountered quite a few servants, all of whom seemed surprised to see him. However, each one had looks of scorn and disdain in their eyes as well.

Many of their looks seemed too exaggerated to be sincere, as if they were merely putting on a show. Others didn't seem intentional at all, but rather, instinctive reactions, as if they truly found him disgusting, or even dirty.

Naruto had a hard time not losing his temper, but he continued

he continued to remind himself of his purpose in coming here.

"Just deal with it!" he thought, gritting his teeth. After looking around for a while, he still had no idea where Uzumaki Hao lived, and obviously, he couldn't just ask people. The more time passed, the more he became aware of what Uzumaki Hao's life must have been like. Although he had been prepared to be treated poorly, he had never imagined it would be this bad.

"What exactly is the reason for it all...?" he thought. At one point as he was walking along, an old man walked out of a temple up ahead. His clothing seemed of better quality than everyone else Naruto had seen so far, and he had a Foundation Establishment cultivation base. Clearly, he was no clan member, but rather, someone who had been hired to serve as a valet.

As he walked out, hands clasped behind his back, he prepared to leave, when suddenly he spotted Naruto. Then, his eyes widened with surprise before turning extremely grim.

"Uzumaki Hao! Have you forgotten your place!? This isn't a place you can just come visit anytime you want! What gall you have! How dare you disregard clan rules!" From the way the old man's eyes flashed, and from the impoliteness of his tone, it almost seemed like he was scolding a servant.

Up til this point, Naruto had simply endured all the dirty looks people had given him. But the fact that this old man actually went so far as to rebuke him caused Naruto's anger to rise. However, before he could do anything, the voice of a young woman rang out.

"Valet Chen, this is the Uzumaki Clan, and no matter what your position, you are no member of our clan! What gives a servant like you the right to act so disrespectfully!?" At this point, a beautiful young woman appeared, hovering in midair. She had an icy expression and a profound cultivation base in the base in the great circle of Foundation Establishment.

Naruto looked up at her and simultaneously suppressed his rising anger.

The old man's face fell, and his eyes even flickered with a bit of fear. Ducking his head, he clasped hands respectfully toward the young woman.

"Greetings, Fifth Young Lady. That was just a slip of the tongue by an old servant. However, the clan chief really did establish a rule that bastards are not allowed into the inner residence district unless summoned..."

The young woman glanced at Naruto, sighed, and then turned her attention back to the old man. "It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. You may not be so disrespectful to a member of the clan."

With that, she shook her head and flew off into the distance.

"Of course, of course," the old man said. However, after she was gone, he looked back at Naruto with disgust.

"You'll escape punishment today because the fifth young lady showed up. Get the hell back to the north district. If I see you around here again, I'll report you to the clan chief!" With a cold snort, he flicked his sleeve and walked off.

Naruto felt like he was about to explode. From the moment he had entered the Uzumaki Clan, he had been forced to endure and endure. If things kept going on this way, he wasn't sure if he could keep up the act of being Uzumaki Hao.

"How did Uzumaki Hao even deal with all this? What would be the point of staying around in a clan like this?! Even if he wasn't well-liked, it shouldn't be this extreme. There must be more to the story!

"Well, whatever. I'm not Uzumaki Hao, so I guess I'll just have to deal with it until I get that deva soul." Gritting his teeth and doing his best to suppress his anger, he turned and headed north. It was at that point that he noticed a seven-story pagoda in the middle of a sprawling group of mansions.

Chapter 584

A+ A- Chapter 584

Chapter 584: A Clue!

The seven-story pagoda wasn't very far away, making it easy to see how exquisite it was, glowing like a treasure that illuminated everything around it. That and the restrictive spells that surrounded it indicated that it was a very important place to the Uzumaki Clan.

As Naruto made his way toward the north district, a middle-aged woman stood on a fifth story balcony of the pagoda, her expression icily sinister as she stared down at him.

She wore expensive clothing woven from spirit thread and embroidered with nine phoenixes, which radiated a soft warmth that indicated it had magical properties designed to enhance a person's good looks.

Such clothing was extremely extravagant in the Wildlands. Even in the Heavenspan River regions, it would be the type of clothing that only an upper-class woman would wear. Because of it, this woman would be able to maintain her looks even if she were much older than she was now. She was curvaceous, with the fairest of fair skin, and although she couldn't be considered spectacularly beautiful, there was something very enticing about her. Unlike many young beauties, she was not the type who would ever yield to an opponent, and radiated an air of maturity and grace.

As she stared at Naruto walking toward the north district, she gritted her teeth with the most malicious venom imaginable. A moment later, a man appeared behind her, wearing black clothing and surrounded by a murderous aura. His eyes glowed red, and overall, he looked like an unsheathed sword waiting to strike. As soon as he appeared behind the woman, he clasped hands and bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Madam Cai."

Madam Cai didn't look back at the man. Keeping her eyes fixed on Naruto, she growled, "Didn't you say that the bitch's son, Uzumaki Hao, was dead?!"

"Yes," the man replied in an icy, confident voice. "I hit the kid with my Exterminating Soulbrand. His heart and blood vessels were irreparably damaged. Although I teleported him away and

wasn't able to personally witness him become a corpse, I can guarantee that he was killed, beyond the shadow of a doubt!"

"Killed beyond the shadow of a doubt? What a wonderful way to put it. Well, take a look over there. Who's that?!" Erupting in rage-filled laughter, Madam Cai pointed at Naruto.

The man's eyes widened as he took a few steps forward, following the line of Madam Cai's finger until he was looking at Naruto.

"Impossible!" he said incredulously.

"Whether that's really him or not... kill him immediately!" With that, Madam Cai turned to leave.

The man hesitated for a moment. Although he knew that Madam Cai didn't like Uzumaki Hao, and had been involved in a power struggle with him, he didn't understand why she wanted him dead so urgently. "Madam

Cai, killing him won't be hard, but we're in the Uzumaki Clan. If I kill him right now, it could be... problematic."

"That bitch's son isn't even a person!" she shrieked. "He's inhuman! Inhuman! I don't care how you do it, just kill him as quickly as possible! He must not be allowed to grow any further!" A moment later, she seemed to realize she had lost control. Taking a deep breath, she recovered her composure and walked away without another word.

The black-garbed man stood there silently, unsure of exactly what Madam Cai meant when she said inhuman. However, the fact that his target had survived being hit with his Exterminating Soulbrand was actually a bit intriguing.

"I guess this Uzumaki Hao really does have some skill after all," he mused. "I arranged the entire matter, and even delivered the fatal blow myself. And yet somehow, he didn't end up dying! And then he dared to come back! Well, you might have escaped by the skin of your teeth last time, but let's see if you can pull off the same thing again!"

Chuckling coldly, the man turned to leave. At the same time, he began to pulse with the aura of Core Formation!

Of course, Naruto

Naruto had no way of knowing the details of what had just been said in the pagoda. Because of the incredible restrictive spells which protected it, he wouldn't be able to hear anything unless he was also inside of it. Furthermore, if he attempted to use divine sense to do so, the restrictive spells would detect it and react.

However, despite not being able to hear the conversation between the black-garbed man and the middle-aged women, he had seen them clearly, and had detected the ill will and killing intent with which they looked at him.

"Well isn't this interesting..." he murmured to himself. Smiling coldly, he continued on toward the north district. Soon, he came to realize that the north district was far from the city center, and definitely not luxurious. Simple houses filled the entire area, the majority of them occupied by servants who had been attached to the Uzumaki Clan for generations. Most of the people present were old, sick, and generally unhealthy-looking.

The houses seemed scattered about haphazardly, making the entire place seem vastly different from the east district. As Naruto walked along, he realized that fewer people were looking at him with scorn and disgust. Considering that this was a poor and simple part of the clan, Naruto was further struck by what kind of life Uzumaki Hao must have lived.

There were even some people who seemed happy to see him, and stepped forward to greet him with sincere pleasure. This place was definitely very different from the east district.

"Big Bro Hao..."

"Young Master Hao!"

Uzumaki Hao was obviously welcome here. Furthermore, he didn't even need to look for his residence. A group of children surrounded him and began to chat happily as they led him to a ramshackle house.

It was little more than a hut that seemed like it might collapse into rubble at any moment. Thankfully, the entire Uzumaki Clan was protected by a spell formation that prevented the elements from affecting the buildings in the clan, otherwise his

otherwise his hut would have long since been washed away by the rain.

After entering the hut, he looked around and sighed.

The only thing inside was a bed. There wasn't even a chair present. It seemed almost impossible to believe that an early Foundation

Establishment cultivator would live in a place like this. Whether it was in the Wildlands or in the Heavenspan River region, Foundation

Establishment cultivators would always be treated very well no matter where they went.

"How could Uzumaki Hao end up living like this in his own clan…?" Although Naruto already knew a bit about Uzumaki Hao, he simply couldn't understand the situation. Even though he had been expecting something less than ideal, nothing could have prepared him for this.

"Either Uzumaki Hao was willing to live like this... or didn't dare to try to change his situation... In that case, who is it that wants him dead? That man and woman from just now?" Considering the clothing the woman had been wearing, it was obvious that she occupied a very high position in the clan.

However, no amount of pondering brought any insight or clues. He just didn't have enough information. In the end, he shook his head. "I wish I could help you, Uzumaki Hao. But you need to give me something to work with. Help me understand what was going on with you!"

Sighing, he sat down cross-legged on the dilapidated bed. However, instead of meditating, he sent his divine sense out into the area.

He also performed some incantation gestures and prepared to place some restrictive spells in the area that no one but him would notice. This was a practice he had grown accustomed to over the years. Whenever he was in a strange place, the most important thing to do at first was make sure he was safe.

However, almost as soon as he sent his divine sense out, a serious expression appeared in his eyes, and his gaze shifted to an area in the corner of the room. Stepping

the room. Stepping off the couch, he walked over and squatted down to have a closer look.

Although this corner of the room looked ordinary in every way, when his divine sense touched it, he could sense the lingering fluctuations of some magical technique.

They were faint, as though they had been fading away for months now, and were just about to disappear for good. Were it not for the fact that Naruto was currently fused with his three clones, quadrupling his divine sense's sensitivity, then he would never have noticed the traces.

Although his current divine sense did not have all the powers that Nascent Soul divine sense did, it was equally acute as that of a Nascent Soul expert.

After examining the location further, Naruto's eyes lit up with surprise.

"Someone used some kind of magic here... It wasn't very long ago, months at most... From the look of things, another type of magic was used later to wipe the ground clean. Erase some evidence of something perhaps…?" Curiosity growing, Naruto opened his Heavenspan Dharma eye just a crack, and sent violet light spilling out into the confines of the hut.

After looking at the ground using this method, Naruto realized that what had been wiped away with magic was most likely some lines of hand-written text...

"Interesting," he murmured. Suddenly, several afterimages appeared, which formed into his three clones. Each clone opened his third eye a crack, causing three more beams of violet light to converge on the same place.

Thankfully, Naruto knew what he was doing, and prevented any of the violet light from leaving the hut, ensuring that no one on the outside would be able to detect what he was doing. Within moments, the line of text which had been wiped away was restored enough that Naruto could read it.

Despite the level of his cultivation base and the extent of his mental control, the mere sight of the text caused him to let out a yelp of surprise!

"That's... That's..."

Chapter 585

A+ A- Chapter 585

Chapter 585: Peerless Talent!

What is fire...? According to my studies, mundane fire is not a physical substance like water. Instead, it is a reflection of something that can't be seen with either the naked eye or divine sense!

Fire is similar to an aura... a mixture of something illusory and something miraculous!

The only reason you can see it is because of the glow of light that results from its existence!

Multi-colored flame is the same... In that case, a new question arises. What are souls? And why do souls produce multi-colored flame...?

By this point Naruto was panting, and his eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at the writing. Although only a portion of it was still visible, even the little bit he could read left him completely reeling. At the same time, the feeling of enlightenment left him gasping.

"This... this..." He had never imagined that someone would study fire in this way, research it in such detail. Based on how the words were written, it seemed that the person who had left them behind had just been casually writing down their thoughts.

Most importantly, in addition to the waves of shock which pounded at Naruto's heart and mind as he looked at the words, they opened a new door to him. By combining what he was reading with his current understanding of how to conjure flame, he suddenly felt as if he were gaining significant enlightenment.

"That's right! This is exactly what I've experienced when conjuring my own flame. Fire... is not a physical substance like water, but rather, a reflection of something else. Or perhaps... a symbol! In many senses, it is illusory, and not material like water is!" Naruto did his best to keep his calm, but it was almost impossible. From what he could tell, the person who had left these words behind was extraordinary, and had almost unparalleled enlightenment regarding the nature of flame. In that regard, this person was almost like a deva!

Furthermore, considering that he could already conjure eleven-colored flame, this writing left him in even more profound anticipation of conjuring twelve-colored flame! Based

on this new information, and his own previous research and analysis, he was confident that he could succeed!

Never could Naruto have imagined that he would stumble across such good fortune here. Drawing upon his cultivation base, he poured more power into his Heavenspan Dharma Eye and continued reading.

As he did, he continued to reel with shock. And that was especially true when he reached the end of the text and realized that it contained speculations about the formula for fifteen-colored flame. After looking over much of that information, Naruto was completely shaken.

"How is this possible?!" Dumbfounded, he stared at the final lines of writing.

Fire can be incredibly hot, and has mystical power. When that heat and that power combine, they form an outer flame, an inner flame, and a flame heart...

My special augury method has not yet produced the formula for fifteencolored flame. However, making the final calculations shouldn't be difficult. After that... sixteen-colored flame and seventeen-colored flame shouldn't be much of a challenge. In fact, I'm even confident that my augury can produce the formula for twenty-colored flame!

Unfortunately... my cultivation base is too low. Even if I produced the formula, it wouldn't do me any good. I wouldn't be able to conjure the flame... However, I still want to make the formula. I'll show it to father to finally prove to him that I'm not useless. I am good for something! I'm not interested in fighting with anyone else in the clan for position. I just want father... to notice me...

Within those final words, Naruto could sense both wild confidence and profound self-deprecation.

"I can't believe he made his own augury method to produce multicolored flame formulas..." Sighing, he rose to his feet and used his Heavenspan Dharma Eye to search the entire hut. After searching the entire place several times, his anxiety began to mount.

It was obvious that at some point in the past, the entire floor had been covered with notes about flame conjuring. However, at some point, most of the notes had been wiped away by some unknown method!

Clearly, they had been erased by a person!

"The formula for fifteen-colored

fifteen-colored flame..." Naruto thought. There was no way for him to remain unmoved by this development. Furthermore, if Uzumaki Hao did not write the notes, then how did they end up in his residence?!

If Uzumaki Hao wrote them... then considering the level of his cultivation base, he had obviously achieved astonishing enlightenment of flame conjuring. In fact, his abilities far surpassed Naruto's.

"Wait a second, that can't be right. If Uzumaki Hao was really that good, he could just reveal his skills and achieve a monumental rise in the Uzumaki Clan. Why would he allow himself to be treated the way he was?" Naruto scratched his head in thought for a bit, but couldn't come up with any explanations.

He stood up and began to pace back and forth in the room, and after a long moment passed, his eyes suddenly began to shine brightly.

"Whether or not Uzumaki Hao wrote these notes doesn't matter. What's important is that the complete set of notes contains the formula for fifteen-colored flame. In that case... whoever killed Uzumaki Hao is likely also responsible for erasing the notes, or at least, is connected to the killer!

"Therefore, the killer is likely the one who possesses the complete set of notes...

"If I want to get those notes, I probably don't have to do anything. The killer or killers will come looking for me to cause trouble. After all, my return has most likely sparked their killing intent. In fact, if I make a stir in the Uzumaki Clan, it will probably make them accelerate their plans...

"In turn, that would give me more clues to follow to get those notes!" Naruto's eyes glittered as he made his decision. Looking down at the remnants of the notes on the floor, he sighed.

"Uzumaki Hao really had things rough. I feel bad for him..." He shook his head. By this point, he was fairly certain that Uzumaki Hao had been the one to write all of the notes.

"However, I still need some confirmation." Pulling out a jade slip, he sent a message to Li Feng and asked him to secretly start making

start making inquiries about Uzumaki Hao.

Of course, Li Feng didn't know that Naruto was impersonating Uzumaki Hao, and therefore, excitedly set about following orders. As far as he was concerned, this was a good opportunity to show off. Intentionally keeping Zhou Yixing in the dark, he started calling on his own network of friends and informants to try to get information.

A few days later, he told Naruto all of the information he had been able to dig up on Uzumaki Hao. When Naruto saw it, his eyes flashed with anger.

Based on the information he had gleaned from Uzumaki Hao's bone slips, as well as Naruto's experiences in the clan already, he now had a good idea of what type of person Uzumaki Hao had been.

His mother had been a servant girl with no position in the clan, whereas his father was the current clan chief. In a particularly violent and humiliating incident in which his mother had no control over her own body, Uzumaki Hao was conceived, and became a bastard son of the Uzumaki Clan.

He had a very low position from the moment he was born. Furthermore, it wasn't long after he came into the world that his mother was killed. If Uzumaki Hao had possessed sufficient latent talent, things might have turned out differently for him. However, he wasn't talented when it came to cultivation, and no matter how hard he worked, was never able to excel.

His father's first wife was none other than Madam Cai, who occupied a very high position in the clan. In fact, she came from the Cai Clan, another of the three great clans that were attached to Giant Ghost City.

There was another factor at play. Madam Cai's son was Uzumaki Hao's older brother, Uzumaki Qi. He was insufferably proud, and was famous throughout all of Giant Ghost City. He was already in the great circle of Core Formation, and had attracted the attention of the Uzumaki Clan patriarch, who viewed him as the qilin son of the clan, the type which only came along once every few hundred years. In fact, Uzumaki Qi

fact, Uzumaki Chakra was to represent the Uzumaki Clan in their attempt to secure the legacy of the hell-emperor.

Family like that made Uzumaki Hao's life even more bitter than it might have been. His father treated him with cold aloofness that made it seem as if they weren't related, and apparently didn't even care whether Uzumaki Hao lived or died.

His father's first wife hated him, and his older brother was completely condescending, treating Uzumaki Hao as if he were a servant. Eventually, Uzumaki Hao came to be viewed as the lowest of the low within the clan.

Everyone was afraid of getting on Madam Cai and Uzumaki Qi's bad side, and therefore, not even the servants were willing to have much dealings with Uzumaki Hao. Furthermore, from the time he was in Chakra Condensation, his progress had always been indescribably slow.

Thankfully, Uzumaki Hao was the type of person who could deal with all of that. He put on a front of looking weak and cowardly, and always just bowed his head and shivered when people berated him. Eventually, people stopped paying much attention to him. Few people even remembered that he had a hut of his own in the north district.

It had only been recently that he finally broke through into the

Foundation Establishment stage. Shortly afterward, he went missing...

By the time Naruto finished reading all the information in the jade slip Li Feng had sent to him, his anger was burning hot. He almost couldn't reconcile the information within the slip with the young man he had seen out in the jungle.

"Who cares if he looked weak and cowardly? If I were in his position, that's what I would have done to stay alive... If he had shown any signs of being extraordinary, he would have been a threat, and would definitely have been killed!

"In fact, it was right after he made a cultivation base breakthrough that he died... And yet, merely having a Foundation Establishment cultivation base doesn't seem like enough to make him a threat to anyone..." Then he looked down at the ground, and suddenly, came to a realization.

Chapter 586

A+ A- Chapter 586

Chapter 586: I Want Him Dead!

"Uzumaki Hao must have accidentally revealed his shocking talents in flame conjuring to someone, and incited jealousy. That's what got him killed!

"I would bet money that the person responsible for his death is that Madam Cai... However, there's still something I can't help but wonder about. Would Uzumaki Hao's father have treated him that way if he knew about his spectacular talents? After all, any necromancer clan would view a genius like that as a true qilin son!

"Uzumaki Hao... Did you tell your father about how talented you were? If not, then I guess it's a moot point. However, based on what's left of your notes, it seems you really looked forward to telling your father the truth. In fact, you seemed absolutely set on giving him the formula for fifteencolored flame...

"If you did tell your father, and then got killed anyway, then this whole thing is a lot more complicated..." Naruto wasn't inclined to contemplate the matter, and yet was unable to do anything except that. As he pondered the situation, a feeling of profound sadness rose up in his heart. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Uzumaki Hao, who had simply dreamed of being noticed by his own father. Naruto sighed.

"Uzumaki Hao, I once promised you that if fate would have it, I would get revenge for you... Well, at the moment, I really need your flame conjuring techniques, and I'm not the type of person who takes advantage of others. You might have perished already, and left for the underworld, but I still want to take you as my apprentice!

"I've never had any apprentices before, so you'll be my first. I guess it's just karma. The two of us are separated by life and death, but I'm still going to be your Master!" On the one hand, Naruto felt sad about everything that had happened to Uzumaki Hao. On the other hand, he was using Uzumaki Hao's identity and was

trying to track down his research.

"Starting now, you're my apprentice, and I'm going to find out exactly who it was that killed you!" As Naruto contemplated this new state of affairs, his eyes flashed with anger, and his opinion of the Uzumaki Clan fell even further than before.

Sticking his chin up, he coldly murmured, "The higher my profile, the sooner they'll try to kill me!"

Although he knew that he would be putting himself in danger, considering that he was now Uzumaki Hao's master, he had no other choice. Besides, he still had his crystalline soulhoarding pagoda to fall back on.

"What a headache. I'm not the type of person who likes to show off, and yet here I am, being forced to do just that." Shaking his head, he sighed, left his hut, and began to make certain inquiries.

He soon learned about several places in the Uzumaki Clan where clan members would go to participate in trials by fire. All clans had places like that. As for the Uzumaki Clan, they had special trials for spirit enhancement, flame conjuring, and soul medicine concocting.

There were rewards depending on the ranking one achieved, but Naruto didn't really pay much attention to that. Considering all the sects he had been part of in his life, he was familiar with such arrangements.

"Well," he thought with the shake of his head, "I guess I'll just have to

go look at the rankings." It was actually somewhat exhilarating to be in the great circle of the Gold Core stage and be preparing to go mess with a bunch of Foundation Establishment children. Filled with excitement, he headed toward the spirit enhancement trial.

Before long, he was standing in front of a stone stele that listed the Uzumaki Clan's spirit enhancement rankings. Surrounding the stone stele were a handful of spirit enhancement workshops. Compared to the Starry Sky

Dao Polarity Sect Superstars, this ranking list was rather short. However, Naruto didn't care about that. There were actually quite a

a few people gathered in the area, either to challenge the trials, or to watch.

"I'm not here to bully anybody," he thought to himself. "I'm just here to draw out the killer!" Clearing his throat, he looked around once more and then selected a spirit enhancement workshop.

Considering that Naruto was competing against Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was little question about what would happen. The stone stele quickly began to glow, and then Uzumaki Hao's name appeared on the list. At first, it wasn't even in the top 100, but it began to rise quickly. Soon it was in the top 30, and then it leaped... all the way into 1st place!

It happened so quickly that few people even noticed what had occurred. But then, the light from the stone stele grew increasingly bright, and people began to gasp and look over.

"Uzumaki Hao... took 1st place?! A sevenfold spirit enhancement!?"

"Heavens! That... that speed is incredible!"

"This Uzumaki Hao... he's not that bastard son, is he? How could he have become so powerful so quickly?!"

"How is this possible!? Even when Uzumaki Chakra was in Foundation

Establishment, the most he could do was a sixfold spirit enhancement. I can't believe that Uzumaki Hao can do a sevenfold enhancement!"

As the crowd buzzed with conversation, Naruto cleared his throat and walked out of the spirit enhancement workshop. Seeing all the shocked glances being sent in his direction felt quite wonderful.

"Hmmmphh. I'm not doing this for myself. I'm here so my apprentice can feel what it's like to be the subject of worldwide adoration." Naruto hadn't become so underhanded that he didn't feel embarrassed about competing with Foundation Establishment cultivators when he was in the great circle of the Gold Core stage.

Even still, he couldn't help but stick his chin up, wave his sleeve, and head toward the next trial.

At the trial for soul medicine, there were even more people than at the trial for spirit enhancement. After all, spirit enhancement was a very difficult thing. Comparatively speaking,

Comparatively speaking, concocting soul medicine was actually much easier. And since the Uzumaki Clan was a necromancer clan, they were obviously talented in this regard.

The highest name on the ranking list had used the time it takes an incense stick to burn to concoct 27 portions of low-grade soul medicine. After seeing that, Naruto's spirit soared, and he quickly selected a soul medicine workshop.

Before long, the same thing which had happened moments before happened again. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Uzumaki Hao's name appeared in 1st place in the soul medicine rankings!

Furthermore, he had actually concocted 50 portions of low-grade soul medicine!

That was shocking, to say the least. For someone in the Foundation Establishment stage to do something like that was completely eyecatching, and as soon as the other members of the clan saw it, cries of disbelief rang out.

"1st place... 50 portions!"

"That's impossible! Uzumaki Hao... I know him! He's a nobody. How could he have reached 1st place!?"

"Like the saying goes, a bird might not sing for years, but when it does, its song will shock everyone!"

Naruto emerged to hear such conversation, and immediately felt quite pleased.

"Hao'er," he murmured, "if your spirit is out there watching, there's no need to offer any thanks to Master. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything." Murmuring to himself, Naruto strutted off to the flame conjuring trial.

News about Uzumaki Hao's name getting onto the spirit enhancement rankings quickly began to spread through the clan. Before long, it was the talk of the clan, and of course, the news soon reached Madam Cai.

The area beneath the pagoda in the east district was filled with luxurious mansions. Inside one of them, Madam Cai smashed a flower vase onto the ground, her eyes blazing with killing intent. "Kill him. We must kill him! He mustn't be allowed to rise to prominence!"

Standing in front of her was a young man with a grim expression on his face. He wore clothing just as luxurious as hers,

luxurious as hers, and was extremely handsome. This was none other than that Uzumaki Hao's older brother, Uzumaki Qi. Looking down at the shattered remnants of the flower vase, and then back up at his mother with her raging killing intent, he said, "Mother, please, calm down. He's nothing more than a bastard. There's no need to worry so much about him."

Madam Cai looked up at her son and angrily said, "Maybe other people don't realize the truth, but surely you do? Can't you see how skilled he is in flame conjuring? If your father finds out about his talents, it would be

a big threat to you. The boy has to die!"

Even as Madam Cai ground her teeth in frustration, Uzumaki Chakra chuckled. "You're overthinking things, mother. The last time you sent people to kill him, the plan wasn't executed perfectly. As the clan chief, father obviously knew about it, and yet, did he say anything afterward? Did he do anything to punish you?"

In response to his words, Madam Cai's eyes widened.

"Mother, you really don't need to get all worked up over a small thing like this. If Uzumaki Hao thinks he can make a break for fame, then I'll just go personally to cut him down a notch or two." Shaking his head, Uzumaki Chakra casually turned and walked away.

After he left, Madam Cai thought about the matter more, and still did not feel at ease. Taking a deep breath, she pulled out a jade slip to transmit a message.

"I want him dead tonight!"

Outside the residence, Uzumaki Qi's lips twisted up into a cold grin as he took out a bone slip, which contained a message regarding Uzumaki Hao's current position. After discovering that he had gone to the flame conjuring trial, Uzumaki Chakra headed in the same direction, an expression of scorn on his face.

"Pretty soon, you're going to find out that no matter how hard you work, and no matter what you do, a single slap of my palm can reduce you to nothing!"

Chapter 587

A+ A- Chapter 587

Chapter 587: How Very Disappointing Of You

Naruto was in a wonderful mood as he sped toward the flame conjuring trial. Quite a few clan members were following along behind him, extremely curious to see what would happen next.

"He's going toward the flame conjuring trial!"

"He's already taken 1st place in the Foundation Establishment trials for spirit enhancement and soul medicine. If he does the same with flame conjuring, then Uzumaki Hao... will definitely rise to prominence with incredible speed!"

"Something seems strange about all this, though. Uzumaki Hao always had a low position, and seemed cowardly and weak. Why is he suddenly showing off like this? Furthermore, it's hard to believe he has such heaven-defying talent in spirit enhancement!"

As the discussions raged, Naruto hurried along to the trial for flame conjuring. Upon arriving, he found a stone stele that was clearly much larger than the other stone steles in the other locations.

Three concentric rings of conjuring stations could be seen at the bottom of the stone stele. Furthermore, quite a crowd was present, including many servants. Obviously, people had already heard about Uzumaki Hao's performances earlier, and had come to watch.

As soon as he appeared, more conversations rose up.

"He's here! Uzumaki Hao is here!"

"In one day, he's already taken 1st place in the trials for spirit enhancement and soul medicine. I'm going to bet that he'll also acquire a shocking rank in the flame conjuring rankings!"

"Nice job, Uzumaki Hao... Nobody ever noticed you before, but that was because you were keeping your true potential hidden!"

Naruto strode forward through the crowd, which parted to make way for him. Inside, he was sighing repeatedly.

"Uzumaki Hao, my apprentice, all of this praise belongs to you. With your talent in flame concocting, I'm sure you would do even better than me." The more Naruto

thought about how tragically Uzumaki Hao had died, the more he felt like it was a huge pity.

"The Uzumaki Clan owes you, and as your Master, I'm going to make sure you get what's yours!

"In addition to flushing out your killer, I have another goal. I want to see the reaction of both your father and the clan as a whole when you prove how talented you are!" Eyes sparkling, he headed toward one of the conjuring workstations and then closed himself inside. Outside, the audience looked on in anticipation.

The matter had even drawn the attention of some of the clan elders, many of whom left their mansions to come see what was going on for themselves.

As of this moment, the entire Uzumaki Clan was being shaken by Naruto's shocking performance.

Not too long after he entered the conjuring workstation, eight beams of light appeared off in the distance, in the lead position of which was an eye-catching young man in the great circle of Core Formation.

The group which accompanied him were all chosen of the Uzumaki Clan who followed him blindly wherever he went. The arrival of the group caused another commotion in the crowd.

"Uzumaki Qi!"

"A chosen from the direct bloodline, officially proclaimed as the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan... Uzumaki Qi!"

"Interesting. He and Uzumaki Hao actually have the same father, but different mothers." The clan members and servants in the area looked on with glittering eyes, and many of them made way for the new arrivals. Some of the clan members gazed upon Uzumaki Chakra with zealous passion; to them, he was the number one chosen of his generation, the crown chief of the clan!

Such clan members stepped forward and offered formal greetings. However, there were others in the crowd who gave little more than hostile snorts.

Those people were from

from other, auxiliary bloodlines. It was only natural for there to be tension between different bloodlines in a clan, especially when it came to competition between the chosen members.

Uzumaki Chakra nodded in response to the clan members who were offering formal greetings, then glanced around at the hundreds of people and said, "Quite a little crowd we have here. I heard something's going on. What could it be?"

Despite the broad smile on his face, he was actually feeling very displeased.

Among the clan members who clearly revered Uzumaki Chakra was a young man who stepped forward and respectfully said, "Crown Chief, everybody's here because Uzumaki Hao took 1st place in the other two trials by fire. Now that he's come to the trial for flame conjuring, we're all here to see what happens."

"Oh? Uzumaki Hao, huh? Seems my worthless little brother has attracted quite a bit of attention. Alright, well as his older brother I guess I might as well wait around to congratulate him." As soon as these words left his mouth, profound gleams could be seen in the eyes of many others in the area.

Obviously, everyone was well aware of the relationship between Uzumaki Chakra and Uzumaki Hao

It was in that moment that Uzumaki Hao's name suddenly lit up on the stone stele, in 1st place, with the words seven-colored flame next to it!

Naruto had been careful to limit his success to seven-colored flame; after all, Uzumaki Hao was supposed to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and although he was trying to make a scene, he didn't want to make things too unrealistic, otherwise it could lead to trouble.

Seven-colored flame was where he chose to limit things, the standard for master necromancers. Master necromancers were rare among Foundation Establishment cultivators, and would cause a stir wherever they appeared, even in Giant Ghost City.

"Seven-colored flame!"

"This

City.

"Seven-colored flame!"

"This Uzumaki Hao... he's... he's actually a master necromancer!"

"Heavens, how is that possible? Even a lot of the clan elders in the Core

Formation stage aren't master necromancers..."

People in the crowd were starting to go crazy, both direct bloodline descendants and people from the auxiliary bloodlines. As for the clan elders who had come to observe, they were visibly moved.

Uzumaki Qi's face was expressionless, and yet, inside, he was feeling extremely displeased. It was even possible to see a grim glint in his eyes.

As the crowd clamored, Naruto emerged from the conjuring workstation, and was very pleased by what he heard. As of this point, he was fairly certain that he had achieved his goal of establishing a high profile. Now that he had taken 1st place in all of the trials by fire, it was highly likely that whoever was responsible for Uzumaki Hao's death would accelerate their plans. Furthermore, he would soon see what the clan chief felt about the whole thing.

In almost the exact same instant that he stepped out into the open, numerous gazes fell upon him. There were gazes of jealousy, confusion, shock, and various other emotions.

As for Uzumaki Qi, his eyes were cold and filled with disgust.

Naruto quickly noticed Uzumaki Qi, and although it was his first time seeing Uzumaki Hao's older brother, based on his cultivation base and expression, it was easy to identify him.

"So that's Uzumaki Qi, huh...?" he thought, standing there staring at him with narrowed eyes.

Everyone could see what was happening, and soon, the crowd quieted down. Many of the people from the auxiliary bloodlines looked over, curious about what exactly would happen between the two brothers. Uzumaki Chakra looked over and coolly said, "Feeling proud of yourself?"

His cultivation base was in the great circle of Core Formation, which caused significant pressure to

significant pressure to weigh down on the crowd as his voice echoed out with thunderous might. Quite a few people even backed up a bit.

"Taking 1st place in all three trials is quite an accomplishment," he continued, "I'll give you that." Although Uzumaki Chakra appeared to be offering words of congratulation, the coldness in his tone didn't seem congratulatory at all.

Naruto's eyes sparkled as he continued to stare at Uzumaki Chakra and wait for him to make his point. Whatever he said would reveal the true nature of his relationship with Uzumaki Hao.

"Unfortunately," Uzumaki Chakra continued in a cool tone, "you pushed things a bit too far, Uzumaki Hao. Nobody else here knows you very well, but as your older brother, I do. How could you possibly accomplish something like this on your own? Clearly, you used some underhanded method to cheat! How very disappointing of you." With that, Uzumaki Chakra extended his right hand to reveal a command medallion, which he waved at the stone stele.

Instantly, Uzumaki Hao's name on the ranking list faded away and disappeared. Shockingly, Uzumaki Chakra had used his status as crown chief to simply remove Uzumaki Hao's name!

At first, everyone in the area was shocked, but then, they broke out into a hubbub.

"Cheating?"

"See, I told you so! Uzumaki Hao was always weak and cowardly. How could he suddenly rise to prominence like that? As it turns out, he was cheating..."

"Interesting. Well, nobody will ever be able to say for sure whether he was actually cheating or not..."

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Chakra was looking coldly at Naruto, doing nothing to conceal the disdain and contempt in his eyes.

It was almost as if he were using his gaze to tell Naruto that no matter what he did, he could reduce him to nothing with the single slap of a palm!

Chapter 588

A+ A- Chapter 588

Chapter 588: Exposing The Malefactor!

Naruto stood there looking quietly at Uzumaki Qi. For some reason, he wasn't angry at how he had wiped away Uzumaki Hao's name from the stone stele, and presumably, the stone steles for spirit enhancement and soul medicine.

In fact, there wasn't even a need for Naruto to ponder the matter. He instantly realized that news about him supposedly cheating would fill the entire clan.

The fact that Uzumaki Chakra had taken the initiative to wipe out Uzumaki Hao's rankings without even investigating the matter was extremely telling. This was Uzumaki Hao's older brother, and clearly, he treated him just as coldly as the stories had indicated he would.

"He didn't even give me a chance to explain..." Naruto thought with a sigh. He wasn't angry, just sad for Uzumaki Hao.

"Well, considering that this is how Madam Cai and Uzumaki Chakra treat Uzumaki Hao, I can be fairly certain of his father's attitude..." As he stood there quietly, Uzumaki Qi's voice could once again be heard.

"Because of the status father and I hold in the clan, most others would feel uncomfortable chiding you, Uzumaki Hao. But not me. You're a bastard son, and have no right to put your name on the clan's ranking steles.

"As your older brother, I'd always hoped you would be able to make a name for yourself, and actually came here to congratulate you. Unfortunately, though, you turned out to be nothing more than a huge disappointment." Shaking his head, Uzumaki Chakra turned to the crowd and clasped hands. "Fellow clan members, I, Uzumaki Qi, would like to apologize to all of you for what Uzumaki Hao has done."

After bowing deeply, he ignored Naruto, turned, and became a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Naruto stood there silently, feeling all of the gazes upon him. After a moment passed, he smiled faintly, then turned and walked away.

"It seems I underestimated Uzumaki Qi. Apparently he can do a bit of scheming." After returning to his hut in the

north district, he sat down cross-legged to think.

"Well, this was a fishing expedition, that's all, and my line has been tossed out. Uzumaki Chakra can erase Uzumaki Hao's name from the rankings, but he can't make everyone forget what happened. Right now, I should probably give the killer a chance to make a move." He considered going out for a walk immediately, but after looking up to check the time, he decided to close his eyes and work on his Undying Live Forever Technique instead.

As evening fell, an afterimage appeared as a clone stepped out from Naruto, who quickly headed outside of the clan.

Simultaneously, Naruto's true self masked his own aura; unless someone opened the door of his hut and stepped inside, they would have no way of knowing he was there.

Outside of the Uzumaki Clan, his fire clone sped along with an expressionless face, making sure to keep his cultivation base at the Foundation Establishment level as he headed in the direction of Giant Ghost City.

Before much time passed, his expression flickered, and he stopped in place. Turning, he saw a beam of light shooting toward him at top speed.

Within the beam of light was a black-robed man who fairly burst with a murderous aura. A wicked grin covered his face, and his eyes flickered with killing intent. Surrounding him was a cloud of vengeful souls, and soul fluctuations that instantly identified him as a necromancer.

This was the very same man whom Naruto had spotted talking to Madam Cai in the pagoda when he first arrived at the clan.

"I've been waiting for you for a while now," Naruto said loudly.

"It's about time you showed up."

When the man in black saw Naruto standing there as if he were waiting, he seemed surprised. The truth was that he had been waiting this entire time for a chance to get at Uzumaki Hao, but hadn't dared to make a move inside the clan itself. Eventually, the enraged Madam Cai had finally convinced him to do

do just that, and had even guaranteed his safety. However, just when he had been about to attack Uzumaki Hao inside the clan, to his surprise, he discovered that he had left.

At first, he had been delighted, and had immediately given chase. But now, when he saw the frigid look in Naruto's eyes, and heard his words, he suddenly felt strangely shocked.

"You..."

Naruto waved his finger at the man, which caused frigid Chakra to spring up all around him.

Before the man in black could react, he was completely surrounded, causing his face to fall. He wanted to flee, but quickly realized that he was frozen in place.

"Impossible!" he shrieked, looking like he had just seen a ghost. His mind was reeling, filled with an intense sensation of imminent crisis. Biting his tongue and spitting blood out of his mouth, he caused the souls he had brought with him to all detonate.

However, that wasn't all he did. His goal was to break free from the frigid qi, and because he didn't trust the power of the soul detonations to do that on their own, he also resorted to detonating part of his own body!

A boom rang out as his lower half exploded, sending his upper torso speeding backward, face pale and filled with intense terror.

"You're not Uzumaki Hao!" Trembling, the man in black prepared to flee. However, that was when Naruto took a step forward, appearing directly in front of him. Reaching out, he placed his hand on top of the screaming man's head.

"Fellow Daoist, please forgi-" Before he could finish, his body went stiff, and his eyes bulged out. His mind began to reel, and the last thing he heard was Naruto saying one word.

"Soulsearch!"

The majority of cultivators had soulsearching techniques of one sort or another. Most such techniques didn't even count as divine abilities. They were simply ways of sending divine sense into the mind of another person and rifling through their memories in domineering fashion. Although there were certain tricks and methods that differed between

differed between techniques, most of them were used as a way to prevent the target's soul from being harmed in the process.

Unfortunately for the man in black, Naruto wasn't adept with soulsearching, and didn't possess any tricks or special methods. Furthermore, he wasn't doing the soulsearch for himself, but rather, for the sake of Uzumaki Hao.

As the clone soulsearched the man in black, various scenes became visible to his true self back in the Uzumaki Clan.

"Your name is Xu Hai... Ah, so that's what happened... It really was

Madam Cai... When Uzumaki Hao publicly revealed that he had reached Foundation Establishment, she arranged for dozens of assassins to go after him. Uzumaki Hao was only in early Foundation Establishment, but was no fool. He was ready, and fought back tenaciously as they chased him. He even used multi-colored flame... In the end, he evaded most of the assassins, and even killed some of them..." Naruto was shaken by what he saw in the memories of the man in black, especially the casual way in which Uzumaki Hao wielded his multi-colored flame!

Naruto could also tell that the black-robed man had been equally shocked. After all, he was only a master necromancer, without a deep understanding of the things he had been seeing. However, Naruto was different.

"What he did, it was..." He took a deep breath, taken aback at how extraordinary Uzumaki Hao had been, and also profoundly sad at how things had ended for him. "What a pity that in the end, his cultivation base was just too weak. He was hit with this man's Exterminating Soulbrand, and then teleported away, his heart and blood vessels in ruins..."

In the end, Naruto was certain that Uzumaki Hao had been killed, not just because of his cultivation base breakthrough, but because of his skill with flame conjuring.

"Madam Cai, huh. So, she's the one who has Uzumaki Hao's research notes." Another afterimage appeared as Naruto's water clone stepped out. Without the slightest hesitation, he left the hut, keeping all

hut, keeping all cultivation base fluctuations hidden as he headed toward the pagoda where Naruto had first seen Madam Cai.

Given the current level of Naruto's divine sense, not even Nascent Soul cultivators would be able to detect him unless they tried extremely hard. Only a deva patriarch would be able to. However, the clan's deva patriarch wouldn't have his divine sense out in the clan at all times, nor would he be constantly paying attention to every minor thing that happened.

Naruto's water clone crept along through the night until he was near the pagoda. Keeping his aura carefully concealed, he made his way toward Madam Cai's mansion!

Just when the water clone was about to start searching for Uzumaki Hao's notes, his expression flickered, and he stopped in place, looking into the mansion at one particular room where Madam Cai and Uzumaki Chakra were having a conversation!

"Qi'er," Madam Cai said, sounding a bit anxious, "you need to spend more time studying that son of a bitch Uzumaki Hao's notes. Once you master the ability to conjure eleven-colored flame, the patriarch will value you even more than he does already.

"Only then will he agree to open the ancestral land for you!

"The ancestral land is where the Uzumaki Clan's only deva soul is housed. Once the ancestral land is opened, anyone in the clan can enter, and although technically speaking any of them could get the deva soul... if the patriarch agrees that it should go to you, then everything will be a formality. The auxiliary bloodlines will have nothing to say about the matter, and you'll be able to get the deva soul.

"Once you have that deva soul, you can trade it for a full set of five elements deva beast souls, and then form your Nascent Soul! Our clan is huge, and many people have their eyes on that set of deva beast souls. Not even your father could get it for you!" With that, Madam Cai went on to offer further exhortations on the subject.

Chapter 589

A+ A- Chapter 589

Chapter 589: Placing Hope In The Ancestral Land

As Naruto's water clone stood there listening to Madam Cai and her son talking, his eyes began to shine brightly.

Already, he had learned quite a bit about the situation. Uzumaki Chakra clearly was a chosen member of the Uzumaki Clan, with extraordinary necromantic talents. Although he wasn't at the terrestrial rank yet, he was obviously on the verge of mastering eleven-colored flame.

Considering that Uzumaki Chakra was trying to win the approval of the clan's patriarch, then based on what Naruto had learned earlier, it seemed obvious that the clan was grooming him to participate in the competition to become the successor of the hell-emperor.

Obviously, with his necromantic talents and a Nascent Soul cultivation base, he would have a good chance at succeeding.

Of course, all of that was assuming that he could reach the Nascent Soul stage. The Uzumaki Clan was huge, with numerous bloodlines all competing against each other. Therefore, it wasn't possible for the clan to simply give the five elements deva beast souls to Uzumaki Chakra outright. Therefore, Madam Cai and Uzumaki Chakra were attempting to arrange for the so-called ancestral land trial by fire as the vehicle to achieve their aim.

A deva soul would be up for grabs in that trial by fire, and whoever got it could exchange it for a full set of deva beast souls. If they could secretly arrange for Uzumaki Chakra to be the one to get the deva soul, and no unforeseen circumstances arose, then the other bloodlines in the clan wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

All of that, though, was contingent on the clan's deva patriarch approving of the plan.

Based on what Naruto's clone could sense in Madam Cai's tone of voice, she was thoroughly convinced that she could convince the deva patriarch to agree...

"So, they're going to open the ancestral land just for Uzumaki Qi..." he thought, his heart pounding at the significance of this opportunity. "For most people, getting a deva soul is just a formality on the way to getting a set of five elements deva beast souls. But I'm different... I

can directly absorb them!" He grinned, his eyes sparkling.

It was in that very moment that, inside the mansion, Madam Cai's face fell. Reaching down, she pulled a jade slip out of her bag of holding, a life slip which was currently crumbling to pieces.

"Xu Hai is dead!"

Uzumaki Qi's eyes went wide as he looked over at the crumbling jade slip. Xu Hai had been sent to kill Uzumaki Hao, and although his cultivation base wasn't as powerful as Uzumaki Qi's, he was still in Core Formation. For a Core Formation cultivator to perish in a fight with a Foundation Establishment cultivator was extremely unusual.

"How is that even possible?" Madam Cai said, clearly alarmed. "That bitch's son is only in Foundation Establishment. Don't tell me... that your father..."

"Calm down, mother. There's no way that Xu Hai was killed by Uzumaki Hao, and there's also no way that father was there. If I'm not mistaken, the bitch's son must have come across some good fortune, and got something or someone to help him! Xu Hai must have been killed by whoever Uzumaki Hao has helping him!" Uzumaki Qi's eyes began to shine with cold light.

"Whoever it is that has dared to interfere with Uzumaki Clan matters has overstepped their bounds, no matter who they are!"

Naruto's water clone stood outside the mansion, rubbing his nose. He could sense what was happening with the fire clone, who had never expected Xu Hai to be so unable to deal with pain. In almost the same moment that the soulsearch finished, he expired.

In response to Uzumaki Qi's words, Madam Cai fought to get herself under control. She wasn't worried about Uzumaki Hao having help from outside the clan. No, she feared interference on the part of her husband. However, after considering the matter closely, she decided that it was extremely unlikely that her husband had played a part in what had just happened.

"Well, it doesn't matter exactly what happened," she said. "Uzumaki Hao can't be left alive. Long delays usually lead to trouble..."

Uzumaki Chakra smiled coldly. "Don't worry, mother. Worst case scenario, we can just wait until the patriarch opens the ancestral land.

land. If I have to, I'll personally kill him there. Even if he does have someone helping him, I refuse to believe that they would follow him into the ancestral land!"

Seeing how confident Uzumaki Chakra was, Madam Cai finally sighed and nodded. "Fine. I'll go talk with your father and persuade him to convince the patriarch to open the ancestral land within the next few months!"

Outside the mansion, Naruto's clone smiled coldly. At the same time, his opinion of this mother and son team grew even lower.

"Opening the ancestral land, huh? Well, that works just fine. I'll just handle everything in one fell swoop!" Having made his decision, he turned and vanished into the night.

Back in his hut in the north district, Naruto waited for his two clones to return before opening his eyes.

"Making a scene in the clan got me a lot of information, and some good news. Ancestral land, huh...?" The thought of getting his hands on a fourth deva soul caused Naruto's heart to pound with excitement.

"I can get Uzumaki Hao's notes and the deva soul all in that ancestral land!" Suddenly, he frowned.

"However, I need to go in fully prepared. If I make a move inside the ancestral land, it will likely cause a commotion in the entire clan. I have to make sure I can stay safe..." With that, he walked out of his hut and looked up into the sky to observe the Uzumaki Clan's defensive spell formation.

After a moment of silence, Naruto took a few steps forward, and then suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was completely outside of the clan.

It still hurt to use his Undying Hex in this way, but not as badly as before. Turning around, he took another step, vanished, and reappeared in the north district.

"So, my Undying Hex can pierce through this spell formation!

"However, I can't rely only on that... I need to attack the problem from two different angles to be completely safe." For the following several days, he surreptitiously studied the Uzumaki Clan's spell formation, performing various experiments to try to figure out another way to deal with it.

Unfortunately, he wasn't very adept

very adept at working with spell formations. Besides, this was the Wildlands, and most of the methods he knew about for breaking spell formations required items or methods powered by the spiritual energy in Heavenspan River water. Obviously, those methods wouldn't work out here in the Wildlands.

"I guess I need to use Wildlands methods... I should probably ask Zhou Yixing about this." He immediately sent a message to Zhou Yixing and asked for him to come up with some ways to destabilize the spell formation.

Zhou Yixing and Li Feng had both taken up residence in Giant Ghost City itself. Of course, since they didn't get along, they lived separately. As soon as Zhou Yixing got a message from Naruto, he was very excited, at least, until he checked the actual content of the message, whereupon he was stunned.

After a moment of hesitation, he sent a reply. I can't do that... A clan like the Uzumaki Clan is definitely going to have an incredible defensive spell formation. How am I supposed to do anything to that kind of formation...?

Recently, he had run into Li Feng on a few occasions, and noticed the pleased expression on his face. That had immediately led Zhou Yixing to the conclusion that Li Feng had accomplished some task for Uzumaki

Naruto. As he thought about that fact, Zhou Yixing's anxiety mounted, and he gritted his teeth.

When Naruto saw Zhou Yixing's reply, he frowned, and was just about to send a message to Li Feng when, all of a sudden, another message came in from Zhou Yixing.

Grandmaster Uzumaki, I thought of a way. It will be very expensive, but it will definitely work. All you have to do is use murdersoul spikes. You would need a lot of them, probably at least a hundred. However, you could insert them into the spell formation from inside the clan, and then, if you detonated them all at the right time, it would definitely crack the thing open. However, it would only buy you a few breaths worth of time before the damage repaired itself...

Also, murdersoul spikes are very expensive. I... I can't really afford to purchase them on purchase them on my own... After explaining everything he knew, Zhou Yixing couldn't help but think that the method he had come up with was just too expensive.

Back in the Uzumaki Clan, though, Naruto's eyes were shining brightly. As far as he was concerned, money wasn't a big problem. As long as it bought him a greater chance of escaping, then it would be worth it. He immediately sent a message back to Zhou Yixing, setting a time and place for him to meet one of his clones. Before long, that very clone left the clan, bag of holding in hand.

Soon, Zhou Yixing and Naruto's clone met up. Before Zhou Yixing could even say anything, the clone slapped his bag of holding and produced a pill furnace.

It wasn't a very large pill furnace, but neither was it small. When it thumped down onto the ground in front of Zhou Yixing, his jaw dropped.

Swishing his sleeve grandly, Naruto's clone said, "Take that and go buy the murdersoul spikes!"

Zhou Yixing hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward and opened the lid of the pill furnace. When he confirmed that it was full to the brim with Heavenspan River water, his eyes nearly fell out of his skull.

"This... this..." The spiritual energy he felt in the Heavenspan River water left him shaking, and his mind reeling. Never in his entire life had he seen so much Heavenspan River water, and he instantly realized that if he sold it, the profit would be difficult to put into words.

"Enough? Or not?" Naruto's clone said proudly. After all, this wasn't even half of the water he had in his big bucket...

Trembling, Zhou Yixing replied, "Enough! More than enough!"

"Don't skimp on the murdersoul spikes. Also, buy me some teleportation talismans and extra vengeful souls." With that, the clone strutted off into the distance. As Zhou Yixing watched him go, he suddenly realized that this Grandmaster Uzumaki was even more mysterious than he had realized.

To casually produce so much Heavenspan River water was something that no ordinary person could do.

His determination to be a follower of Grandmaster Uzumaki grew even stronger than before.

Chapter 590

A+ A- Chapter 590

Chapter 590: Endless Rain Of Fire

It would take Zhou Yixing a bit of time to buy all of the murdersoul spikes. After all, they were magical items that usually weren't available for bulk purchase. He would need to take some time hunting through Giant Ghost City to find enough.

Considering that he wasn't familiar with the area, Zhou Yixing finally went to Li Feng and talked the matter over with him. Li Feng knew that this was a mission for Grandmaster Uzumaki, and didn't want to cause any trouble. Therefore, he cooperated with Zhou Yixing, even calling upon his own personal contacts to help track down murdersoul spikes to buy.

Due to their cooperation on this mission, the animosity they felt toward each other began to fade.

While Naruto waited for his followers to accomplish their mission, he kept a low profile in the Uzumaki Clan. He rarely left his hut, preferring to spend most of his time cultivating his Undying Live Forever Technique.

Unfortunately, because he was out in the Wildlands, it was impossible for him to replenish his supply of medicinal pills. The upside was that he still had a lot of items he had embezzled during his time as a major general. The downside was that such items wouldn't take him very far. He was almost finished with his work on his Undying Tendons, and based on his estimations, his current supplies were probably sufficient to complete that work, but no more.

"I need to master the Undying Tendons before I go into that ancestral land. If I can make contact with the third shackle, then my poor little life will be much safer." Another decision he made was that he needed to perform an elevenfold spirit enhancement on his Eternal Parasol.

Afterward, the parasol looked different. The basic shape was the same, but now it looked like it was made from metal. It was pitch black, and radiated an intense, murderous aura. Furthermore, the ghost face which would appear on

its surface looked even more fierce and bizarre!

"It's too bad I'm running so low on souls..." he sighed. If he'd had enough souls, he would have performed elevenfold spirit enhancements on his clothing. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.

After all, he needed to save up enough souls to try to conjure twelvecolored flame, and even with his clones out secretly collecting souls, and the help of Zhou Yixing and Li Feng, that was still going to be difficult.

He didn't even have enough Heavenspan River water to buy all of the souls he needed...

Thankfully, Uzumaki Hao's notes about conjuring twelve-colored flame had been extremely beneficial. In fact, other than his time spent in cultivation recently, he had focused almost completely on researching the formula for twelve-colored flame.

Because he didn't have enough souls on hand, he didn't dare to casually perform any experiments. He could only analyze the method mentally, and prepare himself for the moment in which he actually attempted to conjure the flame.

Time passed. Before long, half a month had gone by. Naruto's Undying Live Forever Technique was making progress, but his auguries regarding twelve-colored flame had reached a bit of a bottleneck.

"I think I need to do an experiment." Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his soulhoarding pagoda and counted how many vengeful souls he had. As it turned out, he had enough for three attempts.

After some thought, he made his decision. After using his mask to cover up the aura of the multi-colored flame, he began conjuring. Vengeful souls flew out one after another, and flames appeared in his palm. Eventually, eleven colors were present, and Naruto was starting to get very nervous.

After all, if he failed, it would be a huge waste of resources. Settling his Chakra and calming his mind, he cautiously began his attempt to conjure twelve-colored flame.

As the masses of vengeful souls poured into the eleven-colored flame, Naruto's expression turned very serious. He also began to work more slowly. At one

one point, he suddenly began to lose control, and the flame began to flicker. Without any hesitation, he summoned one of his clones, who worked with him to stabilize the flame before he continued.

Utilizing the assistance of his clones was one of the ideas Naruto had come up with in his planning. As it turned out, using two clones to help didn't do any more good than using one clone. However he did it, it was still multitasking, and therefore, using one clone was the best technique.

With the help of his solitary clone, the eleven-colored flame grew stable, and more time passed. Two hours later, he was finished with the first step of the process, and a twelfth color was now visible in the sea of fire that surrounded him.

"Uzumaki Hao was absolutely right. Fire represents something else, and is not a material object..." Feeling very pleased, he took a deep breath and prepared to finish the task at hand. As of this moment, he could easily split the sea of fire into two parts and make two portions of mid-grade soul medicine. Or, he could converge the sea into a single tongue of multi-colored flame!

Never could he have imagined that his first attempt at conjuring twelvecolored flame would turn out to be a success.

"Hahaha! It turns out that Naruto really is a genius!" With that, he snapped his hand closed to pull the sea together into the form of a tongue of twelve-colored flame.

However, that was when something unexpected occurred!

Even as the sea of fire began to shrink down, it went completely out of control! Naruto's face fell with fear as a terrifying aura erupted out in all directions.

The shocking detonation of the twelve-colored flame scared Naruto so much that he let out a shriek. Any other necromancer, even one in the terrestrial rank, would have been completely incapable of reacting in time. However, because of Naruto's extensive experience with exploding pill furnaces, he was

he was always on guard and ready for situations like this.

Therefore, he reacted with lightning speed. He quickly relaxed his hands and performed an incantation gesture that sent frigid Chakra shooting out. Almost instantly, both hands were shoving down onto the unstable twelve-colored flame.

As the flame was suppressed, the fire died down, revealing two glittering portions of mid-grade soul medicine.

Anyone else who saw two portions of mid-grade soul medicine would be elated, but Naruto was scowling on the verge of tears.

"I didn't want medicine," he said, tugging at his hair in despair. "I wanted flame! What happened...?" After thinking back to everything he had done during the process, he couldn't think of any area where he'd gone wrong.

Why did it end up becoming medicine instead of multi-colored flame? The mere thought of the terrifying power he had sensed in the twelvecolored flame left Naruto trembling with residual fear.

"Don't tell me that I'm going to start experiencing the same kind of accidents with flame conjuring as I did with medicine concocting?" He shivered.

After a long moment passed, he looked at his soulhoarding pagoda and tried to decide whether or not to perform another experiment. After all, that was the only way to truly figure out what he had done wrong.

Gritting his teeth, he produced more vengeful souls and proceeded to conjure another eleven-colored flame. At that point, he hesitated.

"I can't do it here..." he thought. Eyes turning up in thought, he eventually put his clone and the eleven-colored flame away, and then left with his soulhoarding pagoda. Taking advantage of the darkness of night, he left the north district and made his way to the east district.

"That way, even if an accident occurs, I can still rest at ease..." Clearing his throat, he found an out-of-the-way ornamental rock formation in the east district with a large open cavity inside that he could work in. After setting up a spell formation, he took a deep breath and then pulled out his eleven-colored

out his eleven-colored flame. Then his clone appeared, and he began to conjure the twelfth color in the flame.

It was in the still of night that he used the power of the mask to suppress the pressure of the flame. Not even someone standing directly next to the ornamental rocks would have noticed what was happening, or would have been able to detect the incredible power brewing inside...

Naruto was very nervous, and his clone was sweating visibly. As the two of them worked together, things went smoothly for about two hours. Then, a twelfth color appeared within the sea of fire. All he had to do was shrink the sea down into a tongue of flame, and he would be finished. However, at that point, he paused.

"It should work this time, right...?" he thought, blinking a few times as the twelve-colored flame began to shrink down.

That was when unstable fluctuations suddenly sprang up within the sea of fire. Explosive power erupted in a tempest that caused a sensation of deadly crisis to instantly rise up in Naruto.

Letting out an involuntary shriek, he tried to adjust the flame to stop the explosion, but the power was even more intense than before. No matter what adjustments he made, nothing did any good, and in fact, rumbling sounds echoed out as wildly destructive flames began to spread out in all directions.

Naruto screamed and flew backward, pulling his clone back into him and then using the power of his Undying Hex to vanish. As for the sea of fire, it rumbled out in all directions, destroying the ornamental rocks and consuming everything in the area.

Strangely, even as the sea of fire devoured everything in the area and then vanished, the night sky up above turned bright red. Huge red clouds could be seen, which caused widespread chaos within the Uzumaki Clan. Before anyone could react, thunder crackled, and something happened that left everyone astonished!

An endless rain of fire began to fall from above!

Chapter 591

A+ A- Chapter 591

Chapter 591: Magical Rain Of Fire

A rain of fire descended onto the Uzumaki Clan, illuminating everything with bright red light. The clan was immediately thrown into a huge commotion, and power was poured into the spell formation to defend against the incoming flame.

Countless clan members rushed out of their residences to look up into the sky, whereupon astonished shouts began to fill the night sky.

"What... what is that?!"

"Don't tell me we're under attack!?"

"Aaahhh! It's a rain of fire..."

The heat from the fire was almost at the level of twelve-colored flame, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as the clan's defensive spell formation twisted and distorted. One by one, powerful clan members flew up into the air.

"What happened!?" Uzumaki Chakra was there in the crowd, looking shocked, as was Madam Cai, who had emerged from her mansion to see what was happening.

"Twelve-colored flame... that's... twelve-colored flame!? How is this possible! It's raining multi-colored flame?!" Numerous chosen from the auxiliary bloodlines were all looking on in shock and wonder.

From a distance, it looked like the entire Uzumaki Clan was being bathed in fire. Meanwhile, Naruto was now outside of the city, looking back in utter shock at the scene playing out.

"Don't blame me... I didn't do this on purpose..." Scalp tingling in fear, he gritted his teeth and took advantage of the chaos in the clan to use his Undying Hex to head back to the north district.

Even as he returned to his hut, the clan's spell formation finally couldn't last any longer, and began to teeter unstably beneath the barrage of fire. Just when it seemed like it was about to collapse, several enraged shouts could be heard from the east district as eight shadowy figures shot up into the air. Shockingly, all of those figures emanated the fluctuations of the Nascent Soul stage. These were the Nascent Soul clan

elders, who quickly split up and manned key areas of the spell formation. By bolstering the formation with all of their power, they gradually stabilized it.

It was a shocking sight to Naruto, who sat there nervously in the north district, looking at the flames outside the shield and scowling on the verge of tears.

"I doubt anybody realizes I'm the one who caused this..." How could he have ever anticipated that trying to conjure some flame would lead to such terrifying results...?

Even as he stewed in his anxiety, a middle-aged man appeared in the east district.

He wore luxurious clothing, and was the type of person who seemed threatening without being angry. There was something grimly impressive about him, and apparently, he was in the mid Nascent Soul stage. As soon as people caught sight of him, looks of respect could be seen in their eyes, and they clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Clan Chief."

That man was none other than Uzumaki Hao's father, the current clan chief of the Uzumaki Clan. Looking up into the sky beyond the spell formation shield, his expression turned icily ominous. It looked like he was just about to speak, when all of a sudden, a cold snort echoed out from a subterranean chamber in the depths of the city. It sounded ancient, and as powerful as thunder, causing the clouds above to churn. The sound of it even seemed to merge with heaven and earth, as if this person were becoming one with everything. The heavens were embodied in this person, and vice versa!

"Disperse!" That single word caused the crimson clouds up above to shatter into countless fragments. Then, it was as if an enormous, invisible hand swept them away, clearing the sky.

There in the north district, Naruto could sense an incredibly powerful divine sense within that word, something hair-raisingly terrifying that replaced the will

will of the heavens.

"A deva!" he thought, trembling. At the same time, he once again made sure that his own aura was well concealed.

Having no foundation, the rain of firebolts gradually began to thin out. Thanks to the power of the spell formation, and the fact that the cloud had been destroyed, it disappeared, and the Uzumaki Clan was spared of any disaster...

From deep within the subterranean chamber, the grim and domineering voice of the Uzumaki Clan patriarch spoke: "Someone transformed twelvecolored flame into a devious attack on our Uzumaki Clan... Investigate immediately, and find out who did this!"

Virtually everyone in the clan responded by kowtowing reverently and voicing their assent.

That included Uzumaki Qi, Madam Cai, and everyone else. As for the clan chief, although he didn't kowtow, he did clasp hands and bowed deeply, a respectful expression on his face. Upon completing his bow, he waved his sleeve and spoke out in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Hall of Corrections, Hall of Justice, and all other members of the clan, hear my orders. Do everything in your power to find out what happened here tonight!"

That night, virtually no one in the entire clan was able to rest. Under the leadership of the clan elders, as well as the Hall of Corrections and the Hall of Justice, a thorough investigation was carried out.

Internal inquiries were made first, but the scope of the investigation soon led people to the ornamental rocks where Naruto had been working. Although it was quickly determined that those rocks were the location in which the incident began, no clues had been left behind. However, the investigation only continued to intensify.

Naruto was feeling very nervous, and was aware that he had yet again caused a huge disaster. Plus, this wasn't the River-Defying Sect, it was the Uzumaki Clan, which had treated his own apprentice with frigid

with frigid brutality. However, he still felt that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"It's not like I did it on purpose! What are they making such a big deal out of it for?" The night passed quickly, and yet, the matter didn't end. During the following several days, people came to ask him questions on several occasions. In the end, though, no headway was made in the investigation, and eventually, the matter came to be somewhat of an unsolved mystery...

Naruto knew that it was a tense situation, and therefore, he didn't dare to attempt any more flame conjuring. However, he continued to study and analyze the topic, and kept trying to ascertain why he had failed.

"I can't believe it actually caused firebolts to rain down. Just what exactly did I do wrong...?

"That fire was pretty powerful, and yet, it was only twelve-colored flame. What if it had been fifteen-colored flame? In that case... the Uzumaki Clan... might have been wiped off the map." On the one hand, he was moved by how powerful the fire had been, but on the other hand, was worried about why he had failed. As he continued to analyze the matter there in his hut, five days went by. By this point, he was looking a bit thin and haggard, and had already reached the limits of what he could analyze mentally.

"Logically speaking, I shouldn't have failed...

"Everything was going smoothly the entire time. The sudden failure at the end seemed really suspicious...

"Plus, it actually formed soul medicine...

"Just where exactly did I go wrong?" Clenching his hands into fists, he yet again reviewed every step he had taken, and analyzed them thoroughly. Finally, sometime in the afternoon, he shivered and looked up, his eyes shining brightly.

"Don't tell me... it was my clone!?" The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that the problem had something

problem had something to do with the fact that he had used a clone to help conjure the twelve-colored flame with his true self.

"If it was because of my clone, then that would explain everything. I created that clone with a deva soul, and even I don't know what divine abilities might have existed in that soul. Perhaps... that really is the reason." After pondering the matter for a bit more, he left one of his clones behind and then went out into the darkness alone.

Although things were tense in the clan, he was still itching to go do some more tests to see if he was right.

Therefore, he raced along, leaving Uzumaki Clan territory and finding a cave deep in some mountains. There, he began preparations to make another attempt at conjuring twelve-colored flame.

This time, he didn't use any clone power. He relied only on himself, using the same methods as before. It was difficult, and he very nearly lost control on two occasions. However, by bolstering himself with spirit alcohol, he ensured that he always had enough power at his disposal.

It took a bit more time as well, and soon, his head was aching with pain. By the time the sea of fire formed down into the tongue of twelvecolored flame, he was soaked with sweat and panting with excitement.

"I didn't do anything differently than before... The only difference was that I didn't use my clone to help conjure the flame! Therefore, it definitely has something to do with my clone! My clone was made from a deva soul. It must mean that using a clone to conjure necromantic flame... causes unforeseen complications."

Excited to have found the reason for his previous failure, he rose to his feet, his eyes shining.

"In that case, I guess I've actually created... my own necromantic divine ability! A magical rain of fire!"

Chapter 592

A+ A- Chapter 592

Chapter 592: I Dont Understand!

"I almost can't believe that I'm really this awesome!" Naruto was extremely excited, and his eyes were glowing more brightly than ever. He even felt a bit dizzy from the rush of emotion. "I, Naruto, actually created a new divine ability! That's the kind of thing that sectfounding patriarchs do! I... I can't believe I'm so worthy of admiration!"

He threw his head back and laughed uproariously at how amazing he was. As he reveled in his success, he thought back to how Chen Hetian had abandoned him, and realized that his loss was definitely a major blow to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

"Hmmmphh. One of these days I'm going to make sure Chen Hetian regrets that decision of his. In fact, the whole Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is going to regret it..." With that, he sat down cross-legged for a bit to recover his energy, then swaggered back to the Uzumaki Clan.

Everything went very smoothly along the way. After all, he had left a clone behind in the north district of the Uzumaki Clan, and therefore, no one had even suspected that he'd left his hut.

A few days later, the combined efforts of Zhou Yixing and Li Feng finally got them all of the murdersoul spikes and teleportation talismans that Naruto had requested. After studying the murdersoul spikes thoroughly, Naruto found that they were crafted from souls, using a technique he had never even realized existed. Furthermore, the souls used to create them had especially strong murderous auras.

After analyzing the murdersoul spikes, Naruto realized that if he set them up in the clan right now, there would be too much of a risk of them being found. Therefore, he decided to wait until right before entering the ancestral land. That would be the best and safest bet.

As he waited, he thought about the formula for thirteen-colored flame, and also spent time cultivating his Undying Live Forever Technique. Another half a month went by. One evening when he

was sitting in meditation, working on the final Chakra passageways necessary to complete his Undying Tendons, his expression flickered, and he looked at the door.

With his divine sense, he could clearly see three beams of light heading in his direction. Soon, three middle-aged men became visible, each of them wearing a black robe with a sun and a moon embroidered on it.

Only members of the Hall of Corrections could wear uniforms like that, and the arrival of these men caused an instant commotion in the north district. Considering that everyone there had very low standing in the clan, they were all left trembling with fear and hesitant to make a single noise.

The three men had arrogant expressions on their faces as they looked around in disgust at the north district. As far as they were concerned, this place was a malignant boil within the Uzumaki Clan, a dirty, filthy place that they were loath to enter. Soon, they were right outside of Naruto's hut.

Then, one of them spoke out in a coldly impatient voice. "Uzumaki Hao, get out here right now!"

Inside the hut, Naruto's heart began to pound.

"Don't tell me they figured out it was me? Impossible!" His body blurred as, instead of going out personally, he sent one of his clones out of the hut to meet the men.

He kept the aura of his true self invisible; no one outside would be aware that he was still inside the hut.

As the clone emerged from the hut, the three men from the Hall of

Corrections eyed him coldly. Then the one in the lead said, "Let's go.

The clan chief wants to see you!"

With that, they turned to leave, clearly not inclined to stay in this place one moment longer than necessary. Eyes flickering, Naruto followed along in clone form.

"The clan chief wants to see me... He's Uzumaki Hao's father. Alright, this will be a good opportunity to see what Uzumaki Hao's father actually feels about him!" Considering that he was going in clone form

form instead of as his true self, he felt a lot safer.

The three men from the Hall of Corrections didn't say anything to him along the way; their arrogance and disdain for him clearly went bonedeep. Inwardly, Naruto chuckled coldly at them, proud at how these men were like sparrows, unaware that a dragon was in their midst.

"Just wait until you see my real cultivation base level. Then the three of you will be scared to death!" Naruto was wrapped up in his thoughts as he followed them to the west district, which was very different from the east district. It was much quieter, a place that few people visited, and that was mostly occupied by female clan members.

Naruto looked around in surprise and confusion as he was led to a mansion in the corner of the district. It wasn't very large, and consisted of only a few buildings surrounding a weed-filled courtyard. It was a bleak, run-down place that didn't seem to be occupied.

The three men stopped out front of the mansion. "Go in. The clan chief is waiting inside."

With that, they turned and left.

Naruto's eyes glittered; he could sense a faint aura within the mansion that he was sure belonged to a cultivator in the mid Nascent Soul stage.

"Don't tell me he's meeting me out here because he wants to kill me?" Naruto was a bit surprised, but considering that he was here in clone form, his true self would have plenty of time to get away if things went wrong. Therefore, he simply walked into the mansion.

"Uzumaki Hao," he thought, "your Master is going into this dangerous situation for you! I want to see exactly how your father feels about you!"

Upon entering the main gate, he saw a man standing in the courtyard, facing away from him. Next to him was a simple well which he was looking down into.

The man's hair was mostly black, but had some strands of white in it as well. Although he seemed middle-aged, he was clearly

was clearly very old. Furthermore, there was something bleak and stern about him.

The courtyard seemed just as bleak, and there was a pressure weighing down that made it feel like a rainstorm might break out at any moment. Naruto looked at the man's back, and then around at the courtyard, whereupon his eyes widened in surprise.

Although weeds choked the ground, they couldn't cover up the countless wooden toys that filled the area. There were little horses and soldiers, drum-shaped rattles and other knicknacks...

There was a finesse to the way the toys were crafted that indicated they weren't made by a man. They seemed more like trinkets that a mother would make for her child.

There were also some dilapidated items of clothing that had once belonged to a child scattered about in the corners. The scene spread out in front of Naruto left him with some very complex and even indescribable emotions.

He wasn't actually Uzumaki Hao, but the sight of all of these children's toys made him suddenly feel as if he really had turned into him.

"This must be where Uzumaki Hao grew up..." he thought as he stood there looking around at the toys, wondering what Uzumaki Hao would be feeling if he were here instead. His heart already felt as if it were heavier than before.

As numerous complex emotions filled Naruto's heart, the man standing there said, "Qi'er told me about how you cheated in the clan trials for spirit enhancement, soul medicine and flame conjuring!"

His voice was cold, and didn't contain the slightest scrap of emotion. It was almost as if he were talking to a complete stranger. There was even a scolding tone to his words, the kind that would be used to reprimand a servant.

Naruto stood there silently, unsure of what to say in response.

"So, Uzumaki Hao," he murmured in his heart, "this is your father, huh...?"

Uzumaki Hao's father slowly turned, revealing a cold, expressionless face and an icy aura. The way he looked at Naruto made it seem as if he

as if he were looking at someone he had never met. When he continued speaking, his words were as cold as a winter wind. "This isn't the first time you've done something like this, either. I can tolerate your complete lack of ambition, and even the fact that you stole Qi'er's research notes about fifteen-colored flame. But now you've gone and cheated!"

As of this moment, Naruto realized that before his death, Uzumaki Hao must have revealed to his father that he was talented in flame conjuring, in the hopes of winning his approval. Sadly, Uzumaki Hao had been

completely naïve in such hopes.

This man would give Uzumaki Hao no such chances. In fact, it was even possible that he knew the truth of the matter, and yet still acted this way.

"Not only did you humiliate me, but you also broke clan law. According to the rules, I should take away your cultivation base and have you thrown into Devil Penitentiary for ten years! However, considering you do have the blood of the Uzumaki Clan running in your veins, I'll forgive you this one time. But if something like this ever happens again, I'll personally cleanse our clan by removing you from it." The killing intent in the clan chief's eyes was as clear as day, and his voice cut as coldly as the harshest winter gale. As a result, Naruto felt the same bitter fright that Uzumaki Hao would have in the same situation.

The clan chief didn't seem pleased with how Naruto was standing there silently. A flicker of loathing passed through his eyes as he gestured toward the well.

"This is where your mother died. She was born a servant girl, and after her death, became a servant soul. Her fate was to submit, and as a bastard son, you need to learn to do the same thing. Submit! Understand?!"

The spark of rage which rose up in Naruto's heart was impossible to suppress. Looking over at the clan chief, he replied, "No,

I don'tunderstand."

Chapter 593

A+ A- Chapter 593

Chapter 593: Cold Father Uzumaki!

The anger that burned in Naruto's heart was fueled by his compassion and sorrow for Uzumaki Hao. Although he had just said he didn't understand, the truth was that he understood exactly what was going on!

Combined with everything else he had already learned, the situation was crystal clear. Perhaps the clan chief had not always been aware that Uzumaki Hao was extremely talented in flame conjuring. However, after Uzumaki Hao gave him the formula for fifteen-colored flame, how could he notknow?!

He knew that Uzumaki Hao was a talented flame conjurer, and also knew that there had been no cheating done in the trials by fire. He knew all of these things beyond the shadow of a doubt!

As a mid Nascent Soul stage cultivator, and the clan chief, he could get information about anything he wanted in the Uzumaki Clan as easily as turning over his hand. In fact, Naruto couldn't imagine that the man was unaware of how Uzumaki Hao had been chased down and killed. Not only had he been aware of it, but he had turned a blind eye to what was happening!

He had denied everything about Uzumaki Hao, and even shifted all of his accomplishments over to Uzumaki Qi. Clearly, he wanted Uzumaki Chakra to soar high, regardless of the price to be paid, even if it was the death of Uzumaki Hao. It couldn't have been more obvious that the clan chief felt that Uzumaki Hao was as valuable as a bug, or even less so.

As for this particular meeting, its purpose was to get Uzumaki Hao to bow his head in acquiescence, and to impress upon him that this critical juncture was not the time to make a scene. Based on the killing intent that Naruto could see in the man's eyes, he clearly desired to see Uzumaki Hao out of the picture for good.

That was the reason why he picked this location to have this conversation, to make

it very clear to Uzumaki Hao what it meant to submit...

Submit, and live. Refuse, and die!

His choice to have this discussion in the location where Uzumaki Hao's mother passed away revealed how truly malicious his intentions were. From the perspective of a bystander, Naruto couldn't watch the scene play out without getting angry. Although it had been somewhat on a whim that he took Uzumaki Hao as his apprentice, as of this moment, his heart was filled the same grief and bitterness that Uzumaki Hao must have felt in life. As of this moment, he felt more serious than ever about being Uzumaki Hao's Master.

Although Naruto was the type of person who feared death, he was a righteous and loyal person in his bones. When his friends faced a deadly crisis, it didn't matter if he was trembling and weeping with fear, he would always grit his teeth and go back to their aid. Now that Uzumaki Hao had become his apprentice, he would not turn a blind eye to the wrongs his apprentice had endured!

This was the contradiction that existed within Naruto; within his fear of death existed a brightly burning fire of passion!

The clan chief standing in front of him was completely cold and emotionless, and because of that, Naruto couldn't help that think that Uzumaki Hao's deep desire to please the man had been completely pointless!

"What did you just say!?" the clan chief replied, the coldness in his eyes growing more intense. He even unleashed some of the power of his cultivation base, causing wind to whip about the courtyard.

Naruto glared angrily at the clan chief and slowly said, "For better or worse, I'm your flesh and blood. Tigers don't eat their own cubs, but you..."

"How impudent!" the clan chief roared in a voice that echoed like thunder. The killing intent in his eyes blazed as he strode toward Naruto.

Naruto stared back at him as he approached. If the man actually

actually attacked him, it would affect his plan to get a deva soul. And yet, Naruto couldn't hold back from saying what he just had!

Just when it seemed like the situation would devolve into a disaster, the clan chief suddenly frowned. Stopping in place, he produced a jade slip from his bag of holding.

After scanning it with divine sense, his face lit with joy. Moments later, he gave Naruto a disdainful glance, looking at him almost as if he were a corpse. Turning, he left, leaving a single sentence ringing in the courtyard behind him.

"You're going to get yourself killed!"

Naruto watched as the clan chief disappeared in a beam of light. Then he looked around at the courtyard, complex emotions playing in his heart and mind. Finally, he sighed.

"Uzumaki Hao. Ah, Uzumaki Hao. If your spirit is out there, I hope you were able to see all of that..." With that, he organized the tattered, crumbling clothes and rotting toys, then looked over at the well.

After sending some divine sense inside, he confirmed that there was no corpse inside, so he quietly left and headed back to the north district...

Beneath the Uzumaki Clan were sprawling catacombs, which was where the clan chief now stood. His hands were clasped, and he was bent over in a bow in front of a huge door.

After a long moment passed, the grating voice of an old man echoed out from the door, each word seemingly capable of causing transformations in heaven and earth.

"Your request from earlier is granted!"

"Many thanks, Patriarch!" The clan chief did his best to suppress the excitement he felt in his heart, and even deepened his bow. He was well aware that this patriarch was referring to more than just opening the ancestral land.

He was also agreeing to give the deva soul to Uzumaki Qi!

Of course, it was impossible to open the ancestral land only for Uzumaki Qi. Anyone in the clan who was under the Nascent Soul stage would

stage would be allowed to enter. Considering how big the Uzumaki Clan was, the patriarch had to give the auxiliary bloodlines an equal opportunity.

However, he naturally had ways to secretly ensure that only Uzumaki Chakra got the deva soul!

"You're dismissed. The event will begin in one month."

The clan chief took a deep breath, then respectfully took his leave.

Soon, word about the opening of the ancestral land began to spread through the Uzumaki Clan. All of the clan members who met the requirements to enter were very excited.

That was especially true when people heard that a deva soul was in the ancestral land. All of the chosen from the auxiliary bloodlines began to grow very excited about the prospect of competing amongst each other.

The opening of the ancestral land was a big matter, and the trial by fire which would take place inside was something that left the entire Uzumaki Clan shaken. It was with great fanfare that all the preparations went underway.

Madam Cai was extremely pleased, and couldn't stop thinking about the wonderful prospects in store for Uzumaki Qi.

Uzumaki Chakra was equally delighted. Of course, he kept his mouth shut about certain details that only he was privy to. As for all the other chosen from the auxiliary bloodlines, he couldn't help but scoff inwardly at how eager they seemed to join in the competition.

"That deva soul belongs to me!"

Although Naruto had been aware that the ancestral land would be opened, he hadn't known any details. However, considering how monumental the event was, he soon learned more.

"Almost a month until it opens..." he thought, his eyes shining with anticipation. He was already fed up with the Uzumaki Clan, but knew he had to suppress his frustration until the time came to truly vent it.

"I'm doing this for you, Uzumaki Hao! I'm going to shock the entire clan when

I get into that ancestral land!"

Although he felt confident that the ancestral land wouldn't be extremely dangerous, he knew that if you stole food

you stole food from a tiger's mouth, you almost always ended up with an angry tiger chasing after you. When he made his move in the ancestral land, that would only be the beginning of a very dangerous situation.

Therefore, he needed to be completely prepared to stay safe.

"The Wildlands is a huge place. I'll just have to wait and see how far the Uzumaki Clan's deva patriarch will chase me. Detonating my soulhoarding pagoda could change the equilibrium between the Uzumaki Clan and the two other great clans in the area. Let's see if the deva patriarch dares to keep chasing me when he realizes that!

"Of course, in addition to the patriarch, there will be other members of the Uzumaki Clan to deal with, including Nascent Soul experts. I can't be lax!" Although Naruto was feeling nervous, he had already made up his mind. He would make his move, and then flee immediately!

"Besides, I refuse to believe that the Uzumaki Clan doesn't have any enemies..." Eyes flickering with cold light, he went back to his cultivation.

Days passed. Nobody paid much attention to him, and he didn't leave his hut. His medicinal pills were running out rapidly, and yet, one day, he made major progress with his Undying Tendons.

It was a complete breakthrough!

The instant he completed the third level of the Undying Live Forever Technique, rumbling sounds filled his body, and golden light spread out, piercing through his clothing to fill the area.

At the same time, he could clearly feel something like the weight of an entire mountain pressing down onto him, which was none other than the third shackle!

He desperately wanted to break through that shackle, to destroy the mountainous weight crushing down on him and be transformed into something greater than before.

However, he knew that he needed to wait until he formed a Nascent Soul before doing that. The power he would have access to at that time was the only way he would be able to break the shackle.

Chapter 594

A+ A- Chapter 594

Chapter 594: Assessment During The Ceremony

It had been the same with the first and second levels of the Undying Live Forever Technique. Shortly after making initial contact with the shackle, it was possible to make use of cultivation base power to break it.

As Naruto sat there motionless, eyes glittering, a second shadowy figure appeared in the room. That figure was no clone, but rather, an afterimage created by the manifestation of his incredible speed.

In fact, the figure remained in place for a long moment before fading away.

There was no need to perform any more tests. He could tell that his speed had broken through to another level, and although he couldn't determine exactly how quickly he could move, he knew that it would be difficult for even a deva to catch him.

"The Undying Skin focuses on defenses!

"The Undying Heavenly King focuses on power!

"The Undying Tendons focus on explosive speed...

"In that case, what does the fourth level, the Undying Bones, focus on?" Such thoughts filled Naruto with deep anticipation.

"Too bad it's too difficult to cultivate before reaching the Nascent Soul stage... Plus, resources in the Wildlands are severely lacking. The Undying Bones will require even more resources than the Undying

Tendons..." After a bit more thought, he suppressed his disappointment. Settling his Chakra and clearing his mind, he set about solidifying his advancement with his Undying Tendons.

Meanwhile, the appointed day to open the ancestral land grew nearer and nearer. At the same time, the clan was preparing to hold a grand ceremony to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.

This was a custom of the Uzumaki Clan; such ceremonies were always held when the ancestral land was to be opened. During the ceremony, all members of the clan, no matter which bloodline they came from, would attend. Furthermore, high-ranking members of the clan would perform assessments of the clan members, and give out rewards to exceptional individuals.

Oftentimes, members of other clans would be invited to attend, and usually, the

giant ghost king would send a representative to join the festivities.

After all, it wasn't a simple matter to open the ancestral land, and it only happened once every so often.

The ceremony was held the day before the opening of the ancestral land, in the central district of the Uzumaki Clan, in the ancestral shrine hall.

The other two great necromancer clans sent representatives, as did the giant ghost king. The entire Uzumaki Clan bustled with activity as the final preparations were made.

The shrine hall in the central district featured an enormous square, within which had been erected a huge stone gateway. The gateway was carved with the image of a middle-aged man, whose stern gaze seemed to look condescendingly upon all creation. That man was none other than the founding patriarch of the Uzumaki Clan!

The shrine hall was surrounded by crowds from the Uzumaki Clan, more than 10,000 individuals. There wasn't even enough room for them on the ground, so many sat at tables which floated in the air. It was a grand sight to take in.

The older members of the clan sat nearest the shrine hall, smiles on their faces as they chatted with the representatives from the other clans.

Everyone was simply waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Madam Cai and the other womenfolk sat in their own area, where they buzzed with conversation and made themselves quite the center of attention.

Uzumaki Chakra stood out in the crowd like a star in the night sky. He sat close to the shrine hall itself, and was surrounded by important people, including some chosen necromancers from the other clans, with whom he engaged in lively banter.

Of course, there were others from the auxiliary bloodlines nearby, none of whom stood out as much as Uzumaki Chakra did, but who were clearly special. One of them was the fifth young lady that Naruto had met on his first day in the clan. She was beautiful, and despite her cold personality, was surrounded by

by quite a crowd of devotees.

There was another young man who was about the same age as Uzumaki Qi. He was tall and muscular, and had a booming laugh that caused everyone to take a liking to him, clan member or not.

Although Uzumaki Hao had been born a bastard, and had a very lowly position, he still had the blood of the Uzumaki Clan in him. Therefore, he was also required to attend the ceremony. He didn't get to sit near the shrine hall itself, but rather, at one of the tables floating in the air.

As soon as he arrived, he noticed the fifth young lady and the burly young man. During his time in the clan, he had learned a bit about them.

The fifth young lady was named Uzumaki Yan'er, and was known even in Giant Ghost City for her good looks. Quite a few young elites from the other clans had their eye on her.

As for the burly young man, his name was Uzumaki Lei, and he was a chosen from one of the auxiliary bloodlines. Although his cultivation base wasn't at the same level as Uzumaki Qi's, he was still in late Core Formation. In fact, he and Uzumaki Chakra were considered to be the two rising stars of the clan!

However, the two of them didn't get along very well, a fact that was well known in the clan.

Together, those three were the focus of much attention in the ceremony.

Were it not for the fact that it was required of him, Naruto wouldn't have come. As he looked around at the crowds, he contemplated his plans for the ancestral land tomorrow.

"I should plant the murdersoul spikes later today," he thought. Suddenly, he felt as if someone were looking at him. Glancing around casually, he realized that it was Madam Cai, who sat with the other womenfolk, glaring at him venomously.

"She managed to find me even though I'm sitting so far away..." he thought, surprised. He

surprised. He was sitting in a very inconspicuous position, a place that should have made it difficult to lay eyes on him. And yet, Madam Cai had managed to locate him even in the crowd.

Without even thinking about it, Naruto glared back at Madam Cai with such ferocity that her eyes went wide. However, a moment later, the venom returned. Before she could do anything else, though, the sound of bells rang out.

The crowd quickly went silent. At the same time, three beams of light appeared off in the distance. In the lead position was the clan chief, and he was flanked by two old men with cultivation bases in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage. They were none other than the grand elders who ran the Hall of Corrections and the Hall of Justice.

After arriving outside the shrine hall, the clan chief began to speak in a loud voice, "To all members of the Uzumaki Clan who have gathered here today..."

All the clan members listened eagerly, but as for Naruto, he wasn't interested at all, and simply closed his eyes.

All sorts of complicated details about the ancestral land were explained, things that didn't really affect most members of the clan. Only the outstanding figures who planned to participate in the event needed to listen.

Occasionally, bells would ring out, causing ripples to spread out through the cloud-filled sky, and create auspicious signs.

Naruto would crack his eye open every once in a while. Feeling very much like an immortal hiding in the mundane world, he would think, "I've witnessed far greater spectacles than this before."

A few hours passed, and evening fell. The sacrifices to the ancestors were finished, and the bells began to ring again. Naruto yawned and opened his eyes. Having come to the assumption that everything was over, he prepared to leave. However, it was at that point that the grand elder in charge of the Hall of Justice, who was sitting in front sitting in front of the huge stone gate, chuckled.

"Alright, alright," he said. "Since the clan chief insists, and no one else will back down, I guess I'll carry out the assessment this time around." The grand elder's chuckle was sonorous, and backed by the profundity of his cultivation base, causing illusory ripples to spread out in all directions. There was even a cloud of souls that swirled around him as he spoke.

Looks of reverence could be seen in the eyes of the rest of the clan members as they looked over at him. Even the representatives from the other clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City had very serious expressions on their faces.

When Naruto felt the old man's cultivation base fluctuations, he looked over at him with a serious expression. He was clearly half a step into the Deva Realm, similar to Uzumaki Lin. Furthermore, from the soul power fluctuations coming off of him, he was obviously a necromancer.

"He's likely in the terrestrial rank, with profound skill in necromancy. That would explain why so many souls appeared at the mere echo of his voice..."

Even as Naruto contemplated the subject, the grand elder continued to speak. "Young heroes of the Uzumaki Clan, all of you are aware that the ultimate pinnacle of spirit enhancement is the legendary thirtyfold enhancement, something which no one has ever actually accomplished. Even twentyfold spirit enhancements are virtually unheard of. Therefore, I would like to ask all of you this question: what do you think would happen to this simple feather if it received a thirtyfold enhancement?" Smiling, he held up a feather.

It seemed completely ordinary in nature, lacking in anything which could be considered unusual. It was really just a simple feather.

"There is no correct answer to the question. Based on your skill in spirit enhancement, consider the question for a moment. After all, there are some things in life which can never become a reality unless you ponder them deeply first!

Chapter 595

A+ A- Chapter 595

Chapter 595: Bite My Tongue

As the grand elder's words echoed out, the clan members gathered by the shrine hall all looked on with thoughtful expressions. Apparently, a lot of consideration had been put into how this assessment would be carried out...

There was no set answer. Rather, each response would be based on each person's varied experiences and skill sets in spirit enhancement. As such, it would be a true test of each individual's level of enlightenment.

The question also touched upon matters of flame conjuring and soul medicine. Although the other two were different branches of study, one's abilities in those regards would affect one's understanding of spirit enhancement. Therefore, although the question seemed simple, it was actually extraordinarily complex!

Furthermore, it was exactly as the grand elder had said; if one did not dare to contemplate certain matters, then it would be impossible to make them a reality. In some ways, his question actually pertained to each person's Dao!

It wasn't just the ordinary members of the Uzumaki Clan who were suddenly looking very thoughtful. The clan elders and the clan chief all seemed to be pondering the question as well.

Even the representatives from the other two clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City were all sitting there in quiet contemplation. Furthermore, from the nature of the question, it was possible to see that the grand elder from the Hall of Justice had extremely profound skill in spirit enhancement.

No one responded to the question. The area outside the stone gate was completely silent, to the point where it would have been possible to hear a pin drop. Everyone was considering the assessment question. This type of assessment was a custom during the ceremony of ancestral sacrifice in the Uzumaki Clan. Theoretically speaking, the question was addressed to everyone, but the reality was that only a few people would actually speak up and answer it.

Usually, the chosen from any given bloodline would represent that bloodline to speak out in answer. As could be imagined, the competition between the various bloodlines in this matter was fierce.

Of course, the elders of the clan were aware of that, and actually encouraged the competition. As long as such competition was kept under control, it was a way to ensure

that the blood of the clan pumped strong and hard in the veins of the clan members.

Naruto rolled his eyes. To others, this question would be a difficult one to answer, especially because there was no way to prove whether one was right or wrong. But to Naruto... it was far too simple.

After all, in the trial by fire in the labyrinth, he had personally performed spirit enhancements well beyond the twentyfold level. Although he hadn't reached the thirtieth level, he had seen the clues pointing to the outcome.

Clearing his throat, he thought, "If I answer this question, it really would be cheating..."

Although he was itching to give a response and see what happened, he believed himself to be a straightforward and upright person.

Furthermore, despite the fact that he could cheat if necessary, in this case, it wouldn't be very helpful, and in fact, could cause more suspicion to be cast on him.

With such thoughts on his mind, he yawned and pretended that he wasn't even listening.

After a long moment, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice looked around at the gathered members of the clan, smiled, and said, "Who would like to answer first?"

After a long moment of silence, one of the young men seated next to Uzumaki Qi, who was also a member of the direct bloodline, rose to his feet with glittering eyes.

"Senior, I am Uzumaki Li, and I wish to answer the question." Instantly, all of the other clan members present looked over. When they identified who it was that had spoken, it was possible to see expressions of scorn, jealousy, coldness, and other various emotions.

As for the clan elders, some seemed bored, whereas others were nodding in encouragement. The clan chief gave a slight nod.

Naruto looked at the young man out of the corner of his eye, curious as to what he would say.

Uzumaki Li was very excited to be the center of so much attention, and was already glad he had spoken up first. At the least, he would garner a bit more attention from the Senior generation. Clearing his throat and putting a very solemn expression onto his face, he said, "Senior, based on my understanding, if you perform a thirtyfold spirit

spirit enhancement on that feather, it will most likely transform into a precious treasure. In fact, to call it a precious treasure would probably be an understatement!"

With that, the young man looked nervously at the grand elder from the Hall of Justice.

However, before the grand elder could even say anything, ripples of laughter spread out through the audience. Many shaking heads could be seen, as well as chuckles of scorn.

"What a load of garbage."

"Even a complete moron could guess that an ordinary object that receives a thirtyfold spirit enhancement would become a precious treasure."

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto's face as he looked at Uzumaki Li. As for Uzumaki Li, he could hear what people around him were saying, and the laughter, and immediately, his face turned scarlet.

"It was a brave thing to speak first," said the grand elder, smiling. Instead of offering an assessment, he looked around and said, "Would anyone else like to give an answer?"

Uzumaki Li sat down, looking extremely embarrassed. However, despite the fact that his answer had mostly been a cheap trick, his goal had been to get some attention, and from what he could tell, it had worked. When he thought about that, his mood perked up, and he even felt quite pleased.

Because Uzumaki Li had dared to speak up, more of the clan members in the audience began to do the same.

"Grand Elder, I think that after performing a thirtyfold spirit enhancement on the feather, it would become enormous! It would probably be big enough to blot out the sun and the moon!"

"Grand Elder, my bet is that the feather would transform into a fan! A feathered fan that could rock heaven and earth!"

"Grand Elder, in my judgement, if that fan got a thirtyfold enhancement, it would probably become a feather sword that could dominate everything!"

"Not necessarily! Grand Elder, I think that the feathered fan would become a sealing mark that you could use to grow wings!"

Answers and explanations of all sorts filled the air. The clan elders smiled and listened, nodding occasionally, but mostly just sitting there quietly.

As for the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, his expression was the same as ever the entire time. He seemed to be pondering all of

all of the answers given, but not taking any of them too seriously.

Naruto, on the other hand, had to hold back from jumping in to correct people. Considering how amazing he was, this was an amazing opportunity to show off, which was one of his favorite pastimes. However, he suppressed that urge with every answer that he heard.

"I have to just bite my tongue," he told himself. "There's no point in jumping into the conversation. No point at all!" Eventually, one of the two rising stars of the clan, Uzumaki Lei, shot to his feet.

Immediately, everyone went quiet, and all gazes came to be fixed upon him. Even Uzumaki Chakra looked over, his eyes narrowed.

The representatives from the other two clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City were all aware of Uzumaki Lei's reputation in the clan, and were also very interested to see what he would say.

"Grand Elder, Junior isn't very skilled at spirit enhancement. Based on what I know, it's hard for me to guess what a thirtyfold spirit enhanced feather would become. However, I can well imagine that after the thirtieth enhancement, the feather might become some sort of spirit. There are flame spirits and wood spirits in the world, so perhaps there are also feather spirits!" Uzumaki Lei's words caused many in the audience to look either shocked or moved.

The elders' eyes glittered, and many smiles could be seen on their faces. As for the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, he actually nodded for the first time!

That nod provoked quite a response from the various members of the Uzumaki Clan, and discussions immediately broke out in the crowd.

Naruto looked over at Uzumaki Lei curiously. Although the 'feather spirit' answer wasn't completely correct, it was actually more in line with the truth than any of the other answers so far.

As the audience talked about what Uzumaki Lei had just said, a few more clan members spoke up to give answers of their own. However, none of them could compare to Uzumaki Lei's, and many were obviously just variations of what he had said. The clan elders were all shrewd people, and realized this instantly.

Eventually, the fifth young lady rose, bowed, and then gave a simple answer that attracted answer that attracted a lot of attention.

"Grand Elder, I think... that it would become a rainbow. I know that feathers and rainbows aren't necessarily related to each other, but I still think that a rainbow is the answer." As she sat back down, the grand elder nodded, and for the first time, provided some feedback.

"Anything and everything is possible. Not a bad answer." At this point, the grand elder's eyes came to rest on Uzumaki Qi. Clearly, he was curious what the number one chosen in the Uzumaki Clan would say as his answer.

Actually, he wasn't the only one looking at Uzumaki Qi. The other clan elders, as well as many other ordinary clan members, were all waiting for his answer. Considering how many other people had spoken up so far, it was definitely time for him to speak.

Seeing how so many eyes had come to rest on him, Uzumaki Chakra smiled faintly and then rose to his feet. After bowing to the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, he looked up, eyes sparkling with the utmost self-confidence.

A proud gleam could be seen in Madam Cai's eyes, and anticipation was even visible in the clan chief's expression. From the soft look in the clan chief's eyes, it was obvious that he viewed Uzumaki Chakra differently than the others.

"Fifth Junior Sis and Junior Brother Lei both provided part of the answer.

Perhaps it was a bit misleading for me to wait so long to give my answer, I hope you can all forgive me. Spirit enhancement is one of the foundations of cultivation in the Wildlands, and can manifest countless variations. After a twentyfold enhancement, it would indeed be possible for the feather to become a rainbow or a feather spirit. However, there is more to a thirtyfold enhancement than that!" Uzumaki Chakra appeared to be in extremely high spirits, and seemed thoroughly captivating as he stood there, single-handedly surpassing all of the other clan members in his generation.

"It is impossible to say for sure what will happen after a thirtyfold enhancement. However, I am eighty percent sure that the feather will become a true, living bird, a phoenix that could dance in the highest heavens, the foremost among all birds in the world!"

Chapter 596

A+ A- Chapter 596: Naruto's Answer!

Uzumaki Chakra spoke loudly and clearly, and even backed his voice with the power of his extraordinary cultivation base. As a result, everything in the area trembled, and the clouds in the evening sky roiled in shocking fashion.

It was almost as if heaven and earth were confirming that his answer was correct. The faces of the clan members in the area all flickered, and many seemed to suddenly be struck with new insights. Countless shining eyes focused on Uzumaki Qi.

"A phoenix that could dance in the highest heavens, the foremost among all birds in the world! This answer…."

"How come I didn't think of an answer like that!?"

"I would never have dared to think in such a way. How could a single feather actually turn into a living creature!?"

The fifth young lady trembled, seemingly lost in thought. As for Uzumaki Lei, although his hands were clenched into defiant fists, inside he was sighing. He knew that his own skill in spirit enhancement didn't match up to Uzumaki Qi's, and that Uzumaki Qi's answer was certain to become a legend in the clan.

Naruto's gaze sharpened as he looked over at Uzumaki Qi. Although the answer wasn't the correct one, it showed that Uzumaki Chakra had already begun to forge his own path of spirit enhancement.

"Sadly, it's still wrong!" he thought. Naruto knew that it didn't matter that Uzumaki Chakra had begun to forge his own path. In the end, that path would never become a reality.

Madam Cai's face was flushed with pride and excitement as she looked at Uzumaki Qi. The fact that this blazing sun of the clan was her own son left her feeling extremely pleased.

And then there was the clan chief, who was Uzumaki Qi's father. He looked very satisfied; clearly, Uzumaki Chakra was definitely the qilin son of the clan as far as he was concerned.

The other elders were visibly moved and even shocked by Uzumaki Qi's answer. In fact, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice actually stood

up. Smiling, he said, "Excellent! You truly are the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan! Truth be told, I can't say if your answer is correct or not, but what I can say is that your boldness is the type that can dominate mountains and rivers!" The grand elder threw his head back and laughed heartily. The praise in his eyes was clear; obviously, Uzumaki Qi's answer was in line with what the grand elder had already come to understand about spirit enhancement.

Based on the skills he had developed, he had long since come to understand that spirit enhancement was broken up into different realms. The ability to create rainbows or feather spirits was one realm, but just as Uzumaki Chakra had said, there was clearly a higher realm.

Looking over with a smile at the clan chief, the grand elder said, "No wonder the patriarch has taken such a liking to Uzumaki Qi. That would explain why he agreed to open the ancestral land for him. In terms of spirit enhancement enlightenment and latent talent, he is clearly extraordinary."

"He doesn't deserve such praise, Grand Elder," the clan chief said. "The kid still needs a lot more training." However, it was impossible for him to hide how pleased he was.

Considering that the grand elder had approved of Uzumaki Qi's answer, the other clan members began to raise their voices in praise. It was a thunderous cacophony that filled the area, causing Uzumaki Chakra to suck in his breath in surprise, and leaving Madam Cai visibly moved, her eyes shining with unprecedented levels of pride.

"That bastard Uzumaki Hao might be good at spirit enhancement," she thought, "but he's definitely not as good as my Qi'er. The only difference is that Qi'er doesn't like to make a big show of his skills."

Naruto was not very impressed at all by how everyone seemed to be fawning over Uzumaki Qi. In fact, he couldn't hold back from yawning openly. "The Young Master doesn't wish to sink to your level," he thought, "otherwise I'd reveal the answer out loud, and all of your jaws would drop."

By now, this so-called assessment was getting so boring that he was really wondering when it would all just end. However, it was in that moment that the pompous, preening Uzumaki Chakra looked out into the crowd and happened to spot Uzumaki Hao yawning. Malice glimmering in his eyes, he laughed loudly. "Uzumaki Hao!" he

he called out. "Didn't you say that you were talented in spirit enhancement? Everybody else gave an answer for the assessment, perhaps you would like to do the same? Come on, let's hear it. There's no need to feel embarrassed." An enigmatic smile could be seen on Uzumaki Qi's face. He really did sound like an older brother offering a bit of encouragement to his younger brother. However, his sinister goal was clearly to humiliate Uzumaki Hao.

He was obviously completely confident that the answer he had given left no room for anyone else to say anything worthwhile. Any answer that was given would have to either touch on something immaterial, or something corporeal. Therefore, as far as Uzumaki Chakra could tell, no matter what answer Uzumaki Hao gave, he could accuse him of copying his own answer. Then he could act like the older brother and publicly teach Uzumaki Hao another lesson!

That would once again cause Uzumaki Hao to lose a huge amount of face in front of the clan. Furthermore, because he had already been found guilty of cheating, then when the ancestral land opened and Uzumaki Chakra found an excuse to kill him, no one would think to even complain.

As soon as the words left Uzumaki Qi's moth, everything went quiet, and all eyes turned to Naruto.

"Uzumaki Hao is nothing more than a Foundation Establishment cultivator. What answer could he possibly give that would be worth listening to? I'd say there's an eighty to ninety percent chance he'll just chicken out and refuse to say anything."

"Watch, I bet he says that it'll become a phoenix which could dance in the highest heavens, the foremost among all birds in the world…. That would be pushing the limits of shamelessness though, wouldn't it?"

"You never know. He cheated his way to 1st place in all three clan trials by fire. That alone shows you how shameless Uzumaki Hao is. It's a good thing Uzumaki Chakra puts righteousness above family ties, and wiped his name off of the stone steles."

Although most of the gazes were those of scorn and disdain, there were a few that seemed to contain pity at the malice being put on display by Uzumaki Qi.

The fifth young lady and Uzumaki Lei were among those who looked at Uzumaki Hao with pity. Although neither of them knew him well, the fact that Uzumaki Chakra hated him so much earned him their sympathy.

sympathy.

Unfortunately, there was no way for them to stop what was happening right now, not when Uzumaki Chakra was at the peak of glory.

It only took Madam Cai a moment of thought to realize what her son was up to. Although she was a bit worried about what might result, she trusted Uzumaki Qi's judgement, and thus, looked over at Naruto with an intensely sinister glare.

A placid expression filled the clan chief's eyes, as if he had no idea what Uzumaki Chakra was planning to do. As he looked over at Naruto, the other clan elders did the same, their eyes flickering with amusement as they exchanged silent glances. As for the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, he wasn't a member of the official clan circle of elders, and although he couldn't be said to be completely impartial in all clan affairs, he came close. Smiling, he looked over at Uzumaki Hao, whom he had never paid much attention to before.

Naruto frowned as he studied Uzumaki Qi's vicious smile. Slowly, Naruto's own eyes turned icier as he realized how vile Uzumaki Chakra really was. Earlier, he had been planning to keep a low profile, but now that

Uzumaki Chakra was going so far as to force his hand, it seemed he had no choice.

Since Uzumaki Chakra was feeling suicidal, Naruto would respect his wishes! Snorting coldly, he rose to his feet.

As he did, the scorn among the audience grew more intense.

"He's actually standing up? Well isn't this amusing. Let's see how he copies Uzumaki Qi's 'bird' answer."

"He really overestimates himself. Uzumaki Hao, the bastard son, daring to compete with the best in the clan!"

"People like him can do nothing but cheat. He's a disgrace to the entire Uzumaki Clan!"

Naruto heard the things that people were saying. He could see the venom in Madam Cai's eyes, and the coldness in the clan chief's. He also saw the expressions on the faces of the clan elders. Of particular note was that no one did anything to stop the derisive talk. In fact, almost everyone in the clan was speaking scornfully of him.

As for the representatives

for the representatives from the two other clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City, they were clearly taken aback by the commotion, and were looking at Naruto. However, despite all of these things, Naruto felt no anger.

Sticking his chin up, he looked around at the crowd as if they were a bunch of house sparrows that could be crushed to death in the blink of an eye. Swishing his sleeve in very proud and aloof fashion, he pointed at Uzumaki Chakra and growled, "I didn't want to say anything, but since you've come to me looking to be humiliated, you villain, then I'll do just that."

Uzumaki Qi's eyes flickered with killing intent as he chuckled coldly.

"Whatever answer you come up with will seem amazing to you, but will sound like a bucket of dog crap to me!"

Naruto swished his sleeve again. Although he only unleashed the fluctuations of a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, it definitely made him look like a grand figure.

"Very well, I'll tell you the correct answer to the question of thirtyfold spirit enhancement!

"That one feather will become a world of its own. In fact, anything that receives a thirtyfold spirit enhancement will become its own world!" Naruto's voice boomed like thunder, spreading out in all directions and piercing into the hearts of all clan members.

His answer seemed to provoke reactions from the magical laws of heaven and earth! His voice was like heavenly thunder that rocked everything in the area, completely shattering the cloud layer up above.

Evening light spilled down from above, bathing Naruto in brightness, causing him to suddenly radiate a very profound air.

In response to his words, the eyes of many clan members went wide.

They felt as if their minds were being struck by lightning, and even Uzumaki Chakra began to shiver visibly as an extremely unsightly expression overtook his face.

Never could Uzumaki Chakra have imagined that Uzumaki Hao would give an answer like this. There wasn't even a need to try to compare it with his own answer. Regardless of whether or not that answer was correct, anyone could see that it vastly surpassed the answers of anyone else present, and had crushed his own answer into smithereens.

Chapter 597

A+ A- Chapter 597

Chapter 597: Condemned By Law!

How shocking!

It only took one short moment for all mouths to be silenced... Some people had been making fun of Uzumaki Hao, others had been deriding him. Some had been looking on in boredom, others had been enjoying the excitement. But as of this moment, everyone looked like statues frozen in place with shock.

As the moments ticked by, and people began to recover, the sound of panting could be heard. Expressions of shock and disbelief could be seen everywhere. As for the fifth young lady and Uzumaki Lei, they were clearly reeling in astonishment, and were staring at Naruto with almost complete disbelief.

The silence only wore on for a short time, though, before the entire clan erupted into a huge commotion. People shot to their feet, looking ever at Naruto with shock and other mixed emotions. Soon, there were even expressions of admiration.

"That answer... surpasses all of the other answers!"

"Heavens! Is that really Uzumaki Hao? The useless, pathetic Uzumaki Hao? It will become its own world... this... this type of boldness, the type that can dominate mountains and rivers, how is it even possible?!"

"A world, a whole world... That must be it! That must be the correct answer!"

"How... how is this even possible?!"

Naruto simply stood there, the focus of all attention. Although he wasn't very impressive physically, there was something casual and even transcendent about how he carried himself. At the moment, nobody was looking at Uzumaki Qi. Naruto's words had completely eclipsed him, stolen all of his thunder. Naruto now seemed completely dazzling, as if all the glory had always belonged to him from the very beginning.

Uzumaki Qi's face drained of blood, and although he wanted to offer some retort, he soon realized there was nothing for him to say. After hearing the answer which had just been given, he realized that, for some reason... he knew it to be true!

He wasn't the only one to have such a realization. The clan elders were all clearly moved, and were looking at Naruto with expressions of amazement. Some of them had even risen to their feet in wonderment.

The grand elder from the Hall of Justice was trembling, and even his lips quivered in shock. The gleam of augury could be seen in his eyes, and his breath came in ragged pants; even his cultivation base was teetering unstably.

He had a look on his face that said he had just been struck with perfect enlightenment,

as if he could now see everything clearly. Soon, a look of flushed excitement appeared on his face.

Madam Cai and the clan chief were struck most deeply. As for the clan chief, he wasn't sure what to think. However, to see Uzumaki Hao basking in radiant glory didn't make him feel even slightly gratified. Instead, rage began to bubble up in him. In his estimation, he was looking at nothing more than an unfilial son, which caused killing intent to rise up within him.

The more outstanding Uzumaki Hao proved to be, the more it felt to the clan chief like he was being slapped in the face. As he looked over at Naruto, the fires of fury could be seen clearly in his eyes. However, he quickly covered them up; after all, he was the clan chief.

The clan chief managed to suppress his rage, but Madam Cai was entirely incapable of doing so. Naruto's one simple answer had turned the entire situation upside down, and had stolen all of the glory away from Uzumaki Qi. When she saw how ashen Uzumaki Qi's face was, it filled her heart with pain, and caused her hatred for Uzumaki Hao to grow to greater heights.

"Complete hogwash!" she screamed. "Uzumaki Hao, you impudent son of a bitch, shut the hell up! Men, take this bastard away and have him killed in body and soul!" Madam Cai seemed to have completely lost her mind. Most of the clan guards in the area were clearly hesitating about whether or not to follow her orders, but a few of them gritted their teeth and began to make their way toward Naruto.

But then, Naruto spun to face Madam Cai and said, "The only impudent one here is you!

"This is a Uzumaki Clan ceremony, and I'm a member of the Uzumaki Clan. I was simply answering a question posed by the grand elder. How dare you go so far as to disrupt the ceremony! Could you be more impudent?!

"Clan Chief, this woman has no blood of the Uzumaki Clan in her. At best, she could count as half a clan member. And yet, she dares to act like a madwoman in plain view of the entire clan, and in the presence of the spirits of our dear ancestors! For showing disrespect to our clan ceremony, I request that you immediately punish her to the full extent possible under the clan rules. Clan Chief, she must definitely receive the death penalty!" Naruto counter

counter attacked with a watertight argument, with vicious words, and with complete righteousness. There was nothing anyone present could say to find fault with his words.

The members of the auxiliary bloodlines who weren't fond of Uzumaki Chakra and Madam Cai suddenly turned with shining eyes to look at Uzumaki Hao, almost as if they were seeing him for the first time.

Uzumaki Lei was looking at him with a curious gleam in his eyes, and suddenly felt the impulse to go over and introduce himself. The fifth young lady was also shocked, and had a similar expression on her face.

There were even some among the clan elders who gazed at him with glittering eyes.

Uzumaki Qi's expression flickered in response to the killing intent in Naruto's words. Chest puffing up in rage, he bellowed, "What gall you have to offend your superiors, Uzumaki Hao. You-"

Before he could finish speaking, Naruto turned and barked, "Shut the hell up!

"I have the blood of the Uzumaki Clan running in my veins, and that makes me a member of the clan just like everyone else. I'm here to offer sacrifices to the ancestors, and did nothing more than answer a question posed by the grand elder. Gall, you say? Of course I have gall! That's exactly what our ancestors want to see! The gall to stand up for our clan!

"Offend my superiors? That's exactly what clause nine of the clan rules talks about! When offering sacrifices to the ancestors, all clan members of all bloodlines are separated according to their rank. And during the ceremony, who are the true superiors? The ancestors! Uzumaki Qi, don't tell me that you think this woman is one of the Uzumaki Clan's ancestors? Don't forget, Uzumaki Qi, her surname isn't Uzumaki, it's Cai!

"Therefore, it seems to me that the person offending their superiors here is none other than you, Uzumaki Qi!" Naruto's booming words stabbed like swords into Uzumaki Qi, causing his mind to reel and sending him staggering backward. Although he wanted to argue back, he couldn't

find any words to do so, and ended up merely coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Uzumaki Hao! You..."

Even as everyone looked in in mute shock at what was happening, Naruto turned toward the grim-faced clan chief, toward whom he clasped hands and bowed.

"Clan Chief, first, I must request that you punish this woman for disrupting the ancestral sacrifices. For disturbing the peace of our ancestors, she fully deserves to be killed in body and soul!

and soul! Second, I must request that you punish Uzumaki Chakra for his unfilial act of confusing the identities of our ancestors. Clearly, he has forgotten that his own surname is Uzumaki, which is an act of complete unfaithfulness. Unfilial, unfaithful, and disrespectful people like him do not deserve to be members of the Uzumaki Clan!"

Naruto's thunderous words left all members of the clan visibly shaken. To counter attack by calling for his enemies to be put to death according to clan rules was something that no one could ever have imagined would happen. No one could even react, and many clan members were so astonished they couldn't even think. To many of them, it was as if their entire world had suddenly been turned upside down.

The representatives from the other two clans were deeply shaken, especially the one from the Cai Clan, who seemed very displeased, and was staring at Naruto with a very serious expression. Naruto's intent was clear, and it was no underhanded scheme: it was an open attack! It was also an opportunity for all of the auxiliary bloodlines in the clan, something that the representatives from the other two clans, as well as the emissary from Giant Ghost City, took very seriously.

The clan elders began to exchange glances. The internal affairs of the Uzumaki Clan had already been rocky, and now, the auxiliary bloodlines suddenly had a golden opportunity.

Even as everyone pondered the situation, Madam Cai saw Uzumaki Chakra cough up blood, and suddenly went even more crazy.

"Are you looking to die, you little son of a bitch!? Men, kill him immediately!" In her rage, Madam Cai even flew up into the air, as if to attack Naruto herself. As she did, the eyes of the clan elders glittered even more brightly as they prepared to jump up and start fighting. However, that was when the clan chief suddenly slapped his hand down onto the table in front of him.

A huge boom echoed out as the table exploded and transformed into nothing more than ash.

"Shut your mouth!" he roared. Waving his sleeve, he sent a burst of power slamming into Madam Cai, causing blood to spray out of her mouth as she tumbled out of the air.

"Take her into custody!" he continued through gritted teeth.

Immediately, several clan guards hurried forward and dragged Madam Cai away.

The clan chief did nothing to disguise the killing intent in his eyes as he glared at Naruto. "Happy now?!" Naruto glanced now?!"

Naruto glanced at Madam Cai being dragged away, then turned back to the glowering clan chief. Clearly not willing to back down, he clasped hands and said, "Young Uzumaki Chakra must be punished for his unfilial, unfaithful, and disrespectful actions!"

"Enough!" the clan chief shouted. This was his first time ever experiencing anything like this during his time as clan chief. The feeling of being forced into action was infuriating, and made him want to kill Uzumaki Hao more than ever. In fact, were it not for the fact that he feared the auxiliary bloodlines, he would likely have killed him on the spot! "If you want him dead, then kill him yourself in the ancestral land."

Naruto didn't say anything in response, but inwardly, was chuckling coldly.

Uzumaki Chakra glared angrily at Naruto, but was clearly afraid of provoking him into further speech. Considering that his mother had been dragged off to be punished, and his father was enraged, all he could do was grit his teeth and swear an oath to kill Uzumaki Hao in the ancestral land!

Obviously, it was not appropriate to continue with the ceremony of ancestral sacrifices.

"The ceremony is over!" the clan chief said with the flick of a sleeve.

However, it was at that point that the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, whose eyes had been flickering with the glow of augury up to this point, suddenly looked over at Naruto and said, "Wait a moment. Uzumaki Hao, please continue with your explanation. How did you come up with the idea that a thirtyfold spirit enhancement would create a new world?"

His expression was sincere, and his words were uttered with calm warmth. Apparently, he didn't care at all that there had been some tension between Uzumaki Hao and the clan chief just now.

The truth was that as the grand elder of the Hall of Justice, the only people in the clan who could cause any problems for him were the patriarch and the grand elder from the Hall of Corrections. As for the clan chief... he didn't care about him at all.

The clan chief's expression couldn't have been more unsightly. He would never be able to forget everything which had occurred this day. However, he couldn't afford to provoke the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, and was therefore forced to sit there, wallowing in his rage. From the way he gritted his teeth and glared at Uzumaki Hao, it was obvious to everyone how he felt about him.

Chapter 598

A+ A- Chapter 598

Chapter 598: Preaching Ignorantly Of The Dao

Naruto was a bit taken aback. However, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice had spoken with warm sincerity, and seemed to be thirsting for knowledge. Apparently, he had no ill intent at all, and really wanted to know about the secrets of thirtyfold spirit enhancements.

Naruto didn't say anything at first. Instead, he scrambled for a way to build on the incredible foundation he had already prepared. There had to be a way to show off a bit more, to build on the high profile he had already created, to the point where everyone would prostrate themselves in worship and admiration!

Of course, no one could tell from the look on his face that he was thinking about that. As for the grand elder, he simply waited in quiet anticipation.

Before Naruto had provided his answer, most people in the clan had viewed him with scorn. But now, none of them dared to think in such a way. His explanation about the feather becoming a world had moved all of them. Then, his sharp tongue had forced the clan chief to take his own wife into custody. Uzumaki Chakra had come close to either being expelled from the clan or executed.

Because of all of that, Uzumaki Hao seemed like a completely different person than the one they remembered...

Plus, they could all see that the grand elder from the Hall of Justice approved of him. With every moment that passed, Uzumaki Hao's place in their hearts grew.

The fifth young lady was looking at him with a curious gleam in her eyes. Of course, because of the drastic change in Uzumaki Hao that had just been revealed, it occurred to her that he might be an imposter. In fact, she wasn't the only one to have such thoughts; the clan elders were also thinking the same thing.

It was the same with the clan chief, who even secretly checked the clan's defensive

spell formation to determine whether this was really Uzumaki Hao or not!

The clan spell formation could perform deep analyses of the blood of anyone in the clan, and therefore, if this person was not Uzumaki Hao, but someone else who had secretly entered the clan by some unknown means, it would be able to detect it.

Everyone in the clan knew that, including the fifth young lady. Therefore, she put such thoughts of imposters out of her mind, and continued to wait in anticipation for further explanation from Uzumaki Hao.

It was the same with Uzumaki Lei, who by now was fully convinced that he had simply overlooked Uzumaki Hao in the past, and that his sudden rise to prominence was a good thing.

Not everyone in the clan was happy, though. The hearts of the all the direct bloodline descendants seethed with venomous hatred, although they didn't dare to reveal that in their facial expressions. After all, Uzumaki Hao's actions hadn't just humiliated Uzumaki Chakra and Madam Cai; they had humiliated the entire direct bloodline.

In fact, as far as they were concerned, because Uzumaki Hao was also part of the direct bloodline, he was a traitor!

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, Naruto looked up, his eyes glittering. Facing the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, he clasped hands and bowed.

The grand elder's expression brightened, and he sat there patiently, waiting to hear what was about to be said. It was the same with the other clan elders, all of whom had very somber expressions on their faces.

"Allow me to answer your question, Grand Elder. My speculations regarding thirtyfold spirit enhancements were rather arbitrary. The thing is, Junior is a rather lonely person, with no brothers or sisters, nor any friends. Oftentimes, I sit alone and daydream about the world around me, feeling alone, as though I am the only person left alive in the entire world...

"Perhaps that feeling of loneliness is what makes

makes me dream of having wings, and of flying off into the distance..." As he spoke, his voice slowly grew more and more hoarse, as though he were immersing himself in memories of his youth.

Most clan members knew a bit about Uzumaki Hao's situation, and when they heard his words, they could easily imagine a lonely young boy sitting there looking up into the sky and daydreaming about the world.

Many of the clan elders seemed moved. As for the fifth young lady, she wasn't sure why, but she suddenly felt very melancholy.

Naruto was pleased to see this reaction. During the time he had spent thinking moments ago, he had considered long and hard how to give an answer that would shock and move everyone present.

Although Naruto didn't view himself as someone who was adept at bragging and impressing people, he could at least leave them feeling somewhat moved. As he continued to speak, his voice floated in the wind, almost as if they had originated in his youth, and had drifted through the streams of time into the present...

"I often wonder about the shape of the world itself... and how we came to exist in it... Why are there souls, and why is there multi-colored flame? Why is there such a thing as spirit enhancement...?

"I often wonder if there really are immortals in the world. And I wonder how people learned to practice cultivation...

"I often wonder about the sky, which is so vast. Is there something else beyond it? Is there another world out there? If there is, what does it look like...?" Although he spoke in little more than a murmur, everyone could hear him clearly. The entire area was completely quiet, and everyone was immersed in his words.

The clan elders were holding their breaths, all of them struck with the realization that they had mistakenly overlooked Uzumaki Hao in the past...

That was especially true of the grand elder from the Hall of Justice. His expression

His expression flickered through numerous emotions as he thought back to what Uzumaki Hao had been like as a youth. Considering the words he was speaking now, he could almost see what he was describing.

"Are there people in that world beyond ours? If there are... what do we look like to them...?" Naruto's eyes gazed softly into nowhere as he continued to speak.

"For all we know, the place we live in is actually an object that some almighty being performed a thirtyfold spirit enhancement on, turning it into a world!" As his words echoed out, the sounds of gasps could be heard among the audience.

"Can anyone explain why we even know about spirit enhancements to begin with? Can anyone explain where the practice of performing spirit enhancements came from?!"

After a dramatic pause, he concluded, "And that is my explanation!"

Once again, he clasped hands to the grand elder, and then stood there silently. Inwardly, he felt completely pleased. Even he wasn't quite sure of the exact meaning of the words he had uttered; he had spent most of his time earlier trying to come up with some things that sounded incredibly profound and mysterious.

Although he didn't understand what he had just said, he was sure that it was enough to startle everyone. The more enigmatic his words sounded, the more profound mysteries of the Dao they seemed to contain, the better. At the moment, although he seemed completely calm, he was actually surreptitiously looking around, hoping to see a positive reaction.

At the moment, silence reigned. Everyone was staring blankly at him, including the grand elder, whose heart was teetering in shock.

Naruto could imagine how incredible he seemed, and could almost see the gears turning in their heads as they realized why he had come up with his answer of the feather becoming a world.

No one could recover from their shock immediately. It was only after about ten breaths of time passed that people began to gasp and utter various and utter various exclamations.

"There's another world beyond ours...?"

"What if we really live in some magical item that an almighty being performed a thirtyfold spirit enhancement on?!"

"Heavens! Isn't there a story about how the first generation archemperor created heaven and earth, and then died in battle to protect it for his people...?"

The fifth young lady and Uzumaki Lei were shaking visibly. The more deeply they thought about the words Naruto had just uttered, the more mysterious and profound they seemed.

After hearing the cries of shock, Naruto finally calmed down. His goal of leaving everyone shaken had been met. To his pleasure, the clan elders were looking at him with shining eyes. As for the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, he rose to his feet, threw his head back and laughed at the top of his lungs.

"Excellent. Excellent! Excellent!" Normally speaking, the grand elder was a very somber person who did little more than nod his head in acknowledgment to people. In fact, he had only said the word excellent once to Uzumaki Qi.

But now, he said it three times. Furthermore, the excitement on his face showed how much he approved of Uzumaki Hao. As for Uzumaki Qi, when he saw all of these things, he felt like he was being stabbed in the heart. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his hands clenched tightly into fists.

Snarling, his killing intent grew even more intense, and he thought, "After I get the deva soul in the ancestral land, I'm definitely going to kill you!"

As for the clan chief, it was with mixed emotions that he looked at Naruto. However, that only lasted for a moment before he cleared his heart and filled it with only icy coldness.

"Just blame the fact that you're a bastard," he murmured in his heart. "Your mother was scum, and therefore you are destined to be scum. You refuse to submit, and constantly fight back. That's why you deserve the same fate as your mother: death!"

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	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 599

A+ A- Chapter 599

Chapter 599: The Ancestral Land Opens

"Among all the answers I have heard today, your answer is the most difficult to analyze and assess. It is also the answer that I find most pleasing!

"Well done, Uzumaki Hao, very well done!" From the delighted laughter that echoed out of the grand elder's mouth, everyone present could tell how much he approved of Uzumaki Hao.

From now on, Uzumaki Hao would obviously have a much different standing than before. Uzumaki Qi could only grit his teeth, and as for the clan chief, his expression turned grimmer and grimmer. Various thoughts existed within the hearts of all the clan members as the grand elder swished his sleeve and said, "Uzumaki Hao, I have an official residence that, while not the best place to practice the necromantic arts, is still quite satisfactory. I hereby bequeath that residence to you for use in your cultivation. I hope that you can progress to the Core Formation stage quickly."

The grand elder was actually a bit disappointed by the fact that Uzumaki Hao was not yet in the Core Formation stage. If he were, even if it was the early stage, he would officially take him under his wing, regardless of how much the clan chief objected.

Unfortunately, Uzumaki Hao's cultivation base was only in early Foundation Establishment, which was too weak. Therefore, he gifted him with an official residence, which would not only sow good will with him, but would also help him probe the clan chief's intentions.

Naruto blinked a few times, and then looked up in thought. As far as he was concerned, an official residence wouldn't really do him any good, and in fact, he was even considering simply asking for some vengeful souls as compensation instead. However, it was at that point that the clan chief spoke out in an icy voice.

"That would be far too much of an imposition, Grand Elder. I can obviously provide for this son of mine on my own."

He spoke with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron, his voice filled with discontent and anger that sent the grand elder into silence. Obviously, there was little he could say on the subject. Naruto clasped

hands and said, "Many thanks, Grand Elder." Then he cast a glance at the clan chief.

"Just can't bear to see anything go Uzumaki Hao's way, huh?" he thought with a cold chuckle. "Well, I didn't want that official residence anyway. I want a deva soul! When the ancestral land gets opened tomorrow, you can just sit there and watch me take your clan's deva soul away from right under your nose!"

"The ceremony is concluded!" the clan chief said loudly. As far as he was concerned, this ancestral sacrifice ceremony made him feel like he'd swallowed a mosquito. Waving his sleeve, he transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

The grand elder from the Hall of Justice watched him leave, then sighed inwardly. Uzumaki Hao had a precarious position in the clan, which was quite a pity. Looking over at him, he gave an encouraging nod.

"Since your father has other plans, Uzumaki Hao, I won't interfere. However, if you ever have any questions about cultivation, you can come to me any time to get some advice." With that, the grand elder left, as did the

other clan elders. Naruto watched them leave. So far, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice was one of the few people in the clan who he actually had a good impression of.

"He knows that Uzumaki Hao is a bastard son, and that his father doesn't like him. Despite that, he still expressed his good will. Clearly, he's offering Uzumaki Hao a bit of protection. Well, in that case, I should represent Uzumaki Hao to take advantage of that protection."

Now that the ceremony was over, Naruto left. His arrival had been ignored by everyone, but his departure was the exact opposite. As of this point, everyone was paying attention to him. However, Naruto didn't care.

His time dealing with all this pressure in the Uzumaki Clan was coming to an end...

"Tomorrow is when everything will be made clear!" With that, he flew beneath the evening sky all the way back to the north district.

Virtually no one in the Uzumaki Clan was able to sleep soundly that night. Uzumaki Hao's sudden

sudden rise to prominence had them all feeling completely shaken. Uzumaki Qi 's fury, Madam Cai's mad screams, the clan chief's grim silence; these were images that would forever be imprinted on the hearts of all members of the clan.

Besides all that, the clan's ancestral land would be opened in the morning. Those who would be entering the ancestral land had one more night to prepare. Even the fifth young lady, who didn't particularly want to join the competition, sat in meditation to get herself into top condition. After all, in addition to the deva soul, there would be other rewards available, some of which would be of particular use to her.

Obviously, Uzumaki Lei was aiming for the deva soul. Uzumaki Qi was his direct competitor, and although he knew it wasn't likely that he would succeed, he was still itching to give it a shot.

And then there was Uzumaki Qi . He planned to take all of the rage which had built up in his heart and vent it by killing Uzumaki Hao in the ancestral land. He spent the entire night on breathing exercises, getting himself in the optimal condition to fight.

"The ancestral land is going to be your graveyard! Even if you beg to be exempt from going in, I'll make sure you have no choice in the matter. I'll drag you in myself if I have to!"

While everyone else in the Uzumaki Clan made their final preparations, Naruto took advantage of the darkness of night and the powers of his mask to slip undetected through the clan and plant murdersoul spikes in numerous locations.

He had long since scouted out the clan and picked which locations were optimal to sabotage. Now, on the final night before the opening of the ancestral land, he carried out his plan.

Of course, all he did was put the murdersoul spikes in place. His plan was to wait until the right moment, and then detonate all of them simultaneously to completely shake the Uzumaki Clan's defensive spell formation.

The night passed uneventfully...

Eventually, it was the deepest part of the night, when dawn was just around the corner. At that point, Naruto's eyes opened, and they

and they glowed like blazing swords as he looked around at his hut.

Although he hadn't been in the Uzumaki Clan for very long, after everything he had experienced, he had come to a very clear understanding of what Uzumaki Hao's life had been like.

"If your spirit is out there, Uzumaki Hao," he murmured, "I hope you know about everything that's happened since your death. Perhaps you would even wish to put the people responsible to death. Well, although your Master doesn't usually participate in fighting and killing, this time, that's exactly what I feel like doing. And I'm going to do it for you."

Soon, bells tolled in the clan, indicating that the ancestral land was about to be opened!

As the bells tolled nine times, numerous clan members flew into the air and headed toward the stone gate outside the ancestral shrine hall in the central district.

Naruto joined them, and before long, he was standing there by the stone gate. The instant he showed up, many eyes turned in his direction.

"I can't believe Uzumaki Hao actually showed up..."

"Couldn't he see yesterday that Uzumaki Qi wants him dead? If I were him, I would definitely just give up on the opportunities of the ancestral land..."

"Guess he's got a death wish, the overconfident little bastard!"

"Hmph. Well, he couldn't give up even if he wanted to!"

There were already a few hundred people gathered outside the ancestral shrine hall, most of them in the Foundation Establishment stage, with only a dozen or so being in Core Formation. All of them were engaged in hushed conversations.

Uzumaki Qi was there, and as soon as he saw Naruto arrive, he looked over with cold eyes and open killing intent.

The fifth young lady and Uzumaki Lei were in the crowd as well, and seemed surprised that he had come.

Naruto pretended not to hear all the discussions around him, and seemed completely and utterly calm as he looked at the stone gate.

A bit more time passed, and more people showed up, although most of them had come to observe, not participate. When they saw Naruto standing there, more discussions broke out.

The representatives from the two other clans and the

clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City were also there.

Eventually, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice showed up, and when he saw Naruto, his eyes widened, and then his face settled into a frown.

Before the grand elder could say anything, though, the clan chief shot through the air and came to a stop in the air above the gate. Almost immediately, the discussions in the area ceased.

"So, the unfilial bastard showed up after all," he thought, looking down icily at Naruto. Whenever the ancestral land was opened, all cultivators in Foundation Establishment and Core Formation were supposed to go in. However, anyone who didn't wish to could simply report in at the shrine hall, and would generally not be forced to enter.

Actually, it was common for clan members to submit requests to be exempt from entering the ancestral land. Such requests were almost always granted. In fact, the clan chief had long since planned to approve of all such requests, with the exception of Uzumaki Hao's.

And yet, no such a request had ever come in. Although that had made his little plan somewhat pointless, the fact that Uzumaki Hao was here waiting left him chuckling coldly in his heart.

"So, looking to die, huh? Well, then at least I don't have to put family interests aside and kill you myself!" Turning his attention to the stone gate, he performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger. That in turn touched the clan's spell formation, which caused the stone gate to begin shining with brilliant light. Gradually, it was possible to see a passageway opening up.

An ancient aura escaped, causing a powerful wind to sweep across everything in the area.

"The ancestral land is officially opened!" the clan chief said somberly. "After everyone has entered, the gate will close of its own accord, and will only open after someone acquires the deva soul. Once you enter, your own destinies will determine what good fortune you acquire. The ancestral land is not free from danger; it is a trial by fire, and throughout the years, fatalities have been known to occur, as all of you know! Now, enter the ancestral land!"

Chapter 600

A+ A- Chapter 600

Chapter 600: Deva Soul

To open the Uzumaki Clan ancestral land from the outside required major preparations over a long period of time. Furthermore, it necessitated a vast expenditure of resources.

Therefore, the entrance would only be left open for a short period of time, then closed again. Only after someone acquired the deva soul inside would they be able to use its power to open the ancestral land again, this time from the inside. Doing that wouldn't negatively affect the deva soul in any way. Because of how the area could be sealed in this way, the so-called ancestral land also served as an arcane pocket realm that was perfect for preserving soul bodies.

As soon as the clan chief officially declared the ancestral land to be open, Uzumaki Qi sped into motion toward the stone gate, surrounded by dozens of his relatives from the direct bloodline.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he took a deep breath to suppress his excitement. As he well knew, he would only have one chance to pull off his plan.

"If it works, I'll get a deva soul, and also get revenge for Uzumaki Hao..." Gritting his teeth, he flew toward the opening in the stone gate.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as hundreds more clan members did the same thing. Then, the stone gate slowly closed.

As it did, the gate twisted and distorted, after which a shimmering screen appeared above it, which offered a view of the ancestral land itself!

Clearly visible was a towering mountain peak, the summit of which was surrounded by a majestic halo. Furthermore, it was possible to make out an altar at the summit, upon which was... the deva soul!

The halo was actually being manifested by the deva soul itself!

There were other areas on the mountain that had smaller halos of various size, each of which represented a place for the clan members to acquire good fortune.

There were magical items, soul bodies, techniques, and other resources. All of them were there for the taking by anyone who had the skill, power, and luck to do so.

Of course, the higher one went on the mountain, the more intense and colorful the halos became, indicating

the higher quality of the good fortune available.

The screen above the stone gate was already quite the focus of attention among the clan members on the outside, and currently depicted numerous figures being teleported into the ancestral land.

Naruto's vision blurred, and intense rumbling sounds filled his ears. When the teleportation ended and everything went back to normal, he found himself standing on a jagged rock outcropping.

The sky above him was violent, and the lands which stretched out in all directions were pitch black. There was also a red sun, whose light made the entire world seem as hazy as dusk.

He could see the towering mountain and the halos on it. The enormous height of the thing was so shocking he felt like it was weighing down on his heart.

He had done a bit of research and asking around beforehand, so he knew that the ancestral land consisted of this enormous ancestral mountain. However, to see it with his own eyes was different.

"It seems incongruous with the heaven and earth on the outside, as if... the mountain came from somewhere else!" In fact, it was to Naruto's surprise that he realized this mountain seemed very similar to the Fallen Sword World. Supposedly, that sword had fallen from the beyond….

He studied the mountain quickly, his eyes eventually coming to rest on the halo at the summit, and the altar within it. When he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye to get a closer look at it, he could see that floating right there atop the altar... was the deva soul!

It looked like a clump of sandy soil, indicating that it was an earth-type deva soul!

"What if I just went over there right now…?" Heart pounding with eagerness, he studied the situation for a bit longer, then discarded the idea. Although no one else would be able to tell, with his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, he could see that the altar was protected by a powerful restrictive spell.

There was a blood Chakrawithin that spell formation that ensured that only people with the blood of the Uzumaki Clan would be able to pass through it. Furthermore, it was also obvious that one

one needed especially pure and strong clan blood.

"Once I make my move, time will become very limited. The best thing to do is to wait for someone else to break through the restrictive spell and get the deva soul. Then, I can just take it away from them!"

As Naruto stood there sizing up the ancestral land, the rumble of teleportations could be heard in other areas as various Uzumaki Clan cultivators entered the ancestral land. There were hundreds of them, and at the moment, most people were looking up at the countless halos on the mountain, their faces filled with anticipation.

Naruto looked around thoughtfully as the teleportations proceeded, and eventually, the entrance closed. From that point on, it would require the power of the deva soul to get out. For the land to be opened again from the outside would require a lot of time and effort.

"Well that's good," he thought. "Things are going pretty much as I'd expected. The entrance being closed... will actually be a big help to me!

"Based on what I learned earlier about the ancestral land, it's safe to assume that everyone else in the clan is observing what's happening inside. They should be able to see everything through that stone gate... Well, that's fine. I guess I'll have a good audience when I make my move, so I might as well put on a good show!" Even as he made up his mind about how to proceed, he sensed something, and turned to find Uzumaki Qi and a large group of direct bloodline cultivators looking over at him with killing intent in their eyes.

Although it made him a bit nervous, he was also at the point where he didn't care much about trying to keep up appearances. Seeing that Uzumaki Qi was glaring at him, he frowned and glared back.

The cold malice flickering in Uzumaki Qi 's eyes was impossible to hide, and he almost looked like he was about to fly over and attack. However, one of his relatives leaned over and whispered something to him, causing him to laugh coldly.

"That's right. The most important thing is getting that deva soul. With it,

With it, I will control the exit from this place, and can prevent Uzumaki Hao from getting away. He definitely won't be escaping with his life!" Uzumaki Qi knew that this entire event was being held for him, and therefore, he didn't want to concern himself with trivial matters before getting the deva soul. Taking a deep breath, he turned and headed toward the mountain, his relatives in tow.

The rest of the clan members did the same, either alone, or in groups of between three to five.

When Uzumaki Qi looked away, Naruto snorted coldly, musing about how he had never been bested in a staring contest for his entire life. "Lots of people have glared at me in my life, Uzumaki Qi . You think I care if you join the club...?"

Proudly clasping his hands behind his back, he prepared to head toward the mountain when suddenly, the voice of a young woman could be heard behind him.

"Uzumaki Hao... This mountain is a mighty and dangerous place. Some areas are especially perilous. Although most members of the clan won't find them too unsafe... for people in early Foundation Establishment, they could be deadly. Even I anticipate encountering some difficulties if I proceed alone. What do you say we team up?"

The person speaking was the fifth young lady, her voice soft and her gaze warm as she looked at Naruto.

Naruto stopped in place and looked back at her. Not only had she helped him in a difficult situation when he first came to the clan, but he remembered how kindly she had looked at him during the ceremony the previous day. Clearly, she was interested in helping him out, and yet had vaguely worded her statement to save face, even making it seem as if she considered them both to be members of the same bloodline.

Naruto hesitated for a moment. He was grateful for her good intentions, but at the same time, had his own plans, plans that wouldn't be made any easier by having another person tagging along. Even as he pondered how to answer her, booming laughter could suddenly be heard, which belonged to none other than none other than Uzumaki Lei.

Striding forward, he looked Naruto up and down with sincerity glowing in his eyes. "How nice of you to help out Junior Brother Hao, Fifth Junior Sister. Well, I guess I might as well join you. What do you say to a team of three, Uzumaki Hao?"

The fifth young lady smiled charmingly and replied, "It would naturally be wonderful to have you along, Third Brother. But isn't your goal that deva soul?"

Uzumaki Lei sighed. "Forget about that deva soul. That matter has already been settled behind closed doors. The rest of us are just here for show."

The previous night, he had been very excited about going into the ancestral land. However, in the morning, he had received a message from one of his bloodline's elders, telling him that the deva soul was to go to Uzumaki Qi to help him reach the Nascent Soul stage. Uzumaki Qi would subsequently begin performing spirit enhancements on his nascent soul to put him in the running to become the successor of the hell-emperor. In the end, he hadn't quite been willing to accept that fact, but really had no choice but to do so, leaving him feeling more than a bit down.

In some ways, that was a better thing for him. After all, performing five spirit enhancements on one's own nascent soul was very dangerous. Uzumaki Qi was willing to take that risk, but Uzumaki Lei wasn't, so in the end, he had simply given in.

Thankfully, the clan had also given him some special compensation to make things fair.

Considering that both Uzumaki Lei and the fifth young lady were trying to persuade him, Naruto couldn't object. The fifth young lady obviously liked him and wanted to help him, although he couldn't quite be sure of Uzumaki Lei's motivations. In fact, it seemed likely that he wanted to make friends because it would be useful in his own competition with Uzumaki Qi .

"Ah, whatever," he thought. "I need to give Uzumaki Qi some time to get that deva soul anyway. I might as well repay the fifth young lady for her kindness." Smiling, he nodded in agreement.

Chapter 601

A+ A- Chapter 601

Chapter 601: Take Your Pick, Fifth Young Lady

As the group of three got closer to the ancestral mountain, the pressure weighing down on them increased. It was the type of pressure that would have a significant effect on any Foundation Establishment cultivator; only Core Formation experts would be able to ignore it.

Obviously, the summit of the mountain was where the pressure was strongest, and based on Naruto's calculations, it would only be possible for someone in late Core Formation to get that far.

However, in consideration of how he was weaker, the fifth young lady took the lead, using the power of her own cultivation base to reduce the pressure on Naruto. Moved, Naruto followed along, simultaneously engaging in some casual conversation with both her and Uzumaki Lei.

Before long, they were at the foot of the mountain. There were numerous paths that led up, and they picked one. As they began to climb, the pressure intensified. Occasionally, they would pass other Foundation Establishment clan members, all of whom were sweating profusely and being very careful to avoid the dangerous restrictive spells.

With the fifth young lady's help, Naruto was able to move much faster than any of the other Foundation Establishment cultivators... Of course, even without her help, the pressure wouldn't have fazed him.

Not even the pressure at the summit would have been a huge deal, let alone the pressure further down.

Because of how kind the fifth young lady was being, Naruto tried his best to pretend that he was having difficulty with the pressure, even going so far as to gasp and wheeze occasionally.

After all, people outside of the ancestral land were watching, and therefore, Naruto had no choice but to proceed with his act. Occasionally, though, he would look over at Uzumaki Qi and his group speeding toward the summit. Eyes sparkling, Naruto tried to calculate how long it would take for him to reach the top.

When Uzumaki Lei noticed who he was looking at, his eyes flickered, and he lowered his voice and said, "Junior Brother Hao, you listen to me... that Uzumaki Qi is someone you can't afford to

provoke."

Naruto looked over at him. Plastering a look of anger onto his face, he said, "Well it's not like he's actually going to kill me, right?!"

Uzumaki Lei sighed. "Don't you get it, Junior Brother Hao? The clan arranged for Uzumaki Qi to get this deva soul, and that shows how much the patriarch favors him. If you keep pulling stunts like you did yesterday, I'm afraid... you will get yourself killed."

Uzumaki Lei had a serious expression on his face, but inwardly, he was chuckling. Although Uzumaki Hao had uttered some sharp words the day before, as far as Uzumaki Lei was concerned, he was still just a child.

"You listen to me, alright?" he continued. "From now on, stick close to the grand elder from the Hall of Justice. With him on your side, Uzumaki Qi won't make a move against you, at least not casually..."

Naruto blinked a few times, and then gritted his teeth defiantly.

Off to the side, the fifth young lady listened, a slight frown on her face.

Although Uzumaki Lei's words seemed to be uttered out of concern, to her, it seemed more like he was trying to take advantage of the conflict between Uzumaki Hao and Uzumaki Qi for his own benefit. However, now was not the time to point that out. Sighing, she pondered how everyone in the Uzumaki Clan seemed to have their own agenda, and how everyone was always fighting and bickering.

It was really exhausting to live in an environment like that, which was one of the reasons she didn't feel very at home in this place. Sighing, she looked over at Uzumaki Hao with compassion and sadness. It was bad enough that he had such a lowly standing in the clan, but now, just when he had finally managed to prove himself to some extent, someone came along to try to manipulate him.

Seeing that Uzumaki Lei was about to continue speaking, she jumped in and said, "Hey, look at that halo over there, Uzumaki Hao. See the bracelet inside…? It's a magical item that's well suited to you!"

Naruto looked over at a nearby boulder, upon which was a green bracelet.

bracelet. The fluctuations rolling off of it weren't very strong, but would clearly be useful to someone in early Foundation Establishment.

In the same moment that he looked over at it, the fifth young lady performed an incantation gesture and waved her finger, causing a beam of green light to fly out. As the beam neared the boulder, a protective shield of light suddenly sprang into being.

The green beam of light pierced through the shield, wrapped around the bracelet, and then dragged it back into the fifth young lady's hand. After looking it over, she handed it to Naruto.

Naruto took the bracelet, looked up at the fifth young lady with her kind gaze, then clasped hands and bowed.

"Thank you, Fifth Young Lady."

"Take it. You need every bit of protection you can get. In our clan... you can't trust anybody." Looking melancholy, she shook her head and then continued along the path.

Uzumaki Lei frowned, not very pleased that the fifth young lady had interrupted him. However, considering her high status, he knew that she would eventually be married off to someone important outside the clan. Likely, she would achieve an even higher standing in the future, and therefore, he pretended that nothing had happened, and just continued to chat randomly.

The fifth young lady obviously wasn't in a very good mood, and only occasionally responded to Uzumaki Lei's banter. However, whenever they encountered items useful for Foundation Establishment cultivators, she would take them and give them to Naruto.

Two hours later, Naruto had acquired about eight magical items, a few thousand souls, and even some soul medicine.

He was quite moved by all of this. The fifth young lady was now the second person in the Uzumaki Clan to have taken a liking to him. Most importantly, she wasn't trying to get anything out of him. She was simply treating him like family, out of compassion.

Another thing he noticed was that there were items available on the mountain that the fifth young lady actually wished to acquire, but could not because of the level of her cultivation base.

Uzumaki Lei took the initiative to get a few things that he wanted, then apparently

then apparently felt a bit embarrassed and got a few things to hand over to Naruto.

Naruto accepted everything silently, and the group proceeded along for about an hour. By this point, they were about halfway up the mountain, which was when Uzumaki Qi actually reached the summit. His journey up the mountain had gone very smoothly, with almost nothing causing any problems for him or getting in his way.

"The deva soul was put here for me!" he told himself. "It's mine!" The reason why Uzumaki Qi had such an easy time going up the mountain was because he knew exactly how to deal with all of the restrictive spells on the way up. His father had provided him with that information, and therefore, Uzumaki Qi didn't need to waste almost any of his cultivation base power to get to the summit.

From his current position, he could see the altar, and the earth-type deva soul on top of it. Eyes shining with anticipation, he shifted his gaze from the soul, to the restrictive spell protecting it.

Now that he was here, all he had to do was walk over and take what was his!

"This is the last restrictive spell, and also the most powerful. Only someone with the strongest and purest blood can get through...

thankfully, I came prepared! Once I get that deva soul, then I can go and kill Uzumaki Hao!"

Chuckling coldly, Uzumaki Qi sliced a cut open on his index finger and then spattered some blood onto the restrictive spell. At the same time, he patted his bag of holding, producing a jade bottle that he crushed...

causing a drop of blood to appear!

That blood came from the deva patriarch, and was incredibly pure.

When Uzumaki Qi reached the summit and began to deal with the restrictive spell, many of the other clan members on the mountain looked up with complex emotions. Although most of them were frustrated and jealous, there was nothing they could do.

Outside of the ancestral land, the clan members who had gathered to watch the event saw what was happening, and various serious expressions could be seen on their faces. The clan chief smiled broadly, whereas

smiled broadly, whereas the clan elders looked on indifferently. After all, they had all agreed to this matter, and knew that the supposed trial by fire was mostly just for show.

Originally, Madam Cai should have been in custody and being punished, but for some reason she was now in the crowd, excitedly watching the scene play out.

The person paying the closest attention to Uzumaki Qi , though, was Naruto. Now that he saw Uzumaki Qi dealing with the restrictive spell, he stopped in place to think for a moment.

Then he turned to look at the fifth young lady, and suddenly, seemed to be bursting with energy. His eyes shone far more brightly than before, and for some reason, he seemed taller and stronger. It was as if, moments ago, he had been a tiny hill, but was now a towering mountain peak! Conversely, the ancestral mountain he was standing on was now like a tiny hill compared to him! The air around him even began to distort as something like a black hole formed!

"Thank you for watching out for me, Fifth Young Lady," he said. "I'd like to pay you back for your kindness. If you agree, then tell me what things you want from the mountain, and I'll get them for you. Take your pick."

The sudden change to Naruto happened so quickly that neither the fifth young lady nor Uzumaki Lei were able to react.

"You..." Uzumaki Lei's eyes widened, and his heart began to pound. For some reason, Naruto seemed like one of the clan's grand elders right now, completely shocking. In fact, when their eyes met, Uzumaki Lei felt his mind spinning.

The fifth young lady was panting, completely taken aback by what Naruto had just said.

Naruto looked at her and once again said, "Well, Fifth Young Lady, take your pick!"

All of a sudden, the fifth young lady seemed to realize what was going on. Shivering, and eyes shining, she suddenly laughed.

"If you can get anything on this mountain for me... then what are you waiting for?! Take it all!"

Naruto looked at her deeply, then threw his head back and laughed. "You got it!"

Chapter 602

A+ A- Chapter 602

Chapter 602: Take What I Want

Very few people on the mountain had even noticed the change in Naruto. Most everyone else was transfixed by Uzumaki Qi as he dealt with the final restrictive spell at the summit, and were looking on with jealousy, frustration, and countless other emotions.

"This is really unfair!"

"That's right. Even if Uzumaki Qi were more of a chosen than he already is, he shouldn't have been able to make it to the top of the mountain that easily. I don't care if he is in the great circle of Core Formation!"

"Hmph! I was watching him, and from what I could tell, he knew how to deal with those restrictive spells before he even got to them! It was too easy for him!"

"Come on, don't you realize what's going on? Not even Uzumaki Lei put up a fight. It's obvious that the ancestral land was opened just for Uzumaki Qi ! The leadership already decided to give him the deva soul, that way he can get his five elements deva beast souls and form his nascent soul!"

Most angry of all were the people from the auxiliary bloodlines, whereas the people from the direct bloodline seemed very pleased. They even went so far as to rebuke anyone they heard saying anything they didn't like.

" Uzumaki Qi is the qilin son of our clan! It's the will of heaven and earth that he gets that deva soul!"

All sorts of talk could be heard on the mountain. Meanwhile, people on the outside were also dealing with all sorts of thoughts and feelings.

No one outside had noticed Naruto yet either. Uzumaki Qi was currently the main focus in the ancestral land, and was like a blazing sun that drew all attention. As he went

about dismantling the restrictive spell, discussions could also be heard near the stone gate.

"So, the deva soul is going to Uzumaki Qi ..."

"I'd guessed that it would be him. Not that we would have had a say in it anyway."

"It was definitely set up ahead of time. Nobody else even had a chance.

But then again, nobody is on the same level as Uzumaki Qi ."

As people discussed the matter, the faces of the clan elders were all expressionless. After all, they had all known ahead of time that this would happen. Even the grand elders from the Hall of Justice and the Hall of Corrections weren't reacting.

None of them qualified to argue with the decisions made by the patriarch, and furthermore, Uzumaki Qi really was the cream of the crop of the current generation.

Most excited of all was Madam Cai. She was physically shaking from excitement, and could barely breathe straight as she watched the image of Uzumaki Qi on the screen.

"My Qi'er is definitely the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan," she thought. "That deva soul was prepared just for him! How dare that little son of a bitch Uzumaki Hao try to compete with my Qi'er. What gives him the right?!

Everything was prepared for Qi'er. All we did was take his research

notes and arrange for him to be killed! How dare he fight back against us!

"You just wait, Uzumaki Hao. As soon as my Qi'er gets that deva soul, you'll definitely be dead, you son of a bitch!"

Madam Cai laughed out loud, sounding completely elated.

The clan chief no longer looked grim like he usually did. As the sun shone down onto his smiling face, he seemed warm, happy, and proud. However, even as Uzumaki Qi attempted to break through the

the restrictive spell, people outside of the ancestral land finally noticed that Naruto was thrumming with a shocking energy.

In fact, that energy was so shocking, so indescribably powerful, that it caused the screen to distort. The fact that the energy seemed to be interfering with heaven and earth caused looks of shock to appear on the faces of many of the clan members.

"That's..."

"Uzumaki Hao!"

"What's going on? What's happening with Uzumaki Hao!?" Eyes widened as more people looked over. The clan elders seemed shocked, as did Madam Cai and the clan chief. All of them subconsciously looked over at Naruto!

It was in that very moment that Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Then, he looked at the fifth young lady and said, "Alright, Fifth Young Lady. If you have the guts to ask for everything, then I have the guts to get it for you!"

Only moments ago, Naruto had come to realize that although the fifth young lady seemed soft, she was actually a lot more tough and tenacious than he'd realized.

If he took all the treasures on the mountain and gave them to her, it wouldn't be easy for her to keep them. However, she obviously knew that, and yet was still confident enough to say what she had. In that case, Naruto wasn't going to disagree with her.

As he laughed, his hair whipped about in the air, and his cultivation base began to rise rapidly. In almost the blink of an eye, he went from Early Foundation Establishment to the mid stage, the late stage, and then the great circle. Within a few earth-shaking moments, he had become a Core Formation cultivator.

Wind screamed around him, shaking the entire ancestral mountain, rising up into the sky

the sky and even provoking lightning. All of the clan members on the mountain were completely shaken, and began to cry out in shock.

"Th-this... this..."

"Heavens, what's happening!?"

They weren't the only ones to react in such a way. Even more shocked was Uzumaki Lei, who felt like his mind was being struck by lightning. His face turned completely ashen, and he staggered backward, trembling the entire time. Because he was closer to what was happening, he felt like Uzumaki Hao had become a raging ocean, while he was a little rowboat being tossed about by the waves. It was almost impossible for him to comprehend what was going on, and he felt like he might get wiped out of existence at any moment.

"I... I can't believe he's so strong!" Uzumaki Lei's mind was devolving into a blank, and he was already sweating profusely.

As for the fifth young lady, she was panting; she had already come to the realization that Uzumaki Hao had been hiding the true level of his cultivation base, and to see him explode to higher levels of power right in front of her caused her eyes to shine brightly.

It took only the briefest of moments for Naruto's cultivation base to reach the shocking level of the great circle of Core Formation!

And then, it went a bit further, into the pseudo-Nascent Soul stage!

With his current cultivation base, Naruto looked like an immortal devil, his eyes shining like the stars, his fleshly body power surging. Although he was slender and had a fair face, he seemed like he contained the explosive power of a divine dragon!

Then, even as he continued to laugh, he lifted his right foot. The moment had come to vent all of the negative feelings that had cropped up

had cropped up in his heart because of Uzumaki Hao's tragic fate. All of his discontent with the Uzumaki Clan was about to erupt!

Without any hesitation, he stomped his foot down onto the surface of the ancestral mountain!

Instantly, a sound like heavenly thunder filled the air. The entire mountain began to shake, provoking cries of alarm from all of the clan members standing on it.

Naruto stomped down with the full power of his own cultivation base, as well as his three clones'. It was a force that surpassed the Core Formation stage, and also contained control power, which seemed capable of rocking the entire mountain!

And that was not to mention his fleshly body power, which was in the great circle of the third level of the Undying Live Forever Technique. He was already at the point of making contact with the third shackle, giving him access to monstrous force!

All of the frustration he had been keeping suppressed in the Uzumaki Clan was unleashed in the stomp of his foot, which shook the ancestral mountain so violently that a crevice opened up on it!

Cracking sounds could be heard as, in the blink of an eye, the crevice spread out through the entire mountain! Many areas of the mountain even began to completely collapse!

To the clan members on the mountain itself, it was like an apocalypse of destruction. Screams and shouts could be heard everywhere, and at the same time, the halos formed by countless restrictive spells were simultaneously destroyed!

Moments later, all of the items of good fortune which had been placed into the ancestral land by the Uzumaki Clan were out in the open. Vast amounts of magical items, soul bodies, and soul medicine all appeared, completely unprotected by any restrictive spells!

Chapter 603

A+ A- Chapter 603

Chapter 603: Damn You, Uzumaki Hao!

Everyone was completely shaken by what they were seeing. The glitter of countless magical items, numerous soul medicines and endless soul bodies was enough to obfuscate the sky.

All of the cultivators on the mountain were having a hard time staying on their feet, but as soon as they saw the vast number of items flying up, their eyes began to burn with passion, and they began to shout out loud.

"That's... a mid-grade soul medicine!"

"The Magesword of Annihilation! Heavens! That's one of the most powerful magical treasures in our clan!"

"That's... a metal-type deva beast soul!"

Uzumaki Lei looked on in stupefaction as Naruto waved his hand, causing whooshing sounds to fill the air as all of the items which had just flown up began to speed toward him.

That included almost everything that had been placed onto the mountain, and yet, Naruto completely ignored them, and simply sent them to the fifth young lady.

"Hurry up and take them, Fifth Young Lady!"

The fifth young lady was completely taken aback. Despite having been prepared for something like this, to see it actually unfolding in front of her left her almost shell-shocked. That was especially true considering that the single stomp of Naruto's foot had destroyed all of the restrictive spells on the ancestral mountain, as well as all of the glowing halos.

She had never even heard of anyone who could do such a thing, not even the venerable clan elders.

It was even as she stared blankly that Naruto's words entered her ears and shocked her into clarity. Eyes shining with brilliant light, she quickly assessed the items, then gritted her teeth and opened her bag of holding.

"Even if Uzumaki Hao plans to betray the clan," she thought, "I'm claiming these things, and nobody will take them away from me!" Although the

fifth young lady seemed weak, she was actually very tenacious, and thus, it was without the slightest hesitation that she drew upon the power of her cultivation base to drag everything into her bag of holding.

Naruto used his control power to help. Magical items, soul medicines and soul bodies alike all flew toward the fifth young lady and disappeared into her bag of holding.

Everyone on the mountain could see what was happening, resulting in gasps and cries of alarm. However, most astonished of all was Uzumaki Lei...

The entire situation had changed so quickly that he couldn't even react. Instead of Uzumaki Hao being the foolish brat he had taken him to be, he was now a dazzling, almighty being worthy of ultimate veneration.

Even more mind-shaking was how all of the treasures on the ancestral mountain were now being taken by the fifth young lady. Because of the incredible pressure Uzumaki Lei felt from Naruto, he didn't dare to say a single thing, or even reveal by his facial expression that he wasn't pleased. His intuition was telling him that...

Something big was happening in the Uzumaki Clan!

His intuition was correct! And in fact, almost everyone in the ancestral land was thinking the same thing. As for the people outside, watching the screen on the stone gate... many of them were also being pricked by intuition!

The gathered crowd watched as Uzumaki Hao suddenly powered up, shattered the ancestral mountain, and then took all of its treasures. The result was that they felt like their minds were beings struck by countless bolts of lightning.

"This... this... heavens! What's going on?!"

"Is that... Uzumaki Hao? Impossible! I thought he was in early Foundation Establishment! But that's clearly not early Foundation Establishment, that's more like... the Nascent Soul stage!"

"What exactly is going on here? Uzumaki Hao... has terrifying self-control! He actually

actually has a Nascent Soul cultivation base, but kept it a secret this entire time!"

"Impossible!"

"Something big is going down! As of this moment, Uzumaki Hao... is invincible within the ancestral land... Heavens, the deva soul! His goal... is the deva soul!"

" Uzumaki Qi is in danger!"

As everyone began to cry out, the clan elders shot to their feet, their expressions flickering dramatically.

All minds and hearts were completely shaken. No one among the audience could actually see Naruto's cultivation base, so everyone just assumed he had a nascent soul. However, the clan elders were all Nascent Soul experts, and could see exactly what the situation was.

"Uzumaki Hao is actually in the pseudo-Nascent Soul stage!"

"Dammit! What if he's not the real Uzumaki Hao, but an imposter?!"

"That's not likely. Without the blood of the Uzumaki Clan in him, he wouldn't be able to get past the clan spell formation, not even with a Nascent Soul cultivation base!"

"With a cultivation base like that... if he really is Uzumaki Hao, then he is the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan!"

These clan elders were stern and awe-inspiring people, but at the moment, their eyes were lit with shock.

The grand elders from the Hall of Corrections and the Hall of Justice had similar reactions, especially the latter, whose eyes were shining with utter incredulity.

"Pseudo-Nascent Soul stage... this Uzumaki Hao obviously came across some destiny-changing good fortune, and yet managed to keep it a secret! His level of self-control surpasses his own cultivation base! Not only does he have shocking skill in spirit enhancement, but he also has an incredible cultivation base. Latent talent like this is the type that will only be seen in the clan once in a thousand years!"

"Now that is what the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan should be like!"

The two grand elders felt their minds reeling; Naruto's sudden rise to prominence was something completely

something completely unexpected, an event which no one could ever have predicted would happen.

They weren't the only ones to be floundering in shock. The representatives from the two other great clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City were so shocked their eyes were bulging out of their faces. Never could any of that group have imagined that they would witness something so unbelievable during their trip to the Uzumaki Clan! "Latent talent like that... has never appeared in the Uzumaki Clan before...

Furthermore, it's obvious that this Uzumaki Hao has a beef with his own clan!"

"Well, this development is a good thing. If Uzumaki Hao were on the side of his people, that could lead to a new rise of the Uzumaki Clan..."

"Uzumaki Hao, huh... Interesting. I need to report this back to his highness the king. It looks like a schism might occur within the Uzumaki Clan!"

The two representatives and the emissary were even more shocked than the clan elders, and yet, there was still a person whose shock surpassed everyone else's.

Madam Cai was literally shaking, and began to scream, "Uzumaki Hao, you little son of a bitch, you deserve to die! Damn you, you deserve to die! Men, get in there and kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

Her eyes were completely bloodshot, and she seemed to be on the verge of going insane. Her hair was completely disheveled, and based on her unhinged and ear-piercing screams, she seemed like she couldn't handle the situation.

There was really no other way for her to react. Her heart was filled with unprecedented terror and astonishment at the realization that Uzumaki Qi 's previous explanation about Uzumaki Hao getting outside help to kill his assassin was completely incorrect. Obviously... Uzumaki Hao had done the deed himself!

When she realized how powerful Uzumaki Hao's cultivation base was, and that he had already dispatched previous

already dispatched previous assassins, as well as the fact that Uzumaki Qi had essentially publicly stated that he wanted to kill him, it meant... that there was little question about what was to come in the ancestral land. Madam Cai's vision began to grow dim, and she couldn't help but scream in terror.

Uzumaki Qi ... was in great danger!

"No, this can't be happening. It can't be! Qi'er, get out of there!" Unfortunately, Madam Cai had already forgotten that her voice couldn't enter the ancestral land, no matter how loudly she screamed. Ignoring all decorum, she rushed toward her husband and grabbed his arm madly. "Qi'er is the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan! He can't die!"

Of course, the clan chief didn't need any urging from Madam Cai to understand the gravity of the situation. Almost as soon as Madam Cai grabbed his arm, he threw his head back and howled with grief and rage that could pierce the heavens.

"Damn you, Uzumaki Hao!" As of this moment, the clan chief was reacting exactly the same as he had the previous day. Instead of being glad that his own son Uzumaki Hao was rising to prominence, he was descending into the depths of fury.

"Why do you have latent talent like this? Why do you have a cultivation base like this? Your fate is to submit! You are the lowest of the low, a bastard son! Why do you have to fight back!?" Just like Madam Cai, the clan chief was desperately worried about Uzumaki Qi , so much so that he took a step forward and waved his finger at the stone gate.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, and the gate trembled; shockingly, the clan chief was going all out to try to open the entrance to the ancestral land. Once he did, he would pass through that entrance, find Naruto, and kill him!

Chapter 604

A+ A- Chapter 604

Chapter 604: If You Kill Me, You're A Traitor!

After the ancestral land was closed, opening it from the outside required time. However, the clan chief was desperate, so much so that his eyes were completely bloodshot.

"Clan elders," he said loudly, "lend me a helping hand! That unfilial bastard must die!"

A few of the clan elders from the direct bloodline flew forward to help forcibly open the stone gate.

However, the other elders hesitated, especially the grand elder from the Hall of Justice.

Enraged, Madam Cai shrieked, "If you dare to stand idly by, and my Qi'er gets hurt in any way, then I won't let any of you off the hook!"

In her desperation, Madam Cai even turned to the representative from the Cai Clan to ask for help.

Although the man hesitated at first, they were related, so after a moment passed, he came forward to help. However, despite all that, the entrance wouldn't budge.

Even with the help of a deva patriarch, the gate wouldn't open quickly. At best, it might open after enough time passed for an incense stick to burn.

Rumbling sounds filled the clan, which was rapidly devolving into chaos. Inside the ancestral land, the mountain was shattered, and the restrictive spells were destroyed. As for Uzumaki Qi , he had only been about halfway finished with his work on the restrictive spell; now his face was a mask of shock as he staggered to the side. Looking over his shoulder, he saw what looked like a massive tempest, within which shone the eyes of Naruto.

The sight of those eyes struck Uzumaki Qi to the core. Something like divine sense pierced into him with lightning-like speed, provoking a scream from him as intense fear and disbelief filled his heart.

What was most alarming of all was how Uzumaki Qi suddenly felt like a bug, as if those eyes could determine his life or death with a single thought.

"Impossible! This can't be happening!" Uzumaki Qi had

never felt more terrified for his own life. He was shaking, every inch of his flesh, blood, and bones screaming out in terror. He immediately abandoned the restrictive spell he had been unraveling, and began to flee.

"If I hold out for long enough," he thought, "father will definitely come save me!"

However, almost as soon as he turned to make his escape, Naruto chuckled within the tempest...

"Why aren't you taking down that restrictive spell? Allow me to help you out." All members of the Uzumaki Clan looked on with pounding hearts as Naruto took a step forward.

Originally, he had been fully 9,000 meters away from Uzumaki Qi . However, that distance was nothing to cause much pause for Naruto.

He was like a heavenly god, with a single step propelling him 900 meters ahead, leaving behind an afterimage that made it seem almost like there were two Narutos standing in the ancestral land!

Furthermore, his killing intent was so powerful that the entire ancestral land began to shake, both the violet sky and the black soil alike!

"He's going to kill Uzumaki Qi !" The clan members inside of the ancestral land were all dumbstruck. Uzumaki Lei was shaking, gulping in fear, his face completely ashen.

As for the fifth young lady, she looked on silently, but with brightly shining eyes.

Outside of the ancestral land, Naruto's shocking killing intent, and Uzumaki Qi 's abject fear, caused everyone to begin to shout in alarm.

" Uzumaki Qi is in danger!"

"Heavens! Is Uzumaki Hao actually going to go so far as to kill him!?"

It wasn't just the ordinary clan members who were shocked. The clan elders had very serious expressions on their faces. The fact that Naruto had taken all of the magical items and other good fortune in the ancestral land didn't matter too much according to the clan rules. But if he actually killed other clan members right out in the open, that would

would be a different matter.

Any objective observer would be able to tell how unfair the situation was. After all, if the roles were reversed, and Uzumaki Qi was going after Uzumaki Hao to kill him, the clan elders would likely frown, but wouldn't take the situation as seriously.

But now, things were different. Uzumaki Qi had been selected by the patriarch to prevail in the ancestral land. Uzumaki Hao's sudden rise to prominence was completely unexpected, and there was no way that they could instantly discount Uzumaki Qi 's importance.

Not even the grand elder from the Hall of Justice could sit idly by at this point. He also stepped forward to help open the stone gate.

However, all of the other clan elders were thinking of things in a different way than those from the direct bloodline. Uzumaki Hao obviously had incredible latent talent, and the fact that he had kept it hidden all this time proved that he was a true chosen of the clan. As such, they couldn't simply watch as he did something unforgivable.

"Uzumaki Hao, don't do something that you'll regret," thought the grand elder from the Hall of Justice. "Just wait until you get out of there, and I'll handle everything for you!"

He knew that if Uzumaki Hao killed Uzumaki Qi , especially in a situation like this, then he would damage his relationship with the clan permanently!

Killing Uzumaki Qi would essentially be a public act of rebellion against the clan!

As the clan elders burst into action, the emissary from Giant Ghost City looked at the image of Naruto on the screen with shining eyes.

The sight of Naruto stepping toward Uzumaki Qi caused the clan chief to go even more crazy. Throwing his head back, he roared, "How dare you, you unfilial bastard!"

Then he attacked the gate with renewed vigor.

"Stay your hand, you son of a bitch!" Madam Cai screamed shrilly, trembling with madness, her hair flying about in

about in complete disarray.

It was almost as if, despite being outside of the ancestral land, she could sense the intense level of Naruto's killing intent! After taking his 900-meter step, Naruto looked over his shoulder at a spot high up in the sky, where the faint outline of a stone door was visible. It was almost as if he could sense the maddened glares of the clan chief, Madam Cai, and the other members of the direct bloodline.

"Finally getting anxious, huh?" he said with a cold chuckle. Based on the vortex that was forming up above, he didn't need to analyze the situation at all to realize that they were trying to open the ancestral land from the outside.

"I wonder if that deva patriarch will do something...?" he thought, his eyes flickering. But now wasn't the time to ponder the situation. Looking back at Uzumaki Qi , his killing intent soared, and he took a second step.

By this point, the entire world was shaking as violently as if a giant had stamped his foot down. The air rippled and distorted as everything slowed down from Naruto's perspective. His second step propelled him even farther than the first step, a total of 2,100 meters!

Everything around him was shaking violently as he moved with blinding speed. By this point, he was only about 6,000 meters away from Uzumaki Qi , who suddenly shrieked, "The clan elders can all see you, Uzumaki Hao! How dare you think about killing me!"

Uzumaki Qi was so scared he couldn't even think straight. Although Naruto's second step had been taken casually, the speed on display was so terrifying that Uzumaki Qi obviously couldn't escape.

The sensation of deadly crisis he felt was like a flash flood that caused even his soul to shake.

Outside of the ancestral land, the souls of the clan chief and Madam Cai were shaking just as hard, and it was with complete despair that

complete despair that they watched Naruto speeding toward Uzumaki Qi .

Regardless of what they did, the ancestral land needed time to open, and clearly, they didn't have enough of it to get inside and rescue Uzumaki Qi . Eyes completely bloodshot, Madam Cai screamed, "You'll die in pain, Uzumaki Hao!"

The clan chief's chest ached with fear, and his expression was unsurpassably grim. The prospect of seeing his own son killed in front of him had him descending into madness.

And of course, he couldn't forget the fact that Uzumaki Hao was also his own flesh and blood!

All the other members of the clan were panting in shock as they looked at the screen on the stone gate, and the image of Uzumaki Hao descending upon Uzumaki Qi like some sort of immortal devil!

Flicking his sleeve, Naruto took a third step, a step which propelled him with lightning-like speed that vastly surpassed his previous movements. It was almost a teleportation, a movement which people couldn't even track with their eyes as he moved 6,000 meters in the blink of an eye!

He was now directly in front of Uzumaki Qi , his energy surging, a string of sonic booms echoing out behind him. Uzumaki Qi felt like a cotton ball facing a hurricane; he was incapable of doing anything, and wracked with despair.

First step: 900 meters. Second step: 2,100 meters. Third step: 6,000 meters! The speed on display here was so unbelievable that the members of the Uzumaki Clan who were watching felt like their hearts were being bashed by tidal waves of shock!

Most of them couldn't even breathe...

Uzumaki Qi stared at Naruto, panting, wilting under the pressure he was facing. Scared out of his mind, he shrieked, "I'm your brother, Uzumaki Hao. If you dare to kill me, you'll be a traitor to the clan!"

When Naruto replied to him, it was with a voice as cold as winter thunder. "Yeah? So what?!"

Chapter 605

A+ A- Chapter 605

Chapter 605: Felled By A Palm

Naruto's words echoed out, shaking everything in the ancestral land. Up in the sky, an enormous vortex was forming that almost seemed to represent the fury of the heavens.

The ancestral mountain was shaking violently, with rocks and debris tumbling down everywhere. As for the clan members who still stood on the mountain, they were so shocked they couldn't even think straight, and were merely watching events play out with their jaws hanging open!

This was a case of brothers trying to kill each other!

One was the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan, the other was a bastard son. One had once been a blazing sun, while the other had been a bug!

But now, everything had been turned around. The qilin son was the bug, and the bastard son was the blazing sun!

Although Naruto wasn't incredibly tall, as he stood in front of Uzumaki Qi , he seemed to blot out the violet sky, and to make the crimson sun up above grow dark!

The sight of a single person surpassing the sky and blocking the sun created an image that caused the observing members of the Uzumaki Clan to devolve into further shock. Members of the direct bloodline and auxiliary bloodlines alike were so astonished they forgot to breathe, and their minds were struck motionless.

Uzumaki Lei's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode, and the fifth young lady's eyes were blank with astonishment. What Naruto was doing right now was something they would never be able to forget for the rest of their lives. No matter how many years passed, they would

never be capable of blotting out this memory.

"Don't push things too far, Uzumaki Hao!" The despair in Uzumaki Qi 's eyes had reached an indescribable level, and he was seemingly paralyzed. He wanted to fight back, but the pressure weighing down on him from Naruto made it impossible. It was like facing a windstorm of such epic power that it left him completely powerless.

It didn't matter that he was in the great circle of Core Formation. It didn't matter that he was the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan. To stand in front of Naruto was like standing in terror at the gates of the underworld.

Taking a step back, Uzumaki Qi screamed, "If you kill me, the Uzumaki Clan will never rest until they find you! You won't be able to get away from them! No matter how big the Wildlands are, you'll never escape!"

Terror and fear gripped Uzumaki Qi 's soul, driving him into madness as he cried, "Don't be rash, Uzumaki Hao! We can talk things over! I'm... I'm your big brother!"

"Who cares?!" Naruto said, his voice exploding like thunder from the highest heavens. With that, he reached out with his right hand, the mere movement of which caused the violet sky and the red sun to distort as his energy skyrocketed, bursting past his previous level with explosive intensity!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The lands around him quaked violently as massive energy began to build up; it was almost as if the entire ancestral land was being crushed!

And the hand to do the crushing... was the very hand which Naruto had just reached out with!

Everyone on the mountain was deafened, and their

their eyes went blank. No soul and no mind could go unaffected by that hand!

They weren't the only ones to be affected. The clan members outside of the stone gate were all astonished, and Madam Cai was screaming her head off.

"Stay your hand, Uzumaki Hao!"

The clan elders were reeling in shock, their auras destabilized by the sight of Uzumaki Hao raising his hand toward the ashen-faced, screaming Uzumaki Qi .

Everyone else in the clan was equally shocked. All eyes, all streams of divine sense, were focused on the screen, and the image of Naruto!

"Is that... really Uzumaki Hao...?"

"That palm... it..."

"Uzumaki Hao... is turning traitor!"

The clan chief was going mad, raving and raging as he battered the stone gate and its spell formation. Tears of blood leaked out of the corners of his eyes as he was forced to watch helplessly as his son was about to be killed.

"I'm going to skin you alive, Uzumaki Hao!" he shrieked. As of this moment, he was no longer a clan chief, but rather, a father.

And yet, despite everything, he couldn't forget... that he wasn't just Uzumaki Qi 's father, he was... Uzumaki Hao's father too!

As the Uzumaki Clan reeled in shock, something else was happening in a hidden chamber in the catacombs beneath the clan. Within that secret chamber, seven wrist-thick candles were spread out in a circle, and were burning with green flame.

In the middle of the circle of candles, a wrinkled old man sat crosslegged in meditation. He was little more than skin and bones, with a virtually hairless head, and looked almost like he had just crawled up out of the grave. Suddenly, the old

the old man's eyes opened, and began to glow with the light of the sun and the moon. It was an oppressive glow that, if anyone could see it, would immediately make them forget about everything except the man's eyes.

The old man slowly looked up, and his vision passed through the earth and soil until he could see Uzumaki Qi and Naruto on the screen on the stone gate.

The old man didn't even bother to look closely at Uzumaki Qi . Instead, his eyes came to focus on Naruto...

His voice sounded like bones rubbing against bones as he murmured, "With latent talent like that... and that aura... he's much more suitable than Uzumaki Qi to be my next incarnation..."

Meanwhile, back in the ancestral land, Naruto's soaring energy filled all heaven and earth, making him the complete focus of all attention!

Although his hand was not physically large, it seemed powerful enough to wipe away everything in existence! It was so strong it could destroy the sun and moon, rip apart the ancestral mountain, and shatter all the lands!

As Uzumaki Qi watched that hand rising up, it was as if the violet sky vanished, and the crimson sun disappeared. To Uzumaki Qi , Naruto's hand became the will of the heavens, and the only thing that existed in the entire ancestral land! To Uzumaki Qi , that hand became the representation of death itself!

His eyes felt like they were going to explode, and his blood didn't even seem capable of pumping through his veins. "Don't tell me you're going to turn traitor against the clan, Uzumaki Hao!?" He knew that outside, his father and mother were

and mother were doing everything they could to break inside and save him.

He also knew that hundreds of clan members on the mountain were all looking at him...

But... none of that mattered. He was filled with the terrifying realization that nothing in heaven or earth could possibly save him.

Almost as soon as Uzumaki Qi mentioned turning traitor, Naruto's voice could be heard, responding with crushing volume that caused the air itself to vibrate!

"So what if I turn traitor!?"

As those words echoed out, Uzumaki Qi 's senses converged on one thing. It was as if all light, all energy, and everything else in the ancestral land had vanished, and the entire world consisted of one single palm.

And then... the palm descended!

"No!" Uzumaki Qi screamed hysterically. He was not willing to die, and definitely not willing to die by Uzumaki Hao's hand. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair in disarray, and his mind gripped by madness. Without any hesitation, he overdrew his cultivation base, using every scrap of energy he could find, and more, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused soul power to thrum within him.

Then, he shoved out with both of his hands to fight back against Naruto!

However, such resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a war chariot. The palm descending onto him was backed by the power of all heaven and earth, and could crush anything in its path as easily as crushing dried weeds!

The palm landed on Uzumaki Qi 's head, destroying all resistance. Cracking sounds could be heard as his body began to fall apart, completely and utterly incapable of withstanding the blast of that palm!

Chapter 606

A+ A- Chapter 606

Chapter 606: Collecting The Deva Soul

"I refuse to accept this! How can you possibly compare with me, Uzumaki Hao? From the time we were kids, I was the strongest, I was the most important, and I had the highest cultivation base! I refuse to accept this!" Uzumaki Qi 's scream was one of utter despair, the most wild, raving scream that had ever escaped his lips in his entire life. It lasted for only the briefest of moments, a bright shining light that was cut off moments later in destruction!

Rumbling sounds filled the sky of the ancestral land as Naruto's all-destroying palm made contact with Uzumaki Qi , eradicating all of his divine abilities and magical techniques. Uzumaki Qi was like a snowflake hit by a firestorm, and was completely incapable of providing even the slightest scrap of resistance!

He was in the great circle of Core Formation, only a bit below Naruto in terms of level. And yet, he couldn't compare at all. After all, the person who wanted him dead wasn't actually Uzumaki Hao, it was a person he should never, ever have provoked. Naruto!

It was like the difference between heaven and earth, making the two of them virtually beyond compare with each other. Naruto had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, and the Heaven-Dao Gold Core stage. He had fused with three deva souls, giving him three deva soul clones. Although he hadn't reached the ultimate level of his potential yet, he was strong enough already that he had been able to flee in the face

of Mistress Red-Dust, a deva. Considering all of that... the great circle of Core Formation was like nothing to him!

There was nothing Uzumaki Qi could do about that, and therefore, the fact that he refused to accept the situation was mostly just a joke!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as his divine abilities and magical techniques shattered. Then cracks spread out from his hands down his arms, which then erupted with blood and destroyed flesh. His bones were ripped to pieces, and his legs vanished as surely as if they had been devoured by a meat grinder.

Even as pain and despair filled him, Naruto's hand completed its motion. Blood sprayed out of Uzumaki Qi 's mouth as his chest collapsed. His head, neck, and all remaining parts of his body disappeared. He had been... completely and utterly eradicated!

Under the devastating force of that palm strike, he was crushed like a weed, with even his soul and his core completely destroyed!

Everyone on the ancestral mountain was left profoundly stunned, including Uzumaki Lei and the fifth young lady. Members of the direct bloodline and the auxiliary bloodlines alike were flabbergasted, their minds left spinning and their bodies trembling as they watched Uzumaki Qi transform into splatters of blood that floated through the air like flower petals!

So stunned were the members of the Uzumaki Clan that they forgot to breathe. They even forgot to cry out in shock... As for everyone outside of the ancestral land, they were equally astonished, but because they weren't physically present for what had occurred, they began to recover

recover more quickly. Soon, cries of shock could be heard by the stone gate.

"He... he really killed Uzumaki Qi !"

"That was Uzumaki Qi ! He was the qilin son of our clan!"

"Heavens! What just happened? Is that really Uzumaki Hao!?"

Most people present didn't dare to believe the incredulous scene they had just witnessed was real. It was as though everyone outside of the ancestral land had been struck by lightning.

All scalps were tingling violently. From the moment the Uzumaki Clan had been founded until now, nothing like this had ever happened!

Countless people shot to their feet, including the representatives from the two other great clans. As for the emissary from Giant Ghost City, to have personally witnessed what just occurred caused his expression to flicker with profound meaning.

Despite the fact that everyone had been able to guess what was to come... to actually see Uzumaki Qi killed left them completely bowled over.

The clan chief looked almost completely insane as he threw his head back and roared, "Uzumaki Hao! If I don't kill you, then I don't deserve to live!"

His entire body was trembling. His hands were shaking, and his eyes were crimson as he wept tears of blood. He had just witnessed his own son being killed, the qilin son of the clan, and its whole future!

Now... all of that was no more.

The spattering blood drove the clan chief into utter madness; he held nothing back as he battered at the stone gate in the hopes of opening it. However, the restrictive spells were strong, and could not be opened in a

in a short time.

The clan elders were panting, their minds simply incapable of processing what had just occurred. Even the grand elder from the Hall of Justice was deeply shaken, his eyes glinting with lamentation.

However, no one, not even the clan chief, was driven to the same level of madness as... Madam Cai.

"Uzumaki Hao you son of a bitch, you're going to die in pain! I'm going to kill you. Kill you! Qi'er, oh, my Qi'er... This can't be happening. It's not real! Uzumaki Hao!" She sounded like a wild beast screaming in madness, and looked like an evil ghost as she stood there trembling.

Although Naruto couldn't see what was happening outside, he could well imagine how Uzumaki Qi 's death would shake the Uzumaki Clan to the ultimate degree.

At the moment, Naruto seemed completely engulfed by killing intent, but the truth was that his heart was already pounding in anxiety.

However, now was not the time to be wrapped up in nervousness. Suppressing his lingering fear, he focused on the main task at hand: buying the time to get out of the Uzumaki Clan!

He took a deep breath, and once again, his energy surged. Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his hand, causing Uzumaki Qi 's bag of holding to fly to him, as well as some of his blood and flesh. Then Naruto shot toward the restrictive spell at the summit of the mountain!

The restrictive spell needed the blood of the Uzumaki Clan to open; with the blood drop from the deva patriarch, and Uzumaki Qi 's own flesh and blood, flesh and blood, it could be unraveled with ease!

When the cultivators on the mountain saw that he was using Uzumaki Qi 's own flesh and blood to open the restrictive spell, their hearts filled with boundless coldness.

It was the same outside the ancestral land. Madam Cai was screaming hoarsely, and the clan chief roared with anger.

"I will never agree to live under the same sky as you, you unfilial bastard!"

As Uzumaki Qi 's flesh and blood spattered onto the spell formation, the unraveling process that Uzumaki Qi himself had begun continued with shocking speed. In the blink of an eye, the restrictive spell began to fade away!

At the same time, the final glowing halo that was left on the mountain faded into darkness. Cracking sounds rang out, and the bloodline restrictive spell... opened up!

Without the halo and the restrictive spell, the mountain summit was open. There on the altar was the deva soul, eye-catching to the extreme.

Even as everyone looked on, Naruto strode up to the altar!

He moved quickly, and was soon right in front of the altar, where, without a moment of hesitation, he reached out toward the deva soul, his eyes flickering with strange light.

Numerous afterimages of Naruto's right hand could be seen, and the heavens above rumbled loudly as... he grabbed the soul!

The entire ancestral land began to shake. Naruto's heart surged as he could sense the fluctuations of a deva from within the earth-type soul.

"It really is a deva soul!" he murmured excitedly. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Chapter 607

A+ A- Chapter 607

Chapter 607: Conjuring Flame For An Audience

"Deva soul in hand!" Naruto couldn't have felt more excited. The only path available to him was that of the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, and if he didn't walk it, his Dao of living forever would end.

But now he had four deva souls. All he had to do was find a metal-type soul... and he would have completed the set of five elements. With those souls, he could break out of the Gold Core stage... and forge that legendary item that, up til now, only the Celestial on Heavenspan Island had succeeded in forming... a Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul!

"After reaching Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment and Heaven-Dao Gold Core, my longevity has increased dramatically. Considering how difficult it is to reach the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, the longevity increase should definitely be heaven-defying!" As soon as he had the earth-type deva soul, he threw it into his crystalline soulhoarding pagoda!

"He took the deva soul!"

"That was what Uzumaki Hao was after, the deva soul!"

"What does he think he's doing? He killed Uzumaki Qi , used his blood to open the restrictive spell, and then took the deva soul... Does he really think that after all that, he can trade the deva soul in to the clan for a complete set of five elements deva beast souls?!"

The clan members outside of the ancestral land were all very puzzled.

All they could think about was what they would do if they were in Uzumaki Hao's shoes. After killing Uzumaki Qi , he would already be considered a traitor to the clan, so even if he got the deva soul, he would still face the wrath of the entire clan.

"He's gone crazy! Not only has he turned traitor against the clan, but he's trying to steal our deva soul!" Although cold expressions could be seen on the faces of all the clan elders, the eyes of some from the auxiliary

bloodline glittered.

"Not necessarily. Perhaps Uzumaki Hao killed Uzumaki Qi because of some personal matter between the two of them. As for the deva soul, it should belong to whoever manages to get it..."

"That's right. If Uzumaki Hao hands over the deva soul after he emerges from the ancestral land, and asks for the five elements deva beast souls, that would prove that he doesn't have a traitorous heart..."

Different thoughts ran through the heads of the different clan members. However, Madam Cai's shrieks intensified, and her venomous hatred only grew more intense.

Furthermore, the direct bloodline clan members began to speak up, voices filled with rage.

"He must die! He killed my Qi'er! He absolutely must die!"

"I don't care what excuses you come up with, Uzumaki Hao will die. He killed someone in the ancestral land, which proves he's a traitor!"

Even as the clan members clamored, the clan chief suddenly stopped battering at the stone gate. Spinning in place, he looked around with a vicious glare, killing intent surging as he roared in a thunderous voice that crushed all other sound: "On my authority as clan chief, I hereby declare that Uzumaki Hao is a traitor, and shall be killed in body and soul! His name will be stricken from the clan records as a warning to anyone who would follow in his footsteps!"

The icy coldness of his words couldn't have been clearer as he officially used his power to declare Uzumaki Hao a traitor!

Meanwhile, in the hidden chamber in the clan's catacombs, the old patriarch sat in the middle of the circle of candles with their green flames. A mysterious glow could be seen in his eyes as he seemingly ignored all of the chaos and shouting that was currently going on in the clan.

His gaze was fixed on the screen, and Naruto, and his eyes were gradually beginning to glow with excitement and greed.

"He... is the perfect choice for my next incarnation..." The

The shriveled patriarch's chest heaved as he considered rising to his feet. However, after looking at the seven candles which surrounded him, he settled back down.

Meanwhile, back in the ancestral land, Naruto put the deva soul away and suppressed his excitement. Then he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye a crack, which enabled him to judge how much progress had been made in opening the ancestral land from the outside.

"I have about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn... After that, they'll open this place up." Although he was nervous, he took a deep breath to calm himself, then waved his hand to produce a bag of holding.

It was Uzumaki Qi 's bag of holding; after his death, his branding mark had faded away, leaving the bag ownerless. Naruto quickly sent some divine sense inside to search around, whereupon his eyes began to glow.

Inside of the bag of holding was a bone slip which contained a complete record... of Uzumaki Hao's research notes, which had previously been written on the floor of his hut, and had later been wiped away!

"The formula for fifteen-colored flame... as well as Uzumaki Hao's augury technique..." Naruto was elated, and could barely even breathe straight. The value of this information was no less than that of the deva soul he had just acquired. The formula for fifteen-colored flame was actually secondary. Most important of all was Uzumaki Hao's augury technique, which pertained to many aspects of enlightenment regarding flame conjuring.

With that augury technique, Naruto would be able to understand flame conjuring on a much deeper level, and improve his skill dramatically, just as he had with the medicinal knowledge he had gained in the Heavenspan River region.

Naruto put the bone slip away, and then looked around with determination gleaming in his eyes. As of now, he had accomplished just about everything he wished to accomplish in the Uzumaki Clan.

Uzumaki Clan. There were a few other things, but they couldn't be handled right here and now.

"The most important thing right now is to get out of here safely..." As usual, Naruto wanted to make sure that his poor little life was not in any significant danger. After he made sure it was not in any significant danger, he would reduce that danger even further.

As of this point, he could easily use his Undying Hex to pierce through the boundaries of the ancestral land. In fact, he might even be able to make it past the clan's grand spell formation. However, he still didn't feel safe. Even with the murdersoul spikes in place, he wanted a more stable plan.

"I only have one life. The slightest slipup or instance of overconfidence, and I could provoke a complete catastrophe..." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he blinked a few times, and then gritted his teeth.

"When it comes to my poor little life, making extra preparations will always be worth it. After I get out of the ancestral land, I need to make sure the clan is thrown into complete chaos. In fact, I also need to lock down the deva patriarch. That will make things much safer..." At that point, his eyes glittered.

"I know... if I cause heavenly fire to rain down onto the Uzumaki Clan as I'm leaving, that will definitely cast them into turmoil. Even the deva patriarch will have to worry about protecting the clan!" His heart also surged with excitement over the realization that going through with this plan would once again put his awesomeness on display for the entire clan to see.

The feeling of being able to show off a bit after keeping such a low profile caused his excitement to surge.

"Plus, any people hostile to the Uzumaki Clan will definitely take an interest in me afterward..." Chuckling, he flew straight up into the up into the air.

The sight of him flying up caused the hearts of the clan members on the mountain to begin to tremble in fear. Similarly, the clan members on the outside were all paying close attention.

As of this moment, Naruto felt completely thrilled. His lifelong desire to be the center of attention had never been completely fulfilled in the River-Defying Sect, but out here in the Wildlands, it was becoming a reality.

Feeling very proud of himself, he waved his hand, causing a large group of vengeful souls to fly out of his soulhoarding pagoda.

As all clan members looked on in shock, he then made a casual grasping motion!

Instantly, his hand became like a black hole, which caused all of the souls to fly into his palm. He closed his fingers into a fist, and then slowly opened them to reveal... a tongue of one-colored flame!

On the ancestral mountain, numerous eyes widened in shock, and the same thing happened outside in the clan!

"He's conjuring flame!"

"Look at how smoothly he did it! It's only one-colored flame, but even still, it worked instantly!"

The clan elders' eyes widened, and as for the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, his heart trembled in shock. After all, the grand elder was also adept at flame conjuring, and could instantly see many things from how casually Naruto had conjured the flame...

Of course, Naruto wasn't finished. As everyone watched in amazement, he dispersed the one-colored flame, fed more vengeful souls into the fire... and then casually closed his fist.

Three-colored flame!

Five-colored flame!

Seven-colored flame!

In the blink of an eye, Naruto conjured seven-colored flame, sending blistering heat out in all directions. Furthermore, his motions were all completely smooth and casual!

"A master necromancer!"

"Heavens! I can accept that he's a master necromancer, but... the speed and accuracy of his flame-conjuring is impossibly high!"

"Am I seeing things? One shot? In one shot, he conjured everything up to a seven-colored flame?!"

Chapter 608

A+ A- Chapter 608

Chapter 608: Let The Show Begin

Uzumaki Hao had risen to complete prominence. He had crushed Uzumaki Qi and stolen the deva soul, inundating the Uzumaki Clan with floodwaters of astonishment.

The representatives from the other two clans were astonished to the ultimate degree.

As for the emissary from Giant Ghost City, his eyes were shining brightly, and he had long since transmitted news back home about what was happening. Earlier, he had assumed the matter had already ended; never could he possibly have imagined that the show... was only just beginning!

"Master necromancer!"

"Everyone used to say that Uzumaki Hao was the garbage of the clan, a bastard son who was so lowly he wasn't worth paying attention to. They even said his latent talent was the worst quality possible. But now, the lowest of the low has practiced cultivation to an unheard-of level!"

"People said that he was equally untalented in necromancy. But now... he conjured a seven-colored flame in one fell swoop. If that's not latent talent, then what is?!"

"Unless... he's an imposter..."

However, even as everyone reeled in shock, Naruto was there in the ancestral land, not yet finished with his flame conjuring... The wave of his hand caused the seven-colored flame to spread out and gobble up more vengeful souls. The exact method being used would not have been noticeable even to ordinary necromancers, but the grand elder from the Hall of Justice and the other experts all gasped.

"That's..."

A new color could be seen in the seven-colored flame as the sea of fire converged back into Naruto's palm. Then he opened his fingers to reveal... a tongue of eight-colored flame!

That, of course, led to even more widespread shock, especially considering how smoothly Naruto performed the task. It was almost as if conjuring eight-colored flame could not have been more of a

simple task for him.

The implication caused the clan elders' eyes to narrow. However, they quickly went wide again as... the eight-colored flame spread out and then gobbled up more vengeful souls, causing another color to appear!

It was now...

Nine-colored flame!

Before any cries of shock could be heard, Naruto casually opened his fingers, causing the nine-colored flame to explode out in all directions.

Even as he hovered there, surrounded by a sea of fire, more vengeful souls poured out of his soulhoarding pagoda, to be absorbed by the nine-colored flame. Naruto closed his hand, then opened it... to reveal fire with ten colors in it!

"Ten-colored flame!"

"The peak of the master necromancer rank!"

"Heavens! Am I seeing things? He went from one-colored flame all the way to ten-colored flame in one quick motion? How is that even possible!?" At that point, no one could hold back from crying out in shock. One might think that they would grow numb to the situation, but Naruto didn't give them the time for that. Every move he made stabbed them with astonishment, leaving them incredulous to the point of disbelief. And yet, many of them were now looking forward with anticipation to what was coming next...

As the cries of astonishment continued to echo out... Naruto went on with his work. Eyes shining brightly, he waved his hand to send the ten-colored flame spreading out in all directions. The sky in the ancestral land was on fire as a massive group of vengeful soul burst out from his crystalline soulhoarding pagoda.

The flames danced, becoming like a huge mouth that consumed the souls. At the same time, the onlookers' hearts were pounding, their eyes were bulging, and their minds were spinning.

Nobody needed any help to understand that Naruto was attempting to conjure... eleven-colored flame! The elders began to hold

hold their breath as the ten-colored flame guzzled down the vengeful souls, and their faces flickered with countless emotions!

"Can he... can he conjure eleven-colored flame...?"

"There's no way!"

"Eleven-colored flame! That's the hallmark of terrestrial necromancers!

There's no way that Uzumaki Hao can conjure that level of flame!"

After all... not a single one of the clan elders was higher than the master rank, and none of them had any hope of progressing any further.

And yet, Uzumaki Hao had already surpassed them! With one more step, he would be a terrestrial necromancer, of which there were only two in the clan at the moment, the two grand elders from the Hall of Corrections and the Hall of Justice.

Not even the clan chief was at the terrestrial rank. Currently, he was staring at the screen on the stone gate, his heart racing with madness as utter incredulity swept over him.

However, the killing intent in his eyes only intensified; it wouldn't matter if Uzumaki Hao were more of a chosen than he obviously was, he would still want to kill him!

Madam Cai was even more enraged, with venomous hatred in her eyes that seemed to stem from the Nine Serenities underworld!

Countless eyes were glued to the ten-colored flame, and everyone was panting. As the vengeful souls were fed into the sea of fire, another color gradually appeared.

In that moment, the gasps ceased... and the entire world went silent.

Naruto closed his fingers, causing the sea of fire to converge on his palm. Then he opened his hand, causing a radiant light to fill the entire ancestral land!

"Eleven colors!"

"He's... he's not a master necromancer, he's... he's..."

"He's a terrestrial necromancer!"

"Impossible! How could this be happening…?" Everyone in the Uzumaki Clan, from the youngsters to the old-timers, were reeling in astonishment and disbelief.

"Terrestrial rank!" The clan elders were trembling, their breath coming

breath coming in ragged pants as their eyes bulged out of their skulls. What they were seeing now was the most unbelievable thing so far, even more unbelievable than watching Uzumaki Hao kill Uzumaki Qi .

The two grand elders' jaws dropped, and their minds spun beyond their control.

Of course, most agitated of all were Madam Cai and the clan chief. Madam Cai stood there, completely stunned, a look of brutal ferocity frozen on her face. As for the clan chief, he felt like his mind were being struck by hundreds of thousands of lightning bolts, making it impossible for him to do anything other than stand there.

He had known that Uzumaki Hao had latent talent in flame conjuring. However, latent talent didn't necessarily manifest into action. But right now, Uzumaki Hao had casually conjured everything from one- to elevencolored flame, leaving the clan chief shaken to his very core.

"This can't be happening!" he gurgled, his neck turning red from the humiliation and incredulity. It was almost as if that eleven-colored flame were about to burn his world to ashes.

The two representatives from the great clans and the emissary from

Giant Ghost City were all flabbergasted. In all the lands controlled by Giant Ghost City, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find a terrestrial necromancer this young. As a result, they were all thinking the same thing: "Now that... is the qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan..."

However, before people could finish their exclamations of shock, Naruto once again waved his hand, causing a final wave of vengeful souls to erupt from his soulhoarding pagoda.

He now had almost no vengeful souls left. However, he had enough to push his eleven-colored flame to the next level. As the flame spread out around him, everyone looking on was stupefied.

"He's... he's going stupefied.

"He's... he's going to conjure twelve-colored flame!"

"Crazy! This is completely crazy..."

Naruto's eyes radiated bright light as he looked around at the sea of fire. As the vengeful souls poured into the fire, unstable fluctuations suddenly appeared. Naruto was well aware that all he had to do now was stop using the help of a clone, and the sea of fire would stabilize and transform into twelve-colored flame.

If he continued to try to conjure the flame as he was doing now... then his rain of magical fire would make an appearance again.

"And that's exactly what I want!" he murmured through gritted teeth. A ghost image appeared, which was one of his clones. As the clone attempted to suppress the fire, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering light spread out in all directions.

The light was so bright and dazzling that even the people watching the screen were forced to look away, and were unable to see Naruto's clone.

Not even the people inside the ancestral land were able to see clearly what was happening. All they could see was... a terrifying, twelvecolored sea of fire!

In that exact moment, the stone gate that was the entrance into the ancestral land... finally succumbed to the clan chief, and opened!

"Time to die, Uzumaki Hao!" roared the clan chief. As soon as the entrance was opened, he stepped forward!

Simultaneously, Naruto was there in the middle of the sea of fire. Looking up, he saw the huge rift open up, revealing the members of the clan outside of the ancestral land... and the clan chief, preparing to step inside. At that point, a look of madness appeared on Naruto's face.

"Success or failure all comes down to this!" Howling, Naruto took a step forward, taking the twelve-colored sea of fire with him as... he emerged from the Uzumaki Clan ancestral land!

Chapter 609

A+ A- Chapter 609

Chapter 609: The Patriarch Makes A Move

"He's coming out!"

"He's bringing that twelve-colored sea of fire with him... heavens!" The clan members outside the stone gate were trembling, especially the ones who weren't very close to the gate itself. Their faces were as ashen as death, including one young woman who was the very same person Naruto had encountered on his first day in the clan. Her expression was a mask of despairing terror.

Everyone in the entire clan was now looking at the stone gate!

As the entrance to the ancestral land opened, the clan chief bellowed and entered. At the same time, Naruto shot toward the same location, taking the twelve-colored sea of fire with him.

The heat from the flame caused the clan chief's face to flicker; he could sense how threatening it was, and yet, nothing could suppress the madness in his heart.

He had just watched his beloved son be cut down, and had simultaneously witnessed someone he viewed as trash, Uzumaki Hao, rise to prominence. Uzumaki Hao had trampled upon everything that was dear and important to the clan chief, and therefore... it was literally impossible to describe how enraged and insane he was. He wanted to kill someone, that person being Uzumaki Hao, and as such, he drew upon the full, explosive power of his cultivation base, using the battle prowess of the mid Nascent Soul stage to become something like a sharp sword that stabbed toward Naruto.

"Die, you unfilial bastard!" The clan chief stabbed directly into the twelve-colored flame. However, before he could get very far, Naruto waved his hand, causing the devastating power of the flame to push the clan chief to one side. As the intense

rumbling sounds echoed out, Naruto took a deep breath and ignored the clan chief. Instead, he accelerated, causing everything around him to slow down.

He was moving with speed that was impossible to describe. The clan chief had been shoved out of his way, and now, Naruto blurred past him, instantly appearing... at the stone gate, where he emerged out into the Uzumaki Clan!

The moment he was out in the open, the twelve-colored flame roiled out in all directions, causing the sky to turn bright red, and filling the area with pressure and energy that left the members of the Uzumaki Clan gasping.

Never before had they seen anything this unbelievable. Not only was the flame itself shocking, but the fact that Naruto was right there in the middle of it was even more astonishing. He looked like the overlord of all fire!

All eyes were on Naruto as he appeared out in the middle of the clan. As he did, the seven or eight clan elders who were from the direct bloodline all glared at him with killing intent, and then began to move in his direction.

Of course, they feared the twelve-colored sea of fire, so at the moment, their only goal was to surround and capture him.

And yet, it didn't matter how quickly they moved, they couldn't match the speed of Naruto's left hand, within which suddenly appeared eight jade slips. He instantly crushed the first of those jade slips, which caused the hundreds of murdersoul spikes he had planted throughout the clan to simultaneously detonate in dramatic fashion.

Explosions rocked hundreds of locations in the clan, causing the defensive spell formation, the strongest spell formation in the entire clan, to ripple

ripple and distort. Then, cracks began to spread out across its surface.

The grand spell formation... was about to shatter!

Next, Naruto crushed the rest of the jade slips, which instantly caused the power of teleportation to rise up around him. Shockingly, those jade slips were all teleportation talismans!

All of this happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint; the grand spell formation began to fall apart, and the power of teleportation filled the area. However, even as Naruto began to fade away, the clan elders chuckled coldly and sent their Nascent Soul divine sense out, locking the air down and nullifying the power of the teleportation talismans!

Nullifying teleportations was actually a common tactic, and considering that these were all Nascent Soul experts, it wasn't at all difficult for them to cause spatial chaos.

As soon as Naruto's teleportation power was interfered with, his eyes widened, and his heart began to pound. However, he had planned for something like this. Without the slightest hesitation, he threw his head back and roared. Even as the Nascent Soul clan elders charged from one direction, and the clan chief charged toward him from within the ancestral land, he took a step forward.

With that step, he used the secret magic of the Undying Hex, causing his body to blur, ignoring the spatial chaos caused by the Nascent Soul cultivators.

The faces of the direct bloodline elders and the clan chief all fell dramatically. The type of spatial distortion being used by Naruto was something they couldn't do anything about, especially considering that he was currently surrounded by a twelve-colored sea of fire that made him completely unapproachable. However, just in the moment when

moment when it seemed Naruto would teleport away, a cold snort echoed out from the catacombs beneath the clan. It was none other than the deva patriarch surrounded by the seven candles! His eyes were currently glowing brightly as he made a grasping gesture, causing the air outside in the clan to distort as a powerful will appeared. It was a will that surpassed the will of the heavens, and took the form of a huge hand that began to close around Naruto!

"You're not going anywhere!"

The hand locked everything around Naruto down, and although it didn't completely interrupt his Undying Hex secret magic, it did slow it down significantly.

Instantly, the faces of the direct bloodline clan elders and the clan chief went wild with joy.

"Patriarch!"

"The patriarch is making a move!"

"You're going to die beyond the shadow of a doubt, Uzumaki Hao!"

Naruto's face fell, and yet, he had also been prepared for something like this to happen. Eyes shining with cold light, he shouted, "You're exactly who I've been waiting for!"

Even as the words left his mouth, he moved his hand, closing his fingers into a fist that forced the sea of fire to converge on his palm and take the shape of a twelve-colored flame.

As the sea of fire began to shine with dazzling light, it destabilized, and then suddenly erupted with an intense roaring sound.

Sensations of deadly crisis erupted within the direct bloodline clan elders and the clan chief. Before any of them could react, the sea of fire collapsed, causing deafening rumbling sounds to echo out!

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Twelve-colored flame roiled out for hundreds of meters in all directions, enveloping everything in its path. The clan elders and the clan chief backed up with

backed up with utmost urgency, but the hand of the deva patriarch didn't, and within the blink of an eye, made contact with the flame.

The resulting boom rose into the highest heavens!

The air in the area collapsed, and the sea of fire vanished. The deva patriarch's illusory hand survived, but was clearly in bad shape as it continued to close in around Naruto.

However, Naruto wasn't afraid of a weakened deva-level divine ability. Suddenly, three ghost images appeared as his three clones stepped out and shot toward the hand.

Howling, they used all the power at their disposal to fight back!

BOOM!

As soon as his wood clone touched the hand, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he transformed into a beam of green light that shot back into Naruto. However, the hand had been slowed, and was even dimmer than before.

BOOM!

His water clone was next. He slammed into the hand, resulting in most of his body being destroyed. And yet, the hand stopped for a moment, and grew even dimmer!

Lastly was his fire clone. Instead of simply defending, he took the initiative to attack with all his power.

BOOM!

Blood sprayed out of the fire clone's mouth as he fell back. However, the huge hand had been damaged three times in a row, and was now little more than an outline. By the time it hit Naruto's true self, all that happened was that he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

After wiping the blood off of his lips, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"That's all you can do, deva?!" As his words rang out... he began to fade away. Clearly, he was only moments away from piercing through the air and vanishing!

Chapter 610

A+ A- Chapter 610

Chapter 610: Fleeing The Uzumaki Clan

Not even the deva patriarch had been able to prevent Naruto from escaping. The entire Uzumaki Clan was dumbfounded, including the clan elders from the direct bloodline and the clan chief, all of whom were struck with disbelief that defied imagination.

They knew Uzumaki Hao was strong, but he was still only in Core Formation. Despite the fact that their deva patriarch had not appeared in person, and had only sent out a divine ability, he was still a deva!

Because everything had happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, none of them had seen Naruto's three clones fighting back against that divine ability.

As Naruto faded away from view, the deva patriarch sat grimfaced in his secret chamber in the catacombs, his eyes shining with intense coldness. Then, he extended his right hand, causing his withered body to fill back in with flesh and blood until he looked like a normal person.

At the same time, his right hand seemed to distort with the power of spatial manipulation, causing rumbling sounds to fill the area as heaven and earth seemed to collapse. Then he looked up in Naruto's direction, clearly intent on trying to grab him a second time.

However, his face fell when he realized that he was grabbing down, not onto Naruto, but onto thin air!

Even as he did that, the entire sky above the Uzumaki Clan turned crimson, and fire began to rain down!

That fire was composed of twelve-colored flame!

As soon as the rain of fire began to fall, everyone in the clan began to cry out in alarm.

"A rain of fire!"

"It was Uzumaki Hao! He was the one who caused the rain of fire last time!" The mere thought of a twelve-colored rain of fire caused all faces in the clan to fall. That type of fire was so hot it could melt stone and metal, and was already turning everything in the area into a virtual furnace. Even worse, the

grand spell formation had been damaged, and although it was already repairing itself, it was still weaker than the last time. Furthermore, the gaps in it were so large that the fire could obviously make it through them and land on the clan itself!

If that fire landed on the clan... it would definitely damage it in a very significant way. Casualties would be severe. Even if the deva patriarch took a hand in defending the clan, he wouldn't be able to save everyone...

The only chance was to stop the rain of fire before it got past the shield!

The deva patriarch had been presented with two choices: either prevent Naruto from fleeing, or extinguish the heavenly fire. The deva could only confidently pick one option. If he tried to do both at the same time, it could easily lead to a catastrophic slip-up.

The deva chose to extinguish the heavenly fire. As soon as his hand latched down onto thin air, another huge hand appeared in the sky above the clan. As the rain of fire descended, he reached out to grab it!

It only took the blink of an eye for the hand to grow dramatically in size, until it was fully 300,000 meters across. Conveniently, in addition to covering the flaming clouds above the clan, it also contained Naruto within the shadow of its power.

Clearly, the deva patriarch was still not giving up on trying to get to Naruto.

However, Naruto was not an ordinary Core Formation cultivator.

He had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, and also the Heaven-Dao Gold Core stage. He had three deva soul clones, and battle prowess that vastly surpassed the Core Formation level. He could even slaughter early Nascent Soul stage experts with ease!

In fact, he could also hold his own against the mid Nascent Soul stage, and if he used his clones, could crush someone in that level!

Thorough preparation can lead to shocking results, and that was exactly what Naruto was doing as he made his way toward the Nascent Soul stage! Just

stage!

Just before the hand made contact with him, he vanished, teleported by the Undying Hex to a location outside of the Uzumaki Clan!

As for the flames up above, the hand made contact with them, wiping them away, rain and clouds alike...

Down in the catacombs, the deva patriarch's expression could not have been more unsightly. Turning to look in the direction Naruto had fled, he lifted his foot in preparation to give chase. But then, he looked at the green flames of the seven candles, and gritted his teeth.

"My Seven Life-Locking Candles have reached a critical stage. I can't just leave..." Taking a deep breath, he sat back down cross-legged and then issued orders to the clan.

"Use my divine will seal and these ships to track Uzumaki Hao down! Get him back here within seven days!" The deva patriarch transmitted the orders with divine sense, causing his words to immediately ring out in the minds of the clan elders. All of the elders were shaken, and quickly clasped hands and bowed in the direction of the catacombs. At the same time, a seal formed from divine sense took shape in their minds.

Those sealing marks would help them determine Naruto's position. Naruto had managed to flee, but had been struck by the deva patriarch, who had secretly branded him with a bit of divine will for the purposes of tracking him.

In addition to the divine sense seals, nine soulships flew out from the catacombs. Each of the ships had been forged by the deva patriarch himself, and were capable of speed equivalent to the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage.

A tremor ran through the clan chief, and his eyes began to shine with intense killing intent and madness. Although he wouldn't dare to disobey the orders of the patriarch, he knew that just because he had to apprehend Uzumaki Hao didn't mean that he couldn't torture him a bit in the process. He had already decided to make sure his unfilial son knew what it was like to experience

to experience such pain that you wished to end your own life!

Flicking his sleeve, he stepped onto one of the soulships, then reached out in the direction of the ancestral shrine hall.

"Patriarch, I request the use of a speed pennant to help me apprehend my unfilial son!"

"Permission granted!" Instantly, a violet beam of light flew out from the shrine hall, which transformed into a small flag that the clan chief grabbed out of the air.

"I don't care how far you teleport away, you unfilial bastard, you won't get away from me!" Snarling viciously, he blurred into motion, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as he chased after Naruto.

Madam Cai stood in the crowd, trembling, her heart surging with both grief and venom.

"Uzumaki Hao, you son of a bitch, I'm going to skin you alive! I'll feed you to the dogs! I'll extract your soul and torture you for lifetimes over!"

Thanks to the representatives from the other clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City, news of the drastic upheavals in the Uzumaki Clan would soon spread. It was easy to imagine how, in the near future, all of the territory under the control of Giant Ghost City would be buzzing with gossip.

Although it was a huge humiliation for the Uzumaki Clan, the elders and other members of the auxiliary bloodlines only followed the patriarch's orders half-heartedly.

In contrast, the direct bloodline raged with killing intent. Everyone who could be mobilized was mobilized, and began looking for clues. Before long, the most powerful experts of the direct bloodline were chasing after Naruto.

They needed to catch him within seven days as ordered, and hopefully, nip the rumors in the bud.

Deep in a valley not too far away from the clan, the air rippled and distorted, and then Naruto flew out at top speed. After landing on the ground, he staggered a few paces, and then coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"I guess I underestimated devas..." he thought, shivering. Back in the clan, he had been fighting tenaciously. But now that he was

that he was out here on his own, the terror he felt finally showed on his face.

Taking a few deep breaths, he wiped the blood off of his mouth and chin and then looked around. Lingering fear still prickled in his heart, and yet, he also knew that he still had his demigod soul to use in case of emergency.

"Fudge! In the future, I definitely can't be so impulsive and trust in risky plans..." Shaking his head bitterly, he had to admit that his actions in the Uzumaki Clan proved how brave he had become. But then, he realized that such thinking was actually mistaken. "There are a lot of important things in the world, but my poor little life is the most important of all..."

He thought back to all of the preparations he had made in order to escape, including the murdersoul spikes, the teleportation talismans, his Undying Hex, and the secret magic of the rain of fire. His timing in everything had been perfect, and yet he still had only escaped death by the skin of his teeth.

If any of his preparations had been lacking in the least, then he would have had no choice but to use his demigod soul. And yet, even still, he was not completely and utterly confident that such a tactic would work.

"Naruto, you need to make sure you've learned your lesson. Next time you're in a situation like this, you need to prepare even more thoroughly!" Pulling out some spirit alcohol, he drank deeply to restore his cultivation base, then pulled out a jade slip to make contact with Zhou Yixing and Li Feng and have them wait for him at a predetermined location.

Considering that they had helped him with his caper in the Uzumaki Clan, he was fairly certain he could trust them. And yet, he still didn't feel comfortable trusting them enough to tell them where he was.

Finally, he looked down at the earth-type deva soul in his bag of holding, and his eyes shone as brightly as fire.

Chapter 611

A+ A- Chapter 611

Chapter 611: Time To Die, Unfilial Bastard

"I got my earth-type deva soul... My trip to the Uzumaki Clan wasn't without its dangers, but in the end... it was worth it!" With those thoughts on his mind, Naruto looked around with increased vigilance. Even as he contemplated how rewards come only with risk, he realized that his thinking was yet again getting out of line, and corrected himself.

"No, no, no. I can't start thinking like that. It wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth it at all! I can't use the deva soul to try to comfort myself." He even smacked himself a few times to try to get some sense into his head.

"Although, on the other hand, the Wildlands is a fundamentally dangerous place for me, so I really had no choice!" With that, he pulled out the earth-type deva soul. Eyes shining with anticipation, he took a deep breath and then pushed it into his chest!

The instant it touched him, he used the secret magic he had learned in the sepulcher to merge with the soul.

Instantly, strands of yellow light spread out through his body, filling him.

It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in quite some time, and also a feeling that virtually no one else in the world had ever experienced. And yet, he had experienced it three times already, with this being the fourth. After completely merging with the soul, and being filled with light, he slowly opened his eyes.

Although his cultivation base hadn't improved, his battle prowess... was now far beyond what it was before. Furthermore, there were a total of four swirling vortexes hidden away inside of him, within each of which was a clone.

Each one of those clones was just as powerful as he was, both in terms of cultivation base and fleshly body power. Even their divine sense was the same. Including his true self in the mix, he was now able to essentially become five people!

Five cultivators in the great circle of the Heaven-Dao Gold Core stage, five cultivators in the third level of the Undying Live Forever Technique! Any one of them could fight toe to toe with an early Nascent Soul stage expert, and possibly even kill that opponent!

If they all fought together, they would be so terrifying that even the mid Nascent Soul stage would be like nothing to them!

Naruto was more excited than ever, and was now feeling a lot more confident about being alone in the Wildlands.

"With my four clones, I could most likely even handle someone in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage... The only thing to really be scared of would be a deva. And if the Uzumaki Clan deva patriarch tries to chase me, then I can always use my demigod soul!" He was still nervous, but at least he had options.

Of course, he knew that the Uzumaki Clan would never let him off the hook.

From now, he would have to worry about them trying to track him down. However, he was also confident that they wouldn't be able to keep it up forever.

"Let's just see how far they're willing to push things. If they make me, I'll use my demigod soul to injure their deva. Even if I only wound him, the other two clans and Giant Ghost City, as well as any other enemies they have, would surely take advantage of the situation to make a move!"

After thinking about the matter a bit more, he gritted his teeth and sped into motion, heading, not toward Giant Ghost City, but toward the depths of the Wildlands. His goal now was merely to buy time.

Meanwhile, outside the Uzumaki Clan, the clan chief was flying along, surrounded by a murderous aura and grim coldness. Countless vengeful souls had been formed together into a huge soulship which carried

him along with frightening speed.

He was moving far more quickly than he could on his own, thanks to a secret magic that was quite draining. However, as the clan chief, he had access to plenty of soul medicine to make up for the loss.

And yet, he still wasn't happy with that level of speed, and also poured some power directly from his cultivation base into the soulship, giving it an even greater boost.

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as the soulship shot along, leaving afterimages behind as the clan chief used the divine sense seal given by the patriarch to track down his quarry.

"Must go faster!" Because of the divine sense seal, he could tell that Naruto was picking up speed, but that he was actually very close. As long as he maintained his current speed, he would likely catch up within three days.

As those days went by, the patriarch's orders gradually grew weak in the mind of the clan chief; his desire to kill Uzumaki Hao became like a black hole that sucked in everything else.

At one point, the clan chief suddenly reached up and hit the top of his head, causing a violet stream of light to emerge from his forehead.

The light rapidly formed into the shape of a little flag. Then, the clan chief performed an incantation gesture, which caused the flag to rapidly grow into a huge banner which he reached out and grabbed.

"You can't escape, you unfilial bastard!" He spit out some life essence blood onto the banner, which began to radiate scintillating light. At the same time, the clan chief produced a huge batch of soul medicine that he tossed into the banner.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and lightning crackled around the banner as the clan chief then planted it down onto the surface of the soulship.

RUMBLE!

Lightning danced around the soulship as its speed suddenly increased exponentially!

The blinding speed with which the ship now moved surpassed anything from the Nascent Soul stage. This was clearly the power of the Deva Realm!

Of course, for every breath of time that such speed was unleashed, a huge amount of soul medicine would be drained. Not even the clan chief had access to enough soul medicine to keep it going for more than about two hours!

"Two hours. That's all I need to catch up to you!" In his madness, the clan chief was pulling out all the stops to try to catch Naruto.

As the clan chief shot along with heaven-defying speed, time passed, and he could sense Naruto getting closer and closer...

"He's right in front of me!" By craning his neck, he was now just able to make out Naruto off in the distance.

Naruto was shocked; considering how fast he was moving, only the deva patriarch should have been able to catch up to him so quickly.

In fact, as soon as he realized that someone was closing in on him, he quickly pulled out his demigod soulhoarding pagoda and looked over his shoulder with a serious expression. However, when he saw that it was just a soulship with the clan chief on it, his jaw dropped. He almost couldn't believe that the clan chief had dared to chase after him alone... Then he noticed the huge banner, and the shocking soul fluctuations coming off it. Furthermore, he got the sensation that there was an eye looking at him from within the banner.

It didn't feel like the eye of a deva. Instead, it felt similar to the true spirit back in the River-Defying Sect, or the true spirit in the pagoda back at the Great Wall... Although it wasn't as powerful as either of those other true spirits, it was similar.

"Don't tell me it's a counterfeit?" Although something seemed off about the situation, what was most important was that the clan chief was

was closing in on him with murderous rage.

"Die, you unfilial bastard!" The clan chief shot toward him with incredible speed, apparently attempting to ram him with the soulship. Face falling, Naruto drew upon his ability to make everything around him slow down, and yet, considering how fast the soulship was moving, it didn't do much good.

He just barely managed to leap out of the way in time, whereupon the soulship screamed past him.

"Considering how fast he's going, and the fact that he's relying on that treasure... don't tell me he really came alone to try to kill me?" Even as he fell back, he sent his divine sense out to check for anyone else, but to his surprise, didn't find anything.

"I can see you, Uzumaki Clan patriarch!" he shouted. "Show your face! And you too, clan elders! I can see everyone! Stop hiding, all of you!" At that point, the clan chief leapt off of the soulship, performing a double handed incantation gesture that summoned a horde of vengeful souls, which merged together to make an enormous evil ghost head. Roaring, the head launched itself toward Naruto to consume him.

"I can cut you down on my own, Uzumaki Hao. You killed my son, so now I'm going to make you wish you could die!"

Chapter 610: Fleeing The Uzumaki Clan

Not even the deva patriarch had been able to prevent Naruto from escaping. The entire Uzumaki Clan was dumbfounded, including the clan elders from the direct bloodline and the clan chief, all of whom were struck with disbelief that defied imagination.

They knew Uzumaki Hao was strong, but he was still only in Core Formation. Despite the fact that their deva patriarch had not appeared in person, and had only sent out a divine ability, he was still a deva!

Because everything had happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, none of them had seen Naruto's three clones fighting back against that divine ability.

As Naruto faded away from view, the deva patriarch sat grimfaced in his secret chamber in the catacombs, his eyes shining with intense coldness. Then, he extended his right hand, causing his withered body to fill back in with flesh and blood until he looked like a normal person.

At the same time, his right hand seemed to distort with the power of spatial manipulation, causing rumbling sounds to fill the area as heaven and earth seemed to collapse. Then he looked up in Naruto's direction, clearly intent on trying to grab him a second time.

However, his face fell when he realized that he was grabbing down, not onto Naruto, but onto thin air!

Even as he did that, the entire sky above the Uzumaki Clan turned crimson, and fire began to rain down!

That fire was composed of twelve-colored flame!

As soon as the rain of fire began to fall, everyone in the clan began to cry out in alarm.

"A rain of fire!"

"It was Uzumaki Hao! He was the one who caused the rain of fire last time!"

The mere thought of a twelve-colored rain of fire caused all faces in the clan to fall. That type of fire was so hot it could melt stone and metal, and was already turning everything in the area into a virtual furnace.

Even worse, the grand spell formation had been damaged, and although it was already repairing itself, it was still weaker than the last time. Furthermore, the gaps in it were so large that the fire could obviously make it through them and land on the clan itself!

If that fire landed on the clan... it would definitely damage it in a very significant way. Casualties would be severe. Even if the deva patriarch took a hand in defending the clan, he wouldn't be able to save everyone... The only chance was

chance was to stop the rain of fire before it got past the shield!

The deva patriarch had been presented with two choices: either prevent Naruto from fleeing, or extinguish the heavenly fire. The deva could only confidently pick one option. If he tried to do both at the same time, it could easily lead to a catastrophic slip-up.

The deva chose to extinguish the heavenly fire. As soon as his hand latched down onto thin air, another huge hand appeared in the sky above the clan. As the rain of fire descended, he reached out to grab it!

It only took the blink of an eye for the hand to grow dramatically in size, until it was fully 300,000 meters across. Conveniently, in addition to covering the flaming clouds above the clan, it also contained Naruto within the shadow of its power.

Clearly, the deva patriarch was still not giving up on trying to get to Naruto.

However, Naruto was not an ordinary Core Formation cultivator.

He had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, and also the Heaven-Dao Gold Core stage. He had three deva soul clones, and battle prowess that vastly surpassed the Core Formation level. He could even slaughter early Nascent Soul stage experts with ease!

In fact, he could also hold his own against the mid Nascent Soul stage, and if he used his clones, could crush someone in that level!

Thorough preparation can lead to shocking results, and that was exactly what Naruto was doing as he made his way toward the Nascent Soul stage!

Just before the hand made contact with him, he vanished, teleported by the Undying Hex to a location outside of the Uzumaki Clan!

As for the flames up above, the hand made contact with them, wiping them away, rain and clouds alike...

Down in the catacombs, the deva patriarch's expression could not have been more unsightly. Turning to look in the direction Naruto had fled, he lifted his foot in preparation to give chase. But then, he looked at the green flames of the seven candles, and gritted his teeth.

"My Seven Life-Locking Candles have reached a critical stage. I can't just leave..." Taking a deep breath, he sat back down cross-legged and then issued orders to the clan.

"Use my divine will seal and these ships to track Uzumaki Hao down! Get him back here within seven days!" The deva patriarch transmitted the orders with divine sense, causing his words to immediately ring out in the minds of the clan elders. All of the elders were shaken, and quickly clasped hands and bowed in the direction of the catacombs. At the same time, a seal formed from divine sense took shape in their minds.

Those sealing marks would help them determine Naruto's position. Naruto had managed to flee, but had been struck by the deva patriarch, who had secretly branded him with a bit of divine will for the purposes of tracking him.

In addition to the divine sense seals, nine soulships flew out from the catacombs. Each of the ships had been forged by the deva patriarch himself, and were capable of speed equivalent to the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage.

A tremor ran through the clan chief, and his eyes began to shine with intense killing intent and madness. Although he wouldn't dare to disobey the orders of the patriarch, he knew that just because he had to apprehend Uzumaki Hao didn't mean that he couldn't torture him a bit in the process. He had already decided to make sure his unfilial son knew what it was like to experience such pain that you wished to end your own life!

Flicking his sleeve, he stepped onto one of the soulships, then reached out in the direction of the ancestral shrine hall.

"Patriarch, I request the use of a speed pennant to help me apprehend my

me apprehend my unfilial son!"

"Permission granted!" Instantly, a violet beam of light flew out from the shrine hall, which transformed into a small flag that the clan chief grabbed out of the air.

"I don't care how far you teleport away, you unfilial bastard, you won't get away from me!" Snarling viciously, he blurred into motion, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as he chased after Naruto.

Madam Cai stood in the crowd, trembling, her heart surging with both grief and venom.

"Uzumaki Hao, you son of a bitch, I'm going to skin you alive! I'll feed you to the dogs! I'll extract your soul and torture you for lifetimes over!"

Thanks to the representatives from the other clans and the emissary from Giant Ghost City, news of the drastic upheavals in the Uzumaki Clan would soon spread. It was easy to imagine how, in the near future, all of the territory under the control of Giant Ghost City would be buzzing with gossip.

Although it was a huge humiliation for the Uzumaki Clan, the elders and other members of the auxiliary bloodlines only followed the patriarch's orders half-heartedly.

In contrast, the direct bloodline raged with killing intent. Everyone who could be mobilized was mobilized, and began looking for clues. Before long, the most powerful experts of the direct bloodline were chasing after Naruto.

They needed to catch him within seven days as ordered, and hopefully, nip the rumors in the bud.

Deep in a valley not too far away from the clan, the air rippled and distorted, and then Naruto flew out at top speed. After landing on the ground, he staggered a few paces, and then coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"I guess I underestimated devas..." he thought, shivering. Back in the clan, he had been fighting tenaciously. But now that he was out here on his own, the terror he felt finally showed on his face.

Taking a few deep breaths, he wiped the blood off of his mouth and chin and then looked around. Lingering fear still prickled in his heart, and yet, he also knew that he still had his demigod soul to use in case of emergency.

"Fudge! In the future, I definitely can't be so impulsive and trust in risky plans..." Shaking his head bitterly, he had to admit that his actions in the Uzumaki Clan proved how brave he had become. But then, he realized that such thinking was actually mistaken. "There are a lot of important things in the world, but my poor little life is the most important of all..."

He thought back to all of the preparations he had made in order to escape, including the murdersoul spikes, the teleportation talismans, his Undying Hex, and the secret magic of the rain of fire. His timing in everything had been perfect, and yet he still had only escaped death by the skin of his teeth.

If any of his preparations had been lacking in the least, then he would have had no choice but to use his demigod soul. And yet, even still, he was not completely and utterly confident that such a tactic would work.

"Naruto, you need to make sure you've learned your lesson. Next time you're in a situation like this, you need to prepare even more thoroughly!" Pulling out some spirit alcohol, he drank deeply to restore his cultivation base, then pulled out a jade slip to make contact with Zhou Yixing and Li Feng and have them wait for him at a predetermined location.

Considering that they had helped him with his caper in the Uzumaki Clan, he was fairly certain he could trust them. And yet, he still didn't feel comfortable trusting them enough to tell them where he was.

Finally, he looked down at the earth-type deva soul in his bag of holding, and his eyes shone as brightly as fire.

Chapter 612

A+ A- Chapter 612

Chapter 612: Crushing Father Uzumaki

"He's really alone?!" As the evil ghost head shot toward him, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he performed an incantation gesture, summoning a huge violet cauldron, which went on to smash into the huge ghost head.

During the resulting boom, Naruto quickly bit his tongue. Blood spurted out of his mouth, and he shrieked as he flew backward. He almost looked like he was scared for his life, and in fact, he even pulled out a handful of teleportation talismans.

However, his eyes continued to dart around; clearly, he still wasn't convinced that the deva patriarch wasn't in the area.

When the clan chief saw that Naruto had pulled out a handful of teleportation talismans, and was about to crush them, he let out a defiant roar. On the one hand, he was fairly confident that, considering the current speed he was capable of, he would still be able to catch his quarry again even if he teleported away.

But eight teleportation talismans? In the Wildlands, even a single teleportation talisman was extremely expensive, the type of thing that required Heavenspan River water to acquire.

The clan chief's eyes shone with intense killing intent; by now, he wanted to kill Uzumaki Hao more than anything else. Performing a doublehanded incantation gesture, he drew on the explosive power of his mid Nascent Soul cultivation base to summon a massive black hole that instantly caused the air in all directions to distort.

He also sent his divine sense streaming out as he took a step forward, a step that instantly placed him right in front of Naruto. Then he reached out with a vicious motion to grab him.

"Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I'll still catch you!"

His hand pierced through the air to appear in front of Naruto's face. If Naruto crushed the talismans to teleport away,

the clan chief would likely be able to stop him from getting away, but would be injured in the process.

From the vicious expression on the clan chief's face, Naruto could tell what he was thinking. However, he was used to keeping his cool. Eyes flickering, it was without the slightest hesitation that he crushed the teleportation talismans!

RUMBLE!

Even as the clan chief's hand closed in, the power of teleportation rose up, and Naruto vanished. The clan chief grabbed nothing but air.

"You're not getting away!" the clan chief roared. Waving his sleeve in fury, he leaped back onto the soulship and once again used the violet banner and the divine will seal to give chase.

Enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn. Naruto was some distance away, racing along and simultaneously contemplating what to do.

"If there were other people waiting around ready to jump into the fight, they wouldn't have just sat around and watched me leave... Don't tell me that... the clan chief really came after me on his own?" Naruto almost couldn't believe that it was true. The reality of the situation was that although everyone back in the Uzumaki Clan had witnessed him survive the attack of the deva patriarch's palm, to them, it had seemed like someone in the great circle of Core Formation escaping from a deva by means of a few tricks. In fact, that was how they viewed everything, from the teleportation talismans to the murdersoul spikes.

The only thing that a Nascent Soul cultivator would have to fear was his twelve-colored flame. And yet, any Nascent Soul cultivator who truly went all out in the fight would probably be able to disregard that as a real threat. Besides, the clan chief was in the mid Nascent Soul stage, and was therefore completely convinced that he would be able to kill

kill him.

Naruto was still unsure about the situation.

"Another thing. Was it really just a coincidence that the clan chief managed to track me down so quickly and accurately…?" Even as he pondered the matter, he suddenly spun in place, his eyes widening. There, off in the distance, was a violet glow, racing toward him at incredible speed. It was none other than the clan chief!

"He's still chasing me... Alright, he obviously knows exactly where I am. Not a bit of time was wasted. He must have a way to track me..." His eyes flashed, and his heart thumped with anxiety, but at the same time, he knew that there was no point in fleeing.

"Mid Nascent Soul stage... alright, clan chief, you're really forcing my hand!" Abandoning thoughts of escaping, Naruto roared, drawing on the full power of his fleshly body to prepare to fight. Although it didn't look particularly special, the power of the third level of the Undying Live Forever Technique had long since filled his entire body.

He was like an explosive dragon in human form! As the clan chief closed in, Naruto took a step forward, propelling himself ahead with such lightning-like speed that he became a blur of afterimages.

And yet, Naruto... was still not satisfied with that level of speed! "Mountain Shaking Bash!" he shouted, using one of the secret magics of the Undying Codex. His already astonishing speed increased, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air as he essentially vanished. When he reappeared, he was right in front of the clan chief, focusing all of the power in his body onto his right hand, which reached out in a grasping motion!

He was using... the Throat Crushing Grasp!

All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but actually happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Furthermore,

flint. Furthermore, what was occurring seemed completely unbelievable; even the clan chief's eyes went wide, before settling back into a mask of viciousness.

"Feeling suicidal?!" His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture before waving wide, which caused a violet shield of light to spring up around him. That shield was a defensive mechanism powered by his cultivation base and bolstered by some magical items. The clan chief's face was filled with murder and hatred as he then lunged toward Naruto.

"Your cultivation base might be higher than I'd realized, you unfilial bastard, but I refuse to believe that it's the same with your fleshly body power!" Even as the clan chief roared, the distance between him and Naruto closed.

From a distance, they looked like two shooting stars, streaking through the sky on a collision course!

The moment they collided, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling swept out. The air shattered as a huge boom filled the air, a deafening noise that vastly surpassed heavenly thunder. There were even rifts torn open left and right.

An agonized shriek escaped the clan chief's lips. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as the soulship was sent spinning off to the side, and he tumbled backward head over heels, his hair in complete disarray. Shock and disbelief could be seen on his face as he roared, "You're not Uzumaki Hao!"

Naruto remained in the spot where they had collided, his body tingling a bit. It had been a long time since he bashed into someone like this, and it was also the first time that he was stricken... by how incredibly powerful his fleshly body was!

Not only had bashing into his opponent not hurt, but the tingling sensation it left behind was actually slightly pleasurable. Naruto's eyes immediately began to glow brightly.

Of course, there was no time to sit around enjoying the pleasurable feeling. Seeing that the clan chief had

clan chief had lost the initiative in the fight, Naruto took a step forward, smacking his bag of holding to produce Zhou Yixing's greatbow. Without any hesitation, he took advantage of the initiative he had gained to unleash more than a hundred arrows in a single volley!

He didn't need to summon the arrows himself, all he needed to do was feed some soul power into the bow itself, which would then create the soul arrows. Technically, Naruto's cultivation base didn't operate on soul power, but after his spiritual energy was changed by his mask, it would function the same.

Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang!

In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred arrows shot into the air, becoming like a rainfall that could destroy anything it landed on.

The arrows moved with blinding speed, piercing through the air with rumbling sounds. Before the clan chief could even react, the first arrow was in front of him, where it exploded. Then, the other arrows arrived, all of them exploding in quick succession. The clan chief had no choice other than to anxiously evade the attack.

However, despite the quickness with which he moved, Naruto's eyes glittered as he opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye. Instantly, a violet beam of light shot out and landed onto the clan chief.

"Take control!" Naruto shouted. The clan chief's heart began to pound with shock as he found that, unexpectedly... he had stopped moving.

Considering he couldn't move, there was nothing he could do to evade the force of more than a hundred exploding arrows!

The air distorted and the lands quaked, and soon, it was almost impossible to even see the clan chief!

There was even a nearby mountain that collapsed because of the force of the exploding arrows. However, that was when a shout of complete defiance and anger rang out.

"You still don't qualify to kill me!"

Chapter 613

A+ A- Chapter 613

Chapter 613: Heavens!

His voice contained incredible frustration and rage, the type of fury that could only come from watching one's own beloved son be killed. Based on the tone of his voice, it was as if every moment in which Uzumaki Hao existed, there were countless invisible forces screaming at him in fury, accusing and blaming him for what had occurred.

Rage built upon rage, and echoed out with the clan chief's voice as an enormous soul fist smashed into the exploding arrows.

This soul fist was fully 300 meters from top to bottom, and was formed from countless souls. This was a secret magic of the Uzumaki Clan, the 30,000-meter Soul Fist!

At the moment, it wasn't 30,000 meters, and that was because of the level of the clan chief's cultivation base. However, even a 300-meter soul fist was still nothing to scoff at.

Quicker than words could tell, the soul fist appeared, smashing through the air to bear down on Naruto.

BANG!

Deafening rumbling sounds filled the area. Naruto's face fell, and he immediately fell back. However, even as he did, the clan chief roared, spinning in place as he released a second 300-meter soul fist, which rumbled through the air, emitting shocking pressure the entire time.

After that was a third fist, then a fourth...

In the blink of an eye, heaven and earth twisted and distorted as a total of nine fists in a row were unleashed on Naruto.

Nine soul fists rumbled through the air like nine magical sealing marks. Before Naruto could react, they were there in front of him, where they began to detonate. Although he immediately began to fall back, there was no way he could completely evade injury.

As one explosion after another ripped through the air, Naruto staggered backward several steps, his aura flickering and his eyes widening. This was the first time he had fought such a deadly battle

with someone in the mid Nascent Soul stage. As of this moment, he was now convinced that, given his current battle prowess, he could fight someone in this level without the help of his clones, but most likely couldn't kill them.

"However, that just goes to show how much I've progressed!" Taking a deep breath, he endured the blasts of the clan chief's nine soul fists.

Even as the air was still distorted, the clan chief lunged forward, his hair in disarray and his eyes completely bloodshot as he became a flowing stream of light that attacked Naruto.

"Uzumaki Clan secret magic, Hundred Ghosts Haunt the Night!" His voice seemed to erupt from the Nine Serenities underworld. Gusts of sinister wind pulsed out as his divine sense filled the area. This secret magic was different from the similarly named secret magic from the Spirit Stream Sect. The Uzumaki Clan's version used divine sense to transform into ghosts...

Despite the fact that it was clearly daytime, this secret magic caused the entire 300-meter area to become as dark as night!

It was a pitch-black night that the light of day could not pierce, a place ruled by a black sun! Furthermore, within that black sun... a hundred eyes suddenly opened!

The eyes were as red as blood, and matchlessly vicious. At the same time, countless roars split the air, causing heaven and earth to shake. Then... a hundred evil ghosts poured out from the black sun!

The ghosts themselves were pitch black, and each one sported two horns on its heads. They had long, sharp claws, crimson eyes, and gaping, blood-red maws. They radiated the most sinister of auras, and truly seemed like the type of ghosts one would expect to haunt the night! After swirling once around the clan chief, they howled and followed the line of his finger to charge toward Naruto. These ghosts were the antithesis of sunlight, to the

the point where sunlight would retreat in front of them. As such, their passage only caused the darkness of the night to grow deeper...

"Let's see how you get out of this alive, you unfilial bastard!" the clan chief shouted, his voice vibrating with hatred. Naruto was shaken; the sight of so many evil ghosts was definitely terrifying. However, after everything he had gone through in the labyrinth, and then his later experiences learning about flame conjuring in the Wildlands, he was no longer very scared of ghosts. In fact, the sight of so many evil ghosts baring claws and fangs as they rushed toward him only caused a serious expression to appear on his face.

"Alright, I'll show you how I'll get out of it alive!" His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and an afterimage appeared, which was none other than his fire clone.

Instantly, the clan chief's eyes went wide with astonishment.

"A clone?!" he blurted. "You actually have a clone!?"

The fire clone looked like Naruto's true self in every aspect, including his appearance, his cultivation base, his fleshly body, and his overall strength!

The only difference was that the clone's aura seemed to contain a small bit of fire-type power. As soon as he appeared, he joined with Naruto's true self to unleash a fist strike against the hundred ghosts!

For this clone to join the fight meant that Naruto's battle prowess had instantly doubled. When the two of them unleashed a fist strike, it caused a tempest to spring up in front of them, which swirled out to smash into the ghosts.

Booms filled the air, and at the same time, Naruto's clone grunted and stumbled backward. As for the clan chief, his face fell as he also fell backward several paces, his fury blazing and his murderous desires growing.

"It doesn't matter if you have a clone. You still don't qualify to live

to live when I attack you!" With that, he took a step forward, performing something like a minor teleportation that placed him right in front of Naruto. There, he summoned a 3,000-meter-wide cloud of souls and then lashed out at Naruto with a palm strike.

"Minor teleportation? I can do that too!" Instantly, frigid Chakrapoured out, filling a 3,000-meter area and transforming it into a land of ice, a world that belonged solely to Naruto.

This was his frigid domain, and as such, the instant the clan chief's palm was about to strike him, he vanished, to reappear directly behind the clan chief! There, he unleashed his own palm strike!

At the same time, his fire clone also struck. Simultaneously, another afterimage appeared, along with another clone! It was... his wood clone, which didn't hesitate for the slightest moment to join his true self and the fire clone to also unleash a blow.

"Dammit!" growled the clan chief. Spinning, he waved his right hand, causing the 3,000-meter cloud of souls to sweep toward Naruto and his two clones.

Bang. Bang! BOOOOOOM!

The intensity of the resulting explosion caused the lands to shake violently. Crevices snaked out as the clan chief staggered backward, his face draining of blood as he glared at Naruto. His eyes still shone with killing intent, but this time, there was also incredulity present.

"Another clone? How many clones do you have!?" The clan chief was shocked at how difficult it was to fight Naruto, and was enraged at how he could increase his overall battle prowess by adding more people to the fight.

"I refuse to believe that you have another one!" Gritting his teeth, he used another minor teleportation to charge toward Naruto. In the face of this onslaught, Naruto and his two clones had no choice but to fall back. As he did, his face fell with the realization that, even

realization that, even with two clones at his side, he still wasn't quite a match for the mid Nascent Soul stage.

Only by summoning his third clone could he bridge that gap...

If he had a fourth clone, he could be confident... in coming out completely on top!

"Heavens! So... this is how the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage works. And I'm only in the beginning levels, still forming my clones. I can't even imagine what I'll be like in the great circle..." Looking over at the clan chief teleporting his way in again, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he also used a minor teleportation.

Even as they closed in on each other, the clan chief could tell that the damnable Uzumaki Hao was not yet going all out, and was actually using him to practice with his clones! Furthermore, he had shocking talent when it came to learning and adapting in the middle of a fight. And on top of all that, his battle prowess kept rising!

All of that left the clan chief wallowing in humiliation. Howling, he threw both of his hands out in front of him to perform a double-handed incantation gesture. Eyes shining with mysterious light, he summoned a total of nine soulhoarding pagodas.

Shrieks exploded from within the soulhoarding pagodas as a whole cloud of vengeful souls erupted. The souls which appeared were clearly different from ordinary souls. Furthermore, instead of flying out to attack Naruto, they actually shot toward the clan chief's eyes... and burrowed inside of him!

"Uzumaki Clan Soul Symbiosis!" The clan chief threw his head back and let out a howl of agony and rage. As the souls bored into his body, his skin bulged and rippled as faces became visible. He immediately began to grow and transform, causing incredible pressure to radiate from him in all directions.

As of this moment, a sensation of profound danger began to course through Naruto!

Chapter 614

A+ A- Chapter 614

Chapter 614: Father Uzumaki Flabbergasted

Before reaching the Deva Realm, and in fact, before even reaching the true Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, he could not underestimate any Nascent Soul expert!

Perhaps he would have had an easier time with someone in the early

Nascent Soul stage, but this was a level above that. People in the mid Nascent Soul stage often spent less time worrying about their next breakthrough, and more time focused on developing their trump cards!

The clan chief was the perfect example. Stepping into the late Nascent Soul stage wouldn't necessarily be an impossible task for him. But instead of concentrating on that, he had spent a lot of time perfecting his trump cards!

And that was exactly what the Uzumaki Clan Soul Symbiosis was!

As soon as the vengeful souls entered his body, he felt as if he were being consumed alive. By drawing upon all the power he possibly could, he was able to use this secret magic to unify the power of tens of thousands of souls, utilizing his body as the medium with which to unleash heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power!

Even for someone in his level of power, using a secret magic like this would drain him significantly. And yet, in his rage, and in his desire to cut Uzumaki Hao down, he found the determination to disregard all negative aspects.

"You will die!" he screamed with vicious savagery. His voice sounded like a combination of tens of thousands of voices, causing brightlycolored light to flash above him in the sky, and a massive wind to suddenly sweep through the area.

Naruto's expression flickered with fear. As of this point, the clan chief didn't even look human anymore.

"Time to die!"

The clan chief threw his head back and roared, simultaneously flinging his hands up, which sent a boundless black fog roiling out to form

the shape of a gigantic ghost head.

The vicious head surrounded the clan chief, and then the both of them began to fly toward Naruto.

The air shattered as they approached, and the ground was destroyed beneath them. Mountains collapsed as a huge, 3,000-meter-wide crater opened up.

Wailing screams filled the air like the howls of ghosts and wolves, countless voices, all of which poured out of the enormous head.

"Die!"

"Die!"

"Die!"

Naruto's expression turned deadly serious, and at the same time, another afterimage appeared as his water clone stepped out!

As of this moment, he had three clones flanking his true self. All of them faced the enormous head, then shouted in an equally loud and shocking fashion.

"Living Mountain Incantation!"

Booming rumbles filled the air!

At the same time, Naruto's true self began to grow in size. Countless boulders formed around him, until his body disappeared, replaced by a shocking, 300-meter-tall stone golem!

Actually, it was not a single stone golem….

His three clones also used the Living Mountain Incantation. A second, third, and fourth stone golem appeared. Then, all four of them launched themselves toward the incoming clan chief and the gigantic head he had summoned.

The combined attack of the four stone golems caused heaven and earth to shudder, and when they slammed into the gigantic head, the resulting boom shook the highest heavens and the deepest parts of the underworld.

A mind-boggling shockwave spread out in all directions, spreading for tens upon tens of thousands of meters and destroying everything it touched.

The gigantic head immediately shrunk down by more than half, and at the same time, Naruto's true self, along with his three clones, all tumbled backward, blood spraying out of their mouths. Popping sounds could be heard as spider-web like cracks spread out across the surfaces of the stone golems. Then, moments later, all of

of the stone golems simply shattered to pieces.

As Naruto's true self and his clones fell back, the clan chief cackled with sinister laughter from inside of the huge head.

"What other tricks do you have, you unfilial bastard!?" Even as his laughter continued to ring out, the ghost head swept toward Naruto with madness, killing intent, and intense rage.

From the look of it, the clan chief was trying to wipe Naruto away with one, full-power blow!

"How could I have guessed that even three clones couldn't beat his secret magic…?" Eyes shining with determination, Naruto took a deep breath and then decided to use a move he had hoped to hold back.

Considering how the fight had escalated, the fact that no one had interfered indicated that the deva patriarch really wasn't in the area.

Presumably, other clan members were chasing him, but none of them were as maddened as the clan chief was, nor were they capable of his speed.

"It makes sense; I doubt anyone hates me as much as this clan chief does…."

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto didn't hesitate for another moment. Although he was trembling, his eyes shone with an intense desire to fight, a desire birthed of instinct, and impossible to avoid.

His Dao was to live forever, and he didn't like fighting and killing. He was even afraid of death. Although on many occasions it wasn't necessary to escalate to blows, sometimes, if you wanted to keep on living, you had to fight to the death. It had already become his nature to simply grit his teeth and fight, despite the fear which existed in his heart.

"Not even a deva could kill me, let alone some trifling mid Nascent Soul stage cultivator!" His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and another

and another afterimage appeared! This time, it was his fourth clone, the earth clone!

He now had four clones surrounding his true self, one on each side, a formation that instantly caused thunderous rumblings to roll across the sky, and the lands below to quake.

The clan chief couldn't stop himself from gasping at the sight, and his face instantly fell. But then, he gritted his teeth and, seemingly ambivalent to his own life or death, sent the huge head of souls which surrounded him flying toward Naruto, a vicious grin on its face.

Sighing, Naruto murmured, "Uzumaki Hao, the time has come for Master to teach your father a lesson, and make sure he understands the unimaginable difference between the two of you!"

He took a deep breath, and then he and all four of his clones raised their arms up into the air, just like a conductor would when leading an orchestra.

"Waterswamp…"

With his true self and all his clones doing the same thing, it caused the entire area for 30,000 meters to transform into a watery swampland!

Dense water vapor pervaded the surroundings, causing the soil to grow loose. As the mist and fog built up, an aura filled the area that seemed to come from chaotic, primeval times!

It seemed like the surrounding 30,000-meter area had been cut away from the Wildlands and become its own dimension. Yet again, the clan chief's eyes went wide, and a very unsightly expression appeared on his ashen face.

Before he could get any closer, Naruto's eyes sparkled, and he threw his hands down viciously. At the same time, his four clones did exactly the same thing.

"… Kingdom!" BOOOOOOM!

RUUUUMBLE!

THUMP THUMP!

A sound almost like a heartbeat filled the entire area, causing the sky to dim and the lands to tremble. Spikes appeared, shooting up out of the ground with shocking ground with shocking speed!

Beneath the spikes were five mountains of such enormous size that the mere sight of them would leave one's heart trembling!

The five pitch-black curved mountains were none other than the clawed hand of the beast that was Naruto's life essence spirit!

Up til now, the full hand had never appeared, only the claws. As for the clan chief, it didn't matter what secret magics he tried to unleash; compared to this beast, he was like a firefly beneath the full moon.

The profound terror that gripped him left him physically shaking, and unable to keep from screaming. In his long life of cultivation, he had not felt such astonishment and terror even when facing a deva patriarch. It gripped his chest like a vice, and caused his eyes to grow wide as a terrifying premonition ran through him….

Even if his trump cards were more powerful than they were, there was no way he could escape death at the hands of the enormous beast behind this huge claw!

"No… I can't die here!" he screamed, his aura driven to complete chaos. Abandoning any attempt to attack Naruto, he turned to flee.

The terror gripping his heart was the thing of nightmares. How could he have imagined that his unfilial son would be so powerful? He was so strong that the clan chief was filled with nothing but terror!

"You can't be Uzumaki Hao! Even if the clan spell formation didn't realize it, I know that you're not him!" The shadow of death loomed over the clan chief to such an extent that he drew on all of his power, burning his cultivation base and longevity alike in his attempt to flee!

If he didn't escape, he would die!

However, no matter how fast he moved, he couldn't move as fast as that beast claw!

Chapter 615

A+ A- Chapter 615

Chapter 615: Captured Alive!

The Waterswamp Kingdom was a divine ability that Naruto had learned in the Spirit Stream Sect. However, to date, the entirety of his life essence spirit had not yet been revealed. Only after merging with the deva souls he had acquired, and creating his clones, had he been able to reveal the beast's claws, to defend himself against Mistress RedDust.

However, the clawed hand visible now seemed much larger than the one that had appeared during his fight with Mistress Red-Dust. The energy surging out seemed to obscure the will of the heavens! Furthermore, down beneath the curved claws was something that looked like a black land mass!

However, it was no land, it was actually the hand of Naruto's life essence spirit!

It was impossible to even imagine what that hand would be like if it appeared fully out into the open. However, Naruto's eyes shone in anticipation of the day when he would be able to fully employ his Waterswamp Kingdom, and see the beast as a whole.

"Even the claws should do..." One day, if that clawed hand ever fully appeared in the open, it would likely blot out the sky, and leave even a deva wallowing in despair.

"It's definitely going to happen one day!" Heart filled with anticipation, Naruto simply watched as the curved claws descended onto the chief of the Uzumaki Clan.

Even now, the incredible energy radiating from the gigantic claws seemed to indicate that one day, it would have the power to crush the heavens. From the perspective of the clan chief, those mountain-like claws filled the sky, and caused his heart to be overwhelmed by despair.

"No!" he screamed defiantly. In his madness, he held nothing back as he sent his trump card, the enormous ghost head, shooting toward the claws in a futile attempt to block

them.

Rumbling sounds filled the air, and at the same time, the world seemed to disappear around him. He screamed shrilly, but soon, the sound was drowned out.

Heaven and earth shook violently, and then, the claws began to fade away. The 30,000-meter swamp disappeared, and in the soil which was revealed, five enormous ravine-like gouges could be seen!

In the middle of them all was a person, blood oozing out of his mouth, his bones shattered, his chest barely moving. Anyone who looked at him would likely take him to be a corpse.

The clan chief had been completely incapable of escaping from the unprecedented power of Naruto's Waterswamp Kingdom. He was a powerful expert in the mid Nascent Soul stage, but Naruto, who himself wasn't even a Nascent Soul cultivator, had been able to best him in battle.

The clan chief was now seriously injured and gasping for breath. However, thanks to his powerful cultivation base and intense life force, he was still alive. Unfortunately, as he struggled to breathe, he realized that so many of his bones were crushed that he couldn't even move.

He could only glare spitefully as Naruto, smiling bitterly, but eyes flashing with indescribable hatred.

"If you have what it takes, you unfilial bastard," he said, gasping angrily, "then just kill me!" His grief and indignation were like oceans that completely inundated him. By this point, he refused to believe that this person in front of him was actually Uzumaki Hao, and yet, couldn't imagine how an imposter could have fooled the clan's spell formation.

In fact, not even the deva patriarch had seen any clues to indicate that this person was anyone other than Uzumaki Hao.

"Don't tell me you really are Uzumaki Hao...?" Actually, the answer didn't really matter anymore. Whoever he was, the clan chief wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he could.

"Asking

could.

"Asking to be killed?" Naruto brushed the dust off his body and then pulled his four clones back inside of him.

Then he walked a slow circle around the clan chief, looking at him closely to see how badly he was injured. Then he squatted down next to him and bopped him on the head. Glaring, he barked angrily, "Behave, alright?!"

"You!" the clan chief growled, his anger surging again. The unfilial and rebellious behavior on display here was so outrageous that he felt utterly humiliated. Before, the difference between him and Uzumaki Hao had been like that between heaven and earth. But now, it was the opposite, and that feeling pushed him further into madness.

"Unfilial bastard. Unfilial son of a bitch!" Suddenly, the clan chief coughed up a mouthful of blood and then lapsed into unconsciousness.

"Uh... all I did was bop you on the head. I didn't even use any force." Uzumaki

Xiaochun was already feeling slightly guilty. Considering that this was Uzumaki Hao's father, it would have been acceptable for him to be killed by the Waterswamp Kingdom in the heat of battle. But to end his life under these circumstances didn't seem right. Besides, a living clan chief would be a lot more useful to him than a dead one.

"Ah, whatever. I'm not the kind of person who likes all that fighting and killing. I might as well just use him as my personal protective talisman." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto sighed and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then slapped his hands down onto various random places on the clan chief's body, putting over a hundred restrictive spells in place. Still not convinced that he'd done enough, he pulled out some medicinal pills and forced them into the clan chief's mouth.

Next, he helped himself to the clan chief's bag of

bag of holding, within which he found a sturdy rope. After imbuing the rope with some magical power, he bound the clan chief up. Throwing him over his shoulder, he said, "Hahaha! Let's see if the Uzumaki Clan dares to make a move against me with this protective talisman of mine."

By this point, he felt prouder of himself than ever, and particularly clever. It was almost like he was able to have his cake and eat it too.

"It's too bad this guy is in the mid Nascent Soul stage. Doing a soulsearch on him wouldn't do much good. However, the fact that he was able to track me down so quickly indicates that there's some sort of branding mark on me. That's the only way they could follow me so easily." Then he thought back to when the deva patriarch had attacked him, and suddenly his eyes glittered.

"It must have been then. He must have hit me with some sort of seal." He felt at his mask for a moment. The mask was extraordinary, and could completely change his appearance and aura, but it wouldn't do anything against sealing marks which had been placed on him by exterior forces.

"Well, who cares? When I make a move, I frighten even myself!" Despite trying to work up his own courage, he was still worried. After taking a step forward, he flew up into the air, then looked over his shoulder at the clan chief.

"If Uzumaki Hao's spirit is out there, I doubt he'll be unhappy with this. I'm his Master, after all!" Clearing his throat, he began to pick up speed.

Soon, the cold wind brought the clan chief to his senses, and when he realized the situation he was in, his eyes clouded with venomous rage.

"You unfilial son of a bitch! You're going to die in pain!" Naruto ignored him and

ignored him and kept flying. Three days passed by in a flash, during which time the clan chief's voice grew very hoarse from the constant cursing and swearing.

In the end, Naruto actually started to get angry.

Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Shut up! Aren't you getting tired of talking!? If you keep yapping I'll-"

"Kill me!" the clan chief interrupted hoarsely, glaring at Naruto.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. But if you say one more word, I'll strip you buck naked!" The clan chief's eyes went wide, and he panted furiously. His face even turned bright red. However, he closed his mouth and didn't dare to utter another word.

From what he could tell, the words uttered by his unfilial son were no mere threat. And the thought of being stripped of his clothes and hung out in the open was a level of humiliation that struck him with enough terror that he shivered.

Seeing that his threat had been effective, Naruto's eyes glittered, and he smiled. The clan chief was trembling in rage, but doing his best to suppress it, the act of which seemed to be burning him alive from the inside.

However, he didn't dare to push the envelope. As the chief of the Uzumaki Clan, if he was humiliated in such a way, then after he died, the Uzumaki Clan would become the laughing stock, not just of Giant Ghost City, but of the entire Wildlands. It would take years to live down such humiliation.

Despite feeling like his scalp was about to explode, the clan chief gritted his teeth and maintained his silence.

"If I had known this would work, I would have done it way earlier!" Naruto felt slightly bad for the clan chief, but then he thought about how he'd treated Uzumaki Hao, and his eyes began to shine with cold light.

Chapter 616

A+ A- Chapter 616

Chapter 616: I Want Him Alive

"People like this don't deserve compassion!" With that, Naruto proceeded along his way. Eventually, he took out the soulship and the violet pennant to study them a bit.

They were clearly top-quality items, especially the little pennant. To his shock, he found that it was filled with more than 100,000 branding marks, all of them related to speed. Although it was very expensive to use, it could lead to speed of an indescribable level.

Not even the clan chief could fully utilize its powers. It was just too unimaginably expensive. After some calculations, Naruto came to the conclusion that using it for only one breath of time would cost ten portions of mid-grade soul medicine!

Not even the Uzumaki Clan could pay such a price for long... Most importantly, all of the sealing marks on the soulship and the violet pennant had been placed there by the Uzumaki Clan's deva patriarch, meaning that they would be impossible for him to fully use without first breaking all of them.

Even more worthy of note... was that both of the items had benefited from elevenfold spirit enhancements. Naruto could see golden designs hidden on both of them. Unfortunately, all of these combined factors indicated that he couldn't use either of them at the moment.

"Well, just give me some time. Maybe I can use Heavenspan River water to wear them away..." After some thought, he tossed both of them into his big bucket of Heavenspan River water.

When not being used, the soulship was small enough to fit in his palm. After tossing it into the bucket, Naruto stopped thinking about it and narrowed his eyes.

"I still have to deal with the sealing mark that was put onto me..." Frowning, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then began to slap his hands down all over himself. His Chakraand blood began to surge in a certain rhythm, pulsing through him as he attempted to cleanse himself. At the same time, he continued to flee.

Another three days passed. It was afternoon as Naruto fled when, all of a sudden, his expression flickered. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a brilliant beam of light streaking through the sky toward him. Within that

beam of light was an old man on a soulship, moving at incredible speed, his face a mask of vicious, killing intent.

Although Naruto wasn't sure of the man's name, he recognized him. He was one of the Uzumaki Clan elders, whose cultivation base was very close to the mid Nascent Soul level. He was also a member of the direct bloodline.

"Another one? Also alone?" Naruto blinked a few times and then cleared his throat, then simply slowed down to a stop.

As the old man closed in and saw that Naruto had the clan chief strung up and hanging over his shoulder, his eyes bulged, and he gasped. Without any hesitation, he lurched to a stop.

"He captured the clan chief alive!? How is this possible?!"

A look of complete incredulity played out on his face. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, and in fact, not even in his wildest dreams could he have pictured the clan chief being captured alive. It was impossible to prevent the fear from rising up in his heart; his cultivation base was lower than the clan chief's. Considering that the clan chief had already been captured... what would happen to him? Furthermore, when he saw how bedraggled the clan chief looked, his heart was seized with anxiety.

"I don't care how it happened, there's no way I'm going to risk putting myself in danger..." Sweat popping out on his forehead, he unhesitatingly pulled out a teleportation talisman and crushed it...

Rumbling sounds filled the air as he faded away.

"Scared him off?" Naruto muttered, looking surprised. "Well... he has some common sense, that's for sure. More scared of death than I am. And he's in the Nascent Soul stage..."

He had already been prepared to capture him alive and truss him up like the clan chief. Shaking his head, he looked at the clan chief with his closed eyes and gritted teeth, and couldn't help but smile and sigh.

"This protective talisman really is useful!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he continued along his way with the clan chief trussed up behind him. From that day on, every time someone from one of the auxiliary bloodlines of the Uzumaki Clan encountered him, they would look at the clan

clan chief, gasp, and then flee.

As for the clan chief, he preferred to simply remain unconscious...

The fact that Naruto had captured the clan chief alive proved that no one else could do anything to him. After all, no one among them had a higher cultivation base than the clan chief.

Of course, the people from the direct bloodline were not so easily dissuaded. Considering that they could track him with the divine will seal, they began to team up and attack him in groups!

When that happened, Naruto would fight back and spill blood immediately...

It wasn't just members of the Uzumaki Clan who saw him going along with the clan chief trussed up. This was Giant Ghost City territory, so there were many soul cultivators and necromancers who also saw the scene.

Everyone who did was completely and utterly shocked.

"Who's that...? And why does that person he has tied up look like... the chief of the Uzumaki Clan!?"

"No way..."

More and more people saw what was happening, and many more heard the rumors. Soon, stories were spreading throughout Giant Ghost City territory.

At first, the rumors spread quietly, mostly because people couldn't confirm their validity. But soon, after the representatives from the two clans returned to their homes, as did the emissary from Giant Ghost City, the whispered rumors turned into an explosive torrent of gossip.

"What?! A qilin son rose up in the Uzumaki Clan and killed Uzumaki Qi ? He stole their deva soul, survived an attack by their deva patriarch, and then escaped!?"

"After he escaped, his own father, the clan chief, tried to kill him, but then got captured!? Now the chief is tied up like a dog on his son's back for everyone to see?!"

"Heavens! This Uzumaki Hao... really did turn traitor against the Uzumaki Clan!" The rumors grew more and more intense, until large numbers of people were paying very close attention to what was happening. News also began to spread of how Naruto was killing many of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators who had been dispatched to chase him down. Before long, all of Giant Ghost City was in a commotion.

Within the kingly city, the heavenly marquises and members of the other clans were deeply shaken. Everyone had heard that a qilin

a qilin son named Uzumaki Hao had emerged from the Uzumaki Clan, and that he had turned traitor, stealing the clan's deva soul and even capturing his own father. Plus... he had killed many fellow clan members in ruthless fashion!

"I heard that he suffered in silence in that clan for years, and was bullied constantly. He even came close to death on numerous occasions. However, he endured quietly until they opened their ancestral land, which was when he exploded out in shocking fashion!"

"That's nothing. I heard that this Uzumaki Hao has shocking talent in flame conjuring. Also, his cultivation base is in the great circle of Core Formation. He's completely extraordinary!"

"I can't believe the Uzumaki Clan is so short-sighted... But then again, this Uzumaki Hao is clearly a vicious fellow. He actually kidnapped his own father!" Everyone in the area of Giant Ghost City was talking about the matter, and not a single person wasn't shocked.

Although very few people had ever even seen Uzumaki Hao, they now had a mental image of him. He was completely sinister, with heaven-defying latent talent. At the same time, he had reviled his own clan, and was completely and utterly ruthless.

Not only did the clans and the heavenly marquises learn about the matter, but word even spread to the very heart of Giant Ghost City. Located there was an enormous statue, upon the head of which was the royal palace.

Within the royal palace was a towering figure in a kingly robe, standing at a railing, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked very majestic as he stood there looking out at heaven and earth. He seemed like the personification of the will of the heavens, the type of person who even a deva would tremble in the face of.

It was as if in his presence, even heaven and earth would acquiesce!

He bore the appearance of a middle-aged man, his features angular but extremely handsome. He seemed superior in all ways, the type of person who could dominate anything in sight.

This man... was none other than one of the four heavenly kings, and one of the most powerful people under the arch-emperor himself, the giant ghost king! He was a person who towered above all creation, and that

creation, and that was especially so in the current era, in which imperial power was waning. Any of the four heavenly kings were shocking figures who could shake the Wildlands deeply wherever they went! [1]

"Uzumaki Hao..." the giant ghost king said softly. "Interesting..." A strange light flickered in his eyes, as if he were thinking. After a moment, he smiled faintly.

"Duke Deathcrier," he said loudly, "why don't you go find this Uzumaki Hao and bring him back here to Giant Ghost City. Arrange for a position for him as well." The giant ghost king's words were spoken with icy coldness, but at the same time, profound meaning could be seen within his smile.

Even as his words echoed out, an old man appeared in the left hand of the enormous statue, which was itself another enormous palace.

He seemed ancient to the extreme, with eyes that shone like the sun and moon. The aura which surrounded seemed to fuse with heaven and earth. Shockingly... this man was in the Deva Realm!

The old man clasped hands and bowed deeply. "Yes, your majesty!" Then he turned his head and simply vanished.

Chuckling coldly, the giant ghost king said, "If the Uzumaki Clan wants him dead, then I want him alive! The three great clans are most likely finishing their preparations... Let's see which of them will make the first move!"

To the giant ghost king, Uzumaki Hao was insignificant, and in fact, his life or death didn't matter at all. However, considering that he was connected to the Uzumaki Clan, it meant that he was the perfect tool to feel them out.

1\. Hey everyone, a quick note that the heavenly kings mentioned in this chapter are not the same as the "Undying Heavenly King" technique that Naruto cultivates. In retrospect, I should have named the technique something else. In fact, I'm thinking of going back to make it the "Undying Celestial King" technique or maybe something completely different. Until then, though, just please be aware that the 'heavenly kings' of the wildlands are completely unconnected to that technique, at least as far as the Chinese characters go. Since he's already finished with that level of the Undying Codex, I feel like it's not really a big deal at this point.

Chapter 617

A+ A- Chapter 617

Chapter 617: The Patriarch Arrives

Meanwhile, back in the Uzumaki Clan, silence prevailed. In the recent days, the matter of Uzumaki Hao had become something of a crisis.

Because of all the rumors spreading in the area, the entire clan was feeling unstable. Uzumaki Hao had turned traitor, killed Uzumaki Qi , stolen the deva soul, captured the clan chief, and killed many of the direct bloodline clan members who had chased after him.

Everyone in the clan was left with pounding hearts, especially in the higher echelons of leadership. Different people had different opinions, and many of the auxiliary bloodlines were using the matter to denounce the direct bloodline.

"Uzumaki Hao is the true qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan. You direct bloodline people forced him to turn traitor!"

"He's a true chosen of the heavens! If he were still in the clan, he could break into the Nascent Soul stage and lead our clan to new heights!"

Talk like this grew more common. The more glory Uzumaki Hao earned for himself, the uglier things got for the direct bloodline, and the more they wanted to kill him. Unfortunately, there was currently nothing they could do about that.

Considering that he had already killed some of the mid Nascent Soul clan elders, what could anyone else do? Some of the clan elders who were in the late Nascent Soul stage went out to try to capture him, but none of them succeeded. The direct bloodline... was being completely routed.

The grand elders of the Hall of Justice and the Hall of Corrections were not part of the direct bloodline, and although they had followed the orders of the patriarch to send people out to search for Uzumaki Hao, it was obvious that any failure to catch him... was really the fault of the direct bloodline.

When Madam Cai looked around at the situation in the clan, she felt bitterness and despair in her heart. In the past, it would have been impossible for her to even imagine that a nobody

like Uzumaki Hao would end up causing such a commotion.

Her son had been killed and her husband taken captive, and it left her heart feeling like it was being ripped apart. At the same time, her venomous hatred for Uzumaki Hao had reached indescribable proportions.

If it weren't for the fact that there was a deva patriarch in the clan, fighting would have already broken out. Therefore, all of the conflict was happening behind the scenes.

Most importantly, the deva patriarch hadn't yet stated his opinion on the matter. The auxiliary bloodlines... were all waiting to see who the deva patriarch would side with. That would be very telling. However, at the moment, the deva patriarch was not interested in paying attention to what was happening within the clan.

In fact, he didn't even really care that the clan chief had been captured. As long as the clan itself still stood, he was content. Worst case scenario, he would have to select a new clan chief.

Right, the main thing on his mind was Uzumaki Hao!

"What a bunch of good-for-nothing fools! I can't believe the whole clan has been mobilized, and even then they can't bring Uzumaki Hao back!" A look of determination appeared in the patriarch's eyes as he sat there in his subterranean chamber.

"I can't keep waiting. If things go on too much longer, and the giant ghost king interferes, then I will have lost an important opportunity... I guess I just need to risk it!" Gritting his teeth, he rose to his feet.

Something profound and unfathomable could be seen in his eyes as he looked around at the green flames of the seven flickering candles around him. After a moment passed, he took a deep breath, and then stepped forward.

That single step caused a wind to spring up in the chamber around him. The flames of the seven candles danced, and then began to wink out...

Without any hesitation, the patriarch stepped beyond the spell formation created by the candles, whereupon all of the

the flames... vanished!

At that point, cracking sounds could be heard from inside the patriarch, almost like bones grating against each other. Then, all traces of withering on his body vanished, and he became a middle-aged man.

Shocking cultivation base fluctuations rumbled out, and his eyes flashed as if with lighting. The way he stood there made him seem like he was the representative of the will of the heavens.

"My Seven Life-Locking Candles can lock my longevity in place and help me live a bit longer... Unfortunately, I can only use them once in my lifetime. Uzumaki Hao... you had better not disappoint me!" Eyes shining with profound maliciousness, he tore a rift open in the air in front of him, stepped through it, and vanished.

In that same instant, a peal of thunder shook the sky above the Uzumaki Clan...

Quite some distance away from the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto was speeding through the air. He had killed quite a few members of the Uzumaki Clan recently, although it was not because he had taken the initiative to attack them, but rather, because they had insisted on surrounding him and ambushing him.

When Naruto fought back, he struck to kill. He had even killed three clan elders so far. By this point, he was almost at the border of the region considered Giant Ghost City territory.

At the moment, his face was bright red, and as he flew along, he performed constant double-handed incantation gestures, and would then slap his hands down onto himself. This was a secret magic he had picked up in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, useful for expelling sealing marks.

By using the power of his own Chakraand blood, he was able to remove all sealing marks from inside of himself, and although it worked well, the power of the seals themselves was a critical factor. If they were weak, they could be dispelled easily, but if they were powerful, it could take years or even longer.

Another factor was the strength of

strength of one's own Chakraand blood.

Thankfully, Naruto had particularly strong Chakraand blood. After several days of utilizing this secret magic, it was having an effect. At a certain point very close to the border of Giant Ghost City, he suddenly stopped in place and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

This particular batch of blood wasn't red, but rather, brown. As soon as it was ejected from within his mouth, it swirled through the air to form a head, with the face of the Uzumaki Clan's deva patriarch. The face stared malevolently at Naruto for a moment before fading away.

Naruto wiped the remaining blood from his lips and let out a long sigh. At long last, he felt completely free and clear.

"At least I finally got that damned sealing mark out of me!" Feeling

much more relaxed, and even enlivened, he began moving again.

"Four hours at the most, and I'll be out in the desert. Out there... the Uzumaki Clan will never be able to find me now that I've gotten rid of the sealing mark!"

As he moved along, he pulled Uzumaki Hao's notes out of his bag of holding and began to study them. These notes were Uzumaki Hao's life's work, complete with his augury technique, as well as detailed information about souls and multi-colored flame.

Naruto had studied the information frequently over the past few days, and had benefited significantly every time he did. At the same time, he sighed constantly about the fact that Uzumaki Hao had been killed.

"The kid had incredible talents. If he had lived, then as my apprentice, he could have directly helped me with his augury. With his help, I wouldn't have needed to go anywhere to figure out the formulas. We could have done it together." Sighing, he picked up speed.

About the time that Naruto was finally removing the sealing mark from within him, there was an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator flying through the air some distance away on a soulship. on a soulship. Suddenly, the old man's face fell, and he stopped moving.

That old man was one of the direct bloodline members in the late Nascent Soul stage who had been chasing after him. He was the last member of the direct bloodline who had any hope of actually catching up to Naruto. Moments ago, the divine will seal that had enabled him to track Naruto had suddenly vanished.

The Wildlands was a huge place, so without that sealing mark, it would be virtually impossible to find Naruto. The old man flew as quickly as possible in the direction he had been moving, but had no hope that Uzumaki Hao would be so stupid as to just sit there waiting around.

Before long, the old Nascent Soul cultivator reached the last spot he knew the sealing mark had been, only to look around and find nothing.

Furthermore, there was no indication which direction his quarry had taken.

"To the west is the desert. To the north is the Ageless Frigid River. To the east is the imperial city... Which way would Uzumaki Hao have gone…?"

Further away, the deva patriarch was flying through the air, his expression extremely grim.

"It doesn't matter that you erased my sealing mark. Devas... can do things beyond your imagination! There is nowhere you could possibly run to that I couldn't find you!" His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his finger, causing his body to age visibly, but at the same time, creating ripples in the air in front of him, ripples which rapidly coalesced into the shape of a screen.

Within the screen, a vast wasteland was visible, into which the deva patriarch stepped. A moment later, he was actually within the wasteland, where he once again used the same method. And then again...

By the third time, the image he summoned revealed Naruto, speeding along!

"Not slow at all... really looks like you live up to expectations!" Grinning, the patriarch stepped into the screen!

Chapter 618

A+ A- Chapter 618

Chapter 618: Another Battle With A Deva!

This area was still considered to be under the control of Giant Ghost City, and therefore, could be considered to belong to the giant ghost king himself. And of course, the giant ghost king was a person who surpassed the heavens in terms of status here.

Naruto was reaching the border, however. He could actually see the vast desert off in the distance, a place filled with swirling winds.

Eyes sparkling because of the enlightenment from Uzumaki Hao's notes, he gathered his thoughts and then pushed on toward the desert.

"I'll head out into the desert for a few months to let the situation calm down. Then I'll consider whether to come back here, or go to one of the other kingly cities. All of them have teleportation portals that could get me home... In the meantime, I can spend more time studying Uzumaki Hao's notes." By this point, he felt that he had made significant progress when it came to thirteen-colored flame, and was getting more confident in succeeding with it.

It was in that moment that suddenly, his expression flickered, and he looked up into the air. When he did, his pupils constricted as he laid eyes on an enormous vortex rumbling into existence.

Within a single breath of time, it transformed into a 30,000-meter-wide portal, from within which erupted shocking pressure.

RUMBLE!

A tremor ran through the lands, and then all of the soil suddenly went completely still, as if the entire area had been cut away from heaven and earth to become its own special

space.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat, and he felt as if the air around him had solidified. The pressure weighing down made it almost impossible to move.

The clan chief's eyes snapped open, and he shouted, "Patriarch!"

"This Uzumaki Clan patriarch seems even stronger than Mistress Red-Dust!" Up above in the huge vortex, the image of a face appeared, which was none other than the face of the deva patriarch, staring down coldly at Naruto.

"A Core Formation cultivator dares defy the heavens!?" He spoke exactly eight words, which, as they left his mouth, became eight magical symbols, dazzling and bright, that instantly shot toward Naruto.

As they flew through the air, the symbols transformed into eight giants clad in golden armor.

Naruto was immediately shaken. The deva's mere words immediately transformed into soldiers willing to follow his every command!

He now realized... that he had underestimated devas. During his fight with Mistress Red-Dust, she had been affected by a curse, and had been unable to use some of her most powerful divine abilities. Furthermore, she was also on a lesser level than this Uzumaki Clan patriarch.

It was a moment of critical danger; eight golden-armored giants were bearing down on him, howling and roaring. That was when afterimages blurred around him, not one, but four.

However, he wasn't summoning his clones. He was directly drawing on the power of their cultivation bases, fleshly bodies, and divine sense!

He was making himself four times stronger!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Moments before, the pressure surrounding him had been sealing him in place, but now, fissures spread out in the air around

around him. In almost the same moment that the eight golden-armored giants arrived, he looked up and roared, simultaneously flying backward at top speed.

Then, a boom echoed out as the eight giants landed in the spot he had just occupied. As they did, they transformed into eight golden chains that sealed the entire area.

During the process, the clan chief was sent tumbling off to the side, where he coughed up a mouthful of blood before lapsing into unconsciousness.

"Very interesting." The deva patriarch's eyes flickered with surprise.

Back in the Uzumaki Clan, his cultivation base had been limited because of his Seven Life-Locking Candles, and he had been unable to personally take charge of the situation. That was why Naruto had been able to flee to begin with, and had not actually been completely surprising. But now, here he was in person, and his quarry was still causing problems for him, which he actually found quite interesting.

The huge face in the vortex began to shrink down until it formed the patriarch himself, hovering there in midair, emanating an aura that seemed capable of causing instant transformations in heaven and earth.

He wore a white robe, and had an icy cold expression on his face as he looked down at Naruto. Then he took a step forward, a step which caused an enormous foot to appear up above in the sky!

The 3,000-meter-long foot descended, destroying the clouds and causing the lands below to shake. Even the air distorted as the foot rumbled toward Naruto.

The foot caused incredible pressure to weigh down

weigh down on Naruto, almost as if the will of the heavens were crushing onto him!

There were a few reasons Mistress Red-Dust ended up being at such a disadvantage when they fought. Because of being in the second generation arch-emperor's sepulcher, and because of the curse she had suffered, she wasn't able to draw upon the power of heaven and earth. Even despite that, Naruto had barely been able to escape with his life.

Now, he could see how truly powerful devas were... The Uzumaki Clan deva patriarch was fighting right outside his own city, in an area he was very familiar with. He was able to fight with the true power of a deva!

Naruto was shocked, and it only took a moment for him to realize why the Uzumaki Clan patriarch seemed so much stronger than Mistress RedDust. There wasn't time to ponder the situation, though. He was gripped by a sensation of deadly crisis, and knew that if he tried to directly fight against this huge foot, he would likely be wiped out of existence!

As his mind spun, the foot closed in, and he took a step back. During that process, his body began to fade, and then he suddenly disappeared.

In the moment he disappeared, the foot landed, crashing into the ground and causing countless amounts of dust and rubble to rise up.

"You won't be able to escape from me a second time," the patriarch said coolly. He waved his hand, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air as another huge vortex appeared.

The patriarch moved his right hand,

his right hand, causing the vortex to spin and simultaneously echo with thunderous roars. At the same time, a powerful gravitational force erupted, causing the air to distort as the power of time travel appeared!

This wasn't the true power of time travel, but it did wrap up everything in the area and pull it toward the vortex with destructive force, including nearby boulders, trees, and even mountains!

At the same time, some distance off, Naruto was fleeing with the power of his Undying Hex. However, as soon as the deva patriarch unleashed his shocking magic, Naruto's face fell, and his technique was interrupted.

As soon as he appeared in the open, the shocking gravitational force grabbed onto him, and began to drag him backward toward the vortex.

Even as it did, his eyes sparkled, and he spun in place. Then, afterimages blurred around him as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then threw his hands up above him!

"Waterswamp... Kingdom!"

His four clones stepped out to surround him, and also unleashed their Waterswamp Kingdoms. Instantly, a watery swamp appeared, and the shocking roar of a beast echoed out from inside. Then, numerous spikelike mountains began to rise up.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The five curved, mountain-like claws that appeared created a scene that would shock anyone who was able to observe it. As they appeared in the open, the sky dimmed, and they slashed toward the vortex!

"What is that!?" Up til now, the deva patriarch had remained completely cool and expressionless. But when the life essence spirit of Naruto's Waterswamp Kingdom appeared, his face fell!

Chapter 619

A+ A- Chapter 619

Chapter 619: Decree From The Heavenly King

The claws of Naruto's life essence spirit brimmed with mindbogglingly deadly energy. Five curved, mountain-like claws with alldestructive power shot directly toward the enormous vortex!

When the two struck each other, a deafening boom filled the area. The sky went dim, and a huge blast of wind filled the area, a shockwave that rolled out in all directions.

However, the vortex was backed by the power of a deva, and although Naruto's Waterswamp Kingdom was powerful, considering the current level of his cultivation base, that power was limited. Moments after the initial collision, the claws vanished, and the Waterswamp Kingdom faded away.

The only thing that remained was an echoing, beastly cry. However, the attack had not been completely ineffective. Cracking sounds echoed out from the vortex, and five enormous rifts appeared within it. Those rifts grew wider and wider, casting the gravitational force into chaos. The vortex even started to wobble on the verge of collapsing.

Naruto's face was pale as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His clones all seemed to be in a similar state, and quickly returned into his true self. Then, Naruto glared up at the deva patriarch, and slowly pulled out his crystalline soulhoarding pagoda.

His eyes shone with madness, his aura was teetering unstably, and he was trembling physically. However, there was no time to sit around thinking about what to do. He quickly sent some divine sense into the soulhoarding pagoda; with a single thought, he could break the seal inside, and release the destructive power of the demigod soul.

"Don't push me too far, old man!" he said,

his eyes shining with madness. He wasn't completely sure whether the discarnate demigod soul could really kill the deva patriarch, but if it did, perhaps he would be able to get his hands on the final deva soul he needed.

Even as the thought entered his mind, he shook his head and dismissed it. He didn't even know how to properly harvest the soul of a deva who had perished. Most likely, only a demigod cultivator could actually do something like that.

Besides, it was likely that he wouldn't even be able to kill the Uzumaki Clan patriarch. However, he was confident in being able to seriously injure him in a way that he couldn't quickly recover from. And that would likely give him enough time to get out of Giant Ghost City territory!

The deva patriarch's eyes narrowed as he looked at the soulhoarding pagoda Naruto held, from which he couldn't sense anything dangerous. Then he looked back up at Naruto, and his eyes began to shine with a strange light.

"I really did underestimate you, kid. Well, that's fine. Wonderful, in fact. I'm not sure how you reached this amazing level, but I can sense from your blood that you really are from the Uzumaki Clan. Truly spectacular." Smiling faintly, he lifted his foot again and began to take a step. At the same time, Naruto shouted loudly, preparing to break the seal in the soulhoarding pagoda.

However, in that very moment, a bellow filled the area that caused everything to shake. At the same time, a whistling sound could be heard, as though someone were approaching the area at top speed. "Stay your

your hand, Brother Uzumaki! I'm here with orders from King Giant Ghost himself. He's issued a summons for Uzumaki Hao!"

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch's face fell, and his eyes flickered with indecision for the briefest of moments before he stepped down with his foot, instantly placing him in front of Naruto, whom he reached out to grab.

However, Naruto had been ready. The moment he saw the patriarch's foot moving, he shot backward. However, instead of using his soulhoarding pagoda, he summoned his four clones to defend himself.

A boom filled the area, and his four clones coughed up blood before shooting back into his body. However, they had bought him the time he needed to once again use his Undying Hex.

Right before the deva patriarch's hand reached him, he vanished. The deva patriarch's eyes flashed with cold light as he turned to look in a different direction.

"Show your face!"

His words seemed to replace the will of the heavens, causing crushing pressure to appear that wrenched Naruto out into the open, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. His hair was in complete disarray, and cracking sounds could be heard as the air around him shattered. Although it seemed as if heaven and earth were about to stamp him out of existence, his eyes flickered with an imperceptible gleam.

And that was because the instant he appeared in the open, a golden beam of light shot through the air toward him. Even as the deva patriarch took control over heaven and earth in the area, a whooshing sound could be heard, and a jade pendant appeared in front of Naruto!

The pendant emanated

pendant emanated golden light, and was carved with the image of a two-horned giant ghost that was roaring to the sky. As soon as the jade pendant appeared, the cracking, shattering air around Naruto stabilized.

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch's face turned very grim as the air rippled, and an old man appeared.

He wore a black robe, and his face was completely expressionless.

However, his cultivation base fluctuations were no weaker than the Uzumaki Clan patriarch's. He seemed icy cold and completely sinister, and caused the air around him to ripple.

It was almost as if two streams of divine will had clashed, causing thunder to echo out and crackles of lightning to appear. Even the ground began to quake.

Naruto looked at the jade pendant and then the old man, and his heart began to pound. When he had initially fled the Uzumaki Clan, he had hoped that other clans or groups in the area would try to take advantage of the situation, and perhaps help him.

After a while, he had come to suspect it wouldn't happen after all. But now that this black-robed old man was here, it was obvious that the giant ghost king had taken an interest!

Naruto's eyes narrowed, and his heart began to twinge with nervousness. He kept his hand clenched onto the soulhoarding pagoda, ready to detonate the demigod soul at a moment's notice.

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch stared grimly at the black-robed man, and then spoke in a voice as cold as ice. "This is a private matter of the Uzumaki Clan, Deathcrier! What's the meaning of this!?"

"There are no private matters for subordinates of the heavenly kings,"

Duke Deathcrier

kings," Duke Deathcrier replied. Eyes flashing with cold light, he took a step forward, causing a powerful wind to spring up around him. "Are you going to disobey the decrees of his heavenly majesty, Uzumaki Zishan?"

The deva patriarch looked back grimly at Duke Deathcrier, then waved his hand, causing the unconscious clan chief to vanish, then reappear next to him.

"Since his highness the king has summoned this rebel, then of course I won't interfere." Gritting his teeth inwardly, the deva patriarch clasped hands and bowed to the jade pendant, then looked back at the blackrobed old man. "However, I will have to go visit his highness the king personally to get to the bottom of this matter!"

During the entire exchange between the two devas, the patriarch never once looked at Naruto. Finally, he turned and vanished.

At that point, everything in the area went back to normal. The thunder faded away, the lightning vanished, and finally, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Relaxing his grip on the soulhoarding pagoda, he looked over at Duke Deathcrier.

Duke Deathcrier looked in the direction in which the Uzumaki Clan patriarch had left, then turned his lightning-like gaze onto Naruto.

He was wizened and skinny, with a hawk-like nose that made him seem particularly sinister. Furthermore, his gaze was so sharp that it seemed to pierce all the way into Naruto's heart and mind.

"Come with me. From now on, your life is in my hands, and you work for his highness the king." The man didn't say anything about the deva soul. Apparently, he didn't want to get too involved in the affairs of the Uzumaki Clan.

Chapter 620

A+ A- Chapter 620

Chapter 620: Giant Ghost City

Naruto's eyes widened into a glare, and he impulsively roared,

"Bullcrap! My life belongs to me, not anybody else!"

At least, that was what happened in his mind. The words that came out of his mouth were a bit different...

Face filled with gratitude, he clasped hands and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Senior Deathcrier! Many thanks for the kindness of saving my life!"

"Don't thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank his highness the king." With that, Duke Deathcrier waved his hand, causing everything within 30 meters to suddenly blur and ripple, as if it were separating from the area around it.

Naruto's heart trembled as he looked around at what was happening. Soon, it became clear that what was actually happening was some sort of major teleportation... It was almost as if the entire area were simply being plucked up and moved somewhere else.

Rumbling sounds filled his ears, and then everything vanished.

When he and Duke Deathcrier reappeared... they were in front of a spectacularly immense city!

It was currently afternoon, and brilliant sunlight shone down on the enormous city, making it seem particularly impressive. It looked like some primeval beast, baring its fangs at all creation!

And that was just the sense Naruto got without even looking closely at it.

Even at a glance, Giant Ghost City seemed to be as big as 10,000 Uzumaki Clans put together. There were countless richly ornamented buildings and other dazzling structures, and the entire city seemed filled with the auras of innumerable soul cultivators and necromancers...

Naruto had never seen a place as big as this before. The population must surely be in the tens of millions...

Even more shocking was that Giant Ghost City itself existed in the middle of a massive, bottomless pit. The pit was so wide that not even divine sense could span

it from one side to the other.

And that was just the width, not the depth...

"Giant Ghost City is big, but this pit is even bigger. The city could fit inside of it dozens of times over."

Giant Ghost City itself existed on a huge column that rose up from within the bottomless pit! Far down in the pit was a hazy mist filled with endless vicious faces and heads, a horde of ghostly souls which screamed constantly.

To get from the cliffs that were the border of the pit to the city itself, one had to cross any one of a number of violet chains, each one of which as thick as a person was tall. They hung like suspension bridges over the misty depths of the pit.

Naruto could see people off in the distance, flying toward the city in beams of light. However, they didn't dare to fly over the pit and into the city, but instead dropped to the ground and then walked along the huge chains.

Going or coming, that was the only way to get into the city.

As Naruto continued to examine the area, he realized to his shock that in the middle of the city... was an enormous, shocking statue!

It was a giant ghost with two horns on its head and green skin, tens upon tens of thousands of meters high. It was so high that it seemed to be holding up the sky! Furthermore, on its head was a royal palace!

The palace itself was difficult to make out, and although it was impossible to tell who resided there, it didn't take much guesswork on Naruto's part to come up with an idea.

"That must be where King Giant Ghost lives..." Even just looking at the royal palace, Naruto could sense a pressure like that of all heaven and earth weighing

weighing down on him.

It left him with the sensation that whoever was in that royal palace was not a person, but rather, some sort of god!

Another shocking thing he noticed was the giant statue held a palace in each of its hands. Furthermore, both palaces had huge stone steles in front of them, with the name of the palace inscribed for anyone to see. In the left hand was Deathcrier Palace, and in the right hand was the Netherworld Palace!

Naruto was shaken by the mere sight, and was immediately certain that those palaces belonged to devas. And considering that the left-hand palace was named Deathcrier... he was eighty to ninety percent sure that it belonged to the black-robed old man standing next to him.

Naruto was not as ignorant about Giant Ghost City as he had been when he first arrived in the Wildlands. During his days in the Uzumaki Clan, he had done quite a bit of digging around for information, and now knew a little bit about the place.

For example, he knew that Giant Ghost City consisted of an inner and outer city. The inner city was strictly controlled, and only people with high status could enter it. Most of the people who lived there were nobility, ministers, and other people with close connections to the royal house.

The outer city was where the common people lived, and was a much livelier place.

There was a moat that separated the inner and outer cities, the water of which contained demigod-level restrictive spells. Without the proper command medallion, anyone who tried to cross that moat would be melted into nothing but bones.

Naruto's heart was already pounding as he wondered why he had been brought to Giant Ghost City. Although he was very nervous, he put on the most charming expression possible as he stood there behind

there behind Duke Deathcrier. He had already decided that, no matter why the giant ghost king had summoned him, it was a good thing to be in Giant Ghost City. After all, the teleportation portal he needed to access to get back home was located in this very city.

"If my mask can fool the Uzumaki Clan's spell formation, and their deva," he murmured to himself, "then it should be able to fool the teleportation portal, right?"

Duke Deathcrier's face was completely expressionless as he led the way, and he didn't say a single word. Furthermore, they didn't enter the city via the chains, but rather, by flying directly into the city.

As soon as they appeared in the city, the soul cultivator guards on duty looked over with reverent expressions and bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Duke Deathcrier!"

In addition to bowing in greeting, everyone surreptitiously sized up Uzumaki

Xiaochun, which he noticed. As he proceeded along, he decided that since the giant ghost king had summoned him, he should be on his best behavior. Perhaps, if Duke Deathcrier put in a good word for him, he could get a high position in the city. That way, the Uzumaki Clan definitely wouldn't be able to touch him.

"Wait, no. That would be too dangerous. I need to figure out a way to get to that teleportation portal and get back to the Great Wall... It's just too bad that I'm still missing a deva soul."

With such thoughts on his mind, he followed Duke Deathcrier through the city.

Duke Deathcrier led him directly toward the inner city, and within the space of a few breaths of time, they were standing in front of the moat that separated the two cities.

The water was black, and looked incredibly dangerous. In fact, Naruto even took a few steps back when he saw it. Then he looked over at Duke over at Duke Deathcrier, wondering why they had stopped moving.

"Uh, Senior... aren't we supposed to be going over there...?" Blinking, he looked meaningfully toward the giant ghost statue.

Ignoring Naruto, Duke Deathcrier coolly said, "Li Xu, get out here immediately!"

His voice didn't seem to echo out very far. However, in response, the waters of the moat rippled, and then a whirlpool appeared, out of which stepped three middle-aged men.

Naruto could already sense that something was off about the situation. Why wasn't he being taken to see the giant ghost king?

Of the three newcomers, the man in the lead position wore a green robe, and was clearly half a step into the Deva Realm. As for the other two, they seemed a bit weaker, and were obviously the man's subordinates. The green-robed man immediately flew over to stand in front of Duke Deathcrier, where he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Duke Deathcrier."

Duke Deathcrier gestured at Naruto and then said, "This is Uzumaki

Hao. I'm handing him over to you. Set him up as a guard in Devil Penitentiary."

Li Xu and his two subordinates immediately voiced their assent. Without another word, Duke Deathcrier turned and flew toward the giant ghost statue.

His mission from the king had been to bring Uzumaki Hao back and then give him a job in the city. As for what exact position to give him, the giant ghost king naturally didn't care. Therefore, Duke Deathcrier didn't put much thought into the matter, and simply handed him over to the city's famous Devil Penitentiary.

"Devil Penitentiary? A guard?" When Naruto heard what had just been said, his jaw dropped. He had assumed that the giant ghost king must have summoned him to be at least a bodyguard of some sort.

Never could he have imagined that he was to be a prison guard...

Chapter 621

A+ A- Chapter 621

Chapter 621: Fly Off Into The Sunset...

This was not Naruto's first time hearing about Devil Penitentiary.

Early on, the chief of the Uzumaki Clan had threatened to have him thrown in that very prison, which had sparked Naruto's curiosity. Afterward, he had asked Zhou Yixing for some information about the place, and had learned that Devil Penitentiary was a prison in Giant Ghost City. It was a very famous place, with all sorts of dangerous prisoners locked up inside. They were all evil villains who, for various reasons, had not been put to death. Instead, their cultivation bases had been sealed, and they had been imprisoned. In any case, they were all the type of people that no one would ever want to run into on the outside...

Furthermore, there was a saying in Giant Ghost City. Death isn't frightening. Get locked up in Devil Penitentiary, and you'll wish you were dead!

"How could an illustrious major general like me serve as a lowly prison guard…?" Naruto thought angrily. However, he knew that a true leader should be flexible. Plus, if he pulled off the act successfully, he might be able to use this as an opportunity to get access to the teleportation portal and get home.

Before he could even say anything, Duke Deathcrier was gone, and Li Xu and his subordinates straightened up from their bows. Li Xu was the type of person who looked threatening without being angry. After coldly looking Naruto up and down, he said, "So you're Uzumaki Hao from the Uzumaki Clan?"

From the cold tone of his voice, he didn't seem too pleased to see Uzumaki Hao standing there, and it was the same with the other two men. After all, they had all heard stories about him recently.

They knew that he was vicious and cruel, the type of person who

didn't care about family, and could hide his intentions easily. He had even killed numerous members of his own clan. A ferocious person like that was not the type that people would like to get close to. Of course, at the same time, no one would want to offend him either.

"You can't act the way you did back in your clan. Now that you're here, you have to live by my rules. In Devil Penitentiary, I'm in charge! The prison isn't open at the moment, so come back tomorrow at this same time." Without even waiting for a response, Li Xu waved his sleeve, causing the whirlpool to reappear in the black waters of the moat. Deep at the bottom of the whirlpool was a cave that Li Xu immediately entered, followed by his two subordinates. Then the whirlpool vanished.

"Gone, just like that?" Naruto thought, eyes widening. Obviously, they were trying to impress him with the fact that it wasn't easy to get into Devil Penitentiary. The message was clear: from now on, stick your tail between your legs and behave!

"What kind of a crappy place is this prison anyway?" he muttered angrily. "I'm definitely not going in there!" After all, he was a major general, and although he had originally forced himself to go along with the idea of working as a prison guard, that changed when people tried to threaten him.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he snorted coldly and walked away.

It was currently noontime. Giant Ghost City was a huge place, and the outer city seemed to go on and on without end. People were everywhere, including soul cultivators, necromancers, and even a lot of savage giants.

This was one of the five major cities of the Wildlands, a place which kept watch over a huge area, and was filled with

with plentiful resources. Just about everything one could imagine was available for purchase, and the streets were packed and loud no matter where one went.

Occasionally, patrols of city guards would fly overhead. However, it was rare to see anyone else flying around. Other than the city guards, the only people allowed to fly were devas.

Still prickling with anger, Naruto strolled around and tried to find out where the teleportation portal was. As it turned out, it was no secret, and he was soon heading in that very direction.

"I guess I'll just have to do without that extra deva soul. Once I get back to the Great Wall, I'll figure out what to do about the situation."

Giant Ghost City's teleportation portal was located in the northern part of the city, in the middle of a huge public square. It was an enormous gate made of glowing light, with a constant flow of soul cultivators, necromancers, and savages going in and out.

By the time Naruto got there, it was already evening. After sizing the place up, he noticed that there were city guards in charge of the place.

However, Naruto had seen a lot of city guards already, and wasn't worried about them. As he neared, his eyes began to glitter. This teleportation portal represented his ticket back to the Great Wall. Although it wouldn't take him directly there, he would at least get close. Considering the level of his cultivation base, making it back from that location shouldn't be difficult.

His heart was already pounding with excitement, and yet, he couldn't help but worry about something he had learned while in the Uzumaki Clan. Supposedly, the teleportation portal would check your identity strictly before allowing you to use it.

Ever since Zhou Yixing had told him that, he had begun to wonder how the process worked. Therefore, he

Therefore, he stopped some distance away from the portal itself and looked around the area more closely.

Almost immediately, his expression flickered as he noticed that every single soul cultivator who entered the teleportation portal would be touched by flickering ripples. After studying the ripples for a short time, he realized how they worked.

Clearly, they represented some magical technique that assessed a person's identity...

"With my mask, I shouldn't have any problems, right...?" After some hesitation, he looked up into the evening sky and then gritted his teeth. "I might as well give it a shot!"

Making sure to breathe calmly, he walked toward the teleportation portal. None of the guards paid any attention to him, and after paying the requisite soul medicine tax, he was given access.

Those few short steps were ones of incredible anxiety. Then, he found himself standing in front of the shining light, his eyes alive with anticipation.

"It's definitely going to work, and then, I'll fly off into the sunset!" Taking a breath, he stepped forward, putting him in contact with the light.

However, as soon as he made contact, his heart leapt as a strange, prickly sensation spread across him. It was almost as if some spirit automaton were examining him. Rumbling sounds echoed out from the teleportation portal, and the fluctuations entered him, seemingly intent on scouring his soul!

It was a soulsearch to confirm his identity!

Thankfully, his mask quickly went to work to conceal his true identity.

However, the power levels involved surpassed imagination, and Naruto could tell immediately that the mask would only be able to hold out for a brief moment under such intense scrutiny. If he didn't pass this test and allow the soulsearch to confirm his identity, he wouldn't be able to teleport away, and would also be revealed as an imposter! In the moment of time that the mask bought him,

mask bought him, he stepped backward, away from the teleportation portal. As he did, quite a few people noticed, and strange expressions appeared on their faces.

Seeing so many eyes on him, his heart trembled nervously. Raising his voice, he said, "Ah, forget it. I'm not going anywhere. Giant Ghost City is the best place to earn a name!"

With that, he walked away.

People continued to look at him curiously until he melted into the crowd and vanished.

Some distance away, he hurried along, ashen-faced and heart pounding.

"What do I do?" he wailed inwardly. "If I can't use the teleportation portal, how will I get home?" He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. All of his hopes had been wrapped up in the teleportation portal, and yet now, he knew he couldn't use it...

A bit later, he blinked a few times and then sighed at how bitter his life had become. Feeling completely crestfallen, he found a random inn to stay the night. The next day, he walked out of the inn bleary-eyed.

"If I can't get back, I guess I just need to rise to prominence here. Perhaps that's just my lot in life. How completely annoying for a lowprofile kind of person like myself." Sighing helplessly the entire way, he headed back toward the moat...

Now that he thought about it, being a guard at Devil Penitentiary might not be that bad after all. With that status, he would be temporarily safe from the Uzumaki Clan, which was a good thing.

He got to the moat early, whereupon he sat down cross-legged and frowned his way until evening. At that point, the whirlpool sprang up again, and one of Li Xu's subordinates appeared. When he saw Naruto, he gave him an expressionless nod.

"Alright, come with me," he said. Without another word, he turned and headed back toward the whirlpool.

Chapter 622

A+ A- Chapter 622

Chapter 622: Devil Penitentiary

Naruto couldn't stop sighing in his heart about how humiliating it was for a spectacular major general like himself to be in this situation. However, considering the circumstances, he knew that he simply had to come to terms with it...

"Ah, whatever. Considering that I, Naruto, am so outstanding and awesome, it doesn't matter where I end up, I always earn a new level of respect!" As he tried to pump himself up, he looked at the man who had just stepped out of the whirlpool. By this point, he realized that Li Xu must be the leader of Devil Penitentiary, and also his own future superior. Furthermore, this man here must be an assistant of some sort to Li Xu.

"Get moving," the man said, "otherwise you'll have to wait outside for another day."

Naruto already didn't like this guy.

"I didn't do anything to offend him!" he complained inwardly. However, there was no other option for him than to bow his head and hurry into the whirlpool.

They disappeared, and began to sink down toward the bottom of the moat. Considering that this man was Li Xu's assistant, it was no surprise that he had an extraordinary cultivation base. He also had a command medallion that emanated a soft light, protecting both himself and Naruto from the deadly black moat water around them.

Naruto was a bit nervous as he looked out at the inky blackness. Not only could he not see anything, but he felt a sensation of profound danger just looking at the black water, as if terrifying beasts lurked within it.

He kept his guard up as they pierced their way downward. Eventually, he realized that he could see two green points of light

up ahead in the black water.

They seemed to pulse with a netherworldly aura, and almost looked like eyes. Merely looking at them caused his hair to stand on end.

However, the man escorting him didn't seem to have any reaction whatsoever, so Naruto merely followed along, maintaining full vigilance. As they proceeded forward, the two green lights grew larger and larger.

The closer they got, the clearer things became, until Naruto's heart leapt; there at the bottom of the moat was an enormous stone statue!

The statue depicted a gigantic xuanwu turtle that pulsed with spatial distortions. The two green lights that Naruto had spotted earlier were actually the turtle's eyes.

It also seethed with a profoundly murderous aura that seemed to be contained in the area with magical seals. Were it not for those sealing marks, the aura would have seeped out and caused drastic transformations in heaven and earth.

Naruto was already shaken, but then he realized that, for some reason, the turtle actually looked familiar. After studying it closely for another moment, his eyes went as wide as saucers, and his heart began to pound in his chest.

"That statue looks a lot like the little turtle..." The little turtle had been missing for a long time now. Naruto had searched his bag of holding thoroughly on a few occasions looking for him, but couldn't find him. Even still, Naruto had the feeling that he was there inside, somewhere.

Even as Naruto hesitated about what it all meant, the man led him toward the turtle statue's left eye. Nervous about everything, Naruto followed along, and soon they entered the eye itself.

A diaphanous barrier kept the black water out, which the man's command medallion allowed them to pass

pass through.

Naruto soon found himself in a large stone cavern filled with crisscrossed stalactites and stalagmites that looked almost like vicious fangs. There were four soul cultivators waiting there, who clasped hands and bowed deeply as soon as they saw the man leading Naruto.

"Greetings, Left Dharma Protector!"

Their voices weren't loud and booming, but rather, bone-chillingly cold. They seemed like people who lived on the border between life and death, whose mere gazes could pierce to the heart. After looking at them for a moment, Naruto determined that all four were Nascent Soul cultivators.

"This Devil Penitentiary isn't some ordinary prison!" he thought. As he continued to look around, he noticed four tunnels leading off in four directions, with a fifth tunnel-like opening in the ceiling.

"Sun Peng, this is one of the new guards the warden just assigned to Cellblock D. You arrange everything for him." After issuing his orders, the man clasped his hands behind his back and flew up into the fifth tunnel overhead.

The group of four soul cultivators clasped hands to him as he left, then dispersed into the four corridors, with the exception of an old man. Frowning, he looked at Naruto and said, "If Li Xu personally handed you over to the Left Dharma Protector to arrange things, then logically speaking, you should have been assigned to Cellblock A, not my Cellblock D."

The old man seemed to think something was a bit strange about the situation, but still smiled at Naruto.

Although it was a friendly smile, it looked ghastly to Naruto. Coupled with the old man's sinister aura, it caused a chill to run down Naruto's back.

"May I ask your name, Fellow Daoist?" the old man asked. Naruto blinked a few times,

few times, and then carefully answered, "I'm Uzumaki Hao."

"Uzumaki Hao. Uzumaki Hao... Uzumaki...?" After thinking for a moment, the man's eyes went wide. "Uzumaki Hao from the Uzumaki Clan?"

Pleased at the man's reaction, Naruto proudly said, "Yeah, that's right. I'm none other than Uzumaki Hao from the Uzumaki Clan."

The old man sucked in a breath. Now he understood why Li Xu had assigned this person to Cellblock D.

"Well aren't you a hot potato," he thought. "The fact that Li Xu handed you off to the Left Dharma Protector means that the original orders came from higher up. And the only person with a status high enough to give orders like that would be Duke Deathcrier. And the only person who can order Duke Deathcrier around is the heavenly king himself.

"The Uzumaki Clan has a bounty on this kid's head, but the heavenly king sent him here..." The old man didn't dare to ponder the matter any more deeply. Sighing, he realized that he couldn't afford to offend this newcomer. After all, according to the rumors, he had reviled his own clan, and even gone so far as to kidnap his own father.

Not only did he have profound levels of patience, but he was completely and utterly vicious...

"Welcome to Cellblock D of Devil Penitentiary, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki Hao. Come, come, let me show you around." Forcing a smile onto his face, he led Naruto toward the northernmost of the four tunnels. "Although Devil Penitentiary exists inside of a stone turtle statue, it's actually very large inside. Five unique dimensions exist here, namely Cellblocks A, B, C, D, and the Supermax Cellblock.

"The Supermax Cellblock is run by the exalted warden himself, and is the core of Devil Penitentiary. Normally, no one ever gets one ever gets inside without being summoned.

"As far as the other cellblocks go, the prisoners get locked up in them depending on how important or dangerous they are. The most important prisoners go to Cellblock A. All of the prisoners here are dangerous and vicious people, but the prisoners in Cellblock D are almost like children compared to the others.

"Every cellblock has a group of roughly a hundred guards, with ten captains and a deputy warden. I'm the deputy warden of Cellblock D. "Of course, Warden Li Xu is in charge of the the four deputy wardens..."

Sun Peng led him directly to Cellblock D and began to show him around. He had already decided that since Uzumaki Hao had been delivered to him, and he couldn't get rid of him, that he might as well treat him well. After all, with so many people in Cellblock D, having an extra guard around wouldn't hurt anything.

Of course, he wouldn't go beyond what was necessary.

Eventually, Sun Peng led Naruto to an area in the middle of the Cellblock D part of the prison, a sprawling square, in the middle of which was a glowing door.

The door emanated intense pressure, and occasional rumbling sounds.

Surrounding it were ten areas that Sun Peng explained were the barracks where the ten teams of guards resided. As for the glowing door, it was the actual entrance to the cellblock.

The ten barracks all looked exactly the same, constructed from green limestone, but decorated in colorful fashion. However, perhaps because they were located in the middle of Devil Penitentiary, Naruto found them particularly sinister.

Still depressed over the matter of the teleportation portal, Naruto sighed and thought to himself, "Ai. I can't believe I'm actually becoming a prison guard."

Chapter 623

A+ A- Chapter 623

Chapter 623: Facing The Facts

Sun Peng assigned Naruto to Squad 9. Then, just like Duke Deathcrier and Li Xu, he hurried away.

The captain of Squad 9 didn't see Deputy Warden Sun Peng very often, but considering that the man was his direct superior, he quickly picked up on the unspoken hints he had given regarding Naruto's status.

The captain was a burly man who appeared to be about forty years of age. He almost immediately recognized this fair young man as the recently famous Uzumaki Clan rebel, and realized he needed to pay special attention to him. In fact, he even transmitted orders to the guards under his command, explaining who Naruto was.

Naruto could see how the captain and the other guards of Squad 9 reacted when he smilingly told them his name. They sized him up, and although they weren't extremely cold, they were by no means warm and welcoming. Uzumaki Hao had been a popular topic of conversation recently, and therefore, all of them had at least some impression of him. They knew that he was a vicious fellow who had reviled his clan, and was the type who shouldn't be provoked. After seeing him in person, though, he didn't seem to match up to the rumors.

Before Naruto's arrival, Squad 9 had consisted of a total of eleven people: ten guards and the captain. But now there were twelve. There were no women, only men, and all of the other guards seemed middleaged, with cultivation bases in Core Formation.

The fact that even such a group of low-ranking guards was so powerful further showed how important Devil Penitentiary was.

When Naruto realized that the group was not being very welcoming, he felt a bit awkward.

To try to smooth things over, the captain quickly assigned him quarters in the barracks.

"Why don't you rest up a bit, Uzumaki Hao?" he said. "The truth is that we aren't very busy here in Devil Penitentiary. The squad doesn't really know much about you now, but there will be plenty of

time later for you all to get to know each other." With that, he left. As far as he was concerned, the situation wasn't very complicated. When dealing with a fiendish killer that you couldn't get rid of, the best thing was to try to get along with him, but not get too close. One just had to be careful not to treat him too coldly.

Naruto already had a good impression of the captain. At the least, he was better than Duke Deathcrier or Li Xu.

His quarters weren't very large, and contained only a bed and a chair. It was a simple room, but it had a remarkable spell formation that was connected to the stone turtle statue, giving it exceptional defensive capabilities.

After looking around, he sat down cross-legged and frowned.

"Ai. How cruel the twists of fate. Here I am, a prison guard..."

The events of the past two days had been quite complicated. The Uzumaki Clan patriarch had attacked, then Duke Deathcrier showed up. After that, the teleportation portal plan failed, and now he was a prison guard.

"Ah, whatever. If I'm a guard, I'm a guard. The most important thing now is to keep myself safe... Plus, I need to get on the good side of my squad... If I can get them to like me, they'll probably be a lot of help to me later.

"I still don't know why the giant ghost king saved me, but at least I'm in a pretty safe situation, at least for the moment. How long will that last though…?" He sighed, and eventually his thoughts turned to deva souls, whereupon he gritted his teeth angrily.

"It's all the fault of that Granny Red-Dust! And Chen Hetian! Well, whatever. Might as well forget about the teleportation portal. The best thing to do is increase my cultivation base and figure out another way to get back to the Great Wall... I already have four deva soul clones. All I have to do now is get a metal-type deva soul, and I can step into the Heaven-Dao Nascent

Nascent Soul stage!" When all was said and done, Naruto felt very nervous. It was like he was walking along the edge of a cliff; the slightest misstep could lead him to a disastrous fall.

However, there was nothing he could do about the situation. The teleportation portal wasn't an option, and therefore, unless he simply gave up on the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul idea, that meant he only had a bit over a thousand years before he ran out of longevity. Then, his dream of living forever would be impossible to realize.

If he wanted to live forever, then he had to walk along that cliff. If he wanted to get home, he simply had to grit his teeth and keep going.

Actually, up to this point in his life, his cultivation had always gone quite smoothly, whether it was in the Spirit Stream Sect, the River-Defying Sect, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, or the Great Wall. It was only after entering that sepulcher in the Wildlands that he finally experienced the feeling of being stuck in place, with the shadow of death looming larger behind him.

"Once I get that metal-type deva soul... I'm never going to risk my life like this again!" He was actually so worried about the situation that he almost felt like crying. There was almost nothing in the world he wanted more right now than a deva soul.

"Where am I supposed to get that deva soul from...? Plus, it has to be a metal-type deva soul.

"The giant ghost king is a demigod expert, so he probably has one... but... how would I get my hands on it?" He clenched his hands into fists and thought as hard as he could, but couldn't come up with any ideas.

"Although I know a bit about Giant Ghost City, I definitely don't know enough. Whether it's news about deva souls or the details of why King Giant Ghost saved me, I need more information..." Eyes flashing, he took out a jade slip to send messages to Zhou Yixing and Li Feng. The first thing

first thing he said was that they didn't need to wait for him in the appointed location any longer, and could just return to Giant Ghost City. Second, he asked Li Feng to give him some more details about Giant Ghost City.

It didn't take long before Li Feng sent back a wealth of detailed information. As soon as Naruto saw it, his eyes went wide, and his heart began to pound.

"Five devas..."

The most powerful person in Giant Ghost City was the demigod heavenly king. Beneath him were five dukes and ten marquises. The dukes were all devas, and the marquises were all half a step into the Deva Realm.

Of the five devas, three were the patriarchs of the three great clans. The other two were Duke Deathcrier and Duke Netherworld!

In terms of the ten marquises, they led the ten armies that were garrisoned in Giant Ghost City, and were people with close connections to the royal throne. Each and every one of them was a very important person.

Naruto also learned that although the patriarchs of the three great clans were technically subordinates of the giant ghost king, they had formed their own separate faction.

"In the end, the giant ghost king is a demigod expert, so he could kill them all with the wave of a hand." In Naruto's opinion, there seemed to be something fishy about the whole situation. However, Li Feng couldn't provide any further details. These were just the things he had heard about here and there.

"Maybe the giant ghost king saved me because he wanted to test out the Uzumaki Clan's attitude? But why would he need to do that? He's a demigod, after all..." No matter how he analyzed the situation, it only seemed to lead to more questions.

It was a complicated state of affairs, and he simply had too little information, which made it hard to make a good assessment. However, from what he could tell, the three great clans must have some trump card that enabled them to maintain a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the relationship with the giant ghost king...

Most likely, the giant ghost king wasn't very happy about the arrangement.

"That's probably the gist of things, at least. As long as the giant ghost king isn't too happy about being on equal footing with the three clans, then I'm probably safe here in Giant Ghost City...

"So, what I need to do now is get that metal-type deva soul as quickly as possible, before things get dicey. Then I can just run away." Frowning at his lot in life, he took a deep breath to focus, then closed his eyes to start his auguries regarding thirteen-colored flame.

The formula for thirteenfold flame was completely different from that of twelve-colored flame. It even had different requirements in terms of divine sense, requirements that he would never have been able to meet before acquiring the deva soul from the Uzumaki Clan.

But now he had a fourth clone, which boosted his divine sense even more. With that, he was confident of being able to use Uzumaki Hao's research notes to eventually succeed with thirteen-colored flame... In fact, he suspected he might even get so far as fourteen-colored flame.

As he was wrapped up in performing auguries and seeking enlightenment, the night passed uneventfully.

Although it was impossible to see the sun or moon from Devil Penitentiary, because of the spell formation which protected it, the phases of night and day were as normal.

When night gave way to day on the outside, Naruto was still in the middle of his work, and didn't even notice.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three days, no one bothered him. Around dawn on the fourth day, he opened his eyes when a voice reached his ears from outside his room.

"Uzumaki Hao, Squad 9 is on patrol duty today. Everyone is waiting for you." It was the voice of the captain, and it sounded very serious.

"Since this is your first time going out on patrol, it will be a good chance for you to see what kind of prisoners we keep in Cellblock D."

Chapter 624

A+ A- Chapter 624

Chapter 624: Captain, What Exactly Are They Going Off To Do?

"Prisoners..." Naruto got nervously to his feet and walked out of his room. The captain was waiting there outside, a smile on his face.

Naruto knew that he needed to develop a good relationship with the squad, but that wasn't very difficult. He just needed to stop thinking about how he was a Core Formation expert with four deva soul clones, and that he could even kill lofty Nascent Soul cultivators. He just needed to act like an unimportant person. Therefore, he put a look of both respect and cheer on his face as he clasped hands and bowed, then said, "Captain, you really didn't need to come in person. If you have orders for me, just send a message."

Actually, Naruto already liked the captain to begin with, so it was easy to give him a particularly deep bow.

The captain seemed a bit surprised. The truth was that he had no other choice than to come get Naruto. According to the rules of Devil Penitentiary, all guards had to participate in patrol duty. If Naruto knew about that and chose not to join, then he would be to blame. But if the captain didn't personally notify him, then he would be held responsible.

The other guards might be keeping their distance, but when the captain thought about all the rumors he'd heard, he really felt he had no other choice.

However, to his surprise, the reportedly vicious, family-killing fiend who had turned traitor against his clan and kidnapped his own father, Uzumaki Hao, was actually being very polite.

The captain laughed heartily. "Oh, no problem at all! You're part of Squad 9 now, and since you just arrived, how could I not come to give you the news personally! Listen, Uzumaki Hao. To people on the outside, everything about Devil Penitentiary is

a big secret. After all, only two types of people can actually go into the cellblock: the prisoners, and us guards!"

Although he didn't yet have a very good impression of Naruto, the captain seemed a bit more sincere than before, and he even began to explain more information as they walked along.

After following the captain for a bit, Naruto couldn't help but ask,

"Captain, what kind of cultivation bases do all the prisoners have?"

"It doesn't matter!" the captain replied proudly. "Everyone who comes to Devil Penitentiary has to submit. Even dragons!" Before long, they were approaching the huge glowing door in the middle of the square.

Naruto's curiosity was growing. He had experienced a lot of things in his life, but had never been inside of a prison. The idea of descending into the depths of Devil Penitentiary had him filled with anticipation.

The other soul cultivators who were part of Squad 9 were all waiting impatiently by the doorway, and many of them seemed to get even more irritated when they saw Naruto.

Naruto could see that, and considering that he had no idea how long he would be serving as a guard, he hurried forward and said, "Hello, brothers! I'm new here and don't know the rules. I'm terribly sorry for keeping all of you waiting."

Currently, he looked like Uzumaki Hao, young, pure and fair, even delicate.

Furthermore, he spoke in a very pleasing fashion; almost immediately, some of the irritation in the eyes of the other guards faded.

After all, Uzumaki Hao's reputation was that of a vicious beast. But here he was politely and passionately offering an explanation and apology. The other guards were surprised, and weren't quite sure what to say. In any case, Naruto's smiling face made it hard for them to stay angry. Beyond that, the way he rushed forward and treated them all like older

older brothers caused strange feelings to rise up in their hearts. Almost immediately, the coldness that many of them felt toward him began to fade.

The only exception was one long-faced young man who responded with a cold snort. Apparently, he had a rather high standing in Squad 9. When the other guards saw his reaction, their expressions went back to being icy.

Naruto was not very happy about that.

"I never offended this guy!" he thought.

The captain pretended not to notice what had happened. Laughing, he said, "Alright, everyone's here, let's head in!"

Swishing his sleeve, he produced a command medallion, which he extended toward the glowing door. Almost immediately, a rift opened up in the middle of it.

The captain went in first, and everyone else followed behind, with Naruto taking up the final spot.

As soon as he entered the light, a feeling like that of teleportation swept through him. It was like heaven and earth crushing down on him, and was a very unpleasant sensation. However, it only lasted for a moment before fading away. Then, Naruto's vision cleared, and he found himself looking at... a very peculiar dimension!

There was no sky or land, only a black void. Hanging down from the

vast, seemingly never-ending darkness above were countless chains made of bones.

Hanging at the end of the bone chains were enormous skulls, each one several dozens of meters tall. They were vicious-looking things that had clearly been hanging there in this void for tens upon tens of thousands of years.

They seemed to be arranged in some sort of pattern, almost as if to form some enormous, densely-packed spell formation.

Of course, none of them were located too close to any of the others.

Those skulls were the prison cells!

In terms of color, they weren't white. In fact, they seemed to be constantly flickering with random colors, almost as if there were some type of magic

of magic at work inside of them. In addition, it was possible to hear the occasional bitter scream coming from inside.

Those screams came from the prisoners!

The prisoners in the skulls all wore ragged clothing, and some of them were even naked. There were men and women, and even the occasional savage giant, forced to shrink down in size to fit in the skull cages.

Quite a few were soul cultivators, and there were also necromancers present. All of them were gaunt and emaciated, and yet, each and every one burst with a murderous aura and an air of brutality.

In addition to the prisoners in the skull cages, there were also soul cultivators roaming around in gray robes, their hands and legs in shackles. They were also prisoners, but weren't dangerous enough to keep in cages, and were free to roam about among the cells.

Quite a few of the prisoners were female, and many of them were extremely beautiful.

When the gray-robed soul cultivator prisoners saw the guards of Squad 9, they rushed over, trembling, to kowtow. Flattering, fawning expressions could be seen on their faces, and as for the beautiful female prisoners, they made sure to reveal their ample cleavage as they bent over. When Naruto saw that, he was quite shocked.

At this point, the captain bellowed, "Alright, we'll be on patrol for three days. For the first six hours, we'll do things like usual. Go have some fun and don't cause any trouble! When the six hours are up, we'll meet at Old Devil Zhou's cell. Let's see if we can finally get him to spill the beans."

After the captain finished speaking, Naruto watched as the smiling guards dispersed in various directions.

When that happened, Naruto's eyes went wide with shock as he saw many of the gray-robed prisoners flocking around the guards as if they were old friends. Some of them even began to

even began to massage the guards' shoulders and lean down to whisper things in their ears. Furthermore, even more fawning expressions than before could be seen on the prisoners' faces.

When the captain saw how befuddled Naruto looked, he smiled, lowered his voice, and said, "Those people are like stewards here in Devil Penitentiary. None of them committed particularly serious crimes, and they tend to behave well. As for how easy or difficult their lives are, that's up to our whim.

"The prisoners in the skulls are the really important ones." He pointed at one nearby skull, within which was an old man with a red birthmark on his face. He looked particularly ferocious, but currently had his eyes closed, as if he didn't care at all about the world around him. "For example, that guy. He pissed off his highness the king two hundred years ago, and has been locked up ever since. He doesn't have any secrets worth extracting, so he'll probably just die of natural causes eventually.

"Alright, well go have some fun. As guards, we're like gods here. The lives of the prisoners are in our hands, and therefore... as long as you don't do anything too excessive, you can pretty much do anything you please."

"Anything we please?" Naruto thought incredulously, his mind spinning at how different Devil Penitentiary was than he'd imagined.

Even more shocking was how the long-faced youth from moments ago was surrounded by a group of eight beautiful female prisoners, who were pulling him off into the distance with flirtatious looks on their faces.

He couldn't help but blink a few times and even lick his lips when he saw that. His heart actually started to beat as well. After all, there were a couple of female prisoners in that group who he found particularly attractive. Pointing in their direction, he said, "Captain, what exactly are they going off to do?"

Chapter 625

A+ A- Chapter 625

Chapter 625: Pure Naruto

The captain cleared his throat. "Just keep your eyes to yourself. Don't be such a prude. Oh right. Don't forget to leave the prisoners in the cells alone. They're murderers and fiends, every last one of them. Accidents have happened in the past, you know. Their cultivation bases are sealed, but on one occasion, one of them bit off the ear of one of the guards."

After giving a few more reminders and warnings, the captain left to enjoy himself.

Naruto felt like a new world had been opened up to him. After looking around, he realized that quite a few of the gray-robed prisoners were looking over at him. They quickly identified him as a new guard, and hurried over to offer greetings.

"Greetings, exalted one..."

"If you need anything, exalted one, please just say the word..."

"You're so young, exalted one. Now that you're a guard in Devil

Penitentiary, you have boundless prospects for the future. You're like a dragon among men..."

As everyone began to fawn over him, Naruto noticed several attractive female cultivators giving him the eye. Obviously, they were trying to seduce him!

Naruto's heart started to pound with the realization that all he needed to do was point his finger, and any of those female cultivators would cater to his every whim...

"Fudge, this place is evil!" Panting, Naruto realized that this really wasn't the type of place for him. As he continued to revel in the praise of the prisoners, and the gentle voices of the female cultivators, he continued to stew in anxiety...

"Who would ever have thought that Devil Penitentiary would be like this?" he thought. "Naruto is a pure person! How could he deign to wallow in a place like this...?"

As he anxiously allowed the prisoners to lead him off into the distance... he came to understand what Devil Penitentiary was really like, that it was

the type of place where you could truly say... anything goes.

Eventually, Naruto realized that he really liked Devil Penitentiary, and that the world really was a wonderful place.

"But Naruto is a clean-living and honest person. I definitely won't do anything to violate my conscience!" Six hours later, Naruto felt more wonderful than ever about being in Devil Penitentiary. At that point, he followed the directions given him by the helpful prisoners to meet back up with the rest of the squad.

The captain was already present, as were seven or eight of the other guards. Everyone seemed to be in wonderful moods, and were chatting happily. However, the long-faced young man was also there, and as soon as he saw Naruto, his expression turned grim.

He held this traitor from the Uzumaki Clan in complete contempt. As far as he was concerned, anyone who would kidnap his own father and kill his own fellow clan members was completely perverse, and the type of person who actually deserved to be locked up in Devil Penitentiary.

Furthermore, he had been friends with Uzumaki Qi , which deepened his hatred.

As for the other guards, they simply pretended not to see Naruto.

Naruto stood there feeling a bit awkward, and starting to get angry.

"What's the deal with this guy?" he thought. "What's he picking on me for?" With that, he began to assess the young man's cultivation base, which caused the young man to look over at him with icy eyes.

The captain could see that tension was building up between the two of them, so he quickly planted himself in the middle and then pointed at a nearby skull.

"Alright, let's get to business. See that guy, Uzumaki Hao? That's Old Devil Zhou."

The long-faced young man snorted coldly, and Naruto suppressed his anger to look in the direction the captain was pointing. Within the huge skull sat a burly man who, despite

despite being seated cross-legged, was still nearly two meters tall. From the look of it, if he stood up, he would almost be as tall as one of the savage giants. He was a real brute.

His eyes glowed red, and a ferocious-looking smile twisted his lips. Furthermore, he looked at the guards with a greedy expression that almost made it seem like he wanted to eat them... As soon as Naruto laid eyes on him, he got the sense that the man was a cannibal of some sort.

He had a murderous aura that made him seem completely impervious to reason, the type who would murder people left and right without the slightest compunction.

"This is Old Devil Zhou," the captain continued. "Not only is he a coldblooded murderer, but he's addicted to eating children. A hundred years ago, he ate so many children it was impossible to count. However, because of his connections to the Cai Clan, one of the three great clans, he managed to get spared from the death penalty!"

Naruto frowned. He wasn't the type of person who instantly believed everything he heard. However, although the captains story seemed a bit unbelievable, based on what this Old Devil Zhou looked like, it seemed possible.

"But now that he's here," the captain continued icily, "he has to live a life of suffering." By this point, all of the rest of the guards had gathered.

"Alright, let's begin. This is our last chance to get him to talk!" The captain waved his sleeve, and Squad 9 headed, grim-faced, toward Old Devil Zhou's cell.

When Old Devil Zhou saw them coming over, his vicious grin widened, and his eyes glittered. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet, grabbed the eyeholes of the skull, and let out a furious roar.

That roar caused everyone to stop in place for a moment.

"Useless fools! I, Zhou Yunlong, have eaten so many people like you I've lost

I've lost count!"

"Shut up!" barked one of the guards, jumping forward and performing an incantation gesture. Then he waved his finger at the skull, which changed colors. At the same time, the flicker of lightning could be seen inside, causing Old Devil Zhou to tremble, and then let out an agonized shriek.

The guards of Squad 9, looking very fierce and dangerous, went about using all the tricks they could think of.

"Tell us where the treasure is!"

"Spit it out and we won't torment you! But if you don't talk, then don't blame us for what happens!"

"Senior Zhou, there's no need to be like this. Now that you're in here, you won't be getting out. None of your assets on the outside will do you any good. Why not just reveal the truth? Then things will go easy for you! In fact, life inside could actually be pretty nice for you."

Some of them threatened, some of them cajoled. Every method possible was pulled out to try to get him to reveal the location of whatever treasure it was they were talking about. However, no matter what they did, and no matter how Old Devil Zhou screamed, the vicious smile never left his face. And in fact, it only grew more vicious.

Finally, the long-faced young man strode forward. Laughing coldly, he said, "Not gonna talk, huh? Fine, I'll force it out of you!"

As soon as the young man walked forward, the other guards started to get excited.

"Zhao Feng is Squad 9's inquisitor! If you don't talk, then he'll pry your mouth open!'

"That's right! The other eight squads might not have succeeded, but

Zhao Feng can!"

Even the captain's eyes were glowing with anticipation. As for Naruto, he simply watched what was happening. Although he wasn't sure what an inquisitor was, he had the feeling that the long-faced young man must have some higher standing than everyone else. It sounded like inquisitor was a title or rank of some rank of some sort.

The long-faced young man walked up to the cell and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, summoning a long black needle. Instantly, the needle shot forward and stabbed into Old Devil Zhou, provoking an unprecedentedly ragged scream.

A moment later, Old Devil Zhou's eyes turned bright red, and yet the arrogance within them didn't fade in the least. Eventually, he stopped screaming, and then started laughing.

"That's all you've got? I've eaten tons of inquisitors like you in the past.

Delicious, every last one of them! I wonder what you taste like though?"

The long-faced young man looked angrily at Old Devil Zhou, then went to work on another incantation gesture. However, no matter what he did, Old Devil Zhou just kept laughing and laughing. Furious, the other guards did everything they could to help out.

Naruto stood off to the side, looking on in shock as the guards of Squad 9 interrogated and tormented Old Devil Zhou. Nearly a day passed, and although Old Devil Zhou was left gasping for breath, he still didn't say a word about his treasure.

"Dammit this guy is tight-lipped!" Eventually, the guards began to back down, glaring at Old Devil Zhou as if they wished they could break into his brain to get the information they wanted. That was especially true of the long-faced young man.

"When Old Devil Zhou was incarcerated recently," the captain explained, "he didn't have a thing on him. But he built up quite the treasure trove in his life. He obviously hid it away somewhere!

"He was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, half a step into the Deva Realm. He dominated the world for an entire sixty-year-cycle, and massacred more than thirty entire clans! He definitely has a lot of treasures!"

After seeing how angry his fellow guards were, Naruto hesitated for a moment, and then finally asked, "Um... why don't you soulsearch him?"

Chapter 626

A+ A- Chapter 626

Chapter 626: I Hope You'll Break The Record

The other guards couldn't help but sneer at the question, and the longfaced young man actually laughed sarcastically.

The captain shook his head. Sighing, he explained, "Some people can be soulsearched. But once your cultivation base reaches a certain level, and your soul fuses with your fleshly body, you can use all sorts of methods to defend against soulsearches. At that point, forcing a soulsearch won't lead to good results."

Raising his voice to reach all the guards, he said, "We don't even have two days left now. If we don't get the answer soon, then Squad 10 is going to come along and take over."

Then he looked back at Naruto and continued his explanation. "The prisoners here are all powerful and important people. Most of them have secrets, and many of them were rich. According to the rules of Devil Penitentiary, whichever squad can pry the information out of them can benefit from what they learn. A split has to be given to the higherups, but the rest can be divided among the squad."

Now Naruto understood the situation much better. The guards took a short break, and then resumed interrogating Old Devil Zhou. However, as the third day neared, they still weren't able to get a single word out of him, and finally reached the point of giving up.

Smiling bitterly, the captain said, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Old Devil Zhou's treasure trove must be destined to go to one of the other squads."

With that, he prepared to lead Naruto and the other dejected guards away. However, as he gave one final look to Old Devil Zhou, the man suddenly spat a blood-infused gob of spittle out of his mouth and then began laughing maniacally. From the way he was looking at the guards of Squad 9, he really seemed like he wanted to eat them.

"People

always talk about how Devil Penitentiary is a brutal place!" he laughed. "They say nobody can keep their mouths shut in here. But things have been easy so far!"

His words got the guards even angrier than before, but there was nothing they could do.

"Let's go," the captain said through gritted teeth, turning to leave.

However, it was at that point that Naruto hesitantly said, "Captain, can I have a try? I think I might be able to get him to talk..."

Actually, he had been itching to have a shot for the entire past day.

"You?" Zhao Feng said with a cold laugh. He was of the opinion that if he, the squad's inquisitor, couldn't pry Old Devil Zhou's mouth open, and the inquisitors of the other eight squads couldn't either, then there was no way this newcomer could. Obviously, he was feeling a bit too cocky for his own good. He didn't do anything to cover up his disdain and scorn, as if he were trying to vent his frustration at Old Devil Zhou's stubbornness onto Naruto.

The other guards frowned. They all knew that Uzumaki Hao was a vicious killer, but killing and torture were two different things. Interrogating people required a level of control that ordinary cultivators often lacked.

Therefore, no matter how confident Uzumaki Hao claimed to be, they wouldn't be so easily persuaded.

"Not even Inquisitor Zhao Feng could get any information out of Old Devil Zhou. This Uzumaki Hao... really overestimates himself. Interrogation is an art, not something that any random person can do."

"He might have a reputation for being vicious, but in Devil Penitentiary, everybody has that kind of reputation!"

Naruto wasn't too happy at the things the guards were muttering. After all, he hadn't boasted or anything! Although he wasn't supremely confident, he was at least confident enough to give a try.

The captain frowned in thought. Considering that Naruto was now

now a member of Squad 9, letting him experience first-hand how difficult interrogation was would probably be a good thing.

"Alright, Uzumaki Hao. If you want to give it a shot, be my guest!"

Naruto immediately stuck his chin up, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled up to Old Devil Zhou's cell. Behind him, the other guards looked on with knowing smiles as they waited for him to fail in his attempt.

"Uzumaki Hao has a reputation for being vicious, but he doesn't look that scary to me. He probably just has a big mouth."

"Supposedly he has a lot of patience, but it doesn't look like it to me."

Zhao Feng looked especially scornful as he crossed his arms and looked on with cold eyes. "Hmph. If I, Zhao Feng, can't get this guy to talk, then what makes him think he can?!"

As everyone stood by waiting for him to fail, Naruto looked into the cell at Old Devil Zhou, who looked back at him with yellowish teeth and gluttonous eyes.

"Fair skin," Old Devil Zhou said, "very tender-looking... My three favorite things to eat are children, elegant women, and beautiful men... This kid is a perfect example of the third type." With that, he began to cackle madly.

"Makes me think of a soul cultivator I ate ten years ago. Looked similar to this, very pure and fair. I ate him and brutalized him at the same time! Wonderful flavor. Simply delicious!" Old Devil Zhou licked his lips and looked at Naruto with an intensely malevolent gaze.

His words coupled with his expression made him look profoundly sinister, and caused the expression on the faces of the guards to turn even grimmer.

As Old Devil Zhou's laughter rang out, Naruto gasped. He couldn't help but visualize some of the things the man had just said, and realized that he was definitely vicious beyond compare. He even stopped walking

stopped walking for a moment.

Seeing that Naruto was hesitating, Old Devil Zhou chuckled, and then went on with more detailed descriptions. "I ate that fancy little soul cultivator one bite at a time, starting with his nose. After that I went on to his eyes..."

By this point, Naruto's heart was pounding in his chest. Obviously, this Old Devil Zhou was a complete monster. That, coupled with the fact that interrogation really didn't suit him, made him begin to think about giving up. Old Devil Zhou could tell what he was thinking, and flung himself against the eye-holes of the skull that made the window, where he let out a powerful bellow.

Although it wasn't as loud as thunder, when coupled with the things he had just been saying, it was startling enough that Naruto jumped backward in fear.

"Scared, kid? Come, come, let me have a taste of you!" Old Devil Zhou then went on to laugh maniacally. Cleary, he was having a lot of fun playing around with this fair, pure young man.

At this point, Naruto got angry. After all, he was in the great circle of the Gold Core stage; to be startled by this old guy was a real humiliation. Glaring, he said, "Alright, old man, you brought this upon yourself!" Looking very serious, he turned to the captain and said, "Captain, please open the door of the cell!"

The captain hesitated for a moment, but then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, an opening appeared in the huge skull, and before Old Devil Zhou could jump out, Naruto was inside.

He immediately waved his hand, causing a black smoke to spring out, powered by his mask, which instantly filled the skull and made it impossible for anyone to see what was happening.

The guards of Squad 9 were a bit surprised, and hurried forward cautiously.

"What is he doing?" "He's making it so making it so we can't see?"

Zhao Feng laughed coldly and said, "Trying to pull a fast one, huh?!"

Inside the cell, Old Devil Zhou was shocked to find Naruto right there in front of him. However, he quickly licked his lips and smiled, revealing yellow teeth. Saliva even began to flow down his chin.

"I never thought you would have the guts to come in here with me, kid. Think you're safe because my cultivation base is sealed?

"Considering how brave you are, if you let me eat one of your arms, I'll give you a clue about my treasure trove. What do you say? One arm for a clue. Or hey, how about four limbs for four clues...?" With that, Old Devil Zhou began to laugh madly. Despite the fact that his cultivation base was sealed, he was still completely stubborn, and clearly not afraid of Naruto at all.

After all, he knew that these people wouldn't kill him, only torture him a bit.

"I want to know where your hidden treasure is!" Naruto said with a glare. Snorting, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill.

It was none other than... an Aphrodisiac Pill!

Old Devil Zhou seemed a bit taken aback. But then he saw that it was only a medicinal pill, and his expression became that of scorn.

"A torture pill? How amusing."

"We'll see how amusing you think it is in just a moment," Naruto said proudly. Waving his hand, he sent the Aphrodisiac Pill flying toward Old Devil Zhou, who, because he lacked a cultivation base at the moment, was incapable of dodging. The pill entered his mouth, and immediately dissolved.

Sticking his chin up, Naruto waved his sleeve and loftily said, "Alright Mr. Devil. In the past, some people have lasted for as long as two hours when I torment them. That's the ultimate limit. But I'm hoping you'll break the record."

Chapter 627

A+ A- Chapter 627 hapter 627: Promoted To Inquisitor...

The rest of the members of Squad 9 couldn't see what was happening inside of the skull cell. All they could see was dense, black smoke that was impenetrable even by divine sense.

"What is Uzumaki Hao doing?"

"He's in there alone with the prisoner, hidden by black smoke? Don't tell me the two of them are working together to plot against us?!"

"Something seems off..." The various members of the squad were all whispering back and forth to each other, some of them with expressions of disdain, others with frowns. The captain was starting to worry that he might have been a bit impulsive.

Zhao Feng stood there with his arms crossed, smiling coldly as he said, "Like I said, this guy-"

However, before he could finish his sentence, a maniacal scream suddenly erupted from within the black smoke.

The shocking scream clearly came from the mouth of Old Devil Zhou, and sounded like the scream of someone who had something pent up inside of them that they wished to release, but couldn't.

"What's going on!?" Everyone was now completely focused on the cell, their expressions those of curiosity and suspicion. The sound of the scream was strange; after having interrogated Old Devil Zhou for a few days, they had heard him scream on numerous occasions, but none of those screams had sounded as pent-up as this one.

Before any of the Squad 9 guards could do anything more, the screams intensified until they became a seemingly endless howl.

"What did you just feed me!? Aaaaggghhh! Dammit. Dammit! Let me out of here!"

The terrifying nature of the screams caused everyone's hair to stand on end.

The guards of Squad 9 were looking on with wide eyes. Throughout the past days of interrogation, Old

Devil Zhou had never reacted like this; now he almost seemed to be pleading for mercy.

"What is Uzumaki Hao doing?" The captain's heart was shaken, and as for Zhao Feng, he couldn't keep his expression still. As for the other nearby gray-robed prisoners, they were looking over in complete shock.

The screaming and howling didn't last for very long, but as it filled with increasing levels of desperation and horror, it left everyone with the feeling that Old Devil Zhou was being subject to the most bonepiercingly painful type of torment possible.

None of the members of Squad 9 had ever even heard screaming like this before; it was filled with hair-raising desperation, the type which would be present in people who wished to die rather than be alive.

"His voice... it's like something is suppressed inside of him that wishes to explode out, but can't, and instead, pushes him into complete madness!"

"Heavens! How is Uzumaki Hao doing this?!"

"Whatever interrogation method he's using to get Old Devil Zhou to scream like that, it shows he's already on the path to success! Nobody could possibly endure under such pent-up pressure!"

The captain was having trouble breathing calmly, and all the other guards were completely stunned. Zhao Feng was shaking visibly; as an inquisitor, he was well aware that being able to fill someone with pressure and make them unable to release it was extremely, extremely difficult.

"Don't tell me he's an inquisitor too? Impossible!" A defiant gleam could be seen in Zhao Feng's eyes; in his mind, Old Devil Zhou was an extraordinary individual who could likely continue to endure.

Old Devil Zhou's howling turned more piercing and became more filled with insanity. The level of pain in his voice caused all of the prisoners in

in the entire cell block to look over in astonishment.

"Old Devil Zhou is incredibly tough, but look at him now!"

"Who was that kid who went into his cell just now...?"

The process lasted for about an hour before Old Devil Zhou finally began to beg for mercy.

"I'll talk! I'll reveal everything! I'll tell you where my treasure trove is..."

"Shut up! Lord Uzumaki doesn't want to know about any hidden treasure!"

"Forgive me, Lord Uzumaki. I'm truly sorry... Let me off the hook..." The guards of Squad 9 almost couldn't believe what they were hearing. All attention was on the cell as they pondered what torment Old Devil Zhou was undergoing to get him to start begging for mercy.

However, Uzumaki Hao's viciousness seemed to have no limits. It was almost as if... he was enjoying himself, and that the answer to the original question wasn't really important to him.

Everyone was filled with icy coldness as Old Devil Zhou continued to scream and beg for mercy for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. Finally, he started to tire out. Then, the smoke swirled as Naruto appeared, hands clasped behind his back, chin stuck up, an expression of complete indifference on his face as he strutted out into the open.

Everyone was looking at him, guards and gray-robed prisoners alike. Even the dangerous prisoners in the nearby cells were staring.

He looked exactly as he had earlier, without the slightest change in facial expression. However, when everyone looked into the cell, they began to cry out in shock and alarm.

"Heavens..."

"Is that... is that Old Devil Zhou?!"

"What... what did Uzumaki Hao do to him!?"

Old Devil Zhou had once been big and burly, but now he seemed shriveled up, almost as if he had

he had been burned up from the inside out. His life force and even his soul seemed mostly gone, and the flame of his life force was barely flickering.

He seemed wilted as he crouched there, trembling, his skin covered with scratch marks so deep that bones and organs were visible through some of them.

Clearly, he had been clawing at himself...

As he looked out of the cage at Naruto, his eyes shone with indescribable terror, as though Naruto were an evil ghost the likes of which could strike fear deep into the heart. No one had ever seen Old Devil Zhou with an expression like that in his eyes. It was as if Naruto was so terrifying to him that he was a nightmare eternally branded into the man's mind.

All observers were left gasping. The difference between the Old Devil Zhou from earlier, and the Old Devil Zhou from when Naruto came swaggering out of the cell an hour later, was staggering.

Guards and prisoners alike now stared at Naruto with serious and even awe-struck expressions.

Under the reverent stares of everyone present, Naruto walked up to the captain and then tossed him a jade slip.

"His confession," Naruto said, feeling very pleased to be the center of so much attention. Keeping his hands clasped loftily behind his back, and with a profound look in his eye, he strolled off into the distance.

The captain looked down at the jade slip, stunned. Then he looked back up at Naruto walking off, and it almost seemed as if he were looking at a god.

Zhao Feng couldn't even breathe for a long moment. When he could, he rushed over to the cell to look at Old Devil Zhou twitching and

Zhou twitching and trembling in the corner.

"He didn't leave any marks... He got him to scream endlessly from the pent-up pressure... The prisoner was ready to confess, but he wouldn't let him. He made him feel hopeless... Plus, he seemed to love the process of inflicting the torment... Heavens! There is no higher level among inquisitors! Uzumaki is definitely an inquisitor... no, wait, he's an inquisitor among inquisitors. He's a dark inquisitor!" Zhao Feng swiveled his head to look at Naruto off in the distance, his eyes burning with zeal.

Earlier, he had looked down on Naruto, but now, everything had been turned upside down. As an inquisitor, he couldn't help but be in awe of Naruto's techniques, which caused passion to flare in his heart.

"Wait for me, Brother Uzumaki!" he blurted excitedly as he hurried to catch up. The other guards in Squad 9 were all staring at Naruto with worshipful expressions. The fact that Naruto had forced Old Devil Zhou to finally open his mouth meant that Squad 9 would not only earn a lot of face, but they would also be able to get Old Devil Zhou's hidden treasures. Almost immediately, their opinion of Naruto changed completely.

The captain was panting, and his eyes were shining brightly. He knew exactly what it meant to have an inquisitor like this on Squad 9, and he quickly hurried to catch up.

The gray-robed prisoners and the dangerous prisoners in the cells watched the guards hurrying to cluster around Naruto, and then turned to look at the twitching and trembling Old Devil Zhou. At that point, all of them decided that this was an inquisitor they could never afford to provoke!

He was the stuff of nightmares!

Chapter 628

A+ A- Chapter 628

Chapter 628: Splitting The Loot...

As Naruto strutted along, the captain and guards of Squad 9 hurried along beside him, their eyes shining with reverence and awe.

In the cultivation world, people always respected the powerful. It was almost like a natural law. However, in Devil Penitentiary, there was an additional law, and that was to respect inquisitors!

Inquisitors were the ultimate representations of wealth and status!

In the past, Zhao Feng had been quite popular as the inquisitor of Squad 9, and had been treated with incredible respect by the captain. The inquisitors of all squads were treated similarly.

But now, everyone could tell that Naruto was an incredible inquisitor; even Zhao Feng was convinced. Therefore, it was only natural for everyone's passions to be aroused.

"Brother Uzumaki is actually a top master!"

"Hahaha! Sorry for the misunderstanding earlier, Brother Uzumaki. But let's forget about that. From now on, we're brothers!"

"With such abilities as an inquisitor, Brother Uzumaki, you can soar to the highest heights in Devil Penitentiary!"

Zhao Feng's previous hostility was long gone, replaced by awe and reverence. "Squad 9 has struck gold! With Brother Uzumaki, we're all going to have the best of the best."

Earlier, there was no way Naruto could have imagined that getting Old Devil Zhou to talk would result in having everyone suddenly fall in love with him. The realization that he was completely outstanding caused him to sigh in his heart. No matter where he went, he ended up shining like a treasure, and he couldn't stop that fact from causing his eyes to glitter brightly.

"I'm simply too outstanding," he thought. "How could I be this outstanding? Even I have no choice but to admire myself." Although he enjoyed reveling in his success, he was also the type of person who knew how to treat others smoothly. Clearing his throat, he began to laugh and chat with the other guards.

Slapping his chest proudly, he said, "Ah, that was nothing. From now

on, our Squad 9 is going to be one big family! We're all brothers!"

Such talk continued as he and Squad 9 made their way out of the cellblock.

That very day, the captain sent some of the guards outside of Giant Ghost City to the spot that Old Devil Zhou had confessed was the location of his hidden treasure. Sure enough, there was an immortal's cave hidden by a magical technique, within which lay Old Devil Zhou's life savings, which was subsequently brought back to Devil Penitentiary.

Soon, Squad 9 was having a meeting in the captain's quarters, in which they split up all of Old Devil Zhou's treasure. Naruto got the largest share of all, a soulhoarding pagoda filled with countless vengeful souls and more than a thousand portions of mid-grade soul medicine. Even Naruto gasped at the sight of all the treasure.

"This Old Devil Zhou was totally rich!" he thought. At that point, the captain waved his sleeve, sending jugs of fine liquor out to all the guards.

Laughing, the captain raised his jug up and then loudly declared, "This is all thanks to Brother Uzumaki Hao's hard work, everyone. Come, come, let's drink to him!"

The other guards laughed and raised their jugs to Naruto. They had all benefited greatly just now, and from the way their eyes shone when they looked at him, it was almost as if they were looking at the endless treasure they would surely get in the days to come.

Flicking his sleeve, Naruto raised his jug. "Brothers, I'm new to Devil Penitentiary, and still don't know all the rules. Please, I hope you can forgive me for any faux pas I might make.

"By the way, some of the rumors which have been spreading about me are quite painful, and I'd rather not discuss them. In any case, you're my family now, and going forward, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we all have

have a wonderful life. Please, allow me to drink to you!" Naruto was very impressed with how wonderful his words were as he took a long drink.

The fact that he seemed so pure and fair, and even delicate to some degree, seemed somewhat disparate with his bold words. However, that simply provoked a cheer from the other guards, who then laughed as they drank deeply from their alcohol jugs.

Even as they lowered their jugs, it was possible to see that their relationship had improved vastly. Naruto was now one of them, and all of them were laughing loudly as they addressed each other as brothers.

Even the captain did so. Clasping Naruto warmly on the shoulder, he said, "The reason we treated you so ambivalently before was because of those rumors. Everyone said that you were vicious, with no toleration of filial piety. However, those rumors were clearly false. Brother Uzumaki Hao, you are just our type of person. Furthermore, you obviously have great potential as an inquisitor. Coming to Devil Penitentiary was definitely the right decision. Who cares about some crappy Uzumaki Clan? From now on, if the Uzumaki Clan dares to show their face here, we brothers will show them a thing or two!"

Everyone laughed heartily. Then, Zhao Feng clasped his alcohol jug in his hands and gave a deep, sincere bow.

Naruto was very moved. In fact, he even threw off his outer garment and set a foot atop one of the alcohol jugs in a heroic pose. [1]

"Thank you, my brothers!" he said loudly. "From now on, all of you are my big bros!"

Zhao Feng raised his alcohol jug and said, "Brother Uzumaki, I treated you poorly before. Let me drink to you!" He drank deeply, and once again bowed to Naruto. "There's no way I could have the face to continue to serve as Squad 9's inquisitor. Brother Uzumaki, please, I beg of you to take over the position!" The

the position!"

The other guards shot to their feet and voiced similar thoughts.

"That's right, Brother Uzumaki Hao. Why don't you be Squad 9's inquisitor!?"

"With your potential, you'll surely become the most famous inquisitor in Devil Penitentiary!"

Even the captain joined in. Naruto's heart pulsed with happiness at being so popular. After a bit more time went by, he decided to ask some questions about inquisitors.

Zhao Feng looked at Naruto with praise in his eyes as he offered an introduction."Most of the prisoners in Devil Penitentiary can't be soulsearched. That's why we have inquisitors, whose job it is to formally interrogate the prisoners. Only people with incredible skills in interrogation can become inquisitors.

"Each of the four main cellblocks in Devil Penitentiary has a highly respected inquisitor, whose standing is second only to that of a deputy warden. Because of the darkness which fills their hearts, they are known as dark inquisitors! In addition to the four great dark inquisitors, each of the squads in the four cellblocks all have their own inquisitor.

"Old Devil Zhou was a nut that none of the inquisitors in Cellblock D have been able to crack. In fact, even the dark inquisitor from Squad 1 failed with him. Now that you've succeeded, Brother Uzumaki Hao, that means you have the potential to become a dark inquisitor!"

Naruto blinked in surprise at this new information about Devil Penitentiary. Then he thought about Old Devil Zhou, and how many vengeful souls he had earned because of him, and his heart began to pound.

"I still need that last deva soul," he thought. "Until I get it, my cultivation will be stuck at a standstill. For now, the best way to keep my poor little life safe is to use the power of magical items... In that case, flame conjuring is still going to be very important, and in turn, that means that I need to have a lot of souls..."

With those thoughts on his mind, Naruto

mind, Naruto cleared his throat, waved his hand, and said, "Well, since you all insist, then I guess I might as well agree to be your inquisitor."

The guards cheered, and unanimously raised their alcohol jugs in a toast.

Then someone suggested that they should start visiting some of the most tight-lipped of the prisoners, people who had never revealed the location of their hidden treasures.

"With Brother Uzumaki here, we're all going to be rich! Brother Uzumaki, did you know that in Cellblock D, there are over a hundred prisoners who have never talked!?"

"That's right! All of those prisoners have tightly-kept secrets. If we can get them to talk, we could probably get as much out of each one as we just got from Old Devil Zhou!" As the conversation progressed along this line, the guards began to look over at Naruto with pounding hearts.

Even the captain was obviously getting excited. Slapping his chest, he said, "Brother Uzumaki, I can go talk things out with the captain of Squad 10, and get him to agree to let us take their patrol duty this time around."

Naruto was trembling with excitement at having suddenly become so important. Sticking his chin up, he said, "Very well. Since that's what you wish, my brothers, then let's do it right now. I refuse to believe that these prisoners can keep their mouths closed around me!"

The excitement in the eyes of the guards couldn't have been more evident. The captain laughed heartily, and then rushed over in the direction of Squad 10. When he returned, he waved his sleeve and said, "They agreed! We have Squad 10's patrol duty!"

1\. The alcohol jugs referenced here are most likely these kind. They can come as small as a hand or as large as a person, and can be drunk from directly. Presumably the ones they are using here are rather large, making it possible to put your foot on top of one and strike a dramatic pose.

Chapter 629

A+ A- Chapter 629

Chapter 629: Dominating Cellblock D

Squad 9 rushed back into the cellblock, their hearts surging with excitement. The gray-robed prisoners had recovered from the sight of Naruto interrogating Old Devil Zhou, and quickly rushed over.

Each and every one clasped hands and bowed, saying things like,

"Heavens! The dark inquisitor is back!"

Not in the mood to pay any attention to the gray-robed prisoners, the guards rushed Naruto toward one of the old-time prisoners who had never talked.

Naruto kept his hands clasped behind his back as they neared one of the cells off in the distance. As they got closer, the gray-robed prisoners in the area eyed them nervously.

Glaring at the prisoner in the cage, the captain said, "Brother Uzumaki, this is Old Devil Xu. It was an entire sixty-year-cycle ago that he was one of the most powerful Nascent Soul experts around. Back then, he murdered 99,999 pregnant women and used their placentas to forge a powerful magical device. It was really a shocking thing that got everyone up in arms!"

Naruto could see an old man sitting cross-legged in the cage, looking very calm. The man's eyes flickered up to look at him, and they were ice-cold, as if he didn't care about any living thing in the world.

When he spoke, his voice was just as cold as his gaze. "It's been a long time since anyone tried to get me to talk. Let the fun begin, shall we?"

After actually laying eyes on Old Devil Xu, Squad 9's confidence in Naruto suddenly began to wane. Old Devil Xu was extremely famous, and even Cellblock D's dark inquisitor had repeatedly failed to get any information out of him.

"Let's see how Squad 9's inquisitor deals with Old Devil

Xu!" Among the gray-robed prisoners in the area, there were many who already revered Naruto. However, most of them were still more in awe of Old Devil Xu.

Even as everyone pondered what was going to happen, Naruto looked Old Devil Xu up and down, then entered the cell. Moments later, a black smoke filled the area, and before long, howls rang out that were very similar to the howls that had just been heard from Old Devil Zhou.

Almost immediately, the eyes of the Squad 9 guards lit up. As for the gray-robed prisoners, their hearts began to pound, and many of them gasped.

"Even Old Devil Xu is reacting like this!?"

"No way! This is Old Devil Xu we're talking about! Not even Cellblock D's dark inquisitor could get him to talk!"

Roughly an hour later, the howls turned to pleas for mercy. Everyone was shaken, especially the dangerous prisoners in the nearby cells, whose faces had become masks of terror.

Then Naruto emerged, looking as calm as ever, a jade slip in his hand.

"Here's his confession," he said. "Who's next?"

Zhao Feng was shivering with excitement, and the captain looked extremely happy. By this point, Naruto was like a god to the guards, and it was with great zeal that they led him to another area.

And that was how things went at the second cell, then the third, and then the fourth...

During the following three days, it was to the complete stupefaction of everyone present that Naruto swept through each of the old-time prisoners in Cellblock D that he was taken to!

A few managed to hold out for as long as four hours. However, in the end, none of them could hold their tongues. All of them revealed their

their deepest secrets to Naruto.

Naruto was already very impressed by how he was benefiting from all of this. In fact, many of the old-time prisoners ended up telling him, not only their own secrets, but secrets belonging to other people...

There were secrets which had never before been uttered to anyone, which were now revealed because of Naruto. At first he took it all in stride, but as more and more secrets were revealed, his eyes began to shine brightly.

He was really starting to feel that he fit in in Devil Penitentiary. Furthermore, as he interrogated all of the various prisoners, he came to the realization that all of them had really committed heinous crimes that were worthy of execution!

"I guess the giant ghost king... really knows what he's doing," he thought.

As for Squad 9, they were already starting to grow numb to what was happening. Considering how profoundly skilled Naruto was at performing interrogations, and considering how many jade slips were piling up in the captain's hands, their eyes began to shine like diamonds.

Every jade slip he held represented vast wealth, and when the guards thought about what their lives would be like going forward, their devotion to Naruto grew stronger.

Of course, the gray-robed prisoners were even more profoundly affected, and would stare at Naruto, trembling with fear and reverence.

Shaken, and filled with deep admiration, the captain gritted his teeth and paid a heavy price to make contact with the captains of the other squads. It was impossible to say exactly how he did it, but he managed to get Squad 9 assigned to patrol duty for an entire month straight.

When the rest of Squad 9 heard the news, they erupted into cheering. In sharp

In sharp contrast, shocked expressions could be seen on the faces of the gray-robed prisoners and the prisoners in the cells.

Slowly but surely, the month went by.

During that time, Naruto completely dominated Cellblock D. One by one, he visited all of the old-time prisoners.

During each interrogation session, screams would erupt from the cell, leading to widespread shock among everyone present.

It was all made even more terrifying by the fact that no one could actually see what was happening during the interrogation.

Whenever Naruto emerged from an interrogation session, it didn't matter how brutal or savage the prisoner had been in the past, they all ended up trembling and terrified. In fact, for days after any given interrogation, such prisoners would lurk in their cells like scared rabbits, shaking physically.

Squad 9 was delighted by this, and Naruto's fame spread throughout Cellblock D, until everyone stared at him with either terror or awe.

Naruto was more entranced by Devil Penitentiary than ever, mostly because of all the secrets he was learning. Most such secrets pertained to the Wildlands, and to Giant Ghost City. In fact, during the month which passed, Naruto came to learn... far too many secret matters.

When it finally came time for Squad 9 to end their patrol duty, the prisoners sighed in relief. Naruto had created a nightmare for them the likes of which they had not experienced for years. As for those who had been interrogated, their fear could only be described as deep and profound.

Of course, Squad 9 really had struck the jackpot. Furthermore, as they collected and split all of their loot, the other squads in Cellblock D were completely shaken as they received the shares they had been promised in return for giving return for giving up their patrol duty.

Once inquiries were made, and the other squads came to realize that the reason for it all was the dark inquisitor Uzumaki Hao, they couldn't have been more shocked.

"What? He got all the old-time prisoners to talk in one month?! That's impossible!"

"Dammit! No wonder Squad 9 wanted to switch patrol duty with us..."

"I can't believe that Uzumaki Hao knows dark inquisitor techniques. If the stories are true, then he's no ordinary dark inquisitor. After all, not even Cellblock D's official dark inquisitor could do what he did!"

As more inquiries were made, and the stories were confirmed, the other squads began to tremble and stare in jealousy at Squad 9.

Even the deputy warden of Cellblock D, Sun Peng, was completely shaken by the news.

"He got all the old-time prisoners to talk in only one month!?" When he saw all of the soul medicines and magical items that the captain of Squad 9 had sent him, he realized that he had no choice but to believe this unbelievable news.

"This Uzumaki Hao is so vicious! Well, considering that he even reviled his own clan, I guess the role of dark inquisitor really does fit him." Then Sun Peng realized that Cellblock D would finally have a chance to shine with glory in front of Warden Li Xu. Without any hesitation, he sent down orders that Uzumaki Hao could enter the cellblock at any time he wanted, and interrogate even the most dangerous prisoners!

The other squads could only go into the cellblock itself once per month for three days. But Uzumaki Hao faced no such limitations.

Ordinarily, such an arrangement would have caused widespread anger. However, because of Naruto's shocking performance, not a single person raised an objection.

Chapter 630

A+ A- Chapter 630

Chapter 630: Mysterious Old Man

The month that passed was a month of bounteous harvest for everyone in Squad 9. In fact, they didn't have to do anything other than escort Naruto around and reap the rewards.

After all, the more than one hundred old-time prisoners all had indescribable caches of wealth. Although the guards would only get a small portion of it, when you combined it all together, it was still a shocking amount.

It was no wonder that Sun Peng, who got half of everything, would give Naruto special treatment. Of course, Naruto got the largest share after Sun Peng, and yet, considering his personality, he wasn't the type to be a miser...

He had long since made contact with Zhou Yixing and Li Feng, and given them information that they could use to profit as well.

There were many people in Devil Penitentiary who realized this, but actually, it didn't break the rules. As long as Naruto wasn't too excessive in how he helped his people on the outside, no one would cause any problems for him. After all, few people would ever risk causing trouble for a dark inquisitor.

Besides, Naruto knew how to conduct himself with integrity. Whether it was his way with words or his generous nature, he always left people feeling good about him.

In the end, Naruto's greatest reward wasn't all the wealth, but rather, the secrets he learned... Those secrets weren't something physical that could be counted, but were vastly valuable.

"There used to be five great clans in Giant Ghost City, not just three.

Two of them... were exterminated overnight by the giant ghost king!"

"The giant ghost king has a demigod cultivation base, but rumor has it that there is a fatal weakness in the technique he cultivates."

"There are a few of the ten marquises who actually want to rebel against

King Giant Ghost!" Those

were only a few of the secrets he had learned, all of which caused his eyes to sparkle with curiosity.

"Who would have ever thought that I would gain so much in this prison!?" Chuckling to himself, he looked at his crystalline soulhoarding pagoda and the vast collection of vengeful souls he had, which was the largest collection he had accumulated in his entire time in the Wildlands.

"I'm almost finished with my auguries of thirteen-colored flame..." He was almost inclined to make an attempt at conjuring thirteen-colored flame, but his residence was too small. Besides, if he lost control, it could lead to a huge disaster.

After some thought, he walked out of his quarters and headed toward the entrance to the cellblock.

Along the way, any of the guards he saw would greet him very politely. In return, he would smile, reveling in the feeling of being so important to everyone. Before long, he was passing through the entrance.

Inside, he ignored how his arrival instantly caused a stir of fear among the gray-robed prisoners and the prisoners in the cells. During his month-long stay recently, he had found an area some distance away from the entrance that was relatively wide-open, which was where he headed now.

After arriving, he set up numerous spell formations, then sat down crosslegged and took a deep breath. After taking a moment to review the formula he had come up with for thirteen-colored flame, he performed an incantation gesture and waved at his soulhoarding pagoda.

A vast amount of vengeful souls swept out of the soulhoarding pagoda, filling the entire area. Then, a serious expression could be seen on Naruto's face as he waved his hand to produce a twelve-colored flame.

"I started working on thirteen-colored flame back when I left the Uzumaki Clan, thanks to the inspiration I got from Uzumaki Hao's research notes. After plenty of augury, I'm now eighty

eighty percent certain that I'll succeed!

"Even if I fail, it shouldn't matter. I can just determine the cause of failure, then make some adjustments, and be even more confident than before!" Without the slightest hesitation, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed at the twelve-colored flame, which spread out into a sea of fire and then began to consume the vengeful souls.

Although the process went quickly, it all went according to the complicated method Naruto had come up with in advance. Time passed, and the souls disappeared. Gradually, another color became visible within the flame, but unfortunately, along with it came an uncontrollable instability. No matter how Naruto tried to adjust things, nothing worked, and the flame finally fell apart into nothing.

Frowning, he contemplated the matter for a bit, then tried again.

One day. Two days. Three days... Before long, half a month had gone by. Naruto had tried several dozen different methods, all of which had failed, but all of which had given him new directions to attempt.

As time passed, his confidence in being able to produce thirteen-colored flame grew. At one point, he suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, but his expression lively. Furthermore, his eyes were shining in anticipation.

"That was the last issue. As of this moment, I am completely confident in being able to succeed!" He waved his sleeve, causing a huge amount of vengeful souls to fly out of the soulhoarding pagoda and into the twelvecolored flame. Naruto was concentrating completely, and his body even blurred with afterimages as he boosted his divine sense using his clones. Gradually, as he exercised rigid control over the process, a thirteenth color appeared in the flame!

Almost immediately, rumbling sounds echoed out, and the heat emanating from the flame grew exponentially intense. It was almost like a tempest of fire swirling around him. The prisoners who had been watching him this

him this whole time were completely shocked, and didn't dare to get near. Even many of the prisoners in the cells were looking over.

In fact, in a location not too far away from Naruto was one cell that housed an old man with a red birthmark on his face, who suddenly looked up. In that instant, his eyes flickered... with immense shock!

The most important prisoners, the ones in the cells, all had their cultivation bases sealed, making it impossible to use them. And yet, this old man could clearly sense that Naruto was working with thirteen-colored flame. The fact that he could sense that... was extremely bizarre!

That old man had been pointed out to Naruto when he first came to Devil Penitentiary. As the captain had explained, he had supposedly offended the giant ghost king, and had been locked up for more than two hundred years because of it.

A moment after opening his eyes, he closed them and went back to meditation, as if thirteen-colored flame was something that could only hold his interest for a moment.

Of course, Naruto had no idea about what had just occurred. Keeping his aura under tight control, he cautiously closed his fingers over his palm, causing the sea of fire to shrink back down, accompanied by intense rumbling sounds. Then, when he opened his hand again... he had a tongue of thirteen-colored flame!

"It worked!" he said, laughing loudly. Thanks to Uzumaki Hao's notes, now that Naruto had succeeded with thirteen-colored flame, he knew that he wouldn't have much trouble with fourteen-colored flame.

After all, both flames were in the same overall level. However, fifteencolored flame was a dividing mark, separating the terrestrial rank from the celestial rank.

Celestial necromancers... could be considered reserve powers in necromancer clans! After all, if a soul cultivator wanted to break through from the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage

Nascent Soul stage and step into the Deva Realm, he would need an object with a fifteenfold spirit enhancement. Only in that way could he gain enlightenment of heaven and earth, and also, earn the chance to become a deva.

"I already feel confident enough to take a shot at fourteen-colored flame..." he thought, his eyes shining with determination.

Another half a month went by.

Naruto's hair was disheveled, and he looked like a mad devil. He was now at a critical juncture. During the past half month, he had failed on numerous occasions, but had also advanced by leaps and bounds.

"It should only take me five more tries to succeed!" he said, his eyes bloodshot. With that, he slapped his soulhoarding pagoda, causing more vengeful souls to fly out. However, it was at this point that he realized he actually didn't have enough souls!

Eyes widening in shock, he said, "I'm all out?"

From what he remembered, he had built up a huge amount of souls. After sitting there mutely for a while, he chuckled bitterly at the realization that his expenditures during the past month had been immense.

"I wasn't paying attention and went overboard..." Scowling, he sighed and thought back to all of the souls he had handed in to the pagoda back at the Great Wall.

"It's too bad I gave all those vengeful souls over to get battle credit..." When he thought about how foolish he had been to do such a thing, his heart pulsed with regret.

"All of the old-time prisoners in Cellblock D have already talked. However, Zhou Yixing should have benefited from the information I sent him a while back.

"Ah, whatever. I guess I'll just go see how many vengeful souls he's managed to get his hands on." Although he was worried about his lack of vengeful souls, at least he had a lot of soul medicine in his bag of holding.

Chapter 631

A+ A- Chapter 631

Chapter 631: Too Domineering

"I really ought to take some time to explore Giant Ghost City a bit too..." Now that he had a prison guard's command medallion, leaving Devil Penitentiary was easy. He emerged from the stone turtle's left eye, whereupon the medallion shone with a soft light that protected him from the black waters of the moat.

Before long he was out of the moat, and basking in the afternoon sunlight. Giant Ghost City was bustling like usual, with a good number of people about even on the streets near the moat.

The splash of the water as he emerged attracted the attention of quite a few nearby soul cultivators, and as soon as they laid eyes on him, they realized where he must have just come from.

"He's from Devil Penitentiary..."

"Devil Penitentiary..."

Virtually all soul cultivators in Giant Ghost City were terrified of Devil Penitentiary, so as soon as they saw Naruto, they lowered their voices and averted their gazes.

There even happened to be some city guards on patrol nearby, and as soon as they saw him and realized who he was, they simply pretended to have not noticed him, and hurried away.

"Wow, I never realized people from Devil Penitentiary have such a high standing!" Although he had heard some rumors before about how people viewed Devil Penitentiary, to experience it firsthand as a prison guard was very different.

"I guess becoming a guard really was a good thing!" Clearing his throat, he began to make his way down the street, simultaneously sending a message to Zhou Yixing to come meet up. Then he began to look around for somewhere to buy vengeful souls.

Zhou Yixing actually wasn't very far away, but since flight was prohibited within the city limits, he was forced to hurry along on foot toward Naruto.

As Naruto waited for Zhou Yixing to find him, he walked along and took note of several shops that sold vengeful souls. Some were large and luxurious, while others were smaller and more specialized. However, after

asking around a bit, he was saddened to find that all of the shops were running very low on supply. In fact, none of them were actually selling vengeful souls, only buying them.

After checking seven or eight shops and finding that it was the same with all of them, Naruto started to get nervous. After all, he had come out with the specific purpose of buying some souls.

"What's going on? Why do all the shops that specialize in selling vengeful souls not even have any souls to sell?" With that, he headed to another street, where he checked in with another seven or eight shops. To his shock, he found that it was the same with all of them.

Finally, in one of the larger shops, he grabbed a salesperson by the arm and asked, "How come none of you have any souls for sale? What's the deal?"

"How should I know?" the salesman replied with a glare. "We're out of stock! What are you grabbing me for? What, are you gonna try to

take my soul or something?"

This salesman had worked in Giant Ghost City for many years, and had come to have quite an eye for customers. He could tell by looking at Naruto, and also from the way he asked his question, that he was a new arrival. Completely uninterested in dealing with a newcomer, the salesman gave him another glare and then prepared to rebuke him a bit more.

Irritated by the man's attitude, Naruto thought about how the city guards had reacted upon seeing him fly out of the moat earlier, and quickly pulled out his Devil Penitentiary prison guard's command medallion.

"Do you have the guts to say that again?!" he asked angrily, holding the medallion right in front of the man's face.

At first, the salesperson seemed irritated, but when he realized that a Devil Penitentiary command medallion was being flashed in his face, he gasped. Scalp tingling madly, he shivered, and then plastered a huge smile onto his face. Considering that he

he had been in Giant Ghost City for many years, he obviously knew that people from Devil Penitentiary were among those who should never be offended. Devil Penitentiary was a place that even ghosts and gods were afraid of. The guards there were known to be vicious fiends, not to mention the inquisitors, who were brutal and cruel to the extreme.

"Please forgive me, exalted one! The truth is that none of the shops in

Giant Ghost City have souls right now. We're completely sold out..."

"Sold out?" Naruto said with a frown, his anger beginning to fade.

"Yes, that's right. The three great clans have been hoarding souls recently, presumably because of the matter of the hell-emperor's successor... If you have an urgent need, exalted one, we do have a few random souls here at the shop, just not very many." Clasping hands nervously, the salesman hurried behind the counter and into the back of the shop to gather a few of the random souls that were available. Clearly, he didn't want to offend this person from Devil Penitentiary, and just wanted him to be on his way as quickly as possible.

"How domineering!" Naruto thought. "I can't believe they bought all the souls just because of some hell-emperor successor thing." Never could he have imagined that the as-yet distant matter of the hellemperor's successor would already start to negatively influence him.

Considering that flame conjuring would require more and more souls, the fact that Giant Ghost City was almost completely sold out could make things very troublesome.

"What am I supposed to do now? The three great clans are way out of line here! I guess I should have cleaned out the Uzumaki Clan even more than I did." Sighing, he realized he had to rest all of his hopes on Zhou Yixing, and whatever vengeful souls he had managed to get his hands on with the information Naruto had sent him from the interrogated prisoners.

Even as Naruto was pondering the situation, the salesman returned from

returned from the back of the shop with a soulhoarding pagoda in hand. Bowing and scraping, he said, "Exalted one, here are about 100,000 souls. It's really everything we have left."

Naruto scanned the soulhoarding pagoda, and confirmed that it contained far from the amount he was looking for. However, it was better than nothing. Nodding his head, he was just about to pay for the souls when a bored-sounding voice echoed out from the entrance of the shop.

"I'll take those souls." Two young men strolled into the shop, dressed in expensive clothing that seemed to be woven from spirit silk. Their robes glittered like magical treasures, and if one looked closely enough, it would be possible to see designs on them indicating that they had received sevenfold spirit enhancements.

In the Wildlands, spirit enhancements were more common, but the success rates were the same as back in the lands of Heavenspan. The higher the level of the spirit enhancement, the more likely it was that it would fail.

A failure would lead to the complete destruction of the item and the ingredients, and that meant that any item which had numerous spirit enhancements represented heaven-defying good luck.

Both of the young men were in the great circle of Foundation

Establishment, and from their magical clothing, it was easy to tell that they were no ordinary cultivators. They were flanked by eight middleaged soul cultivators, most of whom were in Foundation Establishment. However, two of them clearly had Core Formation cultivation bases!

Considering that the entire group of eight carried themselves like servants, it made the two young men stand out in even more grand fashion.

Naruto eyed the clothing on the two young men, and could hear the stifled gasps coming from the other people in the shop. A look appeared on the salesman's face that seemed even more polite than the look he had given Naruto earlier. Rushing over, he said, "Well met, Prince Chen, Prince Cai."

"Give me those souls," said one of the young men, the one

men, the one whom the salesman had addressed as Prince Cai. Although the young man had spoken in a relatively calm voice, from the look in his eye, he clearly viewed himself to be vastly superior to Naruto. One of his servants immediately stepped forward with a bag of holding to take the soulhoarding pagoda.

Of course, there was no way Naruto would simply agree to that. "Slow down, there," he said angrily. "I'm buying those souls!"

The two young men looked at him coldly, and could quickly see that he had a Core Formation cultivation base. However, they didn't seem to care about that, nor did they notice that he was Uzumaki Hao from the Uzumaki Clan.

"We'll pay double," Prince Cai said. With that, he and Prince Chen simply turned and walked out, clearly bored.

Naruto was already feeling quite humiliated, especially considering that the salesman had just glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, clearly delighted to be able to watch this scene play out. Anger rising, Naruto took a step forward and loudly declared, "I'll pay triple!"

Outside, Prince Cai didn't even turn around before replying, "I'll pay ten times the original price!"

These two young men were direct bloodline clan members of the Chen and Cai Clan, and were responsible for coming to clear out the souls of the various shops in Giant Ghost City. Although 100,000 wasn't a very large number when it came to souls, their clan elders' instructions had been very clear. They had to get as many souls as possible!

Naruto was getting angrier. To him, it felt as if someone had slapped him across the face with a pile of money! Just when he was about to continue speaking, his transmission jade slip in his bag of holding began to vibrate. After scanning it with some divine sense, he heard an anxious message from Zhou Yixing.

"Master, I'm just east of the teleportation portal! Someone's trying to kill me and steal all the souls I got for you. Help!"

Chapter 632

A+ A- Chapter 632

Chapter 632: Once The Heavens Change

As soon as Naruto heard the message, his eyes turned even more bloodshot than before. If Zhou Yixing had merely been involved in a deadly fight, it would have been more acceptable, but to hear that someone was trying to steal his souls was a different matter...

Right now, Naruto wanted souls more than just about everything else. And considering that none of the shops in the city had any souls to spare, Zhou Yixing was his last hope.

"I only need to practice five more times and I'll be able to conjure fourteen-colored flame. As of this moment, anyone who tries to steal souls from me is my enemy!" Enraged, and having no time to argue with the two crown princes, he rushed out and headed in the direction of the teleportation portal.

As soon as he was out in the open, he flew up into the air and hung his Devil Penitentiary command medallion around his neck. Although flying was prohibited in the city, when the patrolling city guards saw his medallion and realized who he was, they simply pretended not to notice him.

He was already relatively close to the teleportation portal, so coupled with the fact that he was flying, it only took him a few breaths of time to reach his destination.

As he rumbled through the air in a beam of light, he attracted quite a bit of attention. Even before he landed, he could see Zhou Yixing to the east of the teleportation portal, a look of desperation on his face as he struggled with a group of a dozen or so cultivators. One of the cultivators in that group... was the very

same chief of the Uzumaki Clan whom Naruto had captured when fleeing the clan!

Madam Cai was also there, accompanied by a contingent of followers, most of whom were members of the Uzumaki Clan. There were two other soul cultivators present who, based on their clothing, were obviously from two of the other great clans.

As Naruto closed in, the clan chief thrust his hand out, causing a black wind to swirl around Zhou Yixing, locking him in place and making it impossible for him to flee.

Seeing Zhou Yixing in such danger, Naruto roared, "How dare you, Uzumaki Clan lowlife!"

As his voice echoed out like heavenly thunder, the group from the Uzumaki Clan turned to see who was approaching. When Madam Cai recognized who it was, she shrieked, "Uzumaki Hao!"

Uzumaki Hao's father, the clan chief, looked up and began to tremble. As thoughts flashed through his mind regarding how he had been kidnapped, he gritted his teeth and growled, "Uzumaki Hao!"

The other members of the Uzumaki Clan were all shocked, and were immediately reminded of all the humiliation which had been heaped onto their heads because of Uzumaki Hao.

"It's Uzumaki Hao!"

"The patriarch wasn't able to kill him back then, and he ended up getting taken away by the giant ghost king..."

Zhou Yixing was on the verge of tears, his heart gripped by a sensation of imminent crisis. "Help me, milord..."

The clan chief's eyes burned with rage; a later investigation regarding the murdersoul spikes had led him to Zhou Yixing, and he quickly realized that he was working with Naruto. Therefore, after laying eyes on him during this visit to the city, he had immediately attempted to kidnap him.

However, now that Uzumaki

Naruto had appeared, the clan chief changed his plan. Instead of trying to kidnap Zhou Yixing, he would try to kill him! Snorting coldly, he reached out and made a grasping motion in Zhou Yixing's direction, causing the black wind to transform into a wind blade.

"We might not be able to touch you because of your status in Giant Ghost City," he growled, "but that doesn't mean I can't kill your follower!"

Hope had just appeared in front of Zhou Yixing, only to be replaced by the black wind blade, which now slashed down toward him, filling his heart with despair. Although all of these things take some time to describe, they happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Seeing what was happening, Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he burst forward with greater speed than ever!

He wasn't using the Mountain Shaking Bash, he was using... the Undying Hex!

Anyone observing him would see him become a blur, while to him, his surroundings suddenly slowed down. Then he vanished. Meanwhile, the wind blade was slashing down toward Zhou Yixing, and he was wailing miserably. But then a screaming sound could be heard as Naruto suddenly appeared right in front of Zhou Yixing.

There, he reached out and smacked the wind blade.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The wind blade shattered into countless pieces which spun out in all directions. At the same time, the Uzumaki Clan cultivators all stepped back.

Pupils constricting, the clan chief took a step forward, performing an incantation gesture with his right hand as he said, "Feeling suicidal, Uzumaki Hao?!"

Instantly, the wails of ghosts and wolves could be heard as he used his distinctive Uzumaki Clan secret magic, causing his

causing his divine sense to transform into countless shadow ghosts that pounced toward Naruto.

"I beat you once before, are you really crazy enough to try again?!" Naruto shot backward, slamming into the shocked Zhou Yixing to send him tumbling away.

Then, Naruto glared at the clan chief as several afterimages appeared, which were none other than his four clones. Even as they appeared out in the open, they simultaneously unleashed a fist strike onto the clan chief!

A huge boom rolled out to fill nearly half of Giant Ghost City. Instantly, numerous beams of light began to shoot in their direction.

"Magical combat is prohibited in Giant Ghost City. Stay your hands immediately!"

"Stop right there!" Voices rang out from the huge giant ghost statue in the middle of the city, as well as streams of shocking divine sense.

Simultaneously, Naruto and his clones slammed into the clan chief, after which all of them staggered backward. As for the clan chief, blood was oozing out of his mouth, and he was panting as he glared angrily at Naruto.

Naruto was also backing up, but wasn't hurt. It was even as he pondered the advantages and disadvantages of fighting the Uzumaki Clan inside of Giant Ghost City that the voices and divine sense of the city guards appeared, much to his relief.

Without any hesitation, Naruto shouted, "How dare you ambush someone from Devil Penitentiary, old man Uzumaki! This is Giant Ghost City, not your Uzumaki Clan! Brothers from the city guard, I'm Uzumaki Hao from Devil Penitentiary. These people are violating local law. Not only are they ganging up on me, they're intentionally disrespecting Giant Ghost City!" With that, he grabbed Zhou Yixing and prepared

Yixing and prepared to leave.

Seeing that Naruto was getting away, Madam Cai completely ignored the city guards and shrieked, "Uzumaki Clan cultivators, kill him immediately!"

The venom in Madam Cai's eyes couldn't have been more evident. Her hatred for Naruto had reached unimaginable heights. However, the other members of the Uzumaki Clan hesitated, fully conscious of the razor-sharp gazes of the city guards.

Seeing that the Uzumaki Clan cultivators weren't giving chase, Madam Cai screamed, "Get moving, all of you! Kill him!"

Then she turned to the nearby Cai Clan cultivator, and was about to say something, when the Uzumaki Clan chief growled, "Shut up!"

It was a mere growl, but it echoed like thunder, causing Madam Cai to shake visibly as she turned to stare at her husband.

Expression very grim, he said, "King Giant Ghost bequeathed that scum with a title. If the deva patriarch had to give him up, then what do you think we can do? Besides, killing is prohibited within the city limits..."

Madam Cai didn't seem inclined to agree, but had no choice. However, the rage in her heart was so intense that she was shaking violently.

As for the city guards, when they saw that the Uzumaki Clan was standing down, and that Naruto was already leaving, they looked around vigilantly for a bit, then left.

Before long, the street had calmed down. The Uzumaki Clan cultivators exchanged awkward glances, and Madam Cai was gnashing her teeth.

Glancing grimly at the fleeing Naruto, the clan chief turned to Madam Cai and quietly said, "Just wait a bit longer. Once the heavens change, we'll have our chance."

Madam Cai was taken aback, but quickly realized what the clan chief was talking about...

Chapter 633

A+ A- Chapter 633

Chapter 633: Two Birds, One Stone

Naruto took Zhou Yixing with him as he left the area of the teleportation portal. After checking to make sure they weren't being followed, they stopped in a random alley to catch their breath. Then Naruto finally took a moment to think about how the three great clans had been buying so many souls that he was left with almost nothing to buy. In fact, they had even gone so far as to offer ten times the normal price for some souls just now.

"Complete bullies. Well... Naruto is the type of person who knows how to be flexible. I'll just have to sit back and hold tight!" Considering how terrifying the Uzumaki Clan patriarch was, and the fact that he was temporarily stuck in the Wildlands, he realized that he had no other choice.

It was at this point that Zhou Yixing, aware he had just escaped a disaster, clasped hands and said, "Many thanks, milord. If you had come even a moment later, I... I probably would never have been able to see you again."

"Sorry to have dragged you into it," Naruto said. "Oh, right. Did you get your hands on all the loot I messaged you about?"

"All of it!" Zhou Yixing replied. But then he grimaced. "Unfortunately... those people from the three great clans... they robbed me clean..."

"What!?" Naruto said, eyes widening.

Naruto was so angry he felt like exploding. "Complete and utter bullies!" he thought. "Naruto is the type of person who knows how to be flexible, but this time, I can't just sit around and do nothing! This is ridiculous! You big bullies! You're obviously just trying to take advantage of how honest I am! The Uzumaki Clan, Cai Clan, and Chen Clan are all full of scoundrels!"

The more he thought about it, the more angry and humiliated he got.

After all, he hadn't robbed anything from the three great clans, and yet they had gone and robbed him! Well... he had robbed the Uzumaki Clan to some extent, but that didn't give the Cai Clan and the Chen Clan the right to do the same.

Zhou Yixing was a bit taken aback at how angry Naruto was getting. In recent days, he had often had certain suspicions about what exactly was going on. However, he had never been willing to put too much thought into the matter.

"It doesn't really matter who this Uzumaki Hao really is..." he told himself, ducking his head.

Anger burning, Naruto muttered, "I'm not going to sit around and do nothing!"

Then he gritted his teeth and paced back and forth in thought for a moment. Finally, his eyes began to shine as he thought back to the soulgrounds in the Uzumaki Clan. The so-called soulgrounds were speciallyconstructed areas filled with auras of death. Such locations were even more well-suited to keeping souls fresh than soulhoarding pagodas. In fact, not only did they keep souls fresh, but they could slowly improve their quality.

All-in-all, with the exception of a few special types of soulhoarding pagodas, there was nothing that could compare to a soulground.

Furthermore, soulgrounds could hold more souls overall.

Obviously, it was natural for great clans to have more soulgrounds than average, and from what Naruto could remember, the Uzumaki Clan had possessed something like seven or eight. They were all protected by spell formations and guarded by soul cultivators. In fact, they usually contained something called soul sentries, which were special souls that had been transformed into guards. Because of all that, soulgrounds were very difficult places to get into.

Furthermore, even if someone got inside, the vast numbers of souls would usually consume anyone unfamiliar. Besides, stealing souls from soulgrounds would be provoking the three great clans, and no

no one would ever dare to do something like that.

"They stole my souls, so therefore, I'm going to steal theirs!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto gritted his teeth and sent Zhou Yixing away with orders to find a place to hole up and keep his head down. Then he headed out of the city. Because he was a guard at Devil Penitentiary, he was allowed to temporarily leave the city if he wished. If he tried to flee completely, he would be brought back, but as long as he didn't do that, he had a relative measure of freedom.

It was evening by the time he was outside the city, whereupon he carefully headed toward the Chen Clan. Upon arrival, he was able to spot their soulgrounds near the clan itself. However, the area was so rife with souls that he realized that the risk of being spotted was too high. After some thought, he decided it was too dangerous.

"I'll go check out the other two clans..." Taking advantage of the darkness of night, he headed to the Uzumaki Clan. However, an inspection of their soulgrounds revealed the sad truth that the Uzumaki Clan actually didn't have many souls stored up.

"If I rob them, they would realize it almost instantly. Besides, I want a lot of souls!" With that, he headed toward the Cai Clan.

It was deep into the night by the time he arrived near the Cai Clan's soulgrounds. There, his eyes began to shine brightly.

The Cai Clan's soulgrounds were different than the Chen Clan's. Instead of being set up near the ancestral mansions, they were scattered around rather haphazardly. Some of them were very close to the residences, but others were many kilometers away. Naruto even found two that were fully twenty kilometers away from any of the other buildings. The two soulgrounds were both under the protection of a single

a single spell formation, which glowed with bright light despite the darkness of the night. Based on the fluctuations of the spell formation, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have a hard time breaking through it.

Furthermore, disturbing the spell formation in any way would alert the Cai Clan.

Inside the spell formation was a building that looked like a huge beehive, covered with countless holes that the souls could fly into and out of. The mere sight of how many souls were present caused Naruto to gasp.

Furthermore, some of the souls were at the Nascent Soul level, and there were also some unique and special souls mixed in... In addition, there were over 10,000 black-armored soul sentries, whose eyes glowed with bright light. The soul sentries were clearly waiting for any unrecognized person to enter the spell formation, whereupon they would attack with deadly force.

Also located within each of the soulgrounds were buildings occupied by Cai Clan soul cultivators. There were only a dozen or so, and they didn't have very high cultivation bases, but considering that they had the power of the spell formation at their disposal, if anything happened, all they would have to do would be to hold out for a short time before reinforcements from the clan arrived.

Because these two soulgrounds were so close to each other, all of the clan guards had gathered in one of them.

Because of how everything was set up, the soulgrounds of the three great clans were the type of things that outsiders might be able to look at, but would never dare to mess with. However, Naruto was different... As soon as he was able to study the situation, his eyes began to shine.

"You rob me, I rob you right back! Measly soulgrounds. Other people might think it impossible to do anything to them, but for me, it's going to be simple... With the snap of

the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, will reduce them to ashes..." After making some calculations, he took a step forward and instantly pierced through the air. Completely ignoring the defensive spell formation, and not even attracting its attention, he appeared in the middle of the soulground!

It happened so quickly that the Cai Clan guards didn't have time to react, and as for the patrolling soul sentries, they simply gaped in shock.

The clan guards' eyes went wide, and they stared at Naruto for a moment before one of them said, "You-"

However, before anything else could happen, Naruto unleashed a fist strike!

A huge boom rang out as an attack blasted into the Cai Clan cultivators, sending them tumbling backward, blood spraying out of their mouths before they simply lapsed into unconsciousness.

By this point, the soul sentries began to react, letting out piercing screams as they shot toward Naruto. However, that was when he stamped his foot down onto the ground, causing ripples to spread out like they would on the surface of a pond when a rock hit it. In reaction, the floating, beehive-like building erupted with screaming sounds as a tide of souls surged out.

Naruto's heart was already pounding at the sight of so many souls. Excited, he didn't hesitate for a moment to toss out a Soul Convergence Pill.

"I need speed... A blitzkrieg strategy!'

Rumbling sounds could be heard as he tossed out more Soul Convergence Pills, creating black holes which instantly sucked in the countless screaming souls, then transformed them into soul spheres.

"This is awesome! What a goldmine!" In his excitement, he looked over at the second soulground, and decided that he might as well kill two birds with one stone. After collecting all of his soul spheres, he flashed into motion, appearing in the second soulground, where a similar scene to what had just occurred played out.

Chapter 634

A+ A- Chapter 634

Chapter 634: Recognizing Me Wont Do You Any Good!

Not even the soul sentries could escape. In less time than it takes half an incense stick to burn, two soulgrounds were wiped completely clean of all souls...

Naruto was extremely pleased with the number of soul spheres he had ended up with, which was enough to keep him going, at least temporarily.

However, in the moment in which he sucked up the last of the souls, he apparently triggered something in the spell formation, which sent a shining pillar of light up into the sky. Obviously, it was something that the Cai Clan would quickly notice!

"Dammit! Does emptying the soulgrounds set off the spell formation?" Naruto thought, his face falling. The bright light of the spell formation was instantly noticed by people in the Cai Clan, who began to utter exclamations of shock as they flew up into the air.

"What's going on!?"

"Is that... is that coming from the soulgrounds!?"

"What's happened? It looks like a soulground spell formation is flaring up. No wait, two soulgrounds!" Even the Cai Clan patriarch flew out and hurried in the direction of the soulgrounds.

Jittery with fear, Naruto prepared to leave, but then stopped in place.

"Soul Convergence Pills leave evidence behind. If people look into it too closely, they might guess who I really am... I need to get rid of the evidence. Even if they see me, it won't matter as long as my true identity isn't revealed." He quickly pulled out a twelve-colored flame that he had conjured earlier in preparation for another attempt at thirteen-colored flame. Instantly, one of his clones stepped out, and furthered the conjuring process!

Considering how well-practiced he was, and that his clone was helping, everything went very quickly.

However, conjuring flame wasn't his true goal. Just

when the thirteenth color was about to appear, the flame destabilized, thanks to his clone. Then, the fire exploded!

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as bright red clouds appeared overhead. Then, numerous bolts of thirteen-colored flame appeared and began to fall from the sky...

Incomparably intense heat filled heaven and earth, and the two soulgrounds were instantly incinerated.

In fact, not only was the evidence of the Soul Convergence Pills removed, but the spell formations were also destabilized, and began to collapse. Of course, Naruto wasn't the type to kill indiscriminately, so he made sure to throw the unconscious Cai Clan cultivators off to a safe location.

Even as the flames spread, Naruto transformed into a beam of light that shot away at high speed, filled with the thrill of having robbed the souls he needed and then destroyed the evidence.

"Who told you to go rob my souls? Hmmmphh!" His heart was pounding with the realization that he had just done something big...

However, now was not the time to ponder the situation. Even as he began to speed away, an enraged roar erupted out.

"How dare you meddle with our Cai Clan soulgrounds? Do you have a death wish?!" Eight figures appeared out in the open, and began to move with lightning-like speed. One of them was a young man who appeared to be less than thirty years of age, but who had a full head of silver hair, and radiated the aura of the great circle of Core Formation.

There was even a bit of a Nascent Soul feel to him, as though he were so close to the Nascent Soul stage that all he had to do was go into secluded meditation and spend a bit of time, and he would succeed! In terms of speed, he was already

already similar to a Nascent Soul cultivator, and as he bore down on Naruto, a look of fury could be seen in his eyes. As for the seven cultivators behind him, they were all Core Formation experts, and their faces all shone with rage when they saw the burnt, scorched soulgrounds.

"Are you looking to die?!" When they saw Naruto fleeing off into the distance, their killing intent erupted with full power.

They were just the first wave to appear. Next were the Nascent Soul clan elders.

Naruto was startled at how quickly the Cai Clan reacted, and knew that if he got involved in a protracted fight, he would likely end up with serious injuries. Therefore, he fled at top speed.

Considering the speed he was capable off, he was instantly able to put a huge distance between himself and his pursuers. Then, he simply vanished.

When the silver-haired chosen saw that Naruto was about to make his escape, his killing intent grew even stronger. Without the slightest hesitation, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a beast hide, which he threw out in front of him. The beast hide instantly ignited, and as it burned up, the air behind the young man rippled as a shadowy beast appeared.

It was an enormous, two-headed vulture, with a wingspan of several hundred meters. As soon as it appeared, it threw its head back and let loose a piercing cry before flapping its wings and taking to flight. At the same time, the Cai Clan chosen leapt onto its back. Shockingly, the young man was using some unknown technique to follow the evidence of Naruto's passage and track him down.

Naruto staggered out into the open roughly five kilometers away. Not pausing for even a moment, he headed at

headed at top speed toward Giant Ghost City.

"Gotta speed up. If anyone from the Cai Clan catches me, I'll be in great danger..." By now, the high he had felt from snatching all the souls was gone, and he was now starting to feel anxiety and fear.

"They forced me to do it..." he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow. As he rocketed through the air in a beam of light, Giant Ghost City got closer and closer. Within a few breaths of time, he would be there! However, that was when an intense whistling sound filled the air, and a blast of wild wind rose up. It was the type of wind that was capable of exterminating the life of anything it touched, and it instantly pierced Naruto to the core.

Shivering, he looked over his shoulder, whereupon his eyes went wide at the sight of the enormous two-headed vulture shooting toward him.

On the vulture's back was the young man, his face a mask of fury, and a long, black spear held in his right hand.

"Impertinent thief! How dare you meddle with our Cai Clan soulgrounds! I'm going to kill you in body and soul!" Then the vulture accelerated as the young man drew on the full power of his cultivation base to shoot toward Naruto, spear outstretched.

Naruto simply couldn't react to the incredible speed of the vulture. In the blink of an eye, it was right on top of him, and the black spear in the hand of the Cai Clan chosen was stabbing toward him!

Naruto's face fell as he let out a shout and threw his hands out to defend himself.

BAAAAAAAANG!

Naruto flew backward by several hundred meters. When he came to a stop, he examined himself, and then murmured, "I'm not hurt?"

The

"I'm not hurt?"

The young man's attack moments ago had seemed incredible, and Naruto had assumed that he would be badly hurt. However, to his surprise, he was completely unscathed.

"Fudge!" he exclaimed in delight. "That vulture is super powerful, but compared to me, it's totally weak... I guess it was just its speed that caught me unprepared."

The young man on the vulture gasped in shock as he looked at Naruto. His vulture was capable of speed rivaling the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage. Plus, he had been powering his spear with his cultivation base, which meant that he should have been able to seriously injure even someone in the Nascent Soul stage. But this thief ended up unharmed... Completely shaken, the young man looked more closely at Naruto's face, which caused his eyes to widen.

"You're... you're Uzumaki Hao!"

Because of how he had rebelled against the Uzumaki Clan, Uzumaki Hao's face was very well known in the area. Although not everyone would recognize him, not even many of the silkpants cultivators of the three great clans, the elite chosen had all seen his picture. Because of the urgency of the situation earlier, this young man hadn't paid any attention to the person he was dealing with, but now that he took a closer look, he recognized him easily.

Instantly, nervousness gripped his heart; he knew that Uzumaki Hao was a vicious fiend who had captured the chief of the Uzumaki Clan, who was a mid Nascent Soul stage expert. He had even provoked the Uzumaki Clan's deva patriarch into action. Obviously, he was not the type of person to go around offending.

"Recognize me?" Naruto shouted. "Well recognizing me won't do you any good!"

Shoving his hand out, he sent a blast of wind toward the Cai Clan chosen.

Chapter 635

A+ A- Chapter 635 hapter 635: How Do You Deal With Me?

Naruto's true self and his four clones unleashed a storm of magical techniques that covered everything in the area . A tempest of five parts raged around the Cai Clan chosen, converging upon him with deadly power .

The young chosen's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode . His aura teetered unstably, and he already regretted how impulsive he had been in giving chase . However, there was no time for thought or planning at the moment . All he could do was turn his vulture around and try to get away as quickly as possible .

Thankfully for him, the vulture was incredibly quick . By the time the storm of magical techniques reached the spot that he had just occupied, he was several hundred meters away . Despite having made it to safety, his heart was still pounding with shock .

Trying to buy time for others from his clan to arrive, he shouted, "The Cai Clan didn't do anything to provoke you, Uzumaki Hao! Why did you have to go and destroy our soulgrounds!?"

Naruto frowned . He could tell that this vulture had been conjured by some magical technique, and that it would soon vanish . However, time was something he was very short on right now .

"You Cai Clan people intimidated me and stole my souls!" he shouted .

"Hmph! It's only natural that I would rob you right back!" Aware that now wasn't the time to worry about one insignificant opponent, Naruto turned and shot away at top speed .

The chosen gritted his teeth, then sent his vulture in pursuit . At the moment, he was operating under the assumption that as long as he didn't get too close, he should be safe . Plus, he would be able to keep eyes on the target and make it easier for the Cai Clan patriarch to track him down .

They both sped along as fast as lightning . Naruto felt a bit nervous at being followed, but he knew that the vulture was simply too fast . If he turned and tried to fight, his opponent could simply flee, and then he would end

up getting involved in a pointless, time-wasting chase .

"I hate bastards like this who rely on speed to get the upper hand . Hmmmphh! Does he really think he can use that bird to keep up with me?" His eyes flashed with cold light, but his face remained expressionless . Continuing to head straight toward Giant Ghost City, he sent out the aura of a Frigid Paragon, although he did it very carefully, so that it wasn't obvious .

When the intense cold reached the vulture, the Cai Clan chosen shivered . A moment later, his face fell as he realized he should fall back . However, by that point there wasn't enough time . Naruto spun around and said, "Too late!"

With his Frigid Paragon aura spread out in a frigid domain, Naruto could teleport as easily as a Nascent Soul cultivator .

Even as his voice echoed out, he vanished, reappearing right on top of the vulture, in front of the Cai Clan chosen . There, he unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash, launching himself toward the young chosen with terrifying power .

"You-" Having no time to evade, the young man braced himself for impact . His cultivation base was on the very cusp of reaching the Nascent Soul stage, and yet, compared to Naruto, he was weak .

A boom rang out as Naruto slammed into the young man's chest, causing blood to erupt out of his mouth . His bones shattered, and he began to slip into death, but it was at that point that a dark yellow light sprang up from a pendant that hung at his neck . Within that light was the power of a deva, which fought back against the attack .

The young chosen coughed up a mouthful of blood as he tumbled backward through the air like a kite with its string cut . The yellow light around him was more than half gone, and his pendant was now covered with cracks .

Clearly, the deva pendant had saved his life . However, if he sustained another such attack, he would not be so lucky . Face ashen and filled with terror, he thought, "Without that life-saving magic the patriarch gave me . .

. . I would have been killed just now! This Uzumaki Hao, he . . . he almost killed me!"

The young man was shaking physically, and his courage was gone . Without the slightest hesitation, he fled, completely bereft of any desire to give chase . He now realized that chasing this target was no simple matter; it was risking his life . . . .

"The people from these great clans really have a lot of ways to save their own skins," Naruto thought with a frown . Seeing the young chosen fleeing, he snorted and considered chasing after him . But then, his expression flickered, and he spun and took a step, piercing into the air and vanishing .

Only a few breaths of time later, three beams of light could be seen approaching from behind the terrified Cai Clan chosen . Rumbling sounds could be heard as three old men appeared in the area where Naruto had just disappeared .

As soon as the young chosen saw the old men, his face lit up with excitement, and he shouted, "Elders, the thief is Uzumaki Hao! The traitor of the Uzumaki Clan!"

These three old men were clan elders, with one of them being a grand elder in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage . All of them had very grim expressions as they heard the news from the chosen . Afterward, they nodded and continued to give chase .

Meanwhile, a rift appeared at a location near Giant Ghost City, and Naruto stepped out into the open . His aura was in chaos because of the anxiety he was feeling, but it was without hesitation that he shot toward Giant Ghost City .

"Dammit, those Cai Clan people are fast . I just finished beating the kid, and the grownups showed up almost in the same instant . If they were really good though, they'd fight me one on one!"

Just as he was about to enter the city, the three elders from the Cai Clan appeared behind him, moving so quickly that the clouds swirled up above in the sky, and thunderous rumblings filled the air .

When they realized that Naruto was about to enter the city, they

city, they pushed forward with greater speed, the killing intent in their eyes shining brightly .

"Uzumaki Hao!" one of them shouted . "I don't care that you have an official position in Giant Ghost City! For robbing our Cai Clan soulgrounds, I'm going to put you to death!"

His cultivation base was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, causing his words to roll out like a shockwave, a powerful attack that instantly pierced into Naruto's ears .

Too frightened to even look over his shoulder, Naruto raced toward the city . The stunned city guards were about to step forward to block his path when he pulled out his Devil Penitentiary command medallion and then roared, "I'm a guard at Devil Penitentiary! The Cai Clan is planning a rebellion! Stop them!"

As his words echoed out into Giant Ghost City, the expressions on the faces of the city guards flickered dramatically .

Furthermore, as soon as they saw Naruto's command medallion, and the fact that he was being chased by people from the Cai Clan, they were even more stirred into action . As for the three elders, their expressions also flickered .

"That's complete bullcrap!"

"The Cai Clan has always served the giant ghost king with complete loyalty . Don't even think of trying to slander us!"

Naruto was elated to see that his tactic was working . Roaring, he pushed forward into the city . The three clan elders tried to chase after him, but the city guards interfered, and soon, more patrolling guards showed up . Were it not for Naruto's slanderous comments earlier, the elders might have tried to kill him anyway . But if they did that now, it could lead to further complications, the mere thought of which left them terrified .

The three elders were forced to swallow their frustration and anger and try to explain things to the city guards . Because of that delay, Naruto managed to reach the moat, then used his command medallion to dive down into the waters .

"I betrayed the entire Uzumaki Clan, and yet, they didn't dare to try to make a move on me once I was in Devil Penitentiary . As for this Cai Clan . . .

. . all I did was loot two of their soulgrounds . There's no way they'll dare to come after me!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he headed toward the stone turtle at the bottom of the moat and beyond it, Devil Penitentiary .

The truth was that his supposition was absolutely correct . After clearing matters up with the city guards, the three elders from the Cai Clan had no choice but to stand at the edge of the moat and look furiously into the waters . Devil Penitentiary . . . was a place none of them dared to try to enter uninvited .

After a long moment passed, all they could do was stalk away with grim expressions on their faces .

Although matters seemed to have come to an end, the events which had just played out ended up being just as shocking news in the city as Naruto's betrayal of the Uzumaki Clan . Soon, all of the soul cultivators had heard about what happened, and were talking about Uzumaki Hao and the Cai

Clan . . . .

"Did you hear? That Uzumaki Hao caused a big scene . He robbed some of the

Cai Clan's soulgrounds, and even burned two of them to the ground!"

"He really knows how to cause trouble . Not only did he turn traitor against the Uzumaki Clan, he also went and provoked the Cai Clan . . . . "

"I heard that some silkpants from the Cai Clan got into an argument with him over some souls, and ended up outbidding him . He got pissed off, and that's what led to the situation . . . . "

"I can't believe he went to such lengths over such a small matter . . . . Not only is Uzumaki Hao completely vicious and cruel, but he seeks revenge over the smallest grievance . I heard he has some amazing divine ability that calls down fire from the heavens . . . . "

Because of all the talk that was spreading, Uzumaki Hao's reputation grew, and everyone came to learn about his heavenly fire, and his vicious methods .

Chapter 636

A+ A- Chapter 636

Chapter 636: Fourteen-Colored Flame: Success!

Now that Naruto was back in Devil Penitentiary, it didn't matter what was happening outside. He quickly returned to his quarters, and after waiting a few days to make sure there were no repercussions from the recent events, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Turns out being a prison guard is very useful. Although the best thing for now would be to avoid any attention. I won't go out unless absolutely necessary." Patting his bag of holding excitedly, he couldn't help but muse that his plan had been very brilliantly executed. "The three great clans rob me, I rob them back! As the old saying goes, proper behavior is based on reciprocity! It's a basic principle of heaven and earth!"

In the days which followed, he went on patrol with Squad 9 and continued to work on the formula for fourteen-colored flame. Time passed. One day, he finally went back into the cellblock alone.

Cellblock D was usually a loud and busy place. Whenever the guards weren't present, the gray-robed prisoners and the prisoners in the skulls alike would both do whatever they felt like doing.

Even when the guards were present, most of the prisoners ignored them. However, the instant Naruto entered the cellblock, everything quieted down.

As soon as he appeared, he clasped his hands behind his back and grandly announced, "I'm on duty today, so you'd all best behave." His words caused the gray-robed prisoners to tremble in terror. Many of the prisoners in the skull cells raised their eyebrows in fear.

"Dark inquisitor!"

"It's that damned Dark Inquisitor Uzumaki!"

"This guy is vicious and merciless. I'll never forget the tragic day he interrogated Old Devil Zhou..."

As for the prisoners who had actually been interrogated by Naruto at some point in the past, they trembled visibly,

and their eyes shone with terror.

All of Cellblock D went silent, and as Naruto passed by, not a single person made the slightest sound. After all, he had become very famous recently. Not a single one of the long-time prisoners in Cellblock D had escaped interrogation at his hands.

Most terrifying of all was how mysterious his interrogation methods were. Because of the smoke he used, no one could see clearly what went on. However, people could most definitely hear the terrified screams that emanated out from the smoke, and would never be able to forget them.

Now that Naruto was back, the prisoners were all acting very cautiously. None of them wanted to offend him and thus cause problems for themselves. Therefore, they all smiled ingratiatingly, and a crowd of gray-robed prisoners clustered around him to accompany him.

Naruto lifted his chin up a bit and enjoyed the awed gazes that were focused on him, musing about how no matter where he went, he always soared to the highest heights.

"I'm just too remarkable," he thought. "Well, it's not like that was my goal. I should really be keeping a low profile." After a while, he waved his hand to dismiss the gray-robed prisoners, then strolled about for a while on his own. Eventually, he found himself in the remote location where he had worked on his flame conjuring before, where he sat down cross-legged.

"This place is perfect. Plenty of room to conjure flame." Nodding in satisfaction, he set up some restrictive spells, then waved his hand to send out a cloud of smoke. Then, he closed his eyes to meditate.

After reviewing everything he knew about fourteen-colored flame, he opened his eyes and smacked his bag of holding to summon his soulhoarding pagoda. Then, a very serious expression

expression overtook his face as he began to work on conjuring fourteencolored flame.

As the souls poured out into the open, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then waved his fingers. Immediately, the souls began to shoot toward his palm, where they formed a flame. It started with one color, to which he rapidly added more colors. Before long, he had a thirteen-colored flame, and was moving on to the fourteenth color.

"I'm feeling very confident in being able to succeed with fourteencolored flame. All I need to do is make a few adjustments to handle some random issues... I'd say I should be able to get it to work within five tries!"

Immediately, souls began to stream toward his hand, pouring into the fire.

Within moments, another color appeared, the fourteenth. But then, Naruto's expression flickered as the flame suddenly winked out.

Frowning, he looked at his hand, and then produced another batch of vengeful souls to make another try. Nine days passed in quick succession.

During those nine days, he made four attempts, all of which were failures. However, he didn't let that disappoint him. He had plenty of souls to work with, and each failure led him to deeper understanding. It was on his tenth day inside the cellblock that he sat there cross-legged, his eyes bloodshot and his hair in disarray, but his expression that of excitement.

"I've resolved all of the issues. This time, I should succeed at making fourteen-colored flame!

"That will put me at the peak of the terrestrial necromancer rank! If I can make fifteen-colored flame, then I'll be... a celestial necromancer!" His heart swelled with anticipation; he had been in the Wildlands for quite some time now, and understood quite a bit about necromancers. Obviously, even the great clans viewed celestial necromancers as extremely powerful and

powerful and important.

Beyond that was the earthly rank, which was even more rare. They had incredibly high positions; perhaps not as high as the heavenly kings, but definitely beyond devas.

Eyes sparkling, he took a deep breath and calmed himself. Everything went very smoothly; he started with one-colored flame and worked all the way up to thirteen colors without stopping. Then, he flicked his sleeve, causing a huge group of vengeful souls to fly out. Finally, he let out a shout, and sent the thirteen-colored flame spreading out into a sea of fire.

The souls began to pour into the thirteen-colored fire, a process which took less time than it takes half an incense stick to burn. It was at that point that a fourteenth color appeared!

His heart pounded with excitement, but his hand remained very stable as he sent his divine sense out to control matters. The fourteen-colored fire slowly began to shrink down, during which time his attention was completely focused on the task at hand.

An hour later, he carefully closed his hand into a fist, causing the sea of fire to disappear inside!

Heart leaping inside of him, he slowly opened up his hand, revealing a scintillating, fourteen-colored tongue of flame!

A light shone out that seemed to surpass everything around it, accompanied by terrifying heat.

Although fourteen-colored flame wouldn't be enough to threaten a deva, it was powerful enough to destroy most types of Nascent Soul cultivators!

"It worked! I finally did it!" He laughed out loud with joy. "Next up is fifteen-colored flame. That's definitely going to be very hard. But if I get it to work, then I'll be a celestial necromancer. Although, fire like that won't do me much good unless I increase my battle prowess first..." Suppressing his excitement, he put the fourteen-colored flame away, and then counted and then counted how many souls he had left.

"If I perform fourteenfold spirit enhancements on all of the things I possess... then even though I'm not at the Nascent Soul level yet, my battle prowess would still be very high." The mere thought of that got him excited. After all, he had always been very focused on equipping himself to the max.

Without the slightest hesitation, he decided that he should perform a spirit enhancement. However, before he could even pull out his turtlewok, he suddenly thought of something. "Wait, there are too many eyes here... even with my mist to conceal myself, I should really be as careful as possible. My wok is a true treasure, and I can't let anyone see it. Low profile. Low profile! I have to be careful out here in the Wildlands. I can't make a big scene!"

With that, he waved his hand, dispelling the mist and transforming into a beam of light that shot back toward the entrance of the cellblock.

As he was leaving, there happened to be an old man sitting cross-legged in one of the skull cells off some distance away. He had a red birthmark on his face, and appeared to be like the other prisoners in every aspect. However, as Naruto left, he looked up, and a mysterious gleam could be seen in his eyes.

"It wasn't that long ago that he succeeded with thirteen-colored flame," he murmured to himself, "and now he can actually conjure fourteencolored flame... This kid is quite interesting." Because Naruto had been working in a relatively remote corner, and had set up restrictive spells and his obscuring mist, no one noticed that he had conjured fourteen-colored flame. No one except for this old man.

Moments later, the old man closed his eyes.

Chapter 637

A+ A- Chapter 637

Chapter 637: Fully Equipped With Treasures

After leaving Cellblock D, Naruto ran into some soul cultivators from Squad 9, and took some time to chat with them. Later, he ended up back in his quarters.

"It'll still be a while before Squad 9 is back on patrol duty. I should take advantage of the time to perform spirit enhancements on everything I can." Naruto could actually visualize the amazing sight of himself, adorned head to toe with items that had fourteenfold spirit enhancements. He would shine like a magical treasure!

He even laughed proudly for a bit before setting up some spell formations and taking other precautions to ensure his privacy. Next he used the vast numbers of vengeful souls in his soulhoarding pagoda to produce more tongues of fourteen-colored flame. Finally, he pulled out his turtle-wok and set to work performing some spirit enhancements.

The first thing he enhanced was the Eternal Parasol. Upon receiving its fourteenth spirit enhancement, it changed appearance again. The ghost face on the surface of the parasol now had an enigmatic expression that seemed to be laughing and crying at the same time. Furthermore, on the ghost face's forehead was a long mark that contained, not a third eye, but another ghost face. The mere sight of it left Naruto completely shaken.

"The next step will be a fifteenfold spirit enhancement. That will create a magical item at the deva level." Naruto's eyes shone brightly, and he licked his lips. He knew that once an item received a fifteenfold spirit enhancement, it would emanate a deva-like aura. Items like that were rare even in the Wildlands.

After all, despite how much multi-colored flame existed in the Wildlands, the chances of success when performing spirit enhancements were the same. Because of that, it was more common to see lower-level items, but not higher-level items.

If Naruto actually did completely equip himself with fourteenfold enhanced items, it wouldn't be something completely unheard of in the Wildlands. However, it would still be very shocking.

After enhancing the Eternal Parasol, he looked around to confirm that he hadn't attracted any unwanted attention, then removed his mask and enhanced it before putting it back on. After that, he started working on his other magical items. He enhanced Zhou Yixing's bow, as

well as the powerful arrows he had collected. He also enhanced his flying swords, and some of the other important magical items he had.

At some point, he thought back to how the silkpants from the great clans had been wearing treasured clothing. Not willing to be outdone, he went to the outrageous length of performing fourteenfold spirit enhancements on some of the clothing in his bag of holding...

That was a level of luxury that, if word spread about it, would cause people to go crazy. Eventually, Naruto found that he had run out of things to perform spirit enhancements on. He was now at the point that people would definitely go mad if they could see everything he had performed enhancements on. He was now completely equipped with fourteenfold enhanced items... At this point, he could definitely be described as being armed to the teeth.

"If I ran into that Uzumaki Clan deva patriarch now, I could probably kill him if

I really wanted to!" Laughed heartily, he examined his souls, and found that he had only gone through a bit more than half of his supply.

"Although I can't increase my cultivation base right now, my battle prowess is much higher than before. If I could only conjure fifteencolored flame, and be equipped with fifteenfold spirit enhanced items...

then any deva who ran into me would be flabbergasted! Yeah, that would be the best. Shock them to death! Then I wouldn't have to fight. Hahahahaha..." Although he was extremely pleased, he also knew that flaunting one's wealth was a good way to get into trouble. His mask could keep his general power level a secret, but he still took the time to cover up the golden designs on all of his items.

With that, he sat down cross-legged and used Uzumaki Hao's research notes to start contemplating the formula for fifteen-colored flame.

Soon, seven days passed, during which time he was completely focused on fifteen-colored flame.

To any necromancer clan, being able to conjure fifteen-colored flame was extremely important. Although Uzumaki Hao's notes contained information about fifteen-colored flame, that information wasn't complete. Fifteen-colored flame was extremely difficult, so much so that during his seven days of research and contemplation, Naruto was left stunned.

If one were to use numbers to describe the difference

difference in difficulty between fourteen-colored flame and fifteencolored flame, the former would have a difficulty level of ten, and the latter, one hundred!

Considering that fifteen-colored flame was ten times as difficult, that meant that the two types of flame were as vastly separated as heaven and earth. In fact, fifteen-colored flame was like an obstacle to virtually all terrestrial necromancers in the Wildlands.

Success with it would make someone a celestial necromancer, of which there were only a few dozen in all of the Wildlands. From that alone it could be seen how difficult fifteen-colored flame was to conjure.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Naruto could do about that other than to focus on his research and augury. Eventually, he reached the point of being confident enough to perform some initial tests. But after another three days passed, he ended up tugging at his hair in frustration. He had now spent ten days of research and augury on fifteen-colored flame, and was left with nothing to show for it but a frown.

It was at that point that he heard the captain of Squad 9 talking outside, and he seemed to be bursting with joy.

"Get out here, Uzumaki Hao. Something big is going down!"

Frowning, Naruto walked outside to find the captain standing there looking very happy.

"What's going on, Captain?" Naruto said, stifling a yawn. "Is there a new prisoner or something?"

"Exactly, it's a new prisoner. However, he's not being sent to Cellblock D. Furthermore, the person requesting your presence regarding this new prisoner is the warden himself!" With that, he grabbed Naruto and began to drag him away.

"The warden?" Naruto's jaw dropped as he thought back to Li Xu, who he had met outside the moat back when he had first arrived. "Could it be that since the giant ghost king isn't paying much attention to me, the Cai Clan or the Uzumaki Clan is trying to cause trouble?" he thought. However, considering how happy the captain seemed, that didn't seem likely.

Stopping in place, he asked, "Captain, what exactly is going on?"

"Something great! Something wonderful!" The captain laughed heartily, but could also see that Naruto was feeling a bit nervous. Pulling him back into motion, he started into a detailed explanation.

Soon, everything became clear to Naruto... According to the

to the captain, a new prisoner had arrived recently in Cellblock A. Apparently, this prisoner was very, very important, and getting him to talk was such a vital matter that the warden himself had taken an interest in the matter.

This new prisoner was very tight-lipped, so much so that not even the dark inquisitors from the four cellblocks had been able to get him to utter a single word. Because he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, performing a soulsearch on him wouldn't be very effective, and would likely end up killing him. Therefore, this new prisoner had become a thorn in the side of Devil Penitentiary as a whole.

The warden was under a lot pressure because of the situation, and had flown into a rage a few times because of it. Unfortunately, despite using all the methods at their disposal, the four dark inquisitors had come up with nothing.

Having hit a dead end, the deputy warden of Cellblock D, Sun Peng, had pointed out that Uzumaki Hao was very skilled at performing interrogations. He even explained how he had forced all the long-time prisoners in Cellblock D to give up their information.

Normally, a matter this important wouldn't end up being revealed to Naruto. However, Li Xu was out of options, and when Sun Peng mentioned Uzumaki Hao, he remembered that he was somewhat important. Being desperate, he decided that he might as well give this Uzumaki Hao a shot.

"Uzumaki, my boy, this is a good opportunity!" the captain said excitedly. "If you can get this prisoner to talk, you'll become the number one dark inquisitor in Devil Penitentiary!" The captain had complete confidence in Naruto, and was sure that nobody in the world could remain tightlipped in his presence.

"Although being the number one dark inquisitor doesn't come with a formal appointment, according to the rules of Devil Penitentiary, as long as all four cellblocks agree on the matter, then it will be official. The number one dark inquisitor has a standing just beneath the warden, and is just as powerful as the deputy wardens!

"If you succeed, you'll achieve a meteoric rise! In fact, you would be able to get access to the wealth of the long-time prisoners in the other three cellblocks. When that happens, just don't forget about your

forget about your old squad in Cellblock D!" Talking excitedly the whole way, the captain dragged Naruto toward Cellblock A.

Now that Naruto understood everything, he breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the Uzumaki and Cai Clans hadn't come for him, he had nothing to be afraid of. In fact, considering it was merely a matter of an interrogation, he wasn't worried at all.

"Ah, this is nothing. Don't worry, Captain, there are no secrets that I can't uncover." Sticking his chin up proudly, he hurried along with the captain toward Cellblock A.

Cellblock A looked very similar to Cellblock D. However, it was much larger, and also much more sinister. It was filled with a cold, frightening aura, and the guards' quarters were filled with powerful soul fluctuations. Clearly, practicing cultivation here would be very beneficial.

In the square in the middle of Cellblock A, there was a huge skull containing a middle-aged man in tattered clothing. There was someone else in the cage, holding the man up by the neck, and yet, the prisoner still had a look of disdain in his eyes. For some reason, he looked familiar to Naruto.

Quite a group of people had gathered outside the cage. There was Sun Peng from Cellblock D, who was flanked by three sinister-looking old men, who were none other than the deputy wardens from the other cellblocks.

There were four other cultivators as well, some of them old, some of them young. However, without exception, they all had cold, sinister auras. It almost seemed like walking into their midst would be like walking into a pit of vipers!

Naruto only recognized one among that group of four, him being the dark inquisitor of Cellblock D. Based on that, it seemed obvious that the other three were the number one inquisitors from the other cellblocks, the dark inquisitors.

In addition to them, a large group of Cellblock A guards were present.

In addition to everyone mentioned so far, there was the person holding the prisoner by the neck. He was none other than... Warden Li Xu!

When Li Xu sensed new arrivals, he loosened his grip on the prisoner and turned to look at Naruto.

The look in his eye was as vicious as a wolf's and as sharp as a blade!

Chapter 638

A+ A- Chapter 638

Chapter 638: Cai Clan Elder

Li Xu's gaze was so intense that Naruto subconsciously shrunk back . Although Li Xu wasn't a deva, he was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, and coupled with the fact that he was the warden of Devil Penitentiary, it made him seem like the sinister type of individual who could erupt with incredible power at any moment .

"Uzumaki Hao, if you can get this prisoner to talk, you'll be named the number one dark inquisitor in Devil Penitentiary! And if you can't, then you can get your ass out of here and figure out how to handle your own problems without our help!" Li Xu's patience had clearly been worn thin in recent days . Furthermore, he only had two more days to get the information he needed out of this prisoner, otherwise he would be in big trouble .

That only served to increase his irritation . Furthermore, he had to be careful not to kill this particular prisoner . After all, some discreet inquiries had confirmed that it was the giant ghost king himself who had issued orders for the prisoner to be sent here for interrogation .

When the captain of Squad 9 heard the warden's demand, his face fell .

Sun Peng was also taken aback . After all, Sun Peng had recommended Uzumaki Hao, and yet, Li Xu seemed to be turning what was supposed to be a good situation into the opposite .

Naruto stopped in place, his brow furrowed as he looked over at Li Xu .

The other three deputy wardens and the dark inquisitors all looked on with expressionless faces . However, inside, most of them were chuckling coldly, especially the dark inquisitors from the other three cellblocks . They were all proud people, and considering that they had already failed with their own interrogations, they were convinced that calling on this young punk was a complete waste of time .

"Can you get him to talk?! If not, then you can just get the hell out of Devil Penitentiary this instant!" Li Xu's voice was cold and tyrannical, and was met with complete silence by everyone else in the room . Sun Peng sighed inwardly, and the captain of Squad 9 was trembling, and didn't dare to speak .

Naruto wasn't very pleased by the situation . He knew that Li Xu didn't like him very much, but it wasn't as though he had asked to come here . He had been called!

"Venting his anger on me, huh?" he thought . "Is he trying to use this situation as an excuse to kick me out of

Devil Penitentiary?"

It was a problematic situation . After all, if he got kicked out of Devil Penitentiary, he would have the Cai and Uzumaki Clans to deal with . Considering the difficulties that would be involved in that situation, he decided that he would be best served by enduring his current lot .

Therefore, he slowly walked forward toward the skull cell, where he looked a bit more closely at the man inside . He had seemed familiar earlier, and now, after examining him up close, he realized that he was one of the three Cai Clan elders who had chased him here to begin with .

The elder recognized Naruto, and despite having disheveled hair and blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth, he still looked at him with the same expression of disdain as before . Despite how he had clearly been bruised and beaten, the killing intent in his eyes was clear . He even went so far as to hawk up a mouthful of bloody spittle and spit it onto Naruto's robe .

Naruto waved his robe to remove the spittle from it, then looked at Li Xu and said, "Who exactly is this, Warden?"

When Li Xu saw how calmly Naruto was acting, he snorted coldly and said, "You don't qualify to know who he is! I just need answers . Can you get him to talk? If not, then just screw off!"

The truth was that he really was using this situation as an excuse to kick Naruto, who he had never liked from the very beginning, out of Devil Penitentiary .

Considering that there were so many people around, Naruto couldn't maintain his cool any longer . Anger flaring, he looked at Li Xu and said, "Warden, if you want me gone, just say the word . There's no need to do it this way . You want me to get him to talk? How exactly? You won't even tell me who he is, and yet expect me to conduct a thorough interrogation? Screw this! If you don't want me around, then I'll just leave!" He flicked his sleeve . "However, know this: other than Uzumaki Hao, nobody in Devil Penitentiary will be able to get this guy to talk!" Chuckling coldly, he turned to leave .

Naruto was fully aware that his words would be insulting to the other dark inquisitors . However, considering that Li Xu had caused trouble for him for no reason at all, he felt he had no choice . Even worse, Li Xu was trying to use this situation as an excuse to kick him out of Devil Penitentiary! Therefore,

Therefore, if he wanted to fight back, he needed to act wildly selfconfident .

"If Li Xu is really that anxious about this matter, he'll definitely keep me around . If not, then I guess I screwed myself . Did you really set this whole thing up to kick me out, you bastard?" Even as he began to walk away, a cold voice rang out behind him .

"He's one of the elders from the Cai Clan . I want to know what types of souls they have used in their clan for cultivation and flame conjuring purposes in recent years, and also how many!" Although Li Xu's voice was still ice cold, his wording was slightly more polite than before .

Naruto stopped in place . Based on what Li Xu had just said, it seemed he really did want the answers to those questions, and wasn't just using the situation to target Naruto .

"An elder from the Cai Clan," he thought, "captured and brought to Devil Penitentiary . . . . " He looked at the man in the cage, and suddenly, numerous puzzle pieces clicked together in his mind .

"What types of souls, and how many?" he said out loud . There didn't seem to be any hidden meaning to the question . The difficulty would lie in making sure that the Cai Clan elder didn't withhold any information, or give incorrect information .

Sounding slightly annoyed, Li Xu said, "Metal . Wood . Water . Fire . Earth . Those are the five different properties souls can have . The other four dark inquisitors all asked him this question earlier, and each one came out with a different answer . Therefore, you need to get proof that the answer he gives is true . As for how you prove that, it will depend on your skill . "

Naruto walked back to the skull cell and looked at the Cai Clan elder . Obviously, if he had moved any slower when this man and his two fellow elders had been chasing him recently, they would have killed him . Therefore, he didn't feel the slightest bit of compassion for the man .

One thing he had learned in his time here in Devil Penitentiary was that although the three great clans seemed to be allied with each other, that was mostly because of external factors, over which they had little control .

Then he thought back to how the giant ghost king had saved him from the Uzumaki Clan, and suddenly, a new idea formed in his mind .

"The giant ghost king obviously doesn't

obviously doesn't get along with the three great clans . But what makes the three clans think they can pick a fight with a demigod?! And considering the level of the giant ghost king's cultivation base, why doesn't he just wipe them off the map?" Naruto very much wanted to know the answer to this question .

Considering that Li Xu was standing there waiting for an answer, Naruto knew he had no choice in the matter . If he wanted to survive in the Wildlands, he needed to pick a side . The giant ghost king? Or the three great clans?

Once he made his choice, he had to stick to it . In the end . . . he didn't need to spend a lot of time thinking about which option to pick . Eyes flickering with cold light, he opened the door of the cell and stepped inside .

At the same time, he sent black smoke flowing out of his palm, which spread out into the cell and made it impossible to see inside . Not even Li Xu, who was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, could see past the obscuring mist that Naruto's mask could create .

Cellblock D's dark inquisitor was familiar with Naruto, and stood there silently . As for the other dark inquisitors, they all thought that Naruto thought too much of himself, and chuckled even more coldly than before .

Smiling icily, they began to transmit a conversation between themselves

.

"He's just being deliberately mystifying . Let's see what supposed skills he has . Does he really think he can get this guy to talk when we couldn't?!"

"There's no need to even ponder the question . Of course he's just putting on an act . He'll definitely just come up with some random answer . "

"Hmph! One of us definitely got the right answer out of him already .

There's really no need for the warden to ask again!"

Li Xu frowned, but in his anxiety, all he cared about was Naruto getting the right answers . As long as he got the truth out of the Cai Clan elder, Li Xu could accept any situation .

Inside of the cell, Naruto looked at the Cai Clan elder and sighed .

"Just tell me what I want to know," he said . "After all, when I ask questions, I frighten even myself . "

Eyes burning with killing intent, the clan elder spat on Naruto and then said, "If you hadn't run as fast as you did, you little bastard, then I would have crushed you to

crushed you to death! Now that you've provoked the Cai Clan, you've guaranteed an early death for yourself!"

"Is it really that fun to go around spitting on people all the time?" Naruto said . Irritated at having been spit on twice, he slapped his bag of holding to produce . . . a handful of Aphrodisiac Pills .

"Tight-lipped? Let's see if you dare to keep your mouth shut after this!"

Outside of the cell, enough time passed for a bit less than half an incense stick to burn . Then, hoarse screams echoed out that seemed to contain pent-up emotions .

The three dark inquisitors were shocked, and quickly began to transmit another conversation .

"From the nature of the screams, it seems this Uzumaki Hao does have a bit of skill after all . And yet, to get people to howl in pent-up fashion like

this is something we could do with our eyes closed . "

Clearly, they were still just as disdainful as before .

As for the captain of Squad 9, as soon as he heard that scream, his eyes brightened . As of this moment, he felt as if all of his confidence was being confirmed .

Li Xu's expression was still grim, but inside, he was anxiously contemplating the potential for both loss and gain .

Even as different thoughts ran through everyone's minds, the screams from inside the cell grew more intense, filling up with indescribable rage

.

"You will die in pain, Uzumaki Hao! I'm going to kill you! If you hadn't been fast enough last time, I would have ripped you to pieces!"

Apparently, the Cai Clan elder was attempting to use this method of angry cursing to alleviate the indescribable pain and torment he was undergoing .

"Aaaaghhhhhhhh . . . . "

The screams intensified over the course of an entire hour . Everyone outside the cell was panting, and as for the three dark inquisitors, they continued to exchange shocked glances . Warden Li Xu's eyes shone brightly, and there was little need to mention the surrounding guards from Cellblock A . Everyone was completely shocked .

"Just what exactly is Uzumaki Hao doing in there . . . ? How could he provoke such screams of pent-up emotion . . . ?"

"Heavens! Even just the sound of it is bone-chilling . . . . "

"Even more terrifying is that, despite how much time has passed, the screams only continue to grow more bitter, and the victim's life force is actually growing more abundant . . . . This . . . this is unimaginable!"

Chapter 639

A+ A- Chapter 639

Chapter 639: Just Kill You?

Another hour flew by, and the screams continued, growing more bitter as the time passed . It was a tragic and brutal scene . The guards outside the cage, despite having served in Devil Penitentiary for many years, and having seen many, many things, were completely and utterly shaken .

By this point, the screaming no longer contained curses at Naruto . They were simple cries of misery, the type that came out so freely, and were filled with such madness and intensity, that everyone who heard them felt chilled to the bone .

Because of the black smoke that filled the cage, it was impossible to see exactly what was going on inside, which only served to make the situation even more dramatic . The ordinary guards were shocked, and even the four dark inquisitors were having trouble breathing normally, and their faces were covered with very serious expressions .

Li Xu's eyes shone brightly with both anticipation and nervousness .

As everyone waited outside, Naruto was inside the cage, frowning at the trembling Cai Clan elder . The man's eyes were completely bloodshot, and blue veins bulged out on his face and neck as he glared at Naruto . Despite the fact that he was screaming miserably, his eyes radiated madness .

"Clever," Naruto murmured . "Using the screams to vent the pressure from inside, huh?" He snorted coldly . This Cai Clan elder wasn't the only person to have come up with such a method . During his time interrogating some of the other monsters in Devil Penitentiary, Naruto had seen this on a few occasions .

Clasping his hands behind his back, he stuck his chin up and said, "I advise you to simply talk . We both have our orders to follow, and I really don't want to use my method number two! Method number two isn't completely unparalleled under heaven, but it's close . "

"Screw off!" the Cai Clan elder roared, his expression vicious, as if he wished to eat Naruto alive . He even went so far as to spit out another glob of blood-laced spittle . "Old bastard!" Naruto said

with a glare . "Fine . Time to show you method number two!" His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his finger at the elder, causing a sealing mark to settle down onto his mouth .

The instant the elder's mouth was sealed, he was no longer able to emit a single scream! Everything was now stuck inside of him!

This method made it impossible for him to vent through screaming . Instantly the elder began to shake violently . His eyes became even more bloodshot than before, and as he struggled, he felt a sensation like burning fire growing within him . Unfortunately for him, there was no way to release that fire . He began to sweat profusely . It felt like he was both being burned alive and simultaneously trampled by countless ants . The sensation was almost impossible to describe with words .

The sight caused Naruto's face to twitch, and his heart to pound .

However, this man had tried to chase him down and kill him . Furthermore, Naruto was working for Giant Ghost King now, and showing mercy in this situation would not only earn the ire of those above him, but it could also get him killed .

"Sometimes in life you just have to make some compromises," he thought .

Sighing, he squatted down in front of the Cai Clan elder and said, "Just talk, alright? If you don't make things hard for me, then of course I won't make things hard for you . That would be better all around!

"All I want to know is how many souls the Cai Clan has used in the past few years, and what types . It's a simple question . " As Naruto spoke, the madness in the Cai Clan elder's eyes grew more intense . His glare was so brutal that it seemed he would gladly die if it meant being able to take Naruto along with him .

Frowning, Naruto stood up and stepped back a few paces . Everyone outside the cell continued to observe, surprised that the screaming had stopped, only to be replaced by muffled grunts .

.

The ordinary guards present weren't inquisitors, and thus weren't aware of the serious implications of the silence . Therefore, they were merely surprised . However, the four dark inquisitors' pupils constricted, and they exchanged serious glances .

"Making prisoners scream is something that ordinary inquisitors do . But preventing them from screaming is another level altogether . . . . "

"Many people understand that general truth, but it's difficult to understand exactly how and when to use such methods . . . . "

"It's hard to say how this Uzumaki Hao did it, but the previous screaming clearly contained a pent-up pressure that needed to be vented . Now, he's essentially plugged up the volcano! The next time it erupts, it will be shocking . We underestimated this Uzumaki Hao!"

Li Xu's eyes were shining brightly . As the warden, he knew a lot about the methods of inquisitors, and therefore, couldn't help but quiver in anticipation .

The muffled grunts continued for more than two hours before stopping . By that point, the group outside the cell couldn't help but tremble in uncertainty about what was happening .

Inside the cell, Naruto was looking in shock at the Cai Clan elder, who was shaking and twitching, his skin bright red . Despite the madness in his eyes, he was still aware of his surroundings .

Sighing, Naruto looked down at the man with utmost sincerity and said, "You've lasted longer than anyone I've ever seen . Alright, listen . I have a method number three, but I really don't want to use it . Why don't you just tell me what you know . . . ?"

The Cai Clan elder looked back at him and nodded .

Naruto was surprised, but quickly stepped forward and performed an incantation gesture to remove the seal from the elder's mouth . The elder instantly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, which he directed at Naruto . Then, he let out a manic howl that was filled with deranged laughter .

"Is that all you've got, Uzumaki Hao?! Why don't you try this on for size? I'll tell you

tell you something you probably don't know . You know who really killed your mother? It was a daughter of the Cai Clan . That's right, it was your father's first wife! Your mother was in the middle of sewing some clothes for you when she died, and let me tell you, it was a horrific death!" The Cai Clan elder let out a string of maniacal laughter .

As for Naruto, a tremor ran through him .

"Your mother wasn't the only one to die, either . Her whole clan was wiped out! Every last one of them . Even the other servant girls who were friends with your mother were executed . The only reason you weren't killed was because you had Uzumaki Clan blood in you!

"Your mother was a servant girl, a useless nobody . If she never got pregnant, it wouldn't have mattered, but not only did she get pregnant, she dared to keep living afterward! That's worthy of the death penalty! The true person responsible for your mother's death is you! If you hadn't come along, your mother would still be alive!" More raving laughter spilled out of the Cai Clan elder's mouth, and his eyes burned with madness . He knew that the words he had just uttered would be profoundly upsetting, but he said them anyway .

Naruto sucked in a breath, and his eyes instantly began to shine with killing intent . Of course, everyone on the outside could hear what had just been said .

Li Xu's face fell, and he shouted, "Uzumaki Hao, you mustn't kill him!"

He was just preparing to step forward into the cell when Naruto's voice could be heard . "Trying to upset me so much that I just kill you? You really think I would fall for that?!"

Inside the cage, Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light . Although he wasn't actually Uzumaki Hao, the words the clan elder had just spoken caused his anger to burn . After speaking, he simply stood there and stared at the laughing Cai Clan elder .

The look in his eye shook the clan elder to the core, and he suddenly stopped laughing . Ignoring the elder, Uzumaki

the elder, Naruto walked out of the cell, where he instantly became the focus of all attention . Li Xu was about to say something, but before he could, Naruto waved his sleeve and said,

"I need an instrument of torture, immediately!"

"Don't get impulsive, Uzumaki Hao," Li Xu said sternly . "He mustn't die before confessing . . . . "

"Oh, don't worry, Warden . I wouldn't give him such an easy death . "

The casual way Naruto spoke those words made them like a vile wind that stabbed into the ears of everyone present, filling them with fear .

Li Xu looked long and hard at Naruto, then said, "What torture instrument do you want?"

"A big black dog," he replied grimly . "Male . The stronger the better!"

Everyone was surprised by his request . However, Li Xu merely frowned before giving the orders . Before long, a black dog was brought in, a huge beast that was nearly the size of a young ox .

It was a vicious-looking thing, with sharp yellow teeth and bulging muscles . Saliva dripped down its chin as it looked around with ferocious eyes .

When Naruto saw the dog, he nodded and then led it by the leash into the cage . When the Cai Clan elder saw the dog, his expression flickered, and he screamed, "What are you doing, Uzumaki Hao?!"

"Oh nothing . You're refusing to tell me what you know, right? Fine then . I'll stop asking . " Smiling coldly, he took out an Aphrodisiac Pill and fed it to the black dog . Then, after a moment of thought, he pried open the mouth of the shocked Cai Clan elder and shoved an entire handful of the pills inside .

Earlier, he had been reluctant to do this, but after what the Cai Clan elder had just said, the hatred in Naruto's heart began to burn hotter than ever . "This is method number three, a method which no one can endure . If you can handle it, then when the process is over, we'll find an even more ferocious animal for you to enjoy . "

Chapter 640

A+ A- Chapter 640

Chapter 640: The Confident Giant Ghost King!

The sight of the snarling black dog struck profound fear into the heart of the Cai Clan elder . Furthermore, because of the large quantities of Aphrodisiac Pills which had just been stuffed into his mouth, he could tell that he was about to lose control of himself .

The fact that Naruto had not yet released the dog caused the elder's heart to fill with a profound sensation of torment . He already regretted having intentionally upset Naruto .

For the first time, a look of hesitation appeared in the elder's eyes . . . .

"Look, let's just talk things over, Uzumaki Hao . I can-"

Before he could say anything else, Uzumaki Hao interrupted, "I don't want to hear it . "

Then he released his grip on the dog's leash . The dog immediately howled and pounced on the Cai Clan elder .

The crowd gathered outside the cell then heard screams the likes of which they had never heard before in their entire lives . The bitterness surpassed any scream they could even imagine .

They were screams that seemed to contain the most ultimate type of pain possible . . . .

The guards of Cellblock A were all gasping and trembling, and each and every one of them was thinking the same thing: don't ever provoke Uzumaki Hao!

The dark inquisitors' faces flickered with various emotions as they looked at the cell . Although they couldn't see what was happening, the things they imagined were happening left them indescribably shaken .

"How brutal . . . . "

"Who can endure pain like that? It's not just physical, it's psychological!

A majestic Nascent Soul cultivator and proud elite member of the Cai Clan is being broken right in front of us . . . . "

"This Uzumaki Hao really is a vicious person . The fact that he's using methods like this shows that he's . . . he's really a dark inquisitor! His heart has been consumed by the darkness!"

Li Xu's eyes were wide, and he felt a chill going up his spine . Only now did he realize that Uzumaki Hao really was as the rumors said: vicious and merciless, willing to go to any lengths to get what he wanted .

. . .

The screams of the elder mixed with the howling of the black dog, causing the hair of the guards in Cellblock A to stand on end . Thankfully for them, the process didn't last long, only a few dozen breaths' worth of time . At that point, the screams of the Cai Clan elder turned into discernible words .

"I'll talk! I'll talk . . . . Wood-type souls! We used almost no wood-type souls! Almost none . . . . Make it stop! Make it stop . . . . "

Not only did the Cai Clan elder reveal the information Li Xu had asked for, he began to reveal more information of his own accord . In the end, he let out a shriek of despair as he revealed a final important detail . "The three great clans are planning a rebellion . . . . "

By this point, the Cai Clan elder was in so much pain he wished he could die . The torture had pushed him to the breaking point, and he had revealed all the information he knew . And yet, the screams still didn't stop .

When the group outside the cell heard his last statement, their expressions flickered, and Li Xu's eyes began to shine with a terrifying light .

"The three great clans are planning a rebellion?!"

"What gives the three great clans the courage to rebel against the giant ghost king!?"

As everyone reeled in shock, Naruto walked out of the cell, his expression grim . He didn't say anything; he just looked at Li Xu for a moment, and then left .

There was no need for him to say anything . Everyone had heard the confession, and knew that if what the Cai Clan elder had just said was a fabrication, then getting the truth out of him would be impossible .

Li Xu watched Naruto leave . Earlier, he had harbored some ill feelings toward him, but they were gone now, replaced by profound admiration .

"Now that is a real dark inquisitor!" Li Xu was convinced that most of what the Cai Clan elder had just said was true . The fact that he had confessed to a planned rebellion on the part of the three great clans, of which he

he was a member, was all the proof that was needed .

The four dark inquisitors watched Naruto as he left, their eyes shining with reverence . Deep in their hearts, they knew that in terms of interrogation, his skills actually went beyond the dark inquisitor level .

At this point, Li Xu tore his gaze from Naruto's retreating form, and looked around the room coldly . "Nobody is allowed to speak a word of what they heard today!"

The deputy wardens immediately realized the gravity of the situation, and began to issue further orders .

Devil Penitentiary operated on a relatively autonomous level, and if they wanted to prevent information from leaving, it was a relatively simple thing .

In order to make sure there were no slipups, Li Xu ordered a full lockdown of the entire prison . No one was permitted in or out without his express permission .

After making all the necessary arrangements, Li Xu left Devil Penitentiary and headed to Duke Deathcrier's grand hall on the giant ghost statue .

As for the Cai Clan elder, he wasn't very important anymore, and had been left sealed in his skull cell . . . .

Naruto had already returned to Cellblock D, and was in his quarters, frowning as he thought about the information he had learned from the Cai Clan elder . Not only did he feel more sympathy than ever for Uzumaki Hao's fate, but he was also very curious about the rebellion that had been mentioned .

"What secret weapon do the three great clans have that gives them the courage to plan a rebellion?" Although Naruto had never seen a demigod in action, he knew that the difference between devas and demigods was vast!

For example, in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, there were many devas, but only one demigod expert . A demigod could crush devas with impunity . And yet, the three great clans of Giant Ghost City were willing to rebel against a demigod!

Of even greater significance was the fact that this area was home to all of their clans . If they planned to rebel, then they had to kill that demigod if they hoped to survive!

"There are obviously some big secrets that I'm unaware of . Could it be that there's some conspiracy afoot that is causing the giant ghost king to

king to hold back from taking action?" Naruto felt as confused about the situation as if he were trying to study flowers in the fog .

"The three great clans must have something that gives them the confidence to succeed . But what?" As Naruto was lost in his thoughts, Li Xu was offering a deep bow to Duke Deathcrier in his grand hall on the giant ghost statue .

"Duke Deathcrier, I'm here to report on the matter of how many souls the Cai Clan-"

Before Li Xu could even finish his sentence, Duke Deathcrier interrupted,

"Don't tell me . I'll take you directly to his highness the king!"

Duke Deathcrier immediately sped into motion, heading toward the royal palace located on the head of the huge statue .

Excited, Li Xu followed along . No one stopped the two of them as they hurried on their way, and before long, they were there in the royal palace . At the highest level of the palace, in a towering pagoda, was the tall, sturdily-built giant ghost king .

"Greetings, Your Highness!" the two of them said simultaneously .

The giant ghost king stood there looking down on the sprawling city down below, a strange light glowing in his eyes . It was almost as if he could see through everything to observe all secrets with those eyes . After a moment passed, he said coolly, "Well? What was the result?"

Li Xu couldn't stop himself from trembling . Calming himself, he pulled out a jade slip, which he respectfully offered to the giant ghost king .

It was impossible to say how he did it, but giant ghost king caused the jade slip to fly through the air and land in his hand . After he looked at it for a moment, his eyes glittered, and the jade slip transformed into ash .

The sight caused Li Xu's heart to pound, and he bowed his head nervously . Although he was confident that the information in the jade slip was mostly true, if there were any inaccuracies, he would be the one to take responsibility .

After another moment passed, the giant ghost king said, "The two of you are dismissed . "

Li Xu breathed a sigh of relief, and looked out of the corner of his eye at Duke Deathcrier . Duke Deathcrier's expression hadn't changed the entire time, but he had

but he had also been very nervous during the meeting . Without any hesitation, Li Xu and Duke Deathcrier both left .

After they left, the giant ghost king looked out over the city, glancing at the area where the ten marquises resided, and then in the directions of each of the three great clans . Finally, a smile broke out on his face .

"So, the interrogation revealed the rebellion plan . . . . Wood-type souls were used the least . . . just as I had expected . . . . The three great clans are using the matter of the hell-emperor's successor as an excuse to build up souls . They're definitely holding nothing back .

"Generally speaking, all five types of souls should be used relatively equally . There shouldn't be a situation in which one type of soul is rarely used . . . .

"Based on all this, it seems that those three bastard patriarchs have figured out the details of the technique I cultivate . They know about my decay period . . . .

"During the decay period, my cultivation base will drop rapidly . . . . Most importantly, during that time, large amounts of wood-type souls could be used to significantly reduce my overall power . . . .

"That would be the only time they would have a chance at succeeding . I know that I can fully trust Duke Deathcrier . However, as for the other four dukes, and the ten marquises, I'm very curious to see which ones harbor evil intentions . This time, we'll find out once and for all . " The giant ghost king smiled broadly, and a touch of scorn could be seen in his eyes . As far as he was concerned, the three great clans, as well as his subordinates, the five dukes and ten marquises, were all like bugs .

"This Uzumaki Hao isn't bad, though . Loves to cause trouble . . . has incredible talent in flame conjuring . . . . " Smiling, the giant ghost king continued to contemplate how to use Uzumaki Hao as a pawn in his little game .

Chapter 641

A+ A- Chapter 641

Chapter 641: Smells Like Treasure

The fact that an elder from the Cai Clan had gone missing didn't cause a huge commotion . The Cai Clan didn't even seem to have noticed, and also didn't look into the matter very deeply .

It was the same in Giant Ghost City, where life went on like it usually did

. . . .

The giant ghost king didn't do anything out of the ordinary either . In fact, to anyone who wasn't aware of the events which had just played out, it would seem as if nothing at all had happened . However, it was very different among the people who were in the know .

To them, it seemed like a storm of disaster was brewing!

The people in Devil Penitentiary who had heard the Cai Clan elder's confession were all very nervous, and didn't dare to discuss the matter . They merely waited to see what would happen next .

"It's been a whole month," Naruto thought . "Why hasn't the fighting started yet?" He had been paying very close attention to the situation, and yet, even after an entire month, neither the three great clans nor the giant ghost king had made a move .

"Even if the Cai Clan wasn't originally aware that one of their elders was captured, they would definitely have found out by now . They must know that he's revealed the information about the rebellion . . . .

"But they haven't made a move . And the giant ghost king hasn't said a peep . Could it be that they're still feeling each other out?" He scratched his head in befuddlement, and couldn't help but feel a bit of disdain for the giant ghost king .

"There can't be many demigods this lame . If I were a demigod, I would just go wipe out all three of the great clans . That would take care of the problem .

"And as for the three great clans, either they're not fully prepared, or they're hesitating . Well, regardless of which it is, this is a good opportunity for me!" With that, he checked his bag of holding to see how many souls he had left from when he had robbed the Cai Clan's soulgrounds . After performing fourteenfold spirit enhancements on all of his magical items, he had been left with a bit less than half the original amount . Later, he had done some experimentation with fifteen-colored flame, which left him running very low . "Out already . Conjuring flame really is a big

waste of souls . " He narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, then nodded his head .

"I have to take some risks sometimes . I'll just go check the situation out . If the chance presents itself, I'll take some souls . If not, then I won't worry about it . " Feeling both nervous and excited, he thought a bit more, then rose to his feet .

Devil Penitentiary was on lockdown, but Naruto was now the number one dark inquisitor, and was also the one who had dug up the critical intelligence to begin with . Clearly, he was not on the side of the three great clans, and therefore, Li Xu approved his request to leave the prison .

Before long, Naruto was in disguise, and heading through the moat toward the city .

The moat wasn't very large, but nevertheless, Naruto found a place where he could leave it without attracting attention . Soon, he was outside of Giant Ghost City .

"It's too bad I have to be very careful about revealing my ability to disguise my appearance . It really leaves me no choice other than to use ordinary disguises . " He was currently wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and some extra layers of clothing to make him look bigger . Keeping his head down, he headed away from Giant Ghost City, and in the direction of the Chen Clan .

"I already robbed the Cai Clan, so they'll definitely be on guard . The Uzumaki Clan has too few souls to make it worth my time . The Chen Clan is the only option . . . . " Eyes flashing, he flew quickly to the location where the Chen Clan stood . Arrayed in different locations around the clan were eight soulgrounds .

The mere sight of the vast number of vengeful souls flying around the floating, beehive-like structures in the soulgrounds caused Naruto to swallow in anticipation .

After sizing the situation up, he murmured, "The Chen Clan really has a lot of souls . . . . "

Unfortunately, the soulgrounds were all very close to the clan itself, and also very tightly guarded . Despite the speed he was capable of, he was fairly sure that as soon as he did the deed, he would be discovered .

"The Chen Clan is really too stingy . They're just some measly soulgrounds, right? What's the point in guarding them so heavily!?" The feeling that came from being able to look at something and not touch it really left him

him disgruntled .

"They're just some souls, right? I can't believe these super rich clans are so stingy! What bullies!" Sighing, he decided that the opportunity he had been hoping for had not been presented . Depressed, he headed back to Giant Ghost City . Just when he was about to enter the city and head toward Devil Penitentiary, his eyes widened as he saw a figure speed out of the giant ghost statue and head in his general direction .

Despite the great distance involved, considering the level of his cultivation base, Naruto was easily able to determine that he was looking at Duke Deathcrier . Furthermore, he appeared to be heading in the direction of the Uzumaki Clan .

Considering that Duke Deathcrier was a deva, and that he wasn't attempting to conceal his actions, it meant that Naruto wasn't the only one who could see him . Quite a few people noticed, and many of them began to ponder the significance of what they were seeing .

"What?" Naruto said, blinking . "Why would Duke Deathcrier be going to visit the Uzumaki Clan at a sensitive time like this?"

Although Naruto was surprised, he didn't put too much thought into it, and continued on his way .

It was getting dark, but the streets in the city were still crowded . At a certain point when he was only about halfway to the moat, a brilliant light suddenly began to shine from the giant ghost statue .

As the light shone out from the royal palace on the head of the statue, a person appeared . He was tall and strong, and wore a violet robe with a serpentine dragon embroidered on it . He had a royal crown on his head, and emanated a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering energy .

Even as he hovered there, he exuded pressure that could stifle everything in heaven and earth . Then he began to stride through the air above the city, almost as if he were going on patrol .

"The giant ghost king!"

"It's his highness the king!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Quite a racket could be heard as countless soul cultivators dropped to their knees to kowtow . As for the city guards on patrol, they reacted in a similar manner .

The giant ghost king looked completely calm as he strode silently through the air . Thunder rumbled, and the clouds churned . It was even possible to see lightning dancing about .

All of these heavenly portents struck fear into the heart of the people below . Even more shocking was the enormous shadowy figure which walked along behind

along behind the giant ghost king, a figure which seemed so powerful that if it fully formed, it could rip heaven and earth to shreds!

Naruto's aura was in chaos; this was his first time seeing the giant ghost king, and the shocking energy that the man emanated left him deeply shaken .

"Did the giant ghost king leave his palace to try to threaten the three great clans?" Naruto swallowed hard as he observed the terrifying figure up above . As he did, he heard a voice that he hadn't heard for a long time!

"Fudge, what's that smell? It seems very familiar to Lord Turtle . Smells like treasure!" Along with the voice, a head popped out of Naruto's bag of holding . . . .

It was the little turtle who had been missing for so long . No matter how Naruto had ransacked his bag of holding, he had never been able to find him, not even in the hiding place he'd discovered the time he had rendered the little turtle unconscious .

On many occasions, Naruto had even come to the conclusion that the sharp-tongued little turtle must have left . Although that thought had left him somewhat relieved, he was also disappointed at the loss of the turtle . Who would have ever imagined that the turtle would suddenly show up at this time?

Jaw dropping, he looked down at the turtle, whose eyes were gleaming as surely as if he had spotted a valuable treasure . In fact, Naruto was fairly certain that he was actually drooling .

"Y-you're . . . you're still here?!" Naruto was actually delighted . He had long since come to feel very alone out in the Wildlands, so to have the little turtle with him was a great thing .

The little turtle stuck his head up proudly and gave a disdainful glance at Naruto . "Lord Turtle was just sleeping for a bit . So what? Did ya miss me, fool? Well, even if you did, it doesn't matter . In fact, don't even talk to me . I'm germaphobic!"

To hear such stinging words immediately took Naruto's delight at meeting an old friend and transformed it into anger .

"Shut up!" he said . Ignoring the little turtle, he looked back up at the giant ghost king for a bit . Then he shoved the little turtle's head back into his bag of holding and flew back into the moat, and beyond it, Devil Penitentiary .

Around that time, the Uzumaki Clan deva patriarch was in

patriarch was in a grand hall in the Uzumaki Clan, looking grim-faced at Duke Deathcrier!

Gritting his teeth angrily, the patriarch said, "I'm not even going to mention how many years I've loyally served his highness the king . We've fought side-by-side on the field of battle, and I've never been anything but devoted . Besides, considering the level of my cultivation base, how could I ever fight the king? Do you think I'm crazy or something? Why would I lead the Uzumaki Clan into a rebellion? This is complete nonsense . If you want to falsely accuse me, at least come up with a good excuse!"

Glaring, the patriarch continued, "By the way, regarding what happened with that unfilial bastard of my clan, I respected his highness the king's wishes because of face . That's the only reason I didn't pursue the matter at the time . However, based on some of the rumors that have been floating around about him, I have to ask you, Duke Deathcrier . What is the meaning of the situation?!"

Duke Deathcrier sighed inwardly . Because he was a close follower of the giant ghost king, he was privy to a few secrets that no one else knew . Furthermore, he was able to speculate at what the king was thinking . However, he still couldn't figure out why he had been asked to go to all three of the great clans and directly ask the patriarchs if they were planning a rebellion . In fact, the giant ghost king had even hinted that he should offer concessions to the three great clans to keep the peace .

Duke Deathcrier was very nervous about the whole thing .

Sighing again in his heart, he looked at the Uzumaki Clan patriarch and thought, "Is he trying to trick the enemy into thinking he's weak, and lure them out of their strongholds? Or has he really reached the decay period . . . ?"

Looking the Uzumaki Clan patriarch in the eye, he said, "Brother Uzumaki, if his highness the king really believed the rumors, he wouldn't send me to you like this . As for the situation with Uzumaki Hao, I understand your frustration . "

"In that case, Brother Deathcrier," the patriarch growled, "I'd like to make a request . Please tell his highness the king that that unfilial bastard isn't suited to be a guard in Devil Penitentiary!"

The truth was that the patriarch was taking advantage of this situation to see if the giant ghost king really was as clueless as he was acting .

After all, the three great clans weren't quite ready to make their move!

Chapter 642

A+ A- Chapter 642

Chapter 642: Decree From The Heavenly King!

No one could possibly guess what the giant ghost king was actually thinking . It really did seem like a situation of putting on a weak front in order to lure the enemies out of their strongholds . However, in other ways, it actually looked like he was trying to reach a compromise . . . .

The more one was privy to the behind-the-scenes information, the more confusing things became . After all, the giant ghost king was a demigod, a fact that put a lot of pressure on the three great clans .

Duke Deathcrier's trip to visit the three deva patriarchs cast suspicion into all of their hearts . However, each and every one of them made various demands, all of which seemed excessive in some way .

They had done so intentionally, of course . In some ways, such demands would make it seem like they weren't interested in rebelling . For example, if the Uzumaki Clan was planning a rebellion, they would intend to win it, and would therefore be confident in being able to take care of Uzumaki Hao on their own . They wouldn't need the giant ghost king to do it for them .

However, not even the Uzumaki Clan patriarch could ever have guessed that his request would be granted within a day! The giant ghost king didn't hesitate at all to send a royal decree directly to Devil Penitentiary .

Uzumaki Hao reviled his own clan, treated his father perniciously, and killed his relatives . He is vicious and malevolent, and as such, his rank of prison guard shall be stripped, and he will be incarcerated as a prisoner in Devil Penitentiary!

Quite a few people in Giant Ghost City were shocked by the news . After all, Uzumaki Hao had made quite a scene recently, and become very famous . For him to suddenly be imprisoned was a major development .

When Madam Cai heard the news, she was ecstatic . Although she ultimately wanted Uzumaki Hao dead, she knew how brutal the legendary Devil Penitentiary was, and was very happy about the situation .

Naruto had no way of knowing what people were saying about him outside . He was sitting in his room meditating when Deputy Warden Sun Peng and the guards of Cellblock D surrounded his quarters

with no warning .

Naruto was so stunned he didn't know how to react . It felt like his entire world had been turned upside down, to the point where he felt like crying .

"There must be some mistake . . . . " he said in a quavering voice, looking around at all the familiar faces among the guards .

The guards of Cellblock D were all on good terms with Naruto, and couldn't help but hesitate a bit . The compassion and other mixed emotions in their eyes was clear . However, they didn't dare to defy a royal decree, and could do nothing but sigh and clasp hands toward Naruto .

"We really have no choice in the matter, Brother Uzumaki Hao . . . . "

"Just stick it out, Uzumaki Hao . You never know, his highness the king might cool down after a bit and change his mind . "

Then, the captain of Squad 9 loudly declared, "Don't worry, Uzumaki Hao . You're going to be locked up in Cellblock D, and we're all like a big family . Your title is changing, that's all . We guards will make sure nobody in the cellblock causes any problems for you!"

Clearly, the captain felt very uncomfortable about the situation . The other guards all nodded their heads in agreement . After all, they had all benefited to some extent from the interrogations Naruto had performed recently . Coupled with the fact that Naruto treated them all well, it ensured that they all liked him .

They couldn't defy a royal decree, but could use their authority in Cellblock D to make sure that Naruto had it easy .

Deputy Warden Sun Peng cleared his throat and said, "It's just a change of clothing, Uzumaki Hao . We'll take care of all your daily needs, so there won't be much change in that . In fact, any time you want to come out and take a walk, just let us know!"

Naruto could see that there was no way out of his situation . He was depressed, but everyone was treating him so well that it warmed his heart . Heaving sighs, he walked along with everyone into the cellblock itself .

Soon, the gray-robed prisoners in the cellblock learned of the matter,

matter, and all of them were stunned . As for the important prisoners who Naruto had interrogated in the past, many of them were very excited, and were clearly happy to see Uzumaki Hao get his comeuppance . . .

.

However, their joy didn't last for long . The ten captains of Cellblock D gave harshly-worded warnings to all the prisoners that they weren't to disturb Uzumaki Hao . Then Deputy Warden Sun Peng pointed out that although Uzumaki Hao wasn't an official guard any longer, he was still an inquisitor . At that point, the prisoners abandoned any thoughts of getting revenge .

As far as most of them were concerned, it would actually have been better for him to remain as a guard . Back then, he only came into the cellblock when on patrol . But now . . . he would be in there with them all the time . The thought of what that meant if they ended up offending him was terrifying .

Most outrageous of all was that . . . the guards didn't seal his cultivation base!

That caused each and every one of the prisoners to be filled with incredible anxiety . After a bit of time, the guards said their farewells and left .

Crestfallen, Naruto found an empty skull cell, walked in, and sat down cross-legged .

"It all happened so fast," he thought with a long sigh . "I was a guard, an inquisitor, and even the number one dark inquisitor . . . . Now I'm just a prisoner .

"Is it some kind of prank . . . ? King Giant Ghost, you bastard, you were the one who saved me to begin with . Why are you causing problems for me now . . . ?"

"You're a demigod expert! The three great clans are planning a rebellion, so why don't you just go wipe them out? What are you picking on me for, you loser!?" From what he could tell, he was simply being used as a pawn in whatever game the giant ghost king and the three great clans were playing .

"What secret weapon do the three great clans have? Dammit! This is between the clans and the king! It doesn't have anything to do with me!" Clenching

me!" Clenching his hands into fists, he looked around and gave a depressed sigh .

"Thankfully, my bros didn't seal my cultivation base . Otherwise, life would have been really bad . " Feeling a bit better because of that fact, he looked over at the cell next to him .

In it sat an old man with an expressionless face that featured a prominent red birthmark . Naruto remembered this old man from back when the captain had first showed him around . Apparently, he had offended the giant ghost king and then ended up being locked away for more than two hundred years .

Hoping to commiserate with a fellow victim, Naruto suddenly said,

"Hey there, Fellow Daoist . I heard you offended the giant ghost king . Ai

. I guess you and I are in the same boat . "

The old man didn't react at all . Either he hadn't heard, or was pretending not to .

"Your cultivation base is sealed, so why are you sitting around meditating all the time? What's the point? Come, come, let's chat a bit about that damned giant ghost king . He's a completely worthless nobody!" Naruto was actually getting worked up by this point, and had raised his voice quite a bit .

Despite that, the old man continued to remain motionless in meditation .

Irritated, Naruto said, "Fine, just pretend you didn't hear me . What's so amazing about that? It's not like I ever did anything to offend you!"

Naruto had been a bit depressed to begin with, and having this old man completely ignore him didn't help . Snorting coldly, he leaned back up against the cell wall and began to ponder his misery . Sighing, he thought back to how glorious his life had been as a major general on the Great Wall, and how amazing things had been in the River-Defying Sect .

"Oh Junwan, I miss you so much . And you too, Xiaomei . . . . " For some reason, he then thought of Mistress Red-Dust, and after that, Chen Hetian, and his anger surged .

However, sitting around moping wouldn't do any good, so after a bit of time passed, he sat up cross-legged and started thinking about what to do next . Unfortunately, no matter how he pondered the situation, he couldn't

situation, he couldn't come up with any ideas . He had long since tested out his Undying Hex, and found that it was as useless inside Devil Penitentiary as it had been in the labyrinth near the Great Wall .

Now that he was a prisoner, it felt like he was completely and utterly bereft of hope .

"Damn that giant ghost king!" he said through gritted teeth . "And the Uzumaki Clan too . They're all worthless nobodies! If the three great clans rebel and win, then they'll definitely come and kill me . If they try, then I'll just use my demigod soul to fight my way free!" A fierce gleam appeared in his eyes . "If the giant ghost king wins, then maybe I'll have a chance of getting out of here . The captain and Deputy Warden Sun might be able to speak up for me, and maybe even Warden Li . . . . "

Naruto massaged the bridge of his nose as he contemplated the two possible outcomes . The latter would be the preferred option, whereas the former . . . . would make it difficult to avoid death . The idea of dying in a fight got Naruto so worked up that he started trembling .

"You people are forcing my hand!" Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes to meditate . After all, the best thing to do in this situation was keep himself in top condition, that way he would be ready to make a move at a moment's notice .

Time passed . Before long, half a month had gone by . Although Naruto remained on alert at all times, nothing much happened . None of the prisoners caused any problems, and the guards would come over on a daily basis to chat and even deliver alcohol and food . Overall, they took good care of him .

From Naruto's perspective, it really was as if he had just changed accommodations and clothing . The guards would even let him out of the cellblock to take a walk whenever he wanted . Generally speaking, his mood was good .

Occasionally, the guards would even ask for his help doing some interrogations . After all, he was still the number one dark inquisitor of Devil Penitentiary .

Chapter 643

A+ A- Chapter 643

Chapter 643: Powerful Lu Shiyou

During the half a month that passed after Naruto went from being a guard to a prisoner, Giant Ghost City changed . No longer was there a brooding pressure weighing down on the city . Instead, it once again became a hustling, bustling place . As far as most people were concerned, all of the rumors that had been spreading were just that: rumors .

The three great clans continued to buy up all of the souls in Giant Ghost City, just like they had been before . Just about everything went back to normal . The only slight difference was that the ten great marquises of Giant Ghost City, who normally didn't make very many public appearances, were now more commonly seen out in the city .

From all outward appearances, there wasn't anything happening in the city that was particularly noteworthy . As for the three great clans, their deva patriarchs all remained in secluded meditation, or at least, that was what the clans stated publicly .

In secret, the three deva patriarchs were constantly looking up into the sky, as if . . . they were waiting for something .

Another seven days went by, during which time the people of Giant Ghost City were as busy with their lives as ever . Meanwhile, beneath the moat, in Devil Penitentiary, Naruto's life was wonderful . Although he was technically a prisoner, he got special treatment in Cellblock D, to the point where things were almost exactly the same for him as when he had been a guard .

Furthermore, because he was still the number one dark inquisitor, he continued to get interrogation requests from the other three cellblocks . And because he never failed to get information in an interrogation, his fame grew .

Currently, the deputy warden and ten captains from Cellblock B were clustered around him, leading him in the direction of their cellblock .

"Brother Uzumaki Hao, you're really doing us a favor here . That Lu Shiyou is a treacherous villain, and no matter what methods we use, we simply can't get him to tell us where his loot is stashed . "

"That's right, Brother Uzumaki Hao . If you can get him to talk, we'll give you thirty

percent as your reward . " As the group chattered, they cast smiling glances at Naruto . By this point, he was extremely famous, and all of the guards knew that getting on his good side was the path to riches and fortune .

Naruto laughed heartily and said, "Ah, no problem at all, my brothers . All Cellblock B has to do is make the request, and I would do everything in my power to help, reward or not . "

His way with words left the group from Cellblock B feeling very pleased . Of course, the traditions of Devil Penitentiary had to be maintained . Whether it was for tradition or to maintain a good relationship, they would give definitely give him a share no matter how polite he was up front .

Before long, they were out of Cellblock D . Along the way, any guards they happened across would smile and call out a greeting to Naruto . And of course, he would always return their greetings . That was simply how Naruto did things . When people treated him well, he did the same in return, which always led to people feeling more and more pleased with him .

Soon they were in Cellblock B, which wasn't as big as Cellblock A, but was larger by far than Cellblock D . The cells there were also more impressive, and the prisoners inside them were far more brutal than the prisoners in Cellblock D .

Before long, they came to a stop in front of one particular skull cell, whereupon the deputy warden politely said, "Well, here we are . Now it's all up to you, Brother Uzumaki Hao . "

Nodding, Naruto clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the cell, within which was a middle-aged soul cultivator who was none other than Lu Shiyou . Although the man seemed completely at ease, his eyes widened a bit when he saw Naruto; after all, he had heard the rumors about the number one dark inquisitor .

Lu Shiyou smiled, and then spoke in a soft voice, "You don't need to waste your time with me . I'm not the tight-lipped kind . However, my cultivation base is ruined, and I'm dying .

In fact, I won't last for more than ten years . Therefore, I only have one demand that I'm sure Devil Penitentiary can meet, considering how powerful you people are . I want a hundred beautiful female cultivators per day to keep me comfortable . Ten years from now, when I'm on my deathbed, I'll tell you all the details about my stash of loot . "

Naruto completely ignored his words . After having one of the guards open the cell door, he entered, and black smoke spread out in all directions .

The guards of Cellblock B immediately got excited, whereas Lu Shiyou began to pant . Staring at Naruto, he said, "What are you doing!? Just wait ten years! It's not like I'm afraid of dying or something . If you don't give me what I want, then I won't say a word!"

Clearing his throat, Naruto said, "Look, let's talk things over .

You've heard of me, right? When I ask questions, I frighten even myself!

What's the point of trying to hold out?"

Based on what the guards had told him on the way over, this Lu Shiyou had been a city guard before being locked up .

In terms of why he had been incarcerated, he had no one to blame for the matter but himself . He was the type of person who would seek revenge over the smallest grievance, and would do everything in his power to kill people he didn't like, then wipe out their entire family . He had also used his authority as a city guard to raid the headquarters of numerous small clans within the city and take away all their wealth . Over the years, he had built up quite an accumulation of fortune .

If that were all there were to his vices, he might have been able to get away with it all . After all, his status as a city guard made him difficult to deal with . However, he was also a lecherous fellow, and had taken advantage of numerous women during his so-called 'raids' . A few days before, he had forced himself on a female cultivator who happened to be connected to one of the marquises of Giant Ghost City . That was what ultimately

what ultimately led to his downfall . The enraged marquis had his cultivation base crippled, and instead of killing him, had sent him to be locked up in Devil Penitentiary .

In Devil Penitentiary, a goldmine like him was the type that the guards would never let off the hook . However, because he knew he only had a short time to live, he kept making all sorts of demands in exchange for talking . Not only was Cellblock B unable to meet all of his demands, but they didn't want to wait ten years, and thus, had asked for help from Naruto .

Backing up a few steps, Lu Shiyou loudly said, "There's no need to talk anything over!"

Naruto sighed . So far, he hadn't run into a single prisoner in Devil Penitentiary who had been willing to cooperate . Shaking his head, he patted his bag of holding in very practiced fashion to produce an Aphrodisiac Pill . After crushing it, he sent the resulting powder flying over to Lu Shiyou, who couldn't prevent it from entering his mouth and nose .

Clasped his hands behind his back, Naruto stuck his chin up and proudly said, "The people I interrogate always start out refusing to talk, but after a few hours, they won't shut up . "

Even as the words left Naruto's mouth, Lu Shiyou eyes flickered angrily, and yet, that didn't match the odd expression that appeared on his face at all .

This was a completely different reaction than the prisoners usually gave when Naruto performed interrogations . Not only did Lu Shiyou not seem to be in pain at all, but the odd look on his face only lasted for about ten breaths of time before he looked as normal as he had moments before . His skin was covered with a sheen of sweat, and his eyes were shining as he looked at Naruto and said, "What happened? Do you have more?"

He actually seemed a bit anxious, like someone might be when they were interrupted right in the middle of something vitally important .

"Huh?" Naruto blurted, shocked . This was his first time encountering a situation like this . Looking down at some of the residual medicinal powder in his hand, he briefly wondered if he

wondered if he had grabbed the wrong pill . However, after confirming that it was an Aphrodisiac Pill, he looked back up in at Lu Shiyou in disbelief .

Eyeing the medicinal power in Naruto's hand, Lu Shiyou said,

"Give me some more! Hurry up, give me more . . . . "

Beads of sweat popped out on Naruto's forehead at the oddness of the situation . Waving his hand, he sent the residual powder over to Lu Shiyou .

Excited, Lu Shiyou leaped to his feet and swallowed the powder . A tremor then ran through him, and he leaned back against the cell wall, closing his eyes as if in intoxication . By this point, Naruto's scalp was tingling in shock, and he subconsciously stepped back a few paces, looking at Lu Shiyou as if he were a ghost .

"What's . . . what's going on? It's not working? He . . . he actually likes it?" Naruto felt like his world was crumbling around him . Never could he possibly have imagined that someone would actually enjoy the effects of the Aphrodisiac Pill . . . .

"He's . . . a complete pervert!"

Before Naruto could recover from his shock, Lu Shiyou shivered . Other than being soaked with sweat, he had now gone completely back to his normal state . Opening his eyes, he shouted, "Do you have more? Give me more!"

Naruto was so shocked by Lu Shiyou's behavior that he was panting . However, his curiosity was also piqued, so he produced another Aphrodisiac Pill and threw it over .

Lu Shiyou grabbed it excitedly and stuffed it into his mouth . Enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, after which he madly yelled, "Give me another! No, give me three!"

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto's face as he produced another pill . If Lu Shiyou's cultivation base hadn't been crippled, then he would have attacked Naruto to try to take it . At that point, Naruto cleared his throat and awkwardly said, "Um . . .

tell me where your loot is stashed, then I'll give you another one . "

Chapter 644

A+ A- Chapter 644

Chapter 644: A Secret!

"You!" Lu Shiyou said through gritted teeth . He wanted to refuse, but at the moment, the torment he was feeling actually surpassed the torment normally felt by prisoners who ate the pill . . . .

Other prisoners felt the pain of being unable to release the pent-up pressure, but because of Lu Shiyou's unique nature, the pain caused by not being able to consume one of the pills was almost impossible to bear

.

Naruto was a bit embarrassed; even he felt that what he was doing was a bit shameless . . . . This was a case of taking advantage of someone against their will, of blackmailing them in a key moment .

Blinking a few times, he said, "Just talk, alright? Tell me what you know, and I'll give you another . . . . "

Lu Shiyou's eyes seemed to contain all of the passion burning in his body, all of the fire that normally pulsed in his Chakrapassageways . In fact, he only managed to hold out for a few breaths of time before telling Naruto everything he knew .

In turn, Naruto didn't go back on his word . After getting the answers to his questions, he gave Lu Shiyou the Aphrodisiac Pill . After consuming it, his skin flushed bright red, causing Naruto to sigh as a strange expression appeared on his face .

"This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this . It seems that I need to change my Aphrodisiac Pill formula a bit . " After observing Lu Shiyou for a bit longer, he turned to leave .

However, just when he was about to walk out of the cell, Lu Shiyou shouted madly, "Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, wait! I . . . I want another one of those medicinal pills! I'm . . . I'm almost there! Almost! Just give me another one, alright . . . ?"

Lu Shiyou was shaking visibly, and his eyes shone with an unprecedented level of desire .

The sight left Naruto completely shaken .

"You already took three pills! Are you trying to get yourself killed?

Eating too many of the things isn't good for you!"

"Just give me three more . . . . Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, I beg of you, please just give me three more!" Lu Shiyou would never have been able to guess that Naruto's medicinal pills would have such a profound effect on him . It had started a fire within him that somehow caused signs of recovery to appear within his crippled cultivation base . Ever since his cultivation base had

been destroyed, his life had been one of despair, with nothing but death ahead of him . But suddenly, he had hope!

How could Naruto possibly agree to his request? After all, he was in the Wildlands, with no way to concoct more medicine, and no way to replenish his stock . Once he ran out of medicinal pills, it would be difficult to maintain his reputation as a dark inquisitor .

"No way, giving you so many would be a waste . "

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, I . . . I know a secret . If you give me three of those pills, I'll tell it to you!"

"I'm not interested!" Naruto replied, not even looking back over

his shoulder .

With that, he took another step forward, placing him right at the edge of the black mist . As for Lu Shiyou, his eyes were bloodshot with anxiety as he blurted, "It's a secret about Giant Ghost City! Once you know it, you'll be safe from anything in the city under the level of a demigod!"

When Naruto heard that, he stopped in place and looked suspiciously back at Lu Shiyou .

When Lu Shiyou saw Naruto looking back, his heart flushed with excitement, and he quickly began to reveal the details of the secret . As Naruto listened, his heart began to pound, and his eyes became as wide as saucers .

"What did you just say? Giant Ghost City actually has hundreds of teleportation portals in it? Most of them lead to other random locations within city limits? But one can teleport you tens of thousands of kilometers away from the city?

"And some of them are booby trapped? And there's even a trap golem in one of them? It can only be summoned once, for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, but is as strong as a deva?"

Naruto almost couldn't believe what he was hearing . His heart was pounding, sending blood coursing at top speed through his veins . As Lu Shiyou continued to explain his secret, Naruto learned that one of his ancestors had been a famous grandmaster of spell formations, and had been involved in the construction of Giant Ghost City . He had been the one who actually set up the city's defensive spell formations .

Of course, he had been forced into the matter by the original giant ghost king, and had been given no choice other than to create the city's grand spell formation . However, he knew that because of the secrets he had been privy to, he would most likely be put to death at the end of the project . Therefore, he had created a path of escape for himself .

Throughout the construction

construction of Giant Ghost City, he had left all sorts of traps here and there . The grand spell formation itself was riddled with smaller spell formations that not even the original giant ghost king had been aware of

.

Unfortunately, despite concealing the matter from the original giant ghost king, he hadn't been able to escape the fate of death in the end . However, the information about the network of smaller spell formations was passed down from generation to generation among his descendants

.

Although it wasn't clear how he had managed to get the information out, it was never discovered by the original giant ghost king, nor by any of the following generations, all the way down to the ninth . Therefore, it was likely that the current ninth generation giant ghost king didn't know about it either .

Lu Shiyou went on to explain that the reason he had fallen into the practice of plundering the wealth of the smaller clans in the city was for the purpose of being able to activate the spell formations in the city . Although those teleportation formations were ancient, and many had fallen into disrepair, there were some that still worked .

However, they needed large amounts of soul medicine to be activated . Unfortunately, Lu Shiyou had never saved up enough soul medicine, which was why he had been unable to escape when the marquis came for him .

Besides, once he activated the spell formations, the giant ghost king would never have let him off the hook .

The news Naruto was learning battered his heart with waves of shock . Of course, at the moment, he had no way to confirm whether or not the information Lu Shiyou was giving him was true or not . If it was . . . then it was of monumental importance to Naruto .

"This might be my chance to get away! If the Uzumaki Clan comes after me, then as long as I can get out of Devil Penitentiary itself, I could use those teleportation portals to make a complete getaway!" Heart trembling with excitement, he settled his thoughts and asked for some more details about the teleportation formations and their locations . According to the list he was given, there were a total of 371 formations . After making a complete record of them, Naruto tossed three Aphrodisiac Pills over to the anxious Lu Shiyou .

As soon as Lu Shiyou had them, he tossed them into his mouth . Moments later, his face turned bright red, and he began to tremble violently as his previously blocked-up Chakrapassageways began to surge on the verge of opening up . At that point, a look of hesitation appeared

hesitation appeared in Naruto's eyes as he considered whether or not to kill the man to keep him quiet .

To kill him would be the safest thing . After all, if the information about the teleportation formations was true, then it would be very important that the information not get out, lest it create a major danger for Naruto .

"This guy is vicious and merciless . Definitely a villain . He's also no fool . Considering how important my medicinal pills are to him, and the nature of the things he just told me, there's no way he didn't think about the consequences of his actions . . . . " At this point, Naruto's eyes flashed .

"He must be lying! What a treacherous rogue! Hmph . Well, I'm no idiot . . . . " Feeling very superior to Lu Shiyou, he waited a bit until the man let out a howl, and then shook back and forth a few times . He was now panting, and covered with both sweat and filth that had been expelled from within him .

Soon, his eyes regained their focus, and he looked up at Naruto . Chuckling, he said, "I never thought I would wake up . I assumed you would kill me after learning my secrets . "

Of course, he had had no other options . Considering how important the medicinal pills were to him, he had decided to gamble a bit . Besides, if Naruto did kill him, he had a secret weapon, something that would make anyone who used the teleportation formations regret doing so .

"You didn't kill me because you wanted to give me another chance to talk, isn't that right, Uzumaki Hao? Alright, I'll tell you something else . Among the more than 300 spell formations, there are 27 that require a special sealing mark to use . Without the sealing mark, you'll be stuck on the outside . Furthermore, most of the teleportation formations only link to other places in the city . There's only one . . . that leads to a spot 50,000 kilometers outside of the city!

"Uzumaki Hao, I know that you betrayed the Uzumaki Clan, and were also imprisoned by orders from the giant ghost king . You probably want to get out of here just as much as I do . Therefore, when the time comes, just bring me with you . I can open those 27 locked formations, and can also take you to the one leads outside of the city!

"Without me, you won't be fleeing anywhere! And by the way, the formation that leads outside of the city is also one

is also one of the ones that needs the sealing mark to enter!" Lu Shiyou's eyes glittered with deceit; by this point, he was absolutely confident that this Uzumaki Hao would agree to his demands . Then, when the time came to make his actual escape, he would simply kill Uzumaki Hao and escape on his own .

"I don't have any other choice," he thought, his heart bursting with greed . "I need those medicinal pills, and this Uzumaki Hao definitely has more of them in his bag of holding . He's dead one way or another!"

Of course, Naruto was no fool . Considering how Lu Shiyou felt about the Aphrodisiac Pills, it seemed obvious that he hoped to get free of the cell and kill Naruto for his supply . Before doing anything else, though, Naruto decided to confirm what he had just heard . "You can only get into those formations with a special sealing mark?"

"That's right!" Lu Shiyou said with a pleased smile .

A strange look could be seen on Naruto's face as he proceeded to ask, "Interesting . So without that sealing mark, I would be stuck on the outside . Presumably there would be some danger involved with trying to break inside?"

Looking a bit surprised, Lu Shiyou nodded .

Naruto blinked a few times, and then cautiously asked, "And uh . . . all you have to do is get into the teleportation formation to activate it?"

"What's with all the questions?" Lu Shiyou barked, annoyed . "Cut the bullcrap . The only way to get into the formations is with the special sealing mark . Once you're inside, of course anyone can activate them!" Lu Shiyou was completely convinced that he had pulled the wool over this Uzumaki Hao's eyes . They both had the same goal now, and it only made sense for them to cooperate . If he didn't agree to cooperate, then Lu Shiyou would simply tell his secret to some other people to ruin his plans, assuming he stayed alive long enough .

"Are you sure about all that?" Naruto asked, his eyes shining .

"Absolutely sure!" Lu Shiyou replied, frowning . All of a sudden, he felt like something was off about the situation, although he wasn't sure what

.

After getting his confirmation, Naruto smiled . As soon as Lu Shiyou saw that smile, his face fell .

Before he could move, Naruto waved his hand, sending a blast of wind out that pierced into Lu Shiyou's forehead .

"You-" Lu Shiyou's eyes went wide with disbelief . Never could he have imagined that, after everything he had just said, Uzumaki Hao would actually kill him .

Chapter 645

A+ A- Chapter 645

Chapter 645: Rebellion!

"You should have said so earlier . Scared me half to death . " Naruto flicked his sleeve in distaste . Although a special sealing mark was needed to get into those 27 special spell formations, he could simply do so with his Undying Hex . . . .

"If I can get through the Great Wall's spell formation, then there's no need to even mention some little teleportation formations . " Sticking his chin up, he looked down at the dead Lu Shiyou and felt very proud of coming out on top in this battle of wits .

"You can only blame your lack of insight into my abilities!" With that, he strutted out of the cell .

Although the death of Lu Shiyou caused some complications, it wasn't anything the guards of Cellblock B couldn't take care of . After giving the deputy warden the information regarding the man's loot stash, the fact that he was dead didn't really matter .

Of course, the guards weren't stupid . They realized that Naruto must have uncovered some other secret, and had been forced to silence Lu Shiyou . However, when Naruto proposed forgetting about the thirty percent cut that was owed to him, the guards felt much better .

After all, the official rules allowed for the possibility of inquisitors coming across secret information . As long as the inquisitor was well-liked by everyone else, it usually wouldn't cause a problem .

Naruto's way of handling the situation not only forestalled any questions, but also left everyone involved feeling pleased . With a few parting words, Naruto left and headed back to Cellblock D, in very high spirits . He even decided to contact Zhou Yixing . Earlier, Li Xu had put Devil Penitentiary on complete lockdown, and any attempts to communicate with the outside had been fruitless .

But now, his communication went through . Naruto quickly relayed a portion of the information about the spell formations, and told Zhou Yixing to go confirm its validity . The next day, he got word back .

Zhou Yixing sounded completely incredulous as he said, "The spell formations were all there, milord! Each and every

location was really strange, and in fact, impossible to see into . Not even divine sense would work . In fact, I couldn't actually see any evidence of spell formations . If you hadn't told me of the exact locations, I would never have been able to find them . "

When Naruto heard that, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then excitedly clenched his hands into fists .

"So it really is true! Hahaha! With those teleportation formations, I have a much better chance of getting away!

"The three great clans and the giant ghost king are currently at each other's throats . . . once the chaos breaks out, I definitely won't wait around for the Uzumaki Clan to come looking for me . I'll get out of Devil Penitentiary and then make my way to freedom!"

With that, Naruto began to wait patiently . Another half a month went by . Although there were many people in the city who knew that the rebellion was coming, when it actually happened, it still came as a shock!

The first astonishing development occurred, not within the three great clans, but rather . . . in the form of a huge, illusory axe that appeared in the sky above Giant Ghost City!

It was fully 30,000 meters tall, and radiated shocking energy . The instant it appeared, it sliced down through the air toward the huge giant ghost statue in the middle of the city .

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and at the same time, a roar of rage erupted from the royal palace at the head of the statue .

"How dare you, King Nine Serenities!" Even as the voice echoed out, the illusory image of a giant ghost appeared in the air, which snarled viciously as it unleashed a fist strike to meet the incoming axe!

As the two bore down on each other, indescribable power rippled out in all directions, casting all creation into chaos and even ripping the air apart!

"I'm only doing this to repay a debt, King Giant Ghost! You're on your own now . " Laughter accompanied the axe as it descended, along with intense rumbling sounds . Then, the axe and the giant ghost met . .

. . .

Booming rumbles filled the air!

A massive sound that surpassed heavenly thunder rippled out with the power to destroy the heavens and crush the earth . A huge shockwave spread out, crushing everything in its path and even ripping rifts open in the sky .

Giant Ghost City was instantly thrown into chaos as countless people looked up to see what was happening . The sight that met their eyes was the shadowy incarnation of a giant ghost being completely destroyed by the huge axe!

"Th-this . . . this . . . . "

"Heavens! The giant ghost king . . . can't even fight back!"

"This is impossible!"

To the utter shock of countless onlookers, the huge axe ripped through the illusory giant ghost, and then proceeded onward toward Giant Ghost City . Thankfully, that was when a shimmering shield of light sprang up, which was none other than the city's grand spell formation .

Next, an ear-splitting boom spread out, causing cracks to appear all over the spell formation shield . The shield held, and the axe faded away, but then, more laughter rang out .

"So, you really are in your decay period, King Giant Ghost! Well, whether or not you survive this calamity has nothing to with me . Farewell!" The mad laughter then slowly faded away into nothing .

Everyone who had witnessed this scene was completely shaken, and suddenly realized that . . . the rebellion was taking place on this very day!

It was at that point that six beams of light suddenly shot into the air above the city . Within those beams of light were the six of the ten heavenly marquises that ruled Giant Ghost City . Those marquises each controlled one of the ten armies stationed in the city . As for the remaining four heavenly marquises, they did nothing .

"Today is the day you meet your end, King Giant Ghost!"

"Die, King Giant Ghost!"

Of the six heavenly marquises, none were devas, but some of them were half a step into the Deva Realm . Their combined attack on the royal palace instantly caused Giant Ghost City to tremble, and yet, that was when a roar of

roar of rage erupted from one of the statue's hands . Duke Deathcrier appeared, his expression grim as he released a shout as cold as midwinter snow, filled with the power of his deva cultivation base . "What gall!"

However, even as Duke Deathcrier flew out to intercept the six heavenly marquises, a sigh could be heard from the giant ghost statue's other hand .

"Brother Deathcrier," said a sad voice, "I know we've been friends for years, but . . . now we're enemies!" A blurry figure suddenly appeared on the statue's other hand .

It was none other than . . . one of Giant Ghost City's five dukes . . . Duke Netherworld!

"You're also betraying his highness the king, Netherworld?!" Killing intent instantly appeared in Duke Deathcrier's eyes as he shifted targets

.

It was in this moment that the three great clans burst into action .

Three shocking beams of light rose up into the air, which then shot toward the giant ghost statue . Within those beams of light were the three deva patriarchs of the three clans .

The reason why the three patriarchs hadn't made a move until now was because they were waiting for the exploratory attack made by the nine serenities king . Now that they were convinced that the giant ghost king was weak, they were eager to attack .

The three of them shot through the air at shocking speed, joining the six heavenly marquises to attack the royal palace!

All of this was merely a prelude to the chaos to come . Of the ten marquises, six had turned traitor . Of the five dukes, four were rebelling . It was a situation the likes of which did not occur often in the Wildlands .

In fact, it was an extremely rare development . That was especially true considering . . . they were fighting against a king! They were . . . trying to kill a demigod!

"Your secret is out, King Giant Ghost! The technique you cultivate has a fatal flaw, and although we couldn't calculate the specific date of your decay period, it's now obvious that you're in the middle of it! It's time for you

time for you to die!"

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time, King Giant Ghost! Today, you will be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!"

The three deva patriarchs shot like sharp blades through the air, leaving streaks of light behind them as they slammed into the giant ghost statue

.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The giant ghost statue simply couldn't withstand the force of the blow . Cracks spread out across its surface, and the royal palace began to collapse . As the rubble and dust spread out, a tall, muscular man appeared, wearing a violet robe embroidered with a serpentine dragon, and a kingly crown .

He appeared to be middle-aged, and was somehow threatening without being angry . He also radiated an aura that was completely shocking . He was none other than . . . the giant ghost king!

"So, you've finally made your move . . . . " he said as he floated up into the air, looking around at the three deva patriarchs and the six heavenly marquises . He didn't seem nervous at all, and in fact, was even smiling . Furthermore, that smile seemed to contain . . . a profound level of selfconfidence!

"I wasn't sure exactly who among you would be joining this rebellion, so I was waiting for you to make the first move before wiping you out . Now, the moment has arrived… and unfortunately for you people, I'm not done playing my little game . " From the giant ghost king's statement, it was obvious how confident he was, and it caused the three deva patriarchs' faces to flicker .

However, there was no going back now . Gritting their teeth, they began to perform incantation gestures .

"Wood Dimension: Killing Seal!" they roared in unison . Instantly, a huge vortex sprang into being, filled with countless souls!

All of them were wood-type souls, and as they descended, they began to explode, creating something like a huge sealing mark that covered all of Giant Ghost City and filled it with the power of the element of wood!

As soon as the energy rolling off of the giant ghost king encountered that wood-type power, it melted as quickly as a snowflake fallen into boiling water!

Chapter 646

A+ A- Chapter 646

Chapter 646: The Giant Ghost King's Game!

Laughing loudly, the Uzumaki Clan patriarch said, "You can be controlled with wood-type power, King Giant Ghost, and even more so during your decay period . How will you fight back now?!"

With that, he shot toward the giant ghost king, joined by the patriarchs from the Cai and Chen Clans .

The look on the giant ghost king's face remained as calm as before . His energy and his cultivation base were being rapidly eaten away by the wood dimension, to the point where he was no longer in the Demigod Realm . He was now in the Deva Realm, and in fact, his power was diminishing so rapidly that it would soon be that of the Nascent Soul stage!

And yet, he seemed completely calm, with the same confident smile on his face, as if he were facing nothing more than a group of clowns . Of course, that only made the patriarchs and heavenly marquises even more nervous .

Intense rumbling sounds filled the air as the giant ghost king singlehandedly took on three devas and six near-devas!

Even as the shocking scene played out up above, the armed forces of the three clans, as well as the soldiers of the six heavenly marquises' armies, all began to pour into the city .

The chief of the Uzumaki Clan led the clan elders in a murderous charge toward the moat, joined by many of the Cai Clan elders .

"The heavens are changing, Uzumaki Hao! You won't escape this tribulation!" The clan chief's heart was bursting with anticipation; he had been waiting for this day for a long time, and in fact, couldn't care less about the giant ghost king . His goal was to skin Uzumaki Hao alive!

As chaos spread out down below, the patriarchs of the three clans, as well as the six heavenly marquises, were engaged in fierce combat with the giant ghost king . Unexpectedly, the fighting already seemed to be on the verge of ending . One boom after another rang out, and blood sprayed out of the giant ghost king's mouth . His cultivation base was already down to the Nascent Soul level, and yet, the same self-confident smile could be seen on his face . In fact, it even seemed to contain a bit of ridicule, as though he were sneering at the fact that no one had seen through to the truth yet!

However, it was also obvious that the truth would be revealed soon . It was at that point that, all of a sudden, the giant

ghost king's body suddenly flickered, as though it were not corporeal . His hand turned blurry, and then the Uzumaki Clan patriarch suddenly shouted, "Something's wrong! He's . . . he's a clone! Dammit! He's a clone! This isn't the giant ghost king's true self! He's an expendable clone!"

The other two patriarchs began to tremble as looks of complete disbelief spread out across their faces .

"Impossible! Because of the unique way divine will works among demigod experts, they can't create clones more powerful than the Nascent Soul stage! Demigod Realm clones are an impossibility!"

"How could he possibly have a clone like this!? And furthermore . . . how could we have never realized it over all these years!?"

The three deva patriarchs weren't the only ones to be shocked . Duke Deathcrier and Duke Netherworld were also profoundly shaken, and both had expressions of utter disbelief on their faces .

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch gritted his teeth bitterly as he looked at the giant ghost king . Finally, he understood why he had been so calm this entire time . . . . And now, he realized that everything was exactly as the giant ghost king had described: a game . "So . . . this is your secret weapon . This . . . is why you were so self-confident . . . . "

It was a game that the giant ghost king had carefully set up, and was sure he would not lose . . . .

The probing for information, the provocation, the compromises, the placations, pretending to be weak, none of them were real . All of it had been a huge game . . . .

As everyone reeled in shock, the giant ghost king chuckled . By this point, his body had almost completely faded away . And yet, his laughter still contained a type of supreme and ultimate power that echoed out through heaven and earth .

"Now you understand, and yet, it's too late . This has all been nothing more than a game to me . . . . So what if you know about my decay period? And so what if you know about my weakness to wood-type power?

"My decay period didn't just start right now . In fact, it's almost over . In three months, I'll be fully recovered . . . . And that .

. . is when I'll return, and we can all reminisce about old times . " The giant ghost king shook his head as he looked around scornfully . That look of disdain was like a big palm that slapped all of the rebels directly in the face .

"You only have three months . Let's see if you can find my true self during that time . . . . That is phase two of my little game . " He threw his head back and laughed uproariously as he slowly faded out of existence .

The three deva patriarchs and six heavenly marquises were all having trouble breathing steadily, and couldn't keep the terror out of their eyes . As of this point, they had no choice to believe what the giant ghost king had just told them . And they knew that they only had three months .

If they didn't find the giant ghost king's true self within three months . . . then they and their clans would be exterminated . They could flee, of course . The Wildlands was a big place . But with the giant ghost king at his peak, they would never be able to escape him!

"Find him!" shouted the Uzumaki Clan patriarch . "Spare nothing! Pour all resources into the search . We must find where the giant ghost king's true self is! He's still in his decay period, so if we find him, we'll live . If we don't find him, we're all dead!

"He said three months, but we can't trust him . One month! We have to find him in one month!

"Somehow he managed to do the unexpected and create a clone . To control that clone, his true self would have to be somewhere nearby . I'd say there's an eighty to ninety percent chance that he's actually in Giant Ghost City!"

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch's heart was already filled with despair . They had been beaten . They had prepared for years and built up power, and yet, had been completely routed . It was almost funny . How could any of them have ever imagined that the giant ghost king would somehow be able to create a demigod clone, which was supposed to be impossible…?

"How could he have a clone like that!?" Eyes bloodshot, the Chen Clan patriarch shouted out similar orders, and even started flying around to search personally .

The Cai Clan patriarch, as well as the six heavenly marquises, were all were all trembling in fear, but similarly began to carry out searches . They held nothing back, searching everywhere in Giant Ghost City to try to find the giant ghost king's true self .

Duke Netherworld was in no mood to fight Duke Deathcrier any longer, and withdrew from the fight . As for Duke Deathcrier, he was not inclined to continue fighting either, and simply hovered there, laughing at the top of his lungs .

No one bothered to ask him where the giant ghost king's true self was . Everyone knew that there was no way the giant ghost king would trust information that important to anyone . Time would be better spent searching rather than asking pointless questions .

And they were right . Duke Deathcrier hadn't even been aware that the person he had been dealing with for so long . . . was only a clone!

As the three great clans and the forces of the six heavenly marquises began to search Giant Ghost City, Naruto was sitting in his cell in Cellblock D in Devil Penitentiary, looking around in boredom at one of his fellow inmates, the old man with the red birthmark who had offended the giant ghost king years ago .

Sighing, he said, "Hey old man, I've been in here for a while now, and I've talked to you a whole bunch . Are you ever going to say anything back?"

Originally, he had felt like he and this old man could commiserate with each other as fellow sufferers . However, the man had never even looked at him, much less said anything .

Eventually, Naruto had decided to just ignore him . However, today, the old man actually opened his eyes, and furthermore, his expression had flickered a few times . Curious, Naruto asked him a few more questions, only to be ignored .

"Don't you know who I am, old man?" Naruto yelled . "Listen up .

I'm the number one dark inquisitor in Devil Penitentiary . It's not going to do you any good to piss me off!"

However, the old man simply sat there, frowning and ignoring Naruto .

Glaring at the humiliation, Naruto gave a cold snort and was just about to say something else when the entrance to the cellblock opened, and the captain of Squad 9 rushed in, followed by several of the guards who Naruto was particularly close to . Alarmed expressions could be seen on their faces as they rushed over .

"Something big is happening,

big is happening, Uzumaki Hao!" the captain said urgently . "You have to come with us, right away! The three great clans are rebelling, and they're being joined by six of the heavenly marquises! All of Giant Ghost City is in chaos . . . . The Uzumaki Clan isn't going to let you off the hook . You need to get out of here, and that's just what we're going to help you do!"

With that, the captain grabbed his arm to drag him away .

Although Naruto had long since reckoned that the three great clans would make their move soon, he was still surprised that it was happening so suddenly .

But then the captain explained how the giant ghost king's cultivation base had dropped because of his decay period . . . . Except, the giant ghost king everyone had seen was actually a clone, and the three great clans were now searching for his true self . All of this information struck Naruto deeply with shock .

Now he finally understood why the giant ghost king hadn't just wiped out the three great clans . It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was that he was in his decay period, and couldn't . . . .

That decay period was also why the three great clans felt confident enough to launch their rebellion . However . . . in the end, they fell into the giant ghost king's game .

"Damn you, King Giant Ghost! If you want to play games, fine, but why did you have to drag me into it!?" Depressed, and yet completely helpless about the situation, Naruto knew that he was in a dangerous situation . The enraged Uzumaki Clan would not just let him go, and therefore, he needed to escape as quickly as possible .

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he gratefully clasped the captain on the shoulder .

"Brothers," he said, addressing the captain and the guards, "thank you for the immense kindness you've shown . I'll never forget it . Now's not the time for talking, though, I need to get out of here . . . . " However, even as he was about to leave . . . he suddenly heard the voice of the little turtle in his ear!

"Hey, ya little punk, what are you so anxious to leave for? We have a chance to make some money here, are you in?"

Chapter 648

A+ A- Chapter 648

Chapter 648: How Exciting . . . .

The little turtle was completely wrapped up in the idea of getting some treasure . On top of that, the giant ghost king's true self was just up ahead . Therefore, in response to Naruto's words, he immediately flew out and allowed Naruto to grab him .

"Hurry up, hurry up!" the little turtle rebuked anxiously . "What's with all the delays? Fudge! The chance to clean out a demigod is a good thing! Why are you hesitating? Rewards come only with risk! Without taking chances, how can you ever profit?!"

Chuckling inwardly, Naruto kept his tone sincere as he said, "I'm just young and don't have any experience in this kind of thing . My apologies, Lord Turtle . Please don't take any offense, sir . "

With that, he headed toward the cell that contained the giant ghost king's true self .

This was the first time the little turtle had ever heard Naruto speak so politely to him, and it felt wonderful . Very proud of himself, he decided that he should take some time to educate Naruto a bit more in the future, to prove how wise, intelligent, and courageous he himself was .

Even as the little turtle reveled in his own pride, Naruto flew closer to the giant ghost king's cell . Inside was the old man with the red birthmark, who slowly looked up, his eyes shining with a sharp light, and a bit of disdain .

It was the type of look that someone might give to a bug .

However, before the old man could say anything, Naruto pulled out his command medallion and unlocked the door of the skull cell .

Then, before the little turtle could do anything, Naruto shouted,

"See if you can handle my secret attack, you old bastard!"

At the same time, he took the pleased little turtle . . . and hurled him with lightning-like speed toward the old man in the cage!

He did everything with incredible smoothness, force, and speed . As soon as the little turtle left his hand, he slammed the cell door shut and then became a series of afterimages that shot backward away from the cave .

He stopped some distance away, looking back at the cage and preparing to flee at a moment's notice .

"Don't blame me, little turtle!" he said, feeling completely in the right .

"You're eternally indestructible, but I'm not!"

"Y-y-you, you little punk!" The little turtle had been completely taken by surprise; never could he have possibly imagined that Naruto would be treacherous enough to do this .

"Aaggghh,

you little jerk! You're completely shameless! Despicable!

Contemptible!" However, there was nothing the little turtle could do at the moment . Enraged, he turned toward the frowning giant ghost king, and then flew forward at top speed .

"How impudent!" the giant ghost king yelled, waving his hand out in front of him .

A boom rang out as the little turtle slammed into an invisible barrier roughly three meters in front of him . However, that only seemed to make him angrier . Looking at the giant ghost king, he shouted, "You think nobody would figure out you were hiding here, King Giant Ghost?! You might be able to trick everybody else, but you can't fool Lord Turtle! Hand over your treasures this instant, otherwise Lord Turtle is going to beat you to death!"

With that, he shot forward, again slamming into the invisible barrier, this time causing cracks to spread out in the air .

In response to the little turtle's words, the giant ghost king's expression flickered with shock and disbelief, which went to prove . . . that he really was the giant ghost king!

"Who are you?!" he asked .

He had been a prisoner in this cell for two hundred years, and was also protected by the stone turtle's spell formation . Because of that, he had assumed that he was safe, but now, his identity was exposed! How could he not be shocked!?

However, it was only a moment later that his killing intent erupted . As the little turtle closed in, he reached out and waved his right index finger!

"Spell formation: Evaporating Destruction!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the stone turtle vibrated, and an indescribable power stirred . Apparently, the single wave of a finger on the part of the giant ghost king would unleash an all-destructive divine ability .

Naruto was shaken by this development, and yet, before anything else could happen, the little turtle's eyes widened into a glare . Sticking his head far out from his shell, he roared, "NO destruction!"

Instantly, the air of extermination which had appeared moments ago . . . faded away into nothing!

The giant ghost king's eyes bulged with disbelief, and before he could do anything else, the little turtle shot forward and slammed into his chest .

The giant ghost king let out a muffled grunt, his face turning ashen as he staggered backward a few steps, his heart raging with astonishment .

"Impossible! This is impossible! Be destroyed!" Trembling, he yet again waved his finger at the little turtle . However, the stone turtle's spell formation didn't do anything in response . The blood immediately drained from the giant ghost king's face

face .

As of this moment, his heart was racing more wildly than it had in countless years . At the same time, a sensation of profound danger filled him . What was happening right now was vastly more critical and astonishing that the rebellion of the three great clans .

"Destroy what, your ass?!" The little turtle threw his head back and laughed uproariously, then launched himself forward in another attack .

Outside the cell, Naruto had been paying close attention to what was happening, and by now, his eyes were shining . Throwing his head back, he laughed loudly at the realization that this really was the giant ghost king . Clearly, his cultivation base really was at the Core Formation level, and furthermore, he couldn't use the spell formation . The fact that he was like a sick tiger with no teeth or claws left Naruto feeling very relieved . Laughing, he walked forward, and then entered the cage again .

"The majestic, illustrious giant ghost king is actually dressed up like a prisoner and hiding in this place . . . . How low of you, King Giant Ghost!" Sticking his chin up, he assumed his best pose and then waved his sleeve proudly .

"With the snap of a finger, I, Uzumaki Hao, reduced the giant ghost king to the point of becoming ashes . Hahaha!" Even as Naruto's laughter rang out, the giant ghost king stood there feeling shocked and anxious .

However, the look in his eye was cold and sinister . After all, he was a demigod king, and knew how to maintain his dignity .

"Uzumaki Hao," he began, "you-" However, before he could finish speaking, Uzumaki Hao took a step forward and slapped him across the side of the head

.

Instantly, the giant ghost king's cultivation base was sealed . Off to the side, the little turtle let out a whoop of delight .

"Clean him out! Clean him out!" A tremor ran through the giant ghost king, who was now glaring at Naruto with intense killing intent .

Despite that killing intent, Naruto simply walked forward and began to search him . A moment later, he pulled out a ring of holding . Unfortunately, further searching didn't reveal anything else .

"Only one ring of holding?" he said, less than pleased . "That's it?"

As for the giant ghost king, the humiliation he was enduring had his heart pulsing with rage that simply couldn't be described with words .

As far as he was concerned, this Uzumaki Hao was nothing more than a pawn in his game, something to make the action a

action a bit more interesting . He should be the type of person he could kill with a thought if necessary . Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that this pawn would end up holding his own life in his hands!

This sudden turn of events, and the sudden crisis, was something that the giant ghost king couldn't simply accept . He was a demigod, and he had planned this entire event down to the smallest detail .

However, even as he seemed to sink into a cool calm, the little turtle shouted, "Searching for treasures isn't your forte, ya little punk!"

With that, he flew forward and began searching the giant ghost king's robes and tossing all sorts of items out toward Naruto .

There was a long, crimson spear, a blue jade slip, a multi-colored magic bottle, and also . . . a fist-sized chunk of black rock!

When the giant ghost king saw all of these things flying out, his expression flickered, and soon turned extremely unsightly . Those items had been hidden in various spatial pockets he had created, which no one should ever have been able to find . However, the little turtle . . . easily found them and emptied them .

"You . . . . " the giant ghost king said anxiously, his eyes bulging . Although there weren't many items, each one was the type that could shake heaven and earth!

That red spear was how he had earned his name to begin with, and could not be wielded by anyone under the Deva Realm . It had been forged with an object that fell from beyond the heavens, and contained 1,000,000,000 restrictive spells . Even among devas, it could be considered a top-rate item!

Then there was the blue jade slip . It looked ordinary in nature, but contained a legacy Dao of incredible importance . As for the magic bottle, it was called the Primeval Cosmos Bottle, and was similarly something that could not be used by anyone under the level of a deva . It could absorb any and all objects in creation and transform them into high-level medicine . He had paid a huge price to acquire this item, and was relatively certain that it was why the nine serenities king had gotten involved in the rebellion!

Finally, there was the black rock . It was a completely unique item in the world that not even the giant ghost king was sure of the origins of . Supposedly, it had once belonged to the first generation arch-emperor, although no one knew where he had acquired it . These items were his most

were his most valuable treasures, so seeing them being taken away by the little turtle filled the giant ghost king's heart with uncontrollable anxiety .

Naruto was ecstatic to see so many things being pulled out . Although he wasn't sure how to use any of them, and despite the fact that they all were branded personally to the giant ghost king, he could tell that they were extraordinary .

"Anything the giant ghost king kept hidden on his person should definitely be incredibly precious! Maybe I can't use them now, but I'll be able to eventually!"

Naruto did his best to hide his pleasure, but as for the little turtle, it was with immense pride that he looked disdainfully at the giant ghost king and said, "Think you can hide your stuff from Lord Turtle? Dream on!"

The giant ghost king fought to keep himself under control . He knew that at the moment, his rage could do nothing to resolve the situation, and that despite how his heart was dripping with blood . . . he needed to force himself to remain calm .

"What do you want?!" he said, uttering his words one at a time . Although his cultivation base was currently very weak, and he couldn't even control his own life or death, he still managed to radiate calmness, and was even somewhat threatening . When Naruto saw that, he couldn't help but shiver a bit; after all, this was a demigod, even though his cultivation base was currently not at that level .

However, the fact that he felt scared also got him angry .

"Trying to frighten me?!" he said . Then he thought about how the giant ghost king had been using him as a pawn in his game, and had even turned him into a prisoner . Influenced a bit by the little turtle, his eyes suddenly shone with disdain, and he smacked the giant ghost king across the side of the head again .

"Close your eyes when you talk to me!" he said angrily . The sight of the giant ghost king so angry that he was physically shaking was actually quite exciting . Licking his lips, he continued,

"I've never smacked a demigod! So exciting . . . . " In fact, he couldn't hold back from delivering another smack .

"Not gonna follow orders huh? Heh heh . I said close your eyes when you talk to me!"

"Do you have a death wish, Uzumaki Hao?!" The giant ghost king raged angrily . If his cultivation base was at its normal level, he would teach Naruto a long and hard lesson about the consequences of slapping people!

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	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 649

A+ A- Chapter 649

Chapter 649: Human Shield

Naruto was quite excited by the thrill of the moment, so in response to the giant ghost king's threatening words, he angrily yelled, "Still trying to threaten me? How dare you! Don't push me . I'm the number one dark inquisitor in Devil Penitentiary . When I get pissed off, I frighten even myself!"

Then he placed his hand onto his bag of holding and considered whether or not to take out an Aphrodisiac Pill .

When the giant ghost king saw the rage in Naruto's eyes, he was shocked . Then he remembered hearing that Naruto was a dark inquisitor, and soon, hatred began to build up in his heart . He was a majestic demigod expert, the illustrious giant ghost king . The fact that a small fry like this was threatening to torment him caused him to grit his teeth in anger . However, he still managed to calm down .

"What do you want, Uzumaki Hao? Just tell me! Spit it out! Don't tell me that your betrayal of the Uzumaki Clan was some elaborate plot!?" The giant ghost king was able to control his anger so well that his voice actually didn't contain anything threatening in it all . As he spoke, he also couldn't help but glance at Naruto's palm, and wonder if he was going to get slapped again .

"Plot my ass! You listen up, King Giant Ghost . Lord Uzumaki wants-"

However, before he could finish his sentence, Cellblock D suddenly trembled, and then the entrance shook violently, almost as if someone was trying to break it open .

Naruto's face fell as he looked over at the entrance . Another huge boom echoed out, and the entrance collapsed, revealing numerous figures who began to fly in .

Then, a shout of rage erupted out, the type of which that contained unsurpassable animosity .

"Uzumaki Hao! The time has come for you to die!"

It was none other than the chief of the Uzumaki Clan, flanked by numerous other cultivators from the direct bloodline .

Even as Naruto's face fell, the little turtle transmitted a message .

"Let's take the loot and run! They showed up sooner than

expected, and Lord Turtle can't fully control the spell formation!"

Naruto took a deep breath to restore his calm . His eyes flashed with icy light as he unhesitatingly grabbed the giant ghost king by the neck, then turned to flee .

"Give me the command medallion, little punk," the little turtle shouted .

"Fudge! I can't believe these people dare to interrupt our holy shakedown! Lord Turtle will open all the cells, that will completely screw them over!"

"No way!" Naruto replied . "If you open all the cells and free the prisoners . . . they won't just start fighting the Uzumaki Clan, they'll come after me!" After all, as a dark inquisitor, Naruto had interrogated many of the prisoners in the cells, most of whom now hated him with deep passion . . . .

The little turtle was too stunned at Naruto's response to say anything . Meanwhile, Naruto shook his head and began to move forward, keeping the giant ghost king gripped in his hand .

"If I can't hide, then I might as well fight!" Naruto shouted, and afterimages appeared as he summoned his four clones . At the same time, he pulled out all sorts of magical items, many of which had fourteenfold spirit enhancements . Coupled with the power of his cultivation base, it made his energy surge to a shocking level .

As the rumbling sounds echoed out, the distant members of the Uzumaki Clan saw Naruto . The clan chief's eyes turned bright red, and he bellowed with rage . Flanking him were five clan elders, all of them in the Nascent Soul stage, as well as a crowd of Core Formation experts .

"Time to die, Uzumaki Hao!" he shouted, immediately accelerating toward Naruto .

Naruto knew that this was a moment of deadly crisis, and that he couldn't afford to get involved in a protracted fight . Therefore, he pushed forward at top speed, using his frigid Chakra and Mountain Shaking Bash to achieve shocking speed .

The little turtle also knew that it was a dangerous moment . Whooping with excitement, he tucked his head back into

into his shell to go along for the ride .

In the blink of an eye, Naruto reached the forces from the Uzumaki Clan

.

The divine abilities launched by the clan elders were handled by his four clones . At the same time, Naruto's true self slammed into one of the early Nascent Soul stage elders, sending him tumbling backward several dozen meters . Instead of stopping, Naruto continued forward . His four clones attacked another of the nearby clan elders, unleashing all sorts of divine abilities . Meanwhile, he used the Throat Crushing Grasp to crush the neck of one of the incoming cultivators .

In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, the fiercest of fighting had broken out!

Booms and shockwaves spread out in all directions, casting the entire area into chaos!

Scintillating light shone out from Naruto as he pulled out his transformed Eternal Parasol and stabbed it into the chest of a nearby enemy . It was a Uzumaki Clan Core Formation cultivator, but it only took a moment for his muscular frame to be withered away, his life force sucked out of him with shocking speed!

As Naruto continued his shocking charge, golden designs flared up all over him that were impossible to conceal from the surrounding cultivators .

He also threw out a fourteen-colored flame, which transformed into a sea of fire that burned anything it touched . As of this moment, Naruto was like a celestial warrior, proceeding forward with shocking momentum!

The fighting had only been going on for a moment, and had been matchlessly bitter . Naruto's hair was in disarray, but he didn't slow down in the slightest . A single fist strike sent the clan chief tumbling away, and caused other clan members to scatter . When he and his four clones all fought with full strength, they could crush anything in their path as easily as dried weeds .

Although they seemed to be acting with practiced ease, they were actually in great danger . Two of Naruto's clones had already been nearly destroyed by some of the clan elders, and were forced to transform into motes of light

of light that flew back into Naruto .

Blood oozed out of the corner of his true self's mouth, and yet, he didn't slow in the slightest as he barreled toward the exit .

It was a shocking sight for all the prisoners to behold, as well as the surrounding Uzumaki Clan cultivators . The power and ferocity on display by Naruto was hard to take in . However, even more shocking was the outrageous nature of his equipment

"Heavens! That . . . that magical item has a fourteenfold spirit enhancement!"

"This Uzumaki Hao is crazy! Even that leather armor of his has a fourteenfold spirit enhancement!"

"He's a genius! A spirit enhancing genius!"

"You're not getting away!" raged the clan chief, using a minor teleportation to close the distance between himself and Naruto . The clan elders similarly gave chase .

Naruto was starting to get anxious . On the one hand, he was trying to break through the enemy to escape, but on the other hand, he had to make sure that the giant ghost king didn't get killed . As far as Naruto was concerned, the giant ghost king was like a deva soul to him, so he couldn't let him die . However, to do both of those things at the same time was very difficult . In fact, it was actually impossible to shield the giant ghost king from all of the attacks being thrown their way

.

And yet, the giant ghost king didn't say a single word the entire time . The truth was that he was actually impressed by Naruto's bravery and ferocity . His veins of steel were on full display, to the point where he seemed like a completely different person!

Despite the fact that the giant ghost king wasn't saying anything, Naruto found it strange that he was keeping silent . Furthermore, the attacks which found their way to him did nothing more than cause his face to turn a bit pale . He hadn't even coughed up any blood yet, and was clearly not injured in any way .

"This giant ghost king is a demigod expert . Don't tell me he's got some trick got some trick up his sleeve?" Naruto was stunned, but didn't have time to think about the matter . Four Uzumaki Clan elders had just teleported in range, and were unleashing a divine ability, a black cloud filled with screaming, evil ghosts . Eyes bloodshot, Naruto's jaw dropped, and he opened up the Eternal Parasol, causing dazzling light to flash out and block the evil ghosts . At that point, the little turtle shot out toward the Uzumaki Clan elders .

However, one of the four elders performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, summoning the image of a palm which shot toward Naruto .

Without even thinking about it, Naruto reflexively shoved the giant ghost king out in front of him to defend himself . Rumbling sounds could be heard as the enormous palm fell to pieces, and Naruto staggered backward . As for the giant ghost king, he felt like cursing, but instead, gritted his teeth and endured the pain .

"Not hurt?" Naruto muttered in surprise . The Uzumaki Clan elder was similarly shocked . He had noticed that Naruto was dragging an old man with him, but hadn't paid it much attention . But now, he realized that this old man was clearly extraordinary; a Nascent Soul-level attack which would have injured Naruto didn't faze the old man at all . . . . In fact, he didn't even cough up any blood .

Ecstatic, Naruto hefted his Eternal Parasol in one hand and the giant ghost king in the other, and then charged forward again . As of this moment, the giant ghost king was a human shield which Naruto could use to block any of the divine abilities being sent his way . The cultivators from the Uzumaki Clan were all shocked .

Eventually, the giant ghost king couldn't take it any longer . He was trembling, and his ashen face was now turning livid with rage . He had just sustained ten Nascent Soul-level attacks, all backed with deadly intent . Unable to hold back his humiliation at being treated like a human shield, he began to curse!

Chapter 650

A+ A- Chapter 650

Chapter 650: Miserable Giant Ghost King

"Uzumaki Hao, you little bastard, I hope you die a painful death! You . . . you . . . . You'll get your comeuppance one of these days! If I can't kill you myself, then my daughter will make mincemeat out of you!"

Although the giant ghost king was enraged, he was a demigod and a king; he actually wasn't very proficient in cursing people . Therefore, he could only come up with some basic taunts, which he repeated using different variations .

Naruto cleared his throat proudly and completely ignored the curses . In fact, he even considered looking for a chance to get the little turtle to teach the giant ghost king a thing or two about insults .

Even as that thought crossed his mind, he proceeded forward, not only using the giant ghost king as a shield, but fighting back with him . His actions, coupled with his shocking fourteenfold spirit enhanced treasures, ensured that he was already getting close to the entrance of Cellblock D .

Although everyone in the Uzumaki Clan burned with unquenchable rage, they simply couldn't kill Naruto . Not only was he incredibly tough to begin with, he also had four clones to help him, and tons of eye-catching magical items .

There was his strange parasol which could suck away life force and replenish him, and also the fact that he could move with shocking speed . His fleshly body power was incredible, and he could teleport, making it completely impossible to kill him in any short amount of time .

The old man with the red birthmark on his face was an even deeper mystery to the Uzumaki Clan cultivators . No matter how many times he got hit, even with powerful magical items, he didn't even cough up a single mouthful of blood .

In turn, Naruto was bashing his way closer and closer to the entrance .

The clan elders were starting to get very nervous, and even joined together in an attack that cause intense rumbling sounds to fill the cellblock . Powerful fluctuations rolled out, and multi-colored light spread out in all directions . However, Naruto continued to use the giant ghost king, who never stopped cursing the entire time .

"You will die in pain, Uzumaki

Hao! You'll get what you deserve one of these days!" The giant ghost king wanted to cry, but no tears would come . His hair was in complete disarray, and his clothes were in tatters . He now possessed none of the dignity of a demigod expert, and it was even possible to see welts and bruises on his skin .

Because this was his true self, and he was a demigod, his body wasn't necessarily eternally indestructible, but was strong enough to be very difficult to kill in circumstances like this . With the exception of devas, any opponent he faced couldn't hurt him any more than the bite of a mosquito . Only by wearing him down for a very long time could they possibly kill him .

The rage burning in his heart right now was so hot that not even the waters of the Underworld River could extinguish it . There was also no small amount of grief inside him; despite the many years he had lived, and his overall tenacity, he really felt like crying .

By this point, he felt like he was being struck by eight generations of accumulated bad luck . . . . It was simply impossible to describe how humiliated he felt to have run into this damnable Uzumaki Hao . Then he thought back to his original plan, and how he was only supposed to remain in Devil Penitentiary for a few more days before emerging like a cicada shedding its carapace, his decay period completely behind him .

Even if the three great clans found him before the process was complete, with the spell formation of the stone turtle, they would have been incapable of defeating him . Because of all that, he had looked down with contempt on the three great clans the entire time, and had looked forward to watching their terror mount as time passed . From beginning to end, everything was to have been within his control .

His anticipation and confidence were so great, in fact, that he hadn't even mentioned the current situation to his daughter in the imperial city

.

It had been many, many years since he had gotten to do anything interesting, and as such, he had truly been looking forward to playing this little game .

However, never could he have possibly imagined

imagined that his game would end up like this . . . .

"It shouldn't be happening this way . . . . " he thought miserably . Regret gripped his heart . He had planned everything meticulously, and prepared perfectly . Never could he possibly have guessed that things would happen in this way, that one of the pawns in his game would ruin everything .

He could only watch as he was thrown this way and that to block various divine abilities and magical items . Booms filled his ears, and his heart sank further into lamentation .

"I refuse to accept this!" he moaned inwardly, his eyes bloodshot .

However, there was nothing he could do now . He had secretly tried to make contact with the spell formation, but there had been no reaction, causing his despair to deepen .

As the giant ghost king wallowed in hopelessness, Naruto coughed up a huge mouthful of blood . His remaining two clones had been destroyed, and were now speeding back to him in the form of two motes of light . Although his fleshly body was powerful, his injuries were serious . And yet, he still managed to break through everything the Uzumaki Clan was throwing at him .

Then, in a blinding flash, he, the little turtle, and the giant ghost king all burst out through the main door of the cellblock .

Roars of rage echoed out behind him . Obviously, the clan chief and clan elders weren't going to just give up . They wouldn't rest until Naruto was dead!

"Maybe you can escape from this place," the clan chief howled, "but the three great clans control Giant Ghost City now! You won't get out of the city!"

By this point, Naruto was speeding toward the exit of Devil Penitentiary .

Moments later, the clan chief and clan elders appeared behind him and gave chase .

Naruto's heart was pounding, and his aura was in chaos . However, what worried him wasn't his injuries, which were significant, but rather, the fact that he needed to get out of the prison as quickly as possible . If he didn't . . . then eventually the little turtle would lose control of the spell formation . And when that

when that happened, the first thing the giant ghost king would do would be to kill him!

At the moment, the giant ghost king's eyes were closed, making it obvious that he must be trying to make contact with the stone turtle's spell formation . More nervous than ever, Naruto suddenly slapped him again .

"I'm warning you!" he yelled viciously . "You better not force me to tell them who you are!"

The giant ghost king's eyes snapped open and he glared at Uzumaki

Naruto, panting so hard he felt like his chest was about to explode . However . . . he had to continue to endure . At the moment, he had no other options available .

Naruto whizzed along; thankfully, he was very familiar with Devil Penitentiary, so he quickly made his way through the various tunnels until he was at the exit . Just before leaving, though, the little turtle's face fell .

"I'm gonna lose control!" he shouted . A tremor ran through the giant ghost king, and his eyes began to shine with intense light . He could sense that the spell formation was beginning to awaken, and in fact, the entire stone turtle was beginning to vibrate . Further back, the clan chief and clan elders' faces all fell .

As for the giant ghost king, his excitement grew, and he was just preparing to reach out to the spell formation when, all of a sudden, Naruto, aware that he couldn't easily slap the man unconscious, suddenly reached into his bag of holding and produced a handful of Aphrodisiac Pills . . . .

Even as joy spread out across the giant ghost king's face, Naruto stuffed the pills into his mouth .

"You . . . . " There was nothing the giant ghost king could do to fight back . As soon as the pills entered his mouth, they melted, and the medicinal effect of the pills erupted explosively . At the moment, the giant ghost king's cultivation base was incredibly weak, and he couldn't do anything to control the effect of the pills . Rumbling sounds filled his mind, and he instantly lost contact with the spell formation .

Although he wanted to reestablish contact, the burning heat that spread through his body battered at his

battered at his mind, making it difficult to even think straight . However, he made a mad effort to control himself, and once again reached out to the spell formation . The stone turtle instantly surged with power, causing pressure to weigh down everywhere, and filling the hearts of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators with sensations of imminent deadly crisis .

However . . . Naruto's Aphrodisiac Pills were simply too devastating, and the giant ghost king had been given too many . Soon his face began to turn bright red, and he started shaking visibly . A moment passed, and . . . despite the fact that his connection to the spell formation was tenuous at best, it had not been broken .

But all Naruto had needed was a bit of time . Howling, he pushed forward with greater speed, using everything at his disposal to shoot out of the stone turtle's left eye and then into the moat beyond .

In that instant, the giant ghost king called upon his indescribable levels of self-control to suppress the burning fire within him . He gripped tight on his connection to the spell formation, and then tried to activate it . However . . . as soon as Naruto burst out of the turtle's eye, the rising energy of the spell formation faded away .

"No!" the giant ghost king howled as he watched hope vanish right in front of him, sending him plummeting into the depths of despair . As soon as the word left his mouth, Naruto looked over angrily and slapped him across the side of the head again .

"Shut up!"

"I'm gonna kill you, Uzumaki Hao!" the giant ghost king roared . "Kill you, ya hear? You're dead! Aggghhhh!"

Whack! Naruto slapped him again .

"Don't hit me, you-"

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Naruto proceeded to slap him eight more times, until finally, some blood oozed out of the giant ghost king's mouth . Having no choice but to endure the humiliation, the giant ghost king bit down on his bottom lip and stopped talking .

The current Naruto seemed even more terrifying than the Naruto who had just fought his way out of the cellblock . As of this moment, he seemed like nothing more than a devilish ghost!

Chapter 651

A+ A- Chapter 651

Chapter 651: How Brilliant, Patriarch

"You got what you deserved!" Naruto said angrily . "You listen to me, you old bastard: don't push me! When I get pissed off, I frighten even myself!"

Fear still lingered in his heart from moments earlier . He knew that if he had been even a bit slower, allowing the giant ghost king to gain control of the spell formation, then he would have died .

As he wallowed in that lingering fear, he glared at the giant ghost king with such intense killing intent that it left the man shaken . Furthermore, considering that he was willing to humiliate his own father, was vicious and merciless, and had reviled his own clan, then obviously, provoking him would be a huge mistake .

At the moment, the giant ghost king could only bow his head and vent his anger inwardly . "He definitely wants something from me," he thought . "Fine . I'll just endure and refrain from provoking him . "

Even as he lowered his head, the clan chief and other members of the Uzumaki Clan flew out from the stone turtle's eye . Of course, the Uzumaki Clan had their ways of protecting themselves from the corrosive water of the moat, and immediately began to chase Naruto .

Face twitching with fear, and having no more time to deal with the giant ghost king, Naruto burst into motion, heading toward the surface of the water as quickly as possible . However, only a moment later, the little turtle suddenly shrieked, "Back up!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto shoved the giant ghost king out in front of him and lurched in the opposite direction . As he did, a sound louder than heavenly thunder caused everything in the area to shake violently .

At the same time, an incredible force descended into the moat water, causing a massive eruption of water .

Thankfully, Naruto was protected behind the giant ghost king, who took the entire force of the blow . Blood sprayed out of the giant ghost king's mouth as his internal organs vibrated on the point of collapsing . Even large portions of his hair fell off of his head; it was as if

a full twenty percent of his overall energy had been destroyed!

As for his cultivation base, in the blink of an eye it dropped from Core Formation into Foundation Establishment . . . . Obviously, that attack wasn't a Nascent Soul divine ability, but rather . . . a blow from a deva!

As the boom continued to echo out, Naruto realized that all the water around him had been destroyed, leaving him hovering in the middle of the air . Furthermore, up above him, with a grim, maddened expression on his face, was the Uzumaki Clan patriarch!

Naruto was so nervous his tongue was stuck to the top of his mouth, and his heart was racing faster than ever . He knew that if the little turtle hadn't warned him, he would have died from that attack . Furthermore, without the giant ghost king there to use as a shield, the little turtle's warning would, at most, have enabled him to escape with serious injuries .

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch had been searching for the giant ghost king, but had obviously received a message from someone in the Uzumaki Clan, causing him to turn his attention to Uzumaki Hao!

However, he could never have guessed that Naruto could survive

a full-force blow!

Shocked, the patriarch looked closer, and immediately focused on the tool Naruto had used to defend himself . . . an old man with a red birthmark on his face!

"That's . . . . " The Uzumaki Clan patriarch shivered, and his aura fluctuated unstably . Then his eyes began to shine with unprecedented light . He almost seemed hopeful, as though he had just been rescued from an impossible situation .

"This . . . this . . . . " He couldn't even speak straight . A moment later, he threw his head back and laughed maniacally, a laughter that filled all of Giant Ghost City, a laughter filled with delight, joy, and complacency .

As for Naruto, his heart began to pound, and he looked over at the giant ghost king to see that his eyes were somewhat blank . He didn't look at

at all like he had moments ago when arguing with Naruto . As of this moment he realized that everything that was happening . . . was likely just fate .

"The heavens will not destroy the Uzumaki Clan! Hahaha! We're saved! King Giant Ghost! How could I have ever imagined that you would actually be here!"

The patriarch was laughing so hard he was shaking, and his eyes were bright red because of the excitement he felt . During the past few hours, he had felt both indescribable torment and unending regret . However, there was no way to undo what had been done, and the realization that he was simply a pawn in the giant ghost king's game left him terrified to the extreme . His chances of finding the giant ghost king were virtually nil, and even if he did find him . . . there was no way the giant ghost king would not be prepared to defend himself .

The patriarch had already begun to sink into complete despair and insanity . Upon encountering Uzumaki Hao, he was so upset that he forgot about his plans to use him as a future incarnation, and immediately unleashed a killing blow . Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that right there, in the middle of his complete despair . . . a ray of hope would appear, and that he . . . would find the giant ghost king . Furthermore, the giant ghost king was incredibly weak . The patriarch's eyes immediately began to burn with fiery passion as he ignored Naruto and focused completely . . . on the giant ghost king!

As soon as the Uzumaki Clan patriarch's words echoed out, the clan chief and the other clan members further back stared in wide-eyed shock . Then they gasped and looked at the old man Naruto was holding out in front of him .

"He's . . . he's the giant ghost king!?"

"Heavens! The giant ghost king has been hiding here!"

"I told you there was something weird about that guy to be able to take so many attacks from us and

us and not be hurt! It turns out he's actually the giant ghost king!"

They weren't the only shocked ones . There were cultivators from the other great clans in the area as well, plus some soldiers from the armies of the six heavenly marquises who had rebelled . There were even spies loyal to other forces and groups . Everyone turned to look at Uzumaki Hao, and the giant ghost king whom he held by the neck, clearly a captive .

Everyone who could see the scene was completely and utterly shocked .

"This . . . this is impossible! That's Uzumaki Hao? He . . . he kidnapped the giant ghost king?!"

"This Uzumaki Hao is completely ferocious! He . . . he actually kidnapped the giant ghost king! Everyone's looking for the giant ghost king's true self, and now he has him!"

"Heavens! I actually underestimated this Uzumaki Hao . He's incredible! So tough! He's definitely going to become completely famous because of this!"

Countless gasps rang out, and within moments, people began sending the news back to their superiors . It was easy to imagine how, within mere moments, everyone in Giant Ghost City would know that Uzumaki Hao had kidnapped the giant ghost king!

Quite a few people immediately recalled how Uzumaki Hao had kidnapped the chief of the Uzumaki Clan, and were even more shocked than before .

"Uzumaki Hao . . . is vicious and merciless, and reviled his own clan! How fierce! He didn't just kidnap his own father, he actually also kidnapped the giant ghost king!"

As of this moment, Naruto's actions had truly shaken the entire city!

Of course, that had not been his intention . Currently, he was looking around nervously, his eyes bloodshot, his chest swelling with fear and anxiety .

As for the giant ghost king, he maintained his silence, not uttering a single word . However, his eyes were calm, and the dignity which had previously escaped him returned . He might be about to die, but he would die with honor . There was also a flash of regret in his eyes .

"What a pity," he murmured to himself . "There's not enough time for the time for the Ghost King Orchid to bloom . . . . "

When he did speak out loud, his voice was cool and collected . "Uzumaki Hao, you can release me now . "

Looking up, Naruto saw the Uzumaki Clan deva patriarch reaching out with his right hand .

"What do I do, what do I do . . . !?" he wailed inwardly .

At that point, a fiery gleam appeared in his eyes, and he said loudly, "Patriarch, you really are brilliant to have anticipated that the traitorous giant ghost king would have a secret plan at work . Well, I've accomplished my mission . I followed your orders, enduring all sorts of humiliation, even betraying the clan, all to earn the trust of this traitor . And now, I'll hand him over to you alive and in one piece!

"Patriarch, I hope that you come to be bathed in the most spectacular honor and glory! Long live the Uzumaki Clan!"

Everyone was stunned by this development . The giant ghost king smiled wryly, and the Uzumaki Clan patriarch stared in shock . It was to the utter astonishment of everyone that Naruto proceeded to head toward the patriarch, seemingly excited to hand him the giant ghost king .

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch was so taken aback that he didn't have time to ponder the matter closely . Naruto had worded things perfectly, to the point where no one even thought to question his words .

He had even gone so far as to offer all the glory to the patriarch . All the patriarch had to do was confirm that what he had said was true, and it would actually be of great benefit to the patriarch in the subsequent struggle to secure the crown . The patriarch's eyes immediately glittered brightly as he realized all of this .

"This Uzumaki Hao . . . is very interesting . . . . " A smile broke out on his face as he looked at the charming, nervous Naruto . Then, he prepared to respond .

However . . . that was when something completely unexpected changed everything!

Chapter 652

A+ A- Chapter 652

Chapter 652: Demigod Soul Detonation!

Naruto's shocking words caused all sorts of thoughts to go through the minds of the people in the area . If he had said something completely random and meaningless, then it likely wouldn't have resulted in anything to speak of . However, people almost immediately realized the implications of what he was saying . Even the clan chief gasped .

Many of the ordinary soul cultivators in the area were turning to look at the Uzumaki Clan patriarch .

Everyone knew that deva patriarchs were clever and conniving, so it wouldn't be anything surprising to find that what Naruto had said was true .

After all . . . three great clans had put their lives on the line in this rebellion .

Everyone reeled in shock, and the Uzumaki Clan patriarch's mouth began to turn into a smile . Naruto, looking very meek and obedient, slowly neared the patriarch, with the giant ghost king held out in front of him .

He moved quickly, and within moments was a short 30 meters away . . .

.

At that point, the Uzumaki Clan patriarch's face fell . After all, he was a deva, connected to heaven and earth, with acute divine sense, and fantastic instincts when it came to danger . In that moment, a profound sense of deadly crisis suddenly rose up in his heart, and he subconsciously began to back up . Although he wasn't sure why . . . there was something that suddenly seemed extremely dangerous about Naruto .

Although it seemed completely unbelievable, the sensation of crisis caused the Uzumaki Clan patriarch to suddenly shout, "Hold it right there!"

Just when he was about to shoot backward, a vicious, maddened grin suddenly spread out on Naruto's face .

"You're dead!" he shouted, slapping his bag of holding to produce a

crystalline soulhoarding pagoda . Then, with all the strength he could muster, he hurled the soulhoarding pagoda at the patriarch!

The soulhoarding pagoda didn't look like anything special, but as it whooshed through the air toward the Uzumaki Clan patriarch, the man's scalp began to tingle so hard it felt like it might explode . The sensation of impending doom was so intense that it filled every inch of his flesh and blood .

"That thing could kill me! I need to get out of here immediately!" A tremor ran through the patriarch, and he immediately began to fade away as he resorted to a powerful teleportation!

Unfortunately for him, everything was happening too quickly . Naruto's action of hurling the soulhoarding pagoda had caught him completely unprepared . Most importantly . . . Naruto was simply too close to him!

He had only been about 30 meters away, and had hurled the soulhoarding pagoda with all his strength . Because of that, it only took the briefest of moments . . . for the soulhoarding pagoda to be a few short meters away!

In the instant that the patriarch began to fade away, Naruto threw his head back and roared, "DETONATE!"

He pushed hard against the restrictive spell inside of the soulhoarding pagoda, and at the same time, shot backward at full speed!

He used his Undying Hex, and also kept the giant ghost king held out in front of him . However, worried that all of that wasn't enough, he took advantage of the fact that everyone was looking at the soulhoarding pagoda to pull out his turtle-wok and place it between himself and the giant ghost king!

All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but actually happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint . The instant the restrictive spell inside the soulhoarding pagoda unraveled, the discarnate demigod soul inside

inside awoke, causing an aura of destruction to erupt out!

Brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth, and the clouds were thrown into chaos . An indescribably powerful pressure instantly filled the entire area!

"Demigod soul!?" The Uzumaki Clan patriarch's face fell, and his heart was seized with shock . A sensation of deadly crisis completely overwhelmed him, and a scream escaped his lips as he gave up on the lengthy teleportation process and simply tried to run . Sadly for him, it was too late for that!

The instant the shocking demigod aura appeared, something like a gale force wind sprang up . Cries of astonishment and alarm filled the area .

"Demigod aura!"

"What's that!?"

"Heavens . . . . "

Then, a heaven-rending, earth-crushing boom rose up in the area, a deafening sound that quickly spreading out to fill all of Giant Ghost City, causing everything to quake violently!

A destructive blast like the crushing blow of a giant rocked the entire city . The sky went dim, and the wind screamed as countless crevices opened up in the lands surrounding the city!

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch took the brunt of the attack, and managed to let out a short frenzied scream that was soon overwhelmed by the destructive force!

The nearby buildings, as well as many nearby cultivators who had been too slow to flee, were also swept up in the powerful force of the attack . BOOM! RUMBLE! CRAAAAAASH!

Many of the nearby cultivators had no time to even scream before they were destroyed in body and soul . That included many of the Uzumaki Clan elders, who were completely incapable of defending themselves, and were transformed into ash . . . .

The clan chief had been leading the way in the chase after Naruto, but happened to have a life-saving magical item . With the help of that item, he survived, but was still severely injured, his legs shredded into nothing,

into nothing, his arms ripped off, his chest caved in, his hair burned off, and his cultivation base shattered .

"No . . . this can't be real! Uzumaki Hao! Uzumaki Hao!" Lingering hatred and despair could be seen in his eyes as he tumbled away, screaming in terror .

A huge crater was being opened up . . . and the destructive aura could even be sensed by people some distance away .

Amidst the cacophony of sound, the giant ghost king's voice could be heard, letting out a shriek of despair . Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was shoved backward . As for Naruto, he remained behind his turtle-wok, but still felt some of the force of the blow, and coughed up an enormous mouthful of blood . He felt like his body was going to collapse, and even his internal organs were destabilized . And yet, he still managed to escape with his life .

Even the giant ghost king was completely shaken by what was happening . Never could he possibly have imagined that something like this would happen, or that the person to orchestrate it all would be . . . Uzumaki Hao!

When it was all over, Naruto looked at the crater, heart pounding with residual fear .

"The force unleashed by the detonation of a demigod soul is mindboggling . . . . Even I almost got wiped out . " Thankfully, he had been prepared all along for what was going to happen . He had picked the right place and time, and had retreated with incredible speed . Therefore, he was minimally affected . After adding in the protection of the giant ghost king and his turtle-wok, he managed to escape with his life .

In fact, that was another reason why he had taken the initiative to approach the

to approach the Uzumaki Clan patriarch, instead of allowing the man to get close to him . That had given him room to back up . . . . If it had been a normal fight, and he had casually attempted to use the demigod soul as a weapon, he would likely have blown himself up . . . .

Of everyone else present, the Uzumaki Clan patriarch had been the closest to the soulhoarding pagoda . Now that the force of the blow was fading away, he could be seen floating there in the air, most of his hair burned off, the rest of his body in horrific condition . In fact, this was the worst shape he had ever been in throughout his entire life .

Even more shocking to him was the fact that he was obviously in no place to try to fight Naruto . If he did, he would surely be defeated and killed!

Trembling, he uncontrollably coughed up another massive mouthful of blood, then looked over at Naruto with a mixture of unparalleled fear and incredible killing intent . However, he also didn't hesitate to turn and flee, using every ounce of speed he could muster to get as far away as possible .

"He survived?!" Naruto thought, shocked . At the moment, he didn't dare to chase him, though .

Aware that he wasn't out of danger yet, he looked up in thought for the briefest moment and then shouted, "I, Uzumaki Hao, am the type who doesn't attack unless I am attacked first . Listen up, everyone . That divine ability I used just now, I can use it another hundred times! When I attack, I frighten even myself! So don't even think about provoking me!"

With that, he turned and fled, keeping a firm grip on the giant ghost king, who was still coughing up blood .

Chapter 653

A+ A- Chapter 653

Chapter 653: This Guys Crazy!

"Well played, Uzumaki Hao . Vile and sinister, vicious and merciless, reviler of the clan . . . . " The Uzumaki Clan patriarch was currently speeding along, coughing up blood and wracked with bitterness . Although the detonation of the soulhoarding pagoda hadn't killed him, it had gravely injured him . At the moment, he was in no condition to be thinking about trying to kill the giant ghost king . Right now, he had to fear for his own life!

There could be no better opportunity than this moment for the patriarchs of the Chen and Cai Clans to kill him . . . . After all, the three clans were cooperating at the moment, but in general, were enemies!

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch was in no mood to bet his own life, and therefore drew on every scrap of energy he had left to flee back to the Uzumaki Clan, where he could safely go into secluded meditation and start recovering!

He had no attention to spare for what was happening back in Giant Ghost City, or with Uzumaki Hao!

The longer one lives, the more one will fear death . That was the current situation with the Uzumaki Clan patriarch . After all, the fate of his clan rested on his shoulders, and the clan as a whole couldn't afford for anything to happen to him .

Meanwhile, back in the city, two new deva auras suddenly erupted out into the open . One of them began to speed toward Naruto, and the other . . . went after the Uzumaki Clan patriarch!

As for Naruto, he was racing through Giant Ghost City, trying to keep his aura concealed, his heart racing with terror .

"I'm finished . Kaput . Dammit, I was too impulsive . It's all the fault of this giant ghost king . He's too conspicuous!" Naruto felt like crying, but no tears would come . At the moment, he was so nervous his soul was trembling .

Equally nervous was the giant ghost king, who couldn't stop coughing up blood, and whose aura was incredibly weak . The destructive blast just now had far surpassed a deva attack, and had very nearly killed him .

Feeling like he had just survived a deadly calamity, he looked over at his captor in astonishment .

He could tell that this Uzumaki Hao was a crazy daredevil who wouldn't shrink back from any challenge . However, worried that he

would say the wrong thing and piss him off, he very carefully chose his words as he said, "If . . . if you just keep running around randomly like this, you're going to get captured . Listen, let's go back to the stone turtle . . . I can-"

"Who said you could talk!?" Naruto growled angrily, his expression as cold as ice . He even reached over and slapped the giant ghost king across the side of the head .

More blood sprayed out of the giant ghost king's mouth, and his anger boiled . However, the crazed look in Naruto's eyes caused him to shiver and simply suppress his anger .

"This guy is crazy!" he cursed inwardly . "A complete psycho!"

By this point, he truly regretted his decision of pulling Uzumaki Hao into his game to spice things up . If he could go back and do things over again, he would absolutely, positively change his decision . After all, if Uzumaki Hao had ended up being killed by the Uzumaki Clan, he wouldn't be anywhere near a situation like this . . . .

"Listen up, you old bastard," Naruto said angrily . "All of this is your fault . I almost just got killed trying to save you! If you don't want to thank me, fine, but how dare you try to trick me into going back to that stone turtle . You think I'm an idiot or something? As soon as I went back into that turtle, I'd be dead!"

He was truly feeling very irritated . Then he thought about how it was the little turtle who had gotten him into this mess . If it weren't for the little turtle, he would have long since made his getaway .

"And then there's you, little turtle!" Gritting his teeth, he looked down at his bag of holding . However, the little turtle was long gone . Clearly . . . he knew that he had caused some really big problems .

"Well," Naruto thought, "I can't change things now . I guess if I have to I'll just hand over the giant ghost king . . . . "

When the giant ghost king saw the ominous glint in Naruto's eye, he suddenly had a very bad feeling . He also realized that if he wanted to get out of this tribulation alive, everything would come down to this Uzumaki Hao

Hao .

"Brother Uzumaki Hao . . . there's no need to go do anything hasty . What . . . what exactly do you want? Whatever it is . . . just tell me, I'm sure I can accommodate you!" The giant ghost king's words came a bit haltingly as he tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible .

Inside, he was bemoaning how everything had played out . Originally, everything had been going exactly according to plan . He should have been safe in the stone turtle during his decay period, until his cultivation base was back to normal . At that point, he could have wrapped up his game perfectly . But then everything had gone wrong . He had made the critical error of trying to use a crazy person as a pawn . Too many things had then occurred which he could never have anticipated happening . . .

.

Glaring angrily at the giant ghost king, Naruto said, "I want a deva soul, old man! A metal-type deva soul! If you have one, give it to me right now, and I'll let you go immediately!"

The giant ghost king stared back at him in wide-eyed shock . Completely confused, he replied, "You . . . you kidnapped me because . . . you want a metal-type deva soul?"

The entire concept seemed completely and utterly absurd . He almost wondered if he was listening to the biggest joke in the world .

Naruto was actually starting to get anxious . After all the hardships he had gone through to reach this point, if the giant ghost king didn't agree, he would probably cry . . . .

"Yeah, I do," he yelled . "So what? Not gonna give it to me? Don't push me too far, old man!"

"No, I'll give it to you! I will . . . . " The giant ghost king felt like he was about to collapse mentally . Although deva souls were precious, they weren't that important to him in the grand scheme of things . He had assumed that this Uzumaki Hao would be after something far more grand . And yet, it turned out that all he wanted was a deva soul . . . .

"Damn you, Uzumaki Hao!" he moaned inwardly . "Why didn't you say so earlier? Was all of this worth

this worth it? You're doing all this for a mere deva soul? You dragged me out of the stone turtle for that . . . . "

"Hand it over!" Naruto said impatiently . "Where is it, in that ring of holding?"

With that, he looked around furtively, and then ducked into a nearby alley .

When the giant ghost king responded to the question, he tried to word things perfectly . "I . . . um . . . I don't actually have it on me right now . There are only random things in that ring of holding . The deva soul is in my secret palace, but with the current level of my cultivation base, I can't open it right now . Listen, I have a suggestion, Brother Uzumaki Hao . Just take a minute to think it over . . . . Keep me safe for a month . After that, my cultivation base will recover naturally, and I swear that as soon as it does, I'll open my secret palace and give you that deva soul!"

The truth was that he really didn't have any way of producing a deva soul at the moment . . . . Furthermore, after what had just occurred with the Uzumaki Clan patriarch, he was also fairly certain that his best chance at staying alive was to stick with Naruto . Besides, based on his observations of everything that was happening, he was very worried that Naruto might hand him over to the three clans to save his own life .

As soon as the words left the giant ghost king's mouth, Naruto's eyes blazed with anger . Smacking the giant ghost king across the head again, he said, "You think Lord Uzumaki is stupid, you old bastard!? After your cultivation base recovered, the first thing you would do would be to kill me!"

Naruto gritted his teeth at how foul the giant ghost king was to think he was so stupid .

Eyes burning with anger, but heart pounding nervously, he said, "Back when the Uzumaki Clan patriarch was originally trying to kill me, and you saved me, I was very grateful . I helped you interrogate prisoners, and even helped you clean out the Cai Clan's soulgrounds . But what did you go and do? Repay kindness with enmity, that's what! You stripped me of my status as a prison guard and turned me into a prisoner! Outrageous!"

By this point, Uzumaki

this point, Naruto realized that he had done something monumentally crazy . He had kidnapped a demigod king . . . . In the past, he would never have even considered doing such a thing . However, at the moment, he was running out of options . In fact, he was even thinking of trying to work out a deal with the three great clans to trade the giant ghost king for a deva soul . . . .

When the giant ghost king saw the look in his eyes, his heart started to pound even harder .

"Brother Uzumaki Hao, please, don't do anything rash . You mustn't! Just . . . just hear me out . Why don't you place a restrictive spell on me? Then you won't have to worry about me causing problems for you even when my cultivation base is back to normal!"

"With my cultivation base?" Naruto shot back, feeling angrier than ever . "What kind of restrictive spell could I possibly put on you? You're really pushing things too far, old man!" Flicking his sleeve, he was about to continue yelling when the giant ghost king cut him off .

"It doesn't matter if your cultivation base is lower than mine . I'll teach you a restrictive spell and even help you use it . . . that should do, right?" The giant ghost king really felt like crying . Considering his status in the world, for him to say things like this was unprecedented . It had been a very, very long time since he had pled with anybody in this fashion . Unfortunately, he had no other options . . . .

"You'll help me put a restrictive spell on yourself?" As far as Uzumaki

Naruto was concerned, it seemed like a silly notion . Worried that Naruto would fly into a rage again, the giant ghost king quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture, and even spat out a mouthful of blood as he forced out a strand of his life essence divine sense . Then, he combined the blood and the divine sense into a sealing mark, which began to glow with multi-colored light as it rested there in his palms .

"Brother Uzumaki Hao, you . . . you just need to put a drop of blood here .

Then absorb the restrictive spell, and you'll be set . . . . "

Chapter 654

A+ A- Chapter 654

Chapter 654: What A Malicious Restrictive Spell!

Naruto looked at the glowing light that was the restrictive spell, and hesitated . He didn't want to make a deal with the three great clans unless it was absolutely necessary . After all, it would be hard to tell how things would work out in the end, and he would definitely be putting himself in a lot of danger .

If he could really control the giant ghost king's cultivation base with a restrictive spell, then that would be worth taking the risk . After all, if it didn't work, he could simply toss him aside and flee . But if it worked . . .

.

Although the thought was very enticing, his eyes widened with anger .

"Even now you dare to screw with me, old bastard?!" Naruto raged .

"No! I'm really not! Brother Uzumaki Hao, you have to trust me . I'm . . . I'm really not trying to trick you!" The giant ghost king was getting very anxious . He really was telling the truth, and had no desire to try to trick Naruto . If he did, and it was revealed, then he would be putting his life at risk .

"Bullcrap!" Naruto yelled .

"I'm really not lying . . . I swear it . . . . " Feeling he had no other choice, the giant ghost king began to swear an actual oath .

By this point, Naruto was getting the sense that the giant ghost king really was being sincere . However, he still didn't feel comfortable with the situation, so he gave a cold snort and slapped his bag of holding

.

"Get out here right now, little turtle!"

However, there was no reaction whatsoever from his bag of holding . . . .

"Fudge!" Naruto yelled angrily . "I'm warning you, little turtle, all of this trouble is because of you, so if you don't get out here immediately, then you and I are done for . Forever! Got it? Don't ever come to me for help with anything again!"

A moment later, his bag of holding vibrated, and the little turtle poked his head out into the open . Looking a bit embarrassed, and simultaneously ingratiating, he said, "Don't get angry, kid . Uh . . . I didn't realize things would go this way . . . . "

He even blinked a few times for effect . However, Naruto merely reached down and grabbed him, and he didn't dare to dodge to the side

.

"Enough with the jabbering

. Look at this restrictive spell and see if there's anything wrong with it . " With that, he held the little turtle out right in front of the giant ghost king's hands .

The giant ghost king glared angrily at the little turtle, well aware that he was the reason Uzumaki Hao had uncovered his identity .

As for the little turtle, he was aware of his role in events as well, and could also see that Naruto was very angry . They were all in a dangerous situation, and now was not the time to be careless . Eyes sparkling, he looked closely at the glowing restrictive spell in the giant ghost king's hands .

After a moment, his eyes went wide, and he stuck his neck a bit further out of his shell .

"This restrictive spell is really malicious!" he exclaimed . "Listen, punk, if you cast that spell, and you die, the giant ghost king will die . But if he dies . . . nothing will happen to you . "

The giant ghost king's heart couldn't have been filled with more bitterness, and yet, he was out of options . He had originally planned to use this restrictive spell on some of the rebels, after the whole situation was resolved . However, in order to get through the current crisis, he was going to use it on himself . . . . Furthermore, although the restrictive spell could be unraveled, even with his fully-restored cultivation base, it would take years .

Having heard the little turtle's analysis, Naruto gritted his teeth and angrily said, "You listen up, old man . I can tell you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, but considering the fact that I already severely injured a deva patriarch, even if you were more well-prepared, you wouldn't be able to pull the wool over the eyes of my little turtle . You've only seen a tiny fraction of what I'm capable of . In fact, even if your cultivation base was back to normal and you tried to kill me, I still have ways to make sure we went out together!"

After a moment of silence, the giant ghost king quietly said, "You don't hurt me, I won't hurt you . Just keep me safe for a month, and I'll get you that deva soul . Then all of this will become a thing of the past . I'm the kind of person who sticks to my word . I don't renege on promises . It doesn't matter what happened before, as long as you can keep me safe for a month, and I get my cultivation

cultivation base back, then I won't do anything to you, nor will I remove the restrictive spell . You can really rest your heart at ease!"

Naruto looked deeply at the giant ghost king, then pulled out the long red spear he had taken from him earlier .

"Alright, King Giant Ghost . Since we're going to do things this way, then remove your branding mark from your ring of holding and your other magical items . That will give us a better chance of getting through this alive . "

"There are only random personal items in the ring of holding . And as for all those magical devices, even if I removed my branding mark, you couldn't use them unless you were a deva . . . . " He was telling the truth about everything he had just said . However, seeing that Naruto's eyes widened with anger at this response, the giant ghost king quickly removed the branding marks .

Naruto's looked excitedly into the ring of holding to find a large collection of soul medicine . . . . There were also quite a few treasures . However, none of them were magical in nature, but rather, ordinary treasures that mortals would value .

"Random things?" He pursed his lips as he pondered why the giant ghost king would collect things such as this . A moment later, his eyes came to rest on the red spear, within which he could sense a fearinspiring aura . He quickly tried to brand it with his own mark, but soon found that the giant ghost king had been correct, and that he couldn't .

It was the same with everything else . Finally, Naruto sighed and put everything away . Then he looked the giant ghost king up and down a few times before nodding in agreement to the proposal .

The giant ghost king finally breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately suggested again that they head back to the stone turtle . However, Naruto was still hesitating, unsure of whether that was a smart thing to do . First of all, the three great clans would definitely have locked the Devil Penitentiary down, which would make it very difficult to get back inside .

Second of all, although they had reached an agreement, it had only just happened, and Naruto was as yet not completely comfortable in giving the giant ghost king the upper hand .

"I have a lot more experience than you when it comes to running away," he said proudly . "I don't dare to claim to be an expert in much, but I can tell you that I've done

I've done a lot of fleeing in my life . " With that, he grabbed the giant ghost king and began to move .

"You-" the giant ghost king began in irritation . However, before he could say anything else, Naruto smacked him across the side of the head .

"Shut up! Are you keeping me safe, or am I keeping you safe?" At first, it had felt very stimulating to push a demigod expert around . By now, though, he had gotten used to it .

The giant ghost king could only grit his teeth and stew in his frustration .

Naruto ignored him . He knew that at the moment, it would be nearly impossible to get out of the city via conventional methods . After all, the three great clans would be searching for him, and others as well .

"I guess I have no other option than to use the teleportation formations that Lu Shiyou told me about . . . . I hope I can find the one that leads 50,000 kilometers out of the city . . . . I would feel a lot safer that far away . " Having made his decision, he recalled the information he had acquired regarding the locations of the various spell formations, and then began to head toward the nearest one .

Before long, he and the somewhat sullen-looking giant ghost king had arrived at an old abandoned courtyard residence . After going inside, the giant ghost king looked around curiously, while Naruto examined the place more closely . After confirming that this was the correct location, he stomped his foot down onto the ground .

Some rumbling sounds could be heard, and then some rifts spread out . Naruto reached into the rift and unleashed some cultivation base power, whereupon the glow of teleportation rose up .

"This . . . . " The giant ghost king's pupils constricted as the power of teleportation whisked them away . In the next moment, they were gone .

In almost the same moment that they vanished, a dozen or so beams of light shot toward the area . After coming to realize that there was a teleportation portal in the area, the group exchanged dismayed glances

.

Meanwhile, in another part of Giant Ghost City, glittering light could be seen in a certain residential building as Naruto and the giant ghost king materialized .

When Naruto looked around, he was a bit frustrated . He knew that there were a lot of teleportation formations, and he wasn't sure which one led to the spot 50,000 kilometers away . That meant that he would that he would have to search through the formations one by one .

On the other hand, the giant ghost king gasped in shock . Just when he was about to ask about what was going on, he looked over at Naruto and realized that he was about to punch the ground .

Only a moment later, another teleportation formation appeared, and the two of them vanished again . . . .

By this point, Giant Ghost City had descended into complete chaos . The entire city was on lockdown, and there were even soul cultivators outside the city creating a perimeter to prevent entry and exit .

After the city was fully secure, more people began to join in the search . Before long, the Chen Clan's deva patriarch appeared in the location where Naruto had initially appeared out in the open . However, after the area had been almost completely destroyed by the detonation of the demigod soul, the auras in the city had been so disrupted that not even the deva's divine sense could spread out very far to find clues .

Otherwise, the search for Naruto would have gone much more smoothly for them .

At the moment, the only option they had was to search everything with a fine-toothed comb .

The Cai Clan Patriarch chased the Uzumaki Clan patriarch all the way back to the Uzumaki Clan . Once the Uzumaki Clan patriarch was safe inside, the Cai Clan patriarch looked at the city with glittering eyes for a moment before heading back toward Giant Ghost City to join in the search .

There were two more deva experts in Giant Ghost City, those being Duke Netherworld and Duke Deathcrier . Although Duke Netherworld was inclined to join the search, in the end, he decided to leave that to everyone else . As far as he was concerned, his main mission was to make sure that Duke Deathcrier didn't find Uzumaki Hao .

If he did, he would also get the giant ghost king's true self, which would make it very difficult for anyone else to do anything . Therefore, Duke Netherworld went to make sure that Duke Deathcrier didn't join the search .

Duke Deathcrier knew what he was up to, and decided that he had no other option than to resign himself to the will of the heavens .

And thus it came to be that only two devas were left who could participate in the search for Naruto . In addition to them were the armies belonging to the six heavenly marquises, and the forces of the three great clans . All of Giant Ghost City was being scoured from top to bottom .

Chapter 655

A+ A- Chapter 655

Chapter 655: Myriad Children Blood Banner

As the search continued in Giant Ghost City, Naruto led the giant ghost king through one teleportation formation after another .

Not a single one led them 50,000 kilometers outside of the city . Naruto had no choice but just keep trying to find that particular formation . As a result, the glow of teleportation could be seen popping up all over the city .

Sometimes such glowing light would rise up in the east, sometimes the west, sometimes the north . . . .

The cultivators of the three great clans and the soldiers of the six heavenly marquises' armies were all aware of what was happening . Although they were shocked to discover that there were so many teleportation formations within the city limits, there was nothing they could do about it . Gritting their teeth, they continued the search, many of them rushing toward the nearest glowing light that indicated a teleportation was underway .

The rumbling of the teleportation formations filled the air as Naruto dragged the shocked giant ghost king here and there . "That wasn't it . . . . Not that one either . . . . Eee? Here's one of the formations! Undying Hex!"

After entering the most recently discovered formation, they were teleported into a courtyard residence in the east part of the city . Almost as soon as they began to materialize, whistling sounds filled the air around them .

As it just so happened, the chief of the Chen Clan was leading a group of three clan elders, and a large contingent of other cultivators from the clan, to search the area . As soon as the light of teleportation appeared, they raced over to find Naruto and the giant ghost king coming into view .

"It's Uzumaki Hao!"

"Notify the patriarch!"

They attacked immediately, unleashing numerous divine abilities and magical techniques, as well as calling upon the power of sundry magical items . In the blink of an eye, all of that force was bearing down on Naruto .

Naruto's face fell . Having no time to activate the spell formation again to teleport away, he dragged the giant ghost king backward . A resounding boom filled the

air as the courtyard residence they had just been in disappeared, replaced by an enormous crater . As other buildings in the area collapsed, Naruto became a series of afterimages that shot away at top speed, giant ghost king in tow .

However, in almost the same moment that he took to motion, a huge banner suddenly slammed into the ground in front of him . A bloodcolored fog immediately spilled out, spreading in all directions to block his path .

Within that fog, it was possible to see thousands upon thousands . . . of blood-soaked children!

All of them were between four and five years old, and dripped with blood as surely as if they had been skinned alive . Their eyes shone with desolation as they stared at Naruto, screaming and weeping bitterly .

"Save us, mister . . . . "

"Mister, help . . . . "

"It hurts! Sir, it hurts so bad . . . . "

The bizarre wails almost instantly became like an attack on the soul!

As Naruto reeled in shock, the giant ghost king's pupils constricted, and he said, "The Myriad Children Blood Banner! How dare the Chen Clan use a forbidden item like that within Giant Ghost City!" At this point, the giant ghost king's eyes began to flicker with fury .

The Myriad Children Blood Banner was created by sacrificing the lives of 100,000 children . It was classified as an evil treasure, something so barbaric that, even in the Wildlands, it was viewed as a violation of natural order . Furthermore, it was formally banned, the type of thing that came with strict punishments if it were used .

And yet, the chief of the Chen Clan had gone so far as to create one, and recently at that . Because he was unfamiliar with its usage, he couldn't draw upon its full powers, but even still, the blood fog it created was so potent that anyone who breathed it in would be instantly sent into a nightmarish hallucination .

When Naruto saw all of the rancorous, blood-soaked children, his heart twinged with pain, and his eyes began to shine with killing intent .

It didn't matter where this item appeared, it would arouse the wrath of gods and

and men alike . It didn't matter that this was the Wildlands; as soon as Naruto saw the item, he couldn't control his wrath .

At this point, a sinister voice echoed out from within the blood fog, "Well met, King Giant Ghost . I hope my blood banner doesn't bother you too much . "

A tall, slender man walked out into the open . He appeared to a bit over forty years of age, handsome, with the demeanor of a transcendent being . However, his eyes were cold and sinister, revealing the cruel and vicious nature of his personality . He was none other than the chief of the Chen Clan, and even as his words echoed out, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then waved his finger . Instantly, the blood fog seethed, and the thousands upon thousands of bloodsoaked children screamed and rushed toward Naruto .

At the same time, the clan elders and other cultivators from the Chen

Clan released their own attacks, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air . Naruto's expression flickered as he quickly performed an incantation gesture to summon his Eternal Parasol . As soon as it opened up, he charged toward the clan chief using the Mountain Shaking Bash .

"Back the hell down!" the clan chief said with a cold laugh . Waving his sleeve, he unleashed the power of his Nascent Soul cultivation base, causing three children to appear within the fog who were soaked with so much blood they looked almost violet . Each one of them radiated the power of the Nascent Soul stage as they screamed and charged toward Naruto .

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto roared in rage, dragging the giant ghost king with him as he took a step forward, accelerating with such blinding speed that everything around him slowed down . By the time he finished taking his step, he was only nine meters from the chief of the Chen Clan .

"Die!" he shouted, clenching his right hand into a fist and punching out with all of the power of his fleshly body and cultivation base . At the same time, a mark appeared on his forehead, which was none other than his Heavenspan Dharma Eye .

As everything in the

in the area shook violently, the clan chief's face fell; he had been aware that this Uzumaki Hao was incredible, but had never imagined that he would be capable of speed like this .

"Blood Children Detonation!" he shouted .

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The charging blood children screamed in pain as they began to explode, creating a blast of energy that bore down rapidly on Naruto . It became like an enormous blood-colored mouth that opened up as if to consume him .

By now, Naruto's veins of steel were on full display . He knew that if he didn't come out on top in this encounter, he would be in extreme danger . Without any hesitation, he snapped open the Eternal Parasol, upon which four golden designs could be seen . Glittering golden light shone out in all directions as the parasol grew in size, covering him as he shot through the huge mouth and closed in on the Chen Clan chief with blinding speed .

"Time to die!" Naruto roared, unleashing the Throat Crushing Grasp . Because of the gravitational force that came along with the technique, the shocked clan chief was incapable of dodging or evading . In the blink of an eye, Naruto's two fingers were almost onto his throat .

The clan chief's ashen face was covered with a look of profound disbelief and shock . However, it was in that moment that an angry shout could be heard from some distance away .

"Screw off!" The sound pierced through the air and exploded out into Naruto's mind, causing blood to spray out of his mouth . To the delight of the clan chief, Naruto's hand trembled, providing him the opportunity to escape .

"Patriarch, help me!" he shouted . However, even as he dodged to the side, Naruto's eyes turned more bloodshot than before . Although he had missed the man's neck, he still managed to latch onto his shoulder, whereupon he twisted his hand viciously . Cracking sounds erupted out, accompanied by a bitter scream as Naruto ripped the clan chief's right arm off of his body .

Blood sprayed out everywhere as the clan chief's face went completely ashen . However, he still managed to fall back at top speed . At the same time,

the same time, a figure appeared nearby, speeding toward Naruto

.

It was an old man with a Deva Realm cultivation base, who was none other than the Chen Clan patriarch!

Gasping for breath, Naruto immediately backed up, his eyes flickering with defiance . The Chen Clan chief had forged a blood banner by exterminating countless young lives, something that caused Naruto's heart to swell with fury . Therefore, even as he backed up, he slapped his bag of holding, producing a greatbow with a fourteenfold spirit enhancement!

As soon as he pulled back on the bowstring, the area around him became like a black hole, sucking in all of the energy in the area .

At the same time, an arrow appeared on the bow which also had a fourteenfold spirit enhancement . Without any hesitation, Naruto aimed the bow at the fleeing clan chief, and then loosed the arrow . When he did, an ear-piercing howl could be heard as the arrow transformed into a black dragon, and shot toward the clan chief .

Then, Naruto turned and fled, not bothering to see what happened to the arrow and the chief .

As the clan chief's face drained of blood again, and a sensation of deadly crisis filled his heart, a cold snort could be heard . Then, the deva patriarch appeared directly in front him . Stepping forward, he reached out and grabbed the arrow .

Squeezing his hand down, he completely crushed it!

The deva patriarch's expression was very grim; if he had not stepped in to interfere, he could have reached Naruto . However, the brief moment he took to save the chief's life was all the time Naruto needed to flee . The killing intent in the patriarch's eyes grew more intense, and yet at the same time, he had his misgivings . He was still unsure of all the techniques at Naruto's disposal, who had just seriously injured the Chen Clan chief, and very nearly killed him!

Not wanting to suffer the same fate as the Uzumaki Clan patriarch, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, summoning a large group of ghostly figures, all of them wearing black suits of armor, and all of them radiating the fluctuations of the Nascent Soul stage . Only then did he give chase .

Chapter 656

A+ A- Chapter 656

Chapter 656: A Lot!

Sonic booms erupted out as the Chen Clan deva patriarch led scores of black-armored Nascent Soul-level ghosts after Naruto .

Were it not for the fact that he feared the possibility that Naruto might have more methods to endanger devas, the patriarch would have simply gone after him alone . However, he wasn't willing to gamble . . . .

The tragic fate of the Uzumaki Clan patriarch had played out right in front of him . If that patriarch had reacted only slightly slower, and had not taken advantage of the heat of the moment to speed back to the safety of his clan, then the Cai Clan patriarch would definitely have caught him . Although the Cai Clan patriarch would not have exterminated the other patriarch and his clan, he would definitely have forced the Uzumaki Clan patriarch to pay a heavy price to stay alive .

Because of all that, the Chen Clan patriarch didn't want to take any risks . Eyes flashing with cold light, he performed an incantation gesture, pushing the black-armored ghosts forward with greater speed .

Naruto's scalp was tingling with fear, and his heart was pounding . Looking over his shoulder, he saw the black-armored ghosts, and his nervousness mounted . The giant ghost king's face was also flickering with various emotions, and a sense of foreboding had gripped his heart .

In his anxiety, he couldn't hold back from saying, "I told you to go back to the stone turtle, but no . No, you had to-"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled angrily, zigging and zagging to avoid the magical techniques and divine abilities that were being launched at him from behind . Then he pushed forward with another burst of speed, piercing through the air to appear in a nearby alley .

After glancing around quickly, he unhesitatingly punched a hole in the wall next to him, revealing a courtyard beyond . Obviously, this was a residence belonging to some rich family . As soon as Naruto stepped inside, screams rang out as the terrified servants scattered in every direction .

Panting anxiously, Naruto hurried to a pond in the corner of the courtyard, upon which he unleashed another punch

. Immediately, the glow of teleportation rose up around him .

Not too far away, the black-armored ghosts radiated a murderous air as they rumbled through the air . Then they sent a volley of divine abilities toward that very pond .

The pond was completely leveled, sending water spraying everywhere . However, by that point, Naruto was gone!

About 9,000 meters away, in an abandoned building, more teleportation light filled the air as Naruto and the giant ghost king materialized .

"Dammit!" Naruto thought . "How come I haven't found the 50,000-kilometer one yet!?" Just when he was about to activate the formation to teleport away, a growl filled the air as the Chen Clan deva patriarch teleported into the same building . When he realized moments ago that Naruto was using his unknown method to teleport away, he split away from the black-armored ghosts to chase after him directly .

He got a very bad feeling when he realized that Naruto was using multiple teleportation formations . However, there was no time to ponder the situation at the moment . Murderous aura flaring, he quickly unleashed a palm strike .

A huge illusory hand appeared and shot toward Naruto, a powerful strike that instantly destroyed everything around them .

Naruto shrieked as the illusory hand closed in, but he had already activated the teleportation formation . Teleportation light rose up, and by the time the palm landed, reducing everything in the area to ash, Naruto and the giant ghost king were gone .

"Where did these teleportation formations come from!?" the Chen Clan patriarch thought, his expression grim . As a deva, he could easily lock the air down to nullify ordinary teleportations . And yet, he was incapable of nullifying these spell formations .

"You're not getting away!" he growled . Eyes flashing with anger, he waved his hand, causing an illusory screen to appear in front of him, which depicted a birds-eye view of Giant Ghost City .

As he peered at the picture, he noticed one spot where a bright light suddenly appeared . Snorting coldly, he stepped forward into the image . The spot where the light of teleportation had just risen up was a formerly

formerly bustling street . However, because of the current chaos in the city, it was an empty and cheerless place . As the teleportation light began to fade away, Naruto and the giant ghost king appeared in front of one of the shops on the street .

By this point, the giant ghost king really couldn't hold back from asking,

"How . . . how many teleportation formations do you have set up?!"

He simply couldn't imagine how there could be so many teleportation formations set up in his own city, all without his knowledge .

"A lot," Naruto responded quickly, his heart pounding . He was really starting to get worried . His answer was no exaggeration, and right now, he was relying on blind chance to find one particular formation among all of the hundreds that he knew about . Not daring to waste any time, he smacked the ground .

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the teleportation formation activated, and Naruto and the giant ghost king vanished . Even as they did, the air rippled, and the Chen Clan patriarch emerged . Waving his hand, he destroyed the spell formation .

However, an unsightly expression could be seen on his face, and the rage in his eyes grew deeper as he realized that he had been a moment too late .

"I really want to see how many times you can teleport before you run out of formations!"

With that, he vanished again . Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, and booms filled numerous locations in Giant Ghost City . Naruto was going all out, carrying the giant ghost king through one teleportation formation after another . Every time they vanished, the Chen Clan's deva patriarch would appear and destroy the formation they had just used .

If Naruto went even a little bit slower, he would be in great danger, a fact that was pushing him into madness . At the same time, he did everything he could to be as efficient as possible in his actions .

Despite that, he still had not found the teleportation formation that led 50,000 kilometers outside of the city . He felt like he was going crazy, but it was

it was the same with the Chen Clan patriarch . As far as the patriarch was concerned, this Uzumaki Hao was like a rat who had countless tunnels dug through the city, through which he scurried in mystifying fashion . . .

.

In one moment, he would be in the east, in the following moment, the north . The patriarch's anxiety mounted along with his anger, and at the same time, he couldn't stop wondering what his quarry was attempting to accomplish . . . .

"It doesn't actually seem like he wants to escape . More like he's looking for something . Don't tell me that one of the formations is actually capable of long-range teleportation?!" That thought only made him more anxious . He quickly stepped forward, appearing in the most recent place where Naruto and the giant ghost king had teleported through . He immediately destroyed the formation, then threw his head back and spoke in a voice so loud it filled the city .

"Uzumaki Hao, why are you risking your life for the giant ghost king? There's no great enmity between you and our three great clans! Why are you interfering with us!?

"Hand over the giant ghost king, Uzumaki Hao! Fear not, I will personally guarantee your safety!

"I can also help resolve your issues with the Uzumaki Clan . We can just wipe the slate clean! Give us the giant ghost king, and you can just be on your way!

"In fact, we'll even pay you for him!"

As his words echoed through the city, Naruto appeared in another teleportation formation .

His hair was in disarray, and he looked quite bedraggled . The patriarch's words immediately left him quite shaken, and were actually quite enticing .

As for the giant ghost king, his eyes widened, and the nervousness in his heart mounted . That was especially true when he realized that Naruto seemed to be hesitating .

"Not good!" he thought . "This Uzumaki Hao is vicious and merciless, and cares only about personal profit . If he feels threatened, then the little punk definitely won't think twice about handing me over . . . . " As the giant ghost king was anxiously trying to anxiously trying to come up with an idea about what to do, Naruto was licking his lips and thinking that the Chen Clan patriarch's offer wasn't that bad . However, he had just made an agreement with the giant ghost king . He would definitely feel bad if he backed out now, and furthermore, it would be a big loss of face .

"Seems to me this Chen Clan patriarch is starting to get nervous . All I have to do is find that one spell formation, and I can teleport 50,000 kilometers away . Considering the speed I'm capable of, I should be able to buy the time I need . As long as I hang in there, I'll profit handsomely . . . . " Eyes glittering, he decided that he would only give in if it was absolutely necessary .

Most important of all was that he realized he couldn't trust either the three great clans or the giant ghost king . However, with the restrictive spell he had, his relationship with the giant ghost king was a bit more stable .

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he decided that now would actually be the perfect time to win the giant ghost king over to his side . Therefore, as he continued to search for the teleportation formation, he put on a righteous demeanor and shouted, "Quit wasting your breath . I, Uzumaki Hao, am a person who keeps his word! Furthermore, I repay all kindnesses shown me . The giant ghost king favored me with benevolence, and I promised to keep him safe . How could I possibly go back on my word!? As long as I, Uzumaki Hao, have strength left in my arms, I'll never let you people take the giant ghost king away from me!" His words resonated out with the most righteous and noble of auras .

As for the giant ghost king, he looked up at Naruto with a bitter smile . Being the wily old fox that he was, there was no way he could miss the hidden implications in Naruto's words . At the same time, though, he couldn't help but feel gratitude rising up in his heart .

Chapter 657

A+ A- Chapter 657

Chapter 657: Ninety-Nine Times!

"Are you looking to die?!" the Chen Clan patriarch roared, his face twisting with vicious anger . The next moment, he appeared in the location Naruto had just teleported away from, whereupon a thunderous boom could be heard as the entire area was destroyed . Then he vanished as he continued the chase .

By this point, the Cai Clan patriarch was rushing back to the city to join the Chen Clan patriarch . Once he arrived, things would be even more difficult for Naruto .

As for the special formations that required special means to enter, although Naruto could use the Undying Hex to get into them, that required extra time .

The Chen Clan patriarch was as quick as lightning in his pursuit . It was when Naruto had just encountered the second of the unique, locked-down formations that the patriarch appeared up above . Naruto hadn't even had a chance to activate the teleportation function .

It was a relatively remote location in the west of the city, surrounded by quite a few ancient buildings and pagodas . In fact, many of them were as old as Giant Ghost City itself .

Not many soul cultivators lived in this area, making it a relatively quiet place . Because of the chaos in the city, the populace was shivering in fear, and at the moment, the only person visible in that entire part of the city was the Chen Clan patriarch .

"You're out of chances now, Uzumaki Hao!" Killing intent raging, the patriarch waved his hand in the direction of Naruto and the giant ghost king

.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as a huge hand appeared up above . Everything began to shake wildly, and the buildings below began to collapse into rubble .

Although Naruto's face was ashen with fear, his eyes shone with determination . He knew that this was a critical juncture, and that he couldn't escape easily . Furthermore, if the teleportation formation was destroyed, he would have to run and find another one, a process that would be fraught with

deadly peril .

With such thoughts on his mind, he lifted the giant ghost king over his head to block the incoming palm attack, and then reached his left hand down toward the teleportation formation .

It was a daring plan: use the giant ghost king to absorb some of the force of the blow, and then redirect it to activate the spell formation .

The giant ghost king was frustrated, but completely helpless . He knew that it was a critical moment, so all he could do was unleash what little of his cultivation base was possible . . . and bear the brunt of the blow . .

. .

All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but actually took place in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint . The Chen Clan patriarch's palm slammed into the giant ghost king, who grunted and then coughed up a mouthful of blood, along with chunks of some internal organs . Clearly, he had been very seriously injured .

Naruto was also injured, and coughed up some blood . However, when his hand made contact with the teleportation formation, bright light shone up .

"Teleport!" he shouted . Rumbling echoed out . . . but no teleportation began . Instead, random pieces of wood suddenly began to fly into the air from within the rubble of the surrounding destroyed buildings!

There were also assorted bits of metal, which whizzed through the air toward Naruto .

Naruto's jaw dropped, and even the giant ghost king, who was still coughing up blood, stared in amazement . As for the Chen Clan patriarch, an uneasy feeling rose up in the pit of his chest .

Before any of them could react, cracking sounds filled the air as the pieces of wood and metal began to interlock and fit together almost like machinery . In the blink of an eye . . . a trap golem had formed right in front of Naruto, dozens of meters tall! The trap golem had three

three heads, six arms, and a beast-like body with four legs . The surface of its body was speckled, and radiated an ancient air, as if it had existed since the most ancient of times . Almost as soon as it appeared, it threw its head back and howled .

The sound of the howl seemed to ripple with the fluctuations of a deva, something that caused all powerful experts within Giant Ghost City to start in shock .

The Chen Clan patriarch's eyes went wide with disbelief as he gasped,

"A deva-level trap golem! How is this possible?!"

The patriarch wasn't the only one to be stunned; the giant ghost king was completely flabbergasted . He had already been surprised at how many teleportation formations Naruto had at his disposal, so the fact that a deva-level trap golem was in the city shocked him to the core . Although the trap golem was clearly not completely functional, and would obviously only last for a short time . . . .

It was still a deva-level trap golem!

The secret magic used to create trap golems was a lost art in the Wildlands, and yet . . . right here in Giant Ghost City, this Uzumaki Hao had summoned one!

The giant ghost king had absolutely no idea what other sorts of divine abilities this Uzumaki Hao had at his disposal . The things he had done in the short half year he had been in Giant Ghost City were shocking, to say the least .

It all seemed completely unbelievable, especially since Giant Ghost City belonged to the giant ghost king, and yet even he had no idea how all of this had been set up . Then he thought about how he had fallen into Uzumaki Hao's hands, and even resorted to giving him his own restrictive spell, and he suddenly realized that both he and everyone else . . . had completely underestimated Uzumaki Hao . However, a moment later, his eyes glittered as he came to the conclusion that the spell formations must not have been set up by Uzumaki Hao .

. He was only using them .

Regardless, the fact that he was making use of so many incredible resources made him a profound and accomplished schemer, and a truly consummate chosen!

Shaken, the giant ghost king looked over at Naruto, his eyes shining and a complicated sense of admiration beginning to grow in his heart .

Naruto blinked a few times in shock at the sight of the astonishing trap golem . Lu Shiyou had not been lying; his ancestor really had left a trap golem behind, hidden in one of the teleportation formations .

Heart pounding, he shouted, "Kill that man!"

The trap golem's eyes began to shine with crimson light, and cracking sounds could be heard as it leaped into the air and shot toward the Chen Clan patriarch .

A boom rang out, and everything in the area trembled as they began to fight . As for Naruto, he took a deep breath and then pushed his hand down onto the ground again, whereupon the ripples of a teleportation spread out, and he and the giant ghost king vanished .

The Chen Clan patriarch wanted to give chase, but the trap golem wouldn't let him . Enraged, he began to attack with full strength . As for the trap golem, it was an ancient thing, and although it was able to cause problems for the deva patriarch, it wouldn't be long before it simply began to fall apart .

However, even as the patriarch gained the upper hand, the trap golem's eyes suddenly flickered . At the same time, the patriarch's face fell as he remembered the stories he had heard about trap golems, and how they all had a terrifying self-destruct function .

"Not good!" He immediately prepared to back up, but before he could, a hidden spark inside the trap golem suddenly ignited . Within the blink of an eye, the entire trap golem was a mass of billowing flame, exploding out in all directions .

The air twisted and distorted as a shockwave rolled through all of Giant Ghost City . Countless faces fell, and numerous cries of alarm could be heard .

Meanwhile, Naruto

Meanwhile, Naruto appeared in another location some distance off in the city . As he did, a wave of heat surged by, blowing his hair up behind him .

"Trap golem self-detonation!" he gasped .

At this point, the giant ghost king was still coughing up blood, and his face was slack . However, his eyes burned with fiery passion .

As the flames faded away, a howl of rage could be heard, which came from none other than the Chen Clan patriarch . His hair was in disarray, his robes were in tatters, and he was shaking visibly . Although he wasn't dead, the way he coughed up blood indicated that he had been seriously injured . At the same time, his hatred for Naruto couldn't have been any greater .

However, he didn't hesitate to make the same decision as the Uzumaki Clan patriarch . Roaring in rage, he became a bright beam of light that shot toward the Chen Clan . Considering how little he trusted anyone, his main priority now was to heal his own injuries .

When everyone in Giant Ghost City saw that, they gasped, completely shaken and terrified by Uzumaki Hao .

"Heavens, the Uzumaki Clan patriarch tried to kill Uzumaki Hao and got seriously injured! Now the same thing happened to the Chen Clan patriarch . . . . "

"Just how many tricks does this Uzumaki Hao have up his sleeve? He's terrifying!"

"He's a deva-killer! A complete animal!"

Whether it was the three great clans, the armies of the six heavenly marquises, or anyone else, nobody could remain unterrified by what they had seen . As for the forces of the heavenly marquises, they did not have any devas on their side, and thus, were incapable of actually chasing after Naruto . At the moment though, they were actually glad about that .

Meanwhile, Naruto felt more pleased with himself than ever .

"Did you see that?" he shouted loudly . "Don't provoke me! When I attack, I frighten even myself! I can use that same divine ability ninetynine more times if I feel like it!"

Chapter 658

A+ A- Chapter 658

Chapter 658: Blood, Sweat And Tears

Everyone in the city who heard his words instantly grew hesitant . He had uttered similar words after injuring the Uzumaki Clan patriarch, and although few people had believed him, it still put them a bit on guard .

But now . . . the Chen Clan patriarch had suffered a similar fate . Everyone was completely shaken .

As for the Cai Clan patriarch, he had been in the middle of speeding toward Naruto as quickly as possible, but was now hesitating .

The fact that Naruto had seriously injured the deva patriarchs of the other two clans caused fear to pulse in his heart . However, after a moment, his eyes glittered with cold light .

"There might be some danger involved, but it also means this is an opportunity for the Cai Clan to rise to prominence . . . . Neither the Uzumaki Clan nor the Chen Clan can do anything at the moment . I'm the only one left who can kill the giant ghost king . If I do . . . who would dare to refuse to bow to me!?

"The Cai Clan would dominate everyone! We could unite Giant Ghost City, and officially swear fealty to the imperial city! I would be the new giant ghost king, and with the resources of a heavenly king at my disposal, I would almost certainly become a demigod!" He couldn't help but pant in anticipation of that day . Chuckling evilly, he shot in the direction Naruto's voice had just come from, simultaneously issuing orders to the Cai Clan to converge on the same spot .

Rumbling sounds once again filled Giant Ghost City as Naruto began to teleport back and forth . However, the Cai Clan patriarch was actually a bit faster than the Chen Clan patriarch, and before Naruto could even escape ten times in a row, he caught up . When he did, he instantly destroyed the spell formation before Naruto could activate it .

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as he turned and began to flee at top speed . As for the Cai Clan patriarch, he chuckled coldly and began to chase after him, joined by numerous other members of the Cai Clan .

The clan chief and clan elders were there, ensuring that numerous

beams of light were now converging on Naruto .

"I'm finished . Kaput . There's definitely no hope now . . . . " Naruto was on the verge of tears as he contemplated how the nearest teleportation formation was at least 3,000 meters away . Considering how close his pursuers were, there was no way he would make it there . That was especially true considering that the Cai Clan patriarch was a deva . In fact, were it not for the fact that the patriarch was leery of approaching too closely and quickly, he would have already attacked Naruto directly .

"I'm out of options . . . " he thought . "King Giant Ghost, you can't blame me for what happens next . The Cai Clan wants you, and although I don't trust them to honor a trade, if I just throw you at them, then I might have a chance to escape . " Although he didn't really want to do this, his poor little life was the most important thing, so he sighed and prepared to take action .

However, that was when the voice of the little turtle was transmitted into his ears .

"Calm down, little punk . There's something you don't realize about this giant ghost king . . . . He's a slippery character, I tell you . Lord Turtle was sure before that he was hiding something, and it took me a while to figure out what it was . Hmmmphh . At this point I can see it clearly .

"Listen, punk, the giant ghost king was lying . He doesn't need a month for his cultivation base to recover . He's fooled everyone! Lord Turtle's eagle eyes can tell that he only needs five days! Maybe even three! Hmph . This guy really knows how to keep his secrets!

"If you abandon him to the three clans, he definitely has a way to last for four or five days in the hands of those devas . At that point . . . well, then things would get 'interesting' . "

Shaken, Naruto stole a glance at the giant ghost king . The man's face was ashen, and he wore a bitter, pained expression . Naruto immediately hesitated . The little turtle seemed

seemed very confident in what he had just said, and it did all make sense . After all, the giant ghost king was a profound schemer . . . .

Finally, Naruto chuckled .

"Quite the act you've pulled off!" he thought . "Five days, huh? If I give up now, it would really be a big waste . " A month was too long, but it might be possible to last for four or five days . In any case, the possible payoff in the end was worth the gamble .

"I guess I need to smooth things out with him . . . . " After looking up in thought for a moment, he cleared his throat inwardly, then plastered a vicious expression onto his face .

"King Giant Ghost!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, his veins of steel pulsing .

Coughing up another mouthful of blood, the giant ghost king looked over at Naruto and sighed .

"He's going to break his promise and hand me over to the three clans, isn't he . . . ?" However, even as he thought this, Naruto's voice rang out into the air .

"King Giant Ghost, you are a most honorable king, and a demigod as well . I, Uzumaki Hao, am a nameless nobody, with a lowly Core Formation cultivation base . . . . The gap between the two of us is like the gap between heaven and earth . It's impossible to even compare the two of us . In fact, were it not for the events playing out right now, the paths of our lives would likely never have crossed . " Naruto's voice contained a mixture of bitterness and profundity that left the giant ghost king feeling a bit stunned .

Even the people from the Cai Clan were now staring at him with serious looks on their faces .

Voice hoarse, Naruto began to speak as if he were recalling old times, "In the beginning, I was a pawn, dragged unwillingly into your little game . I am aware that it was not an expression of kindness . However, I do know that it was . . . the sowing of karma!

"Perhaps I removed you from the stone turtle out of resentment, or greed . It's hard to determine

to determine if that was a mistake or not . However, I do know that it was . . . the reaping of karma!

"Karma . Karma! A mysterious and indescribable thing . . . . Let's forget about all of those things . . . . Right now, there is one thing that Uzumaki Hao will not do, and that is forget about his promise, or his agreement with you, King Giant Ghost!"

Naruto's words caused the giant ghost king to shiver; never could he have guessed that he would say things like this . He had anticipated being thrown over to the three clans .

Instead, Naruto went into a description of everything leading up to this point . Furthermore, his words were sincere in many ways . Even an old fox like the giant ghost king couldn't help but be a bit touched . After all, everything this Uzumaki Hao had said was true . Originally speaking, the two of them would likely never have crossed paths . . . . Furthermore, it was the giant ghost king himself who ended up dragging Uzumaki Hao into the whole mess .

"I said that I would keep you safe for a month . . . . I said that I wouldn't abandon you . . . . And now, I say this: what does death count for!? King Giant Ghost, please allow me to address you as old pal! Old pal . . . if we fail to pass through this tribulation alive, and end up in the Yellow Springs, then I'll still protect you for an entire month!" Flicking his sleeve, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously . It was a laughter filled with both madness and obsession . His expression, his wording, and everything else immediately caused waves of shock to batter at the giant ghost king!

It had been a long time since he felt moved in this way by anyone . Although he could also sense that something about the situation was a bit off, and seemed to go contrary to what he knew about this Uzumaki Hao, in his current state of physical and emotional exhaustion, and after having experienced numerous betrayals and unexpected mishaps, he could do nothing else but accept Naruto's sincerity!

"Uzumaki Hao . .

. . . . " he said, his heart trembling and overflowing with emotion . There were actually many factors that had led to the current situation, and normally speaking, the ruthless giant ghost king would never allow such warm feelings to erupt inside of him .

It was possible to see that from how he had kept even the loyal Duke Deathcrier in the dark about everything .

In the giant ghost king's moment of profound emotion, the Cai Clan's deva patriarch looked over with cold eyes and then growled, "Well, the both of you can just die together then!"

Then he waved his finger through the air .

Rumbling sounds echoed out as an attack shot toward Naruto and the giant ghost king . Naruto quickly snapped open his Eternal Parasol to block the attack . However, he still ended up coughing up blood and staggering backward under the force of the blow, seriously injured .

"Uzumaki Hao!" the giant ghost king shouted, stunned at the fact that he hadn't been thrown out in front by Naruto to block the attack . . . .

"The reason I used you to defend myself earlier, old pal," Naruto said grandly, "was not because I feared death . No, I simply wanted to save energy to get you out of this situation . . . . " Inwardly, of course, Naruto was grumbling about how thoroughly realistic he was making his act seem . . . .

"Don't despair, old pal! I still have more tricks up my sleeve!" Eyes flickering with sharp light, he looked back at the Cai Clan cultivators only 300 meters behind him .

Inside, he grumbled, "I'm really shedding some blood, sweat and tears to get this old fox to trust me . . . . "

Gritting his teeth viciously, he waved his right hand, summoning a flying sword from his bag of holding, which glittered with the golden light of an elevenfold spirit enhancement .

However, things weren't over yet . Even as he threw it out, he continued to extract magical items from his bag of holding . All of them were things he had acquired after arriving in the Wildlands, and although some had elevenfold spirit enhancements, most had only five or sixfold enhancements . However, there were dozens of them .

"DETONATE!"

Chapter 659

A+ A- Chapter 659

Chapter 659: Extravagantly Wasteful Battle

These were not the spirit enhanced treasures he had personally made the time he went crazy and enhanced everything he owned . They were items he had acquired via interrogations performed as a dark inquisitor .

Therefore, he didn't feel even the slightest twinge of pain in his heart as he threw them out and then detonated them, creating numerous fiery streaks of destruction!

Naruto had a bit of experience in detonating spirit enhanced items, and knew that when they exploded, they released a huge amount of the energy of heaven and earth, all in one moment . However, despite what he had experienced in the past . . . he had never detonated dozens of them simultaneously . The explosive force they released left him completely shocked .

He wasn't the only one . The members of the Cai Clan, from the clan chief and clan elders down to the ordinary cultivators, were all completely stunned by the extravagant wastefulness of it all .

After all, magical items with six or sevenfold spirit enhancements were like cherished treasures to any soul cultivator . As for items with nine or tenfold enhancements, they were even more rare . For example, Zhou Yixing, a member of an aristocratic necromancer clan that was also in the great circle of Core Formation, had only possessed one .

It almost wasn't necessary to mention how people felt about items with eleven and twelvefold enhancements . The explosions they caused released such incredible force that all witnesses to the event were stunned .

The ear-splitting explosion rocked heaven and earth, causing even the Nascent Soul cultivators to back up in fear and do everything in their power to defend themselves .

The massive detonation caused all of the pursuing cultivators of the Cai Clan to tumble backward, many of them coughing up blood .

The giant ghost king also trembled as the words Naruto had just spoken continued to ring in his ears . Considering everything he was seeing right now, it was obvious that this Uzumaki Hao was really going to put everything on the line . Naruto was panting

as he borrowed some of the force of the explosion to shoot in the direction of the nearest spell formation, 3,000 meters away . Each step he took propelled him hundreds of meters, and within moments, he had reached the formation .

However, that was when a cold snort echoed out; the explosion of the spirit enhanced items had stopped the ordinary members of the Cai Clan, but could do nothing to block the path of the patriarch .

Originally, he had been worried about how Naruto had injured the patriarchs of the Uzumaki and Chen Clans, and had kept his distance . But now, he didn't have the luxury of worrying so much . He had been prepared to perform a teleportation at any time, so he moved with lightning-like speed, piercing through the air and the force of the explosion to appear only about 30 meters away from Naruto . Without any hesitation, he reached out with his right hand and unleashed the power of his Deva Realm cultivation base .

"You're not going anywhere!" he said, his eyes flickering with cold light .

Instantly, the air in the area began to solidify, and an energy began to crush down onto Naruto with enough force to shatter his bones .

Furthermore, the energy of heaven and earth being released formed together in front of him into the shape of a pitch-black, nine-headed bird . All of the bird's eyes radiated murderous gleams, and the bird itself exuded a pressure of immense proportions!

This nine-headed bird had been summoned by the Cai Clan's deva patriarch, not by means of a magical technique, but rather… as an incarnation of the will of the heavens!

Most other cultivators would have been completely shocked by what they were seeing, and their cultivation bases would have been crushed into a state of complete suppression . But Naruto had four clones, and although they had been seriously injured and were currently holed up inside of him, they still gave him a huge boost in terms of both cultivation base and divine sense, pushing him far past the level of an ordinary Core Formation cultivator . Furthermore, his fleshly

fleshly body was already in the great circle of the Undying Tendons . To top it all off, this was not his first time fighting a deva! He didn't even respect devas very much!

Because of that, he was able to resist the deva pressure weighing down on him, and as the nine-headed bird shrieked and lunged toward him, he let out a powerful roar .

There was no time for thought or planning, nor any time to try to put on an act . He instantly fell back, simultaneously waving his arm, which sent the several sets of leather armor he was wearing shooting toward the nine-headed bird . When he had first performed spirit enhancements on the armor, he had used special techniques to conceal the evidence of spirit enhancement . But the pressure of the deva nullified such effects, and the four golden designs on their surface now shone brightly . "Detonate!" he shouted . Instantly, the suits of leather armor all exploded, releasing force that far surpassed the detonation of the dozens of items from moments ago .

The Cai Clan cultivators further back looked on with wide eyes, especially when they noticed the four golden designs on each of the suits of armor . And yet, even as feelings of madness rose up in their hearts, things continued! Naruto's outer garment flew out, along with a hat and a few ordinary-looking bracelets . However, it was to the shock of everyone present that four golden designs now appeared on all of them!

Each one flew out and then exploded, sending waves of intense force to meet the nine-headed bird . The bird was already fading away, but that was when Naruto swung his left foot through the air, sending a shoe shooting forward, a shoe that had four golden designs on it! The extravagant wastage on display caused the Cai Clan cultivators to cry out in shock .

"This Uzumaki Hao . . . he . . . he even has a fourteenfold spirit enhancement on his shoe?!"

The giant ghost king was being held in Naruto's right hand, so he had a first-hand view of

view of everything, and the shock he felt now was so intense that his face was completely slack .

The Cai Clan patriarch's eyes went wide with disbelief, and yet, the killing intent within them only grew stronger as he pressed the attack .

As for Naruto, he simply continued to speed toward the teleportation portal, which was now only about 300 meters away . As the Cai Clan patriarch closed in, Naruto's eyes lit up with joy, and he threw his head back and laughed uproariously .

"I've been waiting for you to get close, old man! You finally fell into my trap! Time for you to see my trump card!" Continuing to laugh loudly, he swung his right leg through the air, causing his right shoe to fly out, which also had four golden design on it .

"Detonate!" he roared . The Cai Clan Patriarch's face fell . He had only just now decided to go all out, and yet, was still filled with apprehension regarding how Naruto had seriously injured the other two patriarchs . As soon as he heard Naruto's words, and saw the shoe flying toward him, he backed up, unwilling to take any risks . . . .

When the shoe exploded, it was a shocking sight, but nothing that could really hurt the Cai Clan patriarch . Face turning very grim, he angrily shouted, "How dare you trick me, Uzumaki Hao!"

Roaring in rage, he stepped forward once again, but the slight delay which had just occurred had given Naruto enough time to get within 30 meters of the teleportation formation . Just as he was about to step into it, the Cai Clan patriarch howled and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand .

Waving his finger at Naruto, he caused the nine-headed bird to erupt into flames, and then accelerate rapidly .

Naruto's face fell, and he immediately prepared to defend himself . However, before anything else could happen, an afterimage appeared on the bird, and a second one flew out . One of the nine-headed birds bore down on Naruto himself, and the other headed toward other headed toward the spell formation .

"Not good!" To Naruto's shock, the Cai Clan patriarch was not just attacking him, he was trying to destroy the teleportation formation as well!

Rumbling sounds filled the air as the ruins surrounding the teleportation portal were completely destroyed by the nine-headed bird . Buildings collapsed for thousands of meters in all directions, and even the ground was crushed down by a full meter . Clearly, the patriarch actually didn't know the specific location of the spell formation, and was just trying to destroy everything in the hopes that the teleportation formation would be destroyed as well .

As for Naruto, when the nine-headed bird slammed into him, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he was sent tumbling backward until he managed to stop in place on the spot he knew to be the location of the teleportation formation .

"Let's see how you try to get away this time!" the Cai Clan patriarch said, a vicious grin spreading out on his face . However, even as it did, his eyes suddenly flickered with disbelief .

The light of teleportation suddenly began to rise up right beneath Naruto's feet . As it turned out, the teleportation formation . . . hadn't been damaged at all!

Furthermore, the light that was shining up now was different than the light from before . It was blinding, and the energy of the teleportation was clearly stronger . It only took a moment for anyone familiar with teleportation formations to realize . . . that this was a long-range teleportation!

This was the very spell formation created by Lu Shiyou's ancestor which led to a spot 50,000 kilometers outside of the city . All of the other spell formations in the city had really been created to serve as distractions, with this formation being the true escape path . Furthermore, there was no way he would have his true escape path be the type that could easily be destroyed! The only thing the deva patriarch's attack had done was make it so that Naruto didn't need to use his Undying Hex to enter the spell formation!

Chapter 662

A+ A- Chapter 662

Chapter 662: Im Only Doing This To Save You, Old Pal

Not even forty hours had passed since the outbreak of rebellion in Giant Ghost City!

During that short period of time, drastic changes had occurred, which the people of the city found outrageous and terrifying .

First the nine serenities king had made his probing attack . Then the six marquises revolted . Four devas joined the fray . The giant ghost king had not even been able to make a stand, and yet, that was only the beginning . When it was revealed that the giant ghost king was only a clone, the second phase of the event began .

The entire city was turned upside down as the rebels searched for the giant ghost king's true self . That was when Uzumaki Hao showed up on the scene, holding the giant ghost king's true self captive . Everything which occurred after that . . . would be fixed for all time in the memories of those who had been present .

Three powerful devas were seriously injured, and then . . . Uzumaki Hao and the giant ghost king escaped the city!

From that moment on, Uzumaki Hao would be completely famous within Giant Ghost City . In fact, it was easy to imagine how his name would soon spread to the Wildlands at large .

In a mountain range about 50,000 kilometers away from Giant Ghost City, Naruto could be seen speeding along, face ashen, carrying an old man on his back . The man was withered and wrinkled, and his aura was virtually undetectable . In fact, even close examination would lead one to think that he was actually a corpse .

Of course, that old man was none other than the giant ghost king . It was hard to say if his current condition was a result of him sacrificing a drop of soul blood, or because of his decay period . Either way, he was completely and utterly unconscious . His virtually indestructible body was now so profoundly weak that it seemed possible for an ordinary knife to cut through him and end his life .

Naruto's aura was also unstable . The giant ghost king had slipped into unconsciousness right after the two of them teleported out of the city, several hours before . Naruto had also been seriously injured, and the soul blood had done nothing to heal him . Although

he had received vital enlightenment, after he slipped out of the Demigod Realm, his injuries all flared up, leaving him feeling incredibly weak .

Thankfully, his fleshly body was very strong, so he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay conscious . After seeing that the giant ghost king was unconscious, he decided not to drag him around by the neck any more, and instead slung him over his back .

Naruto knew that he was still wrapped up in a momentous event . The three great clans would not rest until he was dead, and it was the same with the six heavenly marquises . As for the latter, because none of them had a deva, and he had been zipping around the city via teleportation formation, he hadn't encountered any of them . But that didn't mean he wouldn't in the future .

It was easy to imagine . . . that both the three great clans and the forces of the six heavenly marquises would do everything possible to find him .

"It's a good thing I don't need to hold on for very much longer . Just a few days . Then the giant ghost king will recover . . . . Although, I wonder if that drop of soul blood will change things . " He sighed . If the giant ghost king hadn't given him that drop of soul blood, and he had been forced into a corner, then maybe he would have given the man up . At that point, he wouldn't have felt too bad . But considering how things had developed, he simply couldn't do that .

Naruto had deeply ingrained principles when it came to paying back debts . He felt moved by how the giant ghost king had helped him, which was actually a bit contrary to how he had planned for things to turn out .

"Ah, whatever . " Sighing, he continued onward through the mountains, the giant ghost king on his back .

Soon it was evening, and the sky was starting to grow dark . Naruto wanted to keep going, but his injuries were so bad that he couldn't . Furthermore, the giant ghost king's aura was getting so weak that at times that he couldn't even sense it . The man's body was also starting to grow cold .

Nervous, Naruto found a suitable spot to hew out a cave for

for use as a temporary shelter . Using what scant bit of his cultivation base was left, he made a small bonfire and then propped the giant ghost king up in front of it .

Unfortunately, the giant ghost king's complexion was ashen, and he only seemed to be getting colder as time progressed . His aura was currently very weak .

"You can't die!" Naruto said . Standing up, he patted his bag of holding to produce some medicinal items useful for treating injuries . Unfortunately, even after forcing them into the giant ghost king's mouth, nothing happened .

"What do I do, what do I do . . . ?" He thought about asking the little turtle for some advice, but there was no trace of him . No amount of angry threatening got him to stick his head out, so Naruto finally gave up . Then he sat there looking at the ice-cold giant ghost king for a while before finally slapping his own thigh .

"I know what to do!" he thought, his eyes shining . There was definitely something that could heat the giant ghost king up, but as he contemplated it, he hesitated .

Unsure of whether the giant ghost king could hear him or not, he said, "Um . . . hey, King Giant Ghost old pal, I'm only doing this to save you, alright? No hard feelings . "

With that, he pulled out . . . and Aphrodisiac Pill, which he then placed into the giant ghost king's mouth .

Naruto remembered how all the prisoners who consumed Aphrodisiac Pills always got very hot, and even sweated profusely . At the moment, he was in a desperate situation and was grasping at straws, but had no other alternatives . Worried that one pill might not be enough, he pulled out a few more, and then stuffed them into the giant ghost king's mouth .

Almost immediately, the giant ghost king shivered, and got a bit warmer . His previously fading aura began to fluctuate, and a bit of color even returned to his skin .

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, his face shone with pride at the fact that, in his genius, he had created a medicinal pill that could be used both to interrogate prisoners, and save lives .

"Geniuses like me are always lonely . Ai . " At this point, he was finally

was finally starting to relax . If the giant ghost king had died, then everything he had done up to this point would have been for nothing .

As he calmed down, he thought back to everything which had occurred in Giant Ghost City, and his heart trembled with lingering fear .

Frowning, he reviewed all of his actions .

"I got too impulsive . I shouldn't have listened to the little turtle . . . . Three devas? I . . . I can't believe I actually escaped from three devas . " The thought of how he had put everything on the line left him gasping . Even the slightest mistake, and he would have died .

"I always say that I'm not going to do anything dangerous ever again . How come I always do, though . . . ?" Frowning, he realized that his personality was changing, and that he was actually becoming braver .

"Wait a second, that's not a good thing!" Deeply worried, he looked over at the giant ghost king, and then up at the evening sky, and the moon, which was just barely visible . Finally, he sighed .

"I sure hope that what the little turtle said is true . . . . The giant ghost king had better recover in the next couple days . " And so he sat there nervously, surrounded by silence . Considering how exhausted he was and how quiet the area was, he soon began to think back to what it had been like to rise to the deva level, and then beyond that, to the demigod level .

Eventually, his eyes began to shine with both confusion and desire .

"The Deva Realm . . . . So that's what it feels like . And the Demigod

Realm . . . . It almost seems possible to break through heaven and earth . . . . " The sensations he felt after absorbing the soul blood, and the enlightenment he had received, were forever branded onto his heart . At the same time, his desire to grow stronger increased .

"I want to become a deva . . . . I want to become a demigod . . . . " Remembering that he needed to change his way of thinking, he tried to inwardly focus on the

focus on the longevity aspect . "Umm, I guess becoming a demigod would mean I could live even longer, right?"

Time passed . Even before the night was through, Naruto felt rested . After checking on the giant ghost king to make sure he wasn't getting any colder, he once again put him on his back and then flew out of the cave .

It was in that manner, only resting when absolutely necessary, that Naruto proceeded along for three days . . . . The giant ghost king was unconscious the entire time, and didn't show any signs of waking up . As for Naruto, thanks to his powerful fleshly body, his wounds were recovering nicely .

However, the anxiety in his heart continued to mount . He knew that with every bit of time that passed in which the giant ghost king didn't wake up, it meant that the three great clans would be getting closer .

Eventually, on evening of the third day, as he was flying along, the sky above him began to rumble loudly .

A voice filled with boundless venom suddenly echoed out . "Uzumaki Hao!"

Naruto looked up into the sky and saw . . . three enormous faces, each of them hundreds of meters tall!

They were none other than . . . the patriarchs of the three great clans!

The one who had spoken was the Cai Clan patriarch, who had lost his fleshly body . His eyes burned with killing intent, and he was surrounded by a sea of lightning that pulsed with metal-type power . That indicated that this lightning could give birth to metal, and supreme-grade metal at that!

Next to the Cai Clan patriarch were the patriarchs from the Uzumaki and Chen Clans . Both of them had very serious expressions on their faces, without a trace of the derision with which they had previously looked at Naruto . In fact . . . they almost seemed to view him as an equal!

Anyone unfamiliar with the situation who saw that would surely be shocked . After all, these were devas, and Naruto was only in the great circle of the Gold Core stage . This . . . was simply the kind of respect that Naruto could earn when he used full force!

As for the Uzumaki Clan patriarch, a strange, mysterious light flickered through his eyes .

Chapter 663

A+ A- Chapter 663

Chapter 663: Scared But Not Terrified!

"Uzumaki Hao! Considering that you're a member of the Uzumaki Clan, if you simply hand the giant ghost king over, I'll count it as a meritorious service and pronounce you clan chief!" The rumbling pressure coming from the Uzumaki Clan patriarch completely surpassed that of the other two patriarchs .

Although the Cai Clan patriarch didn't seem very happy about what the Uzumaki Clan patriarch had just said, he didn't say anything . Clearly, the patriarchs had come to an agreement of some sort . However, when it came to the Chen Clan patriarch, his desire to kill Uzumaki Hao had actually far surpassed that of the Cai Clan patriarch, although no one knew that .

The things Uzumaki Hao had accomplished so far were completely shocking, so much so that they would eventually shake all of the Wildlands . As a result, the Chen Clan patriarch was absolutely certain that if Uzumaki Hao returned to the Uzumaki Clan, they would eventually control all of Giant Ghost City .

"We can't leave him alive," he thought . "If he sticks around, the Uzumaki

Clan will get so powerful that nobody will be able to stop them!"

Naruto blinked a few times and braced himself as he looked up into the sky at the three patriarchs . Although the Uzumaki Clan patriarch's offer seemed great, Naruto didn't trust him at all .

Sighing inwardly, he tried to decide what to do when, all of a sudden, a voice entered his ears that he hadn't heard for several days . It was none other than the little turtle!

"Don't agree, little punk!" he said urgently . "Lord Turtle hasn't appeared for the past few days because he didn't dare to! Dammit! I knew something was off . The giant ghost king . . . is already awake! He woke up much, much earlier! If Lord Turtle's guess is correct, he's actually already back at full strength!

"The wily old fox! Listen, punk, I've been helping you out for a long time now, but this time, I had to make a lot of preparations to be able to send you this message behind the giant ghost king's back . He's a demigod, after all .

I have to go now, so as for what exactly you should do now, just play it by ear . "

Naruto was complexly flabbergasted, but didn't let it show on his face . After glancing back at the giant ghost king for a moment, he looked up in thought . Then, his veins of steel began to pulse, making it seem to those who could see him as if he would continue on his current course no matter what setbacks he encountered . His eyes were now bloodshot, and he stood there looking like a lone wolf, valiant and heroic

.

Swishing his sleeve, he spoke out in a hoarse voice that was both decisive and fierce, "Forget it! On the day that I, Uzumaki Hao, left the Uzumaki Clan, I swore an oath to never again be part of that clan! Although you are surnamed Uzumaki just like I am, the meaning of that character is completely different between the two of us!

"The giant ghost king gave me a new lease on life, and is like a brother to me . I promised to keep him safe for a month, and I'll do that no matter what!

"You people want the giant ghost king? Sure, you can have him . By stepping over my dead body!"

As he spoke, his voice grew louder and louder, until he was shouting with dauntless courage . There was a lofty arrogance to his words that would make anyone who didn't know him think that he was the most noble and righteous type of person in the world .

"Even if I, Uzumaki Hao, end up dying in the process, I will never hand over my brother the giant ghost king! I didn't abandon him in Giant Ghost City, and I'm not going to abandon him here!" Even as his words rang out, he unleashed the power of his cultivation base . Making sure the giant ghost king was secure on his back, he began to flee again, musing about how amazing his speech had been just now . After hearing it, there was no way the giant ghost king wouldn't be moved .

At the same time, he was feeling quite nervous, not because of the three devas, but because of the fact that

that he knew the giant ghost king to be a very slippery character . . . .

He also couldn't stop thinking about how he had slapped the man on the side of the head several times .

Up above, none of the three clan patriarchs said anything in response . Suddenly, the huge face which represented the Cai Clan patriarch blurred, and he emerged from its forehead in nascent divinity form . As he looked down at Naruto, his lips quivered as though he were murmuring something . Then, thunderous rumbling could be heard as several lightning bolts appeared and shot toward Naruto .

As they moved through the air, they formed together into a sphere of lightning, pulsing with shocking energy that caused the air around it to distort and then ignite into flames!

As that happened, the Chen Clan patriarch also emerged from the giant face that represented him . Brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth as the entire 50-kilometer area around him suddenly became an enormous sealing mark!

Naruto's eyes opened wide . Aware that he couldn't avoid this attack, he looked at the incoming sphere of lightning and roared, "Even if I die, I'll never let any of you hurt my big bro!"

He stamped his foot onto the ground, causing a huge crater to appear below . Then he gently put the giant ghost king down behind him and pulled out his Eternal Parasol to defend the both of them .

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and the ground quaked . Rifts spread out as sparks of electricity showered about in all directions, creating something like a lake of lightning . The Eternal Parasol twisted and distorted, and behind it, Naruto trembled and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood . He was trembling on the verge of collapse, bones breaking inside of him as he withstood the force of the attack . After it was over, he gritted his teeth, grabbed the giant ghost king again, and took to flight .

As he sped along, he continued to cough up blood . An expression of despair appeared on his face as he looked at the giant ghost king and then spoke in a voice so soft

so soft only the two of them could hear .

"Everyone dies one day . Compared to the kindness you have shown me, my brother . . . what does death count for!?" At this point, his expression of despair began to turn into one of madness . "I just hate the fact that my cultivation base is so weak . And the fact that I can't fulfill my promise to you, my brother!"

With that, he threw his head back and roared in frustration . Inside, he was thinking that he had continued with the act for long enough . If things kept going on like they were, he really would be flirting with disaster .

He had gone all out to defend against that attack just now, and knew that the only reason he had survived was because the Cai Clan patriarch was in nascent divinity form, making his attacks much weaker than normal . If the Chen or Uzumaki Clan patriarchs attacked him in his current state, he probably wouldn't be able to take it .

"How far does the giant ghost king want to take this!? If he doesn't do something soon, I'll end up dead, and so will he . . . . " Naruto was virtually weeping inside by this point .

Up above, the Uzumaki Clan patriarch sighed in regret about how things were turning out . However, he was a cold-hearted person, and therefore, since this Uzumaki Hao was just too stubborn, he knew he had to act .

"Fine then, just die!" he said, launching a fist strike toward the ground .

RUMBLE!

A huge, illusory fist appeared, and as it descended, incredible pressure weighed down in all directions . That fist represented the will of the heavens, and was so powerful that it could destroy anything it touched!

Within moments, it was bearing down on Naruto, causing the ground to quake dangerously!

An intense sensation of deadly crisis erupted inside of Naruto . He could tell… that this was not the type of attack he could absorb in defense . Nor could he evade it in time . If it hit him, he would be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt! "Fudge!" he shouted inwardly

he shouted inwardly . "Come on, King Giant Ghost, don't tell me you really do want me dead?!" Although he was shaking and terrified, the words that actually came out of his mouth were a bit different than his inner monologue .

"It's not that I don't want to live up to my promise, my brother . I really do . I guess the only thing now is for the both of us to stroll the pathways of the Yellow Springs together!"

He looked up at the enormous fist, his heart filled not with terror and alarm, but with peace . Although he was trembling physically, he wasn't nervous or scared anymore . He knew that if the little turtle was correct, and the giant ghost king really was awake, abandoning him wasn't a viable option . Furthermore, considering how things had developed just now, there was no way he could escape from the three deva patriarchs this time .

"No more gambling and no more acts," he thought . "Fudge! I guess if I'm really gonna lose my life, then I sure as hell am not going to go out looking terrified . . . . " Gritting his teeth, he put the giant ghost king behind him protectively .

Even as the entire world filled with heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling, and the enormous fist was about to crush Naruto, even as a huge crater opened up beneath him, and nearby mountains crumbled into dust, even as the air shattered . . . .

The Uzumaki Clan patriarch, instead of breathing a sigh of relief, suddenly began to tremble . His eyes went wide with disbelief, and his face fell as he shouted, "King Giant Ghost!"

He wasn't the only one to react in such a way . The Chen and Cai Clan patriarchs both began to shake, their minds reeling as though they were being struck by hundreds of thousands of lightning bolts . Never could they possibly have imagined that in this exact moment . . . the person who had just been lying unconscious behind Naruto, would suddenly stand up and walk forward!

He was none other than . . . the giant ghost king!

Chapter 668

A+ A- Chapter 668

Chapter 668: Goal: Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul!

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto got more excited than ever. By now, the moon hung in the night sky outside as he flew out of the giant ghost statue, feeling very pleased at his recent successes.

"I never asked to be so outstanding. But I guess there's just no other way. It must be the will of the heavens... First, I was destined to be the glorious junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect. Then I became a major general at the Great Wall. And now, here in the Wildlands, I'm yet again achieving a monolithic rise to prominence!" Feeling a bit annoyed about how outstanding he was, he shook his head and did nothing to conceal his feeling of pride.

In the past, Naruto had been able to fly in the city because he was a prison guard. However, he had never felt completely comfortable doing so. After all, if he had run into a patrol of city guards, they could have forced him down to the ground if they felt like it.

But now, the patrolling guards all looked at him with extreme respect, and even clasped hands in greeting before clustering around him protectively.

Although Naruto was initially taken aback, he quickly warmed to the arrangement. Clearing his throat, he took out a jade slip which he studied very quickly, and then clasped his hands behind his back and headed off in the direction of the mansion the heavenly marquis had gifted him.

It was located in the inner city, and had once been a secondary home to that heavenly marquis. It was rather large, with ornamental rocks, as well as streams and ponds. There was a spell formation protecting it, making it very quiet and peaceful. There were already servants waiting there for him, who immediately offered respectful greetings.

Naruto was very, very pleased with all of the arrangements, and couldn't help but sigh in contentment as he entered the mansion.

The night passed uneventfully. Naruto didn't immediately merge with the metal-type deva soul. That fifth deva soul was of incredible importance; merging with it would end with him stepping into the Nascent Soul stage, which meant that he wanted to do it when in secluded meditation.

However, now was obviously not the time for a session of secluded meditation. For one thing, it was the following day that the official announcement was made regarding Naruto's appointment to majordomo. The news spread like wildfire, leading to widespread astonishment.

"Majordomo... I can't believe Uzumaki Hao was actually appointed to be majordomo!"

"We've never had a majordomo in Giant Ghost City before..."

"Majordomo. Majordomo... On the one hand, that could imply that he's in charge of everything in the city. But on the other hand, it could also imply that he's in

charge of nothing... It's like something between a real appointment and an honorary one. His true power will depend on his favor with the king. And at the moment, Uzumaki Hao... has the king's complete favor!"

Even as everyone in the city began to ponder what true powers came with the position of majordomo, Naruto was pondering whether or not he should go out and bask in his newfound glory a bit. Before he could, though, people began showing up to offer formal greetings.

It started with the four heavenly marquises, and then turned into an endless stream of soul cultivators. Virtually all of the groups and organizations in the city sent people to him.

All of them came bearing gifts, which Naruto accepted with great shock and surprise. The sight of so many gifts left him speechless, and at the same time, radiant with happiness.

The most impressive of the gifts was the very mansion in which he now lived. The heavenly marquis who had given it to him was named Chen Hai. He was a rather fat man whose face was always covered with a radiant smile when he saw Naruto. Apparently, the man didn't care at all about matters of cultivation base or status; he was being very sincere and welcoming.

Of course, with Naruto's sudden rise in status, Zhou Yixing and Li Feng also benefited greatly. That was especially true of Zhou Yixing, who had provided vital services to Naruto.

Now that Naruto was back in all his glory, Zhou Yixing hurried over excitedly to offer greetings. Naruto knew that he had been through difficult times recently, and therefore encouraged him to take advantage of the situation to set up his own power structure within the city.

Zhou Yixing left excited and beaming with contentment. He wasted no time in using the fact that he was backed by Naruto to start recruiting his own group of loyalists.

A few days later, the stream of visitors began to thin out, and Naruto finally had the time to go for a walk in the city. Wherever he went, the soul cultivators would greet him with immense respect, causing him to excitedly stroll about in every corner of the city that he could find.

"Well met, Majordomo Uzumaki."

"Greetings, Majordomo Uzumaki."

"Look, it's Majordomo Uzumaki..."

The more people he heard talking about Majordomo Uzumaki, the more he strutted about and basked in the glory. In a manner that was very reminiscent of the Spirit Stream Sect, he would sometimes clear his throat to draw the attention of people to alert them that Majordomo Uzumaki had arrived.

Naruto was completely intoxicated by the attention he was receiving. In fact, he even decided to go visit Devil Penitentiary...

Although Warden Li Xu wasn't very happy about it, he had no choice but to offer

offer respectful greetings, and then lead Naruto on an inspection of the prison... As for Naruto, he loved the reversal of roles, and made sure to point out many important areas of concern as they went through the facilities.

The four deputy wardens and four dark inquisitors all clustered around him, feeling somewhat dazzled. It was almost hard for them to wrap their minds around the fact that this person had started out as a guard, then become a prisoner, and was now a majordomo...

Most stunned of all was Deputy Warden Sun Peng from Cellblock D. However, Naruto was the type of person who remembered his old friends, and heaped quite a bit of praise onto Cellblock D. Sun Peng was soon flush with excitement.

Of everyone in the prison, it was the guards from Squad 9 whom Naruto was most fond of. He even called the captain out by name to escort him. It was a huge honor that got the entire squad very excited.

Sighing, he said, "I really have a lot of good memories in Devil Penitentiary. This was once my home, and the place where my feelings run the deepest..."

Everyone seemed moved by his words. Soon, the group had arrived in Cellblock D itself, where they stopped in front of his old quarters. At that point, a look of reminiscence appeared on his face.

"A mere look at this place and I almost want to give up my current position and go back to being a guard!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone hurriedly encouraged him not to do such a thing.

"Majordomo, sir, you absolutely mustn't do anything of the sort. There are myriad affairs of state for you to deal with. With your position, you are responsible for the prosperity of all of Giant Ghost City!"

"That's right, Majordomo. The prison guards of Giant Ghost City can't do without their majordomo!"

After hearing all of their persuasive words, Naruto sighed a bit helplessly.

"Ah, whatever," he said. "Now that all of you put it that way, I guess I have no choice but to give up on my dream. Everything I do, I do for his highness the king! Everything I do, I do for Giant Ghost City!"

Solemn expressions overtook the faces of everyone present, and it was even possible to see teardrops glistening in more than a few eyes.

Naruto cleared his throat. Worried that his reveling in success had pushed things too far... he decided to wrap up the inspection tour. Just when he was about to leave, he looked over at Li Xu, who had worn a very odd, borderline unsightly expression this entire time.

During the whole tour, Li Xu's expression hadn't changed at all, a fact that Naruto wasn't too pleased about. Looking a bit irritated, he said, "Li Xu,

"Li Xu, I have to offer a word of criticism. In his highness the king's moment of danger, I was the only one around to keep him safe. Where exactly were you at that time?"

After a moment of silence, Li Xu gritted his teeth and said, "That day... I, went to see Duke Deathcrier..."

Naruto's eyes suddenly turned very cold as he stared at Li Xu and said, "In his highness the king's moment of danger, you went to Duke Deathcrier? Are those the actions of a true loyalist, Li Xu?"

Li Xu's face fell. He could see how cold Naruto's eyes were, and realized that he had erred in his comportment earlier. Naruto obviously wasn't irritated by his facial expression, but by his general refusal to perk up. Realizing that he had offended Naruto, and cognizant of Naruto's current status, Li Xu immediately felt deep regret. Clasping hands respectfully, he began to offer further explanations.

Naruto wasn't the type to hold endless grudges, and didn't bear any deep-seated ill will toward Li Xu. Therefore, to see him acting like this in front of a crowd actually left Naruto feeling a bit uncomfortable. Seeing that the man had learned his lesson, and was now being a bit humble, he nodded faintly and then finished with the inspection.

Over the following few days, Naruto spent all of his time strolling about the city to bask in glory. Of course, he couldn't forget how the three great clans, and especially the Uzumaki Clan, had worked so hard to see him dead.

He was not the type to seek revenge over the smallest grievance, but considering he had power at his disposal, the thought of what the three great clans had done left him feeling quite angry. However, the giant ghost king seemed to have different plans. Other than killing the Cai Clan patriarch, and keeping the Uzumaki and Chen Clan patriarchs captive, he didn't seem to have any plans to deal with the clans themselves.

After a few days, Naruto started to lose patience, and hinted to the people in the city who were particularly loyal to him that it was time to put the three great clans in their place!

A few more days went by. The giant ghost king eventually summoned Naruto and rebuked him for simply strutting around all day and doing nothing. Afterward, Naruto sulked back to his mansion and went into secluded meditation. Sighing, he pulled out his deva soul and began to cultivate.

It wasn't that he had forgotten about cultivation. It was just that, now that he was Majordomo Uzumaki, he couldn't help but revel in his new position. After all, he had been forced to keep a low profile in Giant Ghost City for so long, that the chance to swagger a to swagger a bit in the open was too much to refuse.

The past days of seeing Naruto using his connections to intimidate everyone in the city left the giant ghost king with a much clearer understanding of his personality.

"The wily little fox. Sometimes he seems like a profound schemer capable of the most vicious tactics. But other times he's more like a kid..." The giant ghost king shook his head. By this point, he actually felt much more comfortable about having Naruto around. Although he was a bit frustrating sometimes, that was only because he enjoyed attention. Overall, he wasn't the type of person who would betray others. Besides, everything that he was enjoying now had resulted because of kindness from the giant ghost king.

As for how he had secretly begun to act aggressively toward the three great clans, the giant ghost king didn't really care about that at all. It was a minor matter as far as he was concerned.

"However, he's definitely too lazy when it comes to practicing cultivation. Without some pressure, he won't even go into meditation. He obviously likes to enjoy life." Even the giant ghost king wasn't aware of the fact that, after bringing Naruto back to Giant Ghost City, he had begun to treat him differently than others...

Meanwhile, in Naruto's secluded meditation chamber, he was suppressing all of his pride at his new appointment. His eyes began to grow calm as he looked at the deva soul in his hand.

"This is the last deva soul I need... Merge with it, and my five elements deva souls set will be complete... At that point, I will be able to break through!" Eyes shining with excitement, he took the deva soul... and pushed it into his chest.

RUMBLE!

Almost instantly, his aura began to condense in on itself, and his cultivation base began to rotate rapidly. A familiar feeling rose up inside him, making it feel almost as if he were being split into pieces.

Even as he sat there cross-legged, afterimages appeared around him. At the moment, it looked like his true self was sitting there with four other versions of himself in the same spot. Time passed... Slowly but surely... a fifth afterimage appeared, until it was completely clear!

Rumbling sounds filled his mind as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then waved his hands through the air.

"Emerge, my clones!"

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Five clones walked out, surrounding his true self. As they did, incredible pressure weighed down on all six versions of Naruto.

All of his clones were in the great circle of Core Formation, and together, they could rock early Nascent Soul stage cultivators!

Although he still didn't have his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul yet, he was already capable of unleashing heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power.

"Next... is the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage!" he thought, his eyes shining brightly.

Chapter 669

A+ A- Chapter 669

Chapter 669: Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul!

Reaching the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage... was supremely difficult!

That difficulty lay in the fact that not only did one have to get five deva souls, but each of those souls also had to represent a different one of the five elements. Metal. Wood. Water. Fire. Earth. Only with a complete set could one succeed. It really was a very difficult matter.

In the lands of Heavenspan, deva souls were very rare, and it was only by chance that Naruto had begun to collect them. He had been given one in the Spirit Stream Sect, and then gifted one by Du Lingfei. However, it was only when it came to the third soul that he had been forced to work hard to get it.

After putting his life on the line, he got the third soul in the labyrinth, after which he had been teleported deep into the Wildlands. Then, to get his fourth deva soul, he had risked everything, and also offended the Uzumaki Clan!

Then came the final soul, which he got only after a long and bitter struggle.

Even as he merged with the deva soul and formed his fifth clone, he thought back to what had happened recently, and felt lingering fear in his heart. Then he looked around at his five clones, took a deep breath, and thought back to the information on the stone stele in the labyrinth, which had described how to break through to the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage.

"Bring all five clones into one's body, merge them with the true self... Break out of Gold Core and into Nascent Soul!" He closed his eyes to concentrate; this matter was of vital importance, and no mistakes could be tolerated. After getting his thoughts in order, his eyes opened again, and they shone with determination.

"Metal. Wood. Water. Fire. Earth. Let's begin with my metal clone!" He unleashed the power of his cultivation base, causing the fluctuations of

the great circle of the Gold Core stage to erupt out. Even as the pressure of his Gold Core weighed down in the area, Naruto's eyes shone brightly, and he looked over at his metal-type deva soul clone.

The metal-type clone looked over at his true self and gave a slight nod. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he turned into a beam of goldcolored light that shot toward Naruto's forehead.

As it drew close, it began to crumble into fragments, sending dazzling light out in all directions. In the blink of an eye, it merged into Naruto's forehead, where it became the power of metal, surging through his body.

Rumbling sounds filled his mind, and he began to tremble visibly as he sensed the metal-type power swirl through him and then pound into his Gold Core.

His Gold Core trembled as an aura appeared therein that could only be described as a mystery within a mystery. It seemed to contain profound levels of life force, which spread out through him and began to transform him.

At the same time, golden magical symbol appeared all around his Gold Core, causing his face to radiate an air of profound holiness!

However, before long, the golden magical symbols began to fade away, replaced by a desolate bleakness. It was almost as if the power of metal itself was too strong, and under its pressure, his Gold Core was beginning to crumble into destruction!

In fact, even his Chakra passageways didn't seem capable of handling that level of metal-type power, and began to fall apart!

If things continued on in this fashion, it would only be a few moments before Naruto was destroyed in body and soul.

In that moment of crisis, Naruto's eyes snapped open, revealing a gaze as sharp as a sword, which swiveled onto his fire clone!

"Vital energy defeats that which is solid. Fire restrains metal!" he roared. At the same time, his fire clone's eyes sparkled brightly, bursting

bursting into crimson flames that shot toward Naruto and merged into his forehead.

Instantly, the power of metal within him was restrained as the power of fire coursed through him. The metal-type power in his Chakra vessels was suppressed, and the power of fire shot toward his Gold Core.

Rumbling could be heard as the power of fire turned into a sea of flames that surrounded his Gold Core and then began to pour into it. Instantly, the golden magical symbols began to glitter brightly as the power of metal was replaced by the power of fire, making it impossible to harm his Gold Core.

However, although the power of metal had been suppressed, the power of fire was now posing just as much danger to his Gold Core.

In the blink of an eye, his Gold Core became a Fire Core, radiating such intense heat that Naruto immediately began to sweat. It was as if there were a sea of flames sealed up inside of him that was so powerful it could destroy everything in the area if it exploded out.

The sensation of deadly crisis he felt now was no less than before. In fact, it was greater. However, Naruto remained calm. Now was not the moment to lose control! Looking over at his water clone, he shouted, "The many defeat the few. Water restrains fire!"

Rumbling could be heard as his water clone became a stream of blue light, within which was a drop of blue liquid, a drop that seemingly contained unending amounts of water. Within the blink of an eye, the drop of water had reached Naruto, and merged into him.

As the power of water began to flow through him, it suppressed the power of fire as surely as a bucket of ice-cold water would suppress a spark. Within moments, it was flowing into the Fire Core, and yet, the sensation of danger was still there! Soon, Naruto was filled with the

with the power of water, and it felt as if he were going to be liquified.

It was as if a corrosive force were eating at his bones, filling him with intense pain. At that point, his eyes turned completely bloodshot as he shouted, "The real defeats the illusory! Earth restrains water!"

His earth clone merged into him, causing earth-type power to spread out through his body.

"Focus defeats dissemination. Wood restrains earth!"

Intense rumbling sounds filled him as his wood clone merged into him. As of this moment, he had all five types of power inside of him. The power of earth was suppressed, and the power of wood exploded out, transforming his core into a Wood Core.

However, Naruto wasn't alarmed at all by the danger he felt. Eyes shining with anticipation, he shouted, "The unyielding defeats the soft. Metal restrains wood!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the metal-type power which had been suppressed inside his core erupted out, restraining the power of wood. Then, the resurging power of metal was suppressed by the power of fire, which was suppressed by the power of water, which was suppressed by the power of earth, which was suppressed by the power of wood...

A perfect cycle was completed inside of Naruto's Gold Core, which began to rotate with the full power of all five elements!

This... was why the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul required all of the five elements deva souls. With even one missing, no complete cycle would be created, and the person making the cultivation base breakthrough attempt would be destroyed!

Only when the great circle of the five elements was completed would a perfect cycle be created!

After nine complete revolutions, Naruto let out a howl that could shake heaven and earth. As he did, his cultivation base began to grow with terrifying speed. His Gold Core shattered, and the resulting pieces rapidly formed together... to form a small person who looked exactly like Naruto! That small person

Naruto!

That small person was his nascent soul!

Its eyes were closed, and it shone with five dazzling colors. The power of the five elements surged through him, and at the same time, a shocking aura appeared within his nascent soul.

If any other Nascent Soul cultivator were here to witness the spectacle, they would cry out in alarm. After all, when an ordinary cultivator used their own core to form their nascent soul, it would be called a Mortal-Dao Nascent Soul. It would be difficult to see clearly, almost as if it were a mortal.

If someone used deva beast souls to create a nascent soul, it would be more clearly visible. Furthermore, based on the latent talent and technique practiced by the individual, it would consist of power of one of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, or earth. Furthermore, it would result in a divine light which swirled around the body.

Generally speaking, that was the limit. Only the legendary Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul could be considered the perfect and flawless version, as clear as crystal, and filled with the divine light of the five elements. Such life essence divine light could not be suppressed by any technique based on the five elements; furthermore, when it was unleashed, it could suppress all other types of nascent souls. Whether they were those of Mortal-Dao or those created by deva beast souls, they would all be crushed!

Any other cultivator in the same cultivation stage as a Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul expert would be, at best, a third as powerful. In fact, they might even be so weak that they couldn't rotate their cultivation base.

There were virtually no such nascent souls in the entire world!

This... was the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul!

As the nascent soul's eyes opened, a massive clap of thunder rang out in the sky over Giant Ghost City.

CRAAAAAAAAAASH!

In that same moment, a burst of Heaven-Dao aura erupted from within Naruto's nascent soul, seemingly in coordination with the heavenly thunder.

Chapter 670

A+ A- Chapter 670

Chapter 670: Invincible To Mortal-Dao Nascent Soul!

The great circle of the five elements. Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul!

Naruto was bubbling over with excitement. As his eyes opened, he could feel how his Gold Core had become a nascent soul. The tiny person that was his nascent soul sat cross-legged, radiating a holy aura and a sensation of the Dao of the heavens. Anyone who could observe this nascent soul would definitely be deeply shocked.

Boundless fluctuations rolled out from the nascent soul, surging through his Chakra passageways, filling him with the indescribable power of his cultivation base.

Naruto shivered as he looked around to find everything slightly different than before. The world was brighter and more colorful. He felt completely different, as though he had been baptized. In fact, the boundless sensation he now got from his cultivation base reinforced the fact...

That he was now completely and utterly different from before. In fact, he was now confident that if he met the chief of the Uzumaki Clan, he would be able to crush him with a single palm strike!

"So, this is the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, huh...?" In fact, Naruto was also excited to realize that, even though it was hard to accept, he was most likely far more powerful than most ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.

From what he could tell, a mere breath on his part could shake everything in the area, and a glance from his eyes could become corporeal pressure that would suppress anyone he looked at.

Most importantly, his divine sense was now completely different from before. It was now connected to his spirit and soul, and made it possible for him to perform minor teleportations!

"What's the range of my divine sense, I wonder...?" Even upon simply releasing it, it went out 5 kilometers in every direction!

He could sense everything happening within that area! However, he could tell that 5 kilometers was not his limit, and sent out some more divine sense. Rumbling sounds filled him as it shot out to a range of 50 kilometers!

Even that didn't seem to be the limit. He was tempted to keep pushing it out further, but in the end, decided not to. After all, he was in the Wildlands, and didn't want to push things too far. Restraint was the safest option.

"So strong..." he thought,

retracting his divine sense. As of this point, he felt much more powerful in all aspects. However, what got him even more excited than everything so far was that when he probed his own life force... It pulsed with a boundlessness of shocking nature, which immediately pushed him to the brink of losing control of his emotions.

"My life force... heavens! My longevity... it's... even at this early stage I can tell that I'll be able to live for thousands of years!" He was so excited that he was shaking physically. After all, his dream in life was to live forever, and although that dream had not yet been realized, he had just taken a major step in the right direction. The idea of being able to live for thousands of years instantly caused tears of joy to well up in his eyes.

"Worth it! It was all worth it!" Leaping to his feet, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, dancing up and down in happiness. Just when he was about to go run out and do a few tests to see how strong he was, his expression flickered.

"Things aren't over yet..." he thought. In that moment, he could tell that his transformation was not yet over. His cultivation base had broken through, and yet, he still had another core inside of him... that was now breaking apart!

It was... his Undying Heavenly King Core!

This was the core formed by reaching the third level of the Undying Codex. The power which had slowly been building up in him as he practiced that third level was now causing his Undying Heavenly King Core to break apart!

At this point, Naruto's eyes shone with bright light.

"I can borrow the power generated by my cultivation base breakthrough to destroy the shackle of the third level!" He quickly settled back down cross-legged. He had pushed his Undying Hex to the level of the great circle all the way to the point of making contact with the shackle. Now that his cultivation base had broken through, and his Undying Heavenly King Core was falling apart, his life force began to surge with incredible power.

RUMBLE!

A tremor ran through him, and he suddenly got the sensation that three huge mountains were resting on his shoulders. That indicated that there were three shackles

shackles remaining, shackles which limited his fleshly body power.

Now, with his life force flourishing, and with his core falling apart, it was time to destroy that third mountain and break through that shackle!

CRAAAAAASH! RUMBLE!

Rumbling sounds filled him as he drew upon his life force and the energy generated by his crumbling Undying Heavenly King Core. It created an indomitable blast of energy that he sent directly toward the shackle. Cracking sounds immediately began to ring out, and he could feel that mountain falling to pieces. As it did... the shackle vanished!

He immediately felt much more relaxed than he had ever been before, and at the same time, could sense his fleshly body power soaring upward. Power coursed through him as his battle prowess rapidly increased!

He excitedly rose to his feet and took a step forward, whereupon a sonic boom echoed out, and he vanished. When he reappeared, he was several dozen meters away.

"My fleshly body can pierce directly through the air!" Spirits soaring, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Moments ago, he hadn't used his nascent soul to teleport, but rather, had pierced through the air with his fleshly body, producing almost exactly the same result. If anyone were here to witness the matter, they would be shocked. After all, when Nascent Soul experts fought, the fact that they could teleport was vitally important. It was because they could that numerous methods were often employed to prevent teleportations.

However, such methods would be useless against Naruto! He could use his fleshly body to teleport!

As of this moment, he was not powerful in the simplistic sense of the word. He was powerful in a completely flabbergasting fashion. He could crush anyone in the Mortal-Dao Nascent Soul stage, no matter what techniques they used against him. In fact, someone with a Mortal-Dao Nascent Soul, even one half a step into the Deva Realm, could be easily crushed!

Even if he met someone who had used deva beast souls to reach the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, he could easily defeat them. It would be the same with someone like that in the mid Nascent Soul stage. The only person who might possibly cause a problem for him was someone half a step into the Deva Realm, who had reached the great circle of the

of the Nascent Soul using deva beast souls, and also had some unique trump cards to use! Naruto had never fought with someone who was half a step into the Deva Realm and had used deva beast souls to reach that level. However, he was still confident that he would be able to win against them.

Being able to crush someone, and simply defeat them, were two very different things. Crushing someone didn't require a fight; whereas defeating someone did.

Furthermore, Naruto... was currently only in the early Nascent Soul stage. If he reached the great circle, then he would be even stronger than he was now...

"I really am... too strong!" Patting his chest, he probed his cultivation base, heart filling with nearly uncontrollable anticipation.

Naruto began to laugh loudly at the sensation of being able to look disdainfully out of the corner of his eye at all creation. Swishing his sleeve, he proudly said, "From now on, not a single person under the Nascent Soul stage will ever dare to raise their voice to me!"

After reveling in the sensation for a long moment, he took a deep breath and then thought about the fourth level of the Undying Codex, and burning anticipation rose up in his heart.

"It's too bad that I don't have any Nascent Soul-level techniques at the moment," he murmured. "But at least I have a fleshly body technique to practice!

"The fourth level of the Undying Codex is the Undying Bones!" With that, he thought back to the introduction of the Undying Codex, which described the five levels of skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and blood!

The more he thought about it, the more he anticipated making more progress. After all, the Undying Bones level involved refining all of the bones in one's body. That would lead to increased defenses and greater strength, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering transformation that left him feeling very excited.

"The Undying Skin focuses on defense. The Undying Flesh is about strength. The Undying Tendons are for speed... And the Undying Bones combine defense and strength together to reach shocking levels!" Shaken, he thought back to the information about the Undying Bones, which was broken up into four sub-levels, each of which was further divided into nine strata!

"Tempered Bones, Powered Bones, Heavenly Bones, Undying Bones! "Tempered Bones involve a full transformation of the body, of the body, leading to an explosive rise in defenses!

"Powered Bones increase one's overall strength to a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering degree!

"Heavenly Bones fuse strength and defense, making it possible to rock all creation!

"Last are the Undying Bones... By cultivating to that level, even if your soul perishes, your bones will never cease to exist!

"The soul can perish, but the bones are undying... That fits perfectly with the technique. The Undying Live Forever Technique... I'm practicing the Undying Codex, which focuses on the undying aspects of the Undying Live Forever Technique!" This train of thought soon led him to the final level of the Undying Codex, the Undying Blood. What pushed him toward the brink of madness was the fact that the description of the Undying Blood had closing words which said:

With one drop of blood, the body can be re-formed!

"I definitely have to finish cultivating the Undying Bones. Then I can move on to the Undying Blood!" With that, he began to review the secret technique of the Undying Bones.

Every level of the Undying Codex came with a unique secret magic. The first three were the Throat Crushing Grasp, the Mountain Shaking Bash, and the Undying Hex. All of them had proven to be very useful. Furthermore, as he continued to cultivate the Undying Bones, they would continue to be part of his arsenal.

"Undying Emperor's Fist!"

Fleshly body power found its foundation in the bones, and was unleashed through the skin. By blessing that power with secret magic, it became so explosive that it could shake heaven and rock the earth. That incredible power surpassed both the Throat Crushing Grasp and the Mountain Shaking Bash!

The Undying Bones was another level, and it was the same with the

Undying Emperor's Fist. Upon reaching the third stratum of the

Tempered Bones level, one could unleash double the base power of the Undying Emperor's Fist. At the Powered Bones level, that power would increase to triple. With Heavenly Bones it was quadruple, and at the Undying Bones level, it was five times as powerful!

Theoretically speaking, there was actually no limit to how powerful the Undying Emperor's Fist could be. It was only limited by the limitations of the body itself!

That was the Undying Emperor's Fist!

The secret magic of the fourth level of the Undying Codex!

Powerful and magnificent, it could shake all creation!

Chapter 671

A+ A- Chapter 671

Chapter 671: Cooking Oneself

"The Undying Emperor's Fist..." Naruto murmured, his emotions surging and his eyes shining. He could already visualize himself, looking down at his opponent disdainfully as he unleashed the Undying Emperor's Fist to shocking effect.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. On the one hand, the Undying Emperor's Fist could be used as a trump card, drawing upon all of the strength in his body, blessing it, and then using that force to destroy everything in his path. On the other hand, after using it, he would be completely drained, and incredibly weak in terms of his fleshly body.

For the time being, the Undying Emperor's Fist could definitely only be used as a trump card!

At the moment, it was not something he could just casually use. Generally speaking, it could only be unleashed after reaching the third stratum of the Tempered Bones.

"The fourth level of the Undying Codex... the Undying Bones. To cultivate it, I'll need so much life force it's difficult to even wrap my mind around it. The third level can't even compare to it. It would be much easier back in the Heavenspan River region, where I can concoct medicine." The mere thought of the difficulties involved in cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique left Naruto frowning in anxiety.

"The Wildlands are barren and infertile... I need something that can stand in for life force." After putting some thought into it, he couldn't come up with any good ideas. He considered soul medicines, but although they were used like spirit stones by Wildlands soul cultivators, they didn't contain much life force. After all, they were concocted using souls.

"Maybe I could find some common precious materials and then perform tenfold spirit enhancements on them... If I enhanced them high enough, they would eventually have indescribable levels of power." That was the only good idea he had come up with so far.

Taking a deep breath, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to utilize the methods described in the fourth level of the Undying Codex to cultivate Undying Bones. Before long, cracking sounds could be heard inside of him. They

started out soft, but after enough time passed for two incense sticks to burn, they became so loud that they were like thunder in his ears.

From the nature of that sound, it was easy to tell that Naruto's bones were undergoing profound transformations.

All of his flesh and blood seemed to be quivering, as though incredible pressure were weighing down on them. At the same time, streams of life force power were coursing into his bones.

His skeletal system as a whole was like a black hole, emanating a terrifying gravitational force that sucked in all the life force around it... At the same time, drastic transformations occurred.

As the process continued, the rumbling sounds grew more intense, and he began to tremble visibly. Sweat even began to pour down him. And then, he gradually realized that his fleshly body was showing signs of withering!

As soon as that happened, he opened his eyes and ceased cultivating. His eyes flickered with bright light, and he frowned.

"I can't keep going. After only two incense sticks' worth of time, all of the vestiges of life force from the medicinal pills I've consumed over the years were sucked away... Cultivating the Undying Bones is terrifying!

"If I had kept going, it would have damaged the very foundations of my life force!" Shock still lingered within him as he looked down at his hands, and he suddenly sucked in a breath.

"I still haven't reached the first stratum of the Tempered Bones... and yet I can already tell that my defensive capabilities have improved." Although it was obvious to him that he was tempering his bones, it also felt as though he were tempering his body as a whole, and making it more pure.

After a moment of thought, he sighed. There was no need to get anxious about the matter. What he needed to do was simply wait until he could find something to stand in for life force, and then resume his cultivation.

"I can tell that if I had enough life force... then I could actually complete the Undying Bones in one shot! The obstacle I face now has nothing to do with time spent cultivating, just life force!" His eyes glittered

glittered brightly for a moment before he calmed himself down again. After checking on his cultivation base, and observing his nascent soul for a bit, his aura was beginning to thrum with fluctuations just like before.

"I had a bit of control power within my Gold Core. I wonder why I can't sense it now that my core has become a nascent soul?" After some thought, he simply couldn't figure out why that was, except for the possibility that it was connected to his lack of Nascent Soul-level techniques...

"What a pity. Could it be that my Human-Controlling Grand Magic... has been hidden away somehow? Why can't I feel it? I wonder what other strange things are going to happen now that I'm in the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage!?" It really was true that he didn't know much about the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage. In truth, few people in the world knew about it, other than the Celestial.

In fact, Naruto had the premonition that the miraculous secrets of the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul would only be uncovered by contemplation on his part.

"For now, I just won't worry about my control power or the Undying Live Forever Technique. Medicinal pills are too rare in the Wildlands. Plus, I don't have any Nascent Soul techniques. If I want to speed up my cultivation, then there's only one way to do it..." His eyes shone brightly as a smile of anticipation appeared on his face.

"For anyone else, it would be a deadly risk, but for me... it won't be dangerous at all!

"Most importantly, it will serve to rapidly increase my cultivation base! I can advance by leaps and bounds! In fact, this will be the most rapidly that my cultivation base has ever improved in my entire life!

"The time has come... to perform some spirit enhancements on my nascent soul!" Naruto's eyes shone with determination, and didn't contain the slightest bit of hesitation. He waved his finger, and dazzling light shot out as the turtle-wok appeared.

Thankfully, he had built up quite a stockpile of souls because of all the gifts that he had been given recently. Using them, he was quickly able to create everything from one- to fourteen-colored

to fourteen-colored flame. At that point, he closed his eyes and settled his cultivation base. Then, his nascent soul's eyes opened, and he stepped out of his fleshly body in nascent soul form to appear out in the open!

He shivered at the sensation of being out in the open as a nascent soul; it was almost as if there were some type of frigid Chakra in the area that he could only detect as a nascent soul. Actually, nascent souls were particularly sensitive to frigid qi, and reacted to it in much the way that a mortal would react if placed naked into a snowy field.

In fact, being in contact with intense frigid Chakra for too long could cause irreparable damage to nascent souls. Naruto could tell that clearly. Actually, there were many things in heaven and earth that could injure and destroy nascent souls, with frigid Chakra being only one of them. The fleshly body was like a boat, and without that vessel, the nascent soul was like a baby tossed into the ocean...

If any other Nascent Soul cultivator had been present to see Naruto bring his nascent soul out into the open, that person would be so shocked they might not believe what they were seeing. Generally speaking, it was impossible for one's nascent soul to emerge after having just stepped into the Nascent Soul stage. Not even extremely strong nascent soul cultivators could do it. The blow struck to it by the frigid Chakra that naturally existed in heaven and earth would be too severe.

Not even people in the mid Nascent Soul stage would do such a thing lightly. And if they did bring their nascent soul out into the open, they wouldn't do so for very long. Only people in the late Nascent Soul stage, or perhaps those who had reached the great circle, would have nascent souls strong enough to bring them out into the open and face the frigid Chakra of the world...

The only people who could ignore such frigid qi... were devas!

But here Naruto was, just having stepped into the Nascent Soul stage, and already having brought his nascent soul out into the open. Although his

open. Although his nascent soul seemed to be struggling, it wasn't being hurt. Clearly, that was because this was a Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul!

"It's freezing out here!" he said through his nascent soul's mouth. Then he turned back to look at his fleshly body, which was a very strange experience. After looking at himself for a moment, he burst into motion, flying over to sit cross-legged in the turtle-wok.

"So, does this count as cooking myself...?" he muttered. Reaching out with his tiny nascent soul hand, he felt at the surface of the wok. "Well, cooking it is... I just need to add some fire."

A strange expression could be seen on his face as his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he waved his finger. Immediately, the one-colored tongue of flame flew out and merged into the turtlewok. Moments later, a design appeared on the wok that then began to shine with dazzling light.

He was confident in what he was doing, but still felt nervous. After all, when all was said and done... he was performing a spirit enhancement on himself.

If anything went wrong... Naruto could only imagine what it would be like if everyone thought he had been in secluded meditation for too long, and the giant ghost king finally came and opened up his meditation chamber to find... a deliciously stir-fried nascent soul waiting for him.

He shivered at the terrifying thought, and even considered flying out of the turtle-wok. However, that was when intense rumbling sounds began to echo out.

He screamed as silver light rose up, completely inundating him. The energy of heaven and earth erupted from the wok, pouring into his nascent soul.

Booming rumbles filled his mind!

Eventually, the sounds faded away, and the silver light disappeared. Naruto in nascent soul form flew up into the air, looking terrified. Moments ago, he had felt like a rowboat being tossed about on enormous, angry waves.

"Terrifying! This isn't spirit enhancement, this is playing with death!" At this point, he decided that he should just give up. However, when he looked down at his nascent soul, he suddenly realized... that there was a silver design on it!

Furthermore, his nascent soul seemed somehow different from before...

Chapter 672

A+ A- Chapter 672

Chapter 672: The Arch-Emperor Stele Shakes All Creation!

As of this moment, his nascent soul had matured to a certain extent.

Not only was it stronger, it was also much more resilient to the frigid Chakra of heaven and earth.

It was an exhilarating feeling, and was normally the type that would come after spending significant time in secluded meditation, cultivating some powerful technique and constantly performing breathing exercises.

And that was the result of a single spirit enhancement!

Naruto thought back to the feeling of the energy of heaven and earth exploding into him earlier, and then his eyes began to shine with excitement.

"This really is a secret magic for improving your cultivation base..." Pursing his lips in thought, he recalled the information he had come across when he first arrived in the Wildlands, regarding the successor of the hell-emperor. That was when he had first been introduced to the concept of performing spirit enhancements on nascent souls.

"According to what people say, if you perform a fifteenfold spirit enhancement on your Nascent Soul, you can break through into the mid Nascent Soul stage. An eighteenfold enhancement will get you into the late Nascent Soul stage. A twentyfold enhancement is the great circle.

There probably isn't even a need to mention the legendary realm of a twenty-onefold spirit enhanced nascent soul, which is guaranteed to push you into the Deva Realm!"

Immediately, his excitement began to build. At the same time, he realized that performing spirit enhancements on nascent souls obviously produced different results than with other items. That was clear considering what he had experienced when performing spirit enhancements to a very high level back in the labyrinth. However, nascent souls were unique in heaven and earth, and behaved differently from ordinary objects, so that made sense. Looking down at the two- to fourteen-colored flames he had arranged, he realized that his path to the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage was right in front of him, open and clear.

Then he looked back at the turtle-wok, and realized that unless the wok somehow suddenly malfunctioned, he had nothing to worry about. Suppressing such worries, he

said, "There definitely won't be any problems. If I don't do this, I'm gonna regret it!"

With that, he sent his nascent soul flying back into the turtle-wok, where he performed another incantation gesture and pointed out, causing the two-colored flame to begin another spirit enhancement process.

Of course, Naruto had no way of knowing that even performing a single spirit enhancement on a nascent soul was a heaven-shaking, earth-toppling accomplishment in the Wildlands!

Meanwhile, far, far away, in the very heart of the Wildlands, was... a city that vastly surpassed Giant Ghost City in size!

It seemed as big as ten Giant Ghost Cities put together, and was completely golden in color. There was something indescribably noble about it, as though it were connected to the heavens. The sky above the city was filled with auspicious clouds, among which dragons danced, dragons that occasionally cast intimidating glances at the people below.

This city was the most important location in the Wildlands. It was... ArchEmperor City!

In the eastern part of Arch-Emperor City was an enormous public square, fully 30,000 meters from one side to the other. In the very middle of that square was a huge stone stele, exactly 2,700 meters tall, green in color, and surrounded by soft, glowing light.

It was a light that seemed so enduring that no divine ability in the world could make it go dark. It was as if, as long as heaven and earth existed, that light could not be destroyed. It was even capable of benefiting the cultivation base of anyone who basked within it. At the moment, roughly eighty names were visible on the surface of the stone stele!

Those names were written in precise and clear fashion, and were the names of various chosen heroes, all of them extremely famous, the type who everyone in the Wildlands had heard of and talked about. They were essentially household names.

That stone stele was none other than the Hell-Emperor Stele! And as for those names... they were the candidates in the running to be the successor of the hell-emperor!

When the allotted time for the competition to become the successor ended, then whoever

whoever occupied 1st place on that list... would be the successor! Because of how important that competition was, everyone in the Wildlands was very interested in the names on the list.

Currently, the first name on the list was Gongsun Yi, and next to it, a number could be seen: seven!

That meant that this Gongsun Yi had already performed a sevenfold

spirit enhancement on his nascent soul!

To perform seven spirit enhancements on a nascent soul, and live through it, was a fundamentally heaven-defying matter. Countless people had been shaken by the matter. Second on the list was someone named Zhou Hong, whose nascent soul had a sixfold spirit enhancement! [1]

The person in third place had a fivefold enhancement. Going down the list, the numbers dropped down all the way into the ones...

Unless something unexpected happened, it seemed obvious that Gongsun Yi would become the successor of the hell-emperor. After all, not even Zhou Hong seemed willing to go past a sevenfold spirit enhancement. That was no surprise, since the success rate was extremely low, and a failure would lead to death.

Because of the list of names on the Hell-Emperor Stele, and the glowing light which surrounded it, there were always soul cultivators gathered in the area. Not only could they improve their cultivation base because of the light, they also could study the names on the list at the same time.

The name list wasn't static. New names would occasionally pop up, and sometimes names would fade away. Obviously, the names that disappeared represented people who had attempted a spirit enhancement on their nascent soul, only to fail and perish. As for the new names, they always caused a stir.

Of course, the stir for a new name usually wasn't very much to speak about. After all, new names usually came with only a single spirit enhancement. The only thing that would cause a true commotion was when someone broke into the top 10.

However, on this day, something completely unexpected happened with one of the new names on the list!

The first person to notice the new name was a middle-aged soul cultivator who happened to be a member

a member of the Giant Ghost Legion forces that were stationed in ArchEmperor City. Only a few years before, he had been part of the army that fought the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect at the Great Wall.

However, by this point, the cultivators of the Giant Ghost Legion had all been recalled to Arch-Emperor City for rest and recovery. At the moment, they were waiting for deployment orders to go back to the Great Wall.

That middle-aged soul cultivator was seated cross-legged some distance away from the stone stele, doing breathing exercises. As usual, he was looking at the name list on the stone stele, when suddenly, his jaw dropped as he noticed a new name at the very end of the list.

At first, a blank expression could be seen on the man's face, but then his eyes widened, and his aura began to surge unstably.

"This... this..." What he was seeing seemed completely preposterous, and he was actually convinced that he was seeing things... He rubbed his eyes a few times, and then he looked over again. At that point, he simply wasn't able to hold back from crying out at the top of his lungs.

"Uzumaki... Naruto!"

His cry instantly broke the silence in the area of the stone stele. Countless soul cultivators who were practicing cultivation in the area opened their eyes. Most of them seemed confused; the name Naruto seemed familiar, but at first, many couldn't place it. However, many of them clearly recognized the name, and were instantly shaken. Then, people look over to see what the middle-aged soul cultivator was looking at, whereupon more shouts of astonishment filled the air!

"Naruto? How is that even possible!?"

"Naruto... I remember! He's a major general from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's Great Wall! He's that shameless bastard who figured out how to detonate pill furnaces!"

"It's him... I knew that name sounded familiar. Senior Red-Dust personally offered a bounty of a deva soul for his head! He's in 1st place on the Execution List!"

All of the soul cultivators were shaken, and soon, as their cries of astonishment rang out, more people heard, leading people heard, leading to even more unsightly expressions.

Originally, Naruto's name was not very widely known in the

Wildlands. However, after the Giant Ghost Legion's recent attack on the Great Wall, his name became the talk of the army, and from there, spread out into all of the Wildlands!

He had defeated the Giant Ghost Legion over and over again!

He had inflicted heavy casualties on the vengeful soul forces of the Wildlands!

He had not only led the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's forces to victories on the Great Wall, but his methods had been spread to the other three riversource sects, leading to similar victories on other stretches of the Great Wall. Because of that, the Wildlands had suffered defeat after defeat, which was completely unprecedented!

Exploding pill furnaces! Driving beasts to madness! Soul Convergence

Pills!

Any one of those tactics would have shaken the Wildlands. Then there was the reward being offered for Naruto's head, which skyrocketed to such heights that everyone in the Wildlands was flabbergasted.

Furthermore, his rank of major general had been achieved by brazenly trampling the Wildlanders under foot with impunity!

Because he had eventually gone missing, people started to forget about him. But now, his name had appeared on the Hell-Emperor Stele, causing instant chaos in the area!

Countless eyes came to be fixed on the name list, where there, right out in the open for everyone to see... was Naruto's name!

It was not Uzumaki Hao... it was Uzumaki Xiao Chun! Three characters made up his name, and right next to it was the number one, indicating that he had performed a single spirit enhancement on his nascent soul.

"It's Naruto!"

"He's in the Wildlands! And he's not dead!"

"This is too important! Hurry up and report the matter!" People immediately began to take out bone slips and send messages to their superiors...

It didn't take long... for all of Arch-Emperor City to be completely shaken!

1\. Trivia point: There was already a character named Zhou Hong in AWE, written with the exact same Chinese characters too. He was mentioned a couple of times in the early chapters as a chosen in the Spirit Stream

Sect

Chapter 673

A+ A- Chapter 673

Chapter 673: Crazed By A Rise In The Rankings.

As word spread through Arch-Emperor City, everyone who got the news was stunned. For many, it took some thought to recall why the name seemed familiar, and some even had to ask around. In the end, though, everyone was shocked.

Of course, there were some people who instantly recalled all sorts of things when they heard the name.

"Devil Uzumaki has appeared!"

"So, he's not dead after all! Not only is he here in the Wildlands, he's actually in the Nascent Soul stage!"

"Dammit! This is outright provocation! Bald-faced mockery! There's no way Devil Uzumaki doesn't know about what happens when you perform a spirit enhancement on a nascent soul. He obviously did this all on purpose to make sure we knew he had come!"

Arch-Emperor City in general was shaken, but even more so was the Giant Ghost Legion. Countless shouts of rage could be seen as people raced over to the Hell-Emperor Stele.

Of course, not everyone in Arch-Emperor City was very impressed with Naruto's name. Many thought the stories were exaggerations, and that a person like him wasn't worthy of the commotion.

"This is outrageous! I can't believe that Naruto is being so pretentious! How arrogant! How imperious!"

"Hmph! Those are just stories, right? I refuse to believe that this Uzumaki

Naruto is as important as people say he is. He's a nobody!"

"Obviously the Giant Ghost Legion just wanted to come up with a reason for why they got defeated so handily. The fact that the other three sects on the Great Wall are using the same tactics just goes to show that Heavenspan Island arranged it all."

Regardless of the specific reactions, though, the entire city was shaken.

Generally speaking, the commotion would have died down fairly quickly, and things would have gone back to normal. But then, something else happened that no one was expecting!

Even as everyone was looking at Naruto's name, his name vanished from last place

and then reappeared in the top 20!

Next to his name was no longer the number one, but instead, two!

All eyes went as wide as saucers, and yet, before anyone even had a chance to cry out in shock, Naruto's name vanished again. This time, it moved up to 15th place, and the number three could now be seen next to it!

And things weren't over yet. Naruto's name vanished again, then reappeared in 8th place!

At that point, the number next to his name was four! Moments later, it shot up to 4th place, with a fivefold spirit enhancement!

Countless gasps of shock could be heard. However, the crowd was being filled with so much pent-up shock that eventually, they couldn't keep it in.

"Heavens...!"

"A five... fivefold spirit enhancement!"

"How is this Naruto doing this?!"

Everyone was completely stunned, battered by waves of astonishment, their minds spinning at what they were witnessing. Immediately, people began to send word to their friends and superiors.

Before, only a few people had been stunned by the mere mention of Naruto's name, with many people believing his reputation to be exaggerated. However, in the briefest of moments, he went all the way to 4th place on the Hell-Emperor Stele, with a fivefold enhanced nascent soul. Instantly, the people who had believed the stories to be exaggerated were left gasping in shock.

"What!? He performed a fivefold spirit enhancement on his nascent soul that quickly!?"

"What's going on with this Devil Uzumaki? How is he doing this so quickly? I can't believe he's so reckless! Is he tired of living?!"

The waves of astonishment that rocked Arch-Emperor City only continued to grow more intense. Every group and organization within the city heard of the matter, and reacted with complete incredulity. At the same time, more and more people began to fly over to the HellEmperor Stele.

There were also numerous streams of divine sense that converged on the area.

Meanwhile, Naruto was in nascent soul form in his secluded meditation chamber in Giant

Giant Ghost City, looking very pleased as he sat there cross-legged in the turtle-wok.

"Hahaha! I love this type of cultivation! This is how things should be done!" The nascent soul Naruto's eyes twinkled, and his aura surged with excitement.

Not only did his nascent soul now have five silver designs on it, but he could also clearly sense how much stronger he was.

"I feel like I just spent a whole sixty-year-cycle in secluded meditation!" After a bout of hearty laughter, he licked his lips and waved his finger at the nearby six-colored flame.

The flame flew over into the turtle-wok, whereupon rumbling sounds could be heard, and another silver design appeared. He had performed another spirit enhancement!

Six. Seven. Eight.

Without pausing for a moment, he performed three enhancements in a row. By this point, eight dazzling designs could be seen on his nascent soul, which thrummed with boundless power. Swirling colors could be seen inside of it, and at the same time, the frigid Chakra of heaven and earth was like nothing.

"Strong. So strong!" Filled with excitement, he waved at the ninecolored flame. Moments later, a ninth silver design could be seen on his nascent soul!

However, things weren't over yet. Heart pounding, Naruto began the tenth spirit enhancement. Dazzling silver light shone out from the turtle-wok as a tenth design appeared!

Naruto could tell that his nascent soul was growing stronger and stronger, leaving him trembling with joy. He had often pondered how amazing it would be to become so powerful, but had never experienced the feeling. Now he was...

Of course, to the people in Arch-Emperor City, the fact that Naruto was performing one spirit enhancement after another on his nascent soul had them all scared out of their minds. They felt like one bolt of heavenly lightning after another was slamming into their brains.

They watched as Naruto's name went from 4th place to 3rd, and then from 3rd to 2nd. Then, without even stopping, it reached

it reached 1st place!

Naruto had performed an eightfold spirit enhancement on his nascent soul...

If that were all there were to the situation, it might not have been a big deal. After all, what he was doing was not beyond the realm of what was clearly possible. But then, the number nine appeared next to his name, and then ten. The soul cultivators were all shaken to the ultimate degree, to the point where it felt like they were in an out-of-body experience.

He was performing spirit enhancements on a nascent soul, which was completely different than performing enhancements on magical items. If a magical item was destroyed, you could get a new one. But if you failed in a spirit enhancement on your nascent soul, you would be killed permanently!

The hell-emperor could have the audacity to require his successor perform spirit enhancements on their nascent soul. But to ordinary soul cultivators, that action was simply risking one's life!

A single spirit enhancement was something many people could accept, and potentially a second or third. But any higher than that, and the failure rates were simply too dangerous. What everyone was witnessing here was simply a miracle!

It was something the likes of which had never been heard of in the Wildlands! It was complete madness...

"He went from one all the way up to ten! And he didn't die!"

"Dammit, what kind of luck is this!?"

"Does he have a death wish or something?!"

Not a single person was left unshaken; from their perspective, Naruto was toying with his life in an act of complete insanity! Never had anyone dared to enhance their nascent soul in such fashion...

Meanwhile in Nine Serenities City, in a smaller palace adjacent to the royal palace, an enraged roar echoed out. Then, a tall, slender young man burst out from inside the palace. His handsome features were twisted with fury as he raged, "Naruto! I, Zhou Hong, put my life on the line to perform a

to perform a sixfold spirit enhancement on my nascent soul. How could you possibly dare to perform a tenfold enhancement!? How come you didn't die?!"

Bitterness filled Zhou Hong's heart. Originally, his only goal had been to overtake Gongsun Yi, and he had been fairly confident in being able to do so. At worst, he would at least match Gongsun Yi's accomplishments.

But as soon as he got news that Naruto had appeared and performed a tenfold spirit enhancement, his hopes were dashed...

"You must be using some trick to do it! Otherwise, there's no way you could succeed! Men, go out and search the Wildlands! Find out where Naruto is! Find him!" In response to Zhou Hong's words, Nine Serenities City was thrown into a stir, and his orders were instantly carried out. Of course, the reason for all that was that Zhou Hong was heir apparent in the city!

Similar scenes played out in other parts of the Wildlands, both in the necromancer clans, and in other places that were home to people on the Hell-Emperor Stele's name list. Everyone was trying to guess where Naruto might be, and countless people began to search for him.

In one of the four kingly cities, War Champion City, a thatched cottage could be seen atop a lonely mountain. Within that cottage sat a young man with sword-like eyebrows and eyes that shone like stars. Everyone who knew him personally was used to the placid, arrogant expression that he usually wore. However, as of this moment, his face was ashen, and his eyes glittered with disbelief.

"Naruto..." he murmured. A moment later, he looked down at the bone slip he held in his hand, and a defiant gleam appeared in his eyes. This young man was the only son of the most powerful among the kings, the war champion king. He was Gongsun Yi, the second most powerful person in his generation in the Wildlands, right behind Mistress RedDust!

Chapter 676

A+ A- Chapter 676

Chapter 676: Shakedown

After emerging from the grand hall, Naruto looked over in the direction of the three great clans, and an expression of scorn could be seen on his face. Although there were no truly deep grudges between him and the clans, they had attempted to kill him over and over again.

Back when he had been a prison guard, it had been impossible to seek revenge, and even less so after he became a prisoner. But now things were different. He was Majordomo Uzumaki of Giant Ghost City, acting on behalf of the king.

"Summon Heavenly Marquis Chen Hai!" he said with the swish of a sleeve. Instantly, the nearby city guards rushed off to carry out his orders.

Afterward, he stood there outside of the grand hall, looking up into the sky, his hands clasped behind his back as he waited for Chen Hai to arrive. As he was waiting, he pulled out a jade slip to send a message to Zhou Yixing.

"Have your people keep an eye on all of the three of the great clans for me!"

"Don't worry, milord. I'll take care of everything. By the way, the people in the Chen Clan are frightened out of their minds."

After hearing the response, Naruto gave a few more instructions, then closed his eyes and stood there waiting. Before long, a beam of light appeared off in the distance, within which could be seen a pudgy, middle-aged man.

He was one of the four heavenly marquises who had not participated in the rebellion. He was also the one who had given Naruto a mansion, as well as a large number of other valuable gifts. As soon as Chen Hai saw Naruto standing there outside of the royal palace, a serious expression appeared on his face. Clasping hands and bowing, he said, "What are your orders, Majordomo Uzumaki?!"

"Heavenly Marquis Chen, gather your men. You're taking a little trip with me!" Naruto had served as a major general in the army, so when he spoke now, it was with a grand dignity that left Chen Hai feeling shaken. After looking from Naruto to the royal palace and then back, he voiced his assent. Without the slightest hesitation,

he issued orders to the soul cultivators under his command, and before long, a force of 20,000 men had gathered. At that point, Naruto and Chen Hai, followed by the small army, flew out of Giant Ghost City!

Everyone in the city was shaken by the sight, especially when they realized that the 20,000 soul cultivators were heading in the direction of one of the three great clans, the Cai Clan. As of that point, everyone knew what was going on… revenge!

The army of 20,000 soul cultivators radiated killing intent as they flew along. Naruto was in the lead position, his hands clasped behind his back, an arrogant expression on his face. All of a sudden, he felt like he was back at the Great Wall, a mighty major general with subordinates who would jump to heed his every command.

Chen Hai was right there next to him. Sticking his thumbs up approvingly, he said, "Excellent work, Uzumaki, old pal! You're truly a dragon amongst men. Let me tell you, I've seen a lot of people throughout the years who really bungle things up when they suddenly rise to power. But not you, Uzumaki, old pal. You're doing splendidly. It just goes to show that you are a qilin chosen of Giant Ghost City!

"These 20,000 soul cultivators view you like an immovable mountain, as permanent as the sea. Strength of mind like yours is rare even among many imperial princes." Chen Hai had a very serious expression on his face as he talked, and his fat jiggled up and down a bit. Although he was clearly being a bit flattering, his words seemed completely and utterly trustworthy.

Naruto felt wonderful, and couldn't help but muse that Chen Hai really was very observant. Smiling broadly, he thought back to the old saying: even if you have a beautiful sedan chair to sit in, you still need others to lift you up. Therefore, he offered a few ingratiating words of his own. Before long, the two of them were chatting amiably.

At the same time, Naruto contemplated how he should go about this shakedown. Considering that the giant ghost king hadn't issued formal orders, he couldn't do it in a very forceful

forceful manner.

"Maybe I can't use force, but I can still get my revenge in full!" Looking down at his bag of holding, he thought about the little turtle, and suddenly came up with a new idea.

Before long, they could see the Cai Clan up ahead. As for his reason for selecting this particular clan, there was no special factor other than its close proximity to the city.

Of course, everyone in the Cai Clan was extremely nervous because of his arrival. They were all shaking visibly, and the clan chief's face was ashen as he led a group of cultivators to the main gate to receive the visitors.

The young chosen member of the clan who had tried to kill Naruto sometime back was there, as well as the silkpants who had tried to bully him with wealth. Both of them were trembling, their faces as ashen as death.

The pressure weighing down on the clan recently had been immense. Their patriarch was dead, and every member of the clan felt like they were hovering on the brink of death.

The news that Uzumaki Hao was personally bringing a large group of soul cultivators with him for a visit caused alarm to fill the hearts of everyone in the clan. Most fearful of all was the clan chief and certain clan elders, and yet, they managed to remain calm.

After all… if the giant ghost king had planned to exterminate them, he wouldn't have waited so long to do it….

As the Cai Clan waited there at the front gate, Naruto, Chen Hai, and the 20,000 soul cultivators arrived like a black cloud, blotting out the sky. As they neared, Chen Hai called out in a loud voice, "Lock down the area. Without express orders from Majordomo Uzumaki, no one is allowed in or out!"

The 20,000 soul cultivators immediately fanned out and surrounded the Cai Clan, locking it down completely. The cultivators of the Cai Clan were all shocked. As for the clan chief, his expression flickered, but he had no choice but to simply grit his teeth, hurry over to Naruto, and clasp hands respectfully.

"Greetings, Majordomo Uzumaki, Heavenly Marquis Chen." Everyone else in the clan similarly clasped hands and offered greetings. Naruto

greetings.

Naruto ignored them, and instead turned and cast a displeased look in Chen Hai's direction.

"Heavenly Marquis Chen, I didn't come here to exterminate the Cai Clan.

Why did you have to go and scare the clan chief?"

"I understand, Majordomo Uzumaki," Chen Hai said seriously, "but your humble servant has his orders!"

Naruto shook his head and walked over to the clan chief, looking a bit apologetic.

"Oh, don't worry," the clan chief said, "Heavenly Marquis Chen has his orders, we understand. Majordomo Uzumaki, please just come in, and we can discuss what needs to be discussed." There was no way the clan chief would miss the fact that Naruto and Chen Hai were obviously working in coordination with each other. However, that realization did him relatively little good.

Naruto didn't immediately enter the Cai Clan. Instead, he cleared his throat loudly, prompting Chen Hai's expression to grow grimmer.

"All Nascent Soul-level officers, step forward to guard Majordomo Uzumaki!" Immediately, a dozen or so soul cultivators flew out from the group of 20,000 and clustered around Naruto.

Naruto still didn't seem pleased, but he finally sighed and then gave a wry smile to the clan chief. "I really have no choice, you know. It's not that I don't trust your Cai Clan. It's just that his highness the king really values me highly."

Feeling more bitter than ever about how things were going, the clan chief replied, "Yes yes yes, of course. Majordomo Uzumaki is extremely important to Giant Ghost City. We definitely can't have any mishaps. I completely understand…."

"Very well, let's go in and talk." Naruto swished his sleeve, reveling in the feeling of being so powerful and important. Of course, the first to actually enter the clan were the Nascent Soul cultivators acting as guards. From the way they carried themselves, if anyone in the Cai

Clan did even the slightest suspicious thing, they would attack immediately for the safety of Naruto.

The cultivators of the Cai Clan were left trembling in fear, especially that one particular chosen, who stood there with his head bowed, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed.

The clan chief was feeling very irritated, but had no choice other than to join the clan elders in clan elders in leading Naruto into the city.

After entering the clan's main hall, Naruto sat down and smiled. "Clan Chief Cai, I'm not here on any official business today. I just heard that the Cai Clan has a thousand years of reserve savings built up, and would like to perform a bit of an inspection."

"I understand, Majordomo Uzumaki. Please wait a moment." The clan chief plastered a smile onto his face, then turned to the side and gave some orders. Before long, another member of the clan came hurrying over, carrying a soul bottle surrounded by scintillating light.

It wasn't very large, and actually resembled an ordinary flower vase. However, based on the light which surrounded it, it was clearly an extraordinary item. Furthermore, there was a single golden design on its surface, indicating that this soul bottle had received an elevenfold spirit enhancement!

After respectfully placing it down in front of Naruto, the clan chief said, "Majordomo Uzumaki, this soul bottle is a powerful magical treasure of the Cai Clan. Please, take a look and tell us what you think."

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he picked the bottle up and looked it over. He even examined it with some divine sense. Not only was the bottle itself incredible, but it also contained over 100,000,000 vengeful souls. It was clearly an impressive gift, and although Naruto was moved, when he thought about how incredibly rich he knew the Cai Clan to be, and then realized they had only offered him 100,000,000 vengeful souls, he immediately got angry.

Face turning grim, and cultivation base surging, he clenched his right hand into a fist, causing cracking sounds to ring out as the soul bottle was suddenly crushed. As it did, the more than 100,000,000 vengeful souls exploded out. Thankfully, there were plenty of Nascent Soul experts around who were able to suppress the resulting horde of souls.

Glaring icily at the clan chief, he said, "Clan Chief Cai, I may not be a grandmaster of equipment forging, but considering how long I've practiced cultivation, do you really take me to be a fool? You truly think you can pull the wool over my eyes with a soul bottle like that?!"

Chapter 677

A+ A- Chapter 677

Chapter 677: Study Away, Majordomo Uzumaki...

Gritting his teeth inwardly, but maintaining a very calm expression, the chief of the Cai Clan rose to his feet and said, "Majordomo Uzumaki, please, calm yourself…."

The clan elders had similar reactions. All of them could tell that Naruto's act of breaking the soul bottle indicated that he was not here out of any expression of goodwill.

Clearly, he wasn't going to wipe out their lives, but he was definitely planning to wipe out their thousand years of reserves!

"That was only the first thing we planned to show you. Just wait a moment, Majordomo Uzumaki, there's more to come." Taking a deep breath, the clan chief then issued some more orders.

Before long, another clan member hurried over with five soul bottles, which were placed in front of Naruto. When Naruto eyed them, his heart immediately began to beat faster.

"A thousand years of reserve savings…." he thought, his mouth going a bit dry. However, he forced a frown onto his face.

The clan chief's heart surged with pain as he realized that if the clan didn't bleed today, they would be put in great danger. Gritting his teeth, he transmitted some more messages, whereupon more clan members arrived, this time to place over a hundred bracelets of holding in front of Naruto!

Unexpectedly, each and every one of the bracelets of holding was packed with soul medicine. There was so much that it would be impossible to count in a short period of time. The mere sight of it all got Naruto's heart pounding, and he suddenly realized what exactly the thousand year reserve savings of an aristocratic necromancer clan was like.

And yet, he continued to frown with just as much displeasure as before.

The scene playing out caused profound bitterness to grip the heart of the clan chief. Although the things he had offered up were not all of the Cai Clan's thousand years of reserve savings, they were a significant portion. However, considering the danger the clan was in, he had to endure the pain he felt in his heart and send more messages. Soon, a steady stream of trembling clan members came, bringing all

sorts of items with them. There were more than a thousand magical items, many of them spirit enhanced. However, after seeing everything, Naruto shot to his feet, looking completely livid as he said, "Clan Chief Cai, I'm here to try to save your Cai Clan from calamity! However, it seems you hold me in complete contempt. Are you really trying to please me with trash like this? Fine. Fine! I'm done with this matter!" Swishing his sleeve, he chuckled coldly and prepared to leave.

The clan chief's expression flickered, and his frustration surged to the point where he almost lost control. He had already offered quite a bit of resources, only to be rebuffed. Furthermore, he had already given everything he had the authority to give. Everything else… was considered the foundation of the clan, and the decision to do anything with them was beyond him.

At this point, the Cai Clan's grand elder took a deep breath and stepped forward, a smile on his face. He knew that it was a critical moment for the clan. Unlike the other two great clans, their patriarch was dead. That meant that if they weren't willing to part with some of their wealth, they would be courting a major disaster. The entire clan could end up getting wiped out.

"Majordomo Uzumaki, please wait a moment. The Cai Clan still has more treasures for you to study…." He turned to look at one of the other clan elders nearby. "Old Third, open the inner storehouse and bring out… everything!"

The elder who had been spoken to sighed, bowed his head, and hurried away.

Naruto stopped walking. Currently, his heart was pounding with anticipation. The truth was that the gifts which had been offered him so far actually left him very moved. Softening his expression a bit, he went back and sat down again.

Before long, a trembling Cai Clan cultivator hurried over with a little pagoda!

It wasn't a soulhoarding pagoda, but rather, a pagoda crafted from wood. Naruto scanned it with divine sense to find that it was filled with multi-colored flame…. It had everything from ten-colored flame all the way up to fifteen-colored flame, six tongues of it!

And

it!

And yet, things weren't over yet. Another clan member brought a bone slip, which contained the Cai Clan's formulas for everything from fifteento seventeen-colored flame. Even as he was accepting the bone slip, another clan member arrived… with a deva soul!

It was a fire-type soul contained in a crystal box, and the sight of it finally caused Naruto's expression to brighten a bit. He even gasped slightly…. The members of the Cai Clan had been watching him closely, and noticed the change. As for the clan chief, his heart was wracked with indescribable pain; as of this moment, more than half of the reserve savings of the clan had been handed over.

Even the Nascent Soul experts who were guarding Naruto were completely stunned by everything that was being spread out in front of him.

As for Chen Hai, he was actually waiting outside, but had he been inside to witness what was happening, he would have been completely stunned.

"Will this do, Majordomo Uzumaki?" the clan chief asked.

Naruto licked his lips. By now, his heart was pounding so hard it was like thunder in his ears. However, he didn't answer the question immediately, nor did he collect the items up. Instead, he just patted his bag of holding expectantly.

The Cai Clan cultivators who had just been sighing with relief were suddenly even more nervous than before.

A very, very long moment passed. Naruto was started to get anxious. One of the reasons he had been so confident going into this situation was that he had sent a message earlier into his bag of holding, to the little turtle, saying that he was hunting for treasure. The little turtle had been immediately intrigued by the prospect.

However, as of yet, he had received no word from the little turtle. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he finally cleared his throat and said, "Clan Chief Cai, back in Giant Ghost City, you chased me for a full day trying to kill me…. It got me so terrified that I couldn't focus on my cultivation."

Naruto sighed.

The clan chief's eyelid twitched, and he looked over at the grand elder sitting next to him. The

him. The grand elder's expression turned even grimmer than before as he gritted his teeth and looked around at the other clan members.

"Give him all of the soul medicine you have. Everyone." The other clan members quickly pulled out the soul medicine they had, as well as other random objects and began to hand them over. As long as they could get Naruto to leave, they would do anything.

It didn't take long before a large heap of soul medicine was right in front of Naruto. Of course, the purpose of the grand elder doing this was to show to Naruto that they really had run out of things to give him.

Naruto was starting to feel a bit embarrassed, but the fact that the little turtle hadn't sent him a message yet indicated that something strange was going on. Perhaps the Cai Clan… was hiding some truly powerful magical treasure. Therefore, he cleared his throat again.

"How very polite of all of you," he said. Sighing, he shook his head and said, "Now that I think about it, I'm a bit embarrassed about the matter of burning up your soulgrounds…. I really do feel guilty about that."

Blue veins were bulging out on the neck and face of the clan chief as he realized how vicious this Uzumaki Hao was…. And yet, there was nothing he could do about the matter.

"Oh, they were some trifling soulgrounds, nothing more," he said. "Don't feel guilty, Majordomo Uzumaki. From now on, our soulgrounds all belong to you. If you want to burn them to the ground, feel free to do so."

The fact that the Cai Clan was actually offering their soulgrounds to him left Naruto at a bit of a loss about what to do next. He was finally thinking that he might need to call it a day, when… the little turtle's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Hey, little punk, Lord Turtle found a big treasure! Heavens! I can't believe the Cai Clan has a powerful magical item like this. Even in the Heavenspan River area, something like this would be considered rare. In the Wildlands, it's even more valuable…." The little turtle

The little turtle went on to provide some further descriptions, whereupon Naruto's eyes began to shine. But then, a moment later, his expression turned grim as he looked over at the grand elder and the clan chief.

When the rest of the clan members saw that, their hearts began to pound.

"Clan Chief Cai, I heard that your Cai Clan… has a spiritjade statue…. I would very much like to take a look at it." An icy gleam ran through his eyes.

Although his words didn't mean much to the ordinary clan members, when the clan chief and the grand elder heard them, their faces fell, and they began to tremble with disbelief.

The spiritjade statue was the Cai Clan's greatest secret, something that, other than the patriarch, only the clan chief and the grand elder knew about. It was a strictly kept secret that they were sure not even a demigod would be able to uncover, let alone Naruto.

And yet, somehow, he had discovered their secret. The only explanation they could think of… was that the giant ghost king actually did know about it. And the only way he could know about it was if he learned about it from their patriarch!

Madness rose in their hearts as they exchanged a glance. The spiritjade statue was of incredible importance to them, and was the true reserve savings of the clan. It was their signature treasure, and was what had helped the Cai Clan cultivators advance in their cultivation more rapidly than the average person!

As of this moment, it didn't matter how defiant they were, they had no choice but to bring it out…. The clan chief felt so completely powerless that he couldn't move. As for the grand elder, he sighed, took a step forward, and vanished. When he reappeared, he waved his sleeve, causing a three-meter-tall statue of a woman to appear in front of Naruto.

The spiritjade statue caused blinding, colorful light to fill the area, as well as incredibly strong spiritual energy. In a barren place like the Wildlands, spiritual energy like that was an assault on the senses!

Everyone was completely shocked, and immediately began to look at the statue with envious expressions.

Chapter 678

A+ A- Chapter 678

Chapter 678: Smuggling Is Useless

All spiritual energy in heaven and earth came from the Heavenspan River basin. Considering how far away they currently were in the Wildlands, there was no spiritual energy at all in the area.

It was this simple fact that forced Wildlanders to change their fundamental nature and resort to soul medicine to practice their cultivation. It was only because of the endless supply of vengeful souls around them that they could do without spiritual power. But nothing was absolute!

There were some things in the world that, at least in small measure, could produce spiritual energy similar to that found in the Heavenspan River basin. This spiritjade statue was just such an item.

Everything within 3,000 meters of it existed in an area of spiritual energy that rivaled that within the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Even Naruto couldn't help but be excited by the statue as he stood there in front of it. His cultivation base was like parched land that suddenly felt sweet rainfall. It was a wonderful feeling that caused his mind to tremble, and his eyes to shine brightly.

"A legitimate treasure!" Naruto could immediately tell that this spiritjade statue… was the true reserve power of the Cai Clan. The deathly grim countenances of the clan chief and the grand elder immediately got him feeling very excited.

"I hit it big this time…." he thought. Waving his sleeve, he collected the spiritjade statue into his bag of holding. As soon as it was inside, the spiritual energy in the area vanished. All sorts of expressions appeared on the faces of the Cai Clan cultivators.

None of them could remain calm. Although they had never been aware that a precious treasure such as the spiritjade statue had existed in their clan, they could immediately see how important it was. Except, that statute didn't belong to the Cai Clan any longer….

And yet, when it came to the survival of their clan as a whole, there was really no question that it was best to part with it….

With that, he turned to gaze at the pile of other items which had built up earlier. Then he sighed and looked at the clan chief.

"Ai, your Cai Clan really is full of treasures," Naruto said. "I really can't study them all in a short period of time."

The clan chief was cursing up a storm in his heart. He could see that, not only was this Uzumaki Hao robbing the Cai Clan dry, but he was also waiting for the Cai Clan to give him their blessing!

Of course, the clan chief didn't dare to point that out. Plastering a smile onto his face that looked worse than the worst grimace, he forced himself to say, "Oh, don't worry, Majordomo Uzumaki. Please take your time studying all of these treasures. Our Cai Clan would be

honored if you would be willing to take them home with you for further study. We don't need them at-"

A broad smile immediately appeared on Naruto's face. Swishing his sleeve, he loudly said, "Well, since you insist, Clan Chief Cai, I won't refuse your gracious offer. I'll definitely take my time judging the quality of all of these items. Men! Take this stuff away!"

The soul cultivators who had accompanied Naruto in as bodyguards exchanged quizzical glances before hurrying forward to collect the items up.

As the clan chief watched all of his clan's reserve savings being taken away, he forced his rage back down into his throat and smiled bitterly.

Laughing heartily, Naruto clasped hands to the clan chief. "Very well then, I'll be off now. No need to see me out!"

Beaming, he then turned and swaggered off.

Of course, although he had explicitly stated that he didn't expect them to see him off, the clan chief sighed and begrudgingly hurried forward to accompany him as he left.

As for the Nascent Soul bodyguards, they clustered around him closely as he left through the main gate. Back outside, Chen Hai was waiting for him, looking like the picture of loyalty. As soon as he caught sight of Naruto safe and sound, he hurried forward, simultaneously glaring coldly at the Cai Clan cultivators. Obviously, he was ready to destroy the entire clan at a single word from Naruto.

Although it all seemed a bit melodramatic, Naruto was very pleased by the performance. At this point, he turned and clasped the clan chief warmly on the shoulder. Smiling, he said, "Clan Chief Cai, you've been far too kind. There's really no need to see me off. If I have time in the future, I'll definitely come back to chat with you a bit."

Feeling more proud of himself than ever, he turned and flew up into the air, followed by Chen Hai and the other soul cultivators. Under the anxious watch of the Cai Clan, the entire group then flew off into the distance.

After they left, the clan chief finally took all the anger that had been building up in him and released it in a maddened howl. The other clan members who had come out with him all stood there silently.

The grand elder sighed and seemed to age visibly. "Just forget about it," he said. "They took our reserve savings, but by capitulating, we avoided being completely wiped out."

Of course, the events which had played out could not be kept secret.

Word spread almost immediately to the other organizations in Giant Ghost City, leading to widespread shock and fear. Furthermore, many people began to look in the direction of the other two great clans.

Clearly, things weren't over yet. The Cai Clan had been viciously cut down a notch, and next… would come the Chen and

and Uzumaki Clans. Perhaps the Chen Clan might get off lightly, but when it came to the Uzumaki Clan….

"I'm afraid the Uzumaki Clan is finished!" That was what most of the in-theknow people in the city were thinking.

Meanwhile, Naruto brimmed with righteousness as he led the 20,000 soul cultivators along toward the Chen Clan. Along the way, his transmission jade slip buzzed several times, prompting him to pull it out and return messages.

When Chen Hai saw that, he considered asking what was going on, but then decided that he needed to be circumspect. "Majordomo Uzumaki, news about the Cai Clan is already spreading. Presumably the Chen Clan will be prepared. Do you think we should pick up the pace?"

"Oh, no, it doesn't matter. I've long since planned things out. In fact, why don't we slow down a bit." Naruto didn't offer any other explanation than that. Taking his transmission jade slip out again, he sent another message, then continued slowly on his way to the Chen Clan.

Of course, the Chen Clan really had made advance preparations. In fact, the Chen Clan patriarch had formed an emergency backup plan before the rebellion even began. Those orders had been followed, and the Chen Clan's valuable resources had already been moved out of the clan by various means and dispersed all over the map to random tribes of savage giants. Many members of the clan had gone along with the goods to keep them safe.

Although those tribes weren't openly connected to the Chen Clan, their loyalty had been earned secretly over the course of many years.

After hearing about what had gone on at the Cai Clan, the members of the Chen Clan were all extremely nervous. In the Chen Clan's ancestral palace, the clan chief was meeting with all the clan elders, and the entire group was grim-faced and anxious.

"Things shouldn't get too bad. After finding out that the patriarch is in custody and not dead, we immediately began to disperse the clan and hide all of our reserve savings…."

"Yes. The clan members who left covered their tracks well, making it impossible to track them down after the fact…. By now, they should all have reached the various savage tribes that were their destinations…."

"Although, don't you think we might be shooting ourselves in the foot…? The fact that the giant ghost king didn't exterminate us shows that he has plans for us. He might just want to weaken us a bit by taking away our reserve savings…. If he finds out we've sent them away…."

It was through gritted teeth that the clan chief responded, "Hmph! Our patriarch is alive and in custody, which puts us in a completely different position than the Cai Clan. We're not going to just sit around and wait to be executed!"

It was the clan chief who had been the staunchest supporter

staunchest supporter of the plan of dispersing the clan's reserve savings. Although he had also questioned the wisdom of the tactic, he had felt there was no other option than to go through with the original plan.

It was even as the clan chief and clan elders discussed the matter nervously that a whistling sound pierced through the air. Faces flickering with various emotions, the group rushed out of the hall and looked up into the sky to see something that looked like a black cloud. It was… an army of 20,000 soul cultivators.

With what seemed like practiced ease, they fanned out to surround the clan, leaving a path through which Naruto swaggered in through the main gate. Next to him was Chen Hai, who bristled with open killing intent as he glared at the Chen Clan cultivators.

Even as Naruto landed and entered the Chen Clan, something else was happening some distance away in the territory controlled by the giant ghost king. At the foot of a mountain which was home to a savage tribe, a small army of a few thousand soul cultivators had gathered, led by Zhou Yixing and Li Feng.

Zhou Yixing held a jade slip in his hand, and had a very cold gleam in his eye as he turned to at Li Feng, who stood next to him.

"Brother Li, the majordomo has given the go-ahead. This task has fallen to the two of us to accomplish."

"The Chen Clan thinks they can smuggle their stores to safety!?" Li Feng said. "Not if I have anything to say about it!" His heart was pounding with grand aspirations. After Naruto's meteoric rise to the position of majordomo, the lives of both Li Feng and Zhou Yixing had changed dramatically. After conferring with each other and realizing how different things were for them, they came to the conclusion that there was no need for infighting. That was especially true considering how big and complicated a place like Giant Ghost City was. Clearly, joining forces was the best way for the both of them to advance by leaps and bounds. As of this moment, Li Feng laughed heartily as he and Zhou Yixing led thousands of their own men toward the savage tribe on their mountain.

Under the command of Zhou Yixing and Li Feng, the soul cultivators began to fight their way into the tribe.

Immediately, the Chen Clan cultivators who had gone into hiding here began to fight back with desperate looks on their faces. After the fighting went on for a bit, a voice suddenly rang out from a tent in the middle of the tribe.

"The Chen Clan treasure is right here!"

Delighted, Zhou Yixing was the first to rush over into the tent. Li Feng, not thinking much about the matter, also hurried over. However, as soon as Li Feng entered the tent, it

the tent, it was to his shock that three people attacked him. And one of them was none other than Zhou Yixing!

Li Feng face fell as he blurted, "Zhou Yixing, you-"

But before he could even do anything, he was hit by a devastating killing blow. His voice was drowned out by Zhou Yixing's battlecry, and within moments, his chest caved in and his heart shattered!

As he lay there dying, his mouth moved as though he wished to talk, and yet, no words came out.

Zhou Yixing squatted down next to him, then leaned over and whispered something into his ear that only the two of them could hear. "I had to kill you. For my future."

Then he slammed his hand down onto the top of Li Feng's head, killing him instantly!

With that, Zhou Yixing looked over at the two soul cultivators who had helped him, and solemnly reinforced his promise of riches and glory to come. They knew they had performed a great service for Zhou Yixing in his efforts to rise in the world, and that from now on, they were his men.

Before long, the Chen Clan cultivators in the savage tribe were defeated, and the reserve treasures rooted out. Similar scenes played out in other savage tribes in the region of Giant Ghost City, and before long, all of the treasures that the Chen Clan had smuggled out of their clan were found.

There was so much treasure that anyone who looked at it was struck mute. However, no one would ever dare to covet that which belonged to Majordomo Uzumaki. In fact, when Zhou Yixing saw it, he didn't even bat an eyelid. He simply directed all of his forces to start heading in the direction of the Chen Clan.

On the way, they happened to pass by the Jungle of Lost Souls, whereupon Zhou Yixing's eyes flashed with cold light, and he came up with a reason to slaughter one of the savage tribes in the area. Coincidentally, the two soul cultivators who had helped him kill Li Feng died in the fighting.

"Finally, there are no holes left! Fudge. I'm not doing this for him, I'm doing it for me!" Zhou Yixing had done everything he could to erase the evidence connecting himself to the labyrinth and the events which had played out there. Of course, all of his actions up to this point had been according to his own plan, not Naruto's. And just as he had said, it was to protect himself.

Although the giant ghost king didn't suspect that Uzumaki Hao was Naruto, Zhou Yixing was privy to too many clues. He had long since come to suspect the truth, and when the matter of Naruto reaching the Nascent Soul stage occurred, he had been completely convinced. Although he could think of some benefits to revealing the truth about hi

Chapter 680

A+ A- Chapter 680

Chapter 680: Humiliation

Chen Hai's fierce glare caused the hearts of the Chen Clan cultivators to tremble. As for the grand elder, he could see that the clan chief was just about to speak, so he puffed his chest out and glared at the man.

"Clan Chief!" he yelled angrily. The clan chief's face fell, and he closed his mouth.

"Majordomo Uzumaki," the grand elder continued, "for their impertinence, those two Chen Clan Juniors definitely deserved to die!

"However, since Majordomo Uzumaki has already confiscated our thousand years of reserve savings... then it means our Chen Clan really has nothing left to give. Majordomo Uzumaki... please leave us with enough to survive." With that, he clasped hands and bowed, looking very solemn and even tragic.

Naruto didn't respond at first. The truth was the that the Chen Clan really had just about nothing left. Although they had tried to kill him in the past, they had obviously learned their lesson by now. However, it was at that point that his gaze came to rest on the face of the clan chief, whose eyes flickered with a burst of venom.

Although the clan chief was trying hard to keep that venom hidden, he couldn't conceal it from Naruto's penetrating gaze. Immediately, Naruto's previous caution hardened a bit, and he made his decision about what to do next. Outwardly, he put on an expression of hesitation, and even embarrassment. Then, he looked over at the female members of the Chen Clan.

Every single one of the female cultivators was beautiful, and as Naruto's gaze swept over them, it didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the people present. The grand elder's jaw dropped; never could he have imagined that this Uzumaki Hao would have such proclivities...

"Well, he is young after all..." the grand elder thought. Immediately, he gave orders for the ashen-faced women to all step forward and line up in front of Naruto.

There were even some female clan members who weren't in that larger group who were sent forward to stand in front of Naruto. In the end, there were several hundred of them, all of them beautiful in different ways.

"Majordomo Uzumaki, you are young and have unlimited potential, a true dragon amongst men. It would really be best for you to have some handmaidens to keep you company. These are all beloved daughters of the clan, any of whom would be blessed to be looked kindly upon by you..." As far as the grand elder was concerned, if this Uzumaki Hao took one of the daughters of the clan with

him, it would actually be a good thing. In fact, the man's heart even began to pound in anticipation.

Naruto cleared his throat. Inwardly, he was cursing the giant ghost king for being such a pervert, and yet, there was nothing he could do but brace himself and do what needed to be done.

Sighing sadly, but having no choice other than to follow orders, he said, "I'm not really interested in these clan daughters of yours. However, I heard that the clan chief is quite lucky with the women. Please bring his wife out for me to take a look at..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Chen Clan cultivators' jaws dropped, and many cries of shock could be heard. The grand elder simply stared at Naruto, completely stunned.

The clan chief could no longer restrain himself.

"This is outrageous, Uzumaki Hao!" he bellowed.

Naruto felt a bit guilty, and muttered a few more inward curses directed at the giant ghost king. However, he couldn't back down now. Off to the side, Chen Hai looked over at Naruto with a strange look that contained a bit of admiration.

Then he stepped forward, slapped the clan chief's face and shouted, "What gall!"

Blood sprayed out of the clan chief's mouth as he staggered backward. At the same time, he looked over at Naruto with burning anger. However, the truth was that inside, he wasn't actually that angry. He had already come to the conclusion that if this Uzumaki Hao wanted to take his wife away, then afterward, he would finally be off the hook.

After all, stealing another man's wife would earn him quite a bit of criticism. If he then went on to kill the husband, that would earn him the full ire of the public, so that seemed like a very unlikely possibility.

Naturally, the ideal thing for the clan chief to do at this point was to get out of the situation alive. In fact, he was already trying to think of a way to not just do that, but also improve his reputation within the clan.

"Alright, if he's going to take my wife, then I have to make it seem like an unacceptable insult that I will only endure for the sake of the clan. That will resolve my issues with the grand elder and get everyone else in the clan to trust me!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, the clan chief bit down on his tongue and then coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. Looking up grimly at Naruto, he radiated

radiated the air of a desperate, injured wild animal, ready to throw away everything to harm his opponent.

Those who saw the look of madness in his eyes were instantly shaken, and as for the Chen Clan cultivators, flames of anger began to burn in their hearts.

Naruto was a bit frightened himself, and almost felt like crying. This whole situation was definitely a big humiliation, but he had to take the unjust blame in the place of the giant ghost king... However... it really was an outrageous situation, and after a moment, he decided that the best thing... would be to go back and have the giant ghost king do the deed himself...

At this point, just when he was about to take it all back, the clan chief could see that he was hesitating, and instantly got nervous. Abandoning his act, he shouted, "Fine. Fine! I'll do it for the clan! Men... bring out my wife!"

The clan chief was trembling with so much anger that he seemed to age visibly. The other members of the clan were so furious that they had forgotten their terror and were glaring with open anger at Naruto. When the clan chief saw that, he chuckled inwardly, and then intentionally swayed back and forth, as if he were about to fall over. He also bowed his head in bitter fashion. Of course, there was a glimmer of satisfaction deep in his eyes.

Naruto stood there with his mouth open, having been unable to speak a single word. He could only sigh at the injustice of it all... Then he thought about how he would surely become the subject of public ridicule, and that people might even curse him as a wife-stealer. He would probably drown in the drops of spittle that would inundate him from all the cursing he would endure. He wanted to cry, and yet, knew that he could not give voice to his lamentation. The only parties who would be privy to the truth other than himself would be heaven, earth, and the giant ghost king. Naruto sighed in distress and simply watched as one of the members of the Chen Clan escorted a woman out.

She appeared to be a bit over thirty, beautiful, with snow-white skin and the elegant charm of a mature woman. However, she seemed terrified, although she was trying to keep herself under control. As soon as she appeared in the open, even Chen Hai couldn't hold back from looking her up and down a few times. All of a sudden, he seemed to understand why Majordomo

why Majordomo Uzumaki wanted this woman.

Naruto was cursing angrily inside. Although she was definitely beautiful, he didn't really care about that, and in fact, was so embarrassed he simply cleared his throat.

"Ahem... sorry about this..." he said to her. With that, he turned and walked away, filled with embarrassment and unable to keep from wailing inwardly at how his name was going to be in ruins from now on.

As for Chen Hai, a strange smile could be seen on his face. Zhou Yixing gulped in a breath, but quickly pulled himself together. Then the two of them exchanged a glance and stepped forward to politely escort Mrs. Chen forward.

Mrs. Chen had already been informed about the situation. Face pale, she looked around at the clan, and then over at her husband, who had a pained look on his face. In her eyes flickered a venomous hatred; she knew her husband well, and although no one else would be able to tell, there was no way she would miss out on the clues that indicated he was putting on an act. Smiling faintly, she didn't hesitate at all to follow Chen Hai and Zhou Yixing out of the clan.

Her seemingly heartless reaction aroused the ire of many in the clan, and many of them swore to never forget the insult.

Before long, the thousands upon thousands of soul cultivators were gone from the Chen Clan. As for the clan chief, he watched everything playing out, and felt very pleased with himself. After all, losing a mere wife to save his life was definitely a price he was willing to pay.

Naruto had a taut expression on his face, and felt profoundly annoyed. It was at this point that Chen Hai hurried over with Mrs. Chen in tow.

"Majordomo Uzumaki, she... she requested an audience, sir." After delivering Mrs. Chen over, Chen Hai quickly hurried away, heart filled with admiration at Naruto's daring act, and at the same time, feeling sorry for the woman.

Naruto turned in surprise to face the exquisitely beautiful Mrs. Chen, and was just about to ask what she wanted when she took the initiative to speak.

"Many thanks, exalted one, for extracting me from a life of complete bitterness. Your humble servant would like to make a request. I sincerely hope that you can fulfil my wish, exalted one!"

Naruto was a bit taken aback, but after seeing how sincere Mrs. Chen seemed, and feeling a bit guilty about the whole situation, he nodded.

"Sure. Just say the word, and as long as it's within my power, I'll do my best." "Exalted do my best."

"Exalted one, I request that you please... kill Chen Shishan!" The words came out of her mouth one word at a time, and afterward, she seemed as if a great weight had been lifted off of her. Of course, Chen Shishan was none other than the chief of the Chen Clan!

"What!?" Naruto blurted, eyes widening as he looked in shock at Mrs. Chen. Things were already turning out very differently than he would have imagined.

"Chen Shishan is narrow and petty-minded. He is also ruthless and violent, and used living children to forge a magical treasure, arousing the wrath of men and gods alike. In fact, in order to gain more perfect control over his treasure, he sacrificed our own children to become the main souls in the item. I was powerless to stop him, and the grief and rage that incident caused has remained cold in the bottom of my heart ever since...

"Exalted one, for you to take me away this day is like a dream come true. I don't hate you. In fact, I'm grateful. Considering your lofty position, exalted one, you have unprecedented power. Furthermore, I can tell that you aren't really very interested in me, nor do you care much about your reputation. You must have your own secret sorrows and goals. As for me, I can guarantee that if you grant my request, that no matter what happens in the future, no matter what position you occupy or where you go, I will always carry out your orders without hesitation!" Although her words were spoken quietly, the wisdom and decisiveness within them carried incredible power. Moved, Naruto looked at her closely.

In Naruto's heart, the matter of the Myriad Children Blood Banner was something that made the clan chief unfit to exist in heaven and earth. Then he heard that the man had sacrificed his own children to make it, which was something that not even wild beasts did. That made the clan chief worse than an animal! After a moment of thought, Naruto turned and sent a message to Chen Hai.

Chen Hai was stunned at the message, and looked deeply at Naruto. Then he turned and left. When he returned... he had the clan chief's head in his hands!

The chief's eyes were filled with disbelief and defiance... even in death, he had no idea why Uzumaki Hao had dared to kill him!

When Mrs. Chen saw the clan chief's head, her heart filled with profound emotions. Struggling to control her breath, she bowed at the waist to Naruto.

Chapter 681

A+ A- Chapter 681

Chapter 681: Kill Them!

As the majordomo of Giant Ghost City, his actions were subject to intense scrutiny. Obviously, his action of taking tens of thousands of soul cultivators out of the city to visit the three great clans with violent intentions had not gone unnoticed.

Because of that, news of what had happened in the Cai Clan was already the talk of the town shortly after it occurred. Obviously, it wasn't even necessary to mention how quickly rumors spread about the Chen Clan….

Almost everyone in the city heard the news, and soon, everyone was talking about the fate of the clan chief.

Faces flickered in shock and disbelief, and soon, the gossip in the city was raging.

"What? He forcibly took Mrs. Chen!?"

"Whooaah! This Uzumaki Hao…. Who knew that he had such proclivities!? He actually took a liking to Chen Shishan's wife. You know, I heard that she's actually a top-rate beauty that has the perfect body for that type of cultivation…."

"You're right… I don't even know what to say…. This Uzumaki Hao is far too brazen. Not only did he steal Chen Shishan's wife, he actually went so far as to kill the man!"

Gossip raged like wildfire. As for some of the more well-informed individuals, they often responded to the shocking news with scornful words and jeering smiles.

As word spread, Uzumaki Hao, in addition to being called vicious and merciless, and a reviler of his own family, was now known as someone who took an interest in the wives of others….

As would be expected, the giant ghost king eventually heard of the matter, and it caused his expression to turn grim. However, the fires of passion burned in his heart, and he turned his gaze in the direction of the Chen Clan, an expression of praise in his heart.

Of course, Naruto provided Mrs. Chen with an escort of cultivators and sent her back to his residence in Giant Ghost City, while he took the remaining tens of thousands of men toward…

the Uzumaki Clan!

As they went along, Chen Hai would often cast admiring glances in Naruto's direction. When he thought about the unexpected proclivities that had been revealed, he suddenly felt like a new world had been opened up to him. He almost couldn't believe it was possible to be so flagrant and brave. And considering that Majordomo Uzumaki was a powerful person, Chen Hai decided that the best thing to do was spend even more time with him than before.

Zhou Yixing prevented any strange expression from appearing on his face, and didn't dare to speak a word about the matter. However, considering that he was a follower of Naruto, he decided that in the future, he would take careful note of any other beautiful wives he saw….

How could Naruto not know what the two of them were thinking? Although he felt more wronged than ever, there was nothing he could do to explain the situation. Sighing with frustration, he kept his gaze fixed on the Uzumaki Clan up ahead, his eyes glittering with cold light.

Many things had happened since he first arrived in this part of the world. Some of those things he had put behind him, but there was one thing that he could never forget: the sight of an ashen-faced young man underneath a towering tree.

"Uzumaki Hao…." he murmured. Whether it was the deva soul or his overall grudge with the clan, all of it was wrapped up in karma. And the entire time, Naruto had hoped to get justice for his apprentice.

Now… that time had come!

Tens of thousands of beams of light shot through the air toward the Uzumaki Clan, radiating a bleak, deadly aura.

As for the Uzumaki Clan, everyone was on edge, and many people were rushing around frantically. However, things were a bit different than in the Chen or Cai Clans. In the Uzumaki Clan, the direct bloodline cultivators all knew that they had a life-or-death grudge with Uzumaki Hao!

However,

Hao!

However, not everyone in the clan was part of the direct bloodline. Those members of the auxiliary bloodlines were nervous, but because they had not really participated in the hunt for Uzumaki Hao, weren't as worried.

Furthermore, during the rebellion, although the auxiliary bloodlines had participated in storming the city, they hadn't been the ones to try to kill Naruto.

The direct bloodline had taken the lead in that, and especially the clan chief. Even the clan elders who had attacked Uzumaki Hao had mostly been from the direct bloodline. Because of that, the divide between the direct bloodline and the auxiliary bloodlines was vast and clear!

In fact, the direct bloodline cultivators were currently surrounded and isolated by the auxiliary bloodlines, who stared at them with icy glares.

The clan chief, Madam Cai, the grand elder from the Hall of Corrections, the direct bloodline elders, and nearly a thousand other clan members all waited with ashen faces and expressions of despair.

It wasn't that they didn't wish to flee. It was that, despite how big heaven and earth was, it wasn't big enough to have a place for them to hide. Besides, their enmity with Uzumaki Hao was well-known. After the giant ghost king returned, and Uzumaki Hao rose to prominence, everyone in the area had been trying to get on Uzumaki Hao's good side. Furthermore, many gazes had been cast in the direction of the Uzumaki Clan.

After becoming the majordomo, Naruto had hinted to many of the powerful organizations in the area that they should pay special attention to the Uzumaki Clan. He had essentially sealed off the entire clan, making it impossible for anyone to leave it without making a wild and open attempt at escape.

Of course, none of the other groups in the area would have permitted that. Especially considering… that the giant ghost king hadn't yet made clear his intentions for the future of the three great clans. If the clan as a whole tried to simply flee,

simply flee, they would definitely have been exterminated.

From the outside, the clan seemed unified, but the truth was that they were in fact dramatically divided. And thus, things had dragged on until the current moment. Most importantly of all… the auxiliary bloodline elders and clan members all knew that they would have to give an explanation to Uzumaki Hao about the situation. If the direct bloodline fled, then it was entirely possible that Uzumaki Hao would vent his anger on them.

Therefore, for their own safety… they had to make sure that the direct bloodline was around when Uzumaki Hao came.

The entire clan was silent. Because of the taciturn attitude of the auxiliary bloodlines, the direct bloodline clan members were trembling, along with many of the servants associated with them. One of them was a young woman who had sneered at Uzumaki Hao the moment he had entered the clan. Another was the old valet who had rebuked him. Everyone who had scorned and humiliated Uzumaki Hao was there.

As time ticked by, their despair and hopelessness grew. That was especially true of the clan chief, whose face was ashen and whose heart was filled with bitterness. During the fight near the moat in the city, the detonation of the demigod soul had destroyed half of his body, and had nearly shattered his cultivation base. Thanks to some of a secret treasure in the Uzumaki Clan's reserve savings, he had recovered. But now, he was simply forced to wait as time passed. Next to him was Madam Cai, her face devoid of blood as she occasionally looked up into the air, her terror interspersed with specks of venomous hatred.

Of everyone present, no one hated Uzumaki Hao more than Madam Cai. At the same time, no one felt more terror and despair than her. Never could she have anticipated that even with all the resources of the Uzumaki Clan that she had put into her efforts, she would fail in the end. And Uzumaki

end. And Uzumaki Hao… would actually turn everything around and rise to the heavens.

As the Uzumaki Clan waited in silence, there was one beautiful young woman in the crowd who had a very complicated expression on her face as she occasionally scanned the skies. She was the fifth young lady. Even she could never have imagined that Uzumaki Hao would one day achieve the things that he had.

Also in the crowd was an old man who was apparently viewed as a leader by the clan elders from the auxiliary bloodlines. He was the grand elder from the Hall of Justice. He wore a wistful expression as he thought back to the scene of Uzumaki Hao betraying the clan. Eventually, he simply closed his eyes.

"What a pity… The true qilin son of the Uzumaki Clan…." Despite being a powerful grand elder, he couldn't go against the orders of the patriarch. The best he had been able to do was not attack Uzumaki Hao during the fighting.

Suddenly, both of the grand elders' expressions flickered. Other clan elders reacted similarly, as did the clan chief. People held their breath as a sound like thunder filled the air, and a black cloud covered the sky, radiating killing intent!

"He's here…." It was impossible to say who said it. The entire Uzumaki Clan waited nervously, looking up into the black cloud of tens of thousands of soul cultivators. Descending from within that cloud was… Naruto!

Every step he took was like a bolt of lightning that slammed into the hearts of the direct bloodline clan members, and left their faces as ashen as death.

The clan chief was trembling, and the venomous rage in Madam Cai's eyes was overshadowed only by the terror she felt….

"I don't like killing people," he said, his growling voice echoing out in all heaven and earth, "but sometimes, I have to do it anyway…. It doesn't matter if I'm doing it for myself or for others… or whether it's right or wrong…. Kill them!"

Chapter 682

A+ A- Chapter 682

Chapter 682: Changes

Naruto pointed in the direction of the Uzumaki Clan, not at the auxiliary bloodline members, but at the encircled direct bloodline!

His action of pointing his finger was like a crash of thunder. He didn't make a speech. He didn't grandstand. He simply pointed.

Chen Hai was at his side like he had been the entire time, and as soon as Naruto pointed out, the man's killing intent soared.

"Carry out the orders of the exalted majordomo!" Chen Hai's voice seemed to contain a rain of carnage as he spoke these words. At the same time, he blurred into motion toward the Uzumaki Clan!

Behind him, tens of thousands of cultivators followed, killing intent raging.

Among them were dozens of Nascent Soul experts, as well as numerous necromancers. It was an entire army of deadly cultivators descending on the Uzumaki Clan!

Fierce fighting broke out instantly, and although everyone in the clan had been prepared for it, it was still unexpected. Blood began to rain down almost immediately.

"Uzumaki Hao! You unfilial bastard!" the clan chief howled, his eyes bloodshot. The clan chief had never expected that things would play out so simply, that no mercy or compassion would be shown at all. After all, this man was Uzumaki Hao's father!

He had originally hoped to try to talk matters out, to admit that he was in the wrong. He had hoped to acknowledge that Uzumaki Hao was a member of the clan, and that for the sake of the clan, they should let bygones be bygones... Of course, from the very beginning, he had also planned to figure out a way to seek revenge later on. But now... all of his plans were pointless.

Naruto did not waste time. He hoisted the blade, and then chopped it down!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Chen Hai and his men attacked. Screams began to rise up, as well as pleas for mercy. Although they

reached Naruto's ears, he simply looked up into the sky, an unreadable expression on his face. Were Li Qinghou here to see him, or his Elder Brother sect leader, they would be shocked. This was a Naruto who was very different from the Naruto of the past.

Although his fundamental personality had not changed, his methods and tactics had most certainly transformed.

The auxiliary bloodline members looked on silently. They didn't interfere, nor did they help the direct bloodline. They simply watched. The fifth young lady, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, and everyone else did the same thing.

Screams rang out from the direct bloodline clan members. The young servant girl who had scorned Naruto was stabbed through the chest with a blade, and died with a look of despair on her face... The old valet also met his end in horror, his eyes blank.

All of the people who had scorned Uzumaki Hao were put to death by Chen Hai and his men. They couldn't even fight back. The direct bloodline elders who had chased after Uzumaki Hao outside the clan or attacked him in Giant Ghost City were overwhelmed by despair. A few of them managed to fight back, but then, stained with blood, howled and tried to flee in various directions.

"Loose arrows!" Chen Hai growled with a cold smile. Countless soul cultivators suddenly drew greatbows out, and within moments, a cloud of arrows pierced through the air. Then, the fleeing clan elders screamed as they were destroyed in body and soul!

Naruto didn't watch. Instead, he looked up into the sky, motionless and expressionless.

The grand elder from the Hall of Corrections died with a bitter smile on his face, cut down by Chen Hai and two other Nascent Soul experts. Soon, the only person left standing was the clan chief.

He looked around at the mountains of corpses, despair filling his face. Then he threw

threw his head back and howled. Throwing all caution to the wind, he transformed into a beam of light that shot directly toward Naruto.

"If I die, I'm taking you with me, you unfilial bastard!" As he shot through the air, numerous Nascent Soul experts moved to intercept him, and soon, fighting broke out in midair.

The clan chief fought with utter ferocity, until he was only about 300 meters away from Naruto. Soaked in blood, eyes filled with madness, he tried to push forward further, but was then set upon by more Nascent Soul experts.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The fighting was fierce, and the clan chief was soon coughing up blood as he glared at Uzumaki Hao, who was standing only 150 meters away. He was trembling, and his life force was almost out. His chest was caved in, and his nascent soul almost destroyed. His eyes were even beginning to fade. He was like a lamp running out of oil, unable to continue fighting, barely able to breathe... And yet, in his madness, he continued to stagger toward Naruto.

Naruto slowly looked down from the sky toward the clan chief.

"Let him come over," he said. The surrounding soul cultivators immediately stayed their hands and stepped back, allowing the clan chief to approach.

Oh so slowly, Naruto buried the image of the dying Uzumaki Hao into the depths of his heart. Then he focused on the trembling, maddened clan chief.

"Do you feel any regret at all?" Naruto asked softly. "Uzumaki Hao... is also your flesh and blood. Your son."

"Yes. I regret letting your mother die so quickly. I should have made her die screaming in pain! And I also regret the day you were born! I should have crushed you to death that instant!" The clan chief truly had descended into madness, and even began to cackle maniacally. However, as he laughed, the light in his eyes slowly began to fade, until

fade, until he simply toppled over onto the ground...

The chief of the Uzumaki Clan was dead!

The members of the auxiliary bloodline stood there quietly, their heads bowed, their hearts filled with complex emotions and deep melancholy.

The public square in the middle of the clan was filled with corpses at the moment. But there was still one person left alive. She was spattered with blood and shaking physically, and yet filled with the vilest of hatred. Deranged laughter rose up as she struggled to her feet.

"Your mother was a slut, you son of a bitch. Get over here. Don't you hate me? Why don't you kill me yourself!? The only thing I regret is that the people I sent to kill you failed in their task!"

She actually should have died earlier, but the Nascent Soul cultivators who took the lead in the slaughter knew that Uzumaki Hao's enmity with Madam Cai was particularly deep. Therefore, they held back, injuring her and leaving her alive for him to deal with.

Naruto ignored the hysterical Madam Cai, and instead turned to look at Chen Hai.

"This Madam Cai didn't just send one assassin. She sent many. Get me their names." With that, he took a step forward and vanished into the air. When he reappeared, he was in an abandoned courtyard residence somewhere in the Uzumaki Clan.

The courtyard was choked with weeds, in the midst of which could be seen numerous children's toys, all of them old and rotting. Also in the courtyard was a well...

Naruto stood there for a long moment before sighing.

"As Uzumaki Hao's Master, I am acting on his behalf to execute vengeance on you, Madam Cai." He waved his hand, and the weeds in the courtyard vanished. The toys turned into dust...

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust...

Having accomplished these things, he left. On his way out of the clan, he looked over at the fifth young lady. Sensing his gaze, she his gaze, she looked up at him, and their eyes met.

"Fifth Elder Sister, why don't you act as the clan chieftess from now on... Grand Elder, please offer her your support..."

With a light sigh, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice looked at Naruto and nodded. Then he turned and clasped hands respectfully toward the fifth young lady. As for the other surrounding members of the auxiliary bloodline, they slowly began to awaken from the nightmare of blood, whereupon they too clasped hands to the fifth young lady.

Of course, Naruto took the Uzumaki Clan's thousand years of reserve savings with him when he returned to Giant Ghost City. Along the way, Chen Hai turned to him and said, "We got the names you asked for. As for Madam Cai... she's dead."

"Heavenly Marquis Chen," Naruto said softly, "might I trouble you to bring the heads of every name on that list to me within three days?" Chen Hai nodded somberly.

By the time they returned to the city, word was already beginning to spread that the direct bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan had been exterminated. Although it was shocking news, it wasn't entirely unexpected. And of course, it further impressed upon people how vicious and merciless Uzumaki Hao was.

The slaughter which had been carried out caused Uzumaki Hao's reputation to grow. A mere look from him would cause people to immediately stop talking. A snort from him was like heavenly thunder that would resound in the hearts of all present.

To the powerful organizations in the city, the lost lives of the Uzumaki Clan's direct bloodline became a clear reminder of what type of person Majordomo Uzumaki was.

He was in the good graces of the king, a powerful official who existed far above everyone else in the realm...

Even devas like Duke Deathcrier felt pressure because of him. After all, nobody had done more for the giant ghost king than him.

Chapter 683

A+ A- Chapter 683

Chapter 683: Are You Stupid, Uzumaki Hao!?

After returning to Giant Ghost City, Naruto took some time get his emotions back under control. He didn't like killing, but after everything that had happened to him during his time as Uzumaki Hao, too much frustration and rage had built up inside of him because of the injustice of it all.

For Uzumaki Hao's sake, he made the Uzumaki Clan pay the price for their past actions. The direct bloodline had been wiped away forever!

After he was calm again, he looked at the pile of dazzling items that he had accumulated, and his eyes began to glitter brightly.

Although he generally wasn't a greedy person, and wasn't overly attracted to worldly possessions, he was currently looking at the type of wealth that most ordinary people wouldn't be able to accumulate even in ten thousand lifetimes. It was enough to get his heart pounding audibly.

Countless vengeful souls... A seemingly endless amounts of soul medicine... A deva soul. Innumerable spirit enhanced magical items. As he examined them all, he gasped constantly.

Most moving of all were the secret treasures that had come from the reserve savings of the three clans.

The Cai Clan had its spiritjade statue, but the Chen and Uzumaki Clans also had similar items. For example, the Chen Clan's secret treasure was a crimson jade bottle, within which was a drop of blood that could supposedly enable any dead soul to recover its memories from its previous life, and become intelligent. Essentially, it could transform a soul into something like a ghost cultivator!

In the wildlands, precious materials like that were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. Originally, the Chen Clan had planned to use that drop of blood on their patriarch, after he reached the demigod level and then ran out of longevity. It would enable that patriarch to live on as a ghost cultivator and protect the clan for endless years. Unfortunately, the Chen Clan patriarch had been incarcerated after the rebellion, rendering such plans useless.

The Uzumaki Clan's reserve savings contained a seven-colored lotus seed pod. Originally it had contained seven lotus seeds, but it

now only had two. Anyone who consumed one of those miraculous seeds would experience a complete recovery from any injuries. In fact, even if one's body were completely shattered, those seeds would return that person to their original state, as if they had been reborn.

The reason why the clan chief and the deva patriarch had been able to recover from their serious injuries so quickly was because of those seeds!

Any one of these three secret treasures would be enough to shake heaven and earth, and went to show how profound the reserve savings of the three great clans were.

"Those three clans were definitely way too rich..." Naruto thought, licking his lips. Next, he picked up a jade slip that contained flame conjuring formulas from all the clans, everything from one- to seventeen-colored flame.

Despite scouring all three of the clans, though, no formula for eighteencolored flame had been recovered. Eventually, Naruto came to be convinced... that the three great clans didn't have such a formula. Actually, among all of the necromancer clans in the entire Wildlands, the formula for eighteen-colored flame was one of the rarest things imaginable.

"Ah, whatever. I'll just have to wait for a future opportunity to find the formula. Or, who knows, maybe Uzumaki Hao's method will eventually produce it." Despite the fact that his pile of treasures didn't contain that formula, he was still very excited overall.

"I really struck a goldmine this time. I don't think I'll be able to get rid of all this stuff if I tried for my entire life..." By this point, he realized that he really enjoyed shaking down rich clans. Compared to shakedowns, cleaning out soulgrounds was a virtually pointless activity.

"If I have a chance in the future, I'll definitely shake down some more clans." He was fully convinced that this was the best route to take. However, moments later, a frown could be seen on his face, and an uneasy feeling rose up in him.

"Wait a second, there are just simply too many valuable treasures here... If I keep them all for myself, people are definitely going to get jealous... And

And the giant ghost king probably wouldn't be happy either..." Hesitating, he eyed the pile of treasure for a bit before making a decision. "Material possessions are nice, but my poor little life is the foundation of everything."

Eyes glittering, he thought back to his time on the Great Wall, and what that one particular city magistrate had done. Gradually, his eyes began to shine. Swishing his sleeve, he began to separate out some of the treasures in the pile. [1]

He finished his work around evening, whereupon he flew up to the royal palace on the giant ghost statue. Upon arriving, he clasped hands and bowed respectfully, then said in a loud voice, "Uzumaki Hao is here to seek an audience with his highness the king."

Silence met his request, so he stood there quietly for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. Then, a solemn voice rang out.

"Come in."

The time spent waiting had been very nerve-wracking, so at this point, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Heart thumping, he mused that the giant ghost king really did love to scheme and plot, and then sighed at the memory of being able to slap the man across the side of the head over and over again.

Unfortunately... that excitement was something he had to bury deep in his heart. Even if he were ten thousand times more daring than he actually was, he would still never dare to do such a thing again.

Settling his thoughts, he put a fawning smile onto his face and then hurried into the grand hall to find the giant ghost king sitting there solemnly on his throne.

"You're back?" the king said coolly. "You certainly made quite the scene."

He looked neither angry nor pleased, and from the words he spoke, it was impossible to say whether he was offering praise or criticism.

Naruto was both confused and nervous. Now that the giant ghost king had his cultivation base back, he was completely terrifying. Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that if he said even one wrong thing, the man would fly into a rage and have him executed. However, he was

he was fairly certain how to deal with this version of the giant ghost king, and plastered a look of such incredible excitement onto his face that it seemed like he must wish to worship him.

"Just as you had predicted, Your Highness, the three great clans were overflowing with wealth. Vengeful souls, soul medicines, magical items, they had too much stuff to count... However, instead of handing them over, they defiantly tried to deceive your humble servant.

"Unfortunately for them, I had come to visit you beforehand, and thanks to your boundless royal grace, was given plenty of inspiration, and thus saw through their little plot. I even managed to get my hands on the secret treasures in their reserve savings!" From the look on his face and the way he worded things, it seemed like he was giving all the credit to the giant ghost king.

No expression could be seen on the giant ghost king's face, but there was the faintest hint of irritation in his eyes. Clearly, he was becoming slightly immune to the powers of Naruto's flattery, although he still enjoyed it to some degree.

"Let's forget about the Chen and Uzumaki Clans for the moment," Naruto continued. "The Cai Clan's secret treasure is just completely shocking. It's a spiritjade statue, three meters tall and mysterious to the ultimate degree. It emits light that can surpass the heavens, and has spiritual energy of the rarest type here in the Wildlands." As he spoke, he continued to look extremely excited, but also took the time to secretly gauge the giant ghost king's reaction.

"As soon as it comes out into the open, the entire area for 3,000 meters in all directions gets filled with incredibly strong spiritual energy. In terms of large-scale use, it could sustain an entire clan, and if used alone, would count as a precious treasure for personal cultivation!" Naruto's facial expression was extremely lively, and he used compelling gestures to emphasize his words. From the way he described it, the spiritjade statue was obviously something completely one-of-akind.

Although the giant ghost king had never seen the spiritjade statue, Naruto's statue, Naruto's description made it sound incredible. "Hm. Yeah, if what you say is true, then that thing really is incredible."

However, despite his words, his face remained completely expressionless.

Naruto had been measuring the giant ghost king up this entire time, and after seeing his current reaction, he decided to take a step forward and lower his voice.

"Your humble servant has already put the spiritjade statue in one of your side courtyards, sir. Feel free to go study it at any time."

At this point, the giant ghost king's eyes widened, and then a broad smile appeared on his face. This was the first time he had ever shown such warmth to Naruto. Clearly, he was very pleased with what Naruto had done, and even looked at him with open praise.

"This little hooligan…" he thought. "Really knows what to say and how to say it. Not only is he skilled, he's generous too... On top of that, he knows how to figure out what people are thinking." As of this moment, the giant ghost king's opinion of Naruto was only continuing to grow higher. However, at this point he suddenly seemed to remember something, and cleared his throat. "Oh right, I heard that the wife of the former clan chief of the Chen Clan is supposedly a peerless beauty, as has a physique perfect for cultivation assistance-"

Before he could finish speaking, Naruto, despite cursing inwardly, gave a knowing chuckle. "Your Highness, I've already delivered Mrs. Chen to your side courtyard. You can go study her any time you wish, sir..."

The giant ghost king immediately slapped his palm down onto the arm of his throne. Eyes widening into a glare, he barked, "How impudent! Mrs. Chen is the wife of a former clan chief, and I am one of the four heavenly kings, a majestic demigod! How could I do such a thing!? If word got out, what do you think it would do to my reputation!? Are you stupid, Uzumaki Hao?! Get Mrs. Chen out of here this instant!"

1\. Back in chapter 530, Naruto learned a "new move" from the magistrate of World City.

Chapter 684

A+ A- Chapter 684

Chapter 684: More Power

The giant ghost king truly seemed angry, and also extremely disappointed by Naruto's failure. From the look on his face, if Naruto didn't get Mrs. Chen out of the royal palace immediately, then he would take action and make sure Naruto understood what it was like to be punished for making a mistake!

Naruto was feeling very wronged, and was inwardly cursing the shameless giant ghost king. However, he simply stood there, giving a level look to the giant ghost king, seemingly unmoved by the anger on display.

"What are you doing just standing there!?" the giant ghost king roared, slapping his hand down onto his throne again.

By now, there was no fawning look on Naruto's face, only a pained expression. Sighing, he said, "Your Highness, don't worry... The only parties privy to this matter are heaven, earth, you, and me. There isn't a third person in the world who knows the truth. Everyone thinks that I, Uzumaki Hao, took a liking to Mrs. Chen, that I'm the one who swept her away and then killed the clan chief...

"Furthermore, no one knows that she is in your side courtyard, sir." He sighed again, looking at the giant ghost king as if to say... enough with the act, nobody's fooling anybody here...

The giant ghost king's eyes went even wider than before, and yet he

was a bit at a loss for words. Originally, he had assumed that Uzumaki Hao would flatter him like he usually did, after which he would eventually pretend to give in. He had never imagined that Naruto would be so direct about the matter...

Furthermore, the way that Naruto put on an air of being wronged caused an embarrassed smile to surface on the giant ghost king's face. The truth was that this Uzumaki Hao really had suffered a blow to his reputation because of the matter, and nobody else in the world knew the truth of the matter...

Inside, the giant ghost king was actually feeling wonderful about the whole matter, and as of this moment, his opinion of Uzumaki Hao only continued to climb. Although he was delighted at how the matter had been handled, he continued to glare in disappointment. Finally, he sighed

helplessly, shook his head and said, "Ah, whatever. Just don't do this kind of thing ever again, alright?!"

Naruto's face twitched, and he continued to cast a level gaze at the giant ghost king, the expression on his face saying... it's only the two of us here, there's no need for the act...

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, after which the giant ghost king started to feel more guilty. Clearing his throat, he said, "The position of majordomo is really just honorary. How about I appoint you as the inspections commissioner of Giant Ghost City? No one will be exempt from investigation, and if you find any indications of rebellion fomenting, you can execute the guilty with impunity!"

The giant ghost king emphasized his last words with the flick of a sleeve, and a very serious expression.

Naruto's eyes sparkled in response. The thought of being the inspections commissioner, a person who could investigate anyone he wanted, was very exciting.

Naruto decided to confirm what he had just heard. "What if people offer resistance?"

The giant ghost king chuckled coldly. Considering everything that had occurred during the rebellion, he actually didn't trust anyone in the city. And that was especially true considering that the nine serenities king had been involved. Therefore, he felt little good will toward anyone. Waving his hand, he summoned a black spear, which he threw over to Naruto.

It was like a black bolt of lightning which shot through the air to appear right in front of him. To his shock, as the spear came to a stop in front of him, thrumming loudly, he realized that it had six golden designs on it!

Mind reeling, and eyes as wide as saucers, he gasped and said, "A sixteenfold spirit enhancement!?"

"I used that spear a lot in my early days," the giant ghost king said. "Take it as a reward. If anyone causes any problems, use that spear to execute them!" The decisiveness in his voice was intense and also somber. As he looked at Naruto, he recalled the fact that he hadn't abandoned him despite all of the dangerous situations they faced, and also thought about how there was a powerful magical treasure and a beautiful woman waiting

waiting for him in his side courtyard.

"The right hand of the giant ghost statue used to be the palace of operations for Duke Netherworld. Let that be your official mansion from now on."

Naruto's chest heaved with pride, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. The giant ghost king had officially promoted him, given him a precious treasure, and also provided him with a palace of operations. All of that showed that he was indeed very pleased... Radiating health and vigor, he clasped hands and loudly said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

Smiling in approval, the giant ghost king offered a few more words of encouragement, then gave a look that indicated that Naruto should take his leave. Naruto knew how to behave himself when necessary, and could tell that the old pervert was getting antsy. Therefore, he put the spear he had been given into his bag of holding, then clasped hands and prepared to leave.

Just when he was about to walk out the door, he stopped and looked back at the king. "Your Highness, you don't happen to have a formula for eighteen-colored flame, do you sir?"

"A formula for eighteen-colored flame? I don't. Only the earthly necromancers have that formula. There are three of them in all of the Wildlands, and they have incredibly high positions. I couldn't take the formula from one of them even if I wanted to." The giant ghost king knew that Uzumaki Hao was a genius when it came to flame conjuring, but what he had just said about the formula for eighteen-colored flame was completely true.

With that, he gave an impatient wave of his hand, and then vanished.

"Old pervert!" Naruto cursed inwardly. With that, he left the royal palace and flew in a beam of light to his old residence. Then, he took some of the treasures he had taken from the three great clans and gave portions to Chen Hai and Zhou Yixing.

He also had them distribute rewards to the tens of thousands of soul cultivators who had helped them deal with the three clans. After all, he had long since come to understand the value of rewarding the efforts of the people who worked for you.

Chen Hai was very happy, and Zhou Yixing was equally

was equally excited. And as the rewards were distributed to the other soul cultivators, their reverence for Naruto grew.

Having accomplished these things, Naruto looked up at the palace of operations on the right hand of the giant ghost statue. For a moment, he hesitated; he had a lot of secrets, and it made him nervous to think about being so close to the giant ghost king himself.

But then he stuck his chin up and proudly murmured, "Ah whatever. It's only a palace of operations. As the majordomo of Giant Ghost City and the inspections commissioner, I can't just have one single residence."

With that, he rubbed his bag of holding, within which were more than ten tongues of fifteen-colored flame!

Those fifteen-colored flames had all been taken from the three great clans!

"Although I can't concoct fifteen-colored flame, with these finished flames in hand to study, perhaps I can reverse engineer my way to success. At the very least, I'll be able to cut a lot of time off of my research! Plus... with a fifteen-colored flame, I can break through from the early Nascent Soul stage into the mid stage!"

That thought got him even more excited. Once he performed another spirit enhancement on his nascent soul, it would definitely cause another huge stir in the Wildlands... As if it weren't bad enough that everyone was searching for him...

"Well, I can't let that fact hold me back from improving my cultivation base. What am I scared of anyway? As the majordomo of Giant Ghost City and the inspections commissioner, I'm the one in charge of looking for Naruto! There's nothing at all to fear! If I can't find Naruto, then who else could?!" After going back and forth for a few more minutes, he headed to a secluded meditation chamber.

Once inside, he set up some spell formations and also utilized the powers of his mask to make sure he was completely safe. Then he took out his turtle-wok, sat down cross-legged, and sent his nascent soul flying out of his body.

Then, a fifteen-colored flame appeared, and golden light flickered!

Far away in Arch-Emperor City, on the Hell-Emperor Stele, Naruto's name was still in 1st place on the list, with the number fourteen next to it. But then, his name then, his name began to shine with dazzling light.

All of Arch-Emperor City was thrown into another commotion as people looked up in shock to see... the number fifteen appear next to Naruto's name!

"Fifteen!? Naruto performed another spirit enhancement on his nascent soul?!"

"Is this guy suicidal or something? He just won't give up on toying with his life! What a psycho!"

"I have the feeling that as long as he doesn't get killed, Naruto is going to end up being the successor of the hell-emperor..."

Quite a few people were making that very prediction... As the city devolved into chaos, Mistress Red-Dust was sitting in meditation in the Giant Ghost Legion. When she found out what was happening, she let out a shrill scream; her hatred for Naruto already ran as deep as the depths of the Yellow Springs.

Of course, the news flew out of Arch-Emperor City as surely as if it had wings, and the search for Naruto grew more frantic.

All of the chosen in the Wildlands were forced to grit their teeth angrily. It was almost as if they had all been slapped across the face. There in the Wildlands, the Hell-Emperor Stele had been overtaken by a cultivator from the Heavenspan River! It was really driving them mad.

"I'm gonna kill this Naruto!"

"You better hope I don't find you, Naruto, otherwise I'll crush your bones into powder and throw it into the wind!" All sorts of curses could be heard throughout the Wildlands.

Although Naruto had no way to know for sure how everyone was reacting, he could guess. His nascent soul's eyes opened, and it flew out of the wok and back into his body. After he carefully inspected it to make sure there were no problems, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmmmphh. Want to kill me? Why don't you try and find me first!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he tested out his cultivation base a bit, and was immediately very excited.

His cultivation base was now as boundless as the sea. He was in the mid Nascent Soul stage, far beyond his previous level. In fact, he suddenly felt the impulse to go find someone half a step into the Deva Realm to fight with!

Chapter 685

A+ A- Chapter 685

Chapter 685: The Ghost King Orchid Blooms

"It's too bad I still don't have a way to cultivate my Undying Bones…." Although he was happy to have improved his cultivation base again, the mere thought of his Undying Bones got him depressed.

Although he had acquired plenty of treasure from the three great clans, he hadn't found any objects that could provide abundant life force. That left him sighing with regret at the fact that he hadn't used his Eternal Parasol on the giant ghost king back when he'd had the chance. That would have at least given him a bit of life force to work with.

"What a pity. Well, time and tide wait for no man…." Sighing, he drove such dangerous thoughts from his mind. After all, if the giant ghost king ever found out he had thought such things, he would probably skin him alive….

"For now, I'll have to forget about my Undying Bones. The most important thing right now is my research into fifteen-colored flame…." Obviously, the best way to keep improving his cultivation base was by working hard with multi-colored flame. Up to now, he had already done plenty of research into fifteen-colored flame, but there were still many aspects of the formula that he didn't understand.

Taking a deep breath, he produced a tongue of fifteen-colored flame from his bag of holding, then began to study it closely. Soon, the glow of augury could be seen in his eyes as he began to analyze it from all angles.

Studying an actual fifteen-colored flame in this way would make him much more proficient in using it, and would be a reference point that would make future work much smoother.

Three days passed by in a flash. Naruto remained immersed in researching fifteen-colored flame, and on numerous occasions, his eyes flickered with delight and anticipation. Although three days was a short time, because of his augury method, he actually made significant progress.

Eventually, he sent the flame spreading out to look at it in a different state, and then even went so far as to intentionally destroy it. When all of the fifteen different types of flame appeared, he compared the familiar fourteen colors with the unfamiliar fifteenth. Based on what he already

knew, that gave him significant further enlightenment.

When evening fell on the third day, he took a deep breath and looked at the destroyed fifteen-colored flame for a long moment, then closed his eyes. After an hour passed, his eyes opened, and they glowed brightly. He quickly pulled out another fifteen-colored flame to continue studying, when all of a sudden, he turned his attention outside of the secluded meditation chamber.

"Three days have passed…." he murmured. With that, he emerged out in the open and waited in the courtyard, looking up into the sky. Before long, a beam of light appeared, within which was Chen Hai.

"Uzumaki, my boy!" he said, laughing heartily. After landing in front of Naruto, he clasped hands and bowed, a broad smile on his face.

"Chen, old pal!" Naruto said, stepping forward to pull him up from his bow.

"Uzumaki, my boy, the mission was accomplished smoothly! All of the things you asked me to get for you are right here." With that, he produced a bag of holding, which he handed out to Naruto.

Naruto looked at it, and was already starting to pant. Eyes flashing with cold light, he clasped hands to Chen Hai, took the bag, and then chatted for a few more minutes. Eventually, Chen Hai left.

At that point, Naruto went back into his secluded meditation chamber and sat down cross-legged. Inside of the bag of holding were nine human heads!

They were the nine assassins that Madam Cai had identified when being interrogated. None of them were from the Uzumaki Clan; they had all been employed directly by Madam Cai. Regardless of their identity or standing, they were now nothing more than bodiless heads.

All of a sudden, Naruto found himself thinking of that moment when he had first arrived in the Wildlands, and had actually glimpsed Uzumaki Hao in the flesh, still alive. A moment passed, and he waved his hand, transforming the nine severed heads into nothing more than ash.

"Uzumaki Hao, my apprentice," he said softly, "I have avenged your death. Even though I'm still using your identity, I think that your spirit can now rest in peace." At this point, he finally let out a long sigh. The direct bloodline had

had been put to death, and all of the killers were now nothing more than ash. As of this point, all of the karma was completely and utterly resolved.

Naruto took a bit of time to calm himself again, then pulled out another tongue of fifteen-colored flame and began to perform auguries.

More time passed. An entire month flew by, during which time Naruto immersed himself in his study and auguries regarding fifteencolored flame. He never came out of secluded meditation, and yet, his fame continued to grow in Giant Ghost City. The talk about the things which had occurred with the three great clans was beginning to die down a bit, but the reverence people felt toward Naruto only grew.

And then there was the announcement that the giant ghost king had appointed Uzumaki Hao to be the inspections commissioner, and had even gifted him with a treasured spear and an official palace of operations, and his name grew even more powerful and famous.

As Naruto grew more powerful and respected, the various groups and organizations within the city began to quiet down. The crisis period for Giant Ghost City had passed, and things were really starting to get back to normal.

However, no one could ever have anticipated that, just when Giant Ghost City was getting back to normal, one afternoon, a very shocking incident occurred 500,000 kilometers away!

It was a vast, 50,000-kilometer area covered with dense fog, a muddy marsh that wasn't even inhabited by wild animals. Because of the lack of any sort of living beings, it was a location of death and lifelessness.

The fog never lifted from the area no matter the time of year, which made it very difficult for anyone to see in. Because of the intense aura of death, and the vile miasma that was dangerous even to Nascent Soul cultivators, few people ever entered the place for long. If they did, they would surely die.

It had long since become a forbidden region that no one entered. Any soul cultivator who found the place in their way would always skirt around it.

However, any almighty being who could look down on the place from above would notice that there was actually a structure within the swirling fog!

It

swirling fog!

It looked like a gigantic tea kettle…. [1]

The area around the tea kettle swarmed with souls. However, they were different than the vengeful souls usually seen in the Wildlands. Their eyes were bright red, and they seemed particularly violent. They even had horns sticking out of their foreheads, making them look like evil ghosts!

However, the violent, evil ghosts only existed directly around the tea kettle, and didn't fly out into the fog beyond. Apparently, unless they were provoked, they wouldn't actually cause harm.

This location was one of the arcane pocket realms belonging to the imperial clan. It was the Necromancer Kettle!

No investigation or research had ever confirmed the origin of the Necromancer Kettle, or the reason why it bore the semblance of a tea kettle. The only thing that was known was that the good fortune inside of it belonged exclusively to the imperial clan. The fog around the kettle formed a year-round seal that was only opened on occasion. However, on this day, the entire Necromancer Kettle began to tremble unexpectedly, and the lands around it started quaking violently.

Thunderous rumbles filled the air, and the fog began to seethe and slowly rise off of the ground. At that point, high in the sky above the Necromancer Kettle, a bizarre, black flower appeared!

The black flower had five petals, each of which resembled the face of a ghost. As the flower bloomed, the fog swirled around it and also turned into the shape of a ghost face. It was a very shocking sight to behold.

The first person to notice the sudden change was none other than the giant ghost king in Giant Ghost City. Moments before, he had been sitting in his royal palace listening to Duke Deathcrier report on some matters relating to Nine Serenities City. His eyes had been flickering with cold light, and he had been about to ask a question when, all of a sudden, his face fell, and he looked off into the distance.

"The Ghost King Orchid!" he said, his aura fluctuating wildly. Duke Deathcrier's eyes went wide as the giant ghost king suddenly vanished, to appear high in the sky above the city. There, he began to move as quickly as a lightning bolt, to appear in the area

in the area near the Necromancer Kettle. When he saw the black flower floating in the sky, his eyes began to shine brightly. He cast a glance at the Necromancer Kettle, and then turned and vanished again, to reappear back in his royal palace. After dismissing Duke Deathcrier, he closed his eyes thoughtfully for a long moment, then turned to look in the direction of Arch-Emperor City.

It was in that very city, far, far away from Giant Ghost City, that, in a certain grand hall in the imperial palace, eight ancient and crumbling bones had been enshrined. Suddenly, one of those crumbling pieces of bone began to belch out black mist, which quickly took the shape of a flower identical to the one above the Necromancer Kettle!

Several old cultivators who acted as guards outside of that particular hall had sensed the change, and rushed inside. When they saw the black flower coming out of the crumbling bone, they were shocked to the core.

"The Ghost King Orchid is blooming!"

After exchanging glances, the old men took out jade slips to notify the grand heavenmaster.

The grand heavenmaster was currently in Arch-Emperor City's Heavenmaster Hall. When he got the news, he opened his eyes and looked off into the distance toward the Necromancer Kettle. "The Necromancer Kettle is active, and the Ghost King Orchid is blooming! One of the eight arcane pocket realms has opened. That flower is of particular importance to the giant ghost king…."

Suddenly, he heard a voice from outside.

"Heavenmaster, Goddess Red-Dust is here requesting an audience."

The grand heavenmaster's eyes flickered, and then he said, "Send her away. Make an announcement that the Ghost King Orchid will be available to whoever destiny sees fit."

After the grand heavenmaster's announcement, news about the blooming of the Ghost King Orchid quickly spread through Arch-Emperor City. Meanwhile, back in Giant Ghost City, Naruto had just gone through his sixth fifteen-colored flame. However, his level of control was improving, and it was at this point that he excitedly took out a soulhoarding pagoda. Moments later, a vast horde of vengeful souls flew out into the open, and Naruto began to work on conjuring a fifteen-colored flame.

1\. This tea kettle is obviously a Chinese-style kettle, which would look something like this

Chapter 686

A+ A- Chapter 686

Chapter 686: He Wants To See Me Again?

Due to his augury and reverse-engineering methods, Naruto was very confident regarding the formula for fifteen-colored flame. However, it was still a very difficult thing that would require a lot of work.

Thankfully, he had plenty of vengeful souls to work with. He made one attempt after another, and failed at every one, but at the same time, learned from every one. After identifying the reasons for failure and then resolving them, he made constant progress. Time passed, and he became more and more proficient in flame conjuring.

"Ten more times! That's all I need to succeed!" Even as he pulled out more vengeful souls to work with, the blooming of the Ghost King Orchid was causing a huge stir in Arch-Emperor City.

"The Ghost King Orchid is blooming! Supposedly, the first generation arch-emperor personally planted that Ghost King Orchid in the Necromancer Kettle. If you eat the fruit of that flower, you can heal a damaged divine soul and purify your body, removing any defilements!"

"There's another thing it can do. It can perfectly reset your cultivation base, allowing you to completely replace all of the techniques you use with other ones!"

"I also heard that the fruit of the Ghost King Orchid can bring dead souls back to life!"

In the briefest moment, Arch-Emperor City began to buzz with all sorts of talk. The important nobility and influential people within the city were all buzzing with excitement. Although the Ghost King Orchid was of vital importance to the giant ghost king, it could also be very beneficial to others. Virtually all of the luxurious mansions in the city were astir, and yet, nobody was actually taking action. After all, the Necromancer Kettle belonged to the imperial clan, and although the announcement had been made that the flower would go to whoever destiny saw fit, the specific rules governing the competition had not yet been made public.

However, that quickly changed as an imperial decree came down!

The Necromancer Kettle, one of the eight arcane pocket realms belonging to the imperial clan, is now open. In accord with the will of the grand heavenmaster, no one above or below the Nascent Soul stage may enter. Only Nascent Soul cultivators may go in and seek the good fortune therein!

From members of the imperial clan down to the families of the aristocracy, any group may dispatch a single person to enter the pocket realm!

As soon as the decree went out, all of the influential groups in the city began to analyze the deeper meaning behind it. Soon, eyes were

cast in the direction of Giant Ghost City.

Clearly, the decree had not really been put out by the arch-emperor, but rather, by the grand heavenmaster. Nowadays in Arch-Emperor City, the words of the grand heavenmaster were taken more seriously than the arch-emperor's.

However, the reaction from the influential groups in the city was muted, as if they were waiting for something.

Eventually, news about the decree reached the ears of the tall, muscular nine serenities king. He stood there in his royal palace in Nine Serenities City, a huge battle-axe propped up next to him, looking at a jade slip. Slowly, a smile spread out across his face.

"You really want that Ghost King Orchid, don't you King Giant Ghost? Well, I'll make sure you don't get your wish!" He and the giant ghost king had been at odds with each other for many years, during which time he had never been presented with the opportunity to personally do anything about the situation. However, during the giant ghost king's decay period, he had absolutely taken the initiative to strike a blow along with the three great clans' rebellion.

A cold smile appeared on the nine serenities king's face as he said, "Tell Prince Zhou Hong to come see me immediately!"

Next, a bone slip appeared in his hand as he transmitted messages to other influential groups and clans in Nine Serenities City, giving them various instructions.

On top of a towering mountain in War Champion City, a middle-aged man stood there, clad in a green robe, his hands clasped behind his back. He was not burly like the nine serenities king, but he still seemed like a paramount figure in heaven and earth, radiating pressure which weighed down on all creation.

That man was none other than the war champion king.

"Interesting. The Ghost King Orchid has already bloomed four times. In the past, it was always one of the giant ghost kings who got the flower. The flower is obviously very important to the current giant ghost king. If he gets this one, he'll be able to complete the five elements structure, and his technique will be even more deadly. From that point on, he would never again have a decay period!

"That means that whoever gets the flower this time will be able to get the most valuable treasures imaginable from the giant ghost king in trade…." Eyes narrowing, the war champion king thought of a particular medicinal pill bottle that the giant ghost king owned, which could refine all types of high-level medicines.

After another moment of thought, the war champion king smiled faintly and said, "Yi'er, come

come see me immediately!"

The nine serenities king and the war champion king both had their various thoughts about the matter. Meanwhile in Spirit Advent City, the last of the four heavenly kings, the spirit advent king, was also moved. He was an extremely fat man, a mountain of flesh who was even more exaggeratedly fat than Big Fatty Zhang had been all those years ago.

Of course, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone in the Wildlands who would tease him about his weight. As he sat there in his royal palace, surrounded by handmaidens, a glass of alcohol in hand, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"The giant ghost king is sure going to have it rough this time. I bet everyone is going to do their best to screw him over. Well, how could I possibly ignore this chance to profit from his misfortune?"

Laughing heartily, he turned his head and bellowed, "Shanshan, my lovely daughter, aren't you always looking for people to pick fights with?

Well I'm going to give you a chance to do just that. Go to the

Necromancer Kettle and fight with whoever you feel like. Get the fruit of the Ghost King Orchid, and bring it back for me!"

In an auxiliary courtyard deep in Spirit Advent City, an intense rumbling sound could be heard as a valiant and formidable young woman appeared….

The actions of these three heavenly kings were like a wind vane that indicated what all of the other powers in Arch-Emperor City would do. It was almost like a chain reaction.

Before long, numerous voices could be heard within the headquarters of the influential groups and clans.

"One person per group? That means only one person from Giant Ghost City will be be there. I guess we could risk offending the giant ghost king, but getting involved in a fight between the four of the heavenly kings wouldn't be worth it. The Zhou Clan will not be participating!"

"The giant ghost king might be a demigod, but considering our Li Clan's good relationship with the nine serenities king, we have no choice but to participate. Fine, send the Li Clan's qilin son into the Necromancer Kettle to earn a name for himself!"

"It's been a long time since a competition has come along that virtually all of the clans can participate in. This is a perfect chance for the Nascent Soul Juniors to rise to prominence! We might end up offending the giant ghost king, but with the war champion king participating as well, we shouldn't have anything

have anything to fear!"

Scenes such as this played out in numerous locations in the Wildlands. Of course, Duke Deathcrier had eyes and ears in many places, and soon got word. Looking very grim-faced, he headed toward the royal palace.

After he left, a roar of rage could be heard from within the royal palace. The giant ghost king leapt off of his royal throne, his eyes shining as cold as ice. The truth was that he didn't really need to get any secret reports from Duke Deathcrier; he had long since guessed that this instance of the blooming of the Ghost King Orchid would cause a huge stir.

After his decay period ended and he returned to Giant Ghost City, he had been thinking constantly about the Necromancer Kettle. Even his rough calculations had led him to the conclusion that the Ghost King Orchid would soon be blooming for the fifth time.

As a result, he had given orders to Duke Deathcrier to keep an eye on the other heavenly kings, and had also opened up talks with the grand heavenmaster, hoping to get him to agree to give Giant Ghost City exclusive entrance rights.

Clearly, the grand heavenmaster had refused that request. Not even the giant ghost king's offer to owe him a huge favor had changed his mind. Although it was not a huge blow to him, it still made him angry. And yet, there was nothing he could do about the situation. The grand heavenmaster held sway over the emperor and the nobility, and was definitely a person to be feared.

"Everybody knows how important the Ghost King Orchid is to me. Do those three bastards really think they can steal what's mine?! Furthermore, they're trying to weaken me by preventing the organizations I'm on good terms with in Giant Ghost City from participating!

"Hmph! The three other kings ganging up on me is of secondary importance. The grand heavenmaster's attitude is the most important thing…." The giant ghost king gritted his teeth at the fact that the grand heavenmaster had specifically issued orders preventing demigods and devas from entering the Necromancer Kettle.

"Do they really think that I wouldn't be ready for something like this though?!" With a cold snort, he thought about a certain person, and then suddenly smiled. "I need to teach that little hooligan a lesson anyway. My head is not to be smacked around casually!"

Having reached this point in his train of thought, the giant ghost king issued a royal decree.

"Summon Uzumaki Hao to see me. Immediately!"

As the orders went out, Naruto was in his secluded meditation chamber, working

meditation chamber, working on conjuring a fifteen-colored flame. He had failed more than ten times, but his eyes shone with stubborn determination. He was currently focused completely on the fire in his hand, and on feeding it the surrounding vengeful souls.

He didn't dare to relax for even a moment. As the vengeful souls poured into the fire, his eyes turned completely bloodshot. Fire spread out, and then it began to converge back together onto his palm, whereupon he closed his fingers into a fist.

Taking an excited breath, he opened his fingers to reveal a tongue of flame right there in the middle of his hand. He immediately began to laugh delightedly.

"It finally worked!"

It was none other than fifteen-colored flame!

This fifteen-colored flame indicated that Naruto was no longer a terrestrial necromancer, but had reached the celestial rank!

There were less than a hundred celestial necromancers in all of the Wildlands, making them very rare. But now, thanks to his constant research and augury, Naruto had risen to that very rank!

Even as he reveled in his pride, he heard a voice outside of his secluded meditation facilities.

"Majordomo, his highness the king has summoned you, posthaste!"

Naruto's eyes went wide as he wondered why the king might have summoned him, especially right when he had already been planning on coming out of secluded meditation….

"This seems weird. He couldn't see me in here, could he?!" Feeling very nervous, he looked around, and then put away his fifteen-colored flame.

After emerging from his secluded meditation facilities, he saw that there were two city guards waiting, who immediately greeted him with clasped hands.

"What does his highness the king want to see me for?" he asked casually.

The two guards hesitated, but knew that Naruto was a person they could not afford to offend. Lowering their voices, they quickly explained what they knew about the Ghost King Orchid, and their guesses about how it involved him.

As soon as Naruto heard the news, his heart trembled with fear.

"All of the Nascent Soul chosen in the wildlands are going?" he thought.

"Sounds way too dangerous!"

Having reached this point in his train of thought, his expression suddenly flickered, and he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. Staggering backward, he wailed, "I just had a setback with my cultivation base! Report back to his highness the king that I have to go back into secluded meditation to make some adjustments…."

With that, he rushed back into his secluded meditation facilities and slammed the door behind him.

The two city guard were left flabbergasted by this unexpected turn of events….

Chapter 687

A+ A- Chapter 687

Chapter 687: Dont Worry, Your Highness!

The giant ghost king's divine sense wasn't so powerful that it could maintain daily scrutiny of all of Giant Ghost City. That was even less the case considering how wrapped up he was in his current plans. In fact, after issuing the summons to Naruto, he had already started to completely change his overall plan.

The fruit of the Ghost King Orchid was too important to him. None of the previous giant ghost kings had ever reached his current level of progress. He had accumulated four of the fruits so far, and only needed one more to make a complete set of the five elements. With that full set, he would be able to remove the weakness in the technique he cultivated.

Therefore, he was unwilling to accept the possibility of any mishaps. He needed to guarantee with one hundred percent certainty that he would get that ghost king fruit. After all, if someone else got it, he would then be in the passive position, and it was impossible to say what unexpected things would result.

The optimal outcome would be for him to acquire the fruit by his own means.

The giant ghost king was in the middle of contemplating all of these matters when the two guards returned with the unexpected news that Naruto had gone into a protracted, half-year-long session of secluded meditation….

The giant ghost king's eyes went wide, and his anger immediately began to burn. Shooting to his feet, he vanished, to reappear right outside of Naruto's auxiliary courtyard. Completely disregarding the spell formation that protected Naruto's secluded meditation facilities, he stepped forward to appear inside.

The instant he appeared, he saw Naruto, his face ashen and eyes cloudy, pushing down onto his chest as he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood…. Although he seemed surprised to find someone else in his secluded meditation chamber, he managed to struggle to his feet, whereupon he clasped hands and bowed.

"Humble greetings, Your Highness."

The giant ghost king was a bit shocked by how much blood Naruto had just coughed up, and at how weak he looked. After scanning him with some divine sense, he could sense instabilities in his cultivation base, whereupon his face darkened.

"How did this happen?" he asked with a growl.

"Your Highness…." Naruto smiled bitterly and shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the blood from his lips, lowered his voice, and continued, "Your humble servant went through hell and high water for you. Unfortunately, my cultivation base wasn't powerful enough, and in my overhasty push into the early Nascent Soul stage, I made some mistakes…."

Although his voice quavered weekly, his eyes shone with the determination to keep speaking.

"But don't worry, Your Highness, all I need is half a year, and I'll be back to normal!" Seemingly summoning

the effort, he slapped his chest to emphasize his words, looking like the type of person who wouldn't hesitate to die for his sovereign. At the same time, he was secretly sizing up the giant ghost king, and vowing that he wouldn't go into any dangerous areas no matter what happened. Giant Ghost City was definitely the safest place to be….

The giant ghost king's expression flickered as he pondered the situation. After looking Naruto up and down, he finally decided that everything was just too coincidental. How could it be that, right when the Ghost King Orchid bloomed, causing a huge stir among all the chosen in the land, that Uzumaki Hao's cultivation base would suddenly have a problem? However, now was not the time to go picking apart Naruto's words. Waving his hand, he summoned a medicinal pill.

It was pure white, and shone with dazzling light. Inside of it could be seen the image of a dragon, and it emanated a shocking medicinal aroma. As soon as Naruto saw it, his eyes went wide, and he even gasped. This was the first time he had ever seen a medicinal pill in the Wildlands.

As an grandmaster apothecary , he could instantly tell that this was some sort of holy medicine designed to heal injuries. In fact, it appeared to surpass the Godly Vestige Pills he had used in the past. It was completely unprecedented!

A medicinal pill like this could be considered rare even in the Heavenspan River region, let alone in the Wildlands, where medicinal pills virtually didn't exist. Clearly, it was a treasured item to the giant ghost king.

"This pill's name is Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pill. You can only eat nine in your lifetime, and the reason that my decay period was so short was because I consumed nine at once. Anyone else who consumes it under normal circumstances will experience a full recovery from all injuries in only one breath of time.

"Take a minute to think. Even if you're seriously injured, you're going on this mission, whether you want to or not. If you refuse to take the pill, and fail in the mission, I won't cause any problems for you. But if you do consume it, then you definitely must succeed in the mission!" The giant ghost king spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, then looked at Naruto with glittering eyes as he flicked his finger and sent the medicinal pill flying toward Naruto's mouth.

Naruto shivered in fear, but still managed to reach out and snatch the pill out of the air. Scowling on the verge of tears, he looked back at the king, cursing inwardly, but knowing he had no choice in the matter.

Considering how decisively the giant ghost king was acting, Naruto could tell that it was

was just as the man had said: he would be going on this mission whether he wanted to or not….

Although he felt very wronged about the whole thing, he didn't let that show on his face. In fact, it was at this point that some cracking sounds suddenly rang out from inside of him, and his previously unstable cultivation base suddenly returned to normal.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I'll definitely accomplish the mission!" he said loudly.

"You've recovered?" the giant ghost king asked, his eyes narrowing as he smiled.

"Eee? You said it even before I noticed it, Your Highness! Wow, this is great! My cultivation base breakthrough came because I had an audience with you, and now I've recovered for the same reason! Both of these developments occurred because of meeting with you face-to-face! Your Highness, your might surpasses all creation, like a dragon flying to the highest heavens. A mere glance from you is like consuming a holy medicine of healing!" All of Naruto's flattery was delivered without the slightest blush, and was spoken with utmost sincerity.

The giant ghost king sighed, well aware of what Naruto was doing. Not concerned about how crafty Naruto was trying to be, the giant ghost king's expression turned somber as he went on to give some more information about what was to come.

Naruto listened with rapt attention, and afterward, actually breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he knew that, considering how incredible he was, he could crush anyone who tried to make a move against him.

The more he listened though, the wider his eyes went, and the more his heart began to pound at the fact that virtually everyone was teaming up against the giant ghost king.

"We're talking about multiple heirs apparent to heavenly kings, plus chosen from the nobility and aristocracy in Arch-Emperor City! Although not all of them reached the Nascent Soul stage with deva beast souls, there are bound to be a few…. Plus, they're all going to be working together against me…." Soon his scowl returned. All of the cultivators who would be going to this trial by fire were powerful chosen. Even though Naruto knew himself to be incredible, even a tiger couldn't fight a pack of ravenous wolves. The slightest misstep on his part, and his poor little life would be in danger….

"Dammit, how come only Nascent Soul cultivators can go!? It would be much better if most of the people were in the Core Formation stage…." Although he wished to cry, no tears would come. The truth was that even if he were stronger than he was, he still wouldn't be confident. However, considering the stubborn look on the face of the giant ghost king, he knew that there was nothing he could do other than nod in agreement.

The giant ghost king could sense Uzumaki

sense Naruto's pensiveness, so after a moment, he sighed and said, "However, don't feel too much pressure. With my trusty spear, and some Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills, you should be very safe. Furthermore, I will make other arrangements to make sure that everything goes smoothly in the Necromancer Kettle."

However, not even such assurances wiped the scowl off of Uzumaki

Naruto's face. At this point, the giant ghost king lowered his voice and said, "Don't forget about that restrictive spell that connects the two of us. Do you really think I would send you somewhere to get killed?"

Upon hearing that, Naruto's mood brightened a bit. The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that anyone would try to cause problems for him. Besides, based on what the giant ghost king had just said, it seemed there would be people on the inside who would help him if he needed it.

After offering a few more words of instruction, the giant ghost king handed Naruto a medicinal pill bottle, within which were eight Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills! Including the one he had given him moments ago, that made a total of nine!

After seeing all of those pills, Naruto felt even more confident than before.

With that, the giant ghost king left, simultaneously passing orders to Duke Deathcrier to accompany Naruto on a giant ghost battleship to the Necromancer Kettle.

The giant ghost battleship was an enormous black airship that pierced through the sky with incredible speed. It had a giant ghost statue on it that radiated black light, as well as a fearsome aura.

Naruto was currently standing on the deck of the battleship, sighing listlessly. Next to him was Duke Deathcrier, who was looking at him with a bemused expression. Chuckling, Duke Deathcrier said, "What's with the furrowed brow, Majordomo Uzumaki? You didn't frown like that even when three devas were chasing you down."

"What a load of crap…." Naruto thought inwardly. Back when the three devas had been chasing him, he had plenty of secret weapons to call upon. He'd known that the giant ghost king would recover within days, and had thus been willing to take a big risk. The current situation was nothing like that.

However, he also realized that now was not the time to be weak or scared. Standing up straighter than before, he smacked himself loudly on the chest and said, "You're seeing things, Duke Deathcrier. I wasn't frowning, I was thinking! And this is no furrowed brow, it's an expression of killing intent!"

Duke Deathcrier's expression turned even more quizzical, but he didn't say anything further.

The two of them didn't speak much during the rest of the trip. Eventually, Naruto realized that there was a huge group of vengeful souls moving along on the ground beneath them. When Duke Deathcrier noticed what he was looking at, he

looking at, he offered a brief explanation. "Whenever the Necromancer Kettle is opened, it attracts lots of vengeful souls. They instinctively try to get into the place…."

Shocked, Naruto realized even more than before that this Necromancer Kettle was clearly an extraordinary place, and also a dangerous one. Another two hours passed, and by now, the battleship was in the actual region of the huge kettle.

It was evening, and the previously clear sky was now choked with clouds. Furthermore, it was possible to see the shocking Ghost King Orchid off in the distance!

Countless vengeful souls swirled around in the area of the Ghost King Orchid, filling the sky and land alike, creating a screaming vortex that no one would dare to get close to.

Naruto had actually arrived early, and there was no one else in the area. He was the first.

However, that gave him plenty of time to study the surrounding area.

Before long, he could see an enormous kettle beneath the Ghost King Orchid!

It was pitch black, and seemed profoundly ancient. Furthermore, it was the black mist pouring out of the kettle itself that created the enormous, misty Ghost King Orchid up above.

This was the Necromancer Kettle!

Naruto gasped, and his heart trembled. Even with a single glance, he could tell that this kettle was some type of magical item….

"There is another heaven and earth inside of the Necromancer Kettle," Duke Deathcrier explained. "Its origin is a mystery, but according to some legends, it came from beyond the heavens. Other stories say that it was a treasured item belonging to the first generation arch-emperor. At this point in time, it's really impossible to determine the truth. As for the Ghost King Orchid, it actually grows in a basin in the very middle of the world of the kettle.

"It's very large inside, but all you have to do is fly to the very center of the place, and you'll find that basin…. Incidentally, according to all of the records we have, it will actually take some time after the mist flower forms for the true form of the Ghost King Orchid to mature.

"All you have to do is get your hands on its fruit, and then after you get out, I'll safeguard you. If anyone dares to attack you or steal the fruit from you at that time, his highness the king will personally come to handle the situation.

"Inside of the kettle, you'll be on your own." Duke Deathcrier then went on to offer some more warnings and exhortations.

Naruto was feeling more nervous than ever, but kept telling himself that everything would be alright.

A bit later, beams of light became visible off in the distance, some coming from the direction of Arch-Emperor City, and others coming from the other three kingly cities. A few others approached from teleportation portals in the area.

Chapter 688

A+ A- Chapter 688

Chapter 688: An Old Friend

Duke Deathcrier's expression flickered slightly, and Naruto looked very nervous.

Even as Naruto's turned to look off into the distance, two beams of light streaked toward them, unleashing sonic booms as they pierced through the air. Soon, two people became visible!

One of them was a wizened old man wearing a black robe. His eyes were cloudy, and his face slack. He seemed fused with heaven and earth, so much so that he was even invisible when inspected with divine sense.

He glanced briefly at Naruto, then looked at Duke Deathcrier and smiled, simultaneously clasping hands in greeting. Duke Deathcrier clasped hands in return.

Next to the old man was a young man in a violet robe. There was something tyrannical and haughty about him, especially his eyes, which were piercingly sharp. His cultivation base was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, which made him seem like an unsheathed sword, ready to chop anything to pieces.

The young man glanced briefly at Naruto, chuckled coldly, and then looked away at the Necromancer Kettle.

Seeing how seriously Naruto was taking the arrival of these two, Duke Deathcrier transmitted a message.

"He's the heir apparent of the Nine Serenities King… Prince Zhou Hong. He has a reputation for being cruel and callous, and has killed many people in his time!"

Naruto swallowed hard. Although he wasn't sure exactly how he knew it, but just looking at Zhou Hong, he could tell that he had reached the Nascent Soul stage by using deva beast souls. Perhaps he knew it because he had a Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul. Zhou Hong looked incredibly impressive. He was an heir apparent, and surely had some demigod-level secret magics. Obviously, he was a chosen the likes of which were not to be provoked.

"I bet I could beat him in a one-on-one fight. But considering who his father is, I probably shouldn't mess with him." Even as Naruto made this decision, more light appeared off in the distance, two beams that contained two women.

One of them was an old woman wearing a voluminous white robe. Her expression was placid, but the young

woman next to her was clearly the bossy and domineering type. Her eyes brimmed with the desire to do battle, and despite the fact that she wore violet gloves, and was very beautiful, she was clearly the violent type.

As soon as the young woman appeared, Zhou Hong's eyelid twitched with trepidation, as though he didn't dare to look at her. When Naruto saw that, he gasped quietly.

At this point, Duke Deathcrier transmitted more information. "Princess Xu Shan, daughter of the Spirit Advent King…. A violent girl, the type who will lose her temper if you say one wrong thing…."

"How come all of these Wildlands chosen seem completely brutal…?" Naruto thought, his own eyelid twitching. "This Xu Shan reached the great circle using deva beast souls, and has an incredibly powerful fleshly body!" Considering the fact that even Zhou Hong seemed to fear Xu Shan, Naruto didn't dare to look at her for more than a moment.

However, before he could look away, their eyes locked, and Xu Shan glared at him. From the look in her eyes, she was itching to fight him, but thankfully, the old woman next to her cleared her throat, and Xu Shan backed up a few steps in disappointment.

Naruto could see how violent of a girl she was; she wanted to attack him for merely looking at her….

"This place is way too barbarous. The Wildlands definitely isn't a suitable place for me!" Even as he sighed, more beams of light approached, this time containing dozens of people. These were the chosen children of various groups in the Wildlands, all of them escorted by Dao protectors. None of the Dao protectors were devas, like those sent by the heavenly kings, but most of them were half a step into the Deva Realm.

After arriving, the newcomers fanned out. Some of them joined Zhou Hong, while others went to stand near Xu Shan. Some of them gathered together in smaller groups, where they looked off into the sky, as if they were waiting for someone.

"Little Wolfgod, Li Tiansheng, Zhao Dongshan, Miao Lin'er…." As the chosen arrived, Duke Deathcrier would tell Naruto their names.

names. And as he did, Naruto's heart continued to pound.

Little Wolfgod was a young man with a perpetual expression of killing intent on his face, and eyes that radiated brutality. Li Tiansheng seemed a bit better, but had a sinister look to him that left Naruto feeling very uncomfortable. Zhao Dongshan was particularly burly, as though the blood of savage giants ran in his veins. He looked like a small mountain as he stood there, holding an enormous wolf tooth club in one hand.

Most of the chosen were men, with few women. However, there was one woman who caught Naruto's eye. She was none other than the one Duke Deathcrier had introduced as Miao Lin'er. She wore very revealing clothing that well-accentuated her lithe frame, and made her quite the center of attention among the other chosen.

She didn't seem to care about that, and even wore a carefree smile. When she noticed that Naruto was looking at her, she covered her smile with her hand. As she swayed forward, her long, milky legs were prominently displayed, causing Zhao Dongshan, who was right next to her, to start panting.

Naruto stole a further glance. Heart pounding, he couldn't help but analyze her objectively. "These Wildlander women dress quite daringly, but they don't measure up to my Song Junwan."

Although the Wildlanders were all handsome and even beautiful, they all had murderous auras that indicated they had killed many people.

"I'm here representing the Giant Ghost King, so where are the Giant Ghost King forces? Why isn't anybody coming to stand by me?!" Naruto was starting to feel as if something was off. "Maybe they're not here yet? Or maybe they're keeping their identity secret?"

After looking around at the growing crowd, he tried to guess who it might be that the Giant Ghost King had arranged to come help him…. However, after a bit of time, his suspicions about the matter only continued to grow.

More people continued to arrive, roughly half of them being Dao protectors. Most of the Dao protectors just stood there quietly, although a few chatted with each other.

The other half were the Nascent Soul chosen who would

who would be going into the Necromancer Kettle. Naruto sized them up, and could see some of them doing the same with him. Some of them looked at him with scorn, while others had icy expressions. Some seemed curious. Most of them knew at least a little bit about him.

Naruto was getting very nervous; very few of these people seemed to have anything but ill will toward him. Even as he stewed in his anxiety, everyone suddenly went quiet. Even Duke Deathcrier's eyes seemed to grow unusually focused as a beam of light suddenly appeared off in the distance!

There was only one person approaching, with no Dao protector. However, the fantastic energy radiating off of him seemed enough to crush all of the other chosen in the area.

He was a young man in a green robe, with a placid expression that seemed to indicate nothing in the world could possibly faze him. As he approached, the other chosen clasped hands in greeting, especially those who had not joined the other larger groups.

"Well met, Junior Champion King!"

"Greetings, Junior Champion King!"

Many voices rang out, although the young man completely ignored them. After reaching a certain point, he simply hovered in place with his eyes closed. He never even looked over at Naruto.

Although a slightly defiant look could be seen in Zhou Hong's eyes, he kept it in check. Xu Shan from Spirit Advent City seemed more intent than ever on getting into a fight, and from the look of things, was vastly more interested in this Junior Champion King than she was in Naruto.

"He's the son of the War Champion King," Duke Deathcrier explained,

"which is why he is called the Junior Champion King. His name is…

Gongsun Yi!"

Naruto sighed. From what he could tell, this Junior Champion King was already in the great circle, and was almost on the verge of being half a step into the Deva Realm.

Just when he was thinking about asking Duke Deathcrier where his own helpers were, another beam of light appeared.

This time, there were three people, with two of them being particularly eye-catching. One of them was a handsome young man,

handsome young man, and the other was a girl who could only be described as a matchless beauty. As soon as they appeared, everyone instantly looked over at them.

"The second prince…."

"That's… the Grand Heavenmaster's apprentice, Chen Manyao!"

Even as the buzz of conversation rose up, Duke Deathcrier began to make the introductions. However, Naruto's mind was spinning, and he didn't even hear Duke Deathcrier talking. The complete focus of his attention was on that spectacularly beautiful young woman!

She was none other than Chen Manyao, and she looked just as beautiful as Naruto remembered, with the fairest of skin, and a beautiful figure. The way her long hair swirled around her made her seem like an immortal goddess, and would cause virtually any man who saw her to gasp.

However, she carried some sort of undispellable anxiety with her, and seemed soft and tender in a way that only served to accentuate her incredible beauty!

"Chen Manyao…." Although no one could tell, Naruto was suddenly being filled with very complex emotions. This was his first time in the Wildlands… to see a familiar face!

Chen Manyao, disciple of the River-Defying Sect…. She had accompanied Naruto to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, but after the journey to the Great Wall, had disappeared without a trace. Although Naruto had guessed that she eventually ended up at home, he had always felt a bit worried for her. As of this moment, he suddenly thought back to many memories from the River-Defying Sect….

He remembered how she was the one who had orchestrated the incident with the love letters, which had been such a cause of irritation to Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan…. He also remembered how infatuated Xu Baocai had been with her….

Of course, Chen Manyao's current cultivation base was very different than the last time they had met. She now radiated a strong Nascent Soul aura; clearly, she had encountered profound good fortune after returning to the Wildlands.

Almost immediately, Naruto found himself lost in thoughts of how much he missed the River-Defying Sect. And yet, as of this moment, he was in the Wildlands, very, very far from home.

Chapter 689

A+ A- Chapter 689

Chapter 689: They Want To Kill Me?!

Even as Naruto felt lost in his thoughts, the person behind the second prince and Chen Manyao stepped forward and spoke in a raspy voice, "It seems everyone is assembled. In addition to escorting the second prince here, Fellow Daoists, I have been appointed by the Grand Heavenmaster to preside over the opening of the Necromancer Kettle."

He was a middle-aged man, and completely expressionless, with ice-cold eyes. There was also something cold about his raspy voice that pulled Naruto out of his reverie.

"Fellow Daoist Deathcrier, Fellow Daoist Cloudpeak, Fellow Daoist Redsieve, might I ask for your assistance?" A mere step took the man to a position above the Necromancer Kettle. As he did, Duke Deathcrier, as well as the two old-timers who had come with Zhou Hong and Xu Shan, nodded and followed along.

Above the Necromancer Kettle, they all began to perform incantation gestures, causing ripples to spread out as deva power descended.

Soon, intense rumbling sounds could be heard, and the Necromancer Kettle began to vibrate. More black mist poured out from inside of it, which then rose up into the sky.

"After enough time passes for a single incense stick to burn, the Necromancer Kettle will open, and the lot of you must enter immediately. We four can only keep it open for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, so therefore… don't delay. Opening the kettle a second time would be very difficult. However, it will open automatically after the flower fully blooms. At that time, you'll have only two hours to emerge, lest you face deadly peril!" The surrounding chosen immediately began to get nervous. Rotating their cultivation bases, they sized each other up, and many of them even seemed to be transmitting messages.

Naruto looked over at the Necromancer Kettle and considered trying to delay so that he would be the last one to go inside. However, he didn't see how he could really do that with only half an incense stick's worth of time to deal with.

"Ah, forget it…." he thought, feeling a bit depressed. However, it was in this exact moment that he suddenly

realized that something seemed very off. It was as if he were now the subject of dozens of gazes, a feeling which caused him to look around vigilantly.

Countless chosen were all looking at him with thoughtful expressions, and gazes that were clearly filled with ill intentions. Even Zhou Hong, Xu Shan and Gongsun Yi were there in the crowd. Naruto was starting to get a bad feeling.

"So, they're actually going to team up," he thought, starting to pant a little. As far as Naruto could tell, if everyone attacked him at the same time, it wouldn't matter if he was stronger than he currently was. There were more than a hundred people here… and all of them had deadly trump cards at their disposal, such that they could cause a headache even to a deva.

Not willing to be outdone, he quickly began to comfort himself and even work himself up a bit, "These people are all villains! What gall they have! I'm a mighty major general from the Great Wall, the famed majordomo of Giant Ghost City, a person who dares to fight with devas! I even kidnapped a demigod! How could I possibly be afraid of these people!?

"On the other hand, I can't bully them. Ah, whatever. I have a really high status, and am in the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage. I shouldn't lower myself to their level. This time, I really have to keep a low profile. I'll just go in and take a look around, and definitely won't get into fights with any of these kids." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto was convinced that he had reached a higher way of thinking than these other chosen. Planting a benevolent smile onto his face, he nodded kindly back at all of the chosen.

However, his smile didn't seem to do any good. Not only did the gazes locked onto him not grow any less malevolent, some of the chosen, including Zhou Hong and Zhao Dongshan, even began to sneer at him.

That immediately made him mad. After all, it wasn't common for an incredibly powerful person like him to show such good will.

will. And yet here these dogs went and turned their noses up at him!

"This is outrageous…. Ah, whatever. Just forget about. It's not a big deal. There's no point in bickering with them." Saddened, he decided to simply endure the situation, and was just about to look away, when suddenly, a chill ran through him!

"What's going on…?"

As of this point, he could sense killing intent within the eyes of the people looking at him…. Not all of these chosen were adept at hiding their true intentions, or perhaps it was that they didn't feel they needed to. Either way, Naruto could clearly sense how much they wanted to kill him.

"They want to kill me?!" His heart immediately began to thump. Although everyone had come to fight over the Ghost King Orchid, and he was here on behalf of the Giant Ghost King, he had always thought that simply refraining from the fighting would make the entire thing much less dangerous.

But now, with so many people staring at him with killing intent, he suddenly felt the need to be completely on guard.

The truth was that Naruto's instincts were correct. Although not every single last one of these chosen wanted to kill him, many of them did. Of course, it wasn't anything about him personally. However, all of them knew that he was not anyone important in the current dynasty; he was nothing more than one of the Giant Ghost King's subordinates, and therefore, he was someone they would naturally dare to kill!

Killing him would be the easiest way to resolve the biggest issue they all faced. With Naruto out of the picture, the matter of who got the Ghost King Orchid fruit wouldn't be as important, at least, not unless the Giant Ghost King had made other arrangements.

As for which of the other heavenly kings got the fruit, it didn't really matter. Any of them could trade it to the Giant Ghost King. Furthermore, it didn't really matter which of the other chosen got it, although whoever did would surely benefit in some way.

Everyone knew that killing Naruto would offend the Giant Ghost King, and normally speaking, they would

they would be worried about that. But in this situation, all three of the other heavenly kings were working together, and their combined power ensured that even if the giant ghost king got angry, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Everything came down to karma, and everyone knew that the four heavenly kings didn't really get along with each other. Besides, when other secret treasures had appeared in the Wildlands in the past, the kings would always fight over them, and on more than a few occasions, the Giant Ghost King had come out on top. Therefore, the fact that this incredibly important Ghost King Orchid had appeared ensured that the other three kings would take advantage of the situation to strike a blow against the giant ghost king.

When it came to the struggles of demigods, chosen like the ones present today would view Naruto as a nobody who could be killed at will.

As the second prince stood there, he pondered some of the advice he had been given. Although he didn't plan to refuse the advice, in his heart, he was chuckling coldly. Nowadays in the Wildlands, the ArchEmperor was weak. The Grand Heavenmaster controlled the son of heaven and the nobility, and the four heavenly kings were not devoted heart and soul to protecting the dynasty. Therefore, one of the second prince's priorities were looking out for his own interests and solidifying his own power base.

For example, this arcane pocket realm was one of eight that specifically belonged to the imperial clan. And yet, a single order from the Grand Heavenmaster wrested it into the public domain for countless people to struggle over. Considering his status, the second prince hated both the Grand Heavenmaster and the four heavenly kings. Therefore, the infighting among the four kings was a good thing as far as he was concerned. However, the one person who he felt uneasy about was Chen Manyao.

She stood there next to the second prince with a cool expression on her face, as though nothing which was going on held any interest to her. She was here on the orders of her Master to acquire the ghost king

the ghost king fruit; anyone who acquired the fruit before she did was to be viewed as an enemy.

It didn't take long for half an incense stick's worth of time to pass. During that time, Naruto's thoughts began to race faster and faster as he became convinced that there were people here who wanted to kill him.

"At least it's not everybody, only some of them…. Besides, if I did get killed, then the Giant Ghost King would die too; there's no way he would send me to my death…." Even as he frowned over the matter, the time limit passed, and rumbling sounds echoed out. As of that moment, the mist stopped pouring out of the Necromancer Kettle, and within the black mist that did exist around it… a tunnel appeared!

The middle-aged man who was presiding over the opening said loudly,

"What are you waiting for?!"

Instantly, Gongsun Yi and Zhou Hong shot into motion, followed closely by others. As for Naruto, he sighed and then sped into motion.

"I need to catch them off guard and make sure they don't have a chance to join forces. That's the safest way to play things." Gritting his teeth, he accelerated into the tunnel that led to the Necromancer Kettle.

Although the tunnel appeared to be very long, upon entering it, the chosen all vanished, including Naruto. Moments later, they appeared in the world inside of the kettle!

A gray, overcast sky could be seen up above. The land was violet, and black mist floated everywhere, within which could be seen countless evil ghosts. From the sinister looks in the eyes of the ghosts, they were just waiting for people to pounce on.

Stifling pressure weighed down everywhere, causing a sense of profound danger to rise up in the hearts of the various chosen.

It was just barely possible to see mountains rising up around them, and further off in the distance, an enormous basin!

That basin was covered with a thick conglomeration of mist that formed into a flower that looked exactly like the Ghost King Orchid outside….

The flower was clearly in the middle of blooming, and needed a bit more time to complete the process….

Chapter 690

A+ A- Chapter 690

Chapter 690: King Giant Ghost, You Fudge-Licking Prick!

All eyes came to focus on the misty Ghost King Orchid that rose up above the basin. As for Naruto, he eyed his surroundings, glanced at the flower, and then prepared to cautiously slip away. However, it was in that very moment that a white light suddenly began to shine up from him.

It was impossible to cover up this light; it poured through his clothing and made him completely conspicuous within the darkness cast by the overcast sky.

Naruto's jaw dropped; he had no idea what was going on. As for everyone else, although some of them were inclined to try to kill Naruto, most had just been planning to head toward the Ghost King Orchid. There were some who viewed it as beneath them to fight with someone like him. Only a few of them had actually intended to attack him right away.

But before anyone could even move, Naruto started glowing with bright light, which instantly attracted a lot of attention. More than a hundred gazes instantly locked onto him, causing his scalp to tingle with fear.

All of these people were Nascent Soul cultivators, and the weakest among them was in the mid Nascent Soul stage. Blinking in astonishment, he loudly said, "Calm down, everybody… um… On the behalf of the Giant Ghost King, I forfeit all right to the ghost king fruit! Don't worry everybody, I'm not going to try to fight you for it!"

He tried to make himself sound especially sincere as he spoke.

Everyone in the crowd was surprised, and many strange expressions appeared on their faces. However, before anyone could say anything in response, the light shining off of Naruto grew even more intense, making him completely eye-catching.

"What are you doing, Uzumaki Hao?!"

Naruto wanted to cry, but no tears would come. He anxiously began to inspect himself to try to figure out what was happening, and soon, found the source of the light. It was none other than… the restrictive spell

from the Giant Ghost King!

Naruto's heart began to pound with a very ill premonition. As of this moment, the white light hardly seemed connected to him at all, and in fact, was leaving him, heading at top speed toward the basin!

This sudden development caused numerous faces to fall. With blinding speed, the light shot toward the basin, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as it came to settle on top of the Ghost King Orchid!

Before long, a white shield of light had covered the entire flower. Then, moments later, a huge vortex appeared inside, the gravitational force of which caused the flower to begin to bloom more rapidly!

One could well imagine that with that shield of light, and that gravitational force, the Ghost King Orchid would soon bloom, and the fruit would appear. When that happened, the vortex would surely take the fruit away….

Everyone watching was completely taken aback, and Naruto was dumbstruck. He began to tremble, and his pulse raced as he realized why the Giant Ghost King had been so confident in sending him here….

"Giant Ghost King, you fudge-licking prick! You didn't arrange for anybody to help me, did you!? Y-y-you…." Naruto's face drained of blood as he realized that he had been completely screwed over by the Giant Ghost King. All the Giant Ghost King needed was for him to get into the Necromancer Kettle, and all issues would be resolved thanks to the way the restrictive spell worked….

That restrictive spell… was the Giant Ghost King's true trump card. It was his way to get the ghost king fruit no matter what happened!

Naruto moaned inwardly as he realized that the white light shining out from him was also causing his cultivation base to drop. In the briefest moment, he was half-drained! Backing up, his scalp tingling explosively, he suddenly felt a sensation of intense, deadly crisis. As of this moment, it was obvious… that he was in big trouble!

"Damn that Giant Ghost King!" Naruto was so flustered and exasperated that

that he was sure he was going to start crying at any moment. Just as he considered how to flee, all of the people around him gasped and then began to cry out in anger and alarm.

"That's a void spell created by someone with a nascent divinity…. As long as the host of the restrictive spell doesn't die, not even a demigod could blast it open!"

Not even the top chosen like Gongsun Yi or Zhou Hong could keep their faces calm. Although none of them could specifically state the name of this particular restrictive spell, they could see that it was obviously too powerful for Nascent Soul cultivators to break open. The only way to get through it… would be to kill the host of the spell. And the host… was obviously Uzumaki Hao!

That was even more obvious given that Naruto was still shining with white light that flowed forth to connect him to the restrictive spell. The killing intent in the eyes of the gathered chosen grew more intense.

"Feeling suicidal, Uzumaki Hao?!"

"Dammit, you just said you forfeited! And now this!? You're dead!"

"Kill him! That's the only way to get rid of that restrictive spell.

Otherwise, we're all defeated for sure!"

As countless angry shouts filled the air, it was like a huge target came to fall on Naruto. Then, people began to draw on the powers of their cultivation base to shoot in his direction.

"You've got it all wrong!" he shouted angrily. "Wait, let me expl-" Before he could finish speaking, a burly man suddenly appeared in front of him, who was none other than Zhao Dongshan.

"Hear me out, Fellow Daoist-" Naruto shouted.

However, that was when Zhao Dongshan let out a vicious bellow: "Die!"

Three more people were right behind Zhao Dongshan, all of whom unleashed powerful magical techniques against him.

"Giant Ghost King, you bastard!" Naruto shouted, preparing to back up. However, that was when he noticed eight people behind him, killing intent raging with such intensity that he gasped. He knew that he couldn't hesitate

couldn't hesitate here; if he did, he would give these people a chance to surround him. Therefore, he didn't hesitate to use the Mountain Shaking Bash.

It was with explosive speed that he accelerated toward Zhao Dongshan, who wore a vicious grin as he raised his wolf tooth club up to deliver a killing blow.

Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions that caused shocked expressions to fill the faces of all the surrounding Wildlander chosen. That was especially true of those who were closer to him; their eyes went completely wide.

Zhao Dongshan, within whose veins ran the blood of savage giants, was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying out of his mouth. As for Naruto, who everyone had expected would be rebuffed by Zhao Dongshan's burly frame, he was now fleeing at top speed.

"How is this possible?!"

"Nobody among us has stronger fleshly body power than Zhao Dongshan, except for that termagant Xu Shan! I can't believe he got sent flying by that blow!" [1]

"This Uzumaki Hao… his fleshly body power has reached an absurd level!"

Despite being shocked, there were still numerous individuals who were chasing after Naruto, who was so jittery that tears could be seen welling up in his eyes.

"This is beyond outrageous, Giant Ghost King! All I did was slap you across the side of the head a few times and use you like a shield. I'm the one who saved you! I can't believe you're screwing me over! Things aren't going to turn out good for you if I die!" Feeling incredibly wronged, he checked the restrictive spell inside of him and confirmed that it was still there. Unfortunately, because of how things had changed, Naruto could tell that if he died, the Giant Ghost King wouldn't die; he would only receive some serious injuries.

Clearly, the Giant Ghost King was forcing his hand, but at the same time, he was also gambling…. He was gambling that Naruto would be able to hold out until the flower bloomed. Then Uzumaki

bloomed. Then Naruto thought about the medicinal pills he had been given, and the spear, and the pieces clicked together.

"Those medicinal pills can only be consumed nine times in one's life, and he gave me nine of them…. As for that spear, it's probably the most powerful magical item he possesses that I could use…."

In Naruto's moment of crisis, the Giant Ghost King stood in a building in his royal palace in Giant Ghost City, various expressions flashing across his face. He was currently looking in the direction of the Necromancer Kettle, his heart pounding with anxiety.

The ghost king fruit was of critical importance to him, and it was just as Naruto had just been thinking; he had given him nine precious medicinal pills, and a spear with a sixteenfold spirit enhancement, which was the best possible magical item he could have given him. The truth was that everything which had happened so far was part of the plan he had begun to devise once the variable of Naruto had been added to the picture, and the Giant Ghost King got his cultivation base back.

He was gambling… on Naruto's ability to flee for his life. That was something that the Giant Ghost King was actually very confident in. When he thought back to how Naruto had fled with him from three devas and countless Nascent Soul experts, he felt much more confident.

"I've never met anyone as good at running away as this Uzumaki Hao…." he murmured. "I just hope he can last for long enough…. Uzumaki Hao, as long as you get that ghost king fruit for me, then I'll treat you like my own son! From then on, I'll never let anything or anyone hurt you!"

1\. Hey everyone, I know that termagant is a very uncommon word, but it's the perfect term to use here. It means "a violent, turbulent, or brawling woman." I don't think there could be a better word, and it's exactly what the Chinese term means.

Chapter 691

A+ A- Chapter 691

Chapter 691: No, I Want Revenge!

Booms filled the interior of the Necromancer Kettle, causing the mists which filled it to seethe and dance. Countless evil ghosts could be seen, their eyes flickering with greed at the sight of all of the chosen, as though the Chakra and blood inside of them were the most nourishing thing they had ever seen.

Naruto felt more wronged than ever as he attempted to break free of the crowd of chosen. However, his cultivation base was being greatly weakened by the restrictive spell, making it much more difficult than it should have been. It only took a moment for about eight of the chosen to be rushing toward him.

Naruto's eyelids twitched as he realized that one of these new opponents was none other than Zhou Hong, who was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage!

Zhou Hong's eyes flickered with killing intent, as though he were facing a mere insect as an opponent. As for Naruto, his breath came in ragged pants, and his eyes were completely bloodshot as he shot forward like an angry dragon, unhesitatingly bashing into the entire group.

When everyone collided, a massive boom filled heaven and earth, and the chosen all flew backward, Chakra and blood surging. Zhou Hong's expression flickered slightly in response to the ferocity on display by Naruto. The other chosen were equally shocked, and were now coming to the conclusion that they had misjudged his speed, and would be unable to prevent him from fleeing.

Naruto's momentum was only growing. His fleshly body power erupted with incredible force, and his cultivation base surged with the power of his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul. He was like a celestial warrior, the likes of which nobody could impede in the slightest.

Of course, he didn't dare to slow down. There were numerous opponents behind him ready to batter him with divine abilities if he paused for even a second. Heart racing, he could do nothing other than speed forward. As he did, he waved his hand, summoning his sixteenfold spirit enhanced spear. That, coupled with his

incredible speed, made him almost superhumanly valiant.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Just when it seemed that he would break free of all the chosen, a cold snort echoed out in front of him. It was none other than Gongsun Yi!

As he hovered here in front of Naruto, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger out. Instantly, a sealing power erupted forth, causing innumerable illusory magical symbols to appear and rush toward Naruto. Within moments, they had formed into a gigantic net which began to rapidly shrink down around him!

There was no way for Naruto to get out of the way in time. Instead, he slammed directly into the net. Unfortunately, his cultivation base was too weak at the moment, and he couldn't break through. The only thing that happened was that cracks spread out on the surface of the net.

That in itself was shocking to Gongsun Yi. Just when he was about to attempt to strengthen the sealing power of the net, the dozens of chosen who had been following Naruto appeared.

Without the slightest hesitation, all of them attacked, unleashing divine abilities and magical techniques that appeared to be at the level of trump cards. One of the chosen in that group was Zhou Hong, who sent a shocking beam of sword light slashing down toward Naruto!

Little Wolfgod was also present, who howled as he transformed into something that looked half-wolf, half-human. That in turn gave him a huge burst of speed that he used to close in on Naruto!

As for the sinister Li Tiansheng, he chuckled coldly as he waved his right index finger, causing a five-colored toxic gas to billow out. The gas rapidly transformed into five skulls which cackled evilly as they shot forward using minor teleportations.

These were all Nascent Soul cultivators, and although many were in the early stage, not a few were in the mid stage. There were even some like Li Tiansheng and Little Wolfgod who were late Nascent Soul stage experts. One, Zhou Hong, was even in the great circle. Each and every one of

of them was a chosen with powerful techniques, and when they pooled their strength, it was enough to cause even a deva to be shocked.

An intense sensation of deadly crisis rose up in Naruto; despite having mentally prepared for something like this, the sudden and unexpected turn of events was difficult to take in.

"You big bullies!" Heart filled with bitterness, he threw his head back and roared as he produced the Eternal Parasol. After snapping it open, he used all the power he could muster to defend himself against the attack from behind. However, even as he did, a shout from the side could be heard as Xu Shan barrelled toward him with a fist strike.

"You're not going anywhere!" Xu Shan shouted in an iron voice. Her fist strike was backed by the full power of her fleshly body, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air that surpassed heavenly thunder. As for Naruto, he was rendered immobile by the sealing net. Shouting angrily, he kept the Eternal Parasol behind him as a shield as he also unleashed a fist strike.

Despite being on different sides of the net, their fists met, and at the same time, numerous divine abilities and magical techniques slammed into the Eternal Parasol.

Booms rose up into the heavens, along with dazzling light. The sealing net instantly shattered, and Xu Shan was blown backward in retreat. Gongsun Yi's face fell as he too retreated in the face of the wave of powerful attacks.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto's mouth as he and the Eternal Parasol were sent tumbling forward toward the black mist.

The mere sight of that left everyone present completely flabbergasted. Never could any of them have imagined that Naruto would escape their combined attack with only some injuries!

It was at this point that Miao Lin'er's lips moved, causing a ripple to spread out into the air from her mouth. It was a ripple that could destabilize the mind of anyone it encountered, and it immediately sped directly toward the fleeing Naruto. It was a sound that defied the ability to defend

to defend against it, and as soon as it reached Naruto's ears, his mind trembled, and all of his injuries flared up. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he immediately began to stagger forward.

In response, cold light flickered in Zhou Hong's eyes. Waving his right hand, he summoned a black, glowing light that pulsed with a deva aura. Even as everyone looked over in shock, he sent the glowing light shooting toward Naruto.

The black light moved so quickly it seemed capable of piercing through the air, and was soon right in front of Naruto. And yet, before it could reach him, a different type of black light shot out from inside of Naruto.

It was none other than his turtle-wok. A boom rang out, and the black glow shattered, while the turtle-wok was sent spinning back to Naruto. Naruto borrowed the force of the blow to keep moving, simultaneously taking out a Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pill, which ensured that he didn't slow down at all.

"We can't let him get away!"

"If Uzumaki Hao doesn't die, that restrictive spell will never unravel!" The entire group of chosen was starting to get nervous. Gongsun Yi, Zhou Hong, Xu Shan, Little Wolfgod, and all of the other cultivators gritted their teeth and gave chase.

Before long, everyone was inside of the mist. The second prince wore a cold smile as he joined in the pursuit, and even Chen Manyao could be seen chasing after Naruto. However, there was an odd glint in her eye; she hadn't noticed at first, but gradually, had come to the realization that there seemed to be something very familiar about the way this Uzumaki Hao was fighting….

As Naruto sped through the mist, burning heat spread through him, healing all of his wounds. Within the space of a few breaths of time, he was completely recovered, which left him feeling slightly less irritated than before.

However, his cultivation base was still being weakened, and when he thought about how the Giant Ghost King had screwed him over, his mood sank again. He felt very angry and

very angry and very wronged, and yet, knew that he couldn't dare to slow down a bit.

Thanks to his incredible speed, his pursuers had no way to catch up to him even if they wanted to. In fact, he was actually putting distance between himself and them. Combined with the fact that the dimension inside of the Necromancer Kettle was filled with dense mist and evil ghosts that needed to be avoided, it made things even more difficult. Before long, the howls of evil ghosts could be heard as many of them began to attack the chosen.

In contrast… not a single one of the evil ghosts or vengeful souls could hinder Naruto at all. And there was a reason for that! Although the speed of all the other chosen was hampered by their reduced visibility, Naruto could see everything around him completely clearly.

"Hmph! With my mask, you fools might as well stop dreaming of trying to catch me!" Snorting coldly, he continued to accelerate. More than two hours passed, after which Naruto couldn't hear anyone chasing him. At that point, he settled down on top of one of the mountains in the area and consumed another Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pill. Finally, his cultivation base was no longer being weakened, and was starting to recover. After consuming another of the pills, he was completely back at his peak. Then he thought back to everything that had happened so far, and felt unsurpassable bitterness in his heart.

"I can't believe so many people are chasing me! I never did anything to them. What a bunch of bullies. Outrageous! If they were all that good, they would fight me one-on-one!

"And then there's you, Giant Ghost King, you old codger. I saved you, you fool. Risked my life! And now you go and do this to me!

"Fudge! I'm not going to let this stand. I want revenge!" The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, until finally, within his negative emotions, he suddenly felt courage rising up within him, and decided that now was not the time to hold back.

Chapter 692

A+ A- Chapter 692: You Screw Me, I Screw You!

"I want revenge!" he said, his face a mask of rage. Clenching his hands into fists, his mind began to spin with thoughts of how to do just that.

Of course, he was no fool; he knew that killing everyone wasn't an option. He was in a very precarious position and situation here in the Wildlands. If he killed one or two of these chosen, it might not be a big deal, but if he killed too many, he would end up offending all of the Wildlands. That would be putting himself in far too precarious of a situation.

And yet, merely killing one or two people would not be the revenge he wanted.

"Besides, me killing some people wouldn't be a very big deal to the Giant Ghost King. After all, it's not like he would be directly responsible for their deaths…. In fact, he would probably get super pissed off at me. In the end, I would just be screwing myself by doing that….

"No, I have to think of something better. I have to think of a way to get my revenge, and also make things hard on the Giant Ghost King." Tugging at his hair in frustration, and eyes completely bloodshot, he continued to ponder the situation for a long moment. Then, his eyes suddenly began to shine, and he gasped.

"I know what to do!" he thought, instantly perking up. As the moments ticked by, his idea grew clearer.

"I won't kill them, I'll kidnap them! Then I'll hand them all over to the Giant Ghost King. At that point, they'll definitely blame him for everything inside the Necromancer Kettle. Then he'll either have to release all of the chosen, and lose a huge amount of face, or refuse to release them, and give the rest of the Wildlands a good reason to join together and cause problems for him! Heh heh….

"These chosen are going to end up like hot potatoes, and when the time comes, the Giant Ghost King isn't going to be able to go to anybody to complain about it…. And even if he

were more domineering than he already is, it would be difficult for him to try to hold all the chosen hostage. That would get everyone completely pissed off. If Lord Uzumaki did something like that, it probably wouldn't cause too much of a stir, but if the Giant Ghost King tried to, it would lead to all sorts of disasters!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

He really couldn't help but marvel at how intelligent he was to come up with an idea like this. Feeling more proud of himself than ever, he sighed and then began to put more thought into how to carry out his plan.

"I definitely have to think of every possibility. What will I do if that punk the Giant Ghost King actually just decides to release everybody? That's not a completely impossible outcome. Hmmmphh! Lord Uzumaki will make sure that even if the Giant Ghost King frees everyone, he'll still pay a painful price for it all!" Looking very excited at the prospect of getting his revenge this way, he did a bit more planning. Soon, his eyes shone with anticipation.

"This isn't my fault, Giant Ghost King. You screw me over? Well don't blame me for screwing you right back. Furthermore, Lord Uzumaki is going to take this opportunity to cultivate his Undying Bones!" Although there were some flaws to his plan, Naruto knew that he couldn't account for every possibility. However, he was certain that his overall strategy was perfect.

"I can't sit around waiting to take vengeance. I need to start now!" With that, he blurred into motion, speeding out into the mists and using the power of his mask to conceal his aura. Not only did the evil ghosts not see him because of that, but he was able to flit about like a spirit from the underworld, passing here and there without making a single noise.

The mists in the Necromancer Kettle were filled with evil ghosts and countless hordes of vengeful souls. To pass by so many of the things left him feeling a bit jumpy.

That was especially true when he realized that the evil ghosts here all had solitary horns jutting out of their foreheads. Furthermore, they seemed to occasionally take corporeal form, which was even more shocking.

"This Necromancer Kettle is a very strange place, and the vengeful souls here are completely bizarre!"

These vengeful souls and evil ghosts were much more brutal than the type outside, and some of them could even utilize magical techniques and divine abilities that drew upon their auras of death. Furthermore, if they saw living beings, they would pounce on them and, if they caught them, immediately begin to extract their life force. Before long, the life force flames of such victims would even begin to flicker unstably.

If cultivators from the Heavenspan River region ran into vengeful souls like this, they would flee in terror. But the chosen here were Wildlanders, people who were well-equipped to deal with hordes of souls.

Furthermore, all of them were necromancers of some skill. Despite the fact that the souls and ghosts in the Necromancer Kettle were more brutal than those on the outside, and more fear-inspiring, the chosen could deal with them if they were careful.

The chosen knew that the Necromancer Kettle was a special place, and that although the evil ghosts and vengeful souls there could be taken away, they would be especially hard to subjugate. The best thing to do when running into them was either to destroy them, or flee.

Because of the attacking souls and ghosts, the chosen who had been chasing Naruto had already scattered, and were all fighting their own battles. Although, none of them had given up on the search for their quarry either.

All of them were prepared to instantly raise the alarm if they found him, and get everyone to join forces to eradicate him!

"Damned Uzumaki Hao. If he doesn't die, then none of us will have a chance to get that ghost king fruit!"

"Time is running out!" Everyone pulsed with the desire to kill Uzumaki Hao, especially one young man in a blue robe, who had a very grim expression on his face as he sped through the mists. He was currently being chased by a trail of vengeful souls, and yet, they couldn't catch up, and were soon left behind.

He was none other than Little Wolfgod, who because of his late Nascent Soul stage cultivation base, was free to move about unless he encountered a huge horde of souls, or perhaps a particularly powerful evil ghost.

"This Uzumaki Hao is fast, but I refuse to believe that he'll be able to evade so many of us!" Little Wolfgod had originally intended to rely on the power of his cultivation base to help one of the heirs apparent get the ghost king fruit. That was the mission from his clan, and if he accomplished it, he would be handsomely rewarded when he got home.

But Uzumaki Hao had ruined everything. With the restrictive spell in place, nobody could get to the fruit. Both Little Wolfgod and everyone else present got the distinct sensation that this Uzumaki Hao was toying with them.

"There are no grudges between us, but you still have to die!" Chuckling coldly, Little Wolfgod pushed forward with greater speed, sending his divine sense out in all directions to search for his quarry. An hour later, he was still speeding through the mists when he saw a group of several hundred vengeful souls. The vengeful souls caught sight of him in almost the same moment, and began to speed in his direction, eyes glowing with netherworldly light.

Little Wolfgod ignored them; a group of a few hundred vengeful souls wasn't even worthy of his attention. With a burst of speed, he shot through them. However, even as he emerged on the other side, his face fell as a sensation of profound crisis rose up inside of him. A very strange feeling had just washed through him, making him feel like he had lost thirty percent of his cultivation base power. His cultivation base felt sore, and even sluggish in response.

"What's going on?!" Before he could ponder the situation, he lurched to a stop, and then backed up. But even as he did so, a cold chuckle could be heard next to him.

"Too late!" A figure blurred toward him from within the vengeful souls, moving as quickly as a lightning bolt, so fast that neither the naked eye nor divine sense could track it. Before Little Wolfgod could react, the figure was right in front of him, where it combined both fleshly body strength and cultivation base and cultivation base power into a powerful fist strike.

Little Wolfgod let out a shout, and drew on all the power he could muster to transform into a half-wolf, half-man. However, before the transformation could be completed, Naruto's fist strike landed.

A rumbling sound could be heard, and a shockwave spread out in all directions. The vengeful souls were shoved away, and the shocked Little Wolfgod had no time to dodge or block, or even unleash his own blow to defend himself. Naruto's fist was like a mountain that slammed into his chest with indescribable force. Little Wolfgod was crushed like a twig, suffering severe internal injuries that caused him to cough up mouthful after mouthful of blood. His cultivation base nearly shattered, and numerous bones in his body were broken.

"Uzumaki Hao!" He shrieked, scalp tingling with shock. The fist which had struck him contained the violent force of a thunderstorm, and was something Little Wolfgod had never even seen before. Shock and terror rose up in him as blood spilled out of his mouth. This Uzumaki Hao seemed completely different from before, more powerful to an unbelievable degree.

One fist strike had nearly destroyed Little Wolfgod. His injuries were so severe that he could barely see straight, and his nascent soul had nearly been knocked out from inside of him. As for his divine ability of transformation, it was completely interrupted and defeated!

Furthermore, the force of the blow sent him tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut, until he was fully 300 meters away.

Snorting coldly, Naruto took a step forward to appear right in front of him. "Change shape! You had a lot of fun hitting me with your wolf form, didn't you? So, change shape! I want to hit the transformed version of you!"

Little Wolfgod was so weak that he had lost all of his will to fight. Seeing that Uzumaki Hao was closing in on him, his eyes turned bloodshot, and despite the wounds he had suffered, he cried, "Uzumaki Hao is right-"

However, before the words could leave his mouth, Uzumaki Hao sealed him and tossed him into his bag of holding, then sped off into the mists.

Chapter 693

A+ A- Chapter 693

Chapter 693: An Eagle Catching Baby Chickens...

Almost as soon as Naruto took to motion, seven or eight figures appeared in the spot where he had tangled with Little Wolfgod. The fluctuations of the magical techniques used were still in the air, as was the blood. The faces of the newcomers flickered, and they transmitted a short conversation before scattering.

Meanwhile, Naruto sped through the mists at high speed, licking his lips, his eyes flickering with madness. Little Wolfgod was not the first chosen he had captured, but rather, the eighth.

"That'll teach you to change shape before attacking me!" he thought with a cold snort. All of the other chosen he had captured, including Little Wolfgod, had been taken out with a single fist strike. For all intents and purposes, this was Naruto's first time truly fighting people since he had stepped into the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage. As he did, he was learning about some of the amazing aspects of his new cultivation base.

"My Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul seems powerful enough to suppress all other types of nascent souls…. All of the other chosen I attacked nearly had their cultivation bases destroyed." After reviewing the past few fights, he was even more certain than ever that Little Wolfgod's cultivation base had also been unstable. With that, he decided to go confirm his theory.

He hurried along for a bit until suddenly, his expression flickered, and he changed direction. Off to the right, he had just caught sight of two Wildlander chosen being chased by a large group of vengeful souls.

"I'll do a little test with these two." Chuckling, he accelerated toward the two chosen, who caught sight of him only moments later. Their faces fell, and they were about to open their mouths when Naruto flicked his sleeve, sending a burst of wind out. Both of them had mid Nascent Soul stage cultivation bases, which they drew upon to defend themselves, and yet, how could they possibly be a match for Naruto? When facing his magical techniques, their cultivation bases were suppressed, making it difficult for them to rotate them properly. Before either of them could do anything, they were sent

tumbling backward, blood spraying out of their mouths. Then, Naruto shot forward, reached out, and grabbed them.

After sealing them and tossing them into his bag of holding, he smiled broadly. Just now, he had been closely observing their cultivation bases, and was now sure that his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul cultivation base truly could emit crushing pressure onto other types of nascent souls.

"Heavens! Who would have thought that I was this strong!?' Excitedly, he turned and headed off in a different direction.

By now, the other Wildlander chosen in the Necromancer Kettle were the prey, and Naruto, the hunter. One after another, he captured chosen, almost as if he were an eagle swooping down onto baby chickens.

When he encountered larger groups, he would avoid them, preferring to prey on solitary targets. When he found such targets, rumbling sounds would fill the air that attracted a lot of attention. But he won each battle so quickly, and fled with such speed, that no one else was able to even come close to surrounding him.

"Dammit, how come this Uzumaki Hao can move about so freely in this mist?!"

"There are already more than ten people missing…."

"Notify everyone that they need to stick together. Form groups of at least five!" Virtually all of the chosen in the Necromancer Kettle were taking orders from either Gongsun Yi, Zhou Hong or Xu Shan, so as the messages were sent out, everyone became more cautious than ever.

When that started happening, Naruto got nervous. Although it was possible to kidnap five people at a time, it would take a lot longer. At the moment, he was speeding through the mists, wondering if he should change his appearance with his mask to fool people, when suddenly his face lit up.

"A straggler!" Off in the distance, he could see a burly fellow striding along, slaughtering vengeful souls left and right. It was none other than… Zhao Dongshan.

"He's pretty far away. If he tried to use a minor teleportation, it would definitely drag things out too long…." With that, he produced a greatbow from his bag of holding.

In almost the same moment that Naruto caught sight of Zhao Dongshan, Zhao Dongshan caught

caught sight of him.

Zhao Dongshan was shocked; he had heard that quite a few people were missing, and as such, immediately turned to head toward some of his fellows. However, even as he tried to break out from the tide of souls that had surrounded him, a sensation of profound crisis rose up within him. That sense of crisis didn't come because of his divine sense, but rather, the special technique he cultivated, a fleshly body danger sense!

Looking back in fear at Naruto, he didn't hesitate for even a moment to utilize a minor teleportation. However, before he could complete it, an arrow appeared, shooting toward him at high speed and with shocking energy. Then, before it even reached him, it detonated.

The massive force of the explosion instantly threw the air in the area into chaos.

"A spirit enhanced arrow!" Blood oozed out of the corners of Zhao Dongshan's mouth as he realized that this spirit enhanced arrow had reached the tenfold level or higher. Only arrows like that could create spatial distortions that would interfere with teleportations

A look of despair appeared in his eyes as he tried to back up. As he watched in terror, Naruto used his greatbow to shoot seven more arrows, all of which whistled toward him with incredible speed.

"Uzumaki Hao!" Zhao Dongshan shouted, urgently speeding away physically because he was unable to teleport.

Earlier, he had looked down on this supposed Uzumaki Hao. But then he ended up being the first one struck when the chosen attempted to surround him. His chest still hurt from where he had been bashed into, and because of that, he had no intention of getting into a fight right now. And yet, before he could truly begin to retreat, the arrows were upon him, and exploded.

The explosions cast the area into further chaos, and caused blood to spray out of Zhao Dongshan's mouth. Throwing all caution to the wind, he attempted to flee at top speed. And yet, compared to Naruto, he was too slow. Already, Naruto was closing in on him in utterly aggressive fashion.

The mere thought of how Zhao Dongshan had been the first one to attack him got

him got Naruto very angry. "Think you're tough stuff? Fudge! How dare you be the first one to attack Lord Uzumaki! Lord Uzumaki is gonna beat you to death!"

Without any hesitation, he unleashed a devastating fist strike, which caused deafening rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions. After the proverbial dust cleared, Zhao Dongshan was kidnapped, and Naruto was speeding away.

Naruto's heart was pounding with excitement by this point. He was definitely having a lot of fun with this cat-and-mouse game.

"What a bunch of dolts! All they know how to do is gang up on people.

Hmmmphh! Which of them would dare to fight Lord Uzumaki one-on-one!?" Feeling truly unparalleled under heaven, he flicked his sleeve and proceeded onward proudly. Before long, he encountered a large group of shrieking vengeful souls, from within which could be heard the sounds of fighting.

"Another windfall. The eagle catches more baby chickens…." Licking his lips, he approached carefully until he could see five Wildlander chosen surrounded by vengeful souls. At the moment, they were just on the verge of breaking out into the open. Of the five, four were in the mid Nascent Soul stage, and one was in the late stage. Their combined power was incredible, and obviously, it was only a matter of time before they would be free of the vengeful souls.

"What a pity I can't control the vengeful souls here. That would make things a whole lot simpler!" He sighed, then thought for a moment before producing a fifteen-colored flame. Eyes flickering, and chuckling darkly, he flew forward, concealing the fluctuations of his cultivation base as he got closer and closer to the group of chosen.

Before long, intense rumbling sounds could be heard as red clouds appeared in the sky. Then, fire began to fall like rain. It was none other than the special divine ability Naruto had come up with in the Uzumaki Clan. He had assumed that after reaching the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, he would lose that ability, and yet, unexpectedly, the opposite had happened. It actually got easier to use. As the sea of flames appeared, the vengeful souls began to scatter. As for the five

for the five chosen, their faces fell as they saw the endlessly destructive fire bearing down on them. They immediately turned to flee, which was the exact same moment that Naruto appeared among them, long spear in hand, battle prowess surging as he danced in and out of the raining fire….

Booms filled the air, and after ten breaths of time, Naruto was gone, along with the five chosen. Even after he left, the rain of fire continued to fall with destructive force.

The entire dimension inside the Necromancer Kettle had been thrown into chaos. The Wildlander Chosen were all shocked to the core, and by now, everyone knew that nearly thirty among their number were missing.

Uzumaki Hao was simply too quick. Nobody ever had a chance to try to surround him, and furthermore, it was to the shock of all present that they realized the evil ghosts didn't even notice him.

Everyone was frustrated, enraged, and also shocked. As of this moment, Naruto's revenge was being carried out very smoothly.

By now, the remaining chosen had separated into four main groups, led respectively by Gongsun Yi, Zhou Hong, Xu Shan, and the second prince.

Of course, it wasn't a long-term strategy. After all, they had to track Naruto down. If they didn't, and the deadlock lasted for too long, nobody would get the ghost king fruit.

Eventually, they realized they had to split up. Unfortunately, spreading out into a net-like formation wasn't very suitable in the Necromancer Kettle. There were simply too many evil ghosts and vengeful souls in the place. As such, they had to stick together, even if just to fight off the occasional evil ghost.

Of the four main groups, each had their own separate way of doing things. The second prince had a group of several dozen with him, including Chen Manyao, who stuck together closely as they searched.

Although Gongsun Yi, Zhou Hong and Xu Shan were all very confident in general, they also kept three or four people with them as they searched. The rest of the cultivators stayed in groups of roughly ten. It was in this way that everyone felt confident enough to tackle Naruto if they encountered him.

Chapter 694

A+ A- Chapter 694

Chapter 694: A Soul!

Everyone in the Necromancer Kettle was feeling incredibly jumpy. By this point, all of them realized how powerful Naruto was, and yet, there were no other options than to try to deal him. After all, they couldn't leave the Necromancer Kettle early. They could only follow the orders of Gongsun Yi and the others, and try to track Naruto down.

One by one, they gritted their teeth and continued to search, their main hope being that they could find Uzumaki Hao, surround him, and join forces to kill him.

The Ghost King Orchid was blooming rapidly, and that was their only shot at being able to win it in the end.

As everyone methodically searched for him, Naruto was in a valley between two mountains, chest puffed with pride as he looked at the roughly thirty chosen who were all sitting in front of him, glaring at him angrily. He had sealed both their cultivation bases and their limbs, making it impossible for them to do anything other than look at him threateningly.

"If you're that tough, then just kill us!"

"Hmph! You've brought a heaven-level disaster upon yourself, Uzumaki Hao.

Not even the Giant Ghost King will be able to keep you safe!"

The eyes of Zhao Dongshan and Little Wolfgod were particularly bloodshot. If looks could kill, then their eyes would long since have reduced Naruto to crumbling bone and ash.

"Trying to scare me? You people just wait!" After glaring at the group of thirty, he proudly patted his bag of holding to produce the Eternal Parasol. Then he walked over to one particular young man whose voice had been more threatening than any of the others.

Startled, the young man stared angrily at Naruto and said, "What do you think you're going to do with that?!"

"Oh nothing. Heh heh. The technique I cultivate requires life force, so I'm going to borrow a bit from you…." Clearing his throat, and yet not hesitating for a moment, he… stabbed the Eternal Parasol into the young man's chest.

The young man let out a bloodcurdling scream that caused the faces of the other chosen to flicker with various emotions. Many of them even began to pant. Shocked, they watched as the young man's body began to visibly wither. After ten breaths of time passed, his hair had

turned white, and he appeared to be little more than skin and bones. At this point, their hearts were starting to pound, and they were looking at Naruto with terrified eyes.

The Eternal Parasol exerted a bizarre, almost demonic gravitational force that greedily gobbled up all life force.

That life force in turn poured into Naruto, causing him to tremble inwardly. When he decided enough was enough, he retracted the Eternal Parasol. Then, face slightly flush, he ignored everyone else present and sat down cross-legged to meditate and work on the fourth level of the Undying Codex, the Undying Bones!

The life force which had just poured into him rapidly vanished, soaked into his bones as surely as water would soak into parched earth. At the same time, a comfortable expression appeared on Naruto's face.

The scene which was playing out caused Little Wolfgod, Zhao Dongshan, and everyone else to gasp in shock. Their faces drained of blood, and expressions of terror appeared. As for the young man whose life force had just been drained away, he seemed like he was gasping his last breaths. Although he wasn't dead, his vital energy had been badly damaged.

"What kind of devilish technique does this Uzumaki Hao cultivate?!"

"Heavens! He directly extracted that life force to use in cultivation…."

"Now I get why he kidnapped all of us. He wants to use us to further his cultivation!"

As everyone trembled in fear, Naruto's eyes snapped open, and they brimmed with spirit and joy. "Hahaha! It's exactly as I predicted. As long as I have enough life force, I can cultivate my Undying Bones at will. Hmmmphh! I'm not going to kill these people, I'm going to suck their life force dry, toss them over to the Giant Ghost King, and then let him deal with the headache!"

Chuckling to himself, he looked around at the flustered chosen, and before any of them could say anything, he rose to his feet and approached one of them.

"Hi there! I sure hope you can cooperate. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt…." Beaming from ear to ear, he stabbed the Eternal Parasol into the chest of the terrified chosen….

It didn't take long before he moved from the second chosen to the third, and then the fourth…. It took eight hours to extract the life force from everyone present. As for

for his bones, thanks to the influx of life force and the cultivation of his technique, they soon reached the point where two thunderous booms spread out inside of him.

At that point, his entire body emitted a black glow that slowly faded away. Then he opened his eyes and expelled a mouthful of impure vital energy. As of this moment, his bones were much more resilient than before.

"The second stratum of Tempered Bones!" Eyes shining with anticipation, he contemplated how all he had to do was reach the next stratum, and he would be able to use the Undying Emperor's Fist.

"The life force requirements of the Undying Bones are terrifying. Even with all these people, all I could do was reach the second stratum…. Ridiculous. However, at least now I know that it was the right decision to come to the Necromancer Kettle. Having all these chosen here is like having my choice of a whole bunch of high-level medicine!" Radiating health and vigor, he looked at the thirty emaciated and listless chosen, and then quickly threw them back into his bag of holding. Then, he flew back out into the mists.

Naruto proceeded along carefully, making sure to stay hidden as he went. Before long, a frown could be seen on his face as he realized that most of the chosen weren't in groups of five, but rather, ten.

Considering that, it wasn't likely that he could end a fight quickly. If he got wrapped up in a protracted fight, he would end up getting surrounded like he had in the beginning.

"Hmph! Groups of ten? Well, I can still attack them. Maybe I won't be able to catch all of them in one shot, but I'm in no hurry. Slow and steady!" After putting a moment of thought into planning, he snorted coldly and melted into the mists. Before long, he had found his target, a group of ten chosen who were doing nothing to conceal the power of their cultivation bases. Although the occasional vengeful soul would appear to harry them, they handled them with ease.

As Naruto got closer, his pupils constricted when he realized that one of the chosen in this group was none other than… Miao Lin'er.

He remembered the mystical magical technique she had used during their initial encounter, which had caused all of his

of his injuries to flare up. It was that sudden increase in the severity of his wounds that gave Zhou Hong a chance to hit him with a dangerous attack.

"What a vicious woman! Although my current physical appearance doesn't quite measure up to what I really look like, I'm still handsome! I never did anything to offend her, and yet she went so far as to attack with complete venom!" Narrowing his eyes, he studied Miao Lin'er a bit more closely. Then he made a few calculations, after which his eyes shone with determination. Without the slightest hesitation, he burst into motion with all the speed he could muster.

In the blink of an eye, he became a streak of light that shot with lightning-like speed that bordered on teleportation. Before anyone could react, he was right on top of Miao Lin'er's group, where he unleashed a fist strike.

That fist strike became a tempest that descended onto the group with impunity. As for Miao Lin'er and the other chosen, their expressions flickered at the sight of Naruto. Some even coughed up blood. However, all of them immediately spread out in specific directions. As for Miao Lin'er, she chuckled and said, "You fell into our trap, Uzumaki Hao! Into formation, everyone!'

Strange gleams appeared in the eyes of the surrounding chosen. At the same time, magical symbols began to pour off of all of them. In the blink of an eye, the symbols linked together to make a spell formation!

Rumbling sounds filled the 300-meter area around them, creating something like a prison that had Naruto completely locked down inside of it.

This was the secret plan devised by Gongsun Yi and the other top chosen. All of the groups that were out in the mists were prepared to instantly create spell formations if Naruto dared to show his face. As soon as Naruto ended up in the spell formation, the news was passed to Gongsun Yi, Zhou Hong and Xu Shan, all of whom began to rush toward the area.

Zhou Hong was the nearest, and had three people with him, one of whom was Li Tiansheng. Considering the speed they were capable of, it would only take them about ten breaths of time to reach the location where Naruto had been caught.

Drastic developments were underway inside of the Necromancer Kettle

the Necromancer Kettle as all of the chosen raced at top speed toward Naruto.

Even as Miao Lin'er's laughter echoed out, her face suddenly turned pale, and her eyes widened. Despite the fact that Naruto was right there in the middle of the spell formation, he didn't seem flustered at all. In fact, he even had a bit of a scornful look in his eyes. Taking a step toward Miao Lin'er, he quickly utilized his Undying Hex.

Rumbling could be heard as he vanished from within the spell formation, to appear right in front of her.

"Impossible!" Miao Lin'er's face fell as she tried to fall back. However, before she could, Naruto bashed into her like a wild animal. An old saying talked about tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex, but there was none of that in his actions. He unleashed devastating force that caused blood to spray out of her mouth. Her cultivation base was instantly thrown into chaos, and many of her bones shattered. Her nascent soul was on the verge of flying out into the open. Before she could even consider fleeing, Naruto reached out and grabbed her arm, sending cultivation base power inside of her to seal her.

It all happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. The fact that Miao Lin'er had been captured struck fear into the hearts of the other surrounding chosen, and even Zhou Hong and the other who were rushing over were taken completely by surprise.

Many of the vengeful souls in the surrounding mist were startled, and then turned their bloodthirsty, voracious eyes upon the nearby chosen….

Feeling very proud of himself, Naruto took the sensual, voluptuous Miao Lin'er with him as he turned to flee. However, even as he did that, his eyes happened to fall onto one particular vengeful soul within the hordes in the area!

He suddenly stopped in place, trembling, an expression of complete disbelief on his face. He almost felt like he were being struck by countless bolts of lightning.

Although this vengeful soul looked slightly different from the living person it had come from, it was still easy to tell who it was. Furthermore, it was someone that Naruto was very familiar with!

It was a struggle to hold back from shouting the name out loud. "Uzumaki

Hao!"

Chapter 695

A+ A- Chapter 695

Chapter 695: Crushing Everyone!

Naruto was well aware of that special characteristic of the world he lived in. After people died, their souls would enter the Underworld River and then emerge somewhere in the Wildlands.

He had even wondered about where exactly in the Wildlands Uzumaki Hao's soul might have ended up…. However, the thought of finding him had seemed like an impossibility. It would be like finding a needle in an ocean, and was something that not even a demigod could do.

The idea of retrieving Uzumaki Hao's soul could only occasionally flash through his mind and quickly transform into a sigh of regret.

How could he ever have imagined that in a completely unexpected turn of events, he would actually encounter Uzumaki Hao's soul in the Necromancer Kettle!?

He was a vengeful soul, filled with madness and greed, not completely the same in appearance as he had been in life, and bursting with an aura of sinister death. However, Naruto recognized at first glance that it was Uzumaki Hao!

Naruto was more familiar with Uzumaki Hao than anyone else in the world. Not only was he his apprentice, he had also used his identity to reach his current position and status in the Wildlands.

Naruto was stunned. He hadn't forgotten that people were rushing toward him, and that if he slowed down for a moment, it was possible he could end up getting surrounded.

And yet, he stopped in place. He could not pass up this opportunity.

After all, even knowing that Uzumaki Hao's soul was in the Necromancer Kettle wouldn't necessarily do much good. Even going to search for him in that one particular area would be difficult. Furthermore, if Uzumaki Hao's soul were to die, then Naruto would feel regret over the matter for the rest of his life.

Of course, he also knew that Uzumaki Hao's soul represented incredible danger. If anyone else found out the truth, and exposed his identity, the fact that the Uzumaki Hao that everyone knew was really Naruto would be extremely problematic.

The best choice would probably have been to leave, and completely ignore Uzumaki Hao's soul. After all, despite the fact that it was possible someone might notice him, it was very unlikely.

Another option would have been to destroy his soul. That would ensure that there were no cracks

in Naruto's story. However, Naruto didn't even consider that option.

There was only one thought in his mind at the moment…. This was his apprentice! The first apprentice he had ever taken in his life! Now that he had encountered him, there was no way he could shrink back from trying to save him!

Therefore, he didn't hesitate at all to spin in place and then leap over to the location where Uzumaki Hao's soul was within the horde of souls. Of course, the souls didn't notice him, and therefore, he didn't cause a stir by entering their midst. Instead, the souls were looking greedily at the Wildlander chosen, toward whom they began to fly, Uzumaki Hao included.

However, before Uzumaki Hao's soul could pick up any speed, Naruto reached out, grabbed him, and threw him into a soulhoarding pagoda.

Just as nervous as ever, he then turned to face two beams of light which were approaching at rapid speed.

They were none other than Zhou Hong and Li Tiansheng!

"Uzumaki Hao!" Zhou Hong roared, his cultivation base surging with the power of the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, sending devastating fluctuations out in all directions. Then he crushed the jade slip he had been holding in his hand, instantly throwing the surrounding area into chaos, and making all teleportations impossible.

His actions were performed with practiced fluidity, and were accomplished even as his voice rumbled out like heavenly thunder.

Within moments, he was right in front of Naruto, striding forward with black streams of light whipping about around him. Those streams of light then began to swirl through the air toward Naruto, radiating the fearsome aura of a deva. Clearly, this was a trump card that had been given to him by his father, the Nine Serenities King.

Behind him, a sinister cold look could be seen in the eyes of Li Tiansheng, who had intentionally slowed down. Waving his sleeve, he sent a five-colored toxic gas out which caused even the souls it touched to emit agonized screams and dissolve into nothing.

The rest of the cultivators in the area seemed excited to see Zhou Hong, and quickly began to fan out to prevent Naruto from escaping. They knew that all they had to do was delay him for a short time, and as long as enough

enough of the other chosen hurried over, they would be able to kill him.

Even if he were stronger than he had already proved to be, it wouldn't matter. With numbers on their side, not even a deva would take them on casually.

Naruto understood that just as well as them. Looking over at Zhou Hong, he glanced at the streams of light he was using as a weapon, which seemed extremely dangerous. Then he unleashed a fist strike, drawing upon both the explosive power of his fleshly body power, and also his cultivation base. A tempest sprang up, causing everything in the area to tremble, and Zhou Hong's expression to flicker. Instantly, he sent the black streams of light whipping back to defend himself. A boom rang out, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as an expression of disbelief filled his face.

"How could he be so strong!?" Zhou Hong's eyes were completely bloodshot, and filled with a look of defiant madness. More black strands of light shot out, filled with a netherworldly glow as they sliced toward Naruto. However, this time, Naruto sidestepped, speeding past Zhou Hong toward some of the mid Nascent Soul stage chosen beyond him.

At the same time, he pulled out the Eternal Parasol and unhesitatingly stabbed it into Miao Lin'er's side.

She screamed as her life force was sucked away, and her beautiful face withered up. At the same time, Naruto's Undying Bones emitted rumbling sounds as they used the new life force to push almost completely into the great circle of the second stratum of the Tempered Bones.

Miao Lin'er alone was enough to do that, much to Naruto's shock. Clearly, Miao Lin'er's life force far surpassed that of others.

"What technique does this little wench cultivate to have so much life force?" he murmured to himself. "Considering how revealing and smuttily she dresses, it must be some evil technique!"

Of course, everything that occurred happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. After tossing Miao Lin'er into his bag of holding, he accelerated toward the mid Nascent Soul stage cultivators. As they unleashed a bombardment of divine abilities, he snapped the Eternal Parasol open to defend himself, then stabbed it into one of the cultivators.

The cultivator screamed as his body withered up,

withered up, and he was then thrown into Naruto's bag of holding. Then Naruto turned and shot toward his next target. Zhou Hong's fury burned as he gave chase, and yet, he was not nearly as fast as Naruto. However, after Naruto sucked away the life force from four cultivators, Zhou Hong performed an incantation gesture, causing all of the black streams of light to form together into a huge spike which shot toward Naruto.

The black spike clearly contained the aura of a deva, causing Naruto to gasp and pull out his turtle-wok to defend himself. A boom could be heard as Naruto fell back by several dozen meters, after which he stabbed the Eternal Parasol into another nearby chosen who had been too slow to evade him.

As the chosen screamed and withered up, life force poured into Naruto's Undying Bones, pushing them all the way to the great circle of the Tempered Bones.

It all happened so quickly that the other surrounding chosen didn't even have time to gasp. Furthermore, none of them dared to get anywhere near Naruto, and were all backing away. Naruto's unique battle methods had them all feeling completely shaken.

"Do you dare to fight me one-on-one, Uzumaki Hao?!" Zhou Hong shouted in rage, closing in on him. As for Li Tiansheng, his face was ashen, and he was backing away, cowed by Naruto's bizarre parasol.

"Calm down. I'm leaving you for last so that I can test out my most powerful fist strike." Ignoring Zhou Hong, Naruto turned his attention on the retreating Li Tiansheng. Lips turning up into a grin, he lifted his foot and prepared to move. Although he couldn't use his Undying Hex because of the jade slip Zhou Hong had crushed earlier, his fleshly body itself was capable of teleportation-level speed. As soon as his foot touched down, he transformed into a series of afterimages that shot directly toward Li Tiansheng!

That smile caused Li Tiansheng's scalp to prickle with fear. Mind reeling, he began to back up even faster, simultaneously waving his hands through the air and spitting out even more toxic gas. The toxic gas immediately transformed into a seven-colored skull which shot toward Naruto as if to consume him.

Naruto completely ignored the seven-colored skull, and in

skull, and in fact just pierced right through it with the help of a handful of fourteenfold spirit enhanced items. Then, he was right in front of Li Tiansheng.

"Is playing with poison really that fun…?" he said as he thrust the Eternal Parasol toward Li Tiansheng's chest. Li Tiansheng let out a shout, causing a red glow to explode out from inside of him. Numerous defensive magical items also appeared. However, it was in that moment that a colorful light appeared in Naruto's eyes, which cast Li Tiansheng's cultivation base into chaos. Li Tiansheng suddenly slowed down, and to his terror… the Eternal Parasol stabbed into him.

Li Tiansheng began to wither up as his life force poured out of him and into Naruto. As it entered Naruto's bones, he shivered, and rumbling sounds echoed out inside of him. Furthermore, deep within his eyes, a golden light could be seen. His Undying Bones… had broken through into the third stratum of the Tempered Bones!

A warm, comfortable feeling filled him, and he could instantly sense that the defensive level of his fleshly body had increased. Even more exciting to him was that he now met the minimum requirements to use the Undying Emperor's Fist!

Meanwhile, whistling sounds could be heard as Gongsun Yi, Xu Shan, the second prince and Chen Manyao arrived with even more chosen.

"Stop him, Zhou Hong!"

"Don't let him get away!"

Zhou Hong watched as Li Tiansheng was captured, and then heard the cries of the approaching cultivators, and it caused his anger to burn hotter. Throwing his head back, he howled, sending more streams of black light flying out around him. At this point, he was so angry that he was finally resorting to one of his trump cards.

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as the black streams all began to shoot toward Naruto!

Naruto took a deep breath and clenched his hands into fists. Then his eyes began to shine with bright light as his aura began to retract. It was almost as if all signs of life in his body were fading away. At the same time, a black vortex could be seen spinning around his fist.

Within that vortex were indescribably terrifying fluctuations that caused anyone who could see them to blanch in fear!

He was assuming the opening stance of the Undying Emperor's Fist!

Chapter 696

A+ A- Chapter 696

Chapter 696: Undying Emperor's Fist!

The fourth level of the Undying Codex, the Undying Bones, had a secret magic known as the Undying Emperor's Fist, and this was Naruto's first time using it. As he did, his aura, his flesh and blood, and even his soul and life force, seemed to be compressing down to the ultimate level.

Cracking sounds could be heard from his bones as the foundation of his heaven-shaking, earth-shattering fist strike was prepared. Within moments, Naruto pulsed with explosive power.

That power soon turned into a wild tempest that coursed through him with such power that, if his bones weren't imbued with such incredible defensive power, it would have crushed him out of existence!

His skeleton was the foundation of it all. The power of his flesh and blood was madly compressed, until finally... it exploded out through his skin.

This was a crucial moment, and a unique aspect to the Undying Emperor's Fist. Under normal circumstances, the power would have erupted from his skin in explosive fashion and dissipated in all directions. But instead, ninety-nine percent of the locations where that power would normally have vented, were now sealed up! The only place for the power to go... was the fist formed by his right hand!

All of a sudden, a black hole appeared inside of him that seemed capable of crushing everything in existence. As for his right fist, the black vortex that had formed around it emanated an aura that could shake heaven and earth, an aura that seemed impossible to constrict or restrain!

It seemed so powerful that if it were to strike out, Naruto's entire body would be hit by a backlash from the Undying Emperor's Fist, and destroyed!

Behind Naruto, a shadowy figure appeared. It was a

man in imperial robes, with an imperial crown. Although his facial features were impossible to make out, there was something domineering about him, as though his imperial will were superior to all creation!

Everything around Naruto shattered and twisted. Off in the distance, Gongsun Yi, Xu Shan, the second prince, Chen Manyao, and everyone else all gasped in shock!

Zhou Hong was the closest to Naruto, and as soon as he sensed that something strange was going on, a feeling of imminent, deadly crisis rose up within him.

However, before Zhou Hong could do anything, Naruto grinned... looked at Zhou Hong and his black streaks of light... and unleashed a fist strike!

The shadowy emperor behind Naruto merged into his fist, causing it to thrum with a domineering, imperial will!

Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth, and a screaming wind kicked up. It was as if an enormous giant were unleashing all of the power in its body! At the same time, a boundless gravitational force sprang up, and the black vortex grew rapidly in size until it was fully 30 meters across. As it did, it sucked in all of the color in the world, becoming the focus of all attention, as if that fist and that vortex were the only things that existed in the world!

As the fist strike rocketed through the air, Zhou Hong let out a miserable shriek. Eyes filling with panic and terror, and heart pounding painfully, he sent streams of green light flowing out of himself to form a long sword. Gripping the sword tightly, he slashed it toward the incoming fist.

"Nine Serenities Slash!" The mad slash of his sword shook heaven and earth. Green sword light spilled out, shredding the air, and was joined by the black

black streams of light, which were like a sword rain that shot toward Naruto.

The witnesses to the event were reeling in shock at the ferocious scene playing out in front of them. Never before had any of them seen a fight like this between two members of their own generation.

However, it only lasted for the briefest of moments. When the green sword light contacted the black vortex of Naruto's fist strike, a massive boom filled the area!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

As the deafening sound rolled out, Zhou Hong's green sword light shattered, and the black streams of light writhed as they were wiped out of existence. A torrent of blood sprayed out of Zhou Hong's mouth as virtually all the bones in his body were broken. His flesh was instantly lacerated into a mangled mass of bloody strips, and his nascent soul flew out into the open. Immediately rendered unconscious, he was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut.

The debut of the Undying Emperor's Fist was shocking to everyone who could observe it!

Furthermore, Naruto hadn't even used the full power of the fist strike, only about thirty percent. Aware of how devastating it was, he had actually been holding back for fear of killing Zhou Hong.

And yet, even that thirty percent was completely and utterly

astonishing.

Just as the description of the fist strike had indicated, it could shake heaven and rock the earth. Its power vastly surpassed the Throat Crushing Grasp and the Mountain Shaking Bash! It was a domineering power that could shake one to the depths of their psyche!

Everyone present felt like they were being struck by heavenly lightning, and only began to gasp after a long moment of shock. Even Gongsun Yi and the second prince were stunned, and subconsciously

and subconsciously tried to calculate how they would have fared if struck. It only took a moment for them to come to the conclusion... that only someone far stronger than Zhou Hong would be able to stand up to that domineering imperial will!

Nobody in the Necromancer Kettle could possibly stand up to it!

None of the chosen would ever have been able to guess that Naruto had a technique like this at his disposal. It was a fist strike so powerful that it didn't even seem like something from the Nascent Soul level...

Taking advantage of the fact that Zhou Hong had been knocked unconscious, Naruto sped forward, grabbed his fleshly body and nascent soul, and then transformed into a beam of light that shot away with lightning-like speed.

The shocked bystanders all prepared to start chasing him, and yet, even before they could take a single step, a haughty voice rang in their ears.

"Don't provoke me, fools! I can use that same fist strike a hundred more times if I want!"

Because of the haughty and domineering tone, everyone, without exception, stopped moving... Not a single person dared to give chase!

Even Gongsun Yi was left trembling, a very unsightly expression on his face. There he stood, panting a bit, his leg still hovering above the ground as he stared at Naruto fleeing into the distance.

As of this moment, Gongsun Yi's pride had suffered a major blow.

Then there was the termagant Xu Shan, who was equally stunned as she watched Naruto leaving. There was a look in her eyes which was rarely seen... fervent adoration!

The second prince's eyes flickered as countless conflicting emotions appeared in his heart. As for Chen Manyao, she stood next to the second prince, a mixture of suspicion and astonishment mingling deep astonishment mingling deep in her eyes.

After a long moment, however, people finally began to react.

"There's absolutely no way he can use a fist strike like that more than a few times!"

"That's right. If he could, why would he run away? If he really is the type who seeks revenge over the smallest grievance, then why wouldn't he take advantage of how shocked we were to simply attack us!?"

Gongsun Yi and the other top chosen didn't say anything, but considering their level and status, they obviously saw through Naruto's ruse.

And yet, even if it was a bluff, the images of what had just occurred were burned into their minds, filling them with fear.

Another moment passed. Finally, Xu Shan took a deep breath and then began to give chase. Next was the second prince, and then Chen Manyao. However, none of those three were interested in fighting Naruto. Rather, they had other intentions. Although most of the chosen present couldn't tell that, Gongsun Yi could.

He stood there quietly for a moment, eyes bloodshot as his desire to do battle slowly grew. "I cannot allow anyone to surpass me. As of this moment, Uzumaki Hao... you have my attention!"

At that point his cultivation base surged with power as he headed, not after Naruto... but toward the Ghost King Orchid! "That's where you'll end up eventually, and that's where I'll be waiting... to fight you!"

Determination shone in Gongsun Yi's eyes, as well as the desire to do battle.

Everyone else exchanged awkward glances, and all of them regretted having provoked someone as inhuman as this. And yet, none of them could ever have predicted what had just occurred, that a person they all assumed they could easily crush would actually turn out to be a vicious and dangerous beast.

Chapter 697

A+ A- Chapter 697

Chapter 697: Get Back Here, Uzumaki Hao

"Dammit, I can't believe this Uzumaki Hao is so strong! If he had used that fist strike from the beginning, then of course we wouldn't have provoked him!"

"Yeah, exactly! If he had shown such spectacular battle prowess early on, we would have tried to make friends with him, not attack him! There really wasn't a need to let things reach this point!"

Everyone was grumbling about the situation, but nobody could do a single thing about it. Instead, they banded together into three groups and scattered in different directions. None of them had any plans to try to kill Naruto. Neither did any of them harbor any aspirations of getting the ghost king fruit. All of them were thinking the same thing….

It didn't matter who ended up with the ghost king fruit; their current goal was to get out of the Necromancer Kettle as quickly as possible….

Meanwhile, Naruto sped along through the mists, his face ashen.

Even he had been shocked to see the Undying Emperor's Fist in action. At the moment, his fleshly body power was severely drained, and his blood, bones, muscles, and tendons all burned with pain.

Thankfully, he had only used thirty percent of the power of the fist strike, and had been able to rely on the power of his cultivation base to flee. Otherwise, he would have been in big trouble.

"The Undying Emperor's Fist is incredible. If I had used it at full strength, then even a deva would have been shaken." The mere thought of how things had played out left him excited. He had begun to cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique from the moment he stepped into the cultivation world, and had spent a huge amount of resources on it throughout the years.

After seeing that spectacular fist strike, he decided that it had all been worth it. Furthermore, now that he had reached the third stratum of the Tempered Bones level, his bones constantly radiated a pleasant warmth into him. Clearly, his fleshly body's defensive capabilities

were now far beyond what they had been before.

In addition, he could recover from injuries much more quickly.

"When I made my exit earlier, everyone was clearly terrified.

Hmmmphh! I guess there was no reason to be so frightened earlier on!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto realized that his ability to crush everyone else in the Necromancer Kettle meant that he didn't need to be nervous at all. In fact, it was with great anticipation that he pulled the unconscious Zhou Hong out of his bag of holding. After putting his nascent soul back into his fleshly body, he pulled out the Eternal Parasol and stabbed it into his chest.

The pain caused Zhou Hong's eyes to snap open.

"What do you think you're doing, Uzumaki Hao?!" he shouted angrily. However, before he could do anything else, his life force began to drain out, provoking a scream of pain. In the blink of an eye, he was withered up, his life force absorbed by Naruto, who used it to help restore his fleshly body power. As for Zhou Hong, because of his serious injuries and the pain, he quickly passed out again.

Naruto pulled the Eternal Parasol back, and then glared at Zhou Hong angrily.

"Useless! Not even Li Tiansheng was this weak. How can you have so little life force? Are you really an heir apparent? You look like silver, but you're really pewter!" Grumbling angrily, he put Zhou Hong back into his bag of holding and then shot onward through the mists.

An entire day went by, and Naruto continued to rock the

Necromancer Kettle. With his incredible battle prowess, his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul, and his incredible fleshly body power, he was a force to be reckoned with among the Wildlander chosen. He was like a hungry wolf thrown into a flock of sheep….

Well, perhaps to put it that way would be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Early on, he had not been drawing on the full potential of his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul,

Soul, but now he was. Other than some individuals who were already half a step out of the Nascent Soul stage, those powerful experts who had already gained some enlightenment of heaven and earth and were almost devas, few people could possibly be a match for him.

Not even Zhou Hong, who was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, came close. Therefore, there was no need to even mention all of the other chosen. Besides, Naruto was actually confident that the power of his Undying Emperor's Fist would be enough to cause a deva to back down.

During the day which passed, Naruto appeared inside of the Necromancer Kettle on numerous occasions. Because there were no solitary stragglers, and not even any groups with five people, he had no choice but to target the groups with dozens of people in them.

He truly was like a starving wolf, stalking about madly. When he attacked, he would grab a few people and then flee before anyone could do anything. Because of that, no one could defend against him, and everyone was slipping into even greater depths of fear.

After a day passed, he had kidnapped more than thirty chosen, which meant that more than sixty percent of the total group of Wildlanders had fallen into his hands.

As for the final group of thirty or so, they trembled with fear, especially because of the strange parasol that he used, which consumed life force.

The survivors were now split into two groups. One group went with the second prince and Chen Manyao to regroup with Gongsun Yi near the Ghost King Orchid. The other group headed back in the direction they knew to be the mouth of the Necromancer Kettle, and the exit. Clearly, they were admitting defeat, and didn't want to contend with Naruto. They wanted to get out of this place at the earliest possible moment.

Other than those two groups, there was a single person who continued to search for Naruto within the mists. It was none other than Princess Xu Shan,

Xu Shan, daughter of the Spirit Advent King.

A strange light could be seen flickering in her eyes as she attempted to track Naruto down.

"I'll definitely find you eventually, Uzumaki Hao. You're mine!" Half a day before, she had run into him, and they had begun to fight. However, after only fighting for a short time, he knocked her several hundred meters away with a fist strike, then turned and fled. Xu Shan was not happy with that outcome at all.

Naruto's numerous victories over so many chosen had him feeling very, very confident in how intrepid and valiant he was. He currently had more than seventy people captive in his bag of holding, all of them sucked so dry of life force that they were little more than skin and bones.

With so much life force, his Tempered Bones had long since passed from the third stratum to the fifth. The defensive capabilities of his fleshly body were such that divine abilities belonging to the early Nascent Soul stage would still hurt slightly if they hit him, but wouldn't significantly injure him.

"It won't be long now before I reach the sixth stratum…." he thought excitedly as he sped through the mists. After searching here and there for a couple hours, he came to find that the remaining chosen had split into two groups.

"What bullies, forcing me to work so hard!" Sighing at how impressive he was, he looked in the direction of the group which had already admitted defeat.

"Ah, whatever. Since they've admitted the error of their ways, Lord Uzumaki will let them go for now. However, as for all the people who are waiting by the Ghost King Orchid, they can't blame Lord Uzumaki for teaching them a lesson!" Licking his lips, he began to fly toward the Ghost King Orchid. However, even as he took to motion, a beam of light appeared behind him in the mists.

Within it was a young woman, who after catching sight of Naruto, suddenly shouted, "Get back here, Uzumaki Hao…!" As soon as he saw the shadowy

saw the shadowy figure approaching, Naruto's self-confidence vanished. Frowning, he accelerated with all the speed he could muster, moving in the opposite direction.

During his fight with Xu Shan half a day earlier, he had been put in a very bad position. It wasn't that she was particularly powerful; she actually had about the same battle prowess as Zhou Hong. However, she had a jade pendant that had been given to her by her father the Spirit Advent King, which gave her a defensive shield that Naruto couldn't penetrate.

The Nine Serenities King and the War Champion King had not given special magical items to Zhou Hong and Gongsun Yi, their reasoning being that they didn't believe anyone in the Wildlands would go so far as to try to kill their sons. Considering that Zhou Hong and Gongsun Yi were both heirs apparent who would be kings in the future, giving them defensive treasures could actually do more harm than good.

They wanted their sons to be sharpened on the grindstone of battle!

But the Spirit Advent King did not think in such a way. He had given a special jade pendant to Xu Shan, a magical item whose shield could not be broken, even by a deva. Only a strike from a demigod would be able to pierce through it.

Because of that… Xu Shan was completely and utterly safe. In fact, she could almost be considered to be cheating in the Necromancer Kettle. Not even Naruto with his seemingly unvanquishable battle prowess would be able to hurt her….

After fighting back and forth with her, he was stunned to find that he simply couldn't hurt her. Angry and a bit depressed, he had finally sent her flying away with a fist strike, and then fled.

And yet, she didn't seem to want to give up, and kept chasing him. The fact that she kept trying to fight him had him feeling very down, and at the same time, glad that not everyone was like her. Otherwise, the Necromancer Kettle would definitely not be any fun at all.

Chapter 698

A+ A- Chapter 698

Chapter 698: Secret Magic Of The Imperial Clan

Naruto quickly put quite a distance between himself and Xu Shan, and soon disappeared into the mists.

Further back, Xu Shan stopped in place and stamped her foot onto the ground angrily. "I'm going to catch you eventually, Uzumaki Hao. You're mine! Mine!"

In response, Naruto picked up speed. The fact that this princess from Spirit Advent City seemed dead set on fighting him was a big headache.

"How can I fight this wench when she has that jade pendant…?" The more he thought about it, the more annoying he found her to be. And yet, there was nothing he could do about the situation. Worried that she was still following him, he zigged and zagged a bit before heading in the direction of the Ghost King Orchid.

Some distance away from the valley containing the Ghost King Orchid, Gongsun Yi sat on a low-lying hilltop, doing breathing exercises. His goal was to keep himself in top condition for the coming fight, which he was burning to get into.

He was still completely and utterly confident that Uzumaki Hao would show up soon.

Not too far away were the second prince and Chen Manyao, surrounded by a dozen or so chosen from the various noble clans. All of them had very unsightly expressions on their faces because of everything that had occurred in the Necromancer Kettle.

Nobody had even considered that something so unexpected could take place. First was the nascent divinity void restrictive spell, which caught everyone off guard, and then there was the fact that Uzumaki Hao had turned out to be shockingly powerful. It was occasionally possible to catch sight of the group who had already given up, sitting in their location near the mouth of the enormous kettle.

Many in the group near the Ghost King Orchid had also thought of giving up, but simply couldn't bring themselves to do it. Even though they knew Naruto was incredibly strong, some of them still hoped that there

was another chance left. After all… the second prince was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, and they also had the matchless Junior Champion King Gongsun Yi on their side. Plus, there was the Grand Heavenmaster's apprentice Chen Manyao. With those three, they still hoped that they could defeat Uzumaki Hao.

Many thoughts passed through the minds of the waiting chosen as they calculated what there was to gain and lose by taking a stand. At the same time, they kept looking around vigilantly.

As for the second prince, his eyes flickered as he contemplated a train of thought quite different from most of the others. He was intrigued by Uzumaki Hao; after all, it seemed obvious that the Giant Ghost King had actually cruelly abandoned Uzumaki Hao in the Necromancer Kettle….

"Perhaps I can win this Uzumaki Hao over to my side…. Although, considering the high level of his cultivation base, he must surely have aspirations of his own. If I want to win him over, I'll need to give him a good reason to do so!" Off to the side sat Chen Manyao, her brow furrowed as she thought back to what she had seen of Uzumaki Hao. There was definitely something about him that seemed familiar, although she still hadn't been able to come up with any concrete clues to work with.

Even as everyone sat wrapped up in their thoughts, Gongsun Yi suddenly looked up. The second prince and Chen Manyao also turned their heads, and the hearts of everyone else lurched as they looked over in the same direction.

Off in the distance, the mists churned as a figure sped through them like a whizzing arrow. And that figure was heading in their direction.

His hair whipped about him, and his clothes flapped in the wind. His eyes shone with bright light, and he radiated a domineering and proud air.

"Uzumaki Hao!"

"He's here!" Everyone was immediately shaken. The desire to do battle exploded in Gongsun Yi's heart, but he suppressed it for

for the moment. Remaining there cross-legged, he closed his eyes and went back to meditating; his aura was currently not stable enough, and he wanted to be completely calm.

"The time to fight has not yet come…." he murmured. He wanted to wait until his battle spirit was like a raging torrent.

"Uzumaki Hao, you will be the grindstone that makes me an even sharper blade than before!"

The atmosphere of the group by the Ghost King Orchid immediately grew very stifled upon the appearance of Naruto. The second prince's eyes flickered, and he took a step forward, turning into a blur of afterimages as he shot toward Naruto.

That immediately got the other chosen excited, many of whom flew to join the second prince.

Only Gongsun Yi and Chen Manyao didn't move. Unlike Gongsun Yi,

Chen Manyao's eyes were shining brightly as she stared at Naruto, imprinting his every move and action into her mind.

Also paying close attention was the group of a dozen or so who were near the mouth of the Necromancer Kettle. Although they had already admitted defeat, it was a begrudging action at best, and they were all eager to see how things would play out.

Everyone paid close attention as Naruto and the second prince shot toward each other and then collided.

The second prince drew fully upon the power of the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that summoned seven shadowy figures, each of them fully 300 meters tall.

Each shadowy figure wore imperial robes, had an imperial crown, and radiated an ancient air. The figures seemed to lock the entire area down, creating something like a domain in which the second prince radiated the aura of an emperor!

This was the first time he had summoned such an energy, which despite not being the power of a deva, was very close to it, and actually seemed to provoke a reaction from all heaven and earth.

Then, rumbling could be heard as a golden dragon appeared, which

appeared, which shot roaring through the air toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression flickered at the shocking sight of the second prince's divine ability. It actually seemed very similar to his own Undying Emperor's Fist, although the two were clearly different on a fundamental nature. The Undying Emperor's Fist drew upon the power of his own body and then blessed it with explosive might. In contrast, the second prince's technique was clearly drawing on outside power.

The fact that the second prince could command a Chakra flow that agitated the energy of heaven and earth left Naruto feeling as if he were witnessing something that all of the people of the Arch-Emperor in the Wildlands would bow down and offer worship to.

However, what was most shocking of all was the fact that any one of the seven shadowy figures was filled with so much power that it caused Naruto's scalp to tingle.

Unexpectedly, the second prince could clearly use only this one divine ability to counter multiple fist strikes from Naruto!

"What divine ability is this?!" he thought, shocked. As for everyone else who was watching, they started to get very excited.

"That's Arch-Emperor magic! It's the imperial clan's secret magic!"

"It's been a long time since I've seen the imperial clan's secret magic. The second prince definitely deserves his reputation. After the grand prince, he's next in line to earn the imperial title!"

The rumbling sounds of the fighting which filled the air soon drowned out the noise of the chattering crowd.

"He's a lot stronger than Zhou Hong!" Naruto thought, his pupils constricted. With that, he extended his right hand, within which appeared the sixteenfold spirit enhanced black spear.

An unsightly expression could be seen on the second prince's face as he fell back. He was actually not having as easy of a time as he was making it look. To his astonishment, he found that his cultivation base was actually being suppressed, and was difficult to rotate. Were it not for the fact that he was in

he was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage and was using the imperial clan's secret magic, he would already have been seriously wounded by the fighting. By this point, he couldn't hold out any longer, and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Shock and terror could be seen in his eyes as he realized that Naruto hadn't even used his trump card, that fist attack.

"This Uzumaki Hao is too strong! Not even my imperial clan secret magic is strong enough to get him under control…." With that, he threw his hands into the air, causing yellow light to spill off of the seven shadowy figures. Immediately, the entire area shone as if with gold, and then, two golden dragons appeared, which shot roaring toward Naruto.

The audience of chosen watched with sparkling eyes as the battle played out. From the look of things, these two opponents were actually evenly matched. Eventually, some of them even flew out to join the fighting. Before long, divine abilities and magical techniques were flying here and there, causing dazzling light to shine everywhere.

Even the people who had congregated near the exit were now hesitating. After exchanging glances, many of them flew out, defiantly choosing to change their mind and take advantage of the opportunity which had presented itself.

Naruto noticed what was happening immediately, and his eyes flickered with cold light. Aware that the second prince was not by any means weak, and that his seven statues were incredibly strong, he suddenly put away his spear, ignored the incoming divine abilities, and punched his hand down toward the ground.

The land quaked, and then, Naruto softly spoke a word that was protected by the power of his mask!

"Waterswamp!"

The entire area filled with water vapor, creating something like a huge swamp. However, the powers of Naruto's mask concealed that fact, and ensured that everyone saw nothing but Naruto, and the brutal aura which radiated off of him.

That was when Naruto quietly spoke another word.

"Kingdom!"

Chapter 704

A+ A- Chapter 704

Chapter 704: I'm Back!

Along the way, Duke Deathcrier was inclined on a few occasions to simply ask about the situation. However, the ill premonition in his heart that continued to grow stronger prevented him from doing so.

Naruto stood next to him, face pale, anxious and doubtful as he continuously looked over their shoulders. Apparently worried that they were going too slowly, he gave constant reminders to pick up speed.

Everything that was going on got Duke Deathcrier's heart pounding harder and harder….

"Just what did this guy do?" he thought, pouring all of the power he could into the giant ghost battleship to keep it moving as quickly as possible.

After a long moment passed, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer "What did you do?" he asked.

Naruto cleared his throat. Although he was already starting to regret his actions, he was still very proud of what he had accomplished. Sounding very casual, he said, "Oh nothing. I just kidnapped everybody else, and have them here in my bag of holding."

"What!? Everybody…? You kidnapped them?!" Despite being a deva, Duke Deathcrier's mind began to spin as though it had been struck with a sledgehammer. Face filled with a look of incredulity, he looked, first at Naruto, and then at his bag of holding. Then his cheek twitched.

"You… you…." He actually couldn't say anything other than that. However, he knew that the ramifications of what had been done were almost too monumental to calculate. Without even thinking about it, he drew upon one-hundred-twenty percent of his cultivation base to send the giant ghost battleship shooting at top speed through the air.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as they proceeded along toward their destination….

As Duke Deathcrier and Naruto got closer and closer to Giant Ghost City, the Dao protectors back at the Necromancer Kettle were starting to get a bit impatient. That was especially true

of the old man from Nine Serenities City, who had a distinct glint in his eyes as he looked at the Necromancer Kettle. Despite being a deva cultivator, the bizarre nature of the Necromancer Kettle made it impossible for him to see what was happening inside.

Next to him was the old woman who had come with Xu Shan. She was also starting to get more and more nervous, and occasionally turned to look in the direction Naruto had fled in.

"More than half the time has passed. Soon the exit will close. Something seems off…."

"Even if they continued fighting after the exit opened, an entire hour has passed. After another hour, the exit will close, and then it will be very difficult for them to come out!"

"Did something unexpected occur inside? No, there's no way…."

It wasn't just the devas who were starting to get suspicious. The other

Dao protectors were starting to feel uneasy. All eyes were focused on

the Necromancer Kettle as more time ticked by. Anxiety mounted. After all, the chosen who were inside the kettle were all very important people.

They were all sons and daughters of influential clans and families. Not only were they important in terms of status, their latent talent and cultivation bases were all beyond ordinary. There were even some whose names were on the Hell-Emperor Stele.

These were the best of the best in their generation in the Wildlands, all of whom were destined to be powerful people in the future. There were some who were already certain to become devas, and it was even very likely that some would become demigods.

If an accident occurred with even one of those people, it would be major news in the Wildlands. If something unexpected happened to more than ten of them, it would be ten times more shocking of an event…. Not even the three heavenly kings would be

be willing to accept responsibility if something like that happened. An accident of that nature would be a blow to the soft spot that existed in all parties involved….

Now that everyone was thinking along these lines, their unease grew more intense. Furthermore, because the second prince and Chen Manyao were also still inside, the middle-aged man from Arch-Emperor City was also starting to look very nervous.

Eventually, the Dao protectors got so nervous that they began to cry out in anxious voices. "Time is almost up! We can't wait any longer!"

The old man from Nine Serenities City looked over at the Dao protector from Arch-Emperor City. Eyes flashing, he said, "Brother Lin, something happened in here!"

"That's right, Brother Lin," the old woman from Spirit Advent City said, her voice grating and eerie. "It's a critical situation. The Necromancer Kettle belongs to the imperial clan. The Grand Heavenmaster must have a way to see inside of it!"

Before long, almost all eyes had come to rest on that middle-aged man.

It was quite a bit of pressure for him to deal with. Furthermore, he knew what those gazes represented: nearly eighty percent of the most important groups in the entire Wildlands…. This collection of cultivators was backed by many devas, and three demigods.

"I'll need to contact the Grand Heavenmaster and let him make the decision." He quickly produced a jade slip and sent an urgent message. Moments later, the jade slip glowed with dazzling light, after which he crushed it.

As the jade slip fell apart, it became flying ash that spread out in all directions, then rose up above them and created a fist-sized vortex. Blue light shone out from the vortex, which shot toward the middle-aged man. When he reached out and grabbed it… it turned into a fist-sized blue mirror!

The mirror was clearly from ancient times, and was covered with countless faintly-glimmering magical symbols. Despite

symbols. Despite how old it seemed, it still radiated a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering aura!

"The Grand Heavenmaster used a secret magic to deliver this mirror to me. I can't use it on my own." Taking a deep breath, he looked at the old man from Nine Serenities City and the old woman from Spirit Advent City. "Would the two of you mind providing some assistance?"

They didn't hesitate to fly over and unleash the power of their cultivation bases, sending deva auras out that caused heaven and earth to flash with colors.

As their power entered the mirror, it shone with dazzling light that caused the other Dao protectors in the area to back up nervously. The three cultivators powering the mirror let out hoarse shouts as the blue light transformed into a column that shot directly toward the Necromancer Kettle!

The air distorted around the blue column of light, which could pass through all restrictive spells and all manner of defenses. Ripples spread out on the surface of the Necromancer Kettle as it slowly… became transparent! Before long, everyone could see everything inside as clear as day…. And then, faces began to fall.

"There's nobody there!"

"Everyone's gone!"

"How is this possible? There were more than a hundred of them….

Where did they go?!" Shouts of alarm could be heard in all directions.

The old man from Nine Serenities City and the old woman from Spirit Advent City were so shocked that their cultivation base fluctuations reflected their astonishment.

Worried that they were seeing things, they sent more power into the mirror, sending its light sweeping back and forth through the lands inside the Necromancer Kettle. Under the power of that light, even the densest of mists were dispersed. And yet… they still couldn't find a trace of a single one of the chosen!

The middle-aged man from Arch-Emperor City was shaking, and his mind spun with disbelief.

"Wait," someone said. "I can detect

"I can detect the aura of the Giant Ghost King!"

As everyone began to reach the same conclusion, their eyes turned completely bloodshot, and their hearts began to burn with rage.

"Everybody went missing, and Uzumaki Hao was the only one to come out.

This is definitely the handiwork of the Giant Ghost King!"

"That Uzumaki Hao is a mere Nascent Soul cultivator. How could he possibly dare to do something like this? It was definitely the Giant Ghost King's doing!"

"Remember how Uzumaki Hao looked when he came out? That must have been an act! Dammit!" Shouts of rage began to ring out. As for the old man from Nine Serenities City and the old woman from Spirit Advent City, both of them resorted to teleportations to rush in the direction Naruto had left in.

Enraged, everyone else began to follow!

These people were no fools, and they all came to the conclusion that the chosen of their various organizations had been kidnapped by Uzumaki Hao at the behest of the Giant Ghost King. Even more humiliating was the shocking fact that he had escaped from under their very noses.

However, they didn't dare to offend the Giant Ghost King, so they had no choice but to vent their anger on Naruto.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, and dazzling light flashed in the sky as more than a hundred powerful experts shot through the air in pursuit.

Unfortunately for them, they had delayed for far too long. Naruto and Duke Deathcrier were on the giant ghost battleship, which Duke Deathcrier was fueling with all the power he could muster. It was a bright beam of light, shooting through the air, closing in on Giant Ghost City!

When Naruto finally caught sight of the city off in the distance, he breathed a sigh of relief. He even started to get a bit excited.

"Giant Ghost King, you fudge-licking prick. I'm back!"

Chapter 705

A+ A- Chapter 705

Chapter 705: What Exactly Did You Do...?

As Naruto and Duke Deathcrier were still closing in on the city, the Giant Ghost King was in his royal palace, a very excited expression on his face as he looked at the ghost king fruit which he held in his hand!

The way that he had acquired the fruit by means of the restrictive spell was a violation of certain rules, and yet, the fruit was simply too important to him. How could he possibly allow it to be acquired by others and then used to threaten him?

He had really had no other choice than to grit his teeth and proceed with his plan.

"I finally have all five of the ghost king fruits, and at long last I can remove the five elements flaw from my technique. By being able to switch back and forth between the five elements at will, I will no longer be subjected to the potentially deadly decay period!" With that, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, his heart filled with intense levels of joy. After years and years of waiting, he had won out, despite being opposed by the united front of all his opponents. The fact that all of his plans and schemes had worked left him feeling very pleased.

"The Nine Serenities King, War Champion King and Spirit Advent King were all scheming against me, the bastards. I might have broken the rules, but it was only after their plotting. Now I just need to lay low for a while and not give them any reason to cause me any problems. After some time passes, all of the issues can be resolved." A faint smile could be seen on his face, and a bright gleam passed through his eyes. It was wonderful to have all matters under his control.

Of course, he had no idea what exactly had occurred in the

Necromancer Kettle. The restrictive spell on Naruto didn't give him the ability to see what was happening from afar. It was specifically designed to be used the way it had with the Ghost King Orchid. But he wasn't worried.

Chuckling, he put the ghost king fruit away and prepared to go into secluded meditation to merge all five of the fruits into his body. Just when he was rising to his feet, his expression flickered,

and he looked off into the sky.

He immediately caught sight of the giant ghost battleship. As soon as it got close enough, two figures leapt off of its deck and flew toward his royal palace.

Mixed emotions could be seen playing out on Duke Deathcrier's face, and as for Naruto, he seemed both grim and angry.

"Uzumaki Hao sure got back quickly," the Giant Ghost King thought. "And he doesn't seem injured at all." He cleared his throat awkwardly. He knew that he was in the wrong in the matter that had just occurred, and felt like simply avoiding Uzumaki Hao. However, avoiding him wouldn't resolve the situation, so therefore, he put a somber expression onto his face and then settled back down into his throne to wait.

Naruto shot at top speed toward the giant ghost statue, followed by a hesitant Duke Deathcrier. After reaching the royal palace, Duke Deathcrier clasped hands to Naruto, then hurried back to his own residence, not interested at all in participating in the irksome events which were sure to follow.

"This Uzumaki Hao has got some guts, but I simply can't believe that he would do something like this unless he was acting on the orders of his highness the king…. Just what is his highness thinking? Is he really going to go up against all of the nobility and aristocracy in the Wildlands?" Duke Deathcrier sighed, truly unable to wrap his mind around what was going on.

As Duke Deathcrier left, Naruto hurried onward to the main entrance. At the moment, he was still very angry. After all, were it not for the fact that he was so incredible, his trip to the Necromancer Kettle would have been one of almost certain death.

And the reason for that was because the Giant Ghost King had screwed him over.

Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath and buried his anger inside him, then snorted coldly in his heart and walked into the palace's main hall.

Trying to look very maligned, he loudly said, "Uzumaki Hao offers greetings, Your Highness!"

As soon as he saw Naruto, the Giant Ghost King rose from his throne and said, "Ah, you're back, Hao'er. Hahaha! You really performed a meritorious service this time!"

He no longer looked somber like before, and even wore a kind smile. He did nothing to hide the praise

praise in his eyes, and seemed like he truly was delighted to see Naruto.

It was also his first time ever addressing him as Hao'er….

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto's face, and he was just about to say something when the Giant Ghost King waved his hand dismissively.

Stepping down off of the throne dais, it was with caring emotion that he said, "Not hurt at all, I see. Hao'er, you really did a huge favor for me this time. Son, I've already issued orders to throw a spirit banquet for the both of us. Now, tell me what it is you want. As long as it's in my power, I'll grant you any favor!"

That only made Naruto angrier though. Raising his voice, he said, "I don't want any gifts. Those people really bullied me, you hear?! You have no idea, Your Highness. They all ganged up on me, and were clearly trying to kill me. I had no choice but to do something to protect myself. I may have offended some important people, but it was all in your service, Your Highness!"

Obviously, the Giant Ghost King knew that in a situation in which more than a hundred people were chasing Uzumaki Hao, it would be difficult for him to survive without injuring or even killing a few people. And yet, the Giant Ghost King was confident in being able to resolve any issues that had cropped up. "Ah, don't worry about it. Everything you did was for me. Fear not. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

The maligned expression remained on Naruto's face, but inwardly, he was starting to feel very pleased with himself. Giant Ghost King, oh Giant Ghost King, you screwed me over first, so you can't blame me for screwing you right back!

Naruto was about to say something more when a buzzing sound could be heard from within the Giant Ghost King's bag of holding.

"They're coming after you so quickly?" The Giant Ghost King's eyes glittered, and a faint smile could be seen on his face as he produced a transmission jade slip from his bag of holding. He had been aware all along that, whatever Naruto did in the Necromancer Kettle, it wouldn't be possible to keep it a secret for very long. Therefore, he had long since prepared for the aftermath.

the aftermath. With that, he poured some divine sense into the jade slip to power it up.

Sounding very calm and composed, he said, "Nine Serenities Ki-"

However, before he could even finish speaking, the enraged voice of the Nine Serenities King roared out like a volcano to fill the palace hall. "How shameless of you, Giant Ghost King!"

Assuming that the Nine Serenities King was talking about the matter of the ghost king fruit, the Giant Ghost King cleared his throat and said, "Nine Serenities King, let me expl-"

Before he could say anything else, the Nine Serenities King responded in a voice that echoed like destructive thunder. It even caused the air around the Giant Ghost King to distort.

"I couldn't care less about how you got that fruit, Giant Ghost King. We plotted against you, so we have no right to complain about you fighting back. But considering your status, how could you possibly do something to my son Zhou Hong? You listen to me, Giant Ghost King. The enmity between Nine Serenities City and Giant Ghost City is not over!" With that, the Nine Serenities King severed the communication.

The Giant Ghost King's eyes widened. Thinking back to what Uzumaki

Naruto had just said, he looked over and said, "You fought with Zhou

Hong? Is he dead?"

Looking like the picture of righteous indignation, Naruto replied, "Yeah, I fought with him, that big bully. Hmph! I left him with his poor little life, though."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Giant Ghost King said, "As long as he's not dead, then it's fine."

At this point, the Giant Ghost King couldn't help but muse that Uzumaki Hao's battle prowess really was incredible. Despite being chased by so many people, he still managed to injure Zhou Hong. Just when he was about to continue speaking, his jade slip once again began to vibrate. This time, it shook even more violently than before, and then, even more angry voices could be heard, many of them sounding like they wished to do battle, although not all.

"Giant Ghost King, my son has always been stubborn and mischievous. He had this tribulation coming! I'll be there in person shortly to express my gratitude!"

"War Champion King!?" The Giant Ghost King's pupils constricted; of all of the other three heavenly kings, the one he feared the most was the War Champion King. Therefore, he was a

he was a bit confused by this latest message, and even more confused about what was going on. Heart thumping, he suddenly had a very bad feeling, and looked over again at Naruto.

"You fought with the Junior Champion King? He's not dead either?"

"Oh him?" Naruto flicked his hand as if in disgust. Gritting his teeth, he said, "No, he's not dead. That bastard was a really tough cookie, though."

A strange expression could be seen on the Giant Ghost King's face, but before he could do anything else, his jade slip vibrated again. This time it was the Spirit Advent King, who seemed even angrier than the Nine Serenities King had been.

"That mysterious daughter of yours is in Arch-Emperor City, isn't she Giant Ghost King? Nobody else knows, but I do! Well, I think I know where I'm going next! I need to be more like you, you old bastard. Bullying people younger and weaker than you!" As the voice echoed out in the hall, the Giant Ghost King began to pant. Everything was happening too quickly, catching him completely unawares.

Looking over at Naruto, he was just about to ask a certain question when Naruto took the initiative to say, "Don't worry, Xu Shan isn't dead."

As the Giant Ghost King looked at Naruto, his ill premonition grew more intense. And yet, before he could say anything, the jade slip in his hand began to vibrate over and over again. Countless messages poured in, some bitter, some pleading, some angry.

The Giant Ghost King's mind began to spin. Despite being a demigod, the current turn of events had him reeling in shock. Although most of the people who were sending the messages weren't on the same level as him in terms of cultivation base, there were simply too many of them. It seemed like just about all of the nobility and aristocracy in the lands of the Arch-Emperor were reaching out to him.

And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that the other three heavenly kings were involved, and they were on the same level as him.

Even the imperial clan messaged him, saying that the second prince was missing. The Giant Ghost King was dumbstruck by what was happening. Finally, he looked over at Naruto, and weakly asked, "W-what… what exactly did you do in the Necromancer Kettle?"

Chapter 706

A+ A- Chapter 706

Chapter 706: Stupefied Giant Ghost King

"Oh, I didn't do anything…!" Naruto said, looking like the picture of innocence. Inside, he was feeling extremely pleased with himself, and couldn't have been happier. The Giant Ghost King had screwed him, and therefore he had screwed him right back…. Therefore, the more shocked the Giant Ghost King looked right now, the more worth it it all was.

"Although, you know how loyal and devoted I am to you, Your Highness, and how much I worry about you constantly. That, coupled with how well you've treated me over the years, left me no choice other than to put my life in the greatest danger, to go through countless trials and tribulations, to be spattered head to toe with blood, to come perilously close to the gates of hell, to reject all fear of suffering, of exhaustion, and even death for you. Because of all the favor you have shown me, I subdued all of them!" He slapped his chest to emphasize his words, making it look like he was the type of person who would live or die for the Giant Ghost King, and would face death without blinking for him.

"You… you 'subdued' them all?" The Giant Ghost King almost felt like fainting. In the short time in which they had just been conversing, a dozen more messages had come into his transmission jade slip.

Looking very impassioned, Naruto loudly continued, "Yeah, I subdued every last one of them. The other three demigod heavenly kings were planning to blackmail you, right? They even sent people to try to steal what was yours! Therefore, I kidnapped all of their children and chosen, and brought them here, just for you, Your Highness. And now, you can take them into custody!

"Come, come, let me introduce you to everyone, Your Highness. We'll start with the Junior Champion King from War Champion City!" Getting more excited, he smacked his bag of holding to bring out the gasping Junior Champion King.

The Junior Champion King was currently little more than skin and bones, and his life force had been seriously damaged. He seemed to be struggling on the verge of death.

"And here's Prince Zhou Hong from Nine Serenities City." With that, he produced Zhou Hong….

"Oh, and this one here is, wait, what did they call him? Oh right. Little

Wolfgod!

"And this is Li Tiansheng.

"And here's Miao Lin'er. She's pretty incredible, and is actually much more suitable for you than Mrs. Chen. I brought her here especially for you, Your Highness." With that, he cast a very knowing wink at the Giant Ghost King.

"Right, there's also Princess Xu Shan from Spirit Advent City. This girl is a bit of a nutjob. What a pity.

"Oh, this guy. I think he's pretty special, actually. I heard people calling him second prince. I guess he must have a pretty high status. You definitely need to make good use of him, Your Highness. It took a lot out of me to kidnap him." Clearly in very high spirits, Naruto went on to patiently introduce everyone to the Giant Ghost King as he pulled them out of his bag of holding one by one. Before long, the Giant Ghost King was as flabbergasted as a wooden chicken as he watched more than a hundred people fill his palace hall.

Virtually all of them were skinny and emaciated, some of them so weak that they simply lay on the floor, unmoving….

"It was all for you, Your Highness, that I captured these people and brought them here!" Looking like he was ready to go through hell or high water for the king, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply.

The Giant Ghost King felt like his mind was being struck by countless lightning bolts. However, considering the level of his cultivation base and willpower, after sitting there in a daze for a moment, he managed to recover. By this point, he realized what had occurred, and understood why he was getting so many messages via jade slip. He also felt like he was slipping into a nightmare….

In all of his complicating plotting and scheming, the one thing he hadn't accounted for was how powerful Naruto actually was. He was so strong that he had kidnapped all of these people…. The sight of Naruto solemnly producing all of the chosen caused bitter laughter to rise up in the heart of the Giant Ghost King, and his face even began to twitch.

"I underestimated this Uzumaki Hao," he thought. "First, he kidnapped his father. Then he kidnapped me. He's obviously addicted to kidnapping. I can't believe that in one fell swoop… he kidnapped over a hundred people. "This

people.

"This sly bugger was obviously pissed off, and believes that I screwed him over. Therefore, he used this method to screw me back….

Furthermore, he didn't kill anyone. No matter how you look at it, it really is a meritorious service…." His heart was pounding, and he could feel a massive headache coming on. Obviously, this was a very important matter, and it was clear that Naruto was intentionally doing it to cause problems for him.

Under any other circumstances, it might not have mattered. But the Giant Ghost King had also broken the rules regarding the Necromancer

Kettle. He had wanted to keep things low key, to forestall any problems. Never could he have imagined that something like this would unexpectedly occur….

The three heavenly kings, and the vast majority of the nobility and aristocracy, would definitely use this opportunity to cause problems for him. Furthermore, he was in a very precarious position. If he simply let all of the captives go, it would send the message that the supposedly majestic Giant Ghost King was actually scared. But not releasing the captives wasn't an option either. He was a demigod, and one of the four heavenly kings, but he couldn't tackle all of the Wildlands at the same time.

Despite feeling extremely annoyed, there wasn't anything he could do at the moment. Ultimately, he was in the wrong in this matter. He had been the one to screw Naruto over, and had even made plans that would have ensured success even if he died.

If Naruto had ended up dying, it probably wouldn't have mattered. But here he was alive, and despite how vicious the Giant Ghost King was in general, when he thought about their history together, and the fact that he was a demigod king, if he went and bit the hand that fed him, his reputation would suffer irreparable damage.

Most importantly, Naruto hadn't killed anyone, a shrewd and ruthless move that left the Giant Ghost King with almost no wiggle room. Had he killed all the other chosen, it would have been a simple matter to deal with. The Giant Ghost King could have put all the onus on Naruto. But instead, Naruto had delivered everyone to him alive. No matter what action the Giant Ghost King took, he would be in

be in a very difficult situation.

"This Uzumaki Hao is completely ruthless!" The Giant Ghost King looked over the crowd of emaciated chosen in the hall, and noticed how their life force had been damaged. Clearly, that was a method Naruto was using to make sure the Giant Ghost King didn't just casually let all the captives free.

"If I do let them go, it's going to cost me dearly…." he thought with a long sigh. Then he looked over at Naruto with a bitter smile. He had to admit that Naruto had played his hand perfectly. When he thought about the price he would have to pay to calm everyone down, he was so depressed that his internal organs hurt.

Of course, Naruto was actually feeling very nervous. This matter of screwing over the Giant Ghost King wasn't a conspiracy, it was an open attack! Therefore, he had to be very careful not to push the Giant Ghost King past his bottom line. Seeing that the man was sighing bitterly, Naruto realized that his revenge had been had. Blinking a few times, he said, "Your humble servant will take his leave now. When it comes time for the spirit banquet, Your Highness… I'll be back."

The Giant Ghost King glared back at him and waved his hand. "What spirit banquet!? There's no spirit banquet! Get the hell out of here!"

"How stingy…." Naruto thought. Rubbing his nose a bit in embarrassment, he reluctantly turned and left the royal palace. Once he was out in the open, his face lit up with joy, and he became a beam of light that shot toward his residence.

As soon as he was back home, he went into his secluded meditation chamber, where he sat down cross-legged, took a deep breath, and then looked at his bag of holding.

There was still one person in there that he hadn't handed over to the king. It was none other than… Chen Manyao.

"I think there's a 50/50 chance that Chen Manyao has figured out who I am. So what am I supposed to do…?" All of the wonderful feelings that had come from successfully screwing over the Giant Ghost King disappeared, replaced by a frown.

He thought about bringing her out to just talk the matter over, but wasn't sure if that was the right thing

the right thing to do. After all, there was still the possibility that she didn't know who he was. In that case, if he tried to openly discuss things with her, it would only be giving her more chances to do just that.

And yet, not bringing her out left him in a bit of a deadlock. He really wasn't sure what to do….

"Ah, whatever. I'll just put the matter out of mind and do some meditating." Burying the matter in his heart, he thought back to everything which had occurred in the Necromancer Kettle, and as he did, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"My Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul really is shockingly effective. With all of the five elements backing it, I can basically crush any other cultivator in the same level as me….

"Without my Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul, it would have been really difficult to kidnap all of those people…." Pursing his lips to suppress his laughter, he examined the five-colored glow coming off of his nascent soul, and his enthusiasm grew deeper.

"Hahaha! I'm so strong already…." As of this moment, he felt more than ever that all the work he had put into forming his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul had been worth it.

Then he thought back to the events of the Necromancer Kettle, and how he had used the Eternal Parasol to absorb the life force of so many cultivators. Although he hadn't absorbed Xu Shan's life force, he had surreptitiously done so to the dozen or so captives she had given him. As a result, his Undying Bones were now in the eighth stratum of the Tempered Bones level.

"The eighth stratum!" Although his cultivation of the Undying Bones seemed to be going slow in some respects, he was actually going more quickly than he had with the other parts of the Undying Codex.

Furthermore, it was propelling him to almost unbelievable heights.

"Once I break through to the ninth stratum, my Undying Emperor's Fist will double in power!

"Compared to all my cultivation progress though, the most important thing I got in the Necromancer Kettle… was my apprentice! I got… Uzumaki Hao's soul!" Eyes shining brightly, he looked into the soulhoarding pagoda in his bag of holding, within which was a solitary vengeful soul…. Uzumaki Hao!

Eyes flickering with various memories, he murmured, "It's time to restore your mind, my apprentice!"

Chapter 707

A+ A- Chapter 707

Chapter 707: Destiny Brought Us Together...

Restoring Uzumaki Hao's mind was of the utmost importance to Naruto. Uzumaki Hao was his apprentice, and if he had never been able to locate his soul, it might have been a different story. But after recovering it, there was no hesitation on his part about what to do.

If this had happened back when he had first arrived in the Wildlands, it would have been very difficult for him to accomplish what he was now setting out to do. But now, he was a celestial necromancer, and had a vast amount of valuable treasures from the three great clans. Most importantly, he had two secret treasures from those great clans, the lotus seed pod, and the drop of blood.

Those two secret treasures were specifically designed for use with souls. That was especially true of the blood drop, which was the secret treasure from the reserve savings of the Chen Clan. It could restore all of the memories that existed in the previous life of a soul, and turn that soul into something like a ghost cultivator.

As for the lotus seed pod, it could be used to form a brand new body. Although he wasn't sure if it would work as well on dead ghosts as it could on living beings, he was determined to try. Despite that, he didn't take action blithely. The lotus seed pod only had two seeds in it, and there was only one drop of blood. Therefore, he wanted to make sure he was thoroughly prepared before he began.

In the end… he would only have one chance to succeed.

In fact, he even paid a visit to the Chen Clan and had a meeting with their new clan chief. After talking the man up, and even offering a bit of compensation, he won him over with his sincerity, and acquired more detailed information on how to use the blood drop.

After getting all the information he needed and returning, he only felt more nervous than before. "This drop of blood has some mystical powers. It can actually restore the memories of a soul's previous life…. However, the process is very dangerous, and is very draining on the soul. Perhaps it would be a more certain process if it were a deva soul, but Uzumaki Hao was only in Foundation Establishment when he died…. It's hard to say whether or not I'll be able to make it work…."

However, there was nothing he could do about the matter. Uzumaki Hao's soul was now a

vicious entity, nothing more than a soul body that couldn't practice any form of cultivation.

Even if he restored his memories, it seemed he would be stuck for all eternity as a Foundation Establishment soul, unable to make any progress.

"The only thing I can do is use a whole bunch of soul medicine during the blood fusion process…. It will be difficult to pull it off, but the results will definitely be better." Eyes flashing with determination, he immediately made arrangements to buy up all of the soul medicine in Giant Ghost City.

After becoming the city's majordomo, he had been the recipient of numerous gifts, and had also ransacked the three great clans. As a result, he could certainly be considered well off. However, for Uzumaki Hao's sake, he didn't hesitate to spend massive amounts of wealth on soul medicine.

He had already built up a bit from ransacking the three great clans, and now that he spent so much money to acquire more, his stockpile began growing to terrifying proportions.

As Naruto began gobbling up all of the soul medicine in the city, terrifying things were shaking the hearts of all residents.

More than a hundred powerful experts had come to visit the city, including three devas. All of them had been spitting mad, and yet, kept their anger under control. Instead of charging into the city itself, they settled down cross-legged outside, effectively encircling the whole place.

And that had only been the beginning…. Afterward, numerous people appeared in the city via its teleportation portal. All of them were the type who had numerous followers, and didn't bother to even reign in their surging energy as they headed to the royal palace to talk with the Giant Ghost King.

Before even the first of such meetings concluded, the teleportation portal shone brightly again as more people arrived.

A steady stream of dozens of people showed up every day. By this point, more than ten devas had entered the city. Of course, even a single deva was the type of monumental figure who could shake heaven and earth with the mere stomp of a foot. In fact, in the entire world, there weren't even a total of fifty devas in existence. [1]

But now, more than ten were in Giant Ghost City, which left Duke Deathcrier with a very sinking feeling. Thankfully the Giant Ghost King hadn't ordered him to go deal with these people, but had instead invited them to the royal palace to discuss matters.

When he sent a group away, another would come to replace it.

it. And thus, in a short period of only a few days, everyone in Giant Ghost City slowly grew numb to what was happening. Then guesses and speculations began to run wild. In the end, it was virtually impossible to keep the matter a secret.

"What? Uzumaki Hao acted on the orders of his highness the king to kidnap all of the chosen and heirs apparent of almost all of the nobility and aristocracy in the Wildlands!?"

"Heavens! Is this Uzumaki Hao addicted to kidnapping, or what?! First it was his father, then his highness the king, and now he kidnapped over a hundred chosen in one fell swoop!?"

"His highness the king is playing a big, complicated game…. I really don't understand what exactly he's doing."

As word spread, countless gasps could be heard in all corners of the city. By now, it was impossible to relate exactly how bold and powerful people took Uzumaki Hao to be.

Another three days went by, whereupon an intense roar shook heaven and earth in all directions. An enormous battle-axe appeared in the air above Naruto's residence, upon which stood a mighty figure who seemed capable of propping up all creation.

"Nine Serenities King!" The Giant Ghost King immediately emerged from his royal palace and flew up to confer with the Nine Serenities King. After a moment, the Nine Serenities King's face turned grim, and he followed the Giant Ghost King into the palace for a time before leaving.

Soon after came the enormous mountain of flesh that was the Spirit Advent King. After that was the War Champion King. The things which the people of Giant Ghost City were seeing left all of them gaping in shock.

Seven days passed. Gradually, things at the teleportation portal calmed down a bit. Of course, Naruto tried to stay as out-of-sight as possible, and didn't even dare to make inquiries to find out exactly what had resulted. He knew that the Giant Ghost King was obviously in a horrific mood.

"Well, you can't blame me! If you hadn't screwed me, I wouldn't have screwed you." Despite feeling himself to be in the right, he knew who between the two of them was the most powerful. Muttering to himself, he remained in secluded meditation, and continued to buy up soul medicine. At one point, he also secretly took a trip to confer with Mrs. Chen.

Just as Naruto had guessed, the Giant Ghost King was in a foul mood. During the seven days of meetings with various groups, he had sent away all of

all of the various chosen that Naruto had kidnapped. Some of the people who had come to retrieve their chosen were the type that the Giant Ghost King could completely disregard. There were even some he could intimidate with a mere look. But there were others who could force him to pay a bit of a price.

For example, the Spirit Advent King and War Champion King. First, the Giant Ghost King broke the rules of the Necromancer Kettle, and then, due to a freak combination of other factors, had both of their heirs beaten half to death.

The Nine Serenities King was even harder to calm down. In fact, the smile on his face only grew colder as their discussion proceeded. The Nine Serenities King had attacked the Giant Ghost King during his decay period, and had also broken certain rules himself, which showed his attitude and what he was capable of. Therefore, they were not able to get anywhere in their negotiation. Eventually, the Giant Ghost King called in the War Champion King and the Spirit Advent King to join the discussion, and in the end, the Nine Serenities King had no choice but to grit his teeth angrily and leave.

The biggest headache of all came when dealing with the second prince. There was simply no way to work around the fact that he was part of the imperial clan. Although that clan was currently in decline, with most of the power being held by the Grand Heavenmaster, the second prince was still a prince. The imperial clan was still not the kind who would brook humiliation, and thus, it was to the Giant Ghost King's great rancor that he paid a significant price to work everything out.

The Giant Ghost King was currently standing in a pagoda in the royal palace. Kneading the bridge of his nose, he sighed and murmured, "Finally managed to send them all away."

During the process, he had schemed, he had formed alliances, he had used every trick in his book to minimize his losses as much as possible. In the end, he was left feeling exhausted.

"It's all the fault of that bastard brat!' The mere thought of Naruto caused his eyes to widen angrily. However, it was at that point that he felt two warm arms wrapping around him from behind. It was none other than Mrs. Chen….

The Giant Ghost King turned to look at her, and his gaze softened. She took the opportunity to say some nice things about Uzumaki Hao, and as a result,

as a result, the Giant Ghost King's anger faded a bit. He also began to think about all the good things Uzumaki Hao had done for him.

"Well, it certainly cost me, but at least I got the ghost king fruit. I guess it was all worth it! Without Uzumaki Hao on my side, the ghost king fruit would likely have been taken by one of the other three kings. If that had happened, I would have ended up paying ten times the price that I did." In the end, things did seem to have worked out fairly. Snorting, the Giant Ghost King decided not to worry about the matter anymore.

Naruto waited for a few more days, and when it seemed that the Giant Ghost King wasn't going to be coming for him, he finally started to feel confident about the whole situation. With that, he put even more effort into buying soul medicine, and soon, had the stockpile he needed.

With that, he gritted his teeth and started his work to restore Uzumaki Hao's mind!

Of course, the matter was too sensitive, so he didn't dare to do his work in Giant Ghost City. If any mistakes occurred, the ramifications could be too severe. Therefore, he found a remote location outside of the city where he set up plenty of restrictive spells to make sure no one could see him. His preparations having been made, he settled his mind, pulled his soulhoarding pagoda out of his bag of holding, and then took out Uzumaki Hao's soul.

A glowing halo of light surrounded the soul as it floated in Naruto's hand. It seemed confused at first, but quickly came to its senses, looked at Naruto and then let loose a soundless howl of rage.

Then it lunged at the halo as if to break past it and attack him. As for Naruto, he looked at Uzumaki Hao's soul, and many complicated emotions filled his heart. Within moments, Uzumaki Hao's eyes began to shine with madness and greed, until Naruto finally sighed and unleashed some of the pressure of his cultivation base.

Instantly, the soul body in the halo shivered and backed down, instinctively fearful of him.

"It is destiny that brought us together…." Naruto murmured.

1\. To be clear, the text uses the generic word for "world", which could be interpreted in different ways. Considering the context, it could mean the Wildlands, but more broadly, it could also mean the "world" that includes the Heavenspan region. There is no way to tell definitively from the context.

Chapter 708

A+ A- Chapter 708

Chapter 708: I'm Your Master!

Eventually, the pressure rolling out from Naruto onto Uzumaki Hao's soul became so intense that the surface of the shield rippled. Then Uzumaki Hao's soul let out a piercing scream, and he shied away. However, it was with vicious determination that Naruto then waved his left index finger toward the shield.

The shield distorted even more dramatically, and then Uzumaki Hao's soul shivered as though it had been struck by a powerful attack. Then, it collapsed and remained motionless.

According to the information Naruto had gained from the Chen Clan, in order to use the blood drop, one had to render the soul body in question completely incapable of resistance. If it resisted in the least bit, the operation would fail, and the soul would be completely destroyed.

In its state moments ago, Uzumaki Hao's soul had been completely incapable of fighting against Naruto. All it had taken was a bit of pressure to not only cow the soul, but to knock it unconscious. Now, it was time to move on to the next step.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked a bit more closely at Uzumaki

Hao's soul. A moment later, his eyes began to shine with determination.

"Well Uzumaki Hao, whether or not this works is all up to your own good fortune…." With that, he waved his right hand, causing the shield of light to vanish. For the first time, Uzumaki Hao's soul appeared out in the open!

Next, Naruto slapped his bag of holding, producing a jade bottle that he gingerly opened. Inside was a drop of blood that he let fall onto Uzumaki Hao's soul.

As soon as it touched the soul, it shattered to create a blood-colored mist that poured into the soul. In the blink of an eye, the soul began to shiver, as though it were about to regain consciousness because of the intense pain it was feeling. Thankfully, Naruto was paying close attention, and made sure to keep enough pressure on the soul to keep it unconscious.

It was a delicate balance to maintain, but he succeeded. Soon, the blood mist was fully absorbed into Uzumaki Hao's soul, which was beginning to thrash around so much it seemed it might begin to fade away. Apparently, there was some corrosive power within the drop of blood that

was draining Uzumaki Hao's soul, making it weak to the point where it might not be able to sustain the wastage.

Naruto knew that a critical moment had arrived. Maintaining full focus, he waved his left hand to produce a large quantity of soul medicine. He crushed it without hesitation, which caused numerous streams of soul power to spring out and then flow into Uzumaki Hao's soul body, replenishing what was being drained away.

However, the soul was being drained at a very rapid rate. Naruto had just sent out one hundred portions of soul medicine, but it was only able to counteract the wastage for a few breaths of time. Therefore, he produced more soul medicine. Time passed, and eventually he lost track of how much soul medicine he had used.

With the soul medicine keeping him going, Uzumaki Hao in soul form continued to merge with the blood. However, his soul body continued to twitch and distort as if in pain. Despite being unconscious, he could clearly feel what was happening.

The process continued for a full three days. Despite the fact that Naruto was in the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage, he was still starting to feel the exhaustion creeping up. During that time, he had to watch carefully every moment to make sure that Uzumaki Hao didn't awaken at the wrong time. Simultaneously, he had to make sure he didn't exert too much pressure on him. It was a very delicate balance to maintain.

Another task was to continuously feed soul medicine to Uzumaki Hao. Any other type of Nascent Soul cultivator would probably have already reached the limit of their abilities. But Naruto had spent years concocting medicine, and had razor-sharp focus. Despite being tired, he didn't let that interfere with his work.

"According to the information from the Chen Clan, it takes seven days to absorb the blood… we're almost half done at this point." He didn't grow lax in the least bit. When the third day passed, and the fourth day arrived, a gold design suddenly appeared on Uzumaki Hao's soul.

The sight of that golden design instantly lifted Naruto's spirits. Based on what he had learned from the Chen Clan, he knew that the main factor playing into whether or not the soul body recovered memories from its previous life was that very golden design.

design. It was like evidence of the soul's fate, and once it appeared, it meant that the soul could once again appear in the world as it had in the past.

However, in the moment that the golden design appeared, it seemed that the pain Uzumaki Hao's soul was enduring suddenly grew more intense. He let out a miserable shriek, and his eyes snapped open. In that instant, Naruto could tell that his soul body was just about to fall apart; cracks even began to spread out on its surface.

Naruto's face fell at this sudden, unexpected development, and he instantly got extremely nervous. He knew that exerting more pressure wouldn't resolve the issue, and therefore, he poured more soul medicine into Uzumaki Hao's soul body. However, that did nothing to forestall the imminent collapse of the soul body. More cracks spread out on its surface; clearly, a very critical moment had arrived.

"Hang in there, Uzumaki Hao!" Naruto said through gritted teeth. With that, he produced a lotus seed, crushed it, and dropped the resulting powder onto Uzumaki Hao's soul. Although he couldn't be certain that this method would work, his previous analysis and augury of the seed had left him sixty percent certain that it would help restore a soul.

The moment the powder of the crushed lotus seed landed onto Uzumaki Hao's soul, gentle light began to spread out in all directions. At the same time, the cracks on the surface of his soul body vanished. Within the space of a few breaths of time, he recovered completely. The excitement in Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he adjusted the pressure he was emitting, and then brought out more soul medicine to feed to Uzumaki Hao.

"Three more days to go!" Although Naruto managed to keep calm and focused, he was still panting a bit, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. Now that the golden design had appeared, it took much more soul medicine than before to keep him stabilized. But Naruto was well-prepared. He crushed soul medicine as if it were the least valuable thing in the world, spending amounts that would cause most people to stare in complete and utter shock. The wealth vanishing here was enough to drive entire clans bankrupt.

And yet, Naruto didn't feel the slightest prickle of pain in his heart.

No

heart. No material possessions were worth more to him than Uzumaki Hao. Uzumaki Hao was his apprentice, and the first person he had encountered after being teleported to the Wildlands. Furthermore, he had used Uzumaki Hao's identity to accomplish many, many things. The feelings that had built up for Uzumaki Hao because of all that were not those which could be measured in terms of soul medicine.

Soon the fourth day had passed, and the fifth day arrived. After that was the sixth day…. As time marched on, Naruto's eyes grew more and more bloodshot, and his exhaustion mounted. Because of the mounting pressure, his expression became one of pure vigilance and concentration. It lasted all the way until… the seventh day came!

"The final twenty-four hours!" he murmured. By this point he was a bit wan, and his eyes were crimson. All of his energy was focused on maintaining balance. As time passed, Uzumaki Hao's soul grew more and more stable, and the golden design that covered his soul body grew more and more dazzling.

With every pulse of golden light, Uzumaki Hao's soul seemed to grow more calm and thoughtful, and less violent. As these things occurred, Naruto continued to sigh emotionally.

"The final two hours!" he murmured. In his excitement, he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like when he succeeded, and Uzumaki Hao got all of his memories back. How would he tell him about everything that had occurred after his death?

"I feel like I know you so well, but to you, I'm a complete stranger…." Naruto shook his head and put such thoughts aside for the moment. Instead, he focused fully on Uzumaki Hao's soul. Soon, the final moments were ticking down, and Uzumaki Hao's soul seemed to have lost all of its previous viciousness and violence, and was now completely calm. Eventually, he sat up in place, a blank look on his face….

That was when the crackle of thunder could be heard in the sky above. Black clouds converged, and a violet bolt of lightning suddenly shot down toward Naruto, catching him completely off-guard.

"Is that tribulation lightning? How could there be tribulation lightning?!" The lighting instantly shot down through the mountain until it was right above Naruto's head. As it did, he anxiously reached up with his right hand, drawing on the full on the full power of his cultivation base to fight back.

A boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was sent flying backward, where he slammed loudly into the rock wall of the cave. However, he wasn't significantly hurt. Unfortunately, he had only cut down the power of the lightning bolt by about half. The rest of it fell directly onto Uzumaki Hao, who had just opened his eyes. Immediately, a tremor ran through him, and cracks spread out all over him. He appeared to be right on the verge of falling apart!

"Uzumaki Hao!" Naruto roared. Without any hesitation, he threw out his final lotus seed. Although pain and confusion filled the eyes of soul form Uzumaki Hao, they were quickly replaced by lucidity. He looked over at Naruto, and saw the lotus seed flying toward him, and without even thinking about it, opened his soul body's mouth and swallowed it down.

The moment it entered his mouth, it transformed in a soft warmth which spread throughout his entire body. He closed his eyes, shivering a bit as the cracks all healed up. The black clouds in the sky above seemed to be on the verge of building back up again, and yet, for some unknown reason, faded away….

It took a very long moment for Uzumaki Hao's soul form to restore balance. When all of the cracks on the surface of his body were healed, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Then, his eyes came to rest… on a person who looked exactly like him in every aspect, and yet who wore a look of deep concern on his face.

There was a sincerity to that concern that Uzumaki Hao instantly recognized. It was something that, in his entire life, nobody had ever given to him except his mother. This person in front of him… was the second person to ever look at him with an ounce of caring.

"Who are you…?" he asked softly.

Naruto's eyes flickered with excitement, and he took a deep breath. He had imagined this moment for a long time, and just as things had gone then, he assumed the mightiest pose he could think of. Lifting his chin slightly, he clasped his hands behind his back and, looking like the picture of a transcendent being, slowly said, "I'm your Master!"

Chapter 709

A+ A- Chapter 709

Chapter 709: Masters Name

"Master…." Uzumaki Hao said, staring blankly at the person who looked exactly like himself. He was a bit confused about why this person would call himself his Master. He didn't remember ever having a Master before. If anything, the only 'Masters' he had ever had before his death were the handful of secret cultivation texts he had acquired back in his clan.

He had all of his memories up to the moment of his death, but everything after that was mostly blank. All he remembered was a haze of violent madness in which he swam endlessly through blinding fog, consumed with the desire to eat any living thing he encountered.

Those memories of madness caused him to gasp, and filled his heart with indescribable terror.

It was almost as if the moment he closed his eyes in death, he had gone to sleep. Now he was awake, and yet, his heart was filled with more confusion than ever. Then he looked down at himself, and found that his own hands would pass through his body if he tried to touch himself.

"I'm a soul body…." he murmured, a glint of sadness appearing in his eyes. As of this moment, he realized that he really had died. "But if I've become nothing more than a soul, then why do I still have all my memories?"

All of the things he was currently experiencing had Uzumaki Hao feeling extremely confused.

As for Naruto, he stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, glancing down out of the corner of his eye at Uzumaki Hao, trying to look as profound as possible. He was also secretly measuring him up, and when he realized that he was simply staring off into space, and completely ignoring him, he started to feel a bit awkward, and even a bit miffed. With that, he loudly cleared his throat to remind Uzumaki Hao that he was standing there.

In response, a strange expression appeared on Uzumaki Hao's face, and he looked up again at Naruto. Gradually, his eyes began to flicker thoughtfully, and he said, "Senior, are you the person who appeared beneath that tree right before I died?" From the way he spoke, it seemed as

if he were putting the pieces of the puzzle together even as the words left his mouth.

Each word struck Naruto's like lightning, and his eyes flickered at how incredible Uzumaki Hao was. Only a few words had been spoken since he woke up, and he had already deduced Naruto's identity.

"The reason you look like me, Senior, is that you must have assumed my identity after I died. As for why we are now able to meet again in person, though… I really can't wrap my mind around that." More confusion appeared in his eyes, as if he almost couldn't believe what was happening.

Naruto gave him a profound look. Although he had always known Uzumaki Hao was intelligent, he could never have imagined that he would be this intelligent.

"That's correct. After you died, I looked through your bag of holding, and then took your place in the Uzumaki Clan…." With that, he proceeded to explain to Uzumaki Hao about how he had taken him as an apprentice. Then he went on to recount everything that had occurred during his time in the Uzumaki Clan, with the exception of a few points that were unnecessary

to explain.

As Uzumaki Hao listened, it was impossible for him to hide the complex emotions he felt. He could almost visualize all the scenes Naruto described, especially the incident in which his father had confronted him in the place where his mother had died. That was when his father had revealed that he was aware of how talented Uzumaki Hao was in flame conjuring, and yet had gone on to talk about him submitting, and had even revealed open killing intent. At that point, hatred and anger began to burn brightly in Uzumaki Hao's eyes.

Uzumaki Hao was familiar with his clan, especially Madam Cai and the clan chief. As such, he immediately realized… that everything Naruto was telling him was true.

Eventually, Naruto explained how, as Uzumaki Hao, he had killed Uzumaki Qi, turned traitor against the clan, and had later used his power as a follower of the Giant Ghost King to exact harsh punishment upon the clan. He had killed the clan chief, executed Madam Cai, and installed the fifth

fifth young lady as the new clan chieftess. Uzumaki Hao's chest heaved, and his mind reeled under the waves of shock that were caused by Naruto's words.

The things which Naruto had done for him were things he himself could never have done even if he wanted to.

Finally, Naruto explained how he had randomly encountered Uzumaki Hao's soul in the Necromancer Kettle. He also went on to describe, without any exaggerations, the dangers which had been involved. In fact, he actually glossed over that danger to some extent, giving mostly just an overview.

However, Uzumaki Hao was smarter than the average person, and realized that within the glossed-over areas of the story, there definitely were moments of profound danger and crisis. Shivering, he looked up at Naruto, eyes shining with gratitude.

Although he realized that this person had obviously done many things out of his own self-interest, he had also helped him get the vengeance he deserved, and would have sought for himself if he could….

"Senior, I-"

Before he could complete his sentence, he was interrupted by Naruto, who said, "And that's everything that happened. Don't put too much thought into it. You're my apprentice, and I'm your Master. With me around, people can only dream of bullying you!"

He slapped his chest proudly to emphasize his words.

"Do you want to know who your Master is? I'm the majordomo of Giant Ghost City, and also the inspections commissioner. There is only one person who ranks higher than me, and tens upon tens of thousands who rank below me. Hmmmphh! I even kidnapped the Giant Ghost King once. And in the Necromancer Kettle, I kidnapped the heirs apparent and chosen from almost all of the important clans and organizations in the Wildlands! Crown princes, heirs apparent, princesses? Hah! I defeated each and every one of them! Oh right, there was also some guy everyone called the second prince!" With that he went on to brag a bit more about everything which had occurred in the Necromancer Kettle, and this time he didn't gloss over anything. He actually described everything in vivid detail, the way he normally would.

Uzumaki Hao responded by looking at him with mute astonishment.

"Just stick close to your

to your Master from now on. I already have formulas for everything from one- to seventeen-colored flame. Considering your latent talent in flame conjuring, I want you to start researching the formula for eighteencolored flame. Later on when I'm powerful enough, I'll form a new body for you. Come, come, hurry up and kowtow to Master. Then I can give you the gifts I owe you for becoming my apprentice!"

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back again, then lifted his chin and tried to look as strict as possible. At the same time, he glanced at Uzumaki Hao out of the corner of his eye, waiting for him to kowtow in formal fashion to become his apprentice.

A complex expression could be seen on Uzumaki Hao's face. As a soul body, he could sense from the soul power fluctuations in the area that a large quantity of soul medicine had recently been used in the surrounding mountains….

And as a necromancer, he knew that restoring the memories of a soul was a heaven-defying process of incredible difficulty. Clearly, this person who called himself his Master had completely bloodshot eyes, and he was obviously working hard to appear to be in good condition. However, he couldn't cover up how wan he was. It was obvious that he had worked very hard, and paid a huge price, to restore Uzumaki Hao's memories.

"Does he really care about me…?" he thought, a warm feeling building up inside of him. At this point, he recalled how, upon first recovering his memories, this person who called himself his Master had been looking at him with deep concern.

That concern gave rise to emotions that Uzumaki Hao had not felt for a very long time. No one in his life had ever cared about him other than his mother. As a young man in the Uzumaki Clan, he had often been humiliated. As he grew older, he had harbored a deep if ignorant hope that he could gain the approval of his father, and perhaps the entire clan. But in the end, he had been cruelly slaughtered…. As of this point, it was all in the past.

After a long moment, he rose to his feet, walked over to

walked over to Naruto, and dropped to his knees. His expression was serious and sincere. He didn't want to sit around thinking about the past. He knew that this Master of his had already gained vengeance for him, a kindness which filled him with profound gratitude. From the bottom of his heart, he was absolutely willing to be his apprentice.

"Everything from the past ended with my death," he thought. "Now that I'm awake again, my Master… is my only family!" As he swore this oath in his heart, he thought about the sincere concern Naruto had showed for him, and was convinced that he had finally found a second person in his life who cared about him.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Uzumaki Hao offers formal greetings, Master!"

Then he kowtowed deeply three times. After that he rose to his feet, then dropped back down to kowtow again.

Three expressions of respect. Nine kowtows!

Naruto was moved by what he was seeing, and his heart trembled with emotion. After silently accepting the kowtows, his gaze softened, and a profound feeling filled him that was a mixture of joy and pity.

Wrestling his emotions under control, he laughed heartily and said, "Stick with Master, my little apprentice, and you will eat the best food and drink the best alcohol. You can do anything your heart desires!"

With that, he waved his hand, sending Uzumaki Hao into a soulhoarding pagoda.

Within that soulhoarding pagoda, Uzumaki Hao would have a large measure of freedom. He could come out into the open at any time he wished, and because of certain special aspects of his soul body, could take virtually any form he wished.

After a moment, Uzumaki Hao hesitated. Despite having taken this man as his Master, he felt like there was something a bit unreliable about him.

"Master… would it be possible for me to know your honored name…?"

Sounding extremely high and mighty, Naruto responded, "Ahem. Remember, your Master's true name is one that cannot be divulged to anyone else in the Wildlands. If it became public, it could lead to drastic events that would affect all creation. It would be a calamity for the Wildlands! Your Master's name… is Naruto!"

Chapter 710

A+ A- Chapter 710

Chapter 710: Playing Dumb

After taking Uzumaki Hao back with him to Giant Ghost City, the seven days of protracted exhaustion led Naruto to go into secluded meditation to recover.

Before closing the door of the meditation chamber, Uzumaki Hao requested that he be allowed to go out and explore a bit. After all, he had been dead for quite some time, and felt like seeing Giant Ghost City and the rest of the outside world. It was a very natural thing.

After a bit of thought, Naruto decided there was no reason not to accommodate his wishes, although he did offer a whole slew of warnings before letting him go. After all, Uzumaki Hao's soul body was unique in many ways. Now that his memories were back, he could take almost any form he wished. Furthermore, considering how intelligent he was, as long as he was careful, he shouldn't run into any trouble.

However, just to be on the safe side, he left a branding mark on him. That way, if Uzumaki Hao ran into any trouble, Naruto would be able to track him down immediately.

Having accomplished these things, he felt comfortable enough to go into secluded meditation. As for Uzumaki Hao, he changed his appearance and then left.

Uzumaki Hao had long since burned Naruto's name into his memory; he would never forget it for the rest of his life. However, even more unforgettable were the things he heard people talking about after leaving Naruto's side. Virtually everything he heard… caused his anxiety to build….

"Hey, keep your voice down. Don't let Uzumaki Hao hear you. Uzumaki Hao is completely shameless. He's vicious and merciless, to the point where he killed his own father and reviled his own clan!"

"That's nothing! I have a good friend who's a guard at Devil Penitentiary. He told me that back when Uzumaki Hao was a guard there, he was the number one dark inquisitor in Devil Penitentiary! You don't know what dark inquisitors are? They're normal inquisitors whose hearts have turned to darkness! The prisoners that Uzumaki Hao interrogated in Devil Penitentiary all ended up screaming with indescribable bitterness!"

"Heh heh. Majordomo Uzumaki? Yeah, he's like a bolt of lightning that can shake heaven and earth. It's been years since a freak like him has appeared in the world. He had a Core Formation cultivation base, and yet he actually kidnapped his highness the king!"

"Uzumaki Hao is completely vicious! He even likes to take the wives of other men…. In order to get his hands on Mrs. Chen, he killed the chief of the Chen Clan! I heard that he keeps her

in his residence even now, and ravishes her a hundred times a day! Completely outrageous!"

"All of that is nothing! The most important thing to know is that Uzumaki Hao is a complete and utter daredevil. Only recently, he kidnapped the chosen and heirs apparent of almost all the nobility and aristocracy in the Wildlands! I saw with my own eyes the horrid state all of those chosen were in. It didn't matter if they were guys or girls, they had all been tormented to the point of being skin and bones! It was completely terrifying!"

When Uzumaki Hao heard such things, he was at first puzzled, but soon left completely flabbergasted. The realization that his Master had done so many shocking things left him feeling more than a bit jumpy.

He began to make some discreet inquiries of his own about the things which had occurred, and soon learned that it was absolutely true that his Master had kidnapped the Giant Ghost King while only in the Core Formation stage. Plus, there were other things which had occurred. After his rapid rise to prominence in the city, he shook down all three of the great clans. He was so well-known in the city that his name could be used to stop children from crying!

"How fearless…. I can hardly even imagine it!" Uzumaki Hao eventually reached the point of being speechless. However, during his time making inquiries, he also heard people talking about the Naruto whose name was listed on the Hell-Emperor Stele, and soon learned that there was a bounty on his head. It was at that point that he realized that the fact that his Master had revealed his true name to him showed a deep level of trust.

Although Uzumaki Hao was a Wildlander, he had already died once, and didn't care as much about things from his previous life. It wasn't important to him who exactly Naruto was; he was his Master to whom he had kowtowed nine times!

Eventually he returned to Naruto's secluded meditation chamber.

By this point, he was convinced of how incredible his Master was. Smiling wryly, he returned to the soulhoarding pagoda in Naruto's bag of holding. At that point, Naruto opened his eyes, looked down at the bag of holding, and then smiled faintly. The entire reason he had revealed his true name to Uzumaki Hao was because he trusted him. Perhaps such an expression of trust was very sudden, but it came from Naruto's heart. Based on everything Uzumaki Hao had said and done so far, Naruto truly approved of him.

On the same evening that Uzumaki

Uzumaki Hao returned from exploring the city, while Naruto was still working on getting back into top shape, the Giant Ghost King sat on his throne in the royal palace, frowning at his transmission jade slip.

He had just received a message from the imperial palace in ArchEmperor City. The message had not been worded very strongly. In fact, it had taken the form of a single question.

Why hasn't Chen Manyao been returned yet?

It was a simple and calmly worded message, and yet it caused the Giant Ghost King's mind to reel. After all, the person who had sent the message was none other than… he who controlled the Son of Heaven! He who could issue orders to everyone in creation…. The Grand Heavenmaster!

The Giant Ghost King would rather offend all three of the other kings than provoke the Grand Heavenmaster. Part of that was because the Grand Heavenmaster was in a far higher place in the Demigod Realm than any of the four heavenly kings. But the bigger reason was that the Grand Heavenmaster was a profound schemer, the type that could strike dread into the heart of anyone with whom he dealt.

"Chen Manyao…." the Giant Ghost King murmured. He had heard that name before, and knew that she was one of the Grand Heavenmaster's personal apprentices, and a top rate beauty.

However, Chen Manyao had not been among the chosen whom Naruto had handed over to him. It only took the briefest of moments for the Giant Ghost King to come to a conclusion about what was going on. Not sure whether to laugh or cry, he immediately began to curse.

"Brat bastard! I'd bet money that he's entranced with her good looks. Considering his age, it's definitely time for him to have a Daoist partner…. But definitely not Chen Manyao!" Although the Giant Ghost

King felt a bit of a headache coming on because of his fear of the Grand Heavenmaster, he actually wasn't angry at all about Naruto keeping Chen Manyao in custody. In contrast, he actually felt a bit of admiration. Because of all of the things which had happened between the Giant Ghost King and Naruto, the level of formality which might have once existed between them had long since vanished. After all, he had said earlier on that if Naruto helped him win the ghost king fruit, he would come to view him as his son and heir.

As far as the Giant Ghost King was concerned, Naruto was the most outstanding and daring individual in his generation in the entire Wildlands. Furthermore, the more he learned about the way Uzumaki

way Naruto thought, the more the wily old fox in him approved! Naruto could be daring, crafty, and adaptable, but also knew when to back off. Such a combination in one person was hard to come by!

Were it not for that admiration, he would surely have gone completely mad because of the way Naruto kidnapped everyone in order to screw him over.

At the moment, the Giant Ghost King was right in the middle of laughter and tears. Sighing, he realized that Naruto was actually acting in much the same way he himself would…. With such thoughts on his mind, he cursed inwardly a few more times, then rose to his feet and vanished from within the royal palace.

When he reappeared, he was outside of Naruto's secluded meditation chamber. After looking around, he snorted coldly, but refrained from doing what he had last time and simply entering unannounced.

"Uzumaki Hao!" he said, filling his voice with plenty of cultivation base pressure. Inside, Naruto was performing some breathing exercises. Upon hearing the Giant Ghost King's voice, a tremor ran through him, and his eyes widened. Before he could do anything else, though, the Giant Ghost King sensed that he had opened his eyes, and entered the meditation chamber.

A bit shocked, Naruto scrambled to his feet to clasp hands in formal greeting.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Inwardly, he was cursing at how annoying it was that the Giant Ghost King loved to secretly ambush him. This was the second time! How could someone as important as the king be so ignorant regarding manners? However, it was also obvious that, considering how anxious the Giant Ghost King seemed, he would likely not have come for any good purpose.

"Your Highness," he said quickly, "I was careless in my cultivation and damaged my nascent soul! Considering how badly I'm injured, I definitely can't go anywhere. Oh, and I already consumed nine Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills, so those won't do any good." In the hopes of not making the same mistake as last time, he claimed to have consumed nine of the pills, instead of the three which he had actually consumed. And of course, he made his statement without blinking a single time.

Glaring, and clearly not very pleased at Naruto's attitude, the

Giant Ghost King snorted and said, "Do you have Chen Manyao?!"

The words struck Naruto like lightning, and instantly caused his heart to start racing.

He most certainly did have Chen Manyao in his custody. Up to this point, he still wasn't sure how to deal with her. Worried that she might recognize him, and that that would cause problems, he cause problems, he had decided that he couldn't let her go.

He quickly shook his head and put a very confused look onto his face.

"Who is Chen Manyao, Your Highness? Sounds kind of like a girl's name. Oh, don't tell me you've taken a liking to her, Your Highness? Fear not," he said, thumping his chest with his palm, "your humble servant will definitely be able to get her for you!"

Any person who didn't know Naruto very well would have been easily taken in. After all, his acting skills were top notch, and whether it was his wording or the expression on his face, they were all very convincing. It really seemed as if he didn't know anyone by the name of Chen Manyao.

But the Giant Ghost King did know Naruto, and therefore, his glare intensified, and he growled, "Stop playing dumb! You listen to me, Uzumaki Hao. You can't touch Chen Manyao! She has a very important background…."

A profoundly serious expression could be seen on the Giant Ghost King's face, and the pressure rolling off of him felt like thunderclouds.

Such tactics would intimidate virtually anyone else, but Naruto was familiar with the Giant Ghost King, so he put on a pained expression.

"Your Highness, I really don't know anyone named Chen Manyao!"

"Enough!" the Giant Ghost King said impatiently. "It's only the two of us in here, so stop with the act. I know that you took a liking to Chen Manyao because of her beauty. But she's one of the beloved apprentices of the Grand Heavenmaster! He's already asked about her, so hand her over immediately! She's just a hot girl, right? What's the big deal about that? I'll make up for it with plenty more girls." As far as he was concerned, it really was a minor matter. It was only a single girl they were talking about, and thus, he really couldn't understand why Naruto was acting this way.

Seeing that the Giant Ghost King wasn't going to back down caused Uzumaki

Naruto's nervousness to mount. He really, really didn't want to let Chen Manyao go. It had to do with his poor little life! However, despite thinking desperately, he couldn't come up with any backup plan. As for the Giant Ghost King, he could see that Naruto was hesitating, causing his anger to rise.

In fact, he was so infuriated that intense coldness immediately spread out in all directions.

"Bring Chen Manyao out immediately, Uzumaki Hao. Don't make me use force!" His voice was as cold as winter snow, and his eyes burned with cold fury. The meditation chamber even began to ice over!

Chapter 712

A+ A- Chapter 712: 712

"Huh?" Naruto said, stunned. He really never could have imagined that after his angry outburst, the Giant Ghost King would say something like this…. "Uh… you… you have a daughter? And you want to give me her hand in marriage?"

Naruto almost felt like he was going to faint. Although he had heard that the Giant Ghost King had a daughter, she was a fairly mysterious person who didn't live in Giant Ghost City. From a very young age, she had lived in Arch-Emperor City.

"This way, the two of us will be family from now on." The Giant Ghost

King's eyes sparkled as he measured Naruto up and down again.

The more he thought about this idea of his, the more he liked it. This Uzumaki Hao had a politically correct family background and education, and truly was outstanding. Even more important, his way of thinking lined up with the Giant Ghost King's.

As far as the Giant Ghost King was concerned, he was the ideal son-inlaw, with the only exception being his relatively weak cultivation base. However, that last part was actually a positive, considering that it meant his daughter would be able to keep him in line easily.

"This Uzumaki Hao has a lot of potential," he thought. "With a single drop of my soul-blood, he unleashed a demigod-level attack. From that, you can see that he's made a lot of cultivation progress that no one is aware of…." That got the Giant Ghost King thinking about even more benefits to the arrangement.

"Uh… Your Highness, this is an important matter that shouldn't be arranged carelessly." Naruto was feeling very nervous. As he looked at the Giant Ghost King, he imagined what he would look like if he were a bit younger, and a woman, and the mere thought caused his scalp to tingle on the verge of exploding. Too ugly!

"What," the Giant Ghost King said, "think she's not good enough for you? Hmph…. Don't even bother trying to compare my Zhou Zimo to Chen Manyao. Her talents surpass Chen Manyao's so much that you can't even mention the two in the same sentence. Once you see her in person, you'll know what I mean. Besides, unless I personally arranged the marriage, she would never agree to be your wife." Glaring angrily, the Giant Ghost King waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and give me Chen Manyao. The matter's settled as of here and now!" Naruto moaned bitterly in his

heart. He was out of ideas. If he didn't produce Chen Manyao right now, the Giant Ghost King would likely start to get suspicious. Therefore, he had no other option than to gamble and hope that either Chen Manyao hadn't recognized him, or if she had, that she would keep it a secret for old-time's sake.

With that, he pulled the unconscious Chen Manyao out of his bag of holding and handed her over.

The Giant Ghost King examined her for a moment. Although he had heard that she was beautiful, this was his first time seeing her, and it caused a strange expression to appear in his eyes. All of a sudden, he understood why Naruto had been so staunch in his refusal to hand her over.

"Wow, she really is a beauty," he thought. Clearing his throat, he glared at Naruto again, then swished his sleeve to gather up Chen Manyao.

"Alright, things are settled. Tomorrow, you'll head to Arch-Emperor City via the teleportation portal. Find my daughter in the Giant Ghost Legion. She's the sergeant major there, so you can start out by helping her with her duties there. As for romantic feelings, they will build up between the two of you naturally."

"Huh? What's the rush? Um… I…." Naruto really had no interest in this Zhou Zimo. Grimacing, he considered refusing, but it was too late. Before he could say a thing, the Giant Ghost King had issued official orders!

"Mo'er sent me a request recently, asking me to send someone to be her assistant. It seems to me that you're the best man for the job. Things are settled. You leave the city tomorrow! Oh, by the way, Mo'er wants to become strong and powerful on her own merit, so not many people know who she actually is. As for the nobility who do know, there's a tacit understanding to keep things a secret. Don't go and stir up trouble!" With that, he turned and vanished.

Naruto was scowling on the verge of tears. He didn't want to marry this Sergeant Major Zhou Zimo whom he didn't even know. Besides, he was already a major general! As if a sergeant major could compare to that….

As far as the Giant Ghost Legion was concerned, Naruto remembered capturing a soul cultivator by the Great Wall who had claimed to be the apprentice of one of the Giant Ghost King's marquises. It was a bit strange. Why would someone from Giant Ghost City have been

been all the way on the other side of the Wildlands? However, considering the insurrection that had taken place, perhaps that man had been dispatched by one of the rebel heavenly marquises to handle some personal matter.

Of course, Naruto had no desire at all to go to Arch-Emperor City.

The place seemed far too dangerous. That was especially true considering that he wasn't sure if Chen Manyao knew who he was. If she did, then he could be sending himself right to his own grave.

And there was more… he had kidnapped many of the heirs apparent and other important chosen who came from Arch-Emperor City. If he went to the city now, he would be like a lamb walking into the tiger's den….

And yet, refusing to go wasn't an option. The Giant Ghost King had made his stance clear. Naruto had thrown a tantrum already, and if he tried to do the same thing again… then it really would harm his relationship with the king. If that happened, then he would be in a bad position even in Giant Ghost City.

"How did things end up like this?!" he thought, tugging at his hair. At this point, Uzumaki Hao floated out of his bag of holding, a look of complete and utter amazement on his face. Just now, he hadn't dared to reveal even the tiniest scrap of his aura to the Giant Ghost King, but had been able to hear the conversation perfectly clearly. And as a result, he was left sighing in shock at how brave and daring his Master was.

Of course, he wasn't aware of the fact that Naruto's mask would make it virtually impossible for anyone to detect his presence, so his extreme caution hadn't been necessary.

"Master, I've heard some things about the Giant Ghost King's daughter. She's a very mysterious figure who left Giant Ghost City long ago to further her cultivation…." With that, he went on to explain everything he knew.

Unfortunately, that wasn't much. In the end, Naruto sighed and continued to ponder the matter. In the end, there was nothing he could do. Eventually, he trudged out of his meditation chamber and went out to make some inquiries of his own.

Most of his questions had to do with Arch-Emperor City, the others being about the Giant Ghost King's daughter. After returning, he sat there grimacing and gnashing his teeth.

"Arch-Emperor City is a terrifying place! I absolutely can't go there! Worst case scenario, I can leave Giant

leave Giant Ghost City and find a place to hide for a bit…."

Night passed. By evening of the following day, Naruto knew that he couldn't dawdle any longer. He didn't dare to use the teleportation portal, so he came up with an excuse to request the use of a giant ghost battleship to go to Arch-Emperor City. His current plan was to disappear along the way and hide out for a while before returning. If enough time passed, then perhaps the Giant Ghost King would finally understand how he truly felt.

In terms of the giant ghost battleship, he had long since had his eye on them, and knew that they were wonderful treasures. This was actually the perfect opportunity to take one out for a spin. At least, that was his explanation.

Unfortunately, the Giant Ghost King was one step ahead of him. It was with an enigmatic smile that he approved Naruto's request for the giant ghost battleship, and then gave orders for Duke Deathcrier to help him pilot the ship, and also protect him along his journey.

Duke Deathcrier was a bit confused about why Naruto wasn't just using the teleportation portal, but considering that the orders came from the Giant Ghost King, he didn't question them. Soon, Duke Deathcrier was piloting the giant ghost battleship away from Giant Ghost City, with Naruto standing there on the deck with a blank look on his face.

Naruto wanted to cry, but no tears would come. As for Duke Deathcrier, he had a somewhat grim expression, and completely ignored Naruto.

As of this point, it was obvious that his plan had been seen through by the Giant Ghost King, and he had no option other than to continue on to Arch-Emperor City.

"Duke Deathcrier is a deva, so with him piloting the giant ghost battleship, the journey will take about three months." Naruto looked down at the jade slip he held in his hand, which contained a detailed map. Giant Ghost City was actually relatively close to ArchEmperor City, as opposed to Nine Serenities City, which was much further away. If Duke Deathcrier had piloted the giant ghost battleship from there, it would take a full year to make the journey.

Of course, if Naruto piloted the ship, the journey would be even longer. Plus, it was a journey that would have been fraught with danger without a deva present.

He had no choice but to accept his fate. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he

his nose, he contemplated all of the information he had gathered about Arch-Emperor City.

The Arch-Emperor Dynasty was organized with the Arch-Emperor at the top, followed by the Grand Heavenmaster, and then the four heavenly kings. Underneath the kings were the ten heavenly dukes, and 108 heavenly marquises!

Each of the heavenly kings had ten heavenly marquises in their home cities, but no heavenly dukes. Duke Deathcrier and his contemporaries were only earthly dukes. Although they ranked above the heavenly marquises, they were far below the heavenly dukes.

The ten heavenly dukes were the most powerful devas in the Wildlands, all of them being in the great circle of the Deva Realm. They actually counted as one of the reserve powers of Arch-Emperor City. As for the heavenly marquises, there were 68 of them who lived permanently within Arch-Emperor City itself.

Arch-Emperor City was by far the largest city in the Wildlands, and was also meticulously organized. Floating in the sky above the main city itself was the imperial palace.

The imperial palace had four main gates, which defended the four cardinal directions.

After the Grand Heavenmaster seized control of the Son of Heaven, it was an easy thing for the four heavenly kings to stay away from the city. However, the Grand Heavenmaster had ordered that their armies remained garrisoned in the region of Arch-Emperor City, ready to follow any orders they were given.

The army encamped west of the city was the Giant Ghost Legion, the commanding officer of which was the Giant Ghost King's daughter, Zhou Zimo.

Naruto hadn't been able to get much information about Zhou Zimo back in Giant Ghost City. All he knew was that she didn't get along very well with the Giant Ghost King, and had long since left the city to practice cultivation on her own. As for how her relationship with her father was now that she had risen to the rank of sergeant major, it was impossible to tell.

"This Zhou Zimo obviously is a bit of a rebel. Hmmmphh! How could silly little girls like that understand how to lead an army!? As a magnificent major general, I guess I'll just have to go show her how it's done!" He sighed, feeling quite bitter.

He hadn't had enough time to gather much more information than that. Although Duke Deathcrier probably knew some information, he didn't seem too pleased about being forced to take Naruto on this long journey, and completely ignored the questions he asked.

Chapter 713

A+ A- Chapter 713: 713

Although Giant Ghost City wasn't extremely far away from Arch-Emperor City, it still took Duke Deathcrier months of work to get them close.

And he was a deva. If Naruto had been piloting the ship alone, the spiritual power wastage would have been immense. Even by replenishing himself with soul medicine, it would have been difficult to keep going for very long. Most importantly of all, he would have faced ten times the amount of danger.

Whether it was the bizarre creatures that inhabited the Wildlands, or the hordes of souls with their profound death auras, they were all things that left Naruto trembling in fear. Of course, the souls would have been easier for him to deal with, but as for the beasts, they were shocking to the extreme.

At one point along the way, he saw a towering tree that was so shriveled it looked dead. However, it could move, and would consume anything that got too close to it.

He saw an enormous beast that resembled a hippopotamus. It was sleeping, but its snores were so mighty that they caused the sky to vibrate, and shook the lands for hundreds of kilometers in every direction.

There was a flock of vicious vultures that followed the giant ghost battleship for several days before begrudgingly letting it go.

The sight of all the bizarre creatures left Naruto's mind reeling.

They encountered a few cloudgyres, which caused even Duke

Deathcrier's face to flicker. Only by piloting the ship at full speed did he manage to evade them.

At one point, Naruto noticed that the ground down below was pitch white, and assumed it was snow. However, closer examination revealed that it was a sea of bones, covered with waves just like water. The powerful aura radiating up from the sea of bones caused Duke Deathcrier's face to turn pale. Drawing upon a taboo magic, he negated the aura of the giant ghost battleship, and then pushed forward at full speed for several days until the sea of bones vanished behind them.

The sights changed, and the winds blew past. Thanks to this journey, Naruto truly came to understand that crossing the Wildlands without using a teleportation portal was something that only devas could do. Duke Deathcrier's face grew more and more grim as they

faced one danger after another. He was not happy at all about the situation. It was all because of a single order from the Giant Ghost King, and all because the damnable Uzumaki Hao had refused to use the teleportation portal. Because of that, he, a mighty deva, was forced to be a bodyguard.

It didn't matter that Uzumaki Hao was favored by the king, Duke Deathcrier was still feeling very disgruntled. However, there was no way for him to vent his feelings, so he simply ignored Naruto.

Naruto knew that he had dragged Duke Deathcrier into the matter, and therefore, took the initiative to try to smooth things out. Although he didn't completely succeed, his efforts were moderately successful.

One day, as the giant ghost battleship streaked through the air in a beam of light, Naruto was able to catch sight of a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering city up ahead, a city far more magnificent than Giant Ghost City.

In terms of size, it could contain at least ten Giant Ghost Cities. The green city walls towered over the surrounding plains, casting immense pressure into the hearts of anyone who looked at them. There were countless restrictive spells locking the entire area down, taking the pressure of heaven and earth and using it to protect the city.

The power of the five elements was harnessed to suppress even lightning and thunder. As a result, the city looked like an enormous beast of paragon-like power, resting but ready to erupt with power at a moment's notice.

Countless towering green pagodas could be seen within the city walls, each one of which had an enormous crystal ball at its top. Each crystal ball had violet mist sealed inside of it which crackled with lightning, and occasionally transformed into huge eyes!

It was difficult to put into words how much life force thrummed inside of the enormous city. However, the amount of Chakra and blood that Naruto could sense was astonishing.

"How many people live there?!" he thought, shocked. As he examined the city, he couldn't help but look up to see… another city floating in the air above the main city!

It was smaller than the city below, and completely golden in color. There was something domineering about it that made it stand out from everything else in the area,

area, as if it were something that could suppress the entire Wildlands.

Even the air around it seemed to be crushed by its presence, as if this city were something completely different than everything else in heaven and earth. Considering the golden light that shone out from it, it almost seemed like an enormous golden sun, or a gigantic golden castle in the clouds.

It was none other than… the imperial palace of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty!

Eight islands floated in the air around the imperial palace, each of them covered with clouds and rainbows. They appeared to be something like guard stations, there to protect the imperial palace against any outside forces!

From what Naruto could tell, the rainbows on those islands vastly surpassed those from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. After all, there was only one rainbow structure in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, but here, each of the islands had one!

Furthermore, those islands were only one part of the defensive network protecting the city.

Countless soul cultivators in golden armor were on patrol, making ArchEmperor City completely and utterly astonishing to behold!

Naruto had seen quite a few cities in his life, and Arch-Emperor City existed on a different level than all of them, and that included the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

All of a sudden, Naruto felt as if he understood the world a bit better. And that was before he even studied the four armies which were encamped in the four cardinal directions around the city, filled with countless Wildlander cultivators.

Above each army flew a banner identifying it. One of them featured a huge green battle-axe, which showed that they were the forces from Nine Serenities City. There was a blood-colored banner without any symbol on it at all, which represented War Champion City.

As for Spirit Advent City, their symbol was a vicious-looking eye that seemed to peer out at all heaven and earth as the banner rippled in the wind…. Last was Giant Ghost City's banner, which was easily identifiable because of the giant ghost sigil on it. The giant ghost had its arms spread wide, and wore a vicious expression, as if it wished to rip the heavens to shreds.

"So those are the four legions…." Naruto thought, mind spinning. All of a sudden, he

sudden, he felt the nervousness that came along with being in the headquarters of the enemy.

"What would happen if they found out that I'm Naruto…?" he wondered. The mere thought caused his face to turn as ashen as death. It was at this point that he realized he had missed something, and looked up at the clouds in the sky. Suddenly, the enormous head of a dragon dipped down out of the clouds, its enormous whiskers floating in the air beside it as it stared coldly at Naruto. A moment later, it lifted its head back up into the clouds.

"A dragon!" he thought, his eyes widening. Then he could see the long, serpentine form of the dragon swirling through the clouds, as well as its terrifying claws. Off to the side, Duke Deathcrier gave a cold harrumph, but didn't say anything. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed reverently on Arch-Emperor City.

This was the heart of the Wildlands!

As a deva, Duke Deathcrier understood matters much better than Naruto. He knew… that what was visible out in the open was only a part of what made up Arch-Emperor City. There was more of it underground…. There was a third city underground that was ten times larger than the part which rose up above the plains!

"Three cities above," he murmured to himself, "three in the middle, and three below…. They formed what was spoken of in legend… the nine heavens!" He had never seen the true Arch-Emperor City, which was something that had only existed in the distant past. Back in its golden age, Arch-Emperor City was like nine collective heavens that dominated the world.

However… after Heavenspan rose to prominence, Arch-Emperor City declined. Then a grand war was fought in which heaven and earth were split apart. Heavenspan replaced the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, and occupied the island in the middle of the Heavenspan Sea.

As for Arch-Emperor City… it was during that war that the lower three cities were shattered, and the middle three cities were crushed. The only thing that remained were the top three cities, which fled to this location, gasping for life, where they remained down to this day, attempting to recover….

Currently, only the top two cities were visible above ground, with the third city remaining beneath the earth, buried and incapable of rising. incapable of rising.

Finally, Duke Deathcrier looked away from Arch-Emperor City and took Naruto to the west side of the city, where the Giant Ghost Legion was camped.

Before long, they were at the entrance of the camp. Having no desire to remain around any longer, Duke Deathcrier waved his sleeve, sending Naruto flying off of the giant ghost battleship and down to the main entrance.

Voice hard as stone, he said, "The task assigned me by his highness the king is now accomplished. You're on your own now, Uzumaki Hao." Without another word, he turned the giant ghost battleship and sent it speeding into Arch-Emperor City itself. Clearly, he had his own matters to attend to. Furthermore, he would return to Giant Ghost City via teleportation portal, not by making the long journey on the ship.

Duke Deathcrier's arrival caused quite a stir in the Giant Ghost Legion. Beams of light immediately flew over to the main entrance of the camp, and the two squads of soul cultivator guards stationed there immediately looked from the departing giant ghost battleship over toward Naruto.

"Who goes there?!" one of them said, his voice threatening and seemingly dripping with blood. Clearly, these guards were the type who had seen countless bloody battles, and had frightening murderous auras.

Naruto blinked a few times as he watched Duke Deathcrier leave, then turned to face the main entrance of the army camp. Scowling on the verge of tears, he decided that since he had gotten this far, he might as well keep going forward one step at a time.

"There's no way I'm going to lose any face," he thought. "I'm a big-shot here too. After all, the Giant Ghost King is giving me his daughter's hand in marriage!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, he looked at the soul cultivator who had just called out to him from the main entrance. Sticking his chin up, he put on the most unfathomable expression he could muster.

Tossing out his identity medallion, he clasped his hands behind his back and proudly said, "I am the grand majordomo and inspections commissioner from Giant Ghost City, Uzumaki Hao, and this is my identity medallion. Take me immediately to see your sergeant major. She is my fiancée!"

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